text
stringlengths 1.55k
332k
| label
int64 0
8
|
|---|---|
one aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for removing a polymeric plug from a body lumen , which lumen comprises a proximal end ( i . e ., an end through which fluid in the lumen can exit the body through a body opening , which opening may be natural or surgically formed ) and a distal end opposite the proximal end . for example , in the case where the body lumen is a ureter , the proximal end of the ureter is the end of the ureter that is in fluid communication with the bladder and the distal end of the ureter is the end that is in fluid communication with the kidney . the method comprises positioning a tip of a catheter at a position distal to the polymeric plug and directing a plug removal fluid from the catheter tip in a proximal direction ( i . e ., in the direction of the plug ). for example , in this method , more than 50 vol % of the fluid emerging from the tip preferably flows in the proximal direction . more preferably 75 vol % or more , 90 vol % or more , or even 95 vol % or more of the fluid emerging from the tip flows in the proximal direction . typically , flow is continued until 50 vol % or more of the plug - forming material is removed ( preferably 75 vol % or more , 90 vol % or more , or even 95 vol % or more of the plug - forming material ). in this way , the polymeric plug - forming material and any material positioned on the proximal side of the plug ( e . g ., concretion fragments from a lithotripsy procedure ) are washed in the direction of the exit from the body , inhibiting the material from migrating further up the lumen ( e . g ., further up the urethra and / or into the kidney ). as used herein , the term “ lumen ” denotes the space enclosed by a tube - like structure , such as a catheter , or a hollow body organ , such as inside an artery , a vein , a kidney , a gall bladder , a ureter , a urinary bladder , a pancreas , a salivary gland , a small intestine or a large intestine ( i . e ., an opening , space , or cavity in a biological system ). as used herein , “ subjects ” are vertebrate subjects , more typically mammalian subjects , including human subjects , pets and livestock . the term “ concretion ” denotes a mass or nodule of solid matter formed in the body . common synonyms , for example , are stones , clots , tones , lumps or calculi . concretions can develop in certain parts of the body , such as in the kidneys , pancreas , ureter and gallbladder . it is common for biological concretions to be referred to as calculi or stones , especially when they are composed of mineral salts . for example , concretions formed in the biliary system are called gallstones . those that form in the bladder are as also known as vesical calculi or bladder stones , and cystoliths . calculi occurring in the kidney are often called kidney stones . calculi can also occur in the ureter and are usually the result of the passage of stones originating in the kidney . it is also possible to observe the presence of calculi , for example , in salivary ducts or glands . larger biological concretions often need to be broken up because their size prohibits non - surgical removal from the body of a subject . such a procedure is known as lithotripsy . shattering a concretion ( by , for example , light , chemical , or physical energy ) can disperse the resulting fragments from the original location of the concretion . it is important to remove the fragments , as fragments that are not removed from the body can form the nuclei for the formation of new concretions . this process is made difficult by the fact that the shattering process often causes fragments to move into inaccessible or unknown areas of the body thus preventing or interfering with the capture and removal of the fragments . this problem can be addressed by injecting temporary plugs behind a concretion ( e . g ., in the case internal , or intracorporeal , lithotripsy ), or in front and behind a concretion ( e . g ., in the case of external shock wave lithotripsy ), prior to the fragmentation of the concretion . the polymeric plug may be formed from a fluid plug - forming composition that increases in viscosity upon administration to a subject . a composition is “ fluid ” at a given temperature if it has the ability to flow when subjected to a shear stress . a fluid will assume the shape of its container over time . such compositions include , for example , free flowing liquid compositions , as well as viscous , gel - like materials , that may be delivered to a desired site by injection ( e . g ., through a syringe , catheter , and so forth ). such plug - forming compositions may undergo an increase in viscosity , for instance , as a result of a change in environment at the administration site , for example , as a result of a change a change in temperature , ph , pressure or light level ( e . g ., infrared , ultraviolet , visible ), or as a result of a chemical or biological reaction ( e . g ., a crosslinking reaction ). in certain embodiments , plug - forming compositions include those that increase in viscosity when warmed to body temperature ( e . g ., ˜ 37 ° c . for humans ) from a temperature below body temperature , for example , from a temperature within the range of 35 ° c . to 10 ° c . or less ( e . g ., 35 ° c . to 30 ° c . to 25 ° c . to 20 ° c . to 15 ° c . to 10 ° c . or less ), including typical room temperatures of 20 ° c . to 30 ° c . ( 68 ° f . to 86 ° f .). such compositions may also reversibly decrease in viscosity when subsequently cooled from body temperature to a temperature below body temperature ( which temperature will depend on the nature of the plug - forming composition ). for example , in certain embodiments , a fluid plug - forming composition is injected into the body at a temperature below body temperature . as the composition equilibrates with the temperature of the body , the viscosity of the composition increases . in preferred embodiments , a plug - forming composition may be selected that increases in viscosity ( e . g ., an increase of five - fold or more , ten - fold or more , twenty - fold or more , one - hundred - fold or more , or even one - thousand - fold or more , among other possibilities ) as the temperature rises to the body temperature of the subject from an introduction temperature that lies in a range from 10 ° c . or less to 35 ° c . ( e . g ., 10 ° c . or less to 15 ° c . to 20 ° c . to 25 ° c . to 30 ° c . to 35 ° c . ), among other values . as a result of this increase in viscosity , a polymeric plug ( also sometimes referred to as a gel plug ) is formed . conversely , at a later time ( e . g ., after conducting a medical procedure ), the temperature of the plug - forming composition may be reduced to below body temperature using a suitable technique , thereby rendering the plug - forming composition less viscous and thus more easily removed from the body . for instance , the composition may be exposed to cold water or cold saline ( e . g ., using a catheter ), which , in addition to reducing the viscosity of the composition , may also have the effect of dissolving the composition . beneficial fluid plug - forming compositions include compositions that comprise so - called reverse thermosensitive polymers , also referred to as inverse thermosensitive polymers and reversibly gelling polymers . “ reverse thermosensitive ,” “ inverse thermosensitive ” and “ reversibly gelling ” refer to the property of a polymer wherein gelation ( which is associated with an increase in viscosity ) takes place upon an increase in temperature , rather than a decrease in temperature . “ transition temperature ” refers to the temperature or temperature range at which gelation of a reverse thermosensitive polymer occurs . reverse thermosensitive polymers may be characterized in accordance with astm d - 5133 , which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . the measurements resulting from this test method are viscosity , the maximum rate of viscosity increase ( the gelation index ), and the temperature at which the gelation index occurs ( the gelation temperature ). preferred gelation temperatures range from 30 to 37 ° c ., among other possibilities . in certain embodiments , the reverse thermosensitive polymer employed may be a block copolymer . the block copolymer may be a biodegradable , biocompatible block copolymer that comprises a polyoxyalkylene block , for example , a block copolymer comprising polyoxyethylene , blocks , polyoxypropylene blocks , or both polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene blocks . in certain embodiments , the block copolymers employed have a number - average molecular weight ( mn ) ranging from about 1 , 000 to 500 , 000 daltons or more , for instance , from 1 , 000 to 2 , 000 to 5 , 000 to 10 , 000 to 20 , 000 to 50 , 000 to 100 , 000 to 200 , 000 to 500 , 000 daltons or more . in certain embodiments , the polymer is in an aqueous solution . for example , aqueous solutions may contain about 5 % to about 30 % polymer , more typically about 10 % to about 25 % polymer . the ph of reverse thermosensitive polymer solutions may vary widely , but preferably range from about 6 . 0 to about 7 . 8 , which are suitable ph levels for injection into a mammalian body . in certain embodiments , the reverse thermosensitive polymers used are poloxamers or poloxamines . their viscosity increases and decreases with an increase and decrease in temperature , respectively . several members of this class of polymer , including poloxamer 188 , poloxamer 407 , poloxamer 338 , poloxamine 1107 and poloxamine 1307 , show reverse thermosensitivity at or near the physiological temperature range . for instance , poloxamer 407 is a biocompatible polyoxypropylene - polyoxyethylene block copolymer having an average molecular weight of about 12 , 500 and a polyoxypropylene fraction of about 30 %, whereas poloxamer 188 has an average molecular weight of about 8400 and a polyoxypropylene fraction of about 20 %, poloxamer 338 ( pluronic ™ f108 ) has an average molecular weight of about 14 , 600 and a polyoxypropylene fraction of about 20 %, poloxamine 1107 has an average molecular weight of about 14 , 000 and poloxamine 1307 has an average molecular weight of about 18 , 000 . polyoxypropylene - polyoxyethylene block copolymers that have these properties include polymers that are available commercially as pluronic ™ poloxamers and tetronic ™ poloxamines ( basf , ludwigshafen , germany ) and generically known as poloxamers and poloxamines , respectively . pluronic ™ polymers have surfactant abilities and low toxicity and immunogenic responses . a specific example of such a polymer is described in example of pub . no . us 2008 / 0208163 to wilkie , wherein legoo ™ ( poloxamer 407 ) at 20 % aqueous concentration is used to close a femoral arteries of pigs . for further information regarding reverse thermosensitive polymers , methods of purifying the same , and methods of modifying the transition temperature of the same , among other information , see us 2008 / 0208163 to wilkie . in addition to agents ( e . g ., polymers ) that are responsible for increasing viscosity of the plug - forming compositions on admistration to a subject , plug - forming compositions in accordance with the present disclosure may further include a number of supplemental agents . for example , therapeutic agents and / or contrast - enhancing agents may be added to the compositions in some embodiments . in this regard , in certain embodiments , to aid in visualization , a contrast - enhancing agent can be added to the plug - forming compositions described herein . exemplarily contrast - enhancing agents are radiopaque materials , paramagnetic materials , heavy atoms , transition metals , lanthanides , actinides , dyes , and radionuclide - containing materials . in certain embodiments , therapeutic agents , including a non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents , steroids , analgesics and an antimicrobial agents , among others may be added to the plug - forming compositions described herein . in various embodiments , plug - forming compositions like those described herein are used to isolate one part of the body from another part of the body during a medical procedure . for example , such compositions may be used to isolate concretion fragments arising from lithotripsy as noted above . such compositions may also be used to block particle migration of polyps or tumor migration during laser treatment in an anatomic lumen wherein it is desirable to restrict movement of tissue , debris , and so forth , during a procedure . as noted above , in certain embodiments , polymer solutions ( e . g ., aqueous or organic solutions ) containing of one or more reverse thermosensitive polymers may be employed as plug - forming compositions . these polymer solutions are liquids below body temperature and viscous gels at body temperature . in various embodiments , the polymer solution is provided external of the body at a temperature below body temperature . the polymer solution may be further chilled to prolong the time the composition stays in the liquid form upon introduction into the body , in some embodiments . for example , the introduction temperature may be about 10 ° c . below the gelation temperature of the polymer solution , among other possibilities . one aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method of lithotripsy comprising the steps of : injecting a first liquid plug - forming composition ( e . g ., one comprising an inverse thermosensitive polymer ) into a lumen of a mammal on a first side of a concretion , wherein the first plug - forming composition preferably does not contact the concretion ; and optionally injecting a second liquid plug - forming composition ( e . g ., one comprising an inverse thermosensitive polymer ), which may be the same as the first liquid plug - forming composition , into the lumen on a side of the concretion opposite the first plug - forming composition . for example , in the case of a kidney stone in a ureter , the plug - forming composition may be introduced distal to the stone ( or both distal and proximal to the stone ) through a catheter . in one embodiment , a syringe or other pumping device ( e . g ., a pump selected from those listed below ) may be used to inject an inverse thermosensitive polymer into the body via the catheter . for example , where a syringe is employed for delivery , pressure may be applied to the syringe by hand or by an automated syringe plunger . in one embodiment , a liquid plug - forming composition ( e . g ., backstop ™) maybe introduced , for example , using a backstop ™ injector and a backstop ™ catheter , which are available from pluromed , inc ., woburn , mass ., usa . after plug formation , energy is directed to the concretion causing the concretion to fragment into a plurality of fragments . although plug - forming compositions that increase in viscosity upon administration to a subject ( e . g ., reverse thermosensitive polymers ) are preferred as described herein , as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , in certain embodiments , plug - forming compositions ( e . g ., gels , etc .) may be employed which are sufficiently viscous under delivery conditions to isolate one part of the body from another part of the body during a medical procedure . ( due to their viscosities , such compositions may require higher pressures to deliver them than the temperature sensitive plug - forming compositions described elsewhere herein .) an aspect of the present disclosure relates to a method for removing a plug - forming material in the form of a polymeric plug from a body lumen that is accessible from outside the body via a natural or man - made body opening . the lumen comprises a proximal end ( the end closest to the body opening ) and a distal end opposite the proximal end . ( for instance , in the case where the body lumen is a ureter , the proximal end of the ureter is the end of the ureter which is in fluid communication with the bladder and the distal end of the ureter is the end which is in fluid communication with the kidney .) the method comprises positioning a tip of a catheter at a position distal to the polymeric plug ( or the most distal polymeric plug , where a plurality of polymer plugs are present ) and directing a plug removal fluid from the catheter tip in a proximal direction ( i . e ., toward the bladder and away from the kidney , in the direction of the plug ). for example , in this method , more than 50 vol % of the fluid emerging from the tip preferably flows in the proximal direction . more preferably 75 vol % or more , 90 vol % or more , or even 95 vol % or more of the fluid emerging from the tip flows in the proximal direction . typically , flow is continued until 50 vol % or more of the plug material is removed ( preferably 75 vol % or more , 90 vol % or more , or even 95 vol % or more of the plug material ). examples of plug removal fluids include non - aqueous solutions and aqueous solutions ( e . g ., water , saline , etc .). by the above technique , the plug - forming material and any material positioned on the proximal side of the plug ( e . g ., concretions fragments from a lithotripsy procedure , additional plugs proximal to the concretions , etc .) are washed in the direction of the exit from the body , inhibiting the material from migrating further up the lumen ( e . g ., further up the urethra and / or into the kidney ). referring now to a specific embodiment shown in fig1 a - 1d , in fig1 a there is shown a kidney 220 and a ureter 200 , within which are present a polymeric plug 190 and the concretion fragments 210 arising from a previously performed lithotripsy procedure . as shown in fig1 b , a catheter 110 in accordance with the present disclosure is inserted into the ureter and through the polymer plug 190 to a position where the distal tip 110 t of the catheter lies distal to the plug 190 . the catheters used in the present disclosure for this purpose typically range , for example , from 1 to 1 . 5 to 2 to 2 . 5 to 3 to 3 . 5 to 4 to 4 . 5 french in diameter , and from 90 to 150 mm in length , among other values . materials for the catheters of the present disclosure include fluorocarbon polymers such as polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) and fluorinated ethylene propylene ( fep ) polymers , polyolefins such as polyethylene , poly ( ethylene - co - vinyl acetate ) ( eva ), and polyurethanes , among others . where fluoroscopic guidance is employed , the catheter may be compounded with radiopaque materials or marked with such materials ( e . g ., via marker bands ). examples of radiopaque materials include metals , metal salts and metal oxides , and iodinated compounds . more specific examples of such agents include gold , tungsten , platinum , tantalum , iridium , or other dense metal , barium sulfate , bismuth subcarbonate , bismuth trioxide , bismuth oxychloride , metrizamide , iopamidol , iothalamate sodium , iodomide sodium , and meglumine , among others . in other embodiments the catheter may be advanced from the working channel of a scope ( e . g ., ureter scope ) with visual guidance . in the embodiment shown in fig1 c , the distal tip 110 t is then formed into a shape ( e . g ., a “ u shape ”) that causes fluid flowing from the catheter tip to flow in a proximal direction . subsequently , a plug removal fluid ( whose flow is designated by arrow 180 ) is forced through the catheter and out the distal tip 110 t of the catheter in order to remove the material forming the plug 190 and at the same time flush part or all of the concretion fragments 210 from the ureter as shown in fig1 d . in some embodiments , the end of the catheter tip may be provided with a perforated member ( e . g ., a spray head , etc .) ( not shown ) for distributing the plug removal fluid over a greater area . the catheter 110 shown in the embodiment of fig1 b - 1d can be a single lumen device in which the single lumen is used to deliver the plug removal fluid 180 from the catheter tip . in other embodiments , the catheter may be a multi - lumen device . for example , in the embodiment shown in fig2 a - 2c , a catheter having a dual lumen portion 110 d and a single lumen portion 110 s is employed . the portion of the catheter in which a transition from the single lumen portion 110 s to the dual lumen portion 110 d occurs is shown in fig2 . as seen from this figure , the dual lumen portion 110 d contains an inner catheter tube 110 i and an outer catheter tube 110 o , whereas the single lumen portion 110 s contains only the inner catheter tube 110 i . the dual lumen portion 110 d contains ( a ) a central lumen 129 ( within inner catheter tube 110 i ) for delivery of the plug removal material and ( b ) an outer annular lumen 131 ( between the inner catheter tube 110 i and the outer catheter tube 110 o ) for delivery of a plug - forming material 190 m . when positioned within the ureter 200 as shown in fig2 a , a plug - forming material 190 m may be introduced through the outer lumen 131 ( as shown in fig2 ) for form a plug 190 as shown in fig2 b . subsequently , a plug removal fluid 180 can be directed toward the proximal end of the catheter 110 ( i . e ., retrograde flow ) as shown by directional arrow in fig2 c , for example , by inverting the distal tip 110 t into a shape ( e . g ., a “ u shape ”) that causes that causes fluid flowing from the catheter tip to flow in a proximal direction ( as shown in fig2 c ) or by using another type of retrograde flow tip as discussed below . in one embodiment , the distal tip is formed with an intrinsic shape ( e . g ., an intrinsic “ u - shape ”) that causes that causes fluid flowing from the catheter tip to flow in a proximal direction , for example by bending the tip of the catheter and heat treating the tip to maintain the bended shape in the absence of any applied force . in other words , the distal tip is provided with a shape memory , with the distal tip returning to the memorized shape in the absence of an applied force . such a device may be , for example , advanced over a guide wire ( which holds the tip in a relatively linear form ) to the desired position in the body ( e . g ., ureter ) after which the guide wire is withdrawn from the tip , allowing the shape of the tip to return to its intrinsic shape . in other embodiments , the catheter is provided with a mechanism for deforming the distal tip into a shape causes that causes fluid flowing from the catheter tip to flow in a proximal direction ( i . e ., retrograde flow ). for example , turning now to fig3 a , in another embodiment , a pull - wire 116 extends from a handle 113 , along the length of the catheter , to near the catheter tip 110 t . for example , the pull - wire 116 can be routed over a pulley 111 to a thumb tab 117 . by pushing the thumb tab 117 in direction p , the pull - wire 116 is retracted from the distal tip of the catheter 110 t , bending the distal tip into a u - shape as shown . the handle 113 further includes a tubing strain relief member 114 and an inlet port 119 ( e . g ., a female or male luer lock port ) through which plug removal fluid 180 can be introduced ( e . g ., via an apparatus with a opposite male or female luer lock exit port ) and forced to the distal tip 110 t . as shown in more detail in fig3 b , which is an enlarged view of region b in fig3 a , the catheter also includes a metallic spring coil 122 which reinforces the polymeric shaft material 124 in the embodiment shown . for example , the spring coil can be embedded between polymeric layers ( e . g ., polyimide layers , ptfe layers , etc .). the pull wire 116 may be attached to distal tip of the spring coil 122 ( designated as point 116 t ) at a distal tip of the catheter 110 t . as shown , the catheter includes a central lumen 129 for delivery of the plug removal fluid 180 and a pull wire lumen 127 which extends proximally to the handle within which movement of the pull wire 116 is permitted . plug removal fluid may be fed to the inlet port of the catheter by various means , including the use of a simple elevated container of fluid ( e . g ., a drip bag , etc .). in other embodiments , the plug removal fluid is introduced via a pump . examples of pumps which may be employed for this purpose include positive displacement pumps such as rotary - type positive displacement pumps and reciprocating - type positive displacement pumps , for instance , rotary lobe pumps , progressing cavity pumps , rotary gear pumps , screw pumps , gear pumps , roots - type pumps , hydraulic pumps , vane pumps , regenerative ( peripheral ) pumps , peristaltic pumps , piston pumps , syringe pumps , and diaphragm pumps , velocity pumps , for instance , centrifugal pumps , radial flow pumps , axial flow pumps , mixed flow pumps and eductor - jet pumps , as well as buoyancy pumps , impulse pumps and gravity pumps , among others . in one specific embodiment , a vacuum - syringe - based system with check valves , such as the saps ™— single action pumping system available from boston scientific corporation , natick , mass ., usa , may be employed to pump the plug removal fluid . in another embodiment of the disclosure , the catheter tip is provided with a retrograde flow tip which reverses the direction of the fluid as it exits the tip of catheter without the need to bend the tip . turning now to fig4 a there is shown a catheter handle 113 which includes a luer connector 112 as an inlet port and a catheter connecting cap 115 from which catheter shaft 110 s emerges . as shown in more detail in fig4 b , which is an enlarged view of region b in fig4 a , the catheter tip 110 t includes four apertures 110 a , positioned at 90 ° angles around the circumference of the tip 110 t , which result in a reversal in direction between the fluid 180 i entering the tip 110 t and the fluid 180 o that exits the tip 110 t . consequently the fluid 180 o flows in an overall retrograde ( i . e ., proximal ) direction relative to the direction ( i . e ., distal ) of the fluid 180 i entering the tip 110 t . a catheter like that of fig4 a - 4b is shown in fig5 , wherein there is shown a kidney 220 and a ureter 200 , within which is present a polymeric plug 190 as well as concretion fragments 210 arising from a previously performed lithotripsy procedure . the catheter 110 has been inserted into the ureter 200 and through the polymer plug 190 to a position where the distal tip 110 t of the catheter lies distal to the plug 190 . a plug removal fluid is forced through the catheter and out the distal tip 110 t of the catheter in order to remove the plug 190 and flush part or all of the concretion fragments 210 from the ureter . due to the design of the catheter tip 110 t , the fluid flows out of the tip 110 t in a retrograde direction ( i . e ., proximally , as shown by arrows ) relative to the fluid 180 i entering the tip 110 t ( i . e ., the fluid flow is distal within the catheter until it reaches the tip 110 t ). fig6 b is an illustration of a catheter tip 110 t with in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure that includes four apertures 110 a positioned at 90 ° angles around the circumference of the tip 110 t , which result in a reversal in direction between the fluid entering the tip and the fluid that exits the tip 110 t . fig6 a is a cross section of the catheter tip of fig6 b taken along line a - a . although four apertures 110 a are show , clearly other numbers of apertures may be employed ( e . g ., one , two , three , five , six , seven , eight , etc .). such apertures form reverse angled conduits to direct the fluid flow toward the proximal end of the catheter and are significantly smaller openings than the id or inner lumen of the catheter ( e . g ., 30 to 60 % of the id ). this allows pressure to build in the distal closed end of the catheter and provides increased fluid flow in the reverse direction . fig7 b is an illustration of a catheter tip 110 t in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure that includes four apertures 110 a positioned at 90 ° angles around the circumference of the tip 110 t , which result in a reversal in direction between the fluid entering the tip and the fluid that exits the tip 110 t . fig7 a is a cross section of the catheter tip of fig6 b taken along line a - a . although four apertures 110 a are show , clearly other numbers of apertures may be employed . in other embodiments of the disclosure , kits are provided which contain any combination of two or more of the following items : ( a ) a catheter that is adapted for retrograde fluid flow at the tip ( see the various embodiments discuss above in conjunction with the figures ), ( b ) a plug - forming material ( e . g ., a reverse thermosensitive polymer composition ), ( c ) a pump ( e . g ., a syringe pump ), ( d ) plug removal fluid ( e . g ., water , saline , etc . ), ( e ) a guidewire , ( f ) a suitable packaging material and ( g ) printed material ( e . g ., a label ) comprising one or more of the following : ( i ) storage information and ( ii ) instructions regarding how to administer the fluid plug - forming material and / or the plug removal fluid . various aspects of the invention of the invention relating to the above are enumerated in the following paragraphs . aspect 1 . a medical device comprising an elongated body , a proximal end , a distal tip , and a lumen extending from the proximal end of the device to the distal tip of the device , wherein the proximal end of the device is adapted to engage a source of fluid , wherein the lumen is adapted to carry carrying the fluid from the proximal end of the device to the distal tip of the device , and wherein the distal tip of the device is adapted to cause fluid emerging from the distal tip of the device to flow in the direction of the proximal end of the device . aspect 2 . the medical device of aspect 1 , wherein the diameter of the catheter is dimensioned for insertion into a ureter . aspect 3 . the medical device of aspect 2 , wherein the catheter is between 1 and 4 . 5 fr in diameter . aspect 4 . the medical device of aspect 1 , wherein the distal tip has a shape memory in the form of a u - shape . aspect 5 . the medical device of aspect 1 , comprising a pull wire which is adapted to form a u - shaped distal tip for the catheter when pulled . aspect 6 . the medical device of aspect 5 , wherein the pull wire disposed within a second lumen that extends along a portion of the length of the elongate body . aspect 7 . the medical device of aspect 5 , wherein the distal tip comprises a spring coil . aspect 8 . the medical device of aspect 5 , wherein the pull wire is attached to the spring coil . aspect 9 . the medical device of aspect 1 , wherein the distal tip comprises a plurality of exit ports each of which expels fluid in a proximal direction . aspect 10 . the medical device of aspect 1 , further comprising a second lumen which is adapted for delivery of a fluid plug - forming composition . aspect 11 . the medical device of aspect 1 , wherein the proximal end of the device comprises a luer lock fluid entry port . aspect 12 . the medical device of aspect 1 , wherein the proximal end of the device comprises a handle . aspect 13 . a kit comprising ( a ) the medical device of aspect 1 and ( b ) a pump . aspect 14 . a kit comprising ( a ) the medical device of aspect 1 and ( b ) a guidewire . aspect 15 . a kit comprising ( a ) the medical device of aspect 1 and ( b ) a reverse thermosensitive polymer . aspect 16 . the kit of aspect 15 , wherein the reverse thermosensitive polymer is a block copolymer that comprises a polyoxyalkylene block . aspect 17 . the kit of aspect 15 , wherein the reverse thermosensitive polymer is a block copolymer that comprises polyoxyethylene , blocks , polyoxypropylene blocks , or both polyoxyethylene blocks and polyoxypropylene blocks . aspect 18 . a method comprising ( a ) positioning the medical device of aspect 1 within a body lumen that contains a polymeric plug , such that the distal tip of the device is positioned on a distal side of the polymeric plug , ( c ) forcing a plug removal fluid through the lumen and out the distal tip of the device such that fluid emerging from the distal tip of the device flows in the direction of the polymeric plug such that it dissolves the polymeric plug . aspect 19 . the method of aspect 18 , wherein the plug comprises a reverse thermosensitive polymer . aspect 20 . the method of aspect 18 , wherein the plug removal fluid is saline . aspect 21 . the method of aspect 18 , wherein the body lumen is a ureter . although various embodiments are specifically illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present disclosure are covered by the above teachings and are within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the disclosure . | 2 |
as already stated above , pwv measurement is a promising approach , which offers the opportunity to derive significant changes of arterial blood pressure at a heart - beat frequency without applying an external pressure . for that , the pulse arrival time is determined , which is defined as the time - delay between the r - peak of the qrs wave from the ecg and the arrival of the arterial pulse wave at the periphery . this comprises the sum of the pre - ejection period ( pep ) and the pulse transit time ( ptt ), both representing different underlying cardiovascular mechanisms : more precisely , the pep is a cardiac component covering the iso - volumic ventricular contraction stage while the ptt is a purely vascular component that can only be defined after the aortic valve opening . it was found that pep is a good marker for blood pressure changes induced by physical stress . however , pep is also sensitive to fluid shifts within the body induced by posture changes at constant blood pressure , which has to be taken into account for detecting accurately significant blood pressure changes . further , it has been found that the known pep effect causes a significant pat change that is not associated with a blood pressure change . the observed pat change for different postures is covered almost completely by the pep changes . in order to compensate this effect , according to an embodiment of invention , the posture of the patient is detected . in order to detect the posture of the patient , according to this preferred embodiment of the invention , an acceleration sensor 1 is attached to the patient 2 and connected to a monitoring device 3 , which is schematically depicted in fig1 . the connection of the acceleration sensor 1 with the monitoring device 3 is a wireless connection 6 . the patient &# 39 ; s 2 posture is inferred from the dc - components , i . e . averages , of the acceleration signals , which contain information of the acceleration sensor &# 39 ; s 1 orientation with respect to the earth gravity axis . since earth gravity creates a constant acceleration towards ground , its projection on the axis of the acceleration sensor 1 unveils the orientation of this axis and , hence , of the acceleration sensor 1 . thus , the patient 2 is considered to be standing when its trunk is upright , sitting when its trunk is slightly tilted backward , and lying when its trunk is roughly parallel to the ground . for a correct classification of the patient &# 39 ; s 2 posture it is preferred to calibrate the system with a known posture . further , for the actual blood pressure monitoring , according to the embodiment of the invention shown in fig1 , an ecg sensor 4 and a pulse wave sensor 5 for a plethysmographic measurement are provided in a conventional way for enabling a pwv measurement , the ecg sensor 4 and the pulse wave sensor 5 forming a pulse wave velocity unit 7 . the ecg sensor 4 and the optical sensor 5 are both connected with the monitoring device via the wireless connection 6 , too . further , a cuff 8 for a conventional cuff - based blood pressure measurement is provided . as shown in fig1 , a separate acceleration sensor 1 can be provided on the patient 2 in order to detect his posture . according to another embodiment , an ecg electrode with an integrated acceleration sensor can be used . further , it is also possible to use an ecg - electrode connector with an integrated acceleration sensor . moreover , according to still another preferred embodiment of the invention , an automated normalization of the pulse arrival time ( pat ) after detecting a posture change is applied : after a posture change has been detected , the continuously measured pulse arrival time is normalized for the new posture . this is done automatically , triggered by the detected posture change via the acceleration sensor signal , and a new reference pat is determined . an according flow diagram for this embodiment of the invention is shown in fig2 . according to the embodiment of the invention shown in fig2 exemplified for detection of an critical blood pressure increase , at the beginning of the monitoring , a threshold value for the pulse arrival time ( pat 0 ) is determined , e . g . on the basis of the detected pulse arrival time average over a predefined duration . further , when such a pulse arrival time value is observed which falls below the predefined threshold value , it is checked if a posture change of the patient was detected . if such a posture change was actually detected , it is waited until the blood pressure regulation process has equilibrated . then , a new threshold value is defined based on an average of monitoring the pulse arrival time for a predefined duration . then , it is further checked if the actual pulse arrival time observed under - runs the new threshold value . then , the process described above may continue . in case that , when checking for a posture change of the patient , it is detected that no posture change has occurred since the dc component of the accelerator signal has not changed , a cuff - based blood pressure measurement is triggered . if this cuff - based blood pressure measurement results in a critical blood pressure which exceeds a predefined threshold value , an alarm is generated . in case the cuff - based blood pressure value is not determined to be critical , it is continued with checking the actual pulse arrival time as described before . further , according to still another embodiment of the invention , before a monitoring period is started , a calibration procedure is performed for different postures of the patient providing the relation of pat vs . postures , e . g . at several different angles . a look up - table is created by this procedure , which can be used in the monitoring period to compensate for pat changes caused by posture changes . in addition , the blood pressure can be measured with a cuff to assess the blood pressure changes associated with the different postures , which allows a further refinement of the posture - related pat corrections . alternatively , pep can be measured directly in different postures using for example a stethoscope for heart sound analysis or impedance cardiography . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description , such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive ; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments . other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention , from a study of the drawings , the disclosure , and the appended claims . in the claims , the word “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps , and the indefinite article “ a ” or “ an ” does not exclude a plurality . the mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage . any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope . | 0 |
referring to fig1 a , a rotating drum 2 supporting two video recording heads 4 , 6 has a video tape 8 helically wrapped around its periphery . the heads 4 , 6 are mutually displaced by 180 ° along the drum periphery . the heads 4 , 6 record the odd and even fields , respectively , of an incoming video signal in successive tape tracks 10 illustrated in fig1 b during each 180 ° rotation of the drum 2 . thus , the tape must be wrapped around at least 180 ° of the drum periphery . in accordance with the invention , the tape 8 is helically &# 34 ; overwrapped &# 34 ; around the drum 2 , meaning that the tape is wrapped around more than 180 ° of the drum periphery . in the example of fig1 a , the tape is wrapped by over 36 ° beyond the usual 180 ° wrap for a total tape wrap slightly in excess of 216 °. ( this corresponds to the industry standard 8 mm video cassette recording specifications .) each track 10 is scanned by one of the heads 4 , 6 as the drum rotates by 180 °. during the next 36 ° of drum rotation , the same head scans an extended portion 12 of the track 10 . referring to the dashed line graph of fig2 a , the luminance signal y is typically recorded in a frequency band extending from about 2 megahertz to 7 megahertz . the chrominance signal is down converted and recorded in a &# 34 ; color - under &# 34 ; band lying between 0 . 5 and 1 . 3 megahertz . the fm audio signal is recorded in a frequency band lying between the luminance frequency band and the color - under chrominance frequency band . although the magnetic tape 8 of fig1 is perfectly capable of recording a luminance bandwidth extending from 0 . 5 to over 7 megahertz , the luminance band must be cut off below about 2 megahertz , as illustrated in fig2 a in dashed line , in order to make room for the fm audio signal and the color - under chrominance signal . a clear separation must be maintained between the luminance band , the chrominance band and the audio band , as illustrated in dashed line of fig2 a . thus , the bandwidth of the luminance signal is significantly reduced in order to accommodate the chrominance and audio signals . this significantly limits the resolution of the playback video image . this limitation is overcome in accordance with the invention by separating the baseband chrominance components ( r - y , b - y , or i , q ) from the luminance signal and recording each field of the luminance signal by itself on the tape 8 . each video field of one of the separated baseband chrominance components is stored while the corresponding luminance signal of the same field is being recorded in one of the tracks 10 . thereafter , the stored chrominance component ( i or q ) is time - compressed by the ratio 180 ° / 36 °, converted to fm ( see fig2 b ) and transmitted to one of record heads 4 , 6 as that one head scans one of the extended track portions 12 . during the next video field , the other chrominance component is recorded similarly . this may be through of as field sequential color recording in which alternate fields of i and q are sequentially recorded . in another embodiment of the invention , the color recording may be performed line sequentially . during play back , the sequentially skipped portions of the color signal may be &# 34 ; filled - in &# 34 ; to reconstruct an ntsc - type video signal by using a line - store or field - store memory , in the well - known manner . the audio signal may be either ( 1 ) recorded in the main track portion 10 on a 0 . 5mhz carrier as in fig2 a or ( 2 ) may be compressed and recorded in every other one of the extended track portions 12 ( alternate fields of the chrominance signal being recorded in the remaining ones of the extended track portions 12 ). the playback decompressed chrominance signal bandwidth ( dashed line ) is about 1 / 5 ( i . e . 36 °/ 180 °) of the compressed chrominance bandwidth ( fig2 b ). however , because the chrominance information is of comparatively small significance in determining overall playback video image resolution , this reduction in playback chrominance bandwidth is overridden in importance by the dramatic gain in luminance bandwidth illustrated in solid line in fig2 a . note that in fig2 a , with the elimination of both the color - under chrominance signal and the audio signal from the main track portion 10 , the luminance bandwidth is increased by about 1 . 0 megahertz , a dramatic improvement . the audio bandwidth may be reduced from that normally used in profession or industrial applications where voice grade audio bandwidth is sufficient . referring to fig3 a camera - recorder (&# 34 ; camcorder &# 34 ;) system embodying the invention includes a video camera 20 transmitting a color video signal to a color separation filter 22 having a luminance output ( y ) and a chrominance output ( c ). in one embodiment of the invention , the color separation filter 22 includes means for field sequentially transmitting alternate ones of the two baseband chrominance components i and q ( or , equivalently , r - y and b - y ) during alternate video fields at its chrominance output . ( in another embodiment , the filter 22 transmits the two baseband components i and q line sequentially at its chrominance output .) this feature advantageously reduces the required bandwidth for recording the chrominance signal . the luminance output is applied through a wide - band - pass filter 24 to a converter 26 . the frequency response of the wide band pass filter 24 corresponds to the solid line of fig2 a . the converter 26 converts the luminance signal to an fm luminance signal and transmits it to head switching and control circuits 28 for recording on the magnetic tape 8 by the heads 4 , 6 . the head switching control circuits 28 are of the type well - known in the art . the chrominance output of the color separation filter 22 is applied through a narrow - band - pass filter 30 to an analog - to - digital converter 32 . the frequency response of the narrow - band - pass filter 30 corresponds to the dashed line of fig2 b . the analog - to - digital converter 32 converts the chrominance signal into a digital signal and transmits it to a frame store memory 34 . the frame store memory 34 includes an odd memory 34a and an even memory 34b . each digital word of an odd or even video field transmitted by the analog - to - digital converter 32 is stored in the odd or the even memory 34a , 34b , respectively , in a unique location determined by the time of arrival of the digital word . this unique memory location is specified by a load address word transmitted to the frame store memory 34 by a load address word generator 36 . all data stored during one video field in the frame store memory 34 is unloaded during the next video field and transmitted to a digital - to - analog converter 38 . this data is unloaded from the frame store memory 34 in an order established by a succession of unload address words transmitted to the frame store memory by an unload address word generator 40 . preferably , data is loaded and unloaded in the frame store memory 34 in the same order . the digital - to - analog converter 38 converts the unloaded digital data to an analog chrominance signal , which is then converted to an fm chrominance signal by a converter 42 and transmitted to the head switching and control circuits 28 for recording on the tape 8 . the circuits 28 apply this chrominance signal ( of the previous video field ) to whichever of the two heads 4 , 6 is presently scanning an extended track portion 12 , while applying the luminance signal of the present video field to the other of the two heads 4 , 6 . as described previously in connection with fig1 the chrominance signal must be stored and compressed in order to fit within the relatively short extended track portion 12 . the chrominance signal is compressed as follows . referring to fig . 4 , the load addresses ( fig4 b ) generated by the load address generator 36 consecutively invoke the address locations of the odd or even memories 34a , 34b with the occurrence of the odd and even video fields , respectively , in synchronism with the v - sync signal of fig4 a . referring to fig4 c , each field of the chrominance signal is unloaded from the memory 34 at a rate approximately five times greater ( i . e ., 180 ° / 36 °) than that at which it was previously loaded . thus , during odd field 1 of fig4 a , the load address signal specifies a chronological progression of address locations in the odd memory 34a until it is filled with a complete set of chrominance data representing the odd field 1 of chrominance signal . at the conclusion of odd field 1 , the unload address signal of fig4 c specifies the same progression of address locations in the odd memory 34a for unloading , but at a faster rate , so that the odd memory 34a is unloaded in about 1 / 5 the time that it took to load it during field 1 . similarly , at the end of even field 1 , the even field memory 34b has been filled with data representing the even field chrominance signal in a progression of memory locations specified by the load address signal . thereafter , the unload address signal causes the even field chrominance signal to be fetched from the even field memory 34b at the faster rate . referring to fig4 d , each unloading operation takes place during rotation of a corresponding one of the heads 4 , 6 through the overwrap angle from 180 ° to 216 ° ( or from 0 ° to 36 °), facilitating the recording of the unloaded chrominance signal by that head in a corresponding one of the extended track portions 12 . during playback , the foregoing process is essentially repeated in reverse using the elements illustrated in fig3 . thus , a playback video signal is transmitted from the heads 4 , 6 to the head switching and control circuits 28 . the head circuits 28 maintain separation between the luminance and chrominance signals by simply transmitting the playback signal from each head to the luminance fm converter 26 only during head rotations from 0 ° to 180 ° ( or 180 ° to 360 °), and to the chrominance fm converter 42 only during head rotations from 180 ° to 216 ° ( or 0 ° to 36 °). the playback chrominance signal is then loaded into the frame store memory 34 in accordance with the addressing sequence of fig4 c and is then unloaded in accordance with the addressing sequence illustrated in fig4 b . note , however , that the chrominance signal unloaded from the frame store memory 34 is delayed by the one field with respect to the luminance signal . this timing difference is rectified by providing a delay 50 in the path of the playback luminance signal , which delays the luminance signal by one field during playback . the delay 50 may be a frame store memory or the like . the playback luminance and chrominance signal are then combined in the filter 22 and transmitted to an external tv monitor 52 , for example . while the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it is understood that variations and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the present invention will now be explained in reference to fig6 a and 7b . fig6 is a schematic illustration showing a sensor surface of a coordinate input apparatus by way of example according to the invention . for the sake of comparison , fig6 is the same with the prior art as shown in fig2 except the method of sensor coil connections . further for the sake of simplification , fig6 is shown only in connection with x - axis , but the things are the same with respect to y - axis . fig6 is different from fig2 in the point that the sensor coils 10 and 37 positioned at the opposite ends are not electrically connected to the other sensor coils except that these coils are connected to a ground end ( com ). according to the prior art as shown in fig2 the sensor coil 10 is connected to the sensor coils 20 and 31 and is connected to the terminal 0 of the sensor coil switch 110 . further according to fig2 the sensor coil 37 is connected to the sensor coils 15 and 26 and is connected to the terminal 5 of the sensor coil switch 110 . in fig6 the sensor coil 10 is not connected to any of the other sensor coils and is individually connected to the terminal 8 of the sensor coil switch 110 . further the sensor coil 37 is not connected to the any of the other sensor coils and is connected to the terminal 9 of the sensor coil switch 110 . the sensor coil switch has a function for selecting simultaneously one or a plurality of sensor coils from many sensor coils and scans the sensor coils on the sensor surface by progressively switching over the terminals thereof . further the sensor coil switch 110 is connected to the signal transmitting and receiving switch 120 which has two terminals connected to a signal producing section and a signal detecting section respectively . the signal producing section and the signal detecting section may be contained in the coordinate input apparatus or in an upper information processing apparatus . a term &# 34 ; individual connection &# 34 ; may be used hereafter in reference to the connecting condition that the sensor coils , just like the sensor coils 10 and 37 , are not connected to any other sensor coils except being connected to the ground end . in this invention , the meaning of &# 34 ; individually connected sensor coil &# 34 ; includes not only a pattern of connected sensor coils on the sensor surface but also such pattern that includes the sensor coils having no line to be commonly used at one time with any of the other sensor coils for transmission of delivered or received signals in the process of position detection . according to the embodiment shown in fig6 as the sensor coils positioned at the opposite ends are so constituted as not to be electrically connected to any other sensor coils , the received signals on the oppositely positioned sensor coils will give no adverse influence to any of the other sensor coils , if the received signals are subjected to an adverse influence . fig7 a and 7b are provided to show in more detail the sensor coils positioned at the opposite ends in fig6 in case a noise source such as an inverter exists ( fig7 a ) and a metal frame exists ( fig7 b ). among the sensor coils , only two sensor coils 10 and 37 are individually connected to the sensor coil switch . the other sensor coils are selectively connected with each other as usual . it is to be noted that fig6 is a schematic illustration makes it possible to optionally select the number and size of sensor coils and the sensor coils to be connected with each other ( except the sensor coils positioned at the opposite ends ) and to optionally overlap the sensor coils and so on . fig7 a shows a condition in which the sensor coil 10 picks up a noise from the inverter 140 positioned in the neighborhood of the sensor coil . the noise appears at the terminal 8 together with the signal from the sensor coil 10 , but will not appear in the signals on the other sensor coils . fig7 b shows a condition in which the sensor coil 10 is subjected to the influence of induced current produced at the metal frame m surrounding the sensor coil . this influence will weaken the signal from the sensor coil 10 when the signal is observed at the terminal 8 . however the received signals on the other sensor coils will not have the weakened phenomena which may otherwise be caused by the metal frame m , because the other sensor coils are not connected to the sensor coil 10 and therefore the received signals on the other sensor coils will not flow through the sensor coil 10 . as mentioned above , in the position detecting process of the invention , the positions of the stylus are exactly determined by using the signals of adjacent sensor coils having almost the peak received signals . therefore as to any of the sensor coils on the sensor surface , the received signals appearing thereon may be used as the data for the position detecting process . it is however generally admitted that the sensor coils positioned near the opposite ends of the arrangement are not required to have so high s / n rate for the received signals compared with the sensor coils positioned in the central part of the sensor surface . generally in the application software using such coordinate input apparatus , a drawing part required to have a high precision is placed in the central part of the sensor surface and a menu selection function and the like are arranged at the end parts . therefore it may be considered that one sensor coil positioned at a most end will not give a significant influence to the position detecting performance . according to the invention , if the sensor coil positioned at the most end has the received signals affected by the influence of the inverter or the metal frame positioned nearby , such influence will affect only a small number of sensor coils positioned near the end positioned sensor coil though the received signals of these sensor coils may be required to be used in the position detecting process . such influence will , however , not affect the sensor coils positioned in the central part . in view of the sensor coil pattern so structured in accordance with the present invention , the sensor coil switch 110 is required to have two additional terminals for the sensor coils positioned at the opposite ends respectively and the switching times are additionally increased . however the influence due to such addition of switching times is little and will not give a significant delay of position detecting speed . fig8 shows another embodiment of the sensor coil pattern of the coordinate input apparatus according to the present invention . the sensor coils 38 and 39 positioned at the opposite ends respectively are , similarly as the first embodiment shown in fig6 arranged in an individual connection where the two sensor coils are not connected to any of the other sensor coils except being connected to the ground end ( com ). with such arrangement , if the two opposite sensor coils have the received signals affected by the adverse influence , such influence will not affect the other sensor coils . the embodiment of fig8 is characterized in that except the two sensor coils 38 and 39 positioned at the opposite ends , the other sensor coils are connected with each other each in a same number of sensor coils . for example , the three sensor coils 10 , 20 and 30 are connected with each other and the other groups of connected sensor coils are composed of three sensor coils respectively . in the connecting method of sensor coils in fig8 it is to be noted that the numbers of connected sensor coils are made even in the respective groups and no significance is placed on which of the sensor coils is to be selected ( namely in the embodiment of fig8 the sensor coils of the relatively same positions are connected with each other in the groups i - iii , but this is in itself not an essential requirement of the invention ). which of the sensor coils is to be selected is another theme of the position detecting method and not the theme of the present invention . in contrast to the embodiment of fig8 according to the embodiment of fig6 except the sensor coils 10 and 37 positioned at the opposite ends , the sensor coils 20 and 31 and the sensor coil 15 and 26 are connected with each other each in the same number of two sensor coils , and the other sensor coils are connected with each other each in the same number of three sensor coils . in case such groups of different numbers of connected sensor coils are mixedly arranged , problems may happen . as explained in reference to fig4 b , a magnetic flux produced by a whirlpool current induced to the metal frame m will weaken the magnetic flux which is produced by the sensor coils ( the magnetic flux to be given to the stylus ). the degree of the magnetic flux thus weakened is larger in case the sensor coils connected with each other are essentially of plural windings than the degree in case the sensor coils are of the individual connection ( a single winding ). such adverse influence is larger as the number of sensor coil winding increases . in view of the fact that the influence of the whirlpool current induced to the metal frame m is different in dependence upon the number of connected sensor coils , the difference in the winding number of sensor coils will cause difference in the levels of signals to be obtained . further the whirlpool current produced at the metal frame m is varied in dependence upon the location of the frame . one of the causes is that the conductivity of the metal frame m is not constant . this is caused due to a varied plating and the like of the metal frame m ( surface condition , thickness ). another cause is that the relative position between the metal frame m and the sensor coils is varied due to the errors in arrangement of the sensor coils . the variation in the conductivity of metal frame m will further vary the variation of signal levels obtained from the connected sensor coils . therefore it is desirable that the numbers of connections are made equal in order to reduce to minimum the variations of signal levels between the connected sensor coils . in this way the influence is reduced to be caused by the variation in conductivity of the metal frame m and the position detecting precision of the connected sensor coils is stabilized in the central part of the sensor surface . so far explanation has been made as to the sensor coils positioned at the opposite ends and used in the individual connection . however another embodiment may be considered where the second sensor coil counted from the end is used in the individual connection in addition to the first one . in this case , four of all the sensor coils arranged in one axis direction are individually connected to the sensor coil switch . the second sensor coil will have not so much influence received from the inverter or metal frame nearby as the first sensor coil will have . even if such small influence is not allowed to affect the sensor coils positioned in the central part , such structure is desirable to prevent such influence from affecting the central sensor coils . referring to fig9 sensor coils 38 and 10 are individually connected to the sensor coil switch 110 . similarly , sensor coils 37 and 39 are individually connected to the sensor coil switch . further another embodiment may be considered where one or a plurality of sensor coils counted from only one end of the arrangement is / are used in the individual connection . such structure is appropriate in case the inverter is positioned near one of the sensor surface . thus the present invention may be applied to at least one sensor coil counted from one end of the sensor surface and the number of sensor coils may be optionally selected . therefore the number of sensor coil to be used in the individual connection may be determined in dependence upon the allowance limit of the influence of the inverter or metal frame nearby . however if the number of sensor coil used in the individual connection is excessively increased , the sensor coil switch will have the terminals switched over so many times . it is therefore significant to appropriately determine the number of sensor coils to be used in the individual connection so that the essential merit of the sensor coil pattern will not be decreased . as is apparent from the above description , the sensor coil pattern of coordinate input apparatus according to the invention is so structured as to have at least one or a plurality of sensor coils counted from one end of the arrangement being individually connected to the sensor coil switch . therefore if the sensor coil at one end has a received signal adversely influenced , such influence will not affect the other sensor coils . it is therefore apparent that if the coordinate input apparatus of the present invention is placed in the neighborhood of a noise source or is surrounded with a metal frame , the apparatus is capable of maintaining a desired s / n rate on an almost entire part of the sensor surface thereby to carry out an exact position detecting operation . although the present invention has been described in its preferred form , it is understood that the present disclosure of the preferred form has been changed in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed . | 6 |
please refer to fig1 a and 1b , which are the decomposition drawings showing a first embodiment of the present invention . the present invention is constituted by a male distraction element 1 and a female distraction element 2 . the male distraction element 1 has a first clamping portion 11 and a first connecting portion 12 , wherein the first clamping portion 11 , connected at one end of the male distraction element 1 , is constituted by two clamping arms 111 paired in a horizontal direction so as to form a space therebetween , and the first connecting portion 12 , connected at the other end of the male distraction element 1 , has an axle center extended therefrom and a first wedging element 123 and a second wedging element 124 mounted on the axle center , in which the first wedging element 123 is a flexible bulge and the second wedging element 124 is a pillar with a hook - like structure at the front end thereof . the female distraction element 2 has a second clamping portion 21 and a second connecting portion 22 , wherein the second clamping portion 21 , connected at one end of the female distraction element 2 , is constituted by two clamping arms 211 paired in a horizontal direction so as to form a space therebetween , and the second connecting portion 22 , connected at the other end of the female distraction element 2 , has an axle space formed by a surrounding wall for being sleeved on the first connection portion 12 and has a limiting notch 221 mounted on the wall . the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction element 2 are connected together through assembling the first connecting portion 12 and the second connecting portion 22 . when assembling , the axle center is sleeved by the axle space , and as sleeving , the first wedging element 123 on the axle center will inwardly shrink at first and then recover back in the limiting notch 221 of the female distraction element 2 if the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 21 have an included angle of 180 °, so as to restrict the opposite rotation of the male and the female distraction elements 1 and 2 through limiting the lateral movement of first wedging element 123 by the limiting notch 221 . besides , the hook - like structure at the front end of the second wedging element 124 of the male distraction element 1 will lock at the top edge of the wall , which forms the axle space of the female distraction element 2 , so as to restrict the vertical movement of the male and the female distraction elements 1 and 2 . please further refer to fig1 c , which shows the three - dimensional assembling drawing of the first embodiment . when the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 21 respectively of the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction element 2 have an included angle of 180 °, the first wedging element 123 is fixed in the limiting notch 221 and the second wedging element 124 is hooked at the top edge of the wall surrounding the axle space of the female distraction element 2 , so as to fix the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction element 2 together . please refer to fig2 a and 2b , which are respectively a decomposition drawing and a three - dimensional assembling drawing showing a second embodiment according to the present invention . in this embodiment , the first clamping portion 11 and the first connecting portion 12 of the male distraction element 11 are formed to be a u shaped structure , wherein the first connecting portion 12 is formed by two connecting arms 122 , aligned in a vertical direction , which respectively have a bulge , inwardly extended , at the opposite surfaces thereof , and at the left and right sides and the top side of the bulges , a fixing plane 121 is respectively mounted thereon , and the front and the rear ends of bulges remain the arc shape . the second connecting portion 22 of the female distraction element 2 has an axle hole 222 in the horizontal direction and the upper and lower ends of the second connecting portion 22 are respectively chiseled to have an indentation trough for combining with the bulges of the first connecting portion 12 , so that the first connecting portion 12 will be operated as a damper to clamp on the second connecting portion 22 . moreover , a latch element 3 will pass through the axle hole 222 in a horizontal state , wherein the latch element 3 can be a pillar with two planes respectively at the top and the bottom , as in the horizontal state , of the middle section thereof , and the two planes can exactly match to the fixing plane 121 at the top of the first connecting portion 12 , so that after the latch element 3 is plugged into the first connecting portion 12 and the second connecting portion 22 , it can reject against the fixing planes 121 so as to fixedly connect the first connecting portion 12 with the second connecting portion 22 . in addition , the latch element 3 further has grooves at two sides and a through hole which are used for moving and drawing out the latch element 3 . please refer to fig3 which shows the decomposition drawing of a third embodiment according to the present invention . in this embodiment , the first clamping portion 11 of the male distraction element 1 is separated into two levels which are connected together by the first connecting portion 12 to form a “ u ” shape . the first connecting portion 12 is a pillar connected between the first clamping portion 11 , and the front and rear ends of the first connecting portion 12 have fixing planes 121 and other ports remain arc . furthermore , the second connecting portion 22 of the female distraction element 2 is an inward trough whose opening is just for passing through the width between two fixing planes 121 on the first connecting portion 12 . when the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 12 respectively of the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction portion 2 have an included angle of 180 °, the arc edge of the first connecting portion 12 will be limited in the inward trough of the second connecting portion 22 so as to complete the assembling of the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction portion 2 . please refer to fig4 a to 4c , which are schematic views showing the practical application situations according to the present invention . after the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction portion 2 are connected , the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 21 will respectively reject on the interspinous processes 4 of two crooked vertebras , and then , the trough structures of the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 21 can accommodate the interspinous processes 4 for positioning . moreover , the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 21 respectively of the male distraction element 1 and the female distraction portion 2 can be rotated to open until the included angle becomes 180 °, so as to fix the interspinous processes 4 in alignment , and further , as the first clamping portion 11 and the second clamping portion 12 are rotated to have the included angle of 180 °, they can be wedged and blocked , so that the interspinous processes 4 can be lastingly fixed at the normal position . 2 . there is no need to implement the bone nail which obviously may destroy the bone . 3 . the distraction device according to the present invention only needs to implement from one side of the spine which can reduce the cut and also the surgery difficulty . it is to be understood , however , that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed . | 0 |
fig1 shows in a time diagram the input waveform of a clock signal c ′ or data signal d ′ and the approximately exponential output waveform of the clock or data signal c , d , which results from the load capacitance to be driven . first and second switching thresholds s 1 , s 2 , respectively define logic state thresholds for the signals c , d . logic 0 is below the threshold s 1 and logic 1 is above the threshold s 2 . the positions of the thresholds s 1 , s 2 and the associated switching instants ts 1 , ts 2 , ts 2 *, ts 1 * are important for the signal processing and for noise immunity . fig1 illustrates that with increasing clock rates and processing speeds , the duration of the level transitions is no longer negligible compared to the period t . at the instant t 1 , the positive - going edge begins to rise rather steeply . the first threshold s 1 is exceeded at the instant t 11 , after which the rate of rise decreases rapidly . the second threshold s 2 is exceeded at the instant ts 2 . the associated signal levels are s 1 and s 2 . finally , the signal c , d , rising at an increasingly slower rate , approaches the maximum value max . the negative - going edge begins at the instant t 2 . the thresholds s 2 and s 1 are passed at the instants ts 2 * and t 1 *, respectively ; the associated signal values are s 2 * and s 1 *, respectively . at the instant t 3 , the next positive - going edge begins . the steep edges at the instants ts 1 , ts 2 * produce high charging and discharge currents , respectively , because of the connected load capacitance ( not shown ). if these currents flow through lines , they cause radiated emissions . such interfering lines may for instance be supply lines , short connections to other circuits , or even connections to blocking devices . in addition , the asymmetry within the switching edge causes interfering frequencies already at twice the clock or data rate . thus , the interference to analog subcircuits is frequently close to the useful signal and can only be eliminated with a large amount of filter circuitry . fig2 shows a time diagram of a clock signal c and a data signal d whose edges have been given a shape different from the exponential shape of fig1 using a function generator in accordance with the invention . the edges correspond to an approximately sinusoidal characteristic . in the case of the clock signal c , a clock period t is divided into ten steps of the same length . the division is accomplished via undelayed and delayed clock signals c 0 and c 1 to c 9 , respectively , with whose time spacing the characteristic of the rising and falling edges is changed . the desired edge characteristic is formed approximately by superposition of different charging or discharge curves . the change of the charging or discharging process is controlled by the undelayed and delayed clock signals c 0 and cl to c 9 , respectively , and by a first or second blocking signal sp 0 , sp 1 , which end the preceding charging or discharging process . in fig2 the first blocking signal sp 0 terminates the preceding discharging process because the negative - going edge begins at the instant t 0 . the preceding discharging process between instants t 0 to t 4 is terminated by the second blocking signal sp 1 at instant t 5 because the positive - going edge of the clock signal begins at this instant . the positive - going edge is ended by the first blocking signal sp 0 at instants t 10 and to . the finer the step width , the better the approximation to the desired signal waveform will be . fig2 also shows by way of example , the sinusoidal edge characteristic in the case of data signals d , which then remain in the logic 1 or 0 state for some time . the negative - going data edge of the example of fig2 lies in the time interval t 0 to t 5 , after which the data level remains stable until the instant t 10 , at which the positive - going edge begins , which ends at the instant t 15 . the data rate in this example is equal to the clock rate . if the data rate is less than or equal to the clock rate , either the data edges can be made less steep than the clock edges or the dwell time in the upper or lower logic state becomes correspondingly greater for an unchanged edge characteristic . the time diagram of fig2 shows the desired signal waveform on the assumption that the ideal signal values are reached at least at the values marked with small circles , and that the waveform between these values is as uniform as possible . in the case of a sinusoidal edge characteristic , this can be achieved by temporal superposition of discharging or charging curves . in the case of cmos circuits , the capacitive load is charged by p - channel transistors and discharged by n - channel transistors that are activated by the delayed and undelayed clock signals c 0 and c 1 to c 9 , respectively . for a clock signal with sinusoidal edges whose duration is equal to half a clock period , the table of fig3 provides the associated transistor sizes , i . e ., the active transistor areas . it is also assumed that the clock period t is divided into thirty time intervals that are defined by the equidistant instants t 0 to t 29 . via a circuit simulation program , for example , the sizes of the switching transistors , which are active at the individual instants t 0 to t 29 , can be determined empirically in a simple manner . since the transistor and circuit models in the simulation programs are very accurate , the results can be readily transferred to the layout . the table of fig3 shows the result of such a simulation . the size of the necessary switching transistors is given in the time interval from t 0 to t 15 for the falling edge and in the time interval t 15 to t 30 (= t 0 ) for the rising edge in standard values “ n ” and “ p ”, which define the size of the associated n - and p - channel transistors for achieving a sinusoidal edge characteristic . for certain time intervals , the sizes remain constant . this is also apparent from the edge characteristic of fig1 . at the beginning of the charging or discharge process , very small switching transistors are required since the initial voltage difference between the clock signal and capacitor voltage is large . when the charging or discharge process is nearly complete , the voltage difference is small and the steepening of the edge requires large switching transistors in this range . a very effective criterion during the simulation is the respective signal spectrum determined by computation , which can cover changes of the weighting in the fine range . coarse changes are obtained from a simple comparison between the desired and actual voltages . in fig3 the initial sizes of the n - and p - channel transistors are shown at the instants to and t 15 , with “ n ” and “ p ” standing as a standard or reference value for n - and p - channel standard transistors with equal current yields . at instant t 1 , six of these standard transistors n are turned on . another nine standard transistors n are turned on at instant t 2 , and another twelve at instant t 3 . at instants t 4 to t 7 , no further transistors are turned on ; this is indicated by “ on ”. at instant t 8 , the number of n - channel transistors turned on increases by ten standard transistors n , at instant t 9 by another twelve , at instant t 10 by fourteen , and at instant t 11 by sixteen standard transistors n . this value remains constant for instants t 12 to t 14 . at instant t 15 , the end of the falling edge is reached and the rising edge begins . the end of the falling edge is forced by turning off all n - channel transistors that were activated between instants t 0 and t 15 . the turning off is effected by the blocking signal sp 1 . the positive - going edge between instants t 15 and t 30 is forced by turning on the p - channel transistors given in table 3 at the respective instants . the table relates to the standard transistors p . the positive - going edge is ended at instants t 30 and to by the first blocking signal sp 0 , which blocks all previously activated p - channel transistors . the simulation of the transistor sizes of fig3 assumes an arbitrary load capacitance , which , as a reference capacitance for the simulation must not be changed , however . if the load capacitance is twice as large the standard transistors n , p must also be doubled ; otherwise the approximation will not function . for a predetermined load capacitance the standard transistors n and p may , of course , be chosen to be greater or smaller if the preceding factor is adapted correspondingly , so that the product ( e . g ., 12 × n ) of the multiplication factor and the reference value of the standard transistor n at the respective instant ti remains constant . thus , an adaptation to different load capacitances for fixed standard sizes n , p can also be achieved via the respective multiplication factors , which then serve as weighting factors . in any case , direct proportionality exists between the respective weighting factor and the respective value of the capacitive load . if the capacitive loads differ by a fixed factor g , the associated weighting factors will differ by the same factor g . the proportional control of all weighting factors by a single common factor g corresponds to a multiplication of the weighting factors determined by the waveform by the factor g . this multiplication is achieved in conventional binary systems by a shift function or by a different grouping , see the embodiment of fig5 . the weighting in the table of fig3 is still somewhat coarse and corresponds to the desired current edges to a first degree of approximation . the table values can be improved by the above - mentioned simulation method . during the approximation and simulation , an effort should be made to keep the number of necessary switching instants as small as possible , because otherwise the circuit complexity will increase . a solution is shown in the table of fig6 . fig4 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of the function generator . a delay device v generates undelayed and delayed clock signal c 0 and ci , respectively , and blocking signals spi from an applied clock signal c ′. these signals drive a control logic al which provides control signals for p - and n - channel switching transistors of a switching stage s . the output currents of the individual switching transistors are summed by an output node k and serve as a charging current + i or discharge current − i for an internal or external load capacitance cl . the clock signal c ′ either is locked to a system clock or comes from a clock generator cg . the clock period t is divided in the delay device v into preferably equidistant time intervals , each of which is assigned one of the delayed clock signals ci . to couple the delays exactly to the clock period t , the delays of the individual elements in the delay device v are locked to the clock period t and the reference phase of the clock signal c ′ by means of a delay control loop vl . if the function generator is to modify the waveform of data signals d , the control logic al will receive ( in addition to the undelayed and delayed clock signals c 0 to ci and the blocking signals spi ) the data signal d ′ from a data source d . since the data signal d ′ is locked to the clock signal c ′, the switching edge is still controlled by the clock signal c ′, with the data signal d ′ only causing the selection of a positive - or negative - going edge or retaining the existing logic state of the output signal d . the switching stage s contains a p - type switching stage sp in which the p - channel switching transistors are connected in parallel between the positive supply terminal + u and the output node k . each of the switching transistors is controlled by the control logic al via a separate control line . in a similar manner , the switching stage s contains an n - type switching stage sn in which n - channel switching transistors are connected in parallel between the output node k and ground . each of the n - channel switching transistors is connected via a separate control line to the associated control section of the control logic al . in the p - type switching stage sp and the n - type switching stage sn , there is one group of transistors for each switching instant ti if the size of the resulting switching transistor has to be changed at that instant . for the tabular example of fig3 these are , in the case of the negative - going sinusoidal switching edge , eight transistor groups that are turned on successively at instants t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 3 , t 8 , t 9 , t 10 , and t 11 . an adaptation of the current yield of the switching transistors in the switching stage s to the load capacitance cl is made possible in the embodiment of fig4 by a weighting control loop gr . the weighting control loop gr is based on the assumption , for example , hat the capacitive load cl has a minimum value of 10 pf . this is referred to as a “ base oad ”. the circuit simulation discussed above provides the sizes of the switching transistors at he respective instants ti (“ base load transistors ”). if a capacitive load range extending from 10 f to 100 pf is to be covered automatically by means of the weighting control loop gr , the size of the respective switching transistors must be adapted correspondingly . it fully suffices to perform the adaptation in steps rather than continuously . if fifteen adaptation steps are available for the range of 10 pf to 100 pf , the load capacitance can be adapted in 6 - pf steps . this resolution is fully sufficient . the fifteen steps can be achieved , for example , by combining four weighting steps if the latter correspond to powers of two . the smallest weighting unit corresponds to a load capacitance of 6 pf , the second weighting step to a load capacitance of 12 pf , the third weighting step to a load capacitance of 24 pf , and the fourth weighting step to a load capacitance of 48 pf . the weighting control loop gr includes a voltage comparator du which compares the voltage sk of the output node k with a reference value r 1 , r 2 at a given instant of the edge . the reference value may be the medium step of the output signal c , d . the voltage comparison may also take place at other instants , which are defined by a first or a second comparison clock cr 1 , cr 2 , which cause corresponding reference signals r 1 , r 2 to be transferred from a reference voltage generator q . the reference voltage generator q may be implemented with the taps of a voltage divider , for example . whether the voltage comparison takes place on the rising or falling edge is controlled by the comparison clocks cr 1 , cr 2 . the output of the voltage comparator du is an error signal fu , which is fed to a weighting controller rg . in the simplest case , this is a 4 - bit counter that is increased or decreased by one count on each pulse of the error signal fu . the 4 - bit output signal of the weighting controller is the weighting value gi , which sets the fifteen adaptation steps in the switching stage s . the delay control loop vl compares the undelayed clock signal c 0 with the clock signal ct delayed by one clock period in the delay device v ( e . g ., a delay chain ), and forms a phase error signal fp from a phase detector dp . this phase error signal fp is fed to a phase controller rp , e . g ., a pid ( proportional , integral , derivative ) controller and filtered to form a control signal vp , with which the delays of the delay chain are adapted . in fig5 the control logic al and the switching stage s are shown in more detail for a given instant . the switching instant corresponds to t 18 of fig3 . except for the weighting controller rg ( e . g ., a 4 - bit up / down counter z ), such a stage is present for each switching instant at which the size of the switching transistors changes . the delayed clock signal c 18 feeds one input of a flip - flop f , whose reset input r receives the first blocking signal sp 1 . the q output of the flip - flop f is connected to one input of each of four nand gates u 0 , u 1 , u 2 , u 3 . the other inputs of the four gates are connected to respective binary outputs of the 4 - bit counter z . the gate u 3 is dependent on the msb of the 4 - bit counter . the gates u 2 , u 1 , and finally u 0 , which is dependent on the lsb , follow in significance . according to the bit value , the four gates u 3 , u 2 , u 1 , u 0 drive the associated switching transistors p 3 , p 2 , p 1 , p 0 . independently of the weighting , the flip - flop f drives the base load transistor pg . all p - channel switching transistors are connected in parallel between the positive supply terminal + u and the output node k , so that the currents are summed in this node to form the charging current + i . the delayed clock signal c 18 sets the flip - flop f , so that the q output is at logic 1 . if the corresponding bit signal from the 4 - bit counter is also a logic 1 , the associated nand gate will turn the connected p - channel switching transistor on . the q output of the flip - flop f remains in the logic 1 state until the blocking signal sp 1 appears at the reset input r and resets the q output to the logic 0 state , whereby all nand gates u 0 to u 3 are inhibited and the associated switching transistors p 0 to p 3 are turned off . the base load transistor pg is turned off via an inverter in , whose input is also connected to the flip - flop output q . fig6 shows in tabular form an example of the time - and load - dependent weighting of p - and n - channel switching transistors for a sinusoidal edge characteristic , with the clock period t being divided into twenty increments of the same length . at a predetermined channel length l of 0 . 7 micrometers for the p - and n - channel switching transistors , the individual weighting values are set via the channel widths w . these channel widths w are given in the table of fig6 in rows pg and ng for a base load of 10 pf . changes with respect to the switching transistors occur only at ten of the twenty clock instants . the corresponding instants ti are given in the two rows ti . for the p - channel switching transistors , these are the instants t 0 , t 1 , t 2 , t 4 , and t 7 ; for the n - channel switching transistors , the instants are t 10 , t 11 , t 12 , t 14 , and t 17 . for an adaptation of the switching transistors to an arbitrary capacitive load between 10 pf and 100 pf , there are four weighted transistors for each clock instant ti , whose weighting factors are the powers of two 2 0 , 2 1 , 2 2 , and 2 3 , thus permitting a capacitive load step size of 6 pf . the table of fig6 shows the associated channel widths , which follow from the predetermined weighting factors g 0 to g 3 . although the present invention has been shown and described with respect to several preferred embodiments thereof , various changes , omissions and additions to the form and detail thereof , may be made therein , without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
fig2 a and 2b illustrate perspective views of a power supply module generally designated 200 as an exemplary embodiment of the invention , fig2 a as a top view , fig2 b as a bottom view . for explanatory reasons , module 200 is shown with a transparent encapsulation 290 . preferred actual encapsulation uses a black - colored epoxy formulation suitable for a transfer molding technology . the exemplary module of fig2 a and 2b has a thickness 291 in the range from 0 . 7 to 0 . 8 mm and a rectangular footprint with a module length 292 of 4 . 8 mm and a width 293 of 3 . 0 mm . other pads may be square - shaped . visible through the transparent encapsulation is a metal leadframe generally suitable for quad flat no - lead ( qfn ) and small outline no - lead ( son ) type modules . the leadframe includes a rectangular pad 201 and a plurality of leads 202 and 203 . the pad surface visible in fig2 b is the first surface 201 a , the pad surface visible in fig2 a is the second surface 201 b . the leadframe is preferably made of copper or a copper alloy ; alternative metal selections include aluminum , iron - nickel alloys , and kovar ™. both surfaces of the leadframe may be prepared to facilitate epoxy adhesive attachment , for instance by a roughened surface ; when other embodiments may use a solder as attachment , the leadframe surface preparation may include a layer of tin , or a sequence of plated layers of nickel , palladium , and gold . in addition , at least one surface may have a metal layer deposited to enhance thermal conductivity , for instance by a plated layer of silver . preferred thickness of the starting metal for the exemplary embodiment shown in fig2 a and 2b is in the range from 0 . 2 mm to 0 . 4 mm ; other embodiments may use thicker or thinner leadframe metal . from the standpoint of low cost and batch processing , it is preferred to start with sheet metal and fabricate the leadframe as a strip by stamping or etching , and to singulate the leadframe for the module by trimming the strip after the encapsulation process . electrically , pad 201 is tied to the switch node terminal v sw of the power supply system . as illustrated in fig2 b , first pad surface 201 a has a portion 201 c offset by a step 270 relative to portion 201 d . furthermore , portion 201 c has an outline ( length 271 and width 272 ) suitable for attaching semiconductor chips . the process of offsetting the pad is preferably accomplished by coining during the fabrication process of the leadframe . alternatively , an etching process may be used ; as an example , a chemical etching process may be performed so that only those surfaces ( for instance copper or aluminum ) are attacked which are not protected by an oxidized metal or a very thin gold layer . in the example of fig2 b , the chips of two semiconductor field effect transistors ( fets ) are attached to the recessed portion 201 c of the leadframe pad . the first chip 210 is a drain - down fet , which represents the sync fet ( low side fet ) of a synchronous buck converter . the second chip 220 is a source - down fet , which represents the control fet ( high side fet ) of a synchronous buck converter . fig2 b shows the sync fet ( low side fet ) chip 210 with a drain terminal of the fet chip attached to the recessed portion 201 c of the first pad surface 201 a . herein , sync chip 210 is referred to as first fet chip . for the embodiment shown in fig2 b , first chip 210 has a size of about 3 . 5 × 2 . 84 mm , and a thickness of about 0 . 1 mm . for other embodiments , the chip size and the chip thickness may have significantly greater or smaller values . the attachment is preferably achieved by a layer 211 of conductive adhesive ( epoxy ), which can be polymerized ( cured ); an alternative is a z - axis conductive polymer . the preferred thickness of the adhesive layer is at least 25 μm . the conductive adhesive provides high thermal conductivity for spreading heat , since it is filled with metallic ( preferably silver ) particles . preferably , the conductive adhesive is the same for all attachment processes of device 200 so that the polymerization process can be performed by a single process simultaneously for all attachments . after attachment , the source terminal 210 a and the gate terminal 210 b are co - planar with the surface 201 a of the un - recessed portion of the first pad surface . the source terminal 210 a is available , after flipping the finished device , to be attached ( by solder or conductive adhesive ) to the grounded output terminal v out ( p gnd ) on the circuit board . this attachment action also ties the sync fet gate terminal 210 b to the respective terminal on the board . adjacent to first fet chip 210 , fig2 b shows the control fet ( high side fet ) chip 220 with a source terminal of the fet chip attached to the recessed portion 201 c of the first pad surface 201 a . herein , control fet chip 220 is referred to as second fet chip . for the embodiment shown in fig2 b , second chip 220 has a size of about 2 . 5 × 1 . 8 mm , and a thickness of 0 . 1 mm . for other embodiments , the chip size and the chip thickness may have significantly greater or smaller values . the attachment is preferably achieved by a layer 221 of conductive adhesive ( epoxy ), which can be polymerized ( cured ); an alternative is a z - axis conductive polymer . the preferred thickness of the adhesive layer is at least 25 μm . the conductive adhesive provides high thermal conductivity for spreading heat , since it is filled with metallic ( preferably silver ) particles . after attachment , the drain terminal 220 a and the gate terminal 220 b are co - planar with the surface 201 a of the un - recessed portion of the first pad surface . the drain terminal 220 a is available , after flipping the finished device , to be attached ( by solder or conductive adhesive ) to the input terminal v in on the circuit board . this attachment action also ties the control fet gate terminal 210 b to the respective terminal on the board . as illustrated in fig2 a , attached to the second surface 201 b of the leadframe pad 201 is integrated circuit ( ic ) chip 230 , providing driver and controller functions for the power supply system . chip 230 is attached to the second surface 201 b of pad 201 preferably by a layer 231 of conductive adhesive ( epoxy ) of about 25 μm thickness , which can be polymerized ( cured ); an alternative is a z - axis conductive polymer . the conductive adhesive provides high thermal conductivity for spreading heat from chip 230 to pad 201 , since it is filled with metallic ( preferably solver ) particles . chip 230 may be rectangular and 0 . 2 mm thick , or it may be square shaped . other embodiments may have chips , which are smaller or greater , and thicker or thinner . as illustrated in fig2 a , the terminals of chip 230 are wire bonded to respective leads 203 . the preferred diameter of bonding wires 233 is about 25 μm , but may be smaller or greater . while this bonding configuration implies so - called downhill bonding operation , which requires care during the molding operation in order to for avoid wire sweep and the correlated touching of a wire and chip 230 , the bonding in fig2 a has actually only low risk due to elongated wires and small height difference . fig3 illustrates the technical advantages of the invention for applications where the thinness of the converter is at a premium , or where the cooling of the converter has to be maximized for reaching high frequencies of operation . in this embodiment , the driver - and - controller chip is assembled on top of the leadframe as in fig2 a , and the height of the package is in the range between 0 . 7 mm and 0 . 8 mm . both the low side fet 210 and the high side fet 220 are attached to the surface 201 a of the recessed portion of the leadframe pad . the fet terminals 210 a and 220 a opposite the pad are co - planar with the surface 201 a of the un - recessed portion of the pad surface . terminals 210 a and 220 a are exposed so that they can be readily attached to pads 310 and 320 , respectively , of a circuit board ( pc board ) 300 . concurrently , the un - recessed portions of the pad and the leads are attached to pads 301 of board 300 . the attachment can be performed by conductive polymers and by solder . as fig3 indicates , at least several of these board pads are extended as heat spreaders , or connected to heat sinks in the pc board . the direct attachment of the fet terminals to the circuit ( pc ) board and the effective cooling of heat spreaders and heat sinks in the pc board allows good cooling and thus low junction temperature of the fets , and high efficiency and high frequency operation ( 1 mhz and above ) of the converter . assembling a synchronous buck converter according to fig2 a and 2b reduces parasitic inductances prevalent in conventional assembly . fig4 specifies the improvements relative to the conventional assembly shown in fig1 . the electrical improvements originate from omitting both clips needed in the vertical stacking of the conventional assembly . by eliminating the high side clip ( designated 160 in fig1 a ), the drain terminal 220 a of the high side fet 220 is directly mounted onto the v in terminal 320 of the board . the high side clip resistance is eliminated and the high side source resistance is almost negligible . thus , a parasitic resistance of about 0 . 5 mω and a parasitic inductance of about 0 . 6 nh from the omitted clip are avoided ; the parasitic resistance and inductance the input terminal v in have practically vanished . by eliminating the low side clip ( designated 140 in fig1 a ), the source terminal 210 a of the low side fet 210 is directly mounted onto the grounded v out terminal 310 of the board . the low side clip resistance is eliminated and the low side source resistance is almost negligible . thus , a parasitic resistance of about 0 . 5 mω and a parasitic inductance of about 0 . 6 nh from the omitted clip are avoided ; the parasitic resistance and inductance the output terminal v out have practically vanished . concurrently , the un - recessed portion 201 a of the pad is attached to pad 301 of board 300 . thereby , the pad of the leadframe is tied to the switch node terminal v sw , designated 301 in fig4 . resistance and inductance of the connection are small , about 0 . 2 mω and 0 . 45 nhy respectively . for the attachment , preferably the same attachment material ( conductive adhesive or solder ) is used , which is employed for the attachment of the terminals . in the same fashion , leads 203 are attached to board pads 303 by low resistance connections . another embodiment of the invention is a method for fabricating a power supply dc - dc converter system with both semiconductor chips assembled so that terminals of both chips are directly attachable to a circuit board . compared to prior art , the chips are embedded in an outside recess of a leadframe pad , which also serves as the switch node terminal ; in this fashion , the conventional two clips are eliminated , and the number of process steps are reduced so that the method is low - cost compared to prior art and produces devices of small height and small area . fig5 to 7 depict certain steps of the assembly process flow . the process flow starts in fig5 by providing a leadframe , which is generally suitable for quad flat no - lead ( qfn ) and small outline no - lead ( son ) devices . the view of fig5 depicts the first surface 201 a of the leadframe ; the second surface 201 b is depicted in fig6 . the exemplary leadframe of fig5 has a rectangular pad 201 ; for other devices , the leadframe may have a square - shaped pad . pad 201 will be tied to the switch terminal v sw . the leadframe is preferably made of copper or a copper alloy ; alternative metal selections include aluminum , iron - nickel alloys , and kovar ™. both surfaces of the leadframe may be prepared to facilitate solder attachment , for instance by a sequence of plated layers of nickel , palladium , and gold . the starting thickness of the leadframe metal is in the range from 0 . 2 mm to 0 . 4 mm . it is preferred to start with sheet metal and fabricate the leadframe as a strip by stamping or etching , and to singulate the leadframe for the module by trimming the strip after the encapsulation process . the top view of fig4 illustrates second surface 201 b ; the first surface 201 a is intended to remain exposed outside the device package . first pad surface 201 a has a portion 201 c offset by a step 270 relative to portion 201 d . if the area of portion 201 d is used as a reference plane , the area of portion 201 c appears recessed relative to area of portion 201 d . furthermore , portion 201 c has an outline ( length 271 and width 272 ) suitable for attaching at least two semiconductor chips . the offset of the pad is preferably accomplished by a coining technique during the fabrication process of the leadframe . the step 270 may be smaller than , equal to , or greater than the starting metal thickness . the height of step 270 is selected so that it is equal to the sum of the height of a semiconductor chip - to - be - attached and the height of the adhesive attachment layer . alternatively , an etching process may be used ; as an example , a chemical etching process may be performed so that only those surfaces ( for instance copper or aluminum ) are attacked which are not protected by an oxidized metal or a very thin gold layer . for some applications , the etched step may be about half of the pad thickness ; consequently , a leadframe with portions of such recess is sometimes referred to as half - etched or partially etched leadframe . fig6 is a top view of the second surface 201 b of the leadframe . fig6 depicts the processes of attaching chip 230 with the driver and controller ic to the second surface 201 b of the leadframe pad , and of connecting the chip terminals to respective leadframe leads by bonding wires . for the process of attaching , preferably a layer 231 of conductive adhesive ( epoxy ) of about 25 μm thickness is employed , which can be polymerized ( cured ); an alternative is a z - axis conductive polymer . the next process , depicted in fig7 ( bottom view ), includes the encapsulation of the driver - and - control chip 230 in a packaging material , preferably a molding compound 290 . the bottom view of fig7 shows that the first pad surface 201 a remains un - encapsulated . this un - encapsulated first surface 201 a includes the offset portion 201 c , which has a depth 270 from portion 201 d , and lateral dimensions suitable for attaching semiconductor chips . fig8 depicts the next process , the dispensing or screen printing of layers 211 and 221 of conductive adhesive ( epoxy ), which can be polymerized ( cured ). an alternative is a z - axis conductive polymer . preferred layer thickness is about 25 μm . the adhesive is selected so that the material is suitable for all attachment joints of the product ; all adhesive layers can thus undergo the process of polymerization at an elevated temperature simultaneously during a common curing step . the result of the next processes , the attachment of the fet chips , is shown in fig2 b . the first fet chip 210 , also called the sync or low side fet , is attached to adhesive layer 211 and thus onto the offset portion 201 c of first pad surface 201 a . the low side fet has a drain - down design and is attached with its drain terminal on the adhesive layer . source and gate terminals are facing away from the pad surface 201 a ; after attachment , source terminal 210 a and gate terminal 210 b of fet chip 210 are coplanar with the pad surface of portion 201 d and thus also co - planar with the leads 202 and 203 . due to the co - planarity , source terminal 210 a can be attached ( for instance by solder or by conductive adhesive ) to a pc board terminal functioning as input v out to the system . this direct attachment of the first chip to the board has the advantage of eliminating parasitic resistance and inductance , and enhancing the heat dissipation during system operation from the system directly into a heat sink of the board . next , the second fet chip 220 , also called the control or high side fet , is attached to adhesive layer 221 and thus onto the offset portion 201 c of first pad surface 201 a . the high side fet has a source - down design and is attached with its source terminal on the adhesive layer . drain and gate terminals are facing away from the pad surface 201 a ; after attachment , drain terminal 220 a and gate terminal 220 b of fet chip 220 are coplanar with the pad surface of portion 201 d and thus also co - planar with the leads 202 and 203 . due to the co - planarity , drain terminal 220 a can be attached ( for instance by solder or by conductive adhesive ) to a pc board terminal functioning as input v out to the system . this direct attachment of the second chip to the board has the advantage of eliminating parasitic resistance and inductance , and enhancing the heat dissipation during system operation from the system directly into a heat sink of the board . as mentioned , the construction of device 200 and the fabrication process flow offer the opportunity to employ only conductive ( metal - filled ) polymeric compounds for assembly and to polymerize all compound layers simultaneously . in addition , when the direct attachment of the terminals of the fets to a circuit board is also performed using a conductive polymer , the use of lead ( pb ) for solders is completely omitted . in accordance with a further embodiment , the high current capability of the power supply module can be further extended , and the efficiency further enhanced , by adding a heat spreader to the top surface of the package . in this configuration , the module is dual cooled and can dissipate its heat from both surface sides to heat sinks . while the specific embodiments described above have been shown by way of example , it will be appreciated that many modifications and other embodiments will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated drawings . as an example , the invention applies not only to field effect transistors , but also to other suitable power transistors . accordingly , it is understood that various modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below . in the interest of clarity , not all features of an actual implementation are described in this specification . it will of course be appreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment , numerous implementation - specific decisions must be made to achieve the developer &# 39 ; s specific goals , such as compliance with system - related and business - related constraints , which will vary from one implementation to another . moreover , it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time - consuming but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure . in the specification , reference may be made to the spatial relationships between various components and to the spatial orientation of various aspects of components as the devices are depicted in the attached drawings . however , as will be recognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of the present application , the devices , members , apparatuses , etc . described herein may be positioned in any desired orientation . thus , the use of terms such as “ above ,” “ below ,” “ upper ,” “ lower ,” or other like terms to describe a spatial relationship between various components or to describe the spatial orientation of aspects of such components should be understood to describe a relative relationship between the components or a spatial orientation of aspects of such components , respectively , as the device described herein may be oriented in any desired direction . referring to fig1 , in a virtual reality environment or virtual reality scene , one or more users or actors 101 interact with one or more physical objects 103 and / or 105 in a physical or real environment and / or one or more virtual artifacts 107 and / or 109 in the virtual reality environment . the one or more actors 101 are physically present in a three - dimensional space , known as a studio 111 in which the one or more actors 101 may move the one or more physical objects 103 and / or 105 . a motion capture environment 113 is contained by studio 111 . motion capture environment 113 includes one or more computers 115 and software resident on the one or more computers 115 that are operable to generate virtual reality scenes . motion capture environment 113 further includes a framework 117 , upon which to mount tracker - sensors 119 and / or tracker - sensor combinations , which are described in greater detail herein . the software includes one or more computer programs that interpret information from the tracker - sensors and one or more computer programs that create the virtual reality scenes or environment . a virtual representation of studio 111 exists in motion capture environment 113 , which hosts the virtual reality environment . the one or more actors 101 use display devices , for example , headset viewers , such as a headset viewer 201 of fig2 ; monitors , such as a monitor 121 ; or the like , to view the virtual reality environment . the virtual reality environment is the scene that the one or more actors 101 , or other such observers , see via the display devices . the virtual reality environment may be a virtual representation of the studio or the virtual reality environment may be a virtual representation of any other real or imagined three dimensional space . moreover , the virtual reality environment may be a combination of a virtual representation of the studio and a virtual representation of another real or imagined three - dimensional space . physical objects , such as physical objects 103 and 105 , that are disposed within studio 111 and that are moved by the one or more actors 101 , are tracked using motion capture environment 113 . these “ tracked objects ” may be tracked by a variety of sensor methodologies , including , but not limited to , reflectors , such as reflectors 123 and 125 and reflector 203 of fig2 ; inertial measurement units ; and the like . examples of such inertial measurement units include , but are not limited to , ring laser gyroscopes , accelerometers , ultrasonic emitter - receptors , and the like . referring to fig2 , examples of tracked objects include , but are not limited to , wands , such as a wand 205 ; gloves , such as a glove 207 ; hats , such as a hat 209 ; head mounted displays , such as headset viewer 201 ; boots , such as boot 211 ; and the like . tracker - sensors , such as tracker sensors 119 , interface with motion capture environment 113 and determine where a tracked object , such as physical objects 103 and 105 , is located within the physical space of the studio . such tracker - sensors may comprise a single unit or a plurality of units . the tracker - sensors may be attached to a framework , such as framework 117 , which defines the physical limits of the studio or may be attached to the tracked objects , or both . while tracker - sensors may utilize various methodologies for tracking tracked objects , certain tracker - sensors use inertial acceleration with subsequent integration to provide rate and displacement information , ultrasonic measurement , optical measurement , near infrared measurement , as well as methods that use other bands of radiation within the electromagnetic spectrum . referring now to fig1 and 3 , a virtual control panel , such as the displayed representation of a virtual control panel 127 , also known as a synthetic remote control , exists as a virtual artifact only in the virtual reality environment and is produced by motion capture environment 113 . virtual control panel 127 is a virtual object displayed by the display device , such as headset viewer 201 of fig2 , used by actor 101 to see the virtual reality environment . virtual control panel 127 may also be displayed on other display devices , such as monitor 121 of fig1 , that can be viewed by those that are not actors . in one embodiment , virtual control panel 127 is a virtual means for inputting information to motion capture environment 113 by actor 101 . for example , as shown in fig3 , virtual control panel 127 comprises a plurality of controls that may be manipulated by actor 101 . for example , in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , the controls include , but are not limited to , buttons 301 , 303 , and 305 ; switches 307 and 309 ; and knobs 311 and 313 , which may be manipulated by actor 101 . it should be noted that virtual control panel 127 may include additional or alternative controls that may be manipulated by actor 101 . moreover , virtual control panel 127 may include one or more means for providing information from motion capture environment 113 to actor 101 . for example , virtual control panel 127 may provide information relating to a simulation being performed to actor 101 , such as a color scale or graph 315 representing certain parameter levels or a textual display 316 providing other such information . moreover , virtual control panel 127 may comprise other tools which can be utilized by actor 101 in the virtual reality environment . for example , virtual control panel 127 may provide a virtual ruler 317 , which can be used by actor 101 to measure virtual artifacts , distances between virtual artifacts , or the like . it should be noted that the virtual control panel is able to “ float ” in virtual space at a location specified by actor 101 and may be moved from one place in the virtual environment to another place in the virtual environment by actor 101 . the controls may be manipulated by actor 101 &# 39 ; s virtual hand , defined by a glove , such as glove 207 , best shown in fig2 . representations or “ markers ” 319 , 321 , 323 , and 325 , corresponding to a reflector from a glove worn by actor 101 , are also illustrated in fig3 . the manipulation of the control is detected by interpreting the motion of the actor &# 39 ; s virtual hand when the actor &# 39 ; s virtual hand is in “ touching ” proximity to the control , as determined by motion capture environment 113 . motion capture environment 113 determines how the control has been manipulated and reacts to the manipulation appropriately . in one embodiment , actor 101 in studio 111 manipulates a virtual hand in the virtual reality environment by wearing and physically moving glove 207 , best shown in fig2 , which is a tracked object . motion capture environment 113 interprets the motion of the glove and determines where actor 101 &# 39 ; s virtual hand is located in the virtual reality environment and how the virtual hand is oriented . in this embodiment , actor 101 wears headset viewer 201 , best shown in fig2 , that is equipped with a synthetic vision viewer . the synthetic vision viewer displays to actor 101 the virtual reality environment and the location of the virtual hand within the virtual reality environment . thus , actor 101 can see the virtual hand in the context of the scene of the virtual reality environment . in fig1 and 2 , actor 101 is wearing headset viewer 201 and glove 107 . actor 101 is reaching into empty physical space to press a button , such as one of buttons 301 , 303 , or 305 , of virtual control panel 127 . virtual control panel 127 is preferably positioned at some starting location within the virtual reality environment or may be opened and displayed at any convenient location within the virtual reality environment when actor 101 issues a command “ summoning ” virtual control panel 127 . tracker - sensors 119 track the location of glove 207 , best shown in fig2 , and , thus , the virtual hand in the virtual reality environment and compare the location of the virtual hand in the virtual reality environment to the locations of the virtual control panel &# 39 ; s controls in the virtual reality environment . when a collision is detected between the virtual hand and a virtual control of virtual control panel 127 , the virtual hand is deemed to be touching the control . motion capture environment 113 responds to the motion of the virtual hand and a mapping of a control state to a desired action causes the desired action to occur , just as if a physical or real hand had manipulated a physical or real control . actor 101 can operate a virtual control of virtual control panel 127 in the same way actor 101 can physically operate a tangible , physical object or control capable of being physically touched and physically manipulated . it should be noted that touching buttons , knobs , switches , and the like of the virtual control panel is but one way of interacting with the virtual control panel . virtual control panel 127 provides many advantages to a virtual reality experience . for example , virtual control panel 127 can be configured to operate motion capture environment 113 and , thus , the virtual reality environment . actor 101 can operate the virtual reality environment from within the environment . an external observer or operator is not required to operate the virtual reality environment . moreover , virtual control panel 127 can grow and shrink in size and capability without limit . furthermore , virtual control panel 127 can be made to disappear or reappear at the will of actor 101 , without interfering with the scene in the virtual reality environment . virtual control panel 127 is able to float at any location and orientation desired by actor 101 . it should be noted that motion capture environment 113 comprises one or more computers , such as computer 115 , executing software embodied in a computer - readable medium that is operable to produce and control the virtual reality environment . the scope of the invention encompasses , among other things , motion capture environment , such as motion capture environment 113 of fig1 ; the software operable to produce and control the virtual reality environment ; and the method for producing and controlling the virtual reality environment , carried out by motion capture environment 113 . the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only , as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein . furthermore , no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown , other than as described in the claims below . it is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention . accordingly , the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below . it is apparent that an invention with significant advantages has been described and illustrated . although the present invention is shown in a limited number of forms , it is not limited to just these forms , but is amenable to various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof . | 6 |
while the various features of this invention are hereinafter illustrated and described as being particularly adapted to provide toothed belt constructions having a particular profile for the teeth thereof , it is to be understood that the various features of this invention can be utilized singly or in various combinations thereof to provide belt constructions with teeth having other shapes as desired . therefore , this invention is not to be limited to only the embodiments illustrated in the drawings , because the drawings are merely utilized to illustrate some of the wide variety of uses of this invention . referring now to fig1 the new belt construction of this invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 20 and comprises a belt body 21 formed of thermoplastic material , that had initially comprised one or more layers of like or dissimilar thermoplastic materials as desired , and defining opposed surface means 22 and 23 with the surface means 22 being generally flat while the surface means 23 defines a plurality of teeth 24 which in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 have angled sides 25 and 26 and substantially flat bottoms 27 . the belt construction 20 further comprises a reinforcing tensile means 28 formed from one or more reinforcing cords of any suitable material , such as thermoplastic material , and arranged in a helical manner in a manner well known in the art and hereinafter set forth . in addition , the belt construction 20 also comprises a fabric means 29 that generally lines the surfaces 25 , 26 and 27 of the teeth 24 as well as the land areas 30 between the teeth 24 all in a manner well known in the art and for well known purposes . for example , see the aforementioned u . s . pat . to marsh et al , no . 4 , 586 , 963 whereby this u . s . patent is being incorporated into this disclosure by this reference there to . as previously stated , the belt construction 20 of this invention is uniquely formed by utilizing the well known building drum and container arrangement of the aforementioned u . s . pat . to skura , no . 3 , 078 , 206 whereby this u . s . patent is also being incorporated into this disclosure by this reference thereto . such prior known apparatus is generally indicated by the reference numeral 31 in fig3 and comprises a generally cylindrical building drum 32 formed of metallic material and being adapted to be disposed within a metallic container 33 which is adapted to have steam injected into a cavity 34 thereof through suitable valve means 35 . in addition , steam can be injected into the container 33 through another valve means 36 in order to heat the interior of the drum means 32 as well as to provide means for venting liquid from the container 33 if desired . since the details of the structure and operation of the apparatus 31 is well known , only the details thereof necessary to understand the features of this invention will now be described . as illustrated in fig2 the building drum 32 has a plurality of grooves 37 and teeth 38 formed about the outer peripheral means 39 thereof as illustrated , the grooves 37 to subsequently form the belt teeth 24 as will be apparent hereinafter and as illustrated in fig4 and 6 . in order to form the belt construction 20 of this invention utilizing the apparatus 31 , a layer of the fabric means 29 is first disposed or wrapped on the outer peripheral surface 39 of the drum 32 in the manner illustrated in fig2 and 4 . however , it is to be understood that the fabric means 29 could be preformed so that the same would have teeth - shaped portions 29 &# 39 ; as illustrated in fig5 which initially line the grooves 37 of the building drum as illustrated in fig5 when the fabric means 29 is disposed thereon . should the fabric means 29 not be preformed with the teeth - shaped portions 29 &# 39 ;, the fabric means 29 is formed of stretch material in a manner well known in the art so that the fabric means 29 will stretch and line the grooves 37 when forced therein by the exuding thermoplastic material as will be apparent hereinafter and as illustrated in fig6 . in any event , after the fabric layer 29 is disposed on the drum 32 , the tensile means 28 is helically wrapped thereon in the manner illustrated in fig2 with the spacing between the adjacent coils 28 &# 39 ; of the tensile means 28 being any desired amount as is well known in the art . thereafter , the thermoplastic material 21 is disposed or wrapped on the tensile means 28 in one or more layers thereof as desired and such material as illustrated in fig2 could be so arranged that the same has opposed ends 40 and 41 disposed in abutting relation to define a longitudinal seam 43 as illustrated . thereafter , a shrink cord 44 is wrapped on top of the thermoplastic material 21 with or without an intermediate layer means of different thermoplastic material and fabric means ( not shown ) between the shrink cord 44 and the layer of thermoplastic material 21 for the purpose of subsequently applying pressure on the thermoplastic layer 21 in a direction that is radially toward the drum 32 as the shrink cord means 44 is heated in a manner hereinafter set forth , the shrink cord 44 and any aforementioned intermediate layer means not forming a part of the resulting belt construction 20 . of course , it is to be understood that other heat shrinkable means than the heat shrinkable cord 44 could be utilized for the same purpose , as desired . after the drum 32 has been wrapped in the manner illustrated in fig2 the wrapped drum 32 can have a metallic or rubber - like bladder 45 disposed around the same so that the bladder 45 will exert radially inward pressure on the material disposed on the drum 32 when pressurized steam is injected into the chamber 34 by the valve means 35 , the valve means 36 as previously stated being adapted to heat the interior of the drum 32 by injecting steam therein as desired . in any event , the wrapped drum means 32 is heated to a temperature that is above the softening temperature of the thermoplastic material 21 and below the melting temperature thereof and such temperature causes the shrink cord 44 to shrink and in combination with the steam pressure acting against the bladder 45 to collapse the bladder 45 toward the drum 32 , force the heated thermoplastic material 21 to exude between the coils 28 &# 39 ; of the tensile means 28 and force the fabric means 29 into the grooves 37 of the drum 32 to form the teeth 24 as well as the remainder of the belt construction 20 in the manner illustrated in fig6 . once the resulting belt sleeve has been formed on the drum 32 by the previously described heat and pressure , the drum 32 is removed from the container 33 and allowed to cool so that the belt sleeve can then be removed therefrom and the individual belt constructions 20 can be cut therefrom all in a manner well known in the art . while the belt construction 20 of this invention has been described as utilizing steam pressure and the shrink cord means 44 to exude the heated thermoplastic material 21 through the tensile means 28 to form the teeth 24 , it is to be understood that other means can be utilized to so force the heated thermoplastic material 21 , such as a mechanical clam shell means etc ., as long as the thermoplastic material 21 has been heated to a temperature above its softening temperature and below its melting temperature . for example , one belt construction that has been formed according to the teachings of this invention has the thermoplastic material 21 thereof comprise a polyether blocked amide sold under the trademark pebax no . 3533 by atochem north america , inc . of philadelphia , pa . such thermoplastic material has a softening point of approximately 165 ° f . and a melting point of approximately 306 ° f . it was found according to the teachings of this invention that this thermoplastic material 21 best formed the belt construction 20 of this invention when heated to approximately 14 ° f . above the mid point of those two temperatures or to approximately 250 ° f . for a time period of approximately 60 minutes when disposed in the container 33 in the manner illustrated in the drawings . it was found that when forming the belt construction 20 of the aforementioned pebax thermoplastic material and utilizing a temperature below the desired 250 ° f . temperature resulted in incomplete teeth 24 in the resulting belt construction and when formed at a temperature above the desired 250 ° f . temperature resulted in air entrapment in the resulting belt construction 20 . in order to provide the desired 250 ° f . temperature in the container 33 , saturated steam at 30 psi absolute will create the temperature of 250 ° f . the tensile means 28 in such belt construction comprise a dacron - type 52 cord sold by the du pont corporation of wilmington , del . and such cord has a softening point of approximately 474 ° f . which is of course well above the temperature utilized to form the belt construction 20 . similarly , the shrink cord can be any suitable material and in the above example , the shrink cord comprised treated polyester 1000 / 2 / 3 cord which has a softening temperature well above the 250 ° f . utilized in forming the belt construction 20 . another belt construction 20 of this invention that was formed in the above manner has the thermoplastic material 21 thereof comprising a segmented thermoplastic copolyether - ester elastomer containing terephthalate units sold as hytrel no . 5556 by the du pont corporation of wilmington , del ., such thermoplastic material having a softening point of approximately 356 ° f . and a melting point of approximately 412 ° f . it was found that such belt construction 20 was formed best when that particular thermoplastic material was heated to approximately 5 ° f . above the softening point thereof or at approximately 361 ° f . this temperature can be created in the container 33 when the saturated steam is about 155 psi absolute . another belt construction 20 of this invention was formed from a low density polyethylene film which had a softening point of approximately 200 ° f . and a melting point believed to be above approximately 251 ° f . and formed best at a temperature of approximately 251 ° f . therefore , it can be seen that the normally used high steam pressure for the container 33 forming belt constructions of uncured rubber materials is not utilized by this invention , although it is to be understood that a high air pressure could be utilized together with other means of heating the thermoplastic material , as a high steam pressure would produce a temperature that is above the melting point temperature of the thermoplastic material . while the belt construction 20 of this invention has been previously described as having the fabric means 29 and the tensile means 28 , it is to be understood that one or both of the fabric means 29 and the tensile means 28 could be eliminated if desired . for example , another thermoplastic belt construction of this invention is generally indicated by the reference numeral 20a in fig7 - 10 and parts thereof similar to the belt construction 20 previously described are indicated by like reference numerals followed by the reference letter &# 34 ; a &# 34 ;. as illustrated in fig7 - 10 , it can be seen that the belt construction 20a can be formed in the same manner as the belt construction 20 previously described except only the thermoplastic material 21a is utilized on the building drum 32a together with the shrink cord means 44a so as to produce the teeth 24a all in the same manner as the belt construction 20 previously set forth whereby a further description of the details of the belt construction 20a and the method of forming the same need not be set forth . therefore , it can be seen that this invention provides a new method of making a belt construction mainly of thermoplastic material as well as providing a new belt construction formed of thermoplastic material . while the forms and methods of this invention now preferred have been illustrated and described as required by the patent statute , it is to be understood that other forms and method steps can be utilized and still fall within the scope of the appended claims wherein each claim sets forth what is believed to be known in each claim prior to this invention in the portion of each claim that is disposed before the terms &# 34 ; the improvement &# 34 ; and sets forth what is believed to be new in each claim according to this invention in the portion of each claim that is disposed after the terms &# 34 ; the improvement &# 34 ; whereby it is believed that each claim sets forth a novel , useful and unobvious invention within the purview of the patent statute . | 1 |
as a preliminary matter , it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art (“ ordinary artisan ”) that the present invention has broad utility and application . furthermore , any embodiment discussed and identified as being “ preferred ” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention . other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention . moreover , many embodiments , such as adaptations , variations , modifications , and equivalent arrangements , will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention is described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments , it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present invention , and is made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention . the detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended , nor is to be construed , to limit the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention , which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof . it is not intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself thus , for example , any sequence ( s ) and / or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive . accordingly , it should be understood that , although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order , the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order , absent an indication otherwise . indeed , the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention . accordingly , it is intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention is to be defined by the appended claims rather than the description set forth herein . additionally , it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which the ordinary artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein . to the extent that the meaning of a term used herein — as understood by the ordinary artisan based on the contextual use of such term — differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term , it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan should prevail . furthermore , it is important to note that , as used herein , “ a ” and “ an ” each generally denotes “ at least one ,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise . thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having an apple ” describes “ a picnic basket having at least one apple ” as well as “ a picnic basket having apples .” in contrast , reference to “ a picnic basket having a single apple ” describes “ a picnic basket having only one apple .” when used herein to join a list of items , “ or ” denotes “ at least one of the items ,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list . thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having cheese or crackers ” describes “ a picnic basket having cheese without crackers ”, “ a picnic basket having crackers without cheese ”, and “ a picnic basket having both cheese and crackers .” finally , when used herein to join a list of items , “ and ” denotes “ all of the items of the list .” thus , reference to “ a picnic basket having cheese and crackers ” describes “ a picnic basket having cheese , wherein the picnic basket further has crackers ,” as well as describes “ a picnic basket having crackers , wherein the picnic basket further has cheese .” referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals represent like components throughout the several views , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are next described . the following description of the preferred embodiment ( s ) is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention , its application , or uses . fig1 is a block diagram of a communication system 10 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . as shown therein , the communication system 10 includes at least one transmitting device 12 and at least one receiving device 14 , one or more network systems 16 for connecting the transmitting device 12 to the receiving device 14 , and an automatic speech recognition (“ asr ”) system 18 , including an asr engine . transmitting and receiving devices 12 , 14 may include cell phones 21 , smart phones 22 , pdas 23 , tablet notebooks 24 , various desktop and laptop computers 25 , 26 , 27 , and the like . one or more of the devices 12 , 14 , such as the illustrated imac and laptop computers 25 , 26 , may connect to the network systems 16 via wireless access point 28 . the various transmitting and receiving devices 12 , 14 ( one or both types of which being sometimes referred to herein as “ client devices ”) may be of any conventional design and manufacture . fig2 is a block diagram of a communication system 60 in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention . this system 60 is similar to the system 10 of fig1 , except that the asr system 18 of fig1 has been omitted and the asr engine has instead been incorporated into the various transmitting devices 12 , including cell phones 61 , smart phones 62 , pdas 63 , tablet notebooks 64 , various desktop and laptop computers 65 , 66 , 67 , and the like . it will be appreciated that the illustrations of fig1 and 2 are intended primarily to provide context in which the inventive features of the present invention may be placed . a more complete explanation of one or more system architectures implementing such systems is provided elsewhere herein , in the incorporated applications and / or in the incorporated appendices attached hereto . furthermore , in the context of text messaging , the communication systems 10 , 60 each preferably includes , inter alia , a telecommunications network . in the context of instant messaging , the communications systems 10 , 60 each preferably includes , inter alia , the internet . fig3 is a block diagram illustrating communications between two users 32 , 34 via a portion of the communication system 10 of fig1 . as shown therein , a first user 32 , sometimes referred to herein as a “ transmitting user ,” is communicating with a second user 34 , sometimes referred to herein as a “ receiving user ,” by way of respective transmitting and receiving devices 12 , 14 . more particularly , the transmitting user 32 uses his transmitting device 12 to initiate text messages that are transmitted to , and received by , the receiving user 34 via her receiving device 14 . in the context of text messaging , the transmitting user 32 may send text messages , using his transmitting device 12 , via sms , and the receiving user 34 receives text messages , sent via sms , on her receiving device 14 . in the context of instant messaging , the transmitting user 32 may send instant messages , via an im client , using his transmitting device 12 , and the receiving user 34 receives instant messages , via an im client , on his receiving device 14 . in at least some embodiments , the transmitting user 32 in fig3 may generate text messages by speaking into his transmitting device 12 and causing his utterances to be converted to text for communicating to the receiving device 14 . one or more systems and methods for carrying out such a process are described , for example , in the aforementioned u . s . patent application pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 , but are at least partially described herein . more particularly , fig4 may be understood to be a block diagram of an exemplary implementation of the system 10 of fig1 . in this implementation , the transmitting device 12 is a mobile phone , the asr system 18 is implemented in one or more backend servers 160 , and the one or more network systems 16 include transceiver towers 130 , one or more mobile communication service providers 140 ( operating or joint or independent control ) and the internet 150 . the backend server 160 is or may be placed in communication with the mobile phone 12 via the mobile communication service provider 140 and the internet 150 . the mobile phone has a microphone , a speaker and a display . a first transceiver tower 130 a is positioned between the mobile phone 12 ( or the user 32 of the mobile phone 12 ) and the mobile communication service provider 140 , for receiving an audio message ( v 1 ), a text message ( t 3 ) and / or a verified text message ( v / t 1 ) from one of the mobile phone 12 and the mobile communication service provider 140 and transmitting it ( v 2 , t 4 , v / t 2 ) to the other of the mobile phone 12 and the mobile communication service provider 140 . a second transceiver tower 130 b is positioned between the mobile communication service provider 140 and mobile devices 170 , generally defined as receiving devices 14 equipped to communicate wirelessly via mobile communication service provider 140 , for receiving a verified text message ( v / t 3 ) from the mobile communication service provider 140 and transmitting it ( v 5 and t 5 ) to the mobile devices 170 . in at least some embodiments , the mobile devices 170 are adapted for receiving a text message converted from an audio message created in the mobile phone 12 . additionally , in at least some embodiments , the mobile devices 170 are also capable of receiving an audio message from the mobile phone 12 . the mobile devices 170 include , but are not limited to , a pager , a palm pc , a mobile phone , or the like . the system 10 also includes software , as disclosed below in more detail , installed in the mobile phone 12 and the backend server 160 for causing the mobile phone 12 and / or the backend server 160 to perform the following functions . the first step is to initialize the mobile phone 12 to establish communication between the mobile phone 12 and the backend server 160 , which includes initializing a desired application from the mobile phone 12 and logging into a user account in the backend server 160 from the mobile phone 12 . then , the user 32 presses and holds one of the buttons of the mobile phone 12 and speaks an utterance 36 , thus generating an audio message , v 1 . at this stage , the audio message v 1 is recorded in the mobile phone 12 . by releasing the button , the recorded audio message v 1 is sent to the backend server 160 through the mobile communication service provider 140 . in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention as shown in fig4 , the recorded audio message v 1 is first transmitted to the first transceiver tower 130 a from the mobile phone 12 . the first transceiver tower 130 a outputs the audio message v 1 into an audio message v 2 that is , in turn , transmitted to the mobile communication service provider 140 . then the mobile communication service provider 140 outputs the audio message v 2 into an audio message v 3 and transmits it ( v 3 ) to the internet 150 . the internet 150 outputs the audio message v 3 into an audio message v 4 and transmits it ( v 4 ) to the backend server 160 . the content of all the audio messages v 1 - v 4 is identical . the backend server 160 then converts the audio message v 4 into a text message , t 1 , and / or a digital signal , d 1 , in the backend server 160 by means of a speech recognition algorithm including a grammar algorithm and / or a transcription algorithm . the text message t 1 and the digital signal d 1 correspond to two different formats of the audio message v 4 . the text message t 1 and / or the digital signal d 1 are sent back to the internet 150 that outputs them into a text message t 2 and a digital signal d 2 , respectively . the digital signal d 2 is transmitted to a digital receiver 180 , generally defined as a receiving device 14 equipped to communicate with the internet and capable of receiving the digital signal d 2 . in at least some embodiments , the digital receiver 180 is adapted for receiving a digital signal converted from an audio message created in the mobile phone 12 . additionally , in at least some embodiments , the digital receiver 180 is also capable of receiving an audio message from the mobile phone 12 . a conventional computer is one example of a digital receiver 180 . in this context , a digital signal d 2 may represent , for example , an email or instant message . it should be understood that , depending upon the configuration of the backend server 160 and software installed on the mobile phone 12 , and potentially based upon the system set up or preferences of the user 32 , the digital signal d 2 can either be transmitted directly from the backend server 160 or it can be provided back to the mobile phone 12 for review and acceptance by the user 32 before it is sent on to the digital receiver 180 . the text message t 2 is sent to the mobile communication service provider 140 that outputs it ( t 2 ) into a text message t 3 . the output text message t 3 is then transmitted to the first transceiver tower 130 a . the first transceiver tower 130 a then transmits it ( t 3 ) to the mobile phone 12 in the form of a text message t 4 . it is noted that the substantive content of all the text messages t 1 - t 4 may be identical , which are the corresponding text form of the audio messages v 1 - v 4 . upon receiving the text message t 4 , the user 32 verifies it and sends the verified text message v / t 1 to the first transceiver tower 130 a that in turn , transmits it to the mobile communication service provider 140 in the form of a verified text v / t 2 . the verified text v / t 2 is transmitted to the second transceiver tower 130 b in the form of a verified text v / t 3 from the mobile communication service provider 140 . then , the transceiver tower 130 b transmits the verified text v / t 3 to the mobile devices 170 . in at least one implementation , the audio message is simultaneously transmitted to the backend server 160 from the mobile phone 12 , when the user 32 speaks to the mobile phone 12 . in this circumstance , it is preferred that no audio message is recorded in the mobile phone 12 , although it is possible that an audio message could be both transmitted and recorded . such a system 10 may be utilized to convert an audio message into a text message . in at least one implementation , this may be accomplished by first initializing a transmitting device so that the transmitting device is capable of communicating with a backend server 160 . second , a user 32 speaks to or into the client device 12 so as to create a stream of an audio message . the audio message can be recorded and then transmitted to the backend server 160 , or the audio message can be simultaneously transmitted to the backend server 160 through a client - server communication protocol . streaming may be accomplished according to processes described elsewhere herein and , in particular , in fig4 and accompanying text , of the aforementioned u . s . patent application pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 . the transmitted audio message is converted into the text message in the backend server 160 . the converted text message is then sent back to the client device 12 . upon the user &# 39 ; s verification , the converted text message is forwarded to one or more recipients 34 and their respective receiving devices 14 , where the converted text message may be displayed on the device 14 . incoming messages may be handled , for example , according to processes described elsewhere herein and , in particular , in fig2 and accompanying text , of the aforementioned u . s . patent application pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 . still further , in at least one implementation , one or both types of client device 12 , 14 may be located through a global positioning system ( gps ); and listing locations , proximate to the position of the client device 12 , 14 , of a target of interest may be presented in the converted text message . furthermore , in converting speech to text , speech transcription performance indications may be provided to the receiving user 34 in accordance with the disclosure of u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 197 , 213 , entitled “ continuous speech transcription performance indication ,” which , together with any corresponding patent application publications thereof , is incorporated herein by reference . additionally , in the context of sms messaging , the asr system preferably makes use of both statistical language models ( slms ) for returning results from the audio data , and finite grammars used to post - process the text results , in accordance with the disclosure of u . s . patent application ser . no . 12 / 198 , 112 , entitled “ filtering transcriptions of utterances ,” which , together with any corresponding patent application publications thereof , is incorporated herein by reference . this is believed to result in text messages that are formatted in a way that looks more typical of how a human would have typed the text message using a mobile device . fig5 is a block diagram of a communication device 50 , such as a cell phone 21 or other mobile communication device , that is equipped with a physical phenomenon detection unit 80 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the communication device 50 may include a control unit 52 , a duplex radio 54 that includes a duplexer 56 with antenna ( not shown ), a receiver 58 , and a transmitter 60 , a signal level detector 62 , a voice processing unit 64 , a microphone / speaker unit 66 that includes a microphone and one or more speakers , a memory system 68 , a ring signal generator 70 , a display unit 72 , and optionally , a key input unit 74 having one or more key elements . although many of these elements may be generally conventional , each element is described in some detail hereinbelow so as to provide a better understanding of the operation of the physical phenomenon detection unit 80 in controlling one or more functions of the communication device 50 . it will be appreciated that the communication device 50 described and illustrated herein may be utilized as either or both of a transmitting device 12 and a receiving device 14 . furthermore , it will be appreciated that although a transmitting device 12 of the type described and illustrated in fig5 and accompanying text may be utilized to communicate with a receiving device 14 of the same type , a transmitting device 12 of the type described and illustrated in fig5 and accompanying text may also be utilized for communications with a conventional receiving device 14 ( that is , with a receiving device 14 that is not equipped with , or does not utilize , a physical phenomenon detection unit 80 ), and likewise that a receiving device 14 of the type described and illustrated in fig5 and accompanying text may also be utilized for communications with a conventional transmitting device 12 ( that is , with a transmitting device 12 that is not equipped with , or does not utilize , a physical phenomenon detection unit 80 ). returning to fig5 , the memory system 68 includes a read only memory ( rom ) for storing control data required for the operation of the control unit 52 , a nonvolatile memory for storing data to be stored or removed , such as phone numbers or the like , under the control of the user , and a random access memory ( ram ) for temporarily storing data generated during operation of the control unit 52 . for incoming communications , the duplexer 56 receives incoming radio signals via the antenna and outputs them to the receiver 58 . the receiver 58 outputs voice signals to the signal level detector 62 and outputs data to the control unit 52 , which then causes the ring tone generator 70 to generate a predetermined ring tone . the signal level detector 62 determines the intensity of the voice signal and delivers that information to the control unit 52 and provides the voice signal to the voice processing unit 64 . the voice processing unit 64 decodes the signal received from the reception unit 58 and outputs the decoded signal to the speaker in the microphone / speaker unit 66 . data transmissions are handled by the control unit 52 which displays text messages , photos , and the like to the user via the display unit 72 . for outgoing voice transmissions , the voice processing unit 64 receives the user &# 39 ; s voice , which has been converted into an electric signal by the microphone , encodes the electric signal , and outputs the encoded signal to the transmission unit 60 via the signal level detector 62 . the signal level detector 62 determines the intensity of the outgoing voice signal , delivers that information to the control unit 52 , and provides the voice signal to the transmission unit 60 . under the control of the control unit 52 , the transmission unit 60 outputs a transmission signal , corresponding to the encoded signal received from the voice processing unit 64 , to the duplexer 56 via a set channel , and the transmission signal is then transmitted via the antenna . when a user wishes to make a call , the user selects a desired phone number from the memory system 68 or inputs a number via manipulation of one or more of the key elements of the key input unit 74 , and an outgoing call signal corresponding to the selected number is transmitted . connection may be established with a corresponding receiving device 14 , and voice communication carried out with the user 34 of that device 14 , through the duplexer 56 , the radio receiver and transmitter 58 , 60 , the voice processing unit 64 and the microphone / speaker unit 66 . when a call signal is received by the communication device 50 , a ring signal is generated through the ring signal generation unit 70 under the control of the control unit 52 , and a voice call can be accomplished , by the manipulation of one or more of the key elements of the key input unit 74 in response to the ring signal , through the duplexer 56 , the radio transmission and reception units 58 , 60 , the voice processing unit 64 and the microphone / speaker unit 66 . outgoing text communications may be generated in any one of at least two ways . more particularly , text messages may be keyed in manually by the user 32 using the one or more key elements 74 in a conventional manner , or text messages may be created using a speech recognition methodology . such a methodology is described , for example , in the aforementioned u . s . pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 , wherein an utterance 36 produced by the user 32 is received by the microphone , processed by the voice processing unit 64 and recorded in the memory system 68 , all under the control of the control unit 52 , and then transmitted to the asr system 18 via the duplex radio 54 . the asr engine converts the utterance 36 to text and transmits the text message back to the originating communication device 50 where it is received by the duplex radio 54 and handled as described previously . upon receipt of the transcribed text message , the control unit 52 presents the message to the user 32 via the display unit 72 for verification and editing as necessary , and upon approval by the user 32 , the finalized text message is deemed to be ready to transmit to a destination communication device such as the receiving device 14 described previously . if not already selected , the user 32 selects a desired phone number or other destination address from the memory system 68 or inputs a number or other address via the one or more key elements of the key input unit 74 , and an outgoing message signal corresponding to the number or address is transmitted . the physical phenomenon detection unit 80 can be implemented using any suitable phenomenon detector or sensor 84 , such as an ir proximity sensor , an inductive proximity sensor , capacitive proximity sensor , magnetic proximity sensor or photoelectric proximity sensor detecting proximity , an ambient light sensor detecting light , a geomagnetic sensor detecting earth magnetism , a single - axis or multi - axis gyroscope detecting inclination , an accelerometer detecting acceleration , a vibration detector detecting vibration , or the like , including any such detector or sensor device described in any of the patent applications incorporated by reference herein . such detectors and sensors may sense phenomena relative to one or more than axis , or may sense phenomena only within a particular range such as inclination from 45 ° to 90 °. the detection unit 80 is preferably located inside the housing of the communication device 50 , though in some embodiments the detection unit 80 may be external . the detection unit 80 may further incorporate more than one sensor 84 ; the various sensors 84 may be of the same type or of different types . in at least some embodiments , an interface unit 82 receives one or more input signals from each sensor 84 in the detection unit 80 and uses predetermined logic to provide one or more output signals to the control unit 52 . alternatively , the control unit 52 is programmed or otherwise arranged to sort through the signals provided by an interface unit 82 . further , in at least some embodiments , multiple detection units 80 are provided , each communicatively connected to the control unit 52 by a separate interface unit 82 . in still other embodiments , no interface unit 82 is provided , and the control unit 52 receives signals directly from each detection unit 80 . the communication device 50 described above may allow the user 32 to execute a “ push to talk ” function using two different methods . if a key input unit 74 having one or more key elements is provided , then a user 32 wishing to make an utterance 36 that is to be recognized and converted into text may use a generally conventional method in which the user 32 , 34 merely presses or otherwise triggers one or more key element in the key input unit 74 just before speaking , and either pressing the same button again , releasing the button if it was held , or pressing a different button , as applicable , when the user 32 , 34 is finished speaking typically , the “ push to talk ” function is functionally implemented in the communication device 50 by activating the microphone and subsequently deactivating the microphone , with any utterance 36 that the microphone receives , while activated , is recorded , transmitted or the like . however , other device functions could instead or additionally be activated , such as a recording function , a transmitting function , or the like . whether or not the key input unit 74 is provided or includes a designated or selectable physical button or buttons for carrying out the “ push to talk ” function , the physical phenomenon detection unit 80 offers a second method wherein the user 32 manipulates the position , orientation , or any other detectable physical state of the communication device 50 , or more particularly of the detection unit 80 , so as to trigger the detection unit 80 in a predetermined way . for example , the detection unit 80 may utilize an ir proximity sensor 84 that is tuned to detect the heat from a user &# 39 ; s face , such as might be detected if the device 50 was held against the user &# 39 ; s face while speaking into the microphone of the device 50 , and to cause a first signal to be generated and sent , via the interface unit 82 , to the control unit 52 when the sensor 84 detects the appropriate amount of heat and to generate a second signal when the communication device 50 is moved away from the user &# 39 ; s face . using such a detection unit 80 , the user 32 may , when he or she is ready to trigger the recognition of a particular utterance 36 , move the communication device 50 against his or her face , to a natural speaking position , to initiate the “ push to talk ” function and subsequently remove the communication device 50 from his or face to terminate the “ push to talk ” function . in another example , if the detection unit 80 utilizes a multi - axis tilt sensor 84 that is preset to cause a first signal to be generated and sent , via the interface unit 82 , to the control unit 52 when the communication device 50 is moved so it is approximately vertical relative to a first axis and somewhat tilted ( e . g ., at a 30 °- 45 ° angle ) relative to a second axis , and to generate a second signal when the communication device 50 is moved out of that position , then the user 32 may , when he or she is ready to trigger the recognition of a particular utterance 36 , move the communication device 50 into the described position or orientation to initiate the “ push to talk ” function and subsequently remove the communication device 50 from that position or orientation to terminate the “ push to talk ” function . it will be apparent that any position or orientation ( or in the case of other types of sensors 84 , the occurrence of any suitable physical phenomenon ) may be selected to initiate and terminate the “ push to talk ” function , though the selected position , orientation or other phenomenon should preferably be selected to be convenient for the user 32 to move or enter , and more preferably should be relatively natural and intuitive for the user 32 . for example , the above - described physical position or orientation ( approximately vertical relative to a first axis and somewhat tilted relative to a second axis ) may be selected to approximate the position or orientation a cell phone 21 is often held by a user 32 when the user 32 is holding the cell phone 21 to his ear and is speaking into the cell phone 21 . it will be appreciated that any of the movements or other physical triggering means described in any of the referenced applications may likewise be utilized . for example , the user may move the communication device 50 in a certain predetermined way in space to activate the “ push to talk ” function and the same or different predetermined way to deactivate the “ push to talk ” function . further , it will be appreciated that a first physical phenomenon may be utilized to place the communication device into a “ standby ” state wherein a second physical phenomenon , subsequent to the first , activates the “ push to talk ” function . of course , the communication device 50 may alternatively be placed into the “ standby ” state using the key elements of the key input unit 74 , if provided , or using a touch screen or other means . notably , the speech to be recognized may be a voice command for the device 50 , an utterance 36 to be converted to text , a message to be transcribed , or any other known or future - developed speech recognition application , including those mentioned previously . for example , fig1 a and 18b are block diagrams illustrating the use of an utterance as a voice command to control a communication device 12 of fig1 and fig2 , respectively . in particular , an utterance may be recognized indirectly , via the asr system 18 of fig1 and 18a , or directly , by the asr - equipped communication device of fig2 and 18b . in either case , the physical phenomenon detection unit 80 may be utilized to control the acquisition of the utterance by the communication device 50 , as described previously . an utterance 36 may be converted to text in accordance , for example , with the disclosure of the aforementioned u . s . pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 . the device 50 preferably presents an indication to the user 32 , for purposes of verification , that the particular speech recognition operation being carried out has been carried out successfully . for example , for voice commands , the device 50 preferably communicates audibly with the user 32 to verify that the device 50 correctly understood the command . for speech - to - text conversions made using one of the systems illustrated in fig1 - 3 , the converted text message is preferably presented to the user 32 on the display unit 72 . of course , other means for verification may be used , and in some cases , verification is not required or may utilized only at the user &# 39 ; s option . one commercial implementation of the foregoing principles utilizes the yap ® and yap9 ™ service ( collectively , “ the yap service ”), available from yap inc . of charlotte , north carolina . the yap service includes one or more web applications and a client device application . the yap web application is a j2ee application built using java 5 . it is designed to be deployed on an application server like ibm websphere application server or an equivalent j2ee application server . it is designed to be platform neutral , meaning the server hardware and os can be anything supported by the web application server ( e . g . windows , linux , macos x ). fig6 is a block diagram of the system architecture of the yap commercial implementation . with reference to fig6 , the operating system may be implemented in red hat enterprise linux 5 ( rhel 5 ); the application servers may include the websphere application server community edition ( was - ce ) servers , available from ibm ; the web server may be an apache server ; the ctts servlets may include ctts servlets from loquendo , including us / uk / es male and us / uk / es female ; the grammar asp may be the latest websphere voice server , available from ibm ; suitable third party ads may be provided by google ; a suitable third party im system is google talk , available from google ; and a suitable database system is the db2 express relational database system , available from ibm . fig7 is a block diagram of the yap ear of fig6 . the audio codec jars may include the voiceage amr jar , available from voiceage of montreal , quebec and / or the qcelp jar , available from qualcomm of san diego , calif . the yap web application includes a plurality of servlets . as used herein , the term “ servlet ” refers to an object that receives a request and generates a response based on the request . usually , a servlet is a small java program that runs within a web server . servlets receive and respond to requests from web clients , usually across http and / or https , the hypertext transfer protocol . currently , the yap web application includes nine servlets : correct , debug , install , login , notify , ping , results , submit , and tts . each servlet is described below in the order typically encountered . the communication protocol used for all messages between the yap client and yap server applications is http and https . using these standard web protocols allows the yap web application to fit well in a web application container . from the application server &# 39 ; s point of view , it cannot distinguish between the yap client midlet and a typical web browser . this aspect of the design is intentional to convince the web application server that the yap client midlet is actually a web browser . this allows a user to use features of the j2ee web programming model like session management and https security . it is also an important feature of the client as the midp specification requires that clients are allowed to communicate over http . more specifically , the yap client uses the post method and custom headers to pass values to the server . the body of the http message in most cases is irrelevant with the exception of when the client submits audio data to the server in which case the body contains the binary audio data . the server responds with an http code indicating the success or failure of the request and data in the body which corresponds to the request being made . preferably , the server does not depend on custom header messages being delivered to the client as the carriers can , and usually do , strip out unknown header values . fig8 is a typical header section of an http request from the yap client . the yap client is operated via a user interface ( ui ), known as “ yap9 ,” which is well suited for implementing methods of converting an audio message into a text message and messaging in mobile environments . yap9 is a combined ui for sms and web services ( ws ) that makes use of the buttons or keys of the client device by assigning a function to each button ( sometimes referred to as a “ yap9 ” button or key ). execution of such functions is carried out by “ yaplets .” this process , and the usage of such buttons , are described elsewhere herein and , in particular , in fig9 a - 9d , and accompanying text , of the aforementioned u . s . patent application pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 . usage process — install : installation of the yap client device application is described in the aforementioned u . s . patent application pub . no . us 2007 / 0239837 in a subsection titled “ install process ” of a section titled “ system architecture .” usage process — notify : when a yap client is installed , the install fails , or the install is canceled by the user , the notify servlet is sent a message by the phone with a short description . this can be used for tracking purposes and to help diagnose any install problems . usage process — login : when the yap midlet is opened , the first step is to create a new session by logging into the yap web application using the login servlet . preferably , however , multiple login servers exist , so as a preliminary step , a request is sent to find a server to log in to . exemplary protocol details for such a request can be seen in fig9 . an http string pointing to a selected login server will be returned in response to this request . it will be appreciated that this selection process functions as a poor man &# 39 ; s load balancer . after receiving this response , a login request is sent . exemplary protocol details for such a request can be seen in fig1 . a cookie holding a session id is returned in response to this request . the session id is a pointer to a session object on the server which holds the state of the session . this session data will be discarded after a period determined by server policy . sessions are typically maintained using client - side cookies , however , a user cannot rely on the set - cookie header successfully returning to the yap client because the carrier may remove that header from the http response . the solution to this problem is to use the technique of url rewriting . to do this , the session id is extracted from the session api , which is returned to the client in the body of the response . this is called the “ yap cookie ” and is used in every subsequent request from the client . the yap cookie looks like this : all requests from the client simply append this cookie to the end of each request and the session is maintained : usage process — submit : after receiving a session id , audio data may be submitted . the user presses and holds one of the yap - 9 buttons , speaks aloud , and releases the pressed button . the speech is recorded , and the recorded speech is then sent in the body of a request to the submit servlet , which returns a unique receipt that the client can use later to identify this utterance . exemplary protocol details for such a request can be seen in fig1 . one of the header values sent to the server during the login process is the format in which the device records . that value is stored in the session so the submit servlet knows how to convert the audio into a format required by the asr engine . this is done in a separate thread as the process can take some time to complete . the yap9 button and yap9 screen numbers are passed to the submit server in the http request header . these values are used to lookup a user - defined preference of what each button is assigned to . for example , the 1 button may be used to transcribe audio for an sms message , while the 2 button is designated for a grammar based recognition to be used in a web services location based search . the submit servlet determines the appropriate “ yaplet ” to use . when the engine has finished transcribing the audio or matching it against a grammar , the results are stored in a hash table in the session . in the case of transcribed audio for an sms text message , a number of filters can be applied to the text returned from the asr engine . such filters may include , but are not limited to , those shown table 3 . notably , after all of the filters are applied , both the filtered text and original text are returned to the client so that if text to speech is enabled for the user , the original unfiltered text can be used to generate the tts audio . usage process — results : the client retrieves the results of the audio by taking the receipt returned from the submit servlet and submitting it as a request to the results servlet . exemplary protocol details for such a request can be seen in fig1 . this is done in a separate thread on the device and a timeout parameter may be specified which will cause the request to return after a certain amount of time if the results are not available . in response to the request , a block of xml is preferably returned . exemplary protocol details for such a return response can be seen in fig1 . alternatively , a serialized java results object may be returned . this object contains a number of getter functions for the client to extract the type of results screen to advance to ( i . e ., sms or results list ), the text to display , the text to be used for tts , any advertising text to be displayed , an sms trailer to append to the sms message , etc . usage process — tts : the user may choose to have the results read back via text to speech . this can be an option the user could disable to save network bandwidth , but adds value when in a situation where looking at the screen is not desirable , like when driving . if tts is used , the tts string is extracted from the results and sent via an http request to the tts servlet . exemplary protocol details for such a request can be seen in fig1 . the request blocks until the tts is generated and returns audio in the format supported by the phone in the body of the result . this is performed in a separate thread on the device since the transaction may take some time to complete . the resulting audio is then played to the user through the audioservice object on the client . preferably , tts speech from the server is encrypted using corrected block tiny encryption algorithm ( xxtea ) encryption . usage process — correct : as a means of tracking accuracy and improving future sms based language models , if the user makes a correction to transcribed text on the phone via the key elements of the key input unit 74 before sending the message , the corrected text is submitted to the correct servlet along with the receipt for the request . this information is stored on the server for later use in analyzing accuracy and compiling a database of typical sms messages . exemplary protocol details for such a submission can be seen in fig1 . usage process — ping : typically , web sessions will timeout after a certain amount of inactivity . the ping servlet can be used to send a quick message from the client to keep the session alive . exemplary protocol details for such a message can be seen in fig1 . usage process — debug : used mainly for development purposes , the debug servlet sends logging messages from the client to a debug log on the server . exemplary protocol details can be seen in fig1 . usage process — logout : to logout from the yap server , an http logout request needs to be issued to the server . an exemplary such request would take the form : “/ yap / logoutjsessionid = 1234 ”, where 1234 is the session id . user preferences : in at least one embodiment , the yap website has a section where the user can log in and customize their yap client preferences . this allows them to choose from available yaplets and assign them to yap9 keys on their phone . the user preferences are stored and maintained on the server and accessible from the yap web application . this frees the yap client from having to know about all of the different back - end yaplets . it just records the audio , submits it to the server along with the yap9 key and yap9 screen used for the recording and waits for the results . the server handles all of the details of what the user actually wants to have happen with the audio . the client needs to know what type of format to utilize when presenting the results to the user . this is accomplished through a code in the results object . the majority of requests fall into one of two categories : sending an sms message , or displaying the results of a web services query in a list format . notably , although these two are the most common , the yap architecture supports the addition of new formats . based on the foregoing information , it is readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application . many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other than those specifically described herein , as well as many variations , modifications , and equivalent arrangements , will be apparent from or reasonably suggested by the present invention and the foregoing descriptions thereof , without departing from the substance or scope of the present invention . accordingly , while the present invention has been described herein in detail in relation to its preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the present invention and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention . the foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise exclude any such other embodiments , adaptations , variations , modifications or equivalent arrangements ; the present invention being limited only by the claims appended hereto and the equivalents thereof . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation . | 7 |
now , embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings . fig1 illustrates a refrigerating apparatus 10 a incorporating a screw compressor 1 a according to the present invention , in which a circulation flow path 14 is formed for flowing the refrigerant through the screw compressor 1 a , a condenser 11 , an expansion valve 12 and an evaporator 13 . the screw compressor 1 a comprises a pair of engaging male and female screw rotors 21 , a motor 22 for rotating the screw rotors 21 , a discharging portion 23 and a motor coil temperature detector d 1 , wherein the motor 22 is adapted to be operated by a power supplied from a power source supplying line 24 via an inverter 25 . the condenser 11 is provided with a cooling water inlet ci and a cooling water outlet co and the evaporator 13 is provided with a cooled liquid inlet bi and a cooled liquid outlet bo . furthermore , in the secondary side of the evaporator 13 in connection with the circulation flow path 14 , an superheat degree detector d 2 for detecting the superheat degree of refrigerant gas emanated from the evaporator 13 is provided , so that the opening extent of the expansion valve 12 is controlled according to the detected superheat degree . and , in the secondary side of the evaporator 13 , a suction pressure detector d 3 for detecting the suction pressure of the screw compressor 1 a is provided , so that a pressure signal indicating the detected pressure is inputted from this suction pressure detector d 3 into a controller 26 and simultaneously , a temperature signal indicating the detected temperature is inputted from a motor coil temperature detector d 1 into the controller 26 . herein , the suction pressure is a factor indicating the cooling heat load of the refrigerating apparatus 10 a and the motor coil temperature is a factor indicating the load condition of the motor 22 . and based on both of these signals , frequency conversion of power is performed in the inverter 25 and the motor 22 is controlled as explained later . however , as shown in fig2 the suction pressure of the screw compressor 1 a and the cooling heat load of the refrigerating apparatus 10 a have a relationship of wherein and the cooling heat load increases as the suction pressure increases . and , if the suction pressure is too low , the cooling heat load is so small that the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a becomes excessive , and thus it is necessary to reduce the consumption power by reducing the rotational speed of the motor 22 to reduce the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a . in contrast , if the suction pressure is too high , it is needed to increase the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a by increasing the rotational speed of the motor 22 , because the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a becomes lacking due to the increased cooling heat load . therefore , it is possible to predetermine x region in which the suction pressure is too low , z region in which the suction pressure is too high , and y region in which the suction pressure is neither high nor low and thus the rotational speed of the motor 22 does not need to be changed , and boundary values of each region is previously set in the controller 26 . next , the control of the motor 22 of the above - mentioned refrigerating apparatus 10 a that is in working will be described with reference to fig3 . firstly , if the screw compressor 1 a is started and thus the refrigerating apparatus 10 a becomes to the working condition , determination as to where a suction pressure belongs among the above - mentioned x , y and z regions in the controller is made in the first step ; if it belongs to x region , the process passes to a step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor 22 , and if it belongs to y region , it is not needed to change the rotational speed of the motor 22 and thus the process is returned to the first step while maintaining the rotational speed . meanwhile , if the suction pressure belongs to z region , it is needed to increase the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a by increasing the rotational speed of the motor 22 , but if the rotational speed of the motor 1 a is excessively increased , the motor 22 becomes to an overload condition and the overload condition should be avoided . accordingly , if the suction pressure belongs to z region , the process passes to a step for determining whether the motor coil temperature is below the predetermined upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ) and this determination is made in the controller 26 . if yes , the process passes to a step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor 22 and a signal increasing frequency of power for the inverter 25 is outputted from the controller 26 , so that the rotational speed of the motor 22 will be increased . whereas , if no , the process passes to a step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor 22 and a signal for reducing the frequency of power outputted from the controller 26 to the inverter 25 , thus the rotational speed of the motor 22 is decreased even if the suction pressure is in z region , because the motor 22 is considered as being in the overload condition . after passing through these steps for changing the rotational speed of the motor 22 , all of the cases are returned to the first step and each of the above - mentioned steps is repeated . in this way , the capacity of the screw compressor 1 a is regulated in response to the change of cooling heat load , without causing the overload of the motor 22 . fig4 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 b using another screw compressor 1 b according to the present invention , in which drawing the constituents of the refrigerating apparatus common to those of the refrigerating apparatus 10 a shown in fig1 are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . in this refrigerating apparatus 10 b , a cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 is provided in the flow path for cooled liquid emanated from the evaporator 13 , instead of the suction pressure detector d 3 shown in fig1 so that a temperature signal indicating the detected temperature is inputted from the cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 into the controller 26 . as explained in the above , the temperature of the cooled liquid has monotone increasing relationship with the cooling heat load , and this cooling heat load is resulted from the cooled liquid outlet bo of the evaporator 13 or the lower side thereof . therefore , the refrigerating apparatus 10 b shown in fig4 is substantially identical to the refrigerating apparatus 10 a shown in fig1 so that it is possible to make determination as to where a suction pressure belongs among the x , y and z regions based on the temperature signal from the cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 , and the flow chart shown in fig3 can be correspondingly applied to the refrigerating apparatus 10 b shown in fig4 . fig5 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 c incorporating still another screw compressor 1 c according to the present invention , in which drawing the constituents common to those of the refrigerating apparatus 10 a shown in fig1 are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . the refrigerating apparatus 10 c is provided with a current detector d 5 for detecting the magnitude of motor current of the power supplied to the motor 22 instead of the motor coil temperature detector d 1 shown in fig1 so that a current signal indicating the detected current is inputted from the current detector d 5 into the controller 26 . and , in this refrigerating apparatus 10 c , as shown in fig6 a control is performed in which a step for determining whether the motor current is below the predetermined upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ) is included instead of the step for determining whether the motor coil temperature is below the predetermined upper limit value or not as shown in fig3 . namely , if the motor current is below the upper limit value ( yes ), it passes to the step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor , because the motor 22 is considered as not in the overload condition . if the motor current is not below the upper limit value ( no ), it passes to the step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor , because the motor 22 is considered as in the overload condition . this control is substantially identical to that shown in fig3 except that the overload condition of the motor 22 is determined based on the motor current . fig7 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 d incorporating still another screw compressor 1 d according to the present invention , in which drawing the constituents of the screw compressor 10 a common to those of the refrigerating apparatus shown in fig1 are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . the refrigerating apparatus 10 d is provided with a discharge temperature detector d 6 for detecting the temperature of refrigerant gas compressed and discharged from the screw rotors 21 in the discharging portion 23 instead of the motor coil temperature detector d 1 shown in fig1 so that a temperature signal indicating the detected temperature is inputted from the discharge temperature detector d 6 into the controller 26 . and , in this refrigerating apparatus , as shown in fig8 a control is performed in which a step for determining whether the discharge temperature of the compressed refrigerant gas from the screw rotors 21 is below the predetermined upper limit value ( yes ), or not ( no ) is included instead of the step for determining whether the motor coil temperature is below the upper limit value or not as shown in fig3 . namely , if the discharge temperature is below the upper limit value ( yes ), it passes to the step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor , because the motor 22 is considered as not in the overload condition , and if the discharge temperature is not below the upper limit value ( no ), it passes to the step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor , because the motor 22 is considered as in the overload condition . this control is substantially identical to that shown in fig3 except that the overload condition of the motor 22 is determined based on the discharge temperature . fig9 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 e incorporating still another screw compressor 1 e according to the present invention , in which drawing the constituents of the screw compressor 10 e common to those of the refrigerating apparatus 10 a shown in fig1 are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . the refrigerating apparatus 10 e is provided with a motor rotational speed detector d 7 for detecting the rotational speed of the motor 22 instead of the motor coil temperature detector d 1 shown in fig1 so that a rotational speed signal indicating the detected rotational speed is inputted from the motor rotational speed detector d 7 into the controller 26 . and , in this refrigerating apparatus , as shown in fig1 , a control is performed in which a step for determining whether the rotational speed of the motor is below the predetermined upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ) is included instead of the step for determining whether the motor coil temperature is below the predetermined upper limit value or not as shown in fig3 . namely , if the rotational speed of the motor is below the upper limit value ( yes ), it passes to the step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor because the motor 22 is considered as not in the overload condition , and if the rotational speed of the motor is not below the upper limit value ( no ), the step passes to the step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor because the motor 22 is considered as in the overload condition . this control is substantially identical to that shown in fig3 except that the overload condition of the motor 22 is determined based on said rotational speed of the motor . furthermore , because it is also possible to know the rotational speed of the motor from the frequency of electric current outputted from the inverter 25 , a frequency detector d 7 for detecting the frequency may be provided on the inverter 25 or its secondary side instead of the motor rotational speed detector d 7 , so that a frequency signal indicating the magnitude of detected frequency is inputted from the frequency detector d 7 into the controller 26 . in this case , a step for determining whether the frequency is below the predetermined upper limit value or not is included instead of the step for determining the magnitude of rotational speed of the motor in fig1 . each of the refrigerating apparatus described in the above is provided with only one type of detectors among the motor coil temperature detector d 1 , the cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 , the current detector d 5 and the like in order to determine the load condition of the motor 22 . however , the present invention is not limited to a certain type of detectors , and covers refrigerating apparatus provided with two or more detectors suitably selected from these detectors . selected detectors may include all or some of the detectors described in the above to determine the load condition of the motor 22 and the combination thereof is optional . next , refrigerating apparatus using two types , three types , and four types of detectors , respectively , for determining the load condition of the motor 22 will be described as an example . of course , the present invention is not limited to illustrated combinations . fig1 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 f to which a screw compressor 1 f provided with the motor coil temperature detector d 1 and the discharge temperature detector d 6 , in which drawing the constituents common to those of the refrigerating apparatus explained in the above are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . in the refrigerating apparatus 10 f , as shown in fig1 , the determination as to where a suction pressure belongs among x , y and z regions is made ; if it is determined that it belongs to z region , two steps for determining signals from two detectors are interposed before arriving at the step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor . namely , if it is determined that the suction pressure belongs to z region , the process passes to the step for determining whether the motor coil temperature is below the predetermined upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ). if no , the process passes to the step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor because the motor is considered as in the overload condition . if yes , the process passes to the step for determining whether the discharge temperature is below the upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ), because it can not be considered that the motor 22 is in the overload condition merely based on the motor coil temperature . if no , the process passes to the step for reducing the rotational speed of the motor because the motor 22 is considered as in the overload condition , and if yes , the process passes to the step for increasing the rotational speed of the motor because the motor 22 is considered as not in the overload condition . the control flow thereafter is identical to those described in the above . like this , in the refrigerating apparatus 10 f , the determination as to whether the motor 22 is in the overload condition or not is doubly made based on two factors . furthermore , the order of two determination steps as to the motor coil temperature detector d 1 and the discharge temperature detector d 6 is optional rather than limited thereto . fig1 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 g incorporating a screw compressor 1 g additionally provided with the current detector d 5 in addition to the motor coil temperature detector d 1 and the discharge temperature detector d 6 , in which drawing the constituents common to those of the refrigerating apparatus explained in the above are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . as shown in fig1 , in this refrigerating apparatus 10 g , a step for determining whether the motor current is below the upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ) is added to the control flow chart thereof in addition to the flow chart shown in fig1 . and , in this refrigerating 10 g , the determination as to whether the motor 22 is in the overload condition or not is trebly made based on three factors . furthermore , the order of three determination steps as to the motor coil temperature detector d 1 , the discharge temperature detector d 6 and the current detector d 5 is optional rather than limited thereto . fig1 shows a refrigerating apparatus 10 h incorporating a screw compressor 1 h additionally provided with the motor rotational speed detector d 7 in addition to the motor coil temperature detector d 1 , the discharge temperature detector d 6 , and the current detector d 5 , in which drawing the constituents common to those of the refrigerating apparatus explained in the above are indicated with same reference numerals and descriptions thereof will be omitted . as shown in fig1 , in this refrigerating apparatus 10 h , a step for determining whether the rotational speed of the motor is below the upper limit value ( yes ) or not ( no ) is added in the control flow chart in addition to the flow chart shown in fig1 . and , in this refrigerating apparatus 10 h , the determination as to whether the motor 22 is in the overload condition or not is fourfold made based on four factors . furthermore , the order of four determination steps as to the motor coil temperature detector d 1 , the discharge temperature detector d 6 , the current detector d 5 and the motor rotational speed detector d 7 is optional rather than limited thereto . in each refrigerating apparatus shown in fig5 and the drawings thereafter , the cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 may be provided instead the suction pressure detector d 3 . in this case , the suction temperature is introduced based on the temperature signal from the cooled liquid temperature detector d 4 and then the determination as to where the suction pressure belongs among x , y and z regions is made in the control flow . | 8 |
the following definitions are provided as they are typically ( but not exclusively ) used in the fibre channel environment , implementing the various adaptive aspects of the present invention . “ fc - al ”: fibre channel arbitrated loop process described in fc - al standard incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . “ fibre channel ansi standard ”: the standard ( incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ) describes the physical interface , transmission and signaling protocol of a high performance serial link for support of other high level protocols associated with ipi , scsi , ip , atm and others . “ fc - 1 ”: fibre channel transmission protocol , which includes serial encoding , decoding and error control . “ fc - 2 ”: fibre channel signaling protocol that includes frame structure and byte sequences . “ fc - 3 ”: defines a set of fibre channel services that are common across plural ports of a node . “ fc - 4 ”: provides mapping between lower levels of fibre channel , ipi and scsi command sets , hippi data framing , ip and other upper level protocols . “ l_port ”: a port that contains arbitrated loop functions associated with the arbitrated loop topology . to facilitate an understanding of the preferred embodiment , the general architecture and operation of a fibre channel system will be described . the specific architecture and operation of the preferred embodiment will then be described with reference to the general architecture of the fibre channel system . fig1 is a block diagram of a fibre channel system 100 implementing the methods and systems in accordance with the adaptive aspects of the present invention . system 100 includes plural devices that are interconnected . each device includes one or more ports , classified as node ports ( n_ports ), fabric ports ( f_ports ), and expansion ports ( e_ports ). node ports may be located in a node device , e . g . server 103 , disk array 105 and storage device 104 . fabric ports are located in fabric devices such as switch 101 and 102 . arbitrated loop 106 may be operationally coupled to switch 101 using arbitrated loop ports ( fl_ports ). the devices of fig1 are operationally coupled via “ links ” or “ paths ”. a path may be established between two n_ports , e . g . between server 103 and storage 104 . a packet - switched path may be established using multiple links , e . g . an n - port in server 103 may establish a path with disk array 105 through switch 102 . fig4 is a block diagram of an 18 - port asic fc element 400 a ( also referred to as system 400 a ) according to one aspect of the present invention . fc element 400 a provides various functionality in an fc - al environment , including without limitation , fc element 400 a operates as a loop controller and loop switch using switch matrix 408 , in accordance with the fc - al standard . fc element 400 a of the present invention is presently implemented as a single cmos asic , and for this reason the term “ fc element ” and asic are used interchangeably to refer to the preferred embodiments in this specification . although fig4 shows 18 ports , the present invention is not limited to any particular number of ports . system 400 a provides a set of port control functions , status indications , and statistics counters for monitoring the health of the loop and attached devices , diagnosing faults , and recovering from errors . asic 400 a has 18 ports where 16 ports are shown as numeral 405 while a host port 404 and cascade port 404 a are shown separately for convenience only . these ports are generic to common fibre channel port types , for example , l_ports . for illustration purposes only , all ports are drawn on the same side of asic 400 a in fig4 . however , the ports may be located on any side of asic 400 a . this does not imply any difference in port or asic design . actual physical layout of the ports will depend on the physical layout of the asic . each port has transmit and receive connections to switch matrix 408 and includes transmit protocol engine 407 and a serial / deserializer 406 . frames enter / leave the link 405 a and serdes 406 converts data into 10 - bit parallel data to fibre channel characters . switch matrix 408 dynamically establishes a connection for loop traffic . switch matrix 408 includes a global arbiter ( hence switch matrix 408 is also referred to as sga 408 ) that provides lower latency and improved diagnostic capabilities while maintaining full fibre channel arbitrated loop ( fc - al ) compliance . switch matrix 408 provides a quasi - direct architecture in the form of a buffer - less switch matrix . switch matrix 408 includes data multiplexers that provide a path to each port . sga 408 creates a direct loop connection between source and destination devices . this connection methodology avoids the delay associated with data having to pass from one disk drive member of the loop to the next until the data has completed traversing the loop . system 400 a includes plural i2c ( i2c standard compliant ) interfaces 412 - 413 that allow system 400 a to couple to plural i2c ports each having a master and slave capability . timer module 411 is used to monitor various timers ( not shown ) used by system 400 a . system 400 a also includes a general - purpose input / output interface (“ gpio ”) 415 . this allows information from system 400 a to be analyzed by any device that can use gpio 415 . control / status information 419 can be sent or received through module 415 . system 400 a also includes a spi module 414 that is used for parallel to serial and serial to parallel transfer between processor 400 firmware and flash memory 421 in the standard little endian format . system 400 a also includes a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (“ uart ”) interface 418 that converts serial data to parallel data ( for example , from a peripheral device modem or data set ) and vice - versa ( data received from processor 400 ) complying industry standard requirements . system 400 a can also process tachometer inputs ( received from a fan , not shown ) using module 417 . processor 400 can read the tachometer input via a tachometer rate register and status register ( not shown ). system 400 a provides pulse width modulator (“ pwm ”) outputs via module 416 . processor 400 can program plural outputs . system 400 a also includes two frame manager modules 402 and 403 that are similar in structure . processor 400 can set both modules 402 and 403 into a data capture mode by using a control bit . processor 400 can access runtime code from memory 420 and input / output instructions from read only memory 409 . port management interface ( pmif ) 401 allows processor 400 access to various port level registers , serdes modules 406 and tpe management interfaces 509 ( fig5 ). pmif 401 contains a set of global control and status registers , receive and transmit test buffers , and three serial control interface ( scif ) controllers ( not shown ) for accessing serdes 406 registers . module 402 ( also referred to as the “ diag module 402 ”) is a diagnostic module used to transfer diagnostic information between a fc - al and the firmware of system 400 a . diag module 402 is functionally coupled to storage media ( via ports 405 ) via dedicated paths outside switch matrix 408 so that its connection does not disrupt the overall loop . diag module 402 is used for al_pa capture during lip propagation , drive ( s ) ( coupled to ports 405 ) diagnostics and frame capture . module 403 ( also referred to as “ ses module 403 ”) complies with the ses standard and is functionally coupled to host port 404 and its output is routed through switch matrix 408 . ses module 403 is used for in - band management services using the standard ses protocol . when not bypassed , modules 402 and 403 receive primitives , primitive sequences , and frames . based on the received traffic and the requests from firmware , modules 402 and 403 maintain loop port state machine ( lpsm ) ( 615 , fig6 b ) in the correct state per the fc - al standard specification , and also maintains the current fill word . based on a current lpsm 615 state ( open or opened state ), modules 402 and 403 receive frames , pass the frame onto a buffer , and alert firmware that a frame has been received . module 402 and 403 follow fc - al buffer to buffer credit requirements . firmware may request modules 402 and 403 to automatically append sof and eof to the outgoing frame , and to automatically calculate the outgoing frame &# 39 ; s crc using crc generator 612 . modules 402 and 403 can receive any class of frames and firmware may request to send either fibre channel class 2 or class 3 frames . fig6 a and 6b show block diagrams for module 402 and 403 . it is noteworthy that the structure in fig6 a and 6b can be used for both modules 402 and 403 . fig6 b is the internal data path of a fc port 601 coupled to modules 402 / 403 . modules 402 and 403 interface with processor 400 via an interface 606 . incoming frames to modules 402 and 403 are received from port 601 ( which could be any of the ports 404 , 404 a and 405 ) and stored in frame buffer 607 . outgoing frames are also stored in frame buffer 607 . modules 402 and 403 have a receive side memory buffer based on “ first - in , first - out ” principle , rx_fifo (“ fifo ”) 603 and tx_fifo transmit side fifo 604 interfacing with fifo 605 . a receive side fifo 603 signals to firmware when incoming frame ( s ) are received . a transmit side fifo 604 signals to hardware when outgoing frames ( s ) are ready for transmission . a frame buffer 607 is used to stage outgoing frames and to store incoming frames . modules 602 and 602 a are used to manage frame traffic from port 601 to buffers 603 and 604 , respectively . modules 402 and 403 use various general - purpose registers 608 for managing control , status and timing information . based on the al_pa , modules 402 and 403 monitor received frames and if a frame is received for a particular module ( 402 or 403 ), it will pass the frame onto a receive buffer and alert the firmware that a frame has been received via a receive side fifo 603 . modules 402 and 403 follow the fc - al buffer - to - buffer credit requirements using module 616 . modules 402 and 403 transmit primitives and frames based on fc - al rules . on request , modules 402 and 403 may automatically generate sof and eof during frame transmission ( using module 613 ). on request , modules 402 and 403 may also automatically calculate the cyclic redundancy code ( crc ) during frame transmission , using module 612 . overall transmission control is performed by module 611 that receives data , sof , eof and crc . a word assembler module 609 is used to assemble incoming words , and a fill word module 610 receives data “ words ” before sending it to module 611 for transmission . transmit buffer control is performed by module 614 . fig3 a shows a system that can be used in modules 402 and 403 for processing rms frames . for incoming - only frames and outgoing - only frames ( i . e ., the frames that don &# 39 ; t need modification ), the buffers are still separated to avoid contention during full - duplex operations as shown in fig2 a . however , for rms frames the prior art dual buffer scheme is modified as depicted by buffer scheme 300 in fig3 a . fig3 a shows a set of buffers 301 that are controlled by state machine 205 . rms frames ( 303 , fig3 b ) are received from network 206 and processed in buffers 301 . rms frames 303 are not copied to tx buffers 202 before modification . after the frames are modified in buffers 301 , the frames are sent to tx buffer 202 for transmission . buffer select logic 302 controls selection of buffers based upon the type of frame , i . e ., rms or non - rms frames . the buffer scheme of fig3 a allows firmware to accelerate processing of rms , as follows : firmware first detects if a receive - modify - send frame has arrived . viewing incoming frame headers performs this operation . if the incoming frames are rms type , then system 400 a firmware modifies the frame in - place at rx buffer 301 , without copying the frame to another buffer ( tx 202 ); and after the frames are modified , the frames are transmitted . fig3 b shows a block diagram for rms frame flow , according to one aspect of the present invention . incoming rms frame 303 is modified in buffer 301 and is then moved to tx buffer 202 . buffer select module 302 then transmits the modified frame 304 to network 206 . fig5 shows a block diagram of the transmission protocol engine (“ tpe ”) 407 . tpe 407 maintains plural counters / registers to interact with drives coupled to ports 405 . each tpe 407 interacts with processor 400 via port manager interface 401 . each fibre channel port of system 400 a includes a tpe module for interfacing with serdes 406 . tpe 407 handles most of the fc - 1 layer ( transmission protocol ) functions , including 10 b receive character alignment , 8 b / 10 b encode / decode , 32 - bit receive word synchronization , and elasticity buffer management for word re - timing and tx / rx frequency compensation . serdes modules 406 handle the fc - 1 serialization and de - serialization functions . each serdes 406 port consists of an independent transmit and receive node . tpe 407 has a receive module 500 ( that operates in the rx clock domain 503 ) and a transmit module 501 . data 502 is received from serdes 406 and decoded by decoding module 504 . a parity generator module 505 generates parity data . sga interface 508 allows tpe to communicate with switch 514 or switch matrix 408 . interface 508 ( via multiplexer 507 ) receives information from a receiver module 506 that receives decoded data from decode module 504 and parity data from module 505 . management interface module 509 interfaces with processor 400 . transmit module 501 includes a parity checker 511 , a transmitter 510 and an encoder 512 that encodes 8 - bit data into 10 - bit data . 10 - bit transmit data is sent to serdes 406 via multiplexer 513 . in one aspect of the present invention , extra processing is not required because the frame is not copied from an rx buffer to a tx buffer . although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments , these embodiments are illustrative only and not limiting . many other applications and embodiments of the present invention will be apparent in light of this disclosure and the following claims . | 7 |
this invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings . the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways . also , the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting . the use of “ including ,” “ comprising ,” “ having ,” “ containing ,” “ involving ,” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items . fig1 illustrates a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as a lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator available from zoll medical corporation of chelmsford , mass . as shown , the medical monitoring and treatment device 100 includes a harness 110 having a pair of shoulder straps and a belt that is worn about the torso of a patient . the harness 110 is typically made from a material , such as cotton , nylon , spandex , or antron that is breathable , and unlikely to cause skin irritation , even when worn for prolonged periods of time . the medical monitoring and treatment device 100 includes a plurality of electrocardiographic ( ecg ) sensing electrodes 112 that are disposed by the harness 110 at various positions about the patient &# 39 ; s body and electrically coupled ( wirelessly or by a wired connection ) to a portable treatment controller 120 via a connection pod 130 . the plurality of ecg sensing electrodes 112 are used by the portable treatment controller 120 to monitor the cardiac function of the patient and generally include a front / back pair of ecg sensing electrodes and a side / side pair of ecg sensing electrodes . it should be appreciated that additional ecg sensing electrodes may be provided , and the plurality of ecg sensing electrodes 112 may be disposed at varying locations about the patient &# 39 ; s body . in addition , the plurality of ecg electrodes 112 may incorporate any electrode system , including conventional stick - on adhesive electrodes , dry - sensing capacitive ecg electrodes , radio transparent electrodes , segmented electrodes , or one or more long term wear electrodes that are configured to be continuously worn by a patient for extended periods ( e . g ., 3 or more days ). one example of such a long term wear electrode is described in co - pending application ser . no . 61 / 653 , 749 , titled “ long term wear multifunction biomedical electrode ,” filed may 31 , 2012 , which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . the medical monitoring and treatment devices disclosed herein may incorporate sundry materials arranged in a variety of configurations to maintain a proper fit with the patient &# 39 ; s body . for example , some embodiments include a garment as described in co - pending application ser . no . 13 / 460 , 250 , titled “ patient - worn energy delivery apparatus and techniques for sizing same ,” filed apr . 30 , 2012 , which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . thus embodiments are not limited to the configuration and materials described above with reference to fig1 . the medical monitoring and treatment device 100 also includes a plurality of therapy electrodes 114 that are electrically coupled to the portable treatment controller 120 via the connection pod 130 and which are capable of delivering one or more therapeutic defibrillating shocks to the body of the patient , if it is determined that such treatment is warranted . as shown , the plurality of therapy electrodes 114 includes a first therapy electrode 114 a that is disposed on the front of the patient &# 39 ; s torso and a second therapy electrode 114 b that is disposed on the back of the patient &# 39 ; s torso . the second therapy electrode 114 b includes a pair of therapy electrodes that are electrically coupled together and act as the second therapy electrode 114 b . the use of two therapy electrodes 114 a , 114 b permits a biphasic shock to be delivered to the body of the patient , such that a first of the two therapy electrodes can deliver a first phase of the biphasic shock with the other therapy electrode acting as a return , and the other therapy electrode can deliver the second phase of the biphasic shock with the first therapy electrode acting as the return . the connection pod 130 electrically couples the plurality of ecg sensing electrodes 112 and the plurality of therapy electrodes 114 to the portable treatment controller 120 , and may include electronic circuitry . for example , in one implementation the connection pod 130 includes signal acquisition circuitry , such as a plurality of differential amplifiers to receive ecg signals from different ones of the plurality of ecg sensing electrodes 112 and to provide a differential ecg signal to the portable treatment controller 120 based on the difference therebetween . the connection pod 130 may also include other electronic circuitry , such as a motion sensor or accelerometer by which patient activity may be monitored . in some embodiments , both the first therapy electrode 114 a and the second therapy electrode 114 b are disposed on the front of the patient &# 39 ; s torso . for example , the first therapy electrode 114 a may be located at external to the apex of the heart and the second therapy electrode 114 b may be located along the parasternal line . thus embodiments are not limited to a particular arrangement of therapy electrodes 114 . in some embodiments , the plurality of ecg sensing electrodes 112 are positioned and paired such that artifacts generated from electrical activity are decreased . in other embodiments , the electronic circuitry included in the portable treatment controller 120 may equalize artifacts measured at electrodes by changing a gain or impedance . other techniques of decreasing or preventing artifacts within measured electrical activity that may be used in conjunction the embodiments disclosed herein are explained in u . s . pat . no . 8 , 185 , 199 , titled “ monitoring physiological signals during external electrical stimulation ,” issued may 22 , 2012 , which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . as shown in fig1 , the medical monitoring and treatment device 100 may also include a user interface pod 140 that is electrically coupled to the portable treatment controller 120 . the user interface pod 140 can be attached to the patient &# 39 ; s clothing or to the harness 110 , for example , via a clip ( not shown ) that is attached to a portion of the interface pod 140 . alternatively , the user interface pod 140 may simply be held in a person &# 39 ; s hand . the user interface pod 140 typically includes one or more actionable user interface elements ( e . g ., one or more buttons , a fingerprint scanner , a touch screen , microphone , etc . . . . ) by which the patient , or a bystander can communicate with the portable treatment controller 120 , and a speaker by which the portable treatment controller 120 may communicate with the patient or the bystander . in certain models of the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator , the functionality of the user interface pod 140 is incorporated into the portable treatment controller 120 . where the portable treatment controller 120 determines that the patient is experiencing cardiac arrhythmia , the portable treatment controller 120 may issue an audible alarm via a loudspeaker ( not shown ) on the portable treatment controller 120 and / or the user interface pod 140 alerting the patient and any bystanders to the patient &# 39 ; s medical condition . examples of notifications issued by the portable treatment controller 120 are described in co - pending application ser . no . 13 / 428 , 703 , titled “ system and method for adapting alarms in a wearable medical device ,” filed mar . 23 , 2012 , which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . the portable treatment controller 120 may also instruct the patient to press and hold one or more buttons on the portable treatment controller 120 or on the user interface pod 140 to indicate that the patient is conscious , thereby instructing the portable treatment controller 120 to withhold the delivery of one or more therapeutic defibrillating shocks . if the patient does not respond , the device may presume that the patient is unconscious , and proceed with the treatment sequence , culminating in the delivery of one or more defibrillating shocks to the body of the patient . the portable treatment controller 120 generally includes at least one processor , microprocessor , or controller , such as a processor commercially available from companies such as texas instruments , intel , amd , sun , ibm , motorola , freescale and arm holdings . in one implementation , the at least one processor includes a power conserving processor arrangement that comprises a general purpose processor , such as an intel ® pxa270 processor and a special purpose processor , such as a freescale dsp56311 digital signal processor . such a power conserving processor arrangement is described in co - pending application ser . no . 12 / 833 , 096 , titled system and method for conserving power in a medical device , filed jul . 9 , 2010 ( hereinafter the “&# 39 ; 096 application ”) which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety . the at least one processor of the portable treatment controller 120 is configured to monitor the patient &# 39 ; s medical condition , to perform medical data logging and storage , and to provide medical treatment to the patient in response to a detected medical condition , such as cardiac arrhythmia . although not shown , the medical monitoring and treatment device 100 may include additional sensors , other than the ecg sensing electrodes 112 , capable of monitoring the physiological condition or activity of the patient . for example , sensors capable of measuring blood pressure , heart rate , heart sounds , thoracic impedance , pulse oxygen level , respiration rate , and the activity level of the patient may also be provided . fig2 illustrates a portable treatment controller 120 that is configured to perform the critical functions of monitoring physiological information for abnormalities and initiating treatment of detected abnormalities . as shown , the portable treatment controller 120 can include the power conserving processor arrangement 200 described in the &# 39 ; 096 application , a sensor interface 212 , a therapy delivery interface 202 , data storage 204 , a communication network interface 206 , a user interface 208 and a battery 210 . in this illustrated example , the battery 210 is a rechargeable 3 cell 2200 mah lithium ion battery pack that provides electrical power to the other device components with a minimum 24 hour runtime between charges . such a battery 210 has sufficient capacity to administer one or more therapeutic shocks and the therapy delivery interface 202 has wiring suitable to carry the load to the therapy electrodes 114 . moreover , in the example shown , the battery 210 has sufficient capacity to deliver up to 5 or more therapeutic shocks , even at battery runtime expiration . the amount of power capable of being delivered to a patient during a defibrillating shock is substantial , for example up to approximately 200 joules . the sensor interface 212 and the therapy delivery interface 202 are coupled to the power conserving processor arrangement 200 and more particularly to the critical purpose processor of the power conserving processing arrangement 200 as described in the &# 39 ; 096 application . the data storage 204 , the network interface 206 , and the user interface 208 are also coupled to the power conserving processor arrangement 200 , and more particularly to the general purpose processor of the power conserving processing arrangement as also described in the &# 39 ; 096 application . in the example shown , the data storage 204 includes a computer readable and writeable nonvolatile data storage medium configured to store non - transitory instructions and other data . the medium may , for example , be optical disk , magnetic disk or flash memory , among others and may be permanently affixed to , or removable from , the portable treatment controller 120 . as shown in fig2 , the portable treatment controller 120 includes several system interface components 202 , 206 and 212 . each of these system interface components is configured to exchange , i . e ., send or receive data , with specialized devices that may be located within the portable treatment controller 200 or elsewhere . the components used by the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 may include hardware components , software components or a combination of both . in the instance of each interface , these components physically and logically couple the portable treatment controller 200 to one or more specialized devices . this physical and logical coupling enables the portable treatment controller 120 to both communicate with and , in some instances , control the operation of specialized devices . these specialized devices may include physiological sensors , therapy delivery devices , and computer networking devices . according to various examples , the hardware and software components of the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 employ a variety of coupling and communication techniques . in some examples , the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 use leads , cables or other wired connectors as conduits to exchange data between the portable treatment controller 120 and specialized devices . in other examples , the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 communicate with specialized devices using wireless technologies such as radio frequency or infrared technology . the software components included in the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 enable the power conserving processor arrangement 200 to communicate with specialized devices . these software components may include elements such as objects , executable code and populated data structures . together , these hardware and software components provide interfaces through which the power conserving processor arrangement 200 can exchange information with the specialized devices . moreover , in at least some examples where one or more specialized devices communicate using analog signals , the interfaces 202 , 206 and 212 can include components configured to convert analog information into digital information , and vice - versa . as discussed above , the system interface components 202 , 206 and 212 shown in the example of fig2 support different types of specialized devices . for instance , the components of the sensor interface 212 couple the power conserving processor arrangement 200 to one or more physiological sensors such as a body temperature sensors , respiration monitors and dry - capacitive ecg sensing electrodes . it should be appreciated that other types of ecg sensing electrodes may be used , as the present invention is not limited to any particular type of ecg sensing electrode . the components of the therapy delivery interface 202 couple one or more therapy delivery devices , such as capacitors and defibrillator electrodes , to the power conserving processor arrangement 200 . in addition , the components of the network interface 206 couple the power conserving processor arrangement to a computer network via a networking device , such as a bridge , router or hub . the network interface 206 may supports a variety of standards and protocols , examples of which include usb , tcp / ip , ethernet , wireless ethernet , bluetooth , zigbee , m - bus , ip , ipv6 , udp , dtn , http , ftp , snmp , cdma , nmea and gsm . to ensure data transfer is secure , in some examples , the portable treatment controller 200 can transmit data via the network interface 206 using a variety of security measures including , for example , tsl , ssl or vpn . in other examples , the network interface 206 includes both a physical interface configured for wireless communication and a physical interface configured for wired communication . the user interface 208 shown in fig2 includes a combination of hardware and software components that allow the portable treatment controller 200 to communicate with an external entity , such as a user . these components are configured to receive information from actions such as physical movement , verbal intonation or thought processes . in addition , the components of the user interface 208 can provide information to external entities . examples of the components that may be employed within the user interface 208 include keyboards , mouse devices , trackballs , microphones , electrodes , touch screens , printing devices , display screens and speakers . the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator can monitor a patient &# 39 ; s ecg signals , detect various cardiac arrhythmias , and provide life saving defibrillation treatment to a patient suffering a treatable form of cardiac arrhythmia such as ventricular fibrillation ( vf ) or ventricular tachycardia ( vt ). applicants have appreciated that such a medical monitoring and treatment device can be configured to perform a variety of different types of cardiac pacing to treat a wide variety of different cardiac arrhythmias , such as bradycardia , tachycardia , an irregular cardiac rhythm , or asystole . applicants have further appreciated that , in other embodiments , a medical monitoring and treatment device can be configured to perform pacing to treat pulseless electrical activity . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , the device can be configured to pace the heart of the patient at a fixed energy level and pulse rate , to pace the heart of the patient on demand with a fixed energy level and an adjustable rate responsive to the detected intrinsic activity level of the patient &# 39 ; s heart , or to pace the heart of the patient using capture management with an adjustable energy level and rate responsive to the detected intrinsic activity level of the patient &# 39 ; s heart and the detected response of the patient &# 39 ; s heart . the various types of pacing may be applied to the patient externally by one or more of the therapy electrodes 114 a , 114 b ( fig1 ). various types of pacing that can be performed by a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator , can include asynchronous pacing at a fixed rate and energy , pacing on demand at a variable rate and fixed energy , and capture management pacing with an adjustable rate and adjustable energy level . in some embodiments , the medical monitoring and treatment device is configured to periodically assess the level of discomfort of the patient during pacing operation . in these embodiments , responsive to determining that the patient &# 39 ; s discomfort level exceeds a threshold , the device attempts to adjust the attributes of the pacing activity to lessen the discomfort experienced by the patient . in one embodiment , the medical monitoring and treatment device provides a user interface through which the device receives information descriptive of the discomfort level experienced by a patient . should this information indicate that the level of discomfort has transgressed a threshold level , the device adjusts characteristics of the pacing operation in an attempt to decrease the level of discomfort . in another embodiment , the medical monitoring and treatment device assesses the level of discomfort of the patient by monitoring and recording the patient &# 39 ; s movement before , during , and after administration of a pacing pulse . the device may monitor the patient &# 39 ; s movement using a variety of instrumentation including , for example , one or more accelerometers , audio sensors , etc . to assess the level of discomfort experienced by the patient during pacing pulses , the device may analyze the recorded history of the patient &# 39 ; s movement and identify correlations between changes in the patient &# 39 ; s movement and the pacing pulse . strong correlations between pacing pulses and sudden patient movement , which may be representative of a flinch , and strong correlations between pacing pulses and a sudden stoppage of movement , may indicate that a patient is experiencing discomfort . correlations having a value that transgresses a threshold value may be deemed to indicate discomfort and may cause the device to adjust the characteristics of a pacing pulse . in other embodiments , the device adjusts the characteristics of the pacing operation to lessen the discomfort level of the patient . the characteristics of the pacing operation that may be adjusted include , for example , the energy level of pacing pulses , the width of the pacing pulses , and the rate of the pacing pulses . in some embodiments , the device monitors the cardiac activity of the patient during this adjustment process to ensure that the pacing operation continues to effectively manage cardiac function . in these embodiments , the device may revert the characteristics of the pacing operation to their previous settings , should the pacing operation become ineffective . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator , can be configured to pace the heart of a patient at a fixed rate and fixed energy in response to various types of cardiac arrhythmias . examples of these cardiac arrhythmias include bradyarrythmia , a lack of sensed cardiac activity ( spontaneous or post shock asystole ) and pulseless electrical activity . in some cases , these cardiac arrhythmias may occur before or after one or more defibrillation shocks . for example , the device may be configured to provide pulses at a fixed energy level , a fixed pulse width , and a fixed frequency in response to detection of any of the above - noted events by the ecg sensing electrodes 112 . the energy level of the pacing pulses may be set to a fixed value by applying a desired current waveform for a determined duration of time by one or more of the therapy electrodes 114 a , 114 b . the maximum current level of the current waveform may be set to a value between approximately 0 mamps to 200 mamps , the pulse width may be set to a fixed value between approximately 0 . 05 ms to 2 ms , and the frequency of the pulses may be set to a fixed value between approximately 30 pulses per minute ( ppm ) to approximately 200 ppm . in accordance with one embodiment , a 40 ms square wave pulse is used . exemplary pacing current waveforms , including a 40 ms constant current pulse , a 5 ms constant current pulse , and a variable current pulse are shown in fig3 . during pacing operation of the medical monitoring and treatment device , the device may periodically pause for a period of time to evaluate the patient via the ecg sensing electrodes to determine whether a normal sinus rhythm has returned . where the device detects a normal sinus rhythm , the device may discontinue the application of pacing pulses and simply continue monitoring the patient &# 39 ; s physiological signals , such as the patient &# 39 ; s ecg , temperature , pulse oxygen level , etc . during an initial fitting of the medical monitoring and treatment device , the level of current , the pulse width , and the frequency of the pulses may be set to an appropriate level based on the input of a medical professional ( such as the patient &# 39 ; s cardiologist ) and the physiological condition of the patient ( e . g ., based on the patient &# 39 ; s normal resting heart rate , the patient &# 39 ; s thoracic impedance , etc .) alternatively , the level of current , the pulse width , and the frequency of the pulses may simply be set to an appropriate value based on typical impedance values for an adult or child , and typical resting heart rates for an adult or child . it should be appreciated that because pacing at a fixed rate may interfere with the patient &# 39 ; s own intrinsic heart rate , the device can be configured to perform such fixed rate and energy pacing only in the event of a life - threatening bradyarrythmia , a lack of any detected cardiac activity following shock , or in response to pulseless electrical activity following shock . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator , can also be configured to pace the heart of a patient at a variable rate and a fixed energy in response to various types of cardiac arrhythmias , including a bradyarrythmia ( i . e ., an excessively slow heart rate ), tachycardia ( i . e ., an excessively fast heart rate ), an erratic heart rate with no discernible regular sinus rhythm , a lack of sensed cardiac activity ( asystole ), and pulseless electrical activity . some of these cardiac arrhythmias may occur following one or more defibrillation shocks . as known to those skilled in the art , pacing at a fixed rate and energy may not be appropriate to the particular type of cardiac arrhythmia of the patient , and even where the rate and energy level is appropriate , pacing at a fixed rate can result in competition between the rate at which the pacing pulses are being applied and the intrinsic rhythm of the patient &# 39 ; s heart . for example , pacing at a fixed rate may result in the application of a pacing pulse during the relative refractory period of the normal cardiac cycle ( a type of r wave on a t wave effect ) that could promote ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation . to overcome some of the disadvantages of fixed rate and energy pacing , the medical monitoring and treatment device can be configured to perform demand pacing , wherein the rate of the pacing pulses may be varied dependent on the physiological state of the patient . for example , during demand pacing , the device can deliver a pacing pulse only when needed by the patient . in general , during the demand mode of pacing , the device searches for any intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient , and if a heart beat is not detected within a designated interval , a pacing pulse is delivered and a timer is set to the designated interval . where the designated interval expires without any detected intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient , another pacing pulse is delivered and the timer reset . alternatively , where an intrinsic heart beat of the patient is detected within the designated interval , the device resets the timer and continues to search for intrinsic cardiac activity . fig4 helps to illustrate some of the aspects of demand pacing and the manner in which demand pacing can be performed by the medical monitoring and treatment device . as illustrated in fig4 , the device may have a variable pacing interval 410 corresponding to the rate at which pacing pulses are delivered to the patient in the absence of any detected intrinsic cardiac activity detected by the ecg sensing electrodes 112 and ecg monitoring and detection circuitry . for example , the rate at which pulsing paces are to be delivered to the patient ( referred to as the “ base pacing rate ” herein ) may be set at 60 ppm and therefore , the corresponding base pacing interval 410 would be set to 1 second . the medical monitoring and treatment device may also have a hysteresis rate ( not shown in fig4 ) corresponding to the detected intrinsic heart rate of the patient below which the device performs pacing . according to some embodiments , the hysteresis rate is a configurable parameter that is expressed as a percentage of the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic heart rate . in the above example , the hysteresis rate may correspond to 50 beats per minute ( bpm ). in this example , if the intrinsic heart rate of the patient fell to 50 bpm or below ( e . g ., more than approximately 1 . 2 seconds between detected beats ), the device would generate and apply a pacing impulse to the patient . during application of a pacing pulse to the body of a patient and a short time thereafter , the medical monitoring and treatment device may intentionally blank out a portion of the ecg signals being received by the ecg monitoring and detection circuitry to prevent this circuitry ( e . g ., amplifiers , a / d converters , etc .) from being overwhelmed ( e . g ., saturated ) by the pacing pulse . this may be performed in hardware , software , or a combination of both . this period of time , referred to herein as “ the blanking interval ” 420 may vary ( e . g ., between approximately 30 ms to 200 ms ), but is typically between approximately 40 ms to 80 ms in duration . in addition to the blanking interval 420 , the medical monitoring and treatment device can have a variable refractory period 430 that may vary dependent upon the base pacing rate . the refractory period 430 corresponds to a period of time in which signals sensed by the ecg sensing electrodes 112 and the ecg monitoring and detection circuitry are ignored , and includes the blanking interval . the refractory period 430 allows any generated qrs complexes or t waves induced in the patient by virtue of the pacing pulse to be ignored , and not interpreted as intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient . for example , where the base pacing rate is set to below 80 ppm , the refractory period might correspond to 340 ms , and where the base pacing rate is set above 90 ppm , the refractory period might correspond to 240 ms . for typical applications , the refractory period is generally between about 150 ms and 500 ms . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , the sensitivity of the ecg monitoring and detection that is performed by the medical monitoring and treatment device may also be varied to adjust the degree by which the ecg sensing electrodes and associated ecg monitoring and detection circuitry can detect the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic cardiac activity . for example , where the amplitude of certain discernable portions ( e . g ., an r - wave ) of a patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic ecg signal is below that typically encountered , the voltage threshold over which this discernable portion can be detected as belonging to an ecg signal ( and not attributed to noise or other factors ) may be lowered , for example from 2 . 5 mv to 1 . 5 mv , to better detect the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic cardiac activity . for instance , during an initial fitting of the medical monitoring and treatment device , the sensitivity threshold of the device may be reduced to a minimal value ( e . g ., 0 . 4 mv ) and the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic ecg signals may be monitored . the sensitivity threshold may then be incrementally increased ( thereby decreasing the sensitivity of the device ) and the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic ecg signals monitored until these ecg signals are no longer sensed . the sensitivity threshold may then be incrementally decreased ( thereby increasing the sensitivity of the device ) until the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic ecg signals are again sensed , and the sensitivity threshold of the device may be set to approximately half this value . as with fixed energy and rate pacing , the device may be configured to provide pulses at a fixed energy level and a fixed pulse width in response to detection of any of the above - noted events by the ecg sensing electrodes 112 and the ecg monitoring and detection circuitry . the maximum current level of the current waveform may be set to a value between approximately 10 mamps to 200 mamps , the pulse width may be set to a fixed value between approximately 20 ms to 40 ms , and the base rate of the pulses may be set to a fixed value between approximately 30 pulses per minute ( ppm ) to approximately 200 ppm , although the actual rate of the pacing pulses can vary based upon the intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient . in accordance with one embodiment , a 40 ms constant current pulse is used , and the current level is set to a fixed value based upon the input of a medical professional , such as the patient &# 39 ; s cardiologist and the physiological condition of the patient . the base pacing rate and the hysteresis rate may also be set based upon the input of the patient &# 39 ; s cardiologist ( or other medical professional ) and the physiological condition of the patient , and the blanking interval and refractory period set to an appropriate time interval based upon the base pacing rate and / or the hysteresis rate . although the base pacing rate may be set to a particular value based on the physiological condition of the patient and input from a medical profession , the medical monitoring and treatment device can include a number of different pacing routines to respond to different cardiac arrhythmias , such as bradycardia , tachycardia , an erratic heart rate with no discernable regular sinus rhythm , asystole , or pulseless electrical activity . these pacing routines may be implemented using a variety of hardware and software components and embodiments are not limited to a particular configuration of hardware or software . for instance , the pacing routines may be implemented using an application - specific integrated circuit ( asic ) tailored to perform the functions described herein . as discussed above , where bradycardia is detected and the intrinsic cardiac rate of the patient is below that of the hysteresis rate , the medical monitoring and treatment device will pace the patient at the pre - set base pacing rate . during this time , the device will continue to monitor the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic heart rate and will withhold pacing pulses in the event that an intrinsic heart beat is detected within designated interval corresponding to the hysteresis rate . this type of on demand pacing is frequently termed “ maintenance pacing .” for responding to tachycardia , the medical monitoring and treatment device may additionally include another pacing rate , termed an “ anti - tachyarrhythmic pacing rate ” herein , above which the device will identify that the patient is suffering from tachycardia , and will pace the patient in a manner to bring the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic heart back toward the base racing rate . for example , the device may employ a technique known as overdrive pacing wherein a series of pacing pulses ( e . g ., between about 5 and 10 pacing pulses ) are delivered to the patient at a frequency above the intrinsic rate of the patient in an effort to gain control of the patient &# 39 ; s heart rate . once it is determined that the device is in control of the patient &# 39 ; s heart rate , the rate ( i . e ., the frequency ) of the pulses may be decremented , for example by about 10 ms , and another series of pacing pulses delivered . this delivery of pulses and the decrease in frequency may continue until the detected intrinsic cardiac rate of the patient is below the anti - tachyarrhythmic pacing rate , or at the base pacing rate . this type of pacing is frequently termed “ overdrive pacing ” or “ fast pacing .” for responding to an erratic heart rate , the medical monitoring and treatment device may perform a type of pacing that is similar to a combination of maintenance pacing and overdrive pacing discussed above . for example , where the medical monitoring and treatment device detects an erratic heart rate with no discernable sinus rhythm , the device may deliver a series of pacing pulses ( e . g ., between about 5 and 10 pacing pulses ) to the patient at a particular frequency . this frequency may be one that is above a lower frequency of a series of detected intrinsic beats of the patient &# 39 ; s heart and below an upper frequency of the detected intrinsic beats of the patient &# 39 ; s heart . after delivering the series of pulses , the device may monitor the patient &# 39 ; s heart to determine if it has synchronized to the rate of the series of delivered pulses . where the intrinsic rate of the patient &# 39 ; s heart is still erratic , the device may increase the frequency of the series of pulses and deliver another series . this may continue until it is established that the patient &# 39 ; s heart is now in a more regular state . upon determining that the patient &# 39 ; s heart is now in a more regular state , the device may perform maintenance pacing if it is determined that the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic heart rate is too low as discussed in section 2a above , or perform pacing at a decremented rate in the manner discussed in section 2b above , if such is warranted . for responding to asystole or a detected condition of pulseless electrical activity , the medical monitoring and treatment device may perform maintenance pacing similar to that described in section 2a above . this type of pacing would be performed after a series of one or more defibrillating shocks that attempt to restore a normal sinus rhythm to the heart of the patient . in each of the above types of pacing , the medical monitoring and treatment device may be configured to perform a particular type of pacing only after a programmable delay after such cardiac arrhythmias are detected , or after a programmable period of time after one or more defibrillating shocks are delivered . in accordance with an aspect of the present invention , a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as the lifevest ® wearable cardioverter defibrillator , can also be configured to pace the heart of a patient using capture management with an adjustable energy level and an adjustable rate in response to various types of cardiac arrhythmias . the various types of cardiac arrhythmias can include a bradycardia , tachycardia , an erratic heart rate with no discernable regular sinus rhythm , a lack of sensed cardiac activity ( asystole ) following or independent of one or more defibrillation shocks , a life - threatening bradyarrythmia following one or more defibrillation shocks , or pulseless electrical activity following one or more defibrillation shocks . as known to those skilled in the art , capture management refers to a type of pacing in which the energy level of pacing pulses and the rate of delivery of those pacing pulses may be varied based upon the detected intrinsic activity level of the patient &# 39 ; s heart and the detected response of the patient &# 39 ; s heart to those pacing pulses . in cardiac pacing , the term “ capture ” is used to refer to the response of a patient &# 39 ; s heart to a pulse of energy which results in ventricular depolarization . in cardiac pacing , it is desirable to limit the amount of energy in each pulse to a minimal amount required for capture ; thereby minimizing the amount of discomfort associated with external pacing . in general , the manner in which the medical monitoring and treatment device can perform capture management pacing is similar to that of demand pacing described above , in that it may adjust the rate at which pacing pulses are delivered based upon the detected intrinsic rate of cardiac activity of the patient . the sensitivity of the device to the patient &# 39 ; s ecg may be adjusted in a similar manner to that described above with respect to demand pacing . further , capture management pacing may be used to treat the same types of cardiac arrhythmias as the demand pacing described above , such as bradycardia , tachycardia , an erratic heart rate with no discernable sinus rhythm , asystole , or pulseless electrical activity . however , in contrast to a device that performs demand pacing , a device that is configured to perform capture management pacing will typically have a refractory period 430 ( see fig4 ) that is significantly shorter than a device configured to perform demand pacing . indeed , when using capture management pacing , there may be no refractory period 430 at all , but only a blanking interval 420 . alternatively , where there is a refractory period 430 , the refractory period 430 may be similar in duration to the blanking interval 420 . as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art , this is because during capture management pacing , the response of the patient &# 39 ; s heart is monitored by the ecg sensing electrodes 112 and ecg monitoring and detection circuitry to detect whether the delivered pulse of energy resulted in capture . for this reason , while the ecg monitoring and detection circuitry may be switched off or effectively disabled during the delivery of energy pulses , it is important that it be switched back on or otherwise enabled shortly thereafter to detect whether the delivered pulse resulted in capture . in one embodiment in which a 40 ms constant current pulse is used , the blanking interval 420 may be set to approximately 45 ms to avoid saturation of the ecg monitoring and detection circuitry , but ensure that any intrinsic electrical activity of the patient &# 39 ; s heart that was induced by the pacing pulse is detected . during capture management pacing , the medical monitoring and treatment device can deliver a pulse of energy at a determined energy level and monitor the patient &# 39 ; s response to determine if capture resulted . where it is determined that the delivered pulse did not result in capture , the energy level of the next pulse may be increased . for example , where the device is a medical monitoring and treatment device that is external to the patient , the initial setting may be configured to provide a 40 ms rectilinear and constant current pulse of energy at a current of 40 mamps , and increase the amount of current in increments of 2 mamps until capture results . the next pacing pulse may be delivered at increased current relative to the first pacing pulse and at a desired rate relative to the first pacing pulse in the absence of any detected intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient . where the next pacing pulse does not result in capture , the energy may be increased until capture is detected . the medical monitoring and treatment device may then continue pacing at this energy level and at a desired rate in the absence of any detected intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient . during this period of time , the device monitors the patient &# 39 ; s cardiac response to the pacing pulses , and may increment the energy level further , should it be determined over one or more subsequent pulses that capture did not result . in an alternative configuration , the medical monitoring and treatment device may apply a series of pulses at an initial energy level and rate , and monitor the patient &# 39 ; s response to determine if capture resulted . where capture did not result , or where capture resulted in response to some of the pulses , but not all , the device may increase the energy of a next series of pulses until capture results for each pulse . alternatively , the device may be configured to identify a minimum amount of energy that results in capture during capture management pacing . where it is determined that the delivered pulse did result in capture , the energy level of the next pulse may be decreased . for example , where the device is a medical monitoring and treatment device that is external to the patient , the initial setting may be configured to provide a 40 ms constant current pulse of energy at a current of 70 mamps . where it is determined that the delivered pulse resulted in capture , subsequent pacing pulses may be delivered and decreased in increments of 5 mamps and at a desired rate relative to the first pacing pulse in the absence of any detected intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient until capture is no longer achieved . where the next pacing pulse does not result in capture , the energy setting may be increased to the last current known to produce a pulse resulting in capture , and then delivering a pulse at the higher energy setting , thus delivering the minimal amount of energy required for capture . the medical monitoring and treatment device may then continue pacing at this energy level and at a desired rate in the absence of any detected intrinsic cardiac activity of the patient . during this period of time , a similar routine may be re - performed at predetermined intervals to ensure that the minimum amount of energy is being delivered for capture . in addition , during this period of time , the device monitors the patient &# 39 ; s cardiac response to the pacing pulses , and may increase the energy level should it be determined over one or more subsequent pulses that capture did not result . it should be appreciated that in the various embodiments described above , an external medical monitoring and treatment device has been described which may not only provide life saving defibrillation or cardioversion therapy , but may also provide a wide variety of different pacing regimens . because the medical monitoring and treatment device can monitor a patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic cardiac activity , the patient &# 39 ; s thoracic impedance , and other physiological parameters of the patient , the device may be configured to recommend various settings to a medical professional for review and approval . the various settings that may be recommended may include a recommended base pacing rate , a recommended hysteresis rate , a recommended anti - tachyarrhythmic pacing rate , a recommended energy level ( or initial energy level if capture management is used ), a recommended blanking interval , and / or refractory period , and a recommended sensitivity threshold . in the case of a medical monitoring and treatment device such as the lifevest ® cardioverter defibrillator , this initial recommendation may be performed when the patient is being fitted for and trained on the use of the device . although the ability to recommend such settings to a medical professional for their review and approval is particularly well suited to a medical monitoring and treatment device , such as the lifevest ® cardioverter defibrillator , such functionality could also be implemented in an automated external defibrillator ( aed ) or an advanced life support ( als ) type of defibrillator , such as the m series defibrillator , r series als defibrillator , r series plus defibrillator , or e series defibrillator manufactured by the zoll medical corporation of chelmsford mass . it should be appreciated that monitoring the patient &# 39 ; s intrinsic cardiac activity and other physiological parameters and making recommendations to a trained medical professional for their review and approval ( or possible modification ) could reduce the amount of time that is spent manually configuring such devices prior to use on the patient . having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention , it is to be appreciated various alterations , modifications , and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art . such alterations , modifications , and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure , and are intended to be within the scope of the invention . accordingly , the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only . | 0 |
to visually enhance the pathological changes between images of the same patient acquired at different points in time , nonrigid registration is necessary to align both images such that corresponding structures coincide . the first image acquired in time is called the original scan f ( floating image ) and we will refer to the image acquired at a later point in time as the follow - up scan r ( reference image ). for the registration , a nonrigid tensor - product b - spline transformation model is adopted , using mutual information ( mi ) as similarity measure . the resulting transformation that maps every location r r onto a corresponding location r f will be referred to as g ( r r ). an image viewer ( fig1 ) that accommodates the needs of follow - up applications has been developed . as the reader of the temporal images is interested in the detection of pathological changes , the viewer needs to display anatomical corresponding structures of both scans simultaneously . this is the case for viewers which show the warped original scan and the follow - up scan together . unfortunately , such a viewer might conceal pathology changes as the non - rigid warping can have the unwanted effect of changing the size of the pathology . to compensate for this , a viewer is presented that aligns corresponding structures in both scans while avoiding a nonrigid transformation of the floating image f . instead , the only transformation applied to the floating image is a translation . the translation depends on the viewpoint q selected by the user , and varies with varying viewpoint . this is accomplished as follows : compute the image point of the reference image r r corresponding to the viewpoint q ( x , y , z ). apply the nonrigid deformation field g ( r r ) to find the corresponding point r f in the floating image . finally , translate the floating image such that r f coincides with q . thus , the original and follow - up scans are shown together in three orthogonal views which are updated each time the user clicks a new viewpoint . both images are shown simultaneously such that the image points that coincide with the viewpoint q are corresponding points according to the deformation field . the viewer obeys the conditions stated above . primarily , by applying a translation to the original scan for each viewpoint , anatomical structures of both scans are shown concurrently . secondly , as a translation is a rigid transformation the size of the pathologies is preserved . once the temporal images are aligned , a subtraction image s is constructed by subtracting the intensities of corresponding voxels : with r , f and g ( r ) the reference image , floating image and transformation field given by the registration algorithm . as the reference image is the most recent scan , a white region in the subtraction image indicates that tissue has become more dense at the corresponding region and vice versa . several clinical validation studies have shown the improved detection of interval changes when the temporal subtraction image is offered . on the other hand , one should keep the following issues in mind when implementing and interpreting this technique . firstly , the temporal subtraction image might become problematic if the registration algorithm allows for large local deformations . this is demonstrated in fig2 . generally , one can state that the subtraction image is misleading when the transformation field changes the size of the pathology locally . hence , only global deforming registration algorithms are applicable for this technique . secondly , the clinician who reads the subtraction images must be aware of registration artifacts , which induce a low signal - to - noise ratio . a training phase is needed for the clinician to be able to distinct registration artifacts from true interval change patterns . according to the present invention an alternative method is disclosed to compute the subtraction image . it avoids the interval changes to disappear when the pathology in the reference image is matched onto the pathology in the floating image . this is achieved as follows ( fig3 ). consider the corresponding voxels g ( r ) and r in the floating ( a ) and reference ( b ) image respectively . instead of subtracting the corresponding intensity values which would yield a zero valued voxel , an alternative approach is presented . first , the amount of density is computed which is available in both images in a region surrounding the corresponding voxels , by integrating the intensities with a template h w centered at the voxel of interest . this is shown in fig3 ( c - d ). as the simulated nodule has grown , the density amount in the reference image at r will be larger than the amount in the floating image at g ( r ). the template h w with dimensions ( w , w , w ) has normalized intensities and is symmetrical with respect to x , y and z at its center . hence , measuring the amount of density i w at each voxel ( x , y , z ) of an image i is equal to convolving the image with the template h w : in a second step , the subtraction value s w at voxel r =( x , y , z ) is then computed as the change in density at that location : s w ( r )= r ( r )− f w ( g ( r )) ( 4 ) if the window size of the template h w is set to one , expression ( 4 ) simplifies to the conventional computed subtraction image ( 1 ). in a first experiment , the methods ( 1 ) and ( 4 ) are compared for the simulated images of fig2 : the floating image ( a ) contained a nodule at ( x 1 , y 1 )=( 40 , 40 ) with radius r 1 = 10 , the nodule in the reference image ( b ) was centered at ( x 2 , y 2 )=( 60 , 60 ) and had radius r 2 = 20 . both images had dimensions 100 × 100 . a constant template function h w = 1 / w 2 with window size w = 11 was chosen . we used a mathematical deformation model to transform the reference nodule ( x 2 , y 2 , r 2 ) to the nodule ( x 1 + δx 1 , y 1 + δy 1 , r 1 + δr 1 ). the parameters δx 1 , δy 1 and δr 1 were introduced to simulate registration errors . fig4 compares the conventional method ( first row ) and the alternative method ( second row ) for several registration errors : ( a ) perfect registration , ( b ) δx 1 = 2 , δy 1 = 2 , δr 1 = 0 , ( c ) δx 1 = 0 , δy 1 = 0 , δr 1 = 3 , ( d ) δx 1 = 0 , δy 1 = 0 , δr 1 =− 3 and ( e ) δx 1 = 2 , δy 1 = 2 , δr 1 = 3 . the alternative method clearly enhances the interval changes when a perfect registration is applied . this method also seems to be more robust to registration errors than the standard method , as for each case a white spot surrounded by a more or less black region is generated . the technique according to the present invention was tested on temporal ct data sets of the thorax for patient follow - up . four cases , each consisting of two temporal images were involved in this study : two patients contained malignant nodules , one patient had a growing tumor and one case contained metastases . the time between consecutive acquisitions ranged from 39 to 57 days . each scan consisted of 5 - mm slices of dimensions 512 × 512 . the follow - up scan was registered to the original scan in each of the four cases using the registration algorithm described higher . for the two nodule cases , the registration accuracy was expressed by computing the distance between the nodules in the original scan and the nodules in the follow - up scan after alignment . the registration accuracy was 2 . 0 ± 1 . 4 millimeter for the first nodule case and 5 . 8 ± 3 . 1 for the second patient . similar registration accuracies were measured for the two other data sets . the subtraction images were computed using a template function h w with w x = w y = 11 and w z = 3 . the viewer described higher extended with three extra views of the subtraction image is shown in fig5 . the subtraction image immediately attracts the readers attention to four grown nodules . fig6 visually compares both subtraction methods . the alternative subtraction image ( a ) shows a white spot caused by a grown nodule . the same slice of the subtraction image using the conventional method does not enhance this pathological change ( b ). essentially , the subtraction image is intended as a tool for the visual enhancement of pathological changes , but it can also serve as a preprocessing step towards automated detection of interval changes . a grown nodule for example , is characterized by a specific pattern in the subtraction image . this enables the automated detection of a grown nodule and offers an opportunity to compare the two subtraction methods quantitatively : if we build a detection system based on one of the two subtraction methods , the outcome of this system to a detection experiment serves as an objective measure for this method . the following experiment was performed . first , 14 grown nodules were detected manually in the data sets of the previous experiment . secondly , the 2d intensity patterns around the nodule locations in the corresponding slices of the subtraction image were used to train a pattern detector . an example of a pattern detector may be based on 2d intensity patterns as described in ‘ image segmentation using local shape and gray - level appearance models ’, d . seghers , d . loeckx , f . maes , p . suetens in proc . spie conference on medical imaging , 2006 . the detection system is then validated with a leave - one - out approach : one of the nodules is removed from the training set , the detector is trained again on the reduced training set and finally , the detector is asked to find the location of the removed nodule in the corresponding slice of the subtraction image . the pattern detector builds a statistical model of profiles consisting of n c points sampled on a circle with radius r c centered around the nodule location . the profiles are sampled in 60 loi feature images . the leave - one - out experiment is repeated for different profile configurations : r c = 2 . 5 , 5 and 10 pixels and n c = 3 , 4 , 6 and 8 . table 1 reports the results of the detection systems using ( a ) the conventional method and ( b ) the method introduced in this disclosure . the alternative method seems to perform significantly better that the standard method . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . | 6 |
the invention is now described with reference to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject invention . it may be evident , however , that the invention can be practiced without these specific details . in other instances , well - known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the invention . as used in this application , the terms “ component ” and “ system ” are intended to refer to a computer - related entity , either hardware , a combination of hardware and software , software , or software in execution . for example , a component can be , but is not limited to being , a process running on a processor , a processor , an object , an executable , a thread of execution , a program , and / or a computer . by way of illustration , both an application running on a server and the server can be a component . one or more components can reside within a process and / or thread of execution , and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers . as used herein , the term to “ infer ” or “ inference ” refer generally to the process of reasoning about or inferring states of the system , environment , and / or user from a set of observations as captured via events and / or data . inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action , or can generate a probability distribution over states , for example . the inference can be probabilistic — that is , the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events . inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher - level events from a set of events and / or data . such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and / or stored event data , whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity , and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources . following is a discussion a novel application program interface ( api ) layer that can host exemplary user interfaces ( uis ) in order to address digital rights management ( drm ) content . it is to be appreciated that the exemplary uis shown and described in this specification are intended to provide context to invention with respect to drm enabling applications by providing examples of how a centralized drm engine ui can be incorporated into a feature . furthermore , it is not mandatory to follow the exact ui flows illustrated herein if it does not suit individual applications so long as drm rules are adhere to . still further , it is to be appreciated that the api naming conventions disclosed herein are not intended to limit the scope and / or functionality of the invention in any way . other apis with the same or similar functionality can be employed using a completely different naming convention . the following terms are used throughout the description , the definitions of which are provided herein to assist in understanding various aspects of the subject invention . prompt based rights refers to a general term for content that has count rights or the start of interval based rights associated therewith . for example , mobile operators may require a user to be notified prior to using content with count or start of interval - based rights . because the operator requirements may be unclear , such registry keys can be provided to allow the operator to turn on or off the count or interval based rights notifications . in the case where the operator chooses to suppress the prompted based rights use notifications , content can be treated as non - prompted based rights content . in general , the count and interval based rights will be referred to as ‘ prompt based rights ’ since they may require a user prompt prior to rendering content . forward - locked refers to content that is locked to the device and cannot be forwarded for use on another device . referring initially to fig1 , system 100 in accordance with an aspect of the invention is shown . generally , the system 100 includes a drm api component 102 that enables an application 104 to communicate with a drm engine 106 . in order to enable application 104 to be drm aware , the application 104 can employ the drm api layer 102 when calling the drm engine 106 . in other words , application 104 does not call the drm engine 106 directly . it will be appreciated that if an application 104 is using the drm api layer 102 , the application will not compromise the drm content or use it in any way other than in accordance with the drm rules and restrictions imposed via the drm engine 106 . the drm apis 102 can act as a bit funnel for drm content between the drm engine 106 and drm aware application 104 . as stated previously , it will be understood that , in accordance with the invention , all drm protected files can retain the same file extension and storage location infrastructure as its unprotected counterpart . in other words , the invention can make application 104 drm aware by using ( e . g ., plugging ) the drm api 102 . drm awareness includes using the drm engine 106 and related uis ( not shown ) to inform users of content use status . drm awareness further includes allowing application 104 to use drm protected content with active rights and likewise preventing the application 104 from saving altered copies of any protected content . furthermore , drm awareness can prevent application 104 from forwarding or sending content locked to the device . it will be understood that , in another aspect , application 104 can also facilitate use of drm protected content stored on removable storage cards . as previously stated , it is to be understood that drm api layer 102 illustrated in fig1 can be representative of a set of apis including 1 to n disparate apis , where n is an integer . these 1 to n disparate apis will be described in greater details infra and can be referred to individually or collectively as drm api layer 102 . upon making the application 104 drm aware , the application 104 will abide by all the applicable drm use rules set forth by the drm engine component 106 . for example , the application 104 can refer to the appropriate drm engine 106 restrictions and / or operator requirements for more detailed use definitions and rules . application 104 can work as usual if a drm client is not included in the build . by way of example , an aspect of the invention can prevent drm protected content from being saved or transferred ( e . g ., synced or sent ) via inbox , calendar , activesync , bluetooth , infrared , contacts , notes , removable storage cards , or the like . in order to provide context to the invention , the following exemplary scenarios are provided . it is to be appreciated and understood that the scenarios that follow are not intended to limit the invention in any way . of course , other scenarios exist that can employ novel features and functionality of the subject invention . moreover , although the scenarios that follow are directed to “ smartphone ” implementations , it is to be understood and appreciated that additional scenarios can exist whereby other devices are employed . for example , other devices can include , but are not limited to include , cell phones , personal data assistants ( pdas ), pocket personal computers ( ppcs ), desktop computers , laptop computers or the like . a first scenario is directed to downloading content via a smartphone . suppose kate downloads drm protected content from her operators &# 39 ; web site onto her smartphone . in accordance thereto , a ui is displayed that tracks the download progress . when completed , the ui notifies kate of the successful download and gives her the choice to open the content . kate chooses not to open it . in this example , the content remains on her device in the event she turns it off . it will be appreciated that , if the content cannot be used , a user notification can inform kate that the content cannot be used and was not saved on the device . fig2 illustrates two exemplary uis that can be employed with reference to the first scenario . as illustrated , exemplary ui 202 can be employed to notify a user ( e . g ., kate ) that the desired content has downloaded successfully . additionally , the ui 202 can inquire if the content is to be used immediately . on the other hand , ui 204 can be employed to notify the user ( e . g ., kate ) that the content ( e . g ., ring tone ) selected cannot be used on the present device and therefore will not be downloaded . another scenario is directed to the use of any active drm protected content , for example , a ring tone . suppose kate wants to select a new ring tone for her smartphone . accordingly , she scrolls through her ring tones in the sounds spin box and selects a desired tone . in this example , she chooses a ring tone that she downloaded from her operators &# 39 ; website . kate pauses on the desired ring tone , hears a short preview then presses done . as a result , the ring tone is now set and her smartphone rings using the chosen ring tone . although this scenario is directed to a ring tone , it is to be understood that this scenario is similar for any drm aware application using protected content . fig3 illustrates this scenario whereby the user ( e . g ., kate ) selects to use the ring tone . for example , ui 302 can be displayed to facilitate selection of a “ sound ” content file . once “ done ” is selected via the ui 302 ; the user can be prompted with ui 304 , which facilitates selection of a particular “ sound ” file . after a desired sound file is selected at 304 , a determination is made if the selection contains prompt - based rights at 306 . if the selection does contain prompt - based rights , ui 308 can be displayed to advise of the particular prompt - based rights as well as to query the user if a desire exists to use the prompt - based rights . if answered in the affirmative , the content can be set at 310 . if not , the selection ui 304 can be rendered . if a determination is made at 306 that the selection does not contain prompt - based rights , the content can be set at 310 as illustrated . another example is directed to the use of any inactive drm protected content , for example , a ring tone . as in the previous scenario , suppose kate wants to select a new ring tone for her smartphone . she scrolls through her ring tones in the sounds spinbox and pauses on a desired ring tone . however , in this instance , there is no sound preview and she presses done . the ui notifies kate that the desired ring tone is no longer activated and gives her the option of connecting to a web site to acquire new rights . kate elects to buy new rights and is connected to the rights issuer website . while she is waiting for the rights , the default ring tone is used . once the new rights arrive , she is notified via a sms ( short message service ) text message . accordingly , kate &# 39 ; s smartphone now rings using the desired ring tone . it is to be appreciated that the content ( e . g ., ring tone ) can be protected such that kate is unable to renew the rights . in this case , she will be notified that the content cannot be used . fig4 illustrates a ui flow diagram of previewing content in accordance with an aspect of the invention . more particularly , content ( e . g ., ring tone ) can be selected via the exemplary ui 402 . at 404 , a user can elect to pause on the content . if pause is not selected , the system returns to the ui of 402 to enable another selection . if paused , at 408 , the system can determine if prompt - based rights exist . at 410 , the details of the prompt - based rights can be conveyed to the user whereby the user can confirm desire to continue . once the user confirms to continue at 410 , the content is played at 412 . as well , if at 408 it is determined that prompt - based rights do not exist , the system can play the content at 412 as illustrated . turning now to the ui flow diagram of fig5 , a ui flow diagram of use of content with expired rights ( no rights renewal ) in accordance with an aspect of the invention is shown . essentially , at 502 , a ui is presented to the user to facilitate selection of the type of content ( e . g ., sound ) to download . at 504 , a ui can be launched to enable a user to select a particular file of the selected type . the ui of 506 can advise the user of expired content . it will be appreciated , as described herein , additional uis can be presented to enable renewal or access to additional rights to use the content . fig6 illustrates a ui flow diagram of use of content pending activations in accordance with a disclosed aspect . as shown , at 602 and 604 , uis can be rendered that enable a user to select the type and specific file to download and / or open . at 606 , a ui can be rendered that notifies a user that the selected content is pending activation . accordingly , the system can notify the user via a text message once rights are in place . the content is set at 608 and will automatically become available to the user once rights are in place . similar to fig6 , fig7 is a ui flow diagram of use of content that is active but not yet current in accordance with an aspect of the invention . in accordance therewith , at 702 and 704 , the type of content can be selected together with a specific file name to download and / or open . at 706 , a ui can be presented that notifies a user that the selected content will be activated will be available in n days , where n is an integer . at 708 , the content can be set and will automatically become available once the appropriate rights are in place . yet another scenario is directed to receiving forward - locked protected content via mms . kate receives a message containing forward - locked content ( e . g ., image , sound ). she can employ the content as she would any unprotected content . kate tries to forward the message with the content to a friend ; however , the ui notifies her that the content cannot be forwarded . although , the content cannot be forwarded , kate can save the image to her device with no modifications . she deletes the original message and can view use the content again so long as rights allow . still another example is directed to sending protected content . suppose kate composes a message and inserts a forward - locked sound . the ui notifies her that this content cannot be sent from her device . kate then chooses another sound . the ui notifies her that the recipient will be required to obtain rights prior to using the content . kate previews the message . if rights are current and are not prompt based , kate sees the preview of the attachment . if rights are current and prompt based , before previewing , the ui notifies kate that her rights status will adjust . if the rights have expired , kate will be given the opportunity to buy new rights if that option is available . in this case , the content cannot be previewed until new rights are received . when kate is satisfied with her message , she chooses to send it . in operation , applications can explicitly call the drm apis to access protected content . in one aspect , a user attempting to use content with expired renewable rights will be prompted with a ui that enables the user to reactivate rights . in another aspect , a user attempting to use content that has expired non - renewable rights will be notified that the content cannot be used . in still another aspect , a user attempting to use content with prompt based rights will cause a ui to appear asking the user if they want to alter the status ( e . g ., reduce count or start interval ) of their rights if this ui is not suppressed by the operator setting a registry key . in accordance with the invention , an api ( or set of apis ) can allow applications to be written to support a variety of file - based digital rights management ( fdrm ) technologies without understanding the intricacies of the drm schema . in accordance with an aspect , a common ui for drm related tasks is supplied by an engine that allows the application to take advantage of engine specific drm features without understanding them . additionally , if the ui is not suitable for a particular scenario , it can be suppressed by the application call to the fdrm api layer . essentially , the subject invention wraps a drm engine in a generic set of drm apis thus enabling non - drm aware applications to become drm aware by calling the generic set of drm apis . it will be understood that , in accordance with an aspect , all drm protected files can retain the same file extension and storage location infrastructure as its unprotected counterpart . additionally , a user can rename protected content and make multiple copies ( e . g ., backup ) of protected content . drm content can be stored in a protected format on a removable storage card or desktop and , if drm rights permit , the content can be accessed directly from these storage locations . as described supra , the subject invention is directed to a novel set of apis that define an interface to drm content on device ( e . g ., mobile device ). this set of apis can wrap any drm solution in a form that allows applications to use drm content without changes . it will be understood that this novel feature allows the use of any drm scheme . devices without drm protection can still use these same apis . referring now to fig8 , a system 800 can generally include a drm api layer 802 , an application 804 and a drm engine 806 . as illustrated , the drm engine 806 can include a file system filter 808 and a received content handler 810 . the api can be a stub that calls into the drm engine api implementation layer if present on a device . if there is no drm engine the stub provider can work as if all content has all available rights . in one aspect , content can be stored on the device in the same location and with the same filename it would have had if it was not protected content . protected content can be stored in such a way that content sharing across multiple devices is impossible without the other devices acquiring rights for that content . in accordance with the invention , it is possible to move or copy content to other locations on the same device , store content on removable storage cards , and to back up content . an application 804 can employ the file apis to work with files , however files opened with a createfile call instead of a drm_createfile call will return “ garbage ” when read . these calls will be better understood upon a reading of the discussion that follows . the invention can also block writes to files containing drm protected content . in accordance with the invention , drm protected content will have a set of rights associated with it that can define how the device can use content . for instance , an image can have rights that allow a user to display the image but not to forward the image to another user . this api 802 employs content that is not drm protected as having all possible rights . limits on how long or how often the content can be used are also possible . for example , limitations can be placed on the use of a sound file . for instance , a sound file can be limited to a predefined number of plays ( e . g ., 10 times ), a play time period ( e . g ., only until march 1 , for two weeks from the time first used ) or a combination thereof ( e . g ., or only 10 times until march 1 ). once these limited rights have been exhausted , it may be possible for the user to acquire additional rights . an application 804 or drm engine 806 can initiate acquisition of new rights when handling the error caused by expired rights in accordance with the invention . in one aspect , the drm engine 806 can be responsible for providing most of the user interaction for displaying or renewing rights associated with a content protected object . for this purpose , some calls may take a long time to complete , as an interaction with a remote rights management server ( not shown ) may be required . in general , application 804 does not create protected content . an application 104 that receives protected content can call a content handler 810 , which stores the content in the device file system and stores the content rights in a rights store . the drm engine 802 can supply this content handler 810 . although fig8 illustrates the content handler 810 included within the drm engine 802 , it is to be appreciated that the content handler 810 , and file system filter 808 can be external components from the drm engine 806 . the rights associated with the content may not be included with the received content . for example , in a wireless aspect , the rights associated with the content can be received separately using a wap ( wireless application protocol ) push . as well , it will be appreciated that the content and / or the rights associated therewith can be stored remote from the device . the drm engine 806 can be responsible for receiving these rights , storing them in the rights store , and notifying the user of the rights . referring now to fig9 , the drm api layer 802 can include a verify rights component 902 and an acquire rights component 904 . the verify rights component 902 ( e . g ., filedrmverifyrightsex api ) can take a filter identifier parameter that facilitates application 804 to filter content based on an intended use of content . rather than hard coding specific filter rules into the application 804 , the invention provides a mechanism ( e . g ., verify rights component 902 ) for the drm engine 806 to filter content . this mechanism provides both the ability to switch to a different drm scheme as well as the ability of the original equipment manufacturer ( oem ) and / or operator to customize the device . in one aspect , the invention employs global unique identifiers ( guids ), which represent each filter , and specifies the intended use of the content ( e . g ., a ring tone ). if the content has valid rights but does not meet the drm engine 806 defined criteria for using the content in the intended manner then the file system filter 808 returns failure ( e . g ., e_fdrm_notallowed ) to the verify rights component 902 ( e . g ., filedrmverifyrightsex ). it is to be understood that passing fdrmft_none can cause no filtering of the results . a filter not recognized by the drm engine is treated as fdrmft_none . with continued reference to fig9 , the acquire rights component 904 can be provided to facilitate a user to obtain necessary rights to use the content . as well , the acquire rights component can facilitate the user to renew cancelled and / or expired rights . in one aspect , implementations of the drm engine 806 can export the functions implementing these apis ( e . g ., 802 ) from a dynamic link library ( dll ) by ordinal using the following mappings : the functions that implement the apis 802 set forth in the above table will be each described in greater detail infra . fig1 illustrates a methodology of implementing apis in accordance with the invention . while , for purposes of simplicity of explanation , the one or more methodologies shown herein , e . g ., in the form of a flow chart , are shown and described as a series of acts , it is to be understood and appreciated that the subject invention is not limited by the order of acts , as some acts may , in accordance with the invention , occur in a different order and / or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein . for example , those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events , such as in a state diagram . moreover , not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the invention . with reference now to fig1 , at 1002 a file name is selected . at 1004 , rights are verified . it will be appreciated that , in addition to verifying the existence of rights , the validity of any rights can also be verified at 1004 . a determination is made at 1006 if the rights are sufficient to utilize the content of the file selected at 1002 . if the rights are sufficient , the rights are committed at 1008 . the success of committing the rights can be verified at 1010 . if successful , the file can be used at 1012 . on the other hand , if the rights are not sufficient to enable use of the file content at 1006 or the commit rights fails at 1010 , appropriate rights can be acquired at 1014 . once acquired , the rights are verified at 1004 . if the rights are not successfully verified at 1006 , some drm api error codes prompt one or more drm engine uis in accordance with the instant error code . for example , in one aspect , an error code that reflects rights license is pending ( e . g ., e_fdrm_licensepending ) prompts an appropriate drm engine ui . in another example , an error upon attempting to forward content without forwarding rights ( e . g ., e_fdrm_noforwardrights ) will prompt the drm engine to initiate corresponding uis . in still another example , if rights have not been obtained or are no longer valid an error code will be generated ( e . g ., e_fdrm_notallowed ) thus effecting the drm engine to launch the appropriate uis . other error codes can be handled by the calling application with no ui . as described supra , api layer component 802 can include 1 to n disparate apis , where n is an integer . fig1 illustrates that 1 to n disparate drm apis can be referred to individually or collectively as drm api component 1102 . following is a discussion of an exemplary set of drm apis 1102 in accordance with an aspect of the invention . it is to be appreciated that these exemplary drm apis 1102 are included to provide context to the invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any way . following is the exemplary list of drm apis 1102 for managing fdrm content in accordance with the invention . as well , for each api listed , a brief description of the api functionality is listed in the right column of the table below . each of these exemplary apis 1102 for dealing with fdrm content is described in greater detail below . the description that follows is directed to an exemplary drm api layer . it is to be appreciated that other aspects can exist that include all or a subset of the apis described infra . these alternate aspects are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosed invention as well as the claims attached hereto . referring to a discussion of error codes , as described supra , there are a number of error codes , which can effect launching a drm engine ui that can prompt user input . fig1 illustrates a methodology of employing protected content in accordance with an aspect of the invention . as well , fig1 illustrates exemplary error codes that can prompt drm engine action ( e . g ., ui ). at 1202 a file to use is selected . next , at 1204 , a verify rights api is called . in one aspect , the verify rights api can be a filedrmverifyrights api . a determination of success is made at 1206 . it will be appreciated that the methodology can included a file inspection api such as filedrmisdrm which can determine if the file contains drm protected content . if at 1206 a determination is made that the rights are verified , a create file api can be called . in the example , a filedrmcreatefile api can be called whereby the file that contains the fdrm content can be opened . at 1210 a determination is made if successful . if successful in opening the file , rights can be committed at 1212 . in order to do so , a filedrmcommitright api is employed to commit the rights used by the selected object . once the rights are committed at 1212 , a determination is made if the if committing the rights was successful . if so , the file can be used at 1216 . a determination is made if the file is persisted at 1218 . if it is determined that the file is persisted , the rights are verified at 1220 . for example , the filedrmverifyrights api can be called to verify the rights . accordingly , another success determination is made at 1222 . if successful , the methodology returns to 1216 to use the file . if not successful at 1222 , a stop block is reached . continuing with the example and returning to 1206 , a determination of rights verification is made from 1204 . if determined not successful at 1206 , the system determines if the operation should succeed at 1224 . if the operation should succeed at 1224 , a default filename is selected at 1226 . once selected at 1226 , the system can return to 1204 to verify the rights . however , if at 1224 , a determination is made that the operation does not have to succeed , a handle error api 1228 ( e . g ., filedrmhandleerror ) can be called . in accordance therewith , an error ui can be displayed to attempt to correct the problem . at 1230 , a determination is made if the problem has been rectified . if not , a stop block is reached . if the error is handled , error information can be displayed at 1232 . in the exemplary aspect , some of the drm api error codes require drm engine ui interaction . for example , e_fdrm_licensepending , e_fdrm_notallowed and e_fdrm_noforwardrights require ui interaction . all other error codes in the example can be handled by calling the application with no ui . it is to be appreciated that each decision block ( e . g ., succeeded , persisted , handled ) can generate error codes . turning first to a discussion of scenarios where an api call succeeds . in one aspect , the api call can succeed but no fdrm provider is installed . in this situation , a code such as s_fdrm_noprovider can be generated . in another example , an api call can succeed but , the passed in the object is not fdrm protected . a code such as s_fdrm_notdrmobject can be generated . e_fdrm_filedeleted — object did not have rights and could not be re - activated . user choose to delete the object . e_fdrm_licensepending — object cannot be used now but there is an outstanding request for some type of rights renewal . e_fdrm_notdrmobject — api call failed since the passed in object was not fdrm protected . e_fdrm_notallowed — requested operation is not allowed for this object or object does not have sufficient rights to be used . returning to the exemplary api layer , names can be defined for results of hresult_from_win32 as follows : the hresult codes can be started to avoid conflicting with com - defined codes : continuing with the example , bitmasks for various rights associated with content can be defined : bitmask flags to control the filedrmgetforwardcontent api can be defined as follows : bitmask flags to control filedrmverifyrights and filedrmcommitrights apis can be defined . fdrvf_noui can suppress all ui display . this allows the calling application to ensure that this call will not block waiting for user input . fdrvf_norenew does not attempt to update the rights associated with a piece of content ( either through user interaction or automatically ). fdrvf_verify_continue can be specified when filedrmcommitrights has been called and has returned success for a piece of content . as well , the consuming application of the content can still be consuming the same instance of the content but needs to re - verify rights . for example , a media player might begin playing a song but be interrupted by a phone call . once the phone call completes , the media player can call filedrmverifyrights to verify that it still has rights to continue playing that content . this flag can allow content to continue being used even if the applicable rights are no longer valid . for instance , if the content has restrictions on the number of times it can be used and the usage count went to zero in the last call to filedrmcommitrights then the user should still be allowed to use that content until is has been completely consumed . these bitmask flags can be defined as follows : status values returned from filedrmverifyrights and filedrmverifyrightsex can be as follows : bitmask flags to control filedrmhandleerror can be specified . the following can be set by calling the application : turning now to a discussion of the fdrmmetric api . metric types can be retrieved using filedrmgetmetric call . in one aspect , all time intervals are returned in milliseconds . for example : as described supra , fildrmverifyrightsex can take a filter identifier parameter that facilitates application 804 to filter content based on an intended use of the content . by way of example , filter identifiers for filedrmverifyrightsex can be as follows : the filedrmisfdrm function can quickly determine if an object is fdrm protected . in doing so , the following arguments can be employed : [ in ] pszfile - the fully qualified path to the file being [ out ] pfdrm - a pointer to a bool variable which be set to the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . the value pointed to by pfdrm will be false in this the value pointed to by pfdrm will be false in this case . this allows an application to display an indication that content is drm protected . the function filedrmcreatefile can facilitate a drm - aware application to open a drm protected object . this function can be used in place of the standard createfile api . [ out ] phfile - pointer to a handle variable that will hold in addition to the hresult return code the value pointed to by phfile should be set to invalid_handle_value if an error is returned . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . the following hresult codes may be returned . // notes : use closehandle to close the handle returned from this function . this filedrmcreatefile function is to be used in place of the standard createfile api by applications that are “ fdrm aware .” with some exceptions as detailed below , the function behaves the same way as createfile and returns any error that occurs during the call as the hresult created by hresult_from_win32 called on the value returned from getlasterror ( ). when the following conditions are true the filedrmcreatefile works differently than createfile : 2 . the file being created already exists and contains fdrm protected content . in this case filedrmcreatefile opens the file in such a way that subsequent calls to readfile will return the unencrypted version of the files content such that it can be used by the application . 2 . the file being created already exists and contains fdrm protected content . in this case filedrmcreatefile will fail to open the file ( to prevent applications from inadvertently overwriting protected content ). 2 . the file being created already exists and contains fdrm protected content . in this case filedrmcreatefile will fail to open the file ( to prevent applications from inadvertently overwriting protected content ). the filedrmcreateforwardablecontent function can create a file containing a drm protected object in a way that allows it to be forwarded to another user . [ in ] pszoutputfile - the fully qualified path for a file to the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . // side effects : a new file is created holding the drm protected content applications that want to forward content can use this filedrmcreateforwardablecontent api to package format in such a way that it can be sent to another device . referring now to a discussion of the filedrmnotifyenable api , the purpose of this api is to register an application with the drm provider for updates when updated rights are received on the device . arguments in accordance therewith can be as follows : dword value that will be updated when the rights associated with terminated with a nul character as long as cchvaluelen is & gt ;= 1 . max_path can be sufficient . passing in a smaller buffer will cause the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . on success the psvaluename can be filled in with the name of a registry value that can be monitored by the application . a new registry value may have been created in the registry . these values will be under the key hkey_current_user \ fdrm \ monitor . it will be appreciated that notification of expiration of time or count based rights may not be supported . an application that needs to know when a rights renewal has arrived can use this function along with the registrynotifyxxxx functions to receive notifications from the drm provider . the drm provider will take the passed in filename and generate the name of a registry value that will be used as a proxy for the file . the calling application can then register for registry notifications using this value . when the drm provider changes the rights store it will also write the new rights value ( using the drrf_ * values ) to that registry value . the drm provider will reference count calls to filedrmnotifyenable and filedrmnotifydisable and only stop updating and remove the registry value when the reference count reaches zero . as well the drm provider will monitor processes and remove all outstanding references to the notification upon process exit . registrations by multiple processes or threads within a single process that refer to the same filename should return the same registry value name to be monitored . the provider will also monitor calls to deletefile and remove any outstanding notifications when a fdrm protected file is deleted . the filedrmnotifydisable api allows the drm provider to stop receiving notifications of changes to the rights associated with a file . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . the filedrmshowlicenseinfo api can facilitate showing the rights associated with a drm protected object . [ in ] hwndparent - handle to the window that owns any ui [ in ] pszfilename - the path of the file to show license the filedrmshowlicenseinfo function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . a dialog is presented to the user showing the rights associated with the file . this function returns when the user dismisses the dialog . the filedrmhandleerror function can facilitate displaying an error dialog to the user when an error occurs while trying to use drm content . [ in ] hwndparent - handle to the window that owns any ui the function will only return the following hresults . the application should use succeeded / failed macros to check the return . the application may wish to check the fdrhf_retry and fdrhf_rightspending bits in * pdwflags to control additional handling of the error . an application should handle the error . this will occur either because the fdrm provider cannot handle the error or does not recognize the error . if the user requests a rights renewal , a network connection can be established to send the renewal . once the response is received a notification will be sent to registered applications . when an error occurs while using one of the fdrm apis this filedrmhandleerror api can be called to display error information to the user and ( optionally ) attempt to correct the error ( most likely by offering the user the option to acquire additional rights or extend existing rights via uis ). if the user requests new / updated rights the new / updated rights will arrive asynchronously . if the fdrhf_retry flag is set upon return from this function the application may retry the operation that failed . turning now to the filedrmrenewrights api , its purpose is to renew the rights associated with a drm protected object . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . a rights renewal request can be generated . this may cause a network connection to be opened . this filedrmrenewrights api allows an application to renew rights associated with a drm protected object . in most cases the drm provider will handle this when filedrmhandleerror is called . new / updated rights can arrive asynchronously . the filedrmgetmetric function can retrieve metrics related to using drm protected objects . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . the filedrmverifyrights function can allow an application to verify that an object has needed rights before using drm protected objects . [ in ] hwndparent - handle to the window that owns any ui the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . in accordance with an aspect , before an application can use a drm protected object it should call the filedrmverifyrights api to ensure that the object can be used as intended . as illustrated in the methodology of fig1 , it does this even if it has already called filedrmgetrights and done its own verification . this api will verify if the object has the appropriate rights , and if necessary , will prompt the user to select at least between consuming rights or renewing expired rights . the filedrmverifyrightsex api can facilitate an application to verify that an object has needed rights before using drm protected objects . as described supra , this api can also allow a user to filter content by its intended use . [ in ] hwndparent - handle to the window that owns any ui the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . in accordance with the exemplary aspect , either this filedrmverifyrightsex api or the filedrmverifyrights api is called before an application can use a drm protected object . the filedrmverifyrightsex api verifies if the object has the appropriate rights , and if necessary , will prompt the user to choose between consuming rights or renewing expired rights . referring now to a description of the filedrmcommitrights api , a purpose of this api is to facilitate an application that commits the rights used . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . this filedrmcommitrights api commits the rights associated with an object . the calling application calls filedrmverifyrights before this call . the filedrmdeletefile can facilitate deleting a drm object as well as the associated rights . the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . the rights store can be updated and the file containing the object can be deleted . this api deletes both a drm object and the associated rights . turning now to a discussion of the filedrmstorecontent api , this api can facilitate reading a file containing mime - encoded content to be drm protected and creating the device - locked version of that content , as well as any associated rights or pending rights . then this call is to be treated as a request to obtain the size the size of the passed buffer . on exit this will be set to the the function is free to return any hresult and the application should use the succeeded / failed macros to check the results . in addition , the following hresult codes may be returned . in accordance with this api , a new file can be created holding the drm protected content . as well , the original file can be deleted . fig1 illustrates a system 1300 that employs artificial intelligence ( ai ), which facilitates automating one or more features in accordance with the subject invention . the subject invention ( e . g ., in connection with verifying rights ) can employ various ai - based schemes for carrying out various aspects thereof . for example , a process for determining if rights should be verified , renewed , etc ., can be facilitated via an automatic classifier system and process . a classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector , x =( x1 , x2 , x3 , x4 , xn ), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class , that is , f ( x )= confidence ( class ). such classification can employ a probabilistic and / or statistical - based analysis ( e . g ., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs ) to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed . in the case of drm , for example , attributes can be words or phrases or other data - specific attributes derived from the words ( e . g ., the presence of key terms ), and the classes are categories or areas of interest ( e . g ., levels of priorities ). a support vector machine ( svm ) is an example of a classifier that can be employed . the svm operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs , which hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non - triggering events . intuitively , this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near , but not identical to training data . other directed and undirected model classification approaches include , e . g ., naïve bayes , bayesian networks , decision trees , neural networks , fuzzy logic models , and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed . classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority . as will be readily appreciated from the subject specification , the subject invention can employ classifiers that are explicitly trained ( e . g ., via a generic training data ) as well as implicitly trained ( e . g ., via observing user behavior , receiving extrinsic information ). for example , svm &# 39 ; s are configured via a learning or training phase within a classifier constructor and feature selection module . thus , the classifier ( s ) can be used to automatically learn and perform a number of functions , including but not limited to determining according to a predetermined criteria when and if to obtain , renew or cancel rights . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a block diagram of a computer operable to execute the disclosed architecture . in order to provide additional context for various aspects of the subject invention , fig1 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief , general description of a suitable computing environment 1400 in which the various aspects of the invention can be implemented . while the invention has been described above in the general context of computer - executable instructions that may run on one or more computers , those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention also can be implemented in combination with other program modules and / or as a combination of hardware and software . generally , program modules include routines , programs , components , data structures , etc ., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . moreover , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can be practiced with other computer system configurations , including single - processor or multiprocessor computer systems , minicomputers , mainframe computers , as well as personal computers , hand - held computing devices , microprocessor - based or programmable consumer electronics , and the like , each of which can be operatively coupled to one or more associated devices . the illustrated aspects of the invention may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network . in a distributed computing environment , program modules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices . a computer typically includes a variety of computer - readable media . computer - readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile and nonvolatile media , removable and non - removable media . by way of example , and not limitation , computer - readable media can comprise computer storage media and communication media . computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer - readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data . computer storage media includes , but is not limited to , ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital video disk ( dvd ) or other optical disk storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the computer . communication media typically embodies computer - readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism , and includes any information delivery media . the term “ modulated data signal ” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal . by way of example , and not limitation , communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct - wired connection , and wireless media such as acoustic , rf , infrared and other wireless media . combinations of the any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer - readable media . with reference again to fig1 , the exemplary environment 1400 for implementing various aspects of the invention includes a computer 1402 , the computer 1402 including a processing unit 1404 , a system memory 1406 and a system bus 1408 . the system bus 1408 couples system components including , but not limited to , the system memory 1406 to the processing unit 1404 . the processing unit 1404 can be any of various commercially available processors . dual microprocessors and other multi - processor architectures may also be employed as the processing unit 1404 . the system bus 1408 can be any of several types of bus structure that may further interconnect to a memory bus ( with or without a memory controller ), a peripheral bus , and a local bus using any of a variety of commercially available bus architectures . the system memory 1406 includes read - only memory ( rom ) 1410 and random access memory ( ram ) 1412 . a basic input / output system ( bios ) is stored in a non - volatile memory 1410 such as rom , eprom , eeprom , which bios contains the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer 1402 , such as during start - up . the ram 1412 can also include a high - speed ram such as static ram for caching data . the computer 1402 further includes an internal hard disk drive ( hdd ) 1414 ( e . g ., eide , sata ), which internal hard disk drive 1414 may also be configured for external use in a suitable chassis ( not shown ), a magnetic floppy disk drive ( fdd ) 1416 , ( e . g ., to read from or write to a removable diskette 1418 ) and an optical disk drive 1420 , ( e . g ., reading a cd - rom disk 1422 or , to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as the dvd ). the hard disk drive 1414 , magnetic disk drive 1416 and optical disk drive 1420 can be connected to the system bus 1408 by a hard disk drive interface 1424 , a magnetic disk drive interface 1426 and an optical drive interface 1428 , respectively . the interface 1424 for external drive implementations includes at least one or both of universal serial bus ( usb ) and ieee 1394 interface technologies . other external drive connection technologies are within contemplation of the subject invention . the drives and their associated computer - readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data , data structures , computer - executable instructions , and so forth . for the computer 1402 , the drives and media accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format . although the description of computer - readable media above refers to a hdd , a removable magnetic diskette , and a removable optical media such as a cd or dvd , it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media which are readable by a computer , such as zip drives , magnetic cassettes , flash memory cards , cartridges , and the like , may also be used in the exemplary operating environment , and further , that any such media may contain computer - executable instructions for performing the methods of the invention . a number of program modules can be stored in the drives and ram 1412 , including an operating system 1430 , one or more application programs 1432 , other program modules 1434 and program data 1436 . all or portions of the operating system , applications , modules , and / or data can also be cached in the ram 1412 . it is appreciated that the invention can be implemented with various commercially available operating systems or combinations of operating systems . a user can enter commands and information into the computer 1402 through one or more wired / wireless input devices , e . g ., a keyboard 1438 and a pointing device , such as a mouse 1440 . other input devices ( not shown ) may include a microphone , an ir remote control , a joystick , a game pad , a stylus pen , touch screen , or the like . these and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 1404 through an input device interface 1442 that is coupled to the system bus 1408 , but can be connected by other interfaces , such as a parallel port , an ieee 1394 serial port , a game port , a usb port , an ir interface , etc . a monitor 1444 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 1408 via an interface , such as a video adapter 1446 . in addition to the monitor 1444 , a computer typically includes other peripheral output devices ( not shown ), such as speakers , printers , etc . the computer 1402 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections via wired and / or wireless communications to one or more remote computers , such as a remote computer ( s ) 1448 . the remote computer ( s ) 1448 can be a workstation , a server computer , a router , a personal computer , portable computer , microprocessor - based entertainment appliance , a peer device or other common network node , and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer 1402 , although , for purposes of brevity , only a memory / storage device 1450 is illustrated . the logical connections depicted include wired / wireless connectivity to a local area network ( lan ) 1452 and / or larger networks , e . g ., a wide area network ( wan ) 1454 . such lan and wan networking environments are commonplace in offices and companies , and facilitate enterprise - wide computer networks , such as intranets , all of which may connect to a global communications network , e . g ., the internet . when used in a lan networking environment , the computer 1402 is connected to the local network 1452 through a wired and / or wireless communication network interface or adapter 1456 . the adaptor 1456 may facilitate wired or wireless communication to the lan 1452 , which may also include a wireless access point disposed thereon for communicating with the wireless adaptor 1456 . when used in a wan networking environment , the computer 1402 can include a modem 1458 , or is connected to a communications server on the wan 1454 , or has other means for establishing communications over the wan 1454 , such as by way of the internet . the modem 1458 , which can be internal or external and a wired or wireless device , is connected to the system bus 1408 via the serial port interface 1442 . in a networked environment , program modules depicted relative to the computer 1402 , or portions thereof , can be stored in the remote memory / storage device 1450 . it will be appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers can be used . the computer 1402 is operable to communicate with any wireless devices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication , e . g ., a printer , scanner , desktop and / or portable computer , portable data assistant , communications satellite , any piece of equipment or location associated with a wirelessly detectable tag ( e . g ., a kiosk , news stand , restroom ), and telephone . this includes at least wi - fi and bluetooth ™ wireless technologies . thus , the communication can be a predefined structure as with a conventional network or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices . wi - fi , or wireless fidelity , allows connection to the internet from a couch at home , a bed in a hotel room , or a conference room at work , without wires . wi - fi is a wireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enables such devices , e . g ., computers , to send and receive data indoors and out ; anywhere within the range of a base station . wi - fi networks use radio technologies called ieee 802 . 11 ( a , b , g , etc .) to provide secure , reliable , fast wireless connectivity . a wi - fi network can be used to connect computers to each other , to the internet , and to wired networks ( which use ieee 802 . 3 or ethernet ). wi - fi networks operate in the unlicensed 2 . 4 and 5 ghz radio bands , at an 11 mbps ( 802 . 11a ) or 54 mbps ( 802 . 11b ) data rate , for example , or with products that contain both bands ( dual band ), so the networks can provide real - world performance similar to the basic 10baset wired ethernet networks used in many offices . referring now to fig1 , there is illustrated a schematic block diagram of an exemplary computing environment 1500 in accordance with the subject invention . the system 1500 includes one or more client ( s ) 1502 . the client ( s ) 1502 can be hardware and / or software ( e . g ., threads , processes , computing devices ). the client ( s ) 1502 can house cookie ( s ) and / or associated contextual information by employing the invention , for example . the system 1500 also includes one or more server ( s ) 1504 . the server ( s ) 1504 can also be hardware and / or software ( e . g ., threads , processes , computing devices ). the servers 1504 can house threads to perform transformations by employing the invention , for example . one possible communication between a client 1502 and a server 1504 can be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes . the data packet may include a cookie and / or associated contextual information , for example . the system 1500 includes a communication framework 1506 ( e . g ., a global communication network such as the internet ) that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client ( s ) 1502 and the server ( s ) 1504 . communications can be facilitated via a wired ( including optical fiber ) and / or wireless technology . the client ( s ) 1502 are operatively connected to one or more client data store ( s ) 1508 that can be employed to store information local to the client ( s ) 1502 ( e . g ., cookie ( s ) and / or associated contextual information ). similarly , the server ( s ) 1504 are operatively connected to one or more server data store ( s ) 1510 that can be employed to store information local to the servers 1504 . what has been described above includes examples of the invention . it is , of course , not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the subject invention , but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the invention are possible . accordingly , the invention is intended to embrace all such alterations , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims . furthermore , to the extent that the term “ includes ” is used in either the detailed description or the claims , such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “ comprising ” as “ comprising ” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , and more particularly to fig1 , there is shown an agricultural work system 10 that includes an agricultural work vehicle , such as tractor 12 that tows an agricultural implement 14 , which is depicted as a multi - row front fold transport seeder . seeder 14 can include a toolbar 16 with left and right marker assemblies 18 , 20 that are attached to left and right ends 22 , 24 of toolbar 16 , respectively . supports 25 can support marker assemblies 18 , 20 when in a folded position . seeder 14 can include other elements such as drawbar 26 for connection to tractor 12 , large seed hoppers 28 , 29 which provide seeds to row or seed units 30 , and platform and gate assembly 32 for accessing and filling large seed hoppers 28 , 29 . row or planting units 30 can include a variety of elements for dispensing seed , fertilizer , pesticide , herbicide and other agricultural materials . such elements can include , but are not limited to , a furrow opening apparatus ; gauge wheels ; a pair of lateral spaced , or staggered , furrow opener discs , or alternatively , and without detracting or departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention , a runner opener type for providing a furrow in the ground ; a pair of furrow closer discs , a seed meter , a press wheel arranged in fore - and - aft relationship relative to each other ; and a agricultural chemical hopper . additionally , seeder 14 can have planting units 30 with individual seed boxes in addition to the large seed hoppers 28 , 29 . as noted above , the seeder 14 has a pair of bulk fill hoppers 28 , 29 . bulk fill hopper 28 holds seed for the seed units 30 mounted to the left wing of frame 16 and bulk fill hopper 29 holds seed for the seed units 30 mounted to the right wing of frame 16 . as shown in fig2 , the seed units 30 are flow coupled to its bulk fill hopper by supply hoses 34 . seed is metered from the bulk fill hopper 28 to the hoses by a seed metering assembly 36 , as known in the art . each seed unit 30 has a seed box 38 and the seed is delivered from the bulk fill hopper to the individual seed boxes 38 . in contrast to a conventional seeder , and in accordance with one embodiment of the invention , supply hoses 34 from the seed metering assembly 36 are flow - coupled to alternating seed boxes 38 . jumper hoses 40 and splitters 42 are used to deliver seed to those seed boxes 38 not directly connected to a supply hose 34 flow - coupled to the seed metering assembly 36 . as will be described more fully below , a seed box that is directly flow - coupled to the seed metering assembly 36 is filled in a first fill stage and thus will be designated as seed box 38 ( a ). a seed box that is indirectly flow - coupled to the seed metering assembly 36 via a jumper hose 40 and splitter 42 is filled in a second fill stage and thus will be designated as seed box 38 ( b ). in the illustrated embodiment , there are equal number first fill stage seed boxes 38 ( a ) and second fill stage seed boxes 38 ( b ). in this regard , for each pair of seed boxes 38 , one is a first fill stage seed box and the other one is a second fill stage seed box . it is understood however that multiple seed boxes may be daisy - chained together such that one seed box 38 ( a ) is directly coupled to the seed metering assembly 36 and a series of jumper hoses 40 and splitters 42 are successive used to flow - couple the downstream seed boxes to the seed metering assembly . with additional reference to fig3 - 4 , splitter 42 has a splitter inlet 44 adapted to engage a quick - connect coupler 46 of a feeder hose 48 . it will be appreciated that the feeder hose 48 may be supply hose 34 or jumper hose 40 depending upon the seed distribution arrangement being used . in the arrangement shown in fig2 , the splitter inlet 44 is flow - coupled to a supply hose 34 . the splitter 42 also has a primary splitter outlet 50 and a secondary splitter outlet 52 . the primary splitter outlet 50 , which is at lower position than the secondary splitter outlet 52 , is adapted to engage a quick - connect coupler 54 of a seed box 38 ( a ) and the secondary splitter outlet 52 is adapted to engage a quick - connect coupler 56 of a jumper hose 40 . while the preferred embodiment is described and shown as having two splitter outlets , it is understood that the splitter 42 may have more than two outlets . the splitter 42 is oriented such that the splitter inlet 44 receives an air / seed mixture along a first flow path , as represented by the velocity flow vector 58 . the air / seed mixture passes from the splitter inlet 44 and is forced under air and gravity to the primary splitter outlet 50 , which passes the air / seed mixture along the same downward flow path , generally represented by the velocity flow vector 60 . the secondary splitter outlet 52 extends from the splitter body 62 at angle in the range of 80 degrees to 100 degrees , and more preferably ninety degrees , relative to the splitter inlet 44 such that the air / seed mixture initially bypasses the secondary splitter outlet 52 . that is , the secondary splitter outlet 52 is configured to pass air and seed along an initially sideward flow path , generally represented by velocity flow vector 64 . referring now to fig4 a , air / seed mixture is fed to the splitter inlet 44 along the splitter body 62 and passed through primary splitter outlet 50 to load seed into the seed box 38 ( a ) during a primary fill stage . the air / seed mixture will continue to be fed from the inlet 44 to the primary splitter outlet 50 until the seed box 38 ( a ) fills and seed begin to backfill up through the primary splitter outlet 50 . when seed has backed up past the primary outlet 50 into the splitter body 62 to a level generally adjacent the secondary splitter outlet 52 , as shown in fig4 b , seed , entrained in air , that is passed through the splitter inlet 44 will be directed toward the secondary splitter outlet 52 and passed through the secondary splitter outlet 56 along the secondary velocity flow vector 64 . in this regard , the backed up seed closes off the primary splitter outlet 50 to force any incoming air / seed mixture to the secondary splitter outlet 52 during a secondary fill stage . it will be appreciated that negligible quantities of seed may be passed through the secondary splitter outlet 52 during the primary fill stage , but the sideward orientation of the secondary splitter outlet 52 prevents large amounts of seed from being presented to the secondary splitter outlet 52 until seed has closed off the primary splitter outlet 50 . it will also be appreciated that the use of the terms “ primary ” and “ secondary ” connotes only the fill order and does not suggest any difference in function or importance . referring now to fig5 , the velocity flow vectors representative of the flow of an air / seed mixture is shown . in one preferred embodiment , the angle α formed between the inlet velocity flow vector 58 and the secondary outlet velocity flow vector 64 is preferably 90 degrees . the angle β formed between the inlet velocity flow vector 58 and the primary outlet velocity flow vector 60 is preferably 180 degrees . the angle γ formed between primary outlet velocity flow vector 60 and the secondary outlet velocity flow vector 64 is also preferably 90 degrees . referring now to fig6 , as noted above , in one embodiment , a jumper hose 40 and a splitter 42 is used to connect a single second fill stage seed box 38 ( b ) to a supply hose 34 that supplies seed to a first fill stage seed box 38 ( a ). in another embodiment , as illustrated in fig7 for example , multiple jumper hoses 40 and multiple splitters 42 may be used “ daisy - chain ” multiple seed boxes . in the arrangement illustrated in fig7 , the arrangement of seed boxes results in the aforedescribed first and second fill stage seed boxes 38 ( a ) and 38 ( b ), respectively , but also includes third fill stage seed boxes 38 ( c ). a third fill stage second seed box 38 ( c ) is filled after its associated second fill stage seed box 38 ( b ) is filled . in this regard , a supply hose 34 is flow - coupled to the inlet 44 of a splitter 42 , a seed box 38 ( a ) is flow - coupled to the primary splitter outlet 50 , and a jumper hose 40 is flow - coupled to the secondary splitter outlet 52 . instead of the other end of the jumper hose 40 being flow - coupled to a seed box 38 ( b ), the jumper hose 40 is flow - coupled to the splitter inlet 44 of another splitter 42 . the primary splitter outlet 50 is flow - coupled to a seed box 38 ( b ) and the jumper hose 40 is flow - coupled at one end to the secondary splitter outlet 52 and an opposite end to a seed box 38 ( c ). the configuration of the splitter 42 interconnected between the second fill stage seed box 38 ( b ) and the third fill stage seed box 38 ( c ) is similar in function to the splitter interconnected between the second fill stage seed box 38 ( b ) and the first fill stage seed box 38 ( a ). as such , the third fill stage seed box 38 ( c ) is not filled with seed until after the second fill stage seed box 38 ( b ) has been filled . thus , in this embodiment , a single supply hose 34 may be used to deliver seed to three ( 3 ) seed boxes . it is understood that additional jumper hoses and splitters may be used to link more than three ( 3 ) seed boxes to one another to further reduce the number of hoses flow - coupled directly to the seed metering assembly 36 . the invention has been described with respect to delivering seed to a series of seed units . it is understood however that the invention may also be used to deliver other particulate matter , such as granular herbicide , granular fertilizer , or other granular chemicals to a series of dispensing units . many changes and modifications could be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof . the scope of these changes will become apparent from the appended claims . | 0 |
please refer to fig3 , which is a block diagram of a walkie - talkie device 30 according to the present invention . the walkie - talkie device 30 has an antenna 32 , a transceiver 34 , two selectors 36 a , 36 b , an analog - to - digital converter ( adc ) 38 , a digital signal processor ( dsp ) 40 , a digital - to - analog converter ( dac ) 42 , a speaker 44 , a microphone 46 , a random access memory ( ram ) 48 , a read - only memory ( rom ) 50 , and a controller 52 . the antenna 32 is used to receive rf signals transmitted via a specific physical channel , and is used to output rf signals through the specific physical channel . the transceiver 34 is capable of converting the received high - frequency rf signals into low - frequency baseband signals rx . in addition , the transceiver 34 is capable of converting the low - frequency signals tx into high - frequency rf signals , and the converted rf signals are then outputted from the antenna 32 . the selectors 36 a , 36 b are used to dominate transmission paths according to current operating status ( signal outputting or signal transmitting ). the adc 38 is used to convert an analog signal into a corresponding digital signal . on the contrary , the dac 42 is used to convert a digital signal into a corresponding analog signal . dsp 40 is used to process the well - known ctcss tone signal to check out the logical channel related to the received baseband signal rx , and is used to make the outputted baseband signal tx correspond to the logical channel defined by the walkie - talkie device 30 . the rom 50 is used to keep the necessary programs used by the dsp 40 to perform the above - mentioned operations . in addition , the ram 48 is used to temporarily store data generated during execution of the programs . that is , the ram 48 functions as a buffer . the controller 52 ( a microprocessor for example ) is used to control overall operation of the walkie - talkie device 30 , and provides the user with a man - machine interface ( mmi ) so that the user can easily operate the walkie - talkie device 30 and can quickly know current operating status of the walkie - talkie device 30 through the mmi . the operation of the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 is described as follows . suppose that the user sets the walkie - talkie device 30 to use a physical channel p 1 and a ctcss tone signal t 1 , that is , a logical channel p 1 ( t 1 ). with regard to receiving signals , the antenna 32 receives rf signals , and transmits the received rf signals to the transceiver 34 . the transceiver 34 then extracts the desired rf signal through the physical channel , and converts the rf signal into a low - frequency baseband signal rx . with the help of the selector 36 a , the analog baseband signal rx is transmitted to the adc 38 to be converted into a corresponding digital signal rx ″. the digital signal rx ″ is processed by the dsp 40 to detect the wanted ctcss tone signal t 1 . that is , the dsp 40 is capable of performing an operation that was previously executed by the ctcss decoder 16 shown in fig2 . if the baseband signal rx contains the wanted ctcss tone signal t 1 , the dsp 40 will inform the controller 52 that the baseband signal rx should be outputted . at the same time , the dac 42 converts the digital baseband signal rx ″ into a corresponding analog signal rout , and then the selector 36 b feeds the speaker 44 with the analog signal rout for playing the analog signal rout . on the other hand , if the baseband signal rx does not contain the wanted ctcss tone signal t 1 the dsp 40 will inform the controller 52 that the received baseband signal rx should be ignored . with regard to outputting signals , the user generates an analog signal tin with the help of the microphone 46 , and the analog signal tin is then inputted into the adc 38 via the selector 36 a . the adc 38 further converts the analog signal tin into a corresponding digital signal tx ″. then , the dsp 40 adds the ctcss tone signal t 1 adopted by the walkie - talkie device 30 to the digital signal tx ″. that is , the dsp 40 is capable of performing an operation that is previously executed by the ctcss encoder 18 shown in fig2 . in addition , the dac 42 converts output of the dsp 40 into an analog baseband signal tx . with the help of the selector 36 b , the baseband signal tx is transmitted to the transceiver 34 to be converted into rf signal corresponding to the physical channel p 1 . in the end , the rf signal is outputted through the antenna 32 . please refer to fig4 in conjunction with fig5 . fig4 is a first signal processing flow chart of the dsp 40 shown in fig3 , and fig5 is a second signal processing flow chart of the dsp 40 shown in fig3 . as mentioned above , the dsp 40 retrieves the programs stored in the rom 50 for performing related operation on the ctcss tone signals of the digital signals rx ″, tx ″. for the digital signal tx ″, the related operation performed by the dsp 40 includes following steps . step 102 : perform a digital low pass filtering process on the digital signal tx ″; step 104 : perform a digital high - pass filtering process on the digital signal tx ″; step 106 : perform an encoding process on the digital signal tx ″ for adding a ctcss tone signal ; and step 108 : output a result to the dac 42 . the above operation is explained as follows . as shown in fig1 , the user only can use the frequency band ranging from 300 hz to 3 . 4 khz for transmitting speech signals according to specification of the ctcss . in addition , the frequency band ranging from 62 . 5 hz to 250 hz is utilized by the ctcss tone signals . after the dsp 40 receives the digital signal tx ″ corresponding to the speech signal tin ( step 100 ), the digital signal tx ″ has to go through a filtering process . the digital signal tx ″ in frequency domain comprises a plurality of processing signals , and each processing signal corresponds to a predetermined frequency . therefore , in the digital signal tx ″, the processing signals with frequencies ranging from 300 to 3 . 4 khz are extracted out first to prevent other unwanted processing signals with frequencies ranging from 62 . 5 hz to 250 hz from interfering with a desired ctcss tone signal and to prevent other unwanted processing signals with frequencies greater than 3 . 4 khz from interfering with signals transmitted by other physical channels . therefore , the digital signal tx ″ first goes through a low - pass filtering process ( step 102 ) whose cut - off frequency is equal to 3 . 4 khz . only the processing signals with frequencies less than 3 . 4 khz are kept , and any processing signals with frequencies greater than 3 . 4 khz are filtered out . afterwards , the digital signal tx ″ further goes through a high - pass filtering process ( step 104 ) whose cut - off frequency is equal to 300 khz so that the processing signals with frequencies ranging from 300 hz to 3 . 4 khz are extracted out . with steps 102 and 104 , it is sure that the speech signals tin are transmitted only within the defined frequency band ( 300 hz 3 . 4 khz ). finally , an encoding process is activated ( step 106 ) to add a ctcss tone signal corresponding to the logical channel set by the user into the processed digital signal tx ″. for the same physical channel , the added ctcss tone signal is mainly used to distinguish the current digital signal tx ″ from other digital signals tx ″ with different ctcss tone signals . the dsp 40 outputs the processed digital signal tx ″ to the dac 42 for generating the corresponding analog signal tx ( step 108 ). with regard to the digital signal rx ″, the related operation performed by the dsp 40 includes following steps . step 202 : perform a decoding process on the digital signal rx ″ for detecting a corresponding ctcss tone signal ; step 204 : perform a digital low - pass filtering process on the digital signal rx ″; step 206 : perform a digital high - pass filtering process on the digital signal rx ″; step 208 : output a result to the dac 42 . the above operation is explained as follows . as shown in fig1 , the frequency band ranging from 62 . 5 hz to 250 hz is reserved for the ctcss tone signals . after the dsp 40 receives the digital signal rx ″ corresponding to the rf signal ( step 200 ), the ctcss tone signal located with the frequency band ( 62 . 5 hz ˜ 250 hz ) has to be checked for determining whether the logical channel used by the digital signal rx ″ is identical to the logical channel set by the walkie - talkie device 30 . therefore , a decoding process is then executed to detect the ctcss tone signal ( step 202 ). as mentioned above , the digital signal tx ″ in frequency domain comprises a plurality of processing signals , and each processing signal has a specific frequency . in other words , the decoding process has to extract out the processing signals with frequencies less than 250 hz . for example , a low - pass filtering process with a cut - off frequency equaling 250 hz is activated . then , the ctcss tone signal located within the defined frequency band ( 62 . 5 hz ˜ 250 hz ) is detected for determining whether the logical channel used by the digital signal rx ″ is identical to the logical channel set by the walkie - talkie device 30 . if the detection succeeds , the digital signal rx ″ is further outputted ; otherwise , the digital signal rx ″ is ignored . as mentioned before , the digital signal rx ″ has to go through another filtering process for extracting out the processing signals with frequencies ranging from 300 hz to 3 . 4 khz so that any possible interference generated from other processing signals with frequencies ranging from 62 . 5 hz to 250 hz and other processing signals with frequencies greater than 3 . 4 khz is completely prevented . in conclusion , the digital signal rx ″ first goes through a digital low - pass filtering process ( step 204 ) whose cut - off frequency equals 3 . 4 khz so as to kept the processing signals with frequencies less than 3 . 4 khz and to filter out the processing signals with frequencies greater than 3 . 4 khz . then , a digital high - pass filtering process is started ( step 206 ) for extracting out any processing signals with frequencies ranging from 300 hz to 3 . 4 khz . that is , the cut - off frequency during the high - pass filtering process is equal to 300 hz . with steps 204 and 206 , it is sure that the rf signal received by the antenna 32 are only outputted through the defined frequency band ( 300 hz ˜ 3 . 4 khz ). in the long run , the dsp 40 outputs the processed digital signal rx ″ to the dac 42 for generating a corresponding analog signal rout ( step 208 ). as mentioned above , the walkie - talkie device 30 according to the present invention applies a digital signal processing means to perform related operation on the ctcss tone signal located within the analog signal tin received by the microphone 46 and the analog signal rx received by the antenna 32 . for example , the digital filtering process is performed to extract out the desired processing signals with frequencies located within a predetermined frequency band . similarly , the ctcss tone signal is also processed by digital processing means . in other words , the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 utilizes a dsp 40 to execute the programs stored in the rom 50 for fulfilling the above - mentioned operation . therefore , if the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 wants to add additional functions , suitable program codes can be placed in the rom 50 . therefore , it is easy to implement more functions of the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 by storing appropriate programs in the rom 50 . for example , the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 is capable of performing a prior art signal scrambling function only by placing a suitable program in the rom 50 . in the preferred embodiment , any functions of the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 are carried out with the help of programs executed by the dsp 40 . however , the claimed walkie - talkie device 30 can also utilize actual hardware circuits to process digital signals for carrying out the functions of the walkie - talkie device 30 . in contrast to the prior art , the claimed walkie - talkie device uses an adc for converting the analog signals into the digital signals , uses a dsp for performing functions such as signal reception , signal transmission , and signal scrambling , etc ., and uses a dac for converting the processed digital signal into a corresponding analog signal . compared with the prior art analog filter circuits , digital filtering process inevitably has a better filtering characteristic . the digital filtering process , therefore , can precisely extract out signals within one frequency band ranging from 62 . 5 hz to 250 hz and signals within another frequency band ranging from 300 hz to 3 . 4 khz . in other words , the detection for the ctcss tone signal is more accurate , and the reception for the speech signals is clearer . in addition , the claimed walkie - talkie device adopts a dsp , and the claimed walkie - talkie device is capable of expanding its functions easily by adjusting appropriate program codes stored in a rom without modifying any hardware elements inside the claimed walkie - talkie device . to sum up , the claimed walkie - talkie device is easily modified to have desired functions , and has a low production cost . those skilled in the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teachings of the invention . accordingly , the above disclosure should be construed as limited only by the metes and bound of the appended claims . | 7 |
a first embodiment of the deodorizing air filter according to the present invention is explained below with respect to fig1 - 3 . fig1 shows a perspective view of the deodorizing air filter f , and fig3 shows the partially sectional view thereof . the deodorizing air filter f comprises a filter body 1 formed into a plane shape by folding an air filtering sheet 10 into a zigzagged shape and a frame 2 in a square shape for holding four perimeter sides of the filter body 1 , with the lengths of , for example , 20 cm , width of 20 cm and thickness of 2 cm . the sheet 10 is made from , for example , nonwoven fabric , about 0 . 4 mm in thickness , made of rayon and activated carbon , on which a deodorant ( a chemical for chemical absorption in this embodiment , not shown ) is directly adhered . the sheet may be also made , for example , by mixing the deodorant made of odor absorbent and odor decomposing catalyzer thereto when woven or nonwoven fabric is manufactured or by putting a sheet containing deodorant and a dust prevention filtering sheet together . as shown in fig3 the filter body 1 is formed into a zigzagged shape by folding filter sheet 10 along folds l which are parallel to each other , therefore , it has a shape made up of continuous sheet pieces 11 sectionally formed between adjacent folds l in sheet 10 . the important point in this embodiment is that filter body 1 comprises filtering section la which has an air filtering function and deodorizing section 1b which has conversely no air filtering function . the filtering section la is made up of one sheet piece 11 which has the same shape and arrangement as the sheet piece for the conventional filter body , and is disposed to lean into a main air flow direction s at a predetermined angle 0 in an air conditioner . on the other hand , a deodorizing section 1b is formed by putting two adjacent pieces of sheet 11 together and extends in the main flow direction s . it is also possible to construct the filtering section 1a and the deodorizing section 1b with still more sheet pieces 11 . the deodorizing air filter f is installed in air conditioner 6 for a vehicle as shown in fig2 . air introduced by blower 61 into the system through an internal / external air switching damper 62 has dust and odor removed therefrom by the deodorizing air filter f , is led to a heater ( not shown ) through an evaporator 63 , and is discharged as temperature controlled air . the damper for mixing non - temperature controlled air with temperature controlled air in a desirable ratio is not shown in this embodiment . furthermore , the deodorizing air filter f may be disposed between the evaporator 63 and the blower 61 , instead of being disposed in front of blower 62 . as shown in fig2 and 3 , the air flow introduced by blower 61 passes in the air flow direction s at a right angle to the facing direction of the deodorizing air filter f , is generally bent to perpendicular direction to the leaning direction of the filtering section 1a proximate thereto , and passes through the filtering section 1a . fig4 shows contraposition and comparison of the shape of the filter body 1 in this embodiment and the conventional filter body 9 in the direction a at a right angle to the main flow direction s and the fold l respectively . the pitches p of filter bodies 1 and 9 in the direction a are equal to one another . in this case , since an opening angle 0 of the filter body 1 is approximately equal to an opening angle 0 o of the filter body 9 , their ventilation resistance and pressure loss are regarded as almost equal . on the other hand , since filter body 1 in this embodiment has a sheet piece 11 one and a half times as large as that of the conventional filter body 9 , the filter body 1 in this embodiment has a deodorizing ability 50 % greater than the conventional filter body 9 , provided that the length of each piece of sheet 11 is approximately equal . as shown in fig5 the frame 2 has a pair of pieces 21 ( only one of them is shown in fig5 ) extending at a right angle to the fold l of the filter body 1 , and the piece 21 has v groove portion 22 which come into contact with both faces of the pieces of adjacent pairs of filter section 1a and deep groove portion 23 which hold the deodorizing section 1b installed alternatively with v groove portion 22 in a concave shape and protruding to one side . according to such structure of the frame 2 , it is easy to hold the shape of filter body 1 without any deformation . a second embodiment of the present invention is explained below with respect to fig6 . in this embodiment , a deodorizing section 1b of the filter body 1 is formed with half the pitch of the deodorizing section 1b of the filter body shown in fig3 . according to this embodiment , it is possible to improve the filter &# 39 ; s deodorizing ability , the increase in ventilation resistance and pressure loss is relatively small . for manufacturing a deodorizing air filter having a deodorizing ability which is improved to a comparatively small degree , it is possible to construct each of filter sections 1a shown in fig3 as multiple pieces folded into a zigzagged shape . it is also possible that each of the overlapping pieces of sheet 11 of the deodorizing section 1b are put together with adhesive . fig7 is a perspective view of a filter according to the third embodiment of the present invention , and fig8 is a perspective view of a filter body used in the filter shown in fig7 . a filter 100 is installed on an air inlet port of an air conditioner for automobiles or in an air cleaner for automobiles . a direction of air flow is shown with an arrow . the filter 100 has a frame body 101 made of resin and a filter body 102 . the filter body 102 is bonded to an inner side surface of the frame body 101 with hot melt type adhesive and expands in a plane direction . as shown in fig8 the filter body 102 is made up of a series of filter elements 103 such as nonwoven fabric which serve only as air filters . each filter element 103 may be adhered with deodorant thereon to provide a deodorizing function in addition to the filtering function . the filter element 103 is continuously formed by folding alternately with a predetermined equal pitch , and is partially formed by folding with a smaller pitch . adjacent pieces of the filter element with the smaller pitch are parallel to the air flow , and such adjacent pieces are put together with an adhesive layer 106 made of hot melt type adhesive . the filter element 103 is alternately provided with a filter section which has several leaning filter pieces 104 extending obliquely by alternately changing their leaning direction and a reinforced section which has tow parallel filter pieces 105 extending parallel to the air flow . the adhesive layer 106 made up of hot melt type adhesive is formed between the parallel filter pieces 105 . the adhesive layer 106 improves the bending strength not only by hot melt type adhesive but also by bonding the two parallel filter pieces 105 with hot melt type adhesive , in addition to the improvement of the bending strength by only parallel filter piece 105 in the direction shown with the arrow mark in fig8 . the parallel filter pieces 105 in the filter element 105 extend to droop toward the downstream of air from a top section 108 in which the filter body forming a zigzagged shape protrudes toward the upstream direction of airflow . the filter in this embodiment is manufactured as below . a series of belt - like filter elements 103 is folded alternately with a predetermined equal pitch , the small - pitched sections are formed in several locations of the filter element 103 , two adjacent pieces in the small pitched sections are formed into parallel filter pieces 105 , and the adjacent parallel filter pieces are bonded . finally , the filter body 102 is bonded to the frame body 101 . according to the third embodiment as described above , by applying the present invention to a filter element which has only a filtering function , it is possible to impose the bending strength of the filter body itself , without any complicated and high - cost structure in which a special reinforcement extends in the air flow passage . in addition , by providing the deodorizing function on the filter element , it is possible to enlarge the surface area on the filter element having the deodorizing function , and an increase in the ventilation resistance is also prevented . a fourth embodiment of the present invention is explained below with respect to fig9 . fig9 is a perspective view of a filter body 202 in the fourth embodiment of the present invention . the same portions shown in fig8 are provided with the same reference numbers and the different points therebetween are explained below . in this embodiment , the bending strength is further improved by making parallel filter pieces 205 longer than leaning filter pieces 104 . moreover , in this embodiment , by providing the deodorizing function ont he filter element , it is possible to enlarge the surface area of the filter element having the deodorizing function . in the third and fourth embodiments as described above , though a hot melt type adhesive has been applied to the entire surface between the two adjacent parallel filter pieces 105 , it may be also applied only to partial surfaces thereof . for instance , it may be applied between top portions 107 , which is a tangent line with parallel filter pieces 105 and leaning filter pieces 104 . furthermore , although the adhesive which has a high rigidity in a cured condition such as hot melt type adhesive is preferable , various kinds of adhesives can be applied . in addition , the bending strength is improved even without adhesive . as a further improvement , the bending strength may be improved by continuously forming two or more parallel filter pieces 105 and bonding them together . moreover , although it is preferable to form a filter body by folding a series of belt - like filter elements , it is also possible that a plurality of filter sections are formed by folding a plurality of plate - like filter elements , each of the filter sections is connected by bonding the filter pieces to each other at end portions thereof , and such connected filter pieces may be used for the parallel filter pieces in the above - mentioned embodiment . furthermore , the parallel pieces of filter materials may be formed to extend from the bottom toward the upstream , in addition to drooping from the top toward the downstream . according to such configuration that the parallel filter pieces extend from the tope toward the downstream or from the bottom toward the upstream , it is possible to improve the bending strength of the filter body while suppressing an increase in its thickness by effectively using the triangular space between leaning filter pieces . | 1 |
the preferred titanium compounds used in the catalyst component ( a ) are those containing at least a ti - halogen bond . among them particularly preferred are ticl 4 and ticl 3 ; furthermore , also ti - haloalcoholates of formula ti ( or ) n - y x y can be used , where n is the valence of titanium , y is a number between 1 and n − 1 x is halogen and r is a hydrocarbon radical having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms . the said titanium compounds are suitably supported on a magnesium halide . the magnesium halide is preferably mgcl 2 in active form which is widely known from the patent literature as a support for ziegler - natta catalysts . patents u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 298 , 718 and 4 , 495 , 338 were the first to describe the use of these compounds in ziegler - natta catalysis . it is known from these patents that the magnesium dihalides in active form used as support or co - support in components of catalysts for the polymerization of olefins are characterized by x - ray spectra in which the most intense diffraction line that appears in the spectrum of the non - active halide is diminished in intensity and is replaced by a halo whose maximum intensity is displaced towards lower angles relative to that of the more intense line . in a particular embodiment of the present invention the ether compounds having at least two ether groups can be selected among the class of the 1 , 3 - diethers of formula ( ii ) where r i and r ii are the same or different and are hydrogen or linear or branched c 1 - c 18 hydrocarbon groups which can also form one or more cyclic structures ; r iii groups , equal or different from each other , are hydrogen or c 1 - c 18 hydrocarbon groups ; r iv groups equal or different from each other , have the same meaning of r iii except that they cannot be hydrogen ; each of r i to r iv groups can contain heteroatoms selected from halogens , n , o , s and si . preferably , r iv is a 1 - 6 carbon atom alkyl radical and more particularly a methyl while the r iii radicals are preferably hydrogen . moreover , when r i is methyl , ethyl , propyl , or isopropyl , r ii can be ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , isopentyl , 2 - ethylhexyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , methylcyclohexyl , phenyl or benzyl ; when r i is hydrogen , r ii can be ethyl , butyl , sec - butyl , tert - butyl , 2 - ethylhexyl , cyclohexylethyl , diphenylmethyl , p - chlorophenyl , 1 - naphthyl , 1 - decahydronaphthyl ; r i and r ii can also be the same and can be ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , neopentyl , phenyl , benzyl , cyclohexyl , cyclopentyl . specific examples of ethers that can be advantageously used include : 2 -( 2 - ethylhexyl ) 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - isopropyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - butyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - sec - butyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - cyclohexyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - phenyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - tert - butyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - cumyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 -( 2 - phenylethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 -( 2 - cyciobexylethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 -( p - chlorophenyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 -( diphenylmethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 ( 1 - naphthyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 ( p - fluorophenyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 ( 1 - decahydronaphthyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 ( p - tert - butylphenyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dicyclohexyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dipropyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dibutyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - diethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dicyclopentyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dipropyl - 1 , 3 - diethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dibutyl - 1 , 3 - diethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - diniethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - propyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - rnethyl - 2 - benzyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - phenyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - cyclohexyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - methylcyclohexyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( p - chiorophenyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 2 - phenylethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 2 - cyclohexylethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - isobutyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 -( 2 - ethylhexyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 2 - ethylhexyl ) - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( p - methylphenyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - methyl - 2 - isopropyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diisobutyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diphenyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dibenzyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - isopropyl - 2 - cyclopentyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - bis ( cyclohexylmethyl )- 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diisobutyl - 1 , 3 - diethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - diisobutyl - 1 , 3 - dibutoxypropane , 2 - isobutyl - 2 - isopropyl 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - di - sec - butyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - di - tert - butyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 , 2 - dineopentyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - iso - propyl - 2 - isopentyl - 1 , 3 - dirnethoxypropane , 2 - phenyl - 2 - benzyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane , 2 - cyclohexyl - 2 - cyclohexylmethyl - 1 , 3 - dimethoxypropane . in another particular embodiment the electron donor having at least two ether groups can be selected among the class of cyclopolyenic 1 , 3 - diether in which the carbon atom in position 2 belongs to a cyclic or polycyclic structure made up of 5 , 6 , or 7 carbon atoms , or of 5 - n or 6 - n ′ carbon atoms , and respectively n nitrogen atoms and n ′ heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of n , o , s and si , where n is 1 or 2 and n ′ is 1 , 2 or 3 , said structure containing two or three unsaturations ( cyclopolyenic structure ), and optionally being condensed with other cyclic structures , or substituted with one or more substitutes selected from the group consisting of linear or branched alkyl radicals : cycloalkyl , aryl , aralkyl , alkaryl radicals and halogens , or being condensed with other cyclic structures and substituted with one or more of the above mentioned substitutes selected that can also be bonded to the condensed cyclic structures ; one or more of the above mentioned alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl , aralkyl , or alkaryl radicals and the condensed cyclic structures optionally containing one or more heteroatoms as substitutes for carbon or hydrogen atoms , or both . the above mentioned substitutes in cyclopolyenic 1 , 3 - diethers are selected from the group consisting of linear or branched alkyl groups having 1 to 20 carbon atoms , cycloalkyl groups having 3 to 20 carbon atoms , aryl groups having 6 to 20 carbon atoms , aralkyl groups having 7 to 20 carbon atoms , alkaryl groups having 7 to 20 carbon atoms , cl and f . heteroatoms optionally existing in alkyl , cycloalkyl , aryl , aralkyl and alkaryl groups and / or in condensed ring structure are preferably selected from the group consisting of n , o , s , p , si and halogen , more preferably selected from cl and f . a specific subgroup of cyclopolyenic 1 , 3 - diethers is represented in the general formula ( iii ): where the r groups , equal or different , are hydrogen , halogens preferably cl and f ; c 1 - c 20 alkyl groups , linear or branched , c 3 - c 20 cycloalkyl , c 6 - c 20 aryl , c 7 - c 20 alkylaryl or c 7 - c 20 aralkyl groups , optionally containing one or more heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of n , o , s , p , si and halogens , in particular cl and f , as substitutes for carbon or hydrogen atoms , or both ; the groups r i , same or different to each other , are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halogens preferably cl and f , c 1 - c 20 alkyl groups , linear or branched ; c 3 - c 20 cycloalkyl , c 6 - c 20 aryl , c 7 - c 20 alkaryl and c 7 - c 20 arallyl groups , the r ii groups , same or different to each other , are selected from the group consisting of c 1 - c 20 alkyl groups , linear or branched ; c 3 - c 20 cycloalkyl , c 6 - c 20 aryl , c 7 - c 20 alkaryl and c 7 - c 20 aralkyl groups . 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- fluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 - tetramethylfluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 - hexafluorofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 3 - benzofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( metboxymethyl )- 2 , 3 , 6 , 7 - dibenzofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 7 - diisopropylfluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 1 , 8 - dichlorofluorene 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 7 - dicyclopentylfluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 1 , 8 - difluorofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrahydrofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 - octahydrofluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 4 - tert - butylfluorene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( 1 ′- butoxyethyl )- cyclopentadiene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( 1 ′- isopropoxy - n - propyl ) cyclopentadiene ; methoxymethyl - 1 -( 1 ′- methoxyethyl )- 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 - tetramethylcyclopentadiene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( alpha - methoxybenzyl ) indene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( phenoxymethyl )- 3 , 6 - dicyclohexylindene 9 , 9 - bis ( alpha - methoxybenzyl ) fluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( 1 ′- isopropoxy - n - butyl )- 4 , 5 - diphenylfluorene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( 1 ′- methoxyethyl ) fluorene ; 9 - methoxymethyl - 9 -( 1 ′- methoxyethyl ) fluorene ; 9 - methoxymethyl - 9 -[ 2 -( 2 - methoxypropyl )]- fluorene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 5 - cyclohexadiene ; 1 , 1 - bis ( methoxymethyl ) benzonaphthene ; 7 , 7 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 2 , 5 - norbornadiene ; 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl )- 1 , 4 - methanedihydronaphthalene . the preparation of the solid catalyst component ( a ) of the present invention may be carried out according to various methods . for example , a magnesium halide , a titanium compound and an ether compound having at least two ether groups disclosed in ( a ), are milled together under the conditions where activation of the magnesium halide occurs . the milled product is then treated one or more times with excess ticl 4 at a temperature between 80 and 135 ° c . under the optional existence of the said ether compound having at least two ether groups , and then washed repeatedly with a hydrocarbon , e . g . hexane , until all chlorine ions are not detected in the washing medium . according to another method , an anhydrous magnesium halide is pre - activated according to known methods in the prior art and then reacts with an excess of ticl 4 which contains said ether compound having at least two ether groups and optionally an aliphatic , cycloaliphatic , aromatic or chlorinated hydrocarbon solvent ( for example , hexane , heptane , cyclohexane , toluene , ethylbenzene , chlorobenzene and dichloroethane ). in this case also the operation is performed at a temperature between 80 and 135 ° c . the reaction with ticl 4 is repeated with or without the presence of an additional amount of ether compound having at least two ether groups , and the solid is then washed with hexane to eliminate unreacted ticl 4 . according to another method , an mgcl 2 · nroh adduct ( particularly in the form of spheroidal particles ) in which n is generally a number from 1 to 6 , and roh is an alcohol such as ethanol , butanol or isobutanol for example , reacts with an ether compound having at least two ether groups and with an excess of ticl 4 containing one of the above mentioned hydrocarbon solvents . the initial reaction temperature is from 0 to 25 ° c . and is then raised to a temperature between 80 to 135 ° c . after the reaction , the solid is treated once more with ticl 4 , in the presence or absence of the ether compound having at least two ether groups , then separated and washed with a hydrocarbon until chlorine ions are not detected in the solvent . according to another method , magnesium alcoholate and magnesium chloroalcoholate may be allowed to react under reaction conditions described above with excess ticl 4 containing the ether compound having at least two ether groups . according to another method , a complex of a magnesium halide and a titanium alcoholate ( as a representative example , mgcl 2 · 2ti ( oc 4 h 9 ) 4 complex ) are allowed to react in a hydrocarbon solution , with an excess of ticl 4 containing the ether compound having at least two ether groups in a hydrocarbon solution . the solid product is separated and further reacted with an excess of ticl 4 in the presence or absence of additional ether compound having at least two ether groups and then separated and washed with hexane . the reaction with ticl 4 is carried out at a temperature between 80 ° c . and 130 ° c . according to a similar method , the complex of mgcl 2 and titanium alcoholate is caused to react with polyhydrosiloxane in a hydrocarbon solution ; then the separated solid product undergoes reaction at 50 ° c . with silicon tetrachloride . then , the solid obtained is caused to react with an excess of ticl 4 at a temperature ranging from 80 to 130 ° c . in the presence or absence of an ether compound having at least two ether groups . without relation to a specific catalyst preparation method mentioned above , it is preferable to separate the solid material obtained after the last reaction with ticl 4 in the presence of an ether compound having at least two ether groups , then to cause said solid material to react with excess ticl 4 at a temperature between 80 to 135 ° c ., and further to be washed by a hydrocarbon solvent . finally , it is possible to cause excess ticl 4 containing the ether compound having at least two ether groups to react with porous resins such as partially cross - linked styrene - divinylbenzene in spherical particle form , or porous inorganic oxides such as silica and alumina , impregnated with a solution of magnesium compound or complex soluble in organic solvents . the porous resins which can be used are described in the published european patent application no . 344 , 755 . the reaction with ticl 4 is carried out at a temperature between 80 to 100 ° c . after separating the excess ticl 4 , the reaction is repeated and the solid obtained is then washed with a hydrocarbon . the molar ratio of the magnesium halide / the ether compound having at least two ether groups used in the reactions indicated above generally may range from 4 : 1 to 12 : 1 . the ether compound having at least two ether groups is fixed on the magnesium halide in a quantity generally ranging from 1 to 20 molar weight %. while mg / ti ratio of the solid catalyst component ( a ) is generally in the range of 30 : 1 to 4 : 1 , such ratio may be different for the component supported on a resin or an inorganic oxide , and generally in the range of 20 : 1 to 2 : 1 . in the present invention , the amount of the solid catalyst component in the polymerization system is normally in the range of 0 . 005 to 0 . 5 mmol / l , and preferably in the range of 0 . 01 to 0 . 5 mmol / l converted to ti atom . the aluminum alkyl cocatalyst ( b ) can be chosen among those of formula ( iv ): in which r 5 , r 6 and r 7 may be the same or different and each represents a hydrocarbon group having 12 or less carbon atoms , a halogen atom or a hydrogen atom , provided that at least one of r 5 , r 6 and r 7 is a hydrocarbon group . representative examples of the organic aluminum compounds represented by formula ( 5 ) include a trialkyl aluminum such as triethyl aluminum , tripropyl aluminum , tributyl aluminum , triisobutyl aluminum , trihexyl aluminum and trioctyl aluminum ; an alkyl aluminum hydride such as diethyl aluminum hydride and dilsobutyl aluminum hydride ; and an alkyl aluminum halide such as diethyl aluminum chloride , diethyl aluminum bromide and the like . preferred among these organic aluminum compounds are a trialkyl aluminums which provides excellent result . in the polymerization of olefins , the amount of the organic aluminum compound to be used in the polymerization system is generally not less than 10 − 4 mmol / l , preferably not less than 10 − 2 mmol / l . the molar proportion of the organic aluminum compound to titanium atom in the solid catalyst component is generally not less than 0 . 5 , preferably not less than 2 , particularly not less than 10 . if the amount of the organic aluminum compound to be used is too small , the polymerization activity may be drastically reduced . preferably , the amount of the organic aluminum compound to be used in the polymerization system is not less than 20 mmol / l and the molar proportion of the organic aluminum compound to titanium atoms is not less than 1 , 000 . the alkoxyester compounds ( c ) used in the present invention is represented by the above - mentioned general formula ( 1 ) ( r 1 o ) i ( r 2 o ) j ( r 3 o ) k — z — coor 4 ( i ) where r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 , same or different to each other , represent one or more of alilphatic hydrocarbon groups , alicyclic hydrocarbon group , aromatic hydrocarbon groups , polycyclic hydrocarbon groups , and heterocyclic compound groups . when they are aliphatic or alicyclic hydrocarbon groups , the former having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or the latter having 4 to 12 carbon atoms are preferable . exemplary compounds are methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , i - propyl , n - butyl , i - butyl , sec - butyl , tert - butyl , hexyl , 3 - methylpentyl , tert - pentyl , heptyl , 5 - hexyl , octyl , nonyl , decyl , 2 , 3 , 5 - trimethyihexyl , undecyl , dodecyl , vinyl , allyl , 2 - hexenyl , 2 , 4 - bexadienyl , isopropenyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , tetramethylcyclohexyl , cyclohexenyl , and norbornyl groups . hydrogen atoms of these groups may be substituted with halogen atoms . if any of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 is an aromatic or polycyclic hydrocarbon group , the former having 6 to 18 carbon atoms or the latter having 4 to 12 carbon atoms is preferable . specific examples are phenyl , tolyl , ethylphenyl , xylyl , cumyl , trimethylphenyl , tetramethylphenyl , naphthyl , methylnaphtliyl , and anthranyl groups . hydrogen atoms of these groups may be substituted with halogen atoms . if any of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 is a heterocyclic compound group , that having 6 to 18 carbon atoms is preferable . specific examples are furyl , tetrahydrofuryl , thienyl , pyrrolyl , imidazolyl , indolyl , pyridyl , and piperidyl groups . hydrogen atoms of these groups may be substituted with halogen atoms . if any of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and r 4 is a group of an aromatic hydrocarbon , polycyclic hydrocarbon , or heterocyclic compound , connected to an aliphatic hydrocarbon , a group of an aromatic hydrocarbon or polycyclic hydrocarbon having 6 to 18 carbon atoms or a group of a heterocyclic compound having 4 to 18 carbon atoms , connected to an aliphatic hydrocarbon having 1 to 12 carbon atoms , is preferable . specific examples are benzyl , diphenylmethyl , indenyl , and furfuryl groups . hydrogen atoms of these groups may be substituted with halogen atoms . z is preferably an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms or an alicyclic hydrocarbon group having 4 to 20 carbon atoms , in which a hydrogen atom may be substituted with an aromatic group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms or a polycyclic hydrocarbon group having 4 to 20 carbon atoms . as specific examples , there can be mentioned methylene , ethylene , ethylidene , trimethylene , tetramethylene , pentamethylene , hexamethylene , ethenylene , vinylidene and propenylene groups . as examples of the substituted hydrocarbon groups , there can be mentioned methylmethylene , n - butylmethylene , ethylethylene , isopropylethylene , tert - butylethylene , sec - butylethylene , tert - amylethylene , adamantylethylene , bicyclo [ 2 , 2 , 1 ] heptylethylene , phenylethylene , tolylethylene , xylylethylene , diphenyltrimethylene , 1 , 2 - cyclopentylene , 1 , 3 - cyclopentylene , 3 - cyclohexe - 1 , 2 - ylene , dimethylethylene , and inde - 1 , 2 - ylene groups . hydrogen atoms of these groups may be substituted with halogen atoms . as specific examples of the alkoxyester compounds of formula ( 1 ), there can be mentioned methyl methoxyacetate , ethyl methoxyacetate , butyl methoxyacetate , phenyl methoxyacetate , methyl ethoxyacetate , ethyl ethoxyacetate , butyl ethoxyacetate , phenyl ethoxyacetate , ethyl n - propoxyacetate , ethyl iso - propoxyacetate , methyl n - butoxy acetate , methyl iso - butoxyacetate , ethyl n - hexyloxyacetate , octyl sec - hexyloxyacetate , methyl 2 - methylcyclohexyloxyacetate , methyl 3 - methoxypropionate , n - octyl 3 - ethoxypropionate , dodecyl 3 - ethoxypropionate , pentamethyiphenyl 3 - ethoxypropionate , n - octyl 3 - ethoxypropionate , dodecyl 3 - ethoxypropionate , ethyl 3 -( i - propoxy ) propionate , butyl 3 -( i - propoxy ) propionate , allyl 3 -( n - propoxy ) propionate , cyclohexyl 3 -( n - butoxy ) propionate , ethyl 3 - neopentyloxypropionate , butyl 3 -( n - octyloxy ) propionate , methyl 3 -( 2 , 6 - dimethylhexyloxy ) propionate , octyl 3 -( 3 , 3 - dimethyldecyloxy ) propionate , ethyl 4 - ethoxybutyrate , cyclohexyl 4 - ethoxybutyrate , octyl 5 -( n - propoxy ) valerate , ethyl 12 - ethoxylaurate , ethyl 3 -( 1 - indenoxy ) propionate , methyl 3 - methoxyacrylate , methyl 2 - methoxyacrylate , methyl 2 - ethoxyacrylate , ethyl 3 - phenoxyacrylate , ethyl 2 - methoxypropionate , n - butyl 2 -( i - propoxy ) butyrate , methyl 2 - ethoxyisobutyrate , phenyl 2 - cyclohexyloxyisovalerate , butyl 2 - ethoxy - 2 - phenylacetate , allyl 3 - neopentyloxybutyrate , methyl 3 - ethoxy - 3 ( o - methylphenyl ) propionate . among them , an alkoxyester compound represented by the following general formula ( v ) is preferable . in the above formula each of r 14 and r 16 independently represents an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms ; each of r 13 and r 15 independently represents a hydrogen atom or an aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms . y represents a divalent linear hydrocarbon group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms , which is substituted with an aliphatic hydrocarbon group , an aromatic hydrocarbon group or a polycylic hydrocarbon group , or an alicyclic hydrocarbon group having 6 to 12 carbon atoms . the most preferred is an alkoxy ester having a bulky substituting group with at least 3 carbon atoms at the second or third position counted from the carboxyl group , and y represents a linear hydrocarbon group . furthermore , an alkoxyester compound having a 4 - to 8 - membered cycloalkane at the second or third position counted from the carboxyl group is also preferable . specific examples of such compounds are , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - phenypropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - tolylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - mesitylpropionate , ethyl 3 - butoxy - 2 -( methoxyphenyl ) propionate , methyl 3 - iso - propoxy - 3 - phenylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 3 - phenylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 3 - tert - butylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 3 - adamantylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - tert - butylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - tert - amylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - adamnantylpropionate , ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - bicyclo [ 2 , 2 , 1 ] heptylpropionate , ethyl 2 - ethoxycyclohexanecarboxylate , methyl 2 -( ethoxymethyl ) cyclohexanecarboxylate , methyl 3 - ethoxynorbomane - 2 - carboxylate , ethyl 2 , 2 - diisobutyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , methyl 2 - iso - propyl - 2 - iso - pentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , ethyl 2 - iso - propyl - 2 - iso - pentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , methyl 2 - iso - propyl - 2 - cyclopentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , ethyl 2 - iso - propyl - 2 - cyclopentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , methyl 2 - cyclopentyl - 2 - iso - pentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , ethyl 2 - cyclopentyl - 2 - iso - pentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , methyl 2 , 2 - dicyclopentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate , and ethyl 2 , 2 - dicyclopentyl - 3 - methoxy - propionate . the olefin polymerization process of the present invention is a process for polymerizing or co - polymerizing olefins of formula ch 2 ═ chr , in which r is hydrogen or a hydrocarbyl radical with 1 - 12 carbon atoms , using the catalysts of the invention . representative examples of such an olefin include ethylene , propylene , buten - 1 , 4 - methylpentene - 1 , hexene - 1 , and octene - 1 . the process of the present invention is advantageously used for the stereo - specific polymerization of olefins having three or more carbon atoms and most favorably used for the propylene polymerization . in the polymerization process , the solid catalyst component of the present invention , the organic aluminum compound , and the alkoxyester compound may be separately introduced into the polymerization vessel . alternatively , two or all of these components may be previously mixed . typically , an inert solvent hereinafter described , the organic aluminum compound and the alkoxyester compound described above may be mixed in a dropping funnel the air in which has been replaced by nitrogen . after the lapse of a predetermined period of time ( over about 1 minute ), this mixture is preferably brought into contact with the solid catalyst component so that it undergoes further reaction for a predetermined period of time ( over about 1 minute ), and then introduced into the polymerization reaction vessel . examples of the inert solvent employable herein include aliphatic hydrocarbons such as pentane , hexane , heptane , n - octane , isooctane , cyclohexane and methyl cyclohexane , alkylaromatic hydrocarbon such as toluene , xylene , ethylbenzene , isopropylbenzene , ethyltoluene , n - propylbenzene , diethylbenzene , monoalkyl naphthalene and diallcyl naphthalene , halogenated or hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbon such as chlorobenzene , chloronaphthalene , orthodichlorobenzene , tetrahydronaphthalene and decahydronaphthalene , high molecular weight liquid paraffin , and mixture thereof . the polymerization of olefins according to the present invention can be carried out under an atmospheric or higher pressure . in gas phase polymerization , while the monomer pressure shall not be lower than the vapor pressure at the olefin polymerization temperature , in general the monomer pressure is in the range of atmospheric pressure to 100 kg / cm 2 , preferably in the range of about 2 to 50 kg / cm 2 . in another specific embodiment the polymerization may be carried out in liquid phase using an inert solvent ( solution polymerizafion ) or a diluent ( slurry or bulk process ). dilution solvents preferable for a slurry polymerization comprise alkanes and cycloalkanes such as pentane , hexane , heptane , normal octane , cyclohexane and methylcyclohexane , alkylaryl hydrocarbons such as toluene , xylene , ethylbenzene , isopropylbenzene , ethyltoluene , normal propylbenzene , diethylbenzene and mono - or di - alkylnaphthalene , halogenated or hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as chlorobeizene , chloronaphthalene , ortho - dichlorobenzene , tetrahydronaphthalene and decabydronaphthalene , high molecular weight liquid paraffin , their mixtures and other well known dilution solvents . further , the polymerization can be carried out by two or more sequential polymerization step with different polymerization conditions for each step . a molecular weight modifier ( generally hydrogen ) may be allowed to co - exist in order to obtain a polymer having a melt flow suitable for a practical use . a stirred bed reactor , fluidized bed reactor and the like may be used for the gas polymerization process useful for the implementation of the present invention . although generally unnecessary , the completion , suspension of the polymerization or inactivation of the catalysts may be carried out by contacting the catalysts with water , alcohol or acetone that are well known as catalyst poisons or other appropriate catalyst deactivation agents . the polymerization temperature is generally between minus 10 and plus 180 ° c ., preferably between 20 and 100 ° c . in view of obtaining excellent catalyst capabilities and high production speed , and the most preferably between 50 to 80 ° c . it is preferable to conduct pre - polymerization although it is not necessarily required . while olefins used in the pre - polymerization may be the same or different from the olefins employed in the polymerization mentioned above , propylene is preferred . the reaction temperature of the pre - polymerization is in the range of minus 20 to plus 100 ° c ., preferably between minus 20 to plus 60 ° c . it is desirable to conduct the pre - polymerization so as to produce 0 . 1 to 1000 g of polymer per 1 g of the solid catalyst for olefin polymerization , preferably between 0 . 3 to 100 g , most preferably between 1 to 50 g of polymer per 1 g of the solid catalyst . the pre - polymerization may be effected in a batch or continuous process . following are the illustrative examples of the present invention which examples shall not be construed as to limit the scope of the present invention . in a 100 ml glass flask with fixed blades mechanical stirrer are introduced under nitrogen atmosphere in order : 70 ml of anhydrous n - beptane 12 mmoles of anhydrous mgcl 2 activated as described below 2 mmoles of ether . the content is allowed to react at 60 ° c . for 4 hours ( stirring speed at 400 rpm ). it is then filtered and washed at ambient temperature with 100 ml of n - heptane after which it is dried with a mechanical pump . the solid is characterized , after having been treated with 100 ml of ethanol , by way of a gaschromatographic quantitative analysis for the analysis of the quantity of ether fixed . the magnesium chloride used in the complexing test with the ethers is prepared as follows . in a 1 liter vibrating mill jar ( vibratom from siebtechnik ) containing 1 . 8 kg of steel spheres 16 mm in diameter , are introduced under nitrogen atmosphere , 50 g of anhydrous mgcl 2 and 6 . 8 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane ( dce ). the content is milled at room temperature for 96 hours , after which the solid recovered is kept under vacuum in the mechanical pump for 16 hours at 50 ° c . in a 25 ml test - tube with a magnetic stirrer and under nitrogen atmosphere are introduced : 10 ml of anhydrous n - heptane , 5 mmoles of ticl 4 and 1 mmole of donor . the content is allowed to react at 70 ° c . for 30 minutes , after which it is cooled to 25 ° c . and decomposed with 90 ml of ethanol . the melt flow rate (“ mfr ”) described in the examples was measured in compliance with the condition l of astm d1238 . in order to measure the insoluble portion of a polymer in xylene ( xi %), the polymer was dissolved in 250 ml of xylene at the temperature of 135 ° c . under agitation , then after 20 minutes allowed to cool down to 25 ° c . the precipitated polymer was filtered after 30 minutes , then dried under vacuum at the temperature of 80 ° c . forty - eight ( 48 ) g of anhydrous mgcl 2 , 77 g of anhydrous c 2 h 5 oh , and 830 ml of kerosene were fed , in inert gas and at ambient temperature , into a 2 liter autoclave equipped with a turbine agitator and drawing pipe . the content was heated to 120 ° c . under agitation thus forming the adduct between mgcl 2 and the alcohol that melted and mixed with the dispersing agent . the nitrogen pressure inside the autoclave was maintained at 1 . 5 pa . the drawing pipe of the autoclave was heated externally to 120 ° c . with a heating jacket , which had an inside diameter of 1 mm , and was 3 meters long from one end of the heating jacket to the other . then the mixture was caused to flow through the pipe at a velocity of 7 m / sec . at the exit of the pipe the dispersed liquid was gathered in a 5 l flask , under agitation , containing 2 . 5 l of kerosene , and being externally cooled by way of a jacket maintained at an initial temperature of minus 40 ° c . the final temperature of the dispersed liquid was 0 ° c . the spherical solid product that constituted the dispersed phase of the emulsion was separated by way of settling and filtration , and then washed with heptane and dried . all these operations were carried out in an inert gas atmosphere . one hundred and thirty ( 130 ) g of mgcl 2 3c 2 h 5 oh in the form of spherical solid particles with a minimum diameter less than or equal to 50 microns were obtained . the alcohol was removed from the products thus obtained at temperatures that gradually increased from 50 to 100 ° c . in nitrogen current until the alcohol content was reduced to 2 . 1 moles per mole of mgcl 2 . in a 500 ml cylindrical glass reactor equipped with a filtering barrier at 0 ° c . were introduced 225 ml of ticl 4 , and , under agitation in a period of 15 minutes , 10 . 1 g ( 54 mmols ) of microspheroidal mgcl 2 2 . 1c 2 h 5 oh obtained as above . at the end of the addition , the temperature was brought to 70 ° c ., and 9 mmols of 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl ) fluorene was introduced . the temperature was increased to 100 ° c . and , after 2 hours , the ticl 4 was removed by filtration . two hundred ( 200 ) ml of ticl 4 and 9 mmols of 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl ) fluorene were added ; after 1 hour at 120 ° c . the content is filtered again and another 200 ml of ticl 4 were added , continuing the treatment at 120 ° c . for one more hour ; finally , the content was filtered and washed at 60 ° c . with n - heptane until all chlorine ions disappeared from the filtrate . the catalyst component obtained in this manner contained 3 . 6 weight % of ti and 16 . 1 weight % of 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl ) fluorene . in a 6 liter autoclave , previously purged with gaseous propylene at 70 ° c . for 1 hour , were introduced at ambient temperature and in propylene current 7 mmols of aluminum triethyl , 0 . 35 mmols of ethyl 2 - tert - butyl - 3 - methoxypropionate and 70 ml of anhydrous n - hexane containing 4 mg of the solid catalyst component prepared as described above . the autoclave was closed , 1 . 7 nl of hydrogen and 1 . 2 kg of liquid propylene were introduced ; the agitator was put in motion and the temperature was increased to 70 ° c . in a period of 5 minuets . after 2 hours at 70 ° c ., the agitation was interrupted , the nonpolymerized monomer was removed , and the content was cooled to ambient temperature . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . the polymerization was carried out in the same manner as described in example 1 except that the amount of hydrogen used was changed to the value indicated in table 1 . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . in a 6 liter autoclave , previously purged with gaseous propylene at 70 ° c . for 1 hour , were introduced at ambient temperature and in propylene current 7 mmols of aluminum triethyl , 0 . 35 mmols of dicyclopentyldimethoxysilane and 70 ml of anhydrous n - hexane containing 4 mg of the solid catalyst component prepared as described in the example 1 . the autoclave was closed , 1 . 7 nl of hydrogen and 1 . 2 kg of liquid propylene were introduced ; the agitator was put in motion and the temperature was increased 70 ° c . in a period of 5 minuets . after 2 hours at 70 ° c ., the agitation was interrupted , the nonpolymerized monomer was removed , and the content is cooled to ambient temperature . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . the polymerization was carried out in the same manner as described in comparative example 1 except that the amount of hydrogen used was changed to the value indicated in table 1 . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . in a 6 liter autoclave , previously purged with gaseous propylene at 70 ° c . for 1 hour , were introduced at ambient temperature and in propylene current 7 mmols of aluminum triethyl , 0 . 35 mmols of 9 , 9 - bis ( methoxymethyl ) fluorene and 70 ml of anhydrous n - hexane containing 4 mg of the solid catalyst component obtained in example 1 above . the autoclave was closed , 1 . 7 nl of hydrogen and 1 . 2 kg of liquid propylene were introduced ; the agitator was put in motion and the temperature was increased to 70 ° c . in a period of 5 minuets . after 2 hours at 70 ° c ., the agitation was interrupted , the nonpolymerized monomer was removed , and the content was cooled to ambient temperature . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . the preparation of catalysts , polymerization and evaluation were carried out in the same manner as described in example 1 except that the polymerization was conducted under polymerization conditions set forth in table 1 . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . the compounds reported in the table 1 were used instead of ethyl 3 - ethoxy - 2 - tert - butylpropionate used in the example 1 . the results of the polymerization are set forth in table 1 . | 2 |
the main reactants to make the compositions of this invention are the products set forth in the aforementioned ser . no . 951 , 416 which are referred to hereinafter as cycloaliphatic acrylate compositions or cac and cmc for cycloaliphatic methacrylate compositions . these cac or cmc compositions are chlorinated with chlorine gas at temperatures in the range from about - 30 ° to about 50 ° c . and preferably in the range - 20 ° to 20 ° c . in the presence of an inert solvent . useful solvents are those that are not attacked by chlorine under the reaction conditions and are easily removed . examples are halogenated solvents , such as methylene chloride , carbon tetrachloride , chloroform , methylchloroform , fluorocarbons , such as freons ®, e . g ., freon 11 , 12 , 21 , 114 , and benzene . if desired , the use of a solvent can be eliminated . however , the reaction is more difficult to carry out because of poor mixing and heat removal , and the temperature must be raised to the range 0 °- 20 ° c . in order to reduce the viscosity . after chlorination , the reaction products are washed with water several times . the solvents are removed by vacuum distillation and the polymerization of the product during the distillation step is prevented or inhibited by the use of a small amount of a polymerization inhibitor such as tertiary butyl catechol , hydroquinone , or phenothiazine . generally , about 50 - 300 parts per million of the polymerization inhibitor will be used . the chlorinated compositions prepared herein are useful to make polymers alone or in combination with unsaturated monomers or unsaturated resins . examples of unsaturated monomers which are polymerizable with the present compositions are one or more acrylates and vinyl aromatics such as styrene , alpha methyl styrene , halo styrenes , vinyltoluene , divinyl benzene , and the like , allyl compounds such as diallyl phthalate or allyl alcohol , olefins such as butene , diolefins such as butadiene , halogenated olefins such as vinyl chloride , and vinyl cyanide . examples of unsaturated resins which are polymerizable with the present compositions are one or more unsaturated polyester resins , vinylester resins as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 367 , 992 , 3 , 564 , 074 and 3 , 594 , 247 , polybutadiene and polyisoprene , styrene / butadiene copolymers and the like . polymerization is accomplished by a free radical mechanism i . e . using free radical catalysts such as benzoyl peroxide , including initiation by electron and ultraviolet irradiation . if desired , the above thermosetting resins can be blended with an ethylenically unsaturated monomer mixture copolymerizable with the unsaturated polymers . the mixture comprises vinyl aromatic monomers such as styrene , alpha - methyl styrene , chlorostyrene , vinyl toluene , divinyl benzene , and diallyl phthalate with about 5 to about 90 weight percent of the chlorinated compositions of this invention . the thermosetting blends with the unsaturated monomer mixture should contain 20 to about 70 percent by weight and preferably 30 to 50 percent by weight of the monomer mixture based on the weight of the resin . a small amount of inhibitor such as tertiary butyl catechol , hydroquinone , or the like is added to this mixture . the amount added is generally in the range from about 50 - 300 parts per million based on the amount of unsaturated monomer . the final blend is a crosslinkable resin composition which is useful to make laminates . laminates are made by mixing into the crosslinkable composition free radical forming catalysts and adding this mixture to a suitable fibrous substrate such as asbestos fibers , carbon fibers , fibrous glass , or inorganic fibers . examples of these catalysts are benzoyl peroxide , tertial butyl peroxide , methylethylketone peroxide and the like . it is also of value to add accelerators such as cobalt naphthenate , dimethyl aniline , and the like . the crosslinkable composition is rolled , sprayed or impregnated into the fibrous reinforcement such as fibrous glass and cured in a manner well known in the art . when fibrous glass is used , it can be in any form such as chopped strands , filaments , glass ribbons , glass yarns , or reinforcing mats . the following examples and preparations are presented to illustrate but not to limit the invention . glacial acrylic acid ( aa ) containing 0 . 1 % methylether of hydroquinone ( mehq ) inhibitor and borontrifluoride etherate catalyst were premixed in a stainless steel feed tank and pumped with a metering pump to a mixing tee where they were combined with a metered stream of dicyclopentadiene ( 96 % pure dcpd ) inhibited with tertiary butyl catechol . this feed mixture was preheated and converted in a jacketed 3 / 8 &# 34 ; o . d .× 0 . 035 &# 34 ; walls × 35 &# 34 ; length reactor tube made of stainless steel . the reaction temperature was maintained by controlling the jacket temperature . the reaction pressure was controlled at 30 - 60 psig to maintain liquid phase . steady state conditions were reached in 15 - 30 minutes . the effluent from the flow reactor was fed via a let - down valve to a falling film stripper column of 1 / 2 &# 34 ; o . d .× 0 . 035 &# 34 ; wall × 46 &# 34 ; length . the feed was distributed to the stripper wall via a slotted weir . the stripper temperature was controlled with a steam heated jacket and the pressure was reduced with a vacuum pump outfitted with a pressure regulator . in the stripper , predominantly acrylic acid / bf 3 complex and acrylic acid are removed overhead through a rectification / demister section and recycled to the reactor . overheads and bottoms were cooled and collected for mass balance and analysis . the reactor was fed at a rate of 3 . 24 ml / min . with a glacial acrylic acid / bf 3 etherate mixture ( 2 . 53 % bf 3 etherate ) and with 3 . 19 ml / min . dcpd . this corresponds to a 2 / 1 molar ratio of acrylic acid to dcpd and 0 . 6 % bf 3 based on total feed . temperatures in the reactor and stripper were 120 ° c . the pressure in the stripper was 5 mm hg . the residence time in the reactor was eight minutes , and about two minutes in the stripper . during a 4 . 5 hour period of continuous run , the following quantities were fed and recovered : ______________________________________feed product______________________________________aa + bf . sub . 3 et . sub . 2 o 903 . 70g bottom product 1248 . 98g ( 72 . 7 %) dcdp 823 . 80g overhead product 469 . 81g ( 27 . 3 %) total 1727 . 50g total 1718 . 79g______________________________________ 706 . 4 of the stripper bottoms were placed in a one gallon glass bottle , stirred and heated to 70 ° c . 689 . 6 g of 70 ° c . deionized water were added and the mixture was stirred for five minutes . excellent phase separations were obtained with separation times of 3 to 3 . 5 minutes . the washing was repeated three times and 689 g of wet dicyclopentadiene acrylate concentrate were obtained . this material was dried in a two liter flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar at room temperature at 12 mm hg . loss was 13 . 65 g or 1 . 98 % giving 675 . 35 g of a bright clear liquid with the following properties : ______________________________________gardner color 6 - 7viscosity 22 cps ( 24 ° c .) boron 2 ppmdicyclopentadiene acrylate 83 . 6 %( dcpda ) polycyclopentadientyl acrylates 12 . 6 % copolymers of acrylic acid 1 . 0 % polyacrylates 2 . 8 % ______________________________________ similar results are obtained when the acrylic acid is replaced with methacrylic acid . using the identical procedure and conditions , but using a dcpd concentrate as feedstock the following results were obtained : ______________________________________converisons 99 . 7 % ( based on dcpd ) gardner color 9 - 10viscosity 63 . 9 cps ( 24 ° c .) dicyclopentadiene acrylate 72 . 7 %( dcpda ) polycyclopentadienyl acrylates 10 . 2 % copolymers of acrylic acid 14 . 0 % polyacrylates 3 . 0 % ______________________________________ the above dicyclopentadiene concentrate contained 84 % dcpd , 13 % dimers of cyclopentadiene with isoprene , piperylene , etc ., and 2 % tricyclopentadiene and tetracyclopentadiene . 237 . 6 pounds of dicyclopentadiene ( 97 % pure dcpd ) were inhibited with 238 g of methylether of hydroquinone ( mehq ) dissolved in 900 g acrylic acid . 194 . 4 pounds of glacial acrylic acid containing 0 . 1 % mehq inhibitor were loaded into a stirred 100 - gallon stainless steel reactor and mixed with 2476 g of bf 3 etherate . the empty space in the reactor was filled with 2 % o 2 in nitrogen at 2 - 5 psig . all exposed metal surfaces were kept wetted with inhibited reaction mixture or by an internal spray system . 11 . 0 pounds of the inhibited dcpd were added to the kettle and the temperature increased to 40 ° c . after analysis showed that the reaction had started , the dcpd was added at a rate of about 25 pounds / hour ( 9 . 6 hrs ) at 50 °- 60 ° c . after all dcpd was added , the reaction was completed at 70 ° c . in 3 . 2 hours . unreacted acrylic acid , catalyst , and color bodies were removed by five washes with 50 - 65 gallons of water at 70 ° c . the washed material was dried for three hours until the kettle conditions were 69 ° c . and 33 mm hg . the product was cooled , drummed , and the mehq concentration adjusted to 190 ppm . 363 pounds of cycloaliphatic composition were obtained . the yield on dcpd is 98 . 8 %. the product has the following characteristics : ______________________________________gardner color 3 - 4viscosity 16 . 7 cps ( at 24 ° c .) boron 5 . 6 ppmdicyclopentadiene acrylate 87 . 7 %( dcpda ) polycyclopentadienyl acrylate 11 . 2 % copolymers of acrylic acid 0 . 9 % polyacrylates 0 . 2 % ______________________________________ in a 3 - necked 2 , 000 ml round bottom flask 377 . 3 g ( 1 . 801 moles ) of a cycloaliphatic acrylate composition ( cac ) prepared by a method similar to preparation 3 above and 1200 ml methylene chloride ( 1 : 3 . 4 volume ratio ) were mixed and cooled to - 10 ° c . the flask was equipped with a mechanical stirrer , a thermometer , a chlorine inlet , a vent , and a bath capable of maintaining the reaction temperature at - 10 ° to - 20 ° c . during chlorine addition . the diluted cac &# 39 ; s were chlorinated with 140 . 5 g ( 1 . 98 moles ) of chlorine over a period of 75 minutes while agitating the solution vigorously . the work - up consisted of 3 washes with distilled water , followed by solvent recovery under vacuum . before solvent removal , 200 ppm of t - butyl catechol ( tbc ) based on monomer were added . the composition of the resultant product is listed in table 1 . the products were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy and the principal components are the dichlorides of di - tri - and tetracyclopentadiene acrylate formed by the chlorination of the cyclopentene bond . the finished product has about the same amber color as the starting material , but the odor level is reduced and the odor quality is pleasantly fruit - like . following the procedure outlined in example 1 , the same cac was chlorinated with less solvent dilution . 200 . 0 g of cac ( 0 . 954 moles ) were mixed with 300 ml of carbon tetrachloride ( 1 : 1 . 6 volume ratio ) and reacted with 63 . 1 g ( 0 . 89 moles ) of chlorine at - 20 ° c . upon purification as in example 1 a slightly more viscous material of a composition listed in table 1 was obtained . the color and odor characteristics were as in example 1 . table 1______________________________________chlorination of cac &# 39 ; s in solventsexample 1 2______________________________________solvent ratio / solvent 1 : 3 . 4ch . sub . 2 cl . sub . 2 1 : 1 . 6 ccl . sub . 4dcpda conversion ˜ 100 % ˜ 100 % reaction condition - 10 ° - 20 ° c . dcpda . 8 . 2 ( dicyclopentadienyl acrylate ) cl . sub . 1 dcpda 1 . 2 1 . 6cl . sub . 2 dcpda 78 . 6 77 . 0 ( cl . sub . 3 - 4 dcpda andcl . sub . 1 - 4 dcpda - h )* 13 . 5 20 . 0unidentified 5 . 9 1 . 2______________________________________ * includes chlorination products of heavy acrylates and cl . sub . 3 - 4 product of dcpda . following the procedure of example 1 , 50 g ( 0 . 20 moles ) of a cycloaliphatic composition ( cac ) was chlorinated at - 20 ° c . in 300 milliliters methylene chloride . ( 1 : 6 volume ratio ) using 20 . 0 g gaseous chlorine ( 0 . 28 moles ). the composition of the cac used was 79 . 9 % dcpda , 11 . 1 % polycyclopentadienyl acrylates ( dcpda - h ) and about 9 % of oligomers of acrylic acid with codimers of cyclopentadiene with isoprene , piperylene and methylcyclopentadiene , and small amounts of acrylate polymers . work - up and product stabilization was as described in example 1 . the product had a density of 1 . 29 g / cm 3 at 25 ° c . and a gardner color of 8 - 9 . its odor was faint and pleasant . following the general procedure of example 1 , 53 . 3 g ( 0 . 240 moles ) of a cycloaliphatic product consisting of 93 . 0 % dicyclopentadiene methacrylate ( dcpdm ), 7 % of mostly tri and tetra - cyclopentadiene methacrylate and dicyclopentadiene ( dcpd ) dimethacrylate and 0 . 1 - 0 . 3 % acrylate polymer were diluted to a 1 : 6 . 0 volume ratio with methylene chloride ( 300 ml ). chlorine gas ( 17 . 5 g , 0 . 25 moles ) was added at - 20 ° c . over a period of 53 minutes . the products were recovered as in example 1 . in a manner similar to example 4 , 107 . 3 g ( 0 . 483 moles ) of the same product were dissolved in 150 ml methylene chloride ( volume ratio 2 : 3 ) and chlorinated at - 20 ° c . with 38 . 0 g ( 0 . 536 moles , of chlorine over a period of 111 minutes . the products were recovered as in example 1 . the final products from examples 4 and 5 had gas chromatographic pattern very similar to the corresponding acrylate materials . the product consisted predominantly of the dichloride formed by the addition of chlorine to the cyclopentene double bond with the exclusion of the acrylate bond . as with the cac products , the selectivity to dichloride was higher at the higher dilution level and the odor decreased and the odor quality improved upon chlorination . the compositions for the examples are listed in table 4 . table 2______________________________________chlorination of cmc at two dilution levels . example 4 5______________________________________solvent ratio / solvent 1 : 6 / ch . sub . 2 cl . sub . 2 2 : 3 / ch . sub . 2 cl . sub . 2conversion of cmc ˜ 100 % ˜ 100 % reaction conditions - 20 ° c . - 20 ° c . dcpdm . 2 . 2 ( dicyclopentadienyl methacrylate ) cl . sub . 1 dcpdm 3 . 7 5 . 5cl . sub . 2 dcpdm 83 . 0 76 . 5 ( cl . sub . 3 - 4 dcpdm andcl . sub . 1 - 4 dcpdm - h )* 13 . 0 16 . 0unidentified . 1 1 . 8______________________________________ * includes chlorination products of heavy methacrylates and cl . sub . 3 - 4 products of dcpdm . chlorinated cac ( example 1 ) homopolymerized rapidly by free radical and photo initiation . for this composition , ultraviolet photo initiation and rapid cure was obtained when thin films ( 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 mls ) on steel ( bonderite 37 ) or aluminum panels were passed under a 200 watts u . v . lamp at 100 foot / minute line speed . 3 - 4 passes were required to obtain odor - and mar - free coatings with excellent adhesion . two suitable initiator systems are 3 . 0 % benzoin butyl ether or a combination of 3 . 0 % diethoxyacetophenone and 2 . 0 % methyl diethanolamine . chlorinated cac ( example 1 ) was mixed with commercial vinyl ester resins in a 1 : 1 weight ratio . the vinyl ester resin was the dow chemical company &# 39 ; s vinyl ester resin xd 9002 . rapid polymerization to copolymers occurred during 3 - 4 passes under a 200 watt / linear inch mercury arc lamp at 100 foot / minute line speed using 3 % diethoxyacetophenone and 2 % diethanolamine as the photo initiator system . the resultant coating was odor - free and had good solvent and mar resistance and excellent adhesion . in a two liter flask , 320 g of butyl acrylate ( 50 %), 12 . 8 g acylic acid ( 2 %), 245 . 2 g ( 38 %) methyl methacrylate , and 62 g ( 10 %) of chlorinated product of example 3 were copolymerized into a latex containing about 40 % solids by an emulsion technique using sodium persulfate as the initiator . the solids contained about 10 % by weight of the chlorinated dcpda . a control latex was also made using 307 . 2 g ( 48 %) of the methyl methacrylate and no chlorinated dcpda . films were prepared from the above latexes after thickening with acrysol rm - 4 a commercial latex of rohm and hass by casting the latexes on glass plates and curing . coated panels were also prepared by coating the latexes on clean cold rolled steel panels and aluminum panels . when these sample films and coated panels were tested it was found that the latex containing the chlorinated dcpda was equal to or better than the control in tensile , elongation , adhesion , solvent resistance , impact , and abrasion tests . | 2 |
small autonomous vehicles or robots are a new , major category of vehicle , whether suitable for use on land , in the air and on water , both on the surface and sub - surface . there is an increasing need for air / land / water launch and recovery of smaller vehicles from larger ones , requiring speed and safety . aquatic environments have an unusual set of conditions and a multipurpose , modular “ interface ” is needed to deploy and handle these devices . further , some of these smaller devices may change their shape , and size as a function of their missions , e . g . inflating , deflating , or extending / retracting wings or control surfaces . the marine handling craft anticipates the near future when virtually all devices will be web - connected , and that it will be desirable for a craft to be multi - purpose , modular , equipped with sensors , network connected , and “ smart ”. the marine handling system according to this invention includes mechanical systems for docking , mating and hoisting payloads to a larger vessel , shore - mounted crane or helicopter . the marine handling craft 2 is designed to handle payloads collected at the stern , along side or at the bow . the marine handling craft in some embodiments is connected to a custom crane with custom devices , but even advanced embodiments can deployed with a conventional crane , a - frame or davit system enabling retro - fit to existing legacy vessels . the invention can be handled by a helicopter , taken from shore , and then placed in the water for retrieval by a mother ship , or placed on wet soils that will not carry wheeled or tracked vehicles for payload exchange with personnel on foot . in the basic embodiment , the marine handling craft 2 can be deployed from a mother ship and reeled out . with the attachment point adjusted towards the bow , vectors are maximized for planing and towing stability . in the tow mode , in its basic form , the marine handling craft 2 tracks along with a mother 6 behind a crane 8 , as a slave , preserving the invention &# 39 ; s power and / or fuel . as the marine handling craft 2 is reeled towards the vessel , the attachment point is adjusted back to the combined center of gravity of the marine handling craft 2 and its payload , facilitating a level lift , with the keel of the marine handling craft 2 parallel to the water , or other desired orientation , whether loaded or unloaded . this adjustment may be programmed or done “ by eye ” by operators on a mother vessel , the craft itself , on board a vessel being handled , or other location via telemetry . a basic marine handling craft 2 is used with an auxiliary vessel 4 transporting persons , small vessels and cargo . it can operate freely , but it is also configured to be towed , and be lifted from the water along with payloads , either by a single crane hook or hard coupled and uncoupled to and from a crane boom with a fastening device . this marine handling craft 2 in its simplest embodiment is unpowered . in its most complex embodiment , even while tethered , it is designed to have six degrees of freedom , in the air , at the water &# 39 ; s surface , or under water . in advanced embodiments , it is self - propelled , equipped with a gyroscope 37 , control surfaces and sensors , plus other features , and functions as a server for a local area network facilitating handling and other information regarding payloads . a basic embodiment of this invention is depicted in fig1 - 3 . fig1 shows a marine handling craft 2 and an auxiliary or supply vessel 4 that can be mated and docked to the marine handling craft 2 to recover or transfer the contents of the auxiliary or supply vessel 4 to a mother ship or vessel , which can tow the marine handling craft 2 by a tether 10 that extends from a crane , boom or davit located on the mother ship . the auxiliary or supply vessel 4 can be deployed from the mother ship using the marine handling craft 2 or it can be captured and recovered by the marine handling craft 2 so that the auxiliary vessel 4 and its contents can be transferred to the mother ship 6 . as depicted in fig1 the auxiliary vessel 4 can approach the marine handling craft 2 from the stern 14 or it can be released from the marine handling craft 2 when deployed from the mother ship . the marine handling craft 2 is a floating structure that includes at least two spaced apart planing pontoons 16 , 18 that extend from the bow 12 toward the stern 14 . in this catamaran design the pair of pontoons can include a personnel deck and cradle system so as to form a containment area 31 between said pontoons . in this configuration , the planing pontoons 16 , 18 form this compartment 31 , which may approximate the negative shape of the specific type of payload to be collected , and serve as forks to lift the payload from the water . in fig1 - 3 , this payload comprises an auxiliary vessel 4 , which may be a supply vessel or an autonomous surface vehicle . the compartment 31 is open at the stern 14 and is partially bounded at the bow 12 , where the two pontoons 16 , 18 merge . each pontoon extends upwardly at the bow 12 so that the pontoons will be above the waterline in the configuration shown in fig1 - 3 . the configuration serves a funneling effect for powered payloads , which enter from the stern , but the bow also has the capability of funneling if desired . if the direction of the marine handling craft 2 is reversed , either under its own power or the power of a mother vessel 6 if hard - coupled , the stern presentation can serve as a scoop for passive payloads , in the air , as well as at or below the water &# 39 ; s surface . a marine handling craft 2 of this type can include straight line hull sections for modular fabrication and assembly and for enlarging or shortening width or length , or for geometrically reconfiguring to conform to particular requirements of particular payload shapes . this craft has an aerodynamically and hydrodynamically shaped bow , keel and cradle sections for directional stability and minimal presentation to the forces of wind and water , which are also configurable to facilitate vectoring the craft . as will be subsequently discussed in greater detail , this craft 2 can also have trim and ballast liquid storage tanks mounted inside the pontoons 16 , 18 for positive or negative buoyancy or trim functions , and the multiple locking mechanisms will have security functions and facilitate handling . this marine handling craft 2 is capable of operating in either forward or aft directions , and an auxiliary vessel can enter it at speed from the rear , or , if the craft is rotated 180 degrees , it can track and “ scoop ” propelled or non - propelled mechanisms or flora or fauna . when robustly hard - coupled to a boom , there is no need for control surfaces on the craft . when tethered or free - running in reverse , the directional properties of the craft may be less than optimal , but the onboard computer can operate servos and control surfaces to provide tracking stability . an upper track 20 extends from the bow 12 generally above the centerline of the compartment 31 , evenly spaced between the two generally parallel pontoons 16 , 18 . the rear end of the track 20 is open so as not to obstruct the compartment 31 and leave adequate clearance for entry and exit of an auxiliary vessel 4 or for collection of floating debris or suspicious objects . the tether line 10 connecting the marine handling craft 2 to the mother ship or vessel 6 engages this track 20 . when the marine handling craft 2 is towed , the tether 10 may engage the marine handling craft 2 at its forward end adjacent the bow 12 . engagement between the tether 10 and the track 20 can be moved aft to a position substantially above the combined center of gravity of the mated and docked marine handling craft 2 and auxiliary vessel 4 . in this position , the tether is in position to lift mated vessels or payloads from the water surface onto the deck of the mother ship , a platform or land . alternatively , the mated vessels 2 and 4 can be lowered from the ship to the water with the tether 10 engaging the track 20 in this position . with a hoist line positioned over the combined center of gravity , the marine handling craft 2 and its payload can be raised and lowered for an aircraft , especially to or from a helicopter . this track 20 is especially useful when the marine handling craft 2 is used with an auxiliary vessel or supply ship , which acts as a means for transferring supply payloads to and from a ship , whether at rest or underway . since the loading of the auxiliary supply vessel 4 cannot be assumed to be constant , the alignment of the tether or cable 10 with the combined center of gravity of the marine handling craft 2 and the auxiliary supply vessel 4 can be modified . in the preferred embodiment , the track 20 includes an upwardly open channel 22 , which extends from a position adjacent the bow 12 aft toward rear end of the track 20 . this upwardly open channel 22 provides clearance for two auxiliary lines 26 , which merge and are attached to the tether 10 above the track 20 . each of these two auxiliary lines is affixed to a separate traveling fastener block 24 . the blocks are interior - threaded , and blocks may exterior - textured to allow ratcheting and facilitate locking under load . this pair of traveling blocks 24 is confined within the track 20 below the channel 22 , with the track sides forming the channel 22 trap these traveling blocks 26 in the track 20 . when the tether 10 is to be attached adjacent the bow 12 of the marine handling craft 2 , these traveling blocks 24 are positioned adjacent the forward end of the track 20 and adjacent the bow 12 . as shown in fig1 , the traveling blocks 24 can also be moved rearward to a position above the center of gravity of the two mated vessels 2 and 4 so that they can be hoisted or supported from a crane on the mother ship . the traveling blocks can be moved between the two positions shown in fig1 by a number of conventional means . in the basic embodiment of the device , shown in fig5 , a linear actuator / threaded rod or strap 38 moves the tow point aft to make it a lift point over the craft and payload combined center of gravity . an alternate embodiment , especially if and when hard - coupled and / or when gyro - stabilized , could use one lifting block . the threaded rod 38 going through the blocks 24 is perhaps the simplest method , but a chain , strap , toothed belt , hydraulic / air powered actuator or similar may be used to move the lifting blocks inside the channel , which can accommodate complex curves . a more basic marine handling craft embodiment is “ dumb ”, and the traveling blocks may be adjusted by rotating a threaded rod with a hand crank or a portable electric drill . a motor 40 may be added to the rod and run from an operator on the auxiliary vessel , an auto - leveling computer on the marine handling craft the vessel ; or by an operator on shore or a mother vessel . the power supply lines 41 may be remotely controlled by relays . an operator on a mother vessel or on shore or elsewhere would adjust for the center of gravity by “ eye ”, using a remote control device . in the preferred embodiment , there are no side struts . side struts limit access for purposes including , but not limited to : payload loading , unloading , maintenance and covering . without side struts , there is strain on the bow of the craft , but modern composite materials , such as polyester or epoxy - reinforced glass or carbon fiber , can handle the load easily . these modern , composite materials are flexible and reduce strain on both the payloads and the mother vessel . additionally , there are accessibility , safety , stability and drag considerations , which make side struts undesirable for most applications . in this embodiment , the pontoons 16 , 18 and the upper track 20 form three separate beams extending essentially from a common juncture at the bow of the marine handling craft 2 . in addition to providing a rearwardly open compartment 31 into which auxiliary vessels 4 can enter or exit , this open rear configuration also permits stacking multiple marine handling craft 2 for storage and transport as shown in fig1 . these beam - like structures will also provide for attachment of supplemental components , such as nets , cables and surveillance and inspection equipment as will be subsequently discussed in greater detail . the embodiment of fig1 a - e shows a track that is supported by side struts 64 . in some embodiments , depending on the application , side struts or ribs way be employed for a variety of functions , including , but not limited to eliminating stresses on the bow ; supporting camouflage or weather covers ; functioning as control surfaces ; and mounting of transducers or sensors as shown in fig1 c . the track 20 and traveling blocks 24 provide a mechanism in which the marine handling craft 2 can be attached to the mother ship only by a single tether or bundle of lines all acting together on the marine handling craft 2 . a significant aspect of this approach is that the marine handling craft 2 can be supported , controlled and towed by only a single crane 8 on the mother ship 6 . use of a single crane , acting as the main attachment point on the ship means that the marine handling craft 2 can be deployed at any position on the ship where a standard crane or suitable davit is located . assuming that sufficient cranes or hoisting mechanisms are available on the mother ship , dock or other platform , the auxiliary or supply vessels can be deployed and recovered from many positions on the mother ship 6 . fig4 is a schematic showing potential forward , aft and side deployment of the marine handling craft 2 attachable to existing cranes 8 on the mother ship 6 . this means that use of the marine handling craft 2 does not require any significant modifications to or retrofit of the mother ship , and multiple cranes are not necessary to deploy auxiliary or supply vessels 4 or to collect auxiliary vessels 4 or other articles from the sea . the marine handling craft 2 is designed to work in still , wavy or flowing water , regardless of whether the crane mechanism is fixed , or on a moving vessel , and regardless of the direction of the flowing water . the marine handling craft 2 is suitable for handling payloads to and from the water where the water is swiftly - flowing , and when the direction reverses , and when the level changes vertically , due to tidal or wave action , and whether the change is slow , such as a tidal flow , or rapid , such as waves or flash floods . the marine handling craft 2 can incorporate a variety of control surfaces which can , beyond vectoring the craft 2 or mother vessel 6 , use water flow to remove unwanted materials and / or facilitate or deter boarding by craft or personnel , e . g . an alarm mode can divert water to “ flush ” the system as shown in fig1 e . the use of the term “ marine ” for the marine handling craft , is not intended to imply that marine handling craft use is restricted to salt or fresh water handling of payloads including aquatic craft , or aquatic - borne cargo , living or inert . the marine handling craft can handle payloads acquired from land or the air . it has attributes , especially in advanced , stabilized embodiments , which make it suitable to deploy and recover e . g . small , unmanned helicopters from ships , as currently used by the us navy . in most embodiments , the marine handling craft 2 is also functional when grounded , e . g . “ parked ” on the bottom or shore , semi or fully - submerged . the marine handling craft is 2 configured to serve a forcing / guiding action when recovering vessels , both by the geometry of the marine handling craft 2 and by directing water flow . optional and innovative locking and unlocking mechanisms to secure the payload to the marine handling system may be used in all embodiments . fig6 a and 6b show a representative locking and unlocking mechanism , which can be used to mechanically and electrically connect an auxiliary vehicle 4 to a marine handling craft in accordance with this invention . fig6 a shows a configuration in which a male locking member 42 on the auxiliary vessel 4 approaches a female locking member 44 on the marine handling craft 2 . female locking member 44 is positioned in the locking cavity 32 on the bow of the marine handling craft 2 . the female locking member 44 is shown in the open position in fig6 a . when the male locking member 42 is advanced to a position shown in fig6 b , the female locking member 44 can be closed to surround the bulbous protrusion at the front of the male locking member 42 . a flexible , sphincterate ring , or doughnut - shaped torus 35 , is incorporated in the female locking member shown in fig6 a and 6b . it can be closed by hydraulic or pneumatic pressure in a conventional manner , when contact is sensed by a transducer assembly 45 . this sphincterate system , when constructed from flexible polymers , will for a hermetic seal for fluid transfers , like fuel or other desired fluids to be payloads . an alternate embodiment 6 c would utilize an additional swelling ring in the male member , also inflated by conventional hydraulic or pneumatic means . alternatively an electric motor could be employed to close locking member 44 around locking member 42 . the two locking members 42 and 44 would preferably be modular so that “ keyed ” mateable locking members could be interchangeably mounted on two vessels 2 and 4 . as shown in fig2 a “ cylindrical ” cavity 32 would provide space for mounting one of the two locking members 42 , 44 , preferably the female locking member 44 . with a keyed female locking member 44 mounted in cavity 32 , only payloads having a male locking member 42 with a complementary keying configuration could be docked to the marine handling craft 2 . since the two vessels 2 , 4 would be docked and locked at a stand off position sufficiently remote from the mother ship , security could be enhanced since it would become more difficult for unauthorized payloads to couple with the handling craft 2 . fig6 d shows one example of keyed male and female locking members . other sample geometric configurations are illustrated in fig6 e . this aspect of the invention also can include a rapidly reconfigurable , remotely operated mating / docking / locking system , which can transmit data through optical windows or other transducer assemblies 45 , e . g . transparent sapphire , and be shape coded , like a key , to receive almost any type of vessel or to repel entry . the mating / docking / locking system functions as a security system in addition to trapping and stowage . additionally , the system is active or passive and is adjustable . while still remaining locked in place as undeployable , crewmen can adjust the vessel &# 39 ; s attitude , allowing variable attitude of a constrained vessel by mechanical means , where the vehicle can be stowed , conveniently maintained and manipulated by technicians . the vectoring / forcing / repelling / mating / locking system may use air , hydraulics , electromagnetism , water pressure , vacuum or friction to control the vessel to be recovered . locking members 42 and 44 serve not only to mechanically secure the auxiliary vessel 4 to the marine handling craft 2 , but they can also include fuel and electrical couplings between the two vessels . a data line 46 in the marine handling craft can be coupled to a data line 48 in the auxiliary vessel 4 by incorporating conventional matable push - pull electrical connectors in both of the locking members 42 , 44 . similarly a fuel line 50 in the marine handling craft 2 can be coupled to a fuel line 52 in the auxiliary vessel by using conventional push - pull fluid couplings so that fuel can be transferred between the auxiliary vessel 4 and the marine handling craft 2 . this fuel can be used to replenish tanks in either of the two vessels 2 and 4 , or it can be used to transfer fuel to and from the mother ship 6 if a fuel line is provided between the marine handling craft 2 and the mother ship or boat 6 . such a fuel line would normally be suspended from the tether line 10 extending between the marine handling craft and the mother ship 6 . in this configuration , the marine handling craft 2 and the auxiliary vessel 4 could comprise intermediate connection points for transferring fuel between two larger vessels . the marine handling craft 2 could be deployed from one ship and the auxiliary vessel could be deployed from another ship . the two vessels 2 and 4 would then mate and dock at an intermediate position and a fueling operation could then begin . one alternate method of adjusting the lift point is using the power of the vessel to be recovered . if the mother ship &# 39 ; s speed is exceeded by the craft to be recovered , the auxiliary docking craft forces the marine handling craft forward , the lift blocks may “ ratchet ” backwards and the cg lift point is achieved and maintained against a stop . on vessel deployment , a toggle engages the reverse process . when the marine handling craft and vessel contact the water , the lifting blocks ratchet forward to maximize vectors for the towing and releasing process . the use of a marine handling craft 2 that can be tethered to individual cranes at various locations aboard the mother ship 6 will be desirable because of a number of factors affecting desired zones in which the vessels 2 and 4 are to be handled . command decisions will determine handling zones by criteria not limited to optimal wave and wind conditions . for a variety of reasons ranging from reducing the potential for collision to keeping potentially harmful payloads at a distance from a mother ship , it is often desirable to have a crane extended to a distance during a marine handling craft payload recovery process . shown in fig7 is an optimal recovery condition , where the mother 6 is underway . the marine handling craft 2 and the payload , in this case a supply vessel 4 , are protected from wind and waves . conditions vary however , and many factors will determine the desired handling zone , ranging from a tradeoff where wind is coming from one quarter and waves another , or it may be desirable to shelter the payload from shore view for security reasons . the motion of crane and cable can also complicate deployment , recovery , towing , mating and docking of the vessels 2 and 4 . a single point selected at the end of a crane 8 on a mother vessel 6 underway , if tracked over time , describes an undulating , irregular helix . the subtended volume of this helix is geometrically exacerbated as a function of the distance , squared , that the crane is extended from the mother . if the mother 6 is stopped , for example when docked or anchored , the point at the end of the crane might describe a bumpy sphere , as a function of the mother &# 39 ; s roll , pitch and yaw , and as a function of the mechanical connections or slop in a preexisting standard crane on the mother ship 6 . cables of the type which might connect the marine handling craft to a crane are complex springs when extended , and have unusual characteristics in themselves . other complicating factors include the motion of marine handling craft 2 and payload or auxiliary vessel 4 . the marine handling craft 2 and a vessel 4 to be deployed or recovered have substantially different mass , configuration , steering and power characteristics . further , they will encounter substantially different wind and water conditions . with less mass than the mother ship , any fixed point on the marine handling craft 2 and auxiliary vessel 4 to be recovered will also describe undulating , irregular helixes with great variability . when out of the water , another set of variables is encountered in the air , and the aquatic control surfaces do not function . a further complication is that the crane on the mother ship , the marine handling craft itself and the payload , if a vessel , may all be manned . command decisions from the mother vessel &# 39 ; s bridge may also be involved as a node in the network . their different points of view and objectives may result in different steering and control decisions . the general desired objective is zero relative motion and may be to deploy a payload or to lock the marine handling craft , along with its payload , onto the deck . directional stability is required for the marine handling craft 2 under three distinct types of conditions . first , when the marine handling craft 2 is on the water &# 39 ; s surface and the water is moving relative to the marine handling craft 4 . this condition can occur when the marine handling craft 2 is towed by a mother 6 , or when it is moored from a fixed position over moving water . second , when the marine handling craft 2 is under water , as in recovering an autonomous underwater vehicle . finally , directional stability is important when in the air . the average attitude of the marine handling craft will be a horizontal plane , parallel to the earth &# 39 ; s surface , or the water or a dock . it is very desirable to raise and lower the marine handling craft with a single line or umbilical for many reasons . the drawback is that payloads lifted by a single line tend to rotate on the lift axis , as a function of winds , and strain on non - braided cables , which are typically “ handed ” and attempt to unwind when stretched under strain . enhancements to the invention to facilitate the recovery process are a gyroscope 37 , mounted on the marine handling craft . to prevent rotation during lifting , a single gyroscope along one axis is sufficient . the system , without countermeasures , could spin , e . g . from wind , when lifted by cable only . the marine handling craft incorporates one or more gyroscopes , which stabilizes the marine handling craft both in the water and in the air , along desired axes . the simpler embodiments of the marine handling system including a marine handling craft , matable and dockable with an auxiliary vessel or dock , can be controlled by personnel on the mother ship and / or on the marine handling craft 2 and the auxiliary vessel 4 . however , in many applications it will be desirable to network the vessels for computer assisted or controlled mating and docking , as well as for verifying the integrity of the auxiliary vessel and its payload to enhance the security of the mother ship 6 and for any associated operations . an advanced marine handling craft 2 can be self - propelled and smart , with an on - board computer . the auxiliary vessels that can then be handled by the marine handling craft can include , supply vessels , surface vessels , manned or unmanned , sub - surface , manned or unmanned , and small , unmanned air vehicles . examples of networking are discussed with reference to fig8 - 10 , which show an autonomous vehicle . of course , manned auxiliary vessels , such as supply vessels , can be networked in a similar manner . the marine handling craft 2 is capable of being manually / computer - controlled from the handling platform itself , on board the mother vessel or any other location by human operators or autonomously , e . g . dry land or a dock , via encrypted , data handshaking and positioning software , which uses a variety of sensors between said craft and the vessel to be handled , or from any other remote computer . the marine craft can be connected to an umbilical , which is capable of transmitting data or fuel or other materials from a mother to and from a subordinate vessel . these advanced marine handling craft , along with their sub - systems can be networked by wireless telemetry and may be operated from a mother vessel or helicopter , by personnel on board the marine handling craft , from a third craft to be handled , or , from a shore location . computers on the marine handling craft network , whether operated by personnel , or operate autonomously and whether they are on the mother vessel , or elsewhere are referred to as “ clients ”. in some embodiments , the marine handling craft computer is the “ server ”. in other embodiments , a mother ship may be the server . the craft incorporates a variety of forward - looking sensors , which can serve to generate additional data for predictive programs to keep the handling portion of the system stable relative to the mother ship , the water , and the vessel , personnel or material to be recovered , or any other determined reference point , e . g . a relative but moving point below the surface of the water where movement is less than the movement at the water / air interface , as in recovering any payloads or objects of interest which are on the surface , submerged , or airborne . the marine handling craft may operate in a mechanically - coupled , tethered or untethered mode . structural components of the marine handling craft are also control surfaces , and function as a reconfigurable cradle . control surfaces , we surfaces for imparting roll / pitch / yaw and x , y , z directions on or below the water &# 39 ; s surface . the marine handling craft has the following six , somewhat constrained , degrees of freedom ; roll , pitch , yaw , along its straight line track and x , y , z along its variable track , port , starboard and dive . the craft can be “ smart ” and incorporates a computer and several sensors including , but not limited to : magnetometers , sonar , gps , inertial , radiation , neutron activation / gamma backscatter , biological sensors and other devices such as gps , inertial sensors , and optical / machine vision range finders , so that the craft “ knows where it is ”, where the mother is , and where objects of interest are . the craft can include arrays of such sensors and an on - board computer with appropriate software and is capable of locating objects of interest using 3d vision within a certain distance from the system itself . the craft can be capable of utilizing on - board hardware and software to maximize data acquisition geometry from sensors at , above , or below the water &# 39 ; s surface . to facilitate payload acquisition , the marine handling craft may be steered or “ flown ” by clients , or autonomously by the marine handling craft server , as a function of processed sensor data . this craft is capable of interfacing with the helm of the mother vessel and , if required , for a payload of significance , it can control the helm ( subject to human override ) to facilitate recovery of an object of interest . in some embodiments , the craft &# 39 ; s steering , shift and speed control may be mechanical , with a wheel and levers . the uppermost structural components of the marine handling craft can serve as : sensor mounting locations ; spray nozzle locations ; and gyroscope 37 mounting , as well as to support a lifting and locking device . the lifting and locking device can be coupled and uncoupled , and is mechanically or autonomously adjustable for center of gravity ( cog ) and to maximize efficiency of towed operations in tethered mode . the marine handling craft , when tethered or untethered can use dedicated computer software to optimize the payload acquisition , transfer , and unloading process . the optimization process is one of damping and orientation , where the spatial variability between marine handling craft and payload is minimized . example factors affecting the orientation between a mother , marine handling craft , and payload are sea state , wind , and their relative motions as a primary function of their different sizes and masses . sensors for the relative position between the marine handling craft and vessel . would “ look ” at one or more axes . if the mother is turning , it is desirable for the marine handling craft to turn at the same rate . “ heel ” or roll may also need to be considered . positioning sensors on board the marine handling craft supply data to the marine handling craft , functioning as a server , which distributes data to clients to facilitate the mating process . positioning sensors include , but are not limited to , optical ( video cameras ), lasers , acoustic send / receive , and electromagnetic devices , e . g . radio direction finders , gps antennas , magnetometers . level sensors are may be used by the marine handling craft and / or client to reduce strain on the mechanical lifting device . strain sensors in the marine handling craft provide feedback to clients , prior to lifting . sensors can also determine fore and aft weight distribution , rotation and weight , where a strain sensor serves as a scale . the craft incorporates a variety of physical configuration and sensor / software security features can be incorporated to facilitate or repel docking or unauthorized boarding , which may be manually or computer - operated . sensors for verifying the integrity of the payload or cargo can be included on the marine handling craft 2 and these sensors can be networked in the same manner as the control sensors . conventional radiation , chemical , biological , x - ray backscatter , and neutron activation sensors can be incorporated and networked on the marine handling craft . more complex versions of the marine handling craft integrate propulsion ; remote and / or on - board steering ; sensors ; computer ; gyroscopic stabilization for tag line elimination ; trim tanks ; fuel tanks ; umbilical for , e . g . data , fuel and power , inspection devices , e . g . chemical sniffers , x ray devices , video cameras ; data transfer devices , such as rfid tags ; multi - function dive planes ; registration targets and beams , such as reflectors ( radar , light ), lasers , sonars , etc . ; mechanical “ hard ” coupling between the marine handling craft and a crane ; locking and securing mechanisms , including both payload to marine handling craft and marine handling craft to crane ; wake deflectors to assist registration ; turbulence to smooth the water &# 39 ; s surface ; wheels and / or skids for ramp , beach and bank launch ; gps navigation ; and custom software . in advanced embodiments , the registration process will be computer controlled . students of chaos theory might argue that it would be impossible to resolve this process by software . one might conclude that deconvoluting / projecting three chaotic , irregular helixes to a single point would require a supercomputer and constant re - calculation as new wind and water conditions are encountered . as a practical matter however , the general envelopes of mother ship , the marine handling craft and the auxiliary vessel to be recovered can be easily calculated and projected as a function of averaging . as the auxiliary vessel to be recovered approaches the effective physical 30 forcing area , a combination of the marine handling craft &# 39 ; s physical shape , plus its wake can facilitate mating . the marine handling craft is designed to be multi - purpose and modular to incorporate “ bolt - on ” devices . it has other uses such as : debris collection ; fueling station ; work platform ; towing ; sample collection . sensors for hydrographics , acoustic , turbidity , salinity , ph , spectroscopy , and fuel transfer and storage could also be employed . the marine handling craft can incorporate a computer and supplemental software that is capable of predicting conditions expected to be encountered to shorten mechanical response time and facilitate maneuvers . this supplemental software may be anywhere in a distributed computing network , e . g . on board the handling craft , on a mother - ship or a shore computer , which communicates vie telemetry . umbilicals , which supply power overboard from a mother , are expensive and problematic . they are not desirable where there are other options . the simplest marine handling craft would be a consumer product , and un - powered . in some cases it may not be hauled aboard a mother . it might be used as a towed storage system for an auxiliary vessel , such as a personal watercraft , where the mother wasn &# 39 ; t large enough to carry a personal watercraft on board , like a motor home tows a small vehicle . embodiments of the marine handling craft can , however , include a drive system for propulsion and steering or operating in a tethered mode through the water . when operating independently or when stabilizing , this craft can be operated in a fixed or tethered mode from a boom . in most cases , marine handling craft use will be of short duration , like a unmanned surface vehicle recovery or a quick trip to shore and back to a mother . the marine handling craft can then be powered by using electric power and batteries contained in the marine handling craft . the advantages of electric operation are : simplicity , cost and reliability . in this case , the batteries would be recharged via the mother &# 39 ; s electrical system when not in use , obviating an umbilical . of course , self generation of power options , such as solar panels could be useful in more sophisticated embodiments thrust on board the typical mother ship will be substantial . electric motors on the marine handling craft , which consume power when turning propellers , can become generators when they are turned during the towing process . this process can provide power both to the marine handling craft and the payload . for many applications , this could be very significant . this process keeps a unmanned surface vehicle for example , electrically isolated from a mother and keeps batteries charged and supplies power to keep systems including computers , lights , telemetry operating to ensure that the towed vessels are ready to be deployed very quickly . electric power can be supplied topside supplied via umbilical between the mother ship and the marine handling craft . electrical power supplied in this manner should be necessary only under special circumstances . the marine handling craft according to this invention is not limited to the specific representative configurations depicted herein . for instance the stern - loading configurations depicted herein can be replaced by bow - loading , double - end loading , or side - loading configurations . the marine handling craft can also be used for other purposes . the craft can be used to guide , trap and retrieve or deploy small vessels or materials or personnel . a net of varying mesh sizes and gauges can be suspended in the area between the pontoons and / or between the superstructure and pontoons . the varying mesh sizes and gauges are adjusted according to the intended application ( a “ classifying ” function ). applications may be as diverse as recovering a man overboard , catching fish , scooping floating and submerged debris , lagan , flotsam and jetsam . the handling system is “ fair ” in the sense that it can ride over large debris and does not present surfaces that snag objects . the net is potentially sacrificial , and will part from the marine handling craft if desired capacities are exceeded . wing shaped finned control surfaces can extend at right angles between the two spaced pontoons and are configurable to flat for walking on by personnel or serve as dive planes and flushing / repelling mechanism , as shown in fig1 a - e . the fins 64 overlap slightly , like a venetian blind and rotate slightly less than 360 degrees . the primary functions of the fins are to support payloads [ e . g . a standing surface for personnel , and to serve as control surfaces : for a basic embodiment , the simplest application might be launching and recovering a personal water craft , such as a jet ski , from a yacht , where the water is calm and the yacht is stopped . an example is shown in fig1 a - 13 c . the personal water craft operator drives into the marine handling craft , locks the device , and is lifted aboard by a conventional davit . if required , the personal water craft operator can adjust the cg with his own body as required . in addition to transporting payloads , such as cargo , or autonomous auxiliary vessels , the marine handing craft can also be used to recover divers or swimmers as shown in fig1 . a net can be suspended between the two pontoons , and a diver or divers can enter or exit the marine handling craft on this net . a networked control panel 55 can be located on the marine handling craft permitting a diver to independently maneuver the marine handing craft . as shown by the three water levels wl - 1 , wl - 2 and wl - 3 in fig1 the marine handling craft can operate in a floating , submersible or semi - submersible state . of course a marine handling craft that can be maneuvered by a single occupant as shown in fig1 will be smaller than a marine handling craft that can launch and recover a 35 - foot auxiliary cargo vessel . the catamaran configuration with the overhead track permits such smaller craft to be stacked as shown in fig1 . multiple marine handling craft can thus be stacked end to end for transport and storage . the net used in the configuration of fig1 can be removed when these marine handling craft are stacked in this manner . the control panel 55 shown in fig1 permits the operator to steer and maneuver the marine handling craft in any direction , as well as to adjust the trim to permit submersible or semi - submersible operation . data can be transmitted to the operator from sensors and transducers located on the marine handling craft as well as from other vessels networked to the marine handling craft . representative sensors and transducers that can be mounted on the marine handling craft as shown in fig1 . the sensor array 56 mounted on the overhead track , the side struts as well as on the pontoons to surround the compartment in which an auxiliary vessel will be received as especially suited for inspection of the auxiliary vessel and its payload or of any articles that may be picked up by this craft . these sensors forming the array 56 need not all be the same type of sensor so that different environmental conditions or threats may be monitored . representative examples of sensors that can be included in the array 56 include conventional radiation , chemical , biological , x - ray backscatter , and neutron activation sensors . cameras 60 may also be mounted at various locations on the marine handling craft to visually monitor the contents of the marine handling craft . equipment that can be used to neutralize potential threats , whether detected by the sensor array 56 or not , can also be mounted on the marine handling craft and are represented by sprayer units 61 disposed at strategic locations on the marine handling craft . these sensors and transducers and threat aversion equipment can be networked to an onboard computer 54 that is also networked to the primary platform , such as the computer 54 a shown on the mother ship in fig9 , as well as to auxiliary vessels . the networked computer 54 can also serve to maneuver the marine handling craft since it is in communication with control surfaces 34 and propulsive systems 30 shown in fig3 as well as trim and ballast tanks 53 . fig1 and 19 show one manner in which a marine handling craft can be employed with subsurface payloads other than auxiliary vessels . a cable reel 58 can be mounted on the marine handling craft between the two pontoons and a cable 59 can be deployed from the rear of the marine handling craft . this cable can be deployed to transfer or retrieve a payload attached at the end of the cable 59 . a hoist 62 can also be mounted on the upper track of the marine handling craft to vertically deploy payloads to and from a subsurface platform , such as a submarine , or a subsurface structure , which could be part of an offshore oil platform . this configuration is merely representative of one of the many ways in which this marine handling craft can be employed . fig2 shows another example of a marine handling craft having robotic arms positioned on the craft 2 to manipulate payloads 5 carried , recovered or deployed by the marine handling craft 2 . this invention does not incorporate individual components that would require new materials or techniques beyond what is commercially - available . the craft is implementable now . the invention is open architecture oriented for computers , telemetry and software and can use standard fittings and modular , regularly spaced , redundant connector / fasteners . this invention is intentionally designed to receive third party enhancements , which would allow for upgrades , improvements , rapid repairs , web - connectivity , physical or computer - controlled rapid reconfiguration and obviating obsolescence . this craft incorporates modular connectors , modular open - architecture hardware and software and modular enclosures to accommodate a variety of hardware and software devices , whether proprietary or non - proprietary . this craft is also capable of incorporating third party analytical equipment into hermetically sealed modules and communication with wireless , hard , optical or other links to remote data bases for the purposes of cross - referencing objects or persons of interest with on - board sensor results . | 1 |
the various stages in the process of the invention are : cake deposition , cake dislodgement and removal and cake capture . fig1 illustrates cake deposition . referring to fig1 the slurry 10 which is to be dewatered is stored in a feed tank and is pumped by means of a pump 12 in the direction of the arrow 14 into a parallel array of microporous flexible filter tubes indicated schematically by the reference numeral 16 . a return line 22 extends from the downstream ends of the filter tubes and includes a back - pressure valve 47 . the valve 47 is either closed completely , in which case the apparatus operates in a dead - end mode , or is maintained slightly open to permit low velocity flow through the tubes . instead of a partially open valve , a flow restricting orifice can be provided . it is essential during cake deposition that the slurry be pumped into the tube array under laminar flow conditions . the flow velocity is therefore kept extremely low , possibly as low as 0 . 01 to 0 . 05 m / s . the pressure of the slurry in the tubes 16 is maintained at a high level by the action of the valve 47 and is typically in the range 50 to 1000 kpa . filtrate permeates outwardly through the walls of the filter tubes as indicated by the arrows 18 in fig1 . the solids accumulate on the internal surfaces of the tubes 16 to form a cake layer 20 . it is important that the cake layer be kept as even as possible as it builds up . in general , the cake thickness will be fairly uniform throughout because of the low pressure gradient in the tubes 16 resulting from the low velocity flow . even if a section of a tube does develop relatively thin cake layer , the permeability will be greater in that section and the cake deposition will accordingly be higher to rectify the situation and restore even cake distribution . cake evenness can be promoted further by periodically opening the valve 47 fully for short bursts , typically for 5 seconds every 5 to 10 minutes . this technique , which is referred to subsequently in this specification as &# 34 ; blow - down &# 34 ;, has the effect of preventing excessive cake build - up at the upstream end of the tubes , of preventing more build - up from taking place in some tubes than in others and of evening out the cake distribution . the blow - down technique is used in dead - end operation of the apparatus i . e . during operation when the valve 47 is normally completely closed . during blow - down the velocity of the slurry is typically increased to 0 . 5 to 2 m / s . alternatively , in a case where the valve 48 is kept slightly open or a restrictive orifice is provided , the continuous , low velocity circulation of slurry via the return line 22 ( as illustrated in fig1 ) is sufficient to promote even cake deposition . once again , the effect of low velocity , laminar flow is to prevent excessive cake build - up at the upstream end of the tubes . as stated above , it is important that cake deposition be as even as possible . uneven cake deposition can result in the formation of solid plugs which can be difficult to dislodge . the thickness of the cake during the cake deposition stage of fig1 is continuously monitored , and the deposition stage is usually terminated when the cake thickness reaches about 25 % of the internal diameter of the tubes . a simple technique for monitoring the cake thickness involves monitoring the filtration rate , the assumption being that there is an approximate relationship between cake thickness and filtration rate . the filtration rate can , for instance , be monitored by observing the rate of fall of the slurry in the storage tank using level sensors or the like . once the cake deposition stage has been terminated , the cake dislodgement and removal stage is commenced . fig2 to 5 each illustrate a different cake dislodgement and removal technique contemplated within the scope of the present invention . in each of the techniques , which are described in detail below , the pressure in the tubes is reduced to between 10 and 100 kpa and the flow velocity is increased to between 1 and 3 m / s , the exact parameters of pressure and velocity which are used being dependent on the particular dislodgement technique , the particular slurry being dewatered and on the nature of the cake particles which are produced during the dislodgement stage . fig2 shows a technique which makes use of high pressure fluid sprays 24 which are directed against the exterior surfaces of the tubes in the array . the spray nozzles are carried by a header ( not shown ) which moves along the length of the tubes in the direction of bulk flow . although less preferred it is also possible to move the header in the direction opposite to that of the bulk flow . in one embodiment , the sprays are water sprays having a spray angle of 60 ° to 80 ° and a nozzle aperture of 1 mm and are operated at between 1 to 5 mpa and a water flow rate of 2 to 3 l / min at a distance of approximately 10 mm from the tubes . in the fig2 case , the internal tube pressure should be low , typically about 10 kpa . the fluid sprays have the effect of deforming the tubes to some extent to dislodge the accumulated cake from the internal tube surfaces . the dislodged cake , which is dislodged in the form of small flakes , is conveyed downstream by the bulk slurry flow in the tubes . fig3 shows a technique in which the cake is dislodged using opposing rollers 26 the spacing between which is chosen to pinch the tubes almost closed . the result is a localised zone of high flow velocity in the pinched zone and deformation of the tube in the region at and downstream of the rollers . the venturi effect created by the pinched zone gives rise to a low pressure in the tubes just downstream of the rollers . the cake is sucked off the internal surfaces of the tubes and is conveyed downstream by the bulk flow . the pressure reduction at the pinched zone may be sufficient to suck ambient air inwardly through the tube walls to assist in disloding the cake . even if the roller spacing is not small enough to create a significant pressure reduction in the tubes , the local tube deformation and consequential increased flow velocity can be sufficient to cause cake dislodgement . note that the rollers need not be round and that pinching of the tubes can be achieved by other non - rolling bodies applied to opposite sides of the tubes . the technique illustrated in fig4 differs from that of fig3 in that it is not the bulk slurry flow which transports the dislodged cake downstream in the tubes , but flow of process filtrate which is pumped from a tank 48 by means of a pump 50 . note that any other suitable liquid could be used to transport the dislodged cake instead of the process filtrate , the creation of which is described in more detail below . in fig5 there is again a zone of reduced pressure which is created in this case by means of a bobbin 52 which is fed on a wire 54 through each tube in the array in the bulk flow direction . the bobbin has a diameter which is slightly less than the internal tube diameter . the reduction in cross - sectional area available to flow results in a velocity increase and a pressure reduction . in the illustrated case , the tubes are flexible tubes which deform slightly just downstream of the bobbin . the combined effects of tube deformation and pressure reduction dislodge the cake from the tube walls for conveyance downstream by the bulk flow . it will be appreciated that the technique of fig5 can also be used in cases where the tubes are not flexible , the bobbin in this case stil causing a pressure reduction which will dislodge the cake . accordingly , the technique of fig5 is also applicable to dislodgement of cake from rigid , perforated tubes . yet another technique for dislodging the cake from flexible tube walls involves rapid pulsing of the flow in the tubes . when the tubes are subjected to full flow , they have a circular shape as is explained below with reference to fig6 and 7 . however , if the flow is stopped or reduced , the tubes will deform under the weight of the slurry which they contain and this deformation will dislodge cake from the internal tube walls for downstream conveyance in the bulk slurry flow . note that the technique of fig2 can be used simultaneously with the other techniques described above for cake dislodgement . an important advantage of the invention is the fact that the cake is dislodged from the tube walls in the form of fine flakes as opposed to a solid plug . in a typical application of the invention , the flakes will have dimensions of 3 × 10 × 5 mm , although this will of course depend on the actual properties of the suspended solids in the slurry . the fact that the cake is dislodged in flake form facilitates drying of the cake after the cake capture stage . cake which is dislodged from the tube walls and removed from the tubes is captured during the cake capture stage of the process . fig2 and 3 show how the bulk flow is returned during this stage along a line 28 to a screening device 30 which includes a mesh screen 32 . the screen 32 is located above the feed tank and the dewatered cake collects on top of the screen while filtrate passes through into the feed tank . the mesh aperture may typically be about 1 mm . fig4 illustrates an alternative cake collection system in which there is a perforated endless conveyor belt 56 passing around rollers 58 . the bulk flow with entrained cake is deposited onto the belt and the filtrate passes through into the tank 48 referred to previously . the dewatered cake itself is conveyed by the conveyor to a suitable discharge and collection point . other cake capture systems which are not illustrated may involve the use of hydrocyclones , centrifuges or gravity settling tanks . reference is now made to fig6 to 8 which illustrate a typical array of flexible tubes . sheets 34 and 36 of flexible filter material are seamed by sewing , bonding or weaving at spaced locations 38 . the flexibility of the sheets enables them , when filled with slurry during operation , to assume the shapes seen in fig7 defining an array or curtain of parallel , flexible tubes 40 of circular cross - section . fig8 shows how the array or curtain of tubes 40 can be suspended vertically from a horizontal rail 42 supported at its ends by a fixed structure ( not shown ). fig8 also shows upstream and downstream manifolds 44 and 46 are connected to the tube ends . typically the tubes will have a diameter between 20 and 40 mm and it should be noted that the tube array can be formed by securing a series of independent tubes to one another instead seaming flat sheets 34 and 36 as shown in fig6 . it should also be noted that the array need not necessarily hang vertically is in fig8 other orientations also being possible . furthermore , the invention is also applicable to single tubes which are not combined with other tubes in an array . any one of a wide variety of different natural and synthetic materials can be used for the tubes or sheets 34 and 36 . the process and apparatus described above can be used in a wide variety of applications such as the dewatering of aluminium hydroxide , lime , polyelectrolyte and polyelectrolyte / bentonite slurries resulting from the production of potable water and kaolinite slurries . it is also believed that the process and apparatus could be used to good effect in the dewatering of metallurgical slurries resulting from mining and mineral recovery operations . it will however be appreciated that the invention is limited in its application to slurries in which the suspended solids have cohesive properties . solids such as beach sand , which have no cohesive properties , would not form a cake on the tube walls . in this example a prototype plant was used to dewater a slurry composed of polyelectrolyte / bentonite / surface water and organic matter . the tube array was formed of polyester multi - filament sheets seamed together with 8 . 5 mm wide seams to form twenty tubes of length 10 m and diameter 25 mm . the total filtration area per array was 15 . 7 m 2 . the blow - down technique was used during the deposition stage . during the cake dislodgement or removal stage , either rollers or water sprays were used . the dislodged cake was conveyed in the tubes by process filtrate as indicated in fig4 the cake being captured on a perforated belt in the manner depicted in that figure . the results of five separate tests are tabulated in table 1 below . __________________________________________________________________________ test no . parameter units 1 2 3 4 5__________________________________________________________________________ ( a ) feed slurry g / l 13 , 9 43 , 2 53 , 6 6 , 4 10 , 0 suspended solids ( b ) filtrate suspended g / l -- less less 0 , 13 0 , 10 solids than than 0 , 05 0 , 05 ( c ) cake total solids mass % 30 , 5 35 , 7 38 , 8 29 , 9 30 , 0 ( dry solids / wet cake )( d ) operation during cake deposition : blow - down operation used used used used used frequency min . 5 6 5 8 5 duration s 20 10 10 30 10 ( e ) filtration rate : start batch l / m . sup . 2 h 113 -- -- 278 300 end batch l / m . sup . 2 h 67 69 38 89 43 average volume processed l 669 223 332 1580 1800 batch time min . 30 12 22 55 47 operating pressure kpa . 500 500 450 400 450 ( f ) cake dislodging and conveying : 1 . roller used used used used not used roller outside diameter mm 21 , 3 21 , 3 21 , 3 21 , 3 -- internal tube mm 2 , 6 2 , 6 3 , 1 1 , 9 -- 2 . water spray not not not not used used used used used nozzle orifice mm -- -- -- -- 0 , 9 diameter operating mpa -- -- -- -- 3 , 5 pressure spray angle deg . -- -- -- -- 80 conveying fluid l / s / tube 0 , 75 0 , 75 0 , 75 1 , 0 0 , 75 rate ( pulsed ) cleaning head m / min 5 5 5 6 , 5 5 traverse rate ( g ) cake distribution near near near near near results even even even even even cake cake cake cake cake distri - distri - distri - distri - distri - bution bution bution bution bution ( h ) cake thickness mm 2 to 3 2 to 3 3 to 5 2 to 3 2 to 3 ( i ) cake dislodging com - com - com - com - com - and removal plete plete plete plete plete__________________________________________________________________________ the example illustrates that a high throughput was obtained and that cake dislodgement and removal from the internal tube walls was successful . in this example a prototype plant was constructed for dewatering an aluminium hydroxide / polyelectrolyte river silt slurry resulting from the treatment of surface waters to produce potable water . the filter array was identical to that used in the first example . control of cake evenness during the cake deposition stage was controlled by recircling slurry in the manner depicted in fig1 . cake dislodgement was achieved using a double roller device comprising a first pair of rollers and , slightly downstream of the first pair , a second pair of rollers . the rollers of the first pair had a diameter of 33 . 4 mm while those of the second pair had a diameter of 21 . 3 mm . the internal spacing created by the rollers was 2 mm in the case of the first pair and 5 mm in the case of the second pair . the cake was captured using a 1 mm square mesh screen . with a feed slurry concentration of 15 g / l , a slurry recycling velocity of between 0 . 05 and 0 . 1 m / s and a cake conveyance velocity of 1 . 5 m / s , good cake distribution and good cake dislodgement and removal were achieved after the cake had attained a thickness of up to 5 mm . besides the fact that the captured cake is in flaky form , the invention leads to other advantages when compared with the conventional system referred to previously in which a &# 34 ; sausage &# 34 ; or solid plug of cake is formed in the tubes . with the invention , the cake layer which is formed is relatively thin and therefore permits high filtration rates . in the known system , the solid plug detrimentally affects the filtration rate . furthermore the plug which is formed in the known system can be extremely difficult to remove from the tube while with the invention cake dislodgement is achieved with relatively simple equipment . also , the cake deposition controls proposed by the present invention are simple in nature and do not require involved manifolds or other pipework . | 1 |
the end product to be obtained comprises a filled plastic bottle with a bottle neck , on which a capsule is placed . the capsule contains a substance to be dispensed which may be in solid form , in tablet form , in powder form or even in liquid form . the plastic bottle which in its entirety is indicated at 1 , is preferably of plastic , and comprises a bottle neck 2 . a collar 3 is integrally formed on the bottle neck 2 peripherally on the outside . the collar which is present is not relevant to the actual method . a capsule which in its entirety is indicated at 4 is welded on the bottle neck 2 . a closure 5 is placed on over the welded - on capsule 4 . the closure 5 comprises a guarantee strip 6 which encompasses the collar 3 . the closure 5 includes a drinking spout 7 which may be closed with a sealing cap 8 . the closure 5 has a skirt 9 with an inner thread 10 . the closure 5 may be screwed on from the integrity guarantee position represented here , into a position for use . with this , the capsule 4 is pierced and its content gets into the fluid present in the plastic bottle 1 . the more detailed design of the closure 5 is not the subject - matter of this invention and its exact design is thus not described . the method according to this invention is now explained with reference to fig1 . the steps a ) to c ) are surrounded with a dot - dashed frame . this dot - dashed frame schematically represents the fact that these steps are effected in an aseptic chamber 20 . the aseptic chamber 20 per se is a closed chamber in a filling installation , and is thus integrated in this installation . in a first step which is indicated in the figure at a ), a filling conduit 11 is introduced into the plastic bottle 1 and this is filled to the desired level with the fluid to be filled . the plastic bottle 1 in a subsequent step is conveyed to a welding station , and there is sealed with a first membrane 12 . in principle , the terms welding as well as sealing are to be used in a tantamount manner . in the actual context , a welding of two thermoplastic layers takes place . accordingly , the membrane is coated on both sides with a layer capable of being sealed . this layer undergoes a thermoplastic welding with the container neck . the membrane itself , which is preferably manufactured of aluminum , is thereby attached on the bottle neck 2 by a sealing . for this , an electrically heatable sealing or welding punch 13 is present in a correspondingly schematic manner , by which the connection of the membrane to the container neck is effected . after this sealing , the plastic bottle 1 is closed in an absolutely sealed manner by way of the first membrane 12 . the electrically heated forming punch 14 moves away , and the first membrane 12 may then be yet be brought into its final shape optionally either in a purely mechanical manner or thermal manner . accordingly , the first membrane 12 may already be attached in its final shape , or be brought into its final shape in the subsequent step in fig1 at c ), for example with a heated punch 14 . the plastic bottle 1 which is sealingly closed by the first membrane 12 then leaves the aseptic chamber 20 and now as an optional intermediate step , may be sterilized itself in the container . this intermediate step is represented in fig1 as d ). after the sterilization , the filled container which is closed in an absolutely sealed manner , may be intermediately stored before the further steps are effected . in the next step , the sealed container 1 is then introduced into a dry room 30 . the dry room 30 may also be designed simultaneously as a clean room . in this dry room 30 , a substance 16 to be introduced into the container is then attached onto the first membrane 12 which is already welded on the bottle neck . as mentioned , the substance 16 , as shown here , may be present in tablet form , but it is possible for the substance 16 to be deposited onto the first membrane 12 in powder form or in a liquid , pasty form . the first membrane 12 is designed according to the consistency of the substance to be deposited . when the substance 16 to be introduced is applied on the first membrane 12 , a second membrane 17 is laid thereon . this second membrane 17 may be already pre - shaped . the second membrane 17 may for example be an aluminum film . this aluminum film may be printed , anodized or have another coating which essentially is to meet aesthetic demands . it can be advantageous for this coating to be able to prevent an erosion of the film . the first membrane 12 may have a hot - seal layer in a double - sided manner , the second membrane 17 no longer needs to carry a sealing layer . the second membrane 17 is then applied over the first membrane 12 , wherein at least the surfaces of the first and the second membrane which come to lie over the container neck , come to lie over one another in a congruent manner . in the subsequent step , which is represented in the drawing at f ), the second membrane 17 is welded onto the first membrane 12 . here too , a suitable electrical welding punch 18 is provided . more preferably , one would design the second membrane 17 roughly equal and opposite to the first membrane 12 , so that an inner space arises which is as large as possible . thus , according to desire , the first membrane may be deep - drawn to a greater extent than the second membrane or vice versa . this can depend on the consistency of the substance which is to be accommodated in the capsule 4 to be filled . if this substance is a liquid , the second membrane may be designed in an absolutely plane manner . the welding of the membranes 12 and 17 is effected at relatively low temperatures which are harmless to the contents . the temperatures to be selected can depend on the hot - seal coatings attached on the first membrane . the first membrane 12 can be provided on both sides with a hot - seal layer which may be processed at about the same temperature . however , it can be advantageous to provide the first membrane on one side with a low temperature sealing layer and on the other side with a hot - temperature sealing layer . in this case , in the first step one would weld the first membrane 12 with the low - temperature sealing layer on the container neck or bottle neck . the second hot - temperature sealing layer does not participate at this temperature . accordingly , the second membrane 17 is subsequently welded onto the high - temperature sealing layer at a correspondingly higher temperature . as mentioned , the second membrane 17 is not provided with a hot - seal layer in this case . alternatively , it is possible to provide both membranes each with a hot - seal layer . in this case , one would advantageously attach hot - seal layers with different temperature ranges on both membranes . here , one provides only the first membrane 12 with a hot - seal layer which is welded at a higher temperature , whereas one would then weld the second membrane 17 onto the first membrane at a lower temperature than was previously the case on welding the first membrane 12 . accordingly , the second membrane has a low - temperature sealing layer . expressed somewhat more generally , a plastic bottle with a plastic neck with a capsule attached thereon thus arises , wherein at least the first membrane 12 comprises a hot - seal layer for a first temperature range for welding onto the container neck , and a second hot - seal layer which is either arranged on the second side of the first membrane 12 or on a side of the second membrane 17 , and is suitable for a second temperature range . the first membrane 12 as well as the second membrane 17 can be designed in a uni - laminar or multi - laminar manner . the materials from which these membranes may be manufactured are quite numerous . membranes of aluminum or plastic or a mixture thereof are suitable for deep - drawn or pre - shaped membranes . the same is the case for the second membrane 17 , if it is likewise to have a crowned shaped . with a plane membrane , paper films laminated with aluminum are considered . in general , plastic films with vapor - deposited metal are considered . the hot - seal layer in any case is the outer coating . as soon as the capsule is attached in a finished manner on the container or on the bottle 1 , the closure 5 is then attached on this straight away . the capsule is thus protected from mechanical influences by way of this . a bottle filled according to this method ensures a superior shelf - life capability of the introduced product . the influence of temperature on the substance 16 to be introduced is extremely low because of the relatively low temperatures with which the membranes may be attached and the respective hot - seal coatings . the dry room may be accordingly cooled . as mentioned , the first membrane may also be a plane membrane . this can be useful if afterwards the active substance to be dispensed into the bottle is deposited in an encapsulated form on this membrane , and thus the second membrane is part of this capsule . this solution can be economically more costly , and may be required for reasons of logistics . in this case , one may provide the first membrane with a hot - seal layer on both sides , wherein it makes sense for the hot - seal layer which comes to lie on the container neck to be a low - temperature sealing layer , while the sealing layer which connects to the second membrane which is part of the capsule is designed for a higher temperature range . this procedure provides a product which is particularly easy to handle with regard to logistics and storage . one solution which is particularly simple with regard to manufacturing technology and which also requires less investment can result from the diameters of the capsule membranes being larger than the diameter of the bottle neck 2 . in this case , the second membrane which is part of the capsule , is centrically placed onto the first membrane , and the closure or a part of a multi - part closure is then pressed on , so that the capsule is held with practically positive on the bottle neck in an edge - flanged manner , and is held in a secure manner by the closure or a closure part . with this assembly type it is possible to manufacture all membranes of aluminum or aluminum composite . it is to be noted that the numbering of the steps a ) to g ), represented in fig1 , do not correspond to the numbering in the patent claims . without explicitly going into detail , the membranes may be designed so that several chambers are formed , and accordingly also different active substances may be dispensed . | 1 |
certain preferred embodiments and examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings , in which fig1 is a plan view illustrative of a schematic arrangement of a continuous rolling mill 10 according to the present invention . a rolled material 20 runs from right to left in fig1 . stands of the continuous rolling mill 10 are numbered first , second , . . . ith . . . 2nth , and ( 2n + 1 ) th from the upstream toward the downstream in the rolling direction and denoted by s 1 , s 2 . . . s i . . . s 2n , and s 2n + 1 , respectively . horizontal mills 1h , 3h , . . . ( 2i - 1 ) h . . . ( 2n + 1 ) h each compising a pair of driven horizontal work rolls 11 are disposed at the odd - numbered stands s . sub . ( 2i - 1 ) ( i = 1 , 2 , 3 . . . n + 1 ) including the first stand s 1 and the last stand s 2n + 1 , respectively . vertical mills 2v , 4v , . . . 2iv . . . 2nv each comprising a pair of undriven vertical work rolls 12 are disposed at the even - numbered stands s 2i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . n ) including the second stand s 2 , respectively . among the continuous rolling mills 10 according to the present invention , a mill comprising a smallest number of stands includes rolling mills 1h , 2v and 3h , and is hereafter called the smallest unit continuous rolling mill 10m . a rolled material portion 20i between the ( 2i - 1 ) th stand ( s 2i - 1 ) and the ( 2i ) th stand s 2i ( i = 1 , 2 , . . . n ), that is between two adjacent stands had the thickness di , and the interaxial distance between the work rolls 11 and 12 of said adjacent stands is denoted by li . the diameter of the horizontal roll of the horizontal mill of the ( 2i - 1 ) stand ( s 2i - 1 ) is denoted by di . fig2 is a side view of the smallest unit continuous rolling mill 10m according to the present invention , in which the undriven vertical rolling mill 2v is disposed between the driven horizontal mills 1h and 3h , and these mills 2v , 1h and 3h are fixed closely in mutual connection with each other . the horizontal work rolls 11 and the vertical work rolls 12 are supported by roll chocks 111 and 121 of the mills , respectively . in the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention , as mentioned above , the values of the thickness di of the rolled material portion between two adjacent stands , the interaxial distance li of the rolls , and the outer diameter di of the roll are limited so as to be within the range of condition defined by the formulae ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) for the reason to be described hereunder . result of the rolling by pushing depends upon buckling of the material and presence of slip in the horizontal rolls . in the first place , the buckling stress at which buckling occurs in the material is inversely proportional to the square of the interaxial distance li of the rolls and is proportional to the first power of the thickness di of the material . on the other hand , the stress occurred in the material when pushed is for rolling the material by the idle vertical mill and increases substantially in proportion to the reduction of area by the vertical mill . therefore , a large reduction of area is made possible in the undriven vertical mill when the interaxial distance li of the rolls of the driven horizontal mill and the undriven vertical mill is as small as possible and the thickness of the material released from the horizontal mill is as large as possible . the interaxial distance li of the rolls is smallest in the case where the rolls of the horizontal and the vertical mills are in contact with each other . in order to obtain the same reduction of area in the horizontal and the vertical mills under this condition , the thickness di of the material must be equal to or larger than 0 . 1 times the diameter di of the roll . on the other hand , when the thickness of the material is equal to or larger than 0 . 4 times the diameter di of the roll , biting of the material in the horizontal mill is insufficient . accordingly , when the thickness di of the material released from the horizontal mill is 0 . 4 times the roll diameter , the interaxial distance li of the rolls of the horizontal and the vertical mills must be equal to or smaller than four times the roll diameter in order to obtain the same reduction of area by the horizontal and the vertical mills . for the reason described above , the conditions required to obtain the same reduction of area by the horizontal and the vertical mills are : the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention can be used for various purposed such as blooming , steel bar , wire rod , hot rolling and so forth . further , in the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention , when required , a material may be rolled in a single pass or in reversing passes or turned by 90 ° about the rolling direction . the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention can include a conventional continuous rolling mill disposed on the downstream side thereof . an example of improvement in reduction of area by the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention will now be described . in this example , rolling operation was carried out under the conditions : horizontal and vertical work roll diameter di = 300 mm , thickness of rolled material on exit side of horizontal mill di = 45 - 105 mm ( di / di = 0 . 15 - 0 . 35 ), interaxial distance between horizontal and vertical work rolls li = 1300 mm , 715 mm ( li / di = 4 . 33 , 2 . 38 ), rolling temperature 1100 ° c ., and low carbon killed steel used as the material . the relationship between the reduction of area by the driven mills and the reduction of area by the undriven mills in this example is shown in fig3 and 4 , in which fig3 shows the results of the case using a prior art continuous rolling mill in which vertical mills are undriven and fig4 shows the results of the case using the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention . in the case of the prior art rolling mill of li = 1300 mm ( li / di = 4 . 33 ), the reduction of area by the vertical mill is approximately 70 % of the reduction of area by the horizontal mill as shown in fig3 . on the other hand , in the case of the rolling according to the present invention of li = 715 mm ( li / di = 2 . 38 ) can be as high as 100 % as shown in fig4 . the continuous rolling method according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to certain examples of practice thereof . rolling was carried out using the continuous rolling mill 10 shown in fig5 having the arrangement described below and under the conditions described below : 1st , 3rd , 5th and 7th stands s 1 , s 3 , s 5 , and s 7 were driven horizontal mills ( 1h , 3h , 5h and 7h ) 2nd , 4th and 6th dtands s 2 , s 4 and s 6 were undriven vertical mills ( 2v , 4v and 6v ). outer diameter di of a horizontal or vertical roll : 900 mm thickness di of the rolled material between adjacent stands : 340 - 220 mm table 1__________________________________________________________________________ rolled rolled material material area of reductionstand thickness width cross section of areano . rolling mill 400 mm 300 mm ( cm . sup . 2 ) 1200 (%) v / h ratio__________________________________________________________________________1 horizontal driven 340 305 1037 13 . 6 0 . 832 vertical undriven 347 265 920 11 . 33 horizontal driven 275 270 739 19 . 7 0 . 864 vertical undriven 286 215 613 17 . 15 horizontal driven 222 222 492 19 . 8 0 . 896 vertical undriven 230 176 404 17 . 87 horizontal driven 180 180 324 19 . 8__________________________________________________________________________ for comparison , construction and rolling results of the prior art continuous rolling mill are described below . those not specifically described below were the same as those described above . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ rolled rolled material material area of reductionstand thickness width cross section of areano . rolling mill 400 mm 300 mm ( cm . sup . 2 ) 1200 (%) v / h ratio__________________________________________________________________________1 horizontal driven 340 305 1037 13 . 6 0 . 602 vertical undriven 345 276 952 8 . 23 horizontal driven 275 281 779 18 . 2 0 . 624 vertical undriven 281 244 692 11 . 25 horizontal driven 222 250 560 19 . 1 0 . 606 vertical undriven 228 215 490 11 . 47 horizontal driven 180 220 396 19 . 2__________________________________________________________________________ rolling of steel bar was carried out in an arrangement in which the continuous rolling mill 10 according to the present invention was disposed as a roughing tandem mill upstream of a conventional intermediate tandem mill 30 , under the following conditions : 1st , 3rd , 5th and 7th stands s 1 , s 3 , s 5 and s 7 were driven horizontal mills 2nd , 4th and 6th stands s 2 , s 4 and s 6 were undriven vertical mills outer diameter di of horizontal or vertical work roll : 550 mm thickness di of the rolled material between adjacent stands : 140 - 90 mm in this example , work rolls of box groove having strong side restriction were used as horizontal rolls and work rolls of box groove having weak side restriction were used as vertical work rolls . table 3__________________________________________________________________________ rolled rolled material material area of reductionstand thickness width cross section of areano . rolling mill 180 mm 180 mm ( cm . sup . 2 ) 324 (%) v / h ratio__________________________________________________________________________1 horizontal driven 140 184 257 20 . 5 0 . 892 vertical undriven 150 140 210 18 . 43 horizontal driven 110 144 158 24 . 6 0 . 934 vertical undriven 122 100 121 23 . 05 horizontal driven 90 104 93 23 . 2 0 . 9616 vertical undriven 102 71 72 22 . 67 horizontal driven 75 75 56 22 . 3__________________________________________________________________________ for comparison , construction and rolling results of the prior art continuous rolling mill are described below . a roughing tandem mill comprising six stands having horizontal and vertical mills arranged alternately was used . table 4______________________________________ rolled rolled material material reductionstand thickness width of areano . rolling mill 180 mm 180 mm (%) ______________________________________1 horizontal driven 145 130 24 . 62 vertical driven 125 200 22 . 83 horizontal driven 130 90 18 . 44 vertical driven 95 151 23 . 85 horizontal driven 75 75 21 . 36 vertical driven 65 110 38 . 9______________________________________ in a wire rod mills producing wire rods of 20 mm or smaller diameter from billets of 115 × 115 mm size , a roughing tandem mill heretofore comprised eight horizontal mills , in which a material was twisted by 90 ° in each pass and rolled to the size 45 × 45 mm at the exit thereof by diamond calibers and square calibers arranged alternately . in this case , the roll diameter was 450 mm and the interaxial distance between the horizontal and the vertical work rolls was 3 . 5 m . in this example of application of the continuous rolling mill 10 ( fig7 ), as shown in table 5 , diameter of the horizontal work rolls was gradually reduced from 500 - 400 mm and the interaxial distance of the horizontal and the vertical work rolls was gradually reduced toward the downstream side to prevent buckling of the rolled material . since it was necessary to provide a square section to the rolled material at the exit , the caliber arrangement used was , as shown in table 5 , diamond caliber at sixth and seventh stands and square groove at the last stand . table 5______________________________________ work rollstand diameter rollno . rolling mill di ( mm ) li / di caliber______________________________________1 horizontal driven 500 diamond } 1 . 22 vertical undriven 500 square } ( 1 . 2 ) 3 horizontal driven 450 diamond } 0 . 94 vertical undriven 450 square } ( 0 . 9 ) 5 horizontal driven 400 diamond } 0 . 76 vertical undriven 400 diamond } ( 0 . 7 ) 7 horizontal driven 400 square______________________________________ in remodeling a conventional wire rod mills having materials twisted into a works having horizontal and vertical mills arranged alternately in tandem without twisting materials , if the continuous rolling mill according to the present invention is used , the mill cost is reduced to a half or lower as compared with the conventional system with driven vertical rolls and the reconstruction of the mill houses is made unnecessary . housing of a driven vertical mill is approximately 8 m in height that is about three times that of a horizontal mill . accordingly , if a driven vertical mill is housed in a building of the conventional continuous horizontal mill , there is a possibility of hitting between the vertical mill and a crane and , therefore , reconstruction of the mill house becomes necessary . while we have described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments and examples of our invention in the foregoing specification , it will be understood that these embodiments and examples are merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised or practiced within the scope of our invention , as defined in the appended claims . | 1 |
an overview of an exemplary airline travel supplier analysis system 10 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in fig1 . the airline travel supplier analysis system 10 generally includes an airline fair market share module 12 , a scenario market share module 14 , an expense - based cost module 16 , and a time - based cost module 18 . it is to be understood that only the relevant steps associated with the system are discussed below , but that other software - implemented instructions may be needed to control and manage the overall operations of the airline travel system 10 . in general , the airline travel supplier analysis system 10 analyzes airline flight shedule and purchase information in relation to one or more predefined city pairs for a given corporate airline customer . the airline fair market share module 12 calculates each airline &# 39 ; s fair market share for each city pair in the analysis . the output generated by the fair market share module 12 may be provided to the scenario market share calculation module 14 . the scenario market share module 14 calculates each airline &# 39 ; s expected market share of each city pair for one or more specified airline supplier scenarios . the output generated by the scenario market share module 14 is scenario market share estimate data 15 . the scenario market share estimate data 15 may be provided to an expense - based cost calculation module 16 and / or a time - based cost calculation module 18 . the expense - based cost module 18 calculates the amount of money the corporate customer would spend given each airline &# 39 ; s current and / or proposed price agreements within the scenario . the time - based cost module 18 calculates the value of the total travel time required under the scenario . the output generated by either and / or both of these modules 16 and 18 may be input in a total travel cost module 20 which produces total expected cost information for each scenario . an overview of the calculations performed by the airline fair market share module 12 are shown in fig2 . first , software - implemented connection logic 22 is used to set reasonable connection constraints and criteria as well as to build and evaluate reasonable connections for each airline considered capable of serving the city pairs that are input into the airline fair market share module 12 . although any set of one or more predefined city pairs may be input into the system , one skilled in the art will readily recognize that city pair data alternatively may be derived from recent historical airline travel information for the given airline customer . in order to build connection data for each city pair , the connection logic 22 has access to various data sources . in particular , projected airline travel data 24 , airline schedule data 26 and user - defined connection parameters each serve as input to the connection logic 22 . projected airline travel data 24 provides the expected airline travel purchases at a city pair level over a predefined time period ( such as monthly or yearly ) for the airline customer . in a preferred embodiment , the projected airline travel data may be derived from recent historical airline travel data over a similar time period . in this case , the projected airline travel data 24 includes records containing city pair data ( in either origination - destination format or in bidirectional format ); an airline identifier ; the number of flights ( or similar travel unit such as trips , segments or invoices ) booked or purchased for the city pair ; and the amount of airfare spent for the booked or purchased flights . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , historical airline travel information may be extracted from employee expense reports , travel agent records , credit card company records , and / or other systems capable of recording travel purchase data . the connection logic 22 also accesses airline schedule data 26 and user - defined connection parameters 28 . the airline schedule data 26 is typically available from an external source such as the official airline guide . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , airline schedule data 26 specifies scheduled airline service for a plurality of airlines , including flight numbers , origination airport codes , departure times , aircraft types , destination airport codes , arrival times data , etc . the connection logic 22 determines a set of flight legs that either singularly or in combination can serve each city pair identified in projected airline travel data 24 . as is known in the art , the connection logic 22 evaluates all the relevant airline flight schedule data and identifies flights that serve the city pair within the user - defined connection parameters 28 . exemplary connection parameters may include but are not limited to minimum connection times , maximum connection times , or maximum elapsed travel times which vary based on the elapsed travel time for the fastest flight serving a given city pair . other connection parameters would preferably include logic to evaluate only online connections , and / or to limit connections to those provided by airline codeshare partners . it is envisioned that the connection parameters may be entered by a system user or system generated default values . the output generated by the connection logic 22 is a set of flights for each city pair 29 that meet the connection parameters , and therefore are deemed to be reasonable travel options for a traveler wishing to book a flight for the city pair . for purposes of the following discussion , each flight or set of flights that serves the city pair having the same airline , departure time and arrival time is referred to as a flight record . each flight record includes the following data fields : a flight record identifier , a city pair identifier , an airline identifier , a frequency of flights over a predefined time period ( such as the number of operations per week ) and additional flight schedule data for each leg of the flight record . a nonstop flight record will have one leg ; whereas a one - stop flight record will have two legs . flight schedule data for each leg includes a leg identifier , an origination airport code , a departure time , an aircraft type ( e . g ., 747 , md80 , dc - 9 , etc . ), a destination airport code and an arrival time . next , a fair market share logic 30 performs a series of calculations to determine each airline &# 39 ; s fair market share of the customer &# 39 ; s airline travel for each city pair . to do so , the fair market share logic 30 weights various attributes associated with each flight record in such a way as to determine a probability of a traveler to choose a flight record given all of the other flight records serving the given city pair . as will be more fully described below , fair market share estimates are based on the frequency of service for the given city pair , the aircraft type serving the city pair , and the incremental travel time of the flight record serving the city pair . a weighting factor which correlates to the aircraft type is determined for each flight record . an exemplary weighting factor may be determined from the equipment type and equipment class as shown below : equipment type equipment class equipment value 747 wide body jet 1 . 5 737 narrow body jet 1 . 0 727 narrow body jet 1 . 0 atr turboprop 0 . 7 in this example , a narrow body jet serves as the baseline equipment class and therefore is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 1 . 0 . since a wide body jet is a larger and more preferable travel option for most travelers , it is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 1 . 5 . in contrast , since a turboprop plane is a less desirable travel option for most travelers , it is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 0 . 7 . this example illustrates how a weighting factor based on aircraft type can be determined for each flight record . it should be appreciated that weighting schemes could alternatively be based on the seat count for each aircraft , or on the combined types of aircraft used on multi - leg flights , or other similar methods and considerations . similarly , a weighting factor based on incremental travel time is determined for each flight record . incremental travel time ( itt ) is measured as the difference in minutes between the elapsed travel time ( ett ) associated with a given flight record and the ett for the flight record having the shortest amount of elapsed travel time from amongst the flight records serving a given city pair . elapsed travel time is defined as the number of minutes between the scheduled departure time at the city pair &# 39 ; s originating city and the scheduled arrival time at the city pair &# 39 ; s destination city . thus , itt measures how much more time a particular flight record would take to get a passenger from the origination airport to the destination airport than needed by the fastest flight record serving the city pair . an exemplary weighting factor may be determined from the itt as shown below : itt floor itt ceiling itt value 0 minutes 15 minutes 1 . 0 16 minutes 30 minutes 0 . 9 31 minutes 60 minutes 0 . 7 in this example , a range of itt values correlates to a particular weighting factor . flight records whose itt falls within 0 to 15 minutes is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 1 . 0 . flight records whose itt falls within 16 to 30 minutes is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 0 . 9 . the above table can be extended up to a maximum itt threshold time such that an itt which exceeds the threshold time is assigned a weighting factor having a value of 0 . in this way , the flight records that take longer to serve a given city pair are less favorable than flight records that take less time to serve the given city pair . the fair market share logic 30 then uses these weighting factors to compute a “ pull value ” for each flight record associated with a given city pair . more specifically , the pull value for a given flight record is calculated by multiplying the number of operations over a given time period by the weighting factor for the aircraft type by the weighting factor for the itt . for example , a flight record with seven ( 7 ) operations per week , using a narrow body jet and having an itt of three ( 3 ) minutes would earn a pull value of 7 . 0 ( 7 × 1 . 0 × 1 . 0 ). the pull values serve as the basis for an airline &# 39 ; s fair market share estimate 31 . the numerator of an airline &# 39 ; s fair market share estimate is the sum of all of the pull values for a given city pair that are associated with a given airline ; whereas the denominator is the sum of all of the pull values for all of the flight records for the given city pair for all of the airlines . in this way , fair market share estimate data is expressed in percentage form . an exemplary fair market share calculation as performed by the fair market share logic 30 is provided below : airline fr id equip . itt mins . no . of ops eq . factor itt factor fr &# 39 ; s pull value flight &# 39 ; s share aa 3478 turbo 65 7 0 . 50 0 . 50 1 . 75 11 % co 3479 turbo 32 6 0 . 50 0 . 70 2 . 10 13 % tw 3480 n - jet 0 6 1 . 00 1 . 00 6 . 00 38 % tw 3481 n - jet 32 6 1 . 00 1 . 00 6 . 00 38 % totals 15 . 85 100 % airline fair market share estimate data 31 is preferably stored in a table form and may include the following data fields : city pair , airline identifier , airline &# 39 ; s pull value , and an airline &# 39 ; s fair market share . an overview of the calculations performed by the scenario market share module 14 are discussed in relation to fig3 . the scenario market share module 14 calculates each airline &# 39 ; s expected market share of each city pair for one or more specified airline supplier scenarios . thus , a specified airline supplier scenario must first be established by a system user or defaulted by the system . an airline supplier scenario involves assigning a supplier status to each of the plurality of airlines that may be used by the airline customer . the supplier status is indicative of an airline customer &# 39 ; s preference for having its travelers use the particular airline . the airline supplier status can take many forms but should preferably be monotonic ( e . g ., primary , co - primary , secondary or some equivalent hierarchy ). for instance , a specified airline supplier scenario may designate airline a as the preferred primary airline , airline b as the preferred secondary airline and airline c as the preferred tertiary airline . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , supplier status serves as a technique for prioritizing potential allocation of market share amongst various airlines . by varying the assignment of the supplier status for different airlines , a system user may establish more than one scenario 32 which will serve as input to the scenario market share module 14 . it should also be appreciated that other factors may be used to establish different scenarios . for each specified airline supplier scenario , the scenario market share module 14 calculates each airline &# 39 ; s expected market share at the city pair level based on various non - schedule based factors . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the scenario market share module 14 uses three such non - schedule based factors : a travel policy factor 34 , an airline sales level factor 36 , and a sales level - supplier status factor 38 . the travel policy factor is indicative of an airline customer &# 39 ; s ability to shift travel purchases to its preferred airline suppliers . the value of the travel policy factor should correlate to the strength of the customer &# 39 ; s ability to shift travelers to its preferred airline suppliers . for example , a travel factor value of 1 . 0 would mean the customer has no influence over its travelers &# 39 ; choice of airlines . on the other hand , a travel factor value of 2 . 0 would indicate the customer believes it has a fair amount of influence over its travelers &# 39 ; airline choices , and a travel factor value of 3 . 0 would mean the customer has even more influence than a travel factor value of 2 . 0 . it is envisioned that the system can accept user - defined travel policy factors or store default values , preferably in the following form : one skilled in the art will recognize that by adding a scenario identifier to this table would facilitate the system storing and applying different travel policy factors to different scenarios . the airline sales level factor preferably correlates the airline &# 39 ; s ability to attract additional travel volumes from the account based on non - schedule factors . the airline sales level factor will preferably depend on the customer &# 39 ; s assessment of the airline &# 39 ; s ability to attract the customer &# 39 ; s travelers to the airline &# 39 ; s flights beyond what the airline expects based on the schedule based factors . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , elements affecting the sales level factor include the airline &# 39 ; s willingness to support the customer with benefits , such as free upgrades , free tickets , seat list clearance , soft dollars , etc . additionally , the customer may consider the airline &# 39 ; s general pricing ( e . g ., low - cost vs . full service ), reputation for safety , on - time performance , and other such elements . it is envisioned that the system can accept user - defined sales level factors or store default values , preferably in the following form : specified airline code sales level aa very strong ( level 8 ) co strong ( level 7 ) one skilled in the art will recognize that it is also possible to assign a sales level factor to represent an unpopular airline and its likely inability to attract even its schedule - based market share . the sales level - supplier status factor is a combination of the supplier status and the above - described airline sales level factor . in other words , the sales level assigned to a particular airline may vary based on the airlines supplier status level . the sales level - supplier status factor should be consistent with the principles that a ) the higher an airline &# 39 ; s sales level factor , the more market share it should expect to receive , and b ) the higher the airline &# 39 ; s supplier status , the more market share it should expect to receive . exemplary values for the sales level - supplier status factor are shown below : sales factor sales factor sales factor sales level if status is if status is if status is sales level description primary co - primary secondary 8 very strong 2 . 0 1 . 9 1 . 8 7 strong 1 . 9 1 . 8 1 . 7 6 very good 1 . 8 1 . 7 1 . 6 each of these non - schedule based factors are then used to derive scenario market share data 40 for each airline . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , scenario market share data 40 may be derived as follows . the fair market share data 31 for each airline serving the given city pair is input to and / or retrieved from an accessible memory space by the scenario market share module 14 . to facilitate computations , the fair market share percentages may be converted to whole numbers by multiplying the percentage by a factor of 100 , thereby resulting in fair market share points as shown in the table below . next , one or more of the non - schedule based factors are applied to the fair market share data . for instance , a combination of the travel policy factor and the sales level - supplier status may be applied to the fair market share data . in this instance , the travel policy factor and the sales level - supplier status factor are first retrieved from an accessible storage area based on the airline identifier associated with a particular airline &# 39 ; s fair market share data . the supplier status for a given airline must be determined in order to retrieve the appropriate sales level - supplier status factor . the travel policy factor and the sales level - supplier status factor are then combined using mathematical operations that abide by two requirements : ( 1 ) when holding the travel policy factor value constant and increasing the value of the sales level - supplier status factor , the resulting combined value has a greater absolute value than either of the travel policy factor or the sales level - supplier status factor alone ; and ( 2 ) when holding the sales level - supplier status factor value constant and increasing the value of the travel policy factor , the resulting combined value is greater absolute value than either of the travel policy factor or the sales level - supplier status factor alone . in a preferred embodiment , the travel policy factor is multiplied by the sales level - supplier status factor . however , it is envisioned that the two factors may also be combined by addition , squaring , other mathematical operations or combinations thereof . the fair market share data for the airline ( s ) with the highest ranking status among those serving the city pair is then multiplied by the combined factors value to obtain a scenario market share value . in the preferred embodiment , the fair market share values for the remaining airlines serving the city pair are unchanged , although it is recognized that these fair market share values could similarly be transformed consistent with the principles of the present invention . the resulting scenario market share values and fair market share values may be expressed in percentage form . to do so , the scenario market share values and fair market share values for each of the airlines at the city pair level are summed within a given scenario . the scenario market share value or fair market share value for a given airline is then divided by the sum of scenario m arket share values and fair market share values , thereby deriving an airline &# 39 ; s scenario market share for the given city pair within the given scenario . this preferred method for deriving scenario market share data is further illustrated in the table below : fair carrier &# 39 ; s travel sales - carrier &# 39 ; s carrier market fms scenario policy status scenario carrier &# 39 ; s city pair code share points id factor factor points scenario share cleord aa 25 % 25 2 1 . 5 1 . 4 52 . 5 29 . 9 % cleord co 35 % 35 2 1 . 5 1 . 2 63 35 . 9 % cleord ua 40 % 40 2 1 . 5 1 60 34 . 2 % 175 . 5 cleord aa 25 % 25 3 1 . 5 1 . 2 45 22 . 6 % cleord co 35 % 35 3 1 . 5 1 52 . 5 26 . 3 % cleord ua 40 % 40 3 1 . 5 1 . 7 102 51 . 1 % 199 . 5 the resulting scenario market share data 40 can be stored in table form , and preferably includes a scenario identifier , an city pair identifier , an airline code , the airline &# 39 ; s expected scenario share of the city pair &# 39 ; s trips , and the airline &# 39 ; s expected scenario number of trips on the city pair . it is further envisioned that the system may aggregate and store the number of each airline &# 39 ; s expected trips for each city pair to derive regional and / or account - wide scenario totals for each airline . one skilled in the art will readily recognize that the above - described computation technique has the advantages of allocating a city pair &# 39 ; s share between the airlines serving the city pair such that : ( a ) when summed across all airlines at the city pair - scenario level the expected scenario shares add to 100 %, thereby eliminating overlapping market share estimates as may be provided by the airlines ; ( b ) it uses a mathematically consistent methods for modeling the customer &# 39 ; s strength of travel policy by changing the share awarded to the preferred airlines in some proportion to the value of the travel policy factor ; ( c ) the projected market shares are consistent with the desire of the customer who wishes to prioritize certain preferred airlines over other preferred and non - preferred airlines ; and ( d ) the projected market shares are consistent with the customer &# 39 ; s assumptions about each airline &# 39 ; s ability to attract additional travel based on the airline &# 39 ; s non - schedule factors and attributes . while the above description has been provided with reference to a particular computational approach , it should be appreciated that variations for deriving scenario market share data from the fair market share data are within the broader aspects of the present invention . the scenario market share estimate data 40 may in turn serve as input to the expense - based cost calculation module 16 and / or the time - based cost calculation module 18 . referring to fig4 , the expense - based cost module 16 calculates the amount of money the corporate customer would spend given each airline &# 39 ; s current and / or proposed price agreements within a given scenario . in addition to scenario market share data , the expense - based cost module 16 accesses projected airline travel data 24 and airline purchase data 41 . airline purchase data may include the terms and conditions of any recent and / or prospective price agreement , the estimated or actual fare mix as purchased by the corporate airline customer , and / or the estimated or actual source country ( a . k . a . point of sale ) of the customer &# 39 ; s airline purchases for each given airline . given an airline &# 39 ; s fair market share and / or scenario market share for a given city pair , the customer &# 39 ; s projected airline travel for the city pair , and the relevant airline purchase data , the expense - based cost module 16 can compute the expected travel cost data as is known in the art . it is envisioned that the expected travel cost data may or may not account for any special pricing provided for under an airline &# 39 ; s current or proposed contract terms . in addition , the airline &# 39 ; s expected spend and segments at the city pair level can be aggregated at a regional or system - wide level . with reference to fig5 , the time - based cost module 18 calculates the value of the travel time required under a given scenario . the scenario market share data , the projected airline travel data , and airline schedule data also serve as inputs to the time - based cost module 18 . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , the time - based cost module 18 can calculate the expected travel time on a given airline for a given city pair by using each of these three input data sets . a preferred method for deriving the expected travel time for a scenario is to first find each airline &# 39 ; s fastest flight record for each city pair from those provided in the airline schedule data 26 . for the given scenario , multiply the airline &# 39 ; s expected number of segments as given by the scenario market share data 40 by the amount of time associated with the airline &# 39 ; s fastest flight record serving the city pair . sum the amount of time for each airline across all city pairs within the scenario . it is envisioned that other methods may used for estimating the amount of time associated with each airline &# 39 ; s ability to serve a given city pair , such as a weighted average based on each flight record &# 39 ; s probability of being used by a business traveler . in addition , the system user preferably enters a number representing the estimated value of the customer &# 39 ; s average traveler &# 39 ; s time 46 . in a preferred embodiment , this number is expressed in a currency unit per hour format . by multiplying the expected travel time by the value of the traveler &# 39 ; s time , the time - based cost module can determine expected travel time cost data 48 . the results from the time - based cost module 18 may be stored in the following form : scenario city pair carrier expected travel expected travel id code code time ( hours ) cost 2 cleord aa 420 $ 42 , 000 3 cleord aa 350 $ 35 , 000 the expected travel time cost data 48 may be aggregated to provide the expected travel time cost for a specified scenario . in this way , the incremental cost of travel time for one scenario can be compared with the travel time for other scenarios . it should be appreciated that by setting the value of the average traveler &# 39 ; s time to zero , the time - based cost data can be eliminated from the airline customer &# 39 ; s analysis . lastly , a total cost module 20 may be used to generate a total expected travel cost for each scenario . the expected travel expense data from the expense - based cost module 16 is combined with the expected travel time cost data from the time - based cost module 18 to derive a total expected cost for a given scenario . each scenario &# 39 ; s total expected cost may preferably be compared to a baseline amount to determine the relative economic value of each scenario . in one preferred embodiment , the baseline amount is deemed to be the previous historical travel data for the airline customer . another baseline form could be the scenario &# 39 ; s expected cost using the scenario &# 39 ; s same projected market share and segments in the baseline as in the prospective scenario but using the account &# 39 ; s recent negotiated pricing agreements to derive the scenario &# 39 ; s baseline cost , while using the prospective pricing agreements associated with the scenario prospective cost of the scenario . an illustrative form for reporting the results are shown below : in another aspect of the present invention , the fair market share estimate data and / or the scenario market share data may be used as the basis for a pricing agreement between the airline customer and a given airline . in a typical situation , any discount pricing or pricing arrangement agreed upon with an airline is tied to an expected volume of the customer &# 39 ; s airline travel that will utilize the given airline . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the above - described fair market share data , the scenario market share data or a combination thereof are used as the basis for the expected travel volume . as will be apparent to one skilled in the art , the expected volumes and therefore the corresponding market share data may be specified at a city pair , regional , or account level . to allow for some deviation in travel volumes , an indexed market share multiplier may be applied to either the fair market share data and / or the scenario market share data which serves as the basis for the agreement . for instance , an indexed market share multiplier of 10 % allows for the volume of customer &# 39 ; s airline travel to fall within a range of deviation from the market share value . since fair market share data and scenario market share data inherently account for changes in airline service to a given city pair , the use of fair market share data and / or scenario market share data as the basis of a pricing agreement alleviates the problem of having to renegotiate a market share goal each time an airline significantly changes its flight schedule or whenever the airline customer significantly changes its travel patterns . rather , the travel manager or the airline can at periodic intervals during or at the end of the agreement determine the market share data for a given airline , and thereby assess the pricing agreement . the foregoing discussion discloses and describes exemplary embodiments of the present invention . one skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion , and from the accompanying drawings and claims , that various changes , modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 6 |
the terms below are defined for all uses herein as follows : “ alternate viewing ” means content displayed in place of a blocked commercial and may include one or more of the following : ( 1 ) a brief message displayed to inform the viewer that alternative programming will be presented during the commercial interval ; ( 2 ) an on - screen counter , showing how many seconds are left before the planned return to primary viewing ; and ( 3 ) directions to the tuner to go to a particular station . the directions to the tuner may be universal , by commercial , by originating station , by time of day , by definition of an elaborate viewing hierarchy , or to a micro - programming station or to buffered microprogramming . “ alternate viewing provider ” means an entity that offers micro - programming to a user for display in conjunction with a logical unit . “ archive ” means a copy of one or blocked commercials that are saved for future reference or research . “ buffered ” means an alternate viewing package stored in the memory of a logical unit or at the cable service provider so that synchronization problems between the “ switchover ” point and the alternate programming delivery do not occur . in other words , when a request for alternative programming is made , the logical unit can draw from a buffered alternate viewing package so that the user does not risk joining the alternate viewing package in progress . “ buffering ” means a process of examining the closed captioning text or audio signal associated with television signals and configuring the examined signal such that it may be searched for specific keywords . “ by commercial ” means using content from a particular station to replace the specifically identified commercial . “ by originating station ” means using the original station to determine the alternative content which will replace all blocked commercials . “ by time of day ” means using the time of day to determine which station to use as alternative content for all blocked commercials . “ cable provider ” means a company which provides television service to multiple users and includes satellite television providers . “ component signature ” is a group of variables , based on a time component , an x video component , a y video component , and an audio component , that is used to identify a commercial from all other commercials when a “ unique digital identifying tag is not available . “ cumulative digital signature ” means the aggregation of one or more selected characteristics of a data sequence to provide a unique number for identification of the complete data sequence . “ elaborate viewing hierarchy ” means a combination of a plurality of universal , by commercial , by originating station , or by time or day alternative viewing formats . “ lexical parsing ” as used herein means a process of finding matches to a desired search term by comparing the desired search term letter - by - letter with the terms in an available database . “ micro - programming ,” means one or more “ alternate viewing packages ” that each contain a complete information exchange or an entertainment package in a segment of time that is adapted to fit into the time available from one or more commercials blocked by a logical unit . for example , an alternate viewing package could contain news headlines , weather updates , sports updates , or very short live action or animated shorts that are designed to entertain the user in a crisp , concise segment . an alternate viewing package would normally be thirty or sixty seconds in length but could be designed for any length of time that a logical unit could make available . “ multiplex ” means the process of funneling several different streams of data over a common communications line . “ staggered time alternate viewing package ” means an alternate viewing package broadcast on start times that are staggered for a number of seconds to coincide with the time slots of blocked commercials . for example , an alternate viewing package may start at the top and bottom of the minute on a given station , and at 15 and 45 seconds on another station . accordingly , the station with the alternate viewing package start time closest to the start time of the blocked commercial would be chosen . “ time synchronized ” means an alternate viewing package , delivered on demand in which the user joins the broadcast at the exact start point of the micro - program . “ unique digital identifying tag ” means a number sequence before the header and after the trailer of each commercial . the number sequence is assigned according to an industry standard that allows each commercial to be identified from every other commercial . “ universal ” means using content from a particular station to replace all blocked commercials . fig1 is an illustration of the invention 100 interacting with a cable provider and a television set . the depiction of the cable provider is by way of illustration only and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention . persons skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be used with either a cable or wireless data transmission system . the cable provider ( not shown ) provides a television signal through a coaxial cable 102 that runs through the user &# 39 ; s wall 104 and into logical unit 106 . logical unit 106 analyzes the cable signal as described below and displays the information on television 110 via television connection 108 . logical unit 106 can optionally be combined with television 110 . alternatively , logical unit 106 may be placed at the same location as the cable provider such that it is unnecessary to have logical unit 106 at the user &# 39 ; s location . fig2 a is a flowchart of commercial blocking program 200 which operates inside logical unit 106 . commercial blocking program 200 starts ( 202 ) whenever multiplexed cable signals are broadcast ( 204 ). in the preferred embodiment , each commercial has a unique digital identifying tag , similar to a serial number , which identifies a particular commercial . logical unit 106 recognizes a particular commercial based on the unique identifying tag . in an alternate embodiment , logical unit 106 identifies commercials by a “ component signature .” multiplexed cable signals are defined by four components : a time component , an x video component , a y video component , and an audio component . every television program and / or commercial can be readily identified by these components . there is generally allowed some amount of time skew in the synchronization of the four components to identify the absolute beginning of a program or commercial . by taking the time skew into consideration , commercial blocking program 200 can identify a particular commercial . for example , a given pattern of video / audio signals occurring at a time “ delta ” ( perhaps but not necessarily in the order of 500 microseconds ) around the nominal beginning of an advertisement , may point back to a specified commercial . alternatively , logical unit 106 establishes an “ overall digital signature ” for a particular commercial . in this event , the signal need not be dissembled into its video / audio components as in the “ component signature ,” but rather , analysis of cumulative digital characteristics may be used to identify the commercial to be blocked . one or more characteristics of a data sequence is selected and aggregated to provide a unique number for identification purposes of the complete data sequence . the advantage of using cumulative digital characteristics is that all commercials could be blocked using this technique . in the case of commercials to be identified by an “ overall digital signature ,” the logical unit develops a library at the set - top of the “ overall digital signature ” of the blocked advertisements . for example , it may be assumed that some time interval , “ tsample ” is great enough to ascertain with accuracies approaching one hundred percent the identity of a given advertisement . “ tsample ” may be a sub - second or it may be multi - second , depending on the processing power behind the logical unit and the uniqueness of the commercial . once a commercial signal is detected to be identical to a blocked advertisement , then the logical unit takes the actions it has been programmed to implement . as a commercial airs , the user has the option of blocking the commercial ( 206 ) by means of commercial blocking program 200 located in the local memory 209 of logical unit 106 ( see fig1 and 6 ). if the user chooses not to block the commercial , then commercial blocking program 200 allows the commercial to air ( 207 ) and returns to step 206 . if at step 206 the user chooses to block the commercial , then the logical unit will block the commercial ( 208 ). in blocking the commercial , the logical unit prevents the specific commercial from displaying on the user &# 39 ; s television and displays alternative content instead ( 210 ). after commercial blocking program 200 has displayed the alternative programming , the original programming of the original television channel is displayed ( 212 ) and commercial blocking program 200 ends ( 214 ). there are many different types of alternative programming that commercial blocking program 200 can display on the user &# 39 ; s television instead of the blocked commercial . in one embodiment , commercial blocking program 200 can display a blank screen for the duration of the blocked commercial . however , in the preferred embodiment , commercial blocking program 200 displays the programming according to alternative programming logic 250 in fig2 b and 2c . alternative programming logic 250 starts ( 252 ) and queries the user if he or she would like to define the alternative programming as a universal television channel that will replace all blocked television commercials ( 254 ). a universal television channel is one which will display the contents of a specific television channel on the user &# 39 ; s television whenever the blocked commercial airs . for example , whenever a blocked commercial airs , commercial blocking program 200 will cause the the weather channel to be displayed . a universal television channel may include web tv or any programming variation that may be made available to the user of the television to which the logical unit is connected . if the user determines that they would like to select a universal alternative channel , then the user specifies which channel is the universal television channel ( 256 ) and alternative programming logic 250 ends ( 294 ). if at step 254 the user determines that he or she would not like to select a universal television channel , then alternative programming logic 250 queries the user if he or she would like to define the alternative programming based on the blocked commercial ( 258 ). alternative programming based on the blocked commercial will display a particular television channel whenever a specific blocked commercial airs . for example , whenever commercial x airs , commercial blocking program 200 will cause the weather channel to be displayed . if the user determines that he or she would like to define the alternative programming based on the blocked commercial , then the user selects a specific television channel that will display whenever the specific television commercial airs ( 260 ) and alternative programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). if the user determines at step 258 that he or she do not want to define the alternative programming based on the commercial , alternative programming logic 250 queries the user whether he or she would like to define alternative programming based on the television channel ( 262 ). alternative programming based on the television channel will display television content based on a preferred television channel and a contingent television channel when the blocked commercial airs . for example , whenever a blocked commercial airs , the weather channel will be displayed , and in the event the weather channel is already being displayed , then cnn will be displayed . if the user determines that he or she would like to define the alternative programming based on the television channel , then the user defines the preferred and contingent television channels ( 264 ) and alternative programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). if at step 262 the user determines that he or she does not want to define alternative programming based on the television channel , then alternative programming logic 250 queries the user whether he or she would like to define alternative programming based on the time of day ( 266 ). alternative programming based on the time of day displays a specific television channel depending on the time of the blocked commercial . for example , if the blocked commercial airs before noon , the weather channel will be displayed , and if the blocked commercial airs after noon , cnn will be displayed . if the user would like to define the alternative programming based on the time of day , then the user defines the alternative television channels and the time associated with each alternate channel ( 268 ) and alternative programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). if at step 266 the user determines that he or she does not want to define the alternative programming based on the time of day , alternative programming logic 250 queries the user whether he or she would like to define alternative programming based on an elaborate viewing hierarchy ( 270 ). an elaborate viewing hierarchy is a combination of the alternative programming determinations in steps 254 , 258 , 262 , and 266 . there are numerous possible combinations of the programming determinations that will create elaborate viewing hierarchies . for example , one possible elaborate viewing hierarchy would be “ whenever a blocked commercial airs , display the weather channel ; however , if there is also a blocked commercial on the weather channel , then go to cnn before noon and cnbc after noon .” the elaborate viewing hierarchy may offer the user the option to “ mix and match ” various combinations of blocked and unblocked signals . for example , the user may select a split screen option where the blocked commercial appears in a portion of the screen while alternate programming appears in the remaining portion of the screen . the user may select an option that will display alternative programming while also displaying the close captioned text of the blocked commercial . further in the alternative , the user may elect to have more than one alternate programming option displayed . for example , the user may elect to have a split screen display cnn on one portion of the screen and the weather channel on the other portion of the screen . if the user would like to define an elaborate viewing hierarchy , then the user enters the appropriate information ( i . e . time , channel , and commercial ) to define the hierarchy ( 272 ) and alternative programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). if at step 270 the user determines that he or she would not like to define an alternative viewing hierarchy , alternative programming logic 250 goes to step 282 ( see fig2 c ). next a determination is made as to whether the user wants to select micro - programming ( 282 ). if the user does not want to select micro - programming , alternate programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). if at step 282 the user determines that he or she wants to select microprogramming , a determination is made as to whether staggered time alternate viewing packages are desired ( 284 ). if staggered time alternate viewing packages are desired , then the selection is entered ( 286 ) and alternate programming logic 250 goes to step 296 . if staggered time alternate viewing packages are not selected , then a determination is made as to whether the user wants to select time synchronized alternate viewing packages ( 288 ). if the user desires to selected time synchronized alternate viewing packages , then the selection is entered ( 290 ) and alternate programming logic 250 goes to step 296 . if the user does not select time synchronized alternate viewing packages , then a determination is made as to whether a buffered alternate viewing package is desired ( 292 ). if a buffered alternate viewing package is desired , then the selection is entered ( 294 ). if a buffered alternate viewing package is not desired , then a determination is made as to whether another selection is made ( 296 ). if another selection is to be made , alternate programming logic 250 goes to step 284 . if another selection is not to be made , alternate programming logic 250 ends ( 298 ). a default option may also be available if the alternate viewing service provider plays continuously broadcast alternate viewing packages . in that case the default option would be that the television would move to the alternate viewing broadcast at the time of the blocked commercial and pick up the alternate viewing package playing at that time . in an alternative embodiment of alternative programming logic 250 , a negative determination at step 296 would send the user back to step 254 so that the options may be viewed again . additionally , there are other types of alternative programming which may be displayed at step 210 . the user can then enter search criteria and search program 200 will record the television signal based on the specific time , channel , and / or keywords . for example , whenever “ and now your local forecast ” is found in the audio component of the cable signal for the weather channel , logical unit 106 can record the accompanying local forecast . additionally , logical unit 106 can be set to record a specific show . for example , logical unit 106 could be set to record the 11 a . m . sports center on espn . in either case , the recorded programming can be displayed in place of the blocked commercial . fig3 is a flowchart of the search program contained within logical unit 106 of the present invention . search program 300 starts ( 302 ) and logical unit 106 receives the cable signal transmitted by the cable provider ( 304 ). the cable signal is multiplexed and comprises at least a visual signal , an audio signal , and a closed caption text signal . moreover , the multiplexed cable signal is not limited to real - time cable programming . the multiplexed signal may also contain information regarding past and future television programs . as logical unit 106 receives the signal , search program 300 continuously buffers the transmitted multiplexed cable signal ( 306 ). in buffering the signal , search program 300 obtains the closed - caption text from the cable signal and store the words contained in the captioning text along with the television channel number and time of the television program . alternatively , search program 300 can buffer the television signal by analyzing the audio signal and buffering the keywords from the audio signal . the text buffering described above is known in the art . furthermore , the buffering process is not limited to one television channel or one specific time period . if a user desires to buffer different channels at different times , then the user may do so by means of search program 300 . for example , if search program 300 has ten hours of buffering time available , the user can have search program 300 buffer ten hours of a channel such as cable network news ( cnn ). alternatively , search program 300 can buffer four hours of cbs , four hours of cnn , and two hours of the weather channel . furthermore , the buffering times do not have to be similar . the user can define the cbs buffering time from 5 am to 9 am , the cnn buffering time from 8 am to noon , and the weather channel from 1 pm to 3 pm . additionally , search program 300 is not limited to the english language . search program 300 is capable of buffering television in multiple languages simultaneously . thus , at any given time search program 300 is capable of buffering an enormous variety of television programs . the user then enters keyword terms that represent the search criteria for search program 300 ( 308 ). the search terms can be entered via a keyboard , stylus , infrared port , or on - screen programming . in entering the search terms , search program 300 will recognize conventional boolean search terms such as “ and ”, “ or ”, and “ not ”. search program 300 is capable of accepting wildcard search terms . for example , the wildcard search term “ run *” would search for run and all possible variations such as runner , running , runners , and so on . search program 300 also compares each of the search terms to a dictionary database . if any of the search terms are not in the dictionary database , search program 300 will determine related words using lexical parsing and query the user if the terms are relevant to the desired search . lexical parsing solves the problem of tense variation in the search terms . search program 300 is also capable of resolving ambiguities in entered search terms by comparing the search terms to the dictionary database . those skilled in the art are aware of how to configure a search program to resolve ambiguities . in alternative embodiments , the query step can be removed where search program 300 automatically adds the lexically parsed words to the list of search terms . additionally , the search criteria can comprise a date restriction ( i . e . only today &# 39 ; s programs , only programs on this week , or only programs on tuesdays ). furthermore , the search criteria can comprise restrictions based on specific channels ( i . e . only programs on espn , discovery , cnn , or vh1 , or alternatively , only programs on channels 8 , 12 , 25 , 45 , or 54 ). search program 300 then compares the search terms to the buffered text ( 310 ). search program 300 will compare the search terms to the terms contained within the buffer . in comparing the search terms with the buffered programs , search program 300 will also create a list of synonym search terms . by accessing a thesaurus database , search program 300 can obtain relevant synonyms and use those terms to search the buffered text as well . when the search term matches a word in the buffered text , search program 300 will mark the program and continue to search through the rest of the buffered text . when the entire buffered text has been searched , search program 300 evaluates the relevancy of each flagged item . in evaluating the relevancy of each flagged item , search program 300 looks to the original search terms , the synonyms search terms , the lexically parsed search terms , and the date , time and channel specified by the user . search program 300 then ranks the flagged items from most relevant to least relevant . search program 300 then displays the list of television programs which were previously marked in step 310 ( 312 ). search program 300 will organize the results of the search according to how well they correspond to the entered search criteria . the results of the search are displayed with the time and television channel pertaining to the television program . the user then browses the television programs returned in step 312 ( 314 ) and makes a determination whether they would like to conduct another search ( 316 ). if the user does want to conduct another search , search program 300 returns to step 308 . if the user does not want to conduct another search , the user makes a determination whether they would like to select a television program ( 318 ). if the user decides to select a television program , the user selects a television program , search program 300 displays the selected television program ( 320 ), and search program 300 ends ( 322 ). if the user does not want to select a television program , then search program 300 ends ( 322 ). fig4 is a depiction of the flowchart for archive program 400 . archive program 400 begins ( 402 ) and the user selects an archive option from the logical unit ( 410 ). a television signal is received by the logical unit ( 420 ) and the logical unit identifies a segment of the signal to block ( 430 ). the logical unit blocks the identified segment ( 440 ) and sends the blocked segment to the archive ( 450 ). a determination is made as to whether or not there is another signal to be analyzed ( 460 ). if there is another signal to be analyzed archive program 400 goes to step 410 . if there is not another signal to be analyzed , archive program 400 ends ( 470 ). fig5 is a depiction of the flowchart for the archive interrogation program ( aip ) 500 . aip 502 begins and the user selects the aip option from the logical unit ( 510 ). the user enters the search terms desired to locate commercials in a particular area of interest ( 512 ). the logical unit compares the search terms to text in the archived segments ( 514 ). the logical unit returns a list of matches ( 516 ). the user browses the list of matches ( 516 ). a determination is made as to whether the user wants to select a segment ( 522 ). if the user wants to select a segment , the user selects a segment from the list of matches ( 524 ). aip 500 sends the selected segment to an open channel for viewing ( 526 ). a determination is made as to whether the user wants to conduct another search ( 528 ). if the user wants to conduct another search , the aip 500 goes to step 512 . if the user does not want to conduct another search , aip 500 ends ( 530 ). fig6 is a depiction of the data processing system 600 contained within logical unit 106 ( see fig1 ). data processing system 600 comprises processor 602 , boot rom 604 , and lcd controller 605 coupled to system bus 606 . also connected to system bus 606 is memory controller / cache 608 , which provides an interface to local memory 609 . i / o bus bridge 610 is connected to system bus 606 and provides an interface to i / o bus 612 . memory controller / cache 608 and i / o bus bridge 610 may be integrated as depicted . peripheral components are connected via i / o bus 612 . typical peripheral components include universal asynchronous receiver transmitter ( uart ) 618 , a keypad or touch screen 620 , digital - to - analog converters 628 , analog - to - digital converters 630 , serial interface controller 640 , clocks and timers 642 , cable output to the television 644 , power controller 646 , cable input from the cable provider 648 , and infrared ports 650 . those skilled in the art will appreciate the depiction of data processing system 600 in fig3 is exemplary and is not intended as an architectural limitation of the present invention . data processing system 600 may be a separate single controller . many optional features can be displayed along with the alternative programming . for example , it may be beneficial to display a timer in the corner of the screen which shows the time remaining until the end of the blocked commercial . additionally , the user may desire to have a brief description of which commercial is being blocked . moreover , the user may wish to have a timer counting down the amount of time until the desired television content returns . furthermore , the inventive concept contained herein can be utilized to block all commercials and display only desired programming . alternatively , the logical unit can buffer the entire multiplexed signal , delay the signal a pre - determined time ( i . e . sixty seconds ) and block out all television programming that is not greater than sixty seconds . this would block all thirty and sixty second television commercials . this implementation can also be orchestrated at the cable provider rather than the user &# 39 ; s television or the logical unit . the user may have the option to block selected commercials permanently ( without the recourse to unblock the commercial at a later time ) while designating other commercials as non - permanently blocked commercials ( with the recourse to unblock the commercial at a later time ). the user may have the option to block all previously blocked commercials ( and to view new commercials ) or to block all commercials . in addition , the user may be provided with the option to block , unblock and access the programming of the logical unit by means of voice commands or audible signals such as clapping . with respect to the above description then , it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention , to include variations in size , materials , shape , form , function and manner of operation , assembly and use , are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art , and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention . | 7 |
this invention is based on the idea of using a queueing device , such as a multiplexor , to transmit trace data along with a clock to multiplex multiple data images to align with different clock edges . the invention may be implemented as a method , apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming or engineering techniques to produce software , firmware , hardware , or any combination thereof . the term “ article of manufacture ” as used herein refers to code or logic implemented in hardware or computer readable media such as optical storage devices , and volatile or non - volatile memory devices . such hardware may include , but is not limited to , field programmable gate arrays ( fpgas ), application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ), complex programmable logic devices ( cplds ), programmable logic arrays ( plas ), microprocessors , or other similar processing devices . referring to the figures , wherein like parts are designated with the same reference numerals and symbols , fig1 is a block diagram illustrating a trace information queueing system 10 including multiple trace information input signals 12 , 13 a single trace information output signal 14 , at least one clock signal 16 , and a queueing device 18 including multiple inputs 20 , a single output 22 , and at least one transmission enable pin 24 . the trace information queueing system may include a connector 26 for transmitting the trace information output signal . the trace information queueing device 18 may be either a hardware device or a computer processing device programmed to accept multiple trace information signals and output a single trace information signal . if the queueing device 18 is a programmable logic device such as an fpga , the clock signals may be generated internally , eliminating the need for the external clock signal 16 and the enable pin 24 . additionally , an algorithmic construct residing within the computer processing device may be dynamically adaptive , e . g ., providing additional internal clock signals in response to receiving additional concurrent trace information input signals . in this embodiment of the invention , multiple trace information input signals 12 , 13 arrive at the queueing device 18 . these trace information input signals normally contain information in a digital format , however the queueing system 10 may be adapted to work with analog information as well . the trace information input signals 12 , 13 are multiplexed through the signal output 22 based on triggering events . in this embodiment of the invention , the triggering event is either a rising edge or a falling edge of the clock signal 16 . when the clock signal transitions from low to high , a datum of the first trace information signal 12 is transmitted through the output pin 22 to the connector 26 . when the clock signal transitions from high to low , a datum of the second trace information signal 13 is transmitted . in this manner , both trace information signals 12 , 13 are transmitted using a single clock signal 16 as the triggering event . if the enabling pin 24 is allowed to recognize more than two states , then additional trace information signals may be multiplexed with this clock signal . for example , if the enabling pin 24 is adapted to recognize zero to 2 . 4 volts as a logic low , 2 . 5 to 3 . 5 volts as a logic mid , and 3 . 6 volts and over as a logic high , then as many as three trace information signals may be multiplexed by this device . referring to fig1 b , a block diagram illustrates a trace information queueing system 110 similar to that of fig1 a . however , the queueing device 118 has been adapted to accept trace information signals 112 , 113 that include more than one electric signal . in this example , 64 - bit buses are used to transport the trace information signals 112 , 113 , 114 and the connector 126 has been adapted to simultaneously transmit 64 electric signals . additionally , the inputs 120 and outputs 122 of the queuing device 118 have been enlarged to 64 pins . these modifications allow the trace information queueing system 110 to work with trace information signals that are many bits wide . however , buses such as these are usually a power of two such as 8 , 16 , 32 , 64 , or 128 . another exemplary implementation of the invention is illustrated in the block diagram of fig2 . the trace information queueing system 210 includes an inverter 28 and an additional enable pin 24 . in this embodiment of the invention , transmitting the first trace information input signal 112 to the signal output 24 would be triggered by one edge of the clock signal 16 and the transmission of the second trace information input signal 113 would be triggered by the other edge of the clock . the schematic diagram of fig3 illustrates such as embodiment with the trace information queueing system 310 utilizing a double - clocked latch 30 as the queueing device 18 . fig4 is a block diagram illustrating a trace information queueing system 410 similar to that illustrated in fig2 . however , each trace information input signal 112 , 113 has its own associated clock signal 16 . in this manner , the queueing system 410 may be expanded with multiple input signals being transmitted according to a like number of clock signals . the number of input signals and corresponding clock signals is limited only by the set - up time and hold - time requirements of the queueing device and the signal responsiveness of the electric pathways carrying the signals . fig5 is a flow - chart illustrating a deferred transmission algorithm 32 including receiving concurrent trace information input signals ( step 34 ), receiving a first triggering event ( step 36 ), transmitting data forming a first trace information signal ( step 38 ), receiving a second triggering event ( step 40 ) and transmitting data forming a second trace information signal ( step 42 ). the algorithm may be expanded to include more than two trace information input signals . when data from the last trace information input signal has been transmitted , the algorithm returns to step 36 , waiting for a re - occurrence of the first triggering event so that it may cycle through the transmission steps recursively . those skilled in the art of making status information tracking systems may develop other embodiments of the present invention . the terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used herein as terms of description and not of limitation , and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof , it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow . other embodiments of the invention may be implemented by those skilled in the art of transmitting trace information . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown a large round baler 10 equipped with a wrapping device 12 for wrapping bales formed by the baler 10 . the baler 10 includes a frame or chassis 14 supported on a pair of ground wheels 16 and having a tongue 18 adapted for being hitched to a tractor . a baling chamber 20 is formed by a plurality of rollers 22 arranged in a circle . a harvested matter intake 24 is located at about the five o &# 39 ; clock position for receiving harvested matter delivered thereto by the action of a pick - up 30 and a tined rotor which cooperates with a cutter 32 . the frame 14 is subdivided into a vertical swinging rear part 26 and a front housing part 28 , in each of which approximately half of the rollers 22 are located . referring now to fig2 and 3 , it can be seen that the wrapping device 12 includes a housing or container 34 , a guide surface 36 , a brake 38 , an adjusting device 40 and a cutting device 42 . the wrapping device 12 is located in the upper front area of the front housing part 28 and serves to keep available a wrapping medium supply roll 44 from which a length of wrapping medium 46 is shown extending from the bottom of the roll . the length of wrapping medium 46 is located for being conveyed into the baling chamber 20 for being wrapped around a bale formed therein . the roll 44 , and hence the wrapping medium 46 advantageously extends over the entire width of the baling chamber 20 , or even wider than that , if it is desired to wrap the medium over the edges of the bale ends . the housing 34 is configured as a sheet metal box that is open in the back and on the top , and includes a floor 48 , a front wall 50 , and opposite side walls 52 . the housing 34 extends between opposite side walls 54 of the baler front housing part 28 , and is set on horizontal , fore - and - aft extending guide rails 56 that allow the housing 34 to be shifted therealong , toward and away from the baling chamber 20 . the roll of wrapping medium 44 is located in the housing 34 . the roll 44 is shown in a position wherein it rolls off the floor 48 and wall 50 . alternatively , the roll could be set so that it could be turned on its axle , where the axle is held fast between the side walls 52 or is moveable in the direction of the front wall 50 . guide surface 36 is configured as a channel of sheet metal , synthetic material , bars or something similar , and extends from floor 48 toward rollers 22 . the side areas of guide surface 36 are partly bent upward , to form the channel shape . the wrapping medium 46 slides along the top of guide surface 36 from the roll 44 to the end of guide surface 36 , and hence to the gap between two neighboring rollers 22 . a covering surface could also be provided over guide surface 36 that would prevent dirt , which hinders the wrapping medium &# 39 ; s movement , from settling on guide surface 36 . brake 38 is located in the housing 34 and features an adjusting device 58 , a contact element 60 and a motor 62 . the brake 38 has the task of holding back the movement of the wrapping medium 46 , so that it is laid taut onto the entire circumference of a round bale . in addition , the tension is also kept up so that the wrapping medium 46 can be reliably cut or separated from the roll 44 . brake 38 is configured so that it continues to generate the same tension in the wrapping medium 46 despite the diminishing diameter of the roll 44 . brake 38 is connected to the housing 34 so that it moves together with it , which means that it maintains the same position with reference to the receiver 44 . as can best be seen in fig4 brake 38 includes , in the embodiment example presented , a rectangle - shaped tubular frame having opposite sides defined by arms 64 having respective front ends joined to opposite ends of a tubular cross member 66 , and having respective rear ends joined to opposite ends of a rear cross member having its opposite ends each mounted to a bearing 68 located in the opposite side walls 52 so as to define a horizontal , transverse pivot axis about which the frame is swingable . provided on the cross member 66 are two contact elements 60 configured as sleeves and that are arranged so that they can be rotated , such that heat build - up between the elements 60 and the member 66 and wrapping medium 46 is avoided . contact elements 60 are , for example , made of a wear - resistant synthetic material and are equipped with a textured surface . contact elements 60 are each located in the side areas of the cross link 66 , but a single element extending the entire length of the cross member 66 could be used as well . an extensible and retractable motor 62 lies between a second bearing 70 on the side walls 52 , or between a shaft extending between the side walls , and the cross link 66 , and serves to hold the contact elements 60 in steady , although appropriately variable , contact with the entire circumference of the roll 44 . motor 62 is , in this embodiment example , configured as an extensible and retractable hydraulic cylinder . to this belongs a controlling or regulating apparatus , not shown , that can function in various ways , but which , in any case , adapts the tension of the wrapping medium 46 to meet the respective requirements . motor 62 grasps cross member 66 at a location centered between the contact elements 60 , while bearings 68 , 70 and the engaging point of the motor 62 with the cross member 66 form a triangle . adjusting device 40 includes a servomotor 72 with a regulating system ( not shown ) and rails , on which the housing 34 rests . adjusting device 40 has the task of moving the housing 34 and the guide surface 36 toward or away from the baling chamber 20 , as shown in fig2 and 3 . in this way , the end of guide surface 36 arrives at the gap between the rollers 22 and , with the end of the wrapping medium 46 hanging down , the wrapping medium is brought into the baling chamber 20 where it is caught between the entire circumference of the just - formed round bale and the bale - forming rollers 22 , which carry the wrapping medium 46 along . fig2 and 3 indicate that the apparatus 12 is moved toward the baling chamber 20 when the wrapping process is initiated , and is moved away from it when the wrapping process ends . instead of being guided on the rails 56 , as shown , other methods could be suitable for the adjustment , for example , controlling rods , rollers and channels , etc . while the rails 56 are essentially configured horizontally in the drawing , they could be inclined or follow a defined curve . in any case , however , it is only essential that the wrapping medium 46 be reliably brought into the gap between the rollers 22 and that the guide surface 36 be able to be retracted for the separation process . cutting device 42 is configured in the manner of a pair of scissors , the blades of which are located on the outer portion of a wedge area located between the rollers 22 . depending on the possible adjustment methods of the apparatus 12 , cutting device 42 can also be configured differently , or it can be located at a greater distance from the rollers 22 . cutting device 42 is configured so that it allows the passage of the end of the wrapping medium 46 that hags down and perhaps also at the end of guide surface 36 . cutting device 42 will be activated automatically ; after the end of the wrapping process , in the course of which the wrapping medium 46 is cut so that a sufficiently long overhang is left on the end of the guide surface 36 . according to an alternative embodiment , not shown , cutting device 42 has an immobile upper or lower toothed separating ridge . wrapping medium 46 is then applied to this separating ridge and pulls the wrapping medium 46 tightly across it . this can be accomplished through appropriate guidance by means of the rails 56 , which for example , would not run horizontal , but rather would inline or ascend in this case . the starting point is the condition shown in fig1 and 2 , in which no wrapping of a round bale occurs . the end of the wrapping medium 46 , which is hanging down , does not come into engagement with , or into contact with ; the round bale . motor 62 is applied in such a way as to hold the roll 44 of wrapping medium 46 motionless in the housing 34 . servomotor 72 is in its extended condition . to induce the wrapping process , the servomotor 72 is retracted and with it the housing 34 with the guide surface 36 is moved toward the baling chamber 20 , so that the end of the wrapping medium 46 , and perhaps also the free end of the guide surface 36 , can enter into the gap between adjacent ones of the rollers 22 . at this time , the brake 38 exerts little or no pressure . after movement is complete , as shown in fig3 the end of the wrapping medium 46 lies on the round bale and is pulled into the baling chamber 20 . while the wrapping medium 46 is being pulled from the roll 44 , the brake 38 exerts pressure on the roll 44 , so that wrapping medium 46 is put under tension . by means of sensors , which are riot shown and which track the position of the pivotable arms 64 or the compressive force of the motor 62 , changes in adjusting device 58 are achieved that generate even tension in the wrapping medium 46 . as soon as the wrapping process is finished , housing 34 with guide surface 36 is retracted far enough that only wrapping medium 46 is still in the cutting device 42 . next , cutting device 42 is activated , so that the free end of the wrapping medium 46 hangs down over the end of the guide surface 36 and is ready for the start of the next wrapping process . finally , housing 34 and guide surface 36 are moved back all the way into the position shown in fig2 . having described the preferred embodiment , it will become apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims . | 0 |
the invention is based on the positive impact of the liquid ionic based catalyst onto the selectivity in 244bb in the liquid - phase fluorination reaction of 1233xf . selectivity is more important than conversion from an industrial point of view since non reactive product ( due to low conversion ) can be recycled but product that cannot be further transformed ( due to low selectivity ) is definitely lost . the liquid ionic based catalyst is disclosed for example in patent applications wo2008 / 149011 ( in particular from page 4 , line 1 to page 6 line 15 , included by reference ) and wo01 / 81353 in the name of the applicant , as well as the reference “ liquid - phase hf fluorination ”, multiphase homogeneous catalysis , ed . wiley - vch , ( 2002 ), 535 . suitable catalysts are derivatives of lewis acids based on aluminum , titanium , niobium , tantalum , tin , antimony , nickel , zinc or iron . the ionic liquid is notably a non - aqueous salt having an ionic character that is liquid at moderate temperatures ( preferably below 120 ° c .) ionic liquids based catalysts are preferably obtained by reaction of at least one halogenated or oxyhalogenated lewis acid based on aluminum , titanium , niobium , tantalum , tin , antimony , nickel , zinc or iron with a salt of general formula y + a −, in which a − denotes a halide ( bromide , iodide and preferably chloride or fluoride ) anion or hexafluoroantimonate ( sbf6 −) anion and y + a quaternary ammonium cation , quaternary phosphonium cation or ternary sulfonium cation . antimony based ionic liquids are preferred catalysts , like the reaction product of antimony pentachloride with ethyl - methyl - imidazolium chloride compound , providing fluorinated complex catalyst emim + sb 2 f 11 − . the reaction conditions ( notably pressure ) are such that the reactants are liquid . according to an embodiment the reactants are liquid while the reaction product is gaseous . the fact that the reaction products are gaseous allows their recovery in a gaseous phase at the exit of the reaction zone . the temperature of the reaction may thus range between 30 ° c . and 200 ° c ., preferably between 40 ° c . and 170 ° c ., advantageously between 50 ° c . and 150 ° c . the pressure of the reaction is typically higher than bar , preferably between 4 and 50 bar , in particular between 5 and 15 bar . the molar ratio hf : starting compound lies generally between 0 . 5 : 1 and 50 : 1 , preferably between 3 : 1 and 20 : 1 , advantageously between 5 : 1 and 15 : 1 . the other reaction conditions , notably flow rates , can be determined by the skilled person according to common general knowledge , depending on the temperature , pressure , catalyst , reactant ratios , and the like . one shall take care to keep selectivity to the highest value . a solvent can be used , albeit this is no the preferred embodiment . such a solvent is an inert organic solvent under the reaction conditions . such a solvent will be generally saturated , advantageously in c2 to c6 , in order to avoid the reactions of addition . such solvents can for example be those mentioned in patent application fr2733227 . such solvents have a boiling point ( measured at atmospheric pressure ), for example higher than 40 ° c ., advantageously higher than 50 ° c ., in particular higher than 60 ° c . higher reaction temperatures will imply higher pressures , so that the boiling point of the solvent under the conditions of reaction is higher than the temperature of implementation of the reaction . one can operate with variable ratios catalyst / organics , but in general one will prefer a catalyst - rich phase . for example , the molar ratio catalyst / organics is higher than 50 mol %. preferably the starting medium is pure catalyst . a chlorine stream may be used to increase the lifetime of the catalyst , typically in a quantity from 0 . 05 to 20 mole %, preferably 1 to 17 mole % of chlorine per mole of starting compound 1233xf . chlorine may be introduced pure or mixed with an inert gas such as nitrogen or helium . the use of an ionic catalyst allows using small quantities of chlorine . a raw material stabilizer may be used if necessary ; typically in a quantity of 5 - 1000 ppm , preferably 10 - 500 ppm . this stabilizer can be for example p - methoxyphenol , t - amylphenol , thymol , limonene , d , l - limonene , quinones , hydroquinones , epoxides , amines and their mixtures . it is also possible that the product of the reaction be stripped using a light gas allowing its drive by mechanical entrainment . removing gaseous 244bb from the liquid phase reactor is advantageous ( less side - reactions ). the addition of a gaseous compound can be advantageous for the reaction , which can be favored for example by the improvement of agitation ( bubbling ). this gas can be inert as the nitrogen or helium . the gas is preferably different from hcl . the flow of gas , compared to the flow of the starting product lies typically between 0 . 5 : 1 and 5 : 1 , advantageously , between 1 : 1 and 3 : 1 . the fluorination process in liquid phase according to the invention can be implemented continuously or semi - continuously . according to the preferred embodiment , the process is continuous . the reactants ( starting product and hf ) and other compounds used in the reaction ( chlorine , inert gas ) can be fed in the reactor at the same place or at different places of the reactor . a preferred embodiment is when the gaseous compounds are injected in the bottom of the reactor , in particular in order to enhance the mechanical stripping and the mixing . if a recycling is used , one can recycle directly at the inlet of the reactor or on a separate dip pipe . the reaction is implemented in a reactor dedicated to the reactions involving halogens . such reactors are known by the skilled worker and can comprise coatings containing hastelloy ®, inconel ®, monel ® or fluoropolymers . the reactor can be equipped with means for heat transfer . typically the process according to an embodiment of the invention is carried out as follows . the reactor ( e . g . equipped with a catalyst stripping column ) for the liquid phase reaction is loaded with ionic liquid based catalyst . then 1233xf and hf are supplied continuously . a stream of anhydrous chlorine could also be injected , as well as an inert gas . the stream which is withdrawn from the reaction zone is in a gaseous form and mainly comprises 244bb , as well as isomers of the 240 series ( 241 + 242 + 243 ), and chlorine and inert gas , together with unreacted 1233xf and hf . 244bb is separated from this stream while other products ( 1233xf hf and 240 series isomers ) are recycled to the reactor . the 244bb that is produced according to the invention is used to manufacture 1234yf . manufacture of 1234yf starting from 244bb is known and uses a dehydrochlorination catalyst . the reaction is preferably carried out in gas phase , as is known in the art . the dehydrochlorination catalyst may be metal halides , halogenated metal oxides , neutral ( or zero oxidation state ) metal or metal alloy , or activated carbon in bulk or supported form . one may revert to the following patent applications , incorporated herein by reference , us2009 / 0182179 , us2009 / 0240090 , us2009 / 0312585 and us2010 / 0036179 , for a disclosure of the reaction 244bb into 1234yf . this reaction is known to the skilled man . the equipment used consists of a jacketed autoclave of a capacity of 1 liter , made of stainless steel 316l , which is stirred using a magnetic stirrer . it is equipped with pressure and temperature indicators . apertures on the head of the autoclave allow introducing the reactants and degasification . it comprises at the top a condenser as well as a valve for regulating the pressure . the condenser is controlled in temperature using an independent thermostated bath . the products of the reaction are extracted continuously during the reaction . they enter a scrubber which collects hydracids hf and hcl and then are cold trapped in liquid nitrogen . the increase of weight of the scrubber and of the trap makes it possible to establish a mass balance . at the end of the period of reaction , the reaction medium is degassed in order to evacuate residual hf . for this period of degasification , the organics possibly drawn are also trapped , always after having crossed the scrubber which makes it possible to eliminate hf and hcl from the gas flow . in a last stage , the autoclave is opened and drained , a sample of the organic phase is analyzed after having hydrolyzed and extracted the catalyst with a hydrochloric acid solution . the analysis is made then by gas phase chromatography on a sample of expanded liquid . the analysis by chromatography is carried out using a column cp sil 8 , dimensions 50 m * 0 . 32 mm * 5 μm . the programming of temperature of the furnace is the following one : 40 ° c . during 10 min then slope of 4 ° c ./ min until 200 ° c . considering that xi is the initial amount of moles of raw material and xf the total final amount of moles of raw material , conversion (%) is : ( xi − xf )/ xi * 100 . selectivity of a product is calculated by the ratio between the amount of moles recovered of this product and the total amount of moles of products of reaction . 150 ml of sbcl 5 , catalyst is introduced in the reactor and fluorinated with flowing anhydrous hf at 60 ° c . during two hours . the flow of hf is added according a molar ratio of 5 : 1 respect to the catalyst amount . chlorine is also added continuously to maintain a high level of oxidation of antimony . the flow of chlorine is kept at 1 g / h for the prefluorination step and all along the experiment . ( 15 % during conversion step ). after this prefluorination step , 0 . 5 moles of 1233xf are introduced in the reactor . the temperature is adjusted at 85 ° c . anhydrous hf is flowing with a rate of 1 mole / h during the 5 hours of the experiment . the pressure is 8 bar . the condenser set - point is 90 ° c . ( meaning there is no reflux into the reactor ). helium is flowing through a deep tube of the reactor with a flow rate of 3 . 4 nl / h . ( ratio of 1 . 5 ). after 5 hours , pressure is released and the reactor is heated to remove residual hf . when opening , 289 g of catalyst are remaining at the bottom of the reactor . organics reactant and product have been collected in the cold trap during the experiment . results in terms of conversion and selectivity are given on the table 1 . 100 ml of sbcl 5 , and 50 ml of ethyl - methyl - imidazolium chloride compound , providing fluorinated complex catalyst emim + sb 2 f 11 − , are introduced in the reactor and fluorinated with flowing anhydrous hf at 60 ° c . during two hours . the flow of hf is added according a molar ratio of 5 : 1 respect to the catalyst amount . chlorine is also added continuously to maintain a high level of oxidation of antimony . the flow of chlorine is kept at 1 g / h for the prefluorination step and all along the experiment . the conditions of example 1 are then applied . results are given in table 1 . one will notice that unknown compounds represent a signification amount in the comparative example while it is at a low level for the invention ( 9 . 1 v . 2 . 6 ). also , 1223xd ( cf3 - ccl ═ chcl ) and 233ab ( cf3 - ccl2 - chcl ) are chlorinated by - products and are formed in high amounts in the comparative example while it is at a low level for the invention ( 1 . 3 + 4 . 5 = 5 . 8 v . 0 . 06 + 0 . 5 = 0 . 56 ). for the unwanted side - products , the comparative example will produce 14 . 9 % while for the invention this is below 3 . 2 , hence about 12 % difference , which is very significant . the selectivity for the invention is thus very high , making recycling possible and easy . | 2 |
the invention is described in more detail hereinbelow by means of nonlimiting examples illustrated in the following figures , in which : fig1 illustrates a simplified view of a first example of a capsule according to the invention , fig2 illustrates the capsule from fig1 inside an extraction device in the rest mode , fig3 shows an enlarged view of the lower part of the capsule from fig2 , fig4 and 5 show perspective views of the capsule from fig2 and 3 , fig6 illustrates the capsule from fig1 inside an extraction device in the extraction mode , fig7 shows an enlarged view of the lower part of the capsule from fig6 , fig8 and 9 show perspective views of the capsule from fig6 and 7 , fig1 shows an embodiment of a relief having an attachment point , and fig1 shows different shapes of reliefs that can be used in the scope of the present invention . 1 . hollow body 2 . side wall 3 . injection face 4 . extraction wall 5 . self - piercing relief 6 . semipermeable element 7 . capsule housing 8 . annular element 9 . spike 10 . capsule holder 11 . serving , for example of coffee 12 . protuberance 13 . weakening zone 14 . extraction zone 15 . orifice fig1 to 5 illustrate one variant among others of a capsule according to the invention in the rest position . the capsule is composed of a hollow element 1 formed by a side wall 2 , an upper wall 3 and a lower wall 4 . the lower wall 4 is relatively rigid . it consists preferably of a biodegradable material . any form of material suitable for the envisioned , use can be used . if it is a biodegradable material , use can be made , for example , of a mixture comprising starch (& gt ; 70 %), fibers , proteins , lipids and at least one biodegradable resin . of course , the upper wall 3 and / or the side wall 2 can likewise be made of a biodegradable material . the outer face of the lower wall 4 has a self - piercing relief 5 in the form of a boss ( portion of a sphere ) in the example illustrated . this boss is in fact an overthickness of the lower wall 4 . around the boss there is disposed a peripheral zone , called weakening zone 13 , having a thickness less than the thickness of the rest of the lower wall 4 . inside the capsule , on the lower wall 4 , there is disposed an optional , for example knitted , semipermeable element 6 which allows liquid to pass through but holds back solid substances such as coffee grounds . still inside the capsule , the relief 5 is extended in the form of a spike 9 . the presence of the latter is optional . specifically , it makes it possible to keep the relief 5 centered when the latter moves toward the inside of the capsule . the optional annular element 8 is preferably formed from a material , for example paper , that makes it easier to remove the capsule once it has been used . its presence can prove useful if the , for example biodegradable , material which forms the capsule tends to adhere to the capsule holder when it is heated . fig6 to 9 illustrate the same capsule as the one shown in fig1 to 5 but in the extracting position , i . e . after the device around the capsule has been closed . in this configuration , the relief 5 has butted against a protuberance 12 located on the capsule holder 10 , the effect of this being to drive the relief 5 into the capsule , in this way breaking the weakening zone 13 . at this point , a passage for the liquid is formed , this passage being called the extraction zone 14 and having an annular form in the present case . it will be noted that the presence of the semipermeable element 6 keeps the solid material ( grounds ) inside the capsule . the liquid passing through the extraction zone passes through the capsule holder 10 through orifices 15 provided to this end . the liquid ( water - coffee mixture ) is finally collected in a cup ( not illustrated ) located under the capsule holder 10 . the invention is not limited to the example illustrated in fig1 to 9 . any form of relief can be envisioned . the same applies to the distribution and number of reliefs . fig1 and 11 show a number of variants among others . similarly , the base of the capsule holder 10 does not necessarily have a protuberance 12 . it is possible for it not to contain one , or conversely it can contain a plurality thereof , for example a number equal to the number of reliefs located on the extraction wall . advantageously , the weakening zone can be rendered asymmetrical with respect to the center of the relief , thereby minimizing the risk of the relief accidentally clogging the extraction zone . the extraction face 4 is advantageously coincident with the lower wall of the capsule . according to another variant of the invention ( not illustrated ), the extraction face is coincident with the upper wall of the capsule . similarly , see in particular fig1 , self - piercing reliefs can be located on that wall of the capsule which is opposite the extraction wall . in this case , the self - piercing reliefs ensure that water enters / is injected into the capsule . it should be noted , finally , that , the invention is not limited to a specific form of capsule . any form suitable for use ( for example conical , cylindrical or cubic ) can be used . | 0 |
the initial strength and in vivo strength properties of polyglycolic acid structural surgical elements can be modified by the use of various fillers , for example , barium sulfate , and various concentrations of fillers . these properties can also be changed by lowering the intrinsic viscosity of the polyglycolic acid , filled or unfilled . this is accomplished by treating the filled or unfilled polyglycolic acid with dilute or concentrated ammonia or by subjecting it to hydroyltic degradation , for example , by distilled water , boiling , soaking or steam treatment . also , the polyglycolic acid can be subjected to repelletizing . a particularly advantageous method , and the preferred , is treating the polyglycolic acid structural surgical element with appropriate amounts of irradiation to control not only the initial strength but also the in vivo strength and particularly the degradation rate of properties such as strength . not only strength and degradation rate but also fracture properties , compression strength , elongation , elastic modulus , and / or creep properties of polyglycolic acid structural surgical elements can be affected , particularly by controlling the filler . nevertheless the most significant advantage of the method of this invention is the control of the time of strength loss and degradation in vivo so that the element disintegrates and is passed out of the body as fragments or particles prior to the time that it would normally be completely absorbed . by using more than one treatment method the desired effects can be controlled further and various results achieved . for example , while irradiation will achieve the most desirable results with respect to strength retention control a combination of irradiation and use of filler can produce other advantages . the fragments of filled polyglycolic acid elements are relatively small , for example , on the order of magnitude of 1 / 16th of an inch . also , physiological forces may tend to enhance the fracture pattern . it will be seen that by use of the method of this invention , the physical properties of the structural surgical element of bioabsorbable material can be closely matched to the physiological requirements of the surgical procedure or repair . thus , depending on the surgical need , a surgeon has available an element with a variable range of initial and in vivo physical properties . in particular , advantages are seen in specific surgical uses such as the gastrointestinal anastomosis device . for example , the in vivo strength can be maintained up to 14 days but modified for relatively high tensile strength in implant but rapid loss of strength for tissues which heal rapidly , as in the bowel . the device can be caused to break down into particles of suitably small size and softer particles upon degradation so as to be passed on the body without harm . the following example relates to the preparation of polyglycolic acid ( pga ), or polyglycolic acid filled with 20 %, 22 . 5 %, 25 % and 40 % barium sulfate . pga in pellet form can be injection molded without preprocessing steps 1 . to 3 . 1 . 1 grinding -- pga in pellet form is ground into 2 mm particles . the ground pga is then stored in plastic bags in a dry cabinet at 70 f with less than 50 ppm h 2 o until it is mixed with the baso 4 . 1 . 2 mixing -- the ground pga is mixed with baso 4 using conventional techniques for mixing powders . 1 . 3 polymer drying -- after mixing , the polymer blend is vacuum dried by maintaining a temperature of 120 ° c . with a vacuum of less than 10 mmhg for six hours . dry nitrogen at 10 scfh is run through the polymer . additional mixing of the pga / baso 4 blend is accomplished by melt blending the polymer using conventional techniques at a temperature of 270 ° c . the resultant blended material is then cooled to ambient temperature under dry conditions of less than 50 ppm h 2 o for 4 hours . it has been found that melt blending at 240 ° c . is preferred . after the blended material is cooled to ambient temperature , it is granulated into less than 5 mm particles , redried and vacuumed sealed in cups . the pga or pga / baso 4 blend is injection molded into bowel anastomosis rings using conventional molding techniques . a cycle time of 32 seconds and injection time of 5 seconds together with a molding time , that is , mold cure time , of 25 seconds is also satisfactory . the molded device is subjected to the following post treatment conditions . 5 . 1 annealing -- 110 ° c . with a vacuum of less than 1 mm . of hg for 3 hours . 5 . 2 etching -- placed in boiling h 2 o for 30 minutes , cooled and then dried in anhydrous methanol for 21 / 2 hours , followed by drying in a vacuum oven at 50 ° c . and less than 1 mm . of hg for 30 minutes . the packaged post treated device is subjected to a gas chamber sterilization employing a sterilant mixture containing ethylene oxide with a diluent such as freon ®. a typical sterilization cycle is described below : ______________________________________temperature 30 ° c . pre - vacuum 26 &# 34 ; of hgrh 20 % gas eo / freon in a 12 / 88 ratiopressure 20 psigeo concentration 11100 mg / lexposure 7 hourspost vacuum 26 &# 34 ; of hg______________________________________ various samples of a bowel anastomosis ring were prepared using the mixtures of example 1 . the preparation of the bowel anastomosis ring is described in a patent application ser . no . 287 , 500 , filed july 27 , 1981 which is a continuation - in - part application of ser . no . 198 , 448 referenced above , filed in the names of a . l . kaganov , t . g . hardy and w . g . pace . those applications are incorporated herein by reference . the hydrolytic treatment was a 30 minute distilled water boil . all of the samples were 28 mm in diameter . the percent barium sulfate and implant subject were as follows : ______________________________________sample no . % baso . sub . 4 implant subject______________________________________1 22 . 5 beagle2 22 . 5 &# 34 ; 3 22 . 5 &# 34 ; 4 22 . 5 &# 34 ; 5 22 . 5 &# 34 ; 6 40 &# 34 ; 7 40 foxhound8 25 &# 34 ; ______________________________________ prior to anesthetic induction , the animals received an enema and routine preinduction sedication . under aseptic conditions a low midline laparotomy was made . the descending colon was mobilized and the mesenteric blood vessels supplying a selected segment were doubly ligated and transected . purse - string sutures were placed proximally and distally to the devascularized colon segment using two purse - string bowel clamps that had been appropriately placed . the colon segment between the clamps was resected flush with the clamps and the segment was discarded . for implantation of the bowel anastomosis ring , the proximal clamp was removed first and the colonic stoma triangulated , cleansed with warm saline and dilated . one ring of the bowel anastomosis ring was inserted into the proximal stoma and the purse - string suture tied to secure the colon to the bowel anastomosis struts . this procedure was then repeated to insert the other bowel anastomosis ring into the distal stoma . care was taken to align the mesentery during the bowel anastomosis ring insertion procedures . the bowel anastomosis rings were closed ( forced closer together ) using finger pressure on the colon serosa . the anastomosis was inspected to insure adequate serosa to serosa to serosa approximation around the circumference of the bowel anastomosis ring . when necessary , stitches were taken to insure the adequacy of the purse - string suture and / or the approximation of the serosa to serosa union . when the anastomoses were completed , the colons were replaced and the laparotomies closed in three layers . the dogs were returned to cages and treated with routine post - operative antibiotics . the beagles were given milk only on the first and second post - operative days . from days 3 to 17 , they were fed canned dog food mixed with milk . water was available at all times . fecal material were fluoroscoped daily , except weekends . all five beagles were sacrificed on the 17th post - operative day and anastomotic healing assessed . the foxhounds were fed intravenously for seven days post - operatively . radiographs were made daily . fecal material was examined when warranted . the 40 % baso 4 filled bowel anastomosis ring implanted in the beagle began to fragment between the 4th and 7the post - operative day and had been completely excreted by the 12th day . in the foxhound , the 40 % filled bowel anastomosis ring had been excreted by the 6th day . the rings of the 22 . 5 % and 25 % baso 4 filled bowel anastomosis rings separated as early as the 6th post - operative day and began fragmenting between the 8th and 11th post - operative days . bowel anastomosis ring fragments were found in the fecal material from day 8 through day 16 . in no instance were bowel anastomosis ring fragments found in the colon in those animals sacrificed on day 17 . gross examination of the beagles at autopsy showed excellent serosal healing with a thin band of scar tissue formation . the mucosae of the anastomoses ranged from barely perceptible to moderately indurated and slightly hyperemic . recovered bowel anastomosis ring fragments from all the samples were hard and very brittle . when pressed between the fingers , the fragments crumbled easily . molded , 12 . 5 % barium sulfate filled high and low inherent viscosity polyglycolic acid bowel anastomosis ring devices , irradiated at 0 , 2 . 5 , 5 , 7 . 5 and 10 mrad were used for colocolostomies in 31 beagle dogs to determine the effect of inherent viscosity , mass and radiation on fragmentation time . since molding and mechanical parameters of the devices were not optimized , all but two were fixed in the colon with two sutures through the colon wall and ring device eyelets . the devices in eight animals were expelled intact . the results from 23 dogs in which the devices fragmented indicated that less massive devices began to fragment earlier than more massive devices but that inherent viscosity did not have a significant effect on fragmentation time . however , irradiation of the device had a significant effect on the fragmentation time with devices irradiated at 5 to 10 mrads fragmenting sooner than those not irradiated . these results suggest that there is little significant effect of molecular weight , based on inherent viscosity , on the degradation time . the relationship between fragmentation time and filler content with boiling water treatment was evaluated using the bowel anastomosis ring device , implanted in dogs as essentially described above . the average fragmentation times are summarized in table i : table i______________________________________percent boiling average fragmentationbaso4 treatment time______________________________________25 % 30 mins . 9 . 67 ± 1 . 03 days40 % 30 mins . 10 . 0 ± 1 . 73 days 0 % 45 mins . 9 days ( 1 data point ) 25 % 45 mins . 8 . 00 ± 1 . 00 days______________________________________ the foregoing show that there is no significant relationship between the combination of filler content and boiling treatment on in vivo property retention . the in vivo fragmentation time for two types of bowel anastomosis ring devices of 25 % barium sulfate with polyglycolic acid were compared for different boiling treatments and tabulated . the results are set forth in table ii . table ii______________________________________device boiling average fragmentationstyle treatment time______________________________________6 tab 30 mins . 9 . 67 ± 1 . 03 days6 tab 45 mins . 8 . 00 ± 1 . 00 days4 tab 0 mins . 16 . 17 ± 1 . 33 days ( as molded ) 4 tab 30 mins . 11 . 4 ± 1 . 57 days______________________________________ the above show a much stronger relationship between boiling treatment time and fragmentation time . boiling does more than affect molecular weight . it is theorized that selective changes in amorphous areas occur . the effect of irradiation on a 12 . 5 % barium sulfate filled polyglycolic acid bowel anastomosis ring device was determined using implantation in dogs as described above . the tabulation of the in vivo data using irradiation levels of 0 , 5 , 7 . 5 and 10 mrads was subject to regression analysis with the result that fragmentation time was found to be 14 . 2 -( 0 . 322 times the irradiation dosage ). this indicates that there is a trend of decreasing fragmentation time with increasing radiation level for this system . the effect of the treatment methods of this invention in vivo property retention were compared in a carefully controlled study utilizing polyglycolic acid injection molded rods implanted in rabbits and evaluated at intervals by mechanical testing of measurement of the flexual properties in 3 - point bending promptly after recovery from the rabbits . this is described in the following examples . lots of 0 , 12 . 5 and 25 % barium sulfate filled polyglycolic acid were injection molded into circular cross - section rods 15 mm . long by 2 . 25 mm . in diameter with a small pin hole at each end for immobilization during implant by suturing in place . approximately 400 rods of each material were injection molded . each set of the three filler content rods were separately xylene washed with three contacts of 5 minutes each and vacuum dried over night at room temperature . following annealing under a vacuum at a 110 ° c . for three hours each set was divided into five groups and each rod individually packaged with a foam insert in an aluminum foil envelope . the treatments were as follows : a . rods were subjected to a standard open cycle ethylene oxide gas sterilization , vacuum dried and sealed in foil , tyvek ® outers were sealed and the package subjected to standard closed cycle ethylene oxide gas sterilization . b . rods were placed in boiling deionized water for 30 minutes , strained , soaked for five contacts of 30 minutes each contact in anhydrous methanol with agitation , overnight vacuum dried at room temperature , followed by the ethylene oxide sterilization procedure of a ; above . c . after sealing in foil and tyvek ® outers , rods received cobalt - 60 irradiation treatment at 0 . 5 mrads per hour dosage rate at the following amounts : 2 . 5 mrad ( actual equal to 2 . 53 ), 5 . 0 mrad ( actual equal to 5 . 09 ) and 10 mrad ( actual equal to 10 . 36 ). dosage rates greater than the accepted standards for sterilization , 1 mrad in europe and 2 . 5 mrads in the united states , were used . the rod samples were implanted subcutaneously through a ventral midline incision in rabbits and imobilized using ti - cron ® 6 / 0 sutures through the pin holes in each end of the rods . a total of 10 rods was implanted in each animal . randomization was accomplished by implanting two rods in each of five animals for any set and implant interval . mechanical testing consisted of measurement of the flexual properties in 3 point bending of each rod promptly after recovery from the rabbits . the flexural strength , strain and modulus values expressed as percentage retention of baseline properties are presented in tables iii , iv and v . in the tables , the day refers to the number of days implanted in the rabbits , bl refers to the non - implant or baseline while e is the flexural modulus , s is the flexural strength , psi , ultimate and r is the flexural strain , %, ultimate . for each filler content / process condition and interval , a total of 10 data points were collected in obtaining the property average and standard deviation unless otherwise indicated . in some cases less than 10 data points were available due to either breakage of samples in the rabbit prior to recovery or breakage in attempts to fixture samples for mechanical testing . comparisons here are based on flexural strength considerations . table iii__________________________________________________________________________treatment method a - eto0 % b . sub . a so . sub . 4 12 . 5 % b . sub . a so . sub . 4 25 % b . sub . a so . sub . 4day e s r e s r e s r__________________________________________________________________________bl : 467 , 000 ± 57 , 300 ± 34 . 5 ± 441 , 000 ± 42 , 300 ± 10 . 8 ± 468 , 000 ± 33 , 700 ± 8 . 14 ± 25 , 500 2 , 650 3 . 98 11 , 400 1 , 900 0 . 69 28 , 300 1 , 460 0 . 707 : 72 . 6 % ± 36 . 1 % ± 21 . 4 % ± 82 . 3 % ± 71 . 4 % ± 96 . 3 % ± 70 . 7 % ± 56 . 4 % ± 82 . 7 % ± 6 . 7 % 8 . 4 % 4 . 1 % 2 . 2 % 18 . 0 % 34 . 0 5 . 1 % 11 . 9 % 25 . 3 % 14 : 22 . 9 % ± 16 . 6 % ± 55 . 1 % ± 29 . 7 % ± 28 . 6 % ± 156 % ± 23 . 3 % ± 26 . 0 % ± 179 % ± 4 . 78 % 3 . 89 % 7 . 59 % 10 . 8 % 11 . 1 % 25 % 9 . 74 % 7 . 69 % 18 . 2 % 21 : 7 . 90 % ± 3 . 84 % ± 28 . 3 % ± 10 . 6 % ± 9 . 13 % ± 119 % ± 5 . 66 % ± 3 . 00 % ± 56 . 1 % ± 2 . 63 % 2 . 69 % 13 . 6 % 3 . 8 % 3 . 62 % 38 . 2 % 1 . 38 % 1 . 71 % 23 . 8 % __________________________________________________________________________ table iv__________________________________________________________________________treatment method b - h . sub . 2 o boil & amp ; eto0 % baso . sub . 4 12 . 5 % baso . sub . 4 25 % baso . sub . 4day e s r e s r e s r__________________________________________________________________________bl : 459 , 000 ± 36 , 300 ± 9 . 54 ± 449 , 000 ± 30 , 200 ± 7 . 46 ± 480 , 000 ± 26 , 500 ± 5 . 91 ± 28 , 600 7 , 490 3 . 82 18 , 400 2 , 220 0 . 46 33 , 700 1 , 410 0 . 323 : 72 . 5 % ± 80 . 2 % ± 110 % ± 75 . 5 % ± 87 . 1 % ± 123 % ± 65 . 4 % ± 72 . 1 % ± 113 % ± 5 . 8 % 16 . 2 % 24 . 6 % 5 . 5 % 22 . 8 % 48 . 1 % 13 . 1 % 18 . 0 % 25 . 9 % 7 : 39 . 0 % ± 35 . 0 % ± 172 % ± 51 . 7 % ± 58 . 3 % ± 142 % ± 39 . 6 % ± 46 . 4 % ± 195 % ± 7 . 6 % 10 . 4 % 60 % 7 . 6 % 3 . 1 % 22 . 3 % 7 . 9 % 6 . 7 % 64 . 0 % 14 : 9 . 35 % ± 5 . 34 % ± 83 . 4 % ± 13 . 9 % ± 15 . 1 % ± 181 % ± 11 . 0 % ± 10 . 3 % ± 145 % ± 4 . 62 % 3 . 03 % 42 . 4 % 4 . 5 % 5 . 0 % 70 . 1 % 2 . 21 % 2 . 54 % 52 . 8 % __________________________________________________________________________ table v__________________________________________________________________________treatment method c - irradiation0 % baso . sub . 4 12 . 5 % baso . sub . 4 25 % baso . sub . 4day e s r e s r e s r__________________________________________________________________________2 . 5 mradbl : 436 , 00 ± 52 , 700 ± 28 . 9 ± 430 , 000 ± 40 , 800 ± 11 . 1 ± 454 , 000 ± 35 , 900 ± 9 . 02 ± 15 , 400 3 , 080 7 . 74 19 , 200 1 , 340 0 . 59 31 , 200 2 , 150 0 . 547 : 39 . 2 % ± 29 . 0 % ± 54 . 0 % ± 50 . 9 % ± 39 . 0 % ± 87 . 9 % ± 40 . 7 % ± 34 . 0 % ± 107 % ± 6 . 2 % 2 . 5 % 7 . 3 % 6 . 2 % 6 . 1 % 20 . 7 % 7 . 2 % 3 . 8 % 22 . 7 % 14 : 8 . 9 % ± 4 . 3 % ± 31 . 7 % ± 12 . 9 % ± 7 . 6 % ± 74 . 1 % ± 9 . 9 % ± 6 . 4 % ± 73 . 2 % ± 1 . 9 % 1 . 1 % 9 . 8 % 2 . 1 % 2 . 3 % 25 . 8 % 2 . 5 % 2 . 7 % 17 . 3 %( n = 8 ) ( n = 9 ) 21 : 0 . 67 % 0 . 44 % 28 . 9 % 3 . 81 % ± 1 . 11 % ± 30 . 0 % ± 3 . 52 % ± 0 . 83 % ± 33 . 6 % ±( n = 1 ) 1 . 43 % 0 . 87 % 9 . 10 % 2 . 49 % 1 . 08 % 16 . 9 % ( n = 8 ) ( n = 8 ) 5 . 0 mradbl : 447 , 000 ± 49 , 000 ± 22 . 7 ± 426 , 000 ± 37 , 400 ± 9 . 91 ± 462 , 000 ± 34 , 300 ± 8 . 39 ± 28 , 000 1 , 730 2 . 66 23 , 500 1 , 330 0 . 86 27 , 500 1 , 590 0 . 703 : 74 . 3 % ± 50 . 6 % ± 36 . 9 % ± 71 . 1 % ± 81 . 6 % ± 120 % ± 67 . 3 % ± 58 . 6 % ± 85 . 7 % ± 6 . 8 % 15 . 9 % 9 . 9 % 7 . 7 % 10 . 5 % 2 . 2 % 10 . 8 % 11 . 7 % 11 . 8 % 7 : 38 . 7 % ± 25 . 5 % ± 59 . 5 % ± 44 . 8 % ± 36 . 6 % ± 105 % ± 34 . 4 % ± 28 . 5 % ± 110 % ±( n = 9 ) 5 . 9 % 2 . 2 % 8 . 2 % 6 . 9 % 4 . 0 % 17 . 8 % 9 . 6 % 2 . 4 % 28 . 4 % 14 : 7 . 5 % ± 2 . 4 % ± 20 . 9 % ± 11 . 5 % ± 4 . 87 % ± 52 . 4 % ± 8 . 25 % ± 2 . 97 % ± 45 . 8 % ±( n = 7 ) 2 . 7 % 1 . 2 % 8 . 6 % 1 . 86 % 2 . 91 % 32 . 4 % 2 . 90 % 1 . 33 % 20 . 7 % 10 . 0 mradbl : 427 , 000 ± 47 , 000 ± 14 . 7 ± 432 , 000 ± 36 , 100 ± 9 . 44 ± 458 , 000 ± 31 , 100 ± 7 . 24 ± 30 , 500 2 , 330 1 . 63 8 , 050 1 , 690 0 . 77 35 , 500 2 , 370 0 . 493 : 76 . 8 % ± 29 . 4 % ± 32 . 8 % ± 72 . 2 % ± 43 . 8 % ± 59 . 3 % ± 62 . 7 % ± 40 . 5 % ± 71 . 3 % ± 4 . 8 % 5 . 1 % 4 . 7 % 5 . 4 % 9 . 3 % 12 . 0 % 8 . 1 % 5 . 8 % 15 . 9 % 7 : 31 . 9 % ± 20 . 7 % ± 81 . 6 % ± 32 . 4 % ± 28 . 8 % ± 111 % ± 32 . 5 % ± 23 . 3 % ± 119 % ± 11 . 6 % 3 . 9 % 18 . 2 % 4 . 6 % 2 . 7 % 14 . 6 % 7 . 8 % 3 . 2 % 27 . 3 % 14 : 6 . 42 % ± 1 . 40 % ± 21 . 9 % ± 7 . 36 % ± 2 . 45 % ± 36 . 3 % ± 4 . 34 % ± 1 . 46 % ± 37 . 6 % ± 2 . 95 % 1 . 30 % 10 . 8 % 2 . 87 % 2 . 20 % 31 . 17 % 2 . 45 % 1 . 25 % 24 . 0 % ( n = 9 ) __________________________________________________________________________ several conclusions can be drawn from the results set forth in tables iii , iv and v . as to the effect of boiling water treatment , it can be seen that the 30 minute water boiled samples exhibited consistently lower strengths than the control at each of the implant intervals as well as at the baseline . the same relationship held for percent retention of initial strength in general with the exception of the 0 percent filler at the 7 day implant interval . it can therefore be concluded that boiling water treatment reduces both the in vivo strength as well as percent retention of strength of the polyglycolic acid structural surgical elements . in vivo strengths exhibited considerable variation with filler content and no significant trends were apparent although baseline strengths were consistantly ranked as decreasing with increasing filler content . accordingly , it can be concluded that increasing the barium sulfate filler content has the effect of reducing the initial strength but little effect on the strength end point or life of the structural surgical element . cobalt - 60 irradiation treatment resulted in decreasing strength and percentage retention of initial strength with increasing dosage level . however , the initial strength reduction was not as great as that with the other treatments although the satisfactory end point was reached , that is percentage reduction in strength in vivo . similar in vivo strength and retention of strength was exhibited by samples treated with the cobalt - 60 gamma radiation at 2 . 5 or 5 . 0 mrad as compared with the 30 minute water boil treatment . the irradiated samples exhibited higher baseline strengths and it has been found that they provide adequate storage stability . the most satisfactory means for decreasing in vivo strength retention of polyglycolic acid structural surgical elements as compared to conventional ethylene oxide sterilized elements is the cobalt - 60 gamma radiation treatment . these results are surprising and unpredictable since it is known that polyglycolic acid differs in its response to irradiation from other polymers . moreover , the boiling water treatment while reducing strength does not provide for stability whereas the irradiation treatment does . although the filler utilized was barium sulfate , those skilled in the art will recognize that the filler can comprise calcium carbonate , tricalcium phosphate , magnesium oxide , glass spheres and non - polyglycolic acid fibers . also , those skilled in the art will recognize that the polymer may be a homopolymer of glycolide or a copolymer , one of the monomers of which is glycolide . where the polymer is a copolymer and one of the monomers is glycolide , the other monomer may be obtained from the group consisting of alactide , lactone , oxalate or carbonate . the lactide may be the species lactide ; the lactone , epsilon - caprolactone ; and the oxalate , ethylene oxalate . the carbonate may be trimethylene carbonate . also , when the polymer is a copolymer and one of the monomers is glycolide , the other monomer may be 1 , 4 - dioxanone . although the invention has been shown with particular reference to the bowel anastomosis device , it will be recognized that it is applicable to other structural surgical elements of polyglycolic acid where it is desired that the element disintegrate , that is degrade into fragments prior to the time that it would be absorbed . thus , the invention is applicable to polyglycolic acid prostheses such as surgical clips and surgical staples as well as tubular supports , implants and stenotic devices and other surgical elements in which it may be desirable to have a loss of strength at a certain time in the healing process prior to absorption of the polymer itself . those skilled in the art will also recognize , as the data indicates , that varying certain treatment parameters , such as irradiation levels and dosage rates may vary the effect on in vivo retention of properties . | 2 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 , which relates to embodiment 1 , is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a low - side driver circuit , which is one of the drive circuits of a vehicle &# 39 ; s engine control module ( hereinafter also referred to as an “ ecm ”) mounted in a vehicle . the low - side driver circuit is a circuit provided downstream of a power supply 1 and a load 2 , which is a drive circuit 5 including a diagnostic circuit 107 for monitoring the voltage at a connection terminal of the load and an fet 104 , which is a switching element , or for monitoring the current flowing through the load . the drive circuit 5 is connected to a control circuit 6 , which controls the drive circuit 5 . note that it is also possible to employ , depending on the characteristics of the load to be driven , a structure in which the drive circuit is protected with the use of a clamping zener diode , a free wheel diode , or the like . examples of loads include solenoids , relays , switches , and heaters . in the example illustrated in fig1 , a solenoid is used . in addition , examples of input signals for driving the load include signals of frequency , pwn , voltage , and current . the diagnostic circuit in the drive circuit illustrated in fig1 determines that the circuit is shorted to gnd if the voltage of a drive terminal 8 when the drive circuit is off ( that is , when the fet 104 is off ) is less than or equal to a predetermined voltage ; that the circuit is shorted to the power supply if the voltage of the drive terminal 8 when the drive circuit is on ( that is , when the fet 104 is on ) is greater than or equal to a predetermined voltage ; and that the load is broken when the voltage of the drive terminal 8 when the drive circuit is on ( that is , when the fet 104 is on ) is an intermediate potential ( and diagnosis may further be conducted by monitoring a current ). generally , once an engine control module has been mounted in a vehicle , it is impossible to cause a load to have an abnormality ; therefore , the operation of a diagnostic circuit cannot be checked . however , the present invention makes it possible to check the operation of the diagnostic circuit after the engine control module has been mounted in a vehicle . the operation principle is described hereinafter . a stop signal ( ena signal ) 109 is transmitted from the control circuit to a drive - stop terminal ( ena terminal ), which is added as a function to the drive circuit . accordingly , after that , a pre - driver 116 will not be turned on in response to the application of an input signal 110 for driving . thus , the fet 104 , which is a switching element , remains off . here , the diagnostic circuit 107 diagnoses the load in accordance with the input signal for driving . generally , the fet 104 , which is a switching element , is turned on in response to the input signal 110 for driving , whereby the voltage level of the drive terminal 8 becomes low . however , since the function of the drive circuit stops at such point , the voltage of the drive terminal 8 is unchanged at a high level . ( it is also possible to monitor a current to check if there is no current flow .) in the above manner , the diagnostic circuit detects an abnormality of the load . next , an operation check sequence for checking the operation of such diagnostic circuit when power is switched on and off is described . fig2 illustrates the operation check sequence of the diagnostic circuit when power is switched on . once an ignition switch ign_sw is turned to an “ on ” position , ecm power is supplied and a cpu starts initialization . then , a signal for diagnostic checking is requested via communication and a diagnostic checking signal 509 is input . with this signal , diagnosis in an inactive ( disable ) state is conducted first . here , the diagnostic circuit judges the presence or absence of an abnormality , and then , it conducts diagnosis in an active ( enable ) state . these diagnosis results are transmitted to the control circuit , so that initialization is terminated and the cpu enters a normal operation mode . through the operation sequence described above , the operation of the diagnostic circuit when power is switched on is checked . fig3 illustrates the operation check sequence of the diagnostic circuit when power is switched off . once ign_sw is turned to an “ off ” position , the cpu starts a stop process . then , a signal for diagnostic checking is requested via communication and a diagnostic checking signal 608 is input . with this signal , diagnosis in a disable state is conducted to judge the presence or absence of an abnormality , and then , diagnosis in an enable state is conducted . then , these diagnosis results are transmitted to the control circuit , so that the stop process of the cpu is terminated and the supply of the ecm power is shut off . through the operation sequence described above , the operation of the diagnostic circuit when power is switched off is checked . the two sequences described above are basically performed every time ign_sw is turned to an “ on ” or “ off ” position . however , depending on circumstances , the sequence can be performed only when ign_sw is turned to either an “ on ” or “ off ” position . in addition , although diagnosis is also conducted in the enable state in the above sequences , the load is actually driven in this case . therefore , a diagnostic circuit that has no influence on the operation of the load should be used . otherwise , the operation of the diagnostic circuit should be checked only in the disable state . alternatively , if the operation of the load in the normal operation stops for a longer time than the time required for diagnosis , diagnosis similar to the aforementioned can be conducted . fig4 , which relates to embodiment 2 , is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a high - side driver circuit , which is one of the drive circuits of an ecm mounted in a vehicle . the high - side driver circuit is a circuit provided immediately downstream of a power supply 1 and upstream of a load 2 , which is a drive circuit 5 including a diagnostic circuit 207 for monitoring the voltage at a connection terminal of the load and an fet 204 , which is a switching element , or for monitoring the current flowing through the load . the drive circuit 5 is connected to a control circuit 6 , which controls the drive circuit 5 . note that it is also possible to employ , depending on the characteristics of the load to be driven , a structure in which the drive circuit is protected with the use of a clamping zener diode , a free wheel diode , or the like . examples of loads include solenoids , relays , and heaters . in the example illustrated in fig4 , a solenoid is used . the diagnostic circuit in the drive circuit illustrated in fig4 determines that the circuit is shorted to gnd if the voltage of a drive terminal when the drive circuit is on ( that is , when the fet 204 is on ) is less than or equal to a predetermined voltage ; that the circuit is shorted to the power supply if the voltage of the drive terminal when the drive circuit is off ( that is , when the fet 204 is off ) is greater than or equal to a predetermined voltage ; and that the load is broken when the voltage of the drive terminal when the drive circuit is on ( that is , when the fet 204 is on ) is an intermediate potential ( and diagnosis may further be conducted by monitoring a current ). the operation principle of the diagnostic circuit according to the present embodiment is described hereinafter . an ena signal 209 , which is a stop signal , is transmitted from the control circuit 6 to a drive - stop terminal ( ena terminal ) added to the drive circuit 5 . accordingly , after that , a pre - driver 216 will not output a signal that turns on the fet 204 , which is a switching element , in response to the application of an input signal 210 , because the function of the drive circuit 5 has been stopped . thus , the load 2 remains off . here , the diagnostic circuit diagnoses the load in response to the input signal 210 . generally , the fet 204 , which is a switching element , is turned on in response to an input signal , whereby the voltage level of a drive terminal becomes high . however , since the switching element is not turned on here , the voltage of the drive terminal is unchanged at a low level . accordingly , the diagnostic circuit detects an abnormality of the load . hereinafter , the operation of the diagnostic circuit can be checked in a similar way to that described in embodiment 1 , based on the operation check sequence for checking the operation of the diagnostic circuit when power is switched on and off . fig5 , which relates to embodiment 3 , is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of an h - bridge driver circuit for driving a brushed dc motor , which is one of the drive circuits of an ecm mounted in a vehicle . the h - bridge driver circuit includes a power supply 1 , a motor 7 ( hereinafter also referred to as a load 7 ), a drive circuit having fets 312 , which are switching elements provided upstream and downstream of the motor , on the h bridge , and a diagnostic circuit 307 , which monitors the voltage of a terminal of the drive circuit or the current flowing through the load . the h - bridge driver circuit is connected to a control circuit 6 which controls the h - bridge driver circuit . as illustrated in fig5 , the diagnostic circuit 307 built into the h - bridge driver circuit monitors the drive current when the switching elements are on and the voltage of the terminal when the switching elements are on / off , and it detects an excess current or low voltage . first , a stop signal ( ena signal ) 309 is transmitted from the control circuit to a drive - stop terminal ( ena terminal ), which is added as a function to the drive circuit 5 . after that , the switching elements ( fet ) 312 will not be turned on in response to the application of input signals 310 because the function of the drive circuit has been stopped . thus , the load 7 remains off . here , the diagnostic circuit diagnoses the load in response to the input signal . generally , the fets 312 , which are switching elements , are turned on in response to input signals , whereby the voltage level of a drive terminal becomes high . however , since the switching elements are not turned on here , the voltage of the drive terminal is kept at an intermediate voltage level due to the voltage source in the drive circuit . accordingly , the diagnostic circuit can detect an abnormality . the operation of the diagnostic circuit can be checked in a similar way to that described in embodiment 1 , based on the sequence ( see fig2 ) when power is switched on and the sequence ( see fig3 ) when power is switched off . the method of checking the operation of the diagnostic circuit in the load drive circuit according to the present invention can be widely applied not only to electronic control devices such as controllers of vehicles , motorcycles , agricultural vehicles , machine tools , or vessels , but also to general electronic control devices for driving loads , after the drive circuit has been mounted in such an electronic control device . | 7 |
advantages and features of the invention and methods of accomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of embodiments and the accompanying drawings . the invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being 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 concept of the invention to those skilled in the art , and the invention will only be defined by the appended claims . like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the specification . in the following description of the present invention , if the detailed description of the already known structure and operation may confuse the subject matter of the present invention , the detailed description thereof will be omitted . the following terms are terminologies defined by considering functions in the embodiments of the present invention and may be changed operators intend for the invention and practice . hence , the terms need to be defined throughout the description of the present invention . hereinafter , the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . drawing is a block diagram of an apparatus for managing a ship network in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . as illustrated in the drawing , an apparatus 100 for managing a ship network 10 includes a network receiving unit 110 , a traffic analysis unit 120 , a profile management unit 130 , a switching unit 140 , a resource allocation unit 150 , a network output unit 160 , and an exception handling unit 170 . the network receiving unit 110 receives traffic messages from various marine devices 20 to which switch equipments are connected via a ship network 10 and provides the received traffic messages to the traffic analysis unit 120 . the traffic analysis unit 120 parses the traffic messages received from the network receiving unit 110 to analyze traffic information . the traffic information analyzed by the traffic analysis unit 120 includes identification information of transmitters that send the traffic messages , identification information of receivers that are intended to receive the traffic messages , protocol information of the traffic messages , and type information of the traffic messages . the traffic analysis unit 120 comprehends state information for the individual traffic messages based on the traffic information , compares between traffic information that is previously stored in the profile management unit 130 and the state information for the respective traffic messages to determine whether to reach a threshold value , and performs to forward or drop the traffic messages in accordance with the determination result as to whether to reach the threshold value . to accomplish it , the traffic analysis unit 120 performs an analysis of data such as the traffic messages and the like that are received through the network receiving unit 110 . the traffic analysis unit 120 then parses the input port information of the received traffic messages , mac ( media access control ) addresses and tcp / ip ( transmission control protocol internet protocol ) information as well as nmea ( national marine electronics association ) sentence information , application message information that are parsable and the like . further , the traffic analysis unit 120 then manages network state information and the like for input information and output information to and from the ship network managing apparatus 100 on a basis of the parsed information . when the amount of information that is transmitted and received is above the threshold value that is defined in the profile management unit 130 , the network state information is informed of the exception handling unit 170 . also , when the amount of information , i . e ., a traffic message , which is transmitted and received , is above a threshold value that is defined in the profile management unit 130 , the received traffic message is dropped . moreover , when the amount of the traffic message is within the threshold value of a normal range , the traffic message is forwarded to its destination via the switching unit 140 . in addition , the traffic analysis unit 120 has a functionality of providing information on the analyzed traffic message if requested from an outside . besides that , the traffic analysis unit 120 ascertains information about an addition or extinction of a traffic stream that is newly generated or that is in existence and an addition or extinction of a marine device 20 that is newly installed or is in existence and notifies the exception handling unit 170 or the profile management unit 130 of information about the addition or extinction . the profile management unit 130 stores and manages profiles that include information on the characteristics of the traffic messages received from the switch equipments in the ship network 10 through the network receiving unit 110 . specifically , the profile management unit 130 stores and manages the profiles that include information about the marine devices 20 that are needed to connect to the switch equipments and service information intended to be served by the respective the marine devices 20 . in the profile management unit 130 , the profiles may be managed by the transmitter to transmit the traffic messages , the receiver to receive the traffic messages , or the service information . in addition , the profile management unit 130 configures the profiles pursuant to the traffic information that has been analyzed for a certain period of time , creates profiles in accordance with inputs provided from a user or external inputs and manages the profiles . to accomplish it , the profile management unit 130 stores information on the characteristics of the traffic messages received from the switch equipments in the ships . for example , the profile management unit 130 stores information on the marine devices 20 that are needed to connect to the switch equipments and service information generated from the respective marine devices 20 and manages such information . here , the information on the marine devices 20 may include mac addresses , ip addresses , ids of nmea talkers and the like , and the service information may include information on a total amount of traffics generated from a particular marine device , information on an amount of communications between particular marine devices , information on an amount of communication of a particular application service generated from a particular marine device , information on nmea sentence information generated or received from a particular marine device and the like . the profile management unit 130 may autonomously store the information on the basis of the amount of traffics generated for a certain period of time in the past that has been analyzed by the traffic analysis unit 120 or store profile information about the traffic messages that will be normally serviced in the respective switch equipments for the management thereof in compliance with inputs from a user or an outside and manages such information . the resource allocation unit 150 allocates network resources to ports as they need in line with the profiles that are stored in the profile management unit 130 . in this case , the allocation of the network resources may be made in compliance with user &# 39 ; s inputs or external inputs in addition to the profiles . as set forth above , the resource allocation unit 150 is in charge of allocating a fixed amount of the network resources to the ports of the switch equipments on the basis of the profile information about the ships . consequently , particular traffic messages are allowed to be protected from other unauthorized traffics . the resource allocation unit 150 may autonomously allocate necessary network resources in association with the profile management unit 130 or network resources for the respective traffic messages through an interface to the outside . the network output unit 160 sends data corresponding to the traffic message to the ports to which the network resources are allocated from the resource allocation unit 150 via the ship network 10 . the exception handling unit 170 performs an exception handling registration or deregistration function and an announcement function at exceptional situations . specifically , the exception processing unit 170 registers and deregisters information on the conditions of the exceptional situations and information on exclusive announcement devices , records and stores the registered information in the traffic analysis unit 120 , receives event information that has been defined already from the traffic analysis unit 120 , and notifies an occurrence of the exceptional situations of the corresponding announcement devices when occurring the exceptional situations . to accomplish it , the exception processing unit 170 performs the exception handling registration and deregistration function along with the announcement function to notify the exceptional situation . also , when the traffic analysis unit 120 reports the situation that the network resource allocated to a particular traffic message exceeds a threshold value in the amount of information or there is an unidentified traffic message , the exception processing unit 170 notifies a fixed marine device or a calling marine device of the event information about the situation . consequently , the exception processing unit 170 aids to prevent a dangerous situation causing a problem to a stability of the ship network 10 from happening by performing the announcement of the dangerous situation . while the invention has been shown and described with respect to the embodiments , the present invention is not limited thereto . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7 |
5 - hydroxytryptophan ( 5 - htp ) 20 mg - 10 , 000 mg coenzyme q10 20 mg - 10 , 000 mg magnesium ( hydroxide ) 40 mg - 20 , 000 mg vitamin b1 ( thiamine hcl ) 10 mg - 5 , 000 mg vitamin d - 3 ( cholecalciterol ) 200 iu - 100 , 000 iu vitamin c ( ascorbic acid ) 25 mg - 10 , 250 mg selenium ( selenomethionine ) 20 mcg - 10 , 000 mcg zinc ( l - methionine ) 3 mg - 1 , 500 mg optional ingredients ( kosher gelatin [ capsule ], cellulose , silicon dioxide , and magnesium stearate ). 5 - htp , or 5 - hydroxytryptophan , is a precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin — which is essential for controlling mood , sleep and pain levels . the body produces 5 - htp from tryptophan , an amino acid found in small amounts in high - protein foods such as chicken , fish , beef and dairy products . it can also be taken in supplemental form , in which case it &# 39 ; s extracted from the seeds of the griffonia simplicifolia plant . 5 - htp is believed to help increase serotonin production in the brain , which may positively influence mood . 5 - htp may also help with other health issues related to serotonin deficiency , including nervousness , body tension and stiffness and head cavity discomfort . coenzyme q10 ( coq10 ), or ubiquinone , is a naturally - occurring nutrient found in cell mitochondria , where energy is produced . the heart , with greater energy requirements than other organs , contains significantly higher amounts of coq10 than other tissues in the body . unfortunately , levels of coq10 naturally decline with age , which may result in less efficient functioning of the heart and other organs . magnesium is an essential mineral to the human body . it is needed for bone , protein , and fatty acid formation , making new cells , activating b vitamins , relaxing muscles , clotting blood , and forming adenosine triphosphate ( atp ; the energy the body runs on ). the secretion and action of insulin also require magnesium . vitamin b1 is a water - soluble vitamin needed to process carbohydrates , fat , and protein . every cell of the body requires vitamin b1 to form the fuel the body runs on - adenosine triphosphate ( atp ). nerve cells require vitamin b1 in order to function normally . the fat - soluble vitamin d &# 39 ; s most important role is maintaining blood levels of calcium , which it accomplishes by increasing absorption of calcium from food and reducing urinary calcium loss . both effects keep calcium in the body and therefore spare the calcium that is stored in bones . when necessary , vitamin d transfers calcium from the bone into the bloodstream , which does not benefit bones . although the overall effect of vitamin d on the bones is complicated , some vitamin d is necessary for healthy bones and teeth . vitamin c is important for connective tissue repair . although beneficial to athletes participating in a variety of sports , vitamin c is especially important to individuals that have connective tissue damage . vitamin c is also important as an antioxidant , it may help to reverse some of the oxidative damage that may occur from exercise . this oxidative damage , caused by free radicals , may interfere with the cells &# 39 ; ability to function normally and is believed to play a role in many different health conditions , including the aging process , cancer , and heart disease . vitamin c promotes a healthy immune system and may help to prevent the dip in immune function that may occur right after exercise . selenium is an essential trace element for humans and other animals . selenium is incorporated into molecules of an enzyme called glutathione peroxidase ( gpx ). this vital enzyme protects red blood cells and cell membranes against undesirable reactions with soluble peroxides . the dependence of glutathione peroxidase on nutritional selenium clarifies the antioxidant role of this essential micronutrient . good selenium nutrition is of key importance for antioxidant defense as well as efficient energy metabolism . zinc is also needed for the repair of damaged tissue and has protected against stomach ulceration in animal studies . zinc salt of the amino acid carnosine exerts significant protection against ulcer formation and promotes the healing of existing ulcers . | 0 |
the disposable filter assembly shown in fig1 - 5 is generally designated by the numeral 20 . the filter assembly 20 includes a molded plastic housing , generally designated by the numeral 21 ( fig2 and 4 ), and including a male portion 22 and a female portion 23 . the upper or male housing portion 22 includes an upper plenum wall 24 . the upper plenum wall 24 includes a plenum 25 , a rim 26 , an upper port or inlet 30 , and an upper rib 31 . since the disposable box filter assembly 20 is reversible , it can easily be understood by those skilled in the art that the upper port 30 can serve as an inlet or outlet , and thus that these terms may be used interchangeably . also found on the male housing portion 22 are a plurality of reinforcing ribs 32 , and a pair of opposed downwardly depending side walls 34 having a grooved portion 35 , an ultrasonic energy ridge or portion 36 , and a tapered or wedge - shaped portion or wall 37 . the lower or female portion 23 of the plastic housing 21 includes a tongue portion 40 , a first wall portion or first portion 41 , a ramp portion 42 , and a second portion or second wall portion 43 , which is of greater thickness than the first portion 41 . also found on the lower or female portion 23 is a lower plenum wall 50 including a lower plenum 51 , a lower rim 52 , a lower port or inlet 53 and a lower ridge 54 . the plastic housing 21 may be made of any practical transparent , opaque , or solid material . for most applications of the disposable box filter assembly 20 , it is believed that a transparent plastic housing 21 will be preferred . depending on the particular application , the housing may be made from many materials . a preferred material is k - resin ( kroi grade ). the housing may also be made from abs , styrene , polycarbonate , nylon , polyester , or other thermoplastic materials . referring to fig2 there is shown the plastic housing 21 having the male or upper housing portion 22 completely assembled and ultrasonically welded to the lower or female housing portion 23 , and containing a corrugated filter 58 . the plastic housing 21 assembled to this stage of manufacture shows the almost completed disposable filter assembly 20 before the end caps 60 are potted on . the corrugated filter 58 is has a predetermined number of pleats 59 . the number of pleats required will depend on the particular application . also , depending on the particular application , is the selection of the material for the corrugated filter 58 . widely used filter media are such as glass fiber and polypropylene , which can have a thickness in the range of 0 . 013 &# 34 ; to 0 . 022 &# 34 ;. a typical thickness range is from 0 . 015 &# 34 ; to 0 . 016 &# 34 ;. the novel sealing means of the present invention is best shown in fig2 - 3a . as hereinbefore discussed , the prior art box filters required the sealing of the filter media to be done in a generally horizontal plane trapped between what may generally be called a top wall and a side wall of the filter . in some cases , the paper was even bonded to the filter housing to get a proper seal . all of these types of housings or sealing arrangements cause various problems in the art . the box filter of the present invention is the first box filter to eliminate these problems by sealing the filter media in a generally vertical orientation . it can be seen in fig2 that one pleat 59 of the corrugated filter 58 is trapped between the tapered portion 37 of the downwardly depending side wall 34 forming a portion of the male housing 22 , and the upstanding ridge 44 forming a portion of the lower or female housing portion 23 . by designing the plastic housing 21 with the ultrasonic manufacturing process in mind , a unique and novel way of providing sufficient force on the pleat is provided such that a purely mechanical seal may be attained between the filter 58 and the housing 21 without any cutting or special bending or treatment of the filter media . an enlargement of a portion of the male and female housings are shown in fig3 and 3a to illustrate this . as shown in fig3 when the male housing portion 22 is inserted into the female portion 23 , the tongue 40 of the female housing 23 will enter the grooved portion 35 of the male housing 22 permitting the ultrasonic ridge 36 to come in contact with the first portion 41 of the upstanding wall 39 . the dimensions are so selected that when the ultrasonic ridge 36 touches first wall portion 41 , the lower extremity of the wedge - shaped or tapered portion of the downwardly depending side wall is in close proximity or touching the ramp portion 42 . as shown in fig3 a , as the ultrasonic welding manufacturing process is applied to the male and female housing portions 22 , 23 , the ultrasonic energy ridge 36 is progressively melted until the tongue 40 reaches proximate the bottom of the groove 35 , and the housing portions have moved closer together . a typical dimension for the ultrasonic energy ridge is 0 . 018 &# 34 ;, but other dimensions may be chosen , depending on the application . this amount of movement causes the wedge - shaped portion 37 of the downwardly depending wall 34 to attempt to move down the ramp portion 42 toward the u - shaped channel 75 , separating second portion 42 and upstanding ridge 44 . a preferred embodiment is to have the ramp 42 form an angle of 60 ° with the horizontal . other angles may be used if desired . as tapered portion 37 moves down the ramp portion 42 , it is forced in a lateral direction toward the upstanding ridge 44 of the female housing portion . fig3 a shows this movement without the corrugated filter installed for ease of understanding . as illustrated in fig2 the filter pleats 59 are compressed to about one - half their thickness , which is sufficient to compress the media to obtain a fluid - tight seal . for a media in the typical pleat 29 is compressed between the ridge 44 and the wedge - shaped or tapered wall portion 37 , a single thickness of filter paper or media , indicated by the numeral 65 , is compressed between the ridge 44 and the tapered wall 37 . depending on the media and its compressibility , many types of media may be accommodated in a single filter housing just by reversing how the filter 58 is inserted . the modification of the invention as shown in fig5 is particularly applicable to filter medias which compress very little . the ability to simply reverse the position of insertion of the filter 58 in the housing 21 permits many of these media to be used in the filter housing of the present invention without any modification . the tapered portion 37 may have vertical side walls or tapered side walls and still be within the scope of the present invention . however , it has been found that a 5 ° taper , which is the preferred draft for the molding process , produces very satisfactory results . referring to fig2 and 4 , it can be seen that when the male housing portion 22 and the female housing portion 23 , which are generally channel shaped in nature , are assembled , there is formed a generally box - shaped or rectangular chamber 66 . the shape of the filter chamber 66 is defined by the upper plenum wall 24 , the lower plenum wall 50 , and a pair of opposed side walls 67 , each of which is formed by a portion of the male housing 22 and the female housing 23 . also formed by assembly of the housing is a pair of open opposed end walls 68 . to complete the assembly of the disposable filter assembly 20 , end caps 60 are potted on to the opposed end walls 68 with potting compounds well known in the art . the particular compound used will depend upon the filter application . potting compound is applied to the end walls 68 , as well as to the rectangular wall portions 70 of the end caps 60 . when the end cap 60 is then applied , the end cap is sealed not only to the opposed end wall 68 to close the chamber 65 , but to the ends of the filter 58 in a fluid - tight manner , thereby forcing air to flow directly from upper port 30 through the corrugated filter 58 and exit lower port 53 . the upper ridge 31 and the lower ridge 54 add strength to the corrugated filter 58 , and prevents its distortion . it can be readily understood by one skilled in the art that as long as the vertical sealing means of the present invention is maintained , the actual shape of the housing can vary substantially . thus , by analyzing the problems present in the art wherein the filter media of the corrugated filter used in the box filter assemblies was being sealed in generally a horizontal direction , and deciding instead to seal it in a vertical direction , and designing a housing to seal the same , while at the same time , utilizing the attributes of the ultrasonic welding process , a novel method and apparatus of providing a box filter is provided . | 1 |
the foregoing and other and further objects and features of the invention will be more readily understood on reference to the following detailed description of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which : fig1 is a view in perspective of a typical cylindrical shell rotary drum usable in both the transmissive and reflective scanning modes in accordance with the present invention ; fig2 is a diagrammatic view of a typical cross section of a shell blank from which the drum of fig1 is formed , illustrating the lack of concentricity of the inner and outer surfaces found in such shells prior to processing ; fig3 is a view in perspective of a tool in accordance with the present invention for forming an acceptable rotary scanning drum from the shell of fig2 ; fig4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the shell of fig2 mounted to the tool of fig3 for processing into a finished drum ; and fig5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the finished drum with end caps fitted to the drum to enable mounting on a scanner . in fig1 a rotary scanner drum 10 of a translucent material such as acrylic has inner and outer surfaces 12 and 14 , respectively . a document 16 that is to be scanned for subsequent processing is illuminated by light sources 17 or 18 and imaged by a lens 20 . source 17 is used for reflective scanning ; source 18 is used for transmissive scanning . a calibration strip 21 extends transversely across the drum on the outer surface thereof . in order to maintain a constant distance between the surface of the drum and the lens 20 , and thus a constant focus , it is essential that the drum surface be highly concentric about the drum axis 22 . tubular stock as to which special forming procedures have not been used may appear regular and concentric when viewed on a macroscopic scale , but it will be found that its surfaces are in fact irregular and non - concentric when viewed on a microscopic scale . this is shown illustratively in fig2 which is a cross - sectional view of a typical shell stock 24 with the eccentricity of the inner and outer surfaces 26 , 28 , respectively , greatly exaggerated in order to indicate the nature of the problem . while both surfaces are relatively round ( i . e ., of generally constant diameter , within a given tolerance , at a particular cross section ), they are not concentric , the inner surface being centered at point 26 &# 39 ; and the outer surface being centered at point 28 &# 39 ; which is not coincident with point 26 &# 39 ;. in accordance with the present invention , we process the shell 22 in such a manner as to establish an effective rotational axis for the resultant drum that is coincident with the center of the inner surface of the shell , and that provides an outer surface concentric with the inner surface . referring now to fig3 tooling to accomplish the purposes of the invention is shown . a cylindrical mandrel 32 having extending end supports 34 , 36 and beveled end faces 38 , 40 cooperates with gaskets 40 , 42 and end plates 46 , 48 which are likewise beveled on their inner faces ( i . e ., facing the mandrel 32 ). to begin the processing of the blank 24 , the mandrel 32 is inserted into the shell as shown in fig4 . in order to prevent scratching the interior of the shell , bands 50 , 52 of a soft , non - scratching , compliant material such as straps faced with soft cotton are placed around the mandrel and secured to it ( e . g ., with adhesive ) before the mandrel is inserted into the shell . gaskets 42 , 44 ( e . g ., o - rings ) are then placed into the inside of the shell , butted against the beveled edges 36 , 38 of the mandrel 32 . next , the end plates 46 , 48 are slipped onto the mandrel , and secured to it by screws 54 , 56 . for purposes of illustration , only a single pair of screws are shown , but it will be understood that a number of screws or other fasteners distributed about the periphery may be used . as the screws are tightened , the gaskets 42 , 44 are increasingly distorted , and press tightly against the shell , thereby effectively securing and positioning the mandrel within the shell for subsequent processing operations and also centering the mandrel within the shell to ensure that the longitudinal axis 60 of the shell is essentially coincident with the longitudinal axis or centerline 60 of the inner surface of the shell 24 . the assembled unit is now placed in a lathe , secured by the supports 34 , 36 , and the shell is &# 34 ; turned &# 34 ;, that is , a cutting tool ( not shown ) bears against the surface of the shell and removes material from it as the mandrel 32 is rotated in the lathe . the axis 60 of the mandrel serves as the axis of rotation of the shell , and thus defines the effective longitudinal axis for the formed outer surface of the shell . this process thus forms a shell whose outer surface is coincident within a desired tolerance with that of the inner surface . after the shell is formed to the desired radius , and while it is still engaged on the mandrel 32 , the end faces of the shell are bored to provide an inset or step ( fig5 ) for receipt of the end caps . this step provides a portion of the inner surface of the shell with surfaces 64 , 64 &# 39 ; concentric with the outer surface and thus referenced to precisely the same longitudinal axis as that of the mandrel 32 ( within the limits of accuracy of the milling machine ). this axis is effectively transferred to the scanner by means of end caps 66 , 66 &# 39 ; which are fitted to the opposite ends of the finished shell 24 &# 39 ; to form the completed scanning drum and to preserve the rotational axis about which the outer surface of the drum was formed . as shown in fig5 at least one of the end caps , e . g ., end cap 66 , preferably has a centrally located hole 68 extending therethrough and providing a rotational axis 70 that is concentric with that of the mandrel 32 and thus concentric with the rotational axis of the outer surface of the finished shell . this ensures that a document mounted on the outer drum surface for scanning remains at a constant distance from the rotational axis of the scanner system and thus also a constant distance from the imaging lens . the result is a low cost scanner drum with a precision heretofore obtainable only in systems of considerably greater cost . the other end cap , 66 &# 39 ;, is adapted to mate with a frusto - conical spindle as described in the lehman et al application noted earlier . to this end , the cap has a tapered face 72 on the end thereof . a plurality of resilient pads 74 of rubber or the like are distributed about the periphery of the drum in order to provide a degree of vibration isolation . preferably , at least three such pads distributed equally about the periphery are used . the yield of usable drums is further increased by use of the calibration strip 21 shown in fig1 . this strip extends from side to side on the drum , and extends along the circumference of the drum by a limited amount , e . g ., 3 / 4 inch . as described more fully in the copending application of lehman et al referred to above , it provides a calibration reference for both reflective and transmissive scanning . it is opaque , and thus blocks light from passage through it . this strip is applied as part of the final manufacturing of the drum . since the outer surface of the drum is concentric with respect to the longitudinal drum axis and thus symmetric with respect to this axis , all positions along the circumference are equivalent and the strip may thus be located at an arbitrary position . however , if an objectionable inclusion is found in the drum , the strip is located in a position such as to cover this and any other occlusions that may lie within its limits . this will occasionally save a drum that otherwise would be objectionable . from the foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a drum for a rotary scanner having a highly concentric imaging surface characteristic of drums of considerably greater cost . further , we have provided a process for manufacturing such a drum that is readily implemented with simple tooling described herein . means are provided to accommodate certain undesired inclusions in the drum material , as well as to minimize vibration coupling between the drum and the scanner in which it is mounted . it will be understood that the foregoing has described an illustrative embodiment only , and that various changes may be made therein without departing from either the spirit or the scope of the invention . | 1 |
referring to fig1 , an analysis system 10 may include a floor mat 26 . the floor mat 26 may be broken up into a plurality of rows and columns made up of individual pressure sensitive squares 50 . the individual squares 50 include force sensors that detect dynamically the magnitude of an applied force and the nature of the force applied to the mat . the “ nature of the force applied to the mat ” is intended to refer to the ability to determine information about a surface area that applies force to the square 50 . in some embodiments , this information may indicate whether the user &# 39 ; s foot is contacting the square over the entire surface of the user &# 39 ; s foot or the user &# 39 ; s foot is contacting the square with weight that is focused at a particular part of the foot , either front - to - back or side - to - side . in one embodiment , each of the squares 50 may be made of kinotex ® tactel force sensor , available from tactex controls , inc ., victoria , b . c ., canada . this force sensor provides the information about both the magnitude of the force and the area through which the force is applied , as well as how that pressure is applied dynamically . a tactel force sensor may include a sensor that measures minute displacements due to forces applied to its surface . it may be constructed of plastic fiber embedded in foam . thus , it may be flexible or rigid and can operate with soft surfaces or from beneath durable wear layers . a single sensing element , called a taxel , is composed of send - and - receive fiber . a red light at 650 nanometers shines through the transmit fiber to illuminate the foam . an external force compressing the foam increases the intensity of the backscattered of light . the intensity of the light is monitored by a receive fiber . the receive fiber is coupled to a photodiode that measures the light level returned from the received fiber . a plurality of the squares 50 may form a matrix of any desired size . in one embodiment , each of the squares 50 may be large enough to easily accommodate a normal person &# 39 ; s foot within the periphery of the square 50 . thus , as shown in fig1 in dashed lines , a user may stand on two adjacent squares 50 . of course , it is also possible that the user stands on one or the other of his or her feet . each of the squares 50 also includes a light indicator 52 . the light indicator may include lighting elements that produce two different light colors . for example , the light color green may indicate the current position of the user &# 39 ; s feet and a light color red may indicate the proposed position of the user &# 39 ; s feet at the completion of a suggested movement . thus , in the example depicted in fig1 , the user &# 39 ; s feet are currently at the positions s l and s r , as indicated by the dashed footprints . the light indicators 52 g indicate the current positions of the user &# 39 ; s feet , for example , using green light . the proposed movement may be indicated by the light indicators 52 r , which , in this case , suggest moving the feet to an outwardly situated pair of squares 50 . the proposed movement may be indicated by red light indicators 52 r . the signals produced by the mat 26 in response to the forces applied by the user &# 39 ; s feet are provided to a computer or electronic controller 24 . the controller 24 may be a computer in one embodiment . the controller 24 is also coupled to a camera 20 that records the user &# 39 ; s movements at all times and enables analysis of the user &# 39 ; s movements . thus , the computer may determine what the user is doing in response to movement suggestions provided on a display 28 . the display 28 , also coupled to the controller 24 , displays a grid matrix which , in one embodiment , corresponds to the matrix embodied in the mat 26 . in one embodiment , the display 28 is supported at an angle to the floor by the stand 60 . the grid image depicted on the display 28 may also include images of a plurality of squares 54 that correspond to the real squares 50 on the mat 26 . thus , the user &# 39 ; s current foot position ( indicated in the hatched footprints in fig1 ) by the display 28 . the hatched footprints may indicate a foot image that is displayed on the display in a distinct color to indicate the user &# 39 ; s current position . the footprints p l and p r may be images of footprints in the new position that the user is being asked to assume . thus , for example , in response to the display 28 , the user may move his feet from the positions , more centered on the mat 26 , to the peripheral positions indicated by p l and p r and associated with the squares 50 , having the illuminated lights 52 r . in this way , the user can be guided through a series of movements . the user &# 39 ; s response to these movements can be monitored in two ways . feedback is received from the camera 20 to indicate what the user is actually doing . for example , the camera may record the information and may use digital image analysis to make a determination of how stable the user is , how quickly and assuredly the user moves , where the user moves , and how the user is moving . in addition , the pressure sensitive sensors in each square 50 record the pattern of applied forces of the user &# 39 ; s foot positions . the sensors may indicate not only where the user has placed the user &# 39 ; s foot , but exactly how weight is distributed over the square 50 by the user &# 39 ; s foot and whether or not the user &# 39 ; s foot is positioned in the correct position suggested by the display 28 . the sensors may also indicate how the weight distribution changes over time . the system may learn how quickly the user is responding and what the user &# 39 ; s range of motion is by indicating progressively more extensive movements and seeing whether the user can actually follow those commands with a reasonable effort . the system may then dynamically configure the subsequent patterns of movements in accordance with the exercise the user needs and the user &# 39 ; s ability to do that exercise , based on past results recorded by the system 10 . thus , the system can provide exercise regimes based on patterns of pressure distribution , such as placing the weight on the heel , toes , outside or inside edges of the feet . exercises can be targeted to specific muscle groups that may be weakened in particular individuals , such as older individuals . in addition , the exercise pattern may be tailored to physical or mental disabilities or illnesses , including those that result in limited range of motion , reduced response time , and inability to remember sequences of instructions . referring to fig2 , in one embodiment , a sequence 30 may be implemented by the controller 24 . the sequence 30 , in one embodiment , may include software instructions stored in a computer readable medium within the controller 24 . alternatively , those instructions may be embodied in hardware or firmware . initially , the sequence 30 may begin by displaying a new foot position , as indicated by the indicators p l and p r on the display 28 in fig1 . then , in block 34 , the actual position of the user &# 39 ; s feet is monitored . the monitoring may be done through the camera 20 using digital analysis of the resulting image and through the pattern of forces applied to the mat 50 , detected through the force sensors within the mat . then , the actual foot position of the user is displayed , as indicated in block 36 . for example , if the display suggests placement at the positions p l and p r , the user &# 39 ; s attempt to comply with that suggested positioning may be indicated by showing where the user &# 39 ; s feet actually are , using a different color , such as green , so that the user can then attempt to correct and follow the suggested foot positioning . in addition , the weight distribution across the user &# 39 ; s feet may be indicated by highlighting regions of the foot image displayed on the display screen 28 . for example , if the user was asked to place weight on the ball of the left foot , the placement of the user &# 39 ; s weight may actually be indicated on the dashed line image to indicate exactly where the weight is placed . the user may have been instructed to place the user &# 39 ; s weight primarily on the ball of his foot , in this example , by highlighting the image of the ball of the foot . then , a check at diamond 38 determines whether the actual foot positions are correct relative to the instructions that were given or the display 28 . if not , the incorrect position is displayed ( block 39 ) and the flow iterates . if the positions are correct , then the flow moves to block 40 . in block 40 , an indication of the correct position is provided . in other words , the user is given feedback to indicate that the user has complied with the suggested motion course . the image of the old position of the feet is then removed from the display 28 . for example , if the user correctly places the user &# 39 ; s feet at the positions p l and p r , those may change color to the color green , in this example , and the two foot images inbound of the images p l and p r may be removed from the display screen . the user &# 39 ; s response time and range of motion is recorded in block 42 . this information is then used to design the next stage of the exercise or analysis routine . for example , based on the response time , the amount of time given for the user to respond to the next sequence of instructions may be changed , either increased or decreased , and the extent of movement that is requested may be changed as well by either increasing or decreasing the range of motion , as appropriate . algorithms within the controller 24 implement the new sequence . thereafter , if the end of the pattern of movement is not detected in diamond 44 , a new foot position is displayed , as described already . namely , the desired foot position is indicated on the display 28 using appropriate foot images in one embodiment . in addition , the light indicators on the mat 50 indicate where to put the user &# 39 ; s feet for the next sequence or step . referring to fig3 , in some embodiments , a controller 24 may be linked to a network 60 . in some cases , a plurality of controllers 24 associated with different patients , users , or facilities may be linked over a suitable network through a server 64 . the network 64 may be a local area network or the internet , to mention two examples . thus , a plurality of controllers 24 associated with systems at different locations may be linked through a server 64 to a plurality of care givers 62 . the care givers 62 may be associated with processor - based systems . for example , care givers may be exercise physiologists , doctors , physical therapists , nurses , or hospital technicians , to mention a few examples . thus , each controller 24 may provide an output over the network to a care giver at a remote location to indicate whether or not the exercise regime is being attempted , how often , and how well the user is doing in attempting to comply with the regime . this information may provide the care giver with immediate feedback , which the care giver may then use to provide directions to modify the routine or to contact the patient or user . exercise regimen modifications or user contacts may be implemented by messages initiated at the remote care givers 62 and forwarded to a controller 24 . those messages may even be displayed on the display 28 . thus , in some cases , the care giver can monitor the exercise routine in real time and may provide real time feedback , including encouragement to a remote user . this would enable users to implement the system in their own home under the general guidance of a suitable care giver . in addition , it would enable the care giver to provide inputs to a wide variety of users at a wide variety of disbursed locations . in some embodiments , the controller 24 may be a processor - based system including a processor 68 coupled to a database 78 . the database 78 may include information about suitable exercise regimes , and information correlating particular types of exercises to a particular patient or user problems . the database 78 may be consulted by the exercise designer 72 to come up with an exercise regime based on the user &# 39 ; s performance in existing exercises or based on inputs from a care giver , for example . the display controller 70 may be responsible for controlling the display 28 . the exercise analyzer 74 may analyze the performance of the user and may provide feedback to the processor for exercise design and modification . that interface 76 interfaces to the mat 26 and provides signals to the mat and receives signals from the mat . references throughout this specification to “ one embodiment ” or “ an embodiment ” mean that a particular feature , structure , or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one implementation encompassed within the present invention . thus , appearances of the phrase “ one embodiment ” or “ in an embodiment ” are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment . furthermore , the particular features , structures , or characteristics may be instituted in other suitable forms other than the particular embodiment illustrated and all such forms may be encompassed within the claims of the present application . while the present invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom . it is intended that the appended claims cover all such modifications and variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of this present invention . | 0 |
the substrate of the invention is a polyolefin material , i . e ., polyethylene , polyalkyl - α - olefins , and blends thereof , such as propylene , or polyallomer which is an ethylene / propylene copolymer . these polyolefin materials can also contain small amounts , i . e ., up to about 10 weight percent of modifying monomers , e . g ., crosslinkable terpolymers , such as dicyclopentadiene and norborneene , and ionomers which enhance strength , such as acrylic acid . these terpolymers and ionomers are not present on the surface of the polyolefin materials in sufficient quantities to affect epoxy adhesive adhesion to the polyolefin materials . the thickness of the polyolefin material is determined by the end use of the adhesive - coated product , typical thicknesses being in the range of about 0 . 025 to about 5 . 0 millimeters . the polyolefin material may contain additives , such as carbon black , calcium , carbonate , silica , titanium dioxide , crosslinking agents , dispersants and extrusion aids , which are known in the art . various specific monomers suitable for graft - polymerization onto polyolefin substrates to promote adherence of epoxy adhesives to the substrate include acrylic acid , dimethylacrylamide , diethylacrylamide , dipropylacrylamide , hydroxyethylacrylate , butanedioldiacrylate , hexanedioldiacrylate , diethylaminoethylacrylate , glycidylmethacrylate , isobutylmethacrylate , cyclohexylmethacrylate , trimethylolpropane triacrylate , trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate , pentaerythritol triacrylate , pentaerythritol tetracrylate , hydantoin hexacrylate , 2 - vinyl - 4 , 4 - dimethylazlactone , and n - vinylpyrrolidone . the monomer composition generally contains about 60 to about 100 weight percent monomer . the monomer composition applied to the polyolefin substrate may contain various additives such as crosslinking agents , surfactants , alcohols , and acids . crosslinking agents , some of which may also be monomers suitable for grafting onto the substrate themselves , may be added to further enhance heat resistance of the product . examples of useful crosslinking agents include polyethyleneglycol diacrylate , pentaerythritol tetraacrylate , tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate , trimethylolpropane triacrylate , trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate , allyl methacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol diacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol dimethacrylate , thiodiethylene glycol diacrylate , and triallyl cyanurate . the preferred crosslinking agents include polyethylene glycol diacrylate , tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate , trimethylol propane triacrylate , and thiodiethylene glycol diacrylate . crosslinking agents may be present in monomer compositions in amounts of about 0 to about 80 percent by weight , preferably 0 to about 40 percent by weight . surfactants may be present in the monomer composition to improve the uniformity of the coating on the substrate . the thickness of the monomer composition is preferably less than about 5 micrometers , more preferably less than about 1 micrometer and most preferably less than about 0 . 5 micrometer . for uniform application of the monomer to the polyolefin substrate , the substrate is preferably treated to enable a polar liquid to wet the surface . this can be achieved by treating the substrate with an oxidizing agent such as nitric acid or chromic acid , or treating the substrate with flame , plasma discharge or corona discharge . the preferred method of treatment is corona discharge . the monomer may be graft - polymerized to the substrate by use of actinic radiation such as x - rays , beta rays , gamma rays , ultraviolet light , visible light and electron beam irradiation . the preferred method of graft - polymerization is by irradiation with an electron beam . the electron beam dosage is typically greater than about 0 . 05 mrads , preferably greater than about 0 . 5 mrads , and more preferably , in the range of about 2 to about 10 mrads . the substrate to which the polyolefin material is to be adhered can be any substrate which bonds well with epoxy adhesives . such substrates include , for example , metals such as aluminum , steel , galvanized steel , stainless steel , copper , and titanium , plastics , other than polyolefins , such as polycarbonate , polyvinyl chloride , polyester and fiber - reinforced polyester , polymethylmethacrylate , and acrylonitrile - butadienestyrene , and particularly those plastics which are high - temperature impact modified , natural and synthetic rubbers , such as polychloroprene , styrene - butadiene rubber , and nitrile rubber , ceramics , wood , painted surfaces , glass primed with silane and polyolefin having a monomer graft - polymerized thereto according to the present invention . epoxy adhesives useful in the present invention include any one or two - part epoxy adhesives as long as the curing temperature required does not exceed the softening temperature of the polyolefin substrate . in use the epoxy adhesive may be applied to either the polyolefin substrate or to the substrate to which the polyolefin material is to be adhered or to both substrates . typical epoxy adhesives include scotch - weld epoxy adhesives 1838 and 2216 b / a , each available from minnesota mining and manufacturing company . the advantages of the invention are illustrated by the following examples , it being understood that numerous variations will be well within the ability of those skilled in the art . into a polyallomer resin , available from tennessee eastman under the trade designation tenite 5321e , was milled 1 % carbon black by weight . the composition was then extruded as a sheet having a thickness of about 0 . 5 millimeter , after which one surface was corona - treated by passing the sheet through a 1 millimeter air gap between a chlorinated polyethylene - coated electrode and a grounded aluminum cylinder . the frequency of the unit was 16 khz , the total input power being 1 . 5 kw and the exposure time of the sample being on the order of 0 . 6 - 1 . 0 sec . over the corona - treated surface was then applied a blend of 80 parts by weight n , n - dimethyl acrylamide , 20 parts by weight trimethylol propane triacrylate , and 0 . 5 part by weight of a fluorochemical acrylate oligomer ( a wetting and leveling agent commercially available from 3m company as &# 34 ; fc 430 &# 34 ;). the blend , which had a viscosity of 2 . 3 cps at 25 ° c ., was applied to the corona - treated polyallomer surface using a no . 200 quad knurled gravure roll in combination with a doctor blade , minimizing the coating thickness to less than one micrometer . the coated surface was then exposed to electron beam irradiation at a dosage of about 4 mrads and a voltage of 150 - 250 kv in a nitrogen atmosphere . the thickness of the grafted layer was found to be less than 0 . 4 micrometer using attenuated total reflection - infrared spectroscopy . a cold - rolled steel panel ( 4 &# 34 ;× 12 &# 34 ;× 0 . 32 &# 34 ;( 10 cm × 30 cm + 0 . 8 cm ), designated 80 - 730f cold - rolled steel , b 40 , unpolished , 17603001 , available from advanced coating technologies , inc ., hillsdale , mich .) was wiped three times with methyl ethyl ketone to remove any surface oil present . scotch - weld epoxy adhesive 1838 - l b / a translucent was prepared by mixing together 6 parts by weight base and 5 parts by weight accelerator . the adhesive was coated on the steel panel and a one - inch wide × six - inch long strip of polyallomer having the n , n - dimethyl acrylamide / trimethylolpropane triacrylate grafted thereto was placed on the adhesive with the grafted surface contacting the adhesive and an end of the polyallomer extending beyond the plate . a 4 . 5 lb ( 2 kg ) roller was rolled across the steel plate / adhesive / polyallomer composite twice . the composite , in which the epoxy adhesive layer was about 0 . 004 inch ( 0 . 1 mm ) thick , was placed in an oven at 170 ° f . ( 77 ° c .) for 2 hours . the oven was then turned off and the composite was allowed to cool overnight ( 16 hours ). adhesion was determined by pulling the polyallomer from steel plate at a 90 ° angle and a rate of 12 inches ( 30 cm ) per minute . no adhesive failure occurred . the polyallomer adherend failed at a force of about 40 lb / in ( 700 n / dm ). in comparative examples 1 - 3 , untreated polyallomer , polyallomer which had been corona - treated as in example 1 , and polyallomer which had been corona - treated and subjected to electron beam radiation as in example 1 but with no monomer present , respectively were tested for adhesion as in example 1 . the results are shown in table 1 . in examples 2 - 19 , various monomers set forth in table 1 were graft - polymerized onto polyallomer as described in example 1 except that the monomer was applied by wiping the polyallomer with a paper towel moistened with the monomer and the dosage of electron beam irradiation was about 5 mrads . in each of examples 2 - 12 and 14 - 19 , 95 parts by weight of the indicated monomer was mixed with 5 parts by weight trimethylolpropane triacrylate , as crosslinking agent and in example 13 the trimethylolpropane triacrylate was applied as a 50 weight percent solution in acetone . composites were prepared as in example 1 and tested for adhesion . the results are set forth in table 1 . table 1______________________________________ adhesionexample monomer ( n / dm ) ______________________________________comp 1 -- 16comp 2 -- 17comp 3 -- 15 2 acrylic acid pab * 3 dimethylacrylamide pab 4 diethylacrylamide pab 5 dipropylacrylamide pab 6 hydroxyethylacrylate pab 7 butanedioldiacrylate pab 8 hexandedioldiacrylate pab 9 diethylaminoethylacrylate pab10 glycidyl methacrylate pab11 isobutylmethacrylate pab12 cyclohexylmethacrylate pab13 trimethylolpropane triacrylate pab14 trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate 2615 pentaerythritol triacrylate pab16 pentaerythritol tetraacrylate pab17 hydantoint hexacrylate 3318 2 - vinyl - 4 , 4 - dimethylazlactone pab19 n - vinylpyrrolidone pab______________________________________ * polyallomer adherend break to 20 mil ( 0 . 5 mm ) thick polyallomer sheet material was grafted a monomer mixture of 80 parts by weight diethylacrylamide , 20 parts by weight trimethylolpropane triacrylate , and 0 . 5 parts fc 430 as in example 1 . cold - rolled mild steel plates ( 3 &# 34 ;× 7 &# 34 ;× 1 / 8 &# 34 ; ( 7 . 5 cm × 17 . 5 cm × 2 . 2 cm ) type 1018 available from paper calmenson & amp ; co ., st . paul , minn .) were abraded by hand using grade 36 sandpaper , followed by grade 80 sandpaper , and then a grade 80 abrasive bristle brush , and then degreased with methyl ethyl ketone . the steel plates were then coated with scotch - weld epoxy primer 1945 , available from minnesota mining and manufacturing co ., at a thickness of about 1 - 2 mil ( 0 . 025 - 0 . 05 mm ) and allowed to dry for about ten minutes . in example 20 , scotch - weld epoxy adhesive 1838 - l b / a translucent , available from minnesota mining and manufacturing co . was prepared by mixing equal volumes of base and accelerator . the adhesive was coated on the primed steel plate . the grafted surface of a 1 inch × 8 inch piece of the polyallomer was laid over the adhesive as in example 1 and a second steel plate was placed on top of the polyallomer to effect uniform contact between the polyallomer material and the adhesive . the thus - formed composite was allowed to cure at room temperature ( 73 ° f ., 23 ° c .) for three days . the top steel plate was then removed and the composite was soaked in water at room temperature for 13 days . when the composite was tested using the 90 ° peel test as in example 1 , the polyallomer adherend broke before any bond failure occurred . in example 21 a composite was prepared and tested as in example 20 except that the adhesive used was scotch - weld 2216 b / a structural adhesive ( 2 parts by volume base mixed with 3 parts by volume accelerator ). again , the polyallomer adherend broke before any bond failure occurred . various modifications and alterations of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention and this invention should not be restricted to that set forth herein for illustrative purposes . | 1 |
referring to fig1 to 7 which show a first preferred embodiment of the present invention , and particularly , fig1 showing a plan view of a wheel cap according to the first preferred embodiment , the wheel cap is constituted of a wheel cap body 1 formed of plastics and a linear elastic member 2 . the wheel cap body 1 is provided with a plurality of axially projecting engagement portions 11 on the same circumference on the back side thereof . as shown in fig3 the engagement portions 11 are formed with convex portions 12 fitted to concave portions 31 of a wheel disc 3 with respect to a circumferential direction thereof as viewed sidewardly . that is to say , the wheel cap body 1 is designed to be engaged with the wheel disc 3 . the convex portions 12 of the wheel cap body 1 are inwardly formed with grooves 13 fittedly receiving the linear elastic member 2 which is concretely a wire spring of sectionally solid form . as shown in fig2 the wire spring is apparently annular , and a part of the wire spring is engaged with the grooves 13 to be positioned . the wire spring acts to press - contactingly bias the convex portions 12 against the concave portions 31 of the wheel disc 3 thereby to tightly engage the wheel cap body 1 with the wheel disc 3 . as shown in fig2 the wire spring in the first preferred embodiment is formed with flexible portions 21 on the inside of the circumference thereof . the flexible portions 21 are in the form of a singly wound loop which is really circular . as shown in fig7 a mount plane of the flexible portions 21 is parallel to a radial direction of the wheel cap body 1 . in connection with the above - mentioned constitution of the first preferred embodiment , the wheel cap body 1 is mounted to the wheel disc 3 in such a manner that an annular portion 20 of the wire spring is preliminarily engaged with the grooves 13 of the wheel cap body 1 as shown in fig6 . then , as shown in fig4 the convex portions 12 of the wheel cap body 1 are inwardly offset against a resilient force of the wire spring , and are inserted into the concave portions 31 of the wheel disc 3 . as a result , the engagement portions 11 of the wheel cap body 1 are brought into press - contact with the concave portions 31 of the wheel disc 3 as shown in fig3 and the axial movement of the wheel cap body 1 is restricted by the engagement of the convex portions 12 and the concave portions 31 . accordingly , the wheel cap body 1 is mounted to the wheel disc 3 in a predetermined position . with this arrangement , even if an external deforming force is applied to the wheel disc 3 , the loop - like flexible portions 21 of the wire spring incorporated in the wheel cap body 1 are sensitively resiliently deformed to a large extent . as a result , such a deforming force is sufficiently absorbed by each of the flexible portions 21 , thereby securing a stable and smooth press - contact condition . in this manner , according to the first preferred embodiment , a mount load of the wheel cap body 1 to the wheel disc 3 may be properly secured by the provision of the loop - like flexible portions 21 . the wire spring in the first preferred embodiment is formed of a spring steel having a diameter of 2 - 3 . 5 mm . however , a degree of freedom for the mount load as aforementioned may be increased by varying the diameter of the wire spring or a loop diameter . although the loop - like flexible portions 21 are of a singly wound real circle , and are arranged in substantially parallel relation with the radial direction of the wheel cap body in the first preferred embodiment , double wound loop - like flexible portions 22 and 23 as shown in fig8 and 9 may be arranged in an offset position with respect to an axial direction of the wheel cap body 1 , or in parallel relation with the radial direction of the wheel cap body 1 . such modification may exhibit the substantially same operation and effect as with the first preferred embodiment . as shown in fig1 , a loop - like flexible portions 24 is in the form of a singly wound ellipse having a loop diameter of 5 mm and a length of 20 mm . as shown in fig1 , a mount plane of the flexible portions 24 are selectively arranged in parallel relation i with the radial direction of the wheel cap body 1 , or in inclined relation ii at an angle of 45 degrees , or in parallel relation iii with the axial direction of the wheel cap body 1 , thereby corresponding to a mount space at a narrow area between the wheel cap body 1 and the wheel disc 3 , and effectively utilizing the mount space to properly install the flexible portions 21 . further , as shown in fig1 and 13 , the loop - like flexible portions are formed in a pair of singly - wound really - circular loops which are different in a winding direction and are arranged adjacent to each other . such modifications as mentioned above exhibit the substantially same operation and effect as with the first preferred embodiment . referring to fig1 and 15 which show a second preferred embodiment of the present invention , the constitution is substantially similar to that of the first preferred embodiment except that loop - like flexible portions 26 are in the form of a greek letter ω such that they are separated at opposite turning points 27 , so as to secure a large quantity of deformation owing to the provision of such separate portions , and that the loop - like flexible portions 26 are arranged in parallel relation with the axial direction of the wheel cap body 1 . the operation and effect of the second preferred embodiment are the substantially same as those of the first preferred embodiment . in a modification of the second preferred embodiment , as shown in fig1 , loop - like flexible portions 28 are in the form of ellipse , and as shown in fig1 , a mount plane thereof is selectively arranged in parallel relation iv with the radial direction of the wheel cap body 1 , or in inclined relation v or vi at an angle of 35 degrees or 70 degrees , or in parallel relation ( not shown ) with the axial direction of the wheel cap body 1 . further , the flexible portions may be formed in a real circle or ellipse , and a plurality of the flexible portions may be arranged adjacent to each other , thereby effectively utilizing a mount space at a narrow area between the wheel cap body 1 and the wheel disc 3 to securely install the flexible portions . such a modification may exhibit the substantially same operation and effect as with the first preferred embodiment . in the above - mentioned preferred embodiments , the loop - like flexible portions may sufficiently cope with a mount rigidity ( load ) of the wheel cap body to the wheel disc by varying a size , shape , mount number or angle of the mount plane ( with respect to the axial direction of the wheel cap ) of the flexible portions , or a diameter of the wire spring , or by using a sectionally hollow wire spring . further , the mount space of the flexible portions may be sufficiently secured . having thus described the preferred embodiments of the invention , it should be understood that numerous structural modifications and adaptations may be restored to without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 1 |
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 ( i . e . c 1 - c 10 means one to ten carbons ). examples of saturated hydrocarbon radicals include 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 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 “ alkylene ” by itself or as part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from an alkane , as exemplified by — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 —. typically , an alkyl ( or alkylene ) group will have from 1 to 24 carbon atoms , with those groups having 10 or fewer carbon atoms being preferred in the present invention . a “ lower alkyl ” or “ lower alkylene ” is a shorter chain alkyl or alkylene group , generally having six or fewer carbon atoms . the terms “ alkoxy ,” alkylamino ” and “ alkylthio ” ( or thioalkoxy ) are used in their conventional sense , and refer to those alkyl groups attached to the remainder of the molecule via an oxygen atom , an amino group , or a sulfur atom , respectively . the term “ heteroalkyl ,” by itself or in combination with another term , means , unless otherwise stated , a stable straight or branched chain , or cyclic hydrocarbon radical , or combinations thereof , consisting of the stated number of carbon atoms and from one to three heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of o , n , si and s , and wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms may optionally be oxidized and the nitrogen heteroatom may optionally be heteroatoms . the heteroatom ( s ) o , n and s may be placed at any interior position of the heteroalkyl group . the heteroatom si may be placed at any position of the heteroalkyl group , including the position al which the alkyl group is attached to the remainder of the molecule . examples include — ch 2 — ch 2 — o — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — nh — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — n ( ch 3 )— ch 3 , — ch 2 — s — ch 2 — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 , — s ( o )— ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — s ( o ) 2 — ch 3 , — ch ═ ch — o — ch 3 , si ( ch 3 ) 3 , — ch 2 — ch ═ n — och 3 , and — ch ═ ch — n ( ch 3 )— ch 3 . up to two heteroatoms may be consecutive , such as , for example , — ch 2 — nh — och 3 and — ch 2 — o — si ( ch 3 ) 3 . similarly , the term “ heteroalkylene ” by itself or as part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from heteroalkyl , as exemplified by — ch 2 — ch 2 — s — ch 2 ch 2 — and — ch 2 — s — ch 2 — ch 2 — nh — ch 2 —. for heteroalkylene groups , heteroatoms can also occupy either or both of the chain termini ( e . g ., alkyleneoxy , alkylenedioxy , alkyleneamino , alkylenediamino , and the like ). still further , for alkylene and heteroalkylene linking groups , no orientation of the linking group is implied . the terms “ cycloalkyl ” and “ heterocycloalkyl ”, by themselves or in combination with other terms , represent , unless otherwise stated , cyclic versions of “ alkyl ” and “ heteroalkyl ”, respectively . additionally , for heterocycloalkyl , a heteroatom can occupy the position at which the heterocycle is attached to the remainder of the molecule . examples of cycloalkyl include cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , 1 - cyclohexenyl , 3 - cyclohexenyl , cycloheptyl , and the like . examples of heterocycloalkyl include 1 -( 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 - tetrahydropyridyl ), 1 - pipe - ridinyl , 2 - piperidinyl , 3 - piperidinyl , 4 - morpholinyl , 3 - morpholinyl , telraltydrofuran - 2 - yl , tetrahydrofuran - 3 - yl , tetrahydrothien - 2 - yl , tetrahydrothien - 3 - yl , 1 - piperazinyl , 2 - piperazinyl , and the like . the terms “ halo ” or “ halogen ,” by themselves or as part of another substituent , mean , unless otherwise stated , a fluorine , chlorine , bromine , or iodine atom . additionally , terms such as “ haloalkyl ,” are meant to include monohaloalkyl and polyhaloalkyl . for example , the term “ halo ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl ” is meant to include trifluoromethyl , 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl , 4 - chlorobutyl , 3 - bromopropyl , and the like . the term “ aryl ” means , unless otherwise stated , a polyunsaturated , typically aromatic , hydrocarbon substituent which can be a single ring or multiple rings ( up to three rings ) which are fused together or linked covalently . the term “ heteroaryl ” refers to aryl groups ( or rings ) that contain from zero 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 - pyridyl , 3 - pyridyl , 4 - pyridyl , 2 - pyrimidyl , 4 - pyrimidyl , 5 - benzothiazolyl , purinyl , 2 - benzimidazolyl , 5 - indolyl , 1 - isoquinolyl , 5 - isoquinolyl , 2 - quinoxalinyl , 5 - quinoxalinyl , 3 - quinolyl , and 6 - quinolyl . substituents for each of the above noted aryl and heteroaryl ring systems are selected from the group of acceptable substituents described below . for brevity , 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 and the like ) including those alkyl groups in which a carbon atom ( e . g ., a methylene group ) has been replaced by , for example , an oxygen atom ( e . g ., phenoxymethyl , 2 - pyridyloxymethyl , 3 -( 1 - naphthyloxy ) propyl , and the like ). each of the above terms ( e . g ., “ alkyl ,” heteroalkyl ,” “ aryl ” and “ heteroaryl ”) are meant to include both substituted and unsubstituted forms of the indicated radical . preferred substituents for each type of radical are provided below . substituents for the alkyl , heteroalkyl , aryl , and heteroalkyl radicals ( including those groups often referred to as alkylene , alkenyl , heteroalkylene , heteroalkenyl , alkynyl , cycloalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , and heterocycloalkenyl ) can be a variety of groups selected from : — or ′, ═ o , ═ nr ′, — n — or ′, — nr ′ r ″, — sr ′, - halogen , — sir ′ r ″ r ′″, — oc ( o ) r ′, — c ( o ) r ′, — co 2 r ′, — conr ′ r ″, — oc ( o ) nr ′ r ″, — nr ″ c ( o ) r ′, — nr ′— c ( o ) nr ″ r ′, — nr — c ( o ) 2 r ′, — nh — c ( nh 2 )═ nh , — nr ′ c ( nh 2 )═ nh , — nh — c ( nh 2 )═ nr ′, — s ( o ) r ′, — s ( o ) 2 r ′, — s ( o ) 2 nr ′ r ″, — cn and — no 2 in a number ranging from zero to ( 2m ′+ 1 ), where m ′ is the total number of carbon atoms in such radical . r ′, r ″ and r ′″ each independently refer to hydrogen , unsubstituted ( c 1 - c 8 ) alkyl and heteroalkyl , unsubstituted aryl , aryl substituted with 1 - 3 halogens , unsubstituted alkyl , alkoxy or thioalkoxy groups , or aryl -( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl groups . when r ′ and r ″ are attached to the same nitrogen atom , they can be combined with the nitrogen atom to form a 5 -, 6 -, or 7 - membered ring . for example , — nr ′ r ″ is meant to include 1 - pyrrolidinyl and 4 - morpholinyl . from the above discussion of substituents , one of skill in the art will understand that the term “ alkyl ” is meant to include groups such as halo - alkyl ( e . g ., — cf 3 and — ch 2 cf 3 ) and acyl ( e . g ., — c ( o ) ch 3 , — c ( o ) cf 3 , — c ( o ) ch 2 och 3 , and the like ). preferably , the substituted alkyl and heteroalkyl groups have from 1 to 4 substituents , more preferably 1 , 2 or 3 substituents . exceptions are those perhalo alkyl groups ( e . g ., pentafluoroethyl and the like ) which are also preferred and contemplated by the present invention . similarly , substituents for the aryl and heteroaryl groups are varied and are selected from : - halogen , — or ′, — oc ( o ) r ′, — nr ′ r ″, — sr ′, — r ′, — cn , — no 2 , — co 2 r ′, — conr ′ r ″, — c ( o ) r ′, — oc ( o ) nr ′ r ″, — nr ″ c ( o ) r ′, — nr ″ c ( o ) 2 r ′, — nr ′— c ( o ) nr ″ r ′″, — s ( o ) 2 r ′, — nh — c ( nh 2 )═ nh , — nr ′ c ( nh 2 )═ nh , — nh — c ( nh 2 )═ nr ′, — s ( o ) r ′, — s ( o ) 2 nr ′ r ″, — n 3 , — ch ( ph ) 2 , perfluoro ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkoxy , and perfluoro ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl , in a number ranging from zero to the total number of open valences on the aromatic ring system ; and where r ′, r ″ and r ′″ are independently selected from hydrogen , ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl and heteroalkyl , unsubstituted aryl and heteroaryl , ( unsubstituted aryl )-( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl , and ( unsubstituted aryl ) oxy -( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl . two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula - t - c ( o )—( ch 2 ) q — u —, wherein t and u are independently — nh —, — o —, — ch 2 — or a single bond , and q is an integer of from 0 to 2 . alternatively , two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula - a -( ch 2 ) r — b —, wherein a and b are independently — ch 2 —, — o —, — nh —, — s —, — s ( o —, — s ( o ) 2 —, — s ( o ) 2 nr ′— or a single bond , and r is an integer of from 1 to 3 . one of the single bonds of the new ring so formed may optionally be replaced with a double bond . alternatively , two of the substituents on adjacent atoms of the aryl or heteroaryl ring may optionally be replaced with a substituent of the formula —( ch 2 ) e - x —( ch 2 ) r , where s and t are independently integers of from 0 to 3 , and x is — o —, — nr ′—, — s —, — s ( o )—, — s ( o ) 2 —, or — s ( o ) 2 nr ′—. the substituent r ′ in — nr ′— and — s ( o ) 2 nr ′— is selected from hydrogen or unsubstituted ( c 1 - c 6 ) alkyl . as used herein , the term “ heteroatom ” is meant to include oxygen ( o ), nitrogen ( n ), sulfur ( s ) and silicon ( si ). the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable salts ” is meant to include salts of the active compounds which are prepared with relatively nontoxic acids or bases , depending on the particular substituents found on the compounds described herein . when compounds of the present invention contain relatively acidic functionalities , base addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of such compounds with a sufficient amount of the desired base , either neat or in a suitable inert solvent . examples of pharmaceutically acceptable base addition salts include sodium , potassium , calcium , ammonium , organic amino , or magnesium salt , or a similar salt . when compounds of the present invention contain relatively basic functionalities , acid addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of such compounds with a sufficient amount of the desired acid , either neat or in a suitable inert solvent . examples of pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts include those derived from inorganic acids like hydrochloric , hydrobromic , nitric , carbonic , monohydrogencarbonic , phosphoric , monohydrogenphosphoric , dihydrogenphosphoric , sulfuric , monohydrogensulftric , hydriodic , or phosphorous acids and the like , as well as the salts derived from relatively nontoxic organic acids like acetic , ascorbic , propionic , isobulyric , malcic , malonic , lactic , malie , glutamic , benzoic , succinic , suberic , fumaric , mandelic , phthalic , benzenesulfonic , p - tolylsulfonic , citric , tartaric , methanesulfonic , lactobionic , and the like . also included are salts of amino acids such as arginate and the like , and salts of organic acids like glucuronic or galactunoric acids and the like ( see , for example , berge , s . m ., et al , “ pharmaceutical salts ”, journal of pharmaceutical science , 1977 , 66 , 1 - 19 ). certain specific compounds of the present invention contain both basic and acidic functionalities that allow the compounds to be converted into either base or acid addition salts . the neutral forms of the compounds may be regenerated by contacting the salt with a base or acid and isolating the parent compound in the conventional manner . the parent form of the compound differs from the various salt forms in certain physical properties , such as solubility in polar solvents , but otherwise the salts are equivalent to the parent form of the compound for the purposes of the present invention . in addition to salt forms , the present invention provides compounds which are in a prodrug form . prodrugs of the compounds described herein are those compounds that readily undergo chemical changes under physiological conditions to provide the compounds of the present invention . additionally , prodrugs can be converted to the compounds of the present invention by chemical or biochemical methods in an ex vivo environment . for example , prodrugs can be slowly converted to the compounds of the present invention when placed in a transdermal patch reservoir with a suitable enzyme or chemical reagent . certain compounds of the present invention can exist in unsolvated forms as well as solvated forms , including hydrated forms . in general , the solvated forms are equivalent to unsolvated forms and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . certain compounds of the present invention may exist in multiple crystalline or amorphous forms . in general , all physical forms are equivalent for the uses contemplated by the present invention and are intended to be within the scope of the present invention . certain compounds of the present invention possess asymmetric carbon atoms ( chiral centers ) or double bonds ; the racemates , diastereomers , geometric isomers and individual isomers are all intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . the compounds of the present invention may also contain unnatural proportions of atomic isotopes at one or more of the atoms that constitute such compounds . for example , the compounds may be radiolabeled with radioactive isotopes , such as for example tritium ( 3 h ), iodine - 125 ( 125 i ) or carbon - 14 ( 14 c ). all isotopic variations of the compounds of the present invention , whether radioactive or not , are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . the present invention provides novel biaryl antiinfective compounds , in which a pyrrole ring is directly bonded to a 6 , 5 - condensed ring system . an exemplary 6 , 5 - condensed ring system is a benzimidazole system . thus , this invention provides a compound according to formula ( i ) ar is an unsubstituted or substituted phenyl group , 5 - member heteroaryl group , 6 - member heteroaryl group , 6 , 6 - condensed ring aryl or heteraryl group , or 6 , 5 - condensed ring heteroaryl group ; each q is independently n , ch , c ( r 6 ), where r 6 is as defined hereinbelow , with the proviso that no more than two q &# 39 ; s are n ; each of r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 independently is h or a ( c 1 - c 5 ) alkyl group ; each r 5 is independently h , a substituted or unsubstituted ( c 1 - c 12 ) alkyl group , or a substituted or unsubstituted ( c 1 - c 12 ) heteroalkyl group ; and each r 6 is independently a substituted or unsubstituted ( c 1 - c 12 ) alkyl , or 5 , n ( r 5 ) 2 , o ( co ) r 5 , n ( co ) r 5 , cl , f , or br . exemplary suitable r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are h , methyl , ethyl , propyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , butyl , isobutyl , 2 - butyl , t - butyl , n - propyl , 2 - propyl , and 3 - propyl . preferably , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , and r 4 are h or methyl , with h being especially preferred in the instance of r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 and methyl being especially preferred in the instance of r 4 . in one group of preferred embodiments , r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 are each h and r 4 is methyl , i . e ., as represented by formula ( ii ) ( a ) phenyl group ; ( b ) 5 - member heteroaryl group , such as an imidazolyl , pyrrolyl , pyrazolyl , furanyl , isothiazolyl , oxazolyl , isoxazolyl , thiazolyl , furazanyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 5 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - thiadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 3 - triazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - triazolyl , 1 , 3 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , 1 , 2 , 4 - oxadiazolyl , or thienyl group ; ( c ) 6 - member heteroaryl group , such as a pyridyl , pyrimidyl , pyraeinyl pyridazinyl , or triazinyl group ; ( d ) 6 , 6 - condensed ring aryl or heteroaryl group , such as a naphthyl , quinolyl or isoquinolyl group ; or ( e ) 6 , 5 - condensed ring heteroaryl group , such as a benzothienyl , indolyl , or benzofuranyl group . combinations of the foregoing condensed 6 , 5 ring systems in preferred embodiments of compound i are represented in formulae ( iii ) through ( vii ), where ar , r 5 , and r 6 are as previously defined : r 5 preferably is a lower alkyl group such as methyl ( especially ), ethyl , propyl or isopropyl , ( ch 2 ) n ( am ), or ( ch 2 ) n ( oh ), where n is 2 , 3 , 4 , or 5 ( especially 3 ) and am is an alkyl amine group or a quaternary ammonium group . examples of preferred r 5 &# 39 ; s include : in a preferred embodiment of compound ( i ), r 5 is methyl , ar is at least one q is n and the remaining q &# 39 ; s are ch . in another preferred embodiment of compound ( i ), ar is selected from the group consisting of and r 5 is ( ch 2 ) 3 n ( ch 3 ) 2 . r 6 preferably is a lower alkyl group such as methyl ( especially ), ethyl , propyl or isopropyl , or 5 , nh ( co ) r 5 , o ( co ) r 5 , n ( r 5 ), or cl . examples of - preferred r 6 &# 39 ; s include : exemplary specific compounds ( i ) are listed in table a ( wherein each r 1 , r 2 , and r 3 is h and each r 4 is methyl ). table a exemplary compounds ( i ) ref . no . a - 1 a - 2 same a - 3 same same a - 4 same same a - 5 same same a - 6 same same a - 7 same same a - 8 same same a - 9 same same a - 10 same a - 11 same same a - 12 same a - 13 same same a - 14 same same a - 15 same a - 16 same a - 17 same same a - 18 same same a - 19 same same a - 20 a - 21 same same a - 22 same same a - 23 same same a - 24 same same a - 25 same same a - 26 same same a - 27 same same a - 28 same a - 29 same same a - 30 a - 31 same a - 32 same same a - 33 same same a - 34 same same a - 35 same same a - 36 same same a - 37 same same a - 38 same same a - 39 same a - 40 same same a - 41 a - 42 same same a - 43 same same a - 44 same same a - 45 same a - 46 same a - 47 same a - 48 same same a - 49 same same a - 50 same same a - 51 a - 52 same same a - 53 same same a - 54 same same a - 55 same same a - 56 same same a - 57 same a - 58 same same a - 59 same same a - 60 same same a - 61 same same a - 62 a - 63 same compounds of this invention have been found to have anti - bacterial and / or anti - fungal properties and therefore may be used for preventing and / or treating infections in eukaryotic organisms . for human anti - infective applications , an effective amount of a compound of this invention is used , optionally in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier . the composition may be dry , or it may be a solution . treatment may be reactive , for combating an existing infection , or prophylactic , for preventing infection in an organism susceptible to infection . preferably , compounds of this invention are used to treat infections by drug - resistant strains of bacteria , for example mrsa ( methicillin resistant s . aureus ), mrse ( methicillin resistant s . epidermidis ), prsp ( penicillin resistant s . pneumoniae ) or vre ( vancomycin resistant enterococci ). by “ drug - resistant ” it is meant that the bacteria are resistant to treatment with conventional antibiotics . host organisms that can be treated include eukaryotic organisms , in particular plants and animals . the plant may be an agriculturally important crop , such as wheat , rice , corn , soybean , sorghum , and alfalfa . animals of interest include mammals such as bovines , canines , equines , felines , ovines , porcines , and primates ( including humans ). accordingly , in another aspect of this invention , there is provided a method for treating a bacterial infection — particularly an infection by grant - positive bacteria — comprising administering to a patient in need of such treatment an effective amount of compound ( i ). compounds of this invention can be used in the preparation of a medicament for treating a bacterial or fungal infection in a mammal . the compounds may be administered orally , topically , parenterally ( e . g ., intravenously , subcutaneously , intraperitoneally , transdermally ) or by inhalation . the practice of our invention can be further understood by reference to the following examples , which are provided by way of illustration and not of limitation . common abbreviations and acronyms are employed for various chemicals and techniques , including : boc for t - butyloxycarbonyl ( and ( boc ) 2 o for the corresponding anhydride ); diea for diisopropylethylamine ; dmf for n , n - dimethylformamide ; esi - ms for electrospray ionization mass spectrometry ; hbtu for 2 -( 1h - benzotriazole - 1 - yl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate ; 1 h - nmr for proton nmr ; mscl for mesyl chloride ; rp - hplc for reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography ; rt for room ( ambient ) temperature ; tea for triethylamine ; and tlc for thin layer chromatography . typically , the structures of compounds were confirmed by 1 h - nmr and / or mass spectrometry . where a parenthetical remark such as “ 1 h - nmr ” or “ mass spectruni ” or “ esi - ms ” follows a reference to a compound without any elaboration , it means that such spectrum was taken , was consistent with the assigned structure , and did not indicate the presence of significant impurities . the skilled artisan will understand that : ( a ) an intermediate described in the context of the synthesis of a particular compound of this invention can also be used to make other compounds of this invention , mutatis mutandis ; ( b ) in certain experimental sections only the preparation of an intermediate compound is described , because its incorporation into a final compound of this invention straightforwardly follows synthetic methodology described herein ; and ( c ) for some reactions that recur herein , detailed reaction and work - up conditions sometimes are not provided in each instance in the interest of brevity and that the conditions described elsewhere in this application are adaptable to the instance at hand without undue experimentation . the following general procedures are used frequently in the synthesis of compounds of this invention . this section describes each in detail . subsequent recurrences are then simply referred to as “ procedure a ,” “ procedure b ,” etc . a mixture of the acid ( 1 . 2 eq .) and hbtu ( 1 . 15 eq .) in dmf / diea ( 3 eq , diea , ca . 3 : 1 dmf : diea by volume ) was stirred at rt for 30 min . the amine ( 1 . 0 eq .) in dmf ( ca . same volume ) was added and the mixture stirred at rt for 2 - 16 hr . the mixture was added dropwise to ice - water containing 10 % k 2 co 3 ( ca . 40 × reaction volume ). the resulting precipitates were collected by filtration and dried . in cases where no precipitates formed , the solution was extracted with etoac ( 3 ×) and the combined organic phases were dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated . the resulting crude product was either used directly in the next step , or , in the case of a final product , purified by rp - hplc ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 %, to 60 % in 60 min ). the purified product was characterized by 1 h - nmr and esi - ms . a solution of the nitro pyrrole ( 1 eq .) in a solvent ( typically etoac , meoh , or dmf ) was purged with nitrogen ( n 2 ) gas for several minutes . palladium on carbon ( pd / c ) ( 0 . 05 eq . by weight ) was added portion - wise while purging with n 2 . the flask was sealed and evacuated . hydrogen gas ( h 2 ) was introduced using a balloon . the evacuation was repeated several times , each time followed by the introduction of h 2 . the reaction was stirred under a h 2 atmosphere for several hours until tlc analysis showed complete consumption of starting material . the flask was then purged with n 2 before opening . the pd / c was removed by filtration through celite © filter media . the solvent was either removed to provide crude amino pyrrole ( in the case of etoac and meoh ) or the solution of the product was used directly in the next step ( in the case of dmf ). a mixture of the ester ( 1 eq .) and naoh or koh ( ca . 0 . 5 g base per g ester ) in water ( ca . 1 g ester per 40 ml ) and meoh or etoh ( ca . 1 g ester per 20 ml ) was stirred at 40 - 60 ° c . for 3 - 18 hr . the mixture was diluted with water ( ca . 2 × reaction volume ), washed with htoac ( 1 ×) and acidified to ph 2 - 3 using ca . 6m aq . hcl . the resulting precipitates were collected by filtration and dried . procedure d : mesylation of a primary alcohol and substitution with an amine a mixture of the alcohol ( 1 eq .) and diea ( 3 eq .) in dmf ( ca . 1 ml per 50 mg alcohol ) was treated with mesyl chloride ( 1 . 2 eq .) at rt then stirred for 1 hr at 40 ° c . the amine ( 510 eq .) was added and the reaction mixture was stirred at 60 ° c . for 12 hr . after cooling , the reaction mixture was diluted with 40 % aq . acoh and purified by rp - hplc ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 % to 60 % in 60 min ). the purified product was characterized by 1 h - nmr and esi - ms . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 7 is shown in fig1 . fig2 details the preparation of succeeding intermediate biaryl amines 21 - 24 . the preparation of compounds a - 1 , a - 12 , a - 13 , and a - 15 is outlined in fig3 . nitro pyrrole 3 . a mixture of pyrrole 1 ( 10 . 0 g , 54 . 3 mmol ), alkyl chloride 2 ( 9 . 44 g , 1 . 1 eq . ), nai ( 8 . 14 g , 1 equiv . ), and k 2 co 3 ( 16 . 51 g , 2 eq .) in dmf ( 150 ml ) was stirred at 75 ° c . for 16 hr . after cooling , the mixture was poured into 1m hcl ( 500 ml ) and washed with etoac ( 2 × 300 ml ). solid na 2 co 3 was added carefully to neutralize the acid and the solution extracted with etoac ( 3 × 300 ml ). the organic layers were dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to give nitro pyrrole 3 ( 7 . 77 g , 53 %, 1 h - nmr ). amino pyrrole 4 . nitro pyrrole 3 ( 7 . 65 g , 28 . 4 mmol ) was reduced according to procedure b in meoh . following removal of solvent , the crude dark brown oil product was taken up in etoac ( 200 ml ) and meoh ( 10 ml ) and cooled in an ice bath . hcl gas was bubbled through the solution for ca . 30 sec . evaporation of solvents gave amino pyrrole 4 ( 8 . 05 g , 91 %, yellow / brown solid , 1 h - nmr ). dimer ester 6 . pyrrole 4 ( 1 . 2 g , 3 . 85 mmol ) was coupled to isoquinoline carboxylic acid 5 ( 0 . 8 g ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 6 ( 1 . 35 g , 90 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 7 . dimer ester 6 ( 1 . 30 g , 3 . 30 mmol ) was saponified in naoh / etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimeric acid 7 ( 121 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ) amides 13 to 16 . amides 13 to 16 were prepared by coupling nitro pyrrole carboxylic acid 8 ( 2 . 71 g , 15 . 9 mmol ) with diamines 9 to 12 ( 1 . 1 equiv ), respectively , according to procedure a ( 70 % average yield ). compounds 17 to 20 . cyclization of amides 13 to 16 to compounds 17 to 20 was achieved by heating in acid . compound 13 ( 16 . 05 g , 61 . 67 mmol ) was heated at 60 ° c . in glacial acoh ( 200 ml ) for 2 hr . the acoh was evaporated and et 2 o added to precipitate product 17 , which was collected by filtration ( 7 . 82 g , 52 %). compound 14 ( 6 . 02 g , 23 . 1 mmol ) was heated at reflux in glacial acoh ( 200 ml ) for 16 hr . product 18 was collected in an analogous fashion to compound 17 ( 3 . 42 g , 61 %). compound 15 ( 7 . 31 g , 28 . 0 mmol ) was heated at reflux in concentrated hcl for 16 hr . evaporation of the solvent followed by addition of et 2 o caused precipitation of product 19 ( 4 . 0 g , 59 %). compound 16 ( 5 . 8 g , 22 . 0 mmol ) was treated analogously to compound 14 , giving product 20 ( 2 . 74 g , 51 %). amines 21 to 24 . reduction of the nitro group in compounds 17 to 20 was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide the corresponding amines 21 to 24 , which were used directly in the next step . compounds a - 1 , a - 12 , a - 13 , and a - 15 . coupling of dimeric acid 7 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with each of amines 21 to 24 was carried out according to procedure a , providing the corresponding final products a - 1 , a - 12 , a - 13 , and a - 15 . this example describes the synthesis of another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 27 is shown in fig4 . fig5 details the preparation of succeeding intermediate biaryl amines 37 - 39 . the preparation of compounds a - 2 , a - 3 and a - 4 is outlined in fig6 . dimer ester 26 amino pyrrole ester 25 ( 11 . 6 g , 68 . 97 turnoff was coupled to isoquinoline carboxylic acid 5 ( 14 . 3 g , 82 . 76 mmol ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 26 ( 20 . 27 g , 91 % 1 h - nmr ). diner acid 27 . saponification of ester 26 ( 19 . 5 g , 60 . 37 mmol ) using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 12 hr according to procedure c gave dimer acid 27 ( 17 . 1 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds 31 to 33 . compounds 31 to 33 were prepared by coupling carboxylic acid 8 ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 88 mmol ) with diamines 28 to 30 ( 6 . 46 mmol , 1 . 1 equiv ), respectively , according to procedure a (˜ 85 % average yield ). compounds 34 to 36 . cyclization of compounds 31 to 33 ( 5 mmol scale ) was achieved by heating at 60 ° c . in glacial acoh ( 100 ml .) for 2 hr to provide compounds 34 to 36 . the acoh was evaporated and et 2 o added to precipitate the products , which were obtained by filtration and used without further purification (˜ 60 % average yield ). amines 37 to 39 . reduction of the nitro group in compounds 34 to 36 was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide corresponding amines 37 to 39 , which were used directly in the next step . compounds a - 2 , a - 3 and a - 4 . coupling of dimeric acid 27 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amines 37 to 39 was carried out according to procedure a , providing compounds a - 2 to a - 4 . this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . fig7 details the preparation of trifluoroacetamido intermediate 45 . the preparation of compounds a - 5 , a - 8 and a - 11 is outlined in fig8 . compound 41 . nitro - diamine 40 ( 1 . 0 g , 6 . 53 mmol ) was dissolved in etoh ( 2 - 5 ml ) and diea ( 2 . 3 ml , 13 . 06 mmol and the solution was cooled to 0 ° c . ethyl trifluoroacetate ( 0 . 93 g 6 . 53 mmol ) was added and the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c . for 1 hr . the cooling bath was then removed and the reaction stirred al room temperature for 12 hr . the solution was poured into 10 % aqueous k 2 co 3 solution and extracted with etoac ( 2 × 100 ml ). the organic layers were dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to give compound 41 ( 1 h nmr ) as a yellow oil , which was used directly in the next step without purification . diamine 42 . the nitro group in compound 41 was reduced in etoac according to procedure b . following removal of the solvent , the crude dark brown oil product was taken up in etoac ( 25 ml ) and cooled in an ice bath . hcl gas was bubbled through the solution for ca . 15 seconds . addition of et 2 o caused precipitation of the dihydrochloride of diamine 42 ( 1 . 54 g , 81 % over 2 steps , oil - white solid , 1 h - nmr ). compound 43 . coupling of carboxylic acid 8 ( 1 . 0 g , 5 . 88 mmol ) with diamine 42 ( 1 . 5 g , 5 . 14 mmol ) according to procedure a gave compound 43 ( 1 . 04 g , 55 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound 44 . compound 43 ( 0 . 85 g , 2 . 3 mmol ) was dissolved in glacial acetic acid ( 4 ml ) and heated to 180 ° c . by microwave irradiation for 5 min . the solvent was evaporated to leave compound 44 ( 0 . 8 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h nmr ), which was used without further purification . trifluoroacetamido intermediate 45 . reduction of the nitro group in compound 44 ( 0 . 5 g , 1 . 4 mmol ) was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide the trifluoroacetamido intermediate 45 , which was used directly in the next step . compound a - 5 . coupling of dimeric acid 27 ( 0 . 48 g , 1 . 62 mmol ) with trifluoroacetamido intermediate 45 ( 1 . 4 mmol ) in dmf according to procedure a gave compound a - 5 . compound a - 8 . compound a - 5 ( 100 mg . 0 . 17 mmol ) was dissolved in a mixture of dmf ( 1 ml ) and meoh ( 2 ml ). solid k 2 co 3 ( 3 eq .) was added and the reaction mixture heated to 150 ° c . by microwave irradiation for 5 min . after cooling , the reaction mixture was diluted with 40 % aqueous acoh ( to 15 ml total volume ) and the product obtained by hplc purification ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 % to 60 % in 60 min ). compound a - 11 . compound a - 8 ( 20 mg , 0 . 04 mmol ) was dissolved in a mixture of dmf ( 2 ml ) and tea ( 0 . 5 ml ). the solution was cooled to 0 ° c . before addition of acryloyl chloride 46 (˜ 10 mg ). the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c . for 1 hr . morpholine ( 47 ) was added arid the reaction stirred at room temperature for 2 hr . the reaction was diluted using 40 % aqueous acoh ( to 15 ml total volume ) and the product obtained by hplc purification ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 % to 60 % in 60 min ). this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . fig9 details the preparation of intermediate hydroxy amine 52 . the preparation of the final compounds a - 6 and a - 9 is outlined in fig1 . diamine 49 . reduction of the nitro group in nitro amine 48 ( 1 . 0 g 6 . 49 mmol ) was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide a solution of diamine 49 , which was used directly in the next step . compound 51 . a mixture of diamine 49 ( 6 . 49 mmol ) and aldehyde 50 ( 1 . 0 g , 6 . 49 mmol ) in dmf ( 25 ml ) was heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hr . iron ( iii ) chloride ( 0 . 21 g 1 . 30 mmol , 0 . 2 eq .) was added and the reaction heated at 120 ° c . for 12 hr in an open flask . after cooling , the mixture was added dropwise to vigorously stirred ice - cold water , causing precipitation of compound 51 , collected by filtration and dried ( 1 . 46 g , 87 %, esi - ms , 1 h nmr ). hydroxy amine 52 . reduction of the nitro group in compound 51 ( 0 . 25 g , 0 . 97 mmol ) was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide a solution of hydroxy amine 52 , which was used directly in the next step . compound a - 6 . coupling of dimeric acid 27 ( 0 . 32 g , 1 . 10 mmol ) with hydroxy amine 52 ( 0 . 97 mmol ) in dmf according to procedure a gave final product a - 6 . compound a - 9 . compound a - 6 ( 25 mg , 0 . 05 mmol ) was dissolved in a mixture of dmf ( 2 ml ) and tea ( 0 . 5 ml ). the solution was cooled to 0 ° c . before addition of the acid chloride 46 (˜ 10 mg ). the reaction mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . for 1 hr . morpholine 47 was added and the reaction stirred at rt for 2 hr . the reaction mixture was with using 40 % aq . acoh ( to 15 ml total volume ) and compound a - 9 was isolated by hplc purification ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 % to 60 %, in 60 min ). this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( 1 ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . fig1 details the preparation of morpholino intermediate 58 . the preparation of final compound a - 10 is outlined in fig1 . phenol 53 . aminophenol 48 ( 1 . 0 g , 6 . 49 mmol ) was dissolved in dmf ( 10 ml ) and diea ( 2 . 26 ml , 12 . 98 mmol ). a solution of ( boc ) 2 o ( 2 . 12 g , 9 . 73 mmol ) in dmf ( 10 ml ) was added dropwise at rt and the reaction left stirring for 16 hr . the mixture was added to vigorously stirred ice - cold water , causing precipitation of phenol 53 , which was collected by filtration and dried ( yellow solid , 1 . 52 g , 92 %, 1 h nmr ). compound 55 . solid naoh ( 0 . 32 g , 7 . 8 mmol ) was added to a solution of phenol 53 ( 1 . 0 g , 3 . 9 mmol ) in dmf ( 10 ml ) and the reaction mixture was stirred at rt for 1 hr . alkyl chloride 54 ( 0 . 80 g , 4 . 29 mmol ) was added and the reaction mixture was heated at 60 ° c . for 16 hr . the reaction mixture was poured into 10 % aq . k 2 co 3 ( 100 ml ) and extracted with etoac ( 2 × 100 ml ). the organic layers were dried ( mgs0 4 ) and evaporated to give compound 55 ( 1 h nmr ) as an oil , which was used directly in the next step without purification . diamine 56 . methanol ( 50 ml ) was cooled to 0 ° c . and saturated with hcl ( g ). this solution was added to compound 55 ( 3 . 9 mmol ) and the reaction stirred at rt for 1 hr . esi - ms analysis showed complete removal of the boc group . all volatile components were evaporated under high vacuum . the nitro group was then reduced according to procedure b in dmf to provide a solution of diamine 56 , which was used directly in the next step . compound 57 . a mixture of diamine 56 ( 3 . 9 mmol and aldehyde 50 ( 0 . 6 g , 3 . 9 mmol ) in dmf ( 15 ml ) was heated at 80 ° c . for 1 hr . iron ( iii ) chloride ( 0 . 13 g , 0 . 78 mmol , 0 . 2 eq .) was added and the reaction heated at 120 ° c . for 12 hr in an open flask . after cooling , the mixture was added dropwise to a vigorously stirred solution of 10 % na 2 co 3 in ice - cold water , causing precipitation of compound 57 , which was collected by filtration and dried ( 1 . 09 g , 75 %, 1 h nmr ). molpholino intermediate 58 . reduction of the nitro group in compound 57 ( 0 . 1 g , 0 . 27 mmol ) was carried out according to procedure b in dmf to provide a solution of morpholino intermediate 58 , which was used directly in the next step . compound a - 10 . coupling of dimeric acid 27 ( 0 . 091 g , 0 . 31 mmol ) with morpholino intermediate 58 ( 0 . 27 mmol ) in dmf according to procedure a gave final product a - 10 . this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group . fig1 details the preparation of intermediate trimer acid 60 . the preparation of the final compound a - 7 is outlined in fig1 . trimer ester 59 . pyrrole 25 ( 5 . 4 g , 32 . 14 mmol ) was coupled to dimer acid 27 ( 10 . 90 g , 36 . 96 mmol ) according to procedure a to give trimer ester 59 ( 12 . 17 g , 85 %, 1 h - nmr ). trimer acid 60 . saponification of trimer ester 59 ( 12 . 15 g , 27 . 32 mmol ) using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 12 hr according to procedure c gave trimer acid 60 ( 10 . 94 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound 62 . chloro diamine 61 ( 0 . 36 g , 2 . 54 mmol ) was coupled to trimer acid 60 ( 1 . 0 g , 2 . 4 turmoil according to procedure a to give compound 62 ( 0 . 88 g , 68 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 7 . compound 62 ( 0 . 21 g , 0 . 39 mmol ) was dissolved in glacial acoh ( 3 ml ) and heated to 180 ° c . by microwave irradiation for 5 min . the solvent was evaporated and the residue diluted using 40 % aq . acoh ( to 15 ml total volume ) and compound a - 7 obtained by hplc purification ( hamilton prp - 1 column , ch 3 cn / 0 . 5 % aq . acoh , 0 % to 60 % in 60 min ). this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( 1 ) in which ar is an isoquinoline group , as shown in fig1 with reference to compound a - 14 . compound a - 14 . dimeric acid 27 ( 0 . 20 g , 0 . 68 mmol ) was coupled to amine 23 ( 0 . 145 g , 0 . 68 mmol ) according to procedure a , to give compound a - 14 . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a difluorobenzene group . the preparation of intermediate diner acid 65 and its coupling with amines 21 - 24 in preparation of the final compounds a - 16 , a - 17 , a - 18 , and a - 19 is outlined in fig1 . dimer ester 64 . pyrrole 4 ( 8 . 61 g , 27 . 56 tumult was coupled to difluorobenzoic acid 63 ( 5 . 2 g ) according to procedure a to give diner ester 64 ( 9 . 71 g , 93 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 65 . dimer ester 64 ( 9 . 70 g , 25 . 59 mmol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 65 ( 1 . 21 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 16 , a - 17 , a - 18 and a - 19 . coupling of dimer acid 65 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amines 21 to 24 was carried out according to procedure a , providing respectively compounds a - 16 to a - 19 . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 4 - chloro - 2 - fluorobenzene group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 68 and its coupling with amines 21 - 24 to prepare compounds a - 31 , a - 39 , a - 45 , and a - 46 is outlined in fig1 . dimer ester 67 . pyrrole 4 ( 10 . 26 g , 32 . 84 mmol ) was coupled to 4 - chloro - 2 - fluorobenzoic acid 66 ( 6 . 9 g ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 67 ( 11 . 31 g , 87 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 68 . dimer ester 67 ( 11 . 30 g , 28 . 57 mmol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 68 ( 10 . 51 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 31 a - 39 a - 45 and a - 46 . coupling of compound 68 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amines 21 to 24 was carried out according to procedure a , providing compounds a - 31 , a - 39 , a - 45 , and a - 46 . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a methoxyfluorobenzene or methoxychlorobenzene group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acids 69 - 70 and their coupling with amine 21 to yield compounds a - 20 and a - 21 is outlined in fig1 . dimer acids 69 and 70 . esters 64 ( 0 . 24 g , 0 . 63 mmol ) and 67 ( 0 . 52 g , 1 . 36 mmol ) were saponified and the 2 - fluoro groups substituted by a methoxy group in one step , using naoh in meoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acids 69 ( 0 . 22 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ) and 70 ( 0 . 46 g , 89 %, 1 h - nmr ) respectively . compounds a - 20 and a - 21 . coupling of dimer acids 69 and 70 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amine 21 was carried out according to procedure a , providing compounds a - 20 and a21 , respectively . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a chlorofluorobenzene group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 75 is shown in fig1 . fig2 details the preparation of succeeding intermediate alcohol 76 and its conversion to compounds a - 32 to a - 38 . compound 72 . a mixture of pyrrole 1 ( 100 g , 0 . 54 mmol ), 1 - bromopropanol 71 ( 68 . 5 ml , 1 . 4 eq . ), nai ( 40 . 6 g , 0 . 5 eq . ), and k 2 co 3 ( 150 g , 2 eq .) in dmt ( 1 l ) was stirred at 75 ° c . for 16 hr . after cooling , the mixture was poured into water ( 800 ml ) and extracted with et 2 o ( 6 × 200 ml ). the organic layers were dried ( mgso 4 ) and evaporated to give compound 72 ( 109 g , 83 %, 1 h - nmr ) as an orange oil , which was used without further purification . amino pyrrole 73 . compound 72 ( 109 g , 0 . 45 mol ) was reduced according to procedure b in meoh . following removal of solvent , the crude dark brown oil product was taken up in etoac ( 500 ml ) and meoh ( 50 ml ) and cooled in an ice bath . hcl gas was bubbled through the solution for ca . 60 sec . evaporation of the solvents gave amino pyrrole 73 ( 103 g , 92 % 1 h - nmr ) as an off - white solid . dimer ester 74 . amino pyrrole 73 ( 40 g , 0 . 16 mol ) was coupled to 4 - chloro - 2 - fluorobenzoic acid ( 66 ) ( 28 . 1 g ) according to procedure a to give dialer ester 74 ( 46 . 0 g , 78 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 75 . dimer ester 74 ( 46 g , 0 . 125 mol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 75 ( 37 . 4 g , 88 %, 1 h - nmr ). alcohol 76 . amino pyrrole 21 ( 30 . 8 mmol , 1 . 5 eq .) was coupled to dimer acid 75 ( 7 g , 20 . 5 mmol ) according to procedure a to give intermediate alcohol 76 ( 4 . 5 g , 41 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 32 . alcohol 76 ( 100 mg , 0 . 187 mmol ) was mesylated and then heated with piperidine ( 10 eq .) according to procedure d to give compound a - 32 ( 25 mg 22 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 33 to a - 38 . compounds a - 33 to a - 38 were made in analogy to compound a - 32 by mesylation of alcohol 76 and subsequent treatment with the corresponding amine according to procedure d . this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a chlorofluorobenzene groups . fig2 details the preparation of intermediate alcohol 77 and its conversion to compounds a - 40 to a - 44 . alcohol 77 . amino pyrrole 22 ( 3 . 87 mmol , 1 . 2 eq .) was coupled to dimer acid 75 ( 1 . 1 g , 3 . 23 mmol ) according to procedure a to give alcohol 77 ( 0 . 68 g , 39 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 40 . alcohol 77 ( 88 mg , 0 . 164 mmol ) was mesylated and then heated with morpholine ( 10 eq .) according to procedure d to give compound a - 40 ( 19 mg , 20 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 41 to a - 44 . these were made in analogy to compound a - 40 by mesylation of alcohol 77 and then heating with the corresponding amine . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 3 - chlorobenzothiophene group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 80 and its coupling with amines 21 - 24 in preparation of compounds a - 22 , a - 28 , a - 29 , and a - 30 is outlined in fig2 . dimer ester 79 . amino pyrrole 4 ( 4 . 10 g , 13 . 14 mmol ) was coupled to carboxylic acid 78 ( 3 . 4 g ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 79 ( 536 g , 94 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 80 . dimer ester 79 ( 5 . 36 g , 12 . 35 mmol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 80 ( 5 . 1 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 22 and a - 28 to a - 30 . coupling of dimer acid 80 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amines 21 to 24 was carried out according to procedure a , providing compounds a - 22 and a - 28 to a - 30 . this example describes the synthesis of another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 3 - chlorobenzothiophene group . 1 ′ he preparation of intermediate dimer acid 82 is shown in fig2 , along with its transformation to intermediate alcohol 83 and the latter &# 39 ; s conversion to compounds a - 23 , a - 24 , a - 25 , a - 26 and a - 27 . dimer ester 81 . amino pyrrole 73 ( 35 g , 0 . 14 mol ) was coupled to 3 - chlorobenzothiophene - 2 - carboxylic acid 78 ( 30 . 1 g ) according to procedure a to give diner ester 81 ( 48 . 4 g , 85 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 82 . dimer ester 81 ( 48 g , 0 . 119 mol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 16 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 82 ( 40 . 6 g , 90 %, 1 h - nmr ). alcohol 83 . amino pyrrole 21 ( 31 . 65 mmol , 1 . 5 eq .) was coupled to dimer acid 82 ( 8 g , 21 . 1 mmol ) according to procedure a to give alcohol 83 ( 3 . 02 g , 25 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 26 . alcohol 83 ( 70 mg , 0 . 122 mmol ) was mesylated and then healed with morpholine ( 8 eq .) according to procedure d to give compound a - 26 ( 17 mg , 22 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 23 - a - 25 and a - 27 . these compounds were made analogously to compound a - 26 from alcohol 83 and the corresponding amine or pyridine . this example describes the synthesis of a subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 3 - chlorothiophene group . the preparation of intermediate dimer acid 86 , its coupling with amines 21 - 22 and 24 , and the preparation of compounds a - 47 , a - 57 and a - 63 is outlined in fig2 . dimer ester 85 . pyrrole 4 ( 2 . 1 g , 6 . 73 mmol ) was coupled to carboxylic acid 84 ( 1 . 31 g ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 85 ( 2 . 12 g , 82 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 86 . dimer ester 85 ( 2 . 1 g , 5 . 52 mmol ) was saponified using naoh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 12 hr according to procedure c , giving dimer acid 86 ( 1 . 95 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 47 , a - 57 and a - 63 . coupling of dimer acid 86 ( ca . 100 mg scale ) with amines 21 , 22 and 24 was carried out according to procedure a , providing corresponding compounds a - 47 , a - 57 , and a - 63 . this example describes the synthesis of another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 3 - chlorothiophene group . fig2 shows the preparation of chlorothiophene - pyrrole dimer acid 88 , its transformation to compound a - 48 , and the latter &# 39 ; s conversion to compounds a - 49 to a - 56 . dimer ester 87 . pyrrole 73 ( 40 g , 0 . 16 mol ) was coupled to carboxylic acid 84 ( 26 . 2 g ) according to procedure a to give dimer ester 87 ( 44 . 5 g , 78 %, 1 h - nmr ). dimer acid 88 . dimer ester 87 ( 35 . 6 g , 0 . 10 mmol ) was saponified using koh in etoh at 60 ° c . for 6 hr according to procedure c , giving timer acid 88 ( 32 . 5 g , & gt ; 95 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 48 . amine 21 ( 17 . 3 mmol , 1 eq .) was coupled to dimer acid 88 ( 5 . 68 g , 17 . 3 mmol ) according to procedure a to give compound a - 48 ( 3 . 01 g , 34 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 51 . compound a - 48 ( 64 mg , 0 . 122 mmol ) was mesylated and then healed with thiomorpholine ( 9 eq .) according to procedure d to give compound a - 51 ( 25 mg , 34 %, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 49 to a - 50 and a - 52 to a - 56 . these compounds were made analogously to compound a - 51 by the mesylation of alcohol a - 48 and then healing with the corresponding amine or pyridine . this example describes the synthesis of yet another subgenus of compounds ( i ) in which ar is a 3 - chlorothiophene group . fig2 details the preparation of intermediate alcohol 89 and its conversion to compounds a - 58 to a - 62 . alcohol 89 . amino pyrrole 22 ( 17 . 84 mmol , 1 eq .) was coupled to acid 88 ( 5 . 87 g , 17 . 84 mmol ) according to procedure a to give alcohol 89 ( 2 . 71 g , 29 %, 1 h - nmr ). compound a - 59 . alcohol 89 ( 50 mg , 0 . 095 mmol ) was mesylated and then floated with morpholine ( 10 eq .) according to procedure d to give compound a - 59 ( 15 mg , 27 °/, 1 h - nmr ). compounds a - 58 and a - 60 to a - 62 . these compounds were made analogously to compound a - 59 from alcohol 89 and the corresponding amine or pyridine . it vitro biological activity data were collected for a variety of microorganisms , including bacillus cereus ( atcc 11778 ), staphylococcus aureus ( atcc 33591 ; atcc 27660 , a methicillin resistant strain ( mrsa ); atcc 13709 , a methicillin sensitive strain ( mssa )), enterococcus faecalis ( atcc 29212 ), and streptococcus pneumoniae ( atcc 49619 ). additionally , antifungal activity data were collected for candida albicans ( atcc 38247 ). compounds according to this invention were screened for their in vitro activities against selected species of bacteria and fungi . the minimal inhibition concentration ( mic ) of these compounds was determined using the national committee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) broth microdilution assay in microtiter plates , as set forth in : ( 1 ) the guidelines of the national committee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) document m7 - a4 ( nccls , 1997 ); ( 2 ) the guidelines of the national committee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) document m11 - a4 ( nccls , 1997 ); and ( 3 ) the guidelines and reference method of the national committee for clinical laboratory standards ( nccls ) document m27 - t ( nccls , 1995 ). for antifungal assays , the method recommended in murray , p r ., 1995 manual of clinical microbiology ( asm press , washington , d . c . ), was employed . the results are presented in table b below , which is keyed as follows : a = b . cereus atcc 11778 b = c . albicans atcc 38247 c = e . faecalis atcc 29212 d = s . aureus atcc 13709 e = s . aureus atcc 27660 f = s . aureus atcc 33591 g = s . pneumoniae atcc 49619 +++ = mic ≦ 4 μg / ml ++ = 4 & lt ; mic & lt ; 12 μg / ml + = 12 ≦ mic ≦ 32 μg / ml nd = not determined & gt ; 32 = preliminary data indicates mic greater than 32 μg / ml additionally , some compounds were screened against enterococcus faccium ( atcc 51559 , a vancomycin resistant strain ( vre )), staphylococcus epidermidis ( atcc 12228 ), streptococcus pneumoniae ( atcc 51422 , a penicillin resistant strain ( prsp )), and / or streptococcus pyogenes ( atcc 49399 ). these results are provided in table c , keyed as follows : a = e . faecium atcc 51559 b = s . epidermidis atcc 12228 c = s . pneumoniae atcc 51422 d = s . pyogenes atcc 4399 +++ = mic ≦ 4 pg / ml ++ = 4 & lt ; mic & lt ; 12 μg / ml + = 12 ≦ mic ≦ 32 μg / ml nd = not determined & gt ; 32 = preliminary data indicates mic greater than 32 μg / ml , preferably , compounds of this invention have an mic of 4 or less against at least one strain of drug resistant bacteria , such as staphylococcus aereus ( atcc 27660 ), streptococcus pneumoniae ( atcc 51422 ), and enterococcus faecium ( atcc 51559 ). the foregoing detailed description of the invention includes passages that are chiefly or exclusively concerned with particular parts or aspects of the invention . it is to be understood that this is for clarity and convenience , that a particular feature may be relevant in more than just the passage in which it is disclosed , and that the disclosure herein includes all the appropriate combinations of information found in the different passages . similarly , although the various figures and descriptions herein relate to specific embodiments of the invention , it is to be understood that where a specific feature is disclosed in the context of a particular figure or embodiment , such feature can also be used , to the extent appropriate , in the context of another figure or embodiment , in combination with another feature , or in the invention in general . further , while the present invention has been particularly described in terms of certain preferred embodiments , the invention is not limited to such preferred embodiments . rather , the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims . | 2 |
hereinafter , exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail . however , the exemplary embodiments below merely illustrate the present invention , and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments . measuring amount of sirt1 expression after treatment of lps and interferon to macrophage originated from mouse marrow femur and tibia marrow cells of c57bl / 6 mouse have been differentiated in culture solution containing m - csf ( 10 ng / ml ), and then have been used as mouse macrophage . lps ( 0 , 100 , 500 , 1000 ng / ml ) and interferon beta ( 0 , 100 , 200 , 500 units / ml ) have been injected to the macrophage by concentrations , and the sirt1 expression amount has been compared by western blot . further , the sirt1 protein expression amount when lps has been injected along with ifn - β blocking antibody has been measured . as illustrated in fig1 , when lps has been injected to the macrophage originated from the mouse marrow by 100 ng / ml , the sirt protein expression has increased most , and when 500 ng / ml and 1000 ng / ml of lps has been used , the sirt1 protein expression has rather decreased . further , when interferon beta has been used by concentrations , the sirt1 expression has most significantly increased when 100 units / ml has been used . further , the sirt1 expression increased by lps decreased again by injecting tfn - β blocking antibody together . hence , it can be known that the secretion of the sirt1 , which has been increased by lps , is performed through the interferon beta , and through which the interferon beta induces the expression of sirt1 ( b ). influence of adenovirus - sirt1 and interferon beta on the amount of secretion of pro - inflammatory and anti - inflammatory cytokines after infecting the macrophage with the adenovirus - sirt1 by 10 , 000 moi ( multiplicity of infection ), lps 100 ng / ml has been injected for 24 hours . further , lps 100 ng / ml has been used along with interferon beta 100 units / ml for 24 hours , and then the amount of secretion of pro - inflammatory and anti - inflammatory cytokines of the cell culture medium has been measured by elisa . the experiment has been performed three times , and the result has been expressed by the average ± standard deviation . as shown in fig2 , with respect to the amount of the pro - inflammatory cytokines , which has been increased by the lps treatment , il - 6 has been decreased by 40 % and 54 %, respectively , and tnf - α has been decreased by 22 % and 29 %, respectively , by the pre - treatment of adenovirus - sirt1 and interferon beta . further , it has been found that mop - 1 , which is another pro - inflammatory cytokine , which is increased by the lps treatment , has , slightly decreases by the adenovirus - sirt1 and interferon beta . in contrast , it has been found that the amount of the il - 10 , which is the anti - inflammatory cytokine , has increased by 2 . 8 times and 4 . 7 times , respectively . hence , it is understood that the treatment by the interferon beta , which is the cytokine that promotes the expression of sirt1 , may inhibit the excessive inflammatory response by the lps . analysis of survival rate of mouse after injecting lps after pre - treatment of sirt1 or interferon beta to mouse adenovirus - lacz , which is control gene delivery system , and adenovirus - sirt1 , which is the sirt1 gene delivery system , are injected into the mouse tail vein by 3 × 10 8 pfu ( plaque forming unit ), and lps 15 - 20 mg / kg after 48 hours . then the survival rate of the mouse has been observed for 10 days . further , interferon beta 1000 units or the same amount of salt solution per 20 g of the mouse weight is injected into the mouse tail vein , and lps 15 - 20 mg / kg has been injected after 30 minutes . then the survival rate of the mouse has been observed for 10 days . as shown in fig3 , when the lps is injected to the mouse which has been pre - injected with the adenovirus - sirt1 , the survival rate of the mouse after 10 days is and thus the survival rate has been significantly higher than the survival rate 20 % of the control group , ane mouse , to which the adenovirus - lacz has been injected . further , the survival rate of the mouse , into which the lps has been injected after the injection of the interferon beta , was 70 %, which was significantly higher than the survival rate 30 % of the control group , the mouse , into which the salt solution has been injected . the result shows a significant difference even by the kaplan - meier survival statistical analysis ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). hence , the interferon beta , which is a substance that induces the sirt1 expression , significantly reduces the mortality of the mouse by the lps treatment by inhibiting the excessive inflammatory response by lps . analysis of survival rate of mouse at the time of treatment of adenovirus - dominant - negative sirt1 adenovirus - dominant - negative sirt1 , which the gene delivery system for blocking the function of the intrinsic sirt1 , ( adenovirus for inducing mutant protein that has changed histidine no . 355 into tyrosine ), is injected into the mouse tail vein by 3 × 10 3 pfu , and after 48 hours , interferon beta 1000 units per 20 g of the mouse weight is injected into the mouse tail vein . after 30 minutes , lps 15 ˜ 20 mg / kg is injected , and the survival rate of the mouse is observed for 10 days . as shown in fig4 , in the case in which adenovirus - dominant - negative sirt1 is pre - injected for 48 hours , interferon beta is injected and then lps is infected into the mouse , the survival rate 50 % has been observed after 10 days . this is a result similar to the survival rate 50 % of the control group , the mouse into which the salt solution has been injected , and through which the interferon beta , which is the material for inducing the sirt1 expression , significantly reduces the mortality of the mouse by lps . analysis of survival rate according to sirt1 and interferon beta treatment in a mouse sepsis model in a mouse sepsis model , which is induced through cecal ligation and puncture ( clp ) surgery , the following experiment has been performed to check the survival rate changed according to the injection of sirt1 and interferon beta . adenovirus - lacz or adenovirus - sirt1 has been injected into the mouse tail vein 3 × 10 8 pfu . after 24 hours , the anesthetic is injected into the abdominal cavity , and the sepsis has been caused through clp . that is , after the center of the abdomen of the mouse is cut , the appendix is exposed to the outside so that the end of the ileocecal valve is ligated by the silk suture , two holes are made using a needle , and then a certain amount of fecal materials are discharged . the appendix as well as fecal materials has been inserted again into the abdomen , then the abdomen has been stitched , and then a physiological salt solution has been injected through a hypodermic injection . after two hours of slp operation , interferon beta 1000 units or the same amount of salt solution per 20 g of the mouse weight have been injected into the mouse tail vein . as shown in fig5 , the sepsis is induced to the mouse into which the adenovirus - sirt1 has been injected in advance , and the survival rate of the mouse after 10 days was 60 %. this is a significantly high survival rate of 0 % of the control group , mouse into which the adenovirus - lacz has been injected in advance . further , in the case of the experimental group in which interferon beta has been injected into the sepsis - induced mouse , the survival rate was 76 , but in the case of the control group , the mouse into which the salt solution has been injected , the survival rate was 0 %. the result shows a significant difference even by kaplan - meier survival statistical analysis ( p & lt ; 0 . 05 ). hence , the interferon beta , which induces the expression of sirt1 , significantly reduces the mortality of the mouse due to the sepsis , and thus may be utilized in preventing or treating the sepsis or septic shock . substances for a composition of the present invention are illustrated below . the above materials are mixed and are then filled in an airtight container so as to make powder . after mixing the above materials , pills are manufactured according to a general pill manufacturing method . after mixing the above materials , capsules are prepared in gelatin capsules according to a general capsule manufacturing method . the foods containing sirt1 expression inducing materials of the present invention have been made as follows . spice for cooking for health improvement has been made as 20 to 95 weight % of sirt1expression inducing materials . 0 . 2 to 1 . 0 weight % of sirt1 expression inducing materials has been added to tomato ketchup or sauce so as to make tomato ketchup or sauce for health improvement . 0 . 5 to 5 . 0 weight % of sir9 expression inducing materials are added to wheat flour , and bread , cake , cookies , crackers and noodles are made using the mixture so as to prepare food for health improvement . 0 . 1 to 5 . 0 weight % of sirt1 expression inducing materials are added to soups and gravies so as to prepare meat processed food , soups of noodles , and gravies for health improvement . 10 weight % of sirt expression . inducing materials is added to the ground beef so as to prepare the ground beef for health improvement . 5 to 10 weight % of sirt1 expression . inducing materials is added to milk , and various diary products such as butter and ice cream are made using the milk . 10 to 15 % of sirt expression inducing materials , 5 to 10 % of sugar , 0 . 05 to 0 . 3 % of citric acid , 0 . 005 to 0 . 02 % of caramel , 0 . 1 to 1 % of vitamin c and 70 to 80 % of refined water are mixed to make syrup . the syrup is sterilized for 20 to 180 seconds at 85 ˜ 98 ° c ., and the syrup is mixed with the cooling water at the ratio of 1 : 4 , then 0 . 5 to 0 . 82 % of carbonic acid gas is injected so as to prepare soda containing sirt1 expression inducing materials . sirt1 expression inducing materials ( solid content 2 . 5 %, 97 . 16 %), jujube extract ( 65 brix , 2 . 67 ), fruit and vegetable extract ( solid content 70 %, 0 . 12 %), vitamin c ( 0 . 02 %), calcium pantothenate ( 0 . 02 ), licorice extract ( solid content 65 %, 0 . 01 %) are mixed , then the mixture is sterilized for a few seconds , and then the mixture is packed . in a small container such as a glass bottle and a plastic bottle so as to make a health drink , 0 . 5 g of sirt1 expression inducing materials is added to 1 . 00 ml of tomato or carrot juice so as to snake a vegetable juice for health improvement . 0 . 1 g of sirt1 expression inducing materials is added to 1 , 000 ml of apple or grape juice so as to make a fruit juice for health improvement . | 0 |
as used herein , the words “ a ” and “ an ” mean “ one or more .” furthermore , unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains . although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice of the present invention , the preferred materials and methods are described herein . a system for microfluidic flow embodying aspects of the present invention is shown in fig1 . the system includes a microfluidic circuit which , in the illustrated embodiment , is carried on a microfluidic chip 10 . microfluidic chip 10 includes inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 , a microchannel 20 that is in fluid communication with the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 , and an outlet port 18 also in fluid communication with the microchannel 20 . the embodiment shown in fig1 is exemplary ; the microfluidic circuit may include more or less than three inlet ports and may include more than one microchannel in communication with some or all of the inlet ports . the microfluidic circuit may also include more than one outlet port . fluid is introduced into the circuit through the fluid inlet ports 12 , 14 , and 16 . fluid may be provided to the fluid inlet ports in any appropriate manner known in the art . or , alternatively , fluid may be provided to the fluid inlet ports by means of a fluid - containing cartridge coupled to each port in a fluid - communicating manner as described in commonly assigned u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 850 , 229 “ chip and cartridge design configuration for performing microfluidic assays ”, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . the microfluidic chip 10 may be formed from glass , silica , quartz , or plastic or any other suitable material . fluid is collected from the microchannel 20 through the fluid outlet 18 and may be deposited in any appropriate waste reservoir , such as , for example , a chip as described in the commonly assigned u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 850 , 229 . fluid movement through the circuit is generated and controlled by means of a negative pressure differential applied between the outlet port 18 and one or more of the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 . application of a negative pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and one or more of the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 will cause fluid flow from the inlet port ( s ), through the microchannel 20 and to the outlet port 18 . a pressure differential can be generated by one or more pressure sources , such as negative pressure source 22 , which , in one embodiment , may comprise a vacuum pump . in the illustrated embodiment , pressure differentials between the outlet port 18 and the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 is controlled by means of pressure control valves controlling pressure at each of the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 and the outlet port 18 . more specifically , a pressure control valve 30 is arranged in communication with the pressure source 22 and the outlet port 18 . similarly , a pressure control valve 24 is arranged in communication with the inlet port 12 , a pressure control valve 26 is arranged in communication with the inlet port 14 , and a pressure control valve 28 is arranged in communication with the inlet port 16 . arrangements having more than three inlet ports would preferably have a pressure control valve associated with each inlet port . in the illustrated embodiment of fig1 , valves 24 , 26 , 28 are three - way valves which may selectively connect each associated inlet port 12 , 14 , 16 , respectively , to either atmospheric pressure , represented by the circled letter “ a ”, or an alternative pressure source , which may be the negative pressure source 22 . that is , in the illustrated embodiment , valve 24 is in communication pressure source 22 via pressure line 32 and is in communication with inlet port 12 via pressure line 34 . valve 26 is in communication with pressure source 22 via pressure line 36 and is in communication with inlet port 14 via pressure line 38 . valve 28 is in communication with pressure source 22 via pressure line 40 and is in communication with inlet port 16 via pressure line 42 . valve 30 is connected via pressure line 44 to the pressure source 22 and by pressure line 46 to outlet port 18 . in the illustrated embodiment , valve 30 is also a three - way valve for selectively connecting the outlet port 18 to either atmospheric pressure , indicated by the circled “ a ”, or to the pressure source 22 . pressure source 22 and valves 24 , 26 , 28 , 30 may be controlled by a controller 50 . controller 50 is connected via a control line 52 to the pressure source 22 , via a control line 54 to the valve 24 , via a control line 56 to valve 26 , via a control line 58 to valve 28 , and via a control line 60 to valve 30 . controller 50 may also be connected to one or more of the various components wirelessly or by other means known to persons of ordinary skill in the art . controller 50 may comprise a programmed computer or other microprocessor . as mentioned above , fluid flow from an inlet port 12 , 14 , and / or 16 through the microchannel 20 and to the outlet port 18 is generated by the application of a negative pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and one or more of the inlet ports . more specifically , to generate a fluid flow from inlet port 12 , a negative pressure is applied to the outlet port 18 by connecting the negative pressure source 22 to the outlet port 18 via the control valve 30 and pressure lines 44 and 46 . inlet port 12 is opened to atmospheric pressure by valve 24 . this creates the negative pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and the inlet port 12 . assuming that fluid flow from other inlet ports is not desired while fluid is flowing from the inlet port 12 , inlet port 14 is closed to atmospheric pressure by valve 26 and inlet port 16 is closed to atmospheric pressure by valve 28 . to stop fluid flow from the inlet port 12 , valve 24 is activated ( e . g ., via the controller 50 ) to close off the inlet port 12 to atmospheric pressure . to rapidly stop the flow of fluid from the inlet port 12 , it may be desirable to connect the inlet port 12 to the negative pressure source 22 via the control valve 24 for a period of time sufficient to equalize the pressure between the inlet port 12 and the inlet of the microchannel , and then shut off control valve 24 to maintain this pressure equilibrium . a predetermined volume of fluid can be introduced into the microchannel 20 from any of the inlet ports 12 , 14 , and 16 — assuming the flow rate generated by the pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and the applicable inlet port is known — by maintaining the pressure differential for a period of time which , for the generated flow rate , will introduce the desired volume of fluid into the microchannel 20 . maintaining the pressure differential can be effected by proper control of the pressure control valves associated with the inlet ports and the outlet port . activation and timing of the control valve 24 may be controlled by the controller 50 . to then generate fluid flow from the inlet port 14 , valve 26 is activated ( e . g ., by controller 50 ) to open inlet port 14 to atmospheric pressure while negative pressure is applied to the outlet port 18 , thus creating the negative pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and the inlet port 14 . fluid flow from the inlet port 14 is stopped by activating valve 26 to close inlet port 14 to atmospheric pressure , and , to rapidly stop flow from the inlet port 14 , valve 26 opens the inlet port 14 to the negative pressure source 22 for a period of time sufficient to equalize the pressure between the inlet of the microchannel and the inlet port 14 , and then shut off valve 26 to maintain this pressure equilibrium . similarly , to generate fluid flow from the inlet port 16 , valve 28 is activated ( e . g ., by controller 50 ) to open inlet port 16 to atmospheric pressure while negative pressure is applied to the outlet port 18 , thus creating the negative pressure differential between the outlet port 18 and the inlet port 16 . fluid flow from the inlet port 16 is stopped by activating valve 28 to close inlet port 16 to atmospheric pressure , and , to rapidly stop flow from the inlet port 16 , valve 28 opens the inlet port 16 to the negative pressure source 22 for a period of time sufficient to equalize the pressure between the inlet of the microchannel and the inlet port 16 , and then shut off valve 28 . fig2 and 3 show alternative arrangements for controlling the pressure differential between an outlet port and one or more of the inlet ports of a microfluidic circuit . fig2 shows a system similar to that shown in fig1 except that each inlet port 12 , 14 , 16 is coupled to two two - way valves as opposed to a single three - way valve . more specifically , inlet port 12 is coupled to a first two - way valve 24 a for selectively connecting the inlet port 12 to the pressure source 22 via pressure lines 32 and 62 . inlet port 12 is also coupled to a second two - way valve 24 b for selectively connecting the inlet port 12 to atmospheric pressure “ a ” via pressure line 64 . similarly , inlet port 14 is coupled to a first two - way valve 26 a for selectively connecting port 14 to the pressure source 22 via pressure lines 36 and 66 and to a second two - way valve 26 b for selectively connecting the inlet port 14 to atmospheric pressure via pressure line 68 . inlet port 16 is coupled to a first two - way valve 28 a for selectively connecting the inlet port 16 to the pressure source 22 via pressure lines 40 and 70 and to a second two - way valve 28 b for selectively connecting the inlet port 16 to atmospheric pressure via pressure line 72 . in the system shown in fig2 , outlet port 18 is coupled to two - way valve 76 for selectively connecting the outlet port 18 to the pressure source 22 via pressure lines 44 and 46 . controller 50 controls the negative pressure source 22 via control line 52 , controls two - way valve 76 via control line 60 , controls two - way valve 24 a via control line 72 , and controls two - way valve 24 b via control line 74 . controller 50 is also linked to valves 26 a , 26 b , 28 a , and 28 b for controlling those valves , but the control connections between the controller 50 and the respective valves are not shown in fig2 so as to avoid unnecessarily cluttering the figure . fig3 shows an alternative arrangement of the system embodying aspects of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig3 , each inlet port 12 , 14 , 16 is coupled to a three - way valve for selectively connecting the port either to pressure source # 1 22 , or pressure source # 2 80 . more specifically , inlet port 12 is coupled to valve 82 configured to selectively connect the inlet port 12 to pressure source # 1 22 via pressure lines 88 , 90 , and 100 or to pressure source # 2 80 via pressure lines 96 , 98 , and 100 . inlet port 14 is coupled to valve 84 configured to selectively connect inlet port 14 to the pressure source # 1 22 via pressure lines 90 and 102 or to pressure source # 2 80 via pressure lines 96 and 102 . inlet port 16 is coupled to pressure valve 86 configured to selectively couple port 16 to pressure source # 1 22 via pressure lines 90 , 92 and 104 or to pressure source # 2 80 via pressure lines 96 , 94 and 104 . outlet port 18 is coupled to valve 122 for selectively connecting outlet port 18 to pressure source # 1 22 via pressure lines 106 and 46 . controller 50 controls pressure source # 1 22 via control line 52 and controls pressure source # 2 80 via control line 110 . controller 50 also controls pressure valve 120 via control line 118 , pressure valve 82 via control line 116 , pressure valve 84 via control line 114 , and pressure valve 86 via control line 112 . to generate fluid flow from inlet port 12 , control valve 120 is activated ( e . g ., by controller 50 ) to connect outlet port 18 to pressure source # 1 22 , and control valve 82 is activated to connect inlet port 12 to pressure source # 2 80 . the pressure generated by pressure source # 2 80 is preferably greater than the pressure generated by pressure source # 1 22 . thus , a negative pressure differential is created between outlet port 18 and inlet port 12 . inlet ports 14 and 16 are connected , by valves 84 and 86 , respectively , to pressure source # 1 22 for a period of time to equalize the pressure between the inlet port and the inlet of the microchannel , and then shut off valves 84 and 86 to maintain an established pressure , so there is no pressure differential between inlet ports 14 and 16 and the inlet of the microchannel and thus no fluid flow from inlet ports 14 and 16 to outlet port 18 . to stop fluid flow from inlet port 12 , control valve 82 is activated to connect inlet port 12 to pressure source # 1 22 to equalize the pressure between the outlet port 18 and the inlet port 12 and then shut off control valve 82 . to generate fluid flow from inlet port 14 , control valve 84 is activated to connect inlet port 14 to pressure source # 2 80 to create a negative pressure differential between outlet port 18 and inlet port 14 . valves 82 and 86 to inlet ports 12 and 16 are closed off , so there is no pressure differential between inlet ports 12 and 16 and inlet of the microchannel and thus no fluid flow from inlet ports 12 and 16 to outlet port 18 . to stop fluid flow from inlet port 14 , control valve 84 is activated to connect inlet port 14 to pressure source # 1 22 to equalize the pressure between the inlet of the microchannel and the inlet port 14 , and then valve 84 is shut off to maintain this pressure equilibrium . to generate fluid flow from inlet port 16 , control valve 86 is activated to connect inlet port 16 to pressure source # 2 80 to create a negative pressure differential between outlet port 18 and inlet port 16 . inlet ports 12 and 14 are connected , by valves 82 and 84 , respectively , to pressure source # 1 22 for a period of time to equalize the pressure between the inlet port and the inlet of the microchannel , and then shut off valves 84 and 86 to maintain an established pressure , so there is no pressure differential between inlet ports 12 and 14 and outlet port 18 and thus no fluid flow from inlet ports 12 and 14 to outlet port 18 . to stop fluid flow from inlet port 16 , control valve 86 is activated to connect inlet port 16 to pressure source # 1 22 to equalize the pressure between the outlet port 18 and the inlet port 16 , and then shut off control valve 86 . as an alternative arrangement , three - way valves 82 , 84 , 86 could each be replaced by two two - way valves for selectively connecting each associated inlet port with pressure source # 1 22 or pressure source # 2 80 . suitable valves for use in the present invention include two - way and three - way solenoid valves by iq valves co ., melbourne , fla . and the lee company , westbrook , conn . the systems shown in fig1 , 2 and 3 can be utilized in a process for performing pcr within discreet droplets of assay reagents flowing through a microchannel and separated from one another by droplets of non - reacting fluids , such as buffer solution , as is described in commonly assigned , co - pending u . s . application ser . no . 11 / 505 , 358 . the process will be described with reference to fig4 and 5 . fig4 is a flow chart illustrating the steps for performing pcr within discreet droplets flowing through a microchannel , and fig5 shows time history curves representing the flow of various materials through the channel . the process will be described with reference to the system shown in fig1 . it should be understood , however , that the process could also be performed with the systems of fig2 or 3 or a hybrid combination of the systems of fig1 , 2 , and 3 . referring to fig4 , at step 130 negative pressure is applied to the outlet port 18 and all of the inlet ports 12 , 14 , 16 , etc , by connecting the ports , via the associated valves , to negative pressure source 22 , and by shutting off the valves to inlets 12 , 14 , and 16 . this is known as a stop condition as there is no pressure differential between the waste port and any inlet port , and thus no fluid flow into the microchannel 20 . in step 132 , the valve coupled to the dna / buffer inlet port ( e . g ., valve 24 associated with inlet port 12 ) is switched from negative pressure to atmospheric pressure to generate a sample flow condition ( i . e ., a negative pressure differential between outlet port 18 and inlet port 12 ) as shown by the curve 162 in fig5 . although not shown in fig4 , a valve coupled to a polymerase inlet port may also be switched from negative pressure to atmospheric pressure to generate a polymerase flow as shown by curve 164 in fig5 . the dna / buffer mixture is combined into a common flow through the microchannel 20 . in step 134 , a timer delay is implemented to fill the channels with the dna / buffer ( and optionally polymerase ) mixture . in step 136 , the valve coupled to a primer 1 inlet port ( e . g ., valve 26 associated with inlet port 14 ) is switched from negative pressure to atmospheric pressure to generate a primer flow condition into the microchannel 20 to be mixed with the sample flow stream . a timer delay that is proportional to the desired timer injection volume is implemented in step 138 to control the volume of primer 1 that flows into the mixture . in step 140 , the valve coupled to primer 1 inlet port is switched to the original condition , i . e ., negative pressure with the valve shutting off , to stop primer flow , thereby generating the first portion of flow curve 166 ( through clock interval 4 ) in fig5 . a timer delay proportional to a desired spacer interleave is implemented in step 142 . this is a sample flow condition without primer flowing . in step 144 , the valve coupled to the primer 2 inlet port ( e . g ., valve 28 associated with inlet port 16 ) is changed from negative pressure with the valve shutting off to atmospheric pressure to generate a primer flow condition into the microchannel 20 to be mixed with the sample flow stream . a timer delay that is proportional to the desired injection volume of primer 2 is implemented in step 146 . and , in step 148 , the valve coupled to the primer 2 inlet port is switched back to the original , negative pressure with the valve in the shut off condition to stop the flow of primer 2 . steps 144 , 146 , and 148 generate the flow curve 168 shown in fig5 . in step 150 , a primer injection sequence is repeated for additional primers and additional , discrete injections of previously - injected primers until the complete assay conditions are generated , thus generating flow curve 170 . the resulting sample test stream flow curve is designated by curve 172 in fig5 in which each “ hump ” in the curve represents a discrete volume of a primer mixed in the sample flow stream . a separate pcr ( or other ) assay can be performed in each discrete volume ( or bolus ) of sample / primer mixture . in step 152 , pcr thermal cycling is performed on the flowing microfluidic stream thereby generating a pcr amplification reaction within each test bolus . in step 154 , a dna thermal melt analysis is performed on the flowing microfluidic stream . and , in step 156 , a sequence of assay thermal melt data is generated for each test bolus for a multiplex assay performed within the microchannel 20 . as shown in fig6 , any valve coupled to an inlet port can be operated in a pulse width modulated manner to regulate the volume of fluid injected at the inlet port . for example , as described above , a valve coupled to an inlet port can be set to a flow condition for a predetermined period of time corresponding to a desired volume of fluid to be injected into the microchannel . a smaller volume of fluid can be injected by having the valve coupled to the inlet port set to the flow condition for a shorter period of time . it may be desirable , however , to produce reaction droplets of a specified physical size and , thus , it may be desirable to have fluid flow from the inlet port for the specified period of time ( and not the shorter time corresponding to the smaller volume ). to produce a lower volume of fluid flow from an inlet port while maintaining the flow from the port for a specified period of time , the valve coupled to the port may be modulated between negative pressure and atmospheric pressure ( or other higher pressure ) over the desired flow period , as shown in curves 174 and 176 in fig6 . the resulting pressure at the inlet port is indicated by curve 180 in fig6 . the resulting reagent flow , as shown in curve 178 in fig6 , is a generally constant flow over the entire flow period at a flow rate that will result in a lower volume of fluid injected than if the inlet valve were kept open to atmospheric pressure for the entire flow period . while various embodiments / variations of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and not limitation . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments . further , unless stated , none of the above embodiments are mutually exclusive . thus , the present invention may include any combinations and / or integrations of the features of the various embodiments . additionally , while the processes described above and illustrated in the drawings are shown as a sequence of steps , this was done solely for the sake of illustration . accordingly , it is contemplated that some steps may be added , some steps may be omitted , and the order of the steps may be re - arranged . | 8 |
a first preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device according to the first preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 the semiconductor device having a stress transducer includes a stress detector 1 which has a bridge circuit consisting of strain gauge resistances 2a , 2b , 2c and 2d , a node 3c between the strain gauge resistances 2a and 2c , a node 3d between the strain gauge resistances 2b and 2d , a node 3a between the strain gauge resistances 2c and 2d , and a node 3b between the strain gauge resistances 2a and 2b , and a voltage developed between the nodes 3a and 3b is in proportion to stress to be detected . the semiconductor voltage developed between the nodes 3a and 3b is in proportion to stress to be detected . the semiconductor device having a stress transducer also includes an operational amplifier 4 for amplifying output voltage v span ( differential voltage between the nodes 3a and 3b ) of the stress detector 1 , resistances 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 for determining an amplification factor of the operational amplifier 4 , grounds 9 to which a first terminal of the resistance 8 , the node 3d , and so forth are grounded , and an output terminal 10 of the operational amplifier 4 . the differential voltage between the nodes 3a and 3b is single - ended by the operational amplifier 4 and so forth , and the voltage v span is amplified to ( r 6 / r 5 ) times and output voltage v out is output . a reference voltage source 18 develops reference voltage having a positive temperature coefficient , and this can be easily implemented with a band gap type reference voltage source or an avalanche diode , for example . the semiconductor device having a stress transducer further includes an operational amplifier 19 for amplifying the reference voltage of the reference voltage source 18 , resistances 20 and 21 for determining an amplification factor of the operational amplifier 19 . the reference voltage source 18 has its negative electrode grounded and its positive electrode connected to a non - inversion amplification terminal of the operational amplifier 19 . the resistance 20 has its first terminal grounded and its second terminal connected to an inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 . the resistance 21 has its first terminal connected to an output terminal of the operational amplifier 19 . the resistance 21 has its first terminal connected to an output terminal of the operational amplifier 19 and its second terminal connected to the inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 to negatively feed back the voltage of the output terminal . the operational amplifier 19 has its output terminal connected to the node 3c to apply drive voltage to a bridge circuit consisting of the strain gauge resistances 2a , 2b , 2c and 2d . then , an operation of the semiconductor device having a stress transducer will be described . assuming now that voltage at the reference voltage source 18 is v ref ( t ) given by the following formula : although v ref ( t ) is amplified by the operational amplifier 19 , output voltage v 19 of the operational amplifier 19 can be expressed by the following formula , where resistance values of the resistances 20 and 21 are r 20 and r 21 : ## equ14 ## potential e 3c at the node 3c is ( v 19 + 0 ) and output voltage v span of the bridge circuit of the stress detector 1 can be given by the formula ( 9 ). since the node 3d is grounded in fig1 e 3d = 0 . substituting the formulas ( 19 ) and ( 20 ) for the formula ( 9 ) leads the following formula : ## equ15 ## as can be seen , setting a temperature coefficient of the reference voltage source 18 so as to satisfy α = γ , a temperature dependency of the sensitivity of the stress detector 1 can be compensated in the formula ( 21 ). also , variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 in different semiconductor devices having a stress transducer ( variations a · π o ) can be corrected by adjusting the resistance value of the resistance 20 . thus , it is no longer required making a temperature coefficient β of resistance values of the strain gauge resistances 2a to 2d equal to a temperature coefficient α of the piezo resistance coefficient unlike the prior art , and consequently , fabrication of the device is fasilitated . the resistances 20 and 21 generally have their respective resistance values with temperature coefficients , and since they cancel to each other if identical in temperature coefficient , the resistances 21 and 22 , if formed of thin film resistances of , for example , nicr having an identical temperature coefficient , can be formed on a single semiconductor chip together with the stress detector 1 , the operational amplifiers 4 and 19 , the reference voltage source 18 , and the resistances 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 ( in this case , formed by impurity diffusion ). adjustment of the resistance 20 can be performed by trimming with laser or the like . a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig2 . in fig2 a semiconductor device having a stress transducer includes a diffusion resistance 21 formed by impurity diffusion , diffusion resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n having their respective first terminals grounded and their respective second terminals connected to an inversion input terminal of an operational amplifier 19 in a ladder shape and having the same impurity concentration with the resistance 21 , and fuses 2 - 1 to 22 - n provided in series between the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and grounds . these fuses are formed of aluminum , polysilicon , or the like , for example . the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and the fuses 22 - 1 to 22 - n together function for adjusting the resistance value of the resistance 20 shown in fig1 . reference symbols similar to those in fig1 denote equivalent or corresponding components to those of fig1 and respective connections are also similar to fig1 . although the resistances 20 and 21 of thin film are employed for correcting variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 in the first preferred embodiment , fuses of the semiconductor device having a stress transducer shown in fig2 are selectively broken with laser or the like in accordance with variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 in this second preferred embodiment . this allows resistance values between the inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 and grounds in a resistance network consisting of the resistance 20 - 1 to 20 - n to be varied , and consequently , the variations in sensitivity of the stress detectors 1 in different semiconductor devices having a stress transducer can be corrected . in other words , each of the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and each of the fuses 22 - 1 to 22 - n are combined in a pair so as to function as a single element for adjusting a resistance value . hereinafter , such an element is referred to as a resistance value adjusting element . then , a third preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig3 . fig3 ( a ) is a circuit diagram partially showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the third preferred embodiment . referring to the figure , resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n are connected in series between a non - inversion input terminal of an operational amplifier 19 and a ground , respectively . each of the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n is connected in parallel with each of zener diodes 23 1 to 23 - n in a reverse direction . each of the zener diodes 23 - 1 to 23 - n has its anode and cathode provided with each of pads 24 - 1 to 24 - n on an insulating film 38 for causing current to flow in the zener diodes 23 - 1 to 23 - n . the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and a resistance 21 , for example , can be formed by impurity diffusion as in the second preferred embodiment . parts not shown in fig3 indicate equivalent or corresponding parts to those shown in fig1 and connect ions among them are also similar to those of fig1 . a pair of probes 26 of tungsten or the like connected to a current source 25 is brought into contact selectively with a pair of pads 24 - 1 and 24 - 2 , a pair of the pads 24 - 2 and 24 - 3 , or the like in accordance with variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 . in this way , each zener diode , 23 - 2 , 23 - 3 , or the like , has its anode and cathode connected to the current source 25 so as to cause current iz to flow in each zener diode , 23 - 2 , 23 31 3 , or the like , and short it . then , variations in sensitivity of the stress detectors 1 can be corrected by varying a resistance value of a resistance network connected between the non - inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 and the ground . specifically , in a circuit shown in fig3 one of the resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and one of the zener diodes 23 . sub . 1 to 23 - n connected in parallel with it together function as a single resistance value adjusting element . fig3 ( b ) shows a state of such a function . anodes of the zener diodes 23 1 to 23 - n can be formed by p - type impurity diffusion and their cathodes can be formed by n - type impurity diffusion . usually , a p - type impurity diffusion region 27 is formed in the same stage with base regions of other transistors while an n - type impurity diffusion region 28 is formed in the same stage with emitter regions of those transistors , and a short region 29 can be formed by causing the current iz of the current source 25 to flow . in this embodiment , it is desirable that breakdown voltage at the zener diodes 23 1 to 23 - n is higher than voltage at a reference voltage source 18 . if so , even with only one zener diode remaining without short - circuiting , they are safe ; no malfunction arises . reference numeral 30 designates an n - type epitaxial layer , and 31 denotes a p - type separating layer for separating the zener diodes 23 - 1 to 23 - n from other circuit elements . then , a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig4 . fig4 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the fourth preferred embodiment . referring to fig4 digital switches 32 - 1 to 32 - n are connected in series between resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and grounds . for example , the digital switches 32 - 1 to 32 - n are made of transistors and the like . reference numeral 33 designates a non - volatile memory which stores digital data to turn on or off the digital switches 32 - 1 to 32 - n . other like reference numerals denote equivalent or corresponding parts to those of fig2 and connections among them are also similar to fig2 . although the operational amplifier 19 has its output adjusted by utilizing the fuzes 22 - 1 to 22 - n to brake them with laser or the like , or utilizing the zener diodes 23 - 1 to 23 - n to short - circuit them with current in the second and third preferred embodiments , a semiconductor device shown in fig4 has its sensitivity adjusted by utilizing digital switches 32 - 1 to 32 - n to selectively turn on or off in accordance with variations in sensitivity of stress detectors 1 and thus varying a resistance value of a resistance network between an operational amplifier 19 and grounds to vary output voltage of the operation amplifier 19 . here , each of resistances 20 - 1 to 20 - n and each of the switches 32 - 1 to 32 - n connected in series to each other together function as a resistance value adjusting element . now , a fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig5 . fig5 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the fifth preferred embodiment according to the present invention . in fig5 reference numeral 33 denotes a non - volatile memory which stores data on voltage to be applied to a node 3c , and numeral 34 denotes a digital - analog converter which converts voltage received at its reference voltage terminal with a multiplying factor according to data stored in the non - volatile memory 33 to output it . in fig5 the d / a converter 34 is utilized , which has its reference voltage terminal connected to a reference voltage source 18 . digital data in accordance with variations in sensitivity of the stress detectors 1 is stored in the non - volatile memory 33 , and voltage in accordance with reference voltage ( i . e ., voltage having the same temperature coefficient as that of the reference voltage ) is developed at an output terminal of the d / a converter 34 in accordance with the data in the non - volatile memory 33 . then , for example , an operational amplifier 35 functions as a voltage follower to cause the resultant voltage to be current - amplified and applies the resultant voltage to a stress transducer 1 , so that compensation of temperature dependency of the stress transducer 1 and correction of variations in sensitivity of several stress transducers 1 can be implemented . now , a sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig6 . fig6 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig6 the semiconductor device includes a stress detector 1 which has a bridge circuit consisting of strain gauge resistances 2a , 2b , 2c and 2d , where 3c is a node between the strain gauge resistances 2a and 2c , 3d is a node between the stain gauge resistances 2b and 2d , 3a is a node between the strain gauge resistances 2c and 2d , and 3b is a node between the strain gauge resistances 2a and 2b . voltage developed between the nodes 3a and 3b is in proportion to stress to be detected . the semiconductor device having a stress transducer also includes an operational amplifier 4 for amplifying output voltage v span ( differential voltage between the nodes 3a and 3b ) at the stress detector 1 , resistances 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 determining an amplification factor of the operational amplifier 4 , and grounds 9 to which one end of the resistance 8 and the like are grounded . reference numeral 10 denotes an output terminal of the operational amplifier 4 , and numeral 11 denotes a power source for supplying voltage v cc to the node 3c of the stress detector 1 . the differential voltage between the nodes 3a and 3b is single - ended by the operational amplifier 4 or the like , and further , the voltage v span is amplified to ( r 6 / r 5 ) times so as to output output voltage v out . the semiconductor device having a stress transducer further includes a reference voltage source 18 which develops reference voltage having a positive or negative temperature coefficient and which , for example , can be easily implemented by a band gap type reference voltage source , a zener diode , or the like . an operational amplifier 19 amplifies the reference voltage of the reference voltage source 18 , and resistances 20 and 21 determine an amplification factor of the operational amplifier 19 . the reference voltage source 18 has its negative electrode grounded and its positive electrode connected to a non - inversion amplification terminal of the operational amplifier 19 . the resistance 20 has its first terminal connected to the power source 11 and its second terminal connected to an inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 . the resistance 21 has its first terminal connected to an output terminal of the operational amplifier 19 and its second terminal connected to the inversion input terminal of the operational amplifier 19 so as to negatively feed back voltage at the output terminal . the operational amplifier 19 has its output terminal connected to a node 3d so as to apply drive voltage v 19 to the bridge circuit consisting of the strain gauge resistances 2a , 2b , 2c and 2d . the bridge circuit is actuated by differential voltage between the supply voltage v cc and the drive voltage v 19 . as to the circuit in fig6 when voltage supplied by the power source 11 to the node 3c is higher than voltage output by the operational amplifier 19 , or when potential e 3c at the node 3c is higher than potential e 3d at the node 3d , it is necessary that the reference voltage source 18 develops the reference voltage having a negative temperature coefficient . reversely , when the potential e 3c at the node 3c is lower than the potential e 3d at the node 3d , it is necessary that the reference voltage source 18 develops the reference voltage having a positive temperature coefficient . then , an operation of the semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the sixth preferred embodiment will be explained . when the reference voltage has a negative temperature coefficient , the following formula is given : where v ref ( t ) is voltage of the reference voltage source 18 . v ref ( t ) is amplified by the operational amplifier 19 , and the output voltage v 19 of the operational amplifier can be expressed as follows : ## equ16 ## where r 20 and r 21 are resistance values of the resistances 20 and 21 , and v cc is voltage applied by the power source 11 to the node 3c . the potential e 3d at the node 3d is ( v 19 + 0 ). the output voltage v span at the bridge circuit of the stress detector 1 can be given by the formula ( 9 ). also , in fig6 since the node 3c is connected to the power source 11 , the potential e 3c at the node 3c is ( v cc + 0 ). a configuration of the bridge circuit 2a to 2d is similar to the prior art . hence , substituting the formula ( 23 ) for the formula ( 9 ) leads the following formula : ## equ17 ## additionally , the formulas ( 22 ) and ( 24 ) lead to the following formula : ## equ18 ## thus , it can be found from the formula ( 25 ) that the relation between a temperature coefficient α of a piezo resistance coefficient and a temperature coefficient γ of the reference voltage is given by the following formula : ## equ19 ## thus , it can also be found that setting the temperature coefficient γ of the reference voltage of the reference voltage source 18 so as to satisfy the relation of the formula ( 26 ), temperature dependency of sensitivity of the stress detector 1 can be compensated in the formula ( 25 ). moreover , variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 ( variations of a · π o ) can be corrected by adjusting a resistance value at the resistance 20 . the resistances 20 and 21 usually take resistance values with temperature coefficients , and if temperature coefficients are the same , they cancel to each other and exert no influence . for example , the resistances 20 and 21 may be formed of thin film resistances of nicr or the like having an identical temperature coefficient , and can be formed on a single semiconductor chip together with the stress detector 1 , the operational amplifiers 4 and 19 , the reference voltage source 18 , and the resistances 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 ( which are formed , in this case , by impurity diffusion ). adjustment of the resistance 20 can be performed by trimming with laser or the like . the foregoing is the case where the reference voltage has a negative temperature coefficient in the sixth preferred embodiment , but even if the reference voltage has a positive temperature coefficient , the temperature coefficient α of the piezo resistance coefficient can be compensated . the resistance value adjusting element in the second , third and fourth preferred embodiments may be used for implementing the resistance 20 in the sixth preferred embodiment , and fig7 to 9 show various combinations . various effects in semiconductor devices having a stress transducer shown in fig7 to 9 according to the present invention are similar to the previous embodiments . then , a seventh preferred embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to a seventh preferred embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , the semiconductor device includes a power source 11 for supplying voltage v cc to a node 3c , a non - volatile memory 33 which stores data on voltage to be applied to a node 3d , and a digital - analog converter 34 for converting voltage received at its reference voltage terminal with a multiplying factor according to data stored in the non - volatile memory 33 . in fig1 , the d / a converter 34 is utilized , having its reference voltage terminal connected to a reference voltage source 18 , and digital data in accordance with variation in sensitivity of stress detector 1 is stored in the non - volatile memory 33 , so that the d / a converter 34 develops voltage in accordance with reference voltage at its output terminal based upon the data in the non - volatile memory 33 ( i . e ., voltage having the same temperature coefficient as that of the reference voltage ). then , for example , an operational amplifier 35 functions as voltage follower to current - amplify the resultant voltage and applies voltage to the stress transducer , so that compensation of the temperature dependency of the stress transducer 1 and correction of variations in sensitivity of several stress transducers 1 can be implemented . in the circuit shown in fig1 , when voltage supplied by the power source 11 to the node 3c is higher than voltage output by the operational amplifier 35 , or when potential e 3c at the node 3c is higher than potential e 3d at the node 3d , the reference voltage source 18 develops reference voltage having a negative temperature coefficient . reversely , the potential e 3c at the node 3c is lower than the potential e 3d at the node 3d , the reference voltage source 18 develops the reference voltage having a positive temperature coefficient . now , an eighth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the eighth preferred embodiment of the present invention . in fig1 , like reference numerals denote identical or corresponding parts to those of fig6 . fig1 is different from fig6 in that a reference voltage source 18 has its positive electrode connected to a power source 11 and its negative electrode connected to a non - inversion input terminal of an operational amplifier 19 . in the circuit shown in fig1 , it is necessary that the reference voltage source 18 develops reference voltage having a positive temperature coefficient . then , an operation of the semiconductor device having a stress transducer of the eighth preferred embodiment will be described . assuming that voltage of the reference voltage source 18 is v ref ( t ) , the formula ( 19 ) is given . v ref ( t ) is amplified by the operational amplifier 19 , and with an assumption that resistances 20 and 21 has resistance values r 20 and r 21 , and voltage v cc is applied by the power source 11 to a node 3c , output voltage v 19 of the operational amplifier 19 can be expressed as in the following formula : ## equ20 ## here , potential e 3d at a node 3d is ( v 19 + 0 ). output voltage v span of the bridge circuit of the stress detector 1 can be given by the formula ( 9 ). also , a node 3c is connected to the power source 11 in fig1 , potential e 3c at the node 3c is ( v cc + 0 ). a configuration of the bridge circuit 2a to 2d is similar to the prior art . thus , substituting the formula ( 27 ) for the formula ( 9 ), the following formula is give : ## equ21 ## thus , it can be found that setting a temperature coefficient of the reference voltage source 18 in accordance with the formula ( 29 ) so that the relation between a temperature coefficient α of a piezo resistance coefficient and a temperature coefficient γ of reference voltage satisfy the relation α = γ , temperature dependency of sensitivity of the stress detector 1 can be compensated . also , variations in sensitivity of several stress detectors 1 ( variations of a · π 0 ) can be corrected by adjusting a resistance value of a resistance 20 . resistances 20 and 21 usually have their resistance values with temperature coefficients , but since they cancel with each other if identical in temperature coefficient , they exert no influence of the temperature coefficient . for example , the resistances 21 and 20 may be formed of thin film resistances of nicr or the like having an identical temperature coefficient , and can be formed on a single semiconductor chip together with the stress detector 1 , operational amplifiers 4 and 19 , reference voltage source 18 , and resistances 5 , 6 , 7 and 8 ( which are formed , in this case , by impurity diffusion ). adjustment of the resistance 20 can be performed by trimming with laser or the like . the resistance value adjusting element in the second , third and fourth preferred embodiments may be used for implementing the resistance 20 in the eighth preferred embodiment . various effects in semiconductor devices having a stress transducer brought about by combinations of the second to fourth preferred embodiments with the eighth preferred embodiment are similar to the above embodiments . then , a ninth preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig1 . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a semiconductor device having a stress transducer according to the ninth preferred embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , like reference numerals denote identical or corresponding parts to those of fig6 . fig1 is different from fig6 in that a resistance 20 has its first terminal grounded and its second terminal connected to an inversion input terminal of an operational amplifier 19 . in the circuit of fig1 , when voltage supplied by a power source 11 to a node 3c is higher than voltage output by the operational amplifier 19 , or when potential e 3c at the node 3c is higher than potential e 3d at a node 3d , it is necessary that a reference voltage source 18 develops reference voltage having a negative temperature coefficient . reversely , when the potential e 3c at the node 3c is lower than the potential e 3d at the node 3d , it is necessary that the reference voltage source 18 develops the reference voltage having a positive temperature coefficient . now , a specific circuit configuration of the reference voltage sources in the above - mentioned preferred embodiments will be described . those reference voltage sources have a positive or negative temperature coefficient due to the circuit configurations of the respective semiconductor devices having a stress transducer , and therefore , both the reference voltage source having a positive temperature coefficient and the reference voltage source having a negative temperature coefficient are required . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a reference voltage source having a positive temperature coefficient where an avalanche diode is used . in fig1 , the reference voltage source includes a power source 11 , grounds 9 , avalanche diodes 41 , diodes 42 , a resistance 43 , and output terminals 44 and 45 . fig1 ( a ) shows a reference voltage source which consists of the pluraity of avalanche diodes 41 connected in series in a reverse direction , one of which having its anode grounded , the plurality of diodes 42 connected in series in a forward direction , one of which having its cathode connected to a cathode of one of the avalanche diodes 41 , and a resistance 43 having its first terminal connected to the power source 11 and its second terminal connected to an anode of one of the diodes 42 . the avalanche diodes 41 develop constant voltage having a positive temperature coefficient . the reference voltage source can be formed of a single avalanche diode 41 alone , however one avalanche diode alone is not enough to obtain a sufficiently large positive temperature coefficient depending upon an impurity concentration and the like of the avalanche diode . however , the sum of the temperature coefficinets of the avalanche diodes 41 connected in series is the temperature coefficient of the reference voltage . thus , many avalanche diodes 41 are employed to gain a large positive temperature coefficient . the plurality of avalanche diodes 41 are useful because the temperature coefficient can be adjusted by varying the number of the connected ones . moreover , forward voltage drop of a diode exhibit a negative temperature coefficient , and therefore , the diodes 42 having negative temperature coefficients different in absolute value from positive temperature coefficients which the avalanche diodes 41 have are connected in series to the avalanche diodes 41 in the forward direction , so that a minute temperature coefficient can be adjusted . then , as reference voltage , a potential difference between the ground 9 and the output terminal 44 connected to a second terminal of the resistance 43 is employed . a reference voltage source is , for example , useful for the reference voltage source 18 shown in fig1 through 5 in the above preferred embodiments . the sum of the temperature coefficients of the avalanche diodes 41 , in this case , is larger than the sum of the temperature coefficients of the diodes 42 . fig1 ( b ) shows a reference voltage source which consists of the resistance 43 having its first terminal grounded , the plurality of the avalanche diodes 41 connected in series in the reverse direction , one of which has its anode connected to a second terminal of the resistance 43 , and the plurality of the diodes 42 connected in series in the forward direction , one of which has its cathode connected to a cathode of one of the avalanche diodes 41 and another of which has its one end connected to the power source 11 . this reference voltage source is different from that of fig1 ( a ) in that a potential difference between the power source 11 and an output terminal 45 connected to the second terminal of the resistance 43 is employed . the reference voltage source is used , for example , for the reference voltage source 18 shown in fig1 in the above embodiment . fig1 is a circuit diagram showing a reference voltage source having a negative temperature coefficient , where forward voltage drop of a zener diode or diode is utilized . in fig1 , the reference voltage source includes a power source 11 , grounds 9 , diodes 42 , a resistance 43 , zener diodes 46 , and output terminals 48 and 49 . fig1 ( a ) shows a reference voltage source which consists of the plurality of the zener diodes 46 connected in series in the reverse direction one of which has its anode grounded , and the resistance 43 having its first terminal connected to the power source 11 and its second terminal connected to a cathode of one of the zener diodes 46 . the zener diodes 46 develop constant voltages having negative temperature coefficients . the reference voltage source can consist of only one zener diode 46 , but such a single zener diode cannot make so large a negative temperature coefficient because a temperature coefficient which the zener diode has is determined depending upon an impurity concentration and the like . however , the sum of the temperature coefficients of the zener diodes 46 connected in series is the temperature coefficient of the reference voltage . thus , the plurality of the zener diodes 46 are used to gain a large negative temperature coefficient . additionally , the plurality of the zener diodes 46 are useful because their temperature coefficients can be adjusted by varying the number of the connected ones . a potential difference between the ground 9 and the output terminal 48 connected to a second terminal of the resistance 43 is used as the reference voltage . fig1 ( b ) is a circuit diagram showing a reference voltage source which consists of the plurality of the diodes 42 connected in series between the power source 11 and the ground 9 , one of which has its cathode grounded , and the resistance 43 having its first terminal connected to the power source 11 and its second terminal connected to an anode of one of the diodes 42 . the diodes 42 are connected in the forward direction to cause forward voltage drop . since the forward voltage drop has a negative temperature coefficient , the reference voltage source can be formed of only one diode 42 , but such a single diode cannot make so large a negative temperature coefficient . however , the sum of the temperature coefficients of the diodes 42 connected in series is a temperature coefficient of the reference voltage . then , the plurality of the diodes 42 connected in series are employed to gain a large negative temperature coefficient . also , the plurality of the diodes 42 are useful for adjusting the temperature coefficient by varying the number of the connected ones . as to the reference voltage , a potential difference between the ground 9 and the output terminal 49 connected to the second terminal of the resistance 43 is employed . the reference voltage sources shown in fig1 ( a ) and 14 ( b ) are used in the above embodiments in the case where a negative temperature coefficient is required ; for example , they are used as the reference voltage sources 18 in the circuits shown in fig6 through 10 . then , a band gap type reference voltage source will be described with reference to fig1 to 17 . a band gap reference voltage source shown in fig1 is a reference voltage source which develops voltage based upon a potential at a ground . in fig1 , a circuit includes resistances 50 to 54 , npn bipolar transistors 55 to 57 , and output terminals 58 and 59 . the resistance 50 has its first terminal connected to a power source 11 and its second terminal connected to first terminals of the resistances 51 , 52 and 54 . a current source consists of the power source 11 and the resistance 50 . the resistance 51 has its second terminal connected to a collector and a base of the transistor 55 , and the transistor 55 has its emitter grounded . the resistance 52 has its second terminal connected to a collector of the transistor 56 , and the transistor 56 has its base connected to a base of the transistor 55 and its emitter connected to a first terminal of the resistance 53 . a second terminal of the resistance 53 is grounded . the transistor 57 has its collector connected to a second terminal of the resistance 54 , its base connected to a collector of the transistor 56 , and its emitter grounded . reference voltage is a potential difference between the output terminal 59 connected to a first terminal of the resistance 54 and the output terminal 58 grounded . then , an operation of this reference voltage source will be described . base - emitter voltages at the transistors 56 to 58 are denoted by v be1 to v be3 , and resistance values of the resistances 51 to 54 are denoted by r 51 to r 54 . i 2 is a current flowing in the resistor 53 . the transistors 55 and 56 have their respective bases commonly connected , and this leads the following formula : assuming that voltage between the output terminals 58 and 59 is v ref and current flowing in the resistance 51 is i 1 while current flowing in the resistance 52 is i 2 , the following two formulas are led from voltage drop at the resistance 51 and the base - emitter voltage v be1 of the transistor 55 and from voltage drop at the resistance 52 and the base - emitter voltage vbe 3 of the transistor 57 : now , setting the relation between the base - emitter voltages vbe 1 and vbe 3 at the transistors 55 and 57 as v be1 = v be3 , the relations of the formulas ( 31 ) and ( 32 ) are used to lead the following formula : ## equ23 ## generally , base - emitter voltage of a transistor can be given by the following formula : ## equ24 ## where k is a boltzmann constant , t is an absolute temperature , q is an electric charge of electrons , i s is a saturation current of the transistor , and i e is emitter current of the transistor . thus , assuming that saturation current of the transistor 55 is i s1 while saturation current of the transistor 56 is i s2 , the base - emitter voltages v be1 and v be2 at the transistors 55 and 56 can be given by the following formulas : ## equ25 ## the formulas ( 35 ) and ( 36 ) and the formula ( 30 ) lead the following formula : ## equ26 ## since the saturation current i s of the transistor is in proportion to an area of an emitter of the transistor , and assuming now that the emitter areas ratio of the transistor 55 to the transistor 56 is 1 : n , the relation i s1 / i s2 = n is shown , and this relation together with the formula ( 37 ) leads the following formula : ## equ27 ## generally , v be has a temperature coefficient - 2 mv /° c . also , the second term in the equation ( 40 ) is in proportion to the absolute temperature t . accordingly , specifying the emitter areas ratio of the transistor 55 to the transistor 56 and the resistance values r 51 to r 53 of the resistances 51 to 53 , which coefficient , positive or negative , the temperature coefficient of the refence voltage v ref exhibits and what value it takes can be freely specified . in the circuit shown in fig1 , however , a value of the temperature coefficient of the reference voltage cannot be made smaller than - 2 mv /° c . then , as shown in fig1 , for example , connecting transistors 60 and 61 thereto , the negative temperature coefficient can be made larger . in fig1 , numerals 60 and 61 denote npn transistors . the transistor 60 is connected between the transistor 55 and the resistance 51 and has its collector and base connected to a second terminal of the resistance 51 and its emitter connected to a collector of the transistor 55 . the transistor 61 is connected between the transistor 56 and the resistance 52 , and has its collector and base connected to a second terminal of the resistance 52 and its emitter connected to a collector of the transistor 56 . like reference numerals in fig1 denote equivalent or corresponding parts to those of fig1 , and other connections are also similar to the circuit in fig1 . base - emitter voltages of the transistors 60 and 61 are denoted by v be4 and v be5 , respectively . here , since bases of the transistors 55 and 56 are commonly connected , the formula ( 30 ) is shown . then , voltage drop of the resistance 51 , the base - emitter voltage v be1 of the transistor 55 , and the base - emitter voltage v be4 of the transistor 60 together lead the following formula : also , voltage drop of the resistance 52 , the base - emitter voltage v be3 of the transistor 57 and the base - emitter voltage v be5 of the transistor 61 together lead the following formula : now , setting the relations among the base - emitter voltages v be1 , v be3 , v be4 , and v be5 of the transistors 55 , 57 , 60 and 61 so as to satisfy the following formula , the relations of the formulas ( 41 ) and ( 42 ) together show the relation of the following formula : generally , since the base - emitter voltage v be of the transistor is given by the formula ( 34 ), the base - emitter voltages v be1 and v be2 of the transistors 55 and 56 can be given by the formulas ( 35 ) and ( 36 ), assuming that the saturation current of the transistor 55 is i s1 while the saturation current of the transistor 56 is i s2 . the formulas ( 35 ) and ( 36 ) and the formula ( 30 ) together lead the formula ( 37 ). the saturation current i s of the transistor is in proportion to an emitter area of the transistor , and therefore , assuming that an emitter areas ratio of the transistor 55 to the transistor 56 is 1 : n , the relation of i s1 / i s2 = n is shown , and this relation together with the formula ( 37 ) lead the formula ( 38 ). moreover , the formulas ( 33 ) and ( 38 ) lead the formula ( 39 ). furthermore , substituting the formula ( 39 ) for the formula ( 42 ), the following formula is led : ## equ30 ## the base - emitter voltages of the transistors 57 and 61 expressed by first and second terms in the formula ( 44 ) cause the reference voltage v ref to have a negative temperature coefficient , and a value of the temperature coefficient is never to be smaller than - 4 mv /° c . further , it can be found that comparing the formula ( 40 ) with the formula ( 44 ), the circuit in fig1 succeeds in making an absolute value of the negative temperature coefficient larger than the circuit in fig1 . another band gap reference voltage source shown in fig1 is a reference voltage source which develops voltage based upon a potential at a power source . in fig1 , the refence voltage source includes resistances 70 through 74 , pnp bipolar transistors 75 through 77 , and output terminals 78 and 79 . the resistance 70 has its first terminal grounded and its second terminal connected to first terminals of the resistances 71 through 73 . a current source consist of the resistance 70 and the power source 11 . a second terminal of the resistance 71 is connected to a collector and a base of the transistor 75 . the transistor 75 has its emitter connected to the power source 11 . the resistance 72 has its second terminal connected to a collector of the transistor 76 . the transistor 76 has its base connected to a base of the transistor 75 and its emitter connected to a first terminal of the resistance 74 . a second terminal of the resistance 74 is connected to the power source 11 . the transistor 77 has its collector connected to a second terminal of the resistance 73 , its base connected to a collector of the transistor 76 , and its emitter connected to the power source 11 . reference voltage is a potential difference between the output terminal 79 connected to a first terminal of the resistance 71 and the output terminal 78 connected to the power source 11 . an operation of the reference voltage source is similar to the reference voltage source shown in fig1 . the reference voltage source is used as the reference voltage source 18 shown in fig1 which develops voltage based upon the potential at the power source 11 , for example . as has been described , according to the present invention , a semiconductor device having a stress transducer includes a reference voltage source formed on the same substrate with a stress transducer for developing reference voltage having a temperature coefficint which compensates a temperature coefficint of sensitivity of the stress transducer , and a voltage transducer having its output terminal connected to a voltage input terminal of the stress transducer and receiving the reference voltage for outputting the resultant reference voltage transduced voltage as drive voltage to the stress transducer , where the reference voltage source compensates a temperature coefficient of sensitivity of the stress transducer while the voltage transducer adjust a drive voltage so as to correct variations in sensitivity of several stress transducers , and therefore , for example , conventional difficult work of keeping a temperature coefficint of strain gauge resistances of which the stress transducer is comprised in accord with a temperature coefficint of a piezo resistance coefficient can be excluded , and the intended semiconductor can be easily fabricated . the drive voltage compensates itself , for example , constant current which conventionally led in a bridge circuit no longer required , and therefore , a resistance of a small temperature coefficint to make the constant current is no longer required . consequently , for example , semiconductor device having a stress transducer can be formed of diffusion resistances alone unlike the prior art where diffusion resistances and thin film resistances are required , the semiconductor device having a stress transducer can be easily formed on a single substrate , and further , such a semiconductor device having a stress transducer is low - priced . while the invention has been shown and described in detail , the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive . it is therefore understood that numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the scope of the invention . | 6 |
attention is now directed to fig1 which schemetically illustrates a breathing apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention useful for simulating higher altitude breathing conditions for a user 12 . briefly , the apparatus 10 is comprised of a user breathing means 14 which communicates the users airway with an expiratory path and an inspiratory path . as will be discussed in detail hereinafter , on expiration , a portion of the users expired air is exhausted to the environment and the remainder of the expired air is stored in a reservoir . on inspiration , the stored air is drawn from the reservoir and mixed with ambient air and supplied to the user . carbon dioxide ( co 2 ) absorber material is incorporated in the inspiratory and / or expiratory flowpaths to reduce the co 2 content of the expired air prior to rebreathing . in the schematically illustrated embodiment of fig1 the expiratory path is defined by tube 16 which communicates through an expiratory valve 20 with a first quantity of co 2 absorber material 22 . air passing through the co 2 absorber material 22 is delivered into an air storage reservoir 24 . the reservoir 24 also communicates with a second quantity of co 2 absorber material 26 . air drawn through the absorber material 26 moves past an inspiratory valve 28 into the inspiratory tube 18 . the user breathing means 14 illustrated in fig1 includes a breathing mask 30 and a connector 32 . the connector 32 is provided with four ports ; the first and second ports respectively communicate with the expiratory and inspiratory tubes 16 , 18 , the third port 33 communicates with the environment for passing ambient air therethrough and the fourth port communicates with the users airway . in the use of the apparatus 10 of fig1 on expiration , a portion of the users expired air will be exhausted directly to the environment through the third port 33 in the connector 32 . the remaining portion of the users expired air will flow through the expiratory tube 16 , and thence through the co 2 absorber material 22 into the reservoir 24 . on inspiration , the air stored in the reservoir is drawn through the co 2 absorber material 26 to further reduce its co 2 content and thence through the inspiratory tube 18 where it is combined with ambient air drawn into the connector 32 from the third port 33 . since the air inspired from the tube 18 has a considerably lower oxygen concentration than the ambient air , the air inspired by the user from the connector , will have a significantly lower concentration than the ambient air and thus will simulate air at a higher altitude than the environment . the inspired air however will not have a significantly higher co 2 concentration than air naturally found at the simulated environment since the co 2 in the users expired air is substantially removed by the co 2 absorber material 22 and 26 . the particular altitude which can be simulated by the method and apparatus depicted in fig1 is dependent primarily upon the dimensions of the various ports in connector 32 which determines the ratio of ambient air to rebreathed air inspired by the user 12 . attention is now directed to fig2 - 8 which illustrate the details of an exemplary embodiment of breathing apparatus in accordance with the present invention . the apparatus of fig2 - 7 is comprised primarily of a cover part 100 , a pair of co 2 absorber material canisters 104 and 106 , a center part 108 , and a pair of cup - like bottom members 112 and 114 . as is depicted in fig2 - 4 , the cover part 100 fits over and covers the canisters 104 and 106 . the canisters 104 and 106 are seated within compartments defined in the center part 108 . bolts 120 and 122 fasten the cover part 100 and center part 108 together so as to tightly sandwich the canisters 104 and 106 therebetween . the cup - like members 112 and 114 are then secured to the underportion of the center part 108 to define an air storage reservoir having a series of flow path segments therein , as will be explained in greater detail hereinafter . referring primarily to fig4 and 7 , it can be seen that the cover part 100 comprises a cover plate 140 having a depending apron 142 . as is best shown in fig7 the apron 142 is formed so as to define two circular wells 143 and 144 which respectively receive the cylindrical walls 146 and 148 of the canisters 104 and 106 . nipples 150 and 152 extend from the cover plate 140 and open into the wells 143 and 144 . more particularly , nipple 150 is aligned with an air outlet opening 156 communicating with well 143 . nipple 152 is aligned with an air inlet opening 158 communicating with well 144 . a one way flow valve 160 is mounted in air outlet opening 156 to permit flow therethrough only in the direction from well 143 to nipple 150 . a one way flow valve 162 is mounted in air inlet opening 158 to permit flow only in the direction from nipple 152 to well 144 . the canisters 104 and 106 are comprised of substantially cylindrical walls 146 and 148 and perforated air permeable bottom surfaces 166 and 168 . each of the bottom surfaces supports an air permeable foam like disk 170 . a quantity of co 2 absorber material 172 is supported on each disk 170 . a second foam like disk 174 is placed on the top of the co 2 absorber material in each canister . radial walls 178 depending from the undersurface of the cover plate 140 bear against the upper disks 174 to press them against the co 2 absorber material . the cylindrical walls 146 and 148 of the canisters 104 and 106 depend below the canister bottom surfaces 166 and 168 and are adpated to rest on a shoulder 180 formed along the inner edge of wall 182 of the aforementioned center part 108 . wall 182 is configured to define two circular compartments for respectively receiving canisters 104 , 106 . the canister walls 146 , 148 are preferably tapered inwardly adjacent their upper and lower edges respectively receivable in the aforementioned cover part wells and center part compartments . the surfaces of the wells and compartments are preferably similarly tapered so as to mate in an interference fit with the canister wall surfaces to form an air tight seal therewith . center part 108 defines a chamber 190 beneath the bottom surfaces 166 and 168 of the canisters 104 and 106 . the chamber 190 defines an air entrance opening 192 opening into passage ways 194 and 196 respectively defined by baffles 198 and 200 . the passageways 194 and 196 respectively communicate with passageways defined through central elongated tubes 202 and 204 . two sets of concentric tubes are secured to the undersurface of the center part 108 . more particularly , a first set of tubes includes center tube 2 and tubes 206 and 208 concentric therewith . similarly , a second set of concentric tubes depending from the undersurface of center part 108 includes center tube 104 and concentric tubes 210 and 212 . the two cup - like members 112 and 114 respectively receive the aforementioned two sets of concentric tubes depending from the undersurface of the center part 108 . more particularly , cup - like member 112 is comprised of an outer wall 220 and inner concentric walls 222 and 224 . the upper edge of the outer wall 220 is provided with outwardly extending radial tabs 240 . the tabs 240 are receivable in slots 242 formed in apron 243 of the center part 108 . in assembling the cup - like members 112 and 114 to the center part 108 , the cup - like members are first moved toward the center part 108 so that the tabs 240 clear inwardly projecting radial shelves 244 . the cup - like members 112 and 114 are then twisted relative to the center part 108 to move the tabs 240 into the slots 242 , bayonet fashion , to lock the tabs 242 in the slot supported by the inwardly projecting shelves 244 . thus , the cup - like members 112 and 114 can be easily secured to and removed from the center part 108 without the utilization of any tools . when the cup - like members 112 and 114 are secured to the underside of the center part 108 , the concentric walls of the cup - like members mesh with the concentric tubes depending from the under side of the center part 108 to define a flow path comprised of a series of short segments extending from the passageways 194 and 196 to overflow openings 250 defined in the center part 108 . for example , a first path is defined within cup - like member 112 down the center of tube 202 and then between tube 202 and wall 224 , and then between wall 224 and tube 206 , and then between tube 206 and wall 222 and then between wall 222 and tube 208 , and then between tube 208 and outer wall 220 to the overflow opening 250 . note that the undersurface of center part 108 is rounded at 260 , as is the internal surface 262 of the bottom wall 264 of the cup - like member 112 , in order to facilitate smooth air flow along the segmented series flow path defined between the tubes of the center part 108 and walls of the cup - like member 112 . attention is now directed to fig8 and 9 which illustrate the connector 32 ( fig1 ) for coupling the inspiratory and expiratory tubes 18 , 16 to the users airway . the connector 32 basically comprises a cylindrical body 300 defining an internal air mixing chamber 302 and four ports which communicate with the chamber 302 . more particularly , first and second side ports 304 and 306 are defined respectively communicating with tubular arms 308 and 310 . annular slots 312 and 314 are formed in the connector body around the ports 304 and 306 . an inwardly projecting annular flange 316 on arm 308 projects into the slot 312 for rotational movement with respect thereto . thus , the arm 308 can swivel from the solid line position depicted in fig9 to the phantom line position . similarly , tubular arm 310 is provided with an inwardly directed flange 318 which is received in slot 314 to enable arm 310 to swivel from the solid line position illustrated in fig9 . tubular arms 308 and 310 are preferably tapered toward their ends remote from the connector body 300 in order to receive the female ends of standard breathing hoses thereon . by mounting the arms 308 and 310 for rotational movement as described , a breathing apparatus in accordance with the invention can be conveniently worn by a user adjacent either his front or back . in addition to ports 304 and 306 , connector 32 provides a third port 320 which comprises an orifice having smoothly formed internal wall surfaces 322 defining a throat region . inasmuch as the cross sectional dimension of the orifice primarily determines the amount of ambient air exhausted during expiration and inspired during inspiration , a particular orifice dimension is selected dependent upon the altitude which it is desired to simulate . the connector is also provided with guards 326 which project forwardly of the port 320 to prevent any objects from inadvertently clogging the port . a fourth port 330 is defined by the connector 32 for communicating the internal chamber 302 to the users airway , either directly via the users mouth or through an appropriate breathing mask 30 or mouthpiece ( not shown ). the external surface 332 of the connector is preferably tapered about the port 330 for receiving the female end of an opening found on a typical breathing mask . in use , the connector 32 of fig8 and 9 is tyically connected between a breathing mask 30 and inspiratory and expiratory tubes 18 and 16 , as depicted in fig1 . the inspiratory and expiratory tubes are in turn connected to the nipples 150 and 152 as depicted in fig4 . on expiration , the users expired air will be transferred through port 330 of the connector 32 into internal chamber 302 . a portion of the expired air will then be exhausted to the environment through the selectively dimensioned orifice 320 . the remainder of the expired air will flow through port 306 , through expiration tube 16 , past expiratory valve 162 and through the co 2 absorber material in canister 106 . after passing through the air permeable bottom surface 168 of cannister 106 , the expired air will flow into the entrance opening 192 and thence into the segmented series flow paths formed in the cup - like members 112 and 114 . if the expired air exceeds the capacity of the reservoir defined by the cup - like members , the air will overflow through the overflow openings 250 . on inspiration , the direction of the air movement in the reservoirs will be reversed and the air in the reservoirs will be drawn up through center tubes 202 and 204 through the entrance opening 192 through the chamber 190 and thence through the co 2 absorber material 146 , through the inspiratory valve 160 , through the inspiratory tube 180 , and through port 304 , into the chamber 302 in the connector 32 . the air drawn into the chamber 302 via the port 304 is mixed with ambient air drawn into the chamber 302 via port 320 . the ratio of the ambient air drawn through port 320 to the rebreathed air drawn through port 304 depends upon the relative flow resistances which are in large measure dependent upon the dimension of the port 320 . the greater the ratio of ambient air to rebreathed air , the lower will be the altitude simulated by the breathing apparatus . on the other hand , the smaller the ratio of ambient air to rebreathed air , the higher will be the simulated altitude . it should be noted that the air flow paths formed by the apparatus , as is best depicted in fig4 and 9 , are defined by smoothly radiused surfaces offering a minimum of air flow resistance . additionally , it should be noted that in the embodiment depicted , the expiration path and inspiration path include like amounts of co 2 absorber material and that the paths are substantially balanced , i . e . exhibit essentially the same resistance to air flow . as a consequence , the user is able to breath through the apparatus without experiencing any significant pressure load . use of the apparatus , however , will of course produce a physiological stress on the user attributable to the reduction in oxygen available to him as compared with that normally provided by the ambient air . although it is preferble to include co 2 absorber material in both the inspiration and expiration paths , embodiments of the invention can also be utilized with co 2 absorber material in only one of the paths . by locating the exhaust port 320 proximate to the user , a selected portion of the users expired air will be exhausted immediately and will not have to be transported by the expiratory tube 16 or stored by the reservoir . as a consequence , the capacity of the expiratory tube 16 and reservoir 24 can be minimized to thereby acheive a structure sufficiently compact to be readily carried by the user while performing light exercise . if the users expired air volume exceeds the capacity of the expiratory tube 16 and reservoir , the excess expired air will overflow through overflow openings 250 . on inspiration , the air stored in the reservoir which has not overflowed will be first inspired and will be followed by ambient air drawn into the reservoirs from the overflow openings 250 . the ability of the co 2 absorber material 172 to absorb co 2 diminishes with use . accordingly , the material 172 must be periodically replaced . this is easily accomplished of course by removing the bolts 120 and 122 which pass through holes 340 in the cover part 100 into threaded bosses 342 in the center part 108 . with the bolts 120 and 122 removed , the cover part 100 can be lifted off the cannisters 104 and 106 . the canisters can then be removed from the center part 108 . the foam like disk 174 can then be removed and the co 2 absorber material can be disposed of and the canisters refilled with fresh material prior to reassembly . in order to conserve co 2 absorber material , it is not generally necessary to dispose of the co 2 absorber material in the inspiratory flow path , i . e . in canister 104 . rather , since the ability of the material to absorb co 2 in the expiratory path canister 106 will diminish more rapidly than the material in the inspiratory path canister 104 , co 2 absorber material can be conserved by disposing of the material in canister 106 , transferring the canister 104 to the expiratory path , refilling the canister 106 with fresh co 2 absorber material , and then placing the refilled canister in the inspiratory path . although , the depicted embodiment contemplates that the canisters be refilled with fresh co 2 absorber material , it may be preferable under some circumstances to use disposable nonrefillable co 2 absorber canisters . it has been pointed out that the dimension of the exhaust port 320 , depicted in fig9 primarily establishes the altitude which is simulated by the breathing apparatus . in order to assure maximum safety of the system by a totally inexperienced user , the dimension of the port 320 is fixed at a modest altitude level which provides only a moderate amount of physical stress . experienced users desiring to simulate higher altitudes can choose connectors 32 having an exhaust port 320 of smaller dimension . on the other hand , an alternative connector embodiment , as depicted in fig1 , can be used wherein the exhaust orifice 400 is defined by a removable insert 402 which fits within a substantially cylindrical sleeve 404 of the connector of fig1 . fig1 and 12 illustrate an alternative user breathing means in which the functions of the aforementioned connector and breathing mask are combined in a single unit . more specifically , the breathing means of fig1 and 12 includes a semirigid mask 405 adapted to fit over a users nose and mouth . the mask 405 preferably has a compliant edge 406 adapted to fit and conform to the contours of the users face so as to define a substantially sealed internal chamber 407 . the chamber 407 communicates through ported arms 408 , 409 to inspiratory and expiratory breathing tubes . these arms 408 , 409 are preferably mounted for swivel movement relative to the mask 405 to facilitate wearing by the user . the mask 405 defines a port 410 . an insert 411 is retained in the port 410 and defines a selectively dimensioned orifice 412 open to the environment . the insert 411 is preferably provided with hooks 413 which are receivable in eyelets 414 of a strap 415 adapted to extend around the users head to retain the mask 405 on the users face . the mask 405 is used in the same manner as has already been discussed in connection with the embodiment of fig1 - 9 . attention is now directed to fig1 and 14 which illustrate a back pad assembly 420 for facilitating the carrying of the breathing apparatus on the back of a user . the back pad assembly 420 is comprised of a pad 422 of flexible material , such as a suitable foam material . a fabric cover 424 is sewn around the foam pad 422 to protect it . a pair of shoulder straps 426 and 428 , as well as a pair of belt straps 430 and 432 are anchored to the pad and function in the same manner as they do in conventional commercially available backpacks . a suitable frame structure 440 is provided and is preferably buried within the pad layer 422 . secured to the frame structure 440 and extending outwardly from the rear of the back pad assembly 420 is a bracket 444 and a clip 446 . a hole 448 is formed in the bracket . the clip 446 has a depending forward lip 450 . in use , the breathing apparatus 10 is mounted on the back pad assembly 420 as depicted in fig1 . more particularly , the bolt 120 extends through the opening 448 in bracket 444 and thence through the opening 341 in the cover part 100 and thence into the threaded boss 342 . the depending lip 450 on clip 446 extends around the upstanding wall 182 of the center part 108 to keep the apparatus close to the rear surface of the back pad assembly 420 . the weight of the back pad assembly , as depicted in fig1 , is entirely supported by the bolt 120 threaded into the boss 342 . the apparatus disclosed herein can be readily constructed of relatively inexpensive molded plastic parts . it can be assembled and disassembled rapidly by an inexperienced user without any tools . disassembly and reassembly is periodically required to clean and to replace the co 2 absorber material . the frequency of replacement depends upon various factors but primarily upon the frequency of usage . as is readily known , a need to replace the co 2 absorber material is typically indicated by a change in the color of the material . accordingly , it should be appreciated that an improved breathing method and apparatus has been disclosed herein which enables a user to simulate breathing conditions at higher altitudes . moreover , the apparatus as disclosed herein can be manufactured at relatively low cost and in a compact configuration and can be safely carried and used while performing light exercise . | 0 |
fig1 shows a substrate , and more specifically a plate , manager 20 , which has been constructed according to the principles of the present invention . generally , the plate manager 20 comprises a plate store 200 , a plate inverter system 300 , a plate transfer system 400 , and a plate inserter 600 , all of which are controlled by a system controller 50 . a plate imaging engine 500 is further provided to expose the substrates . the plate store system 200 comprises , when loaded , multiple cassettes 210 . each of these cassettes 210 holds a stack of plates 212 . the cassettes are moved vertically within the plate store system 200 by a cassette elevator or lifter 214 . in one example , the cassettes themselves are stacked atop one another , or in stacks of cassettes , that are moved vertically by the cassette elevator 214 so that the stack of plates 212 of a specific cassette 210 is raised to the level of a plate picker system 216 . once the cassette 212 is at the proper height , a cassette translator 218 moves it laterally . the cassette 212 is thereby positioned underneath the plate picker system 216 , which then picks a plate off of the stack of plates 212 . the plate picker or peeler system 216 provides individual plates from the stack of plates 212 to the plate inverter system 300 . the plate inverter system 300 , in the preferred embodiment , comprises an arcuate transfer path 310 over which the plates are conveyed to effect the inversion . simultaneously with the picking of the plate 10 and its transfer across the transfer path 310 , a slip sheet handler 100 captures a slip sheet ss , that is typically located between the individual plates in the stack of plates 212 and subsequently transfers the slip sheet ss with the plate 10 over the transfer path 310 . typically , the slip sheet handler 100 then passes the slip sheets off for storage . in the present embodiment , the cassettes 210 are as described in u . s . application ser . no . 10 / 117 , 749 , filed on apr . 5 , 2002 , entitled plate cassette for platesetter , by dasilva , et al ., which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety . this cassette system has a second , slightly wider slip - sheet removal groove that extends laterally across the cassette &# 39 ; s tray between a leak groove and a registration guide . this groove is a depressed portion or recess in the otherwise planar surface of the cassette &# 39 ; s tray . it is used to facilitate the removal of slip sheets for small plates . further , in the present embodiment , the plates 212 are held in the cassettes 210 in a center justified configuration . and , the plates are transferred through the plate manager 20 , center justified . however , in other implementations , the plates can be edge justified in both the cassettes and during transfer through the machine . the plate inverter system 300 transfers the plate 10 over the arcuate transfer path 310 from the plate picker or peeler system 216 of the plate storage system 200 to the plate transfer system 400 . this transfer system 400 , in the present implementation , comprises a conveyer 410 that receives the plate 10 and then moves the plate 10 laterally in the plate manager 20 toward the plate imaging engine 500 . between the plate imaging engine 500 and the transfer system 400 is a plate inserter system 600 . the angle of the plate is moved from generally a horizontal orientation as it is received from the transfer system 400 to a more vertical orientation for insertion into the plate imaging engine 500 . specifically , the plate is angled at 75 degrees from horizontal for insertion into the engine . the plate inserter system 600 comprises an inserter transfer path 610 . it moves the plate from its horizontal position as it is transferred across the conveyer 410 to a more vertical orientation . it transfers the plate 10 so that it is received by a first set of output pinch rollers 612 , and transferred to a second set of pinch rollers 614 . the plate imaging engine 500 receives the plate 10 from the plate inserter system 600 . the plate is brought into engagement with a header clip 510 on the exterior of drum 512 of the imaging engine 500 . the drum 512 is then advanced so that the plate 10 is progressively installed on the outside perimeter of the drum 512 by ironing roller 540 until its lagging edge is engaged by a lagging edge clip 514 . at this stage , the plate 10 is selectively exposed by a laser scanning system 516 . typically , this is a high speed , high power laser scanning system that selectively exposes the emulsion on the plate 10 with the desired image , in a raster fashion . afterward , the plate 10 is typically ejected from the plate imaging engine 500 for development and further processing . for example , in one configuration , the exposed plate is ejected to a conveyor system , not shown , and transported to a plate processor . fig2 shows the present embodiment of the plate inverter system 300 . it generally comprises a left lagging arm 312 - l and a right lagging arm 312 - r . the right and left lagging arms 312 - r , 312 - l support lagging arm nip rollers 314 and 316 . these lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 extend between the right and left lagging arms , parallel to each other , to thereby define a nip between the first lagging arm nip roller 314 and the second lagging arm roller 316 . also , a support plate 326 is typically required . it extends between the right lagging arm 312 - r and the left lagging arm 312 - l , being connected to the lagging arms via l brackets 328 . this increases the rigidity of the system of lagging arms 312 . the right and left lagging arms 312 - r , 312 - l are in turn supported by a hollow axle 318 . right and left flanges 324 - r , 324 - l are secured to the ends of the hollow lagging arm axle 318 . the right lagging arm 312 - r is bolted to the right axle flange 324 - r and the left lagging arm 312 - l is bolted to the left axle flange 324 - l such that the lagging arms 312 are secured to the lagging arm hollow axle 318 . in the specific implementation , a lagging arm gear 320 is disposed near the center of the lagging arm &# 39 ; s hollow axle 318 . it engages a drive gear 322 of a lagging arm drive motor 324 . as a result , by driving the lagging arm motor 324 , the lagging arm hollow axle 318 is rotated to thereby allow the lagging arms 312 - r , 312 - l to traverse the arcuate transfer path 310 . the drive motor 324 has an integral brake and an encoder 324 e . this allows the motor 324 to hold the position of the arms 312 and also move the arms 312 through predetermined arcs under control of the system controller 50 . the lagging arms 312 additionally support a lagging arm nip actuation and roller drive mechanism 330 , which allows the controlled separation of the first lagging arm nip roller 314 from the second lagging arm nip roller 316 and the driving of the nip rollers to feed a plate in the nip . the mechanism further has a motor encoder for measuring the number of rotations of the rollers 314 , 316 . this opens the nip between these two rollers enabling insertion of a plate or other substrate into the opened nip . thereafter , the lagging arm nip actuation mechanism 330 closes the nip between the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 to thereby engage the plate . the plate inverter system 300 also includes right and left leading arms 332 - r , 332 - l . the leading arms 332 - r , 332 - l similarly support first and second leading arm nip rollers 334 , 336 . a leading arm nip actuation mechanism 338 is provided on each of the right leading arm 332 - r and the left leading arm 332 - l to control the opening and closing of the nip between the first leading arm nip roller 334 and the second leading arm nip roller 336 . in this way , the rollers on the leading arms 332 can thereby be opened and closed to release and engage a plate between nip rollers 334 and 336 . the right and left leading arms 332 - r , 332 - l are supported on a solid leading arm axle 340 . this axle includes a leading arm gear 342 , which is engaged by a leading arm motor 344 via a leading arm drive gear 346 . in this way , when the leading arm motor 344 is driven , the right and left leading arms 332 - r , 332 - l are rotated so that the nip of the leading arm nip rollers 334 , 336 moves through the arcuate transfer path 310 of the plate inverter system 300 . the leading arm motor 344 also has an integral brake and an encoder 344 e . a leading arm support member 350 is also provided . it extends between the right leading arm 332 - r and the left leading arm 332 - l . it is secured to the leading arms via l brackets 352 . it similarly increases the rigidity of the leading arm system . a plate lagging edge detector 354 is provided on the lagging arm system . specifically , it is attached to the lagging arm support member 326 . it projects down near a plane that extends between the nip of the first lagging arm nip roller 314 and the second lagging arm nip roller 316 . in the preferred implementation , it detects the level of reflected light . as a result , it can detect whether a reflective substrate , such as a plate , is being held in the nip of the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 . this arrangement for detecting the plate requires that the plate surface opposite the detector be reflective , which is a characteristic of the non - emulsion side of the plate . supported by the leading arms 332 is a slip sheet capture mechanism 110 of the slip sheet handler 100 . this is used to grab the slip sheet that is underneath a plate that is being held between the nip rollers of the lagging arms . fig3 shows the plate inverter system 300 in a feed or intermediate position . specifically , the leading arm motor 344 has been driven to rotate the right leading arm 332 - r and the left leading arm 332 - l upward along the arcuate transfer path 310 . this view better shows the first leading arm nip roller 334 and the second leading arm nip roller 336 . also shown is a plate header detector 370 . it detects the presence of a plate that is held between the leading arm nip rollers 334 , 336 by detecting the plate &# 39 ; s reflective non - emulsion surface as in the case of the lagging edge detector 354 . the lagging arms 312 - r , 312 - l further carry a first or upper air bar 360 and a second or lower air bar 362 , in one embodiment . these are connected to a compressor system 364 , which provides compressed air to the first air bar 360 and the second air bar 362 of the lagging arm system to facilitate the separation of slip sheets from the plates , under the control of the system controller 50 . fig4 shows the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 . specifically , it comprises a first member 112 that is rigidly connected to the right and left leading arms 332 - l , 332 - r . a series of second members 114 are bolted to the first member 112 via bolts 116 . a distal end 118 of the second member 114 has a bore through which a shaft 120 extends . the shaft 120 similarly extends through a pivot frame member 122 . as a result , the pivot frame member 122 can rotate with respect to the second frame members 114 . a spring member 124 is bolted to the first member 112 and spring loaded to a pivot point 126 of the pivot frame member 122 . this resiliently biases the pivot frame member 122 relative to the first member 112 to rotate about shaft 120 in the direction of arrow 128 . the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 engages a slip sheet via three components . specifically , the slip sheet capture mechanism has a foot frame 130 that is bolted to the end of the pivot frame member 122 . the foot frame 130 supports a foot pad 132 for holding a slip sheet . the mechanism 110 further comprises a drive slip sheet roller 136 that is journaled to rotate on the pivot frame 122 via axle 138 and a slip sheet follower roller 134 that is similarly journaled to rotate relative to the pivot frame 122 that supports it . the drive nip roller 136 includes a gear 137 that engages an intermediate gear 139 , which is also journaled to rotate on the pivot frame 122 . the gear 139 is engaged by a rack 140 that is connected to the actuation shaft 144 of a double acting air cylinder 142 . as a result , actuation of the air cylinder 142 moves the shaft 144 in the direction of arrow 146 to move the rack 140 in both the right and left directions in the orientation of fig4 . this rotates the intermediate gear 139 , and in turn , the nip drive slip sheet roller 136 . slip sheet detector probes 150 are further provided on the pivot frame 128 . they extend below the outer periphery of the follower roller 134 to verify the presence or not of a slip sheet . generally conductivity is detected between the probes . a slip sheet will be non - conductive yielding a very high resistance between the probes 150 . a plate will be conductive resulting in a low resistance . fig5 better shows the arrangement of the double acting air cylinder 142 and its rack 140 . it rotates gear 139 to in turn drive the drive roller 136 via its drive roller gear 137 . it allows the selective rotation of the drive roller 136 . fig6 shows a system for detecting the degree to which the pivot frame 122 is pivoting with respect to the first member 112 . specifically , a flag arm 152 is provided , which is bolted to the first member 112 . it comprises a flag portion 154 that passes in proximity to a sensor 156 . as a result , the pivoting of the pivot frame 122 can thereby be detected by this detector 156 and specifically when the pivot frame 122 has rotated a predetermined amount such that the flag portion 154 is within the slot of the u - shaped element of the sensor 156 . fig7 a - 7c are flow diagrams that are used to describe the operation orchestrated by the system controller 50 of the preferred embodiment of the plate inverter 300 . these flow diagrams are described with reference to fig8 a - 8f , which show the plate inverter system 300 at various stages of operation in the inversion of the plate according to the invention . in more detail , with reference to step 710 of fig7 a , in the first phase of the operation , the cassette elevator 214 raises the cassette 210 . the cassette is also horizontally moved via the cassette translator 218 . simultaneously with the raising of the desired cassette 210 , the leading arms 332 and the lagging arms 312 are moved out of the home position to provide clearance for the cassette &# 39 ; s movement . fig8 a and 8b illustrate the operation of step 710 . specifically , in fig8 a , the leading arms 332 and the lagging arms 312 are in the home position . however , as illustrated in fig8 b , for the cassette 210 to be raised by the elevator 214 , both the leading arms 332 and the lagging arms 312 move to provide clearance for the cassette 210 . this brings the top plate in the stack of plates 212 in the cassette 210 into engagement with the peeler mechanism 216 . the peeler mechanism 216 includes an array of suction cups 230 that are brought into engagement with the top plate in the plate stack 212 . the height to which the cassette 210 is raised by elevator 214 is controlled by feedback from sensor probe 232 that functions as a plate stack height detector . it engages or contacts and thus detects the top plate to thereby control the height of the plate / cassette such that the suction cups 230 can engage the top plate . it should be noted that since the stack 212 in the cassette 210 can contain a variable number of plates , the elevator could not simply raise the cassette 210 to a fixed height , thus leading to the requirement of the stack height detector 232 . also provided is a pair of conductive springs 231 that make contact with the non - emulsion side of the plate . the springs 231 are compliant so as to not damage the non - emulsion side of the plate . the electrical continuity between the springs 231 signifies whether a plate is present . this conductivity test determines whether it is in contact with a plate . plates are typically metal and therefore conductive , whereas a slip sheet or the bottom of the cassette is non - conductive . as the elevator raises the cassette , the plate sensor 231 detects the presence of a plate . when a plate is detected , in step 711 , vacuum is provided to the suction cup array 230 in step 714 to engage with the plate . the elevator 214 continues to raise the cassette until the plate stack height detector 232 detects the plate stack at the proper height in step 712 and to ensure plate contact with suction cups . in step 716 , it is determined whether a plate is detected . if the conductive springs 231 do not detect a plate before the sensor probe 232 activates the plate stack height detector , this indicates that contact has been made with a non - conductive surface . this implies that cardboard at the bottom of the cassette or the cassette bottom has been detected , and the cassette is empty of plates , as determined in step 718 . alternatively , it may also indicate that a slip sheet is present , which would lead to an error condition or the activation of the slip sheet removal system to remove the slip sheet . in contrast , if a plate is detected , the plate is peeled up by the action of the suction cup array 230 pivoting around pivot point 282 in the clockwise direction of arrow 215 in step 720 ( see fig8 a ). during this peeling of the top plate in step 720 , pressurized air is also provided to the first air bar 360 in step 722 . the air bar has a series of holes spaced along the length and is rotationally aligned to optimize the direction of air flow to separate the slip sheet from the emulsion side or the bottom of the peeled plate . this action is illustrated in fig8 b . however , activation of the air bar can be avoided in situations in which slip sheet - plate separation occurs predictably without such facilitation . next , in step 724 , the cassette 210 is lowered by the elevator 214 . the peeler mechanism 216 rotates about pivot point 282 in the counterclockwise direction , see arrow 284 , in fig8 c . the leading edge 10 - l of the plate 10 is thereby moved to a horizontal position in step 726 . the cassette is lowered another set or predetermined amount in step 728 to provide clearance to the leading and lagging arms . the leading arm 332 and the lagging arm 312 begin to be rotated back to their home position as shown in fig8 c . the lagging arm nip actuation mechanism 330 is also actuated in step 730 so that the nip between the first and second lagging arm rollers 314 , 316 is opened . the lagging arms 312 are then rotated fully to the home position to receive the plate 10 , which is being handed off from the peeler 216 , in step 732 . the lagging arm drive roller 314 is rotated to aid in the introduction of the plate leading edge into the nip of the rollers 312 , 314 . the configuration is shown in fig8 c . the plate header 10 - l is being held up by the suction cup array 230 so that the header extends into the nip between nip rollers 314 , 316 . also shown is a flexible electrostatic discharge member 281 that makes electrical contact with the non - emulsion side of the plate . the member 281 is connected to electrical ground . in the preferred embodiment , member 281 is a chain . this discharges any electrostatic charge on the plate 10 . in step 734 , the lagging arm nip actuation mechanism 330 is activated to close the nip between the first and second nip rollers 314 , 316 of the lagging arms 312 and the lagging drive roller 314 rotation is stopped . at this stage , the leading edge 110 - l has been handed off to the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 . as a result , in step 736 , the vacuum to the suction cup array 230 is removed and the peeler mechanism 216 rotates out of engagement with the plate 10 . next , in step 738 , the leading arm nip actuation mechanism 338 is activated to open the nip between the first and second leading arm nip rollers 334 , 336 . the leading arms 332 are then rotated to the home position in step 740 . next in step 742 , the slip sheet is captured . fig8 d shows the process for capturing the slip sheet ss . with the plate held between the nip rollers of the lagging arms , 312 and the leading arms 332 in the home position , the elevator 214 is activated to raise the cassette so that the slip sheet ss comes into contact with the slip sheet mechanism 110 , and specifically , the foot pad 132 . the raising of the cassette 210 by the elevator 214 causes the top slip sheet to engage the foot pad 132 of the foot 130 . continued rising of the cassette by the elevator causes the pivot frame 122 to rotate in the direction of arrow 128 ′ around shaft 120 . this causes the stationary interrupt flag 154 of the rotating flag arm 152 to be detected by the elevation control sensor 156 , which is attached to the pivot frame 122 is best illustrated in fig6 . when sensor 156 is activated , the elevator 214 is controlled to cease to raise the cassette 210 by the controller 50 . in this configuration , shown in fig8 d , the pivot frame 122 is biasing the foot pad 132 against the top slip sheet ss , pinning it against the stack of plates beneath the slip sheet in the cassette . the drive roller 136 is also in contact with the slip sheet ss , but the follower roller 134 does not contact the slip sheet in the cassette . further , the pair of compliant conductive springs 150 are used to determine whether a slip sheet or plate is present under the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 . if they make contact with a conductive surface , electrical continuity between the springs is detected and a plate is determined to be present . a slip sheet will in contrast be an electrical insulator . thus , the springs can sense if a plate is present when a slip sheet is expected . if at any time prior to activation of sensor 156 , the springs 150 detect continuity , the elevator stops raising the cassette and the process continues without a further effort to capture the slip sheet . at this stage , if a slip sheet is detected , the slip sheet capture mechanism is activated . the double acting air cylinder 142 is activated by a solenoid to move the rack 140 to rotate gear 139 . gear 139 is meshed with gear 137 which is attached to roller 136 . thus , the limited motion of rack 140 in turn rotates roller 136 through a predetermined angle . fig8 d shows the path of the slip sheet ss during slip sheet capture . follower roller 134 , forced by spring 121 , is in contact with roller 136 . this allows roller 136 and 134 to rotate together as best illustrated by fig4 . with foot 132 and roller 136 in contact with the slip sheet ss , rotation of roller 136 forces slip sheet ss toward the foot 132 with the foot 132 holding the slip sheet in place . the slip sheet is thus forced upward into the nipped rollers 136 , 134 as indicated bypath a , in fig8 d . returning to fig7 b in step 744 , the pressurized air is optionally provided to the second air bar 362 to minimize adhesion between the slip sheet and the emulsion side of the plate 10 . the plate 10 is then advanced by driving the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 until the plate header is detected between the first and second leading arm nip rollers 334 , 336 by the plate header detector 370 . this detection occurs in step 746 . whether or not the slip sheet ss is captured , the leading arm nip actuation mechanism closes the nip between the leading arm nip rollers 334 and 336 in step 748 . so , with plate 10 being held by the plate inverter system 300 and the slip sheet ss being held by the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 , the cassette 210 is lowered further by the elevator 214 . the leading arms 332 are then rotated to draw the header 10 - a of the plate 10 toward the plate transfer system 400 , in step 750 . in concert , the lagging arm nip rollers 314 and 316 are driven to feed the plate . this is shown in fig8 e , where the plate 10 makes an arc through the arcuate transfer path between the leading arms 332 and the lagging arms 312 . the slip sheet ss held by the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 covers a similar arc . of note is the fact that the slip sheet ss and the plate 10 are drawn together off of the stack of plates 212 held in the cassette 210 . as a result , the emulsion is preserved and not damaged and the time between picking plate , slip sheet and transporting is reduced , increasing plate throughput . at a predetermined point in the arc of the leading arms 332 , which is determined by encoder counts of motor encoder 344 e ( see fig2 ), in step 756 , the transfer system 400 is configured to receive the plate header 10 a . in one example , nip rollers in the transfer system 400 are opened when the leading arms are at 170 degrees . in step 762 , the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 continue to rotate , while the leading arms 332 rotate through the arcuate transfer path 310 . in one embodiment , the lagging arm nip rollers 314 , 316 slightly over - feed the plate 10 to ensure that the plate forms an arc through the arcuate transfer path 310 . this prevents any sharp bending or binding of the plate , and prevents the plate from being tugged by the leading arms 332 . in step 764 , the controller 50 determines whether the motor encoder count associated with the lagging arm nip actuation and roller drive mechanism 330 corresponds or is nearly equal to the length of the plate 10 . that is , the rollers 314 , 316 have almost entirely fed the plate 10 . this state is illustrated in fig8 e . the plate header 10 a is being brought into proximity to the transfer system 400 and the plate tail or trailing end 10 b is being held in the nip of lagging arm rollers 314 , 316 . at this point , the slip sheet ss is handed off to slip sheet storage , in preferred embodiment . this typically involves its ejection by the slip sheet capture mechanism 110 . then , in step 766 , the lagging arm rollers 314 , 316 stop rotating to hold the tail 10 b of the plate 10 and the lagging arms 312 rotate through the transfer path 310 . in this mode , both the leading arms 332 and the lagging arms 312 are rotating , moving the plate through path 310 . the rotation of arms 312 , 332 continues until the leading arms 332 reach the away position at 180 degrees . when this state is determined in step 768 , the leads arms 332 stop rotating in step 770 . further , the nip of lead arm rollers 334 , 336 is opened . and , the transfer system 400 is configured to feed or draw the plate 10 . the lagging arms 312 continue to rotate until they reach their away position of 150 degrees . this configuration is illustrated in fig8 f . when this state is detected in step 772 , the lagging arms 312 stop rotating and the nip of the lagging arm rollers 314 , 316 is opened in step 774 completing the hand off of the plate to the transfer system 400 . in one embodiment , a different process is implemented depending on the plate size or length . to summarize the typical operation , the leading arms carry the leading edge 10 a of the plate to the plate transfer system 400 . the nip rollers of the lagging arms feed the plate 10 until the lagging edge of the plate 10 is detected or determined to be present , at which time the nip rollers 314 , 316 of the lagging arm 312 cease to drive and instead , the lagging arms 312 begin to follow the leading arms 332 through the arcuate transfer path 310 . thus , through this concerted operation of the leading and lagging arms 332 , 312 , the plate 10 is inverted from an emulsion side down orientation to an emulsion side up orientation and provided to the plate transfer system 400 , so that the plate can be carried to the imaging engine . it is preferable in this invention to allow the upper nip rollers 314 , in contact with the non - emulsion side of the plate to be under motor control for several reasons . first , it is preferred to have direct roller contact rotation on the non - emulsion side of the plate to prevent roller scuffing of the plate emulsion side and second to aid in the introduction of the leading edge of the plate from the peeler . fig9 shows another embodiment of the plate inverter 300 . here two opposed races of rollers 910 and 912 are journaled to a two - sided arcuate frame 914 that defines the arcuate transfer path 310 . the rollers 910 and 912 freely rotate to enable a plate to move along this transfer path 310 . the outer race of rollers 910 in combination with the inner race of rollers 912 maintain the radius of the plate while a carrier 916 pulls the plate header through the path 310 . while this invention has been particularly shown and described with references to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims . | 1 |
as medical devices and / or stents move toward thinner struts and / or reduced surface areas , controlling kdr through surface area changes may be valuable . additionally , kdr for finished parts may be different from that of component parts due to disruption of the coating during handling . if the surface is dimpled prior to or subsequent to handling , the effects of handling may be reduced or eliminated . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention , a method is provided for physically altering or deforming the surface of the drug eluting coating in a consistent manner to increase surface area and increase kdr to a desired level . this may be achieved by : post - processing ( e . g ., using a mechanical device to dimple the surface ); choice of coating method ( e . g ., selecting a method that can consistently make the surface textured ); and altering processing parameters to obtain a surface texture ( e . g ., applying parameters that result in a variable surface texture ). each of these techniques may cause the surface area of the coating to be increased within a given range of variation . various improvements over conventional methods are possible using an exemplary method of the present invention . with post - processing , the same coated part may be altered in different ways to produce several different kdr profiles . chemical components may remain unaltered while the surface area and kdr are altered . subtle changes in kdr may be achieved readily through formulation / barrier layers . fig1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of crimping device 10 performing a crimp on stent 11 . stent 11 is held in mandrel 12 and is inserted into crimping device 10 . stent 11 is arranged in constricting zone 13 of crimping device 10 . crimping device 10 may then be operated to constrict around stent 11 , thereby crimping stent 11 . a pattern of projections on crimping device 10 may thereby be pressed into the surface of the coating of stent 11 . the indentations caused by the projections on crimping device 10 may increase the surface area of the coating of stent 11 , and may thereby increase the kdr profile of stent 11 . fig2 illustrates a close - up view of crimping device 10 shown in fig1 with stent 11 being held on mandrel 12 and being crimped . iris elements 20 operate together to form constricting zone 13 . each iris element 20 has a face 21 arranged towards an interior space which is adapted to accept stent 11 on mandrel 12 . each face 21 of iris element 20 has pattern 22 arranged to provide relief and to create indentations on the surface of the coating of stent 11 when stent 11 is placed in crimping device 10 and iris elements 20 are moved radially inward . pattern 22 in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig2 is composed of regularly arranged dimples 23 . alternatively , any other shape may be used instead of or in addition to dimple 23 . also , dimples 23 ( or any other appropriate shape ) may be arranged in a random or pseudo - random pattern on face 21 . the operation of crimping device 10 may be part of the manufacturing process of stent 11 . in particular , crimping device 10 may be used to crimp stent 11 onto a balloon catheter or similar medical device . this crimping may induce a temporary or permanent deformation of stent 11 to secure stent 11 to the balloon . fig3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of rolling device 30 used to perform an exemplary method of the present invention with stent 11 being rolled . rolling device 30 includes upper plate 31 and lower plate 32 , though the plates may be interchangeable and may alternatively be oriented side by side or possibly in another configuration . lower plate 32 includes pattern area 34 which includes dimples 35 arranged in a uniform pattern . alternatively , pattern area 34 may include raised or indented elements in any other pattern , which may be uniform , random , or pseudo - random . additionally , upper plate 31 may include a pattern area that may match pattern area 34 of lower plate 32 or may be a different pattern . stent 11 may contact lower plate 32 at contact zone 33 that may cause dimples 35 of pattern area 34 to contact the coating of stent 11 . dimples 35 may create indentations in the coating of stent 11 and may therefore increase the surface area of the coating of stent 11 , thereby altering ( possibly increasing ) the kdr profile of the drug in the coating of stent 11 . rolling device 30 may be operated by placing stent 11 on lower plate 32 and then bringing upper plate 31 into proximity with lower plate 32 so that upper plate 31 contacts stent 11 . stent 11 may be placed in rolling device 30 before or after being crimped onto a balloon . by sandwiching stent 11 between lower plate 32 and upper plate 31 , stent 11 may be held securely in place . lower plate 32 and upper plate 31 may be brought close enough to each other to hold stent 11 without deformation , with some deformation but without permanent deformation , or with permanent deformation . lower plate 32 may be moved laterally with respect to upper plate 31 to cause stent 11 to roll between the plates . alternatively upper plate 31 may be moved with respect to lower plate 32 , or both plates may be moved laterally and simultaneously in opposite directions . after contacting some or all of the surface of stent 11 with dimples 35 of pattern area 34 , the plates may be separated and stent 11 may be removed from between upper plate 31 and lower plate 32 . fig4 illustrates a close - up view of rolling device 30 shown in fig3 with stent 11 being rolled . lower plate 32 is shown having pattern area 34 including dimples 35 . stent 11 contacts lower plate 32 at contact zone 33 , thereby causing dimples 35 to contact the coating of stent 11 and to cause indentations in the surface of the coating of stent 11 . fig5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of clamping device 50 used to perform an exemplary method of the present invention with stent 11 being clamped . clamping device 50 includes upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 , which may be connected by hinge 57 . upper clamp section 51 includes upper handle 53 and lower clamp section 52 includes lower handle 54 . upper handle 53 and lower handle 54 may be operated manually or mechanically to move upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 towards and away from each other about the line defined by hinge 57 . upper clamp section 51 may have upper clamping surface 55 and lower clamp section 52 may have lower clamping surface 56 . upper clamping surface 55 and lower clamping surface 56 may be designed to accommodate stent 11 between their opposing surfaces with no force exerted on stent 11 , with some force exerted on stent 11 but not enough force to deform stent 11 , or with enough force to deform ( either temporarily or permanently ) stent 11 . upper clamping surface 55 and / or lower clamping surface 56 may have pattern region 58 arranged thereon on all or part of their opposing surfaces . pattern region 58 may include dimples 59 arranged in a uniform pattern , or may include other raised elements and / or depressions , in any other type of pattern . clamping device 50 may be operated by placing stent 11 ( which may have been coated with a drug - eluting compound ) between upper clamping surface 55 and lower clamping surface 56 while clamping device 50 is in an open configuration ( i . e ., upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 are separated ). after inserting stent 11 , upper handle 53 and lower handle 54 may be operated manually or mechanically to move upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 towards each other , causing dimples 59 to indent the coating of stent 11 . thereafter , upper handle 53 and lower handle 54 may be operated manually or mechanically to move upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 away from each other . stent 11 may thereafter be removed from clamping device 50 . fig6 illustrates a close - up view of clamping device 50 shown in fig5 with stent 11 being clamped . also shown are upper clamp section 51 and lower clamp section 52 . upper clamping surface 55 of upper clamp section 51 and lower clamping surface 56 of lower clamp section 52 are also shown in fig6 . pattern region 58 is arranged on lower clamping surface 56 , and a similar pattern is arranged on upper clamping surface 55 . pattern region 58 includes dimples 59 arranged in a uniform pattern . stent 11 contacts lower clamping surface 56 at contact region 60 . fig7 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method of the present invention . the flow in fig7 starts in start circle 70 and proceeds to action 71 , which indicates to determine a current kdr of a medical device . from action 71 , the flow proceeds to question 72 , which asks whether an increased kdr is desirable . if the answer to question 72 is affirmative , the flow proceeds to action 73 , which indicates to determine the amount of increased surface area necessary to increase the kdr sufficiently . from action 73 , the flow proceeds to action 74 , which indicates to indent the surface to increase the surface area . from action 74 , the flow proceeds to question 75 , which asks whether the indentations increased the surface area sufficiently to obtain the desired kdr . if the answer to question 75 is negative , the flow proceeds to action 73 . if the answer to question 75 is affirmative , the flow proceeds to end circle 76 . if the answer to question 72 is negative , the flow proceeds to end circle 76 . medical implants are used for innumerable medical purposes , including the reinforcement of recently re - enlarged lumens , the replacement of ruptured vessels , and the treatment of disease such as vascular disease by local pharmacotherapy , i . e ., delivering therapeutic drug doses to target tissues while minimizing systemic side effects . such localized delivery of therapeutic agents has been proposed or achieved using medical implants which both support a lumen within a patient &# 39 ; s body and place appropriate coatings containing absorbable therapeutic agents at the implant location . examples of such medical devices include catheters , guide wires , balloons , filters ( e . g ., vena cava filters ), stents , stent grafts , vascular grafts , intraluminal paving systems , implants and other devices used in connection with drug - loaded polymer coatings . such medical devices are implanted or otherwise utilized in body lumina and organs such as the coronary vasculature , esophagus , trachea , colon , biliary tract , urinary tract , prostate , brain , and the like . the therapeutic agent may be any pharmaceutically acceptable agent such as a non - genetic therapeutic agent , a biomolecule , a small molecule , or cells . exemplary non - genetic therapeutic agents include anti - thrombogenic agents such heparin , heparin derivatives , prostaglandin ( including micellar prostaglandin e1 ), urokinase , and ppack ( dextrophenylalanine proline arginine chloromethylketone ); anti - proliferative agents such as enoxaprin , angiopeptin , sirolimus ( rapamycin ), tacrolimus , everolimus , monoclonal antibodies capable of blocking smooth muscle cell proliferation , hirudin , and acetylsalicylic acid ; anti - inflammatory agents such as dexamethasone , rosiglitazone , prednisolone , corticosterone , budesonide , estrogen , estrodiol , sulfasalazine , acetylsalicylic acid , mycophenolic acid , and mesalamine ; anti - neoplastic / anti - proliferative / anti - mitotic agents such as paclitaxel , epothilone , cladribine , 5 - fluorouracil , methotrexate , doxorubicin , daunorubicin , cyclosporine , cisplatin , vinblastine , vincristine , epothilones , endostatin , trapidil , halofuginone , and angiostatin ; anti - cancer agents such as antisense inhibitors of c - myc oncogene ; anti - microbial agents such as triclosan , cephalosporins , aminoglycosides , nitrofurantoin , silver ions , compounds , or salts ; biofilm synthesis inhibitors such as non - steroidal anti - inflammatory agents and chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid , o , o ′- bis ( 2 - aminoethyl ) ethyleneglycol - n , n , n ′, n ′- tetraacetic acid and mixtures thereof , antibiotics such as gentamycin , rifampin , minocyclin , and ciprofolxacin ; antibodies including chimeric antibodies and antibody fragments ; anesthetic agents such as lidocaine , bupivacaine , and ropivacaine ; nitric oxide ; nitric oxide ( no ) donors such as lisidomine , molsidomine , l - arginine , no - carbohydrate adducts , polymeric or oligomeric no adducts ; anti - coagulants such as d - phe - pro - arg chloromethyl ketone , an rgd peptide - containing compound , heparin , antithrombin compounds , platelet receptor antagonists , anti - thrombin antibodies , anti - platelet receptor antibodies , enoxaparin , hirudin , warfarin sodium , dicumarol , aspirin , prostaglandin inhibitors , platelet aggregation inhibitors such as cilostazol and tick antiplatelet factors ; vascular cell growth promotors such as growth factors , transcriptional activators , and translational promotors ; vascular cell growth inhibitors such as growth factor inhibitors , growth factor receptor antagonists , transcriptional repressors , translational repressors , replication inhibitors , inhibitory antibodies , antibodies directed against growth factors , bifunctional molecules consisting of a growth factor and a cytotoxin , bifunctional molecules consisting of an antibody and a cytotoxin ; cholesterol - lowering agents ; vasodilating agents ; agents which interfere with endogeneus vascoactive mechanisms ; inhibitors of heat shock proteins such as geldanamycin ; and any combinations and prodrugs of the above . exemplary biomolecules include peptides , polypeptides and proteins ; oligonucleotides ; nucleic acids such as double or single stranded dna ( including naked and cdna ), rna , antisense nucleic acids such as antisense dna and rna , small interfering rna ( sirna ), and ribozymes ; genes ; carbohydrates ; angiogenic factors including growth factors ; cell cycle inhibitors ; and anti - restenosis agents . nucleic acids may be incorporated into delivery systems such as , for example , vectors ( including viral vectors ), plasmids or liposomes . non - limiting examples of proteins include monocyte chemoattractant proteins (“ mcp - 1 ) and bone morphogenic proteins (“ bmp &# 39 ; s ”), such as , for example , bmp - 2 , bmp - 3 , bmp - 4 , bmp - 5 , bmp - 6 ( vgr - 1 ), bmp - 7 ( op - 1 ), bmp - 8 , bmp - 9 , bmp - 10 , bmp - 11 , bmp - 12 , bmp - 13 , bmp - 14 , bmp - 15 . preferred bmps are any of bmp - 2 , bmp - 3 , bmp - 4 , bmp - 5 , bmp - 6 , and bmp - 7 . these bmps can be provided as homdimers , heterodimers , or combinations thereof , alone or together with other molecules . alternatively , or in addition , molecules capable of inducing an upstream or downstream effect of a bmp can be provided . such molecules include any of the “ hedghog ” proteins , or the dna &# 39 ; s encoding them . non - limiting examples of genes include survival genes that protect against cell death , such as anti - apoptotic bcl - 2 family factors and akt kinase and combinations thereof . non - limiting examples of angiogenic factors include acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors , vascular endothelial growth factor , epidermal growth factor , transforming growth factor α and β , platelet - derived endothelial growth factor , platelet - derived growth factor , tumor necrosis factor α ; hepatocyte growth factor , and insulin like growth factor . a non - limiting example of a cell cycle inhibitor is a cathespin d ( cd ) inhibitor . non - limiting examples of anti - restenosis agents include p15 , p16 , p18 , p19 , p21 , p27 , p53 , p57 , rb , nfkb and e2f decoys , thymidine kinase (“ tk ”) and combinations thereof and other agents useful for interfering with cell proliferation . exemplary small molecules include hormones , nucleotides , amino acids , sugars , and lipids and compounds have a molecular weight of less than 100 kd . exemplary cells include stem cells , progenitor cells , endothelial cells , adult cardiomyocytes , and smooth muscle cells . cells can be of human origin ( autologous or allogenic ) or from an animal source ( xenogenic ), or genetically engineered . any of the therapeutic agents may be combined to the extent such combination is biologically compatible . any of the above mentioned therapeutic agents may be incorporated into a polymeric coating on the medical device or applied onto a polymeric coating on a medical device . the polymers of the polymeric coatings may be biodegradable or non - biodegradable . non - limiting examples of suitable non - biodegradable polymers include polyvinylpyrrolidone including cross - linked polyvinylpyrrolidone ; polyvinyl alcohols , copolymers of vinyl monomers such as eva ; polyvinyl ethers ; polyvinyl aromatics ; polyethylene oxides ; polyesters including polyethylene terephthalate ; polyamides ; polyacrylamides ; polyethers including polyether sulfone ; polyalkylenes including polypropylene , polyethylene and high molecular weight polyethylene ; polyurethanes ; polycarbonates , silicones ; siloxane polymers ; cellulosic polymers such as cellulose acetate ; polymer dispersions such as polyurethane dispersions ( bayhdrol ®); squalene emulsions ; and mixtures and copolymers of any of the foregoing . non - limiting examples of suitable biodegradable polymers include polycarboxylic acid , polyanhydrides including maleic anhydride polymers ; polyisobutylene copolymers and styrene - isobutylene - styrene block copolymers such as styrene - isobutylene - styrene tert - block copolymers ( sibs ); polyorthoesters ; poly - amino acids ; polyethylene oxide ; polyphosphazenes ; polylactic acid , polyglycolic acid and copolymers and mixtures thereof such as poly ( l - lactic acid ) ( plla ), poly ( d , l ,- lactide ), poly ( lactic acid - co - glycolic acid ), 50 / 50 ( dl - lactide - co - glycolide ); polydioxanone ; polypropylene fumarate ; polydepsipeptides ; polycaprolactone and co - polymers and mixtures thereof such as poly ( d , l - lactide - co - caprolactone ) and polycaprolactone co - butylacrylate ; polyhydroxybutyrate valerate and blends ; polycarbonates such as tyrosine - derived polycarbonates and arylates , polyiminocarbonates , and polydimethyltrimethylcarbonates ; cyanoacrylate ; calcium phosphates ; polyglycosaminoglycans ; macromolecules such as polysaccharides ( including hyaluronic acid ; cellulose , and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose ; gelatin ; starches ; dextrans ; alginates and derivatives thereof ), proteins and polypeptides ; and mixtures and copolymers of any of the foregoing . the biodegradable polymer may also be a surface erodable polymer such as polyhydroxybutyrate and its copolymers , polycaprolactone , polyanhydrides ( both crystalline and amorphous ), maleic anhydride copolymers , and zinc - calcium phosphate . in a preferred embodiment , the polymer is polyacrylic acid available as hydroplus ® ( boston scientific corporation , natick , mass . ), and described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 091 , 205 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein . in a more preferred embodiment , the polymer is a co - polymer of polylactic acid and polycaprolactone . such coatings used with the present invention may be formed by any method known to one in the art . for example , an initial polymer / solvent mixture can be formed and then the therapeutic agent added to the polymer / solvent mixture . alternatively , the polymer , solvent , and therapeutic agent can be added simultaneously to form the mixture . the polymer / solvent mixture may be a dispersion , suspension or a solution . the therapeutic agent may also be mixed with the polymer in the absence of a solvent . the therapeutic agent may be dissolved in the polymer / solvent mixture or in the polymer to be in a true solution with the mixture or polymer , dispersed into fine or micronized particles in the mixture or polymer , suspended in the mixture or polymer based on its solubility profile , or combined with micelle - forming compounds such as surfactants or adsorbed onto small carrier particles to create a suspension in the mixture or polymer . the coating may comprise multiple polymers and / or multiple therapeutic agents . the coating can be applied to the medical device by any known method in the art including dipping , spraying , rolling , brushing , electrostatic plating or spinning , vapor deposition , air spraying including atomized spray coating , and spray coating using an ultrasonic nozzle . the coating is typically from about 1 to about 50 microns thick . in the case of balloon catheters , the thickness is preferably from about 1 to about 10 microns , and more preferably from about 2 to about 5 microns . very thin polymer coatings , such as about 0 . 2 - 0 . 3 microns and much thicker coatings , such as more than 10 microns , are also possible . it is also within the scope of the present invention to apply multiple layers of polymer coatings onto the medical device . such multiple layers may contain the same or different therapeutic agents and / or the same or different polymers . methods of choosing the type , thickness and other properties of the polymer and / or therapeutic agent to create different release kinetics are well known to one in the art . the medical device may also contain a radio - opacifying agent within its structure to facilitate viewing the medical device during insertion and at any point while the device is implanted . non - limiting examples of radio - opacifying agents are bismuth subcarbonate , bismuth oxychloride , bismuth trioxide , barium sulfate , tungsten , and mixtures thereof . non - limiting examples of medical devices according to the present invention include catheters , guide wires , balloons , filters ( e . g ., vena cava filters ), stents , stent grafts , vascular grafts , intraluminal paving systems , implants and other devices used in connection with drug - loaded polymer coatings . such medical devices may be implanted or otherwise utilized in body lumina and organs such as the coronary vasculature , esophagus , trachea , colon , biliary tract , urinary tract , prostate , brain , lung , liver , heart , skeletal muscle , kidney , bladder , intestines , stomach , pancreas , ovary , cartilage , eye , bone , and the like . while the present invention has been described in connection with the foregoing representative embodiment , it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the representative embodiment is exemplary in nature and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of protection for the invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 1 |
embodiments and aspects of the present invention provide a method and system for conducting knowledge assessment and learning . various embodiments incorporate the use of confidence based assessment and learning techniques deployable on a micro - processor - based or networked communication client - server system , which extracts knowledge - based and confidence - based information from a learner . in a general sense the assessments incorporate non - one - dimensional testing techniques . in accordance with another aspect , the present invention is a robust method and system for confidence - based assessment (“ cba ”) and confidence - based learning (“ cbl ”), in which one answer generates two metrics with regard to the individual &# 39 ; s confidence and correctness in his or her response to facilitate an approach for immediate remediation . this is accomplished through three primary tools : 1 . a testing and scoring format that eliminates the need to guess at answers . this results in a more accurate evaluation of “ actual ” information quality . 2 . a scoring method that more accurately reveals what a person : ( 1 ) accurately knows ; ( 2 ) partially knows ; ( 3 ) doesn &# 39 ; t know ; and ( 4 ) is sure that they know , but is actually incorrect . 3 . a resulting knowledge profile that focuses only on those areas that truly require instructional or reeducation attention . this eliminates wasted time and effort training in areas where attention really isn &# 39 ; t required . in general , the foregoing tools are implemented by the follow method or “ learning cycle ”: 1 . take an assessment . this begins with the step of compiling a standard three answer (“ a ”, “ b ”, and “ c ”) multiple - choice test into a structured cba format with seven possible answers for each question that cover three states of mind : confidence , doubt , and ignorance , thereby more closely matching the state of mind of the test taker . 2 . review the knowledge profile . given a set of answers a cba scoring algorithm is implemented that teaches the learner that guessing is penalized , and that it is better to admit doubts and ignorance than to feign confidence . the cba set of answers are then compiled and displayed as a knowledge profile to more precisely segment answers into meaningful regions of knowledge , giving individuals and organizations rich feedback as to the areas and degrees of mistakes ( misinformation ), unknowns , doubts and mastery . the knowledge profile is a much better metric of performance and competence , especially in the context of the corporate training environment where it encourages better - informed , higher information quality , employees reducing costly knowledge and information errors , and increasing productivity . 3 . review the question , answer , and explanation with regard to the material . 4 . review further training and information links to gain a better understand of the subject material . 5 . iteration — the process can be repeated as many times as the individual needs to in order to gain an appropriate understanding of the content . as part of this iterative model , answers scored as confident and correct ( depending on which algorithm is used ) can be removed from the list of questions presented to the learner so that the learner can focus on his / her specific skill gap ( s ). during each iteration , the number of questions presented to the learner can be represented by a subset of all questions in an ampmodule ; this is configurable by the author of the ampmodule . in addition , the questions , and the answers to each question , are presented in random order during each iteration through the use of a random number generator invoked within the software code that makes up the system . in accordance with one aspect , the invention produces a knowledge profile , which includes a formative and summative evaluation for the system user and identifies various knowledge quality levels . based on such information , the system correlates , through one or more algorithms , the user &# 39 ; s knowledge profile to a database of learning materials , which is then communicated to the system user or learner for review and / or reeducation of the substantive response . interactive accommodation of various aspects of test administration and learning by a system user including storage of information and learning materials , test or query creation , editing , scoring , reporting and learning . aspects of the present invention are adaptable for deployment on a standalone personal computer system . in addition , they are also deployable on a computer network environment such as the world wide web , or an intranet client - server system , in which , the “ client ” is generally represented by a computing device adapted to access the shared network resources provided by another computing device , the server . see for example the network environments described in conjunction with fig2 and 15 . various database structures and application layers are incorporated to enable interaction by various user permission levels , each of which is described more fully herein . in accordance with other aspects of a system constructed in accordance with the present invention , one or more of the following features may also be incorporated . in the following discussion certain terms of art are used for ease of reference but it is not the intention here to limit the scope of these terms in any way other than as set forth in the claims . ampunit — refers to an individual question / answer presented to a learner or other user of the assessment and learning system . ampmodule — refers to a group of ampunits ( e . g . questions and answers ) that are presented to a learner in any given testing / assessment situation . to build , develop or otherwise compile a test in a cba format entails converting a standard multiple - choice test comprising three answer (“ a ”, “ b ”, and “ c ”) multiple - choice questions into questions answerable by seven options , that cover three states of mind : confidence , doubt , and ignorance . fig5 is a screen print illustrating such a question & amp ; answer format with seven response options . in response to the question presented , the learner is required to provide two - dimensional answers indicating both their substantive answer and level of confidence in their choice . in the example of fig5 , the one - dimensional choices are listed under the question . however , the learner is also required to answer in a second dimension , which are categorized under headings “ i am sure ”; “ i am partially sure ” and “ i am not sure ”. the “ i am sure ” category includes the three single - choice answers ( a - c ). the “ i am partially sure ” category allows the subject to choose between sets of any two single - choice answers ( a or b , b or c , a or c ). there is also an “ i am not sure ” category that includes one specific “ i am not sure ” answer . the three - choice seven - answer format is based on research that shows that fewer than three choices introduces error by making it easier to guess at an answer and get it right . more than three choices can cause a level of confusion ( remembering previous choices ) that negatively impacts the true score of the test . fig6 illustrates a high - level overview of the adaptive learning framework structure embodied in aspects of the present invention . the overall methods and systems in accordance with the aspects disclosed herein adapt in real - time by providing assessment and learning programs to each learner as a function of the learner &# 39 ; s prior responses . in accordance with other aspects of the present invention , the content of the learning and assessment system is delivered to every learner in a personalized manner depending upon how each learner answers the particular questions . specifically , those responses will vary depending on the knowledge , skill and confidence manifest by each learner , and the system and its underlying algorithms will adaptively feed future assessment questions and associated remediation depending on the knowledge quality provided by the learner for each question . a learner &# 39 ; s confidence is highly correlated with knowledge retention . as stated above , the present method asks and measures a learner &# 39 ; s level of confidence . however , it moves further by moving subjects to full confidence in their answers in order to reach true knowledge , thereby increasing knowledge retention . this is accomplished in part by an iteration step . after individuals review the results of the material in cba as above , learners can retake the assessment , as many times as necessary to reach true knowledge . this yields multiple knowledge profiles which help individuals understand and measure their improvement throughout the assessment process . in one embodiment , when an individual retakes an assessment , the questions are randomized , such that individuals do not see the same questions in the same order from the previous assessment . questions are developed in a database in which there is a certain set of questions to cover a subject area . to provide true knowledge acquisition and testing of the material , a certain number of questions are presented each time rather than the full bank of questions . this allows the individuals to develop and improve with their understanding of the material over time . in the prior art embodiments discussed above , questions are displayed to the user in their entirety ( all questions at once in a list ) and the user also answers the questions in their entirety . in another embodiment described here , the questions are displayed one at a time . in accordance with further embodiments , learning is enhanced by an overall randomization of the way questions are displayed to a user . broadly speaking , the selected grouping of questions allows the system to better tailor the learning environment to a particular scenario . as set forth above . in some embodiments the questions and groups of questions are referred as ampunits and ampmodules respectively . in one embodiment , the author may configure whether the ampunits are “ chunked ” or otherwise grouped so that only a portion of the total ampunits in a given ampmodule are presented in any given round of learning . the ampunits may also be presented in a randomized order to the user in each round or iteration of learning . the author of the learning system may select that answers within a given ampunit are always displayed in random order during each round of learning . the randomization of question presentation may be incorporated into both the learning and assessment portions of the learning environment . aspects here will use a weighing system to determine the probability of a question being displayed in any given round based on how the ampunit was previously answered . in one embodiment , there is a higher probability that a particular question will be displayed if it was answered incorrectly in a previous round . fig6 a - 6c illustrates a round selection algorithm and process flow in accordance with aspects of the present invention . with continuing reference to fig6 a - 6c , an algorithmic flow 1000 is shown that in general describes one embodiment of the logic utilized in accordance with question selection during a particular round of learning . descriptions of each of the steps 1002 - 1052 are included within the flow chart and the logic steps are illustrated at the various decision nodes within the flow chart to show the process flow . aspects relating to the implementation of the knowledge assessment and testing system invoke various novel algorithms to evaluate and score a particular testing environment . fig7 a - 7d illustrate algorithmic flow charts that illustrate four “ goal state ” schemes for knowledge assessment and learning . fig7 a shows an initial assessment scheme , fig7 b shows a direct scoring scheme , fig7 c shows a “ one time correct ” proficiency scheme , fig7 d shows a “ twice correct ” mastery scheme . each of these goal states are determined by an author or administrator of the system as the appropriate goal for a learner in a particular testing session . in fig7 a - 7d , the following nomenclature is used to describe any particular response to a question : cc = confident & amp ; correct , dc = doubt & amp ; correct , ns = not sure , di = doubt & amp ; incorrect , ci = confident & amp ; incorrect . with reference first to fig7 a , an assessment algorithm 300 is displayed where an initially unseen question ( uns ) is presented to a learner at 302 . depending on the response from the learner , an assessment is made as to the knowledge level of that learner for that particular question . if the learner answers the question confidently and correctly ( cc ), the knowledge state is deemed “ proficient ” at 304 . if the learner answers with doubt but correct , the knowledge state is deemed “ informed ” at 306 . if the learner answers that he is not sure , the knowledge state is deemed “ not sure ” at 308 . if the learner answers with doubt and is incorrect , the knowledge state is deemed “ uninformed ” at 310 . finally , if the learner answers confidently and is incorrect , the knowledge state is deemed “ misinformed ” at 312 . with reference to fig7 b , a direct scoring algorithm is shown . the left portion of the direct scoring algorithm 400 is similar to the assessment algorithm 300 with the initial response categories mapping to a corresponding assessment state designation . with reference first to fig7 b , an assessment state algorithm 400 is displayed where an initially unseen question ( uns ) is presented to a learner at 402 . depending on the response from the learner , an assessment is made as to the knowledge level state of that learner for that particular question . if the learner answers the question confidently and correctly ( cc ), the knowledge state is deemed “ proficient ” at 404 . if the learner answers with doubt but correct , the knowledge state is deemed “ informed ” at 406 . if the learner answers that he is not sure , the knowledge state is deemed “ not sure ” at 408 . if the learner answers with doubt and is incorrect , the knowledge state is deemed “ uninformed ” at 410 . finally , if the learner answers confidently and is incorrect , the knowledge state is deemed “ misinformed ” at 412 . in the algorithm described in fig7 b , when the same response is given twice for a particular question , the assessment state designation does not change and the learner is determined to have the same knowledge level for that particular question . with reference to fig7 c , a one - time correct proficiency algorithm is shown . in fig7 c , an assessment of a learner &# 39 ; s knowledge is determined by subsequent answers to the same question . as in fig7 a and 7b an initial question is posed at 502 and based on the response to that question , the learner &# 39 ; s knowledge state is deemed either “ proficient ” at 504 , “ informed ” at 506 , “ not sure ” at 508 , “ uninformed ” at 510 or “ misinformed ” at 512 . the legend for each particular response in fig7 c is similar to that in the previous algorithmic processes and as labeled in fig7 a . based on the first response classification , a learner &# 39 ; s subsequent answer to that same question will shift the learner &# 39 ; s knowledge level state according to the algorithm disclosed in fig7 c . for example , referring to an initial question response that is confident and correct ( cc ) and therefore gets classified as “ proficient ” at step 504 , if a user subsequently answers that same question as confident and incorrect , the assessment state of that user &# 39 ; s knowledge of that particular question goes from proficient at 504 to uninformed at 520 . following the scheme set forth in fig7 c , if that learner were to answer “ not sure ” the assessment state would then be classified as “ not sure ” at 518 . the change in assessment state status factors in the varied answers to the same question . fig7 c details out the various assessment state paths that are possible with the various answer sets to a particular question . as another example shown in fig7 c , if a learner first answers “ misinformed ” at 512 and then subsequently answers “ confident and correct ” the resulting assessment state would move to “ informed ” at 516 . because fig7 c lays out a “ proficiency ” testing algorithm , it is not possible to obtain the “ mastery ” state 524 . with reference to fig7 d , a twice correct mastery algorithm 600 is shown . similar to fig7 c , the algorithm 600 shows a process for knowledge assessment that factors in multiple answers to the same question . as in prior figures an initial question is posed at 602 and based on the response to that question , the learner &# 39 ; s knowledge state is deemed either “ proficient ” at 604 , “ informed ” at 606 , “ not sure ” at 608 , “ uninformed ” at 610 or “ misinformed ” at 612 . the legend for each particular response in fig7 d is similar to that in the previous algorithmic processes and as labeled in fig7 a . based on the first response classification , a learner &# 39 ; s subsequent answer to that same question will shift the learner &# 39 ; s knowledge level state according to the algorithm disclosed in fig7 d . with fig7 d an additional “ mastery ” state of knowledge assessment is included at points 630 and 632 and can be obtained based on various question and answer scenarios shown in the flow of fig7 d . as one example , a question is presented to a learner at 602 . if that question is answered “ confident and correct ” the assessment state is deemed as “ proficiency ” at 604 . if that same question is subsequently answered “ confident and correct ” a second time , the assessment state moves to “ mastery ” at 632 . in this example the system recognizes that a learner has mastered a particular fact by answering “ confident and correct ” twice in a row . if the learner first answers the question presented at 602 as “ doubt and correct ” and thus the assessment state gets classified as “ informed ” at 606 , in order to achieve “ mastery ” he would need to answer the question again as “ confident and correct ” twice in a row after that in order to have the assessment state classified as “ mastery .” fig7 d details out the various assessment paths that are possible with the various answer sets to a particular question . in the example of fig7 d , there are several possible paths to the “ mastery ” knowledge state but in each of these it is required to answer a particular ampunit correctly and confidently twice in row . in one scenario , if a learner is already at a state of mastery of a particular question , and then answers that question other than “ confident and correct ” the knowledge state will be demoted to one of the other states , depending on the specific answer given . the multiple paths to mastery depending on the learner response to any given question creates an adaptive , personalized assessment and learning experience for each user . in each of the embodiments discussed above , an algorithm is implemented that performs the following general steps : 1 ) identifies a goal state configuration as defined by the author , 2 ) categorizes the learner progress against each question in each round of learning relative to the goal state using the same categorization structure , and 3 ) displays an ampunit in the next round of learning dependent on the categorization of the last response to the questions in that ampunit . more details and embodiments of the operation of these algorithms are as follows : identification of a goal state configuration : the author of a given knowledge assessment may define various goal states within the system in order to arrive at a customized knowledge profile and to determine whether a particular ampunit ( e . g . question ) is deemed as being complete . the following are additional examples of these goal states as embodied by the algorithmic flow charts described above and in conjunction with fig7 a - 7d : a . 1 time correct ( proficiency )— the learner must answer “ confident + correct ” one time before the ampunit is deemed as being complete . if the learner answers “ confident + incorrect ” or “ partially sure + incorrect ”, the learner must answer confident + correct 2 times before the ampunit is deemed as being complete . b . 2 times correct ( mastery )— the learner must answer “ confident and correct ” twice before the ampunit is deemed as being complete . if the learner answers “ confident + incorrect ” or “ partially sure + incorrect ” the learner must answer “ confident + correct ” 3 times before the ampunit is deemed as being complete . as an administrator or test author preference , once an ampunit is labeled as “ complete ” per one of the above scenarios it can then be removed from further testing rounds . categorizing learner progress : certain aspects of the system are adapted to categorize the learner &# 39 ; s progress against each question in each round of learning , relative to the goal state ( described above ) using similar categorization structures as described herein , e . g . “ confident + correct ”, “ confident + incorrect ”, doubt + correct ”, “ doubt + incorrect ” and “ not sure .” subsequent display of ampunits : the display of an ampunit in a next round of learning is dependent of the categorization of the last response to the question in that ampunit relative to the goal state . for example , a “ confident + incorrect ” response has the highest likelihood that it will be displayed in the next round of learning . documenting the knowledge profile — in another embodiment , the documented knowledge profile is based on one or more of the following pieces of information . 1 ) the configured goal state of the test ( e . g . mastery versus proficiency ) as set by the author of the assessment ; 2 ) the results of the learner &# 39 ; s assessment in each round of learning , or within a given assessment ; and 3 ) how the learner &# 39 ; s responses are scored by the particular algorithm being implemented . as needed or desired , the knowledge profile may be made available to the learner and other users . again , this function is something that may be selectively implemented by the assessment author or other administrator of the system . fig8 illustrates several examples of a displayed knowledge profile that may be generated as a result of an assessment being completed by a user . a separate algorithm is utilized in some embodiments to generate the knowledge profile and may be based on the features described above or on a simple list of response percentages separated by categories of responses . in fig8 , charts 702 and 704 illustrate overall knowledge profiles that may be delivered to a learner showing the breakdown of a 20 question assignment and the progress made with respect to each category of learning . instant feedback for any particular question given by a learner can be given in the form shown in 706 , 708 , 710 and 712 . system roles — in further embodiments , in addition to the system roles stated above ( subject / end - user , content developer , administrator and a help desk ) there are also contemplated to be roles such as learner , author , registrar , and analyst . in one embodiment the following steps are utilized in the execution of an assessment . one or more of the steps set forth below may be effected in any order : a . the author plans and develops the ampunit ( s ). b . the ampunits are aggregated into modules ( ampmodules ). c . the ampmodules are aggregated into higher order containers . these containers may optionally be classified as courses or programs . d . the developed curriculum is tested to ensure proper functionality . e . the curriculum is published and made available for use . f . one or more learners are enrolled in the curriculum . g . the learner engages in the assessment and / or learning as found in the curriculum . h . the learning can be chunked or otherwise grouped so that in a given module the learner will experience both an assessment and a learning phase to each round of learning . i . a personalized or otherwise adaptive knowledge profile is developed and displayed for each learner on an iterative basis for each round of learning , with the questions and associated remediation provided in each round of learning being made available in a personalized , adaptive manner based on the configuration of the ampmodule and how that configuration modifies the underlying algorithm . j . during the assessment phase , a proficiency or mastery score is shown to the learner after completion of a module . k . during the learning phase immediate feedback is given to the learner upon submission of each answer . l . feedback is given regarding knowledge quality ( categorization ) after completion of each round of assessment within a round . m . feedback is given regarding knowledge quality ( categorization ) across all rounds completed to date and progress towards proficiency or mastery in any given ampmodule . n . the learner is then presented with an adaptive , personalized set of ampunits per ampmodule per round of learning dependent on he / she answers the questions associated with each ampunit . the adaptive nature of the system is controlled by a computer implemented algorithm that determines how often a learner will see ampunits based on the learner &# 39 ; s response to those ampunits in previous rounds of learning . this same knowledge profile is captured in a database and later copied to a reporting database . in accordance with another aspect , reports can be generated from the knowledge profile data for display in varied modalities to learners or instructors . a learner can undertake review of any module that has been completed and can undertake a refresher of any modules that has been completed . the system may be configured whereby a learner can receive a certificate documenting achievement of the goals associated with that module as established by the author . fig9 - 13 illustrate various exemplary reports that can be utilized to convey progress in a particular assignment or group of assignments . fig9 shows the tracking of an individual student through a learning module to the point of mastery . fig1 shows the tracking of a single question across a campus of individuals ( group ) through to the point of mastery . fig1 shows the tracking of a single class across specific core competencies . fig1 shows a summary of an online study guide broken down by chapters . fig1 shows the tracking of a single class or group by modules assignment . hardware and machine implementation . as described above , the system described herein may be implemented in a variety of stand - alone or networked architectures , including the use of various database and user interface structures . the computer structures described herein may be utilized for both the development and delivery of assessments and learning materials and may function in a variety of modalities including a stand - alone system , network distributed ( via the world wide web or the internet ). in addition , other embodiments include the use of multiple computing platforms and computer devices . tiered system architecture — in one embodiment , the system uses a three - tiered architecture comprised of a user interface layer , a presentation layer , and a database layer each of which are bound together through libraries . fig1 illustrates a system architecture diagram 750 that may be implemented in accordance with one aspect of the present invention . the web application architecture 750 is one structural embodiment that may serve to implement the various machine oriented aspects of devices and system constructed in accordance with the present invention . the architecture 750 consists of three general layers , a presentation layer , a business logic layer and a data abstraction and persistence layer . as shown in fig1 , a client workstation 752 runs a browser 754 or other user interface application that itself includes a client - side presentation layer 756 . the client workstation 752 is connected to an application server 758 that includes a server - side presentation layer 760 , a business layer 762 and a data layer 764 . the application server 758 is connected to a database server 766 including a database 768 . fig1 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of one embodiment of a machine in the form of a computer system 900 within which a set of instructions for causing a device to perform any one or more of the aspects and / or methodologies of the present disclosure may be executed . computer system 900 includes a processor 905 and a memory 910 that communicate with each other , and with other components , via a bus 915 . bus 915 may include any of several types of bus structures including , but not limited to , a memory bus , a memory controller , a peripheral bus , a local bus , and any combinations thereof , using any of a variety of bus architectures . memory 910 may include various components ( e . g ., machine readable media ) including , but not limited to , a random access memory component ( e . g ., a static ram “ sram ”, a dynamic ram “ dram , etc . ), a read only component , and any combinations thereof . in one example , a basic input / output system 920 ( bios ), including basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer system 900 , such as during start - up , may be stored in memory 910 . memory 910 may also include ( e . g ., stored on one or more machine - readable media ) instructions ( e . g ., software ) 925 embodying any one or more of the aspects and / or methodologies of the present disclosure . in another example , memory 910 may further include any number of program modules including , but not limited to , an operating system , one or more application programs , other program modules , program data , and any combinations thereof . computer system 900 may also include a storage device 930 . examples of a storage device ( e . g ., storage device 930 ) include , but are not limited to , a hard disk drive for reading from and / or writing to a hard disk , a magnetic disk drive for reading from and / or writing to a removable magnetic disk , an optical disk drive for reading from and / or writing to an optical media ( e . g ., a cd , a dvd , etc . ), a solid - state memory device , and any combinations thereof . storage device 930 may be connected to bus 915 by an appropriate interface ( not shown ). example interfaces include , but are not limited to , scsi , advanced technology attachment ( ata ), serial ata , universal serial bus ( usb ), ieee 1394 ( firewire ), and any combinations thereof . in one example , storage device 930 may be removably interfaced with computer system 900 ( e . g ., via an external port connector ( not shown )). particularly , storage device 930 and an associated machine - readable medium 935 may provide nonvolatile and / or volatile storage of machine - readable instructions , data structures , program modules , and / or other data for computer system 900 . in one example , software 925 may reside , completely or partially , within machine - readable medium 935 . in another example , software 925 may reside , completely or partially , within processor 905 . computer system 900 may also include an input device 940 . in one example , a user of computer system 900 may enter commands and / or other information into computer system 900 via input device 940 . examples of an input device 940 include , but are not limited to , an alpha - numeric input device ( e . g ., a keyboard ), a pointing device , a joystick , a gamepad , an audio input device ( e . g ., a microphone , a voice response system , etc . ), a cursor control device ( e . g ., a mouse ), a touchpad , an optical scanner , a video capture device ( e . g ., a still camera , a video camera ), touch - screen , and any combinations thereof . input device 940 may be interfaced to bus 915 via any of a variety of interfaces ( not shown ) including , but not limited to , a serial interface , a parallel interface , a game port , a usb interface , a firewire interface , a direct interface to bus 915 , and any combinations thereof . a user may also input commands and / or other information to computer system 900 via storage device 930 ( e . g ., a removable disk drive , a flash drive , etc .) and / or a network interface device 945 . a network interface device , such as network interface device 945 may be utilized for connecting computer system 900 to one or more of a variety of networks , such as network 950 , and one or more remote devices 955 connected thereto . examples of a network interface device include , but are not limited to , a network interface card , a modem , and any combination thereof . examples of a network or network segment include , but are not limited to , a wide area network ( e . g ., the internet , an enterprise network ), a local area network ( e . g ., a network associated with an office , a building , a campus or other relatively small geographic space ), a telephone network , a direct connection between two computing devices , and any combinations thereof . a network , such as network 950 , may employ a wired and / or a wireless mode of communication . in general , any network topology may be used . information ( e . g ., data , software 925 , etc .) may be communicated to and / or from computer system 900 via network interface device 945 . computer system 900 may further include a video display adapter 960 for communicating a displayable image to a display device , such as display device 965 . a display device may be utilized to display any number and / or variety of indicators related to pollution impact and / or pollution offset attributable to a consumer , as discussed above . examples of a display device include , but are not limited to , a liquid crystal display ( lcd ), a cathode ray tube ( crt ), a plasma display , and any combinations thereof . in addition to a display device , a computer system 900 may include one or more other peripheral output devices including , but not limited to , an audio speaker , a printer , and any combinations thereof . such peripheral output devices may be connected to bus 915 via a peripheral interface 970 . examples of a peripheral interface include , but are not limited to , a serial port , a usb connection , a firewire connection , a parallel connection , and any combinations thereof . in one example an audio device may provide audio related to data of computer system 900 ( e . g ., data representing an indicator related to pollution impact and / or pollution offset attributable to a consumer ). a digitizer ( not shown ) and an accompanying stylus , if needed , may be included in order to digitally capture freehand input . a pen digitizer may be separately configured or coextensive with a display area of display device 965 . accordingly , a digitizer may be integrated with display device 965 , or may exist as a separate device overlaying or otherwise appended to display device 965 . display devices may also be embodied in the form of tablet devices with or without touch - screen capability . chunked learning — in accordance with another aspect , the author of an assessment can configure whether or not the ampunits are chunked or otherwise grouped so that only a portion of the total ampunits in a give module are presented in any given round of learning . all “ chunking ” or grouping is determined by the author in a module configuration step . in this embodiment there is also an option to remove the completed ampunits based on the assigned definition of “ completed .” for example , completed may differ between once correct and twice correct depending of the goal settings assigned by the author or administrator . ampunit structure — ampunits as described herein are designed as “ reusable learning objects ” that manifest one or more of the following overall characteristics : a competency statement ( learning outcome statement or learning objective ); learning required to achieve that competency ; and an assessment to validate achievement of that competency . the basic components of an ampunit include : an introduction ; a question , the answers ( 1 correct , 2 incorrect ), an explanation ( the need to know information ); an option to “ expand your knowledge ” ( the nice to know information ), metadata ( through the metadata , the author has the capability to link competency to the assessment and learning attributable to each ampunit which has significant benefits to downstream analysis ); and author notes . using a content management system (“ cms ”), these learning objects ( ampunits ) can be rapidly re - used in current or revised form in the development of learning modules ( ampmodules ). ampmodule structure — ampmodules serve as the “ container ” for the ampunits as delivered to the user or learner and are therefore the smallest available organized unit of curriculum that a learner will be presented with or otherwise experience . as noted above , each ampmodule preferably contains one or more ampunits . in one embodiment it is the ampmodule that is configured according to the algorithm . an ampmodule can be configured as follows : a . goal state — this may be set as a certain number of correct answers , e . g . once correct or twice correct , etc . b . removal of mastered ( completed ) questions — once a learner has reached the goal state of a particular question , it can be removed from the ampmodule and is no longer presented to the learner . c . display of ampunits — the author or administrator can set whether the entire list of ampunits are displayed in each round of questioning or whether only a partial list is displayed in each round . d . completion score — the author or administrator can set the point at which the learner is deemed to have completed the round of learning , for example , by the achievement of a particular score . e . read / write permissions — these may be set by the author or other design group that is designing the ampunits . curriculum structure — in certain embodiments , the author or administrator has the ability to control the structure of how the curriculum is delivered to the learner . for example , the program , course , and modules may be renamed or otherwise modified and restructured . in addition , ampmodules can be configured to be displayed to the learner as a stand - alone assessment ( summative assessment ), or as a learning module that incorporates both the assessment and learning capabilities of the system . as a component of the systems described herein , a learner dashboard is provided that displays and organizes various aspects of information for the user to access and review . for example , a user dashboard may include one or more of the following : my assignments page — this includes in one embodiment a list of current assignments with one or more of the following status states : start assignment , continue assignment , review , start refresher , continue refresher , perform review . also included in the assignments page is program , course and module information including general information about the aspects of the current program . the assignments page may also include pre and post requisite lists such as other courses that may need to be taken in order to complete a particular assignment or training program . a refresher course will present , via a different algorithm , only a selected group of ampunits focused on those that the learner needs to spend more time on . a review module will show the track of the progress of a particular learner through a given assessment or learning module ( a historical perspective for assessments or learning modules taken previously ). learning page — this may include progress dashboards displayed during a learning phase ( including both tabular and graphical data ). the learning page may also include the learner &# 39 ; s percentage responses by category , the results of any prior round f learning and the results across all rounds that have been completed . assessment page — this page may include a progress dashboard displayed after assessment ( both tabular and graphical data ). reporting and time measurement — a reporting role is supported in various embodiments . in certain embodiments , the reporting function may have its own user interface or dashboard to create a variety of reports based on templates available within the system . customized report templates may be created by an administrator and made available to any particular learning environment . other embodiments include the ability to capture the amount of time required by the learner or learner to answer each ampunit and answer all ampunits in a given ampmodule . time is also captured for how much time is spent reviewing the answers . see fig1 . patterns generated from reporting can be generalized and additional information gleaned from the trending in the report functions . see fig9 - 13 . the reporting functions allow administrators or teachers to figure out where to best spend time in further teaching . automation of content upload — in accordance with other aspects , the systems described herein may be adapted to utilize various automated methods of adding ampunits or ampmodules . code may be implemented within the learning system to read , parse and write the data into the appropriate databases . the learning system may also enable the use of scripts to automate upload from previously formatted data e . g . from csv or xml into the learning system . in addition , a custom - built rich - text - format template can be used to capture and upload the learning material directly into the system and retain formatting and structure . preferably , the learning system supports various standard types of user interactions used in most computer applications , for example , context - dependent menus appear on a right mouse click , etc . the system also preferably has several additional features such as drag and drop capabilities and search and replace capabilities . data security — aspects of the present invention and various embodiments use standard information technology security practices to safeguard the protection of proprietary , personal and / or other types of sensitive information . these practices include ( in part ) application security , server security , data center security , and data segregation . for example , for application security , each user is required to create a manage a password to access his / her account ; the application is secured using https ; all administrator passwords are changed on a repeatable basis and the passwords must meet strong password minimum requirements . for example , for server security , all administrator passwords are changed every three months with a new random password that meet strong password minimum requirements , and administrator passwords are managed using an encrypted password file . for data segregation , the present invention and its various embodiments use a multi - tenant shared schema where data is logically separated using domain id , individual login accounts belong to one and only one domain , including knowledge factor administrators , all external access to the database is through the application , and application queries are rigorously tested . a learning system constructed in accordance with aspects of the present invention uses various “ switches ” in its implementation in order to allow the author or other administrative roles to ‘ dial up ’ or ‘ dial down ’ mastery that learner &# 39 ; s must demonstrate to complete the modules . the functionality associated with these switches is based on relevant research in experimental psychology . the various switches incorporated into the learning system described herein are expanded upon below . the implementation of each will vary depending on the particular embodiment and deployment configuration of the present invention . repetition — an algorithmically driven repetition switch is used to enable iterative rounds of questioning to a learner in order to achieve mastery . in the classical sense , repetition enhances memory through the purposeful and highly configurable delivery of learning through iterative rounds . the repetition switch uses formative assessment techniques and are in some embodiments combined with the use of questions that do not have forced - choice answers . repetition in the present invention and various embodiments can be controlled by enforcing , or not enforcing , repetition of assessment and learning materials to the end - user , the frequency of that repletion , and the degree of chunking of content within each repetition . priming — pre - testing aspects are utilized as a foundational testing method in the system . priming through pre - testing gives some aspect of knowledge memory traces that is then reinforced through repetitive learning . learning using aspects of the present invention opens up a memory trace with some related topic , and then reinforces that pathway and creates additional pathways for the mind to capture specific knowledge . the priming switch can be controlled in a number of ways in the present invention and its various embodiments , such as through the use of a formal pre - assessment , as well as in the standard use of formative assessment during learning . feedback — a feedback loop switch includes both immediate feedback upon the submission of an answer as well as detailed feedback in the learning portion of the round . immediate reflection to the learner as to whether he / she got a question right or wrong has a significant impact on performance as demonstrated on post - learning assessments . the feedback switch in the present invention and various embodiments can be controlled in a number of ways , such as through the use of both summative assessments combined with standard learning ( where the standard learning method incorporates formative assessment ), or the extent of feedback provided in each ampunit ( e . g ., providing explanations for both the correct and incorrect answers , versus only for the correct answers ). context — a context switch allows the author or other administrative roles to remove images or other information that is not critical to the particular question . the context switch in the present invention or various embodiments enables the author or administrator to make the learning and study environment reflect as closely as possible the actual testing environment . for example , images and other graphical aspects may be included in earlier learning rounds but then removed to simulate a testing or actual work environment that will not include those same image references . the image or other media may be placed in either the introduction or in the question itself and may be deployed selectively during the learning phase or routinely as part of a refresher . in practice , if the learner will need to recall the information without the help of a visual aid , the learning system can be adapted to present the questions to the learner without the visual aids at later stages of the learning process . if some core knowledge were required to begin the mastery process , the images might be used at an early stage of the learning process . the principle here is to wean the learner off of the images or other supporting but non - critical assessment and / or learning materials over some time period . in a separate yet related configuration of the context switch , the author can determine what percentage of scenario - based learning is required in a particular ampunit or ampmodule . elaboration — this switch has various configuration options . for example , the elaboration switch allows the author to provide simultaneous assessment of both knowledge and certainty in a single response across multiple venues and formats . elaboration may consist of an initial question , a foundational type question , a scenario - based question and a simulation - based question . this switch provides simultaneous selection of the correct answer ( recognition answer type ) and the degree of confidence . it also provides a review of the explanation of both correct and incorrect answers . this may be provided by a text - based answer , a media - enhanced answer or a simulation - enhanced answer . elaboration provides additional knowledge that supports the core knowledge and also provides simple repetition for the reinforcement of learning . this switch can also be configured to once correct ( proficiency ) or twice correct ( mastery ) levels of learning . in practice , the information being currently tested is associated with other information that the learner might already know or was already tested on . when thinking about something you already know , you can associate this bit of learning to elaborate and amplify the piece of information you are trying to learn . spacing — a spacing switch in accordance with aspects of the present invention and various embodiments utilizes the manual chunking of content into smaller sized pieces that allow biological processes that support long term memory to take place ( e . g . protein synthesis ), as well as enhanced encoding and storage . this synaptic consolidation relies on a certain amount of rest between testing and allows the consolidation of memory to occur . the spacing switch can be configured in multiple ways in the various embodiments of the invention , such as setting the number of ampunits per round and / or the number of ampunits per module . certainty — a certainty switch allows the simultaneous assessment of both knowledge and certainty in a single response . this type of assessment is important to a proper evaluation of a learner &# 39 ; s knowledge profile and overall stage of learning . the certainty switch in accordance with aspects of the present invention and various embodiments can be formatted with a configuration of once correct ( proficient ) or twice correct ( mastery ). attention — an attention switch in accordance with aspects of the present invention and various embodiments requires that the learner provide a judgment of certainty in his / her knowledge ( i . e . both emotional and relational judgments are required of the learner ). as a result , the learner &# 39 ; s attention is heightened . chunking can also be used to alter the degree of attention required of the learner . for example , chunking of the ampunits ( the number of ampunits per ampmodule , and the number of ampunits displayed per round ) focuses the learner &# 39 ; s attention on the core competencies and associated learning required to achieve mastery in a particular subject . motivation — a motivation switch in accordance with aspects of the present invention and various embodiments enables a learner interface that provides clear directions as to the learner &# 39 ; s progress within one or more of the rounds of learning within any given module , course or program . the switch in the various embodiments can display to the learner either qualitative ( categorization ) or quantitative ( scoring ) progress results to each learner . aspects of the present invention and various embodiments include a built - in registration capability whereby user accounts can be added or deleted from the system , users can be placed in an ‘ active ’ or ‘ inactive ’ state , and users ( via user accounts ) can be assigned to various assessment and learning programs in the system . aspects of the present invention and various embodiments have the capability of operating as a stand - alone application or can be technically integrating with third - party learning management systems (“ lms ”) so that learners that have various assessment and learning assignments managed in the lms can launch and participate in assessment and / or learning within the system with or without single sign - on capability . the technical integration is enabled through a variety of industry standard practices such as aviation industry cbt committee ( aicc ) interoperability standards , http posts , web services , and othersuch standard technical integration methodologies . a simple flash card like interface is used in some embodiments of the system to clearly identify and present to the learner the answer ( s ) selected by the learner , the correct answer , and high - level and / or detailed explanations for the correct answer and ( optionally ) the incorrect answers . in addition , that same flash card interface can be used to present additional learning opportunities for the learner for that particular learning outcome or competency . in various embodiments of the system , an avatar with succinct text messages is displayed to provide guidance to the learner on an as - needed basis . the nature of the message , and when or where the avatar is display , is configurable by the administrator of the system . it is recommended that the avatar be used to provide salient guidance to the user . for example , the avatar can be used to provide guidance regarding how the switches describe above impact the learning from the respect of the learner . in the present invention , the avatar is displayed only to the learner , not the author or other administrative roles in the system . fig1 illustrates the overall structure of an ampunit library constructed in accordance with aspects of the present invention . in one embodiment , an ampunit library 800 comprises a meta data component 800 a , an assessment component 800 b and a learning component 800 c . the meta data component 800 a is divided into sections related to configurable items that the author desires to be associated with each ampunit , such as competency , topic and sub - topic . in addition to the meta data component , the assessment component 800 b is divided into sections related to an introduction , the question , a correct answer , and wrong answers . the learning component 800 c is further divided into an explanation section and an expand your knowledge section . also included is an ampmodule library 820 that contains the configuration options for the operative algorithms as well as information relating to a bloom &# 39 ; s level , the application , behaviors , and additional competencies . an administrator or author may utilize these structures in the following manner . first , an ampunit is created at 802 , key elements for the ampunit are built at 804 , the content and media is assembled into an ampunit at 806 . once the ampunit library 800 is created the ampmodule 820 is created at 808 by determining the appropriate ampunits to include in the ampmodule . after the ampmodule is created , the learning assignment is published at 810 . the confidence - based assessment can be used as a confidence - based certification instrument , both as a pre - test practice assessment , and as a learning instrument . in this instance or a pre - test assessment , the confidence - based certification process would not provide any remediation but only provide a score and / or knowledge profile . the confidence - based assessment would indicate whether the individual had any confidently held misinformation in any of the certification material being presented . this would also provide , to a certification body , the option of prohibiting certification where misinformation exists within a given subject area . since the cba method is more precise then current one - dimensional testing , confidence - based certification increases the reliability of certification testing and the validity of certification awards . in the instance where the system is used as a learning instrument , the learner can be provided the full breadth of formative assessment and learning manifest in the system to assist the learner in identifying specific skill gaps , and filling those gaps remedially . the confidence - based assessment can apply to adaptive learning approaches in which one answer generates two metrics with regard to confidence and knowledge . in adaptive learning , the use of video or scenarios to describe a situation helps the individual work through a decision making process that supports their learning and understanding . in these scenario - based learning models , individuals can repeat the process a number of times to develop familiarity with how they would handle a given situation . for scenarios or simulations , cba and cbl adds a new dimension by determining how confident individuals are in their decision process . the use of the confidence - based assessment using a scenario - based learning approach enables individuals to identify where they are uninformed and have doubts in their performance and behavior . repeating scenario - based learning until individuals become fully confident increases the likelihood that the individuals will act rapidly and consistently with their training . cba and cbl are also ‘ adaptive ’ in that each user interacts with the assessment and learning based on his her own learning aptitude and prior knowledge , and the learning will therefore be highly personalized to each user . the confidence - based assessment can be applied as a confidence - based survey instrument , which incorporates the choice of three possible answers , in which individuals indicate their confidence in and opinion on a topic . as before , individuals select an answer response from seven options to determine their confidence and understanding in a given topic or their understanding of a particular point of view . the question format would be related to attributes or comparative analysis with a product or service area in which both understanding and confidence information is solicited . for example , a marketing firm might ask , “ which of the following is the best location to display a new potato chip product ? a ) at the checkout ; b ) with other snack products ; c ) at the end of an aisle .” the marketer is not only interested in the consumer &# 39 ; s choice , but the consumer &# 39 ; s confidence or doubt in the choice . adding the confidence dimension increases a person &# 39 ; s engagement in answering survey questions and gives the marketer richer and more precise survey results . further aspects in accordance with the present invention provide learning support where resources for learning are allocated based on the quantifiable needs of the learner as reflected in a knowledge assessment profile , or by other performance measures as presented herein . thus , aspects of the present invention provide a means for the allocation of learning resources according to the extent of true knowledge possessed by the learner . in contrast to conventional training where a learner is generally required to repeat an entire course when he or she has failed , aspects of the present invention disclosed herein facilitate the allocation of learning resources such as learning materials , instructor and studying time by directing the need of learning , retraining , and reeducation to those substantive areas where the subject is misinformed or uninformed . other aspects of the invention effected by the system offers or presents a “ personal training plan ” page to the user . the page displays the queries , sorted and grouped according to various knowledge regions . each of the grouped queries is hyper - linked to the correct answer and other pertinent substantive information and / or learning materials on which the learner is queried . optionally , the questions can also be hyper - linked to online informational references or off - site facilities . instead of wasting time reviewing all materials encompass the test query , a learner or user may only have to concentrate on the material pertaining to those areas that require attention or reeducation . critical information errors can be readily identified and avoided by focusing on areas of misinformation and partial information . to effect such a function , the assessment profile is mapped or correlated to the informational database and / or substantive learning materials , which is stored in system 8 or at off - system facilities such as resources in the world wide web . the links are presented to the learner for review and / or reeducation . in addition , the present invention further provides automated cross - referencing of the test queries to the relevant material or matter of interest on which the test queries are formulated . this ability effectively and efficiently facilitates the deployment of training and learning resources to those areas that truly require additional training or reeducation . further , with the present invention , any progress associated with retraining and / or reeducation can be readily measured . following a retaining and / or reeducation , ( based on the prior performance results ) a learner could be retested with portions or all of test queries , from which a second knowledge profile can be developed . in all the foregoing applications , the present method gives more accurate measurement of knowledge and information . individuals learn that guessing is penalized , and that it is better to admit doubts and ignorance than to feign confidence . they shift their focus from test - taking strategies and trying to inflate scores toward honest self - assessment of their actual knowledge and confidence . this gives subjects as well as organizations rich feedback as to the areas and degrees of mistakes , unknowns , doubts and mastery . having now fully set forth the preferred embodiments and certain modifications of the concept underlying the present invention , various other embodiments as well as certain variations and modifications of the embodiments herein shown and described will obviously occur to those skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with the underlying concept . it is to be understood , therefore , that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically set forth herein . | 6 |
the flightless rock auger 10 with quick attachment coupling 11 of the present invention is manufactured from readily available materials and simple in design . the preferred embodiment is comprised of metal , more particularly steel . the rock auger 10 is mounted on construction equipment such as hydraulic drilling rigs . a drive shaft 12 in communication with a drilling rig motor 14 or circulation of a hydraulic fluid from a pump on the drilling rig 16 may be used to drive the hydraulic motor 18 of the construction equipment . referring now to the drawings , fig1 – 8 refer to the present invention including a standard drive shaft 12 utilizing a quick disconnect coupling 11 extending from the distal end 13 of the shaft 12 . the shaft 12 is centrally aligned with the axis of the hollow cylindrical body 20 and secured to the proximal end , or top end of the cutting head 24 opposite the open end 26 having the cutting or a sraping edge . the top end is at least partially enclosed by a cross member 21 to provide structural strength . one or more reinforcements member such as the triangular members 28 may be welded to the shaft 12 and the top cross member 21 of the cutting head 24 to provide additional lateral and rotational strength . as shown in fig3 and 4 , the distal end 13 of the shaft 12 is typically tubular having a circular cross - sectional dimension , wherein a quick disconnect cylindrical coupling 11 may be welded , pressed , screwed , or friction fitted to the distal end 13 of the shaft 12 . the cylindrical coupling 11 , preferably is shaped having a female socket end 30 for cooperative engagement with the male end of a drive shaft 32 of a motor 14 or pump drive unit 18 . a pin 33 may extend through the female socket end 30 and drive shaft 32 to provide the cooperative engagement ; however , the preferred embodiment utilizes a coupling having a female socket end 30 sized and having a selected cross - sectional shape , to mate with a male drive shaft 32 having a square , hexagon , octagon or other shape for providing additional stability , rigidity , and stability to the connection therebetween . moreover , a preferred embodiment can include a pin 33 which slides through a vertically disposed key way slot 34 to secure the quick connect coupling 11 to the drive shaft 32 of the drilling rig 16 permitting limited vertical movement therebetween as best shown in fig3 or the slot may be in the form of a hole or corresponding shape and size of the pin 33 to minimize play a protective collar or flange 36 may extend circumferentially around the coupling 11 . a key 38 may be inserted into a groove or orifice in the shaft 12 to provide an alignment indicator so that a user standing below the drilling boom 40 can look upward and align the key way slot 34 of the rock auger with the key way of the pump motor drive shaft 32 for quick coupling of the units . the key 38 also provides an easy means to count the revolutions per minute of the auger 10 . the rock auger can have a connecting collar defining a flange 124 for connecting to a complimentary power drive flange and a protective flange circumscribing the shaft therebelow to protect the users . the cutting head 24 is formed from a hollow cylindrical body 20 open at its lower open end 26 . a plurality of conical shaped teeth 44 extend from generally rectangular shaped projections 46 extending from the outer peripheral edge 48 of the cutting head body 20 . the conical shaped teeth 44 are equally spaced apart and angled slightly in a forward direction . the teeth 44 may also be angled inwardly or outwardly slightly to protrude pass the peripheral edge 48 of the hollow cylindrical body 20 . for instance , the series of teeth 44 at the bottom edge of the hollow cylindrical body 20 may be alternately inwardly and outwardly displaced from the plane of the hollow cylindrical body 20 . the displacement of the teeth 44 is such that the cut or kerf made in the rock or other hard substrate is slightly wider than the thickness of the hollow cylindrical body 20 to aid in extraction of the cutting head 24 from the hard substrate . the teeth 44 may also be provided with additional material so that each tooth is wider than the thickness of the side walls of the hollow cylindrical body 20 . one preferred hollow cylindrical body embodiment comprises an upper section 50 and lower section 52 , wherein the lower section 52 defines a greater exterior diameter than the upper section 50 to facilitate removal of the cutting head 24 from the posthole and reduce or prevent binding during the drilling process . moreover , a hole , slot , slit or other opening 51 is optionally cut or formed into the upper section 50 to allow water to exit the head during the cutting operation and avoid causing a suction making removal of the rock plug difficult . the flightless auger 10 is designed for interchangeable use with a conventional flighted auger used for removal soil from the post holes . the quick disconnect feature of the flightless auger 10 makes the interchangeable augers practical to use together without wasting time . upon hitting a hard substrate such as a rock ledge , the flighted auger can be disengaged in minutes and the flightless rock auger 10 attached to the drilling rig . the flightless auger 10 is lowered and raised with the hydraulic boom so that only the weight of the auger 10 exerts pressure on the rock substrate defining floating pressure . although pressure may be exerted on the auger 10 it is not necessary in that the weight of the auger 10 is sufficient to cut through hard material such as rock ledges . usually it is sufficient to lower the flightless rock auger 10 into the hole and letting it rest or float on the hard substrate . optionally the weight of the power unit and boom may rest on the auger 10 adding additional weight ; however , the auger is still considered to float in that no hydraulic pressure is needed to cut through the rock . because the auger 10 is operated at a very low rpm , typically up to 15 revolutions per minute , (“ rpm ”), and preferably about 3 to 10 rpm , little dust is formed in the operation . moreover , the wear and tear on the equipment is reduced if not eliminated as compared with the conventional drilling methods . this provides a very safe method of forming a plug of material within the cylindrical cutting head 24 for removal from the posthole . upon breaking through the hard substrate and forming a plug therefrom , the flightless rock auger 10 is lifted from the hole and the plug removed by prying the plug out of the cylindrical body 20 with the use of pry bars which are extended into the openings 54 in the top of the cylindrical cutting head 24 . as shown in figures , the flightless rock auger shows a cutting head having a row of removable or replaceable teeth , preferably conical teeth , extending from the bottom edge of angled sockets mounted by welding onto the bottom of he cutting head . the sockets and teeth can be oriented in a staggered configuration with teeth angled forward at from 20 to 50 degrees and preferably about 35 degrees . every third tooth can be angled up to 30 degrees in the horizontal plane outwardly pass the edge of the cutting head , angled up to 30 degrees in the horizontal plane inwardly pass the edge of the cutting head , or in alignment with the edge of the cutting head . the teeth in the cutting head can be disposed at an angle or up to 45 degrees , and preferable at an angle of from about 20 degrees in and out from the sidewall edge . the teeth may be disposed at up to 90 degrees and more preferably from 70 to 75 degrees , and most preferably at about 73 degrees at a forward angle . fig2 is a photograph showing a side view of a cutting head incorporating 18 teeth on an 18 inch diameter auger vs . 13 teeth on the initial embodiment of the invention providing a smoother cutting operation and smoother sidewalls on the hole formed thereby , also the cutting teeth are disposed at an angle extending inwardly and outwardly at 20 degrees which varies from the original embodiment , finally the cutting teeth are mounted in a range of from 70 to 75 degrees and preferably at about 73 degrees facing forward . a preferred embodiment of the flightless rock auger comprises a cutting head can incorporate 18 teeth on an 18 inch diameter head or 13 teeth on an 18 inch diameter head . eighteen teeth provide a smoother cutting operation and smoother sidewalls on the hole formed thereby . also the cutting teeth can be disposed at an angle extending inwardly and outwardly preferably at about 20 degrees and be mounted in a range of from 70 to 75 degrees and preferably at about 73 degrees facing forward . moreover , as best illustrated in fig9 – 14 , the cutting head of the auger includes a center drill bit or pilot bit 100 . the pilot bit 100 can be removably mounted via a socket with a spring loaded ball arrangement , a pin extending through a shaft and coupling arrangement , or as shown in the drawings , have a base 102 attached to the support member . the support member connecting the side walls of the upper portion of the cutting head includes means for attachment defining a pair of bolts extending therethrough for attachment to the cutting head support member . the bottom of the base of the center drill bit can include a pair of side flanges 122 for alignment and cooperative engagement with the side edges of the cross member 21 of the cutting head . the edge of flanges 122 can engage the edge of the cross member 21 . the shaft 104 of the center drill or pilot bit is centrally disposed in spaced apart alignment with the sidewalls of the cutting head . the shaft 104 of the center drill bit can be formed as a single cylindrical longitudinal member or as a longitudinal member including a plurality of tapered support plates 106 ( two or three or four or more ) extending from the base . the shaft can attach to a point or be welded all along the vertical edge to the shaft end converging at a point near the drill tip . the tapered ends of the support plates end in a short cylindrical collar 111 having a thicker bottom portion 113 of a larger diameter than the elongated top portion 115 . the distal end portion 115 can include a threaded bore 108 therein for cooperative engagement with a drill tip 110 having a complementary sized shaft 112 . a drill head 114 can include angled edges 116 and a pointed tip 118 for cutting into hard surfaces such as rock . the pilot drill bit 100 is mounted within the cutting head of the auger wherein the elongated top portion of the collar extends outward pass the cutting head approximately equal with the tips of the cutting head teeth . the pointed tip 118 extends pass the cutting teeth for centering and holding the auger in position in order for the cutting teeth to anchor and cut a precision hole into the hard rock substrate . the pilot drill bit 100 also provides a means for setting the flightless auger onto a flat hard rock surface . the pilot drill bit 100 cuts a center hole in the surface anchoring the flightless auger so that the cutting teeth are pulled therein . the bit 100 can cut into the substrate forming a neat round hole in the desired location rather than skidding or walking around on the surface before the hole sidewalls are established . the bottom of the support member connecting the side walls at the top of the cutting head can have a plurality of tapered support plates attaching to the bottom of the cutting head support plate . the base of the drill bit 100 extending opposite thereof is disposed concentrically within the cutting head . the cutting head can have cutaway portions forming opposing openings 120 in the top portion of the cutting head cylindrical body . the openings 120 can extend from the corners of the cutting head support plate for providing access to the bolts for removal of the cutting drill bit and removal of the rock substrate plug from the cutting head . the embodiment of the flightless rock auger shown in fig1 – 21 , include a portion section of the side wall being removed from the upper section . the portion may be of uniform dimensions cut from top to bottom or angled as shown . the preferred embodiment shown also includes a double wall wherein one of the walls forms an angled side edge along the longitudinal lengthwise dimension resulting in a leading edge defining a side scraping edge or side cutting edge depending upon the bevel of the leading edge and method of use in a selected substrate ; however , a single wall unit could have cutout portion formed with an angled sidewall edge as well . as best illustrated in fig2 , the unit can also be used with a pilot bit 110 . the opening formed in the upper section extends from one corner of the cross member 21 which supports the base of the pilot bit to the adjacent corner of the cross member 21 . the opposing sidewall could also be removed as long as the cutting head upper section retained sufficient structural strength so as not to buckle or collapse under a load . while the bottom section usually provides enough suction and compression to maintain a plug within the top section . the upper or top section cutout portion may be designed to maximize the opening depending upon the rock and / or clay substrate . of course , suction is not a problem when the cutting head is removed from the hole and the large opening provides ample space and facilitates quick and efficient removal of the substrate from the cutting head . the cutting side edges also trim and cut substrate along the sides of the drilling head forming a clean hole having uniform smoother sidewalls . the lower section of the cutting head need not extend outwardly at a greater diameter than the upper section of the cutting head when the side edges are utilize . moreover , the outwardly extending angle of the cutting teeth may be reduced or even eliminated when using the side cutting angle . the length or ratio of the upper and lower sections can also be customized for use in particular hard substrates . comparing the embodiment of fig1 with that of fig2 , it can be seen that the embodiment can include a double wall formed of two concentric layers overlapping one another . the cutaway section may result in both layers being removed creating a single cutting or scraping edge or one layer can have a greater circumference than the other layer thereby forming a pair of overlapping cutting or scraping edges spaced apart from one another . the layers of the walls form an angled side edge along the longitudinal lengthwise dimension resulting in a leading edge defining a side cutting or scraping edge or a thick double wall . of course a single wall unit could have cutout portion formed with an angled sidewall edge as well . the opening formed in the upper section extends from one corner of the cross member 21 which supports the base of the pilot bit to the adjacent corner of the cross member 21 . the opposing sidewall could also be removed forming a double opening as long as the cutting head upper section retained sufficient structural strength so as not to buckle or collapse under a load . while the bottom section usually provides enough suction and compression to maintain a plug within the top section . the upper or top section cutout portion may be designed to maximize the opening depending upon the rock and / or clay substrate . of course , suction is not a problem when the cutting head is removed from the hole and the large opening provides ample space and facilitates quick and efficient removal of the substrate from the cutting head . the cutting side edges also scrape , trim and cut substrate along the sides of the drilling head forming a clean hole having uniform smoother sidewalls . the lower section of the cutting head need not extend outwardly at a greater diameter than the upper section of the cutting head when the side edges are utilize . moreover , the outwardly extending angle of the cutting teeth may be reduced or even eliminated when using the side cutting angle . the length or ratio of the upper and lower sections can also be customized for use in particular hard substrates . the embodiments shown in fig2 – 29 , show the cylindrical body of the cutting head with and without a pilot bit , and with a portion of the side wall being removed from the cylindrical body portion of the cutting head . all of the embodiments utilize a short coupling mounted directly to the support member extending across the top of the cutting head . reinforcement members may be bolted or welded to the sides of the coupling and the support plate as well . this embodiment is especially adaptable for use with pressure drilling rigs . the embodiments shown in figures , include a second opening opposed to the first extending from the top edge of a bottom reinforcement band supporting the teeth to the top edge of the cutting body affixed to the support member . of course , the opening could be sized or shaped depending upon the amount of open area desired or to maximize the side scraping or cutting area of the leading edge formed by the opening ( s ). although three or more openings could be utilized with the present invention , structural strength as well as the ability to reach the plug formed within the cutting head with tools for removal of same are important considerations in determining whether one , two , or more openings are optimal for achieving a smooth bore at an optimal drilling rate . of course , a pilot bit can be used with the multi - opening rock augers and the shaft may be a quick disconnect long shaft or the rock auger cutting head may only include a short coupling mounted directly to the support member extending across the top of the cutting head . finally it is contemplated that a number of smaller openings formed by holes , slots , or slits may be formed in the upper section of the drilling head as an alternate means to provide additional access to the substrate hole and provide drainage for water during the drilling process . the method of using the flightless rock auger is as follows : the method of removing a plug of hard substrate from a posthole , using a flightless rock auger with a drilling rig , comprising the steps of : a ) attaching the flightless rock auger to the drive shaft of a power unit of the drilling rig , the flightless rock auger comprising a cylindrical hollow cutting head comprising a hollow cylindrical body defining side walls connecting a top end defining an upper peripheral edge and a lower open end defining a lower peripheral cutting edge including a plurality of teeth extending from the lower peripheral edge , the top end of the hollow cylindrical body including at least one support member extending across at least a portion of the top end joining the side walls , a quick disconnect coupling mounting to the at least one support member for removable attachment to a drive shaft of a power unit ; b ) lowering the flightless rock auger into a posthole containing a hard substrate ; d ) rotating the flightless rock auger at a very low rpm at less than 20 rpm ; e ) forming a plug of hard substrate inside of the cylindrical body of the flightless rock auger ; g ) removing the plug of the hard substrate out of the cylindrical hollow cutting head . more particularly , a method of removing a plug of hard substrate from a posthole , using a flightless rock auger with a drilling rig , comprises the steps of : a ) attaching a flightless rock auger to the drive shaft of a power unit of the drilling rig , the flightless rock auger comprising a cylindrical hollow cutting head comprising a hollow cylindrical body defining side walls connecting a top end defining an upper peripheral edge and a lower open end defining a lower peripheral cutting edge including a plurality of teeth extending from the lower peripheral edge , the top end of the hollow cylindrical body including at least one support member extending across at least a portion of the top end joining the side walls , a means for connecting to a shaft comprising a quick connect coupling includes a proximal end connecting to the at least one support member and having an opposing distal end extending therefrom including means for removably connecting to a drive shaft of a power unit ; b ) lowering the flightless rock auger into a posthole containing a hard substrate ; d ) rotating the flightless rock auger at a very low rpm up to 20 revolutions per minute rpm ; e ) forming a plug of hard substrate inside of the cylindrical body of the flightless rock auger ; g ) removing the plug of the hard substrate out of the cylindrical hollow cutting head . the foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom , for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art based upon more recent disclosures and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
hereinafter , the preferred embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to the attached drawings . fig1 is a schematic perspective view of a photolithography system according to the present embodiment . fig2 is a schematic section view of an exposure unit . fig3 is a view showing a scanning process . a photolithography system 10 with a gate member 12 and a base 14 is an apparatus for projecting light on a photosensitive - material - coated substrate sw in order to image or form a circuit pattern on the substrate sw . an x - y guide mechanism 18 ( not shown herein ), which supports a table 18 , is put on the base 14 , and the substrate sw is put on the table 18 . eight exposure units 20 1 to 20 8 are attached to the gate member 12 . one exposure unit 20 1 is equipped with a first illuminating optical system ( not shown ), a second illuminating optical system 22 , a dmd 24 , and an objective optical system 26 ( see fig2 ). other exposure units 20 2 to 20 8 also have these components . two light sources 16 a and 16 b , opposite each other in the gate member 12 supply illuminating light to the exposure units 20 1 to 20 4 , and to the exposure units 20 5 to 20 8 , respectively . the substrate sw may be a silicon wafer , film , or glass board . before the exposure process , photoresist is applied to the substrate sw and is put on the table 18 as a blank . x - y coordinates perpendicular to each other are defined on the table 18 . the table 18 moves in the y direction . herein , the negative y direction is designated the scanning direction . as shown in fig2 , the second illuminating optical system 22 in the exposure unit 20 1 is arranged on a supporting member 19 , which extends from the gate member 12 in the y direction . on the other hand , the objective optical system 26 is arranged above the substrate sw along the vertical direction . the exposure unit 20 1 also has a mirror 25 , and an optical system 27 . the dmd 24 is arranged opposite the mirror 25 . the light source 16 a herein is a high pressure mercury lamp . light emitted from the light source 16 a is directed to the first illuminating optical system . the first illuminating optical system changes diffusion light from the light source 16 a to parallel light with a uniform light intensity . furthermore , the luminous flux of illuminating light is modified in the second illuminating optical system 22 , and is directed to the dmd 24 via the mirror 25 and the optical lens 27 . the dmd 24 is constructed of rectangular micro - mirrors , which are regularly arrayed in a matrix . herein , the dmd is composed of 1024 × 768 micro - mirrors . to change its position each micro - mirror is pivotable by the effect of static electricity . specifically , each micro - mirror is maintained at the first position ( the on position ), which reflects the illuminating light toward the substrate w , or at the second position ( the off position ), which reflects the illuminating light off the substrate sw . the position of the micro - mirrors is changed by a control signal . in the dmd 24 , each micro - mirror is switched between on and off independently in accordance with raster data , and only light reflected off the micro - mirror at the first ( on ) position is directed to the substrate sw . therefore , light irradiating the substrate sw is constructed of selectively reflected luminous flux , which corresponds to the circuit pattern to be formed on a given area . when all of the micro - mirrors are positioned at the first position , a projection spot ea is formed on the substrate sw . hereinafter , the projection area ea is designated an “ exposure area ”. since the power of the objective optical system 26 is herein 1 , the size of the exposure area ea coincides with that of the dmd 24 . as shown in fig3 , the exposure area ea is slanted to the scanning direction by angle “ α ”. the exposure unit 20 , is arranged such that the exposure area ea is slanted to the scanning direction . therefore , the position of the fine spot s p , formed by one micro - mirror , deviates from the x - direction perpendicular to the y - direction . this deviation allows a higher resolution pattern to be generated . as for the exposure method , herein , the multi - exposure method and the step & amp ; repeat method are applied . therefore , table 28 intermittently moves in the y - direction . the exposure motion is carried out each time the exposure area ea moves relative to the substrate sw by a predetermined distance rt . each micro - mirror is turned on or off at a predetermined exposure interval . the distance rt is shorter than the size of the exposure area ea , therefore , an exposure motion is carried out so as to overlap the exposure areas . the exposure area ea intermittently moves in the scanning direction so that one scanning line &# 39 ; s worth of circuit pattern is formed . the exposure units 20 2 to 20 8 carry out an exposure process similar to that of exposure unit 20 1 . exposure units 20 1 to 20 8 , arrayed in the scanning direction , expose the total area of the substrate sw as the table 18 moves in the scanning direction . after the exposure process , the substrate sw is removed from the photolithography system 10 , and a developing process , an etching / plating process , and a resist - removal process are carried out . thereby , a circuit substrate , on which a pattern is formed , is generated . fig4 is a block diagram of the photolithography system 10 . fig5 is a view showing the division of the exposure area . an exposure controller 30 of the photolithography system 10 is connected to a workstation ( not shown ). the workstation outputs vector data to the exposure controller 30 as pattern data ( cad / cam data ). a system control circuit 32 controls the exposure process , and outputs control signals to a dmd drive circuit 34 , an address control circuit 37 , a table control circuit 38 , and so on . a program for controlling the exposure process is stored in a rom unit provided in the system control circuit 32 . vector data transferred from the workstation includes coordinate information . a raster transform circuit 36 transforms pattern data into raster data . the generated raster data is 2 - dimensional dot pattern data represented by 0s and 1s , which corresponds to an image of the circuit pattern and determines the on / off position of each micro - mirror . raster data is generated in each exposure unit and stored in buffer memories 38 a , 36 b , and 38 c , which connects with each other in series . as shown in fig5 , three partial exposure areas ea 1 , ea 2 , and ea 3 are defined by dividing the exposure area ea equally . the three partial exposure areas ea 1 , ea 2 , and ea 3 are arrayed along the scanning direction in order , and the partial exposure area ea 1 is the head area that initially reaches and passes an area to be exposed . accordingly , in the dmd 24 , three partial modulation areas , d 1 , d 2 , and d 3 , are defined . each partial exposure area is rotated relative to the scanning direction by the width of one pixel , i . e ., the size of the wine spot sp of one micro - mirror . therefore , the exposure area ea is slanted to the scanning direction by a total length of three pixels . vector data output from the workstation is prepared for only the partial exposure area ea 1 , namely , the partial modulation area d 1 . the raster data obtained by the raster transform circuit 36 is stored in the buffer memory 38 a . new pattern data for the partial exposure area ea 1 ( the partial modulation area d 1 ), is successively input to the exposure controller 30 , and the generated raster data is stored in the buffer memory 38 a every time the exposure motion is carried out . thus , raster data is updated . on the other hand , in accordance with the exposure motion , raster data that has been stored in the buffer memories 38 a and 38 b are shifted to the buffer memories 382 and 38 c , respectively . the raster data stored in the buffer memory 38 c is erased by the data shift . the series of raster data stored in the buffer memories 38 a and 38 c are transmitted to the dmd drive circuit 34 in accordance with the exposure timing . the reading and writing of raster data to the buffer memories 38 a to 38 c is controlled by the address control circuit 37 . the table control circuit 38 outputs control signals to the table drive circuit 44 to control the movement of the x - y stage mechanism 46 . a position sensor 48 detects a position of the table 18 to detect the relative position of the exposure area ea during scanning . based on the detected relative position of the exposure area ea , the system control circuit 32 controls the dmd drive circuit 34 and the address control circuit 37 . the dmd drive circuit 34 has a hit map memory for storing raster data corresponding to the exposure area ea , namely , the total area of the dmd 24 . based on the raster data represented by 0 and 1 , the dmd drive circuit 34 outputs on / off signals to a dmd provided in each exposure unit . specifically , when the raster data is stored in the buffer memories 38 a to 38 c , control signals for controlling micro - mirrors are transmitted to each dmd while synchronizing clock pulse signals used for synchronizing an exposure - timing . thus , micro - mirrors in each dmd are switched between on and off . fig6 is a flowchart of an exposure process performed in accordance with the step & amp ; repeat method and the multi - exposure method . fig7 is a view showing the exposure motion process . the exposure process is started by a movement of the table 18 . hereinafter , an exposure process using only one dmd is shown for simplicity . also , character patterns “ a ”, “ b ”, and “ c ” are used in place of circuit patterns for the purpose of illustration . in fig7 , outlines of the patterns “ a ”, 37 b ” and “ c ” are depicted on the position to be lithographed . the distance rt represents an exposure pitch . the exposure area ea relatively moves by the distance rt during one exposure motion . the distance rt equals the width rs of each partial exposure area . the partial exposure areas ea 2 and ea 3 successively reach the position of the partial exposure area ea 1 while the exposure area ea moves in the scanning direction . since the rotation angle ( inclined angle ) of the exposure area ea to the scanning direction is minute , each of the partial exposure areas ea 2 and ea 3 a substantially reaches and passes an area that the head partial exposure area ea 1 has already reached . namely , an exposure motion is carried out such that the partial exposure areas ea 1 , ea 2 , and ea 3 overlap each other . in step s 101 , the relative position of the exposure area ea is detected on the basis of the position of the table 18 . in step s 102 , it is determined whether the exposure area ea has reached a given exposure position . in fig7 , the exposure motion is carried out at exposure positions p 2 , p 3 , and p 4 . after the exposure area has ea reached the position p 2 , the relative position of the exposure area ea is detected on the basis of the predetermined exposure pitch rt . herein , the edge point d of the exposure ea is detected as the position of the exposure area ea . when it is determined in step s 102 that the exposure area ea has not reached the exposure position , steps s 101 and s 102 are repeatedly carried out until the exposure area ea has reached the exposure position . during the movement of the exposure area ea , each micro - mirror in the dmd 24 is maintained in the off state . when it is determined that the exposure area ea has reached the exposure position , the process moves to step s 103 , in which the table 18 is stopped . in step s 104 , raster data is generated in the raster transform circuit 36 and the series of raster data stored in the buffer memories 38 a to 38 c is updated . specifically , newly generated raster data is transmitted from the raster transform circuit 36 to the buffer memory 38 a , and the raster data that was stored in the buffer memories 38 b and 38 c is read out and stored in the buffer memories 39 a and 39 b , respectively . for example , when the partial exposure area ea 1 reaches the exposure position p 2 , raster data for forming pattern “ a ” is stored in the buffer memory 38 a . raster data that turns micro - mirrors in the partial modulation areas d 2 and d 3 off is stored in the buffer memories 38 b and 38 c ( see fig7 ). when the exposure area ea advances distance rt and reaches the exposure position p 3 , the partial exposure area ea 2 reaches the exposure position p 2 at which pattern “ a ” should be formed . accordingly , newly generated raster data corresponding to the pattern ← b ” is stored in the buffer memory 38 a . at the same time , raster data for the pattern “ a ” stored in the buffer memory 38 a is read out and stored in the buffer memory 389 . similarly raster data stored in the buffer memory 38 b is read out and stored in the buffer memory 38 c . when the exposure area ea advances distance rt and reaches the exposure position p 4 that the pattern “ c ” is formed , the partial exposure area ea 3 reaches the exposure position p 3 corresponding to the pattern “ b ” and the partial modulation area ea 3 reaches the exposure position p 2 corresponding to the pattern “ a ”. in this case , newly generated raster data for the pattern “ c ∞ is stored in the buffer memory 38 a , and the raster data stored in the buffer memories 38 a and 38 b , corresponding to the pattern “ b ” and “ a ” respectively , is shifted to the buffer memories 38 b and 38 c ( see fig7 ). in this way , when the partial exposure area ea 1 to ea 3 reaches the exposure positions respectively , raster data corresponding to the pattern that should be formed on the head partial exposure area ea 1 is generated , and stored in the buffer memory 38 a . at the same time , raster data stored in the buffer memories 38 a and 38 b are read out and stored in the buffer memories 38 b and 38 c . note that , in the buffer memories 38 a to 38 c , raster data for eight dmds are actually stored , in contrast to fig7 . in step s 105 , raster data corresponding to the exposure area ea is transmitted to the dmd drive circuit 34 . in the dmd drive circuit 34 , control signals are output to each dmd on the basis of the input raster data to control each micro - mirror . thus , an exposure motion for projecting a pattern at a given exposure position is carried out . after the exposure motion is carried out , each mirror is turned off . the writing position of the raster data on the dud drive circuit 34 is modified in consideration of the fact that the exposure area ea is slanted or rotated in the scanning direction . as described above , the exposure area ea shifts by one pixel width &# 39 ; s distance along the x - direction perpendicular to the scanning direction every time the exposure area ea moves distance rt . therefore , in step s 105 , the start position for reading raster data from the buffer memory 38 b is shifted by one line . thus , one - line shifted raster data is written to the dmd drive circuit 34 . also , as for the raster data stored in the buffer memory 38 c , the start position for reading raster data is shifted by two lines since the partial exposure area ea 3 diverges from the partial exposure area ea 1 by two pixels . in step s 106 , it is determined whether the exposure area ea has reached the finish position . when it is determined that the exposure area ea has not reached the finish position , the process goes to step s 107 , in which the table 18 is driven . then , the process returns to step s 101 . steps s 101 to s 106 are carried out until the exposure aced ea reaches the finish position . thus , in the present embodiment , dmd 24 is provided in the photolithography system 10 , and the exposure process is carried out by moving the exposure area ea relative to table 18 while modulating each mirror in the dmd 24 . also , the first to third partial exposure areas ea 1 to ea 3 are defined by dividing the exposure area ea into three equal areas . accordingly , the first to third partial modulation areas d 1 to d 3 are defined on the dmd 24 , and the three buffer memories 38 a to 38 b are provided for storing raster data corresponding to the partial modulation areas d 1 to d 3 . in the exposure process , vector data corresponding to the first partial exposure area ea 1 ( the first partial modulation area d 1 ) is successively transmitted from the work station to the photolithography system 10 , and the raster data is generated by the raster transform process and is stored in the buffer memory 38 a . when the exposure area ea moves by the pitch rt corresponding to the width of one partial exposure area , newly generated raster data is stored in the buffer memory 38 a , and the raster data that has been stored in the buffer memory 38 a and the raster data that has stored in the buffer memory 38 b are shifted to the buffer memory 38 b and the buffer memory 38 c , respectively . these processes to raster data are carried out every time the exposure area ea relatively advances the distance of the exposure pitch rt in accordance with the step & amp ; repeat method . then , the exposure motion is performed with all of the raster data stored in buffer memories 38 a to 38 c . since only raster data for the buffer memory 38 a , namely , the first partial modulation area d 1 ( 256 cells array ) is generated , time for processing raster data becomes one third compared to the process using the total dmd ( 768 cells array ). consequently , the photolithography process is shortened and throughput is improved . furthermore , since individual buffer memories of small capacity can be used , the data processing speed is improved due to a simple circuit unit and overall cost is reduced . the rotation angle of the exposure area ea to the scanning direction may optionally be set . moreover , the exposure area may move without any rotation . as for the exposure method , a continuous movement method that moves the exposure area at a constant speed may be utilized . in this case , the generation and storage of the raster data is performed while the exposure area moves . the exposure pitch may optionally be set in accordance with the pattern to be formed on the substrate . furthermore , one may use an overlapping exposure method that overlaps a part of the fine spots formed by the mirrors with each other . the magnification of the objective lens may be set to an arbitrary number other than 1 . the number of divisions for the exposure area ( dmd ) may also be optionally set for example , when the number of mirror arrays along the scanning direction is 2 m , the exposure area may be divided into m exposure areas , and the m memories may be prepared . also , the exposure area maybe optionally divided so long as the divided areas form an array along the scanning direction . instead of the dmd , other spatial light modulation , such as an lcd , or the like , may be used . the buffer memories may be arrayed in parallel . also , a larger - capacity memory may be implemented instead , and may be divided in accordance with the division of the exposure area . the photolithography system may be applied to an apparatus for forming a pattern such as characters on film or paper , such as in an electronic photographic system . finally , it will be understood by those skilled in the arts that the foregoing description is of preferred embodiments of the device , and that various changes and modifications may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . the present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in japanese patent application no . 2007 - 209528 ( filed on aug . 10 , 2007 ), which is expressly incorporated herein , by reference , in its entirety . | 6 |
the polymers of the present invention are prepared by coupling a plurality of hydrophobic moieties to the hydroxyl groups of a polyol core . the resulting polymer is then made water - soluble by attaching a poly ( alkylene oxide ) to the end of each hydrophobic moiety . polyols that are suitable for use as the polymer core are nearly limitless . aliphatic polyols having from 1 to 10 carbon atoms and from 1 to 10 hydroxyl groups may be used , including ethylene glycol , alkane diols , alkyl glycols , alkylidene alkyl diols , alkyl cycloalkane diols , 1 , 5 - decalindiol , 4 , 8 - bis ( hydroxymethyl ) tricyclodecane , cycloalkylidene diols , dihydroxyalkanes , trihydroxyalkanes , and the like . cycloaliphatic polyols may also be employed , including straight chained or closed - ring sugars and sugar alcohols , such as mannitol , sorbitol , inositol , xylitol , quebrachitol , threitol , arabitol , erythritol , adonitol , dulcitol , fucose , ribose , arabinose , xylose , lyxose , rhamnose , galactose , glucose , fructose , sorbose , mannose , pyranose , altrose , talose , tagitose , pyranosides , sucrose , lactose , maltose , and the like . more examples of aliphatic polyols include derivatives of glyceraldehyde , glucose , ribose , mannose , galactose , and related stereoisomers . aromatic polyols are preferred because of their hydrophobicity . among the suitable aromatic polyols are 1 , 1 , 1 - tris ( 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) alkanes , such as 1 , 1 , 1 - tris ( 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) ethane , ( 1 , 3 - adamantanediyl ) diphenol , 2 , 6 - bis ( hydroxyalkyl ) cresols , 2 , 2 ′- alkylene - bis ( 6 - t - butyl - 4 - alkylphenols ) 2 , 2 ′- alkylene - bis ( t - butylphenols ), catechol , alkylcatechols , pyrogallol , fluoroglycinol , 1 , 2 , 4 - benzenetriol , resorcinol , alkylresorcinols , dialkylresorcinols , orcinol monohydrate , olivetol , hydroquinone , alkylhydroquinones , 1 , 1 - bi - 2 - naphthol , phenyl hydroquinones , dihydroxynaphthalenes , 4 , 4 ′-( 9 - fluorenylidene ) diphenol , anthrarobin , dithranol , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) methane biphenols , dialkylstilbesterols , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) alkanes , bisphenol - a and derivatives thereof , meso - hexesterol , nordihydroguaiaretic acid , calixarenes and derivatives thereof , tannic acid , and the like . other core polyols that may be used include cyclic crown ethers , cyclodextrines , dextrines and other carbohydrates such as starches and amylose . alkyl groups may be straight - chained or branched , and may contain from 1 to 10 carbon atoms . hydrophobic moieties are coupled to two or more of the core polyol hydroxyl groups . preferably , all of the hydroxyl groups of the core polyol are coupled to a hydrophobic moiety . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the hydrophobic moiety is a dicarboxylic acid moiety containing from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms and substituted with from 1 to about 10 hydroxyl groups , wherein at least a portion of the hydroxyl groups are acylated with 3 to 24 carbon atom carboxylic acids . one carboxylic acid groups of the dicarboxylic acid is coupled to a hydroxyl group of the core polyol by way of an ester linkage , while the other carboxylic acid group remains free for coupling to the poly ( alkylene oxide ). the dicarboxylic acid may be a straight chained or branched , aliphatic or cycloaliphatic , dicarboxylic acid . suitable aliphatic dicarboxylic acids include mucic acid , malic acid , citromalic acid , alkylmalic acid , hydroxy derivatives of glutaric acid , and alkyl glutaric acids , tartaric acid , citric acid , hydroxy derivatives of fumaric acid , and the like . alkyl groups may be straight - chained or branched and may contain from 1 to 10 carbon atoms . the cycloaliphatic dicarboxylic acids include dicarboxylic acid derivatives of sugar alcohols . the carboxylic acids acylating the hydroxyl groups of the dicarboxylic acids preferably contain from 6 to 24 carbon atoms . preferably , every hydroxyl group of a dicarboxylic acid is acylated with a carboxylic acid . the polyol coupled to two or more acylated dicarboxylic acid branches forms the hydrophobic core of the polymer of the present invention . according to another embodiment of the present invention , the volume of the cavity formed by the hydrophobic core of the polymer may be increased by inserting an amino acid or peptide linkage between the core polyol and each hydrophobic moiety . that is , a linkage as small as one amino acid up to the size of an oligopeptide containing 10 amino acid residues may be attached to each core polyol hydroxyl group or polyamine amino group , with the hydrophobic moiety being coupled to the end of the amino acid or peptide opposite the core polyol hydroxyl group or polyamine amino group . the carboxylic acid terminus of an amino acid or peptide is coupled to a hydroxyl group of the core polyol by an ester linkage or an amino group of a core polyamine by an amide linkage . a carboxylic acid group of the acylated dicarboxylic acid is then coupled to the amine terminus of the amino acid or peptide by an amide linkage . the other carboxylic acid group again remains free for coupling to a poly ( alkylene oxide ). the number of amino acids employed in each peptide linkage should not be so great as to render the entire polymer water - insoluble . a peptide linkage containing from 3 to 6 amino acids is preferred . preferred amino acids include lysine , serine , threine , cysteine , tyrosine , aspartic acid , glutamic acid and arginine . like the other components of the polymers of the present invention , the amino acid linkages also hydrolyze to form biocompatible degradation products . the free carboxylic acids on the end of each hydrophobic branch on the polyol core are then coupled to a poly ( alkylene oxide ). the poly ( alkylene oxides ) are preferably coupled to the free carboxylic acids by either ester or amide linkages . the alkylene oxide units contain from 2 to 4 carbon atoms and may be straight , chained or branched . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg ) is preferred . alkoxy - terminated poly ( alkylene oxides ) are preferred , with methoxy - terminated poly ( alkylene oxides ) being more preferred . the poly ( alkylene oxide ) preferably has between about 2 and about 110 repeating units . a poly ( alkylene oxide ) having between about 50 and about 110 repeating units is more preferred . the polymers of the present invention are prepared by first acylating the hydroxyl - substituted dicarboxylic acid . the dicarboxylic acid is reacted with a stoichiometric excess of the appropriate acyl chloride in the presence of a catalyst , if needed , such as zncl 2 with heating , up to about the reflux temperature of the reaction mixture . those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the appropriate acyl chloride will have from about 2 to about 24 , and preferably from about 6 to about 24 , carbon atoms . the reaction continues until substantially complete , approximately 5 hours , after which the reaction product is extracted into an ether such as diethyl ether , followed by washing of the ether fraction with water , drying and evaporation . the resulting crude product is the purified by recrystallization . the acylated dicarboxylic acid is then coupled to a core polyol by means of a carbodiimide - mediated coupling reaction . the core polyol and a stoichiometric excess of the acylated dicarboxylic acid are dissolved in a common solvent , such as an ether , for example , ethyl ether . carbodiimide - mediated coupling reactions are disclosed in bodanszky , practice of peptide synthesis , ( springer - verlag , new york , 1984 ) at page 145 . a quantity of a solution providing a molar equivalent of a carbodiimide and n , m - dimethylaminopyridine ( dmap ) for each polyol hydroxyl group , dissolved in a common solvent such as methylene chloride , is added to the reaction mixture . the reaction proceeds rapidly to completion , after which the urea side - product corresponding to the carbodiimide is removed by suction filtration . the filtrate solution is then washed and dried , and the reaction solvent is then evaporated to recover the crude reaction product . the crude product is then purified , for example , by flash chromatography . carbodiimides suitable for use with the present invention include dicyclohexylcarbo - diimide ( dcc ), 1 - ethyl - 3 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl ) carbodiimide , 1 - alkyl - 3 -( 3 - dimethylaminopropyl ) carbodiimide ( alkyl ═ isopropyl , cyclochexyl ), 1 - cyclohexyl - 3 -( 2 - morpholinyl ( 4 - ethyl )) carbodiimide , 1 - cyclohexyl - 3 -( 4 - diethylaminocyclohexyl ) carbodiimide , 1 - cyclohexyl - 3 -( diethylaminoethyl ) carbodiimide , 1 , 3 - di -( 4 - diethylaminocyclohexyl ) carbodiimide , 1 - alkyl - 3 -( 3 - morpholinyl -( 4 - propyl )) carbodiimide ( alkyl ═ methyl , ethyl ), 1 - benzyl - 3 -( 3 - dimethylamino -( n )- propyl ) carbodiimide , and 1 - ethyl - 3 -( 4 - azonia - 4 , 4 - dimethylpentyl ) carbodiimide . in each case , the carbodiimide is used as the free base or a salt ( hcl , methiodide , metho - p - toluenesulfonate , and the like ). the preferred carbodiimide is dcc . carbodiimide - mediated coupling reactions are also used to create an amino acid or peptide linkage between the core polyol hydroxyl groups or core polyamine amino groups and the acylated dicarboxylic acids . the coupling reaction is first performed between the core polyol or polyamine and the amino acid or peptide , after which the amino acid or peptide - branched polyol or polyamine is then reacted with the acylated dicarboxylic acid in another carbodiimide - mediated coupling reaction . the poly ( alkylene oxide ) chains are then attached by reacting the substituted core polyol or polyamine with an activated poly ( alkylene oxide ) in another carbodiimide - mediated coupling reaction . to attach the poly ( alkylene oxide ) chains by way of an amide linkage , poly ( alkylene oxide ) amines are employed . for an ester linkage , a poly ( alkylene oxide ) is employed . for an anhydride linkage , a poly ( alkylene oxide ) carboxylic acid is employed . other linkages represented by q in the above formulas that are suitable for use with the present invention are well known to those skilled in the pegylation art and require no further description . a reaction mixture of the substituted core polyol and the activated poly ( alkylene oxide ) in a common solvent such as methylene chloride is formed . a quantity of a solution providing a molar equivalent of carbodiimide and dmap for each substituted hydroxyl group of the core polyol , dissolved in a common solvent such as methylene chloride , is then added to the reaction mixture . the reaction mixture is maintained at room temperature with stirring for at least 12 hours , after which it is evaporated to dryness , followed by purification , for example by recrystallization , followed by flash chromatography . the polymers of the present invention have a number average molecular weight between about 1 , 000 and about 100 , 000 daltons , measured by gel permeation chromatography relative to polystyrene standards . molecular weights between about 2 , 500 and about 25 , 000 daltons are preferred . the resulting polymers may be used for essentially any application in which conventional micelles are employed . examples include drug solubilization , fragrance encapsulation , passive targeting for drug delivery , waste water treatment , enhanced capillary electrophoresis activation , and induction of protein crystallization . alkali metal cations may also be encapsulated by the polymer to form solvent - free polymer - salt complex solid electrolytes . the polymers of the present invention are particularly useful in solubilizing hydrophobic molecules , particularly hydrophobic molecules with biological or pharmaceutical activity for drug delivery . according to one embodiment of the present invention , hydrophobic molecules are encapsulated by dissolving the hydrophobic molecules and the polymer in a common solvent , such as methylene chloride . the solvent is then removed , for example , by rotoevaporation . the resulting solid is then washed thoroughly with a non - polar solvent such as hexane , to remove any residual non - encapsulated hydrophobic materials . the washed solid is then thoroughly dried , preferably under vacuum , to completely remove any adsorbed solvent , and to obtain the essentially pure polymer - encapsulated hydrophobic material . according to an alternative embodiment , the polymer of the present invention is dissolved in water , and an excess quantity of the hydrophobic material is added to the aqueous solution , with stirring . after allowing the hydrophobic material sufficient contact with the aqueous polymer solution , the excess hydrophobic material is permitted to separate from the aqueous solution , after which it is removed . the polymer - encapsulated material may then be kept in this aqueous solution , or the aqueous solution may be concentrated , or the polymer encapsulate may be recovered in dry form by evaporating the water . when the water is evaporated , the dried polymer may be subjected to non - polar solvent rinsing to remove any residual hydrophobic material and further evaporation to remove any residual adsorbed non - polar solvent . the present invention contemplates the use of polymer - encapsulated hydrophobic molecules at concentrations as high as 1 m and greater , up to 10 6 m . at the same time , another advantage of the present invention is the thermodynamic stability of the polymers , which permit the formation of low concentration stable aqueous solutions of the polymer encapsulates , far below the cmc &# 39 ; s of conventional surfactants . stable aqueous solutions as low as 10 − 10 m have been obtained , although , at present , concentrations of 10 − 8 and greater are expected to have the greatest commercial utility . the polymers of the present invention are believed to form stable aqueous encapsulate solutions below the presently available limits of detection , i . e ., below 10 − 10 m . pharmaceutical dosage forms of polymer - encapsulated hydrophobic molecules having biological or pharmaceutical activity may be formulated using physiologically acceptable carriers , excipients , stabilizers and the like , and may be provided in sustained release or timed release formulation . acceptable carriers , excipients and diluents for therapeutic use are well known in the pharmaceutical field , and are described , for example , in remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical science ( a . r . gennaro edit ., mack publishing co ., 1985 ). such materials are non - toxic to the recipients at the dosages and concentrations employed , and include buffers such as phosphate , citrate , acetate and other organic acid salts , antioxidants such as ascorbic acid , low molecular weight ( less than about 10 residues ) peptides such as polyarginine , proteins , such as serum albumin , gelatin and immunoglobulins , hydrophillic polymers such as poly ( vinylpyrrolidinone ), amino acids such as glycine , glutamic acid , aspartic acid and arginine , monosaccharides , disaccharides , and other carbohydrates , including cellulose and its derivatives , glucose , mannose and dextrines , chelating agents such as edta , sugar alcohols such as mannitol and sorbitol , and conventional cationic and nonionic surfactants such as tween , pulronics , and peg . dosage formulations to be used for therapeutic administration must be sterile . sterility is readily accomplished by filtration through sterile membranes , or by other conventional methods such as irradiation or treatment with gases or heat . the ph of the dosage formulations of this invention typically will be between 3 and 11 , and more preferably from 5 to 9 . patients in need of treatment ( typically mammalian ) using the dosage formulations of this invention can be administered dosages that will provide optimal efficacy . the dose and method of administration will vary from subject to subject and be dependent upon such factors as the type of mammal being treated , its sex , weight , diet , concurrent medication , overall clinical condition , the particular hydrophobic compounds employed , the specific use for which these compounds are employed , and other factors which those skilled in the medical arts will recognize . therapeutically effective dosages may be determined by either in vitro or in vivo methods . for each particular dosage form of the present invention , individual determinations may be made to determine the optimal dosage required . the range of therapeutically effective dosages will naturally be influenced by the route of administration , the therapeutic objectives , and the condition of the patient . for the various suitable routes of administration , the absorption efficiency must be individually determined for each hydrophobic compound by methods well known in pharmacology . accordingly , it may be necessary for the therapist to titer the dosage and modify the route of administration as required to obtain the optimal therapeutic effect . the determination of effective dosage levels , that is , the dosage levels necessary to achieve the desired result , will be within the ambit of one skilled in the art . typically , applications of compound are commenced at lower dosage levels , with dosage levels being increased until the desired effect is achieved . a typical dosage might range from about 0 . 001 mg to about 1 , 000 mg of hydrophobic material , per kg of patient weight . preferred dosages range from about 0 . 01 mg / kg to about 100 mg / kg , and more preferably from about 0 . 10 mg / kg to about 20 mg / kg . advantageously , the dosage forms of this invention may administered several times daily , and other dosage regimens may also be useful . the dosage formulations of this invention may be prepared for storage under conditions suitable for the preservation of the biological or pharmaceutical activity of the hydrophobic material , as well as for maintaining the integrity of the polymer , and are typically suitable for storage in ambient or refrigerated temperatures . the polymer encapsulates of the present invention may be formulated for administration orally , subcutaneously , intramuscularly , intravenously , colonically , rectally , nasally or intraperitonially , employing a variety of dosage forms such as solutions , tablets , capsules , gelcaps , suppositories , implanted pellets or small cylinders , aerosols and topical formulations such as lotions , ointments , drops and dermal patches . the dosage formulations of this invention are suitable for applications where localized drug delivery is desired , as well as in situations where a systemic delivery is desired . the dosage formulations of this invention may desirably further incorporate agents to facilitate the systemic delivery of the hydrophobic material having biological or pharmaceutical activity to the desired target . the hydrophobic materials to be delivered may , in this fashion , be incorporated with antibodies , antibody fragments , growth factors , hormones , or other targeting moieties , to which the drug molecules are coupled . the present invention also contemplates the use of peptide linkages between the core polyol and the acylated dicarboxylic acids that are selected for cleavage by proteolytic enzymes , resulting in degradation of the polymer and release of the encapsulated hydrophobic material . the release of the hydrophobic material may thus be targeted by selecting a peptide sequence corresponding to a proteolytic enzyme unique to the target site , or by co - administering a proteolytic enzyme corresponding to the peptide sequence at the target site for the hydrophobic material . however , one advantage of the polymers of the present invention is that polymer degradation is not a prerequisite for release of the hydrophobic material . practically any hydrophobic therapeutic agent otherwise suitable for the practice of this invention may be employed for a variety of therapeutic applications . the polymers of the present invention may also be used as thickening agents , lubricants , detergents surfactants , plasticizers and anti - fouling agents . the polymers may be used as an emulsifying , dispersing or stabilizing agent for dyes , cosmetics , pigment and pharmaceutical products . the polymers are particularly useful as an emulsifying , dispersing or stabilizing agent in the dyeing of textiles and for encapsulating dyes for cosmetics . the polymers are useful as lubricants and encapsulants for cosmetics , textiles , leathers and perfumes , and are particularly useful as a thickening agent for paints . the polymers may also be employed as an emulsifying , dispersing or stabilizing agent for components of photographic compositions and developers . thus , in addition to biologically or pharmaceutically active hydrophobic molecules , other hydrophobic molecules that may be encapsulated by the polymers of the present invention include insecticides , pesticides , herbicides , antiseptics , food additives , fragrances , dyes , diagnostic aids , and the like . examples of hydrophobic molecules that may be encapsulated by the polymers of the present invention include , but are not limited to : abietic acid , aceglatone , acenaphthene , acenocoumarol , acetohexamide , acetomeroctol , acetoxolone , acetyldigitoxins , acetylene dibromide , acetylene dichloride , acetylsalicylic acid , alantolactone , aldrin , alexitol sodium , allethrin , allylestrenol , allyl sulfide , alprazolam , aluminum bis ( acetylsalicylate ), ambucetamide , aminochlothenoxazin , aminoglutethimide , amyl chloride , androstenediol , anethole trithone , anilazine , anthralin , antimycin a , aplasmomycin , arsenoacetic acid , asiaticoside , astemizole , aurodox , aurothioglycanide , 8 - azaguanine , azobenzene ; baicalein , balsam peru , balsam tolu , barban , baxtrobin , bendazac , bendazol , bendroflumethiazide , benomyl , benzathine , benzestrol , benzodepa , benzoxiquinone , benzphetamine , benzthiazide , benzyl benzoate , benzyl cinnamate , bibrocathol , bifenox , binapacryl , bioresmethrin , bisabolol , bisacodyl , bis ( chlorophenoxy ) methane , bismuth iodosubgallate , bismuth subgallate , bismuth tannate , bisphenol a , bithionol , bornyl , bromoisovalerate , bornyl chloride , bornyl isovalerate , bornyl salicylate , brodifacoum , bromethalin , broxyquinoline , bufexamac , butamirate , butethal , buthiobate , butlated hydroxyanisole , butylated hydroxytoluene ; calcium iodostearate , calcium saccharate , calcium stearate , capobenic acid , captan , carbamazepine , carbocloral , carbophenothin , carboquone , carotene , carvacrol , cephaeline , cephalin , chaulmoogric acid , chenodiol , chitin , chlordane , chlorfenac , chlorfenethol , chlorothalonil , chlorotrianisene , chlorprothixene , chlorquinaldol , chromonar , cilostazol , cinchonidine , citral , clinofibrate , clofazimine , clofibrate , cloflucarban , clonitrate , clopidol , clorindione , cloxazolam , coroxon , corticosterone , coumachlor , coumaphos , coumithoate cresyl acetate , crimidine , crufomate , cuprobam , cyamemazine , cyclandelate , cyclarbamate cymarin , cypernethril ; dapsone , defosfamide , deltamethrin , deoxycorticocosterone acetate , desoximetasone , dextromoramide , diacetazoto , dialifor , diathymosulfone , decapthon , dichlofluani , dichlorophen , dichlorphenamide , dicofol , dicryl , dicumarol , dienestrol , diethylstilbestrol , difenamizole , dihydrocodeinone enol acetate , dihydroergotamine , dihydromorphine , dihydrotachysterol , dimestrol , dimethisterone , dioxathion , diphenane , n -( 1 , 2 - diphenylethyl ) nicotinamide , dipyrocetyl , disulfamide , dithianone , doxenitoin , drazoxolon , durapatite , edifenphos , emodin , enfenamic acid , erbon , ergocorninine , erythrityl tetranitrate , erythromycin stearate , estriol , ethaverine , ethisterone , ethyl biscoumacetate , ethylhydrocupreine , ethyl menthane carboxarnide , eugenol , euprocin , exalamide ; febarbamate , fenalamide , fenbendazole , fenipentol , fenitrothion , fenofibrate , fenquizone , fenthion , feprazone , flilpin , filixic acid , floctafenine , fluanisone , flumequine , fluocortin butyl , fluoxymesterone , flurothyl , flutazolamn , fumagillin , 5 - furfuryl - 5 - isopropylbarbituric acid , fusafungine , glafenine , glucagon , glutethimide , glybuthiazole , griseofulvin , guaiacol carbonate , guaiacol phosphate , halcinonide , hematoprphyrin , hexachlorophene , hexestrol , hexetidine , hexobarbital , hydrochlorothiazide , hydrocodone , ibuproxam , idebenone , indomethacin , inositol niacinate , iobenzamic acid , iocetamic acid , iodipamide , iomeglamic acid , ipodate , isometheptene , isonoxin , 2 - isovalerylindane - 1 , 3 - dione ; josamycin , 11 - ketoprogesterone , laurocapram , 3 - o - lauroylpyridoxol diacetate , lidocaine , lindane , linolenic acid , liothyronine , lucensomycin , mancozeb , mandelic acid , isoamyl ester , mazindol , mebendazole , mebhydroline , mebiquine , melarsoprol , melphalan , menadione , menthyl valerate , mephenoxalone , mephentermine , mephenytoin , meprylcaine , mestanolone , mestranol , mesulfen , metergoline , methallatal , methandriol , methaqualone , 3 - methylcholanthrene , methylphenidate , 17 - methyltestosterone , metipranolol , minaprine , myoral , naftalofos , naftopidil , naphthalene , 2 - naphthyl lactate , 2 -( 2 - naphthyloxy ) ethanol , naphthyl salicylate , naproxen , nealbarbital , nemadectin , niclosamide , nicoclonate , nicomorphine , nifuroquine , nifuroxazide , nitracrine , nitromersol , nogalamycin , nordazepamn , norethandrolone , norgestrienone ; octaverine , oleandrin , oleic acid , oxazepam , oxazolam , oxeladin , oxwthazaine , oxycodone , oxymesterone , oxyphenistan acetate , paraherquamide , parathion , pemoline , pentaerythritol tetranitrate , pentylphenol , perphenazine , phencarbamide , pheniramine , 2 - phenyl - 6 - chlorophenol , phentlmethylbarbituric acid , phenytoin , phosalone , phthalylsulfathiazole , phylloquinone , picadex , pifarnine , piketopfen , piprozolin , pirozadil , plafibride , plaunotol , polaprezinc , polythiazide , probenecid , progesterone , promegestone , propanidid , propargite , propham , proquazone , protionamide , pyrimethamine , pyrimithate , pyrvinium pamoate ; quercetin , quinbolone , quizalofo - ethyl , rafoxanide , rescinnamine , rociverine , ronnel salen , scarlet red , siccanin , simazine , simetride , sobuzoxane , solan , spironolactone , squalene , stanolone , sucralfate , sulfabenz , sulfaguanole , sulfasalazine , sulfoxide , sulpiride , suxibuzone , talbutal , terguide , testosterone , tetrabromocresol , tetrandrine , thiacetazone , thiocolchicine , thioctic acid , thioquinox , thioridazine , thiram , thymyl n - isoamylcarbamate , tioxidazole , tioxolone , tocopherol , tolciclate , tolnaftate , triclosan , triflusal , triparanol ; ursolic acid , valinomycin , veraparnil , vinblastine , vitamin a , vitamin d , vitamin e , xenbucin , xylazine , zaltoprofen , and zearalenone . a particular class of hydrophobic molecules having biological activity that are suitable for use with the present invention are inter - cellular regulators and mediators such as interferons , growth factors , hormones , and the like . the polymers of the present invention are contemplated to be particularly effective for the efficient administration of interferons , which has proven to be problematic because of interferon &# 39 ; s water - insolubility . as noted above , the topical dosage forms of the present invention exhibit an unexpectedly accelerated rate of transdermal delivery attributable to the encapsulation of the hydrophobic material by the polymers of the present invention . thus , the polymer - encapsulated hydrophobic material having biological or pharmaceutical activity may be prepared as topical dosage forms such as lotions , gels , salves , creams , balms , ointments and the like . these compositions may be in the form of aqueous solutions , or in the form of oil - in - water or water - in - oil emulsions . the formulations are essentially conventional , containing well - known additives , and are prepared using art - recognized techniques . topical dosage forms may also be prepared by incorporating the polymer encapsulate into the reservoir of a transdermal drug delivery device . transdermal administration systems , or “ patches ”, are well - known in the art . occlusive transdermal patches for the administration of an active agent to the skin or mucosa are described in u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 573 , 966 ; 4 , 597 , 961 and 4 , 839 , 164 , the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference . essentially any device capable of delivering an active agent transdermally may be employed to transdermally deliver the polymer encapsulate of the present invention . as noted above , the polymer encapsulates are rapidly delivered , providing a “ burst effect ” dosage of the polymer encapsulate . thus , the reservoir of the transdermal delivery device may also incorporate the biologically or pharmaceutically active hydrophobic molecule in a non - encapsulated form to sustain delivery beyond the initial “ burst .” alternatively , the transdermal patch may be intended only for a rapid dose delivery , in which case the reservoir would only contain the polymer encapsulate as the active agent . the following non - limiting examples set forth hereinbelow illustrate certain aspects of the invention . all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise noted and all temperatures are in degrees celsius . all peg &# 39 ; s were obtained from shearwater polymers ( birmingham , ala .) and used without further purification . all other chemicals were obtained from aldrich ( milwaukee , wis .) and used without further purification . analytical grade solvents were used for all the reactions . methylene chloride , tetrahydrofuran ( thf ), triethylamine ( tea ) and dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ) were distilled . nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 h nmr , 13 c nmr ), infrared spectroscopy ( ir ), mass spectrometry ( ms ), gel permeation chromatography ( gpc ) and elemental analysis were used for physicochemical characterization . for differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ) measurements , samples were heated under dry nitrogen gas . data were collected at heating and cooling rates of 10 ° c ./ min . with a two cycle minimum . for thermogravimetric analysis ( tga ), samples were also heated under dry nitrogen gas . data were collected at a heating rate of 20 ° c / min . molecular weights were determined by gpc relative to narrow molecular weight polystyrene standards . to a neat mixture of mucic acid ( 4 . 2 g , 20 mmol ) and propionyl chloride ( 18 ml , 200 mmnol ) was added zncl 2 ( 0 . 28 g , 2 . 0 mmol ). the reaction mixture was heated at reflux temperature for three hours . after cooling , diethyl ether ( 20 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture and the solution poured onto ice chips ( approximately 100 g ) with stirring . additional diethyl ether ( 80 ml ) was added to the mixture and stirring continued for 30 minutes more . the ether portion was separated , washed with water to a neutral ph , dried over anhydrous na 2 so 4 and evaporated to dryness . the crude product was purified by recrystallization from a cosolvent system of diethyl ether and methylene chloride , collected by vacuum filtration , washed by ice cold methylene chloride and dried at 105 ° c . ( 12 hours ) to constant weight . a white solid having a t m , of 196 ° c . was obtained at a 56 % yield . mucic acid hexyl ester was prepared as in example 1 , substituting caproyl chloride for propionyl chloride . a white solid having a t m of 171 ° c . was obtained at a yield of 68 %. mucic acid lauryl ester was prepared as in example 1 , substituting lauryl chloride for propionyl chloride . a white solid having a t m of 145 ° c . was obtained at a yield of 65 %. the mucic acid propyl ester of example 1 ( 6 . 0 mmol ) and 1 , 1 , 1 - tris ( 4 ′- hydroxyphenyl ) ethane ( 0 . 51 g , 1 . 7 mmol ) were dissolved in anhydrous ethyl ether ( 150 ml ). to the reaction mixture , a solution of dcc ( 1 . 2 g , 6 . 0 mmol ) and dmap ( 0 . 74 g , 6 . 0 mmol ) in 25 ml methylene chloride was added dropwise . after 15 minutes , the dcc side - product ( dicyclohexylurea ) was removed by suction filtration . the filtrate was washed with 20 ml portions of 0 . 1 n hcl ( 2x ) and brine ( 4x ), dried over anhydrous na 2 so 4 , and evaporated to dryness . the crude product was purified by flash chromatography using ethyl ether : methanol : acetic acid ( 90 : 5 : 5 ) as eluent . a white solid having a t m of 158 ° c . was obtained at 58 % yield . the hexyl ester core molecule was prepare according to the method of example 4 , substituting the mucic acid hexyl ester of example 2 for the mucic acid propyl ester . a white solid having a t m of 147 ° c . was obtained at 36 % yield . the lauryl ester core molecule was prepared according to the method of example 4 , substituting the mucic acid lauryl ester of example 3 for the mucic acid propyl ester . a white solid having a t m of 136 ° c . was obtained at yield of 33 %. mucic acid hexyl ester core polymer with triethylene glycol ( teg ) branches to a mixture of the core molecule of example 5 ( 0 . 106 mmol ) and methoxy - terminated triethylene glycol amine ( 0 . 351 mmol ) in 20 ml of methylene chloride at room temperature , dcc ( 0 . 351 mmol ) and dmap ( 0 . 351 mmol ) in 2 ml methylene chloride was added dropwise . after three days , the reaction mixture was evaporated to dryness , the residue dissolved into 20 ml methanol , and the crude product precipitated from 400 ml petroleum ether at room temperature . the crude product was first purified by flash chromatography using ethyl ether : methanol : acetic acid ( 90 : 5 : 5 ) as eluent , then further purified by repetitive precipitation using methylene chloride as solvent and diethyl ether / petroleum ether as non - solvent . the ratio between methylene chloride and ethers was progressively changed . a white solvent was obtained having a t m of 31 ° c ., a t d of 220 ° c . and m w of 2 , 400 daltons at a yield of 15 %. a mucic acid hexyl ester core polymer with peg 2000 branches was prepared according to the method of example 7 , substituting methoxy - terminated poly ( ethylene glycol ) amine ( h 2 n - m - peg 2000 , m w = 2000 ) for the methoxy - terminated triethylene glycol amine of example 7 . a white solid was obtained having a t m of 54 ° c . and a m w of 9 , 400 daltons at a yield of 25 %. a mucic acid hexyl ester core polymer with peg 5000 branches was prepared according to the method of example 7 , substituting methoxy - terminated poly ( ethylene glycol ) amine ( h 2 n - peg 5000 , m w = 5000 ) for the methoxy - terminated triethylene glycol amine of example 7 . a white solid having a t m of 61 ° c . and a m w of 17 , 800 daltons was obtained at 17 % yield . mucic acid propyl ester core polymer with peg 5000 branches was prepared according to the method of example 9 , substituting the mucic acid propyl ester core polymer of example 4 for the mucic acid hexyl ester core polymer . a white solid was obtained having a t m of 62 ° c . and a m w of 17 , 000 daltons at 30 % yield . mucic acid lauryl ester core polymer with peg 5000 branches was prepared according to the method of example 9 , substituting the mucic acid lauryl ester core polymer of example 6 for the mucic acid hexyl ester core polymer . a white solid was obtained having a t m of 60 ° c . and a m w of 19 , 100 daltons at a yield of 45 %. for the polymers of examples 8 - 11 , tga showed two stages of decomposition . the first stage corresponded to cleavage of the core structures from the ethylene oxide chains ( about 200 ° c .) with the appropriate weight loss , and the second stage corresponded to decomposition of the ethylene oxide chain . lidocaine ( 50 mg ) and the polymer of example 9 ( 50 mg ) were dissolved in 2 . 0 ml methylene chloride . the solution was evaporated to dryness and the solid residue extensively washed with hexane until lidocaine was no longer detected in the washings . the solid was dried under vacuum at 25 ° c . for about 2 hours . a portion ( 5 . 0 mg ) of this solid was dissolved into methanol ( 1 . 0 ml ) to release the entrapped lidocaine , and the lidocaine concentration was quantified by high pressure liquid chromatography ( hplc ) according to a calibration curve generated from a series of standard solutions ranging from 0 . 005 to 0 . 5 mg / ml lidocaine . the linearity of the curve indicated a direct , proportional relationship between absorbance and lidocaine concentration . using the equation of the lidocaine calibration curve , the amount of lidocaine entrapped in the unimolecular micelle core was determined . peg with a molecular weight of 5 , 000 daltons was used as the hplc control . encapsulation number was defined as the amount of molecules that can be entrapped within the polymeric micelles . the values for the polymers of example 9 , 10 and 11 were 1 . 0 , 0 . 7 and 1 . 6 weight %, respectively . the encapsulation number increased as the hydrophobicity of the polymer interior increased . the peg arms of the polymers of the present invention thus form a hydrophilic shell that solubilizes the polymer in water , while the core forms a hydrophobic microenvironnment that encapsulates small hydrophobic molecules . unlike conventional micelles , however , the polymeric micelles of the present invention are thermodynamically stable because of the covalent linkages between the polymer arms . the ability to encapsulate small molecules , the enhanced solubility and the lack of aggregation characterize the usefulness of these polymers as drug delivery systems . candidate drugs , of which there are many , have aromatic or heteroaromatic moieties and carbonyl functionalities ( e . g ., amides and carboxylates ). the biocompatibility and biodegradability of these polymers further characterize their utility for drug delivery . the excellent water - solubility of these polymers makes intravenous injection and oral administration of hydrophobic drug molecules possible . for controlled release applications , the small size of these polymers , along with their enhanced thermodynamic stability , further characterizes their utility . the foregoing examples and description of the preferred embodiment should be taken as illustrating , rather than as limiting , the present invention as defined by the claims . as will be readily appreciated , numerous variations and combinations of the features set forth above can be utilized without departing from the present invention as set forth in the claims . such variations are not regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 0 |
referring now to fig1 - 10 , a basin 10 or vessel is disclosed as a replacement for a basin ( not shown ) integrated into a refrigerated counter ( not shown ). the replacement basin 10 may include a first or exterior frame 12 that may support one or more second or interior frames 14 , a refrigeration conduit 16 , and optionally , a plurality of removable bins 18 . the frames 12 , 14 may be constructed of stainless steel with the conduit 16 being formed from copper . although , other materials known , used or adopted by the art may also be used in the construction of the basin 10 or its components . referring now to fig1 - 5 , the first frame 12 may be formed as a receptacle or sink - like structure having a base or floor 20 , a pair of spaced apart end walls 22 , 24 , a front wall 26 , and a rear or back wall 28 . as shown in fig5 , the rear wall 28 of the first frame 12 may be dimensioned longer and / or higher than the front wall 26 so that the upper edge 30 , 32 of each end wall 22 , 24 ( see fig1 and 3 ) extends diagonally between the front 26 and rear 28 walls . the front wall 26 of the first frame 12 may also include a flange or lip 30 that may be used to support and / or position the basin 10 on the counter ( not shown ) as will be described further below . still referring to fig1 - 5 , the second frame 14 may , similar to the first frame 12 , be constructed to include a base or floor 32 , a front wall 34 , a rear wall 36 , and a pair of opposed end walls 38 , 40 . however , as again shown in fig5 , the second frame 14 may be dimensioned smaller than the first 12 so that it may be recessed within the first frame 12 and have surfaces 32 - 40 that are spaced predetermined distances from the comparable surfaces 20 - 28 of the first frame 12 . the second frame 14 may also be formed with ( or secured to , see fig6 - 10 infra ) a web or flange 42 that connects the frames 12 , 14 along the upper edge or perimeter of the walls of the frames 12 , 14 . referring now to fig4 and 5 , the refrigeration conduit 16 may be positioned in the basin 10 in the space 44 defined between the first and second frames 12 , 14 . the conduit 16 may engage or be positioned proximate to the surfaces 32 - 40 of the second frame 12 to aid in cooling those surfaces ( which as will be described infra , aids in the cooling of consumables or removable bins 18 positioned in the second frame 14 ). additionally , or alternatively , the conduit 16 may be positioned so that at least a portion is located above ( or in a higher plain relative to the top of ) the bins 18 . positioning the conduit 16 so that the conduit 16 may be above ( or higher ) than the tops of the bins 18 chills the air above those bins 18 and allows the temperature above and along the entire length of each bin 18 to be maintained at or below a predetermined minimum temperature . an inlet 46 and outlet 48 for the refrigeration conduit 16 may extend from the rear wall 28 of the first frame 12 . however , it will be appreciated that the position of the inlet 46 and outlet 48 for the conduit 16 may be modified according to the needs of the user . referring now to fig1 , support flanges 50 , 52 may be positioned along second frame . for example , as shown support flanges 50 , 52 may be positioned along the front 34 and rear 36 wall of the second frame 14 and configured so that they may extend into the open receptacle or sink 53 defined by the frame 14 . an intermediate support rod 54 may also be provided that extends between the end walls 38 , 40 of the second frame 12 . the bins 18 may then be removably positioned in the receptacle or sink 52 defined by the second frame 14 , and supported by the flanges 50 , 52 and rod 54 . as such , it will be appreciated that consumables in the bins 18 may be refrigerated down to a predetermined temperature by operation of the conduit 16 cooling the surfaces 32 - 40 of the second frame 14 . a predetermined amount of water ( not shown ) or fluid may also be provided into the receptacle or sink 52 of the second frame 14 so that the temperature is evenly distributed around several bins 18 . where a fluid is used ( or intended to be used ), the basin 10 may also be provided with one or more drains ( not shown ). referring now to fig1 - 4 , a basin support flange 58 may be provided along each end wall 20 , 22 of the first frame 12 of the basin 10 and used for mounting the replacement basin 10 unit to a refrigerated counter . referring now to fig6 - 10 , and as best shown in fig9 , another embodiment of the replacement basin 10 may be constructed in which the front 26 and rear 28 walls of the first frame 12 have substantially the same dimensions . the basin 10 of this other embodiment may also include two or more inner or second frames 14 , with each of these inner or second frames 14 including one or more removable bins 18 . the end walls of the first frame 12 may also be configured so that the lip 30 extends around the ends of the basin 10 . referring now to fig1 - 11 , in operation , a replacement basin 10 may be installed into a refrigerated table ( not shown ) by first 100 powering down the integral refrigeration unit ( not shown ) of the counter and recovering any coolant present in that unit . the existing integral basin ( not shown ) may then be separated from the existing refrigeration unit by severing 102 the coolant lines ( not shown ) of the unit at a predetermined location . thereafter , the integral basin may be excised from the counter by cutting 104 the basin away substantially along its perimeter and then lifting 106 the basin out of the counter . after removal of the integral basin , the replacement basin 10 may be positioned 108 in the cutout formed by the removal of the prior basin such that the basin support flanges 58 of the end walls and the lip 30 of the front wall 26 of the first frame 12 engage the countertop . the replacement basin 10 may then be further secured 110 to the counter by welding , commercial adhesives , fasteners , or the like . finally , the conduit lines 16 of the replacement basin 10 may then be connected 112 to the coolant lines of the integral refrigeration unit using welding , fasteners ( e . g ., quick connect fasteners positioned on the ends of the conduit lines 16 of the basin 10 ), or similar connection means known in the art . it will also be appreciated that a similar procedure may be use to add one or more additional basins 10 to an existing counter that may or may not have a basin 10 . however , in such instances , it may also be necessary to add one or more refrigeration units . having thus described my invention , various other embodiments will become known or apparent to those of skill in the art that do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed . | 5 |
an adjusting drive 10 is shown in fig1 that comprises a motor 12 and a multisectional housing 16 enclosing a gear 14 . the motor 12 is electrically commutated and comprises an armature 18 , a commutator 20 , and an armature shaft 22 supported in bearings in multiple locations that extends into the region of the gear 14 . an endless screw 26 that communicates with a worm gear 24 is rolled onto the armature shaft 22 . this is supported at the faces 28 and 30 of the armature shaft 22 via stop disks 32 and 34 and at the housing 16 or a part of the housing 16 via a damping means 36 . the housing 16 comprises a recess 38 in the region of the face 28 of the armature shaft 22 , into which a damping rubber 40 is pressed as damping means 36 . the damping rubber 40 comprises a firmly specified elastic region 42 . the conception according to the invention therefore consists of the fact that the tolerances of the armature shaft 22 and the housing parts 16 , together with the assembly tolerances , may not exceed the dimension of the elastic region 42 ( refer to fig2 ), in order to effectively prevent play in the armature shaft . instead of the damping rubber 40 , other damping means 36 such as spring elements or rigid stops are feasible as well . in order to adhere to such a narrow tolerance , according to the invention , the shaft 22 is brought to a nominal dimension 44 by means of material displacement 46 after the endless screw 26 is rolled on . the tolerance of this nominal dimension 44 is markedly smaller than the elastic region 42 of the damping rubber 40 . the material displacement 46 is realized by constricting the shaft 22 , by way of which the shaft 22 increases . the material displacement 46 is applied to one end region 29 between the endless screw 26 and the face 28 in a region where the shaft 22 is not radially supported in bearings . methods of material displacement 46 are also feasible in which the shaft 22 is swaged , which would result in a shortening of the shaft 22 . theoretically , there are a plurality of points on the shaft 22 where a material displacement would not disturb the structure . in order to maintain the overall stability of the shaft 22 , however , it presents itself to displace material on the ends 29 , 31 of the shaft 22 in the region toward their faces 28 , 30 . a simple method for material displacement 46 is given by the burnishing of the shaft 22 on its end 29 . this method is to be preferred over others because a burnishing device 54 must be held in front anyway in order to produce the endless screw 26 on the armature shaft 22 . the burnishing for material displacement 46 can thereby be carried out in one working step , i . e ., simultaneously with the burnishing of the endless screw 26 26 , or one directly after the other during one chucking on the burnishing machine 54 . the length of the shaft 22 is measured simultaneously during the material displacement 46 . the shaft 22 is deformed until the length measurement of the armature shaft 22 shows the nominal dimension 44 . the nominal dimension 44 is thereby based on the entire length of the armature shaft 22 between its two faces 28 , 30 . in a second exemplary embodiment , the armature shaft 22 is installed in a part of the housing 16 — in a pole well housing 13 in this case — before its length is changed . the part of the armature shaft 22 extending over the pole well 13 is thereby measured simultaneously during its material displacement 46 . in this case , the nominal dimension 44 ′ ( fig1 ) is only based on the part of the armature shaft 22 extending out over the pole well 13 . the tolerances of the field frame 13 can thereby be eliminated as well . in a further exemplary embodiment , the length of the armature 22 is not measured as a nominal dimension 44 , but rather , the axial end play 44 ″ ( indicated in fig2 with a dotted line ) of the shaft 22 is measured directly in its installed state . after the armature shaft 22 is completely installed and the housing 16 is fully assembled , the material displacement 46 of the armature shaft 22 is thereby carried out via one or more openings in the housing 16 . the armature axial end play 44 ″ is measured by means of an electric voltage or the current drawn by the electric motor that is applied to the electric motor 12 . if the end play is great , the motor 12 reaches its final speed already at relatively low amperage . if the length of the armature shaft 22 is now extended during the current measurement in this case , the armature shaft 22 presses axially against the damping rubber 40 at any time . as soon as the shaft 22 touches the damping rubber 40 , a certain braking torque is produced that can be measured via an increase in current or a decrease in speed of the motor 12 . if the current and / or the speed reach certain values , this is an indication that the end play has been eliminated or stopped in predetermined fashion . [ 0023 ] fig2 shows the material displacement 46 on the end 29 of the armature shaft 22 in detail . the material displacement 46 is shaped in the form of a ring groove , i . e ., encircling the entire shaft . such a groove 48 is easy to produce by means of burnishing . the cross - sectional area 50 of the groove 48 is semicircular , i . e ., the more the shaft 22 must be elongated , the deeper a segment of a circle is pressed into the shaft . it must be ensured that the cross - section 50 of the shaft 22 is not reduced to too great of an extent at the point of material displacement 46 . a reduction of the shaft diameter 52 to 50 % of the original value is regarded as the limit value . in further exemplary embodiments , the cross - sectional area 50 of the ring - shaped groove 48 has a form other than a semicircular form . this is the case , for example , when the burnishing tool 54 is not shaped radially , but rather takes on another , random shape . possible shapes of the cross - sectional area 50 are a trapezoid 50 ′ or a rectangle 50 ″ ( dotted lines in fig2 ). with such a profile , more material is displaced along one side of the trapezoid or rectangle from the beginning onward during burnishing , while little material is displaced at the beginning with a semicircular profile of the groove 48 . it is also feasible that the groove 48 is not ring - shaped around the entire circumference of the shaft 22 , but rather comprises one or more notches distributed around the circumference , for example . such a method creates difficulties , however , with regard for a precise nominal dimension 44 of the shaft 44 , or it can produce unbalanced states . the selection of the exact point of material displacement 46 is variable between the face 28 and the start of the endless screw 26 on the motor shaft 22 . | 8 |
following is a detailed description of the new variety of pawpaw tree with color terminology in accordance with the royal horticulture society ( r . h . s .) colour chart ( ed . no . 2 , 1986 ) except where general color terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used . size .— small . 3 . 5 m on its own roots but taller on more vigorous rootstock . vigor .— medium when grafted to other rootstock . approximately 50 cm growth on strong primary laterals under standard fertilization of 50 lbs of n per acre . branching pattern .— spreading with time , and more so with pruning . wide crotch angles and branches widely spaced . on vigorously growing leaders , a ladder - like formation may form , consisting of small horizontal branches ( 5 - 10 cm long ) that ascend in regular alternating fashion on both sides of the leader . bark .— smooth with small raised horizontal lenticels , typical of the species . color r . h . s . grey 201b on both trunk and branches . length .— axillary buds growing on branches of normal vigor , 3 . 4 mm average with a range of 3 . 2 to 3 . 5 mm . buds growing on branches of high vigor larger , 4 . 7 mm average with a range of 4 . 5 to 4 . 9 mm . shape .— oblanceolate with acuminate tip and attenuate to the base , as is typical for the species . average ratio of width to length is 0 . 435 . size .— measurements are from mature leaves attached at midpoint of actively growing shoots of current season &# 39 ; s growth . average size is 11 . 1 cm wide , 25 . 5 cm long . color .— upper surface varies between r . h . s . green 139a and yellow - green 147a . lower surface r . h . s . yellow - green 146a . both colors typical for the species . aspect .— drooping when grown in full sun , as is typical for the species . texture .— smooth to very slightly impressed veiny , typical for the species . petiole .— color yellow - green similar to lower leaf surface . average diameter 3 . 3 mm at the petiole midpoint . length ranges from 13 . 0 to 15 . 4 mm with an average of 14 . 2 mm . note : the structure of the leaf lamina is such , in the way that it tapers gradually to the petiole , that visual demarcation of the petiole terminus is imprecise and the resultant measurement of petiole length has a high margin of error . the measurements reported here are based on a precise tactile method . by means of running the back of one &# 39 ; s thumbnail down the midvein ( on the underside of the leaf ) towards the petiole one encounters a sudden change in curvature , diameter , and hardness . this point of change is the petiole terminus and is easy to detect and replicate . appearance .— very dark brown , between r . h . s . brown 200a and black 202a . surface densely pubescent , velvety . size .— small to average . as the flower matures from female to male stage , the petals reflex , and therefore measured flower size is specific to flower stage , which data are presented below . outer petals .— average of 22 mm wide , 26 mm long . average ratio of width to length 0 . 85 . inner petals .— average of 9 mm wide , 15 mm long . average ratio of width to length 0 . 60 . form of male stage flower .— more widely flaring than average , and outer petals more recurved than typical . nectary band of male stage flower .— color is deep maroon , basically indistinguishable from the inner petal color . dates of picking .— mid to late season , generally from september 10 to 24 at queenstown , but dates can vary more than a week depending on the degree of summer heat . cluster size .— few fruited . one - and two - fruited clusters are prevalent , and this small cluster size is atypical of pawpaw . larger clusters occur , however , even exceeding five fruits . within large clusters the fruit size typically varies greatly ; the range of size not uncommonly exceeding 2 - to - 1 . high within - cluster variance of fruit size is common in most pawpaw varieties . fruit shape .— ovoid - ovate often with a slight flattening of the dorsal surface . shape varies considerably ; but large well - formed fruit in single - fruited cluster tend towards length - to - width - to - depth proportions of 100 : 70 : 65 . fruit size .— large , 260 gm average for well - pollinated fruit . much larger than typical pawpaw . size varies from small (˜ 33 gm ) to very large (˜ 350 gm ), dependent on the number of fertilized seed present in the fruit . lengths normally range 5 . 0 - 12 . 3 cm , widths 3 . 5 - 8 . 6 cm , and depths 3 . 3 - 8 . 0 cm . suture .— not prominent . fine green or grey line , often indistinct and discontinuous , or occasionally a pale yellow stripe . abscission type .— primary mode is for fruit to abscise from the torus of the peduncle . abscission scar .— small , 6 . 4 mm in diameter . a character of low variance . peduncle .— length 14 . 3 mm on average , ranging from 12 . 8 to 15 . 8 mm , but longer ( up to 20 mm ) on vigorous trees . diameter extremely variable , varying in proportion to the cluster fruit mass , as is typical of the species . however , in comparison to the range of peduncle sizes of pawpaw cultivars , and relative to the total cluster fruit weight , the diameter is thin . peduncle pubescence dark brown to rufus , usually sparse , sometimes nearly glabrous . the point of peduncle attachment to single - fruited clusters is offset greatly from the central axis of the fruit , on the dorsal side of the fruit . skin color .— under - ripe fruit pale green and very glaucous , r . h . s . yellow - green 147d . ripe fruit pale yellowish green and very glaucous , r . h . s . yellow - green 145a . after the fruit passes its climacteric peak and falls from the tree , brown blotches appear which spread to cover the entire skin surface , as is typical for the species . color break .— not reliable . above noted color change too subtle and not reliably present to be a dependable guide to picking . fleshiness .— high . percent seed is 5 . 4 on average . the average quantity of pulp per seed is 26 . 1 gm . flavor .— very sweet , brix 18 %, mild , non - bitter , and non - astrigent . pungent asiminous component low . consistency .— very pleasant mouth - feel . flesh is slightly firmer than typical pawpaw , but melting in the mouth , with a very smooth , custardy texture . no detectable fiber or grit . use .— principally for fresh eating as a dessert fruit . secondarily in processed products . size .— large . 1 . 80 gm average weight . dimensions 26 . 1 mm long , 14 . 6 mm wide , 7 . 9 thick on average . number per fruit .— 8 per an average fruit of 260 gm . as fruit size varies greatly in pawpaw ( including this new variety ) the seed number per fruit is not a stable character , unlike the seed - to - fruit ratio ( percent seed ) which is stable . graftability .— very easy to graft by virtually all methods . percent take is medium for pawpaw , in vicinity of 75 %. habit of tree after grafting .— moderately invigorated . it appears that common seedling rootstocks have more vigor than the mother tree &# 39 ; s own roots . pruning .— the tree responds very well to pruning , without overly vigorous vegetative response . flowering and general vigor improved by pruning . flower count .— medium to high . average of 4 . 2 blossoms per branch on vigorous branches , but flower number varies considerably depending on the vigor of the branch . yields .— high . from mature trees approximately 30 lbs . of fruit per tree . at orchard densities of 330 trees per acre , this is 10 , 000 lbs per acre . keeping quality of fruit ( normal storage , 24 ° c . ).— short . three days when ripe . typical for the species . keeping quality of fruit ( cold storage , 2 ° c . ).— moderate . three weeks when picked under - ripe . shipping quality of fruit .— medium if shipped refrigerated with adequate cushioning . poor otherwise because of the rapid ripening , which is typical for the species . drought and heat tolerance .— good , similar to the species . drought tolerance superior to peach . hardiness .— fully hardy at queenstown location , usda zone 7 . believed hardy to zone 5 ( average annual minimum temperature − 30 ° c . ), the same as for the species . variance in botanical details : the pawpaw tree and its fruit described herein will vary due to climate , soils , growing conditions and culture . | 0 |
referring to fig1 to 13 , a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail as below . fig1 shows the arrangement of a black edge detecting section . the black edge detecting section comprises a edge detecting section 1 , a pixel color judging section 2 and a result synthesis section 3 . the edge detecting section 1 is supplied with m , c , y signals generated from signals read by a scanner not shown , and outputs edge detection results . the pixel color judging section 2 is also supplied with m , c and y signals and , outputs pixel color judgment results . the result synthesis section 3 is supplied with detection results of the edge detecting section 1 and judgment results of the pixel color judging section 2 , and outputs black edge detection results . in this embodiment , color filters disposed in the scanner are arranged in the order of b , g and r in the scanning direction , as shown in fig1 . the edge detecting section 1 comprises a black data generating section 11 , a first preprocess section 12 , a second preprocess section 13 , a ternary process section 14 and an edge judging section 15 . the black data generating section 11 obtains the minimum value min ( m , c , y ) of 8 - bit image data of m , c and y image data of 8 - bits , and outputs the minimum value thus obtained as black component data bk . the black component data ( bk ) is represented by the following formula ( 1 ). at the first preprocess section 12 , the black component data bk of each pixel is subject to a law - pass filtering process . a 3 × 3 integral filter shown in fig5 for example , is used to effect the low - pass filtering process on a target pixel . specifically , if the black component data bk of pixels in the 3 × 3 matrix with the target pixel at the center thereof are represented by a through i respectively , as shown in fig6 the black component data bk of the target pixel is converted into bk &# 39 ; ( first process data ) which is represented by the following formula ( 2 ). at the second preprocess section 13 , the first process data bk &# 39 ; obtained by the first preprocess section 12 is subject to an edge enhancement filtering process . for example , a 3 × 5 integral filter shown in fig7 is used to effect the edge enhancement filtering process on the target pixel . specifically , if the first process data bk &# 39 ; of pixels in the 3 × 5 matrix with the target pixel at the center thereof are represented by a through o respectively , the data bk of the target pixel is converted into bk &# 34 ; ( second process data ) which is represented by the following formula ( 3 ). at the ternary process section 14 , the second process data bk &# 34 ; of 8 bits obtained by the second preprocess section 13 are converted into ternary values by the use of two threshold values t1 and t2 ( t1 & gt ; t2 ). specifically , if bk &# 34 ;≧ t1 the target pixel is determined to be a high - density pixel . if bk &# 34 ;≦ t2 , it is determined to be a low - density pixel . if t2 & lt ; bk &# 34 ;& lt ; t1 , it is determined to be a gray scale pixel . these judgment results are represented by 2 - bit ternary data . ternary data of a high - density pixel is represented by tr ( h ); that of a low - density pixel , tr ( l ); and that of the gray scale pixel , tr ( m ). the threshold value t1 is set , for example , at 160 , while that of t2 is set , for example , at 50 . the edge judging section 15 performs an edge region judging process and a high - density edge region judging process . in the edge region judging process , if there are more than one high - density pixels ( tr ( h )) and low - density pixels ( tr ( l )) respectively in a 5 × 5 matrix region with a target pixel × at the center thereof , as shown in fig9 pixels in a 3 × 3 matrix region with the target pixel x at the center thereof are determined to be edge pixels . once any one of the pixels is determined to be an edge pixel by this edge region judgment process , the judgment result thereof is retained thereafter . in the high - density edge region judging process , if a pixel determined to be the edge pixel is either a high - density pixel ( tr ( h )) or a gray scale pixel ( tr ( m )), the pixel is determined to be a high - density edge pixel . judgment result data , ed ( e ), is outputted with respect to the high - density edge pixel , while judgment result data , ed ( n ), is outputted with respect to the other pixels . fig3 shows the arrangement of the pixel color judging section 2 . the pixel color judgment section 2 comprises a judging section 21 and a blurred color correcting section 22 . the judging section 21 performs a pixel color judging process based on m , c , y data for each pixel . specifically , a maximum density , max ( m , c , y ), and a color of maximum density , clmax ( m , c , y ), are first extracted from m , c , y data of a target pixel . further , a minimum density , min ( m , c , y ), and a color of minimum density , clmin ( m , c , y ), are extracted from the m , c , y data of the target pixel . then , a pixel color , cld , of the target pixel is determined based on the maximum density , max ( m , c , y ), and the minimum density , min ( m , c , y ), thereof . in the pixel color judging process , a color of the target pixel is selected from black ( black ), white ( white ), gray ( gray0 ), &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ;( gray1 ) and chromatic color ( color ). the pixel color judging process uses the following 5 threshold values . tbk : a threshold value for black , which is set to be , for example , from 160 to 170 . twh : a threshold value for white , which is set to be , for example from 30 to 40 . tglv : a threshold value for gray level , which is set , for example , at 70 . tgw0 : a threshold value for gray0 range , which is set , for example , at 30 . tgw1 : a threshold value ( tgw0 & lt ; tgw1 ) for gray1 range , which is set , for example , at 60 . ( ii ) if max ( m , c , y )≦ twh , it is judged that cld = white . ( iii ) if not applicable to the above condition ( i ) and if min ( m , c , y )≧ tg1v , and max ( m , c , y )- min ( m , c , y )≦ tgw0 , it is judged that cld = gray0 . ( iv ) if not applicable to the above condition ( i ) or ( iii ) and if min ( m , c , y )≧ tg1v , and max ( m , c , y )- min ( m , c , y )≦ tgw1 , it is judged that cld = gray1 . ( v ) if not applicable to conditions the above conditions ( i ) through ( iv ), it is judged that cld = color . as it is shown by the above - mentioned judgment conditions and judgment results , the judgment conditions for &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; ( gray1 ) is set less rigid than those for gray ( gray0 ). the judging section 21 outputs pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , gray1 , black ) and maximum density color data , clmax ( m , c , y ). at the blurred color correcting section 22 , blurred color correction is effected on a pixel judged to be &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; ( gray1 ) by the pixel color judging process , with reference to its adjacent pixels . the blurred color correction determines whether a pixel judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging process is in a black edge or not , referring to the pixels adjacent thereto ; if the pixel is in the black edge , the pixel color , cld , of the pixel is changed into &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; for correction , and otherwise into &# 34 ; color &# 34 ;. if a pixel n ( target pixel ) which judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in a black rising edge portion , as shown fig1 or 11 , the density relation of m , c , y signals of the target pixel n is c & gt ; m & gt ; y due to the arrangement of color filters . accordingly , the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of the target pixel n is cyan c . if a pixel n ( target pixel ) which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in a falling black edge , as shown in fig1 or 13 , the density relation of m , c , y signals of the target pixel n is y & gt ; m & gt ; c due to the arrangement of color filters . accordingly , the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of the target pixel n is yellow y . if a maximum density color , clmax ( c , m , y ), of a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is magenta m , it is determined that the target pixel n is not in a black edge , and the pixel color , cld , thereof is changed into &# 34 ; color &# 34 ; for correction . condition 1 is defined as that a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has the maximum density color clmax ( m , c , y ) of cyan c . if the condition 1 is satisfied , whether the target pixel is in a black rising edge or not is determined based on its adjacent pixels . if the target pixel n is in the black rising edge , as shown in fig1 , then the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof should satisfy the following condition 2 . the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side of the target pixel should satisfy the following condition 3a . if a pixel ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in the black rising edge of a thin line , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof should satisfy the following condition 3b . when a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color of cyan c ( satisfying the condition ( satisfying the condition 1 ), if the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof satisfies the above condition 2 and the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof satisfies the above condition 3 , then the target pixel n judged to be in the black rising edge portion , and thus the pixel color , cld , of the target pixel is changed from &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; for correction . if with the target pixel n satisfying the above condition 1 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 2 or the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 3 , it is judged that the target pixel n is not in the black rising edge and thus , the pixel color , cld , of the target pixel n is changed from &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; into &# 34 ; color &# 34 ; for correction . the condition 4 is defined as that a pixel ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of yellow y . if the condition 4 is satisfied , whether the target pixel is in a black falling edge or not is determined based on the pixels adjacent thereto . if a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in the black falling edge , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof should satisfy the following condition 5a . the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side of the target pixel should satisfy the following condition 6 . if a pixel ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in the black falling edge of a thin line as shown in fig1 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof should satisfy the following condition 5b . when a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of yellow y ( satisfying the condition 4 ), if the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof satisfies the above condition 5 and the next pixel (( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof satisfies the above condition 6 , then the target pixel n is judged to be in the black falling edge , and the pixel color , cld , thereof is changed from &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; into &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; for correction . if with the target pixel n satisfying the above condition 4 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 5 or the next pixel (( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 6 , it is judged that the target pixel n is not in the black falling edge , and the pixel color , cld , thereof is changed from &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; into &# 34 ; color &# 34 ; for correction . the pixel color judging section 2 outputs pixel color judgment result data , cld ( while , color , gray0 , black ). the result synthesis section 3 determines if a target pixel is a black edge pixel or not , based on edge detection result data , ed ( e , n ), applied by the edge detecting section 1 and pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , black ), applied by the pixel color judging section 2 . specifically , judged a black edge pixel , bed ( be ) is a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; black &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2 and which is judged to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 . the other pixels are determined to be non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ). in the above described embodiment , whether a pixel of a black edge is gray or not is determined with reference to its adjacent pixels , and considered are the characteristics of a pixel color and a maximum density color of the black edge which depend upon an arrangement order of color filters in the scanner . this permits correct judgment on the cld of gray of the black edge , thereby assuring correct judgment on the black edge . referring to fig1 to 17 , a second embodiment of the invention will be described in detail as below . fig1 illustrates the arrangement of a black edge detecting section . the black edge detecting section comprises an edge detecting section 1 , a pixel color judging section 2a and a result synthesis section 3a . the edge detecting section 1 and the pixel color judging section 2a are supplied with m , c , y signals which are generated from signals read by a scanner not shown . the result synthesis section 3a is supplied with detection results obtained by the edge detecting section 1 and judgment results made by the pixel color judging section 2a . it outputs black edge detection results . the color filters disposed in the scanner are arranged in the order of b , g and r in the scanning direction , as shown in fig1 . the arrangement of the edge detecting section 1 is the same with that of of the edge detecting section 1 of the first embodiment ( fig2 ), and therefore , the description thereof is omitted . fig1 illustrates the arrangement of the pixel color judging section 2a . the pixel color judging section 2a performs a pixel color judging process based on m , c , y data of each pixel . more specifically , a maximum density , max ( m , c , y ), and a color of the maximum density , clmax ( m , c , y ), are first extracted from the m , c , y data of a target pixel . additionally , a minimum density , min ( m , c , y ), and a color of the minimum density , clmin ( m , c , y ), are extracted from the m , c , y data of the target pixel . then , a pixel color , cld , of the target pixel is judged based on the maximum density max ( m , c , y ) and the minimum density , min ( m , c , y ), of the target pixel . in the pixel color judging process , a color of the target pixel is selected from black ( black ), white ( white ), gray ( gray0 ), &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; ( gray1 ) and chromatic color ( color ). the pixel color judging process uses the following 5 threshold values . tbk : a threshold value for black , which is set to be , for example , from 160 to 170 . twh : a threshold value for white , which is set to be , for example from 30 to 40 . tg1v : a threshold value for gray level , which is set , for example , at 70 . tgw0 : a threshold value for gray0 range , which is set , for example , at 30 . tgw1 : a threshold value ( tgw0 & lt ; tgw1 ) for gray1 range , which is set , for example , at 60 . ( iii ) if not applicable to the above condition ( i ), and if min ( m , c , y )≧ tg1v , and max ( m , c , y )- min ( m , c , y )≦, it is judged that cld = gray0 . ( iv ) if not applicable to the above condition ( i ) or ( iii ), and if min ( m , c , y )≧ tg1v , and max ( m , c , y )- min ( m , c , y )≦ tgw1 , it is judged that cld = gray1 . ( v ) if not applicable to the above conditions ( i ) through ( iv ), it is judged that cld = color . as it is indicated by the above judgment conditions and judgment results , the judgment conditions for &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; ( gray1 ) are set less rigid than those for gray ( gray0 ). the pixel color judging section 2a outputs pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , gray1 , black ), and maximum density color data , clmax ( m , c , y ). the result synthesis section 3 determines whether the target pixel is a black edge pixel or not based on edge detection result data , ed ( e , n ), applied by the edge detecting section 1 , and pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , gray1 , black ) and maximum density color data , clmax ( m , c , y ), applied by the pixel color judging section 2a . when the target pixel applies to one of the following three conditions a , b and c , it is judged that the pixel is a black edge pixel bed ( be ) and the other pixels are non - black edge pixels bed ( n ). a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; black &# 34 ; by the pixel judging section 2a and which is determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 . a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a , which is determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), and which has the maximum density color clmax ( m , c , y ) of cyan ( c ). a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a , which is judged to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 , and which has a maximum density color clmax ( m , c , y ) of yellow ( y ). the meaning of the above conditions b and c is described as below . the pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a and which is judged to be in an edge of high density , ed ( e ), includes both a black edge pixel and a non - black edge pixel . accordingly , in this example , whether the pixel is in an edge or not is determined based on the characteristics of m , c , y signals of the black edge , which depend upon an arrangement order of color filters ; if the pixel is in a black edge , it is determined to be a black edge pixel . more specifically , as shown in fig1 , a pixel in a black rising edge presents a density relation of m , c , y signals which is c & gt ; m & gt ; y . on the other hand , a pixel in a black falling edge presents a density relation of m , c , y signals which is y & gt ; m & gt ; c . accordingly , if a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; and which is judged to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 is in a black edge , then the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), thereof should be cyan ( c ) or yellow ( y ). thus , if a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; and which is determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of cyan ( c ) or yellow ( y )( condition b , c ), the pixel is judged to be in the edge , thus a black edge pixel , bed ( be ). in the aforementioned embodiment , when a judgment is made on whether a pixel is in a black edge or not , the pixel having been judged to be &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a and determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 , then considered are the characteristics of a maximum density color of the black edge , which depend upon an arrangement order of color filters . this permits correct judgment on the black edge . referring now to fig1 and 19 , a third embodiment of the invention will be described in detail as below . fig1 illustrates the arrangement of a black edge detecting section . the black edge detecting section comprises an edge detecting section 1 , a pixel color judging section 2a and a result synthesis section 3b . the edge detecting section 1 and the pixel color judging section 2a are supplied with m , c , y signals which are generated from signals read by a scanner not shown . the result synthesis section 3b is supplied with detection results obtained by the edge detecting section 1 and judgment results obtained by the pixel color judging section 2a . the result synthesis section 3b outputs black edge detection results . color filters in the scanner are arranged in the order of b , g and r in the scanning direction , as shown in fig1 . the arrangement of the edge detecting section 1 is the same with that of the edge detecting section 1 of the first embodiment ( fig2 ), and therefore , the description thereof is omitted . the arrangement of the pixel color judging section 2a is the same with that of the pixel color judging section 2a of the second embodiment ( fig1 ), and therefore , the description thereof is omitted . the result synthesis section 3b determines if a target pixel is a black edge pixel or not , based on edge detection result data , ed ( e , n ), applied by the edge detecting section 1 and pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , gray1 , black ), and maximum density color , data max ( m , c , y ), applied by the pixel color judging section 2a . ( i ) with respect to a pixel judged &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; black &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a , the pixel is determined to be a black edge pixel , bed ( be ), if it is judged to be in a high density edge ( ed = e ) by the edge detecting section 1 , whereas the pixel is determined to be a non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ) if it is not judged to be in a high density edge ( ed = e ) by the edge detecting section 1 . ( ii ) a pixel judged to be &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; ( gray1 ) by the pixel color judging section 2a is subject to blurred color correction with reference to the pixels adjacent thereto . in the blurred color correction , whether a pixel is in a black edge or not is judged with reference to the pixels adjacent thereto , which pixel has been judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a and has been determined in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 . if the pixel is in the black edge , it is determined to be a black edge pixel , bed ( be ), otherwise a non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ). if a pixel n ( target pixel ) which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; and determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), is in a black rising edge , as shown in fig1 or 11 , the density relation of m , c , y of the target pixel n is c & gt ; m & gt ; y due to the arrangement of color filters , and hence , the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of the target pixel n is cyan ( c ). if a pixel n ( target pixel ) which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; and determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), is in a black falling edge , as shown in fig1 or 13 , the density relation of m , c , y of the target pixel n is y & gt ; m & gt ; c , and hence , the maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of the target pixel n is yellow ( y ). if a pixel n ( target pixel ) which is judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of magenta ( m ), it is determined that the target pixel n is not in the black edge , and hence , it is a non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ). condition 1 is defined as that a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of cyan ( c ) and presents an edge detection result of high density edge , ed ( e ). if the condition 1 is satisfied , whether the target pixel is in a black rising edge or not is judged with reference to the pixels adjacent thereto . if the target pixel n is in the black rising edge , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof should satisfy the following condition 2 . the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side of the target pixel n should satisfy the following condition 3a . if a pixel ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in the rising edge of a thin line , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof should satisfy the following condition 3b . when a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of cyan ( c ) and an edge detection result of high density edge , ed ( e ),( satisfying the condition 1 ), if the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof satisfies the above condition 2 and the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof satisfies the above condition 3 , then the target pixel n is determined to be in the black rising edge , and hence , a black edge pixel , bed ( be ). if with the target pixel n satisfying the above condition 1 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 2 or the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 3 , it is determined that the target pixel n is not in the black rising edge , and hence , it is a non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ). condition 4 is defined as that a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of yellow ( y ) and an edge detection result of high density , ed ( e ). if the condition 4 is satisfied , whether a target pixel is in a falling edge or not is determined with reference to the pixels adjacent thereto . if the pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; is in a black falling edge , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel on the left side thereof ( n - 1 ) should satisfy the following condition 5a . whereas the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof should satisfy the following condition 6 . if a pixel judged ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray 1 &# 34 ; is in the falling edge of a thin line , as shown in fig1 , the next pixel on the left side thereof ( n - 1 ) should satisfy the following condition 5b . when a pixel n ( target pixel ) judged &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; has a maximum density color , clmax ( m , c , y ), of yellow ( y ) and an edge detection result of high density edge , ed ( e ),( satisfying the condition 4 ), if the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof satisfies the above condition 5 and the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof satisfies the above condition 6 , the target pixel n is determined to be in a black falling edge , and hence , a black edge pixel , bed ( be ). if , with the target pixel n satisfying the above condition 4 , the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 5 or the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof does not satisfy the above condition 6 , then it is determined that the target pixel is not in the black falling edge , and hence , it is a non - black edge pixel bed ( n ). in the above described embodiment , when a judgment is made on whether a pixel is in a black edge or not , the pixel having been judged to be &# 34 ; assumed - to - be - gray &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2a and determined to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 , then considered are the characteristics of a maximum density color of the black edge , which depend upon an arrangement order of color filters . this permits a correct judgment on the black edge . referring now to fig2 and 21 , a fourth embodiment of the invention will be described in detail as below . fig2 illustrates the arrangement of a black edge detecting section . the black edge detecting section comprises an edge detecting section 1 , a pixel color judging section and a result synthesis section 3c . the edge detecting section 1 and the pixel color judging section 2 are supplied with m , c , y signals generated from signals read by a scanner not shown . the result synthesis section 3c is supplied with detection results obtained by the edge detecting section 1 and judgment results obtained by the pixel color judging section 2 . the result synthesis section 3c outputs black edge detection results . color filters provided in the scanner are arranged in the order of b , g and r in the scanning direction , as shown in fig1 . the arrangement of the edge detecting section 1 is the same with that of the edge detecting section 1 of the first embodiment ( fig2 ), and therefore the description thereof is omitted . the arrangement of the pixel color judging section 2 is the same with that of the pixel color judging section 2 of the first embodiment ( fig3 ), and therefore , the description thereof is omitted . the result synthesis section 3c comprises a black edge pixel detecting section 31 , and a detecting section 32 for edge adjacent blurred color pixel . the black edge pixel detecting section 31 determines if a target pixel is a black edge pixel or not according to edge detection result data , ed ( e , n ), applied by the edge detecting section 1 and pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , gray1 , black ), applied by the pixel color judging section 2 . more specifically , judged a black edge pixel , bed ( be ), is a pixel which is judged &# 34 ; gray0 &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; gray1 &# 34 ; by the pixel color judging section 2 and which is judged to be in a high density edge , ed ( e ), by the edge detecting section 1 . the other pixels are determined to be non - black edge pixels , bed ( n ). ( d - 2 ) detecting section 32 for edge adjacent blurred color pixel in the detecting section 32 for edge adjacent blurred color pixel , judgment is made on whether a target pixel is a pixel ( edge adjacent blurred color pixel ) in a boundary portion between a black edge and a white or chromatic colored base , with reference to black edge detection result data , bed ( be , n ), applied by the black edge pixel detecting section 31 as well as pixel color judgment result data , cld ( white , color , gray0 , black ), and maximum density color data , clmax ( m , c , y ), which are applied by the pixel color judging section 2 . a reason for judging on an edge adjacent blurred color pixel is to enhance a black edge . specifically , the respective m , c , y signals of a pixel judged an edge adjacent blurred color pixel are uniformalized to the minimum value , min ( m , c , y ), thereof , thereby to reduce the density of a boundary portion between the black edge and the base portion , and thus the black edge is enhanced . when a target pixel and its adjacent pixels satisfy the following condition a or b , the target pixel is determined to be an edge adjacent blurred color pixel , bed ( en ). the condition a is for determining if the target pixel is an edge adjacent blurred color pixel of a boundary portion between a black rising edge and a base portion ( corresponding to a pixel ( n - 1 ) in fig1 ). the condition b is for determining if a target pixel is an edge adjacent blurred color pixel of a boundary portion between a black falling edge and a base portion ( corresponding to a pixel ( n + 1 ) in fig1 ). 1 ) that a target pixel n presents the black edge pixel judgment result of non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ), the pixel color judgment result of chromatic color ( color ) and the maximum density color of cyan ( c ); 2 ) that the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof presents the black edge judgment result of non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ), and the pixel color judgment result of white ( white ) or chromatic color ( color ); and 3 ) that the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof presents the black edge judgment result of black edge pixel , bed ( be ). 1 ) that a target pixel n presents the black edge pixel judgment result of non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ), the pixel color judgment result of chromatic color ( color ) and the maximum density color of yellow ( y ); 2 ) that the next pixel ( n - 1 ) on the left side thereof presents the black edge pixel judgment result of black edge pixel , bed ( be ); and 3 ) that the next pixel ( n + 1 ) on the right side thereof presents the black edge judgment result of non - black edge pixel , bed ( n ), and the pixel color judgment result of white ( white ) or chromatic color ( color ). in the above described embodiment , whether a pixel of a black edge is gray or not is determined with reference to its adjacent pixels , and considered are the characteristics of a pixel color and a maximum density color of the black edge , which correspond to an arrangement order of color filters in the scanner . thus , correct judgment on a gray pixel of the black edge is assured , thereby permitting a correct judgment on the black edge . additionally , the above described embodiment detects an edge adjacent blurred color pixel and therefore , by effecting a predetermined process on the m , c and y signals of the edge adjacent blurred pixel thus detected , the black edge can be enhanced . | 7 |
fig1 depicts an example of a multi - layer woven fabric 10 in accordance with the invention . the fabric 10 includes a first yarn system in the form of a plurality of warp yarns 12 . the warp yarns 12 extend in relatively straight fashion along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 in a common direction &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;. the warp yarns 12 are arranged into a plurality of warp layers or sheets 14 . the warp sheets 14 , portions of several of which are illustrated by dotted lines in fig1 are of generally planar configuration and are disposed in generally parallel , spaced - apart relation between a pair of opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 of the fabric 10 . the distance between the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 defines the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; is in a direction which is generally perpendicular to the common direction &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; of the warp yarns 12 along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . in addition to the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 , the fabric 10 has a pair of opposite side surfaces 20 and 22 the distance between which defines the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; extends in a direction which is generally perpendicular to both the direction of the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; and the common direction &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; of the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ;. in addition to the warp yarns 12 , the fabric 10 includes fill yarns 24 which are basically comprised of fill weaver yarns 26 . the fill weaver yarns 26 repeatedly extend through the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 between the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . in the example of fig1 each of the fill weaver yarns 26 extends through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 and does so repeatedly as it extends across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . the fill weaver yarns 26 form fill yarns planes or fill sheets 28 which extend back and forth across the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 in zigzag fashion and which form acute angles with the generally planar warp sheets 14 and with the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 . the fill yarns 24 of the fabric 10 may also include fill stuffer yarns 30 , four of which are shown in fig1 . each of the fill stuffer yarns 30 extends across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 in relatively straight fashion so as to be disposed between an adjacent pair of the warp sheets 14 . as described hereafter in connection with fig2 the fabric 10 of fig1 can be woven using conventional weaving apparatus such as a fly shuttle loom with a jacquard machine . nonetheless , the fabric 10 differs from conventional multi - layer woven fabrics in that the warp yarns 12 of the fabric 10 extend along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 in relatively straight , generally continuous fashion while the fill yarns 24 form the weavers which undulate over and under the individual warp yarns 12 and which extend between the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 of the fabric 10 through the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . such an arrangement provides certain advantages which will become more apparent from the following discussions . thus , the fabric 10 is provided with substantial strength in the direction &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; of the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; due to the fact that the warp yarns 12 extend in relatively straight , generally continuous fashion along the length . lateral rigidity across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 can be provided where desired by the fill stuffer yarns 30 which extend in relatively straight , generally continuous fashion across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . and , of course , strength in the direction of the thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; is provided by the fact that the fill yarns 24 extend continuously as well as repeatedly through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . as should be appreciated , the terms &# 34 ; length &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; width &# 34 ; as they are used in rlation to the fabric 10 are consistent with conventionally used nomenclature where fabric length is the diemsnion of the fabric in the warp direction and fabric width is the diemsnion of the fabric in the fill direction . as described hereafter , fabrics of the type shown in fig1 and woven in accordance with the invention may be woven in configurations not previously possible . as described in connection with fig3 - 5 , for example , such fabrics may be woven with a slot in the thickness thereof which extends across part but not all of the width and which extends along the entire length of the fabric . fig2 shows a conventional jacquard loom 40 which is one example of conventional weaving apparatus that may be used to weave fabrics in accordance with the invention including the fabric 10 of fig1 . the loom 40 shown in fig2 includes a central weaving area 42 through which a shuttle 44 repeatedly passes in reciprocating fashion to dispose the fill yarn 24 therein . the loom 40 has a plurality of harness lines 46 which are individually controllable by an overhead jacquard machine 48 in accordance with a program and which extend downwardly into the weaving area 42 . each of the harness lines 46 controls a different one of the warp yarns 12 via an attached heddle 49 having an eyelet through which the warp yarn passes . the warp yarns 12 are arranged into the various warp yarn sheets 14 as they extend through the weaving area 42 . the warp sheets 14 define the relatively thin , generally planar form of the fabric 10 being woven including the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 and the side surfaces 20 and 22 . the warp yarns 12 are gradually advanced through the weaving area 42 , and the shuttle 44 repeatedly traverses the weaving area 42 , in conventional fashion . in accordance with the invention , however , the action of the harness lines 46 is programmed so that the warp yarns 12 are raised and lowered as necessary to achieve the appropriate fabric configurations such as the fabric 10 of fig1 . although the fill yarn 24 is laid in straight with each pass of the shuttle 44 through the weaving area 42 , the fill yarn 24 eventually assumes the zig - zag configuration shown in fig1 due to raising and lowering and proper tensioning of the warp yarns 12 to provide shedding action . in weaving the fabric 10 of fig1 a different one of the harness lines 46 is coupled to each of the warp yarns 12 via an attached one of the heddles 49 . with each pass of the shuttle 44 through the weaving area 42 which results in the zig - zag configuration shown in fig1 across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 , the harness lines 46 are controlled in accordance with the predetermined program of the jacquard machine 48 to dispose the warp yarns 12 above and below the passing shuttle 44 and the included bobbin of fill yarn 24 dispensed therefrom . at least one of the warp yarns 12 within each warp sheet 14 is positioned above the shuttle 44 and at least one of the warp yarns 12 within the same sheet 14 is positioned below the shuttle 44 . typically , a plurality of the warp yarns 12 within a given warp sheet 14 are positioned on one side of the shuttle 44 with the remaining warp yarns 12 within the warp sheet 14 being positioned on the opposite side of the shuttle 44 as the shuttle 44 carries the fill yarn 24 through the weaving area 42 . the fill yarns 24 repeatedly extend through at least a portion of the thickness of the fabric comprised of two or more warp sheets , and in the example of fig1 the fill yarn 24 repeatedly extends through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 . the fill stuffer yarns 30 of the fabric 10 of fig1 are formed using selected passes of the shuttle 44 through the weaving area 42 of the loom 40 . when a fill stuffer yarn 30 is to be formed , the harness lines 46 are programmed to position all of the warp yarns 12 within each warp sheet 14 either above or below the shuttle 44 as shown in fig1 . this enables the shuttle 44 and the included fill yarn 24 to pass through an adjacent pair of the warp sheets 14 and thereby form one of the fill stuffer yarns 30 . during formation of the fill weaver yarns 26 however , the harness lines 46 must position the warp yarns 12 of each warp sheet 14 above and below the shuttle 44 in accordance with the predetermined program so that the desired zig - zag configuration of the fill weaver yarns 26 across the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 is accomplished . a conventional shuttle loom without a jacquard machine can be used in place of the loom 40 shown in fig2 to weave fabrics in accordance with the invention . however , most conventional shuttle looms without a jacquard machine do not have the capacity to weave fabrics of the size or complexity that are typically desired . because a separate warp harness is required for each warp yarn 12 , even the relatively simple fabric 10 shown in fig1 would exceed the warp harness capacity of most conventional shuttle looms . on the other hand , only a relatively small number of fill picks are required to form the fill weaver yarns 26 , before the pattern repeats . for this reason , the conventional jacquard loom with its relatively large number of harness lines 46 is better suited to the weaving of fabrics in accordance with the invention . it will be seen that the length of multi - layer woven fabrics in accordance with the invention such as the fabric 10 is defined by the direction of the warp yarns 12 . because the warp yarns 12 are advanced through the loom 40 from front to rear during the weaving process and are of potentially unlimited length , the length of the fabric is potentially unlimited . on the other hand the width of the fabric , which in the case of the fabric 10 is defined by the distance &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; between the opposite side surfaces 20 and 22 , is limited by the width and the capacity of the loom 40 used to weave the fabric . the cross - sectional configuration of the fabric between the opposite side surfaces 20 and 22 and between the opposite broad surfaces 16 and 18 can be and normally is uniform throughout the potentially unlimited length of the fabric . this is taken advantage of in accordance with the invention in the weaving of certain fabric configurations such as a fabric having a slot within a portion of the thickness thereof , which slot extends along the entire length of the fabric . such a fabric is shown in fig3 . fig3 shows a slotted , multi - layer woven fabric 50 having a slot 52 within the thickness thereof , which slot 52 extends along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 . the fabric 50 has a thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; between opposite broad surfaces 54 and 56 thereof and a width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; between opposite side surfaces 58 and 60 thereof . the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 has an intermediate portion 62 thereof along which the slot 52 extends . the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; also has opposite end portions 64 and 66 extending between opposite ends of the slot 52 and the opposite side surfaces 58 and 60 . as described hereafter in connection with fig5 the fabric 50 is comprised of a plurality of warp yarns 68 which extend along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric in essentially the same manner that the warp yarns 12 extend along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 10 of fig1 . the fabric 50 also includes fill yarns 70 which extend across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; in zig - zag fashion and which are interwoven with the warp yarns 68 . unlike the fabric 10 of fig1 in which the fill yarns 24 repeatedly extend through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric , the fill yarns 70 do not extend through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 along the intermediate portion 62 . instead , the fill yarns 70 divide into two groups which are disposed on opposite sides of the slot 52 along the intermediate portion 62 . a first such group of the fill yarns 70 extends between the broad surface 54 and the slot 52 , while a second group of the fill yarns 70 extends between the opposite broad surface 56 and the slot 52 . the fill yarns 70 extend through the entire thickness &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 along the opposite end portions 64 and 66 . fig4 illustrates the manner in which the slotted , multi - layer woven fabric 50 of fig3 can be advantageously used . after weaving of the fabric 50 , the fabric 50 is cut along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; thereof between the upper broad surface 54 and the slot 52 . a dotted line 72 shown in fig3 indicates where the fabric 50 is cut . cutting the fabric 50 along the dotted line 72 divides the portion of the fabric 50 between the upper broad surface 54 and the slot 52 into an opposite pair of flaps 74 and 76 shown in fig4 . because the fabric 50 is flexible , the flaps 74 and 76 which extend along the entire length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 and which are shown in fig4 as being generally parallel to one another can be bent to virtually any orientation desired relative to the remainder of the fabric 50 . when bent to an angle of approximately 90 ° relative to the remainder of the fabric 50 as shown in fig4 and then stiffened , the flaps 74 and 76 are particularly useful in preventing flexure of the fabric 50 along the length hereof . the sectional side elevation of fig5 comprises the left hand position of the thickness of the fabric 50 of fig3 including a left hand portion of the intermediate portion 62 and the end portion 66 . the right hand portion of the thickness of the fabric 50 is of like configuration and is omitted from fig5 for simplicity of illustration . as shown in fig5 the warp yarns 68 of the fabric 50 are arranged into a plurality of generally planar warp sheets 78 disposed in spaced - apart , generally parallel relation between the opposite broad surfaces 54 and 56 . several of the warp sheets 78 are represented by dotted lines in fig5 . the warp yarns 68 extend along the length &# 34 ; l &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 . one of the warp sheets 78 comprises a warp sheet 80 which is the fourth warp sheet down from the upper broad surface 54 . as shown in fig5 the warp sheet 80 is unlike the other warp sheets 78 in that it extends only through the end portion 66 . the warp sheet 80 terminates at the end of the slot 52 , and the interface between those portions of the warp sheets 78 adjacent and on opposite sides of the warp sheet 80 which are disposed on opposite sides of the slot 52 defines the slot 52 . as shown in fig5 the fill yarns 70 principally comprise fill weaver yarns 82 . the fill weaver yarns 82 extend in zig - zag fashion between the opposite broad surfaces 54 and 56 across the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 . the fill weaver yarns 82 extend through the entire thickness of the fabric 50 within the end portion 66 and within the opposite end portion 64 . along the slot 52 however , the fill weaver yarns 82 are divided into a first group 84 thereof and a second group 86 thereof . the first group 84 of the fill weaver yarns 82 repeatedly extends between the upper broad surface 54 and the slot 52 along the intermediate portion 62 of the fabric 50 . the second group 86 of the fill weaver yarns 82 repeatedly extends between the opposite lower broad surface 56 and the slot 52 along the intermediate portion 62 of the fabric 50 . because the fill weaver yarns 82 do not cross the interface between the adjacent warp sheets 78 on opposite sides of the slot 52 , the slot 52 is maintained . as shown in fig5 some of the fill yarns 70 comprise fill stuffer yarns 88 . the fill stuffer yarns 88 extend along the width &# 34 ; w &# 34 ; of the fabric 50 in relatively straight fashion and are disposed between adjacent pairs of the warp sheets 80 . as in the case of the fabric 10 of fig1 the slotted , multi - layer woven fabric 50 of fig3 - 5 may be woven using conventional weaving apparatus such as the jacquard loom 40 of fig2 . the warp yarns 68 are disposed so as to extend through the central weaving area 42 of the loom 40 in a configuration which generally defines the relatively flat , generally planar shape of the fabric 50 between the opposite broad surfaces 54 and 56 and the opposite side surfaces 58 and 60 . each of the warp yarns 68 passes through and is controlled by the heddle attached to a different one of the harness lines 46 . as the shuttle 44 traverses the central weaving area 42 to lay in the fill yarn 70 which is dispensed therefrom , the warp yarns 68 are individually raised and lowered by the associated harness lines 46 to dispose the warp yarns 68 either above or below the shuttle 44 . the jacquard machine of the loom 40 is programmed in a manner similar to that used to weave the fabric 10 of fig1 during the weaving of the end portions 64 and 66 of the fabric 50 . during the weaving of the intermediate portion 62 however , the program is effective in holding all of the warp yarns 68 within the top three warp sheets 80 above the second group 86 of the fill weaver yarns 82 . conversely , all of the warp yarns 68 within the bottom ten warp sheets 78 which are below the slot 52 are held beneath the first group 84 of the fill weaver yarns 82 . within the first and second groups 84 and 86 of the fill weaver yarns 82 , the warp yarns 68 in the adjacent portions of the warp sheets 78 are individually controlled by the harness lines 46 to produce the zig - zag weaving configuration shown , on opposite sides of the slot 52 . again , while any conventional loom apparatus such as a conventional shuttle loom can be used to weave a slotted fabric in accordance with the invention such as the slotted fabric 50 of fig3 - 5 , a loom equipped with a jacquard machine is preferred because of the large number of harness lines typically provided . in the case of the fabric 50 , for example , there are 1980 warp yarns for each repeat , requiring 1980 harness lines . on the other hand , only 21 picks of the shuttle 44 are required to lay in the fill yarns 70 during each repeat of the pattern . while there have been described above and illustrated in the drawings a number of variations , modifications and alternative forms , it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention defined by the appended claims includes all forms comprehended thereby . | 3 |
the present invention is realized first by fabricating a two - dimensional array of display elements wherein the rows and columns of the array have non - uniform spacing according to one or more predetermined functions . the display elements may be any useful type of display element appropriate for the desired application , such as visible light emitters and reflectors ( bulbs , leds , tfts , lcd ). in some applications , electromagnetic emitters operable in other parts of the spectrum , such as infrared ( ir ), x - ray , etc ., may be employed . further , the method of the invention may be applied to the line or row - position control on a crt to reduce the appearance of discrete lines in the display . turning to fig4 the two - dimensional array ( 40 ) of display elements ( 11 ) of the preferred embodiment is shown . a grid ( 41 ) has been overlaid on this view to more clearly illustrated the non - uniform nature of the pixel - to - pixel spacing in both axes . while the grid ( 41 ) may have uniform x - axis and y - axis arrangement ( d 3 and d 4 ), the actual spaces between the sensors is non - uniform , as is shown in more detail in fig5 . in fig5 a number of uniformly spaced datum points ( 501 , 502 , 503 , . . . ) are shown , each with an associated display element ( 11 ). each display element is offset in two axes from the datum point . for example , a first pixel ( 11 ) is offset in the x - axis from a first datum point ( 501 ) by δ x 1 ( delta - x - one ), and in the y - axis by δ y 1 ( delta - y - one ). similarly , a second pixel may be offset from a second datum point ( 502 ) by δ x 2 and δ y 2 , a third pixel from a third datum point ( 503 ) by δ x 3 and δ y 3 , and so forth . if these offset values were all equal or even multiples of a common denominator , moiré effects may be apparent for features in the image which “ resonate ”, interfere with or match the common denominator or standard spacing . however , the spacing between adjacent sensors in the x and y axes are non - uniform , which avoids the physical creation of a “ frequency ” in the sampling operation . these non - uniform offset values are preferrably generated by well - defined functions f x ( n ) and f y ( n ) such as a short pseudo - random patterns or sequences , nonlinear mathematical functions which have broad spectral or harmonic content ( e . g . ramp , square or sawtooth functions ), or a predictable process such as a cyclic redundancy check (“ crc ”) polynomial . the function used to determine the sensor - to - sensor spacing of the sensors within a row ( e . g . the column - to - column spacing in the x - axis ) of the two - dimensional array can be generally expressed as : position of sensor at column c = c · p col — std + f x ( n ) as well as the sensor - to - sensor spacing within a column ( e . g . the row - to - row spacing in the y - axis ): position of sensor at row r = r · p row — std + f y ( n ) where p col — std is the standard or uniform spacing between columns of sensors , p row — std is the standard or uniform spacing between columns of sensors , n is the number of the pixel in the array ( e . g . n =( c − 1 ) + r ), and f x and f y are functions which provide x - axis and y - axis position offset values in a non - uniform manner . according to the preferred embodiment , a crc process is used to generate the pseudo - random display element position offset values , as this avoids the need for large look up tables and only requires three parameters to “ seed ” the determination of all the offset values . while the intermediate results of a crc process produce a sequence of numbers which are pseudo - random in nature ( e . g . non - uniform ), crc processes are entirely predictable in that when they are performed over the same set of data , they yield exactly the same set of intermediate values . therefore , a predictable and repeatable number generator can be implemented by seeding a crc process with an initial crc value , and then recirculating the data through the algorithm for n iterations , each iteration of the process generating an intermediate value which can be converted into an offset value for display element position n . then , to recreate the sequence of offset values for a given array , the process must only be provided the crc xor polynomial , the “ seed ” value , and the conversion method for extracting an offset value from the crc value at each iteration . table 1 shows the pseudocode for such a crc process , in which an initial crc value is used to start the process . then , in each iteration of the offset determination , the current value of the crc is exclusive - or &# 39 ; ed on a bitwise basis with a polynomial , and an offset value is extracted from the modified crc . this offset value for the n th iteration is the offset value for the n th display element , where n =( c − 1 )+ r . the offset value is preferrably extracted from the crc value by taking certain bits from the crc value ( e . g . b 6 , b 4 , b 3 , and b 1 of an 8 - bit crc ), and concatenating them to yield an offset value in binary format . then , this offset value can be scaled to range within an acceptable physical offset deviation in either axis . next , the modified crc value is barrel shifted left ( e . g . shifted to the left whereby the most significant bit is moved to the least significant bit ) until a “ 1 ” is obtained in the least significant bit of the crc . this shifted version of the crc becomes the crc value to be xor &# 39 ; ed in the next iteration for pixel n + 1 . this type of process can be used to generate the x - axis offsets as well as the y - axis offsets . preferably , different seed values are used for x - axis offsets and y - axis offsets to provide a more random and non - uniform distribution of the sensors . for example , consider a two - dimensional array of tft display elements such as a 284 by 480 pixel display having a pixel - to - pixel spacing in both x - and y - axes of 0 . 974 mm . also , assume that the display elements are 0 . 400 square , and that they cannot be placed closer to each other than 0 . 174 mm to maintain manufacturability , routing of control signals , etc . this provides for a maximum deviation in the x - axis or the y - axis from a standard grid position of 0 . 974 − 0 . 300 − 0 . 174 = 0 . 500 mm for a non - uniformly distributed array of display elements according to the present invention . to realize a non - uniformly distributed two - dimensional array of similar resolution ( e . g . same number of pixels where n = 754 * 244 = 183 , 976 ) in this example , a pseudo - random non - uniform number function ( psnuf ) is defined using an 8 - bit wide crc ( b 7 b 6 b 5 b 4 b 3 b 2 b 1 b 0 with b 7 being the most significant bit ) seed value of b ′ 11010010 ( h ′ d2 ) for the x - axis offset , a seed value of b ′ 10110111 ( h ′ b7 ) for the y - axis offset , and an xor polynomial of b ′ 10011011 ( h ′ 9b ), where b ′ denotes binary notation and h denote hexadecimal notation . further , the offset values in this practical example may be determined by “ tapping ” and concatenating b 6 b 4 b 3 b 1 from the crc value in the n th iteration for the sensor n to produce a 4 - bit offset value ranging non - uniformly between and including 0 and 15 in decimal notation . in this example , we may use offset values 0 through 7 to represent left and down offsets from the standard grid , and values 8 through 15 to represent right and up offsets from the standard grid . alternatively , another bit from the crc could be tapped as a sign bit , with left / down offsets being negative and right / up being positive , etc . finally , the offset values are scaled to fit the maximum allowable offset range . in this example , if the display array fabrication process requires a minimum spacing of 0 . 174 mm , and the variance from uniform center spacing which is allowable is 0 . 500 mm , the scaling process of table 2 can be employed to determine the physical offset of a particular sensor . so , in this example , the first few x - axis offset values given the x - axis seed value , polynomial and tap bits , would be 10 , 7 , 9 , 13 , 9 , 7 , 15 , etc ., for the first , second , third , etc ., sensors . after scaling , the physical x - axis offsets would be right 0 . 1875 mm left 0 . 4375 mm , right 0 . 125 mm , right 0 . 375 mm , etc ., for the first , second , third , etc ., sensors . for the y - axis offset values , the first few offset values ( using the y - axis seed value ) would be 2 , 15 , 11 , 1 , 3 , 11 , 4 , 7 , etc ., for the first , second , third , etc ., sensors , which scales to down 0 . 125 mm , up 0 . 500 mm , up 0 . 250 mm , down 0 . 0625 mm , down 0 . 1875 mm , etc . employing such a distribution function , a new two - dimensional array is preferrably fabricated with the non - uniformly spaced display elements according to the non - uniform functions f x and f y , instead of the uniform spacing of prior art display arrays . this is preferrably done in the display array design and layout , such as the phase of design of a tft array . this allows for the manufactured array or panel to incorporate the display elements with the x - axis spacing of the function f x and y - axis spacing of the function f y , such that when it is used for image display , moiré patterns will not form in the apparent image . so , in a first aspect of the present invention , the physical design or “ layout ” of a digital display such as an lcd or tft display is realized with the display elements non - uniformly arranged according to a well - defined function . preferably , this design is then repeatable in manufacturing such that each “ model ” of display is known to have a certain non - uniform distribution function or functions with which it is arranged . these distribution functions are , then , a known characteristic of the display , which can be used to generate appropriate brightness values for each pixel in the new display according to the logical process shown in fig6 . an image set ( 62 ) to be displayed may be of two general types : a data set representing image samples taken in a uniformly spaced sensor array , or a data set representing image samples taken from a non - uniformly spaced sensor array ( such as the image sensors of the related patent applications ). in the case of the former data set type ( 63 ) such as a bit map , jpeg or mpeg data file , interpolation ( 64 ) can be used to determine each pixel value in the non - uniformly spaced display array from the uniformly - spaced data sample . for example , a pixel at position x = 214 and y = 552 may be linearly interpolated by using the surrounding data values in the uniformly - spaced data set . if , for example , f x ( 214 ) is positive ( display element is to the right of the standard grid point 71 ) and f y ( 552 ) is negative ( display element is below the standard grid point 71 ), the data set pixel value at ( 214 , 552 ) and ( 214 + 1 , 552 − 1 ) or ( 215 , 551 ) may be used for the interpolation of the actual pixel value on the display , as shown in fig7 . in such a case , simple linear interpolation between the two values for pixels ( 214 , 552 ) and ( 215 , 551 ) could be performed to determine the pixel value in the non - uniformly spaced display array . in a more advanced implementation , multiple direction interpolation , such as cubic spline interpolation , between multiple surrounding data values ( 214 , 552 ), ( 215 , 552 ), ( 214 , 551 ) and ( 215 , 551 ) could be performed to generate an even more accurate value for the pixel in the non - uniformly spaced display array . if the nature of the data set ( e . g . the nature of the originating sensor and signal types ) indicate nonlinear response , then nonlinear estimation of the data value can be employed according to the application requirements . this , for example , may be indicated for other types of spectra , such as x - ray or magnetic resonance imaging applications . one the value of each pixel has been determined , it may be applied ( 65 ) to the display elements themselves to reproduce the image , albeit by illuminating non - uniformly arranged display elements thereby avoiding the appearance of moiré patterns in the reproduced image . returning to the process of fig6 if the data set ( 62 ) does not represent a set of image samples from a uniformly - spaced sensor array ( e . g . the data set was produced using the methods and systems of the related patent applications ), a check ( 66 ) to see if the non - uniform spacing functions of the sensor array and the display array match . it is possible that an industry standard non - uniform spacing function could be adopted such that imaging sensors ( e . g . cameras , scanners , etc .) and display ( lcds , tfts , etc .) could employ the same nonlinear spacing functions in their designs , such as a standard crc polynomial function . in such a case , the data set may be displayed directly onto the non - uniformly arranged array of display elements ( 65 ) without further processing , interpolation or estimation . if the non - uniform functions of the sensor and the display do not match , then interpolation or estimation may be performed ( 67 ) as previously discussed using two or more adjacent data values to each display element . returning to our example of a line in an image to be displayed which is just off perfect horizontal or vertical alignment ( e . g . 3 °, 87 °, etc . ), one advantage of the invention is readily apparent in that this feature in the image would not regularly interfere with the pattern of the non - uniformly spaced display elements . in a partially - digital display arrangement such as a crt , only the digital axis need be handled according to the non - uniform function ( e . g . the y - axis or vertical axis ), and the x - axis may be displayed according to the current technology . this would have the effect on a crt of changing the straight horizontal scan lines of the current displays to non - uniformly varied ( e . g . “ squiggly ”) horizontal scan paths . in the example of displaying a horizontal line in an image such as a sports field marker on a television , it is readily apparent that the display of the present invention would not have a noticeable interference pattern with the line in the image . while certain details of a preferred embodiment have been disclosed , and certain examples have been given to illustrate the invention in a more understandable manner , it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that the spirit and scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples and embodiment details . for example , certain terms including x - axis , y - axis , left , right , above and below , have been adopted to provide a useful frame of reference . these terms , however , should not be interpreted in a limiting manner , as other terms such as horizontal / vertical , radial / angular , north / south / east / west , etc ., can be used to describe the invention in other but equivalent frames of reference . further , the invention may be employed for a wide range of information gathering and imaging applications , not just photographic and visible spectrum imaging , such as magnetic resonance imaging , radar and sonar imaging , etc . therefore , the scope of the present invention should be determined by the following claims . | 6 |
research has found that the most common cause of death of unborn children in the u . s . is automobile accidents . not only is the risk of a crash the same for the fetus as for the pregnant mother , but the risk of injury is much higher , so that according to the present invention a protection device is provided , which is to offer the unborn child in particular optimum protection in the event of an accident . the first prerequisite for protecting the unborn child is a sensor for recognizing women in an advanced stage of pregnancy . such a sensor may measure the breathing and heart frequencies , for example . because only one breathing pattern but two heartbeats are to be measured for an expectant mother , a pregnant woman may thus be recognized . a vibration sensor , for example , a piezoelectric vibration sensor , is preferably used for this purpose . in the event of a frontal , rear , and side crash , the unborn child may suffer injuries or death due to the force exerted by the lap belt and sometimes also by the shoulder belt , as well as by the steering wheel rim on the mother &# 39 ; s abdomen . if a pregnant woman is detected according to the present invention , no seat belt locking and no seat belt tensioning is to take place in the event of a frontal , rear or side crash . the submarining effect , i . e ., slipping through the seat belt , must be prevented by the deployment of the knee bag and the early deployment of a less aggressive , i . e ., soft , airbag , including on the backrests of the front seats for pregnant women sitting in the rear . extended protection may be provided by “ inflatable carpets ” for expectant mothers sitting in the front seat . for the pregnant woman driving the vehicle , the steering wheel must additionally be retracted toward the front , preferably by a pyrotechnical actuator to obtain more clearance between the mother and the hard steering wheel parts . a suitably shaped airbag may also softly cushion the surface of the steering wheel including the steering wheel rim . in the event of a rollover , seat belt locking should also be disabled ; however , the lap belt should preferably be tensioned using a power belt tensioner after the vehicle has reached the stability roll angle of approximately 50 ° and the pregnant woman has been somewhat lifted off the seat . impact of the pregnant woman &# 39 ; s head against the roof must be avoided in the event of a rollover . the lap belt then presses against the woman &# 39 ; s thighs , rather than her abdomen . seat belts are nowadays mostly locked using a mechanical sensor in the belt retractor , which acts directly upon the locking mechanism . such sensors are no longer to be used for protecting the unborn child . there are also electronic inclination and position sensors in which the principle of measurement is the change in the magnetic flux [ measured using ] a magnetic hall system or with an optical system . such a sensor could be used centrally in the vehicle for electrical triggering of all seat belt locking devices . if the presence of a pregnant woman is detected , the corresponding seat belt is not locked . the airbag is deployed and the deployment of the seat belt tensioner is prevented in the event of a longitudinal or transverse impact , and the lap belt tensioner is triggered in the event of rollovers using the existing airbag deployment device using the triggering thresholds adjusted to the requirements of optimum protection for pregnant women . these thresholds are also modified as a function of time . the same holds true for activation of the steering wheel retractor . fig1 shows as a block diagram the protection device according to the present invention . a sensor 1 for detection of the pregnant woman is connected to a processor 2 in the airbag control unit . sensor 1 is connected here to processor 2 via a two - wire line , i . e ., data is only transmitted from sensor 1 to processor 2 . as an alternative , a bus connection may also be provided between sensor 1 and processor 2 . a simple bidirectional transmission link may also be provided here . sensor 1 is a vibration sensor which works by the piezoelectric principle . it is therefore capable of detecting the pulse frequency and the breathing frequency of individuals in the passenger compartment . sensor 1 is positioned so that it only registers the pulse frequency and breathing frequency of the individual sitting in a particular seat . if a pregnant person is sitting in the seat , the sensor detects only one breathing frequency , but at least two pulse rates . the pulse rate of the child is higher than that of the mother . a pregnant person may thus be detected . processor 2 is connected to first restraint means 4 via a first data output . these are restraint means whose function may be disabled as a function of the signal from sensor 1 . they include belt tensioners and airbags . processor 2 is connected to second restraint means 5 , whose deployment force may be reduced as a function of the signal from sensor 1 , via a second data output . such restraint means include airbags in particular which are then triggered early , but with less intensity in the event of an accident . “ early ” means here that the airbag is deployed earlier than in the case of a normal person to be protected . a “ normal person ” is understood here to be a non - pregnant person . “ soft airbag ” means that the rate at which the airbag is inflated and the rate and mass flow of gas introduced into the airbag are reduced . this minimizes the risk of injury by the airbag . processor 2 is connected to third restraint means 6 , which are used in particular for protecting a pregnant person , via a third data output . restraint means 6 may be a knee bag which is to prevent the person from slipping through the seat belt . furthermore , restraint means 6 are to be understood as a device for retracting the steering wheel . this device , which operates by a pyrotechnical principle , is used in the event of an accident when the pregnant person is the driver of the vehicle . injuries by impact of the pregnant woman against the steering wheel are thus minimized . in addition , restraint means 6 are to be understood as an airbag for the steering wheel rim which is deployed in the event of an accident . this minimizes injuries when the pregnant person contacts the steering wheel rim . furthermore , processor 2 is connected to a display 7 , which shows that a pregnant person has been detected in a particular seat . as an alternative , the display may only show that a pregnant person has been detected in general . processor 2 in the airbag control unit is furthermore connected to a sensor system 3 via a second data input , from which processor 2 receives the information that an accident is imminent , for example , from a pre - crash sensor system , and / or that an impact has occurred . for this purpose , impact sensors designed as acceleration sensors , for example , are used . such impact sensors may be situated in the airbag control unit , which is preferably situated centrally in the vehicle , or outside this control unit . such sensors may then be peripheral sensors which are distributed in the vehicle . such sensors may be used in the front of the vehicle as upfront sensors . instead of acceleration sensors , pressure sensors , temperature sensors , or other deformation sensors may be situated in the sides of the vehicle as satellite sensors . fig2 shows in an exemplary block diagram how seat belt locking may be disabled as a function of the signal from a sensor for the pregnant woman . a sensor 8 for detecting a pregnant woman is connected to a negation element 11 . negation element 11 is connected to an and gate 13 . a seat belt locking sensor 9 , which shows that the seat belts are to be locked to restrain a person to be protected using a restraining force , is connected to a second input of and gate 13 . the negated signal of pregnancy sensor 8 is relayed to the airbag and seat belt tensioner deployment logic to initiate , also in this case , appropriate measures as explained above , for example , to deploy a soft airbag , deploy additional knee bags , or to tighten the lap belt using a power belt tensioner in the event of a rollover . if a pregnant person is detected by sensor 8 , and gate 13 issues a logic 0 in the event of an accident when locking sensor 9 issues a logic 1 . seat belt locking output stage 15 for the seat where the pregnant person was detected is thus not activated , since seat belt locking output stage 15 is connected to the output of and gate 13 . seat belt locking output stage 15 is also connected to seat belt locking device 17 for this seat . seat belt locking output stage 15 is only activated when and gate 13 issues a logic 1 . however , the and gate issues a logic 1 only when sensor 8 generates a logic 0 and seat belt locking sensor 9 issues a logic 1 , i . e ., when an accident is detected . seat belt locking sensor 9 is furthermore connected to an and gate 14 , which is assigned to another seat . a sensor 10 for detecting a pregnant person , which is connected to a negation gate 12 , is also provided for this seat . negation gate 12 is connected to the second data input of and gate 14 . the output of negation gate 12 is furthermore connected to the airbag and seat belt tensioner deployment logic to activate the second and third restraint means as needed . the output of and gate 14 is connected to seat belt locking output stage 16 , which is in turn connected to the seat belt locking device for seat 18 . it is thus clear that seat belt locking sensor 9 is connected to all seat belt locking output stages for the particular seats . however , dedicated sensors 8 and 10 are provided for each seat for detecting a pregnant person . | 1 |
throughout this description , the preferred embodiment and examples shown should be considered as exemplars , rather than as limitations on the present invention . the preferred embodiment of the invention is targeted for use on a system comprising , for example , a processor , a display device , at least one input devices such as a pointing device or keyboard , and other input and output devices connected together via a network to other systems , personal computers , workstations , servers , printers , and other computing and peripheral equipment . use of the invention allows a user to select from a variety of different visual styles for a user interface . for example , a user could configure a word processing application to appear like either of the examples in fig1 or fig2 regardless of the actual underlying operating system . thus , a user can have a windows95 style for applications running under the unix operating system , or a motif style for applications running under the macintosh system 7 operating system . further , the user can add to or change the functionality of an application by defining additional controls for an application . the preferred embodiment of the invention includes an icon server , an image cache , a uil server , a uil user interface description , a uil parser , user interface controls or &# 34 ; widgets &# 34 ;, widget geometry manager objects , an event object , event handlers , a widget registry , an event handler registry , an event name registry , a visual style object , and a user interface within which a user can switch visual styles . the uil provides the syntax and grammar rules for describing a user interface . the uil user interface description is preferably a text file , in a format similar to various text - markup languages , such as html ( hyper text markup language ). since the uil user interface description is a text file that is parsed during interpretation , corruption of the file can be readily detected and handled in error routines . however , the uil description may also be compiled to a binary format and / or compressed to reduce size . in the preferred embodiment , the pgui resident in a user &# 39 ; s computer system initially loads a uil user interface description from a uil server via a protocol such as the nfs protocol , the world wide web ( www ) http protocol , or other network protocols . alternatively , the uil user interface description can be loaded from a local storage unit . the uil user interface description describes the controls or widgets that comprise the user interface . in the preferred embodiment , the uil user interface description allows a user to set widget attributes . examples of such attributes include : name , icon , width , height , uil -- id , parentid , layout manager , widget eventhandler , and other attributes . the pgui allows the user to add or delete widgets via dragging and dropping the widgets with a pointing device , thus changing the description of the user interface . once changed , the pgui can save a copy of the description on a uil server , a local storage unit , or other storage means , for later retrieval . a user interface comprises one or more interface widgets . fig1 and 2 show some of the user interface widgets currently being used by those skilled in the art of user interface design : a window 1 , separator 2 , toolbar buttons 3 , menu bar 4 , radiobutton 5 , sliders 6 , status bar 7 , content area 8 , dropdown listboxes 9 , window control buttons 10 , window icon 11 , and title bar 12 . however , conventional applications define such an interface as essentially a monolithic entity . an important aspect of the invention is that it defines a user interface in terms of parts , separating widgets , widget functionality , and widget attributes so as to permit extremely fine control of a user interface in each uil user interface description . listing 1 below illustrates an example uil user interface description in accordance with the invention that describes the user interface illustrated in fig1 and 2 . ______________________________________lising 1 - texteditor . uil______________________________________ & lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget windowframewidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute width = 400 & gt ;& lt ; attribute height = 300 & gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget titlebarwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; titlebarpanel &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; untitled &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute geometrymanager =&# 34 ; titlebarlayout &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute icon =&# 34 ; http :// www . triteal . com / icons / data . gif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; request & gt ;& lt ; attribute eventid =&# 34 ; load &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventarg =&# 34 ; menubar . uil &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ request & gt ;& lt ; widget separatorwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute shadowwidth =&# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget toolbarwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute geometrymanager =&# 34 ; horizontallayout &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget radiobuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute isset =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; auto save &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget dropdownlistboxwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute label =&# 34 ; font :&# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; font &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute value =&# 34 ; times &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget dropdownlistboxwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; size :&# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; size &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute value =&# 34 ; 10pt &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget toolbarbuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute icon =&# 34 ; leftjustified . gif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute useiconserver =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget toolbarbuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute icon =&# 34 ; centered . gif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute useiconserver =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget toolbarbuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute icon =&# 34 ; rightjustified . gif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute useiconserver =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget toolbarbuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; toolbar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute icon =&# 34 ; fulljustified . gif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute useiconserver =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget scrollableareawidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; workarea &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget statusbarwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; request & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; workarea &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventid =&# 34 ; url . sub .-- open &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventarg =&# 34 ; http :// www . triteal . com / uipatent . txt &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ request & gt ; ______________________________________ not all widgets have all attributes , but each widget succinctly describes the characteristics of each part of the user interface for an example text editor application . thus , for example , the first widget , windowframewidget , defines a window 1 ( see fig1 ) having an initial width of 400 screen units and a height of 300 screen units , with a handle or uilid of &# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;. the separatorwidget defines a separation bar 2 having a shadow width attribute of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, and a parentid attribute of &# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;. thus , the separatorwidget inherits the attributes of the windowframewidget . as another example , there are several toolbar button widgets 3 , one of which has an icon attribute of &# 34 ; fulljustified . gif &# 34 ;, which references a graphical image in a conventional gif file format to be shown on the button 3 . as yet another example , a menu bar user interface 4 is defined by reference , using a request function described below . the uil description in listing 1 defines each part of the application interface without initially dictating a visual style . simple changes to the uil description permit changes to the parts of the application interface , by adding , subtracting , or changing widgets . because the parts of an application can be defined so succinctly , retrieving a uil user interface description over a network link is rapid -- much more so than retrieving several megabytes of an application . in building a user interface , the pgui retrieves icons ( e . g ., graphics , pictures , bitmaps , etc .) that represent objects from an icon server via similar network protocols used by the uil server . alternatively , the icons could also be retrieved from a local storage device . the icon server may be the same as the uil server . in the preferred embodiment , the pgui places the retrieved icons in an image cache . the advantage of caching icons is that when other widgets reference the same icon , the pgui accesses the cache instead of retrieving the icon from the icon server again . for example , an application that shows a directory &# 39 ; s files may use icons to represent the files in the directory . such a directory may contain hundreds of files . the application may also allow the user to traverse the directory hierarchy . the act of traversing a file system could quickly create thousands of accesses to icons in just a few minutes . retrieving the same icons from cache for each needed instance is faster than file system retrieval . thus , an image cache enhances the performance of the overall pgui . as the pgui is retrieving a user interface description from the uil server , it uses a uil parser in parallel to create each part defined in that description . the uil user interface description includes information that allows the pgui to create a &# 34 ; widget registry &# 34 ; based on the uilid attribute . in the preferred embodiment , the pgui uses the parentid attribute to create a hierarchy or registry of widgets , where each &# 34 ; parent &# 34 ; widget is the widget whose uilid equals the parentid of a &# 34 ; child &# 34 ; widget . the pgui may also load in other uil files , which allows it to create compound or complex user interfaces . for example , the pgui , in parsing listing 1 , retrieves the menu bar user interface 4 described in listing 2 below via a request feature of the uil . a request includes the concept of an environment : the environment contains the parentid attribute which allows the pgui to create a correct hierarchical relationship . the principle advantage of describing user interfaces with requests allows the sharing of common user interface components . ______________________________________lising 2 - menubar . uil______________________________________ & lt ; widget menubarwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute widgeteventhandler =&# 34 ; popupmenuhandler &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute geometrymanager =&# 34 ; horizontallayout &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; menubar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget menubuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; menubar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute mnemonic =&# 34 ; f &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute popupmenu =&# 34 ; filemenu &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute widgeteventhandler =&# 34 ; popupmenuhandler &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; file &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget menubuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; menubar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute mnemonic =&# 34 ; e &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute popupmenu =&# 34 ; editmenu &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute submenuid =&# 34 ; editmenu &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; edit &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget menubuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; menubar &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute popupmenu =&# 34 ; helpmenu &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute submenuid =&# 34 ; helpmenu &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute mnemonic =&# 34 ; h &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; help &# 34 ;& gt ; ______________________________________ the widget registry also serves as a widget cache . thus , the pgui has the same performance benefits when accessing widgets as those described above for the image cache . referencing listing 1 and listing 2 again , the uil geometrymanager attribute provides the widget programmer a way to separate geometry management ( i . e ., widget positioning and sizing ) from widget functionality . for example , both the menubarwidget and the toolbarwidget controls use the horizontallayout geometry manager to position and size children widgets . thus , children widgets do not need to position or size themselves , but only need to provide button widget functionality , such as responding to input events from pointing devices , a keyboard , or other input devices . another advantage is that a widget programmer can reuse the geometry manager in different widgets or use different geometry managers in the same widget . in the preferred embodiment , the invention uses an event object to invoke actions , such as loading a uil user interface description file and any other actions known to those skilled in the art . event handlers provide the functionality for each user interface control . the event handlers respond to events input device events ( e . g ., keyboard input , mouse input , touch screen input , etc . ), system events , user defined events , and other events known to those skilled in the art . in the preferred embodiment , if an event handler can service or handle an event , it returns true , otherwise it returns false and the event propagates to the parent widget . an example of a radio button event handler is shown below : ______________________________________public class radiobuttoneventhandler extends eventhandlerwidget currentradiobutton ; public boolean handleevent ( event event , widget widget ){ if ( event . id equals event . mouse . sub .-- up ){ event evt = new event ( event . change . sub .-- state ); currentradiobutton . state = unselected ; currentradiobutton . postevent ( evt ); currentradiobutton = widget ; widget . state = selected ; widget . postevent ( evt ); return true ;} return false ;}} ______________________________________ in this example , the event handler responds to an input device event , in particular , a mouse -- up event ( i . e ., detection of the release of a mouse button ). the event handler changes the state of the current radiobutton and then creates a new system event , change -- state , and sends the new event to the current selected radiobutton by calling the postevent function . an event handler can also have state information . the current radiobutton selected is the event handler &# 39 ; s state . after setting its state , the event handler sets the new current radiobutton &# 39 ; s state to selected and then sends the change -- state event to the radiobutton . finally , the event handler returns true . if the event was anything other than a mouse -- up event , the handler does nothing and returns false ; the pgui then propagates the event to the parent widget . an advantage of using event handlers is that a widget programmer can reuse event handlers in different widgets or use different event handlers in the same widget . the invention provides a method for the user to add functionality to the pgui through the uil user interface description . the user can use the request feature to register new events in an event handler registry and the event name registry . an example of such use is set forth in listing 3 : ______________________________________listing 3 - changestyle . uil______________________________________ & lt ; request & gt ;& lt ; attribute eventid =&# 34 ; register . sub .-- event &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventname =&# 34 ; switchstyle &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventhandler =&# 34 ; switchstyleeventhandler &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ request & gt ;& lt ; widget windowframewidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute width = 220 & gt ;& lt ; attribute height = 155 & gt ;& lt ; attribute widgeteventhandler =&# 34 ; propertysheeteventhandler &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute type =&# 34 ; dialog &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute geometrymanager =&# 34 ; mainwindowlayout &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget titlebarwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; titlebarpanel &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; change style &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget propertywidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute applyeventid =&# 34 ; switchstyle &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; lookfeelpropertysheet &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget groupboxwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; styles &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; lookfeelpropertysheet &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute geometrymanager =&# 34 ; verticallayout &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; stylerangegroup &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; stylerange &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute widgeteventhandler =&# 34 ; radiobuttoneventhandler &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget radiobuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; stylerange &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute isset =&# 34 ; true &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; windows95 &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute styleclass =&# 34 ; win95style &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget radiobuttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; stylerange &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; motif &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute styleclass =&# 34 ; motifstyle &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget buttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; ok &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; ok &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ;& lt ; widget buttonwidget & gt ;& lt ; attribute name =&# 34 ; cancel &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute eventid =&# 34 ; window . sub .-- close &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute parentid =&# 34 ; mainwindow &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ; attribute uilid =&# 34 ; cancel &# 34 ;& gt ;& lt ;/ widget & gt ; ______________________________________ in this example , the pgui responds to the system event called register -- event by assigning an event id to the eventname attribute &# 39 ; s value and storing the id and event name in an event name registry . the pgui then loads the eventhandler attribute &# 39 ; s value and stores the id and event handler in an event handler registry . in this example , the pgui registers the switchstyle name in the event name registry and the switchstyleeventhandler in the event handler registry . the switchstyle event is now available for use . the propertywidget control &# 39 ; s applyeventid attribute &# 39 ; s value makes reference to the switchstyle event . when the property widget receives an apply event ( i . e ., a command to apply a style ), the property widget can retrieve the switchstyle event id from the event name registry and then use that event id to retrieve the switchstyleeventhandler from the event handler registry . an important aspect of the invention is that it provides a visual style object as a means for switching visual styles for the widgets defined in a basic uil user interface description . such visual style objects can be defined in the same uil user interface description file , or be stored in a separate file . fig1 and 2 show in detail two different visual styles . the visual styles use different colors ( shown as shades in the figures ), border widths , widget spacing , widget widths , text alignment , and shadowing or bordering techniques . the style objects also draw different widgets differently , such as the windowcontrolswidget control 10 . some controls are not drawn in various styles . for example , the title barwidget control 12 depicted in fig2 ( the motif style ) lacks a windowclosebutton widget , but the titlebarwidget control 12 depicted in fig1 ( the windows95 style ) has one . however , regardless of visual style , any displayed widget performs the same function . the following object definition shows an example visual style object in accordance with the present invention : ______________________________________class styleprivate static style currentstyle = null ; void setcurrentstyle ( style style ){ currentstyle = style ;} style getcurrentstyle (){ if ( currentstyle = null ) currentstyle = load (&# 34 ; motifstyle &# 34 ;); return currentstyle ;} int getalignment ( int ui . sub .-- type ){ return left ;} boolean showcontrol ( int ui . sub .-- type ){ return true ;} void drawarrow ( graphics graphics , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int state , int ui . sub .-- type ){} void drawradio ( graphics graphics , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int state , int ui . sub .-- type ){} void drawcheckbox ( graphics graphics , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int state , int ui . sub .-- type ){} void drawborder ( graphics graphics , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int uitype , int state ){} font getfont ( int ui . sub .-- type , int state ){ return helvetica ;} color getbackground ( int ui . sub .-- type , int state ){ return lightgray ;} color getforeground ( int ui . sub .-- type , int state ){ return black ;} color getselectcolor ( int ui . sub .-- type , int state ){ return white ;}} ______________________________________ this basic style is used as a template for the visual characteristics of various widgets or widget elements , such as position , width , height , shadow type , state , etc . the pgui can determine the current style by calling a getcurrentstyle function . likewise , the pgui can set the current style by calling a setcurrentstyle function . if the user does not set a visual style , the visual style object loads a default style . in the above example , the visual style object loads the motif style using the getcurrentstyle function . the visual style object , by means of calling functions , abstracts the methods by which the pgui determines the color , font , alignment , visibility , and other attributes of the visual style of widgets . in the preferred embodiment , the attribute functions require at least one parameter , a user interface indicator , such as menubar or scrollablearea that identifies the widget type to the style object . some attribute functions require a second parameter which contains the state of the widget , such as selected , visible , active , pressed , iconified , and other user interface states . the two following visual style object definitions provide examples of how the pgui can display the same user interface in multiple visual styles . each definition extends the basic definition set forth above . the first definition defines a motif - type visual style , while the second definition defines a windows95 - type visual style . ______________________________________class motifstyle extends styleclass motifcolor ( color bg , color fg ){ color background = bg ; color foreground = fg ;} motifcolor normalcolors = new motifcolor ( ltgray , black ); motifcolor activewinmgrcolor = new motifcolor ( ltgreen , white ) motifcolor inactivewinmgrcolor = new motifcolor ( dimgray , black ); color getbackground ( int uitype , int state ){ color color = normalcolors . background ; if ( uitype is titlebar ){ if ( state is selected ) color = activewinmgrcolors . background ; else color = inactivewinmgrcolors . background ;} return color ;}} class win95style extends style { int windowforeground = 0 ; int windowbackground = 1 ; int titleselectedbackground = 2 ; int titleackground = 3 ; color colors ! = new color 4 ! ; colors windowforeground ! = black ; colors windowbackground ! = white ; colors titlebackground ! = mediumgray ; colors titleselectedground ! = darkblue ; color getbackground ( int uitype , int state ){ int color = windowbackground ; if ( uitype is titlebar ){ if ( state is selected ) color = titleselctedbackground ; else color = titlebackground ;} return colors color ! ;}} ______________________________________ referring to the above examples , the preferred embodiment of the invention provides a method by which a visual style &# 39 ; s attributes can be determined regardless of the style . the examples show that the state , the user interface type , and the current visual style setting determine the background and other visual style attributes . referring to the above motif - type visual style object , the definition indicates to one skilled in the art that the titlebarwidget control &# 39 ; s background is ltgreen when the control is selected and the background is dimgray when the control is not selected . referring to the above window95 - type visual style object , the definition indicates that the titlebarwidget control &# 39 ; s background is darkblue when the control is selected and the background is mediumgray when the control is not selected . the preferred embodiment of the invention also provides a method by which a visual style &# 39 ; s controls can be displayed or drawn regardless of the style . the following examples show that the state , the user interface type , and the current visual style setting determine how a user interface control is displayed . fig3 shows a pair of radiobuttonwidget controls 20 , 21 using the windows95 visual style . fig4 shows the same radiobuttonwidget controls 20 , 21 using the motif visual style . an example of the basic radiobuttonwidget object definition is shown below . when the pgui needs to display a control , the pgui calls the widget &# 39 ; s paint function . within the scope of the paint function , the pgui calls the getcurrentstyle function to retrieve the current style . the pgui can then retrieve and use the style &# 39 ; s attributes . for example the pgui uses the retrieved background color to fill in the background of the radiobuttonwidget control . the example below shows how the radiobuttonwidget controls 20 , 21 display themselves in the different styles of fig3 and 4 by calling the current style &# 39 ; s drawradio function : ______________________________________public class radiobuttonwidget extends widgetradiobuttonwidget (){ uitype = style . radiobutton ; state = style . normalstate ;} void paint ( graphics g ){ style style = style . getcurrentstyle (); color background = style . getbackground ( uitype , state ); g . setcolor ( background ); g . fillrectangle ( x , y , width , height ); style . drawradio ( g , x , y , width , height , state , uitype );}} ______________________________________ the following example shows one embodiment of a visual style object used to draw the radiobuttonwidget controls 20 , 21 in fig3 . the pgui draws the round radio buttons by calling a drawarc function . if the state is selected , the pgui calls a fillcircle function to indicate that the control is selected , as depicted in the first radio button 20 in fig3 . ______________________________________class win95style extends stylevoid drawradio ( graphics graphics , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int state , int uitype ){ g . setcolor ( colors windowbackground ! ); g . fillarc ( x + 1 , y + 1 , width - 3 , height - 3 , 0 , 360 ) g . setcolor ( colors buttonhilightcolor ! ); g . drawarc ( x , y , width - 1 , height - 1 , 225 , 180 ); g . setcolor ( colors buttonfacecolor ! ); g . drawarc ( x + 1 , y + 1 , width - 3 , height - 3 , 225 , 180 ) g . setcolor ( colors buttonshadowcolor ! ); g . drawarc ( x , y , width - 1 , height - 1 , 45 , 180 ); g . setcolor ( colors windowframecolor ! ); g . drawarc ( x + 1 , y + 1 , width - 3 , height - 3 , 45 , 180 ) if ( state is selectstate ){ g . setcolor ( colors windowforeground ! ); g . fillcircle ( x + 5 , y + 5 , 4 );}}} ______________________________________ the following example shows another embodiment of a visual style object used to draw the radiobuttonwidget controls 20 , 21 in fig4 . the pgui draws the diamond shaped buttons by calling the getradiopoints function to calculate the points , and then by calling drawline functions to draw the edges . if the state is selected , the pgui switches the top and bottom shadow colors to achieve a pressed visual appearance , as depicted by the second radio button 21 in fig4 . ______________________________________class motifstyle extends stylevoid getradiopoints ( int x , int y , int width , int height , int xpoints !, int ypoints ! ){ width = width - 1 ; height = height - 1 ; int i = 0 ; int x0 = x + width / 2 ; int y0 = y + height / 2 ; xpoints i ! = x ; ypoints i ! = y0 ; i = i + 1 ; xpoints i ! = x0 ; ypoints i ! = y ; i = i + 1 ; xpoints i ! = x + width ; ypoints i ! = y0 ; i = i + 1 ; xpoints i ! = x0 ; ypoints i ! = y + height ;} void drawradio ( graphics g , int x , int y , int width , int height , int shadowtype , int state , int uitype ){ color bg = getbackground ( uitype , state ); int xpoints ! = new int 4 ! ; int ypoints ! = new int 4 ! ; getradiopoints ( x , y , width , height , xpoints , ypoints ); g . setcolor ( getbackground ( uitype , state )); g . fillpolygon ( xpoints , ypoints , 4 ); color topshadow ; color bottomshadow ; if ( state is pressed or state is selected ){ topshadow = bg . getbottomshadow (); bottomshadow = bg . gettopshadow ();} else { topshadow = bg . gettopshadow (); bottomshadow = bg . getbottomshadow ();} int i = - 1 ; while ( i lessthan shadowwidth ){ g . setcolor ( bottomshadow ); g . drawline ( xpoints 0 !, ypoints 0 !, xpoints 3 !, ypoints 3 ! ); g . setcolor ( topshadow ); g . drawline ( xpoints 1 !, ypoints 1 !, xpoints 2 !, ypoints 2 ! ); g . setcolor ( bottomshadow ); g . drawline ( xpoints 3 !, ypoints 3 !, xpoints 2 !, ypoints 2 ! ); g . setcolor ( topshadow ); g . drawline ( xpoints 0 !, ypoints 0 !, xpoints 1 !, ypoints 1 ! ); i = i + 1 ; if ( i lessthan shadowwidth ) { x = x + 1 ; y = y + 1 ; width = width - 2 ; height = height - 2 ; getradiopoints ( x , y , width , height , xpoints , ypoints ); }}}} ______________________________________ a user may switch between visual styles in any convenient way , such as by selection a radiobutton in a dialog , by menu selection , icon selection , etc . fig3 and 4 show an example of a dialog by which such a selection may be made . the pgui responds by setting the current style to the desired style , repositions and resizes all displayed widgets , and finally redraws the user interface . the invention may be implemented in hardware or software , or a combination of both . however , preferably , the invention is implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers each comprising at least one processor , at least one data storage system ( including volatile and non - volatile memory and / or storage elements , any of which may be local or accessible via a network ), at least one input device , and at least one output device . program code is applied to input data to perform the functions described herein and generate output information . the output information is applied to one or more output devices , in known fashion . each program is preferably implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system , although the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language , if desired . in any case , the language may be a compiled or interpreted language . however , in the preferred embodiment , the invention , particularly the pgui , is implemented in the java programming language . with the introduction of java , it is possible now to bring small java applications called &# 34 ; applets &# 34 ; from a server to a client and execute such applications locally . because java compiles to intermediate host machine independent code , the compiled java applets can run on any host that has a java virtual machine ( jvm ). each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage media or device ( e . g ., rom or magnetic diskette ) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer , for configuring and operating a local or remote computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein . the inventive system may also be considered to be implemented as a computer - readable storage medium , configured with a computer program , where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein . ( 1 ) a user interface definition for an application is created describing each part of a user interface in terms of at least distinct function attributes , appearance attributes , and parent - child inter - widget relationship attributes . ( 2 ) on launching an application on a client , a pgui resident on the client retrieves the corresponding user interface definition from a storage device , preferably on a server . ( 3 ) the pgui parses the user interface definition and creates each part of the application user interface in accordance with the defined attributes . ( 4 ) the pgui retrieves a defined visual style object ( user - defined or a default style ), and renders the appearance of each part of the user interface in accordance with the defined visual style . ( 5 ) the pgui displays the user interface rendered in the specified style for response to events and for display of content . ( 6 ) the pgui responds to any event affecting apart of the user interface in accordance with the functional attribute of that part , or in accordance with the functional attribute of a parent part of such part . ( 7 ) the pgui renders the appearance of each part of the user interface in accordance with any newly selected visual style , and redisplays the changed user interface for response to events and for display of content . the example uil user interface description listings above show one embodiment of a user selectable and definable interface in accordance with the invention . the pgui could use any uil user interface description provided that a uil parser exists , or a translator program exists that transforms one uil to another uil for which a uil parser exists . the pgui can use standard techniques in determining what uil parser to use , such as filename extensions and other categorical techniques . because the pgui determines what uil parser to use , a uil user interface description file can use the request feature to load user interface components which are described with a different uil . this capability is useful in a global environment where a uil user interface description may be in a user &# 39 ; s native natural language . it should be understood that the above description illustrates a specific embodiment of the invention . the preferred embodiment illustrates one visual style shown on a display screen , but the same visual style could also be shown on many separate display screens attached to systems which are connected to a network . in the network environment , changing a user interface attribute would change the attribute in the other display screens as well . another embodiment of the invention could display multiple visual styles simultaneously on one display screen where each window or application on the screen has a visual style . accordingly , the invention provides at least the following advantages : a method to present a user interface with multiple selectable visual styles defined in a simple markup - text form that can be quickly retrieved from a server to define a user interface on a client ; a means for reducing security risks inherent when loading applications from servers by avoiding use of machine code in defining a user interface ; a method to separate the functionality of user interface controls from the display of the user interface controls , and a method to separate the functionality of an application from the display of the user interface ; a simple method for adding new functionality and new controls to a user interface . a number of embodiments of the present invention have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrated embodiment , but only by the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
in an advantageous way according to the invention , it was first surprisingly found that various radiation - curing monomers are first of all able to bring the thermoplastic polycarbonate resin into a stable solution and are then suitable for film formation with the same by means of uv curing . this is then exploited advantageously according to the invention so that the resulting printing ink and / or printing varnish does not dry in the screen during a screen printing process , and furthermore no disadvantageous post - thinning and / or cleaning of the screen after drying , or any similar effort , is necessary . curing typically takes place preferably by uv radiation , led curing or optionally with electron beam curing , with typical curing times of significantly less than 1 second leading to a very rapid complete cure of the liquid printing ink and / or printing varnish . after complete curing , the prints can be further processed directly without any additional temperature input , e . g . by a drying tunnel . this makes the processing time for printing performed in this way significantly shorter and increases productivity . it is also advantageous that , by avoiding any washout or similar , in combination with the best adhesion to the film substrate , fine details can be printed and thus broader fields of application potentially become accessible with the screen printing process . in the context of the invention , the term “ uv - curing ” or “ radiation - curing ” is also to be understood as “ crosslinking ”, which means that a complete cure of the ink film takes place through free - radical chain polymerisation . the difference between solvents conventionally used up to now in the prior art and the curable monomer used according to the invention , which is used as a dissolving medium for the polycarbonate resin , consists in the fact that the solvent is released into the air during the drying of the ink according to conventional understanding , whereas the curable monomers are or remain bound in the ink film . as a result , environmental pollution through vocs ( volatile organic compounds ), which can occur during the removal of the solvent during the drying of a solvent - based system , is avoided . at the same time , the significantly more compact uv - curing equipment requires significantly less space in the printing room . a further advantage of uv curing consists in the lower energy consumption compared with a drying tunnel , which is used for drying the solvent - based system . the term “ non - radiation - curing ” in this context also means in particular the non - presence of a reactive double bond . radiation - curing printing inks can , like all printing inks and / or printing varnishes , contain many different components in addition to the binders contained according to the invention and must naturally be adapted to the respective application and the substrate being printed . the other components include e . g . pigments , fillers and auxiliary substances , which are usually required only in very small quantities but are often favourable for problem - free processing . the thermoplastic , non - uv - curing polycarbonate resin , in combination with the typically non - volatile ( or at best low - volatility ) monomer , ensures that the ink is firmly anchored to a substrate ( e . g . a polymer film ) and thus the finished print favourably withstands stresses from abrasion , heat and mechanical bending as well as the conditions generally occurring during the back - injecting of the printed film . owing to the non - volatility of the individual components of the printing ink , no post - thinning or similar is required as an additional process step during processing , as is necessary e . g . with halogen - free solvents from the prior art . it is also advantageous that the polycarbonates used according to the invention are highly heat - resistant and very flexible , so that they are ideally suited for injection moulding operations or similar . particularly suitable for the practical implementation of the invention are the polycarbonates from bayer materialscience ag known from the aforementioned ep 0 688 839 b1 although , deviating from the known prior art , these are present in solution in a uv - curing or radiation - curing monomer or mixture of curable monomers in the context of the present invention . the ink film can be single - or multi - layer . in the case of a multi - layer ink film , several identical or different ink films may be applied one on top of the other . it may be preferable for the ink film to be multi - layer . the present invention also provides a process for the production of the laminate according to the invention , characterised in that a substrate , in particular a film of a thermoplastic polymer , is coated with an ink film and / or a varnish film by printing , in particular screen printing , and then cured by radiation curing . in preferred embodiments of the process according to the invention , the substrate can be formed before being coated with the ink film and / or varnish film or the laminate can be formed after coating the substrate with the ink film and / or varnish film . in the case of forming the laminate after coating the substrate with the ink film and / or varnish film , the laminate surprisingly displays no cracking in the ink film and no adhesion to the mould after forming . the laminate according to the invention preferably has a total thickness of the substrate and the ink or varnish film of from 0 . 05 to 4 mm , particularly preferably from 0 . 1 mm to 2 mm , most particularly preferably from 0 . 2 to 2 mm . however , laminates with total film thicknesses of up to 20 mm , preferably of up to 19 mm , are also possible according to the invention . a preferred embodiment of the invention consists in the production of a laminate — referred to below as a moulding — in such a way that a substrate printed with the printing ink according to the invention ( laminate according to the invention ) is processed to form the moulding by back - filling , e . g . by back - injecting , on the printing side with a ( thermoplastic ) polymer . in this way , a printed object with optimum protection against abrasion , in which the printed image is also optimised , can be produced in the manner stated above . accordingly , the present invention also provides a back - filled moulding , characterised in that a laminate according to the invention is back - filled one or more times with at least one thermoplastic polymer on the side printed with the printing ink or printing varnish , the thermoplastic polymer used for the back - filling having a temperature of 200 ° c . or more . the laminate according to the invention can be back - filled with one or more layers of at least one thermoplastic polymer . for further exemplary disclosure of a moulding of this type or of an object made thereof , reference is made in principle to the procedure according to ep 0 691 201 b1 , particularly in terms of the layer structure , the substrate used and the other thermoplastic polymer , without being limited thereto . thus , exemplary structures of mouldings according to the invention are described by way of example in ep 0 691 201 b1 — without being limited to these — and can contain 1 . a preferably 0 . 02 mm to 0 . 8 mm thick , mono - or multi - layer film of thermoplastic polymer , 2 . a mono - or multi - layer ink film preferably with a thickness of from 3 to 50 mm , 3 . optionally at least one polyurethane layer which is tack - free at room temperature and 4 . a back - filled thermoplastic polymer layer , preferably with a thickness of from 0 . 1 mm to 19 mm , which in turn consists of one or more polymer layers . the thermoplastic polymer layer ( 4 ) can be applied here by back - filling of the layers 1 + 2 or 1 + 2 + 3 by known processes ( cf . de - os 27 55 088 ). such mouldings of the layers 1 + 2 + 4 and optionally 3 can be obtained e . g . by coating films of thermoplastic polymers with at least one ink film and optionally with at least one polyurethane layer by screen printing and then , or before applying the polyurethane layer , forming them and finally back - filling with a thermoplastic polymer layer in a known manner . composite films with polyurethane bonding are known in principle ( de - os 25 17 032 and de - as 30 10 143 ). the back - filling of thermoplastic polymer films with thermoplastic polymers by means of back - injecting is also known ( de - os 27 55 088 ), as is the back - injecting of thermoplastic films with an intermediate ink film ( de - os 35 28 812 ). suitable substrates and thermoplastic polymers for such mouldings are known to the person skilled in the art from ep 0 691 201 b1 . the essential advantage of the present invention lies in the fact that the printing ink used , for which the polycarbonate is dissolved in uv - curing monomers , permits the simple radiation curing , preferably uv curing , of the ink , better adhesion of the ink to the substrate to be printed , formability of this coated substrate without damaging the ink film and back - filling of such a coated substrate with thermoplastic polymers to be achieved without washout or destruction of the ink film . the glass transition temperature of the ink , in particular the glass transition temperature of the polycarbonate used as binder in the ink , can be either below or above the glass transition temperature of the substrate . however , it may be advantageous for the glass transition temperature of the polycarbonate used as binder to be above the glass transition temperature of the substrate . the glass transition temperature is determined in accordance with iso 11357 . the back - filled moulding is produced according to the invention by back - filling the laminate according to the invention one or more times with at least one thermoplastic polymer on the side printed with the printing ink or printing varnish at a temperature of 200 ° c . or higher . the back - filling can take place e . g . by back - injection moulding , back - compression moulding or foam backing , preferably by back - injection moulding . these back - filling processes are known in principle to the person skilled in the art and are described in the literature ( cf . e . g . de - os 27 55 088 or in application technology information sheets ati 7010 and ati 7007 from bayer materialscience ag ( previously bayer ag ), which are available to the public and were published e . g . in the journal “ kunststoffe ”, issue 9 / 99 ). in a most particularly preferred embodiment , the laminate according to the invention is coated on the side printed with the printing ink or printing varnish with a polyurethane layer by printing , particularly screen printing , and then back - filled with at least one thermoplastic polymer . other advantages , features and details of the present invention can be taken from the following description , including the structural formulae , formulations , procedures and parameters disclosed there . in the context of the present invention , these are considered to be disclosed in any combinations as belonging to the invention . to avoid repetitions , features disclosed in relation to substances are also to be considered as disclosed in relation to processes and as claimable . similarly , features disclosed in relation to processes are also to be considered as disclosed in relation to substances and as claimable . the printing process may be , for example , a screen printing , rotary screen printing , pad printing , offset printing , flexographic printing , gravure printing or inkjet printing process . it is preferably a screen printing process . the curing of the ink is preferably carried out with uv light in a wavelength range of from 200 to 450 nm , which is sufficient to achieve a complete cure of the printing ink or printing varnish . alternatively , the ink or varnish can also be cured without the use of photoinitiators by using electron beams . hereinafter , therefore , where the term “ uv - curing ” is used , curing by means of other radiation , e . g . electron beams , should be read into this as an alternative . in addition , led units which radiate almost monochromatic light in the uv light range or the range close to uv light can be used to dry the uv - curing ink . the entire range of colours can be printed . when printing by screen printing , a 100 - 40 to 180 - 27 , preferably 140 - 34 or 150 - 31 , screen printing fabric is preferably used , which results in an ink film thickness of 5 - 12 / μm . curing takes place , depending on the printing task and printing machine , using commercial medium pressure mercury lamps or doped lamps with 80 - 400 w / cm , preferably 120 to 200 w / cm , which are substantially focused . the light exposure time is linked to the printing rate , since the printing and illuminating devices are linked . a conventional printing rate for printing the films is 1 - 50 prints / min . binders are required ( e . g . for the abrasion - resistant decoration of injection mouldings by film insert moulding ) which do not melt at the high temperatures of injection moulding and at the same time adhere firmly to the substrate and are flexible . these requirements are met by special high temperature resistant polycarbonates . preferably , therefore , high temperature resistant , flexible printing inks or varnishes are used which contain a ) as binder at least one non - radiation - curing aromatic polycarbonate based on geminally disubstituted dihydroxydiphenyl cycloalkanes , and b ) as solvent at least one radiation - curing monomer , which is selected from the group of acrylates , methacrylates , vinyl ethers and nitrogen - containing compounds with an ethylenic double bond , characterised in that the binder is dissolved in the solvent and the solvent is bound in the printing ink or printing varnish in chemically crosslinked form after curing . suitable polycarbonates are preferably high molecular weight , thermoplastic , aromatic polycarbonates with m w ( weight average of the molecular weight ) of at least 10 000 , preferably from 20 000 to 300 000 , which contain bifunctional carbonate structural units of formula ( i ), r 1 and r 2 independently of one another signify hydrogen , halogen , preferably chlorine or bromine , c 1 - c 8 alkyl , c 5 - c 6 cycloalkyl , c 6 - c 10 aryl , preferably phenyl , and c 7 - c 12 aralkyl , preferably phenyl - c 1 - c 4 - alkyl , particularly benzyl , m signifies an integer of from 4 to 7 , preferably 4 or 5 , r 3 and r 4 may be selected for each x individually and , independently of one another , signify hydrogen or c 1 - c 6 alkyl and x signifies carbon , and n signifies an integer of 30 or greater , particularly preferably an integer of from 50 to 900 , most particularly preferably an integer of from 60 to 250 , with the proviso that , on at least one x atom , r 3 and r 4 simultaneously signify alkyl . starting products for the polycarbonates are dihydroxydiphenyl cycloalkanes of the formula ( ia ) x , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , m and n have the meaning given for formula ( i ). preferably , r 3 and r 4 are simultaneously alkyl on one to two x atoms , particularly only on one x atom . the preferred alkyl radical is methyl ; the x atoms in alpha position to the diphenyl - substituted c atom ( c - 1 ) are preferably not dialkyl - substituted , however the alkyl disubstitution in beta position to c - 1 is preferred . dihydroxydiphenyl cycloalkanes with 5 and 6 ring c atoms in the cycloaliphatic radical ( m = 4 or 5 in formula ( ia )), e . g . the diphenols of formulae ( ib ) to ( id ), are preferred , wherein 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane ( formula ( ib ) with r 1 and r 2 equal to h ) is particularly preferred . the polycarbonates can be produced in accordance with german patent application no . p 3 832 396 . 6 or ep - a 0 359 953 from diphenols of formula ( ia ). it is possible to use either one diphenol of formula ( ia ) with the formation of homopolycarbonates or several diphenols of formula ( ia ) with the formation of copolycarbonates . in addition , the diphenols of formula ( ia ) can also be used in a mixture with other diphenols , e . g . with those of formula ( ie ) suitable other diphenols of formula ( ie ) are those in which z is an aromatic radical with 6 to 30 c atoms , which can contain one or more aromatic rings , can be substituted and can contain aliphatic radicals or cycloaliphatic radicals other than those of formula ( ia ) or hetero atoms as bridge - type crosslinks . examples of the diphenols of formula ( ie ) are : hydroquinone , resorcinol , dihydroxydiphenyls , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) alkanes , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) cycloalkanes , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) sulfides , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) ethers , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) ketones , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) sulfones , bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) sulfoxides , alpha , alpha ′- bis ( hydroxyphenyl ) diisopropylbenzenes and the ring - alkylated and ring - halogenated compounds thereof . these and other suitable diphenols are described e . g . in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 028 , 365 , 2 , 999 , 835 , 3 , 148 , 172 , 3 , 275 , 601 , 2 , 991 , 273 , 3 , 271 , 367 , 3 , 062 , 781 , 2 , 970 , 131 and 2 , 999 , 846 , in de - a 1 570 703 , 2 063 050 , 2 063 052 , 2 211 956 , fr - a 1 561 518 and in the monograph “ h . schnell , chemistry and physics of polycarbonates , interscience publishers , new york 1964 ”. preferred other diphenols are e . g . : 4 , 4 ′- dihydroxydiphenyl , 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 4 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - methylbutane , 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) cyclohexane , alpha , alpha - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- p - diisopropylbenzene , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 - methyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 - chloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) methane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) sulfone , 2 , 4 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - methylbutane , 1 , 1 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) cyclohexane , alpha , alpha - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- p - diisopropylbenzene , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dichloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane and 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dibromo - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane . particularly preferred diphenols of formula ( ie ) are e . g . : 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dimethyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dichloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane , 2 , 2 - bis ( 3 , 5 - dibromo - 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane and 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) cyclohexane . in particular , 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane is preferred . the other diphenols can be used either individually or in a mixture . the molar ratio of diphenols of formula ( ia ) to the other diphenols of formula ( ie ) optionally also used should be between 100 mole % ( ia ) to 0 mole % ( ie ) and 2 mole % ( ia ) to 98 mole % ( ie ), preferably between 100 mole % ( ia ) to 0 mole % ( ie ) and 10 mole % ( ia ) to 90 mole % ( ie ) and particularly between 100 mole % ( ia ) to 0 mole % ( ie ) and 30 mole % ( ia ) to 70 mole % ( ie ). the high molecular weight polycarbonates made from the diphenols of formula ( ia ), optionally in combination with other diphenols , can be produced by the known polycarbonate production processes . the various diphenols in this case can be connected to one another either randomly or in blocks . the polycarbonates according to the invention can be branched in a manner that is known per se . if branching is desired , it can be achieved in a known manner by incorporation by condensation of small quantities , preferably quantities of between 0 . 05 and 2 . 0 mole % ( based on diphenols used ), of trifunctional or more than trifunctional compounds , particularly those with three or more than three phenolic hydroxyl groups . suitable branching agents with three or more than three phenolic hydroxyl groups are : phloroglucinol , 4 , 6 - dimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tri -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) heptene - 2 , 4 , 6 - dimethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - tri -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) heptane , 1 , 3 , 5 - tri -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) benzene , 1 , 1 , 1 - tri -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) ethane , tri -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) phenylmethane , 2 , 2 - bis -[ 4 , 4 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) cyclohexyl ] propane , 2 , 4 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenylisopropyl ) phenol , 2 , 6 - bis ( 2 - hydroxy - 5 - methylbenzyl )- 4 - methylphenol , 2 -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 -( 2 , 4 - dihydroxyphenyl ) propane , hexa -[ 4 -( 4 - hydroxyphenylisopropyl ) phenyl ]- orthoterephthalic acid ester , tetra -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) methane , tetra -[ 4 -( 4 - hydroxyphenylisopropyl ) phenoxy ] methane and 1 , 4 - bis -[ 4 ′, 4 ″- dihydroxytriphenyl ) methyl ] benzene . some of the other trifunctional compounds are 2 , 4 - dihydroxybenzoic acid , trimesic acid , cyanuric chloride and 3 , 3 - bis ( 3 - methyl - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - oxo - 2 , 3 - dihydroindole . as chain terminators for the regulation of the molecular weight of the polycarbonates , which is known per se , monofunctional compounds are used in conventional concentrates . suitable compounds are e . g . phenol , tert .- butylphenols or other alkyl - substituted phenols . to regulate the molecular weight , small quantities of phenols of formula ( if ) are particularly suitable r represents a branched c 8 and / or c 9 alkyl radical . the proportion of ch 3 protons in the alkyl radical r is preferably between 47 and 89 % and the proportion of ch and ch 2 protons between 53 and 11 %; it is also preferred for r to be in o - and / or p - position to the oh group , and particularly preferred for the upper limit of the ortho fraction to be 20 %. the chain terminators are generally used in quantities of 0 . 5 to 10 , preferably 1 . 5 to 8 mole %, based on diphenols used . the polycarbonates can preferably be produced by the interfacial polycondensation process ( cf . h . schnell “ chemistry and physics of polycarbonates ”, polymer reviews , vol . ix , page 33ff ., interscience publ . 1964 ) in a manner that is known per se . in this process , the diphenols of formula ( ia ) are dissolved in an aqueous alkaline phase . to produce copolycarbonates with other diphenols , mixtures of diphenols of formula ( ia ) and the other diphenols , e . g . those of formula ( ie ), are used . to regulate the molecular weight , chain terminators e . g . of formula ( if ) can be added . then , in the presence of an inert organic phase , preferably one which dissolves polycarbonate , a reaction with phosgene is carried out by the interfacial polycondensation method . the reaction temperature is between 0 ° c . and 40 ° c . the branching agents that are optionally also used ( preferably 0 . 05 to 2 . 0 mole %) can either be initially present in the aqueous alkaline phase with the diphenols or added in solution in the organic solvent before phosgenation . in addition to the diphenols of formula ( ia ) and optionally other diphenols ( ie ), it is also possible to incorporate their mono - and / or bischlorocarbonates , these being added in solution in organic solvents . the quantity of chain terminators and branching agents then depends on the molar amount of diphenolate groups according to formula ( ia ) and optionally formula ( ie ); when chlorocarbonates are incorporated , the amount of phosgene can be reduced accordingly in a known manner . suitable organic solvents for the chain terminators and optionally for the branching agents and the chlorocarbonates are e . g . methylene chloride and chlorobenzene , particularly mixtures of methylene chloride and chlorobenzene . the chain terminators and branching agents used may optionally be dissolved in the same solvent . methylene chloride , chlorobenzene and mixtures of methylene chloride and chlorobenzene , for example , are used as the organic phase for the interfacial polycondensation . naoh solution , for example , is used as the aqueous alkaline phase . the production of the polycarbonates by the interfacial polycondensation process can be catalysed in a conventional manner by catalysts such as tertiary amines , particularly tertiary aliphatic amines such as tributylamine or triethylamine ; the catalysts can be used in quantities of from 0 . 05 to 10 mole %, based on moles of diphenols used . the catalysts can be added before the beginning of phosgenation or during or even after phosgenation . the polycarbonates can be produced by the known process in the homogeneous phase , the so - called “ pyridine process ”, and by the known melt transesterification process using , for example , diphenyl carbonate instead of phosgene . the polycarbonates preferably have a molecular weight m w ( weight average , determined by gel permeation chromatography after previous calibration ) of at least 10 000 , particularly preferably from 20 000 to 300 000 and particularly from 20 000 to 80 000 . they can be linear or branched and they are homopolycarbonates or copolycarbonates based on the diphenols of formula ( ia ). by means of the incorporation of the diphenols of formula ( ia ), novel polycarbonates with high heat resistance have been created , which also have a good property profile in other respects . this is particularly true of the polycarbonates based on the diphenols of formula ( ia ) in which m is 4 or 5 , and most particularly for the polycarbonates based on the diphenols ( ib ), wherein r 1 and r 2 independently of one another have the meaning given for formula ( ia ) and are particularly preferably hydrogen . the particularly preferred polycarbonates are therefore those in which structural units of formula ( i ) m = 4 or 5 , most particularly those of units of formula ( ig ) wherein r 1 , r 2 and n have the meaning given for formula ( i ) but are particularly preferably hydrogen . these polycarbonates based on the diphenols of formula ( ib ), wherein in particular r 1 and r 2 are hydrogen , possess , in addition to their high heat resistance , good uv stability and good flow properties in the melt , which was not to be expected , and display very good solubility in the monomers mentioned below . in addition , by means of composition with other diphenols as desired , particularly with those of formula ( ie ), the polycarbonate properties can be favourably varied . in these copolycarbonates , the diphenols of formula ( ia ) are contained in quantities of from 100 mole % to 2 mole %, preferably in quantities of from 100 mole % to 10 mole % and particularly in quantities of from 100 mole % to 30 mole %, based on the total quantity of 100 mole % of diphenol units , in polycarbonates . particularly preferred polycarbonates are copolycarbonates of formula ( i - h ), wherein the comonomers can be in an alternating , block or random arrangement in the copolymer , p + q = n and the ratio of q and p to one another behaves as reflected by the mole % data mentioned in the previous section for formulae ( ie ) and ( ia ). to produce the printing ink or printing varnish for the coating of the substrate with the ink or varnish film , the copolycarbonate used is dissolved in one or more uv - curing monomers , which are crosslinkable , e . g . on the basis of acrylate groups or ethylenically unsaturated groups suitable for polymerisation . these monomers are preferably monofunctional acrylates . however , di -, tri - or polyfunctional acrylates or methacrylates can also be used . these uv - curing or radiation - curing monomers are used to dissolve the polycarbonate , but are based on a different principle compared with the solvents as used and understood e . g . in ep 0 688 839 b1 . the solvents in the conventional sense , as used e . g . in ep 0 688 839 b1 , serve exclusively to dissolve the polycarbonate . as a result of the subsequent drying of the ink , the solvents are intended to evaporate as completely as possible , i . e . almost 100 %, and thus have no film - forming properties . in the present invention , however , crosslinkable monomers are used which are also intended to dissolve the polycarbonate but they remain in the ink , at best at a level of 100 %, so that they have an important effect on the properties of the cured ink and a decisive influence on the film properties . the volatility of the radiation - curing monomers should preferably be less than 5 %, most preferably less than 1 %. the following are examples of crosslinkable monomers that may be used , without being limited thereto : isobornyl ( meth ) acrylate ( ibo ( m ) a ), 2 - phenylethyl ( meth ) acrylate ( pe ( m ) a ), ethoxylated 2 - phenylethoxy acrylates , methoxylated polyethylene glycol mono ( meth ) acrylates , alkoxylated tetrahydrofurfuryl ( meth ) acrylate , alkoxylated lauryl acrylate , alkoxylated phenyl acrylate , stearyl ( meth ) acrylate , lauryl ( meth ) acrylate , isodecyl ( meth ) acrylate , isooctyl acrylate , octyl acrylate , tridecyl ( meth ) acrylate , caprolactone acrylate , ethoxylated or alkoxylated nonylphenol ( meth ) acrylate , cyclic trimethylolpropane formal acrylate , glycidyl methacrylate , propylene glycol monomethacrylate , 2 -( 2 - ethoxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate ( eoeoea ), methyl methacrylate ( mma ), propoxylated allyl methacrylate , ethoxylated hydroxyethyl methacrylates , ethoxytriglycol methacrylate , 1 , 6 - hexanediol di ( meth ) acrylate ( hdd ( m ) a ), alkoxylated hexanediol diacrylates , alkoxylated cyclohexanedimethanol di ( meth ) acrylates , 1 , 3 - butylene glycol di ( meth ) acrylate , 1 , 4 - butanediol di ( meth ) acrylate , diethylene glycol di ( meth ) acrylate , polyethylene glycol ( 200 ) diacrylate , polyethylene glycol ( 400 ) di ( meth ) acrylate , polyethylene glycol ( 600 ) di ( meth ) acrylate , ethoxylated bisphenol a di ( meth ) acrylates , tetraethylene glycol di ( meth ) acrylate , triethylene glycol di ( meth ) acrylate , ethylene glycol dimethacrylate , polyethylene glycol dimethacrylate , dipropylene glycol diacrylate ( dpgda ), alkoxylated neopentyl glycol di ( meth ) acrylate , propoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate , trimethylolpropane tri ( meth ) acrylate , propoxylated glyceryl triacrylate ( gpta ), dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate ( dpha ), tripropylene glycol diacrylate ( tpgda ), dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate ( dipepa ), pentaerythritol triacrylate ( petia ), ( ethoxylated ) pentaerythritol tetraacrylate , ditrimethylpropane tetraacrylate , trimethylpropane triacrylate ( tmpeota ), tricyclodecanedimethanol diacrylate ( tcddmda ), dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate , low molecular weight monofunctional urethane acrylates , low molecular weight epoxy acrylates , hydroxypropyl methacrylate ( hpma ). most particularly preferred from the above list are 2 - phenylethyl ( meth ) acrylate ( pe ( m ) a ), ethoxylated 2 - phenylethoxy acrylates , tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate , 2 -( 2 - ethoxyethoxy ) ethyl acrylate ( eoeoea ), methyl methacrylate ( mma ) and 1 , 6 - hexanediol diacrylate ( hdda ). furthermore , various vinyl ethers can be used as crosslinkable monomers , such as e . g ., without being limited thereto , diethylene glycol divinyl ether ( dve - 2 ) or triethylene glycol divinyl ether ( dve - 3 ). examples , without being limited thereto , of the compounds with an ethylenically unsaturated bond are n - vinylpyrrolidone ( nvp ), n - vinylcaprolactam , n - vinylformamide ( nvf ) or acryloylmorpholine ( acmo ). for known health reasons , the use of n - vinylpyrrolidone ( nvp ) should be avoided as far as possible . in general , one or more additional uv - curing or radiation - curing monomers are added to the binder for printing inks or varnishes . these uv - curing monomers , which are also cured , can be the uv - curing monomers mentioned above in connection with the copolycarbonate solution . the total quantity of uv - curing monomers is in general 1 - 99 wt . %, preferably 25 to 85 wt . %, particularly 50 to 85 wt . %. the process of crosslinking the monomers takes place e . g . by uv curing , led curing or electron beam curing . these are already known from the literature and are state of the art in various other applications , such as e . g . in the printing of optical storage media . the radiation curing process can be combined with the process of the in - mould technique , especially the insert mould technique , by means of the present invention with its described advantages . preferably , no volatile organic solvent is added to the printing ink or printing varnish . nevertheless , in exceptional cases volatile solvent can be added in order to optimise the printing ink or printing varnish for special applications . it is also possible for small quantities of solvents to be carried over into the ink through the addition of additives , since a large number of the active substances available on the market are dissolved in solvents or diluted with solvents . in the printing ink or printing varnish , no more than 10 %, preferably no more than 5 %, volatile organic solvents should be used . particularly preferably , however , the use of volatile organic solvents is avoided . furthermore , the printing ink or printing varnish can contain at least one other resin in addition to the polycarbonate used . the resins can be selected from a wide variety of resins . examples are as follows , without being limited thereto : epoxy resins , polyester resins , cellulose resins , methyl methacrylate copolymers ( e . g . paraloid b - 48n , paraloid b60 , paraloid b - 82 from rohm & amp ; haas deutschland gmbh , in der krön 4 , d 60489 frankfurt , neocryl b - 810 from neoresins lurgiallee 6 - 8 , d - 60439 frankfurt / main ); ethyl methacrylate ( e . g . paraloid b 72 from rohm & amp ; haas ); butyl methacrylate copolymers ( e . g . degalan lp 65 / 12 , degalan lp 68 / 04 from röhm gmbh & amp ; co kg , kirschenallee ); liquid epoxy resins ( e . g . polypox e 064 from uppc ag , schemmerbergerstr . 39 , d - 88487 mietingen , rütapox resin 0164 from bakelite ag , araldit gy 250 from vantico ); unsaturated polyester resins ( e . g . haftharz lth from degussa chemiepark mari , paul - baumann - str . 1 , 45764 mari ); saturated polyester resins ( dynapol l 912 , dynapol l 952 from degussa ). these additional resins can be present for example in a quantity of from 0 to 50 wt . % dry weight , based on the total mass of the ink or varnish , preferably from 0 to 20 wt . %, particularly preferably 0 to 5 wt . %, in order to optimise certain properties , such as e . g . adhesion . however , in relation to the quantity to be added of these additional passive or inert resins , which are chemically differentiated from the polycarbonate used as the main resin , it should be borne in mind that they generally reinforce the risk of washout of the ink during back - injecting . the inks or varnishes preferably contain at least one photoinitiator , usually two and possibly three or more photoinitiators , in order to initiate the surface cure and in - depth cure ( crosslinking ) of the ink with uv - light . photoinitiators with the lowest possible tendency towards migration and volatility are preferred , in order to avoid negative phenomena such as delamination of the ink from the injected material . in addition , the photoinitiators used should display the lowest possible tendency towards yellowing , so that the colour of the component is not modified and / or falsified . they can be selected from the photoinitiators conventionally used in uv - curing printing inks and varnishes etc . for example , without being limited thereto , 1 - hydroxycyclohexylacetophenone ( irgacure ® 184 from ciba spezialitätenchemie ag , klybeckstrasse 141 , postfach , ch - 4002 basle ), 2 - methyl - 1 -[ 4 -( methylthiophenyl )- 2 - morpholinopropan ]- 1 - one ( irgacure ® 907 from ciba ), 2 - hydroxy - 1 -[ 4 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) phenyl ]- 2 - methyl - 1 - propanone ( irgacure ® 2959 from ciba ), α - dimethoxy - α - phenylacetophenone ( irgacure ® 651 from ciba ), 2 - benzyl - 2 - dimethylamino - 1 -( 4 - morpholinophenyl ) butan - 1 - one ( irgacure ® 369 from ciba ), bis ( 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylbenzoyl ) phenyl phosphine oxide ( irgacure ® 819 from ciba ), 2 - hydroxy - 2 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - 1 - propanone ( darocur ® 1173 from ciba ), isopropyl thioxanthone ( itx from lambson ), 2 - chlorothioxanthone ( ctx from lambson ), benzophenone , 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylbenzene diphenyl phosphine oxide ( tpo from basf ), ethyl - 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylbenzoylphenyl phosphinate ( tpo - l from basf ) and methylbenzoyl formate ( mbf from lambson ). the quantity to be added is heavily dependent on the choice of printing process and the type of photoinitiators used . the total quantity of photoinitiators is generally 1 to 20 wt . %, preferably 2 to 10 wt . %, particularly preferably 3 - 7 %, based on the total mass of the printing ink or printing varnish . in addition , it is also possible to use co - initiators such as amines ( e . g . mdea from basf aktiengesellschaft , carl - bosch - straβe 38 , 67056 ludwigshafen ) or amine - modified acrylates ( e . g . ebecryl p115 , ebecryl 7100 from surface specialities ucb ; actilane 705 , actilane 715 , actilane 755 from akzo nobel resins bv ., verkaufsbüro deutschland , industriestr . 8 . 46446 emmerich ; laromer po 94 f , laromer lr 8869 from basf ; craynor503 , craynor 550 from cray valley ; photomer 4775f from cognis ) in quantities of from 0 . 5 to 20 wt . %, based on the total mass of the printing ink or printing varnish depending on the printing process and the type of photoinitiators used . bis ( 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylbenzoyl ) phenyl phosphine oxide ( irgacure ® 819 from ciba ), 2 - hydroxy - 2 - methyl - 1 - phenyl - 1 - propanone ( darocur ® 1173 from ciba ) and trimethylbenzene diphenyl phosphine oxide ( tpo from basf ) are preferably used . a thickener can also be contained in the printing ink or varnish and can also be selected from conventional materials used for this purpose in printing inks and / or printing varnishes . these include , for example , without being limited thereto , pyrogenic silica , structurally modified layered silicates post - treated with methacryl silane and castor oil derivatives as well as solutions of modified ureas or polyhydroxycarboxamides . the quantity of thickener ( s ) used is usually in the range of from 0 to 10 wt . %, preferably 0 . 5 to 5 wt . % and particularly 1 . 5 to 3 wt . %, based on the total mass of the printing ink or printing varnish . in general , the printing ink or varnish also contains a defoamer and / or a flow control agent . defoamers can , for example , without being limited thereto , be selected from modified acrylates or modified acrylate copolymers , but also from silicone - containing compounds . flow control agents include , for example , modified polyacrylates and polysiloxanes . in general , but depending on the printing process and the type of defoamers and / or flow control agents used , they are employed in a quantity of from 0 . 1 to 2 . 5 wt . %, based on the total mass of the printing ink or varnish . among the defoamers and flow control agents , it is preferred to use silicone - free products to prevent migration of these compounds and the possible resulting delamination of the injected material from the ink . as stabilisers it is preferable to use , without being limited thereto , genorad 16 from rahn and fluorstab uv2 from kromachem , 10 , park industrial centre , tolpits lane , watford , hertfordshire wd1 8sp , uk . the printing ink or printing varnish can comprise one or more fillers . these fillers are used to reduce the price and to optimise the flow properties of the printing ink and / or printing varnish . the nature of the fillers is not particularly critical . they can be selected from conventional fillers used in printing inks , such as , for example , without being limited thereto , china clay , barium sulfate ( in precipitated form as blanc fixe ), calcium carbonate , zinc sulfide , silica , talcum , aluminum silicate , aluminum hydroxide and / or silicic acid . the quantity of filler used is generally in the range of from 0 to 50 wt . %, preferably 0 to 30 wt . %, e . g . 20 wt . %, based on the total mass of the printing ink or varnish . the pigments preferably contained in the printing ink can be any pigments . it is possible to use , for example , without being limited thereto , titanium dioxide , zinc sulfide , carbon black , azo diaryl yellow , isoindole yellow , diarylide orange , quinacridone magenta , diketo pyrrolo red , copper phthalocyanine blue , copper phthalocyanine green , dioxazine violet and diketo metal oxide . a fairly comprehensive list of other pigments that can be used is to be found in the colour index international , fourth edition online , 2001 , published by the society of dyers and colourists in conjunction with the american association of textile chemists and colorists . special effect pigments , such as , but without being limited to , metal oxide coated mica and metallic pigments , can also be used . the quantity of colour pigment is generally 1 to 50 wt . %, preferably 3 to 45 wt . %, based on the weight of the printing ink , depending on the type of pigment , the desired hiding power and the printing process selected . white pigment is generally used in a quantity of from 20 to 50 wt . %, preferably 25 to 45 wt . %. the coloured pigments are generally used in a quantity of from 1 to 20 wt . %, depending on the nature and on the shade as well as on the printing process employed . metal oxide coated mica and metallic pigments are generally used in a quantity of from 1 to 20 wt . %, depending on the nature and on the shade as well as on the printing process employed . all pigments used must be highly thermally stable and must not be destroyed , sublimate or change their shade as a result of the temperature arising during back - injecting . to improve the ink properties , it is additionally possible to add waxes . suitable waxes are commercially available . the waxes listed below are particularly suitable , commercially available products being named as examples of the respective waxes ; the respective source of supply is given in brackets : ceraflour 990 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), ceraflour 991 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), printwax me 0825 ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ) ceraflour 961 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), everglide uv 961 25 % ( krahn - chemie gmbh ; grimm 10 ; 20457 hamburg germany ) deuteron mm 659 ( deuteron gmbh ; in den ellern 2 ; 28832 achim germany ) micro wax dm ( finma - chemie gmbh , theodor - heuss - strasse 5 ; 61191 rosbach germany ), micro wax htdm ( finma - chemie gmbh , theodor - heuss - strasse 5 ; 61191 rosbach germany ) ceraflour 980 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), ultraglide uv 701 ( krahn - chemie gmbh ; grimm 10 ; 20457 hamburg germany ), shamrock st - 3 ( shamrock ; heesterveldweg 21 ; 3700 tongeren belgium ) ceraflour 968 ( byk - cera , danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), ceraflour 996 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ) ceraflour 994 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), deurex ma 7020 ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ) ceraflour 4rc 1165 ( byk - cera ; danzigweg 23 ; 7418 en deventer netherlands ), everglide uv 636 25 % ( krahn - chemie gmbh ; grimm 10 ; 20457 hamburg germany ) deurex mm 8120 ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius . strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ), deurex mm 8200 ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ) ceridust tp 5091 ( clariant gmbh ; am unisyspark 1 ; 65843 sulzbach germany ) polyspers hp ( eastman chemical deutschland gmbh ; charlottenstrasse 61 ; 5114 9 cologne germany ) crayvallack wn - 1135 ( lubrizol coating additives gmbh ; max planck strasse 6 ; 27721 ritterhude germany ) printwax mxf 9510 d ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ), printwax mx . 9815 d ( deurex micro - technologies gmbh ; dr . bergius strasse 18 / 20 ; 06729 tröglitz germany ) the concentration of the wax is preferably 0 wt . % to 10 wt . %, more preferably 0 wt . % to 3 . 0 wt . % and particularly preferably 0 - 2 wt . %, based on the weight of the printing ink or printing varnish . before printing , an adhesion promoter may be added to the printing ink or varnish in a quantity of from 0 . 01 to 20 wt . %, preferably 1 to 10 wt . %, based on the weight of the ink or varnish for printing . this can be an isocyanate adhesion promoter , e . g . aliphatic polyisocyanates such as hexamethylene diisocyanate ( hdi ), trimethylhexane diisocyanate ( tmhdi ), cycloaliphatic polyisocyanates such as isophorone diisocyanate ( ipdi ), hydrogenated xylylene diisocyanate ( hxdi ) or diisocyanatodicyclohexylmethane ( hmdi ), as well as aromatic polyisocyanates , such as toluene diisocyanate ( tdi ), xylylene diisocyanate ( xdi ), tetramethylxylylene diisocyanate ( tmxdi ) or diisocyanatodiphenylmethane ( mdi ). commercially available products are e . g . desmodur e41 or desmodur n 75 ( bayer ). polyimides , such as polyethylene imides or polycarbodiimides , can also be used . other adhesion promoters are silane adhesion promoters , such as alkyl silanes , vinyl silanes , methacryloxy silanes , epoxy silanes , amino silanes , urea silanes , chlorosilanes and isocyanatosilanes as well as aminosilanes , such as e . g . gamma - aminopropyltriethoxysilane , gamma - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane , n - beta -( aminoethyl )- gamma - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane , bis ( gamma - trimethoxysilylpropyl ) amine , n - phenyl - gamma - aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and n - beta -( aminoethyl )- gamma - aminopropylmethyldimethoxysilane , and isocyanatosilanes , such as gamma - isocyanatopropyl triethoxysilane . preferred printing processes are screen printing , rotary screen printing , digital printing , flexographic printing , letterpress printing , offset printing and gravure printing . screen printing is particularly preferably used . particularly suitable thermoplastic polymers for the substrates to be coated with the printing ink or printing varnish and / or for back - filling the laminate according to the invention are polycarbonates or copolycarbonates based on diphenols , poly - or copolyacrylates and poly - or copolymethacrylates such as , for example and preferably , polymethyl methacrylate ( pmma ), polymers or copolymers with styrene such as , for example and preferably , polystyrene ( ps ) or polystyrene - acrylonitrile ( san ) or acrylonitrile - butadiene - polystyrene ( abs ), thermoplastic polyurethanes , as well as polyolefins such as , for example and preferably , polypropylene grades or polyolefins based on cyclic olefins ( e . g . topas ®, hoechst ), poly - or copolycondensates of terephthalic acid , such as , for example and preferably , poly - or copolyethylene terephthalate ( pet or copet ), glycol - modified pet ( petg ), glycol - modified poly - or copolycyclohexane dimethylene terephthalate ( pctg ) or poly - or copolybutylene terephthalate ( pbt or copet ), poly - or copolycondensates of naphthalenedicarboxylic acid such as , for example and preferably , polyethylene glycol naphthalate ( pen ), poly - or copolycondensate ( s ) of at least one cycloalkyl dicarboxylic acid , such as , for example and preferably , polycyclohexanedimethanolcyclohexanedicarboxylic acid ( pccd ), polysulfones ( psu ) or mixtures of the aforementioned . preferred thermoplastic polymers are polycarbonates or copolycarbonates or blends containing at least one polycarbonate or copolycarbonate . particularly preferred are blends containing at least one polycarbonate or copolycarbonate and at least one poly - or copolycondensate of terephthalic acid , naphthalenedicarboxylic acid or a cycloalkyl dicarboxylic acid , preferably cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid . most particularly preferred are polycarbonates or copolycarbonates , particularly with average molecular weights m w of from 500 to 100 000 , preferably from 10 000 to 80 000 , particularly preferably from 15 000 to 40 000 or blends thereof with at least one poly - or copolycondensate of terephthalic acid with average molecular weights m w of from 10 000 to 200 000 , preferably from 26 000 to 120 000 . common substrates consisting of at least one thermoplastic polymer that can be printed with the printing ink or printing varnish include , inter alia , polycarbonate , pretreated polyester , abs , pmma , polycarbonate / polyester blends and polycarbonate / abs blends , without being limited thereto . examples of suitable substrates are single - or multi - layer substrates . multi - layer substrates can contain several polymer layers and / or a polymer layer and a coating of other materials . suitable examples of multi - layer substrates are e . g . coextruded films or laminates containing one or more of the aforementioned thermoplastic polymers as well as coated films containing one or more of the aforementioned thermoplastic polymers . suitable films are available e . g . from bayer materialscience ag ( bayfol ®, makrolon ®, makrofol ®, bayblend ®) and autotype ( autoflex hiform ™, autoflex xtraform ™). it is preferred to use films of polycarbonate or polycarbonate / polyester blends as substrate . the common injection moulding materials that can be used for back - injecting the printing ink or printing varnish that have been applied on to the film are , in particular but not exclusively , polyesters , polycarbonates , polycarbonate blends , polystyrene , abs , abs blends , polyamide , pvc and pmma . the preferred material for back - injecting is polycarbonate or various polycarbonate blends . the following examples are intended to provide an exemplary explanation of the invention and are not to be construed as a restriction . 205 . 7 g ( 0 . 90 mol ) bisphenol a ( 2 , 2 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl ) propane ), 30 . 7 g ( 0 . 10 mol ) 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane , 336 . 6 g ( 6 mol ) koh and 2700 g water are dissolved in an inert gas atmosphere with stirring . a solution of 1 . 88 g phenol in 2500 ml methylene chloride is then added . 198 g ( 2 mol ) of phosgene were introduced into the solution , which was stirred well , at ph 13 to 14 and 21 to 25 ° c . next , 1 ml ethylpiperidine is added and stirring is continued for a further 45 min . the bisphenolate - free aqueous phase is separated off and the organic phase , after acidifying with phosphoric acid , is washed with water until neutral and freed of the solvent . the polycarbonate had a relative solution viscosity of 1 . 255 . the glass transition temperature of the polymer was determined as 157 ° c . ( dsc ). as for polycarbonate 1 , a mixture of 181 . 4 g ( 0 . 79 mol ) bisphenol a and 63 . 7 g ( 0 . 21 mol ) 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane was reacted to give polycarbonate . the glass transition temperature of the polymer was determined as 167 ° c . ( dsc ). as for polycarbonate 1 , a mixture of 149 . 0 g ( 0 . 65 mol ) bisphenol a and 107 . 9 g ( 0 . 35 mol ) 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane was reacted to give polycarbonate . the glass transition temperature of the polymer was determined as 183 ° c . ( dsc ). as for polycarbonate 1 , a mixture of 91 . 6 g ( 0 . 40 mol ) bisphenol a and 185 . 9 g ( 0 . 60 mol ) 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane was reacted to give polycarbonate . the glass transition temperature of the polymer was determined as 204 ° c . ( dsc ). as for polycarbonate 1 , a mixture of 44 . 2 g ( 0 . 19 mol ) bisphenol a and 250 . 4 g ( 0 . 81 mol ) 1 , 1 - bis ( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 3 , 3 , 5 - trimethylcyclohexane was reacted to give polycarbonate . the glass transition temperature of the polymer was determined as 216 ° c . ( dsc ). the glass transition temperatures were determined by dsc ( d ifferential ( s canning ( c alorimetry ) in accordance with iso 11357 . to determine the glass transition temperatures , the samples were previously dried for 24 hours in a vacuum cabinet . to illustrate the invention , screen printing inks were produced as follows : for this purpose , 20 wt . % of the binder from bayer material science ( polycarbonate 4 , see above ) was initially dissolved in 80 wt . % uv - curing monomer 4 -( 1 - oxo - 2 - propenyl ) morpholine . additional monofunctional acrylates , a diacrylate , photoinitiators , flow control agents , thickeners and pigments were added to the binder dissolved in uv - curing monomer 4 -( 1 - oxo - 2 - propenyl ) morpholine , predispersed using a high - speed mixer and , with the aid of a triple roll mill or a bead mill , an ink was produced with a fineness of grain of & lt ; 10 μm . the invention is described by examples 1 and 2 listed in tables 1 and 2 , without being limited thereto . to produce the laminates according to the invention , the screen printing inks from examples 1 and 2 with a viscosity of approx . 4 000 mpa * s ( cone - plate system with a shear rate of 100 / s ) were each printed through a 150 - 31 screen printing fabric on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm ; bayer materialscience ag ) and cured at a rate of 15 m / min with the aid of 2 × 120 w / cm mercury vapour lamps . in the production of another screen printing ink , 30 wt . % of the binder from bayer material science ( polycarbonate 5 , see above ) was dissolved in 70 wt . % uv - curing monomer 4 -( 1 - oxo - 2 - propenyl ) morpholine . a diacrylate , photoinitiators , flow control agents , thickeners and pigment were added to the binder dissolved in uv - curing monomer 4 -( 1 - oxo - 2 - propenyl ) morpholine , predispersed using a high - speed mixer and , with the aid of a triple roll mill or a bead mill , an ink was produced with a fineness of grain of & lt ; 10 μm . the invention is described by the example presented in table 3 , without being limited thereto . the screen printing ink with a viscosity of approx . 4 000 mpa · s ( cone - plate system with a shear rate of 100 / s ) was printed through a 150 - 31 screen printing fabric on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm ; bayer materialscience ag ) and cured at a rate of 15 m / min with the aid of 2 × 120 w / cm mercury vapour lamps . the following examples 4 to 7 were carried out for comparison purposes : a commercially available screen printing ink with the composition according to table 4 , which contained a polyacrylate as binder , was printed on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm , bayer materialscience ag ) and cured as described for examples 1 and 2 . a commercially available screen printing ink with the composition according to table 5 , which contained a different polyacrylate from the one in comparative example 4 as binder , was printed on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm , bayer materialscience ag ) and cured as described for examples 1 and 2 . a commercially available screen printing ink with the composition according to table 6 , which contained a polyurethane acrylate as binder , was printed on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm , bayer materialscience ag ) and cured as described for examples 1 and 2 . a commercially available screen printing ink from coates ( decomold ™), which contained as binder a copolymer with an aliphatic polycarbonate backbone and oligomeric urethane acrylate side chains , was printed on to a polycarbonate film ( makrofol ® de - 4 ; 375 μm , bayer materialscience ag ) and cured as described for examples 1 and 2 . the coated films ( laminates ) produced according to examples 1 to 7 were tested for their formability as described below . the forming tests were performed on an samk 360 high pressure forming machine ( hpf machine ), year of construction 2000 , from niebling . for the evaluation of the forming properties , the tests were performed with a heating / ventilation panel mould . the dimensions of the component were approx . 190 × 120 mm with various apertures for the stretch to be evaluated . the mould temperature was 100 ° c . before forming , the films were preheated in a heating zone . the heating time was 16 seconds for all the tests , which gave a film temperature of approx . 150 - 160 ° c . for the evaluation , 5 films from each of the examples were formed consecutively . the evaluation was performed visually and the results compiled in table 7 . the results showed that , apart from the laminates according to the invention , only the laminate from comparative example 4 could be formed and stretched without damaging the laminate overall or the ink film . the films ( laminates ) produced and coated according to examples 1 to 7 and formed according to example 8 were tested for their back - injection characteristics as described below . for evaluation in the film insert moulding process ( fim ), the same films could be used as in the forming test . the tests were performed using an injection moulding machine from arburg . the arburg allrounder 570 c has a locking force of max . 200 tonnes and was constructed in 2003 . the various films were back - injected with pc / abs at 260 ° c . the mould filling time was 2 seconds and the injection pressure was measured as 1000 bar . the mould temperature was set to a standard value of 60 ° c . the mould has a hot tip which feeds the polymer into the mould cavity through a cold runner via auxiliary pins . during this process , high temperatures and shear forces occur , which can in some cases wash out the printed ink when the stress is too high . the adhesion of the back - injected plastic to the ink was then evaluated in a manual pull - off test . the evaluation was carried out visually and the results compiled in table 8 . the results showed that only the laminates according to the invention could be back - injected with a thermoplastic both without washout of the ink film and with good adhesion between laminate and back - injected material . in order to obtain a more extensive evaluation regarding adhesion between printed film ( laminate ) and the back - injection material , the mouldings from example 9 were exposed to ageing under climatically controlled conditions . these tests were performed in a climatic test cabinet from weiss , year of construction 1989 , under the following conditions : the films were then evaluated visually and also subjected to a manual pull - off test . the results are listed in table 9 . the results showed that only the laminates according to the invention still exhibited a good appearance and good adhesion after ageing under climatically controlled conditions . the comparative examples exhibited blistering and no longer displayed any adhesion . * the laminates according to comparative example 4 were no longer tested after ageing under climatically controlled conditions since the results according to example 9 were already too poor for subsequent long - term ageing under climatically controlled conditions . taking into consideration the results of examples 8 - 10 , i . e . for the entire process chain of the forming and back - injecting of the printed films ( laminates ), the following overall picture was obtained for the examples : for the laminates according to the invention from examples 1 to 3 , good formability , stretchability during this forming and back - injectability were observed . the adhesion of the back - injection material with the printed film ( the laminate according to the invention ) was good both immediately after the back - injection and after storage in the conditioning cabinet and in addition , no washout of the ink whatsoever could be observed . the comparative examples 4 to 7 in some cases already displayed significant weaknesses during forming , in terms of significant cracking in the ink film or adhesion of the overall laminate to the forming mould . during back - injection and ageing under climatically controlled conditions , all the comparative examples displayed either marked washout of the ink from the ink film or inadequate to no adhesion between coated film and back - injection material . in table 11 , further examples of suitable inks in a blue shade for various printing processes were listed , without being limited thereto . | 8 |
a check valve subassembly , generally designated by the numeral 11 , includes a ring - like base 12 having an inlet side 13 , an outlet side 14 , and a circular aperture 16 for the flow of fluid therethrough . base 12 is also provided with circumferential threads 17 , for securing the subassembly within a check valve body or housing , to be described more fully below . it is also contemplated that a bayonet mount , a retaining collar , or tabs engaged by the check valve body may be used to secure the subassembly . an 0 - ring 18 is provided around the base , adjacent the inlet side 13 , for sealing engagement with the check valve housing . a plurality of pins 19 , protruding from the inlet side of the base , provides a convenient grip for rotating the subassembly during installation and removal . a clapper 21 , having a proximal edge 22 and an opposing distal edge 23 , is pivotally mounted to the outlet side 14 of the base , for rotation about a first axis . for that purpose , a first pair of lugs 24 , spanned by a shaft 26 including spacers 27 , is provided on side 14 adjacent aperture 16 . also , a boss 28 , having a bore 30 for accommodating the shaft 26 , is located on the proximal edge of the clapper for rotational engagement with the shaft . a resilient sealing disc 29 is attached to the underside of the clapper to provide a fluid tight seal over the aperture , when the clapper is in a closed or engaged position . the check valve subassembly 11 also includes a cam arm 31 , having a fixed end 32 , a movable end 33 , and a cam surface 34 therebetween , facing the underlying clapper 21 . the configuration of the cam surface disclosed herein is concave and generally elliptical in nature . however , this surface may be modified to other configurations , providing corresponding operating characteristics well known to those skilled in the art . a pivotally mounted roller 35 may be mounted on the distal end 23 of the clapper , for rolling engagement with the cam surface 34 . a second pair of lugs 36 is located on the outlet side 14 of the base , across the aperture from the first pair of lugs 24 . a shaft 37 extends between lugs 36 , along a second axis parallel to the first axis . a hole 38 is provided in the fixed end 32 of the cam arm for pivotal attachment to the shaft , allowing rotation of the cam arm about the second axis from a closed position to an open position . a torsion spring 39 is provided around the portion of the shaft 37 , exposed between the lugs 36 . the median portion of the spring 39 has a loop 41 , which engages the cam arm adjacent its fixed end 32 . ends 42 of the torsion spring impinge upon the outlet side 14 of the base , effectively immobilizing the ends of the spring when torsional forces are applied . the torsion spring is assembled in conjunction with the cam arm so as to provide a resilient bias of the cam arm toward a closed position , thereby maintaining the underlying clapper in a normally closed position . the bias forces provided by the torsion spring are such that when a predetermined amount of pressure is applied from fluid flowing against the clapper from the inlet side , the bias is overcome and fluid is allowed to flow through the partially uncovered aperture . as the fluid flow rate is increased , the clapper continues to pivot outwardly , progressively uncovering the aperture . concurrently , the roller 35 on the edge 23 of the clapper , travels along the cam surface to the extent allowed by the interaction between the fluid pressures upon the clapper and the opposing bias provided by the torsion spring . a sharply curved portion 20 of the cam surface acts as a limit stop to prevent over - extension of the clapper and the cam arm . owing to the varying moment arm created by the clapper working against the arcuate surface of the biased cam arm , the clapper opens differentially in response to increasing flow rates . as will be explained and illustrated more fully below , the differential action of the clapper provides reduced head or pressure loss through the check valve over the range of working flow rates , typically encountered . although the check valve subassembly of the present invention may be installed within a variety of housings , including the conventional multi - sectional cast variety , it is preferable to use a unibody 43 , or unitized valve body construction . fig4 depicts a double check valve 50 using such a unitized valve body construction ; as is evident , the check valve is in a static condition , with no fluid flowing through the body . fig5 on the other hand , illustrates the same valve in a fully operational and dynamic condition , passing fluid at a moderate rate . the pair of check valve subassemblies used in the double check valve 50 , is essentially identical in construction and operation to the subassemblies 11 , described above . however , one of the subassemblies is modified slightly for this application , in a manner to be described more fully below . the unibody 43 as employed herein includes an inlet port 44 , a central chamber 46 , an outlet port 47 , and a service port 48 . the inlet port 44 includes a circular flange 49 for attachment to an upstream isolation valve or a section of pipe , and the outlet port 47 includes a similar flange 51 for like downstream attachments . the inlet port 44 also includes inlet pipe 52 , having external threads 53 on its innermost portion . similarly , outlet port 47 includes outlet insert 54 , having internal threads 56 as shown in fig4 and 5 . during initial assembly , servicing , or reconfiguring the check valve from single to double or double to single check valve operation , a cap or cover 57 is removed from the service port 48 . having removed the cap 57 , the central chamber is readily accessible for installing or removing check valve subassemblies therein . an upstream check valve subassembly 58 is modified from the previously described subassembly 11 , by providing internal threads 59 in the aperture , for threaded attachment of the subassembly to the inlet pipe . also , the pins 19 are eliminated from the inlet side of the base , as unnecessary . for installation of the subassembly 58 , it is simply passed through the service port and hand threaded onto the inlet pipe 52 . an internal 0 - ring 61 provides a fluid tight seal , once the base is snugly seated against the end of the pipe 52 . the particular rotational orientation of the subassembly is not critical , as it will operate in essentially the same fashion regardless of its end rotational position . this provides advantages over check valve constructions that rely on gravity for proper operation , as such valves must be installed and maintained in a particular orientation . in like fashion , a downstream check valve subassembly 62 is inserted through the service port and threaded within the outlet insert 54 . a bar or other tool ( not shown ), may be used to engage pins 19 , to effect further rotation of subassembly 62 into full engagement with the insert 54 . cap 57 is then replaced over the service port , and the check valve is ready for use . at such time as the check valve requires servicing , or modification of the mode of operation is desired , from a double to single or single to double valve operation , the cap 57 is simply removed again and the desired procedure can be carried out on the valve subassemblies . it should be noted that the torsion springs 39 of the subassemblies 58 and 62 are tailored to the particular application and configuration of the check valve 50 . for example , a single check valve construction would use a torsion spring that provided little , or no ( measurable ), fluid pressure loss through the valve . the double check valve assembly 50 would employ torsion springs in each subassembly that would cause a 1 to 3 psi fluid pressure loss through each subassembly . if a double check valve assembly further included a pressure relief valve , operating on the reduced pressure (&# 34 ; rp &# 34 ;) principle , the relief valve would have an inlet line in communication with the inlet port 44 , an chamber line in communication with the central chamber 46 , in a manner well known in the art . in this application , the torsion spring of upstream check valve subassembly 58 should exhibit a fluid pressure loss differential from 5 to 9 psi , to ensure proper operation of the pressure relief valve . the torsion spring of the downstream check valve subassembly 62 , however , should show a pressure loss differential of 1 to 3 psi for this application . as a matter of convenience , test cock fittings 60 may be provided in the valve housing , to monitor fluid pressure for static , dynamic , normal flow or reverse flow conditions . fig6 shows a graph , plotting psid , or pressure differential ( loss ) per square inch , versus flow rate , in gallons per minute . one curve shows the prior art , industry average , and the other curve reflects the performance of a double check valve assembly embodying the present invention . also indicated on the graph is the typical operating range of a 4 &# 34 ; check valve of the present invention , ranging from 150 gpm to 400 gpm . the prior art curve reflects a relatively low psi differential at low flow rates , which slowly but steadily increases at greater flow rates . the curve of the present invention shows a relatively high psi differential at initially low flow rates , and then a sharp decline in psi differential through 250 gpm , followed by a fairly slow rise in differential throughout the remainder of the operating range . in other words , through a significant portion of the operating range of the present invention , an increase in flow rate effects a decrease in the psi differential caused by the check valve . and , throughout the remainder of the operating range , the present invention displays a lower psi differential than the average differential of prior art devices . turning now to fig7 , and 9 , a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated . this embodiment has been manufactured and tested for smaller diameter check valves , on the order of 3 / 4 &# 34 ; to 1 &# 34 ;, but the disclosure of this embodiment is not limited to such applications . for purposes of convenience , the same numerical identifications of elements will be used , whenever possible , in identifying the structure of the second embodiment as were used in describing the first embodiment . the second embodiment of the check valve subassembly is generally designated by the numeral 63 . check valve subassembly 63 includes a base 12 , having an inlet side 13 and an outlet side 14 . an aperture 16 is provided in the base for the passage of fluid from the inlet side to the outlet side . threads 17 are included around the base 12 , adjacent the inlet side , for securing the subassembly 63 within a check valve body . 0 - ring 18 is included to provide a fluid tight seal between the subassembly and the valve body . pins 19 , described previously , may be used to advantage when installing and removing the subassembly . clapper 21 includes a proximal edge 22 and an opposing distal edge 23 . a resilient sealing disc 29 is attached to the underside of clapper 21 , to provide a hydraulic seal with the underlying aperture when the clapper is in a closed position ( see fig9 ). a first pair of lugs 24 is located on the outlet side 14 of the base , and is pivotally attached to the clapper by a complimentary pair of ears 25 and a pair of rods 64 . clapper 21 is thereby pivotally mounted for rotational movement about a first axis , from a closed position over the aperture 16 to an open position at least partially uncovering the aperture . a cam arm 31 , has a fixed end 32 , a movable end 33 , and a cam surface 34 extending between the ends for sliding engagement with the distal edge 23 of the clapper 21 . a recess 40 is provided in the distal edge 23 , partially to accommodate the cam arm when it is in a closed position , and also to facilitate smooth sliding engagement between the clapper and the cam surface . in the small diameter application of the check valve subassembly 63 , it has been determined that both the clapper and the cam arm may be manufactured from plastic material , having a relatively low coefficient of friction . in using such material , it is possible to eliminate the roller 35 , used in the first embodiment of the invention . a second pair of lugs 36 is located on the outlet side of the subassembly base , across the aperture from the first pair of lugs 24 . a shaft 37 extends between the lugs 36 , through a hole 38 in the fixed end 32 of the cam . shaft 37 thereby defines a second axis , parallel to the first axis , about which the cam is pivotally mounted for rotation from a closed position to an open position . a tension spring 45 extends between the movable end 33 of the cam arm and the base . the spring 45 thereby provides a resilient bias against the cam arm and the underlying clapper , to maintain them in a normally closed position . however , as with the first embodiment of the invention , when a predetermined amount of fluid pressure is imposed upon the inlet side of the base , the bias will be overcome , and both the clapper and the cam arm will pivot away from the outlet side of the base , as shown in fig1 . limit stop 20 prevents over - extension of the clapper and the cam arm in response to increasing flow rates . an upstream check valve subassembly 66 and a downstream check valve subassembly 67 are shown in a partially open position within the unibody valve housing 43 , shown in fig1 . as the structure of the double check valve 68 is essentially identical to the double check valve shown in fig4 and 5 , with the exception of the already discussed differences between the internal subassemblies , the common elements will not be mentioned further . the double check valve shown in fig1 does include a pressure relief valve 70 , an inlet line 55 , and a central chamber line 65 . pressure relief valve 70 is of conventional design , being adapted to discharge water through port 71 whenever the pressure differential between the inlet port 44 and the central chamber 46 does not exceed approximately 3 psi . since upstream check valve subassembly 66 is designed to exhibit a fluid pressure loss differential within a range of 5 to 9 psi , a pressure differential of only 3 psi or less would indicate a faulty valve 66 . the discharge of water through port 71 brings this particular fault condition to the attention of an inspector . it will be appreciated , then , that two embodiments of a differentially loading check valve subassembly , both alone and in combination with two unitized check valve body constructions , have been disclosed herein . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 - 3 , depicted is the eyeglass holder 10 according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention . the eyeglass holder 10 consists of a generally c - shaped frame 11 consisting of an elongated bridge support 12 terminated at each end by the proximal end 13a of a linearly elongated stem support 13 . the stem supports 13 extend perpendicularly from the bridge support 12 , parallel to one another . the general shape and contour of the frame 11 corresponds to that of a conventional pair of eyeglasses ( not shown in fig1 - 3 ). an eyeglass stem securing clasp , hereinafter stem securing clasp 15 , is located at the distal end 13b of each stem support 13 . the stem securing clasps 15 consist of a pair of curved securing tabs 16 that are biased against one another by the resilient nature of the material used to construct the frame 11 such that the tips of the securing tabs 16 maintain a position in close proximity to one another and forming a stem receiving cavity 17 into which the stem of a conventional pair of eyeglasses ( not shown in fig1 - 3 ) can be inserted and secured . a bridge rest 20 centered along the bridge support 12 on the inside portion of the c - shaped frame 11 allows for the nose rest of a conventional pair of eyeglasses to rest thereupon . the bridge rest 20 is contoured with a generally hourglass - like shape such that the nose rest pads 25 of a conventional pair of eyeglasses 26 , when placed within the eyeglass holder 10 , is cradled in the bridge rest mid - section 27 of the bridge rest 20 , preventing the eyeglasses from sliding in either a traversing or longitudinal direction . placed in the eyeglass holder 10 with the nose rest pads 25 resting on the bridge rest 20 , the eyeglass stems 28 extend back in a direction generally parallel to the stem supports 13 and intersecting the stem securing clasps 15 . the curved nature of the securing tabs 16 create a stem receiving cavity 17 into which the stem of a conventional pair of eyeglasses ( not shown in fig1 - 3 ) can be inserted and secured . the securing tabs 16 are forced to distort by forcing the stem there between and the stem is allowed to enter the stem receiving cavity 17 . the resilient nature of the securing tabs 16 forces them back together once the stem has entered the stem receiving cavity 17 . optionally , a suction cup 30 allows for the eyeglass holder 10 to be secured to a smooth surface such as an automobile windshield , in a position of convenient access . the suction cup 30 is secured to the frame 11 by a mounting post 31 that is inserted into a suction cup securing aperture 32 molded in the design of the suction cup 30 , although other securing means such as a hinge mechanism may be equally suitable . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention and as shown in fig4 - 5 , the eyeglass holder 10 is used in the manner described herein below . depending upon the type of surface or structure that the eyeglass holder 10 is being used upon , the suction cup 30 may be attached to the frame 11 via the mounting post 31 . the eyeglasses 26 are placed into the eyeglass holder 10 with the nose rest pads 25 supported by the bridge rest mid - section 27 of the bridge rest 20 . the eyeglass stems 28 are inserted into the stem securing clasps 15 where they are retained by the securing tabs 16 . secured to the eyeglass holder 10 and positioned within the concave portion of the c - shaped frame 11 , the eyeglasses 26 can be placed in a position of convenient location and retrieved both quickly and easily . the bridge support 12 and the stem supports 13 serve to protect the eyeglasses 26 from damage should they fall or otherwise become subject to a potentially damaging force . the bridge support 12 also serves to shield the eyeglass lenses 35 from scratches and abrasions . while the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown , illustrated , and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in this field that various modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention . it is for this reason that the scope of the invention is set forth in and is to be limited only by the following claims . | 8 |
with reference to fig1 a , a three point seatbelt system 10 is shown . the three point seatbelt 10 consists of a seatbelt 12 of tough , flexible material , typically woven nylon , which is attached to the chassis of the car at a lower attachment point 16 , typically behind the edge where the seat 22 and back 24 meet . as shown in fig1 b , the top end of the belt 12 goes over a fixture 20 that may be attached to the chassis of the vehicle , above shoulder height 26 of an occupant 28 sitting on the seat 22 . in some vehicles , the fixture 20 is a sprung loaded reel or drum around which the seatbelt 12 is wound . in other vehicles the fixture 20 is a pulley , and the seatbelt 12 goes over and around the pulley and down to a take up reel or drum below the level of the pulley , which may be exposed or concealed behind a cover . in many three point seatbelts systems 10 , a slider 30 having a slot 32 through which the seatbelt 12 runs and a protruding tongue 34 is provided . the slider 32 can be raised or lowered along the seatbelt 12 between the lower point of attachment 16 and the fixture 20 . a clasp 36 is provided , typically on a flexible rod for front or back seats , and sometimes on a strap 38 for back seats , that is fixed to the chassis of the vehicle . the clasp 36 is configured to lockingly engage the tongue 34 of the slider 30 . an occupant 28 restrained by the seatbelt system 10 of fig1 a is shown in fig1 b . with reference to fig2 a and 2 b , an occupant 40 of the seat 42 , sitting between the taut length of seatbelt 12 , on the outer side of occupant 40 and the flexible rod 46 on the inner side of occupant 40 slides the slider 30 to a convenient position and then pulls it across and down so that the tongue 34 thereof may be inserted into the clasp 36 where it is locked in place . the seatbelt 12 , thus stretches from the fixture ( not shown ), down , over the shoulder 26 and across the torso 44 of the occupant 40 , through a slot 32 of the slider 30 attached to the tongue 34 that is lockingly engaged by the clasp 36 , creating a sash strap section 54 of the seatbelt 12 , and then the belt 12 goes back over the occupant &# 39 ; s 40 lap to create a lap strap section 56 and is fixed to the lower anchor point 16 . the type of arrangement shown in fig1 a , 1 b , 2 a , 2 b is a well established solution . commercially available three point seat - belts are widely employed and are required by regulatory authorities in many cases . a drum is often provided that keeps the seatbelt 12 taut . the slider 30 may be moved up and down the seatbelt 12 . the drum may be the fixture above the occupant &# 39 ; s shoulder , or the fixture 20 may be a pulley rod over which the seatbelt 12 is threaded , and the drum or take up reel may be positioned below the fixture 20 , possibly out of sight . in some vehicles , the seatbelt 12 itself is engaged by a clasp or similar , on the inner side of the passenger , rendering the slider 30 and tongue 34 arrangement obsolete . there are also various other three - point seat belt arrangements , mutatis mutandis . these features enable the seatbelt arrangement to be easily adjusted for comfort by occupants 28 , 40 of a wide variety of shapes and sizes , including , inter alia , tall , short , fat , thin , male and female occupants . with reference to fig3 , it is well established that adult sized seat belt arrangements 10 of fig1 a , 1 b , 2 a , 2 b , are not appropriate for smaller children 60 , since the diagonal sash section 54 of the belt 12 tends to rub against the child &# 39 ; s neck 62 or face , and the lap belt 56 section rides too high , and pushes of the child &# 39 ; s stomach 58 , since the clasp 36 is invariably on a flexible rod that holds the seat belt in too high a position above the child &# 39 ; s lap . indeed , even when the clasp 36 is on a short strap , it still has a tendency to ride up , due to the relatively small legs of the child and the wide separation between the anchor point and the clasp . as shown in fig4 , sometimes smaller children fasten the diagonal sash section 54 a under the arm 64 . this solution is more comfortable for the smaller child 60 , but results in both the sash section 54 and the lap section 56 lying across the smaller child &# 39 ; s abdomen 58 . if the vehicle stops suddenly , instead of retracting against the shoulder and rib cage which are relatively hard and protective , the seat belt retracts against the soft tissue and may cause internal damage . with reference to fig5 , booster seats 70 of various types have been proposed for use with three point seatbelts 12 . the booster seat 70 raises the child 60 , and this adjusts the position of the child 60 with respect both to the sash section 54 and the lap section 56 of the seatbelt 12 . however , booster seats 70 have two inherent problems . firstly , they are relatively bulky and when stored in the trunk of the car to make room for adult passengers , take up a lot of space . secondly , some older children / young adults , may be self conscious about using something they consider babyish . with reference to fig6 , a first embodiment of the present invention is schematically shown . the embodiment consists of an apparatus 200 that consists of a mat 205 to which a strap 220 is attached . this strap 220 is intended to engage the sash section 54 of a seatbelt 12 of a standard seatbelt arrangement 10 . also attached to the apparatus 200 are side catches 215 a , 215 b , that engage the lap section 36 of the seat belt 12 and pull it downwards , towards the seat 20 and the legs of a child occupant 60 sitting on the mat 205 and hold the seatbelt 12 down on each side of the child 60 . the strap 220 is provided with a clip 225 for adjustably clipping sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 , so that the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 is held at an appropriate height to lie across the shoulder 64 of the child 60 , and not against the neck 62 of the child 60 . apparatus 200 is shown as including a circular mat 205 , but it will be appreciated that the mat 205 may be oblong , square or substantially any shape . in some embodiments , the mat 205 may be fabricated from nylon or other tough fabric so that it may be folder or rolled away when not in use . in other embodiments , the mat 205 may be fabricated from two or more sections that are hinged together , allowing the apparatus 200 to be folded . apparatus 200 of the invention overcomes at least two disadvantages of booster seats 70 . firstly , the apparatus 200 is far less bulky than a booster seat 70 , and therefore may be carried in a schoolbag or satchel by the child , in a mother &# 39 ; s handbag , or stored in the glove compartment or under the front seats of the vehicle . if stored in the trunk of the vehicle , it nevertheless takes up much less room than conventional booster seats 70 . additionally , the apparatus 200 is more discrete than a booster seat 70 and is therefore perceived as less childish by the smaller child 60 , and therefore more likely to be used by a child who is older but nevertheless too short for unaided use of an adult seatbelt 12 . the mat 205 itself may be fabricated from substantially any material . preferably at least a widthwise strap 210 and the strap 220 for engaging the sash section 54 of the seatbelt 12 are fabricated from nylon , or other tough fabric , or from leather , for example . the widthwise strap 210 may , however , be a steel strip , for example . in preferred embodiments , the width wise strap 210 of the mat 205 is provided with a number of loops 212 to which the side catches 215 a , 215 b may alternatively be coupled . in this manner , the effective width of the apparatus 200 may be adjusted to the width of the pelvises of children of different sizes , or may be periodically adjusted to that of a child as he / she grows or by different children of different sizes . with reference to fig7 a - 7 d , the side catches 215 a , 215 b shown in fig6 , may be shackles 215 c , 215 d or clips 80 , 90 that may be opened to allow insertion of the seat belt 12 , and then closed to hold the seatbelt 12 . there are very many easily opened and closed shackles used that can be used to engage and hold the seatbelt 12 in place over the legs of the occupant . in addition to a purposely designed shackle for the apparatus 200 , some easily opened and closed commercially available shackles are designed for rock - climbing and are sufficiently strong for restraining an occupant in a head on collision . other types of side catches 215 may be employed . for example , clip 80 shown in fig7 c has a loop 82 for a seatbelt 12 , into which the seatbelt 12 may be slid and removed by pressing on a sprung loaded flap 84 . in fig7 d , a split buckle 90 is shown , having a gap 92 through which a seatbelt 12 may be threaded , and then straightened in slot 94 and restrained therein by broken strip 96 . the strip 98 on the other side of the split buckle 90 may be solid if permanently fixed to apparatus 200 , or may be provided with a gap 92 b . referring to fig7 e , preferably , however , the side catch is an open , typically flattened , c shaped clip 100 , enabling the seatbelt to be easily positioned and disengaged , with one hand . with reference to fig8 , a child 60 sitting on the apparatus 200 of fig6 is shown , illustrating how the apparatus 200 enables the adult three - point seatbelt arrangement 10 to be adjusted to comfortably secure a child 60 . referring to fig8 , mat 205 is placed on the seat 22 of the vehicle , with strap 220 positioned rearwards . strap 220 extends upwards and the clip 225 coupled thereto may be clipped onto sash section 54 of seatbelt 12 , above the shoulder 64 of the child 60 . in this way , the sash section 54 is held downwards and correctly positioned across the shoulder of the child . the side catch 215 a ( 215 b not shown ) are proximate to the thighs of the child 60 and hold the lap section 54 of the strap down across the lap . the clip 215 and side catches 215 may vary considerably within the scope of the invention , and some embodiments consists of hook arrangements , rods threaded through two eyes and the like . the strap 220 may be riveted or sewn to the mat 205 and the clip 225 may be attached to the strap 220 by a buckle 230 whose tongue may be threaded through any of a number of eye holes 235 punched through the strap 220 . in other embodiments , other adjustment means , may be used to appropriately size the strap . in other embodiments , the mat 205 may be rigid . preferably the rigid mat is foldable for ease of storage . the side catches 215 a , 215 b may be attached to the mat by extendible arms or straps to allow the apparatus to be sized to occupants of different sized pelvises . although described hereinabove for use by children , it will be appreciated that the apparatus 200 may be used by shorter adults as well . with reference to fig9 , a further embodiment is shown in which the system for engaging the seatbelt and adjusting it for child or generally smaller occupants is part of the car chair 300 , which may be a front seat , a back seat , or part of a back bench for two or three passengers . for purposes of illustration , the car chair 300 illustrated is the middle sitting position of the backseat of a vehicle , which is designed for two or three occupants . the car chair consists of a seat 302 and a back 304 , which are generally upholstered and may have rigid frames . the seat 302 is provided with side catches 306 a , 306 b attached to the seat 302 for engaging a lap section 56 of a seat belt 12 and directing it across thighs of an occupant ( 60 fig8 ), and a clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the car chair 300 for engaging a shoulder strap 54 of the seatbelt 12 and directing it across the shoulder 64 of the occupant 60 . in some embodiments the side catches 306 a , 306 b comprise c clips ( e . g . 100 fig7 e ) detachably attachable to loops in the fabric of the seat 302 upholstery . in other embodiments the side catches 306 a , 306 b comprise shackles 215 c , 215 d , open buckles 90 , hooks and clips 80 detachably attachable to loops in the fabric or permanently attached to the fabric of the seat 302 . in some embodiments the side catches 306 a , 306 b comprise straps provided with one part of a hook and loop fabric fastener ( as developed by velcro ™), to detachably attach to a second part of the hook and loop fastener sewn to fabric of the seat 302 . in some embodiments the clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the seat , for engaging the shoulder sash 54 part of the seatbelt 12 comprises a loop permanently attached to fabric of the seat back 304 . in other embodiments the clip 308 attached to the back 304 of the car chair 300 for engaging the shoulder sash 54 part of the seat belt 12 comprises a strap provided with one part of a hook and loop fabric fastener ( velcro ™) to detachably attach to a second part of the hook and loop fastener sewn to fabric of the seat back 304 . in some embodiments the clip 308 attached to the chair back 304 for engaging the shoulder sash 54 section of the seat belt 12 comprises a substantially vertical series of cloth loops permanently attached to fabric of the seat back 304 and a detachable clip e . g . 215 , 90 , 100 ( fig7 ) for engaging one of the cloth loops and the shoulder sash section 54 of the seat belt 12 . thus persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and includes both combinations and sub combinations of the various features described hereinabove as well as variations and modifications thereof , which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description . in the claims , the word “ comprise ”, and variations thereof such as “ comprises ”, “ comprising ” and the like indicate that the components listed are included , but not generally to the exclusion of other components . | 1 |
an embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail in accordance with the drawings hereinafter . fig1 is a view showing a main board 1 of a game controller as viewed from a bottom surface , and a reference number 2 shows a parts holder as the essential portion of the present invention . a push key 3 is provided to protrude from the inside of a housing ( not shown ) to the front side ( upper side in fig1 ). the parts holder 2 is mounted on the main board 1 . (+) electrodes and (−) electrodes of two batteries b contact to (+) contacts 7 and (−) contacts 8 of two battery terminal boards 5 , 6 that are provided on a center table portion 4 . also , push switch boards 10 provided separately from the main board 1 are provided perpendicularly to board holder portions 9 formed like two wings that extend leftward and rightward . push switches 11 provided on the push switch boards 10 are opposed to the back surfaces of the push keys 3 . when the push key 3 is pulled to this side , the push switch 11 is pushed by the push key 3 to turn on . [ 0019 ] fig2 a through 2c and fig3 a and 3b show a parts holder 2 . the parts holder 2 is positioned by inserting positioning pins 21 into pin holes in the main board 1 . the pin holes are provided to both left and right ends of the bottom surface of the parts holder 2 . the parts holder 2 is fixed to the main board 1 by engaging hooks 22 , which are provided to a rear edge of the bottom surface , with square holes formed in the main board 1 . battery terminal holder portions 24 , 25 , which are surrounded by a rib 23 respectively , are formed on both left and right sides of a square table portion 4 . the square table portion 4 is provided at the center of the parts holder 2 . the rib 23 is formed continuously from the top surface of the table portion 4 to a lower end of a side surface thereof . when the battery terminal board ( not shown ), which is formed by bending a metal plate , is set to the battery terminal holder portions 24 , 25 , lower end portions of the battery terminal board are projected downward via holes 26 in the bottom plate shown in fig3 b , and then are connected to the power - supply circuit patterns of the main board 1 by the soldering . a (+) contact holder portion 27 and a (−) contact holder portion 28 are provided to the insides of a pair of left and right battery terminal holder portions 24 , 25 to stand vertically from the top surface of the table portion 4 . a (+) contact and a (−) contact on the upper portion of the battery terminal board , which are bent at a right angle , are latched onto the (+) contact holder portion 27 and the (−) contact holder portion 28 respectively to constitute battery contacts . next , the board holder portion 9 will be explained . the board holder portions 9 arranged on both ends of the parts holder 2 is risen vertically . ribs 29 are formed on both left and right ends of the back surface of the board holder portion 9 in the vertical direction to hold the switch board that is inserted between the back - surface ribs 29 . as shown in fig2 b , reinforcing ribs 30 are provided on the front surface of the board holder portion 9 to withstand the pressure applied by the push keys from the back - surface direction . in this manner , the battery terminal board is held by the parts holder 2 , and the back - and - forth movement of the battery terminal board is suppressed by the ribs 23 that surround the periphery of the battery terminal board . therefore , since the parts holder 2 receives the external force applied to the battery terminal board at the time of the battery exchange , etc ., the bending stress , the torsional stress , etc . applied to the main board 1 can be reduced . also , since the battery terminal board is surrounded by the ribs 23 , such a possibility can be reduced that the conductive substance contacts to the surface of the battery terminal board to cause the short - circuit . in addition , since the switch board is also held vertically by the parts holder , the endurance can be improved . in this case , the present invention is not limited to above embodiment , and various variations and modifications can be applied within the technical scope of the present invention . it is a matter of course that the present invention should cover these variations and modifications . | 0 |
thus , the invention provides a new genotype christened as “ palampur princess ”. this plant has been developed through planned breeding experiments conducted at institute of himalayan resources , ( ihbt ) palampur , himachal pradesh , india with defined aim to develop superior gladiolus genotypes . for this purpose , gladiolus varieties were collected from different sources and grown in the fields at palampur , india for facilitating breeding program . the emasculation and pollination in different varieties were carried out during the months of april - may 1991 . the seeds were collected in july - august 1991 and sown in beds under open field conditions and covered with dry grasses in december 1991 . the resultant seedlings were space planted in the field at palampur in march - april 1992 . the corm and cormels of survived hybrid plants were replanted continuously four years for screening and multiplication . based on the superior performance for attractive colour combination , compactness of flower spikes , number of flowers per spikes , length of flower spikes , number of flowers remains open at a time , number of corms and cormel production per plant , the plant of this invention ( ihbt - gh - 272 ) was selected for further observation and evaluation . considering the superior characteristics like excellent colour , number of flowers , compactness of flower spikes , plant height , ruffled - ness of flower petals , regeneration potential and freedom from common diseases , it was asexually reproduced through corms and cormels to maintain purity . the selected hybrid ihbt - gh - 272 was christened as “ palampur princess ” and grown at row distance of 1 feet and plant to plant 6 inches for four consecutive years to study its growth and flowering performance and multiplication . data were recorded on randomly selected twenty plants every year . the hybrid ihbt - gh - 272 maintained uniformity in its growth and flowering performance . the hybrid ihbt - gh - 272 has remained stable and uniform for its morphological characters and showed consistency in performance for various growth and flowering parameters during its evaluation and vegetative multiplication since 1992 . throughout the evaluation period of ihbt - gh - 272 no variants were found from the normal population . the genotype ihbt - gh - 272 possesses decorative type flowers of dutch vermillion ( rhs - 40a ) with dresden yellow ( rhs - 5d ) colour on center of the lip petals . the flower petals are slightly ruffled which is quite clear from fig1 . [ 0024 ] fig1 is a photograph of field grown flower spike of ihbt - gh - 272 (‘ palampur princess ’) depicting decorative type flowers of dutch vermillion ( rhs - 40a ) with dresden yellow ( rhs - 5d ) colour on center of the lip petals . the plant of invention “ palampur princess ” is thus a new and distinct hybrid plant , having the following combination of characters : a ) colour flowers of dutch vermilion ( rhs - 40a ) with dresden yellow color ( rhs - 5d ) on the center of the lip petals ; 15 . flower colour : dutch vermillion ( rhs - 40a ) with dresden yellow ( rhs - 5d ) colour on center of the lip petals . | 0 |
fig1 illustrates an example of a database storing seven drawings for a 3d model of a cube . the first row in the database indicates the case number of the drawing that a user may draw or provide . the second row indicates the drawing that a user may provide in the form of a freehand sketch or drawing . the third row indicates the analysis of the drawing which describes the geometrical shapes contained in the drawing and the arrangement of these geometrical shapes relative to each other from up - to - bottom or from left - to - right . for example , the first drawing is comprised of a trapezoid and square positioned in a vertical order from top - to - bottom , while the third drawing is comprised of two trapezoids ; one is bigger than the other and positioned in a horizontal order from left - to - right . the fourth row indicates the identity of the 3d model represented in the drawing where the identity of all seven cases is a “ cube ”. the fifth and sixth rows indicate the horizontal and vertical rotations of the 3d model according to the drawing and relative to a point of view . for example , the first drawing represents the cube when it is vertically rotated 45 degrees . the seventh drawing represents the cube when it is counter - clockwise rotated 45 degrees in both horizontal and vertical directions . once a user draws one of the aforementioned seven drawings on a computer display , the drawing is analyzed by the computer system to determine the geometrical shapes of its polygons and the arrangement of these geometrical shapes relative to each other . the result of the analysis is checked against the database to determine the identity of the 3d model represented in the drawing and the rotation of this 3d model according to the drawing . after that , the user &# 39 ; s drawing is automatically replaced by the 3d model , and the 3d model is presented on the computer display according to the rotation associated with the drawing in the database . generally , the 3d models stored in the database can include 3d shapes other than cubes such as prisms , pyramids , spheres , cylinders or partial parts of these 3d shapes . also , the vertical and horizontal rotations indicated in the database can be more detailed than what is shown in the previous example . for example , the rotation of the 3d model may include rotating the 3d model about the x , y , and z - axis . using the database of the present invention to describe the identity of the 3d shapes in the drawing and their rotation allows for the creation of 3d models in an automated manner . for example , fig2 illustrates a user drawn freehand sketch on a computer display , where the freehand drawing is comprised of two trapezoids 110 and 120 , positioned in a horizontal order from left - to - right . once the freehand drawing is analyzed and checked against the database of the present invention , the corresponding 3d model ( cube ) of the freehand drawing is presented on the computer display , as seen in fig3 . the 3d model , or cube 130 , is presented with certain vertical and horizontal rotations that match the imaginary point of view that the user illustrated in the initial freehand drawing . fig4 illustrates vertically rotating the 3d model 130 by the user on the computer display to present three faces of the cube . in fig5 the user draws a prism 140 using some solid lines 150 and dotted lines 160 to represent a void in the shape of a prism , located inside the cube . accordingly , the solid and dotted lines are analyzed and checked against the database of the present invention to present a corresponding void or empty prism 170 as shown in fig6 . generally , the present invention identifies the dotted lines as if they represent a hidden surface or object located behind another surface or object . in fig7 the user draws three parallelograms 180 representing another prism attached to the top of the cube . the three parallelograms are analyzed and checked against the database of the present invention to present a corresponding prism 190 attached to the cube , as shown in fig8 . in fig9 the user draws a freehand prism 200 , and in fig1 this freehand prism is automatically replaced with a corresponding 3d model of a prism 210 . in fig1 the user draws two sets of three parallelograms 220 and 230 , and in fig1 each one of the two sets of parallelograms is automatically replaced with a 3d model of a prism 240 presented on the computer display . as shown in the figure , the final 3d model represents a 3d model of a home that was created simply by successive freehand drawn lines on a computer display . during the creation of this 3d model the user was not obliged to use software drawing tool , as using a finger or stylus on the touchscreen of a computer , tablet or mobile phone is enough to create complex 3d models . as described previously , the identity of the 3d model and the rotation of the 3d model are derived from the geometrical shapes indicated in the freehand drawing . the size or scale of the 3d model is determined by the overall width or height of the drawing . for example , drawing a freehand cube with a certain total width or height crafts the 3d model to comply with a width or height similar to the freehand cube . also , the position or location of a part of a 3d model is determined by other parts of the 3d model that were previously created . for example , the location of the prism 190 of fig8 is determined relative to the cube 130 that was previously created before the prism . as mentioned previously , the database of the present invention stores various views of 3d shapes , such as a cube , prism , sphere or cylinder , each of which is associated with two - dimensional geometrical shapes . once a user draws any of these two - dimensional geometrical shapes , the 3d shape most closely associated with the user &# 39 ; s drawing is identified and presented on the computer display , replacing the user &# 39 ; s drawings . fig1 illustrates an example of a 3d model comprised of a plurality of prisms 250 , cylinders 260 and spheres 270 , intersecting with each other , and created by the method of the present invention . fig1 illustrates another example of a complex 3d model comprised of a plurality of prisms 280 created by the method of the present invention . as known in the art , the 3d model can be represented by a variety of techniques such as the constructive solid geometry ( csg ) technique ; non - uniform rational b - spline ( nurbs ) modeling ; polygonal modeling ; or point cloud technique . the csg technique is based on creating a 3d model for an object by combining or de - combining a set of simple objects such as spheres , cylinders , or cubes . the nurbs modeling technique is based on generating a plurality of curves to represent a freeform surface . the polygonal modeling technique is based on representing or approximating the surfaces of a 3d model using a collection of polygons . the point cloud technique is based on representing a 3d model by a set of data points in a coordinate system . in one embodiment , the present invention uses a database that stores basic 3d objects associated with geometrical shapes representing different views of the 3d objects . this type of database best suits 3d models which can be constructed by the csg technique , as the previous examples illustrated in fig2 to 12 . in another embodiment , the present invention uses a database that stores freeform surfaces associated with curved or freeform lines or polygons . this method best suits 3d models which that can be created using the nurbs modeling technique . for example , fig1 illustrates a 3d model of a bird , where different views of this 3d model are stored in the database of the present invention . each view stored in the database represents the shape of the bird from a different point of view such as the front view , back view , side view and top view . fig1 illustrates a freehand drawing 300 of a user intending to create a 3d model of the bird . to automatically replace the freehand drawing with the 3d model of the bird , the freehand drawing is checked against the boundary lines of each view in the database . for example , fig1 illustrates comparing the outlines of the freehand drawings , shown with dotted line 310 , with the outlines of fig1 of the bird 290 , shown with sold lines . as depicted in fig1 , the two figures share a largely similar percentage of area . fig1 illustrates another freehand drawing 320 where a user draws with the intent to create a 3d model of the bird . fig1 illustrates comparing the outlines of the freehand drawings , shown with dotted line 330 , with the outlines of fig1 of the bird 290 , shown with sold lines . as depicted in fig1 , the two figures share a large percentage of common area , which allows for the automatic replacement of the freehand drawing with the 3d model of the bird on the computer display . in one embodiment of the present invention , the process of comparing the freehand drawing with the views of the 3d models in the database involves some modification of the freehand drawing . these modifications include resizing the freehand drawing or stretching the total width or height of the freehand drawing as needed to correct any inaccurate ratios depicted in the user &# 39 ; s drawings . generally , comparing the common area between the freehand drawing of the user and the views of the 3d model stored in the database can also be used with 3d models which can be constructed by the polygonal modeling technique . for example , fig2 illustrates six views of a 3d model of an object comprised of a plurality of polygons 340 attached to each other in three dimensions using the polygonal modeling technique . each view or image is tagged with one of the english letters a , b , c , d , e , or f . fig2 illustrates a freehand sketch 350 drawn by a user who intends to create a 3d model of the object depicted in fig2 . fig2 illustrates the process of comparison between the freehand drawing and the different views or images stored in the 3d model database . as shown in the figure , the freehand drawing is represented by dotted lines 360 , and the image “ d ” have more common areas with the dotted lines than other images . that means the freehand drawing represents the 3d model of the object so that it is plausible to automatically replace the freehand drawing with the 3d model “ d ” of the object . if the database stores 3d models in the form of point cloud , the same method of the present invention is used . in this case , each 3d model can have its picture taken from different point of views via of the vertical and horizontal rotations of the virtual 3d model in front of a virtual camera . these pictures are associated with an id or name of the 3d model and value for the vertical and horizontal rotations and stored in the database . once the user provides a freehand drawing , the outlines of these drawings are compared with the outlines of the pictures of the 3d models in the database . if a drawing approximately matches a picture of the 3d model , then this 3d model automatically replaces the user &# 39 ; s drawing . fig2 to 27 illustrate five examples of the user &# 39 ; s drawings , each of which is automatically converted into 3d models of different objects . in fig2 , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing 370 represents a 3d model of a human &# 39 ; s body 380 . in fig2 , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing 390 represents a 3d model of a horse 400 . in fig2 , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing 410 represents a 3d model of a car 420 . in fig2 , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing 430 represents a 3d model of a home 440 . in fig2 , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing 450 represents a 3d model of a boat 460 . if the database of the present invention stores the images of the five aforementioned 3d models , it is clear to see how each one of the five freehand drawing leads to an accurate 3d model . this is based on the outlines of each freehand drawing , which are approximately similar to the boundary lines of its 3d model than any other 3d models stored in the database . in one embodiment of the present invention , the user draws on a blank computer display where the 3d model automatically replaces the user &# 39 ; s drawings using what is stored in the database . the user can select the color , texture or appearance of the 3d model from a wide variety of listed options that appear on the computer display or can be automatically generated by the computer system using a default setting . in another embodiment , the present invention enables the user to convert a picture of a 3d object into a 3d model of the object , without needing to store the 3d model of the object in a database . this method suits the 3d objects that are comprised of a combination of basic 3d shapes such as cubes , prisms , pyramids , spheres or cylinders . for example , a picture of a home can be converted into a 3d model of the home by tracing geometrical shapes over the home &# 39 ; s picture to mark the outlines of the walls and roof that appear in the picture . the outlines of the walls and roof form basic geometrical shapes that can be compared to a database that stores basic 3d shapes , as was described previously . once the geometrical shapes are identified , they are replaced with corresponding models of 3d shapes . the colors , texture and appearance of the corresponding models are taken from the picture to generate a 3d model of the home that matches the picture . this method can be used with a mobile phone or tablet after taking a picture of an object such as a building or product in order to convert this picture into a 3d model representing the object on the display of the mobile phone or tablet . the method can also be used on a computer display to efficiently convert images found on the internet or through search engines , such as google or bing search engines , into 3d models . in one embodiment of the present invention , each 3d model in the database can be associated with drawings or symbols other than the views of the 3d model . for example , the english letters “ a ”, “ b ”, and “ c ” can be associated with a 3d model of a car rotated to successively appear from front , side and top . accordingly , once a use writes the letter “ a ” on the display the 3d model of the car automatically replaces the letter , as “ a ” is an indication to present the car from its front view point . drawings can be associated with more than english letters — for example , the drawings can be various symbols , numbers , or simple shapes . this method is useful when creating a 3d model of a scene such as a home where some additional trees , people or cars are needed to be placed by the 3d model of the home without spending much time in creating such additional objects . in one embodiment , the present invention can grow in ability to accurately detect the identity of the 3d model indicated in the freehand drawing , using assessments based on the classification of the 3d models stored in the database and the user &# 39 ; s previous form inclinations . for example , if a user at first creates a 3d model representing a chair , then the assumption is loosely made that the following 3d model drawn by a user represents a piece of furniture , such as a sofa , table or desk . should the drawing provided by the user lead to multiple different 3d models , typically leading to confusion , then priority is given smartly to the 3d model that is most closely classified as a piece of furniture . to achieve this , the database will include additional identifications or classifications rather than just identity of the 3d model or object . in another embodiment , once the 3d model is created , the user can assign dimensions to each part of the 3d model so that the model developed is correctly scaled to meet the specific purposes . if a dimension of a part of the 3d model is missing , the method of the present invention detects this missing dimension by comparing the length ratios of the 3d model parts relative to each other . in one embodiment of the present invention , if the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawing is not clear enough or it can possibly interpreted as multiple different 3d models in the database , then the present invention presents a list of options presenting these differing 3d model from which the user can select whatever 3d model they feel is most suitable . for example , fig2 illustrates a freehand sketch of a square 470 drawn by a user on a computer display 480 where a list of options 490 are presented to the user , including a cube 500 and pyramid 510 . as shown in the figure , the freehand sketch or square may represent a top view of a cube or pyramid , and accordingly the list of options presents these two options of a cube or pyramid . if the user selects the cube from the list of option , the 3d model of the cube replaces the freehand sketch . if the user selects the pyramid from the list of option , the 3d model of the pyramid replaces the freehand sketch . using the list of options is critical in cases when comparing the outlines of the freehand drawings of the user with the outlines of the images of the 3d models stored in the database . for example , a freehand drawing representing an animal , such as a lion , could be similar to the outlines of potentially accurate 3d models of a lion , tiger , dog and cat . in this case , the list of options presents the four choices of “ lion , tiger , dog and cat ”, allowing the user to select one of them . once the user selects one of these four options , the 3d model of the selected animal replaces the freehand drawing of the user . in one embodiment of the present invention , the list of options may be presented before the user finishes their freehand drawing . for example , once a part of the freehand drawing is provided and matches parts of various 3d models stored in the database , the list of options is automatically presented to the user , offering images of a variety of plausible 3d models . once the user selects an option from the list of options , the selected 3d model replaces the freehand drawing . this method speeds up the creation of the 3d model without requiring the user to finish their freehand drawing . in another embodiment of the present invention , the user &# 39 ; s freehand drawings can be inputted though a myriad of software drawing tools to help users who are not good at making freehand drawings to draw simple two - dimensional shapes . in one embodiment , it is also possible to use a pencil to draw on a piece of paper and then take a picture of the drawing using a mobile phone or tablet camera to convert the picture of the drawing into a 3d model on the display of the mobile phone or camera . in yet another embodiment , the method of the present invention is implemented with pictures without the use of any freehand drawings . this is achieved by using a computer vision program or technique , as known in the art , to detect the edges of the objects located in the picture and form polygons representing the surfaces of the objects . the polygons are then compared to a stored database of the present invention to identify the 3d objects located in the picture and replace them with corresponding 3d models . this method is perfectly compatible with optical head - mounted computer , such as google glas , to convert what the user sees into a 3d model . in this case , the user can rotate the 3d model to see the hidden parts of the objects located in front of him / her . as described previously , the color , texture or appearance of the hidden parts of the 3d model will match the parts of the objects that appear in the picture in front of the user . | 6 |
the above described drawing figures illustrate the described apparatus and its method of use in at least one of its preferred , best mode embodiment , which is further defined in detail in the following description . those having ordinary skill in the art may be able to make alterations and modifications what is described herein without departing from its spirit and scope . therefore , it must be understood that what is illustrated is set forth only for the purposes of example and that it should not be taken as a limitation in the scope of the present apparatus and method of use . described now in detail is a blanket apparatus or flexible fabric sheet 10 shown in fig1 , comprising an elongated fabric portion 20 having a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24 and corner holders 50 , which may be diagonal oriented straps and which are referred to as “ straps ” in this disclosure , attached to the bottom surface 24 at corners so as to provide loops for securement of the sheet 10 to a support 90 such as a cot , when in use . in the exemplary embodiments , the fabric portion 20 is configured to be substantially rectangular so as to have opposite first and second long edges 26 and 28 , opposite first and second short edges 30 and 32 , and four corners 34 . as such , four straps 50 are attached diagonally , substantially at a forty - five degree angle , to the bottom surface 24 , one at each of the four corners 34 and such straps or similar structure and positioning has been found to be essential to successfully meeting the objectives of the invention . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that numerous other configurations of the fabric portion 20 are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , such as square , rectangular , oval , circular , and trapezoidal . the fabric portion 20 may be formed from a fleece , cotton , or other fabric suitable for resting on or under . the straps 50 are attached to fabric 20 by stitching at opposing ends of the straps to the bottom surface 24 . it will be appreciated that the straps 50 may also be removably attached at one or both ends using snaps , hooks , hook and loop type material , or other such engagement devices now known or later developed . the straps 50 may be of elastic material such as rubber , or braided , knitted or woven cotton , nylon , polypropylene or polyester , and may alternately be relatively inelastic . with continued reference to fig1 , at least one securement band 36 is preferably attached at the second short edge 32 such that the fabric portion 20 may be rolled from the first short edge 30 toward the second short edge 32 and secured as a roll by the securement bands 36 when the blanket apparatus 10 is not in use , as explained in more detail below , and as shown in fig5 . the bands 36 are shown and described as an elastic material that is attached at both ends to the second short edge 32 so as to form a loop that can be stretched about the rolled fabric portion 20 , though it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that , just as with the straps 50 , the bands 36 may be formed from a variety of other materials and attached to secure the fabric portion 20 as a roll , through snaps , hooks , hook and loop type material , or other such engagement devices at one or both ends of the bands 36 . a handle 38 is also attached at the second short edge 32 for carrying the blanket apparatus 10 when rolled up and not in use . the handle 38 may be formed from a separate and different material than the bands 36 , or the handle 38 and bands 36 may be formed from a single , continuous piece of material attached along the second short edge 32 . again , the handle 38 may be attached by stitching , snaps , hooks , hook and loop type material , or other such engagement devices now known or later developed . the exemplary embodiments of the blanket apparatus 10 further include a pillow 60 attached at the first short edge 30 of the fabric portion 20 as shown in fig1 and 2 . as best shown in fig3 in section , the pillow device 60 includes a sleeve 62 enclosing a resilient core 66 . the sleeve 62 is configured as a substantially enclosed tube attached to and extending from the first short edge 30 , and the sleeve 62 provides an aperture 64 which enables the core 66 to be inserted into the sleeve 62 . the core 66 may be formed from a number of resilient materials such as conventional foam or latex . the aperture 64 is selectively closed through a zipper 68 , or snaps , hooks , hook and loop type material , or other such devices now known or later developed , so as to selectively contain the core 66 within the sleeve 62 . thus , if the core 66 is to be removed for laundering the sleeve 62 , for example , or replaced due to wear or simply as a matter of material choice , or if no pillow is desired and the core 66 is to be removed altogether , the core 66 is easily accessed within the aperture 64 . a flap 70 is attached over the aperture 64 to make the blanket apparatus 10 safer , more comfortable , and more attractive and to conceal and protect the zipper 68 . in use , as shown in fig2 , the blanket apparatus 10 of the present invention is spread over the support 90 , such that the bottom surface 24 is laid upon an upwardly - facing support surface 92 ( fig1 ) of the support 90 . to temporarily secure the blanket apparatus 10 in position and prevent it from sliding or slipping off the support 90 , at least two of the diagonal straps 50 attached to the bottom surface 24 of the fabric portion 20 are hooked about corners 94 of the support 90 . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that where a cot or other such support device 90 is employed in combination with the blanket apparatus 10 , it is advantageous that the support 90 be configured with four corners 94 that extend laterally beyond the legs 96 so that the corners 94 are accessible for the securement of the straps 50 thereunder . with the blanket apparatus 10 so laid on a support 90 , the pillow 60 is positioned along the first short edge 30 of the fabric portion 20 so as to be conveniently located for support of a user &# 39 ; s head resting on the blanket apparatus 10 . if the pillow 60 is not used , the user may simply shift herself toward the second short edge 32 of the fabric portion 20 to position her head clear of the pillow 60 . the pillow 60 may also be pivoted about the first short edge 30 so as to hang therefrom out of the way . or , as explained above , the pillow core 66 may be removed from the pocket 62 altogether . as the blanket apparatus 10 is in use , the bands 36 and the handle 38 simply dangle from the second short edge 32 out of the way of the user resting on the upper surface 22 of the fabric portion 20 . when the user is through resting on the blanket apparatus 10 and would like to take the blanket apparatus 10 with her , the user would get up and unhook the straps 50 from under the corners 94 of the support 90 . the blanket apparatus 10 can then be rolled up from the first short edge 30 toward the second short edge 32 about the pillow device 60 as shown in fig4 . the blanket apparatus 10 is secured as a roll by binding the rolled blanket apparatus 10 with the bands 36 attached at the second short edge 32 as shown in fig5 . in the exemplary embodiment , this would be accomplished by stretching the looped bands 36 about the rolled blanket apparatus 10 . the user may then carry the rolled blanket apparatus 10 by the convenient handle 38 . alternately , the rolled blanket apparatus 10 may be placed into a carrier 80 as shown in fig1 , and transported as a back pack . preferably , the carrier 80 is of clear plastic material in the form of a cylinder with one end 82 of the cylinder closed by a zipper 68 ′ and has dual shoulder straps 84 mounted in parallel and extending from the one end 82 to the opposing end 83 . in the preferred embodiment , the blanket apparatus 10 is folded along its length prior to rolling . with reference now to fig4 and 5 , the fabric portion 20 has a fabric width defined by the length of the first and second short edges 30 and 32 . furthermore , the pillow 60 is formed having a pillow width that is preferably between one - third and one - half of the fabric width in dimension , the pillow 60 being attached at the first short edge 30 along the pillow width so as to be substantially centered on the first short edge 30 . as such , before rolling the blanket apparatus 10 , the first and second long edges 26 and 28 of the fabric portion 20 are folded inwardly along the length of the fabric portion 20 so as to configure the blanket apparatus 10 with a folded width of between one - third and one - half the blanket width , or a folded width substantially equal to the pillow width and centered on the pillow 60 . in this way , as the folded blanket apparatus 10 is rolled about the pillow 60 toward the second short edge 32 , as best shown in fig4 , the fabric portion 20 is gathered circumferentially about the pillow 60 to form a compact roll no wider than the pillow 60 itself . when the roll is then bound by the straps 36 , as shown in fig5 , the straps 50 formed on the bottom surface 24 of the fabric portion 20 are concealed as well , protecting the straps 50 from being inadvertently pulled or damaged when the blanket apparatus 10 is not in use . turning now to fig6 , we find that in a further preferred embodiment , the fabric portion 20 may be configured having a width essentially double that of the embodiment shown in fig2 . in this way , the fabric portion 20 may be folded in half such that the first and second long edges 26 and 28 are substantially adjacent and are offset from an opposite folded edge 40 so as to form a half width defined by the portions of the first and second short edges 30 and 32 between the respective first and second long edges 26 and 28 and the folded edge 40 . in fig7 we find that the corner holders may be pockets 50 ″ instead of straps 50 for improved engagement with support 90 . it is shown also , that pillow 60 is preferably split so that it may be opened up and laid onto the sheet 10 ( fig8 ), closed and positioned to extend beyond support 90 ( fig9 ), or closed and positioned over the end of support 90 ( fig1 ). in fig8 – 10 we see that the pillow 60 is preferably split in uneven portions with the portion to the left in fig8 , 60 ′ being the larger and the portion to the right in fig8 , 60 ″ being the smaller . when the user lies on the pillow 60 as positioned in fig8 , the larger portion 60 ′ supports the neck of the user , while the portion 60 ″ supports the head of the user , and this relationship is advantageous to the user as it supports the neck and head in a natural manner . the two portions 60 ′ and 60 ″ are able to be folded together and joined using hook and loop material fasteners for instance , as shown . fig1 shows the pillow 60 of fig9 oriented in an alternate attitude . clearly , sleeve 62 for the pillow 60 may be a continuation of the fabric of sheet 10 , or may be formed from a separate length of cloth with the sheet 10 attached separately as shown in fig8 – 10 . the enablements described in detail above are considered novel over the prior art of record and are considered critical to the operation of at least one aspect of the apparatus and its method of use and to the achievement of the above described objectives . the words used in this specification to describe the instant embodiments are to be understood not only in the sense of their commonly defined meanings , but to include by special definition in this specification : structure , material or acts beyond the scope of the commonly defined meanings . thus if an element can be understood in the context of this specification as including more than one meaning , then its use must be understood as being generic to all possible meanings supported by the specification and by the word or words describing the element . the definitions of the words or drawing elements described herein are meant to include not only the combination of elements which are literally set forth , but all equivalent structure , material or acts for performing substantially the same function in substantially the same way to obtain substantially the same result . in this sense it is therefore contemplated that an equivalent substitution of two or more elements may be made for any one of the elements described and its various embodiments or that a single element may be substituted for two or more elements in a claim . changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art , now known or later devised , are expressly contemplated as being equivalents within the scope intended and its various embodiments . therefore , obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements . this disclosure is thus meant to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above , what is conceptually equivalent , what can be obviously substituted , and also what incorporates the essential ideas . the scope of this description is to be interpreted only in conjunction with the appended claims and it is made clear , here , that each named inventor believes that the claimed subject matter is what is intended to be patented . | 0 |
the present invention is directed to systems and methods for providing data compression and decompression using content independent and content dependent data compression and decompression . in the following description , it is to be understood that system elements having equivalent or similar functionality are designated with the same reference numerals in the figures . it is to be further understood that the present invention may be implemented in various forms of hardware , software , firmware , or a combination thereof . in particular , the system modules described herein are preferably implemented in software as an application program that is executable by , e . g ., a general purpose computer or any machine or device having any suitable and preferred microprocessor architecture . preferably , the present invention is implemented on a computer platform including hardware such as one or more central processing units ( cpu ), a random access memory ( ram ), and input / output ( i / o ) interface ( s ). the computer platform also includes an operating system and microinstruction code . the various processes and functions described herein may be either part of the microinstruction code or application programs which are executed via the operating system . in addition , various other peripheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as an additional data storage device and a printing device . it is to be further understood that , because some of the constituent system components described herein are preferably implemented as software modules , the actual system connections shown in the figures may differ depending upon the manner in which the systems are programmed . it is to be appreciated that special purpose microprocessors may be employed to implement the present invention . given the teachings herein , one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention . referring now to fig2 a block diagram illustrates a content independent data compression system according to one embodiment of the present invention . the data compression system includes a counter module 10 that receives as input an uncompressed or compressed data stream . it is to be understood that the system processes the input data stream in data blocks that may range in size from individual bits through complete files or collections of multiple files . additionally , the data block size may be fixed or variable . the counter module 10 counts the size of each input data block ( i . e ., the data block size is counted in bits , bytes , words , any convenient data multiple or metric , or any combination thereof ). an input data buffer 20 , operatively connected to the counter module 10 , may be provided for buffering the input data stream in order to output an uncompressed data stream in the event that , as discussed in further detail below , every encoder fails to achieve a level of compression that exceeds an a priori specified minimum compression ratio threshold . it is to be understood that the input data buffer 20 is not required for implementing the present invention . an encoder module 30 is operatively connected to the buffer 20 and comprises a set of encoders e1 , e2 , e3 . . . en . the encoder set e1 , e2 , e3 . . . en may include any number “ n ” of those lossless encoding techniques currently well known within the art such as run length , huffman , lempel - ziv dictionary compression , arithmetic coding , data compaction , and data null suppression . it is to be understood that the encoding techniques are selected based upon their ability to effectively encode different types of input data . it is to be appreciated that a full complement of encoders are preferably selected to provide a broad coverage of existing and future data types . the encoder module 30 successively receives as input each of the buffered input data blocks ( or unbuffered input data blocks from the counter module 10 ). data compression is performed by the encoder module 30 wherein each of the encoders e1 . . . en processes a given input data block and outputs a corresponding set of encoded data blocks . it is to be appreciated that the system affords a user the option to enable / disable any one or more of the encoders e1 . . . en prior to operation . as is understood by those skilled in the art , such feature allows the user to tailor the operation of the data compression system for specific applications . it is to be further appreciated that the is encoding process may be performed either in parallel or sequentially . in particular , the encoders e1 through en of encoder module 30 may operate in parallel ( i . e ., simultaneously processing a given input data block by utilizing task multiplexing on a single central processor , via dedicated hardware , by executing on a plurality of processor or dedicated hardware systems , or any combination thereof ). in addition , encoders e1 through en may operate sequentially on a given unbuffered or buffered input data block . this process is intended to eliminate the complexity and additional processing overhead associated with multiplexing concurrent encoding techniques on a single central processor and / or dedicated hardware , set of central processors and / or dedicated hardware , or any achievable combination . it is to be further appreciated that encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed . for instance , encoder e1 may comprise two parallel huffman encoders for parallel processing of an input data block . a buffer / counter module 40 is operatively connected to the encoding module 30 for buffering and counting the size of each of the encoded data blocks output from encoder module 30 . specifically , the buffer / counter 30 comprises a plurality of buffer / counters bc1 , bc2 , bc3 . . . bcn , each operatively associated with a corresponding one of the encoders e1 . . . en . a compression ratio module 50 , operatively connected to the output buffer / counter 40 , determines the compression ratio obtained for each of the enabled encoders e1 . . . en by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block to the size of the output data block stored in the corresponding buffer / counters bc1 . . . bcn . in addition , the compression ratio module 50 compares each compression ratio with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold limit to determine if at least one of the encoded data blocks output from the enabled encoders e1 . . . en achieves a compression that exceeds an a priori - specified threshold . as is understood by those skilled in the art , the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . a description module 60 , operatively coupled to the compression ratio module 50 , appends a corresponding compression type descriptor to each encoded data block which is selected for output so as to indicate the type of compression format of the encoded data block . the operation of the data compression system of fig2 will now be discussed in is further detail with reference to the flow diagram of fig3 a and 3 b . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 300 ). as stated above , data compression is performed on a per data block basis . accordingly , the first input data block in the input data stream is input into the counter module 10 that counts the size of the data block ( step 302 ). the data block is then stored in the buffer 20 ( step 304 ). the data block is then sent to the encoder module 30 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en ( step 306 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 308 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 310 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 ) to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 312 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 314 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is s made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 316 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 316 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 318 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 320 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 316 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 322 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 324 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 326 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded data input data block is output ( steps 326 and 320 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 328 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 328 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 330 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 302 ) and the data compression process in repeated . this process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 328 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 322 ). since a multitude of data types may be present within a given input data block , it is often difficult and / or impractical to predict the level of compression that will be achieved by a specific encoder . consequently , by processing the input data blocks with a plurality of encoding techniques and comparing the compression results , content free data compression is advantageously achieved . it is to be appreciated that this approach is scalable through future generations of processors , dedicated hardware , and software . as processing capacity increases and costs reduce , the benefits provided by the present invention will continue to increase . it should again be noted that the present invention may employ any lossless data encoding technique . referring now to fig4 , a block diagram illustrates a content independent data compression system according to another embodiment of the present invention . the data compression system depicted in fig4 is similar to the data compression system of fig2 except that the embodiment of fig4 includes an enhanced metric functionality for selecting an optimal encoding technique . in particular , each of the encoders e1 . . . en in the encoder module 30 is tagged with a corresponding one of user - selected encoder desirability factors 70 . encoder desirability is defined as an a priori user specified factor that takes into account any number of user considerations including , but not limited to , compatibility of the encoded data with existing standards , data error robustness , or any other aggregation of factors that the user wishes to consider for a particular application . each encoded data block output from the encoder module 30 has a corresponding desirability factor appended thereto . a figure of merit module 80 , operatively coupled to the compression ratio module 50 and the descriptor module 60 , is provided for calculating a figure of merit for each of the encoded data blocks which possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit . the figure of merit for each encoded data block is comprised of a weighted average of the a priori user specified threshold and the corresponding encoder desirability factor . as discussed below in further detail with reference to fig5 a and 5 b , the figure of merit substitutes the a priori user compression threshold limit for selecting and outputting encoded data blocks . the operation of the data compression system of fig4 will now be discussed in further detail with reference to the flow diagram of fig5 a and 5 b . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 500 ). the size of the first data block is then determined by the counter module 10 ( step 502 ). the data block is then stored in the buffer 20 ( step 504 ). the data block is then sent to the encoder module 30 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder in the encoder set e1 . . . en ( step 506 ). each encoded data block processed in the encoder module 30 is tagged with an encoder desirability factor that corresponds the particular encoding technique applied to the encoded data block ( step 508 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block with its corresponding desirability factor is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 510 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 512 ). next , a compression ratio obtained by each enabled encoder is calculated by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 ) to the size of the encoded data block output from each enabled encoder ( step 514 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 516 ). a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 518 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 518 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor ( as discussed above ) is appended thereto ( step 520 ). accordingly , the original unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 522 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 518 ), then a figure of merit is calculated for each encoded data block having a compression ratio which exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( step 524 ). again , the figure of merit for a given encoded data block is comprised of a weighted average of the a priori user specified threshold and the corresponding encoder desirability factor associated with the encoded data block . next , the encoded data block having the greatest figure of merit is selected for output ( step 526 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 528 ) to indicate the data encoding technique applied to the encoded data block . the encoded data block ( which has the greatest figure of merit ) along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 530 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded input data block is output ( steps 530 and 522 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 532 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 532 ), then the next successive data block is received ( step 534 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 502 ) and the data compression process is iterated for each successive data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 532 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 536 ). referring now to fig6 , a block diagram illustrates a data compression system according to another embodiment of the present invention . the data compression system depicted in fig6 is similar to the data compression system discussed in detail above with reference to fig2 except that the embodiment of fig6 includes an a priori specified timer that provides real - time or pseudo real - time output data . in particular , an interval timer 90 , operatively coupled to the encoder module 30 , is preloaded with a user specified time value . the role of the interval timer ( as will be explained in greater detail below with reference to fig7 a and 7 b ) is to limit the processing time for each input data block processed by the encoder module 30 so as to ensure that the real - time , pseudo real - time , or other time critical nature of the data compression processes is preserved . the operation of the data compression system of fig6 will now be discussed in further detail with reference to the flow diagram of fig7 a and 7 b . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the data stream is received ( step 700 ), and its size is determined by the counter module 10 ( step 702 ). the data block is then stored in buffer 20 ( step 704 ). next , concurrent with the completion of the receipt and counting of the first data block , the interval timer 90 is initialized ( step 706 ) and starts counting towards a user - specified time limit . the input data block is then sent to the encoder module 30 wherein data compression of the data block by each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en commences ( step 708 ). next , a determination is made as to whether the user specified time expires before the completion of the encoding process ( steps 710 and 712 ). if the encoding process is completed before or at the expiration of the timer , i . e ., each encoder ( e1 through en ) completes its respective encoding process ( negative result in step 710 and affirmative result in step 712 ), then an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 714 ). on the other hand , if the timer expires ( affirmative result in 710 ), the encoding process is halted ( step 716 ). then , encoded data blocks from only those enabled encoders e1 . . . en that have completed the encoding process are selected and maintained in buffers ( step 718 ). it is to be appreciated that it is not necessary ( or in some cases desirable ) that some or all of the encoders complete the encoding process before the interval timer expires . specifically , due to encoder data dependency and natural variation , it is possible that certain encoders may not operate quickly enough and , therefore , do not comply with the timing constraints of the end use . accordingly , the time limit ensures that the real - time or pseudo real - time nature of the data encoding is preserved . after the encoded data blocks are buffered ( step 714 or 718 ), the size of each encoded data block is counted ( step 720 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 ) to the size of the encoded data block output from each enabled encoder ( step 722 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 724 ). a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 726 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 726 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 728 ). the original unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 730 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 726 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 732 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 734 ). the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 736 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded input data block is output ( steps 730 or 736 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 738 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 738 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 740 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 702 ) and the data compression process in repeated . this process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream , with each data block being processed within the user - specified time limit as discussed above . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 738 ), data compression of the input data stream is complete ( step 742 ). referring now to fig8 , a block diagram illustrates a content independent data compression system according to another embodiment of the present system . the data compression system of fig8 incorporates all of the features discussed above in connection with the system embodiments of fig2 , and 6 . for example , the system of fig8 incorporates both the a priori specified timer for providing real - time or pseudo real - time of output data , as well as the enhanced metric for selecting an optimal encoding technique . based on the foregoing discussion , the operation of the system of fig8 is understood by those skilled in the art . referring now to fig9 , a block diagram illustrates a data compression system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the system of fig9 contains many of the features of the previous embodiments discussed above . however , this embodiment advantageously includes a cascaded encoder module 30 c having an encoding architecture comprising a plurality of sets of serially cascaded encoders em , n , where “ m ” refers to the encoding path ( i . e ., the encoder set ) and where “ n ” refers to the number of encoders in the respective path . it is to be understood that each set of serially cascaded encoders can include any number of disparate and / or similar encoders ( i . e ., n can be any value for a given path m ). the system of fig9 also includes a output buffer module 40 c which comprises a plurality of buffer / counters b / cm , n , each associated with a corresponding one of the encoders em , n . in this embodiment , an input data block is sequentially applied to successive encoders ( encoder stages ) in the encoder path so as to increase the data compression ratio . for example , the output data block from a first encoder e1 , 1 , is buffered and counted in b / c1 , 1 , for subsequent processing by a second encoder e1 , 2 . advantageously , these parallel sets of sequential encoders are applied to the input data stream to effect content free lossless data compression . this embodiment provides for multi - stage sequential encoding of data with the maximum number of encoding steps subject to the available real - time , pseudo real - time , or other timing constraints . as with each previously discussed embodiment , the encoders em , n may include those lossless encoding techniques currently well known within the art , including : run length , huffman , lempel - ziv dictionary compression , arithmetic coding , data compaction , and data null suppression . encoding techniques are selected based upon their ability to effectively encode different types of input data . a full complement of encoders provides for broad coverage of existing and future data types . the input data blocks may be applied simultaneously to the encoder paths ( i . e ., the encoder paths may operate in parallel , utilizing task multiplexing on a single central processor , or via dedicated hardware , or by executing on a plurality of processor or dedicated hardware systems , or any combination thereof ). in addition , an input data block may be sequentially applied to the encoder paths . moreover , each serially cascaded encoder path may comprise a fixed ( predetermined ) sequence of encoders or a random sequence of encoders . advantageously , by simultaneously or sequentially processing input data blocks via a plurality of sets of serially cascaded encoders , content free data compression is achieved . the operation of the data compression system of fig9 will now be discussed in further detail with reference to the flow diagram of fig1 a and 10 b . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the data stream is received ( step 100 ), and its size is determined by the counter module 10 ( step 102 ). the data block is then stored in buffer 20 ( step 104 ). next , concurrent with the completion of the receipt and counting of the first data block , the interval timer 90 is initialized ( step 106 ) and starts counting towards a user - specified time limit . the input data block is then sent to the cascade encoder module 30 c wherein the input data block is applied to the first encoder ( i . e ., first encoding stage ) in each of the cascaded encoder paths e1 , 1 . . . em , 1 ( step 108 ). next , a determination is made as to whether the user specified time expires before the completion of the first stage encoding process ( steps 110 and 112 ). if the first stage encoding process is completed before the expiration of the timer , i . e ., each encoder ( e1 , 1 . . . em , 1 ) completes its respective encoding process ( negative result in step 110 and affirmative result in step 112 ), then an encoded data block is output from each encoder e1 , 1 . . . em , 1 and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 114 ). then for each cascade encoder path , the output of the completed encoding stage is applied to the next successive encoding stage in the cascade path ( step 116 ). this process ( steps 110 , 112 , 114 , and 116 ) is repeated until the earlier of the timer expiration ( affirmative result in step 110 ) or the completion of encoding by each encoder stage in the serially cascaded paths , at which time the encoding process is halted ( step 118 ). then , for each cascade encoder path , the buffered encoded data block output by the last encoder stage that completes the encoding process before the expiration of the timer is selected for further processing ( step 120 ). advantageously , the interim stages of the multi - stage data encoding process are preserved . for example , the results of encoder e1 , 1 are preserved even after encoder e1 , 2 begins encoding the output of encoder e1 , 1 . if the interval timer expires after encoder e1 , 1 completes its respective encoding process but before encoder e1 , 2 completes its respective encoding process , the encoded data block from encoder e1 , 1 is complete and is utilized for calculating the compression ratio for the corresponding encoder path . the incomplete encoded data block from encoder e1 , 2 is either discarded or ignored . it is to be appreciated that it is not necessary ( or in some cases desirable ) that some or all of the encoders in the cascade encoder paths complete the encoding process before the interval timer expires . specifically , due to encoder data dependency , natural variation and the sequential application of the cascaded encoders , it is possible that certain encoders may not operate quickly enough and therefore do not comply with the timing constraints of the end use . accordingly , the time limit ensures that the real - time or pseudo real - time nature of the data encoding is preserved . after the encoded data blocks are selected ( step 120 ), the size of each encoded data block is counted ( step 122 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 ) to the size of the encoded data block output from each encoder ( step 124 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 126 ). a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 128 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 128 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 130 ). the original unencoded data block and its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 132 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 128 ), then a figure of merit is calculated for each encoded data block having a compression ratio which exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( step 134 ). again , the figure of merit for a given encoded data block is comprised of a weighted average of the a priori user specified threshold and the corresponding encoder desirability factor associated with the encoded data block . next , the encoded data block having the greatest figure of merit is selected ( step 136 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 138 ) to indicate the data encoding technique applied to the encoded data block . for instance , the data type compression descriptor can indicate that the encoded data block was processed by either a single encoding type , a plurality of sequential encoding types , and a plurality of random encoding types . the encoded data block ( which has the greatest figure of merit ) along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 140 ). after the unencoded data block or the encoded data input data block is output ( steps 132 and 140 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 142 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 142 ), then the next successive data block is received ( step 144 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 102 ) and the data compression process is iterated for each successive data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 142 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 146 ). referring now to fig1 , a block diagram illustrates a data decompression system according to one embodiment of the present invention . the data decompression system preferably includes an input buffer 1100 that receives as input an uncompressed or compressed data stream comprising one or more data blocks . the data blocks may range in size from individual bits through complete files or collections of multiple files . additionally , the data block size may be fixed or variable . the input data buffer 1100 is preferably included ( not required ) to provide storage of input data for various hardware implementations . a descriptor extraction module 1102 receives the buffered ( or unbuffered ) input data block and then parses , lexically , syntactically , or otherwise analyzes the input data block using methods known by those skilled in the art to extract the data compression type descriptor associated with the data block . the data compression type descriptor may possess values corresponding to null ( no encoding applied ), a single applied encoding technique , or multiple encoding techniques applied in a specific or random order ( in accordance with the data compression system embodiments and methods discussed above ). a decoder module 1104 includes a plurality of decoders d1 . . . dn for decoding the input data block using a decoder , set of decoders , or a sequential set of decoders corresponding to the extracted compression type descriptor . the decoders d1 . . . dn may include those lossless encoding techniques currently well known within the art , including : run length , huffman , lempel - ziv dictionary compression , arithmetic coding , data compaction , and data null suppression . decoding techniques are selected based upon their ability to effectively decode the various different types of encoded input data generated by the data compression systems described above or originating from any other desired source . as with the data compression systems discussed above , the decoder module 1104 may include multiple decoders of the same type applied in parallel so as to reduce the data decoding time . the data decompression system also includes an output data buffer 1106 for buffering the decoded data block output from the decoder module 1104 . the operation of the data decompression system of fig1 will be discussed in further detail with reference to the flow diagram of fig1 . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks of compressed or uncompressed data is input into the data decompression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 1200 ) and maintained in the buffer ( step 1202 ). as with the data compression systems discussed above , data decompression is performed on a per data block basis . the data compression type descriptor is then extracted from the input data block ( step 1204 ). a determination is then made as to whether the data compression type descriptor is null ( step 1206 ). if the data compression type descriptor is determined to be null ( affirmative result in step 1206 ), then no decoding is applied to the input data block and the original undecoded data block is output ( or maintained in the output buffer ) ( step 1208 ). on the other hand , if the data compression type descriptor is determined to be any value other than null ( negative result in step 1206 ), the corresponding decoder or decoders are then selected ( step 1210 ) from the available set of decoders d1 . . . dn in the decoding module 1104 . it is to be understood that the data compression type descriptor may mandate the application of : a single specific decoder , an ordered sequence of specific decoders , a random order of specific decoders , a class or family of decoders , a mandatory or optional application of parallel decoders , or any combination or permutation thereof . the input data block is then decoded using the selected decoders ( step 1212 ), and output ( or maintained in the output buffer 1106 ) for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1214 ). a determination is then made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 1216 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 1216 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 1220 ), and buffered ( return to step 1202 ). thereafter , the data decompression process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 1216 ), data decompression of the input data stream is finished ( step 1218 ). in other embodiments of the present invention described below , data compression is achieved using a combination of content dependent data compression and content independent data compression . for example , fig1 a and 13 b are block diagrams illustrating a data compression system employing both content independent and content dependent data compression according to one embodiment of the present invention , wherein content independent data compression is applied to a data block when the content of the data block cannot be identified or is not associable with a specific data compression algorithm . the data compression system comprises a counter module 10 that receives as input an uncompressed or compressed data stream . it is to be understood that the system processes the input data stream in data blocks that may range in size from individual bits through complete files or collections of multiple files . additionally , the data block size may be fixed or variable . the counter module 10 counts the size of each input data block ( i . e ., the data block size is counted in bits , bytes , words , any convenient data multiple or metric , or any combination thereof ). an input data buffer 20 , operatively connected to the counter module 10 , may be provided for buffering the input data stream in order to output an uncompressed data stream in the event that , as discussed in further detail below , every encoder fails to achieve a level of compression that exceeds a priori specified content independent or content dependent minimum compression ratio thresholds . it is to be understood that the input data buffer 20 is not required for implementing the present invention . a content dependent data recognition module 1300 analyzes the incoming data stream to recognize data types , data structures , data block formats , file substructures , file types , and / or any other parameters that may be indicative of either the data type / content of a given data block or the appropriate data compression algorithm or algorithms ( in serial or in parallel ) to be applied . optionally , a data file recognition list ( s ) or algorithm ( s ) 1310 module may be employed to hold and / or determine associations between recognized data parameters and appropriate algorithms . each data block that is recognized by the content data compression module 1300 is routed to a content dependent encoder module 1320 , if not the data is routed to the content independent encoder module 30 . a content dependent encoder module 1320 is operatively connected to the content dependent data recognition module 1300 and comprises a set of encoders d1 , d2 , d3 . . . dm . the encoder set d1 , d2 , d3 . . . dm may include any number “ n ” of those lossless or lossy encoding techniques currently well known within the art such as mpeg4 , various voice codecs , mpeg3 , ac3 , aac , as well as lossless algorithms such as run length , huffinan , lempel - ziv dictionary compression , arithmetic coding , data compaction , and data null suppression . it is to be understood that the encoding techniques are selected based upon their ability to effectively encode different types of input data . it is to be appreciated that a full complement of encoders and or codecs are preferably selected to provide a broad coverage of existing and future data types . the content independent encoder module 30 , which is operatively connected to the content dependent data recognition module 1300 , comprises a set of encoders e1 , e2 , e3 . . . en . the encoder set e1 , e2 , e3 . . . en may include any number “ n ” of those lossless encoding techniques currently well known within the art such as run length , huffman , lempel - ziv dictionary compression , arithmetic coding , data compaction , and data null suppression . again , it is to be understood that the encoding techniques are selected based upon their ability to effectively encode different types of input data . it is to be appreciated that a full complement of encoders are preferably selected to provide a broad coverage of existing and future data types . the encoder modules ( content dependent 1320 and content independent 30 ) selectively receive the buffered input data blocks ( or unbuffered input data blocks from the counter module 10 ) from module 1300 based on the results of recognition . data compression is performed by the respective encoder modules wherein some or all of the encoders d1 . . . dm or e1 . . . en processes a given input data block and outputs a corresponding set of encoded data blocks . it is to be appreciated that the system affords a user the option to enable / disable any one or more of the encoders d1 . . . dm and e1 . . . en prior to operation . as is understood by those skilled in the art , such feature allows the user to tailor the operation of the data compression system for specific applications . it is to be further appreciated that the encoding process may be performed either in parallel or sequentially . in particular , the encoder set d1 through dm of encoder module 1320 and / or the encoder set e1 through en of encoder module 30 may operate in parallel ( i . e ., simultaneously processing a given input data block by utilizing task multiplexing on a single central processor , via dedicated hardware , by executing on a plurality of processor or dedicated hardware systems , or any combination thereof ). in addition , encoders d1 through dm and e1 through en may operate sequentially on a given unbuffered or buffered input data block . this process is intended to eliminate the complexity and additional processing overhead associated with multiplexing concurrent encoding techniques on a single central processor and / or dedicated hardware , set of central processors and / or dedicated hardware , or any achievable combination . it is to be further appreciated that encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed . for instance , encoder e1 may comprise two parallel huffman encoders for parallel processing of an input data block . it should be further noted that one or more algorithms may be implemented in dedicated hardware such as an mpeg4 or mp3 encoding integrated circuit . buffer / counter modules 1330 and 40 are operatively connected to their respective encoding modules 1320 and 30 , for buffering and counting the size of each of the encoded data blocks output from the respective encoder modules . specifically , the content dependent buffer / counter 1330 comprises a plurality of buffer / counters bcd1 , bcd2 , bcd3 . . . bcdm , each operatively associated with a corresponding one of the encoders d1 . . . dm . similarly the content independent buffer / counters bce1 , bce2 , bce3 . . . bcen , each operatively associated with a corresponding one of the encoders e1 . . . en . a compression ratio module 1340 , operatively connected to the content dependent output buffer / counters 1330 and content independent buffer / counters 40 determines the compression ratio obtained for each of the enabled encoders d1 . . . dm and or e1 . . . en by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block to the size of the output data block stored in the corresponding buffer / counters bcd1 , bcd2 , bcd3 . . . bcdm and or bce1 , bce2 , bce3 . . . bcen . in addition , the compression ratio module 1340 compares each compression ratio with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold limit to determine if at least one of the encoded data blocks output from the enabled encoders bcd1 , bcd2 , bcd3 . . . bcdm and or bce1 , bce2 , bce3 . . . bcen achieves a compression that meets an a priori - specified threshold . as is . understood by those skilled in the art , the threshold limit maybe specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it should be noted that different threshold values may be applied to content dependent and content independent encoded data . further these thresholds may be adaptively modified based upon enabled encoders in either or both the content dependent or content independent encoder sets , along with any associated parameters . a compression type description module 1350 , operatively coupled to the compression ratio module 1340 , appends a corresponding compression type descriptor to each encoded data block which is selected for output so as to indicate the type of compression format of the encoded data block . a mode of operation of the data compression system of fig1 a and 13 b will now be discussed with reference to the flow diagrams of fig1 a - 14 d , which illustrates a method for performing data compression using a combination of content dependent and content independent data compression . in general , content independent data compression is applied to a given data block when the content of a data block cannot be identified or is not associated with a specific data compression algorithm . more specifically , referring to fig1 a , a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 1400 ). as stated above , data compression is performed on a per data block basis . as previously stated a data block may represent any quantity of data from a single bit through a multiplicity of files or packets and may vary from block to block . accordingly , the first input data block in the input data stream is input into the counter module 10 that counts the size of the data block ( step 1402 ). the data block is then stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1404 ). the data block is then analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent data recognition module 1300 ( step 1406 ). if the data stream content is not recognized utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1310 ( step 1408 ) the data is routed to the content independent encoder module 30 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en ( step 1410 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1412 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1414 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1416 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an apriori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1418 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1420 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1420 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 1434 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1436 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 1420 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 1422 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 1424 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1426 ). as previously stated the data block stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1404 ) is analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent data recognition module 1300 ( step 1406 ). if the data stream content is recognized utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1310 ( step 1434 ) the appropriate content dependent algorithms are enabled and initialized ( step 1436 ), and the data is routed to the content dependent encoder module 1320 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm ( step 1438 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1440 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1442 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1444 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1448 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that many of these algorithms may be lossy , and as such the limits may be subject to or modified by an end target storage , listening , or viewing device . further notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1420 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1420 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 1434 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1436 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 1420 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 1422 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 1424 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1426 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded data input data block is output ( steps 1426 and 1436 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 1428 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 1428 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 1432 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 1402 ) and the data compression process in repeated . this process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 1428 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 1430 ). since a multitude of data types may be present within a given input data block , it is often difficult and / or impractical to predict the level of compression that will be achieved by a specific encoder . consequently , by processing the input data blocks with a plurality of encoding techniques and comparing the compression results , content free data compression is advantageously achieved . further the encoding may be lossy or lossless dependent upon the input data types . further if the data type is not recognized the default content independent lossless compression is applied . it is not a requirement that this process be deterministic — in fact a certain probability may be applied if occasional data loss is permitted . it is to be appreciated that this approach is scalable through future generations of processors , dedicated hardware , and software . as processing capacity increases and costs reduce , the benefits provided by the present invention will continue to increase . it should again be noted that the present invention may employ any lossless data encoding technique . fig1 a and 15 b are block diagrams illustrating a data compression system employing both content independent and content dependent data compression according to another embodiment of the present invention . the system in fig1 a and 15 b is similar in operation to the system of fig1 a and 13 b in that content independent data compression is applied to a data block when the content of the data block cannot be identified or is not associable with a specific data compression algorithm . the system of fig1 a and 15 b additionally performs content independent data compression on a data block when the compression ratio obtained for the data block using the content dependent data compression does not meet a specified threshold . a mode of operation of the data compression system of fig1 a and 15 b will now be discussed with reference to the flow diagram of fig1 a - 16 d , which illustrates a method for performing data compression using a combination of content dependent and content independent data compression . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 1600 ). as stated above , data compression is performed on a per data block basis . as previously stated a data block may represent any quantity of data from a single bit through a multiplicity of files or packets and may vary from block to block . accordingly , the first input data block in the input data stream is input into the counter module 10 that counts the size of the data block ( step 1602 ). the data block is then stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1604 ). the data block is then analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent data recognition module 1300 ( step 1606 ). if the data stream content is not recognized utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1310 ( step 1608 ) the data is routed to the content independent encoder module 30 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en ( step 1610 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1612 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1614 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1616 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1618 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1620 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1620 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 1634 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1636 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 1620 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 1622 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 1624 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1626 ). as previously stated the data block stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1604 ) is analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent data recognition module 1300 ( step 1606 ). if the data stream content is recognized utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1310 ( step 1634 ) the appropriate content dependent algorithms are enabled and initialized ( step 1636 ) and the data is routed to the content dependent encoder module 1620 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm ( step 1638 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1640 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1642 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1644 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1648 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that many of these algorithms may be lossy , and as such the limits may be subject to or modified by an end target storage , listening , or viewing device . further notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1648 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1620 ), then the original unencoded input data block is routed to the content independent encoder module 30 and the process resumes with compression utilizing content independent encoders ( step 1610 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded data input data block is output ( steps 1626 and 1636 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 1628 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 1628 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 1632 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 1602 ) and the data compression process in repeated . this process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 1628 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 1630 ). fig1 a and 17 b are block diagrams illustrating a data compression system employing both content independent and content dependent data compression according to another embodiment of the present invention . the system in fig1 a and 17 b is similar in operation to the system of fig1 a and 13 b in that content independent data compression is applied to a data block when the content of the data block cannot be identified or is not associable with a specific data compression algorithm . the system of fig1 a and 17 b additionally uses a priori estimation algorithms or look - up tables to estimate the desirability of using content independent data compression encoders and / or content dependent data compression encoders and selecting appropriate algorithms or subsets thereof based on such estimation . more specifically , a content dependent data recognition and or estimation module 1700 is utilized to analyze the incoming data stream for recognition of data types , data strictures , data block formats , file substructures , file types , or any other parameters that may be indicative of the appropriate data compression algorithm or algorithms ( in serial or in parallel ) to be applied . optionally , a data file recognition list ( s ) or algorithm ( s ) 1710 module may be employed to hold associations between recognized data parameters and appropriate algorithms . if the content data compression module recognizes a portion of the data , that portion is routed to the content dependent encoder module 1320 , if not the data is routed to the content independent encoder module 30 . it is to be appreciated that process of recognition ( modules 1700 and 1710 ) is not limited to a deterministic recognition , but may further comprise a probabilistic estimation of which encoders to select for compression from the set of encoders of the content dependent module 1320 or the content independent module 30 . for example , a method may be employed to compute statistics of a data block whereby a determination that the locality of repetition of characters in a data stream is determined is high can suggest a text document , which may be beneficially compressed with a lossless dictionary type algorithm . further the statistics of repeated characters and relative frequencies may suggest a specific type of dictionary algorithm . long strings will require a wide dictionary file while a wide diversity of strings may suggest a deep dictionary . statistics may also be utilized in algorithms such as huffman where various character statistics will dictate the choice of different huffinan compression tables . this technique is not limited to lossless algorithms but may be widely employed with lossy algorithms . header information in frames for video files can imply a specific data resolution . the estimator then may select the appropriate lossy compression algorithm and compression parameters ( amount of resolution desired ). as shown in previous embodiments of the present invention , desirability of various algorithms and now associated resolutions with lossy type algorithms may also be applied in the estimation selection process . a mode of operation of the data compression system of fig1 a and 17 b will now be discussed with reference to the flow diagrams of fig1 a - 18 d . the method of fig1 a - 18 d use a priori estimation algorithms or look - up tables to estimate the desirability or probability of using content independent data compression encoders or content dependent data compression encoders , and select appropriate or desirable algorithms or subsets thereof based on such estimates . a data stream comprising one or more data blocks is input into the data compression system and the first data block in the stream is received ( step 1800 ). as stated above , data compression is performed on a per data block basis . as previously stated a data block may represent any quantity of data from a single bit through a multiplicity of files or packets and may vary from block to block . accordingly , the first input data block in the input data stream is input into the counter module 10 that counts the size of the data block ( step 1802 ). the data block is then stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1804 ). the data block is then analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent / content independent data recognition module 1700 ( step 1806 ). if the data stream content is not recognized utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1710 ( step 1808 ) the data is to the content independent encoder module 30 . an estimate of the best content independent encoders is performed ( step 1850 ) and the appropriate encoders are enabled and initialized as applicable . the data is then compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en ( step 1810 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder e1 . . . en and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1812 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1814 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1816 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1818 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1820 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1820 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 1834 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1836 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 1820 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 1822 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 1824 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1826 ). as previously stated the data block stored in the buffer 20 ( step 1804 ) is analyzed on a per block or multi - block basis by the content dependent data recognition module 1300 ( step 1806 ). if the data stream content is recognized or estimated utilizing the recognition list ( s ) or algorithms ( s ) module 1710 ( affirmative result in step 1808 ) the recognized data type / file or block is selected based on a list or algorithm ( step 1838 ) and an estimate of the desirability of using the associated content dependent algorithms can be determined ( step 1840 ). for instance , even though a recognized data type may be associated with three different encoders , an estimation of the desirability of using each encoder may result in only one or two of the encoders being actually selected for use . the data is routed to the content dependent encoder module 1320 and compressed by each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm ( step 1842 ). upon completion of the encoding of the input data block , an encoded data block is output from each ( enabled ) encoder d1 . . . dm and maintained in a corresponding buffer ( step 1844 ), and the encoded data block size is counted ( step 1846 ). next , a compression ratio is calculated for each encoded data block by taking the ratio of the size of the input data block ( as determined by the input counter 10 to the size of each encoded data block output from the enabled encoders ( step 1848 ). each compression ratio is then compared with an a priori - specified compression ratio threshold ( step 1850 ). it is to be understood that the threshold limit may be specified as any value inclusive of data expansion , no data compression or expansion , or any arbitrarily desired compression limit . it is to be further understood that many of these algorithms may be lossy , and as such the limits may be subject to or modified by an end target storage , listening , or viewing device . further notwithstanding that the current limit for lossless data compression is the entropy limit ( the present definition of information content ) for the data , the present invention does not preclude the use of future developments in lossless data compression that may increase lossless data compression ratios beyond what is currently known within the art . additionally the content independent data compression threshold may be different from the content dependent threshold and either may be modified by the specific enabled encoders . after the compression ratios are compared with the threshold , a determination is made as to whether the compression ratio of at least one of the encoded data blocks exceeds the threshold limit ( step 1820 ). if there are no encoded data blocks having a compression ratio that exceeds the compression ratio threshold limit ( negative determination in step 1820 ), then the original unencoded input data block is selected for output and a null data compression type descriptor is appended thereto ( step 1834 ). a null data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates no data encoding has been applied to the input data block . accordingly , the unencoded input data block with its corresponding null data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1836 ). on the other hand , if one or more of the encoded data blocks possess a compression ratio greater than the compression ratio threshold limit ( affirmative result in step 1820 ), then the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio is selected ( step 1822 ). an appropriate data compression type descriptor is then appended ( step 1824 ). a data compression type descriptor is defined as any recognizable data token or descriptor that indicates which data encoding technique has been applied to the data . it is to be understood that , since encoders of the identical type may be applied in parallel to enhance encoding speed ( as discussed above ), the data compression type descriptor identifies the corresponding encoding technique applied to the encoded data block , not necessarily the specific encoder . the encoded data block having the greatest compression ratio along with its corresponding data compression type descriptor is then output for subsequent data processing , storage , or transmittal ( step 1826 ). after the encoded data block or the unencoded data input data block is output ( steps 1826 and 1836 ), a determination is made as to whether the input data stream contains additional data blocks to be processed ( step 1828 ). if the input data stream includes additional data blocks ( affirmative result in step 1428 ), the next successive data block is received ( step 1832 ), its block size is counted ( return to step 1802 ) and the data compression process in repeated . this process is iterated for each data block in the input data stream . once the final input data block is processed ( negative result in step 1828 ), data compression of the input data stream is finished ( step 1830 ). it is to be appreciated that in the embodiments described above with reference to fig1 - 18 , an a priori specified time limit or any other real - time requirement may be employed to achieve practical and efficient real - time operation . although illustrative embodiments have been described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various other changes and modifications may be affected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . all such changes and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
fig1 depicts the endoscopic probe system 10 of the present invention including a long , thin , flexible endoscopic probe 12 having a proximal end 14 and a distal end 16 which terminates in a probe tip 18 . as is well known in the art the probe 12 is formed using a flexible extrusion tube 17 , such as a pebax tube , having a plurality of tubular passages formed axially therewithin for the insertion of various components of the probe 12 , from the proximal end 14 to the distal end 16 ; pebax is a trademark of ato shimie , curbevole , france . the probe tip 18 comprises the end tip of the pebax tube 17 with various components as are herein described . the probe system 10 includes an illumination system 19 including a light source 20 that projects viewing light through an optical fiber 22 to a light emitting tip 24 engaged in the tip 18 of the endoscopic probe 12 . such illumination systems 19 are well known in the prior art which also may include two or more light emitting optical fibers with individual tips . the probe system 10 also includes a viewing system 26 which receives imaging data through a coherent optical fiber 28 that passes through the probe 12 to a tip 30 disposed in the probe tip 18 . the tip 30 includes an optical lens 50 as is known in the art . the system 10 may also include further components as are known in the art , such as an irrigation system 31 or a tissue sampling system 32 which operates through a hollow tubular passage 34 of the extrusion tube 17 and terminates at a passage tip 36 . such irrigation systems 31 and tissue sampling systems 32 are well known in the prior art . also known in the prior art , and not depicted herein for clarity sake , are probe movement systems , such as wires that pass through the probe 12 to control the movement of the distal end 16 of the probe 12 . fig2 and 3 depict the distal end 16 of the probe 12 , wherein fig2 is an enlarged perspective view thereof and fig3 is an end elevational view thereof . as depicted in fig2 and 3 , the distal end 16 includes a cylindrical outer sleeve member 40 that surrounds and mechanically compresses the tip end 18 to hold the light emitting probe tip 24 , the video imaging tip 30 and the tissue probe passage tip 36 within the extrusion tube 17 . as can be seen from fig2 and 3 , the sleeve 40 is radially inwardly mechanically deformed at its leading edge 44 to accomplish the mechanical holding of the tips 24 , 30 and 36 together within the tip 18 . a cylindrical sleeve 38 is preferably inserted within the tip 36 of the passage 34 to avoid compression of the walls of the flexible tube into the passage tip 36 . the manufacturing process for creating the deformation of the edge 44 of the sleeve 40 to accomplish the mechanical holding of the three tips 24 , 30 and 36 is discussed hereinbelow with the aid of fig8 and 10 . fig4 and 5 depict a first preferred engagement method of the optical lens 50 to the coherent optical fiber 28 , wherein fig4 is a perspective view of the video imaging tip 30 , and fig5 is a side cross - sectional view taken along lines 5 -- 5 of fig4 . the video imaging tip 30 includes the optical lens 50 that is fixedly engaged to the end of the coherent optical fiber 28 utilizing a mechanical engagement that is created by using a deformable sleeve 52 preferably composed of a metal such as a copper based alloy or gold or other suitable material as would be known to those skilled in the art . as depicted in fig4 and 5 , optical lens 50 is preferably formed as a solid cylindrical lens body having a convex exterior surface 58 and a flat interior surface 60 . the interior face 60 of the lens 50 is butted against the end 64 of the coherent optical fiber 28 . such lenses 50 and coherent optical fibers 28 are well known in the endoscopic art , and are typically engaged together utilizing a transparent epoxy type adhesive . a significant feature of the present invention is that the lens 50 is mechanically engaged to the coherent optical fiber end 64 utilizing the cylindrical sleeve 54 . to accomplish this mechanical engagement , the inner diameter of the cylindrical sleeve 54 closely matches the outer diameter of the optical fiber 28 and lens 50 , such that a generally snug fit is obtained . the outer edge 68 of the sleeve 54 is mechanically deformed inwardly to frictionally engage the outer surface of the cylindrical lens 50 , and the shaft of the sleeve 54 is crimped 70 to engage the coherent optical fiber 28 . the preferred device to accomplish the mechanical deformation of the outer edge 68 of the sleeve 54 is disclosed in issued u . s . pat . no . 5 , 305 , 406 , the contents of which are incorporated herein as though set forth in full . the preferred method for the engagement of the lens 50 to the optical fiber end 64 utilizing the deformable cylindrical sleeve 54 is next discussed with the aid of fig6 and 8 . fig6 and 8 depict the manufacturing steps that are utilized in the preferred manufacturing method for the engagement of the lens 50 to the optical fiber end 64 . each of fig6 and 8 is a cross - sectional view that is similar to fig5 however , the optical fiber 26 and sleeve 54 are preferably oriented vertically to utilize gravitational force to simplify the assembly method . as depicted in fig6 the cylindrical sleeve 54 is inserted over the end 64 of the coherent optical fiber 28 . the sleeve 54 projects upwardly from the end 64 a sufficient distance such that the lens 50 may be placed within the sleeve 54 . the sleeve 54 is then adjusted vertically , such that a small tip portion 72 of the lens 50 projects outwardly from the upper end 76 of the sleeve 54 . when the sleeve 54 is in the proper vertical orientation to create the small lens projection 72 , a standard crimping device 80 is utilized to provide a lateral force 82 against the sides of the sleeve 54 to depress the sleeve sides inwardly to form the crimp 70 ( see fig7 ), whereby the optical fiber 28 and the sleeve 54 become mechanically engaged together . the outer end 76 of the sleeve 54 is next deformed ( as sleeve end 68 is depicted in fig5 ) to engage the lens 50 to the end 64 of the optical fiber 28 . as is depicted in fig7 the sleeve 54 is engaged to the optical fiber 28 by the crimp 70 and the lens 50 is loosely engaged in the outer end of the sleeve 54 , such that a portion 72 of the lens 50 projects beyond the upper end 76 of the sleeve 54 . as indicated hereinabove , an impact mounting assembly device , such as is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 305 , 406 is next utilized to mechanically engage the lens 50 within the sleeve 54 . the lens mounting method involves the placement of the optical fiber 28 with its crimp - attached sleeve 54 within a holding notch 90 formed in a holding member 92 of an impact assembly device , such that the rearward end 96 of the sleeve 54 rests against an inner surface 100 of the holding member 92 , while the optical fiber 28 passes through the slot 90 . thereafter , an impact punch head 106 of the impact mounting device is moved into position 110 against the projecting distal end 76 of the sleeve 54 . the impact head 106 is formed with a conical recess 114 defined by inwardly converging sidewalls 118 . the sidewalls 118 converge to a cylindrical cavity 122 defined by sidewalls 126 , which are dimensioned such that the diameter of the cylindrical cavity 122 is larger than the diameter of the lens 50 . it is therefore to be understood that when the impact punch head 106 is forcefully directed 110 against the sleeve 54 , that the sidewalls 118 of the conical cavity 114 will make an impact contact with the end 76 of the sleeve 54 , while the lens 50 will project untouched into the cylindrical cavity 122 . the contact of the rearward end 96 of the sleeve 54 with the surface 100 of the holding member 92 acts to prevent the sleeve 54 from moving rearwardly when it is impacted at the outer end 76 by the impact head 106 . fig8 depicts the finished mechanical engagement of the lens 50 to the optical fiber 26 . as shown in fig8 the outer end 76 ( now shown in phantom ) of the sleeve 54 has been deformed to create the inwardly projecting end 68 , wherein a deformed portion 136 of the tip of the sleeve 54 has been mechanically depressed inwardly into frictional engagement with the cylindrical side surface 140 of the lens 50 . in this manner , the lens 50 is mechanically , frictionally engaged in a butted relationship with the end 64 of the optical fiber 28 . various sealants and potting compounds that are well known to those skilled in the art can be advantageously utilized along with the mechanical engagement methods described hereabove . specifically , a liquid sealant formulation 142 can be inserted into the circumferential gap 144 between the lens 50 and the sleeve 54 , as depicted in fig7 . thereafter , the outer end 76 of the sleeve 54 is deformed , as discussed above with regard to fig8 and the sealant 142 thus remains within the gap 144 to provide a sealed mechanical engagement of the lens 50 within the sleeve 54 . the manufacturing method for the endoscope of the present invention is depicted in fig9 and 11 , which manufacturing steps are similar to the manufacturing steps for the viewing system optical fiber probe tip 30 . as depicted in fig9 a sleeve 40 surrounds the distal end 16 of the endoscopic probe 12 . the cylindrical sleeve 38 is disposed in the end 36 of the tubular passage 34 , as discussed above , and the coherent optical fiber 28 with its mechanically engaged lens 50 projects through a tubular passage 150 axially formed through the pebax tube 17 . the illumination optical fiber disposed within its tubular passageway is not depicted in the cross sectional view of fig9 . in the preferred endoscopic probe manufacturing method of the present invention , the cylindrical sleeve 40 is placed around the tip 16 of the probe 12 such that end 17 of the pebax tube projects slightly outwardly from the outer end 154 of the sleeve 40 . a standard crimping means 158 is then utilized to apply a radially inward force 160 against the sides of the sleeve 40 to crimp 164 the sleeve 40 into a mechanical engagement with the tip 16 of the probe 12 . as depicted in fig1 , an impact mounting device is next utilized to further mechanically engage the sleeve 40 to the probe tip 16 . as depicted in fig1 , the probe 12 with the sleeve 40 engaged by the crimp 164 is placed within a slot 168 formed in a holding member 172 of an impact mount device . a suitable impact mount device is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 305 , 406 , as has been mentioned and incorporated hereabove . an impact head 176 of the impact mounting device is next brought into contact with the upper end 154 of the sleeve 40 . the impact head is formed with a conical cavity 180 defined by inwardly depending sidewalls 182 which terminate in a cylindrical cavity 184 defined by cylindrical sidewalls 186 . it is to be understood that the diameter of the cylindrical cavity 184 is greater than the diameter of the tip 17 of the probe 12 , whereas the conical sidewalls 182 will make impact contact with the upper end 154 of the sleeve 40 . it is to be further understood that when the impact head 176 makes impact contact with the outer end 154 of the sleeve 40 that the outer end 154 will be deformed inwardly to make frictional contact with the outer surface 190 of the probe tip 16 . the rearward end 194 of the sleeve 40 rests upon the surface 196 of the holding member 172 , such that the sleeve is immovable during the impact head contact . fig1 depicts the probe tip 16 following the impact mounting of the sleeve 40 . as depicted in fig1 , the sleeve end 154 ( now shown in phantom ) has been inwardly deformed , such that an inner portion 198 of the sleeve 40 makes frictional contact with the outer surface 190 of the probe tip 16 , and the outer end 44 of the sleeve 40 is deformed , as previously described . in order to achieve a superior engagement of the impacted sleeve end 44 with the probe tip 16 , the small cylindrical sleeve 38 is placed within the end 36 of the tube passage 34 prior to impact mounting . the sleeve 38 serves to provide mechanical rigidity to the outer end 36 of the tubular passage 34 , which functions to prevent the collapse of the outer end 36 of the tubular passage 34 during impact mounting . various sealants and potting compounds that are well known to those skilled in the art can also be advantageously utilized along with the mechanical engagement methods described hereabove . specifically , a liquid sealant formulation 200 can be inserted into the circumferential gap 202 between the surface 190 and the sleeve 40 , as depicted in fig1 . thereafter , the outer end 154 of the sleeve 40 is deformed , as discussed above with regard to fig1 , and the sealant 200 thus remains within the gap 202 to provide a sealed mechanical engagement of the probe tip 16 within the sleeve 40 . an alternative viewing lens tip 220 of the present invention is depicted in fig1 and 13 , wherein fig1 is a perspective view and fig1 is a side cross - sectional view taken along lines 13 -- 13 of fig1 . as depicted in fig1 and 13 , a lens 50 , being generally identical to lens 50 depicted fig4 and 5 , and having a convex outer surface 58 and a plane inner surface 60 is butted against the end 64 of a coherent optical fiber 28 . the lens 50 is held in position against the end 64 utilizing a deformable sleeve 54 , as has been described hereabove with reference to fig4 and 5 . the significant difference between this tip embodiment 220 and the tip embodiment 30 depicted in fig4 and 5 is that the lens 50 is contained within the deformed forward end 68 of the sleeve 54 . that is , the lens 50 does not have an outwardly projecting portion 72 as depicted in fig4 and 5 . rather , the lens 50 is recessed within the crimped forward end 68 of the sleeve 54 , as depicted in fig1 and 13 . a method for manufacturing the tip 220 commences by deforming the forward edge 68 of the sleeve 54 , preferably utilizing an impact mounting assembly device such as is described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 305 , 406 . after the front end 68 of the sleeve 54 has been deformed , the lens 50 is placed within the sleeve 54 , followed by the optical fiber 28 . thereafter , the sleeve 54 is crimped 70 to hold the sleeve and the optical fiber 28 together . in this manner , the lens 50 is mechanically held within the sleeve 54 in a butted relationship with the end 64 of the optical fiber 28 . it is therefore to be understood that the endoscopic probe 12 of the present invention includes the mechanical engagement of various components at the tip of the probe . the present invention is therefore repeatedly heat sterilizable utilizing an autoclave or similar apparatus , whereas prior art devices that use adhesives for primary engagement purposes cannot be repeatedly heat sterilized because of the adverse effect of heat upon the adhesives . it is to be further understood that the present invention includes both the impact mounting of the lens 50 to the optical fiber 28 in creating the imaging system , and the impact mounting of the outer sleeve 40 to the tip 18 of the probe 12 to securely engage the various components within the tip 18 . while the present invention has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that certain alterations and modifications can be made herein without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , the following claims are intended to be interpreted to cover all such altered and modified devices that nevertheless include the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 0 |
the invention relates broadly to wastewater treatment processes and more specifically to such processes which employ activated sludge as a nutrient removal process . the invention can be used with domestic , agricultural and / or industrial wastewater . certain types of industrial wastes are difficult to treat biologically because they lack certain nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous . in order to biologically treat such wastes , nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus may be added to make up for their limited concentration or complete absence . the treatment of paper wastes is an example where available n and p are added for biological activated sludge to maintain ratios of a part n per 20 parts bod and 1 part p per 75 parts bod . it has been found that nitrogen and / or phosphorous removal can be facilitated by a process wherein , with respect to n removal , activated sludge oxidizes ammonia nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen and a first anoxic zone reduces nitrate nitrogen to molecular nitrogen gas . with respect to p removal , volatile acid is supplied to a second anoxic zone to release p into the liquid phase , followed by an aerobic zone to incorporate the p into the biomass from the liquid phase . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 raw wastewater enters a primary settling zone 5 where some solids are separated from the wastewater . settled wastewater from the primary settling zone 5 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is conveyed to the first anoxic zone 10 via line 7 where the settled wastewater containing suspended solids is mixed with settled sludge from final settling zone 30 va lines 32 and 7 . the first anoxic zone effluent is passed via line 14 to a first aerobic zone 15 where the bod is converted to suspended solids and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is converted to nitrate nitrogen . nitrate formed in the first and second aerobic zones is reduced to nitrogen gas in the first anoxic zone 10 . nitrogen conversion from ammonia to nitrate is referred to as nitrification . in order for nitrification to occur by microbial oxidation , the bod must be significantly decreased , such as to a level of 14 mg / l or less . this is because autotrophic bacteria such as the species nitrosommonas and nitrobacter are responsible for the conversion of ammonia nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen . initially , the activity of the heterotrophic bacteria such as bacillus predominate in the biological oxidation zone 15 as these heterotrophs metabolyze bod . this heterotrophic activity successfully limits the activity of the nitrifying autotrophs until the bod has decreased to a sufficiently low level that heterotrophic activity is limited and autotrophic activity can dominate . the same effect , i . e ., autotrophic dominance would inherently be achieved with wastewater that started with sufficiently low bod , such as 14 mg / l or less . in one embodiment , at the end of the first aerobic zone 15 , a portion of the contents from the first aerobic zone 15 in an inner recycle 16 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 10 via lines 17 and 7 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 15 is passed via line 18 to second anoxic zone 20 as is volatile acid 21 via line 19 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions , will release phosphate from the sludge to the liquid in the second anoxic zone 20 . the effluent from second anoxic zone 20 is passed via 22 to a second aerobic zone 25 . in aerobic zone 25 , bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second anoxic zone 20 but also phosphate content from line 7 . effluent from aerobic zone 25 is passed via line 27 to final settling zone 30 . the settled sludge containing suspended solids ( return activated sludge 31 ) is recycled via lines 32 and 7 to the first anoxic zone 10 . excess settled sludge ( waste activated sludge 33 ) is removed from the system via conduit 34 . purified wastewater ( final effluent 35 ) having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 30 via line 36 . by “ main aerobic biological zone ” is meant any of the known aerobic biological secondary wasterwater treatments such as the activated sludge process and its various modifications . also included are the fixed film systems as rbc and trickling filter and slurry systems as stabilization ponds , lagoons and ditch oxidation processes . such aerobic biological oxidation zones include any operation wherein the major thrust is the reduction of bod by aerobic biological treatment . by “ aerobic conditions ” as in the aerobic or aeration zone are meant aeration operating conditions as may be achieved in known process equipment including aerators , mixers and the like . the addition of air or oxygen creates aerobic conditions which means containing a finite amount of dissolved oxygen ( do ). preferred aerobic conditions are those wherein the do is greater than one mg / l . by “ penrep process ” is meant a tertiary process designed to follow secondary wastewater systems such as activated sludge , trickling filter or rotating biological contractors ( rbc ). the first anoxic zone and first aerobic zone represent an activated sludge process in the mle mode and is a main biological oxidation zone or ( mboz ) which precedes the penrep process represented by a second anoxic zone and a second aerobic zone . the actual location of the penrep process at the end of the activated sludge aeration tank would depend on the activated sludge design and operating hydraulic retention time ( hrt ). the hrt of the penrep process is independent of the hrt of the activated sludge process . by “ anoxic conditions ” are meant conditions in which no do is present in the bulk liquid but chemical bound oxygen as in nitrate is available for microbial metabolism . air or oxygen is not usually added . by “ anaerobic conditions ” are meant conditions wherein no do nor nitrate is present in the bulk liquid so that only anaerobic microorganisms can grow . air or oxygen is not usually added . by “ anoxic / anaerobic conditions ” are meant conditions which are at least anoxic ( no do ) but there may be or may not be combined oxygen present as nitrate . air or oxygen is not usually added . the term “ settling ” as used herein refers broadly to any solids separation process known in the art , e . g ., filtering and centrifuging . th e term “ volatile acid ” as used herein mean s water soluble fatty acids that can be distilled at atmospheric pressure and includes soluble fatty acids of up to 6 carbon atoms . it also includes the water soluble carboxylates of the volatile acids . the term “ methanol ” as used herein means a biological oxygen consuming organic such as methyl alcohol ( or methanol ) which can reduce nitrate - nitrogen to gaseous nitrogen in anoxic systems . the term “ svi ” as used herein is the sludge volume index which represents the settleability of the activated sludge ( or any biological sludge ) suspended solids . the svi represents the settling value in ml of the activated sludge in a graduated cylinder for a 30 minute duration that is divided by the suspended solids ( as mg / l ) in the activated sludge . the resulting number is svi as mg / l that ranges from about 60 to about 250 . the term “ ecp ” as used herein is extracellular polymer which represents the polymeric material on the exterior of the bacteria in a biological sludge that is an aid in the settling of the biological sludge . the term “ cod ” as used herein is chemical oxygen demand which is a chemical oxidation step of wastewater with acid and dichromate to oxidize organic material at high temperature . the term “ scod ” as used herein is soluble cod which represents the soluble portion of a wastewater as defined by filtration through a membrane filter with cod of the filtrate . the type of reactor used in any of the zones described in this invention ( aerobic zone , anoxic zone , etc .) might be classified as biological slurry or fixed - film . in addition the two types can be combined as a slurry / fixed - film reactor . an example of the slurry reactor is the aeration tank as used in the activated sludge process . an example of a fixed - film reactor is a trickling filter or a rotating biological contactor ( rbc ). combined or hybrid slurry / fixed - film reactors can be of various types such as a slurry system with a stationary or mobile fixed - film . an example of a stationary fixed - film system in an activated sludge aeration tank would be a rbc unit while an example of a mobile fixed - film system would be a mobile media suspended in the activated sludge aeration tank . other examples are slurry feed to a fixed - film reactor or a settled suspended biological solids feed to a fixed film reactor . in preferred embodiments of the process of fig1 the wastewater supplied to the first anoxic zone may first be passed through a primary solids separation zone wherein a portion of the bod and suspended solids is removed . the process conditions within the several zones described in fig1 are set forth in detail above . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig2 effluent from primary settling zone 40 is passed to a first anoxic zone 45 via line 42 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge ( return activated sludge 68 ) from final settling zone 65 which is returned via lines 67 and 42 . the first anoxic zone 45 effluent is passed via line 46 to first aerobic zone 50 where carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide and biomass and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen are oxidized to nitrate . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 50 is passed via line 51 to the second anoxic zone 55 , as is volatile acid 57 via line 58 . in one embodiment , at the end of the first aerobic zone 50 , a portion of the contents ( inner recycle 53 ) from the first aerobic zone 50 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 50 via lines 52 and 42 . in second anoxic zone 55 , bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the sludge to the liquid . the effluent from the second anoxic zone 55 is passed via line 56 to a second aerobic zone 60 . in aerobic zone 60 , bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second anoxic zone 55 but also phosphate content from the line 42 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 60 is passed via line 61 to final settling zone 65 . settled sludge ( return activated sludge 68 ) containing suspended solids is recycled both via lines 67 and 42 to the first anoxic zone 45 and also via line 69 to the second anoxic zone 55 . excess settled sludge ( waste activated sludge 66 ) is removed from the system via conduit 72 . purified wastewater ( final effluent 70 ) having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 65 via line 71 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig3 settled wastewater 76 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is conveyed through line 77 to first anoxic zone 80 wherein it is mixed with settled sludge ( return activated sludge 106 ) from final settling zone 105 via line 107 . the first anoxic zone 80 effluent is passed via line 81 to first aerobic zone 85 where carbon is oxidized to carbon dioxide and biomass and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen are oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment , at the end of the first aerobic zone 85 , a portion ( inner recycle 87 ) of the contents from first aerobic zone 85 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 80 via lines 87 and 77 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 85 is passed via line 86 to a first section 89 of second anoxic zone 90 . the effluent from first section 89 of the second anoxic zone 90 is passed via line 91 to a second section 95 of the second anoxic zone 90 as is volatile acid 83 via line 84 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the sludge to the liquid in the second section 95 of the second anoxic zone 90 . the effluent from the second section 95 of the second anoxic zone 90 is passed via 96 to second aerobic zone 100 . in aerobic zone 100 , bacteria rapidly take up the phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second section of the second anoxic zone 90 but also phosphate content from line 77 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 100 is passed via line 101 to final settling zone 105 . settled sludge ( return activated sludge 106 ) containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 107 and 77 to first anoxic zone 80 . excess settled sludge ( waste activated sludge 110 ) is removed from the system via conduit 111 . purified wastewater ( final effluent 108 ) having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 105 via line 109 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig4 raw wastewater 103 enters a primary settling tank 112 via line 102 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 104 via line 113 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 112 is passed to the first anoxic zone 115 via line 114 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 139 from final settling zone 135 which is returned via lines 136 and 114 . the first anoxic zone 115 effluent is passed via line 116 to first aerobic zone 120 where carbon is oxidized and biomass and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate the effluent from the first aerobic zone 120 is passed via line 121 to the second anoxic zone 125 as is volatile acid 132 via line 128 and methanol 129 via line 127 . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 120 , a portion of the contents as inner recycle 123 from the first aerobic zone 120 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 115 via lines 122 and 114 . in second anoxic zone 125 , bacteria in the presence of the methanol and volatile acid and under anoxic conditions will reduce nitrate to gaseous nitrogen and release phosphate from the sludge to the liquid . the effluent from the second anoxic zone 125 is passed via line 126 to a second aerobic zone 130 . in aerobic zone 130 , bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second anoxic zone 125 but also the phosphate content from the line 114 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 130 is passed via line 131 to final settling zone 135 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 139 containing suspended solids is recycled both via lines 136 and 114 to the first anoxic zone 115 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 137 is removed from the system via conduit 138 . purified wastewater as final effluent 141 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 135 via line 140 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig5 raw wastewater 144 enters a primary settling tank 145 via line 143 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 147 via line 146 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 145 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 150 via line 148 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 176 from final settling zone 175 via line 177 . the first anoxic zone 150 effluent is passed via line 151 to first aerobic zone 155 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 155 , a portion as inner recycle 156 of the contents from first aerobic zone 155 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 150 via lines 157 and 148 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 155 is passed via line 156 to a first section 160 of second anoxic zone 164 . the effluent from first section 160 of the second anoxic zone 164 is passed via line 161 to a second section 165 of the second anoxic zone 164 as is volatile acid 162 via line 163 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the second section 165 of the second anoxic zone 164 . the effluent from the second section 165 of the second anoxic zone 164 is passed via line 166 to a second aerobic zone 170 . in aerobic zone 170 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second section 165 of the second anoxic zone 164 but also phosphate content from line 148 . effluent from the second anoxic zone 164 is passed via line 171 to final settling zone 175 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 176 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 177 and 148 to first anoxic zone 150 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 178 is removed from the system via conduit 179 . purified wastewater as final effluent 180 ) having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 175 via line 181 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig6 raw wastewater 184 enters a primary settling tank 185 via line 183 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 186 via line 187 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 185 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 190 via line 187 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 217 from final settling zone 215 via line 218 . the first anoxic zone 190 effluent is passed via line 192 to first aerobic zone 195 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 195 , a portion as inner recycle 193 of the contents from first aerobic zone 195 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 190 via lines 191 and 187 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 195 is passed via line 196 to a first section 200 of second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 196 via line 197 to reduce nitrate into gaseous nitrogen . the effluent from first section 200 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 201 to a second section 205 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 198 via line 199 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the second section 205 of the second anoxic zone 204 . the effluent from the second section 205 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 206 to a second aerobic zone 210 . in aerobic zone 210 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second section 205 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 187 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 210 is passed via line 211 to final settling zone 215 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 217 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 218 and 187 to first anoxic zone 190 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 221 is removed from the system via conduit 222 . purified wastewater as final effluent 220 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 215 via line 216 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig7 raw wastewater 223 enters a primary settling tank 225 via line 224 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 226 via line 227 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 225 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 230 via line 228 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 256 from final settling zone 255 via line 257 . the first anoxic zone 230 effluent is passed via line 231 to first aerobic zone 235 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 235 , a portion as inner recycle 238 of the contents from first aerobic zone 235 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 230 via lines 239 and 228 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 235 is passed via line 236 to a first section 240 of second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 237 via line 236 to reduce nitrate into gaseous nitrogen . the effluent from first section 240 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 241 to a second section 245 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 242 via line 243 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the second section 245 of the second anoxic zone 204 . the effluent from the second section 245 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 246 to a second aerobic zone 250 . in aerobic zone 250 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second section 245 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 228 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 250 is passed via line 251 to final settling zone 255 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 256 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 257 and 228 to first anoxic zone 230 and also via line 258 to the second section 240 of the second anoxic zone . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 252 is removed from the system via conduit 253 . purified wastewater as final effluent 260 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 255 via line 261 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig8 raw wastewater 263 enters a primary settling tank 265 via line 264 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 266 via line 267 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 265 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 270 via line 268 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 296 from final settling zone 295 via line 297 and 268 . the first anoxic zone 270 effluent is passed via line 271 to first aerobic zone 275 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 275 , a portion as inner recycle 276 of the contents from first aerobic zone 275 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 270 via lines 277 and 268 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 275 is passed via line 278 to a first section 280 of second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 272 via line 273 to reduce nitrate into gaseous nitrogen . the effluent from first section 280 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 281 to a second section 285 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 282 via line 283 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the second section 285 of the second anoxic zone 204 . the effluent from the second section 285 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 286 to a second aerobic zone 290 . in aerobic zone 290 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the second section 285 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 268 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 290 is passed via line 291 to final settling zone 295 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 296 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 297 and 268 to first anoxic zone 270 and also via line 279 to the first section 280 of the second anoxic zone and also via line 284 to the second section 285 of the second anoxic zone . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 298 is removed from the system via conduit 299 . purified wastewater as final effluent 300 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 295 via line 301 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig9 raw wastewater 303 enters a primary settling tank 305 via line 304 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 307 via line 308 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 305 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 310 via line 306 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 336 from final settling zone 325 via line 337 . the first anoxic zone 310 effluent is passed via line 311 to first aerobic zone 315 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 315 , a portion as inner recycle 317 of the contents from first aerobic zone 315 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 310 via lines 318 and 306 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 315 is passed via line 316 to a first section 320 of second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 322 via line 323 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the first section 320 . the effluent from first section 320 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 321 to a second section 325 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 326 via line 327 to reduce nitrate into gaseous nitrogen . the effluent from the second section 325 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 326 to a second aerobic zone 330 . in aerobic zone 330 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the first section 320 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 306 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 330 is passed via line 331 to final settling zone 335 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 336 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 337 and 306 to first anoxic zone 310 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 338 is removed from the system via conduit 339 . purified wastewater as final effluent 340 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 335 via line 341 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 , raw wastewater 343 enters a primary settling tank 345 via line 344 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 347 via line 348 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 345 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 350 via line 346 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 376 from final settling zone 375 via line 377 and 346 . the first anoxic zone 350 effluent is passed via line 351 to first aerobic zone 355 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 355 , a portion as inner recycle 357 of the contents from first aerobic zone 355 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 350 via lines 358 and 346 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 355 is passed via line 356 to a first section 360 of second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 362 via line 363 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the first section 360 of the second anoxic zone . the effluent from first section 360 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 361 to a second section 365 of the second anoxic zone 204 . the effluent from the second section 365 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 366 to a second aerobic zone 370 . in aerobic zone 330 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the first section 360 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 346 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 370 is passed via line 371 to final settling zone 375 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 376 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 377 and 346 to first anoxic zone 350 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 378 is removed from the system via conduit 379 . purified wastewater as final effluent 380 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 375 via line 381 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 , raw wastewater 383 enters a primary settling tank 385 via line 384 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 386 via line 387 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 385 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 390 via line 388 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 416 from final settling zone 415 via line 417 . the first anoxic zone 390 effluent is passed via line 391 to first aerobic zone 395 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 395 , a portion as inner recycle 397 of the contents from first aerobic zone 395 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 390 via lines 398 and 388 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 395 is passed via line 396 to a first section 400 of second anoxic zone 204 as is volatile acid 402 via line 403 . bacteria in the presence of the volatile acids and under anoxic conditions will release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the first section 400 of the second anoxic zone . the effluent from first section 400 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 401 to a second section 405 of the second anoxic zone 204 as volatile acid 407 via line 408 to further release phosphate from the biomass to the liquid in the second section 405 of the second anoxic zone . the extra volatile acid is needed in the second section 405 when the nitrate level in first section 400 is very high since the volatile acid will reduce the nitrate preferentially over the phosphate release . the effluent from the second section 405 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 406 to a second aerobic zone 410 . in aerobic zone 410 bacteria rapidly take up phosphate in the liquid phase , acting to remove not only the phosphate released in the first section 400 of the second anoxic zone 204 but also phosphate content from line 388 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 410 is passed via line 411 to final settling zone 415 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 416 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 417 and 388 to first anoxic zone 390 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 418 is removed from the system via conduit 419 . purified wastewater as final effluent 420 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 415 via line 421 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 , raw wastewater 424 enters a primary settling tank 425 via line 423 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 427 via line 428 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 425 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 430 via line 426 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 456 from final settling zone 455 via line 457 . the first anoxic zone 430 effluent is passed via line 431 to first aerobic zone 435 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 435 , a portion as inner recycle 436 of the contents from first aerobic zone 435 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 430 via lines 437 and 426 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 435 is passed via line 436 to a first section 440 of second anoxic zone 204 . the effluent from first section 400 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 441 to a second section 445 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 442 via line 443 wherein nitrate will be reduced . the effluent from the second section 445 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 446 to a second aerobic zone 450 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 450 is passed via line 451 to final settling zone 455 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 456 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 457 and 426 to first anoxic zone 430 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 458 is removed from the system via conduit 459 . purified wastewater as final effluent 460 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 455 via line 461 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 , raw wastewater 464 enters a primary settling tank 465 via line 463 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 467 via line 468 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 465 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 470 via line 466 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 496 from final settling zone 495 via line 497 . the first anoxic zone 470 effluent is passed via line 471 to first aerobic zone 475 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 475 , a portion as inner recycle 477 of the contents from first aerobic zone 475 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 470 via lines 478 and 466 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 475 is passed via line 476 to a first section 480 of second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 482 via line 483 wherein nitrate will be reduced . the effluent from first section 480 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 481 to a second section 485 of the second anoxic zone 204 the effluent from the second section 485 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 486 to a second aerobic zone 490 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 490 is passed via line 491 to final settling zone 495 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 496 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 497 and 466 to first anoxic zone 470 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 498 is removed from the system via conduit 499 . purified wastewater as final effluent 500 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 495 via line 501 . in a preferred embodiment of the process , as depicted in fig1 , raw wastewater 503 enters a primary settling tank 505 via line 504 where over half of the solids are separated from the wastewater containing particulate bod , n and p as a sludge 506 via line 507 . settled effluent from primary settling zone 505 containing suspended solids , bod , n and p is passed to the first anoxic zone 510 via line 506 wherein the effluent is mixed with settled sludge as return activated sludge 536 from final settling zone 535 via line 537 . the first anoxic zone 510 effluent is passed via line 511 to first aerobic zone 515 where bod is converted to suspended solids as biomass and carbon dioxide and a portion of the ammonia nitrogen is oxidized to nitrate . in one embodiment at the end of the first aerobic zone 515 , a portion as inner recycle 517 of the contents from first aerobic zone 515 can be recycled back to the first anoxic zone 510 via lines 518 and 506 . the effluent from the first aerobic zone 515 is passed via line 516 to a first section 520 of second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 522 via line 523 wherein nitrate will be reduced . the effluent from first section 520 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 521 to a second section 525 of the second anoxic zone 204 as is methanol 527 via line 528 wherein nitrate will be further reduced . the effluent from the second section 525 of the second anoxic zone 204 is passed via line 526 to a second aerobic zone 530 . effluent from the second aerobic zone 530 is passed via line 531 to final settling zone 535 . settled sludge as return activated sludge 536 containing suspended solids is recycled via lines 537 and 506 to first anoxic zone 510 . excess settled sludge as waste activated sludge 538 is removed from the system via conduit 539 . purified wastewater as final effluent 540 having reduced n , p , bod , ss and turbidity is passed from the final settling zone 535 via line 541 . an embodiment of the process of fig1 according to the invention will be termed penrep ( including activated sludge mle - type inner recycle ). the process was tested in the field with primary settled wastewater from the rockland county , ny , ( sewer district no . 1 ) wastewater treatment plant in orangeburg , n . y ., usa . the test data covered the period from sept . 15 , 1999 to jan . 11 , 2000 . the operating conditions for the test period are shown in table 1 and the test results are shown in table 2 . [ 0087 ] table 2 total inorganic absorbance nitrogen , o - po 4 ss soluble ( 355 nm ) process stream mg / l as p , mg / l mg / l cod mg / l units run 1 settled primary 32 . 64 2 . 98 75 113 — effluent penrep 1 . 15 0 . 05 5 . 2 20 0 . 049 effluent run 2 settled primary 41 . 98 3 . 21 69 96 — effluent penrep 1 . 5 0 . 11 2 . 5 18 0 . 041 run 3 settled primary 45 . 11 3 . 3 74 130 — effluent penrep 1 . 52 0 . 08 3 19 0 . 046 qr / q is the total recycle of the final settled solids divided by the total flow the testing of the activated sludge - single sludge penrep process ( sspp ) is shown above in runs 1 , 2 and 3 . the removals are based on a settled wastewater as the feed . run 1 with a hydraulic retention time ( hrt ) of 8 hours and a solids retention time ( srt ) of 10 days shows excellent tin ( total inorganic nitrogen ) ( ammonia , nitrite and nitrate nitrogen ) removal of 96 . 48 %, excellent o - po 4 ( ortho - phosphate ) removal of 98 . 32 %, excellent ss ( suspended solids ) removal of 93 . 06 % and excellent scod ( soluble chemical oxygen demand ) removal of 82 . 3 %. run 2 reduced the hrt to 5 hours and the srt to 5 days and still showed excellent results . the tin was reduced by 96 . 43 % and the o - po 4 was reduced by 96 . 57 %, the ss was reduced by 96 . 38 % and the scod was reduced by 81 . 25 %. run 3 kept the same hrt and srt as run 2 but reduced the cycle ratio ( total recycle of the final settled solids divided by total flow ) to 0 . 5 . the results were still excellent . the tin was reduced by 96 . 63 %, the o - p 04 was reduced by 97 . 58 %, the ss was reduced by 95 . 95 % and the scod was reduced by 85 . 38 %. absorbance at 355 nm in runs 1 , 2 and 3 was measured against tap water and represents the relative absorption or the clarity of the effluent produced by the process . the effluent could be described in words such as “ water white ”. the effluent can also be better described with numbers . the effluent absorbance divided by the tap water absorbance was 3 . 88 for run 1 , 3 . 41 for run 2 , and 3 . 42 for run 3 . | 2 |
fig1 is a perspective view of a tooth stub which has been previously prepared as known in the art . the tooth stub , 1 , terminates at the prepared upper surface , 2 , in the vicinity of the gum , 3 . the apical canal , 4 , will receive the dental post of the present invention . the term &# 34 ; apical canal &# 34 ; refers to both the actual apical canal present in a tooth and to a replicate thereof as typically available when indirect cast post are prepared . similar voids outside the field of dentistry may be modeled using the invention as will be apparent from the description . fig2 is a dental post blank of the present invention inserted into the apical canal of a tooth , 1 , in accordance with the present invention . fig3 is a view of the dental post blank of the present invention prior to insertion into an apical canal . the apical shaft , 5 , of the dental post blank , 11 , is encased in thermoplastic , 12 , which substantially fills the apical canal . a sufficient amount of thermoplastic is used such that when inserted into the apical canal a bead , 13 , of thermoplastic is formed on the upper surface , 2 , of the tooth , 1 , without overflowing onto the gum , 3 . some important elements of the bead are covering the optional bevel , 7 , of the dental post blank , 11 , to insure that recesses are not present ; clearing the marginal areas ; and the size of the bead should be smaller than any anticipated core . the thermoplastic , 12 , and dental post blank , 11 , are inserted into the apical canal when the thermoplastic is viscous . the thermoplastic fills the apical canal and is allowed to harden thereby insuring a rigid impression of the apical canal . the dental post blank , 11 , comprises an apical shaft , 5 , for inserting into the apical canal and a transfer head , 6 . the transfer head is typically larger than the apical shaft and with this configuration they are joined at a bevel , 7 . the apical shaft , 5 , is a slender , substantially round , rod - like structure capable of loosely fitting within an apical canal of a tooth . the apical shaft may be continuously tapered as shown in fig2 or it may consist of first section , 8 , with a first diameter , a transitional neckdown , 9 , and a second section , 10 , with a second diameter which is smaller than the first diameter . a multiplicity of sections may be so described as may a combination with tapered sections . the dental post blank is preferably manufactured from plastic such as polyalkylene , preferably polyethylene or polypropylene , polycarbonate , and the like . the transfer head may be the same size as the apical shaft but preferably the transfer head is larger in diameter than the apical shaft . preferably the transfer head is about 1 mm to 3 mm in width . the transfer head is preferably 3 mm to 10 mm in length . below about 3 mm the transfer head is to small for practical use and above 10 mm the transfer head may interfere with subsequent operations . preferably , the transfer head is about 5 mm to about 7 mm in length . the apical shaft is preferably about 4 mm to about 18 mm in length and more preferably about 8 mm to about 14 mm in length . most preferably the apical shaft is about 12 mm in length . the diameter of the apical shaft is preferably about 0 . 4 mm to about 1 . 3 mm and most preferably about 1 mm near the transfer head and about 0 . 7 mm on the end away from the transfer head . the transfer head , 6 , may act as a handle for removing the dental post blank after the thermoplastic is rigid . this is typically useful when a core may be prepared as on a conventional post . the transfer head may also act in a manner similar to a core wherein a crown is prepared directly over the transfer head . in this embodiment it is preferable that the transfer head comprises a registration notch , 14 , which when surrounded by dental impression material insures that the proper orientation between the crown , or superstructure , and the apical canal is maintained throughout the casting process . the registration notch shape is preferably rotationally asymmetrical such that only one rotational orientation of transfer head and superstructure will fit . examples of particularly preferred transfer heads illustrated in fig4 a - 4d include trapezoids , semi - circles , and the like , or the transfer head may have protrusions or depressions such as slots , grooves , ribs and the like . the interior of a superstructure formed on the transfer head will be keyed to the transfer head . thermoplastic is specifically chosen to have a crystal melting point which is low enough to not cause thermal damage to the tooth or surrounding tissue and yet still be frozen at standard intraoral temperatures . preferably , the thermoplastic has a crystal melting point of approximately 120 ° to 160 ° f . which is easily within the range of the water obtained from most commercial and residential hot water heaters . it is also preferable that the thermoplastic be rigid at approximately 105 ° f . or thereabouts to insure that the shape of the apical canal is maintained with minimal risk of melting extraorally . it is also preferable that the thermoplastic does not shrink over the operating temperature range since shrinkage would cause the thermoplastic to pull away from the wall of the apical canal . a preferred thermoplastic for use in the present invention comprises at least 75 %, by weight , of a polycaprolactone of the formula : ## str2 ## wherein r is an aliphatic hydrocarbon of 1 to about 25 carbons and n is an integer of 300 to 650 . the preferred average molecular weight of the polycaprolactone is from about 35 , 000 to about 60 , 000 . the most preferred caprolactone polymer is a mixture of 35 parts by volume of tone p - 700 and 65 parts by volume of tone p - 767 . both of these polymers are manufactured by union carbide corporation , u . s . a . the preferred form is extruded rods although beads and pellets are available . tone p - 700 and tone p - 767 are described as homopolymers of ε - caprolactone . the polymerization is initiated by a diol ( ho -- r -- oh ). the caprolactone is a seven - membered ring . tone p - 767 has an average molecular weight of approximately 43 , 000 and is prepared from a special high purity grade of caprolactone monomer . typical properties of tone p - 767 are a tensile strength psi ( mpa ) of 3000 - 4500 ( 21 . 0 - 31 . 0 ) and elongation % of 600 - 1000 ; and a melting point ( by dsc ) of 55 °- 65 ° c . tone p - 700 is semi - rigid at room temperature . the basic physical properties are shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________tensile modulus , psi ( mpa ) 60 , 000 ( 414 ) yield stress , psi ( mpa ) 1600 ( 11 . 0 ) tensile strength , psi ( mpa ) 2 in / min 4 , 500 ( 31 . 0 ) 20 in / min 4 , 000 ( 27 . 6 ) ultimate elongation , % 2 in / min 600 to 80020 in / min 600 to 800flexural modulus , psi ( mpa ) 62 , 000 ( 428 ) flexural stress at 5 % strain , psi ( mpa ) 2 , 470 ( 17 . 1 ) notched izod impact strength , 1 / 2 inch bar 3 to 8 ( 160 to 425 ) ft - lb / in of notch ( j / m ) unnotched lzod impact strength 1 / 2 inch bar no breaktensile impact strength , ft - lb / in ( kj / m ) 60 ( 126 ) density , p g / cc at0 ° c . 1 . 16020 ° c . 1 . 14940 ° c . 1 . 13460 ° c . 1 . 07090 ° c . 1 . 050δp / δt at - 30 ° c . to 30 ° c . g /( cc - 5 . 6 × 10 . sup .- 4δp / δt at 60 ° c . to 100 ° c . g /( cc - 6 . 8 × 10 . sup .- 4moisture contentat 50 % relative humidity , % 0 . 07at 100 % relative humidity ; % 0 . 43______________________________________ thermal properties of tone p - 700 are given in table 2 . the crystalline melting point is about 140 ° c . table 2______________________________________t . sub . m crystalline melting point . sup . ( 1 ), ° c . 60tg amorphous , ° c . - 70tg , partialty crystalline , ° c . - 60δh . sub . f , heat of fusion . sup . ( 1 ), two weeks at 23 ° c ., 18 . 5cal / gδh . sub . c ,, heat of crystallization . sup . ( 2 ), cal / g 14 . 6δh . sub . f , heat of fusion . sup . ( 3 ), no annealing , cal / g 14 . 7t . sub . c . sup . ( 4 ), ( cooling rate = 10 ° c ./ min . ), ° c . 20t . sub . c . sup . ( 5 ), sec . at 20 ° c . 0 . 473at 40 ° c . 0 . 659at 80 ° c . 0 . 533at 100 ° c . 0 . 545at 150 ° c . 0 . 555______________________________________ . sup . ( 1 ) crystalline melting point tm and δh . sub . f were determined on a sample two weeks after compression molding . sup . ( 2 ) heat of crystallization of molten sample cooled at 10 ° c ./ min . sup . ( 3 ) heat of fusion determined on the sample directly after crystallization . sup . ( 4 ) temperature of maximum crystallization rate after cooling at 10 ° c ./ min . from above t . sub . m . . sup . ( 5 ) samples were heated to 100 ° c ., cooled at 160 ° c ./ min . to designated temperature , time to reach maximum crystallization tc was determined . the apical shaft of the dental post blank is inserted into the previously prepared apical canal of the tooth . the bevel should be just above the canal opening . if necessary , the apical shaft can be cut with sharp scissors or orthodontic cutters such that the bevel is properly placed . the apical canal is optionally , but preferably , lubricated with petroleum jelly . this is readily accomplished by placing petroleum jelly on a perio probe and pressing into the apical canal . it is most preferred that the petroleum jelly be blown to a thin layer with an air / water syringe prior to proceeding . it is most preferred that the thermoplastic be applied to the apical shaft of the dental post blank although direct insertion into the apical canal is considered within the metes and bounds of the present invention . the thermoplastic is most easily used as a stick . the end of the thermoplastic stick is heated to form a viscous polymer with a flame , hot water , a hot air blower or a similar means . a viscous polymer is defined as a polymer which is at a sufficiently high temperature to be easily molded but not so high as to cause free flow as in a liquid . the apical shaft of the dental post blank and the viscous polymer are brought into contact which causes the polymer to stick to the apical shaft . the dental post blank is then simultaneously pulled away from the thermoplastic stick and rotated on its axis thereby wrapping the viscous thermoplastic around the apical shaft of the dental post blank encasing the apical shaft . the thermoplastic stick can be separated from the viscous thermoplastic by rapidly separating the two pieces or by clipping . it may be desirable to smooth the viscous thermoplastic prior to insertion into the apical canal . this can be accomplished by simply placing a small layer of petroleum jelly on the thumb and forefinger and gently forming the viscous thermoplastic in the shape of a cone . the apical shaft of the dental post blank coated with viscous thermoplastic is pressed into the apical canal to the desired depth . excess viscous thermoplastic should be displaced to form a bead as previously described . once seated , it may be beneficial to lift and reseat to insure the pattern does not include any undercut regions in the tooth which would inhibit subsequent removal of the pattern . the thermoplastic is allowed to cool while still in the apical canal thereby maintaining the pattern of the apical canal . after the pattern is complete one of three procedures may follow . a final impression may be formed on the transfer head ; the transfer head may be altered or removed and a core pattern prepared ; or a temporary crown may be prepared on the transfer head . a temporary crown is not recommended for long term use since fracture of the transfer head is possible . a final impression of the reconstructed tooth can be prepared directly on the transfer head , as typically done on a core , or a temporary crown may be prepared on the transfer head . the final impression , and frozen thermoplastic pattern of the apical canal are then used in the cast process in a conventional manner . the cast process comprises the steps of forming a cast pattern followed by molding a replicate of the thermoplastic pattern and reconstructed tooth . the preferred embodiments are set forth to describe the present invention and the most expected manner of use . the preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the invention . it would be apparent that other modifications and uses of the invention will be apparent to a skilled artisan which would not depart from the spirit of the invention . | 0 |
the pyridinium tetraarylborates of the above formula , used in the present invention , may be prepared by the methods described by j . t . cross , analyst , 90 , 315 ( 1965 ), and in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 405 , 001 . the pyridinium tetraarylborates are added to the resistive organic material , e . g . silicone rubbers , thermoplastic resins or liquid crystals , by conventional methods well known to practitioners of the art . generally , the resistive organic material , if solid , is melted by heating preferably under vacuum or in an inert atmosphere , and the pyridinium tetraarylborate is added to the liquified organic material . alternatively , the resistive organic material , either solid or liquid , is dissolved in a solvent and the pyridinium tetraarylborate is added to the solution . the solution may be evacuated to remove any trapped gases . the solvent is evaporated off , leaving behind the organic material with the pyridinium tetraarylborate salt dissolved in it . the solubility limit for hexadecylpyridinium tetraphenylborate is about 0 . 5 % by weight in rtv - 910 silicone rubber commercially available from general electric co . the cured silicone rubber with this concentration of hexadecylpyridinium tetraphenylborate had a resistivity of 3 . 2 × 10 13 ω - cm . other pyridinium tetraarylborates should give similar results . generally about 0 . 001 to 0 . 5 % by weight constitutes an effective amount . the exact upper limit is determined by the solubility of the additive in the specific material . the pyridinium tetraphenylborates are more soluble than the corresponding stearates , or halides and tetraalkylammonium tetraphenylborates , e . g . tetrabutylammonium tetraphenylborate , tetrahexylammonium tetraphenylborate , and tetraheptylammonium tetraphenylborate , are less hydroscopic than the corresponding ammonium halides . the invention is illustrated by the following examples , but it is to be understood that the invention is not meant to be limited to the details disclosed therein . liquid crystal mixtures consisting of 1 : 1 weight mixture of p - methoxybenzylidene - p &# 39 ;- butylaniline and p - ethoxybenzylidene - p &# 39 ;- butylaniline , 0 . 52 wt . % of p - anisaldehyde used as an aligning agent , and varying amounts of 1 - n - hexadecylpyridinium tetraphenylborate were placed in a sno 2 - coated 1 × 1 in . glass cell with a 0 . 5 mil ( 0 . 0127 cm ) spacer . the liquid crystal / hexadecylpyridinium tetraarylborate mixture was prepared by dissolving the tetraarylborate salt in the liquid crystal mixture . the resistivity was determined by using a low measuring voltage of 0 . 1 v rms 160 h z ac , to facilitate ohmic behavior . the calculations were based on the cell acting as a parallel plate capacitor . the resistivity of the cell decreased with an increase in the weight % of the hexadecylpryidinium tetraphenylborate in the liquid crystal mixture as shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________resistivity of doped liquid crystal mixturesweight % 1 - n - hexadecyl - pyridinium tetraphenyl - borate resistivity ( ω - cm ) ______________________________________0 1 . 0 × 10 . sup . 111 . 26 × 10 . sup .-. sup . 3 3 . 1 × 10 . sup . 91 . 15 × 10 . sup .-. sup . 2 5 . 1 × 10 . sup . 81 . 10 × 10 . sup .-. sup . 1 5 . 9 × 10 . sup . 7______________________________________ the foregoing illustrates that 1 - n - hexadecylpyridinium tetraphenylborate reduced the resistivity of a liquid crystal to a value about 10 10 ohm - cm . liquid crystal mixtures consisting of 1 : 1 mixture by weight of p - ethoxybenzylidene - p &# 39 ;- butylaniline and p - methoxybenzylidene - p &# 39 ;- butylaniline with 1 wt . % p - methoxybenzylidene - p &# 39 ;- hydroxyaniline as an aligning agent and a resistivity lowering additive were prepared as in example 1 . the results using hexadecylpyridinium tetraphenylborate as the resistivity lowering additive are compared to those obtained using the corresponding 1 - n - hexadecylpyridinium bromide as shown in table 2 . the maximum solubility of the bromide in this liquid crystal mixture is about 0 . 1 %, thereby limiting the resistivity obtained with the use of this additive to 5 × 10 8 ω - cm . since the tetraphenylborate salt is more soluble in the liquid crystal mixture than the bromide , a lower resistivity can be obtained using the tetraphenylborate salt . table 2______________________________________ 1 - n - hexadecyl 1 - n - hexadecyl - pyridinium pyridinium tetraphenyl - additive bromide borate______________________________________weight % of 0 . 1 0 . 3additivetest voltage 15v rms 15v rmsdielectric 0 . 8 khz 12 khzrelaxationfrequencyestimated 5 × 10 . sup . 8 ω - cm 3 × 10 . sup . 7 ω - cmresistivity______________________________________ silicone rubber samples were prepared by mixing 50 grams of rtv - 602 dimethyl polysiloxane silicone rubber ( available from the general electric co .) 10 grams of rtv - 910 dimethyl silicone oil diluent ( available from the general electric co .) and the indicated amount of a pyridinium tetraphenylborate as shown in table 3 below . the ingredients were thoroughly mixed . heating in an inert atmosphere or under vacuum was used to dissolve the tetraphenylborate salt , although not always necessary . 21 drops of src - 04 catalyst ( available from the general electric co .) were added , and the solutions were stirred and evacuated . the resultant mixtures were then poured onto an aluminum plate and allowed to cure . the resistivities of the cured pyridinium tetraphenylborate - containing silicone rubber samples cast on the aluminum plates were determined according to astm - d257 standard using a guardring resistivity measuring device ( a keithley model 6105 resistivity adaptor available from the keithley co .). voltages in multiples of 30 v from 30 to 120 v were applied , the resulting currents were measured , and the resistivity was calculated . the results of the sample measurements are shown in table 3 . table 3______________________________________resistivity of silicone rubber samples______________________________________ resistivity of weight % cured sampleadditive . sup . a of additive ( ω - cm ) ______________________________________none -- 1 . 3 × 10 . sup . 151 - n - hexadecyl - 0 . 3 2 . 2 × 10 . sup . 13pyridinium1 - n - octadecyl - 0 . 3 4 . 0 × 10 . sup . 13pyridinium1 - n - hexadecyl - 0 . 3 4 . 7 × 10 . sup . 134 -( 3 - phenyl - propyl )- pyridinium______________________________________ . sup . a all additives are tetraphenylborate salts . it can thus be seen tha the tetraphenylborate reduced the resistivity of the silicon rubber samples to a value below about 10 . sup . 14 ohm - cm . although a dimethyl silicone rubber was used in the above example , any silicone rubber containing an effective amount of a pyridinium tetraarylborate as described above should exhibit a lowered resistivity . 18 gram portions of pentalyn h , a thermoplastic polyester resin , derived from pentaerythritol and abietic acid and manufactured by the hercules co ., together with certain amounts of various tetraphenylborate salts as shown in table 4 below , were dissolved in 12 . 5 milliliters of an organic solvent and dip coated onto 1 × 3 inch ( 2 . 54 × 7 . 62 cm ) chromium coated glass slides . the slides were then dried for 7 days at 20 ° c . in a desiccator to remove both the solvent and any moisture present . the surface was charged with a negative corona having an 8000 volt potential for 30 sec . the samples were placed in a monroe electrostatic voltmeter ( available from the monroe co .) and the surface potentials were read as a function of time . the resistivities were then calculated . the results are summarized in table 4 . table 4__________________________________________________________________________resistivity of pentalyn h with added tetraphenylborate salts__________________________________________________________________________ weight % tetraphenylborate tetraphenylborate resistivitysalt added solvent salt ( ω - cm ) __________________________________________________________________________none toluene -- & gt ; 1 . 9 × 10 . sup . 15none 2 - methoxyethylacetate -- & gt ; 1 . 9 × 10 . sup . 151 - n - dodecylpyridinium 2 - methoxyethylacetate 0 . 58 2 . 5 × 10 . sup . 141 - n - hexadecylpyridinium 2 - methoxyethylacetate 0 . 56 3 . 3 × 10 . sup . 141 - n - hexadecylpyridinium toluene 0 . 90 4 . 5 × 10 . sup . 121 - n - octadecylpyridinium 2 - methoxyethylacetate 0 . 33 3 . 7 × 10 . sup . 14__________________________________________________________________________ this shows that since tetraphenylborate reduced the resistivity of the thermoplastic polyester resin to a value of about 10 15 ohm - cm , similar results should be obtained using as additives , compounds such as 1 - n - hexadecyl - 4 - methyl - pyridinium tetraphenylborate , 1 - n - octadecyl - 4 - t . butyl - pyridinium tetraphenylborate , 1 - n - hexadecyl - 4 - ethylpyridinium tetra - p - tolylborate , and 1 - n - hexadecyl - 3 - propylpyridinium tetra - p - ethylphenylborate . | 7 |
fig3 and 4 illustrate a connector constructed in accordance with the principles of a preferred embodiment of the invention , for coupling to a coupling connector corresponding to coupling connector 18 illustrated in fig1 . it will of course be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the principles of the invention may be applied to laser apparatus other than the apparatus illustrated in fig1 , and that the invention is not intended to be limited to a particular laser source or connector coupling arrangement . turning to fig3 and 4 , connector 50 is identical in size to connector 30 of fig2 , but differs in that the connector includes a transparent cylindrical alignment ferrule 51 having diffusers 52 at opposite ends . the diffusers are in the form of roughened surfaces of the ferrule 51 , and in particular in the form of surfaces having a rough polish , although roughening may of course be achieved by means other than polishing , such as chemical or laser etching , and diffusion may of course also be achieved by applying means other than roughening the surfaces of the ferrule , such as application of diffusion coatings or providing bulk diffusion material . in addition , one rather than two of the surfaces of the ferrule may be coated . an example of a suitable roughness for medical laser applications , which is not intended to be limiting , is 40 microns . preferably , the termination end of the alignment ferrule / diffusion element 51 is set back from the distal end 53 of the connector housing 54 by a distance of approximately two times the diameter of the fiber cladding , with the fiber 55 itself extending to the end of the housing . this setback keeps the diffuser from interfering with laser interlock , lowers power density at the diffusion surface , and helps keep the fiber surface clean . the cladding at the exposed end 56 of the fiber 55 is preferably reduced in thickness or , optionally , stripped to reduce coupling of radiant energy to the fiber cladding . in this embodiment , the ferrule may , by way of example and not limitation , be secured in the cylindrical housing 54 by applying adhesive through an adhesive port 57 , and the housing may be provided with a standard coupling nut 58 for coupling with the laser apparatus . the fiber 55 is preferably stripped of the buffer and all other coatings , except the cladding , before insertion into the alignment ferrule 51 and securing of the fiber 55 to the connector 50 ( and optionally stripped of cladding at the exposed end 56 as mentioned above ), the cable ( not shown ) that includes the fiber being further secured to the housing 50 by a conventional crimp termination utilizing a crimp ferrule 59 and crimp ring 60 . details of the manner in which the fiber optical cable and fiber with buffer are secured to the connector form no part of the present invention and may be varied in numerous ways , as may the coupling structure used to couple the connector 50 to the laser apparatus , and any other connector details not involving the light diffusion or radiation dissipation path . in the embodiment illustrated in fig5 , the single alignment ferrule 62 is made up of a plurality of diffusion elements 63 , each having a diffusion surface 64 and joined together to form the alignment ferrule . a heat sink or beam blocking element or elements 65 may optionally be placed at the inner end of the diffusion elements to prevent passage of any diffused radiation that passes through the diffusers . the heat sink or beam blocking elements may optionally include roughened diffusing surfaces . the remaining elements of the connector of this embodiment , and those of fig6 and 7 , may be identical to those described above in connection with fig4 , and are therefore not further described herein . alternatively , as illustrated in fig6 , a single heat sink element 67 may be positioned behind the diffuser 68 . as illustrated in fig6 , the diffuser only has a single diffusion surface , although any of the above - described diffusion configurations could be used with the heat sink of this embodiment . as illustrated in fig7 , the diffusion element may be in the form of a prism 69 to further disperse incoming errant radiation , optionally to a heat sink 70 . as illustrated in fig8 , instead of just stripping the fiber 72 of its buffer or coating and leaving the cladding to be fused to the heat sink 70 or other supporting member , an extended portion of the fiber cladding may be reduced in thickness or entirely stripped and the reduced - thickness cladding or bare fiber core 71 fused or welded directly to the heat sink 70 , thereby further minimizing coupling of radiation to the cladding . in addition , a portion of the coating and / or buffer 72 may also be removed at the downstream side 73 of the fiber , with the exposed cladding being optionally tapered or partially stripped . as is apparent from the above - description and accompanying drawings , the method of the invention involves the steps of transferring radiant energy from a focused source by directing a focused region of the source to a predetermined plane ; conducting a portion of the focused radiant energy incident on the plane along a first path ; conducting the remaining portion of the focused radiant energy incident on the plane along a second path ; and diffusing the remaining portion . the diffused radiation may optionally be converted to heat and further dissipated by a heat sink . finally , in order to solve the further problem of coupling of higher order modes that may cause damage at fiber bends , the invention provides for optional tapering of the termination end of the fiber . as illustrated in fig9 , light entering a tapered fiber at an angle φ 1 relative to the axis of the fiber , and that reflects at least twice at the interface between the conducting medium and the cladding , will exit the fiber at an angle φ 2 ( also relative to the axis ) that is smaller by an amount given by the formula : this ratio follows from the basic principle that the angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence . as a result , the angle of rays entering a tapered fiber will shift towards the fiber axis , effectively collimating the light and eliminating higher order propagation modes . by way of example , typical input numerical apertures from pulsed holmium lasers are on the order of 0 . 15 , with a spot size of 250 microns . reducing a 300 micron core fiber input ( d 2 ) to a 200 micron core fiber input ( d 1 ) reduces the effective input numerical aperture from 0 / 15 to 0 / 10 . compromises between minimum fiber coupling losses and the maximum fiber bends will have to be considered in each individual application . in many holmium laser lithotripsy applications , for example , lasers having up to 80 watts are often used , even though only 10 watts are required . in those applications , coupling efficiency could easily be sacrificed for increased tolerance of fiber bends . although a discrete tapered section is shown in fig9 , it will be appreciated that the collimating effect will occur in any fiber having a tapered section , irrespective of whether the tapered section is at the end of the fiber . as a result , the principles of the invention may be applied to a connector of the type in which the cladding at the coupling end of the fiber is reduced in thickness or stripped to prevent coupling of radiation to the cladding . as illustrated in fig1 , a fiber 100 having diameter d 1 terminates in a tapered section 110 having cladding 130 for reducing higher order propagation modes and a coupling section 120 having a diameter d 2 . coupling section 120 may include cladding 140 of reduced thickness or no cladding at all to prevent coupling of radiation to the cladding it will be appreciated that it is not essential that the stripped or reduced - cladding - thickness coupling section 120 be included , if coupling of errant radiation to the cladding does not present a problem . instead , radiation could couple directly into the tapered section . in that case , the cladding 130 of the tapered section 110 may itself be tapered , in the manner shown in fig5 , to reduce coupling of errant radiation . on the other hand , the cladding of the tapered section may have a uniform thickness . having thus described a preferred embodiment of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention , it will nevertheless be appreciated that numerous variations and modifications of the illustrated embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention , and it is intended that the invention not be limited by the above description or accompanying drawings , but that it be defined solely in accordance with the appended claims . | 6 |
before describing the invention , it should be recalled in which context the broadcasting of audio - visual information is located . firstly , by information or audio - visual selections , one must understand digital information or information arising from digitization that is representative of an artistic work . according to legislation currently in force in most countries , no sound reproduction or copy of an artistic work can be made without the agreement of the person or persons having rights to it , namely , in particular , its authors and / or composers and / or interpreters and / or promoters ( recording company ) and / or distributors . as a general rule , this or these agreement ( s ) is / are given in exchange for the payment of royalties . by way of example , we will describe in what follows , the scope and the contents of certain rights . the rights to artistic audio - visual works are of several types and are a function in particular , of the use which is made of the , artistic work . in the case of a musical work , first of all there are rights linked to the sound reproduction of the work . hence as soon as a musical work is reproduced , that is to say , as soon as it is played on a sound playback device , master rights are due to all or some of those having rights . when the musical work is copied , that is to say , information representative of the musical work is transferred onto another medium , then , for each copy of the work , mechanical rights are due to all or some of those having rights . hence any downloading of a song from a memory of a server to another memory of a remote terminal constitutes a copy of an artistic work . when the artistic work consists of the association of still or moving images with sound , the reproduction of this work also gives rise to synchronization rights which can be negotiated by mutual agreement by the legal representatives of those having rights and authorized to collect the royalties according to regulations which are predefined but may vary from one work to another . when an artistic audio - visual work is reproduced in public , it gives rise , in certain cases , to public performance rights , recognized in general by legal bodies who represent parties having rights and who are authorized to collect the royalties in accordance with regulations which are predefined but may vary from one work to another . the rights which have just been mentioned are , by way of example . other rights linked to the use of artistic audio - visual works can exist or arise . similarly , the definition of the rights and particularly their conditions of application can change . however , whatever the type of right stemming from the use of an artistic work and whatever its application conditions , the method and the device according to the invention can be applied . as previously explained , the devices for the distribution of audio - visual information of the prior art did not provide means enabling one to determine the total amount to be paid to those having rights and did not exercise any controls whatsoever over the use of the audio - visual selections once they had been distributed . consequently , the distribution of audio - visual information using these devices of the prior art is most of the time carried out regardless of the rights of third parties to the artistic works corresponding to the audio - visual information . this invention proposes to resolve this problem by providing a device and a method for the distribution of audio - visual information that enables one to take into account the payment of royalties and taxes to those having rights to an artistic work , when the work is commanded using a terminal connected to a server specialized in the distribution of artistic works in the form of audio - visual information through a communication network . one non - limitative embodiment of the invention will now be described making reference to fig1 a and 1b . the device described in what follows enables one to take into account rights linked to the sound reproduction and the rights linked to the copying of sound works in particular . however , by applying the same principles , it is possible to take into account all the rights linked to any sort of use of an audio - visual work . the distribution device according to the invention comprises a server 2 for the distribution of audio - visual information connected by a bi - directional communication link 3 to at least one remote terminal 1 . fig1 a only shows a single terminal . however , the server 2 according to the invention can be connected in a simultaneous fashion and through links of various types to several terminals 1 . the server 2 includes a module 20 for the management of communication with the terminals 1 . this module 20 can include different sub - modules so as to take into account the different possible types of communications &# 39 ; links . hence , a first sub - module comprises a communication interface that permits linkage to an isdn or integrated services digital network . a second sub - module comprises a communication interface that allows connection to a communication link of the satellite type . a third sub - module comprises a communication interface that permits linkage to a communication link of the telephonic type , particularly a traditional wire connection or an adsl or cellular type of link . a fourth sub - module comprises a communication interface that permits linkage to a communication link of the television cable network type . the communication management module comprises transcription means so that , on the one hand , in the server terminal communication direction a , it transcribes the information coming from the server into the format suited to the type of linkage 3 , and , on the other hand , in the terminal server communication direction b , it transcribes the information coming from the terminal into the format suited to the type of linkage 3 . the communication management module 20 comprises means of analyzing signals received from the terminals 1 in order to extract from these signals , requests from the terminals or responses from the terminals 1 to the requests from the server 2 . finally , the communication management module 20 comprises means of transmitting requests or the responses to the relevant module of the server . the communication between the different modules of the server 2 is created using a bi - directional bus 25 known of itself . a first module 21 , called an authentication module comprises , for example , in a data base 210 , a piece of information representative of an identification of all the terminals 1 liable to establish a connection with the server 2 . the authentication module 21 comprises means of updating the data base 210 so that each time a user wishes a new terminal to be able to connect to the server 2 , a new identification is assigned to this new terminal 1 . this updating is carried out , for example , using a registration procedure . this registration procedure has the purpose , on the one hand , of assigning an identifier and , for example , a pass word unique to each terminal . similarly , this procedure specifies the use to be made of the information which will be transmitted subsequently to the server 2 . in effect , there are several ways of using the audio - visual information transmitted by the server 2 . in a first case , the terminal 1 can be used to listen to a musical selection commanded to the server 2 , in real time . in a second case , the terminal 1 can be used to store a musical selection commanded to the server 2 in order to be replayed an unlimited number of times . hence , in the first case , a single royalty for a single broadcast is due to those having rights . within the second case , there are two possible situations . in a first situation , on the one hand , a royalty for copying the work must be calculated and paid and on the other hand a royalty for each sound playback of the selection must be calculated and paid . in a second situation , payment for storage of the data and its unlimited use is made as a one - off payment by the user . this situation is very similar to the purchase of songs on traditional media such as an audio cd or a cassette . in this case , the royalties can also be calculated as a one - off payment for each downloading . hence it can be understood that the management of these uses is necessarily different since these uses give rise to royalty payments calculated in a different way . this difference in calculation resides not only in the rate applied but also in the number of times that this rate must be applied . hence , at the time of registration , a code or a unique key , for example , unknown to the user is assigned to the terminal to determine the use or uses which may be made of the audio - visual information sent by the server 2 to the terminal 1 . this code or this unique key is associated with the identifier and to the pass word of the terminal by use , one must understand all the uses that can be envisaged for a piece of audio - visual information , namely reproduction in a private or public context , copying and reproduction on demand or in a random fashion of a selection list . the authentication module 21 also includes means of managing the connection of each terminal 1 registered with the server 2 . these management means will be described later making reference to fig2 . the server 2 includes a second module 22 called the graphic interface . this interface module 22 comprises means of sending dialogue screens to the terminals having established a connection with the server . in another embodiment variation , the dialogue screens may be complemented or replaced by vocal messages . the dialogue screens and / or the vocal messages are sent by the communications management module 21 to the terminals having established a connection with the server 2 , to display on terminal 1 display means 122 , screens that include selection windows , menus or any other dialogue box to guide the user in his selection command or commands and , for example , to permit the terminal 1 authentication procedure to take place when connection is made with the server 1 . the graphic interface module 22 comprises means of processing either requests for a selection from the terminal 1 during the selection procedure , or requests from the authentication module 21 during the authentication procedure for the terminal 1 . in effect , during the authentication procedure , the authentication module 21 must ask the terminal 1 to identify itself so as to authorize access of the terminal to the server . this request is carried out by means of a request sent by the authentication module 21 to the terminal 1 through the communications management module 20 . the request includes asking for the identifier and the pass word of the terminal in order to verify that the terminal which is attempting to make the connection is properly registered , that is to say that its identifier and its pass word are correctly contained in the data base 210 . this request is sent to the terminal 1 by means of a particular screen generated by the graphic interface module 22 which is then activated by the authentication module 21 so as to transmit the corresponding authentication screen to the terminal 1 . in another variant , the authentication module 21 may include a sub - module generating this screen and can transmit it to the communication management module 20 for sending to the terminal 1 . the server 2 includes a third module constituting a selection library 23 of audio - visual items . this library collects together notably all the selections available for downloading to the terminals 1 . the selection library 23 may also include selections which are not yet available for downloading . this case arises when the selections concerned have not been made the subject of an agreement for their broadcasting or their copying . in effect , according to the invention , a selection is only made available to the terminals when the authorizations for reproduction or for copying have been obtained from all those having rights over that selection . hence the selections can be stored in data base form and a flag system enables one to identify that a selection is available for downloading to the terminals . for each agreement with a party having rights over the broadcasting or the copying of a selection , a flag is used indicating if the agreement has been obtained . when all the flags indicate that all the agreements have been obtained then the selection is available for downloading . if , on the contrary , a single flag indicates that an agreement has not been obtained , then the selection is not available for downloading as long as the flag remains in the same state . the server 2 includes a fourth module 24 called the royalty calculation module . this module 24 comprises means of collecting information sent and received from each terminal 1 concerning the use which is made of the selections sent . the information collected is then stored on data storage means of the server . the royalty calculation module 24 also comprises , for example , in a data base , elements for calculating royalties as a function of the number of copies or broadcasts of each selection . these calculation elements are in particular , the royalty rates claimed for each party having rights for each use of the selection . hence , for one and the same selection , the royalty rate for reproduction can be different to the royalty rate for copying which itself may be different to a one - off royalty for the copying of a selection with a view to its unlimited reproduction . similarly , as previously explained , a royalty rate can be specified for every other right over the selection that exists . so as to carry out the calculation from these elements , the royalty calculation module 24 receives , for example , from the communications management module 20 , information about the sending of selections to the terminals 1 . as soon as a selection is transmitted to a terminal 1 , the communications management module 20 notifies the collecting means of the royalty calculation module 24 by indicating to it if the selection is being sent for listening to in real time or for storage with a view to unlimited use with a one - off payment or for any other use giving rise to calculation of royalties . in effect , as previously explained , if the selection is simply listened to in real time , there is not , in relation to legislation currently in force , any change of medium and hence only reproduction rights are due . if , contrary to this , the selection is transmitted to a terminal 1 which is authorized to store the selections transmitted , then copying rights are due . in another example , if the selection is intended to be played in a public place , then performance rights are also due . similarly , when each terminal 1 receives , for the purposes of storage , a selection sent by the server 2 , during each connection to the server 2 , information determines the number of times that the selection received on the terminal 1 has been played . when the management module 20 receives this information , it notifies it to the information collection means of the royalty calculation module 24 which can then carry out the exact calculation of the royalties to be paid for each of the parties having rights as a function of the calculation elements stored in the data base . in the case where the royalties for the storage and the playback are due in the form of a one - off payment , the information determining the number of times the selection received on the terminal 1 has been played is nevertheless requested and stored for information purposes as explained later . each terminal 1 according to the invention is organized around a device 10 with a microprocessor . this device 10 includes a plurality of control circuits 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 that permit management particularly of the communication with the server , the choice and the commanding of selections , listening to a selection in real time , the storage of selections and the restitution of the selections stored . a first control circuit 11 constitutes the communication interface with the communication link 3 with the server 2 . this first control circuit 11 can be matched to a link that may be a telephone link , a satellite link or a cable link . the function of this first circuit 11 is substantially the same as that of the management module of the server , but on the terminal 1 side . in effect , the first control circuit 11 includes transcription means either to edit the data a arriving over the link 3 so that they are processed by the microprocessor device , or to edit the data b sent by the terminal 1 to the server 2 . the second control circuit 12 comprises interface means between the user and the terminal 1 . these interface means essentially comprise display means 122 and selection means 121 . the display means 122 include , for example , a monitor or a liquid crystal screen . the selection means 121 comprise , for example , a pointer , such as a mouse , or a touch screen or a vocal command system or a radio - frequency or infra - red remote command device . these interface means permit the display of selection help screens generated by the graphic interface module 22 and then sent over the communication link 3 . the selection means 121 allow the user to define and then validate his selection choices or to respond to requests from the server 2 , for example , during the terminal 1 authentication procedure , this being done in manual fashion by a touch screen or keyboard or remotely , for example by voice . the third circuit 13 comprises restitution means for the selections . when the selections are musical pieces , the third circuit 13 is connected to a sound amplification device 130 . an embodiment example of the third circuit 13 is shown in fig3 . according to this variant , the third circuit 13 is created around a signal processor designated below as dsp ( digital signal processor ). the dsp receives the stream of audio - visual information corresponding to the selection on its input . this audio - visual information is digital data that has been compressed or encoded and possibly encrypted . according to the embodiment variation , the data are encoded in format mp3 , then encrypted in a proprietary format mmp . the mmp format data are firstly decrypted by a decrypting module , 1310 in fig3 , to provide a stream of digital data in mp3 format . this data flow is applied to the input of a decoding module 1311 that enables one to obtain , on its output , a flow of decompressed data in a standard digital format , such as wav format . this data flow in wav format is then applied to the input of a digital - analog converter 132 to be sent to the sound amplification device 130 . the decrypting module 1310 and the module 1311 can be exclusively of the software type or the firmware type . as explained previously , a remotely loaded selection can be either played or stored in order to be replayed or may be played once in real time . in this latter case , the data flow must in no case be accessible to the user . in other words , the digital data must not be stored . contrary to this , in the first case , the digital data can be stored . hence the dsp includes at least one command 133 . 1 , 133 . 2 , 133 . 3 for access to storage means 140 . 1 , 140 . 2 , 140 . 3 of the terminal 1 . this access command 133 . 1 , 133 . 2 , 133 . 3 allows or does not allow the transfer of the data flow in one of three formats mmp , mp3 , wav to an area 140 . 1 , 140 . 2 , 140 . 3 of the storage means 140 of the terminal 1 . according to a first embodiment variant , each terminal is configured during the registration procedure on the server 2 for a specified use and one of the commands is validated to authorize the type of use provided for . in a second embodiment , the terminal is upgradeable and its mode of use can be adapted when under way . in this case the server 2 sends information permitting validation for operation according to one of the three types of use defined above at the same time as the audio - visual information . in a final embodiment , when the use provided for on the terminal does not include the storage of transmitted audio - visual information , none of commands 133 . 1 , 133 . 2 , 133 . 3 is validated which prevents any storage of the audio - visual information on the data storage means of the terminal 1 . hence , a first access command 133 . 1 is sent on a link situated between a point upstream of the decrypting module 1310 and the data storage means 140 . 1 . this first access command 133 . 1 allows or does not allow storage of a selection in the encoded or mmp encrypted format . a second type of access command 133 . 2 is sent on a link whose first end is connected between the decrypting module 1310 and the decoding module 1311 and whose second end is connected to the data storage means 140 . 2 of the terminal 1 . hence , this second type of access command 133 . 2 allows or does not allow the storage of a selection in the mp3 encoded format . finally , a third type of access command 133 . 3 is sent on a link whose first end is placed between the decoding module 1311 and the digital - analog converter 132 and whose second end is connected to the data storage means 140 . 3 of the terminal 1 . hence this third type of access command 133 . 3 allows or does not allow the storage of a selection in the decompressed digital format wav . in order to provide better protection against fraud and in particular , against illegal copying of musical pieces , the preferred access command is the first . in effect by suppressing the second and the third access commands , the only format available for storage is the mmp format . this format being both encrypted and encoded , the stored data is unusable without the decrypting and decoding algorithms . the protection of digital data transferred to the terminal 1 can be achieved by any other means complementary or equivalent to encoding and / or encryption . the fourth circuit 14 manages the data storage means 140 . these data storage means 140 can be of the hard disk type , removable data storage ( flash memory , diskette , cd - rom ) or any other type of semi - conductor , magnetic or optical memory . according to the invention , the terminal 1 may be , either dedicated hardware , that is to say hardware specially designed for dialogue with the server 2 , or standard hardware . when the terminal 1 is dedicated , the dsp 13 , integrates both the software and the hardware elements for the decrypting and the decoding of the data flow coming from the server 2 . similarly , the identifier and the pass word are , for example , stored in advance in the data base 210 of the authentication module 21 . when the terminal 1 is a standard terminal , it must receive , by means of the first circuit controlling the link , a certain number of software elements sent , for example , by the server , for example , during the registration procedure before being able to be connected to the server 2 and being able to use the data transmitted by the server 2 . similarly , the user of the terminal 1 must possess an identifier and a pass word to be identified by the server at the time it is connected . in effect , as previously explained , the user must specify what use will be made of the selections on the terminal 1 so that the authentication module 21 assigns the code or the key which is appropriate to identify this use . these software elements sent , for example , by the server include a configuration for the terminal 1 to authorize the dialogue between the communication management module 20 and the first circuit 11 in a way that permits , in particular , the processing of information representative of the screen display on the display means 122 of the terminal 1 . secondly , these software elements include , when this is necessary , means of decrypting and / or decoding the audio - visual information transmitted by the server 2 . thirdly , these software elements include , when the terminal 1 is authorized to store the data corresponding to the selections , means of retaining a display of all subsequent occasions on which the selections stored on the terminal 1 were run . these means of retaining a display of the selections include means of creating and updating , for example , a log file containing the number of times each selection contained on the terminal has been run as well as the dates on which the selection was run . in an embodiment variation shown in fig1 b , the exchange of information between the server 2 and the terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 is carried out by means of at least one so - called multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . the terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 shown contain at least elements which carry out the essential functions of a terminal as described previously with reference to fig1 a . the architecture shown in fig1 b arises when the terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 are already connected to a multi - service server 40 . 1 to 40 . n . by way of an example , a first multi - service server 4 . 1 includes a system for the distribution of television programs by cable that includes a return channel . in this case , the terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . 1 . n . sub . 1 can be made up of a decoder coupled to a television and to appropriate selection means . a second multi - service server 4 . 2 is made up of a cellular telephone operator . in this case , the terminals 1 . 2 . 1 to 1 . 2 . n . sub . 2 can be constituted by the cellular telephone . the selection means are , for example , constituted by the keyboard or a vocal command system . the communication protocol between each terminal 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 and its associated multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n to permit the selection and the reception of audio - visual items stored on the server 2 is managed by the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n through an interface 41 . 1 to 41 . n specific to each communication link 51 . 1 to 51 . n between a server 4 . 1 to 4 . n and the associated terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 . the communication links 51 . 1 to 51 . n between a server 4 . 1 to 4 . n and the associated terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 are bi - directional . the communication link 502 . 1 to 502 . n between the server 2 and each multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n is bi - directional and , preferably , is a high speed link . the server 2 then includes a management module 20 . 1 to 20 . n for each link 51 . 1 to 51 . n , with a multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n insofar as this link requires a specific communication protocol . similarly , each multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n is fitted with an interface 40 . 1 to 40 . n notably a hardware and a software interface for communication with the server 2 . the operation of the device is substantially identical to that of the device described with reference to fig1 a except for the fact that the requests sent by the server 2 to the terminal are translated by the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n associated with the terminal in concordance with the communication protocol between the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n and the terminal 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 . so as to accelerate the processing of the requests from the terminals and the dialogue between the server 2 and the terminals 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 , certain modules or parts of modules can be deported onto the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n associated with the terminal hence , the registration procedure for a terminal may be managed at least in part , by a specific module of the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n associated with the terminal . in effect , for most multi - service servers 4 . 1 to 4 . n , each terminal is already registered for a particular service from the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . the terminal therefore has a unique identification on the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . this identification can be preserved to permit access to the service of distributing audio - visual selections from the server 2 . similarly , the graphic module of the server 2 can be deported onto each multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . in effect , each multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n may have the same type of module to offer its own services . it is therefore sufficient to add the functionalities previously described in this module . hence , when a terminal 1 . 1 . 1 to 1 . n . n . sub . 3 registered on the associated multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n for the service of distributing audio - visual selections , desires access to this service , for the first time , it authenticates itself on its multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . next , it notifies , for example , the sending of a request or the validation of a command to its multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n verifies , from the identifier supplied by the terminal , that the latter can access the service from the server 2 . in the affirmative , the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n sends a request to the server 9 through the communication interface 40 . 1 . on reception of this request , the server 2 sends , by means of a module for communication 20 . 1 with the respective multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n , the necessary information to the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n so that the latter transmits the dialogue screens to the terminal so as to permit the choice or the validation of the choice of at least one audio - visual selection . when the choice is validated , the audio - visual data corresponding to the chosen selection are transmitted by the server 2 to the terminal via the associated multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . during this transmission , the format of the audio - visual data corresponding to the chosen selection can be modified by the associated multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n so that the format is compatible with the protocol of the communication between the terminal and the associated multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n . in the context of this embodiment example , the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n may behave like a terminal with respect to the server 2 . hence , for example , the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n can manage listening stations or a background music device . in this variant , the multi - service server 4 . 1 to 4 . n is identified at the server to take into consideration the uses which will be made by the listening stations and the reproductions of the selections made as background music . hence in this case , and as previously described , a record , for example , in the form of a report file , is implemented on the multi - service server and is updated each time a selection stored on the server is used . consequently , when a musical selection is played in the context of background music , it must give rise to the payment of specific rights . in order to do this , the report file stores this use . hence , when the information contained in the report file is transmitted to the server 2 , the rights corresponding to a reproduction in public can be calculated for the purpose of receiving payment . similarly , a listening station may permit a public reproduction of the selection . in this case , the report file stores the reproduction of each selection in order to be able to calculate the corresponding rights . the operation of the device according to the invention will now be described making reference to the logic diagram in fig2 . this logic diagram represents the succession of operations that occur when a connection is made between the terminal 1 and the server 2 . as previously explained , the first connection of a terminal is preceded by a registration procedure in the course of which the terminal 1 is identified to the server and the terminal receives , if the need arises , software elements that permit terminal / server dialogue and the exploitation of the data transmitted by the server 2 . in a first step 401 , the link between the terminal and the server is initialized . this initialization corresponds , notably to the connection between the management module 20 of the server and the first circuit 11 of the terminal . next there is a step requesting authentication 402 . in this step , the server 2 sends a request to the terminal through the authentication module 21 to ask for its identifier and its pass word . the reception of this request is translated on the terminal 1 , for example , by the display of a welcome screen generated by the graphic interface module 22 of the server 2 or by a graphic module of the terminal comprising a first zone for entering the identifier and a second zone for entering the pass word . the user enters the identifier and the pass word which have been assigned to him during the registration procedure and then validates his entry . this validation permits the sending of a response to the request sent by the server . this step of asking for authentication can be automatic when the identifier and the pass word are stored on the terminal 1 . as soon as the request asking for authentication is received by the terminal , the identifier and the pass word are returned to the server without any particular display . subsequently a third verification step 403 is carried out at the server 2 . this step consists of verifying if the identifier and the pass word correspond to a registered terminal . in the negative , either a new request for identification is sent to the terminal or the connection between the server and the terminal is broken under the initiative of the server . in the affirmative , in a fourth step 404 , the authentication module 21 verifies the status specified for the terminal 1 , namely if the terminal is authorized to store selections or if the terminal is only authorized to run a selection in real time or if the terminal is authorized to run a previously stored selection an unlimited number of times . if the terminal is authorized to store , a request asking for a report file is sent to the terminal in a fifth step 405 . if the terminal is not authorized to store the selections , a sixth step 406 called the selection choice step is triggered . of course , when other uses of a selection are possible on the terminal 1 , corresponding information is contained in the authentication module . when a terminal 1 which is authorized to store the selection , receives the request asking for the report file , it sends to the server the contents of the report file if this contains information and then empties the file . if the report file is empty , the terminal sends a message indicating that the file is empty . if after a specified period of time , the server does not receive a reply , then it breaks the connection with the terminal in an eighth step or repeats its request . if the server receives a reply , the communication management module 20 , on the one hand triggers the sixth selection choice step 406 and , on the other hand verifies if this reply contains information about the running of the selections stored on the terminal . in the affirmative , in a ninth step 409 , the management module 20 notifies the data received to the royalty calculation module 24 in order to update its data base for the calculation of royalties . the selection choice step 406 in fact consists of sending to the terminal either dialogue screens generated by the graphic interface module 22 or vocal messages . these screens include , in particular , the list of available selections , read by the graphic interface module 22 from the selection library 23 . taking into account the number of selections possible , these may be classified by style , by preference , by date of availability or by frequency of demand . the choice of a selection is , for example , validated by using a validation screen . the validation of the selections leads to a tenth step 410 in which the selection is placed in a file constituting the list of selections commanded by the user of the terminal . after validation of a terminal , in an eleventh step , a screen is sent by the server , to determine if another selection choice is desired . in the affirmative , the sixth 406 , tenth 410 and eleventh 411 steps are carried out once again . in the negative , the information contained in the file constituting the list of selections commanded is sent , in a twelfth step 412 , to the terminal . on receiving this information , the server 2 , in a thirteenth step 413 , prepares to send digital data corresponding to the selections on the list . this preparation depends on the type of terminal 1 , that is to say , if the terminal is authorized or is not authorized to store the transmitted information . if the terminal is authorized to store , before sending the selections chosen , the communication management module 20 of the server 2 notifies the royalty calculation module 24 to record the copying rights due for the downloading of each selection on the list . if the terminal is not authorized to store the selections , that is to say the terminal only allows listening to the selections in real time , the communication management module 20 of the server 2 notifies the royalty calculation module 24 to record the reproduction rights of each selection on the list of selections commanded and possibly copying rights depending on the legislation currently in force . following the sending of the digital data corresponding to the selections commanded to the requesting terminal , a screen generated by the graphic interface module 22 can be sent to the terminal 1 to enable the user , either to again command at least one selection and then again run through the process starting with the selection step or to shut down the connection with the server 2 . so as to increase the security of the device with respect to illegal copies or reproductions , the encryption method integrates at least two encryption keys . when a terminal is registered it receives the two keys which are not known to the user . a first encryption key is identical for every transmission to all the terminals and permits identification of the source of the data , that is to say , the server 2 . in contrast , the second key is specific , not only to the terminal but also to the type of use which is to be made of the selections . hence , a terminal which is not authorized to store the digital data representative of the selections will have available a key which does not allow it to decrypt the digital data intended for a terminal authorized to store the digital data and will have a key available that permits another type of use . similarly , the second encryption key is different when the selection is to be played back in a public place or if it is the subject of a one - off payment of royalties . the software elements installed on the terminal 1 may include means of collecting statistical information , for example , about the use made of the selections stored on the terminal 1 or on the mode and the periods of the day during which connections to the server are made . these collection means comprise means of storing statistical information in a file that reports on the data storage means of the terminal . the collection means comprise means of transmitting , to the server 2 , the information contained in this file when a connection is made from the terminal to the server 2 . hence , information such as the date on which the selections were replayed , the order in which the selections were chosen and the duration of the connection can be stored and then sent to the server 2 to be subsequently used for commercial purposes . similarly , when the terminal 1 is being registered , information on the profile of the user or users can be logged so as to complement the recorded statistics . hence , in particular , the information collected by the server 2 and showing the use made of the selections sent to the terminal can be cross referenced with the profile of the user or any other statistical parameter for the purpose , for example , of carrying out market research . the device according to the invention also integrates means of payment for the selection commands . these means of payment can be physically present on the terminal and / or integrated with the process of communication between the terminal and the server . in both cases , the payment for the selections can intervene at several moments in the process . for reasons of simplifications , “ credit ” will mean the sum necessary to command a selection . in a first variant the credit or credits can be prepaid . in other words , each terminal includes a credit account stored on the data base and administered by a specific module of the server 2 . this account is credited by the specific module every time the user of the terminal associated with the account desires it . this modification can be accommodated by the graphic interface module 22 through a set of specific remote payment screens . a credit is debited from the account by the specific module every time a selection is validated by the user of the terminal 1 . the second method of payment can be payment on each selection . in this case , the payment is made during the connection between the server and the terminal . hence , at specific instants of the connection , the interface module 22 sends a set of specific screens , either for remote payment or for payment through the terminal &# 39 ; s payment means . in this case , as long as the payment procedure is not validated by a payment module of the server or as long as the sum paid does not correspond to the number of credits required for the payment of the selections commanded , the sending of the selections is not triggered . the third method of payment is based on a regular payment for the command of selections . in this mode of payment , every time a song is sent to a terminal 1 , a payment module of the server updates an account associated with the terminal . afterwards and periodically , the payment module of the server publishes an invoice which is sent to the user of the terminal 1 associated with the account in order to settle the account . in this method of payment , the authentication procedure can be complemented by a method of verifying credit , triggered by the payment module . if a credit payment is not made , the payment module notifies the graphic interface module 21 to generate a screen which states the credit situation . this screen is then transmitted to the terminal by the communications management module of the server to be displayed on the display means of the terminal . the screen includes , for example , a reminder of the credit situation and an invitation to regularize the situation . subsequently the server either triggers the pursuit of the command procedure or breaks off the connection with the terminal . as previously explained , the payment can operate at various moments in the procedure of communication between the server and the terminal . hence , payment can be requested before the selection step 406 . in this case , the user of the terminal is invited , by means of a display screen , to indicate how much credit he wants to obtain or how many selections he wishes to make . in another variant , the user of the terminal is invited , by means of a screen , to pay the sum of money that he wishes and the server 2 on reception of the information corresponding to this sum , sends back the number of credits allocated . payment can be made either after each selection , before the updating of the file constituting the list of songs commanded or after validation of the choice of the last selection before the sending of the information contained in the file constituting the list of selections commanded . | 7 |
[ 0027 ] fig1 shows an illustrative computer system 100 to which the present invention applies . computer system 100 contains data storage devices , a central processing unit , a power source , and connections for external devices . external devices typically connected to computer system 100 include one or more output devices , such as video monitor 102 , and one or more input devices , such as keyboard 104 and pointing device 106 . computer system 100 may be any of several commercially available computer systems available from apple , compaq , digital , hewlett packard , ibm and others . a successful prototype of the system has been developed using digital equipment corporation &# 39 ; s alpha 2100 system , but initial commercial implementation of the system is anticipated to be on dec &# 39 ; s alpha 8200 system . those of ordinary skill in the art may select and implement the present invention on other computer systems . [ 0028 ] fig2 shows a block diagram of the components of a computer system to which the present invention applies . central processing unit 200 contains one or more microprocessors for executing the computer software programs necessary to implement the present invention . central processing unit 200 is typically connected to primary storage 202 and system bus 204 . primary storage 202 is typically volatile storage , such as ram . the programs and data for implementing the present invention are stored on a temporary basis in primary storage 202 during execution . typically , only a portion of the programs and data fit in primary storage 202 at any particular time . cache memory may also be included with central processing unit 200 or primary storage 202 to speed program execution . system bus 204 connects the components of the computer system , and may be based on an open architecture , such as peripheral component interconnect ( pci ), or on a proprietary design . several devices are connected to system bus 206 . secondary storage 206 is typically nonvolatile storage , such as an optical or magnetic disk drive . the programs and data for implementing the present invention are stored on a permanent basis in secondary storage 206 . input device 208 may include keyboard 104 or pointing device 106 , and output device 210 may include video monitor 102 . in some computer systems , input device 208 and output device 210 are connected directly to central processing unit 200 , rather than through system bus 204 . while the computer system may be limited to the previous elements , the addition of network interface 212 and client 214 adds flexibility to the system and enables operation under the client / server model of computing . network interface 212 may be a local - area or wide - area network card , a modem , a gateway to the internet or an internet service provider , or a similar interface . client 214 may be a computer system similar to the one used to implement the present invention , or more typically , a low - cost personal computer of the type used in homes or offices . [ 0032 ] fig3 shows a diagram of a first embodiment of a data structure contemplated by the present invention . this data structure may be used , for example , in a system for clearing rights to photographs . in this embodiment , it is assumed that all of the works are photographs and that the only right available for authorization is the right to duplicate . it is further assumed that some rights are held by photographers , while some rights are held by others . this embodiment of the invention could be used over a network service to offer and obtain rights to photographic images . works table 300 contains information about the works managed in the system . here , these works are photographs . information about each photograph is contained in one record in works table 300 , where each record includes work_instance field 302 , work_title field 304 , and work_author field 306 . work_instance field 302 contains an identifier for a photograph . this identifier may be software generated or based on a standard classification scheme like the isbn numbering scheme for written works . the identifier is generally numeric , but may also be symbolic or alphanumeric . each identifier should be unique , so as to distinguish similarly titled and authored works . work_title field 304 is an alphanumeric field that contains the title of the photograph . work_author field 306 contains a reference or link to a party_instance field 320 of party table 318 . this link identifies the work &# 39 ; s photographer . in alternative embodiments , work_author field 306 may contain the name of the author if complete party information does not need to be maintained . this may arise , for example , with regard to works now in the public domain . for efficiency , works table 300 may be indexed or keyed on work_instance field 302 and other fields . in addition , works table 300 may include other fields , such as a field containing a bit - map or similarly - coded image of the photograph that may be viewed through an on - line service . table 1 shows an illustrative works table containing two photographs titled , “ early sunrise ,” and two other photographs . rights table 308 contains information about the rights managed in the system . in this example , the only managed right is a duplication right , so this type of use is assumed ( rather than specified in a separate field ). information about each right is contained in one record in rights table 308 , where each record includes right_instance field 310 , right_holder field 312 , related_work field 314 , and validity_date field 316 . right_instance field 310 contains an identifier for a right . this identifier will generally be assigned by the software and will generally be numeric . it is possible , though , to have other assignment protocols and to have symbolic or alphanumeric identifiers . each identifier should be unique , so as to distinguish each right . right_holder field 312 contains a reference or link to a party_instance field 320 in party table 318 . this link identifies the right holder . here , the right holder may be a photographer or some other party . related_work field 314 contains a reference or link to a work_instance field 302 in works table 300 . this link identifies the work to which the right pertains . validity_date field 316 is a date field ( or fields ) setting forth the time period in which authorization is given to grant the right . for efficiency , rights table 308 may be indexed or keyed on right_instance field 310 and other fields . in addition , rights table 300 may include other fields , including those discussed in the second embodiment of this invention . table 2 shows an illustrative rights table for the works shown in table 1 . in table 2 , six rights are available . these rights include duplication rights from the photographers for the four works managed in the system . these rights are recorded in the records identified as r — 1 through r — 4 . two other rights are available . record r — 5 is for the first photograph titled , “ early sunrise ,” and record r — 6 is associated with the other photograph with this same name . rights to both of these photographs are available from another right holder , identified as p — 4 . as shown later in table 3 , this right holder is jones &# 39 ; gallery , which acquired authorization rights to these photographs for 1996 - 97 in connection with an exhibition of “ early sunrise ” photographs . party table 318 contains information about the parties associated with the system . in alternative embodiments , the information in party table 318 may be stored directly in works table 300 and rights table 308 . a separate table is used to conserve storage space where multiple records are associated with the same party . information about each party is contained in one record in party table 318 , where each record includes party_instance field 320 , party_name 322 , and party_address 324 . party_instance field 320 contains an identifier for a party . this identifier will generally be assigned by the software and will generally be numeric . it is possible , though , to have other assignment protocols and to have symbolic or alphanumeric identifiers . each identifier should be unique , so as to distinguish each party . party_name field 322 is an alphanumeric field that contains the party &# 39 ; s name . party_address field 324 is an alphanumeric field that contains the party &# 39 ; s address . party table 318 may include other fields pertinent to the parties . for efficiency , party table 318 may be indexed or keyed on party_instance field 320 and other fields . table 3 shows an illustrative party table for the parties associated with tables 1 and 2 . [ 0038 ] fig4 shows a diagram of a second embodiment of a data structure contemplated by the present invention . this data structure may be used in a system for clearing rights to any type of work . these works may include anything subject to copyright or any similar right . a non - exclusive list of works includes written works , such as books , periodicals and their component parts ; visual works , such as photographs and sculpture ; audio works , such as music ; audiovisual works , such as movies ; and computer works , such as software programs and database compilations . this data structure may also be adapted for use with other types of interests , such as those in patents , trademarks , trade secrets , mask works , real property , personal property , contracts , or any other item that may be subject to conveyance , license , sale , or similar transaction . the second embodiment of the data structure includes elements from the first embodiment of the data structure . works table 400 and its work_instance field 402 , work_title field 404 and work_author field 406 are similar in content and function to works table 300 and its three constituent fields . works table 400 , though , will typically include a larger variety of works . party_table 428 and its party_instance field 430 , party_name field 432 and party_address field 434 are similar in content and function to party table 318 and its constituent fields . party table 400 , though , will typically include a more diverse set of parties . the second embodiment of the data structure includes several elements not found in the first embodiment of the data structure . while rights table 408 and its right_instance field 410 , right_holder field 412 , related_work field 414 , and validity_date field 422 have similar content and serve a similar function as rights table 308 and its similarly - named fields , there are several new fields in rights table 408 . type_of_use field 416 sets forth the type of use associated with the right . this field may be numeric or alphanumeric , linked to a separate table , or defined in some other way . this field captures , for example , the fact that a right concerns different customers ( e . g ., educational , not - for - profit , or commercial users ), different media of use ( e . g ., paper , cd - rom , intranet , or internet ), and different volumes of use ( e . g ., one copy , several copies , or an unlimited number of copies ). right_fee field 418 sets forth the fee associated with the right and type of use . this field may be a numeric field , contain a formula , or be defined in some other way . righ_grant field 420 is a boolean field that records whether or not a right may be granted . this field is used in response to inquiries for rights previously denied , to indicate that a denial is firm and not merely a new inquiry . this field is also used for archival purposes , to substantiate switches over time between authorization and denial for essentially identical rights . in the second embodiment of the invention , two date fields in addition to validity_date field 422 are included in rights table 408 . effective_date field 424 is a date field ( or fields ) setting forth the time period for which a right is effective . the effective date may differ from the validity date . for example , a right may be effective as to material published in a periodical from 1985 through 1990 , although this right is only valid to grant during 1995 . a third date field , permission_date field 426 , is a date field ( or fields ) setting forth the time period in which a potential licensee may exercise a right . in the above example , the rights holder may permit a license to be granted during 1995 for the 1985 - 90 material , which license may be exercised during the three year period from 1995 through 1997 . the validity date is 1995 ; the effective date is 1985 - 90 ; and the permission date is 1995 - 97 . table 4 shows a portion of a rights table for an illustrative authorization scheme . a right holder ( record p — 5 in party table 430 ) has a two year contract , entered jan . 1 , 1996 , with an organizer of a rights management and authorization system . under the contract , the organizer may grant three year licenses to make paper photocopies ( designated as “ r ”) of right holder &# 39 ; s magazine ( record w — 9 in works table 400 ). during the first year of the contract , rights are offered at a base fee ( designated as “ b ”) of $ 1 . 00 plus a per page copy fee ( designated as “ p ”) of 5 ¢ per page . during the second year of the contract , rights are offered at a base fee of $ 1 . 10 plus 6 ¢ per page . if rights are obtained during the first year , the price is locked in at the first - year rate . commercial entities ( designated as “ com ”) are charged twice the fee of educational entities ( designated as “ ed ”). the second embodiment of the data structure adds work relation table 436 . work relation table 436 accounts for granularity , where each record in the table includes parent_work instance 438 and child_work_instance 440 . each of these fieds contains a reference or link to a works_instance field 402 in works table 400 . for efficiency , work relation table 436 may be indexed or keyed on either or both fields . in alternative embodiments , the data contained in work relation table 436 may be included directly in works_table 400 . table 5 shows a works table , table 6 shows a work relation table , and table 7 shows an abridged rights table , which collectively illustrate the concept of granularity . the work titled , “ the golden parakeet ,” is a children &# 39 ; s story that is published on its own and contained in an anthology titled , “ the best bedtime stories of 1994 .” the story also includes an illustration titled , “ the winding river ,” by an artist other than the author of the story . the works table includes a second anthology of stories titled , “ the best bedtime stories of 1995 .” the publisher of the two anthologies offers a blanket license to the works , designated as “ bedtime stories work set .” as shown in table 7 , the only right available to the works in table 5 is a right to reprint “ the bedtime stories work set ” on a per page fee . if a potential licensee seeks a right to reprint the illustration , “ the winding river ,” the following steps may be executed in authorization software . the work “ the 5 winding river ” is identified as record w — 21 in table 5 . a search of the related_work field in table 7 for w — 21 finds no available rights . the software then moves up one level , to determine whether w — 21 is contained in another work to which rights are available . a search of the child_work_instance field in table 6 for w — 21 finds that it is contained in w — 20 , the short story . a second search in table 7 for w — 20 again finds no available rights . moving up another level , a search of table 6 for w — 20 finds that it is contained in w — 22 , the first anthology . a third search in table 7 for w — 22 again finds no available rights . moving up another level , a search of table 6 for w — 22 finds that it is contained in w — 24 , the work set . a fourth search of table 7 for w — 24 finds that r — 30 provide the necessary rights . of course , depending on the rights inquiry , the search process may work in the opposite direction or through alternative but equivalent steps . the second embodiment of the data structure includes order table 442 . this table provides a dynamic log of right authorizations and denials , where each record includes several fields . order_instance field 444 contains an identifier for an order . this identifier may be software generated or linked to a paper reference like a purchase order number . while the identifier may be numeric , symbolic , or alphanumeric , each identifier should be unique . order by field 446 contains a reference or link to a party_instance field 430 of party table 428 . this link identifies the party placing the order . order_date field 448 is a date field for recording the date of the order . order_right field 448 contains a reference or link to a right_instance field 410 of rights table 408 . this link identifies the right ordered . order_status field 452 may be used to track the status of an order . for efficiency , order table 442 may be indexed or keyed on order_instance field 444 and other fields . typically , order table 442 will include other fields and structures to accommodate more complex transactions , such as multiple rights under a single purchase order . the data structure from above is combined with one or more software programs or tools for controlling and querying the data structure . software is provided on the management side for performing work and right maintenance , such as adding , deleting , and editing entries . software is also provided on the authorization side for querying the database to determine , for example , whether or not to authorize a particular use posed by a potential licensee . the computer software programs for controlling and querying the data structure may or may not be on the same physical data storage space as the data structure , and often will not be . on the server side of the system for rights management , favorable results have been achieved with a prototype system based on oracle version 7 . 1 . 3 database software running under open vms on a dec alpha 2100 . an initial commercial system is contemplated in which oracle 7 . 2 is used on a dec alpha 8200 . on the client side of the system for rights authorization , favorable results have been achieved using personal computers with intel microprocessors and microsoft operating systems running object - oriented applications built under powerbuilder version 4 . 0 . those of ordinary skill in the art may select and implement the present invention on other computer systems , and could quickly and easily construct a single - user model from a database system such as access , dbase , foxpro , or quattro . it is contemplated that clients may connect to the server side of the system through internet connections or some other type of on - line link , and communicate with the system through , for example , tcp / ip and / or dce protocols , or their equivalent . [ 0055 ] fig5 shows an illustrative user interface 500 on the management side for performing work maintenance functions . user interface 500 includes a view of a constructive index card 502 on which information stored or associated with a record in the works table is recorded . here , card 502 includes title field 504 , author name field 506 , and author address field 508 . these fields store or control the data suggested by their names . card 502 further includes continue button 510 for alerting the system that operations on a card have been completed . typically , interface 500 would include drop down menus for , among other things , entering modes to find , add , delete , and edit records . [ 0056 ] fig6 shows an illustrative user interface 600 on the management side for performing right management functions . user interface 600 includes a view of a constructive index card 602 on which information stored or associated with a record in the rights table is recorded . here , card 602 includes related work field 604 , right holder field 606 , type of use field 608 , grant field 610 , fee formula field 612 , validity date field 614 , effective date field 616 , and permission date field 618 . these fields store or control the data suggested by their names . card 602 further includes continue button 610 for alerting the system that operations on a card have been completed . typically , interface 600 would include drop down menus for , among other things , entering modes to find , add , delete , and edit records . [ 0057 ] fig7 shows an illustrative user interface 700 on the authorization side for performing authorization inquiries . user interface 700 includes a view of a constructive index card 702 to specify a particular right for which authorization is sought . here , a potential licensee must identify himself , herself , or itself in customer field 704 , specify a particular work for which authorization is sought in title field 706 and author field 708 , and specify a type and volume of use , respectively , in type of use field 710 and number of copies field 712 . after this information has been provided , a search may be performed upon activation of continue button 714 . this search would determine whether or not authorization may be given , which information typically would be reported to the potential licensee along with price information and an order option . an illustrative search sequence is provided with the example given with tables 5 , 6 , and 7 , but those of ordinary skill in the art will devise other search sequences . a more sophisticated interface on the authorization side may change dynamically to require more or less information based on a potential licensee &# 39 ; s input . although the invention has been shown and described in terms of two illustrative data structures and three user interfaces , those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that other data structures and interfaces may be constructed within the meaning of the present invention . alternative data structures may be designed around rights similar to those considered in the two illustrative data structures , or for different rights . for example , in a patent , trademark , trade secret , or mask work licensing system , the equivalent of a works table may be used to record patents , trademarks , trade secrets , mask works , and related sets , while a rights table may store license , assignment , field of use , geographical scope , and similar rights and limitations for these items . in a real property management and authorization system , the equivalent of a works table may be used to record parcels of land , while a rights table may store interests in these parcels , such as leaseholds , mineral rights , riparian rights , air rights , easements , and other real property rights . in a general system for contract management and authorization , the equivalent of a works table may be used to record each contract or related set of contracts , while a rights table may store individual interests , rights , licenses , and sublicenses under the contracts . those of ordinary skill in the art will also apply the teachings of the present invention to different data types , including database files , linked lists , multi - dimensional arrays , and other forms of data organization . based on the software and system used , the specific rights management and authorization problem addressed , and design choices made by the programmer , alternative user interfaces will also be used . the key feature of the present invention is that a first data structure records the item or work , while a separate data structure records rights that are available in or to the items and works . within this constraint , several embodiments of the invention may be constructed without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed below . | 6 |
the invention can be better understood with reference to the attached figure which shows one embodiment of the invention . heavy , vanadium contaminated feed in line 1 is mixed with steam from line 21 and charged to the base 22 of riser 20 . hot regenerated catalyst is added to the lower portion of the riser via line 16 . hot regenerated catalyst cracks the feed . cracked products , and resulting coked catalyst exit the riser at outlet 23 . it is conventional to augment the separation of cracked products from coked catalyst by providing cyclones at the riser 23 outlet , or one or more stages of cyclone separation within cyclone vessel 30 , but these conventional details are not shown in the drawing . cracked products are removed via line 31 . coked catalyst collects as a dense bed in stripper 60 located below the riser outlet . stripping steam added via line 68 removes strippable hydrocarbons from the coked catalyst . the stripped catalyst is removed via line 61 valve 62 and line 63 and charged into regenerator 10 . regeneration air passes through air heater 12 ( usually used only for start up ) and line 13 into the base of regenerator 10 . the air burns coke from the catalyst and regenerates it . hot regenerated catalyst is withdrawn via line 14 , valve 15 and line 16 and recycled to the base section 22 of riser 20 to crack more fresh feed . a scavenger reservoir 40 is shown in the drawing . this is a very efficient place to add the vanadium getter additive , but not the only place . the vanadium getter additive will mix with the hot regenerated catalyst to some extent in the length of pipe 44 which connects with the base of riser 20 . the scavenger will remove much of the vanadium content of the fresh feed , and may itself be promptly removed from the unit . much of the vanadium scavenger can be removed with the cracked products . filter 50 removes catalyst fines and vanadium getter additive from cracked product which is discharged via line 51 to conventional downstream processing operations . getter additive not removed with the cracked product will pass with the spent , coked catalyst through the stripper 60 and into regenerator 10 . some of the vanadium getter additive will have a sufficiently small size , and / or low enough density , that it will be carried out in the flue gas 19 and charged to filter 52 which will remove vanadium getter additive and catalyst fines . flue gas with a reduced fine content is discharged via line 53 . much of the vanadium getter additive present in the regenerator will have settling / fluidizing characteristics that make it behave very similarly to the conventional cracking catalyst . the getter additive will abrade and attrit in the regenerator and create fines which will contain extremely high levels of vanadium , ranging from 10 to 100 or move times as much vanadium as is present on the equilibrium catalyst in the unit . these vanadium getter fines , created in situ in the regenerator , are discharged with the regenerator flue gas . a minor portion of vanadium getter fines created in the regenerator are carried into the reactor section with the catalyst , but these fines will then be removed either with cracked products in line 31 or with flue gas in line 19 . the vanadium getter additive also abrades and attrits in the riser reactor to create additional fines which are recovered either with the cracked product or with the flue gas , as previously discussed . although not shown in the drawing , the invention can also be practiced in moving bed or thermofor catalytic cracking ( tcc ) units . in thermofor catalytic cracking it will usually be preferred to add fairly large particles of alumina , which will slowly abrade and attrit as the catalyst circulates through the unit . vanadium laden additive fines , created in situ during circulation , will be removed from the unit the same way that catalyst fines are presently removed from tcc cracking units . to aid in fines generation / removal , a slipstream of the circulating catalyst inventory can be removed and subjected to conventional shaking and screening treatments to both create fines and remove catalyst and vanadium getter additive fines . the feed to the process of this invention may be any conventional petroleum fraction suitable for cracking to gasoline and fuel oil , and it may include , as a portion or all of the feed , fractions that are more heavily contaminated with metals than those in common usage . preferred feeds are heavy crudes and resids containing more than 100 ppm v . in fcc , the catalyst may be any fluidizable zeolitic cracking catalyst . preferably , low coke making catalysts which are selective for gasoline and fuel oil , are used . this allows the high coke make associated with the resid feed to be more readily tolerated and burned in the regenerator . an analogous bead material may be used in tcc . it is essential that a generally reducing atmosphere be maintained in the regenerator used herein . by the term &# 34 ; generally reducing atmosphere &# 34 ; is meant that at least 1 . 0 mole % of the flue gas leaving the fcc unit is carbon monoxide . preferably the co content of the flue gas is 4 - 10 % or even higher . these generally reducing conditions mean that the use of a downstream co boiler , or other equivalent means , may be necessary to meet local air quality standards . the reducing conditions will also minimize no x emissions . the reducing conditions which are essential for use herein will also seriously degrade , and perhaps eliminate , the effectiveness of the alumina additive for so x control . thus the present invention solves almost completely the problem of vanadium contamination on the catalyst , but does not address the problems of co combustion nor so x emissions from an fcc regenerator . these drawbacks ( co , so x emissions ) are not that serious in practice . when attempts are made to add more resid to the fcc units , the units are frequently limited by coke burning capacity in the regenerator , or by so x emissions . coke burning capacity can be limiting because all of the conradson carbon and other coke producing materials deposited on the catalyst from the feed must be removed by combustion in the fcc regenerator . heavier feeds produce more coke . there is a limit in most fcc units as to the amount of coke that can be burned . many fcc units have , or can be easily modified to contain , co combustion boilers . this allows much of the work of coke combustion to be shifted from the regenerator to the downstream co boiler . refiners can also add more oxygen to the flue gas and burn it in a power recovery system . the co emissions are sometimes desirable from an fcc regenerator , especially so when the regenerator cannot cope with the heat release by complete combustion to co 2 and even more so when there is a convenient use that can be made of the low btu gas coming from the fcc regenerator . so x removal from fcc flue gas by use of alumina additives is a good way to reduce the so x content but it may not be able to cope with the increased so x emissions associated with charging heavier feeds . alumina additive may also not be able to absorb or adsorb enough so x to cope with the increasing strictness of local air quality regulations . thus in many instances a stack gas scrubber may be needed to satisfy local air quality regulations . the cost of an so x scrubber will not increase significantly because of a minor increase in so x content of the regenerator flue gas . any additive which has a high affinity for vanadium can be used in the practice of the present invention . suitable additives include alumina , coal , mgo , bauxite and similar materials . alumina is preferred . it is preferred to use an additive material that has a partition coefficient kv , as hereafter defined , of at least 1 . 5 , and preferably at least 10 . many of the dense , high strength alumina additives used heretofor for so x control in fcc units can also be used herein . although these conventional alumina additives work , they are not preferred . we prefer to use alumina with more surface area , lower density , and a somewhat larger particle size than found preferable in the prior art processes directed to so x emission control . preferred properties of the alumina are shown below : the inventive concept requires addition to the circulating inventory of zeolite cracking catalysts separate particles of a discrete additive , preferably alumina , the addition being effective to provide a steady state concentration of about 0 . 1 to about 10 . 0 weight percent of said particles in the cracking zone , with a preferred concentration of about 0 . 5 to 7 . 0 weight percent . in the cracking zone , a portion of the metals carried in with the fresh feed is deposited on the alumina additive serving to reduce the amount of said metals available for deposition on the catalyst . when the catalyst and alumina additive pass through the regeneration zone , the coke on the catalyst and the alumina additive is burned off . since the metals , such as nickel and vanadium , which are deposited on the catalyst tend to be concentrated in the high surface area , porous , alumina additive the metals accumulate on the alumina and eventually exit the regenerator with the flue gas in the form of a fine dust which is recovered by an electrostatic precipitator or other means downstream of the regenerator . with repeated cycling of the catalyst and alumina additive , the additive preferably attrits rapidly , so alumina is removed as &# 34 ; fines &# 34 ;. alumina additive is added at a rate sufficient to maintain the required metals - scavenging activity . this makeup rate is determined by the nature of the additive , but will be in a range so as to keep the steady state concentration between 0 . 1 and 10 weight percent , and preferably between 0 . 5 and 7 . 0 weight percent . the net result of the process of this invention is that a portion of the metals introduced by the feed to the cracker is withdrawn from the system , thereby reducing the rate of accumulation of metals on the catalyst . this reduced rate of accumulation extends catalyst life , improves catalyst selectivity for gasoline and fuel oil , and reduces the requirement for makeup catalyst . alternatively , the refiner may choose to use a heavier feed more contaminated with metals , to realize economic advantage . in a preferred embodiment of this invention , the fcc catalyst contains a platinum metal co - oxidation promoter . typically 0 . 1 - 50 ppm of a pt group inital is added to the circulating catalyst inventors . this permits some control of the emissions of carbon monoxide from the regenerator while maintaining a generally reducing atmosphere in the regenerator . this keeps the vanadium in a lower state of oxidation so more vanadium can be tolerated on the catalyst and collected on the additive . these conditions will degrade the ability of the alumina to react with or adsorb so x . conventional so x additives can be added , but will not function as so x additives . the invention may be used in fcc and tcc ( or moving bed catalyst cracking ) procedures , both of which are well known . the separate particles of additive , e . g ., alumina are introduced into the circulating inventory at any convenient point , such as by adding the particles into the regenerator along with the fresh makeup cracking catalyst . this may be accomplished , for example , in an analogous fashion to the manner in which co combustion promoter additives or zsm - 5 octane enhancing additives are added . alternatively , the alumina additive particles may be introduced into the system downstream of the primary combustion zone of the regenerator , for example , by adding them to the regenerated catalyst as it proceeds from the regenerator to the reactor . finally , the additive particles may be introduced into the system on the reactor side by adding them directly to the fcc hydrocarbon feedstock . in this case , the particles are mixed and dispersed in the feed prior to the point where the feed is sprayed into the base of the reactor to mix with the incoming regenerated cracking catalyst . the additive particles are introduced into the system continuously or at convenient intervals . if introduced at intervals , the intervals should be sufficiently close to maintain the desired amount of alumina in the equilibrium catalyst . the amount of alumina added should provide a steady state concentration of 0 . 1 to 10 . 0 wt % based on cracking catalyst in the cracking zone , with a preferred range of about 0 . 5 to 5 . 0 weight percent . the following examples are provided to illustrate the scavenging selectivity for vanadium that alumina have when used under fcc process conditions . physical mixtures of various porous solids were tested to determine relative affinities for vanadium and coke under simulated fcc cracking conditions ( 1000 ° f ., 1 lhsv , 700 - 1000 scf / b he ). by cracking an arab light gas oil doped with 0 . 43 wt . % vanadium as vanadium naphthenate over 50 : 50 wt . % physical mixtures of two differently sized materials in a dense fluid bed and then separating the particles , we were able to determine the relative amount of vanadium and coke deposited on each material . table 1 shows that both alumina and sponge coke show an affinity for vanadium up to 200 time higher than a commercial equilibrium catalyst , fs - 30 . siliceous materials such as controlled - pore glass , and magnesium oxide all show a lower affinity for the vanadium than the commercial equilibrium fs - 30 catalyst . the commercial regenerator was run at : 1300 f , 3 % o 2 excess , 10 min . residence time . these conditions are outside the scope of the present invention , in that almost complete combustion of co is achieved at these conditions . the oxidizing atmosphere will increase the oxidation state of the vanadium , but will not change significantly the partitioning of vanadium between the fcc catalyst and the additive . table 1__________________________________________________________________________metal and coke partitioning datacatalyst / bet surface % relative coke vanadium cokesubstrate mesh size area ( m . sup . 2 / g ) vanadium * ( wt %) kv kve kc kce__________________________________________________________________________fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 1 . 9 1 . 30 50 . 8 206 . 0 1 . 5 6 . 2al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 40 / 80 267 98 . 1 2 . 00fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 20 . 3 0 . 92 3 . 9 8 . 9 3 . 1 7 . 0mg . sub . 2 ( sio . sub . 2 ). sub . 3 40 / 80 569 79 . 7 2 . 86fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 42 . 4 -- 1 . 4 5 . 1 -- -- joliet shot coke 40 / 80 5 57 . 6 -- fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 5 . 4 -- 17 . 5 48 . 9 -- -- joliet sponge coke 60 / 80 5 94 . 6 -- fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 35 . 0 0 . 005 1 . 9 6 . 6 93 328 . 0sio . sub . 2 40 / 80 1019 65 . 0 0 . 465fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 22 . 2 3 . 31 3 . 5 2 . 5 1 . 1 0 . 8cpg - a 200 / 400 204 79 . 8 3 . 57fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 68 . 3 1 . 60 0 . 5 0 . 9 0 . 3 0 . 6cpg - b 80 / 100 155 31 . 7 0 . 53fc - 30 fcc 140 / 170 117 12 . 5 2 . 09 7 . 0 13 . 5 0 . 8 1 . 5cpg - c 80 / 100 24 87 . 5 1 . 61fs - 30 fcc 140 / 170 177 46 . 4 2 . 33 1 . 1 4 . 0 0 . 5 1 . 7mgo 40 / 80 31 53 . 4 1 . 14nay 150 / 170 847 43 . 9 6 . 42 1 . 3 9 . 5 0 . 2 1 . 6al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 40 / 80 267 56 . 1 1 . 34nay 40 / 80 854 54 . 6 7 . 37 0 . 8 0 . 5 0 . 2 0 . 1al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 150 / 170 267 45 . 4 1 . 75__________________________________________________________________________ * based on 0 . 01 grams of vanadium introduced into the bed over a 10 minute period . if vanadium was equally distributed between both materials , vanadium loading would be 1000 ppm on all solids ( catalyst and substrate ) the relative affinity of the materials for metals has been quantified in terms of partitioning coefficients . the partitioning coefficient kv or kc represents ratio of absolute concentration of vanadium or coke on the substrate materials versus that on the cracking catalyst ; while kve and kce denote the same ratio of concentrations which has been normalized with respect to the external surface area of each component , respectively . kv and kve values for the alumina are 50 . 8 and 206 , respectively . the corresponding values for the silica are 1 . 9 and 66 . in table 1 , the vanadium partitioning data are reported in two ways , kv and kve . kv is defined as ratio of the absolute concentration of vanadium on substrate / catalyst . kve is defined as ratio of the absolute concentration of vanadium normalized with respect to external surface area . coke partitioning data are also reported in two ways , kc and kce . kc is defined as ratio of the absolute concentration of coke on substrate / catalyst . kce is defined as ratio of the absolute concentration of coke normalized with respect to external surface area . both kv and kc are partitioning coefficients calculated based solely on the weight of the different additives or getter materials used . surface area effects are ignored . kve and kce are calculations reflecting the ratios of surface area available in the additive vs surface area available in the conventional catalyst . table 1 shows results of metal and coke partitioning between the series of catalyst and substrate mixtures . the partitioning coefficient k denotes ratio of the absolute concentration of vanadium or coke on the substrate material to that on the catalyst . the subscripts v and c stand for vanadium and coke , respectively . a k value equal to 1 would represent an equal distribution of vanadium or coke between the substrate and the catalyst . kve and kce are the ratios of partitioning coefficients which have been normalized with respect to the external surface area of each component , respectively . a sample calculation of kve and kce for the fcc / al 2 o 3 mixture is shown below . the amount of vanadium accumulated on the equilibrium fcc catalyst from a commercial unit and the sio 2 -- al 2 o 3 matrices ( table 1 ) was determined by measuring the difference between the initial and final vanadium contents of the catalysts . in table 1 the vanadium contents for fcc catalyst and alumina were 5 and 254 ppm respectively . hence the partitioning coefficient was : ## equ3 ## for a dense fluid bed consisting of two components , the selective uptake of vanadium may depend on the size and the density of each of the components , the particle surface area , as well as the surface metal affinities . in this bench scale fluid bed , the size and density of the particles influence the mixing of the two component system . at a given fluidizing velocity heavier particles tend to remain on the bottom of the bed while more readily fluidizable component remains on the top , leading to the stratification of two materials . the effect of such a non - uniform two - component bed is to mimic two stage demetallation units and allow vanadium to deposit on the first component it sees . at typical fcc conditions ( 538 ° c . ), thermal reactions alone are sufficient to crack vanadium containing porphyrin or naphthene structures to permit metal deposition . table 1 shows that the absolute concentration of vanadium is usually higher on larger particles than on the smaller ones . for example , higher vanadium concentrations were observed on the larger particles from both nay / al 2 o 3 and usy / al 2 o 3 runs when the mean particle sizes of cracking catalysts and substrates were reversed from 300 to 92 microns and vice versa . consequently , in this system , the metal partitioning is a weak function of either the total ( bet ) or the external surface areas of particles . there is no correlation between the relative metal uptake level and the surface area of substrates , and the particles with higher surface area do not necessarily show higher capacity for the metals . if practicing the invention now , we would use an alumina additive having a density of about 4 g / cc , a surface area of 100 - 300 m 2 / g , an average particle size of about 100 - 250 microns , and having an average pore size of 100 - 200 angstroms . the fcc regenerator would be operated at high temperature ( 1250 °- 1350 ° f . ), but with air addition limited to provide at least 1 % ( co in the flue gas ). we would add enough alumina to produce as equilibrium catalyst containing 0 . 5 - 7 wt % alumina . removal of a large fraction of metals from the feed will extend catalyst life and improve fcc gasoline and alkylate selectivity . this concept will have significant benefits in reducing catalyst make - up requirements in current catalystic cracking units processing heavier crudes , and can be easily adopted in existing fcc units to process high metal and high ccr resids without costly modification . addition of co combustion promoter would be helpful , in allowing some control of the co / co 2 ratio in the regenerator . it is not essential to add co combustion promoter . if co combustion promoter is added the regenerator air supply must be carefully controlled so that excess air is not added to the regenerator . | 2 |
the seasoning replenishment system 10 of the present invention is shown clearly in fig1 - 3 and comprises a canister body 11 carried by wheels 12 that enable its portability along a processing deck in a food processing plant . a handle 13 is mounted at an upper portion of the canister body 11 and a flexible , seasoning discharge conduit 14 is arranged in communication with the interior of the canister body in a manner to be more fully described below . a vertically adjustable support peg 16 is mounted on the body in a position spaced from the common axis of the wheels 11 so , acting together , the peg 16 and wheels 12 establish a stable platform for receipt and discharge of powder - like seasonings from the canister 11 . a hermetically sealable product loading hatch or door 17 is arranged in the top of the canister body 11 providing for loading of food seasonings 20 into a powder chamber 15 , as shown in fig3 . a compressed air supply source 18 may be mounted integrally with the canister body 11 , as shown in fig1 , and may comprise well known components such as an electric motor driven air compressor and an associated compressed air storage tank , pressure regulator valve , gauge and filter ( not shown ). an air supply conduit 19 , as shown in fig1 and 3 , serves to supply air at a preselected pressure into an air plenum 21 disposed as shown in fig3 at a lower portion of the canister 11 . where the processing plant has a readily accessible supply of compressed air , as is frequently the case , the supply conduit 19 may be coupled to such air supply with appropriate couplings and air control valves and pressure gages , all well understood in the field . desirably air pressure in the unit 10 for ablating and fluidizing purposes ( which is to be distinguished from pneumatic conveying where air pressure “ blows ” the powder through a pipe ) can be in the range of about 0 . 5 psi to about 12 psi . however the vast majority of seasoning powders 20 ablate from the bulk powder towards a fluidize flow below 7 psi and quite well at 3 psi . the operating principle is that when fluidized powder has all the properties of a fluid including hydrostatic head . fluidized seasoning powder will readily flow up to a height above the container depending only on the difference in head pressure and the density of the powder . the fundamental formula ap = yh applies where ap = change in head pressure , y = the specific weight of the “ liquid ” ( powder ), and h = the change in elevation . it is this relationship that allows the velocity in the conduit 14 to be very low if desired , say for very fragile seasonings , or quite high . pneumatic conveying systems cannot obtain such ranges of low flow velocities . the air plenum 21 is shown in fig4 separately from the assembled arrangement of fig3 and includes a cylindrical sidewall 22 ending at the upper portion with an outwardly extending belt flange 23 . secured to the sidewall 22 is a bottom plate 24 with a central opening 26 for receipt there through in an air tight manner the seasoning discharge conduit 14 . an air conduit fitting 27 is mounted in the sidewall 22 to receive compressed air from the air conduit 19 . referring specifically to fig3 , 4 and 5 , a right cone 31 of foraminous construction is shown and is equipped with a circumferential flange 32 at its widest upper portion , the flange 32 being constructed to mate in an air tight manner with the belt flange 23 of the plenum 21 . at its lower portion the foraminous cone 31 is equipped with a coupling 33 that enables a connection with the seasoning discharge conduit 14 as indicated in fig3 and 4 b . it will be understood that seasoning powder 20 loaded into the powder chamber 15 seasoning unit 10 will free fall and be supported by the cone 31 . to prevent the powder 20 from packing down , the cone 31 is equipped with a multiplicity of apertures 34 for receiving there through a flow of air from the air plenum 24 which serves to “ liquidify ” the powder by ablating the boundary layer of seasoning powder laying on the cone 31 , or in other words cause the layer of powder 20 to react much like a liquid , flow like a liquid including supporting a “ hydrostatic head .” this quality enables the powder to flow through the conduit 14 for delivery to the selected seasoning station on the processing plant &# 39 ; s operation deck ( not shown ). the apertures 34 are formed in the fluidizing cone 31 in a process that virtually eliminates burrs which could impede smooth downward flow of the seasoning powder . one process that was found satisfactory , although others may be available , is that of chemical etching causing a hole through the stainless steel cone 31 . a preferable aperture or diametric hole size is about 0 . 03 inches ( 0 . 76 mm ) although holes in the range of about 0 . 01 inches ( 0 . 025 mm ) to 0 . 05 inches ( 1 . 27 mm ) are effective to help the boundary layer of powder ( where the powder seeks to contact the walls of the cone 31 ) to collapse and to keep the powder fluidized for flow through the conduit 14 . the apertures or holes 34 may be arrayed in horizontal rings along the cone wall in a spaced apart relationship in a range of about 1 . 5 inches ( 38 . 1 mm ) to about 3 . 5 inches ( 88 . 9 mm ) between adjacent holes in the ring with the spacing gradually increasing with the increase in the diameter of the ring . however the holes 34 in the uppermost rings are preferably about 2 inches ( 50 . 8 mm ) apart so as to encourage more air flow sufficient to squelch the tendency of the power to clump or adhere to the adjacent metal surfaces . the powder chamber 15 is provided with downward and outwardly tapering sidewalls as may be seen in fig3 . this feature serves to discourage the seasoning powder 20 from adhering to the sidewalls and will encourage the powder when fluidized or liquefied along the boundary layer to flow from the powder chamber out through the conduit 14 in a quasi liquid or fluidized manner . a circumferential flange 35 on the chamber 15 is configured to match with the flanges 21 and 32 for securing together in an air tight manner the components 15 , 21 and 31 to negate the dispersal of dust into the operating environment of the unit 10 . it will be understood , as illustrated in fig3 , that just the seasoning powder 36 that comes in range of the fluidizing apertures or jets 34 ( a boundary layer ) in the cone 31 becomes fluidized through ablation and flows downwardly , as indicated by the arrows 37 , while the large bulk of powder in the powder chamber 15 is not fluidized . furthermore air flowing through the jets or apertures 34 penetrates or migrates through the powder bulk and pressurizes the powder chamber 15 furnishing a pressure head to the fluidized powder for delivery through the discharge conduit 14 . in operation of the seasoning apparatus 10 it is to first initially charge the powder chamber 15 with a selected food seasoning 20 via the hermetically sealable hatch 17 . a bag or sack of food seasonings may weigh from 35 to 50 lbs . ( 15 . 8 to 22 . 7 kg ) and the capacity of the powder chamber 15 is ample to receive such quantity of seasonings or more . commonly , when a bag of seasoning is poured into the powder chamber the powder mixture is segregated by various segregation mechanisms but when processed through the apparatus 10 the segregated quality is minimized and a substantially uniform seasoning out flow results . the seasonings discharge conduit 14 may terminate in a control or shut - off nozzle ( not shown ) so that seasoning flow may be stopped , kinking the conduit over a 180 degree bend can have the same effect of halting the initial seasoning flow or the discharge end may be simply elevated above the hydrostatic head . pressurized air is delivered into the air plenum 21 via the conduit 19 from a suitable air supply 18 or the like thus charging the plenum 21 with air pressure in the desirable range of about 3 psi thus to liquefy or fluidize a quantum of the seasoning powder in the boundary layer along the upper surface of the cone 31 via air migration through the apertures 34 in the cone . an air pressure head is established in the powder chamber 15 above the pile or bulk of seasonings . the fluidized seasoning will thereby flow through the discharge conduit 14 to the delivery point at a food processing station for replenishing the seasonings carried away by the food products being processed . in the processing plant the seasoning replenishment apparatus 10 is parked next to the hopper contained on a seasoning applicator ( not shown ). by means of an automatic sensing system in the hopper the level of seasoning in the hopper and applicator 10 , the hopper is kept full until the apparatus &# 39 ; 10 capacity is depleted of seasoning . at this point the apparatus 10 may be removed for refilling and then returned and reconnected to the hopper while the seasoning equipment continues operation . the ready portability of the unit 10 enabled by the wheels 12 , handle 13 and stability peg 16 is a large advantage for servicing several processing stations in the processing plant , rather than to have plant personnel lugging sacks of seasonings from station to station for dumping and thus raising clouds of dust in such operation . the seasoning apparatus 10 provides for essentially dust free delivery of food seasonings in the replenishing mode and effects an economy in the use of all of the seasonings with none resulting in objectionable dust in the processing plant during the replenishment operation . presently there is a high awareness of food and seasoning allergies . it is essential to thoroughly clean a food processing system of any trace of the previous seasoning before the next batch with a different seasoning is run . the seasoning replenishment apparatus 10 is simple and easy to dean and with its portability can be removed from the processing area and replaced with another apparatus 10 loaded with another variety of seasoning . generally food seasoning are highly hydroscopic and are supplied in plastic lined bags . when a run of a particular seasoning is completed and there is seasoning remaining in another type of conveying system this must be discarded because of its attractiveness for moisture in the air . the replenishment apparatus 10 as described herein acts as an air tight , sanitary storage container for the seasoning powder remaining at the end of the last processing run . the savings here can be considerable . while we have shown and described above what is considered to be a preferred embodiment of our invention in a portable , compact , food seasoning replenishment system and the process related thereto , we do not limit ourselves to the exact details of the construction set forth or to the air pressures and aperture sizes and orientation disclosed , and our invention embraces such changes , modifications and equivalents of the parts and their formation and arrangement as coming within the purview of the terms of the claims which follow below . | 0 |
in fig1 , there is shown a passive optical network 10 in which an optical line termination ( olt ) device 12 communicates through an optical distribution network ( odn ) with a plurality of optical network units ( onus ) 16 via an optical splitter 14 . the optical splitter 14 can be a cascaded splitter which can also cause a difference in power . in the downstream direction ( from the olt to the onus ), the olt 12 sends a continuous stream of packets at high speed , e . g ., at 1 gb / s , 2 . 5 gb / s or at 10 gb / s ( currently under development ). the downstream contains both control information and data packets for the individual onus 16 . an example is provided by g - pon reference diagram 20 illustrated in fig2 which shows a stream of downstream 22 and upstream 24 frames . here , the olt 12 broadcasts the frames to every onu 16 . the physical control block downstream ( pcbd ) 26 is received by every onu , and the onus then act upon the relevant information contained in the pcbd 26 , in particular the bandwidth map that specifies the burst allocation for upstream communication to the olt for each onu . the fec used should be suitable for the worst olt - onu link ( unless a disaster scenario occurs where a downstream burst frame format to an onu is used that is unable to obtain the pcbd ). the burst is preferably placed in a gtc frame such that it fits completely , and is preferably self - contained , i . e ., it should have a sufficiently long delimiter , and potentially a preamble , such that it can be detected and parsed independently . all relevant information for the onu , as well as relevant parts contained in plud , are part of the payload of this burst frame . in other examples , the downstream frames typically contain a synchronization word ( to determine the frame boundaries ), fields to convey physical layer operations and management information , and a variable length field with the bandwidth map . an example of fec may be based on a reed solomon ( rs ) code consisting of n symbols ( of m bits each ), out of which k symbols are information - carrying symbols ; the remaining ( n − k ) symbols are parity symbols . such a code , commonly referred to as an ( n , k ) rs code , can correct up to ( n − k )/ 2 ( random ) symbol errors . the maximum length for a given symbol size m ( bits ) is 2 m − 1 . note that the maximum length for extended rs codes is 1 - 2 bytes longer . in particular , the ( 255 , 239 ) rs code that is capable of correcting up to 8 symbols ( bytes ) is currently utilized to protect the downstream against transmission errors . if this code is used , the downstream burst transmission of the frames is interspersed with inserted fec parity bytes 31 as shown in fig3 . the fields depicted in fig3 , as well as other similar figures , serve only as an example , and inherent error control and fields with repeated data may be modified , shortened and / or removed in future pon systems . the fields thus created can then be used for fec , e . g ., by one of the proposed ( shortened , stronger ) fec codes . other rs codes , such as a ( 255 , 223 ) rs code has been proposed for optical networks under consideration . other fec codes , e . g ., bose chaudhuri hocquenghem ( bch ) codes , can be used , which are bit - oriented , systematic , algebraic codes ( whereby an erasure aspect described below does not work , but truncation of the payload does ), and low - density parity check codes ( where the rate can be changed by puncturing ( not sending ) preselected groups of parity bits . other options are product codes ( e . g ., rs × rs or rs × bch or bch × bch ). as described above , there can be issues with providing adequate protection and error correction of downstream transmissions due to variations in the snr of the various olt - onu channels . a method for performing downstream transmissions that can at least reduce these issues is illustrated in the flowchart 100 of fig4 . at step 101 , the downstream transmission characteristics are determined for the various olt - onu channels . using the downstream transmission characteristics , channel dependent transmission schemes can be configured for the channels ( step 102 ). downstream transmissions from the olt to the onus can then be performed using the channel dependent transmission schemes for the respective channels ( step 103 ). in another embodiment , a “ monitor input ber and related statistic ” block can be provided in fig4 and , if threshold ( s ) are exceeded , fec parameters can be adjusted . as such , the quality is monitored and actions are taken if the channel changes . further , sync errors can be traced in order to adjust delimiter length , etc . in one embodiment , a transmission scheme may incorporate an appropriate level of fec for each one of the olt - onu downstream links . by this method , fec overheads are effectively used only for those channels that need fec . for onus having a very bad channel , a channel - dependent transmission scheme may include a burst - mode like transmission with appropriately strong fec and sync mechanisms within the downstream transmissions . in addition , transmission schemes may use ( hybrid ) arq with chase - like decoding as will be described in greater detail below . thus , a method in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure determines the characteristics of the links from the olt to the individual onus and uses an fec code that enables each onu to extract its own information and correct received data to the required bero of that onu . the method may be embodied in a passive optical network 50 shown in fig5 . the pon 50 may include an olt 52 and a plurality of onus 56 , though only one onu 56 is shown . the olt 52 communicates with the onus 56 through suitable optical channels 54 . as shown in fig5 , the olt may include a control and management interface 53 that is configured to determine downstream transmission characteristics of the channels 54 . for example , the control and management interface 53 may be configured to determine one or more of the signal power level per channel , the snr , beri or any other suitable downstream transmission parameter . the olt 52 is configured with an fec encoder 55 for providing a forward error correction code into upstream transmission frames . correspondingly , the ont ( s ) 56 may be configured with a fec decoder 57 . the fec encoder 55 may be configurable by the control and management interface 53 . components of the olt 52 and onu 56 that are not critical for highlighting the features of the present disclosure , such as the clock data recovery ( cdr ) block , a frame sync / delimiter detection block , etc ., have been omitted for clarity . further details of such components are available in the standards referenced above . in another embodiment , a “ monitor input ber and related statistic ” block can be provided in fig4 and , if threshold ( s ) are exceeded , fec parameters can be adjusted . as such , the quality is monitored and actions are taken if the channel changes . further , sync errors can be traced in order to adjust delimiter length , etc . though channel characteristics do not very much over time , the ber can be monitored , either periodically or continuously , and updates made to the fec scheme if necessary to either increase the strength of the fec , thereby reducing the error rate , or decreasing the fec thereby allowing a higher transmission rate . one option for determining the downstream channel transmission characteristics is to measure the snr when the system is installed . in an alternative embodiment , the system may be started with a high level of fec ( and subsequent lower rate ) which allows the fec decoder in the onu to count the number of errors that occurred in the frames . if the fec code is strong , it ensures that all errors are corrected , and thus it is easy to count them . in performing the error count , the onu may be configured to use packets that are not intended for that onu to do the error statistics , unless the channel is so bad that many of these packets cannot be corrected , in which case the onu has to stick to its own packets and others with similar channel conditions . if for example for one olt - onu link 15 errors are counted after 10 6 bits , the beri is likely to be around 1 . 5 × 10 − 5 . because of the high transmission rates , the necessary statistics are likely to be obtained in a short time frame . in one embodiment , a measure of the downstream transmission characteristics includes the variance of consecutive measurements . if this is in line with expectations , then the effective beri can be considered to be known , as well as possibly some other statistics , and an appropriate fec can be chosen accordingly . the other statistics may include the number of corrected frames , the number of uncorrectable frames , as well as the number of errors in some other fields . these numbers should match a predefined model to a large extent . for example , consecutive errors ( burst errors ) are not typically expected , but if they do occur , they will lead to a higher frame error rate than would typically be expected . a reed solomon code is fairly resilient , but even in such cases , a stronger rs code should be used to keep the bero . in such situations , byte - wise interleaving of fec codes is another option to consider . the downstream characteristics can be recorded in the onu and reported back to the olt , and / or the olt can request a measurement . once the downstream characteristics are known , the olt can select appropriate fec parameters for future transmissions on a channel and communicate the chosen fec parameters to the onu on that channel , for example in ploam - like commands , or a similar control message . protocols for requesting and / or reporting the downstream transmission characteristics are considered to be within the skill of a person skilled in the art and thus no further discussion of the reporting mechanisms are considered to be necessary here . the characteristics of each olt - onu downstream link do not change very much over time , and therefore a control or management interface can be used to select the appropriate fec code parameters for the individual links and use those parameters for subsequent downstream frames . for example , the ploam field may be used to convey control information . it is only a few bits , so control information and operations , administration and management ( oam ) information is typically conveyed at a much lower speed . this is used to retrieve a parameter from the onu , or to set a parameter . in one embodiment , there is provided a channel - adaptive fec scheme that preserves the currently used format but increases the number of operating points beyond two points . in this transmission scheme , an fec code is used that has a configurable rate and , consequently , configurable error correction capabilities . in the following , let p denote the value of beri for which the required bero can be achieved . for the given beri , a code can be determined that provides the required bero . for instance , for a standard ( n , k ) rs code ( with its corresponding encoder in the olt and decoder in the onu ), the fec capabilities can be increased by reducing the length of the information - carrying part , i . e ., an ( n 1 , k 1 ) code where n 1 − k 1 = n − k . the rate of an ( n , k ) rs code can also be increased by puncturing some symbols at known positions , e . g ., the last b parity bytes . the punctured bytes are regarded as erasures . the punctured code can now correct up to ( n − k − b )/ 2 symbol errors . as an example , consider the use of an ( n , k ) rs code , and in particular an ( 255 , 223 ) rs code , as a base code and a bero that is at most 10 − 12 . the rate of this code is 0 . 8745 and p ≈ 8 . 3 × 10 − 4 . if the payload is shortened , e . g ., to 100 bytes , with , as before , n − k = 32 check bytes , the resulting effective code rate is equal to 0 . 7576 . however , the error correcting capabilities are now better than required ( p ≈ 1 . 6 × 10 − 3 ). the other way around , by puncturing the last 8 bytes of a ( 255 , 223 ) code , the rate can be increased at the expense of error correction capabilities . in one embodiment , an fec encoder and decoder can be made to be configured and thus used to generate and decode a wide variety of derived fec codes , such as a ( 255 , 239 ) code and a ( 255 , 223 ) code , the parameters of which are matched to the channel conditions , and as such , the overhead is minimized . in one embodiment , it may be necessary to maintain the same field size for the fec scheme . slight adaptations to the rs encoder and rs decoder may allow it to encode and decode any ( n , k ) rs code , where n − k ≦ p , for a given value of p , and n ≦ 2 ̂ m − 1 , ( or possibly one - two symbols larger for extended rs codes ). for instance , for the ( 255 , 223 ) code , p = 32 ( up to 16 correctable errors ). the encoder / decoder can , after slight modifications , also be used to handle rs codes with parameters ( 255 , 225 ), . . . ( 255 , 239 ), . . . ( 255 , 253 ), ( 255 , 254 ), i . e ., with rates from approx ⅞ ( approx . 15 % overhead ) to 254 / 255 ( approx . 0 . 25 % overhead ). payload truncation could give a code , e . g ., ( 8 , 4 ) rs code ( rate = ½ ), or even ( 33 , 32 ) rs ( rate 1 / 33 ). some of the “ extreme parameter settings ” such as very high rates are mostly of interest for error detection and the low and extremely low rates are of interest for very really bad channels — the extremes , like the rate 1 / 33 code , are not that interesting , but codes with rates of ½ or ¼ may be quite effective for the protection of the header or other important info , e . g ., ( 64 , 32 ) rs code ( rate ½ , 16 symbol errors can be corrected ). if this is used for upstream in the beginning of the ( burst ) frame where the beri is high , e . g ., starting off at 1 × 10 − 2 , and if the beri in the second part of the frame becomes very low , e . g ., 1 × 10 − 8 , one can use one rate ½ code ( e . g . ( 64 , 32 ) rs code , followed by ( 255 , 245 ) rs ( 5 - error correcting ). that way , the overall amount of overhead can be lower than if a uniform ( 255 , 223 ) rs code was used , and the “ effective ” protection is obviously much better . one could also think of several stages where the code rates of the rs codes increase gradually . in terms of measurement , an additional parameter for such a scheme would be to determine how many errors there are in the ( correctly ) decoded first , second , third rs codeword . that way , one can trace the decrease in beri when more bits of the frame are received . for the rs codes to be flexible , they should preferably have the same galois field , e . g ., gf ( 2 8 ), corresponding to 8 - bit symbols ( bytes ). this is also why there is a maximum word - length ( typically 2 8 − 1 ( extension by 1 - 2 bytes may be possible , so called extended rs codes ). the number of bits per symbol ( m ), is not necessarily 8 , of course , but for hardware to be shared , it is best to have the same m . in the channel - adaptive fec scheme , the error resilient methods , including fec , target the entire downstream . in an alternative embodiment , transmission schemes for the olt include scheduling the downstream such that the frames intended for the active onus that have similar link conditions are grouped . in this embodiment , the same fec setting can be used for a group . as such , the grouped transmission scheme does not suffer from rate loss due to protection of fractional segments in variable length frames . the appropriate level of protection is selected for each group . across groups , the stronger fec may be used for the remainder of the packet of the previous group ( that required less fec ), or a fractional fec may be applied to each group . the fec scheme can be embedded in the underlying ( gem ) frames and , depending on the required quality of service ( qos ), sent across gtc frames to reduce losses due to fractioning of variable length frames . depending on the channel quality , the information currently in the pcbd block that is relevant for a particular onu is protected and / or partially replicated at predetermined positions in the gem frames . one option is to start up an olt and joining onus with the same and relative strong fec parameters , and to adjust these for the individual olt - onu links ( upstream , downstream ) over time . a control channel or oam channel can be used to convey the new parameters . the update process could be aided by using the frame counter . the control / oam message specifies at which frame counter the new fec setting becomes active , and it may choose this far enough in the future that one can assure that an acknowledgement is received well before the transition to the new parameters ( until then , the old fec setting is used ). as an option , the updates of the parameters can be broadcast to all onus , such that they know from each other what the parameters are . if an onu was inactive , it starts in the strong fec mode and adjusts after measurements of the error rates have been made . optionally , previously used values can be stored also ( after all , the channel conditions typically do not change ). if , for whatever reason , the channel conditions ( suddenly ) become worse , the fec settings can be changed to obtain a stronger fec . in one scenario , where there are heavy disturbances for all channels , they may all decide to go back to strong fec . in any case , the fecs can effectively measure the ber and protect the channels adaptively . other parameters , e . g ., preamble length for upstream , delimiter length , delimiter sequence specification , header protection scheme , can be communicated in a similar fashion as for the fec parameters . for the downstream , a compact downstream map can be used that , similar to the bandwidth map , identifies which traffic is intended for which onu and where these packets are located in the gtc frame . if the fec parameter settings for a particular onu have been set , packet synchronization can be maintained . if the onus know of each other what their fec settings are , one can also allow the tail of one packet for one onu ( a ) and the head of the packet for a next onu ( b ) in one fec codeword ; the fec code used would for this packet be the stronger of the two ( max overhead fec ( a ), fec ( b ). from a multicast perspective , the strongest fec of the onus involved in the multicast is used . also , especially for 10 g where the 125 microsecond frames contain many more bytes , it could be of interest to repeat a downstream map at repeated , predefined positions . that way , one does not need to know much ahead of time how big the packets to the individual onus are and how the scheduling is set . in a power saving mode , each onu would skip the packets between the downstream maps , if it does not contain any packets for this onu . one would also use a ( relatively strong ) fec code to decode the maps ( such that the probability of losing packet - level sync is low ). for onus that have an exceptionally bad reception , the olt transmission scheme can embed a “ burst - like frame ” in the downstream that has additional fields for synchronization , control and fec , such that the detection and correction capabilities are in line with the channel conditions . for such ( bad ) channels , schemes that retain received but uncorrectable blocks such as ( hybrid ) arq - like techniques can be used to decode information after the reception of subsequent frames . for example , if the snr is very low , the packet error rate for a given olt - onu may become very low . the standard procedure is to discard the packet and request a retransmission . however , if the onu can store the ( erroneous ) packet , it can either request the packet to be sent again or it can ask for more parity checks ( that were computed but not sent ). in the first case , the decoder combines the ( erroneous ) packets to see where they differ , and use for instance chase decoding , which is a known method for combining erroneous packets and correcting them . in the case of transmission of extra parity check symbols , which is shorter than resending the packets , the decoder reassembles the ( now longer ) fec code with more overhead and tries to decode this ( stronger ) code . in one embodiment , the burst - like frame may have a similar composition to a gtc frame , but with a longer sync field ( s ) to allow the onu with the bad channel to detect its part , and then a well protected control message section and payload . as a further enhancement , a transmission scheme using burst - like frames could put a preamble before the sync sequence as is typical in upstream bursts . the above described embodiments may provide additional advantages for the implementation of sleep modes . for example , where the downstream transmission becomes “ burst like ”, the onus detect and / or decode only part of the information and skip / sleep otherwise . in extreme cases it may be necessary to reinforce synchronization techniques to quickly acquire alignment when needed . advantages of the above described embodiments include the ability to provide a selected bero for downstream transmissions while reducing overhead for fec and other error resilient mechanisms in a system where the snr of the links between the olt and the different onus differ significantly . the advantages can be significant ( e . g ., a close to 15 % rate increase for deployments where a ( 255 , 22 ) rs code is used and the active olt - onu links are good ), as well as the ability to deploy the system when several onus have bad channel conditions ( e . g ., are far away , have a low - quality detector or suffer other losses ). extra overhead in terms of fec and sync will only be used selectively when communicating to these onus with the frames / segments for the other onus being protected according to their channel condition , i . e . for good channels , there will be hardly any additional overhead . although embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanied drawings and described in the foregoing description , it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed , but is capable of numerous rearrangements , modifications , and substitutions without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims . for example , the capabilities of the invention can be performed fully and / or partially by one or more of the blocks , modules , processors or memories . also , these capabilities may be performed in the current manner or in a distributed manner and on , or via , any device able to provide and / or receive information . further , although depicted in a particular manner , various modules or blocks may be repositioned without departing from the scope of the current invention . still further , although depicted in a particular manner , a greater or lesser number of modules and connections can be utilized with the present invention in order to accomplish the present invention , to provide additional known features to the present invention , and / or to make the present invention more efficient . also , the information sent between various modules can be sent between the modules via at least one of a data network , the internet , an internet protocol network , a wireless source , and a wired source and via plurality of protocols . | 7 |
as disclosed in the incorporated &# 39 ; 684 patent at column 4 , lines 57 - 65 , an apparatus for the continuous monitoring of contaminants in solution includes a conduit into which an ion collection portion is disposed , a sensor that senses ions collected on the ion collection portion and sends a signal corresponding to a value of a predetermined property of the ions , and a microprocessor in communication with the sensor and programmed to process the signal and determine the presence of the at least one contaminant based upon the processed signal . in preferred embodiments of the present invention , qcm sensors are used to detect the collected molecules and ions . said molecules are attracted to the qcms by molecularly imprinted polymers programmed to recognize the specific molecules . the collection and recognition of these molecules is then translated into a signal that a microprocessor interprets as the presence of specific contaminants . the first phase of the invention is monomer choice and synthesis . several acrylic monomers containing aromatic linkers were synthesized under the assumption that the aromatic groups , in particular the electron - rich groups , would induce favorable electronic interactions . these π - interactions are the only directional attractive forces that can be used for molecules like chlorinated aromatics or polyaromatic molecules . the structures of six monomers ( 1 - 2 , 4 - 6 , and 8 ) synthesized for this invention are indicated in the following figures along with the synthetic schemes used to obtain them . detailed experimental procedures follow . all reactions were carried out in oven - dried glassware under argon unless otherwise indicated . tetrahydrofuran and dichloromethane were distilled over na / benzophenone and cah 2 respectively prior to use . all 1 h nmr was measured at 200 mhz in cdcl 3 . 9 , 9 diallyl fluorene was prepared according to waymouth et al . j . am . chem . soc ., 1994 , 116 ( 5 ), 1845 - 54 . to a solution of hydroquinone ( 1 . 0 g , 9 . 1 mmol ), tea ( 1 . 6 ml , 2 . 0 mmol ), and dmap ( cat .) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 50 ml ), acrolyl chloride ( 2 . 8 ml , 2 . 0 mmol ) was added slowly and stirred overnight . the reaction mixture was then washed with brine ( 3 × 30 ml ), the organic layer was collected , dried over mgso 4 , and passed through a short path of silica to remove any unreacted hydroquinone . solvent was removed by rotary evaporation to give 1 . 45 g ( 73 %) product . 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ) 5 . 9 ( ch , 1h , d , j = 15 hz ), 6 . 5 ( ch , 1h , s ), 6 . 8 ( ch , 1h , s ), 7 . 1 ( ar , 2h , s ). a solution of hydroquinone ( 500 mg , 4 . 5 mmol ) in acetone ( 20 ml ) was degassed with ar for 10 minutes . k 2 co 3 ( 1 . 88 g , 13 . 6 mmol ) and allyl bromide ( 1 . 17 ml , 13 . 6 mmol ) were added and the solution was refluxed overnight . the brown solution was then cooled and filtered . acetone was removed by rotary evaporation . the resulting oil was purified by flash column chromatography ( 2 : 1 hexane / ethyl acetate ) to afford a white solid ( 1 . 0g , 89 %). 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ) 1 . 4 ( t , j = 6 hz ), 2 . 0 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 4 . 8 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 5 . 3 ( ch 2 , j = 10 hz ). ( 2 ) ( 500 mg , 2 . 6 mmol ) was dissolved in thf ( 10 ml ) and cooled in a dry ice bath . bh 3 : thf ( 1m solution , 5 . 26 ml ) was added drop wise over 15 minutes . the solution was allowed to warn to room temperature and stirred for three hours . a 1 : 1 mixture of 3m naoh and 30 % h 2 o 2 ( 10 ml ) was added and the solution was stirred for two days . the milky white solution was washed with brine ( 3 × 10 ml ) and purified by flash column chromatography ( 1 : 3 hexane / ethyl acetate ) to afford a white powder ( 503 mg , 85 %). 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ) 1 . 8 ppm ( oh , t , j = 6 hz ), 2 . 0 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 3 . 8 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 4 . 3 ( ch 2 , q , j = 10 hz ), 6 . 8 ( ar , s ). to a solution of ( 3 ) ( 50 mg , 0 . 2 mmol ) and tea ( 0 . 06 ml , 4 mmol ) in ch 2 cl 2 ( 10 ml ), acryloyl chloride ( 0 . 04 ml , 0 . 4 mmol ) was added and stirred overnight . the reaction mixture was washed with brine ( 3 × 10 ml ). the organic layer was collected and dried over mgso 4 . the solvent was removed by rotary evaporation and the resulting oil purified by flash column chromatography ( 5 : 1 ( v : v ) hexane / ethyl acetate ) to give a white crystalline powder ( 43 mg , 64 %). 1 h nmr ( δ , ppm ) 1 . 8 ppm ( oh , t , j = 6 hz ), 2 . 0 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 3 . 8 ( ch 2 , q , j = 9 hz ), 4 . 3 ( ch 2 , q , j 10 hz ), 6 . 8 ( ar , s ). this esterification was done as in the preparation of ( 1 ). yields : 87 % and 68 %, respectively . 1 h nmr ( 5 ) ( δ , ppm ) 4 . 1 ( t , 4h ch 2 o , j = 22 hz ), 5 . 9 ( ch , 1h , d , j = 15 hz ), 6 . 5 ( ch , 1h , s ), 6 . 8 ( ch , 1h , s ), 7 . 1 ( ar , m , 2h ), 7 . 8 ( ar , m , 1h ). this was synthesized according to literature procedures , knight , k . s ., wang , d ., waymouth , r . m ., ziller , j . j . am . chem . soc ., 1994 , 116 , 1845 - 54 . repeated attempts to synthesize bisacrylamide ( 9 ) proved unsuccessful . the five conditions used to synthesize ( 9 ) from 1 , 4 - phenylenediamine and acryloyl chloride are outlined in figure 2 . shown in figure 3 , the acrylic - capped n - alkanethiol ( 10 ) was also synthesized as a monomer able to modify the gold surface by making so - called “ self - assembling monolayers ” ( sams ). once proper monomers have been chosen , the next phase includes on - chip polymerization of imprinting agents to provide mip - functionalized qcm probes . several approaches were explored for the synthesis of heavily cross - linked acrylic networks on the gold - made surface of a qcm probe . the on - chip cross - linked coatings synthesized and studied for this invention were all obtained by fast uv - photopolymerization of a thin liquid film containing a commercial bis - or trisacrylate ( tripropyleneglycol diacrylate ( tpgda ) or trimethylopropane triacrylate ( tmpta )), a reactive diluent ( benzyl methacrylate ), a photoinitiator ( 2 - benzyl - 2 - dimethylamino - 4 ′- morpholino - butyrophenone ( irgacure 369 ), azo - bis ( isobutyronitrile ( aibn ) or tetraethylthiuram disulfide ( tetd )) and various additives aimed at improving the adhesion of the final cross - linked polymer on the gold surface . the initial thin liquid film was obtained by spin coating a few microliters of a solution containing the reagents diluted in tetrahydrofuran ( thf ) or dichloromethane . the film had previously been deposited on the gold surface of the chip . the light source used in these experiments has a very high intensity allowing most of the photopolymerization to occur in less than 20 seconds . the exact amounts of each monomer / reagent and detailed experimental conditions are provided in the annex . preliminary experiments with ‘ simple ’ acrylic networks obtained by photoirradiation of tpgda and benzyl methacrylate indicated a very poor adhesion of the film on the metallic surface : the film peeled off instantaneously after immersion in either dichloromethane or acetonitrile . this behavior was both expected and surprising . surprising because claims made in the recent literature imply that conditions can be found to obtain good adhesion of acrylic or styrenic polymers on a gold surface . expected as this problem has a long history in polymer science and engineering and is still considered today as one of the key problem in uv - curing on metallic surfaces ( uv - cured paintings or plastic coatings on cars are traditional examples ). the physics of the phenomenon is complex in its details , but the rationale for the poor adhesion is well known and understood : the polymer film shrinks during the curing while the underlying metallic substrate does not , generating a very large amount of stress at the interface . 3 . modification of the gold surface with a thiol - capped acrylic monomer able to self - assemble on the surface , 4 . use of tetraethylthiuram disulfide as a photoinitiator or chain - transfer agent , ( 1 and 2 ). introduce carboxylic acid for improved adhesion with the gold surface . this strategy has been recently used in a mip experiment ( haupt , k . ; noworyta , k . ; kuter , w . anal . commun ., 1999 , 36 , 391 - 393 ). ( 3 and 4 ). introduction of sulfur - containing groups for improved adhesion with the gold surface . ( 6 ). monomer was available and had been shown to improve adhesion on several substrates . the coatings obtained using strategies 1 - 5 showed adhesion properties . however , the use of monomer ( 11 ) is the preferred method , especially in adhering to metal surfaces . initial experiments on the acrylic network showed that enough adhesion can be obtained to remove the template ( hexachlorobenzene ) from the imprinted matrix . after removal of the template , qcm measurements were performed with aqueous solutions of hexachlorobenzene ( 1 . 3 to 2 . 8 × 10 − 8 m ), benzene ( 5 × 10 − 8 m ), cyclohexane ( 5 × 10 − 8 m ), chlorobenzene ( 5 × 10 − 8 m ) and anisole ( 5 × 10 − 8 m ). the results are reproduced in the figure : the results can be summarized as follows . the sensor displays selectivity with regard to cyclohexane , benzene , chlorobenzene and anisole . a signal at least six times stronger is obtained for hexachlorobenzene than for the other molecules . the response time is excellent ; a stable signal is obtained after less than 20 - 30 seconds . a mip / qcm sensor based on a non - imprinted polymer coating ( fabricated in the absence of hexachlorobenzene as a template ) did not display any signal . preliminary experiments demonstrated that the designed sensor works as efficiently under acidic ( ph = 5 ), neutral ( ph = 7 ), and basic conditions ( ph = 9 ). although the present invention has been described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof , other versions are readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art . therefore , the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments contained herein . | 8 |
the preferred embodiments of the present invention were developed in the context of treating cattle in a feedlot , and will be described in that context ; however , this description should in no way be considered limiting as to other applications of such a mobile treatment facility , such as in the raising of hogs , sheep , dairy cattle and the like . [ 0028 ] fig2 shows a perspective view of the preferred arrangement for the mobile cattle hospital 20 . in particular , the base structure of the mobile cattle hospital is a gooseneck trailer 22 . while it may be possible to build a mobile cattle hospital on a commercially available gooseneck trailer , in the preferred embodiments the trailer 22 has a width ( w in the figure ) of 12 feet , significantly wider than commercial gooseneck trailers for highway use , but slightly less than the standard 16 feet width of the alley 16 ( fig1 ) of most commercial feedlots . working cattle using the mobile cattle hospital of the preferred embodiment preferably involves forcing cattle , in single file , into the snake or offset walkway 24 . the offset walkway 24 leads from the back of the trailer 22 to the squeeze chute 26 . the offset walkway 24 is curved in an “ s ” shape in order to ease the cattle &# 39 ; s progression . likewise , the offset walkway 24 has a substantially “ v ” shape with the smaller portion being near the floor of the trailer 22 and the larger portion being near the top . in the perspective view of fig2 the squeeze chute 26 is shown only in rough outline . as one of ordinary skill in the art is aware , a squeeze chute is a device whereby a single animal is confined , within a “ v ” shaped structure . once the single animal is confined , the v closes slightly to immobilize the animal , hence the term “ squeeze chute ”, so that treatment may be performed . some squeeze chutes also have the capability of rotating about a horizontal axis , especially to allow treatment of hooves and the like . any suitable squeeze chute may be used , but the preferred embodiment comprises a squeeze chute manufactured by c & amp ; s of sublette , kans . once the treatment is complete , the animal is allowed to leave the squeeze chute 26 , continuing in a forward direction . in the preferred embodiments , the animal may exit the mobile cattle hospital either to the left or the right , as viewed from the back of the trailer 22 facing forward , by selective positioning of the gates 28 , 30 and 32 . [ 0031 ] fig3 a shows one arrangement for the gates 28 , 30 and 32 whereby an animal leaving the chute 26 exits to the left of the trailer 22 . allowing cattle to depart the squeeze chute with the gates as shown in fig3 a makes a small holding pen 34 between the center gate 30 and the right - hand gate 32 . fig3 b shows yet another configuration of the gates 28 , 30 and 32 in which the animal leaving the squeeze chute 26 is allowed to exit to the right of the trailer 22 , and in this case a small holding pen 36 is created by the position of the gates 28 and 30 . these holding pens 34 , 36 allow , for example , holding cattle that need to be segregated because of illness and the like . referring again to fig2 the preferred embodiments allow access to the squeeze chute along both sides . in particular , on the left side 38 , access may be had to the squeeze chute 26 by walkway 40 . access to walkway 40 in the preferred embodiments is by way of gate 42 . while gate 42 is shown in front of the wheels 44 , the gate 42 may be equivalently placed at any location , or not included at all , and these variations would be within the contemplation of this invention . likewise , on the right side of the trailer 46 , a walkway 48 exists alongside the squeeze chute 26 . access to walkway 48 preferably takes place through gate 50 . again , however , one of ordinary skill in the art could devise many equivalent locations for the gate to access the walkway 48 , and all of these would be within the contemplation of this invention . generally speaking , the walkways 40 and 48 are isolated from the cattle by means of a plurality of fence - like panels ( not specifically numbered ) shown on the outer edge of the trailer 22 . preferably the mobile cattle hospital 20 has cabinet space 52 , in the preferred embodiments located at the back right - hand side of the trailer . this cabinet space 52 preferably houses a computer 60 and related accessories , and also acts as working space for the persons performing treatment on the animals as they move through the squeeze chute 26 . the mobile cattle hospital 29 of the preferred embodiment also comprises an electrical power - generator 62 , preferably placed on the tongue section 54 of the trailer 22 , which provides power for lights ( not shown ), the computer 60 and any other electrically operated devices , such as electric saws for de - homing operations . the preferred embodiments also comprise a sink 64 in the cabinet area 52 , along with corresponding water tanks for storage of water for use with the sink . moreover , many of the medicines given to cattle musts be refrigerated , and thus the mobile cattle hospital of the preferred embodiment also comprises a refrigerator 66 , preferably located beneath the cabinet 52 . as one of ordinary skill in the art is aware , cattle , and possibly other animals , tend to resist movement if that movement involves climbing or descending steep slopes . the mobile cattle hospital 20 is preferably situated proximate to the pen of interest by rolling on wheels 44 , which implies that the frame of the trailer 22 may be several inches or even feet off the ground to accommodate relocation . once in place , the frame of the trailer 22 is adapted to rest substantially on the ground , thus requiring the cattle only to climb a vertical distance of only a few inches to be on the working deck on the same plane as walkways 40 and 48 . [ 0035 ] fig4 a and 4b show an elevational side view of the mobile cattle hospital 20 of the preferred embodiments with the various components mounted on the trailer not shown for clarity of the figure . in particular , fig4 a shows the trailer 22 mechanically connected to a tractor 56 and having a height h above the ground . preferably , the mobile cattle hospital 20 is moved from place to place while in the raised configuration . likewise , fig4 b shows the trailer 22 sitting substantially on the surface of the ground 58 . referring somewhat simultaneously to fig2 and 4b , in the preferred embodiments , the cattle need merely traverse the relatively small vertical distance ( approximately twelve inches ) from the ground 58 to the horizontal plane that comprises the walkways 40 and 40 a , as well as the bottom of the offset walkway 24 . preferably , a ramp hinges to the back of the trailer 22 and extends outward , minimizing slope of the path traveled by the cattle . the ramp , as well as a series of panels for creation of a squeeze pen , are discussed more fully below . referring still generally to fig4 a and 4b , in the preferred embodiments the mobile cattle hospital 20 is moved from place to place by means of the tractor 56 . because in the preferred embodiments the trailer 22 sits substantially on the ground along its length , not only do the wheels 44 of the preferred embodiment selectively move up and down to raise and lower the trailer , but also the tractor 56 correspondingly raises and lowers the tongue 54 . raising and lowering the trailer of the preferred embodiments takes place by hydraulically operating the wheels 44 of the trailer 22 . [ 0037 ] fig5 a shows the preferred lifting structure for one set of wheels 44 . in particular , fig5 a shows the wheels 44 in their raised or retracted position . preferably , a hydraulic cylinder 80 acts to raise and lower the wheels on one side of the trailer . thus , in the preferred embodiments , there will be a hydraulic cylinder 80 associated with each set of wheels 44 . the hydraulic cylinder 80 mechanically connects to movable member 82 . movable member 82 comprises a substantially horizontal component , as well as two substantially vertical components 84 a , b , which mechanically couple to the wheels 44 . the wheels 44 are rotatably coupled to the movable member 82 . each of the substantially vertical portions 84 a , b of the movable member 82 are slidingly within the stationary structure 86 , which preferably connects to the frame 88 of the trailer 22 . fig5 b shows the preferred implementation with the wheels 44 in their down or extended orientation . preferably , cylinder 80 pulls the movable member 82 downward ( which then raises the trailer 22 upward ) such that the wheels 44 contact the ground 58 and raise the trailer . fig6 shows an exemplary hydraulic system setup to perform this raising and lowering operation in the preferred embodiments . in particular , a pump 100 preferably takes sections from a reservoir 90 . the pump feeds a valve system 102 , which then fluidly couples the hydraulic fluid , under pressure of the pump 100 , to the appropriate side of the cylinders 80 . the preferred arrangement is having the cylinders operate in parallel from a single source . as hydraulic fluid enters one side of the parallel operating sets of cylinders 80 , the fluid is allowed to exit the other side , through the valve system 102 , and is allowed to flow back to the reservoir 90 . lowering the trailer 22 of the preferred embodiment involves forcing fluid into the cylinders 80 such that the cylinders extend in length , again by forcing fluid into one side of the hydraulic cylinder while allowing fluid from the second side to return to the reservoir 90 . as depicted in fig4 a , b , preferably the trailer 22 mechanically couples to a tractor 56 for movement about the feed lot and placement proximate to a pen of cattle that need treatment . in the preferred embodiments , the reservoir 90 , hydraulic pump 100 and valving arrangement 102 are all an integral part of the tractor 56 ; however , it would be an operable system to have an independent reservoir 90 , pump 100 and valving system 102 mounted on the trailer such that raising and lowering could be accomplished without the aid of a tractor 56 , and thus moving the trailer 22 from location to location could be done with some other vehicle , such as a truck . the hydraulic pump 100 , in this circumstance , could be gasoline operated , operated from the alternating current generated by the preferred electrical generator 62 , or could operate from battery power . alternatively , the truck used to relocate the trailer could have a power - take - off ( pto ) unit capable of providing hydraulic fluid under pressure . as mentioned above , the mobile cattle hospital 20 of the preferred embodiment also has a ramp leading to the offset walkway 24 and a series of panels connected to the back of the trailer 22 for on - location creation of a squeeze pen . referring now to fig6 there is shown an overhead view of the relationship of the ramp that leads to the offset walkway 24 , as well as the various panels connected to the back of the trailer that form the mobile squeeze pen . in particular , fig6 shows ramp 100 . ramp 100 is preferably hinged to the back of the trailer 22 , and extends from a surface substantially parallel to the walkways 40 , 48 to ground level 58 ( not shown in fig6 ). in the preferred operation where the mobile cattle hospital 20 sits substantially on the ground across its entire length , the vertical distance traversed by the ramp 100 is preferably only twelve inches or less ( the vertical height of the frame of the trailer 22 ). however , in circumstances where the mobile cattle hospital 20 is operated in a working alley having a slope , it is possible that this distance could increase , but it is minimized by the fact that the trailer 22 sits substantially on the ground as described with respect to fig4 and 5 . preferably , the mobile cattle hospital 20 has a series of fence panels mechanically connected to the back of the trailer 22 . the overhead view of fig6 shows those various fence panels in their extended position . in particular , along one side a series of two individual straight panels 102 and 104 couple to the back of the trailer 22 . because it is envisioned that the mobile cattle hospital 20 of the preferred embodiments may not be operated on entirely flat surfaces , not only are these panels hinged to fold away from the trailer 22 , but are also hinged to allow up and down movement to accommodate the particular terrain . in particular , panel 102 hinges to the trailer 22 , and panel 104 hinges to the panel 102 . a short panel 106 preferably hinges to panel 104 , and provides stability for gate panel 108 . preferably , panel 108 is hinged to panels 104 and 106 such that it can swing through at least an arc of ninety degrees . on the other side of the ramp 100 , a third and fourth straight panel 110 , 111 preferably hinge to the trailer 22 . two curved panels 112 and 114 preferably hinge to each other and to panel 111 . short panel 116 is preferably hinged to panel 114 , panel 116 providing horizontal support for the squeeze pen . finally , panel 118 preferably hinges to panels 114 and 116 to direct the cattle into the squeeze pen portion of the panels . as indicated in fig6 panel or gate 108 preferably swings within the area partially bounded by panels 112 and 114 , such in this set up a squeeze pen area 120 is created within the area bounded by the panels 104 , 108 , 112 and 114 , with the cattle being forced up ramp 100 to the offset walkway 24 ( not shown in fig6 ). fig7 shows the various fence panels 102 - 118 in their folded configuration , which is the preferred setup when the trailer is being relocated from pen to pen . as can be seen in fig7 the various straight fence panels 102 , 104 and 110 fold up to be substantially parallel to the width of the trailer . short panel 111 folds to be substantially parallel to the length of the trailer with circular panels 112 and 114 folding in on themselves to be the outermost panels , straight panel 118 and short panel 116 folding within the setup to be substantially parallel to the remaining fence panels 102 , 104 and 110 . preferably , the curved fence panel 112 and curved fence panel 114 coupled by way of an arm 115 coupled substantially in the center of panel 112 and hinged to the end of the curved panel 114 . in this way , the two curved panels 112 and 114 hinge to be substantially coaxial in the folded position . fig7 shows the relationship of panels 112 , 114 and arm 115 in a partially folded configuration to show the relationship of these various components . thus , the preferred embodiments comprise all the necessary equipment to perform cattle treating operations proximate to the pen of cattle , rather than having to move those cattle significant distances for cattle treating operations . further , the trailer 22 of the preferred embodiments is adapted to sit on the ground during treating operations , thus minimizing the vertical distance that the animals must climb when entering or exiting the trailer 22 . additionally , the mobile cattle hospital 20 of the preferred embodiments comprises the series of fence panels which are used to create a mobile squeeze pen for forcing the cattle through the offset walkway 24 . the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . for example , the mechanism for raising the lowering the wheels 44 shown in fig5 a , b is the preferred embodiment ; however , one of ordinary skill in the art now understanding how the trailer 22 of the preferred embodiment raises and lowers could device many equivalent systems for performing this task , such as air filled bladders , air operated shocks , mechanical ( non - hydraulic ) means such as motor operated jacks , and the like . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications . | 0 |
one embodiment of the present invention is a wireless data device system and application that automatically detects the provisioning of a wireless data device on a particular wireless gateway server , and provides for changes to the provisioning . as a result , pushes of data to the wireless data device are optimized . fig1 is a block diagram of the functional elements of a system 110 for detecting and modifying the provisioning of a wireless data device on a particular wireless gateway server in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . the functional elements shown in fig1 can be implemented with any combination of hardware or software , including software executed by multiple computer systems or servers . system 110 includes a wireless gateway 102 that includes one or more wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 that take electronic information produced by system 110 and makes it compatible for transmission across a wireless network 120 by encoding it in transmission protocols applicable to wireless network 120 . wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 communicate this electronic data to a network operations center 101 across a communications network 121 . network operations center 101 monitors and manages various computer systems which interface to a carrier &# 39 ; s wireless network 120 . the wirelessly transmitted electronic information is received and displayed by a wireless data device 100 . in one embodiment , wireless data device 100 is a blackberry handheld device from rim corporation , and wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 are blackberry enterprise servers executing mobile data service . however , other types of wireless data devices and gateway servers can be used in different embodiments of the present invention . system 110 further includes a web server 103 that in one embodiment includes multiple web servers and one or more load balance servers . web server 103 receives and interprets electronic messages encoded in various internet - compatible protocols , such as hypertext transfer protocol (“ http ”) or file transfer protocol (“ ftp ”). an application server 104 includes one or more application programs running on one or more application servers in a clustered environment . application server 104 contains business rules and program logic , responds to user requests and processes and formats data in a manner consistent with wireless data device 100 . system 110 further includes a push server 107 that optimizes the use of multiple wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 . in one embodiment , the number of wireless data devices 100 in communication with wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 can number in the thousands , and each are provisioned on a particular wireless gateway server from the set of multiple wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 . in one embodiment , the functionality of push server 107 may be provided on the same server as application server 104 , or may exist on servers which are distinct from application server 104 . a data repository 105 provides long - term data storage for system 110 . the storage may take the form of relational or hierarchical databases , sequential flat file storage , or any other method that allows data to be stored and retrieved . a data server 106 allows system 110 to interface with one or more independent external data sources 140 and 141 that provide raw data or processed information , via a communications network 123 . external data source systems 140 and 141 may represent computer data systems such as 3rd party financial or market data systems , news services , or any other source of electronic data that may be transformed and represented in a wireless markup language format or other format for display on wireless data device 100 . in one embodiment , the electronic pushed data is formatted in accordance with the “ push access protocol ” of the “ wireless application protocol ”. a desktop computer browser 130 or remote terminal 131 in one embodiment can be used to dynamically manage various system 110 elements via a communications link 124 . these management functions can include viewing and altering configuration values for system 110 elements or viewing of diagnostic files or real - time data and statistics . communications networks 121 , 122 , 123 , and 124 may be one or more hardwired digital or analog communications links , wireless digital or analog communications links , or any combination thereof , or utilize any other methods for establishing and operating communications links . in one embodiment of system 110 , data can be received by wireless data device 100 in two ways : ( 1 ) “ pull ”, which involves the user explicitly requesting the data by , for example , clicking on a link in a microbrowser ; and ( 2 ) “ push ”, which involves the user registering to receive data to be sent in the future . with push , the data is delivered to wireless data device 100 without further intervention by the user . the data may be automatically gathered and sent on a regularly scheduled or sporadic basis or it may be published by human intervention and sent to registered users on a regular or sporadic basis . in order for wireless data device 100 to receive pushed data , in one embodiment it is provisioned on one of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 . the wireless gateway server takes data intended for wireless data device 100 ( identified by a unique identifying number or identifier , sometimes called a “ pin ”) from , for example , data server 106 , and forwards the data and pin to network operations center 101 . network operations center 101 then handles transmitting the message over wireless network element 120 to the wireless data device 100 that matches the pin . in an embodiment where wireless data device 100 is provisioned on a single , particular wireless gateway server 150 - 152 , push server 107 has to either know or determine which of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 to forward a message to for a particular user &# 39 ; s pin . to facilitate this knowledge , push server 107 maintains a pin / wireless gateway server map that maps each pin to its respective gateway server . in operation , a user registers to receive data to be published and delivered in the future . registration can occur by the user submitting a request to application server 104 via wireless data device 100 . application server 104 stores what data the user wishes to receive , as well as the matching pin for wireless data device 100 , in data repository 105 . for multiple reasons , the assignment of a wireless data device to one particular wireless gateway server 150 - 152 of wireless gateway 102 may change . for example , one of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 may change because the server becomes non - responsive to service requests , its name is changed by network administrators , it is removed from service , or a new wireless gateway server could be added to wireless gateway 102 due to capacity issues . fig2 is a flow diagram of the functionality performed by system 110 to respond to changes in the mapping of wireless data device pins to the wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . in one embodiment , the functionality is implemented by software stored in memory and executed by a processor . in other embodiments , the functionality can be performed by hardware , or any combination of hardware and software . 201 : application server 104 initiates a push of data , such as a document in the form of a message , either as a regularly scheduled push or as a one time request , by sending a push request to push server 107 using communication link 122 . 202 : push server 107 determines which wireless gateway server 150 - 152 of wireless gateway 102 to push the message to by querying / searching the pin / wireless gateway server map for the pin and corresponding gateway server mapping of wireless data device 100 . 203 : if a wireless gateway server 150 - 152 is found for the pin , push server 107 sends a message to the mapped wireless gateway server using communication link 122 . 204 : if the wireless data device 100 is provisioned on the mapped wireless gateway server 150 - 152 , then the message is accepted for delivery to the wireless data device 100 and the process is done . system 110 determines that the message was successfully accepted in one embodiment by receiving a status code of success on the message submission . 205 : if the push of the message is not accepted by the mapped wireless gateway server 150 - 152 , then push server 107 loops through the list of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 of wireless gateway 102 by sending the message to each of the servers 150 - 152 one at a time , while skipping the server that failed at the beginning of block 205 . 206 : if the wireless data device 100 is provisioned on a wireless gateway server 150 - 152 , the message is accepted for delivery and push server element 107 updates the pin / wireless gateway server map with the correct gateway server for the pin . system 110 determines that the message was successfully accepted in one embodiment by receiving a status code of success on the message submission . this function provides system 110 with an automated recovery from wireless data device 100 provisioning from one wireless gateway server to another in wireless gateway 102 . 207 : if all wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 reject the message , then push server 107 updates the pin / wireless gateway server map with an “ unknown ” value for the server corresponding to the pin of wireless data device 100 . 208 : if a wireless gateway server 150 - 152 in wireless gateway 102 is not found for the pin , push server 107 loops through the list of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 , sending the message to the wireless gateway servers one at a time . 209 : if the wireless data device 100 is provisioned on a wireless gateway server 150 - 152 , the message is accepted for delivery and push server 107 updates the pin / wireless gateway server map with the correct gateway server for the pin . system 110 determines that the message was successfully accepted in one embodiment by receiving a status code of success on the message submission . this function provides system 110 with automated detection of a new wireless data device 100 being provisioned for the first time on a wireless gateway server 150 - 152 in wireless gateway 102 . 210 : if all wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 reject the message , then push server 107 updates the pin / wireless gateway server map with an “ unknown ” value for the server corresponding to the pin of wireless data device 100 . through the use of the pin / wireless gateway server map , the correct wireless gateway server 150 - 152 for a pin is more likely to be chosen by push server 107 , thereby optimizing pushes of data to wireless data device 100 . further , changes in server assignments are self - correcting by system 110 through the automated updates of the pin / wireless gateway server map . in one embodiment of the invention , at any point before a scheduled or sporadic push of data , a system administrator may dynamically update the list of valid wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 that make up wireless gateway 102 by using desktop browser 130 or remote terminal 131 . the list of valid wireless gateway servers may be stored in computer volatile memory on push server 107 for optimized retrieval , as well as in data repository 105 to span shutdowns of push server 107 . dynamic maintenance of the list of valid wireless gateway servers that make up wireless gateway 102 avoids service disruptions of system 110 due to wireless gateway server name changes , additions and removals . fig3 is a flow diagram of the functionality performed by system 110 to respond to changes in wireless gateway 102 . in one embodiment , the functionality is implemented by software stored in memory and executed by a processor . in other embodiments , the functionality can be performed by hardware , or any combination of hardware and software . 301 : the list of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 of wireless gateway 102 may change . for example , one of wireless gateway servers 150 - 152 may change because the server becomes non - responsive , the server is removed from service or a new wireless gateway server could be added to wireless gateway 102 due to capacity issues , or the name or port of a wireless gateway server may change . 302 : a system administrator dynamically updates the list of valid servers in wireless gateway 102 by using desktop browser 130 or remote terminal 131 . 303 : update commands issued through desktop browser 130 travel through network communications 124 to web server 103 , and then through network communications 122 , to push server 107 . 304 : update commands issued through remote terminal 131 travel through network communications 124 and 122 to push server 107 . 305 : push server 107 updates its internal memory to reflect the updated wireless gateway servers list . 306 : push server 107 writes the updated wireless gateway servers list to data repository 105 . as described , embodiments of the present invention dynamically maintain a mapping of pin / wireless gateway server so that an application can optimally push data to the correct server for a selected pin . pushes of data are thus more efficient and user intervention is not required to account for changes in mapping . several embodiments of the present invention are specifically illustrated and / or described herein . however , it will be appreciated that modifications and variations of the present invention are covered by the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention . | 7 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown a portable , printing data entry terminal device designated generally by the numeral 10 , which is described as a preferred embodiment of the present invention . the device 10 is substantially comprised of a non - printing data entry terminal unit 12 , which preferably may be a commercial unit known as a norand 4000 type terminal . preferred data entry terminal unit 12 includes typically an elongated housing 14 having a keyboard 15 and a display 16 , such as a multi - line liquid crystal display . the keyboard 15 and display 16 are shown in an upper face 17 of the data entry terminal unit 12 , and a contoured grip portion is shown in its lower face 18 . a lower end cap 19 provides access to a battery compartment 20 which may hold a rechargeable battery , such as a nicad battery , as a self - contained power source 122 for the data entry terminal unit 12 . in reference to fig1 and 2 , a printer unit 24 is attached to a top end 25 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . a printer mechanism 26 of the printer unit 24 is preferably a standard epson printer module which is commercially available . the width of the printer mechanism 26 necessitates a lateral expansion of a printer housing 28 with respect to the preferred width of the housing 14 of the already existing data entry terminal unit 12 . sloping walls 29 of a transitional portion 30 of the printer housing 28 accommodate the change in width of the printer housing 28 . the printer housing 28 shows in the exploded view of fig2 an upper printer housing shell 32 which fits as a cover over a lower printer housing shell 33 . the lower housing shell 33 functions as an assembly base for a main printer circuit board assembly 35 and the printer mechanism 26 . the main printer circuit board assembly 35 preferably includes a printer circuit board 36 , a circuit component which is manufactured by epson as a controller for the commercially available printer mechanism 26 and a connector board 38 , a stand - off board which is physically disposed and mounted to extend at a right angle from the printer circuit board 36 . the stand - off type connector board 38 is electrically coupled via standard pin connectors 39 to the printer circuit board 36 . the connector board 38 includes at least one connector , or , may include two connectors 41 and 42 , as shown in fig2 . the connectors 41 and 42 may be standard d - sub type connectors , a 15 - pin connector being the preferred connector 42 for rs - 232 communication links , a standard 9 - pin connector of that type being typical for supporting data entry functions via bar code readers , for example . referring particularly to fig2 the assembly of the printer unit 24 proceeds with the assembly of the connector board 38 to the printer circuit board 36 . one or two pin connectors 39 ( one of which is shown ) on the connector board 38 may be coupled to respective sockets 44 on the printer circuit board 36 . the resulting main printer circuit board assembly 35 is pushed into a printer cavity 45 of the lower printer housing shell 33 . guide slots or insertion slots 46 engage flanges 47 on the respective connectors 41 and 42 . the insertion slots restrain the lateral movement of the connectors 41 and 42 and determine their position with respect to respective openings in the lower housing shell 33 . the circuit assembly 35 becomes located and is mounted to standoffs or bosses 50 ( two of which are shown ) located in the printer cavity 45 . mounting holes 51 line up with the bosses 50 to admit typical fasteners , such as threaded fasteners 52 . the printer mechanism is electrically coupled to the circuit assembly 35 via data and power cable 53 from the printer circuit board 36 . the cable 53 may be soldered to the board 36 at 54 , or may be coupled via a typical pin connector , such as a connector 55 . such a connector 55 ( not shown at the printer mechanism 26 ) may be used to couple the cable 53 to the printer mechanism 26 . apertures 56 in the printer circuit board 36 allow two of three mounting bosses 57 to protrude through the circuit board for mounting the printer mechanism 26 via mounting holes 58 directly above the circuit board 36 in a compact arrangement . a typical pin type connector 55 also couples the printer unit 24 electrically and communicatively via a data and control cable 60 to the data entry terminal unit 12 . the upper housing shell 32 may preferably be attached to the lower housing shell 33 by means of standard threaded connector screws ( not shown ). the screws are preferably inserted for cosmetic reasons from an underside of the lower housing shell 33 through mounting bosses 62 and fastened into blind mounting holes ( not shown ) in the upper housing shell 32 . as the upper housing shell 32 is drawn tight against the lower housing shell 33 , an upper end wall 64 of the upper housing shell 32 bears against the d - sub connectors 41 and 42 to positively lock them against upward displacement out of the insertion slots 46 . another feature of the assembled upper and lower housing shells 32 and 33 stems from the joining of the sloping side walls 29 and divider walls 66 and 67 extending between the sloping side walls 29 in each of the respective shells 32 and 33 and extend toward each other when the two housing shells 32 and 33 become assembled to each other . the divider walls 66 and 67 form , together with the assembled side walls 29 , a sealing end cap at an upper end 68 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . fig2 shows the data entry terminal unit 12 without a typical end cap , thus leaving an opening 69 at the upper end 68 of the elongated housing 14 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . the typical end cap which would normally seal off the upper end of the data entry terminal unit 12 and serve to mount typical d - sub type communication connectors has been removed to attach the printer unit 14 to the top end 68 . the open end 68 shows two groups of stake type connector pins 70 extending from an electrical and data interface 71 which is disposed adjacent the opening 69 and within the housing 14 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . such a standard end cap would become attached to the housing 14 with screws fast ® n ® d into threaded bosses 73 of the housing 14 . in providing for an efficient and secure mounting of the printer unit 24 to the data entry terminal unit 12 , an adapter bracket 74 is attached to the threaded bosses 73 . as a preferred embodiment , the adapter bracket may be of metal , such as formed steel or the like . formed legs 75 bear against ledges within the housing 14 when the adapter bracket is attached to the housing . an electrical connector board 76 is a typical circuit board with electrical leads formed and coupled between two connector sockets 77 , only one of which is shown , and a cable connector 78 , which may be a typical zif ( zero insertion force ) connector for the cable 60 which preferably is a typical flat cable . the connector 78 is mounted to the connector board 76 . the cable 60 may be inserted into an insertion slot of the connector 78 and an upper latching plate 79 may be clamped against the inserted cable 60 to lock it in place . when mounting screws 81 ( only one being shown ) are fastened down , the connector board 76 becomes fastened to the adapter bracket 74 and the adapter bracket becomes attached to the data entry terminal unit 12 within the opening 69 . fastening the adapter bracket 74 and connector board 76 , also causes the connector sockets 77 to become inserted over the two groups of interface pins 70 . the upper housing shell 32 further includes formed into an inner surface 82 of an upper wall 83 a mounting groove 84 . the mounting groove 84 receives a retainer ledge 85 of the adapter bracket 74 to lock the housing securely over the retainer ledge 85 when the printer unit 24 is positioned at the upper end 68 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . it has been found that a more secure mounting of the printer unit 24 may be achieved when a corresponding second attachment point becomes farther removed from the mounting groove 84 . a secure mounting is being achieved by an extension 86 of the lower housing shell 33 which extends along the lower face 18 of the housing 14 of the data entry terminal unit 12 to an attachment point 87 at which a hand strap ( not shown ) may typically be fastened . threaded fasteners 88 may be used to fasten the extension 86 to the lower face or underside of the housing 14 at such a point , removed from the retainer ledge by a considerable distance . it has been found that such an offset attachment of the printer unit 24 to the data entry terminal unit 12 provides an acceptably secure attachment for the printer unit . when the printer unit 24 is attached to the data entry terminal unit 12 in the manner described , lower edges 91 of the sloped walls 29 bear against a peripheral edge 92 about the opening 69 in the housing 14 . as a preferred embodiment , a resilient seal , such as an o - ring 93 may be attached or embedded in a recess about the peripheral edge 92 . in this manner , the walls 29 in combination with the divider walls 66 and 67 provide an end cap across the opening 68 to substantially close off the opening 68 from environmental hazards such as water or dust . an inner edge of at least one of the divider walls 66 or 67 may be modified from a straight sealing edge to include at least one recess 95 adapted for routing a cable , such as the flat cable 60 between the two mating edges of the divider walls 66 and 67 . the size of the recess 95 is preferably chosen such that the cross section of the cable routed through the recess 95 fills the recess and functions as a seal of the void formed by the recess 95 . in this manner the integrity of the sealing surface is preserved . the cable 60 preferably includes an excess length which may be collapsed within the space provided between the adapter bracket 74 and the divider walls 66 and 67 . the excess length allows the cable 60 to electrically couple the printer unit 24 to the respective data entry terminal unit 12 while the two units 12 and 24 are still physically separated . during the attachment of the printer 24 to the terminal unit 12 the cable 60 may then be stowed as described . a second recess 95 may be shaped to accept a communication cable for a modem . the main circuit board 36 further shows , for example , a mounted communication socket 96 to which an external communication device , such as a modem ( not shown ) may be connected . when the main circuit board 36 is assembled into the printer cavity as previously described , the socket 96 becomes aligned with a matching opening 97 in the sloping walls 29 . significantly , the opening 97 is located in that portion of the walls 29 which is disposed in the printer cavity 45 and not in the part forming the end cap for sealing off the housing 14 . when the upper housing shell 32 is assembled to the lower housing shell 33 , an uppermost cavity 98 in the printer housing 28 will accept a roll of printer paper 99 , which may be single or multiple ply paper or may be a roll of backing with adhesively mounted labels , such as for bar code label printing . the paper 99 , after being routed through the printer mechanism 26 would exit through a slot 100 disposed in a printer cover 101 . the printer cover 101 is placed and locked over the printer housing 28 after the paper 99 has been inserted into the printer . hooks 102 at one end of the printer cover 101 preferably engage corresponding recesses 103 at an uppermost end of the lower housing shell 33 and an opposite end 104 of the printer cover 101 may be snapped into a recess 105 in the upper housing shell 32 . further in reference to fig2 and in reference to fig3 there is shown a rechargeable battery 106 , such as a nicad battery , which is insertible into a lowermost battery cavity 107 of the lower housing shell 33 to provide the printer unit 24 with a self - contained power source . it has been found that the power requirements for the printer unit 24 may shorten the period between charges of a self - contained power source for the data entry terminal unit 12 in such a manner that the portable printing data entry terminal device 10 as an entirety may not be suitable for extended usage . consequently , the battery is provided as a self - contained power source for the printer unit 24 . the battery is polarized , having , for example , offset terminals 108 and 109 , which would prevent an accidental reversal of the battery with possibly resulting damage to electrical circuits of the printer unit 24 . when the battery 106 is inserted into the cavity 107 , a battery door 110 is applied to confine and retain the battery 106 within the cavity . a preferred manner of fastening the door 110 may be by hooking lower extensions 111 behind a lower edge of an opening to the cavity and fastening the opposite end 112 of the door 110 with a threaded fastener 113 . fig3 more particularly shows the location of the assembled printer mechanism 26 , the main circuit board 36 , and the described battery 106 in the battery cavity 107 below the circuit board 36 . the simplified and partially schematic side elevation of the printer unit 24 also shows the previously described mounting groove 84 and the offset attachment point 87 at the end of the extension 86 of the lower housing shell 33 whereby the attachment of the printer unit 24 to the data entry terminal unit is strengthened . battery terminals 108 and 109 are internally coupled to the main circuit board 36 to power the printer mechanism and as further described with respect to the schematic of fig4 . reference is made to fig4 with respect to the following description of functional elements and interactions between the already described physical elements of the data entry terminal device 10 . the data entry terminal device includes the data entry terminal unit 12 and the printer unit 24 both of which are shown in the diagram by the respective boxes in phantom lines and identified by 12 and 24 , respectively . functionally , the data entry terminal unit 12 comprises a microprocessor function 116 and a peripheral memory card controller function 117 . the microprocessor function may be implemented in a preferred example , for example with a typical commercially available microprocessor , such as an nec upd 70320 device . the peripheral memory card controller 117 may include operational program storage , such as may be implemented by read only memory rom or by random access memory ram and standard communication circuit devices . the memory card controller function is coupled to respective memory boards identified in the diagram as the corresponding memory function block 118 . the memory function may be implemented in the preferred embodiment by commercially available memory extension cards of random access memory or ram . the memory function 118 may include , for example , eight million bytes or eight megabyte of ram . while each of the functions 116 , 117 and 118 are shown as separate functions , the respective circuits interact via multiple power and data lines . in a compact package of electrical circuits , as desirable for hand - held devices such as the data entry terminal unit 12 , one or more typical pin connectors may couple power and data lines which electrically and communicatively link the respective functions into what may be referred to as a control and data processing unit 119 . for example , a power and data link or bus 120 is shown as linking the microprocessor function 116 and the peripheral memory card controller 117 . the link 120 may include in a physical embodiment typical data lines for 8 - bit parallel data communication and respective control lines , rs - 232 standard communication lines ( such communication lines typically are referred to as receive data , transmit data , ready to send , clear to send , data terminal ready and data set ready .) the link 120 may further include control function lines between the microprocessor function 116 and the peripheral memory card controller 117 for controlling direct memory access , in that it may be desired to read from or write data into memory at 118 other than from the microprocessor . such control functions might typically include memory turn on , memory bus enable , direct memory access request and acknowledge , and direct memory read and write . typical power interchange would include a common ground line , and a common power line ( such as a 5 volt supply line ). the referred to functions are combined in the link 120 , which is identified schematically in fig4 as a power and data link 120 by typical bold line representation of a bus . a similar data and power link 121 couples memory 118 with its respective controller 117 . the link may be established via a typical 40 - pin connector or a 40 - contact ribbon connector . besides typical parallel data lines for 8 - bit data communication , address lines , memory control lines and standard power lines , the link 121 may include an analog line for monitoring , for example , an on - board battery which may be present to provide back - up power for maintaining the memory function 118 should power to the control and data processing unit 119 be interrupted . the control and data processing unit 119 may typically be powered by a self - contained power source 122 , which may be , for example , a nicad or other type rechargeable battery , preferably a nominally six ( 6 ) volt power supply . the battery 122 is coupled to the control and data processing unit and typically provides primary power for the operation of the data entry terminal unit 12 . power and data signals are shown as being routed via a power and data links 123 and 124 through the keyboard to the display as indicated by the respective links to the keyboard function 126 and display function 127 . inasmuch as the keyboard function is an electrically passive switch , the functional route through the keyboard function 126 illustrates a preferred simultaneous data display and entry function in response to manually keyed - in data . data flow in the links 123 and 124 is bi - directional , in that commercially available liquid crystal display ( lcd ) units include circuitry not only for writing to the display but also for allowing currently displayed data to be read and verified . the data entry terminal unit 12 may include in one implementation a plurality of spaced contact pads at a lower end thereof . the contact pads are represented in fig4 by a schematic connector representation of a contact block 128 . the connections from the contact block 128 are preferably coupled directly to the control and data processing unit 119 . the power terminals of the contact block 128 may be routed through a charge control circuit and ultimately be coupled to the internal power supply lines of the data entry terminal unit 12 , hence to the battery 122 . an external communication carrier and power supply 129 may consequently be coupled to the contact block 128 to provide data communication with an externally located station ( not shown ) and power to the unit 12 from such external station . the printer unit 24 includes a printer control function 130 which is physically part of the printer main circuit board 36 . the mechanical printer function is represented by the printer mech driver 131 . the printer function is preferably implemented by a commercially available standard printer unit , such as one which is manufactured by epson . however , it is to be understood , that the invention is not limited to any particular type or make of printer , and either dot matrix type impact printers as well as thermal type printers may be used to implement the desired function . the preferred rechargeable battery 106 of the printer unit 24 is shown in the box 107 representing the battery cavity 107 . the battery 106 is shown as being coupled to the printer control function 130 to power both the printer control function and the printer driver 131 . a data and power link 132 from the contact block 128 may include in addition to typical rs - 232 and rs - 485 standard communication lines the referred to external power supply line which may preferably be routed to the described electrical and data interface 71 between the data entry terminal unit 12 and the printer unit 24 . the power supply line is identified at the electrical and data interface by a separate &# 34 ; charge &# 34 ; line 133 . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , a further circuit function relates to power management of power supplied to implement the printer control 130 and printer driver 131 . the particular function is a selective disable function by which the power from the printer battery 106 to the printer mechanism 26 , hence to the printer driver function 131 , may be selectively turned on or turned off , as needed . the advantage of such a function is an extension of the discharge cycle for the battery 106 , allowing the discharge cycle under normal operation of the printer unit 24 to be more equal to the discharge cycle of the battery 122 of the data entry terminal unit 12 . the selective disable function may be implemented in one of a number of ways including by a mechanical switch operated manually by an operator and user of the data entry terminal device 10 . in a preferred mode , the selective disable function is implemented via a switched power signal line 134 . functionally the line 134 is also identified in fig4 by the designation &# 34 ; swv +&# 34 ;. the signal preferably originates from a switched voltage port 135 of the microprocessor 136 associated with the microprocessor function 116 . the port 135 provides a switched logic signal which is shown as being routed via a signal lead 137 to the controller function 117 . as part of the function of the controller 117 and physically preferred on a respective circuit board of the controller 117 , a preferred circuit for converting the logic signal to a power signal is described . if the microprocessor function 116 and the controller function 117 are physically disposed on separate circuit boards , each of the boards may include a resistor 138 coupling the signal lead 137 to ground to ensure that a positive voltage signal may be quickly switched to ground to implement the disable function . a preferred value for the resistor 138 may be a 200 k ohm , 0 . 125 watt , 1 % resistor . noise protection may be provided , such as by a series resistor 139 and a capacitor 140 coupled to ground . preferred values may be 475 ohm , 0 . 125 watt , 1 % tolerance for the resistor 139 and 1000 pf , 50 volts for the capacitor 140 . the noise protection is supplied at a gate 141 of an n - channel field effect transistor ( fet ) 142 . the transistor 142 is the initial switch which isolates the logic signal from the power signal in converting the logical signal from the microprocessor 136 to the power signal . the switched signal from the transistor 142 is further amplified by switching a p - n - p transistor 143 into conductance . the gate of the transistor 143 is coupled through the drain - to - source switch of the transistor 142 to ground . a five volt source is provided to the base of the transistor 143 through a typical pull - down resistor 144 , preferably a 10 k ohm resistor , to ensure proper switching . base current through the transistor is limited by a 1 k ohm resistor 145 . the transistor 143 provides a switched 5 volt power signal which is current limited through a preferred resistance network of two 17 . 4 ohm , 0 . 125 watt , resistors 146 which are coupled in parallel . a typical surge protector 147 protects against positive or negative going overvoltages beyond a preferred 12 volt limit with respect to ground ( gnd ). the control signal ( swv +) is then applied via the interface 71 to the printer control 130 of the printer unit 24 . it should be understood that the described switch is but one example which may be employed for converting the logical signal into a power signal contemplates a switching signal with limited power drain on the battery 122 . depending on implementation of other peripheral devices , modifications may be made to the described switch . also , other switching arrangements may be implemented for providing power to control battery usage of the battery 106 of the printer unit 24 . the electrical and data interface 71 couple a data and control links 148 representing rs - 232 standard signal and control lines . in addition , and shown separately , ground ( gnd ) and the switched voltage ( swv +) lines , 149 and 134 respectively , are coupled between the data entry terminal unit 12 and the printer unit 24 . common ground connections between the two units allow the switched voltage signal ( swv +) to execute control signals within the printer unit 24 lo and peripherals as herein contemplated . a data and control link 150 may couple a further external data input via the connector 42 through the printer control 130 and the interface 71 to the control and data processing unit 119 . the printer control 130 includes a voltage regulator circuit 151 including a power switch 152 , a typical voltage sensing circuit 153 comprised of a voltage divider 154 and a transistor 155 . the transistor 155 varies in its conductance according to the voltage ( vmech ) sensed and varies the saturation of a control transistor 156 which in turn controls the conductance of the power switch 152 . the power switch 152 may be rendered non - conductive , hence may be turned off selectively by the control signal swv + going to ground . when swv + turns off the control transistor 156 , the base voltage of the power switch 152 goes to v +, the voltage of the battery 106 , and the power switch for vmech , the power voltage for the printer driver 131 , is turned off . in the depicted application of the described function , the switch 152 may be a typical p - n - p transistor , r1 a pull down resistor , typically 1 k ohms , r2 being a base current limiting resistor , typically 75 ohms . the control switch and voltage control may be implemented as shown with the primary control n - p - n transistor 156 being coupled between the base of the switch 152 and ground . the switched voltage signal ( swv +) is applied to the base of the transistor 156 through r3 , typically 330 ohm . the base current of the control transistor 156 is further modulated by the n - p - n transistor 155 which couples the base of the transistor 156 to ground when fully turned on . the conductance of the transistor 155 is controlled be the voltage divider type resistor network comprised of r4 , typically 1 . 2 k ohms , coupled between the switched output line of vmech and the base node 154 of the transistor 155 , and the parallel network of r5 , typically 220 ohms and r6 , typically 1 . 2 k ohms , coupled between the node 154 and ground . a filtering capacitor c1 , typically 470 microfarads , is preferred between the switched voltage vmech and ground . the above describes a representative control network . it should be understood that other type control networks and other methods of switching the printer driver voltage vmech by means of the control signal originated from the data entry terminal unit 12 without departing from the scope of the invention . in one embodiment of the invention , the power signal vmech may be applied to both the printer control function 130 and from there to the printer driver 131 . in such an arrangement the printer battery 106 provides the power for both the printer logic and control function and the mechanical printer driver function . in an embodiment in which a voltage control requirement for the mechanical printer driver is less stringent than for the printer control function 130 itself , the printer control function being controlled by a microprocessor 160 , for example , it may be preferred to divide the control signal swv +, such as at 161 , and apply the control signal via 162 to a port of the microprocessor 160 as well as to the voltage regulator circuit 151 . in this latter embodiment , the vmech signal would merely be routed via the printer control 130 and hence the printer main circuit board 36 to the driver function 131 of the printer mechanism 26 as shown in fig2 . the main circuit board 36 or its functional equivalent , the printer control 130 in fig4 also serves as a mere conduit to route data communication and power conductors 148 , 150 between the interface 71 and external conductor terminals ( con ) of connectors 41 , 42 as already described with respect to fig2 . the d - sub connector 41 , a fifteen pin connector is intended to provide a standard rs - 232 interface . power terminals configured in the connector 41 may also couple external power to the printer unit 24 . in addition it may be desirable to route the control signal to a pin termination on the connector 41 . external power conductor 166 may be coupled to the charge line 133 to allow both the battery 122 of the data entry terminal unit 12 and the battery 106 of the printer unit 24 to be charged . hence an external power source and communication carrier 167 may be coupled to the printing data entry terminal 10 via the connector 41 . a bar code reader 168 , which may be a laser scanner or other type of data reader , may be coupled to the connector 42 . a signal input through the connector 42 would likewise merely be routed via link 150 through the printer control 130 and the interface 71 directly to the control and data processing unit 119 . the link 150 may include power for the reader 168 , and in implementing means to preserve power as with the printer unit 24 , it may be desirable to provide switched power by routing the swv + function through the link 150 to the connector 42 . a modem 170 , which may be housed in the data entry terminal unit may have a special , outgoing communication line 171 , typically a two - wire telephone type line , which remains isolated from other circuit connectors and is coupled directly into the modem connector socket 96 . the connector socket 96 may then be coupled to a respective communications carrier 174 as shown in fig4 . various changes and modifications in the structure of the described embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims . | 6 |
reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention , examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . in the following description , well - known functions or constructions will not be described in detail . according to the present invention , ett sections are generally identified by a section header through a table_id_extension . namely , an event_id is input into the table_id_extension to represent a corresponding event . thus , a general section filtering method can be used to process only the section ( s ) necessary at a receiver . a method for identifying etts of an epg in a dtv according to the present invention will next be described in detail , where table 1 below shows the syntax types of table sections used in the psip . the present invention distinguishes and identifies the ett sections by inserting an event_id into a table_id_extension , where the table_id_extention is commonly used in ett header sections with a fixed value of 0x00 . particularly , a table_id_extension is composed of 16 bits and according to the present invention , 14 bits of the 16 bits represent an event_id and residual 2 bits remain . one of the residual 2 bits may be used for identifying whether a value of an etm_location is 0x01 or 0x02 , and the other residual bit may be used for identifying whether the ett section is related to channels or to events . for example , an etm_location value of 0x01 may indicate that the ett is transmitted from the same channel as the eit . in such case , an etm_location value of 0x02 would indicate that the ett is transmitted from a channel actually being broadcasted . accordingly , whether an ett section is related to channels , which are currently being transmitted , or related to events can be determined by values of 0x01 or 0x02 represented in the table_id_extension . also , the other bit contains information on whether an ett section has detailed information on channels or on events , and can be distinguished through the ett section header . for example , a table_id_extension may be composed as shown in table 2 below . by inputting a value , which can distinguish and identify an ett section , into the table_id_extension as shown in table 2 , a section filtering can be executed and thus , required ett section ( s ) can be selectively received . for example , if an event_id requires detailed information on events represented in ‘ 00 0000 0000 1111 ,’ the event_id selectively receives ett section ( s ) having a table_id of 0xcc and table_id - extension having values corresponding to ‘ 00 0000 0000 1111 .’ referring to fig3 , in processing an ett according to the present invention , an ett section filter is initially set ( s 10 ). the ett section - outs are then detected ( s 20 ), and pertinent ett section ( s ) is ( are ) filtered and detected ( s 30 ) using the event_id inserted in the table_id_extension of the ett sections . next , the detected ett section ( s ) is ( are ) parsed ( s 40 ) and the parsed section ( s ) is ( are ) stored as a text message ( s 50 ). accordingly , in the present invention , an ett of epg is generated by inserting an event_id in a table_id_extension of each ett section header to identifies an event to which an ett section corresponds . also , an etm_location value may be inserted in the table_id_extension to distinguish whether an ett section is transmitted from the same channel as eit , and / or a value may be inserted in the table_id_extension to distinguish whether detailed information in an ett section is for channels or for events . similarly , a method for identifying etts of an epg comprises inserting an event_id in a table_id_extension of each ett sections before transmitting the ett sections to a receiver ; and section filtering , at the receiver , the received ett sections based upon the event_id to identify an ett section . namely , an ett section can be identified by setting an ett section filter ; detecting ett section - outs ; section filtering and detecting at least one pertinent ett section using the event_id in the table_id_extension of each ett sections ; parsing the detected at least one ett section ; and storing each parsed ett section as a text message . furthermore , if the table_id_extension is available for section identification , a version processing according to the section can be performed . specifically , when contents of a section changes , a version_number is accordingly altered to represent the change . as a result , a transmitter can determine which ett section is to be transmitted with changed contents by referring to a section header , and can produce and use a section filter . thus , if the contents of a section among the ett sections are changed , a transmitter can change the version of section ( s ) for section ( s ) with changed contents because the sections are distinguishable . similarly , a receiver can filter and receive the section ( s ) with values corresponding to the changed version . namely , ett sections can be filtered at the receiver by detecting ett sections with values corresponding to a specific version . as described above , a method for identifying etts of an epg in a dtv according to the present invention has the following advantages . first , the method can filter ett sections without receiving all sections and / or repeatedly filtering the unnecessary sections . second , the method may use a value which can identify each ett section and allow a control of the version . third , the method maintains an existing section header while employs a table_id_extension field of 0x00 , i . e . the same value as in the section header , thereby being compatible with existing receivers . the foregoing embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention . the present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses . the description of the present invention is intended to be illustrative , and not to limit the scope of the claims . many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 6 |
referring to fig1 the major components of the recovery and reclamation closed loop system 10 generally include a vacuum chamber 12 which is connected to a vacuum pump 18 through pipe or tube 32 , valve 113 and tube 20 to remove the gaseous contents of chamber 12 or directly to gas / liquid separator 34 through valve 111 in tube 33 . valves 23 and 24 are connected to the pump 18 through tube 22 to isolate the chamber 12 and enable the discharge from the vacuum pump 18 to be selectively discharged to atmosphere through valve 24 in tube 26 or to the closed loop system through valve 23 in tube 28 to tube 25 . the gas chamber 38 of receiver 34 is connected to a low pressure accumulator 54 through tube 25 and valve 52 . the solvent liquid in liquid receiver 36 is discharged to a solvent reclamation reservoir 48 through valve 45 in tube 46 . gas in accumulator 54 is released by instrumentation 58 to a gas compressor 60 through tube 56 . pressurized gas passes through tube 64 to compressor after cooler 66 which is connected to stripper 68 by tube 64 . a chiller 74 is connected to heat exchanger 72 by tubes 76 and 78 to maintain a low temperature in heat exchanger 72 . condensed , recovered solvent from stripper 68 is returned to the liquid receiver 36 through tube 80 , valve 82 and tube 84 . high pressure gas from stripper 68 passes through tube 86 to receiver 88 . high pressure gas may be vented through pressure reducing valve 102 to atmosphere or to a carbon adsorber . gas from receiver 88 passes through tube 92 and pressure reducing valve 94 to a gas heater 96 and control valve 14 . the gas is heated in gas heater 96 by a heat exchanger 100 connected to a heat source 98 . solvent from recovery system 48 or solvent gas from heater 96 can be selectively admitted to chamber 12 by means of control valve 14 . the present invention uses the above recovery and reclamation system in a number of related processes as described herein . only minimal modification is necessary to accommodate the physical characteristics of the various solvents or treatment processes . the basic vtv ( vacuum to vacuum ) system as described above operates as follows . an item to be processed is placed in chamber 12 . the chamber is sealed . chamber 12 is isolated from the rest of the system by solenoid valves 188 , 190 , 101 , 103 , 111 and 113 . valves 113 and 24 are opened and vacuum pump 18 is activated . the gaseous contents of the chamber are withdrawn and discharged via port 26 , either to atmosphere or to a recovery means such as a carbon adsorber or solvent vapor incinerator . once the air in chamber 12 has been removed , valves 113 and 24 are closed and the vacuum pump 18 is turned off . valve 101 is opened to gas liquid separator 34 to break the vacuum in the chamber with gas , containing some fraction of solvent vapor , from within the closed loop system 10 . an alternative method to break the vacuum is to admit liquid solvent via valve 188 into chamber 12 . the admitted liquid will flash to vapor , filling chamber 12 with solvent vapor with only a small fraction of noncondensable gas in it . the benefit of the latter process will be seen below . solvent for processing is supplied , under pressure from solvent supply system 48 . the solvent supply system can take many forms depending on the solvent used and process requirements . its function is to receive used solvent and to supply fresh solvent of required purity at the required pressure and volume . it may or may not recycle ( purify ) the used solvent . solvent under pressure is admitted to chamber 12 by opening valve 188 . the solvent is flushed over the item to be treated in chamber 12 and is drained to the liquid / gas separator 34 through valve 111 . liquid flows by gravity to liquid receiver 36 while solvent vapor or gas rises into gas well 38 . when liquid receiver 36 is full , instrumentation 42 opens valve 45 . pump 44 returns liquid solvent to the solvent supply system 48 where it may be processed for reuse . when instrumentation 50 senses pressure in gas well 38 , valve 52 is opened , admitting gas to low pressure gas accumulator 54 . compressor 60 starts . the discharge from compressor 60 is cooled by intercooler 66 before it enters stripper 68 . most of the solvent vapor entering stripper 68 is condensed into liquid form on the cold surface of heat exchanger 72 which , in turn , is kept at low temperature by chiller 74 . the stripped , or solvent dehumidified gas leaving stripper 68 accumulates in high pressure gas receiver 88 . at the end of the cycle , most of the gas in the system has been compressed and stored in high pressure accumulator 88 . any excess pressure above set point of pressure relieving valve 102 , due to ingested air and the resultant increase effect thereof on maximum system pressure , is vented through valve 102 to atmosphere or through a carbon adsorber or solvent incinerator ( not shown ). 1 ) gases are evacuated from chamber 12 and discharged to atmosphere . 2 ) the item to be treated is exposed to solvent through valve 188 . 3 ) dry air from the closed loop system is blown through valve 190 through chamber 12 to remove as much solvent in liquid form as possible . 4 ) heated dry air is circulated through chamber 12 to warm and evaporate the remaining solvent . 5 ) chamber 12 is evacuated and its contents discharged within the closed , solvent recovery loop 10 . an intermediate vacuum step to improve drying may be bypassed in some processes where a single evacuation will suffice . 6 ) chamber 12 is evacuated by vacuum pump 18 and discharged within the closed , solvent recovery loop . during the purging and drying steps , air from high pressure receiver 88 is conducted through pressure control valve 94 into air heater 96 , through valve 190 into chamber 12 . the gas circulates sequentially in the closed loop from chamber 12 to gas / liquid separator 34 , compressor 60 , stripper 68 , heater 96 and back to chamber 12 for as long as the process requires . after the drying step is complete , chamber 12 is isolated once again by closing valves 188 , 190 , 101 , 103 , 111 and 113 . valves 113 and 23 are then opened and vacuum pump 18 is started . the contents of chamber 12 are evacuated and , since the gas contains solvent vapor , are discharged within the closed loop system . the vacuum in chamber 12 is broken with room air by opening valve 103 . chamber 12 may then be opened and the processed item removed . at an appropriate time in the cycle , valve 82 is opened to allow recovered , condensed liquid solvent in stripper 68 to flow through tube 80 to liquid receiver 36 . in the following processes various applications of the closed loop vacuum - to - vacuum process are described wherein the recovery and reclamation closed loop system will remain as described above . performance and reliability of printed wiring assemblies depends on the level of cleanliness achieved . while no - clean , water and semi - aqueous processes are adequate for many printed wiring assemblies , the more advanced assemblies , with close conductor spacing , require higher cleanliness . solvents such as cfc - 113 , methyl chloroform , as well as flammable solvents such as methyl , ethyl or isopropyl alcohol or hydrocarbons , may be used . chlorodifluoromethane ( a / k / a r - 22 ) has been chosen for purposes of exemplifying the capabilities of the system . the term &# 34 ; s - 22 &# 34 ; is used to indicate the use of chlorodifluoromethane as a solvent . a defluxing process using the s - 22 solvent for cleaning printed wiring assemblies as described herein includes flushing or spraying the assemblies , followed by a recirculation flush or spray if needed and a fresh solvent rinse . immersion with or without ultrasonic ( u / s ) agitation followed by flush or spray or other processes can also be used to clean the assemblies . referring to fig2 a system is shown for solvent cleaning of one or more printed wiring assemblies 100 with a solvent that is gaseous at room conditions . the chamber 12 is shown with a number of printed wiring assemblies 100 placed in a spaced relation in basket 104 . a solvent supply system 105 is connected to the gas liquid separator 34 , through a tube 106 and a valve 47 . the liquid flows through tube 106 , valve 47 and port 110 into the solvent supply system 109 . the purpose of the solvent supply system 109 is to maintain a supply of fresh , liquid solvent to solvent reservoir 108 according to the overall needs of the process . a pump 112 is used to draw liquid from receiver 108 through a tube 114 which is connected to pressure relief valve 116 . pressure in tube 114 in excess of set point of pressure relief valve 116 is vented back to the liquid receiver 108 through line 118 . the liquid s - 22 is thus maintained at a constant , preset pressure at valve 116 . in order to achieve the proper temperature and pressure for this process , a solvent heat exchanger 120 is provided in tube 114 . the heat exchanger 120 is heated from a heat source 122 . the wall temperature of chamber 12 is controlled by heaters 124 and 126 . to clean the printed wiring assemblies 100 , the chamber 12 is sealed and evacuated by vacuum pump 18 through valve 113 in line 20 . since pressure is required in chamber 12 when using s - 22 in liquid form , the vacuum in chamber 12 is broken with liquid solvent by opening valve 188 . liquid s - 22 , under pressure generated in the solvent supply system 105 , is admitted to chamber 12 through valve 188 . after the vacuum in chamber 12 is broken , solvent continues to enter the chamber through valve 188 , until the pressure reaches the saturation pressure of the s - 22 for the temperature in chamber 12 . liquid s - 22 entering chamber 12 will not flash to vapor but will remain liquid . in order to achieve the described combination of temperature and pressure for this step in chamber 12 , the solvent may be heated in heat exchanger 120 . the temperature within the chamber 12 is controlled by heaters 124 and 126 . after the treatment process has been completed , valves 111 and 47 are opened to conduct liquid solvent from the chamber to the solvent supply system 109 through tube 32 , valve 111 , separator 34 , tube 106 , valve 47 and port 110 . when all liquid has been recovered valve 47 is closed . pressure in the chamber 12 is then reduced to approximately room pressure . valve 190 is opened and gas in closed loop 10 is circulated , as described in fig1 to dry the parts and recover solvent in the stripper 68 . recovered liquid in stripper 68 is returned to solvent supply system 109 by pump 140 through check valve 142 and tube 144 to port 110 . the pressure is relieved by opening valve 111 to gas liquid separator 34 . any solvent gas is reclaimed through the closed loop system 10 as shown in fig1 . the pump 112 draws liquid s - 22 from receiver 108 and is supplied to pressure accumulator 65 . if the pressure in tube 114 downstream from pump 112 exceeds the set point of pressure relieving valve 116 , the liquid is vented back to the receiver 108 . for flushing or spraying processes , solvent s - 22 is passed through spray nozzles 128 strategically positioned relative to the printed wiring assemblies 100 . when using s - 22 , the chamber 12 , gas liquid separator 34 and solvent reclamation system 105 must be built to contain the pressure of s - 22 at process temperatures . that pressure would be 121 , 168 or 260 psig at 70 °, 90 ° or 120 ° f ., respectively . for a recirculating spray followed by fresh rinse , solvent is admitted through valve 188 and the spray heads 128 until a preset volume of liquid s - 22 accumulates in the well 130 at the bottom of chamber 12 . valve 188 is closed and pump 132 in line 134 circulates liquid s - 22 through one - way valve 136 back to the spray nozzles 128 in chamber 12 . recirculation is continued as long as required . if an ultrasonic process is used , chamber 12 is provided with ultrasonic vibrators 140 on the walls of chamber 12 . the chamber 12 is filled with liquid s - 22 to a level above the printed wiring assemblies 100 . the control of temperature and pressure for the ultrasonic process is more critical than for other processes . assuming a given , controlled temperature , pressure may be varied to control the degree of cavitation , thus the severity of the cleaning action of a constant ultrasonic signal . following the ultrasonic step , chamber 12 is drained through valve 111 to liquid separator 34 . it should be noted that the apparatus described will reduce solvent emissions from currently practiced printed wiring assembly cleaning processes . a wider range of solvents may be used since the system is no longer restricted to an atmospheric pressure treatment vessel . referring to fig3 a system is shown for using more than one treatment fluid in the cleaning process . in the case of an electromechanical device such as a typewriter , mechanical clock , or mechanical printer , these devices require periodic cleaning and relubrication to maintain consistent performance . in this type of a cleaning process , chamber 12 is provided with a number of spray nozzles 141 mounted on a manifold 147 at the top of the chamber 12 . the mechanical device 149 is placed in the chamber and is initially cleaned with a solvent as described above . after cleaning and drying is complete , a solvent / lubricant solution is pumped from a receiver 145 by a pump 132 through line 134 and check valve 136 . a spray manifold 143 , separate from the cleaning spray manifold 147 , is used to direct the solvent / lubricant solution to the desired locations of the item to be cleaned . in some instances , it may be necessary to fill the chamber 12 to allow the solvent / lubricant to flow into the interstices of mechanical device 149 . the solvent / lubricant solution is then drained back to receiver 145 through valve 146 in line 135 . a final rinse to cleanse the exterior surface of the lubricant may be used . the nodal drying and final evacuation steps follow . lubricant is carried into the bearing surfaces and left there as the carrier solvent is evaporated in the drying steps . lubricants are available that are insoluble in common solvents . these may be used to prevent removal during the cleaning step . referring to fig4 and 5 a system is shown for laundering or dry cleaning clothes . the chamber 12 as shown includes a rotary tub 160 mounted on shaft 162 in chamber 12 . the tube 160 is supported by bearings 164 and rotated by drive mechanism 166 . the drive mechanism may be any conventional motor , gear motor , hydraulic motor , etc . for turning the tub 160 at a desired speed for washing and drying and at a higher speed for centrifugal extraction . the top of chamber 12 is provided with a liquid distributor spray system 165 to distribute solvent through the perforations 170 in the outer surface of the tub 160 . chamber 12 includes a drain 172 which is in fluid communication with a circulating pump 174 which draws solvent from the bottom of chamber 12 and recirculates it through check valve 176 to spray system 165 . heat exchangers 178 and heat source 180 control the temperature of the entering solvent and thus control pressure in chamber 12 . spacer blocks 182 and 184 are used to reduce the interior volume of chamber 12 , thus controlling the charge of liquid in chamber 12 . in operation the door 186 is opened and the clothes to be treated are placed in tub 160 . door 186 is closed and sealed , as described above . chamber 12 is evacuated and its contents discharged to atmosphere . vacuum in tub 160 is broken by opening solenoid valve 188 to allow solvent to enter the chamber . the temperature of incoming solvent is controlled by heat exchanger 178 . maintaining solvent temperature such that the chamber pressure is close to ambient will reduce the effect of any leaks although solvents that are gaseous at room conditions may be used as described in fig2 above . drive system 166 turns tub 160 , tumbling the clothes . chamber 12 is allowed to fill with liquid to the desired level . pump 174 recirculates the charge of solvents during the washing step . after washing the solvent charge is drained through valve 111 to the gas liquid separator 34 . a clean solvent rinse may be used . drive system 166 then turns tub 160 at a higher speed to centrifugally extract as much liquid solvent as possible . valves 111 and 52 remain open during the drying step . valve 190 opens admitting warm dry solvent dehumidified air from the closed loop system 10 to chamber 12 . the air passes through tub 160 and the tumbling clothes . the heat provides energy to evaporate the remaining liquid solvent . solvent vapor is carried by the air in the closed loop 10 to the stripper 68 for condensation and reclamation as described above . after the liquid solvent has been evaporated and the clothes are dry , chamber 12 is once again isolated from the rest of closed loop 10 by closing valves 188 , 190 , 111 , 103 and 101 . valves 113 and 23 are opened and chamber 12 is evacuated by vacuum pump 18 , fig1 discharging through valves 23 into tube 25 in closed loop system 10 . vacuum in the chamber 12 is broken by admitting air through valve 103 . the chamber 12 may then be opened to remove the cleaned clothes . the solvent emissions control system as shown in fig6 is a variation of the base system , fig1 . pressure blower 192 replaces compressor 60 and after cooler 66 . the blower may be a regenerative blower , with shaft seal , of the eg & amp ; g rotron degenerative blower model dr - 404 type . the blower 192 provides the pressure needed to recirculate air through a gas exiting heater 96 , chamber 12 , gas liquid separator 38 and stripper 68 which is placed downstream of heater 96 to more effectively circulate air in the system . gas entering stripper 68 is of higher volume than gas exiting heater 96 . the amount of air circulating is nearly constant , however the gas volume leaving chamber 12 has been augmented by solvent vapor picked up in the cleaning process within chamber 12 . most of the solvent is condensed in stripper 68 , leaving only air with a small fraction of solvent vapor going on to blower 192 . the higher gas flow rates speed drying . the volume of gas within the system will vary depending on the amount of solvent vapor present . an accumulator 200 in the form of a bladder or slack sided accumulator allows containment of the extra volume without increased system pressure . instrumentation 201 such as a light beam or contact device senses bladder 200 size . when the upper limit of bladder 200 size is reached valve 202 is opened for a predetermined time venting gas from the system . the gas vented through valve 202 contains the lowest concentration of solvent in the system , therefore minimizing solvent loss due to air ingestion and subsequent venting of that air . as before , after drying is complete chamber 12 is sealed by closing valves 101 , 103 , 111 , 113 , 188 and 190 . valve 113 is opened and vacuum pump 18 evacuates chamber 12 discharging air / solvent vapor mixture through valve 23 to tube 25 in the closed loop system 10 . it is mentioned above that several intermediate vacuums followed by heated air circulation enhances the speed and completeness of the solvent removal . a variety of solvent handling strategies to enhance cleaning on one hand and reduce solvent reclamation volume on the other hand may be used . one may treat the solvent with a filter adsorber or distiller for each batch of clothes to get the ultimate in cleanliness . the basic charge for the washing step may be retained so that it can be used over until its soil content reaches some limit . the washing charge may be diluted in each cycle with a rinse charge to maintain soil level in the washing charge at some more or less constant . water removal from a metal , plastic or glass component following a water process poses several problems . evaporative drying both uses significant amounts of energy and leaves a residue from water droplets deposited on the surface of the item . water displacement , i . e . the floating of water droplets from the surface and water adsorption processes have been commercialized by others . displacement processes use alcohol adsorption or freon ™ t - dfc solvent , a cfc - 113 base solvent / detergent mixture , to displace water and remove it from the surface of the item being dried . the detergent then is removed by a solvent cleaning step . the cleaning solvent evaporates spot - free . in the adsorption process an alcohol such as methyl , ethyl or isopropyl alcohol which has the capacity to adsorb water , up to the saturation limit of the alcohol , is flushed over the part to be dried . most often a nonflammable solvent such as cfc - 113 is used in combination with the alcohol to keep the resultant mixture nonflammable . referring to fig7 a displacement drying system using two solvent solutions is shown . in this system gas / liquid separator 34 is connected to two liquid supply systems , one for the solvent / detergent solution 204 and the other for the clean solvent 206 . product is introduced into chamber 12 using the vacuum steps described above . during the dewatering step solvent - detergent solution is drawn from reservoir 202b by pump 204b and enters chamber 12 through tube 43b and valve 30b . water is displaced and is carried from chamber 12 with the solution . liquid solution is returned to solvent supply system 48b through valve 33b and pump 44b . solvent supply system 48b provides solution of proper composition to reservoir 202b through check valve 200b . vaporized solvent is recovered in closed loop 10 as described above . that solvent is distilled solvent free of detergent and may be returned to the solvent reservoir 202a through valve 33a , pump 44a , supply system 48a and check valve 200b . after all liquid solution has been drained from gas - liquid separator 34 the part is flushed by admitting fresh solvent from reservoir 202a via pump 204a , tube 43a and valve 30a into chamber 12 . solvent liquid is returned to the solvent supply system where the detergent is removed and the solvent is purified to the extent required . after the dewatering and detergent removal steps the item being processed is dried and removed by the evacuation process described above . cross contamination of detergent into cleaning solvent may be reduced by providing a short rinse of clean solvent from tank 202b through valve 30b and diverting the rinse effluent into the drying agent tank 202a . the option of directing recovered solvent from stripper 68 through valve 82 to either the drying agent tank 202a or the solvent tank 202b is based on the contamination level of detergent in the return solvent . thus , it should be apparent that there has been provided in accordance with the present invention a solvent recovery and reclamation system that fully satisfies the objectives and advantages set forth above . although the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
the method of this invention is practiced in accordance with the teachings in u . s . patent application ser . no . 865 , 963 filed on dec . 30 , 1977 , and entitled &# 34 ; isotope separation process ,&# 34 ; which is incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth herein . in accordance with the present invention the co 2 laser is operated at a higher power density than in the above - mentioned patent application , with the unexpected result that a greater photon efficiency is obtained . in other words , it has been found that a higher power density a molecule will require fewer photons to dissociate . the uranyl ion - containing molecules which are irradiated in accordance with this invention will have a general formula uo 2 aa &# 39 ;. l , including such compounds as set forth in pending patent application ser . no . 961 , 363 filed on nov . 16 , 1978 in the names of messrs . hall , kaldor , kramer and dines , which application is incorporated herein by reference thereto as though fully set forth herein . in particular , these compounds uo 2 aa &# 39 ;. l are such that a and a &# 39 ; are anions , and preferably they are highly fluorinated anions , such as ( cf 3 co ) 2 ch - . in any event , the anions a and a &# 39 ;, which are preferably the same anions , have a total net charge of - 2 so that a neutral complex is formed . furthermore , these compounds include anions and / or ligands ( l ) which occupy all of the available sites in the first coordination shell of the uranyl ion in order to minimize the intermolecular electrostatic attraction between one uranyl ion and the anions or ligands surrounding another uranyl ion . as for the anions themselves , they may be monodentate or polydentate , and those which are polydentate will form a chelation ring around a portion of the uranyl ion . preferable anions for use in connection with the compounds of the present invention will thus include , in addition to the hexafluoracetylacetonate anion discussed above , trifluoroacetylacetonate ( cf 3 ochcoch 3 ), 3 - trifluoromethyl - 1 , 1 , 1 , 5 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoroacetylacetonate (( cf 3 co ) 2 ccf 3 ), 3 - trifluoroacetyl - 1 , 1 , 1 , 5 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoro - 2 , 4 - pentanedionate (( cf 3 co ) 3 c ), 3 - fluoro - 1 , 1 , 1 , 5 , 5 , 5 - hexafluoroacetylacetonate ( cf 3 co ) 2 cf ), 1 , 1 , 1 , 2 , 2 , 3 , 3 , 7 , 7 , 7 - decafluoro - 4 , 6 - heptanedionate ( cf 3 cochcoc 3 f 7 ), as well as fluorinated tropolonates , such as ## str1 ## as for the neutral ligands l of the uranyl ion - containing compound for use herein , preferred such neutral ligands include , in addition to the tetrahydrofuran discussed above , isopropanol , ethanol , isobutanol , tert - butanol , ethyl acetate , n - propanol , methanol , acetone , dimethylformanide , trimethylphosphate , pyridine , cyclopentanone , dimethylsulfoxide , acrylonitrile , acetonitrile , tetrahydrothiophene , ethyl ether , and 1 , 4 dioxane . referring now to the sole figure , which shows data for uo 2 ( hfacac ) 2 . tmp , the fluence required to dissociate such a molecule is constant up to a certain incident power density . it is shown in the figure , however , that above that power density the photon efficiency unexpectedly increases with a resultant decrease in the number of photons required to produce a given yield . each of the three curves shown in the figure are constant yield curves . that is , the lower curves are the points which result in a 10 % dissociation yield ; the middle curve are the points that result in a 20 % dissociation yield ; and the upper curve are the points that result in a 33 % dissociation yield of the uo 2 ( hfacac ) 2 . tmp . thus , up to approximately 90 kw / cm 2 the dissociation yield is not power dependent . above that value a rapid fall - off occurs , and above 120 kw / cm 2 it is apparent that substantially greater photon efficiency is achieved . thus , it is clear from the figure that if the method as set forth in the above - mentioned patent application were practiced in accordance with the parameters to the right of 120 kw / cm 2 as shown in the figure , an improved photon efficiency will result , so that an improved isotope separation process results . the measurements which resulted in the data shown in the sole figure employed a co 2 laser on the p ( 8 ) transition where the absorption cross - section for uo 2 ( hfacac ). tmp is 4 × 10 - 18 cm 2 . when either a different molecule is employed , and / or a different laser transition is employed , such that the absorption cross - section is different , the power density above which the improved results occurs is modified by that factor . thus , in accordance with this invention the power density should be 120 kw / cm 2 times the absorption cross - section of the molecule being employed at the frequency of the radiation divided by 4 × 10 - 18 cm 2 . it should of course be understood that the pulse width of the radiation will necessarily be decreased as the power density is increased in order to maintain the desired yield . thus , if the maximum power density is increased without decreasing the time of radiation , the yield will increase and eventually destroy the selectivity . while this invention has been described with respect to a particular embodiment hereof , it should of course be understood that numerous modifications can be developed without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . in particular , any compound of the formula uo 2 aa &# 39 ;. l as set forth above will behave in accordance with the same principles as set forth herein . it is also further believed that other large molecules will show the same power dependence discussed above , but that in all likelihood the power density at which the improved yield will occur will be different for different molecules . | 1 |
there is provided herein an improvement in a method for decreasing iron salt contamination in an ngl stream in which an ngl stream containing solid , iron salt contaminants and an aqueous wash stream are merged and contacted in an electrostatic precipitator thereby removing particulate solids of iron salts from the ngl stream and in which the aqueous wash stream is filtered to remove particulate solids and at least a portion thereof is recycled as at least a part of the aqueous wash stream . the improvement is maintaining the aqueous wash stream at a ph in a range to minimize the solubility of iron salts in the water thereby decreasing the amount of iron salts dissolved in water entrained in the ngl effluent of the electrostatic precipitator . it should be noted that even though this invention is described in terms of iron salts , the most common solid contaminant for ngl streams , it is applicable to any compound the presence of which in solution can be prevented by raising the ph of the aqueous wash stream to the level of being basic . any material that can be used to increase the basicity of the aqueous wash stream , that does not interfere with the further treatment of the ngl , is suitable for employment in this invention . this includes compounds of the alkali metals and the alkaline earth metals . the preferred additives are chosen from , but not limited to , the alcohol amines , particularly the ethanolamines such as ethanolamine , diethanolamine , triethanolamine . currently most preferred is ethanolamine because of its availability and ease of use in such a system . the ph can be raised to any level of basicity , i . e . a level greater than 7 . 0 , preferably from greater than 7 . 0 to 13 . 0 , more preferably from greater than 7 . 0 to 11 . 0 . it can be seen that the amount of additive needed will depend on the volume of water treated and the ph of the water to be treated . the additive employed for increasing the ph of the aqueous wash stream is added either to the aqueous stream from which iron salt solids have been removed in the electrostatic precipitator , the fresh water supply or the aqueous wash stream after the fresh water supply and the aqueous stream from which iron salt solids have been removed have been merged . the ph of the process is monitored by sampling the aqueous wash stream after the fresh water supply and the aqueous stream from which iron salt solids have been removed have been merged . the ph of the aqueous wash stream is adjusted in accordance therewith . the operability of the invention was tested by obtaining samples of the aqueous effluent from an electrostatic precipitator operating to treat an ngl stream by the process of this invention as described above but without the improvement set out herein . a bottle of the sampled water was poured into a flask and tested for ph using litmus paper . the ph was 6 . a dilute ethanolamine solution prepared by adding 0 . 80 gm of ethanolamine to deionized water and having a ph of 12 ( by litmus paper ) was added to 74 . 7 gm of the sampled water in an amount of 0 . 8 gm . the solution turned black but appeared clear . the ethanolamine solution was added to the treated sampled water for a total amount of 0 . 91 gm . some solids became visible . the ethanolamine solution was again added to the twice treated sample water to a total amount of 4 . 63 gm . the particles became larger but remained in suspension . the ph of the sampled water was 11 ( by litmus paper ). the process was repeated three times with the same results . the particles were allowed to settle in the treated water and a clear liquid was decanted leaving a small amount of solids in the sampled water flask . the addition of the ethanolamine caused a precipitate to form in the sampled water showing that the sampled water treated to raise the ph value did not retain material dissolved therein . the invention thus being described , it will be obvious that the invention can be varied in many ways . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 8 |
number 1 in fig1 indicates as a whole a device for quality controlling a “ rigid ” packet 2 of cigarettes ( fig3 ). packet 2 comprises a cup - shaped body 3 , and a lid 4 hinged to cup - shaped body 3 . cup - shaped body 3 comprises a front wall 5 , two lateral walls 6 ( only one shown in fig3 ), a bottom wall ( now shown ), and a rear wall ( not shown ). lid 4 comprises a front wall 5 a , two lateral walls 6 a ( only one shown in fig3 ), a top wall 7 , and a rear wall ( not shown ). lateral walls 6 and 6 a are connected to respective front walls 5 and 5 a and to the respective rear walls ( not shown ) by relative longitudinal edges 8 . front wall 5 a and the rear wall ( not shown ) of lid 4 are connected to top wall 7 by relative edges 9 ; and front wall 5 is connected to the bottom wall ( not shown ) by an edge 10 . packet 2 is formed from a substantially flat blank 11 ( fig4 ) comprising a central portion 12 , and a number of lateral panels 13 located symmetrically on opposite sides of portion 12 . portion 12 comprises a number of panels aligned lengthwise of blank 11 ; each panel 13 is connected to portion 12 by a preformed fold line 14 ; and , once folded , fold lines 14 correspond to edges 8 of packet 2 . blank 11 has a grid 15 comprising a number of parallel longitudinal lines 16 , and a number of parallel lines 17 crosswise , in particular , perpendicular , to lines 16 . lines 16 and 17 are invisible to the naked eye , and comprise special pigments detectable optically at a given wavelength outside the visible range , in particular at a wavelength in the ultraviolet range . device 1 ( fig1 ) comprises a transfer unit 18 for feeding packet 2 along a path p through two quality control stations 19 and 20 . device 1 also comprises two conveyors 21 and 22 , each having a suction belt 23 positioned on edge and looped about two vertical - axis pulleys 24 . conveyor 21 receives packet 2 from an input station 25 , and feeds packet 2 through quality control station 19 to conveyor 22 ; and conveyor 22 feeds packet 2 through quality control station 20 to an output station 26 . two detecting units 27 and 28 are located at quality control stations 19 and 20 respectively , and each comprise an optical detector 29 , 30 , and an electromagnetic radiation source 31 . optical detectors 29 and 30 acquire data relative to grid 15 by receiving electromagnetic radiation at said given wavelength . as shown more clearly in fig2 , two inclined mirrors 32 are located on opposite sides of conveyor 21 at quality control station 19 , to enable optical detector 29 to analyze lateral walls 6 and 6 a of packet 2 . device 1 also comprises a central control unit 33 which receives the data acquired by detecting units 27 and 28 , and in turn comprises a comparing unit 34 for comparing the acquired data with reference data . on the basis of the comparison between the acquired and reference data , central control unit 33 activates a known reject device 35 ( shown schematically in fig1 ) located immediately downstream from device 1 and for eliminating any faulty packets downstream from conveyor 22 . in actual use , when packet 2 is located at quality control stations 19 and 20 , sources 31 emit electromagnetic radiation to bring the pigments to an excited state , decaying from which the pigments themselves emit electromagnetic radiation at said given wavelength outside the visible range . at this point , optical detectors 29 and 30 detect the shape and / or position of various areas of grid 15 and / or the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation , at the given wavelength , from the areas of grid 15 . the electromagnetic radiation emitted by sources 31 and the aforementioned pigments may have different wavelengths . in the case the electromagnetic radiation emitted by sources 31 and the aforementioned pigments have indeed different wavelengths , as optical detectors 29 and 30 detects electromagnetic radiation at the aforementioned given wavelength , noise due to , for example , radiation simply reflected by packet 2 is disregarded ; as a consequence , the detection of data is more precise . the detected shape , position , and / or intensity are compared by comparing unit 34 with a reference shape , position , and / or intensity ; and , in the event the difference between the detected and reference data exceeds given threshold values , central control unit 33 activates reject device 35 . in connection with the above , it should be pointed out that , in the event packet 2 is dented , the shape and position of detected areas of grid 15 differ from the reference shape and position of packet 2 in perfect condition ; and , in the event packet 2 is scratched , the intensity of the electromagnetic radiation , at the given wavelength , of the scratched area of grid 15 is below the reference intensity . fig1 shows the fig3 packet 2 with a dent along edge 10 , and the relative distorted grid 15 . optical detectors 29 and 30 preferably each comprise known area scales for detecting electromagnetic radiation , at the given wavelength , along scan lines 36 . by way of example , fig1 shows an area of grid 15 , and the corresponding area scale response along scan line 36 . the y axis shows the position along the scan line , and the x axis the intensity of the relative pixels . in this case , the comparing unit compares the positions , heights , and / or shapes of the peaks in fig1 with reference positions , heights , and / or shapes . device 1 as described above allows changes to be made to the graphics ( artwork , brands , and / or colours ) on the outside of packet 2 ( e . g . so - called “ brand changes ”) without changing the reference data , and also provides for accurately determining the condition of packet 2 , even in areas of packet 2 bearing complex and / or highly coloured images . in this connection , it should be pointed out that , since optical detectors 29 and 30 only detect electromagnetic radiation at said given wavelength outside the visible range , whatever is picked up by optical detectors 29 and 30 is unaffected by the graphics on the outside of packet 2 . fig5 to 14 show alternative embodiments of packet 2 and relative blank 11 . as can be seen , packets 2 in fig5 to 9 are substantially similar to packet 2 described above , except that grid 15 is replaced by one or more given portions 37 of various forms and comprising said pigments . grid 15 is preferably stamped on blank 11 off the packing machine , i . e . at the packing material manufacturer &# 39 ; s plant or paper mill . alternatively , the grid may be stamped on the blank by means of a stamping device upstream from the packing machine . the fig5 packet 2 , formed from the fig1 blank , comprises one portion 37 on lateral wall 6 a of lid 4 . in this case , in the event the lateral panel 13 partly defining wall 6 a is not glued properly and is therefore partly raised , optical detector 29 can detect portion 37 directly , and not only by means of one of mirrors 32 . in fig5 and 10 , portion 37 is hatched . in the fig6 packet 2 , formed from the fig1 blank 11 , portion 37 extends along the edges of packet 2 . as shown in fig1 , portion 37 extends at least partly along the edge of blank 11 . in fig6 and 11 , portion 37 is hatched . in the fig8 packet 2 , formed from the fig1 blank 11 , portion 37 comprises two substantially perpendicular lines on front wall 5 , one extending from one longitudinal edge 8 to the other longitudinal edge 8 , and the other extending from edge 9 to edge 10 . in fig8 and 13 , portion 37 is shown by bold lines . in the fig7 packet 2 , formed from the fig1 blank 11 , portion 37 comprises two substantially perpendicular lines , a first extending on front wall 5 , lateral walls 6 , and the rear wall ( not shown in fig7 ) of cup - shaped body 3 , and a second extending on front walls 5 and 5 a , on the bottom and rear walls ( not shown in fig7 ) of cup - shaped body 3 , and on top wall 7 and the rear wall ( not shown in fig7 ) of lid 4 . in fig7 and 12 , portion 37 is shown by bold lines . the fig9 packet 2 , formed from the fig1 blank 11 , has a portion 37 comprising a number of lines , which extend along the edges of packet 2 , and which , from the corners , intersect on each wall 5 , 5 a , 6 , 6 a , 7 , each of the rear walls ( not shown ), and the bottom wall ( not shown ). in fig9 and 14 , portion 37 is shown by bold lines . though the above description and accompanying drawings relate to a conventional hinged - lid packet of cigarettes , the teachings of the present invention obviously also apply to packets of cigarettes of any type , such as a hinged - lid packet with rounded or bevelled edges , or a “ soft ” packet of cigarettes . the teachings of the present invention obviously also apply to cartons of packets of cigarettes , and to packets of other than cigarettes , such as packets of food products , confectionary , or toiletries . | 1 |
the present invention relates to a d - tartrate salt of compound i . d - tartrate provides optimal properties for formulation due to its stability , and it has the structural formula ( ii ): in order to be considered as a candidate for further development as a pharmaceutical , a compound must not only possess desirable biological properties , but also physical properties that permit its use in the manufacture of a pharmaceutical composition . in particular , the compound should form a stable , preferably crystalline , solid that can be readily manufactured and formulated . salt formation studies provide a means of altering the physicochemical and resultant biological characteristics of a drug without modifying its chemical structure . a salt form can have a dramatic influence on the properties of the drug . the selection of a suitable salt is partially dictated by yield , rate and quantity of the crystalline structure . in addition , hygroscopicity , stability , solubility and the process profile of the salt form are important considerations . solubility of a salt form can affect its suitability for use as a drug . where aqueous solubility is low , i . e . less than 10 mg / ml , the dissolution rate at in vivo administration can be rate limiting in the absorption process leading to poor bioavailability . hygroscopicity is also an important characteristic . compounds having low hygroscopicity tend to have better stability and easier processing . stability at low and high relative humidity is desirable in a product to be used or sold in a wide diversity of environments . the inventors have found that it is difficult to obtain a suitable salt of compound i for pharmaceutical formulation . the present invention has overcome these problems with the d - tartrate salt disclosed herein , which is crystalline , is relatively non - hygroscopic , and generally has better physical properties than other salts of the compound . also , it has been found that the final content of impurities may be significantly reduced by precipitation of the d - tartrate salt of compound i as described herein . to select the most suitable salt of compound i and minimize the undesirable hygroscopic properties of the hydrochloride , several acids were tested . the free base of compound i was dissolved in hot ethanol , and then acid solution in hot ethanol was added . the mixture was then stirred and heated for 30 min . after cooling to room temperature , the solvent was removed by evaporation . acids tested included acetic , l - ascorbic , benzenesulphonic , ( rs )- 10 - camphorsulfonic , ( s )- 10 - camphorsulfonic , citric , embonic , fumaric , dl - lactic , l - lactic , maleic , d - malic l - malic , dl - malic , malonic , mandelic , d - mandelic , l - mandelic , methanesulphonic , orotic , oxalic , propionic , sorbic , succinic , dl - tartaric , l - tartaric and d - tartaric . the results concerning the salts obtained were as indicated in table 1 . as indicated in table 1 , most of the acids tested yielded oils or hygroscopic foams , whereas salt obtained with d - tartaric acid was the only one to yield a non - hygroscopic solid crystal under these conditions . d - tartaric acid is a dicarboxylic acid and thus it may form both hydrogentartrate and tartrate salts . the invention refers to both a salt in which the molar ratio of compound ito tartaric acid is about 1 : 1 ( i . e ., a hydrogentartrate ) and a salt in which the molar ratio of compound i to tartaric acid is about 2 : 1 ( i . e ., a tartrate ), as well as mixed salts , with for example an alkali metal or ammonium cation . the crystalline polymorphs ( i . e . forms i , ii , iii , and iv ) of d - tartrate of compound i discussed below are hydrogentartrate salts , i . e ., the molar ratio of compound ito tartaric acid is about 1 : 1 . salts of the present invention can be crystalline and may exist as more than one polymorph . hydrates as well as anhydrous forms of the salt are also encompassed by the invention . in particular the anhydrous form of the d - tartrate salt of compound i is preferred . in an embodiment of the invention , the salt is a substantially anhydrous crystalline salt . d - tartaric acid salts may be formed by contacting stoichiometric amounts of the acid with compound i free base . alternatively , the acid may be used in excess , usually no more than 1 . 25 equivalents . preferably the base and / or the acid are in solution , more preferably both are in solution . broadly speaking , the crystalline salts of the invention may be prepared by mixing a solution of either reactant in solvent , i . e . a suitable single solvent or a suitable mixture of solvents , preferably at room temperature or at elevated temperature , or by adding a solution of either reactant to a solid form of the other reactant and with subsequent precipitation of the crystalline compound i salt . the term “ a solvent ” as used herein include both a single solvent or a mixture of different solvents . it is understood that the solvent may comprise water as the case may be , e . g . about 0 - 20 % water . the term suitable solvent as used herein in relation to the preparation of the d - tartrate salt and the recrystallization defines any lower alkanol , water or ketone solvent in which the compound i is soluble and includes primary , secondary and tertiary alcohols and the corresponding ketones of from 1 to 6 carbon atoms . suitable lower alkanol solvents include , but are not limited to , methanol , ethanol , 1 - propanol , 2 - propanol , 1 - butanol , 2 - butanol , 2 - methyl - 1 - propanol , 1 , 1 - dimethyl - ethanol and cyclohexanol . improved yield may be obtained by evaporation of some or all of the solvent or by crystallization at elevated temperatures followed by controlled cooling , preferably in stages . careful control of precipitation temperature and seeding may be used to improve the reproducibility of the production process and the particle size distribution and form of the product . particularly good yields have been obtained using etoh as solvent . conveniently ( r )- 3 - fluorophenyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzylcarbamic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester and one equivalent of d - tartaric acid are dissolved in hot etoh . seeding with a small quantity of previously prepared crystals may help initiate crystallization . the present invention also provides four crystalline polymorphic forms of d - tartrate of compound i ( hereinafter referred to as forms i , ii , ill , and iv , respectively ). the pharmaceutical composition of the present invention may comprise about 20 , 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 70 , 80 , 90 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 99 . 1 , 99 . 2 , 99 . 3 , 99 . 4 , 99 . 5 , 99 . 6 , 99 . 7 , 99 . 8 , 99 . 9 or 100 % by weight of form i , ii , ill , or iv of d - tartrate of compound i , based upon 100 % total weight of d - tartrate of compound i in the pharmaceutical composition ( or the total weight of crystalline d - tartrate of compound i in the pharmaceutical composition ). crystalline polymorph form i of d - tartrate of compound i is stable at room temperature . form i is physically stable at room temperature but it is enantiotropically related with form ii , this means that at room temperature form i ( lower melting polymorph ) is the more stable one and at higher temperatures the higher melting polymorph ( form ii ) is the more stable one . according to differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ), form i has a double endotherm at about 139 ° c . and at about 145 ° c . ( see fig3 ). form i may be prepared from the free base of compound i as follows . the free base of compound i and d - tartaric acid are dissolved in hot ethanol . the solution is then slowly cooled ( e . g ., for 3 hours or longer ) to yield form i of d - tartrate of compound i . the crystals of form i may be recovered by any method known in the art . form i can also be prepared by preparing a slurry containing form ii , form iii or form iv , or a mixture thereof , with etoh at room temperature . any crystal prepared by the aforementioned methods may be recovered by techniques known to those skilled in the art , such as , for example , filtration . crystalline polymorph form ii of d - tartrate of compound i was obtained under controlled temperature conditions and according to dsc has an endotherm at about 149 ° c . ( see fig4 ). crystalline polymorph form iii of d - tartrate of compound i was obtained by equilibration in water and according to dsc has an broad endotherm at about 110 ° c . ( see fig5 ). crystalline polymorph form iv of d - tartrate of compound i was obtained by equilibration in hot etanol ( 60 ° c .) and according to dsc has an endotherm at about 162 ° c . ( see fig6 ). as used herein , by expressions like “ crystalline form of a specific salt of compound i characterized by the x - ray powder diffractogram shown in fig . ( 1 )” is meant the crystalline form of salt of compound i in question having an x - ray powder diffractogram substantially similar to fig . ( 1 ), i . e . exhibiting an x - ray powder diffraction pattern substantially as exemplified in that figure and measured under comparable conditions as described herein or by any comparable method . generally , all data herein are understood to be approximate and subject to normal measurement error depending e . g . on the apparatus used and other parameters influencing peak positions and peak intensities . the reaction of ( r )- 3 - quinuclidinol with carbonyldiimidazole ( cdi ) in dichloromethane , at 0 ° c . during 4 h , afford the corresponding imidazolide carbamate ( intermediate 2 ). intermediate 1 was obtained by imine formation between 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzaldehyde and 3 - fluoroaniline ( in a dean - stark system ) and later reduction with sodium borohydride in ethanol . the key coupling reaction was carried out by deprotonation of the amine ( intermediate 1 ) with hexyl lithium at − 10 ° c . and subsequent addition of imidazolide ( intermediate 2 ), in thf , at − 10 ° c ., stirring it during 2 h . finally , d - tartrate of compound i was obtained by crystallization in hot ethanol adding 1 equivalent of d - tartaric acid to the compound i . an object of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition comprising the active pharmaceutical ingredient ( d - tartrate of compound i ) or mixture of the active pharmaceutical ingredient with other active pharmaceutical ingredients and / or pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or excipients . such pharmaceutical composition can be administered orally , in the form of powders , granulates , tablets , capsules , lozenges , multiparticulates , lyophilised forms , solutions or suspensions , transdermal or buccal patches , emulsions or microemulsions , for immediated -, or modified - release applications ( sustained -, delayed - or pulsed - release applications ). such pharmaceutical composition , as described above , may be administered by direct intake or as soluble , dispersible , orodispersible , chewable , effervescent or bioadhesive dosage forms , or through the skin . powders and granulates may be obtained by direct mix o successive mix of their components or by dry or wet granulation , aquous or organic . powders and granulates may contain excipients such as diluents , binders , disintegrants , wetting agents , glidants , lubricants , plastificants , absorbent or adsorbent agents , immediate - or modified - release polymers , sweetening or flavouring agents , colouring matter or dyes agents , or preservatives and may be dosified as monodose or multidose pharmaceutical forms . tablets cited above may be obtained from powders , granulates , other tablets or lozenges or any combination thereof . these tablets may be any conventional , multilayer , effervescent , dispersible , soluble , orodispersible , gastro - resistant , modified release , bioadhesive , chewable , buccal or matricial dosage forms . these tablets may also be coated with one or more functional layers in order to protect the active pharmaceutical ingredient or modify its release . any layer may contain the active pharmaceutical ingredient , alone or with one or more modified - release polymers . tablets described above may contain excipients such as diluents , binders , disintegrants , wetting agents , glidants , lubricants , plastificants , absorbent or adsorbent agents , immediate - or modified - release polymers , sweetening or flavouring agents , colouring matter or dyes agents , or preservatives . capsules cited above may be manufactured from gelatin , hpmc , cellulosic or polysaccharid derivates , flour cereals or a combination thereof , and may be soft or hard capsules . capsules may contain powders , granulates , multiparticulate pharmaceutical forms , tablets , lozenges , liquids or semisolids , or a combination thereof . these capsules may also be coated with one or more functional layers in order to protect the active pharmaceutical ingredient or modify its release . any layer may contain the active pharmaceutical ingredient , alone or with one or more modified - release polymers . capsules described above may contain excipients such as diluents , binders , disintegrants , wetting agents , glidants , lubricants , plastificants , absorbent or adsorbent agents , immediate - or modified - release polymers , sweetening or flavouring agents , colouring matter or dyes agents , or preservatives . multiparticulate pharmaceutical forms may be administered under a monodose or multidose way . these pharmaceutical forms may be administered as capsules , tablets , sachets or strips , suspensions , solutions , vials , flasks or bottles or any other device . such multiparticulate pharmaceutical forms may be used for immediate or modified - release applications and obtained from an inert or active core containing the active pharmaceutical ingredient . cores may be coated by one or more functional layers in order to protect or modify the release of the active pharmaceutical ingredient . this ingredient may be included in one or more layers , alone or with one or more modified - release polymers . additional layers , including protecting agents o modified - release polymers may be included in other external layer next to the layer containing the active pharmaceutical ingredient . such multiparticulate pharmaceutical forms may contain excipients such diluents , binders , disintegrants , wetting agents , glidants , lubricants , plastificants , absorbent or adsorbent agents , immediate - or modified - release polymers , sweetening or flavouring agents , colouring matter or dyes agents , or preservatives . the liquid and semi - solid pharmaceutical forms , as solutions , suspensions , gels , emulsions , micro - emulsions and others , incorporate the active ingredient , in a soluble form , disperse or in a multiparticular form , and adequate excipients . they can be dosed in monodose or multidose form , being able to be of extemporaneous preparation . it can contain excipients such as emulsifiers , solubility enhancers , dispersants , humectants , co - emulsifiers , emollients , viscosity increasing agents , vehicles , preservatives , ph adjustment agents , flavouring agents or sweeteners . these components can be liquids of aqueous , lipidic or organic nature . the active pharmaceutical ingredient may be released via the skin , or any suitable external surface , including mucosal membranes , such as those found inside the mouth . transdermal or buccal patches may incorporate the drug into the device and be included in a matrix , in an adhesive or in a reservoir . formulates may incorporate wetting agents , immediate - or modified - release polymers , enhancers , emulsifiers , dispersants , co - emulsifiers , solubility enhancers , adhesives , humectants , emollients , viscosity increasing agents , vehicles , preservatives or ph adjustment agents . these components can be semisolids or liquids , of aqueous , lipidic or organic nature . matrix may be solid or semisolid in one or more layers . patches include a permeable membrane on one side and also some form of adhesive to maintain the patch in place on the patient &# 39 ; s skin , with the membrane in contact with the skin so that the medication can diffuse out of the patch reservoir and into and through the skin . the outer side of the patch is formed of an impermeable layer of material , and the membrane side and the outer side are joined around the perimeter of the patch , forming a reservoir for the medication and carrier between the two layers . 1 h - nmr and 13 c - nmr spectra was recorded at 400 mhz and 100 . 61 mhz respectively on a bruker arx 400 instrument . dimethyl sulfoxide ( 99 . 8 % d ) was used as solvent , and tetramethylsilane ( tms ) was used as internal reference standard . the purity of d - tartrate of compound i was determined by hplc / ms using a gemini 5u c18 110a , 50 × 4 . 6 mm column at 25 ° c . the mobile phase was 70 % of solution a ( 0 . 025 m ortophosphoric acid at ph 3 . 0 - 3 . 1 with triethylamine ) and 30 % of solution b ( acetonitrile / methanol ( 9 : 1 )) at a flow rate of 1 . 4 ml / minute . run time 20 min . detection was performed using a uv detector at 200 nm . d - tartrate of compound i showed a retention time of approximately 6 . 5 min . the enantiomeric excess of compound i was determined by using a quirabiotic v - 2 column , 25 × 0 . 46 cm l , at 25 ° c . the mobile phase 0 . 1 %( w / v ) trifluoroacetic acid in methanol adjusted to ph about 6 . 5 with ammonium hydroxide at a flow rate of 0 . 5 ml / min , run time 25 min . detection was performed using a uv detector at 230 nm . d - tartrate of compound i had a retention time of approximately 16 min , and its enantiomer had a retention time of approximately 17 min . the melting points were measured using differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc ). the equipment was a perkin elmer dsc 7 or a perkin elmer pyris 1 with varius crucibles ( gold , alumina , open , closed , microhole ), heating rate variable and range variable . x - ray powder diffractograms were measured on a philips x &# 39 ; pert pw 3040 or philips pw 1710 using cu kα radiation . the samples were measured in reflection mode in the 2θ - range 2 - 50 ° ft - raman spectroscopy was registered on a bruker rfs100 equipment . nd : yag 1064 nm excitation , 100 mw laser power , ge - detector , 64 scans , range 25 - 3500 cm − 1 , 2 cm − 1 resolution . tg - ftir : netzsch thermo - microbalance tg 209 with bruker ft - ir spectrometer vector 22 . al - crucible ( open or with microhole ); n 2 atmosphere , heating rate 10 ° c . min − 1 , range 25 - 250 ° c . dynamic vapour sorption ( dvs ). the equipment was a surface measurement systems ltd . dvs - 1 water vapour sorption analyser . the sample was placed on a quartz or platinum holder on top of a microbalance , and the sample was allowed to equilibrate at 50 % r . h . before starting a pre - defined humidity program . specific rotation measurements were performed using a polarimeter from schmidt + haensch , model polartronic - e ( series number 27586 ), equipped with a thermostatic bath from techne , model te - 8j . example 1 : synthesis of ( r )- 3 - fluorophenyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzylcarbamic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester ( compound i ). intermediate 2 : ( r )- imidazole - 1 - carboxylic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester to a suspension of 1 . 86 kg of ( r )- 3 - quinuclidinol in 30 l of dichloromethane , 2 . 92 kg of dci were added at 0 ° c . the solution was stirred during 3 h under inert atmosphere . then , 23 l of water were added and extracted . the organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure . the obtained white solid was crystallized with isopropyl acetate ( ipac )- heptane to give 24 . 1 kg of the title compound . ir ( kbr , cm − 1 ): 1746 ; 1 h - nmr : 1 . 33 - 1 . 43 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 47 - 1 . 57 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 58 - 1 . 70 ( m , 1h ); 1 . 75 - 1 . 87 ( m , 1h ); 2 . 07 - 2 . 12 ( m , 1h ); 2 . 56 - 2 . 90 ( m , 5h ); 3 . 18 ( ddd , j = 14 . 5 , j = 8 , j = 2 , 1 h ); 4 . 95 - 5 . 00 ( m , 1 h ); 7 . 07 ( s , 1 h ); 7 . 61 ( s , 1 h ); 8 . 29 ( s , 1 h ). 13 c - nmr : 18 . 9 ; 23 . 7 ; 24 . 9 ; 45 . 7 ; 46 . 6 ; 54 . 1 ; 75 . 7 ; 117 . 3 ; 130 . 1 ; 137 . 1 ; 147 . 9 . in a 300 l reactor fitted with a dean - stark funnel and refluxing condenser , toluene ( 63 l ), 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzaldehyde ( 2 . 1 kg ) and 3 - fluoroaniline ( 1 . 33 kg ) were refluxed ( 112 ° c .) during 10 h . after cooling , the resulting solution was concentrated to give the imine as an oil in a quantitative yield ( 3 . 2 kg ). then ethanol ( 35 l ) and sodium borohydride ( 0 . 5 kg ) was added . the resulting suspension was stirred 3 h , then , 42 l of water were added , the ethanol was distilled off and the aquosos layer extracted with dichloromethane ( 2 × 40 l ). the organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate . the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure giving 2 . 72 kg of the title compound as an yellow oil . 1 h - nmr : 4 . 29 ( s , 2h ); 4 . 33 ( br ., 1 h ), 6 . 28 ( dtd , j = 11 , j = 2 . 5 ; j = 1 , 1 h ), 6 . 40 ( ddd , j = 8 . 5 ; j = 2 , j = 1 , 1h ), 6 . 46 ( tdt , j = 8 , 5 ; j = 2 , 5 , j = 1 ); 7 . 24 ( dd , j = 8 ; j = 7 , 2h ); 7 . 14 ( tdd , j = 8 ; j = 6 . 5 , j = 1 ). 13 c - nmr : 47 . 1 ; 99 . 9 ( d , j = 25 . 5 ); 104 . 8 ( d , j = 21 ); 109 . 1 ( d , j = 2 ); 111 . 0 ( d , j = 10 . 5 ); 111 . 0 ( d , j = 21 . 5 ); 149 . 4 ( dd , j = 11 , j = 1 ); 136 . 0 ( tdd , j = 6 , j = 4 , j = 2 ); 139 . 0 ( dt , j = 248 , j = 5 ); 151 . 6 ( ddd , j = 248 , j = 10 , j = 4 ); 164 . 3 ( d , j = 241 ). to a solution of 2 . 72 kg of intermediate ( 1 ) in 17 l of thf , cooled at − 10 ° c ., were added slowly ( 2 h ), under inert atmosphere , 3 kg of hexyl lithium ( 33 % in hexanes ) and the resulting mixture was stirred for 1 h at − 10 ° c . then at − 10 ° c . 2 . 41 kg of intermediate 2 in 23 l of thf were slowly added ( 75 min ). the resulting mixture was stirred for 2 h and allowed to rise room temperature , then water was added and the solution was extracted with methyl tertbuthylether . the organic phase was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure giving 3 . 6 kg of the title compound as an orange oil . synthesis of ( r )- 3 - fluorophenyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzylcarbamic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 12 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester ( compound i ) d - tartrate salt . to a solution of 3 kg of ( r )- 3 - fluorophenyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzylcarbamic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester ( compound i ) in ethanol ( 3 l ) at 60 ° c ., 1 . 1 kg d - tartaric acid in 30 l of ethanol , warmed at 60 ° c . were added and the resulting mixture stirred 1 h and then cooled to below room temperature and kept at this temperature for 1 hour . the precipitate is filtered off and the filter cake is washed with ethanol ( 8 l ). the filter cake is sucked free of most of the solvent , and the product is dried at 45 ° during 16 h . yielding 3 . 5 kg of the title compound as a white crystalline solid . 1 h - nmr : 1 . 45 - 1 . 49 ( m , 2h ) 1 . 65 - 1 . 75 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 05 ( m , 1h ); 2 . 87 - 3 . 01 ( m , 3h ); 3 . 07 - 3 . 11 ( m , 1h ); 3 . 08 - 3 . 11 ( d , j = 14 , 1h ); 3 . 39 - 3 . 45 ( ddd , j = 12 , j = 8 , j = 2 , 1h ); 4 . 00 ( s , 2h ); 4 . 83 - 4 . 89 ( m , 1h ); 4 . 84 - 4 . 89 ( d , j = 16 . 5 , 1h ); 4 . 93 - 4 . 97 ( d , j = 16 . 5 , 1h ); 7 . 05 ( td , j = 8 . 5 ; j = 2 , 1h ); 7 . 21 ( dd , j = 8 ; j = 1 . 5 , 1h ); 7 . 24 ( dd , j = 8 . 5 ; j = 7 , 2h ), 7 . 33 - 7 . 38 ( m , 2h ). 13 c - nmr : 17 . 1 ; 20 . 4 ; 24 . 0 ; 44 . 5 ; 45 . 1 ; 51 . 6 ; 52 . 7 ; 69 . 5 ; 72 . 1 ; 111 . 8 ( d , j = 19 . 5 ); 113 . 4 ( d , j = 20 . 5 ); 114 . 1 ( d , j = 22 ); 122 . 6 ; 130 . 3 ( d , j = 9 ); 135 . 1 ; 137 . 8 ( dt , j = 246 , j = 16 ); 142 . 6 ( d , j = 9 ); 150 . 2 ( ddd , j = 246 , j = 9 . 5 , j = 3 . 5 ); 154 . 0 ; 161 . 9 ( d , j = 242 ); 174 . 7 elemental analysis . calculated for c25h26f4n208 : c , 53 . 77 ; h , 4 . 69 ; n , 5 . 02 . found : c , 53 . 63 ; h , 4 . 73 ; n , 5 . 01 an xrpd pattern for the crystals prepared is shown in fig1 . specific rotation was determined . 1 . 00 g of substance was diluted with methanol in a 100 ml volumetric flask . α ( c = 1 , meoh ) c = g / 100 ml . the measured specific rotation was − 35 . 2 °. on the other hand , the equilibrium solubility of the d - tartrate salt with several solvents was measured at 25 ° c . and was found to be ( measured as the free base ) as indicated in table 2 . evaluation of hygroscopicity : no significant mass gain or mass loss was observed at 93 % rh or below conditions . a significant water addition issue was observed at 97 % rh , but no hygroscopicity issues related to standard atmospheric conditions are expected as shown in table 3 . 0 . 522 g of form i were suspended in 1 ml of etoh abs . and then shaken at 60 ° c ., after 1 day the suspension disappeared and a new white crystalline crust was formed above the solvent sticking on the container wall . the efficacy of tarafenacin tartrate ( d - tartrate salt of ( r )- 3 - fluorophenyl - 3 , 4 , 5 - trifluorobenzylcarbamic acid 1 - azabicyclo [ 2 . 2 . 2 ] oct - 3 - yl ester ) for the treatment of overactive bladder has been assessed with two clinical trials which are summarized below . tarafenacin tartrate is a potent m3 receptor antagonist which is likely to be useful for the treatment of overactive bladder ( oab ) with high bladder / salivary gland selectivity . a clinical trial was performed to evaluate the tolerability and preliminary efficacy of tarafenacin tartrate in healthy postmenopausal females . twelve subjects from 50 to 70 years old were randomized to receive tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 125 mg , 0 . 4 mg or placebo o . d . for 17 days . subjects filled a diary to record time and volume of each void . a descriptive analysis was performed . tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 4 mg showed the largest mean volumes per void ( 550 - 650 ml ) from day 2 until the end of the study when compared to the other groups . from day 10 until day 17 , when the steady state is achieved , the 0 . 125 mg dose group showed a higher volume per void compared to the placebo group ( range : 450 - 550 ml ). the differences in the mean volumes per void between treatment groups disappeared slowly after day 18 . from day 0 to day 17 a slight decrease in the number of voids per day was recorded for the two active dose groups ; from 7 . 6 to 6 . 8 times per day in the 0 . 125 mg group and from 8 to 6 . 4 times per day in the 0 . 4 mg group . the mean total number of voids per day with active treatment remained fairly stable and ranged from 5 . 6 to 7 . 8 . the placebo group showed a slight increase in number of voids per day ; from 7 . 5 on day 0 to 8 . 5 on day 17 and showed a higher variation ( 5 . 5 to 10 ). a dose - relationship was observed for the effect of tarafenacin tartrate on the volume of urine per void . after 8 days of treatment , the 0 . 125 mg dose ( the closest to the expected therapeutic range of doses ) showed larger volumes of urine per void than placebo . the 0 . 4 mg dose group showed the largest volumes per void compared to the 0 . 125 mg dose and placebo groups . a slight decrease in number of voids per day from day 0 to day 17 was observed with both tarafenacin tartrate dose groups . these results support the efficacy of tarafenacin tartrate in oab . phase ii clinical trial : pharmacodynamics of tarafenacin tartrate in overactive bladder patients tarafenacin tartrate had previously shown pharmacological activity in a multiple dose study in healthy volunteers ( see phase i clinical trial above ). a pharmacodynamic study of tarafenacin tartrate in patients suffering from overactive bladder syndrome was performed to obtain first efficacy and tolerability data in this population . the study was randomised , double - blind , placebo and active - controlled . patients received tarafenacin tartrate at the dose of 0 . 1 or 0 . 2 mg , tolterodine 4 mg or placebo o . d . during 4 weeks , just after a 2 week single - blind wash - out period in which all patients received placebo . urodynamic assessments were performed at baseline and after 4 weeks administration . it was planned to screen approximately 100 patients and randomize 77 patients , to obtain outcome data on 63 patients . patients who entered the study were randomized into the four treatment groups during the double blind treatment period . after a screening visit and a 14 day washout single blind period ( placebo run in ), patients were randomized to one of the four treatment arms by a 2 : 2 : 2 : 1 randomization schedule . in a single blind period , only the patients were blinded . during the treatment period , each patient received tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 1 mg / tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 2 mg / tolterodine ( er ) 4 mg / placebo . identical capsules were used to maintain the study blind . during the study , six visits to the clinic were scheduled : one at screening , one at the start of the placebo run in period ( day 14 ), one at baseline ( day 0 ) and three in the active treatment period ( day 7 , day 14 , and day 28 ). the end of study procedures were performed at the day 28 visit ( end of treatment [ eot ]). a study follow up was conducted at day 35 either telephonically or the patient was called to the clinic ( end of study [ eos ]). the primary endpoint was the pharmacodynamic endpoints and they were assessed as the mean change from baseline to day 28 in urodynamic , salivary flow , and accommodation near point pharmacodynamic assessments . a total of 133 patients were randomised and 72 completed the study and were included in the itt population . the proportion of males was 65 % and mean age was 43 years old . there was no dose - response relationship for tarafenacin tartrate , and the results for the 0 . 1 mg dose were slightly better than for 0 . 2 mg . tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 1 mg produced the highest increase in volume at first desire to void ( 60 ml ), compared to tolterodine ( 33 ml ) and placebo ( 17 ml ). the same happened with the parameter volume at strong desire to void . the increase was 71 ml for the 0 . 1 mg dose and 42 ml for tolterodine , while the volume decreased 10 ml after placebo treatment . finally , the results were similar for the endpoint ‘ infused volume ’. after the 0 . 1 mg dose of tarafenacin tartrate the volume increased by 73 ml , 20 ml after tolterodine treatment and decreased 10 ml after placebo . all treatments were well tolerated . the incidence of treatment emergent adverse events was 25 % for tarafenacin tartrate 0 . 1 mg , 33 % for 0 . 2 mg , 36 % for tolterodine 4 mg and 27 % for placebo . tarafenacin tartrate showed good pharmacological activity and was well tolerated by oab patients . a higher pharmacological activity has been seen after 0 . 1 mg of tarafenacin tartrate during 4 weeks compared to tolterodine 4 mg and placebo in a population of patients suffering from oab . | 2 |
the inventive apparatus , system , and method provide structure and procedure for rapidly generating high resolution diffraction grating arrays including holograms with fringe structures of about one micron or smaller and discernable image features on the order of about six microns or smaller . these arrays may be produced in a photo - sensitive etch - resistant material or on other high resolution photo - sensitive materials such as the fine grain silver halide emulsions or other conventional photo sensor materials currently used in holography and micro lithography . the output images may be used for many purposes including anti - counterfeiting , product verification , security badges , decoration , binary optics , and other optical , security , and decorative applications . the invention is now described in detail relative to the appurtenant drawings . with reference to fig1 there is shown an exemplary first embodiment of the inventive apparatus . in this embodiment a laser 50 emits a beam of light 51 from a laser exit aperture . laser 50 may be a laser of any conventional type commonly used for holography emitting a wavelength of light ( or other electromagnetic radiation ) to which the sensitive material in emulsion of choice is sensitive . a filtered incoherent or quasi - coherent light source may also be used in place of a coherent laser since the difference in path length for the two recording beams is typically less than 100 microns ; however , a coherent source generally is preferred . the laser beam 51 is intercepted by shutter 52 which receives control signals to open and close the shutter in response to signals 21 received from computer 20 . computer 20 may be any conventional computer such as personal computer than incorporates intel , amd , cyrix , or motorola microprocessor for controlling peripheral devices , such as shutter assembly 52 , x - y stage positioned control means such as stepping motors 82 and 83 , and for providing data to the lcd display 68 including display controller 68 b . the display controller 68 b may be a separate device and power supply , or may be incorporated into computer 20 , either as an integral part of the processor or as an add in printed circuit ( pc ) board , or the like . conventional display controller boards are suitable , such as for example , the lcd display controller made by qai . it should be understood that the lcd display 68 provides means for displaying data in a two - dimensional array . other devices such as a spatial light modulator , a reflective micro - mirror , and devices having appropriate real - time or near real - time data switching and optical characteristics may alternatively be used as the data display means in place of an lcd . when shutter 52 is open , beam 51 passes through the shutter assembly 52 aperture to spatial filter assembly 54 . spatial filter assembly 54 includes an optical system typically implemented by a microscope objective 54 a or conventional construction and a pinhole aperture 54 b also of conventional variety . the microscope objective 54 a receives the raw laser beam 51 from the laser and focuses it to a point coincident with the plane of pinhole 54 b . pinhole 54 b is a round aperture sized to perform spatial filtering of the beam in that plane . other spatial filter means known in the art may alternatively be used . in the exemplary embodiment shown in fig1 microscope objective 54 a has a magnification ( such as when used for normal microscope applications ) of about 10 ×. pinhole 54 b is selected in conjunction with microscope objective 54 a , and will typically have a round aperture of between about 10 microns and about 25 microns ; however , a larger aperture such as a 50 - 100 microns or larger aperture may be used where filtered beam uniformity is not as critical and greater optical throughput is desirable . the output beam 55 diverges as it exits pinhole 54 b and expands to partially fill a first lens 56 which images the spatial filter pinhole aperture 54 b at an intermediate focal plane 75 . first lens 56 intercepts the expanding beam 55 to generate a converging beam 57 and refocuses the converging beam through the full aperture of liquid crystal display ( lcd ) 68 . while the focal length of the lens in particular , and dimensions of the apparatus in general , will depend on a particular implementation of the apparatus ; in a first exemplary embodiment of the apparatus , the first lens 56 has a diameter of about 60 mm and a focal length of about 250 millimeters . it should be understood that the optical system must generally be scaled depending upon the choice of lcd module 68 dimensions and first focussing lens 56 to achieve the particular desired imaging goals . lcd 68 may generally be of conventional design , but should have the contrast and resolution characteristics appropriate to provide the desired diffraction characteristics include angular deviation and efficiency . the lcd module 68 generally comprises an electronic driver and controller component 68 b with an integral or separate power supply , and a substantially transparent display component having a display area or aperture 68 a , which is controlled by the driver section 69 b in conjunction with computer 20 to provide desired transparency ( clear ) and opacity ( black or multi - level grey - scale ) characteristics as a function of information data signals 23 received over wires from computer 20 . an “ active - matrix ” type lcd display is preferred because of the high contrast , and high - data switching speeds , although so called “ passive ” type lcd displays may be used with a possible resultant loss of contrast . in general passive displays may require longer exposure times or a more powerful light source 50 than active matrix displays . active matrix lcds of conventional variety typically achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 100 : 1 and about 200 : 1 or more , while so called “ passive ” displays achieve contrast ratios on the order of between about 10 : 1 and about 40 : 1 , more typically about 20 : 1 . conventional lcds may incorporate polarizing sheets adhered to each side of the display . color lcds may be used however they are not preferred because they typically employ color filters which are not advantageously used here . for applications of these lcds as diffractive elements , any such polarizing materials are advantageously removed to increase transmitted light and reduce noise or other optical degradations . this permits the use of the lcd as a phase transmission hologram rather than as an absorption transmission hologram and will increase the light at the final plate 80 . liquid crystal display 68 presents or displays data in a two dimensional picture or image element or picture element ( pixel ) array . the displayed information creates a diffraction array which causes various areas in the incident laser beam 57 ( emerging from lens 56 ) to diffract into one or more diffracted beams 59 , the number and character of which depending on the characteristics of the displayed data . in general , the diffracted beams 59 include an undiffracted or zeroth order ( 0th ) beam 70 , a first order diffracted pair (± 1st ) of beams 72 a and 72 b , a pair of second order (± 2nd ) diffracted beams 74 a and 74 b , and typically higher order diffracted beams ( not shown ), generally having lower amplitude and intensity than the lower order beams . the higher order beams may be , but are typically not , used in the preferred embodiments of the inventive apparatus and method . those workers having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the existence and characteristics of the zeroth , first , second and higher order beams will be determined by the spatial information presented on lcd display 68 . where constant data ( e . g . a clear aperture or fixed grey - level aperture ) having only a so called d . c . component is presented by lcd 68 , there will only be a single ( undiffracted ) beam referred to as the zeroth ( 0 th ) order beam . for example , data simulating a sine function diffractive structure will diffract into several orders in each direction , and a kineform will diffract principally into the orders which it was designed to generate . data forming or simulating blazed gratings , square wave gratings , and other grating structures may also be provided . in the embodiment shown in fig1 a mask in the form of an annular aperture 76 having clear ( transparent ) and opaque regions is provided which masks or blocks the zeroth ( 0th ) order beam 70 , the pair of second order (± 2nd ) beams 74 a and 74 b , and although not shown , also blocks the ± 3rd , ± 4th , and higher order beams . in this particular embodiment , only the first order (± 1st ) diffracted beams 72 a and 72 b are allowed to pass through the mask 76 to subsequently impinge at focal plane 80 . the radial distance of the ± 1st diffracted beams from the central optical axis are determined by the spatial frequency of the displayed lcd data , and the distance to and focal length of lens 56 . as an example , for a lens 56 having a focal length of 35 millimeters , a 20 mm × 15 mm lcd display having 640 × 480 pixels in each direction respectively , the inner radius ( r1 ) and the outer radius ( r2 ) of the aperture in mask 76 are about 3 mm and 15 mm respectively when the distance to the lens is adjusted to provide an exposure footprint ( utilizing a 480 × 480 pixel area of the lcd ) of about 0 . 127 mm ({ fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inch on each side ). embodiments wherein different beams are blocked or passed are described hereinafter , have different characteristics , and it will be understood that means for altering the optical system to selectively block or pass one or more beams may be provided . these diffracted first order beams 72 a , 72 b are intercepted by a second lens , or lcd reimaging lens , 78 which redirects the diffracted first order beams back toward the optical axis and reimages the lcd display onto a predefined image focal plane 80 , the focal plane at which a photo receptive material such as photographic film or etch resistant photo sensitive resist material 81 would be installed or applied in order to create the desired final hologram or diffraction grating . lcd reimaging lens 78 can be either a conventional high quality photographic or micro - photographic lens , a holographic optical element , or any lens system capable of imaging the lcd with good fidelity . focusing the lens onto the film plane causes the overlap of the + 1 and − 1 diffracted beams incident on lens 78 thereby creating interference fringes at the focal plane 80 which becomes the grating structure in the photosensitive material 81 . the photo receptor 81 may be photographic film , photo resist material as used in the semiconductor production industry , or the like materials , and is mounted at image output focal plane 80 on a x - y transport assembly 24 which is operative to transport the two dimensional photo receptor 81 in substantially orthogonal x - and y - coordinate directions , in response to stepper motor transport control signals 84 , 85 , received from stepper motor control unit 22 , so that where desired , a composite image may be constructed from a mosaic of separate exposures . any conventional means for moving the photoreceptor 81 may be used such as motors , piezoelectric transducer , lead screw , or ultrasonic motors , for example so long as the photoreceptor 81 is maintained at the focal plane during movement . means for sensing the actual focus at focal plane 80 may also be optionally provided , such as contrast or alternatively parallel detection means commonly employed in automatic focus detection and adjustment systems such as cameras . in such case , a z - axis movement means may also be provided for photo receptor 81 position adjustment . various linear movement means are known in the art and may be used for the x - y position adjustment desired . rotational movement capability may also be provided in a conventional manner . in the preferred embodiment , stepper motors 82 and 83 receive control signals in the form of pulses on control lines 84 and 85 respectively , from stepper motor control 22 . stepper motor control unit 22 receives inputs 86 from computer 20 in a conventional manner . it will be appreciated that the operation of shutter 52 , lcd display 68 , and stepper motor control unit 22 , are coordinated via signals 21 , 23 and 86 in an operative manner to provide the desired operation of the apparatus . it will also be appreciated that these functions may be performed by one computer 20 , by separate computers , or by a controller integrated with the computer such as with a microprocessor , to perform the required device interface and control . numerous optical , electrical , and scientific products including lenses , shutters , diffraction gratings , spatial filters , multi - dimensional translation stages and other transport assemblies , rotation stages , and lasers are available from newport corporation , 1791 deere avenue , irvine , calif ., 92714 , usa , and may be employed in conjunction with making and using the inventive apparatus . the entire optical subsystem of the inventive structure 15 illustrated in fig1 may be enclosed in a housing ( not shown ) to preserve the cleanliness of the optical and mechanical components and to prevent stray ambient light from exposing the photo sensitive materials . light baffles may also be included to further suppress any external light or reflected / scattered light within the housing . the structure of an embodiment of the inventive apparatus having now been described , attention is now directed to a partial diagrammatic perspective drawing in fig2 which shows some of the components in fig1 but at a larger scale so that details of the diffracted waves and the relationship between the image displayed at lcd 68 a and the output image at focal plane 80 are more readily apparent . lcd 68 a is shown presenting or displaying the composite image of the outline of a letter a ( as an exemplary graphic ) in which diagonal fringes 201 within the a ( at about 45 - degree inclination counter - clockwise from vertical ) are displayed on a background of vertical fringes 202 . ( the lcd drivers , associated electronics , and signal lines are not shown ). the spacing of the fringes in the drawing is illustrative only . in a typical implementation of the inventive structure and method , for a 20 mm × 15 mm display of 640 × 480 pixels , fringes would have center - to - center spacings of about 220 microns , the resulting ± 1st order beams being diffracted to diverge after passing the lcd at an angle of about ± 0 . 1 degrees . a planar representation of the lcd 68 a and the data displayed thereon is shown separately in fig3 . the exemplary lcd 68 has 640 addressable samples in one dimension ( e . g the x - or horizontal direction ) and 480 addressable lines in the orthogonal direction ( e . g . the y - or vertical ) direction , and measures about 20 mm by about 15 mm . the pixel dimensions are about 30 microns on a side . the thickness of the lcd module in the z - dimension ( z lcd ) is about 1 . 1 mm . the lcd is preferably active matrix and has a small pixel spacing , good contrast , and a relatively large active area per pixel . for , example the hitachi model mtm25v01 lcd made by hitachi may be used . it is also anticipated that lcd displays having smaller addressable pixels ( e . g . 15 micron or smaller ) and larger arrays of pixels ( e . g . 3000 × 3000 or larger pixel arrays ) are or will become available , and that such larger and / or higher resolution lcd displays may also be advantageously employed in the invention . the lcd 68 a is reimaged onto the image focal plane 80 at greatly reduced scale by lens 78 positioned such that in the exemplary embodiment illustrated , the ratio of third to fourth lens conjugate distances d 3 / d 4 is about 200 : 1 . in this configuration , the lcd is reimaged at a magnification ratio of 200 : 1 , such that a one - inch lcd section is reimaged as a { fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inch optical image of the lcd at the image plane 80 . different parts of the lcd image , that is , the vertical background fringes 202 , and the “ a ” diagonal fringes 201 , cause diffraction of the incident light at different angular orientations and / or at different radial distances from the optical axis . even the physical structure of the lcd ( e . g . the array of equally spaced pixels ) itself diffracts light . undiffracted light remains along the central optical axis , and higher spatial frequencies including light diffracted by the lcd pixel array itself result in greater angular deviation . the physical separation of the diffracted beams is a function of the exposure wavelength , the spatial frequency of the displayed data , and the distance from the lcd to lens 78 , according to the relationship defined in bragg &# 39 ; s law , i . e . lambda = 2d × sin ( theta ) where λ is wavelength of the light , d is distance , and theta is the diffracted angle . a separation is chosen which will produce the desired spatial frequency at the final image plane and this will depend on the focal length of lens 78 , again applying bragg &# 39 ; s law . note that in this disclosure the terms diffraction , grating , hologram , and the like are used synonymously . although data to generate a fringe structure ( e . g . 201 , 202 ) is generated by , or stored on , computer 20 and displayed on lcd 68 , the fringe structure at the lcd generated by individual resolvable pixels or groups of pixels on the lcd is not typically reimaged into focal plane 80 . in fact , the fringe structure required at focal plane 80 to produce the hologram will generally be beyond the resolution and / or contrast performance of the preceding optical system components . the fringe structure present at lcd 68 is not actually imaged by the lenses in that it is not optically transferred from the lcd plane to the focal plane 80 . instead the fringe structure displayed on the lcd diffracts the incident laser beam 57 generating the diffracted orders so that they separate from the optical axis as illustrated at the plane of mask 76 in fig2 . lens 56 causes the diverging beams ( 0th , ± 1 , ± 2 , ± 3 , etc ) to come to separate foci in the plane of lens 78 . energy diffracted from the background fringes at constant frequency f 1 is concentrated in regions 210 and 211 at lens 78 , and the energy from the a fringes at constant frequency f 2 is concentrated in regions 212 and 213 at lens 78 . fig4 shows a diagrammatic illustration of exemplary fringes ( alternating bands of light and dark ) on the multi - grey level lcd display . fringes can be generated having sinusoidal , square - wave , sawtooth , binary , or other mathematical characteristics . generating the diffracting pattern on the lcd in this manner using a multi - level ( e . g . 256 grey level ) display provides advantages over a binary display having only two levels because of this flexibility . the white area 105 in fig4 represents low density transparent regions of the lcd , and the black areas represent high density regions . the “ speckled ” regions 107 represent intermediate grey scale areas of the lcd having intermediate density , and the density is constant within any one addressable lcd pixel . the speckling is merely used in the drawings to provide the appearance of a multiplicity of grey levels .) in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 and 2 , only the ± 1st order beams 72 a , 72 b from each of the background lcd fringe pattern 202 ( shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 210 , 211 ) and the beam diffracted from a region 201 ( shown in the plane of mask 76 as regions 213 , 214 ) are allowed to pass mask 76 . ( for purposed of clarity , approximate ray traces for the incident and diffracted orders are only shown for the background lcd fringes .) upon existing mask 76 second lens 78 located at the focus of first lens 56 redirects the ± 1 background and a diffracted beams ( and in other embodiments , other diffracted orders ) from each region of the mask 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 so as to reunite or overlap all of the beams diffracted from the lcd image at their respective positions in focal plane 80 . ( region 203 has a constant grey level without fringes and does not diffract any significant energy outside of the d . c . or 0th frequency order component .) these intersecting beams cause interference and because the ± 1st order beams are used , the number of interference fringes are effectively doubled over those that would result from interference between the 0th order and either of the + 1 or − 1 order beams . in general , the lcd may display a virtually unlimited graphical content and such content is not limited to the examples specifically described in this description . those workers having ordinary skill in the art , in light of this description will appreciate the manner in which content dependent diffraction occurs as a result of diffraction by data displayed on lcd 68 , and the manner in which the frequency components of that diffraction are separated in the fourier transform plane of mask 76 . the relationship between the image data fringe spacing on the lcd and the interference fringes produced on the output focal plane 80 is linear and is determined by the distances between the optical components and the focal length of lens 78 . for example , if the lcd region representing the letter a had 15 fringes across the length of the “ a ”, then the final hologram would contain 30 fringes across the area containing the focused “ a ”, and these fringes would have a spatial frequency 400 times that of the original , though the image of the “ a ” would have been reduced only 200 times . therefore , the inventive structure and method provide for extremely high spatial frequency grating structures and holograms at the focal plane 80 , in spite of the relatively modest resolution at the lcd itself . of course the image will be transposed , that is flipped or mirrored about the vertical and / or horizontal axis , but these effects are conventional and easily accounted for either by reorienting the photosensitive material 81 , or by geometrically manipulating the data sent to lcd 68 so that the final output has appropriate geometrical orientation on the photo sensor . the distribution of light in the lens plane 78 is a frequency domain representation ( e . g . fourier transform representation ) of the information in the lcd plane . the mechanism by which the 1st order diffracted beams from the background regions 210 , 211 are recombined to generate new interference fringes 221 in focal plane 80 are illustrated further in fig5 . the ray trace lines generally indicate how the light from regions 210 , 211 , 212 , 213 at the plane of mask 76 diverge from points in the plane of lens 78 to overlap at the output focal plane 80 . although ray - trace lines are not illustrated in fig5 for the a region 231 or the black region 232 , new fringes are also produced in similar manner from the a region . region 232 remains unexposed in the output plane 80 since no light was diffracted from the lcd data in region 203 , and since undiffracted components are blocked by the central stop of mask 76 . in general , the lcd 68 will display an image having one or a plurality of frequency components defining an image or a portion of an image . these components diffract the laser light a causing separation of the spatial frequency components in the fourier transform plane of the lens 78 , and subsequent recombination by lens 78 at the focal plane . the manner in which a composite output graphic design 601 is built up is now described with respect to fig6 . magnified portions of several exemplary portions of each exposure area 602 a , 602 b , and 602 c of the composite focal plane graphic and corresponding lcd inputs are illustrated in fig6 that is in fig6 a ( 1 ), 6 a ( 2 ), 6 b ( 1 ), 6 b ( 2 ), and 6 c ( 1 ), 6 c ( 2 ), respectively . in this example , the lcd has 480 × 640 addressable elements but only a square 480 × 480 is used to display data that appears in the demagnified footprint . each of the smallest rectangles 601 represents an lcd footprint . the composite output image can be any size , for example it can vary from the size of a single lcd footprint ({ fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inch ×{ fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inch in this case ), to the several hundred or more footprints on each side of the composite image . a composite image built up from a 400 by 400 array of lcd footprints ( 160 , 000 exposures ) at a 1 : 200 lcd demagnification would be about 2 inches square . with respect to fig6 a , each region 602 a , 602 b , and 602 c represents an exposure “ footprint ” of the full lcd display 68 as reimaged onto the final photosensitive plate material 81 in focal plane 80 . in this embodiment , the composite image is built up a “ footprint ” at a time . in general , the exposed region at plate 81 could correspond to the entire lcd screen ( e . g . 640 × 480 pixels ) or it could correspond to a subportion of the lcd screen area , for example , it could correspond to a square 480 × 480 pixel region , or to { fraction ( 1 / 16 )} of the lcd area ( e . g . 160 × 120 pixels ), or any other portion . the rectangular area within the circular region identifies the pixels in the lcd only , as the dark border does not actually exist in the output data . the individual lcd footprints are precisely aligned so that each footprint abuts without overlap or gap . also , it will be understood that the region within the magnified circle and the darker rectangular border represents lcd data that appears in the composite and is not a component of the lcd itself during that particular exposure . it is convenient , from an imaging and software standpoint , to utilize a square region of the lcd to correspond to the exposure footprint . here an exposure footprint corresponds to a 480 × 480 pixel section of the display which is reimaged at { fraction ( 1 / 200 )} scale . the composite image is built up from a series of exposures , such as for example : ( i ) the exposure footprint illustrated in fig6 a ( 1 ) at time to t a from the lcd data in fig6 a ( 2 ); ( ii ) the exposure in fig6 b ( 1 ) at time t b from the lcd data in fig6 b ( 2 ); ( iii ) the exposure in fig6 c ( 1 ) at time t c from the lcd data in fig6 c ( 2 ); and ( iv ) other exposures ( not shown ); to build up the entire image comprising regions 602 a , . . . , 602 b , . . . 602 c , . . . etc . as shown in fig6 a . it is generally convenient to control the x - and y - motion of stepper motors 82 and 83 to sequentially step the photosensitive material in x - and then y - dimensions until the entire image is formed as a latent exposure . in other embodiments , different wavelength lasers may also desirably be employed to expose different or overlapping regions so that each exposure is made at both a different location and with a different wavelength . other embodiments may also incorporate scales other than { fraction ( 1 / 200 )}. further embodiments may physically or optically abut multiple lcd arrays so that exposure is performed in parallel . the large thick dark ( black ) region 610 in the lcd data shown in fig6 b ( 2 ) and region 612 in fig6 c ( 2 ), are data regions that will form black line regions in the final image . the dark black regions 610 , 612 in the lcd do not diffract the incident laser radiation , so that no light is reimaged back to the corresponding regions in the final output focal plane 80 . lcd regions displaying fringes , such as region 615 in fig6 a ( 2 ) ( here the entire 480 × 480 region of the lcd display ) diffract light into ± 1st order beams which become imaged to form new interference fringes over the footprint 616 in fig6 a ( 1 ). as each of the footprints 602 a , . . . , 602 n is a representation of the lcd display , the image created by diffraction at the focal plane 80 will look substantially like the image being displayed at the lcd except for the optical mirroring , flipping , or other inversions that necessarily occur after passing through center optical components . in other words , some of the footprints will be entirely filled with fringes oriented in the same direction , some of the footprints will also have black or unexposed regions , and some footprints will have a multitude of diffractive patterns at different spatial frequencies or angles . in the simplest case , each region 602 a , . . . 602 b , . . . , 602 c , . . . 602 n in the image plane 80 of fig6 a is created by a data display on the lcd , that is , it is formed from the entire image displayed on the lcd 68 . a step and repeat procedure , described hereinafter , steps each exposure in both x - and y - coordinates . for each step , the data ( image ) displayed on the lcd is or may be changed . with further reference to fig6 fig6 a is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner in which the image at the plate 80 is built up or integrated from a sequence of separate exposures . exposure 1 ( region 602 a ) is formed at time t 1 by sending data to lcd 68 having a fringe pattern only at a frequency of about 7 pixels and at an angle of about 135 degrees clockwise from vertical . exposure 2 ( region 602 b ) is formed at time t 2 by stepping the plate 80 along the x - or horizontal axis by distance of about 0 . 005 inches corresponding to the size of the lcd display area times the magnification factor ( actually a reduction factor of { fraction ( 1 / 200 )} in this example ). for example , if the lcd has a 1 - inch display area , and the magnification is { fraction ( 1 / 200 )}, then the step increment in x - and y - directions will be { fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inches so that the successive exposures will abut without overlap . exposure 5 ( region 602 c ) is formed at time t 5 by displaying an lcd display as shown in fig6 b ( 2 ) wherein pixels on the lower left and upper right hand side regions 621 , 622 contain only fringes , and pixels in region 610 form an arcuate path from upper left to lower right that are either black or clear ( here shown as black ) so as to avoid diffraction from this area . note that the fringes in the lcd 68 created by digital data are generated from computer 20 , while the fringes at the output plate 80 are produced by physical wave interference of the recombined diffracted orders , here the + 1 and − 1 diffracted orders . the lcd display fringes and interference fringes formed at the output plane also have a different physical separation and corresponding spatial frequency but have the same relative orientation ( except for optical reversal ) as the lcd displayed fringes . beams incident onto the black areas 610 , 612 of the lcd are not diffracted since these regions do not display fringes . whether these regions are represented as black or clear in the data sent to the lcd , and whether or not the polarizing filters are left on the lcd , the light incident on these regions passes through as undiffracted energy in the zeroth order beam , and in this particular embodiment are blocked by mask 76 so that no light from this area reaches plate 80 from areas 610 and 612 . an embodiment of the inventive method 600 is now described with reference to fig7 . the method begins ( step 602 ) with the choice of the final size in the hologram of the data elements from a digital image file ( step 604 ), i . e ., the choice of how many data elements will be displayed on the lcd per exposure . this digital image file defines the data to be displayed in each sub - region or super - region ( if the elements define areas larger than the footprint of the system ) of the lcd 68 . next , the number of horizontal data elements ( image samples ) and the number of vertical data elements ( image lines ) per exposure are calculated ( step 606 ). once the size of the horizontal and vertical data elements are known , the total number of horizontal exposures or footprints in the x - direction are computed ( step 608 ), as well as the total number of vertical exposures in the y - direction ( step 610 ). these computations define , in conjunction with the size of the data display ( e . g . the lcd 68 ) and the optical magnification ( reduction ), the final size of the composite output image . note that characterization as horizontal or vertical , or as x -, y -, or z - coordinate are merely for descriptive convenience , and that those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the description provided herein will appreciate that the inventive apparatus and method may be oriented or implemented in any orientation and are not constrained to horizontal or vertical orientation , and that motion of the photo sensitive materials relative to the optical system output beam ( s ) may be performed using non - orthogonal movements . prior to exposing the first footprint , the x - and y - positions of the stage 24 are adjusted for the location of the first exposure ( steps 612 , 614 ). normally exposure will begin at one corner and proceed in a back and forth raster pattern , however , any other exposure location addressing scheme may be used so long as accurate positioning is maintained . data is created or preferably retrieved from memory storage 18 ( steps 616 , 618 ) coupled to computer 20 , and sent via display controller 68 b to lcd display 68 ( step 620 ). the data may include periodic or non periodic grid lines ( fringes ), as well as text and graphics data , and the like . the grid data may include linear diffraction fringe data , but is not limited to linear forms , and it is contemplated that any form , including circles , ellipses , polygons , and any other shape may be displayed including representations of more complex diffractive data such as holographic fringe patterns . the data may be created and / or stored in raster , vector , or any other conventional form , and may be compressed or uncompressed , but ultimately it is displayed as a two - dimensional matrix of pixels that define diffractive structures or constant areas as already described . the display preferably displays data in a multiple grey level monochomatic format preferably having at least 256 grey levels . displays having more than 256 grey levels may be used with some increase in quality and cost , and displays of fewer grey levels may be used with some possible degradation . binary displays ( e . g . pixel is either on or off ) may be used for certain limited applications . once the data is displayed , the computer commands shutter 52 to open for an appropriate exposure time that will depend on the transmissivity ( density ) of the lcd , optical throughput of the system , and the sensitivity of the photosensitive material 81 in conventional manner , thereby exposing the lcd display onto the photo resist material to create the hologram ( step 624 ). after all regions are exposed , the latent image is developed or otherwise processed in conventional manner to form the diffraction grating or holographic structure ( s ). the computer 20 computes the new position for the second exposure by stepping in the scan line ( horizontal ) direction ( step 626 ), retrieving or generating appropriate data for the second exposure , displaying the data , and exposing the new data as before . this process is continued until the complete scan line is exposed . the entire process is repeated for the next y - coordinate position until the entire image has been exposed ( step 628 , 630 ). it should be noted that while a rectangular array of footprints is illustrated , the exposure pattern need not be rectangular , and that the footprints may be non - rectangular and / or disjoint from each other if the application requires these characteristics . the invention structure and method are very flexible in this regard . the data generated for the lcd 68 will typically be a raster type image file . for example , one example of data that would generate a diffraction grating at the surface of the final hologram would be a graphical representation of the fringe structure of a diffraction grating saved as a windows bmp ( bit mapped ) file or as any other file format , whether standardized or not , so long as it can be displayed on the lcd . fig8 illustrates image section for a prior - art procedure for generating a hologram . from this diagram it is clear that the inventive structure and method provide a fundamentally different approach as compared to other possible structures and methods . fig8 shows an output having an overall macroscopic appearance similar to the output generated by the inventive apparatus in fig6 a , but which actually differs in significant ways , both at microscopic and macroscopic levels . in conventional methods and apparatus , each region of the holographic output is formed by the exposure of a region 801 on the photoreceptor , such as a photo resist material as illustrated in fig8 a and 8 b . the laser light and data pattern for the exposure is formed at the photoreceptor by focussing two narrow gaussian intensity profile laser beams onto the surface . the interference fringe pattern is formed by interference of the two overlapping beams . no microscopic data other than the fringe pattern itself can be recorded as there is no mechanism for imaging anything more complex than the point which is exposed as a gaussian beam . by comparison , the inventive apparatus and method provides a means to add microscopic type or other graphics to each exposure region and to expose any number of gratings at arbitrary angles and spatial frequencies in the same or different areas of the exposure footprint simultaneously , and to control the content of each exposed region in a very controlled and flexible manner . in the existing conventional device and methods , the practitioner is limited to a single or fixed number of grating spacings . among its numerous advantages , the inventive apparatus and method provides for a continuously variable grating spacing . while some prior art methods provide for using a rotary turret holding a plurality of different diffraction gratings , the number of gratings is limited by physical space , and the ability to maintain optical alignment is compromised as the physical size of the turret is increased to accommodate a greater number of gratings . therefore , as a practiced matter , the number of gratings that could be implemented using conventional techniques is severely limited . the present invention allows an almost infinite number of lcd images for use as gratings ( limited only by the lcd quantization and the overall lcd and lens sizes ) so that it is not necessary to stop to rotate the turret to obtain different gratings as in conventional systems . in these conventional systems , the orientation and frequency of the interference fringes present in each exposure region 801 ( see fig8 ), are determined by the phase difference of the interfering beams , and are not easily controlled . these prior art devices rely either on a fixed fringe pattern , or rely on physical changes ( e . g . mechanical modifications ) to the optical system in order to change the output interference pattern spacing or orientation . at best , these prior art device may provide means for rotating the beam splitter responsible for creating the reference and data beams , and / or for altering the path / phase difference between the beams to effect the fringe spacing and angular orientation . conventional systems have not provided means to alter the spot size so that the footprint in the output focal plane could be changed . finally , conventional devices are not known to provide any means for shaping the output spot at the output focal plane and the output footprint is limited to circular spots having diameters only as small as about { fraction ( 1 / 400 )} of an inch ( about 0 . 0025 inches ) as illustrated in fig8 d . therefore , even if conventional systems were modified to add capability to mechanically alter the optical system to change fringe orientation , fringe spacing , spot size , and spot shape ( if possible with conventional gaussian beam shape ) these additions would necessarily slow the exposure cycle during the mechanical change and decrease system stability since components cannot be fixedly mounted in a stable configuration . they would also be prone to mechanical vibration and / or to misalignment . in addition , even if circular exposure regions ( e . g . 804 , 806 , 808 ) were directed to abut at their tangent points , they would not completely fill the space but would leave regions such as regions 810 , ( see fig8 d ) without exposure . because individual exposure regions cannot have unique contours the final image will have jagged or pixellated edges 811 . the black areas in fig8 including the large exposures of black surrounding the generally circular area and the black star shaped areas between the exposure circles need not be exposed . in such conventional systems , the exposure process must be stopped when a change in optical characteristics is required ( e . g change in fringe frequency ) which thereby slows the exposure process , or all regions having the same fringe characteristics must be exposed ( skipping different regions ) and then the process is repeated for regions requiring different characteristics . the present invention clearly solves the problem in these conventional systems . while several embodiments have been described that use a liquid crystal display ( lcd ) to display data that diffracts light as described , those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate that the lcd is one device of several devices that provide means for presenting or displaying information at a high resolution and in a small format , and that further provide means for rapidly changing the information content of that display without physical movement of the device , other optical system components to achieve movement , or the information containing media itself . other types of data displays such as micro - mirror devices that operate in a reflection mode with suitable folding of the optical system , and other spatial light modulators such as the light - valve spatial light modulator made by the general electric corporation may be used . multiple lcd displays might also be used and optically combined at the focal plane 80 to build up the entire image at the same time rather than sequentially or in sections . for example , four lcds could be set up and used simultaneously . they could be either be set to image adjacent regions or offset ; the step and repeat would be adjusted accordingly . other features of the inventive structure and method are now described with respect to fig9 . here super - region formed from a plurality of regions correspond to parts of a full lcd display , and each separate region ( e . g . region 920 ) corresponds to ¼ the linear dimension or { fraction ( 1 / 16 )} of the area or total number of pixels of the entire lcd display . this demonstrates the great flexibility of the invention , where in a single exposure , regions of the final image can be created incorporating a multitude of spatial frequencies , overall shape , multidirectional fringes , and microscopic graphic or text structures . in similar manner , other arbitrary numbers of regions can be imaged together and exposed simultaneously . for example , in fig9 a large text letter t is illustrated in the upper left hand region of the lcd 68 . the screen is divided into 16 regions each display different data , including different fringes . the t is superimposed on four regions 920 , 921 , 922 , 923 . the t is displayed at one spatial frequency , which is different from the spatial frequencies of the other regions 920 , 921 , 922 , 923 which it overlies or is contained within . the t is formed at a different spatial frequency and at a different angular area from the surrounding regions , and will therefore diffract to a different angle and / or to a different radial off - axis distance from the other regions 920 , 921 , 922 , 923 . in the exemplary system , the entire footprint for the exposure created from fig9 would be { fraction ( 1 / 200 )} inch , yielding a plethora of image information at much finer effective resolution , clearly unachievable by conventional holographic systems where each exposure region is an undifferentiated dot of similar size . while similar images could conceivably be produced using e - beam systems or by other systems if alignment could be kept accurate enough to allow much smaller foci , the former would be constrained to scan each fringe in the final image area individually , and the latter would have to expose hundreds of dots to compose an exposure similar to the one created in the exemplary system in a fraction of a second . with respect to the triangular areas 927 , 928 , 929 , image elements are not constrained to any particular geometrical form , for example , they are not limited to square or rectangular regions . regions may be rectangular , hexagonal , triangular , circular , or have a completely arbitrary shape so long as the area can be defined by the distribution of pixel levels displayed on the lcd pixel array . the lcd screen can either be subdivided or alternatively used as subdivision of a larger image area , that is larger than the footprint of the system . the term footprint refers to the entire exposure area on the photoreceptor plate 81 for each exposure , and is different from the term “ pixel ” which refers to an addressable element of the lcd . footprint is the entire utilized lcd area as it has been reimaged and reduced onto the photo resist material 81 . while the embodiment of the invention illustrated in fig1 has been described in detail , various alternative embodiments may also be implemented to practice the inventive structure and method . for example , with reference to fig1 , an alternative embodiment of the inventive apparatus similar to the embodiment already described is shown , except that exposures at the photo receptive material 81 are made by contributions from the undiffracted zeroth ( 0th ) order beam 70 , and either one of the diffracted beams 72 a , 72 b . the other diffracted beams are blocked by a somewhat different aperture or mask 76 b which blocks all frequencies except 70 and 72 a ( or 72 b ). this second alternative embodiment is different from that described relative to the embodiment in fig1 because the interference fringes created at the photoreceptor plane 80 are generated by interference between the 0th ( undiffracted ) beam and one other diffracted beam 72 a . the spectral frequency of the fingers are ½ that frequency which would be provided by the embodiment in fig1 since the angular difference between the 0th and the + 1 or − 1 beams is ½ the angle between the + 1 and − 1 beams . with reference to fig1 , which shows a third embodiment of the inventive apparatus having characteristics similar to the embodiment shown in fig1 but having no separate condenser lens 56 interposed between the spatial filter assembly 54 and the liquid crystal display 68 . in this configuration , a structure analogous to a kineform or a gabor zone plate is created within lcd structure 68 which effectively forms a condenser lens that refocuses the expanding beam 55 from the spatial filter assembly so that two beams diverge to a focus at lens 78 . the kineform displayed on the lcd simultaneously diffracts and focuses the beam , in the same manner that the separate condenser lens 56 and lcd 68 did in the first embodiment . conventional kineforms are often binary , however the multi - level lcd is not constrained to a binary kineform and is capable of displaying any of a number of diffracting patterns . in order to focus the light as a real image from the same location on the lcd to two different points on the camera lens 78 , one must superimpose two grating structures at the lcd that each focus light but to two different points . the kineform at lcd 68 can also focus light directly to the final plate without use of an additional lens 78 at the correct angle . unfortunately , the grating spatial frequencies recorded at the plate in such a configuration are the same or some low multiple of those displayed on the lcd and are generally too low to be useful as decorative gratings with presently available lcds . however , usefulness of this configuration will increase as such higher resolution lcd &# 39 ; s become available . those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of the disclosure presented herein , will appreciate that depending upon the characteristics of the apparatus , such as the embodiments illustrated and described with respect to fig1 , 11 , 12 , and 13 , that the data supplied along signal line 23 from computer 20 will be different depending upon the characteristics of the optical system and the desired output . in particular , it will be appreciated that the data communicated to lcd display 68 for the embodiment shown in fig1 will include components to produce the desired kineform focusing effect that would not otherwise be needed , for example in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 where a separate condenser lens 56 is already provided . data displayed on the lcd will be similar to that displayed in the system illustrated in fig1 with the exception that fringes in the various regions of the image will be curved to focus the incoming light onto lens 78 , and will generally have two sets of curved fringes superimposed to create the two beams necessary to create the final diffractive structure . as has already been mentioned , the data sent to the lcd will depend upon the embodiment and the desired effect , but programming for any of the embodiments described need not be complex to be effective . simple but visually dynamic images can be created from a fixed set of chosen angles of diffraction . it should be noted that since the final image will diffract into both plus and minus orders of diffraction , 180 discrete angles with one degree separations will , for example , diffract into a range of 360 degrees . the macroscopic appearance of such images can be designed in any of several commercially available art programs such as for example , adobe photoshop . other workers in the field have noted the utility of designing and saving such data as designs in a palettized bitmap format , coding angles of diffraction as colors in the image file . standard palette replacement and rotation techniques can then be used to preview on the computer screen the kinetic effect of tipping the final diffractive image to different angles . for embodiments where microscopic text or other graphics are added to each exposure footprint , separate files containing this data can be created which ideally are combined and maintain registration with the image data during the recording process . bitmap file formats are also convenient for storing the diffractive image data sent to the lcd in the preferred embodiment . the files should either be made large enough to cover the entire display area of the lcd or in images where only linear gratings are formed , smaller sections of diffractive image data can be tiled to create larger areas on the display , so long as the fringes can be kept in alignment . all or some portions of such image files are then used to compose the final data sent to the lcd , depending upon design . the lcd image data can be generated in a simple basic routine or routines in any other programming language which calculates the sine of the offset into the scan line for each pixel , adjustments being made for the angle of inclination for the fringes in each file . computers used for either the programming , data generation , and interface with the lcd display including the lcd display controller may be any of the commonly available microprocessor based computers , such as those made by ibm , apple , sun , digital equipment corporation and the like . they typically incorporate 386 , 486 , 586 , pentium , pentiumpro , or equivalent or higher microprocessors . the fourth embodiment illustrated in fig1 has rotary servo 58 with mounted grating 60 , and the inventive system includes means for expanding the beam to cover a large area on the grating 60 to go through a mask 76 and to focus the beam down to the camera lens 78 . conventional systems merely take a raw beam from the laser , direct it through a diffraction grating , and then spin or rotate the diffraction grating to make the beams move around on the camera lens 78 . the lens 78 is referred to as a camera lens because a conventional camera lens is suitable for this purpose although a holographic optical element or many other conventional lens arrangements are equally suitable for this task . lens 56 is referred to as a condenser lens because of it &# 39 ; s functional purpose in the system , and need not be a conventional condenser type lens . the inventive structure provides means for varying the information provided in the aperture of lcd 68 , and provides the ability to alter the final fringe angles at will typically under computer contract via the servo , and provides additional features , such as recording text and graphic elements in each exposure . the inventive device also provides means for masking portions of each footprint and for changing shape of each footprint individually if desired . the advantages of this structure and method include the relative ease of programming the data sent to the lcd system , which includes only gross features of the final image relative to the fringe structure as no fringes need be generated or displayed by the lcd , which acts only as a mask in this embodiment . a fifth embodiment of the invention is illustrated in fig1 . this apparatus represents a modification of the embodiment already illustrated and described with respect to fig1 ; however , the characteristics of some optical components and their placement in the optical path has been altered to achieve the particular benefits now described . in this fifth embodiment there is a one - to - one correspondence between the pixels of the lcd and the pixels exposed in the final hologram . more particularly , condenser lens 56 is selected so as to intercept the expanding laser beam from spatial filter assembly 54 , and to redirect that intercepted beam in a converging path to rotationally mounted diffraction grating 60 . the diffraction grating 60 is rotatable to select particular angles of diffraction in the final image . this selection is accomplished by generating an image structure within lcd 68 by “ opening ” ( e . g . making transparent ) all the pixels in the footprint portion of the final image which are required by design to diffract at a first orientation and by aligning diffraction grating 68 to match that first orientation . in this matter , the photo receptive material 81 in focal plane 80 ( or the footprint region ) is exposed such that all information at one particular diffraction grating angle is exposed at the same time , and then during subsequent exposures other orientations are selected by rotating diffraction grating 60 to those other orientations , opening the regions of the lcd for which exposure to the other regions are desired , and exposing these other orientations . if an image larger than the focused size of the lcd on the final plate is required by the design of the final hologram , the plate is then moved using an x - y transport to the next exposure region and the process is repeated until the entire image has been exposed . operation of this fifth embodiment also has some different characteristics from the operation of other embodiments already described . the magnification of lens 78 determines the area of exposure on the final plate and this can be as large or larger than the lcd itself , depending on the pitch desired in the final image . in operation , all of the pixels that one wants to expose at one diffraction grating angle are made transparent , the shutter 52 is opened , an exposure is made , the shutter is closed , the angular orientation for the rotatable grating is changed , and the same or different pixels where exposure at a different grating angle are desired are made transparent , and a subsequent exposure is made . if there are 180 different angles desired in the final image , then the procedure will expose the entire 640 × 480 lcd display swatch ( or any portion thereof in 180 separate spatially overlapping or discrete exposures . no microscopic graphic or text data is possible in the final image , save that built from the gross pixel patterns displayed on the screen , but exposures of large areas of undifferentiated ( save for angle ) pixels can be created rapidly . for example , in the preceding example , conventional systems would require 640 × 480 -, or 307 , 200 exposures for the same region this embodiment can expose in 180 exposures . a computer simulation of a representative security device or security marking made in accordance with the invention is illustrated in fig1 a - 14e . fig1 illustrates a section of printed currency 501 . fig1 b - 14e illustrate progressively smaller sections of section 501 at greater magnification so that greater detail may be seen in particular regions of the currency . in fig1 d , a small portion 504 of the currency 501 is illustrated showing a background region 506 on which is recorded microtext 507 . other graphic or pictorial information either alone or in combination with text may be used . of course where test is provided , it may be in any alphabet , symbol set , or the like . with respect to fig1 e , there is shown a magnified portion 511 of the currency in fig1 d illustrating additional details of the microprinted text ( or other graphic ) that are preferably but optionally provided . each of the rectangular regions ( or partial rectangular regions ) 512 - 520 represent a region corresponding to an lcd footprint . as illustrated in fig1 e , each footprint may provide one or more regions having either no fringes ( such as region 513 ) or may have a combination of regions having fringes at different angular orientations and / or different fringe spacings . for example , in one region 516 background fringes are oriented at a first angle ( about 135 degrees in the drawing ) with a spacing of 1 / f b1 where f b1 is the spatial frequency of the background fringes . also illustrated is a second text region 522 having fringes at a second orientation relative to the first set of background fringes and a fringe spacing of 1 / f t1 where f t1 is the spatial frequency of the text fringes within the letter “ e ”. these fringes will generally have alternating light and dark bands with a continuum of shades of grey of the character already illustrated in fig4 that is they will not generally be the solid black and white lines illustrated in fig1 e . those workers having ordinary skill in the art in light of this description will appreciate the characteristics exhibited by interference fringes . it should also be appreciated from the enlarged view in fig1 e , that the rectangular regions 512 - 520 ideally appear as a continuum in the actual output ( here the currency note ) and that delineating the separate regions is merely for the sake of the description herein . in light of this , the “ e ” which appears in each of regions 516 and 518 is not divided by the boundary between these two regions . to the extent that some misalignment between lcd exposure footprints may be tolerated , the invention is not to be construed to cover only embodiments in which perfect footprint abutment is realized . the fringes in the currency result in diffraction of light , the angle at which diffraction occurs being a function of the fringe spacing , the orientation of the fringes relative to the plate at the output plane , and the wavelength of incident light that is diffracted by the fringes . therefore , as is well understood by those workers having ordinary skill in the art , the fringes will produce a rainbow effect so that for a polychromatic illumination ( e . g . normal white light ) different colors are directed at an observer &# 39 ; s eye ( or an instrument &# 39 ; s sensor ) from the various different spatial frequencies , and further the rainbow of colors will tend to roll as the currency note is moved or rotated past the eye of the observer . these diffractive elements provide the distinctive diffractive rainbow effect . use of such diffractive elements , imbedded micro - text or micro - graphics , and other features described herein does not preclude the inclusion of other distinctive features such as specially formulated and / or colored inks or dyes , magnetic encoding , papers or other substrates , watermarks , diffractive foils applied to the surface of the currency note , or combinations of these and other features . it is also understood that the example of a currency note is merely illustrative of the features that may be incorporated into a document or other item . the method and apparatus disclosed herein is more generally applicable to recording small features on a substrate where the small features requires or benefits from high spatial frequency information such as may be achieved by electromagnetic interference fringes at predefined locations in space . while the present inventive structure and method has been described with reference to a few specific embodiments , the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention . various modifications may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . all references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference . | 6 |
fig3 is a diagram of a laser beam printer used for illustrating the principle of the present invention . number 31 in fig3 indicates an image signal input to a laser diode drive circuit 32 , and number 33 indicates a laser diode . the laser diode 33 emits a laser beam which is divided by a beam splitter 35 into transmitted light 36 and reflected light 37 . the transmitted light 36 travels through an optical system 38 to form an image on a sensitive materials 39 , while the reflected light 37 is subjected to photoelectric conversion at an optical sensor 40 for negative feedback to the laser diode drive circuit 32 . number 41 indicates an optical sensor for detecting laser beam levels on the sensitive material 39 . the optical sensor 41 outputs detection signals which proceed through an amplifier 42 to an oscilloscope 43 to be monitored . with this printer , a 100 hz rectangular wave signal as shown in fig4 ( a ) was applied in place of the analog image signal 31 and variations in the laser beam level on the sensitive material 39 were monitored with the oscilloscope 43 . fig4 ( b ) shows the results . this data was derived where the laser diode had a minimum emission power at zero milliwatt and a maximum emission power at 70 % of maximum rating , and its ambient temperature was manually varied . it will be seen from fig2 ( b ) that the laser beam level is not flat but is modulated at random . this random modulation is due to mode hopping noise , and tends to be caused by self - heating of the laser diode incidental to the light emission as well as by the variations in the ambient temperature and to be modulated by light returning from external optical elements . it has been found that a negative feedback circuit leading to the laser diode drive circuit 32 has the function to prevent the variations in the laser beam level , and is responsive to a frequency as high as about 20 mhz but is totally ineffective with regard to the mode hopping noise . fig4 ( c )-( f ) progressively show a rise portion of the waveform of fig4 ( b ) in tenfold magnifications on time basis . it will be seen from these figures that the beam level is to a large extent , if not entirely , free of the mode hopping noise for 0 . 5 microseconds after the rise of emission by the laser diode . it follows , therefore , that the mode hopping noise may be prevented by stopping the laser beam emission at mhz order intervals in order to improve image quality . however , it has been confirmed through other experiments that a similar effect is produced by reducing the level of the input signal for the laser diode to a level corresponding to less than half of the maximum rating power for a short period instead of stopping the laser beam emission . fig5 illustrates samples of a constant density image printed with the laser beam printer . fig5 ( b ) shows an ideal print , whereas fig5 ( a ) shows unevenness in the density due to the mode hopping noise . fig4 ( a ) and fig5 ( b )-( f ) illustrate that print patterns are closely related to the noise . thus , the mode hopping noise may be prevented by reducing the level of the laser beam output by the laser diode for a short period at intervals of mhz or more . however , the level must be reduced at intervals so as to correspond to each pixel . if the image signal level were reduced for one short period for two pixels , the laser beam level would be reduced while the laser beam is printing two dots in the image . this would inconveniently result in a difference in density between the two dots , one being printed during a time in which the beam level is reduced and the other during a time in which the beam level is not reduced . by reducing the level of the laser beam output by the laser diode for one short period for each pixel , such an inconvenience may be avoided and all dots will have the same density so long as the emission power is constant . fig6 is a schematic sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention . first , the construction and operation of the image recording apparatus will be described briefly with reference to this figure . the image recording apparatus 60 is for printing toned images on photosensitive films f such as silver chloride films by means of a laser beam modulated according to an image signal level . the films f are placed one upon another in a supply cassette 61 , and an uppermost one of the films f is picked up by a pickup mechanism 62 and is delivered by feed rollers 63 onto a film support plate 64 . thereafter the film f is fed between a drum 67 in constant counterclockwise rotation and press rollers 68 , 69 in rotation through contact with the drum 67 . while being transported , the film f is exposed to the laser beam between the rollers 68 , 69 . after the exposure the film f is allowed to fall into a discharge cassette 70 . the laser beam is projected to the film f between the rollers 68 , 69 via a reflecting mirror 51 contained in an optical box 50 mounted in an upper portion of the image recording apparatus 60 . fig7 is a plan view showing the arrangement of optical elements in the optical box 50 . the laser beam is emitted from a light source 71 while being modulated , and travels via a polygonal mirror 52 in high speed rotation , through a toroidal lens 53 , an f0 lens 54 and the reflecting mirror 51 to write image data on the film f transported in synchronism therewith . fig8 shows a laser diode drive circuit incorporated into the light source 71 and having the same basic construction as shown in fig3 . the laser diode drive circuit 2 receives an image signal 1 pulse - amplitude - modulated by a suitable pulse modulation circuit , not shown , to assume pulses as shown in fig8 ( b ). the pulse modulation frequency corresponds to one pixel in the image . where , as here , the image signal is pulse - amplitude - modulated in the pulse waveform with a frequency corresponding to one pixel , the image is reproduced with a tone density proportional to a pulse height . the image signal may be modulated into other waveforms such as a sine waveform and a triangular waveform as shown in fig9 ( a ) and ( b ). furthermore , the pulse - amplitude - modulation may involve reduction only to half level of the image signal as shown in fig1 , instead of reduction to zero level . the frequency of mode hopping occurrence vaires with the temperature and emission power of the diode and also from diode to diode . therefore , low levels in the modulated image signal basically correspond to the levels resulting from stoppage of emission by the laser diode . however , since the mode hopping noise is notable when the power of the laser diode is above half of the maximum rating power , the mode hopping noise may be prevented by setting the low levels below half of the maximum value of the modulated signal as shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a specific example of a circuit for pulse - amplitude - modulating the image signal . this circuit is adapted to output an image of 256 tones by means of 8 - bit image data . number 111 indicates , for example , a 32 mhz clock pulse generator and number 112 indicates a 4 - bit binary counter acting as frequency divider . the clock pulse generated by the clock pulse generator 111 is divided by this frequency divider to 1 / 16 , thereby to produce 2 mhz pulses ( pixel clock ) suitable as the frequency corresponding to one pixel . number 113 indicates an address decoder , number 114 is a dynamic memory for storing the image data in binarized form , numbers 115a - 115h indicate and gates , number 116 indicates an inverter , number 117 indicates a d / a converter , and number 118 indicates an amplifier whose output is given to the laser diode drive circuit 2 as shown in fig8 . according to the above construction , image data of the address designated by the address decoder 113 is read from the dynamic memory 114 in synchronism with the 2 mhz pixel clock , and is input to the and gates 115a - 115h which are opened and closed by the pixel clock . the gates provide zero output data when closed , and therefore the image signal after d / a conversion becomes zero level then . accordingly , the pulse - amplitude - modulation is carried out on the image signal by opening and closing of the and gates . in this embodiment , the gates 115a - 115h are closed for the period of 1 / 16 after the start of each dot in the image . in fig1 , the frequency of 2 mhz is employed for each pixel but of course this is not limitative . fig1 shows another example of a circuit for pulse - amplitude - modulating the image signal . the image signal a is input at an input terminal 121 , compared by a comparator 122 with a feedback signal transmitted from a light receiving element 123 by a comparator 122 , and amplified by an amplifier 124 to drive a laser diode 125 . number 126 indicates a d . c . bias current source for the laser diode which emits the laser beam for forming an image , and number 127 indicates an amplifier for amplifying the signal from the light receiving element 123 . the circuit for pulse - modulating the image signal a is indicated at 128 . this circuit 128 includes a transistor 129 for turning the image signal on and off , a variable resistor 90 for varying a threshold level for the operation of transistor 129 , and a photocoupler 91 for actuating the transistor 129 . the photocoupler 91 optically couples a light emitting diode 92 and a light receiving element 93 . the diode 92 is operable under control by a signal provided by a cpu ( which signal is of pulse waveform having a fixed duty ratio as shown at b in fig1 ). when the signal b rises , the diode 92 emits light which places the light receiving element 93 in the operative state . then the base of transistor 129 switches to ground potential and the emitter and collector of transistor 129 are unelectrified . therefore the image signal a is input to a negative input terminal of comparator 122 in consequence causing the laser diode 125 to emit light in a quantity corresponding to the level of the image signal a . conversely , when the diode 92 stops emitting light , the transistor 129 becomes operative . then the negative terminal of comparator 122 changes into ground potential so that laser diode 125 stops the emission . where the light emitting diode 92 is turned on and off with the signal b , the image signal a is modulated to have a waveform as shown at c in fig1 . it will be seen clearly that the image signal is turned on and off in synchronism with the action of the light emitting diode 92 . the frequency of the on - off operation of the light emitting diode 92 must be a frequency corresponding to one pixel . therefore , the signal b rises and falls in a short time of about 30 nanoseconds , and it is necessary for the photocoupler 91 to be a high speed photocoupler usable in such a frequency . fig1 shows results of an examination as to the time and level of laser beam reduction necessary to stabilization of the laser diode output , which were derived by means of a noise spectrum . this figure has been plotted by utilizing a spectrum analyzer in place of the oscilloscope of fig3 . the level reduction time represents a duty ratio of the light emission time of the laser diode to one pixel clock . fig1 shows the results of examination in respect of a laser diode having a 780 nm emission wavelength and a 20 mw maximum rating , and its maximum emission level is 75 % of the maximum rating ridden with noise . the emission frequency of the laser diode ( hereinafter referred to as pulsing frequency ) was set to about 3 . 3 mhz , and the emission duty ratio was varied by 1 / 8 . fig1 ( a ) shows data of the duty ratios 7 / 8 and 8 / 8 . the data of the duty ratio 7 / 8 shows a sharp peak at 3 . 3 mhz corresponding to the pulse frequency . the duty ratio 8 / 8 represents a constant power emission without pulsing . the spectrum was measured over a range extending to 5 mhz to cover the 3 . 3 mhz clock pulse frequency . the axis of ordinate indicates the levels of the signal and noise in decibels and includes a - 80 db line for reference . it will be seen from fig1 ( a ) that there is a distinct difference between thd duty ratios 7 / 8 and 8 / 8 . to be particular , in the duty ratio 7 / 8 the level is flat throughout the spectrums whereas in the duty ratio 8 / 8 the level reaches to a maximum value as high as 30 db in a low frequency band below 1 mhz . fig1 ( b ) is a diagram plotted by extracting maximums and minimums of the noise spectrum in a range up to the clock pulse frequency and setting them in relation to the emission duty ratios . it will be seen from fig1 ( b ) that the pulsing emission produces a considerable effect on the noise spectrum , though shown in ratio variations by 1 / 8 . as inferred from fig1 ( a ), the spectrum has the noise level in the low frequency band reduced to be flat with respect to the frequency . in fig1 ( a ) and ( b ), when the level of the light emission by the laser diode is reduced in the pulsing frequency , the level is reduced to zero ( that is to say the emission is stopped ). fig1 ( c ) shows results of examination as to the level to which the light emission may be reduced to produce the same effect . in fig1 ( c ) maximum values of the noise spectrum are plotted by standardizing them by the ratio of the reduction level with respect to the level without pulses ( which is set to the maximum rating power ) and varying the pulsing duty ratio . it will be seen from fig1 ( c ) that a sufficient effect is produced without reducing the emission level by 100 % if the emission level is reduced by 25 % or more with the pulsing duty ratio at 1 / 2 or less and by 50 % or more with the pulsing duty ratio exceeding 1 / 2 . fig1 illustrates a laser diode drive system for a color laser printer wherein the pulsing duty ratio is set to the range described above . this system comprises three drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 . the drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 include laser diodes 131 , 141 and 151 , polarizing beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 for dividing laser beams b1 - b3 into image forming beams b11 , b21 and b31 and monitoring beams b12 , b22 and b32 , optical sensors 133 , 143 and 153 for receiving the monitoring beams b12 , b22 and b32 , and amplifiers 134 , 144 and 154 for driving the laser diodes 131 , 141 and 151 , respectively . the laser diodes 131 , 141 and 151 have different emission wavelengths λa , λ2 and λ3 , and a uniform maximum emission power po which is 20 mw , for example . each laser diode has a photoactive layer disposed horizontally . as shown in fig1 ( which shows only the third drive section to represent the other drive sections ), the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 are inclined at an angle of 33 degrees relative to the horizontal plane , for example . since the laser diodes have the photoactive layers disposed horizontally , the ratio of the image forming beams b11 , b21 and b31 to the monitoring beams b12 , b22 and b32 is determined by the inclination angle to the horizontal plane of the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 . if the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 were disposed horizontally , all the beams from the laser diodes would be transmitted therethrough . if the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 were disposed at an angle of 90 degrees relative to the horizontal plane , almost all the beams would be reflected . the ratio of transmitted beams to reflected beams is 7 : 3 where , as in this embodiment , the polarizing beam splitters are inclined 33 degrees . the optical sensors 133 , 143 and 153 used herein have a relatively flat radiation sensitivity with respect to wavelength . therefore , although the laser diodes 131 , 141 and 151 have the different emission wavelengths λ1 , λ2 and λ3 , the sensitivity varies within a ± 10 % range among the emission wavelengths λ1 , λ2 and λ3 assuming that the sensitivity at a middle wavelength is 100 %. the amplifiers 134 , 144 and 154 each include two input terminals , one of which receives an image signal sa containing image data and the other receives a monitor signal as a negative feedback signal from the optical sensor 133 , 143 and 153 . in addition to the laser diode drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 , the above printer includes a reference laser diode 160 , beam splitters of the wavefront dividing type 161 and 162 for reflecting part of the laser beam emitted from the laser diode 160 , and a reflecting mirror 163 for reflecting the entire laser beam which passes through the beam splitters 161 and 162 . the reference laser diode 160 is driven by a printer clock signal clk having a frequency corresponding to one pixel in the image , to effect a digital mode emission . as shown in fig1 , the reference laser diode 160 is inclined at an angle of 33 degrees relative to the horizontal plane , which corresponds to the rotation angle of the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 of the laser diode drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 . the beam splitters of the wavefront dividing type 161 and 162 are positioned and angled ( 33 degrees ) such that the beams reflected thereby will proceed to the polarization type beam splitters 141 , 152 of the second and third laser diode drive sections 140 , 150 . the reflecting mirror 163 is disposed such that the beam reflected thereby will proceed to the polarization type beam splitter 132 of the first laser diode drive section 130 . the reference laser diode 160 is inclined at an angle of 33 degrees relative to the horizontal plane as described above , in order to prevent reflection at each of the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 . if the reference laser diode 160 included a photoactive layer having an angle of inclination not corresponding to that of the polarizing beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 , part of the laser beam emitted by the reference laser diode 160 would be reflected by the polarization type beam spliters 132 , 142 and 152 to mix into the image forming beams b11 , b21 and b31 , thereby resulting in noise in the formed image . where , as in this embodiment , the photoactive layer of the reference laser diode 160 is parallel to the polarization type beam splitters 132 , 142 and 152 , the laser beam emitted by the reference laser diode 160 is all superimposed on the monitoring beams b12 , b22 and b32 whereby no noise occurs on the formed image . since the laser diodes 131 , 141 and 151 are driven by the image signal sa , the monitoning beams b12 , b22 and b32 have a waveform similar to the waveform of the image signal as shown in fig1 ( a ). such monitoring beams b12 , b22 and b32 are superimposed , the laser beam which is digitally emitted by the reference laser diode 160 ( which has a waveform as shown in fig1 ( b )) to assume a waveform as shown in fig1 ( c ). hereinafter the laser beam which is digitally emitted by the reference laser diode 160 is called a reference light . feedback signals having such a waveform are input to the amplifiers 134 , 144 and 154 and subjected to differential amplification with the image signal sa . therefore , the outputs of the amplifiers 134 , 144 and 154 or the laser beams b1 - b3 are in a pulse driven state as shown in fig1 ( d ). in this case , the duty ratio of the laser beams b1 - b3 is complementary to the duty ratio of the clock pulses clk applied to the reference laser diode 160 . thus , when the duty raito of the clock pulses clk is 30 %, the duty ratio of thelaser beams b1 - b3 is 70 %. the power of the beam , whic is emitted by the reference laser diode 160 and is superimposed on the monitor beams b11 , b12 and b32 , is determined according to conditions of the pulse drive mode illustrated in fig1 ( c ). where , for example , the beam from the reference laser diode 160 has a 1 / 2 ( 50 %) duty ratio , the beam power may be 25 % or more , preferably 50 % or more , of the light quantity of monitor beams b11 , b12 and b32 . a specific example where the beam has a 50 % duty ratio is shown in table 1 . table 1______________________________________ maximum reference emission monitoring lightgreater power power light maximumwave - wave - rating p = power powerlengths lengths po η × po m = 30 % × p 50 % × m______________________________________ ↓ 1 20 mw 10 mw 3 . 0 mw 1 . 5 mw ↓ 2 20 10 3 . 0 1 . 5 mw ↓ 3 20 12 3 . 6 1 . 5 mw total 4 . 8 mw______________________________________ in the above table , λ represents a coefficient of conversion from power rating po to a maximum power level at actural driving times . this coefficient λ is dependent on the optical system efficiency at various wavelengths ( including the 70 % transmission rate of the beam splitters ), the sensitivity of the sensitive material , the duty ratio of pulsing ( 1 / 2 ), the reduction level ( 50 %) and so forth . it will be seen from this table that the reference laser diode 160 having a power of about 5 mw permits pulsing with the 50 % reduction level to be carried out for the three laser diode drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 . the laser diode of 5 mw power may comprise an inexpensive diode , which is advantageous in terms of the cost of the apparatus . where it is difficult to provide the 33 degree inclination for the reference laser diode 160 , the beam splitters of the wavefront dividing type 161 and 162 and reflecting mirror 163 as in the described embodiment , the reflected beams of the reference laser diode 160 traveling toward an image forming surface may be minimized thereby permitting the reference laser diode 160 , beam splitters 161 and 162 and reflecting mirror 163 to be erected . in this case , at least the beam slitters 132 , 142 and 152 of the drive sections 130 , 140 and 150 are erected to assume a wavefront dividing type with respect to oscillating directions ( shown by an arrow a in fig1 ) of the electric fields of the laser diodes , and a divisional ratio is selected to be 80 % for transmission and 20 % for reflection . further , the oscillation wavelength of the reference laser diode 160 is selected to correspond to the minimum sensitivity of the sensitive material ( which is λ3 ). table 2 shows specifications for providing the same image forming energy as in table 1 by erecting the reference laser diode 160 and the others . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ reference maximum monitoring light power of digital beam power emission light maximum proceeding toward image - greater wave - rating power power power forming surfacewavelength lengths po p = η × po m = 30 % × p d = 50 % × m 20 % × d__________________________________________________________________________ ↓ 1 20 mw 8 mw 1 . 6 mw 1 . 0 mw 0 . 2 mw ↓ 2 20 9 1 . 8 1 . 1 mw 0 . 22 ↓ 3 20 12 2 . 4 1 . 5 mw 0 . 3 total 3 . 6 mw 0 . 72 mw__________________________________________________________________________ it will be seen from this table that the reference laser diode may have a small power not exceeding 4 mw . since the duty ratio if 1 / 2 , the total power of the referece diode output directed toward is 0 . 72 mw / 2 = 0 . 36 mw . this value , in combination with the reference light frequency being in the vicinity of λ3 , will not create fogging on the sensitive material . fig1 shows a further embodiment of the present invention in which the reference beams are allowed to travel toward the image forming surfaces without inclining the reference laser diode 160 and beam splitters 161 and 162 . in this embodiment , the beam splitter 161 , which divides the beam emitted by the reference laser diode 160 into a transmitted beam and a reflected beam , is mounted on the optical path of the monitor beam b12 . though not shown , other laser diode drive sections 140 and 150 also include beam splitters on the optical paths of the monitor beams for dividing the reference beam . according to this construction , part of the monitor beam b12 is reflected if the beam splitter 161 for dividing the reference beam comprises a wavefront dividing beam splitter , thereby reducing the quantity of light incident on the optical sensor 133 . therefore , this construction may be employed where a large quantity of light ( about 50 %) is reflected by the beam splitter 132 , namely where the power of light directed to the image forming surface may be about half . fig1 shows a still further embodiment of the present invention . in the embodiment of fig1 , the reference laser diode is utilized to optical superimpose the clock pulses on the feedback signals for the printer laser diodes . the embodiment of fig1 employs an electric superimposition method . like the apparatus of fig1 , this apparatus comprises three drive sections 230 , 240 and 250 . the drive sections 230 , 240 and 250 include laser diodes 231 , 241 and 251 having different wavelengths λ1 , λ2 and λ3 , beam splitters 232 , 242 and 25 for dividing laser beams b10 , b20 and b30 into image forming beams b110 , b210 and b310 and monitoring beams b120 , b220 and b320 , optical sensors 233 , 243 and 253 for receiving the monitoring beams b120 , b220 and b320 , photoelectric conversion circuits 234 , 244 and 254 for processing and feeding back signals received from the optical sensors 233 , 243 and 253 , and amplifier circuits 235 , 245 and 255 for driving the laser diodes 231 , 241 and 251 , respectively . though the laser diodes 231 , 241 and 251 have different oscillation wavelengths λ1 , λ2 and λ3 , they have a uniform maximum emission power po which is 20 mw , for example . each laser diode normally has a photoactive layer disposed horizontally . the photoelectric conversion circuits 234 , 244 and 254 comprise known circuits for waveform - shaping and amplifying the signals received from the optical sensors . clock pulses clk each corresponding to one pixel in the image are applied to output sides of the photoelectric conversion circuits through level regulating circuits 261 , 262 and 263 . each level regulating circuit effects impedance matching , clock pulse amplitude adjustment and d . c . bias adjustment of the clock pulses . these circuits 261 , 262 and 263 set the level of the clock pulses for superimposition on the monitor signals so as to satisfy the requirements for laser diode stabilization explained in connection with the pulsing drive and with reference to fig1 . as shown in fig1 , each of the amplifier circuits 235 , 245 and 255 in this embodiment includes a comparison amplifier circuit 271 , a current amplifier circuit 272 and a d . c . source 273 . the comparison amplifier cirucit 271 contains a high rate amplifier , and receives the image signal sa at a reversible input terminal and the output of the photoelectric conversion circuit 234 , 244 or 254 at a nonreversible input terminal . the current amplifier circuit 272 acts to amplify a current output by the comparison amplifier circuit 271 and corresponding to the image signal sa to a level necessary for driving the laser diodes 231 , 241 or 251 . the d . c . source 273 supplies a direct current to the laser diode 231 , 241 or 251 in order to improve responsivity to the light emission of the laser diode . this current supplied by the d . c . source 273 is aimed at a threshold current of each laser diode for expediency , but is variable to cope with an increase of the threshold current with passage of time , application of the laser printer and so on . the case of inputting clock pulses of 1 / 2 duty ratio , for example , to the level regulating cirucit 261 will be described . where the duty ratio is 1 / 2 , the pulsing drive required the level reduction of laser beam emission to be 50 % or less of the monitor signal level . the case of adjusting the amplitude of the clock pulses to a maximum value of the monitor signal by the level regulating cirucit 261 for superimposition on the monitor signal will be described with reference to fig2 ( a )-( c ). in the drawings , reference sa indicates a monitor signal not superimposed with the clock pulses , and reference clk indicates level - regulated clock pulses . by superimposing the clock pulses clk on the signal sa , each photoelectric conversion circuit 233 , 243 or 253 in prinicple outputs a signal as indicated at sb . since the two signals are superimposed , this resulting signal sb has a level exceeding a power - regulated level . therefore , the signal sb is fed back to be compared with the analog signal sa and reduced by an excess amount . as a result , the monitor signal received from each optical sensor 232 , 242 or 252 has a form as indicated at sb &# 39 ;. since this monitor signal sb &# 39 ; corresponds to part of the beam output by the laser diode 231 , 241 or 251 , the beam output by the laser diode has a pulse form as indicated at sb &# 39 ;. the duty ratio of the beam output by the laser diode is complementary to that of the clock pulses . thus , when the duty ratio of the clock pulses clk is 30 % for example , the duty ratio of the beam is 70 %. conversely , when the duty of the clock pulses clk is 70 %, the duty of the beam is 30 %. where the duty ratio of the clock pulses varies , the average value of the emission power received by the image forming surface of the sensitive material may be varied as shown in fig2 ( a ). in other words , such variation of the duty ratio shifts the image density on the image forming surface because the image density depends on the average value of the emission power . where the duty ratio is fixed , the average value of the emission power may also be varied by means of bias regulation ( or amplitude regulation ) at the level regulating circuit 261 , 262 or 263 as shown in fig2 ( b ). therefore , a combination of such factors may achieve a desired emission power according to the sensitivity of the sensitive material . fig2 show a circuit incorporated into the apparatus of fig8 for regulating image density . this circuit is a modification of the pulse modulation circuit of fig1 , and like references are affixed to like circuit elements . the circuit of fig2 differs from the circuit of fig1 in that the inverter 116 is excluded and an 8 - bit parallel - output shift register 119 and a data selector 120 are included . according to this construction , image data of the address designated by the address decoder 113 is read from the dynamic memory 114 in synchronism with the 2 mhz pixel clock , and is input to the and gates 115a - 115h . the and gates 115a - 115b are opened and closed by the data selector . the gates provide zero output data when closed , and therefore the image signal after d / a conversion becomes zero level during that period . accordingly , the pulse - amplitude - modulation is carried out on the image signal by opening and closing of the and gates . the pulse - amplitude - modulation is carried out with the same frequency as the pixel clock , which is 2 mhz for example . the and gates 115a - 115h are opened and closed by coaction of the shift register 119 and data selector 120 . more particularly , when the shift register 117 outputs pulse signals in parallel having seven different pulsewidths to the data selector 120 , the data selector 120 selects one signal from the pulse signals having seven different pulsewidths according to states of data inputs a - c , and outputs this signal to the and gates 115a - 115b . this signal opens the and gates 115a - 115b for a selected one of the periods corresponding to 1 / 8 to 7 / 8 of one pixel , and keeps the gates closed for the rest of the time . in this way , the image signal for driving the laser diodes is pulse - modulated and its pulsewidth is varied in seven steps . fig2 ( a )-( c ) show the image signal modulated into different pulsewidths . the density adjustment may be effected linearly since the pulsewidth is in linear proportion to the average power of the laser beam on the image forming surface as shown in fig2 . the foregoing density regulating circuit is capable of adjusting color balance when applied to the type of color printer that reproduces colors by driving three laser diodes having different wavelengths on a sensitive material which is based on the principle of substractive color mixture like an ordinary color photograph , and the power on the image forming surface is controlled by varying the pulse - width input to each laser diode . on the other hand , the image density may be varied on a color printer while retaining the color balance , by combination with the conventional method . to effect density adjustment for the apparatus shown in fig1 et seq ., the pulse duty ratio may be varied in principle . for this purpose , taking the circuit of fig1 for example , the threshold value for the action of transistor 129 may be varied by manipulating the resistance of the variable resistor 131 . in the case of the apparatus shown in fig1 and 18 , the duty ratio of the clock pulse may be varied . although the present invention has been fully described by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . therefore , unless otherwise such changes and modifications depart from the scope of the present invention , they should be construed as being included therein . | 6 |
the present invention is directed towards a method and system of recovering , grouping , and processing ice to form drinking water . with reference to fig1 and 2 , an ice source 10 ( e . g ., glacier , ice sheet , ice cap , or the like ) will be described . the ice source 10 comprises a plurality of layers 22 . each layer 22 of the ice source 10 corresponds to a different time period . each year accumulation of precipitation in the form of typically snow fall or snow from wind and the like builds up on top of the ice source . therefore , the further down a layer 22 is , the older it is relative to layers above it . generally , ice and snow accumulate at the upper regions of the ice source in what is known as an accumulation zone 18 . the accumulation zone 18 is typically defined by newer , less dense water . because the ice source is made of water it flows but at a very slow rate . the ice source has a terminus 14 where the ice source ends and either land or water begins . between the terminus 14 and the accumulation zone 18 there is an area known as the ablation area 16 . generally , the ablation area in contrast to the accumulation area is where snow , ice and the like tends to leave at a quicker rate than it accumulates . therefore , generally older layers of ice are exposed at the surface as can be seen in fig1 towards the ablation area 16 and the terminus 14 of an ice source 10 . the fact that older layers of ice are exposed toward the ablation area 16 and the terminus 14 and of the ice source 10 makes it preferable to recover and process the ice towards the ablation area 16 and / or terminus 14 of the ice source 10 , rather than recovering and processing the ice and / or snow from area closer to the accumulation zone 18 of the ice source 10 . generally ice sources at their terminus 14 of the source 10 are surrounded by land 26 as can be seen in fig2 . the layers 22 are exposed typically horizontally at the terminus or just behind the terminus 14 around the ablation area 16 . an ice source 10 is typically defined by the size and type of land that it covers . for example , and ice sheet is a dome - shaped mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50 , 000 km 2 . an ice cap is much like and ice sheet but it covers less than 50 , 000 km 2 . an ice shelf is a portion of an ice sheet that spreads out over water . a mountain glacier is a glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain . typically , glacier ice is defined by well - bonded ice crystals compacted from snow with a bulk density greater than 860 kg / m 3 . other types of ice sources exist other than glacial ice . specifically , firns can also provide water . a firn is defined as a rounded , well - bonded accumulation of snow that is older than one year . typically , firns have a density greater than 550 kg / m 3 . firns sometimes exist proximate to , or on top of glaciers and dated water can be recovered from them as well as from the glacier ice itself . usually firns are located toward the accumulation zone 18 of an ice source 10 . with reference to fig3 , one embodiment of the present invention will be described in some detail . in this embodiment , a recovery station 30 is located towards the terminus 14 of the ice source 10 . the recovery station 30 may comprise , for example , a floating vessel , such as an ocean going ship . the recovery station 30 utilizes a recovery member 34 for instance , a tap and / or drill or conveyor mechanism to recover the ice and / or ice water from the ice source 10 . heating mechanisms ( not shown ) may also be employed as necessary to further enhance recovery of the ice / ice water . in a preferred embodiment , each layer or set of layers is processed separately thereby eliminating a separation step later in the processing of the ice . as can be appreciated , each layer 22 need not correspond to an exact year . as a matter of fact , a layer 22 of ice corresponding to a single year may be too small to be commercially exploitable because the mining of such a small layer would not yield enough product to sell . however , ice layers 22 can be grouped into a number of years , for example , a layer 22 may correspond to a span of 50 to 100 years . this would allow each layer 22 to correspond to a different century of history and may therefore appeal to different consumers . furthermore , various layers 22 grouped into different categories based not only of their age , but on their chemical and physical properties . for example , a layer 22 may correspond to a time in history where various plants and / or other beneficial pollens were available and were therefore entrapped in the water and still are present in that layer 22 . a layer higher than layer 22 may be grouped and have different properties than that of the layer below it . therefore , layers can be grouped according not only to age but their properties . furthermore , as the pressure continues to act on the lower ice layers , the physical properties of the layer 22 will change over time . for instance , the deionization of the water as pressure continues to push air bubbles out of the ice will result in a more pure and therefore healthier source of water . with reference to fig4 , an alternative embodiment of the present invention will be described . in this configuration , the recovery station 30 is placed on top of the ice source 10 rather than next to it . the recovery member 34 , which may be a pump , drill , set of drills , or the like , is inserted down into the ice source to recover the layers 22 of ice . this embodiment requires ice cores to be recovered then processed according to methods that will be described later . specifically , the ice cores that are removed will need to be categorized after they are removed rather than before or during removal . in the embodiment where a recovery station is placed next to the ice source as depicted in fig3 , the categorization and grouping of layers 22 may be done previous to recovery of an ice layer 22 . whereas in the configuration depicted in fig4 , the ice cores must be removed prior to separation into groups . there are several known methods of recovering and processing water recovered from ice sources . for example , pct application no . 00 / 39408 to sundberg et al . describes a method and apparatus for utilizing glacier ice as drinking water , and is herein incorporated by this reference in its entirety . the apparatus comprises two stepwise operating and synchronized conveying lines , which cross each other and are perpendicular to each other . it also comprises a cutting station , a packing device , and a cutting device . ice is cut from a glacier and packaged under hygienic conditions before it melts into liquid water . this process maintains the pristine aspects of the water retrieved from the ice source . preferably , water is retrieved and processed from the lower layers of the ice source that potentially have more value than the upper layers that are not as old and have relatively fewer unique characteristics . in still another embodiment of the present invention , the recovery station 30 may be a scraper , or the like , that removes layers 22 one at a time from the ice source . in this embodiment , only the new layers are used ( i . e ., layers less than a couple of hundred years old ). if the recovery station 30 is an ice scraper or the like , the older layers may never be reached because continual accumulation on the top of the ice source 10 may preclude the recovery station 30 from ever getting below a certain depth . with reference to fig5 , a method of categorizing and processing the ice from an ice source 10 will be described in detail . in step 38 , ice is recovered from the ice source . then the ice is segmented into groups in step 42 . as described above , if the recovery station 30 is placed next to , specifically at the terminus 14 of an ice source 10 , the ice may be segmented prior to recovery . however , in accordance with certain embodiments of the present invention , the ice may be removed first then segmented and grouped in step 42 . in step 46 , the age of each group of ice is determined . as described above , the age of the ice may have already been determined for each layer 22 and may have occurred prior to removal or mining of that particular ice layer . once the ice is properly grouped according to either age , physical , and / or chemical properties , each grouping of ice is processed separately in step 50 . specifically , the ice is processed under hygienic and preferably sterile conditions such that contaminants are not introduced to the water thereby changing the chemical and physical properties of the water , which give it value . preferably , the ice is processed into water groups in step 50 utilizing stainless steel materials and other sterile utensils . then , in step 54 , each group of water is packaged according to their age and / or physical and chemical properties . the water may be packaged into individual containers ranging between sizes of 0 . 1 liter to 10 liter . in a preferred range of 0 . 5 liters to 5 liters and more preferably between 1 to 2 liters . in an alternative embodiment , a primary source of water that is not categorized and extracted as described above is mixed with an amount of categorized water that was extracted from the ice source 10 . ratios of the primary water and categorized water can vary depending on the desired selling price of the final product and the amount of available categorized water . if a consumer wishes to purchase a bottle of water made purely from dated water , then no other water is mixed with the dated water and subsequently a higher price may be demanded for the premium water . however , in order to create a more price friendly product , a larger ratio of primary water to dated water could be used . a number of containers may be filled with amounts of the primary water in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . these containers may be placed proximate to the ice source or at a remote site . regardless of the placement and size of the containers used an amount of dated water that has been categorized and extracted from the ice source 10 is added to a different container depending upon the characteristics of the water . for example , water from a first layer of the ice source 10 is placed into a first container with a first amount of primary water and water from a second layer of the ice source 10 is placed into a second container with a second amount of primary water . the amount of primary water used in each container may depend upon the characteristics of the dated water that is being added as well as the amount of dated water that can be recovered . referring now to fig6 a product produced in accordance with embodiments of the present discussion will be discussed . ultimately , the final product is water or a beverage derived from water that has certain unique characteristics . these characteristics may include the age of the water , the chemical and / or physical properties of the water , and the taste of the water . after recovering water 60 from an ice source having these unique characteristics , the product is then bottled either in a solid or liquid state depending on the methods used to recover and process the water 60 . the water 60 is collected in a container 62 . then , depending on the characteristics of the water 60 , a label 66 is placed on the container 62 to provide an indication of the characteristics of the water 60 . for example , water recovered from an ice source having an age of about 550 years may be labeled as “ da vinci water ” or “ renaissance water ” to reflect the characteristics of the water 60 contained within the container 62 . in various embodiments of the present invention , steps for recovering , segmenting , determining , and packaging the ice into their respective containers is described . as can be appreciated , various steps of the methods described can be completed in different orders depending on how the water is recovered and processed . the foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . further the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein . consequently , variations and modifications commensurate with the above teachings , within the skill or knowledge of the relevant art , are within the scope of the present invention . the embodiments described above are further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention in other embodiments and with various modifications required by their particular application or use of the invention . it is intended that the appended claims be construed to include alternative embodiments to the extent permitted by the prior art . | 0 |
this invention is described to a greater detail in the following embodiments referring to the drawing . fig1 through fig4 c illustrate the first embodiment of this invention . the fluorescent display panel shown in fig1 has a vacuum chamber enclosed by an insulating substrate 1 and a display glass 15 fixed to the substrate 1 via a spacer glass 16 . the vacuum chamber contains an anode 3 which is fixed on the substrate 1 and is applied with fluorescent material to form a display pattern , spaced filaments 14 disposed opposed to the anode 3 , a grid 12 placed between the anode 3 and the filaments 14 , an ic chip 4 ( refer to fig2 ) fixed on the substrate 1 and drive the anode 3 , a box type metallic shield 6 to protect the ic chip 4 , and metallic external leads 8 projected from both sides of the vacuum chamber . the filaments 14 are fixed to the filament supports 7 at both ends thereof and the grid 12 is fixed to the grid supports 13 . the shield 6 has a shape of bottomless box and covers the ic chip 4 and is connected to two external leads 8 at both ends of longitudinal side . the shield 6 is provided with ring shaped deformable parts 10 in the vicinity of the junctions with the leads 8 . fig4 a shows a detail structure of the junction between the shield 6 and the associated lead 8 . the shield 6 has a central rectangular part , two bend sections 11a which cover the longitudinal side of the ic chip 4 , and two bend sections 11b which face the sides perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the ic chip 4 . at every one end of the two bend sections 11b , a ring shaped deformable part 10 is formed through which each of the leads 8 is connected to the shield 6 . the deformable parts 10 are positioned at nearly right angle to the substrate 1 . in the first embodiment , each of the deformable part 10 consists of two outwardly curved circular arc elements 10a , and these elements 10a form near ellipse . the thickness of each element 10a is the same with that of the shield 6 and of the leads 8 connecting to the shield 6 , and the width of the element 10a is less than thereof . this configuration allows the deformable part 10 to be readily deformed on receiving a tensile force compared with the shield 6 and the leads 8 . the fabrication procedure of the fluorescent display panel having the structure described above is illustrated referring to fig2 and fig3 . first , an aluminum thin film is formed on one side of the insulating substrate 1 by sputtering process , and the wiring layer 2 is formed on the thin film using photolithography process . over the wiring layer 2 , an insulating layer ( not shown ) is formed using a thick film technology and the anode 3 is formed on the insulating layer using a thick film technology . the anode 3 consists of graphite electrodes coated with fluorescent material . the resulted composite product is the anode substrate . second , the ic chip 4 is fixed on the insulating layer of the anode substrate using a heat resistant resin , and the output terminals of the ic chip 4 are connected to the wiring layer 2 to obtain an anode substrate packaged with the ic chip 4 . a metallic plate is etched to form a flat metallic frame 9 which integrates the shield 6 , filament supports 7 , grid supports 13 , and external leads 8 . after the treatment of the frame 9 in a moistened hydrogen atmosphere , the shield 6 , filament supports 7 , grid supports 13 and external leads 8 simultaneously undergo the press - molding process to obtain a frame shown in fig2 . then , the filaments 14 and the grid 12 are welded to the filament supports 7 and grid supports 13 on the formed frame 9 , respectively . on the anode substrate , the frame 9 fixed with the filaments 14 and other elements is combined with a cover glass which consists of the spacer glass 16 and the display glass 15 to integrate the anode substrate , the frame 9 and the cover glass . then the peripheral part of the frame 9 are cut off to adjust the length of the projected leads 8 . next , the integrated product is heated to seal the contact edge of the anode substrate with the cover glass and to seal the projected part of the leads 8 . then the formed vacuum chamber is evacuated . after solder coating on the leads 8 , aging is applied to obtain a designed characteristic . the resulted product is the fluorescent character display tube shown in fig1 . fig3 shows the structure at and around the deformable parts 10 of the shield 6 before molding . the shield 6 before molding is a rectangular flat plate provided with bent sections 11a and 11b on the periphery thereof . each bent section 11b has a ring shaped deformable part 10 which connects to the end of the lead 8 . two outwardly curved circular arc elements 10a , which are symmetrically positioned to form the deformable part 10 in an elliptical shape , have the same thickness with the bent section 11b and the leads 8 and have a narrower width than thereof . the configuration of the deformable part 10 , which has the narrower width and is supported on both ends thereof , allows the deformable part to be readily extended depending on the tensile force induced during the molding process . thus , the distance between the shield 6 and the associated leads 8 is automatically adjusted . as a result , the shield 6 and the leads 8 connected thereto are not subjected to excess force and do not generate unwelcome dispersion of the position and height of the shield 6 during the molding process . in addition , the frame 9 is hardly deformed owing to the prevention from pulling by the leads 8 connected to the shield 6 , so there is no possibility of dispersion of position and / or height of the shield 6 and also of other elements such as the filament supports 7 . fig4 b and fig4 c show other examples of the deformable part 10 . in fig4 b , one bent section 11b and one lead 8 is provided on each side of the shield 6 . the deformable part 10 consists of two elements 10b , each of which is bent to near u shape . both elements 10b are positioned symmetrically to the longer axis of the lead 8 and are connected each other to form a rectangle . in fig4 c , each two bent sections 11b and leads 8 are positioned on both sides of the shield 6 , as in the case of fig4 a . the deformable part 10 consists of two elements 10c , each of which is bent to near v shape . these elements 10c are positioned symmetrically to the longer axis of the leads 8 to form a hexagon . fig5 and fig6 a through fig6 c show the second embodiment of this invention . similar to the aforedescribed first embodiment , the fluorescent display panel shown in fig5 has a vacuum chamber enclosed by the substrate 1 , the spacer glass 16 and the display glass 15 , which vacuum chamber contains the anode 3 , filaments 14 , grid 12 , ic chip 4 , box type metallic shield 6a to protect the ic chip 4 and metallic external leads 8 . the differences of the second embodiment from the first embodiment are that the shield 6a covers most part of the ic chip 4 and that the ring shaped deformable parts 20 are positioned not on the shield 6a but on the leads 8 . one deformable part 20 and one lead 8 are provided on eachside of the shield 6a . the shield 6a is in a bottomless box shape and is connected to the leads 8 on both sides thereof . the bend section 11c of the shield 6a has the same configuration with the bend section 11a of the shield 6 in the first embodiment and covers almost all the longitudinal side of the ic chip 4 . the bend section 11d of the shield 6a covers almost all the area of both sides positioned at right angle to the longitudinal sides of the ic chip 4 , which is different from the case of the bent section 11b in the first embodiment . the deformable parts 20 are located near to the shield side end of the leads 8 which are connected to the shield 6a . in this case , the deformable parts 20 become nearly parallel to the substrate 1 . the detail of the deformable parts 20 is illustrated in fig6 a . the deformable part 20 consists of two circular arc elements 20a positioned to form an ellipse similar to the deformable part 10 of the first embodiment shown in fig4 . these two circular arc elements 20a are connected to the main body of the leads 8 via the narrow connecting parts 8a . the thickness of the elements 20a are the same with that of the shield 6a and of the leads 8 connected to the shield 6a . however , the width of the elements 20a are narrower than thereof the elements 20a and the leads 8 . thus generation of a tensile force deforms the deformable parts 20 more easily than the shield 6a and the leads 8 . as described above , the second embodiment does not employ the deformable parts 20 on the shield 6a so that most of the ic chip surface can be covered . as a result , almost all of the peripheral surface of ic chip 4 can be covered , which offers an advantage of more certain shield effect than in the case of the first embodiment . the fabrication method of fluorescent display panel of the second embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment . the shield 6a , the filament supports 7 , the grid supports 13 , and the external leads 8 are formed on one metallic frame for one - shot press - molding , similar to the case of the first embodiment . a tensile force generated during the molding process between the shield 6a and the leads 8 connected thereto pulls and extends the circular arc elements 20a of the deformable parts 20 to adjust the distance between the shield 6a and the leads 8 . fig6 b and fig6 c show other examples of the deformable parts 20 . in fig6 b , the deformable part 20 consists of two elements 20b each of which is bent to near u shape . both elements 20b are positioned symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the corresponding leads 8 and are connected to the narrow connecting parts 8a to form a rectangle . in fig6 c , the deformable part 20 consists of two elements 20c each of which is bent to near v shape . both elements 20c are positioned symmetrically to the longitudinal axis of the corresponding leads 8 and are connected to the narrow connecting parts 8a to form a hexagon . both embodiments aforedescribed employ the deformable part consisting of two bent or curved elements . however , the deformable part may consist of single element described above or may consist of more than two elements . the necessary condition is to have a deformable part which is deformed on receiving a tensile force more easily than the shield and the external leads connected thereto . further , in both embodiments aforedescribed , the deformable part is formed by lowering their strength by employing a local reduction of width at the bend section of the shield or width of the external leads . nevertheless , the deformable part may be formed by lowering the strength by employing a locally thin thickness or by employing a locally thin thickness and narrow width at a time . the shape of the shield and the number or shape of the external leads connecting thereto may be arbitrarily selected . | 8 |
in high performance arrays using cts cells , selection of a cell is done by lowering its word lines and raising its bit rails . as depicted in fig1 known designs use a fixed current source to pull down the selected word and drain lines . there are three problems frequently associated with the &# 34 ; current mode &# 34 ; method of word selection . with cts cells , the word lines are very capacitive . ( for word lines having 60 to 80 cells , this word line capacitance could be as high as 30 to 40 pf ). a constant current source pulls down the selected word line according to its large rc time constant . hence , cell selection is very slow , and its drive capability is often limited by the fixed source of current . since the selected word lines are held down by a current source , their voltage levels are easily affected by noise or current variations . if the word line levels drift to a degree that they no longer track with those of the bit rails , data retention problems could result . during write operation , the bit line voltage of the side to be written a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is driven high . this causes the bit rail and the drain line levels to rise . a long address set up time is needed to wait for the previous selected cell to go out of the way before writing can start in order to avoid write - through problems . the above problems are overcome and obviated by the &# 34 ; voltage mode word selection technique &# 34 ; in accordance with the invention and as disclosed herein . fig8 shows the schematic diagram of this scheme . also known high performance arrays using cts cells have bit selection concerns or short comings . again referring to fig1 these concerns are as follows : 1 . the bit decode transistor tb has to drive a number of bit columns across the chip . due to long metal line and large fanout current , voltage drop along the bit decode line ( bd ) is high . the cells at the end of the bit decode line may have insufficient voltage potential across their &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; bit rail resistors to define adequate gate currents ( i1 ) into the cells . this may lead to potential data retention problems on the selected cells . 2 . both selection and deselection of the bit rails are slow , due to the fact that the bit decode transistor has large fanout loadings . discharge speed of the bit rails is limited by the bit rail resistors rbl and rbr . the above problems and concerns are addressed and overcome by the random access memory disclosed hereinafter . the above problems are overcome by using distributive bit select circuits and word line selection circuits illustrated in fig3 a , 8 and 9 . for purpose of illustration , fig2 shows a 1k × 4 ram in accordance with the invention . this ram has an array density of 4096 cells arranged in 64 words ( rows ) by 64 bit ( columns ). the 64 bit columns are further divided into 4 data groups , so that it will write 4 bits ( therefore 4 data inputs ) and read 4 bits ( 4 data outputs ) at a time . the ram has 6 word addresses ( to select 1 out of 64 rows ) and 4 bit addresses ( to select 4 out of 64 bits ). read and write operations are controlled by the rw input . referring to fig3 a two level matrix decode scheme is employed for bit address decoding . the first level decode includes two groups of 4 address lines ( ba0 - ba3 and ba4 - ba7 ) formed from output emitter dotting of the four bit address receivers . the bit address receivers are current switch emitter follower circuits as shown in fig4 . they convert the address inputs to true and complement signals . by means of emitter follower output dotting of the address receiver pairs , a partial decode of 1 out of 4 is formed from each group , hence , giving a total of two selected ( low level ) lines . the second level decode function is performed by the 16 bit decoders ( fig5 ), which have current switch inputs and high speed push - pull outputs . input 1 of the bit decoder is connected to one of the 4 lines in ba0 - ba3 address group , and input 2 is connected to one in the ba4 - ba7 group . of the 16 bd output lines , only one is decoded to a selected up level . each bd line fans out to drive four bit columns ( one from each data group ), so that four cells are selected at a time for read or write operation . each bit column has a bit select circuit ( fig3 and 6 ) to perform bit line select and deselect functions . the selected bit lines up level is set by a bit up level clamp circuit ( bit upcl , fig7 ), so that the cells &# 39 ; read and write operating points can be readily adjusted by changing the up clamp ( uc ) level . for unclamped cts cell , the scr device operates in saturation mode . the cell , is more capacitive ( due to higher b - c junction saturation capacitance ) than a normal cts with schottky clamp . this makes the unclamped cell very difficult to write . it is essential that the bit select circuit is capable of driving high transient current into the cell to enable fast write performance . a novel circuit technique utilizing capacitive boot straping and transient drive mechanism is designed for this application . the bit select circuit &# 39 ; s modes of operation are described below . in an unselected state , the bd line is held low by its corresponding bit decoder to a voltage close to v n . transistors t1 and t2 of the bit select circuit are driven into inverse saturated mode operation . nodes 1 and 2 are clamped low by the b - c junctions of t1 and t2 to a voltage a v bc above the bd level . nodes 3 and 4 are also driven negative by the inverse transistors to a voltage close to that of the bd line ( a v ces above from bd ). with nodes 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 being held low , transistors t3 , t4 and t5 , t6 are shut off . no current will flow into the bit rail resistors rbl and rbr . the bit lines bl and br levels are equal to those of nodes 3 and 4 . in this state , resistors r1 and r2 provide small amount of base currents that conducts through t1 and t2 into the bd line . since t1 and t2 conducts in inverse saturation mode , they develop large diffusion capacitance ( due to storage charge ) across their b - c and b - e junctions . these storge charges will be used to boot strap nodes 1 , 2 and nodes 3 , 4 up rapidly when the bd line is selected high . when a bit column is selected , its bd line is actively pulled up by the corresponding bit decoder to a voltage about a v be below v p . this forces the collectors of t1 and t2 to move up quickly at the same rate . the rapid discharge of the b - c and b - e junctions of t1 and t2 provide very fast capacitive push up action on nodes 1 , 2 and 3 , 4 respectively . when nodes 3 and 4 move up , high transient currents are driven into resistors rbl and rbr to raise bit lines bl and br . while nodes 3 and 4 are moving up , transistors t3 and t4 are also being turned on rapidly to actively pull up the bit lines . it is this transient drive mechanism from t3 and t4 that enables high speed bit rail selection . during read mode , both the pdl and pdr lines are high ( up at around v p ). nodes 1 and 2 &# 39 ; s up levels are clamped by the transistor diodes t5 and t6 respectively to a voltage set by the uc line . ( see fig1 ). the read reference level on the uc line is generated by the bit up level clamp circuit in such a way that it tracks with the selected cells &# 39 ; voltages to ensure proper read currents ( load current i l and gate current i g ). the cell &# 39 ; s read currents are supplied by t1 and t2 through resistors rbl and rbr . typical read currents are set at i l ≈ 1 . 0 ma and i g ≈ 0 . 2 ma . this results in a voltage differential of about 600 - 700 mv across the bit lines for read sensing by the sense amplifier . in the selected state , t1 and t2 operate in active forward mode to provide dc read currents . transistors t3 and t4 are only turned on transiently . they will stay off after the bit lines bl and br reach their fully selected up levels . since the bd line &# 39 ; s voltage level is set to be higher than those of nodes 1 and 2 , transistors t1 and t2 in the selected state are always kept in active forward conduction . the read currents are defined by the read reference level and will not be affected by the bd &# 39 ; s voltage variations or line drops . in the write mode , bit line selection is similar to that of the read as described above . the only difference here is that one of the write control lines ( either pdl or pdr , depending on the data to be written ) is driven negative to a voltage close to v n , by the write control circuit prior to bit selection . ( see fig1 ). the lowered pdl or pdr line will clamp down either node 1 or 2 through the transistor diode t5 or t6 respectively , so that when the bit rail is selected , only one side of the bit lines will be driven high to provide write current into the cell . the other side will stay at down level in order to shut off the bit line current that normally flows into the cell . this mode of write operation is denoted &# 34 ; differential mode write &# 34 ; hereinafter . during write mode , node 1 or 2 &# 39 ; s up level is also clamped by the transistor diode t5 or t6 to a voltage set by the uc line . the write reference voltage is typically 600 - 800 mv above the read reference voltage , so that sufficient over voltage and sufficient write current are always guaranteed to provide fast write performance . for unclamped cts cell , writing is primarily done by driving large transient current into the cell to overcome its original state . this large transient write current ( typically a few milli ampere ) is sourced by either t3 or t4 from v p directly . after the cell has been written , its bit line voltage will rise up to the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level . transistor t3 or t4 will be gradually turned off to remove the large transient write current . resistor rbl or rbr will then supply a small dc write current i w from either t1 or t2 to reinforce the state of the newly written cell . as in read mode , the large transient write current is sourced directly from v p through t3 or t4 . the write performance is therefore not affected by the bd line &# 39 ; s level variation . when a bit column is deselected , its corresponding bit decoder output falls to the unselected down level . transistors t1 and t2 of the bit select circuit are driven into inverse saturation mode . nodes 1 , 2 and 3 , 4 are pulled negative to shut off the read or write bit rail currents . the bit lines , at the same time , are also pulled down actively by schottky diodes sl and sr and will discharge into the bd line . while diodes sl and sr are pulling down the bit lines , the bit rail resistors rbl and rbr are also driven low by the inverse transistors to discharge the bit lines . after the bit lines are fully discharged to their unselect down levels , resistors rbl , rbr and diodes sl , sr will stop conducting . the bit column is now said to be in an unselected state . the disclosed bit select scheme has particular utility in arrays using cts ( complementary transistor switch , fig1 a ) cells . with this scheme , at least the following two advantages have been achieved over the known designs . ( i ) improved bit line &# 34 ; select / deselect &# 34 ; speed , hence faster bit path access time . ( ii ) eliminates the effects of bit decode up level line drop , hence reduce data retention concerns for the selected cells . the improved bit selection circuit means , in accordance with the invention includes the following elements : 1 . two level matrix decode ( fig3 )-- first level is emitter dotting of the current switch emitter follower address receivers . second level is the bit decoders with current switch input and high speed push - pull outputs . 2 . distributive bit select circuit ( fig3 & amp ; 6 ). it utilizes capacitive discharge mechanism of inverse saturation transistors ( t1 & amp ; t2 ) to enhance bit rail selection speed . the same transistors are also used in active forward mode ( when the bit column is selected ) to source the dc read and write currents into the cell through resistors rbl and rbr . it has transistors t3 and t4 to provide high speed high power transient drive mechanism on the bit lines to enable fast read / write performance . it uses schottky barrier diodes ( sl and sr ) in conjunction with the bit rail resistors rbl & amp ; rbr for active bit rail pull down to enable fast bit column deselection . it also uses multi - emitter transistor diodes t5 and t6 for read / write control as well as setting the operating points for the selected cell . 3 . bit up level clamp ( fig3 and 7 )-- the selected bit lines &# 39 ; read and write up levels are controlled by a reference circuit ( bit upcl ) so as to enable easy operating point adjustment . this circuit is also designed , as more fully explained hereinafter , to meet various tracking requirements ( such as tracking with selected drain line level in read mode ). the improved word line decoder and control circuitry represented by the block labelled &# 34 ; word decode &# 34 ; in fig3 is shown in detail in fig8 and 9 . fig8 shows the voltage mode word selection scheme whereas fig9 discloses in detail the circuit of the word decoder . referring to fig8 there are 6 word addresses to decode 1 out of 64 rows . a two level matrix decode scheme similar to that of the bit path is employed for word address decoding . the first level decode includes three groups of 4 address lines ( wa4 - wa3 , wa0 - wa7 , and wa8 - wall ) formed from output emitter dotting of the 6 word address receivers . the word address receivers are current switch emitter follower circuits ( fig4 ). they convert the address inputs to true and complement signals . by means of emitter follower output dotting of the address receiver pairs , a partial decode of 1 out of 4 is obtained from each group , hence giving a total of three selected ( low level ) lines . the second level decode function is performed by the 64 word decoders ( fig9 ). each word decoder has three current switch inputs ( in1 - in3 ) and two high speed high power push - pull outputs ( wl and dl ). inl of the word decoder is connected to one of the four lines in wa0 - wa3 address group . in2 is connected to one in the second group ( wa4 - wa7 ), and in3 is connected to one in the third group ( wa8 - wall ). all these three inputs have to be low in order to select a row line . the two outputs of the word decoder are connected to the word line ( wl ) and drain line ( dl ) of the memory cells as shown . operations of the word decoder , in accordance with the invention , are explained hereinafter . an unselected word decoder will have at least one of its three inputs high . decoding transistors t1 , t2 or t3 are turned on to pull down node 1 . transistors t5 and t6 form a dual phase level shifter , so that node 4 is also pulled negative to a voltage close to v n and node 3 is pulled positive to v p . with node 4 being down , the open collector transistor tl is shut off , allowing the word line wl and drain line dl to move up to their unselected ( high ) levels . in this state , the cells &# 39 ; stand - by current , as well as word and drain line voltages are defined by the current sources i sbh and i sbl . to enable fast switching speed , transistors t5 and t6 are never shut off but kept in slight conduction . the active pull up devices ( t 7 and t h ) are off when the word line reaches its full unselected dc level ( about one and a half v be below v p ). when a word decoder is selected , all its three inputs are low . transistors t1 , t2 and t3 are off . node 1 goes high to turn on t5 and t6 hard . node 3 is pulled down by t5 &# 39 ; s collector to keep t 7 - t h off , so that wl and dl are allowed to move down to their selected levels . at the same time , node 4 is driven high to turn on tl . it is this high power open collector pull down action on the drain line that enables the cells to be selected fast . while the drain line is being driven low , the word line follows it at the same rate with a voltage offset defined by the cells . when the word and drain lines are fully selected , t 7 - t h are off and tl is maintained on to sink the large read / write currents conducting from the selected cells . in this state , the word and drain line voltages are defined by following two equations : since the selected drain line is pulled down by a high power open collector transistor ( t l ), word selection is therefore very fast and its drive capability is not limited by fixed current sources as in prior designs . furthermore , the selected drain and word line levels are solidly defined to voltages offset from power supply v n , they are more stable than those of the prior art . this technique of word selection is denoted herein as &# 34 ; voltage mode word selection &# 34 ;. after a row line has been selected for a read or a write operation , it is deselected back to its stand - by state . a deselecting word decoder will have at least one of its inputs go positive . decoding transistors t1 , t2 or t3 are turned on again , driving node 1 down to shut off the open collector transistor t l . at the same time , node 4 is pulled positive to v p , driving the emitter follower devices t 7 - t h transiently on to pull up word line wl until it reaches its unselected dc level . while the word line is being pulled positive , drain line dl follows it up at the same rate with a voltage offset defined by the cells . when the word and drain lines are fully up at their stand - by levels , t 7 - t h and t l are all off . the row line is now said to be in an unselected state . a cell is selected for the read operation when its row lines ( wl , dl ) and bit lines ( bl , br ) are both selected ( fig1 ). the row lines are selected by the voltage mode word selection scheme as previously described . the bit lines are selected by the bit selection scheme explained earlier ( fig3 ). after a cell is fully selected , read currents i l and i g are fed into its bit rail schottky sl and sr , which then couple the cell &# 39 ; s internal voltages (&# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;) on to the bit lines for read sensing . in order to guarantee cell stability during read , i l and i g currents have to be controlled within a chosen operating range . this is accomplished by a read reference level applied to the bit rail driving transistors ( t 1 and t 2 of fig1 ) from the uc line . the read reference is generated by a bit up level clamp circuit ( bit upcl , fig7 ) which tracks fully with the selected cells , so that sufficient voltage potentials ( v &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; and v &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;) are always ensured across bit rail resistors rbl and rbr to define i l and i g currents . generation of this read reference level , and the operation of the bit up level clamp circuit , will be more fully explained in the following sections . with voltage mode word selection technique , write operation is performed in three sequential steps ( fig1 and 14 ). 2 . after crossing of the selecting and deselecting drain lines ( see fig1 ), write operation is initiated . the rw clock switches the bit up level clamp circuit to generate a write reference voltage on the uc line . this rw signal is also applied to a write control circuit , which depending on its data input , will drive either one of its two output lines pdl or pdr low . the lowered pdl or pdr line will then pull down node 1 or 2 of the bit select circuit respectively by the transistor diodes t5 or t6 , so that when the bit rail is selected , only one side of the bit lines will be driven high to provide write current into the cell . the other side will stay at down level in order to shut off the bit line current that normally flows into this side of the cell . the shutting off of the gate current that normally flows into the cell before writing is essential for a successful write operation . with the presence of gate current during write , the presently on npn transistor in the cell will remain on and will not be able to be overcome by the write current i w . 3 . after the pdl or pdr line is lowered , the bit select circuit is selected . the side of the bit line to be written a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is raised high by the bit rail driving transistors t1 - t3 or t2 - t4 . large transient write current is injected into the cell through t3 - rbl or t4 - rbr until the desired cell state is reached . after the cell has been written , the bit line voltage of the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; side will rise up to its normal &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level . this reduces the potential difference across the conducting bit rail resistor rbl or rbr , hence the transient transistor t3 or t4 is shut off . the bit rail resistor rbl or rbr will then supply a small dc write current ( i w ) from t1 or t2 to reinforce the state of the newly written cell . the magnitude of the dc write current i w is controlled by a write reference level applied to the bit rail driving transistor t1 or t2 through the u c line . this write current can readily be adjusted by changing the bit up level clamp &# 39 ; s write reference level . the above write scheme is denoted &# 34 ; differential mode write &# 34 ;, since one side of the bit line is raised high while the other side is being held low during write time . the key advantage of this write scheme is that since the drain line is selected to a fixed voltage a v ce above v n , when write current is injected into the cell , the level of this line will not move up but remain stable . the chasing effect with the deselecting cells as exists in &# 34 ; current mode &# 34 ; word selection scheme used by prior art designs is hence eliminated . the rw clock can now come in sooner ( as soon as the selecting and deselecting drain lines cross over ) without waiting for the deselecting cells to get out of the way . this minimizes address set up time required prior to write . due to faster word selection and shorter address set up time , write performance is therefore greatly improved . furthermore , since the selected drain line is solidly held to a voltage level , and the deselected one is actively pulled up quickly to its unselected level , no &# 34 ; write through &# 34 ; ( i . e ., writing into the deselecting as well as the standby cells ) problems exist . as is submitted to be evident from the above description the use of the voltage mode word selection technique , in accordance with invention , particularly in cts rams , provides the following benefit and advantages : ( 3 ) stabilizes the selected drain line level , hence eliminates possible data retention and write through problems . the proper operation of a voltage mode word selection scheme in a cts ram requires a bit up level clamp circuit to define the selected cells &# 39 ; operating levels . this is particularly important for the read operation . a read reference voltage is generated by the bit up level clamp to track with the selected cells in temperature , power supply ( v n ) and device ( v be and v fsbd ) variations , so that proper read currents ( i g and i l ) are always guaranteed under all conditions to ensure cell stability . the bit up level clamp circuit ( fig7 ) represented in fig3 and 3a by the block labelled &# 34 ; bit upcl &# 34 ; will now be explained with particular reference to fig8 and 13 . referring to fig1 , the voltage level required at the emitter of the clamping diode t5 in read mode can be determined by summing up the potential rises / falls from v n in the word decoder . cancelling the v be rises / falls and v f rises / falls in the above expression , a simplified equation defining the read reference voltage is obtained : for a read operation , the r / w control input of the bit up level clamp circuit ( fig7 ) is high . transistor t1 is on and t2 is off , so that node 3 is up to turn on t3 , t4 and t5 . the output line uc is clamped down by t3 to generate a read reference voltage defined by the equation below . ## equ1 ## v &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is the voltage across the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; side of the bit rail resistor . it is this voltage potential across rbl that defines the gate current i g to maintain cell stability during read . the read currents i g and i l are related by the following expressions : ## equ3 ## as seen from equation ( 3 ), since v &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is defined by the voltage difference between a v be ( forward mode base - emitter voltage of an npn transistor ) and v f ( forward conduction voltage of a schottky diode ), it is therefore independent of power supply ( v p and v n ) variations . furthermore , temperature effects on the devices are also equally cancelled out . in a write mode , the r / w input is low . transistor t1 is off and t2 is on . node 1 is high to pull up t6 while node 3 is down to shut off t3 . the write reference level at the uc line is given by : this write reference voltage is applied to the bit rail driving transistors ( t 1 and t 2 , fig1 ) to define the write current i w . the operation of circuitry represented in fig3 by the block labelled &# 34 ; sensing circuitry &# 34 ; will now be explained with particular reference to fig1 and 11 . fig3 a illustrates the sensing scheme employed for the ram shown in fig2 . the 64 bit columns of this ram is divided into four data groups of 16 bits . each data group contains a sense amplifier ( fig1 ) for read sensing . the state of the sense amplifier is determined by the selected cell within its data group . data read by the sense amplifier is sent off chip through an off chip driver ( ocd ) circuit . fig1 illustrates the sense amplifier arrangement for a data group . within a data group , each bit column has a pair of sensing transistors ( tl and tr ) attached to its bit lines for voltage sensing . when a cell is selected for read , its row lines ( wl and dl ) are pulled down by its corresponding word decoder , and its bit lines ( bl and br ) are raised up by its bit select circuit . since there are 16 bit columns per data group , bit selection is always 1 out of 16 . of the thirty - two bit lines , only two are up at any one time . the higher of these two selected bit lines turns on the corresponding sensing transistor in the sense amplifier circuit . fig1 illustrates a high speed sense amplifier circuit designed for the above sensing scheme . the circuit uses current steering technique to enable very fast switching performance . its sensing speed is independent of the number of bit columns in the data group . referring to fig1 , the thrity - two sensing transistors t11 to tl16 and tr1 to tr16 form a big current switch input for the sense amplifier . the bases of these transistors are connected to the sixteen bit columns in the data group . transistors t1 and t2 are emitter followers providing dual - phase outputs to drive the off chip driver . transistors t3 and t4 are set to be on all the time to define a fixed voltage at nodes a and b , so that switching of these two devices is done in current mode . at any time , either bit - left or bit - right of a selected bit column is up at a high voltage level . the higher voltage bit line turns on its corresponding sensing transistor . the sense current i s from the current source t5 is then steered by the on sensing transistor through either t3 or t4 , pulling node 1 or 2 down accordingly . since voltage levels at node a and b will never be switched but remain fixed , any capacitance at these nodes , therefore will have no effect on the switching time . in fact , the circuit &# 39 ; s delay will stay constant , disregarding the number of sensing transistors attached to its input stage . furthermore , transistors t1 , t2 and t3 , t4 are active all the time ; hence , their switching delay is kept to a minimum . the features of the sense amplifier circuit in fig1 are summarized as follows : 1 . the sensing transistors are configurated as a bit current switch , with their bases connected to bit lines within the data group . this forms the input stage of the sense amplifier . 2 . the switching of the circuit is done in current mode , i . e ., input voltages at a and b are fixed , and switching is performed by steering sense current i s through t3 or t4 . this mode of operation enables very large fan - in capability , as well as high circuit speed independent of input loadings . 3 . all switching devices ( t1 , t2 and t3 , t4 ) are kept active at all times to minimize circuit delay . it is to be appreciated , that for convenience of explanation and understanding , in the foregoing description of applicants &# 39 ; invention only a limited number of memory cells , word lines etc . were shown and described . persons skilled in the art readily recognize that the size of the array depicted in the drawing and described in the specification is not to be construed as a limitation on applicants &# 39 ; invention . while this invention has been particularly described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in from and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
the invention may best be understood by reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing figures wherein the following reference numbers are used : 10 dry - tree semi - submersible offshore vessel (“ dts ”) 12 columns 14 pontoons 15 top surface of pontoon 16 upper deck level 17 well bay 18 lower deck level 19 bottom surface of pontoon 20 tensioners 22 christmas trees 23 tree work platform 24 vertical risers 24 a drilling riser 24 b production riser 26 conductor 28 keel guide 30 keel guide support structure 32 mooring line fairleads 34 drilling rig 36 scr porches 38 tensioner cylinder rod ; tensioner ram 40 high - pressure bottle 42 upper tensioner guide rollers 44 lower tensioner guide rollers 46 conductor connectors 48 riser centralizer 50 riser tension joint 52 conductor flare 54 drilling riser connector 55 riser connector 56 adjustable centralizing dog 58 attachment block 60 anti - friction bearing 62 riser keel joint 64 radial plates 66 anti - friction bearing 68 elastomeric bearing 70 centralizer mount 72 elastomer bearing 74 spaceout adapter 78 conductor head 80 upper tensioner frame 82 conductor annulus sealing plate 84 annulus 86 tension ring 88 flange 90 outer land 92 inner land 94 radial wings 96 keel joint centralizer 98 tensioner upper frame and spaceout adapter 100 concave spherical section of tensioner ring 102 convex spherical section of spaceout adapter 104 spherical section elastomer bearing 106 connector box 108 connector pin 110 locking engagement profile 112 tool engagement profile 114 connector inner wall 116 conductor inner wall 118 lower end of conductor 120 lower end of keel guide 122 drilling rig substructure 124 blowout preventer (“ bop ”) 126 cellar deck 128 cellar deck vertical support member 130 cellar deck frame member referring now to fig1 , representative semi - submersible vessel 10 has a conventional configuration comprising surface - piercing columns 12 and subsurface pontoons 14 connecting adjacent columns . one or more decks 16 are supported above the water surface on columns 12 . semi - submersible 10 is equipped with mooring line fairleads 32 for a catenary mooring system . mooring lines ( not shown ) extend from anchors in the seafloor through fairleads 32 and up the outer face of columns 12 to mooring line winches mounted on upper deck level 16 ( or the upper ends of columns 12 ). a plurality of dry trees 22 are located in well bay 17 on the upper ends of vertical risers 24 . in the illustrated embodiment , the center riser in the group of five risers is a drilling riser and has a blowout preventer on its upper end . this riser is directly below the derrick of drilling rig 34 . in other embodiments , equipment 34 may comprise production equipment , be a workover rig or any other equipment related to offshore drilling and / or production . tree work platform 23 may be provided in certain embodiments ( see fig4 ). vertical risers 24 are attached to ram - type ( or “ push up ”) tensioners 20 which are supported on lower deck level 18 . for purposes of illustration only , the outer pair of tensioners in fig1 are shown “ bottomed out ”— i . e . fully stroked down ; the center tensioner is shown fully stroked up ; and , the middle pair of tensioners is shown in their nominal positions . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that , under normal operating conditions , the rams of tensioners 20 will all be extended approximately the same distance in response to a given platform heave ( as shown in fig8 ). conductors 26 surround each riser 24 proximate the upper end thereof . conductors 26 extend through keel guides 28 which are mounted on keel guide support structure 30 . as may be best seen in the plan view of fig2 , keel guide support structure 30 in the illustrated example extends between one or more opposing pairs of pontoons 14 . also shown in fig2 are porches 36 on the outboard surfaces of pontoons 14 for supporting the upper end of steel catenary risers ( scr &# 39 ; s ) which may be used to connect equipment on semi - submersible 10 to flow lines , pipelines or wellheads on the seafloor . fig3 shows the upper end of an isolated , vertical riser 24 within a conductor 26 according to an embodiment of the invention . riser 24 extends substantially vertically from a wellhead on the seafloor . an upper portion of riser 24 is surrounded by conductor 26 which may comprise a plurality of segments joined together by mechanical connectors 46 . this permits conductor 26 to be assembled and installed offshore without the assistance of a heavy - lift crane vessel . in other embodiments , conductor 26 is a single piece of pipe . in yet other embodiments , conductor 26 may comprise welded or threaded connectors between segments . in certain preferred embodiments , conductor 26 has a smooth , contiguous , substantially cylindrical outer surface at least in the vicinity of tensioner rollers 42 and 44 and keel guide 28 . one particular preferred mechanical connector 46 is illustrated in fig3 a . connector 46 comprises pin section 108 attached to an upper end of conductor 26 and box section 106 attached to the lower end of an adjoining section of conductor 26 . an assembly tool ( not shown ) which may be a hydraulically - actuated tool , may engage box section 106 at profile 112 and pin section 108 at profile 112 ′. the assembly tool may urge sections 106 and 108 axially together until they lock together at locking profile 110 . connector 46 may have an inside diameter 114 that is substantially the same as inner diameter 116 of conductor 26 so as to provide a substantially smooth inner bore . this may facilitate the running of riser 24 ( together with its associated tieback connectors and centralizers ) in and out of conductor 26 . one or more riser centralizers 48 may be attached to riser 24 to position riser 24 centrally within conductor 26 . proximate the lower end of conductor 26 , keel joint centralizer 96 may act as a load bearing or “ load reactor ” to transfer side loads on riser 24 to conductor 26 and thence through keel guide 28 to keel guide support structure 30 thereby reducing side loads imposed on tensioner 20 . one particular , suitable keel joint centralizer design is that described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 013 , 824 to otten et al ., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . side loads are imposed on vertical riser 24 whenever semi - submersible 10 drifts from its nominal position due to winds and / or currents . even when semi - submersible 10 is located at its nominal position directly above the seafloor wellheads , subsurface currents can displace risers 24 from a straight line , vertical orientation . at the upper end of riser 24 , a space out adapter 98 connects riser 24 and conductor 26 and provides a bearing surface for rods 38 of tensioner 20 . conductor 26 is positioned within tensioner 20 by upper tensioner rollers 42 and lower tensioner rollers 44 . in other embodiments , a single set of rollers may be employed at 42 and lower tensioner rollers 44 may be omitted . tensioner cylinder rods 38 are urged upward , out of their associated cylinders under the influence of fluid pressure within high - pressure bottles 40 which may have a gas - over - liquid configuration or have pressurized gas applied directly to the piston or rod of the cylinders . as shown in the detailed view of fig4 , the upper ends of tensioner rods 38 may bear on the undersurface of upper tensioner frame 80 which may be connected to tension ring 86 via elastomer bearing 72 . reinforcing plates or “ radial wings ” 94 may connect tension ring 86 to spaceout adapter 74 . spaceout adapter 74 may connect to riser tension joint 50 by engaging threads or grooves on at least a portion of the outer surface of riser tension joint 50 ( shown as dashed lines in fig4 ). in this way , the vertical position of tensioner 20 relative to riser 24 may be adjusted . conductor head 78 may be provided with profiled flange 88 which may be engaged between outer land 90 and inner land 92 . upward force applied by tensioner rods 38 is transmitted through upper tensioner frame 80 to elastomer bearing 72 and thence through radial wings 94 to outer land 90 resulting in a tensile force being applied to conductor 26 via flange 88 . also shown in fig4 is optional conductor sealing plate 82 which may provide a gas - tight seal between the inner surface of conductor 26 and the outer surface of riser 24 . this permits annulus 84 to be pressurized with air ( or other gas ) thereby making conductor 26 positively buoyant ( or at least have a lower effective weight ). such buoyancy may act to supplement the tension applied by tensioner 20 which may be particularly advantageous when a cylinder or ram 38 must be removed for maintenance or repair . examples of means for pressurizing annulus 84 include valves through sealing plate 82 , valves through the side wall of conductor 26 and piping entering the open , lower end of conductor 26 . fig4 a shows an alternative embodiment wherein top tension ring 80 is equipped with a plurality of attachment blocks 58 on the underside thereof . attachment blocks 58 may have an internally - threaded , radial through hole with an adjustable centralizer dog 56 in threaded engagement . the outer ends of adjustable centralizer dogs 56 may be provided with wrench flats , hex sockets or other tool - engagement means for adjusting the radial extent thereof . in one particular , preferred embodiment three adjustable centralizer dogs are provided , each 120 ° from an adjacent centralizer . centralizer dogs 58 may be adjusted radially in or out to aid in positioning upper tensioner ring 80 relative to conductor 26 . in so doing , the inner ends of centralizer dogs 58 will contact the outer surface of conductor 26 ( as shown on the right half of fig4 a ). following installation of upper tensioner ring 80 , dogs 56 may be retracted by positioning them radially outward ( as shown in the left half of fig4 a ). yet another embodiment is illustrated in fig4 b . in this embodiment , upper tensioner frame 80 ′ has concave spherical section 100 and tension ring 86 ′ has opposing , convex spherical surface 102 . spherical section elastomer bearing 104 is positioned between surfaces 100 and 102 . this configuration may lessen shear loads applied to bearing 104 when side loads are applied to conductor 26 and / or riser 24 . bearing 104 may be a composite bearing comprised of alternating layers of metal and elastomer . fig5 is a detailed view of the lower portion of a conductor 26 according to the invention . conductor 26 may have flare 52 at its lower end to facilitate the installation of riser 24 and its associated centralizers such as keel joint centralizer 96 . centralizer 96 may differ in design from centralizer 48 ( see fig3 ) inasmuch as centralizer 48 may be subjected to lesser lateral loads than keel joint centralizer 96 . riser 24 may include riser keel joint 62 which may have a thicker wall section for added strength and / or a profiled section for securing keel joint centralizer 96 in place . keel joint centralizer 96 may comprise centralizer mount 70 which may have a profiled inner surface that engages a corresponding profiled surface on riser 24 . radial spacer plates 64 may be arrayed around mount 70 and support anti - friction bearing 66 on annular elastomeric ring 68 . in certain preferred embodiments , anti - friction bearing 66 is fabricated from a polymer selected from the group consisting of nylon , delrin , polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ) and polyetheretherketone ( peek ). other anti - friction materials ( which may be composites or metals ) suitable for the subsea environment may also be used . keel joint centralizer 96 reacts side loads on riser 24 to conductor 26 which is restrained at the keel of semi - submersible vessel 10 by keel guide 28 . fig6 shows drilling riser 24 a on the left and production riser 24 b on the right passing through keel guides 28 . keel guides 28 may have an upper funnel portion for guiding conductor 26 during installation and a lower funnel portion for accommodating bending of conductor 26 in a sideways direction . a portion of keel guide support structure 30 is shown relative to pontoon upper surface 15 . drilling riser 24 a includes drilling riser segment connector 54 . production riser 24 b includes riser segment connector 55 of differing style . the central , cylindrical portion of keel guides 28 may have anti - friction bearings 60 for contacting the outer surface of conductor 26 inasmuch as conductor 26 slides axially relative to keel guide 28 as rams 38 of tensioner 20 ( not shown in fig6 ) extend and retract . anti - friction bearings 60 may be made of any suitable material . examples of suitable materials include , but are not limited to , nylon , delrin , polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ), polyetheretherketone ( peek ), and composites . anti - friction bearings 60 may be radially segmented for removal and replacement by divers or rovs . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the load path for side loads imposed on riser 24 a ( or 24 b ) is through keel joint centralizer 96 to conductor 26 and thence through anti - friction bearing 60 to keel guide 28 , keel guide support structure 30 and thence to pontoons 14 — i . e ., the hull of semi - submersible 10 . in this way , side loads on risers 24 are substantially reacted to the vessel &# 39 ; s hull rather than to the riser tensioners 20 . this may simplify the design of tensioners 20 and reduce the wear and stresses imposed thereon . rather than requiring a gimbaled riser tensioner , one may employ a push - up tensioner having only an elastomer bearing 72 ( or 104 ) for accommodating minor misalignments and to reduce bending moments . fig7 shows keel guide support structure 30 relative to a pontoon 14 having top surface 15 and bottom surface 19 . as illustrated in fig7 , keel joint centralizers 96 may be located within conductors 26 below lower end 120 of keel guides 28 . this may act to take advantage of the flexibility of that portion of conductor 26 which extends below keel guide 28 to further absorb side loads imposed on riser 24 — i . e ., conductor 26 may bend or flex at keel guide 28 in response to side loading via keel joint centralizer 96 . it should also be noted in fig7 that the lower ends 118 of conductors 26 may be located above the elevation of pontoon bottom surface 19 when their associated tensioners are in their nominal positions . this feature permits conductors 26 to be installed quayside even if the dry - tree semi is ballasted such that pontoon bottom surfaces 19 are resting on the seafloor of the harbor . in one particular preferred embodiment , mechanical connectors are used to assemble the length of conductor required by the specific platform draft and deck heights . these connectors allow the conductor to be installed or removed offshore using conventional drilling rig operations . this is a significant improvement over the conductors used on spar type platforms that require a heavy - lift vessel crane to be installed or removed . using the configuration disclosed herein , the conductor may be installed quayside or may be installed offshore . in one preferred configuration the conductor may be assembled from four sections . the connectors used may be similar to tlp tendon connectors , being fully reversible in connection and disconnection without rotation . the connectors may utilize hydraulic pressure to collapse the pin and expand the box , in conjunction with a hydraulic clamp tool to make up the connections . in one particular preferred embodiment , the conductor connectors have an inside diameter substantially equal to the inside diameter of the conductor pipe to ease the running of the riser and riser centralizers inside the conductor . the pipe sections for the conductor may be similar to tendon pipe , utilizing high quality rolled and welded pipe of high strength . in order to improve the life and minimize the impact on the tensioning system stiffness from friction , the conductor may be supported by rollers 42 and 44 at the tensioner structure and a keel guide 28 at the pontoon level . the keel guide structure may utilize a low friction composite material to react riser load to the hull . the composite material 60 may be in segments , permitting individual segment removal and replacement without removal of the conductor 26 . due to the long tensioner strokes required for a dts , the variability of wave , wind , and currant forces , and the need to minimize overall height of the system , it is possible that the tensioning system may bottom out on rare occasions — i . e ., the rams of the tensioner may reach the limit of their downward stroke . the forces generated during these conditions are large , as the riser quickly changes from the relatively soft spring rate of the tensioner to the stiffer spring rate of the steel pipe that forms the riser . to reduce the possibility of damage to the components and the deck or hull structures , an elastomeric pad 72 may be provided at the top of the conductor . this elastomer may provide a bumper function and minimize the impact force . in addition an elastomer ring 68 may be included in the keel joint so that any impact of the production riser at the keel is also minimized . previous concepts for dts tensioning systems have utilized ram tensioning systems based on applications from spar - type vessels . spars have deep hulls thereby inherently providing guiding means and support for the risers over a long length . for a dts , the distance between the deck and the pontoons is substantially less . typical tensioning system design parameters require sufficient remaining capacity in a “ one cylinder removed ” case . inasmuch as the riser tensions for dual - string production risers are high , the load capacity lost in a four - cylinder configuration is high . with three remaining cylinders , the moment that must be supported equals one quarter of the nominal load times the radius . by using a six - cylinder configuration , the lost load is only one sixth of the total load . this results in a 33 % reduction in the bending moment that must be supported , thereby enhancing system reliability . moreover , the minimum tension required can be provided by five cylinders instead of three , effectively reducing the nominal tension factor from 4 / 3 ( 1 . 33 ) to 6 / 5 ( 1 . 2 ) which provides the possibility to reduce the nominal tension by 11 %. with a lower tension factor , the unbalanced moment is also further reduced for a total of 40 % less than that of a comparable four - cylinder system . referring now to fig8 , one particular preferred deck configuration comprises drilling rig substructure 122 above upper deck level 16 and cellar deck 126 below lower deck level 18 of dts 10 . tensioners 20 are supported on cellar deck 126 . cellar deck vertical support members 128 are attached to the deck framework proximate lower deck level 18 at a first end and to cellar deck frame member 130 at a second end . having tensioners 20 mounted on cellar deck 126 allows greater access to christmas trees 22 on production risers 24 b and bop 124 on drilling riser 24 a and increases the clearance between trees 22 ( and bop 124 ) and drilling rig substructure 122 when the tensioners are fully stroked up . cellar deck 126 also provides deck access to the bottom portions of tensioners 20 for inspection and maintenance in mild metocean conditions and the structure of cellar deck 126 may at least partially shield tensioners 20 from wave slamming in severe metocean conditions . cellar deck 126 may be sufficiently small that the hydrodynamic behavior of the dts in storm conditions is not adversely affected . the lower extent of cellar deck 126 may be at an elevation that provides no air gap in a 100 - year storm . in a riser system according to the invention , riser conductor 26 may span from the tensioner deck to below the pontoon keel guide on the dts which protects the riser through the splash zone and also from potential boat or debris impacts . conductor 26 may be made from multiple sections so as to be field installable or quayside installable . conductor 26 may have a flush inside surface , with connectors using the “ snap together ” style merlin ® tlp tendon connectors ( oil states industries , inc . arlington , tex . 76001 ) that may be assembled or disassembled on the vessel . the inside diameter of conductor 26 may be selected to permit running drilling and production riser tieback connectors through the inside . conductor 26 may be made from thicker wall pipe at the top and bottom , and thinner wall pipe in the middle to reduce weight and increase flexibility . the riser keel joint centralizer 96 may be located below the keel guide 28 in order to take full advantage of the conductor flexibility . the outside diameter of the conductor 26 interfaces with a keel guide 28 to react side loads from the riser 24 . the inside surface of the conductor 26 interfaces with a keel joint 62 having a keel centralizer 96 . the inside of the conductor 26 may be pressurized with air , nitrogen or other suitable gas to increase the tension on the riser 24 by buoyancy of the conductor pie 26 . a bumper system for minimizing impact in the hull , deck , and riser may comprise an elastomeric element 68 as part of the keel joint centralizer 96 . an elastomeric element 72 between the conductor head and the upper tensioner frame absorbs shock from axial load of bottoming out and reduces lateral loads . an example of a suitable tensioner system uses six cylinders with piggy back style composite high - pressure bottles 40 for decreased load variation . double acting cylinders with fluid contained only on the rod side for seal lubrication may be used . the tensioner 20 may have a compression cylinder configuration where fluid is contained at the bottom of the cylinder to provide damping at cylinder full down stroke . a tension joint may be connected to the outer riser to enable space out of the tensioner stroke relative to the riser length . a keel guide 28 acts to lower the riser lateral load reaction point and overturning moment , thereby improving platform stability . segmented composite bearings 60 in keel guide interface with the outer surface of the conductor 26 and may be replaced individually by divers or by a remotely operated vehicle ( rov ). the outside surface of the conductor 26 may be clad with inconel or similar corrosion resistant material to eliminate potential corrosion damage and reduce friction forces applied to the tensioner 20 and riser 24 . advantages and benefits of the invention over the existing systems include the following : a ) the conductor 26 extends from the top tensioner frame to the keel joint . the large diameter of the conductor provides guidance for the production riser completely through the hull with full bore . b ) the outside diameter of the conductor reacts on the keel guide 28 and the riser pipe 24 moves with the conductor 26 so there is no relative motion , and hence no wear occurs on the pressure - containing riser pipe 24 . c ) the conductor is pre - installable at the shipyard or may be removed or installed offshore . d ) the conductor shields the production risers from splash , surface currents and potential boat impact . e ) the conductor reduces drag loads on the production risers due to surface currents during installation while also reducing the potential for riser clashing . f ) the top of the conductor may incorporate an elastomeric bumper element , for reducing potential impact as a result of bottoming out the tensioning system . g ) the keel guide may incorporate an elastomeric bumper element , that reduces potential impact damage at the riser and keel interface . h ) the keel joint centralizer is spaced to react the lateral riser loads below the keel guide interface . this provides additional flexibility and minimizes potential for clashing between the riser and keel guide . a ) the large diameter of the conductor 26 reduces bearing stresses at the guide rollers 42 and 44 and on the cylinders to enhance reliability and provide long life . b ) the conductor 26 may comprise sections with reversible connectors based on proven tlp connector technology . this allows installation of additional tensioners in the field and permits removal for maintenance if required . c ) the elastomeric bearing 72 in the upper tensioner frame allows small deflections which reduces lateral load on the cylinder rods 38 thereby enhancing seal life and cylinder durability . d ) one particular preferred arrangement uses tensioners having six cylinders and gas volume attached to the cylinder with composite high - pressure bottles 40 . with six cylinders , the volume per cylinder is sufficiently small that the entire gas volume required may be attached to the cylinder , thus minimizing flow losses and enhancing system safety and reliability . in addition , the applied moment is reduced to a more acceptable level should a cylinder need to be removed for maintenance . e ) the tensioner cylinder configuration may use gas only below a piston with fluid on a reduced rod side area to provide lubrication to seals and bearings . the system may use nitrogen as the operating gas to minimize corrosion and enable the use of synthetic , mineral - type fluids . f ) the conductor may be filled with nitrogen , air , or other suitable gas to provide additional riser tension from the resulting buoyancy . this additional tension may supplement the riser hydraulic tension for heavy riser conditions or for hydraulic system maintenance . a ) roller supports 42 and 44 at the tensioner 20 used in conjunction with the keel guide 28 virtually eliminates surface equipment lateral movement , and therefore reduces the well bay spacing requirement . b ) the keel guide wear components may be removed for replacement if required without conductor and riser removal . a ) roller supports 42 and 44 at the tensioner 20 in conjunction with the keel guide 28 virtually eliminates surface equipment lateral movement , and therefore reduces the well bay spacing requirement . b ) the conductor 26 is pre - installable at the shipyard , or may be installed offshore . in addition , the conductor 26 may be removed and re - installed offshore . c ) elimination of large - diameter , high - pressure piping from cylinders to active gas bottles , also known as applied pressure vessels ( apv &# 39 ; s ), which are located away from the tensioner unit and connected by a long run of piping . d ) riser lateral loads are reacted low on the semi - submersible &# 39 ; s hull , thereby improving platform stability for a given draft . the foregoing presents a particular embodiment of a system embodying the principles of the invention . those skilled in the art will be able to devise alternatives and variations which , even if not explicitly disclosed herein , embody those principles and are thus within the scope of the present invention as literally and equivalently covered by the following claims . | 4 |
the rare earth alkoxide used in this invention is an sc , y , la , ce , pr , nd , sm , eu , gd , tb , dy , ho , er , tm , yb or lu alkoxide . in particular , the catalytic activity of la or yb alkoxide can be well evaluated . the la alkoxide only was exemplified in the examples in this invention , but this invention can also be applied to the yb alkoxide . the number of carbon atoms in the alkoxyl group of the alkoxide is 1 to 5 , but as the alkoxide , isopropoxide is widely used . isopropoxide is commercially available and thus easily obtainable . in preferable embodiments , the rare earth alkoxide is used as a solution in a solvent . the usable solvent is ether type solvent , preferably thf . because the presence of water in the solvent inhibits accurate measurement , the solvent should be subjected to dehydration treatment to water content of 50 ppm or less . the water content is preferably 20 ppm or less . the concentration of the solution is 0 . 001 to 0 . 5 m , preferably 0 . 1 to 0 . 3 m . the thf solution may be left at room temperature for 1 to 30 days , but for rapid evaluation , this solution is subjected preferably to heat treatment at 35 to 60 ° c . for 0 . 5 to 24 hours . this heat treatment is conducted preferably under stirring with a magnetic stirrer etc . at a treatment temperature of 35 ° c . or less , the number of days for treatment is increased , while at 60 ° c . or more , such temperature is near to the boiling point of thf , thus making heat treatment difficult in a closed system . further , if the treatment time is too long , errors occur in analytical results . the amount of binol , in terms of molar ratio to rare earth alkoxide , is 1 to 3 , preferably 1 . when ph 3 p ═ o is added , the amount thereof , in terms of molar ratio to rare earth alkoxide , is 0 . 1 to 10 , preferably 1 to 10 . the catalyst is prepared by adding the components constituting the catalyst and keeping them in a solvent in the range of − 50 to 100 ° c . for 0 . 5 to 4 hours . the solvent used may be any solvent inert to the epoxylation reaction of an enone , preferably ether type solvent , particularly thf . the amount of the solvent used is 10 to 1000 ml relative to 1 mmol rare earth alkoxide . the catalyst is prepared as a catalyst solution in a reaction system and then used in the epoxylation reaction of an enone . the reaction may be carried out by adding an oxidizing agent and an enone to the catalyst solution , or by adding an oxidizing agent to the prepared catalyst solution , then stirring the mixture , compensating for the deficiency of the oxidizing agent and adding an enone . the amount of the enone , in terms of molar ratio to rare earth alkoxide to be evaluated , is 4 to 1000 . tertiary butyl hydroperoxide ( referred to hereinafter as tbhp ) used as the oxidizing agent in this invention may be used as a decane solution , or maybe extracted from 70 % or 90 % aqueous solution thereof with toluene , then dried over magnesium sulfate etc . and used in this invention . as cumene hydroperoxide ( referred to hereinafter as cmhp ), a commercial 80 weight -% product may be used after purification or directly without purification . the amount of the oxidizing agent used , in terms of molar ratio to the enone used , is 1 or more . in this invention , the reaction temperature is varied depending on the type of rare earth alkoxide evaluated and on the substrate for the enone , but usually the reaction is carried out is in the range of − 50 to 100 ° c . the reaction time is 15 minutes to 24 hours . in addition , zeolite may be used if necessary in the reaction system . the amount of zeolite used may be in any ratio to the rare earth alkoxide . various kinds of zeolite , for example molecular sieves 3a , 4a , 5a , 13x , x and l , can be used , and in particular molecular sieve 4a is preferable . the reaction is terminated by cooling the reaction solution to 10 ° c . or less or by inactivating the catalyst in the reaction system . these procedures may be combined . the inactivation of the catalyst is not particularly limited but can be carried out by adding an aqueous solution of citric acid . after the reaction is terminated , the reaction solution is extracted with an organic solvent , dried , concentrated , and purified by column chromatography to give a mixture of unreacted enone and optically active epoxy enone . the above mixture is measured for the amount of unreacted enone ( sm ), the content of epoxy enone ( pr ) and the enantiomeric excess by analytical units such as hplc . given a rare earth alkoxide having a high catalytic activity , the value of sm /( pr + sm ) is low , while given a rare earth alkoxide having a low catalytic activity , this value is high . given a rare earth alkoxide having a high catalytic activity , the enantiomeric excess is high , while given a rare earth alkoxide having a low catalytic activity , this yield is low . these values are varied significantly depending on the rare earth alkoxide evaluated and the substrate used for the enone . examples of the enone used in this invention include the following compounds : the enone is particularly preferably chalcone represented by formula ( 3 ). chalcone is a commercially available and easily obtainable compound . further , chalcone and epoxy chalcone are substances easily detectable by hplc and readily usable in this invention . as the analytical instruments for measuring the contents of unreacted enone and epoxy enone and the enantiomeric excess , gas chromatograph , hplc etc . can be used , but for easier measurement of enantiomeric excess , hplc is preferably used . hereinafter , this invention is described in more detail by reference to the examples . evaluation of the catalytic activity of rare earth alkoxide by asymmetric epoxidation of enone as lanthanum triisopropoxide ( referred to hereinafter as la ( o - i - pr ) 3 ) used as the subject of evaluation , lots a and b were used . lots a and b were la ( o - i - pr ) 3 produced by almost the same process , and they were almost identical in the outer appearance and color . solutions of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 from lots a and b in benzene - d 6 were analyzed respectively by 1 h - nmr , and the data on the two were almost the same . first , about 1 g of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was weighed in a globe box and then introduced into a 100 - ml eggplant type flask previously heated and dried under reduced pressure , and the flask was capped with a three - way cock and taken outside . the flask was cooled well on ice , and thf was dropped slowly thereto until that the la concentration was reduced to 0 . 2 m , and the mixture was stirred for 5 minutes and then at room temperature for additional 5 minutes . the thf used was commercial dehydrated thf , or thf distilled from benzophenone - ketyl . when distilled thf was used , it was used after cooling to room temperature . the resulting solution was stored as a solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 . ( s )- binol ( 8 . 6 mg , 0 . 03 mmol ), ph 3 as ═ o ( 9 . 7 mg , 0 . 03 mmol ) and ms - 4a ( 150 mg ) were weighed in a test tube previously heated and dried under reduced pressure , and they were dried for about 10minutes under reduced pressure . thf ( 3 . 0 ml ) was added thereto , then the mixture was stirred , the solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 in thf ( 0 . 15 ml , 0 . 03 mmol ) was added dropwise thereto at room temperature ( 22 to 23 ° c . ), and the reaction solution was stirred at room temperature for 50 minutes , to give a solution of ( s )- la - binol - ph 3 as ═ o complex in thf . tbhp ( 0 . 09 ml , 0 . 45 mmol , 5 m decane solution ) was added dropwise to the solution of ( s )- la - binol - ph 3 as ═ o complex in thf at room temperature in an ar gas atmosphere , and the mixture was further stirred for 10 minutes . to the yellowish white to yellow reaction solution thus obtained was added a compound ( 43 . 7 mg , 0 . 15 mmol ) of formula 5 : and the mixture was stirred at room temperature . after 70 minutes , methanol ( 0 . 15 ml ) was added to the reaction solution , then the mixture was further stirred for 4 hours , 2 % aqueous citric acid solution was added to the reaction solution , the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate , and the organic layer was washed with a brine and dried over sodium sulfate . the solvent was distilled away under reduced pressure , and the residues were purified by silica gel chromatography ( ethyl acetate / hexane = 1 / 40 ), to give the corresponding epoxy ester . its enantiomeric excess was determined by hplc ( daicel chiralcel od ; hexane / isopropanol = 9 / 1 ; flow rate 0 . 5 ml / min . ; detection at 254 nm ). the yield and enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are as follows : lot a yield : 76 . 2 % enantiomeric excess : 94 . 6 % ee lot b yield : 81 . 1 % enantiomeric excess : 94 . 1 % ee by conducting the asymmetric epoxidation of the enone , the catalytic activity of the alkoxide in lot a could be confirmed to be inferior to that of lot b . evaluation of the catalytic activity of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 by asymmetric nitroaldol reaction in this experiment too , la ( o - i - pr ) 3 in lots a and b was used . the method of preparing a solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was the same as in example 1 . ( s )- binol ( 17 . 2 mg , 0 . 06 mmol ) was weighed in a test tube previously heated and dried under reduced pressure , and the sample in the test tube was dried for 4 hours in an oil bath at 45 ° c . under reduced pressure ( about 2 mmhg ) . after drying was finished , the sample was left and cooled to room temperature and then thf ( 0 . 5 ml ) was added thereto . the reaction solution was cooled on ice , and the solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 ( 0 . 1 ml , 0 . 02 mmol ) was added thereto . the ice bath was removed , and the solution was stirred at room temperature for 5 hours . thereafter , the reaction solution was cooled again , and normal butyl lithium ( 44 . 2 μl , 0 . 06 mmol , 1 . 36m , hexane solution ) was added dropwise thereto . the reaction solution was stirred at room temperature for 24 hours , and then aqueous thf ( 20 μl , 0 . 02 mmol , 1 . 0 m thf ) was added dropwise thereto to prepare an la - li - binol complex . the la - li - binol complex prepared in the method described above was used as such in nitroaldol reaction . the reaction vessel was cooled to − 50 ° c ., and nitromethane ( 325 μl , 6 mmol ) was added slowly dropwise thereto . after the mixture was stirred at − 50 ° c . for 1 hour , cyclohexane carboxaihyde ( 72 . 7 μl , 0 . 6 mmol ) was added slowly dropwise thereto . after the mixture was stirred at − 50 ° c . for 20 hours , 1 . 5 ml of 1 m aqueous hydrogen chloride was added to the reaction solution which was then extracted with ethyl acetate , washed with a brine and dried over magnesium sulfate . the reaction solution was concentrated , then separated by silica gel column chromatography ( hexane / ethyl acetate = 6 / 1 ), and its enantiomeric excess was determined by hplc ( daicel chiralpak ad - h ; hexane / isopropanol = 9 / 1 ; flow rate 0 . 6 ml / min . ; detection at 230 nm ). the yield and enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are as follows : lot a yield : 92 % enantiomeric excess : 91 . 5 % ee lot b yield : 91 % enantiomeric excess : 92 . 1 % ee the difference between lots a and b in the yield and enantiomeric excess in the asymmetric nitroaldol reaction was not higher than experimental errors , so the difference between lots a and b in the catalytic activity could not be judged . evaluation of the catalytic activity of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 by asymmetric michel reaction in this experiment too , la ( o - i - pr ) 3 in lots a and b was used . the method of preparing a solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was the same as in example 1 . under reduced pressure , a test tube was heated and dried with a heat gun , then provided with a three - way cock and flushed with ar gas . an asymmetric ligand ( s , s )- linked binol ( 95 . 88 w / w %, 16 . 0 mg , 0 . 025 mmol ) was weighed in the test tube and dissolved in 0 . 17 ml thf ( just after distillated from benzophenone ketyl ) at room temperature . after cooled to − 78 ° c ., the solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 ( 0 . 125 ml , 0 . 025 mmol ) was added thereto and stirred at − 78 ° c . for 5 minutes . further , the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours , and the solvent was distilled away under reduced pressure , and the residues were dried for 2 hours under reduced pressure , to give la - linked - binol complex powder . the la - linked binol complex was cooled to − 78 ° c . with dry ice - acetone in an ar gas atmosphere and dissolved in dme ( 0 . 375 ml , just after distilled from benzophenone ketyl ). dibenzyl 2 - aryl - malonate ( 1 . 0 m thf solution , 0 . 25 ml , 0 . 25 mmol ) was added thereto . further , 2 - cyclopenten - 1 - one ( 21 μl , 0 . 25 mmol ) was added thereto , and the mixture was stirred at that temperature for 5 minutes . further , the reaction mixture was stirred at 4 ° c . for 83 hours , and the reaction solution was diluted with ethyl acetate and washed with an aqueous ammonium chloride solution , and the organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate . the solvent was distilled away under reduced pressure , and the residues were purified by silica gel chromatography ( ethyl acetate / hexane = 1 / 5 ), whereby a michel product was obtained as colorless oily material . the enantiomeric excess was determined by hplc ( daicel chiralcel oj - h , hexane / isopropanol = 9 / 1 ; flow rate 0 . 8 ml / min . ; detection at 210 nm ). the yield and enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are as follows : lot a yield : 54 % enantiomeric excess : 99 . 1 % ee lot b yield : 55 % enantiomeric excess : 99 . 5 % ee the difference between lots a and b in the yield and enantiomeric excess in the michel reaction was not higher than experimental errors , so the difference between lots a and b in the catalytic activity could not be judged . in this experiment too , la ( o - i - pr ) 3 in lots a and b was used . the method of preparing a solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was the same as in example 1 , and this solution was used after being left at room temperature in a shaded state for 20 days . ( s )- binol ( 7 . 2 mg , 0 . 025 mmol ), ph 3 p ═ o ( 21 . 1 mg , 0 . 075 mmol ) and ms - 4a ( 500 mg ) were placed in a 30 ml test tube and then dried for about 10 minutes under reduced pressure , then thf ( 2 . 5 ml ) was added thereto , the mixture was stirred for 30 minutes , and 0 . 125 ml of the above solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was added thereto and further stirred for 1 hour , to give an la - binol - ph 3 p ═ o complex . tbhp ( 0 . 06 ml , 0 . 3 mmol , 5 m decane solution ) was added dropwise to the solution of the la - binol - ph 3 p ═ o complex in thf at room temperature , and the mixture was further stirred for 20 minutes and then at 0 ° c . for 10 minutes . to the resulting yellow reaction solution was added the starting compound ( chemical 5 ) ( 29 . 1 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . after the reaction for 30 minutes , 2 % citric acid solution was added thereto , then the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate , and the organic layer was washed with a brine and dried over sodium sulfate anhydride . methanol ( 3 . 0 ml ) and sodium methoxide ( 10 . 8 mg ) were added to the resulting residues , and after the mixture was reacted at room temperature for about 10 minutes , ammonium chloride was added to the reaction solution , then the aqueous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate , the organic layer was washed with a brine and dried over sodium sulfate anhydride , the solvent was distilled away , and the residues were purified by silica gel chromatography ( acetone / hexane = 1 / 10 ), to give a mixture of the corresponding epoxy ester and derivatives of the unreacted starting material . the amounts of derivatives of the unreacted material and the product and the enantiomeric excess were determined by hplc ( hexane / isopropanol = 9 / 1 ; flow rate 0 . 5 ml / min . ; detection at 254 nm ). the hplc detection values of the epoxy ester and derivatives of the unreacted material and the enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are shown in table 1 . the hplc detection value of the unreacted material derivatives in the reaction solution using lot a was 86 . 4 %, while the hplc detection value of the unreacted material derivatives in the reaction solution using lot b was 29 . 7 %. from these results , it can be judged that lot b when used as the catalyst material gives higher activity than that of lot a . this experiment was carried out in the same manner as in example 2 except that the la ( o - i - pr ) 3 solution was left for 2 days . the hplc detection values of the epoxy ester and derivatives of the unreacted material and the enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are shown in table 2 . the hplc detection values of the unreacted material derivatives in the reaction using lots a and b were 31 . 0 % and 36 . 0 % respectively . in this experiment , the error in the detection values was about 10 %, so the two values were considered almost the same . under these evaluation conditions , therefore , the difference in the catalytic activity between lots a and b could not be judged . in this experiment too , la ( o - i - pr ) 3 in lots a and b was used . the method of preparing a solution of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 was the same as in example 1 , and this solution was subjected to deterioration treatment by stirring it at 40 ° c . for 1 , 3 , and 16 hours , respectively . lots a and b treated under the same conditions were used as the starting material to prepare catalysts respectively , and the reactions using these catalysts were simultaneously initiated . the reactions were carried out in the following manner . tbhp ( 0 . 06 ml , 0 . 3 mmol , 5 m decane solution ) was added dropwise to the solution of the la - binol - ph 3 p ═ o complex in thf at room temperature , and the mixture was further stirred for 30 minutes . to the resulting yellow solution was added the compound ( formula 5 ) ( 29 . 1 mg , 0 . 1 mmol ), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature . a part of the reaction solution was sampled at 10 minute intervals after the reaction was initiated , and the presence of the unreacted material and the product contained therein was confirmed by thin - layer chromatograph ( referred to hereafter as tlc ) ( solvent : hexane / ethyl acetate = 1 / 3 to 9 ). from the disappearance of a spot shown by the starting material , the rate of conversion was easily confirmed . the difference in the catalytic activity between lots a and b could be confirmed by conducting heat treatment at 40 ° c . for 1 to 3 hours without leaving the solution at room temperature for 20 days . evaluation of the catalytic activity of la ( o - i - pr ) 3 by asymmetric epoxidation of chalcone ( s )- binol ( 7 . 2 mg , 0 . 025 mmol ) and ms - 4a ( 500 mg ) were introduced into a 30 ml test tube and dried for about 10 minutes , and dehydrated thf ( 2 . 5 ml ) manufactured by kanto kagaku co ., ltd . was added thereto and stirred for 30 minutes , and the la ( o - i - pr ) 3 solution ( 0 . 125 ml , 0 . 025 mmol ) subjected to deterioration treatment ( 40 ° c ., 3 hours ) by the method in example 3 was added thereto and stirred for additional 1 hour , to prepare an la - binol complex . tbhp ( 0 . 15 ml , 0 . 75 mmol , 5 m decane solution ) was added dropwise thereto at room temperature , and the mixture was stirred for 20 minutes and then at 0 ° c . for 10 minutes . to the yellow solution thus obtained was added chalcone ( 104 . 0 mg , 0 . 5 mol ), and the mixture was stirred at 0 ° c . to initiate the reaction . thirty minutes after the reaction was initiated , 2 % citric acid solution was added thereto , and the aqueous layer extracted with ethyl acetate , and the organic layer was washed with a brine and dried over sodium sulfate anhydride . the reaction solution thus obtained was purified by silica gel chromatography ( acetone / hexane = 1 / 10 ), to give a mixture of unreacted chalcone and epoxy chalcone . the amounts of the unreacted starting material and the product and the enantiomeric excess were determined by hplc ( hexane / isopropanol = 98 / 2 ; flow rate 1 . 0 ml / min . ; daicel chiralcel od ; detection at 254 nm ). hplc data are shown in fig1 . the unreacted chalcone , epoxy chalcone ( minor ) and epoxy chalcone ( major ) were detected at retention times of about 14 minutes and 40 seconds , 17 minutes and 50 seconds , and 19 minutes and 20 seconds , respectively . the hplc detection values of unreacted chalcone and epoxy chalcone and the enantiomeric excess in the reaction using lots a and b are as shown in table 4 . the hplc detection value of the unreacted chalcone in the reaction solution using lot a was 24 . 9 %, while the hplc detection value of the unreacted chalcone in the reaction solution using lot b was 13 . 1 %. from this result , it can be judged that lot b when used as the catalyst material can give a higher activity than by lot a . as described above , the method of this invention can sensitively evaluate the catalytic activity of the rare earth alkoxide . | 6 |
an image capture sensor in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig3 . capture sensor 100 includes a passivation layer 118 , which can be formed of sinx . on top of passivation layer 118 , a storage capacitor layer is formed including first electrode 115 . this storage capacitor layer is preferably formed from indium tin oxide ( ito ), which is conductive and transparent . on top first electrode 115 , a insulating layer 117 is formed , preferably of sinx . over insulating layer 117 , a second electrode 114 is formed , preferably of tin oxide . first electrode 115 , insulating layer 117 and second electrode 114 together form the storage capacitor . over second electrode 114 , another insulating layer 116 is formed , which can be formed from sinx . a layer of glass layer 111 is placed over insulating layer 116 . a fingerprint to by imaged is placed on glass layer 111 , which may be referred to herein as the imaging surface . a light sensing unit 112 , which is preferably a thin - film transistor , and a switching unit 113 , which is also preferably a thin - film transistor , are horizontally arranged on a passivation layer 118 . under passivation layer 118 , a back light 120 irradiates light upward to be passed through the fingerprint capture sensor 100 . as shown in fig3 , back light 120 is separated from a lower , exposed surface of passivation layer 118 . it is also considered , however , that backlight 120 be placed against lower surface of passivation layer 118 . backlight 120 can be an led or any other type of light source as is understood in the art . a source electrode 112 - s of the light sensing unit 112 and a drain electrode 113 - d of the switching unit 113 are electrically connected through second electrode 114 . a gate electrode 112 - g of the light sensing unit 112 is connected to first electrode 115 . additionally , a first light shielding layer 113 - sh is placed between insulating layer 117 and passivation layer 118 at switching unit 113 . as detailed below , first light shielding layer 113 - sh blocks light from backlight 120 from reaching swithing unit 113 . additionally , second light shielding layer 122 is positioned between glass layer 111 and insulating layer 116 at switching unit 113 to shield switching unit 113 from light passing through or reflected from glass layer 111 . in the above structure , a photosensitive layer 112 - p such as amorphous silicon ( a - si : h ) is formed between the drain electrode 112 - d and source electrode 112 - s of the light sensing unit 112 . as is understood in the art , photosensitive layer 112 - p allows current to flow in response to a predetermined amount of light striking a surface of photosensitive layer 112 - p . in this way , when more than a predetermined quantity of light is received at a surface of photosensitive layer 112 - p , current flows through the drain electrode 112 - d and the source electrode 112 - s . fig4 a and 4 b illustrate the operation of sensor 100 discussed above . fig4 a illustrates a fingerprint 130 placed against glass layer 111 . fig4 b is a detailed view of a portion of fig4 a showing a single ridge of fingerprint 130 a placed against glass layer 111 of sensor 100 . light 150 , generated from back light 120 beneath passivation layer 118 , is reflected from fingerprint ridge 130 a and received by the photosensitive layer 112 - p of the light sensing unit 112 , thus causing electricity to flow in the light sensing unit 112 . gate electrode 112 - g of light sensing unit 112 serves to block light 150 directly emitted by light source 120 from reaching light sensing unit 112 through a lower face thereof . additionally , as discussed above , a portion of switching unit 113 from the drain electrode 113 - d to the source electrode 113 - s is covered with a light shielding layer 113 - sh such that external light cannot be received by the switching unit 113 . when light photosensitive layer 112 - p of light sensing unit 112 allows current to flow , the current passes through electrode 114 and into drain electrode 113 - d of switching unit 113 . this causes switching unit 113 to be activated , thereby indicating that a portion of a fingerprint ridge is above the location of sensor 100 in a fingerprint sensor array ( not shown ). if a fingerprint valley is above the location of sensor 100 , then incident light from backlight 120 will be reflected back into sensor 100 to a far smaller degree than if a ridge is above the location of sensor 100 . as such , photosensitive layer 112 - p will not receive sufficient light to begin conducting sufficient current to activate switching unit 113 . in this way , an array of image capture sensors such as image capture sensor 100 can be used to determine the contours of fingerprint ridges and valleys of a fingerprint placed on the imaging surface of such an array . as discussed above , a glass surface , which is relatively durable , is used as the imaging surface for capture sensor 100 . as such a relatively high degree of protection is provided to the rest of capture sensor 100 . also , the glass imaging surface can be relatively smooth , causing relatively little distortion in a captured image . additionally , no extra coating over the surface of a capture sensor in accordance with the present invention is necessary . referring again to fig3 , in a method of fabricating capture sensor 100 , a second light shielding layer 122 is first placed on glass layer 111 via evaporation , sputtering or any other method . glass layer 111 is preferably between about 5 and 10 um , though may be either thicker or thinner . light shielding layer 122 is preferably formed from a metal such as aluminum , but may be formed from any suitable light blocking material . next , insulating layer 116 is formed on top of glass layer 111 and second light shielding layer 122 . as noted above , insulating layer 116 is preferably formed from sinx . photosensitive layer 112 - p is then formed over insulating layer 116 . as discussed above , photosensitive layer 112 - p is preferably formed from a - si : h . source electrode 112 - d of light sensing unit 112 , second electrode 114 and drain electrode 113 - d of switching unit 113 are next formed over insulating layer 116 . source electrode 112 - d , second electrode 114 and drain electrode 113 - d are each preferably formed of ito , but may be formed of any suitable conductor . next , insulating layer 117 is formed and over insulating layer 117 first electrode 115 is formed . insulating layer 117 is preferably formed from sinx and first electrode 115 is preferably formed of ito but may be formed of any suitable conductor . next , gate electrode 112 - g of light sensing unit 112 and light shield 113 - sh are formed . preferably , gate electrode 112 - g and light shielding layer 113 - sh are each formed of ito , but may be formed of any suitable material and light shielding layer 113 - sh does not need to be formed from the same material as gate electrode 112 - g . next , passivation layer 118 , which is preferably formed from sinx , is formed over first electrode 115 , gate electrode 112 - g and light shielding layer 113 - sh . as discussed above , backlight 120 can either be attached to the lower , exposed surface of passivation layer 118 or separately supported in a known manner . a second embodiment of an image capture sensor in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in fig5 . image capture sensor 200 has substantially the same structure as capture sensor 100 except that conductive ito layer 230 is placed beneath glass layer 211 and an insulating layer 232 , which can be formed of sinx , is placed below ito layer 230 . because ito layer 230 is conductive , electrostatic charge built up on glass layer 211 can be discharged by connecting ito layer to a ground in a known manner . this can advantageously prevent damage to capture sensor 200 . image capture sensor can be fabricated in substantially the same manner as image capture sensor 100 except that ito layer 230 is formed over glass layer 211 and insulating layer 232 is formed over ito layer 230 prior to forming light shielding layer 222 over insulating layer 232 . a third embodiment of an image capture sensor in accordance with the present invention is shown in fig6 . image capture sensor 300 has substantially the same structure as capture sensor 100 . specifically , capture sensor 300 includes a light sensing unit 312 , which is substantially the same and light sensing unit 112 , and switching unit 313 , which is substantially the same as switching unit 113 , formed between an insulating layer 316 and a passivation layer 318 . however , above insulating layer 316 capture sensor 300 includes a substrate layer 330 having a plurality of fiber - optic strands 330 a running in a direction perpendicular to a surface of substrate layer 330 . preferably , the diameter of the fiber - optic strands 330 a forming substrate layer 330 is from about 4 um to about 8 um in diameter and more preferably about 6 um in diameter , though larger or smaller diameters can also be used . substrate layer 330 can be formed from glass fiber optic strands 330 a or fiber optic strands of other substantially transparent materials including polymers . fiber optic sheets which can be used to form substrate layer 330 are known in the art and available from , for example , schott fiber optics of southbridge mass . in operation , as shown in fig6 , a fingerprint 320 including a fingerprint ridge 322 to be imaged is placed on an exposed surface of fiber - optic layer 330 . incident light from backlight 320 , which can be substantially the same as backlight 120 of capture sensor 100 , passes into fiber - optic layer 330 and can either directly pass through fiber - optic layer 330 as shown by arrow 340 , or pass through fiber - optic layer 330 by undergoing total internal reflection ( tir ) from the sides of a fiber - optic strand 330 a , as shown by arrow 342 . in either case , if the incident light from backlight 320 strikes a fingerprint ridge 322 , it will scatter back through fiber - optic layer 330 either directly or , as shown by arrow 344 , undergoing tir to reach photosensitive layer 312 - p of light sensing unit 312 . because light scattered from a fingerprint ridge 322 can undergo total internal reflection to pass through fiber - optic layer 330 , fiber - optic layer 330 can be relatively thicker than a glass layer such as glass layer 111 without degrading the performance of capture sensor 300 . as such , fiber - optic layer is preferably 0 . 8 mm to 1 . 0 mm but may be either thicker or thinner . because , as described above , fiber - optic layer can be relatively thick , a fiber - optic layer such as fiber - optic layer 330 can provide relatively more protection for an image capture sensor such as image capture sensor 300 . image capture sensor 300 can be fabricated in substantially the same manner as image capture sensor 100 except that fiber - optic layer 330 is used in place of glass layer 111 . it is also considered that glass layer 211 of image capture sensor 200 be replaced by a fiber - optic layer such as fiber - optic layer 330 . although particular embodiments have been described in detail , various modifications to the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention , thus , the invention is limited only by the appended claims . | 6 |
a flat cable according to the present invention is a transmission line that transmits a radio frequency signal and that is produced by forming a signal line in or on the front surface of a bendable ( flexible ) dielectric substance ( sheet ), such as a liquid crystal polymer or teflon ( trademark of e . i . du pont de nemours and company ) substrate , and forming a ground layer made of a metal spaced from the signal line by the dielectric substance . alternatively , two ground layers may be formed on the front surface of the dielectric sheet with a signal line between the two ground layers . to transmit a radio frequency signal with a small transmission loss , the characteristic impedance of the signal transmission line needs to be a predetermined value , for example 50ω . the characteristic impedance of the transmission line depends on the shape of the signal line , the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric substance , and so forth . to prevent a signal from leaking out of the cable , the ground layer needs to be sufficiently wider than the signal line . to suppress the radiation of a signal from the cable and the influence of external electromagnetic noise against the signal line , it is effective to coat a transmission line in which the signal line and the ground line are paired with a shield layer made of a metal . next , embodiments of the present invention will be described . these embodiments have been made in consideration of the foregoing conditions . fig2 shows the structure of a flat cable according to a first embodiment of the present invention . in fig2 , a cable 10 is a radio frequency cable that has a strip line structure . since this cable is flat , it can be more flattened than conventional coaxial cables . in addition , when the dielectric substance is thinned and the ground layer is sufficiently wider than the signal line , the radiation of a signal from the side portion free of the ground layer can be suppressed . the characteristic impedance depends on the size of the cross - section of the signal line , the specific dielectric constant of the dielectric substance , and so forth . in this example , the flat cable is designated to have a characteristic impedance of 50ω . more particularly , the cable 10 is structured so that a signal line 11 is coated with a thin dielectric sheet 12 and ground layers 13 are formed on an upper surface and a lower surface of the dielectric sheet 12 , the ground layers 13 being sufficiently wider than the signal line 11 . to prevent a current from unnecessarily shortcircuiting through the ground layers 13 , the upper and lower surface of the cable are coated with films of an insulator 14 . the two ground layers are coated with two films of the insulator 14 so that the ground layers are not exposed to the outside . thus , the side portions of the cable 10 are composed of the dielectric sheet 12 and the insulator 14 . the dielectric sheet 12 is made of a material having plasticity . thus , since the cable 10 can be relatively freely bent , it can be used for a complicated line and an open / close mechanism . next , a method for obtaining the characteristic impedance of a strip line such as the cable 10 according to the first embodiment will be described . as described above , the cable 10 is designed to have a characteristic impedance of , for example , 50ω . fig3 schematically shows the structure of a strip line . a strip line 20 is composed of a signal line 21 , a dielectric sheet 22 , and upper and lower ground layers 23 . the width of each of the ground layers 23 is denoted by w , the height of the dielectric sheet 22 is denoted by h , the width of the cross - section of the signal line 21 is denoted by a , the height thereof is denoted by b , and the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet 22 is denoted by ε r . if the width w of the ground layer 23 is sufficiently larger than the width a of the cross - section of the signal line 21 , the characteristic impedance z 0 can be approximately represented by the following formula 1 . z 0 =( 60 / ε r ) 1 / 2 ) ln ( 4 h /( 0 . 67 πa ( 0 . 8 +( b / a )))) formula 1 fig4 a , fig4 b , fig4 c and fig5 are sectional views showing a method for producing the flat cable according to the first embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 a , the signal line 11 is accurately formed by an etching process or the like . the upper and lower surfaces of the signal line 11 are coated with the dielectric sheets 12 and metal films . the material of the signal line 11 is , for example , copper . next , as shown in fig4 b , the metal films are processed using an etching process or the like so as to form the ground layers 13 . as described above , the ground layers 13 are processed so that each of them is sufficiently wider than the signal line 11 . finally , as shown in fig4 c , the insulators 14 are formed on the upper and lower ground layers 13 . as a result , a flat cable sheet 30 having a plurality of cables is produced . thereafter , the flat cable sheet 30 produced as shown in fig4 a to fig4 c is cut along line a – b shown in fig5 several times . as a result , a plurality of flat cables 10 are obtained . in this method , radio frequency cables having excellent characteristics can be produced in quantity at low cost . it is preferred that each of the ground layers 13 should be narrower than the cut interval so that the ground layers 13 are not cut . next , with reference to fig6 , a flat cable according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . a cable 40 shown in fig6 contains a signal line 41 , a dielectric sheet 42 , upper and lower ground layers 43 , upper and lower shield layers 44 , and upper and lower insulators 45 . the signal line 41 is coated with the dielectric sheet 42 . the upper and lower ground layers 43 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the dielectric sheet 42 , respectively . each of the ground layers 43 is sufficiently wider than the signal line 41 . the upper and lower ground layers 43 are coated with the upper and lower insulators 45 , respectively . the upper and lower shield layers 44 are formed on the upper and lower insulators 45 , respectively . the upper and lower shield layers 44 are coated with the upper and lower insulators 45 , respectively . according to the second embodiment , the shield layers 44 and the insulators 45 are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the cable 10 of the first embodiment . with the cable 40 , the radiation of a signal is more suppressed than with the cable 10 of the first embodiment . thus , the influence of external electromagnetic noise against the signal line can be more suppressed than in the first embodiment . in addition , the ground layers 43 and the shield layers 44 are not exposed to the outside . thus , the side portions of the cable 40 are composed of the dielectric sheet 42 and the insulator 45 . the cable 40 is produced in the same method shown in fig4 a to fig4 c and fig5 , except that after the flat cable sheet 30 shown in fig4 a to fig4 c is produced , the shield layers 44 are formed and etched and then the outermost insulators 45 are formed . the dielectric sheet 42 is made of a material having , for example , plasticity . next , with reference to fig7 , a flat cable according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described . a cable 50 shown in fig7 is a cable having a coplanar structure in which a signal line 51 and two ground layers 53 are formed on the same plane ( i . e ., the surface of a dielectric sheet 52 ). since the signal line 51 and the two ground layers 53 are formed on the same plane , namely on the dielectric sheet 52 , the structure of this cable becomes simpler and it can be produced at lower cost than the foregoing cables . the cable 50 is composed of a signal line 51 , a dielectric sheet 52 , two ground layers 53 , and upper and lower insulators 54 . as described above , the signal line 51 and the two ground layers 53 are formed almost in parallel in the longitudinal direction of the cable 50 so that the signal line 51 does not contact the two ground layers 53 . in addition , the two ground layers 53 are formed on both sides of the signal line 51 . in the cross - section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cable 50 , each of the ground layers 53 is sufficiently wider than the signal line 51 . the upper and lower surfaces of the signal line 51 , the dielectric sheet 52 , and the two ground layers 53 are coated with the upper and lower insulators 54 , respectively . the cable 50 can be produced in the same method as the foregoing embodiments shown in fig4 a to fig4 c , and fig5 . in this case , the signal line 51 and the two ground layers 53 are formed and etched in the same process as the foregoing embodiments . the dielectric sheet 52 is made of a material having , for example , plasticity . the characteristic impedance of a coplanar line ( or coplanar waveguide cpw ) depends on the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet that is used , the thickness and width of the conductor that is used , and so forth . when a dielectric sheet having a high relative dielectric constant is used , a miniaturized circuit can be accomplished . a coplanar waveguide 60 shown in fig8 has the same structure as the cable 50 of the third embodiment . the coplanar waveguide 60 is composed of a signal line 61 , a dielectric sheet 62 , two ground layers 63 , and an insulator 64 . the relative dielectric constant of the dielectric sheet 62 is denoted by ε r , the thickness of the dielectric sheet 62 is denoted by h , the width of the cross - section of the signal line 61 ( the width of the waveguide ) is denoted by s , and the width between the signal line 61 and the ground layers 63 is denoted by w . in this case , the characteristic impedance z 0 can be approximately expressed by a predetermined formula based on these values . alternatively , the characteristic impedance z 0 can be calculated using a predetermined simulator . next , with reference to fig9 , a flat cable according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described . a cable 70 shown in fig9 is part of an end portion ( terminal portion ) of a flat cable . the cable 70 is composed of a signal line 71 , a dielectric sheet 72 , upper and lower ground layers 73 , and upper and lower insulators 74 . the cable 70 has four through - holes 75 and one through - hole 76 . although the upper and lower ground layers 73 are exposed on the side portions of the cable 70 , one of the flat cables of the first to third embodiments can be used . an end portion of the upper ground layer 73 is not coated with the upper insulator 74 so that the end portion of the upper ground layer 73 can be electrically connected to a circuit board . the four through - holes 75 electrically connect the upper and lower ground layers 73 . the through - hole 76 is formed as a terminal with which a signal from the signal line 71 may be connected to the outside . a terminal is disposed above the cable 70 shown in fig9 . in this example , four through - holes 75 are formed . however , the number of through - holes 75 is not limited to four . the through - holes 75 are formed so that the potentials of the upper and lower ground layers 73 become equal . the through - holes can be formed by various methods . in one method , holes are made in two ground layers that sandwich a dielectric sheet having through - holes aligned with the holes in the ground layers . the aligned holes are filled with electro - conductive paste ( for example , silver paste or copper paste ) so as to electrically connect the two ground layers . in another method , the walls of the aligned holes are plated with an electro - conductive substance so as to electrically connect the two ground layers . in the example shown in fig9 , the first method is used . the cable 70 can be produced in the same method as the first embodiment shown in fig4 a to fig4 c and fig5 . the through - holes 75 and the through - holes 76 are formed by a single process . the dielectric sheet 72 is made of a material having , for example , plasticity . fig1 is a sectional view seen in the direction of arrow a shown in fig9 . the through - holes 75 extend from the upper ground layer 73 to the lower ground layer 73 . the through - holes 75 electrically connect the upper ground layer 73 and the lower ground layer 73 . although the through - hole 76 extends from the upper ground layer 73 to the lower ground layer , a space portion 80 that is concentrically cut from the upper ground layer 73 around the through - hole 76 keeps it apart from the upper ground layer 73 . a space portion 81 that is concentrically cut from the lower ground layer 73 around the through - hole 76 keeps it apart from the lower ground layer 73 . alternatively , the space portion 81 may be formed in the same shape as the space portion 80 . the through - hole 76 is connected to the signal line 71 . in fig1 , the signal line 71 extends from the deeper side to the through - hole 76 . with the cable 70 that has such a structure , by connecting a ground of a circuit board to any portion of the upper ground layer 73 external to the space portion 80 and connecting a signal input / output portion of the circuit board to any portion of the space portion 80 of the ground layer 73 interior of the space portion 80 , the circuit board and the cable 70 are electrically connected . these connections are performed by , for example , soldering . alternatively , the circuit board and the cable 70 can be mechanically contacted or connected by , for example , clamping . next , with reference to fig1 a and fig1 b , a flat cable according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described . fig1 a and fig1 b show a cable 85 according to the present invention along with a connector 90 electrically connected to the cable 85 . fig1 a is a front view showing the cable 85 and the connector 90 . fig1 b is a side view showing the cable 85 and the connector 90 . the connector 90 is connected to an end portion of the cable 85 as shown in fig1 a and fig1 b . a ground terminal 91 of the connector 90 is connected to a ground layer 88 of the cable 85 by , for example , clamping . it is preferred that the ground terminal 91 be connected to two ground layers 88 so that the potentials of the two ground layers 88 become equal . as with the fourth embodiment , through - holes that connect the two ground layers may be formed adjacent to the connector 90 . a mating connector that fits the connector 90 is disposed on a circuit board . when these connectors are connected , the cable 85 and the circuit board can be easily connected . by inserting the cable 85 into the connector 90 ( in the direction of arrow b shown in fig1 a ), the cable 85 and the connector 90 may be electrically connected . in this case , the cable 85 and the connector 90 may be disconnectable . next , with reference to fig1 a , fig1 b , fig1 a , fig1 b and fig1 c , a flat cable according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described . this cable is integrated with a dipole antenna . fig1 a is a front view showing a cable 100 . fig1 b is a sectional view showing the cable 100 taken along dotted line c of fig1 a . the cable 100 is formed in a t - letter shape . as shown in fig1 b , a forward end of the cable 100 functions as a dipole antenna . connected to the dipole antenna is the flat cable according to the present invention . in addition , as is clear from fig1 b , the flat cable is composed of a signal line 101 , two dielectric sheets 102 , two ground layers 103 , and two insulators 104 . these structural elements extend to the dipole antenna portion . fig1 a to fig1 c show arrangements of the signal line 101 , the two dielectric sheets 102 , the two ground layers 103 , and two insulators 104 , all of which extend to the dipole antenna portion . fig1 a is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow a of fig1 b ( namely , the first ground layer 103 ). fig1 b is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow b of fig1 b ( namely , the signal line 101 ). fig1 c is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow c shown in fig1 b ( namely , the second ground layer 103 ). fig1 a shows that the first ground layer 103 extends from the flat cable to the left of the dipole antenna portion . fig1 b shows that the signal line that is narrower than each of the ground layers 103 extends from the flat cable to the right of the dipole antenna portion . fig1 c shows that the second ground layer 103 extends to the dipole antenna portion in the same manner as the first ground layer 103 shown in fig1 a . the cable 100 other than the antenna portion is produced in the same manner as the first embodiment shown in fig4 a to fig4 c and fig5 . in addition , the two dielectric sheets 102 are made of a material having , for example , plasticity . next , with reference to fig1 a , fig1 b , fig1 a , fig1 b and fig1 c , a flat cable according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described . this cable is integrated with a sleeve antenna . fig1 a is a front view showing a cable 110 . fig1 b is a sectional view showing the cable 110 taken along dotted line d of fig1 a . the cable 110 is formed in a strip shape . as shown in fig1 b , a forward end of the cable 110 functions as a sleeve antenna . connected to the sleeve antenna is the flat cable according to the present invention . in addition , as is clear from fig1 b , the flat cable is composed of a signal line 111 , two dielectric sheets 112 , two ground layers 113 , and two insulators 114 . these structural elements extend to the sleeve antenna portion . fig1 a to fig1 c show arrangements of the signal line 111 , the two dielectric sheets 112 , the two ground layers 113 , and the two insulators 114 , all of which extend to the sleeve antenna portion . fig1 a is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow d of fig1 b ( namely , the first ground layer 113 ). fig1 b is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow e of fig1 b ( namely , the signal line 111 ). fig1 c is a sectional view showing the flat cable along a layer denoted by arrow f of fig1 b ( namely , the second ground layer 113 ). fig1 a shows that the first ground layer 113 extends from the flat cable to almost the middle position of the sleeve antenna portion . fig1 b shows that the signal line 111 that is narrower than each of the ground layers 113 extends from the flat cable to the endmost portion of the sleeve antenna portion . however , from the middle position of the sleeve antenna portion to the endmost portion thereof , the signal line 111 has almost the same width as each of the ground layers 113 . fig1 c shows that the second ground layer 113 extends from the flat cable to the sleeve antenna portion in the same manner as the first ground layer 113 shown in fig1 a . the cable 100 other than the antenna portion is produced in the same manner as the first embodiment shown in fig4 a to 4c and fig5 . the dielectric sheet 102 is made of a material having , for example , plasticity . although the cables according to the sixth and seventh embodiments are integrated with specific types of antennas , the flat cables according to the present invention can be integrated with various types of antennas . thus , the present invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments . these cables and antennas can be simultaneously produced in the same process . although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments , it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention . it is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
careful investigation of the causes of breakage of the drug capsule has revealed that , in addition to manufacturing flaws in the glass , bubbles of gas ( normally air ) entrained in the drug may result in the fracture of the capsule . the high initial pressure in the injection cycle causes bubble collapse resulting in localised high stress in the region of the discharge orifice of the capsule ( where the bubbles tend to collect ). filling under vacuum will practically eliminate the bubbles of air present in the liquid drug at the time of filling , but dissolved gas tends to come out of solution during storage . bubbles of up to 2 μl volume do not appear to cause breakage , but above this , the incidence of breakage rises with increasing bubble size . the present invention seeks to reduce the evolution of gas bubbles from the drug by replacing the dissolved gas by a gas of low solubility in the liquid drug . interestingly , the applicant has found that alternative methods of removing dissolved gas , e . g . by applying a vacuum to the liquid or sonication of the liquid do not work for certain drug types . applying a vacuum , for example , has the drawback of removing volatile components which may be part of the drug , and water , in addition to the dissolved gas ; this can result in an unacceptable change in the drug formulation . sonication results in “ hot - spots ” in the liquid which can thermally degrade the drug . the applicant has found that purging a liquid drug with an inert gas , such as helium ( he ), effectively displaces dissolved gases , particularly oxygen and nitrogen , and that the drug may then be stored within a drug capsule without the risk of gas bubbles appearing during storage at normal temperatures . pre - treatment of the drug product by sparging with low solubility gas species minimises the total mass of dissolved gas . by selecting a sparging gas with a low variation in solubility of the gas in the drug as a function of temperature , the propensity for those gases to come out of solution during temperature cycling is also minimised . helium is one gas satisfying this condition . other gases may be used according to the application such as neon , argon , krypton or xenon . other inert gases of low solubility may also be used , including nitrogen as well as chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons . fig1 shows the solubility of various gases in water over temperature . a flat solubility curve over a range of temperatures corresponding to the temperature range expected during storage will prevent gas coming out of solution during storage . plots are shown in fig1 for hydrogen , helium , nitrogen , oxygen , neon , argon , krpton and xenon . the storage temperature range may typically be 280 ° k to 310 ° k , and a flat solubility curve over this range of temperatures is desired , in addition to low solubility and an “ inert ” property of the gas . as shown , hydrogen , helium , neon and nitrogen best satisfy the solubility requirements . the term “ inert ” used herein denotes a gas which will not react with the liquid drug at normal temperatures and pressures . the term “ low solubility ” denotes a solubility of the inert gas in the liquid drug which reduces the incidence of bubbles in the liquid drug . preferably the solubility is from 0 . 5 to 25 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug , preferably 0 . 9 to 5 . 0 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug and particularly preferably from 0 . 9 to 1 . 5 cm 3 in 100 cm 3 of the liquid drug . solubility is measured at 25 ° c . the term “ liquid drug ” denotes a drug which is liquid at room temperature and pressure , or a drug dissolved or suspended in a solvent , such as water . a preferred embodiment of the invention is to “ sparge ” the liquid drug with tiny bubbles of a sparging gas . taking helium as one specific example , fig2 shows that the solubility of helium is at its lowest at approximately 30 ° c ., and wherever the drug is stable at such temperature , it is particularly preferred to conduct the sparging process at this temperature , with a tolerance of about +/− 5 ° c . preferably , the bubbles may be generated by forcing pressurised helium through a sterile 0 . 2 micron filter placed in the bottom of a vessel . this produces a very large number of very small bubbles , and after treating , say , 2 litres of an aqueous drug for 15 minutes , the sparging device is removed , and the vessel sealed in a helium ( or other gas used for sparging ) atmosphere , with minimal over - pressure , until required for the filling of injector capsules . obviously , the duration of the treatment will vary according to the volume of liquid , the gas pressure , volume flow rate , and the size and number of the bubbles generated by the sparging device . the gas pressure and volume flow rate are of course linked . preferably , capsule filling is carried out by first evacuating the capsule to about 0 . 5 mbar before admitting the drug into the capsule ; a full description of a suitable process is disclosed in international patent publication wo02 / 060516 —“ method for filling needleless injection capsules ” in the name of weston medical limited . it has also been found that stirring of the liquid during sparging reduces the required sparging time . in particular , it has been found that key input parameters for the control of the sparging process are stirring speed ( for example using a magnetic mixer ) and the gas flow rate . increasing the gas flow rate reduces the tine required , but there is a maximum practical gas flow rate above which foaming of the drug being sparged is too great . the additional step of stirring reduces further the time required by increasing the time taken for the sparging gas to travel through the liquid , for the same gas flow rate . in order to monitor the rate at which gas is displaced by the sparging gas , an oxygen probe is used . the air being removed from the drug by sparging is of course almost entirely nitrogen and oxygen , and it has been found that the concentration of dissolved nitrogen and oxygen can be deduced from a measurement of the dissolved oxygen concentration alone . in order to analyse the effects of the stirring rate and the gas flow rate , a number of experiments were carried out . the table below show the experimental conditions for 5 tests , in which helium was used as the sparging gas . all conditions were equal other than the stirring speed and flow rate . the experiments involved the sparging of 3 litres of solution in a 5 litre schott glass bottle , with an oxygen probe used to measure ( and deduce ) the dissolved gas concentrations . in these experiments , the solution contained 0 . 1 % polysorbate 80 . fig3 shows the evolution over time of the helium concentration in the drug . using best fit techniques , the curves can be characterised as exponential graphs , each having a characteristic time constant , a as there are two sets of three experiments where either the stirrer speed or the flow rate is held constant , it is possible to explore the variation of β as a function of each variable . in both cases , a proportional relationship is found . this suggests that the variables are independent and proportional . from this , it is found that β varies twice as much with stirring speed as with the gas flow rate , so that the stirrer speed is approximately twice as important as the gas flow rate . fig4 shows the concentration of oxygen and nitrogen over time for the five experimental conditions . the decay curves also follow the exponential model and agree with the graphs of fig3 . it is then possible to compare the time constants for the exponential increase in helium concentration and for the exponential decrease in combined nitrogen and oxygen concentration . fig5 shows this comparison , with the five plotted point representing the five experiments . there is clearly a proportional relationship between the two time constants for different sparging conditions . the constant of proportionality is given as 0 . 575 . the principal conclusion is that the helium concentration varies at approximately 1 . 75 times the speed of the combined nitrogen and oxygen concentration . the helium mass transfer process is quicker than the nitrogen and oxygen processes . selecting the optimum sparging conditions results in operation at the high gas transfer rate portion of the line in fig5 . the sparging operation effectively displaces the dissolved gases in the drug . by selecting the sparging gas to have a flat solubility curve over temperature , the possibility of gas coming out of solution during storage is minimised . as a result , the capsule can be formed from a material which is impermeable to the sparging gas , as there is no need to discharge the sparging gas . for example , a borosilicate glass capsule is selected partly for its impermeability to oxygen , which prevents deterioration of the stored drug . such a capsule is also impermeable to nitrogen . however , nitrogen can still be used as a sparging gas , particularly if the sparging conditions are selected to correspond to the minimum solubility of nitrogen . thus , although examples are given for sparging conditions with helium , the invention is not restricted to helium , and other gases suitable for sparging have been identified . as can be seen from the experiments above , a preferred stirring speed is in the range 100 rpm to 300 rpm , preferably 200 rpm to 300 rpm . other modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 1 |
the present invention may be further understood with reference to the following description of exemplary embodiments and the related appended drawings , wherein like elements are provided with the same reference numerals . the present application generally relates to systems and methods for controlling navigation on a wearable system . specifically , the systems and methods allow for an increase is user productivity by including a navigation control on a peripheral device . according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention , the peripheral device of the exemplary wearable system may include a data acquisition component in communication with a computing component . as will be described in greater detail below , the peripheral device may further include a navigation control , thereby providing a user of the wearable system with the ability to navigate in any direction within a display of the computing component . specifically , the navigation control may allow the user to interact with items of a graphical user interface (“ gui ”), such as browsing and selecting a specific item within the gui . accordingly , the exemplary embodiments may increase the productivity of the user through reducing the manual interaction with the computing component . in other words , the implementation of the navigation control on the peripheral component may decrease the amount of time a user must use a free hand to interact with a keypad or touch screen of the computing component . fig1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a wearable computing system 100 . as shown , the system 100 may include a wearable peripheral device , such as ring scanner 110 , coupled to a computing device , such as mu 120 . as illustrated in fig1 , the ring scanner 110 may be worn on the user &# 39 ; s finger while the mu 120 may be worn on the user &# 39 ; s wrist . while the ring scanner 110 may communicate with to the mu 120 via a corded connection ( i . e ., via cord 125 ), it should be noted that the communication may be wireless . in other words , alternative embodiments of the wearable computing system 100 may incorporate wireless communication between the ring scanner 110 and the mu 120 . for example , the ring scanner 110 and mu 120 may utilize localized wireless communication between such as a personal area network (“ pan ”) ( e . g ., bluetooth , zigbee , etc .). while the exemplary wearable computing system 100 may be used in conjunction with data acquisition devices , the system 100 may also be directed toward use in data processing devices , data transmission devices , audio / video devices , etc . in addition , an exemplary embodiment of the wearable peripheral device of the system may be described with reference to a barcode scanner ( e . g ., laser and / or imager - based scanners ) fitted to a user &# 39 ; s finger ( e . g ., the ring scanner 110 ). however those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be implemented with any type of automatic identification system ( e . g ., radio frequency identification (“ rfid ”) readers , smart card readers , proximity card readers , etc .). according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention , the peripheral device ( e . g ., the ring scanner 110 ) may include one or more input components for controlling the user &# 39 ; s navigation on the computing device . the input device may include a trigger 115 and a joystick 116 . further and / or alternative exemplary input components ( not shown ) may include , but are not limited to , buttons , switches , directional keys , trackballs , as well as depressible joysticks / trackballs , etc . for example , the exemplary joystick 116 depicted in fig1 . may be a depressible joystick , wherein the user may navigate control of a cursor using rotating the joystick 116 and may indicate a selection by depressing the joystick 116 . the mu 120 , as illustrate in fig1 , may include adjustable straps ( not shown ) for securing the mu 120 to the user &# 39 ; s wrist or forearm . in addition , the mu 120 may include a display 122 , a keypad 123 , a power supply ( not shown ), speakers and microphone ( not shown ), light emitting diodes (“ leds ”) ( not shown ), etc . according to one embodiment , the display 122 may be a liquid crystal display (“ lcd ”), and may utilize touch screen technology in which the keypad 123 may be incorporated into the display 122 . alternatively , the keypad 123 may be a standard keypad , including a set of arranged buttons on the mu 120 . the mu 120 may be described as any one of a variety of wearable mobile computers , such as , but not limited to , a wrist - mounted mu , a glove or palm - mounted mu , a portable media player ( e . g ., mp3 player , video player , compact disc player , etc . ), a global positioning system , a two - way communication device ( e . g ., a push - to - talk device or a “ walkie - talkie ”), a mobile telephone , a personal digital assistant (“ pda ”), portable barcode scanners , radio frequency identification (“ rfid ”) readers , portable gaming consoles , etc . regardless of which type of computing device is implemented with the exemplary methods and systems of the present invention , the mu 120 may include an interactive gui for displaying browsable items for selection by the user . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a peripheral device 200 ( e . g ., a data acquisition device such as the ring scanner 110 ) according to the present invention . according to one embodiment , the peripheral device 200 may include a barcode scanning arrangement 221 coupled to a triggering arrangement 222 and a joystick 223 . therefore , the scanning arrangement 221 may include various components for data acquisition , such as , but not limited to a photodetector , a processor , a memory , etc . in addition , the peripheral device 200 may be attached to a user &# 39 ; s finger using an attachment arrangement 224 . furthermore , the peripheral device 200 may include a cord 225 for communicating with the mu 120 . accordingly , a proximal end of the cord 225 may be coupled to the mu 120 . as described above , the scanning arrangement 221 may be a bar code scanner , an infrared sensor , an rfid reader , etc . the triggering arrangement 222 may include a depressible button for selectively activating the scanning arrangement 221 . alternatively , the triggering arrangement 222 may include a slide switch , a rocker switch , or any other mechanical and / or electrical triggering mechanism known to those skilled in the art . in addition , the button of the triggering arrangement 222 may allow for the user to select an item displayed on a gui of the display 122 of the mu 120 . as will be described in greater detail , the joystick 223 may allow the user to browse , scroll , or otherwise navigate between selections of a menu item , an icon , a tab , a line of text , or any other area within the display 122 of the mu 120 . similar to the depressible button of the triggering arrangement 222 , the joystick 223 may also be depressible to allow for the user to select a highlighted item displayed on a gui of the display 122 of the mu 120 . according to one embodiment , the attaching arrangement 224 may be fixed structure , such as a ring or a hollow cylinder ( shown ), and thus , may simply slide on the user &# 39 ; s finger . alternatively , attaching arrangement 224 may be an adjustable strap to allow for the peripheral device 220 to be securely fastened to the user &# 39 ; s finger . for example , the attaching arrangement 224 may be fitted over the index finger and positioned on the medial side thereof , allowing both for the triggering arrangement 222 and the joystick 223 to be accessible to the user &# 39 ; s thumb . accordingly , the attaching arrangement 224 may include a fastening component such as elastic , a buckle , a snap , velcro ® material , etc . therefore , the peripheral device 220 may conform to the shape of any user &# 39 ; s hands and may allow the user to adjust the device 220 according to desired levels of comfort , operative convenience , etc . fig3 shows an exemplary method 300 for controlling a user &# 39 ; s navigation on a display of the wearable computing system 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the exemplary method 300 will be described with reference to the exemplary wearable computing system 100 and the exemplary peripheral device 200 of fig1 and 2 , respectively . as described above , the peripheral device 200 may include an input interface , such as the joystick 223 , allowing the user to control the navigation throughout the display 122 of the mu 120 . other examples of the input interface may include a directional pad , a trackball , etc . in addition , the peripheral device 200 may include a microphone for detecting voice commands from the user , thereby allowing the device 200 to recognize speech commands from the user and respond accordingly . those skilled in the art would understand that a navigation operation may describe the act of scrolling , sliding , or otherwise adjusting a horizontal or vertical presentation of content , such as application icons , across the display 122 of the mu 120 . for example , the navigation operation may be used to show large amounts of data that would otherwise not fit on the display 122 all at the same time . accordingly , when the user wants to scroll the data on the display 122 , the user may interact with the joystick 223 to control the direction of the navigation operation and / or highlighting function . in addition , the user may select and / or activate a highlighted icon via the peripheral device 200 . for example , the user may depress the joystick 223 or depress the triggering arrangement 222 while a desired icon is highlighted . while the exemplary embodiment of the method 300 may describe the selection of an application icon , it should be noted that the exemplary navigation operation may browse and select additional selectable items , such as drop - down lists , menu bars , buttons , tabs , text , a portion of text , dialogue box , etc . in step 310 , the method 300 may receive a directional input signal from the peripheral device 200 . according to the exemplary embodiment , the user may manipulate the joystick 223 on the device 200 by pushing the joystick 223 in a direction based on a desired navigation on the display 122 . for example , a gui on the display may include a plurality of icons , wherein each icon represents a program application . in order to the user to select a specific icon on the right side of the gui , the user may push the joystick 223 right to navigate a highlighting function to the appropriate icon . in step 320 , the method 300 may adjust the display 122 based on the received directional input signal from the peripheral device 200 . specifically , the method 300 may activate the highlighting function on the display 131 in order to provide the user with a visual cue as to the initial location . furthermore , based on the received directional input signal from the peripheral 200 , the mu 120 may associate the directional input signal with scrolling operation of the highlighting function ( e . g ., scrolling the highlighting function up / down / laterally , scrolling the highlighting function down a drop - down menu , scrolling up / down a portion of text , highlighting a specific icon on a gui , etc .). in step 330 , the method 300 may receive a selection of an item on the gui of the display 122 , such as the icon relating to at least one associated program application executable by the processor of the mu 120 . for example , the selectable icon may represent a “ shortcut ” to a specific file , folder , program or device available for execution by the processor . as described above , the selection may be an additional input signal , such as a selection input signal , received from the joystick 223 and / or from the triggering arrangement 222 . in other words , if the joystick 223 is a depressible joystick , the user may transmit a selection instruction from the peripheral device 200 by depressing the joystick 223 . alternatively , or additionally , the user may transmit a selection instruction by activating the triggering arrangement 222 . in step 340 , the method 300 may activate the selected item . in other words , the processor of the mu 120 may execute the application associated with the icon selected by the user . for example , the processor may open the specified file or folder or may perform the selected program , etc . as another example , the processor may toggle a button or tab within the gui of the display 122 , thereby activating or deactivating a feature of the mu 120 . as a further example , the processor may select a highlighted setting from a drop - down menu and adjust a processing setting accordingly . those skilled in the art would understand that any number of functions may be performed by the processor based on the selection instruction received from the peripheral device 200 . fig4 shows the exemplary user interactions 400 with the peripheral device 200 and the corresponding navigation on the display 122 of the mu 120 according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention . the exemplary interactions 400 will be described with reference to the exemplary wearable computing system 100 and the exemplary peripheral device 200 of fig1 and 2 , respectively . as described above , the exemplary input interface on the peripheral device 200 may be joystick 223 . accordingly , the user may manipulate the joystick 223 in any direction about a central position . it should be noted that the operation and functionalities of the peripheral device 200 are not limited to the embodiments illustrated in fig4 . the illustration merely serves as examples of any number of operations and functionalities for optimizing the scrolling and selection activity on the display 122 through the use of an input interface on the peripheral device 200 . as described above , the joystick 223 may control the user &# 39 ; s navigation ( i . e ., highlighting functions , scrolling operations , etc .) within a gui of the display 122 . specifically , the direction in which the user navigates depends on an orientation and / or a motion of the joystick 223 . the first set of illustrations 401 - 403 describes a method for scrolling in a lateral direction within a gui of selectable items , such as icons . while the second set of illustrations 404 - 406 describe a method for scrolling in a downward direction within a drop - down menu of selectable items on a gui . accordingly , the peripheral device 200 depicted in the illustrations may be equipped with a depressible button such as the triggering arrangement 222 . alternatively , the joystick 223 may be depressible to allow the user to select an item . according to one embodiment of the present invention , the display 122 of the mu 122 may include a selection of items or icons on the gui of the display 122 . in illustration 401 , the joystick 223 may be resting in the central position and a highlighting function of the display 122 may be held stationary ( e . g ., highlighting the top item of the menu ). in illustration 402 , the user may pull the joystick 223 in a lateral motion , as indicated by the directional arrow to the right . while the joystick 223 is positioned to the right , the scrolling operation may be activated . accordingly , the processor of the mu 120 may detect the lateral motion of the joystick 223 and the highlighting function may be instructed to scroll across the gui ( as depicted by the arrow ). therefore , the user is allowed to highlight different icons displayed within the gui . in addition , the joystick 223 may be pressure sensitive . thus , as the user applies more pressure to the joystick 223 ( i . e ., push the joystick 223 further across ), the highlighting function may scroll at a faster rate . conversely , the user may slow down the rate the highlighting function scrolls by decreasing the amount of pressure applied to the joystick 223 . finally , in illustration 403 , the user may input a selection of item or icon within the gui of the display 122 . as described above , the selection may be activated via an additional input signal received from the joystick 223 and / or from the triggering arrangement 222 . for example , the user may depress the joystick 223 , as illustrated , while the desired item on the gui is highlighted . therefore , the user is allowed to control the navigation within the gui , as well as make a selection of an item within the gui , from the peripheral device 200 . according to another exemplary embodiment , the peripheral device 200 depicted in illustrations 404 - 406 may be equipped with a trackball 410 as the input interface . furthermore , the display 122 of the mu 120 may include a selection of items from a drop - down menu on a gui . in illustration 404 , the trackball 410 may remain unmoved in an initial position and the highlighting function of the display 122 may be held stationary ( e . g ., highlighting the left - most icon on the gui ). in illustration 405 , the user may rotate the trackball 410 in a downward direction , as indicated by the directional arrow inward . the processor of the mu 120 may sense the downward movement of the trackball 410 and the highlighting function may scroll from a top - to - bottom ( as depicted by the arrow ), thereby allowing the user to browse each of the items displayed within the down - down menu . finally , in illustration 406 , the user may input a selection of item in the drop - down menu . similar to the description of the joystick 223 , the selection may be activated via an additional input signal received from the trackball 410 by depressing the trackball 410 . alternatively , the additional input signal may be receive by depressing the triggering arrangement 222 . therefore , the user may depress the trackball 410 , as illustrated , while the desired item within the menu is highlighted . therefore , the user is allowed to control the navigation within the gui , as well as make a selection of an item within the gui , from the peripheral device 200 . thus , the user is provided with greater single - handed control over the scrolling operation and selection of the item . specifically , the exemplary embodiments of the present invention may simplify methods for selecting items on the display 122 while significantly improving one - handed operation of the mu 120 . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in the present invention , without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claimed and their equivalents . | 6 |
the present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein . embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the figures . however , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments . for example , it should be appreciated that those skilled in the art will , in light of the teachings of the present invention , recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches , depending upon the needs of the particular application , to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein , beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown . that is , there are numerous modifications and variations of the invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within the scope of the invention . also , singular words should be read as plural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa , where appropriate , and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply that the two are mutually exclusive . the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a table attached device , or universal table mount , for a shoulder press that provides a firm and stable , horizontal cradled platform upon which the shoulder press can travel and lock in such a way as to effectively and consistently replicate the action and application of sustained force for the duration of an x - ray , which would otherwise be delivered by a live operator . by providing a generally consistent and reliable platform , the table mount allows for the reliable and correct positioning and quick release of the shoulder press without the necessity or presence of a live operator during the actual patient x - ray , thereby generally eliminating the possibility of exposure to radiation for all personnel . without a table mount according to preferred embodiments , the handheld nature of the shoulder press device offers no such protection and precludes the use of the shoulder press device in environments where a c - arm ( i . e ., intraoperative flouroscope ) is utilized due to harmful exposure levels . additionally , by providing a stable platform for the shoulder press throughout the entire duration of a surgical procedure , the table mount allows for one time set - up and continuous positioning of the shoulder press in immediate proximity to the usage site , thereby generally eliminating the complicated procedure of maneuvering and positioning the shoulder press in the ubiquitous environment of leads , lines , anesthesia and monitoring equipment , as well as greatly simplifying the usage of the shoulder press without disturbing these sensitive arrays . however , alternate usages for preferred embodiments of the present invention may be conceived such as , but not limited to , usage in an x - ray room , usage by paramedics , usage in the trauma specialty for diagnosis , usage by orthopedic surgeons as a surgical positioner for patient extremities during revision hip arthroplasty , etc . further alternate usages for preferred embodiments of the present invention may also be conceived such as , but not limited to , usage in various surgical , diagnostic and imaging procedures as an anatomical positioner for applications throughout the entire human anatomy relating to all aspects of patient care and specialties . yet other alternative usages for preferred embodiments of the present invention may also be conceived such as , but not limited to , usage relating to all surgical specialties as a platform for the positioning and manipulation of tools , equipment , and necessities relating to all aspects of patient care , including , but not be limited to , surgical , diagnostic and imaging of patients . it is further contemplated that alternate usages for preferred embodiments of the present invention may also be conceived such as , but not limited to , usages relating to all aspects of veterinary care . fig1 illustrates an exemplary universal table mount 101 for a shoulder press 103 in use on a surgical table 105 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the present embodiment , table mount 101 is comprised of two distinct yet mirror imaged sections , a dedicated right section 107 and a dedicated left section 109 . alternate embodiments may be implemented in which the left and right sections of the mount are connected . in the present embodiment , right section 107 and left section 109 clamp onto surgical table 105 , which is equipped with industry standard accessory side rails 111 provided by table manufacturers for the use of the surgical staff in mounting various necessary equipment to surgical table 105 for use during surgery . accessory side rails 111 may use american standard or metric measurements , and universal table mounts according to preferred embodiments of the present invention may be available in distinct clamping sizes to accommodate these industry standards . right section 107 and left section 109 of table mount 101 slide easily onto accessory side rails 111 , and an attachment mechanism 113 mates onto accessory side rails 111 and may be fixed in place by tightening a simple twist dial 115 secured with a simple twist dial 115 . guide rails 117 extend from attachment mechanisms 113 onto which upward supports 118 are slidably attached with slides 119 . attachment mechanisms 113 are preferably made of aluminum ; however , the attachment mechanisms in alternate embodiments may be made of different materials such as , but not limited to , different metals or plastic . guide rails 117 and upward supports 118 are preferably one - inch square aluminum bars . however , those skilled in the art , in light of the present teachings , will readily recognize that the mount rails and upward supports in alternate embodiments may be made in different shapes and sizes and be made of various different materials such as , but not limited to , different metals or plastic . furthermore , slides 119 are preferably made of plastic ; however , alternate materials such as , but not limited to , various metals may also be used . in the present embodiment , slides 119 comprise handbrakes 121 that enable upward supports 118 to be locked into place on guide rails 117 . in typical use of the present embodiment , after mounting table mount 101 to accessory side rails 111 , placement of shoulder press 103 within a shoulder press cradle is quick and easy , and shoulder press 103 is secured within the shoulder press cradle with adjustable / pivoting l - shaped restraints 123 provided to accommodate this function . after positioning and adjusting shoulder press 103 to the proper width to effectively migrate the shoulders distally within table mount 101 , an operator may apply the 24 to 37 pounds of motive force upon the acromion - clavicular joint with shoulder press 103 by squeezing handbrakes 121 and pushing upward supports 118 or shoulder press 103 toward the patient on surgical table 105 . the application of motive force by the operator along with the hand actuation of handbrakes 121 advances the position of shoulder press 103 . when shoulder press 103 is correctly positioned , the operator releases handbrakes 121 to lock sliders 119 and therefore shoulder press 103 in place . the operator may swiftly and easily unlock and move shoulder press 103 away from the patient by squeezing handbrakes 121 and pulling back . some embodiments may also comprise a quick release mechanism for the handbrakes so that the shoulder press may be immediately moved away from the patient in case of an emergency . in alternate embodiments , the travel of the upward supports and the shoulder press within the shoulder press cradle along the guide rails is unidirectional toward the patient . in these embodiments the upward supports are able to move freely toward the patient and are prevented from moving away from the patient through the incorporation of an internal friction braking system . the actuation of a brake release allows for a reversal of travel away from the patient by releasing the internal friction braking system . the friction brake resists all backward motion due to tilting and comprises a hand control that reorients the tilt by finger tapping in order to enable backward movement . the friction brake preferably uses a large trigger somewhat akin to a bicycle handbrake lever . however , a bicycle brake uses a caliper style set of rubber pads whereas this friction brake uses no calipers , discs or pads and instead utilizes the slight offset of a channel and the guide rail of the table mount to halt backward motion unless the internal offset is lessened through application of the trigger / brake release . other alternative embodiments may employ differing means for halting the backward motion . these other alternative means will also have at least one hand control means for enabling backward movement . fig2 illustrates an exemplary mount 201 for a shoulder press 203 for use on patient surfaces without side rails , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the present embodiment , mount 201 comprises variable clamps 207 rather than attachment mechanisms for sliding onto an accessory side rail . variable clamps 207 slide over the edges of a patient surface and are held in place by actuating plates 209 that squeeze the edges of the patient surface when clamp locks 211 are employed . in other alternative embodiments clamps may be locked into position by any number of devices such as , but not limited to , levers , dials , knobs , etc . that are deemed appropriate to the patient anatomy the alternate embodiments address . this enables mount 201 to be attached to surfaces other than operating room surgical tables with side rails for example , without limitation , other types of patient beds and tables , paramedic long boards , imaging tables , exam tables , etc ., any other patient care surfaces unrestricted to unrestricted to horizontal positions , and whatever variable geometry offered by the patient care surface , whether fixed or movable during usage paramedics often carry patients on long boards , and when a patient has a suspected subluxation injury ( i . e ., broken neck ), they are brought to the emergency room ( er ) on such a long board and typically remain on this long board throughout the er experience . in typical use of the present embodiment , shoulder press 203 may be attached to a long board with mount 201 to quickly assist in correct visualization of the cervical spine of the patient to determine if there is an injury . having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention , other equivalent or alternative methods of providing a table mount for a shoulder press or anatomical positioner according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the invention has been described above by way of illustration , and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed . for example , the particular implementation of the table mount may vary depending upon the particular type of shoulder press used . the table mounts described in the foregoing were directed to implementations for use with the ccv ; however , similar techniques are to implement table mounts for use with various different shoulder presses , anatomical positioners , equipment positioners , etc . implementations of the present invention implemented for use with shoulder presses other than the ccv are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention . the invention is thus to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims . | 0 |
in the following description , the same reference numerals are used for the same and similarly working parts . fig1 a depicts a front elevation as a cross - section of an electrode arrangement during a coagulation phase in a first embodiment . represented here are two opposite electrode parts 18 , 19 , wherein one electrode part 18 has a cutting section or a cutting portion 18 a and an insulating section or an insulating portion 21 configured as a distance element . in this embodiment , the distance element forms a device 20 for preventing a short circuit . treated tissue 30 is clamped between the electrodes . the insulating section 21 prevents an unwanted short circuit between the electrode parts 18 , 19 when the branches 11 , 12 are brought together and may be configured as both linear in shape and punctiform . the distance element that is linear in shape will then extend , for example , in the direction of the branch progression , concentrically arranged on the electrode part , over the entire electrode part and accordingly form an edge . advantageously , the steady formation of an arc is thus made possible and an even cut is guaranteed . a punctiform distance element is easy to manufacture , reliably prevents a short circuit occurring between the electrode parts and , as a result of thermal conduction , also guarantees safe coagulation at the point of contact between tissue and distance element . several punctiform distance elements arranged on the corresponding electrode part , e . g . at the respective ends of the electrode part , reliably prevent a short circuit and affect neither the coagulating nor the cutting procedure . the cutting section 18 a is in any event configured as linear in shape . besides preventing a short circuit , the section 21 defines a thickness of the tissue 30 that remains after the coagulation phase , because it prevents an arc forming prematurely with any pre - set coagulating voltage due to too small a space between the electrode parts 18 , 19 . fig1 b depicts the electrode arrangement according to fig1 a , although here the end of the coagulation is represented . according to fig1 a and 1 b a coagulating current flows over an entire surface of the electrode parts 18 , 18 a , 19 , with the effect that the interposed tissue 30 is coagulated . as a result of thermal conduction the tissue 30 is coagulated under the insulating section 21 . fig1 c depicts the electrode arrangement described above during a cutting phase . at the end of the coagulation phase , a hf voltage required for the electrosurgical treatment is slightly increased , with the result that between the cutting section 18 a and the opposite electrode part 19 the arc 23 is formed , which now cuts through the already coagulated tissue 30 . the cutting section 18 a is preferably arranged on the electrode part 18 as an area that tapers in relation to the electrode part 18 and protrudes from this . the electrode part 18 will then consist of an explicit coagulating section beside the cutting section 18 a . the electrode part 18 forming the coagulating section and the cutting section 18 a may , during a coagulating procedure , operate as a coagulating electrode over its entire surface area , i . e . both over the surface area of the coagulating section and over the surface area of the cutting section 18 a , whereas the tapered cutting section 18 a is available solely for a subsequent cutting procedure . the height of the insulating section 21 and thus the space from the cutting section 18 a and opposite electrode part 19 and the hf voltage required for cutting are adjusted to each other . the formation of the arc 23 outside the cutting section 18 a , that is , on the remaining areas of the electrode part 18 , is thus avoided . because of the electrode arrangement just described , one and the same instrument can be used to both coagulate and cut , and a change of instrument can be avoided to the benefit of an uninterrupted operation . in fig2 a front elevation as a cross - section of an electrode arrangement is represented in a second embodiment . tissue clamped between the electrode parts during a treatment is not represented in this embodiment for the benefit of better clarity . the same applies , moreover , to fig3 to 6 . the arrangement differs from the one represented in fig1 a to 1 c in that a cutting section 18 a is configured as an edge with a triangular cross - section . because of the successive transition from one large surface area of the electrode part 18 to its edge - shaped tapering , this embodiment is especially suited to using the entire electrode part 18 as a coagulating electrode where there is sufficient tissue thickness , because the entire surface area and the tissue can be brought into contact with each other . with a suitable hf voltage , an arc 23 is formed between the cutting section 18 a and an opposed electrode part 19 . the insulating section 21 has in this instance a tapered shape to also facilitate mechanical cutting where necessary , that is , the distance element has an explicit cutting edge 22 . with appropriate exertion on the part of the surgeon , the tissue can then be cut through completely following a coagulating procedure and without having to change instrument . this makes for an especially gentle treatment of the tissue without the use of an arc . fig3 depicts a front elevation as a cross - section of an electrode arrangement in a third embodiment . here both a cutting section 18 a is configured on an electrode part 18 and a cutting section 19 a is configured on an electrode part 19 . an insulating section 21 is arranged directly below the cutting section 18 a and symmetrically to the cutting sections 18 a , 19 a . a symmetric arrangement of the cooperating sections 18 a , 21 , 19 a guarantees a uniformly developing arc 23 on peripheral areas of the insulating section 21 , making for an even cutting progression . the insulating section 21 functioning as a distance element is smaller than the cutting sections 18 a , 19 a , so as not to prevent the arc 23 from forming . because of the narrow cutting sections 18 a , 19 a accommodated on the electrode parts 18 , 19 , the cutting progression can be extremely precisely defined . an extremely simple embodiment of an electrode arrangement is depicted in fig4 . here an electrode part 19 only has one cutting section 19 a , whereas on an electrode part 18 facing the electrode part 19 there is only an insulating section 21 configured . because the arc 23 forms in the direction of the cutting section 19 a , this embodiment allows an exact cutting line to be defined in an especially easy way . fig5 depicts a front elevation as a cross - section of an electrode arrangement where an electrode part 18 has an insulating section 21 configured within the electrode part 18 , wherein the insulating section 21 terminates flush with an electrode surface 18 b . a second cutting section 19 a is provided as a distance element on an opposing electrode part 19 . the insulating section 21 and the cutting section 19 a operate in this embodiment as a device 20 for preventing a short circuit . advantageously , a precise cut is also provided for here since the arc 23 is formed between the incorporated section 21 and the cutting section 19 a . the insulating section 21 with this embodiment is protected from jolts or similar mechanical strains and essentially from the arc 23 also . fig6 depicts a similar configuration of an electrode arrangement as represented in fig5 . an insulating section 21 is configured here , however , to be sunk in a corresponding electrode part 18 , so that a recess 18 c is formed on the electrode part 18 . a cutting section 19 a configured on an opposing electrode part 19 can be at least partially lowered into the recess 18 c , so that an arc 23 can form inside the recess 18 c toward the cutting section 19 a during the cutting procedure . surrounding tissue is thus protected from burning , while at the same time a precise cutting line can be defined . in this embodiment , too , the cutting section 19 a may be configured with an explicit cutting edge , allowing the tissue to be cut through mechanically . fig7 depicts a fully illustrated electrosurgical instrument 10 with an electrode arrangement according to the invention . in the illustration the reference numerals 11 and 12 identify two branches of the electrosurgical instrument 10 . these branches 11 , 12 have ends 13 , 14 fitted with electrode parts 18 , 19 , wherein the electrode parts 18 , 19 face each other . with the aid of the electrode parts 18 , 19 , it is possible to grasp a vessel , for example , and to coagulate or cut this by supplying a high - frequency current . in addition , gripping parts 11 a , 12 a are provided which are attached to respective proximal ends 15 , 16 of the branches 11 , 12 . the proximal ends 15 , 16 of the squeezing parts 11 , 12 end in a connecting element 17 a of current - supplying devices 17 . the current - supplying devices 17 serve to connect the electrosurgical instrument 10 to a hf generator ( not represented ), which produces a hf voltage , so that a hf current may be supplied to the electrode parts 18 , 19 by , for example , electrical leads ( not depicted ) running through the instrument 10 . an edge - shaped cutting section 18 a is configured on the electrode part 18 . this has two insulating sections 21 , 21 ′ configured as two punctiform distance elements . the distance elements arranged at the respective ends of the electrode part 18 or on the cutting section 18 a reliably prevent a short circuit and affect neither the coagulating nor the cutting procedure . to achieve a high degree of resistance of the insulating section to an arc , the section is preferably constructed from material that is resistant to arc erosion . a high degree of resistance to abrasion is provided in particular by the use of ceramic materials . | 0 |
Subsets and Splits
No saved queries yet
Save your SQL queries to embed, download, and access them later. Queries will appear here once saved.