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the particulars shown herein are by way of example and for purposes of illustrative discussion of the embodiments of the present invention only and are presented in the cause of providing what is believed to be the most useful and readily understood description of the principles and conceptual aspects of the present invention . in this regard , no attempt is made to show structural details of the present invention in more detail than is necessary for the fundamental understanding of the present invention , the description is taken with the drawings making apparent to those skilled in the art how the forms of the present invention may be embodied in practice . the embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter with reference to the drawings . fig4 is a perspective view illustrating an entire configuration of an image measuring system according to an embodiment of the present invention . this system includes a non - contact image measuring device 1 , a computer system 2 that drives and controls the image measuring device 1 and performs necessary data processing , and a printer 3 that prints a measured result . the image measuring device 1 is configured as follows . in other words , a measuring stage 13 is attached on a mount 11 on which a measuring object ( hereinafter , referred to as work piece ) is placed . the measuring stage 13 is driven in a y - axis direction ( front - back direction of the drawing ) by a not - shown y - axis driving mechanism . support arms 14 and 15 , which extend upward , are fixed at a center of both sides ( edges ) of the mount 11 . an x - axis guide 16 is attached to connect upper end portions of the support arms 14 and 15 . an imaging unit 17 is supported by the x - axis guide 16 . the imaging unit 17 is driven in an x - axis direction ( horizontal direction in the drawing ) along the x - axis guide 16 by a not - shown x - axis driving mechanism . a ccd camera 18 is mounted at a lower end of the imaging unit 17 so as to face the measuring stage 13 . further , in the imaging unit 17 , in addition to not - shown illuminating device and focusing mechanism , a not - shown z - axis driving mechanism is provided that moves the position of the ccd camera 18 in a z - axis direction ( vertical direction in the drawing ). the computer system 2 is configured to include a computer body 21 , a keyboard 22 , a joystick box 23 , a mouse 24 and a display device ( e . g ., crt ) 25 . the computer body 21 implements each of the functions , for example , shown in fig5 , in cooperation with a predetermined program stored therein . in other words , the computer body 21 includes a stage moving processor 31 , an illumination adjusting processor 32 and a miscellaneous measuring condition adjusting processor 33 , to control the image measuring device 1 based on the input commands from an input device , including the keyboard 22 , the joystick box 23 , the mouse 24 , and so on . the stage moving processor 31 controls the xyz - axis driving mechanisms of the image measuring device 1 based on a stage moving command input from the input device , and moves the position of the ccd camera 18 with respect to the measuring stage 13 . in the standard measuring mode , the illumination adjusting processor 32 causes the illuminating apparatus of the image measuring device 1 to repeatedly perform pulse lighting at predetermined cycles as shown in fig3 a , and adjusts the pulse width of the pulse lighting based on an illumination adjusting command input from the input device . in the non - stop measuring mode , the illumination adjusting processor 32 performs stroboscopic illumination of a preset duration at a designated measuring position , as shown in fig3 d . the miscellaneous measuring condition adjusting processor 33 adjusts other measuring conditions , including a lens magnification , a focusing adjustment , and so on , based on an input miscellaneous measuring condition adjusting command . a parameter acquirer 34 acquires the stage position , the pulse width information of the stroboscopic illumination , and the other measuring condition information adjusted by each of the processors 31 - 33 , based on a predetermined command input by the input device . the parameters acquired by the parameter acquirer 34 are stored in a parameter memory 35 . a part program generator 36 generates a part program for measurement , by utilizing the parameters stored in the parameter memory 35 . the generated part program is stored in a part program memory 37 . a part program processor 38 reads a necessary part program from the part program memory 37 and performs the same . the part program processor 38 appropriately drives the stage moving processor 31 , the illumination adjusting processor 32 , the miscellaneous measuring condition adjusting processor 33 , an image acquirer 42 , and an image processor 43 , in accordance with a variety of commands described in the part program . the image information imaged by the ccd camera 18 is sequentially stored in an image memory 41 . the image information stored in the image memory 41 is sequentially displayed by the display device 25 , and is captured as a static image by the image acquirer 42 based on the part program . the image processor 43 performs image processing for an image measurement , including measuring tool setting , edge detection and coordinate detection , and so on , on the image information acquired by the image acquirer 42 . next , a measuring operation of the image measuring system configured as noted above is described , according to the embodiment of the present invention . fig6 is a flowchart illustrating an image measuring process in the standard measuring mode . as shown in fig6 , during the image measuring in the standard measuring mode , the measurement is performed as follows . in other words , moving / stopping of the measuring stage , illumination setting , image acquiring and image processing are sequentially performed for each measuring element . after the measurement of the position is completed , the system moves to the next measuring position and performs similar processing . thus , during the image measuring in the standard measuring mode , the measurement is completed at each element ( for example , point measurement 1 , point measurement 2 , . . . ). on the other hand , during the non - stop measuring mode , as shown in fig7 , a measuring process is divided into a non - stop image acquisition and image processing . in the non - stop image acquisition , while the relative position between the measuring stage 13 and the ccd camera 18 moves along a measuring path that passes each measuring position , the stroboscopic illumination and image acquisition ( and storing ) are performed at moment of passing by the measuring position , continuously at all measuring positions . when all image acquisitions are completed , the stage is stopped and image processing is performed . in the image processing , the acquired and temporarily stored image information is read one by one , and image processing , such as edge detection , is performed continuously for all measuring positions . in the non - stop measuring mode , unlike the standard measuring mode , it is not necessary to confirm that the stage has stopped at each measuring position . accordingly , the measuring operation can be accelerated . in the first embodiment of the present invention , the illumination control device 50 includes a light amount control circuit 52 , a pulse lighting circuit 54 , a continuous lighting circuit 56 and a gate circuit 58 , as shown in fig8 . the illumination control device 50 drives the high - brightness led 60 based on a command from the illumination adjusting processor 32 of the computer system 2 , which is a upper level controller . the pulse lighting circuit 54 performs pulse lighting of the high - brightness led 60 . the continuous lighting circuit 56 and the gate circuit 58 together perform stroboscopic lighting of the same high - brightness led 60 . the light amount control circuit 52 receives a pulse lighting command and a stroboscopic lighting command from the illumination adjusting processor 32 , supplies to the pulse lighting circuit 54 a control signal , including a pulse width , a cycle length , an output voltage / current , etc ., which is required by the pulse lighting circuit 54 during the pulse lighting . the light amount control circuit 52 also supplies , to the continuous lighting circuit 56 and the gate circuit 58 , a control signal , including a stroboscopic lighting time , a lighting interval , an output voltage / current , etc ., which is required by the continuous lighting circuit 56 and the gate circuit 58 during the stroboscopic lighting . further , the light amount control circuit 52 switches the driving power supplied to the high - brightness led 60 , depending on the purpose of the led illumination , by turning on one of the pulse lighting circuit 54 and the pair of the continuous lighting circuit 56 and the gate circuit 58 , and turning off the other , based on a command from the illumination adjusting processor 32 . according to this embodiment , the pulse lighting circuit 54 , which is optimized for the pulse lighting , is provided separately and independently from the continuous lighting circuit 56 , which is optimized for the continuous lighting . therefore , it is possible to perform optimum lighting for each of them . next , fig9 shows the illumination control device 50 according a second embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , a lighting cycle changing circuit 70 is provided at an output side of the continuous lighting circuit 56 , which is common to the pulse lighting and the stroboscopic lighting . thus , the pulse lighting and the stroboscopic lighting are performed by changing the lighting cycle of the lighting cycle changing circuit 70 based on an output of the light amount control circuit 52 . according to this embodiment , it is not necessary to provide the pulse lighting circuit separately and independently from the stroboscopic lighting circuit . accordingly , the configuration is simple and inexpensive . further , according to this embodiment , the gate circuit 58 is provided in the illumination control device 50 to perform stroboscopic light emission . however , when a static image is acquired by a shutter of the ccd camera 18 , the gate circuit 58 may be omitted , and the continuous lighting circuit 56 causes the high - brightness led 60 light continuously during the non - stop measuring mode . it is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention . while the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments , it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration , rather than words of limitation . changes may be made , within the purview of the appended claims , as presently stated and as amended , without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention in its aspects . although the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular structures , materials and embodiments , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein ; rather , the present invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures , methods and uses , such as are within the scope of the appended claims . the present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments , and various variations and modifications may be possible without departing from the scope of the present invention . | 7 |
fig1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention including parison or injection mold 10 , having two mold cavities 10a and 10b each having outer walls 11 which are adapted to form the outer surface of the parisons , and each having an end wall 12 shaped to form the end wall of the parisons . the embodiment of two mold cavities in fig1 is chosen for ease of representation and obviously a greater number of these may be employed depending upon requirements . the parison mold 10 is temperature controlled , such as by cooling channels 13 contained therein which are connected to appropriate heat transfer sources ( not shown ) wherein such temperature control may be arranged in several zones to obtain different temperatures in different regions of the parisons side and end walls . the end walls 12 have injection openings 14 registering with runners 15 which in turn register with an injection nozzle 16 through which the organic plastic material is injected into the mold cavities in a known manner . the formation of the parisons in accordance with the embodiment illustrated takes place after first cores 17 , neck mold 18 and mold 10 are brought into engagement by suitable mechanical means , such as the motive means shown schematically parison mold 10 is stationary , while cores 17 and neck mold 18 are axially reciprocable in the direction of the arrows into and out of engagement with mold 10 and mold cavities 10a and 10b . it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto , as reciprocable parison molds and stationary cores and / or neck molds are encompassed therein . upon completion of injection through nozzle 16 , parisons 19 are formed . side walls 20 and ends 21 of cores 17 , walls 11 and 12 of parison die 10 , and the neck mold 18 constitute die cavities in which the parisons are formed . cores 17 may be temperature controlled in one or more zones , such as by internal heat exchange circuits known in the art contained therein , which are connected to an appropriate heat transfer source ( not shown ). cores 17 are carried by platen 22 . the assembly further includes a neck mold 18 in which the neck of the parisons are formed and which may if desired remain engaged with the parisons after core 17 is disengaged from the parison mold , which neck mold may be independently temperature controlled . the neck mold may process threads 23 for defining a threaded opening in the final molded object . the neck mold 18 may be split and opened into sections by suitable mechanical means such as the motive means shown schematically , to simplify release of the parisons , or if the configuration of the neck permits , may be of one - piece construction and , thus , separable from the parisons as a unit . parisons 19 which are formed in mold 10 by injection molding are at a temperature substantially above that required for orientation . the temperature of the parisons is preferably rapidly adjusted so that an average temperature close to the one suitable for orientation is obtained without inordinate delay . in the interest of a rapid operating cycle , it is particularly advantageous to first rapidly alter the heat content of parisons 19 by heat exchange with cores 17 and mold 10 to approach the heat content desired for subsequent operations , even if at the cost of an unequal distribution of temperature in said parisons . this must be followed by substantially equalizing the temperature distribution across the wall thicknesses by causing them subsequently to reside in a suitable environment capable of influencing their temperature , such as tempering molds and at times cores , or other environments known in the art , to avoid a layer - wise pattern of properties in the finished articles corresponding to the known relationship between such properties and the deformation temperatures . this procedure is described in more detail in my u . s . pat . no . 4 , 151 , 248 referred to hereinabove . thus , for example , as described in said patent , one can form parisons 19 by injection molding , rapidly cool said parisons by heat exchange with cores 17 and mold 10 which will result in a rapid cycle , but will also produce said unequal temperature distribution , followed by substantially equalizing the cross - sectional temperature distribution of said parisons in tempering molds , all in a controlled manner , to impose thereon the temperature profile desired for orientation . naturally , the parisons remain in the tempering molds , at times supplemented by additional molds like the initial tempering molds into which the parisons may be sequentially transferred , until the necessary desired temperature distribution is obtained . the foregoing provides the considerable advantages of enabling the attainment of a predetermined temperature profile of the parison resulting in optimum conditions for orientation without excessive dwell time in the molds . the parison mold is freed for further use while the tempering molds complete the conditioning of the parison , resulting in an expeditious processing cycle . however , the operating cycle may still be subject to delays attendant upon the holding time required in the injection mold , since , as long as the injection mold is being occupied by the newly injected parison , the injection mold is not free to form a further parison and cycle delays may result . this is particularly pronounced with relatively thick parisons since longer injection mold delays are then involved . in accordance with copending application ser . no . 288 , 950 , the procedure of which may readily be used in the present invention and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference , the parison is prematurely removed from the injection mold and transferred to a holding station for completion of the cooling step normally completed in the injection mold . in accordance with said copending application , the parison is kept in the chilled environment of the injection mold until its inside temperature drops below that which corresponds to the highest rate of crystallization of the given material . the parison is removed from the chilled environment at that time and transferred into the holding station or first tempering mold fast enough , i . e ., within that length of time during which little or no crystallization can occur according to the crystallization rate applicable to the inside of the preform , whereby said first tempering mold is held at a temperature that is substantially lower than that of the parison inside . the parison is now removed from the injection mold and transferred into the holding mold . after a dwell which equals that in the injection mold plus the time of transfer , the parison is removed from the said mold and placed into a tempering mold at the same time that the next - made parison is transferred into the holding mold . the parison is kept in the tempering mold long enough to equalize the temperature between its skins and its inside and then transferred into a blow mold for conversion into the bottle shape . if the time available to cool the parison in one holding mold does not suffice , a second holding mold may continue the cooling function and the tempering mold may then follow for equalization of the parison temperature . additional tempering molds may of course be added if necessary . how many continuing cooling and equalization steps , and therefore cooling and tempering molds are required depends on the thickness of the parison , all other variables of the molding process being equal , in order to maintain the same operating cycle of the apparatus regardless of the parison thickness . referring to fig1 after the formation of parisons 19 in the assembly consisting of mold 10 , cores 17 and neck mold 18 , the parisons are preferably left therein for the shortest possible time consistent with the foregoing to cool in contact with the said elements of said assembly , each of which is preferably temperature controlled , preferably independently of each other , in order to enable rapid and indeed premature removal from the injection mold as aforesaid in accordance with the preferred embodiment . the temperatures of some of the said elements may be so controlled as to cool portions of the parisons to a low temperature well below that suitable for orientation . the parisons may be removed from the injection mold before the average temperature is substantially equal to the desired orientation temperature , naturally , with an unequal temperature distribution resulting in the parisons , or allowed to remain in the injection mold until the average temperature is substantially equal to the desired orientation temperature . the parisons are then transferred to the first tempering mold , which may be a holding mold . passages 27 may be provided within core 17 communicating with an outside source of pressure fluid ( not shown ) and may terminate at a valve - like , closeable portion of the core . core 17 and mold 10 are cooled , as indicated hereinabove , to provide cooling of the adjacent parison surfaces and to assure rapid removal of heat from the parisons . separation of cores 17 from parison 19 without damage to it may be facilitated by air - pressure stripping of the parison from the core while leaving the neck mold engaged therewith , as described in my aforesaid u . s . pat . no . 4 , 242 , 300 . the parisons may be left in mold 10 during such separation in order to prevent damage by the air pressure so introduced . core 17 and neck mold 18 ( or the neck mold alone ) with parison 19 engaged thereon are then separated from mold 10 , first tempering mold 28 , which may be a holding mold , is aligned with the parisons by any desired motive means capable of providing relative lateral movement , and the parisons placed in the mold 28 . mold 28 has temperature controlled cooling elements 13 &# 39 ; as mold 10 and two mold cavities 28a and 28b . also , mold 28 is preferably otherwise similar to mold 10 , as having outer walls 11 &# 39 ; and end wall 12 &# 39 ; and conforming to the shape of parisons 19 . by transfer of parisons 19 into mold 28 the injection mold is freed for the formation of further parisons . as indicated hereinabove , only a single tempering mold may be employed if desired depending upon the tempering characteristics desired ; however , in the specific embodiment shown in fig1 two tempering molds are employed . after a first holding period in molds 28 , the parisons are transferred to second tempering molds 29 by suitable means for continued tempering , for example , by grippers such as shown in copending u . s . pat . application ser . no . 163 , 196 , now u . s . pat . no . 4 , 351 , 631 , and additional cores shown schematically at 30 which may if desired include internal fluid passageways 31 . in the illustrative embodiment shown , gripper 30 removes parisons 19 from mold 28 , mold 28 moves into alignment with core 17 , and parisons 19 are aligned with molds 29 by lateral movement of grippers 30 , said molds 29 containing heating or cooling elements 13 &# 34 ;, and two mold cavities 29a and 29b , and the parisons are placed in molds 29 by grippers 30 . parisons 19 are thus removed from molds 28 and molds 28 are thereby rendered capable to receive the next parisons from mold 10 while parisons 10 are placed in mold 29 . the parisons , fully tempered , are then transferred from molds 29 to a tempered parison storage facility which may be molds 40 or any storage facility capable of maintaining the tempered condition . molds 40 contain two mold cavities 40a and 40b and may if desired be tempering molds containing heating elements 13 &# 39 ;&# 34 ; similar to molds 28 and 29 . alternatively , as indicated above , molds 40 may be simply holding molds . the transfer occurs by means of grippers 32 , which may contain fluid passageways 33 , which removes the parisons from molds 29 , aligns the parisons with molds 40 by lateral movement of grippers 32 , and places same into molds 40 . it should be understood that additional tempering molds may by employed if prolonged tempering is required , as shown in my copending u . s . pat . application ser . no . 120 , 266 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . in accordance with the preferred procedure of said copending application , a plurality of tempering molds are provided and the parisons are transferred from tempering mold to tempering mold for completion of the tempering cycle without delaying the cycle by waiting for tempering to be completed in a single tempering mold . if desired , parisons 19 may be placed in better conformance with molds 28 and 29 by the exertion of fluid pressure within the parisons . grippers 30 and 32 are carried by common platen 34 since they operate on a common cycle , although separate carrying means may be provided . core 41 is carried by platen 42 and may be provided with temperature control means . since axial stretching of the parisons is desired , core 41 includes a stretch and blow assembly which comprises a mandrel extension 43 which is reciprocable as indicated by the arrow to axially extend the parison 19 and at the same time admit pressure fluid inside the parison through passageway 44 . an actuating means is shown which comprises a push rod 45 which engages extension 43 , and which is connected to a piston 46 housed within a cylinder 47 which may , for example , be responsive to hydraulic pressure exerted by a pump , now shown . by controlling the flow of fluid into cylinder 47 , the speed of piston 46 and therefore of the movable portion of core 41 may be controlled to stretch the parison at the speed best suited for the temperature of the parison . such actuating means is merely illustrative of one manner of operation , as other actuating means known in the art can be employed herein . if a highly oriented article is not desired , the axial extension operation may be dispensed with . after the final holding sequence , the parisons are separated from mold 40 as by retaining it on core 41 by means of grippers 47 , if necessary . in the embodiment shown in the drawing , core 41 is situated in spaced relationship to cores 17 , 30 and 32 and molds 40 are situated in spaced relationship to molds 10 , 28 and 29 and a finish or blow mold 50 , to enable simultaneous performance of the plural functions . alternative alignments , as by means of neck molds , may be used , so long as the concurrent pursuit of the injection holding cycle , tempering and final forming processes with separate parisons may be accomplished . an ejection core 51 optionally containing fluid passageway 52 may be used to remove the fully expanded article 48 from mold 50 . the ability to concurrently conduct the various operations outlined herein comprises one of the notable advantages of the invention . the simultaneous formation , holding , transfer , tempering , final expansion and finished article removal is envisioned in accordance with the present invention . as shown in fig1 there are less blow molds than the number of mold cavities in each group of tempering or holding molds . in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 there is a single blow mold 50 , while each group of tempering or holding molds contain two mold cavities . therefore , the number of means for transferring parisons 19 from molds 40 to molds 50 should correspond to the number of blow molds , in this case a single blow mold is shown so that a single means for transferring parisons 19 is provided . naturally , if there are move blow molds there would be correspondingly more tempering or holding molds and an appropriate number of transferring means . also , in the embodiment shown stretch - blow core 41 is shown as the means for transferring the parisons ; however , naturally , a separate transfer means may be provided and the stretch - blow core maintained above blow mold 50 , or other obvious variations provided . thus , in the embodiment shown stretch - blow core 41 transfers a parison 19 from cavity 40b into blow mold 50 by axial , lateral and axial movement as shown in the arrows in fig1 . as indicated hereinabove , a core or article removal plug 51 may be provided for removing the finished article and may be positioned in lateral , spaced relationship to core 41 . therefore , when core 41 engages parison in mold 40b , the removal plug engages the finished article 48 in mold 50 . as shown by the arrows , the core 41 and plug 51 are axially and laterally reciprocable so that cores 41 and 51 simultaneously transfer their respective articles by a combination of axial , lateral and axial movements . if desired , core 51 may be carried by common platen 42 or separate platen 52 . parison 19 is then received in mold 50 , which may be split for convenience , with its temperature having been adjusted as described hereinabove . parison 19 is usually axially extended to the bottom of mold 50 by advancement of the movable portion of mandrel 43 by means of push rod 45 at a predetermined rate . thus , the present invention may controllably guide the parison longitudinally while final blowing occurs and thereby produce orientation in the axial direction as well as the orientation produced by blowing . it can be seen that the temperature of the parison preparatory to stretching and blowing may be properly and conveniently controlled by the respective tempering environments , and also by cores if desired . while stretching occurs , passageway 44 is kept open to provide pressure equalization in the inside of the parison with the atmosphere to prevent collapse of the parison due to the vacuum created inside same as its inside volume increases during stretching . the parison is fully expanded to conform to the configuration of finishing mold 50 , to form the final object 48 , which in the embodiment illustrated herein is an open - ended container . naturally , a wide variety of shapes may be prepared as the commercially known shapes which may be a bottle , a jar or a cup - shape . full expansion is accomplished by supplying fluid under pressure through passageway 44 into the interior of parison 19 , or at times and at various rates into the interior of the parison while it is being extended . in the embodiment illustrated herein , finishing or blow mold 50 is longitudinally split into two sections labeled 50a and 50b , which may reciprocate in and out of communication by an actuating means , not shown , such as for example a hydraulic cylinder . thus , sections 50a , and 50b may be parted by an amount sufficient to permit removal of article 48 by core 51 . after a first parison 19 is removed from mold 40b by core 41 , molds 40 reciprocate laterally so that mold 40a with an additional parison 19 contained therein occupies the position previously occupied by mold 40b and mold 40b occupies the position shown in dashed lines in fig1 . therefore , upon return of core 41 to the position shown in fig1 a further parison 19 in mold 40a will be located immediately beneath core 41 for transfer to blow mold 50 by means of core 41 in the same manner discussed hereinabove . thus , a single blow mold is utilized for two holding or tempering molds . naturally , the cycle time for transferring parisons 19 from mold 40 to mold 50 will be such that two parisons 19 are transferred from mold 40 to mold 50 in a time period corresponding to the transfer time from molds 28 to 29 and from molds 29 to 40 . thus , after the second parison has been transferred from mold 40 to mold 50 , mold 40 reciprocates laterally to the original position shown in solid lines in fig1 so that mold 40 is ready to receive two additional parisons 19 from mold 29 in the manner described hereinabove . naturally , other variations within the scope of the present invention may be readily utilized . fig2 and 3 represent schematic representations of alternate embodiments of the present invention showing views of the tempered parison storage facility and the final blow station . in accordance with the embodiment of fig2 storage facility 140 contains eight mold cavities and blow molds 150 contain four blow mold cavities . thus , it can be seen that the number of blow molds for final expansion in spaced relationship to the tempered parison storage facility is provided in an amount less than the number of mold cavities in said facility . four stretch - blow cores 141 are shown above the mold cavities in facility 140 in a manner similar to fig1 . cores 141 transfer four parisons from facility 149 to molds 150 in a manner similar to fig1 by axial , lateral and axial movement , facility 140 is laterally moved so that a second set of mold cavities occupies the position previously occupied by the first mold cavities and the cycle repeats . in the embodiment shown in fig3 tempered parison storage facility 240 is provided with eight mold cavities in a manner after fig2 and blow molds 250 are also similarly provided with four mold cavities . however , it can be seen that facility 240 is stationary and stretch - blow cores 241 first transfer a group of four parisons to blow molds 250 and subsequently move into alignment with a second group of parisons in said facility as shown in dashed lines in fig3 so that the second group of parisons may be transferred to the blow molds . thus , alignment of the respective groups of parisons in fig3 is accomplished by relative movement of the transfer means rather than the storage facility . it is clear in accordance with the present invention that a greatly improved operating cycle is obtained . the components of the process and apparatus of the present invention are simple , convenient and expeditious and effectively operate in a versatile way with utilization of considerably fewer blow molds than would ordinarily be employed . this invention may be embodied in other forms or carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiment is therefore to be considered as in all respects illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency are intended to be embraced therein . | 1 |
a general description of the problem will first be presented , together with a sketch of the underlying theory , outlining the starting assumptions , but passing quickly to the practical conclusions of the theory . the work of the inventors is based on the bayesian model - based seismic inversion program , delivery , developed by the inventors ( gunning and glinsky , 2004 ). markov chain monte carlo ( mcmc ) and / or metropolis methods may also be used . in this layer - based model , a useful prior constraint that makes the inversion problem less multimodal is to focus the inversion on the correct seismic reflection for each sand or shale layer . this is done by imposing gaussian prior distributions on the layer reflection times , gross thicknesses , and n / g values . these constraints are made as weak as possible , but strong enough to prevent a seismic “ loop skip ”, or trapping in undesirable secondary local minima . this “ lion taming ” of the objective function is demonstrated by fig1 ( a ) and 1 ( b ), which show the effect of the prior constraint on the bias of the posterior distribution . fig1 ( a ) shows different prior probability distributions , and fig1 ( b ) shows resulting posterior probability distributions . in fig1 ( a ), curve c shows the probability of the model seismic being consistent with the observed seismic as a function of the gross thickness of the sand . the side lobes correspond to the sand becoming thick enough that the reflector would correspond to the top of another sand . the solutions that correspond to these sidelobes are not reasonable solutions and need to be excluded . this is done by imposing the gaussian constraint on gross thickness , shown by curve b . unfortunately the resulting compound probability , shown as b × c in fig1 ( b ), has a maximum biased away from the desired local maximum of curve c . what we would like to do is impose a prior constraint similar to curve a ( fig1 ( a )) with a flat top . this type of nonlinear prior constraint is not used , however since it breaks the linearity of the inversion , and seriously inflates the numerical demands of the inversion . to harness both the computational advantages of the gaussian prior ( curve b ), and the unbiased character of curve a , the inventors implemented an iterative inversion . this iterative inversion is shown schematically in fig2 . we start with the normal gaussian constraint on reflection times , gross thicknesses , and n / g and do the bayesian inversion . it should be noted that the input constraints may relate to any relevant properties , for example seismic arrival times , layer thicknesses , net sand to gross sand ratio , sand porosity , or other sand and shale properties such as compressional velocities , shear velocities and density . the properties being iterated are illustrated in step 20 , where μ is the mean of a property being iterated and σ is the standard deviation in step 22 , the inversion is carried out , for example using the delivery tool mentioned above , to produce the posterior estimates shown in step 24 , where μ ′ is the posterior mean and σ ′ is the posterior standard deviation . the resulting posterior estimates of the mean times , gross thicknesses , and n / g are then used ( step 26 ) as the mean of the prior constraints for the next bayesian inversion . in other words , step 22 is repeated using the modified means , but the standard deviations used in the inversion remain unchanged . this process is then repeated , and stopped when there is little difference between the prior and posterior means of the three properties ( step 28 ). the prior and posterior means may be compared after each inversion to determine whether the difference between the prior and posterior means is within a predetermined threshold , and the process stopped when this is found to be the case . in order for this process to work the mapping of the prior to the posterior means must be a compact mapping whose fixed point has an effective constraint which will not bias the solution , as shown by curve a in fig1 ( a ). by linearizing the solution about the optimum point ( see appendix ), and by separating the prior constraint into the parts that will be iteratively updated and those which will not ; it can be proved that a fixed point exists and that the convergence is linear . the fixed point is the solution to the problem with the prior gaussian constraints removed on the updated parts . this is exactly what is needed . a condition on the convergence is that the linearized problem is not rank deficient , that is , it is well posed . this will be true as long as the sensitivity matrix for all the parameters being iterated is “ full rank ”. this means that care should be taken in the choice of the properties that are iterated — the inversion should be significantly decreasing the standard deviations of those properties and they should not be linearly dependent upon each other . to demonstrate and verify the unbiased result of the described iterative inversion , a simple wedge model was constructed . it consists of three layers : a laminated reservoir sand between two shales . fig3 shows the wedge model and the synthetic seismic . the wiggle trace is reflection coefficient data with a positive amplitude , shaded black , representing a reflection from a hard reflector over a soft reflector . the wedge starts at zero gross thickness and linearly increases to a thickness of 22 m . the sand is softer than the shale , and has a n / g of 40 %. the end member sand has a porosity of 27 . 4 %, a density of 2 . 2 gm / cc , and a compressional velocity of 2970 m / s . the shale has a density of 2 . 41 gm / cc , and a compressional velocity of 3070 m / s . convolving a ricker wavelet with the contrast in the acoustic impedance forms the synthetic seismic . the frequency of the wavelet was chosen to have a tuning thickness of 14 m . the n / g standard deviation for the reservoir layer was 0 . 2 . uncertainties for the end member properties were 87 m / s , 142 m / s and 1 . 7 % for the sand compressional velocity , shear velocity and porosity , respectively ; and 138 m / s , 70 m / s , and 0 . 035 gm / cc for the shale compressional velocity , shear velocity and density , respectively . time uncertainties of 10 ms were assumed for the two seismic reflectors . two series of inversions were done : the first starting with a model that always had 5 m more sand than the model used to construct the seismic , the second starting with a model that always had 5 m less sand . a noise level of about half the size of the reflector was assumed . the gross thickness was iterated for each series of inversions until the solution converged . the result is shown in fig4 , in which the case starting with a positive bias of 5 m is shown by the green curves , and the case starting with a negative bias of 5 m is shown by the red curves . the initial model and two iterations are shown for each case , and a representative standard deviation of the solutions is shown by the error bar . the answer and fixed point solution is shown as the thin black line . the posterior uncertainty in the gross thickness was about three times the size of the initial bias . the solutions obviously converged to the unbiased solution . it was noted that the convergence was made quite rapid ( within one to two iterations ) for noise level merely 50 % of that displayed in fig3 . the methodology was then applied to the glenridding prospect , which lies beneath the stybarrow field , influencing the business decision to drill . this stybarrow field is located in production license wa - 32 - l , some 135 km west of onslow offshore western australia . the water depth at the location is approximately 800 m . the field lies near the southern margin of the exmouth sub - basin within the larger carnarvon basin ( see fig5 ). oil is trapped in the early cretaceous , berriasian age turbidite and debris flow sandstones deposited on a relatively shallow passive margin slope . the stybarrow structure comprises a ne to sw trending tilted fault block forming a terrace within the westward plunging ningaloo arch ( see fig6 , which also shows the locations of the four appraisal wells ). the intersection of sw to ne and e to w trending normal faults establishes an elongate , triangular trap forming structural closure to the southwest . the structure dips from the sw to the ne at about 5 degrees . top , base and bounding fault seals are provided by claystones and siltstones of the overlying muiron member of the barrow group and mudstones of the underlying dupuy formation . a seismic dip cross section through the middle of this field , along the line 60 in fig6 , is shown in fig7 ( a ) and 7 ( b ). seismic reflection data is shown as black wiggles . a positive amplitude is shaded black and represents a reflection from an acoustically hard rock over a soft . the colored background is a sparse spike inversion . values are normalized and expressed in relative percent reflectivity . red is acoustically soft , blue is hard . note the main sand that is currently under development ( the macedon standstone ) and the location of the four appraisal wells . the seismic data was recently reprocessed in a way that increased the bandwidth , and fig7 ( a ) shows the old data , while fig7 ( b ) shows the new , higher bandwidth , data . fig8 shows the spectral signal to noise ratio determined by comparison to the well log synthetic seismic . the signal is the peak amplitude of the main sand reflector , and the posted signal to noise ratios are the peak reflection amplitude of the main sand divided by the noise level estimated by the stochastic wavelet derivation ( gunning and glinsky , 2006 ). this reprocessing highlighted a small , but possibly economic “ a sand ” called the glenridding prospect , that has not yet been penetrated , approximately 50 m below the main macedon sand ( see fig7 ( a )). given the limited aerial extent of this near field prospect , it would need to have a thickness of at least 4 m to economically breakeven . in order to drill this target , it needs to be proven that there is a 90 % probability of having at least 4 m of sand . to answer this question a bayesian model based inversion was done at the proposed well location shown in fig7 ( b ). a model was constructed as shown in fig9 ( a ), which shows the mean model of n / g , before inversion , using the old data . the black wiggle shaded black is the seismic reflection data , and the red wiggle is the synthetic seismic of an average model ( as determined by the seismic chi squared value ). the model has twelve layers , five of which are sands . it was built from an interpretation of the top and base of the main ( macedon ) sand , and the top of the glenridding “ a sand ”. small uncertainty was assumed for the position of these interpreted horizons ( 6 ms ), and a larger uncertainty for the other horizons ( 8 ms ). the uncertainty in the n / g was assumed to be 30 % with a initial mean of 85 % for all sands . more details on how this inversion was done can be found in glinsky et al . 2005 . the first inversion was done using the old data . the seismic specialists doing the inversion decided to make a pessimistic assumption for the initial thickness of the “ a sand ”— they assumed that it had zero thickness and had the inversion prove otherwise . because the noise level was about the size of the seismic reflection this was a reasonable possibility . the resulting estimate of the net sand shown in fig1 does not meet the criteria for drilling the well . the asset team members challenged this result suggesting an optimistic assumption that there is a sand of tuning thickness unless proven otherwise . this was also a reasonable possibility . the resulting estimate also shown in fig1 does meet the criteria for drilling the well . who was right ? finding the answer to this question was the inspiration for the inventors &# 39 ; development of the iterative inversion . the unbiased answer from the iterative inversion using both the old and the new data is shown in fig1 . the results shown in fig1 represent the different estimates of net sand for the “ a sand ”, with the error bars representing the standard deviation . the “ old , pessimistic ” case is using the old data with an initial n / g of 85 % and an initial gross thickness of 3 m . the “ old , optimistic ” case is using the old data with an initial n / g of 85 % and an initial gross thickness of 16 m . the “ old , unbiased ” case is using the old data with an initial n / g of 85 % and an initial gross thickness of 8 m , using the iterative inversion , and the “ new , unbiased ” case is for the iterative inversion using the new data with an initial n / g of 50 % and an initial gross thickness of 22 m . the unbiased solution using the old data is obviously a compromise between the optimistic and pessimistic solutions and unfortunately does not meet the criteria for drilling the well . fortunately the resolution provided by the new data increases the estimate of the net sand enough to meet the criteria for drilling the well . note that the new , unbiased result is consistent with the old , unbiased result ( i . e ., the new mean lies within the uncertainty of the old data ), but it is not consistent with the old , pessimistic result . let us now examine the results in more detail so that we can better understand them . start with the mean models shown in fig9 . fig9 ( b ) and 9 ( c ) show the models of n / g after inversion . fig9 ( b ) shows the results using the old data , where the initial n / g was 85 %, and initial gross thickness was 8 m . fig9 ( c ) shows the results using the new data , where the initial n / g was 50 %, and initial gross thickness was 22 m both the inversions using the old and the new data increase the n / g and gross thickness of the main sand . there is no change to the n / g of the “ a sand ” using the old data and a very modest increase to the net sand . this is because this sand is not resolved . the new data is able to resolve this sand . it dramatically increases the thickness , but significantly decreases the n / g with an increase in the net sand . it also increases the n / g of the main sand . fig1 shows the match of the model synthetic seismic to the actual seismic ( thick red line ) for the initial model , before inversion , using the old data ( fig1 ( a )), the model after inversion , using the old data ( fig1 ( b )), and the model after inversion , using the new data ( fig1 ( c )) note the better match using the new data due to the better signal to noise ratio ( snr ). a very instructive perspective on the inversion results is obtained by examining all of the possible models that fit the data to within the snr . fig1 ( a ), 12 ( b ) and 12 ( c ) show the ensemble of n / g models for the three cases shown in fig1 ( a ), 11 ( b ) and 11 ( c ), respectively . notice the reduction in the uncertainty in the location of the top and base of the main and “ a ” sands with the new data . there is also less scatter in the n / g of both sands using the new data . the existence of the fixed point and the convergence can be seen in fig1 and 14 . they show the change in the net sand and n / g , respectively , for the “ a sand ” as the prior mean values are changed . the error bars represent the standard deviation . fig1 shows the change in net sand as a function of the initial gross sand thickness , using an initial n / g of 85 %, and fig1 shows the change in n / g as a function of the initial n / g , using an initial gross thickness of 22 m the value indicated as unbiased in each case is the value of the prior gross sand thickness , and prior n / g , respectively , that results in no change of the posterior mean value when compared to the prior mean value . note that for values less than this fixed point ( labeled “ unbiased ”) the inversion increases the value . the greater the distance from the fixed point , the larger the change . the opposite is true for values greater than the fixed point — the inversion decreases the value . the bottom line results are shown in fig1 , where the cumulative probability distribution functions are shown for the net sand in the “ a sand ” using the old data ( fig1 ( a )) and the new data ( fig1 ( b )). note that there is only a 65 % probability of having at least 4 m of sand using the old data , and that probability is increased to 90 % using the new data . the described iterative inversion is an important and particularly advantageous refinement to bayesian inversion when looking at marginal sands whose seismic reflection amplitude is near the noise level . for high noise levels , the data is whispering to you through the bayesian inversion , but it is being overwhelmed by the heavy - handed sophomoric prior constraint imposed to eliminate unreasonable models . the iteration amplifies the whisper allowing convergence to the unbiased , predictive result free of the influence of the initial constraints . increasing the bandwidth of the seismic data also is advantageous if these sands are poorly resolved . “ bayesian linearized avo inversion ” by arild buland and henning omre ( geophysics , 68 : 185 - 198 , 2003 ), “ seismic reservoir prediction using bayesian integration of rock physics and markov random fields : a north sea example ” by jo eidsvik et al . ( the leading edge 21 : 290 - 294 , 2002 ), “ stochastic reservoir characterization using prestack seismic data ” by jo eidsvik et al . ( geophysics 69 : 978 - 993 , 2004 ), “ delivery : an open source model - based bayesian seismic inversion program ” by gunning and glinsky ( computers and geosciences 30 : 619 - 636 , 2004 ), “ stybarrow oil field — from seismic to production , the integrated story so far ” by ementon et al . ( spe asia pacific oil and gas conference , expanded abstracts , # 88574 , 2004 ), “ integration of uncertain subsurface information into multiple reservoir simulation models ” by glinsky et al . ( the leading edge 24 : 990 - 998 , 2005 ), “ delivery - extractor : a new open source wavelet extraction and well tie program ” by gunning and glinsky ( computers and geosciences 32 : 681 - 695 , 2006 ), “ inverse problem theory , methods for data fitting and model parameter estimation ” by a . tarantola , ( elsevier , amsterdam , 1987 ), “ matrix computations ” by golub and van loan ( john hopkins university press , baltimore , 1996 ). in this section , the existence of a fixed point in the iterative inversion scheme is demonstrated . the algorithm has the property that the fixed point has an effectively “ flat ” prior in the iterated parameters . the convergence to the fixed point is linear . important criteria for choice of the parameters to iterate are derived , in order to guarantee convergence . we start with the linear approximation to the forward model valid near the optimum solution . the solution is given by ( see equations 36 and 37 from gunning and glinsky , 2004 ) { tilde over ( m )} =( { tilde over ( x )} t { tilde over ( x )}+ c m − 1 ) − 1 ( { tilde over ( x )} t d + c m − 1 m 0 ) ( 1 ) where d are the scaled seismic data residuals , { tilde over ( x )} is the scaled linearization of the forward seismic model , c m is the covariance matrix of prior probability distribution of the model , and m 0 is the prior estimate of the mean model . suppose that for the next iteration we use m 0 ←( i t { tilde over ( m )} +( i − i t ) m 0 ), ( 2 ) where i t is a matrix that selects a subvector to update ( e . g ., the time parameters ). so in general { tilde over ( m )} ∞ =( i −{ tilde over ( c )} m { tilde over ( c )} m − 1 i t ) − 1 { tilde over ( c )} m ( { tilde over ( x )} t d + c m − 1 ( i − i t ) m 0 ). ( 4 ) and is stable if the eigenvalues , λ , of the matrix q p defined by q p ={ tilde over ( c )} m c m − 1 i t =( { tilde over ( x )} t { tilde over ( x )}+ c m − 1 ) − 1 c m − 1 i t = qi t ( 5 ) satisfy | λ |& lt ; 1 . this is true if the submatrix of { tilde over ( x )} corresponding to the “ selected ” subvector is full - rank . { tilde over ( m )} ∞ =( { tilde over ( x )} t { tilde over ( x )}+ c m − 1 ( i − i t )) − 1 ( { tilde over ( x )} t d + c m − 1 ( i − i t ) m 0 ) ( 6 ) this is the standard bayes formula with c m , new − 1 ← c m − 1 ( i − i t ), which is equivalent to using a new prior distribution with flat priors on the selected subvector . for example , if which satisfies e k + 1 = o ( e k ) with a fixed coefficient less than one that is dominated by the largest eigenvalue of q p . the latter is less than one if the full - rank criterion { tilde over ( x )} of the submatrix holds . the conclusion is that successive iteration with replacements of a selected subvector converges to a fixed point equal to the single bayes update with infinitely flat prior on the selected subvector . this convergence is guaranteed provided that at least one measurement responds to each subvector parameter , and sufficiently independently that full - rank of the sensitivity applies . the convergence is linear . | 6 |
an exemplary embodiment of an image sensor mounting system according to the invention is described with reference to the assembly drawing of fig1 . in this embodiment , a plate 10 is provided for back mounting an image sensor 12 . in a simplified form of this mounting scheme , plate 10 is provided by a substantially rigid planar member comprising insulating material , image sensor 12 is mounted to plate 10 by any suitable means such as gluing or taping , and the resulting assembly comprising a plate and sensor 10 and 12 is mounted to an optical reader component frame 14 by inserting plate into a pocket 16 which may be defined , as is shown , by a pair of pins 18 and wall sections 20 . plate 10 is sized to a length 1 p such that the edges of plate 10 extend beyond the edges of sensor 12 when sensor is attached to plate 10 to the end that a pocket 16 can hold an image sensor in a secure position by applying lateral holding forces to plate 10 without supplying lateral forces to the top glass , or bottom planar members of image sensor 12 . component frame 14 in the example provided is an optical assembly component frame . optical assembly frames of optical readers are typically comprised of molded plastic and are typically adapted to carry various optical system components of an optical reader . in addition to carrying an image sensor 12 , an optical assembly frame of an optical reader may carry such components as mirrors , lenses , and illumination sources , such as leds . in most optical readers , an optical assembly component frame 14 is installed on a printed circuit board , e . g . circuit board 15 which , in addition to carrying frame 14 , carries most , if not all , of the electrical components of the optical reader . the mounting scheme described is advantageous over the prior art because it increases the security with which image sensor 12 is held in pocket 16 and furthermore , increases the precision with which a pixel plane to fixed point distance can be controlled . while the total thickness , t , of stacked up image sensor 12 cannot be tightly controlled , the thickness t p of plate 10 can be tightly controlled . accordingly , pockets 16 of several like designed optical assembly frames will apply relatively consistent holding forces to image sensors disposed therein . the mounting system increases the precision with which pixel plane to fixed point distance , d , is controlled because it reduces the number of manufacturing tolerances which contribute to the distance , d , the distance between any fixed point , p p , on the plane of a pixel array 12 and a fixed point , p s , away from the pixel plane . in a prior art mounting system described with reference to fig6 , and 8 , the pixel plane to fixed point distance , d , is a function of the total thickness , t , of an image sensor 10 , which is a function of the highly variable top planar member to bottom planar member spacing , s . because a pixel plane of an image sensor 10 is disposed flush on a bottom planar member , it is seen that pixel plane to fixed point distance , d , in the mounting system of fig1 is influenced only by the bottom plate thickness t b , and the mounting plate thickness t p , both of which can be tightly controlled . additional features can be incorporated in the mounting system thus far described for further improving the operation of the mounting system . one enhancement to the mounting system thus far generally described is to form in mounting plate 10 first and second cutout sections 26 and 28 . cutout sections 26 and 28 defined by side walls 30 are sized to a length 1 c approximately the same length or slightly longer than lead frames 114 so that edges of lead frames 114 are benched on walls 30 when image sensor 10 is mounted on mounting plate 10 . cutout sections 26 and 28 provide the function of stabilizing the position of an image sensor on mounting plate 10 so as to prevent sliding or twisting of image sensor 12 on plate 10 . another enhancement to the mounting system generally described relates to a mounting scheme for mounting an image sensor 12 to mounting plate 10 . it has been mentioned herein that sensor 12 can be secured to plate 10 using any conventional securing means , such as adhesives , glues , double sided tapes , etc . however , such schemes for attachment have the potential drawback in that they add thickness to an assembly including an image sensor and a back plate . in the image sensor to plate mounting scheme of fig1 the mounting is accomplished without use of any thickness - adding material . as seen in fig1 pins 32 will extend outwardly beyond the back surface 34 of plate 10 when sensor 12 is pressed flush against plate 10 . a flex strip 38 which includes two strips 40 and 42 of pin receptacles for providing electrical connection between sensor leads 12 and certain electrical connectors of reader ( normally on pcb ), a distance away from sensor 12 may be attached to image sensor 12 such that first row of pines 32 are received in a first row of receptacles 40 and a second row of pins 32 are received in a second row of receptacles 42 of flex strip 39 . pins 32 can be soldered onto receptacles 40 and 42 such that the compression force of flex strip 38 impinging on mounting plate 10 to bias plate 10 against sensor 12 is sufficient to hold sensor 12 securely on plate 10 without additional securing forces supplied by glues , tape , or other adhesive material . in the mounting system of fig1 plate 10 may further include side wall formations 31 which are received in complementary formations of pocket 16 . in particular , the mounting system can be configured such that bottom surface 31 ′ of formation 30 is received on a complementary surface of pocket 16 . furthermore , when plate 10 is installed in pocket 16 , at least one screw 33 can be received in at least one hole 29 formed in pocket 16 , at least one screw 33 can be received in at least one hole 29 formed in pocket 16 in such a location that screw head 33 h or associated washer 33 w applies a vertical holding force to a received image sensor 12 . in the particular embodiment shown , a cutaway section defined by walls 35 is provided so that plate 10 does not interfere with the receiving light optics in the particular optical system in the example provided . a variation on the mounting schemes described thus far is described with reference to fig4 a through fig5 . in the schemes described thus far , image sensor 12 is mounted to a plate 10 which , in turn , is received in a pocket 16 in an optical assembly frame 14 of a bar code reader . in the mounting scheme described with reference to fig4 a , 4 b , and 5 , the mounting pocket 16 of optical assembly frame 14 is deleted , and optical assembly frame 14 instead is furnished with a back plate 48 integral with frame 14 which provides essentially the same function as mounting plate 10 . certain figures of an optical system which may be incorporated in a frame of the type shown in fig4 b and fig5 are described in detail in copending applications entitled “ optical assembly for barcode scanner ,” ser . no . 09 / 111 , 476 and “ adjustable illumination system for a barcode scanner ,” serial no . 09 / 111 , 583 concurrently herewith , incorporated by reference herein , and assigned to the assignee of the present invention . in this mounting scheme , image sensor 12 is mounted directly to back plate 48 in essentially the same manner that sensor 12 is mounted to mounting plate 10 in the general scheme described previously . in mounting sensor 12 to back plate 48 then sensor 12 is pressed against surface 50 of back plate 48 . frame 14 includes elongated aperture 52 defined by bottom edge of back plate 48 to accommodate bottom pins 32 b of lead frame 114 when sensor 10 is mounted against back plate 48 . securing material such as glues , tapes , or other adhesives may be provided to aid in the securing of an image sensor 12 against back plate 48 . in the alternative , image sensor 12 may be secured to back plate 48 as described previously by a compression force supplied by flex strip 38 , which when soldered , works to bias image sensor 12 against plate 48 . cutout section 56 and aperture 52 can be sized to have lengths 1 c approximately equal to the respective lengths of lead frames 114 so that side wall 30 of aperture 52 and of cutaway section 56 operate to bench lead frames 114 and to thereby prevent sliding or twisting of image sensor 12 when image sensor 12 is mounted on back plate 48 . it will be seen that a back plate of the invention can be provided by virtually any substantially planar rigid surface integrated onto a mounted component frame . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to the preferred mode as illustrated in the drawing , it will be understood by one skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings , the activated carbon air purifier is designated by the numeral &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ;. this includes two major assemblies including the air purifier cabinet assembly 12 and an adsorber media carrier assembly 14 . the air purifier cabinet assembly 12 includes a peripheral frame 16 having a pair of side channel members 18 and 20 and a channel member 22 connecting the ends of members 18 and 20 together . the opposite ends of the channel members 18 and 20 are connected by straps 22 and 24 to provide an entrance opening 25 for the insertion of the adsorber media carrier assembly 14 . a cover 27 closes the opening 25 . thumb screws 29 secures the cover to frame 16 . the cabinet assembly 12 is provided with a rectangular frame 28 at the front side 30 of the cabinet assembly 12 and a similar rectangular frame 32 at the rear side 34 of the cabinet 12 . the front and rear sides of the cabinet assembly 12 are open to permit air flow through the cabinet 12 . the cabinet assembly 12 is made from various metal channels and angle members to provide the desired configuration . the elements are connected by welding or by riveting as is well known in the art . the adsorber carrier assembly 14 has a frame 40 which includes a pair of channels 42 , 44 . each channel has a base 46 and a pair of flanges 48 , 50 . the flanges 48 and 50 of one channel member 42 extend in an opposite direction from the corresponding flanges 48 and 50 of the other channel member 44 . opposite end portions of channel members 42 , 44 are provided with four holes 52 for fastening purposes as will subsequently appear . the channel members 42 , 44 are made from metal . the frame 40 of the adsorber carrier assembly 14 further includes a pair of tube carrying members 60 and 62 which are made from plastic material such as nylon or other suitable material . tube carrying members 60 and 62 are each provided with end flanges 64 having four openings 66 . the openings 66 are spaced apart from one another in the same arrangement or pattern as the openings 52 provided in the members 42 and 44 . tube carrying member 62 is provided with a front wall 68 , a back wall 70 and a bottom or connecting wall 72 . the bottom or connecting wall 72 is provided with two rows of tubular supports 74 which are spaced apart vertically and horizontally as shown in fig2 . the centers of the tubular supports 74 are staggered . thus one row 76 of tubular support 74 are provided alone one of the walls 68 while the other row 78 of tubular support 74 are provided along the other wall 70 as shown in fig6 . the tube carrying member 62 as viewed in fig6 illustrate the staggered relationship between the tubular supports 74 provided in rows 76 and 78 . the bottom wall 72 is surrounded by the side walls 68 , 70 and end walls 71 , 73 which form a continuous or generally rectangular trough 80 as best shown in fig6 . the trough 80 has a height of approximately 7 / 8 inch with the bottom wall 72 having therein openings 82 , one for each of the tubular sockets 74 . the tube carrying member 60 is also provided with the same number of staggered tubular sockets 74 as the tube carrying member 62 as shown in fig3 . in fig6 each row 76 , 78 of each of the tube carrying members 60 , 62 has , as an example , nine tubular supports 74 . the corresponding tubular sockets 74 of each tube carrying member 60 / 62 is provided with one end 92 of an adsorber tube 90 . the ends 92 of each adsorber tube 90 are received in a pair of aligned tubular sockets 74 . the tubular adsorber tubes 90 are made from woven wire cloth having a mesh rating of 30 to 40 mesh . the tubes 90 , as shown in fig5 and 6 , are arranged vertically apart in two rows 76 , 78 with the tubes 90 in one row being located behind the spaces of the tubes 90 in the other row . when the tubes 90 are viewed from the front or the back of the air purifier 10 they appear to present a continuous wire mesh screen so that air entering the air purifier 10 will strike and impinge upon one of the tubes 90 in either row 76 or 78 . the trough 80 is used to fill the tubes 90 with activated carbon . the activated carbon is placed in the trough 80 and the person uses a brush or his or her fingers to introduce the activated carbon particles into the tubes 90 through the entrance openings 82 until the tubes are filled . once all the tubes 90 are filled a seal or gasket 100 is placed in the trough 80 over three mounting studs 102 . thereafter a cover 104 is placed in the trough 80 against the seal 100 and secured to the studs 102 by means of the threaded nuts 106 . the other tube carrying member 60 is also provided with a continuous trough 108 in which is located a spring weighing scale 112 . the spring weighing scale 112 includes an inner cylinder 114 and an outer cylinder 116 . a coiled spring 118 having ends 120 and 122 is located within the inner cylinder 114 . the inner cylinder 114 has an opening 121 to which extends a pivot rod or mounting 124 . the pivot mounting 124 is carried by a pair of laterally spaced apart lugs 126 which are secured to the base or bottom 128 of the tube carrying member 60 . the outer cylinder 116 has an opening 130 through which extends a handle 132 . when the spring weighing scale 112 is not in use , the cylinders 114 , 116 are collapsed and are held against the base 130 of the tube carrying member 60 . when it is required to use the weighing device 112 , the handle 132 is removed from the lugs 134 and the weighing device 112 is pivoted about the pivot rod 126 and is moved to the dotted position as shown in fig7 . the spring end 122 is wrapped around the pivot rod 124 while the other end 120 of the spring 118 is wrapped around the handle 132 . the inner cylinder 114 is provided with a graduated scale 136 as shown in fig1 which permits the carrier assembly 14 to be weighed in the manner shown in fig1 . the weighing takes place before and after use of the carrier assembly 14 . the weighing before use establishes the weight of carrier assembly before the adsorbant is exposed to contaminant . the weighing after use establishes the weight of the carrier assembly and the adsorbed contaminant . using subtraction , the weight of the contaminant and the remaining capacity of the adsorption media can be determined . fig8 - 13 inclusive illustrate the steps for the care and maintenance of the activated carbon air purifier 10 . as shown in fig8 the air purifier 10 is removed from the furnace 140 by initially removing the thumb screws 29 and removing the cover 27 . thereafter the media carrier assembly 14 is slid out of the cabinet assembly 12 . the media carrier assembly 14 is then placed on the floor adjacent to furnace 140 and the carrier lid or cover 104 and foam seal 100 are removed from the trough 80 as shown in fig9 . the activated carbon adsorption media should be changed immediately after the heating season and after the cooling season . thus , in order to empty the media carrier assembly 14 , the assembly 14 is tuned up - side down thereby dumping the used activated carbon particles into a plastic trash bag 142 . it may be necessary to lightly tap the carrier 14 in order to loosen the carbon from all of the adsorber tubes 90 . thereafter it is necessary to refurnish the media carrier 14 with activated carbon . the carrier 14 is placed on the floor as shown in fig1 and carbon is directed from the bag 144 into the trough 80 . the carbon particles are moved into the unfilled tubes 90 using a brush or the person &# 39 ; s fingers . it may be necessary to gently tap the carrier 14 on the top in order to settle the carbon into the tubes 90 to fill same . once all of the tubes 90 have been filled with fresh carbon , the foam seal 100 , lid 104 and thumb nuts 106 are replaced . as an optional feature of this invention , the scale mechanism 112 is used to weigh the carrier assembly 14 as shown in fig1 . the weight is recorded . thereafter the media assembly 14 is reinstalled into the air purifier cabinet assembly 12 as shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a furnace 150 with a carbon air purifier 10 in the entrance duct 152 , with an outlet duct 153 leading from the furnace 150 . fig1 is similar to fig1 with the exception that a particulate filter 154 is located adjacent to and upstream from the carbon air purifier 10 in the entrance duct 152 . the carbon air purifier 10 and particulate filter 154 work in combination to remove the various contaminants . fig1 illustrates a furnace 160 having a carbon air purifier 10 and a particular filter 154 upstream with a pair of transition ducts 166 , 168 provided . the air purifier 10 of the present invention is designed for installation in the return air duct of any forced air heating and cooling system and for use in systems up to 2 , 000 cfm . for higher air flows , additional units may be required . when the activated carbon air purifier 10 is used with a high efficiency particulate air cleaner of the type illustrated in fig1 - 19 inclusive , it is recommended that the air purifier 10 be mounted downstream of the particulate filter to prevent the carbon columns from becoming clogged with household dust . the present invention has the advantage of being able to easily replace the screen adsorber tubes 90 in the event of damage . in addition , the use of the trough 80 facilitates the carbon filling procedure . also , the use of i - sections and channel sections provide requisite strength for the media carrier assembly 14 . the use of studs and thumb nuts allow the replacement of the activated carbon without the use of special tools . | 1 |
light actuated optical switches are used to construct and , or , and nor logic gates . light signals coming into the logic gates are processed so that the output of the logic gates conforms to the needed specification for each kind of gate . the light signals are all that are used to operate the logic gates , and no external battery is required using light actuated optical switches , the logic gates will have dimensions that will fit within semiconductor logic design dimensions . computers will be able to be made that function on light signals instead of electrical signals . transistors of transistor based logic gates switch in 10e − 9 seconds , and this limits the speed of transistor based logic gates . light can travel three microns in 10e − 14 seconds . logic gates based on light actuated switches can be much faster than transistor based logic gates . an optical switch includes a signal channel and a piezoelectric element that is adjacent to the signal channel . the piezoelectric element changes shape in response to an activation light and the piezoelectric element is configured relative to the signal channel such that the change in shape of the piezoelectric element causes a change in a dimension of the signal channel . for example , the change in shape of the piezoelectric element causes a dimension of the signal channel to be reduced far enough that a signal light is no longer able to pass through the signal channel . using this phenomenon , the state of the optical switch is controlled by controlling the application of the activation light to the piezoelectric element . in an embodiment , the optical switch allows a signal light to pass through the signal channel when the activation light is not applied to the piezoelectric element and blocks the signal light from passing through the signal channel when the activation light is applied to the piezoelectric element . because the shape of the piezoelectric element determines whether or not light passes through the signal channel , the function of the optical switch depends on the ability of the piezoelectric element to change shape . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , the piezoelectric element has at least two layers of piezoelectric material with each layer having different piezoelectric characteristics . the piezoelectric characteristics of the layers are selected to enhance the performance of the piezoelectric element and ultimately to enhance the performance of the optical switch . in an embodiment , the piezoelectric characteristics of the layers are selected to produce a piezoelectric element that exhibits sufficient shape change in response to an activation light to block a signal light from passing through a signal channel . fig1 a depicts an optical switch 100 that includes a signal channel 102 and a piezoelectric element 104 and that is controlled by an activation light . the signal channel guides the transmission of light within a confined area along a defined path . the signal channel is formed by a light guiding structure , or combination of structures , which can guide light within a confined area along a defined path . structures that can form the signal channel include , for example , an optical fiber , substrates such as lithium niobate or other transparent piezoelectric materials that include a signal channel , an optical waveguide , and a chamber for holding a compressible material . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the signal channel is formed by a monolithic light guiding element . the piezoelectric element 104 is formed of piezoelectric material . examples of piezoelectric material that can be used to form the piezoelectric element include crystalline piezoelectric material such as quartz ( sio 2 ), lithium niobate ( linbo 3 ), lead zirconate ( pbzro 3 ), lead titanate ( pbtio 3 ), and lead zirconate titanate . examples of piezoelectric materials that can be oriented in a magnetic field are lead zirconate and lead titanate or lead zicronate titanate . quartz and lithium niobate are examples of transparent piezoelectric materials . the piezoelectric element 104 has at least two layers 106 and 108 of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics . the different piezoelectric characteristics of the different layers may include , for example : 1 ) different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field ; 2 ) different responses to the same electrical field , for example , one of the layers expands in response to an electrical field having a first orientation and the other layer expands in response to an electrical field having a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation ; 3 ) different polarities ; 4 ) different strains ; 5 ) different hysteresis ; 6 ) different capacitances ; 7 ) different impedances ; 8 ) different resistivities ; 9 ) different thermal histories ; and 10 ) different electromagnetic histories . the piezoelectric characteristics of a piezoelectric material are a function of , for example : 1 ) the type of piezoelectric material ; 2 ) the crystal orientation of the piezoelectric material ; 3 ) doping levels within the piezoelectric material ; 4 ) the density of the piezoelectric material ; 5 ) the void density of the piezoelectric material ; 6 ) the chemical constituency of the piezoelectric material ; 7 ) the thermal history of the piezoelectric material ; 8 ) the electromagnetic history of the piezoelectric material . the desired piezoelectric characteristic of each layer of piezoelectric material can be achieved by , for example , manipulating one or more of the above - identified parameters . in an embodiment , layers of piezoelectric material that exhibit different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field are integrated into a piezoelectric element to cause the piezoelectric element to change shape or bend in response to the activation light . for example , if two adjacent layers of a piezoelectric element , which are adhered to each other into a monolithic element , expand different amounts in response to the same activation light , the piezoelectric element will bend . in an embodiment , the piezoelectric element includes at least two layers of piezoelectric material , having different piezoelectric characteristics , which are formed as a monolithic element . for example , the piezoelectric element is formed by building layers of piezoelectric material on top of each other using semiconductor processing techniques , e . g ., crystal growth , deposition , sputtering , ion implantation , etc . in an embodiment , the layers of the piezoelectric element have different crystal orientations so that the two layers respond differently to the same electrical field . for example , the two layers have crystal orientations that are perpendicular to each other . in another embodiment , at least one of the layers of the piezoelectric element is made of an organic material . using a piezoelectric element with layers of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics , the response of the piezoelectric element can be selected to optimize on / off switching . for example , the piezoelectric characteristics of the layers can be selected to : 1 ) maximize the shape change of the piezoelectric element in response to the activation light ; 2 ) minimize hysteresis ; 3 ) reduce the amount of power required to change the shape of the piezoelectric element ; and 4 ) reduce the amount of heat generated by the switching technique . operation of the optical switch 100 depicted in fig1 a is now described with reference to fig1 a and 1b . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric element 104 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric element is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric element is basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric element allows a signal light 110 to pass through the signal channel 104 as indicated by the signal light entering and exiting the signal channel . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric element 104 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 112 to the piezoelectric element . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light is applied to the piezoelectric element by directing the activation light into the signal channel 102 in parallel with the signal light 110 . the activation light supplies an electrical field that effects the piezoelectric material . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element changes shape enough that the signal light is blocked from passing through the signal channel . the blocking of the signal light is indicated by the lack of the signal light exiting the signal channel . once the activation light is removed from the signal channel , the piezoelectric element returns to its normal shape and the signal light is able once again to pass through the signal channel . as described above , activation of the piezoelectric element 104 in response to the activation light 112 causes the shape of the piezoelectric element to change , thereby causing at least one dimension of the signal channel 102 to change . fig2 a is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel and the piezoelectric element of fig1 a when the piezoelectric element is in a non - activated state . fig2 b is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel and the piezoelectric element of fig1 b when the piezoelectric element is in an activated state . in the activated state , the piezoelectric element extends into the signal channel and reduces at least one dimension of the signal channel . as illustrated in fig2 a and 2b , the cross - sectional area of the signal channel is smaller in the activated state ( fig2 b ) than it is in the non - activated state ( fig2 a ). as seen in the embodiment of fig1 a - 2b , there is still an opening in the signal channel 102 even when the piezoelectric element 104 is in the activated state . although there is still an opening in the signal channel even when the piezoelectric element is in the activated state , the opening in the signal channel is small enough that the signal light 110 is blocked from passing through the signal channel . the ability of a signal light to pass through the signal channel is a function of the dimensions of the signal channel and of the wavelength of the signal light . in general , light having a shorter wavelength is able to pass through a signal channel with a smaller dimension than light having a longer wavelength . fig3 depicts a graph of optical signal attenuation vs . a dimension of a signal channel . as illustrated in fig3 , the optical signal attenuation changes rapidly once the signal channel dimension reaches a certain dimension , referred to herein as the cutoff dimension . for example , at a dimension smaller than the cutoff dimension ( e . g ., about 5 angstroms ), the attenuation rapidly rises and at a dimension larger than the cutoff dimension , the attenuation rapidly falls . the sharp response to a change in the signal channel dimension around the cutoff dimension , as indicated in fig3 , enables fast on / off switching by toggling the activation light such that a dimension of the signal channel switches between being larger or smaller than the cutoff dimension . as described above , the state of the optical switch 100 is activated by applying an activation light 112 to the piezoelectric element 104 . activation light can be applied to the piezoelectric element using different techniques . some exemplary techniques for applying activation light to the piezoelectric element are described with reference to fig4 a - 5b . fig4 a and 4b illustrate a technique for changing the state of optical switch 100 that involves applying an activation light 112 having a shorter wavelength than the signal light 110 . referring to fig4 a , the optical switch 100 is in an on state when no activation light is applied to the piezoelectric element 104 and the signal light 110 passes through the signal channel 102 . as illustrated in fig4 b , activation light 112 is applied to the piezoelectric element 104 to change the state of the optical switch 100 from on to off . in the off state , the activation light 112 causes the piezoelectric element 104 to change shape and block the passage of the signal light 110 through the signal channel 102 . in this example , the activation light 112 has a shorter wavelength than the signal light 110 . in particular , the wavelength of the activation light 112 is short enough that the activation light 112 is still able to pass through the signal channel even when the optical switch 100 is in an off state . fig4 b illustrates the case in which the activation light 112 , which has a shorter wavelength than the signal light 110 , is able to pass through the signal channel 102 even when the optical switch 100 is in the off state . fig5 a and 5b illustrate a technique for changing the state of an optical switch 100 in which applying the activation light involves providing two light signals 112 a and 112 b , which are out of phase with each other , to the piezoelectric element 104 and then removing one of the light signals , light signal 112 a in the illustrated embodiment , leaving the remaining light signal , light signal 112 b in the illustrated embodiment , as the activation light . in this embodiment , the two signals 112 a and 112 b are out of phase with each other such that their electrical fields effectively cancel each other out ( e . g ., 180 degrees out of phase ). because the two out of phase signals cancel each other out , while the two out of phase signals are simultaneously applied to the piezoelectric element 104 , the piezoelectric element 104 is not activated . once one of the light signals is removed , the electrical field of the remaining light signal is no longer canceled out and the remaining light signal activates the piezoelectric element . fig5 a illustrates the signal light 110 and both components of the out of phase light signals 112 a and 112 b passing through the signal channel 102 . as described above , the piezoelectric element 104 is not activated in this case because the two out of phase light signals cancel each other out . in fig5 b , one of the out of phase light signals 112 a is removed , leaving the remaining light signal 112 b as the activation light . the activation light activates the piezoelectric element 104 and blocks the passage of the signal light 110 ( and the activation light in this case ) through the signal channel . in another embodiment , the power of one of the two light signals can be increased above the other light signal to overcome the canceling effect thereby providing the activation light . another technique for optimizing the performance of a light activated optical switch is to enhance the electrical field that is applied to the piezoelectric element in response to the activation light . in accordance with an embodiment of the invention , at least one conductive layer is located adjacent to the piezoelectric element of a light activated optical switch to enhance the electrical field that is applied to the piezoelectric element in response to the activation light . the conductive layer has free electrons or electron holes that are drawn to and collect at a surface adjacent to the piezoelectric element when the activation light is applied to the piezoelectric element . the collection of free electrons near the piezoelectric element enhances the electrical field that is applied to the piezoelectric element in response to the activation light . the enhanced electrical field can be used to enhance the performance of the piezoelectric element and ultimately to enhance the performance of the optical switch . for example , the enhanced electrical field contributed from the adjacent conductive layer enables the piezoelectric element to be activated with lower power and / or quicker than is possible when there is not a conductive layer adjacent to the piezoelectric element . without the conductive layer the electric field of the activation light alone activates the piezoelectric element . when a conductive layer is used , the conductive layer supplies charges that are gathered or dispersed by the electric field of the activation light . the electric field of the gathered charges adds to the electric field of the activation light . in this case , the piezoelectric element is acted upon by the electric field of the activation light and the electric field of the gathered charges . in the case of dispersed charges , matter is composed of positive and negative charges so when one is dispersed the other is expressed . in this case the electric field of the expressed charges adds to the electric field of the activation light and the effect on the piezoelectric element is enhanced . electrons move in metal conductors , but positive holes can move in a semiconductor . fig6 a depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 120 that includes a signal channel 122 , a piezoelectric element 124 , and a conductive layer 126 adjacent to the piezoelectric element 124 . the signal channel 122 and piezoelectric element 124 are similar to those described above , although the piezoelectric element 124 does not necessarily include different layers of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics . the conductive layer 126 is a highly conductive material such as lead , tungsten , other metals , silicon doped with boron , silicon doped with arsenic , doped gallium arsenide , and / or other semiconductor materials . in an embodiment , the conductive layer 126 is adhered to a surface of the piezoelectric element 124 . for example , the conductive layer 126 may be deposited on a major surface of the piezoelectric element 124 using a metal deposition technique . in an alternative embodiment , the conductive layer 126 is formed of a semiconductor material with positive or negative charges that move instead of only negative charges . operation of the optical switch 120 depicted in fig6 a is now described with reference to fig6 a and 6b . fig6 a illustrates the piezoelectric element 124 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 124 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric element 124 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig6 a , the piezoelectric element 124 is basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric element allows a signal light 128 to pass through the signal channel 122 as indicated by the signal light 128 entering and exiting the signal channel 122 . fig6 b illustrates the piezoelectric element 124 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 129 to the piezoelectric element 124 . in the embodiment of fig6 b , the activation light 129 is applied to the piezoelectric element 124 by directing the activation light 129 into the signal channel 122 in parallel with the signal light 128 . when the activation light 129 is applied to the piezoelectric element , free electrons are drawn to the surface of the conductive layer 126 that is nearest the piezoelectric element 124 . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 124 changes shape enough that the signal light 128 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 122 . the blocking of the signal light 128 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 128 exiting the signal channel 122 . the additional electrons near the piezoelectric material , which are associated with the conductive layer 126 , cause an increase in the electric field that is applied to the piezoelectric material of piezoelectric element 124 . the increase in the electrical field that is associated with the conductive layer 126 provides benefits that include , for example , increasing the magnitude of the change in shape of the piezoelectric element 124 , increasing the speed at which the piezoelectric element 124 changes shape , and / or reducing the amount of activation light required to achieve the desired shape change . fig7 illustrates the action of an electrical field 130 of the activation light 129 on the electrons of the conductive layer 126 of fig6 a and 6b . in fig7 , surface 132 is the surface of the conductive layer 126 nearest the activation light 129 and the surface 134 is the surface of the conductive layer 126 farthest from the activation light 129 . the comb - like structure in fig7 represents the electrical field under the influence of the conductive layer 126 . each tooth 136 of the comb - like structure represents a portion of the electrical field and some of the teeth have wide extensions 138 at their ends . these wide extensions 138 represent the larger field that is contributed by the charges that move in the conductive layer 126 that is adjacent to the piezoelectric element 124 . the charges that move in response to the electric field of the activation light 129 are represented by dashed lines 140 . when the electric field is negative the charges in the conductive layer 126 are driven away from the near surface 132 of the conductive layer and enhance the negative field . when the electric field is positive the charges in the conductive layer come to the near surface 132 of the conductive layer and enhance the electric field . if the conductive layer 126 is not present , no charges would move because piezoelectric materials are not conductors but dielectric materials . referring to fig7 , if the conductive layer 126 was removed leaving only a piezoelectric element ( not shown ), the teeth 136 on the comb like structure would have no extensions 138 on them . fig8 depicts an optical switch system 150 that includes a light activated optical switch 152 as described above with reference to fig1 a - 7 . the optical switch system 150 of fig8 also includes an activation light system 154 , which includes an activation light source 156 and an activation light controller 158 . the optical switch system 150 is optically connected to a signal light source 160 to receive a signal light 161 . in the embodiment of fig8 , the signal light 161 is provided to the optical switch 152 via a signal light path 162 and an activation light 163 is provided to the optical switch 152 via an activation light path 164 and the signal light path 162 . the signal light 161 and activation light 163 are combined at a coupler 166 . the output of the optical switch 152 goes through an output path 168 . the activation light system 154 controls the application of activation light 163 to the piezoelectric element ( not shown ) of the optical switch 152 . in the embodiment of fig8 , the activation light source 156 is a light source such as a light emitting diode ( led ) or a laser that generates an activation light with the desired characteristics , e . g ., the desired wavelength , intensity , phase of the activation light in relation to the other light in the signal channel , and polarization , and the activation light controller 158 controls the transmission of the activation light 163 from the activation light system . in an embodiment , the intensity of the activation light 163 must be great enough to sufficiently change the shape of the piezoelectric element of the optical switch 152 and in an embodiment , the intensity of the activation light 163 is greater than the intensity of the signal light 161 . the wavelength of the activation light 163 can be shorter or longer than the wavelength of the signal light 161 . as described above , if the wavelength of the activation light 163 is short enough , the activation light 163 may pass through the signal channel even when the piezoelectric element is activated and the signal light 163 is blocked . the activation light system 154 can be configured to provide the activation light 163 to the optical switch 152 in many different ways . for example , in one embodiment , the activation light 163 is switched on and off by a second light activated optical switch , in another embodiment the angle of a mirror is changed to provide the activation light 163 , in another embodiment , an led or laser is turned on / off , and in other embodiments , other switches may be employed to control the activation light 163 . the signal light source 160 generates the signal light 161 that is switched on and off by the optical switch 152 ( i . e ., allowed to pass through the optical switch 152 and blocked from passing through the optical switch 152 ). in an embodiment , the signal light source 160 is an optical transmitter that transmits digital data by modulating an optical signal ( e . g ., frequency or amplitude modulation ). in an embodiment , the signal light 161 that is output by the signal light source 160 is an optical signal that communicates digital data in some way ( e . g ., amplitude or frequency modulation , logic , etc .) while the activation light 163 that is output by the activation light source 156 does not communicate digital data . for example , the signal light 161 may carry digital data in a modulated light format while the activation light 163 is not modulated to carry digital data . in operation , the signal light 161 is provided to the optical switch 152 via the signal light source 160 and the application of the activation light 163 to the piezoelectric element of the optical switch 152 is controlled by the activation light system 154 . in one embodiment , the signal light 161 passes through the optical switch 152 when the activation light system 154 does not provide an activation light 163 to the optical switch 152 and is blocked from passing through the optical switch 152 when the activation light system 154 does provide an activation light 163 to the optical switch 152 . in the optical switches described with reference to fig1 a - 6b , the signal light and activation light are transmitted in the same signal channel . various techniques can be used to combine the signal light and the activation light into the same signal channel . fig9 depicts an embodiment of an optical switch 152 and an optical coupler 166 that is used to couple the signal light 161 and the activation light 163 into the same signal channel 122 . in the embodiment of fig9 , the signal light 161 travels in signal light path 162 , such as a signal fiber , and the activation light 163 travels in activation light path 164 , such as an activation fiber . the signal light 161 and activation light 163 are coupled into the signal channel 122 by the optical coupler 166 . it is appreciated that , although in the illustrated embodiment of fig9 an optical coupler is shown , other suitable techniques for coupling the signal light 161 and the activation light 163 into the same signal channel 122 can be used . fig1 a - 10e depict different embodiments of the light activated optical switches described above with reference to fig1 a - 9 . fig1 a depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 170 in which the piezoelectric element 172 has more than two layers 174 of piezoelectric material with different piezoelectric characteristics . in the illustrated embodiment of fig1 , the piezoelectric element 172 has four layers 174 of piezoelectric material . in one embodiment , the different layers 174 of piezoelectric material each have a different piezoelectric characteristic and in another embodiment , the different layers of piezoelectric material have alternating piezoelectric characteristics . it should be understood that the number and arrangement of piezoelectric layers 174 can include many different variations . fig1 b depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 176 in which a conductive layer 178 is sandwiched between two layers 180 of a piezoelectric element 182 . this embodiment allows the piezoelectric element 182 to be oriented by placing charges on the conductive layer 178 and causes the change in shape of each layer 180 of the piezoelectric element 182 to be enhanced because of the proximity of the piezoelectric layers 180 to the conductive layer 178 . fig1 c depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 184 in which multiple conductive layers 185 are sandwiched between multiple different layers 186 of the piezoelectric element 187 . in this example , the conductive layers 185 are alternately adhered between different layers 186 of the piezoelectric element 187 . the multiple layers 185 of conductive material between the piezoelectric layers 186 allow each layer 186 of piezoelectric material to be polarized individually to different orientations by applying a charge to the conductive layers 185 . this enables the action of the piezoelectric layers 186 working against each other to accentuate the change in shape of the piezoelectric element 187 . in general , the multiple conductive layers allow the hysteresis of the piezoelectric element to be managed . the multiple conductive layers allow a reduction in the temperature that the piezoelectric element must be raised to in order to change the orientation of the piezoelectric material . the multiple conductive layers allow the change in shape of the piezoelectric element to be enhanced . the multiple conductive layers allow the management of many mechanical , electrical , thermal , and other physical characteristics of the optical switch to be managed to make the optical switch easier to be constructed , maintained , and used . in an embodiment , the different layers of piezoelectric material and the conductive layers are formed in a monolithic stack structure . the monolithic stack structure can be formed , for example , using known semiconductor processing techniques , e . g ., crystal growth , metal deposition , sputtering , ion implantation , etc . in some cases , the hysteresis of a piezoelectric element can limit how quickly a light activated optical switch , which is made with a piezoelectric element , can be changed from one state to another . in an embodiment , a 3000 angstroms thick layer of lead zirconate titonate ( pzt ) is deposited on a substrate . the layer of pzt has a given percentage of lead and a given percentage of zirconium and titanium . next , a 3000 angstrom layer of pzt is deposited on the first layer , with this layer having more lead and zirconium while reducing the percentage of titanium on top of that . using these layers , the hysteresis that the resulting piezoelectric element displays is reduced in comparison to a piezoelectric element that does not include similar layers . if more alternating layers are deposited to build up a piezoelectric element , a quickly responding piezoelectric element can be fabricated . if all of this is deposited upon a conductive layer , the electric field of the activation light is enhanced to make a light activated optical switch that responds even faster . fig1 d depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 188 that includes a multilayer piezoelectric element 189 on one side of the signal channel 190 and conductive layers 191 on two sides of signal channel 190 . the response of the switch is enhanced by a multiplicity of conductive layers 191 . fig1 e depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 192 that includes a multilayer piezoelectric element 194 and a conductive layer 196 on two sides of a signal channel 198 . in an embodiment , fig1 e represents a cross - sectional view of an optical fiber that includes a piezoelectric element and a conductive layer formed in a band entirely around the circumference of the optical fiber . in this embodiment , the fiber is a compressible material . fig1 a depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 200 that includes a signal channel 202 , a piezoelectric element 204 , and a conductive layer 206 , where a portion of the signal channel includes a chamber 208 that is filled with a compressible material . the compressible material may be , for example , a gas such as argon or nitrogen or a material such as a petroleum distillate or a silicon rubber . the chamber 208 filled with the compressible material is adjacent to the piezoelectric element 204 such that the piezoelectric element 204 can expand into the chamber 208 when activated by an activation light . in an embodiment , the piezoelectric element 204 forms a portion of the chamber 208 . in an embodiment , at least a portion of the chamber 204 is formed by a transparent material . operation of the optical switch 200 depicted in fig1 a is now described with reference to fig1 a and 11b . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric element 204 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 204 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric element 204 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric element 204 is basically flat in the non - activated state and does not protrude into the chamber 208 . the flat shape of the piezoelectric element 204 allows a signal light 210 to pass through the signal channel 202 ( including the chamber 208 ) as indicated by the signal light 210 entering and exiting the signal channel 202 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric element 204 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 212 to the piezoelectric element 204 . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 212 is applied to the piezoelectric element 204 by directing the activation light 212 into the signal channel 202 in parallel with the signal light 210 . when the activation light 212 is applied to the piezoelectric element 204 , the piezoelectric element 204 protrudes into the chamber 208 , thereby compressing the compressible material within the chamber . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 204 changes enough that the signal light 210 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 202 . the blocking of the signal light 210 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 210 exiting the signal channel 202 . when the activation light 212 is removed from the signal channel 202 , the piezoelectric element 204 returns to its normal state allowing the signal light 210 to pass . in the absence of the activation light 212 , the pressure of the compressed material within the chamber 208 helps to return the piezoelectric element 204 to its normal state . fig1 a depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 220 that includes a signal channel 222 , a piezoelectric element 224 , and a conductive layer 226 adjacent to the piezoelectric element in which the signal channel 222 is an optical fiber and the piezoelectric element 224 and conductive layer 226 are formed in a band entirely around the circumference of the optical fiber . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric element 224 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 224 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric element 224 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric element 224 is basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric element 224 allows a signal light 230 to pass through the signal channel 222 as indicated by the signal light 230 entering and exiting the signal channel 222 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric element 224 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 232 to the piezoelectric element 224 . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 232 is applied to the piezoelectric element 224 by directing the activation light 232 into the signal channel 222 in parallel with the signal light 230 . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 224 changes enough that the signal light 230 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 222 . for example , the change in shape of the piezoelectric element 224 has the effect of squeezing the optical fiber like a belt to choke the passage of the signal light 230 . the blocking of the signal light 230 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 230 exiting the signal channel 222 . once the activation light 232 is removed from the signal channel 222 , the piezoelectric element 224 returns to its normal shape and the signal light 230 is able once again to pass through the signal channel 222 . fig1 a depicts an embodiment of a light activated optical switch 240 that includes a signal channel 242 , a piezoelectric element 244 , and a conductive layer 246 adjacent to the piezoelectric element 244 in which the piezoelectric element 244 is made of a transparent material and forms at least a portion of the signal channel 242 . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric element 244 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 244 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric element 244 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric element 244 is basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric element 244 allows a signal light 250 to pass through the signal channel 242 as indicated by the signal light 250 entering and exiting the signal channel 242 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric element 244 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 252 to the piezoelectric element . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 252 is applied to the piezoelectric element 244 by directing the activation light 252 into the signal channel 242 in parallel with the signal light 250 . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric element 244 changes enough that the signal light 250 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 242 . for example , the change in shape of the piezoelectric element 244 has the effect of squeezing the signal channel 242 like a belt to choke the passage of the signal light 250 . the blocking of the signal light 250 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 250 exiting the signal channel 242 . once the activation light 252 is removed from the signal channel 242 , the piezoelectric element 244 returns to its normal shape and the signal light 250 is able once again to pass through the signal channel 242 . in an embodiment , the piezoelectric element and the signal channel are configured relative to each other such that application of the activation light changes the state of the optical switch from off ( light is blocked ) to on ( light passes through the signal channel ) instead of from on to off . some piezoelectric materials have a crystal orientation that must be aligned with the electric field that will cause it to change shape . other piezoelectric materials can be heated up in a magnetic field and oriented to respond in the desired direction to the electric field that will be applied . in constructing a light activated optical switch , the orientation of the crystal or the magnetic orientation of the piezoelectric material should be directed to have the maximum shape change at right angles ( that is perpendicular ) to the direction of the signal light in the signal channel . in an embodiment , the electric field that triggers the switching is at right angles ( that is perpendicular ) to the path of the light in the light channel . a description of a desired interaction follows . the electric field in volts needed to activate a light activated optical switch is calculated using the power in watts of the light in the channel . the poynting vector equation which is written e =( 2μ o c p ) 1 / 2 is used to make this calculation . where μ o is 4 pi × 10e − 7 weber / amp - meter , c is 3 × 10e + 8 meters / second , e is the electric field in volts , and p is power in watts . using this relation , it is found that the voltage developed by a 150 - milliwatt signal in a fourth of a micron channel is 10 volts . in an embodiment , this voltage is employed to activate a light triggered optical switch to turn on or off the switch ( e . g ., allow the signal light to pass through the signal channel or to block the signal light from passing through the signal channel ). an example of the size change that 10 volts could cause is as follows : in a channel that is 2065 angstroms in height , 10 volts will change that size by 40 angstroms when lead zicronate titonate is used . lead zicronate titonate has a piezoelectric strain coefficient of 3 . 90 times 10e − 10 meters / volt . 818 nm light ( 8180 angstroms ), commonly used for fiber optics , will be able to travel in a channel just bigger than 2045 angstroms and will not travel down a channel smaller . when the 2065 angstroms channel changes to 2014 angstroms , the signal light will be blocked . light of 8056 angstroms wavelength or shorter could still pass through the signal channel . the light activated optical switch can be turned on or off at a rate in 10e − 11 seconds or faster . it makes use of effects that the electric and magnet fields of the light have on the medium through which the light travels . the equation for the attenuation ( a ) of the signal inside a wave - guide , which will give the decibels of attenuation per mile of travel for the signal is as follows : a =( k / a 3 / 2 )(( 1 / 2 )( f / f o ) 3 / 2 +( f / f o ) − 1 / 2 )/(( f / f o ) 2 − 1 ) − 1 / 2 eq . ( 1 ) the k is a constant for the material that the walls of the channel are made of ; the value of k is 821 . 3 for lead . since in an embodiment , only one wall of the optical switch is mostly lead , the optical switch may not follow exactly the graph of fig3 , but the graph is given for illustrative purposes . the lower case “ a ” in the equation is the length of a side of the wave - guide . the frequency ( f ) of the signal being considered is in ratio against the cutoff frequency ( f o ) in the channel . this equation is for the te 0 , 1 mode of wave propagation . in an embodiment , the sizes of the waveguides are chosen so that this is the only mode possible . as this relation is studied for shrinking waveguide dimensions for a given signal , the attenuation increases as the size of the signal channel shrinks and proceeds to infinity as the cutoff frequency is reached . this equation is on page 263 of radio engineers &# 39 ; handbook written by frederick terman , and published by mcgraw - hill book company , inc , 1943 . reference is now made to fig1 a , which illustrates an optical switch 300 that includes a signal channel 302 and a plurality of piezoelectric elements which are preferably unevenly spaced along the length of the signal channel 302 . in the illustrated embodiment three generally rectangular piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 are distributed along the length of the signal channel 302 with non - uniform spacing therebetween . the shape of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 is controlled by an activation light . the signal channel 302 guides the transmission of light within a confined area along a defined path . the signal channel 302 is formed by a light guiding structure , or combination of structures , which can guide light within a confined area along a defined path . structures that can form the signal channel include , for example , an optical fiber , substrates such as lithium niobate or other transparent piezoelectric materials that include a signal channel , an optical waveguide , and a chamber for holding a compressible material . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the signal channel 302 is preferably formed by a monolithic light guiding element . the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 are preferably formed of piezoelectric material . examples of piezoelectric material that can be used to form the piezoelectric elements include crystalline piezoelectric material such as quartz ( sio 2 ), lithium niobate ( linbo 3 ), lead zirconate ( pbzro 3 ), lead titanate ( pbtio 3 ), and lead zirconate titanate . examples of piezoelectric materials that can be oriented in a magnetic field are lead zirconate and lead titanate or lead zicronate titantae . quartz and lithium niobate are examples of transparent piezoelectric materials . the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 preferably each include at least two layers 307 and 308 of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics . the different piezoelectric characteristics of the different layers 307 and 308 may include , for example : 1 ) different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field ; 2 ) different responses to the same electrical field , for example , one of the layers expands in response to an electrical field having a first orientation and the other layer expands in response to an electrical field having a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation ; 3 ) different polarities ; 4 ) different strains ; 5 ) different hysteresis ; 6 ) different capacitances ; 7 ) different impedances ; 8 ) different resistivities ; 9 ) different thermal histories ; and 10 ) different electromagnetic histories . operation of the optical switch 300 depicted in fig1 a is now described with additional reference to fig1 b . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 are basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 allows a signal light 310 to pass through the signal channel 302 as indicated by the signal light 310 entering and exiting the signal channel 302 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 312 to the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 312 is applied to the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 by directing the activation light 312 into the signal channel 302 in parallel with the signal light 310 . the activation light 312 supplies an electrical field that effects the piezoelectric material . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 changes enough so that the signal light 310 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 302 . the blocking of the signal light 310 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 310 exiting the signal channel 302 . once the activation light 312 is removed from the signal channel 302 , the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 return to normal shape and the signal light 310 is able once again to pass through the signal channel 302 . as described above , activation of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 in response to the activation light 312 causes the shape of the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 to change , thereby causing at least one dimension of the signal channel 302 to change . fig1 a is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 302 and the piezoelectric element 305 of fig1 a when the piezoelectric element 305 is in a non - activated state . fig1 b is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 302 and the piezoelectric element 305 of fig1 b when the piezoelectric element 305 is in an activated state . in the activated state , the piezoelectric element 305 extends into the signal channel 302 and reduces at least one dimension of the signal channel 302 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 15b , the cross - sectional area of the signal channel 302 is smaller in the activated state ( fig1 b ) than it is in the non - activated state ( fig1 a ). as seen in the embodiment of fig1 a - 15b , there is still an opening in the signal channel 302 even when the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 are in the activated state . although there is still an opening in the signal channel 302 even when the piezoelectric elements 304 , 305 and 306 are in the activated state , the opening in the signal channel 302 is small enough that the signal light 310 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 302 . the ability of a signal light 310 to pass through the signal channel 302 is a function of the dimensions of the signal channel 302 and of the wavelength of the signal light 310 . in general , light having a shorter wavelength is able to pass through a signal channel 302 having a smaller dimension than light having a longer wavelength . reference is now made to fig1 a which illustrates an optical switch 400 that includes a signal channel 402 and a plurality of piezoelectric elements which are preferably unevenly spaced along the length of the signal channel 402 . in the illustrated embodiment , four generally circular cylindrical piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 are distributed along the length of the signal channel 402 with non - uniform spacing therebetween . the shape of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 is controlled by an activation light . the signal channel 402 guides the transmission of light within a confined area along a defined path . the signal channel is formed by a light guiding structure , or combination of structures , which can guide light within a confined area along a defined path . structures that can form the signal channel include , for example , an optical fiber , substrates such as lithium niobate or other transparent piezoelectric materials that include a signal channel , an optical waveguide , and a chamber for holding a compressible material . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the signal channel 402 is preferably formed by a monolithic light guiding element . the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 are preferably formed of piezoelectric material . examples of piezoelectric material that can be used to form the piezoelectric element include crystalline piezoelectric material such as quartz ( sio 2 ), lithium niobate ( linbo 3 ), lead zirconate ( pbzro 3 ), lead titanate ( pbtio 3 ), and lead zirconate titanate . examples of piezoelectric materials that can be oriented in a magnetic field are lead zirconate and lead titanate or lead zicronate titantae . quartz and lithium niobate are examples of transparent piezoelectric materials . the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 preferably each include at least two layers 408 and 409 of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics . the different piezoelectric characteristics of the different layers may include , for example : 1 ) different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field ; 2 ) different responses to the same electrical field , for example , one of the layers expands in response to an electrical field having a first orientation and the other layer expands in response to an electrical field having a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation ; 3 ) different polarities ; 4 ) different strains ; 5 ) different hysteresis ; 6 ) different capacitances ; 7 ) different impedances ; 8 ) different resistivities ; 9 ) different thermal histories ; and 10 ) different electromagnetic histories . operation of the optical switch 400 depicted in fig1 a is now described with additional reference to fig1 b . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 are basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 allows a signal light 410 to pass through the signal channel 402 as indicated by the signal light 410 entering and exiting the signal channel 402 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 412 to the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 412 is applied to the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 by directing the activation light 412 into the signal channel 402 in parallel with the signal light 410 . the activation light 412 supplies an electrical field that effects the piezoelectric material . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 changes enough so that the signal light 410 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 402 . the blocking of the signal light 410 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 410 exiting the signal channel 402 . once the activation light 412 is removed from the signal channel 402 , the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 return to normal shape and the signal light 410 is able once again to pass through the signal channel 402 . as described above , activation of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 in response to the activation light 412 causes the shape of the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 to change , thereby causing at least one dimension of the signal channel 402 to change . fig1 a is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 402 and the piezoelectric element 406 of fig1 a when the piezoelectric element 406 is in a non - activated state . fig1 b is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 402 and the piezoelectric element 406 of fig1 b when the piezoelectric element 406 is in an activated state . in the activated state , the piezoelectric element 406 extends into the signal channel 402 and reduces at least one dimension of the signal channel 402 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 17b , the cross - sectional area of the signal channel 402 is smaller in the activated state ( fig1 b ) than it is in the non - activated state ( fig1 a ). as seen in the embodiment of fig1 a - 17b , there is still an opening in the signal channel 402 even when the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 are in the activated state . although there is still an opening in the signal channel 402 even when the piezoelectric elements 404 , 405 , 406 and 407 are in the activated state , the opening in the signal channel 402 is small enough that the signal light 410 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 402 . the ability of a signal light 410 to pass through the signal channel 402 is a function of the dimensions of the signal channel 402 and of the wavelength of the signal light 410 . in general , light having a shorter wavelength is able to pass through a signal channel having a smaller dimension than light having a longer wavelength . reference is now made to fig1 a , which illustrates an optical switch 500 that includes a signal channel 502 and a plurality of piezoelectric element which are preferably unevenly spaced along the length of the signal channel 502 . in the illustrated embodiment three generally oval cylindrical piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 are distributed along the length of the signal channel 502 with non - uniform spacing therebetween . the shape of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 is controlled by an activation light . the signal channel 502 guides the transmission of light within a confined area along a defined path . the signal channel 502 is formed by a light guiding structure , or combination of structures , which can guide light within a confined area along a defined path . structures that can form the signal channel include , for example , an optical fiber , substrates such as lithium niobate or other transparent piezoelectric materials that include a signal channel , an optical waveguide , and a chamber for holding a compressible material . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the signal channel 502 is preferably formed by a monolithic light guiding element . the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 are preferably formed of piezoelectric material . examples of piezoelectric material that can be used to form the piezoelectric element include crystalline piezoelectric material such as quartz ( sio 2 ), lithium niobate ( linbo 3 ), lead zirconate ( pbzro 3 ), lead titanate ( pbtio 3 ), and lead zirconate titanate . examples of piezoelectric materials that can be oriented in a magnetic field are lead zirconate and lead titanate or lead zicronate titantae . quartz and lithium niobate are examples of transparent piezoelectric materials . the piezoelectric element 504 , 505 and 506 preferably each include at least two layers 507 and 508 of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics . the different piezoelectric characteristics of the different layers 507 and 508 may include , for example : 1 ) different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field ; 2 ) different responses to the same electrical field , for example , one of the layers expands in response to an electrical field having a first orientation and the other layer expands in response to an electrical field having a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation ; 3 ) different polarities ; 4 ) different strains ; 5 ) different hysteresis ; 6 ) different capacitances ; 7 ) different impedances ; 8 ) different resistivities ; 9 ) different thermal histories ; and 10 ) different electromagnetic histories . the piezoelectric characteristics of a piezoelectric material are a function of , for example : 1 ) the type of piezoelectric material ; 2 ) the crystal orientation of the piezoelectric material ; 3 ) doping levels within the piezoelectric material ; 4 ) the density of the piezoelectric material ; 5 ) the void density of the piezoelectric material ; 6 ) the chemical constituency of the piezoelectric material ; 7 ) the thermal history of the piezoelectric material ; 8 ) the electromagnetic history of the piezoelectric material . the desired piezoelectric characteristic of each layer of piezoelectric material can be achieved by , for example , manipulating one or more of the above - identified parameters . preferably , layers of piezoelectric material that exhibit different degrees of expansion and / or shrinkage in response to the same electrical field are integrated into a piezoelectric element to cause the piezoelectric element to change shape or bend in response to the activation light . for example , if two adjacent layers of a piezoelectric element , which are adhered to each other into a monolithic element , expand different amounts in response to the same activation light , the piezoelectric element will bend . in an embodiment , the piezoelectric element includes at least two layers of piezoelectric material , having different piezoelectric characteristics , which are formed as a monolithic element . for example , the piezoelectric element is formed by building layers of piezoelectric material on top of each other using semiconductor processing techniques , e . g ., crystal growth , deposition , sputtering , ion implantation , etc . in an embodiment , the layers of the piezoelectric element have different crystal orientations so that the two layers respond differently to the same electrical field . for example , the two layers have crystal orientations that are perpendicular to each other . in another embodiment , at least one of the layers of the piezoelectric element is made of an organic material . by using a piezoelectric element with layers of piezoelectric material having different piezoelectric characteristics , the response of the piezoelectric element can be selected to optimize on / off switching . for example , the piezoelectric characteristics of the layers can be selected to : 1 ) maximize the shape change of the piezoelectric element in response to the activation light ; 2 ) minimize hysteresis ; 3 ) reduce the amount of power required to change the shape of the piezoelectric element ; and 4 ) reduce the amount of heat generated by the switching technique . operation of the optical switch 500 depicted in fig1 a is now described with additional reference to fig1 b . fig1 a illustrates the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 in a non - activated state . in the non - activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 is unchanged from its normal state , where the normal state of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 is the state of the element in the absence of an activation light . in the embodiment of fig1 a , the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 are basically flat in the non - activated state . the flat shape of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 allows a signal light 510 to pass through the signal channel 502 as indicated by the signal light 510 entering and exiting the signal channel 502 . fig1 b illustrates the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 in an activated state that results from the application of an activation light 512 to the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 . in the embodiment of fig1 b , the activation light 512 is applied to the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 by directing the activation light 512 into the signal channel 502 in parallel with the signal light 510 . the activation light 512 supplies an electrical field that effects the piezoelectric material . in the activated state , the shape of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 change enough so that the signal light 510 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 502 . the blocking of the signal light 510 is indicated by the lack of the signal light 510 exiting the signal channel 502 . once the activation light 512 is removed from the signal channel 502 , the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 return to normal shape and the signal light 510 is able once again to pass through the signal channel 502 . as described above , activation of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 in response to the activation light 512 causes the shape of the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 to change , thereby causing at least one dimension of the signal channel 502 to change . fig1 a is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 502 and the piezoelectric element 505 of fig1 a when the piezoelectric element 505 is in a non - activated state . fig1 b is a cross - sectional view of the signal channel 502 and the piezoelectric element 505 of fig1 b when the piezoelectric element 505 is in an activated state . in the activated state , the piezoelectric element 505 extends into the signal channel 502 and reduces at least one dimension of the signal channel 502 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 19b , the cross - sectional area of the signal channel 502 is smaller in the activated state ( fig1 b ) than it is in the non - activated state ( fig1 a ). as seen in the embodiment of fig1 a - 19b , there is still an opening in the signal channel 502 even when the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 are in the activated state . although there is still an opening in the signal channel 502 even when the piezoelectric elements 504 , 505 and 506 are in the activated state , the opening in the signal channel 502 is small enough that the signal light 510 is blocked from passing through the signal channel 502 . the ability of a signal light 510 to pass through the signal channel 502 is a function of the dimensions of the signal channel 502 and of the wavelength of the signal light 510 . in general , light having a shorter wavelength is able to pass through a signal channel having a smaller dimension than light having a longer wavelength . it is appreciated that all computer logic can be done with three logic gates . these are the and , or , and nor logic gates . these handle digital signals in specific ways that are described using a truth table . the truth table gives the signal that will be output from the gate when specified signals are input into the gate . table 1 is a truth table for the logical and gate . the ones in the a and b input columns indicate that a digital signal pulse is entering the gate . the inputs can come in on the a input or the b input . only when an input signal is found on both the a input and b input does an output pulse result from the and gate . table 2 is a truth table for the logical or gate . when an input signal is found on either the a input and b input or both an output pulse results from the or gate . table 3 is a truth table for the logical nor gate . only when an input signal is not found on both the a input and b input does an output pulse result from the nor gate . a nor gate is often explained as an or gate with a not gate on its output . the logical not gate takes a signal and transforms it into its opposite . when there is a signal coming in , no signal is sent out , and when no signal is coming in , then a signal is sent out . in present computer circuits , three transistors may be used to make a logical and or a logical or gate for electrical digital signals . in present computer circuits , four transistors may be used to make a logical nor gate . transistors switch in 10e − 9 seconds . this determines how fast a computer can be made to function . present computers function on the flow of electronic digital signals not light signals . light signals are also called optical or photonic signals . the present invention includes and , or and nor logic gates based upon fiber optical switches that are actuated by light and not actuated by an electrical signal or transistor circuit . they require no battery , and if the correct switch is chosen , the gates can be made small enough for semiconductor size constraints . one example of a light activated optical switch is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 072 , 536 , which incorporated by reference herein . although one example of a light activated optical switch is identified , the logic gates can be formed using other type of light actuated optical switches . in an embodiment of the present invention , the light that carries the digital information for the logic is a 1500 nm wavelength signal as in commonly used in present fiber optic channels . this signal can be changed into a 750 nm signal by using a periodically poled lithium niobate ( ppln ) crystal that will double the frequency of the input signal . this frequency doubling makes the wavelength of the signal half of the original wavelength . the change to half of the wavelength is merely an example , as is ppln . other wave lengths and means could be used . with a different configuration ppln crystals can also produce 1500 nm wavelength light out of 750 nm light . generally a ppln element functions only for specific wavelengths and not for others at the same time . during these conversions , power is lost , but optical amplifiers can be used to boost the signal back up to necessary levels . for the present disclosure , the power boosting that is needed , will be included in the frequency doubling function . light can be in a fiber optic channel with light that is 180 degrees out of phase , and the electric field of the light will not be expressed . the light that is 180 degrees out of phase with it cancels the power of the light . reference is now made to fig2 , which is a schematic of a logical not gate 600 for fiber optic systems . in fig2 , an optical channel 601 , such as an optical fiber , brings in a 1500 nm signal that is needed by the logic gate 600 . an optical channel 603 , such as an optical fiber , that brings in the 1500 nm signal that will be changed by the logical not gate 600 . a wavelength reducer 605 doubles the frequency of the incoming signal so that it will be converted to a 750 nm signal , and it has incorporated in it any optical amplification function needed to prepare the signal to be useful after the frequency conversion is accomplished . optical channel 601 joins with the output of wavelength reducer 605 and enters optical switch 607 . optical switch 607 is a light activated optical switch as described above . optical switch 607 will allow the 1500 nm signal to be output until a 750 nm signal comes from the wavelength reducer 605 . when a 750 nm signal comes from wavelength reducer 605 , no signal is output from optical switch 607 . optical channel 609 provides the output signal from the logical not gate 600 . an output signal is only provided when no signal is input on optical channel 603 , thus providing a logical not gate . reference is now made to fig2 , which is a schematic of a logical and gate 610 . an optical channel 611 , such as an optical fiber , supplies a higher frequency wave length signal to an optical switch 612 to actuate switch 612 . optical channel 611 joins with the other fiber optic channels to enter optical switch 612 after the phase of the light in optical channel 611 is matched to the light entering a first logical input provided to the logical and gate 610 along an optical channel 614 , by phase matcher 616 . optical channel 614 divides , with half of the light going into a wavelength reducer 618 , then to phase matcher 616 and then joins with other optical channels to provide inputs to the optical switch 612 . the other half of the light in optical channel 614 is input directly into optical switch 612 . a second logical input is provided to the logical and gate 610 along an optical channel 620 . optical channel 620 divides , with half of the light going into a wavelength reducer 622 , then to phase matcher 624 and then joins with other optical channels to provide inputs to the optical switch 612 . the other half of the light in optical channel 614 is input directly into optical switch 612 . an optical channel 626 joins with the other fiber optic channels to provide inputs to optical switch 612 after the phase of the light in optical channel 626 is matched to the light of second logical input on optical channel 620 by phase matcher 624 . the output of the logical and gate 610 is provided along optical channel 628 , and provides and functionality as shown in table 1 . a phase shifter 629 is provided so that inputs from optical channels 614 and 620 will be mutually out of phase by 180 degrees . thus , optical switch 612 will open and provide an output signal when light is input along both optical channels 614 and 620 and will be closed and no output signal will be provided when light is only input on one of channels 614 and 620 . it is appreciated that no output signal will be provided when there is no light input on either of channels 614 and 620 . thus , the present invention provides a logical and gate wherein digital signal lights coming into the first and second data inputs are divided into two channels one of which the wavelength is shortened and the phase is matched to switch activation signals . additionally , a logical and gate is provided where in the activation light that is phase matched to the shortened wavelength signal that goes into the optical switch and only opens to let a data signal out of the gate when a data signal is received into both inputs thereby satisfying the requirements of a logical and gate . reference is now made to fig2 , which is a schematic illustration of a logical and gate 630 that uses two light activated optical switches 632 and 634 to handle the digital light signal data . a first logical input signal of 1500 nm light is provided to the logical and gate 630 along an optical channel 636 and a second logical input signal of 1500 nm light is provided to the logical and gate 630 along an optical channel 638 . a first optical channel 640 , such as an optical fiber , supplies an actuation signal of 1500 nm light to optical switch 632 and a second optical channel 642 supplies an actuation signal of 1500 nm light to optical switch 634 . a first and second wavelength reducer 642 and 646 double the frequency of the 1500 nm light so that it becomes 750 nm light . the power is also boosted up to the level needed to activate a light activated optical switch after the frequency is doubled . optical switches have been designed to activate with an activation light power of 150 milliwatts . one half of the digital light signal output by wavelength reducers 642 and 646 along an optical channel 647 is provided to a light absorber 648 the other half of the light signal output from wavelength reducers 642 and 646 joins with the optical signal input on optical channel 640 , which is needed to make the logical and gate 630 work . optical switch 632 will allow the 1500 nm signal on optical channel 640 to pass through it until a 750 nm signal strong enough to close it is input to an optical channel 650 . this will occur when a 1500 nm signal comes in to the gate on optical channels 636 and 638 . an optical channel 652 provides the output signal from switch 632 to a wavelength reducer 654 . wavelength reducer 654 doubles the frequency of the 1500 min signal output by optical switch 632 along optical channel 652 . optical channel 642 provides a 1500 nm signal into the logical and gate 630 and joins it with the output of wavelength reducer 654 . optical switch 634 will allow the 1500 nm signal from optical channel 642 to exit the switch as long as no signal is output from optical switch 632 via wavelength reducer 654 . when there is only a signal entering on one of optical channels 636 and 638 , the 750 nm signal input into optical switch 632 is not sufficient to make switch 632 close and stop the flow of 1500 nm light from optical channel 640 . when a signal is provided on both optical channels 636 and 638 , the signal is sufficient to turn off the 1500 nm signal from optical channel 640 . as long as the signal from optical channel 640 is output from switch 632 there will be no signal provided from optical switch 634 . only when a 1500 nm signal is provided on both optical channels 636 and 638 does the source light from optical channel 640 get turned off by optical switch 632 and only then is the input provided by optical channel 642 output from switch 634 , thus providing a logical and gate , with an output of 1500 nm light only when a 1500 nm signal is provided on both optical channels 636 and 638 . this logical and gate operates as in table 1 . it is appreciated that the change to half of the wavelength is provided merely as an example . other wave lengths and means could be used . thus , the present invention provides a logical and gate wherein the wavelength of the two input signals are immediately shortened and divided to provide light for the activation of optical switches . also provided is a logical and gate wherein light with the wavelength shortened actuates a switch once a data signal enter both inputs of the gate that sends a data wavelength signal that is supplied to a second optical switch . the wavelength of the output signal is increased to be an actuating signal for second optical switch assuring that a data signal only leaves the logical and gate when two inputs come into the two data ports of the gate there by satisfying the requirements of an logical and gate . reference is now made to fig2 , which is a schematic illustration of a logical or gate 700 . a first logical input signal of 1500 nm light is provided to the logical or gate 700 along an optical channel 702 and a second logical input signal of 1500 nm light is provided to the logical and gate 700 along an optical channel 704 . an optical channel 706 provides a source of 750 nm light that feeds an optical switch 708 . optical switch 708 will remain closed and no output 1500 nm signal will be provided unless the 750 nm signal from optical channel 706 is canceled . a first and second wavelength reducer 710 and 712 double the frequency of the 1500 mm signals provided along optical channels 702 and 704 so they become 750 nm signals . an optical amplifier integrated into the device boosts the power lost in the change of the frequency up again to a useful level . optical channel 714 carries the 750 nm signal output from wavelength reducer 710 to a phase matcher 716 . the phase matcher 716 makes the phase of the 750 nm signal from along optical channel 714 to be in phase with the source signal of 750 nm light along optical channel 706 . an optical channel 718 provides the output from wavelength reducer 712 to a phase matcher 720 . the phase matcher 720 makes the phase of the signal along optical channel 718 to be in phase with the source signal of 750 nm light along optical channel 706 . optical channels 722 and 724 provide half of the light from the phase matchers 716 and 720 , respectively , to light absorbers 726 and 728 . phase shifters 730 are half wave length paths that put the signals from optical channels 702 and 704 180 degrees out of phase with the light along optical channel ; 706 that they have been specifically phase matched with . when they mix with the light along optical channel 706 they will cancel half of it out . an optical channel 732 carries the 750 nm source light from phase matcher 720 , and joins it with the signals from phase shifters 730 and an optical channel 740 , which is a source of 1500 nm light that will flow out of switch 708 until a signal of sufficient power comes from optical channel 706 to shut it off . the signal is output from switch 708 along an optical channel 742 , thus providing a logical or gate . as long as the source of 750 nm light from optical channel 706 is fed into switch 708 no signal from source of 1500 nm light from optical channel 740 will be allowed to come out of the logical or gate , but if a signal comes into either optical channel 702 or 704 then the light from optical channel 706 will be canceled to half power and a 1500 nm signal will be allowed to come out of the logical or gate . in addition , if a signal is provided on both optical channels 702 and 704 they will be of sufficient power together to totally cancel the source of 750 nm light from optical channel 706 , resulting in an output signal being provided by the logical or gate 700 . the last paragraph explained how the logical or gate disclosed herein fulfills the requirements of the logical or gate truth table seen in table 2 . when a signal is provided along optical channel 702 or 704 or both then a 1500 nm signal comes out of the logical or gate 700 . by providing a logical not gate , as described in fig2 , on the output of a logical or gate , described in fig2 , a logical nor gate is made , which will function as the truth table shone in table 3 . reference is now made to fig2 , which is an alternative logical or gate 800 . lines 802 and 804 are optical channels or fibers that provide the optical digital signals a and b coming into the gate . these are 1500 nm light signals . lines 806 and 807 are sources of 1500 nm light for the function of the logical or gate . wavelength reducers 808 and 810 are frequency doublers that also boost the power of the light to levels that can activate a light activated optical switch after the frequency is doubled . line 812 is a network of optical channels or fibers that carry the signals a and b from wavelength reducers 808 and 810 and combine with the signal from line 806 and carry all this into power limiter 814 . power limiter 814 allows power levels to pass on that are below a certain maximum . lines numbered 818 are optical channels or fibers that carry signals from power limiter 814 to switch 816 to wavelength reducer 820 . switch 816 is a light activated optical switch . wavelength reducer 820 doubles the frequency of the signal coming out of switch 816 . switch 830 is a light activated optical switch . line 807 is an optical channel or fiber that brings a 1500 nm signal to combine with the output of wavelength reducer 820 and carry it on to switch 830 . as long as there is a signal from wavelength reducer 820 no signal will come out of switch 830 . when a 1500 nm signal enters from line 802 ( the a signal ) it is converted to 750 nm light in reducer 808 and passes through power limiter 814 unchanged and turns off the 1500 nm signal from line 806 in switch 816 . so , no signal goes on to turn off the signal from line 807 and the or gate sends out a signal . when a signal comes from line 804 ( the b signal ) passing through reducer 810 ( doubling the frequency ), power limiter 814 to switch 816 , and no signal from 806 goes on to turn off switch 830 . this allows a signal to go from line 807 out of the gate through switch 830 . if signals come from both lines 802 and 804 , then the double output of the reducers 808 and 810 is limited by limiter 814 to be appropriate for shutting off the signal from line 806 in switch 816 . this will allow the signal from line 807 to exit the logical or gate . when a signal comes in to a or b or both then a 1500 nm signal comes out of the logical or gate . this then functions as truth table in table 2 proscribes , which describes the function of a logical , or gate . a logic gate providing or functionality and wherein the at least one optical switch includes first and second optical switches and wherein the signal light has a wavelength greater than that of the activation light , the logic gate also including first and second logic inputs receiving signal light inputs , a first wavelength modifier operative to decrease the wavelength of the light along the first light input to the wavelength of the activation light ; a second wavelength modifier operative to decrease the wavelength of the light along the second light input to the wavelength of the activation light ; first and second light conduits supplying wavelength modified light from the first and second wavelength modifiers ; a power limiter receiving light from the first wavelength modifier and second wavelength modifier via the respective first and second light conduits and being operative to maintain light output therefrom at a predetermined power level ; a third light conduit supplying power limited light from the power limiter to the first optical switch ; a third wavelength modifier receiving signal light from the first optical switch and being operative to decrease the wavelength of the light to the wavelength of the activation light ; and a fourth light conduit supplying light from the third wavelength modifier to the second optical switch . reference is now made to fig2 , which is a schematic of a logical or gate 900 . optical channel 902 provides a first input to the logical gate 900 . optical channel is a fiber optic channel that carries the light signal into the logic gate where it is divided in half . half of the light is taken to a frequency increasing device numbered 905 . from frequency increasing device 905 the light proceeds through a half wave path numbered 906 that makes the light from 905 out of phase with the light it will meet from frequency increasing device 908 . the light from the half wave path 906 then combines with the light of the logic gate to inter optical switch 910 . the other half of the light from line 902 , which is logical input a joins with the other light of the logic gate to enter optical switch 910 . line 904 is input b to the logic gate . line 904 is a fiber optic channel that carries the light signal into the logic gate where it is divided in half . half of the light is taken into a frequency increasing device numbered 908 . the light from frequency increasing device numbered 908 then combines with the other light in the logic gate to inter the optical switch numbered 910 . the other half of the light from line 904 joins with the other light of the logic device to inter optical switch 910 . line 912 is the output of the logical or device . a logic gate providing or functionality and wherein the at least one optical switch includes a single optical switch and wherein the signal light has a wavelength greater than that of the activation light , the logic gate also including first and second logic inputs receiving signal light , a first light conduit receiving a first portion of the signal light received at the first logic input , a second light conduit receiving a second portion of the signal light received at the first logic input , a third light conduit receiving a first portion of the signal light received at the second logic input , a fourth light conduit receiving a second portion of the signal light received at the second logic input , a first wavelength modifier operative to decrease the wavelength of the light along the second light conduit to the wavelength of the activation light , a second wavelength modifier operative to decrease the wavelength of the light along the fourth light conduit to the wavelength of the activation light and a phase shifter operative to cause wavelength modified light from the first wavelength modifier to be out of phase by 180 degrees with respect to the light from the second wavelength modifier , the optical switch receiving light from the first and third light conduits , the second wavelength modifier and the phase shifter . a logical nor gate that functions as the truth table in table 3 shows is made by putting the logical not gate of fig2 on the output of the logical or gate of fig2 or 25 . although some examples of logic gates , which utilize light activated optical switches , are described , other embodiments of and , or , nor and not logic gates can be produced using light activated optical switches . it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited by what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove . rather the invention includes both combinations and subcombinations of various features described hereinabove as well as modifications thereof which would occur to persons skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing description and which are not in the prior art . | 6 |
fig1 a shows a measuring apparatus 10 for measurement of a filling level of a liquid surface 20 , for example in a container , in a simplified way . the measuring apparatus 10 comprises a measurement arm 12 with a first region 14 and a second region 16 . the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 protrudes towards the liquid surface 20 in this case . for this purpose , for example a float element 18 can be mounted on the remote end of the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 , which produces a coupling between the level of the liquid surface 20 and a deflection movement of the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 . in the event of a change of the liquid surface 20 , a displacement of the float element 18 is produced that triggers an angular displacement of the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 . the first region 14 of the measurement arm encloses an angle , for example of 90 °, with the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 in this case . in this way , a rotary movement of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 occurs in the event of an angular displacement of the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 . the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 is rotatably supported in a first bearing 22 . the measurement arm 12 comprises a magnet element 24 on its end in its first region 14 . the magnet element 24 is rotationally fixedly connected to the end of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 , so that a rotary movement of the magnet element 24 occurs during a rotational displacement of the measurement arm 12 . said rotation of the magnet element 24 is detected by a magnetically sensitive element 26 from change of the magnetic field in the surroundings of the magnet element 24 caused hereby . the magnetically sensitive element 26 produces electrical signals 27 during this , which can be processed by a connected analysis unit ( not shown ) for example . the magnetically sensitive sensor 26 is fixedly connected to a housing 28 in this case . in the example shown here , the housing 28 comprises a first side 30 of the housing 28 , which is opposite a second side 32 of the housing 28 . the housing 28 forms an intermediate space 34 or a chamber with its first side 30 and its second side 32 . the magnet element 24 as well as the magnetically sensitive element 26 are disposed in the intermediate space 34 . the housing 28 comprises a stable , rigid shape in its design and owing to its material . this is used for a supporting function or a holding function , in order to enable a defined spatial arrangement of the significant components of the measuring apparatus 10 . the first bearing 22 is disposed on the first side 30 of the housing 28 , so that the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 is rotatably supported . in this way the end of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 , on which the magnet element 24 is mounted , is disposed in the intermediate space 34 . a second end of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 , which is connected to the second region 16 of the measurement arm 12 , is located outside of the intermediate space 34 . with this design , without the further elements mentioned below the supporting forces that occur would only be absorbed by the first bearing 22 . this would possibly result in disadvantageous friction or wear events in the first bearing 22 . therefore , a second bearing 36 that is spatially separate from the first bearing 22 is disposed on the second side 32 of the housing 28 . said second bearing 36 forms a common rotation axis 38 with the first bearing 22 . in order to enable a so - called end of shaft arrangement of the magnet element 24 on the measurement arm 12 , a connecting piece 40 is provided to take up the supporting forces , being rotationally fixedly connected to the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 at a first end 42 of the connecting piece 40 . the connecting piece 40 is supported at a second end 44 in the second bearing 36 . in the example represented here , the connecting piece 40 is designed to be curved or u - shaped in order to spatially circumvent the region of the magnet element 24 and of the magnetically sensitive element 26 and to enable a second bearing point that is spatially separate from the first bearing 22 by means of supporting the second end 44 of the connecting piece 40 in the second bearing 36 . the advantageous force distribution of the supporting forces of the measurement arm 12 on the housing 28 can be enabled hereby . smaller leverage forces act transversely to the rotation axis 38 owing to the spatial separation of the two bearings 22 , 36 . this can improve the operating life as well as the play or tolerances of the bearings 22 , 36 . in the example shown here , the second end 44 of the connecting piece 40 comprises an end region that extends along the rotation axis 38 and is supported in the bearing 36 . owing to said design , a gap 46 between the magnet element 24 and the magnetically sensitive element 26 that is advantageous for accurate measurement can be enabled . this can increase the accuracy of the measurement results . an example of a measuring apparatus 10 is shown in fig1 b , which shows an alternative design variant of the measuring apparatus 10 according to the invention . the measuring apparatus 10 represented in said example is similar in its implementation to the example represented in fig1 a . in contrast to the exemplary embodiment that is shown in fig1 a , the connecting piece 40 is supported on a casing surface in the bearing 36 . furthermore , in the example that is shown in fig1 b , the connecting piece 40 is connected at its first end 42 to the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 outside of the housing 28 and outside of the intermediate space 34 . the axes of the first bearing 22 and of the second bearing 36 lie on the common rotation axis 38 in this case . fig2 shows a further exemplary embodiment of a measuring apparatus for the measurement of a filling level of a container . a measurement arm 12 has a shape that is angled by 90 ° and is disposed in a first bearing 22 on a first side 30 of a housing 28 . a magnet element 24 is enclosed by a connecting piece 40 and is supported thereby . this can be achieved by casting or gluing the magnet element 24 in the connecting piece 40 for example . one end of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 is rotationally fixedly connected to the connecting piece 40 in the region of the intermediate space 34 between the first side 30 of the housing and the second side 32 of the housing . owing to the respective rotationally fixed connection of the measurement arm 12 to the connecting piece 40 as well as the likewise rotationally fixed connection of the connecting piece 40 to the magnet element 24 , an intermediate space is enabled between the end of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 and the magnet element 24 . this can have advantageous effects owing to the resulting reduced magnetic interactions between the mainly metallic measurement arm 12 and the magnet element 24 . the connecting piece 40 comprises an approximately u - shaped form and is supported at its second end 44 in a second bearing 36 on the outside of the second side 32 of the housing 28 . in this way , a gap 46 is produced between the magnet element 24 and the second side 32 of the housing . a magnetically sensitive element 26 is disposed on or in the second side 32 of the housing 28 in the vicinity of and at the level of the rotation axis 38 . the magnetically sensitive element 26 can be a sensor based on the hall effect here for example . for example , a centre point of the magnetically sensitive element 26 lies opposite a magnetic centre point of the magnet element 24 on the rotation axis 38 . the connecting piece 40 comprises a third segment 50 that is connected to the measurement arm 12 in the example shown here and can for example comprise the stabilizing element 48 . a second segment 54 is used to support the connecting piece 40 on the second bearing 36 . a first segment 52 of the connecting piece 40 protrudes into the intermediate space 34 . the connecting piece 40 comprises a recess 56 in the region of the first bearing 22 . in this case the recess 56 is dimensioned so that it encloses the bearing 22 at a distance . in addition , in the example shown here a stabilizing element 48 is provided that rotationally fixedly connects the connecting piece 40 to the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 and in its further extent additionally connects the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 to the second region 16 of the measurement arm by means of a separate spatial connection . in this way , bending and / or torsion of the measurement arm 12 caused by the displacement of the measurement arm 12 can be reduced , in particular in the vicinity of the first region 14 of the measurement arm 12 . in one example , the housing 28 consists of a plastic . in a further example , the bearing surface of the first bearing 22 and / or of the second bearing 36 comprises a metal . for example , for this purpose metal casings can be mounted in the interior of the bearing in order for example to be able to use different materials for the bearing surfaces and the housing 28 . in one example , the second bearing 36 comprises a metal on its bearing surfaces on the housing side and the connecting piece 40 is made of a plastic , for example in the region of the bearing . in a further example , the connecting piece 40 comprises a different material in the region of the first bearing 22 and / or in the region of the second bearing 36 from the material in the remaining region of the connecting piece 40 . this can be advantageous in order to achieve smaller tolerances and greater durability in the region of the bearing owing to harder materials for example . in addition , it is to be noted that “ comprising ” does not exclude other elements or steps and “ a ” or “ one ” does not exclude any number . further , it is to be noted that features or steps that are described with reference to one of the above exemplary embodiments can also be used in combination with other features or steps of other exemplary embodiments described above . reference characters in the claims are not to be considered as limiting . | 6 |
fig1 is a perspective view of a duralock scrubber attachment showing the removable portion 50 from a mop head holder . the removable portion 50 has a mounting back plate 53 having a pair of fingers 51 that extend into the mop head holder and a hole where the mop handle passes through the holding ring 62 . the back plate has a rigid plate structure 57 that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle . one or more flexible joints 58 connect the back plate 53 to a brush , pad or securing plate 59 . the securing plate 59 has a plurality of apertures 170 . the brush or scrubber securing plate 59 bends or flexes on the flexible joint 58 . stiffening ribs 52 on the scrubber securing plate 59 are for structural purposes . in this embodiment , a replaceable scrubber plate 93 supports an abrasive surface 91 . in other embodiments , the scrubber plate 93 bristles or other surfaces . the replaceable scrubber plate 93 has a plurality of projections 157 that engage into the apertures 170 in the plate 59 . fig2 is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an assembled orientation and fig3 is a plan view of the mop handle and mop head holder in an unassembled orientation . the entire mopping apparatus 35 has a handle portion 30 that is removable from the lower section . the mop handle 30 has a coupling 31 with a key 34 that maintains the proper orientation of the handle to the mop head holder 20 . the shaft 30 of the handle extends through the coupling 31 where the lower portion of the handle 32 secures into the mop head holder at 23 . the mop head holder portion 20 has a threaded coupling 21 that secures in the coupling 31 in the handle . the mop head holder has sockets 22 where the fingers 51 ( shown in fig1 ) engage for securing . the lower portion of the handle 32 fits through the threaded coupling 21 , then through the holding ring 62 ( shown in fig1 ), and then into the mop head holder at 23 to secure the mop head holder and the duralock scrubber attachment . a release lever 24 may be incorporated to remove the mop 80 from the handle . fig4 is the duralock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a first orientation and fig5 is the duralock scrubber attachment on the mop handle being used in a second orientation . in both figures , the flexible joint 58 is shown bending with the mop strands 80 to use the brush 85 as shown in fig5 or to keep the brush 85 away from the surface 99 , in fig4 . in fig5 , the tilted position for floor scrubbing by bristle group 85 engages with surface 99 . note that handle 30 can be tilted substantially horizontally or vertically . connection plate section 53 allows the removable connection between the duralock that connects to the mop head holder 20 . because this is an interchangeable / replaceable component , a cleaning person can switch between a duralock brush 85 and a different duralock attachment of a different scrubbing material . the head mop strands 80 also engage the surface 99 . the scrubber securing plate 59 supports the brush bristles 85 in a flat structure . the duralock scrubber attachment is shown secured to the lower mop handle 32 through the threaded coupling 21 , then through the holding ring 62 into the mop head holder 23 with fingers 51 engaged in the mop head holder sockets 22 . the backing plate 59 includes a plurality of structural ribs 52 that are engaged with the mop head . fig6 is a side perspective view of the duralock scrubber attachment and fig7 is an opposite side perspective view of the duralock scrubber attachment showing the pad / bristles or other scrubbing material securing side . the replaceable scrubber plate 93 has a plurality of projections 157 that engage into the apertures 170 in the plate 59 . the removable portion 50 has a mounting back plate 53 having a pair of fingers 51 that extend into the mop head holder 20 and a holding ring 62 where the mop handle passes the holding ring . the back plate 53 has a rigid plate structure that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle . one or more flexible joints 58 connect the back plate 53 to a scrubber securing plate 59 . the scrubber securing plate 59 bends or flexes on the flexible joint 58 . in this embodiment , the scrubber plate 59 has no flexible joints . in other embodiments , the scrubber securing plate 59 may be comprised of multiple flexible joints . stiffening ribs 52 on the scrubber securing plate 59 are for structural purposes . the underside 92 of the scrubber securing plate 59 is where scrubbing materials would be glued , fused , staple set or otherwise attached or where a plate 154 containing scrubbing elements ( as in fig8 ) would be connected . the apertures 170 of the plate 154 are visible extending through the removable portion 50 . fig8 is a side view of an embodiment where the scrubbing materials , either abrasive pads or bristles or the like are glued , fused , staple set or otherwise attached to a plate , which is then attached removably to the scrubber securing plate 59 . the apertures 170 in scrubber securing plate 59 receive projections 157 carried by a plate 164 a . the bristle 85 plate 164 a is attached to scrubber securing plate 59 , wherein projections 157 extend through apertures 170 in scrubber securing plate 59 . while a particular connection between the mop head holder and the duralock element is shown , and described , the components can take various other configurations for securing the components and the connection features can be placed on either side of the mop head holder . further , while one flexible joint is shown on the duralock replaceable scrubbing element , it is contemplated that more than one flexible joint can be incorporated into the plate 59 and the flexible joint described as 58 . fig9 is an exploded view of the duralock scraper attachments 40 and 70 . the attachments include the head unit 70 that secures to the mop handle . the mop handle passes through hole 63 . the removable portion 70 has a mounting back plate having a pair of fingers 51 that extend into the mop head holder and a hole 62 where the mop handle passes through the holding ring . the back plate 70 has a rigid plate structure that maintains a parallel relationship with the mop handle . the back plate 70 has an outer rim or wall 71 with a recessed pocket 72 . within the pocket 72 is a plurality of retention features 73 or hooks . the pocket 72 and the retention features secure a variety of interchangeable components . in this figure , the interchangeable component is a floor scraper 40 . the floor scraper 40 has a face 44 with an outer wall 41 that fits within the recessed pocket 72 . the scraper 40 has an angled surface that bends through radius 45 . the bend places the scraper at an optimal angle . the floor scraper 40 terminates at an edge 39 that engages on a floor surface to remove gum or other debris that has attached to a floor . the floor scraper 40 has complementary securing features 43 that engage in the securing features in the back plate 70 . the top securing features 43 exist on a tab 42 that flexes to lock into the back plate 70 . a finger tab 46 allows for bending the tab 42 to remove the floor scraper 40 from the back plate 70 . the floor scraper 40 is preferably made of plastic or metal . fig1 is a perspective view of the duralock mounting back plate 70 or head unit and fig1 is an alternate perspective view of the duralock mounting base 70 . from these figures the recess pocket 72 is shown with the structural rim or lip 71 extending around the recessed pocket 72 . the structural rim 62 that supports the mop pole through the hole 63 is shown in both figures . the pair of fingers 51 or protrusions are shown extending from the back plate . in fig1 , the securing hooks 73 are visible , and in fig1 , the opening 74 that forms the hooks is visible . fig1 is perspective view of the duralock scraper 40 . the floor scraper 40 has a face 49 with an outer wall 41 . the scraper 40 has an angled surface that bends through radius 45 . the bend places the scraper at an optimal angle . the floor scraper 40 terminates at an edge 39 that engages on a floor surface to remove gum or other debris that has attached to a floor . the floor scraper 40 has complementary securing features 43 that engage in the securing features in the back plate . the top securing features 43 exist on a tab 42 that flexes to lock into the back plate . a finger tab 46 allows for bending the tab 42 to remove the floor scraper 40 from the back plate . elevated tabs 47 have securing locks 48 that temporally locks the floor scraper 40 on the back plate . the floor scraper 40 has structural ribs 54 to help the scraper to maintain a rigid scraping edge 39 to remove gum or other stuck debris from a floor . fig1 is as assembled view of the duralock scraper attachment installed in the mounting base with a mop handle 32 that extends through the hole in the holding ring 62 . this view of the scraper 39 shows additional structural ribs 56 to reduce bending on the support structure of the scraper . this figure shows that the tab 46 is lifted 55 to bend the locking tabs out of the way and allow the scraper to be removed from the back plate . this allows a worker to install , replace and remove the scraper . the scraper provides minimal interference of the mop . from the figures in this disclosure provide for providing a duralock scrubber attachment 50 that is securable to a mop handle 32 having a mop head holding section which has a hole 63 where the mop handle 32 passes . the duralock scrubber attachment 50 has one or more fingers 51 in the back plate 53 that is configured to engage in sockets 22 of the mop head holder and a hole 63 whereby the mop handle 32 passes . the duralock scrubber attachment 50 has at least one flexible joint 58 between the back plate 53 and the one or more engaging fingers 51 and a scrubber securing plate 52 . the backing securing plate 52 supports a replaceable scrubber plate 93 wherein scrubbing materials are attached or wherein another plate containing scrubbing materials is attached . the scrubbing element is provided as a floor scrubber , and the replaceable scrubber plate 93 has locking feature 157 that temporally secures the replaceable scrubber plate 93 to the backing plate 59 . the locking feature is a plurality of apertures 170 in the backing plate 52 . the locking feature is a plurality of protrusions 157 in the replaceable scrubber plate 93 . the floor scrubber 93 is selected from a group consisting of bristles 85 , pads 91 or other abrasive materials . the bristles 85 have supporting portions fused to a base 154 defined by the device . the scrubber defines projecting floor scrubbing 85 elements . the flexible joint 85 is a living hinge . the flexing joint is positioned ( as shown in fig5 ) to support the replaceable scrubber plate 59 by the mop handle 30 . fig4 shows that the flexible joint 58 flexes above the mop head . the backing plate 59 includes a plurality of structural ribs 52 that are engaged with the mop head . the duralock scraping attachment has interchangeable surface scraping capability , that includes a scraping attachment 40 that can be secured to a mop handle 32 having a mop head holding section 70 which has a hole 63 where the mop handle 32 passes . the mop head holding section 70 has one or more fingers 51 in the back plate 72 configured to engage in sockets 22 of the mop head holder and a hole 63 whereby the mop handle 32 passes . the scraping attachment 40 has a securing head unit that extends from the hole 63 . the securing head 70 supports a replaceable scraping element 40 that is removably secured to the securing head 70 . the scraping element 40 provides a floor scraper in the form of a plate attached by a flexing bend 45 that extends away from the mop head . the back plate 70 has a recess 72 . the backing plate 70 has a supporting rib structure 71 that extends around the recess 72 . the supporting structure rib 71 has a plurality of securing hooks 73 . the replaceable scaping element 40 has a plurality of complimentary locks 48 that temporarily retain the replaceable scraping element 40 in the securing head 70 . the replaceable scraping element 40 has a back plate 44 and an outer rim 41 , and the outer rim 41 engages into the supporting rib structure 71 of the backing plate 70 . the replaceable scraping element 40 has a flexible tab 46 that is articulated 55 to release the replaceable scraping element 40 from the backing plate 70 . the replaceable scraping element 40 has a scraping edge 39 that flairs from the securing head 70 . the replaceable scraping element 40 has a plurality of structural ribs 54 , 56 that extend through the flexing bend 45 . the replaceable scraping element is made of plastic or metal . fig1 shows an alternate embodiment of the duralock scrubber attachment on the mounting base . it should be understood that the connection between the back plate 70 can be applied to other quick disconnect and replaceable brushes , scrubbers and other attachments like the embodiment of the flexible attachment 50 b , in this figure , with the replaceable scrubber plate 93 that has been previously shown and described . thus , specific embodiments of a replaceable scrubbing and scaping element attachable to a mop handle have been disclosed . it should be apparent , however , to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein . the inventive subject matter , therefore , is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims . | 0 |
referring to the drawings and initially to fig9 there is shown diagrammatically a system for cutting a substantially horizontal passage into a coal seam 100 . fig9 shows a vertical bore 101 extending through the coal seam . a whipstock apparatus 104 is positioned in the bore and in a pre - formed cavity 105 . whipstock apparatus 104 has a main body 106 sized to allow the whipstock to be inserted into the bore . an extendible arm 107 is attached to the main body portion , and the arm can be hydraulically erected to adopt a horizontal orientation ( other angles are also possible ). the fluid drilling apparatus 108 which is the subject of the current application can be housed in the arm 107 , such that when the arm is erected , the apparatus can start cutting a bore in the coal seam . the flexible hose 109 is pulled along by the apparatus , with the hose passing through the whipstock , up the bore and which can be unrolled from a drum 110 on the surface . the flexibility of the hose 109 allows it to pass through a quite tight radius , which in turn allows the whipstock to be compact . once the fluid drilling apparatus has cut a desired length of bore , it can be wound back into the arm 107 , the arm can be retracted , and the whipstock containing the drilling apparatus can be raised to the surface . the system finds particular use in forming long methane drainage bores in coal . fig1 shows a detail of the whipstock apparatus 104 . the erectable arm 107 has fluid cutting nozzles 111 to cut a slot in the bore as the arm is erected . it should be appreciated that the fluid drilling system is not limited to use with a whipstock , and can be used alone or with other apparatus . referring to fig1 there is illustrated a fluid cutting apparatus 10 . apparatus 10 is formed from a number of separate but interconnectable sub members . the leading sub member 11 comprises a protective housing . the protective housing has a rear substantially hollow tubular portion 12 and a forward cage portion 13 . inside housing 11 is located a woma fr47 or like type of self - rotating high pressure nozzle assembly 40 which is available commercially ( see fig4 and 7 ). the nozzle assembly is fitted to a boss 40 a and comprises a spindle 40 b on which a spinning nozzle 40 c sits . nozzle 40 c has forwardly extending cutting jets 41 and side reaming jets 42 . jets 41 , 42 operate at pressures of between 10000 - 15000 psi . nozzle 40 c is attached to spindle via a pin 40 d which is captured in an annular groove 40 e in the spindle . cage portion 13 allows the cutting jets and the reaming jets to cut a passageway through solid material ( such as a coal seam ), with the cage portion protecting the nozzle against damage and stalling . in fig3 cage portion 13 has a step 14 which is positioned immediately behind the reaming nozzles of the woma unit . step 14 aims the reaming jets onto protrusions on the borehole wall which catch on the step and prevent the nozzle from advancing . the reaming jets are then able to remove the protrusions and hence will allow the drilling apparatus 10 to advance fig2 illustrates a different type of cage portion 13 a without the step . immediately behind housing 11 is an intermediate sub member 16 which is substantially hollow and can contain sensors , guidance systems and the like . in addition , the sub member is cylindrical in shape , thereby providing a symmetry to the nozzle which assists in drilling straighter holes . the cylindrical shape also effectively reduces the annulus between the nozzle and the borehole wall through which the water and coal cuttings have to pass . high pressure water passes through internal pipe 43 and to the woma fr47 nozzle . if the borehole diameter gets too small , then this water and cuttings cannot escape past the nozzle fast enough . this leads to an increase in pressure in front of the nozzle to a level at which the nozzle is pushed back against the force of the retro jets . this effectively allows the cutting and reaming jets another opportunity to cut the borehole and increase its diameter . in this manner a more consistent borehole diameter is achieved . connected to member 16 is a rear retro jet sub member 19 which is more clearly illustrated in fig5 . retro jet sub member 19 has four retro jets 20 - 23 evenly spaced about a tail end of the member . each retro jet comprises a channel machined or otherwise formed into the sub member 19 . a nozzle ( not shown ) is positioned in a corresponding socket 24 inside the retro jet sub member 19 and adjacent the channel . the socket and therefore nozzle is in fluid communication with the interior of retro jet submember 19 through channels 25 . the nozzles are angled at an optimum 5 ° to the horizontal to clear the attached trailing flexible hose and to provide a good forward thrust to the apparatus . water passes through the nozzles at 1000 - 20000 psi . a proportion of high pressure fluid passing into retro jet sub member 19 will therefore pass out through nozzles positioned in the sockets 24 to provide a forward thrust to the drilling apparatus 10 . a flexible drilling string ( not shown ) is attached at the rear portion 26 of retro jet sub member 19 . high pressure fluid can pass through the flexible drill string and into and along cutting apparatus 10 . the drill string functions as a conduit for the high pressure fluid but is too flexible to provide any meaningful forward thrust to the fluid cutter . the flexibility makes the drill string ideal for passing through tight curves , for instance with a whipstock , and surfactants are not required . in use , high pressure fluid such as water is passed through the flexible drill string and passes into and through the apparatus 10 . the high pressure fluid powers the woma self - rotating nozzle and also the retro jets . in a further form , a guidance system for steering the nozzle through the coal seam can be incorporated into the apparatus . the guidance system is designed to provide a continuous and real time indication of the nozzles attitude and position allowing an operator to steer the nozzle by computer control on the surface . the guidance system consists of the following components : a survey instrument which determines the location of the nozzle in 3 - d space , a single core wireline to transmit information between the nozzle and the surface a computer and display monitor which calculate and display information relating to the nozzles trajectory , and a steering mechanism located on the nozzle to control the direction of advancement hence maintain a desired trajectory . the survey instrumentation may consist of a tri - axial array of fluxgate magnetometers and accelerometers . the magnetometers are used to determine the azimuth which the nozzle is pointing relative to magnetic north . the accelerometers are used to determine the inclination of the nozzle along its longitudinal axis , and the clock face orientation of the nozzle . the output from the magnetometers and accelerometers is collected and processed by a processing chip located in the body of the nozzle . this information is then transmitted to the surface in binary form along the single core wireline . the wireline will be either built into the high pressure hose braiding , attached to the outside of the hose or threaded through the centre of the hose . on the surface the wireline unit is connected to a computer which downloads the signal from the nozzle , processes the information and calculates the azimuth , inclination and clock face orientation of the nozzle in real time . this information is then displayed on a computer monitor allowing the operator to view the nozzles trajectory and compare this with the desired trajectory . if the nozzle is deviating from the desired trajectory by a significant amount then the operator can activate the nozzle steering mechanism by using the computer keyboard . the operator enters in the desired change in direction . the computer determines how best to effect the change in direction and a signal is sent down the wireline to the processing chip in the nozzle . the chip activates the steering mechanism and the borehole trajectory is changed . the steering mechanism consists of a slip ring 30 ( see fig6 ) which is mounted in a circumferential groove located behind the retro jets . a protrusion in the form of a plate 31 designed to deflect a retro jet towards the borehole wall is mounted on the slip ring . an actuator stepping motor inside the assembly is used to rotate the slip ring such that the deflector plate is positioned behind the appropriate jet for the desired directional change . the forces generated by deflecting the appropriate retro jet steer the nozzle towards the desired direction . referring to fig8 there is shown a variation in the cutting assembly . the cutting assembly 50 again includes a forward cage portion 51 , an intermediate body 52 and a retro jet unit 53 , the retro jet unit 53 and the forward cage 51 being substantially the same as described above . intermediate body 52 contains four internal stud bars 54 - 57 which extend longitudinally along and inside intermediate body 52 . the stud bars form a support for additional components such as electronic surveying instrumentation . the instrumentation is moulded into epoxy resin and sealed in a canister for protection . the instrument package is mounted in such a manner that it slides onto the four stud bars . the drilling head boss 59 is the cap to the canister and allows attachment of the fr47 nozzle or the like to the assembly . the arrangement is tensioned using nuts which are screwed into the stud bar and the tensioning also seals the assembly together using nylon or similar bushes . step cage 51 can then be located over the fr47 nozzle . in this arrangement , the internal water pipe 60 is placed to one side along internal body 52 to provide room for the instrument package . the flexible hose which is attached to the cutting apparatus is a high pressure flexible hose which is sufficiently flexible to allow it to be withdrawn from the bore hole . the hose is also sufficiently flexible to allow it to be deviated by a whipstock . the flexible hose is not designed to act as a pusher to the cutting apparatus , the cutting apparatus being self - advancing via the retro jets . thus , the flexible hose is different to coiled tubing which can be bent past its elastic limit ( for instance past a whipstock ), but cannot be retrieved without difficulty and is usually cut - off electrochemically . in the embodiment , the hose is formed from an inner core being polyoxymethylene and polyamide . four spiral layers of high tensile steel wire are wrapped around the inner core to provide pressure reinforcement . the outer core is a polyamide . the flexible hose is available commercially under the polyflex high pressure hose ™. in a further form the steering mechanism uses side “ thruster ” jets to change the direction of the borehole . these jets are activated by solenoid controlled high pressure valves . in examples , fifty - four non - deflected holes and seven holes with the drill string being deflected through a 0 . 3 m radius were drilled with the high pressure waterjet drilling nozzle according to the invention . various pump pressures , cage types and nozzle orifice sizes were trialled to determine the optimum operating parameters for the nozzle . on the basis of the results of trials , an optimum combination for drilling is a pump pressure of 115 mpa , a fluid flow rate of 234 liters per minute , and 1 . 0 mm and 1 . 2 mm diameter cutting and reaming jets on the woma fr47 self - rotating nozzle and 1 . 2 mm diameter orifice for the retro jets . a stepped cage shielding the fr47 nozzle creates a smoother borehole and more consistent borehole diameter . an example of this nozzle combination was a borehole which penetrated one hundred and ninety - four meters in a total time of 42 minutes when drilling a non - deflected borehole . a further example was a borehole that penetrated one hundred and ninety - two meters in a total time of 97 minutes with the drill string negotiating an ultra - short - radius turn of 0 . 3 m . note there is no requirement to stop drilling to couple drill strings with this system . in both the above cases , drilling was ceased because these were the limit of available drill string at that time . the hole diameter was about 110 mm . it is apparent that drilling rates are 10 times that of the known system which uses the weight of the drill string to advance the fluid cutter . it should be appreciated that various other changes and modifications may be made to the embodiment described without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . | 4 |
fig1 is a schematic view of an exemplary embodiment of a drug cartridge 1 prior to priming . the cartridge 1 comprises a cylindrical body 1 . 1 having a closed front wall 1 . 2 with an opening or septum to which a tubing 2 can be removably fitted and an open rear end 1 . 3 . a stopper 3 is slidably disposed within the cylindrical body 1 . 1 . a cavity for storing a medicament , e . g . insulin , is thus defined within the cylindrical body 1 . 1 between the closed front wall 1 . 2 and the stopper 3 . the stopper 3 fluid tightly seals this cavity and displaces the medicament from the cavity when being moved towards the closed front wall 1 . 2 . in an exemplary embodiment , an end of the tubing 2 opposite the one fitted to the opening of the closed front wall 1 . 2 is equipped with a cannula 4 or other infusion member adapted to be inserted into an injection site such as a user &# 39 ; s skin . in an exemplary embodiment , the cylindrical body 1 . 1 comprises or consists of glass . in other embodiments , the cylindrical body 1 . 1 may comprise or consist of plastics or another suitable material . in an exemplary embodiment , in an initial state , the stopper 3 of the pre - filled cartridge 1 is partially disposed within the body 1 . 1 such that the stopper 3 protrudes from the rear end 1 . 3 of the body 1 . 1 by an extension e . in order to prime the cartridge 1 , the rear end 1 . 3 of the cartridge 1 with the protruding stopper 3 may be pushed against a surface , e . g . a desk . a break - loose force between the stopper 3 and an inner wall of the cylindrical body 1 . 1 is thus overcome , i . e . the cartridge 1 is primed , and the stopper 3 is moved within the body 1 . 1 until the stopper 3 is flush with the rear end . fig2 is a schematic view of the drug cartridge 1 after priming . if the cartridge 1 is then inserted into a drug delivery device ( not illustrated ) the stopper 3 may be moved much easier as the break - loose force increases over a long storage time . in an exemplary embodiment , the extension e of the stopper 3 is such that when the cartridge 1 is being pushed against the surface until the rear end 1 . 3 abuts the surface , the stopper 3 is moved within the body 1 . 1 towards the front wall 1 . 2 by such a distance that a predetermined volume v of medicament is displaced from the cartridge 1 sufficient to fill the tubing 2 and the cannula 4 , which a user may have attached to the cartridge 1 prior to this , thereby displacing air from the tubing 2 and the cannula 4 . the volume v of medicament to be displaced for priming depends on the internal volume of the tubing 2 and the cannula 4 . a movement d of the stopper 2 required to displace this volume v is given by wherein b is an internal diameter of the body 1 . 1 of the cartridge 1 . the extension e of the stopper 3 may be such that a somewhat larger movement d of the stopper 3 is caused in order to account for filling tolerances of different cartridges 1 which may result in varying initial positions of the stopper 3 in different cartridges 1 . in an exemplary embodiment , the predetermined volume v of medicament to be displaced for priming may be 1 ml . the term “ drug ” or “ medicament ”, as used herein , means a pharmaceutical formulation containing at least one pharmaceutically active compound , wherein in one embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound has a molecular weight up to 1500 da and / or is a peptide , a protein , a polysaccharide , a vaccine , a dna , a rna , an enzyme , an antibody or a fragment thereof , a hormone or an oligonucleotide , or a mixture of the above - mentioned pharmaceutically active compound , wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound is useful for the treatment and / or prophylaxis of diabetes mellitus or complications associated with diabetes mellitus such as diabetic retinopathy , thromboembolism disorders such as deep vein or pulmonary thromboembolism , acute coronary syndrome ( acs ), angina , myocardial infarction , cancer , macular degeneration , inflammation , hay fever , atherosclerosis and / or rheumatoid arthritis , wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound comprises at least one peptide for the treatment and / or prophylaxis of diabetes mellitus or complications associated with diabetes mellitus such as diabetic retinopathy , wherein in a further embodiment the pharmaceutically active compound comprises at least one human insulin or a human insulin analogue or derivative , glucagon - like peptide ( glp - 1 ) or an analogue or derivative thereof , or exendin - 3 or exendin - 4 or an analogue or derivative of exendin - 3 or exendin - 4 . insulin analogues are for example gly ( a21 ), arg ( b31 ), arg ( b32 ) human insulin ; lys ( b3 ), glu ( b29 ) human insulin ; lys ( b28 ), pro ( b29 ) human insulin ; asp ( b28 ) human insulin ; human insulin , wherein proline in position b28 is replaced by asp , lys , leu , val or ala and wherein in position b29 lys may be replaced by pro ; ala ( b26 ) human insulin ; des ( b28 - b30 ) human insulin ; des ( b27 ) human insulin and des ( b30 ) human insulin . insulin derivates are for example b29 - n - myristoyl - des ( b30 ) human insulin ; b29 - n - palmitoyl - des ( b30 ) human insulin ; b29 - n - myristoyl human insulin ; b29 - n - palmitoyl human insulin ; b28 - n - myristoyl lysb28prob29 human insulin ; b28 - n - palmitoyl - lysb28prob29 human insulin ; b30 - n - myristoyl - thrb29lysb30 human insulin ; b30 - n - palmitoyl - thrb29lysb30 human insulin ; b29 - n -( n - palmitoyl - y - glutamyl )- des ( b30 ) human insulin ; b29 - n -( n - lithocholyl - y - glutamyl )- des ( b30 ) human insulin ; b29 - n -( ω - carboxyheptadecanoyl )- des ( b30 ) human insulin and b29 - n -( ω - carboxyheptadecanoyl ) human insulin . exendin - 4 for example means exendin - 4 ( 1 - 39 ), a peptide of the sequence h - his - gly - glu - gly - thr - phe - thr - ser - asp - leu - ser - lys - gln - met - glu - glu - glu - ala - val - arg - leu - phe - ile - glu - trp - leu - lys - asn - gly - gly - pro - ser - ser - gly - ala - pro - pro - pro - ser - nh2 . exendin - 4 derivatives are , for example , selected from the following list of compounds : wherein the group - lys6 - nh2 may be bound to the c - terminus of the exendin - 4 derivative ; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate of any one of the afore - mentioned exendin - 4 derivative . hormones are for example hypophysis hormones or hypothalamus hormones or regulatory active peptides and their antagonists as listed in rote liste , ed . 2008 , chapter 50 , such as gonadotropine ( follitropin , lutropin , choriongonadotropin , menotropin ), somatropine ( somatropin ), desmopressin , terlipressin , gonadorelin , triptorelin , leuprorelin , buserelin , nafarelin , goserelin . a polysaccharide is for example a glucosaminoglycane , a hyaluronic acid , a heparin , a low molecular weight heparin or an ultra - low molecular weight heparin or a derivative thereof , or a sulphated , e . g . a poly - sulphated form of the above - mentioned polysaccharides , and / or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof . an example of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a poly - sulphated low molecular weight heparin is enoxaparin sodium . antibodies are globular plasma proteins (˜ 150 kda ) that are also known as immunoglobulins which share a basic structure . as they have sugar chains added to amino acid residues , they are glycoproteins . the basic functional unit of each antibody is an immunoglobulin ( ig ) monomer ( containing only one ig unit ); secreted antibodies can also be dimeric with two ig units as with iga , tetrameric with four ig units like teleost fish igm , or pentameric with five ig units , like mammalian igm . the ig monomer is a “ y ”- shaped molecule that consists of four polypeptide chains ; two identical heavy chains and two identical light chains connected by disulfide bonds between cysteine residues . each heavy chain is about 440 amino acids long ; each light chain is about 220 amino acids long . heavy and light chains each contain intrachain disulfide bonds , which stabilize their folding . each chain is composed of structural domains called ig domains . these domains contain about 70 - 110 amino acids and are classified into different categories ( for example , variable or v , and constant or c ) according to their size and function . they have a characteristic immunoglobulin fold in which two β sheets create a “ sandwich ” shape , held together by interactions between conserved cysteines and other charged amino acids . there are five types of mammalian ig heavy chain denoted by α , δ , ε , γ , and μ . the type of heavy chain present defines the isotype of antibody ; these chains are found in iga , igd , ige , igg , and igm antibodies , respectively . distinct heavy chains differ in size and composition ; α and γ contain approximately 450 amino acids and δ approximately 500 amino acids , while μ and ε have approximately 550 amino acids . each heavy chain has two regions , the constant region ( ch ) and the variable region ( vh ). in one species , the constant region is essentially identical in all antibodies of the same isotype , but differs in antibodies of different isotypes . heavy chains γ , α and δ have a constant region composed of three tandem ig domains , and a hinge region for added flexibility ; heavy chains μ and e have a constant region composed of four immunoglobulin domains . the variable region of the heavy chain differs in antibodies produced by different b cells , but is the same for all antibodies produced by a single b cell or b cell clone . the variable region of each heavy chain is approximately 110 amino acids long and is composed of a single ig domain . in mammals , there are two types of immunoglobulin light chain denoted by λ and κ . a light chain has two successive domains : one constant domain ( cl ) and one variable domain ( vl ). the approximate length of a light chain is 211 to 217 amino acids . each antibody contains two light chains that are always identical ; only one type of light chain , κ or λ , is present per antibody in mammals . although the general structure of all antibodies is very similar , the unique property of a given antibody is determined by the variable ( v ) regions , as detailed above . more specifically , variable loops , three on the light ( vl ) and three on the heavy ( vh ) chain , are responsible for binding to the antigen , i . e . for its antigen specificity . these loops are referred to as the complementarity determining regions ( cdrs ). because cdrs from both vh and vl domains contribute to the antigen - binding site , it is the combination of the heavy and the light chains , and not either alone , that determines the final antigen specificity . an “ antibody fragment ” contains at least one antigen binding fragment as defined above , and exhibits essentially the same function and specificity as the complete antibody of which the fragment is derived from . limited proteolytic digestion with papain cleaves the ig prototype into three fragments . two identical amino terminal fragments , each containing one entire l chain and about half an h chain , are the antigen binding fragments ( fab ). the third fragment , similar in size but containing the carboxyl terminal half of both heavy chains with their interchain disulfide bond , is the crystalizable fragment ( fc ). the fc contains carbohydrates , complement - binding , and fcr - binding sites . limited pepsin digestion yields a single f ( ab ′) 2 fragment containing both fab pieces and the hinge region , including the h - h interchain disulfide bond . f ( ab ′) 2 is divalent for antigen binding . the disulfide bond of f ( ab ′) 2 may be cleaved in order to obtain fab ′. moreover , the variable regions of the heavy and light chains can be fused together to form a single chain variable fragment ( scfv ). pharmaceutically acceptable salts are for example acid addition salts and basic salts . acid addition salts are e . g . hcl or hbr salts . basic salts are e . g . salts having a cation selected from alkali or alkaline , e . g . na +, or k +, or ca2 +, or an ammonium ion n +( r1 )( r2 )( r3 )( r4 ), wherein r1 to r4 independently of each other mean : hydrogen , an optionally substituted c1 - c6 - alkyl group , an optionally substituted c2 - c6 - alkenyl group , an optionally substituted c6 - c10 - aryl group , or an optionally substituted c6 - c10 - heteroaryl group . further examples of pharmaceutically acceptable salts are described in “ remington &# 39 ; s pharmaceutical sciences ” 17 . ed . alfonso r . gennaro ( ed . ), mark publishing company , easton , pa ., u . s . a ., 1985 and in encyclopedia of pharmaceutical technology . those of skill in the art will understand that modifications ( additions and / or removals ) of various components of the apparatuses , methods and / or systems and embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the full scope and spirit of the present invention , which encompass such modifications and any and all equivalents thereof . | 0 |
fig3 shows steps of a line detection algorithm in accordance with a preferred embodiment . at step 302 , a spatial scale parameter σ and a filter kernel size n k are selected in manner similar to that of step 202 of fig2 . however , in a line detection system according to a preferred embodiment , it is possible to make these factors larger than with the prior art system of fig2 while not increasing the computational intensity of the algorithm . alternatively , in a line detection system according to a preferred embodiment , these factors may remain the same as with the prior art system of fig2 and the computational intensity of the algorithm will be reduced . as a further alternative , in a line detection system according to a preferred embodiment , it is possible to detect lines using a greater number of different spatial scales of interest σ while not increasing the computational intensity of the algorithm . at step 304 , the digital mammogram image i is convolved with a two - dimensional single - peaked filter f having dimensions n k × n k to form a filtered image array i f as shown in eq . ( 5 ): by single - peaked filter , it is meant that the filter f is a function with a single maximum point or single maximum region . examples of such a filter include the gaussian , but may also include other filter kernels such as a butterworth filter , an inverted triangle or parabola , or a flat “ pillbox ” function . it has been found , however , that a gaussian filter is the most preferable . the size of the single - peaked filter f is dictated by the spatial scale parameter σ . for example , where a gaussian filter is used , σ is the standard deviation of the gaussian , and where a flat pillbox function is used , σ corresponds to the radius of the pillbox . in subsequent steps it is assumed that a gaussian filter is used , although the algorithm may be adapted by one skilled in the art to use other filters . at step 306 , the filtered image array i f is then separately convolved with second order directional derivative operators . in accordance with a preferred embodiment , it is computationally advantageous to compute four directional derivatives at 0 , 45 , 90 , and 135 degrees by convolving filtered image array i f with second order directional derivative operators d 2 ( 0 ), d 2 ( 45 ), d 2 ( 90 ), and d 2 ( 135 ) to produce the line operator function w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ), respectively , as shown in eqs . ( 6a )-( 6d ). advantageously , because the particular directions of 0 , 45 , 90 , and 135 degrees are chosen , these directional derivative operators are permitted to consist of the small 3 × 3 kernels shown in eqs . ( 7a )-( 7d ): d 2 ( 0 ) = 0 0 0 - 1 2 - 1 0 0 0 ( 7a ) d 2 ( 45 ) = 0 0 - 1 0 2 0 - 1 0 0 ( 7b ) d 2 ( 90 ) = 0 - 1 0 0 2 0 0 - 1 0 ( 7c ) d 2 ( 135 ) = - 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 1 ( 7d ) the above 3 × 3 second order directional derivative operators are preferred , as they result in fewer computations than larger second order directional derivative operators while still providing a good estimate of the second order directional derivative when convolved with the filtered image array i f . however , the scope of the preferred embodiments is not necessarily so limited , it being understood that larger operators for estimating the second order directional derivatives may be used if a larger number of computations is determined to be acceptable . for a minimal number of computations in accordance with a preferred embodiment , however , 3 × 3 kernels are used . subsequent steps are based on an estimation function w σ ( θ ) that can be formed from the arrays w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ) by adapting the formulas in koenderink , supra , for four estimators spaced at intervals of 45 degrees . the resulting formula is shown below in eq . ( 8 ). w σ ( θ )= ¼ {( 1 + 2 cos ( 2θ )) w σ ( 0 )+( 1 + 2 sin )( 2θ )) w σ ( 45 )+( 1 − 2 cos )( 2θ )) w σ ( 90 )+( 1 − 2 sin )( 2θ )) w σ ( 135 )} ( 8 ) it has been found that the extrema of the estimation function w σ ( θ ) with respect to θ , denoted θ min , max at a given pixel ( i , j ) is given by eq . ( 9 ): θ min , max = ½ [ arc tan {( w σ ( 45 )− w σ ( 135 ))/( w σ ( 0 )− w σ ( 90 ))}± π ] ( 9 ) at step 308 , the expression of eq . ( 9 ) is computed for each pixel . of the two solutions to equation ( 4 ), the direction θ max is then selected as the solution that yields the larger magnitude for w σ ( θ ) at that pixel , denoted as the line intensity w σ ( θ max ). thus , at step 308 , an array θ max ( i , j ) is formed that constitutes the direction image corresponding to the digital mammogram image i . as an outcome of this process , a corresponding two - dimensional array of line intensities corresponding to the maximum direction θ max at each pixel is formed , denoted as the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ). at step 310 , a line image array l ( i , j ) is formed using information derived from the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ) that was inherently generated during step 308 . the line image array l ( i , j ) is formed from the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ) using known methods such as a simple thresholding process or a modified thresholding process based on a histogram of the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ). with the completion of the line image array l ( i , j ) and the direction image array θ max ( i , j ), the line detection process is complete . fig4 illustrates unique computational steps corresponding to the step 306 of fig3 . at step 306 , the filtered image array i f is convolved with the second order directional derivative operators d 2 ( 0 ), d 2 ( 45 ), d 2 ( 90 ), and d 2 ( 135 ) shown in eq . ( 7 ). an advantage of the use of the small 3 × 3 kernels d 2 ( 0 ), d 2 ( 45 ), d 2 ( 90 ), and d 2 ( 135 ) evidences itself in the convolution operations corresponding to step 306 . in particular , because each of the directional derivative operators has only 3 nonzero elements − 1 , 2 , and − 1 , general multiplies are not necessary at all in step 306 , as the multiplication by 2 just corresponds to a single left bitwise register shift and the multiplications by − 1 are simply sign inversions . indeed , each convolution operation of eq . ( 6 ) can be simply carried out at each pixel by a single bitwise left register shift followed by two subtractions of neighboring pixel values from the shifted result . thus , at step 402 each pixel in the filtered image array i f is doubled to produce the doubled filtered image array 2i f . this can be achieved through a multiplication by 2 or , as discussed above , a single bitwise left register shift . at step 404 , at each pixel ( i , j ) in the array 2i f , the value of i f ( i − 1 , j ) is subtracted , and at step 406 , the value of i f ( i + 1 , j ) is subtracted , the result being equal to the desired convolution result i f * d 2 ( 0 ) at pixel ( i , j ). similarly , at step 408 , at each pixel ( i , j ) in the array 2i f , the value of i f ( i − 1 , j − 1 ) is subtracted , and at step 410 , the value of i f ( i + 1 , j + 1 ) is subtracted , the result being equal to the desired convolution result i f * d 2 ( 45 ) at pixel ( i , j ). similarly , at step 412 , at each pixel ( i , j ) in the array 2i f , the value of i f ( i , j − 1 ) is subtracted , and at step 414 , the value of i f ( i , j + 1 ) is subtracted , the result being equal to the desired convolution result i f * d 2 ( 90 ) at pixel ( i , j ). finally , at step 416 , at each pixel ( i , j ) in the array 2i f , the value of i f ( i + 1 , j − 1 ) is subtracted , and at step 418 , the value of i f ( i − 1 , j + 1 ) is subtracted , the result being equal to the desired convolution result i f * d 2 ( 135 ) at pixel ( i , j ). the steps 406 - 418 are preferably carried out in the parallel fashion shown in fig4 but can generally be carried out in any order . thus , it is to be appreciated that in the embodiment of fig3 and 4 a line detection algorithm is executed using four line operator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ) while at the same time using fewer computations than the karssemeijer algorithm of fig2 which uses only three line operator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 60 ), w σ ( 120 ). in accordance with a preferred embodiment , the algorithm of fig3 and 4 takes advantage of the interchangeability of the derivative and convolution operations while also taking advantage of the finding that second order directional derivative operators in each of the four directions 0 , 45 , 90 , and 135 degrees may be implemented using small 3 × 3 kernels each having only three nonzero elements − 1 , 2 , and − 1 . in the karssemeijer algorithm of fig2 there are three convolutions of the m × n digital mammogram image i with the n k × n k kernels , requiring approximately 3 ·( n k ) 2 · m · n multiplications and adds to derive the three line estimator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 60 ), and w σ ( 120 ). however , in the embodiment of fig3 and 4 , the computation of the four line estimator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ) requires a first convolution requiring ( n k ) 2 · m · n multiplications , followed by m · n doubling operations and 8 · m · n subtractions , which is a very significant computational advantage . the remaining portions of the different algorithms take approximately the same amount of computations once the line estimator functions are computed . for illustrative purposes in comparing the algorithm of fig3 and 4 with the prior art karssemeijer algorithm of fig2 let us assume that the operations of addition , subtraction , and register - shifting operation take 10 clock cycles each , while the process of multiplication takes 30 clock cycles . let us further assume that an exemplary digital mammogram of m × n = 1000 × 1250 is used and that n k is 11 . for comparison purposes , it is most useful to look at the operations associated with the required convolutions , as they require the majority of computational time . for this set of parameters , the karssemeijer algorithm would require 3 ( 11 ) 2 ( 1000 )( 1250 )( 30 + 10 )= 18 . 2 billion clock cycles to compute the three line estimator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 60 ), and w σ ( 120 ). in contrast , the algorithm of fig3 and 4 would require only ( 11 ) 2 ( 1000 )( 1250 )( 30 + 10 )+( 1250 )( 1000 )( 10 )+ 8 ( 1250 )( 1000 )( 10 )= 6 . 2 billion clock cycles to generate the four line operator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ), a significant computational advantage . fig5 shows steps of a line detection algorithm in accordance with another preferred embodiment . it has been found that the algorithm of fig3 and 4 can be made even more computationally efficient where the single - peaked filter kernel f is selected to be separable . generally speaking , a separable kernel can be expressed as a convolution of two kernels of lesser dimensions , such as one - dimensional kernels . thus , the n k × n k filter kernel f ( i , j ) is separable where it can be formed as a convolution of an n k × 1 kernel f x ( i ) and a 1 × n k kernel f y ( j ), i . e ., f ( i , j )= f x ( i )* f y ( j ). as known in the art , an n k × 1 kernel is analogous to a row vector of length n k while a 1 × n k kernel is analogous to a column vector of length n k . although a variety of single - peaked functions are within the scope of the preferred embodiments , the most optimal function has been found to be the gaussian function of eq . ( 1 ), supra . for purposes of the embodiment of fig5 and without limiting the scope of the preferred embodiments , the filter kernel notation f will be replaced by the notation g to indicate that a gaussian filter is being used : g = ( 1 / 2 π σ 2 ) exp ( - x 2 / 2 σ 2 ) exp ( - y 2 / 2 σ 2 ) = g x * g y ( 10 ) g x = [ g x , 0 g x , 1 g x , 2 ⋯ g x , n k - 1 ] ( 11 ) g y = [ g y , 0 g y , 1 g y , 2 ⋮ g y , n k - 1 ] ( 12 ) at step 502 , the parameters σ and n k are selected in a manner similar to step 302 of fig3 . it is preferable for n k to be selected as an odd number , so that a one - dimensional gaussian kernel of length n k may be symmetric about its central element . at step 504 , the m × n digital mammogram image i is convolved with the gaussian n k × 1 kernel g x to produce an intermediate array i x : in accordance with a preferred embodiment , the sigma of the one - dimensional gaussian kernel g x is the spatial scale parameter σ selected at step 502 . the intermediate array i x resulting from step 504 is a two - dimensional array having dimensions of approximately ( m + 2n k )× n . at step 506 , the intermediate array i x is convolved with the gaussian 1 × n k kernel g y to produce a gaussian - filtered image array i g : in accordance with a preferred embodiment , the sigma of the one - dimensional gaussian kernel g y is also the spatial scale parameter σ selected at step 502 . the filtered image array i g resulting from step 506 is a two - dimensional array having dimensions of approximately ( m + 2n k )×( n + 2n k ). advantageously , because of the separability property of the two - dimensional gaussian , the filtered image array i g resulting from step 506 is identical to the result of a complete two - dimensional convolution of an n k × n k gaussian kernel and the digital mammogram image i . however , the number of multiplications and additions is reduced to 2 · n k · m · n instead of ( n k ) 2 · m · n . even more advantageously , in the situation where n k is selected to be an odd number and the one - dimensional gaussian kernels are therefore symmetric about a central element , the number of multiplications is reduced even further . this computational reduction can be achieved because , if n k is odd , then the component one dimensional kernels g x and g y are each symmetric about a central peak element . because of this relation , the image values corresponding to symmetric kernel locations can be added prior to multiplication by those kernel values , thereby reducing by half the number of required multiplications during the computations of eqs . ( 13 ) and ( 14 ). accordingly , in a preferred embodiment in which n k is selected to be an odd number , the number of multiplications associated with the required convolutions is approximately n k · m · n and the number of additions is approximately 2 · n k · m · n . in addition to the computational savings over the embodiment of fig3 and 4 due to filter separability , it has also been found that the algorithm of fig3 and 4 may be made even more efficient by taking advantage of the special symmetry of the spatial derivative operators at 0 , 45 , 90 , and 135 in performing operations corresponding to steps 306 - 310 . in particular , it has been found that for each pixel ( i , j ), the solution for the direction image θ max and the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ) can be simplified to the following formulas of eqs . ( 15 )-( 16 ): w σ ( θ max )= ½ ( l +( a 2 + d 2 )) ( 15 ) l = w σ ( 0 )+ w σ ( 90 )= i g * d 2 ( 0 )+ i g * d 2 ( 90 )= i g *[ d 2 ( 0 )+ d 2 ( 90 )] ( 17 ) as known in the art , the array l is the result of the convolution of i g with a laplacian operator . furthermore , the array a in eqs . ( 15 ) and ( 16 ) is defined as follows : a = w σ ( 0 )− w σ ( 90 )= i g * d 2 ( 0 )− i g * d 2 ( 90 )= i g *[ d 2 ( 0 )− d 2 ( 90 )] ( 19 ) finally , the array d in eqs . ( 15 ) and ( 16 ) is defined as follows : d = w σ ( 45 )− w σ ( 135 )= i g * d 2 ( 45 )− i g * d 2 ( 135 )= i g *[ d 2 ( 45 )− d 2 ( 135 )] ( 21 ) accordingly , at step 508 the convolution of eq . ( 20 ) is performed on the filtered image array i g that results from the previous step 506 to produce the array a . at step 510 , the convolution of eq . ( 22 ) is performed on the filtered image array i g to produce the array d , and at step 512 , the convolution of eq . ( 18 ) is performed to produce the array l . since they are independent of each other , the steps 508 - 512 may be performed in parallel or in any order . at step 514 , the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ) is formed directly from the arrays l , a , and d in accordance with eq . ( 15 ). subsequent to step 514 , at step 516 the line image array l ( i , j ) is formed from the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ) using known methods such as a simple thresholding process or a modified thresholding process based on a histogram of the line intensity function w σ ( θ max ). finally , at step 518 , the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) is formed from the arrays d and a in accordance with eq . ( 16 ). advantageously , according to the preferred embodiment of fig5 the step 518 of computing the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) and the steps 514 - 516 of generating the line image array l ( i , j ) may be performed independently of each other and in any order . stated another way , according to the preferred embodiment of fig5 it is not necessary to actually compute the elements of the direction image θ max ( i , j ) in order to evaluate the line intensity estimator function w σ ( θ max ) at any pixel . this is in contrast to the algorithms described in fig2 and fig3 and 4 , where it is first necessary to compute the direction image θ max ( i , j ) in order to be able to evaluate the line intensity estimator function w σ ( θ ) at the maximum angle θ max . it is readily apparent that in the preferred embodiment of fig5 steps 512 , 514 , and 516 may be omitted altogether if downstream medical image processing algorithms only require knowledge of the direction image array θ max ( i , j ). alternatively , the step 518 may be omitted altogether if downstream medical image processing algorithms only require knowledge of the line image array l ( i , j ). thus , computational independence of the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) and the line image array l ( i , j ) in the preferred embodiment of fig5 allows for increased computational efficiency when only one or the other of the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) and the line image array l ( i , j ) is required by downstream algorithms . the preferred embodiment of fig5 is even less computationally complex than the algorithm of fig3 and 4 . in particular , to generate the filtered image array i g there is required only approximately n k · m · n multiplications and 2 · n k · m · n additions . to generate the array a from the filtered image array i g , there is required 2 · m · n additions and m · n subtractions . likewise , to generate the array d from the filtered image array i g , there is required 2 · m · n additions and m · n subtractions . finally , to generate l from the filtered image array i g , there is required m · n bitwise left register shift of two positions ( corresponding to a multiplication by 4 ), followed by 4 · m · n subtractions . accordingly , to generate the arrays a , d , and l from the digital mammogram image i , there is required only 2 · n k · m · n multiplications , 2 · n k · m · n additions , 4 · m · n additions , 4 · m · n subtractions , and m · n bitwise register shifts . for illustrative purposes in comparing the algorithms , let us again assume the operational parameters assumed previously : that addition , subtraction , and register - shifting operation take 10 clock cycles each ; that multiplication takes 30 clock cycles ; that m × n = 1000 × 1250 ; and that n k is 11 . as computed previously , the karssemeijer algorithm would require 18 . 2 billion clock cycles to compute the three line estimator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 60 ), and w σ ( 120 ), while the algorithm of fig3 and 4 would require about 6 . 2 billion clock cycles to generate the four line operator functions w σ ( 0 ), w σ ( 45 ), w σ ( 90 ), and w σ ( 135 ), a significant computational advantage . however , using the results of the previous paragraph , the algorithm of fig5 would require only ( 11 )( 1000 )( 1250 )( 30 )+ 2 ( 11 )( 1000 )( 1250 )( 10 )+( 4 )( 1000 )( 1250 )( 10 )+( 4 )( 1000 )( 1250 )( 10 )+( 1000 )( 1250 )( 10 )= 0 . 8 billion clock cycles to produce the arrays a , d , and l . for the preferred embodiment of fig5 the reduction in computation becomes even more dramatic as the scale of interest ( reflected by the size of the kernel size n k ) grows larger , because the number of computations only increases linearly with n k . it is to be appreciated that the above numerical example is a rough estimate and is for illustrative purposes only to clarify the features and advantages of the present invention , and is not intended to limit the scope of the preferred embodiments . optionally , in the preferred embodiment of fig3 - 5 , a plurality of spatial scale values σ1 , σ2 , . . . , σn may be selected at step 302 or 502 . the remainder of the steps of the embodiments of fig3 - 5 are then separately carried out for each of the spatial scale values σ1 , σ2 , . . . , σn . for a given pixel ( i , j ), the value of the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) is selected to correspond to the largest value among w σ1 ( θ max1 ), w σ2 ( θ max2 ), . . . , w σn ( θ maxn ). the line image array l ( i , j ) is formed by thresholding an array corresponding to largest value among w σ1 ( θ max1 ), w σ2 ( θ max2 ), . . . w σn ( θ maxn ) at each pixel . as another option , which may be used separately or in combination with the above option of using multiple spatial scale values , a plurality of filter kernel sizes n k1 , n k2 , . . . , n σn may be selected at step 302 or 502 . the remainder of the steps of the embodiments of fig3 - 5 are then separately carried out for each of the filter kernel sizes n k1 , n k2 , . . . , n kn . for a given pixel ( i , j ), the value of the direction image array θ max ( i , j ) is selected to correspond to the largest one of the different w σ ( θ max ) values yielded for the different values of filter kernel size n k . the line image array l ( i , j ) is formed by thresholding an array corresponding to largest value among the different w σ ( θ max ) values yielded by the different values of filter kernel size n k . by way of example and not by way of limitation , it has been found that with reference to the previously disclosed system for detecting lines in fibrous breast tissue in a 1000 × 1250 digital mammogram at 200 micron resolution , results are good when the pair of combinations ( n k = 11 , σ = 1 . 5 ) and ( n k = 7 , σ = 0 . 9 ) are used . the preferred embodiments disclosed in fig3 - 5 require a corrective algorithm to normalize the responses of certain portions of the algorithms associated with directional second order derivatives in diagonal directions . in particular , the responses of eqs . ( 6b ), ( 6d ), and ( 22 ) require normalization because the filtered image is being sampled at more widely displaced points , resulting in a response that is too large by a constant factor . in the preferred algorithms that use a gaussian filter g at step 304 of fig3 or steps 504 - 506 of fig5 a constant correction factor “ p ” is determined as shown in eqs . ( 23 )-( 25 ): p = sqrt { σ ( k a ( i , j )) 2 / σ ( k d ( i , j )) 2 } ( 23 ) in the general case where the digital mammogram image i is convolved with a single - peaked filter f at step 304 of fig3 or steps 504 - 506 of fig5 the constant correction factor p is determined by using f instead of g in eqs . ( 24 ) and ( 25 ). importantly , the constant correction factor p does not actually affect the number of computations in the convolutions of eqs . ( 6b ), ( 6d ), and ( 22 ), but rather is incorporated into later parts of the algorithm . in particular , in the algorithm of fig3 the constant correction factor p is incorporated by substituting , for each instance of w σ ( 45 ) and w σ ( 135 ) in eqs . ( 8 ) and ( 9 ), and step 308 , the quantities pw σ ( 45 ) and pw σ ( 135 ), respectively . in the algorithm of fig5 the constant correction factor p is incorporated by substituting , for each instance of d in eqs . ( 15 ) and ( 16 ), and steps 514 and 518 , the quantity pd . accordingly , the computational efficiency of the preferred embodiments is maintained in terms of the reduced number and complexity of required convolutions . a computational simplification in the implementation of the constant correction factor p is found where the size of the spatial scale parameter σ corresponds to a relatively large number of pixels , e . g . on the order of 11 pixels or greater . in this situation the constant correction factor p approaches the value of ½ , the sampling distance going up by a factor of 2 and the magnitude of the second derivative estimate going up by the square of the sampling distance . in such case , multiplication by the constant correction factor p is achieved by a simple bitwise right register shift . as disclosed above , a method and system for line detection in medical images according to the preferred embodiments contains several advantages . the preferred embodiments share the homogeneity , isotropy , and other desirable scale - space properties associated with the karssemeijer method . however , as described above , the preferred embodiments significantly reduce the number of required computations . indeed , for one of the preferred embodiments , running time increases only linearly with the scale of interest , thus typically requiring an order of magnitude fewer operations in order to produce equivalent results . for applications in which processing time is a constraint , this makes the use of higher resolution images in order to improve line detection accuracy more practical . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been described , these descriptions are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the present invention . for example , although the component kernels of the separable single - peaked filter function are described above as one - dimensional kernels , the selection of appropriate two - dimensional kernels as component kernels of the single - peaked filter function can also result in computational efficiencies , where one of the dimensions is smaller than the initial size of the single - peaked filter function . as another example , although the embodiments of the invention described above were in the context of medical imaging systems , those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed methods and structures are readily adaptable for broader image processing applications . examples include the fields of optical sensing , robotics , vehicular guidance and control systems , synthetic vision , or generally any system requiring the generation of line images or direction images from an input image . | 6 |
it is to be understood that the figures and descriptions of the present invention have been simplified to illustrate elements that are relevant for a clear understanding of the present invention , while eliminating , for the purpose of clarity , many other elements found in typical mechanical lifting devices , systems and methods . those of ordinary skill in the art will thus recognize that other elements and / or steps are desirable and / or required in implementing the present invention . however , because such elements and steps are well known in the art , and because they do not facilitate a better understanding of the present invention , a discussion of such elements and steps is not provided herein . the disclosure herein is directed to all such variations and modifications to such elements and methods known to those skilled in the art . furthermore , the embodiments identified and illustrated herein are for exemplary purposes only , and are not meant to be exclusive or limited in their description of the present invention . the present invention is and includes a device capable of assisting an elderly , disabled , or infirm person ( hereinafter “ elderly person ”) to rise from a lying or substantially lying position , at or near floor level , to at least a sitting position without lifting assistance , or with only minimal assistance , from another person . in particularly preferred embodiments , the device may be , at its lowest or substantially most compressed position , low enough to be accessible to a person lying at or near floor level who may have very limited mobility due to age , a disability , or an infirmity . the device may be self - powered and / or supplied with power sufficient to allow the device to expand , rise or otherwise decompress in order to lift a quantity of weight equivalent to at least an average person were that person to lie on the device . the device may preferably rise to at least the level of a chair , so as to assist the lying person in reaching at least a sitting position . the device may additionally provide a secondary mode , and / or an optional aspect of the device , for moving / assisting / repositioning / transferring the person once in the seated position to a standing position using the device . as illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , an exemplary embodiment of the device 10 may include a substantially stable base 12 , a convertible upper frame 14 , and at least one lift mechanism / actuator 16 for actuating the upper frame atop the base . at the low or compressed position ( fig1 a illustrates an early stage decompressed position , and fig1 b illustrates a later stage decompressed position ), the 10 device is preferably flat enough and low enough to allow a disabled person lying at the floor level to roll onto the device . in a preferred embodiment , the device may include a controller 20 , such that when the person rolls onto the device and is faced upward , the person can actuate controller 20 to cause the actuation of at least a portion of the upper frame 14 away from the base 12 , whereby the previously flat upper frame may ultimately be mechanically converted into at least a chair shape so as to assist the person on the device to a seated position . as such , the present invention provides a device 10 that operates at or substantially at floor level , and that allows a person placed at floor level who is not critically injured to rise to at least a seating position . the device 10 so provided is user - friendly , at least in that it is reachable to a person on the floor and simple to use by use of controller 20 , and the device preferably provide the necessary weight support and construction of base 12 , upper frame 14 , and actuator 16 to safely lift the person to a seated position . moreover , the device may , in certain embodiments , store flat and minimize the risk of injury to professional staff , emergency medical personnel , or the like . further , the device of the present invention may lower ambulance and other healthcare costs , and may lower aid service costs , response times , independent living or private resident needs , and the like . yet further , the present device expands available therapies for the injured , disabled or infirm , at least in that therapies can be performed at floor level , without need of having the therapist lower or lift the injured , disabled or infirm party down to , or up from , the floor level during therapy . the patient is thereby enabled to self - lower to the floor , such as for exercise and the like . as such , the present invent may be for use by the elderly , the permanently disabled , the temporarily disabled , the infirm , the wounded ( such as amputees ), and the like . more particularly , and with respect to the exemplary embodiment of fig1 a and 1b , the device may include the aforementioned base 12 , the actuator 16 and the actuatable upper frame 14 . more particularly , the upper frame may include , by way of non - limiting example , a series of knuckles , slide bolts , hinge bolts , or hinges , hinges , or the like 26 , and / or one or more scissor hinges , mechanical slides , or the like 28 . for example , upon actuation of upper frame 14 , one or more of the hinge bolts 26 may rotate through a rotational circumferential pursuant to the actuation by actuator 16 , and one or more of the scissor hinges 28 may correspondingly , such as pursuant to actuation of the one or more hinge bolts 26 , slide from a first position to a second position . thereby , upon actuation by the actuator 16 , the knuckles 26 and slides 28 of the upper frame 14 may operate to slowly , safely and substantially linearly bring the upper frame from a flat or compressed position to generate at least a seated position for a person initially at floor level and lying upon the upper frame . the one or more actuators 16 may be any actuator known to those skilled in the art capable of actuating the upper frame , with the weight of the person thereupon , from a substantially flat position to at least a seated position . in an exemplary embodiment , the actuator is comprised of a single actuator / motor , although those skilled in the art will appreciate that multiple actuators may be used . in the illustrated embodiment , the actuator is a motorized extending arm that is extended outwardly from a base unit of the actuator towards a lower portion of the upper frame , or from the left to the right in the provided illustration of fig1 a and 1b , such that a hinge bolt 26 between the lower most portion 14 a of the upper frame and the seat portion 14 b of the upper frame is partially rotated , which rotation , in conjunction with a scissor hinge 28 and hinge bolt 26 at the seat portion 14 b of the upper frame at a location opposite the lower most portion of the upper frame , causes the lower portion of the seat portion 14 b to rise from the base 12 , and thus causes that portion of the lower most portion 14 a of the upper frame closest to the seat portion 14 b to also rise at an increasing angle from the base 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , once the maximum actuation of the hinge bolt in the seat portion 14 b at the location opposite the lower most portion 14 b of the upper frame has occurred , the force of the actuator 16 against the lower most portion 14 a will cause the seat portion 14 b in its entirety to begin to rise from the base , which , if there is a stop in the hinge bolt rotation provided in the seat portion hinge bolt 26 associated with the scissor hinge 28 , will cause the backrest portion 14 c of the upper frame to begin to rise as the seat portion 14 b rises , at least partially due to the force of the continued action of the actuator 16 . thereby , following substantially complete actuation of the actuator from left to right in the illustration , the upper frame will have reached a position such that the back - rest portion 14 c of the upper frame is substantially perpendicular to the base 12 of the device , the seat portion 14 b of the upper frame is at least substantially parallel to the base 12 of the device , and the lower most portion 14 a of the upper frame is at least substantially perpendicular to the base 12 of the device . as such , it is anticipated that , by countermovement of the backrest portion and the lower most portion , the center of gravity and balance - point may remain substantially located at or about the seat portion . accordingly , those skilled in the art will appreciate , in light of the discussion herein with respect to the upper frame , that hinges , scissor hinges , mechanical slides , or the like , other than those particularly illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , may be mechanically employed in accordance with the disclosure herein without varying from the spirit and scope hereof . further , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the actuation by the exemplary single actuator discussed with respect to fig1 a and 1b is also merely illustrative , and that any manner of actuation of the upper frame may be performed wherein , preferably , a slight angle is first imparted at approximately the knee location of the person placed on the upper frame , whereafter the seat may be slightly lifted , and whereafter the angle between the shoulders and the midsection of the person on the device may be slowly and substantially linearly decreased , as is the angle formed by the upper and lower leg at the back of the knee of the person on the device . further , those skilled in the art will appreciate , in light of the discussion herein , that , after actuation to a seated position , a portion of the seat frame may further assist the person from the seated position to a standing position , correspondent to further actuation of the one or more actuators . such assistance of the person from the seated position to the standing position may occur only upon further actuating of the controller 20 by the person initially laying on the device or the person &# 39 ; s attendant , by way of non - limiting example . the base 12 in the illustrative diagram of fig1 a and 1b may preferably be sufficiently stable so as to support the upper frame 14 and actuator 16 during actuation and with the weight of a person atop the base . as such , while the base 12 may have wheels and / or casters on its underside , such as to allow for the device to be moved in and out from underneath , for example , furniture , or the base 12 may have a track associated with its underside to allow the base to be moved in and out from underneath , for example , furniture , the track or the wheels are preferably mechanically overridden , such as by a locking mechanism , extendable leg portions , suction cups , or the like , ( hereinafter “ locking mechanism ” 40 ), such that the base 12 becomes fully stable immediately upon or soon after activation of the controller 20 instructing actuation of the device 10 . the base 12 may be constructed to allow easy portability and / or movement , such as in embodiments comprising a lightweight base formed of a plastic or the like , or the base may be formed of heavier material such as to impart additional structural integrity and / or stability to increase the stationary nature of the device , such as wherein the device is formed of heavier weighted metals . further , the base 12 may provide a power source location 42 for the power provided to the one or more actuators and or to the one or more tracks that may slide the device 10 from underneath , for example , furniture . for example , the base may provide a location for a battery 42 , along with one or more electrical inputs to allow charging of the battery such as from a wall socket . likewise , the base may simply provide an electrical input for use with a household plug , for example . those skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of optional components may be provided in conjunction with those discussed above . for example , the one or more actuators may cause , as the seat rises of the upper frame , a “ cradle ” effect , such as whereby wings ( not shown ) on the left most and right - most portion of the seat portion 14 b may be angled or otherwise extended upwardly during actuation such that the bottom of a person resting on the seat is cradled to provide additional stability as the upper frame rises . further , a seat - belt ( not shown ) may be provided on the seat portion , particularly in non - residential and / or institutional embodiments , to provide further safety measures for device 10 . yet further , handles ( not shown ) may be provided , such as on the seat portion 14 b , in order to further stabilize the person while laying or seated on the upper frame . further , the construction of aspects of the device 10 , and the portions thereof , may vary , and the appearance of the device may vary in accordingly with its construction . for example , padding may or may not be available , particularly in conjunction with the seat portion 14 b and the back - rest portion 14 c of the upper frame . moreover , as mentioned above the upper frame 14 may be lightweight , strong , durable , and capable of a low profile in a compressed state , irrespective of the weight and preferred low profile of the base 12 . additionally , the device , and particularly the control indicated by the aforementioned controller 20 , may be configurable , such wherein the device 10 is controlled so as to raise only to a seated position , or to a standing position , wherein the rate of rise of the upper frame from the base may be varied , or the like . the configurable nature of the present invention may vary in accordingly with the actuation methodology employed , such as in accordance with the use of linear motion , scissor hinges , a worm screw actuator , or the like . thus , as discussed in the illustrative embodiments with respect to fig1 a and 1b , it may be preferable to minimize the profile and / or usable floor footprint of the device 10 . this may be further accomplished by creating a bendable back - rest , an ultra - thin but sturdy upper frame , or by like methodologies . this may further be accomplished through additional and alternative embodiments of the device , such as embodiments that are not stored under furniture . for example , fig2 illustrates device 10 that may be wall 110 adjacent and / or wall - mounted , whereby stability may be imparted to the upper frame 14 by an independent base 12 , or wherein the device may be baseless and instead use a wall mount extension base 112 , or other embodiments that provide stability that will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the discussion herein . as illustrated in fig2 , one or more actuators may be placed within or on the wall - mount , whereby actuation of the one or more actuators 16 may raise the upper frame 14 as discussed herein above with respect to fig1 a and 1b . in an exemplary embodiment of fig2 , a single actuator 16 may raise the wall - mount base 112 , wherein the wall - mount base 112 may provide an extended base portion underneath the seat portion 14 b of the upper frame 14 . further , as the single actuator 16 acts to lift the seat portion 14 b , an extended arm 116 behind the back - rest portion 14 c may have , extending therefrom into mechanical association with the actuator , a chain , slide , or rope portion 118 , wherein the upward actuation of the base extension 112 by the actuator 16 may actuate extended arm 116 along the slide or like wall - mounted guide , the chain 118 , wherein this actuation pulls the back - rest portion 14 c forward and upward as the seat portion 14 b of the upper frame is raised . fig3 illustrates with greater particularity a die lift 112 system in accordance with exemplary embodiments , such as that of fig2 . in the exemplary embodiment of fig3 ( and / or in the wall mount embodiment of fig2 ), those skilled in the art will appreciate that the illustrated lifting mechanism may be , for example , recessed into a wall or a furniture cabinet in order to obtain the space savings that may be similarly provided by sliding the device of the exemplary embodiment of fig1 a and 1b under a piece of furniture . in an exemplary lift such as that shown in fig3 , the sides of the device can be minimized in order to achieve greater floor area space savings , such that the wall adjacent portion of the lift may extend , for example , approximately 16 inches upward along the wall , and the wall mount portion may be , for example , approximately 13 . 5 inches wide such that it may fit in a recess between wall studs in a typical household wall . of course , those skilled in the art will further appreciate that , in alternative embodiments , casters or similar devices , such as in conjunction with mechanical slides , may be placed at the base of , for example , backrest portion 14 c and lower most portion 14 a , such as at the point ( s ) where the assist device meets base 12 . thereby the frame , for example , may be lifted off the floor , such as by insertion of the casters through slots in base 12 against a floor . further , the extension of such casters may allow for mobility of the base , even with the device in the seated position atop the base . for example , in an additional alternative embodiment of a raised seat atop a base and as illustrated in fig4 , the patient transfer device may be fitted to , or perform as , a specialized wheelchair . as shown , the wheelchair may be designed atop a “ c ”- type frame 502 having an open front portion 504 . such a frame may permit entry over or under a bed , bench , or desk 506 , by way of non - limiting example , such as to allow the person within the wheelchair to mount or dismount between the device and an adjoining surface with no , or minimal , assistance , or to approach a chair or other seating device , such as a toilet . in operation , and as illustrated in fig5 a , 5 b and 5 c and in the top views of fig6 a , 6 b , 6 c and 6 d , the wheelchair may approach a target substantially directly with the open portion of the c - frame most proximate to the target . thereafter , the device may be activated so as to swivel , rotate , or the like , as needed in order to effectively align the body of the person in the wheelchair at a suitable angle to dismount onto , or be suspended over , the target . in the illustrated example , the device is rotated 90 degrees about the c - frame . the wheelchair may then be activated to change position as necessary , such as from sitting to a prone position if the user is to dismount onto a bed , for example . upon reaching the proper rotation and position with respect to the target , the open portion of the c - frame may enter the target area , such as to suspend a prone person above the target , or to place the seated person over a toilet bowl . needless to say , a user of the wheelchair may change the elevation of the seat portion 14 , and / or the height of the c - frame , as is necessary to accommodate the height of the target . the user may then transfer to the target as needed , such as with no or minimal assistance from a third party . to the extent the user has left the chair and dismounted to the target , the chair may back away from the target but maintain a proximate position to allow for reboarding of the user from the target back onto the wheelchair . of course , as referenced above , in certain embodiments , such as wherein a toilet is the target , the user may not dismount from the wheelchair . by way of more particular example , the wheelchair may approach the toilet , and the chair atop the c - frame may rotate 180 degrees from a position wherein the user is facing the open portion of the c - frame . thereby , the wheelchair may be positioned such that , upon advancing , at the direction of the user , in the direction of the opening of the c - frame , the seat portion of the chair straddles the toilet seat to permit toileting by the user . of course , those skilled in the art will appreciate , that , in such an embodiment , the c - frame on which the wheelchair resides will preferably not have cross - members , or the like , that would bar straddling of a toilet . further , in such embodiments , it may be preferred that the seat portion of the wheelchair be hollowed at its center , such as in an oval shape sufficient to accommodate toileting of the user atop the seat portion of the wheelchair . moreover , the seat portion may be at least partially constituted of a large diameter “ lazy susan ”- type rotator / bearing having a hollow center , or , by way of additional example , may be constituted of a flat seat surface upon a series of ball bearings . in each such embodiment , it is preferred that any opening in the seat portion pass through the underlying device that enables rotation , to thereby enable toileting of the user . fig7 is a flow diagram illustrative of an exemplary method of using device 10 in accordance with the present invention . in the illustrated method 400 , at step 402 a floor level lift system is provided . at step 404 , a user instruction is received to actuate the floor level system . at optional step 406 , the actuation instruction may not be executed until confirmation , such as via electrical sensing , that the user is properly on the device . the device may be mechanically raised via the actuation at step 408 . the actuation may be completed to place the user in a seated position at step 410 , or responsive to a secondary user input received at step 412 , the actuation may continue to raise the user from the seated position to an at least substantially standing position . needless to say , upon departing of the person from physical association with the device , the device may be returned , such as by reverse actuation of the actuator , to its original , compressed position at step 414 . those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations of the present invention may be implemented without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover the modification and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 0 |
hereinafter , the present invention will be described more specifically by way of example . however , the present invention is not limited by the following examples . the materials in the following composition were mixed and stirred , and then the ph was adjusted to 8 with a 10 % aqueous solution of lithium hydroxide . then , the mixture was filtrated with a membrane filter having an average pore size of 0 . 1 μm , and thus a recording liquid ( ink 1 ) was obtained . a recording liquid ( ink 2 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used and the ph was adjusted to 7 . 5 with lithium hydroxide . a recording liquid ( ink 3 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used and the ph was adjusted to 8 . a recording liquid ( ink 4 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used and the ph was adjusted to 9 . first , carbon black was dispersed with a bead mill in the following formulation for pigment dispersing liquid 1 . the obtained pigment dispersing liquid 1 was mixed with other materials in the following formulation and the mixture was stirred , and then the ph was adjusted to 8 with a 10 % aqueous solution of lithium hydroxide . then , the mixture was filtrated with a membrane filter having an average pore size of 0 . 8 μm , and thus a recording liquid ( ink 5 ) was obtained . a pigment dispersing liquid 2 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 6 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 2 . a pigment dispersing liquid 3 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 7 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 3 . a pigment dispersing liquid 4 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 8 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 4 a pigment dispersing liquid 5 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 9 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 5 . a pigment dispersing liquid 6 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 10 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 6 . a pigment dispersing liquid 7 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 11 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 7 . a pigment dispersing liquid 8 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 12 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 8 . a pigment dispersing liquid 9 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 13 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 9 . a recording liquid ( ink 14 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 16 . 4 wt . %, average particle size of 128 nm ) a recording liquid ( ink 15 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 16 . 4 wt . %, average particle size of 128 nm ) a recording liquid ( ink 16 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 18 wt . %, average particle size of 132 nm ) a recording liquid ( ink 17 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 18 wt . %, average particle size of 132 nm ) a pigment dispersing liquid 10 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 18 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 10 . a pigment dispersing liquid 11 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 19 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 11 . a recording liquid ( ink 20 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used , and the ph was adjusted to 8 with sodium hydroxide . a recording liquid ( ink 21 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used , and the ph was adjusted to 7 . 5 with sodium hydroxide . a recording liquid ( ink 22 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used , and the ph was adjusted to 8 with sodium hydroxide . a recording liquid ( ink 23 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used , and the ph was adjusted to 9 with sodium hydroxide . a pigment dispersing liquid 12 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 24 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 12 . a pigment dispersing liquid 13 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 25 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 13 . a pigment dispersing liquid 14 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 26 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 14 . a pigment dispersing liquid 15 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 27 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 15 . a pigment dispersing liquid 16 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 28 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 16 . a pigment dispersing liquid 17 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 29 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 17 . a pigment dispersing liquid 18 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 30 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 18 . a pigment dispersing liquid 19 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 31 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 19 . a pigment dispersing liquid 20 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 32 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 20 . a recording liquid ( ink 33 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 16 . 4 wt . %, average particle size of 128 nm ) a recording liquid ( ink 34 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 16 . 4 wt . %, average particle size of 128 nm ) a recording liquid ( ink 35 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 18 wt . %, average particle size of 132 nm ) example 36 a recording liquid ( ink 36 ) was obtained in the same manner as in example 1 except that the following composition was used . ( solid content of 18 wt . %, average particle size of 132 nm ) a pigment dispersing liquid 21 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 37 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 21 . a pigment dispersing liquid 22 was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the following composition was used , and a recording liquid ( ink 38 ) was obtained with this pigment dispersing liquid 22 . a recording liquid ( ink 39 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of ion exchanged water . a recording liquid ( ink 40 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 25 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of ion exchanged water . a recording liquid ( ink 41 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that instead of 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol , the compound ( 1 )- 1 was further added such that the amount thereof was 2 wt . %, and the remaining amount was for ion exchanged water . a recording liquid ( ink 42 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 6 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether . a recording liquid ( ink 43 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 10 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether . a recording liquid ( ink 44 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 14 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by 10 wt . % of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether . a recording liquid ( ink 45 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 24 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 - ethyl - 2 - methyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 46 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 12 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 2 - diethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 47 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 7 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 2 - butanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 48 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 23 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 2 , 4 - pentanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 49 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 21 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 5 - dimethyl - 2 , 5 - hexanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 50 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 31 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 - methyl - 2 - propyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 51 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 33 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol and the compound ( 2 )- 5 were replaced by 1 , 7 - heptanediol in an amount equal to the total amount thereof . a recording liquid ( ink 52 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 37 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 6 - heptanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 53 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 2 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 3 , 3 - dimethyl - 1 , 5 - pentanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 54 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 8 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 3 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 55 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 17 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 4 - dimethyl - 1 , 5 - pentanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 56 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 21 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 1 , 6 - heptanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 57 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 2 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 7 - octanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 58 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 30 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol and 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol were replaced by 1 , 9 - nonanediol in an amount equal to the total amount thereof a recording liquid ( ink 59 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 9 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyl - 1 , 3 - propanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 60 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 1 , 10 - decanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 61 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 37 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 3 , 8 - decanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 62 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 6 except that 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 1 , 8 - octanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 63 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 14 except that 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethyl - 1 , 7 - heptanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 64 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 except that the compound ( 1 )- 5 was replaced by 6 wt . % of a compound represented by formula ( 4 ). the materials in the following composition were mixed and stirred , and then the ph was adjusted to 8 with a 10 % aqueous solution of lithium hydroxide . then , the mixture was filtrated with a membrane filter having an average pore size of 0 . 1 μm , and thus a recording liquid ( ink 65 ) was obtained . a recording liquid ( ink 66 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the compounds ( 1 )- 1 and ( 1 )- 3 were replaced by ion exchanged water in an amount equal to the total amount thereof . a recording liquid ( ink 67 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 except that the compounds ( 1 )- 1 and ( 1 )- 3 were replaced by 2 - ethyl - 1 , 3 - hexanediol in an amount equal to the total amount thereof . a recording liquid ( ink 68 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 15 except that the compound ( 1 )- 1 was replaced by an equal amount of 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol . a recording liquid ( ink 69 ) was prepared in the same manner as in example 21 except that instead of 2 , 2 , 4 - trimethyl - 1 , 3 - pentanediol , the compound ( 2 )- 1 was further added such that the amount thereof was 3 wt . %, and the remaining amount was for ion exchanged water . next , the following tests were conducted with respect to the inks obtained in the examples and the comparative examples . the recording apparatuses ( a ), ( b ), and ( c ) as described below were used . evaluation recording apparatus ( a ) inkjet printer with a piezo system having a plurality of nozzles , each of which ejects in an amount of 23 pl per droplet , and has a dot density of droplets on plain paper of 600 dpi as the maximum dot density . evaluation recording apparatus ( b ) inkjet printer with a thermal system having a plurality of nozzles , each of which ejects in an amount of 4 pl per droplet from each nozzle , and has a dot density of droplets on plain paper of 1200 dpi as the maximum dot density . evaluation recording apparatus ( c ) inkjet printer with a piezo system having 48 nozzles with a 360 dpi pitch that can control the ejection amount per droplet to either 4 pl , 7 pl , or 11 pl , and has a dot density of droplets on plain paper of 720 dpi as the maximum dot density . letters are printed on my paper ( a sizing degree of 12 s and an air permeability of 16 s ) manufactured by nbs ricoh co ., ltd as the recording medium , and after drying , the bleeding of the images , the tone , and the density were observed visually and measured with a reflection type color spectrophotometer / calorimeter / densitometer ( manufactured by x - rite ) for integrated evaluation . a paper filter was pressed onto printed solid images on the recording media at a pressure of 0 . 1 kg / cm 2 and the time until ink was no longer transferred to the paper filter was measured . s : dried in 3 or more and not more than 20 seconds solid images are formed on the recording media such that the density with each ink color measured by a reflection type color spectrophotometer / calorimeter / densitometer ( manufactured by x - rite ) is 1 . 0 . these images are visually observed from the back face for evaluation . vg : the boundary between the solid images and white portions is completely indistinct and no problem is caused when letters are printed on both faces . g : the boundary between the solid images and white portions is almost indistinct and no problem is caused when letters are printed on both faces . s : the coloring agent of the solid images does not penetrate to the back , but the boundary between the solid images and white portions is slightly indistinct and no problem is caused when letters are printed on both faces . p : the coloring agent of the solid images penetrates to the back , and images cannot be printed on both faces . the images formed with each ink on the recording media were rubbed with fingers , cloth , an eraser , and a marking pen 30 seconds after printing , and how the images look was observed visually for evaluation . vg : the recording medium is uniformly colored with ink even when observing enlarged images . g : the recording medium is uniformly colored with ink as long as images are observed visually . s : the recording medium is non - uniformly colored with ink even when images are observed visually . p : the recording medium is colored with ink so non - uniformly that portions without color can be recognized on the surface of the medium at visual observation . the ink was stored at 60 ° c . for 7 days while being set to an inkjet printer . then , evaluation was performed based on the cleaning operation of a conventionally known inkjet printer . letters were printed on the following media using the ink obtained in example 14 for evaluation . example 39 : xerox paper r ( sizing degree 8s , air permeability 20s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example 40 : reflex ( sizing degree 25s , air permeability 4s ) manufactured by australian paper ( australia ) example 41 : nbs copying and printing paper 90k ( sizing degree 60s , air permeability 68s ) manufactured by nbs ricoh co ., ltd example 42 : pb paper ( sizing degree 21s , air permeability 8s ) manufactured by canon inc . example 43 : nbs copying and printing paper 45k ( sizing degree 11s , air permeability 45s ) manufactured by nbs ricoh co ., ltd . example 44 : yamayuri ( sizing degree 12s , air permeability 21s ) manufactured by honshu seishi kabushiki kaisha example 45 : shigen ppc paper type s ( sizing degree 22s , air permeability 13s ) manufactured by ricoh co ., ltd . example 46 : xerox p - paper ( sizing degree 24s , air permeability 19s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example 47 : multiace ( sizing degree 25s , air permeability 17s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example 48 : xerox 4024 paper ( sizing degree 32s , air permeability 21s ) manufactured by xerox corporation letters were printed on the following media using the ink obtained in example 24 for evaluation example 49 : xerox paper r ( sizing degree 8s , air permeability 20s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example 50 : reflex ( sizing degree 25s , air permeability 4s ) manufactured by australian paper ( australia ) example 51 : nbs copying and printing paper 90k ( sizing degree 60s , air permeability 68s ) manufactured by nbs ricoh co ., ltd . example 52 : pb paper ( sizing degree 21s , air permeability 8s ) manufactured by canon inc . example 53 : nbs copying and printing paper 45k ( sizing degree 11s , air permeability 45s ) manufactured by nbs ricoh co ., ltd . example 54 : yamayuri ( sizing degree 12s , air permeability 21s ) manufactured by honshu seishi kabushiki kaisha example 55 : shigen ppc paper type s ( sizing degree 22s , air permeability 13s ) manufactured by ricoh co ., ltd . example 56 : xerox p - paper ( sizing degree 24s , air permeability 19s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example 57 : multiace ( sizing degree 25s , air permeability 17s ) manufactured by xerox corporation example : 58 xerox 4024 paper ( sizing degree 32s , air permeability 21s ) manufactured by xerox corporation the present invention provides a recording liquid having high permeability , and excellent ejection and jet stability and storage stability , and provides a recording liquid cartridge containing this recording liquid . using this recording liquid cartridge , a recording method and a recording apparatus that can form images having high image density , high - speed properties , and excellent quality with hardly penetrating to the back under high safety can be provided . thus , the contribution of the present invention to the recording field is significant . the invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the embodiments disclosed in this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not limiting . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein . | 2 |
the invention disclosed herein is embodied in three rim designs which are illustrated in fig5 and 7 . the inventive concept is to make the rim more of a truss type construction than prior art . fig5 shows a single &# 34 ; hole &# 34 ; ( e . g ., annular space ) design optimized for the xt140 high strength aluminum / lithium alloy material . this embodiment represents the easiest section to produce , however , it sacrifices some on weight and stiffness . this embodiment is referred to hereafter as design # 1 . fig6 and 7 are two variations of a preferred three &# 34 ; hole &# 34 ; ( e . g ., three annular spaces ) rim embodiment . these are clearly more of a lightweight truss configuration than prior art . these embodiments are somewhat more difficult to manufacture but provide more efficient sections with lower weight and higher stiffness possibilities than the embodiment shown in fig5 ( design # 1 ). the section embodiment in fig6 hereafter referred to as design # 2 , is optimized for xt140 high strength aluminum / lithium alloy . the section in fig7 hereafter referred to as design # 3 , is optimized for a medium strength aluminum alloy such as 6061 - t6 . each embodiment is made by conventional processes , namely , extruding the metal through an extrusion die having the desired open cross - sectional area ( fig5 or 7 ) cutting to length , shaping the extrusion into an annulus and joining the ends by fusion welding and then heat treating ( see fig9 ). fig5 shows the key areas making up the section for the first embodiment and the discussion . area ( a ) is the lip of the rim section that interfaces with the tire bead ( tb ). the interior part of the lip has basically the same shape as prior art designs to insure that this design will be compatible with existing tires on the market . this disclosure makes no claims concerning this area of the lip . however , other parts of the lip have been increased slightly , over prior art designs , to improve the overall bending stiffness of the section . areas ( b ), ( c ) and ( e ) serve three basic functions for the rim . first , these areas serve as a primary load transfer path for the tire bead , casing and rim pressure loads . second , they provide the bearing surface for caliper brake pads . third , the geometry of area ( b ) positions the bead of the tire further outboard from the rim center - line , compared to prior art design ( for current competition rims ), to achieve greater lateral stability for the tire during hard cornering and side skidding maneuvers . area ( b ) is angled outboard ( by approximatley 18 . 8 degrees , fig5 ) rather than vertical , to reduce weight in the bottom part of the rim section . a vertical member would require the base of the section to be widened to accommodate the same opening at the lip . a vertical member would also have to resist increased bending loading from the tire air pressure or more accurately the tire casing tension . the tire casing pulls the tire bead on each side upwards and outward . the larger the tire section is , and the higher the air pressure used , the larger this force is . the sidewall of the rim has to resist this as a cantilever bending stress . the invention uses an angled rim ( approximately 18 . 8 degrees , see fig5 ) sidewall which is more nearly in line with the pulling direction of the tire casing , resulting in significantly reduced cantilever bending stress in the sidewall . the traditional vertical or nearly vertical rim sidewall is more perpendicular to the pulling direction of the tire casing and thus experiences increased loading , resulting in shorter life or a heavier design . areas ( b ) and ( c ) are designed as variable thickness &# 34 ; beams &# 34 ; to structurally tie the tire bead ( tb ) to the torque tube &# 34 ; box &# 34 ; section of the rim ( d - c &# 39 ;- e &# 39 ;- f &# 39 ;- g &# 39 ;- h - g - f - e - c ). the thickness profiles for areas ( b ) and ( c ) are optimized to provide the minimum section possible for handling the expected tire loads . these areas are optimized for both strength and stiffness . extra material is added to these areas ( including area e ) to allow the wearing away of material by the brake pads , without detrimentally effecting the safety of the structure . areas ( c ) and ( e ) are provided with generous interior fillets to reduce local stresses and the possibility of fatigue cracking in the region . area ( d ) serves principally as a simple tension web and an inner air pressure reacting member . this member structurally ties areas ( c ) and ( c &# 39 ;), helping to relieve areas ( e ), ( f ), ( g ) and ( h ) from high bending stresses . area ( d ) also supports the pressure from the inner tube and helps to form a closed torque box section ( d - c &# 39 ;- e &# 39 ;- f &# 39 ;- g &# 39 ;- h - g - f - e - c ). this box section provides the torsional rigidity of the rim section . unlike prior art designs ( see fig2 and 3 ), area ( d ) is designed to be flat rather than concave . this increases the lateral stiffness of the section , reduces weight and also improves the torsion stiffness of the box section . areas ( e ) and ( f ) also form a part of the torque box previously mentioned . these areas include generous interior filets to reduce local stresses and the possibility of fatigue cracking . the thickness profile in this region has been optimized to reduce weight . the areas ( e ) and ( f ) are designed to transfer the load from the spokes to the base of the cantilever loaded side walls as directly as possible , while retaining adequate braking contact , angle and stiffness . this improves rim rigidity and increases strength over the less direct shapes illustrated in figs . ( 2 ), ( 3 ) and ( 4 ). area ( g - h - g &# 39 ;) supports the spoke loads and contributes to the overall bending stiffness of the section . spoke reinforcement ridges are provided by areas g and g &# 39 ; to locally reinforce the spoke holes ( sh ). these ridges prevent the formation of radial fatigue cracks around the spoke holes from excessive flexing in this area . they also are in contact with the spoke nipple heads on each side of the spoke nipple , providing larger contact area than prior art designs , and distributing the spoke tension loads more uniformly to the rim ( close to the spoke hole ). area ( e - f - g - f &# 39 ;- e &# 39 ;) is under great stress from the spoke loads . the traditional rim design has been a generally rectangular box section rim . the spoke is attached through one of the long sides of the box . the manufacturer either uses a double ferrule to tie the upper and lower rim surfaces together , or uses a much heavier wall on the lower surface . the trouble is that a tension load pulling perpendicular to a flat surface easily deforms and strains that surface . the most common form of fatigue failure in these conventional rims consists of longitudinal cracks developing adjacent to the spoke holes . the invention takes on a nearly triangular or &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; shape . the idea is to stress the rim walls in tension within the plane of the walls , instead of bending them out of plane . the walls are much stronger in this condition and , therefore , do not have to be made nearly as heavy . the spoke area needs reinforcement due to the spoke hole stresses . because of this , a heavier wall straight section is provided at the base ( g ). section ( e ) needs to be shaped , for braking surface function , however , section ( f ) proceeds directly upward to the lower portion of the braking surface from the edge of the spoke nipple , thus allowing it to be light weight and yet retain high strength and rigidity . there are road rims made with a fundamentally triangular or &# 34 ; v &# 34 ; shaped lower sections . these have principally been designed for aerodynamics . in most cases they are not as light as the best traditional road rims . they also do not incorporate the straight section ( d ) or angled sidewalls ( b ). these aerodynamic road rims demonstrate improved stiffness and durability over the standard rim sections . the typical fatigue failure in these consists of lateral cracks originating at the spoke hole due to bending flexure of the whole rim section . fig6 and 7 describe two 3 - hole rim design concepts . the two sections are basically the same except for local thickness variations in certain areas . the concept shown in fig6 is a minimum weight design , optimized for high strength xt140 aluminum / lithium alloy . the concept shown in fig7 is a slightly heavier design , optimized for a medium strength aluminum alloy . since the two embodiments are so similar , this discussion applies to both . either fig6 or fig7 may be referred to for this discussion . for this rim design , three torque &# 34 ; tube &# 34 ; regions are formed within the section . these regions , identified as c - e - h - g - f - d , c &# 39 ;- d &# 39 ;- f &# 39 ;- g &# 39 ;- h &# 39 ;- e &# 39 ; and i - h &# 39 ;- g &# 39 ;- f &# 39 ;- j &# 39 ;- k &# 39 ;- l - k - j - f - g - h are highly resistant to torsion . these built - in torque tubes contribute significantly to the torsional rigidity of the entire section . the internal fillets of these torque tubes are provided with generous radiuses to reduce the local stresses and the possibility of fatigue cracking . area ( a ) denotes the rim lip which interfaces with the tire bead ( tb ). the interior part of the lip is configured basically the same as prior art designs to assure that the rim section will be compatible with existing tires on the market . this disclosure make no claims for this area of the lip . however , other parts of the lip have been increased slightly , over prior art designs , to increase the overall bending stiffness of the rim . areas ( b ), ( c ) and ( e ) of the section provide the same basic functions with the same advantages as described above for design # 1 , namely : 1 ) primary load transfer path for the tire - bead and rim - pressure loads . 3 ) geometry of area ( b ) positions the bead of the tire further outboard from the rim center - line to achieve greater tire stability . 4 ) geometry of area ( b ) reduces the stress levels in the sidewall due to tire casing forces . areas ( b ) and ( c ) are designed as a variable thickness &# 34 ; beam &# 34 ; to structurally tie the tire bead ( tb ) to the first or upper torque tube ( c - e - h - g - f - d ) of the rim . the thickness profiles for areas ( b ) and ( c ) are optimized to provide the minimum section possible to handle the expected loads while minimizing lateral displacements . extra material is added to these areas , including area ( d ), to allow for material wear ( from braking ) without detrimentally effecting the structure . area ( c ) is provided with a generous interior fillet to reduce local stresses in the region and the possibility of fatigue cracking . area ( i ) serves primarily as a simple tension web , connecting the two upper torque tubes . this relieves area l from high bending stresses . area ( i ) also supports the pressure from the inner tube and helps to form the larger torque tube section . unlike prior art designs ( see fig2 and 3 ), area l is designed to be flat rather than arched . this increases the lateral stiffness and structural integrity of the section while reducing mass . area ( k - l - k &# 39 ;) supports the spoke loads . spoke ridges are provided at areas ( k ) and ( k &# 39 ;) for local reinforcement . this material helps to reduce the stresses in the vicinity of the spoke hole ( sh ). spoke nipple access holes snac are provided , one access hold for each spoke connection . the rims disclosed herein were evaluated using the finite element modeling method . this is a mathematical procedure for evaluating complex structures on a computer . this method is widely used in industry today . the objective of the analysis reported herein was to a ) evaluate the structural performance of the disclosed rim designs and b ) compare their performance to several leading , prior art rim designs considered to be the nearest competition . the finite element analysis ( fea ) method breaks the material continuum of a structure into a finite number of mathematical elements . these elements may be two or three dimensional beams , plates and shells or three dimensional solids . the deformation characteristics of these elements are defined in terms of their nodal displacements ( nodes are the connecting points of the finite elements ) and the forces externally applied to these nodes . by defining the material properties , the geometry of the finite element system , the locations and magnitudes of the applied forces and the boundary conditions of the structure , the displacement and stress distribution within the material continuum can be calculated . fig8 shows a typical model used for evaluating the rim designs discussed herein . the model represents a segment of the actual rim ( 45 degree arc ) with appropriate boundary conditions to simulate the effects of the remaining portion of the structure . the model takes advantage of symmetry to reduce the computer run time . the model contains approximately 6000 solid elements to represent the material continuum . externally applied loads include the tire bead load , spoke pre - load and the tire pressure load ( not shown in fig8 ). since this study was to be a comparative study , a common loading condition was set up for each rim evaluation . this loading condition consisted of the following : the results of the finite element analysis were obtained in terms of maximum nodal displacement and maximum vonmises stress . table 1 summarizes the results . table 1______________________________________summary of fea resultsdesign section vonmises nodei . d . area ( in 2 ) stress ( psi ) displacement ( in ) ______________________________________design # 1 0 . 139858 30 , 900 0 . 012056design # 2 0 . 131418 33 , 200 0 . 011707design # 3 0 . 139287 36 , 000 0 . 010909ref # 1 0 . 147887 38 , 900 0 . 016679ref # 2 0 . 121509 62 , 200 0 . 025287______________________________________ these results along with the weight properties of the rim section were used to rank the different rim designs . the following ranking parameters were used : the peak vonmises stress parameter was obtained directly from the fea results . this parameter represents the equivalent &# 34 ; tension stress &# 34 ; for a bi - axial stress field and can be compared to the yield and fatigue properties of the rim material under consideration . table 2 ranks the rim designs based upon the calculated peak vonmises stress values . the ranking goes from the lowest stress ( best ) to the highest ( worst ). table 2______________________________________design ranking based on vonmises stress peak vonmisesrank design i . d . stress ( psi ) ______________________________________1 design # 1 30 , 9002 design # 2 33 , 2003 design # 3 36 , 8004 reference # 1 38 , 9005 reference # 2 62 , 200______________________________________ the specific stiffness ratio is a factor that is derived to represent the efficiency of the section . the factor is calculated from , table 3 ranks the designs based upon the above rank value parameter . the ranking is from the highest rank value ( best ) to the lowest ( worst ). table 3______________________________________section efficiencyrank design rank value______________________________________1 design # 2 2 . 21902 design # 1 2 . 02473 design # 3 2 . 02204 ref # 1 1 . 24565 ref # 2 1 . 0000______________________________________ table 4 ranks the designs based upon the section weight . this can be calculated from the following : the ranking in table 4 goes from the lightest section ( best ) to the heaviest section ( worst ). the material density values assumed in the calculations were 0 . 1 lb / in 3 for medium strength aluminum alloy and 0 . 09 lb / in 3 for the high strength aluminum / lithium alloy . table 4______________________________________section weightrank design section wt . ( lbm / in ) ______________________________________1 design # 2 0 . 011832 ref # 2 0 . 012153 design # 1 0 . 012594 design # 3 0 . 013935 ref # 1 0 . 01479______________________________________ the results of the finite element analysis show that the rim designs encompassed by this invention are significantly more efficient than the referenced , prior art designs . the disclosed rim section designs provide lower stress levels and higher stiffness values than the reference rim designs , for the same loading conditions . these designs accomplish this at nearly the same section weight as the lightest prior art rim design currently on the market . additional improvement to the disclosed design is possible by moving item d ( fig5 ) and item i ( fig6 ) up higher in the section . this will , in effect , reduce the cantilever action of the sides of the rim , making them stiffer and stronger . this will also increase the bottom cavity size of the rim thereby increasing its torsional stiffness . however , experience has shown that this will make changing the tire more difficult and hence is a less preferred embodiment and a trade - off that must be considered . the invention as depicted allows for easier tire changing than prior art designs . a foldable or wire bead type tire casing of the appropriate size can be installed by hand using no tire levers or other implements . | 1 |
the invention provides compositions including crosslinked lipase crystals that are unexpectedly active following exposure to harsh conditions associated with the upper gastrointestinal tract . these conditions include the acidic environment ( i . e ., the low ph ) of the stomach and high levels of proteases present in the gastrointestinal tract . in preferred embodiments , the compositions are provided in long - lasting compositions that pass through the highly acidic gastric environment of the stomach and allow for delivery of the enzymes in the composition to the intestines of a subject . the amylase and protease components can be provided in crystalline or amorphous , non - crystalline forms . the latter enzymes degrade carbohydrates and proteins present in the intestinal regions . because of the enhanced stability of the crosslinked lipase crystals , the pharmaceutical compositions of the invention have a higher specific activities in the gastrointestinal tract . as a result , they can be administered in lower amounts per dose , and can be administered fewer times over the course of a treatment regimen , at lower doses , and in fewer administrations . the invention provides a composition that includes a lipase crystal , a protease and an amylase . the lipase crystal is preferably present in the composition as a crosslinked crystal . in general , any lipase can be used in the composition , as long as it can be provided in a crosslinked crystalline form that resists proteolytic degradation and is stable in low ph . in various embodiments , the lipase is provided as a crosslinked crystal that is stable at a ph less than 7 , 6 , 5 , 4 . 5 , 4 , 3 . 5 , 3 . 0 , 2 . 5 , 2 . 0 , 1 . 5 or less . the lipase can be isolated from a prokaryotic or a eukaryotic cell . preferably the lipase is from a non - fungal organism . a preferred source of the lipase is a pseudomonas bacterium . if desired , the lipase can be isolated from a cell which expresses a recombinant form of the lipase . lipase crystals are grown by methods known in the art , e . g . by the controlled precipitation of protein out of aqueous solution , or aqueous solution containing organic solvents , as described in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 618 , 710 . for example , lipase crystals can be produced by combining the lipase protein to be crystallized with an appropriate aqueous solvent or aqueous solvent containing appropriate precipitating agents , such as salts or organic agents . the solvent is combined with the lipase at a temperature determined experimentally to be appropriate for the induction of crystallization and acceptable for the maintenance of protein stability and activity . the solvent can optionally include co - solutes , such as divalent cations , co - factors or chaotropes , as well as buffer species to control ph . the need for and concentrations of co - solutes are determined experimentally to facilitate crystallization . in an industrial scale process , the controlled precipitation leading to crystallization can best be carried out by the simple combination of protein , precipitant , co - solutes , and optionally buffers in a batch process . alternative laboratory crystallization methods , such as dialysis or vapor diffusion can also be adapted . for example , mcpherson ( methods enzymol . 114 : 112 ( 1985 )), and gilliland ( j . crystal growth 90 : 51 - 59 ( 1988 )) include a comprehensive list of suitable conditions in reviews of the crystallization literature . occasionally , incompatibility between the cross - linking reagent and the crystallization medium might require exchanging the crystals into a more suitable solvent system . once crystals are grown in a suitable medium , they can be cross - linked . cross - linking results in stabilization of the crystal lattice by introducing covalent links between the constituent enzyme molecules in the crystal . this makes possible the transfer of enzyme into an alternate reaction environment that might otherwise be incompatible with the existence of the crystal lattice , or even with the existence of intact undenatured protein . the cross - linking interactions prevent the constituent enzyme molecules in the crystal from going back into solution , effectively insolubilizing or immobilizing the enzyme molecules into microcrystalline structures . the macroscopic , immobilized , insolubilized crystals can be readily separated from e . g ., feedstock containing product or unreacted substrate by simple procedures known in the art , e . g . filtration and / or decantation . cross - linking can be achieved by a wide variety of reagents , e . g ., glutaraldehyde . cross - linking with glutaraldehyde forms strong covalent bonds between primarily lysine amino acid residues within and between the enzyme molecules in the crystal lattice that constitute the crystal . the crosslinking agent can be a multifunctional crosslinking reagent . crosslinking agents are described in , for example , the 1999 edition of the pierce chemical company catalog . examples of suitable crosslinking agents include glutareldehyde , succinaldehyde , octanedialdehyde and glyoxal . additional multifunctional crosslinking agents include halo - triazines , e . g ., cyanuric chloride ; halo - pyrimidines , e . g ., 2 , 4 , 6 - trichlorolbromopyrimidine ; anhydrides or halides of aliphatic or aromatic mono - or di - carboxylic acids , e . g ., maleic anhydride , ( meth ) acryloyl chloride , chloroacetyl chloride ; n - methylol compounds , e . g ., n - methylol - chloro acetamide ; di - isocyanates or di - isothiocyanates , e . g ., phenylene - 1 , 4 - di - isocyanate and aziridines . other crosslinking agents include epoxides , such as , for example , di - epoxides , tri - epoxides and tetra - epoxides . such multifunctional crosslinking agents may also be used , at the same time ( in parallel ) or in sequence , with reversible crosslinking agents , such as dimethyl 3 , 3 ′- dithiobispropionimidate . hcl -( dtbp , pierce ), and dithiobis ( succinimidylpropionate ) ( dsp , pierce ). formulations and compositions including crystals according to this invention may be crosslinked for additional stability . this allows for the use of such crystals , crystal formulations and compositions in areas of ph extremes , such as the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals . for example , lipase crystals , may be crosslinked using one of a variety of crosslinkers , including , but not limited to , dimethyl 3 , 3 ′- dithiobispropionimidate . hcl ( dtbp ), dithiobis ( succinimidylpropionate ) ( dsp ), bis maleimidohexane ( bmh ), bis [ sulfosuccinimidyl ] suberate ( bs ), 1 , 5 - difluoro - 2 , 4 - dinitrobenzene ( dfdnb ), dimethylsuberimidate . 2hcl ( dms ), disuccinimidyl glutarate ( dsg ), disulfosuccinimidyl tartarate ( sulfo - dst ), 1 - ethyl - 3 -[ 3 - dimethylaminopropyl ] carbodiimide hydrochloride ( edc ), ethylene glycolbis [ sulfosuccinimidylsuccinate ]( sulfo - egs ), n -[ g - maleimidobutyryloxy ] succinimide ester ( gmbs ), n - hydroxysulfosuccinimidyl - 4 - azidobenzoate ( sulfo - hsab ), sulfosuccinimidyl - 6 -[ a - methyl - a -( 2 - pyridyldithio ) toluamido ] hexanoate ( sulfo - lc - smpt ), bis -[ b -( 4 - azidosalicylamido ) ethyl ] disulfide ( based ) and glutaraldehyde ( ga ). in some embodiments , the lipase crystal is provided as a crystal in a powder form . the powder form can be produced , for example , by lyophilization or spray - drying . lyophilization , or freeze - drying , allows water to be separated from the composition , producing a crystal which can be stored at non - refrigerated ( room ) temperatures for extended periods of time , and which can be easily reconstituted in aqueous , organic , or mixed aqueous - organic solvents of choice without the formation of amorphous suspensions and with minimal risk of denaturation . carpenter , et al ., pharm . res ., 14 : 969 ( 1997 ). lyophilization may be performed as in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 618 , 710 , or by any other method known in the art . for example , the protein crystal is first frozen and then placed in a high vacuum where the crystalline water sublimes , leaving a protein crystal behind which contains only the tightly bound water molecules . because the cross - linked lipases described herein are stable against proteases , the preparations can be formulated in water and provided as aqueous slurry formulations , which is a preferred mode of administering lipases , especially to a pediatric subject . the catalytic activity of crystallized lipase can be measured using any method known in the art . for example , lipase activity can be determined spectrophotometrically as described in example 6 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 618 , 710 . lipase activity can be determined by monitoring hydrolysis of the substrate p - nitrophenyl acetate . substrate cleavage is monitored by increasing absorbance at 400 nm , with an initial substrate concentration of 0 . 005 % and starting enzyme concentration of 1 . 5 × 10 − 8 m . lipase enzyme is added to a 5 ml reaction volume containing substrate in 0 . 2 m tris ph 7 . 0 at room temperature . crystalline lipase is removed from the reaction mixture by centrifugation prior to measuring absorbance . alternatively , lipase activity can be measured in vitro by hydrolysis of olive oil as describe in examples 2 - 4 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 614 , 189 . lipase activity can also be measured in vivo . for example , a small volume ( about 3 ml ) of olive oil or corn oil can be labeled with 99 tc -( v ) thiocyanate , and crystalline lipase can be labeled with 111 in . the labeled fat is mixed with an animal food on to which is sprinkled the labeled crystalline lipase . scintigraphic images of the proximal and distal stomach and small intestine are obtained until & lt ; 5 % of the activity remains in the stomach . emptying curves for each of the isotopes ( e . g ., percent retention in the stomach over time ) and amounts of isotopes entering the proximal , middle , and distal small bowel from the respective regions of interest are determined . preferably , the composition includes a crosslinked crystalline lipase that has a high specific activity . a high specific activity lipase activity is typically one that shows a specific activity to triolein ( olive oil ) at greater than 500 , 1000 , 4000 , 5000 , 6000 , 7000 , 8000 , or 9000 or more units / mg protein . a preferred lipase is also stable for an extended period of time in a harsh environment found in gastrointestinal regions , e . g ., gastric , duodenal and intestinal regions . for example , the lipase is preferably stable for at least one hour in acidic ph , e . g ., an environment in which the ph is less than 7 , 6 , 5 , 4 . 5 , 4 , 3 . 5 , 3 . 0 , 2 . 5 , 2 . 0 , 1 . 5 or less . alternatively , or in addition , the crosslinked crystalline lipase crystal in the composition is heat resistant . for example , in various embodiments , the crosslinked crystalline lipase in various embodiments is stable for at least one hour at 30 ° c ., 35 ° c ., 37 ° c ., 40 ° c ., 42 ° c . or even 45 ° c . preferably , the composition is stable in the harsh environment , e . g ., the acidic environments or high temperature environments , or both , for at least 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , or 12 or more hours . by “ stable ” is meant that the lipase crystal is more active than the soluble form of the lipase for the given condition and time . thus , a stable lipase crystal retains a higher percentage of its initial activity than the corresponding soluble form of the lipase . in some embodiments , the lipase crystal is more active than the non - cross - linked crystalline form of the lipase . in some embodiments , the lipase crystal retains at least 50 % of its activity after exposure to the given conditions and time . in some embodiments , the lipase retains 60 %, 65 %, 75 %, 85 %, 90 %, or more of its activity . the composition is preferably also provided with a protease . any protease known in the art can be use in the composition . preferred proteases are trypsin , bromelain , papain , fungal proteases , or a combination of these proteases . the composition is preferably also provided with an amylase or with both a protease and an amylase . the amylase can be from any suitable prokaryotic or eukaryotic host . preferred amylases include those from bacillus or aspergillus species . additionally , either the protease , amylase , or both , may be provided in the crystalline form or in a lyophilized form . while the protease , amylase , or both , can be provided in the lyophilized form , in preferred embodiments these are present in non - crystalline , i . e ., amorphous , forms . if desired , additional components can be present in the composition . these components can include , e . g ., an esterase . pharmaceutical compositions containing acid - stable crosslinked lipase crystals , a protease , and an amylase also included in the invention is a pharmaceutical composition which includes an acid stable , proteolytic - resistant lipase , a protease and an amylase . preferably , the lipase is provided in a crystalline form , e . g ., a crosslinked crystalline form . the term “ pharmaceutically acceptable ” means approved by a regulatory agency of the federal or a state government or listed in the u . s . pharmacopoeia or other generally recognized pharmacopoeia for use in animals and , more particularly , in humans . the term “ carrier ” refers to a diluent , adjuvant , excipient , or vehicle with which the therapeutic is administered . typical excipients , include sugars and biocompatible polymers . examples of excipients are described in the handbook of pharmaceutical excipients , published jointly by the american pharmaceutical association and the pharmaceutical society of great britain . representative excipients include sucrose , trehalose , lacitol , gelatin , hydroxypropyl - β - cyclodextrin , methoxypolyethylene glycol , and polyethylene glycol . if the composition is to be provided in capsule or tablet form , a diluent may be included . typical diluents include , e . g ., calcium carbonate , dibasic calcium phosphate , tribasic calcium phosphate , calcium sulfate , microcrystalline cellulose , powdered cellulose , dextrates , dextrin , dextrose excipient , fructose , kaolin , lactose , mannitol , sorbitol , starch , pregelatinized starch , sucrose , compressible sugar , confectionery sugar . preferably , the pharmaceutical composition is formulated for oral delivery . in some embodiments , the lipase , protease , and amylase composition is present in the pharmaceutical composition in association with a polymeric carrier . in one embodiment , a slow release composition containing a cross linked crystal lipase is formed . the formulation of crosslinked lipase crystals , lyophilized amylase , lyophilized protease and a polymeric carrier allows for an acid - resistant controlled release capsule that results in delivery of the enzymes in effective amounts and at low doses to the intestine , e . g ., the distal bowel , following oral ingestion . furthermore , lipase crystals encapsulated within polymeric carriers to form microspheres can be dried by lyophilization . a polymeric carrier can include , e . g ., polymers used for encapsulation of protein crystals for delivery of proteins , including controlled release biological delivery . such polymers include biocompatible and biodegradable polymers . preferably , the polymeric carrier is a biodegradable polymer . biodegradable polymers are polymers that degrade by hydrolysis or solubilization . degradation can be heterogeneous , i . e ., occurring primarily at the particle surface , or homogenous , i . e ., degrading evenly throughout the polymer matrix , or a combination of such processes . the polymeric carrier may be a single polymer type or it may be composed of a mixture of polymer types . to protect the lipase , protease , and amylase from the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract , the composition is preferably encapsulated within a matrix of the polymeric carrier . microspheres are produced when protein crystals are encapsulated in at least one polymeric carrier to form microspheres by virtue of encapsulation within the matrix of the polymeric carrier to preserve their native and biologically active tertiary structure . the crystals can be encapsulated using various biocompatible and / or biodegradable polymers having unique properties which are suitable for delivery to different biological environments or for effecting specific functions . the rate of dissolution and , therefore , delivery of active protein is determined by the particular encapsulation technique , polymer composition , polymer crosslinking , polymer thickness , polymer solubility , protein crystal geometry and degree and , if any , of protein crystal crosslinking . the crystal ( s ) may be encapsulated using a variety of polymeric carriers having unique properties suitable for delivery to different and specific environments or for effecting specific functions . the rate of dissolution of the compositions and , therefore , delivery of the active protein can be modulated by varying crystal size , polymer composition , polymer crosslinking , crystal crosslinking , polymer thickness , polymer hydrophobicity , polymer crystallinity or polymer solubility . in some embodiments , the pharmaceutical composition is provided as a controlled release composition . for example , the composition can be one in which at least 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, 80 %, 85 %, 90 %, or even 95 % or more of the composition remains encapsulated within the matrix following exposure of the polymeric carrier to an acidic environment for an extended period of time , e . g , an acidic environment having a ph less than 7 , 6 , 5 , 4 . 5 , 4 , 3 . 5 , 3 . 0 , 2 . 5 , 2 . 0 , 1 . 5 , or less for at least one hour . in some embodiments , the composition is retained in the acidic conditions for 2 , 3 , 4 , 6 , 10 , 12 , or 24 or more hours . in various embodiments , the pharmaceutical composition is administered to a subject prior to , simultaneous with , or following ingestion of food by the subject . the subject to which the composition is administered preprandially , prandially , or postprandially can be , e . g ., a human , dog , cat , mouse , rat , horse , cow , or other mammal . also included in the invention are methods for treating or preventing gastrointestinal disorders in a mammal . according to this method , a therapeutically effective to amount of a crosslinked crystalline lipase , protease , amylase composition is administered to a subject in need of treatment . the subject to can be e . g ., a human , dog , cat , mouse , rat , horse , cow , or other mammal . preferably , the composition is administered orally , e . g ., at mealtime . for example , the composition can be administered just before , just after , or while eating . the compositions of the invention can be used to treat or prevent , for example , pancreatitis , pancreatic insufficiency , fat malabsorption , low lipase secretion , and gastrointestinal complications associated with cystic fibrosis . the methods of this invention can be also be used to treat any condition characterized by inadequate amounts of or ineffective lipase . such conditions include steatorrhea , essential fatty acid deficiency , failure to thrive , and fat - soluble vitamin deficiency . the effectiveness of the method of treatment can be assessed by measuring and comparing the coefficient of fat absorption ( cfa ) in healthy individuals with that of the subject being treated according to the methods of this invention . for example , a healthy mammal has a cfa greater than 90 %. subjects suffering from a gastrointestinal disorder characterized by pancreatic deficiency , pancreatitis , fat malabsorption or low lipase secretion , will typically have a cfa of less than 60 %. preferably , the methods of this invention are employed to increase the cfa of a subject in need of treatment to at least 60 %. more preferably , the cfa is increased to greater than 80 %. most preferably , the cfa is increased to greater than 85 %. an alternative means for measuring the efficacy of treatment of a subject according to the methods of this invention is by performing a 72 hour stool test . for example , effective treatment according to the invention decreases stool fat content in an adult human subject to less than 7 grams a day . the invention will be further illustrated in the following non - limiting examples . the activity of burkholderia cepacia lipase was determined by titrating the released fatty acids from olive oil against sodium hydroxide as described by u . s . pharmacopeia ( assay for lipase activity in pancreatin , u . s . pat . no . 24 , 2000 , 1254 - 1255 ). the lipase activity in usp units was calculated by comparison to the activity of the standard , using the lipase activity stated on the label of usp pancreatin lipase rs . one usp unit of lipase activity is the amount of enzyme that liberates 1 . 0μ eq of acid per minute at ph 9 . 0 and 37 ° c . under the conditions of the assay for lipase activity . lipase activity was measured using an olive oil assay . lipase supernatant sample were assessed for activity against olive oil in ph 7 . 7 buffer . the assay was carried out titrimetrically using slight modifications to the procedure described in pharmaceutical enzymes — properties and assay methods , ruyssen and lauwers , ( eds . ), scientific publishing company , ghent , belgium ( 1978 ). 1 . olive oil emulsion : 16 . 5 gm of gum arabic ( sigma ) was dissolved in 180 ml of water and 20 ml of olive oil ( sigma ) and emulsified using a quick prep mixer for 3 minutes . 5 . mix : 40 ml of solution a was combined with 20 ml of solution b and 100 ml of h 2 o ; the substrate was prepared by adding 50 ml of olive oil emulsion ( solution 1 ) to 40 ml of mix ( solution 5 ) and 10 ml of 0 . 5 % albumin ( solution 6 ). the lipase substrate solution ( solution 7 ) was warmed to 37 ° c . in a water bath . first , 20 ml of substrate was added to a reaction vessel and the ph was adjusted to 7 . 7 using 0 . 05 m naoh ( solution 2 ) and equilibrated to 37 ° c . with stirring . the reaction was initiated by adding enzyme . the reaction progress was monitored by titrating the mixture of enzyme and substrate with 0 . 05 m naoh to maintain the ph at 7 . 7 . the specific activity ( μmoles / min / mg protein ) was equal to the initial rate × 1000 × concentration of the titrant / the amount of enzyme . the zero point was determined by running the reaction without enzyme , i . e ., using buffer in the place of enzyme in the reaction mixture . the initial rate was equal to base consumption in ml / time in min . the blank was a sample without enzyme , i . e ., buffer was used instead of enzyme in the reaction mixture . the activity of proteases was determined by using casein as a substrate in a procedure as described by u . s . pharmacopeia ( assay for protease activity in pancreatin , u . s . pat . no . 24 , 2000 , 1254 - 1255 ). the protease activity in usp units was calculated by comparison to the activity of the standard , using the protease activity stated on the label is of usp pancreatin amylase and protease rs . one usp unit of protease activity is the amount of enzyme that hydrolyzes casein at an initial rate such that an amount of peptide ( that is not precipitated by trichloroacetic acid ) is liberated per minute that gives the same absorbance at 280 nm as 15 nmol of tyrosine under the conditions of the assay for protease activity . the activity of amylases was determined using starch as substrate as described by u . s . pharmacopeia ( assay for amylase activity in pancreatin , u . s . pat . no . 24 , 2000 , 1254 - 1255 ). the amylase activity in usp units was calculated by comparison to the activity of the standard , using the amylase activity stated on the label of usp pancreatin amylase and protease rs . one usp unit of amylase activity is the amount of enzyme that decomposes starch at an initial rate such that 0 . 16 meq of glycosidic linkage is hydrolyzed per minute under the conditions of the assay for amylase activity . the lipase from burkholderia cepacia ( lipase ps 3000 - amano ) (“ lps ”, 150 gm ) was dissolved in 1000 ml distilled deionized water and dialyzed against water overnight with three changes . to the protein , tert - butanol was added to a final concentration of 25 % and 1m sodium acetate buffer was added to a final concentration of 10 mm , followed by centrifugation to remove the precipitate that had formed after 1 hour . the crystals of lipase started forming in 15 min . crystallization was then allowed to proceed for 16 hrs before harvesting . more than 95 % yield ( based on activity ) was obtained by this procedure . the crystals were rod shaped and fairly uniform in size ( approximately 10 - 15 μm in length ) and shape when observed under light microscope , and as measured by a coulter ls particle size analyzer . crosslinking of lipase crystals was carried out using 2 mm bis ( sulfosuccinimidyl ) suberate bs (“ bs ”) in mother liquor ( 25 % tert - butanol at ph 8 . 5 in 50 mm phosphate buffer ). crosslinking was carried out at 4 ° c . overnight ( 16 hrs ) with tumbling . after 16 hours , the slurry was centrifuged at 3000 rpm and the supernatant was discarded . the crosslinking was terminated by washing off excess reagent with mother liquor in the presence of 10 mm tris . hcl to inactivate the any unreactive cross - linker . finally , the cross - linked burkholderia cepacia enzyme complex ( clec - bc ) was washed thoroughly with 10 mm sodium acetate buffer , ph 4 . 5 and stored at 4 ° c . the crystal integrity of the formulations was monitored by inspection under a light microscope and by coulter counter analysis for particle size measurement . the rod shape of the crystals and their size remained unchanged after crosslinking . the fourier transform infrared ( ftir ) spectra of soluble , crosslinked , and noncrosslinked lipase crystals were collected on a nicolet model 550 magna series spectrometer as described by dong et al . in biochemistry 31 : 9364 - 70 ( 1992 ) and in j . pharm . sci . : 84 : 415 - 24 ( 1995 ). the noncrosslinked lipase crystal slurry and clec - bc slurry samples ( about 5 to 10 mg / ml each ) were placed on a zinc selenide crystal of ark esp . the spectra were collected and processed using grams 32 from galactic software for the determination of relative areas of the individual components of secondary structure using second derivative and curve - fitting program under the amide i region ( 1600 - 1700 cm − 1 ). both noncrosslinked soluble lipase and clec - bc gave identical spectra without any major changes in secondary structure . the activity of cross - linked enzyme burkholderia cepacia (“ bc ”) crystals was examined . clec - bc crosslinked with bis ( sulfosuccinimidyl ) suberate ( bs ) is active . the clec - bc crosslinked with bs was approximately ˜ 50 % active when compared to noncrosslinked soluble lipase ( table 1 ). the activities of the soluble lipase and the crosslinked lipase were compared using both the usp method ( example i ) and olive oil - release ( example 2 ) method . the activity of the clec - bc was determined at various ph levels using end point titration . the activities were determined at ph 2 . 0 , ph 4 . 5 , ph 5 . 5 , ph 6 . 5 , ph 7 . 7 and ph 9 . 0 . the samples were titrated using ph stat for 15 min at the above - mentioned ph levels and then the ph of each sample was immediately raised to ph 7 . 7 , except for the ph 9 . 0 sample , which was measured as it was . in the cases where the ph was raised to 7 . 7 , the controls were run immediately without incubation for 15 minutes . clec - bc crosslinked with bis ( sulfosuccinimidyl ) suberate - bs was active at various ph levels tested . the clec - bc showed activity at various ph ranges . with the exception of ph 2 . 0 , at which only 25 % activity was observed , clec - bc showed high activity at all ph levels tested . the stability of clec - bc over time was examined . stability of the clec - bc was determined at different ph levels at 37 ° c . for 5 hours . the clecs were suspended in ph 2 . 0 ( glycine . hcl buffer ), ph 3 . 0 ( glycine . hcl buffer ), ph 4 . 0 ( acetate buffer ), ph 5 . 0 ( acetate buffer ), ph 6 . 0 ( phosphate buffer ), ph 7 . 0 ( phosphate buffer ), ph 8 . 0 ( phosphate buffer ), ph 9 . 0 ( carbonate bicarbonate buffer ), and ph 10 . 0 ( carbonate bicarbonate buffer ) separately for 5 hrs at 37 ° c . stability of the clecs was determined by estimating the activities of the clecs at time zero and at the end of 5 hours . stability of soluble bc enzyme was also examined at ph 2 . 0 over a time period of five hours . activity was measured as a percentage of starting activity . clec - bc was found to be stable at all ph values tested during the time range examined . the solubility of a bc - clec formulation was determined under acidic conditions using 10 mm glycine . hcl buffer , ph 2 . 0 . the clecs were washed with 10 mm glycine . hcl buffer , ph 2 . 0 , and suspended in the same buffer with tumbling at 37 ° c . for 5 hr . the crystal dissolution was examined by passing an aliquot through a 0 . 22 um filter . protein ( bradford &# 39 ; s method ) and lipolytic activity ( lipase assay using olive oil ) were determined in the filtrate ( soluble clec ) which gave the amount of crystals solubilized . for determining the activity of the crystals ( clec ), the soluble enzyme activity was subtracted from the total activity in the sample ( activity before filtration ). no significant leaching from clec - bc was observed at ph 2 . 0 . the solubility of the clec formulation was determined under acidic conditions using 10 mm glycine . hcl buffer , ph 2 . 0 . the clecs were washed with 10 mm glycine . hcl buffer , ph 2 . 0 , and suspended in the same buffer with tumbling at 37 ° c . for 5 hr . only 0 . 44 % leaching was observed over a period of 5 hours . stability against proteolytic degradation was assessed by incubating the clec with various proteases , such as pepsin ( which is present in the stomach ), and trypsin or chymotrypsin ( which are present in the duodenum ). in addition , protease bromelain was tested because it had been selected to be included in a combination therapy to substitute for protease in the pancreatic extract . each clec was incubated at 37 ° c . under gentle agitation in a solution of either 10 mm glycine . hcl buffer , ph 2 . 0 for pepsin or 10 mm phosphate buffer for trypsin / chymotrypsin , ph 7 . 0 or 10 mm acetate buffer , ph 5 . 5 for bromelain with a clec to protease ratio of 10 : 1 ( w / w ). aliquots were taken at every hour and measured for the residual lipolytic activity using olive oil as substrate . clec - bc showed high stability against pepsin treatment for 5 hours , without any loss of activity or crystal lattice . under similar conditions , the soluble lipase lost about 58 % activity . clec - bc showed no loss in activity after 5 hours incubation with trypsin , while soluble enzyme lost about 36 % activity in 4 hr under similar conditions . with chymotrypsin , clec - bc showed only 28 % loss in activity for 5 hours , while soluble lipase lost 82 % of activity in 5 hours at ph 7 . 0 . in addition , both clec - bc and soluble lipase were stable to proteolytic degradation by bromelain . efficacy and bioavailability studies were performed to demonstrate that administration of particles ( 5 - 20 μm diameter ) of clec - bc will correct steatorrhea in canines with pancreatic insufficiency . reduction of steatorrhea with clec - lipase is related to survival of lipolytic activity . slowing of gastric emptying , which occurs with high fat meals , enhances the mixing of the lipase with fat that leads to efficient fat digestion and absorption . for the studies , female mongrel dogs weighing between 18 - 21 kg were used . dogs were first anesthetized with an intravenous injection of thiopental sodium and then underwent endotracheal intubation . anesthesia was maintained by halothane gas . after celiotomy , both the minor and major pancreatic ducts were individually ligated , and all other tissue connections between the duodenum and the head of the pancreas were transected . during the balance studies , the dogs were fed two meals a day . with the first meal of the study , a carmine red marker was given . after appearance of carmine red in stool , a 72 - hour stool collection was started . fecal consistency ( grade 1 : well - formed , grade 2 : mushy or loose , grade 3 : watery ) and frequency were recorded and a fecal score was calculated by multiplying fecal consistency and frequency . the 72 - hour stool was analyzed for total weight , carbohydrate , fat , and protein . between studies , the dogs were maintained as described below for at least 3 - 7 days before beginning another fecal balance study . each dog ingested a high fat meal containing 850 kcal comprised of 21 , 43 and 36 % of calories , respectively , as carbohydrate , fat and protein . the basic meal was hill &# 39 ; s canned dog food ( hill &# 39 ; s pet products , topeka , kans .). it contained chicken , meat by - product , rice , ground corn , liver , animal fat , whole egg , turkey , soybean meal and cracked pearled barley . the meal was supplemented with 46 - g promod powder and minerals . a high fat meal ( high fat , high protein , and low carbohydrate ) was used . in addition , this meal was associated with the best coordination between solid meal emptying and lipase delivery to the duodenum . suzuki et al ., gastroenterology 12 : 2048 - 55 ( 1997 ); cornell , experiments with mixtures new york : wiley , ( 1981 ); boivin et al ., gastroenterology 99 : 1763 - 1771 ( 1990 ). to adjust the mineral content so that the mineral requirement per day was nearly equal among the meals , 1 . 7 g na3 ( c6h507 ) and 2 . 0g kcl was added to the meal . overall content of mineral was as follows : ca - 2088 mg , na - 170 mg , k - 2108 mg , cl - 1869 mg , p - 1699 mg , mg - 180 mg . between studies , dogs were fed canned dog food ( hill &# 39 ; s prescription diet , canine i / d , hill &# 39 ; s pet products , topeka , kans .). each can contained 580 kcal , comprised of 48 % carbohydrate , 27 % fat and 25 % protein as percentage of calories , 15 g of fat as triglyceride , diglyceride , monoglyceride and fatty acid , 1 g of cholesterol and 1 g of cholesterol ester , and 0 . 5 g of phospholipid . dogs were fed two cans in the morning and one can in the afternoon . ten grams of porcine pancreatin powder ( viokase , ah robins company , richmond , va .) were given with the morning meal and 7 g with the afternoon meal . this dose of pancreatic enzymes maintains the body weight of pancreatic insufficient dogs within 10 % of preoperative values . dogs were weighed weekly . fasting blood glucose levels were measured weekly . the results are presented in fig1 , and 3 . clec - bc was administered at doses of 150 , 000 units (“ thera clec - bc ” ( 1 )” in fig1 - 3 ); 30 , 000 units (“ thera clec - bc ” ( 2 ) in fig1 - 3 ), or ( 7 , 500 units “ thera clec - bc ” ( 3 ) in fig1 - 3 ). fig1 shows the effect of various doses of clec - bc on mean coefficient of fat absorption ( cfa ). post - operative mean cfa levels in untreated dogs was reduced to about 60 % of pre - operative levels . for all doses tested , addition of clec - bc restored percent cfa to about 90 % of pre - operative levels . [ 0100 ] fig2 shows the effect of various doses of clec - bc on mean stool fat . in untreated post - operative dogs , mean stool fat increased from barely detectable levels to 40 grams / 24 hours . addition of clec - bc to post - operative dogs decreased mean stool fat to about 10 grams / 24 hours for all doses tested . [ 0101 ] fig3 shows the effect of various doses of clec - bc on mean coefficient of protein absorption ( cpa ) in four dogs . mean cpa decreased from about 95 % absorption in pre - operative dogs to about 40 % in post - operative dogs . addition of clec - bc did not significantly affect mean cpa . clec - bc achieved reductions in cfa comparable to those observed using viokase ® and creon ®, two agents used to treat pancreatic exocrine insufficiency . however , clec - bc differed from the agents in the amount of dose required to correct steatorrhea in dogs . similar effects were achieved by using only 6 - 113 mg clec - bc vs . 1 - 4 g viokase ® and 0 . 5 - 1 . 0 g of creon ®. it can be seen from fig3 clec - bc did not increase cpa over its postoperative , untreated level . in vivo assay of bioavailability of a composition including clec - bc bromelain , and amylase the bioavailability of a composition including clec - bc , bromelain , and amylase in correcting pancreatic azotorrhea was examined . efficacy was compared to efficacy of addition of the lipases viokase ® and creon ®. the coefficient of protein absorption ( cpa ) following addition of the agents was measured by 72 - hr fecal balance studies immediately before and after the operation resulting in pancreatic insufficiency , and 3 weeks after the operation with the doses of the following products : viokase ® 8 , 4 and 2 tablets ( 240 , 000 120 , 000 and 60 , 000 usp protease units ); creon - 20 ® 2 and 1 capsules ( 150 , 000 and 75 , 000 usp of protease ); clec - total consisting of clec - bc ( 150 , 000 usp ; 113 . 5 mg ), bromelain ( 150 , 000 usp ; 214 mg ) and bacillus amylase ( 150 , 000 usp ; 71 . 9 mg ). the enzyme activity of these preparations is shown in table 2 . during these studies , dogs ingested a diet comprised of 43 % fat , 36 % protein and 21 % carbohydrate as a percentage of calories ( 1700 kcal / d ). the coefficient of fat absorption was & gt ; 88 % with all treatments ( fig4 ). the coefficient of protein absorption ( cpa ) was directly correlated ( r = 0 . 86 ) with the amount of protease in the preparations . the cpa increased from 59 % with the lowest protease dose to 79 % with the highest protease dose . the cpa with bromelain ( 69 %; 150 , 000 usp protease ) was similar to the cpa of 2 capsules of creon ® ( 63 %; 150 , 000 usp units ) and to the cpa of 4 tablets of viokase ® ( 72 %; 120 , 000 usp protease units ) ( fig6 and 7 ). it was noted that the actual proteolytic activities of the viokase ® and creon ® were at least 35 % higher than their stated activities . indeed , the actual protease activity of viokase ® was 46 , 248 usp units per tablet vs the 30 , 000 usp units per tablet claimed for viokase ®, and 100 , 519 usp units per capsule vs the 75 , 000 usp units per capsule claimed for creon ®. these results demonstrate that a composition containing clec - bc , bromelain , and amylase is at least as effective on a per unit basis as porcine proteases in reducing protein malabsorption ( fig6 and 7 ). in addition , the results show that a small amount ( 114 mg ) of clec - bc in clec - total corrects steatorrhea in dogs at least as well as 8 tablets of viokase ® (˜ 4 μm ) or 2 capsules of creson (˜ 1 μm ) ( fig4 ). | 0 |
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 depicts a t - fitting 10 having a throat 12 having an aperture with male threads 14 on the outside . a wall 16 is presented in cross section to indicate the anticipated installed position of the t - fitting 10 . fig2 is a cutaway version of an adjustable slip joint coupling having a female thread on its internal diameter . female coupling 20 is comprised of an unthreaded extension 22 providing length that can be varied for adjustment . the threaded internal diameter 24 comprises a female portion dimensioned to threadingly engage male portion 14 of the t - fixture or other fixtures . a seal abutment 26 separating the threaded portion 24 and non - threaded portion 22 is provided for seating of a seal ( not shown ) in order to apply a water tight seal between an end of the fixture exit pipe , such as a p - trap pipe , and the male portion of the t or other fixture . the outer diameter of the adjustable slip joint coupling 20 may include a marker 28 just behind the location of the lip 26 on the internal diameter . this marker will indicate to a plumber that portion of the non - threaded length 22 of the coupling that is the extension which may be cut for adjustment . in operation , the female slip joint coupling 20 will be measured by the plumber and cut with any of a variety of standard pipe cutters at any selectable place in the unthreaded portion 22 of the coupling . the plumber may cut through a standard thickness of the coupling wall , as indicated on the top portion of fig2 . alternatively , the female coupling 20 may be fabricated such that preconfigured thin or weak portions of the coupling wall be included , such as notches or grooves on outside diameter 30 , on an inside diameter 34 , or hollow portions within the thickness of the coupling wall 32 . for hollow portions 32 and internal diameter thin portions 34 , one may alternatively include markers on the outside diameter indicating where these positions are . alternatively , pieces could be screwed or glued together , using joining interfaces such as those shown in fig5 . having measured and cut the adjustable female slip joint coupling 20 to an appropriate length , the fixture exit pipe or p - trap pipe is inserted through female slip joint coupling 20 , through a standard seal and then into throat 12 of t - fitting 10 . the plumber then slides the female slip joint coupling 20 along the p - trap pipe until it engages male threads 14 on throat 12 , whereupon the plumber screws the coupling in . having adjusted the female coupling 22 an appropriate length , any escutcheon or other fixture provided will appropriately fit over end portion 36 of female coupling 20 , thereby providing an esthetically acceptable finish . fig4 shows a double throated t - fitting , each throat 112 having male threads 114 . fig5 shows a double threaded 90 fitting , which may also have the male threads of the present invention , 214 . a single 90 having a male thread 214 is indicated on the right hand side of fig4 in a profile corresponding to the phantom line in that figure . the adjustable slip joint female threaded coupling of the present invention may mate with any of the depicted single throat t - fixture , double throat t - fixture , single throat 90 or double throat 90 . either or both of the fittings herein described may be made of any material , including cast iron , steel , plastic , and particularly polyvinylchloride ( pvc ). fig5 shows an alternate system wherein the adjustable female slip joint couplings 320 are each at a different length . the female threaded portions 324 and lips 326 are the same as depicted in fig2 . however , the unthreaded portion 322 is a different length for each of the depicted examples . accordingly , in operation , the system of the present invention would include a plumber having various lengths of female threaded slip joint couplings in his tool box . when presented with a mismatched dimension for joining a fixture exit pipe with the wall pipe fitting when the wall pipe fitting is behind the wall , the plumber may choose the length of female threaded coupling 320 best suited for the dimensions at hand and proceed to fit the fixture with that selected coupling . this invention eliminates one and sometimes two pieces normally needed for installation of plumbing fixture to wall pipe . it eliminates the need to carry a saw , pvc cleaner and pvc glue when setting fixtures and saves labor and material . fig7 is a perspective view of the double y fixture of the present invention . double y fixture 410 is comprised of a main pipe 412 having an output aperture 414 at a first end and a plug aperture 416 at an opposite end . the double y 410 also has two side pipes 418 a and 418 b each having an input aperture 420 a and 420 b . the input apertures are connected through a p trap to the sink drains ( not shown ). the input aperture end 420 of side pipes 418 , has an angled or beveled interior surface 422 a and 422 b . these surfaces are dimensioned to receive and maintain a sealing abutment with a slip joint ring . each of the plug and input apertures are threaded . in the depicted embodiment , the side pipes 418 have male threads 424 a and 424 b . in the depicted embodiment , plug aperture 416 includes a female thread 426 . threading each of the side pipe and plug ends of the main pipe , eliminates the need for adapting fittings as was required by the prior art . main pipe 412 may be adjusted in length . the three embodiments are depicted in fig7 . a simple straight main pipe 412 and exit aperture 414 are shown . an adjustment could be made with conventional means such as cutting with a tube cutter or sawing to length . the main pipe 412 could then be glued with a conventional coupling . fig8 , the cutaway side view , shows a further embodiment . it is anticipated that main pipe 412 may be threaded 428 at end 414 or not . the invention may comprise a series of y shaped couplings each having a different dimension 440 in order to accommodate different distances between a wall fixture and the sink outlets . in assembly then , the plumber would simply select the appropriate length , screw fit the main pipe 412 to the wall fixture with a slip joint , then screw fit the p - traps with slip joints at ends 420 . in the embodiment depicted in fig8 , the main pipe 412 may also be adjustable in dimension 440 in that weak portions are prefabricated into the wall of main pipe 412 in order to accommodate cutting to length . the weak portions may be an internal indentation in the wall 432 , an internal hole in the wall 434 , or an external indentation 436 . in assembly , the plumber would cut the main pipe 412 along one of the weak points in order to adjust dimension 440 for installation accommodating various distances from the wall fixture to the sink outlet . the outside of the main pipe 412 may have markers corresponding to the weak points to indicate to the plumber where to cut . as various modifications could be made to the exemplary embodiments , as described above with reference to the corresponding illustrations , without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative rather than limiting . thus , the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims appended hereto and their equivalents . | 5 |
according to the invention a protective layer 7 ( fig1 ) for protecting a component 1 , 120 , 130 , 138 , 155 ( fig1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) against corrosion and oxidation at a high temperature comprises the following elements ( data in wt %): 0 . 3 % to 0 . 5 % yttrium and / or at least one equivalent metal from the group comprising scandium and the rare earth elements , and the remainder nickel . the alloy may also comprise further elements . preferably , however , the alloy consists of nickel , cobalt , chromium , aluminum , yttrium and rhenium . the advantageous effect of the element rhenium is thereby utilized while preventing the brittle phase formation . it is to be noted that the levels of the individual elements are specially adapted with a view to their effects , which are to be considered in combination with the element rhenium . if the levels are set so that no chromium - rhenium precipitates are formed , no brittle phases are advantageously created during use of the protective layer so that the longterm behavior is improved and extended . this is achieved not only by a low chromium content but also , taking into account the effect of aluminum on the phase formation , by accurately setting the aluminum content . the low choice of from 11 % to 13 % cobalt surprisingly improves the thermal and mechanical properties of the protective layer 7 significantly and superproportionally . this narrowly selected range of cobalt suppresses particularly well the creation and further formation of the γ ′ phase of the alloy , which normally leads to a peak in the thermal expansion coefficient of the alloy . during strong heating of the component with the protective layer 7 ( startup of the turbine ) or other temperature fluctuations , this peak would otherwise cause high mechanical stresses ( thermal mismatch ) between a protective layer 7 and a substrate 4 ( fig1 ) of the component 1 , 120 , 130 , 138 , 155 . this is at least drastically reduced by the cobalt content selected according to the invention . in conjunction with the reduction of the brittle phases , which have a detrimental effect especially under high mechanical properties , the mechanical properties are improved by the reduction of the mechanical stresses through the selected cobalt content . together with good corrosion resistance , the protective layer has particularly good resistance against oxidation and is also distinguished by particularly good ductility properties , so that it is particularly qualified for use in a gas turbine with a further increase in the intake temperature . during operation , embrittlement scarcely takes place since the layer comprises hardly any chromium - rhenium precipitates which are embrittled in the course of use . the superalloy comprises no chromium - rhenium precipitates , or at most 6 vol % thereof . it is particularly favorable to set the level of rhenium at 2 %, the chromium content at 21 %, the aluminum content at 11 %, the cobalt content at 12 % and the yttrium content at 0 . 4 %. certain variations are encountered owing to industrial mass production , so that yttrium contents of from 0 . 2 % to 0 . 3 % or from 0 . 4 % to 0 . 6 % are also used and likewise exhibit good properties . the trace elements in the powder to be sprayed and therefore in the protective layer 7 , which form precipitates and therefore represent embrittlements , play a likewise important role . the powders are for example applied by plasma spraying ( aps , lpps , vps , . . . ). other methods may likewise be envisaged ( pvd , cvd , cold gas spraying , . . . ). the sum of the trace elements in the protective layer 7 is in particular & lt ; 0 . 5 % in total and is advantageously distributed as follows between the individual elements : carbon & lt ; 250 ppm , oxygen & lt ; 400 ppm , nitrogen & lt ; 100 ppm and hydrogen & lt ; 50 ppm . in the case of this component 1 , the protective layer 7 is advantageously applied onto a substrate 4 made of a nickel - based or cobalt - based superalloy . the compositions of the superalloys listed in fig3 are suitable as the substrate 4 , in particular the alloys which form a ds or sx structure . the thickness of the protective layer 7 on the component 1 is preferably set to a value of between 100 μm and 300 μm . the protective layer 7 is particularly suitable for protecting a component against corrosion and oxidation while the component is being exposed to an exhaust gas at a material temperature of about 950 ° c ., or even about 1100 ° c . in aircraft turbines . the protective layer 7 according to the invention is therefore particularly qualified for protecting a component 1 , 120 , 130 , 138 , 155 of a gas turbine 100 , in particular a guide vane 130 , rotor blade 120 or other components , which are exposed to hot gas before or in the turbine of the gas turbine 100 . the protective layer 7 may be used as an overlay ( the protective layer is the outer layer ) or as a bondcoat ( the protective layer is an interlayer and adhesion promoter layer ). further layers , in particular ceramic thermal barrier layers 10 ( fig1 ) may be applied onto this protective layer 7 . the layer system 1 consists of a substrate 4 . the substrate 4 may be metallic and / or ceramic . particularly in the case of turbine components , for example turbine rotor blades 120 ( fig6 ) or guide vanes 130 ( fig4 , 6 ), combustion chamber linings 155 ( fig5 ) and other housing parts 138 of a steam or gas turbine 100 ( fig4 ), the substrate 4 consists of a nickel - or cobalt - based superalloy . the protective layer 7 according to the invention is placed on the substrate 4 . this protective layer 7 is preferably applied by lpps ( low pressure plasma spraying ) or by cold gas spraying . the protective layer 7 may be applied onto newly produced components 1 and refurbished components 1 . refurbishment means that components 1 are optionally separated from layers ( thermal barrier layer ) after their use and corrosion and oxidation products are removed , for example by an acid treatment ( acid stripping ). it may sometimes also be necessary to repair cracks . such a component may subsequently be recoated , since the substrate 4 is very expensive . fig2 shows experimental results of loading specimens which were subjected to cyclic loads , i . e . experimental results for a specimen ( application ) having a composition according to the present application ( claim 2 ) and experimental results for a layer according to the prior art ( prior art ) which comprises a composition according to u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 154 , 885 , 5 , 273 , 712 or u . s . pat . no . 5 , 268 , 238 . the layers were applied onto a substrate with the designation pwa 1484 ( pratt & amp ; whitney alloy ). the specimens were exposed to a particular cyclic mechanical load ( vibration loading ) and cyclic thermal loading ( tmf tests ). the tests were carried out under strain control with 0 . 50 % strain . the horizontally measured crack length is plotted in fig2 against the number of cycles . it can be seen clearly that the layer according to the prior art already has cracks after 750 cycles , and they grow very much more rapidly than in a layer according to the application . in the layer according to the application cracks only occur below 1000 cycles , and furthermore they are still very much smaller than those of the layer according to the prior art . the crack growth over the number of cycles is also much less . this demonstrates the superiority of the protective layer 7 according to the invention . fig4 shows by way of example a gas turbine 100 in a longitudinal partial section . the gas turbine 100 internally comprises a rotor 103 , or turbine rotor , mounted so that it can rotate about a rotation axis 102 . successively along the rotor 103 , there are an intake manifold 104 , a compressor 105 , an e . g . toroidal combustion chamber 110 , in particular a ring combustion chamber 106 , having a plurality of burners 107 arranged coaxially , a turbine 108 and the exhaust manifold 109 . the ring combustion chamber 106 communicates with an e . g . annular hot gas channel 111 . there , for example four successively connected turbine stages 112 form the turbine 108 . each turbine stage 112 is formed by two blade rings . as seen in the flow direction of a working medium 113 , a row 125 formed by rotor blades 120 follows in the hot gas channel 111 of a guide vane row 115 . the guide vanes 130 are fastened on an inner housing 138 of a stator 143 , while the rotor blades 120 of a row 125 are fastened on the rotor 103 for example by means of a turbine disk 133 . coupled to the rotor 103 , there is a generator or a work engine ( not shown ). during operation of the gas turbine 100 , air 135 is taken in by the compressor 105 through the intake manifold 104 and compressed . the compressed air provided at the turbine - side end of the compressor 105 is delivered to the burners 107 and mixed there with a fuel . the mixture is then burnt to form the working medium 113 in the combustion chamber 110 . from there , the working medium 113 flows along the hot gas channel 111 past the guide vanes 130 and the rotor blades 120 . at the rotor blades 120 , the working medium 113 expands by imparting momentum , so that the rotor blades 120 drive the rotor 103 and the work engine coupled to it . during operation of the gas turbine 100 , the components exposed to the hot working medium 113 experience thermal loads . apart from the heat shield blocks lining the ring combustion chamber 106 , the guide vanes 130 and rotor blades 120 of the first turbine stage 112 , as seen in the flow direction of the working medium 113 , are thermally loaded most greatly . in order to withstand the temperatures prevailing there , they are cooled by means of a coolant . the substrates may likewise comprise a directional structure , i . e . they are monocrystalline ( sx structure ) or comprise only longitudinally directed grains ( ds ). for example , superalloys such as those known from ep 1 204 776 , ep 1 306 454 , ep 1 319 729 , wo 99 / 67435 or wo 00 / 44949 are used . these documents are part of the disclosure in respect of the composition of the superalloys and their advantages . the blades and vanes 120 , 130 comprise protective layers 7 according to the invention against corrosion and corrosion and / or a thermal barrier layer . the thermal barrier layer consists for example of zro 2 , y 2 o 3 — zro 2 , i . e . it is non - stabilized or partially or fully stabilized by yttrium oxide and / or calcium oxide and / or magnesium oxide . columnar grains are generated in the thermal barrier layer by suitable coating methods , for example electron beam deposition ( eb - pvd ). the guide vanes 130 comprise a guide vane root ( not shown here ) facing the inner housing 138 of the turbine 108 , and a guide vane head lying opposite the guide vane root . the guide vane head faces the rotor 103 and is fastened on a fastening ring 140 of the stator 143 . fig5 shows a combustion chamber 110 of a gas turbine , which may comprise a layer system 1 . the combustion chamber 110 is designed for example as a so - called ring combustion chamber , in which a multiplicity of burners 102 arranged in the circumferential direction around the turbine shaft 103 open into a common combustion chamber space . to this end , the combustion chamber 110 in its entirety is designed as an annular structure which is positioned around the turbine shaft 103 . in order to achieve a comparatively high efficiency , the combustion chamber 110 is designed for a relatively high temperature of the working medium m , i . e . about 1000 ° c . to 1600 ° c . in order to permit a comparatively long operating time even under these operating parameters which are unfavorable for the materials , the combustion chamber wall 153 is provided with an inner lining formed by heat shield elements 155 on its side facing the working medium m . each heat shield element 155 is equipped with a particularly heat - resistant protective layer on the working medium side , or is made of refractory material and comprises the protective layer 7 according to fig1 . owing to the high temperatures inside the combustion chamber 110 , a cooling system is also provided for the heat shield elements 155 or their holding elements . the materials of the combustion chamber wall and its coatings may be similar to the turbine blades and vanes 120 , 130 . the combustion chamber 110 is in particular designed in order to detect losses of the heat shield elements 155 . to this end , a number of temperature sensors 158 are positioned between the combustion chamber wall 153 and the heat shield elements 155 . fig6 shows in perspective view a blade 120 , 130 which comprises a layer system 1 having the protective layer 7 according to the invention . the blades 120 , 130 extend along a longitudinal axis 121 . in succession along the longitudinal axis 121 , the blades 120 , 130 comprise a fastening region 400 , a blade platform 403 adjacent thereto and a blade surface region 406 . in particular , the protective layer 7 or a layer system 1 according to fig1 is formed in the blade surface region 406 . a blade root 183 , which is used for fastening the rotor blades 120 , 130 on the shaft , is formed in the fastening region 400 . the blade root 183 is designed as a hammerhead . other designs are possible , for example as a firtree or dovetail root . in conventional blades 120 , 130 , for example , solid metallic materials are used in all regions 400 , 403 , 406 of the rotor blade 120 , 130 . the rotor blades 120 , 130 may in this case be manufactured by a casting method , by a forging method , by a machining method or combinations thereof . | 8 |
fig1 shows the positive polarity portion of the quantizing characteristic of a compressed signal in the μ - law pcm coding with μ = 255 . in the illustrated case , the whole characteristic including the positive and negative portions is approximated by a broken line having fifteen line segments or chords . that is , in the illustrated quantizing characteristic of a compressed signal , each of the positive and the negative portions is divided into eight line segments i - viii , each segment being divided into 16 steps except for the first segment which is divided into 151 / 2 steps according to the quantization of the mid - tread mode . further , in every two adjacent segments , the analog value corresponding to each step in one segment distant from the origin is twice as large as that corresponding to each step in the other segment . in a pcm encoder , an analog voice signal is converted to a digital code having 8 bits ( b 1 - b 8 ) in accordance with the above quantizing characteristic . in this case , the first bit ( b 1 ) is used to indicate the polarity of the signal , the second to the fourth bits ( b 2 - b 4 ) are used to specify in binary representation one of the segments i - viii , and the fifth to the eighth bits ( b 5 - b 8 ) are used to specify one of the steps in the segment specified by the b 2 to b 4 bits . the pcm decoder according to this invention has a capacitor array circuit including eight capacitors c 0 - c 7 whose capacitances are proportionally binary - weighted and a resistor string circuit including a plurality of series resistors each having a resistance of r , 2r or 3r , for deriving different voltages by dividing a reference voltage . a voltage corresponding to the lower four bits b 5 - b 8 of a received data block is produced by the resistor string circuit . the voltage produced by the resistor string circuit and the reference voltage are applied to selected capacitors , respectively , in the capacitor array circuit determined according to the contents of the second to the fourth bits b 2 - b 4 of the received data block thereby producing an analog voltage corresponding to the received data block from the capacitor array circuit . in this case , the resistor string circuit is provided with two groups of intermediate taps to produce voltages according to the characteristic a shown in fig2 for the data derived from the non - signalling frames and voltages according to the characteristic b in fig2 for the data derived from the signalling frames . now , the circuit in an embodiment of this invention , shown in fig3 will be described with the aid of fig4 showing the waveforms of the signals appearing at various points in the circuit . the pcm decoder shown in fig3 generally comprises four circuit sections . the first circuit section 1 comprises an 8 - bit serial - input / parallel - output shift register 11 and an 8 - bit parallel - input / parallel - output register 12 . pcm bit signals applied to the terminal 102 are serially taken in the shift register 11 in response to a clock pulse signal received at the terminal 101 . the contents of the shift register 11 are then parallely transferred to the register 12 in response to a latch pulse received at the terminal 103 , and delivered as a parallel signal of 8 bits from the register 12 . in this case , the logic levels of the 2nd to 8th bits ( b 2 - b 8 ) in the output of the register 12 are inverted . the second circuit section 2 serves to control the turn - on and - off of analog switches connected to the capacitor array circuit in the third circuit section 3 and of analog switches connected to the resistor string circuit in the fourth circuit section 4 in accordance with the output of the first circuit section 1 . more particularly , in the second circuit section 2 , a circuit 21 delivers on - off control signals sy 01 - sy 81 to control the analog switches y 01 , y 02 , y 03 ,- y 07 in third circuit section 3 according to the logical information corresponding to the 2nd to 4th bits b 2 - b 4 in the output of the register 12 and a reset signal 201 which makes valid the logical outputs from the register 12 for a suitable period of time sufficient to have the logic circuits 21 and 24 performing their logical processes . a circuit 22 is a four - to - sixteen line decoder which receives 4 - bit logical information corresponding to the 5th to 8th bits b 5 - b 8 of the output of the register 12 and delivers a signal at one of 16 output lines corresponding to the decimal value represented by the 4 - bit logical information . the circuit 23 serves to generate a signalling selection information ( sig ) 203 upon receiving a signalling frame signal applied to the terminal 202 . as shown by waveform 202 in fig4 the signalling frame signal is a pulse which rises shortly before the eighth bit of the sixth frame of the pcm signal is received and falls shortly before the eighth bit of the twelfth frame of the pcm signal is received . the circuit 23 comprises , as shown in fig7 a first shift register 231 which is conditioned under the presence of the signalling frame signal 202 to produce a high level at its output q in synchronism with a pulse 210 produced with the eighth bit in each of the frames and under the absence of the signalling frame signal 202 to produce a low level at its output q in synchronism with such a pulse 210 , a second shift register 232 which is conditioned under the presence of the high level output q of the first shift register 231 to produce a high level at its output q in synchronism with the pulse 210 and under the presence of the low level output q to produce a low level at its output q in synchronism with the pulse 210 , and an exclusive or gate 233 which produces a pulse ( sig ) 203 under the condition of exclusive or of the high level outputs q of the first and second shift registers 231 and 232 . as mentioned before , the signalling frame signal 202 rises shortly before the eighth bit of the sixth frame and falls shortly before the eighth bit of the twelfth frame and hence the sig pulse is produced at each of the 6th and 12th frames . the logic circuit 24 is rendered operative with the reset signal 201 to deliver signals sx 0 - sx 30 for on - off control of the analog switches x 0 - x 30 in the fourth circuit section 4 according to the outputs of the circuits 22 and 23 . the third circuit section 3 , which delivers an analog voltage , comprises a capacitor array having a group of binary - weighted capacitors c 0 - c 7 having capacitances in ratio of 2 0 : 2 1 : 2 2 : . . . : 2 7 , respectively , and a buffer amplifier a 1 . one end of each of these capacitors c 0 - c 7 is connected with the input terminal of the buffer amplifier a 1 through an output line 301 while the other ends of these capacitors are connected respectively through a first group of switches y 01 - y 71 with a first common line 302 and through a third group of switches y 03 - y 73 with a third common line 304 . also , the other ends of the capacitors c 0 - c 6 are connected through a second group of switches y 02 - y 62 with a second common line 303 . the first common line 302 is at the ground potential , while the output line 301 is grounded when the switch y 81 is closed . the second common line 303 is connected through switches s 1 and s 2 with terminals 306 and 307 to which the positive and negative reference voltages (+ v ref ) and (- v ref ) are applied , respectively , and these switches s 1 and s 2 are on - off controlled by the first bit ( polarity bit ) output b 1 or b 1 of the pcm signal delivered by the register 12 . the fourth circuit section 4 comprises a resistor string circuit 401 having 23 intermediate taps , and which circuit has its one end connected with the second common line 303 of the third circuit section 3 and the other end grounded , and a group of 24 switches x 0 - x 30 . the input end of the switch x 0 is connected with the ground potential , while the input ends of the remaining switches x 1 - x 30 are connected with the intermediate taps , respectively . the output ends of these 24 switches are connected in common with the third common line 304 of the third circuit section 3 and these switches are classified into two groups according to the usage thereof . first group comprises switches x 2n for providing voltages 2n / 33 v ref where n = 0 - 15 and the second group comprises switches x 4m + 1 for providing voltages 4m + 1 / 33 v ref , where m = 0 - 7 , where the potential v ref is a positive or negative potential given at the non - grounded end of the register string circuit 401 having a total resistance of 33r through the second common line 303 . the first group of switches are used for non - signalling periods , that is , for decoding the pcm signal in the non - signaling frames , i . e . the 1st to 5th frames and the 7th to 11th frames , while the second group of switches are used for signalling period , that is , for decoding the pcm signal in the 6th and 12th frames . the on - off operation of these switches is controlled by the logic output signals sx 0 - sx 30 of the logic circuit 24 . the modes of on - off control are shown in a logic table in fig5 . when the rest signal 201 in fig4 is at the low level , the switch x 0 is turned on for both signalling and non - signalling periods , irrespective of the logic information b5 - b8 so that an output having an analog level of ov is delivered onto the third common line 304 . when the reset signal 201 is at the high level only one switch selected according to the logic information of b5 - b8 is turned on . for example , where [ b5 , b6 , b7 , b8 ]=[ 0100 ] or [ 0101 ], the output voltage to the common line 304 is 8 or 10 , respectively , for the non - signalling period , while both 9 for the signalling period . on the other hand , the on - off of the switches in the third circuit section 3 is controlled by the logic output signals sy 01 - sy 81 of the logic circuit 21 according to the logic table shown in fig6 . namely , in the reset state , all the first switches y n1 ( n = 0 - 8 ) are turned on irrespective of the logic information of b2 - b4 . when the reset state is canceled , and the logic information stands , for example , [ b2 , b3 , b4 ]= [ 101 ], the switches y 20 , y 21 , y 22 , y 32 , y 42 , y 53 , y 61 and y 71 are turned on and all the other switches are turned off . with the above described circuit configuration , the fourth circuit section 4 delivers , according to the logic information of b5 - b8 , onto the common line 304 a voltage of 2n / 33 v ref ( n = 0 - 15 ) for the non - signalling period and a voltage of 4m + 1 / 33 v ref ( m = 0 - 7 ) for the signalling period . moreover , the third circuit section 3 can produce , according to the logic information of b2 - b4 , at the output terminal 305 a voltage of ## equ1 ## v ref , where k = 0 - 7 and n = 0 - 15 , for the non - signalling period and a voltage of ## equ2 ## v ref , where k = 0 - 7 and m = 0 - 7 , for the signalling period . according to the above described decoder embodying this invention , the precision of the analog voltage delivered is determined depending on the relative accuracy of capacitances of the capacitors c 0 - c 7 and the relative accuracy of tap intervals of the resistor string circuit . since such relative accuracy depends only on the accuracy in dimensions on plane of an ic pattern , an analog voltage having a sufficiently high precision can be obtained . | 7 |
the following detailed description is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention . furthermore , there is no intention to be bound by any express or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field , background , brief summary or the following detailed description . the invention may be described herein in terms of functional and / or logical block components and various processing steps . it should be appreciated that such block components may be realized by any number of hardware , software , and / or firmware components configured to perform the specified functions . for example , an embodiment of the invention may employ various integrated circuit components , e . g ., radio - frequency ( rf ) devices , memory elements , digital signal processing elements , logic elements , look - up tables , or the like , which may carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices . in addition , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced in conjunction with any number of data transmission protocols and that the system described herein is merely one exemplary application for the invention . for the sake of brevity , conventional techniques related to signal processing , data transmission , signaling , network control , the 802 . 11 family of specifications , and other functional aspects of wlan systems ( and the individual operating components of the system ) may not be described in detail herein . furthermore , the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent example functional relationships and / or physical couplings between the various elements . it should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical embodiment . without loss of generality , in the illustrated embodiment , many of the functions usually provided by a traditional access point ( e . g ., network management , wireless configuration , and the like ) are concentrated in a corresponding wireless switch . it will be appreciated that the present invention is not so limited , and that the methods and systems described herein may be used in conjunction with traditional access points or any other device that communicates via multiple rf channels . referring to fig1 , which depicts the architecture of an example site , one or more switching devices 110 ( alternatively referred to as “ wireless switches ,” “ ws ,” or simply “ switches ”) are coupled to a network 104 ( e . g ., an ethernet network coupled to one or more other networks or devices , indicated by network cloud 102 ). one or more wireless access ports 120 ( alternatively referred to as “ access ports ” or “ aps ”) are configured to wirelessly connect to one or more mobile units 130 ( or “ mus ”). aps 120 are suitably connected to corresponding switches 110 via communication lines 106 ( e . g ., conventional ethernet lines ). any number of additional and / or intervening switches , routers , servers and other network components may also be present in the system . a server and / or console system 103 ( generally referred to as a “ mobile services platform ” or simply “ msp ”) communicates with the various wlan components via network 104 . as described below , msp 103 assists with , among other things , monitoring and modeling the wlan components using a hierarchical organizational scheme . in this regard , msp 103 may include any suitable combination of hardware , software , displays , cpu &# 39 ; s , consoles , servers , databases , and the like . the term “ console ” as used herein refers to any console ( e . g ., user interface , computer , etc .) associated with msp 103 . a particular ap 120 may have a number of associated mus 130 . for example , in the illustrated topology , mus 130 ( a ), 130 ( b ), and 130 ( c ) are associated with ap 120 ( a ), while mu 130 ( e ) is associated with ap 120 ( c ). furthermore , one or more aps 120 may be connected to a single switch 110 . thus , as illustrated , ap 120 ( a ) and ap 120 ( b ) are connected to ws 110 ( a ), and ap 120 ( c ) is connected to ws 110 ( b ). each ws 110 determines the destination of packets it receives over network 104 and routes that packet to the appropriate ap 120 if the destination is an mu 130 with which the ap is associated . each ws 110 therefore maintains a routing list of mus 130 and their associated aps 130 . these lists are generated using a suitable packet handling process as is known in the art . thus , each ap 120 acts primarily as a conduit , sending / receiving rf transmissions via mus 130 , and sending / receiving packets via a network protocol with ws 110 . in accordance with the present invention , the console of msp 103 enables modeling and management of a site ( and the various aps , mus , and wss of a site ) through an easy - to - navigate tree hierarchy structure . a console associated with msp 103 displays multiple views , wherein the trees are enhanced to include sites in the hierarchy . msp 103 allows uploading of the list of sites into an associated server and automatic organization of the sites in a hierarchical fashion , such that management of these sites becomes more meaningful as compared to “ flat ” organizations . a “ site ” as used herein refers to any store , warehouse , or other location that contains a set of network and mobile devices . thus , the term “ site ” is not meant to limit the range of possible applications . furthermore , the network topology and components shown in fig1 are not meant to limit the range of components and architectures with which the present invention may be employed . the methods and systems of the present invention may be used in conjunction with any suitable wlan structure . in one embodiment , the sites are organized based on the geographical notations , based on ip address notations , or any other notation meaningful to the user . fig2 depicts a flat structure 200 in accordance with the prior art , in which site network components are listed merely by site number . that is , a parent node 202 includes a simple , one - dimensional list of sites 204 . in contrast , fig3 depicts a hierarchical structure ( or “ tree ”) of nodes in which the sites are arranged geographically as described above . fig4 shows a further expanded view in which individual devices and ids ( i . e ., the “ leaves ” of the tree ) are displayed . this organization may be specified using a text - based configuration file , or through any suitable user interface . a “ tree structure ,” as that term is used in the art , is a set of linked nodes , where each node has zero or more “ child nodes ” below it in the hierarchy . a node that has a child is called the child &# 39 ; s “ parent node ,” and the topmost node is the “ root node .” nodes at the bottom level , and which do not have any children , are called “ leaf nodes .” accordingly , referring to fig3 , a tree structure 300 includes a root node 302 (“ all devices ”), which has a number of child nodes 304 — e . g ., “ warehouse1 ,” “ bellevue , wash ,” “ factory ,” “ us ,” etc . these child nodes are geographical in that they refer to separate physical sites . in this example , “ us ” node 308 includes two child nodes , 310 (“ east ”) and 320 (“ west ”), each of which includes various child nodes . “ east ” node 310 includes “ ny ” node 312 , which includes a number of site nodes 314 “ site1a — 21 ”-“ site1a — 29 ”. similarly , “ west ” node 320 includes various regional nodes 322 , 324 , and 326 (“ ca ,” “ lv ,” and “ nv ,” respectively ). fig6 depicts a tree structure that has been expanded such that its leaf nodes are displayed . in this illustration , the root node 302 includes various child nodes , such as “ network operations center ” 304 , which includes progressively lower hierarchy nodes “ mobile device ” 402 , “ mc50 ” 404 , and “ 00 : 0b : 6c : 2a : c7 : f1 ,” which corresponds to a particular mac address of a networked device . it will be appreciated that the text associated with the various nodes are shown for example purposes , and that the invention is not so limited . as shown in fig6 , the various nodes may be displayed and organized in any manner desired by the user . for example , the sites may be viewed by “ device type ” as shown , or using any other criterion . in one embodiment , the hierarchy of the tree is built based on pattern matching of text strings used to name the various network components , which is configurable based on user needs . that is , once the sites are organized , the console allows for easy site management by applying policies to each of the sites . in one embodiment , for example , the default pattern is “.”— i . e ., when a site name is provided as , for example , “ us . west . ca ”, the system creates a node called “ us ”, which contains a child node called “ west ”, which in turn contains a child node called “ ca ”. similarly , if there is another site called “ us . west . nv ,” then the “ nv ” is created under the same node , “ west .” the default pattern can preferably be changed to any string that the customer prefers , e . g ., in accordance with java &# 39 ; s regular expression syntax . in one embodiment , the system further allows creation of “ deeper ” trees in reverse order . for example , if there are two sites called “ store1 . symbol . com ” and “ store2 . symbol . com ”, instead of creating nodes “ store1 → symbol → com ” and “ store2 → symbol → com ”, the system constructs the nodes in reverse order — i . e ., “ com ” contains child node “ symbol ”, which contains child nodes “ store1 ” and “ store2 .” thus , in accordance with the present invention , hierarchical organization creates a “ deeper ” tree and gives the user more control . using a suitable user interface , the user can expand and contract the tree to view just the node ( s ) that contain the site or sites of interest at any given time . this is done by the user through any networked computer or component that has access to msp 103 . as a result , the present invention substantially reduces the quantity and complexity of the content and dramatically improves the responsiveness of the console . while at least one example embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description , it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist . it should also be appreciated that the example embodiment or embodiments described herein are not intended to limit the scope , applicability , or configuration of the invention in any way . rather , the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the described embodiment or embodiments . it should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the invention and the legal equivalents thereof . | 7 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a block diagram of an internal combustion engine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention . an internal combustion engine ( hereinafter referred to as an “ engine ”) 1 is an inline 4 - cylinder type of engine ( only one cylinder is shown in fig1 ) which can operate in accordance of two types of combustion , that is , a type of homogeneous charge compression ignition combustion ( hereinafter referred to as “ hcci combustion ”) and another type of spark ignition combustion ( hereinafter referred to as “ si combustion ”). the engine 1 has a piston 1 a and a cylinder 1 b . a combustion chamber 1 c is formed between the piston and the cylinder head . a spark plug 18 is attached in the combustion chamber 1 c . the spark plug 18 is ignited in accordance with a signal from an electronic control unit ( hereinafter referred to as an “ ecu ”) 5 when an si combustion is performed . the structure of the ecu 5 will be described later . in each cylinder of the engine 1 , there are provided an air intake valve 17 for controlling an air intake from an air intake pipe 2 into the combustion chamber 1 c and an exhaust valve 19 for controlling an emission from the combustion chamber 1 c into an exhaust pipe 14 . the air intake valve 17 and the exhaust valve 19 are preferably solenoid valves and are driven in accordance with signals from the ecu 5 . the ecu 5 changes a timing for opening and closing the intake valve 17 and the exhaust valve 19 based on an engine rotational speed , an intake air temperature , an engine water temperature and so on which are detected by various sensors so as to achieve an optimal valve timing corresponding to the operating condition . an amount of internal emission gas re - circulation ( egr ) is adjusted by the control of the intake valve 17 and the exhaust valve 19 , so that the combustion temperature can be adjusted and a density of nox contained in the exhaust gas can be decreased . in a passage of the intake pipe 2 , there is disposed a throttle valve ( that is , a dbw ( drive - by - wire ) throttle valve ) 3 for adjusting a flow amount of the air passing through inside the intake pipe . the throttle valve 3 is connected to an actuator ( not shown ) for controlling an opening θ th . the actuator is electrically connected to the ecu 5 to control the throttle valve opening θth , in other words , the intake air amount , in accordance with a signal from the ecu 5 . the throttle valve 3 is set to an opening degree corresponding to an opening of an accelerator pedal when the engine 1 is in the si operation whereas it is almost fully opened when the engine 1 is in the hcci operation . an intake air pressure sensor 8 and an intake air temperature sensor 9 are disposed downstream of the throttle valve 3 of the air intake pipe 2 to detect an air - intake - pipe internal pressure pb and an intake air temperature ta respectively . signals of the pressure pb and the temperature ta are sent to the ecu 5 . an accelerator opening sensor 21 for detecting a depression amount of an accelerator pedal is additionally provided to detect an accelerator pedal opening acc . the detected signal is sent to the ecu 5 . besides , a fuel injection valve 6 is , for each cylinder , provided in an air intake pipe 2 . each fuel injection valve 6 is connected to a fuel pump ( not shown ). an amount of fuel supply to the engine 1 is determined by controlling a fuel injection time tout of the fuel injection valve 6 in accordance with a driving signal from the ecu 5 . a crank angle sensor is attached to a crankshaft ( not shown ) of the engine 1 . the crank angle sensor outputs a tdc signal , which is a pulse signal , in accordance with a rotation of the crankshaft . the tdc signal is a pulse signal that is generated in a predetermined timing around a position of a top dead center at an intake stroke starting time of the piston in each cylinder . one pulse is output for every 180 - degree rotation of the crankshaft . a rotational speed sensor 13 is also attached to the engine 1 to detect an engine rotational speed ne . the detected signal is sent to the ecu 5 . an exhaust temperature sensor 20 is disposed in the exhaust pipe 14 to detect an exhaust temperature tex . the detected temperature is converted to a corresponding signal , which is then sent to the ecu 5 . the exhaust gas passes through the exhaust pipe 14 and then flows into an exhaust gas purification device 15 . the exhaust gas purification device 15 includes a nox adsorption catalyst ( lnc ) and / or the like . an air - fuel ratio sensor ( hereinafter referred to as a “ laf sensor ”) 16 is disposed upstream of the exhaust gas purification device 15 to generate a level of output that is in proportion to a wide range of the exhaust air - fuel ratio . the output of this sensor is sent to the ecu 5 . the ecu 5 includes a microcomputer having a cpu 5 a for performing various control programs , a memory 5 b including a ram for temporarily storing programs and data required at a run time and providing a working space for calculations and a rom for storing programs and data . the ecu 5 also includes an input interface 5 c for processing input signals from various sensors and an output interface 5 d for sending control signals to each section . the ecu 5 calculates a required torque pmecmd based on the inputs from each sensor . the required torque pmecmd is obtained by first calculating a target driving force based on an accelerator pedal stroke and a vehicle speed and then adjusting the calculated target driving force in consideration of a shift position , a gear ratio , a torque converter efficiency and so on . a related technique in this respect is described , for example , in the japanese patent application unexamined publication ( kokai ) no . 10 - 196424 . subsequently , the ecu 5 calculates a basic fuel injection amount corresponding to the required torque and then determines a timing for injecting the fuel . furthermore , the ecu 5 determines the operating condition of the engine 1 based on the inputs from each sensor to calculate an ignition timing of the spark plug 18 , an opening θth of the intake air throttle valve 3 and so on in accordance with the control programs stored in the rom and the other factors . the ecu 5 outputs a driving signal corresponding to the calculation result through the output interface 5 d so as to control the throttle valve 3 , the fuel injection valve 6 , the spark plug 18 , the air intake valve 17 , the exhaust valve 19 and so on . through this control operation , the combustion type of the engine 1 can be switched between the hcci combustion and the si combustion as well as between the 4 - cycle and the 2 - cycle . the operating condition is determined by searching a map stored in the rom within the ecu 5 based on the rotational speed ne of the engine 1 and the requested torque pmecmd . the operating condition is determined depending on whether the engine 1 is either in an operation range for performing the hcci combustion ( this range will be hereinafter referred to as a “ hcci operation range ”) or in an operation range for performing the si combustion ( this range will be hereinafter referred to as a “ si operation range ”). basically , a range in which the engine rotational speed ne is higher and the engine load is higher is regarded as the hcci combustion range whereas in such situation as a cold - start time , a low - load operation time and a high - load operation time , the range is regarded as the si combustion range because there may occur such problems of misfiring and / or knocking ( fig4 ). however , it is desirable to expand the hcci operation range because the fuel economy in the hcci combustion is generally better than the si combustion . now , referring to fig2 and fig3 , the following will describe how the hcci operation range can be expanded by switching between a 4 - cycle hcci combustion and a 2 - cycle hcci combustion . in general , the hcci combustion is easy to be ignited in a higher load condition where a fuel amount is richer , but it is not easily ignited in a lower load condition where the fuel amount is rather less . therefore , in a lower load condition , it is required to utilize such heat as is available from the internal egr and / or the like in order to increase the gas temperature in the cylinder before each compression stroke . fig2 shows a relation between the engine load and the temperature in the cylinder in the hcci combustion . a line “ b ” represents a minimum temperature in the cylinder before a compression stroke ( cycle ). the minimum temperature is the temperature required for carrying out the hcci combustion . in fig2 , assuming that the intake air temperature ta is constant , as the load in the horizontal axis is gradually decreased ( in a direction indicated by an arrow “ a ”), a point d is eventually encountered at which the internal egr gas needs to be utilized to raise the temperature in the cylinder to a level required for the combustion stroke , which cannot be achieved only with the intake air . an egr gas ratio required for attaining a target gas temperature in the cylinder increases as the engine load decreases because the temperature of the internal egr also decreases proportionally ( in a direction indicated by an arrow “ c ”). the required egr gas ratio can be represented by a /( a + b ) ( a and b are shown in fig2 ). a point e shows a limit for the egr gas ratio . however , the range in which the 4 - cycle hcci operation is actually allowed is limited to a range indicated by a block arrow carrying a phrase “ 4 - cycle hcci ” in fig2 because a certain amount of fresh air is required in order to achieve the combustion and there is an actual limit in the rate of the egr gas that can be practically introduced . it should be noted that the egr temperature in the 4 - cycle hcci combustion is relatively low in comparison with the 2 - cycle hcci combustion because there are two strokes from an exhaust stroke to a compression stroke in the 4 - cycle hcci combustion . in other words , in the 2 - cycle hcci combustion , it is possible to use the egr gas having a higher temperature in order to raise the temperature in the cylinder ( refer to a line d ). accordingly , in case of the 2 - cycle hcci combustion , an amount of the egr gas for obtaining the equivalent temperature in the cylinder is relatively small in comparison with the 4 - cycle hcci combustion . the required rate of the egr gas for the 2 - cycle hcci combustion can be represented by a /( a + c ) ( a and c are shown in fig2 ). similarly , there is a limit for allowing the 2 - cycle hcci combustion for the same reason as for the 4 - cycle hcci combustion . a point f in fig2 represents such limit . besides , the range for allowing for the 2 - cycle hcci operation is actually limited to a range indicated by a block arrow carrying a phrase “ 2 - cycle hcci ” in fig2 . thus , it is possible to expand the range for allowing the hcci operation by switching to the 2 - cycle hcci combustion . fig3 shows a relation of an engine load with a fresh air amount in the hcci combustion . in the hcci combustion , a fuel amount and a generated torque are proportional each other . therefore , when the air fuel ratio is constant , the fresh air amount is directly proportional to the engine load as shown in lines “ a ” and “ b ” in fig3 . in a point a in fig4 , the hcci combustion can be performed with the air fuel ratio of 30 and the fresh air of 100 % ( egr of 0 %). however , when a lower load operation is tried while the air fuel ratio is kept unchanged ( in a direction indicated by an arrow c in fig3 ), there may occur a misfiring because , only with the fresh air , it is difficult to obtain the required gas temperature in the cylinder before the compression stroke . therefore , as the engine load becomes lower , the egr gas amount needs to be increased proportionally . a line “ d ” in fig3 indicates the fresh air amount in such situation . however , although such increase of the egr gas amount allows the operation on the side of the lower load , it becomes impossible to perform the 4 - cycle hcci combustion when the air fuel ratio becomes equal to or less than 14 . 7 ( point b ). this is caused by shortage of oxygen . therefore , the operation is switched over to the 2 - cycle hcci combustion in the point b . then , the egr gas of a higher temperature can be used , so that the amount of the egr gas to be introduced into the cylinder can be reduced and the fresh air amount for satisfying the ignition condition can be secured . thus , the range for allowing the hcci operation can be expanded . fig4 is an exemplary map to be used for determining a 4 - cycle hcci operation range , a 2 - cycle hcci operation range and an si operation range . a boundary of the 4 - cycle hcci operation range and the 2 - cycle hcci operation range is shown by a dotted line in fig4 because this boundary is variable in accordance with the operating conditions . besides , a boundary of the si operation range and the hcci operation range is also variable in accordance with the air fuel ratio , the exhaust temperature and the intake air temperature although this boundary is not shown in fig4 . referring to a flowchart in fig5 , one embodiment of a process for determining a switchover between the 4 - cycle hcci operation and the 2 - cycle hcci operation will now be described . in step s 31 , it is determined whether or not the operating condition is in the hcci operation range . the operating condition is represented , for example , by an engine rotational speed ne and a requested torque pmecmd . the values of ne and pmecmd are used to search the map of fig4 in order to determine whether or not the operating condition is in the hcci operation range ( in other words , whether it is in the “ 4 - cycle hcci operation range ” or in the “ 2 - cycle hcci operation range ” shown in fig4 ). when the current operating condition is not in the hcci operation range , the engine 1 performs the 4 - cycle si operation ( s 41 ). when the operating condition is in the hcci operation range , it is determined whether or not a temperature calculated by adding an allowance α to the current intake air temperature ta is less than a target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl required for performing the hcci combustion ( s 32 ). the target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl is determined based on the engine rotational speed ne and the requested torque pmecmd . when ta + α is less than the target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl , the 4 - cycle si operation is performed ( s 41 ) because it is not possible to raise the temperature in the cylinder up to tempcyl . when ta + α exceeds the target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl , it is determined whether the current operating condition is either in the 4 - cycle hcci operation range or in the 2 - cycle hcci operation range shown in fig4 ( s 33 ). when the current operating condition is in the 4 - cycle hcci operation range , the 4 - cycle hcci operation is carried out ( s 40 ). when the current operating condition is in the 2 - cycle hcci operation range , it is further determined whether or not the engine is currently performing the 2 - cycle hcci operation ( s 34 ). this determination is performed in order to set a hysteresis at the switching time between the 2 - cycle hcci operation and the 4 - cycle hcci operation as will be described below . at first , it is determined whether or not the air fuel ratio a / f exceeds a given value af_h 2 ( s 35 ). when the air fuel ratio a / f exceeds the given value af_h 2 ( lean ), the 4 - cycle hcci operation is carried out because it is regarded that the oxygen amount is sufficient to perform the 4 - cycle hcci operation with the current air fuel ratio ( s 40 ). when the air fuel ratio a / f is no more than the given value af_h 2 ( rich ), it is further determined whether or not the actual exhaust gas temperature tex exceeds a value calculated by adding an allowance β 2 to the target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl ( s 36 ). the exhaust gas temperature tex is detected by the exhaust gas temperature sensor 20 . alternatively , it may be estimated from the operating condition of the engine . when the decision of s 36 is yes , the 4 - cycle hcci operation is carried out ( s 40 ) because it is regarded that the temperature in the cylinder is enough to perform the 4 - cycle hcci operation . when the decision of s 36 is no , the 2 - cycle hcci operation is carried out ( s 37 ). when it is determined in step s 34 that the 2 - cycle hcci operation is not currently performed ( that is , the 4 - cycle hcci operation is being performed ), it is determined whether or not the air fuel ratio a / f exceeds the given value af_h 2 ( s 38 ). when the air fuel ratio a / f is no more than the given value af_h ( rich ), the operation is switched to the 2 - cycle hcci ( s 37 ). when the air fuel ratio a / f exceeds the given value af_h 2 ( lean ), it is further determined whether or not the actual exhaust gas temperature tex exceeds a value calculated by adding an allowance β to the target temperature in the cylinder tempcyl ( s 39 ). when the decision of step s 39 is no , the operation is switched to the 2 - cycle hcci ( s 37 ) because the temperature in the cylinder is regarded to be not so high to perform the 4 - cycle hcci operation . when the decision of s 39 is yes , the 4 - cycle hcci operation is continued ( s 40 ). the above - referenced allowances β and β 2 are defined in consideration of heat radiation or the like until the actual combustion starts . these allowances may be determined through an experiment and / or a simulation . β and β 2 may have the same value . according to the above - described switching process between the 4 - cycle hcci operation and the 2 - cycle hcci operation , it is possible to expand the hcci operation range more than conventional approaches . in one embodiment , the determination of switching between the 4 - cycle hcci operation and the 2 - cycle hcci operation may be made based on only the operating conditions ( for example , the engine rotational speed and the requested torque ). however , in this case , even when the engine rotational speed ne and the requested torque pmecmd are kept unchanged , the air fuel ratio and the exhaust gas temperature may exhibit some variation due to variations of the engine and the fuel . therefore , the respective operation - switching points need to be set on the safer side , which is resulted in making the 4 - cycle operation range narrower . accordingly , as described above with reference to the flowchart of fig5 , it is preferable to switch between the 4 - cycle hcci operation and the 2 - cycle hcci operation in consideration of such additional factors as the air fuel ratio ( s 35 and s 38 ), the intake air temperature ( s 32 ) and the exhaust temperature ( s 36 and s 39 ). in such way , it is possible to expand the range for the 4 - cycle hcci operation that is regarded to be rather excellent in terms of fuel economy , emission and product property . fig6 shows a fuel injection timing and a valve opening timing for the intake valve and the exhaust valve ( a ) during the 4 - cycle hcci operation and ( b ) during the 2 - cycle hcci operation . when the 4 - cycle hcci operation or the 2 - cycle hcci operation is determined to be performed , the ecu 5 sends a signal to the fuel injection valve 6 as well as the intake valve 17 and the exhaust valve 19 so that the fuel injection and the intake / exhaust can be performed in the timing as shown in fig6 . fig7 shows a relation of the valve timing with the internal egr amount in such strokes as hatched in fig6 . the magnitude of the egr amount can be controlled by changing the valve closing timing for the exhaust valve or the valve opening timing for the intake valve in the respective directions as illustrated in fig7 . accordingly , it is possible to adjust the temperature in the cylinder so as to become equal to the intake air temperature before the compression stroke as described above with reference to fig2 . in case of the 4 - cycle combustion , all of the combusted gas is , usually ( that is , egr = 0 ), exhausted by opening the exhaust valve at the exhaust stroke . the internal egr amount is controlled by adjusting the exhaust valve closing timing or the intake valve opening timing so as to remain a part of the combusted gas within the cylinder without exhausting all of the gas . more specifically , the egr amount is increased when each valve timing is changed toward a direction indicated by an arrow c in fig7 ( a ) whereas the egr amount is decreased when each valve timing is changed toward a direction indicated by an arrow d in fig7 ( a ). a valve lift amount may be set to be variable instead of or in addition to the change of the valve timing . in case of the 2 - cycle combustion , usually , the exhaust valve is opened to start the emission at the almost half of the expansion / exhaust stroke and immediately thereafter the air intake valve is opened because the cylinder pressure decreases . because the combusted gas flows toward the exhaust valve and the piston moves downward , the fresh air flows in from the air intake valve side . such movement continues even when the intake / compression starts , and resultantly the fresh air pushes out the exhaust gas ( a part of the fresh air is exhausted together ). gas exchange is suspended halfway by closing the intake valve and the exhaust valve in an earlier timing , so that the egr amount can be increased . in other words , the egr amount is increased when each valve timing is changed toward the direction indicated by an arrow c in fig7 ( b ) whereas the egr amount is decreased when each valve timing is changed toward the direction indicated by an arrow d in fig7 ( b ). the technology for switching between 4 - cycle hcci operation and the 2 - cycle hcci operation has been described above , but there may happen a problem about the output torque at the time of switching the operation between the 4 - cycle and the 2 - cycle . for example , when the operation is changed from the 4 - cycle to the 2 - cycle with the engine rotational speed being kept unchanged , the number of the ignitions of the engine in the 2 - cycle becomes two times as much as the 4 - cycle and accordingly the output torque also becomes twice . in order to achieve a smooth operation even when the operation is switched over between the 4 - cycle and the 2 - cycle , it is required to avoid an abrupt change in the torque . fig8 shows a flowchart of techniques for avoiding the abrupt change in the output torque . two embodiments will be described below . fig8 ( a ) shows one of the techniques , which doubles a pulley ratio when the vehicle is a type of cvt ( continuously variable transmission ) and doubles a gear ratio when the vehicle is a type of mt ( manual transmission ) or at ( automatic transmission ). in step s 51 , it is determined whether or not the operation is in the 2 - cycle operation condition . when it is determined that the operation is not in the 2 - cycle operation condition , the pulley ratio or the gear ratio is set to a value for the 4 - cycle operation in step s 53 . when it is determined that the operation is in the 2 - cycle operation condition , the pulley ratio or the gear ratio is set to a value for the 2 - cycle operation in step s 52 . the pulley ratio or the gear ratio for the 2 - cycle operation is almost two times as much as for the 4 - cycle . fig8 ( b ) shows another technique , which reduces the number of the cylinders in half without changing the gear ratio . for example , when the vehicle is a 6 - cylinder type , three cylinders are stopped to operate at the 2 - cycle operation time and the remaining three cylinders continue to operate . in step s 61 , it is determined whether or not the operation is in the 2 - cycle operating condition . when it is determined that the operation is not in the 2 - cycle operating condition , all of the cylinders are set to operate in step s 63 . when it is determined that the operation is in the 2 - cycle operating condition , a half of the cylinders are set to stop to operate | 5 |
fig1 and 2 show an automatic transmission in section for four - wheel drive of a front transversal engine part - time type according to a first embodiment of the present invention . an automatic transmission 100 comprises a fluidic torque converter 200 , transmission 300 , transfer 400 for four - wheel drive and hydraulic control device ( not shown ) fixedly provided in an oil pan under the transmission 300 . the transmission 300 comprises an under - drive transmission 300a of three - forward and one - reverse range including a first planetary gear u1 , second planetary gear u2 , two multi - plate clutches c1 and c2 to be operated by a hydraulic servo , band brake b1 , two multi - plate brakes b2 and b3 , one - way clutch f1 and one - way brake f2 , and an auxillary transmission 300b including a third planetary gear u3 , multi - plate clutch c3 to be operated by a hydraulic servo , multi - plate brake b4 and one - way brake f3 . a transmission case 110 of the automatic transmission 100 is constituted of plural separate members which are tightly fixed to each other . the torque converter 200 is accommodated in a transmission case 120 opened at its right portion ( on a right - hand side in the drawing ), and is provided with a front cover 201 to be rotated by receiving a drive force of a crank shaft 1 as an output shaft of an engine ( not shown ), an annular plate - like rear cover 202 welded to an inner circumference of the front cover 201 , a pump impeller 203 , installed to an inner wall on an inner circumferential surface of the rear cover 202 , a turbine runner 204 arranged in opposition to the pump impeller 203 , a turbine shell 205 for retaining the turbine runner 204 , a stator 208 supported through a one - way clutch 206 to a fixed shaft 207 connected to the transmission case 110 for increasing a torque capacity when an input rotational speed is low , and a direct connecting clutch ( lockup clutch ) 209 arranged between the front cover 201 and the turbine shell 205 for allowing simultaneous rotation of the front cover 201 and the turbine shell 205 . an internal gear oil pump 150 having an external teeth gear 150a and an internal teeth gear 150b therein is provided between a cylindrical transmission case 130 extending at a left portion ( on a left - hand side in the drawing ) of the torque converter case 120 and the torque converter housing 120 . an oil pump body 152 having a cylindrical portion 151 rightwardly projecting at an inner circumference thereof is fixed to a right portion of the transmission case 130 housing the transmission 300 . an extension member 210 connected to an inner circumferential end of the rear cover 202 is engaged by spline through an inner circumference of the cylindrical portion 151 with an inner circumference of the external teeth gear 150a . an oil pump cover 154 having a rearwardly projecting cylindrical front support 153 coaxial with the cylindrical portion 151 is fixed to a left portion of the oil pump body 152 . thusly , the oil pump body 152 and the oil pump cover 154 form a partition wall 155 between the torque converter case 120 and the transmission case 130 . there are defined an under - drive mechanism chamber 130a housing the under - drive transmission 300a in an upper half space of the transmission case 130 and an auxiliary transmission mechanism chamber 130b housing the auxiliary transmission 300b in a lower half space thereof . at a left portion of the under - drive mechanism chamber 130a , there is provided a fixing member 157 made of aluminium alloy which member having a rightwardly projecting cylindrical center support 156 and supporting an output gear 13 , thus defining an output gear housing 141 of the transmission between the fixing member 157 and a rear cover 140 bolted from the left of the transmission case 130 . the rear cover 140 is formed with a rightwardly projected cylindrical rear support coaxial with the front support 153 . at a right central portion of the cylindrical auxiliary transmission mechanism chamber 130b provided in parallel relation with the cylindrical under - drive mechanism chamber 130a , a hole - like front support 158 is mounted to the torque converter case 120 . at a left portion of the auxiliary transmission mechanism chamber 130b , a fixing member 159 having a rightwardly projecting cylindrical inner member 159a is fixed to the transmission case 130 by a bolt . the fixed shaft 207 of the one - way clutch 206 for supporting the stator 208 of the torque converter 200 is fitted inside of the front support 153 , and an input shaft 11 of the transmission 300 as an output shaft of the torque converter 200 is rotatably supported inside of the fixed shaft 207 . the input shaft 11 is formed with a large diametrical left end portion 11a leftwardly projecting from the front support 153 , and the left end portion 11a is formed with a leftward hole 11b at a center thereof . a first intermediate transmitting shaft 12 arranged in a serial manner with respect to the input shaft 11 is rotatably mounted to a left portion of the input shaft 11 . the first intermediate transmitting shaft 12 is in sliding contact with the hole 10b at a right end portion thereof , and is engaged by spline with an inner hole 13b of a central cylindrical portion 13a of the output gear 13 at a left end thereof . the cylindrical portion 13a of the output gear 13 is supported by ball bearings 101 and 102 for allowing smooth rotation of the output gear 13 which bearings are provided between the center support 156 and the rear support 142 of the fixing member 157 and the cylindrical portion 13a of the output gear 13 . a sun gear shaft 14 is rotatably engaged through a bearing with an outside of a right end of the first intermediate transmitting shaft 12 . an input gear 15 of the auxiliary transmission 300b to be meshed with the output gear 13 is supported through a roller bearing 103 to the inner member 159a at a central cylindrical portion 15a thereof . a second intermediate transmitting shaft 16 centrally passing through the auxiliary transmission mechanism chamber 130b is engaged by spline at a left end portion thereof with the inner hole 15b . the second intermediate transmitting shaft 16 is formed with a flange - like projection 16a at an intermediate portion thereof , and is rotatably supported through a roller bearing 104 to the hole - like front support 158 at a right end portion thereof . there is formed between the roller bearing 104 and the flange - like projection 16a on the second intermediate transmitting shaft 16 an output gear 17a of a double - shaft automatic transmission ( a multi - range transmission comprising the under - drive transmission 300a and the auxiliary transmission 300b ) through a pair of tapered roller bearings 106 installed under adjusted prepressure with a spring member 105 interposed and a nut 16b fastened at one end , and an output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 is supported . an output gear 17a of the output shaft 17 is meshed with a drive gear wheel 501 of the transfer 400 . a cylindrical sun gear shaft 18 is rotatably supported through a bushing between the flange - like projection 16a on the second intermediate transmitting shaft 16 and the inner member 159a . a cylindrical outer member 19 is rotatably supported through a bushing on the outside of the inner member 159a . an outside of a left end of the sun gear shft 18 is engaged by spline with an inside of a right end of the outer member 19 . in the under - drive mechanism chamber 130a , at the right side thereof , a first hydraulic servo drum 20 opened at its left portion is rotatably engaged with the front support 153 , and an annular piston 21 is fitted between inner and outer circumferential walls thereof to form a hydraulic servo c - 2 of the clutch c2 . a return spring 22 is mounted to the inner wall side of the servo drum , while the clutch c2 is mounted to the inside of the outer wall thereof . on the left side of the first hydraulic servo drum 20 , a second hydraulic servo drum 24 opened at its left portion and having an annular projection 23 at its right portion is fixed to the left end portion 11a of the input shaft 11 , and an annular piston 25 is fitted between the left end portion 11a and an outer wall of the servo drum to form a hydraulic servo c - 1 of the clutch c1 . a return spring 26 is mounted on the inner circumferential side of the servo drum , while the clutch c1 is mounted to the inside of the outer wall thereof . further , the clutch c2 is mounted to the outer circumference of the annular projection 23 , and both the first and second hydraulic servo drums 20 and 24 are connected through the clutch c2 with each other . on the left side of the second hydraulic servo drum 24 , the first planetary gear u1 is provided , and a ring gear r1 is connected through the clutch c1 to the second hydraulic servo drum 24 . a carrier p1 is engaged by spline with a right end portion of the first intermediate transmitting shaft 12 , and a sun gear s1 is integrally formed with the sun gear shaft 14 . a connecting drum 27 so molded as to cover the first and second hydraulic servo drums 20 and 24 and the first planetary gear u1 in a minimum space is fixed to the outside of the first hydraulic servo drum 20 at a right end thereof , and is connected to the sun gear shaft 14 at a left end thereof on the left side of the first planetary gear u1 . further , the band brake b1 is provided on the outer circumferential side of the servo drum . in an excess space 27a outside of the connecting drum 27 outside of the first planetary gear u1 , an annular third hydraulic servo drum 28 opened at its left portion is fixed , and a piston 29 is fitted to form a hydraulic servo b - 2 of the brake b2 . the brake b2 , an outer race 31 of the one - way brake f2 and the multi - plate brake b3 are engaged in this order from the right with a spline groove 30 formed on the inside of the transmission case 130 on the left side of the hydraulic servo b - 2 . a piston 32 is fitted in an annular hole defined between the outer circumference of the center support 156 of the fixing member 157 and the torque converter 200 to form a hydraulic servo b - 3 of the mutli - plate brake b3 . a return spring 33 of the hydraulic servo b - 3 is supported by a flange plate 34 mounted at the right end of the center support 156 . the one - way clutch f1 including the sun gear shaft 14 as an inner race is provided inside of the multi - plate brake b2 , and an outer race 35 is connected with an inner circumference of the multi - plate brake b2 . the second planetary gear u2 is provided on the left side of the one - way clutch f1 . in the second planetary gear u2 , a sun gear s2 is integrally formed with the sun gear shaft 14 . a carrier p2 is connected with an inner race 35a of the one - way brake f2 and with the multi - plate brake b3 . a ring gear r2 is connected with the first intermediate transmitting shaft 12 . in the third planetary gear u3 provided on the left side of the output shaft 17 , a ring gear r3 is connected through a flange plate 37 to the projection 16a of the second intermediate transmitting shaft 16 . a carrier p3 is connected through an output drum 39 having an annular projection 38 to be connected with the clutch c3 to a connecting sleeve 40 as an input section . a sun gear s3 is formed on a sun gear shaft 18 . on the left side of the third planetary gear u3 , a fourth hydraulic servo drum 41 opened at its right portion is fixed to the outer member 19 rotatably mounted through a bearing to the outer circumference of the inner member 159a of the fixing member 159 . an annular piston 42 is fitted between an outer wall of the servo drum 41 and the outer member 19 to form a hydraulic servo c - 3 of the clutch c3 . a return spring 43 is installed on the outer member 19 side , and the clutch c3 is mounted inside of the outer wall . the servo drum 41 is connected through the clutch c3 to the carrier p3 . the one - way brake f3 including an inner race of the outer member 19 is provided on the left side of the fourth hydraulic servo drum 41 . on the left side of the servo drum , the brake b4 is provided between the outer member 19 and the transmission case 130 . a piston 44 is fitted between the outer circumference of the inner member 159a of the fixing member 159 and the transmission case 130 to form a hydraulic servo b - 4 of the brake b4 . a return spring 45 is fitted in a groove formed on the outer circumferential side of the brake b4 . the outer member 19 is rotated by receiving power through the carrier p3 of the third planetary gear u3 , the output drum 39 and the clutch c3 . the transmission 300 is designed to effect engagement or release of each clutch and brake by hydraulic pressure selectively outputted from the hydraulic control device ( not shown ) to each hydraulic servo of frictional engagement devices according to running conditions of a vehicle such as a vehicular speed and a throttle opening degree , thereby obtaining four forward ranges and one reverse range . there will be shown in table 1 an example of operation and transmission range of each clutch , brake , one - way clutch and one - way brake . ( table 1 ) ______________________________________clutch brake owcrange c . sub . 1 c . sub . 2 c . sub . 3 b . sub . 1 b . sub . 2 b . sub . 3 b . sub . 4 f . sub . 1 f . sub . 2 f . sub . 3______________________________________p x x x x x x e f f fr x e x x x e e f f fn x x x x x x e f f f1 e x x x x x e f l ( l ) 2 e x x x e x e l f ( l ) 3 e e x x e x e f f ( l ) 4 e e e x e x x f f fs1 e x x x x x e f l ( l ) 2 e x x e e x e ( l ) f ( l ) 3 e e x x e x e f f ( l )( 3 ) e e x x e x e f f ( l ) l1 e x x x x e e f ( l ) ( l ) 2 e x x e e x e ( l ) f ( l )( 1 ) e x x x x e e f ( l ) ( l ) ______________________________________ in table 1 , e represents that the corresponding clutch and brake are engaged , and x represents that the corresponding clutch and brake are released . l represents that the corresponding one - way clutch is engaged under engine drive condition , but such engagement is not necessarily needed because of the fact that power transmission is ensured by the clutch or brake arranged in parallel to the one - way clutch ( lock condition ). ( l ) represents that the corresponding one - way clutch is engaged only under engine drive condition , but is not engaged under engine brake condition . further , f represents that the corresponding one - way clutch is free . the transfer 400 comprises a drive gear wheel 410 meshing with the output gear 17a of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 and receiving power from the output shaft 17 , a differential gear case 420 fastened to the drive gear wheel 410 by a bolt 411 and having a bevel gear type front differential gear 510 of a front wheel transmission mechanism 500 for driving front wheels and a hydraulic clutch mechanism 600 for selecting front - wheel drive and four - wheel drive , which mechanism acts to transmit and cut off power to a rear wheel side output member 430 for converting a rotating direction and transmitting power to a rear wheel side , and rear wheel propeller mechanism 700 connected by spline with the rear wheel side output member 430 for transmitting power to the rear wheel side . the differential gear case 420 comprises a left case 422 rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 421 on an inner circumference of a rightwardly projecting sleeve - like portion 131 coaxial with the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500 of the transmission case 130 , and a right case 424 rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 423 on an inner circumference of a transfer case 160 housing a right portion of the differential gear case 420 fixed to the right portion of the transmission case 130 . the differential gear case 420 is fastened by the bolt 411 together with the drive gear wheel 410 . the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500 includes a front differential gear 510 comprising a front differential case 513 composed of a left differential case 511 integrally formed with the left differential case 422 of the differential gear case 420 and a right differential case 512 bolted to the left differential case 511 , a differential pinion shaft 514 supported to the front differential case 513 , a differential pinion 515 rotatably supported to the differential pinion shaft 514 , a differential left side gear 516 meshed with the differential pinion 515 at the left and a differential right side gear 517 meshed with the differential pinion 515 at the right . a front left wheel propeller shaft 501 for transmitting power to a front left wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential left side gear 516 , while a front right wheel propeller shaft 502 for transmitting power to a front right wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential right side gear 517 . the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600 comprises a multi - plate clutch c4 meshed with an inner spline 601 formed at an inner position of the front differential gear 510 of the right case 424 of the differential gear case 420 and with an outer spline 602 formed at a position of the rear wheel side output member 430 corresponding to the inner position of the inner spline 601 , a piston 604 air - tightly fitted in an annular hole 603 defined at a position of the left case 422 on the transmission 300 side of the multi - plate clutch c4 so as to urge the multi - plate clutch c4 , a hydraulic servo c - 4 provided between the annular hole 603 and the piston 604 for driving the piston 604 by supplying and discharging a hydraulic oil , a clutch push plate 605 provided between the multi - plate clutch c4 and the piston 604 and having a fulcrum 605a projecting to the piston 604 side , and a lever type return spring 607 abutting against the piston 604 at its inner position , abutting against the fulcrum 605a of the clutch push plate 605 at its intermediate outer position , and being stopped by a snap ring 606 at its outer position . supply / discharge control of the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4 is effected by a hydraulic control device provided at a lower portion of the transmission 300 . a hydraulic oil supply means for supplying the hydraulic oil from the hydraulic control device to the hydraulic servo c - 4 is formed by an oil passage ( not shown ) in the transmission case 130 from the hydraulic control device , an oil passage 608 in the sleeve - like portion 131 from the oil passage in the transmission case 130 , an oil passage 609 in the sleeve - like portion 131 for communicating the oil passage 608 with an outer circumference of the sleeve - like portion 131 , and an oil passage 610 in the left case 422 for communicating the oil passage 609 with the hydraulic servo c - 4 . the multi - plate clutch c4 is engaged by supplying the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4 thereby to transmit an output of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 through the drive gear wheel 410 , the differential gear case 420 and the multi - plate clutch c4 to the rear wheel side output member 430 . such engagement of the multi - plate clutch c4 is released by discharging the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic servo c - 4 , and the power transmitted to the right case 424 is not transmitted to the rear wheel side output member 430 . the rear wheel propeller mechanism 700 comprises a gear wheel shaft 701 having a front right wheel propeller shaft 502 of the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500 on its inner circumference and connected by spline at the left end of its outer circumference with the right end of the inner circumference of the rear wheel side output member 430 , a gear wheel 702 engaged by spline with the outer circumference of the right portion of the gear wheel shaft 701 , and a pinion 705 meshed with the gear wheel 702 and integrally formed with a rear wheel propeller shaft 704 connected by spline with the outer circumference of a rear portion of a sleeve yoke 703 for transmitting power to the rear wheel side . the gear wheel shaft 701 is rotatably supported at its intermediate portion through a tapered roller bearing 706 to the inner circumference of a gear wheel case 170 fixed to the right side of the transfer case 160 . a propeller shaft support case 180 is designed to rotatably support the front right wheel propeller shaft 502 fastened through a ball bearing 503 to the right side of the gear wheel case 170 . the gear wheel shaft 701 is rotatably supported at its right portion through a tapered roller bearing 707 and the gear wheel 702 . the tapered roller bearing 707 is provided on the inner circumference of a cylindrical boss portion 181 of the support case 180 which is leftwardly projected and is coaxial with the front right wheel propeller shaft 502 . the rear wheel propeller shaft 704 is rotatably supported through tapered roller bearings 708 and 709 to the inner circumference of a pinion case 190 fastened to the rear portion of the gear wheel case 170 . thus , the power transmitted to the rear wheel side output member 430 is transmitted through the gear wheel shaft 701 , gear wheel 702 , pinion 705 , rear wheel propeller shaft 704 and sleeve yoke 703 to a rear drive wheel side . as is mentioned above , a friction area of the multi - plate clutch is enlarged by providing the same at the outer circumferential position of the differential gear , thereby increasing a clutch capacity and allowing suitable application to a vehicle having a large cylinder capacity . further , an axial dimension of the transfer may be shortened by providing the multi - plate clutch at the outer circumferential position of the differential gear . since the hydraulic friction clutch is provided in the differential gear case , the transfer may be made compact thereby to improve installation of the same in a vehicle ( hydraulic servo ) of the hydraulic friction clutch is provided on the hydraulic control device side of the friction engagement member ( multi - plate clutch ), the oil passages for supplying / discharging the hydraulic oil may be shortened thereby to simplify the hydraulic oil supply means . furthermore , as the lever type return spring is used for the friction engagement means , a large engagement torque capacity may be obtained in a small space . fig3 is a sectional view of a transfer of the automatic transmission in a second preferred embodiment of the present invention . the transfer 400a comprises a drive gear wheel 410a meshing with the output gear 17a of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 and receiving power from the output shaft 17 , a differential gear case 420a fastened to the drive gear wheel 410a by a bolt 411a and having a bevel gear type front differential gear 510a of a front wheel transmission mechanism 500a for driving front wheels and a hydraulic clutch mechanism 600a for selecting rear - wheel drive and four - wheel drive , which mechanism acts to transmit and cut off power to a front wheel side , and rear wheel propeller mechanism 700a connected by spline with the differential gear case 420a . the differential gear case 420a comprises a left case 422a rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 421a on an inner circumference of a rightwardly projecting sleeve - like portion 131a coaxial with the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500a of the transmission case 130 , and a right case 424a rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 423a on an inner circumference of a transfer case 160a housing a right portion of the differential gear case 420a fixed to the right portion of the transmission case 130 . the differential gear case 420a is fastened by the bolt 411a together with the drive gear wheel 410a . the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500a includes a front differential gear 510a comprising a front differential case 513a composed of a left differential case 511a rotatably arranged in the differential gear case 420a and a right differential case 512a bolted to the left differential case 511a as a front wheel side output member receiving a power from the differential case 420a through the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600a , a differential pinion shaft 514a supported to the front differential case 513a , a differential pinion 515a rotatably supported to the differential pinion shaft 514a , a differential left side gear 516a meshed with the differential pinion 515a at the left and a differential right side gear 517a meshed with the differential pinion 515a at the right . a front left wheel propeller shaft 501a for transmitting power to a front left wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential left side gear 516a , while a front right wheel propeller shaft 502a for transmitting power to a front right wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential right side gear 517a . the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600a comprises a multi - plate clutch c4a meshed with an inner spline 601a formed at an inner position of the front differential gear 510a of the right case 424a of the differential gear case 420a and with an outer spline 602a formed at a position of the rear wheel side output member 430a corresponding to the inner position of the inner spline 601a formed on an outer circumference of the right differential case 512a , a piston 604a air - tightly fitted in an annular hole 603a defined at a position of the left case 422a on the transmission 300 side of the multi - plate clutch c4a so as to urge the multi - plate clutch c4a , a hydraulic servo c - 4a provided between the annular hole 603a and the piston 604a for driving the piston 604a by supplying and discharging a hydraulic oil , a clutch push plate 605a provided between the multi - plate clutch c4a and the piston 604a and having a fulcrum 605aa projecting to the piston 604a side , and a lever type return spring 607a abutting against the piston 604a at its inner position , abutting against the fulcrum 605aa of the clutch push plate 605a at its intermediate outer position , and being stopped by a snap ring 606a at its outer position . supply / discharge control of the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4a is effected by a hydraulic control device provided at a lower portion of the transmission 300 . a hydraulic oil supply means for supplying the hydraulic oil from the hydraulic control device to the hydraulic servo c - 4a is formed by an oil passage ( not shown ) in the transmission case 130 from the hydraulic control device , an oil passage 608a in the sleeve - like portion 131a from the oil passage in the transmission case 130 , an oil passage 609a in the sleeve - like portion 131a for communicating the oil passage 608a with an outer circumference of the sleeve - like portion 131a , and an oil passage 610a in the left case 422a for communicating the oil passage 609a with the hydraulic servo c - 4a . the multi - plate clutch c4a is engaged by supplying the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4a thereby to transmit an output of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 through the drive gear wheel 410a , the differential gear case 420a and the multi - plate clutch c4a to the right differential case 512a of the front differential case 513a . such engagement of the multi - plate clutch c4a is released by discharging the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic servo c - 4a , and the power transmitted to the right case 424a is not transmitted to the rear wheel side output member 430a . the rear wheel propeller mechanism 700a comprises a gear wheel shaft 701a as a rear wheel side output member having a front right wheel propeller shaft 502a of the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500a on its inner circumference and connected by spline at the left end of its outer circumference with the right end of the inner circumference of the differential gear case 420a , a gear wheel 702a engaged by spline with the outer circumference of the right portion of the gear wheel shaft 701a , and a pinion 705a meshed with the gear wheel 702a and integrally formed with a rear wheel propeller shaft 704a connected by spline with the outer circumference of a rear portion of a sleeve yoke 703a for transmitting power to the rear wheel side . the gear wheel shaft 701a is rotatably supported at its intermediate portion through a tapered roller bearing 706a to the inner circumference of a gear wheel case 170a fixed to the right side of the transfer case 160a . a propeller shaft support case 180a is designed to rotatably support the front right wheel propeller shaft 502a fastened through a ball bearing 503a to the right side of the gear wheel case 170a . the gear wheel shaft 701a is rotatably supported at its right portion through a tapered roller bearing 707a and the gear wheel 702a . the tapered roller bearing 707a is provided on the inner circumference of a cylindrical boss portion 181a of the support case 180a which is leftwardly projected and is coaxial with the front right wheel propeller shaft 502a . the rear wheel propeller shaft 704a is rotatably supported through tapered roller bearings 708a and 709a to the inner circumference of a pinion case 190a fastened to the rear portion of the gear wheel case 170a . thus , the power normally transmitted to the differential gear case 420a is transmitted through the gear wheel shaft 701a , gear wheel 702a , pinion 705a , rear wheel propeller shaft 704a and sleeve yoke 703a to a rear drive wheel side . fig4 is a sectional view of a transfer of the automatic transmission in a third preferred embodiment of the present invention . the transfer 400b comprises a drive gear wheel 410b meshing with the output gear 17a of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 and receiving power from the output shaft 17 , a differential gear case 420b fastened to the drive gear wheel 410b by a bolt 411b and having a bevel gear type front differential gear 510b of a front wheel transmission mechanism 500b for driving front wheels and a hydraulic clutch mechanism 600b for selecting rear - wheel drive and four - wheel drive , which mechanism acts to transmit and cut off power to a front wheel side , and rear wheel propeller mechanism 700b connected by spline with the differential gear case 420b . the differential gear case 420b comprises a left case 422b rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 421b on an inner circumference of a rightwardly projecting sleeve - like portion 131b coaxial with the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500b of the transmission case 130 , and a right case 424b rotatably supported through a tapered roller bearing 423b on an inner circumference of a transfer case 160b housing a right portion of the differential gear case 420b fixed to the right portion of the transmission case 130 . the differential gear case 420b is fastened by the bolt 411b together with the drive gear wheel 410b . the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500b includes a front differential gear 510b comprising a front differential case 513b composed of a left differential case 511b as a front wheel side output member receiving a power from the differential gear case 420b through the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600b , rotatably arranged in the differential gear case 420b and a right differential case 512b bolted to the left differential case 511b , a differential pinion shaft 514b supported to the front differential case 513b , a differential pinion 515b rotatably supported to the differential pinion shaft 514b , a differential left side gear 516b meshed with the differential pinion 515b at the left and a differential right side gear 517b meshed with the differential pinion 515b at the right . a front left wheel propeller shaft 501b for transmitting power to a front left wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential left side gear 516b , while a front right wheel propeller shaft 502b for transmitting power to a front right wheel is connected by spline with an inner circumference of the differential right side gear 517b . the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600b comprises a multi - plate clutch c4b meshed with an inner spline 601b formed on an inner circumference of a side position , that is , on the transmission 300 side , of the front differential gear 510b of the right case 424b of the differential gear case 420b and with an outer spline 602b formed at a position of the rear wheel side output member 430b corresponding to the inner position of the inner spline 601b , a piston 604b air - tightly fitted in an annular hole 603b defined at a position of the left case 422b on the transmission 300 side of the multi - plate clutch c4b so as to urge the multi - plate clutch c4b , a hydraulic servo c - 4b provided between the annular hole 603b and the piston 604b for driving the piston 604b by supplying and discharging a hydraulic oil , a clutch push plate 605b provided between the multi - plate clutch c4b and the piston 604b and having a fulcrum 605ab projecting to the piston 604b side , and a lever type return spring 607b abutting against the piston 604b at its inner position , abutting against the fulcrum 605ab of the clutch push plate 605b at its intermediate outer position , and being stopped by an outer circumferential groove 606b formed on an inner circumference of a connected portion between the left case 422b and the right case 424b . supply / discharge control of the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4b is effected by a hydraulic control device provided at a lower portion of the transmission 300 . a hydraulic oil supply means for supplying the hydraulic oil from the hydraulic control device to the hydraulic servo c - 4b is formed by an oil passage ( not shown ) in the transmission case 130 from the hydraulic control device , an oil passage 608b in the sleeve - like portion 131b from the oil passage in the transmission case 130 , an oil passage 609b in the sleeve - like portion 131b for communicating the oil passage 608b with an outer circumference of the sleeve - like portion 131b , and an oil passage 610b in the left case 422b for communicating the oil passage 609b with the hydraulic servo c - 4b . the multi - plate clutch c4b is engaged by supplying the hydraulic oil to the hydraulic servo c - 4b thereby to transmit an output of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 through the drive gear wheel 410b , the differential gear case 420b and the multi - plate clutch c4b to the rear wheel side output member 430b . such engagement of the multi - plate clutch c4b is released by discharging the hydraulic oil of the hydraulic servo c - 4b , and the power transmitted to the right case 424b is not transmitted to the left differential case 511b of the front differential case 513b . the rear wheel propeller mechanism 700b comprises a gear wheel shaft 701b as a rear wheel side output member having a front right wheel propeller shaft 502b of the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500b on its inner circumference and connected by spline at the left end of its outer circumference with the right end of the inner circumference of the differential gear case 420b , a gear wheel 702b engaged by spline with the outer circumference of the right portion of the gear wheel shaft 701b , and a pinion 705b meshed with the gear wheel 702b and integrally formed with a rear wheel propeller shaft 704b connected by spline with the outer circumference of a rear portion of a sleeve yoke 703b for transmitting power to the rear wheel side . the gear wheel shaft 701b is rotatably supported at its intermediate portion through a tapered roller bearing 706b to the inner circumference of a gear wheel case 170b fixed to the right side of the transfer case 160b . a propeller shaft support case 180b is designed to rotatably support the front right wheel propeller shaft 502b fastened through a ball bearing 503b to the right side of the gear wheel case 170b . the gear wheel shaft 701b is rotatably supported at its right portion through a tapered roller bearing 707b and the gear wheel 702b . the tapered roller bearing 707b is provided on the inner circumference of a cylindrical boss portion 181b of the support case 180b which is leftwardly projected and is coaxial with the front right wheel propeller shaft 502b . the rear wheel propeller shaft 704b is rotatably supported through tapered roller bearings 708b and 709b to the inner circumference of a pinion case 190b fastened to the rear portion of the gear wheel case 170b . thus , the power normally transmitted to the differential gear case 420b is transmitted through the gear wheel shaft 701b , gear wheel 702b , pinion 705b , rear wheel propeller shaft 704b and sleeve yoke 703b to a rear drive wheel side . according to the above - mentioned embodiments , as the multi - plate clutch is provided on a side position of the differential gear , a distance among the output shaft of the transmission , the output shaft of the engine and the output shaft of the differential gear ( the front left wheel propeller shaft 501b and the front right wheel propeller shaft 502b in the preferred embodiment ) may be reduced thereby to make the transfer compact and improve installability to the vehicle . fig5 is a schematic illustration of a transfer in a fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention . the transfer 400c comprises a drive gear wheel 410c meshing with the output gear 17a of the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 and receiving power from the output shaft 17 , a differential gear case 420c connected to the drive gear wheel 410c by a bolt 411c and having a bevel gear type front differential gear 510c of a front wheel transmission mechanism 500c for driving front wheels and a hydraulic clutch mechanism 600c for selecting two - wheel drive and four - wheel drive , which mechanism acts to transmit and cut off power to a rear wheel side output member 430c for transmitting power to a rear wheel side , and rear wheel propeller mechanism 700c connected with the rear wheel side output member 430c for transmitting power to the rear wheel side . the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500c includes a front differential gear 510c comprising a front differential case 513c composed of a left differential case 511c connected to the differential gear case 420c and a right differential case 512c bolted to the left differential case 511c , a differential pinion shaft 514c supported to the front differential case 513c , a differential pinion 515c rotatably supported to the differential pinion shaft 514c , a differential left side gear 516c meshed with the differential pinion 515c at the left and a differential right side gear 517c meshed with the differential pinion 515c at the right . a front left wheel propeller shaft 501c for transmitting power to a front left wheel is connected with an inner circumference of the differential left side gear 516c , while a front right wheel propeller shaft 502c for transmitting power to a front right wheel is connected with an inner circumference of the differential right side gear 517c . the hydraulic clutch mechanism 600c comprises a multi - plate clutch c4c meshed with a side position , that is , the transmission 3003 side of the front differential gear 510c of the differential gear case 420c and with an outer circumference of the rear wheel side output member 430c on the transmission side from the front differential gear 510c , and a push means 620c provided in the differential gear case 420c on the transmission 300 side of the multi - plate clutch c4c for engaging and disengaging the multi - plate clutch c4c . an output from the output shaft 17 of the transmission 300 is transmitted through the drive gear wheel 410c , the differential gear case 420c and the multi - plate clutch c4c to the rear wheel side output member 430c by driving the push means 620c and thereby engaging the multi - plate clutch c4c , and a power transmitted to the differential gear case 420c is not transmitted to the rear wheel side output member 430c by disengaging the multi - plate clutch c4c . the rear wheel propeller mechanism 700c comprises a gear wheel shaft 701c having a front right wheel propeller shaft 502c of the front wheel transmitting mechanism 500c on its inner circumference and connected to the rear wheel side output member 430c , a gear wheel 702c provided at the right end of the gear wheel shaft 701c , and a pinion 705c meshed with the gear wheel 702c and connected to a rear wheel propeller shaft 704c for transmitting a power to the rear wheel side . the power transmitted to the rear wheel side output member 430c is transmitted through the gear wheel shaft 701c , the gear wheel 702c , the pinion 705c and the rear wheel propeller shaft 704c to a rear drive wheel side . the present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in japanese patent application no . 267784 / 1984 ( filed dec . 19th , 1984 ) which is incorporated herein by reference . it will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications , changes and adaptations , and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the appended claims . | 8 |
this description sets forth an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures . this exemplary embodiment is not limiting , and variations are encompassed by embodiments . as mentioned above , embodiments reduce or eliminate the need to realign and recalibrate the vertical axis and primary and , when present , additional measurement sensors . as seen , for example , in fig1 , embodiments of a breakaway and crash detection system 1 can include a stage 2 that supports a mounting or fixturing plate 10 on which a fixturing device 11 , such as a rotary module , can be arranged to hold and / or manipulate an object to be inspected . while the fixturing device 11 used with embodiments is shown in the fig . as a rotary module , embodiments can be used with other such fixturing devices as appropriate . the breakaway system includes a kinematic mounting arrangement , preferably including three tooling balls 12 . as is known in the art , tooling balls are high - precision hardened steel balls . in embodiments , the tooling balls 12 are attached to one of the mounting or fixturing plate 10 and the stage 2 . as seen in fig1 , the tooling balls 12 are preferably mounted in the fixturing plate via posts that can include , for example , threads . the tooling balls 12 rest in features 14 , 15 , 16 mounted or formed on the stage 2 to form the kinematic mount , which supports the fixturing plate 10 via the tooling balls 12 . since the stage 2 of embodiments can be made from materials not suitable for repeatable repositioning of the fixturing plate 10 , embodiments provide hardened pads in which the respective features 14 , 15 , 16 receiving the balls 12 are formed . the pads can be made from hardened , ground steel , for example , or any other suitable material . at least two of the pads preferably include features that engage their respective tooling balls 12 and prevent motion of the firing plate in at least one direction to constrain the fixturing plate 10 against translation in the plane of the stage 2 . for example , embodiments employ a vee cone 14 that prevents motion of one tooling ball 12 in the plane of the stage 2 , a vee groove 15 that prevents motion of its tooling ball 12 along a specific axis in the plane of the stage 2 , and a flat 16 that prevents rotation of the fixturing plate 10 about the axis defined by the other two tooling balls 12 . however , the arrangement allows , and induces , vertical motion of the plate 10 — motion perpendicular to the plane of the stage 2 — should the plate 10 collide with something or should something else collide with the plate . thus , in embodiments , the three tooling balls 12 preferably engage with a vee cone 14 , a vee groove 15 , and a flat 16 , respectively . the tooling balls 12 and vee cones 14 , vee grooves 15 , and flats 16 are typically made from hardened , ground steel to preserve their dimensional accuracy and geometry . such a system firmly holds the first , fixturing plate 10 to the second plate or stage 2 in a particular alignment even after repeated reseating of the balls 12 in their respective features 14 , 15 , 16 , which is how the alignment of embodiments is preserved . to prevent unintentional vertical translation of the plate 10 beyond what gravity provides , a biasing or preload arrangement 20 can be included . in embodiments , the biasing arrangement 20 includes a plurality of adjustable preload devices 21 , preferably mounted near the tooling balls 12 . an example of a preload device 21 suited for use with embodiments includes a housing 22 that supports one or more springs 23 , the springs 23 being connected to a wall 24 of the housing at one respective end and a pull bar 25 at the other respective end . the pull bar 25 in turn retains an end of a cable 26 that extends over a bushing 27 and down through the housing 22 , through the fixturing plate 10 , and toward the stage 2 to which it is connected . embodiments employ a loop of cable 26 that has left and right legs , the ends attached to the springs 23 , and the extremity of the loop being hooked about an attachment point 28 in the stage 2 . a screw 29 extending through the preload device housing 22 and into the pull bar 25 allows adjustment of a preload induced by the device . as seen in fig1 , embodiments can include three substantially equally spaced such adjustable preload devices 21 on the first , fixturing plate 10 . once installed and adjusted , the preload devices 21 bias the fixturing plate 10 and stage 2 together so that more force is required to induce vertical motion of the fixturing plate 10 that would result in breakaway of the fixturing plate 10 from the stage 2 . this prevents unintentional breakaway should a sudden motion or high - mass rotation of the fixturing device 11 cause the fixturing plate 10 to jump . a larger mass or higher center of gravity may require a higher preload and a smaller mass or lower center of gravity a lower preload . when used with a rotary module as the fixturing device 11 , for example , the mass of the module moves through an arc and may require a higher fixturing preload than other types of fixturing devices . the adjustable preload devices 21 provide the ability to accommodate these requirements and can also aid in returning the unit to its original mounting should breakaway occur . as seen in the accompanying fig ., the breakaway system of embodiments is preferably placed low on the horizontal axis of the machine to reduce the accumulation of small errors accruing during re - alignment , particularly with respect to the vertical axis . such small errors are generally amplified as the focal distance or working distance of the sensor is increased . in operation , the fixturing plate 10 breaks away from the solid horizontal axis of motion in embodiments when a collision occurs . the breakaway arrangement of embodiments substantially eliminates the release and re - align problem of prior art devices with respect to the optical system , probes , sensors , and any other position - sensitive components rigidly mounted to the vertical axis . this preserves the accuracy and repeatability of the optics , sensors , probes and axis of motion . embodiments preferably further include a crash detection system 30 that comprises at least one proximity sensor 31 capable of sensing small variations in vertical movement , preferably as little as 0 . 0005 ″ ( 12 μm ). the at least one sensor 31 is connected to a proximity controller 32 that stops motion in the horizontal direction in a small amount of travel , preferably as little as 0 . 002 ″ of travel , if the sensor 31 senses movement of the fixturing plate 10 . in particular , embodiments preferably include three displacement sensors very near or adjacent the tooling balls 12 on the fixturing plate 10 and connected to the proximity controller 32 , as seen in fig1 . embodiments contemplate the use of various types of position / displacement sensors . for example , proximity , reed , laser , capacitance , and / or force sensors can all be applied . in addition , any other type of position / displacement sensor could be employed as long as it meets the requirements of the system 30 . the proximity controller ( s ) 32 can be mounted on a support 33 attached to the fixturing plate 10 , though a remote controller 32 could also be employed . as shown , the controller mount 33 includes a plate 34 attached to the fixturing plate 10 with screws 35 or the like , but the mount 33 could instead be formed as part of the fixturing plate 10 . in embodiments , the breakaway / crash detection unit can include a mechanical stiffener 40 , such as the rail shown in fig1 , to prevent axial twist of the breakaway unit during operation of the fixturing device 11 , such as during rotation of a primary rotary under maximum loading conditions . the fixturing plate 10 is preferably kept to a minimum thickness to prevent loss of vertical measurement capability in such an arrangement . including the stiffener 40 affords a high measurement volume to stiffness ratio , which reduces errors that can accumulate in the five axes of motion of the unit . the high ratio also reduces the effect of compounding errors in the final measurement results . it will be appreciated that various of the above - disclosed and other features and functions , or alternatives thereof , may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications . also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives , modifications , variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims . | 6 |
fig2 illustrates the principle of a han cell according to the prior art which is based on the flexo - electric effect . in the han cell , the lc molecules 6 which are situated near one surface 7 are aligned parallel to the surface 7 , and those which are situated near the other surface 8 are aligned perpendicular to the surface 8 . if the liquid crystal molecules 6 have a suitable shape , then this molecule orientation will cause flexo - electric polarisation . the direction of rotation of the optical axis of a liquid crystal molecule 6 will then depend on the sign of the applied voltage v . fig2 a shows a sectional view ( top ) and a perspective side view ( bottom ) which illustrate a detail of a han cell where the electrode arrangement 4 is not activated . fig2 b shows the same han cell of fig2 a again . a first active operational situation is shown on the left , where p — flexo and the optical axis of the liquid crystal layer 5 are turned clockwise . a second active operational situation is shown on the right of fig2 b , where p flexo and the optical axis of the liquid crystal layer 5 are turned counter - clockwise . fig2 c shows a han cell which is known in the prior art , where a first operational situation is illustrated on the left and a second operational situation is illustrated on the right . in this han cell , the electrode arrangement 4 is disposed on the first substrate 2 , and the first surface 7 is made such that the longitudinal axes of the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated next to the first surface 7 are substantially aligned parallel to the surface 7 . consequently , the in - plane electric field which is generated by the electrode arrangement 4 and which serves for aligning the liquid crystal molecules 6 immediately affects the part of the han cell at which the liquid crystal molecules 6 to be aligned are situated , namely the part which is adjacent to the first surface 7 of the first substrate 2 , and thus the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are substantially aligned parallel to the first surface 7 . fig3 shows a han cell with ips - style electrode arrangement according to the prior art . negative and positive voltages alternate across the electrode arrangement . consequently , the direction of rotation of the optical axis also alternates . since only the absolute value of the rotation angle is relevant for amplitude modulation , an amplitude - modulating pixel can be operated with such an arrangement . in contrast , phase modulation depends on the sign of the voltage . an electrode arrangement as shown in fig3 is thus not suitable for a phase - modulating pixel . the upper part of fig4 is a perspective view which shows a detail of a phase modulator 1 according to this invention . the phase modulator 1 comprises a first substrate 2 , a second substrate 3 and an electrode arrangement 4 . a layer of liquid crystal molecules ( not shown in fig4 ) is disposed between the first substrate 2 and the second substrate 3 . the lower part of fig4 is a sectional view which shows schematically a second substrate 3 with the electrode arrangement 4 . the first substrate is omitted here . the drawing further shows the field lines which will occur if the electrode arrangement 4 is activated . the electrode arrangement 4 is of a striped design . the electrode arrangement 4 is preferably controlled such that different voltages are applied to the individual electrodes of the electrode arrangement 4 . these different voltages are designated v 1 to v 6 in fig4 . in a phase - modulating pixel of a phase modulator 1 according to this invention , a constant voltage gradient must be applied across the pixel . in other words , v 6 − v 5 = v 5 − v 4 = . . . = v 2 − v 1 = δv . in a phase deflector , the stripe electrodes are controlled individually . fig5 shows an lc - based polarisation grating according to the prior art . the lc molecules 6 are aligned in - plane and rotate by 180 degrees in the plane over one grating period . fig5 ( a ) is a front view which shows a detail of the polarisation grating , i . e . seen in the direction in which an observer looks at a display with such polarisation grating that is disposed parallel to the display surface . fig5 ( b ) is a sectional view that shows a detail of the polarisation grating of fig5 ( a ). a is the grating period of the polarisation grating . fig6 a is a schematic perspective three - dimensional view that illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention , namely a detail of a phase modulator 1 according to this invention which provides a polarisation grating which is based on the han mode . the simple drawing only shows the first substrate 2 , the second substrate 3 — with the respective surfaces 7 , 8 — and the liquid crystal layer 5 with the liquid crystal molecules 6 . although the liquid crystal molecules 6 in fig6 a are shown in the form of symmetrical ellipsoids , the liquid crystal molecules 6 in fact have a banana shape or pear shape which causes the flexo - electric effect . anyway , the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated next to the surface 7 of the first substrate are aligned substantially parallel to the surface 7 because the surface 7 is designed accordingly . further , the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated next to the surface 8 of the second substrate 3 are aligned substantially perpendicular to the surface 8 because the surface 8 is designed accordingly . the electrode arrangement is not shown in fig6 a . fig6 b is a sectional view which illustrates a detail of a further embodiment of a phase modulator 1 according to this invention . in this embodiment of the phase modulator according to this invention , the first surface 7 of the first substrate 2 is made in the form of a layer . the surface 7 , which is adjacent to the liquid crystal layer 5 with the liquid crystal molecules 6 , is made such that the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated next to the surface 7 are aligned substantially parallel to the surface 7 . the electrode arrangement 4 with substantially stripe - shaped electrodes is disposed on the substrate 2 and embedded by the surface 7 layer material . the second substrate 3 has a surface 8 in the form of a layer which is made such that the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated next to it are aligned substantially perpendicular to the surface 8 . the phase modulator 1 of fig6 b has an activated electrode arrangement 4 which is controlled such that a polarisation filter with a grating period of 16 μm is formed , of which only one half is shown here . the different greyscale values of the liquid crystal layer 5 illustrate the actual electric field strength . further , equipotential lines of the actual electric field strength are shown . fig6 c is a sectional view that illustrates a further embodiment of a detail of a phase modulator 1 which provides a polarisation grating which is based on the han mode . according to the han configuration , the lc molecules 6 are aligned in - plane , i . e . parallel , to one surface layer or surface 7 but out - of - plane , i . e . substantially perpendicular , to the other surface layer or surface 8 . it is the projection of the liquid crystal molecule 6 into the plane or first surface 7 that is rotated by 180 degrees in the polarisation grating over a grating period , while the angle of the liquid crystal molecule 6 by which they are turned out of the plane remains about constant . the borderline cases are a mere in - plane rotation near the upper substrate 2 , and a mere rotation of the liquid crystal molecules 6 around their own axis near the lower substrate 3 , because they are aligned perpendicular to the surface 7 there . fig7 is a schematic view which shows a detail of a pixel of a light modulator according to this invention , where the pixel is a part of the light modulator of a display and where it is looked at in a direction in which an observer would watch the light modulator or display . to make things clearer , the same cell or pixel is turned by 90 degrees below ( the lower substrate 2 with the electrode e 2 is on the right - hand side ). in the upper view , the liquid crystal molecule 6 at the bottom is situated next to the substrate which is closer to the observer , and it points out of the drawing plane . the liquid crystal molecule 6 at the top is situated next to the substrate which is further away from the observer , and it lies in the drawing plane . to realise the same rotation angle in the drawing plane , a positive voltage v 1 is required between the electrodes e 1 and e 2 , and a positive voltage v 1 is required again between the electrodes e 2 and e 3 . this means that the voltage 2 × v 1 is applied to the electrode e 3 . fig8 is an arrangement with a structured alignment layer a 1 and a 2 on the side where the liquid crystal molecules 6 are substantially aligned parallel to the surface 7 . the upper part of the drawing shows the same molecule alignment as described above between electrodes e 1 and e 2 . however , between electrodes e 2 and e 3 the molecules are aligned the other way round , namely vertically on top and horizontally at the bottom . this means that an opposing direction of rotation will occur if the same voltage is applied . if a voltage of 0 v is applied to electrode e 1 , a voltage v 1 is applied to electrode e 2 and a voltage of 0 v is applied again to electrode e 3 , then the sign of the voltage between two electrodes alternates , but the direction of rotation remains the same . further electrodes can continue to be supplied with the voltages v 1 and 0 v alternately . this embodiment preferably only requires two comb - shaped electrodes , and it is not necessary to control individual electrodes of a pixel individually . fig7 ′ and 8 ′ are three - dimensional views which show the same details of the light modulators shown in the upper parts of fig7 and 8 , where the liquid crystal molecules 6 are drawn in a greatly magnified manner and with an idealised three - dimensional shape . fig9 schematically shows front views , each of which illustrating a detail of a further embodiment of a phase modulator according to this invention . the diagrams illustrate the use of a phase offset that is introduced between subsequent frames , in particular in a han phase deflector . the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated near the substrate where the liquid crystal molecules 6 have a plane orientation is shown schematically only . fig9 ( b ) shows that the grating period of fig9 ( a ) is maintained after a phase offset , but that the applied voltages are modified such that no dc voltage effects can occur . the drawing shows over the electrodes the relative voltages which are applied between two neighbouring electrodes and below the electrodes the absolute voltages which are applied to the individual electrodes . the relative voltage changes between positive and negative for most electrodes , and for some it also changes between zero and positive or negative . in this example , the phase offset between the two frames is π , which corresponds to a change in the in - plane rotation angle of the liquid crystal molecules 6 of 90 degrees . generally , more than two frames can be given different phase offsets in order to reduce the resultant temporal average voltages further , for example following a sequence of 0 , π / 2 , π , 3π / 2 . accordingly , the phase values which are written to the phase modulator for a certain frame differ from the phase values which are written to the phase modulator for the subsequent frame by a phase offset such that the voltage difference between neighbouring in - plane electrodes varies . fig1 ( a ) and 10 ( b ) are schematic front views , each of which illustrating a detail of a further embodiment of a phase modulator according to this invention . they show schematically the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 6 which are situated near the substrate with planar orientation of a phase deflector . the signs of all applied voltages were changed between the diagrams in fig1 ( a ) and 10 ( b ). this results in a distribution of orientations of the liquid crystals from which a refractive index distribution of the light which interacts with the phase modulator is derived . this refractive index distribution has the effect of a polarisation grating with same grating period but opposing direction of rotation of the circular polarised light . for light of the same entry polarisation , this polarisation grating would correspond with a phase profile with different sign and deflect light in a different direction . however , if the polarisation of the incident light is changed too between the two operational situations shown in fig1 ( a ) and 10 ( b ), e . g . from counter - clockwise circular to clockwise circular ( indicated by arrows ), then the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 6 in fig1 ( b ) results in the same phase profile for the changed polarisation than the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules 6 in fig1 ( a ) for the initial polarisation . it is an advantageous aspect of this embodiment that the temporal average of the applied voltages becomes zero already after two frames . the embodiments shown are all phase deflectors . however , the concepts explained can be applied likewise in particular to transmissive and reflective light modulators . the polarisation - switching element can for example be realised in the form of an on / off - switchable λ / 2 plate on lc basis with plane ( non - pixelated ) electrodes . in other words , the voltages which are applied to the electrodes of the electrode arrangement of the phase modulator according to this invention during two subsequent frames are subject to a change of sign . during one of multiple frames , the light which interacts with the phase modulator is brought to a first polarisation state with a polarisation - switching element . during the subsequent frame , the light which interacts with the phase modulator is brought to a second polarisation state . finally , it is noticed that the embodiments described above shall solely be understood to illustrate the claimed teaching , but that the claimed teaching is not limited to these embodiments . | 6 |
an essential aspect of our approach to analysing the structure of a network is to define a measure of centrality for each node in the network . there are in fact many different measures of centrality , most of them coming from social science [ 10 ]. our aim has been to find a measure of centrality which implies well - connectedness . furthermore , we want a notion of well - connectedness which is not purely local . that is , we want a definition of well - connectedness ( centrality ) for node i which tells us something about the neighbourhood of node i . we reason that this kind of centrality can be useful for defining well connected clusters in the network , and , based on that , for understanding spreading on the same network . our strategy is to choose eigenvector centrality [ 11 ] as a useful measure of well - connectedness . eigenvector centrality ( evc ) has the desirable property that — since it depends on the properties of the neighbourhood of a node , and not just of the node itself — it is rather ‘ smooth ’ over the graph ( or network ; we use these terms interchangeably ). this is in contrast to the related quantity degree centrality , which simply counts the links leaving a node and so is completely local . let us elaborate on this difference . we start with degree centrality . it measures the ‘ importance ’ or connectedness of a node simply by counting the node &# 39 ; s neighbours . hence the degree centrality of node i is its node degree k i . clearly this quantity is completely local : a given node may have a very high degree centrality , and yet all of its neighbours may have a very low degree centrality — there is no correlation between this quantity from one node to its neighbours . eigenvector centrality is seemingly ( at least , in words ) only a slight modification . to find a node &# 39 ; s evc , one ( again ) counts the node &# 39 ; s neighbours . but weighting the count by the centrality ( evc ) of the neighbours . that is : it &# 39 ; s not just how many people you know , but who you know that matters . mathematically we express this by here e i is the evc of node i , and j = nn ( i ) means only sum over the nearest neighbours of i . this definition is clearly circular — my centrality depends on that of my neighbours , but theirs depends also on mine . however equation ( 1 ) is readily solved to find the evc , as long as one includes the constant ( const ) in the weighted sum . furthermore , assuming only that the graph is connected and the links are symmetric , we know that the evc values will all be positive ( although they can be ‘ practically zero ’ for very peripheral nodes ). thus we see that the evc depends not only on how many neighbours a node has , but also on longer - ranged questions such as how many neighbours a node &# 39 ; s neighbours have , etc . in fact , in principle , the evc of a node depends on the whole graph . more relevant for our purposes , however are two things : ( i ) the evc clearly does measure well - connectedness in some kind of non - local fashion , and ( ii ) because of ( i ), the evc values of nodes on any given path through the network cannot vary randomly and arbitrarily . that is , eq . ( 1 ) forces the evc of any node to be positively coupled to the evc of that node &# 39 ; s neighbours . we like to rephrase this as follows : the evc is ‘ smooth ’ as one moves over the graph . ( more mathematical arguments for this ‘ smoothness ’ are given in [ 1 ]). the smoothness of the evc allows one to think in terms of the ‘ topography ’ of the graph . that is , if a node has high evc , its neighbourhood ( from smoothness ) will also have a somewhat high evc - so that one can imagine evc as a smoothly varying ‘ height ’, with mountains , valleys , mountaintops , etc . we caution the reader that all standard notions of topography assume that the rippling ‘ surface ’ which the topography describes is continuous ( and typically two - dimensional , such as the earth &# 39 ; s surface ). a graph , on the other hand , is not continuous ; nor does it ( in general ) have a clean correspondence with discrete versions of a d - dimensional space for any d . hence one must use topographic ideas with care . nevertheless we will appeal often topographic ideas as aids to the intuition . our definitions will be inspired by this intuition , but still mathematically precise , and appropriate to the realities of a discrete network . first we define a ‘ mountaintop ’. this is a point that is higher than all its neighbouring points - a definition which can be applied unchanged to the case of a discrete network . that is , if a node &# 39 ; s evc is higher than that of any of its neighbours ( so that it is a local maximum of the evc ), we call that node a centre . next , we know that there must be a mountain for each mountaintop . we will call these mountains regions ; and they are important entities in our analysis . that is , each node which is not a centre must either belong to some centre &# 39 ; s mountain ( region ), or lie on a ‘ border ’ between regions . in fact , our preferred definition of region membership has essentially no nodes on borders between regions . thus our definition of regions promises to give us just what we wanted : a way to break up the network into well connected clusters ( the regions ). here is our preferred definition for region membership : all those nodes for which a steepest - ascent path terminates at the same local maximum of the evc belong to the same region . that is , a given node can find which region it belongs to by finding its highest neighbour , and asking that highest neighbour to find its highest neighbour , and so on , until the steepest - ascent path terminates at a local maximum of the evc ( i . e ., at a centre ). all nodes on that path belong to the region of that centre . also , every node will belong to only one centre , barring the unlikely event that a node has two or more highest neighbours having exactly the same evc , but belonging to differing regions . finally we discuss the idea of ‘ valleys ’ between regions . roughly speaking , a valley is defined topographically by belonging to neither mountainside that it runs between . hence , with our definition of region membership , essentially no nodes lie in the valleys . nevertheless it is useful to think about the ‘ space ’ between mountains — it is after all this ‘ space ’ that connects the regions , and thus plays an important role in spreading . this ‘ valley space ’ is however typically composed only of inter - region links . we call these inter - region links bridging links . ( and any node which lies precisely on the border may be termed a bridging node .) fig1 offers a pictorial view of these ideas . we show a simple graph with 16 nodes . we draw topographic contours of equal height ( evc ). the two centres , and the mountains ( regions ) associated with each , are clearly visible in the figure . the figure suggests strongly that the two regions , as defined by our analysis , are better connected internally than they are to one another . furthermore , from the figure , it is intuitively plausible that spreading ( e . g ., of a virus ) will occur more readily within a region than between regions . hence , fig1 expresses pictorially the two aims we seek to achieve by using evc : ( i ) find the well connected clusters , and ( ii ) understand spreading . in order to understand spreading from a network perspective , we would like somehow to evaluate the nodes in a network in terms of their “ spreading power ”. that is , we know that some nodes play an important role in spreading , while others play a less important role . one need only imagine the extreme case of a star : the centre of the star is absolutely crucial for spreading of infection over the star ; while the leaf nodes are entirely unimportant , having only the one aspect ( common to every node in any network ) that they can be infected . clearly , the case of the star topology has an obvious answer to the question of which nodes have an important role in spreading ( have high spreading power ). the question is then , how can one generate equally meaningful answers for general and complex topologies , for which the answer is not at all obvious ? in this section we will propose and develop a qualitative answer to this question . our basic assumption ( a ) is simple , and may be expressed in a single sentence : eigenvector centrality ( evc ) is a good measure of spreading power . ( a ) we have tested this idea , via both simulations and theory [ 2 ]. now we will give qualitative arguments which support assumption ( a ); we will then go on to explore the implications of this assumption . we will see that we can develop a fairly detailed picture of how epidemic spreading occurs over a network , based on ( a ) and our structural analysis — in short , based on the ideas embodied in fig1 . first we recall that , because a node &# 39 ; s evc depends on that of its neighbours , the evc values over a network may be thought of as ‘ smoothly varying ’ over the network . that is , a node with very high evc cannot be surrounded by nodes with very low evc . of course , it is true that evc tends to be positively correlated with a simpler measure of centrality , namely the node degree . in fact , one might say that the principal difference between the two measures is that evc is constrained by its definition to be smooth , while node degree centrality is not [ 12 ]. this difference can however be nontrivial . for instance , a node with high degree , surrounded by many leaf nodes , and linked only tenuously to the bulk of a large and well - connected network , will have a low evc , in spite of its high degree . the point is that evc is sensitive to properties of neighbourhoods , while node degree is not . thus , in short , there are no isolated nodes with high evc . that is , a node with high evc is embedded in a neighbourhood with high evc . ( there can however be relatively isolated nodes with low evc , as this situation is self - consistent . low - evc nodes can be isolated in the sense of having very few neighbours ; but it is still the case that their neighbours will not have very much higher evc .) now if we take our basic assumption ( a ) to be true , then there are no isolated nodes with high spreading power . instead , there are neighbourhoods with high spreading power . we then suppose that an infection has reached a node with modest spreading power . suppose further that this node is not a local maximum of evc ; instead , it will have a neighbour or neighbours of even higher spreading power . the same comment applies to these neighbours , until one reaches the local maximum of evc / spreading power . now , given that there are neighbourhoods , we can discuss spreading in terms of neighbourhoods rather than in terms of single nodes . it follows from the meaning of spreading power that a neighbourhood characterized by high spreading power will have more rapid spreading than one characterized by low spreading power . furthermore , we note that these different types of neighbourhoods ( high and low ) are smoothly joined by areas of intermediate spreading power ( and speed ). it follows from all this that , if an infection starts in a neighbourhood of low spreading power , it will tend to spread to a neighbourhood of higher spreading power . that is : spreading is faster towards neighbourhoods of high spreading power , because spreading is faster in such neighbourhoods . then , upon reaching the neighbourhood of the nearest local maximum of spreading power , the infection rate will also reach a maximum ( with respect to time ). finally , as the high neighbourhood saturates , the infection moves back ‘ downhill ’, spreading out in all ‘ directions ’ from the nearly saturated high neighbourhood , and saturating low neighbourhoods . we note that this discussion fits naturally with our topographic picture of network topology . putting the previous paragraph in this language , then , we get the following : infection of a hillside will tend to move uphill , while the infection rate grows with height . the top of the mountain , once reached , is rapidly infected ; and the infected top then efficiently infects all of the remaining adjoining hillsides . finally , and at a lower rate , the foot of the mountain is saturated . fig2 expresses these ideas pictorially . the figure shows our two - region example of fig1 , but viewed from the ‘ side ’— as if each node truly has a height . the initial infection occurs at the black node in the left region . it then spreads primarily uphill , with the rate of spreading increasing with increasing ‘ height ’ (= evc , which tells us , by our assumption , the spreading power ). the spreading of the infection reaches a maximum rate when the most central nodes in the region are reached ; it then ‘ takes off ’, and infects the rest of the region . we see that this qualitative picture addresses nicely the various stages of the classic s curve of innovation diffusion [ 13 ]. the early , flat part of the s is the early infection of a low area ; during this period , the infection moves uphill , but slowly . the s curve begins to take off as the infection reaches the higher part of the mountain . then there is a period of rapid growth while the top of the mountain is saturated , along with the neighbouring hillsides . finally , the infection rate slows down again , as the remaining uninfected low - lying areas become infected . we again summarize these ideas with a figure . fig3 shows a typical s curve for infection , in the case ( as we study in this paper ) that immunity is not possible . above this s curve , we plot the expected centrality of the newly infected nodes over time . according to our arguments above , relatively few nodes are infected before the most central node is reached — even as the centrality of the infection front is steadily rising . the takeoff of the infection then roughly coincides with the infection of the most central neighbourhood . hence , the part of fig3 to the left of the dashed line corresponds to the left half of fig2 ; similarly , the right - hand parts of the two figures correspond . one might object that this picture is too simple , in the following sense . our picture gives an s curve for a single mountain . yet we know that a network is often composed of several regions ( mountains ). the question is then , why should such multi - region networks exhibit a single s curve ? our answer here is that such networks need not necessarily exhibit a single s curve . that is , our arguments predict that each region — defined around a local maximum of the evc — will have a single s curve . then — assuming that each node belongs to a single region , as occurs with our preferred rule for region membership — the cumulative infection / infection curve for the whole network is simply the sum of the infection curves for each region . these latter single - region curves will be s curves . thus , depending on the relative timing of these various single - region curves , the network as a whole may , or may not , exhibit a single s curve . for example , if the initial infection is from a peripheral node which is close to only one region , then that region may take off well before neighbouring regions . on the other hand , if the initial infection is in a valley which adjoins several mountains , then they may all exhibit takeoff roughly simultaneously — with the result being a sum of roughly synchronized s curves , hence a single s curve . let us now summarize and enumerate the predictions we take from this qualitative picture . a . each region has an s curve . b . the number of takeoff / plateau occurrences in the cumulative curve for the whole network may be more than one ; but it will not be more than the number of regions in the network . c . for each region — assuming ( which will be typical ) that the initial infection is not a very central node — growth will at first be slow . d . for each region ( same assumption ) initial growth will be towards higher evc . e . for each region , when the infection reaches the neighborhood of high centrality , growth “ takes off ”. f . an observable consequence of ( e ) is then that , for each region , the most central node will be infected at , or after , the takeoff — but not before . g . for each region , the final stage of growth ( saturation ) will be characterized by low centrality . in [ 2 ] we have developed a mathematical theory for the qualitative ideas expressed here . we have focused on two aspects there , which we will simply summarize here . the first problem is to try to quantify and make precise our assumption ( a ). since ( a ) relates two quantities - spreading power and evc — and the latter is precisely defined , the task is then to define the former , and then to seek a relation between the two . such a relation is intuitively reasonable . a node which is connected to many well - connected nodes should have higher spreading power , and higher evc , than a node which is connected to equally many , but poorly connected , nodes . we have offered a precise definition of spreading power in [ 2 ]. our reasoning has two steps : first we define an ‘ infection coefficient ’ c ( i , j ) between any pair of nodes i and j . this is simply a weighted sum of all non - self - retracing paths between i and j , with lower weight given to longer paths . thus many short paths between two nodes gives them a high infection coefficient . our definition is symmetric , so that c ( i , j )= c ( j , i ). next we define the spreading power of node i to be simply the sum over all other nodes j of its infection coefficient c ( i , j ) with respect to j . as long as the graph is connected , every node will have a nonzero c ( i , j ) with every other , thus contributing to the sum . hence each node has the same number of terms in the sum ; but the nodes with many large infection coefficients will of course get a higher spreading power . we then show in [ 2 ] that one can make a strong connection between this definition of spreading power and the evc , if one can ignore the restriction to non - self - retracing paths in the definition . we restrict the sum to non - self - retracing paths because self - retracing paths do not contribute to infection in the si case . this restriction makes the obtaining of analytical results harder . we have given in [ 2 ] exact equations for the propagation of an infection , for arbitrary starting node , in the si case . these equations are stochastic — expressed in terms of probabilities — due to the probabilistic model for spreading over links . they are not generally solvable , even in the deterministic case when p = 1 . the problem in the latter case is again the need to exclude non - self - retracing paths . however we have performed an expansion in powers of p for the time evolution of the infection probability vector . this expansion shows that the dominant terms are those obtained by naively applying the adjacency matrix ( i . e ., ignoring self - retracing paths because they are longer , hence higher order in p ). the connection to evc is then made : naively applying the adjacency matrix gives weights ( infection probabilities ) which approach a distribution proportional to the evc . hence we get some confirmation for our claim that , in the initial stages of an infection , the front moves towards higher evc . in this section we go beyond the problem of analysis , and address the problem of design of networks [ 14 ]. our ideas have some clear implications for design — both towards the aim of preventing the spreading of harmful information ( such as viruses ) and towards the aim of helping spreading — in each case , by modifying the topology of a given network . we frame our ideas in terms of our topographic picture . now we suppose that we wish to design , or modify the design of , a network , so as to improve its efficiency with respect to spreading . it is reasonable , based on our picture , to assume that a single region is the optimal topology for efficient spreading . hence we include , in the present invention , four ideas which are expected to improve information flow in a network , by modifying a given ( multi - region ) network topology to make it more like a single region : 1 . one can add more bridge links between the regions . links between nodes with high evc in each region are expected to be most effective . see fig4 . 2 . as an extreme case of 1 , one can connect the centres of the regions . see fig5 . 3 . one can connect a subset of nodes from different regions by a relaying star node . see fig1 b . 4 . one can connect all , or some , of the centre nodes by a relaying star node . see fig1 b . idea 2 is a “ greedy ” version of idea 1 . in fact , the greediest version of idea 2 is to connect all centres to all , thus forming a complete sub - graph among the centres . a complete subgraph among 5 centres is shown in fig1 a . an alternative to this design is to insert a new star node ( shown in white in fig1 b ), which is connected to all the centre nodes by just one link to each . in some situations , where physically laying down new links is costly in terms of scarce resources , and adding new nodes is feasible , this star design can be more attractive than the complete sub - graph option . when n centres are to be connected , the star design adds just n new links and one new node , whereas the complete subgraph will add n ( n − 1 )/ 2 new links . combinations of these two approaches are also possible ; one subset of the centres can be connected as a complete subgraph , whereas a star node can connect another subset . however , such greedy approaches may in practice be difficult or impossible . there remain then the general ideas 1 and 3 of building more bridges between the regions . here we see however no reason for not taking the greediest practical version of this idea . that is : build the bridges between nodes of high centrality on both sides - preferably , as high as possible . our analysis strongly suggests that this is the best strategy for modifying topology so as to help spreading . choosing subsets of nodes of high evc score in each region , and then combining these subsets , can also be done , as shown in fig1 a . again , in cases where one wants to minimize the number of new links added to the network , adding a new star node in between the two subsets of nodes can be a viable solution . this is shown in fig1 b . connecting all the nodes in one subset with all the nodes in the other subset will require k * g new links , where k and g are the number of nodes in each subset . in the star - node approach the number of added links can be considerably less : only k + g . hence , the advantage of the relaying star - node approach should be clear . we note that the greediest strategy is almost guaranteed to give a single - region topology ( and therefore efficient information spreading ) as a result . our reasoning is simple . first , the existing centres cannot all be centres after they are all connected one to another - because two adjacent nodes cannot both be local maxima of the evc ( or of anything else ). therefore , either new centres turn up among the remaining nodes as a result of the topology modification , or only one centre survives the modification . in the latter case we have one region . the former case , we argue , is unlikely : we note that the evc of the existing centres is ( plausibly ) strengthened ( raised ) by the modification more than the evc of other nodes . that is , we believe that connecting existing centres in a complete sub - graph will ‘ lift them up ’ with respect to the other nodes , as well as bringing them closer together . if this ‘ lifting ’ idea is correct , then we end up with a single centre and a single region . now we address the problem of designing , or redesigning , a network topology so as to hinder spreading . here the problem is more complicated than in the helping case . the reason for this is that we build networks in order to support and facilitate communication . hence we cannot simply seek the extreme , ‘ perfect ’ solution - because the ideal solution for hindering spreading is one region per node , i . e ., disconnect all nodes from all others ! instead we must consider incremental changes to a given network . we consider two types of ‘ inoculation ’ strategies : inoculating nodes ( which is equivalent to removing them , as far as spreading is concerned ), or inoculating links ( which is also equivalent to removing them ). again we include in the present invention a list of ideas , now useful for hindering spreading : 1 . one can inoculate the centres ( see fig6 )— along with , perhaps , a small neighbourhood around them . 2 one can instead find a ring of nodes surrounding each centre ( at a radius of perhaps two or three hops ) and inoculate the ring . in fig7 , a ring of nodes at one hop from each centre is inoculated . 3 . one can inoculate bridge links . see fig9 . 4 . one can inoculate nodes at the ends of bridge links . see fig8 . we note that ideas 1 and 2 are applicable even in the case that only a single region is present . ideas 3 and 4 may be used when multiple regions are found . note that inoculating a bridge link ( idea 3 ) is not the same as inoculating the two nodes which the link joins ( idea 4 ): inoculating a node effectively removes that node and all links connected to it , while inoculating a link removes only that link . in fig8 , the two nodes at the ends of the bridge link are inoculated , while in fig9 , only the bridge link itself is inoculated . also , with link inoculation , one has the same considerations as with link addition - namely , the height of the link matters . we define the “ link evc ” to be the arithmetic mean of the evc values of the nodes on the ends of the link . ideas 3 and 4 are then almost certainly most effective if the bridging links chosen for inoculation have a relatively high link evc . inoculating a link means removing the link . and “ removing ” means blocking any and all communication over the link . now , given this definition , we can say that inoculating a node means inoculating all links connected to that node . in this way , no communication to or from the inoculated node is possible . this is equivalent to “ removing the node from the graph ”. for our purposes , it is not necessary to shut down a node in order to inoculate it . one must simply close off all communication to & amp ; from the node . another definition of inoculation is possible . if it is possible to detect and block the unwanted information , and thereby to filter the communication over links in some way , then we need not close off all communication on a link in order to inoculate the link . that is , if we can detect the unwanted , harmful communication ( e . g ., a virus ), then it is sufficient to block only that form for communication , and allow other communications through . inoculation of a link may then be defined as : blocking any transmission of “ unwanted ” information over the link . then inoculating a node can be defined as inoculating all links connected to the node ( as before ). geoffrey canright and kenth engø - monsen , “ roles in networks ”. science of computer programming , 53 ( 2004 ) 195 - 214 . geoffrey canright and kenth engø - monsen , “ spreading on networks : a topographic view ”, submitted to european conference on complex systems ( eccs05 ). geoffrey canright , kenth engø - monsen , asmund weltzien , and fahimeh pourbayat , “ diffusion in social networks and disruptive innovations ”. iadis e - commerce 2004 proceedings . lisbon 2004 . m . e . j . newman , “ the structure and function of complex networks ”. siam review , 45 ( 2003 ), 167 - 256 . romualdo pastor - satorras and alessandro vespignani , “ epidemic spreading in scale - free networks ”. phys . rev . lett 86 ( 2001 ), 3200 - 3203 . romualdo pastor - satorras and alessandro vespignani , “ epidemic dynamics and endemic states in complex networks ”. phys . rev . e 63 , 066117 ( 2001 ). m . e . j . newman , “ spread of epidemic disease on networks ”. phys . rev . e 66 , 016128 ( 2002 ). fred brauer , “ a model for an si disease in an age - structured population ”. discrete and continuous dynamical systems b2 ( 2002 ), 257 - 264 . yang wang , deepayan chakrabarti , chenxi wang , and christos faloutsos , “ epidemic spreading in real networks : an eigenvalue viewpoint ”. proceedings , 22 nd symposium on reliable distributed systems ( srds 2003 ), 25 - 34 . a good introduction to many of these definitions may be found in : http :// www . analytictech . com / networks / centrali . htm p . bonacich , “ factoring and weighting approaches to status scores and clique identification ”. journal of mathematical sociology , 2 ( 1972 ), 113 - 120 . the star illustrates this difference to some extent . suppose the graph is a star with n ‘ leaves ’— that is , a graph with one node in the center , linked to each of n other nodes , each of which have no neighbour other than the center node . the degree centrality of the center is of course n , and that of the leaves is 1 . the evc of the center is however only √{ square root over ( n )} larger than the evc of the leaves . hence using evc - which makes the centrality of the center dependent on that of its neighbors - gives a reduction ( by a factor 1 /√{ square root over ( n )}) in the ( potentially large ) difference in degree centrality between leaves and center . e . m . rogers , diffusion of innovations , 3 rd ed . free press , new york ( 1983 ). for a discussion of closely related ideas , see : m . burgess , g . canright , and k . engø . “ a graph theoretical model of computer security : from file access to social engineering ”. international journal of information security , volume 3 , number 2 , november 2004 , pages 70 - 85 . | 7 |
detailed descriptions of described embodiment of the present invention are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present described embodiment of the invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system , structure or manner . in accordance with the described embodiment of the present invention , fig1 shows a cross - sectional view of the invention , showing generally the hollow main housing , the hollow main housing forming a vertical circular opening through the center of the main housing , an input port connected opening into the hollow of the main housing a limited inlet opening between the input port and the hollow main housing , and an output port connected to the opening into the hollow of the main housing . a lesser volume piston adjacent to the limited inlet opening is positioned such that vertical movement of the lesser volume piston will increase or decrease the amount of the flow of fluid which can flow into the hollow main housing through the input opening . the lesser volume piston anchored to the top of a return spring and has a water tight rolling first diaphragm anchored at a vertical location between the constant pressure spring and the lesser volume piston . this rolling first diaphragm is connected to the interior of the hollow main housing around the entire circumference of the interior of the housing below the level of the lesser volume piston . an adjustable control spring connected to a similar rolling second diaphragm is at the opposite end and the interior of the hollow main housing . a this other end a variable pressure spring ( control spring ) attached to the top of the hollow main housing inside the vertical circular opening is attached to the bottom return spring so that the return force of the spring assists movement . this return force assists movement of the valve member in the first direction . the control spring engages the connecting member to resiliently oppose movement of the valve member in the first direction along the system axis . the position of the piston determines the amount of fluid which can be flowing through the controller at any particular moment of time . changes in the input pressure move the piston so that the output pressure remains constant over a wide range of input pressures . a threaded adjustment screw or pin ( hereafter “ pin ”) attached to the top of the upper second spring (“ variable pressure spring ” or “ control ” spring ); a pressure output adjustment knob on top of the threaded adjustment screw or pin ; a thread assembly in the top of the hollow main housing for a variable pressure adjustment screw threaded through the thread assembly ; a spring attachment means to connect the control and return springs ; a lower housing element with a piston sealing means to make the upper piston water - tight ; a plurality of smaller springs connected by a connecting means to create one large spring for the top or bottom spring , and / or one could also use two small springs connected by a connecting means to create one large spring for the top or bottom spring . referring initially to fig1 of the drawing , depicted therein is an example of a completely open flow controller 20 constructed in accordance with , and embodying the principals of the present invention . the flow controller 20 comprises a housing assembly 30 , a first diaphragm 32 , and a second diaphragm 34 . the housing assembly 30 defines a first input housing port 40 and a second output housing port 42 . the first diaphragm 32 and second diaphragm 34 are supported relative to the housing assembly 30 such that the housing assembly 30 and the first diaphragm 32 and the second diaphragm 34 define a main chamber 44 . the first diaphragm 32 and the second diaphragm 34 are both vented to outside atmospheric pressure . the first diaphragm 32 is vented to outside atmospheric pressure through first filter vent 155 . the second diaphragm 34 is vented to outside atmospheric pressure through a second filter vent 156 . the operative part of the valve assembly is comprised of a piston 48 , which in the preferred embodiment is composed of a strong metal such as brass . it creates a valve in conjunction with its movement across the first valve port 46 . the piston 48 is disposed within the main chamber 44 such that the flow controller 20 defines a flow path that extends through the first housing port 40 , the first valve port 46 , the main chamber 44 , the second valve port 76 , and the second housing port 42 . fluid flowing along the flow path causes the piston 48 to move relative to the housing assembly 30 such that a cross - sectional area of a portion of the flow path is altered . in the preferred embodiment , a cylindrical enclosure 200 comprised of a brass tubing encircles the first spring 84 ( lower spring or return spring ) so that the return force assists movement of the piston 48 . also , the preferred embodiment has a gasket 201 comprised of stainless steel at the base of the piston 48 . more specifically , an inlet pressure of the fluid at the first housing port 40 will determine a position of the piston 48 relative to the opening 46 of the input housing port 40 . when the inlet pressure is below a first pressure level , the piston 48 will be in a home position and fully opened as illustrated in fig1 and the valve will be open all the way . when the inlet pressure is above a second pressure level , the piston 48 will be in an end or closed position as illustrated by fig3 . the input pressure level is always kept greater than the output pressure level . the output pressure is kept constant by the combined action of the first diaphragm 32 and second diaphragm 34 adjusted by the pressure of a second spring 82 ( upper spring or control spring ) and a first spring 84 ( lower spring or return spring ). the upper spring is 82 and the lower spring is 84 . the spring pressure of the second spring 82 ( upper spring ) and the first spring 84 ( lower spring ) is adjusted by the adjustment screw or adjustment pin 144 . when the inlet pressure is between the first lower and the second higher pressure levels , the piston 48 will be in an intermediate position between the home position and the end position as shown in fig2 , thereby keeping the output pressure constant . an effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is defined by a spatial relationship between the housing assembly 30 and the piston 48 . when the piston 48 is in the home position and fully open , the first valve port 46 is fully open as it faces the first main port 40 and the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is at its greatest value . when the piston 48 is in the end position , none of the first valve port 46 is open as it faces the first main port 40 and the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is at its smallest value . as shown in fig2 , when the piston 48 is between the home and end positions , a portion of the piston 48 faces the first main port 46 , and the value of the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is somewhere between the greatest value and the smallest value . the effect of the springs and the diaphragms working in concert is to alter the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path , and the volume of fluid allowed to flow along the flow path over time is increased or decreased thereby keeping the output pressure constant at the desired pressure . accordingly , even if the inlet pressure varies within a range of inlet pressures defined by the first lower and second upper pressure levels , the flow controller 20 can maintain a substantially constant volume of fluid flowing along the flow path . to be most effective , the input and output pressure should be at least 5 psi higher in the input pressure than the output pressure . with the foregoing general understanding of the described embodiment of the present invention in mind , the details of operation and construction of the example flow controller 20 will now be described in further detail . referring back to fig1 of the drawing , the example housing assembly 30 of the flow controller 20 comprises a main housing 52 . in the preferred embodiment , “ o ” rings may be used to seal a housing made of multiple parts . an inlet member of the main housing 52 , an outlet member of main housing 54 , and a spring member of main housing 56 comprise the main body of the housing 30 . the inlet member of main housing 52 and outlet member of main housing 54 are rigidly connected to the main housing 50 to allow external inlet and outlet conduits ( not shown ) to be connected to the first and second housing ports 40 and 42 , respectively . the second spring member of main housing 56 is rigidly connected to the main housing 50 . the example flow controller 20 further comprises a sleeve 60 and a cap 62 . the sleeve 60 comprises a first sleeve member 64 and a second sleeve member 66 . the sleeve 60 is arranged within the main chamber 44 , and the first diaphragm 32 is supported by the sleeve 60 and the cap 62 within the main chamber 44 . the second spring member of main housing 56 supports the cap 62 such that a spring chamber 68 is defined between the cap 62 and the second spring housing 56 . the second spring member of main housing 56 further holds the cap 62 against the first diaphragm 32 , the first diaphragm 32 against the sleeve 60 , and the sleeve 60 against the main housing 50 . a connecting member 70 extends between the piston 48 and the first diaphragm 32 and the second diaphragm 34 . as shown by a comparison of fig1 , 2 , and 3 , the connecting member 70 rigidly connects the piston 48 and the first diaphragm 32 such that the piston 48 and the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 and the second diaphragm 34 move together . the sleeve 60 defines a first sleeve port 74 , a second sleeve port 75 , and an outer surface 78 . as shown in fig1 , a channel 80 is formed in the outer surface 78 of the sleeve 60 . the channel 80 is substantially aligned with the first main port 40 . the valve members defined by a first valve port and a second valve port , are arranged within the main chamber such that a flow path extends through the first housing port , the first valve port , the first sleeve port , the second valve port , and the second housing port , and the second sleeve port , causing fluid to flow along the flow path such that the fluid causes the valve member to move relative to the sleeve to alter a cross - sectional area of a portion of the flow path fig1 further illustrates that the example flow controller 20 comprises an upper second spring 82 and a lower first spring 84 . the upper second spring 82 ( control spring ) is arranged within the spring chamber 68 and applies a control force to the connecting member 70 and thus to the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 and to the piston 48 . the control force opposes movement of the piston 48 in a first direction along a system axis b defined by the housing assembly 30 . the lower first spring 84 is arranged to apply a return force to the piston 48 so that the return force assists movement of the piston 48 in the first direction along the system axis b . the upper second spring 82 is supported under compression between a first valve seat member 86 and a second valve seat member 88 . the first valve seat member 86 is supported by the second spring member of main housing 56 . the second valve seat member 88 engages the connecting member 70 . a position of the first valve seat member 86 relative to the second spring member of main housing 56 is adjustable to allow a bias force to be applied to the upper second spring 82 ( control spring ). the bias force allows the compression on the upper second spring 82 to be adjusted . as described above , the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is smallest when the piston 48 is in the end ( closed ) position as shown in fig3 . in particular , the effective cross - sectional area of the flow path is defined by the dimensions of the interstitial space 94 . the interstitial space 94 thus always allows a small amount of fluid flow between the first sleeve port 74 and the first valve port 46 , even when the piston 48 is in the end position . the example flow controller 20 thus never completely shuts off the flow of fluid between the first housing port 40 and the second housing port 42 . the first diaphragm 32 is a flexible , fluid impermeable sheet . a perimeter edge of the first diaphragm 32 is rigidly held between the sleeve 60 and the cap 62 . the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 is rigidly connected to the connecting member 70 . accordingly , movement of the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 is transferred to the connecting member 70 . during use of the example flow controller 20 , the inlet member of main housing 52 is connected to an inlet conduit ( not shown ) that is in turn connected to a source of unregulated , pressurized liquid such as an irrigation pump . the outlet member of main housing 54 is connected to an outlet conduit that is in turn connected to a destination of regulated liquid , such as a sprinkler assembly . the channel 80 extends completely around the first sleeve member 64 and the openings 92 . accordingly , fluid flowing through these openings 92 into the interstitial space 94 flows generally radially inwardly toward the system axis b . the fluid in the interstitial space 94 thus does not act asymmetrically on the second diaphragm 34 in a manner that would force the second diaphragm 34 against the sleeve 60 and thereby inhibit movement of the second diaphragm 34 along the system axis a . pressurized liquid within the main chamber 44 acts on the first diaphragm 32 . above the first pressure level , the force applied by the pressurized liquid on the first diaphragm 32 will displace the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 in a first direction indicated by arrow b in fig1 . because the traveling portion 72 is rigidly connected to the connecting member 70 and the connecting member 70 is rigidly connected to the piston 48 , the piston 48 is also displaced in the first direction b . the second diaphragm 34 does not impede the movement of the piston 48 , because the effective area of the second first 32 is smaller than the effective area of the second diaphragm 34 . in the preferred embodiment , the ratio of the effective area is 1 . 05 to 0 . 37 between the first diaphragm 32 and the second diaphragm 34 . with appropriate selection of the springs 82 and 84 and the bias force applied to the upper second spring 82 ( control spring ), the piston 48 will reciprocate along the system axis b as necessary to adjust for fluctuations in the inlet pressure . the flow rate of fluid exiting the main chamber 44 through the second sleeve port 75 and the second housing port 42 will thus be maintained at a substantially constant level set by the values of the springs 82 and 84 and magnitude of the bias force . the flow controller 20 may also be constructed in one type of embodiment without the control spring 82 and the bias spring 84 . in this case , the first diaphragm 32 itself must be constructed to resiliently oppose pressure established by liquid within the main chamber 44 . for the pressures expected in liquid systems such as an irrigation system , however , use of the springs 82 and 84 greatly simplifies the fabrication of the first diaphragm 32 and second diaphragm 34 . the first diaphragm 32 is rigidly connected to the connecting member 70 as follows . in the preferred embodiment example shown , connecting member 70 is a threaded rod having a first end 120 secured to a cross - brace assembly 132 and a second end 124 . depressions 126 and 128 are formed in the first and second valve seat members 86 and 88 , respectively . the second end 124 of the connecting member 70 is configured to engage the depression 128 formed in the second valve seat member 88 . a first nut 130 is threaded onto the connecting member 70 . the threaded member 70 is then inserted through a first diaphragm plate 132 ( cross - brace assembly ), the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 , and through a second first diaphragm plate 134 . a second nut 136 is then threaded onto the connecting member 70 and tightened such that the traveling portion 72 of the first diaphragm 32 is rigidly clamped between the first diaphragm plates 132 and 134 . a stop flange 138 extends from the second first diaphragm plate 134 . as shown in fig3 , when the piston 48 is in the end position , the stop flange 138 engages the cap 62 to prevent further movement of the first diaphragm 32 . the stop flange 138 thus prevents damage to the first diaphragm 34 under high pressures above the second pressure level . fig1 further illustrates that the example flow controller 20 further comprises a bias force adjustment assembly 140 comprising an insert 142 , an adjustment screw or pin 144 , and a lock nut 146 . to reduce costs , the spring housing 56 and other components of the controller may be made of plastic or other suitable material . the insert 142 is embedded within the second spring member of main housing 56 to provide an internal threaded surface for engaging the adjustment screw or pin 144 . with the adjustment screw or pin 144 (“ pin ” is defined as either a screw or a pin for purposes of the claims ) extending through the second spring member of main housing 56 and threadingly engaged with the insert 142 , axial rotation of the adjustment pin 144 displaces the pin 144 along a longitudinal axis thereof . a first end 148 of the adjustment pin 144 engages the depression 126 formed in the first valve seat member 86 . as mentioned above , the housing assembly 30 is typically formed by a number of separate components . these components are secured to each other using a plurality of bolts 150 . seals 152 in the form of conventional a - rings , gaskets , or the like are used where necessary to establish a fluid - tight fluid path . referring now to fig4 of the drawing , represented therein is an example irrigation system 220 comprising a water supply 222 , a water distribution system 224 , and a flow control system 226 . the irrigation system 220 is designed to operate within predetermined parameters to distribute water to a particular area to be irrigated . the water supply 222 is or may be conventional and provides a source of pressurized water suitable for irrigation purposes . the parameters of the pressurized water supplied by the water supply 222 need not be constant or known in advance ; to the contrary , the water pressure can be within an operating range defined by a predetermined minimum determined by the requirements of the water distribution system 224 and a predetermined maximum determined by the components of the flow control system 226 . often , the water supply 222 takes the form of a pump operatively connected to a reservoir . the water distribution system 224 is or may be conventional and typically comprises a set of components , such as conduits , sprinkler assemblies , and / or drip assemblies , configured for the particular area to be irrigated . the water distribution system 224 is typically configured to distribute a predetermined quantity of water during a predetermined time period . the predetermined quantity of water and the predetermined time period will be determined with reference to the characteristics of the area to be irrigated and environmental factors such as heat and / or humidity . the example flow control system 226 comprises the flow controller described above . the first housing port 40 is operatively connected to the water supply 222 , while the second housing port 42 is operatively connected to the water distribution system 224 . the flow controller 20 is configured to allow the flow of water from the water supply 222 to the water distribution system 224 to be regulated . regulation of the flow of water from water supply 222 to the water distribution system 224 allows the quantity of water distributed by the water distribution system 224 over the predetermined time period to be approximately equal to the predetermined quantity of water desired . the flow controller 20 thus helps to ensure that the irrigation system 220 operates within the predetermined operating parameters . the flow control system 226 may in one embodiment comprise only the flow controller 20 as described above but may also in other embodiments be configured to include additional components such as an outer housing , pipe fittings , control valves , and the like . the details of the flow control system 226 will thus typically be determined by the details of the water supply 222 and the water distribution system 224 . the described embodiment of the present invention may be embodied in forms other than those described above . the scope of the described embodiment of the present invention should thus be determined by the claims appended hereto and not the foregoing detailed description of the invention . while the described embodiment of the present invention has been described in connection with a preferred embodiment , it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to the particular form set forth , but on the contrary , it is intended to cover such alternatives , modifications , and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the described embodiment of the present invention as defined by the appended claims . insofar as the description above and the accompanying drawings disclose an additional subject matter that is not within the scope of the single claim below , the inventions are not dedicated to the public and the right to file one or more applications to claim such additional inventions is reserved . | 8 |
referring generally to fig1 through 6 , a hot melt adhesive application machine 10 is illustrated comprising a base frame or supporting stand 12 having a top cover 13 attached to base 12 by a multiplicity of nuts and bolts 19 as illustrated in the cutaway portion of top cover 13 in fig1 . an open top , adhesive reservoir 14 having an outer reservoir shell 16 is suspended from top cover 13 as best seen in fig6 . thermal insulating material 25 is placed between reservoir 14 and shell 16 to reduce heat loss from the molten adhesive within reservoir 14 . extending upward from top cover 13 is safety guard 18 . positioned above safety guard 18 is a u shaped mounting bracket 22 having main control box 24 attached thereto . mounting bracket 22 includes a handle 26 for lifting and / or carrying machine 10 . a hinged lid 28 is provided atop opening 125 , within the top cover 13 , for loading solid , hot melt adhesive into reservoir 14 as shown in fig6 . [ 0027 ] fig8 presents an exploded isometric pictorial of the air motor / pump assembly within machine 10 . air motor 30 is affixed to the top plate 52 of the pump body assembly 40 by four stanchions 54 as seen in fig6 and 8 . stanchions 54 are threaded into the body of air motor 30 and attached to top plate 52 by four flat headed , threaded fasteners 58 . pump body 50 is affixed to the opposite side of plate 52 by four socket - headed screws 56 as illustrated in fig6 and 8 . prior to attaching plate 52 to pump body 50 , pump body 50 is first attached to top cover 13 by four socket - head screws 36 as illustrated in the cutaway portion in fig4 . although an air motor is disclosed herein , any suitable means of driving pump assembly 40 , such as an electric motor may also be used . as best illustrated in fig6 , and 9 , the top portion of the pump body &# 39 ; s four comers are , machined away as best illustrated in fig9 thereby creating four flat land areas 38 into which a threaded bore 42 is provided for attaching pump body 50 to top cover 13 with four socket - head screws 36 as illustrated in the cut - away portion of fig4 . an opening 60 is provided , within plate 52 , through which pump rod 65 passes and attaches to air motor driving rod 20 by coupling 126 as illustrated in fig6 . a pump piston assembly 70 is attached to the opposite end of pump rod 65 as illustrated in fig8 a and is received within pump bore 66 as illustrated in fig6 . threaded into the bottom opening of pump bore 66 is pump check valve assembly 62 . a seal 64 is provided at the top of pump rod bore 68 sealingly engaging pump rod 65 as pump rod 65 reciprocates within pump rod bore 68 . a blind heater bore 67 is provided within pump body 50 receiving therein resistance - heating element 72 . side opening 74 , within pump body 50 is provided for exit of the heating element feed wires 73 which are connected to pump body temperature control 96 . the temperature setting desired for the pump body is manually set as appropriate for the particular adhesive within reservoir 14 . for reference and control purposes a pump body thermometer 98 is provided to give a continuous read - out of the pump body temperature . thermometer 98 is a simple typical stem type thermometer inserted into a stem receiving bore within the pump body ( not shown ). referring now to fig8 a , 8 b , and 8 c , pump rod 65 is attached to air motor 30 , at its top end , by coupling 126 and to piston assembly 70 at its bottom end . the main body 95 , of piston assembly 70 , includes , at its top end , a side opening slot 122 . a second , more narrow “ key way slot ” 121 is cut into the top cover 120 of slot 122 . key way slot 121 generally parallels slot 122 . the bottom end of pump rod 65 terminates with a circular knob 110 extended from said pump rod by a small diameter neck 112 . when piston assembly 70 is connected to pump rod 65 knob 110 slides into slot 122 with neck 112 being received within slot 121 . thus piston assembly 70 has a small degree of freedom to move in a lateral direction but is not free to move axially with respect to pump rod 65 . this lateral freedom of movement by piston assembly 70 permits piston assembly 70 to self align within pump bore 66 as it translates axially therein . coupling 126 connects air driving rod 20 to the opposite end of pump rod 65 in a similar manner as that used to connect piston assembly 70 . extending outward from either side of pump body 50 is at least one heated and insulated , molten adhesive supply hose 100 ( see fig2 ) connecting to a separately heated adhesive applicator 102 . a second heated and insulated supply hose 105 and heated applicator 107 may also be provided . supply hoses 100 and 105 are threadedly connected to pump discharge outlets 106 and 108 as shown in fig6 and 8 . supply hoses 100 and 105 , and applicators 102 and 107 each have separate thermostatically controlled heating elements therein which will be discussed in further detail below . applicators 102 and 107 each include separate , manually adjustable , thermostatic controls 104 and 108 for controlling the temperature of the applicator . supply hoses 100 and 105 each include separate thermostatic controls 110 and 112 having two preset positions , “ high ” and “ low .” however , if desired supply hoses 100 and 105 could be provided with manually controlled thermostatic controls as those provided on applicators 102 and 107 . referring now to fig6 and 7 , attached to pump body 50 are heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b 82 a and 82 b as best seen in fig7 . as illustrated in fig7 heat transfer fins 80 a and 80 b generally circumscribe the inner periphery of reservoir 14 maintaining a nominal distance or clearance 84 from the inside surface of reservoir 14 . heat transfer fins 80 may be configured hexagonally as illustrated in fig7 or may be curved so as to maintain a constant distance 84 from the inside surface of reservoir 14 . heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b , 82 a , and 82 b are attached to pump body 50 such that heat energy will be conveyed , by conduction , from pump body 50 into and throughout heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b , 82 a , and 82 b . thermal energy is then transferred , by conduction , from heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b , 82 a , and 82 b into the adhesive within reservoir 14 . preferably heat transfer fins 82 a and 82 b have a tapered top edge 86 including a “ knife edge ” profile for severing large pieces of solid adhesive that may be added to reservoir 14 during use of machine 10 . extending horizontally below heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b , 82 a , and 82 b and generally parallel to the bottom surface of reservoir 14 is plate 88 . octagonally shaped plate 88 is attached to the bottom of pump body 50 by any suitable manner , such as threaded screws . heat transfer fins 80 a , 80 b , and bottom plate 88 generally form a heated supply hopper , having dividers 82 a and 82 b therein , into which solid adhesive shapes may be added for melting . a multiplicity of apertures 78 are provided to permit molten adhesive to pass therethrough and into the molten adhesive reservoir . a gap 85 is also preferred between the bottom of heat transfer fins 80 , 82 , and bottom plate 88 for passage of molten adhesive into the molten adhesive reservoir . [ 0035 ] fig6 b presents an enlarged crossectional view of pump inlet check valve assembly 62 as installed at the bottom of pump bore 66 . check valve assembly 62 comprises an inlet fitting 76 extending upward into the inlet end of pump bore 66 . an inlet passage extends axially through fitting 76 comprising a first bore 78 diverging into a larger diameter second bore 79 . at the juncture of bore 78 and bore 79 a ball seat 90 is provided for receiving therein ball 92 . a diametrically extending roll pin 94 is provided to retain ball 92 within check valve assembly 62 . thus a simple ball check valve is provided within the inlet end of pump bore 66 whereby fluid ( molten adhesive ) may flow into pump bore 66 , as piston assembly 70 moves upward , but is prevented from flowing out of pump bore 66 as piston assembly 70 moves downward . inlet check valve assembly 62 may be threaded into pump bore 66 , installed as a force fitted insert , or any other convenient means . it is preferable to provide an inlet filter 45 ( see fig6 b ) to prevent the entry of any debris , that may have fallen into the adhesive reservoir , from entering check valve assembly 62 . a similar ball check valve is installed within pump piston assembly 70 . referring to fig6 a and 8 , piston assembly 70 comprises a main body 95 having an axial central bore 93 therein . central bore 93 converges into a secondary , blind , axial bore 91 . inserted into central bore 93 is a valve seat fitting 98 having an axial inlet bore 97 terminating with a ball valve seat 99 at its upper end . positioned between valve seat 99 and secondary bore 91 is ball 81 and compression spring 83 biasing ball 81 toward valve seat 99 . at least one fluid passage 61 is provided extending from chamber 87 , within piston body 95 , into pump bore 66 . in operation , as piston assembly 70 moves downward in pump bore 66 , check valve assembly 62 is closed whereby fluid ( molten adhesive ) forces ball 81 , within piston assembly 70 , to open thereby permitting fluid to flow through chamber 87 and passage way 61 of piston assembly 70 and into pump bore 66 above piston assembly 70 and around pump rod 65 . when piston assembly 70 reverses travel , at bottom dead center , and begins to move upward within pump bore 66 , ball valve 81 within piston assembly 70 closes and check valve assembly 62 opens admitting molten adhesive into pump chamber 66 below piston assembly 70 . the fluid atop piston assembly 70 is now forced upward , around pump rod 65 , exiting pump chamber 66 through fluid exit ports 106 and 108 into hose assemblies 105 and 100 respectively . after reaching top dead center the cycle repeats itself . pump rod 65 fits with minimal gap within pump rod bore 68 thereby minimizing by pass flow around pump rod 65 . pressure relief channel 46 redirects any bypass flow back into reservoir 14 ( see fig6 ) thereby reducing hydraulic pressure on seal 64 . in manufacture of pump body 50 pump rod bore 68 is drilled from the top of pump body 50 and pump bore 66 is opposingly drilled from the bottom of pump body 50 whereby both bores meet at mid body . because of the self aligning attributes of piston assembly 70 , the accuracy of aligning the opposingly drilled bores is diminished from that which would be otherwise required for a non self aligning piston assembly . also use of the above described self aligning piston assembly accommodates manufacturing the pump body in one rather than two or more , axially aligned sections each having the bore therein drilled before assembly of the two sections . thus , by use of the above described self aligning piston assembly the need for accurately aligning the separate bores during manufacture is greatly diminished as the self aligning piston assembly , having lateral mobility , will accommodate concentricity errors . turning now to fig1 and 11 , letters a , b , c , d , and e represent the resistance heaters within pump body 50 , supply hose 100 , applicator 102 , supply hose 105 , and discharge applicator 107 respectively . each resistance heater circuit comprises two , in line , resistance heating elements r 1 and r 2 as illustrated in fig1 and 11 . fig1 illustrates the wiring arrangement for 120 volt operation and fig1 illustrates the wiring arrangement for 240 volt operation . when the user desires to operate the hot melt machine on 120 volts , as illustrated in fig1 , the user plugs connector 156 into line connector 150 and connector 160 into connector 152 , as illustrated . when connectors 156 , 150 , 160 , and 152 are connected in this way , each resistive heater , a , b , c , d , and e , is wired in a parallel circuit as illustrated in fig1 a . when the user desires to operate the hot melt machine on 240 volts , as illustrated in fig1 , the user plugs connector 152 into line connector 150 , and leaves connectors 156 and 160 free and unplugged as illustrated . when configured in this way each resistive heater , a , b , c , d , and e is wired in series as illustrated in fig1 a . when wired to operate on 240 volts , as illustrated in fig1 , it is desired to plug connectors 156 and 160 into dead end connectors 154 and 168 , respectively , to prevent the possibility of human contact with the otherwise electrically hot connector pins . connectors 150 , 152 , 154 , 156 , 160 and 168 are located within control box 24 . as shown in fig1 and 11 , hose 1 and applicator 1 are electrically connected to the machine using connector 123 . in a similar manner , hose 2 and applicator 2 are electrically connected to the machine using connector 124 . by virtue of the electrical topology disclosed in fig1 and 11 , the hose and applicator peripherals , when attached , assume either a series electrical arrangement or a parallel electrical arrangement , as is appropriate for a given machine , with no modification of the peripherals themselves . although resistance heaters a , b , c , d , and e are shown in fig1 and 11 as each having two resistance heating elements , any number of heating elements may be employed . when employing more than two resistance heating elements the circuitry must be structured such that all resistive heating elements operate in parallel when operating on 240 volts and operate in series when operating on 120 volts . while we have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific embodiments , it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation of the scope of my invention as set forth in the accompanying claims . | 1 |
the cleaning solution typically consists of tetrammine copper ( ii ) ions in aqueous solution . the solution is commonly produced by mixing 100 grams of cu ( no 3 ) 2 . 3h 2 o and 600 ml of a 28 % by weight solution of nh 4 oh in 8350 ml of deionized water . cupric ions from the dissolved copper nitrate form tetrammine copper ( ii ) ions in the presence of ammonia . tetrammine copper ions then react with metallic copper , on immersed silicon wafers , as follows : cu ( nh 3 ) 4 + 2 + cu ° = 2 cu ( nh 3 ) 2 + 1 . the cu ( nh 3 ) 2 + 1 takes up ammonia to form tetrammine copper ( i ) ions : cu ( nh 3 ) 2 + 1 + 2nh 3 = cu ( nh 3 ) 4 + 1 . tetrammine copper ( i ) ions are soluble in water and remain in solution . the tetrammine copper ( i ) ions are oxidized to tetrammine copper ( ii ) ions by bubbling air through the solution . ammonia lost through evaporation may be replenished as required . high concentrations of copper ( ii ) complexes although not necessary , are preferred , since cleaning times are reduced as the concentration of copper ( ii ) complexes in the cleaning solution is increased . the concentration of ligands used in the cleaning solution is preferably greater than the concentration of cupric ions because four ligands are typically required to surround the cupric ion to form the copper ( ii ) complex . the solution is typically used to clean silicon wafers which have undergone the chemical - mechanical polishing process described in detail by regh et al . in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 436 , 259 . the silicon wafers are rinsed in deionized water following polishing . they are then placed in the cleaning solution of this invention for two minutes . preferably , the cleaning solution has a ph of at least 10 ; and the solution is stirred or agitated by other means . the cleaning is ordinarily done at ambient temperature , but it may be carried out at any compatible temperature with corresponding effect on reaction rates . after cleaning , the wafers are merely rinsed ( with d . i . water ) and dried . while the invention has been particularly shown and 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 form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
as shown in fig2 a , a first preferred embodiment of the multi element moving vacuum chamber ( memvc ) assembly generally designated 5 may include mold 6 having mold surface 7 . memvc assembly 5 may also include powder box 8 having disposed therein plastic powder 9 . memvc assembly 5 may further include a bell - shaped vacuum element 11 mounted onto the outer surface of mold 6 and a similar bell - shaped vacuum element 12 mounted onto the outer surface of powder box 8 . vacuum element 11 may include vacuum connection 13 for drawing and releasing vacuum by means of a conventional pump ( not shown ). similarly , vacuum element 12 may also include a vacuum connection 14 for drawing and releasing vacuum , and a vacuum rated seal 15 for maintaining a seal between mold 6 and powder box 8 . mold 6 may be made of a metal such as nickel , a metallic material , or any equivalent material known in the art . plastic powder 9 may be a powder such as thermo plastic urethane ( t . p . u . ), thermo plastic olefinic ( t . p . o . ), poly vinyl chloride ( p . v . c . ), or any equivalent material that may be used with mold 6 to form a cast product . additionally , plastic powder 9 may have a fine or granulated composition , or may be a liquid . vacuum elements 11 and 12 may be shaped in any way necessary to partially or fully seal mold 6 and / or powder box 8 , and may be bell shaped ( as shown in fig2 a ), or any equivalent shape , as would be apparent to a skilled artisan . vacuum rated seal 15 may be placed on vacuum element 12 ( as shown in fig2 a ), or may likewise be placed on mold 6 , powder box 8 , and / or vacuum element 11 . as shown next in fig2 a , in order to cast plastic powder 9 into the shape of mold surface 7 , mold 6 may first be heated in a hot air furnace ( not shown ) to a predetermined optimum molding temperature . as shown in fig2 a and 2b , powder box 8 may then be brought into contact with mold 6 and engaged with it in order to prevent leakage of plastic powder 9 . next , as shown in fig2 b , air present in the enclosed area defined by an outer surface of mold 6 and an inner surface of vacuum element 11 , by mold surface 7 and the inner surface of powder box 8 , and by the outer surface of powder box 8 and an inner surface of vacuum element 12 , may be removed through vacuum connections 13 and 14 to simultaneously form a seal between mold 6 and powder box 8 via vacuum rated seal 15 . the vacuum level may range between atmospheric and absolute vacuum . as shown in fig2 c , mold 6 may now be rotated , at which state plastic powder 9 strikes heated mold surface 7 . after a predetermined time period , rotation of mold 6 is stopped as shown in fig2 d and vacuum within the enclosed area discussed above is released . at this stage in fig2 d , when mold 6 stops rotating , plastic powder 9 on mold surface 7 fuses to form the shape of mold surface 7 . any remaining plastic powder 9 drains back into powder box 8 for subsequent casting , or may be discarded . as shown next in fig2 e , powder box 8 may now be disengaged from mold 6 and returned to its original location ( shown also in fig2 a ). finally , as shown in fig2 f , mold 6 may be rotated to a predetermined orientation to allow an operator to remove the fused layer ( or skin ) on mold surface 7 . next , as shown in fig3 a , a second preferred embodiment of the multi element moving vacuum chamber ( memvc ) assembly generally designated 16 may include mold 17 having mold surface 18 . memvc assembly 16 may also include powder box 19 having disposed therein plastic powder 21 . memvc assembly 16 may further include a bell - shaped vacuum element 22 mounted onto the outer surface of mold 17 , and powder box 19 may be formed to hold vacuum pressure ( i . e . vacuum loading ), when engaged with mold 17 ( discussed below ). vacuum element 22 may include vacuum connection 23 for drawing and releasing vacuum by means of a conventional pump ( not shown ). similarly , powder box 19 may also include a vacuum connection 24 for drawing and releasing vacuum , and a vacuum rated seal 25 for maintaining a seal between mold 17 and powder box 19 . mold 17 may be made of a metal such as nickel , a metallic material , or any equivalent material known in the art . plastic powder 21 may be a powder such as thermo plastic urethane ( t . p . u . ), thermo plastic olefinic ( t . p . o . ), poly vinyl chloride ( p . v . c . ), or any equivalent material that may be used with mold 17 to form a cast product . additionally , plastic powder 21 may have a fine or granulated composition , or may be a liquid . vacuum element 22 may be shaped in any way necessary to partially or fully seal mold 17 , and may be bell shaped ( as shown in fig3 a ), or any equivalent shape , as would be apparent to a skilled artisan . vacuum rated seal 25 may be placed on powder box 19 ( as shown in fig3 a ), or may likewise be placed on mold 17 and / or vacuum element 22 . as shown next in fig3 a , in order to cast plastic powder 21 into the shape of mold surface 18 , mold 17 may first be heated to a predetermined optimum molding temperature . as shown in fig3 a and 3b , powder box 19 may then be brought into contact with mold 17 and engaged with it in order to prevent leakage of plastic powder 21 . next , as shown in fig3 b , air present in the enclosed area defined by an outer surface of mold 17 and an inner surface of vacuum element 22 , and by mold surface 18 and the inner surface of powder box 19 , may be removed through vacuum connections 23 and 24 to simultaneously form a seal between mold 17 and powder box 19 via vacuum rated seal 25 . the vacuum level may range between atmospheric and absolute vacuum . as shown in fig3 c , mold 17 may now be rotated , at which state plastic powder 21 strikes mold surface 18 . after a predetermined time period , rotation of mold 17 is stopped as shown in fig3 d and vacuum within the enclosed area discussed above is released . at this stage in fig3 d , when mold 17 stops rotating , plastic powder 21 on mold surface 18 fuses to form the shape of mold surface 18 . any remaining plastic powder 21 drains back into powder box 19 for subsequent casting , or may be discarded . as shown next in fig3 e , powder box 19 may now be disengaged from mold 17 and returned to its original location ( shown also in fig3 a ). finally , as shown in fig3 f , mold 17 may be rotated to a predetermined orientation to allow an operator to remove the fused layer ( or skin ) on mold surface 18 . it should be evident from the above discussion that for the second embodiment of memvc assembly 16 , instead of vacuum element 22 being mounted on mold 17 and powder box 19 being capable of vacuum loading , a vacuum element may likewise be mounted on powder box 19 ( which may not capable of vacuum loading ) and mold 17 may instead be designed with vacuum loading capabilities , as would be evident to a skilled artisan . as shown in fig4 a , a third preferred embodiment of the multi element moving vacuum chamber ( memvc ) assembly generally designated 26 may include mold 27 having mold surface 28 . memvc assembly 26 may also include powder box 29 having disposed therein plastic powder 31 . in memvc assembly 26 , mold 27 and powder box 29 may each be formed to hold vacuum pressure when engaged with each other ( discussed below ). in other words , mold 27 and power box 29 may be capable of vacuum loading . powder box 29 may include vacuum connection 32 for drawing and releasing vacuum by means of a conventional pump ( not shown ). additionally , powder box 29 may include vacuum rated seal 33 for maintaining a seal between itself and mold 27 . mold 27 may be made of a metal such as nickel , a metallic material , or any equivalent material known in the art . plastic powder 31 may be a powder such as thermo plastic urethane ( t . p . u . ), thermo plastic olefinic ( t . p . o . ), poly vinyl chloride ( p . v . c . ), or any equivalent material that may be used with mold 27 to form a cast product . additionally , plastic powder 31 may have a fine or granulated composition , or may be a liquid . vacuum connection 32 and vacuum rated seal 33 may be placed on powder box 29 ( as shown in fig4 a ), or may likewise be placed on mold 27 . as shown next in fig4 a , in order to cast plastic powder 31 into the shape of mold surface 28 , mold 27 may first be heated to a predetermined optimum molding temperature . as shown in fig4 a and 4b , powder box 29 may then be brought into contact with mold 27 and engaged with it in order to prevent leakage of plastic powder 31 . next , as shown in fig4 b , air present in the enclosed area defined by mold surface 28 and the inner surface of powder box 29 may be removed through vacuum connection 32 to simultaneously form a seal between mold 27 and powder box 29 via vacuum rated seal 33 . the vacuum level may range between atmospheric and absolute vacuum . as shown in fig4 c , mold 27 may now be rotated , at which state plastic powder 31 strikes heated mold surface 28 . after a predetermined time period , the rotation of mold 27 is stopped as shown in fig4 d and the vacuum within the enclosed area discussed above is released . at this stage in fig4 d , when mold 27 stops rotating , plastic powder 31 on mold surface 28 fuses to form the shape of mold surface 28 . any remaining plastic powder 31 drains back into powder box 29 for subsequent casting , or may be discarded . as shown next in fig4 e , powder box 29 may now be disengaged from mold 27 and returned to its original location ( shown also in fig4 a ). finally , as shown in fig4 f , mold 27 may be rotated to a predetermined orientation to allow an operator to remove the fused layer ( or skin ) on mold surface 28 . in the first , second and third preferred embodiments of the memvc assembly discussed above , it should be noted that mounting separate vacuum elements on mold 6 and powder box 8 ( first embodiment ), and on mold 17 ( second embodiment ), may virtually eliminate pressure on these members ( 6 , 8 and 17 ) related to vacuum loading . therefore , for the first and second embodiments , it may only be necessary to modify mold 6 and powder box 8 , and mold 17 , respectively , in order to attach vacuum elements 11 and 12 , and 22 , respectively . on the contrary , for the second and third embodiments discussed above , it may be necessary to reinforce powder box 19 , and mold 27 and powder box 29 , respectively , in order for these members ( 19 , 27 and 29 ) to withstand the pressure associated with vacuum loading . moreover , in the first through third embodiments discussed above , it may be necessary to attach one or more latches onto the respective molds , powder boxes , and / or vacuum elements , in order to permit access to the mold surface for removal of the cast skin , and / or introduction of additional plastic powder between cycles . additionally , in the first through third embodiments discussed above , molds 6 , 17 and 27 , respectively , may be heated in a hot air furnace ( not shown ) to a predetermined optimum molding temperature , or may instead be heated to the optimum molding temperature by any equivalent method known in the art . although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those particular embodiments , and that various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 8 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure , its application , or uses . for purposes of clarity , the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements . as used herein , the phrase at least one of a , b , and c should be construed to mean a logical ( a or b or c ), using a non - exclusive logical or . it should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure . as used herein , the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality . as used herein , the term circuit module may be used to refer to a combination of electronic circuits having a predetermined function that is established during semiconductor fabrication — in contrast with fpgas , plds and cplds that have their functions determined after fabrication using special programming . in addition , the circuit module may optionally include software or firmware programs that are run on a processor associated with the circuit module and / or by a processor that is external to the circuit module and that is shared with other components of the device . the predetermined functions may include functions that otherwise cannot be performed by a general purpose processor of the device with software upgrades . a logic structure of the circuit modules may also be configured and fixed during semiconductor fabrication . therefore , the term circuit module as used herein generally excludes the use of fpgas , plds and cplds ( unless used in addition to the circuit modules described above ) since their logic structures are altered after fabrication . fpgas , plds and cplds may also not be suitable for consumer applications described herein due to their cost , power consumption , and / or processing speed . furthermore , fpgas , plds and cplds are not suitable for implementing the predetermined functions of the circuit modules described herein since the intended functions of the circuit modules are known in advance , which is contrary to the reasons for using fpgas , plds and cplds in the first place . for example only , one circuit module may provide a wireless network interface with application specific circuits that are configured to provide a physical layer ( phy ) device and a medium access control ( mac ) device . the wireless network interface may rely on a local processor or may share a processor with other components of the device . other examples are presented below . the term circuit module is being used to describe a subset of the larger term modules that may include components that are software - based programs that run on processors and that rely on existing enabled circuits of the device . the present disclosure relates to devices and methods for manufacturing an ic , soc or sip with both enabled and disabled circuit modules . one or more of the circuit modules are enabled when sold by the ic , soc or sip manufacturer ( hereinafter , “ ic supplier ”) to a device manufacturer or a retailer . in other words , the device manufacturer or a retailer may select the circuit modules that are to be enabled . the parties negotiate a suitable price based on the enabled circuit modules . later one or more of the disabled circuit modules can be selectively enabled by the purchaser as will be described below . drivers , enabling codes or passwords , enable gates or registers , or receive other data or code are requested and received after the sale by the purchaser or the device to enable a previously disabled circuit module . after incorporating the ic , soc or sip in the device , the device manufacturer may sell the device directly to the purchaser or to a retailer who sells the device to the purchaser . the purchaser has full use of the enabled circuit modules of the ic , soc or sip in the device . the ic supplier ( or the device manufacturer or the retailer ) may let the purchaser know that the device can be upgraded . in other words , the purchaser may receive information about disabled circuit modules in the device . after the sale , the purchaser may want to enable one or more of the disabled circuit modules in the device . the purchaser may purchase one or more of the previously disabled circuit modules from the ic supplier , the device manufacturer and / or the retailer as will be described below . in some implementations , data services may also be sold ( for example only , when the enabled circuit module provides a wireless network interface ). furthermore , revenue sharing can occur with the ic supplier when the purchaser upgrades indirectly via the retailer or device manufacturer . for example only , one cellular phone manufacturer may want a low cost ic , soc or sip with a basic feature set ( of enabled circuit modules ). another cellular phone manufacturer may want the basic feature set and an integrated fm tuner circuit module . another cellular manufacturer may want the basic feature set and an integrated bluetooth transceiver circuit module . still another manufacturer may want the basic feature set and an integrated wifi and / or wimax network interface circuit module . another manufacturer may want the basic feature set and an integrated global positioning system ( gps ) circuit module . another manufacturer may want the basic feature set and all of the additional features mentioned above . the ic supplier can negotiate different pricing levels for each of these customers . after purchasing the device , the purchaser may want to add additional features that were not initially selected and purchased by the device manufacturer or the retailer . the purchaser can contact the ic supplier , device manufacturer and / or retailer who can identify available upgrade options for the device . alternately , the ic supplier , the device manufacturer or the retailer may initiate contact with the purchaser . if the purchaser selects one of the upgrades , the purchaser may need to provide a device id ( either manually or automatically ) ( such as a serial number of the ic , soc or sip or the device ) and payment before the circuit module is enabled . if the ic supplier , device manufacturer and / or retailer sells the additional features , they will receive incremental revenue that is mostly profit . referring now to fig1 , a device 100 may include an ic , soc or sip 104 . the ic , soc or sip 104 may include a control module 106 , and one or more circuit modules 110 - 1 , 110 - 2 , . . . and 110 - n that may be selectively enabled or disabled . the circuit modules 110 - 1 . . . 110 - n may each have a predefined function . the ic , soc or sip 104 may include a basic feature set including one or more enabled circuit modules 114 that perform the basic feature set . the ic , soc or sip may include an external interface 115 such as a serial port , a cellular transceiver , a parallel port , a wired or wireless network interface , a transceiver or any other suitable interface . the ic , soc or sip 104 many include semiconductor memory 116 . the device 100 may also include other components 120 that may or may not be implemented by the ic , soc or sip 104 . for example only , the other components 120 may include volatile or nonvolatile memory 134 , a display 136 , a speaker 140 , a user input 142 such as a keypad or touchpad , and / or other modules generally identified at 144 . the ic , soc or sip 104 may also implement a power management module 150 and a battery management module 154 . the battery management module 154 may control charging and monitoring of a battery 156 . the power management module 150 may provide one or more supply voltages to other components of the device 100 . the power management module 150 may conserve power by setting the one or more circuit modules 110 - 1 . . . 110 - n to a low power consumption level or mode when they are disabled . the power management module 150 and / or battery management module 154 may be implemented separately from the ic , soc or sip 104 . the control module 106 and the external interface 115 may be implemented separately from the ic , soc or sip 104 . referring now to fig2 a - 2c , exemplary implementations for enabling initially disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 associated with the device 100 are shown . for example only , in fig2 a the external interface 115 of the device 100 includes a universal serial bus ( usb ) or network interface 115 - 1 that transmits data to and / or receives data from a computer 164 . while a usb or network interface 115 - 1 is shown , any other interface may be used . the network interface may comprise an ethernet interface . the computer 164 communicates with a router 166 and a modem 167 such as a broadband modem . the modem 167 transmits and receives data packets via a distributed communications system ( dcs ) 168 , such as the internet , to a server 172 . the server 172 may provide a web page 173 or other interface that provides a user interface for enabling previously disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 associated with the device 100 , as will be described further below . in this exemplary implementation , a browser of the computer 164 is used to access the web page 173 and forwards purchaser information to the server 172 . the web page 173 may also request an id or serial number from the ic , soc or sip 104 . the purchaser information may be automatically generated when the device 100 is connected to the computer 164 . alternately the purchaser may enter the information via the user input 142 . the web page 173 may initiate a dialog with the purchaser and provide a list of disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 that the user may select and enable , along with descriptions of the circuit modules and / or pricing information . once the selections are made , the purchaser may input payment for the selected items . once payment is confirmed , the web page 173 may initiate download of driver software , enabling code , passwords or other data or code that can be used to enable the previously disabled circuit modules 110 . encryption and decryption using keys may also be used . hashing or other techniques may also be used . instead of ( or in addition to ) using the usb or network interface 115 - 1 and the computer 164 in fig2 a , the device 100 may provide an interface that can be used to directly interface with the web page 173 on the server 172 . for example only in fig2 b , the external interface 115 of the device 100 may include a wireless network interface ( wni ) 115 - 2 that wirelessly transmits data to and / or receives data from an access point ( ap ) 174 . the ap 174 communicates with the router 166 and the modem 167 . the modem 167 transmits and receives data packets via the dcs 168 between the server 172 and the device 100 . the server 172 may provide the web page 173 for enabling previously disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 associated with the device 100 as described above and below . in this exemplary implementation , the control module and operating system of the device 100 are used to access the web page 173 and forward purchaser information to the server 172 . the purchaser information may be automatically generated by the device 100 . alternatively the purchaser may enter the information using the user input 142 of the device 100 . the web page 173 may initiate a dialog with the purchaser and provide a list of disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 that the user may select and enable , along with descriptions of the circuit modules and / or pricing . once the selections are made , the user may input a payment method for the selected items . once payment is confirmed , the web page 173 may initiate download of driver software , enabling code , passwords or other information that can be used by the device 100 to enable the previously disabled circuit modules 110 . instead of ( or in addition to ) using the wlan interface 115 - 2 , a cellular transceiver may be used to interface with the web page 173 on the server 172 . for example only in fig2 c , the external interface of the device 100 includes a cellular transceiver 115 - 3 that wirelessly transmits data to and / or receives data from a cell 176 . the cell 176 communicates with a mobile telephone switching office ( mtso ), which communicates with a central office 180 . the central office 180 may provide a connection to the dcs 168 via a network interface 182 . alternately , the cell 176 or mtso 178 may provide a direct connection to the network interface 182 . the server 172 may provide the web page 173 for enabling previously disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 associated with the device 100 . in this exemplary implementation , the control module and operating system of the device 100 are used to access the web page 173 and forward purchaser information to the server 172 via the cellular network . the purchaser information may be automatically generated by the device 100 . alternately the purchaser may enter the information using the user input 142 of the device 100 . the web page 173 may initiate a dialog with the purchaser , provide a list of disabled circuit modules 110 in the ic , soc or sip 104 that the user may select and enable and pricing . once the selections are made , the purchaser may input a payment method for the selected items . alternately , the purchaser may be automatically charged through the corresponding cellular account . once payment is confirmed , the web page 173 may initiate download of driver software , enabling code , passwords or other code or data that can be used by the device 100 to enable the previously disabled circuit modules 110 as described herein . referring now to fig3 , an exemplary cellular phone 200 is shown . the cellular phone 200 includes digital processing and control module 206 , an analog processing and control module 210 , and a transceiver control module 214 . the digital processing and control module 206 performs processing and control of digital signals . the analog processing and control module 210 performs processing and control of analog signals such as baseband signals . the transceiver control module 214 transmits and receives baseband signals from the analog processing and control module 210 and includes two or more transceivers . the transceiver control module 214 also transmits and receives rf signals via antennas . the transceiver control module 214 may include a cellular transceiver circuit module 220 , a cellular third - generation ( 3g ) ( or global system for mobile communications ( gsm )) transceiver circuit module 224 , a multiple in multiple out ( mimo ) transceiver circuit module 226 , a global positioning system ( gps ) circuit module 228 , a bluetooth transceiver circuit module 230 , a wlan transceiver circuit module 232 and / or other transceiver circuit modules . the cellular , gps , bluetooth and wlan transceiver circuit modules 220 , 228 , 230 and 232 selectively communicate with antennas 240 , 242 , 246 and 248 via switches 250 , 252 , 256 and 258 , respectively . the 3g transceiver circuit module 224 selectively communicates with antennas 260 and 262 via switches 266 and 268 , respectively . the mimo transceiver circuit module 226 communicates with an array of antennas 280 via a switch 282 . as can be appreciated , the wireless network interfaces disclosed herein may be compliant with one or more of the following ieee standards 802 . 11 , 802 . 11a , 802 . 11b , 802 . 11g , 802 . 11h , 802 . 11n , 802 . 16 , and 802 . 20 . a cellular user may input information into the cellular phone 200 using a touch screen 290 and / or a keypad 294 . the touch screen 290 allows a user to input information using a display 340 . the touch screen 290 communicates with a touch screen control module 296 , which interprets the inputs and communicates with the digital processing and control module 206 . the keypad 294 allows a user to input alphanumeric information to the analog processing and control module 210 . a user headset 302 , which may include a speaker and a microphone ( both not shown ), may receive voice signals from the user and output audio signals to the user . a vibrator 310 may be used to vibrate the cellular phone 200 to silently alert the user that an incoming call or message was received . the vibrator 310 may be controlled by the analog processing and control module 210 . the cellular phone 200 may include an fm tuner circuit module 314 that can be used to select fm stations . the fm tuner circuit module 314 receives fm signals via an antenna 316 and outputs fm signals to a stereo / audio coder / decoder circuit module 320 . the coder / decoder circuit module 320 receives control signals from the analog processing and control module 210 and outputs decoded audio signals to an audio amplifier 330 and speakers 334 . the speakers 334 may optionally be internal to the cellular phone 200 and / or a jack may be provided for external speakers . the display 340 communicates with a display control module 342 , which receives display signals from the digital processing and control module 206 . the cellular phone 200 also may include a video encoder circuit module 350 that encodes video signals . an output of the video encoder circuit module 350 is input to a video amplifier 352 . the video encoder circuit module 350 may perform any suitable video encoding . for example only , the video encoder may perform ntsc , pal and secam encoding . the video encoder circuit module 350 may also perform 3 - d encoding . the cellular phone 200 also may include a serial interface such as a universal serial bus ( usb ) interface 360 , a parallel interface , or any other suitable interface that allows connection to a computer . the cellular phone 200 also may include a camera circuit module 370 , which may include a charge coupled device ( ccd ) sensor . a removable simulation circuit module 380 may be provided to configure the cellular phone 200 for a particular geographic region and / or cellular protocol . additional volatile or nonvolatile memory 381 may be provided . the cellular phone 200 may also include a power management module 420 and a battery management module 440 . the battery management module may control charging and monitoring of a battery 450 . the power management module 420 may provide one or more supply voltages to other components of the cellular phone 200 . one or more circuit modules of the cellular phone described above may be implemented by an ic , soc or sip 452 . more particularly , the ic , soc or sip 452 implements circuit modules of the basic feature set which are enabled . the ic , soc or sip 452 may also implement one or more circuit modules that are disabled at the time of sale to the purchaser . the ic , soc or sip 452 may be sold by the ic supplier to a device manufacturer , retailer or purchaser with the basic feature set enabled . some of the circuit modules will be included in the basic feature set . others of the circuit modules will not be enabled when sold to the device manufacturer , retailer or purchaser . as can be appreciated , this will allow the device manufacturer to purchase the ic , soc or sip at a desired price point from the ic supplier . furthermore , the ic supplier can use the same die to build ics or socs for multiple different device manufacturers ( retailers or purchasers ) and applications and at different price points . under normal circumstances , the revenue stream to the ic supplier ends when the ic supplier sells the ic , soc or sip to the device manufacturer . however , the ic supplier ( or manufacturer or retailer ) may enable other circuit modules in the ic , soc or sip after retail sale and generate additional revenue . for example , the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer may charge an additional amount for each circuit module that is enabled . for example only , the ic supplier , manufacturer or retailer may charge less than $ 15 for enabling a circuit module . for example only , the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer may charge less than $ 10 for enabling a circuit module . for example only , the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer may charge less than $ 5 for enabling a circuit module . for example only , the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer may charge less than $ 1 for enabling a circuit module . as can be appreciated , the incremental charge for enabling the circuit module will be mostly incremental profit . referring now to fig4 , a business method 500 according to the present disclosure is shown . in step 502 , a device manufacturer purchases or otherwise procures the ic , soc or sip from the ic supplier with enabled circuit modules and at least one disabled circuit module . in step 504 , the device manufacture assembles the ic , soc or sip into the device and sells or provides the device to a retailer . in step 508 , the retailer sells or provides the device to a purchaser . it should be understood that the device may be provided to the purchaser by the retailer or any other party via a sale or other methods . for example , a device may be given to the purchaser on a free - of - charge promotional basis . in step 512 , the purchaser desires to upgrade the device and contacts the ic supplier , the retailer or the device manufacturer . for example , the purchaser may access a web site of the retailer , the ic supplier or the device manufacture as described above . alternately , contact may be initiated by the ic supplier , retailer or device manufacturer to inform the purchaser that the device may be upgraded . in step 516 , the purchaser optionally supplies a unique id associated with the device or other security information and pays for enabling a previously disabled circuit module . in step 520 , the retailer , the ic supplier or the device manufacturer downloads a driver , key , password or other enabling code or data to the purchaser ( as described herein ) after confirming payment . in step 524 , the device enables the previously - disabled circuit module . it should be understood that , in some situations , the purchaser may upgrade the device by specifying the additional service ( s ) or feature ( s ) that s / he desires . the retailer , the ic supplier or the device manufacturer may then enable the appropriate circuit module ( s ) to allow such additional service ( s ) or feature ( s ) to be effected on the device . in such situations , the enabling of appropriate circuit module ( s ) is transparent to the purchaser . for example , referring back to fig3 , the basic feature set may include the cellular transceiver circuit module 220 , the usb interface 360 , the display control module 342 and the display 340 , the power and battery management modules 420 and 440 , the digital and analog processing and control modules 206 and 210 , the vibrator 310 , the headset 302 and the keypad 294 . the remaining circuit modules may be initially disabled and may be selectively enabled after sale to the purchaser as described above . in other examples , circuit modules may be selectively enabled to subsequently implement services and / or features , such as , higher performance processors with higher or different speeds and / or processing power , higher performance web browsers , higher data rates , higher bandwidth or throughput , etc . still other combinations of enabled and disabled circuit modules are contemplated . there are a variety of ways to selectively disable / enable the circuit modules . for example only , each of the selectively enabled circuit modules may include a local enabling module ( em ) ( for example only , as shown at 600 in the mimo transceiver circuit module 226 in fig3 ) arranged in the corresponding module . the enabling module 600 may require a password , key or other enabling code to be received to enable the circuit module . alternately , the enabling circuit 600 may require a register or gate to be set to a particular value . encryption / decryption and / or hashing can be used as well . alternately , another type of enabling circuit 604 may be used to pull signals to / from the sub - circuit or circuit module ( such as to the fm tuner circuit module 314 ) to a reference potential ( such as ground ) to disable and open the connection to enable the circuit module . in another alternate implementation , a driver is installed in one or both of the digital and analog processing and control modules 206 and 210 to enable the circuit module . alternately , at least one of the digital and analog processing and control modules 206 and 210 may include a register or gate that can be set to a particular value to enable the circuit module . in other implementation , the power management module may selectively provide power to enabled circuit modules and cut off power to disabled circuit modules . drivers may be provided to enable the circuit modules . still other methods of enabling and disabling the circuit modules may be used . referring now to fig5 , a device 550 according to another exemplary implementation of the present disclosure is shown . the device 550 includes a device control module 552 including an activation managing module 556 . the device 550 further includes an initially disabled circuit module 558 that can be selectively enabled based on enable data . the disabled circuit module 558 includes an activation module 560 that communicates with the activation managing module 556 . the device 550 includes first applications by 564 - 1 , 564 - 2 , . . . , and 564 - a ( collectively first applications 564 ) that are enabled when the device is sold . the device 550 further includes one or more second applications 566 - 1 , 566 - 2 , and 566 - b ( collectively second applications 566 ) that are fully or partially disabled when the device is sold because they require enablement of the circuit module 558 . the second applications 566 are executed by the circuit module 558 after the previously disabled circuit module 558 is enabled using the enable data . if the purchaser attempts to launch one of the second applications 564 before the disabled circuit module 558 is enabled , a message may be generated stating that the second application 566 requires enablement of the disabled circuit module 558 . an instruction message may be provided for enabling the disabled circuit module 558 . for example , a website may be identified in the message , a phone number or other information may be provided . in use , the purchaser may launch one of the applications 566 that requires the disabled circuit module 558 . the application 566 sends a message to the circuit module 558 to determine whether or not it is enabled . the activation module 560 responds that it is not enabled since the disabled circuit module 558 still requires enablement . the purchaser may then initiate enablement of the disabled circuit module as described herein . in response to the request , enable data is received by the activation managing module 556 . the enable data may be encrypted using any suitable approach . the enable data may include authorization data , such as , payment confirmation , device purchase confirmation and / or other types of information that may be used to indicate that enablement of the disabled circuit module is permitted . for example , the enable data may be encrypted by hashing using a device specific identification ( id ). the device specific id may comprise a serial number ( sn ) of the device , a medium access control ( mac ) address , etc . alternatively , the enable data may be created by hashing of shared secret key or by signature using public / private key cryptography . when enable data is received and hashing is used , the activation managing module 556 may hash the received enable data with the device - specific id to recover a secret key and / or other data such as usage limiting data . the usage - limiting data may include application - specific limits , time limits or other usage limits . any suitable hash algorithm may be used such as for example only , md5 and secure hash algorithms ( sha ) may be used . referring now to fig6 , a method for upgrading the device of fig5 is shown . control begins with step 600 . in step 602 , a purchaser of the device 550 requests use of a disabled application 566 . in step 604 , the purchaser or the device 550 sends a request to a remote upgrade provider . the remote upgrade provider may be the retailer , the ic supplier or the device manufacturer . the purchaser may use the device 550 to send the message . for example , the disabled circuit module may be partially enabled to allow this function . for example only , if the disabled circuit module is a wireless network interface , it may be partially enabled when sold such that it can handle wireless transactions relating to the request for enablement and / or the receipt of the enable data but not other more general use . alternately , other interfaces of the device may be used . for example , the request may be made via a usb interface , another receiver of the device , etc . alternately , the request for enablement may be sent in other ways ( not using the device ). in other words , the purchaser may send a message via a browser of another computing device to a web page of the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer . alternately , the purchaser may use a phone to contact the ic supplier , device manufacturer or retailer to request activation . the purchaser may also receive and enter the enable data into the device manually . still other methods of requesting enablement of the disabled circuit module may be used . in step 608 , the remote upgrade provider generates and sends enable data to the purchaser . the enable data may be encrypted and may be specific to the particular requesting device . in step 612 , the remote provider handles billing the purchaser for the enablement of the disabled circuit module 558 . in some implementations , data services may also be enabled ( for example only , for wireless network services ). in step 616 , the device receives the encrypted enable data and sends the key to the circuit module . in step 620 , the device is allowed to use the previously disabled applications and circuit module 558 . referring now to fig7 , an exemplary camera including an initially disabled circuit module 718 that provides a wireless network interface according to the present disclosure is shown . skilled artisans will appreciate that while a specific functional block diagram is shown , the camera may have other implementations . the camera 650 includes a lens 654 . the lens 654 focuses light on a charge coupled device ( ccd ) sensor 656 . a front end signal processor 658 receives an output of the ccd sensor 656 . an image processor and control module 660 receives an output of the front end signal processor 658 . the image processor and control module 660 may include a driver 664 that operates an autofocus ( af ) and shutter 668 . the image processor and control module 660 communicates with an audio coder / decoder ( codec ) 670 , which provides audio output signals to a speaker 674 and receives audio signals from a microphone 678 . the image processor and control module 660 also communicates with a user input interface 680 that receives outputs of user input devices 684 . the user input device 684 may comprise as a keypad , control buttons , etc . that are used to control the camera 650 . the camera 650 may also comprise high - speed memory 668 such as sdram for storing data and / or code during processing . the camera 650 may also include flash memory 690 that communicates with the image processor and control module 660 via a flash memory interface 691 . the flash memory 690 may be used to store content such as video , audio and / or still pictures . the camera 650 may also comprise a universal serial bus ( usb ) interface 692 . a display interface 694 provides an interface for a display 696 . in some implementations , the display 696 may include a touch screen . a storage media interface 702 provides an interface between other types of storage media 706 and the image processor and control module 660 . for example , the storage medium interface may comprise a serial digital ( sd ) interface for sd memory . the camera 650 may include a wireless receiver 710 with an antenna 712 that receives wireless signals from a remote transmitter or transceiver 714 . the image processor and control module 660 includes an activation managing module 714 that manages enablement of the disabled circuit module . the camera 650 may comprise a circuit module 718 that is initially disabled . for example only , the circuit module may provide a wireless network interface that is initially disabled . however , the circuit module 718 may have other functions . the circuit module 718 includes an activation module 720 . the circuit module 718 may comprise a physical layer ( phy ) module ( not shown ) that provides an interface to a medium and a medium access control ( mac ) module ( not shown ) that provides an interface between the physical layer module and a host . the mac module may have a mac number that can be used as a unique id . alternately , the device or one or more ics may have a serial number that can be used as the unique id . in other implementations , the unique id may be a number stored in silicon that is inaccessible to users . the circuit module 718 may communicate with an antenna 722 . in some implementations , a network transceiver 728 ( such as an access point ) transmits in - band or out - of - band signals including encrypted enable data . the circuit module 718 receives the encrypted enable data . the circuit module 718 may operate in a restricted feature mode that allows reception of the in - band or out - of - band enable data but is otherwise not operational . alternately , the remote transmitter or transceiver 714 transmits enable data to the receiver 710 . the activation managing module 714 may comprise a time limiting module ( tlm ) 730 that selectively limits the amount of time that the disabled circuit module is enabled . for example , the circuit module 718 may be enabled for a day , week , month or other period . the activation managing module 714 may comprise a usage limiting module ( ulm ) 732 that selectively limits usage . for example , the circuit module may be enabled for a predetermined amount of data exchanged or a predetermined number of sessions . the activation managing module 714 may comprise an application limiting module ( alm ) 734 that selectively limits the second applications that the disabled circuit module can use . for example , the circuit module 718 may be enabled for one or some of the second applications but not others of the second applications . alternately , all of the second applications can be enabled . as can be appreciated , one or more of the tlm 730 , the ulm 732 and the alm 734 may be implemented by the activation module 720 . alternately , both the activation managing module 714 and the activation module 720 may be combined into a single activation module that is implemented by one circuit module ( such as the circuit module 718 ) or by a device control module ( such as the image processor and control module 660 ). as can be appreciated , the circuit module 718 may be implemented as a first integrated circuit and other components of the camera 650 ( such as the image processor and control module 660 and / or other components ) may be implemented as a second integrated circuit . alternately , the circuit module 718 and the image processor and control module 660 and / or other components of the camera may be implemented as a soc or a sip . referring now to fig8 , a method for controlling the use of an initially disabled circuit module according to the present disclosure is shown . the disabled circuit module may be enabled in a variety of ways . for example , the disabled circuit module may be enabled for use with all of the second applications 566 and with no time - based or data - based usage restrictions . alternately , the disabled circuit module may be enabled for use with certain ones of the second applications 566 and not others of the second applications 566 . alternately , the disabled circuit module may be enabled for a predetermined time and / or a predetermined amount of data throughput . the method begins in fig8 with step 840 . in step 842 , the method determines whether the initially disabled circuit module 558 has been enabled . if step 842 is true , control continues with step 844 . in step 844 , control determines whether there are application limits , usage limits and / or time limits for using the now - enabled circuit module 558 . in step 846 , control determines whether there are application - based limits on the enable data . if the enable data designates that only certain ones of the second applications can be used , control continues with step 850 and enables only designated ones of the second applications for use with the enabled circuit module . if the enable data does not limit use based the type of application , control continues with step 854 and all of the second applications are enabled . control continues from steps 850 and 854 with step 856 . in step 856 , control determines whether there are usage - based limits . if step 852 is true , control continues with step 860 where control determines whether the usage monitor was previously started . in step 860 is false , the usage monitor is started in step 862 . in step 864 , control determines whether usage is up . usage may be based on a predetermined number of sessions , a predetermined amount of data transferred and / or other criteria . if step 864 is false , control continues with step 872 . if step 864 is true , control continues with step 866 and the circuit module is disabled . in step 868 , control determines whether the circuit module has been disabled . if step 868 is false , control returns to step 856 . if step 868 is true , control ends with step 870 . if step 856 is false , control continues with step 872 and determines whether there are time - based limits for using the circuit module . in step 874 , control determines whether the time monitor was previously started . in step 874 is false , the time monitor is started in step 875 . in step 876 , control determines whether time is up . if step 876 is false , control continues with step 868 . if step 876 is true , control continues with step 866 and the circuit module is disabled . referring now to fig9 , a method for distributing the device of fig5 is shown . control begins with step 900 . in step 902 , the ic supplier manufactures an ic / soc / sip with the initially disabled circuit module . in step 904 , the device manufacturer manufactures the device with the initially disabled circuit module . in step 906 , the device manufacturer installs applications that require the circuit module to operate . alternately , the applications can be provided at the time of and / or after enablement of the circuit module . in step 908 , the device manufacturer distributes the device and promotes features and applications relating to the circuit module . in step 912 , the purchaser purchases the device . in step 914 , the purchaser launches the application that requires the disabled circuit to be enabled . in step 916 , the circuit module is enabled as described herein . in step 918 , the ic supplier and / or device manufacturer collects and shares revenue associated with the enabled circuit module . if a data service is involved , revenue sharing with a data service provider may occur . the method ends in step 920 . as can be appreciated , when the purchaser launches the application , the device may not be supported by a data service ( such as a wifi service provider ). if the request is made using the data service , the data service may initially allow the request even though the device is a guest without data privileges . when the circuit module is enabled , the data service may also be initiated and the data service provider may share in the revenue with the ic supplier , the device manufacturer and / or the retailer . referring now to fig1 , a method for creating enable data according to the present disclosure is shown . the method begins with step 1020 . in step 1022 , the method determines whether the purchaser requests activation . if step 1022 is false , the method returns to step 1022 . if step 1022 is true , the method determines whether there are limits on use of the requested circuit module in step 1024 . if step 1024 is false , control continues with step 1026 and generates enable data by hashing a specific id for the device with a key that is used to enable the circuit module . if step 1024 is true , control continues with step 1034 and generates enable data by hashing the device specific id and usage limit limiting data with the secret key . the usage limiting data may include the application - specific limits , the time limits and / or the usage limits . control continues from steps 1026 and 1034 with step 1030 . in step 1030 , the method includes sending enable data to the purchaser . as previously mentioned , alternative methods of creating enable data may be used including , for example , sharing of a secret key and public key cryptography . it should be understood that the term “ purchaser ” as used herein is not necessarily limited to an end user of a device . a purchaser may include any entity or party that is part of a product development and distribution chain . referring now to fig1 a - 11d , various other exemplary implementations incorporating the teachings of the present disclosure are shown . referring now to fig1 a , the teachings of the disclosure can be implemented to enable and disable one or more modules 1236 of a high definition television ( hdtv ) 1237 as described above . the hdtv 1237 includes an hdtv control module 1238 , a display 1239 , a power supply 1240 , memory 1241 , a storage device 1242 , a network interface 1243 , and an external interface 1245 . if the network interface 1243 includes a wireless local area network interface , an antenna ( not shown ) may be included . the hdtv 1237 can receive input signals from the network interface 1243 and / or the external interface 1245 , which can send and receive data via cable , broadband internet , and / or satellite . the hdtv control module 1238 may process the input signals , including encoding , decoding , filtering , and / or formatting , and generate output signals . the output signals may be communicated to one or more of the display 1239 , memory 1241 , the storage device 1242 , the network interface 1243 , and the external interface 1245 . memory 1241 may include random access memory ( ram ) and / or nonvolatile memory . nonvolatile memory may include any suitable type of semiconductor or solid - state memory , such as flash memory ( including nand and nor flash memory ), phase change memory , magnetic ram , and multi - state memory , in which each memory cell has more than two states . the storage device 1242 may include an optical storage drive , such as a dvd drive , and / or a hard disk drive ( hdd ). the hdtv control module 1238 communicates externally via the network interface 1243 and / or the external interface 1245 . the power supply 1240 provides power to the components of the hdtv 1237 . referring now to fig1 b , the teachings of the disclosure may be implemented to enable and disable one or more modules 1236 of a vehicle 1246 as described above . the vehicle 1246 may include a vehicle control system 1247 , a power supply 1248 , memory 1249 , a storage device 1250 , and a network interface 1252 . if the network interface 1252 includes a wireless local area network interface , an antenna ( not shown ) may be included . the vehicle control system 1247 may be a powertrain control system , a body control system , an entertainment control system , an anti - lock braking system ( abs ), a navigation system , a telematics system , a lane departure system , an adaptive cruise control system , etc . the vehicle control system 1247 may communicate with one or more sensors 1254 and generate one or more output signals 1256 . the sensors 1254 may include temperature sensors , acceleration sensors , pressure sensors , rotational sensors , airflow sensors , etc . the output signals 1256 may control engine operating parameters , transmission operating parameters , suspension parameters , etc . the power supply 1248 provides power to the components of the vehicle 1246 . the vehicle control system 1247 may store data in memory 1249 and / or the storage device 1250 . memory 1249 may include random access memory ( ram ) and / or nonvolatile memory . nonvolatile memory may include any suitable type of semiconductor or solid - state memory , such as flash memory ( including nand and nor flash memory ), phase change memory , magnetic ram , and multi - state memory , in which each memory cell has more than two states . the storage device 1250 may include an optical storage drive , such as a dvd drive , and / or a hard disk drive ( hdd ). the vehicle control system 1247 may communicate externally using the network interface 1252 . referring now to fig1 c , the teachings of the disclosure can be implemented to enable and disable one or more modules 1236 of a set top box 1278 as described above . the set top box 1278 includes a set top control module 1280 , a display 1281 , a power supply 1282 , memory 1283 , a storage device 1284 , and a network interface 1285 . if the network interface 1285 includes a wireless local area network interface , an antenna ( not shown ) may be included . the set top control module 1280 may receive input signals from the network interface 1285 and an external interface 1287 , which can send and receive data via cable , broadband internet , and / or satellite . the set top control module 1280 may process signals , including encoding , decoding , filtering , and / or formatting , and generate output signals . the output signals may include audio and / or video signals in standard and / or high definition formats . the output signals may be communicated to the network interface 1285 and / or to the display 1281 . the display 1281 may include a television , a projector , and / or a monitor . the power supply 1282 provides power to the components of the set top box 1278 . memory 1283 may include random access memory ( ram ) and / or nonvolatile memory . nonvolatile memory may include any suitable type of semiconductor or solid - state memory , such as flash memory ( including nand and nor flash memory ), phase change memory , magnetic ram , and multi - state memory , in which each memory cell has more than two states . the storage device 1284 may include an optical storage drive , such as a dvd drive , and / or a hard disk drive ( hdd ). referring now to fig1 d , the teachings of the disclosure can be implemented to enable and disable one or more modules 1236 of a mobile device 1289 as described above . the mobile device 1289 may include a mobile device control module 1290 , a power supply 1291 , memory 1292 , a storage device 1293 , a network interface 1294 , and an external interface 1299 . if the network interface 1294 includes a wireless local area network interface , an antenna ( not shown ) may be included . the mobile device control module 1290 may receive input signals from the network interface 1294 and / or the external interface 1299 . the external interface 1299 may include usb , infrared , and / or ethernet . the input signals may include compressed audio and / or video , and may be compliant with the mp3 format . additionally , the mobile device control module 1290 may receive input from a user input 1296 such as a keypad , touchpad , or individual buttons . the mobile device control module 1290 may process input signals , including encoding , decoding , filtering , and / or formatting , and generate output signals . the mobile device control module 1290 may output audio signals to an audio output 1297 and video signals to a display 1298 . the audio output 1297 may include a speaker and / or an output jack . the display 1298 may present a graphical user interface , which may include menus , icons , etc . the power supply 1291 provides power to the components of the mobile device 1289 . memory 1292 may include random access memory ( ram ) and / or nonvolatile memory . nonvolatile memory may include any suitable type of semiconductor or solid - state memory , such as flash memory ( including nand and nor flash memory ), phase change memory , magnetic ram , and multi - state memory , in which each memory cell has more than two states . the storage device 1293 may include an optical storage drive , such as a dvd drive , and / or a hard disk drive ( hdd ). the mobile device may include a personal digital assistant , a media player , a laptop computer , a gaming console , or other mobile computing device . it should be further understood that other types of consumer electronic devices , such as , personal computers , laptop computers , digital picture frames , etc . may be implemented to include features as described in the present disclosure . as can be appreciated , while certain components of the integrated circuits described above may be described as modules , these components may also comprise circuit modules . in other words , these components may include shared circuits and circuits that are unique to the component . these unique circuits of the circuit modules may be located at distinct locations of the integrated circuit . the unique circuits may be selectively enabled as described above . those skilled in the art can now appreciate from the foregoing description that the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms . therefore , while this disclosure includes particular examples , the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings , the specification , and the following claims . | 8 |
as discussed in relation to in fig6 supra , the relative pathlength varies considerably depending upon the wavelength of light used . fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c illustrate three alternate sampling configurations which optimize the pathlength relative to the wavelength ( s ) selected . as those skilled in the art will appreciate , the relative positioning of the source and detector on finger / thumb 11 will influence the internal volume of tissue sampled spectrophotometrically . in fig9 a the source 21 and detector 23 are placed relatively close to one another . thus , the average optical pathlength 22 travelled by the sampled light ( via partial transmission ) is quite short . dashed lines ( e . g ., 24 ) represent some of the theoretical paths followed by light emitted by a point source placed against finger / thumb 11 . if , in the case of glucose , optical information is desired in the 2000 nm region or longer , then the average optical pathlength 22 should be in range of 0 . 5 - 3 mm . in addition to the 2000 - 2400 region , this optical sampling configuration enables measurement of spectral data over the entire wavelength region from 700 to 2400 nm . in fig9 a the internal volume sampled will be relatively small , consisting of the epidermis 13 and dermis 15 and the outermost portions of the subcutaneous tissue 17 . although the sampling configuration in fig9 a enables sampling of spectral data from 700 to 2400 nm , the spectral data acquired in the 700 - 1400 nm region is not acquired under optimal conditions . given similar signal - to - noise ratios , spectral data in the 700 - 1400 nm range , obtained by the sampling geometries illustrated in fig9 b and 9c , will contain more analyte information than spectra obtained from the geometry illustrated in fig9 a . with similar intensity values at the detector , the information content of the spectra from fig9 a is less , due to the fact that a smaller portion of the internal volume of finger / thumb 11 is sampled by the light . in the configuration shown in fig9 a , 100 % of the light is not forced to transverse the greater distances illustrated by fig9 b and 9c and , thus , does not contain as much information from the deeper subcutaneous tissue . in fig9 b the detector 23 and source 25 are separated by a greater distance and the resulting average partial transmission pathlength 26 is longer . if the average pathlength 26 is assumed to be in the range of 3 - 7 mm , then the amount of light successfully transversing this distance with wavelengths longer than 2000 nm will be negligible in comparison to those which transverse a 0 . 5 - 3 mm pathlength . however , this pathlength represents a reasonable pathlength for light in the region from 1400 to 2000 nm , and also enables measurement of wavelengths below 1400 nm . fig9 c depicts a transmission measurement through finger / thumb 11 . the finger thickness of an average individual is , approximately , 1 cm . the influence of the bone in transmission is poorly understood and , thus , the ray tracings go around the bone for simplicity . the resulting optical information received by detector 23 from source 29 will be in the wavelength region from 700 to 1400 nm . the spectral information above 1400 nm will be negligible due to water absorbance at these longer wavelengths . the geometric configurations shown in fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c enable procurement of optimal spectral data for glucose in each wavelength region ( i . e . 700 to 1400 , 1400 to 2000 , and 2000 to 2400 ) in the best possible manner . for clarification the spectral range of interest is divided into 3 regions : region 1 from 700 - 1400 nm ; region 2 from 1400 - 2000 nm ; and region 3 from 2000 - 2400 nm . fig1 a , 10 b and 10 c are plots showing the spectral regions that can be recorded by each of the three source - detector configurations . fig1 a is the spectral data which can be recorded using the source - detector configuration shown in fig9 a . as previously described , the configuration shown in fig9 a can sample all three regions as shown in fig1 a . fig1 b depicts the spectral data obtained when using the optical configuration illustrated in fig9 b , which spectral data is in regions 1 and 2 , but not in region 3 . fig1 c shows the spectral data generated by using the optical configuration shown in fig9 c . in this case , useful spectral information is available only in region 1 . fig1 is a plot of the resulting spectra from the source detector arrangements illustrated in fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c . the resulting spectra contains the maximal amount of analyte information due to optimization of sampling path in each of the three wavelength regions . the spectrum of fig1 can be further improved by removal of the spectral variations introduced by melanin and other patient variations . specifically , spectra which is indicative of the internal tissue glucose ( independent of the individual , and without such factors as degree of pigmentation , age , skin thickness , and differences in peripheral - skin temperature ) is uniquely useful when doing quantitative measurements . as the intrinsic volumes sampled by the various source - detector geometries illustrated in fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c are different , these differences can be used to remove many undesired influences ( e . g . melanin ). returning to fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c , it can be seen that all source - detector combinations require the light to transverse epidermis 13 and dermis 15 twice . this is true whether the measurement is made through skin only or the fingernail . in the 700 nm to 1100 nm region ( i . e ., region 1 ) the spectral information obtained by using source 21 with detector 23 will correspond to skin information twice , plus a small amount of information on the underlying tissue . in comparison , the spectral information obtained by using source 29 with detector 23 will contain skin information twice , plus a large amount of information on the underlying tissue . the differences in the volumes sampled by the different sampling geometries can be used to cancel out or minimize skin specific differences . as melanin resides solely in the outer layers of skin , the spectra obtained via the two sampling configurations can be processed to yield spectra which minimizes spectral variations which are the result of pigmentation differences . specifically , beer &# 39 ; s law and the relationship of mean optical pathlength with the length of the physical path can be utilized by a ratio and subtraction process to yield the desired spectra . the coefficient values to be used in association with beer &# 39 ; s law are determined by experimental investigation and are instrument / configuration dependent . differences in peripheral skin temperature can also be removed by using differences in the volumes sampled by the various sampling configurations . the skin temperature of the hand varies greatly from person to person and is also dependent upon the environment . despite peripheral skin temperature variations , body core temperature remains quite constant . the internal tissue of the hand will be maintained at relatively constant temperature due to constant exposure to core temperature blood . thus , the temperature differences between people &# 39 ; s hands exist in the dermis and epidermis while the underlying tissue remains well thermostated . as temperature differences are present in the outermost layers of the skin , the difference in the volumes sampled can again be used to help minimize spectral variation not associated with analyte concentration . thus , skin temperature differences can be compensated for in a manner similar to melanin . the sampling configurations illustrated in fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c satisfy objectives 1 and 2 of the invention , but do not reduce all possible spectral variations between patients . specifically , the spectral information obtained by transmission through the finger ( i . e . use of source 29 and detector 23 ) will be sensitive to tissue thickness differences . however , such differences in tissue thickness can be minimized by performing the sampling by partial transmission sampling and by sampling from the same side of the tissue , wherein the tissue can be a finger , thumb , or other body part . with reference to fig1 and 13 , finger / thumb holder 33 includes a bottom plate 35 and a pair of guide rails 37 . positioned substantially in the center of plate 35 is a detector 39 and a plurality of sources 41 1 - 4 , 43 1 - 4 and 45 1 - 4 . the average light path from sources 41 1 - 4 to detector 39 is approximated by path 47 ; from sources 43 1 - 4 to detector 39 , by path 49 ; and from sources 45 1 - 4 to detector 39 , by path 51 . as was illustrated in fig9 a , 9 b and 9 c , the optical sampling of the body part must maximize and compensate for the optical propagation characteristics of different wavelengths . in fig1 light path 47 represents an optical pathlength of 0 . 5 - 3 mm , which is the same pathlength as illustrated in fig9 a . light path 49 is similar to that shown in fig9 b , and light path 51 is similar to that shown in fig9 c . in either sampling geometry the relationship between the source and detector determines the length of the optical path and the depth of the internal volume sampled . for each distance a plurality of light sources is used to increase the intensity at detector 39 , and to reduce the total measurement time . a variety of embodiments can be utilized to enable sampling of the finger / thumb in an optimal manner . fig1 illustrates a device 61 using fiber optics to introduce light into the finger / thumb 11 at three different sampling geometries . in the device shown , housing or ring 63 supports six different fiber optic probes 65 a and 65 b , 67 a and 67 b , and 69 a and 69 b which introduce the light into the tissue in three different source - detector configurations . detector probe 71 , also supported by housing 63 receives the light which has transversed the tissue . fiber probes 65 a - 69 b and detector probe 71 are all spring loaded , via springs 73 , to enable repeatable interactions between the tip of each fiber , as indicated at 75 in fig1 , and finger / thumb 11 . each fiber probe is independently spring loaded to enable the sampling device to compensate for the elliptical shape of the finger . as also indicated in fig1 , representative probe 65 a is held by a hollow fiber holding device 77 which includes a hollow stem 79 and a shoulder 81 . stem 79 is held in bore 83 by collar 85 which , in turn , is slidably received in bore 87 in housing 63 . spring 73 is captured between collar 85 and cap 89 which is threaded into housing 63 ( by threads not shown ) or otherwise suitably secured . bore 87 has an internal shoulder 91 to prevent collar 85 from falling out . probes 65 b - 69 b and detector 71 have the same structure as probe 65 a . fig1 a illustrates , on an enlarged scale , the end of a typical probe ( e . g . 65 a ), including metal sheath 93 , surrounding external cladding 95 , which in turn surrounds optical fiber 97 . the angular relationship between fiber optic probes 65 a and 65 b , and detector fiber 71 is , approximately , 30 degrees . this geometrical configuration allows , as discussed above , sampling of the spectral region from 700 to 2400 nm . probes 67 a and 67 b simultaneously introduce light into finger / thumb 11 at 90 degrees relative to detector fiber 71 . the average optical pathlength will be approximately 3 to 7 mm . the configuration composed of probes 67 a and 67 b , and fiber 71 will enable sampling of the spectral region from 700 to 2000 nm . the remaining two probes , 69 a and 69 b , introduce light into finger / thumb 11 on the opposite side of the finger , at approximately 165 degrees relative to fiber 71 . light detected by detector fiber 71 from these 2 probes has propagated through the majority of finger / thumb 11 . for glucose , the spectral region measured by this configuration will be from 700 to 1400 nm . in operation , only one source pair - detector configuration ( e . g . 65 a / 65 b - 71 ) is coupling light into finger / thumb 11 at any one time . the operation of the sources is performed in a manner to determine the optical path transversed by the light . if all sources are active at a given point in time then it would be impossible to determine from which point a given photon of light originated . the introduction of light into the finger from two geometrically similar locations ( e . g . probes 65 a and 65 b ) increases the total light entering finger / thumb 11 , which increases the total amount out of finger / thumb 11 and onto the detector fiber 71 . increasing the intensity at the detector , provided the operation remains linear , is desirable as it reduces total measurement time . a modified version of finger sampling device 61 is illustrated in fig1 . device 661 includes a housing or ring 663 having an outer cylindrical surface 665 and two semi - cylindrical surfaces 667 and 669 , interconnected by plainer surfaces 671 and 673 . as illustrated , the diameter of surface 667 provides a support for finger / thumb 11 . positioned between surfaces 665 and 669 are two fiber optic probes 65 a and 65 b and a detector 71 . probes 65 a and 65 b ( which are angularly positioned relative to detector 71 by , approximately , 30 °) contact fingernail 13 a . as previously explained , fingernail 13 a is basically optically inert in the region from 700 mm to 2400 mm . though only two probes are illustrated , additional ones could be provided . fig1 illustrates a sampling device where all optical sampling is performed through the fingernail . the device could be modified to include small tungsten - halogen sources or other configurations . the end result is a sampling device which makes optimal use of this “ window ” into the body . fig1 illustrates a sampling device like that of fig1 and 15 , except modified for use of small tungsten - halogen light sources such as manufactured by welsh alan . six light sources , such as source 101 a , are arranged on circular housing 103 ( which has the same configuration as housing 63 ) in the same pattern as probes 65 a - 69 b are arranged relative to detector 71 . light source 101 a is secured in socket 105 provided on the end of hollow electrical support stem 107 . stem 107 includes a circular collar 109 fixed thereto , which is slidably received in bore 111 provided in housing 103 . spring 113 is captured between collar 109 and end cap 115 ( suitably secured to housing 103 ), to bias source 101 a into engagement with finger / thumb 11 . lip 117 prevents collar 109 from being pushed out of bore 111 . as described previously , this geometry enables spectral measurement over different regions . in operation , the light sources closest the detector will be turned on and spectral data acquired in the 700 to 2400 nm region . next , the sources at 90 degrees to the detector will be energized and spectral data from 700 to 2000 nm will be recorded . finally , the sources opposite the detector will be turned on and spectral data from 700 to 1400 nm recorded . due to the fact that not all wavelengths need to be recorded and the fact that relatively small number ( e . g . 20 ) will produce good measurement results , a discrete set of light emitting diodes ( leds ) can be utilized instead of broadband sources such as 101 a of fig1 and 17a . currently , leds are commercially manufactured in the wavelength region from 400 to approximately 1550 . however , in the future , diodes will likely become commercially available over the entire spectral region from 400 to 2400 nm . as leds emit wavelengths with a narrow bandwidth ( i . e ., typically less than 10 nm ) further dispersion of the spectra is not necessary . as further dispersion is not necessary a simple inexpensive detector or multiple detectors can be used to record the various wavelength intensities . as illustrated in fig1 - 21 , finger sampling device 121 includes a first set of probes 123 a , 123 b , and a second set of probes 125 a , 125 b , mounted at 9 ° intervals around housing 127 . probes 123 a and 123 b each include a hollow stem portion 129 ( fig1 ) of circular cross - section and a disc shaped head 131 ( fig2 ). secured to head 131 near its perimeter ( by conventional means not illustrated ) are a plurality of leds 133 1 - 12 . secured to the center ( also by conventional means not shown ) is a detector 135 . detector 135 and leds 133 are connected to suitable electrical connectors such as 136 a , 136 b and 136 c . stem portion 129 also includes a circular collar 137 which is slidably received in bore 139 of housing 127 . probe 123 is biased into engagement with finger / thumb 11 by spring 141 which , in turn , is captured between collar 137 and cap 143 ( secured by suitable conventional means , not shown , to housing 127 ). cap 143 has a circular opening 145 dimensioned to slidably receive stem 129 . finally , each bore 139 has a shoulder 147 at its inner end to retain collar 137 . probes 125 a , 125 b are substantially identical to probes 123 , except that they do not include any detectors . thus , each probe 125 includes a hollow stem portion 151 , collar 153 and disc shaped head 155 . collar 153 is slidably received in bore 157 and biased by spring 159 , which is captured between collar 153 and cap 161 . cap 161 has a circular opening 163 for slidably receiving stem 151 . bore 157 includes internal shoulder 165 . as with those on probes 123 , each led on probes 125 represents a narrow bandwidth source predetermined to obtain important spectral information enabling measurement of the concentration of the analyte ( e . g ., glucose ). considering only the region from 400 to 1550 nm , the region over which leds currently operate , the spectral information ( similar to that illustrated in fig1 ) is obtained by three separate operations using the specific regions of 400 to 1100 nm , 1100 to 1400 nm , and 1400 to 1550 nm . the procurement of spectra in the 400 to 1100 nm region requires the measurement of both short pathlength and long pathlength spectral data , which can be measured at the same time , as illustrated in fig2 a . the leds 133 1 - 12 on probe 123 a are energized in a manner such that the intensity associated with each led can be determined . specifically , the leds are energized in accordance with hadamard transform optical coding techniques . this is done because if every led was turned on at the same time it would be impossible to differentiate between specific wavelengths . for each led on probe 123 a , the light propagating through the tissue is measured by both detectors 135 simultaneously ( detector 135 on probe 123 a and detector 135 on probe 123 b ). thus , detector 135 / 123 a will measure those photons having transversed a short partial transmission path 171 , while detector 135 / 123 b will measure those photons having transversed the entire finger . solid line 173 illustrates the average path that the light will travel . dashed lines 171 a and 173 a represent the average short and long paths between a second led on probe 123 a and detectors 135 . the combination of information from these two detectors can be used to remove for skin specific components and result in spectral information ready for analysis , for the reasons discussed above in reference to fig9 a - 11 . the leds on probe 123 b are not energized . spectra in the region from 1100 to 1400 nm does not require compensation for skin differences because the affects of melanin and other skin components are not present at wavelengths above 1100 nm . thus , maximizing the amount of light into the finger while also maximizing the amount of information recorded from the finger is desired and achievable . this can be performed by energizing ( again in accordance with hadamard transform optical coding techniques ) those leds on the 1100 to 1400 nm range on probe 123 b . the light emitted from such leds is recorded by detector 135 / 123 a . fig2 b illustrates this concept , with lines 175 and 177 representing a couple of the theoretical pathlengths . as previously discussed , light propagation through tissue at wavelengths longer than 1400 nm becomes heavily influenced by water absorbance . measurement of wavelengths between 1400 and 1550 nm can be performed by energizing the leds in probes 125 a and 125 b . the light emitted from these leds will be simultaneously measured by detectors 135 / 123 a and 135 / 123 b . fig2 c illustrates this arrangement with representative theoretical light paths 179 , 181 , 183 , 185 , 187 , 189 , 191 and 193 . the end result of the preceding process is measurement of the spectral data from 400 to 1550 nm in the least possible time , with the highest possible signal - to - noise ratio and containing the spectral information necessary for analyte measurement . the use of multiple detectors and light sources will improve the signal - to - noise ratio of the recorded data for a given measurement time due to the ability to signal average two measurements simultaneously , and the ability to use hadamard transform techniques . fig2 and 23 , similar to fig1 and 13 , show finger / thumb sampling device 201 using partial transmission with path optimization by separation of the sources and detector . sampling device 201 includes base 203 having a finger support surface 205 , a pair of guide rails 207 ( for positioning finger / thumb 11 ) and a post 209 . device 201 also includes an arm 211 ( which is hinged to post 209 and biased toward surface 205 by spring 213 ), shutter control 215 , and temperature control device 217 . shutter control 215 includes a rotating disc 221 ( having gear teeth 223 on the perimeter thereof ), gear 225 and motor 227 . temperature control 217 includes an electrical heating pad , a temperature sensing device ( e . g ., a thermocouple ) and associated conventional electronics ( all not illustrated ). disc 221 , which is supported by housing 229 in any convenient manner ( not shown ), has a plurality of openings ( typically circular ) 231 , 233 1 - 4 , 235 1 - 4 , and 237 1 - 4 , as best illustrated in fig2 . housing 229 includes a series of openings 241 , 243 a and 243 b , 245 a and 245 b , and 247 a and 247 b , which are always aligned with , respectively , openings ( 251 , 253 a and 253 b , 255 a and 255 b , and 257 a and 257 b ) provided in base 203 . in operation , light is introduced into finger / thumb 11 by fiber optic sources ( not shown ), the ends of which are received in openings 243 a , 243 b , 245 a , 245 b , 247 a , and 247 b . the distances between the fiber optic sources and the fiber optic detector ( also not shown ) which is received in opening 241 is optimized for pathlength for the reasons discussed above . the light introduced into finger / thumb 11 from the fiber optics received in openings 243 a and 243 b is partially transmitted with an average pathlength of 0 . 5 to 3 mm , as illustrated by theoretical paths 261 . when these fibers are emitting light , the detector fiber receives light from 700 and 2400 nm . openings 245 a / 255 a and 245 b / 255 b are separated from aligned openings 241 / 231 / 251 by a greater distance , to optimize the pathlength 263 for recording wavelengths in the 1400 to 2000 nm region . when this second set of fibers are emitting light , the majority of the light received by the detector fiber will be in the wavelength region from 700 and 2000 nm . openings 247 a / 257 a and 247 b / 257 b are at the greatest distance from detector opening 241 / 231 / 251 and , thus , have the longest average pathlength 265 . fibers coupled to these source openings enable the measurement of wavelengths between 700 and 1400 nm . by placement of the source fibers and detector fiber on the same side of the finger / thumb the influence of finger thickness on the resulting spectral data is minimized . by reducing the influence of finger / thumb thickness , between patient differences are minimized and more accurate analyte measurements can be made . in operation only those fibers at a given distance will emit light into finger / thumb 11 at a given time . shutter system 215 controls which fibers are illuminating finger / thumb 11 at any one time . the blocking or passage of light is controlled by disk 221 and the angular orientation of openings 233 1 - 4 , 235 1 - 4 , and 237 1 - 4 relative to each other . central opening 231 allows transmission of light at all times . in operation disk 215 is rotated to position a , b , or c . in position a , disk 215 allows illumination of the finger by fibers connected to openings 243 a and 243 b . in fig2 the disk is shown in position a and shows the complete propagation of light via path 261 . if disk 215 is rotated to position b , the light would follow paths 263 , as shown by the dotted lines . rotation of disk 215 to position c would enable light to travel paths 265 , as shown by the dashed lines . thus , the use of the rotating disk forms a simple reliable shutter system to enable introduction of the light in a easily controlled manner . in addition to pathlength optimization for the various wavelengths , the sampling device shown in fig2 and 23 is thermostated to control finger temperature . control of the sampling devices temperature is performed by temperature control device 217 ( including a heating pad , a temperature sensing device , typically a thermocouple , and associated electronics ). the temperature control unit 217 is attached to plate 203 . with reference to fig2 , the tissue , typically a finger or thumb , is compressed firmly against surface 205 by arm 211 and spring 213 . compression of the finger with approximately 1 kg / cm 2 will , as discussed previously , minimize the influence of arterial pulsation in the optical sampling area . this force is not so extreme as to be painful to the patient . other methods can be used to remove arterial pulsations , such as finger cuffs which are inflated to a pressure which occludes arterial pulsations . however , this cuffing technique has not proven as desirable , as application of force on the finger reduces movement of the tissue relative to the sampling device . previous configurations ( except the embodiment of fig1 - 21 ) have involved the use of one detector , one wavelength separating device ( e . g . aotf , grating , etc .) and multiple sources . fig2 , 25 , 26 and 27 illustrate sampling configurations which utilize one source , multiple detectors , and multiple wavelength separating devices . fig2 and 25 illustrate sample device 701 , which includes a base 703 , a finger support surface 705 , and a pair of guide rails 707 for positioning finger / thumb 11 . like sampling device 201 , but not illustrated , device 701 includes an arm , secured to a post and biased into engagement with the finger / thumb 11 by a spring . positioned within base 703 is a single broadband light source 709 and 24 band - pass optical filters , 6 of which are illustrated in fig2 ( i . e ., 711 1 , 711 5 , 713 1 , 713 5 , 715 1 , and 715 5 ). these band - pass optical filters are constructed of specially coated glass which permits only the preselected wavelengths ( either a single wavelength or a band of contiguous wavelengths ) to pass . the other wavelengths are attenuated or not permitted to pass through . each of the band - pass filters is coupled to a detector ( i . e ., 717 1 - 8 , 719 1 - 8 , and 721 1 - 8 ). the detectors are electrically connected an analog to digital converter via wires such as indicated by 723 in fig2 . in operation , broadband source 709 is energized with some of the light partially transmitted through finger / thumb 11 , as illustrated , by traces 725 , 727 and 729 . the light then passes through the band - pass optical filters which reduce the broadband light into preselected wavelengths ( as indicated above ). these discrete wavelengths are then detected on the detectors 717 1 - 721 8 . with the use of 24 detectors , 24 wavelengths are measured . the actual measurement of these intensity values could be one at a time , through standard sample and hold electronics or by hadamard transform optical coding . although 24 detectors are illustrated , the number could be increased or decreased . this design is based on the fact that accurate analyte measurement can be obtained with a certain number of preselected wavelengths . see fig8 . sampling device 731 , illustrated in fig2 and 27 , includes a base 733 , having a finger support surface 735 , a pair of guide rails 737 , and a post 739 . device 731 also includes a temperature control device 740 , and an arm 741 , which is hinged ( not shown ) to post 739 and biased toward surface 735 by spring 743 . filter wheel assembly 745 , which is secured to surface 747 of base 733 , includes a rotating filter wheel 749 ( having gear teeth 751 on the perimeter thereof ), gear 753 , and stepper motor 755 . filter wheel 749 , which is supported by housing 757 in any convenient manner ( not shown ) is provided with 24 band - pass filters 759 1 - 24 , each of which passes wavelength subsets ( λ 1 , λ 2 , λ 3 . . . λ 24 ). housing 757 also includes openings 761 , 763 and 765 ( which are aligned with , respectively , openings 771 , 773 and 775 in base 735 ) and central opening 767 ( which is aligned with opening 777 in base 735 ). as illustrated , detectors 781 , 783 and 785 are positioned in the lower end of openings 771 , 773 and 775 . light source 787 is positioned relative to aligned openings 767 , 777 . detectors 781 , 783 and 785 are connected to an analog to digital converter via signal line 789 . in operation , light is introduced into finger / thumb 11 via broadband source 787 via a light pipe , a portion of which is partially transmitted as indicated by paths 791 , 793 and 795 . light with a wavelength λ , which traverses path 791 passes through filter 759 1 , and is detected by detector 781 . similarly , light with a wavelength λ 2 , which traverses path 793 , passes through band - pass filter 795 2 to detector 783 . finally , light with a wavelength λ 3 , which traverses path 795 , passes through band - pass filter 795 3 to detector 785 . as filter wheel 749 has eight discrete positions ( i . e ., a - h ), once the intensities of wavelengths λ 1 , λ 2 , and λ 3 have been measured , stepper motor rotates wheel 749 from the position illustrated in fig2 to the position where position b is aligned with detectors 781 , 783 and 785 . in this position the intensities of wavelengths λ 4 , λ 5 and λ 6 are then measured . wheel 749 is rotated through the remaining positions until all 24 wavelengths are measured . regardless of the exact finger sampling device used , each enables optimization of the path used for optical sampling vis - a - vis the light propagation characteristics of the measured wavelengths . the associated instrumentation needed to generate and subsequently measure these “ optimized ” wavelengths can take a variety of forms . fig2 illustrates in a box diagram the general configurations that such instrumentation can take . the three major categories involve dispersion options followed by source options , and finally those options available for detectors . the ten configurations are discussed below . fig2 schematically illustrates configurations 1 through 4 , where the light is dispersed or separated before it interacts with the finger . in all cases the light sources generates light with a band width broader than desired for the noninvasive measurement . in most cases the light source will be a broadband light source such as a tungsten halogen lamp . the broadband light is subsequently separated or dispersed and only the wavelengths of interest interact with the finger . the dispersion of the light can be performed by a number of devices . dispersion devices in common use are aotfs , fourier transform interferometers , and filter wheels . fig3 and 37 illustrate the use of an aotf to disperse the light before it interacts with the tissue . the light of fig3 and 37 then propagates through the tissue and is subsequently detected by multiple detectors . this corresponds to configuration 2 in fig2 . fig3 schematically illustrates configurations 5 and 6 , where the light source is capable of emitting light of a narrow bandwidth and subsequent dispersion of the light is not necessary . some light sources having these characteristics are light emitting diodes , lasers of all types , and tunable lasers . although a tunable laser is a single unit , it is considered as multiple sources in this description . fig1 and 34 illustrate configuration 6 and describe a noninvasive measurement device incorporating multiple sources and multiple detectors . fig3 schematically illustrates configurations 7 through 10 , where the light is dispersed following its interaction with the finger . the light source emits light of a bandwidth greater than desired for noninvasive measurement and subsequent separation of the light is required . the separation of the light can be performed by numerous commercially available components . fig2 - 27 illustrate configuration 8 wherein the dispersion of light is performed by selective optical filtering . fig3 illustrates configuration 9 wherein the dispersion of the light is performed by an aotf following interactions with the finger . fig3 illustrates a variation of configuration 10 wherein the light is separated by an aotf . two detectors are employed in order to record both the light having propagated through the finger as well as the intensities of the light source via a background fiber . as one skilled in the art will recognize an infinite number of instrument configurations can be realized for measurement of the appropriate spectral information . for clarity four instrument examples are illustrated and their operation described . fig3 illustrates a noninvasive analyte monitor 301 using multiple small tungsten - halogen light sources . again , partial transmission with separation of the detector and sources for optimization of the various paths within the finger is employed . monitor 301 includes a finger sampling device 303 which , like sampling device 201 , includes a base 305 , finger support surface 307 , a pair of guide rails 309 ( for positioning finger or thumb 11 ), arm 311 , support arm post 313 , spring 315 for biasing finger / thumb 11 into engagement with surface 307 , and temperature control 317 . the light sources 321 a and 321 b , 323 a and 323 b , and 325 a and 325 b and detector light pipe 327 are received in base 305 to make contact with finger / thumb 11 in a repeatable manner , as illustrated . light sources 321 a - 325 b are connected to ( via signal line 330 ) and controlled by conventional electronics in housing 331 . as those skilled in the art will appreciate , those light sources at a given distance from the detector light pipe 327 will be energized simultaneously . thus , for measuring long path wavelengths , sources 321 a and 321 b will be on at the same time . the light enters the tissue of finger / thumb 11 and propagates through , with a portion exiting into light pipe 327 . light pipe 327 is composed of fused silica and serves to transport the light from the finger / thumb 11 to imaging optics 333 which , in turn , directs the light 335 onto the aperture of aotf crystal 336 . the specific wavelength or wavelengths transmitted by aotf 336 is determined by the rf signals introduced onto the crystal by tunable rf source 338 via signal line 339 . as those skilled in the art will appreciate , a piezoelectric crystal ( linbo 3 ) is bonded to the teo 2 crystal on a specific crystal face to inject an acoustic wave in the required direction . the light 341 exiting aotf 336 is detected by detector 343 which , in the preferred embodiment , is a thermoelectrically cooled indium gallium arsenide detector . other suitable detectors ( such as insb , lead sulfide and germanium / silica ) may also be used . thermoelectric cooling is performed by cooler 345 . the resulting analog signal from detector 343 is communicated to a / d converter 347 by signal line 349 . central processing unit 351 ensures that the intensity seen by detector 343 is within its linear dynamic range , via pre - established intensity limits . if the intensity is not within range then a signal is sent to rf source 338 , via signal line 353 , to increase or decrease the rf power to aotf crystal 336 until the intensity observed by detector 343 is within its linear operating range . with reference to fig8 some wavelengths need to be measured at relatively high resolution ( i . e . narrow bandwidth ), while some can be measured at low resolution . by introduction of one or several rf frequencies the bandwidth of the light transmitted by aotf 336 can be altered . the aotf driver electronics 354 , connected between central processing unit 351 and rf source 338 , will be instructed by central processing unit 351 to allow measurement of the exact frequencies needed , at the resolution needed and at the appropriate signal - to - noise ratio . the wavelength transmitted and subsequently recorded is controlled by the frequency of the rf signal applied to aotf crystal 336 . the resolution can be decreased by simultaneous introduction of several rf frequencies onto aotf crystal 336 . the signal - to - noise ratio can be controlled by the length of time a specific wavelength is recorded . after a given wavelength or wavelengths are recorded , central processing unit 351 generates a signal to cause tunable rf source 338 to change the frequency being generated , and the next wavelength ( s ) is ( are ) recorded . following measurement of all wavelengths using a given source - detector configuration ( e . g ., 321 a and 321 b / 327 ), central processing unit 351 signals , via signal line 355 , source driver electronics 331 to switch off the current to sources 321 a and 321 b , and to turn on sources 323 a and 323 b . the process is then repeated , and repeated again for sources 325 a and 325 b . the wavelength intensity values from a / d converter 347 are communicated to central processing unit 351 and then transmitted via signal line 359 for storage in memory storage unit 361 . following measurement of all necessary wavelength intensity values in the manner set forth above , all these intensity values are processed by spectral processing algorithms stored in module 363 to produce a processed spectra , such as shown in fig1 . the resulting processed spectra is devoid of or has minimal patient to patient differences and is ready for quantitative analysis . quantitative analysis of the processed spectra is preformed by central processing unit 351 in conjunction with the multivariate calibration model and algorithms stored in module 365 and the processed spectra stored in memory storage unit 361 . the analysis process determines the concentration of the analyte . the multivariate methodology used is disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 975 , 851 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . the concentration value is subsequently transmitted via signal line 376 for display by unit 375 . for example , glucose concentration would be displayed in mg / dl units on screen 377 . concurrent with the concentration determination , processed spectra is examined to determine if it is an outlier . outliers are spectra not representative of the calibration samples . the outlier detection methods used are also disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 975 , 851 . in simple terms , if the spectra is unique or dissimilar from those used to develop the model then the accuracy of the measurement is not well defined . the determination of measurement accuracy is performed by central processing unit 351 while using the processed spectra stored in memory storage unit 361 and the outlier detection algorithms stored in module 367 . the result of the analysis can be displayed by unit 375 as a bar graph 379 indicating accuracy . memory storage unit 361 and modules 363 , 365 and 367 are interconnected by signal line 381 . fig3 illustrates the major components of a robust noninvasive glucose monitor 401 employing a broadband light source and fiber optics . the optical sampling of finger / thumb 11 is performed with the same structure and in the same manner as previously discussed in reference to fig2 and 23 . the optical illumination is performed by a broadband light source 403 , typically a tungsten halogen source , which is coupled by any suitable conventional method to a group of source fibers 405 a and 405 b , 407 a and 407 b , and 409 a and 409 b . source 403 is also coupled to background fiber 411 for the reasons explained below . the filament used in source 403 is elongated , so the distance from the filament to each fiber is constant . illumination of source 403 is controlled by electronics 412 . the source fibers are connected from source 403 to shutter box 215 , as previously described in connection with fig2 and 23 . in operation , shutter box 215 allows light from fibers located at the same distance from the detector to be simultaneously transmitted into finger / thumb 11 . as shown , illumination of finger / thumb 11 is with those fibers closest to the detector fiber 413 . as before , rotation of disk 215 is controlled by motor 227 which , in turn , is coupled to shutter driver electronics 415 via signal line 417 . the light having propagated through finger / thumb 11 is collected by detector fiber 413 which may be a single fiber or a fiber optic bundle . detector fiber 413 is connected , by fiber coupler 421 , to imaging optics 423 , which focuses the light 425 onto a portion of the aperture of aotf crystal 427 . aotf crystal 427 is , preferably , made of teo 2 and has an aperture of , approximately , 0 . 5 cm .× 0 . 5 cm . background fiber 411 is coupled to light source 403 in a conventional manner ( not shown ), such as used for source fibers 405 a - 409 b . at its opposite end , fiber 411 is connected onto imaging optics 429 by coupler 431 . the light from both detector fiber 413 and background fiber 411 are imaged simultaneously onto the aperture of aotf 427 . the optical transmission properties of aotf 427 are controlled by the rf signals incident to the crystal , which are produced by radio frequency source 435 coupled to the piezoelectric crystal on aotf 427 by signal line 437 . rf source 435 is , in turn , controlled by driver electronics 439 via signal line 441 . electronics 439 are controlled by central processing unit 443 via signal line 445 . the desired wavelengths of light are transmitted through aotf 427 and are incident upon two detectors 451 and 453 , which are matched so as to have similar response curves . in the preferred embodiment the detectors are composed of indium gallium arsenide and are thermoelectrically cooled by thermoelectric cooler 455 to improve performance . the two detectors receive the light from aotf 427 and convert the light intensity into a series of electrical signals indicative of the light transmitted by , respectively , background 411 and detector 413 fibers . the electrical signals which correspond to the intensity values at the detector are transmitted to electronics 457 via signal lines 459 and 461 . within electronics 457 is an a / d converter and computational hardware that ensures that both detectors are functioning within their respective operational range . if the intensity of the light received from aotf 427 is not within the established linear operating range of the detectors , the rf power incident onto aotf 427 is changed until the response is within such range . for each wavelength recorded ( for both background 411 and detector fiber 413 ), rf source 435 generates a different rf frequency . the digital numbers corresponding to the intensity values at each wavelength from both detectors 451 and 453 are communicated from electronics 457 to central processing unit 443 via signal line 463 . the digital intensity values are subsequently stored in memory module 465 until all wavelength intensities have been recorded . following measurement of all necessary wavelength intensity values , these values are processed by spectral processing algorithms stored in module 467 . the result is a final processed spectra , such as previously illustrated in fig1 . the intensity values from the proposed spectra are also stored in memory module 465 for subsequent processing . the final processed spectra is the spectral data which has been processed to minimize between patient differences and is now ready for quantitative analyte measurement . quantitative analysis of the processed spectra is preformed by central processing unit 443 in conjunction with the multivariate calibration model and algorithms stored in module 469 and the stored processed spectra stored in module 465 . the analysis process , carried out in the manner set forth in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 975 , 581 , determines the analytes concentration . the concentration value is subsequently displayed by unit 471 , connected to central processing unit 443 via signal line 472 . for example , glucose concentration would be displayed in mg / dl units by display 473 . concurrent with the concentration determination , the processed spectra is examined to determine if it is similar to those used to generate the calibration model . if the spectra is unique or dissimilar from those used to develop the model then the accuracy of the measurement is poorly defined . the determination of measurement accuracy is performed by central processing unit 443 while using the processed spectra stored in module 465 and outlier detection algorithms stored in module 475 . the result of this analysis is displayed on accuracy bar graph 479 . central processing unit 443 , and modules 465 , 467 , 469 and 473 are interconnected by signal lines 481 . robust noninvasive monitor 501 , fig3 , is based on finger sampling device 121 , illustrated in fig1 - 20 . the leds and detectors on finger sampling device 121 are controlled in the manner as described in reference to fig2 a , 21 b and 21 c . the activation of the leds is controlled by led driver electronics 511 via signal lines 512 a , b , c , d , and e . the electrical signals from the detectors are transmitted ( via signal lines 512 b , c , d , e and f ) to and processed by detector electronics 513 . the resulting intensity values are communicated to central processing unit 515 , via signal line 517 , and subsequently stored in memory unit 519 . following completion of irradiation / measurement phase , the stored wavelength intensity values are processed by central processing unit 515 . the spectral processing is performed as described in reference to fig3 and 33 . the processing uses memory module 519 , spectral processing module 521 , multivariate model and algorithm module 523 and outlier detection module 525 . the results of the spectral analysis are displayed on screen 531 and accuracy bar graph 533 of display unit 355 . modules 519 , 521 , 523 and 525 are connected to central processing unit 515 via signal lines 537 . display 535 is connected to central processing unit 515 via signal line 539 . driver electronics 511 is coupled to central processing unit 515 by signal line 541 . all components are located in housing 543 . whereas this preferred embodiment has focused on the use of leds , those skilled in the art will recognize that any single or selected wavelength emitting device could be used in a similar manner . for example , the leds could be replaced by a combination of a tungsten light source with a selective filter on the output side . it is also recognized that small diode lasers or other lasers could be used in place of the leds . thus , the apparatus and associated methodology described in fig3 is applicable to any light sources generating a discrete number of wavelengths . fig3 is an illustration of a finger sampling device which utilizes a single broadband source which is transmitted through a wavelength separating device . similar to previous ones , sampling device 801 includes a base 803 , finger support surface 805 , guide rails 807 , post 809 , hinged pressure arm 811 , bias spring 813 , and temperature control 815 . device 801 also includes a wavelength separating device 817 , coupled to base 803 via light pipe 819 . preferably device 817 is an aotf . however , a filter wheel or other device which has the ability to separate broadband light into specific wavelengths could be used . the specific wavelength that is emitted from device 817 is then partially transmitted through finger / thumb 11 as illustrated by traces 821 , 823 and 825 . after partial transmission through finger / thumb 11 the light at the selected wavelength is then detected by detector rings 831 , 833 and 835 supported ( by means not shown ) on disc 837 . fig3 shows the equi - distant nature of the detector rings . thereafter , the wavelength is changed and another specific wavelength is partially transmitted through finger / thumb 11 . the process is repeated until all desired wavelengths are transmitted . fig3 illustrates the major components of a robust noninvasive glucose monitor 841 employing a single broadband light source and the sampling device of fig3 and 32 . monitor also includes broadband light source 843 coupled to source electronics 847 which are controlled by central processing unit 845 via electrical connections 849 and 851 . aotf 817 is , as with the embodiment of fig2 , coupled to central processing unit 845 via tunable rf source 853 , aotf driver electronics 855 and signal lines 857 , 859 and 861 . also , as with the embodiment of fig2 , monitor 841 includes memory storage unit 863 , module 865 ( in which are stored spectral processing algorithms ), module 867 ( in which is stored the multivariate calibration model and spectral processing algorithms and outlier detection module 869 . memory unit 863 and modules 865 , 867 and 869 are interconnected via signal line 871 . signals from detectors 831 , 833 and 835 are transmitted to analog - to - digital converter 877 . the digital values from converter 877 are transmitted to central processing unit 845 via electronic bug 875 and processed in the manner disclosed with monitor 301 ( fig3 ). the result of the analysis is transmitted via signal line 879 for display by unit 881 as a specific value on display 883 and a bar graph 885 indicating accuracy . whereas this specification has focused on the noninvasive measurement of glucose , those skilled in the art will appreciate that changes can be made to the preferred embodiment to measure other analytes . it is recognized that the wavelength region used for measurement will vary between the different blood analytes of interest . for example , acceptable accurate results for bilirubin and hemoglobin are possible through use of the 300 - 1000 nm region . specifically , bilirubin has a significant absorption peak at approximately 454 nm and oxygenated hemoglobin has a peak at approximately 410 nm . alcohol , another analyte of significant interest , has a sharp spectral absorbance at 1190 nm . thus , the method of sampling and the associated optical instrumentation may be changed to optimize measurement accuracy for any number of analytes without affecting the scope of this invention . whereas the drawings and accompanying description have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the present invention , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof . | 0 |
fig1 shows the fundamental construction of a cleaning apparatus embodying the present invention . the apparatus has an electrolysis tank 10 to electrolyze water . the interior of the tank 10 is partitioned into two chambers 12a and 12b by a porous membrane 14 such as a polysilicon membrane , and the two chambers 12a and 12b are provided with two platinum or carbon electrodes 16a and 16b , respectively . the electrodes 16a , 16b are connected to a dc power supply 18 the output of which is variable . in fig1 the electrode 16a in the chamber 12a is made the cathode and the electrode 16b in the chamber 12b the anode . to electrolyze pure water at fairly good efficiency , the electric field strength between the cathode 12a and anode 12b needs to be sufficiently high . in this invention , an electric field strength of 10 3 to 10 4 v / cm is suitable . the electrolysis of water in the tank 10 results in the formation of oh - ion in the water in the cathode chamber 12a and h + ion in the anode chamber 12b . the cathode chamber 12a of the tank 10 is connected to a first cleaning tank 20a and the anode chamber 12b to a second cleaning tank 20b such that a fresh cathodic water 22a containing oh - ion and a fresh anodic water containing h + ion are continuously supplied into the first cleaning tank 20a and the second cleaning tank 20b , respectively . it is desirable that each of the cleaning tanks 20a , 20b is provided with a grounding electrode ( not shown ) since a very high voltage ( above 1 kv ) is applied between the two electrodes 16a and 16b in the electrolysis tank 10 when no electrolysis aid is added to pure water or the resistivity of water remains very high despite the addition of an electrolysis aid . there is a waste water tank 24 to collect and reserve waste water flowing out of the two cleaning tanks 20a and 20b . an ion exchanger 26 is used to supply pure water into the electrolysis tank 10 . in many cases , it is favorable to lower the resistivity of pure water to thereby enhance the efficiency of electrolysis by adding an electrolysis aid to pure water . the apparatus of fig1 includes an electrolysis aid feeder 28 . for example , carbon dioxide gas is used as the electrolysis aid so as to bubble pure water flowing into the tank 10 . also , it is possible to use a suitable supporting electrolyte such as an ammonium salt . for example , it is suitable to use ammonium acetate when it is desired to accomplish cleaning without damaging metal or oxide surfaces of the object of cleaning . in most cleaning operations according to the invention , it is undesirable to use a supporting electrolyte having a halogen as the cation component because of possibilities of contaminating the object of cleaning . however , ammonium chloride may be used if damages to metal surfaces raise no problem , and ammonium fluoride may be used when it is intended to remove a naturally formed oxide film which is liable to contain contaminating metals represented by fe . the apparatus of fig1 includes a ph control unit 32 which controls the output of the dc power supply 18 and the feed rate of the elecrolysis aid from the feeder 28 in order to control ph of the cathodic water and anodic water prepared in the electrolysis tank 10 . the first and second cleaning tanks 20a and 20b are equipped with ph sensors 30a and 30b , respectively , and the control unit 32 makes feedback control of ph by using information ( in the form of an electrical signal ) s a from the ph sensor 30a and information s b from the ph sensor 30b . to reuse a large portion of waste water , a supernatant is passed from the tank 24 to a water purifier 34 , and the purified water is passed to the ion exchanger 26 . for example , the apparatus of fig1 is used for cleaning silicon wafers held in a wafer carrier 36 . cleaning is accomplished by immersing the wafer carrier 36 in either the oh - ion water 22a in the first cleaning tank 20a or the h + ion water 22b in the second cleaning tank 20b . in either case the apparatus is operated such that the ion water 22a or 22b continuously runs over the surfaces of the wafers in the carrier 36 . it is suitable to control ph of the oh - ion water 22a to about 9 to 10 and ph of the h + ion water 22b to about 5 to 3 . if desired , silicon wafers may be cleaned with both the oh - ion water 22a and the h + ion water 22b , first with oh - ion water 22a and then with h + ion water 22b or reversely . in the fabrication of recent semiconductor integrated circuits with very high integration of very fine components , it is very important to use wafers having a very smooth and clean surface . therefore , it is prevailing to smoothen the surface of a silicon wafer or a dielectric film formed on a wafer by polishing with a slurry containing colloidal silica . after the polishing operation , there is the need of removing residual colloidal silica from the polished surface , and for this purpose , it is known to use a mixed aqueous solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide as a cleaning liquid . however , with this solution , complete removal of the residucal colloidal silica becomes difficult if the colloidal silica dries before the cleaning operation . besides , this solution is not applicable when aluminum parts such as wiring lines are exposed on a dielectric film surface to be cleaned since the solution is strongly basic and dissolves aluminum . even in the case of a dielectric film completely covering aluminum wirings , there is a possibility of erosion of the aluminum wirings by permeation of the cleaning solution through pinholes in the dielectric film . furthermore , due to strong basicity of the cleaning solution , the disposal of waste solution entails high cost and needs great care to prevent environmental pollution . the removal of colloidal silica can easily be accomplished by a method according to the invention . fig2 ( a ) shows a part of an unfinished semiconductor device having a multilayer structure . on a wafer ( not shown ), alumminum wiring lines 42 are formed on an underlaid dielectric film 40 and overlaid with and buried in another interlayer dielectric film 44 . usually the dielectric films 40 , 44 are silicon oxide films formed by a cvd process . the dielectric film 44 has steps as indicated at 44a . to planarize the dielectric film 44 by removing the steps , the film 44 is polished with a colloidal silica slurry . the result is illustrated in fig2 ( b ). the planarized dielectric film 44 has a flat and smooth surface 44b , but some colloidal silica 46 remains on the film surface 44b . to remove the residual colloidal silica 46 by using the cleaning apparatus of fig1 the wafer having the dielectric layer 44 in the state of fig2 ( b ) is immersed in the oh - ion water 22a in the first cleaning tank 20a . in this case , the ph of the oh - ion water is controlled to about 9 to 10 , and the oh - ion water is heated at about 70 ° c . for complete removal of the colloidal silica 46 , it suffices to continue cleaning with the oh - ion water for about 5 to 10 min . after that , the wafer is washed with pure water for a few minutes . this method is effective even when the colloidal silica 46 has dried before the cleaning operation . although the cleaning water ( oh - ion water ) used in this method is a basic liquid , this water returns to neutral water with the lapse of time because the electrolytically formed oh - ions in this water are not stable for a long time . besides , ph of the cleaning water can be adequately controlled so as not to easily erode aluminum . therefore , even if the cleaning water permeates into the dielectric film 44 through pinholes , there is no possibility of erosion of the aluminum wirings 42 , and the disposal of waste water raises little problem . fig3 shows a modification of the cleaning apparatus of fig1 . the purpose of the modification is to further enhance the efficiency of electrolysis of water in the tank 10 . in addition to the components shown in fig1 there is an electromagnetic wave radiation source 50 which is arranged so as to irradiate water in both the cathode and anode chambers 12a and 12b , at least in the section where the electrodes 16a and 16b are positioned , with a selected electromagnetic wave which is either a relatively short wave not longer than 400 nm in wavelength or a relatively long wave not shorter than 3000 nm in wavelength . for example , either ultraviolet ray or x - ray is useful as the short wave and either far - infrared ray or microwave as the long wave . in this case the electrolysis tank 10 is made of a transparent material such as quartz . the ph control unit 32 in fig1 is modified to a control unit 52 which controls the radiation of the electromagnetic wave from the radiation source 50 as well as the output of the dc power supply 18 and the operation of the electrolysis aid feeder 28 . a reduction potential sensor 54 is provided to the first cleaning tank 20a and an oxidation potential sensor 56 to the second cleaning tank 20b , and information ( in the form an electrical signal ) p a from the sensor 54 and information p b from the sensor 56 are supplied to the control unit 52 in order to make feedback control of the radiation source 50 in respect of the intensity of radiation or the duration of radiation . an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength not longer than 400 nm has high energy . electrolysis of water can be promoted by irradiating water with a high energy wave for the following reasons . in the case of , for example , electrolyzing 0 . 1n aqueous solution of naoh , the energy level for generation of oxygen is lower than the standard , saturated calomel electrode ( sce ) potential by 0 . 16 ev , and the energy level for generation of hydrogen is higher than the sce potential by 1 . 07 ev . therefore , in theory , the minimum voltage needed to electrolyze the aqueous solution is 1 . 23 ev ( 0 . 16 ev + 1 . 07 ev ). in this invention , it is necessary to apply a much higher voltage between the opposite electrodes because the object of electrolysis is either pure water or a very dilute aqueous solution of a supporting electrolyte . besides , an overvoltage is necessary for establishment of a current flow between the two electrodes . the high resistivity of water is compensated to some extent by irradiation with a high energy electromagnetic wave . the irradiation may be continued throughout the duration of the electrolysis operation , but it is also effective to perform the irradiation only at an initial stage of the electrolysis operation until the electrolysis current reaches a steady level . the irradiation of water with an electromagnetic wave with a long wavelength , not shorter than 300 nm , is effective for breaking clusters of water molecules and promoting ionization of water under electrolysis . also , in this case , the irradiation may be performed throughout the duration of the electrolysis operation or only at an initial stage of the electrolysis operation . | 2 |
referring now to the drawings wherein one character designates one part of the vehicle , fig1 shows a vehicle of the present invention having a chassis 11 connected to front bumper 12 and rear bumper 13 , and supported by paired front wheels 14 and paired rear wheels 15 . a power train is shown comprised of primary “ cruiser ” engine 16 mounted on chassis 11 . primary cvt driver pulley 17 is mounted on output shaft 18 of said primary engine , and is connected to primary cvt driven pulley 19 by drive belt 20 . driven pulley 19 is fixedly mounted on jackshaft 21 which is rotatably journaled on bearings 22 which are anchored on chassis 11 . jackshaft 21 is connected to input shaft 23 of speed change transmission 24 via chain 25 and sprockets 26 . power from speed change transmission 24 is conveyed via front universal joint 27 , propeller shaft 28 , rear universal joint 29 , pinion 30 , and differential 31 to the rear wheels 15 to drive the vehicle . the size and power capacity of primary engine 16 is designed to be sufficient to keep the vehicle at cruising speed on a fairly level highway , but small enough so that it can maintain said cruising speed in the most fuel - efficient manner . for heavy duty operation , such as for acceleration , towing , carrying heavy load , or climbing a steep grade , the vehicle is equipped with an auxiliary engine 32 whose size and power capacity is designed so that , when it is operated together with primary engine 16 , their combined power will be sufficient to power the vehicle during said heavy duty operations . auxiliary cvt drive pulley 33 is mounted on the output shaft 34 of auxiliary engine 32 and is connected to auxiliary driven pulley 35 by auxiliary drive belt 36 . auxiliary driven pulley 35 is fixedly mounted on jackshaft 21 so that when both primary engine 16 and auxiliary engine 32 are operated at the same time , their combined power is conveyed by jackshaft 21 to speed change transmission 24 thence to said rear wheels . the two engines 16 and 32 are operated together for acceleration and other heavy duty operations . after the vehicle reaches cruising speed , auxiliary engine 32 is throttled down to idle speed or stopped to conserve fuel , and the vehicle is maintained at cruising speed by power from primary engine 16 alone . the cvt torque converter , comprised of drive pulley 33 , drive belt 36 and driven pulley 35 , automatically becomes disengaged when auxiliary engine 32 runs below a minimum “ engagement speed ” such as when it is stopped or run at idle speed . accordingly , when the vehicle is traveling at cruising speed , the slowed or stopped auxiliary engine 32 is automatically disengaged from the rest of the power train so that it will not exert a drag on primary engine 16 . if engine 32 runs at idle speed , its power is readily available when needed by simply increasing its fuel supply . if it is stopped , means for it to be quickly restarted to provide auxiliary power may be provided , in a manner similar to current hybrid vehicles . primary engine gas pedal 37 regulates fuel supply to primary engine 16 , and auxiliary engine gas pedal 38 regulates fuel supply to auxiliary engine 32 . the driver , therefore , is able to selectively operate either engine 16 or engine 32 by selectively depressing its corresponding gas pedal , 37 or 38 . to operate both engines 16 and 32 at the same time , he simply depresses both pedals simultaneously . fig2 shows a first alternative embodiment of the vehicle 41 having a chassis 42 , front bumper 43 , rear bumper 44 , front wheels 45 and rear wheels 46 . primary engine 47 is coupled to a fluid torque converter 48 on whose output shaft 49 is mounted drive sprocket 50 . jackshaft 51 is mounted alongside primary engine 47 rotatably journaled on bearings 52 which are anchored on chassis 42 . power from primary engine 47 is transmitted to jackshaft 51 via torque converter 48 , drive sprocket 50 , endless chain 53 and driven sprocket 54 which is fixedly mounted on jackshaft 51 . the size and power capacity of primary engine 47 is selected to be sufficient to maintain the vehicle 41 at cruising speed , and yet be small enough to perform such function in the most fuel - efficient manner . for heavy duty operation , such as acceleration and climbing a steep grade , auxiliary engine 55 is installed in vehicle 41 to provide additional power . auxiliary engine 55 is coupled to auxiliary fluid torque converter 56 on whose output shaft 57 is mounted auxiliary drive sprocket 58 which is connected by endless chain 59 to driven sprocket 60 which is fixedly attached to the outer race 61 of sprag clutch 62 whose inner race 63 is fixedly mounted on jackshaft 51 . jackshaft 51 is connected to speed change transmission 64 via jackshaft drive sprocket 65 , endless chain 66 and driven sprocket 67 which is mounted on input shaft 68 of transmission 64 . the power capacity and size of auxiliary engine 55 is selected so that its power output , when combined with the power output of primary engine 47 will be sufficient to give the vehicle 41 satisfactory performance in acceleration , climbing a grade and other heavy duty operations in which the vehicle is expected to be used . to operate the vehicle , primary engine 47 and auxiliary engine 55 are started and speeded up . power from primary engine 47 is conveyed via fluid torque converter 48 , thence through chain 53 and sprockets 50 and 54 to jackshaft 51 , thence via chain 66 and sprockets 65 and 67 to speed change transmission 64 which is shifted to “ drive ” thereby transmitting power to propeller shaft 69 and differential 70 to drive wheels 46 . additional power from auxiliary engine 55 is conveyed via auxiliary fluid torque converter 56 through chain 59 and sprockets 58 and 60 thence via sprag clutch 62 and jackshaft 51 to chain 66 , sprockets 65 and 67 and transmission 64 to supply additional power to the wheels 46 . after the vehicle 41 reaches cruising speed , auxiliary engine 55 is throttled down to idle speed or stopped altogether to conserve fuel . when auxiliary engine 55 is slowed down or stopped , sprag clutch 62 disengages outer race 61 automatically from inner race 63 thereby decoupling the auxiliary engine 55 completely from jackshaft 51 and preventing the auxiliary engine 55 from exerting a drag force on the vehicle . vehicle 41 then continues to travel , fuel - efficiently , on power from primary engine 47 alone . whenever additional power is again needed , the operator simply feeds more fuel to auxiliary engine 55 , speeding it up , which will cause sprag clutch 62 to be automatically engaged , thereby transmitting the additional power to jackshaft 51 to help power the vehicle . fig2 shows auxiliary engine 55 to be substantially larger than primary engine 47 . this is to illustrate that for the purpose of maximizing fuel economy it may be advantageous to downsize the cruiser engine ( in this case , primary engine 47 ) to about one - fourth of the total power capacity available to the vehicle . the literature suggests that the average automobile is able to cruise comfortably , on a relatively level highway , using as little as about 25 to 35 horsepower which is approximately one - fourth of the power output of the engine of an average automobile . conversely , for maximal performance , the power of the auxiliary engine may be selected to be two to four times that of the primary engine . primary engine gas pedal 39 regulates fuel supply to primary engine 47 and auxiliary engine gas pedal 40 regulates fuel supply to auxiliary engine 55 . the operator , therefore , is able to selectively operate either engine 47 or engine 55 by selectively depressing its corresponding gas pedal , 39 or 40 . to operate both engines at the same time he simply depresses both pedals simultaneously with one foot which is easy to do since the two pedals are located side by side . a second alternative embodiment , illustrated in fig3 , shows a vehicle 71 having a chassis 72 , front bumper 73 , rear bumper 74 , front wheels 75 , rear wheels 76 , primary engine 77 and auxiliary engine 78 . a centrifugal clutch 79 is mounted on the output shaft 80 of primary engine 77 and is coupled to jackshaft 81 by endless chain 82 and sprockets 83 . jackshaft 81 is rotatably mounted on bearings 84 . auxiliary centrifugal clutch 85 is mounted on the output shaft 86 of auxiliary engine 78 , and is connected to jackshaft 81 by endless chain 87 and sprockets 88 . to operate the vehicle 71 , primary engine 77 and auxiliary engine 78 are started and speeded up . centrifugal clutch 79 has a preset “ engagement speed ” and when the rotational speed of output shaft 80 exceeds the engagement speed the centrifugal clutch 79 automatically engages and transmits power to jackshaft 81 via endless chain 82 and sprockets 83 . similarly , auxiliary centrifugal clutch 85 has a preset engagement speed , and when the rotational speed of output shaft 86 exceeds this engagement speed the centrifugal clutch 85 automatically engages and transmits power to jackshaft 81 via endless chain 87 and sprockets 88 . jackshaft 81 then transmits this combined power of the two engines 77 and 78 to transmission 89 via jackshaft sprocket 90 , endless chain 91 and transmission sprocket 92 which is mounted on transmission input shaft 93 . power from transmission 89 is then conveyed through propeller shaft 94 and differential 95 to drive wheels 76 to propel the vehicle 71 . when vehicle 71 reaches cruising speed auxiliary engine 78 is slowed down to idle speed ( or stopped altogether ) to conserve fuel . when the rotational speed of output shaft 86 falls below the engagement speed of centrifugal clutch 85 , centrifugal clutch 85 automatically disengages so that auxiliary engine 78 will not exert any drag on the vehicle . vehicle 71 then continues traveling economically on power from primary engine 77 alone . when additional power is needed such as for accelerating to pass another vehicle , or to climb a grade , auxiliary engine 78 is simply speeded up to be re - engaged automatically via centrifugal clutch 85 , or , if it had been stopped , it is then restarted and speeded up to supply additional power as needed . although a centrifugal clutch is shown in this embodiment , other types of clutches can be used , such as an electromagnetic clutch , friction clutch , or toroidal torque converter . primary engine gas pedal 96 regulates fuel supply to primary engine 77 , and auxiliary engine gas pedal 97 regulates fuel supply to auxiliary engine 78 . the operator , therefore , may selectively operate either engine 77 or engine 78 by selectively depressing its corresponding gas pedal , 96 or 97 . to operate both engines at the same time he simply depresses both pedals simultaneously . a third alternative embodiment is illustrated in fig4 which shows a vehicle 101 having a chassis 102 , front bumper 103 , rear bumper 104 , front wheels 105 , rear wheels 106 , primary engine 107 and auxiliary engine 108 . primary engine 107 is directly coupled to primary generator 109 which is used to charge primary battery 110 and supply electricity to primary electric motor - generator 111 . auxiliary engine 108 is directly coupled to auxiliary generator 112 which is used to charge auxiliary battery 113 and supply electricity to auxiliary electric motor 114 . primary motor - generator 111 is directly mounted on primary jackshaft 115 which is integrated into motor - generator 111 by serving as the axial shaft of the armature of said motor - generator 111 . jackshaft 115 is rotatably journaled to primary jackshaft bearings 116 . auxiliary electric motor 114 is directly mounted on auxiliary jackshaft 117 which is integrated into electric motor 114 by serving as the axial shaft of the armature of said electric motor 114 . the front end of auxiliary jackshaft 117 is rotatably journaled to auxiliary jackshaft bearing 118 , and its rear end is flexibly coupled via universal joint 119 to the outer race 120 of sprag clutch 121 whose inner race 122 is mounted on a forward extension of jackshaft 115 . sprag clutch 121 is a freewheeling clutch which automatically engages , in this application , when the speed of rotation of the outer , “ driver ” race 119 exceeds the rate of rotation of the inner (“ driven ”) race 122 , and then automatically disengages when the speed of rotation of outer race 120 falls below the speed of rotation of the inner race 122 . to operate the vehicle 101 primary engine 107 is started up and run to power generator 109 which supplies electricity to battery 110 and motor - generator 111 . battery 110 also supplies stored current to motor - generator 111 which then transmits mechanical power to jackshaft 115 . similarly , auxiliary engine 108 is started and speeded up to drive generator 112 which supplies electric power to battery 113 and auxiliary electric motor 114 , which , upon activation , transmits mechanical power to auxiliary jackshaft 117 , thence via universal joint 119 , sprag clutch outer race 120 which then drives inner race 112 which conveys additional mechanical power to jackshaft 115 upon which it is mounted . the combined power of both electric motors 111 and 114 is then conveyed to speed change transmission 123 via endless chain 124 and sprockets 125 , thence to propeller shaft 126 and differential 127 to drive wheels 106 . to control the operation of the vehicle a rheostat pedal may be employed in place of the gas pedal in the operator &# 39 ; s seating area so that he can control the flow of power from electric motors 111 and 114 in accordance to the power needed for the proper operation of the vehicle . the primary engine 107 and auxiliary engine 108 may be equipped with preset controls to permit automatic starting and running of each engine to replenish the charge of each &# 39 ; s associated battery whenever said battery is discharged to a predetermined degree , and to automatically stop running when said batteries are fully charged . said automatic controls may be further designed to run said engines at optimal speeds to supply additional power to the associated electric motors whenever the operator signals a need for more electricity than what the batteries can deliver . when the vehicle 101 reaches cruising speed , auxiliary electric motor 114 may be deactivated so that the vehicle can travel economically on power from motor - generator 111 alone . the size and power capacity of primary engine 107 and associated generator 109 , battery 110 and motor - generator 111 are selected so that they are sufficient to permit vehicle 101 to travel comfortably and maintain cruising speed on a relatively level highway , with maximal fuel economy , without the need to receive additional power from auxiliary electric motor 114 . fuel efficiency is further maximized by recharging battery 110 with electricity generated by motor - generator 111 through regenerative braking , a means well known in the art . the size and power capacity of auxiliary engine 108 and associated generator 112 , battery 113 and electric motor 114 are selected so that they are capable of supplying sufficient additional power , as needed , to permit said vehicle 101 to have satisfactory performance in acceleration , climbing a grade , carrying loads or towing , as demanded by the operator , to a degree reasonably expected of a regular motor vehicle . the interposition of electrical components ( generator , battery and electric motor ) to transmit power from the engines ( primary and auxiliary ) to the jackshaft permits operation of said engines at their most fuel efficient speeds as needed , and for them to be shut down to save fuel when additional electricity is not needed . rheostat pedal 98 regulates the flow of current to primary motor - generator 111 , and rheostat pedal 99 regulates the flow of current to auxiliary electric motor 114 . the operator , therefore , is able to selectively operate either primary motor - generator 111 or auxiliary electric motor 114 by selectively depressing corresponding rheostat pedals 98 or 99 . to operate both motors at the same time he simply depresses both rheostat pedals simultaneously . fig5 shows how additional alternative embodiments may be made by combining certain features of any of the foregoing embodiments with selected features of another . the fourth alternative embodiment shown in fig5 comprises a vehicle 131 having a chassis 132 , front bumper 133 , rear bumper 134 , front wheels 135 , rear wheels 136 , primary engine 137 and auxiliary engine 138 . cvt drive pulley 139 is mounted on output shaft 140 of primary engine 137 and is connected to cvt driven pulley 141 by drive belt 142 . cvt driven pulley 141 is mounted on jackshaft 143 which is rotatably mounted on bearings 144 . jackshaft 143 is connected to input shaft 145 of speed change transmission 146 via endless chain 147 and sprockets 148 . power from speed change transmission 146 is conveyed to rear wheels 136 via propeller shaft 149 and differential 150 . auxiliary engine 138 is coupled to fluid torque converter 151 via torque converter sprocket 152 , endless chain 153 and sprag clutch sprocket 154 which is fixedly mounted on the outer race 155 of sprag clutch 156 whose inner race 157 is fixedly mounted on jackshaft 143 . sprag clutch 156 is a freewheeling clutch whose outer race 155 automatically engages ( and drives ) the inner race 157 whenever the rate of rotation of the outer race 155 exceeds that of inner race 157 , and automatically disengages when the rate of rotation of outer race 155 is less than that of inner race 157 . to operate vehicle 131 , primary engine 137 and auxiliary engine 138 are started and speeded up . when the rate of rotation of primary engine output shaft 140 exceeds the engagement speed of cvt drive pulley 139 , drive pulley 139 engages and drives driven pulley 141 via drive belt 142 which turns jackshaft 143 . power from auxiliary engine 138 is conveyed to said jackshaft via torque converter 151 , sprocket 152 , endless chain 153 , sprag clutch sprocket 154 and sprag clutch outer race 155 which causes sprag clutch 156 to engage and cause inner race 157 to turn jackshaft 143 , thus combining the power of auxiliary engine 138 with that of primary engine 137 to turn said jackshaft . power from jackshaft 143 is then conveyed to speed change transmission 146 via endless chain 147 and sprockets 148 , and the power is in turn transmitted via transmission 146 , propeller shaft 149 , and differential 150 to rear wheels 136 to drive the vehicle 131 . after the vehicle 131 reaches cruising speed , the auxiliary engine may be throttled down to idle speed or stopped altogether to conserve fuel . when the speed of auxiliary engine 138 falls below that of primary engine 137 , sprag clutch 156 automatically disengages so that neither auxiliary engine 138 or associated torque converter 151 can exert drag on jackshaft 143 . the vehicle 131 will then continue to travel fuel - efficiently on power from primary engine 137 alone . fuel supply to primary engine 137 is regulated through primary engine gas pedal 158 , and fuel supply to auxiliary engine 138 is regulated through auxiliary engine gas pedal 159 which is located alongside gas pedal 158 so that the operator may conveniently depress either pedal singly or depress both pedals at the same time with one foot . he may then easily elect to operate both engines for maximal power , or operate only said primary engine for maximal fuel economy . it should be noted that whenever primary engine 137 slows down below the engagement speed of cvt drive pulley 139 , the associated cvt torque converter automatically disengages . fig6 shows a particularly fuel efficient embodiment amenable to easy construction . it comprises a vehicle 161 having a chassis 162 , front bumper 163 , rear bumper 164 , front wheels 165 , rear wheels 166 , primary engine 167 and auxiliary engine 168 . primary engine 167 is directly coupled to generator 169 which charges battery 170 and supplies current to drive motor - generator 171 . battery 170 also supplies electric current to drive motor - generator 171 , and receives current from motor generator 171 during regenerative braking . the axial shaft of motor - generator 171 serves as primary jackshaft 172 which is journaled to chassis 162 through bearings 173 and is coupled to the input shaft 174 of transmission 175 via sprockets 176 and endless chain 177 . auxiliary engine 168 is coupled to auxiliary jackshaft 178 via cvt torque converter 179 whose drive pulley 180 is mounted on output shaft 181 of auxiliary engine 168 , and whose driven pulley 182 is mounted on auxiliary jackshaft 178 . drive belt 183 connects drive pulley 180 to driven pulley 182 . the front end of auxiliary jackshaft 178 is journaled to chassis 162 via auxiliary bearing 184 and its rear end is coupled to the outer race 185 of sprag clutch 186 via universal joint 187 . sprag clutch 186 is a freewheeling clutch which automatically engages when the speed of rotation of the outer , “ driver ” race 185 exceeds the rate of rotation of the inner (“ driven ”) race 188 , and then automatically disengages when the speed of rotation of the outer race 185 falls below the speed of rotation of the inner race 188 . to operate vehicle 161 , primary engine 167 is started up and run to power generator 169 which supplies electricity to battery 170 and motor - generator 171 . battery 170 also supplies stored current to motor - generator 171 which then transmits mechanical power to jackshaft 172 . similarly , auxiliary engine 168 is started and speeded up to a speed in excess of the “ engagement speed ” of drive pulley 180 of cvt torque converter 179 , causing the drive pulley to transmit power to driven pulley 182 via drive belt 183 , thereby transmitting mechanical power to auxiliary jackshaft 178 , thence via universal joint 187 to sprag clutch outer race 185 which then drives inner race 188 which conveys additional power to jackshaft 172 upon which it is mounted . the combined power of motor - generator 171 and auxiliary engine 168 is then conveyed to speed change transmission 175 via endless chain 177 and sprockets 176 , thence to propeller shaft 189 and differential 190 to drive wheels 166 . to control the operation of vehicle 161 , a rheostat pedal 191 is employed alongside the gas pedal 192 in the operator &# 39 ; s seating area so that he can control the flow of power from electric motor - generator 171 in accordance to the power needed for the proper operation of the vehicle . gas pedal 192 controls the flow of fuel to auxiliary engine 168 so that the operator can control the flow of power from auxiliary engine 168 in accordance to the power needed for the proper operation of the vehicle , particularly for acceleration , climbing a grade , towing and carrying heavy loads . primary engine 167 may be equipped with preset controls to permit automatic starting and running of said primary engine 167 to replenish the charge of battery 170 whenever said battery is discharged to a predetermined degree , and to automatically stop running when said battery is fully charged . said automatic controls may be further designed to run said engine at optimal speeds to supply additional power to motor - generator 171 whenever the operator signals a need for more electricity than what battery 170 can deliver , such as by further depressing rheostat pedal 191 . thus , the need for yet another accelerator pedal to directly control fuel flow to primary engine 169 is eliminated . if the operator finds that he needs yet more power than motor - generator 171 ( when powered by both battery 170 and generator 169 simultaneously ) can deliver , he can then simply depress both rheostat pedal 191 and gas pedal 192 simultaneously , to avail of maximal supply of power from both motor - generator 171 and auxiliary engine 168 . when the vehicle 161 reaches cruising speed , auxiliary engine 168 may be deactivated so that the vehicle can travel economically on power from motor - generator 171 alone . motor - generator 171 and its controls may be further designed so that it can generate electricity through regenerative braking to assist in recharging battery 170 to further enhance the fuel - efficiency of the vehicle . rheostat pedal 191 and gas pedal 192 are positioned alongside each other in such a manner that enables the operator to selectively operate either motor - generator 171 or auxiliary engine 168 by selectively depressing rheostat pedal 191 or gas pedal 192 . to - operate both motor - generator 171 and auxiliary engine 168 at the same time he simply depresses both pedals simultaneously . it may be seen that this particular embodiment employing a coaxial two section jackshaft , has the additional advantages of ( 1 ) enhancing fuel efficiency through regenerative braking , and ( 2 ) added versatility afforded by the use of a cvt torque converter 179 to connect the auxiliary engine 168 to auxiliary jackshaft section 178 , resulting in continuously variable torque multiplication which may be used either to enhance acceleration performance or to permit reduction of the size and power of auxiliary motor 168 , resulting in reduction of the weight and cost of the vehicle . other additional alternative embodiments of the invention may be made by using other combinations of clutches and torque converters to connect the primary and the auxiliary engines to the jackshaft , such as by using an electromagnetic power clutch or a centrifugal clutch to connect either engine to the jackshaft in combination with a cvt torque converter or a fluid torque converter for the other engine , or even the combination of an electric generator with associated battery and electric motor . although the preferred embodiments are described in great detail , it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as described in the appended claims . | 1 |
in order to facilitate understanding of the method according to the invention , a bi - phase coded signal and the detection thereof by the integration and dump - method are discussed first . however , it is to be understood that even if the preferred embodiment of the invention such as disclsoed below is effected for a bi - phase code , the method is also applicable for other codes , such as , e . g ., a three - level ami . coding of the original signal into a bi - phase signal appears from fig2 a and 2b . it can be seen that two bi - phase pulses are needed for one zero bit of the original data . therefore , it is necessary to extend the frequency range to be observed up to 320 khz when a bi - phase code and a transmission speed of 160 kbit / s are used . it appears from fig1 a that it is within this range that the increase in the attenuation is very sharp . distortion of a bi - phase signal caused by the cable according to fig1 a is illustrated in fig3 a and 3b . the figures illustrate eye patterns of the bi - phase signal at a transmission speed of 80 kbit / s . in fig3 a , the cable length is 3 km , whereby it is still possible at the receiving end to clearly distinguish the larger eye corresponding to the 1 - bits and the smaller eye corresponding to the 0 - bits . the smaller eye ( higher frequency ) is , however , clealy attenuated as a result of the distortion caused by the cable . in fig3 b , the cable length is 7 km , whereby the smaller eye disappears and the signal is difficult to be identified as a bi - phase signal . so the detection of a distorted signal is very difficult in practice as appears from the description below . a bi - phase signal is detected by an integration and dump - method known per se , which method is illustrated in fig2 . the received bi - phase signal is integrated during the detection for a time period φ 1 and the inverted bi - phase signal for a time period φ 2 immediately following the time period φ 1 . in fig2 c , the integrator is reset to zero at a moment t 1 and an integration period is started . because the bi - phase signal ( fig2 b ) is on the level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; at the moment t 1 , the integration takes place in the upward direction during the time period φ 1 . when the time period φ 2 starts , the bi - phase signal is on the level &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;, but because the inverted bi - phase signal is integrated during the time period φ 2 ( i . e . the input of the integrator is on the &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;- level ), the integration continues upwards . at the end of the time period φ 2 a sample is taken of the integration level . at the beginning of the subsequent time period φ 1 , the integrator is again reset to zero and the integration is restarted . if the integration takes place in a correct phase , the integration results are positioned on both sides of the zero level close to the levels &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;, thus producing a two - level signal from which the data can be decoded . if the integration starts at an incorrect moment , it is carried out in accordance with fig2 d . this kind of integration occurring in an incorrect phase is discussed from the moment t 2 onwards . the bi - phase signal ( fig2 b ) is on the level &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ; at the moment t 2 so that the integration ( fig2 d ) takes place downwards during the time period φ 1 . when the time period φ 2 starts , the bi - phase signal is still on the level &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;. however , the inverted bi - phase signal is applied to the integrator during the time period φ 2 , i . e . the level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in this particular case . as a result thereof the direction of the integration is reversed so that the integration is carried out upwards during the time period φ 2 . when a sample is taken of the integration level at the end of the time period φ 2 , the integration result obtained is near the zero level . it can be seen that when the integration takes place in an incorrect phase an &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; data is received , the integration results obtained are positioned close to the zero level . this information can be utilized to discover when the integration takes place in an incorrect phase . the situation of fig2 is ideal , i . e . the bi - phase pulses are rectangular in shape . the cable , however , distorts the signal and causes rounding of the pulses . this in turn affects the integration results of the detector . fig4 a and 4b show the integration results of fig3 a and 3b . in fig4 a , the integration results obtained in a correct phase are still near the ideal levels &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;. the noise margin ( n m ), i . e . the difference between the integration results obtained in a correct phase and the &# 34 ; zero &# 34 ; integration results obtained in an incorrect phase , is still large so that it is still possible to discover a detection occurring in an incorrect phase . in fig4 b , the cable length has been increased to 7 km . integration results obtained in a correct phase have shifted towards each other and nearer the zero level . it can also be seen that the &# 34 ; zero &# 34 ; integration results obtained in an incorrect phase are now near the integration results obtained in a correct phase . it is no longer possible to distinguish a correct and an incorrect phase from each other , and the reception is impossible . shifting of the integration levels obtained in a correct phase towards each other results from the attenuation distortion of the cable and is , in fact , proportional to the signal distortion caused by the cable . the signal is essentially undistorted when the obtained integration levels are on the levels &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;, and when the signal is distorted , the obtained integration levels begin to deviate from the levels &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;. the basic idea of the method according to the invention is to utilize this information to adjust an adaptive equalizer in such a manner that the effect of the equalizer essentially compensates for the distortion caused by the cable . this information can be applied in various ways . in the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed below the adjusting criterion is based on the condition that the integration levels obtained in a correct phase are maintained constant on the prescribed level irrespective of the distortion of the signal . the effect exerted on the signal by the equalizer is thereby increased until the distortion is compensated for and the integration levels have shifted to the prescribed level . fig5 shows a block diagram of a receiver in which the above condition has been applied . the bi - phase signal is transferred from the transmitter to the receiver over a cable having a transmission function h 1 ( s ) dependent on the parameters thereof . a four - wire system , for instance , can be used , whereby the two directions of transmission have their own pairs of wires . if the two directions of transmission used the same pair of wires , the effect of the outgoing signal on the signal received has to be eliminated , e . g ., by the echo suppressing method . with regard to the receiver stages following the echo suppressing devices , the situation is the same as in a four - wire system . a detector of the integration and dump - type requires that the level of the received signal be corrected before the signal is applied to the detector . the correction of the level requires an automatic gain control circuit 2 which can be included at the first stage of the receiver . the output signal of the automatic gain control circuit 2 is applied to an adder 5 and to an equalizer circuit 3 having a steady transfer function h 2 ( s ). it is apparent from fig1 b that it is possible to roughly approximate tha attenuation behaviour of a cable by means of a single line . the basic attenuation of the cable has been eliminated from the attenuation curves of fig1 b , whereby there remains only that part of the attenuation which is essentially dependent on frequency . the frequency response of the equalizer circuit 3 of fig5 can also be such as described in fig6 . the effect of any variation in the cable length or other parameters on the attenuation distortion is compensated for by means of the correction coefficient k . in the receiver of fig5 this is effected by multiplying the output of the equalizer circuit 3 in a multiplier 4 . the value of the coefficient k is determined in a control loop described later on . the transfer function of the adjustable equalizer formed by the equalizer circuit 3 , the multiplier 4 and the adder 5 is thus 1 + k 2 ( s ) which tends to approximate the inverse function 1 / h 1 ( s ) of the transfer function of the cable as well as possible , i . e . it amplifies the different frequencies of the cable to the same degree as the cable attenuates these . the output signal of the multiplier 4 is added to the received signal by means of the adder 5 , the output signal of which is thus corrected to correspond to the signal before the cable connection . in fig7 a and 7b , the signals of fig3 a and 3b are seen in the corrected form in the output of the adder 5 . the sum signal is further applied to a detector 6 which detects this bi - phase signal by the integration and dump - method described above . in the embodiment of fig2 the detector 6 does not include any sample and hold circuit so that the output signal of the detector 6 equals the signal of fig2 c . the output signal of the detector 6 is rectified by means of a rectifier 7 , and a sample is taken of the rectified signal by a sample and hold circuit 10 at the end of each time period φ 2 . in this way the integration level of the detector is determined and this is compared with a predetermined reference level v ref in a comparator 8 . a generating circuit 9 is controlled on the basis of the comparison , which circuit varies the value of k according to the described adjusting criterion so that the integration levels obtained from the detector 6 are equal to the predetermined reference level . the rectifier 7 , the sample and hold circuit 10 , the comparator 8 and the generating circuit 9 thus form the control loop mentioned above . the operation of the described receiver will be further clarified . let us assume that when the connection is started , the signal reaches the detector 6 with a distortion such as illustrated in fig3 b . the detector 6 detects the signal of fig3 b through integration in a correct phase according to the integration and dump - method , whereby the integration results are , in principle , similar to those shown in fig4 b . the integration levels positioned above and below the zero level of a correct phase have approached each other and the zero level . it is to be noted that the integration results of fig4 b are obtained by taking samples directly from the output of the detector 6 by a further sample and hold circuit not shown in fig5 . the output signal of the sample and hold circuit is thereafter applied to a decoder which decodes the bi - phase signal back into the original data . however , the output signal of the detector 6 is rectified in the control loop of fig5 before a sample is taken by means of the sampling circuit 10 of the control loop . the rectifier gives the sampling circuit 8 the absolute value of the sample . the rectifier 7 and the sampling circuit 10 can also be positioned in reversed order . the output level of the circuit 10 is considerably below the ideal level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; for the signal of fig3 b so that when the reference level v ref is set to correspond to this level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the detector , the comparator 8 gives an error signal . this error signal controls the generating circuit 9 so that it varies the value of k to increase the influence of the equalizer . this results in a slight improvement in the signal at the input of the detector , whereby also the output level of the sample and hold circuit slightly approaches the level &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. the generating circuit 9 , however , further varies the correction coefficient k and , consequently , the influence of the equalizer , until the output level of the sample and hold circuit 10 equals to the reference level v ref . thereby the equalizer is so compensated for . any shifts in the adjustment from this optimal value in either direction always results in signal distortion and dropping of the integration levels towards zero , whereby the control loop readjusts the equalizer . it is characteristic of the equalizer of fig5 that there occurs a minor delay between the reception of the first pulses of the signal and the setting of the adjustment of the equalizer . in practice , this delay , however , is significant . the efficiency of the adaptive equalizer according to the invention appears from fig7 a and 7b , which show the eye patterns of fig3 a and 3b when the method according to the invention is used . fig8 a and 8b show the integration results corresponding to fig4 a and 4b when the correction method according to the invention is used . the integration results of an integration carried out in a correct phase have shifted to the desired levels &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ;- 1 &# 34 ;. correspondingly the &# 34 ; zero &# 34 ; integration results of an incorrect phase have shifted nearer the zeros level , i . e . the noise margin ( n m ) for the distinction of a correct and an incorrect phase is larger . fig9 shows one practical solution for carrying out the receiver according to fig5 . only parts connect with the operation of the adaptive equalizer are shown in fig9 . the received signal is treated at the first stage of the receiver , which stage comprises at least an automatic gain control ( agc ). the output voltage u o of the agc is applied to an equalizer circuit 3 which is formed by an operational amplifier a 1 . the transfer function h 2 ( s ) of the equalizer circuit 3 may be determined by ## equ1 ## where t 1 = r 1 c 1 and t 2 = r 2 c 2 - dimethylaminopropyl the voltage at a point a is accordingly u 1 = h 2 ( s )· u o . a resistor r 5 and a field effect transistor tr 1 from an attenuator in which the resistance of the field effect transistor tr 1 is varied by a control voltage u 6 . this attenuator forms the multiplier 3 of fig5 . depending on the control voltage , the voltage u 2 varies within the range u 2 = 0 - h 2 ( s )· u o . the voltage u 2 is inverted by means of an inverter formed by an operational amplifier a 2 so that the voltages u 2 and u o would be the same phase . an operational amplifier a 3 forms an adder which sums the voltages u o and - u 2 =- h 2 ( s )· u o · k . thus the voltage at point c becomes ## equ2 ## the detector 6 is formed by an integrator a 5 and an inverting amplifer a 4 . the integrator is reset to zero at the beginning of the time period φ 1 by discharging the charge of a capacitor c 3 by a switching element 1 which is controlled by a reset signal obtained from elsewhere in the receiver . the input of the integrator a 5 by a switching element 2 for the time period φ 1 and to the output of the inverter a 4 for the time period φ 2 . the switching element 2 is controlled by a control signal φ 1 / φ 2 obtained from elsewhere in the receiver . the timings of the control signals can be seen in fig2 e . at the beginning of the time period φ 1 the integrator is reset to zero by the switching element 1 , and the input of the integrator is connected to the output of the adder a 3 by said switching element 2 . during the time period φ 1 , the voltage u 3 is integrated . when the period φ 1 ends and the period φ 2 starts , the input of the integrator a 5 is connected to the output of the inverting amplifier a 4 , whereby the voltage - u 3 is integrated during the time period φ 2 . the output voltage u 4 of the integrator a 5 is such as illustrated in fig2 c . the voltage u 4 is rectified by the rectifier 7 , from the output of which the sample and hold circuit 10 takes a sample immediately before the resetting of the integrator a 5 . the voltage u 5 used in the control loop is obtained in this way . an operational amplifier a 6 serves as a comparator which compares the voltage u 5 with a prescribed reference voltage v ref . the offset voltage obtained as the output of the comparator 8 is integrated by an integrator a 7 in order to produce a control voltage u 6 . in this embodiment , the integrator a 7 forms the generating circuit 9 of fig5 . the control voltage u 6 used in the setting of the coefficient k is obtained as an output of the integrator . if the output voltage of the sample and hold circuit 10 differs from the reference voltage v ref , the output voltage u 6 of the integrator a 5 tends to increase the effect of the equalizer on the received signal , i . e . to increase the value of the correction coefficient k . this takes place in such a manner that the control voltage u 6 increases the resistance of the field effect transistor tr 1 so that the attenuation of the attenuator ( the resistor r 5 and the transistor tr 1 ) is reduced , the voltage u 2 thereby being increased . this in turn increases the output levels of the detector and the voltage u 5 . this goes on until u 5 = v ref . the offset voltage has thereby the value 0 and the control voltage u 6 ranges between the values from - v ref to 0 . deviation from the optimal adjustment thus obtains results in which the signal is distorted and the voltage u 5 reduced . as a result thereof , the offset voltage is increased , and the output voltage u 6 of the integrator a 7 is shifted so that the adjustment again shifts towards the optimum . as the time constant of the integrator a 7 is much larger than the sampling interval , the correct adjustment is very accurately maintained by the control loop . the method according to the invention has been described above in connection with a bi - phase coded signal . the method , however , is not restricted to a bi - phase code only but it can be applied to other codes , too , such as , e . g ., a three - level ami . change of the code brings about changes in the detection block only ( fig5 block 6 ). a fully analog embodiment has been described above but the device can be effected in a fully digital form , too . the a / d - conversion can thereby be carried out before the automatic gain control or preferably after it . further , the device can be analog with the exception of the generation of the correction coefficient which takes place digitally , the values of the correction coefficient being thereby discrete . in a further embodiment of the invention , the blocks 3 and 5 of fig5 are analog and the block 4 analog with discrete values , while the other parts can be digital . even if specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it is to be understood that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of protection defined in the attached claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , 4a and 5 , it will be seen that the inventive electromagnetic contactor includes a non - conductive housing 2 having walls 4 in part defining an elongated first chamber 6 ( fig4 and 4a ), and rounded walls 8 defining a second chamber 10 . the contactor further includes a stationary armature 12 ( fig1 ), which includes a base portion 14 , an arm 16 upstanding from either end 18 of the base portion 14 , and a core portion 20 upstanding from a central area 21 of the base portion 14 . the stationary armature 12 preferably is formed by a lamination stack , known in the art . each free end 22 of the stationary armature arms 16 is provided with notches 24 into which may be staked copper shading rings 26 ( fig1 ). a coil assembly 28 includes copper wire 30 wound upon a bobbin 32 . fixed to the bobbin 32 are non - conductive support plates 34 from which extend terminals 36 . extending from one end of the bobbin 32 are two protrusions 38 , each adapted to receive a return coil spring 40 . in assembly , the stationary armature 12 , with the shading rings 26 thereon , is slid into the housing 2 , with the base portion 14 of the stationary armature 12 being received in the housing first chamber 6 . the bobbin 32 is slid over the core portion 20 of the stationary armature 12 and between the armature arms 16 . alternatively , the coil assembly 28 and the stationary armature 12 may be put together and , as a unit , inserted in the housing 2 . the return coil springs 40 may be fitted onto the protrusions 38 before or after the coil assembly 28 and the stationary armature 12 are inserted into the housing 2 . referring to fig2 a , 6 and 7 , it will be seen that the electromagnetic contactor includes a carrier subassembly 50 which , in turn , includes a carrier member 52 comprising a base plate 54 and upstanding therefrom a post 56 . an elongated movable contact bar 58 ( fig2 a and 8 ) has an opening 60 centrally thereof ( fig8 ) which is adapted to receive the post 56 , and which facilitates sliding of the contact bar 58 on the post 56 . the contact bar 58 has a contact 62 mounted on either end thereof . an overtravel coil spring 64 ( fig2 and 2a ) is disposed on the post 56 with a first end 66 of the spring 64 abutting the contact bar 58 . a retainer cap 68 ( fig2 and 2a ) snaps onto a free end 70 ( fig2 ) of the post 56 and engages a second end 72 of the spring 64 . the base plate 54 of the carrier member 52 includes opposed depending lugs 74 which define a cavity 76 ( fig7 ) on an underside 78 of the base plate 54 into which may be snapped a movable armature 80 ( fig2 a , 9 and 9a ). the armature 80 comprises a substantially planar metal member with detents 82 ( fig9 ) centrally thereof defining pockets 84 adapted to receive the lugs 74 ( fig7 ) to lock the armature 80 onto the carrier member 52 . each of the pockets 84 is defined in part by a tapered flange 86 ( fig9 a ) which may be pressed over the lugs 74 and into the cavity 76 . in assembly ( fig2 ), the armature 80 is snapped into the cavity 76 on the underside 78 of the carrier member base plate 54 . the contact bar 58 and the overtravel coil spring 64 are fitted upon the post 56 and the carrier subassembly 50 locked together by snapping the retainer cap 68 onto the free end 70 of the post 56 . there is provided a block subassembly 90 ( fig3 and 3a ), which includes a nonconductive terminal block 92 having therein an opening 94 leading to a cavity 96 in the terminal block 92 . the opening 94 is adapted to facilitate sliding of the carrier subassembly 50 into the cavity 96 , which is adapted to receive and retain the carrier subassembly 50 . the block subassembly 90 may optionally include a bus bar 100 ( fig3 a , 10 and 11 ) which comprises a substantially u - shaped member having a base portion 102 ( fig1 and 11 ) and first and second leg portions 104 . 106 , and a pair of quick - connect terminals 108 fixed to each of the leg portions 104 , 106 . a first pair of the quick connect terminals 108 is fixed to the first leg portion 104 and extends outwardly from the first leg portion 104 in a direction opposite to the direction in which extends a second pair of the quick - connect terminals 108 fixed to the second leg portion 106 . to connect the bus bar 100 to the block 92 , the base portion 102 of the bus bar is slid onto a surface 112 and beneath a rib 114 ( fig3 a ). threaded extrusions 116 ( fig1 ) on the underside of the base portion 102 slide into complementary open - ended slots 118 in the surface 112 ( fig3 a ). the bus bar 100 is held by friction between the surface 112 and the rib 114 . the housing 2 is provided with open - ended slots 110 ( fig4 and 4a ) adapted to receive the bus bar quick - connect terminals 108 . a pair of stationary contact terminals 120 are slidable onto outwardly and oppositely extending ear portions 122 of the terminal block 92 ( fig3 ). each of the stationary contact terminals 120 comprises a u - shaped blade having a base portion 124 ( fig1 and 13 ) and first and second leg portions 126 , 128 , a contact 130 being disposed on an inboard surface 131 of the first leg portion 126 proximate a free end 132 of the first leg portion 126 ( fig1 ). a threaded screw extrusion 134 is disposed on an inboard surface 136 of the second leg portion 128 proximate the contact base portion 124 . a pair of quick - connect terminals 138 extend from the contact base portion 124 in a direction opposite to the direction in which extend the first and second leg portions 126 , 128 . the first and second leg portions 126 , 128 are substantially planar ; the quick - connect terminals 138 are substantially planar , and the planes of the leg portions 126 , 128 are substantially normal to the planes of the quick - connect terminals 138 . to connect the contact terminals 120 to the terminal block 92 , the contact terminals 120 are slid onto the ear portions 122 , as shown in fig3 . each of the contact terminals 120 is pushed onto its respective ear portion 122 until a rectangularly - shaped opening 142 snaps over a detent 144 upstanding from a wall portion 146 , which locks the stationary contact terminal 120 on the ear portion 122 . in locked - on position the contact 130 is well within the block cavity 96 and , upon completion of assembly , is adapted to be engaged by one of the contact bar contacts 62 ( fig2 and 2a ). the contactor housing 2 is provided with open - ended slots 140 adapted to receive the stationary quick connect terminals 138 ( fig4 and 4a ). the combination of the carrier subassembly 50 , the bus bar 100 , if desired , and the stationary contact terminals 120 , produces the block subassembly 90 . in assembly , the block subassembly 90 is slid into the housing 2 , such that the movable armature 80 is disposed adjacent a free end 150 of the stationary armature core portion 20 ( fig1 ). the movable armature 80 is provided with holes 152 ( fig9 ) which receive ends 154 ( fig1 ) of the return coil springs 40 ( fig1 ). the housing open - ended slots 110 receive the bus bar quick - connect terminals 108 and the housing open - ended slots 140 receive the stationary contact quick - connect terminals 138 . the housing 2 is of a non - conductive material , typically plastic , and is provided with internal detents 160 ( fig4 and 5 ) proximate an open end 162 of the housing . in the block subassembly 90 ( fig3 a ), the ear portions 122 are provided with surfaces 164 , on which are disposed the stationary contact terminal second leg portions 128 . upon placement of the block subassembly 90 in the housing 2 , the ear portions 122 , which also typically are made of plastic , are adapted to override the detents 160 to permit the detents to snap over the ear surfaces 164 , to lock the block subassembly in the housing 2 . the housing 2 , at or near the bottom of the second chamber 10 , is provided with integrally molded leaf springs 166 ( fig1 and 5 ) with seats 168 upstanding therefrom and adapted to engage the bottom surface of the bobbin 32 when the contactor components are assembled . the springs 166 urge the bobbin upwardly , as viewed in fig1 such that the components are held snugly together , between the springs 166 and the locking detents 160 . other spring means may be used , as , for example , a coil spring , or an elastomeric padding ( not shown ). thus , the various components of the contactor are assembled without the use of solder , screws or rivets , or other fasteners , facilitating automatic assembly of the contactor . once assembled , the operation of the contactor comports with the operation of known contactors . briefly , power lines ( not shown ) from a high - voltage power source are connected to one set of the stationary contact terminals 120 . a second set of power lines ( not shown ) are connected to another set of the stationary contact terminals 120 and lead to an energy consumer , such as one or more motors . from a relatively low - voltage source ( not shown ) wires are connected to the terminals 36 . when it is desired to interconnect the lines from the high - voltage power source and the lines to the energy consumer , the low - voltage source is switched into communication with the coil 28 which produces a magnetic field with the flux density thereof concentrated by the stationary armature 12 . the movable armature 80 is thereby caused to move toward the stationary armature 12 , carrying with it the carrier contact bar 58 . the contacts 62 on the carrier contact bar 58 engage the contacts 130 on the stationary contact terminals 120 , which closes the circuit from one set of stationary contact terminals 120 to the other set of stationary contact terminals 120 . when the coil is de - energized , the return springs 40 move the movable armature 80 away from the stationary armature 12 , opening the circuit between the stationary contact terminals 120 . when used , the bus bar 100 has attached thereto second power lines between the high - voltage power source and the energy consumer , completing the circuit between the power source and the consumer . the bus bar may be omitted , in which case the second power lines extend from the source to the consumer , without intermediate connection to the contactor . it is to be understood that the present invention is by no means limited to the particular construction herein disclosed and / or shown in the drawings , but also comprises any modifications or equivalents within the scope of the claims . for example , the embodiment illustrated and discussed herein is a single pole contactor . however , the same concept applies to a two pole contactor , utilizing four stationary terminals , rather than the illustrated two , two movable contact bars , rather than the illustrated one , and two carrier posts , rather than the illustrated single post . similarly , the same concept applies to three or more pole contactors . | 7 |
fig1 is a view 100 of in - building communication system including a portable amplifier kit 101 and a portable antenna kit 102 . the portable amplifier kit 101 has a rectangular shape and stands in an upright lengthwise direction . the longest side of the amplifier kit is perpendicular to the ground . the top portion of the portable amplifier kit when standing in an upright lengthwise position includes a sliding handle 103 a , an indoor antenna connector port 104 , an outdoor antenna connector port 105 , a power switch 106 , a status light 107 , and a top handle 108 . the sliding handle 103 a extends past the top portion of the amplifier kit and is attached to the back panel of the amplifier kit . power switch 106 and the status light 107 are located adjacent to each other with the power switch positioned closer to the front of the amplifier kit and the status light positioned more closely to the rear left corner on the top panel of the amplifier kit . the status light provides a large visual indication of the status of power of the amplifier kit . the power switch is large and green in color and is actuated by depressing the switch 106 . a green illuminator or light is incorporated into the power switch and illuminates when power is enabled . on the opposite end of the top portion of the amplifier kit are the indoor antenna connector port 104 and the outdoor antenna connector port 105 . the indoor antenna connector port 104 is located closer to the rear corner of the top portion opposite of the status light 107 . the outdoor antenna connector port 105 is located closer to the front corner position on the top of the amplifier kit . the connector ports are polarized to receive opposite ends of a connector . this structure prevents a connection error and adds to ease of setting up the device to establish communications at a site quickly . the bottom of the amplifier kit rests on the ground . the front of the amplifier kit includes a closed - door panel . the amplifier kit has two side panel portions on the right and the left . the side panel portion on the right includes : an ac / dc output connector 109 and a side handle 103 b . the ac / dc output connector 109 is located near the top portion of the amplifier kit . the side handle 103 b located on the right side panel portion connects to the amplifier kit in two places with a space in between to allow gripping by hand . the side handle 103 b is positioned near the middle of the side panel portion . when the side handle 103 b is gripped by a person &# 39 ; s hand , the amplifier kit may be carried with the longest side of the amplifier kit parallel to the ground . portable antenna kit 102 is located on the ground adjacent to the amplifier kit 101 . portable antenna kit is in the shape of a long duffel bag and has its longest side parallel and resting on the ground . fig1 a is a view 100 a of the carrier for the portable antenna kit 102 . the portable antenna kit 102 residing within a container includes : the cable organizer , a zipper 110 and two portable antenna kit handles 111 , 112 . zipper 110 runs lengthwise down the middle of a top portion of the portable antenna kit and separates the portable antenna kit into two opposite sides . zipper 110 brings the two opposite sides of the antenna kit together when in a closed position . handles 111 and 112 are located on opposite sides of the zipper . each handle is attached in two positions near the bottom of the portable antenna kit with a central portion of the handle located near the middle of the bag being separated from the portable antenna kit by a space large enough to receive a hand . the central portions of the two handles are capable of being brought together , so that both handles may be carried in a single hand . fig1 b is a cutaway view 100 b of the portable antenna kit 102 . the cutaway view reveals a portable antenna kit tripod assembly 120 lying lengthwise along the length of the portable antenna kit 102 . fig1 c is a top view 100 c of the inside components of the portable antenna kit 102 and cable organizer 124 . the portable antenna kit includes the cable organizer , which enables rapid delivery , quick set up of the antennas , rapid dispensation of the cables and a compact storage means for the cable and the antennas . the portable antenna kit tripod 123 extends lengthwise from right to left with tripod leg 123 d positioned in a flat , straight , orientation and located in a central middle top of the portable antenna kit . the three tripods legs , 123 d , 123 e , and 123 f , are located adjacently with two of the legs 123 e , 123 f extending at angle from the tripod leg 123 d oriented in a straight flat position near the middle of the portable antenna kit 102 in this view . the tripod legs &# 39 ; position in proximity to one another is controlled by an adjustor 123 a , which is a knob located near an end portion of the tripod legs . the adjustor 123 a is a screw type lock with a handle to operate the screw . located underneath the central tripod leg 123 d is a cable organizer including the following components : an end portion of cable organizer 124 a , an alternate end portion of cable organizer 124 b , spine of cable organizer 125 , lower cable organizer mount spacer block 126 , lower cable organizer mount spacer block clamp 126 a , upper cable organizer mount spacer block 127 , upper cable organizer mount spacer block clamp 127 a , cable organizer spacer block brace 128 , outdoor antenna mount spacer block 129 , and an outdoor antenna clip 129 a . the spacer block clamps affix the cable organizer spine to the center tube of the tripod 135 ( see fig1 e ) which is not visible in this view because it is hidden behind leg 123 d . short segment 121 b of the cable is illustrated in fig1 c . the tripod 120 includes two telescoping portions to increase its length with adjustor 123 b controlling the first telescoping section and adjustor 123 c controlling the second telescoping section . the tripod is positioned in shortest configuration with both telescoping sections being located in their shortened telescoped position . an outdoor antenna cable 121 is positioned between an outdoor antenna connector 121 a of an outdoor antenna 122 and an end portion of cable organizer 124 a . the outdoor antenna 122 lays lengthwise adjacent to the tripod legs with an outdoor antenna clip 129 a securing the antenna to the tripod main tube . fig1 d is an enlarged view 100 d of the cable organizer . the cable organizer is illustrated from two different perspectives . cable organizer extends in a vertical direction with a top portion 124 a in a top position , the bottom end portion 124 b , and a spine 125 located therebetween . spine 125 has a front side and a rear side . protrusions 124 c . 124 d are located on the top end portion 124 a and bottom end portion has protrusions 124 e , 124 f to receive the cable . on each end of the protrusions are rubber tips or feet 124 r . each end of the cable organizer includes a retention strap 130 , 130 b which extends from underneath the central portion of the protrusion . each end of the cable retention strap is received by a pin 130 a , 130 d . on the front side of spine 125 are an indoor antenna clip 131 , an indoor antenna connector clip 131 a , and a second indoor antenna clip 131 b . outdoor antenna clip 129 a is also illustrated in fig1 d , as is the indoor antenna cable retainer clip 121 c . rear side of the spine 125 includes an upper cable organizer mount spacer block 127 , a lower cable organizer mount spacer block 126 , and an outdoor antenna mount spacer block 129 . the cable organizer mount spacer blocks 127 , 126 include a respective clamp 127 a , 126 a for gripping the tripod leg 123 d . fig1 e is a side view 100 e of the portable antenna kit removed from bag . the portable antenna kit is shown resting on the rubber feet 124 r of the cable organizer in a horizontal position . the rubber feet 124 r are in direct contact with the ground 113 . the long segment of indoor antenna cable 132 is wound around both ends 124 a , 124 b of the cable organizer and held in position by the upper cable retention strap 130 and the lower cable retention strap 130 b . the indoor antenna 133 is clipped to the spine of the cable organizer 125 with the indoor antenna cable wrapped surrounding the indoor antenna 133 , so that only a portion of the indoor antenna 133 may be seen . the indoor antenna cable 132 , short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b , and the dual ball joint 134 on the outdoor antenna mount are located on the upper end portion of the antenna kit . in this view , the upper end portion of the antenna is shown in a horizontal orientation with the end portion of the antenna kit including the short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b , the dual ball joint 134 , and the end of the antenna kit facing closest to the building 114 . in one embodiment , the cable 132 is a flexible coaxial rf communication cable . the cable may be a low loss rf cable . the cable may have about a one - inch minimum bend radius that allows the cable to extend into and through tight passages without kinking . the cable may have a bonded tape outer conductor that provides superior bending and flexibility allowing rapid and safe deployment across both indoor and outdoor environments . the cable may also be weatherproof having a uv protected black or yellow polyethylene jacket making the cable durable and useable in all weather conditions . in one embodiment , the cable may have the following mechanical specifications ; a minimum bend radius of about 1 in , a bending moment of about 0 . 5 ft lbs , a weight of about 0 . 068 lbs / ft , a tensile strength of about 160 lbs , and a flat plate crush of about 40 lb / in . in one embodiment , the cable may have an installation temperature range of about − 40 ° f . to about 185 ° f ., a storage temperature range of about − 94 ° f . to about 185 ° f ., and an operating temperature range of about − 40 ° f . to about 185 ° f . the cable may comprise about 0 . 11 inches of an inner conductor material of solid bccai , a dielectric of foamed polyethylene of about 0 . 285 inches , an outer conductor of aluminum of about 0 . 291 inches , an overall braid of tinned copper of about 0 . 320 inches , and a standard jacket of black polyethylene of about 0 . 405 inches . the electrical specifications of the cable may include a cutoff frequency of about 16 . 2 ghz , about an 85 % velocity of propagation , a voltage withstand of about 2 , 500 vdc , a peak power of about 16 kw , a jacket spark of about 8 , 000 vrms , an impedance of about 50 ohms , a capacitance of about 23 . 9 pf / ft , an inductance of about 0 . 060 uh / ft , a shielding effectiveness of at least about 90 db , a phase stability of less than about 10 ppm /° c ., and an attenuation of about 3 . 9 db / 100 ft for a frequency of about 900 mhz and a power of about 0 . 58 kw . in addition , the cable may have a dc resistance of about 1 . 39 ohms / 1000 ft for the inner conductor and a dc resistance of about 1 . 65 ohms / 1000 ft . for the inner conductor . in another embodiment , the cable may be continuous and of the same type of flexible low loss coaxial cable . in another embodiment , the cable may be a fiber optic cable . in still another embodiment , the cable may be a type of leaky coaxial cable . in another embodiment , a portion of the cable may be a low loss coaxial cable , a portion may be a leaky coaxial cable , and a portion may be fiber optic cable . the outdoor antenna 122 is secured to a main section of the tripod 135 . the first section of the tripod is in a flat horizontal position parallel to the ground 113 with tripod legs 123 d , 123 e oriented at a slight angle from the first section of the tripod . fig1 f is a side view 100 f of the portable antenna with the legs of the tripod partially extended . tripod legs 123 d , 123 e , 123 f are extended from the first section ( mast ) of the tripod 135 by turning screw type adjustor 123 a . leg 123 f is not visible in fig1 f and resides behind mast 135 ( also described herein as the first section of the tripod . the cable organizer is attached to the first section ( mast ) of the tripod 135 with a lower cable organizer mount spacer block clamp 127 a and an upper cable organizer mount spacer block clamp 126 a . reference numeral 114 indicates the direction of the building . once the tripod legs are extended , the entire tripod along with attached cable organizer can be rotated to a vertical position coming to rest upon legs 123 d , 123 e , and 123 f with cable organizer now facing the building to facilitate easy payout of cable 132 toward the building . fig1 g is a side view 100 g of the portable antenna kit in an upright standing position . the portable antenna kit / cable organizer are positioned in an upright vertical position resting on the tripod legs 123 d , 123 e , 123 f which are in direct contact with the ground 113 . rubber feet 124 r on the protrusions of the cable organizer are pointing in a direction parallel to the ground 113 and toward the building . the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 is held in place at the lower end portion by a lower cable retention strap 130 b and at the upper end portion by an upper cable retention strap 130 around the upper and lower protrusions of the cable organizer . upper cable retention strap 130 holds the short segment 121 b in place above the upper protrusions of the cable organizer . the wound long segment of the indoor antenna cable 130 b surrounds the indoor antenna 133 , which is mounted to the spine 125 of the cable organizer at a location in the middle of the coil of long segment of indoor cable . the outdoor antenna kit and the rear of the cable organizer are oriented in the northward direction . the outdoor antenna is aimed in the direction of the nearest tower using dual ball joint 134 and adjuster 134 a according to plot 300 . the vertical elements 122 a of the antenna are aligned in a vertical direction perpendicular to the ground . the outdoor antenna cable 121 is connected to the outdoor antenna 122 via an outdoor antenna connector 121 a . in another embodiment , the outdoor antenna 122 may have one or more servomotors connected to aim or orient the outdoor antenna in the location of a preferred radio tower , or to respond to remote sensing and automatic aiming protocol . fig1 h is a perspective view 100 h of the portable antenna connected to the portable amplifier kit . both the upper cable retention strap 130 and the lower cable retention strap 130 b are unattached from the pin 130 a and 130 d allowing the indoor and outdoor antenna cable to be dispensed from the cable organizer . the outdoor antenna cable 121 is connected from the outdoor antenna to the outdoor antenna port of the amplifier kit 101 . the indoor antenna cable is in fact a continuous cable including : 1 ). a short segment 121 b and 2 ). a long segment 132 . the short segment indoor antenna cable 121 b is connected from the cable organizer to the indoor antenna cable port on the amplifier kit 101 . still referring to fig1 h , the cable organizer has orientation that enables an effective and standard set - up allowing communications to be established quickly . rubber feet 124 r are on the ends of protrusions on the ends of the cable organizer , which are perpendicular to the spine of the cable organizer . the cable organizer can be set up so the ends of the protrusions point directly into the entranceway of the building or other area in need of communication enhancement . in this way , the indoor antenna and the long segment of indoor cable 132 connected to the indoor antenna can be dispensed quickly into the area in need of communication enhancement . the short segment of indoor antenna cable 121 b which connects to the amplifier and the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 which connects to the indoor antenna are secured with an indoor antenna cable retainer clamp 121 c near the bottom of the vertical cable organizer . this location of the clamp 121 c reduces the risk of toppling the tripod or applying tension to the amplifier connection when tugging on cable 132 . still referring to fig1 h , once the cable organizer is orientated in the proper direction with respect to the opening or other entranceway into the building , the orientation of the outdoor antenna 122 can be adjusted with the outdoor antenna mount dual ball joint 134 . the outdoor antenna can be aligned to point its tip in the direction of the most preferred radio site and the elements of the antenna are aligned in a vertical position . the adjustor 134 a for the outdoor antenna mount can be used to secure the outdoor antenna 122 , once it has been adjusted ( pointed and turned ) in the proper alignment . fig1 a is a view 1001 a of the portable indoor antenna 133 . this view includes the omni - directional antenna embodiment as the portable indoor antenna 133 . the omni - directional antenna is connected on one end to a base 133 a and to an antenna cap 133 c on the other end . the antenna base 133 a is connected to a pigtail cable 132 a . the other end of the pigtail cable 132 a is attached to a pigtail cable connector 132 b . the indoor antenna has a lanyard cable 133 d which is also attached to the antenna base 133 a . the lanyard cable 133 d is connected to a coupling 133 e . still referring to fig1 a in one embodiment the indoor antenna is an omni - directional antenna . the omni - directional antenna in one embodiment may have the following properties : a receiving frequency of about 806 to about 869 mhz , a gain of about 0 db , a vswr of 1 . 5 : 1 , a bandwidth of about 63 mhz , a 3 db beamwidth e - plane ( deg ) of 75 , and a power handling of 150 w . in one embodiment , the main cylindrical vertical element of the omni - directional antenna may be a plated copper laminate with a fiberglass enclosure . in one embodiment , the omni - directional indoor antenna has a height of about 17 . 5 inches and includes a standard pigtail cable length of about 1 ft . the omni - directional antennas may be built on a copper laminate and housed in fiberglass having a fiberglass wall thickness of about 0 . 1 inch . the omni - directional antenna may be used as the indoor antenna preferably in situations where radio signals may be received from different directions . this may occur where a first responder may have to move about inside the building while sending and receiving radio signals in a number of different directions and positions throughout the interior of the building . the omni - directional antenna may be mounted right side up or tipped upside down depending upon the desired pattern . the omni - directional antenna may also be clamped or mounted in a variety of configurations . fig1 ib is a view 100 ib of the portable outdoor antenna 122 . in this view , a yagi directional antenna is shown in this embodiment as the portable outdoor antenna . the portable outdoor antenna has a main shaft or boom extending in a horizontal direction . at one end of the boom is a mounting flange 134 c , which connects the outdoor antenna to a dual ball joint 134 . the dual ball joint includes an adjuster 134 a for the outdoor antenna mount and a tripod clamp 134 b for the mounting outdoor antenna to the tripod . along the horizontal shaft of the outdoor antenna are several vertical elements 122 a , which are perpendicular to the horizontal shaft and extend both above and below the horizontal boom . the outdoor antenna also includes an outdoor antenna connector 121 a , which has a fitting to connect the outdoor antenna to a cable or other device . still referring to fig1 ib , in one embodiment the outdoor antenna is a directional yagi outdoor antenna which has a receiving frequency of about 806 to about 869 mhz , a gain of about 11 db , about 10 vertical elements which are generally perpendicular to the horizontal boom , a front to back ratio of about 20 db , a 3 db beamwidth e - plane of about 40 degrees , a 3 db beamwidth h - plane of about 45 degrees and a power handling of 200 w . the clement may be made of an aluminum rod . the main horizontal boom may have a length of about 46 inches and several vertical elements having a height of about 4 to 7 inches . the approximate weight of the outdoor antenna may be about 1 . 6 lbs . fig1 ic is a view 100 ic of a portable antenna for indoor or outdoor use , the panel antenna example . the panel antenna has a rectangular shape with two large horizontal surfaces . on one large horizontal surface is an antenna face 136 . on the opposite horizontal surface , there are a mounting bracket 136 a and a panel antenna connector 136 b . the panel can be oriented in an upright position in the direction of its polarization 136 c . in addition , to the antenna embodiments disclosed other devices for receiving and transmitting radio waves may be used . in addition to antenna structures , other transmitting devices such as radiating cable may be used . in one embodiment , a particular type of coaxial cable referred to as “ leaky coax ” may be used as a type of antenna device . in one embodiment , leaky coax may be used as an indoor antenna device or may be used in conjunction with an indoor antenna device . fig1 j is a side view 100 j of the portable in - building communication system in deployed position with antenna mast of the outdoor antenna in a vertical extended position . the indoor antenna cable short segment 121 b is connected to the indoor antenna connector port 104 of the portable amplifier kit 101 . the portable amplifier kit 101 is positioned on the ground near the portable outdoor antenna kit . the outdoor antenna cable 121 connects the outdoor antenna 122 to the outdoor antenna connector port 105 of the amplifier kit 101 . the outdoor antenna 122 has vertical elements 122 a which are perpendicular to the horizontal boom of the outdoor antenna 122 . the outdoor antenna can be pivoted about the double ball joint 134 on the outdoor antenna mount to position the vertical elements perpendicular to the ground and aim the directional antenna in the direction of the nearest tower or other transmitter . the outdoor antenna is elevated above the tripod with telescoping section 135 of the tripod extended and secured in position with adjuster 123 c for the second telescoping section of the tripod . the first telescoping section of the tripod is also extended and secured in position with adjustment by adjuster 123 b for the first telescoping section . still referring to fig1 j , the outdoor antenna 122 may be pointed in the direction of the nearest radio site and the horizontal boom of the indoor antenna may be rotated , so that the elements are aligned vertically . once the outdoor antenna has the proper orientation , the adjustment can be maintained by turning adjuster 134 a . once the proper horizontal and rotational orientation of the outdoor antenna are properly oriented and secured , the telescoping sections 135 . 135 a of the tripod may be extended , raising the outdoor antenna into an elevated position . still referring to fig1 j , the indoor antenna 133 is illustrated removed from the spine of the cable organizer and outside of the central position of the coil of long segment of indoor antenna cable 132 . the cable retention strap , upper 130 and the cable retention strap , lower 130 b are unfastened from the cable retention strap pins allowing the cable 132 to be pulled from the cable organizer to supply cable 132 in the direction of the indoor antenna 133 . the indoor antenna 133 is connected to an indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a which is connected to the long segment of the indoor antenna cable wound around the cable organizer . the pigtail cable provides a sturdy and flexible connector between the indoor antenna 133 and the indoor antenna cable 132 . still referring to fig1 j , the cable organizer of the antenna kit has the proper orientation , so that cable may be rapidly dispensed to optimize cable length , safety , and set up time . the indoor antenna can be removed from the cable organizer and run directly into the entranceway of an area in need of communication enhancement . the shape of the cable organizer allows the identification of the proper alignment to set up the cable organizer facing the building . the protrusions of the cable organizer enable the long segment of indoor antenna cable to be dispensed rapidly from the cable organizer and run into the building without causing snags or other unnecessary delays . fig1 k is a view 100 k of the portable amplifier kit with a portable indoor antenna 133 connected to the sliding handle 103 a of the portable amplifier kit 101 . the portable amplifier kit 101 has a top portion , a front portion , and side portions . the portable amplifier kit has a generally rectangular shape with rounded edges . the portable amplifier kit is standing lengthwise in a vertically upright position . the front portion of the portable amplifier kit includes a door 101 d which has latches 101 a , 101 b fastened to the side portion of the amplifier case . at the bottom of the side portion on the right of the amplifier case is a wheel 101 c . at the bottom of the side portion on the left of the amplifier case there is also a wheel ( not shown ). in a central position of the side portion is a side handle 103 b which is attached to the amplifier kit in two points . the top portion of the amplifier case includes : a power switch 106 , a status light 107 , a sliding handle 103 a , and a top handle 108 . in one embodiment , both the sliding handle and the amplifier case are made of heavy - duty injection molded polypropylene plastic . the sliding handle 103 a extends past the top surface of the amplifier case and is attached to the back portion of the amplifier case . the sliding handle can be positioned in an extended position as shown or pushed into a groove behind the amplifier case ( not shown ). the amplifier case can be tilted by pulling the sliding handle in a downward position allowing the amplifier case to move on its wheels located at the bottom of the amplifier case . an indoor antenna 133 is attached to the sliding handle with an optional mount of the indoor antenna 133 b . the indoor antenna is connected at its bottom portion to an indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a . the indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a is connected to the indoor antenna connector port on the top portion of the amplifier case . the indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a has sufficient length , so that the indoor antenna 133 remains connected when the sliding handle is moved in an elevated or lowered position . fig1 l is a view 100 l of the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h . the portable amplifier kit case 101 l is generally rectangular in shape with rounded edges at the corners . the portable amplifier kit case 101 l is formed by a central housing 101 h with an attached door 101 d . the door and the housing are made up of heavy - duty injection molded polypropylene plastic . the housing has a deep rectangular shaped cavity formed by the rear side of the amplifier case and four attached walls including the top , bottom , and side portions of the amplifier case . the cavity has a wheel well protrusion in the bottom left corner 101 w and bottom right corner ( not shown ) of the amplifier kit case 101 l . the cavity is open to the front of the amplifier case . a seal 101 g is attached to the perimeter of the cavity facing the front of the amplifier case . the housing 101 h is attached on one side to a door 101 d by a hinge . the door has concave shape and includes latches 101 a , 101 b on the side of the door opposite the hinge . the latches engage lips on the side portion of the housing . still referring to fig1 l , in one embodiment , the housing has a length of about 22 inches , a height of about 13 . 9 inches , a depth of about 9 inches , and can transport a loaded weight of about 29 lbs . roller blade style wheels with retractable handle may be included to increase the speed and ease which the case can be transported . the housing is rugged and can provide a watertight enclosure . still referring to fig1 l , in one embodiment , the housing has a length of about 25 inches , a height of about 20 inches , a depth of about 12 inches , and can transport a loaded weight of at least about 45 pounds . roller blade style wheels with retractable handle may be included to increase the speed and ease which the case can be transported . fig1 m is a view 100 m of two portable amplifier kits side - by - side with the front doors removed . the portable amplifier kit on the left includes a bi - directional amplifier 141 and a battery module docking location 140 having a 3 by 4 array of open battery slots to hold a total of twelve modules . the bi - directional amplifier 141 is oriented sideways in space between a side portion of the housing and the battery module docking location . the amplifier kit also includes an ac / dc input connector 109 a on the inner side portion of the housing near the upper left corner of the portable amplifier kit . on the top portion of the amplifier kit are the indoor antenna connector port 104 and the outdoor antenna connector port 105 . the bi - directional amplifier 141 is connected to the outdoor antenna connector port 105 by an outdoor cable 141 a . the bi - directional amplifier is connected to the indoor antenna connector port 104 by an indoor antenna cable ( not shown ). the vent 101 h is located on a central portion of the side portion of the portable amplifier case . in one embodiment , the bi - directional amplifier 141 is sips - bda - 800b having an operating frequency of about 806 - 824 mhz and about 851 - 869 mhz for use in 800 mhz public safety radio applications . it has a gain of about 50 db and a linear output power of 19 ( dbm , typical ), a propagation delay of less than 150 nsec , a noise figure of 4 db , agc gain control , and overload protection including shutdown with auto - recovery . the bi - directional amplifier 141 is capable of operating with a stand - alone power supply or ups ( uninterruptible power supply ). the ac input may be aci - 100 or hot swappable meaning that the device may continue to operate on ac power while additional sources of ac power are connected , disconnected , or interexchanged . in one embodiment , the voltage may be about 90 - 264 ( vac ). in one embodiment , the frequency may be about 47 to 63 hz . in one embodiment , the input power may be about 120 ( va ). in one embodiment , the backup power source may be a type of standalone battery . the preferred battery run time is 12 hours and may be expandable up to 48 hours . the batteries may be charged outside of the case or inside of the case , while they are in place with an ac or dc input . in one preferred embodiment , the batteries used as a power source are em - 100 manufactured by modtech corp in willoughby , ohio . the batteries may be lithium - ion and hot swappable . still referring to fig1 m , in one embodiment , the amplifier 141 may be operable in the temperature range of about − 20 c to 50 c . up to an altitude of 3000 m , and in humidity of up to about 90 % ( relative ). in one preferred embodiment , the amplifier kit can be used as a completely portable system with a total set up time of less than a few minutes . the portable amplifier kit on the right includes a bi - directional amplifier 141 b and a battery module docking location 140 a having an l - configuration of shelves of open battery slots to hold a total of nine battery modules . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is oriented with its front portion facing out of the front of the amplifier kit . the amplifier kit also includes an ac / dc input connector 109 aa on the inner side portion of the housing near the upper left corner of the portable amplifier kit . on the top portion of the amplifier kit are the indoor antenna connector port 104 a and the outdoor antenna connector port 105 a . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is connected to the outdoor antenna connector port 105 a by an outdoor cable 141 d . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is connected to the indoor antenna connector port 104 a by an outdoor cable 141 c . in one embodiment , the bi - directional amplifier 141 b in the kit on the right is a sips - bda - 800c having an operating frequency of about 806 - 824 mhz and about 851 - 869 mhz for use in 800 mhz public safety radio applications . it has a gain of about 65 or 75 db and a linear output power of 25 ( dbm , typical ), a propagation delay of less than about 250 nsec , a noise figure of about 5 . 5 db , agc and manual gain control , and overload protection including shutdown with auto - recovery . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is capable of operating with a standalone power supply or an ups ( uninterruptible power supply ). the ac input may be aci - 100 or hot swappable meaning that the device may continue to operate on ac power while additional sources of ac power are connected , disconnected , or interexchanged . the voltage is about 90 - 264 ( vac ) with a frequency of about 47 to 63 hz , and an input power ( va ) of 120 . in one embodiment , the backup power source may be a type of standalone battery . the preferred battery run time ( hr ) is about 12 hours and expandable up to about 24 hours . the batteries may be charged outside of the case or inside of the ease , while they are in place with an ac or dc input . in one preferred embodiment , the batteries used as a power source are em - 100 manufactured by modtech corp in willoughby . ohio . the batteries may be lithium - ion and hot swappable . the batteries may be interchangeable of a variety of handheld tools , portable devices , communication equipment , emergency lighting , as well as another size amplifier kit including the sips - bda - 800b . the amplifier kit may be connected to another amplifier kit to share power from batteries . additionally , the amplifier kit may receive power from a variety of different sources including solar panel , car battery , wall socket , generator , and other stationary and fixed sources of power . still referring to fig1 m , in one embodiment the amplifier 141 b has an operating temperature of about − 20 to 50 c , is operable up to an altitude of 3000 m and in humidity of up to about 90 % relative . in one preferred embodiment , the amplifier kit can be used as a completely portable system with a total set up time of less than a few minutes . still referring to fig1 m , both bdas are seated in the amplifier kits with sufficient storage space for power supply and room for energy storage modules . the kit on the right houses a larger bda 141 b than the kit on the left . the kit on the right has a slightly greater height , a greater span across , and approximately the same depth . both amplifiers have most of the same features built - in or attached to the amplifier kit housing . fig1 n is a perspective view 100 n of the portable amplifier kit with the door 101 d in an open position . the portable amplifier kit includes a top portion , a bottom portion , a right side portion , a left side portion , and a central cavity portion . the central cavity portion of the housing 101 h includes a battery module docking location 140 . the battery module docking location 140 includes a 3 by 4 array of open slots to hold a total of twelve modules including a left column , a middle column , and a right column of slots . each slot includes battery module electrical connections 140 c on the left side of the slots of the battery module docking location . in this view , the slots in the middle column are filled with battery modules 140 b . the batteries are oriented to engage the battery module electrical connections 140 c on the left side of the slots . attached to one side of the battery module docking location 140 is a bi - directional amplifier 141 . the left side portion of the amplifier kit is connected to an amplifier kit door 101 d with a hinge . the inside of the amplifier kit door 101 d has a cavity which includes clips for securing the indoor antenna 133 in place . the indoor antenna optional mount 133 b and indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a which are both attached directly to the indoor antenna may also be stored securely in this cavity allowing for one person to , carry the equipment in a portable , convenient carrying case . fig1 o is a front view 100 o of the portable amplifier kit including amplifier 141 with the door 101 d removed . the housing 101 h of the portable amplifier case is shown with the battery module docking location 140 . in this embodiment , all slots of the battery module docking location 140 engage a battery energy module 140 b . fig1 p is a perspective view 100 p of the internal details of the portable amplifier kit removed from the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h . the bi - directional amplifier 141 is located to the right of the battery module docking location 140 . across the top of the battery module docking location 140 are ancillary energy subsystem connectors 101 s and a primary energy subsystem connector 101 ss . battery module 140 b sits in the slot of the battery module docking location 140 . a power conversion module 140 pp is located in the slot in the lower right corner in the last column of the battery module docking location . a power conversion i / o connector 140 p extends beyond the metal rack on the lower left side of the battery module docking location 140 . the controller with cover 101 k is located adjacent to the power conversion i / o connector 140 p . fig1 q is a rear view 100 q of the internal details of the portable amplifier kit removed from the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h . the energy subsystem rack 140 r is shown to have slots . the power conversion i / o connector 140 p can be seen in the left column on the lower left . the controller with cover 101 k is adjacent to the power conversion i / o 140 p in the lower left portion of the battery module docking location 140 in this view . the clearance for the power conversion 1 / 0 connector 140 a is shown in the column on the right in this view . fig1 r is a front view 100 r of a second embodiment of the portable amplifier kit including an amplifier 141 e with the door 101 d removed from the portable amplifier kit . the battery module docking location 140 is shown to have an l - shaped configuration . the bda is secured with screws to the portable amplifier internal main mounting plate 170 . the bda 141 b is set nearly adjacent to the upper portion of the battery module docking location 140 . fig1 s is a perspective view 101 s of the internal details of the portable amplifier kit with the amplifier and power assembly removed from the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h . the primary energy subsystem connector 101 ss is located at the end of the lower portion of the battery module docking location 140 . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is attached to the portable amplifier internal main mounting plate 170 with a column of screws on the right side . fig1 t is a rear perspective view 100 t of the internal details of the portable amplifier kit with the amplifier and power assembly removed from the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h . a rear view of the portable amplifier internal main mounting plate 170 shows the following components : an ac / dc conversion module for ac input 171 a in the upper left corner , electrical terminals for amplifier kit i / o interconnections 173 in relative proximity to the top of the mounting plate , a set of electrical terminals 174 used as bi - directional amplifier interconnections , a dc / dc conversion module 171 b for dc input below the first set of amplifier kit i / o interconnections , a set of electrical terminals 175 for power i / o interconnections extending in a vertical line down the back of the mounting plate a dc / ac inverter module 171 c for bi - directional amplifier power located to the left of the electric terminals 175 , and an dc / ac inverter module 171 d for convenience ac output power . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is located on the opposite side of the mounting plate 170 . the primary energy subsystem connector 101 ss is located beneath the bi - directional amplifier 141 b on the opposite side of the mounting plate 170 . fig1 u is an alternate front view 100 u of the internal details of the portable amplifier kit with the amplifier and power assembly removed from the portable amplifier kit housing 101 h and the bi - directional amplifier 141 b removed from the mounting plate 170 . the portable amplifier internal main mounting plate is seen from the front with the bda removed showing four rectangular shaped controllers stacked from top to bottom : a controller of dc / dc conversion module for dc input 172 b , a controller of ac / dc conversion module for ac input 172 a , a controller of dc / ac inverter module for convenience ac output power 172 d , and a controller of dc / ac inverter module for bi - directional amplifier power 172 c . these controllers are stacked on top of each other starting with the controller of dc / dc conversion module for dc input 172 b near the upper portion of the l - shaped configuration battery module docking location down to the lower portion of the l - shaped configuration of the battery module docking location . along the top of the mounting plate , a first line of electrical terminals for amplifier kit i / o interconnections 173 a extend in a horizontal line . a second line of electrical terminals 174 a for bi - directional amplifier interconnections extends in horizontal direction beneath this first line of electrical terminals . a third line of electric terminals 175 a extends down the front of the mounting plate 170 providing power i / o interconnections with modules 172 a , 172 b , 172 c , and 172 d with power conversion units 171 a , 171 b , 171 c , and 171 d . fig1 v shows a block diagram 100 v of an alternate in - building communication system as an integrated , portable bi - directional amplifier and alarming system ( ipbdaas ). the portable amplifier kit 101 has an ac / dc output connector 109 a in the upper right portion of the amplifier kit which acts as a port allowing line power input from outside the amplifier kit into the kit . line power input which enters the kit through 109 a is then received by ac / dc conversion module for ac input 171 a which is able to convert an ac input to a dc power output . underneath the ac / dc output connector is a dc / dc input connector 109 a which is able to receive power from a dc source such as a vehicle or solar panel . once a dc input enters the amplifier kit from 109 a it is routed to a dc / dc conversion module 171 b which is able to convert the power to a level of dc power which can be more effectively utilized in the amplifier kit . both the ac / dc conversion module for ac input 171 a and the dc / dc conversion module for dc input 171 b are connected to a common line which has a connection to a dc / ac inverter module 171 c . this inverter module 171 c has a connection to the bi - directional amplifier 141 b to provide power to the bda . the common line which interconnects the ac / dc conversion module 171 a for ac input , the dc / dc conversion module 171 b for dc input , and the dc / ac inverter module 171 c to power the bi - directional amplifier together extends further to interconnect to the dc / ac inverter module 171 d convenience ac output power and an energy subsystem rack interface 172 . the dc / ac inverter module 171 d connects to an ac / dc output connector 109 on the outside of the amplifier kit which is able to provide convenience ac output power to devices located where the amplifier kit is deployed . the amplifier kit is able to act as a wireless portable energy source at a site providing power in the event of an energy outage at the location in need of communication enhancement , or to reduce the need for extension cords increasing safety and reducing response time when using the amplifier kit . in this way , the amplifier kit may significantly lighten the load for an emergency responder providing a faster response time . adjacent to and interconnected to the dc / ac inverter module 171 d is an energy subsystem rack interface 172 . the energy subsystem rack interface 172 is connected to the energy subsystem rack 140 r which houses individual battery energy modules 140 b . the energy subsystem rack interface 172 labeled ess interface manages power received from these battery modules , from the ac / dc conversion module 171 a , dc / dc conversion module 171 b . dc / ac inverter module 171 c , and dc / ac inverter module 171 d and the power interchanged between these different power modules and / or power sources . both the bda 141 b and the ac / dc output connector 109 can receive power from the battery modules through the energy subsystem rack interface 172 . the bda 141 b and the ac / dc output connector 109 can receive power from a line power input , vehicle , or solar panel input ( power sources from outside the amplifier kit ) or from the battery modules 140 b ( power source located inside the amplifier kit ) located in the energy subsystem rack 140 r . the ess interface 172 has intelligence in the form of at least one controller to manage power effectively and direct power to provide optimum energy storage capacity in the battery modules 140 b stored in the energy subsystem rack 140 r . the ess interface 172 follows a predetermined series of steps to manage power optimally to the bda 141 b , convenience power input 109 , converter modules 171 a , 171 b , 171 c , 171 d , and the battery modules 140 b . the ess interface 172 follows a predetermined series of steps to manage power optimally from the line power input , vehicle or solar panel input , converter modules , and the battery modules . the predetermined series of steps optimally manages power based on the temperature , environmental conditions , performance requirements of the bda , performance history of the batteries , and other conditions required by the application . the predetermined series of steps to optimally deliver energy can be programmed based on the energy source in the battery modules . additional information on the process steps is found in u . s . patent ser . no . 11 / 672 , 853 , having a file date of feb . 8 , 2007 which is hereby incorporated by reference . the amplifier kit 101 includes a scalable intelligent power supply which can receive , store , and deliver power from a variety of sources . a variety of methods and circuitry to interconnect the circuitry within the amplifier case may be used . pulse width modulation is one preferred method for managing power from a variety of inputs . the battery modules 140 b each are individually connectable and removable to and from the energy subsystem rack 140 r . each of the battery modules has electrical connections to the energy subsystem rack 140 r which in turn is connected to the ess interface 172 . the ess interface can measure and control the state of charge , power , and energy storage within each battery on an individual battery module basis . the energy subsystem rack 140 r has electrical connections interconnecting the battery modules to each other and allowing them to share power to balance their state of charge for optimum energy storage or power delivery . individual batteries may be removed from the energy subsystem rack 140 r without interrupting or interfering with the power to any of the other components in the device . individual batteries may be inserted into the energy subsystem rack 1408 without interrupting the power to any of the other components in the device . as a result , the amplifier kit has an uninterruptible , hot swappable power supply . the power supply in the amplifier kit may be able to provide power to the bda 141 b or convenience power output 109 with all or none of the battery modules engaged into their respective slots in the energy subsystem rack 140 r . preferably , the battery modules 140 b have sufficient energy to supply the bda 141 b with at least 12 hours of continuous run - time . the battery modules 140 b may also have their own intelligence in the form of controllers programmed with a series of steps to provide optimum energy storage or power delivery . power may be received from the batteries in a sequential , proportional , alternate , step wise , or all - or - nothing manner based on the series of steps programmed in each battery module taking into account the power requirements for each application and environmental conditions . additional information on the process steps is found in u . s . patent ser . no . 11 / 672 , 853 , having a file date of feb . 8 , 2007 which is hereby incorporated by reference . the batteries have an effective energy density , so that the amplifier case remains lightweight to be carried by one person quickly with at least 12 hours of continuous run time for the bi - directional amplifier . in one embodiment , the energy source of the battery modules are lithium - ion cells have a very high energy density allowing the amplifier kit to remain lightweight and portable and provide continuous power sufficient to operate the bi - directional amplifier for at least 12 hours . in addition , less battery modules may also be supplied if line power is available or shorter battery run time is allowable . optionally , more battery modules may be supplied if longer battery runtime is desired . the battery modules may all have the same energy source or different energy sources . in particular , battery modules having the same lithium - ion cells with same cell structure may be used or different lithium cells may be used within the battery modules used in the same energy subsystem rack 140 r . the batteries are interoperable with other portable equipment that may utilize a portable energy source . in particular , the batteries may also be used to supply power to portable radios , repeaters , lights , cameras , vehicles , hand tools , telephones , amplifiers , computers , medical equipment , electric equipment , inverters , or alarms which may be used at the site of an event in the case of a power outage . the lightweight high energy density of the power supply provides an important versatility advantage by being able to power other equipment . the power supply is self - contained within the amplifier kit and easy to carry , transport , and ship . cords for transmission of power or internet connectivity are not essential . the safety , reliability , and utility benefits of the amplifier kit are significant . the batteries may power other equipment while they remain in the amplifier kit or by being removed from amplifier kit . more information on the battery modules and charging mechanisms are found in u . s . patent ser . no . 11 / 672 , 853 , having a file date of feb . 8 , 2007 which is hereby incorporated by reference . the portable amplifier kit 101 holds the bi - directional amplifier 141 b which is connected via an outdoor antenna cable 121 to an outdoor antenna 122 aimed at a radio site . the bi - directional amplifier 141 b is connected via a cable 141 c inside the amplifier kit to an indoor cable short segment 121 b outside of the amplifier kit which is connectable to an indoor antenna system . the amplifier kit is also connected to a management gateway 176 which connects the amplifier kit to a wireless internet protocol ( ip ) network 177 . the power supply of the amplifier is accessible remotely over the internet . the energy content of the batteries as well as the overall power supply of the amplifier kit may be monitored remotely using a standard web browser interface program . the remote web monitoring of the power status of the amplifier kits enables a single individual to monitor more than one kit and efficiently attend to the interchange of battery modules or other power sources as necessary in a multiple system deployment using more than one portable enhancement system . in one embodiment , the amplifier kit has a specific ip address assigned to it that is accessible by at least one user to monitor the power supply and run time available based on the energy content and energy inputs in real time . further , important controls such as on / off power would also be accessible and controllable remotely providing quick communication enhancement as necessary for intermittent problems . additionally , in the event of problematic oscillation or other forms of interference the bda may be easily powered off through this remote access feature . in the event this amplifier kit were deployed in a larger multiple system deployment with one or more units which may be susceptible to cause interference , any unit may be powered off or on remotely as needed or desired to diagnose the best possible location to provide enhanced coverage and reduced likelihood of interference from a variety of locations . fig2 is a flow chart 200 showing a method for deploying portable radio coverage . in step 201 , arrival at scene with portable coverage system occurs . a tentative location for the outdoor antenna 122 of the antenna kit 102 is selected in step 202 . a portable radio is used to perform a coverage check at the tentative location in step 203 . the results of the check are obtained in step 204 . if coverage as checked with the portable radio is not adequate at this location ( negative result ), the set up requires an additional testing step in step 205 to try an alternate outdoor location . in the negative result pathway step 203 , perform check using portable radio , is then repeated . once an acceptable check result is obtained , the step 206 of laying the portable antenna kit aimed at structure entry is performed . this is depicted graphically in fig1 e . tripod legs are extended in step 207 as depicted graphically in fig1 f . the tripod is stood upright with the cable organizer aimed at structure entry in step 208 as shown in fig1 g . a grid map 300 at tripod base is oriented to the north using a compass in step 209 , also shown in fig1 g . fig1 h depicts the following steps : the top and bottom cable retention straps are removed in step 210 . the donor antenna is aimed at a selected radio site in the next step 211 . the portable amplifier kit is placed near the tripod based in step 212 . in step 213 , the donor antenna cable is connected to the amplifier outdoor antenna port . the indoor antenna cable is connected to the amplifier indoor antenna port 214 . although not shown explicitly as a step in fig2 , the telescoping sections of the tripod stand can also be raised to increase the height of the outdoor antenna if desired at this point . as part of step 215 , the amplifier power button is held for at least 2 seconds for delayed startup of the bi - directional amplifier . the duration of the time delay is preconfigured by software and stored in nonvolatile memory of the onboard amplifier kit microcontroller . it will typically range from several tens of seconds to several minutes depending on user requirements . the indoor antenna is pulled from clips securing it to the spine of the cable organizer and the indoor antenna is carried into the structure . optional step 217 includes extending indoor antenna distance from the amplifier with additional cable segments . optionally , an extended antenna kit may be inserted and taken further into the structure . use of extended antenna kit ( s ) allow additional indoor antennas to be coupled and enabled creating a distributed antenna array as deployment progresses . as part of step 219 , the indoor antenna is ultimately positioned near the center of coverage area or in location to provide optimal coverage of the area in need of coverage enhancement . in some cases , it may be advantageous to select a location for the indoor antenna that is out of the way of traffic or above an area that has not yet been cleared for passage . the intelligence embedded in the amplifier kit enabling the turn on delay is activated by holding down the button provides safer , more effective operation of the bda and communication coverage enhancement by reducing the opportunity for oscillation and resulting radio system interference due to their being inadequate isolation between the sending and receiving antennas until the indoor antenna has been taken some distance away from the outdoor antenna and into the attenuating structure . fig2 a is a flow chart 200 a showing a method for deploying portable radio coverage . initially , the power button 106 is pressed in step 201 a . the power button is held for less than 2 seconds as part of step 202 a , the power button is released as part of step 203 a , and the amplifier kit is ready without delay to operate in step 204 a . this series of process steps may be used once the amplifier kit , the outdoor antenna , and the indoor antenna , are all set up and connections to the cables connecting the amplifier kit and the outdoor antenna and the indoor antenna have all been made . the amplifier kit has storage capability to use a different process to power the bda corresponding to different methods of actuating the power button switch . this variety of start - up sequences helps to provide effective coverage enhancement , while avoiding and reducing the opportunity for oscillation or other problematic sources of interference . a variety of different methods of actuating the power to the bda may be used including pressing the power button in a specific sequence , holding the power button , etc . a variety of button configurations may be used on the outside of the amplifier kit . in a preferred embodiment , a button is used on the outside of the case and a variety of different start - up sequences may be initiated by using a single power button . the power to the controller intelligence in the amplifier kit may be enabled independently of powering on the amplifier in order to access important diagnostic information , while preserving battery life and reducing potential for interference . in one embodiment , the intelligence embedded in the amplifier kit and activated by holding down the button for less than two seconds . in another embodiment , the bda may be powered up immediately to more quickly provide communication coverage enhancement more quickly based on the particular site configuration . fig2 b is a flow chart 200 b showing a method for deploying portable radio coverage . a method for deploying portable radio coverage is shown in which the bda can be powered up with a delayed start . this delay start is actuated with a single button . further , the delay start option can be communicated using an indicator light on the outside of the amplifier case . the delay start provides the opportunity to operate the bda safely and effectively and establish communications quickly with minimal instrumentation while avoiding problematic oscillation or automatic shutdown of the bda . the operator can choose the best timing sequence for powering the bda based on the conditions on site . multiple powering sequences can be used and can be actuated simply using an amplifier kit with the same configuration and instrumentation . in all scenarios , the bda has embedded intelligence to respond with the proper start - up and power sequence . in step 201 b , the power button 106 is pressed . the power button is held for more than 2 seconds in step 202 b . the indication that the power sequence has been started is provided with the green light illuminating in step 203 b . this start - up sequence is further actuated with the power button being released after less than 5 seconds has elapsed in step 204 b . a green light flashes for time delay start in step 205 b . the amplifier kit now may be operated as part of step 204 a . holding the power button more than 2 seconds powers up the amplifier kit and the embedded intelligence . once the amplifier kit is powered up information may be received from the amplifier kit intelligence by providing another command with the power button . in this embodiment , releasing the power button before 5 seconds has elapsed initiates a delay start - up mode . the embedded intelligence of the amplifier kit communicates that the delayed start - up mode has been initiated by flashing the green light . fig2 c is a flow chart 200 c showing a method for deploying portable radio coverage . in step 201 c , the power button 106 is pressed . in this embodiment , an additional alternate start - up mode is initiated once the power of the amplifier kit has been turned on . this alternate start - up sequence is initiated by holding the power button down more than 2 seconds in step 202 c . the green light illuminates in step 203 c . step 204 c includes the operation of continuing to hold the power button more than 5 seconds . in step 205 c , the green light goes out indicating the bda in the amplifier case is not powering on , however , the intelligence in the amplifier case is powered on . in step 206 c , the power button is released . the red light on the outside of the amplifier case flashes showing state of charge in step 207 c . indication of safe shipping status is provided in step 208 c with the illumination of the green light . step 209 c is a step in which waiting occurs before the next button push . in this embodiment as shown in view 200 c of the flow chart , information on the energy level of the batteries is provided with the actuation of a single button . further , important safety information is also communicated to the outside of the box from inside the box utilizing the intelligence embedded in the amplifier case and connections to the battery modules in the inside of the case . the case does not need to be opened and safety mechanisms of the battery are easily reported as functioning or non - functioning without requiring lengthy inspection . fig2 d is a flow chart 200 d showing a method for deploying portable radio coverage . in addition to alternate start - up sequences , the intelligence in the amplifier kit also provides important information during operation of the amplifier . step 204 a , the amplifier case begins operation . green light 106 illuminates steadily in step 201 d . in an alternative embodiment , the green light illuminates mostly steadily , momentarily flashing off then quickly on again , simulating a heartbeat as an indication of normal , active operation status . the portable amplifier kit 101 is operating in step 202 d . an indication of operational status is provided by a red light 107 and a green light 106 . in the event , the red light is not flashing in 203 d , evaluation by the operator may continue to examine the green light 106 in 208 d . in the embodiment , where the green light 106 is not flashing , the portable amplifier is operating 202 d . however , in the embodiment the green light is flashing slowly with equal on and off times , the intelligence of the amplifier kit is communicating a low battery warning 212 d . the portable amplifier kit may continue to operate in step 202 d . however , in the event following 202 d , single flashes are being produced by the red light 107 as in 204 d , a warning - error 1 ( e . g . agc operating ) 209 d is provided . following warning 209 d , the portable amplifier kit 101 is operating as shown in 202 d . during operation of the portable amplifier kit 101 in 2020 if a red light 107 is flashing 203 d an evaluation step for double flashes 205 d occurs . in the event of an affirmative response to the double flash evaluation step 205 d , a warning error 2 ( e . g . isolation failure ) is indicated in 210 d . the portable amplifier kit 101 is operating as shown in 202 d . following operation of the portable amplifier kit 101 in 202 d an evaluation for red light 107 flashing 203 d takes place . a positive result for triple flashes indicates a warning error 3 ( e . g . overload shutdown ) by 211 d . the suspension of the amplifier operation 213 d may then occur . a system error following triple flashes is provided by 207 d . fig3 is a view 300 of a regional radio system grid map 300 identifying several alternate radio system site locations 303 , 304 , 305 , 306 , 307 in proximity to a particular location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 . the regional radio system grid map 300 has a north direction indicator 301 , longitude indications 309 , latitude indications 310 , and all the radio system site locations identified over the entire county region 308 . the map also provides the direction to aim outdoor antenna 311 to communicate with the preferred radio system site location 303 . this directional indication would be provided specific to each site . each site has a specific plot that is stored in a location accessible by the personnel using the antenna kit and the amplifier kit . fig3 a shows a flow chart 300 a for aiming the outdoor antenna . initially , the latitude and longitude of location 302 is established in step 301 a . location 302 is identified on the map 300 in step 302 a . north direction 301 at the location 302 in need of communication coverage enhancement is determined in step 303 a . based on topography of the area surrounding location 302 , the building location , entrance location , infrastructure , emergency concerns , evacuation routes , equipment limitations , optimal location for cable length , and to reduce the amount of time to enter building to establish communications , the preferred radio site 303 is determined 304 a . the map 300 is then oriented with north aligned beneath tripod 100 g in this step 305 a . in this step 306 a , the antenna 122 is aimed in the direction of the radio site 303 . the antenna elements 122 a are checked for alignment and correctly oriented ( e . g . vertical in the case of a yagi directional antenna ) as part of this step 307 a . the remaining components of the coverage system are deployed and the coverage system is enabled during this step 308 a . a check may be performed using a portable radio to confirm that coverage has been enabled in step 309 a . in one test , a first portable radio may have its portable antenna removed . the first portable radio attempts to transmit to a second portable radio . ( the amplifier &# 39 ; s power is off during this test ). once an error message is received by the first radio indicating that the signals to a second radio cannot be received , the amplifier is turned on . at this point , the first radio should attempt to transmit a signal to the second radio . the signal from the first radio to the second radio should be able to be received once the amplifier has been turned on . another suitable test procedure could be used in place of this method to test the system quickly . the results of the check are evaluated as part of step 310 a . if the results of the test are positive , the system is providing coverage in step 310 a . if the results of the test are not positive , an alternate radio site ( e . g . 304 is determined in step 312 a and steps starting with the aiming of the directional antenna step 306 a in direction of the radio site 303 are repeated in sequence until a positive result for step 310 a is obtained . the system can establish communications rapidly through quick deployment and a simple set up configuration . the set up has simple orientations to ensure reliable set up with accuracy . additionally , the set up can take place with a single person . the set up may also use a database of preferred radio sites instead of a regional grid map identifying the preferred local radio sites . fig4 shows a view of typical system deployment 400 for building coverage enhancement at a location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 at a building 401 having multiple floors . the portable antenna kit with the outdoor antenna raised 100 j is located outside the building 401 on the ground 402 at the geographic location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 . the building 401 has a roof 403 , windows 405 , ground floor 407 , interior doorway seen through window 404 , and an exterior wall 419 . the building has floors second 408 through seventh 413 which are considered as part of the system deployment . based on the regional radio system grid map 300 or the operator &# 39 ; s own understanding of geography , the antenna kit may be oriented towards the building entranceway to dispense cable most safely and effectively . after orienting the gridmap 300 in the northward direction 301 , the regional radio system grid map 300 is used to determine the direction to aim outdoor antenna 311 . the outdoor antenna is aimed in the most acceptable line - of - sight path to the preferred radio system site location 303 . the double ball joint on the amplifier kit may be useful in orienting the antenna boom in the proper direction 311 while simultaneously aligning the vertical elements coincident with the vertical plane . fig4 a shows a closer perspective view 400 a of a typical system deployment for building coverage enhancement at a location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 ( a building 401 having multiple floors ). a closer view of a typical system deployment for building coverage enhancement 400 a shows the outdoor antenna raised 100 j and connected with an outdoor antenna cable 121 to the amplifier kit . the tripod has a telescoping section 135 which is in raised position . the antenna kit is also connected to the amplifier kit with a short segment of an indoor antenna cable 121 b . the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 leads into the main entrance door 415 of the building 401 . 121 b and 132 are segments of an otherwise continuous cable connecting the amplifier with the indoor antenna . the regional radio system grid map 300 is shown on the ground with the top of the map aligned to correspond to the north direction indicator 301 . the direction to aim outdoor antenna 311 is also provided on the map 300 . the boom of the outdoor antenna is aimed to point in this direction 311 toward the preferred radio system site location 303 . the vertical elements of the boom are aligned to be perpendicular to level ground . in this closer perspective view of the building 401 , in addition to the ground floor 407 , second floor 408 , third floor 409 , fourth floor 410 , fifth floor 411 , sixth floor 412 , and seventh floor 413 , and a roof access door 414 are shown from this view on the roof 403 . fig4 b shows an enlarged view 400 b of portable antenna kit and portable amplifier kit deployed at a location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 at a building 401 having multiple floors . the enlarged view 400 b of a portable antenna kit and amplifier kit deployed by building 401 illustrates the portable antenna kit with the outdoor antenna raised 100 j . the outdoor antenna is at the end of the raised telescoping section of the tripod 135 and the antenna is more clearly seen to be in communication configuration ( elements of the boom are vertical or perpendicular to level ground ). the outdoor antenna cable 121 is connected to the outdoor antenna and amplifier kit . a short segment of indoor antenna cable 121 b connects the antenna kit to the amplifier kit . a long segment of indoor antenna cable 132 leads from the antenna kit over the ground 402 onto the ground floor 407 of the building 401 through the main entrance doorway 415 . the location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 is illustrated with the essential components of the outdoor components deployed outside the building 401 . fig4 c shows a cut away view 400 c of a cable from the antenna kit to the indoor antenna coverage location . the cut away view of a cable connecting the antenna kit to the indoor antenna coverage location 400 c provides a view of the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 extending from the antenna kit ( which is located outside the building on the ground ) on the ground floor to the fourth floor in an upwards direction 418 in the stairwell 417 . the cable 132 may proceed straight tip along the stairwell wall 416 past the ground floor 407 , the second floor 408 , third floor 409 , and ending on the fourth floor 410 . in this way , less cable is used in this vertical path of the cable and less cable is placed on the path of travel on the stairs 417 . in an alternative embodiment , the cable may be placed along each step on the stairway and across the midfloor landing 420 . however , this path may require more cable to be used . based on the specific area of the building requiring communication coverage enhancement will require the best available path to deploy the cable to provide the desired pattern of communication coverage enhancement . optionally , an extended antenna kit or kits may be used to place incremental indoor antennas along the path to an ultimate or terminal indoor antenna location thus creating a distributed antenna array effecting coverage over a wide internal area of the building . the indoor antenna 133 and long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 are ultimately located on the fourth floor 410 . the antenna 133 may be suspended from cable 132 draped over a door or edge , or mounted using various accessories standing on the floor or table or hung from an overhead fixture as shown later in fig1 , 12 a , 12 b , and 12 c . communication coverage enhancement may be provided to floors adjacent based on the coverage of the indoor antenna and the building construction , materials , and other environmental conditions . for example , coverage on the fifth floor 411 may be enhanced , while the indoor antenna is located on the fourth floor 410 . in this way , coverage may be provided to floor that is not vet secure without requiring communication personnel to step foot on the unsecured floor . directional versus omni directional antennas may be selected for this very purpose such as the patch or yagi antenna shown in fig1 ib and 1 ic . such antennas will concentrate more signal energy in the particular direction they are aimed such as upper floors 5 through 7 if aimed upward from floor 4 . based on the area of the building requiring communication coverage enhancement , the configuration will be determined for the location requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 . in particular , windows 405 located throughout the building may also be used to establish communication coverage enhancement . the technique of placing the outdoor antenna and / or amplifier kit indoors aimed out windows may be used to reduce the path of cable traveling through the building . in one embodiment , the cable could lead directly from the outdoor antenna kit outside on the ground up the side of the building and in through a window on the particular floor in need of coverage enhancement . this may be used based on the building configuration , material construction , access to the building , available equipment ( i . e . ladder and available length of cable ), configuration factors such as isolation , coverage areas , access to the building as well as time . based on the area requiring communication , the outdoor antenna may be located inside and pointed in the direction of the preferred radio system site location 303 through a window . in this alternate configuration , the building &# 39 ; s internal structure may be used to provide isolation between the indoor antenna and outdoor antenna . since elements of the this communication enhancement invention are portable , a variety of configurations are possible and may be used to enhance communications including configurations where the outdoor antenna , the indoor antenna , and the amplifier kit may all be located inside the building , outside the building , or any combination . the amplifier kit and the antenna kit are portable and can be set up in a variety of configurations to overcome communication obstacles . in another embodiment , the cable 132 used in the area needing communication coverage enhancement may be a type of coaxial cable referred to as “ leaky coax ” and may be used to provide radio coverage to an increasingly distributed coverage area . in one embodiment , the leaky coax may extend vertically as shown in the drawing or it may used to lay horizontally over the stairway and midfloor landing . in one embodiment , a portion of the cable ( 132 ) may be a type of low loss coaxial cable and another portion of the cable ( 132 ) may be a type of leaky coax . in one embodiment , the leaky coax portion of the cable ( 132 ) may be used at an end portion of cable ( 132 ) in place of an indoor antenna ( 133 ). preferably , the portion of the cable ( 132 ) which is shown to bypass the exterior wall or other source of radio signal attenuation will have as little loss as possible . in another embodiment , a low loss coaxial portion may lead to a directional coupler or splitter , where two separate cables extend from said coupler one being an additional portion of low loss coaxial cable and another portion being a leaky coaxial cable portion . many other combinations and permutations may be readily implemented . fig4 d shows a view 400 d of the indoor antenna location deployed at the fourth floor of building requiring radio coverage enhancement 302 . the indoor antenna location on the fourth floor of building 400 d shows a closer view of the indoor antenna 133 connected to the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 on the fourth floor 410 . the cable 132 is illustrated extending in an upward direction 418 and laying across a portion of the stairs 417 on the fourth floor . the indoor antenna is located just outside the stairwell doorway 421 and may be variously supported or mounted as described above . as mentioned previously , this location of the indoor antenna near the fourth floor stairwell doorway could also be achieved through a variety of configurations . alternatively , the cable could extend in an upward direction from the antenna kit on the ground floor and enter the building through a window . alternatively , the outside antenna and / or the amplifier kit could also be located in the building . in another configuration , the outdoor antenna could be located inside the building and pointed out of a window or other entranceway or portal . in yet another embodiment elements of the system including the outdoor antenna and amplifier could be located on the roof of the building 403 . fig5 is a view 500 of a vehicle borne portable radio enhancement system . this vehicle born portable radio enhancement system view 500 shows a portable amplifier kit 101 , portable antenna kit 120 , and an outdoor antenna 122 secured to an emergency response vehicle 501 . the portable amplifier kit 101 is secured in place using a portable amplifier kit retention strap 503 to extend across the door 101 d of the portable amplifier case . the portable amplifier is secured at the bottom by being placed in a kit bin 502 . on the opposite side of the end portion of the emergency response vehicle 501 , a portable antenna kit retention strap 504 is used to secure a top portion of the antenna kit into place against the back surface of the emergency response vehicle 501 . the bottom of the antenna kit rests on a rotating portable antenna kit mounting platform 506 . in this configuration , the outdoor antenna cable 121 is pre - connected to the amplifier kit and the antenna kit . the outdoor antenna cable 121 is secured into place out of the way of normal operations in a portion of the rear of the emergency response vehicle between the antenna kit and the amplifier kit using cable clamps 505 . short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b is connected to the antenna kit and the indoor antenna . long segment of the indoor antenna cable 132 is wrapped around the cable organizer attached to the antenna kit . the indoor antenna 133 is secured into place against the spine of cable organizer 125 in a central position surrounded by the coil of the indoor antenna cable 132 . an upper cable retention strap 130 and a lower cable retention strap 130 b hold the indoor antenna cable in a coiled configuration attached to the cable organizer . portable antenna kit tripod 120 is also secured against the rear of the vehicle along with the outdoor antenna 122 by retaining strap 504 . fig5 a shows a close - up view 500 a of the vehicle borne portable radio enhancement system . portable antenna kit tripod 120 and an outdoor antenna 122 are secured to an emergency response vehicle 501 by rotatable base 506 and retaining strap 504 . the portable amplifier kit 101 is secured in place using a portable amplifier kit retention strap 503 to extend across the door 101 d of the portable amplifier case . portable amplifier base is secured in a kit bin 502 . in this view , the rubber foot 124 r at the end of the protrusions of the cable organizer are more clearly visible . fig5 b is a further close - up view 500 b of the portable antenna kit mounted on emergency response vehicle in the vehicle borne portable radio enhancement system . the portable antenna kit retention strap 504 is seen at the top of the portable antenna kit spanning across the outdoor antenna 122 , the dual ball joint 134 , and the top of the telescoping mast securing them to the rear of the emergency response vehicle . the outdoor antenna cable 121 is connected to the outdoor antenna near the top of the antenna kit . the outdoor antenna cable 121 extends to a downward position where it is clamped against the rear of the vehicle alongside the short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b . a long segment of indoor antenna cable 132 is wrapped around a central portion of the cable organizer . at the top just below an adjuster for the second telescoping section 123 c , a top portion of the coil of indoor antenna cable 132 is held into place with an upper cable retention strap 130 . at the bottom of the cable organizer , a lower cable retention strap 130 b holds the lower portion of the coil of indoor antenna cable 132 in place . near the bottom of the cable organizer on the left is tripod leg 123 f and on the right of the cable organizer is a tripod leg 123 e . the coil of indoor antenna cable is wound around protrusions of the cable organizer covering the protrusions except for the rubber foot 124 r near the end of each of the protrusion tips . the antenna kit at the bottom rests on a rotating portable antenna kit mounting platform 506 . a rectangular portion of the cable organizer can be seen inside the coil of wound cable . the indoor antenna 133 is securely attached to the spine 125 of the cable organizer on the inside of the wound cable . a pigtail cable 132 a can be seen attached to a bottom portion of the indoor antenna . it should be noted that the antenna stand may be quickly removed from the vehicle if needed by simply releasing retaining strap 504 and lifting the entire kit up and off of platform 506 . once removed , the antenna system may be portably deployed as described in previous paragraphs . fig5 c shows a view 500 c of the portable amplifier kit mounted on an emergency response vehicle in the vehicle borne portable radio enhancement system . the bottom of the portable amplifier kit 101 is seated in a portable amplifier kit bin 502 on the back of an emergency response vehicle . a portable amplifier kit retention strap 503 spans across the top of the amplifier kit and holds the amplifier kit against the emergency response vehicle . the door 101 d of the portable amplifier case is in closed position with the hinge side of the amplifier case running from top to bottom on the left side of the amplifier kit . the outdoor antenna cable 121 connects to the outdoor antenna connector port on the top right of the amplifier case . the short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b is connected to the indoor antenna connector port adjacent to the outdoor antenna connector port on the top right of the amplifier case . the two cables extend alongside each other from the top of the amplifier case to a position to the left of the bottom of the amplifier case . it should be noted that the amplifier kit may be quickly removed from the vehicle simply by releasing retaining strap 503 and lifting the amplifier kit up and out of bin 502 . once removed , the amplifier kit may be portably deployed as described in previous paragraphs . fig5 d is a view 500 d of the vehicle borne portable radio enhancement system in the deployed configuration . the portable amplifier kit 101 is secured on one end of the emergency vehicle with a portable amplifier kit retention strap 503 spanning across the top of the amplifier kit and the bottom of the amplifier resting in a portable amplifier kit bin 502 . cable clamps 505 secure the cables leading from the amplifier along a bottom portion of the emergency response vehicle . the outdoor antenna cable 121 and the short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b lead from the amplifier kit until reaching the left most cable clamp 505 . from this leftmost cable clamp near the bottom of the emergency response vehicle , the outdoor antenna cable 121 extends upward connecting to the outdoor antenna 122 . the short segment of the indoor antenna cable 121 b leads back to the antenna kit . the outdoor antenna is located at the top of an outdoor antenna mast in a position above the emergency response vehicle 501 . a top portion of the portable antenna kit is secured to the back of the emergency vehicle with a portable antenna kit retention strap 504 . the adjustor for the second telescoping section 123 c and the adjuster for the first telescoping section 123 b are turned to extend the antenna mast into an elevated position and then locked into place . the long segment of indoor antenna cable 132 is deploying from cable organizer 520 and headed for the building ingress as both the upper cable retention strap 130 and the lower cable retention strap 130 b are unattached from the cable organizer allowing the cable connected to the indoor antenna 133 to deploy . the rotating portable antenna kit mounting platform 506 is turned slightly away from the rear of the emergency response vehicle in a fashion to align the cable organizer in the direction of the building ingress so that cable 132 pays out easily as indoor antenna 133 is transported to and into the building . many alternative attachment locations and mechanisms for both antenna system and amplifier system on many different types of vehicles are possible and contemplated to all be part of this invention . for example , the components could be mounted to either side , the front , or the top of a truck . a helicopter could also be used to mount and deliver the equipment to a coverage enhancement scene . the system could be mounted on a stationary structure such as a maintenance outbuilding , safely removed from the structure requiring coverage where it would not be damaged in the event of a disaster in that building , but also quickly detachable and deployable in a fully portable way . fig6 illustrates a view 600 a of a schematic of a hybrid system with standard interface box . the built - in outdoor antenna 622 is mounted on the building roof 403 preferably using a non - penetrating antenna system 632 . concrete block or sand bag ballast may be used to mount the non - penetrating roof stand 691 and non - penetrating roof stand base 692 on the roof 403 . alternatively , an existing building mast or other attachment point may be utilized . the built - in outdoor antenna 622 is a yagi directional antenna and will be aimed at a tower located in a preferred proximity or orientation with the closest and most unobstructed path . consideration of other radio systems such as cellular or private radio systems should also be considered when selecting the outdoor antenna location and orientation . other antenna types and configurations may be used . a panel antenna may also be used . coaxial cable shield is to be grounded via 6 awg cable with appropriate weatherproofing at the connection point to the coaxial cable . coaxial cable 610 extends from the roof top antenna system down the building to the interior wall space directly adjacent to the in - building communication ( ibc ) interface box where the cable 610 connects to the rear antenna port 603 on the standard building interface box 601 . the low loss coaxial cable 610 connects the antenna to a rear antenna port 603 inside of the interface box 601 . a surge suppressor 624 is located inside interface box between the outdoor antenna connection port 618 and the rear antenna connection port 603 protecting the outdoor antenna cable system and building systems in the event of a lightning strike . the surge suppressor has a robust ground connection via terminal 630 , conductor 605 , and ground stake 606 . the standard building interface box 601 may also be referred to as an emergency radio coverage system access panel , in building communications interface , communications panel , interface box , and other combinations thereof . the outdoor antenna system 632 is now accessible through the outdoor antenna connection port 618 of the interface box 601 which is located on the exterior wall 419 of the building at a ground level location conveniently attended by first responders entering the building . in this embodiment , the outdoor antenna system is accessible to the emergency response personnel behind the door 621 of the interface box 601 . authorized access to the panel is enforced by a lock 602 or other securing to prevent access to the panel by unauthorized personnel . preferably the panel would allow emergency personnel or authorized personnel to establish communications status without entering the building . other locations may be used which are easily accessible to fire , other public safety , or building premise personnel . still referring to fig6 , the built in indoor antenna 633 will typically be positioned at a ceiling height near the center of the building or other suitable position in the building to provide coverage enhancement as needed . the small , lightweight antenna 633 may be connected via a magnetic base to a suitable steel structure or drop strut of the ceiling 640 . other suitable fasteners , clamp , adhesive backing , velcro - type hook and loop , and other securing mechanisms may be used to connect to the antenna to a structure inside of the building . low loss coaxial cable 609 connects the indoor antenna 633 to the indoor antenna rear port 604 on the in - building communication ( ibc ) interface box through holes in the exterior wall 419 . the indoor antenna system 631 is now accessible through the front antenna connection port 617 of the interface box which is located on the exterior wall 419 of the building at a ground level location easily accessible to fire and other public safety personnel . a ¼ 20 ground terminal 630 along with ground stake 606 and 6 awg cable 605 are provided for earth grounding near the box location . fig6 a provides a schematic representation 600 a of a hybrid system with the portable amplifier kit connected to the outdoor antenna system . as before , the built in antenna systems are pie - configured and connected to the ibc interface box . the ibc interface box 601 has the security lock ( not shown ) removed and front door in open position ( not shown ). the ibc interface box 601 is connected via a coaxial cable 612 from the indoor antenna front port on the interface box to the indoor antenna connector port 104 on the portable amplifier kit 101 . the portable amplifier kit 101 is connected via a coaxial cable 611 from the outdoor antenna connection front port 618 on the interface box 601 to the outdoor antenna connector port 105 on the portable amplifier kit 101 . the portable amplifier kit 101 includes : a bda 141 , a sips power and control module 636 , and a carrying case . the case of the amplifier kit 101 includes a power push button 106 and a status light 107 which communicate information from the sips power and control module 244 located on the inside of the case to the outside of the case . fig6 b is a front view of the standard interface box 601 with the door 62 i closed . the standard building interface box 601 may be pre - assembled and may be mounted to the exterior face of the building at a ground level location easily accessible to fire and other safety personnel . a hinge 670 is located on one side of the interface box . a cable 605 for earth grounding near the box location to an appropriate grounding mechanism is also attached to the standard interface box 601 . mounting ears 614 or other mechanisms may be used to attach the ibc assembly to the building or structure surface . fig6 c is a front view of the standard interface box with the door 621 open with a cable jumper 616 in place . the cable jumper 616 connects the front indoor antenna port in the standard building interface box 617 to the outdoor antenna front port in the standard building interface box 618 . this implements a passive coverage system which may be of some utility under certain circumstances even without a portable amplifier being connected . the inside of the door 621 includes a pocket 620 and a regional radio system grid map 300 . the door of the interface box 601 is connected to the interface box 601 by a hinge 670 . the front port of the outdoor antenna in the standard building interface box 618 eventually connects to the outdoor antenna ( not shown ) through various circuit elements and cables ( not shown ). a cable conduit 615 exits the top of the interface box as an optional route to connections at the outdoor antenna . in this embodiment , the fixed indoor antenna system interfaces directly with the fixed outdoor antenna system . in this embodiment , no portable equipment is used . the jumper is quickly removable and a portable amplifier system may be readily connected to provide bi - directional boosting of signal levels communicating between the outdoor and indoor antennas . fig6 d is a front view 600 d of the standard interface box with the door open and the cable jumper removed . the interface box includes two polarized connectors on the right side of the front panel of the interface box . an earth ground cable 605 is connected to the lower right corner of the interface box 601 at terminal 630 . the indoor antenna front port 617 is located on the upper right near the top portion of the interface box . the front port 617 has a polarized surface for mating with a cable connector . the outdoor antenna front port 618 is located on the right side beneath the indoor antenna port 617 and has polarization opposite of the indoor antenna port 617 . this assures correct connection of outdoor antenna system to amplifier outdoor antenna port and indoor antenna system to amplifier indoor antenna port . put simply , connector gender prevents misconnection . fig6 e is a cut away front view 600 e of the standard interface box with the door open and with both the cable juniper and standard connector mounting panel removed . a regional radio system grid map 300 is included on the inside of the door 621 of the standard building interface box 601 . with the standard connector mounting panel 619 ( not shown ) removed the cable connections between the indoor antenna , front port , standard building interface box 617 and the outdoor antenna , front port , standard building interface box 618 can be more easily observed . a cable 628 connects the indoor front port 617 on the right top portion to the indoor rear port 604 on the left upper portion of the standard building interface box . the outdoor antenna front port 618 is connected via cable 626 to a surge suppressor 624 . the cable surge suppressor 624 is connected to the outdoor antenna rear port 603 via cable 627 . the surge suppressor 624 is connected to the standard interface box via mounting and grounding bracket for surge suppressor 625 . the location of the front and rear ports are interchangeable , so long as the polarization of the connectors is maintained enabling a device on the outside of the box to be connected to the proper indoor or outdoor antenna . fig6 f is a rear view 600 f of the standard interface box as it would be seen looking through the wall upon which it is mounted . the standard building interface box 601 is shown to have an outdoor antenna rear port 603 on the lower right of the interface box and an indoor antenna rear port 604 in this view . the earth ground cable 605 is located on the lower left of the standard building interface box 601 with the hinge 670 located on the left . the standard building interface box 601 includes : four mounting flange ears 614 for fastener mounting to the building surface . other attachment mechanisms are contemplated . the approximate size of the box is 12 ″ wide by 15 ″ tall by 7 ″ deep . two cable connection rear ports 603 , 604 for the outdoor antenna cable 610 and indoor antenna cable 609 are optionally positioned for wall side interface respectively . access holes having a diameter of about 1 ″ are required to be placed in the wall to accommodate each cable . a watertight gasket or caulking material would be used between the rear wall of the ibc interface box and the face of the structure wall to prevent water from reaching the connections or holes entering the building . alternative conduit entry at the box top , bottom , or side surfaces may be used instead of one or both of these rear connection points . fig6 g is a rear view 600 g of the standard interface box with a mounted outdoor antenna connected to the standard interface box with the conduit embodiment as compared to the rear connection embodiment . in this rear view , 600 g the standard building interface box 601 is shown to have the indoor antenna rear port 604 located on the upper right on the rear exterior wall 617 e of the standard building interface box . the conduit 615 which connects to the outdoor antenna extends from the top of the interface box . the earth ground cable 605 is connected to the box on the lower left bottom portion of the standard building interface box . the hinge 670 is located on the right side of the interface box in this view . fig6 h is an exterior view 600 h of the standard interface box with a mounted outdoor antenna connected to the standard interface box via a conduit in a hybrid system implementation . the hybrid system embodiment is shown with the standard interface box 601 mounted to an exterior wall 419 . the earth ground cable 605 is shown exiting the box on the lower left . the conduit 615 is shown extending from the top of the interface box along the exterior wail 419 past the roof of the building and connecting to a built - in outdoor antenna 622 . the indoor antenna front port 617 is shown on the front upper right portion of the standard building interface box 601 . the outdoor antenna front port is shown on the lower front right of the standard building interface box 601 beneath the indoor antenna front port 617 . the door 621 of the standard building interface box 601 is shown in an open position and extending to the left . the literature pocket 620 is located on an inside portion of the door . fig6 i is a cut away view 600 i of a hybrid system installed on a floor of a building with the standard interface box connected to an outdoor antenna via a conduit mount and to an array of indoor antennas . the standard building interface box 601 is mounted to an exterior wall 419 of a building . a conduit 615 runs from the top of the interface box alongside the exterior wall past the roof 403 to connect to a built - in outdoor antenna 622 . an indoor antenna cable 615 is shown connecting the rear of the standard building interface box 601 to an array of built - in indoor antennas 633 mounted on the inside of the building to the ceiling 640 and connected using directional couplers or splitters ( not called out ). the earth ground stake 606 is sunk in the ground in front of the building and parallel to the exterior wall 419 . a cable connects the interface box to the earth ground stake 606 . in this view , both the indoor antennas and the outdoor antenna are built - in ( attached to the building ) and connected to the interface box in a completely pre - configured fashion : fig6 j is a view 600 j of a portion of the hybrid system including the outdoor antenna mounted on a rooftop with a non - penetrating roof mount . the built - in outdoor antenna 622 is shown on the roof 403 with concrete blocks 690 mounting the antenna to the roof . the cable 610 is seen extending from a port in the roof up to the base of the outdoor antenna 622 . cabling to the interface box is routed through the building interior as opposed to externally using conduit . fig6 k is a view 600 k of the standard interface box with a portable amplifier connected via cables to the standard interface box . the portable amplifier kit 101 has a cable 611 leading from the outdoor antenna port on the amplifier kit to the outdoor antenna front port 618 on the standard building interface box . the portable amplifier kit 101 has a cable 612 leading from the indoor antenna port on the amplifier kit to the indoor antenna front port 617 on the standard building interface box . an earth ground cable 605 extends downward from the lower right portion of the standard interface box . the door of the standard interface box is shown in open position with a literature pocket 620 on the inside of the door . the door is connected to the interface box via a hinge 670 . the cables can be connected to the front ports of the interface box when the door is in open position and any installed jumper is removed . fig6 l is a view 600 l of the standard interface box with jumpers attached connecting built - in antenna and amplifier components . the standard building interface box , full built in embodiment , is shown with a regional radio system grid map 300 inserted in the literature pocket 620 on the inside of the door 621 . an earth ground cable 605 is shown exiting the lower left of the box . mounting flanges 614 are located on the top portion of the standard interface box . the indoor antenna front port 617 is connected to the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 663 with a jumper 651 . the outdoor antenna front port 618 is connected to a built - in booster outdoor antenna front port 662 with jumper 652 . the connector mounting panel 619 of the standard interface box is shown on the front portion of the interface box having four port connections . fig6 m is a view 600 m of the standard interface box for use with built - in components of the hybrid system with jumpers removed . the standard building interface box in this full built in embodiment , has a regional radio system grid map 300 inserted in the literature pocket 620 on the inside of the door 621 . an earth ground cable 605 is shown exiting the lower left of the box . mounting flanges 614 are located on the top portion of the standard interface box . the indoor antenna front port 617 is shown on the front portion of the interface box positioned at about the same height as the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 663 also on the front panel portion of the standard interface box . the outdoor antenna front port 618 is located beneath the indoor antenna front port 617 . the outdoor antenna front port 618 is shown at about the same height as the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 662 also on the front panel portion of the standard interface box . the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 662 is located beneath the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 663 . the connector mounting panel 619 of the standard interface box is shown on the front portion of the interface box having four port openings : the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 663 , the built - in booster indoor antenna front port 662 , the indoor antenna front port 617 , and the outdoor antenna front port 618 . the ports have polarized connectors specific to each antenna or signal booster function : indoor or outdoor . each port is polarized differently , so that the indoor antenna port and the outdoor antenna port connections cannot be misconnected . fig6 n is a rear view 600 n of the standard interface box for use with built - in components of the hybrid system . the rear view 600 n of the standard interface box illustrates a rear portion of the interface box having four rear port connections : the built - in booster indoor antenna rear port 663 a will be connected to the booster indoor antenna port via a cable run not shown , the built - in booster outdoor antenna rear port 662 a will be connected to the booster outdoor antenna port via a cable run not shown , the indoor antenna rear port 604 will be connected to the indoor antenna array as previously described , and the outdoor antenna rear port 603 will be connected to the outdoor antenna system as previously described . the jumpers 651 and 652 previously shown complete the built in booster to built in antenna system circuit connections . the advantage of using the ibc interface box lies in the ability afforded first responders to quickly bypass and substitute portable components for malfunctioning or disabled built in components in any combination required for the ibc interface box located in the relative safety of the building &# 39 ; s exterior . fig6 o is a flow chart 600 o of a method for deploying enhanced radio coverage . in step 601 a , the portable coverage system arrives at the scene . the portable amplifier 101 is placed near the standard in - building communication interface box ( ibc i / f ) 601 in step 602 o . the lock 602 is unlocked and the door 621 as part of step 603 o . the indoor amplifier port 104 is connected to the ibc i / f port 617 using cable 612 in step 604 o . in step 605 o , the outdoor amplifier port 105 is connected to ibc i / f port 618 using cable 611 . as part of optional step 606 o , the ibc may be used to diagnose the building system integrity . the results of the optional check are evaluated as part of step 607 o . a no response to this check in step 607 o leads to step 609 o . however , if the result of the test is positive in 607 o , an immediate start - up procedure is initiated in step 6080 by pushing and releasing amplifier power button . however , following a no response to the check in step 607 o and reference to the literature in step 609 o . the outdoor antenna is evaluated for failure as part of step 610 o . in the event an outdoor antenna failure is identified as part of step 610 o , a portable outdoor antenna may be substituted for the building antenna as part of step 611 o . in the event , the outdoor antenna has not failed or if the outdoor antenna has failed and once a substitute antenna may be inserted , the process continues with an inspection of the indoor antenna as part of 612 o . following a yes response for indoor antenna failure check in step 612 o , a portable indoor antenna may be substituted for the building antenna as part of step 613 o . following step 613 o and a no response to step 612 o , the building is inspected for severe damage as part of step 614 o . if severe building damage is identified which may compromise other fixed components of the system , the stand - alone portable system deployment 200 is used in step 615 o . however , if the severe damage is not identified in response to step 614 o , the process proceeds to step 608 o where the amplifier is powered on with push and release of the power button 106 for immediate start - up . a similar process is applied in the case of the four - port ibc interface box full built in embodiment described above . in this case , in addition to the integrity checks of built in outdoor and indoor antenna systems , the built in booster system integrity may also be examined . if any of the built in components shows malfunction , portable components arriving safely and undamaged with first responders may be quickly substituted overcome the malfunction . fig7 is a table of preparedness strategies and deployment configurations . the table describes three different types of treatment scenarios in the second column and relative investment ( monetary ) in terms of first responders and premise ( s ) in columns three and four . the configuration requirements ( portable or built - in ) for the outdoor antenna , amplifier , and indoor antenna are indicated in columns six , seven , and eight . it should be noted that these strategies and their respective configurations correspond variously to the fully portable deployment , the ibc interface box hybrid embodiment , and the ibc interface box full built in embodiment described in the preceding paragraphs . the first treatment strategy ( strategy # 1 ) in row 2 of the chart indicates that a first responder can provide a completely portable communication coverage enhancement requiring no invested equipment in the premise . configuration # 1 within strategy # 1 represents a passive enhancement approach where antennas are utilized along with cabling to convey the signal past the blocking structure without the use of an active amplifier system ( hence passive approach ). configuration # 2 within strategy # 1 is a typical portable enhancement approach as described earlier using portable outdoor antenna , portable amplifier system , and portable indoor antenna or antenna array . further options within these general configurations include various placements for the portable outdoor antenna , for example , outside the structure mounted on the ground or mounted on a vehicle , or inside the structure mounted to aim through a window or other opening , or upon the structure such as on a rooftop . various placements for the portable amplifier are also contemplated including near the portable outdoor antenna , near the portable indoor antenna or array , or an arbitrary distance between the outdoor and indoor antenna . this may result in the portable amplifier being located outside the structure on the ground or mounted to a vehicle , or inside or upon the structure . the second treatment strategy ( strategy # 2 ) adjacent to the 2 in the first column of the chart indicates that a building with installed standard interface provides configurations 3 - 8 ( 5 different configurations total ) utilizing a various combinations of built - in and portable components . the installation of the standard interface box requires a moderate investment by the premises and the same investment by the first responders as the previous strategy # 1 . however , the standard interface box provides a number of different configuration options which can provide a flexible response to emergency conditions including back up of damaged or inadequate built - in systems . the third treatment strategy ( strategy # 3 ) adjacent to the 3 in the first column of the chart indicates that a building with installed standard interface provides configurations 9 - 15 ( 7 different configurations total ) utilizing various combinations of built - in and portable components including antenna subsystems , signal booster , backup power , and alarm system interconnected using a standard building interface . the installation of the standard interface box requires a moderate investment in the premises and the similar investment by first responders as the previous strategies . however , the installed antenna subsystem , signal booster , backup power , and alarm system require significantly more investment in the premises than the previous two types of treatment strategies . again , the standard interface box provides a number of different configurations to utilize the installed and portable elements to provide the most effective communication coverage enhancement most quickly and flexibly at particular premises under particular circumstances . fig8 a is a schematic view 800 a of the typical portable in - building communication enhancement treatment . a portable in - building communication enhancement treatment is applied to a building 801 and set distance from a radio site 803 such as a radio tower . a portable amplifier kit 804 is located outside the building 801 . the outdoor antenna amplifier port 805 b of the portable amplifier kit 804 is connected via an outdoor antenna cable 805 a to a portable outdoor antenna 805 . a portable indoor antenna 806 is placed inside the building 801 . the portable indoor antenna 806 is connected to the indoor antenna amplifier port 807 a of the portable amplifier kit 804 with a long segment of indoor antenna cable 807 and a contiguous short segment 807 a . the amplifier kit is connected to the indoor antenna and portable outdoor antenna and powered on enhancing radio communications from inside of the building 801 to reach the radio site 803 and communications from the radio site 803 outside the building to be transmitted to radio users within the building . the indoor antenna 806 and the outdoor antenna 805 are separated by a sufficient distance and structure , so that oscillation of the amplifier is precluded by adequate isolation . the amplifier kit has an automatic shutdown feature in the event oscillation or other problematic forms of interference should occur . the portable in - building communication enhancement treatment is simple to use and can be set up quickly which enables communication to be established with less risk to those on - site . in this embodiment , the indoor antenna is the only piece of equipment that is required to be brought into the building to provide communications . the indoor antenna can be brought into the building as part of the last step in establishing communications . fig8 b is a schematic 800 b of the typical vehicle mounted portable in - building communication enhancement treatment . in this embodiment , all of the components of the portable outdoor amplifier kit 804 and the portable outdoor antenna 805 are mounted to an emergency response vehicle 808 . in this way assembly time can be further reduced , as less time is necessary to establish communications by deploying the portable outdoor antenna from a bag . in this embodiment , the indoor antenna is the only piece of equipment that needs to be brought inside in order to provide the portable in - building communication enhancement treatment . fig8 c is a schematic 800 c of the typical portable in - building communication enhancement kit with an extension antenna kit . in this embodiment , the portable outdoor antenna 805 is located outside the building 801 . the portable amplifier kit 804 is attached to the outdoor antenna and is also located outside of the building 801 . the portable indoor antenna 806 is located inside the building 801 and is connected via an extension cable 812 to a portable extension antenna stand 809 . the portable extension antenna stand 809 is coupled to the long segment of the indoor antenna cable 807 which connects to the amplifier kit . in this embodiment , the amplifier kit may be located outside of the building . the portable extension antenna stand 809 has an extension antenna selection switch 810 , an extension indoor antenna 811 , and an extension cable 812 . extension antenna selection switch 810 may be actuated to enable or disable signal distribution from interim extension antenna 811 . signal will be delivered to the ultimate indoor antenna 806 regardless of the position of switch 810 . the portable extension antenna stand can provide increased reach of the portable in - building communication enhancement treatment with its addition of extended length of cable as well as the use of an additional indoor antenna to provide increased coverage throughout the building . a distributed antenna system ( das ) may be applied to the building quickly as part of the overall portable in - building communication system deployment . fig8 d is a schematic 800 d of the typical portable in - building communication enhancement kit with an extension cable and a specialty indoor antenna . in this embodiment , the amplifier kit 804 and the portable outdoor antenna 805 are connected to each other and are located outside the building . the portable amplifier kit is connected to a specialty portable extension antenna 814 which is located inside the building 801 . the specialty portable extension antenna may be selected based on the specific handheld radios that are used as part of the system , configuration or materials used in the building construction , coverage pattern intent , or other reason specific to the circumstances and the location in need of communication coverage enhancement . the amplifier kit in this embodiment is shown connected to the specialty antenna system 814 via portable extension cable 812 , cable coupler 813 , and usual indoor antenna connection cable 807 . in this embodiment an increased connection length is used between the amplifier kit 804 and the indoor antenna 814 using a coupler 813 and cable extension 812 . the type of cable extension used can be determined based on the length of cabling required as well as other factors necessary to provide communication enhancement such as suitable isolation occurring between the amplifier kit and the specialty indoor antenna . fig8 e is a schematic 800 e of a typical hybrid system including an attached portable amplifier kit . in this embodiment , the building 801 has a standard building interface box 815 attached directly to the building . the standard building interface box 815 is connected to a built - in outdoor antenna 818 and a built - in indoor antenna 819 both of which may also may be attached directly to the building . the standard building interface box 815 includes a standard building interface indoor antenna front port 816 a and a standard building interface outdoor antenna front port 817 a . the portable amplifier kit 804 is located outside the building and includes : an outdoor antenna amplifier port 805 b and an indoor antenna amplifier port 807 a . an indoor antenna port cable 816 connects the indoor antenna amplifier port 807 a of the amplifier kit 804 to the standard building interface indoor antenna front port 816 a . an outdoor antenna port cable 817 connects the outdoor antenna amplifier port 805 b of the amplifier kit 804 to the standard building interface outdoor antenna front port 817 a . in this embodiment , the amplifier kit is the only piece of portable equipment that is deployed on the scene to enable communication enhancement . the amplifier kit may be operated outside of the building . this portable set up may proceed more quickly than fully portable configurations . the outdoor antenna fixed to the building may be aimed correctly without requiring any additional orientation by the operator . in this embodiment , set up time and cost to provide a communication enhancement to the building may be greatly reduced . maintenance costs associated with built in equipment are also optimized as it is far more economical to maintain simpler antenna and cabling systems compared to complex electronic amplifier , battery , and alarm systems . fig8 f is a schematic 800 f of a hybrid system including a portable amplifier kit bypassing a failed built - in outdoor antenna 818 . perhaps antenna system 818 was damaged by fire , explosion , or weather related phenomena . alternatively , the radio site at which antenna 818 was aimed in fixed fashion at time of installation may be disabled for any of several reasons . there are many potential reasons , especially during a disaster or emergency event , why built in systems may become dysfunctional . in this embodiment , to overcome a malfunction , a portable amplifier kit 804 is connected to a portable outdoor antenna 805 via an outdoor antenna cable 805 a connected to the outdoor antenna amplifier port 805 b of the amplifier . the indoor antenna port cable 816 connects the amplifier kit to the standard building interface indoor antenna front port 816 a to utilize the built in indoor antenna array which is found to be functioning without problem at the moment . the standard building interface outdoor antenna front port 817 a provides a connection to the outdoor antenna conveniently outside the building . the built in indoor antenna 819 is connected to the interface box as well . in the event , the built in outdoor antenna was disabled or not functioning , a portable outdoor antenna could be connected directly to the amplifier kit . in this way , interface box &# 39 ; s connections to the indoor antenna could still be utilized , while problems associated with the built in outdoor antenna could be avoided . in this embodiment , the interface box mechanism provides a valuable timesaving and safety enhancement as there is no need for an operator to enter the building , instead using an hybrid configuration both the outdoor antenna and the amplifier are able to be connected quickly and remain outside with the operator . fig8 g is a schematic 800 b of the full built - in system utilizing a standard interface box . in this embodiment , a full built - in system utilizing a standard interface box provides a fixed in - building communication enhancement treatment . a four - port standard building interface box 820 may be secured directly to the building . the interface box may include : a standard building interface indoor antenna front port 816 a , a standard building interface outdoor antenna front port 817 a , a built in booster outdoor antenna front port 821 a , and a built in booster indoor antenna front port 822 a . a built in outdoor antenna 818 and a built in indoor antenna 819 are fixed to the building and are connected to the interface box . a bda or other booster may be attached to the building and connected to the interface box as a built in booster . a jumper , a short segment of cable , or other connector 821 may be used to connect the built in outdoor antenna front port to the built in booster outdoor antenna front port . another jumper , a short segment of cable , or other connector 822 , may be used to connect the built in indoor antenna front port to the built in booster indoor antenna front port . in both cases , the ports are polarized so that the proper connectors or fitting with the appropriate polarity must be used to make the proper connection corresponding to the cable leading to the proper antenna system . in this embodiment , the building has a fixed in - building communication enhancement treatment and , if all of these fixed systems are functioning without problem , no portable components are required for coverage enhancement . however , if any built in components become damaged or malfunction , portable replacements may be easily substituted to restore coverage enhancement . fig8 h is a schematic 800 h of the built - in system using portable systems bypassing a failed built in antenna and failed built in amplifier . in this embodiment , a portable amplifier kit 804 and a portable outdoor antenna 805 are connected to an interface box attached to a building which has been previously treated with a fixed in - building communication system . in the schematic , both the outdoor antenna and the booster which were part of the fixed in - building communication enhancement treatment are broken and not functioning . however , the interface box provides the necessary connecting ports for a portable amplifier kit 804 to connect to the remaining operational components of the fixed in - building communication enhancement treatment easily . in this embodiment , the portable outdoor antenna 805 is connected to the outdoor antenna portable amplifier port 805 b with an outdoor antenna cable 805 a . an indoor antenna port cable 816 connects to the standard building interface indoor antenna front port 816 a to the portable amplifier kit indoor antenna port thus connecting and utilizing built in indoor antennas which are part of the fixed in - building communication systems still functioning properly . this flexible configurability is enabled via the building standard ibc interface box , a key element of the present invention . overall , the ibc interface box enables a portable solution to be used in the event any components of the fixed in - building communication enhancement are disabled . this allows a booster such as a bda to be stored safely off - site and applied quickly as an emergency backup . this embodiment also demonstrates important set up time and cost reduction advantages . a bda stored off site provides important back up for a number of buildings in the event an emergency damages a fixed system at any of them . the interface box makes the functioning components of the fixed in - building communication enhancement system in a given building easily accessible in the relative safety of the building &# 39 ; s exterior to the first responders during an emergency or non - emergency event . fig8 i is a schematic 800 i of portable deployment showing a portable amplifier kit located midway between portable outdoor and indoor antennas and including an extension antenna kit . a portable amplifier kit 804 is connected to a portable outdoor antenna 805 via an indoor antenna cable , long segment 807 , a cable coupler 813 , and an outdoor antenna cable 805 a . the extended cable length may be used to provide the optimal positioning of the outdoor components ( amplifier kit and outdoor antenna ), indoor components ( indoor antenna and cable ), sufficient length to cable around a radio barrier , necessary isolation between the indoor antenna and outdoor antenna , sufficient slack to enter the building entranceway quickly , or other safety or operational consideration . the amplifier kit 804 is connected to the indoor antenna via an extension cable 812 which is connected to a portable extension antenna stand 809 . the portable extension antenna stand 809 provides connection to a portable indoor antenna 806 and an extension indoor antenna 811 . an extension antenna selection switch 810 is located between the extension indoor antenna 811 and the portable extension antenna stand 809 . in this embodiment , extensions are demonstrated between the amplifier kit and the outdoor antenna and between the amplifier kit and the indoor antenna . the portable antenna stand may provide extension cable for connecting the amplifier kit to an indoor antenna . in addition , the portable antenna stand may have an alternate connection to an alternate antenna stand . fig9 a is a gain map 900 a depicting a building with no treatment receiving a downlink transmission . a portable radio receiver 950 in a building 906 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . the radio site transmitter has an output power or effective radiated power ( erp ) of about 40 dbm 901 a . assuming a frequency of about 860 mhz , for example , the transmitted signal would then have a loss of approximately − 105 . 0 db after traveling 5 km 905 aa through free space . ( other conditions may affect the transmission during its transmission such as humidity , weather , and other atmospheric conditions . testing should take place at a given site to determine suitability for each particular location .) as a result , the signal at this point arriving at the building has an estimated power level of − 65 . 0 dbm 905 a . upon reaching the building , the signal experiences an additional loss of 40 db 906 aa as it travels through fire type 1 building material ( heavy concrete or masonry construction ) providing a power level of − 105 . 0 dbm 906 a to the portable radio receiver inside the building . this signal level is below acceptable levels generally required for error free reception of transmitted information . this is one indication of the need for radio coverage enhancement . fig9 b is a gain map 900 b depicting a building with portable coverage enhancement treatment receiving a downlink transmission . a portable radio receiver 950 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . a dotted line forms a box around the donor antenna , cable , amplifier , cable , and indoor antenna components representing the portable coverage enhancement system that is applied to the building . once again , the radio site transmitter 901 has an erp 901 b of about 40 dbm . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 105 db after traveling 5 km 905 bb through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 65 . 0 dbm 905 b . upon reaching a directional donor antenna 910 , the signal experiences a gain of 10 db 910 bb providing a signal power level of − 55 . 0 dbm 910 b to the coaxial connecting cable 915 . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of about 0 . 5 db 915 bb traversing the cable 915 for approximately 3 m 915 bb . the signal power level reaching the amplifier 920 is therefore about − 55 . 5 dbm 9158 . the amplifier 920 provides a gain of 75 db 920 bb boosting the signal power level to 19 . 5 dbm 920 b . cable 925 leads from the amplifier to an indoor antenna approximately and is 30 m in length imparting an expected loss of 5 db 925 bb which further reduces the signal power to 14 . 5 dbm 925 b . the cable may lead from outside of the building where the amplifier kit and donor antenna are typically located in this embodiment to the indoor antenna which is typically located inside of the building in this embodiment . the cable may cross the exterior wall of the building or other barrier . using an amplifier to boost the received signal and a low loss cable to deliver the boosted signal to an indoor antenna across all building wall or other material attenuators is advantageous . it provides a by - pass of the building wall and other attenuators that weaken an already low signal level below levels acceptable for reliable communications within . an omni directional antenna may be used as an indoor antenna 940 with no appreciable gain or loss . in the scenario of fig9 b , the signal radiates from the indoor antenna 30 m from the indoor antenna through free space 945 before finally reaching the portable radio receiver 950 experiencing a loss of about 60 db 945 bb reaching the portable radio at a power level of about − 45 . 5 dbm 945 b . the signal level available to the portable receiver in the coverage enhanced scenario of fig9 b is therefore 60 db higher than the untreated scenario depicted in fig9 a and is well above acceptable levels for error free reception of transmitted information . the gain map show in fig9 b shows the benefit to signal power level of the treated (− 45 dbm versus the untreated gain map shown in fig9 a where the received signal strength was − 105 . 0 dbm 905 a . as stated , the gain in signal strength provided by the portable coverage enhancement system is significant as it may enable an emergency responder to receive a life saving communications over the portable radio while inside the building . fig9 c is a gain map 900 c complementary to the scenario of fig9 b depicting a portable radio 950 sending an uplink signal from inside a building with portable treatment . the portable radio 950 has an erp 950 c of about 30 dbm . a dotted line again delineates the portable coverage enhancement system being applied to the building . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 60 db after traveling 30 m 945 cc through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 30 . 0 dbm 945 c . upon reaching an indoor antenna , no appreciable gain or loss 940 cc is experienced by the signal and the signal has a power level of − 30 . 0 dbm 940 c . the signal next experiences a loss of 5 . 0 db 925 cc as the signal travels through a typical low loss coaxial cable approximately 30 m in length . at this point , the signal power is − 35 . 0 dbm 925 c . the loss experienced by the radio signal traveling through cable as the cable exits the building is preferable to the loss experienced by a signal exiting the building which must travel directly through the building exterior wall and other physical structures . the amplifier 920 is configured to provide a gain of 60 db 920 cc boosting the signal power level to 25 dbm 920 c . cable 915 from the amplifier leads to the portable donor antenna approximately 3 m further imparting a loss of about − 0 . 5 db 915 cc reducing signal power to 24 . 5 dbm 915 c . a yagi directional antenna may be used as the donor antenna 910 cc to provide an important directional gain and reduce potential interference . in the scenario of fig9 c , the signal radiates from the donor antenna about 5 km through free space 905 cc before finally reaching the radio site 901 experiencing loss of about − 105 db 905 cc where the signal reaches the portable radio at a level expected to be − 70 . 5 dbm 905 c . the signal level available to the receiver in the coverage enhanced scenario of fig9 c is well above acceptable levels for error free reception of transmitted information . the gain map in fig9 c illustrates the benefit to signal power level of the treated system (− 70 . 5 dbm ) for sending a radio transmission from inside a building . as stated previously , the gain in signal strength provided by the portable coverage enhancement system is significant because it may enable an emergency responder to send a life saving communications over the portable radio inside the building . fig9 d is a gain map 900 d depicting a building with no treatment receiving a downlink transmission from an alternate source 901 . a portable radio receiver 950 in a building 906 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . the radio site transmitter has an output power or effective radiated power ( erp ) of 40 dbm 901 d . assuming a frequency of about 860 mhz for example , for the transmitted signal would experience a loss of approximately − 90 . 0 db after traveling 1 km 905 dd through free space . as a result , the signal at this point has a power level of about − 50 . 0 dbm 905 d . upon reaching the building , the signal experiences an additional loss of about 50 db 906 dd as the radio signal travels through fire type 1 building material ( heavy concrete or masonry construction ) providing a power level of − 100 . 0 dbm 906 d to the portable radio receiver inside the building . this signal level is below acceptable levels generally required for error free reception . fig9 e is a gain map 900 e depicting a building with hybrid treatment receiving a downlink transmission while in passive configuration . a portable radio receiver 950 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . a dotted line is illustrated forming a box around the jumper cable which connects the passive components applied to the building through the standard interface box 601 . the radio site transmitter 901 has an erp 901 e of about 40 dbm . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 90 db after traveling 1 km 905 ee through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 50 . 0 dbm 905 e . upon reaching a donor antenna 910 , the signal experiences a gain of 10 db 910 ee providing a signal power level of about − 40 . 0 dbm 910 e to coaxial connecting cable 915 . the donor antenna in this embodiment may also be a directional antenna , such as a yagi antenna . in this embodiment , the antenna may be in an outdoor location fixed to the building . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of about 2 . 5 db 915 ee traveling through the cable 915 for approximately 15 m 915 ee . the signal power level reaching the jumper 921 is − 42 . 5 dbm 915 e . the jumper 921 is part of the interface box 601 and being very short provides no appreciable gain or loss 921 ee leaving the signal power level largely unchanged at − 42 . 5 dbm 921 e . cable 925 leads from the jumper in the interface box to a cable about 15 m in length imparting a loss of − 2 . 5 db 925 bb further reducing the signal power to − 45 . 0 dbm 925 e . the cable may lead from the interface box which is mounted on an exterior wall of the building to the indoor door antenna which may be located on the inside of the building in this embodiment . the cable may cross the exterior wall of the building or other barrier . enabling the signal to cross the barrier inside of a cable is preferable to attempting to penetrate the exterior wall or other additional barriers directly . as a result , transmission of the radio signal in the cable provides a by - pass of the radio signal around the building wall and prevents the building wall from weakening the radio signal significantly . an omni directional antenna may be used as an indoor antenna 940 with no appreciable gain or loss 940 ee . in the scenario of fig9 e , the signal radiates from the indoor antenna about 10 m through free space 945 ee before finally reaching the portable radio receiver 950 experiencing a loss of about 50 db 945 ee . the signal reaches the portable radio at a power level of about − 95 . 0 dbm 945 e . the signal level available to the portable receiver in the coverage enhanced scenario of fig9 e is 5 db higher than the untreated scenario depicted in fig9 d . the gain map in fig9 e illustrates a small gain to signal power level of the passively treated versus untreated scenario (− 95 dbm versus the untreated gain map shown in fig9 d where the received signal strength was − 100 . 0 dbm 906 d ). the passive enhancement is generally of limited application being useful in a small number of special circumstances where tower signal strength is very high , building attenuation is very high , cable runs for the installation are relatively short , and indoor communications is needed only in a relatively concise area of the building interior in close proximity to the indoor antenna . fig9 f is a gain map 900 f depicting a building with a hybrid treatment receiving a downlink transmission using a portable amplifier configuration . a portable radio receiver 950 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . a dotted line forms a box around the amplifier . the box includes the components portable coverage enhancement applied to the building through the standard interface box 601 . the radio site transmitter 901 has an erp 901 e of 40 dbm . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 90 db after traveling 1 km 905 ff through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 50 . 0 dbm 905 f . upon reaching a donor antenna 910 , the signal experiences a gain of 10 db 910 ff providing a signal power level of − 40 . 0 dbm 910 f to the coaxial connecting cable 915 . the donor antenna in this embodiment may also be a directional antenna , such as a yagi antenna . in this embodiment , the outdoor antenna may be fixed to the building . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of about 2 . 5 db 915 ff from traveling through the cable 915 for approximately 15 m . the cable may connect the directional antenna on the outside of the building to a standard interface box also mounted on the exterior of the building . the signal power level reaching the amplifier 920 is − 42 . 5 dbm 915 f . the amplifier 920 is connected to the interface box 601 and provides a gain of about 70 db 920 ff providing an improved signal power level of about 27 . 5 dbm 920 f . the amplifier may also be located outside the building . cable 925 leads from the amplifier back to the interface box and connects with a cable about 15 m in length to an indoor antenna imparting a loss of about − 2 . 5 db 925 ff which further reduces the signal power at this point to 25 . 0 dbm 925 f . the cable may lead from the interface box which is mounted on an exterior wall of the building to the indoor door antenna which may be located on the inside of the building in this embodiment . the cable may cross the exterior wall of the building or other barrier . the signal crosses the exterior wall of the building ( and other physical structures or barriers ) inside of the cable . this cable by - pass of the exterior wall is preferable to attempting to penetrate the exterior wall or other additional barriers directly with a radio signal . as a result , transmission of the radio signal in the cable provides a by - pass of the radio signal from direct interference or attention from the building wall . an omni directional antenna may be used as an indoor antenna 940 with no appreciable gain or loss 940 ff . in the scenario of fig9 f , the signal radiates from the indoor antenna about 10 m through free space 945 ff before finally reaching the portable radio receiver 950 experiencing a loss of 50 db 945 f where the signal reaches the portable radio at a power level of − 25 . 0 dbm 945 f . the signal level available to the portable receiver in the coverage enhanced scenario of fig9 f is about 70 db more powerful than the passive scenario depicted in fig9 e and is 75 db more powerful than the passive scenario depicted in fig9 d the gain map in fig9 f illustrates the benefit to signal power level from the portable treatment (− 25 dbm versus the untreated gain map shown in fig9 d and the passive system as shown in fig9 e . the gain map shows in fig9 f shows the benefit to signal power level for sending a radio transmission in a building . as stated previously , the gain in signal strength provided by the hybrid enhancement system is significant . fig9 g is a gain map depicting a building with portable treatment sending an uplink transmission while in passive configuration . a portable radio receiver 950 sends an uplink transmission to a radio site transmitter 901 . a dotted line forms a box around the juniper cable which connects the passive components applied to the building representing the standard interface box 601 . the portable radio 950 has an erp of about 30 dbm 950 g . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 50 db after traveling 10 m 945 gg through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 20 . 0 dbm 945 g . upon reaching an indoor antenna 940 , the signal experiences no appreciable gain or loss 940 gg providing a signal power level of − 20 . 0 dbm 940 g to coaxial connecting cable 925 . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of 2 . 5 db 925 gg traveling through the cable 925 for approximately 15 m 925 gg . the signal power level reaching the jumper 921 is − 22 . 5 dbm 925 g . the jumper 921 connects parts of the interface box 601 and provides no appreciable gain or loss 921 gg leaving the signal power level large unchanged at − 22 . 5 dbm 921 g . the signal then travels from the jumper 921 gg in the interface box to a cable 15 m in length imparting a loss of − 2 . 5 db 925 bb which further reduces the signal power to − 25 . 0 dbm 915 g . the cable may lead from the interface box which is mounted on an exterior wall of the building to an outdoor antenna which may be located on the outside of the building and be fixed to the building in this embodiment . the cable may cross the exterior wall of the building or other barrier or proceed up to the building in a conduit alongside an exterior wall . enabling the signal to cross the barrier inside of a cable is preferable to attempting to penetrate the exterior wall or other additional barriers directly . as a result , transmission of the radio signal in the cable provides a by - pass of the radio signal directly interfacing with the building wall and being weakened significantly . a directional antenna may be used as a donor antenna 910 gg providing an appreciable gain of 10 . 0 db 910 gg . in the scenario of fig9 g , the signal radiates from the outdoor antenna 1 km through free space 905 gg before finally reaching the radio site 901 experiencing a loss of 90 db 905 gg where the signal reaches the radio site with power level − 105 . 0 dbm 905 g . this may or may not be adequate level for assured communications depending upon site receiver sensitivity and attendant rf noise conditions . fig9 h is a gain map 900 h depicting a building with hybrid system utilizing portable amplifier treatment sending an uplink transmission . a portable radio receiver 950 sends an uplink transmission to a radio site transmitter 901 . a box formed of dotted lines is illustrated around the amplifier . the box includes the components of the portable coverage enhancement being applied to the building through the standard interface box 601 . the portable radio 950 has an erp of 30 dbm 950 h . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 50 db 945 hh after traveling 10 m through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of − 20 . 0 dbm 945 h . upon reaching an indoor antenna 940 , the signal experiences no appreciable gain or loss 940 hh providing a signal power level of − 20 . 0 dbm 940 f to the coaxial connecting cable 925 . the indoor antenna in this embodiment may also be an omni directional antenna . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of 2 . 5 db 925 hh traveling through the cable 925 for approximately 15 m . the cable may connect the indoor antenna on the inside of the building to a standard interface box mounted on the exterior wall of the building . the signal power level reaching the amplifier 920 is − 22 . 5 dbm 925 h . the amplifier 920 is connected to the interface box 601 and provides a gain of about 50 db 920 hh providing an improved signal power level of about 27 . 5 dbm 920 h . the amplifier may also be located outside the building and applied as part of a portable system . cable 915 leads from the interface box to an outdoor antenna imparting a loss of 2 . 5 db 915 hh which reduces the signal power to about 25 dbm 915 h . the cable may lead from the interface box which is mounted on an exterior wall of the building to a directional antenna which may be located on the outside of the building in this embodiment . a directional antenna may be used as the donor antenna 910 hh and provides a gain of about 10 db 910 hh . in the scenario of fig9 h , the signal radiates from the outdoor antenna through about 1 km of free space 905 hh before finally reaching the radio site 901 experiencing a loss of about − 90 db 905 hh where the signal reaches the radio site at a power level of − 55 . 0 dbm 905 h . the signal level available to the tower site is clearly adequate to support error free communications . the gain map in fig9 h illustrates the benefit to signal power level from the portable treatment (− 55 dbm ) versus the passive gain map in fig9 g (− 105 dbm ). the gain map in fig9 h shows a clear benefit to signal strength for sending a radio transmission in a building with the portable treatment . in this embodiment , the gain in signal strength provided by the hybrid enhancement system is significant . fig9 i is a gain map 900 i depicting a building with portable system treatment including an extended antenna forming a distributed antenna system which receives a downlink transmission . a portable radio receiver 950 receives a downlink transmission from a radio site transmitter 901 . a dotted line forms a box representing the portable communication enhancement . the box 960 includes : a donor antenna 910 , a cable 915 ; an amplifier 920 , cable 925 , a first coupler port 930 , cable 935 , a first indoor antenna 940 , a second coupler port 931 , cable 936 , and a second indoor antenna 941 . the radio site transmitter 901 transmits with erp 901 i of 40 dbm . the transmitted signal is attenuated approximately 105 . 0 db after traveling about 5 km 905 ii through free space . the signal at this point has a power level of about − 65 . 0 dbm 905 i . upon reaching a donor antenna 910 , the signal experiences a gain of about 10 db 910 ii providing a signal power level of − 55 . 0 dbm 910 i to the coaxial connecting cable 915 . the donor antenna in this embodiment may also be a directional antenna , such as a yagi antenna . in this embodiment , the antenna may be in an outdoor location applied as part of a portable antenna kit . assuming the use of typical low loss coaxial cable , the signal next experiences a loss of about − 0 . 5 db 915 ii traveling through the cable 915 for approximately 3 m . the cable may connect the directional antenna on the outside of the building to an amplifier . the signal power level reaching the amplifier 920 is − 55 . 5 dbm 915 i . the amplifier 920 provides a gain of 75 db 920 ii providing an improved signal power level of 19 . 5 dbm 920 i . the amplifier may also be located outside the building . cable 925 from the amplifier has a length of about 30 m imparting a loss of about 5 . 0 db 925 ii which further reduces the signal power to 14 . 5 dbm 925 i . the cable may lead from the outside of the building to the inside of the building in this embodiment . the cable may cross the exterior wall of the building or other barrier . enabling the signal to cross a physical barrier such as a wall while inside of a cable is preferable to attempting to penetrate the exterior wall or other additional physical barriers directly . as a result , transmission of the radio signal in the cable provides an effective by - pass of the radio signal past the building wall with a smaller loss than being transmitted directly through the wall . a directional coupler 1023 may be used to direct the radio signal in two paths . following from cable 925 , the radio signal may be received through a first coupler port 930 imparting a loss of 1 . 3 db by a cable which has a length of about 30 m imparting a further loss of 5 . 0 db . the radio signal is routed to a second coupler port which imparts a loss of 6 . 0 db to a second cable having a length of about 3 m and imparting a further loss of about 0 . 5 db . the signal arriving ultimately at a first portable radio located 15 m distant from first indoor antenna 940 along first coupler port path 930 is estimated to be − 46 . 8 dbm . the signal arriving at a second portable radio located 15 m distant from a second indoor antenna 941 along second coupler port path 931 is estimated to be − 47 . 0 dbm . this illustrates the benefit from the portable invention to two portable radio users located as far apart as 60 m inside a building that would otherwise have unreliable or nonexistent communications . in fig9 i , the directional coupler enables the benefit of this portable communication enhancement to reach more than one portable radio user . in addition , a wider coverage area can be obtained by using more than one indoor antenna without requiring the use of an additional amplifier . the benefits of this portable communication system are significant as it is simple to establish communication enhancement without significant changes to existing infrastructure and without incurring significant additional expense for more equipment . fig1 is a view 1000 of a portable extended antenna kit once removed from the bag in which it is conveniently transported . the portable extended antenna kit when removed from the bag rests on extended tripod legs 1003 a . the tripod legs may have rubber feet 1012 which engage the ground or other resting surface . the portable extended antenna kit has a telescoping mast 1002 and a telescoping mast adjuster 1011 located near the top portion of the portable antenna kit . the telescoping mast 1002 may be elevated . an extension indoor antenna 1008 is located near a central portion of the portable extended antenna kit attached directly to the spine of the portable extended antenna kit cable organizer . the extension indoor antenna 1008 is surrounded by a coil of wound cable when the cable is in its stored location . an extension antenna selection switch 1005 and an extension antenna selection switch actuator 1006 are located beneath the indoor antenna in an interior position of the coil secured around the periphery of the cable organizer . fig1 a is a close - up view 1000 a of the portable extended antenna kit once removed from the bag . a central portion of the portable extended antenna kit is shown including : the extension indoor antenna 1008 , extension indoor antenna cable 1013 , and the extension antenna selection switch actuator 1006 . tripod legs 1003 a , 1003 b are seen extending in a downward direction behind the central portion of the portable extended antenna kit . leg braces 1004 are shown extending in an upward direction behind a lower end of the central portion of the portable extended antenna kit . the extension antenna selection switch actuator 1006 is connected to an extension antenna selection switch 1005 and a terminator 1007 . one end of the indoor antenna is connected to a pigtail cable . this pigtail cable is connected to an indoor antenna cable which is stored in a coil in a lower portion of the portable extended antenna kit . this indoor antenna cable 1013 leads to the extension antenna selection switch 1005 . the extension antenna selection switch 1005 has three ports including one used for terminator 1007 , one port coupling to a cable 1014 leading to directional coupler 1023 , and one terminating the aforementioned indoor antenna cable 1013 . fig1 b is a rear perspective view 1000 b of the portable extended antenna kit . a long segment of extension cable is coiled around the cable organizer and held in place with a cable retention strap 1022 . the cable retention strap 1022 is fastened to a cable retention strap pin 1021 on a top portion of the cable organizer . a short segment of the long extension cable 1010 is connected to a directional coupler 1023 . the directional coupler 1023 rests on a directional coupler mounting shelf 1024 in the rear of the portable extended antenna kit . an extension indoor antenna switch cable connection 1015 is directly connected to the directional coupler 1023 in the rear of the portable extended antenna kit . fig1 c is a close - up rear perspective view 1000 c of the portable extended antenna kit . the cable retention strap pin 1021 is shown on the top rear of the portable extended antenna kit . the long segment of long extension cable 1025 is coiled around the cable organizer in deploy position as the cable retention strap 1022 is no longer secured to the cable retention strap pin 1021 and holding the long segment of long extension cable 1025 in place . the directional coupler 1023 is seated on the directional coupler mounting shelf 1024 and is connected to a cable input to the extension antenna kit 1009 on the left end of the directional coupler . a short segment of cable 1013 connects to the extension indoor antenna pigtail 1020 and to the extension antenna selection switch 1005 . the directional coupler 1023 is used to unevenly split and / or combine signals . the directional coupler may include three ports : including an input port , an output port , and a coupled port . the coupled port is dc isolated ( open circuit ) from the input or output ports . the directional , input , and output ports must be connected properly . the directional coupler may have less loss than a splitter at one port at the expense of a greater loss at the other port . a directional coupler may be to provide a long segment of cable with several antenna points . additionally , in a vertical configuration a directional coupler may be used to provide antenna feed ( s ) on each floor in a multi - floor building . the directional coupler provides low loss on the thru port and versatile selection of coupled ports . as a result , the directional coupler can be an important component in a distributed antenna system . fig1 d is a view 1000 d of the portable extended antenna kit in deployed configuration . the extension indoor antenna 1008 is mounted on top of the telescoping mast of the portable extended antenna kit . all three tripod legs 1003 a , 1003 b , and 1003 c are extended and engaging directly the ground or other resting surface . leg braces 1004 connect each of the tripod legs by connecting to the portable extended antenna kit . both cable retention straps 1022 are disengaged enabling the long segment of long extension cable 1025 to deploy from the portable extended antenna kit . the extension indoor antenna 1008 is connected to an extension indoor antenna cable 1013 which connects to the extension antenna selection switch 1005 in a central portion of the portable extended antenna kit . cable input to extension antenna kit 1009 leads to a directional coupler port at a top rear portion of the portable extended antenna kit . an indoor antenna 133 connects to a long segment of long extension cable 1025 leading from another directional coupler port at the top rear portion of the portable extended antenna kit . the portable extended antenna kit in deployed configuration provides cable extension to enable the indoor antenna 133 to have an increased portable range , while an extension indoor antenna 1008 mounted directly to the portable extended antenna kit provides increased communication coverage in the direct vicinity surrounding the portable extended antenna kit if optionally enabled by selector switch 1005 , in this way , a distributed antenna system can be applied and extended with modular additions quickly providing incremental extensions to the coverage area , so that communications can be maintained and increased without disconnecting communication previously established . fig1 e is an alternate view 1000 e of the portable extended antenna kit in deployed configuration . the indoor antenna 133 is connected to a long segment of long extension cable 1025 where the long segment of long extension cable connects to the coil of a long extension cable wound around a central portion of the portable extended antenna kit . the long segment of long extension cable 1025 leading from the indoor antenna 133 joins the cable organizer at an upper right location near the right protrusion holding the wound segment of cable . an extension indoor antenna 1008 extends in a vertical upright position from mount attached to a telescoping mast portion of the portable extended antenna kit . cable input to extension antenna kit 1009 is shown from the right connecting to the portable extended antenna kit in a front upper right location . both cable retention strap pins 1021 are shown disengaged from the cable retention straps 1022 . a portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 is located in a lower portion of the portable extended antenna kit . fig1 is a view 1100 of the portable extension cable reel . cable 1101 is wound around a central spool having a first end of cable 1104 on the left and a second end of cable on the right 1105 . the portable extension cable reel has wheels on one side 1103 engaging the ground and a frame 1106 engaging the ground on the other . the portable extension cable reel has a spool end 1107 which serves as a handle to turn the spool to deploy cable . the portable cable extension reel may be used to transport an extended amount of cable . alternatively , the portable cable extension reel may be used in a stationary position to dispense cable from the central spool . fig1 is a view of the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 . the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 has a base 1201 with base utility mounting apertures 1202 . the base has a top and bottom surface with a circular periphery . a hook 1204 having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion rests on the topside of the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter base . the hook has hook utility mounting apertures 1203 . the hook can slidably pivot about a hook pivot 1209 . the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 has a central receptacle 1205 for receiving an indoor antenna . the receptacle 1205 extends vertically upward from the topside of the base . fig1 a is a view of the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter with the hook deployed . the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter , hook deployed 1200 a is shown with an end of the horizontal portion of the hook resting on the top surface of the base . the opposite end of the horizontal portion extends radially outward beyond the top surface of the base . the receptacle 1205 extends vertically from a central position on the topside of the base of the portable antenna mounting adapter . the hook is able to pivot about the hook pivot 1209 between this fully extended location shown in fig1 a and the position in fig1 where the horizontal portion rests substantially on the top surface of the base . fig1 b is a view 1200 b of the portable indoor and portable antenna mounting adapter . the indoor antenna 133 is shown in a vertical upright position extending from the base 1201 . the indoor antenna is in an inverted position with the indoor antenna base 133 a located above the other end portion of the indoor antenna which is inserted in the omni antenna receptacle 1205 in the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 . a lanyard cable 133 d is attached to the indoor antenna base . the indoor antenna pigtail cable 132 a is connected to the indoor antenna 133 . the hook 1204 is pivoted about the hook pivot 1209 with the horizontal portion of the hook 1204 resting on the top surface of the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 . this configuration deploys the indoor antenna to easily rest upon a floor , tabletop , or other horizontal surface and to be easily lowered via long connecting cable 132 down a stairwell or vertical shaft to come to rest upon a horizontal surface below . fig1 c is a view 1200 c of the portable indoor and portable antenna mounting adapter where the portable indoor antenna 133 is deployed in a hanging configuration upon the top edge of a door . the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter with the hook deployed 1200 a engages the top edge 1220 a of a door 1220 . the long segment of the antenna cable 132 leads from the bottom portion of the indoor antenna to a position to the right of the bottom of the door . the indoor antenna is in a vertical upright position with the top portion of the indoor antenna engaged in the omni antenna receptacle 1205 . the portable indoor antenna mounting adapter 1200 is hooked onto the top edge of the door . this view 1200 c demonstrates how the indoor antenna may be used indoors with a non - penetrating portable and temporary mount . fig1 is a view 1300 of the optional outdoor antenna kit . the optional outdoor antenna kit 1300 includes a case 1301 which houses an outdoor antenna 1302 . the optional door antenna kit case 1301 includes a door and a bottom case portion . both the inside of the bottom case portion has padding 1305 and the inside of the door has padding 1304 . the door and the bottom case portion of the optional antenna kit case 1301 are separated by a hinge 1308 . the door of the case includes a locking mechanism in the form of a latch 1306 . a handle 1307 is located in the central top edge of the door and in central portion of the case so that the when the door is closed the two handles are aligned . cable 1303 is wound around the outer periphery of the bottom case portion . four cable winding posts and feet 1309 are located at a bottom portion of the case to engage the ground or other resting surface and provide locations around which the cable can be wound ( only two posts and feet 1309 are visible in this view ). a cable retention strap 1310 is used to secure the cables together . the optional outdoor antenna kit 1300 provides a secure way to transport a directional outdoor antenna and cable in an orientation that can be easily stored and transported and quickly deployed . the directional antenna may be secured in an internal cavity surrounded by padding and the cable is secured around the case providing storage that is easy to access and carry . fig1 a is a top view 1300 a of the optional outdoor antenna kit . a view of the case 1301 is illustrated from the top in closed position . the wound cable 1303 surrounds the periphery of the outdoor antenna kit and protrudes slightly on the short sides of the antenna kit . a latch 1306 is used to secure the door of the case in a closed position . a handle 1307 in a central position on one side can be engaged by hand to allow one person to carry the case . fig1 b is a front view 1300 b of the optional outdoor antenna kit . the latches 1306 extend in a downward vertical position . the outdoor antenna kit rests on the antenna at the bottom of the antenna kit . the handle 1307 is attached to the antenna kit in two places in the front of the antenna kit case . fig1 c is a bottom view 1300 c of the optional outdoor antenna kit . the case 1301 has a cable 1303 surrounding the perimeter of its bottom surface . the cable retention strap 1310 secures the cable in place against the optional outdoor antenna kit case 1301 . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . certain adaptations and modifications of the invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art . therefore , the above discussed embodiments are considered to be illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein : 100 c top view of portable outdoor antenna kit and cable organizer 100 f portable antenna kit removed from bag , alternate side view 100 u alternate portable amplifier kit , internal details , alternate front view 140 a battery module docking location ( clearance for power conversion i / o connector ) 200 flow chart , method for deploying portable radio coverage system 215 push and hold amplifier power button for & gt ; 2 sec for delayed startup 216 pull indoor antenna from clips and proceed into structure 218 optional — insert extended antenna kit and continue further into structure 305 a place map 300 with north aligned beneath tripod 100 g 306 a aim antenna 122 along location to site direction 311 307 a assure antenna elements 122 a are correctly oriented ( e . g . vertical ) 400 a typical system deployment for building coverage enhancement , closer view 400 b enlarged view of portable antenna and amplifier kits deployed by building 400 c cut away view of cable routing from antenna kit to indoor antenna coverage location 500 a vehicle born portable radio enhancement system , close up view 600 schematic representation of hybrid system with standard interface box 600 a schematic representation of hybrid system with portable amplifier kit connected 600 d standard building interface box , front view , door open , jumper removed 600 g standard building interface box , rear view , conduit mounted outdoor antenna 600 i hybrid system with standard interface box , cut away view 600 j hybrid system using non - penetrating roof mount for outdoor antenna 600 m standard building interface box , full built in , jumpers removed 600 n standard building interface box , full built in example , rear view 651 jumper , built in indoor antenna front port to built in booster indoor antenna front port 652 jumper , built in outdoor antenna front port to built in booster outdoor antenna front port 800 f hybrid system with portable amplifier kit bypassing failed built in antenna 800 g full built in system utilizing standard building interface box 800 h full built in system bypassing failed antenna and amplifier 821 jumper , built in outdoor antenna front port to built in booster outdoor antenna front port 822 juniper , built in indoor antenna front port to built in booster indoor antenna front port 905 free space from transmitter to building ( free space from 910 to radio site ) 1000 b portable extended antenna kit cable organizer detail , rear view those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention has been set forth by way of example only and that changes may be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
for the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . referring in particular to fig1 there is shown a rotary step attenuator 10 embodying the present invention . attenuator 10 includes an electrically conductive enclosure 11 and an electrically conductive backplate 12 which is rigidly attached to enclosure 11 by screws inserted through openings such as 13 in backplate 12 and threadedly received in enclosure 11 . a rotor 14 and a pressure plate 16 are mounted within the enclosure 11 . the rotor and pressure plate are also electrically conductive . rotor 14 carries the actual attenuator elements , as shall be described more particularly hereinafter , and is rotatably mounted within the enclosure on shaft 17 . referring now to fig4 as well as fig1 shaft 17 is mounted in elongated portion 18 of the enclosure 11 and an opening 19 in backplate 12 . a headless screw 21 is inserted through a transverse bore in rotor 14 and threadedly received in an opening in the side of shaft 17 , thereby rigidly attaching the rotor to the shaft . wire braid such as 22 which alternatively may be a spring finger material , is received in each of two circumferential slots in rotor 14 providing grounding of the rotor body to the inside of enclosure 11 as the rotor is rotated within the enclosure . a detent mechanism 23 is fixedly mounted to enclosure 11 by nut 24 . ball 26 of detent mechanism 23 is received in one hole of a plurality of holes in face 28 of rotor 14 such as hole 27 . a hole such as 27 is associated with each attenuator element mounted in the rotor , as shall be discussed more particularly hereinafter , providing a series of detent positions as the rotor 14 is rotated by turning shaft 17 . detent ball 26 is urged into holes 27 by spring 29 whose tension is adjustable by rotating adjustment member 31 , as is well known . a spring washer 32 is received around shaft 17 between pressure plate 16 and enclosure 11 , urging the pressure plate against rotor 14 and consequently also urging rotor 14 against backplate 12 . the body of detent mechanism 23 is received in an appropriately - sized aperture through pressure plate 16 , the pressure plate being permitted only axial movement in opposition to spring washer 32 . referring now to fig2 in coordination with fig1 input and output sma connectors 33 and 34 , respectively , are shown . these connectors have the standard terminations for coupling to coaxial cables external to enclosure 11 and backplate 12 . connectors 33 and 34 are similarly mounted to the enclosure 11 and backplate 12 , respectively . for example , a collar 37 on connector 33 is mounted to enclosure 11 by two screws such as 36 , which extend through collar 37 and are threadedly received in holes in the front surface 38 of enclosure 11 . rear connector 34 includes an outer shielding conductor 43 which is electrically coupled to collar 48 and therefore backplate 12 . a cylindrical insulating member 44 surrounds a center conductor 47 ( fig7 ) and extends through a hole in backplate 12 . center conductor 47 receives and rigidly holds a blade contact 46 which contacts a portion of an attenuator element as rotor 14 is rotated , as shall be described more particularly hereinafter . blade contact 46 is preferably heat - treated paliney 7 of the j . m . ney co ., bloomfield , conn . or other appropriate contact alloy . the primary requisites for the blade being resilience and electrical conductivity . the outer conductor 42 of connector 33 is similarly grounded through flange 37 to enclosure 11 . referring also to fig3 connector 33 has an insulating member 49 surrounding center conductor 51 , which is slotted and retains contact blade 52 , of the same material as blade 46 , for contacting an end of the attenuator elements mounted in rotor 14 . a contact shield of electrically conductive material is provided over insulator 49 and includes a larger - diameter portion 39 received within the hole through enclosure 11 for connector 33 and also a smaller - diameter portion 41 received within a hole through pressure plate 16 . portion 41 is slotted and sized slightly larger than the hole through pressure plate 16 so that when it is inserted through the hole in the pressure plate , a good spring contact is made between portion 41 and the side wall of the opening through the pressure plate . the contact shield thereby provides good electrical grounding contact from pressure plate 16 to the enclosure 11 at all times and despite any axial movement of the pressure plate . referring now to fig5 and 6 , rotor 14 and an attenuator assembly 61 typical of those mounted in the rotor are shown . attenuator assembly 61 includes a film attenuator element 56 and a ground plane plate 54 , which are fixedly mounted within an appropriately sized opening in rotor 14 , the side of film attenuator element 56 having ground pads such as 59 bearing against shoulders such as 63 of the rotor 14 along the grounding pads . the edges 53 of the ground plane plate 54 are soldered in place in the rotor 14 . an annular recess 62 ( fig2 and 5 ) receives blade 46 coupled from the center conductor of connector 34 . the blade 46 remains in a fixed position relative to the housing and , as rotor 14 is rotated by turning shaft 17 , a selected attenuator element is positioned such that blade 46 is in electrical contact with an end of the conductive pad 58 . the conductive , or contact , pads ( such as 57 and 58 ) are preferably of a gold over chromium material , and the contact pads are electrically connected to deposited attenuator region 55 , which may alternatively be any other attenuator pad such as a discrete resistor network . similarly , the opposite face of rotor 14 from that viewed in fig5 contains a similar annular recess 64 ( fig2 and 3 ) which receives blade 52 coupled from the center conductor of front connector 33 . in similar fashion to that described above for blade contact 46 , blade contact 52 is couplable to a selected contact pad such as 57 ( fig6 ), providing electrical contact thereto . the exact configuration of attenuator element 56 is not critical to the invention , and various more complex ( or simply ) conductive attenuator elements may be constructed to be mounted in rotor 14 . it is generally preferable , however , to maintain the portion such as 57 or 58 to be contacted by a blade contact member generally central of the end portion of pad 56 as is the case of the element shown in fig6 . for typical high frequency applications , it is necessary to maintain a , for example , 50 or 75 ohm characteristic impedance for contact pads 57 and 58 , matching the center conductor characteristic impedance of the cables attached to connectors 33 and 34 . as can be seen from fig5 each attenuator element forms a small chord around the perimeter of a circle . therefore the closest portion of each contact pad to the axis of rotation is at the center of the pad as viewed from the end as it is in fig5 . therefore the blade contacts are positioned to provide a sufficient spring force for contact against pads 57 or 58 while , when the rotor is moving , due to the larger radius there is little or no contact between the blade and the outside of the annular slot such as 62 in which it rides . three considerations in the construction of the present embodiment provide rf leakage sealing . a floating seal contact plate , pressure plate 16 , is maintained against one face of rotor 14 by spring washer 32 , and consequently there is a similar continuous contact between the rear face of the rotor and backplate 12 . thus , even though rotor 14 is rotated for selection of the desired attenuator element , a more or less continuous ground plane is maintained on each face of the rotor . circumferential grounding for the rotating rotor is further provided by the wire braid or spring finger stock in the circumferential slots on the outer edge of rotor 14 . rf leakage between adjacent attenuator elements is prevented by the use of a sufficiently small annular groove on each face of the rotor , such as groove 62 of fig5 that the groove acts as a cut - off wave guide at all frequencies of interest . in one embodiment , with each groove being about 0 . 088 inches in width , the groove will pass only very high frequencies on the order of 50 ghz . or higher . the spring contact of the contact shield , as best shown in fig3 prevents leakage from the sma connector through the pressure plate to the housing 11 . the contact shield establishes a good fixed ground from the pressure plate 16 to the housing even though the pressure plate is free - floating axially to same extent , primarily positioned by spring washer 32 as to motion along the axis of rotation of the rotor . while there have been described above the principles of this invention in connection with specific apparatus , it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation in the scope of the invention . | 7 |
conventional geographical maps are composed of matrices of dots distributed according to a regular frame . in the frequently occurring case of maps produced by tetrachromy , three colour frames are used , cyan ( for the areas of water ), green ( for the vegetation ) and yellow ( for the desert areas ), by superimposing which additional shades can be obtained , and a black frame , in particular for the inscriptions . in the conventional printing process , each frame takes the material form of a mask on a photographic film the transparency of which is variable according to the dots , or offset film . fig1 shows , by way of example , a map fragment , considerably enlarged to bring out the dots in the frame . on one side of the coastline , in a desert area , the dots are yellow while , on the other side , they are cyan . there are many other methods of manufacturing maps , some of these better adapted to special applications . it is possible , in particular , to print maps using an ink - jet printer or an electrostatic printer , particularly when the indications are frequently modified in order to adapt them to a particular assignment . the invention is also applicable to the case of a graphic representation that was originally continuous , but subsequently framed ( an aerial photograph , for example ). in the case of digital photographs obtained , for example , from airborne scanners or observation satellites and reproduced using photo - restorers , the invention is particularly applicable thanks to insertion of the location frame directly in the digital files , prior to restoration . to implement the invention , disjoined codes formed on a frame that is superimposed on the graphic indications are superimposed on the graphic representation dots . conventional printing processes make it possible , without any difficulty , to print dots of 50 to 100 μm in diameter located to within better than 10 μm inside a pattern . use can be made , in particular , of a square pattern of approximately 1 millimeter × 1 millimeter formed by dots of approximately 100 μm in diameter . to facilitate identification and decoding , it is advantageous to adopt a pattern formed by rows of encoding dots separated by empty rows , each location intended for an encoding dot being separated from the adjacent locations by an empty space . in the case contemplated above , involving a 1 millimeter × 1 millimeter pattern , this means that there are five rows available , each having five encoding locations and five spaces . use can be made , in particular , of a binary code for identifying the figures from 0 to 9 of the &# 34 ; 3 out of 5 &# 34 ; type , indicated in fig3 including three encoding locations 30 on which is placed a dot , and two encoding locations 31 without dots . the figures thus encoded are indicated in fig3 to the left of each row . the expression &# 34 ; 3 out of 5 &# 34 ; covers the opposite case in which the three locations 30 are left empty and the two locations 31 contain a dot . this code has the advantage of facilitating the location of an index , as each row comprises the same number of dots having the same radiometric value , that is to say the same light intensity in the colour in which they are represented . fig2 shows such an index , 10 , wherein , for each encoding row , the two empty encoding locations 31 have the same brilliance as the dots in the frame not belonging to an index and relating to the graphic representation frame of the map , whereas the encoding locations 30 containing the encoding dots are of greater brilliance . in the example given in fig2 the index 16 384 is represented on a pattern with five &# 34 ; active &# 34 ; rows and five locations per row . five rows per pattern suffice to encode 100 000 positions . the index in fig2 is thus constructed on the basis of an elementary matrix of pixels composing a matrix of larger dimensions , which forms the photosensitive face of an optical wand reader , the dots disposed on the elementary matrix forming a binary code of certain active pixels in this matrix . it will be noted that the square index in fig2 is substantially isotropic , dots 30 being distributed approximately in all directions about a centre of the index , which is also apparent from observing the different indexes 10 in fig4 ; this arrangement permits quasi punctual encoding of a map . conversely , an index having a form as anisotropic as a line of dots , would be less appropriate for the desired encoding . more generally , a matrix comprising a similar number of lines and columns will be considered as substantially isotropic . another example of an isotropic index is represented in fig6 where the active &# 34 ; rows &# 34 ; are , here , concentric circles 11 to 13 , separated from one another by inactive circles , dots 30 and blanks 31 corresponding to those in fig2 being identified . it will be noted that the density of the dots on the index in fig2 is low , as it comprises fifteen dots for one hundred pixels . this choice contributes to making the location frame on the map difficult to see with the naked eye . more generally , &# 34 ; low density &# 34 ; should be taken as meaning a density of less than 20 dots for one hundred pixels in the case of an encoding frame that is visible to the naked eye , and of less than 50 dots for one hundred pixels in the case of an encoding frame that is invisible to the naked eye . if a security ink , not visible to the user , is employed , the appearance of the map is not impaired ; the indexes are easy to isolate using a reader ; each index can be superimposed directly on the dot to which it relates . in those areas of the map in which the different indexes are very numerous , each index can be printed once only exactly at the point concerned . in most cases , the blocks encode the pair of cartesian coordinates of their location ; thus all the blocks in the location frame indicate a different code . to facilitate further the identification and decoding of the pattern best centered in the scanning field of the optical reading means , it is possible to incorporate in the frame only one block out of two and to arrange the incorporated blocks after the fashion of a regular rectangular checkerboard , as shown in fig4 . the blocks can further be indexed by adopting , as a block indexing scheme , a curve having the property of filling the entire square and thus of permitting the definition of a dot with a single parameter . among such curves , mention can be made , in particular , of hilbert &# 39 ; s curve , a description of which is to be found in the article entitled &# 34 ; fractals et dynamique des iterations &# 34 ; ( fractals and the dynamics of iterations ) by claude brezinski , afcet / interfaces no . 88 , february 1990 , page 3 . it will be noted that the arrangement of the dots of the index in fig2 in rows and columns facilitates identification , as these define two orthogonal directions , x , y ( fig4 ), enabling the map to be orientated about the index in question . what is more , the arrangement of the indexes in relation to one another can also provide this identification : the checkerboard arrangement of indexes 10 in fig4 again defines the two orthogonal directions , x , y . the data processing means associated with the map comprise a mass memory containing a data base and addressable by means of the index , a processing unit enabling the data base to be consulted using an input means such as a keyboard , and an alphanumeric display means . addressing to obtain information corresponding to a given index is carried out by means of opto - electric means such as a wand reader with a matrix of charge coupled sensors having a field the diameter of which generally corresponds to about three times the dimension of the pattern . when the patterns are of the special constitution described above , the wand reader can have a field of 5 millimeters in diameter and comprise focussing optics and a ccd camera . the processing unit is programmed so as to carry out simple morphological processing for individualizing and then decoding the index . the processing unit can be supplemented by an interface linking up with a global positioning system receiver , now available on the market , and enabling the position of the receiver to be determined to within ten or so meters , with reference to the position of twenty - four satellites in orbit . the processing unit can be designed in order to permit the addressing of data in the memory by means of keywords or standard questions , so as to make it possible to read the answers to questions , even complex ones , such as : the number of hotels in the town indicated by the index at which the wand reader is pointed , towns with over five thousand inhabitants at less than one hundred kilometers by road in the administrative region at the police headquarters of which the wand reader is pointed , direction to take from the location pointed to on the map to go to another location , also pointed to on the map , where the data is obtained via the keyboard . by using a security ink , which has no reponse in the visible range , the indexes can be printed on the map without impairing legibility or adversely affecting location . these advantages are of little interest in the case of homogenous areas on the map , such as areas of sea . in these spaces , identified by a cyan frame , the indexes can be printed , repetitively or otherwise , using markings provided on the cyan frame , in place of those inscribed in security ink , or in addition thereto , for example to provide specifically nautical indications , such as bathymetrical information . more generally , on a map having a background formed by a photographic image , it suffices for the frame to take the form of a simple photographic insertion in a shade which , if it is visible , interferes as little as possible with the viewing of the image . the maps required for implementing the invention can be manufactured using a wide variety of processes , from which a choice will be made according to the application concerned . for professional applications , such as the preparation of an assignment , which generally necessitate a map provided with information proper to each particular assignment , the map can be prepared immediately prior to the assignment , with the help of an ink - jet printer , for example , using information required for the assignment retrieved from a data base , this data base being stored in a semi - conductor memory . the map can either be produced by inscribing the indexes , using a security ink - jet printer , on an existing map , or made up in a simplified form by retrieving data from the existing map ( constituted on the basis of data such as that provided by the national geographical society , the naval hydrographic service , the national forestry department , etc . ), edited with the location frame using an ink - jet printer in several passes . for semi - professional applications , for example for navigators , the data does not need to be prepared for a particular assignment but distributed according to geographical areas . in this case , the map simply needs to be provided with indexes . the associated data processing means will form , in particular , the equivalent of nautical instructions , almanachs providing information on the tides , etc . a link - up with a global positioning system , or gps , is of particular interest in this application . finally , the popular applications are all connected with touring and transport : they will enable the publishers of maps , guides and plans to substitute data processing means for books and , what is more , they will make it possible to reduce the diversity of maps and to develop the variety of information on a theme by theme basis , for example by providing data bases devoted to road traffic , historic monuments , points of sale , hotels , etc . in this case , the maps can be manufactured using entirely conventional methods , except that editing necessitates a fifth offset film , this being required for printing the indexes in security ink . one full sized example of a framed map according to the invention is shown in fig5 which shows a land register map . the location frame , which is superimposed on the cartographic markings , formed in particular by streets , the contours of plots of land , and houses , is composed of indexes 10 disposed checkerboard fashion and uniformly covering the entire map , each one appearing , to the naked eye , as a single dot . fig7 to 9 relate to applications of the invention wherein the image to be encoded does not concern cartographic information . fig7 represents the image of an electronic circuit board bearing a number of integrated circuits 70 distributed over its surface , each circuit taking the form , in a manner known per se , of a block of small dimensions bearing a large number of electrical connection pins , not shown in the figure , which pass through the circuit board to be connected at different points on a printed circuit or conducting track borne on the opposite face of the circuit board . the nomenclature of the equipment on such an electronic circuit board , even if very exhaustive , is easily accommodated in the memory of a pocket calculator ; it is even possible to contemplate storing the nomenclature of a whole series of such sub - assemblies . on the other hand , layout and routing drawings ( connections are made over several layers of printed circuits ) make disk storage absolutely essential , and they can be displayed only very partially on a liquid cristal screen . it is therefore proposed to use simple photographs of the circuit boards , which further have the advantage of complete conformity with the product , and to supply only the nomenclatures and connections in digital form . for this purpose , a location frame according to the invention is applied to the photograph of the circuit board . as the integrated circuits are widely spaced , by comparison with the geographical information in fig5 the density of the indexes may be low . on each circuit , the index associated therewith will advantageously be repeated a certain number of times so as to cover all the visible surface thereof , and thus ensure identification of the circuit , even if the wand reader is not placed at a precise point on its surface . full information on a particular circuit is obtained by pointing to it with a wand reader on the photograph . the first application of the process is field maintenance : all the maintenance man takes with him is a set of images , a pocket calculator and the wand reader ; he can also record the details of his visit on the local card of the circuit in question . it is also conceivable for a supplier to use this process to make up an exhaustive , but very compact catalogue of his products . fig8 represents a page of a sales catalogue with drawings or photographs of articles 80 such as garments or other common consumer goods . unlike the examples in fig5 and 7 , the positions of the items 80 to be identified on the page or photograph are random : the location frame according to the invention is simply intended to associate with each article the information that the consumer needs in order to make his or her choice ( description of the article , price , ordering and delivery procedures , etc .). the frame will be designed here in the same way as in the case of fig7 . as a variant of fig8 the frame according to the invention can be applied to a page of an illustrated encyclopedia , to associate legends of a scientific , artistic or literary nature with photographs or drawings presented on the page . fig9 shows a landscape in the form of a drawing , a painting , a photograph or any other means of image creation . this landscape is intended to receive a dense index frame enabling a particular item of information to be associated with each elementary area of the landscape . if this landscape serves an artistic purpose , the information may consist , for example , of specific indications concerning the colour of the elementary area in question , informing the painter of the nature and proportions of the basic colours to be mixed . another case is that in which this landscape faithfully represents a geographically determined site . in the fields of tourism , education or industry , the frame will provide a legend associated with each building , feature of relief , lake , etc . visible on the image . in another application such as engineering , the image could consist of a photograph of all or part of an industrial installation such as an oil refinery . the invention also applies to the encoding of a text , one or more indexes being allocated to each word in the text concerned . different applications could include automatic translation , in a given language , of the word pointed to by the wand reader , while another could be the use of a computerized dictionary to provide the definition of a word pointed to by the wand reader . | 6 |
exemplary embodiments of the invention as described herein generally include systems and methods for compressed sensing reconstruction of magnetic resonance images . accordingly , while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms , specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail . it should be understood , however , that there is no intent to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed , but on the contrary , the invention is to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention . as used herein , the term “ image ” refers to multi - dimensional data composed of discrete image elements ( e . g ., pixels for 2 - d images and voxels for 3 - d images ). the image may be , for example , a medical image of a subject collected by computer tomography , magnetic resonance imaging , ultrasound , or any other medical imaging system known to one of skill in the art . the image may also be provided from non - medical contexts , such as , for example , remote sensing systems , electron microscopy , etc . although an image can be thought of as a function from r 3 to r , the methods of the inventions are not limited to such images , and can be applied to images of any dimension , e . g ., a 2 - d picture or a 3 - d volume . for a 2 - or 3 - dimensional image , the domain of the image is typically a 2 - or 3 - dimensional rectangular array , wherein each pixel or voxel can be addressed with reference to a set of 2 or 3 mutually orthogonal axes . the terms “ digital ” and “ digitized ” as used herein will refer to images or volumes , as appropriate , in a digital or digitized format acquired via a digital acquisition system or via conversion from an analog image . for ease of notation , let uεr n 1 × n 2 denote a 2d mr image of n 1 × n 2 pixels and l =(∇ 1 ,∇ 2 ): r n 1 × n 2 → r n 1 × n 2 × r n 1 × n 2 denote the discrete finite difference operators along the first and second coordinates subject to appropriate boundary conditions . for pixel ( i , j ), define l ij u =(∇ 1 u ij ,∇ 2 u ij ) and ƒ ( z )=∥ z ∥ 2 : r 2 → r . this notation yields tv ( u ) = ∑ ij f ( l ij ( u ) ) , where the summation is taken over all pixels with appropriate boundary conditions . in addition , let g ( z ) = z 1 , h ( z ) = 1 2 az - b 2 2 , and ψ = φ − 1 , which equals the adjoint operator φ * of φ for any orthonormal transform φ . using the notation , eq . ( 6 ) can be rewritten as min x e ( x ) := α ∑ ij f ( l ( ψ x ) ij ) + β g ( x ) + h ( x ) . ( 7 ) since all the terms in eq . ( 7 ) are convex and α , β & gt ; 0 , the objective function is convex ; hence , the first - order optimality condition of eq . ( 7 ) is ∂ e ( x *):={ p : e ( x )− e ( x *)≧ p , x − x * ∀ x }, ( 9 ) is the subdifferential ( i . e ., the set of subgradients ) of e ( ) at x *. when eq . ( 8 ) is satisfied , it follows from the definition of eq . ( 9 ) that e ( x )≧ e ( x *) for all x ; hence , x * is a minimizer of eq . ( 7 ). although solving eq . ( 8 ) for x * is no simpler than eq . ( 7 ), eq . ( 8 ) is a starting point to derive an efficient iteration . first , expand ∂ e ( x *) to obtain 0 ∈ α φ ∑ ij l ij * ∂ f ( l ij ψ x * ) + β ∂ g ( x * ) + ∇ x h ( x * ) . ( 10 ) noticing that the first term on the right - hand side of eq . ( 10 ) is complicated to compute , introduce an auxiliary variable y * ij εr 2 to represent a point in ∂ ƒ ( l ij ψx *) for all i , j . as such , eq . ( 10 ) can be rewritten as 0 ∈ α φ ∑ ij l ij * y ij * + β ∂ g ( x * ) + ∇ x h ( x * ) , ( 11 ) f * ( y ) := sup x { 〈 y , x 〉 - f ( x ) } ( 13 ) theorem 2 . 1 . x * is optimal if and only if there exists an auxiliary variable y *=( y * ij ) where y ij εr 2 , such that 0 ∈ α φ ∑ ij l ij * y ij * + β ∂ g ( x * ) + ∇ x h ( x * ) , ( 14 ) l ij ψx * ε ∂ ƒ *( y * ij ), ( 15 ) where l * ij is the adjoint operator of l ij and ƒ * is defined by eq . ( 13 ). the proof of theorem 2 . 1 is clear from the derivation of eqs . ( 14 ) and ( 15 ). although it is challenging to directly solve eqs . ( 14 ) and ( 15 ), an operator splitting method according to an embodiment of the invention can be applied to them with auxiliary variables s and t and two scalars τ 1 , τ 2 & gt ; 0 obtaining : s = x * - τ 1 ( α φ ∑ ij l ij * y ij * + ∇ x h ( x * ) ) , ( 17 ) where ∇ x h ( x *)= a *( ax *− b )= φ r *( rψx *− b ) now , eqs . ( 16 ) to ( 19 ) are easy to compute . given x * and y *, eqs . ( 17 ) and ( 19 ) compute s and t , respectively , in a straightforward way . on the other hand , given s and t , eqs . ( 16 ) and ( 18 ) uniquely determine x * and y *, respectively , because eq . ( 18 ) is the optimality condition of the strictly convex system min x ( τ 1 β x 1 + 1 2 x - s 2 2 ) , ( 20 ) min y ( τ 2 2 y ij 2 2 + y ij - t ij 2 ) . ( 22 ) both eqs . ( 20 ) and ( 22 ) have closed - form solutions ( proved in theorem 2 . 2 below ) to yield x * and y *, respectively : x * ( s ) = sign ( s ) max { 0 , s - τ 1 β } , ( 23 ) y ij * ( t ij ) = min { 1 τ 2 , t ij 2 } t ij t ij 2 , ( 24 ) where all operations in eq . ( 23 ) are performed component - wise , and 0 / 0 is defined to be 0 in eq . ( 24 ). therefore , according to an embodiment of the invention , eqs . ( 16 )-( 19 ) can be solved ( hence , the original eq . ( 7 )) using a fixed - point iteration scheme , illustrated by the flowchart of fig1 . referring to the figure , an iteration starts at step 10 by initializing ( x *, y *) with a suitable ( x ( 0 ) , y ( 0 ) ). then at step 11 , s ( k ) is updated using eq . ( 17 ) for ( x *, y *)=( x ( k ) , y ( k ) ) at step 12 , t ( k ) is updated using eq . ( 19 ) for ( x *, y *)=( x ( k ) , y ( k ) ). at step 13 , x ( k + 1 ) is updated using eq . ( 23 ) for s = s ( k ) , and at step 14 , y ( k + 1 ) is updated using eq . ( 24 ) for t = t ( k ) . steps 11 to 14 are repeated for k = 0 , 1 , . . . , until convergence . steps 13 and 14 can be justified by the following theorem . theorem 2 . 2 . the solutions of eqs . ( 20 ) and ( 22 ) are given uniquely by eqs . ( 23 ) and ( 24 ), respectively . proof . first , it is well known that the unique solution of eq . ( 20 ) is soft - thresholding or shrinkage : x * ( s ) = { s - τ 1 β , s & gt ; τ 1 β , 0 , - τ 1 β ≤ s ≤ τ 1 β , s + τ 1 β , s & lt ; - τ 1 β , ( 25 ) second , it will be proven that eq . ( 24 ) uniquely solves eq . ( 22 ) by showing that , in each of the two cases : ∥ t ij ∥≦ 1 / τ 2 and ∥ t ij ∥& gt ; 1 / τ 2 , eq . ( 24 ) uniquely satisfies the first - order optimality condition of eq . ( 22 ): ∂ z 2 = { { z / z 2 } z ≠ 0 , { w : w 2 ≤ 1 } , z = 0 . ( 27 ) if ∥ t ij ∥≦ 1 / τ 2 , then simple calculations give ∥ y * ij − t ij ∥ 2 = 0 ; hence , y * ij = t ij , which is given by ( 2 . 18 ). if ∥ t ij ∥& gt ; 1 / τ 2 , then y * ij = t ij does not satisfy eq . ( 26 ), so ∥ y * ij − t ij ∥ 2 ≠ 0 ; this , together with eq . ( 26 ), yields y * ij − t ij /( τ 2 ∥ t ij ∥ 2 ), which is also given by eq . ( 24 ). eqs . ( 23 )-( 24 ) can be computed in times linear in the size of x , i . e ., in o ( n 1 × n 2 ). therefore steps 13 and 14 are very cheap to compute . next , consider the computation of steps 11 and 12 . all finite difference operators l ij and their adjoint l * ij , can be applied in a total of o ( n 1 × n 2 ) time , so they are not more expensive than the wavelet transform φ and fourier transform r , as well as their inverse transforms . in view of eqs . ( 17 ) and ( 19 ), both steps involve the computation ψx ( k ) so only one such computation is needed . in addition , only one φ is needed in eq . ( 17 ) since the last two terms in eq . ( 17 ) can be combined . therefore , the total amount of computation in eqs ( 17 ) and ( 19 ) for each k is dominated by one forward and one inverse transform for the wavelet and fourier transforms each . according to an exemplary , non - limiting embodiment of the invention , s ( k ) , t ( k ) , x ( k ) , and y ( k ) are stored in memory for current k . however , neither r nor φ need be explicitly expressed ; all matrix - vector multiplications involving them can be computed by , e . g ., matlab &# 39 ; s implementation of the corresponding fast transforms . this keeps the memory requirement manageable . a 4 - step iteration according to an embodiment of the invention is based on splitting the terms in the optimality conditions eqs . ( 14 ) and ( 15 ) into two parts , one forward ( steps 11 and 12 ) and one backward ( steps 13 and 14 ), each of which is very easy to compute . after embedding the variables and operators into appropriate spaces , one can show that the x ( k ) generated by the iterations converge to a global solution x as long as the step sizes τ 1 and τ 2 are small enough . to obtain the bounds on τ 1 and τ 2 , one can estimate the spectral radius of certain operators . however , this is not necessary in practice since there are line search strategies for determining appropriate sizes and guarantee convergence . the objective function of eq . ( 7 ) is convex but not strictly convex . in rare cases , eq . ( 7 ) has more than one solution . when this happens , which one of the solutions is the limit of x ( k ) depends on the initial point . further , the convergence of a 4 - step iteration according to an embodiment of the invention can be accelerated by adopting a continuation strategy used for eq . ( 4 ). a splitting - based algorithm can be applied to eq , ( 4 ) and the penalty parameter β varies with k , starting from an initial large value and gradually decreasing to the given value . eq . ( 4 ) is easier to solve with a larger β , and a continuation algorithm is faster because an approximate solution of eq . ( 4 ) corresponding to a larger β serves as a good starting point for the system corresponding to the next and smaller β . although the underlying images are assumed by exemplary embodiments of the invention described above to be two dimensional in the discussions above , it is straightforward to extend the theories and methods according to other embodiments of the invention presented above to images in three or higher dimensions . specifically , one only needs to replace l , r , and φ by to the higher - dimensional versions of the finite difference , fourier transform , and wavelet transform operators . in compressed mr imaging , the sampling matrix a is given by a = rφ − 1 , where r is a partial fourier transform and φ is the wavelet transform . in numerical experiments of an embodiment of the invention , a haar wavelet transform was used for simplicity . assume that an mr image has n pixels , which is represented by an n - dimensional real vector . for example , n equals 1 million for a 1000 × 1000 pixel image . in an algorithm according to an embodiment of the invention , r includes m rows of the n × n matrix corresponding to the full 2d discrete fourier transform , where m & lt ;& lt ; n . ( recall that neither a nor r is stored in memory .) the m selected rows correspond to the selected frequencies at which the measurements in b are collected . the smaller the m , the lesser the amount of time required for an mr scanner to acquire b . the sampling ratio or compression ratio is defined to be m / n . in mr imaging , one has certain freedom to select the rows , however , although these selections are subject to practical constraints , and rows are selected in the following manner . in the k - space , sample more points near the bottom left and bottom right corners , fewer points near the center . because of the symmetry of the 2d fourier transform , the upper half space can be masked . following these guidelines , sampling matrices were randomly created . fig2 highlights in white the positions of the selected frequencies , using a sampling ratio of 21 . 53 %, for one of several experiments in the k - space . it was found that this kind of selection allows recovery of mr images from a much smaller number of samples than a uniformly random selection . in practice , the set of frequencies , as well as the sampling speed , in an mri scan are constrained by physical and physiological limits , so this sampling strategy is idealized . according to an embodiment of the invention , a 2d code , referred to herein below as tvcmri ( total variation l 1 compressed mr imaging ), was written in matlab based upon the code fpc by hale et al in “ a fixed - point continuation method for l 1 - regularized minimization with applications to compressed sensing ” caam technical report tr07 - 07 , jul . 7 , 2007 , the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety , and applied to 2d mr images . experiments of embodiments of the invention were carried out in matlab v7 . 3 on a laptop with a 1 . 66 ghz intel core duo t2300e processor and 2 gb memory . it is to be understood that the use of matlab is exemplary and non - limiting , and implementations in other computer languages are within the scope of other embodiments of the invention . according to an embodiment of the invention , the ( final ) regularization parameters were set as α = 1 × 10 − 3 and β = 3 . 5 × 10 − 2 in the underlying model of eq . ( 6 ), while , for the continuation procedure in the code , the initial regularization parameters were chosen as α 0 = α /( η α 3 ) and β 0 = max { η β ∥ a t b ∥ ∞ , β } where the rate of reduction in α and β are η α = 0 : 25 and η β = 0 : 25 , respectively , i . e ., continuation to α and β uses the update scheme until α and β are reached . both τ 1 and τ 2 are set to 0 . 8 . for each original mr image ūεr n of n pixels , the observation data b was synthesized as where n is gaussian white noise generated by σ × randn ( m , 1 ) in matlab , and aεr m × n is the sampling matrix . a and b were given to the code as data , and u was the unknown . in this subsection , it will be shown that how the noise affects the recovery qualities of a synthetic 256 × 256 phantom image . a series of noise levels is provided and the images are recovered by a sampling ratio of 38 . 56 % by a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention . the original and recovered images are shown in fig3 ( a )-( f ). referring to the figure , fig3 ( a ) is the original phantom image , while fig3 ( b ), ( c ), ( d ), ( e ) and ( f ) are the recovered images with the same sampling ratios 38 . 56 % but different noise levels σ = 0 , 10 − 4 , 10 − 3 , 10 − 2 , and 10 − 1 , respectively . the noise levels σ , relative errors , rel . err . = u - u _ 2 u _ 2 , ( 29 ) and running times are given in table 1 , shown in fig4 , where ū and u are original and recovered images , respectively . from fig3 ( a )-( f ) and table 1 it can be seen that the recovery by a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention is consistent to noise . when the noise levels are small , one always gets good recovery and the relative errors are almost the same . even when the noise level is large , σ0 : 1 , one can still obtain get a very clear recovered image with relative error less than the noise level . this subsection reports numerical results for applying a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention to three real 2d mr images : a 220 × 220 renal arteries image , a 480 × 150 abdomen extremities image , and a 924 × 208 human full body image . the original and recovered images are shown in fig5 - 7 . fig5 ( a ) is the original renal arteries image , while fig5 ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ) are the recovered images at the sampling ratios of 38 . 50 %, 21 . 53 % and 8 . 81 %, respectively . fig6 ( a ) is the original abdomen extremities image , while fig6 ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ) are the recovered images at the sampling ratios of 38 . 41 %, 21 . 45 % and 8 . 51 %, respectively . fig7 ( a ) is the original mr human full body image , while fig7 ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ) are the recovered images at the sampling ratios of 38 . 29 %, 21 . 42 %, and 8 . 28 %, respectively . to demonstrate minimizing total variation in the model of eq ( 6 ), the fpc code was also used to solve eq . ( 4 ) on the same images , in which total variation was not used . the relative errors and running times for these two algorithms are given in table 2 , shown in fig8 . a tvcmri algorithm according to an embodiment of the invention can efficiently recover the images . for the renal arteries and abdomen extremities images , a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention can usually recover the image within about 6 seconds . even for the big human full body image , a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention can still recover the image within 15 seconds . in contrast , the fpc algorithm costs much more time than a tvcmri algorithm according to an embodiment of the invention . although the input images have different levels of complexities , the recovery qualities of a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention were consistent across these images . specifically , for each of them , a sampling ratio of 38 % was always sufficient for reconstructing a faithful image ; 21 % yielded clean images without significant artifacts ; yet a very low sampling ratio of 8 . 7 % still gave acceptable results with obvious artifacts . these results can be improved by increasing the number of iterations in the code . moreover , although slight under - sampling caused minor artifacts , the reconstruction did not fail ; this is not the case in classical compressed sensing for sparse signals , where an insufficient number of measurements will yield completely incorrect results . fig9 is a graph showing the relative errors of the recovered human full body mr images by tvcmri ( curve 91 ) and fpc ( curve 92 ) from the measurements at a sequence of different sampling ratios . from fig9 it can be seen that the relative errors of the recovered images from a tvcmri according to an embodiment of the invention , which solves eq . ( 6 ), are much smaller than those from fpc , which solves eq . ( 4 ). it is to be understood that embodiments of the present invention can be implemented in various forms of hardware , software , firmware , special purpose processes , or a combination thereof . in one embodiment , the present invention can be implemented in software as an application program tangible embodied on a computer readable program storage device . the application program can be uploaded to , and executed by , a machine comprising any suitable architecture . fig1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing a method for compressed sensing reconstruction of magnetic resonance images according to an embodiment of the invention . referring now to fig1 , a computer system 101 for implementing the present invention can comprise , inter alia , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 102 , a memory 103 and an input / output ( i / o ) interface 104 . the computer system 101 is generally coupled through the i / o interface 104 to a display 105 and various input devices 106 such as a mouse and a keyboard . the support circuits can include circuits such as cache , power supplies , clock circuits , and a communication bus . the memory 103 can include random access memory ( ram ), read only memory ( rom ), disk drive , tape drive , etc ., or a combinations thereof . the present invention can be implemented as a routine 107 that is stored in memory 103 and executed by the cpu 102 to process the signal from the signal source 108 . as such , the computer system 101 is a general purpose computer system that becomes a specific purpose computer system when executing the routine 107 of the present invention . the computer system 101 also includes an operating system and micro instruction code . the various processes and functions described herein can either be part of the micro instruction code or part of the application program ( or combination thereof ) which is executed via the operating system . in addition , various other peripheral devices can 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 and method steps depicted in the accompanying figures can be implemented in software , the actual connections between the systems components ( or the process steps ) may differ depending upon the manner in which the present invention is programmed . given the teachings of the present invention provided herein , one of ordinary skill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similar implementations or configurations of the present invention . while the present invention has been described in detail with reference to a preferred embodiment , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and substitutions can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 a is a top perspective view of an example of a non - pluggable small form factor transceiver , such as those manufactured by the finisar corporation of sunnyvale , calif . in this example , an internal optical module ( e . g ., see fig2 a ), for example a transceiver module or transponder module , is housed inside a shell 105 with appropriate pin connectors 115 for communicating with internal electronics . the transceiver is hard soldered or otherwise attached to a printed circuit board . it is non - pluggable in the sense that it is difficult to change the internal optical module without first detaching the device from the printed circuit board . fig1 b is a bottom perspective view of an example of a hot - pluggable small form factor transceiver , such as those manufactured by the finisar corporation of sunnyvale , calif . in this approach , a cage housing 175 is soldered or otherwise attached to a printed circuit board . it has an open end 110 to permit an optical module 200 to be inserted / removed . a bottom open portion 185 of cage 175 permits an electrical interface connector , such as pins , to be located within cage 175 . in this manner , electrical connection can be made with internal electronics . the design is hot - pluggable since the internal optical module 200 may be changed by removing ( by sliding , in this case ) the current module and replacing it with a different module , without detaching the cage housing 175 from the printed circuit board . fig1 c shows a view of an internal transceiver module from the fiber connector end 110 . in this example , the transceiver is non - pluggable but the following remarks also apply to the hot - pluggable variety . two ferrules 140 and 150 include bores to receive and guide optical fibers into position . the fiber connector end 110 may be designed to accept any suitable dual fiber connector , such as an lc type , sc , or mt - rj type connector . the present invention generally comprises an optical module having an emi shield integrated onto each port housing to reduce the aperture for emi emission and to provide an additional esd protection path . fig2 a depicts a top view of one embodiment of an optical module 200 having components disposed in a conductive shell 218 in accord with one embodiment of the present invention . the following example is a pluggable transceiver module , but the optical module may be either a transceiver or transponder module , including both non - pluggable and pluggable varieties . during normal use , optical module 200 is inserted into cage housing 175 . transceiver module 200 includes a transmitter optical subassembly ( tosa ) 212 , which includes a light source capable of being modulated , such as a laser transmitter , tx . a receiver optical subassembly ( rosa ) 214 includes an optical detector . each optical subassembly ( osa ) is electrically coupled to a printed circuit board assembly ( pcba ) 216 having respective transmitter and receiver electronic circuits . in one embodiment , each osa is coupled to the pcba 216 using its own flex electrical connector 211 . the osas are disposed in an electrically conductive shell 218 . a neck portion 231 of a port housing 238 for the osa is located in an electrically conductive yoke 233 , proximate a fiber connector end 220 . an electrically conductive restraining bar 232 ( not shown in fig2 a ) seats onto the portion of the necks 231 not supported by yoke 233 . yoke 233 and restraining bar 232 are electrically coupled to the shell 218 and provide emi shielding with respect to the fiber connector end 220 . fig2 b - 2c illustrate aspects of the port housing 238 , yoke 233 , and restraining bar 232 . fig2 b is a side view of the port housing 238 . fig2 c is an exploded perspective view of the port housing 238 , yoke 233 , and restraining bar 232 . an individual osa has a port housing 238 comprising a body portion 240 , a neck portion 231 , and a ferrule head portion 230 . body portion 240 has a receptacle end shaped to house a header 299 , such as a receiver or transmitter header 299 . the neck portion 231 is bounded by a first stop surface 287 disposed on body portion 240 and a second stop surface 281 disposed on an inner surface of collar 234 . collar 234 defines an annulus about the ferrule head end 230 , which has a diameter less than that of the body portion . ferrule head end 230 includes a bore 235 with a bore opening for receiving an optical fiber . an electrically conductive cap 225 is disposed on an outer surface 224 of collar 234 . the conductive cap 225 may be formed on the port housing 238 or be fitted onto the port housing . referring to fig2 c which show half of an electrically conductive yoke 233 and electrically conductive port restraining bar 232 , neck 231 is shaped to be held in a yoke 233 having a region 292 preferably shaped to form a slide - in or snap - in connection . a restraining bar 232 is shaped to fit about the portion of neck 231 not held in yoke 233 . the shape of the yoke 233 and port restraining bar ( prb ) 232 may be selected in combination with the separation of stop surfaces 287 and 281 to permit a limited range of motion of neck 231 with respect to yoke 233 . the port housing 238 of each osa may be fabricated from a material that does not significantly block emi , such as a composite plastic with optical grade plastic in regions that are used to couple light . the use of plastic port housings permits a plastic lens ( not shown ) to be incorporated into the port housing to couple light between the osa and an optical fiber ( not shown ) in the bore 235 of a receiving ferrule 230 of the port housing . electrically conductive cap 225 provides additional shielding on the front surface 224 of collar 234 . conductive cap 225 is preferably shaped so that an electrical contact is made along at least one point of cap 225 to restraining bar 232 or yoke 233 to provide a path to ground via the shell 218 . alternately , the cap 225 may make direct electrical contact with the shell 218 . consequently , cap 225 provides an additional conductive surface that attenuates emi and grounds esd . cap 225 provides an aperture through which emi passes , which increases the attenuation for emi . note that cap 225 may shield substantially the entire annular region of collar 234 , forming an aperture having a smaller diameter than body portion 240 . in some embodiments , cap 225 may form an aperture having a smaller diameter than neck 231 . referring again to fig2 b - 2c , compliant movement of the port housings 238 is facilitated by coupling the osas to the pcba 216 with a flexible connector 211 . in one embodiment each osa is electrically coupled to its corresponding pcb electronics by its own flex connector , in order to facilitate each port housing moving independently of the other port housings in response to loads . microwave frequency flex connectors may , for example , comprise microwave transmission lines formed or embedded within a flexible material . port restraining bar 232 may be shaped to apply a sufficient pressure such that neck portion 231 may move in response to light loads . fig3 is a perspective exploded view of one embodiment of a small form factor optical transceiver module 300 . in an electronics section of the shell 318 , pcba 316 is used to mount receiver and transmitter electronics ( not shown in fig3 ). the pcba 316 may be attached to a shell 318 using a suitable fastener 306 , such as a bolt or screw . shell 318 is preferably an electrically conductive shell , such as shell comprised of a metal or having a metal foil . two flex circuits 311 a and 311 b are attached to the pcba to provide separate flexible electrical connections to the pins of the device headers of each osa . a laser transmitter osa ( tosa ) 312 is disposed within a first port housing 338 . a photodiode receiver osa ( rosa ) 314 is disposed within a second port housing 338 . each port housing 338 includes a collar 334 . each port housing includes a first stop surface 387 of body end 340 and a second stop surface 381 of collar 334 . the bore 335 of the port housing is shaped to receive an optical fiber . it has a smaller outer diameter than the body end of the port housing that houses the osa receiver or transmitter electronics . an electrically conductive cap 325 is shaped to fit onto the each annular portion of collar 334 , extending over the front and side surfaces of the lip to form a conductive sleeve around the rim of the collar 334 . in one embodiment , the connector receptacles 309 have front openings shaped to receive a dual fiber connector , such as an lc type connector in the fiber connector end 320 of the module . a portion of shell 318 has a region 370 shaped to receive a restraining bar ( not shown in fig3 ). fig4 a is a top view of an assembled module 300 and fig4 b is a side view of the same module . note that the separate flex circuits may each have a different length , permitting the laser port housing and osa to have a different length than the optical detector port housing and osa . the restraining bar 332 is illustrated in fig4 a and 4b . fig5 is a cross - sectional view along line a - a of fig4 a showing a view of a port restraining bar ( prb ) 332 and yoke 333 holding an osa 314 . in one embodiment , prb 332 is shaped to contact the conductive cap 325 with a sufficient friction that the neck is movably coupled to yoke 333 with conductive cap 325 disposed in the front portion of connector end 320 . fig6 shows a cross sectional view along line b - b of fig4 a through the photodiode port housing 338 . the conductive cap 325 subtends the annulus of collar 334 . port restraining bar 332 and yoke 333 provide some emi shielding . the aperture of conductive cap 325 further attenuates emi . as can be seen in fig6 , cap 325 may have an inner diameter , d 1 , that is less than that an inner diameter d 2 , of the yoke 333 . consequently , cap 325 increases the attenuation of emi and also increases esd protection . in this example , a ball lens 397 is used for optical coupling . fig7 shows a corresponding cross - sectional view along line c - c through the transmitter laser port housing 338 . an integrated plastic lens 398 is also shown . the present invention provides several benefits . one benefit is that the effective aperture for emi radiation is reduced to the inner diameter of the conductive cap . substantially all of the area aside from the ferrule portions of the port housing may be chocked off with a conductive shield . the conductive shell , the conductive port caps , yoke , and other metal elements ( e . g ., the prb ) are electrically coupled together and may be suitably grounded to other elements , such as to a conductive enclosure . moreover , in one embodiment , the shield elements are electrically coupled to an electrically conductive shell , which further facilitates protecting the pcba electronics from esd . another benefit of the present invention is that it permits each port housing a limited range of motion in response to loads . a pressure fit may be selected that engages the conductive port cap with sufficient pressure to form an electrical connection to the conductive cap . however , the port housing may still move in response to thermal expansion , mechanical loads , or vibration . this provides several advantages , since it facilitates maintaining the fiber in proper optical alignment within the ferrule of the port housing . additionally , mechanical reliability of plastic components may also benefit . yet another benefit of the present invention is that the receiver port housing and the transmitter port housing may move independently of each other , facilitating each port housing maintaining reliable optical alignment to its fiber . still yet another benefit of the present invention is that it highly manufacturable , since it requires only a comparatively low cost manufacturing step to add a conductive port cap to a plastic port housing . while the present invention has been describe in detail with regards to a transceiver module having separate receiver and transmitter osas , it will be understood that the present invention may be applied to any module having one or more plastic port housings , such as receiver , transmitter , and transceiver modules . moreover , it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to modules configured to receiver lc - type fiber connectors but may be adapted to receive a variety of connector types , such as sc , mt - rj type or other types of connectors . additionally , while the present invention has been described in detail in regards to plastic port housings , it will be understood that it applies more generally to any type of electrically non - conductive or poorly conductive port housing . while particular embodiments and applications of the present invention have been illustrated and described , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein and that various modifications , changes and variations which will be apparent to those skilled in the art may be made in the arrangement , operation and details of the method and apparatus of the present invention disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
in the following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention , references are made to the accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar elements , in which , is shown by way of illustration of specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . these embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical , mechanical , electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the following detailed description is , therefore , not to be taken in a limiting sense , and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims . beginning with an overview of the operation of the invention , fig1 a illustrates a system 100 which can control the effects of image manipulation according to one embodiment of the present invention . system 100 includes server 101 and one or more clients 103 . stored in memory resident within server 101 , a typical software application 104 is an image - editing package adapted to manipulate images provided by client 103 . the operations of software application 104 may be controlled by server 101 or through control information from client 103 . within the software application 104 , an effects block 110 and a masking tool block 112 reside . these “ blocks ” denote a collection of one or more instructions , including but not limited to a routine , function , or any other process . the effects block 110 applies a specific effect to the image and the masking tool block 112 selectively limits the area of the image which is modified by the effects block 110 . as shown in fig1 b , client 103 may establish communications with server 101 through a wide area network . for instance , client 103 may communicate directly with an internet service provider ( isp ) that communicates with server 101 . a client 103 represents any device that may enable user &# 39 ; s online access to information . illustrative examples of a “ client ” may include , but are not limited or restricted to a digital camera , a stand - alone device to view images inclusive of a kiosk , a hand - held image viewing device ( e . g ., portable computer , personal digital assistant , ipod ® or other music / video / image viewing device , etc . ), a camera cellular phone , and the like . in this embodiment , client 103 may provide a user interface to communicate information to the user . it should be noted that although fig1 a illustrates only two modules performing the above functionality , more or less modules may be used to perform this functionality . one exemplary embodiment of client 103 is a digital camera 140 that is illustrated in fig1 c . for this embodiment , digital camera 140 includes a processor 150 , a memory 155 and an input / output device 160 coupled to a bus 165 . input / output device 160 includes an interface to establish a wired or wireless communication path with server 101 . memory 155 is configured to store images that are captured by digital camera 140 and processed by processor 150 . memory 155 encompasses various types of computer readable media , including any type of storage device that is accessible by processor 150 . one of the skilled the art will immediately recognize that the term “ computer readable media ” encompasses any suitable storage medium such as a programmable electronic circuit , any type of semiconductor memory device such as a volatile memory ( e . g ., random access memory , etc .) or non - volatile memory ( e . g ., read - only memory , flash memory , etc . ), a hard drive disk , or any portable storage such as a floppy diskette , an optical disk ( e . g ., compact disk or digital versatile disc “ dvd ”), memory stick , a digital tape or the like . of course , it is appreciated that digital camera 140 may be controlled by operating system software including instructions executed by processor and stored in internal memory . also , software application 104 may be implemented within memory 155 or another memory component that is integrated within processor 150 or external to processor 150 in lieu of or in addition to such storage within server 101 . thus , the digital camera 140 may perform masking operations and applying effects to the image directly . as a first illustrative example , software application 104 may be loaded into server 101 to perform the masking and application of effects on an image as described below . these masking operations are controlled by the digital camera 140 . according to a second illustrative example , the software application 104 may be loaded within digital camera 140 to perform the masking and application of effects on an image , but the masking tool is fetched by digital camera 140 from memory implemented within server 101 . according to a third illustrative embodiment , a high - resolution image targeted for manipulation is loaded on server 101 while a low - resolution image loaded in digital camera 140 . in response to selected operations on the low - resolution image , corresponding operations are performed on the high - resolution image . fig2 a illustrates a first embodiment of a masking tool as described in block 112 of fig1 a . display 200 represents a sample screen while utilizing the software application 104 ( fig1 a ). a masking tool 210 is shown on the display 200 , where masking tool 210 features one or more graphical representations . these graphical representations may be have a predetermined shape and size and / or may be set by the user to produce a customizable graphical representation . the predetermined forms of masking tool 210 may be preloaded into the digital camera during manufacturer or downloaded from a source over a network connection . the customized graphical representations of masking tool 210 may be stored within digital camera upon completion by the user , and may be transmitted to the server 101 for storage . for instance , as shown in fig2 a , the embodiment of masking tool 210 is translucent and is defined by the clear outline . the masking tool 210 allows a selective application effects from the effects block 110 ( fig1 a ) by moving the masking tool 210 with respect to a static image as shown on the display 200 . the portion of the static image as shown on the display 200 which is within the masking tool 210 is not modified by the application of the effects . this static image may be still image or an image from a video stream . furthermore , the masking tool 210 is capable of being dynamically moved with respect to the static image during the application of the effects . this allows the user to selectively apply the effect by interactively moving the mask tool simultaneously while applying the effect . another embodiment includes a masking tool that is able to interact directly with a localized image editing operation . for example , the masking tool may become entirely transparent in the immediate area where a user is currently applying an image effect . this allows the user to see the entire area that is mask without a mask or line obstructing the immediate work area . fig2 b illustrates a second embodiment of masking tool 215 represented on display 200 . masking tool 215 shows the portion within masking tool 215 to have a cross - hatched shading . any type of shading can be utilized to illustrate the portion within the masking tool . fig2 c illustrates a third embodiment of the masking tool represented on display 200 . according to this embodiment , the shape of the masking tool can be easily created and modified . for example , within the display 200 there are a first masking tool 220 , a second masking tool 230 and a third masking tool 240 . each of the first , second and third masking tools ( 220 , 230 , and 240 ) have differing sizes and may function independently or may be combined to form a single masking tool . naturally , this specific example utilizes three portions to form independent or combined masking tools and any number of portions may be utilized to accomplish the same . like masking tools that take different sizes , masking tools may also take any multitude of shapes . the masking tools may simulate the use of a fixed edge such as a french curve . the shape of the mask tool is infinitely changeable . furthermore , the user may mask as much area of the image as desired and perform a global image effect on the entire image while protecting portions of the image from the image effects with the masking tools . fig3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a screen display 300 featuring icons 310 representing various shapes for the masking tool . according to this embodiment , upon execution , a masking tool 320 is selected from icons 310 corresponding to a plurality of masking tool with graphical representations , namely different fixed shapes and sizes . such selection may be accomplished by cycling through a series of masking tool icons 310 displayed on screen display 320 of a digital camera 330 using at least one control button 340 of digital camera 330 . alternatively , although not shown , such selection may be accomplished through a menu displayed on screen display 300 of digital camera 330 , where the menu illustrates images or lists textual descriptions of the plurality of masking tool types . the selection of the menu entry is also controlled by control button ( s ) 340 . fig4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of customization of the masking tool is shown . display 200 of client 103 features an image 400 . using a stylus 410 , for example , a pattern 420 is traced over image 400 illustrated by display 200 . upon completion of an enclosed pattern , a determination is made whether the area within the enclosed pattern 420 is selected to be the masking tool , illustrated in a transparent form , or whether the area outside the enclosed pattern 420 constitutes the masking tool . for instance , upon touching stylus 410 within a first area 430 , namely the area within enclosed pattern 420 is considered to be the masking tool . as a result , when applied , an effect will be applied to the portion of image 400 outside first area 430 while no effect is applied inside first area 430 outlined by the masking tool . the transparent nature of the masking tool allows the user to see the lack of effects applied to the masked area . however , upon touching the stylus within a second area 440 , namely the area outside enclosed pattern 420 , any effect will be applied to the portion of image 400 inside first area 430 because the masking tool now covers second area 440 . fig5 illustrates a flow diagram . at block 500 , the application software 104 ( fig1 a ) is initiated . the user may build , create , and / or modify the shape and size of the masking tool in block 510 . the user may position the masking tool relative to the static image ( block 510 ). the user may position the masking tool relative to the static image ( block 520 ). the user may apply the image effect selectively to the image that is not masked by the masking tool ( block 530 ). the user may dynamically reposition the masking tool while simultaneously applying the image effect ( block 540 ). although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein , will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for specific embodiments shown . this application is intended to cover any of the adaptations of variations of the present invention . the terminology used in this application with respect to network architecture is meant to include all client / server environments . therefore it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof . | 7 |
a field termination connector according to one aspect of the invention is depicted in fig1 - 4 . this connector is compatible with mt - rj connectors as taught , for example , in the &# 39 ; 382 provisional application . certain features of the connector are explained below with reference to directions such as “ upwardly ”, “ forwardly ”, “ rearwardly ” and “ laterally ”. these directions are orthogonal to one and other as illustrated in fig1 . as shown in fig1 the “ forward ” direction is the direction in which the connector is advanced when the connector is inserted into the socket . these directions are given in the frame of reference of the connector itself , and need not bear any relation to the gravitational frame of reference . this connector uses a field terminated ferrule assembly 23 of the type which is commercially available from the fujikura company of tokyo , japan . a field terminated ferrule includes a conventional ferrule , such as an mt type ferrule 21 having fiber bores 24 , pin bores 25 and an enhanced head 26 in conjunction with a field termination unit 22 . the field termination unit includes a pair of pre - installed fiber segments 20 disposed in bores 31 within the termination unit . these pre - installed fiber segments extend into the fiber bores 24 of ferrule 21 , and extend to the front face 32 of the ferrule . a refractive index matching compound such as a gel 30 is disposed in the fiber bores of the field termination unit . in use , the fibers of a cable to be connected are cut and the cut ends are inserted into the fiber bores of the termination unit , so that the fibers of the cable are in optical communication with the pre - installed fiber segments . the ferrule 21 of the field terminated ferrule assembly has pre - installed alignment pins 34 projecting from the front face 32 . the housing 33 and crimp nut 29 are designed to affix the field terminated ferrule assembly 23 , with alignment pins 34 , in a centralized , fixed position relative to housing 33 with the front face 32 of the ferrule disposed on the optical plane 35 at the front end of the housing . the housing 33 is designed to centrally locate the ferrule in the x - y direction by way of inside alignment surfaces 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 that locate close to the ferrule with little clearance or with a slight interference fit . the inside surfaces may be flat or else may have ribs ( not shown ) for engaging the exterior surfaces of the ferrule . the crimp nut 29 comprises a housing 64 , having a pair of projections 60 extending forwardly from the housing . projections 60 have snaps 62 extending laterally outward from the projections . a hollow boss 27 extends rearwardly from housing 29 . the snaps 62 of crimp nut 29 engage in holes 66 in the connector housing 33 . the crimp nut holds the ferrule 21 from moving away from the optical plane 35 by means of a shoulder 28 that holds the back of the field terminated ferrule assembly 23 in place . in this condition , the head 26 of the ferrule bears against studs at the rear of alignment surfaces 36 - 39 . thus , the ferrule 21 is fixed in position relative to the housing 33 . when an optical cable is assembled into the connector , the jacket and reinforcing fiber layer of a fiber optic cable are placed around the outside of the rear boss 27 on the crimp nut , and held in place by a crimp ring ( not shown ) overlying the outside of the jacket and the rear boss . this arrangement of a fixed ferrule with pins projecting from the front face of the ferrule emulates the interface found in transceiver modules having fixed optical interfaces with alignment pins . the ferrule of a male connector ( with pins ) need not have the ability to float relative to the housing , because the mating female connector ( having a ferrule with empty guide pin holes adapted to receive the guide pins of the male connector ) always has the ability to float relative to its housing . this allows the ferrules of the mating connectors to be precisely aligned with one another despite misalignment of the housings . advantages are realized in : having a design almost identical to a normal mt - rj connector such as that shown in the &# 39 ; 382 application , eliminating the cost of a spring , simplifying the assembly of the connector , and having a connector with only slightly increased forwarded to rearward length , despite the presence of field termination unit 22 . this relatively compact overall size is achievable in part because of the elimination of the spring commonly used in an mt - rj connector . in particular , the connector housing 33 has an external shape with a forward end identical to a normal mt - rj connector . thus , both types of connectors may be engaged interchangeably in sockets of couplers such as a double - ended socket as described in greater detail in the co - pending applications incorporated by reference herein . such a double - ended socket will receive an mt - rj connector in each end and engage the connectors with one another . a field installed male connector as illustrated in fig1 - 4 can be inserted in one end of a double - ended socket , whereas a standard mt - rj female connector is inserted in the opposite end . housing 33 may have slightly different interior dimensions than a standard mt - rj housing , and may be slightly longer in the forward - to rearward direction than the normal mt - rj housing to provide enough space for the field - terminated ferrule assembly . moreover , the lateral and vertical dimensions of the field termination connector may be identical to the corresponding dimensions of a standard mt - rj connector . this assures that the filed termination connector can be used even if multiple sockets and connectors are disposed side - by - side at close spacing on a panel board . as shown in fig5 - 7 , a variant of the structure illustrated in fig1 - 4 incorporates a strain relief 71 surrounding the jackets of the fibers and engaged in the crimp nut 29 . in a further variant , the strain relief may be secured to the crimp nut , to the jackets of the fibers , or both by an epoxy or other adhesive to enhance the axial pull strength of the jacketed fibers . in a further variant , the jacketed fibers may be secured directly to the crimp nut by the adhesive , with or without a separate strain relief . the same approaches can be used for ribbon - type fiber optic cables . in the embodiments of fig1 - 4 , and in the embodiment of fig5 - 7 , the outer jacket of the cable ( not shown ) typically overlies the outside of the crimp nut and is held on the crimp nut by a metal crimp ring . a connector according to a further embodiment of the invention , illustrated in fig8 - 11 typically is factory - installed on the cable . this connector does not include a field termination unit as discussed above with reference to fig1 - 4 . instead , the connector of fig8 - 11 includes a device 41 which provides a cost effective and time saving method for the assembly of the connectors . device 41 has an open top surface defining a generally u - shaped fiber channel 51 extending forwardly and rearwardly at the back end of the device . the device also has a set of front partial walls 53 projecting laterally inwardly from opposite sides of the device adjacent the front of the device and a set of rear partial walls 52 projecting laterally inwardly from opposite sides at locations spaced rearwardly from the front partial walls so as to define a pair of pin head grooves 54 open to the top of the device between the front and rear partial walls . the device also has a pair of latches 55 projecting from laterally opposite sides . device 41 is assembled together with a standard mt - rj ferrule 42 , alignment pins 43 and a field terminating style housing 44 which may be identical to housing 33 discussed above . as best seen in fig8 the fibers 45 may be assembled to the ferrule , using an epoxy and ferrule boot as taught in the &# 39 ; 382 application . the front face of the ferrule and the fiber ends are polished in the conventional manner , and alignment pins 43 are inserted in the alignment pin bores of the ferrule . the ferrule fibers and alignment pins are then advanced downwardly into device 41 . device 41 is located behind the ferrule . the pin head grooves 54 of the device capture the heads 46 of the alignment pins for the purpose of preventing their movement . the device and ferrule are advanced forwardly into housing 44 , so that the device snaps into the housing , with latches 55 engaged in holes 56 in the housing . the device , and the walls of the housing which surround ferrule 42 , hold the ferrule in a fixed position with the front face of the ferrule disposed at a centralized position on the optical plane at the front end of the housing . the jacket and reinforcing fibers of the cable can be advanced over the u - shaped channel 51 at the back end of device and secured in place by a crimp ring around the outside of the jacket . the device eliminates the need to manage connector components on the fiber cable during the ferrule assembly process , thus simplifying the procedure , and eliminates the need for a spring and separate pin retainer , thus reducing cost . this aspect of the invention incorporates the realization that a floating ferrule , and the more complex assembly procedures required to provide a floating ferrule , are not necessary in the case of a male connector having alignment pins . other ways of mounting the ferrule at a substantially fixed position in the housing can be used . for example , the ferrule can be mounted to the housing by an adhesive , which may be the same as or different from the adhesive used to secure the fibers in the ferrule . a further aspect of the present invention provides a loopback test unit for optical transceivers . as shown in fig1 , a typical optical component 100 such as a network hub or switching device includes transceivers having optical output and input ports in sockets 103 . for example , the transceivers may be provided with male components 102 similar to ferrules mounted in sockets 103 . these components have projecting guide pins like the guide pins of a male mt - rj ferrule , but do not have fibers disposed therein . the front face of each such component defines a plane commonly referred to as the “ optical plane ”. the optical transmitter of each transceiver includes a light source such as a laser diode and optical elements arranged to focus the light from the source onto a spot at a precisely defined location at the optical plane , so that such light will be directed into a fiber of a mating cable terminating at such spot in the optical plane . similarly , the receiving component such as a photodiode is arranged to accept light emanating from the end of a fiber disposed at a spot in the optical plane . a cable terminated by a female mt - rj connector as described , for example , in the &# 39 ; 382 application and having its fiber ends held in the ferrule of such female mt - rj connector can be coupled to the input and output ports of the transceiver by engaging the connector in the socket . the front face of the female ferrule abuts the male component of the transceiver so as to position the fibers in the optical plane of the transceiver . in other cases , the male component 102 of the transceiver may be a standard male mt - rj ferrule and the transceiver may have fibers extending into such ferrule so that such fibers constitute the input and output ports . these fibers are butt jointed to the fibers of a cable terminated by an mt - rj connector when the connector is engaged in the socket . the elements associated with the transceiver are designed to achieve maximum performance when used with mating fibers of a particular diameter . the term “ nominal fiber diameter of a transceiver ,” as used in this disclosure , refers to the fiber diameter for which the transceiver is optimized . for example , transceivers arranged for multimode transmission of light commonly are optimized for use with glass fibers of 0 . 125 mm diameter . the ferrules of mt - rj connectors typically have guide pins and fiber holes at locations matched with extreme precision , typically to tolerances of a few microns so that the fiber ends are aligned precisely with the optical ports of the transceiver , i . e ., with the particular spots on the optical plane where the transceiver will applies or accepts light with maximum efficiency . a loopback test device according to one embodiment of the invention , as shown in fig1 - 20 includes a housing 105 having an exterior configuration similar to the housing of a standard mt - rj connector . indeed , housing 105 may be identical to housings used in the standard mt - rj connector of the &# 39 ; 382 application or to the housings used in the other connectors discussed in the preceding sections of this application . a fiber 101 is connected to a female ferrule 104 . fiber 101 may be a plastic multimode fiber formed from a polymeric material , or a glass fiber . the fiber 101 is at least as large as the nominal fiber diameter of the transceiver . preferably the fiber 101 is larger than the nominal fiber diameter of the transceiver . where the transceiver is optimized for operation with typical multimode fibers of 0 . 125 mm diameter , fiber 101 has a diameter of 0 . 125 mm or more , and preferably greater than 0 . 125 mm typically between 0 . 125 mm and 0 . 5 mm . stated another way , the diameter of the fiber in the loopback unit desirably is between about 1 . 0 times and 4 times the nominal fiber diameter of the mating transceiver . ferrule 104 desirably is an integrally molded plastic unit including a rear section 120 having a large interior bore 122 arranged to accommodate buffered fibers and having small , fiber - receiving bores 124 at its forward end . the ferrule also has guide pin receiving bores 126 molded at the forward end of the unit and opening to the forward face 125 . the tolerances on the location and size of the fiber receiving bores and guide pin bores are larger than those typically allowed on conventional ferrules for use in standard connectors . in general , the larger the diameter of fiber 101 the larger the tolerances on the location and size of the fiber receiving bores . these relatively relaxed tolerances make it practical to mold the entire ferrule assembly 104 as a unit . the ferrule assembly may be molded from any dimensionally stable polymer , as , for example , a liquid crystal polymer or “ lcp ”. because the transceivers always incorporate male ferrules having guide pins , the ferrule 104 need not incorporate any provision for retaining guide pins permanently . thus , the separate guide pin retainer typically used in a standard mt - rj type connector may be omitted . the rear section 120 of the integral ferrule 104 has a spring seat 129 facing rearwardly , away from the front face 125 . a coil spring 130 , best seen in fig1 , is engaged with the spring seat 129 . the coil spring is positioned around fiber 101 . a crimp nut 132 , which may be identical to the crimp nut used in a standard mtrj connector as disclosed in the &# 39 ; 382 application on the crimp nut 29 discussed above with reference to fig1 - 5 is engaged with the spring . fiber 101 extends through the interior bore of crimp nut 132 and through the center of spring 130 . snaps 134 on the crimp nut , similar to the snaps 62 on the crimp nut discussed above with reference to fig1 - 5 , hold the crimp nut in engagement with housing 105 so that spring 130 is in compression . ferrule 104 is retained by internal ledges within the housing in the same manner as discussed in the &# 39 ; 382 application . thus , the front face 125 of the ferrule assembly projects slightly from housing 105 , but can be forced rearwardly by the mating connector . fiber 101 is bent so that both ends of the fiber extend generally parallel to one another and are received in the fiber receiving bores 124 of ferrule 104 . desirably , the fiber is formed into one or more loops 136 which are positioned to the rear of crimp nut 132 . the number of loops 136 used in any given unit is determined by the desired degree of attenuation . at least that portion of fiber 101 , which is bent , is unsheathed . that is , the fiber is not covered by the normal tubular sheath that immediately surrounds the fiber and which extends along the length of the fiber in a conventional fiber optic cable . the unsheathed fiber can be bent to a relatively small bend radius . for example , the fiber can be coiled into small - diameter loops . after bending , the fiber may be annealed to relieve stresses induced by bending . the length of fiber 101 and the number of loops or other bends in such fiber are selected to give the desired degree of attenuation . a relatively large diameter , plastic fiber gives a greater degree of attenuation per unit length than the conventional glass fiber used for actual communications . a boot 138 is fastened to crimp nut 132 . the loops or other bends of fiber 136 are accommodated within boot 138 . the lateral and vertical dimensions of boot 138 desirably are equal to or only slightly greater than the lateral and vertical dimensions of housing 105 , and equal to or only slightly greater than the dimensions of the mating socket 103 . thus , the entire assembled unit has lateral and vertical dimensions fitting within the space provided for each socket 103 on a device . for use with devices intended for connection to mt - rj sockets , the loopback test unit according to this aspect of the invention desirably has lateral dimensions less than about 10 . 5 - mm , more desirably about 9 . 4 - mm or less and vertical dimensions less than about 11 - mm , more desirably about 10 . 1 - mm or less , so that loop back test units can be inserted into all sockets of a device , without interfering with one another even where the sockets are disposed close to one another . a slot 140 within the boot 138 extends deep into the boot as best seen in fig1 and 14 . slot 140 accommodates loops 136 . there is a small clearance 142 between the fiber loops 136 and the rear wall of slot 140 . this allows the fibers to move rearwardly along with ferrule assembly 104 when the unit is plugged into a socket . slot 140 desirably has a round opening 144 at its forward end which fits onto the round surface at the rear end of crimp nut 132 . boot 138 desirably is secured permanently to the crimp barrel , as for example , by solvent welding , sonic bonding or other conventional plastic bonding techniques . because the crimp nut 132 is held in fixed position on housing 105 , boot 138 is held in fixed position relative to the housing . the loopback test units according to this aspect of the aspect of the invention desirably are so economical to produce so that the same can be provided as disposable items . for example , the manufacturer of the device 100 may ship the device with loopback test units installed in all of sockets 103 for initial testing and startup . this assures that the loop back test units for the particular device will have the correct attenuation for that device and also assures that the technician will be able to test the entire device rapidly when the device is first installed . loopback test units according to other variants of the invention may include features such as the fiber loops 136 and enclosing boot 138 in combination with a standard ferrule assembly . in other variants , boot 138 may be mounted to the ferrule 104 so that the boot moves with the ferrule relative to the housing . also , the boot may be fabricated by molding a settable composition around fiber 101 after the fiber has been bent . moreover , although the foregoing discussion exemplifies the use of the various aspects of the invention in the mt - rj format , the same principles can be applied to devices for use with other connector formats . for example , a loopback test device can be provided in a format suitable for use with a transceiver adapted to engage a duplex sc connector . in this case , the housing and related components would have a configuration corresponding to the configuration of a duplex sc connector . further , although the foregoing discussion sets forth combinations of elements , the present invention further includes subcombinations and the individual elements themselves . as these and other variations and combinations of the features set forth above may be used without departing from the present invention , the foregoing description should be taken by way of illustration rather than by way of limitation of the present invention . | 6 |
the invention disclosed herein is for an exhaust gas pressure reducer which can provide increased engine efficiency and improve gas mileage . such a device was disclosed and described in the u . s . patent referred to above , but is not as effective as it could be . in the previously described device , means for attaching the device to the end of the tailpipe were described with a housing having a single venturi throat . in this device , air was drawn into the venturi throat across the end of the tailpipe and out through the opposite end . however , air passing over the outside of the housing , because of the speed of the vehicle , can create counteracting pressures at the exit to the housing . thus , the device , while effective , is not as efficient as it could be . to prevent the effect of this counteracting pressure , several improving modifications have been provided . one of these is illustrated in fig1 in which the housing 10 has a tube 12 for attaching the exhaust gas pressure reducer to an exhaust pipe . a slot 14 for adjusting the position of the housing with respect to the exhaust pipe may or may not be provided as was described in the hereinabove referenced patent . however , since the particular vehicle on which it is going to be used can be predetermined in most cases , the position of the housing on the tubular portion 12 may be fixed . in the device illustrated in fig1 the housing 10 is generally rectangular and is provided with restrictive members 16 and 18 . the restrictive members 16 and 18 are shaped to form a conventional venturi as can be seen in fig1 and 2 . an air scoop opening 20 is provided at the entrance to the venturi adjacent to the tube 12 which attaches to the exhaust pipe . the operation of the device described above is substantially the same as that described in the previous patent to the same inventor referred to hereinabove . a difficulty with this device , however , is the fact that air flowing over the external flat surfaces of the housing 10 can create counteracting pressures at the exit 22 to the housing . in order to minimize and prevent such counteracting pressures , a deflector 24 is provided on the edge of the housing adjacent to the exit 22 . the deflector causes a downdraft at the exit 22 , preventing occurrence of any counter - acting pressures . if desired , another deflector , similar to that shown at 24 could be provided along the top edge . another modification to improve the operation and function of the exhaust gas pressure reducer is shown in fig4 through 6 . as before , the device has a housing 10 and a tube 12 for attaching the pressure reducer to the exhaust pipe . restrictive members 16 and 18 provide a first venturi throat adjacent to the exit of the tube 12 as before . in order to provide further pressure reduction and draft out the exit 22 from the housing , a second venturi is provided by restrictive members 26 and 28 . this venturi , however , is perpendicular to the first venturi to provide additional assistance in reducing pressures at the end of the exhaust pipe . slots 30 and 32 in the top and the bottom of the housing 10 between the two venturi throats formed by restrictive members 16 , 18 and 26 , 28 provide air scoop for scooping air through the second venturi throat . preferably , the air deflector 24 is also provided at the exit 22 to reduce any counteracting pressures . another embodiment for improving the operation of the device is shown in the illustrations of fig7 through 9 . in this embodiment , a rectangular housing 10 again has the tubular portion 12 for attaching the exhaust gas reducer to the tailpipe . in order to prevent counteracting pressures , an air deflector in the form of a scoop 34 in the top of the housing and a second scoop 36 in the bottom of the housing are provided . further , upward and downward deflectors 38 and 40 are provided at the exit of the housing 22 . in this embodiment , the venturi throat restrictive members 16 and 18 provide a reduction in pressure at the exit to the tailpipe while the scoops provided by slots 34 and 36 in the top and bottom of the housing and the deflection caused by flaps 38 and 40 prevent any counteracting pressure during operation of the device . the air scoops 34 and 36 are formed as an integral part of the housing 10 while the flaps 38 and 40 provided are likewise formed . in operation of these devices , air is scooped into the entrance 20 through the venturi throat over the end of the tube 12 attached to the tailpipe . a considerable reduction in pressure ( i . e . negative pressure ) is caused at the exit to the tube 12 by the air drawn through the venturis thereby preventing back pressure and drawing exhaust gases from the exhaust system . additionally , the reduction or prevention of any counteracting pressures at the exit 22 to the exhaust gas pressure reducer is prevented by one or more of the methods described above . in one form , a deflector is provided on the bottom or on the top of the housing to deflect air flowing over the outside of the housing away from the exit creating or preventing any counteracting pressures . in another form , a second venturi throat further reduces pressure and scoops in air and may be used in conjunction with the deflector . in a third embodiment , an air scoop provided integral with the top and bottom of the housing cooperates or functions with air deflectors in the top , integral with the housing in the top and bottom at the exit , preventing any counteracting pressures . thus , there has been disclosed and described an improved exhaust gas pressure reducing device which functions to assist in improving efficiency of an engine by creating a reduction in pressure at the exhaust of a tailpipe , while simultaneously including means to prevent any counteracting pressures at the exhaust or exit of the exhaust gas pressure reducer . obviously , many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings . it is , therefore , to be understood that the proposed scope of the invention is not limited to the details disclosed herein , and may be practiced otherwise than as described . | 5 |
commercially available concentrated phosphoric acid with a ph of 2 . 2 is filtered , this giving an initial filter cake which consists to a significant extent ( for example 75 - 80 %) of gypsum . subsequently , by suitable treatment , a second sludge - like filter cake is obtained . this material contains practically all the silicate present in the acid , which is to be removed by purification , so that this cake contains a considerable quantity of disodium phosphate , sodium aluminium silicate , and magnesium silicate and -- if present in the basic ore -- iron . furthermore this cake can contain heavy metals such as vanadium , mercury , uranium and fluorine , of these are present in the initial acid . this filter cake is dried by heating and after drying it is heated up to 800 ° c ., whereby melting starts . as a result of this heating operation the volume of the filter cake decreases to 1 / 5th of the original volume , whilst no heavy metal such as vanadium , mercury , uranium and fluorine and the like can be extracted from the resultant cake . the material obtained is broken up and used for road construction . after this the phosphoric acid is subjected to a third purification stage , giving a third filter cake , said filter cake consisting essentially of disodium phosphate ( more than 50 % of the cake ) plus ferric hydroxide , magnesium fluoride and vanadium oxide , also small quantities of mercury , lead , rare earth metals , uranium , titanium , zinc , cadmium and manganese . by drying this cake and heating it up to a temperature of 800 ° c . we also obtain a significant reduction in the volume of the filter cakes , from which no heavy metals can be leached out . this third filter cake can be mixed with the first - mentioned second filter cake , giving a cake from which no heavy metals can be extracted . the mixing of the two filter cakes gives an improved effect as compared with that of each of the cakes individually . heating is undertaken for at least three minutes at 800 ° c . and suitably for 10 - 20 minutes , although these limits impose no restrictions . it is appropriate to continue heating until no further reduction in volume takes place . it is recommended that non - skid - enhancing stabilizers be added to the melts thus obtained , preferably sand particles . in this way a melt is obtained which , when broken up , gives particles having a high non - skid ratio , so that this material is extremely suitable for use in road making . instead of sand particles it is also possible to add corundum particles or similar particles which increase the non - skidability of the particles obtained during disintegration . commercially available concentrated phosphoric acid with a ph of 2 . 2 is filtered , this giving an initial filter cake which consists mainly , for example 75 - 80 %, of gypsum . this cake is dried and provides the initial gypsum filter cake . subsequently by suitable treatment of the phosphoric acid a second mud - like filter cake is obtained , which contained practically all the silicate to be removed from the acid by purification , so that this second filter cake contains significant quantities of disodium phosphate , sodium aluminium silicate and magnesium silicate and -- if present in the initial ore -- also iron . furthermore this cake can contain heavy metals such as vanadium , mercury , uranium , and fluorine if these are present in the initial acid . this second filter cake is also dried by heating . subsequently the phosphoric acid is subjected to a third purification operation giving a third filter cake which consists mainly of disodium phosphate ( more than 50 % of the cake ) plus ferric hydroxide , magnesium fluoride and vanadium oxide together with small quantities of mercury , lead , rare earth metals , uranium , titanium , zinc , cadmium and manganese . this third filter cake is also dried by heating . subsequently two parts of the first filter cake are mixed with three parts of the second filter cake in dry form , after which this is heated up to 950 ° c . the mixture then becomes runny . to give the carbon present in the mixture an opportunity to escape , the cake is stirred somewhat . thereafter the melt is broken up into particles which can be used for road making . heavy metals cannot be leached out from these particles . to enhance the non - skid properties of the material obtained , it is recommended that for example 10 % sand be added to the mixture . after mixing the melt with the sand particles , the melt is allowed to solidify , after which it is broken up . as a result of the presence of the sand particles a road making material with high non - skidding properties is obtained . two parts of the first filter cake are mixed with two parts of the second filter cake and one part of the third filter cake in dry form and this is heated up to 950 ° c . this gives a molten mass which is agitated so as to give carbon opportunity to escape . the melt obtained solidifies on cooling down , after which this is broken up into pieces which are very suitable for road making . an especially good material is obtained by adding 10 % sand particles to the cake , whereby the non - skid properties of the particles are considerably improved . if the sand is replaced by corundum particles , the said properties increase even further . it is also possible to subject the melt particles obtained to an etching treatment so as to increase the non - skid properties . the fact has emerged that in this way the first filter cake can be processed together with the second filter cake and / or third filter cake quite well to give particles suitable for road making , in which the heavy metals present in the cake are combined in such a way that they cannot be leached out . it has emerged especially that by mixing the second filter cake and third filter cake with the first filter cake , the leaching out of metals is considerably reduced as compared with that obtaining when only the second and / or third filter cakes are melted . the addition of the first gypsum - containing cake similarly leads to a synergistic effect . the first filter cake obtained in accordance with the method described in example i during the purification of concentrated phosphoric acid , the second filter cake and the third filter cake are dried by heating to beyond 100 ° c . after this the mixture of the three filter cakes is added to a molten blast furnace slag at 1350 ° c . during this the filter cakes melt completely whilst reducing their volume to 1 / 5th of their original volume . after cooling down the slag is broken up and the combined heavy metals can no longer be leached out . the same results are obtained using a molten phosphorous furnace slag . the broken particles of the blast furnace slag and the phosphorous furnace slag are very well suited for road making . | 4 |
[ 0033 ] fig1 which has already been described , illustrates a schematic circuit diagram of an electronic control for a three - phase dc motor . the transistors t 1 to t 6 , 22 to 32 are actuated via gates g 1 to g 6 to energize the three phases ( u 12 , v 14 and w 16 ) of the dc motor . the actuating instances are determined by the sensor device output signals which are set in accordance with the invention . [ 0034 ] fig2 b illustrates the induced voltages of a three - phase dc motor with sinusoidal energizing or commutation , the induced voltages of the three - phase dc motor being designated u , v and w . fig2 b illustrates an electrical cycle of 360 ° of the energizing phase . [ 0035 ] fig2 c illustrates the energizing of the three - phase dc motor during an electrical cycle which consists of three sections , designated u , v , w , − u , − v and − w . the u , v , w , − u , − v and − w curves represent the currents applied to windings u , 12 , v , 14 and w , 16 via transistors t 1 to t 6 , 22 to 32 in fig1 . according to the present invention , the method employed to adjust the sensor device or the rotor position sensor involves recording of the increments generated by the sensor device during a revolution of the rotor , while simultaneously recording the angular position of the rotor during a revolution of the rotor . the angular position recorded is correlated with the sensor device increments , and the correlation of angular position and sensor device increments is saved . the number of sensor device increments between the zero index and each commutation angle in particular should be recorded and saved . [ 0037 ] fig3 shows an illustration similar to that in fig2 c , although fig3 only illustrates the flow of currents during half a period or revolution of the dc motor ( i . e . 180 electrical degrees ). currents are designated u , v , w , − u , − v and − w , as in fig2 c . the commutation angles sought are marked with arrows at three different positions in this drawing . the output signal of a rotor position sensor is also schematically illustrated and marked by 45 in fig3 . the rotor position sensor resolution shown in fig3 is only equivalent to 24 increments in each electrical cycle , although technicians will realize that this resolution is only intended as an example , and that a considerably higher sensor device resolution is selected under practical conditions . sensor device resolution can be between 512 and 32768 increments . it is also assumed that the dc motor in the present example has four pole pairs . the switching instances are marked with arrows in fig3 . they are equivalent to the respective commutation angles and are correlated and saved with the respective sensor device increment in accordance with the method employed in the invention , correlation starting at the zero index . the present invention does not require that a rotor position sensor increment coincide every time with a switching instance , as switching instances can be re - determined through interpolation of two rotor position sensor increments if necessary ( in accordance with the method employed in the current invention ). [ 0040 ] fig4 illustrates a block diagram of a system for adjusting a sensor device according to the invention . a brushless electronically - commutated dc motor is schematically illustrated in fig4 using a box 40 . an external drive 42 is allocated to the motor 40 used for adjusting the sensor device . a phase measuring system 44 and position computer 46 are linked to the motor 40 . a monitoring stage 48 is connected downstream from the position computer 46 which checks the validity of the measurement and sends an output signal to a signal stage 50 . the signal stage 50 generates a signal pulse which triggers saving of the position data . the motor 40 is equipped with a rotor position sensor which generates a reference signal that indicates the absolute angular position of the rotor shaft in increments . this rotor position sensor can be a high - resolution reference sensor or the sensor device itself . the data import signal pulse is transmitted to the motor 40 , the motor 40 incorporating the sensor device and an associated memory in which the current absolute angular position of the shaft in increments can be saved as a commutation position . according to the present invention , the motor 40 is powered by the external drive 42 . voltage is induced during this in the phase windings of the motor , as illustrated in fig2 a and 3 . induced voltages are recorded by measuring the back - emf so as to determine the absolute position of the rotor shaft and the respective commutation angle . the phase measuring system 44 and position computer 46 are provided for this purpose . the monitoring stage 48 checks whether the measured values are valid for the dc motor 40 . the signal stage 50 generates at least one signal for every commutation angle which triggers the saving of a position and transmits a data import signal to the motor 40 . the motor 40 incorporates the sensor device and a memory and saves the absolute angular position as a commutation position on receiving a signal pulse . a special embodiment of the invention has an additional high - resolution position sensor for adjusting the sensor device which has a known zero index and transmits high - resolution reference increments to accurately determine the commutation angle . differing numbers of commutation positions are saved , depending on the motor pole number involved ( square - wave energizing ). the system can thus adapt automatically to different pole number ratios without altering the sensor device itself . the exact position of the zero index is calculated with the aid of the differential factor determined in increments ( relative to a back - emf intersection ) and saved in the position sensor . the zero index signal is thus transmitted to the motor electronic control at the correct moment while the motor is operating . the data saved in the position sensor in the motor can also be utilized to illustrate absolute position information ( using the increment angle correlation ) and transmitted to the electronic control via a digital interface while the motor is operating . a serial or parallel interface can be used . commutation positions can be determined which lie between individual sensor device increments if a high - resolution position sensor is used for adjusting the sensor device . a special embodiment of the invention therefore includes an additional interpolation unit which interpolates individual sensor device increments to determine the commutation position with even greater accuracy . the number of sensor device increments depends on a sensor device zero index been known . this can be determined with the aid of the high - resolution reference position sensor . sensor device increments can each be calculated to one commutation position in whole numbers or fractions if this high - resolution reference position sensor is utilized . the data storage option means that the motor in accordance with the invention can also save additional information in the motor itself and access this data at any time . an interface 52 can be provided in this respect for recording primary data and inputting characteristic data and other information via the motor ( e . g . inputting a production number , production data and other motor data which can be useful for motor control ). the method and system employed in the invention enables the adjusting of a sensor device on an electronically - commutated motor without mechanical means , with adjustment according to the invention being realized in the form of a learn mode . the method according to the invention enables adjustment of the sensor device with considerably greater accuracy than mechanical adjustment of the sensor device in accordance with the prior art . whereas deviations of ± 2 ° from the respective commutation position were usual during adjustment in accordance with the prior art , the tolerances during adjustment in accordance with the invention are between one and two factors of magnitude less than these , depending on the resolution of the sensor device . for example , the step width of an increment is 360 °: 1024 = 0 . 35 ° if a decoder with a resolution of 1024 bit is used as a sensor device . this means that the sensor device can be adjusted within very narrow tolerance ranges . the characteristics disclosed in the above description , claims and the drawings can be significant for the realization of the invention , either individually or in any combination whatsoever . | 7 |
the seat rails 1 , 2 according to fig1 and 2 correspond to the prior art and these representations only serve to illustrate the field of the invention . a seat rail 1 consists of a lower rail 3 to be fixed on a vehicle floor and an upper rail 4 shiftably mounted therein , on which a vehicle seat is to be fixed . when using two of such seat rails 1 , the vehicle seat is to be arranged in the vehicle in a longitudinally shiftable manner , wherein the rails 3 , 4 can be locked at each other and hence the seat can be locked in place in the vehicle by a locking device 5 . of the seat rail 2 only an upper rail 6 is shown and to the upper rails 4 and 6 attachment parts 7 - 9 are fixed . the attachment parts 7 - 9 are riveted , screwed or welded to the upper rails and the vehicle seat and / or a safety belt are directly or indirectly attached to the same . in the case of an accident , extremely high forces can be transmitted to the seat rails 1 , 2 via the attachment parts 7 - 9 , wherein said seat rails must not fail . depending on the accident situation , these forces can point in different directions , wherein however the main forces can act in the case of a frontal crash of the vehicle . in fig3 , 4 and 5 attachment parts 10 , 11 of seat rails according to the invention are shown in more detail . they have a surface 12 with which they rest on an upper rail and are fixed there in a known manner . at a portion 13 protruding upwards from there a bearing hole 14 is located , via which a seat frame or a safety belt is to be fixed on the attachment part 10 , 11 . a large force resulting from an accident thus for example can act on the attachment part 10 , 11 in direction of the arrow k . the attachment part 10 , 11 tends to be stretched in direction of the arrow k , wherein the radius of the bend between the portions 12 and 13 likewise can increase ( bending up ). it must constructively be prevented that an attachment part 10 , 11 tears , a bearing hole breaks up , or an attachment part 10 , 11 is torn off from the upper rail . a measure to achieve this goal is to provide at least one embossment 15 on a marginal edge 16 of the attachment part 10 , 11 opposite to the force k . it is also possible to provide both marginal edges 16 , 17 of a marginal surface 18 opposite to the force k with embossments 15 , 19 . due to these embossments 15 , 19 the material in the region of the marginal edges 16 , 17 is flattened and compacted , whereby these marginal edges 16 , 17 have a higher loadability than would be the case without the embossments 15 , 19 . with a total thickness of an attachment part 10 , 11 fabricated of steel sheet of 3 mm , for example , the embossments 15 , 19 can be mounted to protrude for example 0 . 5 mm into the marginal surface 18 , wherein an angle of the embossment of 45 degrees to the marginal surface is advantageous . the embossments 15 , 19 can be mounted at the flat blank , before the bend of the attachment parts 10 , 11 between the portions 12 and 13 is made , which involves little manufacturing effort . however , they can still also be mounted after the bending operation , which is particularly advantageous for the durability of the attachment part 10 , 11 in the region of the embossment 19 ( in the outer radius of the bend ). if only one embossment 20 is provided in the attachment part 11 like in fig5 , the same should be arranged in particular in the region of a burr edge of a blank of an attachment part 11 made by stamping . this burr edge cannot be seen in the figures , but is loadable less in practice than unmachined edges of a semifinshed product or than infeed edges obtained during stamping . therefore , an embossment 20 of this burr edge has the highest effect in practice . a seat rail fabricated according to the invention can be fabricated lighter in weight or of a less expensive material with equal loadability as compared to the prior art , or can be subjected to a higher load as compared to the prior art with the embossments 15 , 19 , 20 of the attachment parts 10 , 11 according to the invention . this is achieved with little effort by the method according to the invention . | 1 |
the present inventors made earnest and repeated investigations for the purpose of overcoming the above - mentioned problems in solid - liquid separation of a suspension of α - apm or its hydrochloride salt and , as a result , have found the following novel methods . more particularly , their finding is that if a separation of a suspension of α - apm or its hydrochloride salt is effected by vacuum filtration in such a way that the pressure on the side of the filtrate from the filter cloth is reduced , the amount of washing liquid necessary to wash the cake is surprisingly substantially reduced , and as a result , the above - mentioned cost and loss may be reduced . in addition , it has also been found that continuous separation of the suspension with a high dehydrating degree may be effected by vacuum filtration so that the amount and / or size of necessary plant equipment may be reduced as compared with the batchwise separation and the whole operation for the separation may be simplified while allowing for an improved yield of product having higher purity . the present inventors have applied these findings to the actual process of producing α - apm or its hydrochloride salt , whereby they have overcome the above - mentioned problems . the present invention allows for the production of α - apm or its hydrochloride salt with a reduction of the necessary plant equipment and the number of workers needed for the production process . specifically , the present invention relates to a method of preparing α - apm or its hydrochloride salt by solid - liquid separation of an aqueous suspension of α - apm or its hydrochloride salt , which is characterized in that the aqueous suspension is subjected to continuous separation by vacuum filtration . the separator to be used in the present invention may be any known separator which can be used for continuous vacuum filtration . in view of the ease of scraping the formed cake and the applicability of countercurrent multi - stage washing thereto , a horizontal belt type filter is preferred . when using a horizontal belt type filter , the thickness of the wet crystal cake should not be too large . when this occurs the liquid - solid separation decreases and as a result the degree of dehydration as well as the washability of the cake also decrease . alternately , if the thickness of the cake is too thin , another problem arises in that the degree of vacuum becomes low and it becomes difficult to separate the cake from the belt . the optimum thickness for any given cake differs slightly according to the properties of particular cake . for example , in the case of an α - apm wet cake obtained by neutralizing α - apm . hcl with base followed by cooling , crystallizing and separating α - apm , the cake thickness should be in the range of from 3 mm to 20 mm , preferably from 5 mm to 15 mm . in the case of an α - apm wet cake obtained by cooling crystallization of the heat - condensed mother liquor formed after crystallizing and separating the α - apm , the thickness should be in the range of from 2 mm to 15 mm , preferably from 3 mm to 10 mm . in the case of an α - apm . hcl wet cake , cake thickness should be in the range of from 5 mm to 30 mm , preferably from 10 mm to 20 mm . the thickness of the wet cake can be adjusted by changing the feeding speed of the aqueous suspension to the filter and the running speed of the filter belt . before making any adjustment it is desirable to calculate the concentration of the slurry . however it is easy for the person skilled in the art to adjust to the optimum condition by simple empirical test . the level of vacuum is about - 200 to about - 700 mm hg ( the filtration pressure differential is about 200 to about 700 mm hg ). preferably the level of vacuum is about - 300 to about - 700 mm hg , more preferably it is about - 400 to about - 600 mm hg . in accordance with the invention , the amount of washing liquid used for washing wet crystals of α - apm obtained by separation of the suspension , is suitably not more than two times the weight of the wet crystals to be washed therewith , thereby reducing the above - mentioned cost and product loss due to dissolution . the washing liquid to be used may be water . but , if α - apm or its derivatives are soluble in the washing liquid , loss of α - apm crystals increases thereby decreasing product yield , or undesirable channels may form in the cake , lowering washing efficiency . therefore , an aqueous solution of α - apm can be advantageously used as the washing liquid of α - apm wet crystals , thereby decreasing the probability of dissolution of soluble products . also , in the case of wet crystals of α - apm . hcl , the amount of washing liquid to be used for washing wet crystals obtained by separation of the suspension is suitably the same weight as or less than the weight of the wet crystals to be washed . the washing liquid to be used may be water . however , if α - apm or its hydrochloride salt dissolves out from the wet crystals cake into the washing liquid , loss of crystals increases resulting in decreased yield , or the formation of undesirable channels in the cake which lower washing efficiency . therefore , aqueous hydrochloric acid or an aqueous solution of α - apm or its hydrochloride salt can be used as the washing liquid thereby decreasing the probability of dissolution of the soluble products . other features of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following descriptions of exemplary embodiments which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof . 300 ml of an aqueous suspension of α - apm containing 1 . 5 wt . % of dissolved nacl ( slurry concentration 3 . 3 wt . %; liquid temperature 5 ° c .) was filtered with a top - feed system suction filter ( leaf tester , filtration area 0 . 0063 m 2 ). the filtration pressure difference was 400 mmhg . after dehydrating for 30 seconds , 36 g of cake having a water content of 69 wt . % was obtained . the thickness of the cake was 8 mm . next , using the same apparatus , 300 ml of the same slurry was filtered under the same condition . thereafter , the cake was washed by pouring 50 g of a saturated aqueous α - apm solution ( corresponding to 1 . 4 times the weight of the cake ) over the cake while maintaining reduced pressure on the side of the filtrate . after washing , the nacl content in the cake was found to be about 1 % of that in the unwashed cake . thus , 99 % of the nacl in the unwashed cake was removed by the washing operation . the same aqueous α - apm suspension as that used in example 1 was continuously filtered with a horizontal belt type vacuum filter ( tsukishima panebisu horizontal belt filter , manufactured by tsukishima machinery co . ; filtration area 3 . 5 m 2 ). the amount of aqueous suspension fed to the filter was 3 . 2 m 3 / hr , the filtration difference pressure was 400 mmhg , and the belt speed was about 1 . 5 m / min . the amount of the cake obtained was 0 . 40 ton / hr . the thickness of the cake was 8 mm . the water content in the cake was 70 wt . %. next , one - stage washing of the cake was effected continuously with 0 . 40 ton / hr of a saturated aqueous α - apm solution ( almost the same amount as that of the cake ) during the filtration , and the nacl content in the washed cake decreased to 2 % of that in the unwashed cake . thus , 98 % of nacl in the unwashed cakes was removed by the washing operation . the continuous operation was carried out for 50 hours , whereupon 160 m 3 in total , or 22 m 3 / day . m 2 ( unit filtration area ) of the suspension was treated ( filtered ). the peelability of the cake from the filter cloth was good and the scraping of cake adhered to the filter cloth could easily be effected without necessity of manual operation . 300 ml of an aqueous suspension of α - apm ( slurry concentration 2 . 6 wt . %; dissolved nacl concentration 5 . 0 wt . %; liquid temperature 5 ° c . ), obtained by heating and concentrating the filtrate obtained in example 2 to 1 / 5 . 5 ( vol ./ vol .) followed by again subjecting the concentrated filtrate to cooling crystallization , was filtered with the same apparatus as used in example 1 . the filtration pressure difference was 400 mmhg . after dehydrating for 30 seconds , 34 g of cake having a water content of 75 wt . % was obtained . the thickness of the cake was 6 mm . next , using the same apparatus , 300 ml of the same slurry was filtered under the same conditions . thereafter , 37 g of a saturated aqueous α - apm solution ( corresponding to 1 . 1 times the weight of the cake ) was poured over the cake so as to wash them , with maintaining a reduced pressure on the side of the filtrate . after washing , the nacl content in the cake was found to be about 25 % of that in the unwashed cake . thus , 75 % of the nacl in the unwashed cake was removed by the washing operation . the same aqueous α - apm suspension as that used in example 3 was continuously filtered with the same filter apparatus as used in example 2 . the amount of the aqueous suspension as fed to the filter was 1 . 0 m 3 / hr , the filtration pressure difference was 400 mmhg , and the belt speed was about 0 . 6 m / min . the amount of the cake obtained was 0 . 11 ton / hr . the thickness of the cake was 6 mm . the water content in the cake was 74 wt . %. next , one - stage washing of the cake was effected continuously with 0 . 17 ton / hr of an aqueous saturated α - apm solution ( 1 . 5 times the weight of the cake ) during the filtration , and the nacl content in the washed cake decreased to 10 % of that in the unwashed cake . thus , 90 % of nacl in the unwashed cake was removed therefrom by washing . the same suspension as used in example 1 was filtered with a bottom - discharging centrifugal separator ( basket diameter 1220 mm × depth 410 mm ; filtration area 1 . 5 m 2 ). after 0 . 8 m 3 of the suspension was filtered , 90 kg of cake having a water content of 66 wt . % was obtained . the cake had a thickness of about 60 mm . next , using the same apparatus , 0 . 8 m 3 of the same suspension was filtered under the same condition , and thereafter 180 kg of an aqueous saturated α - apm solution , which was 2 . 0 times the weight of the cakes , was added to the cake to wash same . as a result , the water content in the cake obtained was 60 wt . % and the nacl content decreased to only 42 % of that in the unwashed cake . the time spent for the batchwise operation ( feeding of the suspension , dehydrating , feeding of the washing solution , dehydrating , and discharging of cakes ) was 3 hours on the average . due to the increase in operation time because the cake located between the scratching blades and the filter cloth became consolidated , a cake peeling operation was needed in 1 out of every 7 operations . the time spent for each operation was 1 . 5 hours . the amount of suspension which could be treated per the unit filtration area per day using this operation was calculated to be 4 . 0 m 3 / day . m 2 , which was found to be only about one sixth of the amount treated in example 2 . 300 ml of an aqueous suspension of α - apm . hcl ( slurry concentration 12 . 4 wt . %; liquid temperature 10 ° c .) was filtered with a top - feed system suction filter ( leaf tester , filtration area 0 . 0093 m 2 ). the filtration pressure difference was 400 mmhg . after dehydrating for 10 seconds , 64 g of cake having a water content of 35 wt . % was obtained . the thickness of the cake was 12 mm and the cake contained 1 . 6 wt . % of β - ap . next , using the same apparatus , 300 ml of the same slurry was filtered under the same condition . thereafter , 60 g of 2n aqueous hydrochloric acid was poured over the cake to wash it , maintaining a reduced pressure on the filtrate side of the filtration . after washing , the water content in the cake was 35 wt . %, and the β - ap content 0 . 1 wt . % or less . an aqueous suspension of α - apm hydrochloride ( slurry concentration 22 . 2 wt . %; liquid temperature 10 ° c .) was continuously filtered with a horizontal belt type vacuum filter ( tsukishima panebisu horizontal belt filter , manufactured by tsukishima machinery co . ; filtration area 0 . 8 m 2 ). the amount of aqueous suspension fed to the filter was 260 liter / hr , the filtration pressure difference was 400 mmhg , and the belt speed was about 1 m / min . the amount of the cake obtained was 100 kg / hr . the water content in the cake was 30 wt .%, the β - ap content was 14 wt %. the thickness of the cake was in the range of from 12 mm to 13 mm . next , one - stage washing of the cake was effected continuously with 100 kg / hr of 2n aqueous hydrochloric acid during the filtration . the water content of the cake obtained was 30 wt . %, the β - ap content was 0 . 1 wt . % or less . the continuous operation was carried out for 24 hours , whereupon 6200 liter or 7800 liter / day . m 2 of the suspension was treated ( filtered ) as a whole . the peelability of the cake from the filter cloth was good and scraping of cake adhered to the filter cloth could easily be achieved without manual operation . the same suspension as used in example 6 was filtered with a top - discharging centrifugal separator ( basket diameter 658 mm × depth 295 mm ; filtration area 0 . 6 m 2 ). after 70 liters of the suspension was filtered , 29 kg of cake having a water content of 32 wt . % were obtained . the cake had a β - ap content of 2 . 0 wt . %. next , using the same apparatus , 70 liters of the same suspension was filtered under the same condition , and thereafter 45 kg of 2n aqueous hydrochloric acid , which was 1 . 5 times the weight of the cake , was added to the cake to wash it . as a result , the water content in the cake obtained was 30 wt % the β - ap content was only lowered to 0 . 5 wt . %. the time spent for the batchwise operation ( feeding of the suspension , dehydrating , feeding of the washing solution , dehydrating , and discharging of cakes ) was 90 minutes , and this time did not change even after 6 times of operation and after the operator became skilled in the operation . on the basis of these values , the amount of the suspension which could be treated per unit filtration area per day was calculated to be 1800 liter / day m 2 which was found to be only about 1 / 4 . 3 of the amount achieved in example 6 . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 2 |
the presently preferred embodiments of the present invention will be best understood by reference to the drawings , wherein like parts are designated by like numerals throughout . it will be readily understood that the components of the present invention , as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein , could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations . thus , the following more detailed description of the apparatus , system , and method of the present invention , as represented in fig1 through 8 , is not intended to limit the scope of the invention , as claimed , but is merely representative of presently preferred airbags of the invention . referring to fig1 a side - impact , variable thickness airbag 10 of the instant invention is depicted mounted and inflated within a vehicle . a first cushion of the airbag 10 is referred to herein as the primary cushion 28 . this primary cushion may be comprised of two panels , including an occupant compartment - facing , or top panel 12 , and a door - facing , or bottom panel , 14 . this cushion also includes an airbag inlet 22 ( as seen in fig3 ), and at least one outlet 24 ( as seen in fig2 ). these panels are joined at their outer peripheries with a primary cushion seam 18 . a second cushion of the airbag 10 is referred to herein as the contact cushion 26 . the contact cushion includes an expansion panel 16 and may further include an expansion sleeve 17 . the contact cushion 26 is joined to the primary cushion 28 around an outlet 24 ( as seen in fig2 ). the contact cushion 26 may be joined either to the expansion sleeve 17 or to the expansion panel 16 by a contact cushion seam 20 . in those airbags having an expansion panel 16 and an expansion sleeve 17 , these components are joined by an expansion seam 19 . in fig1 the airbag 10 is shown inflated and attached to a front seat 40 of a vehicle 38 . the airbag may alternatively be attached to a steering wheel 42 , a door 44 , a rear seat 46 , a roof rail 48 , a dashboard 50 , or another suitable location . as illustrated , the primary cushion 28 includes a bottom panel ( also referred to herein as the door - facing face ) 14 and a top panel ( also referred to herein as the occupant - facing face ) 12 . these panels are joined at their peripheries by a primary cushion seam 18 . many methods of joining such panels are known in the art , and include sewing and heat - sealing . alternatively , seams may be used which function as vents for the airbag . such vents , like the vent 25 , function to rapidly deflate the airbag after a deceleration / impact event has passed . thus , this primary cushion may further comprise vents in either of the panels of the airbag , or as noted above , in the periphery / seams . alternatively , the primary cushion 28 may be a single , unitary body created by weaving . in fig1 the primary cushion 28 is shown to include a top panel 12 and a bottom panel 14 . the top panel 12 has an outlet 24 ( shown in fig2 ), around which the contact cushion 26 is attached . alternatively , the contact cushion 26 may be attached to the door - facing face 14 of the primary cushion 28 . the contact cushion 26 is shown oriented vertically to protect the head or thorax of a vehicle occupant . the contact cushion 26 generally comprises an expansion panel 16 attached by expansion seam 19 to an expansion sleeve 17 . the contact cushion 26 is attached to the primary cushion 28 by contact cushion seam 20 . the contact cushion 26 may be comprised of an expansion panel 16 , and may be joined to an outlet 24 in a panel of the primary cushion 28 by contact cushion seam 20 . as illustrated in fig1 however , the contact cushion comprises an expansion panel 16 . this panel is attached at its periphery to a first edge of an expansion sleeve 17 by expansion seam 19 . a second edge of the expansion sleeve 17 is then attached to a panel of the primary cushion by contact cushion seam 20 . the contact cushion 28 may include a vent in order to facilitate deflation of the airbag 10 after inflation . alternatively , the contact cushion may further be coated with a sealant to slow the deflation of the airbag 10 after inflation . [ 0049 ] fig2 and 3 further illustrate the airbag 10 of fig1 . as noted above , in airbag 10 , the primary cushion 28 is comprised of a top panel 12 and a bottom panel 14 joined by primary cushion seam 18 . fig2 is a partially cut away view of the airbag of fig1 . this figure renders the interior of the contact cushion 26 visible , and includes the interior view of the contact cushion seam 20 . in this airbag 10 , the contact cushion 26 is comprised of an expansion panel 16 attached to a face of the primary cushion 28 by contact cushion seam 20 . the contact cushion 26 is attached to surround an outlet 24 in the panel of the primary cushion . in this airbag 10 , the primary cushion 28 of the airbag 10 further comprises a vent 25 to aid in deflation of the airbag after inflation . [ 0050 ] fig3 shows an alternate perspective view of the airbag 10 of fig1 and 2 . in this figure , inlet 22 is illustrated entering the airbag through the primary cushion seam 18 . this inlet 22 allows the inflow of inflation gases produced by an inflator ( not shown ). inlet 22 may be located on the front panel , the back panel , or , as shown in fig3 in the primary cushion seam 18 at a periphery of the panels . further , the primary cushion 26 comprises an outlet 24 ( as shown in fig2 ), which communicates with the contact cushion 28 . this outlet 24 may take a large variety of shapes , including rectangular , oval , circular , and square . the outlet 24 allows an inflation fluid traveling through the primary cushion 26 to inflate the contact cushion 28 , thus preparing it for impact by a vehicle occupant . if desired , the primary cushion 26 may further be coated by a sealant to slow deflation of the airbag 10 during a collision event . referring now to fig4 a cut away view of the airbag 10 of fig3 is shown , taken at line 4 - 4 of fig3 . this cross - sectional view shows the contact cushion seam 20 , and the primary cushion seam 18 . fig4 further illustrates the attachment of the expansion panel 16 to a face of the primary cushion 28 around the periphery of the outlet 24 . the contact cushion 26 is shown attached to top panel 12 , but alternatively it may be attached to the bottom panel 14 . [ 0052 ] fig5 is a perspective view of another airbag 100 of the invention . this figure is a cut away view of a vehicle 38 with an airbag 100 in its inflated configuration mounted in the door 44 of the vehicle 38 . in airbag 100 the contact cushion 126 is attached to the bottom , or door - facing panel 114 of the primary cushion 128 . the contact cushion 126 comprises an expansion sleeve 117 and an expansion panel 116 . as discussed above , the contact cushion 126 is attached to the primary cushion 128 by contact cushion seam 120 . the airbag is shown mounted to a car door 44 , having an inlet 122 , which may comprise a gas guide , which is in fluid communication with an inflator ( not shown ). the contact cushion 126 is shown mounted substantially horizontally on the primary cushion 128 . it buds off from the primary cushion approximately perpendicularly to contact surfaces such as the door 44 and possibly the window 52 of the car when in its inflated configuration . referring now to fig6 another airbag 200 within the scope of the invention is shown . in this airbag 200 , the contact cushion 226 comprises an expansion panel 216 attached to an expansion sleeve 217 by an expansion seam 219 . the contact cushion 226 buds off from the primary cushion in a largely perpendicular fashion . further , the contact cushion 226 is oriented vertically in relation to the primary cushion 228 . in fig6 the primary cushion 228 here is shown to comprise a top panel 212 and a bottom panel 214 united by primary cushion seam 218 . an inlet 222 , which could comprise a gas guide or other similar coupling to an inflator , is also shown . the primary cushion 228 is further shown to comprise a vent 225 in addition to outlet 224 ( as seen in fig7 ). this outlet 224 communicates between the primary cushion 228 and the contact cushion 226 . [ 0054 ] fig7 shows a cross - sectional view of the airbag of fig6 taken at line 7 - 7 of fig6 . this figure shows the relationship of the various panels of airbags of the instant invention . first , the primary cushion 228 is shown to comprise a bottom , or door - facing panel 214 , and a top , or occupant compartment - facing panel 212 . these panels are united at their peripheries by a primary cushion seam 218 . as seen in fig4 and fig7 this seam may be constructed with the resulting seam on the outside or inside of the airbag . as illustrated , the contact cushion comprises an expansion sleeve 217 . this sleeve 216 may be attached to the primary cushion on one edge of its periphery to the edge of the outlet 224 of the top panel 212 . this attachment is referred to as contact cushion seam 220 . this expansion sleeve 217 is then attached by a second edge to expansion panel 216 by an expansion seam 219 . both the contact cushion seam 220 and the expansion seam 219 may be varied in a manner similar to the primary cushion seam 218 . referring now to fig8 an inflatable curtain airbag 300 of the instant invention is shown . this airbag 300 is shown to embody two separate contact cushions 326 which protrude from a primary cushion 328 . the primary cushion 328 is shown to extend for substantially the entire length of the vehicle 38 . the contact cushions 326 are positioned proximate to the front seat 40 and the rear seat 46 . the contact cushions 326 are here shown to be attached to the primary cushion 328 by a contact cushion seam 320 . this airbag 300 may be varied by increasing its size , and also by adding contact cushions 326 to render the airbag 300 suitable for use in larger passenger vehicles such as minivans , vans , sport utility vehicles , and station wagons . more specifically , these additional contact cushions 326 may be positioned such that each position capable of seating an occupant has a corresponding contact cushion 326 . further , multiple contact cushions 326 may be deployed for each occupant desired to be protected , each contact cushion 326 positioned to act on a different part or region of the occupant &# 39 ; s body . such a contact cushion 326 is placed for contact with a head , and a second contact cushion 326 is placed for contact with the shoulders or torso of the occupant . airbags 10 , 100 , 200 , and 300 of the present invention may be inflated by several different methods . one such method involves the use of a forward - mounted inlet , 322 , as shown , which could comprise a gas guide . other inflation methods might use multiple inflators , a single inflator mounted in the back of the vehicle 38 , a single inflator ( such as inflator 322 ) mounted in the front region of the vehicle 38 , a single inflator mounted in the center region of the vehicle 38 , and any combination of the above . the inflation system must inflate the curtain to a sufficient pressure suitable for use . curtains such as 300 illustrated in fig8 may comprise a tether 330 for securing the airbag . as shown in fig8 these tethers 330 are positioned at opposing ends of the curtain , but may be dispersed along the length of the airbag 300 in larger or smaller numbers . the instant invention was tested by comparing an airbag module using a baseline airbag cushion with two airbag modules including the adjustable volume airbag cushion of the present invention . the airbags were subjected to a nine - mile - per - hour impact from a dummy . prior to the test , the airbags were packaged in an identical module housing , and each used an identical inflator . the results of this test are shown in table 1 , wherein “ avc ” denotes the use of the adjustable volume cushion of the present invention . the baseline airbag module inflated to a thickness of 200 mm and held a fluid volume of 11 liters . this airbag demonstrated a deceleration of 16 g , and a displacement of 708 mm . the first 320 - side airbag module with an integrated contact face inflated to a thickness of 235 mm , and held a fluid volume of 11 liters . this airbag demonstrated a deceleration of 17 g , and a displacement of only 638 mm . finally , the second 320 - side airbag with an integrated contact cushion inflated to a thickness of 270 mm , and held a fluid volume of 15 liters . this airbag demonstrated a deceleration of 13 g , and a displacement of 693 . these data suggest that in higher - velocity impacts , the 320 airbag alone has a higher possibility of dummy “ strikethrough .” further , the size and shape of the contact cushion can be adjusted to provide either a thicker total airbag , or a higher volume airbag . it thus appears that thicker airbags without large volume increases are capable of decelerating impacting bodies more quickly with less displacement . similarly , it appears that thicker airbags with higher volumes provide lower deceleration rates in a higher - volume cushion . thus , it is possible to provide better occupant protection by tailoring the protection provided by a side - impact airbag to the characteristics of the vehicle into which it is installed . this may be accomplished by changing either thickness or total volume to better protect the occupant of the vehicle during a collision during which the airbag inflates . impact protection can be tailored based on vehicle impact performance characteristics . if a vehicle has little side structure , it is likely that the door portion of the vehicle will strike the occupant with a speed nearly equivalent to that of the impacting object . use of a thick , hard airbag cushion like the 11 - liter model of 235 mm thickness would not be appropriate in this situation . in contrast , if the vehicle has a well - reinforced side structure , then the door will impact the dummy at the momentum velocity . this situation would most appropriately require an airbag module with a thicker , softer bag such as an airbag similar to the 15 - liter , 270 mm airbag model referenced above . accordingly , the present invention provides an airbag suitable for use as a side - impact thorax airbag , head / thorax airbag , thorax / pelvis airbag , and inflatable curtain that may be adapted in size to minimize the distance between a vehicle occupant and the deployed airbag . the thickness of the airbag may be increased to provide better deceleration of a vehicle occupant without creating the need to modify the airbag housing or inflator . additionally , the airbag may be modified to suit the specific cushioning needs , compartment space limitations , and housing size limitations of a specific vehicle . the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its structures , methods , or other essential characteristics as broadly described herein and claimed hereinafter . the described airbags are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative , and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is , therefore , indicated by the appended claims , rather than by the foregoing description . all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope . | 1 |
one objective of the present invention is power savings . the first power - saving possibility comes from transmitting signal levels that are much smaller than vdd . fig2 illustrates a serdes transmitter 50 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . there are three serdes channels 52 , 54 , 56 shown , though the mid - stage channel 54 is optional . the transmitter 58 , 60 , 62 for each channel is designed to transmit a differential positive or negative voltage on a 100 ohm differential pair 64 , 66 , 68 . the figure shows how a full - bridge fet switch 70 - 76 , 78 - 84 , 86 - 92 can drive a push - pull differential signal with small swings , i . e ., without the need of a full vdd swing . the circuits are double pull - double throw ( dpdt ) analog switches whose series resistance is set to suit the transmission - line medium &# 39 ; s characteristic impedance . choosing the transistor sizes to have nominally 50 ohms on - resistance provides a ‘ back - termination ’ resistance to the transmission - line and this is a very important feature to the second source of power saving , that coming from the receiver implementation . the same supply current passes through all channels which are effectively ‘ in - series ’, splitting the supply voltage vdd among them . although not shown , active regulators can control the intermediate voltages 94 , 96 and shunt - type regulators operating between the different supply rails would still keep the currents shared . to stack two circuits on a 1 . 8 v cmos process , pfets 70 , 72 , 74 , 76 are chosen to switch the top - side and nfets 86 , 88 , 90 , 92 to switch the bottom sides . the figure shows a third ‘ middle ’ channel , which uses nfets 78 , 80 , 82 , 84 , but with the option of having the higher - voltage fet operate as a source - follower ( again sized for approximately z0 / 2 characteristic resistance ). the serdes transmitter differential voltage is 500 mv p - p (± 250 mv ) in accordance with pci - express mobile signal levels . current in the differential pair of conductors is ± 2 . 5 ma . the transistors that establish the positive or negative differential voltage are coupled to the line capacitively , so that the average dc voltage level on the line is zero . an optional pre - emphasis circuit 100 , 102 , 104 is provided . transistors p 50 a 70 and p 50 d 76 each have a gate connected to signal pserdrvb . transistors p 50 b 72 and p 50 c 74 each have a gate connected to signal pserdrva . when pserdrvb is on ( low ), transistors p 50 a 70 and p 50 d 76 drive the transmission line 64 with a differential voltage on tx 0 p 106 that is more positive than tx 0 n 108 and equal to approximately 250 mv . when signal pserdrva is on ( low ), transistors p 50 b 72 and p 50 c 74 drive the transmission line 64 with a differential voltage on tx 0 p 106 that is more negative than tx 0 n 108 and equal to approximately 250 mv . in the middle channel , transistors 78 and 84 each have a gate connected to signal nmserdrvb . transistors 80 and 82 each have a gate connected to signal nmserdrva . when nmserdrvb is on ( low ), transistors 78 and 84 drive the transmission line 66 with a differential voltage on txmp 110 that is more positive than txmn 112 and equal to approximately 250 mv . when signal nmserdrva is on ( low ), transistors 80 and 82 drive the transmission line 66 with a differential voltage on txmp 110 that is more negative than txmn 112 and equal to approximately 250 mv . in the bottom channel , transistors 86 and 92 each have a gate connected to signal nserdrvb . transistors 88 and 90 each have a gate connected to signal nserdrva . when nserdrvb is on ( low ), transistors 86 and 92 drive the transmission line 68 with a differential voltage on tx 1 p 114 that is more positive than tx 1 n 116 and equal to approximately 250 mv . when signal nserdrva is on ( low ), transistors 88 and 90 drive the transmission line 68 with a differential voltage on tx 1 p 114 that is more negative than tx 1 n 116 and equal to approximately 250 mv . note that , for the transmitter circuit driving an ac - coupled transmission line , the dc power consumption falls to zero if the output codes do not change . this encourages the use of grey coding in the output bits rather than binary for the transmitter data source . stacking the transmitters ‘ in series ’ saves power by running three channels from the same current , but has the problem that the dc levels of each output are very different . the capacitor coupling 120 , 122 , 124 , 126 , 128 , and 130 eliminates the dc component to make each output identical in signal level at the transmission - line medium . fig3 a and 3b each illustrate a serdes receiver in accordance with the present invention . for each of the channels described above , there is a serdes receiver such as the one shown in fig3 a or fig3 b . the receiver , as a low - power design outlined here , is suitable as an ip block or as an interface chip . the receiver combines the functions of termination and a receive amplifier . the serdes receiver 150 in an embodiment of the present invention includes , in fig3 a , a level - triggered latch 152 that differentially senses a voltage change on the differential pair of conductors , one of 64 , 66 , 68 , and holds the last detected state , a current source 154 for the latch 152 , a pair of capacitors 156 for coupling the latch 152 to the differential pair of conductors , one of 64 , 66 , 68 , a pair of pullups 158 connected to the latch 152 , and a pair of dc terminators 160 whose value may not necessarily be that of the characteristic impedance of the differential conductor pair , one of 64 , 66 , 68 . the receiver 150 is designed to allow for ac coupling but does not need any kind of special dc balanced coding scheme and has full channel capacity . this is different from an 8b / 10b scheme where the medium has to be designed to pass very high fidelity signals over a range of the bit - rate / 5 to the bit - rate / 2 , making the effective bandwidth needed much more than 2 : 1 if margin is given for the simplistic rc coupling nature of the filtering . the circuit of the present invention operates by simply ignoring the low - frequency droop ( which occurs as a consequence of having a potentially dc output scheme ) using an rc filter and level - triggered latch 152 . an optional approximate doubling of voltage through high - impedance termination can help to save more power . the level triggered latch 152 has an apparent threshold of zero - differential because the latch 152 is similar to a differential amplifier . in terms of a received signal , the latch begins to move from its bistable state when the positive (+) and negative (−) inputs are not the same potential . beyond this threshold , the latch 152 tends to amplify the imbalance and help the swing toward the other bistable state . the ‘ droopy ’ nature of the signals at the receiver termination resistors 160 , though appearing unacceptable for a conventional receiver , is of no concern here , as no circuit in the present invention directly senses these signals relative to a particular fixed ground or voltage reference through a dc connection . ideal latch 152 operation occurs where the received signal at transition coincides with the self - bias ‘ flip - voltages ’ ( that is , the bistable voltages which the latch would retain if the input were disconnected ). for a frequency - dependent lossy medium , the expected increasing swing measured beyond the transition time is largely absorbed by the highpass filter on the front end . the current source 154 includes a programmable reference source 162 and a transistor nrxcm 164 , which is diode - connected . the gate voltage of transistor nrxcm 164 sets the current in transistors nrxa 166 and nrxb 168 via transistors nlima 170 and nlimb 172 of the latch 152 . the sensitivity of the latch 152 is set by the amount of current in the latch 152 . when a positive voltage change occurs on the differential pair of conductors , one of 64 , 66 , 68 , a positive going pulse is produced on rxb 174 compared to rxa 176 . this causes transistor nrxa 166 to turn on and transistor nrxb 168 to turn off . because the gate of transistor nrxa 166 is connected to the drain of transistor nlimb 172 and the gate of transistor nrxb 168 is connected to the drain of nlima 170 , the latch holds , on the transmission line , the last sensed change on the differential pair of conductors , one of 64 , 66 , and 68 . when a negative voltage change occurs on the differential pair of conductors , a negative going pulse is produced on rxb 174 compared to rxa 176 . this pulse turns on transistor nrxb 168 and turns off transistor nxra 166 , holding a new state on the differential pair of conductors . the pair of capacitors 156 that couple the latch 152 to the differential pair of conductors , one of 64 , 66 , 68 , and the pair of pullup resistors 158 set an rc time constant that is longer than a single bit time on the line . this permits more than the coupling of the wavefront of the change on the line to the latch and allows the latch to have an effect on the line . pre - emphasis is not strictly necessary here even if the channel has a lot of frequency dependent attenuation . with the correct choice of the rc time constants , only transitions are acted upon by the latch 152 not the actual level of the inputs . also , there is little memory of previous bits that is longer than a bit time . in fact , the latch tends to counteract any rise of signal level beyond the first transition , automatically compensating , to some extent , for dispersion . it is very important to note that the circuit is not a differentiator and not subject to high - f noise sensitivity . as stated above , all of the time constants are on the order of or longer than one bit time . in the example circuits given , the rc time constant of the transmitter circuit is about 100 pf × 50ω = 5 ns and the time - constant of the latch is 1 kω × 2 pf = 2 ns . the signals at rxa 176 and rxb 174 are substantially faithful reproductions of the signals transmitted on the transmission - lines but with substantially all dc and low - frequency components removed . higher - than - threshold swings ( overdrive ) of the input stage are also acceptable and the circuit behaves properly , but it is best to adaptively adjust the threshold for optimum noise immunity . an improved implementation self - trims on a bit - by - bit ( or longer ) basis to adjust the input “ threshold ” of the level - triggered latch . given that the current bias in the latch effectively sets the ‘ flip - voltages ’ of the latch 152 and the ‘ threshold ’ is exactly half of this ‘ flip - voltage ’ difference ( the signal level which needs to be overcome to change the input state ), there is a mechanism to alter the threshold . ideally , the input signal flips at exactly double this minimum . to determine when the correct threshold is achieved , a ‘ ripple detector ’ circuit 180 acts as a synchronous demodulator detector with an output corresponding , + ve or − ve differentially , to the overshoot or undershoot relative to twice the threshold . when operating at the correct threshold ( bias current 162 sets this ) there is nearly zero output from the synchronous demodulator / detector and the overshoot and undershoot are approximately equal . a feature of this circuit is zero static power in the transmitter . unlike the schemes which prohibit dc content at the source , in the present invention the transmission - line current quickly and beneficially falls to zero when a continuous string of zeros or ones is sent . the example given has been for a differential signaling format . an equivalent single - ended system is straightforward and can potentially increase bandwidth or reduce pin count . most of the signal integrity advantages attributable to differential systems are achieved here by ac coupling and low - frequency rejection of the highpass filter ( s ). to refute the generally held belief that differential is the only way to achieve low noise , it should be noted that low - noise rf sources have historically always been single - ended while the noise immunity is achieved via the frequency selectivity of the rf circuit . commercial ultra - low am and pm noise frequency synthesizers universally use 50 ohm coaxial single - ended cable and connectors . a single pole rc highpass filter is shown in fig3 b , but a multi - pole rc or other kind of filter can be used . low frequency noise is totally unimportant . again , note that this is not a differentiator , the time - constant is generally not much less than 1 bit time or higher . fig3 b shows the circuitry needed for single - ended receiver . in the preferred implementation , a design without resistors and utilizing matched transistors has four main parts , ( i ) an active resistance device 190 , ( ii ) a first inverting transconductance amplification element 192 , ( iii ) a feedback path for hysteresis 194 a , b , and ( iv ) inverting transconductance amplification element 196 . the second inverting transconductance amplification element 196 is optional and helps to bring the received signals to full logic levels . the active resistance device 190 , such as a self - biased cmos inverter ( the output of the inverter is connected to the input ), is used to implement the input “ resistor .” the resistor works with the input coupling capacitor 198 ( probably on - chip ) to form a single pole highpass filter . the self - biased cmos inverter 190 has a stable voltage point that is approximately ½ vdd , but the resistance looking into the common output / feedback node is 1 / g m of the devices , where g m is the transconductance of the transistor . this resistance is typically 550 ohms with the transistor sizes shown . therefore , the highpass filter has a pole at 1 / rc = 1 /( 550 × 0 . 6 pf )≈ 0 . 5 ghz . in one embodiment , the first and second inverting transconductance amplification elements 192 , 196 are first and second cmos inverters . the first cmos inverter 192 has a standard inverter configuration with fairly large transistors . the feedback transistors 194 a in the feedback path , smaller in size than those in the first inverter 192 , have a standard inverter configuration and create hysteresis around the threshold of the self - biased inverter 190 . the second inverter 196 is configured to boost the rxampl signal to a full swing logic at the rx output in order to drive a flip - flop d input ( not shown ). the self - bias and input filter also help to reject power supply noise . fig4 shows waveforms for the input , output and transmission line signals for an embodiment of the present invention . the top traces are the waveforms at 1 g bits / second on the transmit nodes tx 0 p 106 and tx 0 n 108 of fig2 . the bottom traces are the waveforms for the transmitted data on the transmission line conductors tx 0 n _out 204 and tx 0 p _out 202 . the middle traces show the waveforms at the receive nodes rxa 176 and rxb 174 of fig3 a . fig5 shows waveforms for the input and output signals of a stacked set of transmitters , such as those shown in fig2 . the transmitter waveforms are at 5 g bits / second driving 100 ohms . the top traces show the waveforms for nodes tx 0 p 106 and tx 0 n 108 . the middle traces are waveforms for txmp 110 and txmn 112 and the bottom traces are for nodes tx 1 p 114 and tx 1 n 116 . total supply current is 7 ma for 3 drivers fully active ( falling to zero power for long stings of 0 &# 39 ; s or 1 &# 39 ; s .). fig6 a shows transmitter and receiver waveforms for a single - ended serdes receiver of the present invention . signal tx 0 n 206 is the output of the driver before the coupling capacitor 208 . signal tx 0 n _out 210 is the waveform on the transmission line 212 . signal rxaps 214 is the waveform after the receiver coupling capacitor 198 . the latter waveform is similar to tx 0 n _out 210 , except for the rc droop towards the hysteresis levels . signal rxampl 216 is the amplified version of received signal rxaps 214 and signal rx 218 is the boosted inversion of the rxampl signal 216 , with basically logic level swings . power consumption is 0 . 4 ma per rx channel at 2 . 5 gbps , 0 . 6 ma @ 6 . 125 gbps , on 0 . 18 u cmos . the circuit can operate up to about 6 gbps . fig6 b shows waveforms for a single - ended serdes receiver at a slower frequency . the waveforms are for 500 mbps ( or several 0s then several 1 &# 39 ; s at the higher rate ). note the rc time constant of the pull to the appropriate threshold on rxaps 214 , and strong attenuation of dispersion - type peaking on tx 0 n 210 waveform by the combined filter action . at high speeds , the individual lanes of high speed bus can experience misalignment . fig7 shows a system for deskewing serdes channels . as a service to the receiver ( where there may not be a multi - phase clock available ), variable phase taps 300 , 302 , 304 , 306 per lane can skew the transmitted data outputs on a pin - by - pin basis by fractions of a cycle by means of enables 342 , 352 and bypass enables 340 a , b . the receiver circuit can send control signals back to the transmitter device to adjust the timing until the receiver detects low error rates , or a ‘ round - trip ’ calibration can be performed where , selectively , ( under control of the transmitter ) the receiver loops back , one at a time , one of its received signals to the transmitter where they can all be compared and de - skewed to the same level . skew control taps can be ¼ or ⅛ of a cycle ( finer for circuits that use multi - frequency rotary clocks ). fig7 shows how the last stage 320 322 is able to be skewed with a variable - skew clock . this variable - skew clock is to be derived from phase - interpolation if needed . the method shown has individual paths ( split paths ) for positive and negative edge delays . this helps with skew tolerance along the delay line and allows for fully independent trim of rising and falling edge location on a per - pin basis accounting for one of the largest causes of waveform asymmetry . especially suited for providing the skew control taps ( a 0 - a 12 , b 0 - b 12 in fig7 ), and the clocks for stages is a rotary traveling wave oscillator such as that described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 656 , 089 , which patent is incorporated by reference into the present application . clocking for the receiver can be provided as a ‘ source - synchronous clock ’ from the transmitter data source , i . e ., one channel of the transmitter data source is dedicated to a clock output . an alternative is that the transmitter and receiver are both phase - locked to a common source already and have any required pll circuits within . the source of data for the transmitter can spend indefinite amounts of time with a single output code which is good for power consumption , but , if there is a desire to increase the transition rate , a single 8 - bit linear feedback shift register ( lfsr ) can be added . the lfsr output bits are xor &# 39 ; ed with the corresponding output bits prior to being sent to the transmitter &# 39 ; s drivers . this insures a large number of transitions in the output but does not insure dc neutrality ( which is not a problem ). the receiver detects the state of the lfsr in the transmitter ( which it must do to be able to decode the stream ) by first forcing a 0 code , prior to the xor , and looking for a specific character in the lfsr sequence . note that adding transitions raises the power consumption as mentioned previously . the lfsr need not be clocked at the full clock rate , just fast enough to give some activity . although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof , other versions are possible . therefore , the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein . | 8 |
the present invention provides a vacuum pump , which solves the above - described problems , and in which stator blade wheels and rotor blade wheels do not interfere with each other using lower - cost but wider - width cutting or grinding for cutting the stator blade wheels in half . the invention overcomes the problems using expensive but narrower cutting - width wire electric discharge machining . in the present invention , the word “ distance ”, in the expression “ the distance between the base end face of the outer ring part and a supposed corresponding plane including the rotor - blade end face ”, means the distance h between the base end face 12 ta , 12 tb and a supposed plane , that includes the rotor - blade end face 4 aa , 4 ab and is extended to where the base end face 12 ta , 12 tb faces , i . e ., the distance in the direction of the pump axis line . in the present invention , the phrase “ to be set at a value larger than the range of deformation of the rotor blade wheel during the operation of a pump ” means to be set at a value larger than the range of deformation in which machining errors of the rotor blade wheel 4 a , the stator blade wheel 12 and the spacer 13 and pump assembling errors and the like are added to an experimentally or theoretically estimated amount of deformation if the rotor blade wheel 4 a is instantaneously deformed due to gas and the like entering the pump , positional shifts due to machining errors of the rotor blade wheel 4 a . in the present invention , “ machining ” includes grinding in addition to machining . in the present invention , the distance h from the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the stationary - base outer ring part 12 a ( see fig5 ) to a supposed plane including the corresponding base end face 4 aa ( 4 ab ) is set at a value larger than the range of deformation of the rotor blade wheel 4 a during pump operation . therefore , even in a case where during an assembling process due to a large cutting width w of a stator blade wheel 12 , the stator blade wheel 12 shifts radially with respect to a ring spacer 13 and an outer ring part 12 a protrudes to a space between the rotor blade wheel 4 a and the stator blade wheel 12 , there is no possibility that the outer ring part 12 a of the stator blade wheel 12 might collide with the rotor blade wheel 4 a during operation . because the outer ring part 12 a and the rotor blade wheel 4 a do not interfere with each other even when the cutting width w of the stator blade wheel 12 is large , the stator blade wheel 12 can be economically cut into a semiannular shape by cutting using a cutter etc . and grinding without using expensive wire electric discharge machining . moreover , pump assembly becomes easy . the pump performance can also be maintained . an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig1 to fig7 ( a ), 7 ( b ) and 7 ( c ). fig1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a and 2 b are each partially enlarged sectional views of fig1 . fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) show a stator blade wheel in fig1 , fig3 ( a ) being a plan view and fig3 ( b ) being a sectional view . fig4 is a iv - iv enlarged sectional view in fig3 ( a ). fig5 is a sectional view showing a case where the stator blade wheel is set out of setting alignment in fig2 ( b ). fig6 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention . fig7 ( a ), 7 ( b ) and 7 ( c ) are explanatory diagrams showing a method manufacturing the stator blade wheel of the present invention . in fig1 , reference numeral 1 denotes a base , reference numeral 2 denotes a stator column , reference numeral 3 denotes a rotor shaft , reference numeral 4 denotes a rotor , reference numeral 5 denotes a radial magnetic bearing , reference numeral 6 denotes an axial magnetic bearing , and reference numeral 7 denotes a motor . a socket for receiving column 1 a is provided in the middle of the above - described base 1 . a lower portion of the cylindrical stator column 2 is inserted from the upper side into the socket 1 a and fitted thereto and the cylindrical stator column 2 is bolted and provided in a standing manner in the middle of the base 1 on the upper side thereof . the socket 1 a is stoppered with a bottom lid 8 attached to a bottom surface of the base 1 . the above - described rotor shaft 3 provides a connection at an upper portion thereof to integrally hold the above - described rotor 4 , and is rotatably inserted into an inner cylinder of the stator column 2 while keeping a gap . that is , between the rotor shaft 3 and the stator column 2 there are positioned the above - described radial magnetic bearing 5 and axial magnetic bearing 6 , and in order to ensure that the above - described stator column 2 holds the rotor shaft 3 so as to be rotatable , the radial magnetic bearing 5 radially holds the rotor shaft 3 and the axial magnetic bearing 6 holds the rotor shaft 3 in the axis line direction . between the rotor shaft 3 and the stator column 2 there is positioned the above - described motor 7 . this motor 7 rotatably drives the rotor shaft 3 and the rotor 4 with respect to the above - described stator column 2 . on an upper outer circumference of the above - described rotor 4 , a plurality of rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a , . . . are formed in a multi - stage manner . there are small gaps between the two magnetic bearings 5 , 6 and a member on the stator column 2 side and a member on the rotor shaft 3 side of the motor 7 . the control of each gap of the magnetic bearings 5 , 6 enables the rotor shaft 3 and the rotor 4 to be stably held in the space , and the rotor shaft 3 and the rotor 4 are rotated at high speeds by the motor 7 . reference numeral 11 denotes a pump case , reference numeral 12 , 12 , . . . denotes a plurality of stator blade wheels , and reference numeral 13 , 13 , . . . denotes a plurality of ring spacers . the above - described pump case 11 , which is cylindrical , is attached above the above - described base 1 . the pump case 11 houses the stator column 2 within the cylinder thereof and houses the rotor shaft 3 and the rotor 4 so as to be rotatable . the above - described stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . are superposed alternately with the plurality of rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a , . . . of the above - described rotor 4 with a prescribed gap , and a turbo - molecular pump part is formed by the rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a , . . . and the stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . . the above - described ring spacers 13 , 13 , . . . are axially provided in a superimposed manner in the upper portion within the cylinder of the above - described pump case 11 and are each interposed between the above - described stator blade wheels 12 , 12 . reference numeral 14 denotes a screw stator that is provided on an inner surface of the pump case 11 between the base 1 and the above - described stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . and a screw groove 14 a is formed on an inner circumferential face of the screw stator 14 . the screw groove 14 a of this screw stator 14 faces an outer circumferential face of a thin - walled , cylindrical skirt part 4 b of a lower portion of the above - described rotor 4 in proximity to the outer circumferential face and a screw - groove pump part is formed by the screw groove 14 a and the skirt part 4 b . reference numeral 15 denotes a suction port of the pump and reference numeral 16 denotes an exhaust port . the suction port 15 is provided in an upper portion of the pump and the exhaust port 16 is provided within the base 1 . reference numeral 18 denotes a protective bearing provided between the stator column 2 and the rotor shaft 3 . this protective bearing 18 is intended for preventing the contact between the magnetic bearings 5 , 6 and each stator column side and rotor shaft side of the motor 7 when it is impossible to control the magnetic bearings in the case of power failures , circuit abnormalities and the like . next , details of the turbo - molecular pump part , which is one of the features of the present invention , will be described with reference to fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ) to fig7 ( a ), 7 ( b ) and 7 ( c ). in fig2 ( a ), rotor - blade end faces 4 aa , 4 ab are formed on upper and lower surfaces of the above - described rotor blade wheel 4 a . the above - described rotor - blade end faces 4 aa ( 4 ab ) provide a supposed plane orthogonal to a rotor axis line that envelopes top surfaces ( bottom surfaces ) of a plurality of radial blades ( not shown ) formed in the rotor blade wheel 4 a . a blade - part end face 12 ya ( 12 yb ) of the stator blade wheel provides a supposed plane orthogonal to a rotor axis line that envelopes top surfaces ( bottom surfaces ) of a plurality of radial blades 12 w , 12 w , . . . ( see fig3 and 4 ) formed in the blade part 12 b of the stator blade wheel . in this embodiment , the ring spacer 13 has an inner cylindrical face 13 a , an outer cylindrical face 13 b , a second inner cylindrical face 13 c , a stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d , an upper cylinder - abutment end face 13 e , and a middle cylinder - abutment end face 13 f . the second inner cylindrical face 13 c limits the stator - blade - wheel radial shift , which would be caused by the cutting width w . the above - described inner cylindrical face 13 a is formed in the upper part of the spacer , and the outer cylindrical face 13 b is formed on substantially the whole outer circumference of the spacer in the rotor axis direction . the second inner cylindrical face 13 c , which provides a diameter intermediate between diameters of the inner cylindrical face 13 a and the outer cylindrical face 13 b , is formed in the lower portion of the spacer , and the stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d , which provides a diameter intermediate between the diameters of the inner cylindrical face 13 a and the outer cylindrical face 13 b , is formed in the upper portion of the spacer so as to engage with the second inner cylindrical face 13 c of the ring spacer 13 , which is adjacent above . the inner cylindrical face 13 a , the outer cylindrical face 13 b , the second inner cylindrical face 13 c , and the stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d are formed concentrically with each other . the above - described upper cylinder - abutment end face 13 e connects , at the highest top end of the spacer , the inner cylindrical face 13 a and the stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d together , and provides a cylinder - abutment end face that abuts against a lower - side base end face 12 ta of the stator blade wheel 12 , which is adjacent above . the above - described middle cylinder - abutment end face 13 f connects the inner cylindrical face 13 a and the second inner cylindrical face 13 c together , and provides a cylinder - abutment end face that abuts against an upper - side base end face 12 ta of the stator blade wheel 12 , which is adjacent below . the stator blade wheel 12 is such that an outer circumferential face 12 ac of the outer ring part 12 a thereof is fitted onto the second inner cylindrical face 13 c , and the upper and lower base end faces 12 tb , 12 ta of the outer ring part 12 a abut against the cylinder - abutment end faces 13 f , 13 e , respectively , as described above , and are fixed by being vertically sandwiched by the ring spacer 13 . in this condition , the blade part 12 b of the stator blade wheel 12 is positioned between the rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a above and below the blade part 12 b . next , a description will be given of a rotor axis line direction and radial direction positioning mechanism of the plurality of stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . and ring spacers 13 , 13 , . . . with reference to fig2 ( a ) and 2 ( b ). in this embodiment , the upper cylinder - abutment end face 13 e of a topmost spacer 13 ( t ) abuts against a spacer - abutment end face 11 a provided in an upper portion of the inner cylinder of the pump case 11 ( fig2 ( a )), and the lower - side base end face 12 ta of a bottommost stator blade wheel 12 ( b ) abuts against a stator blade wheel abutment end face 14 b provided on an upper surface of the screw stator 14 ( fig2 ( b )). during pump assembly , with the stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . and the ring spacers 13 , 13 , . . . on the screw stator alternately stacked , the pump case 11 is placed from above and the pump case 11 is fastened to the base 1 with a bolt 19 ( see fig1 ) , whereby the positioning of all of the stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . in the rotor axis line direction is performed and the gap between each stator blade wheel 12 and rotor blade wheel 4 a , i . e ., the distance between a blade - part end face 12 ya ( 12 yb ) of the stator blade wheel and the rotor - blade end face 4 ab ( 4 aa ), which are opposed to each other , is set at a prescribed value g 1 . the stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d of the topmost spacer 13 ( t ) is fitted onto the spacer - abutment cylindrical face 11 c adjacent to the above - described spacer - abutment end face 11 a , and the outer circumferential face 12 ac of the bottommost stator blade wheel 12 ( b ) and the spacer - abutment cylindrical face 14 c adjacent to the above - described stator blade wheel abutment end face 14 b are fitted onto the second inner cylindrical face 13 c of the bottommost ring spacer 13 ( b ). furthermore , the positioning of all of the stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . and ring spacers 13 , 13 , . . . in the rotor radial direction results from the plurality of ring spacers 13 , 13 , . . . , which are vertically superposed , engage with each other at the second inner cylindrical face 13 c and the stepped outer cylindrical part 13 d . consequently , the radial gap g 2 between the rotor blade wheel 4 a of the rotor 4 and the ring spacer 13 is set . a more detailed description of the stator blade wheel 12 will be given below with reference to fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ) and fig4 . as shown in fig3 ( a ) and 3 ( b ), the above - described stator blade wheel 12 has an inner ring part 12 c in addition to the above - described outer ring part 12 a and blade part 12 b . as already described , the above - described outer ring part 12 a has , on an upper surface and a lower surface thereof , the base end faces 12 ta , 12 tb that abut against the cylinder - abutment faces 13 e , 13 f of the ring spacer 13 , and the above - described blade part 12 b is provided with a plurality of radial blades 12 w , 12 w , 12 w . . . . as shown in fig4 , the blade 12 w has a twisted section , and when the rotor 4 having a blade twisted in the direction opposite to the blade 12 w rotates , it is ensured that the two blades cause gas molecules to move to the exhaust of the pump . forward ends of these blades 12 w , 12 w , 12 w . . . are connected to the outer ring part 12 a and base ends thereof are connected to the inner ring part 12 c . the outer ring part 12 a and the inner ring part 12 c determine the arrangement of each of the blades 12 w and strongly hold the blades 12 w , thereby preventing the deformation of the blades 12 w during the entry of the air . incidentally , it is not always necessary that the inner ring part 12 c be provided , although in such an embodiment the holding strength of the blades 12 w slightly decreases . incidentally , in the structure of a vacuum pump of the present invention , the above - described stator blade wheel 12 is formed by combining two semiannular stator blade wheels , which have been cut , into an annular shape . the reason why the annular stator blade wheel 12 is divided into two semiannular stator blade wheels is that the rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a , . . . , which are disposed in a superimposed manner alternately with the stator blade wheels 12 , 12 , . . . , are formed integrally with the rotor 4 and hence it is impossible to assemble a pump , with the stator blade wheel 12 kept in an annular condition . therefore , the stator blade wheel 12 is cut into semiannular stator blade wheels 12 h , 12 h as shown in fig3 , and in the pump assembly process the semiannular stator blade wheels 12 h , 12 h are inserted opposite to each other between rotor blade wheels 4 a , 4 a and then combined into the shape of the annular stator blade wheel 12 . the stator blade wheel 12 is bisected by a cutting width w corresponding to the width of the cutting tool . cutting the stator blade wheel 12 forms two semiannular stator blade wheels 12 h , 12 h . when the semiannular stator blade wheels 12 h , 12 h , from which a portion corresponding to the cutting width w has been cut away , are brought back together ( i . e . to face each other ), the resulting stator blade wheel 12 does not form a complete annular shape . therefore , as shown by the alternating long and short dashed lines of fig5 , when the stator blade wheel 12 is assembled with the ring spacers 13 , 13 , the outer circumferential face 12 ac may sometimes abut against the second inner cylindrical face 13 c of the ring spacers 13 or conversely , the stator blade wheel 12 may approach the opposite side in the radial direction . in addition , as indicated by the solid lines , the second inner cylindrical face 13 c and the outer circumferential face 12 ac may sometimes depart from each other by w . moreover , the positions of the above - described two members may sometimes be intermediate between the positions of the two cases . that is , the outer ring part 12 a may sometimes protrude to the rotor blade wheel 4 a side . therefore , when the level difference s between the blade - part end face 12 ya ( 12 yb ) of the stator blade wheel and the base end face 12 tb ( 12 ta ) is larger than the axis - line direction gap g 1 between the rotor blade wheel 4 a and the stator blade wheel 12 or when the outer ring part 12 a protrudes into the range of deformation of the rotor blade wheel 4 a during pump operation even if this level difference s is smaller than g 1 , there is a possibility that the outer ring part 12 a may interfere with the rotor blade wheel 4 a . therefore , in the present invention , the level difference s is reduced , whereby the distance h from the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the outer ring part 12 a to a supposed plane including the rotor - blade end face 4 aa ( 4 ab ) corresponding to the base end face is set at a value larger than the range of deformation of the rotor blade wheel 4 a during pump operation . if this is done , even in the case where the position of the semiannular stator blade wheel 12 h shifts to a leftmost position as shown in fig5 by w , a space corresponding to the height h is ensured between the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) and the rotor - blade end face 4 aa ( 4 ab ), and the rotor blade wheel 4 a does not interfere with the outer ring part 12 a of the stator blade wheel 12 a even when the rotor blade wheel 4 a is deformed during pump operation . from the standpoint of manufacturing the stator blade wheel 12 , if the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the outer ring part 12 a protrudes from the blade - part end face 12 yb ( 12 ya ) of the stator blade wheel , then during the finish machining of the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) there is a possibility that the tool may come into contact with the blade 12 w of the stator blade wheel , and this is undesirable . however , the present invention is not limited to the example of fig5 , and as shown in fig6 , the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the outer ring part 12 a may be depressed by r compared to the blade - part end face 12 yb ( 12 ya ) of the stator blade wheel . in this case , when the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) is finish machined , in order to prevent a mounting bed of the stator blade wheel and a tool form coming into contact with the blade 12 w of the stator blade wheel , a draft clearance should be provided for the blade part 12 b of the stator blade wheel in the mounting bed or finish machining should be performed so that the tool avoids the blade part 12 b of the stator blade wheel . the manufacturing of the stator blade wheel 12 is performed by the steps of fig7 ( a ) to 7 ( c ). first in step ( a ), a stator - blade - wheel material 12 is formed by precision casting and the like ; the stator - blade - wheel material 12 has the shape of a disk , a plurality of radial blades 12 w , 12 w , . . . are formed in a blade part 12 b , an inner ring part 12 c is formed on the inner side of the blade part 12 b , and an outer ring part 12 a is formed on the outer side . in this embodiment , the outer ring part 12 a is such that the outer ring part 12 a is thicker than the blade part 12 b and the inner ring part 12 c , and a machining allowance for finish machining is provided on both end faces 12 ta , 12 tb . next in step ( b ), the stator - blade - wheel material 12 is mounted , with one of the two end faces 12 ta , 12 tb applied to a base plane of a mounting bed for base end face finishing ( not shown ), and the other end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) is finished by lathe turning . the level difference s ( see fig5 ) between the end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) and a blade - part end face 12 yb ( 12 ya ) of the stator blade wheel is adjusted to a design value . after that , the stator - blade - wheel material 12 is turned back and with the end face that has become a base end face by finishing applied to the base plane of the mounting bed for base end face finishing , the stator - blade - wheel material 12 is mounted and the other face is similarly finished . the thickness of the outer ring part 12 a is adjusted to a design value and the level difference s between the two faces is finished to s . due to machining errors of the above - described step ( a ), the level difference between the two is not always accurately adjusted . however , this is permissible because small errors are taken into consideration in the value of the above - described distance h . the thickness of the outer ring part 12 a is adjusted to a design value as precisely as possible , because errors of the thickness of the outer ring part 12 a accumulate during assembling . lastly in step ( c ), the stator blade wheel 12 is mounted , with one of the base end faces 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the outer ring part 12 a finished in ( b ) aligned with a mounting bed for cutting ( not shown ), and the stator blade wheel 12 is cut into two semiannular stator blade wheels 12 h , 12 h by using a cutter for cutting . the cutting width w is substantially equal to the width of the cutter for cutting and is larger than a conventional cutting width obtained by use of wire electric discharge machining . in the present invention , however , the distance h , between the base end face 12 ta ( 12 tb ) of the outer ring part 12 a and a supposed corresponding plane including the rotor - blade end face 4 aa ( 4 ab ), is set at a value larger than the range of deformation of the rotor blade wheel 4 a during pump operation . therefore , even when the semiannular stator blade wheel 12 h shifts radially during assembling , the rotor blade wheel 4 a does not interfere with the outer ring part 12 a of the stator blade wheel and the pump function is impaired in no way . in addition , the cutting tool is inexpensive , the cutting time is short , and this is very economical . in step ( c ) above , in addition to the cutter for cutting , a grinding wheel , such as a diamond wheel , a cbn wheel and a resin bond wheel , may also be used . | 5 |
the inventors have discovered that compositions described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 525 , 035 ( which is incorporated herein by reference ) and variations ( including both mono - and pyrophosphorylated variations ) described herein have utility for the activation and modulation of the innate immune response in general and the activation and modulation of tlrs in particular . in this regard , the compounds of the present invention may be used for the treatment and prevention of a wide range of infectious diseases caused by fungi , bacteria , viruses or used in oncologic pathology , for control of the innate immune response component of allergic or inflammatory diseases and for enhancement of action of vaccines when used wholly or partly as an adjuvant , etc . specific and preferred values listed below are for illustration only ; they do not exclude other defined values or other values within defined ranges for the radicals and substituents . the polyprenol phosphates and pyrophosphates can be prepared from polyprenol using procedures similar to those known in the art . see , for example , v . n . shibaev , and l . l . danilov , biochem . cell biol ., 1992 , 70 , 429 - 437 and european patent application number 0 350 801 . polyprenols can be isolated from natural sources using procedures similar to those described by , for example , danilov l . l . and shibaev v . n . ( 1991 ): phosphopolyprenols and their glycosyl esters : chemical synthesis and biochemical application , atta - ur - rahman ( ed ); studies in natural products chemistry , elsevier , amsterdam — oxford — new york — tokyo , 8 , 63 - 114 ; t . choinacki , acta . chem . and biochem polonica , 1984 , 21 , 3 - 25 ; and f . takaki et al ., european patent application 0 166 436 a2 . administration of the compounds as salts may be appropriate . examples of acceptable salts include alkali metal ( for example , sodium , potassium or lithium ) or alkaline earth metal ( for example , calcium ) salts , however , any salt that is non - toxic and effective when administered to the animal or other organism being treated is acceptable . acceptable salts may be obtained using standard procedures well known in the art , for example , by reacting a sufficiently acidic compound with a suitable base affording a physiologically acceptable anion . the compositions of the invention can be formulated as pharmaceutical compositions and administered to an animal host ( or other organism ) such as a human patient in a variety of forms adapted to the chosen route of administration , i . e ., orally or parenterally ( not via the digestive canal ), by intravenous ( i . v . ), intramuscular ( i . m . ), topical or subcutaneous routes , for example . thus , the present compound ( s ) may be systemically administered , e . g ., orally , in combination with a pharmaceutically acceptable vehicle such as an inert diluent or an assimilable edible carrier . they may be enclosed in hard or soft shell gelatin capsules , may be compressed into tablets or may be incorporated directly with the food of the patient &# 39 ; s diet . for oral therapeutic administration , the active compound ( s ) may be combined with one or more excipients and used in the form of ingestible tablets , buccal tablets , troches , capsules , elixirs , suspensions , syrups , wafers and the like . such compositions and preparations should contain at least 0 . 1 % of active compound by weight percent . the percentage of the compositions and preparations may , of course , be varied and may conveniently be between about 2 to about 60 % of the weight of a given unit dosage form . the amount of active compound ( s ) in such therapeutically useful compositions is such that an effective dosage level will be obtained . when administered orally , the compositions of the invention can preferably be administered in a gelatin capsule . the tablets , troches , pills , capsules and the like may also contain the following : binders such as gum tragacanth , acacia , corn starch or gelatin ; excipients such as dicalcium phosphate ; a disintegrating agent such as corn starch , potato starch , alginic acid and the like ; a lubricant such as magnesium stearate ; and a sweetening agent such as sucrose , fructose , lactose or aspartame or a flavoring agent such as peppermint , oil of wintergreen or cherry flavoring may be added . when the unit dosage form is a capsule , it may contain , in addition to materials of the above type , a liquid carrier , such as a vegetable oil or a polyethylene glycol . various other materials may be present as coatings or to otherwise modify the physical form of the solid unit dosage form . for instance , tablets , pills or capsules may be coated with gelatin , wax , shellac or sugar and the like . a syrup or elixir may contain the active compound ( s ), sucrose or fructose as a sweetening agent , methyl and propylparabens as preservatives , a dye and flavoring such as cherry or orange flavor . of course , any material used in preparing any unit dosage form should be pharmaceutically acceptable and substantially non - toxic in the amounts employed . in addition , the active compound ( s ) may be incorporated into sustained - release preparations and devices . the compositions of the invention may also be administered intravenously or intraperitoneally by infusion or injection . solutions of the active composition can be prepared in water , optionally mixed with a nontoxic surfactant . dispersions can also be prepared in glycerol , liquid polyethylene glycols , triacetin and mixtures thereof and in oils . under ordinary conditions of storage and use these preparations may contain a preservative to prevent the growth of microorganisms . the pharmaceutical dosage forms suitable for injection or infusion can include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions or sterile powders comprising the active ingredient which are adapted for the extemporaneous preparation of sterile injectable or infusible solutions or dispersions , optionally encapsulated in liposomes . in all cases , the ultimate dosage form should be sterile , fluid and stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage . the liquid carrier or vehicle can be a solvent or liquid dispersion medium comprising , for example , water , ethanol , a polyol ( for example , glycerol , propylene glycol , liquid polyethylene glycols , and the like ), vegetable oils , nontoxic glyceryl esters and suitable mixtures thereof . the proper fluidity can be maintained , for example , by the formation of liposomes , by the maintenance of the required particle size in the case of dispersions or by the use of surfactants . the prevention of the action of microorganisms can be brought about by various antibacterial and antifungal agents , for example , parabens , chlorobutanol , phenol , sorbic acid , thimerosal and the like . in many cases , it will be preferable to include isotonic agents , for example , sugars , buffers or sodium chloride . prolonged absorption of the injectable compositions can be brought about by the use in the compositions of agents delaying absorption , for example , aluminum monostearate and gelatin . sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating the active composition in the required amount in the appropriate solvent with various of the other ingredients enumerated above , as required , followed by filter sterilization . in the case of sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions , the preferred methods of preparation are vacuum drying and freeze drying techniques , which yield a powder of the active ingredient plus any additional desired ingredient present in the previously sterile - filtered solutions . for topical administration , the present compositions may be applied in pure form , i . e ., liquids . however , it will generally be desirable to administer them to the skin as compositions or formulations in combination with a dermatologically acceptable carrier , which may be a solid or a liquid . useful solid carriers include finely divided solids such as talc , clay , microcrystalline cellulose , silica , alumina and the like . useful liquid carriers include water , alcohols or glycols or water - alcohol / glycol blends , in which the present compounds can be dissolved or dispersed at effective levels , optionally with the aid of non - toxic surfactants . additives such as fragrances and additional antimicrobial agents can be added to optimize the properties for a given use . the resultant liquid compositions can be applied from absorbent pads , used to impregnate bandages and other dressings or sprayed onto the affected area using pump - type or aerosol sprayers . thickeners such as synthetic polymers , fatty acids , fatty acid salts and esters , fatty alcohols , modified celluloses or modified mineral materials can also be employed with liquid carriers to form spreadable pastes , gels , ointments , soaps and the like for application directly to the skin of the user . examples of useful dermatological compositions which can be used to deliver the compounds and derivatives of formula 1 and / or formula 2 to the skin are known to the art ; for example , see jacquet , et al ., ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 608 , 392 ), geria ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 992 , 478 ), smith , et al ., ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 559 , 157 ) and wortzman ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 820 , 508 ), all of which are incorporated herein by reference . useful dosages of the compounds of formula 1 and / or formula 2 , or derivatives derived there from and described herein , can be determined by comparing their in vitro activity and in vivo activity in animal models . methods for the extrapolation of effective dosages in mice and other animals to humans are known to the art ; for example , see u . s . pat . no . 4 , 938 , 949 , which is incorporated herein by reference . generally , the concentration of the compositions of the invention in a liquid composition , such as a lotion , will be from about 0 . 1 - 50 wt % ( weight percent ), preferably from about 0 . 5 - 5 wt %. the concentration in a semi - solid or solid composition such as a gel or a powder will be about 0 . 1 - 5 wt %, preferably about 0 . 5 - 2 . 5 wt %. the amount of the composition required for use in treatment will vary not only with the particular salt selected but also with the route of administration , the nature of the condition being treated and the age and condition of the patient and will be ultimately at the discretion of the attendant physician or clinician . in general , however , a suitable average dose will be in the range of from about 0 . 25 to about 100 mg / kg , e . g ., from about 10 to about 75 mg / kg of body weight per day , such as 3 to about 50 mg per kilogram body weight of the recipient per day , preferably in the range of 6 to 90 mg / kg / day , most preferably in the range of 15 to 60 mg / kg / day . the compositions are conveniently administered in unit dosage form ; for example , containing 5 to 1000 mg , conveniently 10 to 750 mg , most conveniently , 50 to 500 mg of active ingredient per unit dosage form . ideally , the active ingredient should be administered to achieve peak plasma concentrations of the active compound of from about 0 . 5 to about 75 μm , preferably , about 1 to 50 μm , most preferably , about 2 to about 30 μm . this may be achieved , for example , by the intravenous injection of a 0 . 05 to 5 wt % solution of the active ingredient , optionally in saline , or orally administered as a bolus containing about 1 - 100 mg of the active ingredient . desirable blood levels may be maintained by continuous infusion to provide about 0 . 01 - 5 . 0 mg / kg / hr or by intermittent infusions containing about 0 . 4 - 15 mg / kg of the active ingredient ( s ). the desired dose may conveniently be presented in a single dose or as divided doses administered at appropriate intervals , for example , as two , three , four or more sub - doses per day . the sub - dose itself may be further divided , e . g ., into a number of discrete loosely spaced administrations ; such as multiple inhalations from an insufflator or by application of a plurality of drops into the eye . although the present invention is not limited to any specific theory , it is believed that the compositions of the invention are poly - functional both at the cellular and at the organism levels . at the cellular level , they are incorporated into or associated with the cellular membranes , enhancing their permeability and changing membrane properties . they also normalize and activate processes of cell surface glycoprotein biosynthesis , normalizing cell reproduction intracellular and , as a result , inter - tissue interactions . in the organism on the whole they normalize , augment or activate immune system functioning or modulate it through mechanisms associated with , for example , toll ( tlr )- receptor signaling and / or through cd - 1 ( family of lipid recognition glycoproteins ) interactions or improve the function of individual organs , enhances blood generation function and facilitate tissue regeneration . the compositions of the invention are useful for prevention , treatment and liquidation of consequences of diseases involving an innate immune response , including , but not limited to , viral , clamidial , bacterial , oncology , liver , gastrointestinal , urologic and reproductive system , immune system , wounds , burns and stresses . following i . m . ( intramuscular ) administration , the compositions of the invention enter the blood stream within about 10 - 15 minutes and reach a maximum concentration in the blood within one hour of administration , at which point they can be found throughout the circulatory related organs . the antiviral activity of the compositions of the invention can be determined using assays that are known in the art or can be determined using assays similar to those described in the following examples . the compositions of the invention can be used , for example , for the treatment of animal diseases caused by numerous viruses including distemper virus ( dv ), canine enteritis ( parvo , rota , and corona viruses ; cev ), canine infectious hepatitis ( cih ), feline infectious gastroenteritis ( panleukopenia , fie ), feline infectious rhinotracheitis ( agent — herpes virus ; fir ), feline infectious enteritis and peritonitis ( agent — corona virus , fip ), swine transmissive gastroenteritis ( agent — rotavirus ; stg ), murine ectromelia ( me ), cattle leukemia ( cl ), calf mixed viral infection ( agents — parvo , adeno and corona viruses ; cmvi ), western equestrian encephalomyelitis ( wee ), and rabies ( rv ). as used in the examples herein , the phrase “ compounds of the present invention ( formula 1 and / or formula 2 and derivatives thereof )” is a composition of the invention wherein the compound ( s ) of the invention comprise at least 50 wt %, 75 wt %, 90 wt %, 95 wt %, 99 wt %, 99 . 5 wt % or 99 . 9 wt % of one or more of the compounds or derivatives described herein not including any additives , excipients or other ingredients that are not . in addition , the phrase “ compounds of the present invention ( formula 1 and / or formula 2 and derivatives thereof )” also encompass any of the phosphorylated polyprenol - based compounds and compositions given herein as well as their stereoisomeric forms . in this regard , the present invention contemplates compositions comprising , 1 ) polyprenol monophosphates of formula 1 : r1 - ch 2 ( r2 - ch 2 )— c ═ ch — ch 2 —[ ch 2 — c ( ch 3 )═ ch — ch 2 ] n — p (═ o )( o ) 2 — r3 ( r4 ) ( 1 ) wherein r1 and / or r2 and / or r3 and / or r4 are selected from a group consisting of , — h , — oh , — ch 3 , hydrocarbons , amino acids , amines , lipids , carbohydrates or sugars and wherein n is an integer from 5 - 18 inclusive or a salt thereof , and / or 2 ) polyprenol pyrophosphates of the formula 2 : r1 ( r2 )- c ═ ch — ch 2 —[ ch 2 — c ( ch 3 )═ ch — ch 2 ] m — o — p (═ o )( oh )— o — p (═ o )( o ) 2 — r3 ( r4 ) ( 2 ) wherein r1 and / or r2 and / or r3 and / or r4 are selected from a group consisting of , — h , — oh , — ch 3 , hydrocarbons , amino acids , amines , lipids , carbohydrates or sugars and wherein m is an integer from 5 - 18 inclusive or a salt thereof . the invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions comprising the compounds of the invention as well as therapeutic methods for using the compositions . it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that polyprenes possess double bonds which may exist in cis or trans configurations . it is to be understood that the present invention encompasses any stereoisomeric form of the polyprenes of the present invention as well as mixtures thereof , which possess the useful properties described herein . specific and preferred values listed below are for illustration only ; they do not exclude other defined values or other values within defined ranges for the radicals and substituents . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is at least 6 , wherein the polyprenol monophosphate comprises at least 90 %, 95 %, 99 %, 99 . 5 % or 99 . 9 % of the weight of the composition and the polyprenol pyrophosphate comprises less 10 % of the weight . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 or 13 in greater than 50 % of the polyprenol monophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein m is 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , or 13 in greater than 50 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is not more than about 2 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is not more than about 4 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is not more than about 5 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is not more than about 10 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is not more than about 20 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein m is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present , and m is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present , m is 10 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present , and the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is about 10 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein m is 10 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present , and m is 11 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present . a specific composition of the invention is a composition wherein n is 10 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present , m is 10 in at least 90 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present , and the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is about 10 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . the target and the mechanism of effect that can define utility of the compositions of the invention can be determined using assays that are known in the art or can be determined using assays similar to those described in the following examples . applicant has discovered certain compositions that are useful for the prevention and / or treatment of diseases , including viral , chlamidial , bacterial related diseases , oncology related diseases , diseases related to the liver , gastrointestinal , urologic and reproductive systems and diseases related to the function of the immune system . in this regard , the present invention contemplates that the compositions of the present invention are also effective in the treatment of wounds , burns , allergic diseases , and stresses and are useful for medical ( human ), veterinary and agricultural applications . the pyrophosphate containing compositions of the invention have improved solubility compared to related known compositions and , as a result , demonstrate improved levels of activity against certain diseases . in particular , it is contemplated that the compounds of the present invention are effective in the modulation ( i . e ., activation and regulation ) of the innate immune system through , for example , interactions involving ( directly or indirectly ) toll - like receptors ( tlr ). the invention also provides a method for inducing or modulating an innate immune response and / or a tlr - mediated immune response effect in an animal comprising administering to an animal in need of such treatment , an effective amount of a composition of the comprising at least one compound of the present invention . as used herein “ animal ” includes , for example , mammals ( e . g ., a dog , cow , cat or human ), birds ( e . g ., poultry ) and other animals ( fish , insects etc .) that can effectively be treated with the compositions of the invention . in this regard , tlrs are highly conserved molecules in the animal kingdom . in fact , the compounds of the present invention have been shown to be effective in bees . as used in the examples herein , the phrase “ compounds of the present invention ( formula 1 and / or formula 2 and derivatives thereof )” is a composition of the invention wherein the compound ( s ) of the invention comprise at least 50 wt %, 75 wt %, 90 wt %, 95 wt %, 99 wt %, 99 . 5 wt % or 99 . 9 wt % of one or more of the compounds or derivatives described herein not including any additives , excipients or other ingredients . in addition , the phrase “ compounds of the present invention ( formula 1 and / or formula 2 and derivatives thereof )” also encompass any of the phosphorylated polyprenol - based compounds and compositions given herein as well as their stereoisomeric forms . in this regard , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that polyprenes possess double bonds which may exist in cis or trans configurations . it is to be understood that the present invention encompasses any stereoisomeric form of the polyprenes of the present invention as well as mixtures thereof , which possess the useful properties described herein . the target and the mechanism of effect that can define utility of the compositions of the invention can be determined using assays that are known in the art or can be determined using assays similar to those described by means of the following non - limiting the following examples . as used in the examples hereinbelow , “ the substance ” is a composition of the present invention wherein n is 11 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol monophosphates present , m is 11 in at least 80 % of the polyprenol pyrophosphates present , and the weight percent of polyprenol monophosphates is about 10 times greater than the weight percent of the polyprenol pyrophosphates . the compound ( s ) of formula 1 and formula 2 and derivatives thereof of the present invention are effective in inducing cytokines characteristic of an immune response . thp - 1 monocyte cell culture was grown at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 in rpmi - 1640 supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum and 1 % antibiotic - antimycotic ( all from invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .). a representative phosphorylated compound of the present invention ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 525 , 035 , which is herein incorporated by reference : “ substance ”) was obtained from sass & amp ; sass , inc . ( oak ridge , tenn .). nicotine and taq polymerase were purchased from sigma chemical co ( st . lois , mo . ), cytokine messagescreen kit th1 and th2 primer kits were from biosource , fluo - 3 dye was from molecular probes ( eugene , oreg .). effect of the substance on cytokine transcription was assessed by rt - pcr at 0 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 , 30 , 48 and 72 hours after 10 7 thp - 1 cells in 30 ml of growth medium were supplemented with 200 μg of the substance . the cells responded to the addition of the substance with an increase in levels of mrna of il - 1β , il - 8 and tnfα in two hours after the addition , and mrna specific levels peaked at 4 to 8 hours ( fig1 ). after 48 hours , the transcripts were no longer observed ( fig1 ). this finding pointed out to potential similarity of the pathway of monocyte induction by a compound of the present invention with monocyte / macrophage induction by lps ( lipopolysaccharide ), which upregulates transcription and expression of genes for il - 1 beta , tnf - alpha , il - 6 , il - 8 and through interaction with tlr4 receptors ( guha and mackman , 2001 , cell . signalling , 13 : 85 - 94 ). this upregulation is believed to be nf - kappab and mek - erk1 / 2 - dependent ( ibid ). the substance did not induce mrna of il - 6 , il - 2 , il - 13 or il - 12 p 40 nor was mrna for these cytokines present in resting thp - 1 cells . we observed a weak constitutive transcription of il - 8 and tnf - alpha in the thp - 1 cell line , which is in agreement with reports of the presence in resting thp - 1 cells of low levels of il - 8 ( bagui , et al ., 1999 ) and of tnfa mrna ( lagoumintzis , et al ., 2003 , inf immunity , 71 : 4614 - 4622 ). a 500 - 800 - fold induction of il - 8 production in thp - 1 cells by lps from oral microorganisms has been reported ( baqui , et al ., 1999 ). however , in the thp - 1 , lps also stimulated production of il - 6 and il12 p 40 ( murthy , et al ., 2000 , inf immunity , 68 : 6663 - 6669 ), mrna for which were not upregulated by polyprenyl . kinetics of mrna biosynthesis upregulation exhibited sharp peaks at 4 - 8 hours , after which cytokine mrna concentration declined ( fig1 ). in lps - stimulated thp - 1 cultures , levels of cytokines also abruptly increased in the first 20 hours post stimulation , and except for the levels of tnf - alpha which peaked at 2 h and declined after 72 h , level of il - 1b remained stable over 160 hours ( murthy , et al ., 2000 , inf immunity , 68 : 6663 - 6669 ) which may be due to temporal stability of the cytokines . the preceding experiment demonstrates the compounds of the present invention are effective in inducing an immune response similar but not identical to lps . treatment of thp - 1 cells with the substance leads to biosynthesis of proinflammatory cytokines tnf - alpha and il - 1β this example shows that the compound ( s ) of formula 1 and formula 2 and derivatives effect the biosynthesis of proinflammatory cytokines tnf - alpha and il - 1 - beta . thp - 1 monocyte cell culture was grown at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 in rpmi - 1640 supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum and 1 % antibiotic - antimycotic ( all from invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .). a representative phosphorylated compound of the present invention ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 525 , 035 , which is herein incorporated by reference : “ substance ”) was obtained from sass & amp ; sass , inc . ( oak ridge , tenn .). elisa ready - set - go kit for tnf - α was from ebiosciences and human il - 1β elisa kit opta eia was from bd biosciences ( both companies from san diego , calif .). signal readout was carried out a molecular devices plate reader , and the results were processed by the manufacturer - supplied software software . cells were grown to a density of 1 . 5 - 2 · 10 6 cells / ml , harvested by a low - speed centrifugation , resuspended in the fresh growth medium to a density of 2 · 10 6 cells / ml and incubated at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 for 3 hours . two hundred μg / ml of the substance was added to cells in three wells ; cells in three control wells we supplemented with placebo , a 0 . 7 % n - butanol solution in water . duplicate aliquots were taken for analysis immediately after the addition of the substances and after 7 and 24 hours and analyzed for the presence of il - 2 - beta according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions except that we used 3 × 200 μl of the analyte per well . for the analysis of tnf - α , duplicate aliquots were taken immediately after the addition of the substances and after 3 . 5 and 8 hours and analyzed for the presence of cytokine according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions except that we used 3 × 200 μl of the analyte per well . the preceding experiment demonstrates the compounds of the present invention are effective in inducing the biosynthesis of proinflammatory cytokines tnf - alpha and il - 1β . this experiment demonstrates that the compounds of the present invention are effective in inducing ca 2 + ion transients , which are indicative of the activation of the innate immune system . the compound ( s ) of formula 1 and formula 2 and derivatives of the present invention are effective in inducing a tlr - mediated immune response as evidenced by induction of ca 2 + ion transients . the induction of ca 2 + ion transients is representative of nfκb induction by tlr stimulation . a representative phosphorylated compound of the present invention ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 525 , 035 , which is herein incorporated by reference : “ substance ”) was obtained from sass & amp ; sass , inc . ( oak ridge , tenn .). thp - 1 monocyte , retinoblastoma weri - rb1 or hyppocampal neurons were maintained as cell cultures . nicotine was obtained from sigma chemical co ( st . lois , mo . ), fluo - 3 dye was from molecular probes ( eugene , oreg .). for the fluorescence emission experiments , thp monocyte cell or weri - rb 1 retinoblastoma cells from human , immortalized cultures were anchored to the bottom of the poly - d - lysine precoated slide wells by overnight incubation in the growth medium ; rat hippocampal neurons were in primary culture and used as grown as a monolayer . the growth medium was replaced with 500 μl hanks supplemented with 50 μm fluo - 3 am ( molecular probes , eugene , oreg .) from a 6 mm stock in dimethylsulfoxide , dmso ; aldrich chemical , milwaukee , wis . ), and 0 . 02 % pluronic f - 127 ( molecular probes ) followed by the incubation at 37 ° c for 2 h . the cells were washed three times with the excess of hanks saline . the slide wells with the fluo3 - loaded cells were fixed onto the thermostated stage ( bionomics bc - 1 , technology 2020 ) and maintained at 37 ° c . through the experiment . the dye was excited at 490 nm . the response to light was induced by addition of 10 μl of 0 . 4 % solution of the substance in 0 . 5 % butanol . the fluo - 3 fluorescence emission was collected by an intensified charge cooled device ( ccd ) ( quantix , photometrics ). data were processed using metamorph software ( universal imaging , west chester , pa .). the induction of ca 2 + ion transients by the substance is shown in fig3 . the addition of 20 μl of the solution to the cells anchored to the well bottom led to an immediate increase in intracellular ca 2 + ion concentration . this response is characteristic of the processes linked to nfκb activation ( lewis , 2003 , biochem . soc . trans . 31 : 925 - 929 , lilienbaum and israel , 2003 , mol . cell . biol . 23 : 2680 - 2698 ). the nfκb is a part of tlr - triggered responses ( guha and mackman , 2001 , cell . signalling , 13 : 85 - 94 , janeway and medzhitov , 2002 , annu . rev . immunol , 20 : 197 - 216 ). thus , we have demonstrated the previously unknown ability of the compounds of the present invention to inducing a tlr - mediated immune response as evidenced by induction of ca 2 + ion transients . the induction of ca 2 + ion transients is representative of nfκb induction by tlr stimulation . cytokine induction indicative of activation of the innate immune system by compounds of formula 1 of the present invention is inhibited by anti - tlr - 2 and anti - tlr - 4 monoclonal antibodies cytokine induction is inhibited by anti - tlr - 2 and tlr - 4 monoclonal antibodies thereby demonstrating the activation of the innate immune response by the compounds of the present invention . thp - 1 monocyte cell culture was grown at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 in rpmi - 1640 supplemented with 10 % fetal bovine serum and 1 % antibiotic - antimycotic ( all from invitrogen , carlsbad , calif .). a representative phosphorylated compound of the present invention ( as described in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 525 , 035 , which is herein incorporated by reference : “ substance ”) was obtained from sass & amp ; sass , inc . ( oak ridge , tenn .). elisa ready - set - go kit for tnf - α and human anti - tlr - 4 and anti - tlr - 2 monoclonal antibodies were from ebiosciences ( san diego , calif .). signal readout was carried out using a molecular devices plate reader , and the results were processed by the manufacturer - supplied software . cells were grown to a density of 1 . 5 - 2 · 10 6 cells / ml , harvested by a low - speed centrifugation , resuspended in the fresh growth medium to a density of 2 · 10 6 cells / ml and incubated at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 for 3 hours . anti - tlr - 4 ( clone hta 125 ), anti - tlr - 2 ( fg purified anti - human tlr2 [ tl2 . 1 ]) monoclonal antibodies , or their combination , were added to three wells per each substance , and three wells were supplemented with an equal volume of saline ( negative control ), and the cells were incubated at growth conditions for 60 min . after that , of the substance was added to cells in three wells to four hundred μg / ml without antibodies ( positive control ) and to 9 wells with antibodies ; cells in three other wells we supplemented with placebo , a 0 . 7 % n - butanol solution in water . aliquots were sampled for analysis immediately after the addition of the substances and after 3 . 5 hours and analyzed for the presence of tnf - α according to manufacturer &# 39 ; s instructions except that we used 3 × 200 μl of the analyte per well . results presented in fig4 show that after 3 . 6 hours , incubation of thp - 1 cells with the substance led to the 7 - fold increase of tnf - α in the experimental wells over the control . in the wells supplemented with anti - tlr - 2 , anti - tlr - 4 , or both , monoclonal antibodies in addition to the substance , the increase in tnf - α was not statistically significant . the result indicates that anti - tlr - 2 , anti - tlr - 4 , or both monoclonal antibodies inhibit tnf - α induction in thp1 cells . therefore , tlr - 2 and tlr - 4 receptors are involved in tnf - α induction by the substance . this example has demonstrated the hitherto unknown ability of the compounds of the present invention to activate the innate immune system through tlr by inhibition by blocking the effect with antibodies to tlr - 2 and tlr - 4 . | 0 |
the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings , which are provided as illustrative examples of the invention so as to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention . notably , the figures and examples below are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment , but other embodiments are possible by way of interchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements . moreover , where certain elements of the present invention can be partially or fully implemented using known components , only those portions of such known components that are necessary for an understanding of the present invention will be described , and detailed descriptions of other portions of such known components will be omitted so as not to obscure the invention . embodiments described as being implemented in software should not be limited thereto , but can include embodiments implemented in hardware , or combinations of software and hardware , and vice - versa , as will be apparent to those skilled in the art , unless otherwise specified herein . in the present specification , an embodiment showing a singular component should not be considered limiting ; rather , the invention is intended to encompass other embodiments including a plurality of the same component , and vice - versa , unless explicitly stated otherwise herein . moreover , applicants do not intend for any term in the specification or claims to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitly set forth as such . further , the present invention encompasses present and future known equivalents to the known components referred to herein by way of illustration . according to general aspects , embodiments of the invention include a secure computer platform creating a robust area of trust , secure processing , secure i / o and security management . in embodiments , the secure computer architecture includes a secure subsystem that operates independently alongside a host processor , eliminating the need to modify the host cpu hardware or software ( e . g . operating system and / or applications ). the secure subsystem is responsible for all security , management , data integrity , activity monitoring , archival and collaboration aspects of the secure computer . according to certain additional aspects , the security functions performed by embodiments of the invention can be logically transparent to both the upstream host and to the downstream device ( s ). fig1 b illustrates an example secure computer 120 according to embodiments of the invention . as can be seen in comparison to the prior art computer 150 in fig1 a , and in accordance with certain aspects of the invention , secure computer 120 includes secure subsystem 104 . in general , secure subsystem 104 operates alongside of and is agnostic of the host 102 ( i . e . its hardware , software and operating system ). for example , it does not share memory space with the host 102 nor is it accessible from the host cpu &# 39 ; s operating system and applications . similarly , the host 102 has little or no knowledge of the existence of the secure subsystem 104 . all data visible to the host 102 is secure , and all data stored on disk 106 - 1 or on other devices connected through ports 106 - 3 ( e . g . usb mass storage device ) or sent over the network 106 - 4 is secure . according to further aspects , the performance of subsystems associated with devices 106 is not reduced by the actions of secure subsystem 104 . certain other aspects of secure computer 120 contrast with those of prior art computer 150 . in a desktop pc implementation , for example , conventional computer 150 typically includes open interfaces ( not shown ), such as a pci or pcie expansion bus , by which host 102 connects to and communicates with devices 106 . the present inventors recognize , however , that this presents a potential security breach , such as where a probe could be inserted to extract / insert data / viruses , etc . in embodiments , therefore , the host 102 of secure computer 120 communicates with devices 106 only through secure subsystem 104 via secure connection 170 and is not connected to any expansion bus such as pci or pcie . secure connection 170 can be implemented in various ways , depending perhaps on the implementation of host system 102 and secure subsystem 104 . in one example where host system 102 includes a cpu on a separate chip as secure subsystem 104 but on a common motherboard , secure connection 170 can be implemented by embedded motherboard traces . in another example , host system 102 and secure subsystem 104 are implemented in a common chip such as a soc . in this example , secure connection 170 includes internal chip traces . similarly , and in further contrast to conventional computer 150 according to aspects of the invention , connections 172 between secure subsystem 104 and devices 106 are also secured . however , it may not always be physically possible to make connections 172 completely inaccessible to the outside world . accordingly , in embodiments these connections 172 are made secure by encrypting data between subsystem 104 and devices 106 . it should be noted that certain connections 172 in embodiments of the invention can include a conventional bus such as a dedicated pcie bus . however , host 102 has no direct access whatsoever to devices 106 connected to these connections 172 , and vice - versa , except via subsystem 104 . in accordance with aspects of the invention , embodiments of secure subsystem 104 transparently perform one or more of the following security functions in connection with drive 106 - 1 : data security ( e . g . encryption of data stored on drive 106 - 1 , key management , anti - virus scanning ); and data integrity ( e . g . server - based backup using a snapshot mechanism ); in connection with ports / devices 106 - 3 , embodiments of secure subsystem 104 transparently perform one or more of the following security functions : data security ( e . g . encryption of data sent from host 102 , key management ); gatekeeping ( e . g . preventing a prohibited device from connecting to host 102 ); data snooping ; and keyboard and mouse emulation ( e . g . emulating keyboard and mouse commands by subsystem 104 separately from commands from actual keyboards and mice devices 106 - 3 ). in connection with network interface 106 - 4 , embodiments of secure subsystem 104 transparently perform one or more of the following security functions : vpn ( e . g secure tunnel over ethernet connection intended to protect all network traffic ); and three - way switch ( e . g . to direct incoming network traffic to one of the two hosts 102 or 104 ). in connection with audio / video devices 106 - 2 , embodiments of secure subsystem 104 transparently perform one or more of the following security functions : video overlay of the video streams from the host system 102 and secure subsystem 104 ; video watermarking ; display privacy ; screen analytics , such as ocr ; remote screen viewing ; mixing audio inputs from the host system 102 and secure subsystem 104 ; audio watermarking ; and forwarding of audio to a remote management system . secure computer 120 may be implemented as a desktop pc , notebook , thin client , tablet computer , smart phone , server , or any other type of computing device ( e . g . telepresence unit , atm machine , industrial controls , etc .). it should be noted that , in embodiments such as that shown in fig1 , the secure subsystem 104 controls access to all interfaces and peripheral devices 106 of computer 120 . however , this is not necessary , and other embodiments allow for certain of these devices 106 to be accessed directly by host 102 in the conventional manner . it should be further noted that the particular number and / or combination of devices and interfaces 106 can also depend on the particular implementation of secure computer 120 . in one possible implementation , secure subsystem 104 is a standalone subsystem , and is not configurable . however , according to certain management aspects of the invention , in embodiments , secure subsystem 104 is configurable and one or more secure computers are managed either centrally or remotely by a remote management system . fig2 shows an example of system for implementing and managing secure computers according to embodiments of the invention . in this example , there are three types of secure computers : a pc 220 - 3 , a notebook computer 220 - 2 , and a point - of - sale device 220 - 1 , each connected to a remote management system 206 by a respective communication channel 208 . although not shown separately , a secure subsystem 104 is embedded into each of the appliances 220 and operates transparently to the normal functioning of the device . in this example , secure pc 220 - 3 is similar to a conventional standalone desktop computer . in such an example , host 102 is implemented by a cpu ( e . g . x86 ), a conventional operating system such as windows and associated device driver software . likewise , in this example , secure notebook computer 220 - 2 is similar to a conventional standalone notebook computer . in such an example , host 102 is implemented by a cpu ( e . g . x86 ), a conventional operating system such as windows and associated device driver software . unlike pc 220 - 3 , however , peripherals such as displays , keyboards and mice are integrated within the computer 220 - 2 and are not controlled via external interfaces such as hdmi and usb . in secure point - of - sale device 220 - 1 , host 102 can be implemented by an embedded and / or industrial pc . in these and other examples of secure computers 220 , subsystem 104 is preferably an embedded system . as such , it runs a designated software system furnished together with an embedded processor , and cannot be modified by the end - user of the computer under any circumstances . various aspects of the types of security functionality performed by secure subsystem 104 that can be adapted for use in the present invention are described in more detail below . those skilled in the art will be able to understand how to implement the security functionality of the invention using software and embedded processors after being taught by the present examples . fig2 further shows a remote management system 206 coupled to secure computers 220 by respective communication channels 208 . channels 208 can be implemented in various ways , possibly depending on the number and type of devices to be managed by system 206 . channels 208 can be separate direct point - to - point links between system 206 and computers 220 . in other embodiments , channels 208 can be implemented by a transmission medium that is shared between many computers 220 . in these and other embodiments , the medium can be any combination of wired or wireless media , such as ethernet or wireless lan . in these and other embodiments , channels 208 can be implemented by various types and / or combinations of public and private networks using proprietary protocols running on top of conventional protocols such as udp or tcp . in some embodiments , data sent over three communication channels described above is encrypted to improve security , for example using a secure vpn connection . according to general aspects , in embodiments of the invention , remote management system 206 is responsible for managing policies that control the secure subsystem &# 39 ; s security functionality , including whether or not to perform data encryption , whether and how to perform data snooping , device gatekeeping lists , etc . based on these lists , and devices attached to interfaces of computers 220 , remote management system 206 sends appropriate configuration information to computers 220 via channels 208 . system 206 also receives and perhaps further processes data sent to system 206 from devices 220 such as video data from a computer &# 39 ; s monitor , history of attached devices , keyboard and mouse input data , and disk backup data . various aspects of a remote management system and / or security policies that can be adapted for use in the present invention are described in more detail in co - pending application no . ______ ( uni - 008 ), the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety . fig3 is a block diagram of an example secure computer 320 according to embodiments of the invention . as shown , secure computer 320 includes a host system 302 and a secure subsystem 304 . host system 302 includes its own cpu ( e . g . x86 , arm - based apps processor , server cpu , mips , qoriq or powerpc ), memory & amp ; i / o sub - system . in embodiments , host system 302 has no direct access to the secure subsystem 304 . according to transparency aspects of the invention , the interface between host system 302 and secure processor 304 is implemented using host system 302 &# 39 ; s standard interfaces with devices 106 , such as standard i / o , networking and storage interface . in some embodiments , there may be a control interface between the secure subsystem 304 and host system 302 with a predefined communications protocol over a dedicated hardware interface ( e . g . uart ) or a hardware - based handshake only ( e . g . gpio ). secure subsystem 304 controls the overall operation of secure computer 320 , including access by host system 302 to all peripherals . importantly , according to aspects of the invention , host system 302 is unable to directly exchange data with some or all of the computer system peripherals such as usb and other i / o devices , network interfaces , storage devices and audio / video devices except via secure subsystem 304 . in embodiments , secure subsystem 304 further controls all power management functions such as power on sequence , power down sequence , and entering and exiting low - power modes . further , the secure processor 362 in secure subsystem 304 is booted first , and it goes to sleep or powers - down last . all aspects of bios authentication and update are managed by the secure subsystem 304 . certain aspects of a computer having a host system 302 and whose overall operation is managed by secure subsystem 304 are described in co - pending application ser . no . 13 / 396 , 582 , and can be adapted for use in the present invention . in an example embodiment where computer 320 is similar to a conventional desktop pc , computer 320 includes a motherboard , host cpu , system bus , and memory . differently from a conventional desktop pc , however , computer 320 does not include an expansion bus such as pci or pcie accessible to the host cpu . in one such embodiment , subsystem 304 is implemented by an asic or fpga that is separate from the host cpu and data is sent between host system 302 and secure subsystem 304 over secure , embedded traces on the motherboard . in other embodiments , including where computer 320 is a tablet or mobile device ( e . g . smartphone ), or in other implementations where power , area and / or cost constraints are factors , both host system 302 and secure subsystem 304 are implemented in the same soc . another possible embodiment includes providing secure subsystem 304 on a pcie card in a conventional computer &# 39 ; s pcie expansion bus . differently from the conventional computer pcie expansion bus , however , this embodiment includes a “ secure ” pcie connector that would prevent someone from inserting a “ probe ” between the connector and the card in order to trace the non - encrypted data between the host system 302 and secure subsystem 304 . this secure connector is preferably secure and destructive . the pcie card could be inserted into a standard motherboard at manufacture time and it wouldn &# 39 ; t be able to be removed thereafter . if someone tried to thereafter extract the pcie card , the connector would “ break ” and the card wouldn &# 39 ; t be able to be inserted again ( and function properly ). this may be achieved mechanically or even through the use of smart sensors that would detect an “ abnormal ” insertion of the pcie card ( i . e . the existence of a snooping device , like a simple pcie extender card ). secure processor 362 in subsystem 304 is typically implemented as an embedded processor , such as arm or other embedded processor core . the processor is connected to memory and other system components , including subsystems 352 - 360 via a shared bus , such as axi . in embodiments , components that require high - speed data transfer are connected via dedicated point - to - point dma channels . although not shown in detail in fig3 , embodiments of secure processor 362 include : a cpu ( e . g . a single or many core cpu complex ); local ddr memory and caches ; non - volatile storage ( e . g . flash memory ); peripherals ( e . g . i2c , spi , uart , gpio , and others ); and media engines ( e . g . 2d / 3d graphics , audio / video compression ). in general , secure processor 362 performs two primary tasks : to configure and manage all the sub - systems , and to run secure software stacks , applications , etc as shown in the example of fig3 , computer 320 also includes peripherals ( keyboard , mouse , camera , mic , speakers , etc . ), peripheral interfaces ( usb , etc . ), video ( i . e . display ), networking ( e . g . ethernet ), sata devices ( e . g . storage hdd / ssd ). as further shown , and as described in more detail below , each of these peripherals has a corresponding subsystem 352 - 360 in secure subsystem 304 that essentially implements a secure i / o environment . they provide a secure bridge between host system 302 and the actual devices and implement security tasks such as data encryption / decryption , gate - keeping and snooping . according to aspects of the invention , each subsystem 352 - 360 performs these functions transparently to the host system 302 , in real - time , with minimal delay and in hardware ( fast path ). in addition to managing the security tasks performed by subsystems 352 - 360 , secure processor 362 performs such tasks as exception handling , analyzing data captured by subsystems 352 - 360 , accumulating traffic statistics , etc . secure processor 362 also includes a network interface for communicating with remote management system 206 via communication channel 308 . such communications can include receiving policies for the security functions performed by subsystems 352 - 360 from management system 206 , sending data captured by subsystems 352 - 360 to management system 206 , and sending alerts of certain violations or threats detected by subsystems 352 - 360 to management system 206 . in embodiments , the secure processor 362 receives logged / snooped information from the various subsystems and runs an application to store and analyze it for potential threat behavior . this can include correlating data from the various sub - systems of the secure computer as well as cross - correlating data between different secure computers . if a threat is detected , then an alarm is sent to remote system 206 , which will in return modify a policy and apply it to the suspicious secure computer . this may limit or shut down a certain interface , or lockout a certain user or shut down the entire computer , etc . in embodiments , usb subsystem 352 is responsible for one or more tasks associated with attached usb devices such as data security ( e . g . encryption , key management ), gatekeeping , data snooping , and keyboard and mouse emulation . example aspects of these and other security tasks that can be adapted for use in the present invention are described in more detail in co - pending applications ______ ( uni - 007 ), ______ ( uni - 009 ) and ______ ( uni - 010 ), for example . in embodiments , networking subsystem 354 is one or more tasks associated with ethernet , wifi , and 3g devices such as secure protocols for secure , high - bandwidth connections ( e . g . ipsec , ssl / tls ) and network processing , including classification and flow control engines . in embodiments , storage subsystem 356 is responsible for one or more tasks associated with internal or external storage devices ( e . g . sata devices ) such as data security ( encryption , key management , anti - virus scanning ), data integrity ( e . g . server - based backup using snapshot mechanism ) and data compression . example aspects of these and other security tasks that can be adapted for use in the present invention are described in more detail in co - pending applications ______ ( uni - 012 ) and ______ ( uni - 013 ). in embodiments , audio subsystem 358 and video / graphics subsystem 360 are responsible for one or more tasks associated with audio / video devices such as displays , speakers , microphones and cameras such as multi - layer video resize , alpha - blending , audio mixing , audio and video watermarking ( visible and invisible ), 2d / 3d graphics acceleration , compression , secure remote desktop , video conferencing , video surveillance , and desktop and video analytics applications . example aspects of these and other security tasks that can be adapted for use in the present invention are described in more detail in co - pending application no . ______ ( uni - 015 ). in embodiments , every aspect of how secure subsystem 304 manages the operation of computer 320 is controlled by the remote management system 206 either dynamically or according to predefined policies stored and / or sent to the secure subsystem 304 . in embodiments , i / o interfaces are remotely controlled , monitored and backed up by the remote management system 201 , and may be limited or shut down completely if needed . in embodiments where data written / read to / from storage and i / o devices as well as network traffic is encrypted / decrypted , the encryption and authentication keys are managed by the remote management system 206 and may be cached locally on the secure subsystem 304 . although the present invention has been particularly described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , it should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that changes and modifications in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is intended that the appended claims encompass such changes and modifications . | 7 |
a detailed description may be provided with reference to the accompanying drawings . one of ordinary skill in the art may realize that the following description is illustrative only and is not in any way limiting . other embodiments of the present invention may readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure . fig1 is a block diagram showing an illustrative embodiment of an ultrasound system . the ultrasound system 100 may include an ultrasound image forming unit 110 , a sensor 120 , a memory 130 , a processor 140 and a display unit 150 . the ultrasound image forming unit 110 may be configured to transmit ultrasound signals to a target object ( not shown ) and receive ultrasound echo signals reflected from the target object . the ultrasound image forming unit 110 may be further configured to form a three - dimensional ultrasound image of the target object based on the received ultrasound echo signals . fig2 is a block diagram showing an illustrative embodiment of an ultrasound image forming unit 110 . the ultrasound image forming unit 110 may include a transmit ( tx ) signal generating section 111 , an ultrasound probe 112 including a plurality of transducer elements ( not shown ), a beam former 113 , an ultrasound data forming section 114 and an image forming section 115 . the tx signal generating section 111 may generate tx signals according to an image mode set in the ultrasound system 100 . the image mode may include a brightness ( b ) mode , a doppler ( d ) mode , a color flow mode , etc . in one exemplary embodiment , the b mode may be set in the ultrasound system 100 to obtain a b mode ultrasound image . the ultrasound probe 112 may receive the tx signals from the tx signal generating section 111 and generate ultrasound signals , which may travel into the target object . the ultrasound probe 112 may further receive ultrasound echo signals reflected from the target object and convert them into electrical receive signals . in such a case , the electrical receive signals may be analog signals . the ultrasound probe 112 may be a three - dimensional probe , a two - dimensional probe , a one - dimensional probe or the like . fig3 is an illustrative embodiment of an ultrasound probe 112 . at least one transducer element ( not shown ) of the ultrasound probe 112 generates an image plane ip , which is used to scan a region of interest roi . the image plane ip may be one of slice planes of the three - dimensional ultrasound image . the sensor 120 is attached to the housing of the ultrasound probe 112 to determine the position and orientation of the image plane ip . the ultrasound system 100 coupled with the ultrasound probe 112 via the probe cable 105 can use the data generated by the sensor 120 to determine the position and orientation of the sensor 120 and / or the image plane ip , as described below . in this preferred embodiment , the sensor 120 is a magnetic sensor that monitors the free - hand movement of the ultrasound probe 112 in six degrees of freedom with respect to a transducer element 170 . as shown in fig3 , the sensor 120 and the transducer element 170 each define an origin ( 122 , 172 , respectively ) defined by three orthogonal axes ( x ′, y ′, z ′ and x ″, y ″, z ″, respectively ). the sensor 120 monitors the translation of the origin 122 with respect to the origin 172 of the transducer element 170 to determine position and monitor the rotation of the x ′, y ′, z ′ axes with respect to the x ″, y ″, z ″ axes of the transducer element 170 to determine orientation . the position and orientation of the sensor 120 can be used to determine the position and orientation of the image plane ip . as shown in fig3 , the image plane ip defines an origin or defined by three orthogonal axes x , y , z , which are preferably aligned with the origin of a center acoustic line generated by the ultrasound probe 112 . the position of the origin 122 and the orientation of axes x ′, y ′, z ′ of the sensor 120 may not precisely coincide with the position of the origin or and the orientation of the axes x , y , z of the image plane ip . for example , in fig3 , the origin or of the image plane ip is offset from the origin 122 of the sensor 120 by a distance z 0 along the z - direction and a distance of y 0 along the y - direction . in fig3 , there is no offset along the x - direction nor is there a rotational offset in the orientation of the axes . accordingly , the position and orientation of the sensor 120 do not directly describe the position and orientation of the image plane ip . to determine the position an orientation of the image plane ip from the position and orientation of the sensor 120 , sensor calibration data is used to transform the position and orientation of the sensor 120 to the position and orientation of the image plane ip . for simplicity , the term “ position and orientation ” is used to broadly refer to position and / or orientation . accordingly , if the sensor 120 has the same orientation as the image plane ip , then the position and orientation calibration data may not contain any orientation calibration data . similarly , as shown in fig3 , the sensor 120 may not have a positional offset with respect to one or more axes of the image plane ip . there are a number of ways of defining the image plane / sensor offset . one method of calibrating at least some types of sensors use three orthogonal linear dimension offsets in x , y , z and three rotation angles about each of these axes . other methods include using a position transformation matrix or quaternions , which are described in the user manual for the mini bird ™ and the flock of bird ™ systems by ascension technology corp . as described above , the ultrasound probes with position and orientation sensors are typically used only with ultrasound systems that contain the calibration data for the probe / sensor pair . conventionally , the probe / sensor pair is calibrated , and the calibration data is stored in the ultrasound system 100 , which will be used in conjunction with the probe / sensor pair . if the probe / sensor pair is to be used with a different ultrasound system , then the probe / sensor pair typically needs to be re - calibrated on that different ultrasound system . since sonographers are often unable or unwilling to perform probe / sensor pair calibration , probe / sensor pairs are often used only with the ultrasound system for which the probe / sensor pair was initially calibrated . referring back to fig2 , the beam former 113 may convert the electrical receive signals outputted from the ultrasound probe 112 into digital signals . the beam former 113 may further apply delays to the digital signals in consideration of the distances between the transducer elements and focal points to thereby output receive - focused signals . the ultrasound data forming section 114 may form a plurality of ultrasound data by using the receive - focused signals . in one embodiment , the plurality of ultrasound data may be radio frequency ( rf ) data or iq data . the image forming section 115 may form the three - dimensional ultrasound image of the target object based on the ultrasound data . referring back to fig1 , the sensor 120 may be mounted on one side of the ultrasound probe 112 . in one embodiment , by way of non - limiting examples , the sensor 120 may be built in the ultrasound probe 112 to be away from the plurality of transducer elements ( not shown ) by a predetermined distance . alternatively , the sensor 120 may be externally mounted on the ultrasound probe 112 to be away from the plurality of transducer elements . the sensor 120 may include three - dimensional sensor , which can detect a three - dimensional position and an angle of the ultrasound probe 112 . the memory 130 may store a three - dimensional ct image of the target object . in one embodiment , by way of non - limiting examples , the three - dimensional ct image may be a three - dimensional ct image of a liver in which a diaphragm and a blood vessel are extracted . the memory 130 may store information on a position between the three - dimensional ultrasound image and the sensor 120 ( hereinafter , referred to as “ position information ”). the position information may include information on a distance between the transducer elements ( not shown ) and the sensor 120 . in one embodiment , by way of non - limiting examples , the memory 120 may include at least one of a random access memory ( ram ), a hard disk drive or the like . the processor 140 may be configured to perform registration between the three - dimensional ct image and the three - dimensional ultrasound image , thereby forming a transformation function ( t probe ) for representing the ultrasound probe 112 on the three - dimensional ct image . furthermore , the processor 140 may perform calibration of the sensor 120 to match coordinates of the three - dimensional ct image ( not shown ) and coordinates of the sensor 120 based on the position information and the transformation function . fig4 is a block diagram showing an illustrative embodiment of the processor 140 . the processor 140 may include a diaphragm extracting section 141 , a vessel extracting section 142 , a diaphragm refining section 143 , a registration section 144 , a calibration section 145 and an image processing section 146 . the diaphragm extracting section 141 may be configured to extract a diaphragm from the three - dimensional ultrasound image formed in the ultrasound image forming unit 110 . in one embodiment , the diaphragm extracting section 141 may perform a hessian matrix based flatness test upon the three - dimensional ultrasound image to extract the diaphragm . the diaphragm may be considered as a curved surface in the three - dimensional ultrasound image . thus , regions in which a voxel intensity change in a normal direction at a surface is greater than a voxel intensity change in a horizontal direction at the surface may be extracted as the diaphragm . fig5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of eigenvalues λ1 , λ2 and λ3 in the hessian matrix . hereinafter , an operation of the diaphragm extracting section 141 will be described in detail . the diaphragm extracting section 141 may be configured to select voxels having a relatively high flatness value . the flatness μ ( v ) may be defined as the following equation ( 1 ). μ ( v )= φ 1 ( v ) φ 2 ( v ) φ 3 ( v )/ φ 3 max ( v ) ( 1 ) wherein φ 1 ( v ), φ 2 ( v ) and φ 3 ( v ) in the equation ( 1 ) may be represented as the following equation ( 2 ). wherein λ 1 , λ 2 and λ 3 denote eigenvalues of the hessian matrix at voxel v . the flatness μ ( v ) may be normalized to have values of ranging 0 - 1 . a flatness map may be formed based on the flatness values obtained from all of the voxels according to the equations ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). thereafter , the voxels having a relatively high flatness value are selected . in one embodiment , the voxels having the flatness over 0 . 1 may be selected . the diaphragm extracting section 141 may be further configured to perform the morphological opening upon the selected voxels to remove small clutters therefrom . the morphological opening may be carried out by sequentially performing erosion and dilation . that is , a predetermined number of the voxels are removed in the edges of the area in which the voxels exist , and thus , the area becomes contracted ( erosion ). in this manner , it becomes possible to remove small clutters . thereafter , the edges of the area are expanded by the predetermined number of the voxels ( dilation ). these erosion and dilation may be performed by one or more voxels . the diaphragm is the largest surface in the three - dimensional ultrasound image . the largest surface may be selected among candidate surfaces obtained by the intensity - based connected component analysis ( cca ) for the voxles and the selected surface may be regarded as the diaphragm in the three - dimensional ultrasound image . the voxel - based cca is one of the methods of grouping regions in which voxel values exist . for example , the number of voxels connected to each of the voxels through a connectivity test by referring to values of voxels neighboring the corresponding voxel ( e . g ., 26 voxels ) may be computed . the voxels , of which connected voxels are greater than the predetermined number , are selected as candidate groups . since the diaphragm is the widest curved surface in the roi , the candidate group having the most connected voxels may be selected as the diaphragm . the surface of the diaphragm may be smoothened . the vessel extracting section 142 may be configured to perform vessel extraction upon the three - dimensional ultrasound image . the vessel extracting section 142 may be configured to perform the vessel extraction through roi masking , vessel segmentation and classification . to avoid mis - extraction of the vessels due to mirroring artifacts , the roi masking may be applied to the three - dimensional ultrasound image by modeling the diaphragm as a polynomial curved surface . for example , the roi masking may be used to model the diaphragm as the polynomial curved surface by using the least means square . however , if all of the lower portions of the modeled polynomial curved surface are eliminated , then meaningful vessel information may be lost at a portion of regions due to an error of the polynomial curved surface . to avoid losing the vessel information , the lower portion of the modeled polynomial curved surface may be eliminated with a marginal distance . for example , the marginal distance may be set to about 10 voxels at a lower portion of the roi mask . subsequently , the vessel extracting section 142 may be further configured to segment a vessel region and a non - vessel region . to exclude non - vessel high intensity regions such as the diaphragm and vessel walls , a low intensity bound value having a less reference bound value in the roi masked three - dimensional ultrasound image may be set as a reference bound value . thereafter , voxels with a higher intensity value than the reference bound value may be removed . the remaining regions may be binarized by using an adaptive threshold value . then , the binarized segments may be labeled as vessel candidates . next , the vessel extracting section 142 may be further configured to remove non - vessel - type clutters from the binarization image to form real vessel regions from the vessel candidates . in one embodiment , the vessel classification may include a size test , which evaluates the goodness of fit to a cylindrical tube , for filtering out tiny background clutters , a structure - based vessel test for removing non - vessel type clutters , i . e ., an initial vessel test , a gradient magnitude analysis , and a final vessel test for precisely removing the clutters . although some clutters are not removed through the structure - based vessel test , an initial threshold may be marginally set so that all vessels may be included . for example , a threshold value of the initial vessel test may be set to 0 . 6 . at the final vessel test , clutters , which may be formed by small shading artifacts having low gradient magnitudes , may be precisely removed by considering variation of voxel values , i . e ., gradient magnitudes , to thereby extract vessel data . in one embodiment , a threshold of the final vessel test may be set to 0 . 4 . the diaphragm refining section 143 may be configured to refine the diaphragm region by removing the clutters with the extracted vessel regions . the clutters are mainly placed near the vessel walls . especially , the vessel walls of inferior vena cava ( ivc ) are more likely to be connected to the diaphragm and cause clutters . these clutters may degrade the accuracy of the feature based registration , and thus , it may be necessary to refine the diaphragm region . to refine the diaphragm , the vessel regions are extracted according to the vessel extraction mentioned above , the extracted vessel regions may be dilated , and then the dilated vessel regions may be subtracted from the initially extracted diaphragm region to estimate vessel walls . the estimated vessel walls may be removed from the diaphragm region . finally , the diaphragm region may be extracted by applying cca and the size test . the registration section 144 may be configured to perform the image registration between the three - dimensional ultrasound and ct image . the registration section 144 may extract sample points from the vessel regions and the diaphragm region , respectively , among the features extracted from the three - dimensional ultrasound image . also , after the vessel regions and the diaphragm region are extracted from the ct image , the registration section 144 may extract sample points from the vessel and the diaphragm region , respectively . the image registration between the three - dimensional ultrasound and ct image may be performed based on the extracted sample points to thereby form the transformation function ( t probe ) between the three - dimensional ct image and the three - dimensional dimensional ultrasound image . the transformation function ( t probe ) may be given by a matrix and used to transform a position of the ultrasound probe 112 to a corresponding position on the three - dimensional ct image . the calibration section 145 may perform the calibration of the sensor 120 based on the transformation matrix ( t probe ) from the registration section 144 and the position information stored in the memory 130 . more particularly , the calibration section 145 may form a transformation matrix ( t sensor ) between the sensor 120 and the three - dimensional ultrasound image , i . e ., a transformation matrix representing a position of the sensor 120 with respect to the three - dimensional ultrasound image . the transformation matrix ( t sensor ) may be given by a matrix . the transformation matrix ( t sensor ) may be defined as the following equation ( 3 ). t sensor = r 11 r 12 r 13 x r 21 r 22 r 23 y r 31 r 32 r 33 z 0 0 0 1 ( 3 ) r 11 = cosθ y * cosθ z + sinθ x * sinθ y * sinθ z wherein , x denotes coordinate of a lateral direction of the sensor 120 , y denotes coordinate of an elevation direction of the sensor 120 , z denotes an axial direction of the sensor 120 , θ x denotes an angle of the sensor 120 from the x - axis , θ y denotes an angle of the sensor 120 from the y - axis , and θ z denotes an angle of the sensor 120 from the z - axis . the elevation direction may be a swing direction of the transducer elements , the axial direction may be a scan line direction from the transducer elements and the lateral direction may be a longitudinal direction of the transducer elements . the calibration section 145 may perform the calibration based on the transformation matrix ( t probe ) and the transformation matrix ( t sensor ). the calibration section 145 may form a transformation matrix ( t ) representing the position of the sensor 120 on the three - dimensional ct image . in one embodiment , the calibration section 145 may form the transformation matrix ( t ) through matrix multiplication of the transformation matrix ( t probe ) and the transformation matrix ( t sensor ). the image processing section 146 may apply the transformation matrix ( t ) to the three - dimensional ct image to thereby form a two - dimensional ct image according to a two - dimensional ultrasound image . referring back to fig1 , the display unit 150 may display the two - dimensional ct image , which is provided from the processor 140 . furthermore , the display unit 150 may display the three - dimensional ultrasound image and the three - dimensional ct image . although the exemplary embodiments above described in detail a ct image as an image to be aligned with the ultrasound image , this is not limiting . for example , the image to be aligned with the ultrasound image may be obtained by various modalities and may be , for example , an optical coherence tomography ( oct ) image , a magnetic resonance ( mr ) image , a single - photon emission computed tomography ( spect ) image , a pet image , a pet - ct image , a pet - mr image , a fluoroscopic image , an x - ray image including an image obtained by a stationary x - ray , a mobile x - ray , a c - arm x - ray , etc ., and an image of any other appropriate imaging modality . the above - discussed images may be aligned and / or fused in various ways . further , any two images or an ultrasound image and the fused image may be displayed side by side , partially overlapping , etc . any reference in this specification to “ one embodiment ,” “ an embodiment ,” “ example embodiment ,” “ illustrative embodiment ,” etc . means that a particular feature , structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention . the appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment . further , when a particular feature , structure or characteristic is described in connection with any embodiment , it is submitted that it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to affect such feature , structure or characteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments . although embodiments have been described with reference to a number of illustrative embodiments thereof , it should be understood that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles of this disclosure . more particularly , numerous variations and modifications are possible in the component parts and / or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure , the drawings and the appended claims . in addition to variations and modifications in the component parts and / or arrangements , alternative uses will also be apparent to those skilled in the art . | 6 |
fig2 - 5 and the following description depict specific examples to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use the best mode of the invention . for the purpose of teaching inventive principles , some conventional aspects have been simplified or omitted . those skilled in the art will appreciate variations from these examples that fall within the scope of the invention . those skilled in the art will appreciate that the features described below can be combined in various ways to form multiple variations of the invention . as a result , the invention is not limited to the specific examples described below , but only by the claims and their equivalents . fig2 is a block diagram of a system 200 in an example embodiment of the current invention . system 200 has a flow meter 204 , a flow meter control module 202 , a flow meter guru module 208 , permanent storage 210 , and a display 212 . in one embodiment the flow meter is a coriolis flow meter . flow meter control module 202 is connected to flow meter 204 across link 206 . flow meter control module 202 is configured to communicate with flow meter guru module 208 , permanent storage 210 and display 212 . flow meter control module 202 may be implemented as a hardware / software combination , or may be implemented as software running on a computer , for example a pc . flow meter guru module 208 is configured to communicate with display 212 , flow meter control module 202 , and permanent storage 210 . flow meter guru module 208 may be implemented as a hardware / software combination or may be implemented as software running on a computer . flow meter guru module 208 and flow meter control module 202 may be running on the same computer or may be operating on two separate computers configured to communicate with each other . when flow meter guru module 208 and flow meter control module 202 are operating on the same computer , they may be two separate programs or they may be two modules of the same program . in operation , flow meter control module 202 monitors and controls flow meter 204 . flow meter control module 202 has access to and can set the various operating parameters for flow meter 204 , for example the vibration mode , the damping factor , the user output signal type , calibration factors , and the like . typically , setting the operating parameters in the flow meter control module for proper operation of flow meter 204 requires some familiarity in the operation of flow meters . requiring a non - skilled user to operate the flow meter using the flow meter control module 202 to perform calibration verification , may cause confusion to the user and a failure to properly verify the calibration of the meter . flow meter guru module 208 communicates with , and can initiate actions from , flow meter control module 202 . flow meter guru module 208 is configured to guide a user through a sequence of steps that allows a user to complete a task using the flow meter . in one example embodiment of the current invention , there is a flow meter guru module for each task . the user would select the corresponding flow meter guru module for the task the user wishes to complete . once selected , the flow meter guru module would guide the user through the steps required to perform the task . in another embodiment , there may be only one flow meter guru module that allows a user to select a task from a plurality of available tasks . one of the tasks that may be available using a flow meter guru module is the verification of the meter calibration factors using a material with a well known density . fig3 is a flow chart showing the steps for verification of meter calibration factors using a fluid with a known density , in one example embodiment of the current invention . at step 302 the user is prompted to select a material having a known density . once the user has selected a material , the user is prompted to select a required accuracy at step 304 . a density deviation ( dd ) amount is calculated at step 306 . at step 308 the user is directed to begin flowing the material having the known density , through the flow meter . at step 310 the flow meter will measure the density of the material flowing through the meter . once the density has been measured , a delta difference δd between the measured density and the known density is computed ( 312 ). the δd is compared to the density deviation ( dd ). when the δd is greater than or equal to the dd then the user is alerted that an error condition exist ( 314 ). when the δd is less than the dd , the test data is stored and the user is informed of the successful verification of the meter calibration factors ( 316 ). in an alternate embodiment at step 308 the user may be directed to just fill the flow meter with the material for the measurement instead of flowing the material through the flow meter during the measurement . in one embodiment of the current invention , the user may select a material from a list of possible materials presented to the user . the presentation of the list of materials can be done using any of the known user interface ( ui ) techniques , for example a drop down menu , a list of radio buttons , or the like . in one embodiment the list of materials will comprise water , liquefied natural gas ( lng ) and compressed natural gas ( cng ). in another embodiment , the user may enter the name of the material or may enter the density of the material to be used . in some cases , when a user selects a gas to be used as the flow material , the density of the gas will be limited to between 0 . 0 and 0 . 60 g / cc . when a gas has been selected , the user may be prompted to enter the operating temperature and pressure used during the flow . in one example embodiment of the invention , the user will be prompted to select an accuracy , in percent , for the worst case limit of the mass flow measurement through the flow meter . the selection may be done from a plurality of choices , or may be typed in by the user . some coriolis flow meters experience a 0 . 06 % change in mass flow measurement for every 0 . 001 g / cc variation between a known density and a measured density . using this relationship between flow measurements and density measurements , the accuracy selected by the user can be converted into control points for the density measurements . for example , assume that the meter needs to be validated to better than 0 . 3 % for flow measurements . the user would select 0 . 3 %. the allowable difference between the measured density and the known density is the density deviation ( dd ). the density deviation is calculated from equation 1 : where dd is the density deviation and ra is the required accuracy . for the example above where the required accuracy is 0 . 3 %, the density deviation would be plus or minus 0 . 005 g / cc . once the preliminary information has been entered into the system , the user will be instructed to start the flow of material through the flow meter . in one embodiment of the current invention , once the flow of material starts , a stability check for a predetermined time , may be performed on the primary variables used in the calibration verification . in one example embodiment , the variables will be tracked during a 1 minute window to ensure that they are stable to within a 2 sigma confidence level . the variables and their stability windows may include : density to within +/− 0 . 001 g / cc , live zero to within 2 × zero stability of the meter , temperature within +/− 0 . 25 deg c ., drive gain within 5 %, flow within 5 %, and the like . if any of the primary variables fall outside of their stability range , the user should be notified , for example by a graphical display . in one example embodiment the verification check will not start until the stability check has been successfully completed . the next step is the measurement phase . in one example embodiment of the invention , measurements from the flow meter will be taken over a period of time , for example 5 minutes . during this phase , a progress indicator may be displayed to update the user on the status of the measurements . during the measurement phase , a number of parameters from the flow meter will be monitored . these measurements may be stored to a non - volatile storage area , for example a hard disk . the parameters that are monitored may include : flow rate , indicated density , temperature , drive gain , pressure ( if available ), tube frequency , and the like . once the measurement phase has been completed , the user may be instructed to stop the flow of material through the flow meter . a delta difference is calculated between the known density of the material and the density measured by the flow meter . the delta difference is compared to the density deviation ( dd ). if the delta difference is greater than or equal to the density deviation , the meter will have failed the calibration verification and the user will be informed of the error condition . if the delta difference is smaller than the density deviation , the flow meter &# 39 ; s calibration factors have passed the verification . in one example embodiment of the invention , the test data may be stored to a non - volatile storage device for later use . in one example embodiment of the invention , the measurement data will be used to track the calibration of the flow meter over time . the first time the flow meter &# 39 ; s calibration factors are checked , the data will be used to baseline the flow meter . this means that , if the meter passes the verification check , the delta difference will be stored and used in subsequent tests to normalize the new delta differences . by storing the data from each verification test , the flow meters performance , over time , may be tracked . in another example embodiment of the current invention , the task selected would aid the user in proving the meter using a prover . fig4 is a flow chart showing the steps for using a guru module to setup all the parameters in the coriolis flow meter for a proving run in one example embodiment of the invention . at step 402 the user is prompted to input information about the upcoming proving runs , for example the type of prover being used , the volume for each proving run , the flow rates to be used , pre - run volumes , flow rate units ( mass or volume ), and the like . at step 404 the guru module uses the information in configuring the coriolis flow meter for the proving run . the pre - run volume and the proving volume are used in combination with the flow rates to determine the pre - run time and the proving time . these times are then used to help determine the frequency output , the damping rate , signal processing speed , and the like . for example , the signal processing delay ( one component of damping ) must be set such that the signal processing delay is a fraction of the pre - run time to allow the flow measurement to become stable before the prove starts . the processor speed must be set fast enough so that the signal processing delay and the communications delays are fractions of the pre - run times and the proving run times . setting the processor speed is also a trade off between the steady state response of the meter vs . the transient response of the meter . the meter response time must also be set to be a fraction of the pre - run time so that the meter measurement has stabilized during the pre - run time . the processor speed will be set at the slowest possible speed that still meets the delay criteria and the response time criteria . the frequency output must be set such that the output does not over range for high flow rates and must be set such that there is adequate resolution at low flow rates . once the meter parameters have been setup , at step 406 the guru unit may optionally coordinate / start the proving run and update the meter calibration factor using the results from the proving run . during the proving run the guru module , in cooperation with the flow meter control module , may perform a flow and signal stability check . for example , the guru module would track the measured flow rate through the pre - run time , and between the start and stop signals for the proving run . the maximum and minimum flow rates as well as the mean and standard deviations will be determined . these results can be compared to the api guidelines and the user may be notified if the guidelines are not met . once the proving run has been completed , a guru module may be used to check the repeatability of the meter calibration factor . in one example embodiment , the repeatability steps are additional optional steps included in the guru module of fig4 . in another example embodiment , the repeatability check may be a separate stand alone task . for the repeatability task the guru module receives the results from a proving run ( the flow error ). the user may input the results or the guru module may receive the results directly from the prover or from the flow meter control module . the desired accuracy is also entered into the guru module . using this information the guru module will determine the number of proving runs that must be completed for the desired repeatability . the guru module may optionally coordinate / start the proving runs and monitor the run results to confirm that the required repeatability has been achieved . in another example embodiment of the current invention , the task selected would be the linearization of the coriolis flow meter using the results from at least two proving runs at different flow rates . in one embodiment the data from two or more proving runs would be entered by the user or loaded from permanent storage , for example a file . in another embodiment the guru module would assist the user in setting up and performing the different proving runs . when setting up the proving runs , the linearization guru module may call the proving guru modules describe above or may have the proving module code integrated into the linearization guru module . the coriolis flow calibration factor ( fcf ) and the meter zero offset can be determined using the indicated flow rates vs . the true flow rates for the two or more different proving runs at the two different flow rates . fig5 is a plot of the indicated flow vs . the true flow for two different proving runs . for the first run the flow rate indicated was 10 lb / min and the true flow rate was 8 . 70 lb / min . the second run had an indicated flow rate of 100 lb / min and a true flow rate of 96 . 15 lb / min . the meter was using an original fcf of 47 . 4 with a zero offset of 5 ns . the new fcf is the original fcf divided by the slope of the plotted line or fcf n = fcf o / slope . the new zero offset is equal to the zero intercept of the graph divided by the original fcf plus the original zero offset or zero n =( intercept / fcfo )+ zero o . the graph intercept is in lb / min and the fcf is in grams / sec / μsec so there is some unit conversion involved . using the two flow rates plotted in fig5 , the new fcf is 46 . 06132 =( 47 . 4 / 1 . 0290631 ). the new zero offset is 172 . 724 ns =( 1 . 0516252 / 47 . 4 )( 7559 . 872 unit conversion )+ 5 . | 6 |
fig2 a shows a specific circuit of the present invention . in this circuit , the switching element is provided as a diode . the horizontal deflection output circuit of the present invention is composed of an input terminal 1 , an output transistor 2 , a damper diode 3 , a resonant capacitor 4 , a horizontal deflection coil 5 , a linearity correcting coil 6 , an s - shaped correction capacitor 7 , a choke coil 8 , a supply terminal 9 , a permanent magnet 12 , a diode 13 , a resistor 14 and a capacitor 15 . fig2 b has a construction similar to that of fig2 a except that the diode 13 and the resistor 14 of a linearity correcting circuit 16 are arranged reversely . the diode 13 is connected , as shown , in such a direction as is turned on during the prior half of the horizontal deflection period . fig6 plots the voltage and current in case the circuit of the present embodiment is operated under the conditions of a horizontal deflection frequency of 130 khz and a horizontal deflection current of 22 [ a p - p ]. fig6 ( a ) plots the voltage waveform v cp at the node between the choke coil 8 and the horizontal deflection coil 5 . fig6 ( b ) plots the waveform i dy of the horizontal deflection current flowing through the horizontal deflection coil 5 . fig6 ( c ) plots the voltage waveform v l at the node 10 between the linearity correcting coil 6 and the horizontal deflection coil 5 . fig6 ( d ) plots the voltage waveform v s at the node 11 between the linearity correcting coil 6 and the s - shaped correction capacitor 7 . fig6 ( e ) plots the waveform i r1 of the current flowing through the resistor 14 of fig1 b . fig6 ( f ) plots the waveform of the current i r2 flowing through the resistor 14 of fig2 a . in response to the on and off of the output transistor 2 , the voltage v cp is generated , as shown in fig6 ( a ), at the node b between the horizontal deflection coil 5 and the choke coil 8 . a period t 4 to t 5 is the fly - back time . at a time t 0 when the damper diode 3 is turned on , the horizontal deflection current i dy begins to flow through the horizontal deflection coil 5 and gradually rises until the time t 4 . the disturbances in the waveforms of the horizontal deflection current i dy for the period t 0 to t 1 , as shown in fig6 ( b ), are the result of the influences of the ringing current . the amplitude of the ringing current is suppressed to a small value by the action of the resistor 14 . the diode 13 is rendered conductive for the rising period t 0 to t 1 of the horizontal deflection current i dy . then , the ringing current generated at the linearity coil 6 is consumed by the resistor 14 so that it becomes reluctant to flow into the horizontal deflection coil 5 . this reduces the flow of the ringing current to be superposed on the horizontal deflection current i dy . voltages v l and v s are generated , as shown in fig6 ( c ) and 6 ( d ), at the two terminals of the linearity correcting coil 6 . in the circuit of the prior art shown in fig1 ( b ), a current i r1 flows , as shown in fig6 ( e ), through the resistor 14 in accordance with the potential difference ( v l - v s ). according to the present invention , however , the diode 13 does not conduct during the fly - back period t 4 to t 5 of the horizontal deflection current although it is conducting for the period t 0 to t 3 including the rising period t 0 to t 1 of the horizontal deflection current . this makes it possible to prevent the power consumption at the resistor 14 for the fly - back period t 4 to t 5 . the power loss at the resistor 14 when the horizontal deflection output circuit of the present invention shown in fig2 is operated at a horizontal deflection frequency of 130 khz and a horizontal deflection current of 22 [ a p - p ] is 1 . 3 watts according to the &# 34 ; waveform analysis &# 34 ; ( i . e ., the method of determining the power loss by multiplying the current waveform and the voltage waveform ). this power loss is about one sixth as high as that in case the current i r1 shown in fig6 ( e ) which flows through the resistor 14 of the circuit shown in fig1 b of the prior art . incidentally , the capacitor 15 of fig2 a and 2b is connected in parallel with the stray capacity at the two terminals of the linearity correcting coil 6 . if the capacitor 15 has its capacity varied , the frequency of the ringing current will be changed . by selecting the capacity of the capacitor 15 to be 470 pf , therefore , there can be attained an effect that the longitudinal streaks in the picture frame are almost erased . fig3 shows another embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , a linearity correcting circuit 16 is composed of the linearity correcting coil 6 , the permanent magnet 12 for applying a magnetic field to the linearity correcting coil 6 , the capacitor 15 , a diode 18 , a transistor 20 , resistors 19 and 23 , and a variable resistor 22 . the diode 18 may be replaced by a diode 21 . the diode 18 has the same action of the diode 13 in the linearity correcting circuit 16 of fig2 a . the resistor 19 has the same action as the resistor 14 of fig2 a to prevent the ringing due to the resonant circuit which is composed of the linearity correcting coil 6 and the stray capacity . the transistor 20 , the resistor 23 and the variable resistor 22 for adjusting the base voltage to be applied to the transistor 20 , constitute together a current adjusting circuit for determining both the value of a current i r3 to flow through the resistor 19 and the flow period of the current i r3 . the voltage ( v l - v s ) between the two terminals of the linearity correcting coil 6 is reduced gradually from the former to the latter half of the horizontal scanning period by the magnetic saturation . the period for which the transistor 20 has its conductivity from the on to off state is determined by the resistance of the variable resistor 22 . as a result , by adjusting the variable resistor 22 , the period for which the current is caused to flow through the resistor 19 can be limited to the period for which the ringing is occurring , to prevent the power loss by the resistor 19 for the remaining periods . fig6 ( g ) shows the waveform of the current i r3 which flows through the resistor 19 when the present circuit is operated under the conditions of the horizontal deflection frequency of 130 khz and the horizontal deflection current 22 [ a p - p ]. the loss at the resistor 19 of the present circuit is determined at 0 . 2 watts by the aforementioned waveform analysis . this value is determined to be about one fortieth as high as that of the circuit of the prior art shown in fig1 b . the total value of the losses at the diode 18 ( or the diode 21 ), the transistor 20 , the resistors 19 and 23 and the variable resistor 22 is 1 . 0 watt , which is about one eighth that of the circuit of the prior art shown in fig1 b . according to the present circuit , moreover , since the transistor 20 acts not as a switch but as an amplifier , the current i r3 to flow through the resistor 19 is varied if the bias voltage is varied by adjusting the variable resistor 22 . this means that the transistor 20 has equivalently the same action as a variable resistor so that the present circuit provides the same effect as that obtained in case it is composed of the resistor 19 and the variable resistor . still moreover , the range of the adjustment of the current i r3 is wider than that obtainable in case the transistor 20 is a variable resistor . fig4 shows still another embodiment of the present invention . the horizontal deflection output circuit according to this embodiment is equipped with a time constant circuit , which is composed of the variable resistor 22 , a capacitor 24 and a resistor 25 , as the circuit for feeding the bias voltage to the transistor 20 of the linearity correcting circuit 16 . in this circuit , the transistor 20 has its base potential determined on the basis of the time constant , which is determined by the variable resistor 22 and the capacitor 24 , so that its conductivity period is limited to the initial time of the scanning period for which the ringing occurs . as a result , it is only for a short period ( i . e ., t 0 to t 1 of fig6 ) of the ringing occurrence that the current flows through the resistor 19 , so that the loss at the resistor 19 is remarkably reduced . the charge stored in the capacitor 24 is discharged through the resistor 25 for the off period of the transistor 20 . that resistor 25 may be replaced in dependence upon the characteristics of the transistor 20 by the resistance of the diode which is established between the base and collector of the transistor 20 . fig6 ( h ) shows a current i r4 which will flow through the resistor 19 in case the present circuit is operated under the conditions of the horizontal deflection frequency of 130 khz and the horizontal deflection current of 22 [ a p - p ]. the loss at the resistor 19 determined by the aforementioned waveform analysis is 0 . 04 watts in the present circuit when the capacitor 24 has a value of 15 , 000 pf , the variable resistor 22 has a value of 500 ohms , and the time constant determined by the former two is 7 . 5 μs . the loss of 0 . 04 watts is about one two hundredth of that of the circuit of the prior art shown in fig1 b . moreover , the total value of the losses at the diode 18 ( or the diode 21 ), the transistor 20 , the resistor 19 , the capacitor 24 and the variable resistor 22 is 0 . 16 watts , which value is about one fiftieth as high as that of the circuit of the prior art shown in fig1 b . fig5 is a circuit diagram showing a modification of the horizontal deflection output circuit of fig4 . in the present modification , an npn type transistor 25 is used although the transistor 20 used in the horizontal deflection output circuit of fig4 is of the pnp type . the current i r4 &# 39 ; to flow through the resistor 19 in case the circuit shown in fig5 is operated under the conditions of the horizontal deflection current 22 [ a p - p ] is similar to the value i r4 of the circuit of fig4 . as a result , the present modification can enjoy an effect similar to that of the horizontal deflection output circuit of fig4 . | 7 |
the general architecture of the process , which is retained irrespective of the application , will be described first before envisaging particular cases . for simplicity , those parts of the process according to the invention which are already well known will be recalled only briefly , and reference may be made to the documents already mentioned , as well as to the following : as regards the simple case of sensors of the pinhole type , all of which are identical , providing images acquired in coplanar positions at the same altitude , to the article by r . y . tsai “ multiframe image point matching and 3 - d surface reconstruction ” ieee transactions on pattern analysis and machine intelligence , pami - 5 , no . 2 , pages 159 - 164 , march 1983 ; as regards mapping from calibrated digital aerial image maps , to the article by l . gabet et al . “ construction automatique de mod { grave over ( e )} le num { acute over ( e )} rique de terrain { grave over ( a )} haute r { acute over ( e )} solution en zone urbaine ” [ automatic digital terrain model construction with high resolution in an urban area ], bul . sfpt no . 135 , pages 9 - 25 , 1994 . the contents of such documents are included in the specification by reference . setting the images in correspondence , or matching the images , involving merging at least n multipair correspondence results , these results being the disparity maps obtained directly or the digital elevation models ( dem ) calculated therefrom , the purpose of calibrating the sensors is to provide an estimate of the parameters of the models f i ( x , y , z ) and f i ( x , y , z ) which define the relationship between the coordinates x , y , z of a 3d point in the scene and the 2d coordinates ( p , q ) of its projection into the image plane , respectively π 1 and π i . the process requires prior calibration of the sensors . in the simple case of just two sensors , which is illustrated in fig1 the purpose of the calibration is to estimate the parameters of the models which define the relationship between a point s k in the scene , defined in three dimensions by its coordinates x , y and z and the coordinates ( p , q ) i of its projection into the image plane π i ( with i = 1 or 2 ). the calibration is performed differently according to the nature of the sensors , using known processes , for example the method described in the article by ayache mentioned above . it is possible to use correspondences between homologous points in the images , defined manually or obtained by pattern recognition techniques related to neighbourhoods . the conclusion of this step provides the set of models f i ( x , y , z ) with i ε { 1 , . . . , n } and search directions for the corresponding points , these being those of the epipolars . however , when calibration is carried out without initial 3d knowledge of the scene , the 3d reconstruction can be defined , when conventional methods are used , only to within a projective transformation of the 3d projective space . it will be seen below that the multipair process according to the invention is independent of the geometry and makes it possible to accommodate the altitude variations in the scene . the images are matched by looking for the homologue of each point p of a reference image , generally defined with its neighbourhood in the form of a label , along the epipolars e 2 , e 3 , . . . of the other images ( fig2 ). to this end , similarity curves are established as a function of the disparity d 12 , d 13 , . . . ( lines a and b ). the similarity index s may , in particular , be a cross - correlation coefficient or a resemblance index pertaining to contours or regions . all the curves are then transformed into a common reference frame , for example d 13 , which will outline probable matching with a sub - pixel accuracy corresponding to the coincidence of the peaks ( line c in fig3 ). a change of reference frame is necessary if it is desired to express all the curves in the same frame for later merging them ; this uses an affine model developed on the basis of the geometry with which the images are acquired . this model is of the following form , for an example involving three images in all : where d denotes the disparity , η and μ denote the parameters which define the geometry of the pairs ( 1 , 2 ) and ( 1 , 3 ) for a position p on the epipolar of the primitive ( point , contour or region ) to be matched in image 1 . when the calibration is carried out without 3d knowledge of the scene , the coefficients a ( η , μ ) and b ( η , μ ) of the affine model are calculated by using rectification of the images , this being intended to convert each pair of plane 2d images into another pair such that the epipolar lines are parallel and coincident with the image lines or columns , as indicated in fig1 where the rectified conjugate epipolars are indicated in the virtual retinal planes γ 1 , 2 and γ 2 , 1 for the points i 1 k and i 2 k in the image planes π 1 and π 2 . the rectification facilitates the correspondence by making it possible to establish the curves in fig3 immediately . by way of example , it may be indicated that the transformation model ( p , q )= f i ( x , y , z ) for a pinhole model is , in projective coordinates , a linear function of the form : p is a 3 × 4 matrix defined to within a multiplicative factor ; w and s are multiplicative factors . in order to determine the matrix , it is necessary to have 11 parameters . these can be determined on condition that at least six homologous points are available . if just two images are considered , it is possible to define a model for transition from a 3d point in the scene to the coordinates of its projection into each of the rectified images 1 and 2 ; the perspective projection matrices m and n for image 1 and image 2 defining the transition models are : in order to calculate the coefficients of the matrixes m and n , to within a scale factor , it is necessary to satisfy a number of constraints : for any arbitrary 3d point s k not belonging to the focal plane of the cameras defined after rectification , identical ordinates of the pixels , represented by the points i k 1 , 2 and i k 2 , 1 ( fig1 ); coordinates of the optical centres c 1 and c 2 that are invariant in terms of the rectification . the equations to which these constraints lead are given in the ayache document mentioned above . a solution to these equations can be found so as to limit the distortions to the rectified images . by way of example , the following expressions are given for the matrices m and n : m = [ α ( t ⋀ c 1 ) t 0 β ( c 1 ⋀ c 2 ) t 0 ( ( c 1 - c 2 ) ⋀ t ) t c 1 t ( c 2 ⋀ t ) ] n = [ α ( t ⋀ c 2 ) t 0 β ( c 1 ⋀ c 2 ) t 0 ( ( c 1 - c 2 ) ⋀ t ) t c 1 t ( c 2 ⋀ t ) ] c 1 and c 2 are the vectors of the 3d coordinates of the optical centres c 1 and c 2 of the pinhole cameras ; α and β are scale factors , conditioning the deformation of the rectified images in the direction of the epipolars , on the one hand , and in the orthogonal direction , on the other hand ( if the epipolars after rectification are chosen to be horizontal ); f is a vector dictating the orientation of the rectification plane ( making it possible to limit the distortions to the rectified images ). the projective geometry also makes it possible to calculate the matrices m and n by means of the fundamental matrices . a description of a posible approach of this type will be found in the thesis of ecole polytechnique “ vision st { acute over ( e )} r { acute over ( e )} oscopique et propri { acute over ( e )} t { acute over ( e )} s diff { acute over ( e )} rentielles des surfaces ” [ stereoscopic vision and differential surface properties ] by f . devernay . the matrices for passing from the actual ( or acquired ) images to the rectified images can be deduced from the matrices m and n , for example in the manner indicated by the ayache document . it is then necessary to define an inter - disparity model by its coefficients a ( λ , μ ) and b ( λ , μ ) such that : d 13 ( p )= a ( η , μ )· d 12 + b ( η , μ ) this model makes the transfer from the disparity d 12 ( p ) of point p in the pair of rectified images 1 and 2 to the disparity dl 3 ( p ) in the pair formed by the images 1 and 3 . η denotes the pair of images ( 1 , 2 ) and μ denotes the pair of images ( 1 , 3 ). the parametric equations of the lines of sight in camera 1 , which are defined on the basis of the coordinates of the pixel p in the rectified image in the η pair geometry and in the μ pair geometry are : where { right arrow over ( x )} denotes the 3d coordinates of a point c 1 ( coordinates of the optical centre of camera 1 ) and t η and t μ are the director vectors defined simply as a function of the terms in the matrix m : t η = ε η ( m 1 η − p 1 η m 3 η ){ circumflex over ( )}( m 2 η − q 1 η m 3 η ) t μ = ε μ ( m 1 μ − p 1 μ m 3 μ ){ circumflex over ( )}( m 2 μ − q 1 μ m 3 μ ) it can be deduced therefrom that λ 1 η = τ μ . η · λ 1 η with τ μ . η =( t η t · t μ )/□ t η □ the expressions for a and b can be deduced therefrom directly α ( η , μ ) = k 1 μ · τ μ , η k 1 η b ( η , μ ) = k 2 μ - k 1 μ k 1 η k & lt ; 2 η · τ μ , η the simple , particular case in which the sensors are of the pinhole type will again be considered . the multipair matching can be carried out by the approach schematically represented in fig4 in the case of four real images , numbered 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 . after rectification , a point p in image 1 which is taken as the reference will be looked for on the corresponding epipolars of images 2 , 3 and 4 . using the notation shown in fig4 the multipair matches are made between the images g i and d i , with the coefficients a and b of the affine model for transition from the disparity of one pair to the disparity of another pair can be expressed simply as a function of the position of the pixel p to be matched , the geometry of the original pair and that of the destination pair . as indicated above , the matches of the obtained set are then merged by taking n different images as reference ( n = 4 in the case of fig4 ). this operation can be performed after having calculated the digital terrain models ( dtm ) or digital elevation models ( dem ), as indicated in fig5 . however , it may be performed by merging the disparity maps , in order to obtain a final disparity map , before determining the final dem . preferably , merging is carried out on the principle of majority votes or selection of a median value . weighting is used when the votes are taken . this is calculated by assigning a maximum weight to the points of view most distant from the reference image . when the geometry of the sensors is known ( pinhole , scanner or linear array model ), a few indications will be given regarding the corresponding or matching method in the case of two images 1 and 2 , image i being the reference image . the notation is that in fig6 . the referencing takes account of a plane σ at a constant altitude z = z 0 . the functions f i are known and , in the case of pinhole models , are the perspective projection matrices m i . it is consequently always possible to express the coordinates ( p , q ) in two dimensions in the plane σ for z = z 0 on the basis of two pixels ( p 1 , q 1 ) and ( p 2 , q 2 ) set in correspondence in the images 1 and 2 . if ( x 1 , y 1 ) is the point in the plane σ which is the image of the pixel ( p 1 , q 1 ) to be matched in image 1 , and ( x 2 , y 2 ) is the image of the pixel ( p 2 , q 2 ) in image 2 , then the disparity associated with this potential match is defined as the euclidian distance in the plane σ between points ( x 1 , y 1 ) and ( x 2 , y 2 ) d 12 ( x 1 , y 1 ) = ( x 1 - x 2 ) 2 + ( y 1 - y 2 ) 2 on the basis of this definition of the disparity , calculation shows that the disparity in a pair of images ( 1 , 2 ) can be expressed in the form : d 12 ( x 1 , y 1 ) = ( a n - a m ) 2 + ( c n - c m ) 2 · ( z 0 - z ) where a n , a m , c n and c m are the coefficients which can be deduced from the linear systems which , for constant z 0 , connect p and q and the vector { right arrow over ( m )} defined above in each image . in the case of the images 1 and 3 , the following relationship would similarly be obtained : d 13 ( x 1 , y 1 ) = ( a p - a m ) 2 + ( c p - c m ) 2 · ( z 0 - z ) where a p and c p play the same role as a n and c n . the linear model for inter - disparity transition between the pair η of images ( 1 , 2 ) and the pair μ of images ( 1 , 3 ), when the plane σ is specified , can be written very simply in the form : d 13 ( x 1 , y 1 )= a ( η , μ )· d 12 ( x 1 , y 1 ) with α ( η , μ ) = ( a p - a m ) 2 + ( c p - c m ) 2 ( a n - a m ) 2 + ( c p - c m ) 2 using a calculation which may be performed in parallel , it is thus possible to establish all the similarity curves with a view to matching the peaks that correspond with one another . during the matching , it is expedient to remove the peaks due to occultation of points in one of the images of the pair . as an example , fig7 b shows the resemblance curves as a function of the disparity for four pairs . the pixel in the reference image is masked on the other image in pair 4 , which shows peaks for disparities where the other curves do not have a maximum . in this case , it is expedient to remove curve 4 to find the correct disparity for the masked pixel . this result may , in particular , be obtained by a majority vote . | 6 |
various embodiments of the present invention are described in terms of configuration of a field programmable gate array ( fpga ). those skilled in the art will appreciate , however , that the invention may be implemented in other devices such as fpgas having different architectures , types of programmable logic devices ( plds ) other than fpgas , and integrated circuits that include programmable circuitry and / or are adapted to various application requirements , based on both volatile and non - volatile technologies . fig1 is a system diagram showing an example of selection of the communication protocol for an example pld such as a field programmable gate array ( fpga ) 102 . one of the communication protocols , for example , xilinx slave serial ( line 104 ), ieee standard 1149 . 1 ( more commonly known as jtag ) ( line 106 ), or xilinx selectmap ( line 108 ), may be selected to configure the fpga 102 . the fpga 102 may be configured with data from a configuration file 110 by a configuration system 112 . the configuration port 114 of the fpga 102 may support multiple configuration protocols ( shown as lines 104 , 106 , and 108 ) with dedicated fpga 102 input / output pins for each configuration protocol , thereby providing the user with flexible options for configuration of the fpga 102 . a user can select a configuration protocol that is suitable for implementing user requirements and may modify the selected configuration protocol in response to changing requirements . the xilinx slave serial configuration protocol has configuration data serially supplied from configuration file 110 . the configuration file 110 for use with xilinx slave serial 104 may have a format that reflects the bit - oriented transfer of configuration data . in addition , the actual configuration data may reflect specific device settings that must be loaded to ensure correct function in this communications mode . the xilinx slave serial protocol may also be used in loading configuration data from an alternative source , such as a serial prom . standard 1149 . 1 defines a communication protocol ( and associated interface hardware ) in which control and data may be serially supplied . in addition to device configuration , the 1149 . 1 protocol may be used for testing purposes such as boundary scan of the input / output pins of fpga 102 . because of these multiple purposes , usage of the 1149 . 1 protocol for fpga 102 configuration may require additional data in the configuration file 110 to route the configuration data to the appropriate destination within the fpga . in addition , the actual configuration data may reflect specific device settings that must be loaded to ensure correct function in this communications mode . the xilinx selectmap protocol is a configuration protocol with configuration data supplied in parallel to multiple pins of fpga 102 . supplying the configuration data in parallel may provide faster configuration of fpga 102 than the other example configuration protocols . the configuration file 110 used with the selectmap protocol may have a format that supports the parallel transfer of configuration data . in addition , the actual configuration data may reflect specific device settings that must be loaded to ensure correct function in this communications mode . in general , the format of data in the configuration file 110 may depend upon the configuration protocol such as the three example configuration protocols described above . note that these example configuration protocols shown in fig1 and described above are merely examples of possible configuration protocols , and that other protocols may be available . in addition , other embodiments may include fewer or more protocols . the configuration system 112 may include a computer 116 coupled to a converter 118 . the converter converts configuration data ( e . g ., from a configuration file 110 ) from one communication protocol , such as rs232 , parallel port , or universal serial bus , on line 120 to a configuration protocol such as xilinx slave serial , 1149 . 1 , or xilinx parallel selectmap . the converter 118 may convert to one or multiple configuration protocols . converter 118 is coupled to a system board 124 , for example via cable 122 , for each configuration protocol provided by the converter 118 . a user may select a configuration protocol by selecting the download cable 122 to couple to fpga 102 . the coupling of the download cable 122 to the fpga 102 may be done by connecting the selected cable 122 to a connector for the corresponding configuration protocol on the system board 124 . a separate connector may be provided for each configuration protocol supported by the fpga 102 and system board 124 . in other embodiments , one or more configuration protocols may share one or more connectors or interfaces . a system board 124 may supply connectors for fewer configuration protocols than the configuration protocols supported by fpga 102 , thereby limiting the readily available configuration protocols . in addition to selecting and connecting a download cable 122 , a system board 124 mode switch 126 setting consistent with the selected download cable 122 may need to be provided . the setting of the mode switch 126 allows the user to notify the fpga 102 of the selected configuration protocol . alternatively , mode selection logic on system board 124 may be controllable by configuration system 112 via cable 122 , allowing user input to the computer 116 to notify the fpga 102 of the selected configuration protocol . the selected configuration protocol may change with the user requirements during the lifecycle stages of system 124 . for example , the selectmap protocol may be selected for quick configuration during initial development of system 124 because configuration update may need to be performed repeatedly . the 1149 . 1 protocol may be selected to additionally access test features during system verification . the xilinx slave serial protocol may be selected during product release to verify correct configuration from a serial prom . note that a production system may replace the configuration system 112 with a serial prom as the default source of configuration data . the 1149 . 1 protocol may again be selected for test feature access during debug of a problem encountered by an end user with a production system 124 . usage of the xilinx selectmap protocol may be prohibited for a production system 124 because the connector for the selectmap protocol may not be loaded on the system board 124 to reduce production costs associated with system 124 . each stage in the lifecycle of a system 124 may have different users with different capabilities , such as a configuration system 112 supporting different configuration protocols . for example , the testing of a system updated by a development user to correct a defect discovered by an end user may require a field application engineer to configure the system using the 1149 . 1 configuration protocol . if the configuration file 110 provided by the user corresponds to a different configuration protocol , such as the xilinx selectmap protocol , resolution of the problem may be delayed unless the field application engineer can expeditiously convert the format of the configuration file from the selectmap protocol to the 1149 . 1 protocol . system 124 may permit configuration by multiple configuration protocols over a single download cable 122 . mode selection logic on system board 124 may be controlled by configuration system 112 via download cable 122 to select the desired configuration protocol . alternatively , the mode selection logic may be integrated into the configuration port 114 of fpga 102 . selection of the configuration protocol may be achieved in such systems by user input to computer 116 . fig2 is a diagram showing examples of the structure of configuration files ( bitstreams 202 and 204 ) for parallel and serial modes of configuration communication . the example format of a parallel bitstream 202 for a parallel configuration protocol , such as xilinx selectmap , may be a word - oriented structure with control and data fields aligned to 32 - bit word boundaries . the example format of a serial bitstream 204 for a serial configuration protocol , such as xilinx slave serial , may be a bit oriented structure with control and data fields of various unaligned bit lengths . the parallel bitstream 202 and the serial bitstream 204 may have descriptive headers 206 and 208 , respectively . the optional headers 206 and 208 may contain descriptive information for the configuration file , and may include design name , target device , names and versions for configuration file generation tools , and generation date . conversion of a bitstream from one format to another is illustrated by bi - directional lines that connect corresponding information in the parallel bitstream 202 and the serial bitstream 204 . conversion ( line 210 ) of the parallel header 206 to the serial header 208 may copy the parallel header 206 while adding a special comment character to the beginning of each header line , if necessary , and ensuring that resulting header 208 ends with an end - of - line character . conversion ( line 210 ) of the serial header 208 to the parallel header 206 may copy the serial header 208 , pad the header to a multiple of 4 ascii characters , and ensure that the pattern of the synchronization word 212 does not appear in the resulting parallel header 206 . this conversion may also include modification of the bitstream contents to set the internal device state appropriately to accept data in this mode and format . it may also change the behavior of the device as appropriate for this mode . the 32 - bit synchronization word 212 of the parallel bitstream 202 contains a special pattern that is not allowed to appear in the header 206 . the synchronization word allows the bitstream 202 to be sent to the fpga , including the header 206 , with the fpga ignoring data before the synchronization word 212 . for a serial bitstream 204 , the header 208 is removed by the configuration system before the serial bitstream 204 is sent to the fpga . the preamble 214 contains a special ascii character that is not the comment character . in converting the parallel bitstream 202 to the serial bitstream 204 , the synchronization word 212 is replaced ( line 216 ) with the 8 - bit preamble character 214 . in converting the serial bitstream 204 to the parallel bitstream 202 , the preamble character 214 is recognized at the beginning of a text line and replaced ( line 216 ) with the 32 - bit synchronization word 212 . the configuration data may be held in the frame data fields 218 for the parallel bitstream 202 and in frame data fields 220 , with a leading zero for the serial bitstream 204 . the actual length of the data frame accepted by the fpga is specified by a frame length command 222 for the parallel bitstream 202 , and each parallel frame of data 218 is rounded up to a length that is a multiple of 32 - bits . typically , a parallel bitstream 202 has one 64 - bit frame length command 222 . the serial frame data fields 220 are the actual length of the data frame accepted by the fpga as specified in a 24 - bit frame length field 224 for each frame plus 1 - bit for the leading zero . to convert ( line 226 ) parallel frame data 218 to serial frame data 220 , the parallel frame data 218 is truncated to the length specified in the preceding frame length command 222 , and a leading zero is added . to convert ( line 226 ) serial frame data 220 to parallel frame data 218 , the leading zero is removed , and zero padding is appended to round the length up to the next multiple of 32 - bits . to convert ( line 228 ) a frame length command 222 in a parallel bitstream 204 to frame length fields 224 in a serial bitstream 204 , the 27 - bit frame length is extracted from the frame length command 222 , the most significant 3 bits of this length are verified to be zero , and a 24 - bit frame length field 224 is output for each subsequent parallel frame data 218 that is converted to serial frame data 220 . to convert ( line 228 ) the frame length fields 224 for a serial bitstream 204 to a frame length command 222 for a parallel bitstream 202 , a frame length command 222 containing the length from a frame length field 224 is output for the first frame length field 224 and any subsequent frame length field 224 that does not have a length matching the previous frame length field 224 . each parallel frame data 218 has a preceding frame address 230 in the parallel bitstream 202 except for the last frame of data 218 . the last frame has a preceding last frame command 232 that contains the last frame address . the frame address 230 and the last frame address in the last frame command 232 permit re - configuration of a portion of a frame . for a configuration file , the parallel bitstream 202 usually has a value of zero for the frame address 230 and the last frame address in the last frame command 232 . thus , during conversion of a parallel bitstream 202 to a serial bitstream 204 , each frame address 230 and the last frame address in the last frame command 232 are verified to be zero . during conversion of a serial bitstream 204 to a parallel bitstream 202 , each frame address 230 and the last frame address in the last frame command 232 are set to zero . for a parallel bitstream 202 , a cyclic redundancy check ( crc ) for the bitstream may be calculated over the bitstream after a 64 - bit reset crc command 234 and inclusive of the frame data 218 following a 64 - bit last frame command 232 . the calculated 16 - bit crc value is included in a 64 - bit write crc command 236 . a 64 - bit start command 238 is included in the parallel bitstream 202 to start normal operation of the fpga when the crc calculated over the bitstream received by the fpga matches the crc included in the following write crc command 236 . conversion of a serial bitstream 204 to a parallel bitstream 202 requires calculating the 16 - bit crc for the write command 236 . for a serial bitstream 204 , a 4 - bit crc 240 may be calculated for each frame data 220 . a serial bitstream 204 has an 8 - bit trailer character 242 with a special value . during conversion of a parallel bitstream 202 to a serial bitstream 204 , the 4 - bit crc 240 values are calculated and the trailer character 242 is appended . a parallel bitstream 202 may have multiple 64 - bit commands , including configuration options command 244 , switch clock command 246 , and configuration mode command 248 to enhance configuration . for example , the clocking rate may be specified in the configuration options command 244 , and the clocking rate may be modified by the fpga in response to the switch clock command 246 to allow faster configuration with a higher clock rate . the maximum clock rate may be dependent upon the fpga device and may also be dependent upon constraints provided by the configuration system or constraints provided by user input . in general , default values may be given to the parameters in the configuration enhancement commands 244 , 246 , and 248 . the parameters may include , for example , the start - up mechanism and timing , port enable , port speed , and port persistence settings . during the conversion of a serial bitstream 204 to a parallel bitstream 202 the default values may be used . alternatively , to provide parameter values to enhance configuration , the fpga device type may be used to validate any parameter values available from a source configuration file such as serial bitstream 204 . the fpga device type may be obtained from a descriptive header , such as the serial descriptive header 208 , by querying the idcode of the fpga or by prompting the user to provide the device type . examples have been provided for the structure of a parallel bitstream 202 and a serial bitstream 204 , and techniques to convert between these two structures 202 and 204 have been discussed . other configuration protocols may have additional structures for their configuration files . in general , conversion between any two structures is possible , but optimized conversion may require input from the user or additional information such as the target fpga for the configuration data . fig3 is a flow diagram of an example process for converting a configuration file to match the communication protocol used for configuration . at step 302 the user may begin the fpga configuration by specifying a configuration file . the user may select the configuration file from a list of available configuration files provided on a user interface of a configuration system . the selected configuration file may be formatted with a structure appropriate for a particular configuration protocol or protocols . the structure for a file may be determined by the file name extension or by file contents at selected locations such as values in the header , preamble , or data fields . a check may be made that the file name extension is consistent with the file contents . at step 304 , the configuration system may automatically determine the configuration protocol or protocols available . the configuration system may determine the available protocols by querying the device for a response using each possible protocol . for example , the configuration system may try to read a register , such as the idcode register , using each possible protocol with the idcode response value checked for a recognized manufacturer and part number . a check may also be made for whether any idcode received matches any device type specified in the header of the configuration file . alternatively , user input at a user interface of the configuration system may specify the available configuration protocols . the decision 306 checks whether the selected configuration file has a structure that matches one of the available protocols . when the configuration file has such a matching structure , the process proceeds to step 308 and the fpga is configured with the configuration file using an appropriate one of the matching protocols . when the structure of the configuration file does not match an available protocol the process may proceed to step 310 . at step 310 the structure of the configuration file may be converted to a structure appropriate for an available configuration protocol . the user may be prompted on a user interface of the configuration system to approve the conversion , or to select the target conversion structure when multiple configuration protocols are available . alternatively , conversion may be automatic . the configuration file conversion may use the device type as determined from the idcode , the configuration file header , or prompted user input . after converting the configuration file , the process proceeds to step 308 and the fpga is configured with the converted configuration file . fig4 is a flow diagram of an example detailed process for conversion of a configuration file to match the communication protocol used for configuration . the flow diagram of fig4 illustrates various additional and alternative details to the embodiments illustrated in fig3 . at step 402 the user selects the available configuration protocols by coupling at least one download cable from a configuration system to an fpga on a system board . at step 404 , the user powers on the system board and thus the fpga on the system board . the configuration system may automatically determine the available communication protocol or protocols for fpga configuration at step 406 . the system board may contain selection logic to specify the configuration protocol with the selection logic controllable by the configuration system via a download cable . the configuration system may query for an fpga device response for each possible selection logic setting of the configuration protocol . at step 408 , the user selects a configuration file . the selected configuration file is checked for a match with one of the available configuration protocols at decision 410 . when the selected configuration file matches one of the available configuration protocols , the process proceeds to step 412 , and the configuration system configures the fpga with the configuration file using one of the matching protocols . when the selected configuration file does not match one of the available configuration protocols , the process proceeds to step 414 . at step 414 the configuration system may convert the configuration system to match an available configuration protocol . the user may be prompted at a user interface of the configuration system to approve the configuration file conversion . the user may have the option of instead selecting a different configuration file that does match one of the available configuration protocols . the user may have the option of instead generating a new configuration file that matches one of the available configuration protocols from the design specification . note that a user may not have access to the design specification used to generate a configuration file . embodiments of the invention allow successful configuration of an fpga when the user does not have access to the design specification and an existing configuration file does not match an available configuration protocol . the configuration system may save a copy of the converted file at step 416 before configuring the fpga on the system board with the converted configuration file at step 412 . the present invention is believed to be applicable to a variety of systems for configuring programmable devices such as plds and has been found to be particularly applicable and beneficial in converting a configuration bitstream from one format to another based on user and system requirements . other aspects and embodiments of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and illustrated embodiments be considered as examples only , with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims . | 6 |
this invention teaches a method for enhancing the physical and radiation shielding characteristics of chemically bonded phosphate ceramics by use of metallic reinforcements and heavy metal additions . generally , the inventors have found that certain metallic additions to ceramics impart neutron absorption capability to the resulting ceramic monolith . the process modifications disclosed herein are vital for rendering phosphate ceramics as a radiation shielding material and as construction matrices for use in spent fuel - and waste - containment scenarios . generally , the invention teaches the addition of neutron absorbers to ceramic systems . both water and heavy metals such as boron ( and particularly boron isotopes ) act as neutron absorbers . this is because nuclear cross - section areas are much larger for boron isotopes such as boron - 10 than for natural boron . natural boron is only 19 . 78 mole percent boron - 10 . specifically , the invention provides a method for integrating boron - 10 ( 10 b 4 c ; isotopically enriched b 4 c , & gt ; 95 % boron - 10 ) into magnesium potassium phosphate with water , fly ash , hematite , magnetite , bismuth ( iii ) oxide , and elemental lead to produce an inexpensive castable material for in - situ or ex - situ shielding against neutrons and gamma radiation . the boron - 10 absorbs neutrons and the bound water in the ceramic further provides a means to attenuate neutrons . the hematite and magnetite provide a means to attenuate photons . the bismuth ( iii ) oxide and elemental lead improve the density and the gamma - ray shielding properties of the ceramic . ceramic formulations incorporating magnesium , potassium and phosphate binding systems are utilized as the starting material . the process for producing these starting materials is similar to those described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 830 , 815 issued to wagh et . al . and u . s . pat . no . 6 , 133 , 498 issued to singh et al . both of these patents are incorporated herein by reference . briefly , the radiation shielding ceramic is formulated via the following protocol : mgo and either phosphoric acid or an acid phosphate salt solution are mixed and reacted for at time sufficient to form a slurry , usually 0 . 5 hour . metallic substrate , such as , but not limited to , b 4 c , bi 2 o 3 , fe 2 o 3 , fe 3 o 4 , pb metal , and / or small borated al bars are added to the reaction mixture . after mixing is stopped , the slurry starts to thicken and sets into a hard and dense ceramic . the setting time is approximately 2 hours . these preparations have been carried out on a 55 - gallon scale . the b 4 c , either natural or isotopic , can be present in a concentration range of 1 wt % to 20 wt % in the total reaction slurry . similarly , bi 2 o 3 can be present as 1 wt % to 15 wt % fe 2 o 3 ( sand ) as 1 wt % to 35 wt %, fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ) as 1 wt % to 50 wt %), pb metal ( pieces / chunks ) as 5 wt % to 50 wt %. aluminum bars , both borated and unborated can be present in the slurry from 1 wt % to 20 wt %. the boron isotopes are added to the ceramic slurry in a myriad of forms , including , but not limited to , enriched boric acid , boron carbide , and iron boride . the addition of the metallic substrates is facilitated with a hobalt - type mixer or a concrete mixer . the density of the boron isotopes and the ceramic slurry are about the same and the resulting slurry achieves homogeneity without the metallic clusters aggregating due to gravity . some metallic substrates [ fe 2 o 3 ( sand ), fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ), lead compounds , etc .] are so heavy that homogeneity is difficult to achieve . in these instances , the size and amount of metallic substrate is chosen to completely fill any final ceramic form , with ceramic binder and filler ( such as fly ash ) serving as mortar between the metallic substrates and as a covering over the metallic substrates . suitable metallic substrates can be a variety of different shapes and sizes , including such geometric shapes as rods , fibers , hollow cylinders , powder (− 40 mesh to + 200 mesh ), sand (− 40 mesh to + 5 mesh ), and gravel (− 2 mesh to + 5 mesh ). in some instances , metallic substrate are inserted into ceramic slurry in a predetermined configuration . for example , and as illustrated in fig1 a unique substrate 10 results when elongated metallic objects are inserted into a ceramic slurry contained by a mold . the metallic objects illustrated in fig1 are rods 12 . however , and as discussed supra , a myriad of other shapes are suitable . the rods 12 extend throughout the monolith , and are surrounded by phosphate ceramic constituents 14 . the rods 12 are arranged to extend generally in the same direction . in fig1 the rods are arranged parallel with each other . this imparts added strength to the resulting substrate as well as a unified direction for heat dissipation . in the illustrated embodiment 10 , the ends of the rods protrude from the final monolith form . the ceramics are made with magnesium potassium phosphate ( mkp ), fly ash , fe 2 o 3 in the form of sand , fe 3 o 4 in the form of gravel , boron carbide ( b 4 c ), water , and sometimes borated aluminum bars . the mkp can be present in the concentration range of 10 wt % to 60 wt %, the fly ash as 5 wt % to 50 wt %, fe 2 o 3 as 1 wt % to 35 wt %, fe 3 o 4 as 1 wt % to 50 wt %, boron carbide as 1 wt % to 20 wt %, water as 5 wt % to 30 wt %, and the aluminum bars as 1 wt % to 20 wt %. a myriad of exemplary compositions have been formulated , and are discussed in tables a - d below . however , these compositions are merely illustrative of the type which can be formulated given the ranges provided supra . as such these examples are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention . also , it should be noted that the “ sand ” and “ gravel ” designations in the tables indicate the size of the moieties utilized . generally , the “ sand ” and gravel designations comprise particles have mesh sizes as designated supra . [ 0036 ] a . final compositions of samples made with natural b 4 c ( wt . %) mkp ash fe 2 o 3 ( sand ) fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ) b 4 c h 2 o 15 . 35 14 . 35 30 . 73 30 . 73 1 7 . 84 15 . 35 11 . 25 30 . 73 30 . 73 4 . 1 7 . 84 11 . 75 10 . 75 23 . 5 46 . 99 1 6 . 02 11 . 75 7 . 65 23 . 5 46 . 99 4 . 1 6 . 02 39 . 84 38 . 84 1 20 . 32 39 . 84 35 . 74 4 . 1 20 . 32 [ 0037 ] b . final compositions of samples made with natural b 4 c ( wt . %) aluminum mkp ash fe 2 o 3 ( sand ) fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ) b 4 c h 2 o bar 15 . 35 14 . 35 30 . 73 30 . 73 1 7 . 84 10 . 0 15 . 35 11 . 25 30 . 73 30 . 73 4 . 1 7 . 84 10 . 0 11 . 75 10 . 75 23 . 5 46 . 99 1 6 . 02 7 . 7 11 . 75 7 . 65 23 . 5 46 . 99 4 . 1 6 . 02 7 . 7 the aluminum bars were borated with elemental boron . the bars &# 39 ; boron content was 4 . 5 wt . % enriched elemental boron . the elemental boron was & gt ; 95 % 10 b . additional samples were made with the direct addition of isotopically enriched b 4 c . the isotopically enriched b 4 c was also & gt ; 95 % 10 b . those samples &# 39 ; compositions are given in tables c and d . c . final compositions of samples made with enriched b 4 c ( wt . %) mkp ash fe 2 o 3 ( sand ) fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ) b 4 c h 2 o 15 . 35 14 . 35 30 . 73 30 . 73 1 7 . 84 15 . 35 11 . 25 30 . 73 30 . 73 4 . 1 7 . 84 11 . 75 10 . 75 23 . 5 46 . 99 1 6 . 02 11 . 75 7 . 65 23 . 5 46 . 99 4 . 1 6 . 02 39 . 84 38 . 84 1 20 . 32 39 . 84 35 . 74 4 . 1 20 . 32 [ 0040 ] d . final compositions of samples made with enriched b 4 c ( wt . %) aluminum mkp ash fe 2 o 3 ( sand ) fe 3 o 4 ( gravel ) b 4 c h 2 o bar 15 . 35 14 . 35 30 . 73 30 . 73 1 7 . 84 10 . 0 15 . 35 11 . 25 30 . 73 30 . 73 4 . 1 7 . 84 10 . 0 11 . 75 10 . 05 23 . 5 46 . 99 1 6 . 02 7 . 7 11 . 75 7 . 65 23 . 5 46 . 99 4 . 1 6 . 02 7 . 7 as before the aluminum bars took the place of an equal weight of ash and are 4 . 5 wt . % elemental enriched boron , & gt ; 95 % boron - 10 . also , the weight presence of aluminum bars in the examples in tables b and d are in addition to the total weight of typical samples ( i . e ., those without the bars .) while the invention has been described with reference to details of the illustrated embodiment , these details are not intended to limit the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
the invention unexpectedly provides a two - component composition in which whole tire rubber is incorporated into an asphalt medium , without air blowing or oxidation and without substantial distillation of the asphalt medium , to provide a composition in which there are no visible signs of tire rubber . the process is not dependent on the type of asphalt medium used . particles of rubber cannot be seen in the product even when viewed under a microscope . the whole tire rubber granules are fully incorporated into the asphalt medium . the two - component composition produced is simple and economical to prepare . according to the process of the invention , the whole tire rubber is incorporated into the asphalt medium by simulating a &# 34 ; boiling action &# 34 ; in the asphalt medium which allows the tire rubber to be absorbed into the asphalt medium at about 500 ° f . below about 485 °- 490 ° f . there is insufficient blending , while above about 510 ° f ., the temperature may be too close to the flash point of the liquid . a temperature of about 500 ° f . is the safest temperature to use that is high enough to provide full incorporation of whole tire rubber granules into the asphalt medium but not so high that the process becomes unsafe . the resulting composition is stable and does not separate out . no additives need to be used . the asphalt composition has many uses , such as in the roofing or paving industries . the figure illustrates schematically a process of the invention , which is a batch process . asphalt medium is stored in vessel 2 at a temperature of about 350 ° f . and whole tire rubber granules are stored in vessel 4 at ambient temperature . asphalt medium from vessel 2 is charged through pump 6 and heat exchanger 8 , where it gains temperature to about 400 °- 500 ° f ., through pipeline 10 into reactor vessel 12 . if the temperature of the asphalt medium in reactor vessel 12 is substantially below 500 ° f ., the asphalt medium may be recirculated through pipeline 13 , through pump 6 and through heat exchanger 8 to raise the temperature to or close to 500 ° f . before being returned to reactor vessel 12 . reactor vessel 12 has a top exit 14 for removal of excess gaseous hydrocarbons and other gaseous vapors , such as h 2 s , which are disposed of , for example , by incineration at a temperature of about 1350 ° f . whole tire rubber granules are fed pneumatically from storage vessel 4 into pipeline 10 which is carrying the asphalt medium from heat exchanger 8 to reactor vessel 12 . the whole tire rubber granules mix with and become wetted by the heated asphalt medium in pipeline 10 before being discharged into reactor vessel 12 . when discharge of the complete batch of asphalt medium and whole tire rubber into reactor vessel 12 is complete and a temperature of 500 ° f . is achieved , circulation of the mixture in reactor vessel 12 is started . the mixture of asphalt and whole tire rubber is circulated from about the middle of reactor vessel 12 through pipeline 16 and pump 18 , which may be a 450 - 600 gallon per minute pump , back into reactor vessel 12 through dual port jet spray nozzles 20 , 20 &# 39 ; into the bottom of reactor vessel 12 . circulation is continued at 500 ° f . until the whole tire rubber is completely integrated into the asphalt medium . the temperature in reactor vessel 12 is maintained by use of a fire tube burner ( not shown ) in the reactor vessel which maintains the temperature of the mixture in the reactor vessel so that circulation through the heat exchanger is not needed during the incorporation process . the finished product is pumped through pipeline 22 into holding vessel 24 before being blended , oxidized , polymer modified or shipped as is . in a preferred embodiment , the dual port jet spray nozzles 20 , 20 &# 39 ; are two fixed jetting nozzles 20 , 20 &# 39 ; which face away from each other at an angle of 180 ° and which are each angled downwardly at 45 ° to promote mixing throughout the mixture in reactor vessel 12 . in a non - limiting example , nozzles 20 , 20 &# 39 ; may each be formed from a 6 &# 34 ; pipe in which the opening is tapered to a 1 . 5 &# 34 ; opening . using such an arrangement , intimate mixing of the whole tire rubber granules and the asphalt medium is achieved while simulating a boiling action in the liquid mixture in the reactor vessel . the jet spray nozzles provide a propulsion spray of the liquid mixture within the body of the liquid mixture in the reactor vessel which promotes turbulence , increases pressure and simulates a boiling action in the liquid mixture . other arrangements of nozzles which achieve this effect may be used . while the preferred example illustrated in the figure shows two stationary nozzles , rotating nozzles or a different number or arrangement of nozzles may be used to achieve turbulence . the turbulence created allows the mixture to move upwardly through the reactor vessel . the incorporated product is lighter than the unincorporated or less incorporated mixture and tends to rise through the reactor vessel . thus , when the mixture is pulled from about the middle of reactor vessel 12 for circulation through pipeline 16 and pump 18 , the mixture circulated tends to be less incorporated than the mixture at the top of the reactor vessel , and during recirculation of this less incorporated mixture , is recirculated and the tire rubber granules are further softened in the turbulent environment and integrated into the asphalt medium until the samples obtained show a completely incorporated product . the pump which generates the liquid flow through the nozzles may , in non - limiting example , be a 400 gallon per minute pump . the effect of the recirculation is to provide suction of the mixture from the middle portion of the reactor vessel and discharge of the mixture into the bottom portion of the reactor vessel . advantages of the claimed process include simulating the boiling action in the vessel without excess distillation of the asphalt medium , and fully incorporating the whole tire rubber into the asphalt medium while the finished product is still &# 34 ; virgin &# 34 ;, i . e . non - oxidized or air blown . further , the finished product has a low viscosity and soft physical characteristics . when the product is modified with a polymer concentrate , it is still easily handled . the product is suitable for use in both the paving and roofing industries for forming paving and roofing grade asphalt cements , for modifying with polymers for both paving grade and roofing grade asphalt applications , for oxidizing to provide roofing grade products , and for processing for pipe coating applications , under - coatings , weather proofing membranes and other industrial applications . throughput of the process may be 200 to 300 tons per day 15 , 000 - 25 , 000 gallons per batch ) using one reactor vessel . the examples describe preferred embodiments . in a preferred embodiment , 10 - 15 % whole tire rubber of 10 - 30 mesh was used and blended with 85 - 90 % asphalt medium at 500 ° f . when the simulated boiling action of the asphalt medium is carried out at 500 ° f ., the whole tire rubber is fully incorporated into the asphalt medium . while the process which takes place is not entirely clear , it is believed that the jetting process creates the necessary turbulence and pressure environment that softens and saturates the molecular bonds in the tire rubber and allows the tire rubber to be completely consumed into the asphalt when the temperature is maintained at about 500 ° f . there is some devulcanization of the rubber as h 2 s is present in the exhaust through exit 14 from vessel 12 which is incinerated . the process fully incorporates the whole tire rubber granules into the asphalt cement without degradation and destruction of the base asphalt medium . the process may be used with many different types of asphalt cement or asphalt flux . typical asphalts , which are non - limiting examples , have the characteristics shown below : ______________________________________ asphalt ac - 20 ac - 5 flux astm # ______________________________________orig . visc . at 140 ° f . 1725 568 40 astm d2171in poisepenetration at 77 ° f . 57 153 300 + astm d5100 g . 5 sec . dmmsoftening point ° f . 118 104 65 astm d36flash point ° f . ( coc ) 585 588 565 astm d92ductility at 39 . 2 ° f . 0 5 . 5 15 astm d1135 cm / min . cm______________________________________ any asphalt medium may be used , the variation being the time taken to totally incorporate the tire rubber into the asphalt medium . whole tire rubber loading up to 20 % have been successfully incorporated into the asphalt base medium . preferred levels are 10 - 15 % whole tire rubber incorporated into 85 - 90 % asphalt medium . in a lab process chamber , in which a pump is included to circulate the liquid material and the two discharge nozzles point downwardly at 45 ° to provide a propulsion spray of liquid within the liquid phase of the reactor vessel , suction is from the bottom of the chamber and discharge is through to the top , 6 ins . below the liquid level in the chamber . the asphalt medium and whole tire rubber were blended together prior to sealing the chamber and heating . after sealing , the material is heated to 500 ° f . when that temperature is reached , the pump is started and the circulation process which takes place is continued non - stop until the run is finished . the temperature is maintained at 500 ° f . until the material is singular in composition . in a test run at 500 ° f . with 90 % asphalt ac - 20 as the asphalt medium and 10 % whole tire rubber of 30 mesh size , a 100 % fully incorporated product having the following characteristics in comparison with the asphalt ac - 20 starting material was obtained after 3 . 5 hours . ______________________________________test asphalt ac - 20 ltr - 03 product______________________________________orig . visc . at 140 ° f . 1725 1211penetration at 77 ° f . 57 93flash point ° f . 585 577smoke point ° f . 360 355ductility at 39 . 2 ° f . 0 0______________________________________ the final blend achieved is the tire rubber phase which is a liquid phase and is easily handled and easily modified with polymers , etc . example 1 was repeated using whole tire rubber of 10 - 30 mesh size . the back pressure of the circulating pump was 40 psi . a 100 % fully incorporated product was obtained after 6 . 0 hours . the characteristics of the product compared with the asphalt ac - 20 were as follows . ______________________________________test asphalt ac - 20 ltr - 04 product______________________________________orig . visc . at 140 ° f . 1725 1511penetration at 77 ° f . 57 79flash point ° f . 585 581smoke point ° f . 360 346ductility at 39 . 2 ° f . 0 0______________________________________ example 1 was repeated to determine the effect of circulation of the material on reaction time to totally incorporate the whole tire rubber . circulation of the material was slowed down to zero psi back pressure . a 100 % fully incorporated product was obtained after 5 . 0 hours . the characteristics of the product compared with the asphalt ac - 20 were as follows . ______________________________________test asphalt ac - 20 ltr - 05 product______________________________________orig . visc . at 140 ° f . 1725 1235penetration at 77 ° f . 57 89flash point ° f . 585 568smoke point ° f . 360 360ductility at 39 . 2 ° f . 0 0softening point ° f . 118 108______________________________________ example 1 was repeated to further determine the effect of circulation of the material on reaction time to totally incorporate the whole tire rubber . circulation of the material was carried out for 2 minutes every hour only . a 100 % fully incorporated product was obtained after 9 . 0 hours . the characteristics of the product compared with the asphalt ac - 20 were as follows . ______________________________________test asphalt ac - 20 ltr - 06 product______________________________________orig . visc . at 140 ° f . 1725 1335penetration at 77 ° f . 57 81flash point ° f . 585 573smoke point ° f . 360 358ductility at 39 . 2 ° f . 0 0softening point ° f . 118 110______________________________________ using different grades of asphalt medium , the following examples were carried out . in a further lab test , 90 % asphalt ac - 5 was used with 10 % tire rubber particles ( 20 mesh ). 5650 . 2 grams ac - 5 was heated to 350 ° f . and poured into a lab size reactor . the 627 . 8 grams rubber particles were added to the ac - 5 material and stirred for about 10 - 15 seconds to wet the tire rubber particles . the reactor was sealed and the blend was heated to 500 ° f . liquid circulation was started at 400 ° f . the mixture in the reactor vessel was circulated by pulling mixture from the middle of the reactor vessel and discharging it into the bottom of the reactor vessel through two jet nozzles arranged to inject the liquid mixture in opposite directions into the liquid already in the reactor vessel , causing turbulence in the mixture . circulation was continued until the tire rubber particles were completely incorporated into the asphalt medium . samples were pulled from the reactor vessel every hour . the physical appearance was visually inspected by smearing a small amount of liquid on a glass plate to determine the smoothness rating of the mixture . the process was completed when 100 % incorporation or smoothness was achieved . once smoothness was achieved , the sample was drained into a container and the physical properties were tested . in this example , the complete process took 6 . 0 hours . ______________________________________test product astm method______________________________________viscosity @ 140 ° f ., poise 534 astm d2171penetration @ 77 ° f . 182 astm ds100 g , 5 sec , dmmsoftening point ° f . 107 astm d36flash point ° f ., coc 565 astm d92ductility @ 39 . 2 ° f . 42 . 5 astm d1135 cm / min , cm______________________________________ a plant run was carried out using a mixture of 127 , 000 pounds ( 15 , 000 gallons ) of ac - 5 asphalt medium together with 14 , 166 pounds of tire rubber particles ( 20 mesh ). the mixture was in the proportion of 90 % asphalt medium to 10 % tire rubber particles . the asphalt material was heated to 350 ° f . in the asphalt storage tank and then transferred from the storage tank into the reactor vessel , via the heat exchanger . the temperature of the asphalt medium reaching the reactor vessel was 405 ° f . the asphalt medium was circulated through the heat exchanger again to increase the asphalt temperature to 500 ° f . while the asphalt medium was circulating , the tire rubber particles were added to the asphalt medium by pneumatically injecting the tire rubber parties directly into the asphalt stream on the discharge side of the pump , before entering the reactor vessel . this wetted the rubber particles with the asphalt medium . after the tire rubber particles were added into the mixture , the circulation process began . a positive displacement pump of 450 gpm capacity pulled the mixture from the middle level of the liquid in the reactor vessel and discharged it back into the bottom of the reactor vessel through two jet nozzles . the openings are directed in opposite directions , preferably but not necessarily at a 45 ° downward angle . the jet nozzles propel the liquid mixture in the nozzles into the liquid mixture in the reactor vessel to promote turbulence and facilitate incorporation of the tire rubber particles into the asphalt medium . other arrangements of jet nozzles may be used to achieve the same result . the circulation was continued and the temperature maintained at 500 ° f . until the tire rubber particles were totally incorporated into the asphalt base . samples were pulled from the reactor vessel every hour and the physical appearance was visually inspected by smearing a small amount of liquid on a glass plate to determine the smoothness rating of the mixture . once 100 % smoothness was achieved , the physical properties were tested . the complete process took 10 . 0 hours . the product had the following properties : ______________________________________test product astm method______________________________________viscosity @ 140 ° f ., poise 559 astm d2171penetration @ 77 ° f . 189 astm d5100 g , 5 sec , dmmsoftening point ° f . 103 astm d36flash point ° f ., coc 560 astm d92ductility @ 39 . 2 ° f . 45 . 5 astm d1135 cm / min , cm______________________________________ in another laboratory run , 10 % ground tire rubber granules ( 20 mesh ) were mixed with 90 % asphalt medium ( ac - 20 ) in the proportion of 606 . 1 g ground tire rubber to 5454 . 5 g asphalt medium . the asphalt medium was heated to 350 ° f . and the heated asphalt medium poured into the lab size reactor . the ground tire rubber was added to the ac - 20 asphalt medium and stirred for approximately 10 - 15 seconds to wet the tire rubber particles . the reactor was sealed and the blend heated to 500 ° f . liquid circulation was started at 400 ° f . the circulated mixture was pulled from a middle portion of the reactor vessel and discharged into the bottom portion of the reactor vessel through two jet nozzles that disperse the liquid medium in opposite directions causing turbulence in the mixture . the circulation was continued until the ground tire rubber was completely incorporated into the asphalt medium . samples were taken from the reactor vessel every hour and the physical appearance was visually inspected by smearing a small amount of liquid on a glass plate to determine the smoothness rating of the mixture . when smoothness was achieved , the contents of the reactor vessel were drained and the physical properties of the product were tested . the complete process took 9 . 0 hours . the results obtained were as follows : ______________________________________test product astm method______________________________________viscosity @ 140 ° f ., poise 1335 astm d2171penetration @ 77 ° f . 92 astm d5100 g , 5 sec , dmmsoftening point ° f . 117 astm d36flash point ° f ., coc 580 astm d92ductility @ 39 . 2 ° f . 4 . 5 astm d1135 cm / min , cm______________________________________ in a further laboratory run , 15 % ground tire rubber granules of 10 mesh ( 550 g ) were mixed with 85 % asphalt medium ac - 5 ( 3116 . 8 g ). the method of example 7 was repeated . smoothness was achieved after 6 . 0 hours . the product had the following characteristics : ______________________________________test product astm method______________________________________viscosity @ 140 ° f ., poise 482 astm d2171penetration @ 77 ° f . 208 astm d5100 g , 5 sec , dmmsoftening point ° f . 99 astm d36flash point ° f ., coc 560 astm d92ductility @ 39 . 2 ° f . 44 astm d1135 cm / min , cm______________________________________ in a further laboratory run , 20 % ground tire rubber granules of 10 - 30 mesh ( 1130 . 2 g ) was mixed with 80 % asphalt flux ( 4520 . 8 g ). the method of example 7 was repeated . smoothness was achieved after 4 . 0 hours . the product had the following characteristics : ______________________________________test product astm method______________________________________viscosity @ 140 ° f ., poise 113 astm d2171penetration @ 77 ° f . 300 + astm d5100 g , 5 sec , dmmsoftening point ° f . 73 astm d36flash point ° f ., coc 580 astm d92ductility @ 39 . 2 ° f . 100 + astm d1135 cm / min , cm______________________________________ while the invention has been described above with respect to certain embodiments thereof , it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 2 |
the detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended to provide example embodiments of the present invention and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the invention may be constructed or utilized . the description sets forth the functions and the sequences of steps for constructing and operating the invention . however , it is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different embodiments that are also intended to be encompassed within the spirit and scope of the invention . some embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to fig1 - 16 . additional embodiments , features , and / or advantages of the invention will become apparent from the description or may be learned by practicing the invention . the drawings in the figures are not to scale and have like numerals referring to like features through both the drawings and the description . the system for enhanced preparation and storage of home - processed food portions can include a blender base 10 , at least one blender container 20 having a removable blade adapter 30 with a blade member 32 , a storage cup 40 with a removable lid 50 and a freshness indicator 60 , a cup storage tray 70 , a food storage tray 80 , a food storage tray cover 84 , a removable lid 50 adapted to fit the blender container 20 , and a spatula 110 . for the purposes of this invention , the term “ blender ” is generally defined as a device having whirling blades for chopping , mixing , blending , processing , or liquefying foods . functionally , the blender base 10 has an electric motor 500 of the type generally known in the art to provide rotary motion to a blade 32 of the blade adapter 30 to process food in a blender container 20 . when the blender container 20 and removable blade adapter 30 are manufactured as one component or as separate components that are affixed with one another , the blade adapter 30 and blender container 20 can be operatively connected with the blender base 10 to process food in the blender container 20 . the blade member 32 is positioned within the blender container 20 during operation of the blender portion ( i . e . the blender base 10 , the blender container 20 , and the removable blade adapter 30 ) of the system . an open end 22 of the blender container 20 may be coupled to a removable blade adapter 30 incorporating a blade member 32 adapted to agitate the contents of the container 20 . the blade member 32 is operatively coupled to an impeller 301 powered by a blender motor 500 of the type generally shown in fig5 . the blade member 32 can include one , two , three , four or more cutting elements , as needed . the cutting elements can be generally flat members with sharpened edges , pointed tips , and / or one or more bends along the surface of the cutting elements . different blade 32 embodiments may be suited for different foods . for example , a flatter blade 32 may be utilized to mill grains to make cereals . a cross - blade 32 that can be comprised of the flatter blade and a raised blade , as shown in fig7 , can be utilized to puree and blend foods . the removable blade adapter 30 can be affixed to an open end 22 of the blender container 20 via a thread - fit , friction fit , snap - fit or any other suitable type of attachment . the open end 22 of the blender container 20 can also have at least one protruding locking member 26 , as generally shown in fig8 , 9 , and 11 . the locking members 26 are adapted to operatively lock blender container 20 to a blender base 10 of the type generally shown in fig2 - 4 and 10 . the locking members 26 allow the user to operate the blender without requiring a constant application of force to container 20 ( to keep the motor switched on ). an open end 22 of the blender container 20 can also comprise a lip 28 that extends along the outer perimeter of the blender container 20 . the lip 28 is at least flush or can extend beyond the perimeter of the top edge of the blender base 10 to prevent liquids or processed food from spilling into the blender base 10 . fig2 and 8 - 11 generally illustrate various configurations of a blender container 20 which may be adapted for small or large servings to be prepared / consumed by one and / or a few individuals . for example , fig1 and 11 generally show a blender container 20 having one open end 22 and one closed end 24 . the container 20 can have one or more handles 100 . the container 20 can be bullet - shaped and can include at least one protruding element 21 , such as an external ridge generally shaped to permit the container 20 to rest on its apex without tipping over . as shown in fig1 , the container 20 is resting on a plurality of protruding elements 21 , allowing users convenient access to its interior . the number of protruding elements 21 , such as fin protrusions or ridges , may be varied as needed so long as the container 20 can stand upright on a substantially flat surface . in the alternative , a closed end 24 of the blender container 20 can have a flat surface rather than bullet - shape to stand upright without the need for one or more external protruding elements 21 . the embodiment shown in fig1 is a mug - type drinking vessel 20 . the mug 20 with a removable lid 50 provides another serving and storing option . the mug 20 can have two handles 100 . a sipper top 120 , depicted in fig1 , may be placed on top of the blender container 20 in place of a removable lid 50 . a sipper top 120 may be used to prevent spills when children use the mug 20 . the sipper top 120 can be affixed to an open end 22 of the container 20 via threads , a friction fit , snap - fit or other suitable type of attachment . the user may blend the contents of the blender container 20 ( fig1 ), detach the container 20 from the blender base 10 , access the contents of container 20 with the container 20 standing upright on a flat surface , and store the contents for later use using a removable lid 50 ( fig1 ). in such embodiments , the container 20 may be used as , besides a drinking vessel , an alternative storage cup 40 . the removable lid 50 can be affixed to an open end 22 of the container 20 via threads , a friction fit , snap - fit or other suitable type of attachment . once the removable lid 50 is affixed , the container 20 may be inverted to rest on the lid . another embodiment of the blender container 20 is shown in fig2 , 8 , and 9 . the blender container 20 can have two open ends , a first open end 22 and a second open end 23 . one open end 22 of the blender container 20 is adapted to connect with a removable blade adapter 30 having a blade member 32 , as described above . as shown in fig8 - 9 , the open end 22 of the blender container 20 that is capable of connecting to the removable blade adapter 30 can be provided with one or more locking members 26 . the locking members 26 can be spaced about the periphery of an open end of the container 20 . the open end 22 of the blender container 20 that can affix with a blade adapter 30 can also comprise a lip 28 that extends along the outer perimeter of the blender container 20 to prevent liquids or processed food from spilling on to the blender base 10 . the container 20 can include one or more handles 100 . the second open end 23 of the blender container 20 can attach to removable lid members 90 , 92 ( fig2 and 8 ). the lid member 90 may be partially open to provide access to the interior of blender container 20 . a second lid member 92 may be coupled to the first lid member 90 to cut off access to the interior of the blender container 20 . the lid member 90 may be locked on to the open top of the blender container 20 via a cap - locking member . the cap - locking member may be implemented , for example , as a generally l - shaped ridge disposed at the lip of an open end 23 of blender container 20 . the cap - locking member can engage a corresponding locking member on lid member 90 to securely lock the same to blender container 20 . other suitable lid configurations may be utilized , as needed , such as a one - piece or a multi - piece lid cap and / or the like . the blender containers 20 can be adapted to hold a small or relatively larger volume of food and liquids . larger sized blender containers 20 allow a user to process multiple food portions with one use and transfer the food portions to storage cups 40 or a food storage tray 80 for storage . the blender base 10 includes a recessed well 300 , as generally depicted in reference to fig3 - 4 . the blender base 10 includes a motor 500 ( fig5 ) that is operatively coupled to an impeller 301 ( fig3 ). the impeller 301 can comprise a plurality of symmetrically disposed blades 303 radiating from the center of impeller 301 . a plurality of bushings 305 ( fig3 - 4 ) may be utilized about the periphery of recessed well 300 . alternatively , the blender base 10 may be adapted for use without utilization of bushings 305 . the bushings 305 may be made from a generally resilient material such as , but not limited to , rubber , silicone or the like to reduce vibrations during agitation of the container &# 39 ; s 20 contents . the recessed well 300 is further provided with a plurality of pressure - activated switches 302 ( fig3 - 4 ). the removable blade adapter 30 is adapted to fit within the recessed well 300 and couple operatively to the impeller 301 . in use , the weight of the blender container 20 can cause the downward movement of the switches 302 thereby activating the motor 500 . a user may also press the blender container 20 to cause downward movement of the switches to activate the motor 500 . as generally shown in fig3 , a locking groove 304 can be provided adjacent to the switch 302 . accordingly , in use , when the locking members 26 ( fig8 - 11 ) contact and depress the respective switches 302 , the blender container 20 may be rotated by the user to allow the locking members 26 to engage the respective locking grooves 304 . as generally depicted in fig6 , when a force f 1 is applied to the switch 302 , the switch 302 moves downward , i . e . in the direction of the applied force . this downward movement causes a cam 600 on the switch 302 to contact a motor power switch 501 thereby powering the blender motor 500 ( fig5 ). accordingly , depending on the intended use or application , the blender container 20 may be depressed to activate the motor 500 ( fig5 ) for relatively short periods of time . for example , the user may want to pulse the blending action of the blender to create a thicker or chunkier consistency of food . alternatively , the blender container 20 may be depressed and rotated slightly to allow the at least one locking member 26 to engage the respective locking grooves 304 , thereby permitting continuous operation of the motor 500 , i . e . without requiring the user to exert constant pressure on the container 20 to keep the motor running . the user may want to utilize this option to create a thinner or finer consistency of food . the system includes multiple storage devices to store freshly processed food in addition to the blender containers 20 . for example , as shown in fig1 , a storage cup 40 with a freshness indicator 60 provides a storage option for foods processed by the blender portion of the system . the storage cup 40 can include one or more protruding elements 42 , such as ridges or fin protrusions extending from the closed end of the storage cup 40 shown in fig1 . the protruding elements 42 also add a decorative element to the storage cup 40 and increase the stability of the storage cup 40 when it is placed on a surface , such as a table . the storage cup 40 can be made in different sizes to accommodate different uses and desired storage capabilities . the storage cups 40 can thereby be used to store various quantities of food portions . each size of the storage cup 40 can have a respective removable lid 50 . the storage cups 40 can also be used as drinking vessels if desired . the storage cup 40 can include an indicator 60 to indicate the freshness of the food portion stored in the storage cup 40 . in one embodiment shown in fig1 , the indicator 60 includes an indicator window 64 through which a reference indicium 66 is visible . in the depicted embodiment , the reference indicium 66 is a number that indicates the day of the month . for example , the “ 31 ” shown in fig1 indicates the 31 st day of the month . the first through thirty - first days of a month can be printed about the outer perimeter of the storage cup 40 . rotating a rotatable element 62 attached with the storage cup 40 can change the reference indicium 66 such that the desired date or number is shown through the indicator window 64 on the rotatable element 62 , while the remaining numbers are covered by the rotatable element 62 . the reference indicium 66 can also indicate the number of days the food will remain fresh or the number of remaining days that the food will remain fresh . in another embodiment , the blender containers 20 can include indicators 60 , each having a rotatable element 62 , an indicator window 64 , and a reference indicium 66 as described above . the indicators 60 of all embodiments can be adjustable and reusable and the reference indicium 66 need not be limited to numbers but may include a picture or word in alternative embodiments . as illustrated in fig1 , the system can include a convenient tray 70 for storing multiple storage cups 40 . the cup storage tray 70 can be made of plastic and includes one or more receptacles 72 . each receptacle 72 is shaped and dimensioned to accept a storage cup 40 . the receptacle 72 can include one or more slots 74 to align with the protruding elements 42 , such as the fin protrusions 42 shown in the figures , of the storage cup 40 . in the depicted embodiment , the cup storage tray 70 can hold six storage cups 40 . also , the underside of the cup storage tray 70 is shaped and dimensioned to allow a cup storage tray 70 with storage cups 40 to be stacked on top of another cup storage tray 70 with storage cups 40 . in such a configuration , the removable lid 50 of each storage cup 40 fits into a recess on the underside of the cup storage tray 70 . in another embodiment , each receptacle 72 of the cup storage tray is adapted to receive a plurality of blender containers 20 in a similar manner as it receives the storage cups 40 , described above . a user can also transfer the freshly made food to a food storage tray , depicted in fig1 . the food storage tray 80 can be made from a flexible material and has one or more cavities 82 . as shown in fig1 , a storage tray cover 84 can be provided , and is dimensioned to fit over the top of the food storage tray 80 . in this way , when food is placed within the cavities 82 of the food storage tray 80 , the food can be covered by placing the storage tray cover 84 over the food storage tray 80 . the food storage tray 80 can also comprise a slightly raised lip 86 defining each cavity on the top side of the food storage tray . the storage tray cover 84 can have a plurality of complimentary recesses 88 formed in the bottom side of the cover 84 that fit over each lip 86 . when the cover 84 is affixed to the tray 80 , the lip 86 of each cavity 82 of the food storage tray 80 can fit within a respective recess 88 in the storage tray cover 84 to provide a sealed fit over each individual cavity 82 for improved preservation of the food . a method of using the food processor system can involve processing food , such as ingredients for baby food , with the blender components of the system . after the food is processed , the food can be transferred to the storage cups 40 by using the spatula 110 . the user can , for example adjust the indicator 60 by rotating a rotatable element 62 of the food storage cup 40 to set the reference indicium 66 before or after processing the food and transferring the food to the storage cups 40 . the reference indicium 66 may represent the date the food was placed into the storage cup 40 , the date in which food should be used by , or any other reminder freshness indicium 66 the user desires , including but not limited to the number of days in which the food will remain fresh or the number of days remaining in which the food will be fresh . each storage cup 40 can be covered with a removable lid 50 before or after adjusting the indicator 60 . alternatively , the food can be transferred to the food storage tray 80 , using the spatula 110 if desired , and covered with the storage tray cover 84 . the spatula 110 can be specifically formed to remove processed food from the blender containers 20 , food storage cups 40 , and / or food storage tray 80 . an example embodiment of a spatula 110 is shown in fig1 . once the processed food has been transferred to the desired storage containers , such as blender containers 20 , storage cups 40 , or food storage trays 80 , the prepared food can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer . thus , multiple portions of freshly processed food can be prepared with one use of the system and subsequently saved among multiple storage devices . the user may use the individual servings as needed , without wasting any of the freshly made food . the blender containers 20 , removable blade adapter 30 , storage cups 40 , and food storage trays 80 can be made of bpa - free material and dishwasher - safe . for example , the blender containers 20 , storage cups 40 , and respective removable lids 50 can be made of bpa - free plastics or another suitable material . the food storage tray 80 and storage tray cover 84 can be made of bpa - free plastic , silicone , or other suitable material . when the food storage tray 80 is comprised of silicone , the cavities 82 are flexible so they can pop up from the tray 80 to allow easier remove the desired amount of food from the tray 80 . accordingly , one can easily remove , or pop out , food portions that have been frozen in the food storage tray 80 , and the tray 80 can be reused . the method can yield multiple pre - planned portions of food servings . as a non - limiting example , each storage cup 40 and food storage tray &# 39 ; s cavity 82 can be made to hold a two - ounce serving of freshly made baby food . using an appropriately sized blender container , a user can make several portions of a baby food at one time . in addition , the user can add a desired amount of liquid such as water to achieve a desired consistency of the baby food . the following table provides non - limiting examples of produce that can yield certain , approximate numbers of baby food portions such that a user can plan a menu prior to performing the remaining steps of the method described herein . certain foods may require pre - cooking prior to performing the method . utilizing this system and method , one can create a week &# 39 ; s worth of baby food or more in less than five minutes . in addition , a user can pre - plan the amount of food he or she will make . one can also create a feeding schedule for a baby approximately four months and older , utilizing foods that are appropriate for the baby &# 39 ; s age . this invention may be industrially applied to the development , manufacture , and use of food processors , particularly devices for producing baby food . while the present invention has been described with regards to particular embodiments , it is recognized that additional variations of the present invention may be devised without departing from the inventive concept . a person skilled in the art would appreciate that exemplary embodiments described hereinabove are merely illustrative of the general principles of the present invention . other components , configurations , modifications or variations may be employed that are within the scope of the invention . accordingly , the drawings and description are illustrative and not meant to be a limitation thereof . all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context . in particular , the terms “ comprises ” and “ comprising ” should be interpreted as referring to elements , components , or steps in a non - exclusive manner , indicating that the referenced elements , components , or steps may be present , or utilized , or combined with other elements , components , or steps that are not expressly referenced . the term “ adapted to ” is drawn to a capability . thus , it is intended that the invention cover all embodiments and variations thereof as long as such embodiments and variations come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . | 0 |
referring more specifically to the drawings , for illustrative purposes the present invention will be disclosed in relation to fig1 through fig1 it will be appreciated that the system and apparatus of the invention may vary as to configuration and as to details of the constituent components , and that the method may vary as to the specific steps and sequence , without departing from the basic concepts as disclosed herein . the context in which this invention is disclosed is an application running on a server or other computing device . without affecting the general case of multiple applications , the following disclosures often depict and describe just one application . multiple applications are handled in a similar manner . likewise , the disclosures generally describe applications with one or two processes ; any number of processes is handled in a similar manner . finally , the disclosures generally describe one or two threads per process ; any number of threads is handled in a similar manner fig1 illustrates by way of example embodiment 10 the overall structure of the present invention . the following brief overview illustrates the high - level relationship between the various components ; further details on the inner workings and interdependencies are provided in the following sections . fig1 illustrates by way of example embodiment 10 a host 12 with an application 16 loaded into system memory 14 . the application 16 is comprised of two processes ; process a 18 and process b 20 . each of the two processes has two running threads . process a contains thread t 0 22 and thread t 1 24 , while process b is contains thread t 3 26 and thread t 4 28 . as part of loading the application 16 an interception layer ( il ) 23 , 29 is pre - loaded into the address space of each process . interception layer 23 for process a is preloaded into process a &# 39 ; s address space and interception layer 29 is preloaded into process b &# 39 ; s address space . the interception layers 23 , 29 assist in building the statistical model for the application 16 . the system libraries 36 are generally interposed between the application 16 and operating system 38 . the interceptors communicate with the statistical fault detector ( sfd ) 30 , which is the module responsible for building the statistical model of the application and for issuing fault detection events . system resources , such as cpus 46 , i / o devices 44 , network interfaces 42 and storage 40 are accessed using the operating system . devices accessing remote resources use some form of transport network 48 . by way of example , system networking 42 may use tcp / ip over ethernet transport , storage 40 may use fibre channel or ethernet transport , and i / o 44 may use usb . fig1 illustrates the system libraries 36 as separate from the application 16 and the individual processes process a 18 and process b 20 . the system libraries are generally shared libraries . for clarity of presentation , the system libraries are depicted outside the address space of the individual processes , even though some library state and code is present within the address space of the individual application processes . fig2 illustrates by way of example embodiment 200 the high - level interception flow . by way of example , and not limitation , an application 202 is comprised of one process 204 ; multiple processes are handled in a similar manner . the interception layer ( il ) 206 intercepts calls to the system libraries and operating system . to better illustrate the operation , fig2 illustrates an il 206 with ‘ n ’ interceptors e 1 208 through en 216 . interceptors are furthermore divided into event groups ( egs ). example groupings include , but are not limited to : i / o , networking , memory , processes , threads , and security . the primary purpose of the event groups is to group ( or associate ) related functionality and more conveniently express statistical relationships and properties among interceptors within a group . by way of example , it is more likely that two interceptors related to file operations have correlated behavior , than one interceptor for a file operation and one interceptor for thread management . however , the grouping is arbitrary , and as disclosed above , only serve to more conveniently express statistical relationships between similar , and thus likely related , interceptors . the association of events with specific event groups is provided within the statistical fault detector , and further disclosed below . referring again to fig2 for example embodiment 200 , e 1 208 intercepts a function , collects statistical data 218 , delivers said data 228 to the statistical fault detector 230 , and calls the real library call 234 . upon completing the library call 234 further statistical data is collected and sent 228 to the sfd 230 , and the call returns 218 . likewise for e 2 210 , e 3 212 , e 4 214 and en 216 , data is collected 220 , 222 , 224 and 226 respectively and delivered 228 to the sfd 230 , the calls finished 236 , 238 , 240 and 242 , more statistical data sent 228 and the calls returned 220 , 222 , 224 and 226 respectively . in the example embodiment 200 and associated disclosures the intercepted calls terminate 234 , 236 , 238 , 240 and 242 in the system library . identical teachings apply if the calls terminated in a non - system library , the kernel or other library . the statistical fault detector ( sfd ) 230 builds a statistical model 250 , 252 for every intercepted call 206 . said statistical models adapt as newly intercepted data is added and older data is discarded . the sfd is disclosed in further detail below . fig3 illustrates by way of example embodiment 300 , the core interception architecture for an application with one process , process a 302 , and with interceptor 306 . by way of example , ifunc1 ( ) is subject to interception . when process a reaches 304 ifunc1 ( ) it is intercepted 308 and the call redirected to the interceptor 306 . the interceptor collects relevant statistical information about ifunc1 ( ). in the following said statistical information is called an event sample ( es ) or simply an event . event samples are further defined below . first an event sample es 1 307 is created . at this time the implementation 318 of ifunc1 ( ) has not been called , and es 1 therefore contain information about the intended behavior of ifunc1 ( ). by way of example , if ifunc1 ( ) is a call to write data , es 1 307 may contain the number of bytes to be written , the name of the file , and the file attributes . the initial event sample es 1 307 is sent 311 to the statistical fault detector ( sfd ) 314 . the interceptor then calls the implementation for ifunc1 ( ) 316 , 318 . upon returning from the library implementation 316 the return value and a second event sample es 2 313 is created . es 2 313 contains the results of calling the implementation of ifunc1 ( ) including any error values , and optionally contains information such as the time it took to complete the implementation of ifunc1 ( ) 318 . es 2 313 thus contain event sample information representing the actual behavior of ifunc1 ( ) es 2 313 is then sent 312 to the sfd 314 . the interceptor then returns 310 to ifunc1 ( ) 304 in process a 302 . upon returning to the caller 310 process a resumes execution and process a is unaware that the call to ifunc1 ( ) was intercepted and one or more statistical events generated . in an alternate embodiment , only one event sample is generated for each interception . es 307 is collected but never transmitted , and later combined into es 2 313 , which is transmitted 312 to the sfd 314 . combining es 1 and es 2 produces fewer transmitted messages to the sfd 314 , but loses the ability to easily separate intended behavior from actual behavior . in yet another embodiment es 2 is used to baseline all statistical events , and there is no distinction between intended behavior and actual behavior . in a preferred embodiment the interception layer is implemented as a shared library and pre - loaded into each application process &# 39 ; address space as part of loading the application . shared libraries are generally implemented in such a way that each instance of the interception layer share the same code , but have their own private data . in a multi - process application the interception layer is therefore comprised of one interception layer per application process , and together the process - level interception layers comprise the interception layer for the entire application . a related issue with interception is that intercepted functions may call other intercepted functions . as long as said calls are performed using public intercepted names , the previous teachings fully describe the interception . at times shared - library developers take shortcuts and don &# 39 ; t use the public names , but refer directly to the implementation using a private name . in such cases , the interceptor may overlay a copy of the intercepted shared library code using fully resolved public function names . the sfd receives all the individual event samples , and uses the event samples to create a statistical model for each event type and possibly one or more event groups . the sfd creates models for both individual events and event groups , as event groups may be used to find faults across a subsystem before the individual events are showing faults with statistical significance . by way of example , we examine the event samples for two functions from the standard i / o library , often referred to as stdio . h ( http :// en . wikipedia . org / wiki / stdio . h ): referring to the signatures of the two methods , fopen opens a file with filename and path “ path ” and mode field as indicated in “ mode ”. the result of fopen ( ) is returned as null if fopen ( ) failed , or a pointer to the file if fopen ( ) succeeded . similarly , fwrite ( ) writes “ count ” data blocks of size “ size ” contained in “ array ” to the file indicated by “ stream ”. the operation and definitions of in stdio . h are well known to anyone skilled in the art , and will thus only be explained to the extent necessary to fully teach the present invention . event samples for fopen ( ) captures data relevant to building a statistical model for the operation of fopen ( ). said data include , but may not be limited to : time stamp , file name (* path ), mode (* mode ), and state of file pointer (* file ). event samples for fwrite ( ) captures data relevant to building a statistical model for the operation of fwrite ( ). said data include , but may not be limited to : time stamp , file pointer (* stream ), data (* array ), size of data blocks ( size ), and number of blocks ( count ). each event is assigned an event type , corresponding to the type of function being intercepted . by way of example fopen ( ), fwrite ( ) and fread ( ) would be assigned separate and distinct event types . a time stamp ( ts ) is included in all event samples and designates the time at which the event was created . in a preferred embodiment eventtype is encoded as an integer , while in an alternate embodiment the eventtype is encoded as a string or xml . the creation of the statistical model for events is disclosed below . event groups , as disclosed above , are groupings of related interceptors . by way of example , functions in stdio . h may be grouped into one event group . the benefits of grouping may be illustrated by way of example : a fault causing e . g . fwrite ( ) to fail for a particular file , will likely also cause following fread ( ), getchar ( ), fputs ( ) and other stdio . h functions to fail for the same file . one fault may thus cause a cascade of related fault and while one fault in e . g . fwrite ( ) may be difficult to detect , the cascade of many faults in the event group may reach statistical significance sooner than the individual events . event groups are thus an effective way to detect faults in cases where a larger number of separate faults together reach statistical significance . the creation of a statistical model for event groups is disclosed below . in a preferred embodiment events are assigned at least one event group corresponding to the library or module wherein the interceptor is implemented . an event may be a member of more than one event group as is disclosed below . fig4 illustrates by way of example embodiment 400 , the initial stages of event processing within the sfd 406 . as previously disclosed , events 408 are generated within the interceptors 402 and sent 404 to the sfd . upon arriving at the sfd , the incoming events are processed by the event distribution ( ed ) 410 module . as previously disclosed , each event may belong to one or more event groups , and disclosed in section 4 . 5 below , is organized into a hierarchy of events and event groups . said event groups and event group hierarchy is maintained within the sfd , and is thus available to the ed facility . by way of example ‘ n ’ distinct events are supported : event e 1 412 , e 2 414 , e 3 416 and en 418 . event groups eg_a 1 420 , eg_a 2 422 , eg_am 424 , eg_b 1 430 , and eg_bp 432 are example event groups . e 1 412 is a member of eg_a 1 420 and by association in event group eg_b 1 430 . the event group hierarchy is further disclosed below . processing of event e 1 412 proceeds as follows : the event group hierarchy for event e 1 412 is identified , and the event e 1 412 is passed to eg_a 1 420 and eg_b 1 430 . the single event e 1 is thus processed by the core event e 1 and all event groups in which e 1 is a member . the event fault detector ( etd ) infrastructure 440 for said events and event groups are further disclosed below . the statistical models for events in the present invention address the following factors : 1 . raw event distribution without time factor 2 . temporal event distribution where by way of example time of day , day of week , or day of month are factored into the distribution . 3 . spatial event distributions where distributions are aggregated across multiple systems and networks , including systems that are co - located or located at multiple geographic locations . 4 . transformation of events to facility processing and creation of distributions or creation of additional events . all of said factors may influence fault detection , and may be in use to both accurately detect a system fault or to accurately eliminate a system fault . by way of example , consider a large enterprise email system , where every monday at 8 : 00 the email system gets unusually busy based on everyone coming back to work after the weekend . while the unusual traffic profile may indicate a problem , and the likely slower response times may indicate a problem , the temporal distribution will likely show that monday &# 39 ; s around 8 am have unusually heavy traffic . the interplay of the temporal weekly distribution with the raw traffic distribution thus provide a mechanism to avoid falsely designate the monday 8 am slow response times as a fault condition . the raw event distribution ( red ) is comprised of a specific amount of recent events . by way of example , the raw event distribution may consist of the most recent 100 , 000 events without consideration as to when the events took place . as a new event arrives , the oldest one is removed . the specific number of events may be pre - defined or may be dynamically determined using , by way of example , frequency of data , dynamic data range , minimum number of events for statistical significance , or other measurement . fig5 illustrates by way of example embodiment 500 a raw event distribution 502 for a specific event type . the event type is “ response time ” for an event and the distribution is a distribution of response time 506 versus the number of times (“ count ”) 504 the specific response time occurred . as part of the distribution the mean 508 is calculated . additionally , a measure of “ distribution - variability ” (“ dv ”) is calculated 510 , 512 . examples of said “ distribution - variability ” are standard deviation and standard error , but other custom error measures may also be used . a custom distribution - agnostic dv is given below . the calculation of mean , standard deviation and standard error are well known in the art and will thus not be further disclosed herein . generally , standard deviation and standard error are used in the context of the normal , also called gaussian , distribution . however , without knowledge about the distribution , many of the “ well - known ” facts about the standard deviation and its properties may no longer be assumed true . a simpler distribution - agnostic dv may be calculated as follows : sort all events in the distribution and remove the top x % and the bottom x %. the remaining interval may be interpreted as 2 * dv , and the mean be set to the median value of the distribution . this approach ensures distribution - agnostic values of mean and dv and provides specific measurement of the distribution and its variability . by way of example , the dv may be calculated by removing the top 5 % and the bottom 5 % of all events . the interval from the mean minus dv 514 to the mean plus dv 516 thus contains the majority of all events and may be used to determine if an event is a normal event or an abnormal event . by way of example , if an event 518 is contained within the interval [ mean − dv ; mean + dv ] it may be assumed that this is a normal event and that everything is working according to historical norms . if an event arrives outside 520 [ mean − dv ; mean + dv ] it may be assumed that this is an abnormal event and that something may be working improperly . if the event outside the interval only occurs a few times and then disappears 520 it was likely a spurious issue that may be ignored . if however , there are multiple events clustered over a range 522 , it may be assumed that something has gone wrong and that corrective action is required . to determine if multiple events occur in sufficient numbers to merit corrective action , the number of clustered events outside the [ mean − dv ; mean + dv ] interval may be compared to the average number of events for events with the [ mean − dv , mean + dv ] interval 524 . other measurements to determine sufficient number of events may be average number of events plus a fraction of standard deviation , or other custom statistical measure . the above teachings thus provide a distribution - agnostic mechanism to determine if events are within the historical characteristics of an event distribution or if the events fall sufficiently outside the historical characteristics to trigger fault detection . in the context of fault detection , the most recent events are compared to the reference distribution . the teachings use the terminology “ statistical significance ” to designate that a sufficient number of , generally recent , events have taken place within or outside the dv interval . the interval from mean minus dv to mean plus dv may also be interpreted as the “ confidence interval ” for the event distribution . these are broader definitions than typically found in statistics , where statistical significance and confidence intervals often are expressed in the context of a particular distribution . the temporal event distribution ( ted ) is built on the raw event distribution ( red ) with one significant addition . teds are a subset of the reds , and only contain events that meet specific temporal filter . example temporal filters are : time of day , day of week with time of day , and day of month with time of day . fig6 illustrates by way of example embodiment 600 the temporal event distribution with two days . more than two days are handled in a similar manner . the first day monday 610 is by way of example broken into hourly distributions . by way of example , block 00 612 contains all events occurring between 00 : 00 up to an excluding 01 : 00 . block 01 614 contains all events occurring between 1 : 00 up to and excluding 2 : 00 , block 02 616 contains all events occurring between 02 : 00 up to and excluding 03 : 00 , and block 23 618 contains all events occurring between 23 : 00 up to and excluding 24 : 00 . similarly , tuesday 620 is broken into 24 hourly distributions with 622 , 624 , 626 , 628 each corresponding to an hour of the day . all events for a day are thus divided among hourly blocks , and each block of events comprise a separate distribution . by way of example , the raw event distribution ( red ) 602 for block 02 616 on monday 610 is comprised of all events on monday falling within the specified time window . similarly , block 02 626 on tuesday contains the red 604 corresponding to the same time interval , but only containing events from tuesday . the example raw event distributions 602 , 604 thus describe events within the 02 : 00 through and excluding 03 : 00 timeframe on monday and tuesday respectively . in an alternate example embodiment the day of week is disregarded and all events are divided into 24 separate hourly blocks . in yet another example embodiment the chosen interval is 10 minutes , and each day therefore contains 144 separate raw event distributions . it is obvious to someone with ordinary skills in the art , that any time window may be used and any combination of one or more time constraints may be used to group the event data without affecting the teachings . in a deployment with multiple systems , each system may have its own independent set of distributions . similarly , events from multiple independent systems may be combined into one distribution describing the total system wide behavior . similarly , subnets , transports , storage subsystem , and other system - level characteristics may be used to define the spatial filter . similarly , a subset of hosts , subnets , transports , storage subsystems , or other system - level characteristics may be used to filter and thus define a spatial distribution . fig7 illustrates by way of example embodiment 700 a management node 702 with five attached devices . a cell phone or pda 704 , two servers 706 , 708 , a desktop pc 710 , and a tablet 712 . any number of devices is handled in a similar manner . each device has associated raw event distributions ( reds ), and temporal event distributions ( teds ): the red / ted distributions 705 for the cell - phone / pda 704 , the red / ted distributions 707 , 709 for the servers 706 , 708 respectively , the red / ted distributions 711 for the pc 710 , and the red / ted distributions 713 for the tablet 712 . each device 704 , 706 , 708 , 710 , 712 may have one or more red / ted distributions , each measuring one or more characteristics of the system being monitored . the management node 702 collects all the red / ted distributions 705 , 707 , 709 , 711 , 713 from the individual nodes in the system and builds a deployment - wide collection of distributions 730 . so where the red / ted distributions are local to an individual system and do not take other systems directly into account the aggregate spatial event distribution ( sed ) 730 provides a total system - wide view of all systems or a subset of systems , and may be used to make statistical decisions based on multiple systems and their correlated behavior . the systems 704 , 706 , 708 , 710 , 712 may be co - located in one facility , or at different geographical locations . the teachings above only require that the management node can communicate with the individual systems . referring to the example embodiment 700 , said communication between the management node 702 , and the individual systems may be configured with a transport 720 between the management node 702 and the cell phone 704 , another transport 722 between the management node 702 and server 1 706 , yet another transport 724 between the management node 702 and server 2 708 , another transport 726 between the management node 702 and the pc 710 , and another transport 728 between the management node 702 and the tablet 712 . the transports may all be the same , all different , or a combination thereof . by way of example , the transport may be tcp / ip over an ethernet - based network , or the transport may be tcp / ip over a wifi / 802 . 11 network . each system collects and builds its own red / ted distributions and sends said distributions to the management node for incorporation into the seds . raw event data from the interceptors may need one or more transformations to make the event data suitable for building the distributions disclosed previously . other events require no transformation , if the raw event naturally leads itself to building distributions . fig8 illustrates 800 the transformation of incoming events 802 , through the transformation step 804 , into transformed data 806 . the transformed data 806 serves as the basis for building the above - disclosed distributions 808 , 810 . said transformations may be simple and serve to normalize the event data , or to assign numerical values to event . transformations may , however , be arbitrary complex and perform any transformation of said event data . by way of example , a transformation for ( write ( ) may be to calculate the number of bytes written ; a transformation for ( open ( ) may be to determine the time - of - day for the event in minutes since midnight ; and a transformation for a sensor input may be an inverse hilbert transformation to normalize the data . another example transformation is the unity - transform , which simply passed the event data straight through without any processing at all . any transformation is supported by the present invention , and the output of said transformation is used to calculate the previously disclosed distributions . additionally , a second transform 814 may be used to generate a second set of transformed data 816 with associated distribution 818 , 820 . similarly any number of transforms may be provided and any number of distributions created for each event . by way of example , if the raw event data 802 is the reading of a sensor , transform 1 804 may normalize the data facility a distribution 808 describing sensor values over time . transform 2 814 may be a fourier transform extracting the spectral components of the event stream , and thus facility calculation of the spectrum / distribution 818 of the data stream . the distributions 808 , 818 are different and thus provide different ways to measure the same underlying event data . transformations may also generate events belonging to different event groups by way of example , if one event group measure number of bytes written while another event group measures duration of write , one underlying write ( ) event may be transformed into one new event for each of said two different event groups . event transformations may also be used to create the basic three distributions from any one event . fig8 illustrates by way of example embodiment 800 , the creation of the red 856 , ted 866 , and sed 876 distributions from one event 850 . the event 850 is copied into three separate instances , and each passed through its own transform . the transform 852 for red , the transform 862 for ted , and the transform 872 for sed . the transformed data 854 , 864 , 874 is passed to the individual distributions ; red 856 , ted 866 , and sed 876 respectively . the transformation subsystem thus provides the infrastructure to generate multiple distributions from one raw data event . in the preferred embodiment there is one distribution associated with each event . to use all three distributions thus only requires creation of an event for each distribution and the use of the just - disclosed transformation to duplicate the underlying event . in an alternate embodiment an event may have one or more associated distributions . this essentially combines all distributions for one event or event group into said one event or event group . as disclosed previously , similar events may be grouped into event groups . event groups are used to associate related events and to enable broader statistical fault detection . fig9 illustrates by way of example embodiment 900 an example hierarchy of events and event groups . events e 11 902 , e 12 904 and e 1 n 906 are grouped into event group eg_a 1 901 . events e 21 912 , e 22 914 , and e 2 m 916 are grouped into event group eg_a 2 911 . events ep 1 922 , ep 2 924 , and epq 926 are grouped into event group eg_aa 921 . in the previous disclosures n , m , p , q , and a represent integers . similarly , events in event group eg_a 1 901 and event group eg_a 2 911 are grouped into event group eg_b 1 930 . events in event group eg_a 2 are grouped by themselves into eg_b 2 932 , i . e . eg_b 2 contains the same events as eg_a 2 . finally , events in event group eg_aa 921 are grouped exclusively into event group eg_bb 934 . event groups may contain some or all of the events of other event groups , or may have no events in common . the ability to include , exclude , or duplicate events one or more times in the hierarchy of event groups provides the flexibility to do statistical fault detection within sub systems , across sub - systems , or across apparently unrelated sub - systems , as the need may be . ultimately , all events are members of the all - inclusive event group eg_all 950 , which is comprised of all events . the flexibility of the just - disclosed event hierarchy may be illustrated by way of example . referring to the example embodiment 900 on fig9 , event group eg_a 1 901 may correspond to events for file operations that read data , while event group eg_a 2 911 may correspond to events for file operations that write data . event group eg_b 1 930 is thus comprised of events for file operations that read or write data , while event group eg_b 2 932 is comprised of just events that write data . for applications where data is being generated and written to disk frequently , eg_b 2 932 offers fault detection for just write operations , while eg_b 1 offers fault detection for a broader class of both read and write file operations . eg_b 2 932 is thus likely a faster fault detector if the storage subsystem has a problem , while eg_b 1 930 takes slightly longer to reach statistical significance , but handles a larger set of faults . event groups may also be created to separate red , ted and sed distributions for particular events , or alternatively to group red , ted and sed distributions for particular events . an event group , by way of example all write ( ) methods , may thus be broken further down in to its red , ted and sed sub groups . the ability to define a custom hierarchy is thus a powerful way to customize the fault detection capabilities without requiring any specific knowledge about the inner workings of the application being monitored . in the preferred embodiment a hierarchy corresponding to functions in the applications shared libraries is created and event groups assigned to each library . in another preferred embodiment the hierarchy is refined and events are grouped according to their specified functionality ( e . g . read , write , create , etc .). fig1 illustrates by way of example embodiment 1000 combined elements of the previous teachings . the internal structures of events and event groups 1002 are similar . where an event contains one event type and associated distribution an event group contains one or more event types and their associated distribution . for an event or event group , a raw event 1004 is received and first sent through the transform step 1006 . the transformed data is then stored 1008 with other historical transformed data . all distributions require some minimal amount of data in order to be calculated , and historical data for said event or event groups is thus required . the distribution 1010 , 1012 for said event is then calculated . the amount of data required for a particular distribution varies depending on the type of distribution and requirements for fault detection time . by way of example , and not limitation , the data included within the historical transformed data 1008 may be the last 1000 events , all the events from the last 24 hours , all events between 8 : 00 am and 9 : 00 am for the last week , and so on . depending on distribution and type of fault detection the amount of required data will vary . the historical transformed data 1008 thus contains the data defined by temporal or other rule . by way of example , if the transform requires a specific number of events , the oldest event is removed as new events arrive . by way of example , if the transformed data is all data for the last 24 hours , data older than 24 hours is removed as new data arrives . as new events arrive 1004 the distribution 1010 , 1012 for the event or event group is recalculated . in the alternate embodiment with one or more distributions for each event or event group , all one or more distributions are recalculated . for each event or event group 1002 fault detection 1014 is provided at the level of the individual event or event group . as previously disclosed faults are detected when a sufficient number of events indicate characteristics outside the dv windows as disclosed in section 4 . 1 . fault detection 1014 is a capability of the event or event group and is provided in the context of the distribution 1010 , 1012 and the chosen measurement of deviation from norm . the fault detection technique applies universally to all distributions , as taught in section 4 . 1 , and is thus identical for reds , teds and seds . fault detection may be triggered in multiple different ways : in a preferred embodiment fault detection may be triggered after receipt of a new message 1004 and calculation of the distribution 1010 , 1012 . if the distribution after the new event indicates sufficient deviation from the norm , a fault detection event is generated 1016 . the generated fault event 1016 may be stored within the event or event group for later retrieval , or delivered to outside the event or event groups using one of messaging or interrupts . in an alternate embodiment , the fault detection is polled from 1018 external to the fd 1014 , and the result of the fault detection returned 1020 . as disclosed in section 4 , fault detection is based on detecting deviation from historical norm using one or more distributions of events . in addition to fault detection at the level of the individual raw event distributions ( red ), temporal event distributions ( ted ), and spatial event distributions ( sed ), a hierarchy of red / ted / sed distributions may additionally be used to detect groups of faults , and to correlate fault behavior across events and lower - level event groups . in this context the term “ level ” means the level of the event hierarchy , and “ lower - level ” event groups means events or event groups at a lower level within the event and event group hierarchy . by way of example deviation from the norm may be established when a sufficient number of events indicate characteristics outside the dv windows as disclosed in section 4 . 1 . section 4 . 1 also disclosed an example method to determine if there are a sufficient number of events . similar teachings apply to teds and seds . a series of events are thus deemed to indicate a fault if a they in aggregate fall outside the dv window in sufficient numbers . the event group hierarchy disclosed above and illustrated on fig4 and 9 also serves as the underlying structure for fault detection . each event and event group is comprised of event data and one or more distributions . as disclosed in section 4 . 6 an event or an event group also contains its own fault detector . fig9 illustrates by way of example embodiment 900 traversal of the hierarchy of events , event groups and their fault detectors . first the individual events e 11 902 , e 12 904 , e 1 n 906 , through epq 926 are queried . if one of the fds within said events indicates a fault , fault detection is triggered corresponding to said event fault . if no faults are indicated , the first layer of event groups eg_a 1 901 through eg_aa 921 is queried . if one of the fds within said event groups indicates a fault , fault detection is triggered corresponding to said event fault . the same teachings apply to all layers , ending with fault detection in the all - inclusive event group comprised of all events eg_all . the events are considered to be the lowest level of the hierarchy while the all - inclusive event group is considered to be at the highest level of the event hierarchy . if no faults are detected in any of the events of event groups , the system is deemed to operate without faults . if one or more fault detectors indicate a fault , a fault is deemed to have happened . by traversing the entire hierarchy even if a fault is detected , cascading faults may be handled as disclosed below . traversal of the hierarchy bottom to top means that very specific fault detectors are tested first , followed by increasingly more generic fault detectors . by way of example , an event for a write ( ) function may indicate significantly longer average write times than normal and thus trigger fault detection at the event level . alternatively , before any individual write ( ) function reaches statistical significance in its fault detection , an event group comprised of all write ( ) functions may indicate statistically significant deviation from the norm . an event group with all write ( ) functions would thus indicate a fault condition even though no individual write ( ) operation has seen enough faults to reach statistical significance . similarly , if the event group comprised of all write ( ) operations doesn &# 39 ; t indicate a fault , a larger event group comprised of all file operations may indicate statistically significant deviation from the norm . by traversing the event and event group hierarchy from bottom towards the top , fault detection starts out as specialized as possible and gets increasingly more generic as the hierarchy is traversed . the fault detection hierarchy as disclosed thus balances rapid fault detection at the individual fault level with the need for broader statistical fault detections across a wide range of functionality . faults often cascade through a system , i . e . it &# 39 ; s rare that just one fault occurs in isolation . fig9 illustrates this by way of example embodiment 900 . if , by way of example , a storage subsystem has stopped operating , all files operations will fail and quickly generate faults . if events e 11 902 , e 12 904 and e 1 n 906 are events related to write ( ) operations , and events e 21 912 , e 22 914 and e 2 m 916 are events related to read ( ) operations , all said events would likely indicated faults rapidly . so would eg_a 1 901 which represents all events with write ( ) operations , and eg_a 2 911 which indicate all events with read ( ) operations . finally , eg_b 1 930 , which may all events with file operations , would likely also indicate faults . the fault in the storage system thus generates cascading faults starting at the event level all the way up through higher levels . instead of generating all said fault detections , the present invention suppresses fault detection events corresponding to cascading faults . this is accomplished as follows : as the event group hierarchy is traversed from the event level through higher - level event groups , it may be determined if a particular event group indicating a fault has the majority of lower - level events or event groups also indicating faults . in that case , the fault detection of said lower level events or event groups may be suppressed and only the fault corresponding to the higher - level event generated . the same test is applied at all levels of the event group hierarchy and only the highest - level event generates a fault detection . at times the opposite situation to cascading faults occurs . the individual events do not indicate faults with statistical significance , but a higher - level event groups does . in continuation of the example embodiment 900 disclosed in section 5 . 2 : if the storage subsystem only has intermittent errors the individual write ( ) and read ( ) fault detectors may not trigger with statistical significance . however , in aggregate , the event groups eg_a 1 901 for write ( ) or the event group eg_a 2 911 for read ( ) may reach statistical significance based on receiving fault events from numerous individual event fault detectors . in this case , the high - level event group has reached consensus fault detection even if no individual events indicate a fault with statistical significance . modern data centers may use a “ cloud computing ” architecture , also called a “ distributed computing ” architecture , for its deployment . in said cloud - computing deployment the hosted services are provided using a collection of services running on one or more servers . often , the services are hosted in remote data centers and accessed over the internet ( a . k . a “ the cloud ”). the present invention supports statistical fault detection in such cloud deployment using the teachings above . fig7 illustrates by way of example embodiment 700 a deployment that may be a cloud deployment . server 1 706 may be located in one data center , while server 2 708 may be located in the same or another data center . similarly , the pc 710 may be located in an office , the cell phone / pda 704 and tablet 712 are roaming and not generally located in any one place . the management node 702 communicates over the network with said servers 706 , 708 , pc 710 , cell phone / pdf 704 , and a tablet 712 . the respective network connections 722 , 724 , 726 , 720 , 728 may be local area networks ( lan ), wide area networks ( wan ), wireless networks ( wn ) 802 . 11 or mobile broadband , or the internet . the present invention does not distinguish between where devices are located , and only requires that devices be able to communicate with the management node 702 . the management node , as previously disclosed , aggregates all distributions 730 , and may use said red / ted / sed distributions 730 , to make fault detections on devices running in the cloud . in large systems or cloud deployments with systems running at multiple sites concurrent fault detection across subsystems or systems may improve fault detection time . within the disclosures the terminology “ concurrent fault detection ” designates that one or more systems or sub systems are running fault detection in parallel , i . e . simultaneously . by way of example referring to fig7 , fault detection may run both on the server 1 706 and tablet 712 simultaneously . by way of example referring to fig9 , fault detection for events ep 1 922 through epq 926 may run simultaneously to fault detection in e 11 902 through e 1 n 906 . as disclosed in section 4 . 6 and illustrated on fig1 a preferred embodiment calculates the fault detection upon receiving new events . referring to said preferred embodiment , fault detection is thus concurrent across all events , and only the aggregation of faults for consensus and cascading fault detection is performed synchronously by traversing the event hierarchy , in cloud deployments concurrent fault detection provides decoupling of local fault detection , i . e . red / ted fault detection , from the centralized sed fault detection and is the preferred embodiment . for local red / ted fault detection the preferred embodiments supports both models as disclosed previously . fig7 illustrates by way of example embodiment 700 a variety of ways the invention can be configured to operate . in one embodiment , the invention is configured with a cell phone / pda 704 , two file server 706 , 708 , a personal computer 710 , a tablet 712 , and a central management node 720 . communication between the management node 720 and the devices are over transports 720 , 722 , 724 , 726 , and 728 respectively . distributions calculated on each device , 705 , 707 , 709 , 711 , 713 are communicated to said management node 720 to collect and aggregate 730 distributions across all devices . in another embodiment , the invention is configured for just wireless devices such as cell phones 704 and tablets 712 and their respective transports 720 , 728 . in yet another embodiment , the invention is configured for just wired devices , 706 , 708 , 710 and their respective transports 722 , 724 , 726 . in one embodiment the cell phone transport 720 and tablet transport 728 is local wireless , such as wifi , while in another embodiment said transport is broadband wireless . in yet another embodiment a combination of wiffi and broadband wireless is used . in another embodiment a combination of wired , wifi and broadband wireless transports are used . finally , as the interceptors are implemented outside the application , the operating system and system libraries , the present invention provides application - agnostic fault detection without requiring any modifications to the application , operating system and system libraries . the just illustrated example embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the exemplary embodiments of this invention in the embodiments described herein , an example programming environment , systems and configurations were disclosed for which one or more embodiments according to the invention were taught . it should be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented by one of ordinary skill in the art using different program organizations and structures , different data structures , different configurations , different systems , and of course any desired naming conventions without departing from the teachings herein . in addition , the invention can be ported , or otherwise configured for , use across a wide - range of operating system environments . although the description above contains many details , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the exemplary embodiments of this invention . therefore , it will be appreciated that the scope of the present invention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obvious to those skilled in the art , and that the scope of the present invention is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims , in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “ one and only one ” unless explicitly so stated , but rather “ one or more .” all structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the above - described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the present claims . moreover , it is not necessary for a device or method to address each and every problem sought to be solved by the present invention , for it to be encompassed by the present claims . furthermore , no element , component , or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element , component , or method step is explicitly recited in the claims . no claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 u . s . c . 112 , sixth paragraph , unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “ means for .” | 6 |
a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention follows . an environment as shown in fig1 in which the invention may be implemented generally has a number of data processors and functions including end nodes 10 , a managing module ( i . e . security manager ( sm ) 12 ), a distribution point ( i . e . a key generation and distribution point ( kgdp ) 14 ), and a security module ( i . e . secure gateways ( sgws ) 22 ), connected by interfacing a communication network such as at least two inter - networking devices 16 ( i . e . such as routers / switches ). one or more of the sgws 22 has an associated policy enforcement point ( pep ) function 20 . pep is a software module that executes in a sgw on the data path that performs packet encryption and decryption as well as ipsec header generation on packets requiring security . it also passes or drops packets , and may be configured to perform additional functionality such as static nat or fragmentation . it is typically configured with security policies and sas with security parameter indices ( spis ), and keys for encrypting and decrypting inbound and outbound packets . the end nodes 10 can be typical client computers such as personal computers ( pcs ), workstations , personal digital assistants ( pdas ), digital mobile telephones , wireless network enabled devices and the like . the nodes 10 can also be file servers , video set top boxes , other data processing machines , or indeed any other networkable device from which messages originate and to which message are sent . the message traffic typically takes the form of data packets in the well known internet protocol ( ip ) packet format . as is well known in the art , an ip packet may typically be encapsulated by other networking protocols such as transmission control protocol ( tcp ), user datagram protocol ( udp ), or other lower level and higher level networking protocols . the security manager ( sm ) 11 is a data processing device , typically a pc or workstation , through which an administrative user can input and configure security policies 12 . the sm 11 also acts as a secure server to store and provide access to such policies 12 by other elements of the system . as will be explained more fully below , the key generation and distribution points ( kgdp ) 14 and policy enforcement points ( peps ) 20 cooperate to secure message traffic between the end nodes 10 according to policies 12 . more particularly , a kgdp 14 is responsible for generating and distributing “ secret data ” known as encryption keys upon request . the keys are then used as a basis to derive other keys that actually secure transmission of traffic from one end node 10 - a - 1 to another end node 10 - b - 1 , to perform authentication , and other functions . the peps 20 are located on the data path , and can typically be instantiated as a process running on a secure gateway ( sgw ) 22 . the peps 20 have a packet traffic or “ fast path ” interface on which they receive and transmit the packet traffic they are responsible for handling . they also have a management interface over which they receive configuration information , and other information such as policies 12 and encryption keys . in general , traffic between the modules described above is either local ( within a single device ) or protected by a secure tunnel in network 24 . management of each device is also via a secure tunnel and with a secure user authentication . also , and for highly resilient implementation is required , each module must itself be resilient and if a state is stored , a method for exchanging state and performing switch over must be implemented . the peps 20 are responsible for a number of tasks . they are principally responsible for performing encryption of outbound packets and decryption of inbound packets received on the fast path interface . the peps 20 can thus identify packets that need to be secured according to configured policies 12 . the peps 20 can also typically be programmed to pass through or drop such packets according to such policies 12 . the peps 20 are also configured to perform ipsec tasks such as handling security association ( sa ) information as instructed by the sm 12 , to store and process security packet index ( spi ) data associated with the ipsec packets , and the like . the peps 20 thus perform many ( if not all ) of the ipsec security gateway functions as specified in ipsec standards such as internet request for comments ( rfcs ) 2401 - 2412 . the sgw 22 in which the peps 20 run can be configured to perform additional functions typically of ip network gateways such as network address translation ( nat ), packet fragmentation handling , and the like . it should be understood that the peps 20 may also be installed on other internetworking devices , and that the choice of an sgw 22 in the illustrated embodiment is but one example . fig2 is a high - level block diagram of an sgw 200 that may be used with the present invention . sgw 200 comprises one or more network interfaces 210 , a processor 230 , a policy content - addressable memory ( cam ) 500 and a memory 220 . the network interfaces 210 are conventional network interfaces configured to interface the sgw 200 with the network 100 and enable data ( packets ) to be transferred between the sgw 200 and the network 100 . to that end , the network interfaces 210 comprise conventional circuitry that incorporates signal , electrical , and mechanical characteristics and interchange circuits , needed to interface with the physical media of the network 100 and the protocols running over that media . the processor 230 is a conventional processor which is configured to execute computer - executable instructions and manipulate data in the memory 220 and the policy cam 500 . the processor 230 may be a network processing unit ( npu ) or may comprise a collection of interconnected processors configured as a mesh or series of processors . the policy cam 500 is a conventional cam device that is configurable by processor 230 and , as will be described further below , contains information that the processor uses to process packets received by the sgw 200 in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the memory 220 is a conventional random access memory ( ram ) comprising , e . g ., dynamic ram ( dram ) devices . the memory 220 includes an operating system ( os ) 222 , security services 224 , a security association table ( sat ) 300 , a security association database ( sad ) 400 and a security policy database ( spd ) 600 . the operating system 222 is a conventional operating system that comprises computer - executable instructions and data configured to implement various conventional operating system functions that support the execution of processes , such as security services 224 , on processor 230 . these functions may include functions that , e . g ., enable the processes to be scheduled for execution on the processor 230 as well as provide controlled access to various services , such as memory 220 . the security services 224 is illustratively a process comprising computer - executable instructions configured to enable processor 230 to implement various functions associated with pep &# 39 ; s as well as perform functions that enable the processing of packets in accordance with aspects of the present invention . the sat 300 is a data structure that contains information that may be used to locate security associations associated with packets processed by the sgw 200 . a security association , as used herein , relates to security information that describes a particular kind of secure connection between one device and another . this security information may include information that specifies particular security mechanisms that are used for secure communications between the two devices , such as encryption algorithms , type of authentication and the like . the operation of sgw is illusrate in a copending patent application entitled s curing n etwork t raffic b y d istributing p olicies i n a h eirarchy o ver s ecure t unnels , u . s . provisional patent application no . 60 / 813 , 766 , filed jun . 14 , 2006 , assigned to cipheroptics , inc ., and which is hereby incorporated by reference . returning to fig1 , the sm 11 , the pep 20 and kdp 14 perform and / or participate in several security related functions including : these functions are now discussed briefly , before continuing with detailed examples of how policy distribution is implemented according to the present invention . this module creates keys to secure a given tunnel . as in ike this is done in coordination with a single peer as each side agrees on outbound and inbound keys . however , in the embodiment of the present invention , this might also be a single unit that generates keys for traffic between a number of units . it may also be embodied in a single pep generating a key for outbound traffic on a given tunnel . this module ensures that all connections to the tunnel have keys necessary to decrypt and encrypt data between the end points . as mentioned previously , this is done in standard ike as part of the “ phase 2 ” key exchange between two peers . however , in the present invention , as will be described in several detailed examples shortly , this is performed by the peps exchanging keys in other ways . with these techniques , key distribution is still securely protected to prevent eavesdropping , tampering , and to ensure that the exchange occurs with an authorized party . the key generation and / or key distribution modules may be located on individual stand alone machines , or may be incorporated together within a key generation and distribution point ( kgdp ). in addition , key distribution may be co - located with the pep 20 in other architectures . this module maintains information on ip addresses , subnets , ports or protocols protected by the pep . this may be part of a complete security policy definition 12 for many different nodes 10 in the network as specified by the sm 11 . the policy definition can also be limited to a collection of subnets protected by a certain pep . or it can simply relate to and be stored at a single ip address , such within the network software on a remote access client 10 ( for example , microsoft windows and other operating systems provide certain tools for specifying security policies ). the policy definition can also occur via a discovery process performed by a pep . if a complete security policy definition is not present , it should also include information to link the protected local traffic to its secure destinations . this module maintains information on ip addresses , subnets , ports or protocols protected by the sgw . this might be part of a complete policy definition , as provided to the system . it might be a single ip address on a remote access client . it could be a discovery process done by a sgw . it might be a collection of subnets protected by the sgw . if the complete policy definition is nor present , it must also include information to link the protected local traffic to its secure destinations . this module maintains information on ip addresses , subnets , ports or protocols that are remote to the protected region which require protection of traffic with the local region . definitions are as with the local policy definition . this function may be locally defined or distributed throughout the network . the present invention relates more particularly to policy distribution . note that in the illustrated system , a number of data processing machines are associated with a first location 20 - a including first host 10 - a - 1 , second host 10 - a - 2 , a first security manager ( sm ) 11 - a , a first key generation and distribution point ( kgdp ) 14 - a , one or more internetworking devices 16 - a , and a first policy enforcement point ( pep ) 20 - a . in addition , a first security policy manager , ( spm ) 30 - 1 , which may or may not be physically located within the confines of location 20 - a , is responsible for distributing policies 12 to and from location 20 - a in a manner that will be described below . similarly , a second location 20 - b has other data processing machines such as a first server 10 - b - 1 , second server 10 - b - 2 , an associated security manager ( sm ) 11 - b , kgdp 14 - b , and internetworking devices 16 - b . location 20 - b may , for example , be a high availability web and / or storage server and thus has multiple peps 20 - b - 1 and 20 - b - 2 . as with location 20 - a , a second security policy manager ( spm ) 30 - 2 is associated with and responsible for policies distributed to and from location 20 - b . locations 20 - a and 20 - b may be subnets , physical lan segments or other network architectures . what is important is that the network locations 20 - a and 20 - b are logically separate from one another and from other locations 20 . for example , a location 20 may be a single office of an enterprise that may have only several computers , or a location 20 may be a large building , complex or campus that has many , many different machines installed therein . for example , location 20 - a may be in a west coast headquarters office in los angeles and location 20 - b may be an east coast sales office in new york . the policy managers 30 , including first spm 30 - 1 and second spm 30 - 2 communicate with a central spm ( cspm ) 32 through network 24 . this module provides linkage of the local and remote policy definitions for a specific gateway . this may be automatic as in the complete policy definition currently used or it may be distributed across a network . the pep could establish a secure tunnel with a policy distribution point ( pdp , not shown ) with authorization performed in both directions . the pep could either have the policy distribution done as the various units are configured and come on line or upon receiving a packet at the pep for which no policy definition exists at the pep . policy distribution could be done in one of various ways . for example , the local policy definition could be defined on the pep along with a security group ( sg ) identification . the pep could send the policy and sg to the pdp . the pdp could establish a secure tunnel with a spm with authorization performed in both directions . the pdp would then send the policy and sg information to the sgc . the sgc would perform policy linkage with information from other spm or pdp units . policy linkage would be performed on matching sg identities . the corresponding remote portions of the policy would be sent to the pdp which would then forward the complete policy to all appropriate pep units . there could either be a single spm unit over the entire secure network , an spm unit associated with various domains that communicate with each other and their domain &# 39 ; s pdp units over secure tunnels , or a hierarchy of sgc units with domain sgcs communicating over secure tunnels to regional sgc units . alternately , the pdp could communicate directly with peer pdp units that have been configured and could exchange local and remote policy information based on the security group . the above approach could be taken with the local policy definition loaded on either the pdp or the sgc . furthermore , the pdp could be configured with the complete policy definition . this could then be communicated to the pep via a secure tunnel when required . the reader will recall that “ security policies ” 12 can define traffic to be secured by source and destination , ip address , port and / or protocol . a security policy 12 also defines the type of security to be applied to a particular connection . the spms 30 define policies 12 by a function module known as local policy definition module . this module maintains information on ip addresses , subnet supports or protocols to be protected by a specific spm 30 . each policy definition 12 can , in a preferred embodiment , be limited to a certain collection of subnets such as those at first location 20 - a that are under control of a local administrator there . the policy definitions 12 can be created by a user entering the pair of ip addresses via an administrative user command interface . however , policies 12 can also be defined using certain features of microsoft windows and similar operating systems that provide certain tools for specifying security policies for each node 10 . as the pep &# 39 ; s must carry out policies 12 in handling the traffic they see , the pep &# 39 ; s need to have access to policies in some manner , including not only policies for their respective local traffic , but also remote traffic . the present invention provides a scheme for distributing policy information not only to a local pep 20 - a that is local to a corresponding spm 30 - a , but also to distribute policy information to remote peps 20 - b - 1 and 20 - b - 2 . the invention accomplishes this with limited or no involvement of the local security manager 11 in maintaining information about remote location policies , thus freeing each local security manager 11 from having to be updated with the same . the specific process for doing so is shown in fig3 . in a first step 300 , an sm 11 - a assigns a first ( local ) policy 12 . for example , policy 12 may specify that a host 10 - a - 1 is assigned to a first security group sg 1 . it may also define another policy 12 - 2 that specifies host 10 - a - 2 is assigned to a second security group sg 2 . this assignment of hosts to security groups is then communicated from sm 11 - a to its local kgdp 14 - a ; this communication may take place via a secure tunnel over a management interface , such as provided through local internetworking equipment 16 - a . in a next step 302 , kgdp 14 - a then eventually establishes a secure connection to a spm 30 - 1 . over this secure connection ( which may also be a secure tunnel ) kgdp 14 - a sends a request to add host 10 - a - 1 to security group 1 ( sg 1 ) and host 10 - a - 2 to security group 2 ( sg 2 ). at this point , spm 30 - 1 enters the two security group entries in its database . however , these security group definitions will at this point only have host a 1 associated with them and thus will be incomplete . in a next step 304 , spm 30 - 1 will eventually establish a secure connection to a central spm 30 - 2 . ( connections are attempted according to a schedule , so that the spms and cspm 30 , 32 remain updated ). this connection is then used to distribute information about the new security groups ( not necessarily the policies themselves ), allowing central cspm 32 to update its own database with a definition for a new security group . however the new security group definition will not necessarily include any specific details for any particular policies 12 , and will not contain specific detailed information such as the nodes or addresses that participate in the security group ( s ). the security group database entry at cspm 32 need only identify that the location spm 30 - 1 has a policy called sg 1 and , that policy sg 1 can be or is controlled by kgdp 14 - a . therefore , kgpd 14 - a , for example , can regulated , altered or updated the policy sg 1 as the definition of sg 1 is changed , supplemented or subtracted . similarly , an entry is made in cspm 32 that spm 30 - 1 has defined a security group policy sg 2 using kgdp 14 - a . at this point at step 306 , central spm 32 will check its existing database , seeing that no peers have yet been associated with spm 30 - 1 or kgdp 14 - a , it will thus reply to kgdp 14 - a that there are no peers to report at the present time . after a period of time , in step 308 the security manager for the second location ( sm 11 - b ) receives a security policy 12 input assigning server 10 - b - 1 and server 10 - b - 2 to security group sg 1 . this information is then passed to kgdp 14 - b via a secure tunnel between sm 11 - b and kgdp 14 - b . in step 310 , kgdp 14 - b establishes a secure connection to its local ( the second ) spm 30 - 2 and with a request to add subnet b to sg 1 . thus , it should be understood that participants in secure connection normally can be identified by particular end node identifiers , but also by their subnet identification as well . in step 312 , spm 30 - 2 then establishes a secure connection to central spm 32 . spm 30 - 2 will then send a message that spm 2 has a security group 1 policy using kgdp 14 - b . again , the details of that policy are not communicated to the central spm — merely information that spm 30 - 2 has a security policy associated with kgdp 14 - b . at this point , checking its database , central spm 32 will note that there has already been a sg 1 policy defined . thus , in step 314 central spm 32 will reply to spm 30 - 2 that there is another spm ( namely the first spm 30 - 1 ) that also has policy , and that that sg 1 policy is using kgdp 14 - a . note , however , that the details of the configuration of the policy ( for example which end nodes are associated with it ) need not be shared between spm and central spm 32 . in step 316 spm 30 - 2 may then contact its own local kgdp 14 - b instructing it to add kgdp 14 - a to its sg 1 list . the central spm in step 318 will similarly send a message to spm 1 30 - 1 informing it that spm 2 has a security group policy in kgdp 14 - b . in step 320 , upon receipt of such a message , spm 30 - 1 will check its database noting that it has a complete security group policy for sg 1 . thus it will inform kgdp a to add kgdp 14 - b to its own sg 1 list . again , after the expiration of some time , as shown in fig4 , in step 322 kgdp 14 - b may establish a secure tunnel with kgdp 14 - a and request if it can trade keys for sg 1 . if the answer is affirmative , then kgdp 14 - a in step 324 will reply with key ka 1 that is associated with host 10 - a - 1 . in step 326 , kgdp 14 - b will reply with its keys kb associated with outbound transmissions for subnet b . the key exchange between kgdps still requires distribution of keys to the respective peps 20 that will be handling the traffic . this can be done in a number of different ways as described in a copending patent application entitled securing network traffic using distributed key generation and dissemination over secure tunnels , u . s . provisional patent application no . 60 / 756 , 765 , filed jan . 6 , 2006 , assigned to cipheroptics , inc ., and which is hereby incorporated by reference . however , in one preferred embodiment as shown in step 328 , kgdp 14 - a establishes a secure connection with its local nodes 10 - a - 1 and sends its keys to be used . namely to use key ka 1 as an outbound key when communicating with subnet b , and to use key kb when communicating as an inbound key with messages received from subnet b . kgdp 14 - b in step 330 similarly establishes a secure tunnel with its local server b 1 , telling it to use key kb as an outbound key when communicating with host 10 - a - 1 . in step 334 , traffic can now flow in an encrypted fashion from host 10 - a - 1 to server 10 - b - 1 and / or server 10 - b - 2 , being secured using key ka 1 as well as from server 10 - b - 1 or 10 - b - 2 to host 10 - a - 1 secured using key kb . it should be understood now that the spms 30 and central spm 32 form a hierarchy . as shown in fig5 , instead of there being a single central spm 32 there may also be a hierarchy thereof which will in turn communicate requests up and down the chain . the hierarchy of spms may also communicate with their neighbor in the hierarchy , such that a change in policies and identifiers for machines to which requests to establish the policies should be directed . the invention provides several advantages over prior art policy distribution schemes . it avoids polling that would otherwise be necessary for kgdps 14 to themselves discover peers in the network and / or peps 20 . it is also more secure , in that not every device needs to know everything about security . thus , spm devices are essentially associated with distributing policy information in kgdps 14 are associated with their local subnets , but not necessarily associated with actually applying keys or encrypting or decrypting traffic . spms 30 and 32 also need not be aware of local security policies — only how to identify where such definitions can be found by peers in the hierarchy . it should be understood that the association between security groups and hosts could take place in ways other than just the sm sending the information to the kgdp . in particular , the sm might send the association to any spm in the hierarchy and the kgdp could make an inquiry via the spm . alternately , the kgdp and / or spm could access this data from an independent database interface , such as active directory , to perform authentication and obtain group association . 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 . | 7 |
fig1 shows a fuel cell 2 comprising a series of cells 4 traversed by a heat - conveying fluid of a cooling system managed by a computer ( not shown ) controlling the cooling system , which can be the control computer for the fuel cell unit . the cooling system comprises in a main circuit a pump 6 comprising a single direction of rotation and generating a delivery of heat - conveying fluid that traverses a heat exchanger 8 in order to cool this fluid by exchange of heat with another fluid , for example , with the ambient air . in a mode of continuous operation of the cooling system , the heat - conveying fluid put in circulation by the pump 6 runs through a main circuit whose output is indicated by the arrow a and traverses an upstream three - way valve 10 by entering through the entrance port 10 a in order to exit through the exit port 10 b that conducts this fluid to the upstream conduit 12 of the cells 4 of the fuel cell . the heat - conveying fluid then leaves the cells 4 through a downstream conduit 14 and traverses a three - way upstream valve 16 by entering through the entrance pot 16 a and exiting through the exit port 16 b that conducts this fluid toward the end of the main circuit indicated by the arrow b in order to return to the pump 6 . each conduit 12 , 14 connected to the cells 4 comprises a temperature sensor 18 , 20 of the heat - conveying fluid that is arranged very close to these cells . the sensor arranged in the upstream conduit 12 is preferably spaced from the entrance of the cell at a distance less than 1 / 10 of the length of the cell . also , the sensor arranged in the downstream conduit 14 is spaced from the exit of the cell at a distance less than 1 / 10 of the total length of the cell . thus , a main circuit is obtained comprising a single direction of circulation that permits , in a normal operation mode , the taking of heat in the cells 4 in order to release the heat removed from the cells 4 by the heat - conveying fluid in the heat exchanger 8 . in the case of starting the fuel cell at temperatures lower than 0 ° c . and in order to accelerate the temperature rise of the cells in order to avoid a freezing of the water produced by the electrochemical reaction , the control computer of the cooling circuit maintains the rotation of the pump 6 in order to make it pump continuously and simultaneously controls the two three - way valves 10 , 16 in accordance with small , successive periods in order to put them alternatively in the position of forming the main circuit as indicated above , then into a position forming a secondary circuit , as described below . in order to establish the secondary circuit of the heat - conveying fluid , the two three - way valves 10 , 16 are each switched into a second position using their third port . it will be noted that the three - way valves 10 , 16 are valves that are simultaneously controlled in an all or nothing manner that requires a simple and economical control . when the three - way valves 10 , 16 are switched , the heat - conveying fluid exiting from the heat exchanger 8 passes through the first connection 22 following the beginning of the secondary circuit indicated by the arrow c in order to feed the third port 16 c of the downstream valve 16 , then leaves again through the entrance port 16 a in order to return into the cells 4 through the downstream conduit 14 . then , the heat - conveying fluid exiting from the cells 4 through the upstream conduit 12 feeds the exit port 10 b of the upstream valve 10 , then leaves again through the third port 10 c in order to arrive at the end of the secondary circuit indicated by the arrow d at a second connection 24 connected to the entrance of pump 6 . thus , this results in a secondary circuit that allows the heat - conductive fluid to be circulated in the cells 4 in the opposite direction with a minimum of modifications to a conventional main circuit by adding two simple and economical three - way valves 10 , 16 and while preserving the same direction of rotation of the pump 6 . for the alternating operating mode comprising the reversal of direction of circulation of the heat - conveying fluid into the cells 4 by simultaneously switching the two three - way valves 10 , 16 , the instantaneous output is the same as that of the continuous operating mode , which is calculated for being able to cool the cells 4 functioning at their maximum power . moreover , this output takes into account the viscosity of the heat - conveying fluid and its density so that the mixture between the hot fluid and the cold fluid can be made in the cells in such a manner as to obtain a good exchange of heat and a uniformity of the temperatures . the cooling system enables the heat - conveying fluid to circulate alternatingly in the fuel cell in the two possible directions while nevertheless operating the pump to continuously pump in the one direction in order to exploit the heat produced by the cell itself during a cold start . to this end the direction of circulation of the fluid inside the cell is alternated by alternatingly stressing the main circuit and the secondary circuit with a variable frequency adapted to the development of the temperature of the heat - conveying fluid or any other operating parameter representative of this temperature . at the beginning of the start of the fuel cell , the frequency of alternation is elevated in such a manner that the thermal energy dissipated by the electrochemical reaction heats as rapidly as possible a minimum volume of heat - conveying fluid , which elevated alternating frequency allows practically the same fluid to be maintained inside the cell that , as soon as an end of the cell has been reached , is redirected in the inverse direction toward the opposite end , after this first phase of the heating of this small amount of fluid , the frequency of alternation is progressively reduced in order to avoid an overheating of the cell and in order to propagate the heat accumulated by the small amount of fluid to the rest of the circuit . more precisely , during the first phase of the elevated alternating frequency , during the cold start of the fuel cell , a fluid volume that is sufficiently reduced is obtained that traverses the cells 4 and that is implemented in the heat exchangers . the reduced fluid volume shifts and exits from the cells remaining close to these cells on both sides in the upstream conduits 12 and downstream conduits 14 in such a manner as to minimize the fluid mass to be heated as well as the heat exchange with the outside . furthermore , this volume of fluid used should allow the fluid situated in the central cells 4 , i . e ., those that heat up the most , to reach the temperature sensors 18 , 20 at the end of the movement so that they can follow the development of the temperature of these central cells . in this case a maximum alternating frequency f ( in hertz ) that is equal to twice the output d ( in liter / second ) of the pump divided by the volume of the fluid v ( in liters ) used between the two temperature sensors 18 , 20 . the invention thus allows the even reheating of the cells 4 to a temperature greater than 0 ° c . before the quantity of water delivered by these cells has saturated the electrolyte in order to avoid a freezing of this water not absorbed by this electrolyte . a first method for controlling the frequency of the alternations of the direction of the circulation of the heat - conveying fluid during the rise of the temperature of the cells 4 is made from monitoring the temperatures indicated by the sensors 18 , 20 . a too great an elevation of this temperature is limited by the drop of the frequency of the alternation during the second initial phase , that then implements a greater and greater volume of fluid by taking cold fluid from the rest of the circuit . in other words , the increase of the temperature gradient is controlled by that of the frequency of the alternation . finally , a nominal operating temperature of the cells 4 is achieved comprised , for example , between 20 and 80 ° c . for a fuel cell with a solid , polymeric electrolyte , and in particular comprised between 60 and 80 ° c . for vehicle applications , at a zero frequency of alternation , which is the continuous operating mode using the main circuit . heat - conveying fluid is obtained with this continuous passage mode in the cells 4 and then in the heat exchanger 8 , which allows the greatest exchange of calories . fig2 illustrates a second method of regulating the temperature of the cells 4 starting from cells delivering a given current intensity by monitoring the level of voltage v in volts of these cells as a function of the time t in seconds , preferably measured on the central cells , that are those that heat up the most rapidly . after a lowering of voltage v as indicated by the arrows 30 , which indicates an overheating of the cells 4 due to the first initial phase , during the second initial phase the frequency of alternation is reduced , which passes approximately to 14 hertz in order to increase the volume of fluid implemented and reduce the temperature of this fluid . after these two initial phases and after a rise of voltage v as indicated by the arrows 32 , which indicates a cooling of the cells 4 , the frequency of alternation is increased , which passes to approximately 28 hertz in order to reduce the volume of fluid implemented and to raise the temperature of this fluid . before a start at a temperature lower than 0 ° c ., the cell must be dried beforehand in such a way that the water produced during the starting is absorbed by the electrolyte and that the temperature of the cells is greater than 0 ° before the electrolyte is saturated with water . also , during a start at a temperature lower than 0 ° c . the cell must be fed with dry reactive gases . the state of the advance drying of the cell implies an internal resistance value greater than the nominal value , which necessitates adapting the density value of the current during the starting . this can be applied in the form of a gradient increasing in intensity in order to limit the stress on all the first instants of the starting and to then arrange the maximum thermal and electrical power . fig3 shows the curve 40 of the electrical power w in watts as a function of the time t in seconds deliverable for a fuel cell comprising a cooling system without an alternating operating mode and which starts with an initial temperature of − 8 ° c . the available power w rises at first , then rapidly drops at the time t 1 in order to finish by being cancelled out at the time t 2 on account of the saturation of the electrolyte by water , which begins to freeze . the curve 42 of electrical power w that can be delivered for a fuel cell comprising a cooling system with an alternating operating mode and a regulation of the frequency of alternation presented above , that starts with an initial temperature of − 25 ° c ., has a regular rise of the available power , then , at time t 3 a stabilization of this power at the value w 1 , which can be maintained for several minutes . it is noted that with the cooling system an available power that is clearly higher and that can be maintained is obtained for a start with temperatures that are very much lower . the fuel cell comprising a cooling system as described above can serve for an automobile but also for all stationary applications , such as an electricity - generating group , for which a rapid temperature rise is sought . | 7 |
in one embodiment , the client 100 comprises a computing platform configured to act as a client device , e . g . a personal computer , a notebook , a smart phone , a digital media player , a personal digital assistant , etc . fig1 is a block diagram of a client 100 according to one embodiment of the invention . the client 100 includes a bus 150 , a processor 110 , a main memory 105 , a read only memory ( rom ) 135 , a storage device 130 , one or more input devices 115 , one or more output devices 125 , and a communication interface 120 . the bus 150 include one or more conductors that permit communication among the components of the client 100 . the processor 110 includes one or more types of conventional processors or microprocessors that interpret and execute instructions . main memory 105 includes random access memory ( ram ) or another type of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for execution by the processor 205 . rom 135 includes a conventional rom device or another type of static storage device that stores static information and instructions for use by the processor 110 . the storage device 130 includes a magnetic and / or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive . input devices 115 include one or more conventional mechanisms that permit a user to input information to a client 100 , such as a keyboard , a mouse , etc . output devices 125 include one or more conventional mechanisms that output information to a user , such as a display , a printer , a speaker , etc . the communication interface 120 includes any transceiver - like mechanism that enables the client 100 to communicate with other devices and / or systems . for example , the communication interface 120 includes mechanisms for communicating with another device or system via a network . the software instructions that define the host os 107 and any vms 108 are read into memory 105 from another computer readable medium , such as a data storage device 130 , or from another device via the communication interface 120 . the processor 110 executes computer - executable instructions stored in the memory 105 . the instructions comprise object code generated from any compiled computer - programming language , including , for example , c , c ++, c # or visual basic , or source code in any interpreted language such as java or javascript . in one embodiment , a working set for each vm is tracked and cached or pre - fetched into a host or vm memory , such that de - serialization is accelerated . this improves the resume operation for all instances , including first time use . fig2 a and 2b are block diagrams that illustrate a more detailed view of a vm state , how it is serialized to storage , and how a vm working set is tracked . the active vm 200 illustrates a simplified view of a virtualized system context that is exposed to a vm 108 . the active vm 200 comprises at least one central processing unit ( cpu ( s ) 201 ), platform hardware 202 , ram 203 , and disk - storage 204 . in one embodiment of the invention , the ram 203 and disk / storage 204 accessed by the active vm 200 is not the only memory available on the client 100 . the memory that is accessed by virtualization software is frequently partitioned from the memory that is accessed by the host so that , for example , the different systems can run independently . the active vm 200 represents the active state of a vm 108 and its components , while running an os and applications . the active vm 200 runs on either a hardware platform or a software platform that provides an interface between the active vm 200 and the hardware . when an active vm 200 is suspended , it is serialized to storage , for example , a file on the host disk system . fig2 b illustrates the serialized state . the vm state file 210 illustrates a serialized state where portions of the vm state file 210 correspond to each active vm 200 context component . specifically , the vm state file 210 comprises the following portions : cpu ( s ) state 211 , platform hardware state 212 , ram state 213 , and disk / storage state 214 . a person of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that fig2 b illustrates an example where the portions of the state file 210 can be arranged in a different order , further apportioned for additional components , etc . the vm suspend state serialization is implemented as either a monolithic operation or an incremental process . in a monolithic operation , the vm is completely suspended from execution while writing the vm state to storage . in an incremental process , the active vm 200 continues to execute while the vm state is written to storage , until vm execution is suspended and the remaining modified state is written to storage . in one embodiment of the invention , at the end of the vm suspend process , information regarding the current working set of the vm state is recorded and stored as a vm working set index file 215 in host memory or disk / storage 204 . the vm working set comprises a highly used state , a most recently used state , a critical state , and a high priority state . in one embodiment of the invention , the hypervisor determines the working set state . in another embodiment , the host os determines the working set state . in a further embodiment , an agent in a guest vm specifies the working state based on more intimate knowledge of the guest os and software application . the agent provides the information to the hypervisor or a vm suspend agent . in yet another embodiment , these methods are combined to make a determination of what vm state comprises the current working state . when a vm is suspended , working set information is made available to the associated vm working set index file 215 . this information is incorporated into the vm state , as well as in separate storage . the vm working set index file 215 is shown as a separate storage entity , and is comprised of a set of indirection information to record the offset , length , and region of various pieces of a vm state that capture a vm &# 39 ; s current working set . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 b , no actual state data is stored in the vm working set index file 215 . fig3 is a flow chart that illustrates a computer system life cycle from power - on to power - off , including resume to suspend . the flow chart also illustrates that the vm resume is accelerated by remembering the vm working set information upon suspend , such that it can be used to enhance a subsequent vm resume . initially , a client 100 is powered on 300 . the client 100 performs 305 the system boot . generally , system hardware and initial software begin to initialize promptly . as the system continues to boot , the client launches higher level software and performs a sequence of operations in preparation of normal system operation . while this phase can take minutes on some systems , the splashtop ® instant - on system developed by devicevm ® performs this phase in seconds . the client 100 performs resume acceleration . specifically , a vm &# 39 ; s working set index file 215 is used to determine 310 which parts of the vm state file 210 are the vm working set . those parts are pre - cached 315 into either host memory or vm disk / storage 204 . with a working set in memory , the client 100 executes the vm quickly , thereby accelerating the effective resume time . the working set is typically fetched by the time a vm launch is requested . as long as some of the working set is loaded by the time the vm launches , however , the time between vm resume and vm execution is reduced . this order is preferred in an environment that is instant - on and that aims to be operational in seconds from an initial power - on event . this order is also preferred when a user or administrator selects one vm for launch right after the client 100 is powered - on . in another embodiment , the resume acceleration step is activated during other phases or is incorporated into the vm launch or vm resume . in yet another embodiment , multiple vms run on the same client 100 , each with its own working set . different orders for pre - caching and fetching or simultaneous launch of the vm and loading of the working set can be applied to each vm . the client 100 receives 320 a request from another program or a user to launch the vm 200 . alternatively , the vm 200 is automatically launched as a result of the power - on sequence . the client 100 launches 325 the vm 200 . in one embodiment of the invention , the client 100 tracks 330 the vm working set while the vm is active . in some embodiments , the client records the vm working set before suspension . the steps of tracking and recording can be monolithic or incremental processes . at some point , the client 100 suspends 335 the active vm 200 , in response to activating a host os , another vm , etc . suspension is either a monolithic or an incremental process . the client 100 records 340 the vm working set . during system operation , a user or a program may request that the client 100 resume a previously suspended vm 108 . the client 100 receives 345 the request to resume the vm . the client 100 performs 350 de - serialization of the vm state using the vm working set by fetching enough initial state information to invoke vm execution . the client 100 executes 355 the vm 108 . the steps of tracking , suspending , and recording can be repeated indefinitely according to the needs of the client 100 . the vm continues operations in an active state or a suspend state until the client 100 receives a request or internal instruction to shut down . the client 100 shuts down 360 the system . the client 100 powers off 365 . as will be understood by those familiar with the art , the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . likewise , the particular naming and division of the members , features , attributes , and other aspects are not mandatory or significant , and the mechanisms that implement the invention or its features may have different names , divisions and / or formats . accordingly , the disclosure of the invention is intended to be illustrative , but not limiting , of the scope of the invention , which is set forth in the following claims . | 6 |
the enzyme capable of causing the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide , generally known as a peroxidase , is preferably catalase although any other suitable enzyme may be employed for the purpose . immobilization of the enzyme may be by any of the techniques appropriate for this purpose . such techniques include binding of the enzyme to a support material e . g . by adsorption , by absorption or by chemical ( e . g . covalent ) binding . examples of surfaces upon which the enzyme may be adsorbed include alumina , bentonite , calcium phosphate gels . carbon , plastics , carboxymethyl cellulose , carboxymethylsephadex , collagen , glass and silica gel . the adsorbent surfaces may be continuous e . g . a coating upon the inside of a container or the actual material of which a said container is composed . the adsorbent surface may constitute the surface of a plurality of fixed beads or of a fixed disc or discs or the interstices of a fixed sponge or fritt . examples of materials to which the enzyme may be covalently bound include supports with - oh , ( e . g . cellulloses ) supports with - nh 2 ( e . g . epoxy resins ), supports with co 2 h ( e . g . methacrylates methacrolates ) and supports containing anhydrides . a preferred surface upon which to immobilize the enzyme has been found to be the surface of a plastics material such as polystyrene , activated e . g . by gamma irradiation u . v . light or by corona discharge . simple coating of the activated plastics surface with enzyme may suffice for the purposes of the present invention . as in the case of adsorbent surfaces , the supports may be a coating upon the surface of a container or the material of which a containers is composed , etc . very preferably however the enzyme is immobilized by use of an antibody . by this we means that the enzyme is complexed with an antibody which regards the enzyme as an antigen and the complex is coated by means of the complexed antibody onto a suitable support surface . preferably the support surface used in this and in the foregoing embodiments is the inner surface of a plastics container the surface of which may have been pretreated by u . v . light , corona discharge , irradiation , etc . to improve the coating ability of the enzyme or complexed enzyme . a suitable antibody may be obtained e . g . by injecting enzyme into a mouse and collecting resultant antibodies generated by the mouse immune - response system . the antibodies may be arranged by appropriate biotechnological techniques to be monoclonal in nature , e . g . by use of suitable hybridomas . by way of example only , embodiments of the present invention will now be described . catalase is injected into suitable selected mice and antibodies to the catalase are collected from the mice , concentrated and purified . the catalase and the antibody are then contacted together in vitro to prepare a catalase - antibody complex . this complex is then coated onto the inner walls and base of a plastics contact lens container . the container so - coated may then be dried and stored in a sterile environment until required . alternatively the coated container may be filled with a sterilized aqueous phase e . g . buffered saline solution and stored until required . the container preferably has means e . g . a screw threaded upper portion for receiving a lid provided with means for holding a contact lens . to prepare the solution of hydrogen peroxide for treating a said contact lens , an aqueous phase e . g . insolonic buffered saline is placed in the container and an effervescent table containing sodium percarbonate and citric acid added to the aqueous phase . the aqueous phase may be such that the resultant solution contains hydrogen peroxide at a 0 . 1 molar concentration and is substantially isotonic . the hydrogen peroxide is present in solution in sufficient quantity ( e . g . 0 . 1 molar ) to clean and disinfect the contact lens within a period of from a few minutes to a few hours . the complexed enzyme is present in a sufficient amount to cause decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide within a period of from say 1 / 2 hour to 8 hours . by this means substantially all excess hydrogen peroxide will be decomposed and substantially none of the enzyme will enter the aqueous phase and thus problems of ocular irritation or hypersensitization will be substantially avoided . a 10 ml polystyrene container or vial is irradiated with 2 . 5 megarads of gamma irradiation to activate its surface . into the containers is placed a solution of catalase powder in water at a concentration of 0 . 5 mg / ml ( catalase activity : 24 , 000 units per milligram where 1 unit decays 1 micromole of hydrogen peroxide per minute at 25 ° c .) and the filled container is then incubated at room temperature for 24 hours . thereafter the vial is emptied , rinsed gently with distilled water and allowed to dry at room temperature . the dried , coated vial may then be stored for extended periods without significant loss of activity . for example it has been found that such vials remain effective even after storage at 45 ° c . for 3 months . to such a dried , enzyme - coated vial there is added an aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution containing from 0 . 6 to 3 % by volume of hydrogen peroxide . a moderator , phenolphthalin , is also added to indicate the progess of hydrogen peroxide decomposition . it is found that after 1 / 2 hour no detectable hydrogen peroxide remains . the present invention provides a method and apparatus of treating a contact lens which mitigates the disadvantages of known contact lens treatment regimes . the present invention also consists in a kit for treating contact lenses , which may include an enzyme - coated container as hereinbefore defined , a hydrogen peroxide release agent and a suitable aqueous phase . the coated containers may be arranged to be disposable single use items and more for example be supplied in sealed blister - or bubble - packs for removal and use as desired . the hydrogen peroxide release agent may be for example a table or capsule containing sodium phosphate and citric acid , which table or capsule may also contain an indicator , sufficient sodium chloride to render the residual solution isotonic and may also contain , if desired , an agent for removing free chlorine from the solution . in a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention a strip 10 of commuted plastics vials 12 is provided , each vial 12 being separable from the remainder and each coated internally with the enzyme 14 ( shown in greatly enlarged manner for clarity of presentation ). the vials 12 may be disposed of after each has been used once . the vials 12 may be accompanied by predetermined quantities of the hydrogen peroxide release agent 16 , e . g . in the form of pellets , prills or granules . it will be apparent that although what has been described above is the use of an immobilized enzyme capable of causing the decompostion of hydrogen peroxide , the invention is not limited to the use solely of such an immobilized enzyme . the invention covers the use generally of immobilized enzymes to treat contact lenses . for example proteolytic emzymes are currently used to remove protein deposits from contact lenses but are used as solutions . the present invention embraces the case where such a proteolytic enzyme is , for example , coated onto the wall of a contact lens treatment container . such immobilization will substantially eliminate the well - known problem of ocular hypersensitization due to the use of free proteolytic enzyme . the invention also covers all such changes and modifications to the method , apparatus and kit as would be apparent to one skilled in the art . | 8 |
a folding collapsible kick scooter in accordance with the present invention comprises a handlebar folding structure and a head tube folding structure . as illustrated in fig2 and 3 , the handlebar folding structure is comprised of two handlebars , namely , the right handlebar 10 and the left handlebar 20 , a handlebar stem 30 , a locking lever and screw rod assembly ( formed of a screw rod and a locking lever pivoted to one end of the screw rod ) 40 , a compression spring 50 , and a headed female screw 60 . the right handlebar 10 comprises a coupling groove 12 transversely disposed at one end , namely , the inner end thereof , and a through hole 11 disposed at one end of the coupling groove 12 . the left handlebar 20 comprises a receptacle 21 disposed at the front side of one end , namely , the inner end thereof , a through hole 22 extended through the center of the receptacle 21 corresponding to the through hole 11 of the right handlebar 10 , a coupling rib 23 transversely disposed at the notched back sidewall of the inner end and adapted for engaging the coupling groove 12 of the right handlebar 10 . the handlebar stem 30 comprises a top receiving open chamber 32 and a horizontal through hole 31 . the screw rod of the locking lever and screw rod assembly 40 is inserted in proper order through the through hole 31 of the handlebar stem 30 , the through hole 11 of the right handlebar 10 and the through hole 22 of the left handlebar 20 . the headed female screw 60 is fastened up with the screw rod of the locking lever and screw rod assembly 40 and received in the receptacle 21 of the left handlebar 20 . the compression spring 50 is received in the receptacle 21 of the left handlebar 20 and stopped between the left handlebar 20 and the head of the headed female screw 60 . when assembled , the coupling rib 23 of the left handlebar 20 and the coupling groove 12 of the right handlebar 10 are engaged together , and the locking lever of the locking lever and screw rod assembly 40 is received in the top receiving open chamber 32 of the handlebar stem 30 . referring to fig4 a and 4b , when turning the locking lever of the locking lever and screw rod assembly 40 from the locking ( vertical ) position shown in fig4 a to - the unlocking ( horizontal ) position shown in fig4 b , the compression spring 50 immediately pushes the headed female screw 60 outwards , and the handlebars 10 and 20 are released from the constraint , and allowed to be turned relative to each other to a collapsed condition . when in use , the handlebars 10 and 20 are turned outwards to a horizontal position where the coupling rid 23 and the coupling groove 12 are engaged together , and then the locking lever of the locking lever and screw rod assembly 40 is turned to the locking position to lock the handlebar folding structure in the operative position . referring to figs . from 5 through 7 , the head tube folding structure comprises a head tube mounting frame 70 fastened to the head tube 33 , a footplate mounting frame 80 fixedly fastened to the front side of the footplate 34 and pivoted to the head tube mounting frame 70 by a pivot 93 , a locking lever 90 pivoted to the head tube mounting frame 70 by a pivot 92 , and a torsional spring 91 mounted on the pivot 92 to hold the locking lever 90 in the locking position . the footplate mounting frame 80 comprises a hook 35 . the head tube mounting frame 70 comprises a locating rod 71 transversely disposed on the inside . after the locking lever 90 has been turned from the locking position shown in fig6 a to the unlocking position shown in fig6 b and 6c , the head tube mounting frame 70 can be turned with the head tube 33 between the extended position shown in fig7 a to the collapsed position shown in fig7 b . when extended or collapsed , the locking lever 90 is turned from the unlocking position shown in fig6 b and 6c to the locking position shown in fig6 a to hold down the locating rod 71 against the hook 35 . after the head tube folding structure has been collapsed , the handlebars 10 and 20 of the handlebar folding structure are turned to the collapsed position as shown in fig4 a and 4b . it is to be understood that the drawings are designed for purposes of illustration only , and are not intended for use as a definition of the limits and scope of the invention disclosed . | 8 |
as shown in the drawings wherein like numerals represent like parts throughout the several views , there is generally disclosed in fig1 the principle of liquid jet cutting systems which cut a material by fine stream of liquid ( with or without abrasives ) under high pressure which is achieved essentially by an intensifier subsystem 100 in which the intensifier 110 works in conjunction with an accumulator 120 , a motor 130 and oil pump 140 . the power unit 220 supplies power for the motor 130 which in turn drives the oil pump 140 . the power unit 220 also supplies power for the system generally . the liquid used for cutting such as water 210 should not be confused with the oil 150 used for the intensifier 110 . the oil 150 in intensifier 110 is always recycled whereas the cutting jet liquid 210 is often recycled . its the cutting jet liquid that exits the orifice 162 of nozzle 160 under high pressure . the nozzle 160 is connected to the intensifier subsystem 100 via a flexible , extendible hose 170 . as shown in fig2 perspective the inventor for reasons of cost effectiveness recommends that each system 200 share a single power unit 220 mounted on a pair of crawlers 210 with two liquid jet cutting systems 100 notwithstanding the fact that the power 220 in the system 200 may not be enough to run both liquid jet cutting systems concurrently . an essential and novel feature of this invention is the balanced oscillator which oscillates the nozzle 160 such that the dwell time at each end is equal and consequently the finish on both sides of the cut is equally smooth and symmetrical . this may also be adjusted with an unequal dwell time to compensate for some special quarry conditions . the balanced oscillator 10 is mounted on the mobile unit 210 . an exploded view of the oscillator is shown in fig3 . an essential component of the balanced oscillator 10 is a bent shaft 50 shown in fig4 which in turn comprises a drive shaft 40 and a cam shaft 60 . the drive shaft 40 is housed in drive housing 30 and the cam shaft 60 is housed in cam housing 70 . the oscillator 50 comprises four primary parts drive housing 30 , drive shaft 40 , camshaft 60 and cam housing 70 . the drive shaft is driven by a motor 20 via a pair of pulleys 22 and 24 coupled by a belt 25 . the balanced oscillator subsystem also includes accessories 42 , 62 and 72 for proper assembly . the housing 70 also has a horizontal linkage 75 which interfaces linkage 175 between oscillator 10 and rigid pipe , which in turn is interfaced to high pressure tubing 172 and which in turn is connected to nozzle 160 . the center line of the drive shaft intersects with the center line of the cam housing . the drive housing is fixed to the frame and the cam housing is free to move to and fro but not rotate . thus the rotary motion at the drive shaft 40 is converted into an oscillating motion at the nozzle receptacle 75 . the drive housing 30 and cam housing 70 are similar except that the cam housing 70 has threads inside to match the threads on the rod end of cam shaft 60 . both housings drive housing 30 and cam housing 70 have a space in the middle to locate a grease fitting and reservoir for grease to cool the pair of angular contact bearings . fig6 shows the movement of the bent shaft 50 when viewed from the cam shaft end of the rod . this motion is still circulatory . however the motion of the housing 70 is oscillatory because the housing is free to move to and fro but not free to rotate . the rod end 60 moves back and forth a fixed distance as a function of the length of the rod . thus by connecting a perpendicular linkage 80 to the rod end the rotary motion at the drive end is converted into a linear or angular displacement . fig7 shows a flow chart of the macro level steps involved in the programming and operation of the system . fig8 a shows the plan view of the sapphire orifice 162 of nozzle 160 . similarly fig8 b shows cross section of the sapphire orifice 162 of nozzle 160 of this invention . fig9 a shows the front view of the path of the liquid jet as the jet nozzle 160 is lowered under the control of the program for the desired cut . in this figure x is the pitch of the cut and c is the thickness of the cut . fig9 b shows the side view of the path of the liquid jet as the nozzle 160 is lowered under the control of the program for the desired cut . fig1 ( a ) is a perspective view of the cable tensioning means for adjusting the balance of the balanced oscillator which is accomplished by pretensioning the oscillator rigid tube 172 or high pressure tubing 170 . the intention of this device is to pretension the oscillator or high pressure tubing so as to alter the position and / or dwell of the nozzle as it moves to and fro . it essentially comprises a cable 186 a few turns of which are wrapped around the rigid oscillator tubing 172 or the high pressure liquid jet tubing 170 via a hub 184 . each end of the cable 180 terminates in a spring tension assembly 190 , which is shown in greater detail in fig1 ( b ). while bottom end of the tube 170 or 172 terminates in or carries the nozzle 160 , the top end is anchored to the common platform 225 via a pillor block bearing housing 185 . fig1 ( b ) is a detailed perspective exploded assembly view of the of the tension adjusting means 190 used at each end of the cable 186 of fig1 ( a ). this tension adjusting means at each end comprises the cable 186 terminating in a cable stop 182 , followed by a tensioning nut 188 , a washer 192 , a threaded shaft with hole in the center 194 , a spring 196 , and a hard bushing 198 . this tension adjusting assembly 190 is anchored to the common platform 225 . fig1 is a perspective view of the relationship between the balanced oscillator , the rigid pipe or the high pressure tube , the spring tensioning system , the waterjet nozzle and the multi - plane platform . as can be clearly seen from fig1 the oscillator 10 , the pillor block bearing housing 185 of fig1 and the tension adjusting assembly 190 at each end of the cable 186 are all anchored to the common multi - plane platform 225 which does not travel down in the stone . the nozzle 160 however does travel down the stone cut path . thus the oscillator 10 oscillates the water jet remotely via high pressure tubing 170 or a rigid pipe 172 . the oscillator assembly moves up and down ( also known as rise and fall ) the distance determined by the positioning of the top and bottom proximity sensors ( not shown ). this motion is repeated over and over again unless in the unlikely event the oscillator or some other related component jams . in the event an obstruction that causes the oscillator or the rise and fall to slow down or stop , the computer 95 senses a change of speed and shuts down . this is a very effective safety feature for the unexpected in the quarries . in the preferred embodiment the inventors used 16 feet travel for rise and fall at a variable speed of approximately 40 feet per minute . but these limitations can be easily extended by design . the rise and fall is motor assisted and counter balanced to reduce the strength of the system in the downward direction in order to protect the nozzle and the high pressure fittings . the horizontal travel ( also known as indexer ) moves a predetermined amount setable via keyboard 92 connected to computer 95 is normally activated when the bottom proximity sensor is activated . it is also possible to index at top only or top and bottom both . the oscillator speed is function of many variables including the rise and fall , the grain of the stone being cut . in the preferred embodiment the oscillator speed was 1200 cycles per minute . a ) the oscillator assembly falls until the lower proximity switch is activated , b ) machine indexes or travels horizontally c ) the oscillator assembly rises irrespective of the status of the indexing f ) define and enter the pitch ( the distance between the zig zags ). it should be noted that the optimum pitch is defined by the stone structure and its strength in tension . as a rule of thumb the larger the grain structure the higher the pitch . g ) enter the desired oscillator speed via keyboard 92 or another equivalent input device . h ) program the nozzle jet cutting tool path or load in the program from a preprogrammed computer readable media . k ) stop the system if it does not automatically stop after a malfunction or upon completion of the curl . the inventor has given a non - limiting description of the concept . many changes may be made to this design without deviating from the spirit of the concept of this invention . examples of such contemplated variations include the following . a ) the crawler may be obviated or substituted by a mobile unit . b ) a single mobile and power unit may use one or more liquid jets . c ) the cutting methodology and embodiment may be adapted for mining or for cutting other materials . d ) a different permutation and combination of the parts disclosed here may be used to fine tune the cut . e ) additional features such as a automatic display , automatic safety features may be incorporated . f ) the programming may be further simplified such that it is user programmable . g ) instead of the sapphire or the diamond the orifice may be comprised of diamond based or equivalent hardened material . h ) other changes such as aesthetic and substitution of newer materials as they become available which substantially perform the same function in substantially the same manner with substantially the same result without deviating from the spirit of this invention . following is a listing of the components used in this embodiment arranged in ascending order of the reference numerals for ready reference of the reader . while this invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments , this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense . various modifications and combinations of the illustrative embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to person skilled in the art upon reference to this description . it is therefore contemplated that the appended claims cover any such modifications , embodiments as fall within the true scope of the invention . | 1 |
my pipe freezer with defrost cycle invention has three embodiments . the first and preferred embodiment is the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with incorporated hot gas line . the second embodiment ( nonpreferred ) is referred to as the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with separate hot gas line . the third embodiment ( nonpreferred ) is the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with reversing valve . turning now descriptively to the drawings , in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views , fig1 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with incorporated hot gas line embodiment of my invention in its freeze mode of operation , this embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the freeze mode , the electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 is set to the closed position , thus blocking flow of refrigerant through it . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure , and the compressed refrigerant exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 , the compressed refrigerant comes to the discharge line tee 28 which leads to the hot gas valve 22 , which , as mentioned above , is closed in freeze mode , thus causing all the compressed refrigerant to be transported down the discharge line 26 and into the condenser 30 . in the condenser 30 , the compressed gas is condensed , saturated and sub - cooled . the saturated liquid refrigerant enters the metering device 32 and is metered into the feeder tube 34 ( functioning as a saturated vapor feeder tube ), which enters and is enclosed within the suction line 36 for at least part of the length of the suction line 36 . fig9 shows an embodiment in which the feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for the full length of the feeder tube 34 . continuing to pass down the feeder tube 34 , the refrigerant enters the evaporator 38 , removing heat from any surface in contact with the evaporator 38 . the refrigerant vapor then enters the suction line 36 and travels back to the compressor 24 . as just mentioned , the feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 . fig7 shows a schematic diagram of the freezing mode of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with incorporated hot gas line embodiment of my invention , showing just those elements participating in the freezing mode . the dots in fig7 show the path followed by the refrigerant in freezing mode , with inactive components and pathways not shown . fig2 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with incorporated hot gas line embodiment of my invention in its defrost mode of operation , this embodiment again being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the defrost mode , the electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 is set to the open position , thus allowing flow of refrigerant through it . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure causing the temperature of the refrigerant to rise , and the hot compressed refrigerant exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 , the compressed refrigerant flows into the discharge line tee 28 which feeds the refrigerant into the hot gas line 40 . the hot gas line 40 then leads the refrigerant to the hot gas valve 22 , which , as mentioned above , is open in defrost mode . any refrigerant , however , which attempts to flow down the discharge line 26 and into the condenser 30 , encounters heavy resistance when it exits the condenser 30 and attempts to pass through the metering device 32 , and only a thin trickle of refrigerant passes through the metering device 32 . therefore , being essentially blocked from flowing down the discharge line 26 , most of the hot compressed refrigerant from the compressor 24 passes through the discharge line tee 28 , through the hot gas valve 22 , and on to the feeder tube tee 42 . due to the above mentioned thin trickle of refrigerant passing through the metering device 32 from the condenser , refrigerant passing into the feeder tube tee 42 is blocked from flowing through the metering device 32 and into the condenser 30 . thus , the hot compressed refrigerant which flows into the feeder tube tee , being blocked from flowing through the metering device 32 , flows down the saturated vapor feeder tube 34 and into the evaporator 38 . ( this is what is meant by saying that the hot gas line 40 is incorporated into the feeder tube 34 from the feeder tube tee 42 all the way to the evaporator 38 . the feeder tube 34 performs the function of the hot gas line all the way from the feeder tube tee 42 all the way to the evaporator 38 .) this hot compressed refrigerant heats the evaporator 38 and freeze heads ( not shown ) thus defrosting them . the refrigerant then exits the evaporator . 38 via the suction line 36 and is transported back to the compressor 24 . as mentioned previously , in this embodiment , as shown in fig2 the saturated vapor feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 . fig8 shows a schematic diagram of the defrost mode of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with incorporated hot gas line embodiment of my invention , showing just those elements participating in the defrost mode . the dots of fig8 show the path followed by the refrigerant in defrost mode , with inactive components and pathways not shown . thus we see that the feeder tube 34 serves two purposes : first , during the freeze mode , to feed the refrigerant to the evaporator 38 for heat removal from a pipe . in this first purpose , the feeder tube 34 is functioning as a refrigerant line or saturated vapor feeder tube . and second , during the defrost mode , the feeder tube 34 delivers hot gas to the evaporator 38 for defrost after the pipe freezing operation is complete . in this second purpose , the feeder tube 34 is functioning as a hot gas line . thus , to achieve the combination of freezing and defrosting the evaporators , a common feeder is utilized . the feeder tube 34 allows very saturated vapor to flow from the metering device 32 to the evaporator ( s ) when the system is in the freezing mode . the dots in fig1 show the flow path of the refrigerant . in the hot gas mode ( defrost ) the hot refrigerant gas is diverted away from the condenser 30 by incorporating a tee 28 on the discharge line 26 with an electrically or manually operated valve 22 . when the hot gas is diverted from the discharge line 26 entering the condenser 30 , to the saturated vapor and hot gas feeder tube 34 , it travels into the evaporator 38 adding heat and defrosting the freeze heads ( not shown ) and the evaporator 38 . the dots in fig2 and 8 show this path . ( this diversion takes place because the metering device 32 offers much resistance to refrigerant passing through it , and thus the majority of refrigerant passes into the tee 28 instead .) the refrigerant then travels back to the compressor 24 through the suction line 36 . the best method for defrost is to use a manual on - off switch 44 in conjunction with an electric valve 22 . other methods may be incorporated , such as including a hand valve , or a timer controlling an electric valve . current pipe freezers extend the metering device into the evaporator with a capillary tube . other types of metering devices can be used in conjunction with the feeder tube such as thermostatic expansion valves , automatic expansion valves , electronic expansion valves , fixed orifice , and capillary tubes . a . the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with separate hot gas line fig3 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with separate hot gas line embodiment of my invention in its freeze mode of operation , this embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the freeze mode , the electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 is set to the closed position , thus blocking flow of refrigerant through it . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure , and the compressed refrigerant exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 the compressed refrigerant comes to the discharge line tee 28 which leads to an electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 , which , as previously mentioned , is closed in freeze mode , thus causing all the compressed refrigerant to be transported down the discharge line 26 and into the condenser 30 . in the condenser 30 the compressed gas is condensed , saturated and sub - cooled . the saturated liquid refrigerant exits the condenser 30 , and enters the inlet 46 of the liquid line 48 . upon exiting the outlet 50 of the liquid line 48 , the refrigerant enters the metering device 32 and is metered into the feeder tube 34 ( functioning as a saturated vapor feeder tube ), from whence the refrigerant enters the evaporator 38 , and removes heat from any surface in contact with the evaporator 38 . the refrigerant vapor then enters the suction line 36 and travels back to the compressor 24 . in this embodiment , the feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 . fig4 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with separate hot gas line embodiment of my invention in its defrost mode of operation , this embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the defrost mode , the electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 is set to the open position , thus allowing refrigerant to flow through it . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure causing the temperature of the refrigerant to rise , and the compressed refrigerant exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 the compressed refrigerant comes to the discharge line tee 28 which feeds the compressed refrigerant into the hot gas line 40 . the hot gas line 40 in turn feeds the compressed refrigerant into an electrically or manually operated hot gas valve 22 , which , as mentioned above , is open in defrost mode . please note that any refrigerant continuing on down the discharge line 26 into the condenser 30 is effectively blocked at the output of the condenser 30 by the metering device 32 which only lets a small amount of refrigerant through . therefore most of the hot compressed refrigerant from the compressor 24 passes into the discharge line tee 28 , through the hot gas valve 22 , and on to the evaporator 38 via the separate hot gas line 40 . this hot compressed refrigerant heats the evaporator 38 and freeze heads ( not shown ) thus defrosting them . the refrigerant then exits the evaporator 38 via the suction line 36 and is then transported back to the compressor 24 . as mentioned previously , in this embodiment , the saturated vapor feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 , and the hot gas line 40 is separate from the suction line 36 . fig5 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with reversing valve embodiment of my invention in its freeze mode of operation , this embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the freeze mode , the reversing valve 52 is set to allow the flow of hot compressed gas from the compressor 24 to the condenser 30 . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure , and the compressed refrigerant exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 , the compressed refrigerant enters the right chamber of the electric reversing valve 52 , and then continues to be transported down the discharge line 26 and into the condenser 30 . in the condenser 30 , the compressed gas is condensed , saturated and sub - cooled . the saturated liquid refrigerant exits the condenser 30 , and enters the inlet 46 of the liquid line 48 . upon exiting the outlet 50 of the liquid line 48 , the refrigerant enters the metering device 32 and is metered into the feeder tube 34 ( functioning as a saturated vapor tube or saturated refrigerant line ), from whence the refrigerant enters the evaporator 38 , and removes heat from any surface in contact with the evaporator 38 . the refrigerant vapor then enters the suction line 36 and travels through the left chamber of the reversing valve 52 , then back to the compressor 24 . in this embodiment , the feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 . fig6 shows a schematic diagram of the pipe freezer with defrost cycle with reversing valve embodiment of my invention in its defrost mode of operation , this embodiment being generally designated by the numeral 20 . when this embodiment is operating in the defrost mode , the reversing valve 52 is set to allow the flow of hot compressed gas from the compressor 24 to the evaporator 38 . the compressor 24 compresses the refrigerant from a low pressure to a high pressure causing the temperature of the refrigerant to rise , and the hot compressed refrigerant gas exits the compressor 24 via the discharge line 26 . after traveling a short distance down the discharge line 26 , the compressed refrigerant flows into the left chamber of the reversing valve 52 which feeds the refrigerant into the hot gas line 40 , which in turn feeds the refrigerant into the outer line / suction line 36 ( which in the freezing mode is the suction line ) which transports the hot refrigerant gas into the evaporator 38 for defrosting after a pipe freezing job is complete . the hot gas is condensed into a liquid within the evaporator 38 and flows into the metering device 32 via the feeder tube 34 ( functioning as a liquid line ), and then into the condenser 30 ( which now acts as an evaporator ). heat is absorbed from the air . then the refrigerant travels through the right chamber of the reversing valve 52 and into the suction line 36 back to the compressor 24 . in this embodiment , as shown in fig6 the feeder tube 34 runs internal to the suction line 36 for at least a portion of the length of the suction line 36 . to achieve hot gas defrost in the freezers of the background art using the teachings of the background art , it is customary to run a hot gas line from the compressor discharge into the evaporator employing a third refrigerant line external to the suction line . another background art method that is used is to incorporate a reverse cycle ; a major drawback to this approach is cost , both methods require much additional labor . the function of the feeder tube 34 in applicant &# 39 ; s invention is to deliver cold evaporating refrigerant from the metering device 32 to the evaporator 38 for the freeze cycle and to deliver hot refrigerant gas from the compressor discharge line 26 to the evaporator 38 for the defrost cycle . the feeder tube 34 extends from the tee 42 ( joining the hot gas line 40 and the outlet of the metering device 32 ) to the inlet of the evaporator 38 and runs within the suction line to the evaporator . the feeder tube is sized so as not to impede the refrigerant returning back to the compressor 24 . by so utilizing a feeder tube 34 in my invention , the metering device 32 is no longer restricted to a capillary tube running within the suction line , because in my invention metering now takes place at the inlet of the feeder tube and refrigerant flows through the feeder tube 34 and into the evaporator 38 during the freeze cycle . therefore with the improvement taught by applicant &# 39 ; s invention , other metering devices can now be used such as : thermostatic expansion valves , automatic expansion valves , hand valves , and electronic expansion valves . the advantages of using a feeder tube that delivers both evaporating refrigerant in the freezing cycle , and hot gas in the defrost cycle are : 1 . a third tube is not required to accomplish the defrost cycle . using a third tube results in increased labor and material costs in the manufacturing process , and requires a much larger suction line witch reduces flexibility and adds to the weight of the unit . 2 . refrigerant metering can now take place within the compressor housing making available more precise metering devices such as : the pipe freezer with defrost cycle system has advantages of efficiency , reasonable weight , and ease of use . the instant invention , unlike most background art devices , has a defrost cycle . the instant invention is easy to use with most conventional pipe freezers . it will be understood that each of the elements described above , or two or more together may also find a useful application in other types of devices and methods differing from those types described above . thus the reader will see that my pipe freezer with defrost cycle supplies a long felt need for a simple , economical , easy to use means for freezing a pipe which is to be repaired , and after the pipe is frozen , to then defrost the freeze heads and evaporator so that the pipe freezer may be removed from the frozen pipes without damaging the pipe freezer . the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description . they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed , and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching . the embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application , to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents . while the present invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiment and generally associated methods , the inventor contemplates that alterations and permutations of the preferred embodiment and method will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings . accordingly , the above description of preferred exemplary embodiments does not define or constrain the present invention . rather , the issued claims variously define the present invention . each variation of the present invention is limited only by the recited limitations of its respective claim , and equivalents thereof , without limitation by other terms not present in the claim . further , aspects of the present invention are particularly pointed out below using terminology that the inventor regards as having its broadest reasonable interpretation ; the more specific interpretations of 35 u . s . c . . sctn . 112 ( 6 ) are only intended in those instances where the term “ means ” is actually recited . | 5 |
please refer to fig3 showing a planar inverted f antenna 48 according to the first embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the antenna 48 includes a substrate 36 , a ground plate 30 , a feeding plate 32 , a ground plane 40 , and a radiator 38 for receiving and transmitting rf signals . the radiator 38 includes a plurality of recesses 37 and a trench 42 . the plurality of recesses 37 is formed on the two side of the radiator 38 . the substrate 36 has a long side d 1 and a short side l 1 . the substrate 36 further includes two apertures formed along the short side of the substrate 36 and penetrating the substrate 36 . the feeding plate 32 is connected to the radiator 38 via an aperture , so that the radiator 38 transmits rf signals via the feeding plate 32 . the ground plate 30 is also connected to the radiator 38 and the ground plane 40 via an aperture . as shown in fig3 the trench 42 is formed on a side of the radiator 38 , and positioned between the ground plate 30 and the feeding plate 32 . the width l 2 and the length d 2 of the trench 42 may influence the impedance matching of the antenna 48 , as does the distance between the ground plate 30 and the feeding plate 32 . the plurality of recesses 37 on the two side of the radiator 38 is arranged asymmetrically and periodically for generating periodical perturbation , in order to shorten the resonance length and shorten the length of the antenna 48 as well . please refer to fig4 showing a planar inverted f antenna 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention using the same numbering to that in fig3 . the functions of the devices in the second embodiment is essentially the same to the first embodiment , thus a repeated description is hereby omitted . the difference between the two embodiments is that , the antenna 50 further includes two metal apertures 44 , 46 for capacitive loading , so that the length of the antenna can be further reduced . please refer to fig5 and fig6 . fig5 illustrates a planar inverted f antenna 60 according to the third embodiment , and fig6 illustrates a planar inverted f antenna 70 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention using the same numbering to that in fig3 . the functions of the devices in the antenna 60 according to the third embodiment are essentially the same to that in the antenna 48 according to the first embodiment . similarly , the functions of the devices in the antenna 70 according to the fourth embodiment are essentially the same to that in the antenna 50 according to the second embodiment , thus repeated descriptions are hereby omitted . the difference between the third and the first embodiment , as well as between the fourth and the second embodiment , is that the radiator 62 according to the third embodiment and the radiator 72 according to the fourth embodiment generates periodical perturbation by a plurality of recesses arranged symmetrically and periodically , in order to shorten the resonance length and shorten the length of the radiator as well . the antennas 48 , 50 , 60 , 70 according to the first , second , third and fourth embodiments respectively all include a substrate . however , this is for example only and an antenna without a substrate can also be used according to the present invention . in contrast to the prior art , the pifa according to the present invention generates periodical perturbation using the plurality of recesses arranged asymmetrically and periodically on the two sides of the radiator 38 , 52 according to the first and second embodiments or symmetrically and periodically on the two sides of the radiator 62 , 72 according to the third and fourth embodiments , so that the resonance length and the length of the radiator can be reduced . additionally , the length of the antenna can be shortened due to capacitive loading of the two metal apertures 44 , 46 . consequently , the present invention shows a more practical and efficient way to utilize an antenna in compact wireless mobile communication devices when compared with a conventional pifa . | 7 |
hereafter , the embodiment of the present invention is explained with reference to figures . fig1 is a conceptual view showing an entire constitution of a diagnostic apparatus 1 which adopted the optical probe . as shown in this figure , diagnostic apparatus 1 is apparatus which diagnoses the disease state ( for example , the kind of a disease and infiltration range ) such as the degeneration of a physiological tissue , and the cancer in lumen k in the living body , and has light source 10 , optical probe 2 , spectroscope 11 and spectral - analysis device 12 . the light source 10 generates excitation light such as xenon light , and is connected with the optical probe 2 through the wavelength selection filter . the optical probe 2 is inserted in lumen k in the living body along the direction of an axis x , and has the objective optical system 4 and optical fiber group 3 in the tubular sheath 20 as shown in fig2 a . the objective optical system 4 in the embodiment shown in fig2 and below - mentioned fig3 consists of plus lenses ( converging lens ) which has plus refractive power . the plus lens is sufficient whether constituted with a single lens or a lens system constituted with two or more lenses . this objective optical system 4 is arranged towards the tip side of the optical probe 2 , and coincides the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 ( plus lens ) with the central axis of the optical probe 2 in the present embodiment . in addition , as such an objective optical system 4 , a well known lens system from the former can be used . the optical fiber group 3 irradiates with excitation light generated by light source 10 to the observation object part of a physiological tissue , and receives the fluorescence which originated in this excitation light and is emitted from a physiological tissue or a drag beforehand injected into living body . this optical fiber group 3 has a plurality of optical fiber 30 b for receiving the fluorescence . these plural optical fiber 30 b are directed toward the tip surface 300 to the objective optical system 4 , are arranged by the position offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and receives the fluorescence passing the objective optical system 4 from the tip surface 300 . a plurality of the tip surface 300 is arranged in the shape of a concentric circular about the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the mutual position of the tip surface 300 is shifted along the optical axis j ( the direction of an axis x of the optical probe 2 ) of the objective optical system 4 according to the amount of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and in the present embodiment , when the tip surface 300 is arranged closer the tip side of the optical probe 2 , the tip surface 300 is close to the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , that is the amount of offset is small . however , the tip surface 300 is arranged by the other embodiment as long as the position of the tip surface 300 of the optical fiber 30 b of which amounts of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 differ mutually at least among the plurality of optical fiber 30 b . the optical fiber group 3 has optical fibers 30 a for irradiating the excitation light which is generated by the light source 10 and irradiated as an emission light , parallel light or convergence light to the observation object part of physiological tissue through the objective optical system 4 . this optical fiber 30 a is sufficient the same as that of optical fiber 30 b for receiving light as shown in fig2 a , it is sufficient the separate as shown in fig2 b and 2 c . in addition , in fig2 b , the only one optical fiber 30 a is formed on the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and a plurality of optical fiber 30 a is arranged side by side to each optical fiber 30 b in fig2 c . however , the optical fiber 30 a of fig2 c irradiates an excitation light ( convergence light ) which amount of the diffusion degree is small only to the observation object part through the objective optical system 4 , in contrast , the optical fiber 30 a of fig2 b irradiates the excitation light ( emission light ) which amount of the diffusion degree is larger than the optical fiber 30 a of fig2 c through the objective optical system 4 , since it is necessary to irradiate the excitation light with the observation object part corresponding to each optical fiber 30 b . in addition , as for the above optical fiber 30 a and 30 b are desirable to consist of bundle fibers . moreover , the optical probe 2 is provided with the moving mechanism section 25 which moves at least one of the objective optical system 4 ( plus lens ) and optical fiber group 3 along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , this moving mechanism section 25 is connected with controller 21 for an operator to operate . this moving mechanism section 25 optimizes the intensity of the fluorescence received by the optical fiber 30 b ( convergence degree by the objective optical system 4 ) and the position of the observation object part by moving the objective optical system 4 or the optical fiber group 3 . in addition , fig2 and below - mentioned fig3 are illustrating situation that the objective optical system 4 among the objective optical system 4 and optical fiber group 3 moves by the moving mechanism section 25 ( refer to the arrow in a figure ). moreover , the objective optical system 4 is desirable to move in the sealed space in the optical probe 2 . moreover , as the above moving mechanism section 25 , well - known mechanisms , such as a cam mechanism or voice coil motor , is applied , for example . a spectroscope 11 measures intensity of some wavelength from the detected fluorescence by optical fiber 30 for receiving light which is provided in the optical probe 2 ( henceforth “ spectrometry ”), outputs the measurement result as electronic information ( spectroscopic spectrum signal ). a spectral - analysis device 12 analyses the optical spectrum signal outputted by the spectroscope 11 , converts the optical spectrum signal into image data of a spectroscopic spectrum graph , diagnoses disease state . moreover , an image data and a diagnostic result of the spectroscopic spectrum graph which are generated by the spectral - analysis device 12 are displayed on to monitor 120 . in addition , well known things is applied for example , such as a disclosed thing of japanese unexamined patent application publication no . h7 - 155286 , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . h7 - 204156 , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . h10 - 239517 , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . h10 - 295632 , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . h11 - 223726 , japanese unexamined patent application publication no . 2005 - 319212 , as light source 10 , spectroscope 11 , and spectral - analysis device 12 . since the optical probe 2 of diagnostic apparatus 1 is applied the objective optical system 4 arranged towards the tip side of the optical probe 2 and a plurality of optical fiber 30 b to receive fluorescence from the tip surface 300 through the objective optical system 4 , a plurality of optical fiber 30 b is arranged by the position which directed toward the tip surface 300 to the objective optical system 4 , and is offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , as a dashed line shows in fig2 a , when the optical probe 2 is inserted in lumen k such as an esophagus , the fluorescence from the wall surface located in the side of the optical probe 2 is converged to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b . and since the position of the tip surface 300 of the optical fiber 30 b where the amounts of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 differ mutually at least among a plurality of optical fiber is mutually shifted along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the probe side in each different position along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 is converged ( image formation ) to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b . therefore , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the side of the optical probe is certainly receivable . moreover , fluorescence can be detected from plural part , without moving the main part portion of the optical probe 2 in the direction of optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 . moreover , since the tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fiber 30 b for receiving light is provided , the fluorescence from a plurality of a observation object part is detectable , respectively . therefore , diagnostic speed is accelerable . moreover , when the tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fiber 30 b for receiving light is arranged closer the tip side of the optical probe 2 , the tip surface 300 is close to the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the probe side in each different position along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 is certainly converged ( image formation ) to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b . therefore , the fluorescence from the surface of a wall located in the probe side is certainly receivable . moreover , since the tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fibers 30 b is arranged in the shape of a concentric circular about the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence is detectable from the annular observation object part . moreover , at least one of the objective optical system 4 and a plurality of optical fiber 30 b moves along the optical axis j of objective optical system 4 , the position of the observation object part and the degree of converging ( image formation ) can be changed . in addition , an embodiment which can apply the present invention can be suitably changed in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of the present invention , without being limited to the above - mentioned embodiment . for example , although the optical probe 2 is explained as providing the moving mechanism section 25 , it is good also as not providing . in this case , it is desirable that the tip surface 300 of the optical fiber 30 b is arranged at an image formation position of the fluorescence by a plus lens beforehand . moreover , as shown in fig3 a , it is desirable that the optical probe 2 is equipped a camera 22 which takes a photograph along the direction of an axis x . in this case , the state in lumen k can be sighted . moreover , as shown in fig3 b , it is desirable that the optical probe 2 is equipped a balloon 23 which inflates in the diameter direction ( the rectangular direction to the direction of an axis x ) and sticks to the inner wall of lumen k . in this case , the observation object part can be prevented from shifting during observation . in 1st embodiment , the fluorescence from the wall surface of side of the optical probe in each different position along the optical axis j is made to converge ( image formation ) to the tip surface of each optical fiber , and certainly receiving the fluorescence from the wall surface of side of the optical probe , when an objective optical system 4 which provided with single plus lens is used , and the tip surface 300 of the plurality of optical fiber which the amount of offset from the optical axis j is differ mutually has composition from which the position of the tip surface 300 is mutually shifted along the optical axis j . in 2nd embodiment , the same effect as the 1st embodiment is acquired when an objective optical system 4 which provided with at least two plus lenses are used , and the moving mechanism section which moves at least one of the optical fiber and the two plus lenses along the optical axis j is provided . it explains below . the optical probe 2 concerning the 2nd embodiment is also inserted in lumen k in the living body along the direction of an axis x , and has the objective optical system 4 and optical fiber group 3 in the tubular sheath 20 as shown in fig4 a . in addition , detailed explanation is omitted by giving a same sign to below about the same function member as fig2 and fig3 . the objective optical system 4 has two plus lenses 40 , 41 which have plus refractive power . these plus lenses 40 and 41 are arranged towards the tip side of the optical probe 2 in the state where it countered mutually , and are coinciding the optical axis j with the central axis of the optical probe 2 respectively , in this embodiment . in addition , as such an objective optical system 4 , a zoom lens well known from the former can be used . in addition , although explained as having the two plus lenses 40 , 41 as the objective optical system 4 , it is not limited to this , has three or more lenses , or is good also as a negative lens being included . a plurality of optical fiber 30 b is arranged by the position which directed toward the tip surface 300 to the objective optical system 4 , and is offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and receives the fluorescence passing the objective optical system 4 from the tip surface 300 . moreover , as a desirable embodiment , a plurality of the tip surface 300 is arranged in the shape of a concentric circular about the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and the mutual position of the tip surface 300 is shifted along the optical axis j ( the direction of an axis x of the optical probe 2 ) of the objective optical system 4 according to the amount of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 . furthermore , as a more desirable embodiment , when the tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fiber 30 b for receiving light is arranged closer the tip side of the optical probe 2 , the tip surface 300 is close to the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 . however , the tip surface 300 is arranged by the other embodiment as long as the position of the tip side of the optical fiber 30 b of which amounts of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 differ mutually at least among the plurality of optical fiber 30 b . moreover , the optical fiber group 3 has optical fibers 30 a for irradiating the excitation light which is generated by the light source 10 and irradiated as an emission light , parallel light or convergence light to the observation object part of physiological tissue through the objective optical system 4 like the 1st embodiment . this optical fiber 30 a is sufficient the same as that of optical fiber 30 b for receiving light as shown in fig4 a , it is sufficient the separate as shown in fig4 b and 4 c . in addition , in fig4 b , the only one optical fiber 30 a is formed on the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , and a plurality of optical fiber 30 a is arranged side by side to each optical fiber 30 b in fig4 c . however , the optical fiber 30 a of fig4 c irradiates an excitation light ( convergence light ) which amount of the diffusion degree is small only to the observation object part through the objective optical system 4 , in contrast , the optical fiber 30 a of fig4 b irradiates the excitation light ( emission light ) which amount of the diffusion degree is larger than the optical fiber 30 a of fig4 c through the objective optical system 4 since it is necessary to irradiate the excitation light with the observation object part corresponding to each optical fiber 30 b . in addition , as for the above optical fiber 30 a and 30 b is desirable to consist of bundle fibers . moreover , as shown in fig1 , the optical probe 2 is provided with the moving mechanism section 25 which moves at least two of the plus lens 40 , 41 and optical fiber group 3 along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 independently , this moving mechanism section 25 is connected with controller 21 for an operator to operate . this moving mechanism section 25 optimizes the intensity of the fluorescence received by the optical fiber 30 b ( convergence degree by the objective optical system 4 ) and the position of the observation object part by moving ( refer to the allow in fig4 ) the at least two of the plus lens 40 , 41 and optical fiber group 3 along the optical axis j . moreover , the plus lens 40 , 41 and optical fiber group 3 are desirable to move in the sealed space in the optical probe 2 . moreover , as the above moving mechanism section 25 , well - known mechanisms , such as a cam mechanism or a mechanism using a plurality of a voice coil motor , is applied , for example . since the optical probe 2 of the 2nd embodiment is provided with the objective optical system 4 which has two plus lens 40 , 41 which are arranged towards the tip side of the optical probe 2 in the state which countered mutually , a plurality of optical fiber 30 b which tip surface 300 is arranged towards the objective optical system 4 and in a position offset from an optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 and receives the fluorescence passing the objective optical system 4 from the tip surface 300 , and the moving mechanism section 25 which moves at least two of a optical fiber 30 b and plus lens 40 , 41 along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , as a dashed line and allow shows in fig4 a , so the optical probe 2 changes the degree of converging ( image formation ) and focal length of the objective optical system 4 , and converges the fluorescence from the wall surface of the optical probe 2 side to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b . therefore , when the optical probe 2 is inserted in lumen k , the fluorescence from the wall surface located in the side of the optical probe is certainly receivable . since a plurality of the optical fiber 30 b is provided same as the optical probe 2 of the 1st embodiment , fluorescence from a plurality of the observation object part is detectable , respectively . therefore , diagnostic velocity is accelerable . and since the position of the tip surface 300 of the optical fiber 30 b where the amounts of offset from the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 differ mutually at least among a plurality of optical fiber is mutually shifted along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the probe side in each different position along the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 is converged ( image formation ) to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b . therefore , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the side of the optical probe is certainly receivable . moreover , fluorescence can be detected from plural part , without moving the main part portion of the optical probe 2 in the direction of optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 . moreover , when the tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fiber 30 b is arranged closer the tip side of the optical probe 2 , the tip surface 300 is close to the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence from the wall surface of the optical probe 2 side is certainly converged ( image formation ) to the tip surface 300 of each optical fiber 30 b by the objective optical system 4 . therefore , the fluorescence from the surface of a wall located in the probe side is more certainly receivable . tip surface 300 of a plurality of optical fiber 30 b is arranged in the shape of a concentric circular about the optical axis j of the objective optical system 4 , the fluorescence is detectable from the annular observation object part . moreover , it is good as composition of fig5 a and fig5 b as well as fig3 a and fig3 b , so the state in lumen k is sighted . moreover , in fig5 a , the optical probe 2 is provided a camera 22 which takes a photograph along the direction of an axis x , in this case , the state in lumen k can be sighted . moreover , in fig5 b , the optical probe 2 is provided a balloon 23 which inflates in the diameter direction ( the rectangular direction to the direction of an axis x ) and sticks to the inner wall of lumen k , so the observation object part can be prevented from shifting during observation . | 0 |
fig1 depicts one example of a rotary retorting apparatus in accordance with the principles of this invention . the following description relates to the use of oil shale as a feedstock for the apparatus and it is intended merely to illustrate the invention without limiting its scope . other solid materials having a recoverable volatile constituent may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention . the retorting apparatus of fig1 includes a cylindrical chamber 1 supported for rotation by tires 2 and trunnions 3 in a manner well known in the art . a variable - speed driving means ( not shown ) of conventional structure is provided for rotation of the chamber 1 . the retorting apparatus is provided with a feed opening 4 and a discharge opening 5 . the chamber 1 is divided into a retorting section 6 and a combustion section 7 , and a solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . the retort section 6 is separated from the combustion section by a solid intercompartmental divider 9 . the combustion section 7 is similarly separated from the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 by a solid divider 10 through which passes the flue gas discharge duct 11 . chute 12 delivers oil shale or other hydrocarbon - containing feedstock and , if necessary , other solids materials to the apparatus . rotating seal 13 closes and seals opening 4 from the outside atmosphere in a conventional way . similarly , rotating seal 14 seals opening 5 . stationary air duct 15 introduces combustion air through opening 5 . decarbonized spent shale is discharged through chute 16 . the chamber 1 is lined with a refractory heat - resistant material 17 of a type suitable to withstand the maximum temperatures attained during combustion . a plurality of rigid lifting plates 18 are attached to the interior wall of the combustion section 7 and project perpendicularly from said wall . these lifting plates 18 are oriented parallel to the axis of rotation and extend almost the whole length of the combustion section 7 . similarly , lifters 18 are mounted in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . in this example , with a chamber diameter of 20 feet , the lifters 18 may be 10 to 12 inches in depth . mixers 19 are also mounted in the retorting section , but these differ from lifters 18 in the fact that mixers 19 do not extend as far from the interior wall as do lifters 18 . for this example , with a 20 - foot diameter chamber , mixers 19 may be 1 to 3 inches deep . a recycling means consisting of at least one helical chute 20 is mounted along the inside wall of chamber 1 and is open ended at its inlet end 21 and its outlet end 22 , but the remainder of the chute is closed off from the combustion section 7 while it passes through it and from the retort section 6 . the helical chute 20 curves around the chamber 1 in a direction counter to the direction of rotation so that material entering inlet 21 is carried back toward feed opening 4 until it is discharged through outlet 22 . a similar helical chute 23 is mounted on the outside of chamber 1 to permit transfer of solids between the retort section 6 and combustor section 7 . similarly , another helical chute 24 permits transfer of solids between the combustion section 7 and the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . helical chute 23 has its inlet opening 25 in the retort section 6 and its outlet opening 26 in the combustion section 7 . similarly , helical chute 24 has its inlet opening 27 in the combustion section and its outlet opening 28 in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . both helical chute 23 and helical chute 24 curve around chamber 1 in the same direction as the direction of rotation so that material entering inlet 25 is carried forward toward the combustion section 7 until it is discharged through outlet 26 and , similarly , material entering inlet 27 is carried forward toward the solids cooler / air preheater section until it is discharged through outlet 28 . both of these intercompartmental helical chutes , 23 and 24 , are arranged with conventional devices ( not shown ) which permit solids to pass , but prevent gases from flowing through them . in operation , hydrocarbon - containing minerals such as western and eastern oil shales , oil or tar sands , coal shale , coal tailings , etc ., may be mixed with one or more additives to remove contaminants from the retorting and combustion process . eastern shale , for example , may be mixed with limestone or dolomite , for example , to remove sulfur compounds in the retort section 6 and the combustion section 7 . the amount of limestone or dolomite which must be added to the process is proportional to the sulfur content of the shale . this proportion , based upon the molar ratio of calcium to sulfur , generally ranges between 1 and 4 to 1 . the feedstock mixture is fed through delivery chute 12 into the front end of retort section 6 . here it meets hot recycled spent shale at a temperature of approximately 1200 ° f ., transferred from the discharge end of combustion section 7 through recycle chute 20 and the two are intimately mixed with the aid mixers 19 , but not so much as to cause substantial cascading . the hot spent shale thus transfers some of its heat to the intimately mixed fresh shale causing the net mixture temperature to approach 900 ° f . to 1100 ° f . so that shale oil vapor and high heating value gas are emitted from the fresh shale , passing through inlet opening 4 into product duct 29 and thence to further processing outside of the scope of the present invention . while the product gas is in contact with the absorbent in the feedstock , in this example limestone or dolomite , some of its hydrogen sulfide content reacts with said absorbent , forming calcium and magnesium sulfides and thus reducing the h 2 s content and in turn reducing the amount of h 2 s which must be ultimately removed . as chamber 1 continues to rotate , retorted shale mixed with limestone or dolomite enters chute inlet opening 25 , passes through intercompartmental transfer chute 23 , and out of outlet opening 26 into combustion section 7 , where it meets a stream of preheated combustion air at about 1100 ° f . which issues from air ducts 30 . these air ducts 30 permit preheated air to pass from solids cooler / air preheater section 8 to combustion section 7 . fig2 depicts a view of the rotating chamber 1 looking toward the raw shale feed end . this cross - section is taken approximately through the mid - length of combustion section 7 and shows the arrangement of rotating chamber , lifters 18 and preheated air ducts 30 . upon meeting the stream of preheated air and upon exposure to the high temperatures in the combustion section 7 , the retorted shale is autoignited and any remaining volatiles and residual carbon begin to burn . the solids are lifted and cascaded by means of lifters 18 through the hot gases establishing what is termed herein &# 34 ; mechanical fluidization &# 34 ; and maintaining a temperature of approximately 1200 ° f . to 1600 ° f . to achieve satisfactory mechanical fluidization of the cascading solids , the speed of rotation of cylindrical chamber 1 may be described by the following empirical equation set forth in the above description . for this example , with an internal diameter of 20 feet , the speed of rotation would be about 8 revolutions per minute . in the combustion section 8 , sulfur oxides are formed by oxidation of the remaining sulfur impurities in the retorted shale and by the decomposition of the sulfide compounds present in the absorbent . in this example , the sulfide compounds would be calcium and magnesium sulfides formed in the retort section 6 . in the mechanically fluidized stream and at the temperatures of 1200 ° f . to 1600 ° f . in combustion section 7 , the sulfur oxides react with the absorbent forming calcium and magnesium sulfite which are in turn oxidized to calcium and magnesium sulfates . by this means , the sulfur oxides are effectively removed from the exhaust gases . typically , 75 to 90 percent of the sulfur oxides in the gas stream can be removed by the addition of limestone or dolomite as an absorbent . as the solids move toward the discharge end of the combustion section 7 , cocurrently with the combustion air , they eventually reach a point where lifters 18 do not extend and this section without lifters acts as a disengaging section for separation of solids from the flue gases formed by the combustion . near the discharge end of combustion section 7 , a large portion of the spent shale , at 1200 ° f . to 1600 ° f . and containing also the spent absorbent , enters the inlet opening 21 of recycle duct 20 for recycle to the retort section 6 . the remainder of the spent shale enters inlet opening 27 of intercompartmental duct 24 and is discharged into the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 through discharge opening 28 . typically , the spent shale recycle constitutes about 75 to 85 percent of the total spent shale . flue gases leave the combustion section 7 through flue gas duct 11 from whence they leave the apparatus . the spent shale plus spent absorbent which enters the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 meets the combustion air stream and travels countercurrently to it , being mechanically fluidized by lifters 18 which lift and cascade it through the air stream . by this means , the incoming air stream which enters through duct 15 is preheated to about 1100 ° f . while cooling the spent shale to about 600 ° f . some additional heat is transferred to the incoming air from the flue gas duct 11 which passes through this section . spent shale plus spent absorbent falls into discharge chute 16 from whence it leaves the apparatus . in this example with an internal chamber diameter of 20 feet , the retort section 6 would be typically about 20 feet long , the combustion section 7 would be typically about 40 feet long , and the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 would be about 20 feet long . these dimensions are for typical western shales and may vary considerably with different analyses of feedstock materials such as eastern shale , oil and tar sands , coal shale , coal tailings , and other hydrocarbon - containing minerals . fig3 depicts another apparatus of the present invention which differs from the example of fig1 in that the combustion air travels countercurrent to the spent shale in the combustion section . again cylindrical chamber 31 is supported by tires 32 on trunnions 33 and is equipped with a conventional variable - speed driving means . the chamber 31 is provided with a feed opening 34 and discharge opening 35 . the chamber 31 is divided into a retorting section 36 , a combustion section 37 , and a solids cooler / air preheater section 38 . the retort section 36 is separated from the combustion section 37 by a solid intercompartmental divider 39 , but there is no physical divider between the combustion section 37 and the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 . chute 42 delivers oil shale , for example , and , if necessary , other solid materials to the apparatus . a conventional rotating seal 43 closes and seals opening 34 from the outside atmosphere . similarly rotating seal 44 seals opening 35 at stationary air duct 45 . another seal seals the rotating flue gas duct 41 at the opening to stationary flue gas stack 47 . the seals are of conventional type . decarbonized spent shale is discharged through chute 46 . the retort section 36 is insulated on the outside with a suitable insulating material of a conventional type used to conserve heat within . the combustion section 37 and the solids cooler / air preheater sections are lined with a refractory heat - resistant material of a type suitable to withstand the maximum combustion temperatures therein . a recirculation means consisting of at least one helical chute 50 is mounted along the outside wall of chamber 31 and is open ended at its inlet end 51 and outlet end 52 . the helical chute curves around chamber 31 in a direction counter to the direction of rotation so that material entering inlet 51 is carried back toward feed opening 34 until it is discharged through outlet 52 into the retort section 36 . lifters 48 are attached to the interior wall of the combustion section 37 and the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 and project perpendicularly from said wall . the lifters 48 are oriented parallel to the axis of rotation and , with the exceptions noted , extend almost the whole length of these sections . there is a short distance with no lifters at the front end of the combustion section 37 , however , to prevent solid from entering flue gas duct 41 which has its entry opening at that location . there are also no lifters 48 for a short distance in the vicinity of the inlet opening 51 of the recycle chute 50 to prevent interference with solids pickup at this point . fig4 depicts a view of fig3 through the chamber 31 looking toward the raw shale feed end . this cross - section is taken approximately through the mid - length of combustion section 37 and shows the lifters 48 , and flue gas duct 41 . finally , there are no lifters for a short distance at the discharge of the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 for the purpose of disengaging the solids from the incoming air stream . a helical intercompartmental chute 46 is mounted on the outside of chamber to permit transfer of solids between the retort section 36 and the combustor section 37 through the inlet 45 in the same manner as described above for fig1 . this chute 46 is arranged with conventional devices ( not shown ) which permit solids to pass but prevent gases from passing through them . recycle chute 50 has a conventional means ( not shown ) for adjustment of the size of its inlet opening 51 . the principles of operation of the retort section 36 are precisely the same as those described for fig1 above . similarly to that embodiment of the present invention , the feed may be mixed if necessary ( as in processing eastern shales ) with a suitable absorbent , in this example limestone or dolomite , for removal of sulfur oxides from the gases in the combustion section 37 and for partial removal of hydrogen sulfide from the high heating value product gas generated in the retort section . lifters 48 in the combustions section 37 and the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 serve to lift and cascade solids down through the stream of gases therein . mechanical fluidization is achieved by maintaining the speed of rotation of chamber 31 in accordance with the above empirical formula and parameters shown in the description of fig1 . inlet air enters the apparatus through air duct 35 and travels through discharge opening 35 into the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 , thence travelling countercurrently to the solids moving through this section and the combustion section 37 . in this manner , the air with highest oxygen content comes in contact with the shale having the lowest carbon content , thus increasing the driving force for carbon burnout in the spent shale . as the air moves countercurrently it is intimately contacted by solids which cascade down through it and are , as previously described mechanically fluidized and , in so doing , burns the residual carbon in the retorted shale , until the resulting flue gases reach the entry opening of flue gas duct 11 , through which they leave the apparatus . decarbonized spent shale and spent absorbent , in this example spent limestone or dolomite , leave the apparatus through discharge chute 46 . the temperature in the combustion section 37 is maintained at 1200 ° f . to 1600 ° f . and spent shale is recycled to the retort section 36 at this temperature to establish a retorting temperature of 900 ° f . to 1000 ° f . decarbonized spent shale is discharged from the apparatus at about 600 ° f . in this example , the retort section 36 has an internal diameter of about 3 feet while the combustion section 37 and the solids cooler / air preheater section have an internal diameter of 2 feet 6 inches . the retort section 36 is approximately 3 feet long . the combined combustion section 37 and solids cooler / air preheater section 38 has a length of approximately 16 feet . of this , the length of the combustion section 37 is approximately 12 feet , although there is no sharp line of demarcation ion between these sections . the speed of rotation for this diameter is approximately 22 revolutions per minute . this example is typical for eastern shale and may vary considerably for other hydrocarbon - containing feedstocks . fig5 depicts a block - type flowsheet showing the application of the present invention to the processing of a typical western oil shale for the purpose of recovering shale oil and high heating value gas . the feedstock is a green river oil shale with a fischer assay of 33 gallons per ton and is typical of western shales . analytical information for this shale is given in tables i , ii and iii below . table i * ______________________________________analysis of typical green river shale ( fischer assay 33 gallons per ton ) component percentage______________________________________organic material 20 . 53minerals 79 . 47______________________________________ table ii * ______________________________________typical analysis of minerals in green river shale ( fischer assay 33 gallons per ton ) component weight percent______________________________________dolomite 32calcite 16quartz 15illite 19albite 10microcline 6pyrite 1analcite 1______________________________________ table iii * ______________________________________chemical analysis of kerogen weight percentcomponent organic component______________________________________carbon 80 . 52hydrogen 10 . 30nitrogen 2 . 39sulfur 1 . 04oxygen 5 . 75______________________________________ *( atwood , m . t ., &# 34 ; the production of shale oil &# 34 ;, chemtech , october 1973 , pages 617 - 621 ) in fig5 short tons per hour ( designated herein as tph ) at 70 ° f . are fed to the retort section 6 of a 20 - foot internal diameter rotary retorting apparatus as described in fig1 of the present invention . in the retort section 6 , the raw shale mixes with 971 tph of recycled spent shale at 1200 ° f . ( a 3 . 5 to 1 recycle ratio ) to give a retorting temperature of 900 ° f . at this temperature , 10 tph of gas , 35 tph of crude shale oil vapor , and 3 tph of water vapor are released from the raw shale and these products leave the retort section to be sent to a condenser ( not shown ). these products are contaminated with h 2 s in the retort section because of the sulfur impurities in the raw shale , but a portion of the h 2 s in the gas is absorbed by the calcium and magnesium oxides in the recycle spent shale . the product gas has a higher heating value of about 800 btu per cubic foot . the retorted shale leaving the retort section 6 consists of about 229 tph of first - pass retorted shale ( from the raw shale feed ) plus 971 tph of recycle spent shale for a total of 1200 tph which enters the combustion section 7 . the average carbon content of this mixture is about 0 . 94 weight percent , but the newly retorted shale portion averages about 4 . 94 weight percent carbon . in an apparatus with cocurrent air flow in the combustion section 7 , 133 tph of combustion air at 1090 ° f . meets the 1200 tph of retorted shale at the feed end of combustion section 7 . the resulting heat of combustion of the residual carbonaceous residue in the retorted shale raises the temperature of the retorted shale and the flue gases formed to about 1200 ° f . as the retorted shale travels through the combustion section 7 , its average carbon content drops to about 0 . 5 weight percent . at the end of the combustion section , the spent shale is divided into a recycle stream of 971 tph and a net spent shale stream of 209 tph . the recycle shale returns to the retort section and the net spent shale goes forward to the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 , 133 tph of ambient air at 70 ° f . travels countercurrently to the 209 tph of spent shale at 1200 ° f ., thereby heating the air to 1090 ° f . while cooling the spent shale to 600 ° f . the spent shale , containing approximately 1 . 05 tph of carbon ( 0 . 5 weight percent ) leaves the apparatus for disposal . the apparatus in which the quantities of material shown in fig5 are processed would have an internal diameter of about 20 feet . the retort section would be about 20 feet long while the lengths of the combustor section and the solids cooler / air preheater section would be 40 feet long and 20 feet long , respectively . the drum would rotate at 7 to 8 revolutions per minute in accordance with the empirical formula described herein . fig6 is a block - type flowsheet showing the application of the present invention to the processing of a typical eastern united states oil shale for the purpose of recovering shale oil and high heating value gas . in this example , combustion air travels concurrently with the solids in the combustion section . the feedstock is a kentucky oil shale with a kerogen content as shown in table iv and a fischer assay of 12 . 5 gallons per ton . table iv______________________________________analysis of typical kentucky shale ( fischer assay = 12 . 5 gallons per ton ) component percentage______________________________________organic material 18 . 8minerals 81 . 2______________________________________ as is characteristic of eastern united states shales , the minerals in this feedstock do not contain a high enough calcite , limestone , or dolomite content to completely control sulfur oxide emissions . in this description , therefore , it is referred to as a &# 34 ; non - calcite - containing &# 34 ; shale . thus , supplemental limestone or dolomite , for example , must be added . in fig6 short tons per hour of raw shale ( designated herein as tph ) at 70 ° f . and 25 . 6 tph of limestone ( absorbent ) are fed to the retort section 6 of an 18 . 5 - foot internal diameter rotary retorting apparatus as described in the present invention . in the retort section 6 , the raw shale plus absorbent mixes with 938 . 5 tph of recycled spent shale plus absorbent at 1 , 250 ° f . ( a 3 . 3 to 1 recycle ratio ) to give a retorting temperature of 900 ° f . at this temperature , 3 . 5 tph of gas , 14 . 5 tph of crude shale oil vapor , and 5 . 1 tph of water vapor are released from the raw shale and these products leave the retort section to be sent to a condenser ( not shown ). these products are contaminated with h 2 s in the retort section because of the sulfur impurities in the raw shale , but a portion of the h 2 s in the gas is adsorbed by the calcium and magnesium oxides in the absorbent . the product gas has a higher heating value of about 800 btu per cubic foot . the retorted shale leaving the retort section 6 consists of about 254 tph of first - pass retorted shale ( from the raw shale feed ) plus absorbent plus 938 . 5 tph of recycle spent shale plus absorbent for a total of 1192 . 5 tph which enters the combustion section 7 . the average carbon content of this mixture is about 1 . 4 weight percent , but the newly retorted shale portion averages about 6 . 7 weight percent carbon . in the apparatus of this example , with cocurrent air flow in the combustion section 7 , 112 . 6 tph of combustion air at 1050 ° f . meets the 1192 . 5 tph of retorted shale plus absorbent at the feed end of combustion section 7 . the resulting heat of combustion of the residual carbonaceous residue in the retorted shale raises the temperature of the retorted shale plus absorbent and the flue gases formed to about 1250 ° f . as the retorted shale travels through the combustion section 7 , its average carbon content drops to about 5 . 2 weight percent . at the end of the combustion section , the spent shale is divided into a recycle stream of 938 . 5 tph and a net spent shale plus absorbent stream of 241 . 1 tph . the recycle shale plus absorbent returns to the retort section and the net spent shale plus absorbent goes forward to the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 , 112 . 6 tph of ambient air at 70 ° f . travels countercurrently to the 241 . 1 tph of spent shale plus absorbent at 1250 ° f ., thereby heating the air to 1050 ° f . while cooling the spent shale to 809 ° f . spent shale , containing approximately 12 . 6 tph of carbon ( 5 . 2 weight percent ) leaves the apparatus for disposal . the apparatus in which the quantities of material shown in fig6 are processed would have an internal diameter of about 18 . 5 feet . the retort section would be about 20 feet long while the lengths of the combustor section and the solids cooler / air preheater section would be about 40 feet long and 20 feet long , respectively . the drum would rotate at 7 to 9 revolutions per minute in accordance with the empirical formula described herein . fig7 is a block - type flowsheet showing the application of this invention to a feedstock of the same analysis as fig ., 6 , except that in this example the combustion air travels countercurrently to the solids in the combustion section . in fig7 short tons per hours ( designated herein as tph ) at 70 ° f . and 27 . 5 tph of limestone ( absorbent ) are fed to the retort section 36 of an 18 . 5 - foot internal diameter rotary retorting apparatus as described in the present invention . in the retort section 37 , the raw shale plus absorbent mixes with 1008 . 3 tph of recycled spent shale at 1250 ° f . ( a 3 . 5 to 1 recycle ratio ) to give a retorting temperature of 900 ° f . at this temperature , 3 . 8 tph of gas , 15 . 6 tph of crude shale oil vapor , and 5 . 4 tph of water vapor are released from the raw shale and these products leave the retort section to be sent to a condenser ( not shown ). these products are contaminated with h 2 s in the retort section because of the sulfur impurities in the raw shale , but a portion of the h 2 s in the gas is absorbed by the calcium and magnesium oxides in the absorbent . the product gas has a higher heating value of about 800 btu per cubic foot . the retorted shale leaving the retort section 36 consists of about 272 . 9 tph of first - pass retorted shale ( from the raw shale feed ) plus absorbent plus 1008 . 3 tph of recycle spent shale plus absorbent for a total of 1281 . 2 tph which enters the combustion section 37 . the average carbon content of this mixture is about 1 . 4 weight percent , but the newly retorted shale portion averages about 6 . 7 weight percent carbon . in the apparatus of this example , with countercurrent air flow in the combustion section 37 , 112 . 6 tph of combustion air at 1050 ° f . meets the 1281 . 2 tph of retorted shale plus absorbent at the feed end of combustion section 37 . the resulting heat of combustion of the residual carbonaceous residue in the retorted shale raises the temperature of the retorted shale plus absorbent and flue gases formed to about 1250 ° f . as the retorted shale travels through the combustion section 37 , its average carbon content drops to about 5 . 7 weight percent . at the combustion section , the spent shale is divided into a recycle stream of 1008 . 3 tph and a net spent shale plus absorbent stream of 260 tph . the recycle shale plus absorbent returns to the retort section and the net spent shale plus absorbent goes forward to the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 . in the solids cooler / air preheater section 38 , 112 . 6 tph of ambient air at 70 ° f . travels countercurrently to the 260 tph of spent shale at 1250 ° f ., thereby heating the air to 1050 ° f . while cooling the spent shale to 840 ° f . the spent shale , containing approximately 13 . 8 tph of carbon ( 5 . 7 weight percent ) leaves the apparatus for disposal . fig8 is a block - type flowsheet showing the application of the present invention for the purpose of recovering oil from oil or tar sands . the bitumen content of the athabasen oil sand used in this examples is 11 . 5 percent . very little gas is produced under the conditions of this example and all of the gas is burned in the combustion section , where it provides a portion of the heat required for retorting . the remaining heat requirement is supplied in this example by heavy oil bottoms taken from a refining step outside the scope of this invention . in fig8 short tons per hour ( designated herein as tph ) at 70 ° f . and 1 . 5 tph of limestone ( absorbent ) are fed to the retort section 6 of an 18 . 5 - foot internal diameter rotary retorting apparatus as described in the present invention . in the retort section 6 , the oil or tar sand plus absorbent mixes with 610 tph of recycled spent solids at 1210 ° f . ( a 4 to 1 recycle ratio ) to give a retorting temperature of 930 ° f . at this temperature 0 . 08 tph of gas , 15 tph of crude shale oil vapor , and 7 tph of water vapor are released from the oil or tar sand and these products leave the retort section to be sent to a condenser ( not shown ). these products are contaminated with h 2 s in the retort section because of the sulfur impurities in the raw oil sand , but a portion of the h 2 s in the gas is absorbed by the calcium and magnesium oxides in the recycle . the retorted sand plus absorbent leaving the retort section 6 consists of about 130 . 8 tph of first - pass retorted solids ( from the raw sand feed ) plus 610 tph of recycle spent solids for a total of 740 . 8 tph which enters the combustion section 7 . in the apparatus of this example , with cocurrent air flow in the combustion section 7 , 108 tph of combustion air at 1050 ° f . meets the 740 . 8 tph of retorted solids at the feed end of combustion section 7 . the resulting heat of combustion of the residual carbonaceous residue in the retorted solids raises the temperature of the retorted solids and the flue gases formed to about 1210 ° f . the retort gas of 0 . 08 tph and 2 . 3 tph of supplemental heavy oil bottoms from the downstream refining step are added as combustion section fuel . at the end of the combustion section , the spent solids are divided into a recycle stream of 610 tph and a net spent solids stream of 130 . 5 tph . the recycle solids return to the retort section and the net spent solids go forward to the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 , 108 tph of ambient air at 70 ° f . travels countercurrently to the 130 . 5 tph of spent solids at 1210 ° f ., thereby heating the air to 1050 ° f . while cooling the spent solids to 400 ° f . the spent solids containing approximately 0 . 26 tph of carbon ( 0 . 2 weight percent ) leaves the apparatus for disposal . fig9 is a block - type flowsheet showing the application of the present invention to the retorting of coal shale for the purpose of recovering hydrocarbons and high heating value gas . the coal shale used in this example is characterized by the analyses of tables v and vi . table v______________________________________analysis of typical coal shale ( yield = 13 . 2 gallons per ton of coal liquids ) component weight percent______________________________________coal 60shale minerals 40______________________________________ table vi______________________________________analysis of coal fraction of coal shalecomponent weight percent______________________________________volatile matter 31 . 67fixed carbon 55 . 78sulfur 0 . 73ash 8 . 00moisture 3 . 82______________________________________ these analyses show the high carbon content of this material which can otherwise be defined as low - grade coal . since the carbon content is greatly in excess of the amount needed , upon combustion , to supply the necessary retorting heat , a devolatilized coke product is produced . the parameters for this example have been chosen to give a high yield of coal liquids in the retort plus a coke suitable for burning in boilers , for example , to make steam . in fig9 short tons per hour ( tph ) at 70 ° f . and 5 tph of limestone ( absorbent ) are fed to the retort section 6 of an 18 . 5 - foot internal diameter rotary retorting apparatus as described in the present invention . in the retort section 6 , the raw coal shale plus absorbent mixes with 868 . 4 tph of recycled spent shale at 1250 ° f . ( a 3 . 35 to 1 recycle ratio ) to give a retorting temperature of 900 ° f . at this temperature , 13 . 44 tph of gas , 14 . 66 tph of crude coal liquids , and 10 . 16 tph of water vapor are released from the raw coal shale and these products leave the retort section to be sent to a condenser ( not shown ). these products are contaminated with h 2 s in the retort section because of the sulfur impurities in the raw shale , but a portion of the h 2 s in the gas is absorbed by the calcium and magnesium oxides in the absorbent . the product gas has a higher heating value of about 790 btu per cubic foot . the retorted solids leaving the retort section 6 consists of about 229 tph of first - pass retorted coal shale ( from the raw coal shale feed ) plus absorbent plus 868 . 4 tph of recycle spent solids for a total of 1089 . 1 tph of which about 106 . 7 tph are carbon . in the apparatus of this example , with concurrent air flow in the combustion section 7 , 112 . 6 tph of combustion air at 1050 ° f . meets the 1089 . 1 tph of retorted solids at the feed end of combustion section 7 . the resulting heat of combustion of the residual carbonaceous residue in the retorted solids raises the temperature of the retorted solids and the flue gases formed to about 1250 ° f . as the retorted solids travel through the combustion section 7 , the average carbon content drops from about 48 . 4 weight percent to about 45 . 9 weight percent . at the end of the combustion section , the spent solids are divided into a recycle stream of 868 . 4 tph and a net spent solids stream of 208 . 8 tph . the recycle solids return to the retort section and the net spent solids go forward to the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 . in the solids cooler / air preheater section 8 , 112 . 6 tph of ambient air at 70 ° f . travels countercurrently to the 208 . 8 tph of spent solids at 1250 ° f ., thereby heating the air to 1050 ° f . while cooling the spent solids to 722 ° f . the spent shale , containing approximately 95 . 9 tph of carbon ( 45 . 9 weight percent ) leaves the apparatus for disposal . although the rotating chamber described herein is cylindrical , the principles of this invention do not require any specific shape and will , in fact , operate satisfactorily with any chamber having a regularly shaped cross - section area as , for example , a regular prism or a slender cone . in the latter case , the base of the cone might be at the discharge end of the combustion section , for cocurrent air flow in that section . this would provide a means for controlling the relative gas velocity by controlling the cross - section area . in this manner , the enlarged cross - section would result in a decreased gas velocity leading to greater settling of any entrained solids from the gas stream . having described the details of this invention , it is evident that it provides an arrangement and method for retorting oil shale or other hydrocarbon - containing minerals with certain advantages not heretofore attained in conventional arrangements . although the description contained herein has been made with respect to relatively specific embodiments , it will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in this art that variations may be made and such are intended to be included without departing from the scope of this invention . | 5 |
fig1 shows an inventive document of value in a top view . the shown example involves bank note 1 . said bank note has strip - shaped security element 2 extending over the total width of bank note 1 . the total surface of security element 2 facing the viewer is metallic , areas 3 , 4 bearing different - colored metals , which are directly adjacent and disposed alternatingly in the shown example . the security element shown in fig1 is a diffractive security element consisting of an embossed plastic layer and at least one metallic reflective layer . fig2 shows a cross section along line a - a in fig1 . here one can see plastic layer 5 in which diffraction structure 6 is incorporated . different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 are disposed alternatingly directly adjacent therebelow . the layers of the security element are fastened to the document of value via adhesive layer 30 in the shown example . fig3 shows a further embodiment of an inventive security element in a top view . here , additional gaps 7 , 8 are disposed in different metallic areas 3 , 4 . these gaps may show any signs , alphanumeric characters , patterns , logos or the like . further , only metallic areas 3 , 4 are directly adjacent . between metallic areas 4 and 9 there is large nonmetallic space 12 . likewise metallic area 9 can bear a metal having a third inherent color different from the inherent colors of the metals in areas 3 , 4 . the security element shown in fig3 can be for example security thread 10 , as shown in cross section in fig4 . security thread 10 consists of preferably transparent carrier foil 11 on which different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 , 9 are disposed . the same appearance as in fig3 can also be shown by a transfer material used for producing security elements on security papers , documents of value or the like . transfer material 13 consists of carrier foil 14 to which plastic layer 15 is applied . diffraction structures 6 are incorporated in the form of a relief structure in plastic layer 15 . different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 , 9 are disposed thereabove . finally , transfer material 13 also has optional adhesive layer 16 that is activated by heat and pressure in the areas to be transferred upon transfer to the corresponding security paper or document of value for fastening corresponding metal layers 3 , 4 , 9 and plastic layer 15 to the security paper or document of value . in a last step , carrier foil 14 is removed . in gaps 7 , 8 and space 12 adhesive layer 16 is directly adjacent to diffraction structure 6 . if adhesive layer 16 and plastic layer 15 have a very similar refractive index , diffraction structure 6 is no longer to be recognized in these areas . if required by the specific application of the security element , removal of the carrier foil can be dispensed with . the carrier foil can in this connection be equipped with good adhesive properties by additional measures . if the security thread shown in fig4 is likewise to have a diffraction structure , the latter can be incorporated in carrier foil 11 or a separate plastic layer disposed between carrier foil 11 and metal layers 3 , 4 . fig6 shows schematically the method for producing an inventive security element whose metal layers are provided with gaps in certain areas . the method will be explained by way of example for security threads or labels , but can of course be used analogously for security elements with other layer sequences . the security elements are preferably produced as a security foil having a plurality of copies of the security element . the starting point in the example shown here is self - supporting plastic foil 17 . it is printed in a first step with highly pigmented ink 18 in the areas where the gaps are later to be present so that a large - pored print arises , as shown in fig6 a ). different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 are then applied over total printed plastic foil 17 in the desired form . for this purpose a vapor deposition method is preferably used by which individual metals 3 , 4 are vapor - deposited on plastic foil 17 successively using masks . in the area of print 18 no contiguous metal layer is formed due to the porous surface structure of the ink . the intermediate product provided with metal layers 3 , 4 is shown in fig6 b ). since no solid metal surface forms in the area of print 18 , print 18 and metal layers 3 , 4 present in this area can be removed virtually without effort by washing out . water is preferably used for washing out . it might be necessary to additionally use brushes that ensure complete removal of print 18 . the final product is shown in fig6 c ). metal layers 3 , 4 have gaps 7 , 8 . the security foil can finally be cut into security elements of the desired form . the washing method offers the advantage of obtaining sharp and defined edge contours , so that this method can also produce very fine high - resolution characters or patterns in the metal layers . in the described examples the surface areas of different metals are preferably disposed side by side . despite this the metal layers can also be disposed one above the other or in partial overlap . it is only important that side - by - side metal areas of different color or structure are recognizable upon visual viewing . this is important because it can be helpful during application of the metal layers if the first metal layer can be disposed over the whole area , the second on partial areas of the first , the third over the whole or part of the area on one or both preceding layers , etc . this reduces register problems and simplifies the use of marks . fig7 shows a corresponding embodiment of the document of value shown in fig1 in cross section along line a - a . in this case security document 1 is provided in the area of security element 2 with all - over metal layer 4 and metal layer 3 provided only in certain areas so that metal layer 4 is recognizable in areas 7 . gaps 7 can likewise be produced by the “ washing method ” described above with reference to fig6 . this method is recommendable in particular when different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 are prepared on a separate carrier and then transferred to the document of value or document substrate . any other methods for producing the gaps can of course likewise be used . special mention should also be made in this context of the removal method by means of a laser beam . here , metal layers 3 , 4 are first applied to the document of value or a carrier all over . metal layer 3 is then subjected in the area of gaps 4 to a laser beam that removes metal layer 3 in these areas without damaging metal layer 4 . fig8 and 9 show further embodiments of the inventive security element provided with three different - colored metal layers . this variant is suitable in particular for application as a security thread , but is not limited thereto . in security thread 10 shown in fig8 , carrier foil 11 is provided all over with metal layer 9 having a first color . metal layers 3 and 4 , whose inherent color differs from metal layer 9 , are applied thereabove . metal layers 3 and 4 are provided only in certain areas and can have congruent gaps 19 in which metal layer 9 is visible . additionally , metal layer 3 can have gaps 7 where metal layer 4 is visible . fig9 shows an embodiment wherein metal layer 9 is disposed on the opposite surface of carrier foil 11 . in the example shown here , metal layer 9 also has gaps 20 . in the example shown here , metal layer 9 can also consist of the same material as one of metal layers 3 , 4 . if metal layer 9 is also to have a special inherent color at least in certain areas , it can be printed with transparent color lacquer layer 21 . fig1 shows a further embodiment of an inventive security element in a top view . the security element has in this case two different - colored metal layers 3 , 4 and further printed image 22 that are disposed in register . such a security element is preferably produced by the above - described washing method . for this purpose a layer structure as shown in fig1 a is prepared on carrier material 25 . in a first step , metal layer 4 is applied to carrier material 25 all over . in a next method step , printed image 22 is printed . washing ink 18 is applied preferably in overlap and in any case in register with color layer 22 . metal layer 3 is finally vapor - deposited on this layer structure all over in a further vapor - depositing step . during the washing operation washing ink 18 is removed , thereby exposing the areas of printed image 22 covered by said ink , and metal layer 4 . fig1 b shows this layer structure in cross section . to avoid register problems it might also be expedient to dispose printed image 22 in the fringe area over washing ink 18 , as shown in fig1 . during the washing operation the washing ink is dissolved and removed partly mechanically , thereby also removing the ink thereabove . this makes it possible to produce interpenetrating surfaces of different metallic color which can additionally be disposed in register with other colored printed images . alternatively , however , printed image 22 can also be disposed under the washing ink . fig1 shows such a security element after the washing operation in a top view . here , three circular areas are disposed concentrically . printed image 22 is disposed in the innermost area . printed image 22 is surrounded by a circular area of metal layer 3 having a first inherent color . this is in turn enclosed by a likewise circular area with metal layer 4 . the total area surrounding metal layer 4 is in turn formed by metal layer 3 . printed image 22 can consist only of a color layer or else be a complicated multicolor printed image in the examples shown . this printed image can also be formed using any inks , such as uv - curable inks , metallic inks or inks with luminescent or optically variable pigments added . likewise , the contour forms of the metal layers or printed images shown are not limited to the simple geometrical forms shown . any complicated motifs are possible . the different metal layers can also be separated by demetalized or unmetalized areas . likewise , the embodiments shown can be combined with any further security features , for example diffraction structures or liquid - crystalline layers . finally , the layer sequences shown can also be transferred to any embodiments of the security element used . thus , the layer sequences shown with reference to security threads can be transferred analogously to transfer materials or label materials and vice - versa . | 8 |
with reference to fig1 a , therein is seen a rotor of an axial - flow turbine having rotor blades 4 of a length h forming a clearance or gap s relative to a casing 2 having a stator or stationary ring of vanes 5 . the graph next to the rotor shows percent loss in efficiency versus relative radial rotor gap . the two paramaters are seen to vary linearly . fig1 b shows a radial - flow compressor with its rotor 6 and an outer casing 2 with its stator or ring of stator vanes 5 . as in fig1 a the effective length of the rotor blade is again designated by reference character h and the gap between the rotor and the casing is designated by reference character s . the accompanying graph shows the percent loss in efficiency versus relative axial rotor gap . this graph applies not only to compressors , but also to pumps , blowers , ventilators , turbochargers , and similar machines . as distinguished from fig1 a , the relation between the parameters in fig1 b is curved rather than linear . fig2 diagrammatically illustrates the position of a sensor 1 relative to the tip of the blade of the rotor 6 , and the measurement signals generated by the use of the sensor 1 . in the left - hand portion of fig2 the sensor 1 faces the space between two adjacent blades , and in the right - hand portion of fig2 the sensor 1 faces the tip of a horizontally extending blade . the direction of rotation of rotor 6 is indicated by the arrows . an output signal 7 from an amplifier and its correspondence with a particular blade / sensor position is shown by lines with arrowheads at its ends . in the center of each space between the blades , the output signal is a minimum , while it is a maximum ( peak voltage ) when the distance , i . e ., the gap between the blade tip and the sensor is a minimum . in fig3 is shown a measuring system which comprises , when viewed from left to right , rotor 6 and capacitive sensor 1 mounted in the casing . the sensor 1 faces the tip of blade 4 and capacitance - to - charge conversion takes place in the sensor . a charge - to - voltage conversion and generation of a sensor voltage is effected in a charge amplifier 8 connected to sensor 1 . signal conditioning , peak value measurement and digitalization take place in an electronic conditioning circuit 9 connected to amplifier 8 . system control and gap computation are effected in a computer 10 , and the output is fed to a printer 11 or continuous - line recorder 12 . use can optionally be made also of the other data output and / or plotting or recording means . fig4 shows a block diagram of the charge amplifier / sensor voltage unit consisting of the charge amplifier 8 , a differential amplifier 13 , a sensor voltage source 14 and a power supply 15 , which serves for charge - to - voltage conversion and production of sensor voltage . the charge amplifier 8 and the differential amplifier 13 are connected in series . the output of the charge amplifier 8 , which is referenced to ground by the differential amplifier 13 , is supplied to the electronic conditioning circuit 9 . the charge amplifier 8 is also connected to the sensor voltage source 14 . fig5 and 7 show spatial sensor arrangements in the casing 2 of a turbomachine . the association of the sensor 1 and casing 2 with the rotor is shown in perspective view in fig5 . the active sensor face 18 of the sensor 1 and a triaxial arrangement of electrodes and insulation layers in the sensor 1 are evident from fig5 and 6 . the sensor 1 is fitted in the casing 2 of the turbomachine to permit calibration in situ , and at a safe distance from the longest rotor blade . the gap between the rotor , and specifically the blade tips thereof , and the casing is indicated at s . fig6 shows the sensor 1 in fig5 in section in more detail . namely , in fig7 the sensor 1 is shown installed in a multi - element stator . the sensor 1 is secured in casing 2 . the distance from the active face of the sensor 1 to the tip of blade 4 of rotor 6 is seen at s . it can be seen that the sensor 1 is small and can be easily installed and connected . by way of example , the diameter of the sensor in fig6 is about 10 mm and its length is less . a triaxial connecting cable 17 is directly connected to the sensor at the end thereof remote from the blade tip . in fig8 a the cable 17 extends at right angles to the axis of the sensor 1 . the charge amplifier unit ( shown in fig4 ) is preferably accommodated in a special rugged housing 19 , together with the sensor voltage source 14 and the power supply 15 . if the gap capacitor is biased at a constant direct voltage u ref relative to the rotor , the active sensor face 18 is electrically charged and discharged during every passage of the blade therepast . if the active sensor face 18 is connected to the charge amplifier 8 , a voltage signal u a is generated at its output which is a measure of the charge q at its input . the maximum charge q imax for each blade passage varies with the capacitance of the gap capacitor c si and thus with the distance s of the individual blade 4 from the sensor in accordance with the equation : where f ( s ) represents the relationship between gap and capacitance as determined by calibration . since the charge amplifier 8 is connected to the sensor 1 by triaxial cable 17 in an insulated manner , the core and protective shield of the sensor are at the same potential , any variations in the self capacitance of the sensor or the cable in the area between the protective shield and the core of sensor 1 are not sensed by the charge amplifier 8 , there being no charge shifting by recharging , for the reason that this area of the capacitor is at the same potential on both sides , whereby only the capacitance of the gap capacitor is fed to amplifier 8 and this varies with the distance between the sensor 1 and the blade 4 . the distance s between the sensor 1 and the longest blade 4 can be freely selected . however , if the sensor 1 is arranged as close as possible to the blade 4 the sensitivity is maximized . the active face 18 of the sensor 1 can conform to the inner contour of the casing 2 if it should be other than planar . the sensor 1 installed in the casing 2 forms , together with the blade tip 4 , a gap capacitor whose plate spacing is measured and recorded or displayed . with the position of the active sensor face 18 in the casing being known , the plate spacing will directly yield the rotor gap s . the charge of the gap capacitor is converted by the charge amplifier 8 , of high frequency band width , into the voltage signal 7 indicated in fig2 . the band width of the charge amplifier 8 is advantageously tuned to suit the frequency of the anticipated charge signal . in order not to reduce the upper cutoff frequency of the charge amplifier , the sensor cable 17 is kept as short as possible . the electronic conditioning circuit 9 serves to measure and digitalize the peak value of each blade pulse after the signal has been filtered and amplified . the pulse amplitude values so determined are than transmitted in parallel as bits to the computer 10 . the computer 10 controls the measuring cycle in accordance with the operating mode selected by the user and converts the readings in volts into gap values s in mm . the operating modes available for selection at selector 16 ( fig4 ) are : distinction must be made between steady state and transient measuring operations . if the measurement is made twice with different polarities of the sensor bias voltage , and if the arithmetic mean is then taken , a gap signal varying with the sensor bias voltage is obtained when the rotor is poorly grounded . pole reversal of the sensor bias voltage should be made at a clock frequency adapted to suit the respective application . the clock frequency can be readily determined experimentally and differently for steady state and transient measurements . in the steady state operating mode , the sensor bias voltage polarity can be reversed automatically after a predetermined period of time has elapsed . in the transient operating mode , the polarity reversal can be interrupted , e . g . during rapid acceleration or deceleration phases of the machine . a correction factor is then determined for a single reversal process . the computer automatically processes this correction factor for gap signal values picked up at one polarity , as in this example . the computer can indicate , regardless of the operating mode , the smallest gap per revolution , the largest gap , or the average gap . also possible is a single blade measurement , where the gap values are determined and recorded for each blade at the circumference thereof . the readings are output differently for steady state and transient measurement , respectively . the sensor 1 is moved relative to the casing 2 in the direction towards the moving part , i . e . the blades 4 of the rotor 6 . periodic modulation of the reference voltage ( sensor bias voltage ) changes the charge of the capacitor , which consists of the sensor and the blade , to generate a calibration signal . modifications of the described embodiments can be made without changing the scope of the invention . other applications in addition to those described can also be used . the measurement system can be fully automated with respect to control , evaluation and error monitoring and can be operated in a multi - channel mode . the invention is furthermore not limited to turbomachines but can be used , in general , on engines and machines and as a clearance measurement sensor in machine tools or manipulator systems such as robots , electrical machines and also on machines such as electric motors and electric generators for optimum adjustment of the clearance between the rotors and stators thereof . in this way , their magnetic efficiency can be improved . the senor 1 can be axially connected to triaxial cable 17 as shown in fig5 and 6 or angularly as shown in the right angle arrangements in fig7 and fig8 a and 8b . the latter embodiment is preferred . as seen in fig6 the active face 18 of sensor 1 is formed on a disk 20 to face the tips of the blades of the rotor . the face 18 as a top layer , or the disk 20 itself , is made of a metal of the platinum group ( viii -- group of elements ) or an alloy thereof . in a particular embodiment , the disk 20 is made of platinum . the disk 20 is surrounded , in spaced relation , by a conductive shield 21 of metal and a grounded outer housing 22 . the shield 21 and housing 22 are made of a metal having minimum values of coefficient of thermal expansion such as inconel or vacon . an inner ceramic insulator 23 of aluminum oxide insulates the disk 20 from the shield 21 and an outer ceramic insulator 24 , insulates the shield 21 from the outer housing 22 . in general , the insulators 23 and 24 can be made of ceramic or glass and can be fused or pressed in place . in the embodiment in fig6 the insulators 23 and 24 are made of aluminum oxide ceramic and they can be vacuum soldered to the metal parts . housing 22 could be made partly of an insulating material . the triaxial cable 17 comprises a central inner conductive core 25 connected to disk 20 , an intermediate conductor 26 connected to shield 21 and an outer conductor 27 connected to housing 22 . the conductors 25 , 26 , 27 of cable 17 are insulated from one another by mineral insulation such as magnesium oxide . the cable 17 can be a conventional triaxial cable as supplied by the bicc company . the conductors 25 , 26 , 27 of cable 17 are respectively connected to the disk 20 , shield 21 , housing 22 of the sensor 1 by solder layers 28 produced by vacuum soldering . the cable 17 is additionally connected to housing 22 by a solder layer 29 produced by vacuum soldering or by brazing or the like . the embodiment in fig6 is operative at temperatures up to 750 ° c . the embodiment in fig7 is similar to that in fig6 and similar parts will be designated by the same numerals with primes . the sensor comprises a central core 20 &# 39 ; surrounded by a hollow cylindrical shield 21 &# 39 ; and outer housing 22 &# 39 ;. the core 20 &# 39 ; has a top layer which is made of platinum and forming the active face 18 . shield 21 &# 39 ; and outer housing 22 &# 39 ; are made of inconel and are insulated by insulator 30 consisting of glass which is fused in place . the triaxial cable 17 is comprised of the conductors 25 , 26 , 27 with flexible teflon insulation between the conductors and a flexible teflon outer sheathing 31 . the cable 17 is flexible . the cable is secured to the sensor by being inserted into a socket extension 32 on housing 22 &# 39 ; and mechanically crimped therewithin . fig8 a and 8b show an embodiment similar to that in fig7 insofar that the sensor and the triaxial cable extend at right angles to one another . the same reference characters are used to designate the elements common to the previously described embodiments . the triaxial cable is a mineral - insulated metal sheathed cable which is connected by brazing or welding to the socket 32 of the outer housing of the sensor . this embodiment is suitable for temperature up to 400 ° c . referring again to fig7 therein is seen a coating 33 having good running - in properties on the inside of the casing wall opposite the tips of the blades 4 . the housing 22 &# 39 ; of the sensor is installed in the casing 2 by being inserted from the outside i . e . from above in fig7 into a bore in the casing until the outer housing 22 &# 39 ; of the sensor abuts against a shoulder 34 in the casing . the sensor is held in place in the housing by means of a lock nut 35 which is secured in a recess in housing 22 &# 39 ; and which is threaded onto a stud 36 of an outer nut 37 secured by a holding plate 38 to the casing 2 of the turbine by a bolt 39 . as the layer 33 wears , the sensor can be retracted in the bore in the casing by advancing stud 36 into nut 35 . in order to achieve precise conformance of the sensor face with the surface of the casing , the face of the sensor can be carefully machined by grinding from the center radially outwards . the amount of relatively coarse adjustment due to the threading of stud 36 into nut 35 and the fine adjustment due to machining is relatively small and can be accommodated by the flexibility of the coaxial cable 17 . the sensors of the invention will next be described in conjunction with their utilization in an otherwise conventional active clearance control system for a gas turbine . in particular fig9 diagrammatically illustrates a system for active clearance control for a gas turbine which utlizes the sensors of the invention . in the system of fig9 there is shown a conventional gas turbine 40 comprising low , medium and high pressure compressor stage 41 , 42 , 43 respectively and high , medium and low pressure turbine stages 44 , 45 , 46 respectively . the blades of the rotors of the various compressor and turbine stages are surrounded by the casing of the gas turbine and cooling means in the form of conventional pipes for coolant flow are arranged in the casing to cool the same to control the diameter of the casing and thereby the clearances between the blade tips and the casing . a control valve unit 47 regulates the flow of a coolant , such as compressed air from the turbine or from an external compressor , to respective cooling means in the casing shown at 48 , 49 and 50 for the low , medium and high pressure compressor stages respectively and at 51 , 52 and 53 for the high , medium and low pressure turbine stages respectively . a conventional hydraulic or pneumatic actuator cylinder 54 serves to adjust the clearance between the blade tips of the rotors and the casing by displacement of the casing and control of the cylinder 54 is effected by a control valve unit 55 which regulates the supply of a pressure fluid such as compressed air or a liquid medium from the turbine or from an external pressure source . the valve units 47 and 55 are connected to an electronic control unit 56 by connection lines 57 and the electronic control unit 56 controls the valve units on the basis of input signals fed to the unit 56 indicative of parameters of operation of the gas turbine such as pressure ( p ), temperature ( t ) and speed ( n ) and clearance or gap measurements from sensors 1 disposed in the casing at the compressor and turbine stages . heretofore , when using conventional sensors in the system shown in fig9 a number of disadvantages where found . namely : due to the coaxial construction of the conventional sensors high stray capacitance values were produced along with high sensitivity to vibrations ; the conventional sensors are of large size ( diameter and length ) and therefore have limited possibilities of installation . the sensors have a small range of temperature use due to the insulator materials used and therefore low strength and low electric insulation resistance at elevated temperature ; the sensors have poor precision of measurement in the case of a wide range of temperature of use since insulator materials of high coefficients of thermal expansion are used . due to the triaxial construction low stray capacitance is obtained since the inner shield can be kept actively at the potential of the active sensor face and there is little sensitivity to vibration ; the sensor of the invention is of small structural size ( diameter and length ) and has a wide range of use ; the insulating materials and connecting techniques used in the sensor of the invention provide a wider range of temperature of use , high strength , pressure - tight properties up to high pressures of the order of 40 bar , high electrical insulation resistance greater than 500 kohms over the entire temperature range , high precision of measurement by exact fixing of the active sensor face with materials of low coefficient of thermal expansion ; the front face 18 of the sensor is adaptable to the contour of the casing after the manufacture of the sensor without impairing the electrical and mechanical properties of the sensor ; the connection with the triaxial cable can be axial or at 90 ° to achieve high flexibility for adaption an existing casings ; and the cable is an integral part of the sensor such that in high temperature operations , the sensor and cable can be connected by a vacuum soldering process which provides high reliability . in general the efficiency of turbomachines such as jet engines , in aircraft or in stationary power plants is substantially affected by size of the rotor clearances , i . e . the clearance between the tips of the blades of the rotor and the casing or between the tips of the stator vanes and the shaft as exemplified in the graphs in fig1 a and 1b . a minimizing of these clearances for all operating conditions of the machine ( steady - state / transient state ; partial load / full load ) and over the entire life of the machine results in considerable improvement in efficiency . the current conventional method of active clearance control in power turbines by cooling the casing has the following disadvantages : the clearance can be minimized only in steady - state operating points after a long period of stabilization ; otherwise , there is the danger of scraping the rotors against the casing ; the relationship between the power plant parameters which are required for clearance control and the actual rotor clearance changes as a result of wear ; therefore , the clearance is not optimally controllable over the entire operating life of the machine since the change in this relationship cannot be determined . measurement of the actual operating clearance for the individual components ( compressor , turbine ; lp , hp , axial or radial ) of the power plant 40 for instance , by the capacitive clearance measurment system in accordance with ser . no . 773 , 261 . processing of the clearance information together with other engine parameters in electronic unit 56 , with microprocessor control , to control valve units 47 , 55 . minimizing the clearances separately for the individual wall components of the casing by cooling means 48 - 53 or by displacement in the case of conical casings by means of actuator cylinder 54 . variations in the embodiments illustrated and described above can be made within the scope of the present invention . applications other than those described above are also practicable . the measuring system can be fully automated as regards operational control , evaluation and error control , and it can be operated on several channels . the inventive concept is not limited to turbomachines , but is generally applicable to prime movers and machinery and can be used as a gap measuring sensor on machine tools or in manipulating systems , such as robots . | 5 |
fig1 is a schematic representation of an example complex data structure , namely a data object 100 . data object 100 includes an object class name 105 , a collection of attributes 110 , and a collection of operations 115 . a data object such as data object 100 is a complex data structure that generally assembles information to represent a concrete or abstract real - world entity . an object can be of a certain object class , with individual objects being instances of that class . the entities represented by an object can include , e . g ., a set of data processing instructions ( such as a program ), a data structure ( such as a table ), individual entries in a data structure ( such as a record in a table ), a data processing system , a customer , a product , a time , or a location . a data object is generally free of internal references and information stored in a data object can be changed without concomitant changes to the data processing instructions that handle the data object . in some implementations , the information in a data object can be stored in a contiguous block of computer memory of a specific size at a specific location , although this is not necessarily the case . object class name 105 is the name of the class of data object 100 . for example , data object 100 is of the “ salesorder ” class and represents a sales order entity . attribute collection 110 includes attributes that are properties of data object 100 and have associated values that characterize the entity represented by data object 100 . in particular , the attributes in collection 110 are headerid , customerid , salespersonid , date , tax , and salesgroupid . these attributes have values characterizing the sales order represented by data object 100 . operation collection 115 includes various data processing activities that can be performed on data object 100 . the operations in collection 115 can , e . g ., return a value or change a value of an attribute in collection 110 , in another data object , or the like . the operations in collection 115 can also cause the creation and deletion of objects . fig2 is a schematic representation of a distributed data processing system landscape 200 . a distributed data processing system landscape can include a collection of data processing devices , software , and / or systems ( hereinafter “ data processing systems ”) that operate autonomously yet coordinate their operations across data communication links in a network and on individual data processing devices . by operating autonomously , the data processing systems can operate in parallel , handling local workloads of data processing activities . the data communication links allow information regarding the activities , including the results of performance of the activities , to be exchanged between data processing systems . to these ends , many distributed data processing systems include distributed databases and system - wide rules for the exchange of data . system landscape 200 thus is a collection of data processing systems that exchange information for the performance of one or more data processing activities in accordance with the logic of one or more sets of machine readable instructions . system landscape 200 includes one or more servers 205 that are in communication with a collection of clients 210 , 215 , 220 over a collection of data links 225 . server 205 is a data processing system that provides services to clients 210 , 215 , 120 . the services can include , e . g ., the provision of data , the provision of instructions for processing data , and / or the results of data processing activities . the services can be provided in response to requests from clients 210 , 215 , 220 . the services can be provided by server 205 in accordance with the logic of one or more applications 230 , 235 . an application is a program or group of programs that perform one or more sets of data processing activities . an application can perform data processing activities directly for a user or for another application . examples of applications include word processors , database programs , web browsers , development tools , drawing , paint , image editing programs , and communication programs . in the context of enterprise software that is operable to integrate and manage the operations of a company or other enterprise , applications can be allocated to managing product lifecycles , managing customer relationships , managing supply chains , managing master data , managing financial activities , and the like . clients 210 , 215 , 220 are data processing systems that receive services from server 205 . clients 210 , 215 , 220 can be responsible for other data processing activities , such as managing interaction with human users at their respective locations . for example , client 220 can perform data processing activities in accordance with the logic of an application 240 , and client 215 can perform data processing activities in accordance with the logic of an application 245 . in these course of these and other data processing activities , clients 110 , 115 , 120 can generate requests for such services and convey the requests to server 205 over one or more of data links 225 . data links 225 can form a data communication network such as a lan , a wan , or the internet . system landscape 200 can also include additional data links , including direct links between clients 210 , 215 , 220 and data links to systems and devices outside landscape 200 , such as a communications gateway ( not shown ). additional data processing activities , performed in accordance with the logic of additional applications , can be performed at the systems and devices outside landscape 200 . the roles of “ server ” and “ client ” can be played by the same individual data processing system in system landscape 200 . for example , the data processing system denoted as server 205 may receive certain services from one of clients 210 , 215 , 220 . thus , a data processing system may be a “ server ” in the context of a first set of services but a “ client ” in the context of a second set of services . fig3 is a schematic representation of another implementation of a system landscape , namely , a system landscape 300 . system landscape 300 is a three tiered hierarchy of data processing systems and includes application servers 305 , 310 , 315 , one or more database servers 320 , and presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 . application servers 305 , 310 , 315 and database server 320 are in data communication with each other and with presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 over a collection of data links 340 . application servers 305 , 310 , 315 are data processing systems that provide services to presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 and / or database server 310 . each application server 305 , 310 , 315 can provide services in accordance with the logic of one or more applications . moreover , individual application servers can also provide services in accordance with the logic of multiple applications , and services in accordance with the logic of a single application can be provided by multiple application servers . in the illustrated implementation , application server 305 provides services in accordance with the logic of applications 345 , 350 . application server 310 provides services in accordance with the logic of application 355 . application server 315 provides services in accordance with the logic of application 360 . database server 320 is a data processing system that provides storage , organization , retrieval , and presentation of instructions and data services to application servers 305 , 310 , 315 and / or presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 . presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 are data processing systems that receive services from application servers 305 , 310 , 315 and database server 320 and perform other data processing activities . for example , presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 can manage interaction with human users at their respective locations , such as the display of information on a graphical user interface . in the illustrated implementation , presentation system 325 performs data processing activities in accordance with the logic of an application 365 , and presentation system 335 performs data processing activities in accordance with the logic of an application 370 . in the course of these and other data processing activities , presentation systems 325 , 330 , 335 can generate requests for services and convey the requests to application servers 305 , 310 , 215 and database server 320 over one or more of data links 340 . fig4 a is a schematic representation of how data object 100 ( fig1 ) can be identified during different data processing activities using different identifiers . in particular , data processing activities performed in accordance with the logic of applications 405 , 410 , 415 , 420 all identify data object 100 during various identifications , represented by arrows 425 , 430 , 435 , 440 . however , the activities of applications 405 , 410 , 415 , 420 use different identifiers to uniquely identify data object 100 . in particular , identification 425 uses keys k 1 and k 2 . identification 430 uses keys k 3 and k 4 . identification 435 uses keys k 5 and k 6 . identification 440 uses keys k 7 and k 8 . the existence of multiple unique keys k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , k 4 , k 5 , k 6 , k 7 , k 8 for the same data object can arise for any of a number of different reasons . for example , some of keys k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , k 4 , k 5 , k 6 , k 7 , k 8 can be universally unique id &# 39 ; s ( uuid &# 39 ; s ) that are used internally by data processing activities . moreover , different uuid &# 39 ; s can be assigned by different agents for different identification schemes . further , some of keys k 1 , k 2 , k 3 , k 4 , k 5 , k 6 , k 7 , k 8 can be identifiers that are tailored for use by humans . for example , a human user may use a value of an attribute of a data object to uniquely identify the object . for example , a human user may use a key such as “ bmw ” or “ toyota ” to uniquely identify a customer object . moreover , different human users and different public identification scheme entities may use different identifiers to uniquely identify a data object . fig4 b is a schematic representation of how multiple data objects 445 , 450 , 455 that describe the same real - world entity can be identified using different identifiers . in particular , data processing activities performed in accordance with the logic of application 405 can identify customer object 445 using keys k 1 and k 2 . data processing activities performed in accordance with the logic of application 405 can identify business partner object 450 using keys k 3 and k 4 . data processing activities performed in accordance with the logic of application 410 can identify salesperson object 455 using keys k 5 and k 6 . a single real - world entity is described by data objects 445 , 450 , 455 and data objects 445 , 450 , 455 can be of the same semantic type . fig5 is a schematic representation of a mapping data store 500 of an object thesaurus . mapping data store 500 is a collection of key mapping information that associates the various keys used to identify one or more data objects in one or more data processing systems . for example , the different data processing systems can operate using different identifiers that are issued for different identification schemes by different entities . moreover , mapping data store 500 can act as a centralized repository for key mapping information from the different data processing systems . for example , the data processing systems whose mapping information is stored at mapping data store 500 need not maintain separate key mapping information . thus , in some implementations , mapping data store 500 can be a reusable component that provides a consistent view of mapping information to other components . in particular , details regarding data processing instructions associated with mapping data store 500 such as data replication and mapping group merges ( as discussed further below ) can be hidden from calling components . mapping data store 500 can be a structured data collection , such as a table , a record , a data object , a list , or the like . the key mapping information in mapping data store 500 can also be subdivided . for example , key mapping information in mapping data store 500 can be divided and the resulting divisions stored in different data structures . mapping data store 500 can be stored at a variety of locations in a data processing system landscape . for example , mapping data store 500 can be stored at one or more of server 205 and clients 210 , 215 , 220 in system landscape 200 ( fig2 ). as another example , mapping data store 500 can be stored at one or more of database server 320 , application servers 305 , 310 , 315 , and presentations systems 325 , 330 , 335 in system landscape 300 ( fig4 ). mapping data store 500 can also be stored remotely from system landscapes 200 , 300 and yet be accessed from system landscapes 200 , 300 . in some implementations , the storage of a single mapping data store 500 can be distributed across different systems in a system landscape . mapping data store 500 can be structured into a file , packed , compressed , or otherwise prepared for storage . mapping data store 500 can also include metadata or executable instructions that are relevant to accessing key mapping information . examples of metadata include default keys , leading keys , and internal keys . such metadata can be used internally , i . e ., for data processing activities associated with mapping data store 500 , and need not be provided to user interfaces . mapping data store 500 includes mapping groups 505 , 510 . a mapping group is a collection of references to related objects . the way in which the objects are related can be defined , e . g ., by a user or by a set of data processing activity that accesses mapping data store 500 . for example , a user can define a mapping group to include references to the same objects that are involved in different sets of data processing activities that use different identification schemes . the objects in such a mapping group can be identical in that they have the same attributes and values , but are subject to different operations in different data processing systems . as another example , a component set of data processing activities can group similar objects in a mapping group . the objects can be similar in that there is a logical relationship between the objects . such a logical relationship can be specified , e . g ., by the component set of data processing activities in accordance with the logic of those data processing activities . one example of such a logical relationship is that the object describe the same real - world entity . mapping group 505 includes references to objects 515 , 520 , 525 . mapping group 510 includes references to objects 530 , 535 . each of objects 515 , 520 , 525 , 530 , 535 is associated with one or more keys that are used to uniquely identify objects 515 , 520 , 525 , 530 , 535 for the relevant data processing activities . for example , object 515 can be identified using keys 540 , 545 during data processing activities performed in accordance with a first set of instructions . object 520 can be identified using keys 550 , 555 during data processing activities performed in accordance with a second set of instructions . object 525 can be identified using keys 560 , 565 during data processing activities performed in accordance with a third set of instructions . object 530 can be identified using keys 570 , 575 during data processing activities performed in accordance with the first set of instructions . object 535 can be identified using keys 580 , 585 , 590 during data processing activities performed in accordance with a fourth set of instructions . as shown , the number of keys per object is arbitrary . moreover , the number of objects in excess of one in each mapping group is arbitrary . in one implementation , mapping data store 500 is implemented as a storage of a collection of core component type ( cct ) identifiers . a core component type identifier can identify a particular business object along with the context in which that identification is valid . for example , in addition to the identifier of the particular object , a cct identifier can identify one or more of an identification scheme that assigned the identifier , the version of the identification scheme , an agent that administers that identification scheme , the identification scheme of such an agent , and the agent that administers the identification scheme of such an agent . fig6 is a flowchart of a process 600 for the creation and use of a mapping data store of an object thesaurus . process 600 can be performed by one or more data processing systems that exchange information with one or more data processing systems . for example , one or more data processing systems can perform data processing activities for the creation of the data store for an object thesaurus , and one or more data processing systems can perform data processing activities for the use of the object thesaurus . the system ( s ) performing process 600 can assemble key mapping information from three or more data processing systems into a single mapping data store at 605 . such an assembly of key mapping information is more complicated than assembling mapping information from two or fewer data processing systems . for example , as discussed further below , the number and type of mappings is more difficult to define with larger numbers of data processing systems . as another example , increased numbers and different categories of mergers and deletions may be required . the system ( s ) performing process 600 can also map the keys using the mapping data store at 610 . for example , keys can be mapped between two or more data processing systems using different identification schemes , or keys can be mapped between synchronized systems . the mappings can be performed , e . g ., in response to requests received from the data processing systems themselves . fig7 is a flowchart of a process 700 for the creation of a data store for an object thesaurus . process 700 can be performed independently or in conjunction with other data processing activities . for example , process 700 can be performed at 605 in process 600 ( fig6 ). the system ( s ) performing process 700 can receive information that identifies a data object and one or more keys for identifying the data object in another data processing system at 705 . the information that identifies a data object can itself be a key for identifying the data object . in some implementations , the information can be received directly from the data processing system that uses those keys . for example , the information can be received in a message that includes the keys as cct identifiers . the system ( s ) performing process 700 can determine if the received information appears in one or more existing mapping groups in the data store at 710 . the received information appears in an existing mapping group when the object or the keys identified in the information appear in an existing mapping group . the determination can be made by comparing the received information to the contents of the data store . for example , received keys can be compared to existing keys . if the system ( s ) performing process 700 determines that the received information does appear in an existing mapping group , then the system ( s ) can , as appropriate , modify the data store at 715 . if the received information is already found in the data store and the data store already accurately reflects the received information , no modifications are necessarily performed . however , if modifications are appropriate , they can include adding some or all of the information to the data store , deleting information from the data store , and / or changing the associations between mapping groups , objects , and keys in the data store . for example , new references to new objects can be added , new keys can be added to existing objects , new mapping groups can be created , and / or existing mapping groups can be merged . illustrative modifications are discussed further below . if the system ( s ) performing process 700 determines that the received information does not appear in an existing mapping group , then the system ( s ) can determine if there is an object outside of existing mapping groups that has matching keys at 720 . the determination can be made by comparing the received information to the contents of the data store that are outside of mapping groups . if the system ( s ) performing process 700 determines that there are not any related objects outside of existing mapping groups with different keys , then the system ( s ) can add the information to a data store outside of any mapping group at 725 . the addition can occur in a number of ways . for example , if a related object is found , but with at least some identical keys , any keys from the received information that do not appear in the related object outside of the existing mapping group can be added to the related object outside of the existing mapping group . as another example , if no related object is found , the received object and its keys can be added to the data store outside of any mapping group . in one implementation , this is done by inserting key , object , and group information into the relevant tables of the database . if the system ( s ) performing process 700 determines that there are related objects outside of existing mapping groups that have different keys , then the system ( s ) can create and populate a new mapping group at 730 . the new mapping group can be populated with the received information , as well as the related object and its associated keys that were found in the data store but outside of existing mapping groups . once the new mapping group is populated , the related object outside of existing mapping groups can be deleted from the data store . after the activities of any of 715 , 725 , or 730 , the system ( s ) performing process 700 can return to receive additional information that identifies a data object and one or more keys for identifying the data object in another data processing system at 705 . through such repetitions , a data store can be assembled and updated to reflect the current state of two or more data processing systems . further , the data store can be made available during such repetitions for mapping the keys between systems . fig8 - 13 schematically illustrate various examples of the modification of mapping data store 500 based on mapping information . the illustrated additions , modifications , and similar processes can be performed by one or more data processing systems at 715 in process 700 ( fig7 ). fig8 is a schematic representation of information 800 that can be received by a system performing process 700 at 705 ( fig7 ). information 800 identifies an object 805 and keys 810 , 815 for identifying object 805 in a data processing system . keys 810 , 815 can be identified as identical to keys identified in one or more existing mapping groups in a data store . for example , key 810 can be identified as identical to key 575 in mapping group 510 in mapping data store 500 , and key 815 can be identified as identical to key 585 in mapping group 510 in mapping data store 500 . fig9 is a schematic representation of mapping store 500 after modification in light of information 800 ( fig8 ). in particular , mapping group 510 and object 535 have been eliminated to reflect that objects 530 , 535 are mapped to each other . for example , the elimination of mapping group 510 and object 535 can reflect that objects 530 , 535 are related objects or even the same object . also , object 530 has been associated with keys 580 , 585 , 590 and is now stored in mapping data store 500 outside of a mapping group . although object 530 and keys 570 , 575 , 580 , 585 , 590 are not applicable to mapping between objects in different data processing systems since object 530 exists in a single system , the information embodied in object 530 and keys 570 , 575 , 580 , 585 , 590 is still useful . for example , object 530 and keys 570 , 575 , 580 , 585 , 590 can be used for key mapping within a single system or between synchronized systems . as another example , object 530 and keys 570 , 575 , 580 , 585 , 590 stand ready for the creation and population of a new mapping group when objects and keys from different data processing systems are received . fig1 is a schematic representation of information 1000 that can be received by a system performing process 700 at 705 ( fig7 ). information 1000 identifies an object 1005 and keys 1010 , 1015 , 1020 for identifying object 1005 in a data processing system . keys 1010 , 1015 , 1020 can be identified as identical to keys identified in one or more existing mapping groups in a data store . for example , key 1010 can be identified as identical to key 560 in mapping group 505 in mapping data store 500 , key 1015 can be identified as identical to key 570 in mapping group 510 in mapping data store 500 , and key 1020 can be identified as identical to key 575 in mapping group 510 in mapping data store 500 . fig1 is a schematic representation of mapping store 500 after modification in light of information 1000 ( fig1 ). in particular , mapping group 510 and object 530 have been eliminated and object 535 has been added to mapping group 505 to reflect that objects 525 , 530 were not only related but also in the same data processing system . the addition of object 535 to mapping group 505 is also based on a prior identification of object 535 as related to object 530 . also , object 525 has been associated with keys 560 , 565 , 570 , 575 . fig1 is a schematic representation of information 1200 that can be received by a system performing process 700 at 705 ( fig7 ). information 1200 identifies an object 1205 and keys 1210 , 1215 , 1220 , 1225 for identifying object 1205 in a data processing system . keys 1210 , 1215 , 1220 can be identified as identical to keys identified in an existing mapping group in a data store . for example , key 1210 can be identified as identical to key 550 in mapping group 505 in mapping data store 500 , key 1215 can be identified as identical to key 560 in mapping group 505 in mapping data store 500 , and key 1220 can be identified as identical to key 570 in mapping group 510 in mapping data store 500 . key 1225 does not appear in mapping data store 500 before information 1200 is received . fig1 is a schematic representation of mapping data store 500 after modification in light of information 1200 and after addition of some of information 1200 ( fig1 ). in particular , mapping group 510 and objects 525 , 530 have been eliminated and object 535 has been added to mapping group 505 to reflect that objects 520 , 525 , 530 were not only related but also in the same data processing system . the addition of object 535 to mapping group 505 is also based on a prior identification of object 535 as related to object 530 . also , object 520 has been associated with keys 560 , 565 , 570 , 575 , and newly added key 1305 . key 1305 has been newly added on the basis of its prior absence from mapping data store 500 . keys can be mapped using the mapping information stored in a mapping data store in a variety of different scenarios . for example , keys can be mapped when master data is distributed between harmonized data processing systems . harmonized systems are systems which share at least one common identifier for data objects involved in data processing activities in those systems . master data is information that is stored on a relatively long - term basis in one or more data processing systems and is often relevant to multiple processes in those systems . in the illustrative mapping data store 500 described above , keys to master data objects in such harmonized data processing systems will be associated with multiple objects in the same mapping group provided that the systems are synchronized as to those objects . keys can also be mapped when transactional data objects are distributed between harmonized data processing systems . transactional data is information that records events occurring between individuals , groups , and organizations . transactional data is generally created more frequently , and can be modified more often , than master data . in the illustrative mapping data store 500 described above , keys to transactional data objects in such harmonized data processing systems will be associated with multiple objects in the same mapping group provided that the systems are synchronized as to those objects . keys can also be mapped during synchronous access from one data processing system to another harmonized data processing system . synchronous access can include a first data processing system reading of data directly from and writing data directly to a second data processing system . in the illustrative mapping data store 500 described above , keys for synchronous access in such harmonized data processing systems will be associated with multiple objects in the same mapping group provided that the systems are synchronized as to those objects . keys can also be mapped during translation of external identifiers . external identifiers are identifiers used by another data processing system landscape . for example , external identifiers can be included in messages and other information received from remote systems . in the illustrative mapping data store 500 described above , keys for the translation of external identifiers will be associated with the same single object , provided that the multiple identifiers of that single object have previously been identified to the mapping data store 500 as identifying the same object . keys can also be mapped during translation of incompatible sets of machine - readable instructions in the same data processing system landscape . example incompatible sets of machine - readable instructions include unharmonized applications in the same data processing system landscape . in the illustrative mapping data store 500 described above , keys for translation between incompatible sets of machine - readable instructions will be associated with the same single object , provided that the multiple identifiers of that single object have previously been identified to the mapping data store 500 as identifying the same object . a complex data structure thesaurus , such as data store 500 , can be also used in contexts outside of key mapping . for example , a complex data structure thesaurus can be used for object - based navigation . object - based navigation is a navigation style based upon the characteristics at the object level , i . e ., the contents of the objects and the relationship among the objects . with object - based navigation , users can specify a set of objects and their relationship . the system creates queries from the users &# 39 ; input and determines links dynamically based on matching between this query and indices . as another example , a complex data structure thesaurus can be used to identify data processing systems that use certain objects and / or identifiers . such “ where - used ” checks can be used , e . g ., for a corporate wide reporting of purchasing costs of a single product to identify if centralized “ buying in bulk ” can be used to lower the cost of that product . as another example , a complex data structure thesaurus can be used in global searches and central searches with downstream identification translation . such searches located objects by the attributes of a central object and then determine the identifier of the local representation . a number of implementations have been described . nevertheless , it will be understood that various modifications may be made . accordingly , other implementations are within the scope of the following claims . | 8 |
an ink supplying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described hereinbelow with reference to fig1 to 7 b . the description starts at the outline of a construction of this ink supplying apparatus . as fig1 shows , the ink supplying apparatus , designated generally at reference numeral 2 , is equipped with an ink fountain 23 defined by a circumferential surface of an ink fountain roller 20 , ink keys 21 and side plates 22 so that an ink is put in the ink fountain 23 and supplied to the ink fountain roller 20 in printing . a plurality of ink keys 21 are arranged in a cross ( transverse ) direction of the apparatus in a state of coming closely into contact with each other , and their rear end portions are supported rotatably by a supporting shaft 18 set on a supporting base 24 . the side plates 22 are fixedly secured onto the supporting base 24 in a state where the ink keys 21 are interposed therebetween , and their front end portions are brought into sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller 20 . in addition , under the ink fountain 23 , a horizontal beam 5 is installed to support components constituting the ink fountain 23 , and an ink quantity control device 25 is set on this horizontal beam 5 . the ink quantity control device 25 is made up of an adjusting cam 26 engaging with a lower surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys 21 , and a pusher 27 made to be brought into contact with the adjusting cam 26 at its tip portion and , further , to be protruded and retracted ( extensible / contractible ) in the forward and backward directions in accordance with the rotations of a knob 28 or a motor 29 . accordingly , if the pusher 27 is protruded or retracted suitably to lift or lower the adjusting cam 26 in a state where the adjusting cam 26 rocks or swings around a supporting point 26 a , then the tip portion of each of the ink keys 21 is driven to rock , thereby controlling the gap between the ink key 21 and the ink fountain roller 20 to adjust the thickness of an ink film to be supplied thereinto . add to it that , under the tip portions of the ink keys 21 , a first ink receiver 6 a is placed to receive the ink dropping from the ink keys 21 and guides 6 c , 6 d are situated to guide the ink from the interior of the first ink receiver 6 a to a second ink receiver 6 b . still additionally , this ink supplying apparatus 2 is provided with an ink tray 30 placed detachably in the interior of the ink fountain 23 . as fig2 to 4 show , the ink tray 30 is made up of side walls 31 , 31 formed in corresponding relation to the left - and right - hand side plates 22 , 22 of the ink fountain 23 , and a bottom plate 32 set in a state where its tip side is tilted downwardly to the ink keys 21 constituting a bottom section of the ink fountain 23 . the rear end portion of the bottom plate 32 is extended outwardly and downwardly to form a cover 34 for preventing the adhesion of the ink to the supporting base 24 . additionally , a fin 33 , serving as a supporting member , is formed on a bottom surface of the bottom plate 32 . a detailed description of this fin 33 will be given herein later . brackets 36 , 36 are fixedly secured onto the upper end portions of the side walls 31 , 31 of the ink tray 30 , respectively , in a state directed outwardly . when the ink tray 30 is mounted in the ink fountain 23 , these brackets 36 , 36 are placed on the side plates 22 , 22 , and the ink tray 30 is put to form a bridge between the side plates 22 , 22 . a handle 37 is set on an upper surface of each of the brackets 36 . this ink tray 30 covers most of the ink keys 21 and the side plates 22 ( these sections will be referred to hereinafter as coated sections ) so that they do not come directly into contact with the ink within the ink fountain 23 , whereas the upper surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys 21 and the inner surface of the tip portion of each of the side plates 22 , which slide on the ink fountain roller 20 in a state where an ink liquid film is interposed therebetween , are exposed so as to come directly into contact with the ink within the ink fountain 23 without being covered with the ink tray 30 ( these sections will be referred to hereinafter as an exposed section ) that is , the inner circumferetial surface of the ink fountain 23 is formed by an inner surface of the ink tray 30 , an upper surface of the exposed section ( the tip portion ) 21 a of each of the ink keys 21 , an exposed section 22 a of each of the side plates 22 and an outer circumferential surface of the ink fountain roller 20 . the portion between the ink tray 30 and the tip portion ( exposed section ) 21 a of each of the ink keys 21 or the portion between the ink tray 30 and the exposed section 22 a of each of the side plates 22 constitutes a joint of the ink fountain 23 , and these portions require sealing processing . for this reason , holders 31 c and 32 c are set in an outer surfaces of the tip portions of the side walls 31 , 31 and the bottom plate 32 , respectively , with a packing ( sealing member ) 38 having a continuous sealing surface being fitted in the holders 31 c and 32 c . in a state where the ink tray 30 is mounted in the ink fountain 23 , of the packing 38 , portions fitted in the holders 31 c made in the outer surfaces of the tip portions of the side walls 31 are brought under pressure into contact with steps 22 a formed on inner surfaces of the side plates 22 of the ink fountain 23 , and of the packing 38 , a portion fitted in the holder 32 c made in the outer surface of the tip portion of the bottom plate 32 is brought under pressure into contact with a step 21 a ( see fig1 ) formed on an upper surface of the tip portion of each of the ink keys 21 . in addition , this packing 38 seals the portions between the tip portions of the side walls 31 , 31 of the ink tray 30 and the side plates 22 , 22 of the ink fountain 23 and the portions between the tip portion of the bottom plate 32 of the ink tray 30 and the upper surfaces of the ink keys 21 of the ink fountain 23 so that the ink leakage from the ink fountain 23 is preventable at the joints between the ink tray 30 and the ink keys 21 and between the ink tray 30 and the side plates 22 . the fixing of the ink tray 30 to the ink fountain 23 is made by a pressing device 40 ( see fig1 ) set on the supporting base 24 . that is , by tightening a fixing screw 41 of the pressing device 40 , rear inclined surfaces 36 a ( see fig3 ) of the left - and right - hand brackets 36 are pushed toward the tip of the ink tray 30 ( toward the gap between the ink keys 21 and the ink fountain roller 20 ) to fixedly secure the ink tray 30 in a state where the packing 38 of the ink tray 30 is pressed against the steps 22 a and 21 a ( see fig1 and 4 ) of the ink fountain 23 . furthermore , as fig1 to 4 show , bolts 39 for positioning the ink tray 30 are set in front end portions 36 b of the left - and right - hand brackets 36 . the mounting position of the ink tray 30 in the forward and backward directions is determined in a manner that these positioning bolts 39 are brought into contact with projecting portions 22 b formed on upper surfaces of the side plates 22 . the position of the ink tray 30 in the forward and backward directions is adjustable by controlling the tightening quantity of the positioning bolts 39 , while the position thereof in the vertical ( height ) directions is adjustable by height control screws 35 set in the brackets 36 . as described above , since the ink tray 30 is detachably set in the interior of the ink fountain 23 , the contact area of the ink keys 21 with the ink is considerably reducible to lower the possibility that the ink permeates into the gap between the ink keys 21 , 21 , which not only stabilizes the operations of the ink keys 21 but also shortens the cleaning time of the interior of the ink fountain 23 , thus improving the availability factor of the apparatus and the productivity . meanwhile , although the attachment / detachment of the ink tray 30 to / from the interior of the ink fountain 23 are conducted with the left - and right - hand handles 37 , 37 being held by the operator , if this handling constitutes a burden imposed on the operator , the aforesaid effect of the improvement of productivity is lessened accordingly . thus , there is a need to reduce the weight of the ink tray 30 for lightening the burden thereon in handling . however , for the weight reduction of the ink tray 30 , the bottom plate 32 and the side walls 31 are naturally made from thin steel products . in this case , since the ink tray 30 has an elongated configuration in the cross ( width ) direction of the apparatus as shown in fig2 its cross - direction rigidity decreases so that a deflection occurs at the bottom plate 32 when it is put to form a bridge between the side plates 22 , 22 . although the tip portion of the bottom plate 32 contacts with the steps 21 a on the tip portions of the ink keys 21 in a state where the packing 38 is interposed therebetween , if consideration is given to the facility when the remaining ink is scraped out by a knife or the like for cleaning , it is desirable that the section between the bottom plate 32 and the tip portions of the ink keys 21 has a flat configuration . however , if the deflection of the bottom plate 32 occurs , a step occurs between the vicinity of the central portion of the bottom plate 32 and the tip portions of the ink keys 21 , which throws hindrances in the way of scraping out the remaining ink by a knife or the like . what &# 39 ; s worse , the deflection of the bottom plate 32 can create gaps at the contacting portions with the ink keys 21 or the side plates 22 to allow the ink leakage therefrom . for this reason , in this ink supplying apparatus 2 , the fin 33 is formed on the bottom surface of the bottom plate 32 of the ink tray 30 as stated above , and when the ink tray 30 is mounted in the ink fountain 23 , this fin 33 supports the bottom plate 32 to restrain the deflection of the ink tray 30 . this deflection restraining structure will be described hereinbelow with reference to fig5 to 7 b . incidentally , the ink tray 30 shown in fig5 and 6 is different in shapes of the brackets 36 and the handles 37 from that shown in fig1 to 4 . however , these illustrations are for showing another construction of this ink tray 30 , and the function thereof is substantially the same . the fin 33 is formed to have an elongated configuration in the longitudinal direction and is installed at a forward central portion of the bottom plate 32 . the height of the fin 33 is set to match the distance from the bottom plate 32 to the supporting base 24 in a state where the bottom plate 32 does not deflect . in addition , to the position of the fin 33 provided on the bottom plate 32 , a through hole ( slit ) 21 c elongated in the longitudinal ( forward and backward ) directions is formed as shown in fig7 a and 7b . fig7 a shows an example in which the fin 33 is just positioned between the ink keys 21 , 21 , while fig7 b shows an example in which the fin 33 is positioned directly above the ink key 21 . the width of the slit 21 c is set to be wider than that of the fin 33 , and the length thereof in the forward and backward directions is set to afford a margin on the rear end side in consideration of the mounting angle of the ink tray 30 with respect to the ink key 21 . that is , as fig6 shows , since the step 22 a of each of the side plates 22 is set at an acute angle with respect to the ink key 21 , the mounting of the ink tray 30 from the right above the ink key 21 is difficult , and it is mounted at , at least , an acuter angle than the angle the step 22 a makes with respect to the ink key 21 . accordingly , if the length of the slit 21 c does not afford a margin with respect to the length of the fin 33 , the fin 33 interferes with the ink key 21 at the attachment / detachment of the ink tray 30 . for this reason , the length of the slit 21 c is set to have a margin on the rear end side in accordance with the mounting angle of the ink tray 30 . with the construction of the ink supplying apparatus according to the first embodiment of this invention , when the ink tray 30 is mounted in the ink fountain 23 , the fin 33 formed on the bottom plate 32 comes into contact with the supporting base 24 to support the central portion of the bottom plate 32 . accordingly , the deflection of the bottom plate 32 does not occur , and the section from the bottom plate 32 to the upper surface of the tip portion of the ink key 21 is maintained flat at all times . additionally , a proper contacting condition is maintainable between the step 21 a of each of the ink keys 21 and the step 22 a of each of the side plates 22 . as described above , according to this ink supplying apparatus , since the fin 33 supports the bottom plate 32 to restrain the deflection of the bottom plate 32 , the ink tray 30 is constructible with thin steel products for weight reduction . add to it that the weight reduction facilitates the handling of the ink tray 30 so that the productivity further improves . particularly , in the case of a printing press having a large width dimension , the width dimension of the ink tray also increases so that the ink tray tends to deflect and its weight gains ; therefore , the employment of this ink supplying apparatus offers a great effect in this respect . incidentally , in addition to the above - mentioned case in which only one fin 33 is provided at the center of the bottom plate 32 , it is also appropriate that a plurality of fins 33 are provided in the cross direction . at this time , it is also possible that the method in which the slit 21 c is formed between the ink keys 21 , 21 to accept the fin 33 as shown in fig7 a and the method in which the slit 21 c is made in the ink key 21 to accept the fin 33 as shown in fig7 b are used jointly in accordance with the location of the fin 33 . in this case , because the plurality of fins 33 support the bottom plate 32 , the deflection is more suppressible . furthermore , the supporting member is not limited to the aforesaid longitudinally elongated fin 33 , but it is also appropriate to use a round - bar - like pin 50 as shown in fig8 to 10 b . also in this case , it is also possible that , as shown in fig1 a , the slit 21 a is made between the ink keys 21 , 21 to accommodate the pin 50 , or that , as shown in fig1 b , the slit 21 c is made in the ink key 21 to accommodate the pin 50 . also in this embodiment , as shown in fig8 the slit 21 c is formed to have a sufficient margin , namely , a length passing the position of the pin 50 at the installation of the ink tray 30 so that the pin 50 does not interfere with the ink key 21 at the attachment / detachment of the ink tray 30 . secondly , a description will be made hereinbelow of an ink supplying apparatus according to a second embodiment of this invention . the ink supplying apparatus according to this embodiment differs in structure for supporting the bottom plate 32 of the ink tray 30 from the first embodiment . referring to fig1 to 13 b , a description will be given hereinbelow of the structure for supporting the bottom plate 32 in this ink supplying apparatus . as fig1 and 12 show , in this ink supplying apparatus , a column 51 is planted in the supporting base 24 . in the supporting base 24 , a vertical hole 24 a is bored to the position of a front end central portion of the bottom plate 32 at the mounting to the ink fountain 23 , and the column 51 is fitted detachably in this vertical hole 24 a . the height from the upper end of the column 51 to the supporting base 24 is set to match the distance from the bottom plate 32 to the supporting base 24 in the case of no occurrence of deflection of the bottom plate 32 . in addition , to match the position of the column 51 installed on the supporting base 24 , a through hole 21 d is made as shown in fig1 a and 13b . fig1 a illustrates an example in which the column 51 is positioned just between the ink keys 21 , 21 , while fig1 b illustrates an example in which the ink key 21 is positioned above the column 51 . the diameter of the through hole 21 d is set to be larger than , at least , the diameter of the column 51 , and is formed to have a configuration extending toward the front end side of the ink key 21 with respect to the column 51 . this is for preventing the interference between the through hole 21 d and the column 51 which will occur when the ink key 21 is rotated around the supporting shaft 18 at cleaning , maintenance or the like . since the ink supplying apparatus according to the second embodiment of this invention is constructed thus , when the ink tray 30 is set in the ink fountain 23 , the column 51 placed on the supporting base 24 comes into contact with the bottom plate 32 of the ink tray 30 to support the central portion of the bottom plate 32 . accordingly , the bottom plate 32 is prevented from its deflection , and the section from the bottom plate 32 to the upper surface of the tip portion of the ink key 21 is maintained in a flat condition at all times . additionally , the contacting condition between the step 21 a of the ink key 21 and the step 22 a of the side plate 22 is kept properly . as described above , according to this ink supplying apparatus , since the column 51 can support the bottom plate 32 to restrain the deflection of the bottom plate 32 , as well as the first embodiment , the ink tray 30 can be made from thin steel products for the weight reduction and the handling of the ink tray 30 becomes easy , thus improving the productivity . in addition , because a plurality of ink trays 30 are required for one ink supplying apparatus , although the first embodiment requires the fin 33 for each of the ink trays 30 , this embodiment requires only the column 51 placed on the supporting base 24 ; therefore , the increase in cost is suppressible . still additionally , in the case in which the fin 33 is provided for each of the ink trays 30 , in many cases , the difference in precision there among exists . on the other hand , in this embodiment , since the positioning of the bottom plate 32 is accomplished by the column 51 placed on the supporting base 24 , a higher accuracy is easily attainable . moreover , since the column 51 is attachable / detachable to / from the supporting base 24 , the replacement thereof is easy and the cleaning thereof is possible in a state detached therefrom . incidentally , in addition to the above - mentioned case in which only one column 51 is provided to the center , it is also appropriate that a plurality of columns 51 are provided in the cross direction . at this time , it is also possible that the method in which , as shown in fig1 a , the through hole 21 d is made between the ink keys 21 , 21 so that the column 51 is inserted thereinto and the method in which , as shown in fig1 b , the through hole 21 d is made in the ink key 21 so that the column 51 is inserted thereinto are used jointly in accordance with the location of the column 51 . in this case , because the plurality of columns 51 support the bottom plate 32 , the deflection is more suppressible . in addition , the column 51 is not limited to the aforesaid detachable structure , but it is also acceptable to fixedly secure it to the supporting base 24 . still additionally , the supporting member is not limited to the aforesaid column 51 having a circular - bar - like configuration , it is also possible that it has a fin - like configuration as well as the first embodiment . although the two embodiments related to the ink supplying apparatus according to this invention have been described above , it should be understood that this invention is not limited to the above - described embodiments , and that it is intended to cover all changes of the embodiments in the range which does not constitute departures from the spirit of the invention . for example , it is also possible to employ a combination of the above - described two embodiments . that is , as fig1 and 15 indicate , a pin ( first supporting member ) 52 is provided on the bottom plate 33 of the ink tray 30 and a column ( second supporting member ) 53 is vertically set on the supporting base 24 to match the position of a pin 51 so that the column 53 supports the pin 52 , thereby preventing the occurrence of the deflection of the bottom plate 32 . at this time , if the pin 52 and the column 53 are , as shown in fig1 , made to come into contact with each other in the interior of a through hole 21 e , when the ink tray 30 is detached therefrom , they do not appear from the surface of the ink key 21 , which makes it possible to eliminate the hindrance at the cleaning of the surface of the ink key 21 . still additionally , since it is possible to shorten the length of the pin 52 set on the ink tray 30 , the possibility of bending thereof decreases , thus improving the precision at the mounting thereof . | 1 |
a major problem that currently exists in the flex industry is the ability to effectively and economically handle and hold dimensional stability on free - standing flex film through the process flow sequences . the major reason for this is related to the particular variation in physical properties of the flex film under varying humidity and temperature conditions . this issue has limited the ability to fabricate fine - line multilayer flex circuits . the roll - to - roll flex approaches have resorted to using thicker ( 2 mils ) flex films , and typically work with minimum design rules of 2 - mil lines and spaces . current flex processing techniques are also limited in multilayer flex circuit applications ( due to layer to layer registration related to dimensional stability ). circuit density limitations also exist due to the large ( 8 – 20 mils ) pads required to capture via interconnect structures . as a result , dense routing of interconnect lines has not been achieved . the present invention takes the approach of bonding the flex film onto a rigid frame . by only mounting the edges of the flex film on rigid frames , and bonding the film in place in such a way as to provide a slight uniform tension , distortion issues with flex film as thin as ½ mil are held in control . the flex framing technique can be scaled to larger frames compatible with high - volume manufacturing . the polyimide film is held in slight tension on the frame , and therefore is held in dimensional control through the entire processing sequence . the approach utilizes a frame structure chosen for its shape , thickness , modulus of elasticity , and coefficient of thermal expansion ( cte ) characteristics . by having the cte of the frame be slightly lower than the cte of the polyimide film , the film can be bonded to the frame at elevated temperature with a thermosetting or thermoplastic adhesive . at elevated temperature the higher - cte polymer material expands greater than the metal frame and is bonded to the frame as a uniform stretched film with the adhesive . upon subsequent cooling to room temperature , the polymer contracts more than the metal frame does , giving rise to tension in the film , so that the film is held completely planar and firmly in place for single - or double - sided processing . proper materials selection ensures that the polyimide film can be processed through the plating and etching baths and can handle the necessary excursions through the processing sequences . using this approach , it should be possible to work with polymer films as thin as ½ mil and still retain the dimensional stability for processing . this is important for fine - line multilayer flex structures . typical framing materials required for specific polyimide film types are shown in table 2 in the appendix . by choosing the appropriate cte characteristics of the frame material , the best candidate to achieve dimensional and distortion control of specific polyimide films can be predicted . for example , higher - cte polyimides such as kapton ® h require a frame with cte similar to that of titanium or stainless steel , whereas lower - cte films such as kapton ® e or upilex ® s require a cte value in the range found for kovar or invar by modeling the frame , one can predict the stresses of the polyimide film when stretched on a frame , as well as the stresses in the frame . from the model ( described below ) one can optimize the frame geometry to obtain a uniform strain across the film while keeping a larger area for greater device packing density . it was found that the radius of the frame corners played a large role in the local film strain uniformity and frame stress distribution . as long as there were no “ sharp ” corners the film strain would be more uniform . the best possible configuration for uniform film strain would be a circular frame , where there are no corner effects . since this configuration would diminish the packing density greatly , only the corners of the frame were rounded . the objective of the modeling was to design a frame over which a membrane material will be uniformly stressed . by affixing the membrane to a frame with a lower cte at an elevated temperature , the cte mismatch results in a membrane under tension when the membrane and frame cool , e . g ., to room temperature . to first - order approximation , the stress inside the membrane follows from equation ( 1 ), which appears in the appendix , where e is the young &# 39 ; s modulus of the membrane , ät is the difference between the temperature during attachment of the membrane to the frame and room temperature , and á is the cte . a subscript 1 denotes the frame and a subscript 2 denotes the membrane . the membrane stress ó is uniform all across the interior of the membrane and does not depend on the particular shape of the frame , except for local effects near the edges of the film . computational models using circular , square , and polygonal shapes for the frame corroborated this result . the frame itself is stressed as a result of the force exercised by the stretched membrane . the goal is to minimize the frame stress by computing the appropriate frame geometry while maximizing the area enclosed by the frame . fig1 shows a sketch of the interface between the frame ( material 2 ) and the membrane ( material 4 ). due to the higher cte of the membrane , the membrane will be stretched and the frame compressed . assuming perfect bonding ( equal strain å in both materials ), the bonding force f per unit width follows from equation ( 2 ) ( see appendix ), where h is the thickness of the material . the ( average ) stress inside the frame , ó 1 , is given by equation ( 3 ) in the appendix . the product eh is called the stiffness of the material herein . equation ( 2 ) shows that if the frame is much stiffer than the membrane , the bonding force will not change much by increasing the frame thickness . the average stress will decrease , but the maximum stress ( close to the interface ) will not . as an illustration , consider a kapton ® membrane of 1 - mil thickness on top of an invar frame of variable thickness . table 3 ( see appendix ) gives a summary of the material properties of both materials . fig2 shows the bonding force per unit width as a function of the frame thickness for ät = 175 ° c . note that for frames thicker than about 40 mils , the bonding force hardly changes . these frames are called thick frames . as it is expected that the maximum stress inside the frame is related to the bonding force and close to the interface , choosing a thicker frame than about 40 mil will not increase the strength of the frame significantly . the preferred frame thickness is in the range of 40 – 100 mils , but frames thicker than 100 mils may also be used . the next step is to determine the optimal shape of the frame . for a given frame , the goal is to maximize the available area enclosed by the frame , thereby minimizing the maximum stress inside the frame . different ( computational ) frames were built ranging from squares ones to circular ones and from polygonal ones to hybrid ones exhibiting straight and circular parts . in order to maximize the area enclosed by a frame , a square frame is optimal , whereas a circular frame is optimal for minimizing the stresses . any abrupt change in the tangent of the frame geometry ( as in any corner ) will introduce stress concentrations . a frame design in accordance with one embodiment of the invention is shown in fig3 , with dimensions being given for a particular example . in rough terms , the frame geometry for this example may be characterized as a square with rounded corners . the inside of the frame 2 consists of four straight sections , which form two pairs of parallel sections . although in the particular example shown in fig3 , the respective pairs of parallel sections have the same length , these two parallel sections can have different lengths ( e . g ., a rectangle with rounded corners ). the four straight sections are connected to each other using circular arcs resulting in no discontinuity in the tangent of the geometry . in general , the radii can be adjusted to increase or decrease the working area . similar to the inside of the frame , the outside of the frame consists of four sections interconnected by circular arcs resulting in a continuous tangent along the outside of the frame . the inside frame arc and outside frame arc do not necessarily have the same center point , although they do have the same center point in the example depicted in fig3 . in addition , the ratio of the length of the circular arc to the length of the straight sections can vary . as limiting cases , a circle and a square will result . small referencing holes of different diameters ( ⅛ and 1 / 16 inch respectively ) are provided at the midpoints of opposing straight sections for referencing purposes , ensuring correct orientation of the frame on a processing machine , e . g ., by pin registration . the concept of the invention can be extrapolated to include frames having polygonal shapes other than squares and rectangles , e . g ., triangles , trapezoids , hexagons , octagons , etc . in each case , the vertices of the polygon are rounded using circular arcs resulting in no discontinuity in the tangent of the geometry . fig3 shows the optimized frame design in a 9 - inch format . the thickness of the frame is 1 / 16 inch . each rounded corner has an outer radius of 1 . 94 inches and an inner radius of 1 . 5 inches . larger frames would utilize the same corner radius bends . it was calculated that an invar frame could be 50 mils thick for 25 - micron kapton ® e polyimide and still be planar when under stress of the kapton ® material . the width of the frame was also calculated to be stable at approximately 0 . 50 inch . various adhesive types were evaluated for laminating flex film to frames for optimum dimensional stability of circuit patterns during processing . thermoplastic as well as thermoset adhesives were evaluated . ideally the lamination temperature , which is driven by the cure temperature of the adhesive , should be greater than the maximum operating temperature during circuit processing . tests showed that thermoset materials ( such as silicon polyimide epoxy ( spie ) or shipley mp9500 epoxy , supplied by shipley company , inc ., marlborough , mass .) had better adhesion strength of the flex film to the frame material after the lamination bonding process . the typical flex film - to - frame bonding process comprises the following steps : ( 1 ) removing any sharp edges and anomalies from the frame as a result of machining ; ( 2 ) cleaning incoming frame material with solvent ( e . g ., acetone or propanol ) to remove oils ; ( 3 ) sanding the frame ( especially metal ) to impart roughness and increase adhesion to metals ; ( 4 ) wiping the frame with solvent after sanding ; ( 5 ) cleaning the frame with detergent ( e . g ., alconox ); ( 6 ) cleaning the frame with hcl to remove oxides and loosen debris trapped in the grain structure of the material ; ( 7 ) drying the frame material ; ( 8 ) applying adhesive material ( e . g ., by roll coating , spraying , curtain coating , etc .) on one side of the frame ; ( 9 ) soft baking the adhesive to a non - tacky state ( i . e ., the adhesive is not cured ) to remove solvent ; and ( 10 ) then pressing the flex film material onto the adhesive - coated side of the frame for a predetermined period of time under temperature and pressure conditions ( e . g ., at 200 ° c ., 15 , 000 psi ) suitable for bonding the flex film material to the frame . one embodiment of equipment for performing the pressing step is shown in fig4 . the press comprises a bottom plate 8 and a top plate 10 . the frame 2 is shown in cross section . the flex film 4 is bonded to the frame 2 by means of adhesive material 6 . optionally , a blotter 12 having the same shape as that of the frame is placed between the flex film 2 and the top press plate 10 in a position overlying the frame 4 . using a conformal high - temperature - resistant flexible blotter material ( such as silicone rubber , 1 / 16 inch thick ) can improve adhesive flow and aid in the reduction of voids . this can result in improved adhesion of the flex film 4 to the frame 2 . this is more important when framing pre - metallized flex film , e . g ., flex film with a film of cu having a thickness of 4 or more microns deposited thereon . the addition of metal to the polyimide reduces the flexibility of the material and creates a less compliant lamination layer . the flatness of the press and blotter material are very significant in the framing process . if a blotter is used , the pressure can be reduced to 7 , 500 psi . in the case where pristine flex film is laminated to the frame , the adhesive bond is formed between the flex film material and the frame . in the case where the flex film is metallized on the side facing the frame , the adhesive is formed between the metallization and the frame . the above - described frames provide a means for handling and holding flex film during processing in such a way as to control distortion caused by changes in humidity or temperature . the shape of the frames is designed to control distortion and maximize the usable area for processing devices ( packing density ). materials should be selected so that attachment of the flex film on the frame produces slight uniform tension to keep the flex film from wrinkling . with controlled distortion , the production of fine - line flex circuits ( having 0 . 5 - to 1 - mil - wide lines and spaces ) is possible using high - volume production equipment . the utilization of the above - described technique allows for the processing of high - end flex circuits using thin ( 0 . 5 and 1 mil thick ) flexible films . the utilization of this technique also allows for both single - and double - sided flex film processing . thus the invention provides a way to handle thin flexible dielectric films in high - volume fine - line production facilities , controlling distortion , maximizing packing density , and allowing for either single - or double - sided processing . once the dielectric film is bonded to the frame , vias can be formed in the film and then electrically conductive material ( e . g ., metal ) is deposited on one or both sides of the dielectric film and inside the vias by conventional means . then conductive structures are formed on the metallized surface or surfaces using conventional patterning techniques . the method can also be used to fabricate multilayered flex circuits with laminations on one or both sides . in other words , after the dielectric film attached to the frame has been processed on one or both sides , a second layer of dielectric film can be bonded to one side or the other ( or to both sides ). then additional vias and conductive structures can be formed on the resulting laminated flex circuit . this process can be repeated until a multilayered flex circuit with the desired number of laminations on one or both sides of the film attached to the frame has been built . after flex circuit processing , the flex circuit is separated from the frame . while the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention . in addition , many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof . therefore it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention , but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims . as used in the claims , the term “ rectangle ” includes , but is not limited to , a square . σ =( α 2 − α 1 ) eδt ( 1 ) g = ( α 2 - α 1 ) ( δ t ) 1 e 1 h 1 + 1 e 2 h 2 ( 2 ) σ 1 = f h 1 w = g w ( 3 ) | 8 |
while the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as forming the present invention , it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which : fig1 shows in two panels ( a ) and ( b ) the production and immunoreactivity of s - laminin fusion proteins . the s - laminin cdna clones rk36 and rk65 - 6 were ligated into the high - efficiency translation vector pet and fusion proteins were produced as described hereinafter . panel ( a ). purification of a fusion protein ; sds - polyacrylamide gel stained for total protein with coomassie brilliant blue . lane 1 , bacterial proteins from bl2i - de3 cells containing pet - rk36 , before induction ; lane 2 , after induction ; lane 3 , fusion protein purified from the induced bacteria . panel ( b ). immunoreactivity of pet - rk36 ( lane 1 ) o and pet - rk65 ≢( lane 2 ) fusion proteins ; immunoblot of induced bacterial lysates probed with anti - s - laminin monoclonal antibody , d5 ( hunter et al ., supra .). in both a and b - a volume equivalent to 50 μ1 of bacterial culture was applied to each lane . arrows indicate molecular weight standards of 200 , 116 , 80 , 68 , 29 , and 14 kb ( myosin , β - galactosidase , transferrin , bsa , carbonic anhydrase , and lysozyme ). pet - rk36 and pet - rk65 - 6 proteins have a m r s of ˜ 20k and ˜ 80k , respectively , consistent with the deduced amino acid sequence of the cdnas . upper immunoreactive b and in b2 is ˜ 160 kd , and may represent an incompletely reduced dimer . fig2 shows the adhesion of ciliary ganglion neurons to fusion proteins . the locations of s - laminin fusion proteins are shown relative to the entire deduced amino acid sequence of s - laminin ( 1766 amino acids ). fusion proteins were produced , and adhesion was assayed , as described hereinafter . cell attachment activity was scored as positive if the number of neurons adherent to a given substrate was & gt ; 3 - fold higher than the number adherent to bsa . fusion protein leader sequences are shown as dots ( capsid protein ) or wavy lines ( β - galactosidase ); s - laminin sequences are shown as open bars . fig3 shows a comparison of neuronal attachment to laminin and s - laminin . substrates were immobilized to tissue culture wells as described hereinafter . ciliary neurons ( a - c ) or tectal cells ( d - f ) were allowed to adhere for 2 hr , wells were washed , and the cells were than fixed and photographed . ciliary neurons adhere well to laminin ( a ; 100 μg / ml ) and pet - rk36 ( b ; 10 μg / ml ), but not to bsa ( c ; 30 mg / ml ). tectal cells adhere well to laminin ( d ), but not to pet - rk36 ( e ) or bsa ( f ). bar is 50 μm . fig4 shows in three panels ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) the inhibition of adhesion to pet - rk36 and other substrates by synthetic peptides . ( a ) the location of the synthetic peptides m1 - m9 are shown relative to the deduced amino acid sequence of rk36 . ( b ) attachment of ciliary neurons to pet - rk36 was assayed in the presence of peptides m1 - m9 ( 200 μg / ml ). only peptide m5 significantly inhibited adhesion . ( c ) m5 or m7 ( 200 μg / ml final concentration ) was mixed with ciliary neurons which were plated on nitrocellulose that had been coated with pet - rk36 ( 10 μg / ml ), laminin ( 100 μg / ml ), concanavalin a ( 100 μg / ml ), or poly - l - lysine ( 100 μg / ml ). m5 selectively inhibits adhesion to the s - laminin fragment . b and c show data from representative tests ; each assay was repeated 4 - 6 times . fig5 shows in four panels ( a ), ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ), the inhibition of neuronal adhesion to pet - rk36 by synthetic peptides . ( a - c ) concentrations of peptides that inhibited adhesion by 50 %. the amino acid sequences of the peptides used are shown relative to m5 . the position of m5 within rk36 is shown in fig4 a , and the position of rk36 within s - laminin is shown in fig2 . peptides m5 - 12 , m5 - 13 , and lreq were not tested at concentrations of & lt ; 100 μg / ml . ( d ) dose - response curves for the inhibition of adhesion to pet - rk36 by synthetic peptides m5 , m51 , and lre , expressed in molar terms . ic 50 for all three peptides is 10 - 20 μm . fig6 shows the location of lre sequences in laminin and s - laminin . domain structures and their diagrammatic representations are adapted from sasaki et al ., j . biol . chem . 262 , 17111 - 17117 ( 1987 ); ibid . 263 , 6536 - 16544 ( 1988 ); proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 , 935 - 939 ( 1987 ). the 3 lre sequences in s - laminin , the 2 lre sequences in laminin b2 , and the single lre in laminin a are marked with open arrows . the neurite outgrowth promoting site of laminin is thought to lie within or near the &# 34 ; 25k &# 34 ; region of the &# 34 ; e8 &# 34 ; fragment [ martin and timpl , ann . rev . cell biol . 3 , 57 - 85 , ( 1987 ) and edgar et al ., j . cell biol . 106 , 1299 - 1306 ( 1988 )]. the motor neuron attachment site in the s - laminin rk36 fragment overlaps the position of laminin &# 39 ; s &# 34 ; 25 k &# 34 ; fragment . the novel inhibitory peptides of this invention can be prepared by known solution and solid phase peptide synthesis methods . in conventional solution phase peptide synthesis , the peptide chain can be prepared by a series of coupling reactions in which the constituent amino acids are added to the growing peptide chain in the desired sequence . the use of various n - protecting groups , e . g ., the carbobenzyloxy group or the t - butyloxycarbonyl group ( boc ), various coupling reagents , e . g ., dicyclohexylcarbodiimide or carbonyldimidazole , various active esters , e . g ., esters of n - hydroxyphthalimide or n - hydroxy - succinimide , and the various cleavage reagents , e . g ., trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ), hcl in dioxane , boron tris -( trifluoracetate ) and cyanogen bromide , and reaction in solution with isolation and purification of intermediates is well - known classical peptide methodology . the preferred peptide synthesis method follows conventional merrifield solid - phase procedures . see merrifield , j . amer . chem . soc . s5 , 2149 - 54 ( 1963 ) and science 150 , 178 - 85 ( 1965 ). this procedure , though using many of the same chemical reactions and blocking groups of classical peptide synthesis , provides a growing peptide chain anchored by its carboxy terminus to a solid suppor & amp ;, usually cross - linked polystyrene , styrenedivinylbenzene copolymer or , preferably , p - methylbenzhydrylamine polymer for synthesizing peptide amides . this method conveniently simplifies the number of procedural manipulations since removal of the excess reagents at each step is effected simply by washing the polymer . further background information on the established solid phase synthesis procedure can be had by reference to the treatise by stewart and young , &# 34 ; solid phase peptide synthesis ,&# 34 ; w . h . freeman & amp ; co ., san francisco , 1969 , and the review chapter by merrifield in advances in enzymology 32 , pp . 221 - 296 , f . f . nold , ed ., interscience publishers , new york , 1969 ; and erickson and merrifield , the proteins , vol . 2 , p . 255 et seq . ( ed . neurath and hill ), academic press , new york , 1976 . amino acids are shown herein either by standard one letter or three letter abbreviations as follows : ______________________________________abbreviated designation amino acid______________________________________a ala alaninec cys cysteined asp aspartic acide glu glutamic acidf phe phenylalanineg gly glycineh his histidinei ile isoleucinek lys lysinel leu leucinem met methioninen asn asparaginep pro prolineq gln glutaminer arg arginines ser serinet thr threoninev val valinew trp tryptophany tyr tyrosine______________________________________ in order to illustrate specific preferred embodiments of the invention in greater detail the following exemplary laboratory preparative work was carried out . to produce fusion proteins , cdnas encoding fragments of s - laminin were inserted into the high efficiency expression vector of resenberg et al ., gene 56 , 125 - 135 ( 1987 ), as follows . clones rk36 and rk65 - 6 were excised from the λgtll vector using ecori . blunt end termini were generated using klenow polymerase , and the resulting fragments were ligated in frame into pet vectors which had been cut with bamhi and treated with klenow polymerase . the resultant plasmids were introduced into competent jm109 cells . dna isolated from individual colonies was used to transform competent bl21 - de3 cells , which support inducible transcription of the pet construct . colonies were grown at 37 ° c . to an od 600 - 1 . 0 , then induced with 0 . 4 mg / ml isopropylthiogalacto - pyranoside for 3 hr at 37 ° c . cells were pelleted and suspended in 0 . 1 volumes phosphate - buffered saline ( pbs : 150 mm nacl , 15 mm napo *, ph 7 . 2 ), then frozen , thawed , and sonicated in 0 . 5 % nonidet ® p - 40 nonionic detergent ( sigma , st . louis , mo .) in pbs . inclusion bodies containing the fusion protein were pelleted by centrifugation at 10 , 000 × g for 2 min , then resuspended in 0 . 1 × the original culture volume of pbs and frozen in aliquots . prior to use , the fusion protein was dissolved by boiling in 5 % 2 - mercaptoethanol for 3 min ; contaminating proteins were pelleted by centrifugation 10 , 000 × g for 1 min . the control pet was prepared in the same manner as pet - rk36 and pet - rk65 - 6 , except that bl21 - de3 cells containing the pet vector alone were induced . fig1 demonstrates the purification achieved by these steps and documents the immunoreactivity of the fusion proteins with a monoclonal antibody to s - laminin . laminin ( collaborative research ; nominally 1 . 2 mg / ml ) was stored in small aliquots at - 20 ° c ., and thawed immediately prior to use . poly - lysine ( sigma , st . louis , mo .) was stored as a sterile 100 μg / ml solution in water . concanavalin a ( sigma ) was prepared at 1 mg / ml in pbs . in a few tests , β - galactosidase - s - laminin fusion proteins ( hunter et al , supra .) or a β - galactosidase - intermediate filament fusion produced in the λgtll vector were tested . these vectors were used to infect e . coli and bacterial lysogens were prepared as described by huynh et al ., in : dna cloning : a practical approach , d . m . glover , ed ., pp . 49 - 78 , irl press , oxford , ( 1985 ). prior to use , the lysogens were sonicated and centrifuged to remove bacterial debris . substrates were immobilized to tissue culture dishes as described by lagenaur and lemmon , proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 , 7753 - 7757 ( 1987 ). briefly , nitrocellulose ( ba85 ; schleicher and schuell , keene , n . h .) was dissolved in methanol ( 1 cm 2 / ml ), applied to tissue culture wells ( 90 μ1 per 16 mm diameter well ) and allowed to dry . drops ( 1 . 5 - 3 μl ) of substrates in solution were applied and allowed to bind for 20 min . after which the drops were aspirated . nonspecific binding sites on the nitrocellulose were then blocked by incubating wells with the following series of solutions : 10 mg / ml bovine serum albumin ( bsa ; sigma ) in pbs for ˜ 1 min ; 30 mg / ml bsa in pbs for 2 - 3 hr ; earles &# 39 ; minimum essential medium ( mem ) containing 2 % fetal bovine serum and 25 mm hepes , ph 7 . 4 , for 5 min ; pbs , twice briefly ; and earles &# 39 ; mem containing 1 mg / ml bsa and 25 mm hepes , ph 7 . 4 , for 30 min at 37 ° c . in a humidified chamber containing 7 % co 2 . at this point , neurons were added , with or without synthetic peptides , and incubated for 2 hr at 37 ° c . finally , the wells were washed twice with pbs pre - warmed to 37 ° and adherent cells were fixed in place with 2 % paraformaldehyde and 2 % glutaraldehyde in pbs . neurons were dissociated from chick ciliary ganglia as previously described by nishi and berg , proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 74 , 5171 - 5175 ( 1977 ); covault et al ., j . cell biol . 105 , 2479 - 2488 ( 1987 ). each well received ˜ 5000 neurons , which corresponds to ˜ 1 e8 ganglia , ˜ 1 . 5 e10 ganglia , and ˜ 2 e13 ganglia ( e8 , e10 and e13 are stages of development of the embryonic chick ) [ neuronal death is occurring over this time course ; landmessen and pilar , j . physiol . 241 , 715 - 736 ( 1974 )]. chick dorsal root ganglia and optic tecta were dissociated in the same manner ; each well received cells from 4 - 5 dorsal root ganglia or 0 . 25 optic tecta . for b35 and b104 cell lines , each well received 20 , 000 cells . for pc12 cells , each well received 5000 cells . in some tests , pc12 cells were grown with 50 ng / ml nerve growth factor ( ngf ) for 3 - 6 days before use . all cells were suspended in earles &# 39 ; mem containing 1 mg / ml bsa and 25 mm hepes , ph 7 . 4 , for addition to tissue culture wells . peptides were synthesized by the merrifield solid - phase method on an applied biosystems model 430a peptide synthesizer at a 0 . 5 mmole scale . a p - methylbenzhydrylamine resin was employed for peptide amides and a phenylacetamidomethyl resin for peptide acids . coupling of appropriate boc - amino acids was performed using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide / hydroxybenzotriazole coupling cycles as recommended by the manufacturer . peptides were removed from the resin and treated with hydrogen fluoride / anisole / dimethyl sulfide . purification to & gt ; 90 % purity was accomplished by high pressure liquid chromatography , using either a vydac c - 18 reverse phase column ( separations group ) or a μbondapak column ( waters ) with gradients of 0 . 30 % acetonitrile containing 0 . 05 % trifluoroacetic acid . lyophilized peptides were dissolved at 10 mg / ml in sterile water and the ph was adjusted to 7 ; aliquots of these stock solutions were diluted into medium directly before each test . it has been previously shown that neurons from embryonic chick ciliary ganglia adhere to a recombinant protein that consists of the c - terminal 40 % of s - laminin fused to a 10 amino acid fragment of a phage capsid protein ( hunter et al ., supra .). initially , to localize the adhesive site more precisely , a second fusion protein , pet - rk36 ( fig1 ), which contains only the c - terminal 20 kd of s - laminin was tested herewith . ( fig2 ). during a 2 hour assay of cell attachment , ˜ 30 - 40 % of the applied ciliary neurons adhered to nitrocellulose that had been coated with optimal concentrations of laminin of the 20kd s - laminin fragment and then blocked with bsa ( fig3 a , b ); & lt ; 2 % the neurons adhered to nitrocellulose that had been coated with bsa alone ( fig3 c ). significant adhesion to s - laminin was observed with as little as 1 μg / ml in solution ; adhesion to laminin was seen with as little as 20 μg / ml . maximal adhesion was obtained when solutions ˜ 10 μg / ml s - laminin or ˜ 500 μg / ml laminin were applied to the nitrocellulose . these optimal concentrations are similar in molar terms (˜ 0 . 5 μm ; mr is ˜ 900 , 000 for laminin and ˜ 20 , 000 for the s - laminin fragment ). thus , although it is not known what fraction of applied proteins actually bind to the nitrocellulose , laminin and the s - laminin fragment appear to be similarly adhesive for ciliary motor neurons . to ensure that the adhesion to fusion proteins was attributable to sequences in s - laminin , rather than to vector - encoded sequences or to bacterial proteins , attachment to several other recombinant proteins was tested ( fig2 ). ciliary neurons attached to bacterial extracts enriched in the protein λ - rk36 , which comprises the 20kd rk36 fragment fused to e . coli β - galactosidase , as well as λ - rk27 , which comprises the 40 kd c - terminal fragment fused to β - galactosidase . in one test , the λ - rk36 protein was partially purified by size exclusion chromatography ; the partially pure protein remained active in the adhesion assay . in contrast , no significant attachment was detected to a β - galactosidase fusion protein that contained no s - laminin sequences ( λ - t43 ), to pure β - galactosidase , or to an extract from e . coli transformed with pet - o , which encodes the capsid protein leader sequence . these results supported the initial conclusion that an adhesive site for ciliary neurons is contained within the c - terminal 10 % of s - laminin . ciliary neurons were selected for initial tests because many of these neurons normally form neuromuscular junctions on striated muscle fibers in vivo [ pilar et al ., j . neurophys . 43 , 233 - 254 ( 1980 )] and are , therefore , somatic motor neurons . in addition , it had been shown previously that processes of ciliary neurons recognize original synaptic sites on adult rat muscle fibers in an in vitro bioassay [ covault et al ., j . cell biol . 105 , 2479 - 2488 , ( 1987 )]. to extend these tests , it was determined whether neurons of other types also adhered to the s - laminin fragments . neurons were dissociated from dorsal root ganglia , optic tecta , and ciliary ganglia of e10 chick embryos . dorsal root ganglia contain a pure population of sensory neurons , all of which are postmitotic by e7 . 5 [ carr and simpson , j . comp . neur . 182 , 727 - 740 ( 1978 )]. the optic tectum contains several classes of interneurons and projection neurons , all of which are born by e9 [ lavail and cowan , brain res . 28 , 421 - 441 ( 1971 )]. in addition , cells of the rat brain - derived , neuron - like cell lines b35 and b104 [ schubert et al ., nature 249 , 224 - 227 ( 1974 ); j . neurosci . 6 , 2829 - 2836 ( 1986 )], and the rat pheochromocytoma cell line , pc12 , were tested . following treatment with ngf , pc12 cells express several features of adrenal chromaffin cells and / or sympathetic neurons [ tischler and greene , nature 258 , 341 - 342 ( 1975 ). both mitotically active pc12 cells grown in the absence of ngf , and cells that had been grown in the presence of ngf to induce their differentiation were tested . thus , this panel of cells enabled comparison of the behavior of motor neurons with that of sensory neurons , central neurons , dividing neuroblasts , and sympathetic - like cells . results of this comparison are summarized in table 1 , below , and some examples are shown in fig3 . far more tectal cells , sensory neurons , b35 and b104 cells , dividing pc12 cells , and differentiated ( ngf - treated ) pc12 cells adhered to laminin than to the s - laminin fragments pet - rk36 and pet - rk65 - 6 . for tectal , b35 , b104 , and pc12 cells , adhesion to the s - laminin fragments was not significantly above background level for the assay . a few more neurons did adhere to the s - laminin fragments than to bsa - coated nitrocellulose , but at least 10 - fold more cells adhered to laminin than to s - laminin . thus , the 20kd c - terminal fragment of s - laminin contains a site that is adhesive for motor neurons . recent studies of retinal [ cohen et al ., nature 322 , 465 - 467 ( 1986 ); hall et al ., j . cell biol . 104 , 623 - 624 ( 1987 )] and ciliary ganglion cells [ tomaselli and reichardt , j . neurosci . res . 21 , 275 - 285 ( 1988 )] have indicated that the responsiveness of neurons to extracellular matrix molecules , including laminin , is developmentally regulated . it therefore seemed possible that the attachment of ciliary neurons to s - laminin reflected a stage - specific , rather than a cell type - specific , response . therefore ciliary neurons from e8 , e9 , e10 , e11 and e13 embryos were tested in the adhesion assay ; this interval encompasses the time of naturally occurring cell death and a period when many synapses form [ landmesser and pilar , j . physiol . 241 , 715 - 736 ( 1974 )]. at each age tested , similar numbers of neurons adhered to s - laminin and to laminin . at each stage , 30 - 50 % more neurons adhered to poly - lysine ( a substrate to which most neurons adhere non - specifically ) than to either laminin or s - laminin , consistent with previous reports that some ciliary neurons are poorly responsive to laminin ( tomaselli and reichardt , supra .). nevertheless , it is evident that ciliary neurons of several ages are capable of attachment to s - laminin . in order to determine short peptide sequences which effectively inhibit the binding of motor neurons to s - laminin , 9 peptides ( m1 - m9 ) to span the 20kd adhesive domain encoded by the cdna clone , rk36 ( fig4 a ), were synthesized . these peptides were added to culture medium and tested for their ability to inhibit adhesion of ciliary neurons to substrata coated with the pet - rk36 s - laminin fragment . at concentrations of 200 μg / ml , only peptide m5 significantly inhibited adhesion to s - laminin ( fig4 b ). this result suggested that a neuronal receptor for s - laminin recognized a sequence contained partially or entirely within the m5 sequence ; soluble m5 would then act by binding to this receptor and blocking adhesion to the substratum . before accepting this conclusion , however , it was necessary to test two alternative possibilities . the first was that m5 affected neuronal viability or adhesiveness generally . to test this possibility , it was determined whether m5 was capable of inhibiting the attachment of neurons to other adhesive substrata . as shown in fig4 c , 200 μg / ml m5 did not significantly inhibit the adhesion of ciliary neurons to concanavalin a or poly - lysine . m5 did inhibit adhesion to laminin significantly , but only partially and at high concentrations (˜ 20 % inhibition at 200 μg / ml and 25 % at 500 μg / ml ). this is in marked contrast to the inhibition of adhesion to s - laminin , which is nearly complete at 100 μg / ml ( see fig5 d , below ); it may reflect nonspecific effects , or the presence of similar adhesive domains in laminin . thus , the inhibition of cell attachment to s - laminin by m5 is selective both for the peptide and for the substratum . the second possibility was that the synthetic peptide was capable of interacting selectively with neurons , but did not itself comprise and adhesive sequence . therefore , the ability of m5 and other s - laminin - derived peptides to promote , rather than to inhibit , cell attachment , was assayed . peptides were immobilized on nitrocellulose , and attachment of neurons to the substrate measured a before . little specific adhesion was observed at peptide concentrations of ≦ 1 mg / ml , consistent with previous reports [( e . g ., pierschbacher and rouslahti , nature 369 , 30 - 33 , ( 1984 )] that short peptides adhere poorly to substrata . however , at 10 mg / ml , m5 promoted significant cell attachment , whereas the nearby sequences m3 and m7 did not ( table 2 , below ). this result provides direct evidence that an adhesive domain in s - laminin is located within a 21 amino acid stretch that begins 101 amino acids from its c - terminus . in order to determine the shortest essential peptide sequence within the m5 sequences , to inhibit the binding of motor neurons to s - laminin , successively shorter peptides were synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit neuronal adhesion to pet - rk36 . two peptides , each of which spans roughly half of m5 ( fig5 a ) were tested first . the peptide containing the n - terminal 11 amino acids of m5 , m51 , was inhibitory ( ic 50 ˜ 20 μg / ml ), whereas the peptide containing the c - terminal 10 amino acids , m52 , was inactive at concentrations up to 200 μg / ml . overlapping peptides that spanned m51 and extended into m52 were then tested . the second and third of these ( m512 and m513 ) were inhibitory , while the first and fourth ( m511 and m513 ) were not ( fig5 b ). these results suggested that the active site lies within the 4 central residues of the m51 sequence ( lreq ), while the first four ( aekq ) and final three ( vgd ) residues are not essential . therefore , the tetrapeptide , lreq , and the tripeptide , lre , were tested as inhibitors of adhesion . both peptides were active , whereas the dipeptides , lr and re , were inactive ( fig5 c ). thus the minimum sequence of an adhesive site in s - laminin is lre . the dose - response curves for the inhibition of adhesion to s - laminin by the peptides m5 , m51 , and lre are compared in fig5 d . expressed in molar terms , the three curves are virtually indistinguishable , and the ic 50 for m5 , m51 , and lre all lie between 10 and 20 μm . this similarity suggests that the residues of s - laminin that directly flank lre do not greatly affect the ability of lre to inhibit the interaction of neurons with the adhesive site . table 1______________________________________attachment of neurons and neuron - like cells to lamininand to s - laminin fragments . substratumcell type laminin pet - rk65 - 6 pet - rk36______________________________________series aeio ciliary ganglion + + + neuronseio dorsal root ganglian + ± ± neuronseio tectal neurons + - - b35 cells + n . d . - bi04 cells + n . d . - pc12 cells (- ngf ) + - - pc12 cells (+ ngf ) + n . d . - series be8 ciliary ganglion + + + neuronse9 ciliary ganglion + n . d . + neuronse9 ciliary ganglion + + + neuronse11 ciliary ganglion + n . d . + neuronse13 ciliary ganglion + + + neurons______________________________________ cell attachment assays were performed as described hereinbefore . &# 34 ;+&# 34 ; indicates 10 times more cells attached to the substratum than to control ( bsa ). &# 34 ;±&# 34 ; indicates attachment 1 - 2x above control . &# 34 ;--&# 34 ; indicates attachment indistinguishable from control .? &# 34 ; n . d .&# 34 ;, not done . for each cell type , 20 of the cells applied adhered to laminin . table 2______________________________________attachment of ciliary neurons to s - laminin - derived peptides . peptide n neurons per field______________________________________m3 7 5 . 0 ± 1 . 7m5 7 26 . 3 ± 3 . 1m7 9 6 . 8 ± 1 . 3______________________________________ the peptides , whose sequences are shown in fig4 a , were applied to nitrocellulose at 10 mg / ml . cell attachment assays were performed as described hereinbefore . values given are means ± s . e . various other examples will be apparent to the person skilled in the art after reading the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is intended that all such other examples be included within the scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
embodiments of the present invention will next be explained with reference to the accompanying figures . fig3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the communication measurement device of the present invention . in this figure , the measurement device for communication is made up of measurement board 10 having measurement function boards such as for bit error measurement functions or protocol testing functions , interface board 20 having various types of interface function boards , and exchange function unit 30 that establishes connections between these boards . exchange function unit 30 may be set according to a test item to establish connections between each of the measurement function boards of measurement board 10 , connections between each of the interface function boards in interface board 20 , and connections between each of the measurement function boards of measurement board 10 and each of the interface function boards of interface board 20 . in the above - described exchange function unit 30 of this communication measurement device , for example , a plurality of measurement function boards within measurement board 10 may be connected to one interface function board within interface board 20 , a plurality of interface functions within interface board 20 may be connected to one measurement function within measurement board 10 , or a plurality of measurement functions may be operated simultaneously or separately . in this way , the present invention allows , for example , compound testing in an isdn line such as determining at a signaling channel whether a data channel is being correctly controlled . an embodiment is proposed that allows , in tests of a communication device , simulation and associated monitoring as well as voice monitoring in an hdlc ( high level data link control ) in an isdn line , and r / v . 110 monitoring in a public network exclusive data line . fig4 is a block diagram showing a schematic view of the construction of one embodiment of a communication measurement device according to the present invention . in this figure , layer 2 / 3 board ( measurement board ) 110 is provided with hdlc simulator 111 , hdlc monitor 112 , voice monitor 113 , and r / v . 110 monitor 114 as measurement functions . layer 1 board ( interface board ) 120 is provided with interface ( i . 431 ) 121 and interface ( i . 430 ) 122 for establishing connections with an isdn line , and interface ( x . 21 ) 123 and interface ( v . 35 ) 124 for establishing connections with a public network exclusive data line . measurement data bus 130 constitutes the exchange function unit and connects layer 2 / 3 board 110 and layer 1 board 120 . in this case , this measurement data bus 130 effects data transfer between each of interface ( i . 431 ) 121 and hdlc simulator 111 ; hdlc simulator 111 and hdlc monitor 112 ; interface ( i . 430 ) 122 and voice monitor 113 ; interface ( x . 21 ) 123 and interface ( v . 35 ) 124 ; and interface ( v . 35 ) 124 and r / v . 110 monitor 114 . measurement data bus 130 has , for example , a bus width of 8 bits , a transfer clock speed of 4 . 096 mhz , and a frame frequency of 8 khz . the bus frame is divided into 512 time slots , one time slot allowing the transfer of data at 64 kbps . the actual assignment function of time slots in this measurement data bus 130 is explained hereinbelow with reference to fig5 . fig5 is an explanatory view of the time slot assignment function of measurement data bus 130 . in this figure , boards 1 - 3 correspond to each interface function and each measurement function . board 1 outputs tx data ( transmission ) to time slot 1 , rx data ( reception ) to time slot 2 , and layer 1 information to time slot 3 . when data are outputted to time slots 1 - 3 , board 2 reads the tx data of time slot 1 and the rx data of time slot 2 , converts these data to tx &# 39 ; data and rx &# 39 ; data , respectively , and outputs the result to time slots 4 and 5 , respectively . in the same way , the layer 1 information of time slot 3 is converted to layer 1 &# 39 ; information and outputted to time slot 6 . board 3 reads the data of time slots 4 and 5 and stores it to , for example , a capture memory . the layer 1 information of time slot 3 is read by board 2 , read to main cpu , and used in processing by the main cpu . as described hereinabove , measurement data can be freely transferred between each of the boards by the measurement data bus . one time slot in the above - described measurement data bus gas the transfer capability of 64 kbps . by using two of these time slots , data can be transferred at 128 kbps . the table below shows the relation between the number of time slots employed and transfer speeds above 64 kbps . table 1______________________________________transfer number of transfer number ofspeed ( kbps ) time slots speed ( kbps ) time slots______________________________________ 64 1 768 12128 2 1 , 536 24192 3 1 , 920 30384 6 2 , 048 32______________________________________ when transferring data other than asynchronous data at less than 64 kbps , one time slot is again occupied , and in such a case , two transfer modes ( transfer formats ) based on a transfer speed series can be used as appropriate . one format is a 8 kbps data transfer format , and is used at transfer speeds of 8 , 16 , 24 , 32 , 40 , 48 , and 56 ( kbps ). this format switches transfer speed according to how many bits of the 8 - bit bus width are used , and switching can be effected as shown in fig6 . the other format is a 2 . 4 kbps data transfer format . 2 . 4 kbps - series data is a transfer speed used chiefly in synchronous data communication . this format takes the 48 - kbps format of the 8 - k series as the basic format , and is a format in which the insertion frame intervals of effective data are switched by the transfer speed . in concrete terms , switching of insertion frame intervals is effected in a form such as shown in fig7 . in this case , a speed of 48k (· 20 = 2 . 4 kbps is achieved if effective data is present in one in 20 frames . the table below shows the relation between the average effective frame cycle n and transfer speed . table 2______________________________________ transfer transfern speed ( bps ) n speed ( bps ) ______________________________________1 . 25 38 , 400 10 4 , 8001 . 6666667 28 , 800 20 2 , 4002 24 , 000 40 1 , 2003 . 33333333 14 , 400 80 6005 9 , 600 160 300______________________________________ an asynchronous data transfer method effected by means of the measurement data bus will next be explained . asynchronous data are transferred by a multipoint sampling format . the sampling speed is an integer power of 64 khz , and a speed that is at least ten times the nominal data speed is selected . for example , an asynchronous data sampling speed of 28 . 8 kbps requires a level at least ten times greater , or 288 khz or more . 288 ( 64 = 4 . 5 , and as a result , sampling is carried out at 320 khz ( or five times 64 khz ). data that are sampled at this speed are transferred using five time slots in the measurement data bus . explanation will next be given regarding the control signals and timing of the measurement data bus . as shown in fig8 the measurement data bus is made up of an 8 - bit data bus and a number of timing control signals . in the figure , each number of the data indicates the time slot number . in addition , the timing of the 0 . 4k signal is such that it is outputted once in every 20 frames . moreover , a rate clock for the layer 1 board is also present on the measurement data bus in addition to the abovedescribed control signals . as described hereinabove , the construction of the communication measurement device of this embodiment includes a common data exchange function between each measurement function board and each interface function board , whereby this embodiment has the following features : ( 1 ) measurement of a plurality of test items is possible for one interface ; ( 2 ) one measurement item can be realized at a plurality of interfaces ; ( 3 ) an artificial exchange function can be realized by controlling connection between interface boards ; here , the fifth feature described , i . e ., the accommodation of special data formats , allows , for example , an application by which , as shown in fig9 in a construction in which measurement function board 10a and interface function board 20a are connected by exchange function unit 30 , format conversion function board 10b can be added and measurement enabled by way of board 10b . by providing on the measurement board side an interface function to an exchange function for uses such as remote control in addition to measurement , each measurement function in the measurement board can be controlled from the outside through the use of , for example , interface ( i . 431 ). for example , as shown in fig1 , communication measurement device 100 , is connected with measurement function controller 200 and an object of measurement ( communication device ) 300 . communication measurement device 100 is constructed such that measurement function board 101 and interface function boards 103a and 103b are connected by exchange function unit 102 . each of , interface function boards 103a and 103b are interfaces ( i . 431 , i . 430 ) used in , for example , an isdn line . interface function board 103a is connected with measurement function controller 200 , and interface function board 103b is connected to the object of measurement 300 . measurement function board 101 is provided with each of the various measurement functions for test measurements of the object of measurement 300 , and in addition , is provided with a processing function to allow , for example , mutual communication with measurement function controller 200 using , for example , interface ( i . 431 ). in this way , measurement function controller 200 can control the functions of measurement function board 101 . in a measurement device for communication constructed according to the foregoing description , an object of measurement 300 can be measured using measurement function board 101 by remote operation from measurement function controller 200 by way of an isdn line . it is to be understood , however , that although the characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in the arrangement of the parts within the scope of the appended claims . | 7 |
as illustrated in fig1 a linear accelerator 10 includes a source of charged particles 12 ; focusing magnets 14 , a plurality of rfq resonators 15 - 17 in which the particles are bunched , focused and accelerated ; focusing magnets 18 , control ( bending ) magnet 20 and target chambers 22 and 24 . fig2 and 3 provide an illustration of an rfq resonator 30 of a prior design with four vanes 32 - 35 tapering inwardly from inner wall 40 of chamber 38 . lines of force 42 - 45 illustrate the electrical fields between vanes 32 - 35 generated by a power source 48 which establishes a changing magnetic field inside the cavity . the changing magnetic field lines enclosed within path 55 - 58 , act to induce a voltage by lenz &# 39 ; s law between vane tips 52 and 53 . a voltage appears along the length of the vanes . the magnetic field lines are directed parallel to the chamber axis and are concentrated near the inside shell surface 40 in the space between the vanes . they loop around at the ends . in a similar manner , voltages are induced between other pairs of the vane tips . in the rfq resonator 60 of a second prior design illustrated in fig4 and 5 , four rod - like elements 62 - 65 are disposed about the central axis 66 . shorting forks 67 - 68 are mounted on the inner wall 70 of cylinder 61 and provide support and electrical shorting for the elements . in this arrangement , each of the elements is shorted near each end section of the cylinder . the rfq resonator 60 resonates as a parallel lc resonant circuit . the inductance l is provided by the shorting forks 67 - 68 . the capacitance between adjacent rods 62 - 65 provides the c . in the rfq resonator of the invention as illustrated in fig6 and 7 , four rods 73 - 76 provide a natural resonant frequency in the quadrupole mode with end sections of rods 73 and 75 shorted at end 71 of resonator 70 and separated from end 72 . end sections of rods 74 and 76 have the reverse connection being shorted at end 72 and separated from end 71 . electrical fields as illustrated by field 77 are generated between the rods to provide the required quadrupole symmetry . electrical field lines 77 illustrates the field pattern . with the arrangement of rods 73 - 76 provided by the invention , the rods essentially act as a quarter - wave strip line resonator to provide the inductance with the spacing between the rods providing the capacitance of a parallel lc resonant circuit . because of the large capacitive loading between adjacent rods , they resonate at a frequency much lower than the quarter - wavelength resonance of a strip line shorted at one end . in addition , there are no nearby resonances to interfere with the quadrupole mode . the frequency of the quadrupole mode is also the first resonant frequency of the device and occurs at the lowest frequency . the diameter of the cavity is small for low rf frequencies which is important for the acceleration of the heavy ion particles . further the resonator is easily tuned to frequency by the movement of the tuning ball 102 . thus tuning can be easily accomplished to correct for any frequency change which may occur with time or temperature . the other prior design cannot accomplish this feature so easily because of the many nearby interfering modes . the size of the resonator of this invention can be determined by the ratio of the capacitance , c 12 , between adjacent rods and the capacitance , c 11 between one rod and all other rods and ground ; and is given by the following equation : ## equ1 ## where l is the length of the resonator and λ is the wavelength of the wave . the above capacitances can best or most easily be determined by the use of the computer program &# 34 ; poisson &# 34 ; available from the argonne national laboratory of argonne , ill . further with regard to fig6 and 7 and the magnetic and electrical fields associated with rfq resonator 70 , a changing magnetic field extending around and concentrated near the inside of the shell transverse to the longitudinal axis , is enclosed by path 78 - 83 and acts to induce a voltage across rod sections 78 and 83 and along the length of the rods as determined by lenz &# 39 ; s law . by this magnetic field , the effective inductance is measured along the axial length of the rods . in a similar manner , magnetic fluxes in other loops provide voltages between other pairs of the rods . accordingly , the desired voltage pattern similar to that in fig3 is provided in fig7 at the quadrupole mode . power is provided to the resonators of fig5 and 7 in a similar manner to the arrangement in fig3 . rf power is provided and coupled to the resonator of fig7 by , for example , a loop to generate a magnetic field transverse to the axis . rods 73 - 76 may be solid or hollow and constructed of aluminum , copper or a copper clad steel with copper or aluminum forming the outer surfaces . shell 84 is also constructed of aluminum , copper or copper clad steel with copper or aluminum forming the inner surfaces . representative values for a typical wavelength of 10 meters are a diameter for the rods of 1 / 50 - 1 / 300 of the wavelength , a diameter of the cylinder of about 1 / 5 - 1 / 30 of the wavelength , and a length for the rods of about two meters with about 1 - 2 cm separating the free ends of the rods from the adjacent end of the cylinder . accordingly , the rfq resonator 70 with these dimensions is of a reasonably small size compared to some designs . fig8 provides an illustration of multiple resonators 90 - 92 with rod elements 93 - 96 extending along the combined length 97 . as illustrated , the open circuits are provided by rod sections within openings 99 and 100 of plate 98 . by this arrangement , resonators may be constructed of varying lengths and numbers of individual units . this arrangement is further characterized by magnetic paths extending around the circumference of the shell in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis . in addition , the area of the magnetic path is greater than the area of design in fig4 and therefore permits the use of a reasonably small shell or cylinder in the construction of the resonator in fig8 as well as that in fig6 . as illustrated in fig1 one or more resonators may be used to provide the desired acceleration , focusing and other forming of the beam of particles . with the invention , a resonator may be used which is operable at a low frequency with low degree of interfering modes . further the resonator is of reasonably small size and may be readily constructed . in the testing of an inventive resonator constructed of an aluminum tube of about 0 . 19 m in diameter and about 0 . 5 m long with copper rods of about 0 . 019 m o . d . and about 0 . 48 m long , it was found that a resonator frequency of about 58 megahertz was developed as the basic frequency . the equation ## equ2 ## was used to confirm that the resonant frequency agreed with the calculation value within a few percent and the quadrupole mode was present . the closest interfering mode was in the order of about 110 megahertz . | 7 |
a combustion chamber for a gas turbine is generally indicated at 11 and comprises a forward segment generally indicated at 12 and a rear segment generally indicated at 13 . an annular combustion chamber is shown having a central member 14 surrounding the turbine shaft , inlet passages at 15 in the form of a rotating fuel slinger , and inner and outer rows of compressed air inlet passages 16 . air deflector rings 17 are provided inside the chamber which generate a film of air for wall cooling . optional cooling air slits 18 may also be provided . the bulk flow path of gases through the combustion chamber extends in the direction of the arrow 19 . the inner surface of the combustion chamber wall is generally indicated at 20 , this wall facing the fuel - air mixture within the combustion chamber . conventionally , wall 20 is coated with a thermal barrier coating 21 seen in fig4 . typically , this thermal barrier coating is composed of zirconium oxide with 6 % yttrium oxide for stabilization of the crystal structure . according to the invention , a catalytic coating generally indicated at 22 is bonded to the thermal barrier coating . the catalytic coating , which preferably comprises a noble metal catalyst such as platinum , chemically bonded to the thermal barrier coating , will have the function of reigniting the fuel - air mixture in the event of a flame - out . reignition will result as a consequence of the combined effects of fuel , catalyst , air and sufficiently high temperatures . preferably , the catalytic coating is applied over most but not all of the interior surface 20 of forward segment 12 of the combustion chamber . for extreme conditions , it may be required to coat both segments 12 and 13 . in order to facilitate relighting , certain areas of surface 20 are preferably left uncoated . in the illustrated embodiment , the uncoated areas are indicated in fig1 and 3 as being two annular areas 23 and 24 plus a circumferentially spaced series of four triangular areas 25 inside outermost wall portion 26 . these areas are partially shaded for emphasis in the figures . area 23 extends radially inwardly from the inner row of air inlet passages 16 , with the narrower uncoated band 24 outside the outer row of air inlet passages . a suitable method of applying the catalytic relight coating to the gas turbine combustion chamber is shown by the following example : the inner surface 20 of the combustion chamber is previously coated with a zirconium oxide , yttrium oxide thermal barrier 21 . the surface to be coated with the catalytic coating is cleaned if necessary by vapor degreasing to assure freedom from dirt , oil or grease . if necessary , suitable masks are employed on surface areas 23 , 24 and 25 where no catalytic coating is desired . a base coat is first applied comprising chloroplatinic acid , zirconyl nitrate and aluminum nitrate , with instruments of such design that no metallic parts come in contact with the coating . this material is applied in light even coats to prevent running . after each coat is applied it is dried in a forced circulating air oven at approximately 200 ° f . for fifteen minutes at heat and then at approximately 300 ° f . for twenty minutes at heat . after a premeasured quantity of base coat has been applied in the aforesaid manner , a top coat is applied in one coat to the specified areas . the part is then dried in the aforesaid manner and any mask material carefully removed . the coated part is then cured in an air circulating furnace by heating to approximately 250 ° f . and holding for twenty minutes , raising the temperature to approximately 1300 ° f ., and holding at that temperature for one hour . the part is then furnace cooled to below 1000 ° f . and then air cooled to room temperature . during this calcination process the noble metal compounds convert to pure metals and the zirconium and aluminum oxides convert to ceramic oxides . the noble metal is bonded to the thermal barrier coating by a matrix of ceramic material similar in composition to the thermal barrier itself . care is taken to avoid accumulation of fumes in the furnace . the part is then enclosed in a sealed container . preferred proportions of the base and top coats are as follows : a . 1 . 1 gm platinum metal in the form of chloroplatinic acid duriang operation of a gas turbine engine having a combustion chamber constructed according to the present invention , in the event of flame - out the presence of the fuel - air mixture at the heated catalytic coating will cause reignition . flames travelling along the catalytic coating will reach the uncoated areas at which point they will lift away from surface 20 and into the main body of the fuel - air mixture within the combustion chamber . this will facilitate relighting of the mixture within the entire combustion chamber . while it will be apparent that the preferred embodiment of the invention disclosed is well calculated to fulfill the objects above stated , it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification , variation and change without departing from the proper scope or fair meaning of the subjoined claims . | 5 |
as shown in fig1 and 2 , a monitor , in the form of a wristwatch - like display face , is utilized so that the sequence of each heartbeat could be shown by a dial or hand which sweeps along from heartbeat to heartbeat , measured in increments on a scale on the dial face . there are different ways in which a scale could be created , for example , assume that a person knew their resting pulse averaged 75 beats per minute . a monitor could be made with marks on a dial face , as shown in fig2 . here , a dial face , indicated at 10 , is mounted on a wristband 12 , and a sensor 14 provided on the wristband is mounted to record each heartbeat . the sensor is conventional , as known in the art , to record a pulse , but in this case is used to record pulses which can be displayed in a unique convention . for example , a single heartbeat may be thought of as an “ instantaneous experience ” or “ lex .” using such a convention , after 75 heartbeats × 60 , or 4 , 500 heartbeats have occurred , it is deemed that a so - called “ long experience ” or 1 “ lex ” has taken place , somewhat analogous to an hour , and this “ lex ” marker is pointed out by a sweep hand 15 , the first “ lex ” marker being shown as the number “ 1 ” on the dial face , in the embodiment shown in fig2 . as also shown , the dial face in this embodiment is divided into quadrants , such as indicated at 16 , 18 , 20 and 22 , and each quadrant includes six “ lex ” markers or indicia , each of which notes that 75 × 60 or 4 , 500 heartbeats have occurred . the “ lex ” marker denoted “ 2 ,” confirms that 9 , 000 heartbeats have taken place . fig2 also shows that the scale between each “ lex ” is divided into marks , each of which represents about 562 heartbeats . to provide a scale which is marked to show each heartbeat , in the convention shown here , would be difficult because of the sheer number of heartbeats . suffice it to say that different scales could be chosen , and the device calibrated to show the “ lex ” as described above is representations of one way ; certainly a different scale could be chosen . the point is , by the scale arrangement shown , hand 15 will sweep all the way around during some period which may be thought of as something roughly equivalent to day , assuming 75 heartbeats per minute . of course , the real rate of heartbeats may be very different , and using the convention shown in fig2 , sweep hand 15 may move much faster , depending on level of physical activity , for example . a person may have several periods of high physical activity or emotional extremes which will cause the hand to complete a single revolution very differently from one day to the next . whatever the result , a person will see their own “ experience ” differ from day to day , measured by their own heartbeat , in this example . the idea here is that one complete sweep of the dial or sweep hand 15 , will complete roughly one day , although it is not exactly a day , but rather a person &# 39 ; s physical expression of what occurs , or would normally occur , if the person were at rest . in this instance , the “ lex ” indicia marked at 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , etc ., are noted by the sweep hand , as the day progresses . the dial face has been divided into the four quadrants , in this case , because there is only a single dial or sweep hand which is powered ( by a battery synchronized with the heartbeat ) to move . the dial starts at the top position , and ends at the indicia mark 24 . two hands or dials could be used , like the hour and minute hands on a clock or watch . thus , one hand would be continuously displaying the “ lex ,” and the other would point to the “ lex .” it is to be noted that the dial face is also provided with a display window 30 which displays in digital format , the total number of heartbeats during a wearing sequence ( assuming the device is taken off at some time ) and a perpetual memory , shown at 32 , also a digital display , which shows the total heartbeats accumulated during the period the device has been worn . other modifications could be built into the device , for example , memory could keep the device working , when not worn , so that a preprogrammed resting pulse will continuously be recorded ; when the person puts the device back on , activates it appropriately , the real - time pulse is noted , which may or may not correspond to the average . again , assuming that an average heart beats at a rate of 75 per minute , the total heartbeats in a 24 hour day will be approximately 106 , 000 , computed as follows : this is assuming of course , a steady 75 beats per minute which probably is unlikely . too many events can happen in a typical day , including exercise , stress , eating , etc . which will change the number of heartbeats per minute . but the point here is that by using heartbeats , one can be acting on their own “ natural time ,” where time is expressed by some physical parameter unique to an individual . this system can be broken down as follows : 1 lex = 1 heartbeat 1 lex = approx . 4 , 500 lex 1 quad = 6 lex = 27 , 000 lex 24 lex in a day = 108 , 000 lex or 108 , 000 heartbeats at any given time , a person can look at the monitor and know what their natural rate of evolution is , and utilize this to gauge and monitor their own activities . for example , a person may choose to do something according to their own physical time , as expressed through their heartbeats . the monitor could be a completely digitized device , with a digital display , as shown in fig3 , in that figure , the face of the device , indicated at 30 , includes windows which digitally display the “ lex ” ( total number of heartbeats ), the “ lex ” ( 4 , 500 heartbeats per “ lex ). the bottom window or panel shows in digital format the total “ lex ” and total “ lex .” the upper window could be reset everyday or whenever the person desires . it is to be noted that display window 30 could be a digital counter or display which continuously records the heartbeats and may be reset whenever a person wants . this display of continuous “ lex ” will eventually be a very large number , ranging into the billions of heartbeats . the lower display 32 , may record the total number of heartbeats over time , and will be stored in memory . obviously , over time , the lower display may be a number ranging well into the billions . moreover , the device could be programmed so that the device keeps recording the average beats per minute , thus if the device is removed , a person &# 39 ; s evolution , using heartbeats is still being recorded , based on the known , preprogrammed average number of beats per minute . the display windows could also be configured so that the upper window displays only “ lex ” or a combination of “ lex ” and “ lex .” thus , the upper window may show a number like 99 , 000 , which would mean that 24 “ lex ” are close to being reached . the bottom windows could be divided into sections which show “ lex ” and “ lex ,” or just include “ lex ” which , over time , will become a very high number , into the billions . the method and device of the present invention can also be utilized so that a person could see specifically how their “ lex ,” as it actually occurs , relates to their average pulse rate . this can be accomplished by using two hands ; for example , one hand is driven to display the “ lex ” and “ lex ” as they would be synchronized for 75 beats per minute , for example . the other hand would sweep at the actual rate of heartbeats ; this latter or second hand may move much more rapidly or advance from “ lex ” to “ lex ” in advance of the first hand . a person observing this would reflect on being “ ahead of time ,” so to speak . they may choose to curtail activities , to try to return their pulse to its average rate , thus “ preserving ” their heartbeats , as it were . conversely , a person &# 39 ; s pulse may decrease , through sedentary or listless activity , and where this happens , the “ lex ” as it occurs would lag behind the first sweep hand which moves in accordance with a preprogrammed 75 beats per minute , for example . the invention as described uses technology which is available , pulse sensors are known , and to program a sweep hand so that it moves sequentially along a dial in accordance with each heartbeat can readily be done . to provide a second hand which is timed , technology can be used which is already employed in stop watches , for example , or jogging watches . the dial face could be totally digital , if desired . the above are just examples , the important thing to note is that a physiological parameter , i . e ., a person &# 39 ; s pulse or heartbeat , which continuously and repeatedly occur , are presented so that a person can view their own body &# 39 ; s working over time . as shown in fig4 , the rate of respiration could be used as the employed physiological parameter . here there is a sensor band placed around a person &# 39 ; s chest , so that the rate of breathing can be displayed on a dial or watch face device , interconnected by means not shown . other physiological parameters could be used , temperature change , perhaps , and somewhat more arbitrary ones , for example , blinking . doubtless , there are others , but the emphasis here is that it is a physical experience , recorded and displayed , grouped in a preselected convention , which provides the guide to self - observed evolutionary passage , rather than the rotation of the earth . | 6 |
referring to fig1 - 8 , there is illustrated a torque - limiting driver , generally designated by the numeral 20 having a generally t - shaped housing 21 , which includes a generally t - shaped base member 22 having a hollow , generally cylindrical stem portion 23 with a tapered end 24 closed by a circular end wall 25 having a circular bore 26 formed axially therethrough . the upper end of the stem portion 23 is integral with a pair of laterally outwardly projecting and diametrically opposed arms 27 , each being provided with one or more cylindrical upstanding sockets 28 and with open - top receptacle slots 28 a . the inner surface of the tapered end 24 of the stem portion 23 is provided with a plurality of equiangularly spaced - apart and longitudinally extending keyways 29 ( see fig5 ), which may be six in number . referring also to fig1 , the upper end of the base member 22 is closed by an elongated , generally oval - shaped cap 30 having a top wall 31 integral around its periphery with a depending skirt 32 sized and shaped to mateably engage the upper peripheral edge of the base member 22 around the periphery of the arms 27 and the upper end of the stem portion 23 . depending from the top wall 31 centrally thereof is a cylindrical , hollow neck 33 . also depending from the top wall 31 are stakes 34 adapted to be mateably received in the sockets 28 . plural blades 35 may extend radially outwardly from the neck 33 and may be six in number . the outer surface of the cap 30 may be provided with an overmolded grip 36 which may be formed of a suitable elastomeric material . referring in particular to fig5 and 7 - 10 , the driver 20 includes a sleeve 40 having an elongated , hollow , generally cylindrical body 41 , integral at one end with a pair of diametrically opposed and radially outwardly extending flanges 42 . formed along the inner surface of the cylindrical body 41 at circumferentially spaced - apart locations are a plurality of longitudinally extending keyways 43 ( see fig5 and 10 ), which may be six in number . the cylindrical body 41 has a tapered end 44 closed by a circular end wall 45 having an axial bore 46 formed therethrough . the cylindrical body 41 is provided adjacent to the open end thereof with internal threads 47 ( fig7 ). formed on the outer surface of the tapered end 44 are longitudinally extending and radially outwardly projecting keys 49 ( fig8 and 9 ), which may be six in number . in assembly , the sleeve 40 is coaxially received in the stem portion 23 of the driver base member 22 to the position illustrated in fig5 and 7 , with the end wall 45 seated on the end wall 25 , the keys 49 being respectively received in the keyways 29 and the flanges 42 respectively received in the receptacle slots 28 a for retaining the sleeve 40 against rotation relative to the driver base member 22 . referring in particular to fig5 , 7 and 8 , the driver 20 includes an elongated shaft 50 , which may be hexagonal in transverse cross sectional shape and is provided at one end with a working tip 51 , adapted for mateable engagement with an associated workpiece , such as a fastener or the like . the shaft 50 is provided intermediate its ends with a circumferential groove 52 , in which is received a retaining ring 53 ( fig6 ). the shaft is provided at the end opposite the working tip 51 with a bearing end face 54 . in assembly , the shaft 50 is received through the aligned bores 26 and 46 in the driver base member 22 and sleeve 40 , with the retaining ring 53 seated on the inner surface of the sleeve end wall 45 . a thrust washer 55 is also seated on the sleeve end wall 45 in surrounding relationship with the retaining ring 53 . the end face 54 of the shaft 50 is adapted for engagement with a ball bearing 56 in a manner to be described more fully below . referring also to fig1 - 13 , the driver 20 includes a lower cam 60 , which has an elongated , cylindrical shank 61 integral at one end with a radially outwardly extending annular flange 62 , which is provided at its upper surface with a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 62 . each tooth 62 has an axial face 64 and a sloping face 65 . a hexagonal bore 66 is formed axially through the lower cam 60 and is sized and dimensioned for mateably receiving the hexagonal shaft 50 . the annular flange 62 has an end face 67 opposite the teeth 63 , which has counterbores 68 and 69 formed therein coaxially with the bore 66 ( see fig1 ). in assembly , the lower cam 60 is fitted down over the shaft 50 with the end face 67 seated on the sleeve end wall 45 and with the thrust washer 55 received in the counterbore 69 and the retaining ring 53 received in the counterbore 68 . the hexagonal bore 66 cooperates with the hexagonal shaft 50 to prevent rotation of the lower cam 60 relative to the shaft 50 , the counterbore 68 having a depth sufficient to accommodate slight axial movement of the shaft 50 relative to the lower cam 60 . referring now also to fig1 - 16 , the driver 20 includes an upper cam 70 , having an annular body 71 with a cylindrical bore 72 formed axially therethrough . formed in the lower face of the annular body 71 is a plurality of circumferentially spaced teeth 73 , each having an axial face 74 and a sloping face 75 . projecting radially outwardly from the outer surface of the annular body 71 at equiangularly spaced - apart locations are a plurality of axially extending keys 76 , which may be six in number . the annular body 71 has an upper end face 77 . in assembly , the upper cam 70 is fitted down coaxially over the upper end of the shaft 50 , with the cylindrical shank 61 of the lower cam 60 received in the bore 72 , with the teeth 73 mateably engaging the teeth 63 of the lower cam 60 , and with the keys 76 respectively received in the keyways 43 of the sleeve 40 , as can best be seen in fig5 and 7 . thus , the keys 76 lock the upper cam 70 against rotation relative to the sleeve 40 . the axial faces 74 of the teeth 73 respectively engage the axial faces 64 of the teeth 63 to prevent relative rotation of the upper and lower cams 70 and 60 in one direction , while the sloping teeth faces 75 and 65 engage to accommodate relative rotation of the upper and lower cams in the opposite direction . a helical compression spring 79 is fitted coaxially over the upper end of the shaft 50 within the sleeve 40 and is seated on the end face 77 of the upper cam 70 . referring now also to fig1 and 18 , the driver 20 includes an annular adjustment plug 80 having an annular body 81 which is externally threaded , as at 82 , adjacent to one end thereof , and is provided with a cylindrical axial bore 83 therethrough between a lower end face 84 and an upper end face 85 . formed in the upper end face 85 are a plurality of equiangularly spaced - apart radial slots 86 , which may be six in number . in assembly , the adjustment plug 80 is fitted coaxially over the upper end of the shaft 50 and threadedly engaged in the upper end of the sleeve 40 , for bearing against the upper end of the compression spring 79 . in this regard , the slots 86 may accommodate a screwdriver or the like . the extent to which the plug 80 is threaded into the sleeve 40 controls the amount of compression or preload on the spring 79 which , in turn , controls the force with which the upper cam 70 is driven into engagement with the lower cam 60 and , thereby , the limiting torque required to effect relative rotation of the lower and upper cam 60 and 70 , in a known manner . to complete the assembly of the driver 20 , the ball bearing 56 is seated in the cylindrical neck 33 of the cap 30 , and the cap 30 is then fitted over the upper end of the base member 22 , to a mounted position illustrated in fig5 and 7 . in this position , the cylindrical neck 33 is fitted down within the bore 83 of the adjustment plug 80 in surrounding relationship with the upper end of the shaft 50 , holding the ball bearing 56 against the end face 54 of the shaft 50 , and the stakes 34 are respectively received in the sockets 28 . the blades 35 on the cap 30 are respectively received in the radial slots 86 of the adjustment plug 80 for preventing it from loosening . the cap 30 may be snap - fitted to the base member 22 , or may be fixed thereto as by sonic welding , solvent welding or the like . it will be appreciated that , in the latter case , the driver 20 is permanently assembled , with the shaft 50 non - removably mounted in place . thus , the driver 20 will be usable with only a single type ( shape and size ) of mating fastener or the like . the parts may be economically constructed and the driver 20 may even be disposable , being designed for only limited use . it will be appreciated that , in use , the arms 27 of the driver may be rested in the palm of the user &# 39 ; s hand , with the fingers wrapped beneath the arms and straddling the stem portion 23 . when the driver 20 is rotated in one direction , the shaft 50 will rotate with the housing 21 until a predetermined torque level is reached , at which point the biasing force exerted by the spring 79 is overcome to allow the sloping faces 75 of the upper cam 70 to slide up the sloping faces 65 of the lower cam 60 for the angular distance of one tooth , at which point the upper cam 70 will snap into engagement behind the next tooth of the lower cam 60 , providing a tactile and / or audible indication to the user that the predetermined torque has been reached . when the driver 20 is rotated in the opposite direction , it will operate as a standard driver with no torque - limiting feature , since the engaging axial faces 64 and 74 of the cam teeth will prevent relative rotation of the lower and upper cams 60 and 70 . in a constructional model of the invention , the shaft 50 , the retaining ring 53 , the ball bearing 56 and the spring 79 may be formed of suitable metals , while the remaining parts may be formed of suitable plastics , which may be molded . from the foregoing , it can be seen that there has been provided an improved torque - limiting driver of simple and economical construction , which may be made disposable or for limited use and is provided with an ergonomical design . the matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as a limitation . while particular embodiments have been shown and described , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the broader aspects of applicants &# 39 ; contribution . the actual scope of the protection sought is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the prior art . | 1 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views , and more particularly to fig1 thereof , there is shown schematically a diverging lens 1 placed between the windshield 2 of a vehicle and the eye 3 of its driver . relative placement of the lens 1 , eye 3 and road scene 5 is such that the lens produces for the eye a reduced virtual image 4 of the road scene 5 approximately in its focal plane . by selecting an appropriate lens and by placing the latter near the windshield 2 , it is in effect possible to obtain the virtual image 4 at about 1 . 5 m from the eye 3 of the driver , thereby presenting to the latter a reduced image 4 of the road scene that he can observe without any particular effort without turning his attention away from the road ahead of him . the use of a reduced virtual image generator of the road scene constitutes an essential characteristic of the invention . such a reduced virtual image is obtained preferably by using a diverging optical system , preferably one based on a diverging lens or a diverging mirror ( convex ). as shown in fig2 the lens 1 can advantageously be coupled to a prism 6 with a horizontal edge , intended to divert the luminous beam of the road scene 5 toward lens 1 . this arrangement allows one to obtain the same result as previously , without placing the optical system at the center of the windshield 2 . fig3 illustrates a measure which can be applied to the optical system shown in fig2 . this measure consists in forming the lens and the prism as a single part 7 which fulfills both functions . it allows one to suppress spurious images which can result from passage of the luminous rays through two successive diopters between the lens and the prism . the part 7 will advantageously be molded as a thermoplastic material such as methyl polymethacrylate ( plexiglass ). as shown in fig4 the optical system of fig2 is coupled to an image generator 10 , by a first mirror 8 which is placed on the trajectory of the luminous rays emitted by the latter , and by a second mirror 9 , which is semi - reflecting and ensures mixing of the reduced scene 4 and the image 10 &# 39 ; emitted by generator 10 . by placing the semi - reflecting mirror 9 at a distance c from the focal plane of lens 1 , equal to the sum of the distance a separating the generator 10 from the first mirror 8 and of the distance a separating the two mirrors 8 and 9 , it is possible to superimpose in the focal plane of lens 1 the reduced image 4 of the road scene and the image 10 &# 39 ; displayed on the image generator 10 . the driver then has a reduced virtual image 4 of the road scene 5 which is embellished , in its plane , by luminous signals . as fig5 a demonstrates , if the transparent mirror 9 is a mirror with two parallel sides , the image of each luminous joint a emitted by generator 10 will be doubled ( b and c ) by its successive reflection on each of the sides of mirror 9 . the arrangement shown in fig5 b , which consists of using a mirror with non - parallel sides , allows one to align the two images b and c from point a with the eye of the driver , therefore to obtain a particularly clear image of the corresponding signals . fig6 shows a variation of fig4 according to which the second mirror 9 is omitted . it is in effect possible to obtain the same result as previously by treating the side 11 of prism 6 , receiving the luminous beams of generator 10 , so that it will be semi - reflecting . the same is of course true in fig7 for side 12 of integrated optical element , which as in fig3 carries out functions of the diverging lens and the prism . fig8 illustrates integration of the data display device which has just been described , on a passenger vehicle steering column . in conformity with this example of integration , which is not in any way limiting , it consists of assembling the optical system which is used inside a view finder 18 installed on the dashboard 19 of the vehicle . the viewfinder 18 brings together the lens 1 , prism 6 , semi - reflecting mirror 9 , as well as the image generator 10 , the first mirror 8 and a converging lens 13 placed on the trajectory of the luminous beam emitted by generator 10 . through pupil 14 of the viewfinder 18 the driver then has available an image 4 consisting of a reduced virtual image 4 of the road scene , embellished in its plane by luminous signals . the invention has a particularly advantageous but not exclusive application in implementation of driver assistance functions , such as monitoring the distance between vehicles traveling in the same lane , following white lines , or any other system for improving road safety and / or visibility . it in effect allows one to superimpose permanently on a total view of the road synthetic visual data which are prepared from : measurements picked up by environmental sensors ( telemetry , camera , road condition sensor and sensors of atmospheric disturbances ) or gathered by sensors of representative signals of functioning parameters such as steering angle , speed of the vehicle , acceleration and so forth , sophisticated systems for locality control or detection of obstacles , stored map media , or when the image generator 10 is placed under the control of an onboard obstacle detection system , the invention allows one to warn the driver of one or several particularly dangerous obstacles . if the vehicle is equipped with a system for controlling the distance between vehicles proceeding along the same lane or in adjacent lanes , the proposed device can indicate to the driver in a precise way the target to be followed . in accordance with fig9 the driver can perceive pupil 14 of his viewfinder 18 a luminous index 15 which designates to him the target or obstacle in question . without departing from the scope of the invention it is of course possible to envisage other types of integration than the one which has just been described . the image generator 10 can consist of any luminous display unit such as a cathode ray tube , a lcd display ( liquid crystal display ) a bulb , a vfd ( vacuum fluorescent display ). it is also possible to obtain a similar result to the one which is shown in fig9 by simply replacing the aforementioned luminous display by a moving needle , which is displaced by an electric motor and responds to commands of a control system . finally , within the scope of the &# 34 ; obstacle detection &# 34 ; application mentioned earlier , one can provide means to &# 34 ; qualify &# 34 ; the detected object in order to determine the degree of danger , based on a parameter such as relative speed , its distance , or its transversal position . this &# 34 ; qualification &# 34 ; will be implemented in a simple way and will be directly usable by the driver by introducing into the display command some variations of color , size or brilliance of the index , intermittent display , and so forth . fig1 shows another embodiment of the invention according to which the reflecting mirror 9 which carries out the function of an image mixer is convex . in this case the primary mirror 8 can advantageously be placed on the trajectory of the luminous beam coming from the reduced virtual image of the road scene ( after it passes through the diverging lens and the prism which are not shown in fig1 ). fig1 a and 11b propose , by way of non - limiting examples , two versions of integration of the data display device of fig1 , on the steering column of the vehicle . the pupil 14 of the viewfinder can , for example , be placed in the instrument panel 17 ( see fig1 a ). this arrangement in all cases assumes that one appropriately orients generator 10 , semi - reflecting mirror 9 , as well as primary mirror 8 by which one perceives the opaque side above the dashboard 12 . as fig1 b shows , it is also possible to place the pupil 14 in different positions of the steering wheel , for example on the side of mirror 8 . thus , the display device proposed by the invention allows the driver to have available , in his usual field of view , a viewfinder through which he will be able to observe under best conditions of legibility the precise location of a luminous signal on the road scene , without turning his attention away from the latter for an instant . as indicated earlier , the applications of the display device proposed by the invention are numerous , especially in the area of driver assistance . the use of a reduced virtual image generator of the road scene based on lenses or diverging mirrors allows one to obtain a considerable depth of field which cannot generally be obtained by means of static displays . obviously , numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein . | 1 |
referring to fig1 , a cellular telephone may be applicable to both second generation circuit - switched networks and third generation packet - switched networks . the cellular telephone or mobile subscriber shown in fig1 may include an application processor 28 coupled to a baseband processor 32 . basically , the baseband processor 32 handles call implementation functions and the application processor 28 handles all other functions . a call model 18 provided with the baseband processor 32 contains a set of cooperating services that work together to process a call . the call model 18 implementation supports basic call functions such as session management including call setup , modification and tear down as well as mobility management . since the services offered by networks vary widely , the call model 18 functionality allows multi - mode terminal implementation that is both modular and scalable as long as all access protocols adhere to a pre - defined protocol application program interface ( api ) described herein and all applications supporting different access protocols adhere to the protocol api . the call model 18 residing on the baseband processor 32 supports both circuit data service ( cds ) and packet data service ( pds ) through a protocol api . the call model 18 provides pds availability information as well as mobility management ( mm ) state information to the application processor 28 as indicated at 10 , for example , through a baseband protocol api . the application execution environment uses this information to open , suspend , or close the wireless pds applications . the mobility management information provided by the call model 18 includes mobility management state as well as roaming information . the application execution environment checks the mobility management state before allowing the mobile subscriber to open new pds applications . the application execution environment can be part of a protocol api or middleware 24 residing between the baseband processor 32 and the application processor 28 . as a result , the application processor 28 can handle applications or programs 20 a relating to 2g implementations as well as applications 20 b related to 3g or 2 . 5g implementations . this is despite the fact that 2 . 5g and 3g applications and 2g applications may involve considerably different parameters . again , 2g applications do not generally involve mobility management state information and use time - based charges while packet - based systems use mobility management state and must contend with idle , ready and standby mobility management states and charge based on numbers of packets . thus , referring to fig2 , the protocol middleware 24 initially determines whether pds is currently available to the mobile subscriber as indicated in diamond 26 . if not , all pds applications are automatically closed as indicated in block 40 . closing applications in this circumstance may reduce the likelihood of erroneous results or crashes in some embodiments . if pds is currently available , the mobility management state of the mobile subscriber is determined as indicated in diamond 30 . if the mobile subscriber is in the idle state , all pds applications are closed as indicated in block 42 . similarly , if the mobile subscriber is in the ready state , new pds applications are opened or active pds applications may be continued as indicated in block 44 . finally , if the mobile subscriber is in the standby state , all pds applications currently operating are suspended upon transition to standby as indicated in block 46 . thus , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention , the application execution environment may be automatically controlled without user interaction to support wireless networks based on either circuit or packet data service . this method of managing the application execution environment may increase the battery life of the packet - based cellular telephone in some embodiments . embodiments of the present invention may be used in 2 . 5g and 3g packet - based mobile terminals irrespective of what type of air interface is utilized . as a result , in some embodiments , the application environment may suspend or shut down high data rate applications when the mobile subscriber is in a 2g network without degrading the performance of other applications . similarly , when packet data service applications are applicable , the mobility management state of the system may be determined and used to handle applications appropriately . while the middleware 24 is illustrated as residing on or being associated with the application processor 28 alternatively it may reside on or be associated with the baseband processor 32 . as still another embodiment , portions of the middleware 24 may reside on or be associated with each of said application and baseband processors 28 and 32 . in still other embodiments , the baseband and application processor functionalities may be accomplished in a single integrated circuit . 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 . | 7 |
the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof , given by way of example only , with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which : fig1 is a circuit diagram view of an ac / dc converter in accordance with the invention , fig2 is an enlarged view of portion of fig1 showing the ac / dc conversion stage of the ac / dc converter , fig3 is an enlarged view of portion of fig1 showing the dc / dc conversion stage of the ac / dc converter , fig4 is a circuit diagram of a full duty transformer stage in accordance with the invention , and fig5 is a circuit diagram of a multiple output winding configuration for a transformer used in accordance with the invention . referring to the drawings and initially to fig1 to 3 thereof , there is provided an ag / dc converter , indicated generally by the reference numeral 1 , having an ac / dc conversion stage 2 comprising a dual mode input stage and a dc / dc conversion stage 3 . now referring specifically to fig2 , the ac / dc conversion stage 2 comprises input terminals 70 feeding an input emi filter 4 . the emi filter 4 in turn feeds a rectifying bridge , indicated generally by the reference numeral 5 which in turn feeds a negative temperature coefficient thermistor ( ntc ) 6 in turn combined with semi - controlled rectifying elements 7 and 8 in the rectifying bridge 5 . these in turn feed an input tracking boost converter choke , namely , an input choke 10 having an additional winding 11 feeding a shim inductor 12 and a capacitor 13 across a switch 15 . a boost diode 16 is provided and finally a bulk capacitor 17 is also provided . a hold - up extension circuit 20 is connected across the bulk capacitor 17 for charging an auxiliary capacitor 21 . the hold - up extension circuit 20 includes a hold - up extension feed 22 . it is advantageous to discuss the operation of the ac / dc conversion stage 2 prior to discussing the operation of the rest of the ac / dc converter 1 . the bulk capacitor voltage 17 is adapted to provide an output dc voltage in approximate proportion to the input ac voltage so that at low - line ac and low output dc voltage of the order of 200v , the induction of the input choke , namely , the input choke 10 operates in continuous mode , and at high - input ac and high output dc of the order of the 400v , the input choke 10 operates in discontinuous mode . thus , here the input capacitor , namely , the bulk capacitor 17 , operates with continuous current to the input choke 10 at voltages such as low - line , typically 110v as is common in the us and japan . because one is operating with a bulk capacitor voltage , that is to say , a voltage at the capacitor 17 of typically 200v as compared with typically 400v in a conventional power factor connected converter , switching losses are reduced by a factor of between 2 and 4 . some components of the switching loss are proportional to the bulk capacitor voltage and others are proportion to the square of the bulk capacitor voltage and thus the reduction is between approximately twice and four times in this instance . at higher line , typically 220v up to 240v , as found in europe , the operation of the boost stage is primarily in discontinuous mode . at such voltages , conduction losses are lower , due to lower input current for the required power and the dominant loss component tends to be associated with the reverse recovery properties of the boost diode . if the converter is operated in discontinuous mode , the boost diode is normally not conducting current at the time the main switch turns on , thus eliminating this reverse recovery problem . when current ceases to flow in the boost diode , it is normal for the voltage on the switching device to oscillate and there is an opportunity to turn on the switch close to a “ valley ” in the voltage across it , thus minimising losses in this component . the purpose of this tracking boost stage is to get full benefit of dual - mode approach and allow the usage of less expensive components , in particular the boost diode . as is well appreciated to those skilled in the art , usage of the approaches developed in this area have been limited by among other things the difficulty in filtering the increased ripple current at high line and by the difficulty in designing the subsequent dc / dc conversion stage . a further difficulty is the greater challenge in obtaining effective holdup performance — i . e . the ability to maintain the output voltage with regulation for a period typically corresponding to loss of an input cycle of the ac line , as is increasingly been mandated by performance requirements . this requirement may also be in conflict with requirements in the area of inrush current limitation . with the present circuit , the difficulty in filtering the increased ripple current is addressed by the usage of the ripple - cancellation approaches between the input emi filter 4 and the additional winding 11 . since the capacitor is placed after the rectifying and voltage limiting elements , it does not have to have the surge requirements associated with a capacitor placed directly across the line — typically known as an “ x2 ” capacitor . a so - called hold - up issue occurs because the energy to run the dc load during the missing cycle of input line / mains voltage is provided by the bulk capacitor 17 , and operating at typically 200v in the mode of operation associated with a low - line condition means that the holdup energy in this capacitor is one fourth of the energy stored at 400v , the approximate voltage corresponding to high - line operation . while it would be possible to address this issue by fitting a somewhat larger capacitance capacitor 17 than would be normal , as in the case of conventional boost power factor correction stage which is more practical at power levels up to 400 watts with present equipment , the problem is overcome with the present invention by fitting the hold - up extension circuit 20 which allows for the auxiliary capacitor 17 to be charged . this can be typically done by a standby circuit provided in many converter types or by a separate boost circuit and then used to provide the bulk energy to maintain the output dc voltage at the required level during absence of the input mains / line voltage by switching in hold - up extension feed 22 . this approach is more suited to higher power levels where the extra cost of the holdup control circuitry is justified . increased capacitance values also require a more advanced inrush - current limiting circuit than required in the traditional power factor correction circuits . inrush current limiting has historically used ntc thermistors , as in the present circuit , whose resistance drops as current is drawn , corresponding to normal operation . initially — when cold — such devices have a high resistance which limits inrush current charging the bulk capacitors through the rectifying elements . however , the on - resistance of the ntc element causes further losses , defeating the objective of maximising efficiency . this is overcome in the present invention by combining the ntc device 6 with the semi - controlled rectifying elements 7 , 8 in the rectifier bride 5 , as illustrated . these elements , when switched on , have losses similar to those of conventional elements and thus there is no loss penalty . it will be appreciated that alternatively the ntc element may be bypassed by a semiconductor device such as a triac , which however typically has a material forward voltage drop resulting in losses . an alternative is usage of an electromechanical element such as a relay , with reliability issues typically associated with electromechanical devices and frequently with the need for power - consuming control circuitry to maintain the relay “ on ” in normal operation or indeed , a fixed resistor could be used in the position , as shown in the drawings , but usage of an ntc device usually allows a smaller element to be used and is more effective in brownout conditions and in recovery from a brief mains “ outage ”. referring to fig3 , the dc / dc conversion stage 3 comprises an input buck converter stage , indicated generally by the reference numeral 30 , having an input buck drive fet 31 feeding a free - wheeling diode 32 connected to an inductor 33 which in turn feeds an intermediate voltage level stage , indicated generally by the reference numeral 35 , to a pair of output capacitors 36 and 37 which in turn feed a full duty cycle stage , indicated generally by the reference numeral 40 . the full duty cycle stage 40 in turn feeds a planar transformer , indicated generally by the reference numeral 41 , which in turn feeds output inductors 42 and 43 of an output rectifying stage 44 . a feedback controller 50 connects the input buck converter stage 30 with the output for both current and voltage sensing by means of a current sensor 51 and a voltage sensor , namely , a fet diode 52 . with use of a dual - mode input stage as described above , the dc / dc conversion stage has to handle bulk capacitor voltage ( spanning the range of typically 200v to 400v in most current requirements ) to the fixed level ordinarily required in most load applications . the challenge of wide - range conversion at high efficiency is more complex in this case than when converting from an approximately fixed level such as the nominal 400v as obtained in the conventional converter approach . one also has the requirement for low emi generation from the transformer . the input buck converter stage 30 , which is controlled in a feedback loop by the controller 50 , measures the output voltage with a full duty cycle isolation stage . this is achieved by the use of the planar transformer 41 which facilitates a balanced construction , and along with full - duty cycle operation results in almost perfect cancellation of the common - mode currents than can be introduced in these transformers . the output rectifying elements 42 and 43 can also be limited in voltage while adjusted for spike effects and normal derating , to just over the output voltage in the case of full - bridge output stages and to just over twice the output voltage in the case of centre - tapped rectifiers . deriving a gate drive signal , if synchronous rectification is used , from the main winding is also feasible , given that this voltage can be made proportional to the output voltage , which is normally adjustable over a relatively narrow range . the implementation described in this specification permits the leakage inductance energy in the main transformer to be used to achieve very efficient zero - voltage switching . the small balanced saturable reactors 42 and 43 in series with the main transformer winding maintain the balance necessary to limit emi and serve to reduce ringing on the output and to contain reverse recovery effects in the body diodes of the output synchronous rectifiers . further operational and design aspects of this circuit are described below . the input buck converter stage 30 operates typically at full load in discontinuous mode , i . e . with discontinuous inductor current , at high line voltage . this limits the reverse recovery effects in the freewheeling diode 32 . it will be noted that a synchronous rectifier can also be used . at low - line voltage , the inductor current 33 is designed to be continuous . this limits conduction loss , and reverse recovery effects are materially less given the reduced voltage applied . the capacitance on the output of the input buck converter stage 30 , namely , the capacitors 36 and 37 , is selected to allow the full - duty cycle stage to operate either as a current - fed stage or as a voltage - fed stage . in practice a relatively low value of capacitance is selected here to allow for quasi - voltage fed operation of the full - bridge stage , resulting in easier containment of voltage spikes at switching under some load conditions through clamping of the voltage across the output rectifiers . when a centre - tapped output section is used , the output windings are closely coupled — i . e . the leakage inductance between these windings is minimal as compared with the leakage inductance between either secondary winding and the primary . the output choke is positioned such that the centre tap of the output stage is connected to the positive output , with an inductor in the - ve “ leg ”, when using conventional n - type fet switches or when using diodes in the conventional fashion . it is important in this circuit that very close control be maintained on the intermediate capacitance of the capacitors 36 and 37 . a protection circuit immediately switches in a power dump resistor 71 on detection of a fault condition , and simultaneously removes drive from the input buck converter stage 30 high - side switching element 31 . further protection against reverse power flow is provided by use of a switched device , typically used also to allow converters to be operated in parallel without reverse power flow from one or more other converters into the converter in question . referring to fig4 , there is illustrated portion of the primary winding of a transformer , indicated generally by the reference numeral 60 , that may be used in accordance with the invention . in this embodiment , the approach to overcome the deficiency of the tracking boost converter , namely , that it has variable output voltage , has been to use a buck converter stage with a subsequent full duty cycle transformer stage . this full duty cycle stage is optimal also for providing self - driven control of synchronous rectifiers , with minimal deadtime and consequently minimal losses . an extension of this approach is to connect additional sets of output windings and synchronous rectifiers , also self driven , which can provide further output voltages which closely track the main output . these voltages can be isolated from each other or may be combined in the established “ stacking ” approach . if it is desired to optimise cross regulation between such outputs , then using common tracking or windings for the output inductors on a single core is possible , as in fig4 . given the much closer tracking between output voltages than is the norm with diode rectifiers , this approach can be particularly effective in reducing ripple and in improving cross - regulation . this approach also lends itself very well to use of approaches suited to get fractional turns . for example , a common requirement is one of getting 3 . 3v , 5v and 12v nominal output voltages as required in computer systems . an illustrative implementation is as in fig6 . this shows only the secondary turns - the primary winding is implemented as conventionally , going through both ferrite sections . throughout this specification , the converter has been described as being operated in discontinuous mode at high voltages and in continuous mode at low voltages . it will be understood however that although the controller may be capable of operating the converter in continuous mode at low voltages , practically speaking it may not in fact be required to do so in the case of a light load on the converter . in this instance , the controller will have the ability to operate in either continuous or discontinuous mode at low voltages depending on the requirements of the load on the converter . furthermore , the converter may be required to operate in continuous mode at high voltages at least over parts of the cycle if not the entire cycle if there is a particularly large load on the converter . in the specification the terms “ comprise , comprises , comprised and comprising ” or any variation thereof and the terms “ include , includes , included and including ” or any variation thereof are considered to be totally interchangeable and they should all be afforded the widest possible interpretation and vice versa . the invention is not limited to the embodiment hereinbefore described , but may be varied in both construction and detail . | 7 |
referring now to the figures , fig1 shows an embodiment of the disclosed filtering system 10 . the system comprises a filter vessel 12 . the filter vessel 12 has an upper end 14 , which generally extends from inlet 16 to the enclosed top 18 of the vessel . contaminated liquid flows into the filter vessel 12 through inlet 16 . the filter vessel 12 has a lower end 20 which generally comprises about the lower axial third of the vessel to the enclosed bottom 22 of the vessel . the filter vessel 12 is adapted to hold a quantity of particulate filter material 24 . the filter material 24 may comprise various nutshell or other organic materials , including walnut shells , pecan shells , coconut shells , peach pits , apricot pits , and olive seeds . acceptable filter material should be sufficiently strong as to resist rupture but also have a sufficiently high elastic modulus to resist deformation and to recover its size and shape after deformation . the filter material 24 will preferably have a depth of about four feet within filter vessel 12 . the disclosed filtering system 10 has at least one lateral screened enclosure 26 supported within the lower end 20 of the vessel 12 . the lateral screened enclosure 26 may have rigid side walls 28 to provide additional structural strength . as shown in the figures , the disclosed filtering system may have a plurality of lateral screen enclosures which are placed within the vessel at the lower end 20 at approximately the same axial position within the vessel 12 . each lateral screened enclosure 26 may comprise an outlet 30 through which filtered liquid can exit the enclosure into a header 32 . outlets 30 may be piped together , as shown in detail in fig7 , to header 32 for discharge out of vessel 12 through vessel outlet 34 . while other type of screening materials may be utilized , the top of lateral screen enclosure 26 is preferably of wedge wire construction , while the sides and bottoms may be fabricated from solid plate to provide additional structural strength to the screen enclosures . wedge wire screens are superior for retaining media , filtering , and sizing . in comparison with wire mesh and perforated metal , wedge wire continuous slot screens have more open area , have very precise openings , are stronger and more durable , are virtually non - clogging and reduce media abrasion . the screen material utilized on lateral screen enclosure 26 should be corrosion resistant , and fabricated from corrosion resistant alloys such as type 304 , 316 , 316l , 321 , and 410s stainless steels , or from nickel alloys . the slot widths of the screen material should be sized smaller than the particle size of the filter material 24 and are preferably 15 thousands of an inch . the disclosed apparatus further comprises a scrubber apparatus connected to vessel 12 . the scrubber apparatus provides the means for cleaning the filter material 24 to remove the matter deposited by the water passing through the filter material . the scrubber apparatus comprises some form of pump means , such as pump 36 , which provides for circulation of scrub water through the vessel , allowing for the cleaning of the filter material 24 . pump 36 has a suction 38 and a discharge 40 . the scrubber apparatus further comprises a scrubber tube 42 which has an enclosed top 44 and an enclosed bottom 46 . scrubber tube 42 is generally a cylindrical in shape . scrubber tube 42 has an inlet 48 generally located at the top of the scrubber tube , where flow from the pump discharge 40 is received . toward the bottom end of the scrubber tube 42 is an outlet 50 through which flow is discharged from the scrubber tube . the scrubber apparatus further comprises a filter tube 52 which is contained within the scrubber tube 42 . an annulus 54 is defined between the scrubber tube 42 and the filter tube 52 . as with the scrubber tube 42 , the filter tube 52 is generally cylindrical in shape . the filter tube 52 has an inner passage 56 which receives flow from the inlet 48 . flow through inner passage 56 is controlled by a control valve ( not seen ) connected to vessel outlet 58 . when flow is allowed through vessel outlet 58 by the opening of the control valve , water flowing through inner passage 54 will pass through the screen openings of the filter tube 52 , which extend from the inner passage to the exterior of the filter tube , into annulus 54 and the dirty water discharged through vessel outlet 58 . various means may be utilized to control back pressure , including a control valve , orifice plate or piping design , causing flow through inner passage 56 to be discharged through nozzle 60 which discharges into vessel 12 . the nozzle 60 , comprises a conical tube 63 and an orifice 61 which may be utilized to control backpressure and to reduce the pressure to which the separator is subjected during the backwash cycle , particularly high transient pressures which occur when the backwash pump initially comes on . as shown in fig1 , the scrubber tube 42 has an enclosed top 44 and bottom 46 , a scrubber tube inlet 48 at the top for receiving flow from the pump discharge , a scrubber tube outlet 50 in a sidewall of the scrubber tube , and a scrubber tube opening at the bottom 46 through which a nozzle 60 extends so flow is discharged outside of the scrubber tube 42 . the filter tube 52 includes a conical tube having an upper end and a lower end , wherein the upper end of the conical tube has an outer diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the lower end of the conical tube , wherein the upper end of the conical tube is connected to a lower end of the filter tube 52 and a lower end of the conical tube is hydraulically connected to the nozzle 60 . the nozzle 60 includes a flow restricting orifice that is hydraulically connected to the inner passage 56 of the filter tube 52 via the conical tube , wherein the flow restricting orifice reduces a pressure to which the vessel is subjected during a backwash cycle and discharges filter material and water into the vessel 12 . as with the apparatus disclosed in the &# 39 ; 464 patent , the scrubbing cycle preferably is achieved by disposing the suction 38 and discharge 40 of pump 36 within the upper end 14 of the vessel 12 . however , instead of being directed towards a circulation guide means as taught in the &# 39 ; 464 patent , the pump 36 discharges into the inside of the backwash filter tube 52 . as with the apparatus disclosed in the &# 39 ; 464 patent , pump suction 38 takes liquid from the upper end 14 of the vessel 12 . as backwash water is discharged from the nozzle 60 located at the bottom of the backwash filter tube 52 , the backwash water is directed towards the bottom of the filter vessel 12 . this action sets up a desirable flow pattern wherein the filter media 24 becomes intimately admixed with the liquid contained within the vessel 12 and great agitation of the individual particles of the media achieves an unusually efficient cleaning and scrubbing action . as with the &# 39 ; 464 apparatus , the flow at this time follows a geometrical flow path which is in the form of a toroid having a central vortex which coincides with the axial centerline of the filter vessel 12 , with the outer upward flowing part of the vortex being confined by the inner peripheral wall surface of the vessel . fig4 and 5 depict the scrubber tube 42 and filter tube 52 , with the filter tube removed from the scrubber tube . it is to be noted that scrubber tube 42 comprises a bottom outlet 62 through which nozzle 60 extends . filter tube 52 may comprise an upper flange 62 which sits within seat 64 of the scrubber tube 42 . filter tube 52 may further comprise lifting tabs 66 which may be utilized for lifting the filter tube from the scrubber tube 42 . filter tube 52 comprises wire screen 68 which , as with lateral screened enclosure 26 is preferably of wedge wire construction . wedge wire screen utilized for wire screen 68 should have slot widths of approximately 20 thousands of an inch . fig3 depicts an alternative embodiment of the disclosed filtering system 100 . the alternative embodiment of the system comprises a filter vessel 112 . the filter vessel 112 has an upper end 114 , which generally extends from inlet 116 to the enclosed top 118 of the vessel . contaminated liquid flows into the filter vessel 112 through inlet 116 . the filter vessel 112 has a lower end 120 which generally comprises about the lower axial third of the vessel to the enclosed bottom 122 of the vessel . the filter vessel 112 is adapted to hold a quantity of particulate filter material 124 . as with the embodiment discussed above , the filter material 124 may comprise various nutshell or other organic materials , including walnut shells , pecan shells , coconut shells , peach pits , apricot pits , and olive seeds . the disclosed filtering system 100 has at least one lateral screened enclosure 126 supported within the lower end 120 of the vessel 112 . as shown in the figures , the disclosed filtering system may have a plurality of lateral screen enclosures 126 which are placed within the vessel at the lower end 120 at approximately the same axial position within the vessel 112 . each lateral screened enclosure 126 may comprise an outlet 130 through which filtered liquid can exit the enclosure into a header 32 . outlets 130 may be piped together to header 132 for discharge out of vessel 112 through vessel outlet 134 . the disclosed apparatus further comprises a scrubber apparatus connected to the side of vessel 112 . the scrubber apparatus provides the means for cleaning the filter material 124 to remove the matter deposited by the water passing through the filter material . the scrubber apparatus comprises some form of pump means , such as pump 136 , which provides for circulation of scrub water through the vessel , allowing for the cleaning of the filter material 124 . pump 136 has a suction 138 and a discharge 140 . the scrubber apparatus further comprises a scrubber tube 142 which has an enclosed top 144 and an enclosed bottom 146 . scrubber tube 142 is generally a cylindrical in shape . scrubber tube 142 has an inlet 148 generally located at the top of the scrubber tube , where flow from the pump discharge 140 is received . toward the bottom end of the scrubber tube 142 is an outlet 150 through which flow is discharged from the scrubber tube . the scrubber apparatus further comprises a filter tube 152 which is contained within the scrubber tube 142 . an annulus 154 is defined between the scrubber tube 142 and the filter tube 152 . as with the scrubber tube 142 , the filter tube 152 is generally cylindrical in shape . the filter tube 152 has an inner passage 156 which receives flow from the inlet 148 . flow through inner passage 156 is controlled by pressure control means ( not shown ) such as a control valve , orifice plate or piping design connected to outlet 150 . when flow is allowed through outlet 150 by the opening of the control valve , water flowing through inner passage 154 will pass through the screen openings of the filter tube 152 , which extend from the inner passage to the exterior of the filter tube , into annulus 154 and the dirty water discharged through outlet 150 . the control valve , orifice plate , or other back pressure control means may be manipulated to apply back pressure and cause flow through inner passage 156 to be discharged through nozzle 160 which discharges into vessel 112 . the nozzle 160 comprises an orifice 161 which may be utilized to control backpressure and to reduce the pressure to which the separator is subjected during the backwash cycle , particularly high transient pressures which occur when the backwash pump initially comes on . scrubbing of the filter material 124 for this embodiment of the filtering system 100 accomplished in a similar fashion as that discussed for the embodiment of the filtering system 10 discussed above . as shown in fig3 , the scrubber tube 142 includes an enclosed top 144 and an enclosed bottom 146 , a scrubber tube inlet 148 at the top for receiving flow , a first scrubber tube outlet 150 in a bottom of the scrubber tube , and a second scrubber tube outlet in a sidewall of the scrubber tube , wherein the second scrubber tube outlet is hydraulically connected to an inlet of a nozzle 160 located within the vessel 112 via a connecting pipe . the filter tube 152 includes a conical tube having an upper end and a lower end , wherein the upper end of the conical tube has an outer diameter that is larger than an outer diameter of the lower end of the conical tube , and wherein the upper end of the conical tube is connected to a lower end of the filter tube 152 and a lower end of the conical tube is connected to the second scrubber tube outlet . the nozzle 160 includes a flow restricting orifice hydraulically connected to the inner passage 156 of the filter tube 152 via the conical tube , the second scrubber tube outlet , and the connecting pipe , wherein the flow restricting orifice reduces a pressure to which the vessel is subjected during a cleaning cycle . while the above is a description of various embodiments of the present invention , further modifications may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , the size , shape , and / or material of the various components may be changed as desired . thus the scope of the invention should not be limited by the specific structures disclosed . instead the true scope of the invention should be determined by the following appended claims . | 1 |
in the following description , numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , one having an ordinary skill in the art may be able to practice the invention without these specific details . in some instances , well - known circuits , structures , and techniques have not been shown in detail to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention . [ 0030 ] fig1 is the overall chip architecture of one embodiment . this chip architecture comprises many highly integrated components . while prior art chip architectures fix resources at fabrication time , specifically instruction source and distribution , the chip architecture of the present invention is flexible . this architecture uses flexible instruction distribution that allows position independent configuration and control of a number of multiple context processing elements ( mcpes ) resulting in superior performance provided by the mcpes . the flexible architecture of the present invention uses local and global control to provide selective configuration and control of each mcpe in an array ; the selective configuration and control occurs concurrently with present function execution in the mcpes . the chip of one embodiment of the present invention is composed of , but not limited to , a 10 × 10 array of identical eight - bit functional units , or mcpes 102 , which are connected through a reconfigurable interconnect network . the mcpes 102 serve as building blocks out of which a wide variety of computing structures may be created . the array size may vary between 2 × 2 mcpes and 16 × 16 mcpes , or even more depending upon the allowable die area and the desired performance . a perimeter network ring , or a ring of network wires and switches that surrounds the core array , provides the interconnections between the mcpes and perimeter functional blocks . surrounding the array are several specialized units that may perform functions that are too difficult or expensive to decompose into the array . these specialized units may be coupled to the array using selected mcpes from the array . these specialized units can include large memory blocks called configurable memory blocks 104 . in one embodiment these configurable memory blocks 104 comprise eight blocks , two per side , of 4 kilobyte memory blocks . other specialized units include at least one configurable instruction decoder 106 . furthermore , the perimeter area holds the various interfaces that the chip of one embodiment uses to communicate with the outside world including : input / output ( i / o ) ports ; a peripheral component interface ( pci ) controller , which may be a standard 32 - bit pci interface ; one or more synchronous but static random access memory ( sram ) controllers ; a programming controller that is the boot - up and master control block for the configuration network ; a master clock input and phase - locked loop ( pll ) control / configuration ; a joint test action group ( jtag ) test access port connected to all the serial scan chains on the chip ; and i / o pins that are the actual pins that connect to the outside world . two concepts which will be used to a great extent in the following description are context and configuration . generally , “ context ” refers to the definition of what hardware registers in the hardware perform which function at a given point in time . in different contexts , the hardware may perform differently . a bit or bits in the registers may define which definition is currently active . similarly , “ configuration ” usually refers to the software bits that command the hardware to enter into a particular context . this set of software bits may reside in a register and define the hardware &# 39 ; s behavior when a particular context is set . [ 0035 ] fig2 is an eight bit mcpe core of one embodiment of the present invention . primarily the mcpe core comprises memory block 210 and basic alu core 220 . the main memory block 210 is a 256 word by eight bit wide memory , which is arranged to be used in either single or dual port modes . in dual port mode the memory size is reduced to 128 words in order to be able to perform two simultaneous read operations without increasing the read latency of the memory . network port a 222 , network port b 224 , alu function port 232 , control logic 214 and 234 , and memory function port 212 each have configuration memories ( not shown ) associated with them . the configuration memories of these elements are distributed and are coupled to a configuration network interface ( cni ) ( not shown ) in one embodiment . these connections may be serial connections but are not so limited . the cni couples all configuration memories associated with network port a 222 , network port b 224 , alu function port 232 , control logic 214 and 234 , and memory function port 212 thereby controlling these configuration memories . the distributed configuration memory stores configuration words that control the configuration of the interconnections . the configuration memory also stores configuration information for the control architecture . optionally it can also be a multiple context memory that receives context selecting signals which have been broadcast globally and locally from a variety of sources . [ 0036 ] fig3 is a data flow diagram of the mcpe of one embodiment . the structure of each mcpe allows for a great deal of flexibility when using the mcpes to create networked processing structures . the major components of the mcpe include static random access memory ( sram ) main memory 302 , alu with multiplier and accumulate unit 304 , network ports 306 , and control logic 308 . the solid lines mark data flow paths while the dashed lines mark control paths ; all of the lines are one or more bits wide in one embodiment . there is a great deal of flexibility available within the mcpe because most of the major components may serve several different functions depending on the mcpe configuration . the mcpe main memory 302 is a group of 256 eight bit sram cells that can operate in one of four modes . it takes in up to two eight bit addresses from a and b address / data ports , depending upon the mode of operation . it also takes in up to four bytes of data , which can be from four floating ports , the b address / data port , the alu output , or the high byte from the multiplier . the main memory 302 outputs up to four bytes of data . two of these bytes , memory a and b , are available to the mcpe &# 39 ; s alu and can be directly driven onto the level 2 network . the other two bytes , memory c and d , are only available to the network . the output of the memory function port 306 controls the cycle - by - cycle operation of the memory 302 and the internal mcpe data paths as well as the operation of some parts of the alu 304 and the control logic 308 . the mcpe main memory may also be implemented as a static register file in order to save power . each mcpe contains a computational unit 304 comprised of three semi - independent functional blocks . the three semi - independent functional blocks comprise an eight bit wide alu , an 8 × 8 to sixteen bit multiplier , and a sixteen bit accumulator . the alu block , in one embodiment , performs logical , shift , arithmetic , and multiplication operations , but is not so limited . the alu function port 306 specifies the cycle - by - cycle operation of the computational unit . the computational units in orthogonally adjacent mcpes can be chained to form wider - word data paths . the mcpe network ports 306 connect the mcpe network to the internal mcpe logic ( memory , alu , and control ). there are eight network ports 306 in each mcpe , each serving a different set of purposes . the eight network ports 306 comprise two address / data ports , two function ports , and four floating ports . the two address / data ports feed addresses and data into the mcpe memories and alu . the two function ports feed instructions into the mcpe logic . the four floating ports may serve multiple functions . the determination of what function they are serving is made by the configuration of the receivers of their data . the mcpes of one embodiment are the building blocks out of which more complex processing structures may be created . the structure that joins the mcpe cores into a complete array in one embodiment is actually a set of several mesh - like interconnect structures . each interconnect structure forms a network , and each network is independent in that it uses different paths , but the networks do join at the mcpe input switches . the network structure of one embodiment of the present invention is comprised of a local area broadcast network ( level 1 ), a switched interconnect network ( level 2 ), a shared bus network ( level 3 ), and a broadcast , or configuration , network . [ 0041 ] fig4 shows the major components of the mcpe control logic structure of one embodiment . the control tester 602 takes the output of the alu for two bytes from floating ports 604 and 606 , plus the left and right carryout bits , and performs a configurable test on them . the result is one bit indicating that the comparison matched . this bit is referred to as the control bit . this control tester 602 serves two main purposes . first , it acts as a programmable condition code generator testing the alu output for any condition that the application needs to test for . secondly , since these control bits can be grouped and sent out across the level 2 and 3 networks , this unit can be used to perform a second or later stage reduction on a set of control bits / data generated by other mcpe &# 39 ; s . the level 1 network 608 carries the control bits . the level 1 network 608 consists of direct point - to - point communications between every mcpe and its 12 nearest neighbors . thus , each mcpe will receive 13 control bits ( 12 neighbors and it &# 39 ; s own ) from the level 1 network . these 13 control bits are fed into the control reduce block 610 and the bfu input ports 612 . the control reduce block 610 allows the control information to rapidly effect neighboring mcpes . the mcpe input ports allow the application to send the control data across the normal network wires so they can cover long distances . in addition the control bits can be fed into mcpes so they can be manipulated as normal data . the control reduce block 610 performs a simple selection on either the control words coming from the level 1 control network , the level 3 network , or two of the floating ports . the selection control is part of the mcpe configuration . the control reduce block 610 selection results in the output of five bits . two of the output bits are fed into the mcpe configuration controller 614 . one output bit is made available to the level 1 network , and one output bit is made available to the level 3 network . the mcpe configuration controller 614 selects on a cycle - by - cycle basis which context , major or minor , will control the mcpe &# 39 ; s activities . the controller consists of a finite state machine ( fsm ) that is an active controller and not just a lookup table . the fsm allows a combination of local and global control over time that changes . this means that an application may run for a period based on the local control of the fsm while receiving global control signals that reconfigure the mcpe , or a block of mcpes , to perform different functions during the next clock cycle . the fsm provides for local configuration and control by locally maintaining a current configuration context for control of the mcpe . the fsm provides for global configuration and control by providing the ability to multiplex and change between different configuration contexts of the mcpe on each different clock cycle in response to signals broadcast over a network . this configuration and control of the mcpe is powerful because it allows an mcpe to maintain control during each clock cycle based on a locally maintained configuration context while providing for concurrent global on - the - fly reconfiguration of each mcpe . this architecture significantly changes the area impact and characterization of an mcpe array while increasing the efficiency of the array without wasting other mcpes to perform the configuration and control functions . [ 0045 ] fig5 is the fsm 502 of the mcpe configuration controller of one embodiment . in controlling the functioning of the mcpe , control information 504 is received by the fsm 502 in the form of state information from at least , one surrounding mcpe in the networked array . this control information is in the form of two bits received from the control reduce block of the mcpe control logic structure . in one embodiment , tile fsm 502 also has three state bits that directly control the major and minor configuration contexts for the particular mcpe . the fsm 502 maintains the data of the current mcpe configuration by using a feedback path 506 to feed back the current configuration state of the mcpe of the most recent clock cycle . the feedback path 506 is not limited to a single path . the fsm 502 selects one of the available configuration memory contexts for use by the corresponding mcpe during the next clock cycle in response to the received state information from the surrounding mcpes and the current configuration data . this selection is output from the fsm 502 in the form of a configuration control signal 508 . the selection of a configuration memory context for use during the next clock cycle occurs , in one embodiment , during the execution of the configuration memory context selected for the current clock cycle . [ 0046 ] fig6 is a data flow system diagram of the preparation of run time systems tables by the temporal automatic place and route ( tapr ) of one embodiment . in step 650 an application program in source code is selected . in the fig6 embodiment the application program is written in a procedural oriented language , c , but in other embodiments the application program could be written in another procedural oriented language , in an object oriented language , or in a dataflow language . the source code of step 650 is examined in decision step 652 . portions of the source code are separated into overhead code and kernel code sections . kernel code sections are defined as those routines in the source code which may be advantageously executed in a hardware accelerator . overhead code is defined as the remainder of the source code after all the kernel code sections , are identified and removed . in one embodiment , the separation of step 652 is performed by a software profiler . the software profiler breaks the source code into functions . in one embodiment , the complete source code is compiled and then executed with a representative set of test data . the profiler monitors the timing of the execution , and then based upon this monitoring determines the function or functions whose execution consumes a significant portion of execution time . profiler data from this test run may be sent to the decision step 652 . the profiler identifies these functions as kernel code sections . in an alternate embodiment , the profiler examines the code of the functions and then identifies a small number of functions that are anticipated to consume a large portion of the execution runtime of the source code . these functions may be identified by attributes such as having a regular structure , having intensive mathematical operations , having a repeated or looped structure , and having a limited number of inputs and outputs . attributes which argue against the function being identified as kernel sections include numerous branches and overly complex control code . in an alternate embodiment , the compiler examines the code of the functions to determine the size of arrays traversed and the number of variables that are live during the execution of a particular block or function . code that has less total memory used than that in the hardware accelerators and associated memories are classified as kernel code sections . the compiler may use well - understood optimization methods such as constant propagation , loop induction , in - lining and intra - procedural value range analysis to infer this information from the source code . those functions that are identified as kernel code section by one of the above embodiments of profiler , are then labeled , in step 654 , as kernel code sections . the remainder of the source code is labeled as overhead code . in alternate embodiments , the separation of step 652 may be performed manually by a programmer . in step 656 , the fig6 process creates hardware designs for implementing the kernel code sections of step 654 . these designs are the executable code derived from the source code of the kernel code sections . additionally , the designs contain any necessary microcode or other fixed constant values required in order to run the executable code on the target hardware . the designs are not compiled in the traditional sense . instead they are created by the process of step 656 which allows for several embodiments . in one embodiment , the source code of the kernel code section is compiled automatically by one of several compilers corresponding to the available hardware accelerators . in an alternate embodiment , a programmer may manually realize the executable code from the source code of the kernel code sections , as shown by the dashed line from step 656 to step 650 . in a third embodiment the source code of the kernel code sections is compiled automatically for execution on both the processors and the hardware accelerators , and both versions are loaded into the resulting binary . in a fourth embodiment , a hardware accelerator is synthesized into a custom hardware accelerator description . in step 658 the hardware designs of step 656 are mapped to all available target hardware . the target hardware may be a processor , an mcpe , or a defined set of mcpes called a bin . a bin may contain any number of mcpes from one to the maximum number of mcpes on a given integrated circuit . however , in one embodiment a quantity of 12 mcpes per bin is used . the mcpes in each bin may be geometrically neighboring mcpes , or the mcpes may be distributed across the integrated circuit . however , in one embodiment the mcpes of each bin are geometrically neighboring . in the temporal automatic place and route ( tapr ) of step 660 , the microcode created in step 656 may be segmented into differing context - dependent portions . for example , a given microcode design may be capable of loading and executing in either lower memory or upper memory of a given bin . the tapr of step 660 may perform the segmentation in several different ways depending upon the microcode . if , for example , the microcode is fiat , then the microcode may only be loaded into memory in one manner . here no segmentation is possible . without segmentation one microcode may not be background loaded onto a bin &# 39 ; s memory . the bin must be stalled and the microcode loaded off - line . in another example , memory is a resource which may be controlled by the configuration . it is possible for the tapr of step 660 to segment microcode into portions , corresponding to differing variants , which correspond to differing contexts . for example , call one segmented microcode portion context 2 and another one context 3 . due to the software separation of the memory of the bin it would be possible to place the context 2 and context 3 portions into lower memory and upper memory , respectively . this allows background loading of one portion while another portion is executing . the tapr of step 660 supports two subsequent steps in the preparation of the source code for execution . in step 664 , a table is prepared for subsequent use by the run time system . in one embodiment , the table of step 664 contains all of the three - tuples corresponding to allowable combinations of designs ( from step 656 ), bins , and variants . a variant of a design or a bin is any differing implementation where the functional inputs and the outputs are identical when viewed from outside . the variants of step 664 may be variants of memory separation , such as the separation of memory into upper and lower memory as discussed above . other variants may include differing geometric layouts of mcpes within a bin , causing differing amounts of clock delays being introduced into the microcodes , and also whether or not the mcpes within a bin are overlapping . in each case a variant performs a function whose inputs and outputs are identical outside of the function . the entries in the table of step 664 point to executable binaries , each of which may each be taken and executed without further processing at run time . the table of step 664 is a set of all alternative execution methods available to the run time system for a given kernel section . the other step supported by the tapr of step 660 is the creation of configurations , microcodes , and constants of step 662 . these are the executable binaries which are pointed to by the entries in the table of step 664 . returning now to decision step 652 , the portions of the source code which were previously deemed overhead are sent to a traditional compiler 670 for compilation of object code to be executed on a traditional processor . alternately , the user may hand code the source program into the assembly language of the target processor . the overhead c code may also be nothing more than calls to kernel sections . the object code is used to create object code files at step 672 . finally , the object code files of step 672 , the configurations , microcode , and constants of step 662 , and table of step 664 are placed together in a format usable by the run time system by the system linker of step 674 . note that the instructions for the process of fig6 may be described in software contained in a machine - readable medium . a machine - readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine ( e . g . a computer ). for example , a machine - readable medium includes read only memory ( rom ); random access memory ( ram ); magnetic disk storage media ; optical storage media ; flash memory devices ; and electrical , optical , acoustical , or other form of propagated signals ( e . g . carrier waves , infrared signals , digital signals , etc .). [ 0060 ] fig7 a is a block diagram of exemplary mcpes , according to one embodiment . chip architecture 700 includes processing elements processor a 702 , processor b 720 , bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 . in the fig7 a embodiment , the function of hardware accelerator may be assigned to the mcpes , either individually or grouped into bins . a run - time kernel ( rtk ) 704 apportions the executable software among these processing elements at the time of execution . in the fig7 a embodiment , processor a 702 or processor b 720 may execute the overhead code identified in step 652 and created as object files in step 672 of the fig6 process . bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 may execute the kernel code identified in step 652 . each processing element processor a 702 and processor b 720 is supplied with an instruction port , instruction port 724 and instruction port 722 , respectively , for fetching instructions for execution of overhead code . bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 contain several mcpes . in one embodiment , each bin contains 12 mcpes . in alternate embodiments , the bins could contain other numbers of mcpes , and each bin could contain a different number of mcpes than the other bins . in the fig7 a embodiment , bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 do not share any mcpes , and are therefore called non - overlapping bins . in other embodiments , bins may share mcpes . bins which share mcpes are called overlapping bins . rtk 704 is a specialized microprocessor for controlling the configuration of chip architecture 700 and controlling the loading and execution of software in bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 . in one embodiment , rtk 704 may move data from data storage 728 and configuration microcode from configuration microcode storage 726 into bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , and bin 2 710 in accordance with the table 730 stored in a portion of data storage 728 . in alternate embodiments , rtk 704 may move data from data storage 728 , without moving any configuration microcode from configuration microcode storage 726 . table 730 is comparable to that table created in step 664 discussed in connection with fig6 above . the rtk may also move data to and from io port nnn and io port mmm into the data memory 728 . [ if i didn &# 39 ; t comment earlier , the rtk does not move data to processor a or processor b — page 19 line 2 ] [ 0068 ] fig7 b is a block diagram of exemplary digital signal processors ( dsp ), according to one embodiment . chip architecture 750 includes processing elements processor a 752 , processor b 770 , dsp 0 756 , dsp 1 758 , and dsp 2 760 . in the fig7 b embodiment , the function of hardware accelerator may be assigned to the dsps . in other embodiments , dsp 0 756 , dsp 1 758 , and dsp 2 760 may be replaced by other forms of processing cores . a run - time kernel ( rtk ) 754 apportions the executable software among these processing elements at the time of execution . in the fig7 b embodiment , processor a 752 or processor b 770 may execute the overhead code identified in step 652 and created as object files in step 672 of the fig6 process . dsp 0 756 , dsp 1 758 , and dsp 2 760 may execute the kernel code identified in step 652 . each processing element processor a 702 and processor b 720 is supplied with an instruction port , instruction port 724 and instruction port 722 , respectively , for fetching instructions for execution of overhead code . one difference between the fig7 a and fig7 b embodiments is that the fig7 b embodiment lacks an equivalent to the configuration microcode storage 726 of fig7 a . no configuration microcode is required as the dsps of fig7 b have a fixed instruction set ( microcode ) architecture . rtk 754 is a specialized microprocessor for controlling the configuration of chip architecture 750 and controlling the loading and execution of software in dsp 0 756 , dsp 1 758 , and dsp 2 760 . in one embodiment , rtk 754 may move data from data storage 778 into dsp 0 756 , dsp 1 758 , and dsp 2 760 in accordance with the table 780 stored in a portion of data storage 778 . table 780 is comparable to that table created in step 664 discussed in connection with fig6 above . [ 0072 ] fig8 is a diagram of the contents of an exemplary run time kernel ( rtk ) 704 , according to one embodiment . rtk 704 contains several functions in microcontroller form . in one embodiment , these functions include configuration direct memory access ( dma ) 802 , microcode dma 804 , arguments dma 806 , results dma 808 , and configuration network source 810 . rtk 704 utilizes these functions to manage the loading and execution of kernel code and overhead code on chip architecture 700 . configuration dma 802 , microcode dma 804 , arguments dma 806 , and results dma 808 each comprise a simple hardware engine for reading from one memory and writing to another . configuration dma 802 writes configuration data created by the tapr 660 in step 622 of the fig6 process . this configuration data configures a bin to implement the behavior of the kernel code section determined in the table - making step 664 of fig6 . the configuration data transfers are under the control of rtk 704 and the configuration data itself is entered in table 730 . configuration data is unchanged over the execution of the hardware accelerator . microcode dma 804 writes microcode data for each configuration into the bins . this microcode further configures the mcpes with instruction data that allows the function of the hardware accelerator to be changed on a cycle - by - cycle basis while the hardware accelerator is executing . each bin may have multiple microcode data sets available for use . microcode data is stored in the configuration microcode storage 726 and written into memory within the mcpes of each bin by microcode dma 804 . arguments dma 806 and results dma 808 set up transfers of data from data memory 728 into one of the bins bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , or bin 2 710 . argument data are data stored in a memory by a general purpose processor which requires subsequent processing in a hardware accelerator . the argument data may be considered the input data of the kernel code sections executed by the bins . results data are data sent from the hardware accelerator to the general purpose processor as the end product of a particular kernel code 5 section &# 39 ; s execution in a bin . the functional units arguments dma 806 and results dma 808 transfer this data without additional processor intervention . configuration network source 810 controls the configuration network . the configuration network effects the configuration of the mcpes of the bins bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 and bin 2 710 , and of the level 1 , level 2 , and level 310 interconnect described in fig3 and fig4 . configuration of the networks enables the rtk to control the transfer of configuration data , microcode data , arguments data , and results data amongst the data memory 728 , configuration memory 726 , and the mcpes of bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 and bin 2 710 . in cases where there are multiple contexts , rtk 704 may perform background loading of microcode and other data while the bins are executing kernel code . an example of this is discussed below in connection with fig1 . [ 0078 ] fig9 a is a process chart showing the mapping of an exemplary single threaded process into kernel segments , according to one embodiment . source code 1 900 and source code 2 960 are two exemplary single threaded processes which may be used as the c source code 650 of the fig6 process . in one embodiment , source code 1 900 may contain overhead code 910 , 914 , 918 , 922 , 926 , and 930 , as well as kernel code 912 , 916 , 920 , 924 , and 928 . the identification of the overhead code and kernel code sections may be performed in step 652 of the fig6 process . overhead code 910 , 914 , 918 , 922 , 926 , and 930 may be executed in processor a 702 or processor b 720 of the fig7 a embodiment . kernel code 912 , 916 , 920 , 924 , and 928 may be executed in bin 0 706 , bin 1 708 , or bin 2 710 of the fig7 a embodiment . the tapr 660 of the fig6 process may create the necessary configurations and microcode for the execution of the kernel code 912 , 916 , 920 , 924 , and 928 . [ 0079 ] fig9 b is a process chart showing the allocation of the kernel segments of fig9 a into multiple bins . utilizing the table 780 produced in step 664 of the fig6 process , rtk 704 may load and execute the overhead code 910 , 914 , 918 , 922 , 926 , and 930 and the kernel code 912 , 916 , 920 , 924 , and 928 into an available processor or bin as needed . in the exemplary fig9 b embodiment , rtk 704 loads the first overhead code 910 into processor a 702 for execution during time period 970 . rtk 704 then loads the first kernel code 912 into bin 0 706 for execution during time period 972 . depending upon whether overhead code 914 requires the completion of kernel code 912 , rtk 704 may load overhead code 914 into processor a 702 for execution during time period 974 . similarly , depending upon whether kernel code 916 requires the completion of overhead code 914 or kernel code 910 , rtk 704 may load kernel code 916 into bin 1 708 for execution during time period 976 . depending upon requirements for completion , rtk 704 may continue to load and execute the overhead code and kernel code in an overlapping manner in the processors and the bins . when overhead code or kernel code require the completion of a previous overhead code or kernel code , rtk 704 may load the subsequent overhead code or kernel code but delay execution until the required completion . [ 0082 ] fig9 c is a process chart showing the allocation of the kernel segments of two processes into multiple bins . in the fig9 c embodiment , source code 1 900 and source code 2 960 may be the two exemplary single threaded processes of fig9 a . prior to the execution of source code 1 900 and source code 2 960 in fig9 c , the kernel code and overhead code sections may be identified and processed in the fig6 process or in an equivalent alternate embodiment process . utilizing the table 730 for source code 1 900 , produced in step 664 of the fig6 process , rtk 704 may load and execute the overhead code 910 , 914 , 918 , and 922 , and the kernel code 912 , 916 , and 920 into an available processor or bin as needed . similarly , an equivalent table ( not shown ) may be prepared for source code 2 960 . in the fig9 c embodiment , by utilizing this equivalent table for source code 2 960 , rtk 704 may load and execute the overhead code 950 , 954 , and 958 , and the kernel code 952 and 956 , into an available processor or bin as needed . in the exemplary fig9 c embodiment , rtk 704 loads the first overhead code 910 , 960 sections into processor a 702 and processor b 720 , respectively , for execution in time periods 980 and 962 , respectively . when overhead code 910 finishes executing , rtk 704 may load kernel code 912 into bin 0 706 for execution in time period 982 . when kernel code 912 finishes executing , rtk 704 may load the next overhead code 914 into an available processor such as processor b 720 during time period 948 . when overhead code 950 finishes executing , rtk 704 may load kernel code 952 into available bin 1 708 for execution during time period 964 . when kernel code 952 finishes executing rtk 704 may load the next overhead code 954 into processor a 702 for execution during time period 966 . therefore , as shown in fig9 c , multiple threads may be executed utilizing the designs , bins , and tables of various embodiments of the present invention . the overhead code and kernel code sections of the several threads may be loaded and executed in an overlapping manner among the several processors and bins available . [ 0087 ] fig1 is an exemplary tapr table , according to one embodiment . the tapr table of fig1 is a three dimensional table , containing entries that are three - tuples of the possible combinations of bins , designs , and variants . the tapr table contains more than just a recitation of the designs of the kernel code segments mapped into the bins ( hardware accelerators ). instead , the tapr table includes the dimension of variants of the bins . each combination of designs and bins may have multiple variants . variants perform the identical function from the viewpoint of the inputs and outputs , but differ in implementation . an example is when bins are configured from a 3 by 4 array of mcpes as versus a 4 by 3 array of mcpes . in this case differing timing requirements due to differing path lengths may require separate variants in the configuration and microcode data of the hardware accelerator . in one embodiment , these variants may take the form of different microcode implementations of the design , or the variants may be differing signal routing paths among the mcpes of the bins . two additional exemplary variants are discussed below in connection with fig1 and fig1 . [ 0088 ] fig1 is a diagram of a first exemplary variant of a design , according to one embodiment . memory available to a bin is a resource that may be controlled by the configuration . in this embodiment , bin 0 706 may have a memory that is logically partitioned into a lower memory 1104 and an upper memory 1102 . each memory area , for example upper memory 1102 and lower memory 1104 , may be running a different context . for example , there could be a context 2 running in upper memory 1102 and an alternate context 3 loaded in lower memory 1104 . bin 0 706 is configured in accordance with a design , but depending upon how the design is loaded in memory certain instructions such as jump and load may have absolute addresses embedded in them . therefore the design may have a variant for loading in upper memory 1102 under the control of context 2 and a second variant for loading in lower memory 1104 under the control of context 3 . having multiple variants in this manner advantageously allows any run - time engine such as rtk 704 to load the microcode for one variant in either upper memory 1102 or lower memory 1104 while execution is still proceeding in the alternate memory space under a different context . [ 0090 ] fig1 is a diagram of a second exemplary variant of a design , according to another embodiment . the memory available to bin 1 708 may be in two physically distinct areas on the chip . in fig1 one section of memory may be at physical location 1202 with data path 1212 , and another section of memory may be at physical location 1204 with data path 1214 . if data path 1214 is physically longer than data path 1212 then it may be necessary to insert additional clock cycles for a given design to run on bin 1 708 from memory at physical location 1202 in comparison with physical location 1204 . here the two variants differ in the number of internal wait states in the microcode of the design . [ 0091 ] fig1 is a diagram of an exemplary logical mcpe architecture 1300 , according to one embodiment . included within architecture 1300 are main processor 1304 , run time kernel ( rtk ) processor 1316 , an instruction memory ( imem ) 1302 , a processor data memory 1306 with attached dma 1308 , and a configuration memory 1310 with attached dma 1312 . rtk processor 1316 is connected to a control bus 1314 , which controls the operation of dma 1308 and dma 1312 . dma 1308 in turn generates an argument bus 1318 , and dma 1312 in turn generates a configuration bus 1328 . architecture 1300 also includes several hardware accelerators 1320 , 1330 , 1340 . each accelerator contains a local dma for sending and receiving data to and from the argument bus 1318 and a dma for receiving data from the configuration bus 1328 . for example , accelerator 1320 has dma 1322 for sending and receiving data to and from the argument bus 1318 and dma 1324 for receiving data from the configuration bus 1328 . in the fig1 embodiment , argument bus 1318 is a bi - directional bus that may carry instruction data , argument data , and results data . [ 0093 ] fig1 is a diagram of an exemplary logical processor - based architecture , according to one embodiment . included within architecture 1400 are main processor 1404 , run time kernel ( rtk ) processor 1416 , an instruction memory ( imem ) 1402 with attached dma 1412 , and a processor data memory 1406 with attached dma 1408 . rtk processor 1416 generates a control bus 1414 , which controls the operation of dma 1408 , 1412 . dma 1408 in turn generates an argument bus 1418 , and dma 1412 in turn generates an instruction bus 1428 . architecture 1400 also includes several dsps 1420 , 1430 , 1440 . each dsp is connected to a dma controller for receiving argument data from the argument bus 1418 and a data cache for temporary storage of the argument data . each dsp is also connected to a dma controller for receiving instruction data from the instruction bus 1418 and an instruction cache for temporary storage of the instruction data . both sets of dma controller receive control from the control bus 1414 . for example , dsp 1420 has dma controller 1428 for receiving data from the argument bus 1418 and data cache 1426 for temporary storage of the argument data . dsp 1420 also has dma controller 1422 for receiving data from the instruction bus 1428 and instruction cache 1424 for temporary storage of the instruction data . in the fig1 embodiment , argument bus 1418 carries argument data but does not carry instruction data . [ 0095 ] fig1 is a flowchart of processor functions , according to one embodiment . the flowchart may describe operations of a main processor , such as the main processor 1304 of fig1 . in step 1502 , the main processor executes a subthread , which may be a section of overhead code such as overhead code 910 of fig9 c . after the subthread has finished executing , in step 1504 the processor assembles the arguments necessary for a hardware accelerator , such as hardware accelerator 1320 of fig1 . then in step 1506 the processor sends a packet containing the arguments and other related data to a run time kernel processor , such as rtk processor 1316 of fig1 . the rtk may send the packet containing arguments over the argument bus to a hardware accelerator . in step 1508 the main processor selects a subsequent subthread for execution . this subthread may be another section of overhead code . however , the main processor does not immediately begin execution of this subthread . in decision step 1510 , the main processor determines whether or not the results are ready from the hardware accelerator . if yes , then step 1502 is entered and the next subthread is executed . if no , however , the main processor then loads another thread and different subthread in step 1508 . in this manner the main processor continuously may select and execute only those subthreads whose arguments are ready . [ 0097 ] fig1 is a flowchart of the hardware accelerator behavior , according to one embodiment . the flowchart may describe the operations of a hardware accelerator , such as hardware accelerator 1320 of fig1 or dsp 1420 of fig1 . in step 1602 , the hardware accelerator configures itself for operation by executing code and selecting configuration control information sent via a configuration bus , such as the configuration bus 1328 of fig1 . step 1602 finishes by loading a new and subsequent set of code and configuration control information should this be required during execution . then in step 1604 the hardware accelerator waits for the arguments data to be sent from a main processor memory under control of a run time kernel processor . in step 1606 the arguments are loaded from a main processor memory into the hardware accelerator via dma . in one embodiment , the arguments are loaded from a processor data memory 1306 into a local dma 1322 of hardware accelerator 1320 via an argument bus 1318 of fig1 . the argument bus 1318 may be under the control of a run time kernel processor , such as the rtk processor 1316 . the hardware accelerator then executes its code , including 10 kernel code segments . then , in step 1608 , the resulting arguments are sent back to the main processor via dma . in one embodiment , the arguments are loaded back into a processor data memory 1306 from a local dma 1322 of hardware accelerator 1320 via an argument bus 1318 of fig1 . again the argument bus 1318 15 may be under the control of a run time kernel processor , such as the rtk processor 1316 . finally , in step 1608 the hardware accelerator waits for a “ go ” signal to input new configuration data and code from a configuration bus , such as the configuration bus 1328 of fig1 . after receiving a “ go ” signal , the process 20 begins again at step 1602 . [ 0101 ] fig1 is a flowchart for a rtk processor , according to one embodiment . the flowchart may describe the operations of a run time kernel processor , such as rtk processor 1316 of fig1 . in decision step 1702 , the run time kernel processor examines the request queue and determines whether the request queue is empty . this request queue may contain kernel code segments of the fig1 process . if the request queue is not empty , then there are kernel code segments which may be executed . in step 1704 , the run time kernel processor loads a request from the queue written by a main processor , such as main processor 1304 of fig1 . then in step 1706 the run time kernel processor retrieves the configuration information needed to support execution of the requested kernel code segment . in step 1708 this information is used to build a new entry in a pending kernel code execution table . in step 1710 a hardware accelerator , which may be a bin of fig7 a , is selected for executing the kernel code segment . the identification of the selected hardware accelerator is added to the pending kernel code execution table . then in step 1712 the execution is started by initiating the dma transfer to the hardware accelerator . the process then returns to the decision step 1702 . if , however , the request queue is determined in step 1702 to be empty then the process enters decision step 1720 . in step 1720 the run time kernel processor determines whether a dma is pending . if a dma is pending , then the process enters decision step 1722 . in decision step 1722 , the run time kernel processor polls the dma devices to determine whether the dma is done . if not , then the process loops back to decision step 1720 . if , however , in step 1722 the dma devices are done , then , in step 1724 , the value of state in the pending kernel code execution table is incremented . in alternate embodiments , the polling may be replaced by an interrupt driven approach . then in step 1726 a subsequent dma may be started , and the process returns to decision step 1720 . if , however , in step 1720 it is determined that no dma is pending , then the process exits through a determination of other pending input / output activity in the flexible processing environment . in decision step 1730 it is determined whether any such pending input / output activity is present . if so , then in step 1732 the input / output activity is serviced . if , however , no input / output activity is present , then the process returns to the determination of the request queue status in determination step 1702 . [ 0105 ] fig1 is a table 1800 to support the operation of the rtk processor , according to one embodiment . in the fig1 embodiment , the table 1800 may serve as the pending kernel code execution table used in the fig1 process . the table 1800 includes entries for hardware identification 1802 , state 1804 , hardware accelerator ( bin ) 1806 , dma pending status 1808 , and unit done status 1810 . an exemplary entry in table 1800 is entry 1820 . entry 1820 indicates that the hardware accelerator whose hardware identification is 3 is currently in state 4 and being invoked on hardware accelerator ( bin ) 3 with dma activity still pending . the state entry of table 1800 indicates a set of dmas waiting to be performed in order to handle the configuration and argument loading onto the hardware accelerator and subsequent return back to data memory for processing by the main processor . in one embodiment , states numbered 1 through n may indicate that there should be a load of configuration and static memory . states numbered n through m may indicate there should be an on load of arguments from the main processors memory , these states then existing until the unit completes execution of the kernel code segment . finally , states numbered m through p may indicate a result return back to data memory for processing by the main processor . in the foregoing specification , the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof . it will however be evident that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . the specification and drawings are , accordingly , to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense . therefore , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the appended claims . | 6 |
reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention , one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings . each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention , not limitation of the invention . in fact , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . for instance , features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment . thus , it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . fig1 , 2 , and 3 depict an exemplary dishwashing appliance 100 of the present invention . dishwasher 100 is shown in a representative installation within cabinetry 102 and rests upon the top surface 110 of a support or floor 108 . more particularly , dishwashing 100 is positioned within an opening 112 defined by cabinetry 102 , counter - top 104 , and floor 108 . dishwasher 100 and cabinetry 102 are provided by way of example only . the present invention may be used with other appliances and / or cabinetry having a different construction or configuration . dishwashing appliance 100 defines a vertical direction v , lateral direction l , and transverse direction t — which are orthogonal to each other . dishwasher 100 extends along transverse direction t between a front 120 and a back 122 , and along vertical direction v between top 156 and bottom 158 . a body 134 of dishwasher 100 defines a pair of opposing sides 166 and 168 that extend along vertical direction v and a top side 164 that extends along lateral direction l between opposing sides 166 and 168 . for this exemplary embodiment of dishwasher 100 , body 134 is shown to include a cabinet 136 . however , in other embodiments of the invention , dishwasher 100 may not include a cabinet and could be constructed on e . g ., an open frame that defines sides 164 , 166 , and 168 . a door 118 is hingedly attached to body 134 and provides access to a wash chamber 128 in body 134 through opening 162 . a bottom panel 160 , located below door 118 , covers front access to a machinery compartment 154 . above handle 126 , door 118 includes a user interface panel 114 connected to a controller or processing device 124 . buttons 116 allow a user to select different features or cycles of operation of appliance 100 . controller 124 may include a memory and microprocessor , such as a general or special purpose microprocessor operable to execute programming instructions or micro - control code associated with a cleaning cycle . controller 124 may be positioned in a variety of locations throughout dishwasher appliance 100 . user interface panel 114 may include a display component , such as a digital or analog display device designed to provide operational feedback to a user . user interface panel 114 may be in communication with the controller 124 via one or more signal lines or shared communication busses . referring specifically now to fig2 , guide rails 150 are mounted on side walls 140 of a wash tub 132 defining chamber 128 . guide rails 150 accommodate upper and lower roller - equipped rack assemblies 144 , 148 . each of the upper and lower racks 144 , 148 is fabricated from lattice structures that include a plurality of elongated members 142 . each rack 144 , 148 is adapted for movement between an extended loading position ( not shown ) in which the rack is substantially positioned outside wash chamber 128 , and a retracted position ( shown in fig2 ) in which the rack is located inside wash chamber 128 . a silverware basket 130 is removably mounted to upper rack assembly 144 . however , silverware basket 130 may also be selectively attached to other portions of dishwasher appliance 100 , e . g ., lower rack 148 or door assembly 118 . silverware rack 130 is configured for receipt of silverware , utensils , and the like , that are too small to be accommodated by the upper and lower racks 144 , 148 . the dishwasher appliance 100 further includes a lower spray assembly 152 that is mounted within a lower region of the wash chamber 128 and above a sump portion so as to be in relatively close proximity to the lower rack 148 . a mid - level spray assembly 146 is located in an upper region of the wash chamber 128 and may be located in close proximity to upper rack 144 . additionally , an upper spray assembly ( not shown ) may be located above upper rack 144 . the lower and mid - level spray assemblies 152 , 146 are fed by a fluid circulation assembly ( not shown ) for circulating water and dishwasher fluid in wash chamber 128 . at least part of the fluid circulation assembly may be located in machinery compartment 154 located below the sump portion of tub 132 as generally recognized in the art . each spray assembly includes an arrangement of discharge ports or orifices for directing washing liquid onto dishes or other articles located in the upper and lower racks 144 , 148 and silverware basket 130 . the lower and mid - level spray assemblies 152 , 146 may be rotatably mounted in wash chamber 128 . accordingly , the arrangement of the discharge ports may provide a rotational force by virtue of washing fluid flowing through the discharge ports . the resultant rotation of the spray assemblies 146 , 152 can provide coverage of dishes and other dishwasher contents with a washing spray . dishwashing appliance 100 includes a sound abating device 170 that is connected to body 134 along opposing sides 166 , 168 and top side 164 . for this exemplary embodiment , sound abating device 170 is constructed from a plurality of resilient strips 172 , 174 , 176 , 178 , and 180 — the construction of which will be further described herein . while sound abating device 170 could be formed as one continuous strip , for the exemplary embodiment shown , strips 172 , 174 , 176 , 178 , and 180 contact each other to form a substantially continuous seal for sound abatement as will be further described . thus , as shown in fig1 , for this exemplary embodiment sound abating device 170 extends in a substantially continuous manner around body 134 and along sides 164 , 166 , and 168 . in addition , sound abating device 170 extends from body 134 into contact with adjacent cabinetry 102 . more particularly , sound abating device 170 extends into contact with the bottom surface 106 of counter - top 104 along top side 164 . along opposing sides 166 and 168 , device 170 extends into contact with inside cabinetry surfaces 103 defining opening 112 . along opposing sides 166 and 168 , sound abating device 170 extends to the top surface 110 of support or floor 108 . sound abating device 170 assists in attenuating the passage of sound generated by dishwashing appliance 100 and transmitted into spaces 212 ( fig5 and 7 ) between appliance 100 and cabinetry 102 by sealing off the same when appliance 100 is installed in opening 112 . an exemplary embodiment of sound abating device 170 is set forth in fig4 and shown installed on appliance 100 in fig5 . fig4 provides an end view and fig5 provides a cross - sectional view that could be taken anywhere along the length of device 170 . in order to attenuate the passage of sound from appliance 100 that is transmitted into the space 212 between appliance 100 and cabinetry 102 , device 170 includes a baffle portion 184 as shown in the exemplary embodiment set forth in fig4 and 5 . baffle portion 184 defines at least one chamber 186 extending longitudinally along sound abating device 170 . chamber 186 is defined by a first leg 202 and a second leg 204 , each of which is attached to a connecting portion 182 along a seam 200 . first leg 202 and 204 are also connected along a distal end 212 of device 170 . each leg 202 , extends away from connecting portion 182 towards cabinetry 102 and into contact with cabinetry surface 103 when dishwashing appliance 100 is installed . as shown in fig5 , by moving dishwashing appliance 100 into the opening 112 of cabinetry 102 , sound abating device 170 is folded or bent along seam 200 from an original position ( shown in fig5 in phantom lines ) to an installed position ( shown in fig5 in solid lines ). a notch 208 on the inside surface of first leg 202 assists in controlling deformation of chamber 186 ; multiple notches on legs 202 , 204 , or both , may be used . even though baffle portion 184 may be slightly compressed in the installed position , chamber 186 is still present as shown . an optional extension 210 also extends from seam 200 chamber 186 , along with legs 202 and 204 , attenuates the propagation of sound through sound abating device 170 . as such , sound abating device 170 reduces or blocks sound created by appliance 100 that is transmitted into the space 212 between appliance 100 and cabinetry 102 and that would otherwise escape into an associated room or space . more particularly , it is believed that sounds generated by different sources in a dishwasher such as appliance 100 are dominated by low frequencies . low frequency sound is more difficult to attenuate without any barrier . with its single or multi - layer construction ( as created by e . g ., one or more chambers ), the sound abating device of the present invention can be fine - tuned for low frequency sound sources to achieve a higher sound transmission loss . the single or multiple layers of the sound abating device ( such as device 170 ) can be constructed of rubber materials , polymeric materials , poroelastic materials , and / or air layers that result in significant impedance mismatch at their interfaces , causing a higher proportion of sound power to be reflected back . this technical advantage allows for less sound power to reach the consumer . the present invention also provides a commercial advantage over certain conventional devices in that it can be implemented with a small incremental cost through addition to existing parts with a relatively highly significant sound performance gain for the entire dishwasher . sound abating device 170 also includes a connecting portion 182 used for attachment to the body 134 of appliance 100 . in this exemplary embodiment , connecting portion 182 defines a slot 192 for the receipt of a flange 190 that extends from body 134 along opposing sides 166 , 168 , and top side 164 . slot 192 extends longitudinally along connecting portion 182 . a plurality of fingers 196 extend into slot 192 are configured for securing connecting portion 182 to flange 190 . fig6 and 7 illustrate another exemplary embodiment of the sound abating device 170 similar in certain respects to the embodiment of fig4 and 5 . however , for the embodiment of fig6 and 7 , sound abating device 170 includes a plurality of chambers 186 and 188 . although only two chambers 186 , 188 are shown , in other embodiments of the invention still more chambers may be used . also , for this exemplary embodiment , connecting portion 182 lacks a slot . instead , connecting portion 182 is attached by e . g ., glue or mechanical fasteners to flange 190 . thus , multiple different techniques and configurations of connecting portion 182 may be used with the present invention . in one aspect of the invention , materials having different durometers are used in the construction of sound abating device 170 . for example , connecting portion 182 has a durometer greater than the durometer of fingers 196 . thus , fingers 196 have a certain flexibility that aids in attachment to flange 190 . similarly , connecting portion 182 has a durometer greater than baffle portion 182 to allow baffle portion to be flexible and bend into space 212 while connection portion has sufficient rigidity to anchor device 170 . a variety of materials may be used in the construction of device 170 . for example , one or more extrusion grade poly - vinyl chlorides ( pvcs ), silicone rubbers , and / or other materials may be used in construction . this written description uses examples to disclose the invention , including the best mode , and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention , including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods . the patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims , and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art . such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims , or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims . | 0 |
one embodiment of the present invention is shown in fig1 . the device consists of three basic portions : a measuring wheel assembly 10 ; a digital display assembly 12 ; and a bracket and axle frame assembly 14 to connect the measuring wheel assembly 10 to the golf cart , which is shown generally at 16 . the measuring wheel assembly 10 comprises a fixed diameter wheel 18 , the diameter in the preferred embodiment being 5 . 73 inches , a magnet 20 , and a magnetic sensing device 22 . the digital display assembly , 12 includes a casing 24 , a liquid crystal diode ( lcd ) display 26 , a conventional electronic circuit for converting the sensed wheel revolutions ( pulses from sensor 22 ) into display characters ( not shown ), a phototransistor reset sensor 28 , and solar power cells 29 . fig2 is an enlarged view of the digital display which shows the components in greater detail and shows a ing bracket 30 for use in attaching the display to the golf cart handle . the digital display 12 is connected to the measuring wheel 10 by means of wire or cable 32 of sufficient length to reach from the wheel assembly 10 to the display 12 . the face of the digital display assembly 12 is shown in fig3 . this figure illustrates the relative positions of the lcd display 26 , the phototransistor reset sensor 28 , and the solar cells 29 . the solar cells 29 are of conventional design and are connected within the display assembly 12 to provide the necessary power to the electronic circuit . appropriate circuitry is present to switch to a battery ( not shown ) as the source of power in the event that insufficient solar power is generated . referring to fig1 and 4 , the bracket and axle assembly 14 is comprised of two pieces . a bracket 34 attaches to the golf cart and provides a place for the axle and connecting shaft 36 to be attached . the bracket 34 is formed in two portions . the first portion 38 of bracket 34 is a plate made of a light metal such as aluminum and extends upwardly to provide holes 40 and 42 for the attachment of the bracket to the golf cart , as seen best in fig1 . a second portion 44 of the bracket 34 takes the form of a spring clip . spring clip 44 is formed in a conventional manner to receive the axle assembly 36 and is attached to the first bracket portion 38 by means of screws 46 . the axle and connecting shaft 36 is formed in three sections . the entire assembly is foimed from a generally cylindrical bar of rigid , sturdy plastic . the main portion of the connecting shaft is shown at 50 . at each end of this main portion 50 of the connecting shaft , an axle is formed . the upper axle 52 is formed generally perpendicular to the main portion 50 of the connecting shaft . the wheel axle 54 also is formed perpendicular to the main portion of the connecting shaft 50 , and is parallel to and extends in the same direction as the upper axle 52 . upper axle 52 is attached to the golf cart by pushing it into spring clip 44 . thus , it may be rapidly attached and detached from the cart 16 . the lower axle 54 is inserted through the wheel 18 in such a manner that the wheel 18 rotates freely . this free rotation may be accomplished by the use of suitable bearings and connecting means ( not shown ). also provided at the junction of the lower axle 54 and the main portion 50 of the connecting shaft is a mounting area 55 for the magnetic sensor 22 . the magnetic sensor 22 is mounted and positioned in such a way that the magnet 20 passes in proximity to it so that the magnetic sensor 22 can sense the revolutions of wheel 18 . in operation , the golfer attaches the bracket 34 to the golf cart 16 . the upper axle 52 of the axle and connecting shaft 36 is pushed into the spring clip 44 . the permanently attached measuring wheel assembly 10 is in the operating position upon connection of the upper axle 52 to the bracket 34 . the digital display assembly 12 is then secured to the handle of the golf cart 16 by means of spring bracket 30 . as the golf cart is pulled , the magnetic sensor 22 senses each passing of the magnet 20 and sends a pulse - like signal via the wire or cable 32 to digital display assembly 12 . the diameter of the wheel 18 is such that it covers one yard in two revolutions . thus , the electrcnic logic circuit in the digital display assembly 12 ( which is conventional , and hence not shown ) is such that , for every two revolutions sensed by the magnetic sensor 22 , the lcd display 26 is incremented by one . at the completion of a measurement ( such as the distance of a drive ), or whenever the golfer wishes to reset the counter , his or her hand is passed over the phototransistor reset sensor 28 which , after a brief delay , causes the logic and the lcd display 26 to return to zero . fig5 shows the measuring device used independently from a golf cart . extension handle 58 is attached to the main portion 50 of the connecting shaft for use in such hand - operated mode . the digital display assembly 12 is then attached to the extension handle 58 for reading by the golfer . a further embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig6 which is a detailed block diagram of electronics circuitry 80 employed therewith . basically , in accordance with this further embodiment of the distance measuring apparatus , wheel revolutions are still counted , but the electronics circuitry 80 now provided is programmable by the user . as seen in fig6 the electronics circuitry 80 basically , comprises the sensor 81 ( corresponding to the magnetic sensor 22 of fig1 ), a pulse amplifier 82 , gate enable flip - flop 83 , clock gate 84 , clock 85 , decade counter 86 , display driver 87 , lcd display 88 , digital counter 89 , digital comparator 90 , programming switch 91 , power / reset circuit 92 , power / reset amplifier 93 and power supply 94 . in operation , the sensor 81 triggers the device when the magnet 20 ( fig1 ) passes near the sensor 22 . once triggered , the electronics circuitry 80 generates a pre - programmed number of digital pulses which increment a digital lcd display 88 . with each wheel rotation , the digital display 88 increments by the preset amount . the amount of incrementation is programmed by the user so as to equal the circumference of the rotating wheel in use ( in accordance with a preferred embodiment , a circumference of 0 . 1 to 1 . 5 yards can be programmed ). thus , the system provides a versatile means for accurately measuring distance using an existing wheel of any known circumference . detailed operation of the electronics circuit 80 is as follows . sensor 81 preferably consists of a coil placed near a rotating magnet 20 ( fig1 ) so that , when the magnet 20 passes the coil , a low - level voltage pulse is generated . this pulse is amplified and conditioned by pulse amplifier 82 . the high level pulse output of pulse amplifier 82 is then provided as an input to gate enable flip - flop 83 so as to set flip - flop 83 , thus enabling clock gate 84 via the q output of flip - flop 83 . once enabled , clock gate 84 permits clock pulses from clock 85 to pass through the gate 84 to both the decade counter 86 and digital counter 89 . the decade counter 86 receives the clock pulses and is incremented in accordance therewith , providing a decimal code at its output to display driver 87 . the latter processe the decimal code output to provide appropriate drive signals to the lcd display 88 . thus , the lcd display 88 indicates the numerical value of the decimal code , the latter corresponding to the number of gated clock pulses generated from the moment that the electronics circuit 80 was triggered via sensor 81 . the digital counter 89 simultaneously receives the gated clock pulses from clock 85 via clock gate 84 , and is incremented in accordance therewith , providing a 4 - bit binary code output to digital comparator 90 . digital comparator 90 also receives , at its other input , a preset 4 - bit binary reference code set by the user based on the measured circumference of the particular wheel ( for example , wheel 18 in fig1 ) to which the magnet 20 is fixed . thus , the programming switch circuit 91 provides a pre - programmed 4 - bit binary reference code having a 16 - step numerical span from 00 to 15 , so that 16 possible circumferential sizes of wheels can be accommodated . of course , the programming switch 91 can be expanded to accommodate a wider range of circumferential values , or to provide a greater number of circumferential values within a given range . when the incrementing binary output of digital counter 89 reaches the value of the binary input from programming switch 91 , digital comparator 90 generates a reset output . the latter is provided to the reset input of flip - flop 83 and resets flip - flop 83 , resulting in accomplishment of two functions : ( 1 ) clock gate 84 is disabled by virtue of the q output of flip - flop 83 going low ; and ( 2 ) a reset signal from the inverted q output of flip - flop 83 resets the digital counter 89 . as a result of disabling of the clock gate 84 , clock pulses from clock 85 are no longer passed to the digital counter 89 , and , as a result of the transmission of a reset input to digital counter 89 , the counter 89 assumes a constant zero state , thus being prepared for the next cycle . when the next and successive pulses occur , the system functions as previously described with the exception of the operation of the decade counter 86 , display driver 87 and display 88 . that is to say , a subsequent pulse provided by the sensor 81 via pulse amplifier 82 sets flip - flop 83 , enabling the clock gate 84 , so that the clock 85 passes clock pulses to both the digital counter 89 and decade counter 86 . the digital counter 89 once again counts to a predetermined value corresponding to the setting of the programming switch 91 , at which point the digital comparator 90 resets the flip - flop 83 , the latter disabling the clock gate 84 and resetting the digital counter 89 . in the meantime , the clock pulses cause the decade counter 86 , which had been previously stopped at a first value corresponding to the distance travelled during one revolution of the wheel , to advance to a second value corresponding to the distance travelled during two revolutions of the wheel . this new value is displayed on display 88 by display driver 87 . the electronics circuit 80 of fig6 is provided with a special power / reset function as a result of the inclusion of power / reset circuit 92 , power / reset amplifier 93 and power supply 94 . the power / reset circuit 92 and power / reset amplifier 93 are included within a photo - sensitive switch network which , when activated by the absence of light , removes power to all other circuitry via the reset line from power / reset amplifier 93 to the power supply 94 . in addition , the power / reset amplifier 93 , via its reset line , resets the decade counter 86 , thus resetting the display 88 to zero . upon reactivation by virtue of the presence of light , the power / reset circuit 92 and power / reset amplifier 93 remove the reset input to power supply 94 , and power is once again supplied to all circuits . thus , by placing a finger over the photosensor 28 ( fig1 ), the user is able to reset the display 88 to zero , and to remove power from all circuitry . a one - second delay can be provided ( in a preferred embodiment ), so that false resetting by absence of light for less than one second can be avoided . it should be noted that , since the automatic reset function is accomplished by virtue of detection of darkness of greater than one second in duration by the detector 28 ( fig1 ), power will be automatically removed from all circuits when the device is placed in a dark place ( for example , a golf bag , glove compartment , desk drawer , etc ). finally , the power supply 94 for the system is , preferably , an ordinary 9 - volt transistor battery . it should be noted that this embodiment of the invention can be expanded in several ways . firstly , the programming range of programming switch 91 can be easily increased by increasing the number of switches contained therein ; for example , adding one additional switch and modifying the circuit &# 39 ; s internal connections slightly can increase the programming range from 15 steps ( 15 separate wheel circumferences of , for example , 0 . 1 to 1 . 5 yards ) to 31 steps ( or 31 wheel circumferences of , for example , 0 . 1 to 3 . 1 yards ). secondly , the programming sensitivity can be increased by increasing the number of programming switches and moving the display decimal point one digit to the left in display 88 . for example , the latter modifications will increase the programming sensitivity from 0 . 1 yard steps to 0 . 01 yard steps , thus improving the sensitivity of the measuring apparatus . in this manner , the system can be programmed more closely to the wheel circumference of the golf cart wheel , thus providing greater accuracy . thirdly , the distance measuring range can be increased by adding additional digits to the lcd display 88 , and by increasing the number of decade counters 86 . for example , adding one display digit and one decade counter can increase the range from 999 . 9 yards to 9 , 999 . 9 yards . whereas the above description refers to the magnetic sensor 22 of fig1 as being implemented by a coil , other sensor - type arrangements ( for example , a magnetic reed switch , hall effect switch , photosensitive devices , and the like ) can be employed . in addition , the photosensitive switch 28 ( fig1 ) corresponding to the power / reset circuit 92 ( fig6 ) can be replaced by a mechanical switch , so that the user will be afforded the ability , to mechanically turn the power off . the above description sets forth embodiments of the present invention which achieve the desired advantages and objectives thereof , but are presented for illustrative purposes only . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variations and modifications can be made to the specific embodiments described without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention . therefore , it is the intent that the present invention not be limited by the specific disclosure herein , but only by the appended claims . | 8 |
in the accompanying drawings , a rail sleeper 10 is provided with side walls 11 , and an upper wall 12 . the upper wall 12 is deformed upwardly at each side of the rail 13 , the upwardly deformed portions being designated as platforms 14 . the side walls of each platform 14 slope gently to the side walls 11 of the sleeper , the facing end walls 15 and 16 are vertical or nearly vertical for short distances , the inner end walls 15 and 16 abutting the outer side edges of a resilient insulating pad 17 , which partly wraps around the foot 18 of the rail 13 . the pad 17 is formed to be longer than the width of the upper wall 12 , providing an overlap which &# 34 ; breaks &# 34 ; capillary paths . the pad 17 is provided with a pair of recesses 19 each of which contains a respective bearing plate 20 , and a resilient u - shaped fastening clip 22 bears downwardly on the plate 20 . the clip 22 is in accordance with our u . s . patent application ser . no . 366 , 655 , filed apr . 8 , 1982 . there is also provided a pair of studs 24 which are stud welded to respective the platforms 14 , each stud 24 having a head 25 which bears downwardly on a recessed upper portion of its respective clip 22 . for removal of the clips 22 , it is desirable to insert a tool into the aperture defined by the bridge portion of the u - shape , and the stud 24 , and the upper wall 12 then provides an abutment surface against which the removing tool can abut , so that the tool can be levered outwardly to withdraw the respective clips 22 . the clips 22 can of course be simply &# 34 ; knocked on &# 34 ; in a direction transverse to the longitudinal direction of rail 13 . each platform 14 has a flat portion 27 to which a respective stud 24 is welded . the outer end wall 26 of each platform slopes downwardly to merge the upper wall 12 of the sleeper 10 , but is associated with a projection 28 in the upper wall of the platform , the projection 28 standing a little above the platform upper wall , and slightly outboard of the heel of the respective fastening clip . this increases the difficulty of removal of the fastening clip without a special purpose tool , thus providing a &# 34 ; vandal - proof &# 34 ; feature . as said above , the invention provides means whereby the bending moments imparted against the studs 24 is reduced because of the shorter stud lengths than would be used if there were no platforms . the rail gauge is maintained with a great deal of accuracy , and with a relatively inexpensive shoulder configuration . insulation is easily effected . the sleeper is not weakened nor are any stress concentration points established by use of this invention , and at the localities of the platforms , the section modulus is actually increased . the slepper is entirely imperforate , having no apertures of any kind therein , and this feature reduces production costs , avoids development of stress concentpoints , and reduces incidence of rust which otherwise develops at the localities of perforations . the platforms 14 have important effects in reducing the weld fatigue hazards of the sleeper metal adjacent the studs 24 : firstly , the section modulus of the sleeper is increased at the platform localities and therefore , the live load stresses are proportionately reduced ; secondly , the stiffening effect of the side walls of the platform places the critical bending areas of the sleeper further away from the rails into localities of lower bending moments for certain of the applied loads ; thirdly , although the platform side walls are somewhat thinned in the deformation of the sleeper , there is very little thinning of the platforms 27 to which the studs are welded . the welds are therefore in relatively low stress areas of the sleeper , which have , however , nearly the same metal thicknesses as the impressed areas of the sleeper , and the fatigue crack hazard is much less than if the welds were in a sleeper without the platforms . another important feature of the rail sleeper of the present invention is the manner in which the inclination of the rails is achieved . this may be seen from fig2 of the drawings . the entire steel sleeper is deformed along its entire length in a slightly upward bowed manner to provide the required inclination of the rail retaining recess which , in turn , imparts the necessary inclination to the rail 13 . in accordance with the rail sleeper of the present invention , this inclination can be obtained with relatively light pressing and deformation of the entire sleeper in contradistinction to forging operations to achieve the inclination in the area of the rail recess only in relatively thick walled sleepers as heretofore known . | 4 |
in a preferred form , the present invention is generally a multi - step process for ex vitro sowing and germination of plant somatic embryos using conventional horticultural equipment and facilities , comprised of but not necessarily restricted to the following sequential steps : 1 . sowing the plant somatic embryos into nursery containers containing a three - phase substrate , said three phases comprising solids , liquids and air . 2 . placing the nursery containers sown with plant somatic embryos , into a conventional plant propagation environment in which light , temperature , atmospheric humidity , and moisture content of the rooting substrate can be controlled and manipulated to enable and facilitate germination of the somatic embryos and their further development into complete seedlings . 3 . supplying an aerosol to the surface of the nursery containers sown with somatic embryos , said aerosol containing the necessary carbohydrate compounds required to initiate and sustain the germination processes of the somatic embryos . 4 . supplying , in the forms of an aerosol and / or a liquid suspension and / or a liquid solution , the micro - and macro - mineral and other nutrative elements required to sustain the germination of somatic embryos and their subsequent development into seedlings . 5 . adjusting as required during the somatic embryo germination period , the ambient light intensity and diurnal photoperiod , temperature and atmospheric humidity to maintain the development of germinated somatic embryos into complete seedlings . a particular advantage of this novel process , at least in preferred forms , is that special hygienic and / or aseptic and / or sterile handling methods and / or equipment and / or facilities are not required to successfully handle , sow and germinate plant somatic embryos . it is preferable that the present invention be practiced with plant somatic embryos that have been dried to moisture contents that approximate those of their corresponding zygotic seeds , i . e ., in the range of 5 - 20 % and , more specifically , in the range of 10 - 15 %. however , it is possible to practice the present invention with somatic embryos containing higher moisture contents in the range of 20 - 78 % with the only limitation on the upper limit being the highest level of moisture content that the somatic embryos can be singulated , handled and sown with conventional seeding equipment . although the present invention can be practiced with all conventional seeding equipment used for sowing zygotic seeds , it is preferred to use equipment that dispenses seed into multi - chambered nursery containers , commonly referred to as miniplug trays , flats or cell - packs , said containers commonly used to produce plant plugs which can be mechanically transplanted into larger containers or into field - growing environments . an important advantage of the present invention , at least in preferred forms , is that it can be practiced with a wide variety of non - sterilized growing substrates commonly used in conventional plant propagation . the preferred growing substrate is peat - based and formulated specifically for germination of zygotic seed , and is exemplified by mixtures such as ( a ) 15 . 2 cu . ft of peat , 8 cu . ft . of vermiculite , 680 grams of dolomite lime , and 300 grams of micromax ® ( a commercial fertilizer composition comprised of microelements such as , but not limited to , sulfur , boron , manganese , magnesium , cobalt and iron ), and ( b ) 16 . 2 cu . ft . of peat , 6 . 75 cu . ft . perlite , 4 cu . ft . vermiculite , 6 kilograms of dolomite lime , 1 . 5 kilograms of gypsum , 375 grams of potassium phosphate , 250 grams micromax , and 35 grams of wetting agent . alternatively , commercially formulated mixes such as pro - mix - g ® or pro - mix - pgx ® ( premier peat moss ltd . montreal , pq , canada — a commercial soilless plant growing media containing , but not limited to , peat , perlite , vermiculite and / or pumice ), sunshine mix # 3 ( sun - gro horticulture inc ., hubbard , oreg ., usa ), and redi - earth ® ( the scotts co ., marysville , ohio , usa — a commercial soilless plant growing media containing , but not limited to , peat , perlite , vermiculite and / or pumice ), can also be used with the present invention . it is preferred that the peat - based growing substrate is moistened to a moisture content in the range of 50 - 80 % and then dispensed into multi - chambered trays commonly used for commercial production of plant plugs . although examples of such trays include styrofoam # 252 or # 448 miniplug trays manufactured by beaver plastics inc . ( edmonton , ab , canada ) and hard plastic # 288 or # 512 miniplug trays manufactured by tlc polyform inc ( plymouth minn ., usa , 55441 ), the present invention can be practiced with other types of multi - chambered trays , or alternatively , with individual pots . it should be noted that the practice of the present invention is not restricted to peat - based mixtures , but also includes other substrates such as jiffy - 7 peat plugs , composted or shredded or unprocessed coconut husk fibres commonly referred to as “ cor ” or “ coir ” ( 1993 crystal co ., st . louis , mo ., usa ), polymerized substrates ( grow tech inc ., san juan bautista , calif . usa ; preforma inc ., oberlin , ohio usa ), extruded foams such as oasis ® ( smithers - oasis ltd ., kent , ohio , usa — a commercial expanded foam product comprising urea formaldehyde ), rock wool ( rockwool international a / s , hovedgaden 584 , dk - 2640 , denmark ) and the like . regardless of the rooting substrate chosen , its physical characteristics should enable development and maintenance of a high relative humidity i . e ., in excess of 75 % rh , in the gaseous phase within the substrate while minimizing saturation of the substrate with the liquid phase . after the somatic embryos are sown onto the surfaces of the rooting substrates , if desired , the embryos may be covered with a thin layer of additional rooting substrate that may be comprised of the same material underneath the embryos or , alternatively , with a different type of material . one non - limiting example is sowing embryos onto pro - mix - pgx medium , then overlaying the embryos with a thin layer of coir , i . e ., composted coconut husk fibres . nursery containers sown with somatic embryos are preferentially placed into a conventional plant propagation environment wherein the conditions are within but not limited to the ranges of temperatures of 15 - 35 ° c ., relative humidities of 75 - 100 %, light intensities of 10 - 500 foot candles , and diurnal cycles of 6 h day / 18 h night to 22 h day / 2 h night . it is preferable to maintain a very high level of atmospheric humidity around the nursery containers sown with somatic embryos , i . e ., greater than 90 % rh , for the first 2 - 10 days after sowing to facilitate somatic embryo imbibition and germination . a number of methods can be used to maintain the atmospheric humidity at these levels including but not restricted to placing the containers in a greenhouse environment with misting or fogging equipment which is deployed at controlled intervals , placing the containers in a fogging or misting tent or chamber , placing clear plastic domes over the nursery containers and then removing domes periodically to mist or fog the sown embryos and replacing the domes immediately thereafter . another non - limiting method is to provide a space ranging between 2 mm and 10 mm above the surface of the rooting substrate onto which the embryos are sown and the top of the container , and then covering the top of the nursery container with a plastic film which is removed to enable misting or fogging of the sown embryos and then immediately replaced . after somatic embryo germination is established as evidenced by development of shoot and root structures , the germinants can be weaned from the high relative humidity environments by gradually reducing the amount of misting / fogging applied and / or by extending the periods of time between the misting or fogging steps . it is preferable to maintain the sown embryos in a high relative humidity environment , i . e ., greater than 90 % rh , for a period of , but not restricted to , 3 - 7 days after sowing to facilitate embryo imbibition , prior to supplying exogenous nutrients required for embryo germination . another advantage of the present invention , at least in its preferred forms , is that the exogenous nutrients , including but not restricted to carbohydrates , minerals , vitamins and hormones which are required for successful somatic embryo germination and subsequent growth and development can be applied as aerosols . the nutrient solutions can be applied with , but not restricted to , conventional misting and / or fogging equipment . although , the nutrients can be applied individually or combined into one solution , it is preferred to supply the carbohydrates as one solution and the remaining nutrients as a separate solution . a non - limiting example of how this can be practiced is by applying a solution containing a sugar source such as but not limited to sucrose in a concentration selected from the non - limiting range of 1 . 5 - 9 %, preferably in the range of 3 - 6 %, as a mist to the surface of the growing substrate containing a sown embryo , and then applying as a mist at a later time , a solution containing a mixture of mineral nutrients formulated to deliver but not restricted to 454 mg / l nitrogen , 81 mg / l phosphorus , 704 mg / l potassium , 50 mg / l calcium , 39 mg / l magnesium , 193 mg / l sulfur , 3 mg / l manganese , 0 . 5 mg / l zinc , 89 mg / l chlorine , 3 mg / l iron , 0 . 7 mg / l iodine , 0 . 6 mg / l boron , 0 . 01 mg / l molybdenum , 0 . 01 mg / l cobalt , and 0 . 01 mg / l copper . alternatively , the macronutrients can be supplied as a commercial formulation such as but not restricted to plantprod ® plant starter fertilizer 10 - 52 - 10 ( nitrogen - phosphate - potassium ) or plantprod ® forestry seedling starter 11 - 41 - 8 ( nitrogen - phosphate - potassium ) ( plant products ltd ., brampton , on , canada ). the plantprod ® products are commercial water - soluble fertilizers containing mineral nutrients such as nitrogen , phosphorus and potassium , and a dye . an alternative non - limited means of supplying exogenous nutrients to somatic embryos sown onto three - phase growing media within nursery containers is to irrigate or “ drench ” the media with nutrient solutions formulated as previously described . this is preferably done just before the embryos are sown onto the three - phase growing media . since microorganisms such as fungi , bacteria , yeast , and algae , are ubiquitous in conventional plant propagation substrates , equipment , containers and growing environments , a wide variety of chemical and biological pesticide products are available to control and eradicate plant pathogens . the inventors of the present invention , however , have surprisingly found that aseptic handling procedures and sterilized growing substrates , nursery containers and environments are not required to successfully germinate and grow plant somatic embryos . indeed , the present invention can be practiced in conventional plant propagation environments using only the standard commercial methods of hygiene . furthermore , we have surprisingly found that pesticides such as benlate ® ( a commercial fungicide composition containing a chemical active ingredient ), rovral ® ( a commercial fungicide composition containing a chemical active ingredient ), trumpet ® ( a commercial insecticide composition containing a chemical active ingredient ), and the like , which are registered for pest control in plant crops , can be used on somatic . embryos sown with the novel multi - step procedure of the present invention , without any debilitating effects on germination . the following examples are provided to further illustrate the present invention , but are not to be construed as limiting the invention in any manner . somatic embryos ( se ) of interior spruce ( picea glauca engelmannii complex ) line 23 - 2672 were produced according to the methods of roberts et al . ( 1990a ; 1990b ) and webster et al . ( 1990 ). after harvesting , the se ( somatic embryos ) received two drying treatments , the first being hrht ( high - relative humidity treatment ) while the second hrht followed by further drying for 3 days at a relative humidity of 85 % ( the relative humidity was provided in a sealed chamber containing a saturated kcl solution ). the moisture content of se produced for treatment 1 ( hrht only ) was 69 . 7 %, while the moisture content of se produced for treatment 2 ( hrht followed by rh 85 %) was 14 . 8 %. se from the two drying treatments were hand - sown into phytatrays containing agar comprised of 0 . 55 % difco noble agar , ½ gmd nutrients ( webster et al ., 1990 ), and 2 % sucrose . three phytatrays , each containing 30 se , were sown with each set of se ( i . e ., drying treatments 1 & amp ; 2 ), and then incubated for three weeks at 23 ° c . with a diurnal cycle of 20 h light and 4 h dark . a custom - formulated seedling growing mix comprised of 16 . 2 cu . ft . of peat , 6 . 75 cu . ft . perlite , 4 cu . ft . vermiculite , 6 kilograms of dolomite lime , 1 . 5 kilograms of gypsum , 375 grams of potassium phosphate , 250 grams micromax , and 35 grams of wetting agent ( westcreek farms , fort langley , b . c ), was prewetted with benlate suspension ( 0 . 5 g / l ), then dispensed into a beaver plastics styrofoam miniplug trays containing 252 cells ( 10 ml / cavity ). after the miniplug cells were filled with growing mix , they were dibbled to produce a ¼ ″- ½ ″ head space between the top of the growing mix and the top of the miniplug tray . se from the two drying treatments were sown into the miniplug trays ( 60 se / treatment / tray ). the se were immediately misted with 2 % sucrose and then the miniplug trays were immediately tightly covered with plastic wrap ( saran wrap ). the trays were maintained in a commercial greenhouse environment kept at 20 °- 25 ° c . with a 20 h light / 4 hr dark diurnal cycle . the se were misted each morning with 2 % sucrose and each afternoon with “ plant starter fertilizer formulation at 100 ppm n ( plantprod 10 - 52 - 0 ). the miniplug trays were misted with a benlate suspension ( 0 . 5 g / l ) as necessary to prevent fungal growth . the miniplug trays were tightly covered with saran wrap after each misting . two weeks after sowing , the misting regime was modified to include a commercial rooting hormone formulation ( dip &# 39 ; n grow ®, astoria - pacific inc ., portland oreg ., usa ). diluted to deliver 20 ng iba and 10 ng naa , data collected three weeks after sowing , are summarized in table 1 . these data demonstrate that se produced from interior spruce line 23 - 2672 germinated ex vitro in a non - sterile peat - based growing mix supplemented with exogenous nutrient applications via aerosols , when propagated in a conventional commercial greenhouse facility . somatic embryos ( se ) of interior spruce ( picea glauca engelmannii complex ) line 107 - 1979 were produced according to the methods of roberts et al . ( 1990a ; 1990b ) and webster et al . ( 1990 ). after harvesting , the se received two drying treatments , the first being hrht ( high - relative humidity treatment ) while the second treatment received hrht followed by further drying for 3 days in a chamber wherein the atmospheric relative humidity was maintained at 85 %. the moisture content of se produced for treatment 1 ( hrht only ) was 64 . 8 %, while the moisture content of se produced for treatment 2 ( hrht followed by rh 85 %) was 42 . 6 %. beaver plastics styrofoam # 252 miniplug trays were filled to within ¼ ″-{ fraction ( 2 )}″” of the top of the trays with one of the following soil - less growth substrates : ( 1 ) a custom formulated peat - substrate comprised of 16 . 2 cu . ft . of peat , 6 . 75 cu . ft . perlite , 4 cu . ft . vermiculite , 6 kilograms of dolomite lime , 1 . 5 kilograms of gypsum , 375 grams of potassium phosphate , 250 grams micromax , and 35 grams of wetting agent ( westcreek farms , fort langley , bc , canada ), prewetted with benlate suspension ( 0 . 5 g / l ), prior to sowing with se , all substrates were prewetted with a solution containing 2 % sucrose , 0 . 5g / l benlate and ½ - strength gmd ( per webster et al ., 1990 ). after sowing , the miniplug trays were tightly covered with plastic wrap ( saran wrap ), and misted 3 - 5 times daily with a solution comprised of 4 . 5 % sucrose and plantprod forestry seedling starter fertilizer 11 - 41 - 8 at 50 ppm n . the miniplug trays were also misted every 2 - 3 days with a rotation of benlate , thiram and rovral . data collected two weeks after sowing , are summarized in table 2 . these data demonstrate that se produced from interior spruce line 107 - 1917 germinated ex vitro in different types of non - sterile growing substrates including a peat - based formulation , an extruded foam ( i . e ., oasis ) and rock wool when supplemented with exogenous nutrient applications via aerosols , and propagated in a conventional commercial greenhouse facility , somatic embryos ( se ) of interior spruce ( picea glauca engelmannii complex ) lines 1 - 1281 and 107 - 1917 were produced according to the methods of roberts et al . ( 1990a ; 1990b ) and webster et al . ( 1990 ). after harvesting , the se were dried using the hrht method . beaver plastics styrofoam # 252 miniplug trays were completely filled with of the following three soil - less growth substrates : ( 1 ) a custom formulated peat - substrate comprised of 16 . 2 cu . ft . of peat , 6 . 75 cu . ft . perlite , 4 cu . ft . vermiculite , 6 kilograms of dolomite lime , 1 . 5 kilograms of gypsum , 375 grams of potassium phosphate , 250 grams micromax , and 35 grams of wetting agent , prewetted with a benlate suspension ( 0 . 5 g / l ), prior to sowing with se , all substrates were prewetted with a solution containing 2 % sucrose , 0 . 5g / l benlate and ½ - strength gmd ( per webster et al ., 1990 ). after sowing , the miniplug trays were placed into a fogging / misting tent constructed on a greenhouse bench within a commercial greenhouse facility . the miniplug trays were fogged through misting nozzles with a 1 - mm orifice ( dramm co ., manitowoc , wisc ., usa ) for 15 secs at 2 - hr intervals for 2 weeks . the miniplug trays fogged four times daily through the misting system with a solution comprised of 4 . 5 % sucrose and plantprod forestry seedling starter fertilizer 11 - 41 - 8 at 50 ppm n . the miniplug trays were also misted every 2 - 3 days with a rotation of benlate , thiram and rovral . data were collected two weeks after sowing , and are summarized in table 3 . these data demonstrate that se produced from interior spruce lines 1 - 1281 and 107 - 1917 germinated ex vitro in different types of non - sterile growing substrates including a peat - based formulation , an extruded foam ( i . e ., oasis ) and rock wool when placed into a conventional misting / fogging tent , and supplemented with exogenous nutrient applications via fogging , and propagated in a conventional commercial greenhouse facility somatic embryos ( se ) of interior spruce ( picea glauca engelmannii complex ) lines 1 - 1281 , 4 - 2809 , 5 - 1702 , 10 - 1995 , 23 - 2672 , 119 - 2560 were produced according to the methods of roberts et al . ( 1990a ; 1990b ) and webster et al . ( 1990 ). after harvesting , the se were dried using the hrht method . a custom - formulated seedling growing mix comprised of 16 . 2 cu . ft . of peat , 6 . 75 cu . ft . perlite , 4 cu . ft . vermiculite , 6 kilograms of dolomite lime , 1 . 5 kilograms of gypsum , 375 grams of potassium phosphate , 250 grams micromax , and 35 grams of wetting agent 5 ( westcreek farms , fort langley , b . c ), was prewetted with a suspension comprised of 3 % sucrose , plant products forestry seedling starter fertilizer 11 - 41 - 8 at a concentration of 50 ppm n , then dispensed into styrofoam miniplug trays containing 252 cells ( beaver plastic ltd .). the miniplug trays were sown with se ( 1 line / tray ), then covered with a thin layer of coir ( fine fibres of composted coconut husks ) and misted with water . the miniplug trays were then placed into a fogging / misting tent constructed on a greenhouse bench within a commercial greenhouse facility . the miniplug trays were fogged through misting nozzles with a 1 - mm orifice ( dramm co ., manitowoc , wisc ., usa ) for 30 sec at 4 - hr intervals for 1 week . the miniplug trays were also misted by hand three times daily with a solution comprised of 4 . 5 % sucrose and forestry seedling starter fertilizer 11 - 41 - 8 at 50 ppm n . data collected indicated that average daily temperature within the misting / fogging tent was 25 ° c . while the average atmospheric relative humidity was 92 %. data collected one week after sowing , are summarized in table 4 . these data demonstrate that se produced from six interior spruce lines sown onto a peat - based growing substrate and covered with a thin layer of coir , germinated ex vitro when placed into a conventional misting / fogging tent , and supplemented with exogenous nutrient applications via fogging , and propagated in a conventional commercial greenhouse facility . somatic embryos ( se ) of interior spruce ( picea glauca engelmannii complex ) line 23 - 2672 were produced according to the methods of roberts et al . ( 1990a ; 1990b ) and webster et al . ( 1990 ). after harvesting , the se were dried for three weeks using the hrht method and then , dried further for 20 h at 23 ° c . in a sealed chamber containing a rh of 88 . 5 % which was maintained with an unsaturated nacl solution placed in the chamber . water contents of embryos were determined immediately after the hrht treatment , and after the further desiccation at 88 . 5 .% rh . desiccated embryos were imbibed for 18 h in an environment with a rh of 100 %, and then sown into 400 - cavity miniplug trays containing a non - sterile peat - based soil - less growing substrate that was gelled with a polymer ( grow tech inc ., san juan bautista , calif . usa ). after sowing was completed , the miniplug trays were placed into a humidified germination chamber for 1 week with the following environmental conditions : 95 - 98 % rh ; 25 °/ 20 ° c . day / night temperatures ; a diurnal period of 18 h light / 6 h dark ; light intensity of 30 - 40 μm m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux . the blocks were then moved into a misting chamber with similar environmental conditions except for an increase in light intensity to 120 - 150 μmol m − 2 s − 1 . after two more weeks of growth , germination success was recorded and the results summarized in table 5 . these data demonstrate that spruce somatic embryos which were desiccated to water contents approximating those of zygotic spruce seed , germinated when sown directly onto the surface of a non - sterile peat - based growing substrate which had been gelled with a polymer . mature somatic embryos of ( 1 ) pinus patula scheide et deppe , and ( 2 ) western white pine ( pinus monticola doug1 . ex d . don ) were directly sown into non - sterile soilless seedling mixes comprised of 50 % screened peat and 50 % fine perlite ( mix b2 ) in tlc polyform 288 / ml miniplug trays ( 10 ml / cavity ). after sowing , the trays were placed in a humidified growth chamber with an environmental condition of 95 - 98 % rh , day / night air temperatures of 25 / 20 ° c ., and an 18 hour photoperiod of 90 - 120 μmol m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux . for the first three days since sowing , a modified gmd nutrient solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the trays twice a day . thereafter , nutrient solution application was reduced to only once a day . after 3 weeks , the experiments were terminated and germination successes tabulated . the results are summarized in table 6 . mature somatic embryos of ( 1 ) pinus patula scheide et deppe , and ( 2 ) western white pine ( pinus monticola doug1 . ex d . don ) were directly sown into 400 - cavity miniplug trays containing a non - sterile peat - based soil - less growing substrate that was gelled with a polymer ( grow tech inc ., san juan bautista , calif . usa ). after sowing , the trays were placed in a humidified growth chamber with environmental conditions comprised of 95 - 98 % rh , day / night air temperatures of 25 / 20 ° c ., light intensity of 90 - 120 μmol m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux and an 18 - hour photoperiod . for the first three days since sowing , a modified gmd nutrient solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the trays twice a day . thereafter , nutrient solution application was reduced to only once a day . after 3 weeks , the experiments were terminated and germination successes tabulated . the results are summarized in table 7 . these data demonstrate that patula pine ( pinus patula ) and western white pine ( pinus moticola ) somatic embryos can be germinated ex vitro in a non - sterile peat - based growing substrate which had been gelled with a polymer . mature somatic embryos of pinus patula scheide et deppe and pinus patula were further desiccated for 20 h at 23 ° c . in a sealed chamber containing a rh of 88 . 5 % which was maintained with an unsaturated nacl solution placed in the chamber . western white pine ( pinus monticola doug1 . ex d . don ) embryos were desiccated for 72 h in the same environment , i . e ., with a rh of 88 . 5 %. water contents of the embryos were determined immediately after the hrht treatments , and after the further desiccations at 88 . 5 .% rh . desiccated embryos were imbibed for 18 h in an environment with a rh of 100 %, and then sown into 400 - cavity miniplug trays containing a non - sterile peat - based soil - less growing substrate that was gelled with a polymer ( grow tech inc ., san juan bautista , calif . usa ). after the sowings were completed , the miniplug trays were placed into a humidified germination chamber for 1 week with the following environmental conditions : 95 - 98 % rh ; 25 °/ 20 ° c . day / night temperatures ; a diurnal period of 18 h light / 6 h dark ; light intensity of 30 - 40 μmol m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux . the blocks were then moved into a misting chamber with similar environmental conditions except for an increase in light intensity to 120 - 150 μmol m − 2 s − 1 . after two more weeks of growth , germination successes were recorded and the results summarized in table 8 . these data demonstrate that desiccated somatic embryos from various pine species can germinate when sown directly onto the surface of a non - sterile peat - based growing substrate which had been gelled with a polymer . mature somatic embryos of pinuspatula scheide et deppe and pinus patula were desiccated for 24 h at 23 ° c . in a sealed chamber containing a rh of 92 . 4 % which was maintained with an unsaturated nacl solution placed in the chamber . the embryos were then transferred to a sealed chamber maintained at a rh of 88 . 5 % and further desiccated at 5 ° c . for 42 h . water contents of the embryos were determined immediately after the hrht treatments , and after the further desiccations at 88 . 5 .% rh . desiccated embryos were imbibed for 18 h in an environment with a rh of 100 %, and then sown into 400 - cavity miniplug trays containing a non - sterile peat - based soil - less growing substrate that was gelled with a polymer ( grow tech inc ., san juan bautista , calif . usa ). after the sowings were completed , the miniplug trays were placed into a humidified germination chamber for 1 week with the following environmental conditions : 95 - 98 % rh ; 25 °/ 20 ° c . day / night temperatures ; a diurnal period of 18 h light / 6 h dark ; light intensity of 30 - 40 μmol m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux . the blocks were then moved into a misting chamber with similar environmental conditions except for an increase in light intensity to 120 - 150 μmol m − 2 s − 1 . after two more weeks of growth , germination successes were recorded and the results summarized in table 9 . these data demonstrate that desiccated somatic embryos from various pine species can germinate , regardless of how they were processed during desiccation , when sown directly onto the surface of a non - sterile peat - based growing substrate which had been gelled with a polymer . hrht - treated loblolly pine ( pinus taeda l ) somatic embryos were directly sown into tlc polyform 288 - cavity miniplug trays containing soilless mixes comprised of screened peat and fine perlite . after sowings were completed , the trays were placed in a humidified growth chamber with an environmental condition of 95 - 98 % rh , day / night air temperatures of 26 / 20 ° c ., and an 18 hour photoperiod with a light intensity of 90 - 120 μmol m − 2 s − 1 photosynthetic photon flux . a modified gmd nutrient solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the trays once a day . germination successes were assessed after 2 weeks . the results are summarized in table 10 . matured canola ( brassica napus l .) somatic embryos were harvested and conditioned in nln - 13 liquid medium ( lichter , 1982 ) for one week as follows . embryos were placed in 250 - ml baffled erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 ml of medium . the flasks were then placed onto a shaker ( 60 rpm ) under constant ( 24 h / day ) illumination at 20 - 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of photosynthetic photon flux . the conditioned embryos were then sown into 288 - cavity miniplug trays containing non - sterile soilless peat - based seedling mixes . after sowing , the miniplug trays were placed into a high - humidity ( 95 - 98 % rh ) chamber . photosynthetic photon flux ( i . e ., light intensity ) in the chamber was 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 at the surface height of the trays . a modified gmd solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the embryos once every weekday during the length of the experiment . germination success was recorded after 3 weeks . the shoot lengths of the canola somatic seedlings ranged between 0 . 5 to 4 . 0 cm tall and their root systems were well developed . the results are summarized in table 11 . matured canola ( brassica napus l .) somatic embryos were harvested and conditioned in nln - 13 liquid medium ( lichter , 1982 ) for one week as follows . embryos were placed in 250 - ml baffled erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 ml of medium . the flasks were then placed onto a shaker ( 60 rpm ) under constant ( 24 h / day ) illumination at 20 - 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of photosynthetic photon flux . the conditioned embryos then received a three - day hrht treatment after which , they were sown into 288 - cavity miniplug trays containing non - sterile soilless peat - based seedling mixes . after sowing , the miniplug trays were placed into a high - humidity ( 95 - 98 % rh ) chamber . photosynthetic photon flux ( i . e ., light intensity ) in the chamber was 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 at the surface height of the trays . a modified gmd solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the embryos once every weekday during the length of the experiment . germination success was recorded after 3 weeks . the results are summarized in table 12 . these data demonstrate that somatic embryos from an angiosperm species , brassica napus l ., processed with an hrht treatment , can be germinated ex vitro in various compositions of non - sterile soilless growing mixes . matured canola ( brassica napus l .) somatic embryos were harvested and conditioned in nln - 13 liquid medium ( lichter , 1982 ) for one week as follows . embryos were placed in 250 - ml baffled erlenmeyer flasks containing 100 ml of medium . the flasks were then placed onto a shaker ( 60 rpm ) under constant ( 24 h / day ) illumination at 20 - 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 of photosynthetic photon flux . the conditioned embryos then received a three - day hrht treatment after which , they were further desiccated at 23 ° c . in one of the following desiccation environments , 84 . 2 % rh ; 85 % rh ; 92 . 4 % rh ; 96 . 7 % rh . water contents of the embryos were determined immediately after the hrht treatments , and after the further desiccations at 88 . 5 .% rh . desiccated embryos were imbibed for 18 h in an environment with a rh of 100 %, and then sown into 288 - cavity miniplug trays containing non - sterile soilless peat - based seedling mixes . after sowing , the miniplug trays were placed into a high - humidity ( 95 - 98 % rh ) chamber . photosynthetic photon flux ( i . e ., light intensity ) in the chamber was 30 μmol m − 2 s − 1 at the surface height of the trays . a modified gmd solution containing 3 % sucrose was sprayed onto the embryos once every weekday during the length of the experiment . germination success was recorded after 3 weeks . the results are summarized in table 13 . | 0 |
embodiments of the presently disclosed intravaginal slingplasty ( ivs ) tunneling device will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings wherein like numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views . as is common in the art , the term proximal refers to that part or component closer to the user or operator , i . e . surgeon or physician , while the term distal refers to that part or component further away from the user . referring now to fig1 , there is disclosed one embodiment of an illuminated intravaginal slingplasty ( ivs ) tunneling device 10 for use in inserting a tape or suture within the body of a patient . tunneling device 10 generally includes an outer assembly 12 and a stylet 14 movably positioned within outer assembly 12 . at least a portion of stylet 14 is formed of a light transmissive material . outer assembly 12 includes an elongate tubular member 16 and a handle 18 formed adjacent a proximal end 20 of elongate tubular member 16 . handle 18 can take various shapes . in one embodiment , handle 18 is formed with a delta wing shape . in the illustrated embodiment , a distal tip 22 of stylet 14 extends from a distal end 24 of elongate tubular member 16 and is formed of a light transmissive material . distal tip 22 has a diameter that is greater than , or equal to , the inner diameter of elongate tubular member 16 such that distal tip 22 cannot be retracted within elongate tubular member 16 . a proximal end 26 of stylet 14 extends out of proximal end 20 of elongate tubular member 16 . in one embodiment , a loop 28 is formed at proximal end 26 of stylet 14 for receipt of a tape or suture . loop 28 is dimensioned to be freely movable through elongate tubular member 16 . as shown in fig1 , elongate tubular member 16 includes a relatively straight proximal portion 30 , a distal portion 32 , and an arcuate portion 34 . the radius of arcuate portion 34 can be constant or variable depending upon the application of tunneling device 10 . distal portion 32 can be either straight or arcuate . furthermore , the plane defined by proximal portion 30 , distal portion 32 and arcuate portion 34 can be oriented at various angles relative to the plane defined by handle 18 . referring now to fig2 , stylet 14 includes a relatively straight proximal portion 36 , a distal portion 38 and an intermediate portion 40 . stylet 14 is formed of a flexible material and , as noted above , at least a portion of stylet 14 , including distal tip 22 is formed of a light transmissive material . in one embodiment , a portion 46 of distal tip 22 may be coated to block the transmission of light through coated portion 46 of distal tip 22 . in a particular embodiment , coated portion 46 is formed on the surface of distal tip 22 facing the outside arc of curvature of stylet 14 . by coating portion 46 of distal tip 22 , the orientation of tunneling instrument 10 within the body can be verified by observing the intensity of the light through the abdominal wall . for example , if tunneling instrument 10 is not in the proper orientation , coated portion 46 will block the transmission of light and will give the operator immediate visual feedback that tunneling instrument 10 is not properly oriented within the body and maybe traversing an undesired path through the body . by observing the intensity of the light emitted through tip portion 22 , the operator can reorient tunneling instrument 10 to its proper position . stylet 14 can be formed such that intermediate portion 40 has an arcuate configuration . however , stylet 14 is sufficiently flexible such that it will pass through arcuate portion 34 of elongate tubular member 16 even if formed entirely straight . to assemble outer assembly 12 and stylet 14 , proximal end 26 of stylet 14 is inserted through an opening 42 in distal end 24 of elongate tubular member 16 and advanced through elongate tubular member 16 until proximal end 26 exits an opening 44 in proximal end 20 of elongate tubular member 16 . as noted above , the diameter of distal tip 22 of stylet 14 is equal to or greater than the inner diameter of elongate tubular member 16 such that tip 22 abuts distal end 24 . referring now to fig3 and 5 , a port or light guide 48 extends through handle 18 and elongate tubular member 16 . light guide 48 is provided to receive an external source of light and communicate that light through handle 18 and into an interior of elongate tubular member 16 , such that the light thus transmitted is directed to stylet 14 to illuminate distal tip 22 of stylet 14 . in one embodiment , light guide 48 is formed as an integral part of elongate tubular member 16 . in this embodiment , it would be advantageous to form all of stylet 14 of a light transmissive material . referring now to fig6 , there is disclosed an alternative light guide 50 . light guide 50 generally includes a port 52 , similar to light guide 48 , and an inner tubular member 54 that is dimensioned to be positioned within elongate tubular member 16 . further , inner tubular member 54 is also dimensioned to freely receive stylet 14 there through . light guide 50 can be formed as an integral part of tunneling device 10 or can be configured to be removable . port 52 is in optical communication with the interior of inner tubular member 54 . inner tubular member 54 includes a distal portion 56 that extends partially or wholly to opening 42 of elongate tubular member 16 . inner tubular member 54 further includes a proximal portion 58 that extends proximally to opening 44 of elongate tubular member 16 . in order to illuminate stylet 16 positioned within light guide 50 , an external source of light may be provided to port 52 or a proximal end of proximal portion 58 . in this embodiment , all or part of stylet 14 can be formed of a light transmissive material . however , it is desirable that at least distal tip 22 be formed of a light transmissive material . referring to fig4 , in a further embodiment , tunneling device 10 is formed with a self - contained light source 60 . light source 60 generally includes a source of power , such as , for example , a battery 62 and a source of light 64 ( not explicitly shown ) that is configured to illuminate the inside of elongate tubular member 16 and , therefore , distal tip 22 of stylet 14 . light source 64 can take various forms , such as , for example , a conventional bulb , an led light source , etc . referring to fig7 and 8 , the use of illuminated tunneling device 10 to perform a intravaginal slingplasty ( ivs ) procedure will now be described . tunneling device 10 is prepared as described hereinabove with stylet 14 inserted into elongate tubular member 16 . a first free end of a tape or suture ( not explicitly shown ) is inserted through loop 28 at a proximal end of stylet 14 . an external source of light is connected to light guide port 48 or port 52 and turned on to illuminate the interior of the elongate tubular member 16 . in the various manners described hereinabove , this illuminates distal tip 22 . alternatively , where tunneling device 10 is provided with a self - contained light source 60 , light source 60 will be turned on prior to insertion in the body . initially , an incision ( iv ) is formed through the vaginal wall . distal tip 22 of tunneling device 10 is inserted into the vaginal cavity such that distal tip 22 is positioned adjacent the incision . notably , the supplied light illuminates distal tip 22 such that the light emitted therefrom can be used to identify the location of the vaginal incision . this significantly improves the ability of the operator to insert tunneling device 10 through the vaginal incision quickly and efficiently . once distal tip 22 has passed through the vaginal incision , tunneling device 10 is manipulated to pass along one side of the urethra ( u ) and into the abdominal space . once in position , distal tip 22 can be moved along the surface of the pubic bone ( pb ) such that the pubic bone ( pb ) acts as a guide to advance tunneling device 10 adjacent the abdominal wall ( aw ). referring now to fig8 , as distal tip 22 is advanced toward the abdominal wall ( aw ), the light emitted by distal tip 22 will be visible to an unaided naked eye of the user . by being able to view the light emitted by distal tip 22 from external of the abdominal wall , the proper location for the abdominal incision can be determined . this is particularly significant in patients with significant fat deposits in the abdominal wall , which preclude the location of distal tip 22 by the usual palpation means . further , depending upon the intensity of the light emitted by distal tip 22 , the entire path of distal tip 22 from the vaginal incision , through the retropubic space , and to a position located beneath the abdominal wall can be tracked . in the particular embodiment where a portion of distal tip 22 is coated to block light , the proper orientation of tunneling device 10 , as it is being passed through the body , can be maintained in a manner described hereinabove . once the abdominal incision has been made , distal tip 22 is grasped and stylet 14 is pulled through elongate tubular member 16 to draw the tape attached to loop 28 through elongate tubular member 16 and out through the abdominal incision . thereafter , outer assembly 12 is removed back through the intravaginal incision leaving the second free end of the tape extending through the vaginal canal . tunneling device 10 is then used in a second procedure to loop the tape about the urethra ( u ) such that the second free end of the tape passes through a second abdominal incision ( not shown ). this procedure may be accomplished in one of several ways as best described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 112 , 344 . the proper tension of the tape may be adjusted while the patient attempts to void . the tape may thereafter be secured subcutaneously and the abdominal incisions closed . additionally , the vaginal incision is also suture closed . the tape may be left implanted in the body or may be removed after a sufficient period of time has elapsed allowing scar tissue to aid in supporting the urethra ( u ). various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein . for example , the distal end of the elongate tubular member may be provided with a light transmissive portion or coating to facilitate placement of the tunneling device within the body . further , the sources of light , and the manner in which the light is conducted to the distal tip of the stylet , can assume other configurations other than a single light port at a distal end of the instrument . additionally , be disclosed illuminated tunneling device may be used in procedures other than intravaginal slingplasty procedures , including those where it would be advantageous to illuminate the entrance of the device into the body and monitor the passage of the device through the body . therefore , the above description should not be construed as limiting , but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments . those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto . | 0 |
modes for carrying out the present invention will next be described by way of embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings , which embodiments should not be construed as limiting the invention . fig1 shows a spark plug 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention . the spark plug 100 includes a tubular metallic shell 1 ; an insulator 2 fitted into the metallic shell 1 such that a front end portion 21 projects from the metallic shell 1 ; a center electrode 3 provided in the insulator 2 such that a noble - metal discharge portion 31 formed on its front end projects from the insulator 2 ; and a ground electrode 4 , one end thereof being joined to the metallic shell 1 by means of welding or the like , the other end portion thereof being bent such that its side surface faces the discharge portion 31 of the center electrode 3 . a noble - metal discharge portion 32 is formed on the ground electrode 4 in opposition to the noble - metal discharge portion 31 . the noble - metal discharge portion 31 and the noble - metal discharge portion 32 form a spark discharge gap g therebetween . the insulator 2 is formed from a ceramic sintered body such as alumina or aluminum nitride . the insulator 2 has a through - hole 6 formed therein along its axial direction so as to receive the center electrode 3 . a metallic terminal member 13 is fixedly inserted into one end portion of the through - hole 6 , whereas the center electrode 3 is fixedly inserted into the other end portion of the through - hole 6 . a resistor 15 is disposed within the through - hole 6 between the metallic terminal member 13 and the center electrode 3 . opposite end portions of the resistor 15 are electrically connected to the center electrode 3 and the metallic terminal member 13 via conductive glass seal layers 16 and 17 , respectively . a flange - like protrusion 2 e is formed at a central portion of the insulator 2 . the metallic shell 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape from carbon steel and serves as a housing of the spark plug 100 . a male - threaded portion 7 and two protrusions ( the tool engagement portion 1 e and the gas seal portion 1 g ) are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the metallic shell 1 and adapted to mount the spark plug 100 on an unillustrated engine block . when a side toward the spark discharge gap g with respect to the direction of the axis o is taken as the front side , a flange - like gas seal portion 1 g is formed adjacent to the rear side of the male - threaded portion 7 , and a tool engagement portion 1 e with which a tool such as a spanner or wrench is engaged when the metallic shell 1 is to be mounted is formed on the rear side relative to the gas seal portion 1 g . a thin - walled portion 1 h is formed between the tool engagement portion 1 e and the gas seal portion 1 g . the wall of the thin - walled portion 1 h is thinner than that of the tool engagement portion 1 e and that of the gas seal portion 1 g . the tool engagement portion 1 e has a plurality of pairs of mutually parallel tool engagement faces 1 p extending in parallel with the axis o and arranged circumferentially . when the tool engagement portion 1 e is to assume a regular hexagonal cross section , the tool engagement portion 1 e has three pairs of the tool engagement faces 1 p . alternatively , the tool engagement portion 1 e may have 12 pairs of the mutually parallel tool engagement faces 1 p . in this case , the cross section of the tool engagement portion 1 e assumes a shape obtained by shifting two superposed regular hexagonal shapes about the axis o by 30 °. in either case , when the opposite side - to - side dimension σ of the tool engagement portion 1 e is represented by the distance between opposite sides of the hexagonal cross section , the opposite side - to - side dimension σ of the tool engagement portion 1 e is not greater than 14 mm . an insulator insertion hole 40 of a metallic shell 1 into which the flange - like protrusion 2 e of the insulator is inserted has an inside diameter of 8 - 12 mm . a steel material is selected such that , when s represents the cross - sectional area of the metallic shell 1 ( the cross - sectional area of the crimped portion ) as measured on a plane ( a — a ) perpendicularly intersecting the axis o at a position 1 i where the inner wall surface of the insulator insertion hole 40 transitions to the inner wall surface of the crimped portion 1 d with respect to the direction of the axis o of the metallic shell 1 , the cross - sectional area s of the crimped portion and the carbon content of a steel material used to form the metallic shell 1 satisfy either of the following conditions a and b : condition a : 15 ≦ s & lt ; 29 mm 2 and a carbon content of 0 . 20 %- 0 . 50 % by weight ; and condition b : 29 ≦ s & lt ; 35 mm 2 and a carbon content of 0 . 15 %- 0 . 50 % by weight . a ringlike thread packing 62 — which abuts a rear end edge portion of the flange - like protrusion 2 e — is disposed between the inner surface of a rear opening portion of the metallic shell 1 and the outer surface of the insulator 2 , and a ringlike packing 60 is disposed on the rear side relative to the packing 62 while a filler layer 61 such as talc is interposed between the packings 60 and 62 . the insulator 2 is pressed toward the front side while being inserted in the metallic shell 1 , and then the opening edge of the metallic shell 1 is crimped inward toward the packing 60 to thereby form the crimped portion 1 d , whereby the metallic shell 1 is firmly joined to the insulator 2 . notably , an unillustrated gasket is fitted to a rear end part of the male - threaded portion 7 of the metallic shell 1 so as to abut the front end face of the gas seal portion 1 g . the entire outer surface of the metallic shell 1 is covered with a nickel plating layer 41 for anticorrosiveness . the nickel plating layer 41 is formed by a known electroplating process and has a thickness of , for example , about 3 - 15 μm ( as measured on a tool engagement face of the tool engagement portion 1 e ). when the film thickness is less than 3 μm , sufficient anticorrosiveness may not be attained . by contrast , a film thickness in excess of 15 μm is unnecessarily thick in terms of attainment of anticorrosiveness and requires a long plating time , thereby leading to an increase in cost . additionally , when the insulator 2 is to be joined by a crimping process , which will be described later , plating is likely to exfoliate at a portion subjected to crimping deformation . a method for manufacturing the above - described spark plug 100 according to the present invention will next be described . first , the nickel plating layer 41 is formed on the metallic shell 1 by a known electroplating process . the insulator 2 having the center electrode 3 , the conductive glass seal layers 16 and 17 , the resistor 15 , and the metallic terminal member 13 inserted into the through - hole 6 is inserted into the metallic shell 1 from an opening portion located on the rear side of the insulator insertion hole 40 until an engagement portion 2 h of the insulator 2 and an engagement portion 1 c of the metallic shell 1 are joined via a thread packing ( not shown ) ( see fig1 for these members ). next , the thread packing 62 is inserted into the metallic shell 1 from the insertion opening portion and disposed in place ; a filler is placed into the metallic shell 1 ; and the thread packing 60 is disposed in place . subsequently , a portion to be crimped of the metallic shell 1 is crimped toward the insulator 2 via the thread packings 60 and 62 and the filler , thereby forming the filler layer 61 and joining the metallic shell 1 and the insulator 2 . in the present embodiment , this crimping process employs cold crimping . the above - mentioned crimping process can be specifically performed as shown in fig2 . first , as shown in a first step in fig2 ( a ), a front end portion of the metallic shell 1 is inserted into a setting hole 110 a of a crimping base 110 such that the flange - like gas seal portion 1 g formed on the metallic shell 1 resets on the opening periphery of the setting hole 110 a . notably , the crimped portion 1 d of the metallic shell 1 in fig1 assumes a cylindrical form before crimping , and the cylindrical portion is called a portion - to - be - crimped 1 d ′. next , the crimping die 111 is fitted to the metallic shell 1 from above . a concave crimping action surface 111 p corresponding to the crimped portion 1 d ( fig1 ) is formed on a portion of the crimping die 111 which abuts the portion - to - be - crimped 1 d ′. in this state , when an axial compressive force directed toward the crimping base 110 is applied to the crimping die 111 so as to move the crimping die 111 toward the crimping base 110 , the portion - to - be - crimped 1 d ′ is compressed while being curved radially inward along the crimping action surface 111 p . as shown in a second step in fig2 ( b ), the metallic shell 1 and the insulator 2 are firmly joined through crimping . as a result of applying the compressive force , the thin - walled portion 1 h formed between the gas seal portion 1 g and the tool engagement portion 1 e is flexibly deformed in the radially outward direction so as to contribute toward increasing the stroke of compression of the filler layer 61 in the process of crimping , thereby enhancing sealing performance . next will be described the results of experiments conducted for confirming the effect of the present invention . however , the present invention shall not be construed as being limited thereto . spark plugs 200 and 300 shown in fig3 and 4 were fabricated for test use . these spark plugs 200 and 300 are configured in a manner similar to that of the spark plug 100 of fig1 except that the noble - metal discharge portions 31 and 32 are omitted . structural features conceptually common to those of the spark plug 100 of fig1 are denoted by common reference numerals ( typical structural features are selected and assigned reference numerals ). the crimped portion 1 d is formed by means of cold crimping . the spark plugs 200 and 300 have the following features : inside diameter of insulator insertion hole 40 : 11 . 2 mm ; and inside diameter of insulator insertion hole 40 : 10 mm ; and in the spark plugs 200 and 300 , the carbon content of the carbon steel used to form the metallic shell 1 was varied in the range of 0 . 05 % by weight to 0 . 50 % by weight . these spark plugs 200 and 300 were subjected to a hot airtightness test under the conditions below and measured for air leakage from the crimped portion 1 d ( portion filled with the filler material 61 ). under the above conditions , the measurement criteria were as follows : good ( o ): no air leakage ; acceptable ( δ ): leakage less than 10 cc ; and not acceptable ( x ) leakage not less than 10 cc . table 1 shows the test results of the spark plugs 200 and 300 . table 1 shows the results of the individual spark plugs 200 and 300 while the test quantity n is 3 . as is apparent from the above test results , the spark plugs 200 which satisfy the carbon content range of condition b and the spark pugs 300 which satisfy the carbon content range of condition a exhibited no air leakage at 150 ° c ., thereby indicating that gastightness has maintained . in order to study the relationship between the cold press - forming formability of the metallic shell and the inside diameter of the insulator insertion hole , metallic shells 1 a and 1 b as shown in fig5 and 6 were formed from various carbon steels of different carbon contents ranging from 0 . 1 % by weight to 0 . 55 % by weight by means of cold press - forming . in the thus - formed metallic shells 1 a and 1 b , a portion 1 e ′, which will become the tool engagement portion , has a wall thickness of 1 . 35 mm ; a portion 7 ′, which will become the male - threaded portion , has a wall thickness of 1 . 75 mm ; and the overall length of the metallic shells 1 a and 1 b is 43 mm . a known cold forging process using dies was carried out as the cold press - forming process . the measurement criteria were as follows : forgeable ( o ): no forming defect such as dent or sink arose ; and unforgeable ( x ): a forming defect arose . the test results are shown in table 2 . as is apparent from the above test results , when the carbon content exceeds 0 . 5 % by weight , forming of the metallic shell 1 a , which is 12 mm or less in the inside diameter of the insulator insertion hole , is difficult . various carbon steels of different carbon contents ranging from 0 . 05 % by weight to 0 . 50 % by weight were selected so as to form metallic shells therefrom . 20 , 000 metallic shells , each of which is identical to that of the spark plug 200 shown in fig3 were manufactured from each of the selected carbon steels . an anticorrosive film was formed on the 20 , 000 metallic shells in the following manner : an electrolytic nickel plating layer having a thickness of 5 μm was formed on 10 , 000 metallic shells , and an electrogalvanization layer having a thickness of 5 μm was formed on the remaining 10 , 000 metallic shells . by use of the metallic shells , spark plugs 400 were manufactured in the following manner : the metallic shells were subjected to cold crimping of such an excessive compression stroke that , as shown in fig7 the amount of buckling deformation of the thin - walled portion 1 h was 2 . 5 times that of fig3 . the spark plugs 400 were allowed to stand for 48 hours at room temperature and then visually observed for the appearance of the metallic shells . the number of the spark plugs 400 in which hair cracking induced from delayed fracture was observed in the crimped portion 1 d or thin - walled portion 1 h was recorded . the results are shown in table 3 . this is an accelerated test which was conducted under far severer crimping conditions . as is apparent from the test results , when a steel material having a carbon content not less than 0 . 15 % by weight is used , the use of a nickel plating layer as an anticorrosive film apparently reduces susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement as compared with use of a galvanization layer . it should further be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail of the invention as shown and described above may be made . it is intended that such changes be included within the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto . this application is based on japanese patent appln . no . 2001 - 401406 filed dec . 28 , 2001 , the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . | 7 |
an exemplary optical system ( e . g ., 300 ) is disclosed , comprising an eyepiece ( e . g ., 310 ) with a microlens array 2 and modified microdisplay 1 that can provide a large , panoramic field of view to the user . the microdisplay 1 can be modified to increase the resolution in the horizontal axis by using subpixels as individual pixels , thereby tripling the number of pixels in the horizontal axis . alternately , the electronics can be set so that two of the subpixels have the same output and can be treated as one . this modified microdisplay ( e . g ., 1 ) can be couple with an eyepiece ( e . g ., 310 ) having a different focal length in the horizontal axis than it has in the vertical axis . this will provide the same instantaneous field of view in each direction for the new pixel dimensions . the eyepiece can be made with a telecentric eyepiece lens and a microlens array with anamorphic lenslets placed near the display . such an exemplary optical system ( e . g ., 300 ) comprising an eyepiece ( e . g ., 310 ) with a microlens array 2 and modified microdisplay 1 can provide a large , panoramic field of view to the user . one exemplary approach involves making a color ( e . g ., 100 ) microdisplay monochromatic 120 and driving each of the red 111 , green 112 , and blue 113 subpixels 121 as individual pixels , thereby tripling the number of pixels in the horizontal axis . alternately , the electronics can be set so that two of the subpixels ( e . g ., 121 ) have the same output and can be treated as one . assuming the horizontal and vertical axes of the pixels have equal instantaneous fields of view , a standard 1280 × 1024 microdisplay 100 ) can provide a panoramic display ( e . g ., 120 ) with a 3840 × 1024 or 1920 × 1024 resolution , depending on whether the subpixels ( e . g ., 121 ) are driven individually or two at a time . this increase in horizontal resolution can be leveraged to provide a panoramic field of view to the user by utilizing an anamorphic eyepiece ( e . g ., 310 ) having a different focal length in the horizontal axis than it has in the vertical axis . the pixel aspect ratio has been altered to a 1 : 3 or 2 : 3 ratio . the different focal lengths in each axis can be configured to provide the same instantaneous field of view in each direction for the new pixel dimensions . an exemplary embodiment of display chosen for this effort is a 1280 × 1024 microdisplay with a 12 micrometer pixel pitch . the color filter has been stripped off the display ( e . g . 110 ) making it monochrome ( e . g ., 120 ) and exposing each of the rgb sub - pixels ( e . g ., 111 - 113 ). the sub - pixels ( e . g ., 121 ) are all made the same color ( green ). this is illustrated in fig1 . the electronics can drive the sub - pixels ( e . g ., 121 ) so that they are doubled up , giving two of the sub - pixels the same output . this essentially produces a pixel aspect ratio of 2 : 3 , or 8 micrometers in the horizontal by 12 micrometers in the vertical . in order for us to maintain the same instantaneous field of view in both axes , an anamorphic eyepiece can be configured that has an effective focal length ratio of 2 : 3 in the horizontal and vertical axes . the various exemplary alternative specifications for the final eyepiece configuration are listed in the table in fig2 . fig3 shows a layout of the eyepiece . the previously described microdisplay ( 1 ) has a microlens array ( 2 ) placed in lieu of the display &# 39 ; s cover glass . this array is comprised of microlenses that are on the same scale as the display pixels . they can have a powered surface on both sides , which are carefully aligned to within a micrometer . the surfaces of the lenslets are anamorphic , that is they have a different focal length in the horizontal and vertical directions . this particular array 2 can have microlenses that have a focal length of 55 . 5 millimeters in the vertical direction and 0 . 2 mm in horizontal direction . as a result , the effective focal length of the eyepiece as a whole is altered so that the horizontal and vertical directions have different focal lengths . in this case the altered focal length ratio for the eyepiece is 2 : 3 in the horizontal to the vertical , as shown in fig2 . this gives the pixels equal instantaneous fields of view in both directions . this has the effect of making the rectangular pixels appear square . without the microlens array ( e . g ., 2 ), the pixels would continue to appear rectangular , and the image would appear thinner , or flattened in the horizontal direction . the array also includes markings outside of the area actively used for imaging in order to facilitate alignment with the microdisplay ( e . g ., 1 ). an anamorphic eyepiece arrangement for a panoramic field of view ( e . g ., 310 ), as described from the eye pupil ( 3 ) to the display ( e . g ., 1 ), is comprised of three elements ( e . g ., 4 , 5 , 6 ). all three are made from schott glasses . the first lens ( 4 ) is a nlak33 lens with the first surface being spherical and the second aspheric . the second ( 5 ) is a nlak14 lens with an aspheric first surface and a spherical second surface . the third lens ( 6 ) is a doublet , with all spherical surfaces , made with nfk5 and sfl57 . it is important that the eyepiece is designed to be telecentric . a telecentric lens has the aperture stop , which is also the eye pupil in the case of eyepieces , located at the front focus of the lens . this results in the chief rays being parallel to the optical axis in image space . steep chief ray angles will lead to microlenses influencing the output of pixels other than those they are designed to affect . a telecentric lens minimizes this undesirable impact . it is obvious that many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims , the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described . | 6 |
referring to fig1 an electrical power or cable 1 extends from a cable winch 13 over a cable sheave 4 to supply power to eg an rov etc ( not shown ). a hoist rope 2 is reeled on a rope drum 3 and extends to the load via a rope sheave 5 . the hoist rope 1 may be any suitable form of hoist rope such as flexible steel wire rope or synthetic fibre rope , for example of “ kevlar ”. the service cable 1 passes through a central aperture of the hoist rope drum 3 , and the rope sheave 5 is arranged to be driven circumferentially around the axis of the service cable 1 . by co - ordinating the movements of the cable winch 13 , the rope drum 3 and the rope sheave 5 , the hoist rope 2 can be wrapped helically around the cable 1 to lower the load , and unwrapped as the load is raised . in this way , a hoist rope of any desired properties can be used in combination with any required service connection . fig2 shows the rope drum 3 and associated parts in greater detail . the cable sheave 4 is journalled to a fixed frame 20 that is secured to any suitable supporting structure ( not shown ). the rope drum 3 is rotatably mounted on the lower part of the frame 20 and driven in rotation by a motor 6 . the inner end of the rope 2 can be connected to any appropriate service if needed by any convenient means ( not shown ) but is otherwise connected to the winch drum 3 . the rope sheave 5 is journalled on a mounting frame 9 that is rotatable about the fixed frame 20 by means of a motor 7 . the motors 6 and 7 are driven at speeds related to the axial speed of payout of the cable 1 . the speed correlation may be fixed . preferably , however , this correlation will be controllable to alter both the length of twist ( pitch ) of the lay of the rope 2 on the cable 1 , and the tension in each . fig3 shows a modification in which a second service cable 17 is wrapped on the first cable 1 along with the hoist rope 2 . in this modification , the service cable 17 is provided with a cable storage drum 16 and a cable sheave 14 which may suitably be carried on a common supporting frame for rotation in unison with the hoist rope sheave 5 around the rope drum 15 . the apparatus may be further modified by adding further drums and sheaves to handle more services or hoist ropes . fig4 illustrates a second example in which the rope 2 is reeled on a drum 3 and the drum 3 is itself rotated about the service cable 1 to achieve a helical wrap and unwrap . as shown in more detail in fig5 the rope drum 3 may be constituted by a drum 12 removably mounted on a hub motor 11 which is carried on the end of an arm 18 rotatably mounted on the fixed frame 20 and driven by a motor 10 . as with the first example , the example shown in fig4 and 5 could be modified by adding further service cable drums to be rotated by the motor 10 . fig6 illustrates the example of fig1 modified for use in a marine towing application , for example in paying out , towing and recovering a sensor array such as a sonar sensor or seismographic surveying sensor , the sensor array being towed underwater or on the surface . the rope drum 3 is hinged to the main structure of the towing vessel ( not shown ) and can be tilted to a desired towing angle by hydraulic or other mechanisms . likewise , fig7 illustrates the modification of the example of fig4 for the same use , the frame carrying the mounting arm for the rope drum 3 being hinged to the vessel and tilted to the desired angle by hydraulic or other mechanisms . the invention may be applied to a system in which one or more service cables is applied to a load - bearing rope which itself carries a service channel in addition to fulfilling its load - bearing function . for example , the load - bearing rope could be a steel wire rope carrying electrical signals , or a rope comprising “ kevlar ” load - bearing strands in combination with optical fibre cable . fig8 shows another embodiment having a signal / power cable 1 passing over a cable sheave 4 on an axial path to a load ( not shown ). the rope 2 is held on a rope drum 12 a that is mounted in a hub motor 11 a and carried on an arm 18 a rotatably mounted on a frame 20 a and driven by a motor 10 a . the rope 2 spools over the top of the drum 12 a so that it is paid out close to the axis of the cable 1 . the arm 18 a has a pair of double tapered rollers 25 , which deflect the path of the cable 1 from its axis to make way for the rope 2 to extend axially downwards to the load . the greater tension is applied to the rope 2 and although before convergence of the cable 1 and the rope 2 the rope 2 is wrapped around the cable 1 , after the rope leaves the drum 12 a the high load pulls it axially straight down and this forces the cable 1 into a helical wrap around the outer surface of the rope 2 . in the fig9 embodiment the rope 2 is held on a drum 12 b having an axial aperture through which the cable 1 extends from the cable sheave 4 . the rope drum 12 b is held stationary and a winch in the form of a rotating arm 18 b spools off the rope 1 in one direction from the drum 12 b . the arm 18 b has spooling rollers , pulleys or guide sheaves 26 which guide the path of the rope 2 around the lip of the drum 12 b and over the axis of its rotation above the load . the rope 2 is thereby twisted around the cable 1 as it is paid out and the arm 18 b rotates in the opposite direction to wind it back in . the apparatus may have double tapered rollers 25 to deflect the path of the cable 1 as previously described . in various modifications the drum 12 b may wind in or out . | 8 |
the starting point was the idea that the tube invented will be produced in a production unit continuously from flexible material webs as a tube so that then only adjustment to the final use , be it as a conducting pipe or as an inner lining , has to take place . depending on the diameter and stress , the tube wall is formed out of one or more material webs . fig1 and 2 show cross - sections of tubes 1 , which during the manufacturing are wound around a core 4 still to be described . for the sake of better illustration the positions of the superposed material webs have a separation which does not actually exist . in fig1 the cross - section of the tube 1 from inside out has a tubular inner covering 5 , consisting of two inner webs 5 . 1 and 5 . 2 . a tension web 7 , and a tubular outer covering 9 , consisting of two outer webs 9 . 1 and 9 . 2 . the two inner webs 5 . 1 and 5 . 2 are fused with one another on their longitudinal edges 10 and thus form the tubular inner covering 5 . in the same way the two outer webs 9 . 1 and 9 . 2 . which overlap the tension web 7 , are fused with one another on their longitudinal edges 10 and form the tubular outer covering 9 . the tension web 7 lying between the inner covering 5 and the outer covering 9 is resin - impregnated in a resin station fig9 and fig1 still to be described , which ends the actual tube production . if the tube 1 is used as a pipeline , it is placed in a pipe mold , inflated and hardened there , e . g . by means of a light or heat source pulled through the pipe . in the case of use as a pipe lining tube 1 is placed folded into the existing line , there inflated or drawn over a mandrel , and then hardened in the same way . for the special application of the tube 1 as a pipe lining the tension web 7 is not connected permanently with a tube , but its edges are only superposed ; this forms an overlapping a . in the case of the inflation of the tube 1 , this overlapping a may be shifted so that the tube 1 can be applied to possible irregularities of the inner wall of the pipe , and after hardening forms a unit closely adjacent to , or connected with , the pipe wall . the inner webs 5 . 1 and 5 . 2 and the outer webs 9 . 1 and 9 . 2 consist of an elastic material and thus do not prevent shifting of the overlappings a of the tension web 7 . the overlapping a amounts to around 10 - 30 % on the circumference of the core 4 , in the middle around 15 %. in the case of larger pipe diameters the tension web can be formed oust of two webs 7 with two overlappings . if the tube 1 already is installed immediately after its manufacture and resin impregnation , the use of an inner covering 5 may be eliminated . in this case the tube 1 is installed in place and then hardened , e . g . by heating . this type of production may be used only where production and installation are close together . the cross - section of the tube 1 shown in fig2 is formed from the same webs as those in fig1 but bonded fabric webs 6 and several tension webs 7 additionally are superposed in any arrangement . as an example , tube 1 in fig2 shows a construction with greater wall thickness and greater wall strength , in the case of which from inside out a bonded fabric web 6 follows the inner covering 5 . then follow a tension web 7 , two further bonded fabric webs 6 , a further tension web 7 , and finally the outer covering 9 . each two inner webs 5 . 1 and 5 . 2 , and two outer webs 9 . 1 and 9 . 2 are welded at their longitudinal edges 10 , as is also the case according to fig1 and then form the inner covering 5 and the outer covering 9 . the outer coverings 9 . 1 , 9 . 2 of the tubes 1 as shown in fig2 may have safety webs 8 . 1 , 8 . 2 on the inside and be partially glued to them . the safety webs 8 . 1 and 8 . 2 prevent the slipping of the outer covering 9 on the adjacent reinforcing web 7 . the safety webs 8 . 1 , 8 . 2 do not extend to the longitudinal edges 10 of the outer webs 9 . 1 , 9 . 2 , see fig2 . with the exception of the two coverings 5 , 9 all bonded fabric webs 6 and tension webs 7 are provided with overlappings a , so that upon installation the entire tube 1 can lie completely against the inner wall . the hardening of the resin - impregnated bonded fabric and tension webs 6 , 7 takes place only on site , and with this the formation of a massive tube body . it is essential that the overlappings a of the individual webs lie offset to one another , as fig2 shows , in order to avoid the formation of bulges . suitable materials for the individual webs are : inner and outer covering 5 ; a thin , elastic , styrene - resistant film , e . g . consisting of polyethylene , polypropylene , poylurethane , polyamide . also it can be a compound film of these materials and pigmented or aluminum - coated as an outer covering 9 . bonded fiber web 6 : natural or artificial fibers or a mixture thereof . tension web 7 : glass fiber web or layer , mats or combinations thereof for receiving the forces acting on the tube , in particular tension forces . safety web 8 : a web of tangled organic fibers , such as cellulose , or types of paper . fig3 and 4 schematically show a unit with which the tubes 1 are produced . it consists of several stations a - h , by which the tracks are drawn from reels r and wound around the core 4 to a one - or several layer tube of any length , impregnated and continuously drawn by means of a drawing station k and laid into a storage bin l . in each station b - f several reels r , e . g . 2 - 4 reels are mounted so that they can turn , of which in each case a part of the reels r are unwound and the other reels r serve as a reserve . empty spaces 2 also can be equipped with reels r . in each case two webs are wrapped simultaneously in stations a , g , and h , in a and h for producing the inner and outer coverings 5 , 9 , and in g for simultaneous application of the two safety webs 8 . 1 , 8 . 2 before the application of the outside covering 9 . bonded fabric webs 6 or tension webs 7 are wrapped in stations b - f , e . g . boarded fabric webs 6 in stations b , d , e and tension webs 7 in stations c and f . however , the sequence of the stations b - f can be varied in any way . unnecessary stations , e . g . in the case of producing the tube in accordance with fig1 may be switched off without changing the facility . a welding station 12 , which has two welding places 14 for welding the longitudinal edges 10 of the inner webs 5 . 1 , 5 . 2 and the outer webs 9 . 1 , 9 . 2 , is located between stations a and b as well as after station h . the unit , see fig3 is a frame consisting of posts 16 and bars 19 , on which the reels r are supported and driven , see fig5 . a reel r is fastened to a shaft , e . g . a pneumatically operated clamping shaft 18 . according to the predetermined position of the overlapping a the reel r is fastened laterally to the core 4 on the clamping shaft 18 , which is driven by a motor , e . g . a drive motor 19 . the drive motor 19 is mounted on a base 20 and coupled detachably with the shaft 18 . when a reel r is completely unwound , the end of the web is glued with beginning of the next reel r and thus ensures uninterrupted preparation of the tube 1 . the clamping shaft 18 with the unwound reel can be easily removed after releasing the connection with the drive motor 19 , since it is mounted in split bearings 21 . in place of the removed reel a shaft 18 with a new reel r is installed by means of a lifting device , e . g . a crane , and coupled with the drive motor after locking the bearing 18 . fig5 shows the wrapping of the web onto the core 4 in a simplified version . as is evident from fig3 the unwound web is guided over a guide roller 22 and steered onto the core 4 with a guide track 23 , e . g . a shaped plate . the web is guided onto the core 4 by means of guide rollers 25 , which are close to the side , top and bottom of the core 4 . the reels r on the underside of the core in a similar way are fastened to clamping shafts 18 , which are not brought into position directly , but by means of special reel carriages 26 , which may be mulled out from the side like drawers , see fig4 in which position the reels easily can be changed with a lifting device . in fig3 the stations a , g , and h have no reserve reels . the webs used where are significantly thinner than the bonded fabric and tension webs 6 , 7 and therefore need to be changed only rarely because of their great length . in fig4 the upper reels r are omitted in order to show the core 4 more easily . the core 4 extends from the station b to the station h and , with the exception of the end at station b , lies freely on guide rollers 25 in the frame , in order to make it possible to have uninterrupted transport of the webs 6 - 9 , with the exception of the inner covering , wrapped around the core 4 . the guide rollers 25 ensure that the webs 6 - 9 are drawn onto and shaped around the core 4 . the core 4 consists of several essentially hollow core segments 27 lying beside one another , which are connected with a coupling consisting of two shackles 28 , 29 and a bolt 30 , see fig6 and 7 . the shackles 28 , 29 are located on angle pieces which are mounted on the underside of crosspieces 35 ( see fig8 ). the core segments 27 are in three parts , see fig8 . connected to a middle part 31 are two rounded adjustable edge pieces 32 mounted on its longitudinal sides . two longitudinally running u - sections 36 , connected with a crosspiece 35 on the middle part 31 are covered with a thin covering 37 and form together a box - like hollow piece . a u - shaped channel 38 extends over the entire length of the middle part 31 in the upper part . during the manufacturing of the tube 1 the tubular inner covering 5 produced and welded in station a lies in this channel . only after resin impregnation is the inner covering unfolded and placed against the resin - impregnated inner wall of the tube 1 . the shell - shaped edge pieces 32 consist of two flat wall parts 39 and an curved part 40 , which parts on the transition of the two parts 39 , 40 are reinforced by means of a u - shaped crosspiece 41 . the flat wall parts 39 of the edge pieces 32 extend under deck walls 37 of the middle part 31 and have slots 34 , which with spot fastening points 48 form a guide for the edge pieces 32 . the fastening points 48 hold the arm of the u - section 36 and the covering 37 with a somewhat greater separation than the thickness of the covering 37 . the fastening points 48 can be , e . g . a rivet connection with a washer 49 as a spacer and a guide for the slot 34 . a spindle drive with a spindle 42 , a two - part spindle nut 43 , and a spindle guide 44 is mounted in the lower part of the middle part 31 , an extension 45 of the spindle 42 projecting into the arched part 40 and being connected with the reinforcing bracket 41 via a rotating coupling , e . g . a ball or roller bearing 46 , and a section , e . g . a square head 47 , being molded onto the free end of the extension . the spindle can be rotated with a correspondingly shaped tool through an opening 54 in the edge piece 32 , which causes a displacement of the edge piece 32 and thus a change in the width of the core segment 27 . an identical spindle drive ( not shown for the second , opposite , edge piece 32 is located offset to the spindle 42 . if larger or smaller segment widths are desired , other core segments , but of the same type , have to be prepared . five sizes of core segments 27 for forming corresponding tubes are required for tube diameters of approximately 150 mm up to approximately 800 min . if the tube 1 is finished after applying the outer covering 9 and after fusing the longitudinal edges 10 at station h , it is impregnated with resin , e . g . a polyester , polyurethane , or epoxy resin at resin station j , see fig9 and 10 . resin station j has a circular cylindrical outer casing 50 and an inner cylinder 51 corresponding to the circumference of the core 4 . the tube 1 , first formed around the core 4 , is guided through the slit 52 formed between them , and is calibrated by stretching into the overlappings . the cylinder 51 has a circular cylindrical constriction 53 , which forms a resin chamber for distributing the resin fed through at least one line 56 . a compressed air feed of around 0 . 5 - 4 bar on both sides of the constriction 53 is indicated by the arrow 57 , by means of which the friction of the tube 1 in the slit 52 is reduced . the resin is fed at a pressure of 1 - 20 bar , which produces a good impregnation of the material webs lying on top of one another . lines 58 for supplying solvent for cleaning the resin chamber , but which are not connected during tube production , also are provided . the tube 1 leaves the core 4 as a flat tube , is shaped into a pipe at resin station j , calibrated between the outer casing 50 and the cylinder 51 and impregnated with resin at the same time . on the output side the tube 1 is pressed flat by shaping rollers 60 and guided to the drawing station k , on which the finished , not yet hardened , tube 1 is placed in the storage bin l , e . g . as folded layers lying on top of each other . the inner covering 5 lying folded together in the channel 38 of the core segments 27 reaches to the interior of the cylinder 51 , at the end of which it is unfolded by means of a spring - mounted fork 61 , which pushes it with its arms 62 onto the tube 1 ( fig4 and 10 ). the arms 62 are pushed apart by springs 63 , which lie in two half shells 64 , capable of moving toward one another , mounted on the fork ends . the fork 61 is held by a cord 65 or the like , which extends through the entire core 4 up to the beginning of station a and in forming the inner covering 5 is mounted in the interior of the latter , see fig1 and 2 . also the cylinder 51 of the resin station j cannot be supported on the outer casing 50 , but is held on the end of the core 4 with a 3 - point wire system 67 or the like . on the other hand the outer casing 50 is mounted on a frame 68 ( fig3 and 4 ) and can receive the forces arising during the drawing of the tube 1 . also the line or lines 56 for the resin feed have to be guided in the interior of the core 4 , for which passages 59 are hollowed out on both sides of the channel 38 . also a second resin line 56 can be provided for producing larger tubes . in the drawing station l the tube 1 is given a specific speed which is used for controlling the motors for the reels r in stations a - h . the entire unit can be operated with a central control unit s . a roller 71 is mounted in the drawing station k in the middle under two pairs of rollers 69 , 70 . a flat belt 74 wraps around the roller 71 and the lower roller 70 of the pair of rollers 69 , 70 together with guide rollers 73 , which rollers are driven by a motor , roller 71 being mounted vertically adjustable in a stand 76 . the rollers of the roller pair 69 , 70 form a slit for the passage of the tube 1 , which winds around the roller in a loop and thus is pressed against the roller 70 from below by the flat belt 74 . thus the tube 1 be guided through the drawing station k without slipping and without pressing it too greatly . the rollers 70 of the roller pairs 69 , 70 and the roller 71 are driven together via a chain drive by means of a motor m . the speed of the tube 1 measured in the drawing station k is used for controlling the drive motors 19 for driving the reels r , switching the reels r on and off and all other functions of the unit also being control led by the control unit s . if the desired tube length is produced , the tube 1 is cut in two by means of schematically represented shears 77 lying between the resin station j and the drawing station k . if another tube size has to be produced , the tube 1 also has to be cut in two by means of further schematically represented shears 78 lying between in front of the resin station j , and the tube part al ready present in the resin station has to be removed , in which case , however , the cord 65 , which holds the fork 61 , and the wire system 67 , which holds the cylinder 51 of the resin station j , and prevents turning thereof , are not cut . a towline 79 also can be inserted during the formation of the tube 1 , see fig1 and 2 , which lies as the cord 65 on the inside of the inner covering 5 and moves with the tube 1 advancing on the core 4 . if a specific tube length is cut off and used either for tube production or for tube covering , identical length of the towline 79 is available for , e . g ., pulling a hardening device for hardening through the tube 1 . the unit described can be used to produce tubes of any length continuously and endlessly , which have different wall thicknesses and different wall structures depending on the purpose of application and can be cut into different lengths . | 8 |
in the related art antenna , efforts were made to enhance the radiation performance by separately equipping the antenna with a radiating element for ground radiation , and by varying the formation or structure of the radiating element . more specifically , efforts were made for realizing a radiator by combining an element having both inductance and capacitance with a capacitor and an inductor . however , the applicant was able to discover that an excellent ground radiating element could be fabricated when using the inductance of the ground , by simply connecting the capacitor to the ground , without having to use a separate element configured of a complex structure . in order to function as the radiating element of the antenna , the capacitor having the capacitance and the inductor having the inductance should both exist so as to create a resonance . the application also discovered that , since the ground provides the inductance required to generate the resonance , only the capacitor and the ground were required to perform the function of the radiating element without having to be equipped with a separate element for providing the inductance . however , the related art ground radiators were incapable of efficiently using the inductance provided from the ground . and , accordingly , efforts were made in the related art in trying to generate resonance by configuring elements having a complex structure and being provided with both capacitance and inductance . conversely , according to the present invention , by being capable of efficiently using the inductance provided from the ground itself , a radiator having a simple structure may be configured to connect the capacitor to the ground , and an antenna using the above - described radiator may be provided . fig1 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a first embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig1 , the antenna using ground radiation according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a feeding part 120 configured of a feeding source 12 and a feeding transmission line 180 , a feeding source 12 , a ground 10 , a first conductor line 11 , a first element 13 , a second conductor line 12 a , a second element 15 , a third conductor line 12 b , a capacitive element 17 , a fourth conductor line 14 a , and a fifth conductor line 14 b . the ground 10 provides a reference voltage inside a telecommunication device , such as a mobile communication user terminal ( or user equipment ). generally , it is preferable that a user terminal ground is formed in a printed circuit board ( pcb ), wherein circuit devices required for the operation of the user equipment ( or terminal ) are combined with one another . according to the present invention , in addition to providing the reference voltage , the ground 10 also performs the function of a ground radiator of the antenna . this characteristic is equally applied to the other embodiments of the present invention , which will be described in detail later on . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the feeding part 120 , the first conductor line 11 , the first element 13 , the second conductor line 12 a , the second element 15 , and the third conductor line 12 b collectively operate as a feeding circuit for exciting the antenna , so that radiation of an rf signal can occur through the antenna radiator . additionally , the fourth conductor line 14 a , the capacitive element 17 , and the fifth conductor line 14 b operate in collaboration ( or collectively ) as an antenna radiator - forming circuit , which enables the rf signal to be actually radiated . more specifically , according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the feeding part 120 , the first conductor line 11 , the first element 13 , the second conductor line 12 a , the second element 15 , and the third conductor line 12 b collectively operate as the feeding circuit , and , depending upon the feeding of the feeding circuit ( or feeding scheme ), the fourth conductor line 14 a , the capacitive element 17 , and the fifth conductor line 14 b collectively operate as the antenna radiator - forming circuit , which enables the rf signal to be radiated . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the first element 13 may correspond to an inductive element , a capacitive element , or a simple conductive line . moreover , the second element 15 may also correspond to an inductive element , a capacitive element , or a simple conductive line . at this point , in case the first element 13 is a capacitive element , the first conductor line 11 , the first element 13 , the second conductor line 12 a , the second element 15 , and the third conductor line 12 b may collectively operate as the feeding circuit and may also collectively operate as the radiator - forming circuit . and , the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention may have the multi - band characteristic . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the feeding part 120 is configured of a coplanar waveguide ( cpw ). however , in addition to the cpw , a variety of other types of feeding part may be configured in the present invention . such characteristic is equally applied to the other embodiments of the present invention . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the feeding circuit is configured inside of a clearance area 100 . the clearance area 100 corresponds to an area within the user terminal ground 10 having a portion of the ground removed therefrom . according to the first embodiment of the present invention , it is preferable that the capacitive element corresponds to a lumped circuit element , such as a chip capacitor . however , in addition to the chip capacitor , a capacitive element having a general capacitive structure may also be used in the first embodiment of the present invention . furthermore , the capacitive element may either be configured of a single capacitor , or may be configured by connecting two or more capacitors to one another . meanwhile , according to the first embodiment of the present invention , in order to obtain a specific capacitance , the capacitive element 13 may be replaced with a combination of multiple elements . for example , the capacitive element 13 may be replaced with a combined structure of a capacitive element and an inductive element . furthermore , in the other embodiments of the present invention that will be described hereinafter , in order to obtain a specific capacitance , the capacitive element may be replaced with a combination of multiple elements . for example , the capacitive element may be replaced with a combined structure of a capacitive element and an inductive element . fig2 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a second embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig2 , the antenna using ground radiation according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a feeding part 220 configured of a feeding source 22 and a feeding transmission line 280 , a ground 20 , a first conductor line 21 , a first element 23 , a second conductor line 22 a , a second element 25 , a third conductor line 22 b , a third element 27 , a fourth conductor line 24 a , a fifth conductor line 24 b , a capacitive element 29 , and a sixth conductor line 22 c . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the feeding part 220 , the first conductor line 21 , the first element 23 , the second conductor line 22 a , the second element 25 , and the third conductor line 22 b collectively operate as a feeding circuit for exciting the antenna , so that radiation of an rf signal can occur through 24 a , the third element 27 , and the fifth conductor line 24 b operate in collaboration ( or collectively ) as a first antenna radiator - forming circuit , which enables the rf signal to be actually radiated . furthermore , the first conductor line 21 , the first element 23 , the second conductor line 22 a , the capacitive element 29 , and the sixth conductor line 22 c collectively operate as a second antenna radiator - forming circuit . by being provided with a plurality of radiator - forming circuits , the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention may have the multi - band characteristic . the third conductor line 22 b and the second element 25 are added so as to facilitate impedance matching . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the first element 23 may correspond to an inductive element , a capacitive element , or a simple conductive line . the second element 25 may correspond to an inductive element or a simple conductive line . meanwhile , the third element 27 may correspond to an inductive element , a capacitive element , or a simple conductive line . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the feeding circuit is configured inside of a clearance area 200 . the clearance area 200 corresponds to an area within the user terminal ground 20 having a portion of the ground removed therefrom . according to the second embodiment of the present invention , it is preferable that the capacitive element corresponds to a lumped circuit element , such as a chip capacitor . however , in addition to the chip capacitor , a capacitive element having a general capacitive structure may also be used in the second embodiment of the present invention . furthermore , the capacitive element may either be configured of a single capacitor , or may be configured by connecting two or more capacitors to one another . fig3 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a third embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , the antenna using ground radiation according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a feeding part 320 configured of a feeding source 32 and a feeding transmission line 380 , a ground 30 , a first conductor line 31 a , a first element 35 , a second conductor line 31 b , a first capacitive element 33 , a third conductor line 34 a , a fourth conductor line 34 b , a second element 37 , a fifth conductor line 34 c , a sixth conductor line 36 a , a second capacitive element 39 , a seventh conductor line 36 b , an eighth conductor line 38 a , a third element 390 , and a ninth conductor line 38 b . according to the third embodiment of the present invention , the feeding part 320 , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the second conductor line 31 b , the fourth conductor line 34 b , the first capacitive element 33 , and the third conductor line 34 a collectively operate as a first feeding circuit for exciting the antenna , so that radiation of an rf signal can occur through the antenna radiator . also , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the second conductor line 31 b , the fourth conductor line 34 b , the first capacitive element 33 , and the third conductor line 34 a actually operate in collaboration ( or collectively ) as a first antenna radiator - forming circuit , which enables the rf signal to be radiated . more specifically , according to the third embodiment of the present invention , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the second conductor line 31 b , the fourth conductor line 34 b , the first capacitive element 33 , and the third conductor line 34 a not only correspond to portions of the feeding circuit of the antenna but also correspond to portions of a radiator - forming circuit . additionally , the feeding part 320 , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the sixth conductor line 36 a , the second capacitive element 39 , and the seventh conductor line 36 b collectively operate as a second feeding circuit for exciting the antenna , so that radiation of an rf signal can occur through the antenna radiator . also , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the sixth conductor line 36 a , the second capacitive element 39 , and the seventh conductor line 36 b operate in collaboration ( or collectively ) as a second antenna radiator - forming circuit , which enables the rf signal to be actually radiated . more specifically , according to the third embodiment of the present invention , the first conductor line 31 a , the first element 35 , the sixth conductor line 36 a , the second capacitive element 39 , and the seventh conductor line 36 b not only correspond to portions of the feeding circuit of the antenna but also correspond to portions of a radiator - forming circuit . meanwhile , the eighth conductor line 38 a , the third element 390 , and the ninth conductor line 38 b collectively operate as a third antenna radiator - forming circuit . the antenna according to the third embodiment of the present invention may realize a multi - band characteristic due to a triple antenna radiator - forming circuit . meanwhile , the fifth conductor line 34 c and the second element 37 correspond to elements that are added in order to facilitate impedance matching . according to the third embodiment of the present invention , the first element 35 may correspond to an inductive element , a capacitive element , or a simple conductive line . and , the second element 37 may correspond to an inductive element or a simple conductive line . according to the third embodiment of the present invention , the feeding circuit is configured inside of a clearance area 300 . the clearance area 300 corresponds to an area within the user terminal ground 30 having a portion of the ground removed therefrom . according to the third embodiment of the present invention , it is preferable that the capacitive element corresponds to a lumped circuit element , such as a chip capacitor . however , in addition to the chip capacitor , a capacitive element having a general capacitive structure may also be used in the third embodiment of the present invention . furthermore , the capacitive element may either be configured of a single capacitor , or may be configured by connecting two or more capacitors to one another . fig4 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention , a portion of the antenna is formed in the clearance area 400 , and another portion of the antenna is formed outside of the clearance area 400 . fig5 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention , a separate clearance is not formed in the antenna according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention . furthermore , the antenna according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is configured in an area that is not surrounded by the ground . fig6 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention , a portion of the antenna is formed in the clearance area 600 , and another portion of the antenna is formed outside of the clearance area 600 . fig7 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention , a separate clearance is not formed in the antenna according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention . furthermore , the antenna according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention is configured in an area that is not surrounded by the ground . fig8 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention has the same basic structure as the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the shape of the clearance is different from the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention . more specifically , the clearance of the antenna according to the first embodiment of the present invention has three sides surrounded by the ground , and only one side of the clearance is open . however , the clearance 800 of the antenna according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention is formed to have all four sides surrounded by the ground 80 . fig9 illustrates an antenna using ground radiation according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention . although the antenna according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention has the same basic structure as the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention , the shape of the clearance is different from the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention . more specifically , the clearance of the antenna according to the second embodiment of the present invention has three sides surrounded by the ground , and only one side of the clearance is open . however , the clearance 900 of the antenna according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention is formed to have all four sides surrounded by the ground 90 . as described above , each of the first , fourth , fifth , and eighth embodiments of the present invention belongs to an antenna group having the same basic connection . however , depending upon the shape of the clearance , depending upon whether or not a portion of the antenna or the entire antenna is formed in the clearance , and depending upon whether or not the antenna is formed outside of the clearance , each of the first , fourth , fifth , and eighth embodiments may be formed to have a different shape . therefore , by creating a clearance having two sides surrounded by the ground and two sides open to the outside , and by applying this structure to each embodiment of the present invention , the antenna may be formed to have a wide range of shapes other than the shapes shown in the drawings . therefore , the clearance having two sides open to the outside may also be applied to the second , sixth , and seventh embodiments of the present invention , each belonging to the same antenna group . | 8 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure , its application , or uses . for purposes of clarity , the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements . as used herein , the phrase at least one of a , b , and c should be construed to mean a logical ( a or b or c ), using a non - exclusive logical or . it should be understood that steps within a method may be executed in different order without altering the principles of the present disclosure . as used herein , the term module refers to an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), an electronic circuit , a processor ( shared , dedicated , or group ) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs , a combinational logic circuit , and / or other suitable components that provide the described functionality . while the following disclosure is set forth for diesel engines , other types of engines such as gasoline engines , including direct injection engines , may benefit from the teachings herein . referring now to fig1 , a diesel engine system 10 is schematically illustrated . the diesel engine system 10 includes a diesel engine 12 and an exhaust treatment system 13 . the exhaust treatment system 13 further includes an exhaust system 14 and a dosing system 16 . the diesel engine 12 includes a cylinder 18 , an intake manifold 20 , a mass air flow ( maf ) sensor 22 and an engine speed sensor 24 . air flows into the engine 12 through the intake manifold 20 and is monitored by the maf sensor 22 . the air is directed into the cylinder 18 and is combusted with fuel to drive pistons ( not shown ). although a single cylinder 18 is illustrated , it can be appreciated that the diesel engine 12 may include additional cylinders 18 . for example , diesel engines having 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 and 16 cylinders are anticipated . exhaust gas is produced inside the cylinder 18 as a result of the combustion process . the exhaust system 14 treats the exhaust gas before releasing the exhaust gas to the atmosphere . the exhaust system 14 includes an exhaust manifold 26 and a diesel oxidation catalyst ( doc ) 28 . the exhaust manifold 26 directs exhaust exiting the cylinder towards the doc 28 . the exhaust is treated within the doc 28 to reduce the emissions . the exhaust system 14 further includes a catalyst 30 , preferably a selective catalyst reducing ( scr ) catalyst , a temperature sensor 31 , an inlet temperature sensor 32 , an outlet temperature sensor 34 and catalyzed diesel particulate filter ( cdpf ) 36 . the doc 28 reacts with the exhaust gas prior to treating the exhaust to reduce emission levels of the exhaust . the catalyst 30 reacts subsequent to treating the exhaust to further reduce emissions . the temperature sensor 31 may be positioned between the engine and the doc 18 . the inlet temperature sensor 32 is located prior to the catalyst 30 to monitor the temperature change at the inlet of the catalyst 30 , as discussed further below . the outlet temperature sensor 34 is located after the catalyst to monitor the temperature change at the outlet of the catalyst 30 , as discussed further below . although the exhaust treatment system 13 is illustrated as including the inlet and outlet temperature sensors 32 , 34 as being outside the catalyst 30 , the inlet and outlet temperature sensors 32 , 34 can be located internally with the catalyst to monitor the temperature change of the exhaust at the inlet and outlet of the catalyst . the cdpf 36 further reduces emissions by trapping diesel particulates ( i . e ., soot ) within the exhaust . the dosing system 16 includes an injection fluid supply 38 that may be used for injecting urea from a tank and a dosing injector 40 . the dosing system 16 injects injection fluid such as urea into the exhaust . the urea mixes with the exhaust and further reduces the emissions when the exhaust / urea mixture is exposed to the catalyst 30 . a mixer 41 is used to mix the injection fluid such as urea with the exhaust gasses prior to the exhaust gases entering the catalyst . a control module 42 regulates and controls the operation of the engine system 10 and monitors operation of the dosing system 16 . an exhaust gas flow rate sensor 44 may generate a signal corresponding to the flow of exhaust in the exhaust system . although the sensor is illustrated between the catalyst 30 and the cdpf 36 various locations within the exhaust system may be used for measurement including after the exhaust manifold and before the catalyst 30 . a temperature sensor 46 generates a particulate filter temperature sensor signal that corresponds to a measured particulate filter temperature . the temperature sensor 46 may be disposed on or within the diesel particulate filter 36 . the temperature sensor 46 may also be located just after or just before the diesel particulate filter relative to the exhaust stream . the temperature sensor 46 communicates a measured particulate filter temperature signal to the control module 42 . other sensors in the exhaust system may include a nox sensor 50 which generates a signal corresponding to the amount of oxides of nitrogen in the exhaust system . this may be referred to nox - in since this sensor is upstream of the catalyst . a nox - out sensor 52 may be positioned downstream such as after the diesel particulate filter for generating a signal corresponding to the oxides of nitrogen leaving the diesel particulate filter . in addition , an ammonia ( nh 3 ) sensor 54 generates a signal corresponding to the amount of ammonia within the exhaust stream . the control module 42 may include an exhaust control module 60 that is used to control the exhaust conditions and regeneration of the diesel particulate filter . further details of the control module 42 and the exhaust control module 60 is provided below . referring now to fig2 , the exhaust control module 60 of fig1 is illustrated in further detail . the exhaust control module 60 receives inputs from the various sensors including the oxides of nitrogen sensors 50 , 52 , the temperature sensors 31 , 32 and 34 , the oxygen sensor 56 and the ammonia sensor 54 . the exhaust control module 60 may include a diesel particulate control module 70 , an scr control module 72 , an injector actuator module 74 . a diesel oxygen catalyst control module 76 may also be included within the exhaust control module 60 . the diesel particulate filter control module 70 may generate signals including a diesel particulate filter load progress signal , a diesel particulate filter load progress rate signal and a diesel particulate filter regeneration request signal . the diesel particulate filter load progress rate signal may be obtained by taking the derivative or slope of the diesel particulate filter load progress signal . the diesel particulate filter load progress signal , the diesel particulate filter load progress rate signal and the diesel particulate filter regeneration request signal may all be communicated to the scr control module 72 . the scr control module 72 may generate an scr ready signal and a dosing amount input signal ( da in ). the dosing amount input signal may be communicated to the injector actuator module 74 . the injector actuator module 74 controls the dosing fluid injector 40 . feedback may also be provided from the scr control module 72 to the dpf control module 70 in the form of the scr - ready signal . as mentioned above , as the diesel particulate filter increases toward regeneration , the amount of dosing fluid provided through the injector actuator module 74 is reduced to reduce the amount of ammonia build - up within the scr . referring now to fig3 , the scr control module 72 is illustrated in further detail . the scr control module 72 may include a dosing - enabling module 110 that enables the dosing system to be enabled upon pre - determined conditions . the dosing - enabling module 110 generates an enable signal that communicates the enable signal to a dosing management module 112 . the dosing management module may also receive a diesel particulate filter load rate signal and a load signal . the output of the dosing management module may be the dosing amount input signal and the scr - ready signal described above . an scr analysis module 114 receives inputs from various sensors including the nitric oxide input sensor , the scr temperature sensor , the oxygen input sensor , the exhaust flow rate sensor , the exhaust pressure sensor , and from a ratio determination module 116 . the ratio determination module 116 may generate a ratio of the nitrogen or nitrogen dioxide to the nitrogen oxide input ratio . the ratio determination module 116 may receive signals from the nitric oxide sensor , a temperature signal from an upstream temperature sensor , an exhaust flow rate sensor and an exhaust pressure sensor . based upon the various inputs , the amount of ammonia stored and the capacity of ammonia for the scr is provided to the dosing management module 112 . an scr temperature module 118 may generate an scr temperature signal based upon the inputs from various temperature sensors such as an upstream sensor 31 , a midstream temperature sensor 32 and a downstream sensor 34 . of course , various numbers of temperature sensors as well as various numbers of positions of temperature sensors may be used in the scr temperature module 118 . the dosing management module 112 may use the ammonia capacity , the ammonia stored as well as the conditions of the diesel particulate filter to determine when to cease providing dosing fluid to the exhaust stream to reduce the amount of ammonia in the system prior to diesel particulate filter regeneration . referring now to fig4 , the dosing management module 112 is set forth in further detail . the dosing management module 112 may include a rate adjustment module 210 that generates a load - rate scalar corresponding to the load progress rate of the diesel particulate filter . a load adjustment module 212 generates a load progress signal corresponding to the progress of the diesel particulate filter . a load scalar may be generated from the load adjustment module 212 . a target storage module 214 generates a predicted ammonia signal based upon the ammonia stored and the scr temperature . the ammonia - predicted signal , the load - scalar signal and the load - rate scalar signal are communicated to the storage control module 216 . the storage control module 216 generates an adjusted ammonia signal and communicates the adjusted ammonia signal to a dose determination module 218 and to a regeneration readiness module 220 . the regeneration readiness module regenerates the scr ready signal and the dose determination module 218 generates the dose amount input signal . referring now to fig5 , a method for operating the system is set forth . in step 310 , the system starts . in step 312 , it is determined whether or not enable conditions are met . various enable conditions such as the engine running for a predetermined amount of time so that the components are up to a predetermined temperature or the like may be set forth . in step 314 , the ammonia storage capacity of the scr is determined . in step 316 , the diesel particulate filter load progress may be determined . in step 318 , the load progress rate of the diesel particulate filter may be determined . the load progress rate may be determined from the load progress signal by taking the derivative or slope thereof . in step 320 , the ammonia storage scalars are determined based upon the diesel particulate filter load progress , load rate or load progress and load progress rate . as the dpf reaches a threshold the desired ammonia storage is reduced . this may be referred to as a target load . in step 322 , the desired ammonia storage based upon the ammonia storage capacity and storage scalars is determined . after the amount of ammonia storage based upon the storage capacity , the diesel particulate filter enters regeneration in step 324 . enough time is preferably allowed so that the amount of storage decreases to a desired amount prior to the regeneration of the diesel particulate filter . after step 324 , step 326 returns the system back to start . referring now to fig6 , a plot of various signals including the load progress signal , the scr temperature signal , the ammonia capacities signal and the stored ammonia signal are provided at various times . the diesel particulate filter load progress rate is indicated by the arrow from the digital or diesel particulate filter load progress signal . at the beginning of time period t 1 , the diesel particulate filter load threshold is reached . the threshold indicates that the diesel particulate filter load is increasing and that regeneration is eminent . at the end of time period t 1 , the diesel particulate filter load is at 100 percent . at the beginning of t 1 , the amount of ammonia injected into the scr is reduced . as can be seen , during time period t 1 the amount of stored ammonia is reduced from a first level to a second level . during time period t 2 a readiness period is entered in which the system is ready to enter a diesel particulate filter regeneration . during time period t 3 a regeneration of the diesel particulate filter is performed . the ammonia capacity is reduced during the time period . however , the amount of ammonia stored remains constant . this is indicative that no ammonia is lost during the regeneration process . this is a desirable feature of the invention since releasing ammonia may release unwanted oxides of nitrogen into the exhaust stream . the broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms . therefore , while this disclosure includes particular examples , the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent to the skilled practitioner upon a study of the drawings , the specification , and the following claims . | 5 |
fig3 illustrates an idealized transformer 300 having a ring shaped ferromagnetic core 302 and primary 304 and secondary 306 windings . as shown in fig4 a through 4c , when the idealized transformer 300 of fig3 is excited with a square wave ( see fig4 a ), the magnetizing current is essentially a square wave having a peak current of i mag ( see fig4 b ). this peak current i mag is the current needed to produce a magnetic field h c in the core . as shown in fig5 a , the inductor - transformer element 500 of the present invention includes a torroidal ferromagnetic core 502 having a defined air gap 508 . the inductor - transformer element 500 also includes a primary winding 504 and a secondary winding 506 . the inductor - transformer element 500 is similar to the idealized transformer 300 except that it includes the air gap 508 in the ferromagnetic core 502 . assuming that the air gap 508 is a small fraction of the magnetic path , the inductor - transformer element 500 exhibits a &# 34 ; virtual inductance &# 34 ; which is proportional to the volume of the air gap . fig5 b is the equivalent circuit of the air gapped transformer 500 . the resistance r loss represents loss in the magnetic components . the inductor l leakage represents the series leakage inductance of the primary and secondaries ( if more than one ). the inductor l magnetizing represents a &# 34 ; virtual inductor &# 34 ;, created by the air gap in the transformer , which stores energy . in fact , the magnetic energy is stored in the air gap . the &# 34 ; virtual inductor &# 34 ; l magnetic , in parallel with the ideal transformer , draws a much higher magnetizing current than would occur with an ungapped transformer . as shown in fig6 a through 6c , when the gapped transformer 500 is excited with a square wave ( see fig6 a ), the magnetizing current is essentially a square wave having a peak current of i mag ( see fig6 b ) as was the case with the transformer 300 . this peak current i mag is the current needed to produce a magnetic field h c in the core and is in phase with the excitation voltage . in addition , a current having a triangular waveform , which represents energy stored in the air gap 508 , is also produced . ( see fig6 c ) this current , which lags the excitation voltage by 90 degrees , can be thought of as energy flowing into and out from a &# 34 ; virtual inductor &# 34 ;. fig6 d is the magnetic hysterisis plot of the magnetic flux density b versus the magnetic field strength h of the inductor - transformer element 500 . the area 602 of the plot represents core losses while the triangular area 604 above the plot represents energy stored in the magnetic field . the inductor - transformer element 500 of fig5 is used in the half - bridge power converter of the present invention shown in fig7 . the &# 34 ; virtual inductance &# 34 ; of the inductor - transformer element 500 is exploited such that a balancing inductor , such as the inductor i b disclosed in the imbertson patent ( see fig2 a ), is not required . it should be noted , however , that the &# 34 ; virtual inductance &# 34 ; created by the air gap of the gapped transformer 500 inherently differs in operation from the balance inductor l b of the imbertson patent . specifically , the air gap can &# 39 ; t directly ( inductively ) supply energy to the load ; rather , it dumps energy onto an input capacitor 708 or 710 which then supplies it to the load via the transformer 500 . the asymmetric half - bridge power converter of fig7 is a simple , low - cost , power converter . it uses two switches 704 and 706 , rather than the four switches required by full - bridge power converters . more importantly , as mentioned above , the half - bridge converter of fig7 does not require the relatively expensive inductors l b and l c which are required by the conventional half bridge converter discussed in the imbertson patent and shown in fig2 . this is , in part , because the magnetizing current due to the &# 34 ; virtual inductance &# 34 ; maintains a balanced current - amp product through ( i . e ., a bounded voltage on the centertap of ) the input capacitors 708 and 710 while an inductive load , not shown , pulls a constant current . the capacitors 708 and 710 , as well as the diodes 712 and 714 are relatively inexpensive . producing the inductor - transformer element 500 of the present invention is no more expensive than the production of a conventional transformer . as discussed above , to avoid flux imbalance and to maintain stable operation , ( i ) the volts - second product across the primary winding 504 during the first half cycle must be equal to that during the second half cycle , and ( ii ) the net differential charge accumulated on the capacitor 710 over both half cycles must be zero . to reiterate , the higher magnetizing current required by the air gap 508 of the core 502 of the inductor - transformer element 500 of the present invention assures each of these conditions to permit stable operation . in a preferred embodiment of the converter of fig7 printed wiring technologies are used to construct the primary and secondary windings 504 and 506 , respectively . the primary 504 preferably consists of eight ( 8 ) turns of four ( 4 ) ounce copper foil while the secondaries 506 are one ( 1 ) turn each . the core 502 is preferably a planar magnetic core , for example part no . 44308 - ec sold by magnetic inc . of butler , pa . however , the particular shape of the magnetic core 502 is not important , so long as its b - h plot corresponds to that shown in fig6 b in which the air gap stores magnetic energy as a &# 34 ; virtual inductor &# 34 ;. the air gap 508 is preferably 0 . 005 inches and is defined by inserting 0 . 005 include thick polyester film between the core parts . primary side switches 708 and 710 are preferably fets such as part no . irf - 250 sold by international rectifier inc . the capacitors 708 and 710 are preferably 0 . 47 microfarads at 200 volt rating . the diodes 712 and 714 are preferably a single part , for example part no . hfa30pa60c , made by international rectifier . the output voltage is preferably adjustable between 9 . 6 and 18 volts at 600 watts . fig8 is an alternative embodiment to the half - bridge power converter of fig7 . the half - bridge power converter of fig8 is identical to that of fig7 except that a relatively small capacitor 802 ( e . g ., 3 μf ) is coupled across the output windings 506 . the small capacitor 802 is provided in addition to the relatively large filter capacitors used in an output filter ( not shown ). the capacitor 802 is sized to resonate with the leakage inductance of the primary 504 of the inductor - transformer 500 element at a frequency ten ( 10 ) times the switching frequency ( e . g ., 30 khz ) of the switches 704 and 706 . fig9 a illustrates the primary voltage waveform during a period of low load . for example , the first switch 704 is closed for about 20 percent of the time and the second switch 706 is closed for almost the remaining 80 percent of the time . there is a short dead time ( e . g ., 100 - 200 ns ) during which neither switch is closed . this prevents the occurrence of a short across the switches . the secondary current , provided to an inductive load , will flow only when the first switch 704 is closed because the output voltage during the remaining time is lower than the voltage on the output capacitor . the primary current is shown in fig9 b . when the first switch 704 is closed , the primary current consists of reflected load current and magnetizing current . when the second switch 706 is closed , the primary current consists of magnetizing current only . it can be seen that the areas that these curves are equal and it can also be easily seen , that if the transformer was ungapped and these magnetizing current become very small , the system is inoperable . indeed this is the essence of the present invention . in a non - ideal circuit , some load current will flow during the early part of the period when the second switch 706 is closed as shown in the dotted line of fig9 b . this is due to ripple voltage on the capacitor 803 of fig8 . this normally undesirable ripple , is advantageous in this instance since it allows stable operation with a lower magnetizing current . fig1 is a simulated plot of primary current through a gapped transformer in the circuit of fig8 . to reiterate , in most instances , the ripple across the capacitor 802 is unsuitable . however , the capacitor 802 is sized such that significant voltage ripple occurs across the capacitor . this is an important feature of the stabilization process . specifically , in many cases , when the switches 704 and 706 are applied with a low duty cycle switching signal , output current from the secondary 506 of the inductor - transformer 500 occurs during only a first part of the cycle , when the switch 704 is closed . the large ripple current helps maintain a balanced amp - second product through ( i . e ., a bounded voltage on the centertap of ) the input capacitors c1 and c2 , even at lower magnetizing current . thus , the capacitor 802 also permits the gapped transformer 500to have a smaller air gap . consequently , less current is wasted as magnetizing current . additionally , during the longer part of the switching cycle , when the voltage is lower , the small capacitor 802 , which had been charged during the shorter part of the switching cycle , will reverse bias the diodes 712 and 714 such that the diodes 712 and 714 will not conduct . thus , not all of the energy is given to the load . this fact further helps maintain the voltage at the centertap of the capacitors 708 and 710 . in a preferred embodiment of the converter of fig8 an &# 34 ; e &# 34 ; core 502 made by phillips electronics is assembled with an air gap 508 of 0 . 030 inches . polyester spacers defined the air gap 508 at a fixed distance . the primary winding 504 preferably consists of 44 turns of # 30 wire over six ( 6 ) strands on a bobbin , for example , part no . csh - efd30 - 15 - 12 - d sold by phillips . the secondary are preferably wound with ten ( 10 ) turns of # 30 wire over fifteen ( 15 ) strands . the switches 704 and 706 are preferably fet switches , for example , part no . irf740 sold by international rectifier . the capacitors 708 and 710 are preferably 0 . 22 microfarad rated at 400 volts dc . the diodes 712 and 714 are preferably part no . scwq10f sold by international rectifier inc . the capacitor 802 is preferably 3 microfarads . the input voltage may vary , be raw and unregulated power , from 230 to 385 volts dc . the output is 28 volts , regulated to 0 . 1 percent at zero ( 0 ) to 90 watts . | 8 |
as previously indicated , none of the above - mentioned prior art absorption spectroscopy methods can measure the wavelength very precisely or accurately , and all of the laser - based methods , including crds and ceas , have a spectral resolution that is only as good as the wavelength monitor used to measure and control the laser output . it is the purpose of the present invention to provide a wavelength measurement method that substantially increases the wavelength resolution of a crds or ceas system , without requiring the use of a high precision wavelength monitor . furthermore , the method described herein does not require tight wavelength control of the laser source itself . suitable lasers for the practice of the current invention include distributed bragg reflector lasers , optical parametric oscillators , optical parametric generators , external cavity diode lasers and distributed feedback lasers . all these lasers are of types known to the skilled artworker . depending on the precise nature of the target analyte it may be possible to utilize a single laser which is tunable over a wavelength band suitable to cover all the absorption peaks of interest for the target analyte . for example , distributed feedback lasers are tunable to emit radiation over a relatively broad wavelength range by varying the pump current to the laser and / or by altering the operating temperature of the laser . if an external cavity diode laser is utilized it will advantageously have a micromotor for wide range ( coarse ) tuning and a piezoelectric transducer ( pet ) for narrow range ( fine ) tuning . another particularly suitable laser is an optical parametric oscillator , which is another type of laser which provides a broad tuning range . in a typical crds setup ( fig1 ), light from a laser is first injected into the rdc , and is then interrupted . the circulating light inside the rdc is both scattered and transmitted by the mirrors on every round - trip , and can be monitored using a photodetector placed behind one of the cavity mirrors . the decay constant , ( ring - down time constant ) τ , is then measured as a function of laser wavelength to obtain a spectrum of the cavity optical losses . detailed mathematical treatments of crds can be found in the previously cited book by busch and busch . a simple derivation is presented here . for a given wavelength , λ , the transmitted light , i ( t , λ ), from the rdc is given by where i 0 is the transmitted light at the time the light source is shut off , and τ ( λ ) is the ring - down time constant . the total optical loss inside the cavity is l ( λ )=[ cτ ( λ ) − 1 , where c is the speed of light . the total optical loss comprises the empty cavity optical loss plus the sample optical loss . as already indicated , crds provides an absolute measurement of these optical losses . the empty cavity ( round - trip ) optical loss , l empty ( λ ), comprises the scattering and transmission losses of the mirrors . in general , better mirrors provide both lower empty cavity losses and higher sensitivity . the sample ( round - trip ) optical loss is a ( λ )= a ( λ ) l rt , where l rt , is the cavity round - trip length , and is simply the difference between total cavity losses and empty cavity losses , namely , a ( λ )= l ( λ )− l empty ( λ ). once the absorption spectrum , a ( λ ), of the sample has been measured , then the sample concentration can be readily computed using the absorption cross section and lineshape parameters . the minimum detectable absorption loss ( mdal ) for a crds system is defined by : α min = 1 l eff ( δ τ τ ) , ( 4 ) where δτ / τ is called the shot - to - shot noise of the system . the effective path length of a crds measurement is l eff = l rt / l empty . for typical rdc mirrors having a reflectivity of 99 . 995 %, and thus scattering losses of less than 0 . 0005 %, the path length enhancement can exceed 20 , 000 . for a 20 cm long sample cell , the effective path length is 8 km , which surpasses the best performance of multi - pass spectroscopy by a factor of three , based on effective path length alone . a good crds system can achieve a shot to shot variation of 0 . 03 to 0 . 04 %, leading to a mdal of 3 × 10 − 10 cm − 1 . note also that the crds measurement is not dependent on either the initial intensity of the light inside the cavity , provided that the signal has a sufficient signal to noise ratio at the detector , or on the physical sample path length , unlike traditional absorption spectroscopy . the most common crds implementation , often called a “ swept - cavity ” setup , uses a ringdown cavity ( rdc ) having one mirror ( 1 . 1 ) translatably mounted on a piezoelectric ( pzt ) or other transducer ( 1 . 2 ) as is shown in fig1 . the swept - cavity principle is illustrated in fig2 . one mirror ( 2 . 1 ) is translated so as to change the cavity length by half a wavelength . when sufficient light build - up inside the cavity is detected , the light source is either turned off , or an external modulator such as an acousto - optic modulator ( aom ) deflects the light away from the rdc . for spectral tuning , the laser is set at specific wavelengths using the wavelength monitor , and the rdc length is changed so as to sweep at least one mode of the cavity through the laser . this is always true if the rdc length is modulated by one half of the operating wavelength . the rdc length can also be tracked using a tracking circuit , which adjusts the pzt offset to maximize the repetition rate of the ring - down events . the mirror is then moved only very little around the laser line . each time that the laser is stepped in wavelength , the tracking circuit reacquires the pzt offset to maximize the repetition rate . thus , the ring down events occur in bursts with high repetition rate , in between longer periods of time wherein the pzt offset is being determined . the principal limitation of the swept - cavity approach is that its frequency resolution depends directly on the resolution and performance of the wavelength monitor employed . the system relies directly on knowing the exact wavelength monitor transfer curve ( wavelength versus monitor output ), on the calibration of this transfer curve , and on its stability over time due to device aging . finally , the dependence of the system on a high quality wavelength monitor can increase its size and inevitably results in a higher price . in turn , a large size and a high price will limit the range of applications for which the instrument can be deployed . the swept - cavity method also depends on the ability to set and maintain the laser wavelength with accurate and reproducible control . for this reason , swept - cavity approaches often exploit distributed feedback ( dfb ) diode lasers . dfb lasers are very controllable and can be operated with high reproducibility . however , when using dfb lasers , the swept - cavity approach often becomes slow , because the dfb laser must be locked to each wavelength in the spectral scan , which can take time ( e . g ., if the laser is thermally controlled ). moreover , if the laser is directly modulated ( e . g ., laser current is shut off ), then the laser must recover to the appropriate wavelength before data acquisition can continue , which further slows down the data acquisition rate . if the external modulation is employed to solve this issue , unnecessary costs are introduced into the system . moreover , the tuning range of dfb lasers is limited . typical tuning ranges of available lasers are 30 ghz of continuous , high resolution ( resolution better than 10 mhz ) current tuning , with a total tuning range ( range of current tuning increments ) of 3 to 4 nm , based on temperature tuning . although it is relatively straightforward to find absorption lines for either a single species or two isotopes of a species that fall within such a tuning range , the laser tuning range frequently limits the capability of the crds instrument to one , or at most several , species . however , broadly and rapidly tunable laser sources are becoming available . external cavity diode lasers ( ecdls ) offer tuning ranges of at least 40 nm , and 120 nm appears achievable . optical parametric oscillators already provide even broader tuning ranges . these lasers , however , often do not provide good wavelength control or become very large and expensive when good wavelength control is implemented . furthermore , for broadly tunable crds systems (& gt ; 40 nm ), high resolution and precision wavelength monitors having reproducible calibration , and which are small , inexpensive , robust and reliable , do not exist . an alternative approach ( fig3 ) which has been proposed , is to dither the laser wavelength around a given cavity mode while keeping the cavity length constant . the dotted vertical lines shown as 3 . 1 denote the cavity mode spacing . the dithering is shown as 3 . 2 . the dots 3 . 3 on solid line curve 3 . 4 indicate the average value of the frequency ( wavelength ). dashed vertical lines 3 . 5 and 3 . 6 show the effect of a first and second change in the cavity length by a fraction of a wavelength . the laser is tuned from cavity mode to cavity mode in order to trace out the spectrum . note that because the laser wavelength is being changed , this approach has less wavelength accuracy than the approach where the laser wavelength is set to a constant value . moreover , if the cavity length is kept constant , the resolution of the system is limited to the free spectral range ( fsr ) of the cavity , which can be comparable to the spectral width of the absorption features being measured . for example , at 50 torr pressure for a 20 cm long rdc having a fsr of 714 mhz , the absorption lines for many species will only have a spectral width of several ghz , so that only a handful of spectral points can be measured ( as illustrated in fig2 ). in order to resolve the resolution limitation , paldus and harb ( u . s . pat . no . 6 , 377 , 350 ) proposed to use the cavity at a fixed length as a comb of equidistant frequencies . the laser is swept through this comb over the desired spectral range ( or spectral features ) and then the cavity length is changed , in order to generate the next frequency comb , which is slightly shifted in frequency from the first . a series of interleaved comb sequences ( dotted lines in fig3 ) is obtained , thereby improving the overall spectral resolution . thus , the above - indicated patent by paldus and harb teaches the use of a ringdown cavity ( rdc ) to generate a series of well - referenced frequency combs , but it does not teach how to generate highly accurate wavelength measurements from this series of combs . the wavelength of each initial cavity mode wavelength in a comb must still be determined using a wavelength monitor , because the other wavelengths ( frequencies ) in this comb are only known relative to the first frequency . although this approach improves the speed of taking data ( only the first wavelength in each comb - must be wavelength controlled and measured accurately ), it still relies on an accurate and high precision wavelength monitor . furthermore , the patent assumes that if multiple ring - down events need to be averaged at each mode in a given comb sequence , that the laser can be dithered around that mode ( fig3 ). there is therefore an implicit assumption that the laser wavelength can be changed in a controllable and repeatable manner . the aforementioned paldus and harb patent fails to teach how to tune the laser when it is not easily controllable , and achieve the same benefits of the equidistant frequency comb of cavity modes . unfortunately , many broadly tunable lasers , such as external cavity diode lasers , opos , or dbr lasers have poor frequency control and reproducibility . it is the purpose of our invention to resolve the limitations inherent in the paldus / harb patent , so that a crds or ceas using an inexpensive wavelength monitor and a relatively poorly controllable laser can be used . the only requirement on the wavelength monitor transfer function is that it be monotonic . note that it can be either increasing or decreasing , preferably increasing . the setup for the approach of the present invention is shown in fig4 . the laser can either be directly or externally modulated to obtain the ring - down events . fig5 shows the timing diagram of the frequency binning data acquisition process . the laser is tuned over multiple cavity free spectral ranges from start wavelength λ s to an end wavelength λ e . for every ring - down event , the following three parameters ( t i , λ i and τ i ) are recorded and an index i is assigned for each parameter : 1 . the trigger time ( t i ): measured as the time at which the laser is shut off 2 . the wavelength before shut - off ( λ i ): measured by taking multiple wavelength measurements prior to each triggering event , and averaging the last n wavelengths taken . 3 . the ring - down decay time constant ( τ i ): measured by detecting the ring - down exponentially decaying waveform and fitting it for the decay time constant the laser is swept multiple times over the selected spectral range for a fixed cavity length . an array of trigger time , wavelength and ring - down time constant is constructed , and organized as a function of trigger time . note that the temporal spacing of the ring - down events can be very uneven , so that the data rate is aperiodic . an average data rate can then be determined over multiple sweeps of the wavelength range . the decay times in the array are in no particular order by cavity mode . the cavity modes are characterized by the coarse wavelength measurement however . these data are then processed as illustrated in fig6 : 1 . the wavelengths are ordered ( sorted ) by increasing value and assigned a new index i . the discontinuities of the sorted wavelength monitor signal define the boundaries between groupings of wavelengths having a similar value , called “ bins ” each of which has a bin index j , 2 . the ordered wavelengths can be plotted on a chart showing wavelength as a function of ordered array index i ( fig7 a ). the data forms a staircase where each step is separated in frequency by the free spectral range of the cavity . each step is assigned a bin number , and corresponds to a rdc cavity mode ( 7 b ). the bins are defined by discontinuities occuring in the sorted wavelength modulation signal . the steps are not flat , but have error bands that correspond to the precision of the wavelength monitor . the average wavelength in each bin group is computed as λ j and assigned a bin index , j . note that in order to be able to accurately bin the decay constants by cavity mode , the resolution of the wavelength monitor need only be better than one third the spectral range of the rdc . 3 . once the wavelength binning is established , the index i of the ordered wavelength is used as an index to re - group the trigger time and decay time constants into parallel bins . 4 . within each such bin , the decay time constants are arranged by increasing trigger time . note that different bins can contain different numbers of decay constants . 5 . the average decay time for each bin , τ j , ave , is computed and τ j ave is then converted into optical absorption loss , α j , ave . the wavelength monitor function can then be obtained by fitting the array of averaged wavelengths , λ j , ave , with the spacing set to the free spectral range of the rdc ( fig8 ). note that this approach does not require an a priori knowledge of the wavelength monitor transfer function , and in fact , generates this transfer function . thus , by periodically fitting the wavelength data , the system can compensate for any aging or other induced changes in the wavelength monitor transfer function . the only criterion required is that the transfer function be monotonic . there are several known prior art methods and devices , generally referred to as wavelength monitors or wave - meters , that produce outputs proportional to the frequency ( wavelength ) of the laser light input to the monitor . wavelength monitors utilize one or more optical filters , such as transmission filters , reflection filters , interferences filters , fabry - perot etalons , etc ., and associated photo - detectors to provide the wavelength readout . some examples of wavelength monitors , suitable for use in the present invention , that use one or more optical filters to provide wavelength readout include u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 815 , 081 ; 6 , 122 , 301 ; 6 , 400 , 737 ; 6 , 289 , 028 and 4 , 172 , 663 , the teaching of which are incorporated herein by this reference . in one embodiment , the wavelength monitor is an etalon , preferably a wedge etalon , with two photodetectors . the optical signal is incident on the etalon at a pre - determined angle to obtain the interference pattern between light reflected off or from the front surface and the back surface of the etalon . the monotonic ( linear ) portion of the etalon is used to provide the wavelength - dependent response . the etalon will preferably be thin in order to maximize the linear range of operation . preferably , the optical filter has a wavelength - dependent response that is linear . in one preferred embodiment , the wavelength monitor is a transmission filter with two photodetectors . more specifically , the actual filter is a coating on a piece of glass . in another embodiment , the wavelength monitor is a reflection filter , also with two photodetectors , where the filter is a coating on a piece of glass . in another embodiment the wavelength monitor can be a photodetector having a coating whose wavelength response is linear . all these types of optical filters are inexpensive and small , and will normally have sufficient wavelength resolution for the frequency - sequencing application of the present invention . the measured spectrum is then obtained by plotting the optical loss , α j , ave , versus the average wavelength , λ j , ave . fig9 a and 9 b compare the spectrum obtained by plotting the raw data 9 a ( re - ordered decay time as a function of reordered wavelength monitor signal ) and the averaged data 9 b ( α j , ave versus λ j , ave ). note that averaging reduces both the error in the measured optical loss value , as well as the measured wavelength . an additional benefit of the frequency binning approach is that the inherent noise in the laser frequency is reduced by using the cavity modes as a reference . the laser frequency noise appears in the trigger time as a noise contributor , but does not affect the final measured spectrum . this is not the case in traditional swept - cavity approaches , where the laser noise can significantly affect the spectral measurement . wavelength monitor noise and uncertainty are reduced in this approach by averaging of the wavelength measurements , but most importantly by generating a fitted function using the rdc free spectral range ( fsr ) as a reference . thus , the measured wavelengths obtained are highly accurate , even for very broad tuning ranges . moreover , the frequency - binning approach of the present invention is self - referencing by using the rdc fsr . in order to compare system performance in sensitivity between swept - cavity crds and frequency - binned crds , the shot to shot noise is compared . for typical swept - cavity systems , shot - to - shot fluctuations do not exceed 0 . 1 %, while for good swept - cavity systems , they are the order of 0 . 03 - 0 . 04 %. fig9 a presents data obtained from the same hardware used as a swept - cavity system , but operated as a frequency - binned system . the swept - cavity system shot - to - shot noise was 0 . 04 %. clearly , for the frequency binning method , the shot to shot fluctuations remain approximately the same , and hence substantially identical sensitivities can be expected from frequency - binned systems as for swept - cavity systems having the same optical hardware design . there is no sensitivity penalty resulting from using the frequency - binning approach . on the contrary , there is a substantial benefit in performance resulting from binning . frequency binned systems have more precise wavelengths . in the traditional swept - cavity method the wavelength of the recorded ringdown event is determined by the instantaneous wavelength of the laser for the event . there always exists some laser wavelength jitter , and therefore the ringdowns that belong to the same wavelength data point will each be registered at a slightly different frequency . this jitter makes no difference in the ringdown time at the flat portions of the spectrum ( the baseline ), but wavelength jitter will result in larger ringdown time variations along the slope of the absorption line . for this reason , the performance of swept - cavity crds is usually characterized at the baseline , not at the slope . with the binning approach of the present invention , the cavity length is fixed and the ringdown time variation at any fixed mode frequency is determined only by the system performance . this is clearly visible in fig9 a . the spread of the recorded ringdown times is the same on both the slopes of the absorption lines and on the baseline . such observation is further confirmed in fig1 , where the ringdown time measurement error corresponding to the spectrum shown in fig9 a is plotted as a function of the optical frequency . across the entire spectrum scan the error is approximately 0 . 04 %, and it does not increase on the absorption line slopes . we should stress that the final averaged spectrum obtained with the binning approach , such as shown in fig9 b , is plotted versus optical frequency using known cavity mode spacing . the wavelength monitor data are not used , and therefore , the wavelength accuracy , and more importantly , the linearity of the wavelength ( or optical frequency ) scale does not depend on the wavelength monitor performance . the cavity mode frequency separation can be very accurately determined by measuring a spectrum with known absorption lines positions , and they thus become a frequency standard for any particular crds apparatus . absorption lines such as those of acetylene ( c 2 h 2 ) are used as frequency references in telecom systems . usually in crds the temperature of the cavity should be maintained at a constant temperature for the simple reason that the absorption lines intensities are strongly temperature dependent . usually , the cavity temperature is stabilized within ± 0 . 001 k . the cavity body is preferably made of invar , which has a thermal expansion coefficient of about 10 − 6 . the cavity will then change its length only by one part in 10 9 , resulting in excellent linearity and accuracy of the frequency axis obtained with the binning approach . even though the cavity is maintained at constant temperature , its mode frequencies may still drift slowly due to other factors . for example , when the sample gas is passed through the cavity ( when taking the spectrum in continuous flow mode as opposed to a batch mode ), small pressure variations may cause small changes of the cavity mode frequencies . or , if one of the cavity mirrors is mounted on a piezo - electric transducer ( pzt ), the position of such mirror can drift , especially immediately after the voltage applied to the pzt is changed . the frequency binning technique has an additional benefit in that it can accommodate such cavity length changes ( and hence mode position drift ) during the measurement period . consider a series of several binned spectra . the first measurement ( spectrum ) of the series is shown in fig1 . if the mode frequency positions shift between the first and second spectra , as shown by short horizontal line 11 . 1 , then the absorption seen by this mode will change as shown by vertical arrow 11 . 2 . therefore , the change of the absorption for a particular bin ( e . g ., “ reference bin ” 11 . 3 ) is a measure of the mode frequency drift . it is advantageous to choose such a reference bin on the slope of a strong absorption line in the spectrum . such strong absorption lines belonging to the background gases generally exist in high - sensitivity spectroscopy in the vicinity of the absorption lines of the species of interest ( target analyte ). usually they are found to be a problem , but using our approach they can be used for calibration . the conversion from absorption to frequency drift of the reference bin can be done by taking several bins on either or both sides of the reference bin , and fitting their positions with a smooth curve , to a lower order polynomial , for example , as is shown by solid line 11 . 4 in fig1 . the frequency separation of exactly one inter - mode distance between the bins gives the exact frequency scale , shown as 11 . 5 ( av cavity ). once the function that converts the absorption change for the reference bin into optical frequency deviation for this reference bin has been determined from a first measurement , the function can now be applied to calculate the exact frequency position for all measurements in the series . an example of such a frequency dependence for a series of five measurements is shown in fig1 . the cavity mode positions for the first measurement are shown in this figure by the two horizontal dotted lines 12 . 1 and 12 . 2 . knowing the positions of the interleaved frequency mode combs for each of five interleaved measurements we can plot an interleaved spectrum ( fig1 ), which gives us higher resolution . the spectral resolution of the interleaved spectrum is five times better than the mode spacing of the cavity . in the previous paragraph we have described how the absorption changes on the slope of an absorption line in the spectrum can be used for determining the exact frequencies of the mode comb even in presence of cavity optical length changes . additionally , it will be evident to a skilled artworker , that such cavity length changes can be intentionally applied via the pzt , for example , in order to obtained a frequency - corrected , interleaved spectrum with a spectral resolution much higher than the cavity mode spacing . all that is needed is to record n spectra , and apply between each of the recordings a cavity length increment resulting in the mode comb shift of 1 / n of the free spectral range . another benefit of frequency binning is that it can accommodate cavity length change ( and hence mode position drift ) during the measurement period . for a given bin ( or cavity mode ), the optical loss ( or decay time ) is plotted as a function of trigger time . if the optical loss changes , it is an indication that the cavity length was drifting . a calibration for each bin can be made by fitting the changes in absorption to the spectral absorption feature at the wavelength corresponding to the bin number . any cavity length drift can then be compensated for by applying the temporal drift function to the raw wavelength data . a final benefit of the frequency - binning approach is that it can accommodate wavelength monitor drift during the measurement period . after the cavity length drift correction is made to the wavelength data , the measured wavelength can be plotted as a function of trigger time for each bin ( or cavity mode ). the frequency drift of the wavelength monitor can then be extrapolated and a correction applied to the wavelength data . the final spectrum can be obtained by plotting the corrected wavelength data against the optical loss . at each step , the resolution of the wavelength monitor is improved : when the wavelengths are averaged by the number of measurements in a bin , when the wavelength monitor transfer function is computed , and finally when both cavity length drift and wavelength monitor drift corrections are applied . as in the previous case , once a full array at a fixed cavity length has been analyzed , the rdc length can be adjusted by an intermode distance , and the entire measurement / analysis sequence repeated . the final resolution of the measurement will depend on the number of intermode sequences used . the number of intermode sequences required is determined by the resolution specified and the rdc fsr . for example , a 20 cm rdc cavity has a fsr of 714 mhz , so that in order to obtain a resolution of 10 mhz , 70 intermode sequences must be used . once all of the intermode sequences are obtained and analyzed , they can all be interleaved to obtain the final spectrum . the final spectrum should have sufficient resolution to define the spectral features and be able to perform an accurate fit of the absorption line shape . note that up to this point , the actual wavelength measurements are all relative and that the intermode spacing is also not completely defined . the peak positions are then fit to the data of the combined sequence , so that absolute wavelengths of one bin in each sequence are obtained . these establish the absolute wavelength of each sequence , and therefore of the overall spectrum . the calibrations and extrapolations can then be extended to broader wavelength regions . another embodiment of the frequency - binning method can be particularly advantageously applied specifically to a dfb laser . dfb lasers can be turned off within a fraction of a microsecond by simply shutting off their drive current , or by shorting their anode and cathode down by means of an electronic switch . this eliminates the need for an acousto - optic modulator ( aom ) and thus simplifies the crds system and reduces its cost . as is usual in crds , the laser is preferably kept off until the whole ring - down signal has been digitized , and then the laser can be turned on for the next ring - down to occur . however , a dfb laser ( and more generally , any kind of a semiconductor laser ) has the property of the frequency “ chirping ” in the range of a few ghz on startup . in conventional swept - cavity crds , the laser defines the optical frequency at which the absorption is sampled , and therefore the dfb laser must be first locked to the desired optical frequency , before the detection of the ring - down events be carried out . such locking can be done with a feedback loop that adjusts the dfb laser temperature and current using the wavelength monitor signal as a reference . this approach has certain disadvantages . first of all , such locking requires time , and this reduces the sampling rate of the spectrometer . the second disadvantage is that the noise in the wavelength monitor electronics sets a limit on the frequency precision . with the binning approach of the present invention , there is no need to lock the dfb laser , as the optical frequency is defined by the cavity mode frequency grid . additionally , the frequency of the specific cavity mode that is optically excited can be determined with an accuracy that exceeds the accuracy of an individual wavelength monitor measurement , as illustrated in fig1 . the top trace in fig1 ( 14 . 1 ) shows the initial intensity buildup inside the cavity when the chirping dfb mode approaches the cavity mode position . the buildup trace noise is caused by the dfb laser phase noise . when the buildup intensity reaches a predefined ringdown threshold value ( shown in fig1 by a horizontal dashed line 14 . 2 ), the trigger circuit sends the cut - off signal to the laser current , resulting in a smooth ring - down waveform ( 14 . 3 ) being observed . the middle trace in fig1 shows the dfb laser wavelength in the approach to the trigger event . the wavelength monitor signal is being measured at a repetition rate defined by the bandwidth of the wavelength monitor electronics , and the results of individual measurements are shown in by dots . these results are stored in the data processor memory ( pre - trigger mode ) and fitted by a low - order polynomial ( least squares fit ). the values of this polynomial are shown in the middle trace of fig1 by solid line ( 14 . 5 ). this solid line has improved the accuracy of the wavelength determination by the square root of the number of processed pre - trigger points . the more precise value for the cavity mode frequency can be determined as the value of this polynomial at the trigger point . assuming 100 pre - trigger point measured for each ring - down , a 10 - fold improvement can be achieved . in addition , as now there is no need to lock the laser frequency , much higher ring - down acquisition rates become possible . the bottom trace shows the laser on ( 14 . 6 ) and off ( 14 . 7 ) sequence in conjunction with the traces shown in 14 . 1 through 4 . 5 . even though the principle of measuring several wavelength monitor signal values before the trigger to improve the accuracy of the wavelength determination has already been described in the context of a dfb laser , it will be clear to a person skilled in the laser art that the same principle can be applied to additional classes of lasers . by way of example we describe two alternative lasers . however , we would like to stress that the class of useable lasers is not limited to these two described types . the first laser is a fabry - perot ( f - p ) diode laser . these lasers can have single frequency operation , and their frequency can be tuned by current or temperature . the difference between a f - p and a dfb laser is that a f - p laser mode hops ( i . e ., it does not tune continuously in wavelength ). when the fabry - perot diode is switched on and off repeatedly , it can alternate between one or another of the longitudinal modes of its fabry - perot cavity . such a property makes tuning a fabry - perot laser very complex , ( there is no frequency selection mechanism as in a dfb laser ) and this will render them generally unsuitable for a traditional swept - cavity crds . the mode hopping is not a problem for the frequency binning method of the present invention , once we determine the wavelength of the laser for each ring - down . a second example of a suitable laser is a fabry - perot chip with an antireflection coating on one of its facets and an external cavity arrangement . a spectral filter can be installed in the external cavity in order to force such f - p external cavity laser to operate at a desired wavelength within the gain bandwidth of the chip . such an external cavity laser has a short separation of its external cavity longitudinal mode frequencies and therefore an even higher probability of mode hopping . typically , the longitudinal mode separation can be of the order of 5 to 10 ghz . our described binning approach will still permit one to determine the optical frequency to which every ring - down event should be attributed , independent of the mode hops . if the laser average current and temperature are kept constant , the ringdowns will cluster around the external cavity mode frequencies of the laser , separated by 5 to 10 ghz . however , all that is needed in order to record the entire spectrum is to change the average current or temperature ( or both ) during the spectrum acquisition so as to fill up the gaps between the modes . it should be noted that such a laser has traditionally been deemed unsuitable for swept cavity crds . finally , it should be noted that cavity - swept optical configuration for crds or ceas that use linear or ring cavities are not the only possible crds embodiments to benefit from the frequency - binning approach of the present invention . an optical feedback v - cavity crds system , as illustrated in fig1 a , or on optical feedback a ring - cavity crds system , as shown in fig1 b , can also be combined with the frequency binning approach of the present invention . one benefit of the v - cavity approach is that the injection efficiency into the rdc is significantly increased , thereby improving the signal - to - noise ratio on the ring - down photodetector , and potentially resulting in improved shot - to - shot noise . another benefit is that the optical locking between the laser and the cavity ( such as for a ring cavity ) can increase the effective repetition rate of the data acquisition . the laser can , for example , be a dfb laser or a conventional or external cavity fabry - perot laser . 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 . | 6 |
in order to more accurately characterize photoresist and control the exposure energy delivered into photoresist , and therefore the critical dimension linewidth , the present invention presents an apparatus and methods that compensates for changes in the photolithography exposure tool , photoresist and underlying substrate . fig1 is a photolithography exposure tool utilizing in situ or on - line measurement of photoresist and reflectivity optical properties in accordance with the present invention . photolithography tool 100 is comprised of illumination source 101 , objective lens 103 , vacuum chuck 110 or other suitable means to hold a photoresist coated substrate 104 . photolithography tool 100 also includes transmission detector 105 , reflectance detector 106 , control electronics / computer 107 , and beam splitter 108 for redirecting the reflected light . mask 102 contains the pattern that is desired to be projected into photoresist layer 114 on photoresist coated wafer 104 . mask 102 is supported by mask support 115 or other suitable support means known in the art . there are many types of photolithography exposure tools in many different configurations . the configuration used in fig1 is shown for demonstrative purposes only and the present invention is not to limited to such a configuration . photolithography exposure tool 100 also has shutter 116 to control the exposure time . shutter 116 is shown to illustrate one method of controlling exposure time as known in the art . the present invention may also be utilized with the other methods to control exposure known in the art , such as , for example , those used in scanner exposure tools . the present invention is compatible with many different photolithography exposure tools and configurations and in a general embodiment comprises a system and method for in - situ photoresist characterization and for controlling the exposure energy delivered into photoresist by an exposure tool in response to in - situ measurements of photoresist and reflectivity optical properties . control electronics / computer 107 may be part of the standard electronics within a photolithography tool . for example , many exposure tools are integrated with a computer and the chuck , shutter , illumination source , etc . are all controlled together by the computer . alternatively , control electronics / computer 107 may be a separate computer used to collect data from transmission detector 105 and reflectance detector 106 and to perform calculations from the data . control electronics / computer 107 would then interface with the electronics of the exposure tool . a variety of detectors are available to use as transmission detector 105 and reflectance detector 106 . generally the same model of an optical detector may be used for both transmission measurements and reflectance measurements . such detectors are commercially available and as known by those skilled in the art . the optical properties that may be measured using photolithography exposure tool 100 include the transmission and absorption of light by the photoresist . light transmission and absorption is typically measured by coating photoresist on to a special glass substrate or other transparent substrate . in general , the back side of this substrate will be coated with an appropriate anti - reflective layer . the substrate is then placed in the photolithography exposure tool 100 and held by vacuum chuck 110 . in one embodiment , vacuum chuck 110 may be the chuck used to support the substrate during photolithographic patterning . however , chuck 110 may also be a chuck primarily used for substrate handling or a substrate loading and unloading mechanism . alternatively , a chuck may be specifically designed for use with the present invention . when exposure commences transmission detector 105 measures the transmission and absorption of light through the resist coated glass substrate . transmission detector 105 may be built into chuck 110 as shown in fig1 however , this is not required . for example , transmission detector 105 could be placed under a viewport or hole in chuck 110 so that transmission detector 105 is positioned such that the transmission of light through the resist coated glass wafer can be detected . to perform the transmission and absorption measurement , the area above transmission detector 105 is uniformly illuminated by illumination source 101 . transmission detector 105 is illuminated by positioning it such that the detector location corresponds with a clear area of mask 102 . alternatively , mask 102 may be removed during such measurements . transmission detector 105 collects energy intensity versus time data as the exposure proceeds and transmits this information to computer 107 . the transmission and absorption data collected is then analyzed in computer 107 to determine various photoresist coefficients and constants . for example , a bleachable resist absorption coefficient , a non - bleachable resist absorption coefficient , and a resist kinetic exposure rate constant may be calculated . if desired , multiple detectors or multiple measurements in different locations of a substrate made by a single detector could be used to perform several measurements in order to improve the measurement accuracy . separate values could even be calculated for different locations across the substrate . for reflectance measurements , either an actual production substrate or a test substrate may be used . if a test substrate is used , the test substrate would typically simulate the films or layers of a production substrate . by coating resist on the substrate , a film stack is created which includes the basic substrate , any films or layers added during prior processing steps , and the photoresist . a small area of substrate 104 is then illuminated using a clear area of mask 102 . for a production substrate , this area may be located in an unused portion of the substrate such as the scribe line for semiconductor wafers . when illuminated , light reflects off the film stack and back up through lens 103 . reflectance detector 106 is used to measure the reflected light intensity . reflectance detector 106 can be placed in the path of the reflected light in a number of ways . in one embodiment , beam splitter 108 is placed in the reflected light path to direct a fixed portion of the light to the detector . other methods of collecting the reflected light are readily apparent to those skilled in the art . reflectance detector 106 may measure the reflected light intensity as a function of exposure time . this data is recorded in computer 107 which correlates film stack reflectivity and exposure time . furthermore , if a reference reflectivity of the film stack without the photoresist layer is known , photoresist absorption parameters can also be calculated from the reflectance data of the resist coated film stack . the reference reflectivity may also be obtained from a test substrate that simulates the reflectivity of actual production substrates . photoresist absorption parameters may , thus , be calculated utilizing the relationship between absorption and transmission . however , absorption parameter equations calculated from reflectivity data are generally more complicated than the equations shown in equations 1 - 3 because additional interface effects should be considered . also , light interference between the direct light and reflected light , will effect the calculation . thus it can be shown that the a and b coefficients from equations 1 and 2 may be calculated from the reflectivity versus exposure data and approximated by equations 5 and 6 : ## equ2 ## where d = resist thickness , adjusted to give a maximum of the reflectivity swing curve a constant c , as shown in equation 3 , may also be obtained by curve fitting reflectivity data . thus , photoresist absorption parameters can be measured from reflectivity calculations on production substrates , as opposed to using a special glass substrate . exposure control , using either open or closed loop feedback , may be based on the in situ measurements . fig2 - 8 present flow charts of the method of operation of the apparatus of fig1 to perform the absorption measurements , reflectance measurements , and the exposure control of the present invention . in practice , the steps shown in the flow charts of fig2 - 8 are programmed in an appropriate language , and loaded into the program memory of control electronics / computer 107 , in order to control photolithography exposure tool 100 to perform the function desired . in fig2 a generalized flow chart of one method of the present invention is presented . first , the reflectivity as a function of exposure time of the entire film stack , including photoresist , is measured in block 2 . the reflectivity measurement in block 2 may be made using a test substrate or a small area of a production substrate as described above . measured reflectivity data from block 2 is used by computer 107 to calculate a required exposure in block 4 . preferably , the required exposure is calculated as a function of time such that in block 4 an exposure time for shutter 116 is generated . however , alternate embodiments will be recognized by those skilled in the art . for example , block 4 may calculate a scan speed if a scanning photolithography tool is used , the number of laser pulses if an excimer laser is used or the intensity of illumination source 101 . the required exposure is calculated in block 4 by utilizing the measurements from block 2 in conjunction with predetermined baseline data that is stored in the memory of computer 107 . the baseline data is determined by projecting the pattern in mask 102 onto a test substrate at a variety of exposures , such as a series of increasing exposure times ( an exposure matrix ). during these exposures , reflectivity data is collected and stored in computer 107 . then , the optimal baseline exposure time is determined from the exposure matrix by analyzing standard lithographic results on the substrate such as critical dimension linewidth . the magnitude of the reflectivity and / or the total reflectance measured at the optimal baseline exposure time is then retrieved and stored for use in calculation block 4 . the total reflectance is the integral of the reflectance versus time curve obtained from the collected baseline reflectivity data . the reflectivity magnitude and / or total reflectance from the baseline data is matched in calculation block 4 with the current measured reflectivity from block 2 . the required exposure time is , thus , calculated in block 4 by selecting the time from block 2 that generated a reflectivity magnitude value , total reflectance value or combination of the two values that was substantially equivalent to the values from the baseline data at the optimal exposure time . exposure then begins in block 6 and is compared to the calculated exposure in decision block 8 . when the accumulated exposure reaches the calculated exposure , control proceeds to exposure stop block 12 where shutter 116 or other exposure control means halts exposure . the control method shown in fig2 is modified in fig3 by adding closed loop exposure control feedback . control proceeds in fig3 similar to fig2 until decision block 8 is reached . if the actual exposure has not reached the calculated exposure , control passes to measurement block 26 . reflectivity data is measured in block 26 during the exposure . control then passes to calculation block 14 . in calculation block 14 , the reflectivity measurements from block 26 are compared to the optimal reflectivity values from baseline data in order to calculate an exposure time . the calculation procedure in block 14 is , thus , similar to the procedure in calculation block 4 . if the new reflectivity data from block 26 indicates that a modified exposure time is warranted , then a modified exposure time is calculated and stored in computer 107 . control then returns to exposure block 6 and actual exposure is again compared to calculated exposure in decision block 8 . the loop continues until , as before , the required exposure is achieved and control passes to exposure stop block 10 . fig4 illustrates another embodiment of the control methods of the present invention . in this embodiment , a reference reflectivity is measured in control block 20 on a substrate that simulates the film stack without photoresist . reflectivity data from test substrates with photoresist or actual production substrates with photoresist is then measured in control block 2 . absorption parameters are then calculated in control block 22 from the reference reflectivity and the reflectivity with photoresist , as described above . the reflectivity data and calculated resist absorption parameters are then used to calculate a required exposure in block 24 . exposure is calculated in block 24 by matching current reflectivity data with baseline reflectivity data , as described above with reference to fig2 and 3 , and by using computer programs , stored in computer 107 , that correlate lithographic results to absorption parameters . commercially available computer modeling software , for example prolith / 2 from finle technologies and depict from technology modeling associates , may be used to calculate a desired exposure from a given set of a , b , and c absorption parameters and the substrate reflectivity . combining the reflectivity and absorption calculations results in a calculated exposure that accounts for changes in the substrate , which more strongly effect reflection , and changes in the photoresist , which more strongly effect absorption . the remaining steps in fig4 are similar to those in fig2 . as before , when the required exposure is achieved the exposure is stopped . the control method shown in fig5 is a closed loop feedback version of the method shown in fig4 . if the desired exposure has not yet been reached , control passes from decision block 8 to block 26 where reflectivity is measured during the exposure of the production substrate . new absorption parameters are calculated in block 28 by using the reference reflectivity obtained in block 20 and the reflectivity data obtained in block 26 . in order to calculate absorption parameters , data from substantially exposed resist is required . thus , since the reflectivity data obtained in block 26 is collected during exposure and prior to complete exposure , the reflectivity for complete exposure must be estimated . the reflectivity data from block 26 is thus extrapolated to create data points for complete exposure . purely mathematical extrapolations may be used or extrapolations that are based , in part , on prior exposure data may be used . a modified calculated exposure is then calculated in block 30 using the reflectivity data from block 26 , the new absorption parameters from block 30 and the procedures described above for the calculations made in block 24 . alternatively , control may proceed directly from reflectivity measurement block 26 to calculation block 30 without calculating new absorption parameters . in this case , the modified calculated exposure is calculated using the absorption parameters calculated in block 22 and the new reflectivity data collected in block 26 . in yet another embodiment , the modified calculated exposure in block 30 may be calculated without using absorption parameters , thus , similar to the method used in calculation block 14 in fig3 . in all cases , control then passes back to exposure block 6 and the feedback loop continues until the actual exposure reaches the calculated exposure and exposure is stopped . yet another embodiment of the exposure control method of the present invention is shown in fig6 . first , transmission as a function of exposure time is measured in block 40 . the transmission measurement in block 40 is made on a special test substrate as previously described . then , absorption parameters are calculated in block 46 from the transmission data . an exposure calculation is then made in block 44 . then , exposure proceeds in block 6 until the calculated exposure is reached in block 8 and exposure is stopped . the exposure calculation in block 44 may be made either by using absorption modeling software that has been previously described or by using absorption modeling software in conjunction with predetermined baseline transmission data . if baseline data is used , the data is obtained in part from an exposure matrix on a first baseline substrate to determine the optimal exposure time . in addition , baseline transmission data is also collected from a second baseline substrate . the baseline transmission magnitude and total transmission ( integral of the transmission versus time curve ) are then obtained from the second baseline substrate for an exposure time that equals the optimal exposure time calculated from the first baseline substrate . a calculated exposure time may then be calculated in block 44 by matching the baseline transmission magnitude and / or the total transmission to the current transmission data measured in block 40 . the corresponding current exposure time is the exposure time that yields transmission data from block 40 that matches the baseline transmission data at the optimal baseline exposure time . the corresponding current exposure time may be used as the calculated exposure time in block 44 or in conjunction with modeling programs to calculate an exposure in block 44 . the baseline absorption parameters may also be compared to the current parameters obtained in block 46 in order to aid , with the use of modeling programs , the exposure calculation in block 44 . the control method shown in fig6 may be modified as shown in fig7 . the method of fig7 incorporates a reflectivity measurement in block 2 . the reflectivity measurement is made on a substrate that has the entire film stack including photoresist and may be obtained from either a test substrate or a small area of a production substrate . a calculated exposure is then obtained in control block 48 . the calculation in block 48 is made using reflectivity data from block 2 , predetermined baseline reflectivity data , predetermined baseline transmission data , and absorption parameters obtained using the procedures previously described . alternatively , not all the data need be used in the exposure calculation . for example , the calculation may be made from only a portion of the data , such as the reflectivity data and the absorption parameters . control then proceeds as described above for the method shown in fig6 . as shown in fig8 closed loop feedback may be added to the control method shown in fig7 . control proceeds in the method shown in fig8 similar to the method of fig7 until decision block 8 is reached . if the actual exposure has not reached the calculated exposure , control passes to measurement block 26 . reflectivity data is measured in block 26 during exposure . control then passes to calculation block 52 where a modified exposure may be calculated . the calculation in block 52 may be similar to one of the methods described for calculation block 48 , except the measured reflectivity data is obtained from block 26 instead of block 2 . control then returns to exposure block 6 and the closed loop system may continue until the calculated exposure is reached and exposure is stopped in block 10 . many of the measurements made in the methods described above only need to be made at a frequency required to insure accurate measurements and process control . for example , measurements in blocks 2 , 20 and 40 may , depending on the application and user &# 39 ; s requirements , be made once every lot ( a group of substrates ), once a shift , once a day , multiple spots per substrate , etc . further modifications and alternative embodiments of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this description . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the manner of carrying out the invention . it is understood that the forms of the invention herein shown and described are to be taken as the presently contemplated embodiments . for example , equivalent elements , materials or methods may be substituted for those illustrated and described herein , and certain features or methods of the invention may be utilized independently of the use of other features or methods , all as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the benefit of this description of the invention . | 6 |
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