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fig1 illustrates the skeleton of a metal stud wall 10 according to the present invention . the metal stud wall 10 generally comprises a base member 12 , a plurality of metal studs 14 disposed in a row , at least one spacer member 16 , and wall panels ( not shown ). the wall panels , such as wall board , may be secured in well known manner to one or both sides of the metal studs to close the wall and form the exterior surface or surfaces of the wall . the studs 14 , as illustrated in fig1 are generally c - shape . the studs 14 have a web 18 and a pair of l - shape flanges 20 perpendicular to the web 18 . there is also one or more openings 22 in the web 18 . the openings 22 heretofore have been provided in metal studs to permit electrical conduit and plumbing to be run within the stud wall . since the openings 22 are located in the same position in the individual studs forming the wall as is conventional , the openings 22 are horizontally aligned with each other as shown in fig1 . in the assembly of the metal stud wall 10 , the metal studs 14 are secured at their lower ends to the base member 12 by fastening means 24 , such as screws , rivets , etc . the base member 12 is a u - shape channel having a central planar strip with upstanding legs thereon . the studs forming the wall are secured by the fastening means 24 to the upstanding legs of the base member 12 that normally will be anchored to the floor . the stud spacer member 16 is inserted through openings 22 located near the upper ends of the metal studs 14 , and notches 26 in the stud spacer member are aligned with the web 18 of respective studs 14 , or vice versa . the stud spacer member is moved downwardly , as by tapping , to move the webs 18 of the metal studs 14 into engagement with the notches 26 . in this manner the stud spacer member 16 sets the spacing of the top ends of the studs 14 , thus making it unnecessary to manually mark off the stud spacing at the top . as will be appreciated , only one stud need be plumbed and secured to surrounding structure , such as at its top to the ceiling track . with one stud plumbed and fixed in place , all of the other studs will be held plumb by the spacer member or chain of overlapping spacer members . the stud spacer member 16 also functions to maintain the metal studs 14 at the prescribed spacing as during application of the wall panels to the studs thereby eliminating the need to secure the top end of each stud 14 to an upper channel or header . although the wall panels once applied will maintain the spacing of the metal studs as well , the stud spacer member 16 may still function to assist in resisting relative movement of the metal studs in the plane of the wall and to resist bowing of the studs . in fact , additional spacer members may be provided at different heights to add strength to the metal stud wall skeleton . as illustrated in fig1 each stud spacer member 16 spans three metal studs 14 as is preferred , although longer spacer members may be used , if desired , to span four , five or more studs , or even shorter spacer members spanning only two studs . when forming a wall system having a number of metal studs exceeding the length of a single stud spacer member 16 , a plurality of stud spacer members 16 are used in end - to - end relationship with relatively adjacent ends overlapped and secured to at least one common stud 14 so as to maintain continuity of the stud spacer members 16 over the length of the stud wall 10 . referring now to fig2 - 4 , a preferred embodiment of stud spacer member 16 can be seen to include a bar - like elongate member 30 which is generally v - shape in cross - section along its length . the v - shape functions to rigidify the elongate member 30 against lateral flexure , i . e ., flexure perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the spacer member . the v may have an included angle in the range of about 45 ° to 135 °, more preferably in the range of about 60 ° to 120 °, and most preferably about 90 °. the elongate member 30 need not necessarily be v - shape as shown in fig3 . the elongate member 30 alternatively could be generally planar with one or more bosses running ( and overlapping if plural bosses are provided ) the length of the elongate member 30 . the boss or bosses ( deflected out of the planar portions of the elongate member ) would serve to rigidity the elongate member 30 . of course , other means may be provided to rigidify the elongate member 30 against lateral flexure , such as the use of stiffening ribs , a thicker stock , etc . as illustrated in fig3 the notches 26 preferably are provided in each planar side portion of the v - shape elongate member with the notches 26 opening to the longitudinal outer edge 32 of the respective side portion . the notches 26 are designed to engage and to retain the web 18 of the stud 14 . as shown , the notches 26 have one side thereof formed by a resiliently flexible tab or flap 36 that functions to resiliently bias the web 18 against an abutment 38 formed by the opposite side of the notch . the flap 36 is formed by bending a portion of the respective side portion of elongate member 30 out of the plane of the side portion . the opposite edge of the notch preferably remains in the plane of the relatively adjacent region of the side portion to form a positive positioning stop or abutment 38 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the elongate member 30 against which the web 18 of the stud 14 will be held by the flexible flap 36 . as is preferred , the corners of the flap 36 at its free end are preferably relatively sharply angled , as at an included angle of 60 degrees or less , to form a barb that will aid in holding the spacer member 16 engaged to the webs 18 of the metal studs 14 . although the notches 26 are shown disposed along the outer edge 32 of each side portion , it should be realized that the notches 26 could be formed elsewhere , such as along the crease 40 of the v - shaped elongate member 30 . however , preferably the notches 26 open to the outer edge of each side portion , with the notches 26 of one side portion being laterally aligned with corresponding notches of the other side portion . the pairs of laterally spaced notches 26 , as opposed to a single notch , provide two points of contact for the stud spacer member 16 . the two points of contact aid in preventing the studs 14 from pivoting or twisting , thus adding greater stability to the wall 10 . the distance between abutments 38 will equate to a distance between webs 18 of the studs 14 which form the skeleton of the wall 10 , as the flap 36 will force the web 18 against the abutment 38 . as will be appreciated , the distance between the cuts that form the abutments 38 and flaps 36 can be controlled within tight tolerances and this translates to accurate spacing of the studs in a row thereof forming a wall . for example , in the united states , walls 10 are generally constructed with studs spaced on 16 or 24 inch centers . therefore , a cut in the elongate member 30 will be made at 16 or 24 inch intervals , thus ensuring that the web to web spacing of the studs 14 will be 16 or 24 inches . as illustrated in fig4 the stud spacer member 16 preferably includes 4 notches 26a - 26d spaced at 16 inch intervals , and 1 notch 26e equal spaced between the two central notches 26b and 26c . this particular arrangement of notches 26 creates a stud spacer member 16 which can be used in metal stud walls 10 which have a stud spacing of either 16 or 24 inches . if the wall 10 is to have a stud spacing of 16 inches , notches 26a - 26d engage the webs 18 of the studs 14 . if the wall 10 is to have a stud spacing of 24 inches , notches 26a , 26d , and 26e engage the webs 18 of the studs 14 . the overall length of the preferred stud spacer member 16 is about 50 inches , this leaving about one inch outside the outermost notches . the spacer member 16 is also sufficiently narrow to fit within the dimensions of the openings 22 in the webs 18 . also , it is particularly advantageous for the spacer member to be dimensioned so that it may be received in the reduced width conduit slot forming the lower portion of the stud opening as is often provided in the metal studs to centrally space conduit between the outer side edges of the metal studs . the reduced width conduit slot is typically one inch square . accordingly , the width of the spacer member 16 in the preferred embodiment is approximately 1 . 25 inches when oriented as shown in fig2 ( i . e ., from outer edge to outer edge ), and the slots are formed in both legs of the v - shape elongate member to a depth from the edge of about 1 / 3 of an inch . thus , in the preferred embodiment of the present invention , the member 16 has an overall length to width ratio of about 35 to 1 . the metal which forms the stud spacer member 16 has a thickness ranging , for example , from about 22 gauge to 16 gauge . preferably , the stud spacer member 16 is constructed from about 20 gauge metal , which has a thickness of about 0 . 036 inch . referring now to fig5 another form of notch 26 &# 39 ; can be seen to have a slot portion 42 and a relatively wider inner portion 44 . the slot extends from the enlarged inner portion 44 to the outer longitudinal edge 32 . the distinct transition from the slot portion 42 to the enlarged inner portion 44 forms angled shoulders 46 which &# 34 ; bite &# 34 ; into the metal of the web 18 , thereby retaining the web 18 in the notch . the slot portion 42 of notch 26 &# 39 ; should have a width which corresponds to and preferably is slightly less than the thickness of the metal forming the web 18 , so that the slot portion 42 fits tightly over the web 18 . the enlarged inner portion 44 and the outer longitudinal edge 32 of the side portion 42 define therebetween a resilient flap portion of the side portion that can flex away from the opposed flap portion to receive therebetween the web 18 of a metal stud 14 . preferably , the outer corners of the opposed flap portions are flared slightly out of the plane of the side portion to form slightly out - turned ears 48 that define therebetween a widened mouth 50 for receiving and guiding the web 18 of the stud 14 into the narrower throat section of the slot portion 42 . although the invention has been shown and described with respect to several preferred embodiments , it will be apparent that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification . the present invention includes all such equivalent alterations and modifications , and is limited only by the scope of the following claims . | 4 |
the subject information - transmitting apparatus is successively supplied with , for example , the four records or unit record information groups i , ii , iii , iv of fig2 distinguished from each other by positioning codes re , each of which consists of , for example , five concrete column data corresponding to the five heading items of fig1 and separated from each other by positioning codes cp . as is apparent from fig2 some of the heading items , for example , the customer code represented by a heading item number ( 0 ) indicates a 3 - digit numeral and the consecutive number denoted by a heading item number ( 1 ) shows a 4 - digit numeral , and some of the respective corresponding arithmetical places of a column data representing the customer code ( 0 ) and a column data constituting the consecutive number ( 1 ) indicate the same group of digits . upon receipt of a column select instruction , therefore , the memory 1 of fig5 is successively stored with the numbers ( 0 ), ( 1 ) of the heading items , that is , the customer code and consecutive number such that the column data constituting said heading items ( 0 ), ( 1 ) can be later specified for deletion . when the memory 1 is stored with a record - positioning code re ahead of an item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; corresponding to the foremost heading item ( 0 ), that is , the customer code included in the first one of a series of said records , which are later successively stored in the memory 1 , then said positioning code re , after being read out therefrom , is detected by an information judgement code detector 2 . at this time , the memory 1 is preset at its original condition . an output signal from said code detector 2 showing the detected positioning code re resets a counter 3 and also a flip - flop circuit 5 through an or circuit 4 , the reset counter 3 generates an output of zero . when preset by an output signal showing the detected positioning code re , the memory 1 already stored with the customer code ( 0 ) generates an output showing said heading item number ( 0 ). &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; outputs from the counter 3 and memory 1 are supplied to a coincidence detector 6 , which in turn sends forth an output showing coincidence between both zero outputs . said coincidence output is conducted to one of the gates of an and circuit 7 . when the memory 1 is supplied with the item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the foremost customer code ( 0 ) in succession to the record - positioning code re , then the information judgement code detector 2 detects the presence of a numeral . a detection output is transmitted to the other gate of the and circuit 7 . as the result , a shift instruction is supplied through the and circuit 7 to a buffer memory 8 , which in turn is successively stored with the three digits &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the foremost customer code ( 0 ). when the record - positioning code re is detected , the flip - flop circuit 5 remains reset by said positioning code re , and is not set , until it receives an output signal from a coincidence detector 11 . therefore , the gates of an and circuit 9 are not opened , preventing a series of rcords from being transmitted to an information - processing device through the and circuit 9 and or circuit 10 . when the item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; stored in the buffer memory 8 by a shift instruction delivered from the and circuit 7 upon receipt of the record - positioning code re represents the customer code ( 0 ) of the first one of a series of records , then said buffer memory 8 is not stored with any other information . while said item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; is supplied not only to the buffer memory 8 but also to the coincidence detector 11 , the buffer memory 8 does not give forth any output signal . accordingly , the coincidence detector 11 produces an output signal of noncoincidence to set the flip - flop circuit 5 , which in turn sends forth a set output to one of the gates of the and circuit 9 . at this time , an output signal of coincidence corresponding to the foremost customer code ( 0 ) which is delivered from the coincidence detector 6 is conducted to another gate of the and circuit 9 to open it . as a result , the item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; is drawn out in succession to the record - positioning code re through the or circuit 10 to be later processed . the data - positioning code cp in succession to the item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; is detected by the information judgement code detector 2 . an output signal showing said detected positioning code cp is supplied as a reset signal to the flip - flop circuit 5 through the or circuit 4 , preventing any input information from being read out through the and circuit 9 and or circuit 10 . the column data - positioning code cp is also supplied as an advance instruction to the counter 3 , which in turn is advanced in counting from the reset state of &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to a count of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;. this output signal showing a count of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is delivered to the coincidence circuit 6 . said column data - positioning code cp is directly supplied to one of the gates of an and circuit 12 , which in turn is opened , because the other gate thereof is supplied with the aforesaid output signal of the coincidence detector 6 showing coincidence between the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; output signals from the counter 3 and memory 1 . as a result , the memory 1 in which heading item numbers being compared are specified is supplied with a shift instruction , and consequently sends forth to the coincidence detector 6 an column data - specifying output signal corresponding to the consecutive number ( 1 ). when supplied with an output signal showing a count of 1 from the counter 3 , and also with an output signal specifying the consecutive number ( 1 ) from the memory 1 , then the coincidence detector 6 generates a coincidence output signal of &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ;, which in turn is conducted to one of the gates of the and circuits 7 , 9 , 12 respectively . the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; of the second heading item in succession to the preceding column data - positioning code cp is detected by the information judgement code detector 2 . a detection output signal from said detector 2 proving the presence of the aforesaid numeral &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; opens the and circuit 7 , which allows a shift instruction to be delivered to the buffer memory 8 . the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; is stored in the buffer memory 8 in succession to the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ;. the buffer memory 8 has a sufficient capacity to store a maximum number of digits among at least those of the column data included in the respective records which should be compared . even when , therefore , stored with the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ;, the buffer memory 8 does not yet produce any output . the coincidence detector 11 does not generate an output showing coincidence between any of the digits of column data of the preceding detail information group in which said column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; is included and any of the digits of those column data of the succeeding record which are arranged in the corresponding sequential positions in said preceding record , but gives forth an output of noncoincidence . this output of noncoincidence sets the flip - flop circuit 5 , a set output from which is supplied as a gating signal to the and circuit 9 together with an output of coincidence from the coincidence detector 6 which specifies the second heading item ( 1 ), that is , the consecutive number for comparison . as a result , the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; is read out in succession to the column data positioning code cp as information being processed through the and circuit 9 and or circuit 10 . when the information judgement code detector 2 detects a column data - positioning code cp preceding the column data &# 34 ; 25 &# 34 ; of the third heading item ( 2 ), that is , the merchandise code in succession to the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ;, then a detection output from said detector 2 resets the flip - flop circuit 5 as previously described through the or circuit 4 , temporarily preventing column data following the above - mentioned column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; from being sent forth from the and circuit 9 . under this condition , the column data positioning code cp following said column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; is delivered as an advance instruction to the counter 3 and also as a shift instruction to the memory 1 through the and circuit 12 . at this time , the counter 3 is advanced from a count of 1 to a count of 2 and generates an advance output . even when , therefore , a shift instruction is supplied to the memory 1 which is not stored with an instruction for specifying any column data following the column data &# 34 ; 25 &# 34 ; of the merchandise code ( 2 ), the coincidence detector 6 does not generate a coincidence output . an output from an inverter 13 connected to the output terminal of the coincidence detector 6 is transmitted to one of the gates of an and circuit 14 . since the other gate of said and circuit 14 is already supplied with all the column data of the first record the column data which were not specified for comparison , such as the column data &# 34 ; 25 &# 34 ; of the third heading item ( 2 ), that is , the merchandise code and the column data &# 34 ; 250 , 000 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; of the following heading items ( 3 ), ( 4 ), namely , the sales amount and sales date are later read out to the information - processing device in succession to the aforesaid column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ;. all the serially arranged column data of the first record read out for processing collectively present a pattern indicated in i of fig3 as like as i of fig2 . since at this time , the coincidence detector 6 does not produce any output , the and circuit 7 is not supplied with an input . nor the buffer memory 8 is supplied with a shift instruction . among the column data of the first record , therefore , only the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; of the first and second heading items ( 0 ), ( 1 ), that is , the customer code and consecutive number which are already specified for comparison remain stored in the buffer memory 8 . when the second record shown in ii of fig2 is stored in the memory 1 in succession to the corresponding positioning code re , then this positioning code re is detected by the information judgement code detector 2 which generates a detection output which resets the counter 3 and presets the memory 1 at its original state . zero outputs from the counter 3 and memory 1 cause the coincidence detector 6 to give forth a coincidence output , which in turn is supplied as a gating signal to the and circuits 7 , 9 . the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 ∞ of the second record is read out to the coincidence detector 11 and is also detected by the information judgement code detector 2 . a detection output from said detector 2 opens one of the gates of the and circuit 7 and is transmitted as a shift instruction to the buffer memory 8 . as a result , the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the second record group already stored in the buffer memory 8 is delivered to the coincidence detector 11 , which detects coincidence between the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the first record and the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the corresponding foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the second record . however , the coincidence detector 11 which sets the flip - flop circuit 5 only when detecting noncoincidence does not generate any output when detecting coincidence between the above - mentioned first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of both records . since , at this time , the flip - flop circuit 5 does not produce an output , the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the second record is prevented from being read out to the separately provided information processing device through the and circuit 9 and or circuit 10 . since coincidence is similarly established between the second and third digits &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; of both records , the coincidence detector 11 does not send forth an output . further , the coincidence detector 6 generates an output showing coincidence between the digits of the foremost column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of both records , and in consequence the inverter 13 does not produce an output . thus , the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the foremost heading item ( 0 ), that is , the customer code of the second record is not delivered either from the and circuit 9 or and circuit 14 , but is deleted in transmitting said second record to the information - processing device . when the memory 1 is stored with a column data - positioning code cp preceding the column data &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; of the second heading item ( 1 ), that is , the consecutive number of the second record , then said positioning code cp , after being read out from the memory 1 , is detected by the information judgement code detector 2 , causing the counter 3 to be advanced in counting , and also the memory 1 to have its contents shifted . as a result , the coincidence detector 6 sends forth an output showing coincidence between outputs from the counter 3 and memory 1 , which opens the and circuit 7 . the other gate of the and circuit 7 is supplied with the first digit &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; of the column data &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; as an indication of the presence of a numeral in the memory 1 . an output from the and circuit 7 is supplied as a shift instruction to the buffer memory 8 . comparison is made by the coincidence detector 11 between the respective digits of the column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; of the second heading item ( 1 ), that is , the consecutive number of the first record group and the digits occupying the respective corresponding arithmetical places of the column data &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; of the second heading item ( 1 ), that is , the consecutive number of the second record . since the first three digits of both column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; are respectively the same , the flip - flop circuit 5 is not set , preventing the first three digits of the second record from being transmitted to the separately provided information - processing device . when the fourth digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; of the second column data &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; of the second record is received , the coincidence detector 11 issues an output , because the fourth digit &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ; of the second column data &# 34 ; 1108 &# 34 ; of the first record does not coincide with the fourth digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; of the second column data &# 34 ; 1109 &# 34 ; of the second record , thereby setting the flip - flop circuit 5 . a set output from said flip - flop circuit 5 is supplied as a gating signal to the and circuit 9 . as a result , the digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; is transmitted to the information - processing device immediately after the column data positioning code cp . since no column designation is made in the memory 1 with respect to the item numeral &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ; of the third heading item ( 2 ), that is , the merchandise code of the second record which the operator judges need not be subjected to comparison , the coincidence detector 6 does not give forth an output , and in consequence the and circuit 9 is not supplied with a gate input . absence of an output from the coincidence detector 6 causes the inverter 13 to generate an output which in turn is supplied as a gating signal to the and circuit 14 . therefore , the above - mentioned column data &# 34 ; 10 &# 34 ; is transmitted to the information - processing device through the and circuit 14 and or circuit 10 . the column data &# 34 ; 180 , 000 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; of the fourth and fifth heading items , that is , the sales amount and sales date of the second record are transmitted to the information - processing device through the above - mentioned operation in the form preceded by the corresponding positioning code cp . eventually , the second record is conducted to the information - processing device in the partially deleted form as shown in fig4 with a positioning code re disposed immediately behind the second record to distinguish it from the third record . the third and fourth records are delivered to the information - processing device in the partially deleted form as illustrated in fig3 in which the digits enclosed in the dotted lines are omitted . as mentioned above , the information - transmitting apparatus of this invention enables a series of records to be transmitted to the information - processing device in the form wherein the same digit is deleted which appears in the respective corresponding arithmetical places of column data arranged in the same sequential position of the respective records . therefore , processing can be effected at a higher speed and the amount of information being stored in a memory for subsequent processing is decreased , thereby enabling a memory to be used which has a smaller capacity than can be used in the prior art . there will now be described by reference to fig6 the operation of the embodiment of this invention which can restore , as occasion demands , the partially deleted form in which a series of records were previously stored in a memory back to the original nondeleted form . now let it be assumed that a main memory 15 has already received from the or circuit 10 of fig5 a comprehensive piece of information being processed which comprises a series of a nondeleted records and a plurality of partially deleted records . namely , the main memory 15 is stored first with the first nondeleted record i of fig3 and then with the second , third and fourth records ii , iii , iv in the partially deleted form wherein the digits enclosed in dotted lines are omitted . when a processing instruction is supplied to one of the gates of an and circuit 17 , the other gate of which is connected to an inverter 16 , an output from said and circuit 17 causes the above - mentioned series of records to be read out from the main memory 15 . the information thus read out is again written in a buffer memory - i 18 upon receipt of a write - in instruction . the buffer memory - i 18 is chosen to have a sufficient capacity to store a maximum number of digits ( with the positioning codes cp , re regarded as digits ) among the respective column data of the plural records , for example , screen digits in the case of the present embodiment . the positioning code re of the first record i detected by the information judgement code detector 19 resets a counter 20 and also passes through an and circuit 39 and or circuit 35 to preset the memory 21 to its original condition in which fully or partially deleted column data are specified for comparison . now the memory 21 is assumed selectively to specify for comparison the first and second heading items ( 0 ), ( 1 ), that is , the customer code and consecutive number as in the embodiment of fig5 . outputs from the counter 20 and memory 21 are supplied to the coincidence detector 22 . when coincidence is established between said outputs , the coincidence detector 22 generates a coincidence output , which in turn is conducted through an and circuit 23 to the buffer memory - i 18 as an instruction to write information delivered from the main memory 15 in said buffer memory - i 18 . at this time , the and circuit 39 is closed upon recepit of an output from the coincidence detector 22 through an or circuit 34 and inverter 38 . as a result , the positioning code re of the first record and the succeeding item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the first heading item ( 0 ), that is , the customer code are written in the buffer memory - i 18 . an output showing the positioning code re of the first record which was detected by the information judgement code detector 19 is supplied to one of the gates of an and circuit 25 through an or circuit 24 . the other gate of the and circuit 25 is supplied with a coincidence output from the coincidence detector 22 . an output from the and circuit 25 is supplied as a set input to a flip - flop circuit 27 through a delay circuit 26 . one of the gates of the and circuit 25 is supplied with an output from the coincidence detector 22 , and both gates of said and circuit 25 are opened upon receipt of the positioning code cp following the first item numeral &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ;. said positioning code cp is stored in the buffer memory - i 18 after the first column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; of the customer code ( 0 ) whose digits are to be deleted is stored therein . when read out from the buffer memory - i 18 , said positioning code cp is detected by the information judgement code detector 19 , an output from which is supplied as a gating signal to the and circuit 25 through the or circuit 24 . an output from the and circuit is conducted to the delay circuit 26 . after the buffer memory - i 18 is stored with the aforesaid positioning code cp following the first column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ;, the delay circuit 26 generates an output , which in turn sets the flip - flop circuit 27 . detection of the above - mentioned positioning code cp causes the counter 20 to be advanced to a count of 1 . a signal showing the detected positioning code cp and an output from the coincidence detector 22 cooperate to open the gates of the and circuit 37 and also cause shifting to take place in the memory 21 . as a result , the memory 21 produces an output of 1 , which is used to determine whether the second column data should be partially deleted . a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 prevents the inverter 16 from generating a write - in instruction , and consequently the second column data following the information &# 34 ; 125 cp = from being stored in the buffer memory - i 18 . an output delivered from the flip - flop circuit 27 at this time is supplied as a readout instruction to the first buffer memory - i 18 , and also as a shift instruction to a second memory - ii 28 which is stored with the nondeleted column data specified for subsequent partial deletion and read out from the first buffer memory - i 18 . while the first buffer memory - i 18 only has a sufficient capacity to store a maxinumber of digits ( with positioning codes re , cp regarded as digits ) among the respective column data of a plurality of detail information groups , the second buffer memory - ii 28 as large a capacity as an integral multiple of that of the first buffer memory - i 18 . when information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; is read out from the first buffer memory - i 18 , the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; is detected by an information and code detector 29 , a detection output from which sets a flip - flop circuit 30 . an output from this flip - flop circuit 30 is conducted to one of the gates of an and circuit 31 , the other gate of which is supplied with the information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ;. as a result , said and circuit 31 gives forth an output which in turn is stored in the second buffer memory - ii 28 through an or circuit 32 . the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; sent forth from the or circuit 32 is carried to one of the gates of an and circuit 33 , the other gate of which is supplied with an output from the flip - flop circuit 27 through an or circuit 34 . accordingly , the and circuit 33 produces an output , which in turn is transmitted to the information - processing device through an or circuit 35 . a detection output from the information and code detector 29 which denotes the positioning code cp read out from the first buffer memory - i 18 is supplied to the reset terminal of the flip - flop circuit 27 through a delay circuit 36 , preventing a shift instruction from being supplied to the second buffer memory - ii 28 . therefore , no shifting takes place therein , with the column data &# 34 ; 125 &# 34 ; still stored . when the flip - flop circuit 27 is reset , the inverter 16 again produces an output which is delivered to one of the gates of the and circuit 23 . at this time the and circuit 17 is opened , causing the succeeding information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; to be read out from the main memory 15 . since the coincidence detector 22 generates an output showing coincidence between outputs from the counter 20 and memory 21 , the and circuit 23 remains opened . said coincidence output from the coincidence detector 22 is supplied as a write - in instruction to the first buffer memory - i 18 , causing the information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; to be stored in the first buffer memory - i 18 . when the column data - positioning code cp is detected , a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 is supplied to the inverter 16 , preventing the information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; from being stored in the first buffer memory - i 18 for the second time . detection of the above - mentioned code cp causes the counter 20 to be advanced in counting and also shifting to take place in the memory 21 through the and circuit 37 . a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 is supplied as a readout instruction to the first buffer memory - i 18 . the information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; read out from said buffer memory - i 18 is stored in succession to the information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; through the and circuit 31 and or circuit 32 in the second buffer memory - ii 28 which is already supplied with the aforesaid set output as a shift instruction . thereafter , like the preceding information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ;, the following information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; is transmitted to the information - processing device through the and circuit 3 and or circuit 35 . a detection output from the information and code detector 29 which denotes the column data positioning code cp passes through the delay circuit 36 , interrupting the supply of a shift instruction from the flip - flop circuit 27 to the second buffer memory - ii 28 . as a result , two equal half sections of the second buffer memory - ii 28 representing its capacity , for example , two - fold larger than that of the first buffer memory - i 18 are successively stored , as illustrated in fig7 with two pieces of column data information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; in such a manner that said two pieces of column data information are stored in the above - mentioned two equal half sections respectively at such locations as admit of the provision of a surplus storing space relative to the specified length of each equal half section of the second buffer memory - ii 28 or in some cases cause the entire storing space to be filled with digits and that the last digit ( with the positioning code cp regarded as a digit ) of said two pieces of column data information is disposed at the end location of each equal half section of the second buffer memory - ii 28 . when the information judgement code detector 19 gives forth an output showing a detected positioning code cp , then the counter 20 is further advanced from a count of 1 . at this time the memory 21 is still stored only with the column data of the first and second heating items , that is , the customer code and consecutive number . therefore , even when a shift instruction is supplied to the memory 21 through the and circuit 37 , a signal specifying any of the column data of the third and following heading items is not read out from the memory 21 . accordingly , the third column data information &# 34 ; 25 cp &# 34 ; is not written in the first buffer memory - i 18 , but is conducted as a gating signal to the and circuit 39 together with an output from the inverter 38 connected to the or circuit 34 . an outpt from the and circuit 39 which denotes a piece of column data information &# 34 ; 25 cp &# 34 ; is preceded by &# 34 ; re &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; already conducted through the or circuit 35 and followed by another piece of column data information &# 34 ; 250 , 000 cp 3 &# 34 ;. all these pieces of column data information are transmitted to the information - processing device . thereafter , the positioning code re of the second record which is now rearranged in the partially deleted form illustrated in fig4 is read out from the main memory 15 . when detecting said positioning code re , the information judgement code detector 19 produces a detection output , which in turn resets the counter 20 and causes the memory 21 to be preset at its original condition . in the same manner as mentioned above , the coincidence detector 22 generates an output denoting coincidence between &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; outputs from the counter 20 and memory 1 . as a result , a write - in instruction is supplied to the first buffer memory - i 18 through the and circuit 23 and also as a gating signal to one of the gates of the and circuit 25 . in this case , the record - positioning code re and the positioning code cp of the second column data of the second record are read out in succession as shown in fig4 . the other gate of the and circuit 25 is supplied with a signal showing the detected positioning code cp through the or circuit 24 . when said positioning code cp is stored in the first buffer memory - i 18 , the and circuit 25 generates an output which in turn is sent forth as a shift instruction to the second buffer memory - ii 28 through the delay circuit 26 and flip - flop circuit 27 . a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 when set by a delayed output from the delay circuit 26 is supplied as a readout instruction to the first buffer memory - i 18 to read out the positioning code cp therefrom . the positioning code cp thus read out is detected by the information judgement code detector 29 , a detection output from which is delayed by the delay circuit 36 . a shift instruction continues to be supplied to the second buffer memory - ii 28 until the flip - flop circuit 27 is reset by a delayed output from the delay circuit 36 . column data information &# 34 ; re 125 &# 34 ; read out from the second buffer memory - ii 28 is sent forth to one of the gates of the and circuit 40 , the other gate of which is supplied with an output from an inverter 41 connected to the output terminal of the flip - flop circuit 30 . as a result , the and circuit 40 produces an output , which in turn is conducted to one of the gates of the and circuit 33 through the or circuit 32 . the other gate of the and circuit 33 is supplied with a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 through the or circuit 34 . thus an output from the and circuit 33 which denotes column data information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; is transmitted to the information - processing device through the or circuit 35 . when the column data - positioning code cp delayed by the delay circuit 36 is supplied to the reset input terminal of the flip - flop circuit 27 , the inverter 16 again issues an output to read out the digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; and the succeeding column data - positioning code cp from the main memory 15 . these pieces of information thus read out , that is , &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; cp &# 34 ; are stored in the first buffer memory - i 18 upon receipt of a write - in instruction from the and circuit 23 and later read out from said buffer memory - i 18 upon receipt of a set output from the flip - flop circuit 27 and finally supplied to one of the gates of the and circuit 31 . a shift instruction continues to be supplied to the second buffer memory - ii 28 to read out therefrom item information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; following the preceding column data information &# 34 ; 125 cp &# 34 ; already read out from said second buffer memory - ii 28 , until the supply of a shift instruction from the flip - flop circuit 27 is stopped by the positioning code cp read out from the first buffer memory - i 18 . when the pieces of information &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; cp &# 34 ; are read out from the buffer memory - i 18 , a detection output from the information and code detector 29 which denotes the digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; sets the flip - flop circuit 30 . a set output from the flip - flop circuit 30 prevents the inverter 41 from producing an output , and also the digit &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ; following &# 34 ; cp &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; 110 &# 34 ; already read out from the second buffer memory - ii 28 from being read out from the and circuit 40 . an output from the flip - flop circuit 30 is delivered to one of the gates of the and circuit 31 . the digit &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; which was read out from the first buffer memory - i 18 follows the previously read out &# 34 ; 110 &# 34 ; in place of &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ; whose readout was prevented by the and circuit 40 . thus , a piece of column data information &# 34 ; 1108 cp &# 34 ; is transmitted to the information - processing device through the and circuit 31 , or circuit 32 , and circuit 33 and or circuit 35 in turn . the foregoing description applies to other column data . namely , those column data which are first stored in the main memory 15 in the fully or partially deleted form are read out in the original nondeleted form and transmitted to the information - processing device . | 7 |
the amino nitrile can be virtually any α - aminonitrile corresponding to the acylated α - amino carboxylic acid amide desired , and can be prepared from the corresponding ketone or aldehyde by conventional means well known to those skilled in the art . for example , the ketone in a suitable solvent such as methanol can be reacted with an ammonia source ( such as ammonia and ammonium chloride ) and a cyanide source ( such as alkali metal cyanide ), and the resulting amino nitrile can be recovered by extraction with methylene chloride and dried . dialkyl aminonitriles such as acetone aminonitrile , acetophenone aminonitrile , methyl ethyl aminonitrile are suitable , as are monoalkyl aminonitriles such as benzaldehyde aminonitrile and acetaldehyde aminonitrile . n - substituted aminonitriles are also suitable , including n - methyl glycinonitrile , n - butyl aminonitrile and n - phenyl aminonitrile . cyclopentanone aminonitrile is particularly preferred . suitable acyl groups for the acyl halide are straight or branched aliphatic or aromatic groups containing from 1 to 40 carbon atoms , preferably acyl groups that are carboxylic acid derivatives . examples of preferred acyl groups are valeroyl , pentanoyl , hexanoyl , heptanoyl , octanoyl , nananoyl , decanoyl , lauroyl , myristoyl , palmitoyl , oleoyl , stearoyl , nonanoyl , neopentanoyl , neoheptanoyl , neodecanoy , iso - octanoyl , iso - nananoyl , isotridecanoyl , benzoyl and naphthoyl . valeryl chloride is particularly preferred . in accordance with the present invention , the ph of an aqueous solution of the amino nitrile is adjusted within a range of 9 - 12 ( standard schotten - baumann conditions ) to effect acylation , and the temperature is maintained between about 0 ° and 30 ° c ., preferably at about 10 ° c . the amino nitrile should be used in slight excess to the acid halide , preferably 1 . 05 or less / 1 . 00 . larger excesses of the amino nitrile are operable but wasteful . the acyl halide is slowly added to the amino nitrile aqueous solution at a rate such that the temperature of the reaction medium is kept to 200 ° c . or lower . the ph of the reaction medium is preferably maintained in the above range , more preferably in a range between 9 . 5 - 10 . 5 , by co - feeding base , preferably alkali metal hydroxide , to the reaction medium with the acyl halide . the base serves to scrub the acid ( hcl in the case of acyl chloride ) generated from the acylation and thus maintain the ph within the operable range . as a result , operable amounts of base will vary depending upon the amount of acid generated , but are generally between 1 - 2 times the number of equivalents of acid halide . failure to co - feed the base with the acyl halide results in the hydrolysis of the acyl halide as a competing reaction . preferably the reaction is stirred at 20 ° c . and is held for at least two hours while maintaining the ph within the aforementioned range . hydrolysis is then carried out by adjusting the ph , preferably to less than about 0 . 5 with a suitable acid , such as hcl , sulfuric or phosphoric acid , preferably hcl , to hydrolyze the nitrile to the carboxylic acid amide . higher ph &# 39 ; s in the range of 0 . 5 - 4 could be used , but result in longer reaction times . alternatively , hydrolysis could be conducted under basic conditions , such as with the addition of 0 . 1 to 4 equivalents of alkali metal hydroxide . the reaction is then heated to reflux to affect complete hydrolysis of the nitrile to the carboxylic acid . temperatures of 30 °- 1000 ° c . are suitable , with the higher end of the range being preferred in order to minimize reaction times . hydrolysis is generally completed in under two hours . the resulting solids ( acylated amino carboxylic acid amide ) are isolated and can be collected by filtration . the theoretical reaction mechanism can be illustrated as follows for the preparation of valeryl cycloleucine amide : ## str1 ## the amino nitrile of cyclopentanone was prepared using methods commonly found in the literature . the amino nitrile of cyclopentanone ( 30 . 00 g , 0 . 273 mole ) and water were added to a 500 ml 5 - neck round bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer , a ph meter , a thermometer , and two additional funnels . the ph was then adjusted to 10 . 00 with 50 % naoh and the reaction cooled to 10 ° c . valeryl chloride ( 31 . 60 g , 0 . 262 mole ) was then slowly added to the reaction at such a rate as to maintain the temperature at 20 ° c . or below . the ph of the reaction was maintained from 9 . 5 - 10 . 5 by co - feeding 25 % naoh ( 10 . 91 g , 0 . 272 mol ) to the reaction with the valeryl chloride . the reaction was stirred at 20 ° c . for one hour maintaining a ph of 9 . 5 - 10 . 5 with 25 % naoh . after one hour , the ph was adjusted to 0 . 5 with concentrated hcl , the reaction heated to reflux for one hour , cooled to room temperature , and the resulting solids collected by filtration . the aminonitrile was acylated as described previously on a 0 . 455 mole scale . 0 . 437 moles of naoh ( 50 % aqueous ) were then added and the reaction warmed to 70 c . for ten hours . the resulting solution contained approximately a 50 % conversion to the valeryl cycloleucine amide . | 2 |
the organic electroluminescent device of the invention is an organic electroluminescent device comprising at least one organic compound layer containing a light emitting layer between a pair of electrodes , wherein the light emitting layer contains a host material and a phosphorescent material ; a five - coordinate metal complex is used as the host material ; and an ir complex having a partial structure represented by any one of formulae ( 2 ) to ( 5 ) is used as the phosphorescent material . the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 2 ) will be described below in detail . the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 2 ) can be specifically represented by formula ( 22 ): in formulae ( 2 ) and ( 22 ), x 201 , x 202 , x 203 , and x 204 each independently represents a nitrogen atom or c — r ; x 201 , x 202 , x 203 , and x 204 forms a nitrogen - containing heteroaryl 6 - membered ring together with — c ═ n ; at least one of x 201 , x 202 , x 203 , and x 204 represents a nitrogen atom ; and r represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent . examples of the substituent include an alkyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 10 ; for example , methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , tert - butyl , n - octyl , n - decyl , n - hexadecyl , cyclopropyl , cyclopentyl , and cyclohexyl ), an alkenyl group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , vinyl , allyl , 2 - butenyl , and 3 - pentenyl ), an alkynyl group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , propargyl and 3 - pentynyl ), an aryl group ( preferably having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 6 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 6 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , phenyl , p - methylphenyl , naphthyl , and anthranyl ), an amino group ( preferably having from 0 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 0 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 0 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , amino , methylamino , dimethylamino , diethylamino , dibenzylamino , diphenylamino , and ditolylamino ), an alkoxy group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , methoxy , ethoxy , butoxy , and 2 - ethylhexyloxy ), an aryloxy group ( preferably having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 6 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 6 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , phenyloxy , 1 - naphthyloxy , and 2 - naphthyloxy ), a heteroaryloxy group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , pyridyloxy , pyrazinyloxy , pyrimidyloxy , and quinolyloxy ), an acyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , acetyl , benzoyl , formyl , and pivaloyl ), an alkoxycarbonyl group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , methoxycarbonyl and ethoxycarbonyl ), an aryloxycarbonyl group ( preferably having from 7 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 7 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 7 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , phenyl - oxycarbonyl ), an acyloxy group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , acetoxy and benzoyloxy ), an acylamino group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 10 carbon atoms ; for example , acetylamino and benzoylamino ), an alkoxycarbonylamino group ( preferably having from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , methoxycarbonylamino ), an aryloxycarbonylamino group ( preferably having from 7 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 7 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 7 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , phenoxyloxycarbonylamino ), a sulfonylamino group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , methylsulfonylamino and phenylsulfonylamino ), a sulfamoyl group ( preferably having from 0 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 0 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 0 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , sulfamoyl , methylsulfamoyl , dimethylsulfamoyl , and phenylsulfamoyl ), a carbamoyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , carbamoyl , methylcarbamoyl , diethylcarbamoyl , and phenylcarbamoyl ), an alkylthio group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , methylthio and ethylthio ), an arylthio group ( preferably having from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 6 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 6 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , phenylthio ), a heteroarylthio group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , pyridylthio , 2 - benzimidazolylthio , 2 - benzoxazolylthio , and 2 - benzthiazolylthio ), a sulfonyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , mesyl and tosyl ), a sulfinyl group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , methanesulfinyl and benzenesulfinyl ), an ureido group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , ureido , methylureido , and phenylureido ), a phosphoric amide group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; for example , diethylphosphoric amide and phenylphosphoric amide ), a hydroxy group , a mercapto group , a halogen atom ( for example , a fluorine atom , a chlorine atom , a bromine atom , and an iodine atom ), a cyano group , a sulfo group , a carboxyl group , a nitro group , a hydroxamic acid group , a sulfino group , a hydrazino group , an imino group , a heterocyclic group ( preferably having from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , and more preferably from 1 to 12 carbon atoms ; examples of the hetero atom include a nitrogen atom , an oxygen atom , and a sulfur atom ; and specific examples thereof imidazolyl , pyridyl , quinolyl , furyl , thienyl , piperidyl , morpholino , benz - oxazolyl , benzimidazolyl , and benzthiazolyl ), and a silyl group ( preferably having from 3 to 40 carbon atoms , more preferably from 3 to 30 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 3 to 24 carbon atoms ; for example , tri - methylsilyl and triphenylsilyl ). as the nitrogen - containing heteroaryl 6 - membered ring and its fused ring , pyrazine , pyrimidine , pyridazine , triazine , quinoxaline , quanozoline , phthalazine , and cinnoline are preferable . in formulae ( 2 ) and ( 22 ), z 201 represents an optionally substituted atomic group for forming an aryl ring or a heteroaryl ring . the aryl ring formed by z 201 preferably has from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 6 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 6 to 12 carbon atoms . examples thereof include a phenyl group , a naphthyl group , an anthryl group , a phenanthryl group , and a pyrenyl group . further , the aryl ring formed by z 201 may form a fused ring together with a carbon ring or a hetero ring . the heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 preferably represents a heteroaryl group composed of a carbon atom , a nitrogen atom , an oxygen atom , or a sulfur atom , and more preferably a 5 - membered or 6 - membered heteroaryl ring . further , the heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 may form a fused ring . the heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 preferably has from 2 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 2 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 2 to 10 carbon atoms . examples thereof include pyrazine , pyrimidine , pyridazine , triazine , quinoxaline , quinazoline , phthalazine , cinnoline , perimidine , phenanthroline , pyrrole , imidazole , pyrazole , oxazole , oxadiazole , triazole , thiadiazole , benzimidazole , benzoxazole , benzthiazole , phenanthridine , a thienyl group , and a furyl group . the ring formed by z 201 is preferably an aryl group . in formula ( 22 ), l 202 represents a ligand . examples of the ligand include ligands necessary for forming an orthometalated iridium complex and other ligands . the term “ orthometalated metal complex ” as referred to herein is a general term of the group of compounds described in , for example , akio yamamoto , yukikinzoku - kagaku , kiso to oyo ( metalorganic chemistry , foundation and application ), pp . 150 - 232 , published by shokabo publishing co ., ltd . ( 1982 ); and h . yersin , photochemistry and photophysics of coordination compounds , pp . 71 - 77 and pp . 135 - 146 , published by springer - verlag ( 1987 ). though the valence of iridium of the orthometalated iridium complex is not particularly limited , it is preferably trivalent . the ligand of the orthometalated iridium complex is not particularly limited so far as it can form an orthometalated complex . examples thereof include aryl group - substituted nitrogen - containing heterocyclic derivatives ( the aryl group is substituted on carbon adjacent to the nitrogen atom of the nitrogen - containing hetero ring ; examples of the aryl group include a phenyl group , a naphthyl group , an anthracenyl group , and a pyrenyl group ; and examples of the nitrogen - containing hetero ring include pyridine , pyrimidine , pyrazine , pyridazine , quinoline , isoquinoline , quinoxaline , phthaladine , quinazoline , naphtholidine , cinnoline , perimidine , phenanthroline , pyrrole , imidazole , pyrazole , oxazole , oxadiazole , triazole , thiadiazole , benzimidazole , benzoxazole , benzthiazole , and phen - anthridine ), heteroaryl group - substituted nitrogen - containing heterocyclic derivatives ( the heteroaryl group is substituted on carbon adjacent to the nitrogen atom of the nitrogen - containing hetero ring ; and examples of the heteroaryl group include groups containing the foregoing nitrogen - containing heterocylic derivatives , a thiophenyl group , and a furyl group ), 7 , 8 - benzoquinoline derivatives , phosphinoaryl derivatives , phosphinoheteroaryl derivatives , phosphinoxyaryl derivatives , phosphinoxyheteroaryl derivatives , aminomethylaryl derivatives , and aminomethylheteroaryl derivatives . of these , aryl group - substituted nitrogen - containing aromatic heterocyclic derivatives , heteroaryl group - substituted nitrogen - containing aromatic heterocyclic derivatives , and 7 , 8 - benzoquinoline derivatives are preferable ; phenylpyridine derivatives , thiophenylpyridine derivatives , and 7 , 8 - benzoquinoline derivatives are further preferable ; and thiophenylpyridine derivatives and 7 , 8 - benzoquinoline derivatives are especially preferable . the iridium complex of the invention may have other ligand than the ligand necessary for forming an orthometalated complex . as other ligand , various known ligands are useful . examples thereof include ligands described in h . yersin , photochemistry and photophysics of coordination compounds , published by springer - verlag ( 1987 ); and akio yamamoto , yukikinzoku - kagaku , kiso to oyo ( metalorganic chemistry , foundation and application ), published by shokabo publishing co ., ltd . ( 1982 ). of these , halogen ligands ( preferably a chlorine ligand ), nitrogen - containing heterocyclic ligands ( for example , bipyridyl and phenanthroline ), and diketone ligands are preferable ; and a chlorine ligand and a bipyridyl ligand are more preferable . the kind of the ligand of the iridium complex of the invention may be single or plural . the number of ligands in the complex is preferably from 1 to 3 , more preferably 1 or 2 , and especially preferably 1 . n 202 represents an integer of from 0 to 5 ; m 202 represents 1 , 2 or 3 ; and the combination of n 202 and m 202 is preferably a combination of the number upon which the ir complex becomes a neutral complex . next , the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 3 ) will be described below in detail . the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 3 ) can be specifically represented by the following formula ( 23 ): in formulae ( 3 ) and ( 23 ), z 201 is synonymous with that described in formula ( 2 ). in formulae ( 3 ) and ( 23 ), z 301 represents an atomic group for forming an aryl ring or a heteroaryl ring to be fused with the pyridine ring ; and the aryl ring or the heteroaryl ring to be formed is the same as the aryl ring or the heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 in formulae ( 2 ) and ( 22 ). the ring formed by z 301 is preferably an aryl ring . in formula ( 23 ), l 203 , n 203 , and m 203 are synonymous with l 202 , n 202 , and m 202 in formula ( 22 ), respectively . next , the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 4 ) will be described below in detail . the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 4 ) can be specifically represented by the following formula ( 24 ): in formulae ( 4 ) and ( 24 ), z 201 is synonymous with that described in formula ( 2 ). in formulae ( 4 ) and ( 24 ), z 401 represents an atomic group for forming an aryl ring or a heteroaryl ring to be fused with the pyridine ring ; and the aryl ring or heteroaryl ring to be formed is the same as the aryl ring or heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 in formulae ( 2 ) and ( 22 ). the ring formed by z 401 is preferably an aryl ring . in formula ( 24 ), l 204 , n 204 , and m 204 are synonymous with l 202 , n 202 , and m 202 in formula ( 22 ), respectively . next , the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 5 ) will be described below in detail . the ir complex having a partial structure represented by formula ( 5 ) can be specifically represented by the following formula ( 25 ): in formulae ( 5 ) and ( 25 ), z 201 is synonymous with that described in formula ( 2 ). in formulae ( 5 ) and ( 25 ), z 501 represents an atomic group for forming an aryl ring or a heteroaryl ring to be fused with the pyridine ring ; and the aryl ring or heteroaryl ring to be formed is the same as the aryl ring or heteroaryl ring formed by z 201 in formulae ( 2 ) and ( 22 ). the ring formed by z 501 is preferably an aryl ring . in formula ( 25 ), l 205 , n 205 , and m 205 are synonymous with l 202 , n 202 , and m 202 in formula ( 22 ), respectively . next , specific examples of the compound which is used in the invention will be given below , but it should not be construed that the invention is limited thereto . the five - coordinate metal complex as the host material which is used in the light emitting layer will be described blow . as the central metal of the five - coordinate metal complex , al , ga , in , and the like can be selected . of these , al and ga are preferable ; and al is more preferable . as the five - coordinate al complex , for example , compounds enumerated in jp - a - 2001 - 284056 can be suitably used . also , as the five - coordinate ga complex , for example , compounds enumerated in jp - a - 2003 - 142264 can be suitably used . as the five - coordinate metal complex , a compound represented by formula ( 101 ) can be preferably used . in formula ( 101 ), m represents al , ga , or in ; r 3 to r 8 each independently represents a hydrogen atom , an alkyl group , or an alkoxy group ; a represents — o — ar or a halogen atom ; and ar represents an optionally substituted aryl group . the alkyl group preferably has from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 10 carbon atoms ; and examples thereof include methyl , ethyl , isopropyl , tert - butyl , n - octyl , n - decyl , n - hexadecyl , cyclopropyl , cyclopentyl , and cyclohexyl . the alkoxy group preferably has from 1 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 1 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 1 to 10 carbon atoms ; and examples thereof include methoxy , ethoxy , butoxy , and 2 - ethylhexyloxy . the aryl group preferably has from 6 to 30 carbon atoms , more preferably from 6 to 20 carbon atoms , and especially preferably from 6 to 12 carbon atoms ; and examples thereof include phenyl , p - methylphenyl , naphthyl , and anthranyl . examples of the halogen atom include a fluorine atom , a chlorine atom , a bromine atom , and an iodine atom . examples of the substituent which ar optionally have include the same as the substituent represented by r in formula ( 2 ) or ( 22 ). specific examples of the compound represented by formula ( 101 ) will be given below . of these , balq 2 ( i . e ., compound ( 9 )) is the most preferable from the standpoints of an enhancement of durability and an enhancement of luminous efficiency . the organic electroluminescent device of the invention will be described below in detail . the position of the organic compound layer to be formed in the organic electroluminescent device is not particularly limited and can be adequately selected depending upon the application and purpose of the organic electroluminescent device . but , it is preferable that the organic compound layer is formed on a transparent electrode or a back electrode ( i . e ., on an anode or a cathode ). in this case , the organic compound layer is formed entirely or partially on the surface of the transparent electrode or on the surface of the back electrode . the shape , size , thickness , etc . of the organic compound layer are not particularly limited and can be adequately selected depending upon the purpose . specific examples of the organic compound layer construction including electrodes ( i . e ., anode and cathode ) include anode / hole transporting layer / light emitting layer / electron transporting layer / cathode , anode / hole transporting layer / light emitting layer / block layer / electron transporting layer / cathode , anode / hole transporting layer / light emitting layer / block layer / electron transporting layer / electron injection layer / cathode , anode / hole injection layer / hole transporting layer / light emitting layer / block layer / electron transporting layer / cathode , and anode / hole injection layer / hole transporting layer / light emitting layer / block layer / electron transporting layer / electron injection layer / cathode . however , it should not be construed that the invention is limited thereto . the hole transporting layer which is used in the invention contains a hole transporting material . as the hole transporting material , any material can be used without particular limitations so far as it has either a function to transport a hole or a function to block an electron injected from the cathode , and all of low molecular hole transporting materials and high molecular hole transporting materials can be used . examples thereof include as follows . that is , examples of the hole transporting material include carbazole derivatives , triazole derivatives , oxazole derivatives , oxadiazole derivatives , imidazole derivatives , polyarylalkane derivatives , pyrazoline derivatives , pyrazolone derivatives , phenylenediamine derivatives , arylamine derivatives , amino - substituted chalcone derivatives , styrylanthracene derivatives , fluorenone derivatives , hydrazone derivatives , stilbene derivatives , silazane derivatives , aromatic tertiary amine compounds , styrylamine compounds , aromatic dimethylidene compounds , porphyrin compounds , polysilane compounds , conductive high molecular oligomers such as poly ( n - vinylcarbazole ) derivatives , aniline copolymers , thiophene oligomers , and polythiophenes ; and high molecular compounds such as polythiophene derivatives , polyphenylene derivatives , polyphenylenevinylene derivatives , and polyfluorene derivatives . these compounds may be used singly or in combinations of two or more kinds thereof . the thickness of the hole transporting layer is preferably from 10 to 200 nm , and more preferably from 20 to 80 nm . when the thickness of the hole transporting layer exceeds 200 nm , the drive voltage may possibly increase . on the other hand , when it is less than 10 nm , the organic electroluminescent device may possibly cause short circuit . in the invention , it is possible to provide a hole injection layer between the hole transporting layer and the anode . the hole injection layer as referred to herein is a layer for making it easy to inject a hole from the anode into the hole transporting layer . specifically , of the hole transporting materials , materials having a low ionization potential are suitably used . examples of the material which can be suitably used include phthalocyanine compounds , porphyrin compounds , and starburst triarylamine compounds . the thickness of the hole injection layer is from 1 to 30 nm . the light emitting layer which is used in the invention contains a host material and a phosphorescent material , the host material is a five - coordinate metal complex , and the phosphorescent material is at least one ir complex having a partial structure represented by any one of the foregoing formulae ( 2 ) to ( 5 ). in the invention , besides the five - coordinate metal complex , other host materials may be added as the host material . the host compound as referred to herein is a compound having a function to undergo energy transfer into the fluorescent material or phosphorescent material from the host compound in the excited state , resulting in undergoing of light emission from the fluorescent material or phosphorescent material . as the other host materials , any compound capable of undergoing energy transfer of exciton energy into a light emitting material can be adequately selected without particular limitations depending upon the purpose . examples thereof include metal complexes of carbazole derivatives , triazole derivatives , oxazole derivatives , oxadiazole derivatives , imidazole derivatives , polyarylalkane derivatives , pyrazoline derivatives , pyrazolone derivatives , phenylenediamine derivatives , arylamine derivatives , amino - substituted chalcon derivatives , styrylanthracene derivatives , fluorenone derivatives , hydrazone derivatives , stilbene derivatives , silazane derivatives , aromatic tertiary amine compounds , styrylamine compounds , aromatic dimethylidene compounds , porphyrin compounds , anthraquinodimethane derivatives , anthrone derivatives , diphenylquinone derivatives , thiopyrane dioxide derivatives , carbodiimide derivatives , fluorenylidenemethane derivatives , distyrylpyrazine derivatives , heterocyclic tetracarboxylic anhydrides such as naphthaleneperylene ; phthalocyanine derivatives , various typified by metal complexes of 8 - quinolinol derivatives , metal phthalocyanines or metal complexes having benzoxazole , or benzothiazole as a ligand ; polysilane compounds , conductive high molecular oligomers such as poly ( n - vinylcarbazole ) derivatives , aniline based copolymers , thiophene oligomers , and polythiophenes ; and high molecular compounds such as polythiophene derivatives , polyphenylene derivatives , polyphenylenevinylene derivatives , and polyfluorene derivatives . in the invention , in addition to the ir complexes having a partial structure represented by any one of formulae ( 2 ) to ( 5 ), other light emitting materials may be contained . the other light emitting materials which are used in the invention are not particularly limited , and any material can be used so far as it is a fluorescent material or a phosphorescent material . examples of the fluorescent light emitting compound include benzoxazole derivatives , benzimidazole derivatives , benzothiazole derivatives , styrylbenzene derivatives , polyphenyl derivatives , diphenylbutadiene derivatives , tetraphenylbutadiene derivatives , naphthalimide derivatives , coumarin derivatives , perylene derivatives , perynone derivatives , oxadiazole derivatives , aldazine derivatives , pyrralizine derivatives , cyclopentadiene derivatives , bisstyrylanthracene derivatives , quinacridone derivatives , pyrrolopyridine derivatives , thiadiazolopyridine derivatives , styrylamine derivatives , aromatic dimethylidene derivatives , various metal complexes typified by metal complexes of 8 - quinolyl derivatives and rare earth metal complexes ; high molecular compounds such as polythiophene derivatives , polyphenylene derivatives , polyphenylenevinylene derivatives , and polyfluorene derivatives . these compounds can be used singly or in admixture of two or more kinds thereof . the phosphorescent material is not particularly limited , but orthometalated metal complexes and porphyrin metal complexes are preferable . the ratio of the host material to the light emitting material to be used in the invention is from 99 . 9 / 0 . 1 to 50 / 50 , preferably from 99 . 5 / 0 . 5 to 70 / 30 , and more preferably from 99 . 0 / 1 . 0 to 80 / 20 on a weight basis . the thickness of the light emitting layer of the invention is preferably from 10 to 200 nm , and more preferably from 20 to 80 nm . when the thickness of the light emitting layer exceeds 200 nm , the drive voltage may possibly increase . on the other hand , when it is less than 10 nm , the organic electroluminescent device may possibly cause short circuit . in the invention , it is possible to provide a block layer between the light emitting layer and the electron transporting layer . the block layer as referred to herein is a layer for suppressing diffusion of an exciton formed in the light emitting layer and is also a layer for suppressing punch - through of the pole into the cathode side . as the material to be used in the block layer , any material which can receive an electron from the electron transporting layer and transfer it into the light emitting layer can be used without particular limitations , and general electron transporting materials can be used . examples of the material include metal complexes of triazole derivatives , oxazole derivatives , oxadiazole derivatives , fluorenone derivatives , anthraquinodimethane derivatives , anthrone derivatives , diphenylquinone derivatives , thiopyrane dioxide derivatives , carbodiimide derivatives , fluorenylidenemethane derivatives , distyrylpyrazine derivatives , heterocyclic tetracarboxylic anhydrides such as naphthaleneperylene ; phthalocyanine derivatives , various metal complexes typified by metal complexes of 8 - quinolinol derivatives , metal phthalocyanine or metal complexes having benzoxazole , or benzothiazole as a ligand ; conductive high molecular oligomers such as aniline based copolymers , thiophene oligomers , and polythiophenes ; and high molecular compounds such as polythiophene derivatives , polyphenylene derivatives , polyphenylenevinylene derivatives , and polyfluorene derivatives . these compounds may be used singly or in combinations of two or more kinds thereof . in the invention , it is possible to provide an electron transporting layer containing an electron transfer material . as the electron transporting material , any material can be used without particular limitations so far as it has either a function to transport an electron or a function to block a hole injected from the anode , and the electron transporting materials enumerated in the foregoing description of the block layer can be suitably used . the thickness of the electron transporting layer is preferably from 10 to 200 nm , and more preferably from 20 to 80 nm . when the thickness of the electron transporting layer exceeds 200 nm , the drive voltage may possibly increase . on the other hand , when it is less than 10 nm , the organic electroluminescent device may possibly cause short circuit . in the invention , it is possible to provide an electron injection layer between the electron transporting layer and the cathode . the electron injection layer as referred to herein is a layer for making it easy to inject an electron from the cathode into the electron transporting layer . specifically , lithium salts such as lithium fluoride , lithium chloride , and lithium bromide ; alkali metal salts such as sodium fluoride , sodium chloride , and cesium fluoride ; insulating metal oxides such as lithium oxide , aluminum oxide , indium oxide , and magnesium oxide ; and the like can be suitably used . the thickness of the electron injection layer is from 0 . 1 to 5 nm . the organic compound layer can be suitably subjected to film formation by any of the dry film formation process ( for example , vapor deposition process and sputtering process ) and the wet film formation process ( for example , dipping , spin coating process , dip coating process , casting process , die coating process , roll coating process , bar coating process , and gravure coating process ). of these , the dry process is preferable from the standpoints of luminous efficiency and durability . as a material of the substrate , materials which do not permeate moisture or materials having an extremely low permeability of moisture are preferable . also , materials which do not scatter and / or decay light emitted from the organic compound layer are preferable . examples thereof include inorganic materials such as ysz ( yttrium stabilized zirconia ) and glass ; and organic materials such as polyesters ( for example , polyethylene terephthalate , polybutylene terephthalate , and polyethylene naphthalate ) and synthetic resins ( for example , polystyrene , polycarbonates , polyether sulfones , polyacrylates , allyl diglycol carbonates , polyimides , polycycloolefins , norbornene resins , and poly ( chlorotrifluoroethylene )). in the case of the organic material , it is preferable that the material is excellent with respect to heat resistance , dimensional stability , solvent resistance , electric insulating properties , processability , low air permeability , low hygroscopicity , etc . of these , in the case where the material of the transparent electrode is indium tin oxide ( ito ) which is suitably used as the transparent electrode , materials having a small difference in lattice constant from the indium tin oxide ( ito ) are preferable . these materials may be used singly or in combinations with two or more kinds thereof . the substrate is not particularly limited with respect to the shape , structure , size , etc . and can be adequately selected depending upon the application , purpose , etc . of the organic electroluminescent device . in general , the shape may be a plate - like shape . the structure may be a single - layered structure or a laminated structure , and the substrate may be made of a single material or two or more materials . the substrate may be colorless and transparent , or may be colored and transparent . however , a colorless and transparent substrate is preferable from the standpoint that it does not scatter or decay the light emitted from the light emitting layer . it is preferable that the substrate is provided with an ant - permeable layer ( or gas barrier layer ) on the front surface or rear surface ( or in the transparent electrode side ). as a material of the anti - permeable layer ( or gas barrier layer ), inorganic materials such as silicon nitride and silicon oxide are suitably used . the anti - permeable layer ( or gas barrier layer ) can be formed by , for example , the high - frequency sputtering process . if desired , the substrate maybe provided with a hard coat layer , an undercoat layer , etc . as the anode , in general , any material having a function as an anode to feed a hole into the organic compound layer may be employed and is not particularly limited with respect to the shape , structure , size , etc . it can be adequately selected among known electrodes depending upon the application and purpose of the organic electroluminescent device . as a material of the anode , for example , metals , alloys , metal oxides , organic conductive compounds , and mixtures thereof are suitably enumerated . of these , materials having a work function of 4 . 0 ev or more are preferable . specific examples thereof include semiconducting metal oxides such as tin oxide doped with antimony , fluorine , etc . ( ato or fto ), tin oxide , zinc oxide , indium oxide , indium tin oxide ( ito ), and indium zinc oxide ( izo ); metals such as gold , silver , chromium , and nickel ; mixtures or laminates of these metals with conductive metal oxides ; inorganic conductive substances such as copper iodide and copper sulfide ; organic conductive materials such as polyaniline , polythiophene , and polypyrrole ; and laminates thereof with ito . it is possible to form the anode on the substrate according to a method which is adequately selected among wet systems ( for example , printing system and coating system ), physical systems ( for example , vacuum vapor deposition process , sputtering process , and ion plating process ), and chemical systems ( for example , cvd and plasma cvd process ) while taking into consideration adaptivity with the foregoing material . for example , in the case where ito is selected as the material of the anode , the formation of the anode can be carried out according to the direct current or high - frequency sputtering process , the vacuum vapor deposition process , the ion plating process , etc . also , in the case where an organic conductive compound is selected as the material of the anode , the formation of the anode can be carried out according to the wet film formation process . the position at which the anode is formed in the organic electroluminescent device is not particularly limited and can be adequately selected depending upon the application and purpose of the organic electroluminescent device . however , it is preferable that the anode is formed on the substrate . in this case , the anode may be formed entirely or partially on the one surface of the substrate . the patterning of the anode may be carried out by chemical etching by photolithography , etc . or physical etching using laser , etc . also , the patterning of the anode may be carried out by vacuum vapor deposition or sputtering by superimposing a mask , or may be carried out by the lift - off process or the printing process . the thickness of the anode can be adequately selected depending upon the foregoing material . though the thickness of the anode cannot be unequivocally defined , it is usually from 10 nm to 50 μm , and preferably from 50 nm to 20 μm . the resistance value of the anode is preferably not more than 10 3 ω /□, and more preferably not more than 10 2 ω /□. the anode may be colorless and transparent , or may be colored and transparent . in order to take out light emission from the anode side , its transmittance is preferably 60 % or more , and more preferably 70 % or more . this transmittance can be measured according to a known method using a spectrophotometer . the anode is described in detail in tomei - denkyokumaku no shintenkai ( new development of transparent electrode films ), supervised by yutaka sawada and published by cmc publishing co ., ltd . ( 1999 ), and the described materials can be applied in the invention . in the case where a plastic substrate having low heat resistance is used , an anode prepared by film formation at low temperatures of not higher than 150 ° c . using ito or izo is preferable . as the cathode , in general , any material having a function as a cathode to inject an electron into the organic compound layer may be employed and is not particularly limited with respect to the shape , structure , size , etc . it can be adequately selected among known electrodes depending upon the application and purpose of the organic electroluminescent device . as a material of the anode , for example , metals , alloys , metal oxides , electrically conductive compounds , and mixtures thereof are suitably enumerated . of these , materials having a work function of not more than 4 . 5 ev are preferable . specific examples thereof include alkali metals ( for example , li , na , k , and cs ), alkaline earth metals ( for example , mg and ca ), gold , silver , lead , aluminum , sodium - potassium alloys , lithium - aluminum alloys , magnesium - silver alloys , and rare earth metals ( for example , indium and ytterbium ). though these materials may be used singly , they are preferably used in combinations of two or more kinds thereof from the viewpoint of coping with both stability and electron injection properties . of these , alkali metals and alkaline earth metals are preferable from the viewpoint of electron injection properties , and materials composed mainly of aluminum are preferable because they have excellent storage stability . the term “ material composed mainly of aluminum ” as referred to herein means aluminum alone or an alloy or mixture of aluminum and from 0 . 01 to 10 % by weight of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal ( for example , lithium - aluminum alloys and magnesium - aluminum alloys ). the material of the cathode is described in detail in jp - a - 2 - 15595 and jp - a - 5 - 121172 . the formation method of the cathode is not particularly limited and can be carried out according to known methods . for example , the cathode can be formed on the substrate according to a method which is adequately selected among wet systems ( for example , printing system and coating system ), physical systems ( for example , vacuum vapor deposition process , sputtering process , and ion plating process ), and chemical systems ( for example , cvd and plasma cvd process ) while taking into consideration adaptivity with the foregoing material . for example , in the case where a metal , etc . is selected as the material of the cathode , the cathode can be formed by sputtering one or two or more kinds thereof simultaneously or successively . the patterning of the cathode may be carried out by chemical etching by photolithography , etc . or physical etching using laser , etc . also , the patterning of the anode may be carried out by vacuum vapor deposition or sputtering by superimposing a mask , or may be carried out by the lift - off process or the printing process . the position at which the cathode is formed in the organic electroluminescent device is not particularly limited and can be adequately selected depending upon the application and purpose of the organic electroluminescent device . however , it is preferable that the cathode is formed on the organic compound layer . in this case , the cathode may be formed entirely or partially on the one surface of the organic compound layer . also , a dielectric layer made of a fluoride of the alkali metal or alkaline earth metal may be inserted in a thickness of from 0 . 1 to 5 nm between the cathode and the organic compound layer . the dielectric layer can be , for example , formed by the vacuum vapor deposition process , the sputtering process , the ion plating process , etc . the thickness of the cathode can be adequately selected depending upon the foregoing material . though the thickness of the cathode cannot be unequivocally defined , it is usually from 10 nm to 5 μm , and preferably from 50 nm to 1 μm . the cathode may be transparent or opaque . the transparent cathode can be formed by subjecting the material of the cathode to film formation into a thin thickness of from 1 to 10 nm and further laminating a transparent conductive material such as ito and izo thereon . other layers can be adequately selected without particular limitations depending upon the purpose , and examples thereof include a protective layer . as the protective layer , those described in , for example , jp - a - 7 - 85974 , jp - a - 7 - 192866 , jp - a - 8 - 22891 , jp - a - 10 - 275682 , and jp - a - 10 - 106746 are suitably enumerated . the protective layer is formed on the superficial surface layer in the organic electroluminescent device . for example , in the case where the substrate , the anode , the organic compound layer , and the cathode are stacked in this order , the protective layer is formed on the cathode ; and in the case where the substrate , the cathode , the organic compound layer , and the anode are stacked in this order , the protective layer is formed on the anode . the shape , size , thickness , etc . of the protective layer can be adequately selected , and any material having a function to suppress invasion and / or permeation of a substance which likely deteriorates the organic electroluminescent device ( for example , moisture and oxygen ) into the organic electroluminescent device can be used without particular limitations . examples thereof include silicon oxide , silicon dioxide , germanium oxide , and germanium dioxide . the formation method of the protective layer is not particularly limited , and examples thereof include vacuum vapor deposition process , sputtering process , reactive sputtering process , molecular epitaxy process , cluster ion beam process , ion plating process , plasma polymerization process , plasma cvd process , laser cvd process , heat cvd process , and coating process . further , in the invention , it is also preferred to provide a sealing layer for the purpose of preventing invasion of moisture or oxygen into the respective layers in the organic electroluminescent device . examples of a material of the sealing layer include copolymers containing tetrafluoroethylene and at least one comonomer , fluorine - containing copolymers having a cyclic structure in the copolymer principal chain thereof , copolymers of two or more kinds selected from polyethylene , polypropylene , polymethyl methacrylate , polyimides , polyureas , polytetrafluoroethylene , polychlorotrifluoroethylene , polydichlorodifluoroethylene , chlorotrifluoroethylene and dichlorodifluoroethylene ; water absorbing substances having a water absorption of 1 % or more , moisture - proof substances having a water absorption of not more than 0 . 1 %, metals ( for example , in , sn , pb , au , cu , ag , al , tl , and ni ), metal oxides ( for example , mgo , sio , sio 2 , al 2 o 3 , geo , nio , cao , bao , fe 2 o 3 , y 2 o 3 , and tio 2 ), metal fluorides ( for example , mgf 2 , lif , alf 3 , and caf 2 ), liquid fluorinated hydrocarbons ( for example , perfluoroalkanes , perfluoroamines , and perfluoroethers ), and liquid fluorinated hydrocarbons having dispersed therein an adsorbing agent capable of adsorbing moisture or oxygen . in the organic electroluminescent device of the invention , light emission can be obtained by applying a voltage ( usually from 2 to 4 volts ) of direct current ( which may contain an alternating current component , if desired ) or a direct current between the anode and the cathode . with respect to the drive of the organic electroluminescent device of the invention , methods described in jp - a - 2 - 148687 , jp - a - 6 - 301355 , jp - a - 5 - 29080 , jp - a - 7 - 134558 , jp - a - 8 - 234685 , jp - a - 8 - 241047 , u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 828 , 429 and 6 , 023 , 308 , and japanese patent no . 2 , 784 , 615 can be utilized . the organic electroluminescent device of the invention will be described below with reference to the following examples , but it should not be construed that the invention is limited to these examples . a glass sheet of 0 . 5 mm in thickness and 2 . 5 cm in square was used as a substrate . this substrate was introduced into a vacuum chamber , and an ito thin film ( thickness : 0 . 2 μm ) was formed as a transparent electrode using an ito target ( indium / tin = 95 / 5 by mole ) having an sno 2 content of 10 % by weight by means of dc magnetron sputtering ( condition : substrate temperature of 250 ° c . and oxygen pressure of 1 × 10 − 3 pa ). the ito thin film had a surface resistance of 10 ω /□. next , the substrate having the transparent electrode formed thereon was charged in a cleaning vessel , cleaned with ipa , and then subjected to uv - ozone processing for 30 minutes . on the resulting transparent substrate , a hole injection layer was provided in a thickness of 0 . 01 μm using copper phthalocyanine by the vacuum vapor deposition process at a rate of 1 nm / sec . further , a hole transporting layer was provided in a thickness of 0 . 03 μm on the hole injection layer using n , n ′- dinaphthyl - n , n ′- diphenylbenzidine by the vacuum deposition process at a rate of 1 nm / sec . the foregoing compound ( 4 - 1 ) as phosphorescent materials and balq 2 were subjected to co - vapor deposition at a co - vapor deposition ratio of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) to balq 2 of 5 / 95 to form a light emitting layer having a thickness of 0 . 03 μm on the hole transporting layer . a block layer was provided on the light emitting layer . that is , the block layer was provided in a thickness of 0 . 01 μm using balq 2 as an electron transporting material at a rate of 1 nm / sec . on the block layer , an electron transporting layer was further provided in a thickness of 0 . 04 μm using tris -( 8 - hydroxyquinolinato ) aluminum ( alq 3 ) as an electron transporting material by the vacuum vapor deposition process at a rate of 1 nm / sec . on the electron transporting layer , an electron injection layer was further provided in a thickness of 0 . 002 μm using lif as an electron injection material by means of vapor deposition at a rate of 1 nm / sec . on the electron injection layer , a patterned mask ( a mask having a light emitting area of 5 mm × 5 mm ) was further placed , and aluminum was subjected to vapor deposition in a thickness of 0 . 25 μm within a vapor deposition unit , to form a back electrode . aluminum wires were respectively wire bound from the transparent electrode ( functioning as an anode ) and the back electrode to form a light emitting laminate . the resulting light emitting laminate was charged into a glove box purged with a nitrogen gas . 10 mg of a calcium oxide powder as a moisture adsorbing agent was charged in a stainless steel - made seal cover provided with a concave therein within the glove box , which was then fixed by an adhesive tape . this seal cover was sealed by a uv curable adhesive ( xnr5516hv , manufactured by nagase - ciba ltd .) as an adhesive . there was thus prepared an organic electroluminescent device of example 1 . using a source measure unit mode 2400 , manufactured by toyo technica inc ., a direct current was applied to the organic el device for light emission , thereby measuring an initial light emitting performance . at that time , the maximum luminance is defined as l max , and the voltage at which l max was obtained is defined as v max . further , the luminous efficiency at the time of 300 cd / m 2 is shown as an external quantum efficiency ( η 300 ) in table 1 . also , a drive durability test was carried out at an initial luminance of 300 cd / m 2 , and after a lapse of 2 , 000 hours , a luminance maintenance rate (%) was determined . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazolebiphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , the foregoing compound ( 3 - 1 ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 2 , except that in example 2 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazolebiphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , the foregoing compound ( 5 - 1 ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 3 , except that in example 3 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazolebiphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , the foregoing compound ( 2 - 11 ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 4 , except that in example 4 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazolebiphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , the foregoing compound ( 3 - 6 ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 5 , except that in example 5 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazolebiphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , the foregoing compound ( 5 - 7 ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 6 , except that in example 6 , 4 , 4 ′- n , n ′- dicarbazole - biphenyl ( cbp ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , a ga complex represented by formula ( a ) was used as the host material in place of balq 2 and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . a device was prepared in the same manner as in example 1 , except that in example 1 , a porphyrin pt complex light emitting material represented by formula ( c ) was used as the phosphorescent material in place of the compound ( 4 - 1 ) and then evaluated . the results obtained are shown in table 1 . as is clear from these results , it is noted that the organic electroluminescent devices of the invention comprising a light emitting layer containing a five - coordinate metal complex , especially balq 2 as a host material and an ir complex having a partial structure represented by any one of the foregoing formulae ( 2 ) to ( 5 ) as a light emitting material are excellent with respect to the luminous efficiency and durability as compared with the devices which are free from such compounds . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the described preferred embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present invention cover all modifications and variations of this invention consistent with the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . this application is based on japanese patent application nos . jp2004 - 53158 and jp2004 - 271134 , filed on feb . 27 , 2004 and sep . 17 , 2004 , respectively , the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference . | 7 |
the selectivity towards , for example , 3 - pentenoic acid or derivatives thereof , expressed as a percentage , is defined as ## equ1 ## wherein &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; is , for example , the quantity of 1 , 3 - butadiene that is coverted into 3 - pentenoic acid or derivatives thereof , and &# 34 ; b &# 34 ; the total converted quantity of 1 , 3 - butadiene . it will be clear that the very high selectivity that has been found for the conversion of , for example , 1 , 3 - butadiene into 3 - pentenoic acid and derivatives thereof is achieved at the cost of the 3 , 8 - nonadienic acid or derivatives thereof additionally and simultaneously formed in the known processes . a particularly preferred group of said compounds comprises the group according to a general formula i , wherein q is phosphorus and wherein the aryl groups contain up to a maximum of 18 carbon atoms in the ring , such as anthryl , naphthyl and phenyl , preferably phenyl . greater preference is given to the phosphines according to formula i wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 each represent individually a phenyl group substituted with one or more electron - attracting groups . examples of such electron - attracting groups are chlorine , bromine , fluorine , monochloromethyl , trichloromethyl , trifluoromethyl , nitroand m - methoxy groups . examples of phosphines suitable for use in accordance with the present invention are : very good conversion results can be achieved with halogen , monohalogen methyl , dihalogen methyl , trihalogen methyl groups as substituents , particularly with chloro - or trifluoromethyl groups . the most highly preferred phosphines are tri ( m - chlorophenyl ) phosphine , tri ( p - chlorophenyl ) phosphine and tri ( m - trifluoromethylphenyl ) phosphine . the substituted benzoic acids used in accordance with the invention have a pka value & lt ; 4 . 0 an preferably between 2 . 5 and 4 , measured at 18 ° c . in aqueous solution . examples of such acids are benzoic acids having the phenyl group substituted with one or more electron - attracting groups such as halogen and , in particular , chlorine , such as o - chlorobenzoic acid , m - chlorobenzoic acid , p - chlorobenzoic acid , o - hydroxybenzoic acid , o - methoxybenzoic acid , o - bromobenzoic acid , m - bromobenzoic acid , 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid and 9 - anthracenecarboxylic acid . according to a further embodiment of the process according to the invention , apart from the monodentate phosphines referred to hereinbefore bidentate phosphines can also be used with attractive results . in particular , apart from one or more of the monodentate phosphines referred to hereinbefore , bidentate phosphines can be used wherein the phenyl groups have been optionally substituted with electron - attracting groups a such as : both homogeneous and heterogeneous palladium catalyst components can be used for the process according to the invention . homogeneous catalyst components are preferred . suitable homogeneous catalyst components are formed by salts of palladium with , for example , nitric acid , sulphuric acid or alkanecarboxylic acids containing not more than 12 carbon atoms per molecule . salts of hydrohalogens are not preferred on account of the corrosive effect caused by halide ions . a catalyst component preferred for use is palladium acetate . palladium complexes may also be used , such as palladiumacetyl acetonate , bis - tri - o - tolylphosphinepalladium acetate or bistriphenylphosphinepalladium acetate . the quantity of palladium is not critical . in the event that a bivalent palladium compound is used , preference is given to the use of quantities in the range between 10 - 5 and 10 - 1 gram atom palladium per mole conjugated diene , preferably butadiene . the molar ratio of the organic phosphorus , arsenic or antimony compound to palladium is not critical and can vary between wide limits . preferably , more than 2 moles of the preferably used phosphine is used per gram atom palladium in order to achieve a very high selectivity in conjunction with a good conversion rate . very high selectivities and very high conversion rates are achieved if more than 2 and less than 20 moles of the organic phosphine is used per gram atom palladium . the number of equivalents used of the organic phosphine per protonic acid equivalent is not critical either and can vary between wide limits . quantities of 0 . 1 to 10 substituted benzoic acid equivalents per organic phosphine equivalent used are suitable . in general , it is desirable to use a separate solvent in said conversion process . any inert solvent may be used for this purpose . this may , for example , be selected from sulfones , for example diisopropyl sulfone ; aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene , toluene , xylenes ; esters such as methylacetate and butyrolactone ; ketones such as acetone or methyl isobutyl ketone ; and ethers such as anisole , 2 , 5 , 8 - trioxanone ( also referred to as diglyme ), diphenyl ether , diisopropyl ether and tetrahydrofuran . preferably , an ether such as diphenyl ether is used . the process according to the invention allows the use of relatively mild reaction conditions . temperatures in the range from 50 ° c . to 200 ° c ., particularly from 50 ° c . to 155 ° c ., are suitable . the quantity of , for example , the 1 , 3 - butadiene can vary over a wide range . the carbon monoxide pressure will generally be lower than that according to the processes known hitherto . pressures of 5 to 60 bar are preferred . the molar ratio of the alcohol , phenol , water or carboxylic acid to the conjugated diene and , in particular , butadiene can vary between wide limits and generally lies in the range from 0 . 1 : 1 to 10 : 1 . according to one of the preferred embodiments of the process according to the invention , an alcohol can be used as hydroxyl - containing reactant . the alcohol can be aliphatic , cycloaliphatic or aromatic and can , if necessary , carry one or more inert substituents . a suitable alcohol can contain up to 20 carbon atoms . one or more hydroxyl groups can be present , in which case various products can be formed , depending on the molar ratio of the reactants used . for example , a polyvalent alcohol such as ethylene glycol , glycerol , butane diol , 2 , 2 - dihydroxymethyl - 1 - butanol can be allowed to react with a suitable quantity of butadiene to form a monoester or a polyvalent ester . the choice of alcohol will therefore depend solely on the product desired . alkanols such as methanol , ethanol , propanol or 2 , 2 - dihydroxymethyl - 1 - butanol and alcohols containing ether bridges such as triethylene glycol all yield valuable products . according to another embodiment of the process according to the invention , a wide variety of carboxylic acids can be used as reactant . for example , the carboxylic acids can be aliphatic , cycloaliphatic or aromatic and may optionally carry inert substituents . suitable carboxylic acids contain not more than 25 carbon atoms . the carboxylic acids used as reactant are preferably alkanecarboxylic acids or alkenecarboxylic acids . examples of suitable carboxylic acids are formic acid , acetic acid , propionic acid , n - butyric acid , isobutyric acid , pivalic acid , n - valeric acid , n - caproic acid , caprylic acid , capric acid , lauric acid , myristic acid , palmitic acid , stearic acid , phthalic acid , terephthalic acid . examples of alkenecarboxylic acids are acrylic acid , propiolic acid , methacrylic acid , crotonic acid , isocrotonic acid , olic acid , maleic acid , fumaric acid , citraconic acid and mesaconic acid . the process according to the invention may , in principle also be applied with polyvalent carboxylic acids whereby , depending on the reaction conditions selected , including the molar ratio of the reactants used , various products can be obtained as required . if an alkanecarboxylic acid is converted according to the process of the invention with 1 , 3 - butadiene , a symmetrical or composite anhydride can be formed . it will be clear that another aspect of the invention in question is formed by the catalyst systems referred to hereinbefore that are to be used for the selective conversion of conjugated dienes , as such or in the form of a solution in one of the solvents referred to hereinbefore suitable for that purpose . the invention is expounded with the aid of the following examples without the scope thereof being limited to them . more than 90 % of the pentenoate formed in the course thereof consists of 3 ( cis and trans ) pentenoate . the ranges and limitations provided in the instant specification and claims are those which are believed to particularly point out and distinctly claim the instant invention . it is , however , understood that other ranges and limitations that perform substantially the same function in substantially the same manner to obtain the same or substantially the same result are intended to be within the scope of the instant invention as defined by the instant specification and claims . a 250 ml magnetically stirred hastelloy ® autoclave was successively filled with 15 ml ethanol , 40 ml diphenyl ether , 1 mmole palladium acetate , 6 mmole tri ( meta - chlorophenyl ) phosphine and 20 mmole 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid . the autoclave was vacuum - evacuated , whereupon butadiene ( 8 ml ) and carbon monoxide were added to an initial pressure of 30 bar . the autoclave was closed and heated to 135 ° c . after a reaction time of 3 hours the contents of the autoclave were analysed by means of gas - liquid chromatography . the selectivity of butadiene conversion towards pentenoates was found to be 95 %, while the pentenoate yield , more than 90 % of which consisted of ethyl 3 -( cis and trans ) pentenoates , was 85 % of the butadiene starting quantity . a comparative experiment was performed in a virtually analogous manner as described hereinbefore , but with 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylbenzoic acid ( 20 mmole ) as catalyst component instead of 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid , which after a reaction time of 5 hours resulted in a selectivity of butadiene to pentenoate conversion of 50 % ( as a result of nonadienoate formation ) and a pentenoate yield of 10 %, calculated in terms of the butadiene starting quantity , which clearly indicates the specificity of the protonic acids to be used in accordance with the invention . the same effect transpires from a comparative experiment performed in a virtually analogous manner wherein triphenyl phosphine ( 6 mmole ) was used instead of the tri ( meta - chlorophenyl ) phosphine as catalyst component , methanol ( 10 ml ) instead of ethanol and 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid ( 20 mmole ) as promoter acid . after a reaction time of 5 hours , this resulted in a selective conversion of butadiene into pentenoates of & lt ; 50 % and a pentenoate yield , calculated in terms of the butadiene starting quantity , of 10 %. in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system composed of palladium acetate ( 1 mmole ), tri ( para - chlorophenyl ) phosphine ( 8 mmole ), 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid ( 7 . 5 mmole ) and 15 ml ethanol , while the reaction temperature was 125 ° c . and the reaction time 2 . 5 hours . the initial carbon monoxide pressure in this experiment was 60 bar and the butadiene starting quantity 17 ml . the selectivity of butadiene to pentenoate conversion was 95 %, while the pentenoate yield was 48 % in terms of the butadiene starting quantity . in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system composed of palladium acetate ( 1 mmole ), tri ( meta - chlorophenyl ) phosphine ( 6 mmole ) and 9 - anthracenecarboxylic acid ( 20 mmole ). the reaction temperature was 135 ° c . and the reaction time 5 hours . the selectivity of butadiene to pentenoate conversion was 90 % and the pentenoate yield , calculated in terms of the starting butadiene quantity , was 70 %. for comparison , a virtually analogous experiment was performed as in example 1 , except that no acid was used in the catalyst system . after a reaction time of 5 hours at 155 ° c ., selectivity in respect of pentenoates was found to be 90 %, but the pentenoate yield , calculated in terms of the starting butadiene quantity , was merely 25 %. in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system composed of palladium acetate ( 1 mmole ), tri ( meta - chlorophenyl ) phosphine ( 4 mmole ), 1 , 4 - butanediyl - bis - diphenyl - phosphine ( 4 mmole ), 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid ( 20 mmole ) and 10 ml methanol . initial carbon monoxide pressure was 60 bar , reaction time 5 hours and reaction temperature 155 ° c . the selectivity of butadiene conversion towards pentenoates was 95 % and the pentenoate yield in terms of the starting butadiene quantity was 85 %. in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system composed of palladium acetate ( 1 mmole ), tri ( para - fluorophenyl ) phosphine ( 6 mmole ) and 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid . initial carbon monoxide pressure was 60 bar , reaction time 5 hours and reaction temperature 135 ° c . selectivity of butadiene conversion towards pentenoates was 95 % and the pentenoate yield in terms of the starting butadiene quantity was 87 %. in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system composed of palladium acetate ( 1 mmole ), tri ( para - chlorophenyl ) phosphine ( 6 mmole ), 9 - anthracenecarboxylic acid ( 20 mmole ) and 15 ml acetic acid . initial carbon monoxide pressure was 60 bar , reaction temperature 115 ° c . and reaction time 5 hours . selectivity of butadiene conversion towards pentenoic acid and derivatives thereof was 90 % and the yield of pentenoic acid and derivatives thereof , calculated in terms of the starting butadiene quantity , was 60 %. in this experiment , acetic anhydride was formed apart from pentencic acids and derivatives thereof . in a virtually analogous manner as described in example 1 , an experiment was performed with a catalyst system consisting of 0 . 4 mmole palladium acetate , 6 mmole tri ( meta - chlorophenyl ) phosphine , 4 mmole 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzoic acid and 10 g phenol . initial carbon monoxide pressure was 40 bar , reaction time 5 hours and temperature reaction 115 ° c . selectivity of butadiene conversion towards phenyl pentenoate was 80 % and the pentenoate yield , calculated in terms of the butadiene starting quantity , was 60 %. | 2 |
the following steps are followed when preparing knit vascular grafts starting from the appropriate yarns . the proper denier yarns for the specific construction have to be knit . if the denier to be used can only be obtained by using three or more ends , the yarn must be ply - twisted together . for example , if the construction is a 330 - denier pga and 100 - denier textured dacron ™, and the only available pga is 110 - denier , it is necessary to twist three ends of 110 - denier pga and the one end of 100 - denier dacron ™. other variations can be used , depending on the type of construction called for . after ply - twisting onto a king spool , the twisted yarn is transferred to a model 50 cone , using a coning machine . it is preferred that any material that is not twisted and is to be used for knitting be transferred to a cone , or to a similar type package from which the yarn may easily be removed . the yarn is then set up on the knitting machine . the knitting machine can be commercially available . it can be a floor - type self - contained unit , completely assembled , with exception of the yarn tension or stop - motion assembly . a direct v - belt drive from a fractional horsepower motor to the knitting head allows for a quiet knitting speed up to about 1100 r . p . m . a variable speed take - down assures minimum breakdowns and absolute quality stitch control . operating speeds can vary depending on cylinder size and also the type of yarn or fibers used . the proper density of the graft construction is obtained by changing the stitch cam and take - down settings . the stitch cam controls the length of the stitch , and the take - down controls the tension of the tubular fabric being knit . after knitting , the graft material is scoured in xylene under ultrasonic agitation for two ten - minute baths . the material is allowed to dry in a fume hood until no xylene odors can be detected . the graft material is then cut to appropriate lengths ( e . g . 4 mm × 60 mm ; and / or 8 mm × 80 mm ) and then reversed . reversing involves turning the graft inside out to have a smooth inner surface , and a rougher outer surface to promote ingrowth . any graft containing pga is then post - treated on stainless steel mandrels at temperatures of about 115 ° c . to 150 ° c ., under a vacuum approximately equal to 1 torr or lower . the post - treatment process seems to increase the tensile strength retention for the absorbable component , up to about 60 days after implant . a graft that does not contain pga may not undergo the post - treatment process . the ends of the graft may then be heat - sealed on a hot surface to prevent unravelling . during heat - sealing , the ends of the graft are melted only slightly . following scouring in xylene or another medically approved nonaqueous solvent and drying , the graft is then packaged in a polycarbonate folding container , which is then placed in a foil inner pouch . the graft is then sent through an absorbable device eto - sterilization cycle . after sterilization , the graft is repacked in a 2 - web tyvek ® ( a spun bonded polyolefin manufactured by e . i . dupont & amp ; co ., wilmington , del ., u . s . a . )/ mylar ™ ( a polyethylene terephthalate also manufactured by e . i . dupont & amp ; co .) pouch , sealed and eto - sterilized a second time . a series of in vivo studies with woven vascular grafts in several configurations was completed . the following materials , although not exclusive , were included : ( a ) pga / dacron ™ 80 / 20 low and high porosity , 4 and 6 mm in diameter ( b ) pga / copolymer having glycolic acid ester , and trimethylene carbonate linkages , 4 mm ( d ) gore - tex ( a trademark of wil - gore & amp ; associates , inc .) 4 , 8 and 10 mm . the overall patency rate for pga containing grafts was substantially higher than controls : 58 % vs . 41 %. bi - and tri - component vascular grafts made of biodegradable and non - degradable fibers have been studied in the beagle . observations carried out from ˜ 30 days to ˜ 7 months showed that as the absorbable component left the graft structure , organized and oriented tissue invaded the graft approximating the location of the degraded material . the tissue ingrowth appeared to mobilize as a neointima with the lumenal surface covered by cells strongly resembling endothelium . the non - degradable component exhibited dispersed fibers within a matrix of mature , highly vascularized granulation tissue . this rich blood supply persisted for the period of maximum observation . the graft structures were provided in two diameters : 4 and 8 mm id . the former were studied as interpositional grafts in both carotids of the host ; the latter as interpositional grafts in the thoracic aorta . the 4 mm grafts ( 40 - 60 mm in length ) were examined at 1 and 2 months and showed high degrees of patency . the tissue reaction showed progressively increasing tissue incorporation although endothelization was absent at 1 month and only partially manifest at 2 months . the 8 mm grafts examined at ˜ 3 -˜ 7 months were uniformly patent and showed uninterrupted complete endothelization of the graft lumen and complete replacement of the degradable material by the tissue elements noted above . the present invention is illustrated by the following examples which can be useful in peripheral vascular surgery , as coronary artery bypasses or in general arterial or venous grafting . this graft is a double - walled structure consisting of a 100 % pga woven inner tube and a 100 % texturized knit dacron ™ velour outer tube . the structure was designed so that the inner wall , being pga , would become absorbed and be replaced by a smooth , well - organized tissue at least partially consisting of endothelial cells . this inner wall would become the new intima . the outer wall , being constructed of porous nonabsorbable dacron ™ material , would allow tissue and capillary ingrowth and , at the same time , add support to the newly - grown neointima to prevent aneurysms . the dacron ™ outer wall material is a sauvage filamentous velour ® fabric supplied by u . s . c . i ., a division of c . r . bard co ., inc ., billerica , mass ., u . s . a . the inner wall fabric is a woven tube having a 1 × 1 plain weave construction using 5 - ply , 46 - denier , 21 filament ( pga ) polyglycolic acid yarn in both the warp and filling direction . the graft materials were scoured in xylene in an ultrasonic bath -- 2 baths of fresh xylene for 10 minutes each -- to remove fiber spin finish . the outer and inner tubes for the 4 mm i . d . grafts were cut to approximately 45 mm in length . the tubular woven pga material was mounted on stainless steel rods , placed in a vacuum chamber and treated at 130 ° c . for 3 hours under a vacuum of less than 1 torr ( a similar treatment was done for the 8 mm tubes , except they were cut to 80 mm length ). next , the inner and outer tubes were stitched together by placing either 3 ( 4 mm i . d .) or 4 ( 8 mm i . d .) longitudinal rows of stitches between inner and outer wall . the double tube grafts were then packaged and eto - sterilized prior to use as implants . following graft construction and sterilization , the 4 mm grafts were implanted in the left and right carotid arteries of thoroughbred beagle dogs . the 8 mm i . d . grafts were implanted in the thoracic aorta . the grafts were left in the animal for periods of up to 90 days , at which time the dogs were sacrificed , and the grafts were dissected and removed for subjective and histological examination . examination of the implant sites revealed absorption of the pga fiber and replacement with a smooth , glistening endothelial - like neointima . the dacron ™ outer wall was ingrown with tissue and small blood vessels . there was little , if any , indication of aneurysmal dilation . exclusive of technical error during implant , grafts were patent and blood flow , as determined by doppler recordings , was satisfactory . a 3 - ply yarn , consisting of 110 - denier / 50 - filament pga , 105 - denier / 25 - filament maxon ™ ( a copolymer having glycolic acid ester and trimethylene carbonate linkages , e . g . as described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 429 , 080 issued jan . 31 , 1984 and incorporated herein by reference ), and 100 - denier texturized dacron ™, was plied together at approximately 2 turns per inch of twist and knit into ( a ) 4 mm and ( b ) 8 mm inside diameter ( i . d .) tubes . the knitting machine used was a lamb st3a circular weft knitting machine . the needle cylinder used had 25 needles per inch of circumference . following knitting , the tubular graft material was scoured , cut , post - treated , packaged and sterilized as described in example 1 . the tricomponent structure , being comprised of both maxon ™ ( glycolide - tmc ) and polyglycolic acid yarns , after post - treatment attains a tighter , more pebbly velour - like appearance , due to the differential shrinkage between the two absorbable fibers in the presence of textured dacron ™. the 4 mm and 8 mm grafts were implanted in beagle dogs , as described under example 1 . examination of the implant sites following sacrifice revealed partial to complete absorption of the bioabsorbable yarns , excellent patency , no noticeable aneurysmal formation and a uniform granular tissue forming the neointima and extending through the wall to the advential surface . table 1 is a summary of the in vivo animal data for the knit grafts constructed according to example 2 . table 1__________________________________________________________________________summary of animal data on knit grafts aneurysmalgraft number number tendency number numbercomposition implanted implant site patent 0123 . sup . a occluded unsacrificed__________________________________________________________________________33 / 33 / 33 pga / 6 thoracic aorta 5 0041 -- 1maxon ™/ textured 4 left carotid artery 3 2010 1 -- dacron ® 6 right carotid artery 3 0031 2 1__________________________________________________________________________ ( a ) rating : 0 = none 1 = possible 2 = slight 3 = significant a 4 - ply yarn consisting of three ends of 105 - denier maxon ™ ( as described in the background and in example 2 , above ) and one end of 100 - denier texturized dacron ™ was plied together at a twist level of approximately 2 turns / inch . the yarn was knit into 4 and 8 mm i . d . tubes on separate lamb st3a circular weft knitting machines , using 25 - needle per inch knitting cylinders . these grafts had wall thicknesses of between 650 and 850 microns . following knitting , the graft material was scoured , cut to 45 and 80 mm lengths , heat - set at 110 ° c . for 1 to 3 minutes on stainless steel sizing rods , helically wrapped with 2 - 0 monofilament maxon ™ suture material as a means of external support , packaged and sterilized . the external support material was attached to the outside surface of the vascular graft , using polymeric glycolide / trimethylene carbonate ( tmc ) dissolved in methylene chloride as an adhesive . alternatively , poly - tmc dissolved in methylene chloride can be used as an adhesive . table 2 is a summary of the in vivo animal data for the knit grafts constructed according to example 3 . table 2__________________________________________________________________________summary of animal data on knit grafts aneurysmalgraft number number tendency number numbercomposition implanted implant site patent 0123 . sup . a occluded unsacrificed__________________________________________________________________________75 / 25 maxon ™/ 6 thoracic aorta 6 2022 -- -- textured dacron ® 3 left carotid artery 2 1010 1 -- with external 4 right carotid artery 4 0112 -- -- support * __________________________________________________________________________ ( a ) rating : 0 = none 1 = possible 2 = slight 3 = significant * external support of monofilament maxon ™ absorbable suture material . a 4 - ply yarn consisting of two ends of 46 - denier pga , one end of 62 - denier pga and one end of 100 - denier texturized novafil ® was assembled at approximately 2 turns per inch of twist . the texturized novafil ® yarn was false - twist texturized , using the helanca ® ( trademark of heberlein corp ., wattwil , switzerland ) process in order to provide a surface texture that would encourage maximum tissue ingrowth . the combined yarn was knit into 4 and 8 mm i . d . tubes similar to example 3 , except that the cylinder had a needle spacing of 33 needles per inch . following knitting , the graft materials were scoured , cut to 45 and 80 mm length tubes , post - treated on stainless steel rods under vacuum of 1 torr at 130 ° c . for 3 hours , cooled , helically wrapped with 3 - 0 maxon ™ monofilament suture material , attached to the surface of the graft using poly - tmc as an adhesive and , finally , packaged and sterilized . in this warp knit example , 70 - denier texturized dacron ™ was combined with 105 - denier maxon ™ multifilament yarn on a 48 - gauge raschel knitting machine in the following construction : ______________________________________front bar 2 / 0 2 / 4 70 - denier textured dacron ™ back bar 2 / 0 4 / 6 105 - denier maxon ™ ______________________________________ this construction is similar to example 5 , except that the stitch construction is reversed as follows : ______________________________________front bar 2 / 0 4 / 6 105 - denier maxon ™ back bar 2 / 0 2 / 4 70 - denier textured dacron ™ ______________________________________ examples 5 and 6 , although formed on a 48 - gauge raschel machine can be made on a 56 -, 60 - or 64 - gauge raschel machine , having 14 or more guide bars , positive feeds and stitch combs . two 3 - plied yarns each comprised of 50 denier maxon ® 46 denier pga and 20 denier textured dacron ® twisted at 2 . 3 turns per inch ` z ` twist were fed separately to a lamb st - 3a circular knitter along with one end of 70 denier lycra ® t - 126c . the yarns were knit on a 25 needle per inch cylinder in a single jersey stitch to form ( 1 ) a 4 mm i . d . and ( 2 ) an 8 mm i . d . tube , the wall thickness of which was between 0 . 60 and 0 . 70 mm . following knitting , the graft material was scoured in xylene , cut to length , reversed and post treated in a vacuum oven at 130 ° c .± 5 ° c . for 21 / 2 ± 1 / 2 hours . these grafts were evaluated in dogs in both the carotid artery and thoracic aorta . the results revealed 11 of 12 grafts to be patent with little or no dilation and good tissue ingrowth after sacrifice time periods of 1 and 2 months . a graft was made and processed as in example 7 but using 25 denier textured novafil ® in place of dacron ®. a graft was made and processed as in example 7 but using a 33 needle / inch cylinder and the following supply yarns : ( 1 ) 3 - ply yarn containing 25 denier maxon ® 26 denier pga and 30 denier textured dacron ® twisted at 1 . 8 turns per inch &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; twist ( 2 ) 3 - ply yarn containing 2 ends of 25 denier maxon ® and 1 end of 20 denier pga twisted at 1 . 8 t . p . i . &# 34 ; s &# 34 ; and ( 3 ) 1 end of 40 denier lycra ® t - 146c . the wall thickness of the graft was 0 . 40 - 0 . 50 mm . a graft as in example 9 but using 25 denier textured novafil ® to replace the 30 denier textured dacron ®. a graft construction was made on a 60 gauge ( 30 needle / inch ) double needle bar raschel warp knitting machine by supplying the following yarns to the inside guide bars ( bars 2 + 7 ): a 3 - ply yarn consisting of 80 denier textured maxon ® 62 denier textured pga and 30 denier textured dacron ®, plied together at 4 turns / inch ` z ` twist and the following yarns to the outside guide bars ( bars 1 + 8 ): 40 denier t - 146c lycra ®. a graft was made as in example 11 except that 46 denier textured pga was used to replace the 62 denier textured pga . a graft was made as in example 11 except that 25 denier textured novafil ® was used to replace 30 denier textured dacron ®. a graft was made as in example 12 except that 25 denier textured novafil ® was used to replace 30 denier textured dacron ®. a graft was made as in example 11 except that the knit construction was as follows : a graft was made as in example 15 except that 46 denier textured pga was used to replace 62 denier textured pga . a graft was made as in example 15 except that 25 denier textured novafil ® was used to replace 30 denier textured dacron ®. a graft was made as in example 16 except that 25 denier textured novafil ® was used to replace 30 denier textured dacron ®. | 0 |
it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that a hail resistant roof assembly and a wind blown debris resistant roof assembly are related in that the top layer of these assemblies is configured to absorb an impact from a solid object . the roof embodiments that are considered to be wind blown debris resistant roof assemblies further include an additional waterproofing membrane in a protected location in a roof construction . the distinction is that while the hail resistant roof assemblies are intended to absorb impact there are some impacts sustainable from wind blown debris that will be far in excess of the capability of the hail resistant roof assembly to prevent the waterproofing membrane from rupturing . in order to avoid the deleterious effects of water coming through the roof membrane into a building , an additional membrane is provided to prevent water infiltration to the building . where significantly large wind blown debris is not anticipated , a hail resistant roof assembly will be sufficient . referring to fig1 , the general concept of the hail resistant roof assembly is ascertainable from review of the first embodiment thereof . in order to more clearly illustrate the roof assembly , walls 10 and roof deck 12 provide an indication of the basic structure . above the roof deck 12 is sufficient material to make the roof deck monolithic . this may be either strips of membrane material 14 as shown , a polyurethane foam or other material sufficiently impermeable to create an air sealed deck or substrate surface . it is noted that inherently air sealed decks such as concrete ( poured - in - place ) are also contemplated . once the deck or substrate above the deck has been sufficiently air sealed , an insulation layer 16 is loose laid thereupon . the insulation can also be adhered entirely or spot adhered as illustrated at 18 to the air sealed roof deck 12 . adherence may be effected by glue or other substance or configuration that does not render the air seal configuration ineffective . mechanical fasteners are only employed if they too are sealed so the substrate air seal is not lost . the insulation is a rigid roof insulation having a minimum one pound density 11 / 2 inch thickness in expanded polystyrene or polyisocyanurate . above and supported by the insulation 16 is an impact absorber dissipater 20 . in one embodiment absorber / dissipater 20 is gypsum board . the board in one embodiment is about ½ ″ thick . in the case of gypsum board , energy absorption / dissipation occurs in the form of a successive breaking of the board which is illustrated in drawings fig2 and 4 in sequence . breakage may be generally concentric or spiral for individual locations . during the rapid stepwise breakage following an impact from a hail stone or other similar object , kinetic energy is absorbed . more specifically , some of the total kinetic energy of the object is absorbed with each breakage until sufficient kinetic energy has been absorbed that the hailstone can no longer break the board . the stone has thus been effectively stopped . gypsum board is particularly effective because small sections break at the break site so that the roof structure “ bounces back ” to some extent . although three breakages are illustrated in fig2 - 4 this is but one example . more or fewer breakages are possible and correspond to the amount of energy in the solid object . as illustrated , fig2 shows one breakage 42 ; fig3 shows two breakages 42 and 44 ; and fig4 shows three breakages 42 , 44 and 46 . as illustrated sequentially in fig2 - 4 , the object 40 is protruding farther into absorber / dissipater 20 . referring back to fig1 , a waterproofing membrane 22 is loose laid on absorber / dissipater 20 . further , in one embodiment a wrinkle 24 is intentionally created in membrane 22 to keep additional membrane material “ in reserve ”. the excess membrane in wrinkle 24 provides material that can be “ pulled ” by object 40 into a depression created thereby preventing rupture of membrane 22 . in combination with wrinkle 24 or in another embodiment not having wrinkle 24 , a fold 26 is created for the same purpose as wrinkle 24 . in both cases , the provision prevents membrane 22 being held taught . if membrane 22 is taught , it is more likely to rupture because incident to the impact , a depression will be formed in the roof assembly . in the event membrane 22 cannot move into the depression , it will be caused to stretch into the depression , and rapidly , making rupture more likely . the foregoing is illustrated in fig2 - 4 wherein the membrane material may be pulled into a depression 48 formed by object 40 . referring to fold 26 , it is noted that the fold is located beneath inverted “ l ” metal 28 and that metal 28 is configured , including attachment to the roof deck 12 if any , not to inhibit the movement of membrane 22 from fold 26 . in the event metal 28 is adhered to membrane 22 it will be with an adhesive which can be defeated by an anticipated magnitude of pull on membrane 22 as is generated by a hypothetical object 40 . in one embodiment , the adhesive is butyl rubber . referring now to fig5 , an alternate embodiment directed to wind blown debris resistance as well as hail resistance is illustrated . several of the elements of fig5 are identical to those discussed with respect to fig1 . these elements are identified with identical numerals to fig1 . the distinction , as will be readily appreciated from perusal of fig1 and 5 simultaneously . atop roof deck 12 is a membrane 50 which in one embodiment is adhered to deck 12 . as illustrated the adhesive 52 extends to all locations under membrane 50 . it is also possible to spot adhere membrane 50 to deck 12 but is still desirable to maintain the placement of adhesive on deck joints as in fig1 to prevent air from migrating to locations under membrane 50 from within the building structure weather sealed by the roof depicted . in this embodiment , membrane 50 provides additional water proofing for the roof in that in the event that wind blown debris impacts the membrane 22 with energy sufficient to rupture membrane 22 , membrane 50 will prevent interior building damage until the roof system can be repaired . the system of fig5 works identically to that of fig1 for smaller impacts but provides the additional protective margin of membrane 50 for eventualities rupturing membrane 22 . referring to fig6 , an alternate windblown debris resistant roof assembly with a deck that could be impacted or penetrated by flying debris and an additional strengthening board of plywood , osb wafer , gypsum or similar is added to the deck is illustrated wherein the assembly is configured for a building 10 having a parapet 60 . membrane 50 is brought up parapet 60 to a level above the “ field ” of membrane 22 such that membrane 22 is securable and air sealable to membrane 50 by adhesive 62 . adhesive 62 , and adhesive 64 at an opposite roof edge maintain an air sealed roof assembly between membrane 22 and membrane 50 . it may additionally be desirable to mechanically attach membranes 50 and 22 to parapet 60 with fastener 66 with appropriate sealing compound such as butyl rubber . in other respects the embodiment is similar to the foregoing . referring to fig7 , a pitched roof assembly is illustrated in a configuration allowing for hail resistance . building 70 includes parapet 72 and a roof deck 74 . above roof deck 74 is an angled layer of insulation 76 . above the insulation 76 is an absorption / dissipation layer 78 , which in one embodiment is gypsum board . a membrane 22 is lose laid thereover except proximate the parapet 72 where adhesive 80 is placed to maintain membrane 22 in a desirable position during normal operation and configured to fail under shear load in the event of a hailstone impact to allow fold 82 to be “ pulled ” out across the roof assembly . this is similar to foregoing embodiments and does not require further detailed discussion here . it is noted that in this embodiment adhesive 80 is also placed between layers of the membrane 22 . after fold 82 membrane continues onto parapet 72 and is adhesively affixed to membrane section 84 , which itself is adhesively affixed to parapet 72 and to deck 74 in an air sealed manner . in one embodiment , membrane 22 and section 84 are also mechanically affixed to parapet 72 with fastener 86 . in this illustration a further water proofing member 88 , which may be membrane or metallic , or other waterproofing , environment - resisting material is adhesively affixed on the top of parapet 72 and extends down beyond fastener 86 to shed water over the fastener helping to avoid leaks . referring now to fig8 , another alternate embodiment is illustrated . in this embodiment , the structural components of the building are identical and are thus labeled identically . the roof assembly is distinct however . in this embodiment , angled insulation is used as in a foregoing embodiment , however the insulation is specifically configured to receive a fold of membrane 22 . insulation perimeter section 100 is undercut at 102 to leave space for a mechanical fastener 104 fastening a perimetral edge of roof membrane 22 and is installed after the installation of the field section of the roof assembly including insulation 106 , absorption / dissipater board 108 and membrane 22 . as it appears to one of ordinary skill in the art from a review of fig8 , membrane 22 is loose laid over board 108 and insulation 106 similar to foregoing embodiments . at a perimeter edge of field section 110 . membrane 22 is folded on itself as 112 before being fastened to deck 74 with fastener 104 and adhesive 114 . subsequent to such securement , insulation 100 is installed over termination 104 and weighted in place with board 116 insulation 100 and a portion as illustrated of membrane 22 ( and sub assembly ). this board 116 may also be gypsum board . finally , an additional waterproofing material , being membrane or metal or equivalent is adhered to membrane 22 at 118 and to board 116 parapet 72 with adhesive 120 . it will be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that 118 is an adhesive designed to fail under shear such that fold material at 112 can be pulled out onto the roof field in the event of age related shrinkage and / or a hail stone impact to reduce tensile force on the membrane thereby averting a membrane rupture . while preferred embodiments have been shown and described , modifications and substitutions may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , it is to be understood that the present invention has been described by way of illustrations and not limitation . | 4 |
referring to the drawings in particular , fig1 schematically shows a longitudinal section of a connection head 1 with a valve means 2 and with an absorber 4 accommodated in a pivotable mount 3 . fig2 schematically illustrates the connection area between the connection head 1 and the absorber 4 . the connection head 1 has a housing 5 with a connection piece 6 for connection to an anesthetic breathing system , not shown more specifically in fig2 ; a guide sleeve 7 , which accommodates the valve means 2 , and an annular locking element 8 within the housing 5 with a release button 9 . the mount 3 , which receives the absorber 4 , has a barb 10 , which snaps into a wall section 11 of the locking element 8 . to connect the absorber 4 to the connection head 1 , the absorber 4 is pushed into the mount 3 and pivoted in the direction of the connection head 1 . reference is made in this connection to the disclosure of de 10 2004 020 133 b3 , which is part of this specification ( and is incorporated by reference and corresponding u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 058 , 624 filed feb . 15 , 2005 , is also hereby incorporated by reference . the absorber 4 has an inner gas duct 12 with an inner valve crater 13 and an outer gas duct 14 arranged concentrically thereto with an outer valve crater 15 . the gas ducts 12 , 14 describe the flow paths through the absorber 4 . the inner gas duct 12 passes within the connection head 1 through the interior space of the valve means 2 , and the outer gas duct 14 in an annular space between the valve means 2 and the guide sleeve 7 . a sealing ring 16 , which has an outer sealing lip 17 directed towards the absorber 4 , and an inner sealing lip 18 , which is in contact with an outer ring section 19 of the valve means 2 , is located on the underside of the guide sleeve 7 . the ring section 19 is located between a first cylindrical wall section 20 of the valve means 2 with the larger cross section and a second cylindrical wall section 21 with a smaller diameter , which latter wall section adjoins same . the wall sections 20 , 21 and the ring section 19 together form a valve housing 201 of the valve means 2 . the inner sealing lip 18 and the ring section 19 form a second sealing area 24 and are designed to interrupt the gas flow in the annular space as a shut - off means when the absorber 4 has been removed from the connection head 1 . the second wall section 21 is provided with an elastomer ring 22 at its free end , which extends in the direction of the absorber 4 . when the absorber 4 is pivoted in the direction of the connection head 1 , the outer sealing lip 17 lies on the outer valve crater ( seat ) 15 and forms a first sealing area 23 . the elastomer ring 22 is located on the inner valve crater 13 in this position of the absorber 4 . a flow valve 31 with a valve body 25 , which is in contact with a sealing lip 26 , is located on the top side of the first wall section 20 of the valve means 2 . the valve body 25 is pressed by a compression spring 27 against the sealing lip 26 . the valve body 25 is in contact with a projection 29 of the housing 5 via spacers 28 . due to the fixation by means of the spacers 28 , the valve body 25 always has a fixed position in relation to the housing 5 . the flow valve 31 opens when the valve housing 201 is displaced in the direction of the spacers 28 . in the position of the absorber 4 shown in fig2 , the path of gas 30 extends via the inner gas duct 12 through the free spaces between the spaces 28 to the outer gas duct 14 . fig3 shows the connection head 1 with the connected absorber 4 . fig4 shows the connection area between the connection head 1 and the absorber 4 corresponding to fig3 in a longitudinal section . identical components are designated by the same reference numbers as in fig1 and 2 . the barb 10 has snapped into the wall section 11 of the spring element 8 in the coupled state . the outer valve crater 15 is in contact with the outer sealing lip 17 . the inner valve crater 13 is located at the elastomer ring 22 and presses the valve housing 201 of the valve means 2 upward against the force of the compression spring 27 . since the valve body 25 is supported at the projection 29 via the spacers 28 and thus remains in its original position , the sealing lip 26 lifts off from the valve body 25 and the flow valve 31 is opened . at the same time , the ring section 19 separates from the inner sealing lip 18 and the second sealing area 24 is opened . the path of gas 30 from the anesthetic breathing system now leads via the opened flow valve 31 in the inner gas duct 12 and to the absorber 4 . the backflow takes place via the outer gas duct 14 , the opened second sealing area 24 and the annular gap between the valve means 2 and the guide sleeve 7 back to the anesthetic breathing system . the outer sealing lip 17 is designed in this embodiment as a lip seal with a large deformation area in order to reduce the sealing forces that must be overcome when the mount 3 is coupled with the connection head 1 and to compensate differences in height in the form of manufacturing tolerances . with the absorbed 4 uncoupled , the sealing ring 16 is pulled off from the guide sleeve 7 downward for cleaning purposes and the valve means 2 can be removed and taken apart for cleaning purposes . no tool is necessary for disassembly . the components of the connection head 1 may be manufactured from plastic according to the injection molding process and can be manufactured at a very low cost as a result . fig5 shows a bottom view of the connection head 1 with the valve means 2 removed and with the bracket 3 removed in view “ a ” according to fig2 . the mount 3 is fastened pivotably in the bushes 32 of the housing 5 . the locking element 8 has spacing elements 33 , which are in contact with a leaf spring 36 , the leaf spring 36 being supported at projections 34 of the housing 5 . fig6 shows the locking element 8 in a perspective view . the locking element 8 comprises a rigid frame 35 , to which the likewise rigid spacing elements 33 are fastened . when pressure is applied to the release button 9 , the frame 35 deforms and the wall section 11 is displaced in the direction of arrow 37 against the spring force of the leaf spring 36 , fig5 . the stroke of the locking element 8 is limited by a contact surface 38 , which is in contact with the housing 5 , fig5 , at maximum deflection . when pressure is applied to the release button 9 , the barb 10 , fig2 , is released . fig7 illustrates the absorber 4 in a perspective view . a guide plate 40 is fastened to the top side of an absorber housing 39 , and guide grooves 41 , 42 arranged opposite each other are provided between the guide plate 40 and the absorber housing 30 . the guide plate 40 has upper positioning grooves 43 , 44 arranged opposite each other in the area of the guide grooves 41 , 42 and lower positioning grooves 45 , 46 extending flush with the upper positioning grooves 43 , 44 . fig8 shows the absorber 4 in the area of the guide plate 40 in a perspective view . identical components are designated by the same reference numbers as in fig7 . fig9 shows the absorber 4 before insertion into the mount 3 of the connection head 1 . the connection head 1 has centering pins 47 , 48 , which are arranged opposite each other and of which only the front centering pin 47 is shown in fig9 . the centering pins 47 , 48 are designed as pins tapering in a wedge - shaped manner towards the free end . to connect the absorber 4 to the mount 3 , the absorber is pushed into the underside 50 of the mount 3 along arrow 49 . the underside 50 is beveled for this inwardly , so that the guide plate 40 is held by the underside 50 . the guide grooves 41 , 42 extend in the area of the centering pins 47 , 48 . fig1 shows the mount 3 with the absorber 4 pushed in . fig1 shows the mount 3 with the absorber 4 inserted , the mount being cut open along the section lines 51 , 52 . the centering pin 47 is located in the area of the upper positioning groove 44 of the guide plate 40 . identical components are designated by the same reference numbers as in fig8 and 9 . the mount 3 is fastened such that it can be pivoted about a pin joint fastened to the connection head 1 . fig1 shows the mount 3 connected to the connection head 1 . the front centering pin 47 is located completely within the upper positioning groove 44 and lies with its tip within the lower positioning groove 46 . the rear centering pin 48 , not shown in fig1 , is located within the rear upper positioning groove 43 and lies with its tip within the lower positioning groove 45 . the free ends of the centering pins 47 , 48 taper in a wedge - shaped manner , and the inner walls of the upper positioning grooves 43 , 44 and of the lower positioning grooves 45 , 46 are designed corresponding thereto , so that the absorber 4 has only a very small clearance in relation to the connection head 1 . while a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the principles of the invention , it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles . | 1 |
the present invention relates to software configured to manage a storage volume . the management software includes a configuration software module and a processing software module . the configuration software module enables a user to generate constrained and unconstrained sub - volumes for storing data . examples of data include , but are not limited to , documents , emails , image files , presentations , and other data files . the processing module analyzes an amount of data to be stored in the sub - volumes and executes predetermined action policies if certain criteria are met with respect to the sub - volumes . fig1 shows a fixed storage volume 10 having an overall storage capacity ( e . g ., 100 megabytes ). within the fixed storage volume 10 are a number of sub - volumes 14 a , 14 b , 14 c ( only three are shown for clarity ) that have a storage capacity ( e . g ., 5 megabytes each ) that is a portion of the overall capacity of the fixed storage volume 10 . any portion of the fixed storage volume 10 that is not designated as a sub - volume 14 is referred to as unallocated capacity 18 . examples of the fixed size storage volume 10 can include , but are not limited to , a hard disk , a removable disk , a server , a flash memory device , a network storage device , and any other device capability of storing data . as used herein , sub - volume refers to a defined portion of the fixed volume . examples of a sub - volume 14 can include , but are not limited to a folder , a partition , and the like . each sub - volume 14 can also have additional sub - volumes 14 therein that divide the storage capacity of sub - volume 14 . said another way , each sub - volume 14 can have nested sub - volumes 14 . during operation , each sub - volume 14 stores data according to the preferences of the user . additionally , the unallocated capacity 18 can store data . the size of each sub - volume 14 is either constrained by the user in accordance with the principles of the invention or left unconstrained . as used herein , constrained refers to the state having a not - to - exceed size for the sub - volume 14 . it should be understood , that the not - to - exceed size of the constrained sub - volume 14 can be dynamically reconfigured as part of the normal operation of the software of the present invention . for example , a sub - volume 14 can be originally configured to have a not - to - exceed size of 5 megabytes . however , during operation the user can dynamically reconfigure the not - to - exceed size to a larger value . fig2 depicts a configuration software module 22 constructed according to principles of the invention . the configuration software module includes an allocater module 26 , a notification module 30 , and an action policy module 34 . the allocater module 26 provides for the creation of sub - volumes 14 and allocates the not - to - exceed size of the sub - volumes 14 . the notification module 30 allows the user to assign a notification policy to each sub - volume 14 . the action policy module 34 allows the user to assign a predefined action policy or a default action policy to each sub - volume 14 . fig3 shows a flow chart depicting an embodiment of the operation of the configuration software module 22 . the user determines ( step 100 ) whether to create a sub - volume 14 within the fixed storage volume 10 . the not - to - exceed size of the sub - volume 14 is either declared ( step 110 ) to limit the capacity of the sub - volume 14 or the sub - volume 14 is configured ( step 120 ) as an unconstrained sub - volume . as used herein , unconstrained sub - volume refers to a sub - volume 14 that does not have an associated not - to - exceed size . as additional data is added to the unconstrained sub - volume , the capacity of the unconstrained sub - volume is increased accordingly . once the not - to - exceed size of the sub - volume 14 is declared , the allocater module 26 determines ( step 130 ) whether the total capacity of any existing constrained sub - volumes , unconstrained sub - volumes , and the newly created sub - volume 14 and the unallocated capacity of the of the fixed storage volume 10 exceeds the capacity of the fixed storage volume 10 . if so , an error message is displayed ( step 140 ) to the user that states that the size of total capacity of the fixed storage volume 10 is exceeded . also , the allocater module 26 determines ( step 150 ) whether the not - to - exceed size exceeds the remaining unallocated capacity of fixed storage volume 10 . when the not - to - exceed size exceeds the remaining unallocated capacity of fixed storage volume 10 , an error message is displayed ( step 140 ) to the user that states that the not - to - exceed size exceeds the size of the remaining unallocated capacity of fixed storage volume 10 . if creation of the new sub - volume 14 does not result in an error , the not - to - exceed size is applied to the sub - volume 14 to create constrained storage volume having a fixed capacity that is equal to the not - to - exceed size . after creating the sub - volume 14 , the user decides ( step 170 ) whether to apply a notification policy to the sub - volume 14 using the notification module 30 . if a notification policy is not desired , then a notification policy is not applied and the process continues to step 210 . to apply a notification policy to the sub - volume 14 , a threshold ( or trigger ) is communicated to the notification module 30 . the threshold is analyzed ( step 190 ) to determine if the threshold exceeds the capacity of the sub - volume 14 . an error is displayed ( step 140 ) to the user if the threshold exceeds the capacity of the sub - volume 14 , otherwise , the threshold is applied ( step 200 ) to the sub - volume 14 . the threshold defines two states for the sub - volume . in the first state , the amount of data stored in the sub - volume 14 does not exceed the threshold , and in the second state the amount of data stored in the sub - volume 14 exceeds the threshold . adding new data to the sub - volume 14 or removing data from the sub - volume 14 can cause a transition between the states of the sub - volume 14 . if a state transition occurs , a notification policy assigned to the sub - volume 14 is executed . the action policy module 34 allows the user to define a predetermined action policy and associate the action policy with the sub - volume 14 . in general , an action policy is a set of commands that perform a specific function to provide a desired result . for example , deleting data until a certain amount of unused capacity is reached . as used herein , a default predetermined action policy refers to an action policy that does not request permission from the user before executing or is assigned by an entity other than the user ( e . g ., a system administrator ). a user defined predetermined action policy allows the user to configure the commands to produce the desired result . the user predefined action policy can operate by requesting permission from the user or the user predefined action policy can operate automatically if configured to do so . the user determines ( step 210 ) whether to apply a default predetermined action policy ( step 220 ) or a user directed predetermined action policy ( step 230 ). fig4 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a processing software module 40 constructed according to principles of the invention . the processing software module 40 includes a determination module 44 , a calculation module 48 , and a triggering module 52 . the determination module 44 is configured for analyzing a sub - volume 14 prior to storing new data therein . functionality provided by the calculation module 48 includes , but is not limited to , determining whether adding data to the sub - volume 14 exceeds the capacity of the sub - volume 14 and whether adding data to the sub - volume 14 exceeds the threshold , if a threshold is associated with the sub - volume 14 . the triggering module 52 provides functionality such as executing the predetermined action policy of the sub - volume 14 , notifying the user of the execution of the predetermined action policy , notifying the user of the determination made by the calculation module , and receiving user input responsive to the notification . fig5 shows a flow chart depicting an embodiment of the operation of the processing software module 40 . initially , the user receives ( step 300 ) new data to store in a sub - volume 14 or begins to transfer existing data into the sub - volume 14 from another storage location . the determination module 44 analyzes ( step 310 ) the sub - volume 14 to determine whether it is constrained or unconstrained , and to determine its capacity . if the sub - volume 14 is constrained , then the capacity of the sub - volume 14 equals the allocated capacity as configured by the configuration software module 22 . if the sub - volume is unconstrained , the capacity equals the capacity of the fixed storage volume 10 less the capacity that is storing existing data . the calculation module 48 calculates ( step 320 ) a total amount of data that will be stored in the sub - volume 14 by adding the amount of the new data to the amount of any preexisting data stored in the sub - volume 14 . the calculation module then compares ( step 330 ) the total amount of data to the capacity of the sub - volume 14 . if the total amount of data exceeds the capacity of the sub - volume 14 , the triggering module 52 executes ( step 340 ) the predetermined action policy associated with sub - volume 14 . one example of a predetermined action policy is deleting data from the sub - volume 14 to generate additional capacity to store the new data on a first - in , first out ( fifo ) basis . that is , the oldest preexisting data of the sub - volume 14 is deleted first . another example of a predetermined action policy is deleting data from the sub - volume 14 on a last - in , first - out ( lifo ) basis . that is , the most recent preexisting data of the sub - volume 14 is deleted from the sub - volume first . another predetermined action policy can be moving preexisting data from the sub - volume 14 to another sub - volume 14 . this can be done on either a fifo or lifo basis . in another example , a predetermined action policy dynamically reconfigures the capacity of the sub - volume 14 . as used herein , dynamic reconfiguration refers to increasing or decreasing the capacity of the sub - volume 14 in real - time . the triggering module may notify ( step 350 ) the user after executing the predetermined action policy . if the calculation module 48 ascertains ( step 330 ) that the total amount of data does not exceed the capacity of the sub - volume 14 , the calculation module 52 then compares ( step 360 ) the total amount of data to the threshold of the sub - volume 14 otherwise the new data is stored in the sub - volume 14 . if the total amount of data exceeds the threshold , the user receives ( step 370 ) notification . in response , the user inputs ( step 380 ) a desired action ( e . g ., acknowledging the threshold will be exceeded ) through a graphical user interface ( not shown ). after execution of the triggering module , the new data is stored ( step 390 ) in the sub - volume 14 . the following description provides one example application of principles of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention . one use for the present invention is with electronic mail systems , such as hotmail ®, yahoo mail ®, and the like . hotmail provides a user with a fixed size storage volume 10 having an overall capacity of 100 megabytes . the user creates folders ( i . e ., sub - volumes 14 ) that store emails according to subjects as directed by the user . with reference to fig6 , the user is assigned an in - box folder 14 a and a sent folder 14 b by the electronic mail system . using the configuration software module 22 , the user creates a spam folder 14 c and allocates 5 % of the overall capacity of the spam folder 14 c . as a result the capacity of the spam folder 14 c is constrained to a size of 5 megabytes . prior to setting the capacity of the spam folder 14 c , the allocater module 26 checks the requested allocation size of the spam folder 14 c to ensure that the requested capacity does not exceed the overall capacity allowed by the electronic mail system . also , the allocater 26 module ensures that the requested capacity does not exceed the available capacity ( i . e ., the capacity that is not currently storing data or assigned to other constrained sub - volumes 14 ). next , the user interacts with the notification module 30 and chooses not to assign a threshold to the spam folder 14 c . as a result , the user will not be notified when the spam folder 14 c reaches capacity . using the action policy module 34 , the user chooses not to define an action policy for the spam folder 14 c . as a result , a default action policy d is assigned to the spam folder 14 c . in this example , the default action policy d is to delete an email from the respective folder 14 on a fifo basis . as shown , the spam folder 14 c is currently at capacity and therefore any additional received spam email will result in the deletion of the first received spam email presently in the spam folder 14 . next , using the configuration software module 22 , the user creates a shopping folder 14 d to store electronic messages related to the user &# 39 ; s shopping activities . for this folder 14 d , the user allocates 25 % of the 100 megabytes ( i . e ., 25 megabytes ), assigns a threshold of 75 % ( i . e ., 18 . 75 megabytes ), and associates a user defined action policy u . in this example , the user defined action policy u requests an increase in capacity for the shopping folder 14 d . as shown , the amount of email stored in the shopping folder 14 d exceeds the assigned threshold ( i . e ., presently 19 megabytes of email are stored in the shopping folder 14 d ). a request for an increase in the capacity of the shopping folder 14 d may be presented to the user for acceptance or processed automatically without requesting action by the user . the user also creates a banking folder 14 e for storing email related to the user &# 39 ; s banking activities . the user allocates 20 % of the 100 megabytes ( i . e ., 20 megabytes ) as capacity of the banking folder 14 e , assigns a threshold of 75 % ( i . e ., 15 megabytes ), and associates a user defined action policy u . in this example , the user defined action policy u moves the first received email in the folder to another location ( e . g ., a network storage device or forwards the email to another account for archiving ). as shown , 10 megabytes of email stored in the banking folder 14 e does not exceed the threshold . if a new email related to banking is received and has a size greater than 5 megabytes , the user is presented with a notification that the threshold will be exceeded and that an existing email will be moved to another location when the new email is stored in the banking folder 14 d . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments , it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims . although described as a method and data file the invention can be embodied as instructions on a computer readable medium ( e . g ., compact disk , dvd , flash memory , and the like ) that is sold and distributed in various commercial channels . also , the instructions contained on the computer readable medium can be downloaded across a network ( e . g ., internet ). additionally , the invention can be embodied as a computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave for managing a storage volume . | 6 |
fig1 illustrates the system configuration of the laser according to the present invention . in this figure , reference numeral 101 indicates a microchip laser source , illustrated in greater detail in fig2 and 2 ( a ). it should be noted that , as used herein , the term “ micro chip laser ” refers to a laser of small device size , where at least some of the components , such as the gain medium and the end mirror , are monolithic . in this specification , the terms “ microchip laser ” and “ microlaser ” are used interchangeably to refer to a laser having these characteristics . as described in detail below , the micro chip laser 101 according to the invention is an actively q - switched laser which is typically diode pumped . in order to achieve excitation of only the fundamental mode in a multimode - core fiber amplifier , the beam waist ω input of a mode coupled into the amplifier from a microchip laser has to approximately match the beam waist ω mode of this fundamental mode : ω input ≈ ω mode . note , that for the step - index fiber ω mode = 0 . 7 r core , where r core is the radius of a fiber core . therefore , the output of the microchip laser 101 has to be directed into the fiber amplifier input ( fig4 ) through properly designed mode - matching optics 102 . the essential function of this mode - matching optical arrangement is to transform the mode size of an optical beam at the output of a microchip laser ω output into the proper beam size ω input at the input of the fiber amplifier . this imaging function can be achieved by a variety of optical arrangements , one example of which is schematically represented in fig1 . note that the focusing lens in this arrangement is also used to focus the pump light from a laser diode , and that it is essential for our invention to achieve focusing of these two input beams at two different planes , as described below . the inventors have determined experimentally that limitations on the maximum extractable energies in a fiber amplifier originate from a number of effects , two significant ones being the raman gain and surface damage at the input and output facets of the fiber core . the optical damage threshold at the surface of a glass is characterized by the optical intensity i th damage of an optical beam at this surface . generally , this threshold intensity is determined by the type of material used and by its surface quality . it also depends on the duration of the pulse and average power ( repetition rate ) of the pulse train . as is known , the threshold intensity for optical damage in the nanosecond range decreases as the reciprocal of the square root of the laser temporal pulsewidth : i th damage ∝ 1 /√ t pulse . the inventors have demonstrated that the optical surface damage threshold can be significantly increased by using a beam expansion technique , as shown schematically in fig4 and in greater detail in fig4 a . here , the fiber - end is bonded to a buffer of the same material as the fiber . at the end surface , the optical beam will be expanded to ω expanded according to : ω expanded = ω mode √{ square root over (( 1 + 2 l / ω mode 2 k ))} here , k = 2πn / λ , n is the glass refractive index , λ is the wavelength of the amplified signal and l is the thickness of the buffer . it is critical that the quality of the bond between the surfaces of the fiber and the buffer be sufficiently high to eliminate any optical interface , and , thus , to eliminate surface damage at this surface . various known bonding techniques can be used to achieve this quality . in the present case , a silica - glass rod of the same diameter as the outer diameter of the pump - cladding was spliced to the end of the fiber . the maximum improvement η of the damage threshold is determined by the square of the ratio between the radius of the buffer rod r buffer and the size of the core mode ω mode : η =( r buffer / ω mode ) 2 . in the case of a 50 micron core and a 300 micron buffer pigtail as used in our experimental configuration the improvement was found to be ˜ 70 times . such buffer - pigtail protection is required for both input and output ends of an amplifier . in the case signal and pump beams are entering the same end of a fiber ( copropagating configuration ) the incoming laser beam has to be focused on the end of the fiber , as shown in fig4 a , inside the bonded buffer , where there is no interface . if the bonded buffer is a coreless rod of the same diameter as fiber - amplifier inner cladding ( pump cladding ), as shown in fig4 a , the pump beam should be focused at the entrance facet of this silica rod . note , that generally this buffer can be a slab with transverse dimension much larger than the pump cladding . in this case pump beam could be directly focused into the pump cladding . in the case side pumping is used via a v - groove or a fiber pigtail the corresponding element can be either placed directly in the fiber amplifier after the buffer bonding point , or ( if a silica rod is used as a buffer ) in this coreless pigtail . the raman effect causes the spectrum of the amplified pulse to shift towards the longer wavelengths and outside the amplification bandwidth of the yb - fiber amplifier . raman effect onset is characterized by a threshold intensity i th raman in the fiber core which , as is known in the prior art , is inversely proportional to the effective propagation length l eff of an amplified pulse and the raman gain coefficient : i th raman ∝ 1 / l eff g raman . since the raman gain coefficient is determined by the fiber glass properties , in order to maximize extractable peak powers and , hence , pulse energies , one has to increase the core size and decrease the interaction length . the interaction length can be reduced by using fibers with high doping level which lowers the fiber length , propagating amplified pulses opposite to the direction of the pump beam which lowers the pulse energy until the end of the fiber where the gain will be higher . also , use of multimode large core fibers in the double clad configuration facilitates pump absorption and allows shorter amplifier lengths . it is important to note that for certain applications the presence of strong raman components in the amplified pulses does not reduce the usability of these pulses . one example is laser marking . the inventors demonstrated experimentally that surface marking is not sensitive to the raman spectral shift and there is no degradation in the marking quality even for pulses with only a small fraction of the total energy in non - raman shifted spectral components . in one specific example , this allowed use of ˜ 150 μj of total pulse energy vs ˜ 40 μj that was available without raman shifting . thus , for this type of application significantly higher energies are available from this particular fiber amplifier . however , many applications are sensitive to the presence of the raman shift . for example , when wavelength shift is required prior to end use , via second - harmonic or other frequency conversion methods , the raman component would significantly reduce the efficiency of this conversion and would produce large amplitude fluctuations . for such applications , a number of existing techniques currently employed in fiber telecommunication systems ( see , ofc &# 39 ; 95 tutorial session ) could be used for raman - effect reduction in the fiber amplifiers , in addition to the methods described in this invention for optimizing fiber amplifiers in order to minimize their susceptibility to raman effect . the fiber amplifier 103 is a yb - doped large - core cladding - pumped fiber amplifier . the core diameter of this fiber is approximately 10 micrometers - 1 mm in diameter and thus is a true multimode fiber . however , this multimode fiber performs single mode amplification using the techniques described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 818 , 630 , herewith incorporated by reference . reference numeral 104 illustrates the pump for the yb multimode fiber laser . the pump is advantageously configured as a side - pumping broad area laser diode , the details of which are well known in the art . the yb fiber amplifier can transform the pump power into an optical output with an extremely high efficiency of 90 %. in addition , the multimode yb amplifier fiber produces an output which is higher by more than an order of magnitude over that obtainable with a corresponding conventional single mode fiber amplifier . the combination of extremely high efficiency and high gain allows the source microchip laser to operate in a relatively low energy , higher efficiency regime with little input power . fig2 and 2 ( a ) illustrate two preferred embodiments of the micro - laser or microchip laser used according to the invention . these devices are extremely compact , simple , inexpensive and have low power requirements , yet produce extremely short high peak power pulses . according to the invention , the microlasers employed are diode pumped lasers which are actively q - switched . a primary advantage of these miniature lasers is that they readily provide output laser pulses of very short duration as a consequence of their short laser cavities . active q - switching gives good control over the repetition rate and the number of pulses delivered at a time , which is useful in marking and micromachining applications . the microchip laser is a solid - state device designed to provide nanosecond laser pulses at 1064 nm wavelength . diode pumping enables high pump - to - laser efficiency , compact design , and reduced thermal problems in the gain material . the cavity is designed to provide the shortest possible pulse duration achievable with active q - switching with moderate ( 3 micro j ) pulse energy . two representative laser cavity designs are shown in the figures . the gain material is nd doped yttrium orthovanadate ( nd : yvo 4 ) at 1 % doping level . it is cut and oriented in a way ( a - cut ) to provide maximum absorption at the pump wavelength . in addition , the crystal is wedge shaped in fig2 a , which allows the laser to operate only in one linear polarization . the crystal is pumped longitudinally through its coated dichroic dielectric mirror surface 201 . the pump laser 203 is a 100 micron wide laser diode with 1 watt cw pump power . the coating 201 provides passage of pump light at 808 nm and reflection of laser light at 1064 nm . this surface acts also as a laser cavity mirror . the laser has a flat output coupler . some thermal focusing in the cavity tends to stabilize the laser cavity mode , but it is basically an unstable resonator . a pockels cell 207 and a quarter - wave plate 209 inside the cavity form an electro - optic q - switch . the pockels cell is made of linbo 3 , in the transversal field configuration . the pockels cell at the off state has zero retardation . the quarter - wave plate provides a static half wave retardation of light in a round trip , which means changing the polarization of light inside the cavity . this opposite polarization is then deflected out of the cavity ( fig2 a ) by the wedge shaped gain material acting as a polarizer , or a polarizer is placed inside the cavity ( fig2 ). the laser is in the static off state with the voltage off at the pockels cell . when the gain material is pumped continuously , the pump energy is stored in the gain material for approximately 100 microseconds , the fluorescence lifetime of the gain material . to q - switch the laser , a fast , 2 . 5 ns rise time high voltage pulse ( 1200 v ) is applied to the pockels cell . the voltage on the pockels cell introduces a quarter - wave retardation , which compensates the retardation of the wave plate . the intra - cavity laser field then builds up unimpeded until it finally reaches saturation by depleting the gain . the laser pulse leaves the cavity through the output coupler 211 , which has 70 % reflectivity and 30 % transmission . the resulting laser pulse has 750 ps pulse duration and 3 micro j energy ( fig3 ). a solid - state driving electronics circuit provides the fast , high voltage switching pulses for the pockels cell with a repetition rate up to 15 khz . to operate the laser as a cw source a static voltage can be applied to the pockels cell . single longitudinal mode operation is often desired in lasers . besides the favorable spectral properties to the laser , single - mode operation reduces the timing jitter . in single longitudinal mode operation there is no mode competition and gain cross - saturation between modes . as a result , the uncertainty of the turn - on time of the laser relative to the trigger pulse , the jitter , is reduced . timing jitter of less than 100 ps is obtained when the laser operates in single mode . the laser cavity is designed for single - longitudinal - mode operation . for long term stability it is particularly important that the laser cavity is stabilized against temperature induced changes . the cavity is designed so that temperature induced effects do not cause mode - hopping in the laser . the mechanical and optical construction of the laser is such that the thermal expansion of the base whereon the laser in mounted compensates for the thermal effects in the materials . in addition to thermal expansion , further consideration was given to high thermal conductivity and good electrical and mechanical properties of the base material , which enables temperature stabilization of the components . because the length of the resonator is approximately 8 mm , the laser can support 4 to 6 longitudinal modes at this cavity length . to achieve single mode operation we employed a resonant reflector etalon output coupler . the use of an resonant reflector etalon to maintain single mode operation is described in koechner pp . 242 - 244 . the output coupler is a solid fabry - perot etalon working in the reflection mode . its reflectivity r is modulated as a function of wavelength . the maximum value of reflectivity occurs at the resonant wavelengths given by where δ etalon the phase difference between interfering optical beams in the etalon at consecutive reflections m is a half integer number ( m = ½ , 3 / 2 , 5 / 2 , . . . ). on the other hand , resonant wavelengths of the laser cavity are determined by the total optical phase difference between beams of consecutive reflections inside the cavity , δ cav , the summation takes into account all the optical materials ; gain material , pockels cell , polarizer and quarter - waveplate material and air with their respective optical thickness n i l i . the resonant condition for the cavity is where n is an integer value ( n = 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . ). lasing occurs essentially when the resonant wavelength of the output coupler etalon coincides with the resonant wavelength of the laser resonator cavity . this is given by simultaneous satisfaction of the above half - integer and integer conditions for m and n respectively . the number of allowable modes under the gain profile can be restricted to 1 by proper choice of the output coupler etalon . in our embodiment of the microlaser a single uncoated linbo 3 plate of 1 mm thickness provides sufficient mode selectivity to allow the laser to operate in a single longitudinal mode . the resonance conditions ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) are temperature dependent , since the thermal expansion and the thermal change of the refractive index changes the optical path - length in the laser cavity and in the resonant reflector output coupler . these effects combine to shift the resonance peaks of the resonant reflector and the laser cavity . we have a limited choice of the optical materials from which the laser is constructed . their thermal expansion constants and thermal induced refractive index coefficients determine the thermal change of resonance conditions , which in general results in a mismatch of resonances ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) as the temperature changes and causes mode hopping of the laser . the thermal expansion of the base on which the laser is constructed also contributes to the change of the wavelength of the laser . we have a rather free choice of the base material . by using aluminum nitride ceramic as the laser base we achieved that the thermal shift of the laser wavelength was matched to the thermal shift of the resonance condition of the resonant reflector output coupler and mode hopping has not occurred within a 4 degree c . temperature interval . temperature stabilization of the laser cavity within 1 degree c . resulted in continuous single longitudinal mode operation of the laser . an alternative source may be a passively q - switched microchip laser , which can be very inexpensive and may be preferred in some cases for this reason . the primary reason to use a miniature source is to keep the laser cavity short which reduces the pulse width of the laser . the miniature laser is coupled to a doped fiber gain medium . in the invention this medium is a yb : fiber . in order to reach higher peak powers , the invention utilizes a multi - mode fiber to propagate single mode pulses as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 818 , 630 . as described above a mode converter is used to convert the single mode input to excite the fundamental mode of the multimode fiber . the mode converter 102 used in this case is a combination of lenses which mode - matches the output of the microchip laser to the beam diameter for single mode excitation of the multimode fiber . in addition to the lenses for mode - conversion , gain guiding in the yb : fiber can be used to relax the tolerances on mode matching . without gain in the yb fiber , robust fundamental - mode excitation becomes increasingly difficult to achieve for the increasing core size of a fiber amplifier . we found experimentally that it is particularly advantageous to employ specially designed fibers in which yb - doping in the center of the core has a significantly smaller diameter than the core itself . in this case , the fundamental mode light experiences significantly higher gain than multimode light . in our experimental configuration , we used 50 μm diameter core with 25 μm diameter doped region in the center , which exhibited a significantly more robust performance compared to 25 μm homogeneously doped core . besides relaxing the alignment tolerances , the beam parameters of the source are also relaxed . as the microchip laser may not have a perfect diffraction limited beam output , gain guiding can be used to correct for this . also , gain guiding can correct the distortion expected from digiovanni pump couplers . the yb fiber in this example had a 300 μm outer diameter and a 50 μm core . the use of relatively small cladding / core area ratios enabled by double - clad fibers , together with a large multi - mode core , allows for the efficient absorption of the pump with , for example , a gear - shape cladding cross section . the resultant yb amplifier can be as short as 1 . 5 m long , as compared to 5 - 40 m which would be required of a typical single mode yb amplifier . another advantage of this optical source is the ease of adding a multimode fiber delivery system which propagates a single - mode . in many applications fiber delivery is very important , such as in surgery , dentistry and marking in confined spaces . an example of marking in confined spaces is the marking of assembled automotive or other parts for antitheft purposes . an additional advantage of the shorter pulse is that nonlinear processes for frequency conversion are more efficient with the higher peak powers which come from shorter pulses with similar energies . for certain applications where wavelength conversion is necessary , for example in uv - range radiation for via hole drilling , the output of the laser must be frequency tripled to create the uv radiation . this source , could , for example , replace frequency tripled q - switched nd : yag lasers and eximer lasers for this application . another application where frequency conversion is important is dentistry . for example , in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 720 , 894 , it is described that uv radiation performs relatively damage free material removal by hard tissue ablation primarily due to the stronger absorption of that wavelength regime . three preferred wavelengths for applications in medicine and dentistry are 2 . 1 μm , 2 . 9 μm and 1 . 55 μm . like uv radiation , the preference is due to the strong absorption coefficient of biological tissues at these wavelengths . the most straight forward means for generating 1 . 55 μm radiation is to use a laser source which emits at 1 . 55 μm and a doped fiber which amplifies 1 . 55 μm radiation . a microchip laser which emits 1 . 55 μm radiation is known , and described in thony et al . it is well known that erbium fiber amplifies 1 . 5 μm radiation . an alternative source could be a compact erbium doped waveguide laser as described in ; h . suche , t . oesselke , j . pandavenes , r . ricken , k . rochhausen , w . sohler , s . balsamo , i . montrosset , and k . k . wong “ efficient q - switched ti ; er : linbo 3 waveguide laser ”, electron . lett ., vol . 34 , no . 12 , 11th jun . 1998 , pp 1228 - 1230 . another alternative is to use a laser source which emits a different wavelength , such as that of the invention , and use a frequency conversion step to generate the 1 . 5 μm radiation . examples of a nonlinear conversion step at the output include doubling , tripling , quadrupling , raman shift , opo , opa or opg . to generate 1 . 55 μm radiation , converting a 1 . 06 source in a ppln opg is quite convenient . in order to generate other wavelengths such as 2 . 1 and 2 . 9 μm similar methods can be applied to this laser concept . the multimode amplifier of the invention can also amplify a cw source or operate as a cw source . for example , a marking laser often has the option of being operated in a cw mode for generating more of a heat type mark . for the design of high - power cw lasers the use of mm fibers is advantageous as the reduced cladding / core area ratio reduces the absorption length in such structures . for very high cw laser powers , nonlinear effects can indeed occur and thus mm fibers can be used for the construction of compact ultra - high power cw fiber lasers . the mm fibers can then be effectively used for the pumping of fiber raman amplifiers or for the construction of raman lasers operating at wavelength regions shifted away from the gain band of the doped fibers . as previously indicated , a number of major advantages are achieved according to the invention by employing the combination of a q - switched microchip laser and a yb : fiber amplifier . because of the efficiency and gain of the yb fiber amplifier , the output power of the microchip laser need not be large . the peak power of this amplifier is limited by nonlinear effects in the fiber and by the optical damage thresholds primarily at the fiber ends . the delivery fiber may be a simple multimode undoped fiber spliced to the end of the amplifier fiber , or the amplifier 103 can itself constitute the fiber delivery system . thus , a simple , inexpensive laser system suitable for a wide variety of applications can be efficiently produced . | 7 |
[ 0013 ] fig1 shows a general block diagram , comprising an integrated circuit , hybrid circuit or trimmable card 10 , containing circuitry 12 using trimming . a shift register circuit 14 allows the serial input of data 16 describing trim bit values . however , input of data 16 may be , just as well , parallel and / or mixed ( serial and / or parallel ). since it is usually more convenient to use a single input port or pad for data entry , shift register circuit 14 is employed to accomplish serial to parallel conversion of data 16 , by shifting it serially from one bit to the next . this happens at alternate clock cycles in most cases in which a bistable circuit is employed to construct shift register circuit 14 . thus , a trim bit word can be sent to the circuit 10 , and its effect on circuit performance and / or circuit parameters can be evaluated . a clock signal 18 is employed by the shift register circuit 14 . shift register circuit 14 also facilitates the use of trim in two distinct modes of operation , hereinafter referred to as the online mode and the offline mode . the online mode of operation is characterized by the fact that the trim bit signals , typically high or low voltages that are near the upper rail voltage and ground , respectively , are determined exclusively by the data 16 . that is , the trim bit combination in effect , is the one sent to the circuit 10 from outside . consequently , this trim bit combination can be changed at will , experimented with , and evaluated as to its effect on the trim circuit . in the diagram of fig1 trim bit lines are represented by the lines 20 , in various numbers , between the shift register circuit 14 and a plurality of functional circuit blocks 22 to be trimmed . a very important consequence is that all available trim combinations can be evaluated in a fully determinative fashion , without the need for guesswork . thus the present method can always identify the optimum trim bit sequence available for each individual die , circuit or card , independent from process and / or component variations . it also facilitates a determination of the optimum trim bit sequence for whatever hardware is implemented , taking full advantage of the embedded structure and obtaining maximum performance available from that hardware . this online mode of operation usually employs an ate machine to vary the trim bit sequence , apply it to the device under test ( dut ) and evaluate its impact on the parameter that is targeted for trimming . because all of these measurements are electrical , they can be performed quickly , so little time is consumed for this purpose . since ate machine test time cost often exceeds the actual die cost , minimizing the test time is very important for many circuits . the same consideration applies to hybrid circuits , assembled boards , etc . another important consideration , regardless of the type of test equipment used in the procedure ( ate , manual , etc . ), is the fact that all of these measurements and evaluations are performed without physically altering any of the trim elements ; these measurements can be performed multiple times , as they preserve the circuit “ virgin ” state , all its trim elements being left intact ( not programmed ). the data collected during this online phase of the trim procedure , such as die location ( in the case of integrated circuits ) and optimum trim bit sequence , as determined for each circuit , is stored in a data base , as it is commonly done in the vast majority of situations involving the use of an ate machine . in the case of integrated circuits , the database is often called a wafer map . the offline mode of operation is characterized by the fact that trim bit signals are determined exclusively by the status of the permanent ( or irreversible ) trim elements , such as fuses , diodes , non - volatile memory cells , etc ., included within the shift register circuit 14 . in the offline mode operation , the shift register section of the circuit 14 and all related circuitry have no effect on trim bit values . trim bit values are determined exclusively by the status of the trim elements themselves . the actual trimming , performed by adjusting the trim elements for each circuit or die , in accordance with the optimum trim bit sequence determined in the online mode of operation , takes place offline — since there is nothing to be measured in the actual trimming phase , costly use of an ate machine is not required for this phase of the trimming procedure . the appropriate trim bit sequence is associated with each circuit and / or die , using the database ( wafer map in the case of integrated circuits ) generated during the online mode of operation described above . performing the trimming offline is particularly important from a cost standpoint , as this is a relatively slow procedure , due to the need for mechanical and / or optical tool positioning . shift register circuit 14 includes provisions to allow the permanent disabling of the online mode of operation and the permanent enabling of the offline mode of operation , which occurs after the optimum trim bit sequence has been determined . referring now to the circuit diagram of fig2 device m 2 acts as a controlled current source such that when a signal nbt is present ( on ), device m 2 is a current mirror , and when signal nbt is not present ( off ), device m 2 is also off a device m 1 acts as a simple switch , controlled by a signal t , such that when signal t is low , device m 1 is on , and when signal t is high , device m 1 is off . the circuit of fig2 has two modes of operation , in the first of which both devices m 1 and m 2 are off . in this mode of operation , called online , the upper terminal of a fuse rf is open , so that it has no impact on the voltage present at a trim node . since device m 2 is off , it does not affect the voltage at the trim node . at the same time , signals t and its complement , tn , serve to turn on a pair of transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 . as a result , the voltage at the trim node is determined exclusively by the output q of a d - latch flip - flop d . in the second mode of operation of the circuit of fig2 called offline , both devices m 1 and m 2 are on . in this mode , signals t and tn turn off transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 , thus preventing the d - latch flip - flop d from having any effect on the voltage at the trim node . signal t turns on device m 1 , thereby connecting the upper terminal of the fuse rf to the power supply rail vdd . at the same time , signal nbt causes device m 2 to act as a current mirror . consequently , in the offline mode of operation , the voltage at the trim node is determined by the status of the fuse rf , which is connected between the power supply vdd and the trim node . if fuse rf is intact , the voltage at the trim node is high , because the voltage drop across switch m 1 and the voltage drop generated by the current in device m 2 , across the fuse rf , are both very small . if fuse rf is cut ( blown ), device m 2 goes into saturation , and the voltage at the trim node becomes low . [ 0021 ] fig3 shows an example of a trim control circuit that may be employed with the single fuse trim circuit of fig2 . the trim control circuit takes care of the bias , power supply and various other signals sent to the shift register circuitry 14 of fig1 . in the online mode of operation ( the first mode of operation described above ), fuses rft and rfd are both intact . device m 1 operates as a current mirror , signal t is high and signal tn is low . at the same time , signal nbt is low . signals t and tn control transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 of fig2 . signal t also controls device m 1 of fig2 while signal nbt controls device m 2 of fig2 . after the trimming process is completed , fuses rft and rfd are cut . when fuse rft is cut , device m 1 goes into saturation , and an inverter , comprising devices m 2 and m 3 , forces signal t low . another inverter , comprising devices m 4 and m 5 , forces signal tn high . this turns off transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 of fig2 . with signal t low , device m 6 of fig3 turns off , allowing signal nbt to rise to a voltage dictated by a device m 8 acting as a current reference , thereby turning on device m 2 of fig2 . the voltage to which signal nbt rises , is determined by the current injected by a device m 7 into a diode connected device m 8 . fuse rfd is cut in order to remove a bias voltage vcg from a clock generator module . this action is supplementary to turning off the transmission gates tg 1 and tg 2 . in addition , clock generator power supply line vcg of fig3 is grounded by a device m 9 . referring now to fig4 there is shown an example of a circuit that employs two fuses , rfxa and rfxb , around the d - latch flip - flop associated with each trim bit . the advantage of the circuit of fig4 is that it consumes no current after trimming is performed . this is unlike the circuit of fig2 which will continue to consume current after trimming is completed , for the case in which the fuse rf is not cut , due to the current flow in device m 2 , as the result of the trim bit being set to high . on the other hand , the disadvantage of the circuit of fig4 is the need to employ two fuses for each trim bit and the need to always trim a fuse , regardless of whether the final state of the trim bit is high or low . [ 0024 ] fig5 shows an example of a detailed schematic diagram of a d - latch flip - flop circuit , using two non - overlapping clock signals , that may be employed to implement each of the d - latch flip - flop blocks , d 1 - d 4 , of fig4 . the two non - overlapping clock signals are labeled cl and ck in fig4 - 6 . their complements are cln and ckn , respectively . terminals outa and outb for the circuit of fig5 are connected to the set of fuses rfxa and rfxb of fig4 . the online mode of operation of the circuit of fig5 is determined by a signal nvn being high . signal nvn is the complement of a non - volatile signal nv . signal nvn going high turns off a pair of devices m 11 and m 13 . in this mode , the output voltage at terminals outa and outb ( fig4 and fig5 ) is determined exclusively by the state of the d - latch flip - flop of fig5 . the offline mode of operation of the circuit of fig5 is entered when the nvn signal goes low . in this mode of operation , devices m 11 and m 13 are both on , and device m 18 is off , thereby causing nearly the full power supply voltage vdd to appear at output terminal outa . in this mode of operation , device m 12 is also turned on , thereby causing the voltage at output terminal outb to be near ground voltage . this offline mode of operation of the circuit of fig5 is in effect after trimming is completed , so the trim bit status for each bit is determined exclusively by which of the two fuses — rfxa or rfxb — is cut . referring now to fig6 there is shown a detailed schematic diagram of a circuit that may be employed for generating , from an input clock signal clk , the two non - overlapping clock signals cl and ck , as well as their complements , cln and ckn , that are required for the operation of the d - latch flip - flop circuit shown in fig5 the circuit of fig6 also serves to generate the signal nvn that is applied to the d - latch flip - flop circuit shown in fig5 . after all of the trim bits are set to their desired values , a fuse rnv of fig6 is cut , thus forcing signal nvn low , due to the saturation of a device m 1 of fig6 which cannot sink a mirrored current , determined by the current reference represented by a device m 2 . [ 0028 ] fig7 a shows an example of a circuit that uses trimming to adjust a parameter — in this case , the amount of current injected into the bottom node ( wire ) of the schematic . this current is marked itrim in the schematic . the circuit in fig7 a can be a part of or one of the functional blocks 22 of fig1 . five trim bit signals , tr 1 through tr 5 in fig7 a , are applied to a series of five devices , m 11 through m 15 , acting as switches . devices in the top row , m 1 through m 5 , are five current mirrors , with weighed current mirror ratios . when the gate node common to the current mirrors , m 1 through m 5 , is properly biased by a current reference device , for instance , the current mirrors inject current in the bottom node ( wire ) of the schematic diagram , depending on the status of the switch devices m 11 through m 15 . for example , if tr 3 voltage is high , then switch m 13 is off , hence , the current source in series with it , m 3 , will not inject any current in the bottom node ( wire ) of the schematic . various combinations of open and closed switches allow control of the amount of current injected — by current sources m 1 through m 5 — into the bottom node ( wire ) of the schematic shown in fig7 a , thus trimming the value of the itrim current . trim bit values tr 1 through tr 5 control m 11 through m 15 switches status , in fig7 a . [ 0029 ] fig7 b shows an example of using trimming to adjust component values in a circuit . fig7 b shows a section of a voltage divider resistor string . the circuit in fig7 b can be a part of one of the functional blocks 22 of fig1 . switches m 1 through m 5 are controlled by trim bit signals tr 1 through tr 5 . a high trim bit value will turn on its corresponding switch . when a switch is on , it will shunt the resistor encompassed by its drain and source terminals . the rdson of the switch is much less than the resistance of the resistor it shunts , so , from a practical standpoint , that segment is shorted out of the string of resistors . while the rdson of the switch can be taken into account , it can be approximated with an ideal short circuit if its value is much smaller than the least significant “ bit ” adjustment that the resistor string provides . the least significant bit adjustment is the smallest of all resistor segments , with shunt switches across , which are part of the resistive voltage divider ( including r 1 , r 2 , r 3 r 4 , r 5 ), even if not represented in fig7 b . | 6 |
the following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure , application , or uses . with reference to fig1 , a portion of an automatic transmission incorporating the present invention is illustrated and generally designated by the reference number 10 . the automatic transmission 10 includes a housing 12 , a portion of which is illustrated in fig1 . the housing 12 encases and protects various components of the automatic transmission 10 such as a vane pump housing 14 and a drive shaft 16 which is supported in the vane pump housing 14 . a front plate 18 , retained by suitable fasteners such as bolts 19 , closes off the front of the vane pump housing 14 . the drive shaft 16 drives a vane pump 20 incorporating the present invention . the vane pump 20 draws hydraulic fluid or oil from a sump ( not illustrated ) within the transmission housing 12 and provides such hydraulic fluid or oil under pressure to the various control circuits and devices ( not illustrated ) of the automatic transmission 10 as well as to the bearings , clutches and brakes ( also not illustrated ) to lubricate and cool them . referring now to fig2 , the vane pump 20 includes , as noted , a housing 14 which includes an elliptical or oval pump cavity 22 defined by an elliptical or oval wall 24 . it should be appreciated that wall profiles other than elliptical or oval may also be utilized . centrally disposed for rotation within the pump cavity 22 is a hollow cylindrical pump rotor 26 . the pump cavity 22 is thus defined by the outer surface of the pump rotor 26 and the elliptical or oval wall 24 and therefore takes the shape of two opposed and symmetrical arcuate or crescent like first and second pumping chambers 28 a and 28 b . adjacent the two regions where the first and second pumping chambers 28 a and 28 b are the narrowest , are disposed a plurality of ports which provide fluid communication into and out of the chambers 28 a and 28 b . for purposes of explanation , it will be assumed that the pump rotor 26 rotates clockwise as viewed in fig2 . so driven , a first inlet port 32 a provides hydraulic fluid or oil to the first pumping chamber 28 a and a first outlet port 34 a exhausts the pressurized hydraulic fluid or oil from the first pumping chamber 28 a . likewise , a second inlet port 32 b provides hydraulic fluid or oil into the second pumping chamber 28 b and a second outlet port 34 b exhausts the pressurized hydraulic fluid or oil from the second pumping chamber 28 b . rotation of the pump rotor 26 in the opposite direction , i . e ., counter - clockwise when viewed in fig2 , will reverse the function and thus the designation of the inlet ports 332 a and 32 b and the outlet ports 34 a and 34 b as those familiar with vane pumps will readily appreciate . the pump rotor 26 includes a plurality of , but preferably four as illustrated , equally circumferentially spaced axially extending and radially oriented slots 36 which each receive one of a like plurality of pump vanes 40 . it will be appreciated the more or fewer slots 36 and pump vanes 40 may be utilized depending upon the design criteria of the vane pump 20 . any pressure generated by the vane pump 20 is routed by a passageway ( not illustrated ) to the center of the pump 20 to drive the pump vanes 40 radially outwardly to aid sealing . as the pump rotor 26 rotates , the pump vanes 40 slide radially in and out and contact the elliptical or oval wall 24 of the pump cavity 22 due to the centrifugal force and the centerline pressure generated by rotation of the rotor 26 . clearly , in order for the vane pump 20 to provide pressurized hydraulic fluid or oil , a reasonably good seal must be maintained between the outer edges of the pump vanes 40 and the elliptical or oval wall 24 of the pump cavity 22 . when the pump rotor 26 is rotating relatively rapidly , the necessary seal quality is achieved by centrifugal force and centerline pressure . at low speeds , pump efficiency may drop due to reduced centrifugal force and increased leakage . a worst case scenario is the startup of an unprimed pump . if sufficient suction cannot be generated in spite of the lack of oil or fluid , reduced operating speed , reduced centrifugal force and thus reduced seal quality , the vane pump may take an undesirably long time to prime . referring now to fig2 , 3 and 4 , the pump rotor 26 is , as noted , hollow and includes a stepped , inner wall 44 having a first , smaller diameter shoulder 46 adjacent the mid - point of its axial length . the shoulder receives and supports a nominally circular spring 50 , i . e ., a spring which is circular in its relaxed state . the spring 50 may be a garter spring or it may be an annulus of a resilient material such as an elastomer , e . g ., rubber or neoprene . in fact , any suitably rugged and durable material or spring configuration capable of providing a radially outward biasing force to the pump vanes 40 is suitable . preferably , the spring 50 is located axially so that it engages the axial midpoint of the pump vanes 40 in order to bias and maintain them parallel to the elliptical or oval wall 24 of the pump cavity 22 . referring now to fig4 and 5 , the spring 50 is retained in position on the shoulder 46 of the inner wall 44 and in contact with the inner edges of the pump vanes 40 by a disc or collar 52 . the disc or collar 52 includes a plurality of , preferably four as illustrated , narrow slits 54 which accept and provide clearance for each of the pump vanes 40 as they reciprocate in the pump rotor 26 . the disc or collar 52 will include a number of slits 54 at least equal to the number of pump vanes 40 and the slits 54 will be arranged similarly in order to provide clearance for the pump vanes 40 . the disc or collar 52 is preferably a circular , relatively thick metal disc which has an outside diameter just slightly larger than the larger diameter portion of the stepped inner wall 44 of the pump rotor 26 such that it may be pressed in place to bottom out on a second , larger diameter shoulder 56 . thus it will be appreciated that a vane pump 20 including a spring 50 according to the present invention exhibits improved seal quality both when the pump is not primed and when it is operating at low speeds due to the radially outwardly directed force imposed on the pump vanes 40 by the spring 50 which maintains them in close contact with the elliptical or oval wall 24 of the pump cavity 22 . the description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 5 |
please refer to fig1 the structure of the neural - fuzzy classifier of the present invention for handwriting recognition is illustrated , which comprises an extraction unit 10 , a membership function generator 19 , a clock generator and logic controller 13 , a column decoder 14 , an i / o circuit 18 , and k - wta circuit 17 , wherein the i / o circuit 18 , and k - wta circuit 17 have 11 ports . the extraction unit 10 further comprises a ccd extractor 11 and a compression unit 12 , wherein the ccd extractor is 24 bits . the membership function generator 19 further comprises a 10 × 10 programmable membership function generator ( mfg ) array 15 , and a si integrator 16 , wherein the si integrator 16 has 10 switches . in the membership function generator 19 , the weighted - sum synthetic membership function used is shown in equation ( 2 ): [ 0028 ] μ ( x ) = ∑ j = 1 j w i j ∑ k = 1 k m j k . x x μ i j k ( m k ) where i = 1 , 2 , . . . , n is the index of class number , j is the number of feature groups , w ij is the weight of the j th groups feature belonging to the i th class , k is the length of each group feature codes , m jk . x is the input feature code and μ ijk ( m ij ) is the membership of feature code m i belonging to the i th class . for the present invention , n = 10 , j = 8 , and k = 10 are used in the preferred embodiment . en is an enable signal for enabling mfg array 15 via i / o circuit 18 to control the operation of the classifier . the logic operations of the classifier are controlled by a number of non - overlapping clock signals ck 1 and ck 2 by the clock generator and logic controller 13 . the 24 - bit ccd extractor 11 is a cellular neural network structure that can be easily implemented in cmos circuitry . the ccd extractor 11 scans a normalized 24 pixels × 24 pixels handwritten black and white image of a numeral in two directions and two diagonal lines . the pixels of the normalized numeral consisting of different features are black and the rest of the image pixels is white , however inverted images can also adapted . the raw data of the scanned image from the 24 - bit ccd extractor 11 is sent to the compression unit 12 for compression into smaller data . the peripheral edge pixels of the image are always white so the effective image size decreases to 22 pixels × 22 pixels . the scanned image therefore contains 80 bits of ccd feature codes which includes two added dummy bits . these compressed codes will be fed into the 10 × 10 pre - programmed mfg array in eight time cycles which are controlled by the clock generator and logic controller 13 . the i / o circuit 18 provides the programming codes of the membership functions under the control of the column decoder 15 . the results μ ( x ) is immediately outputted to and stored in the 10 si integrator 16 until all the features codes are transmitted . the maximum membership function is applied to the results of the weighted sum synthetic membership function by the k - wta circuit 17 to generate the highest matching results . the results are then sent to the i / o circuit 18 to give the final recognizing results . [ 0032 ] fig2 illustrates a single cell circuit of the ccd of the present invention . the 24 - bit ccd extractor is constructed by 24 cascaded cells to form the 24 × 24 pixels feature extractor . each cell circuit comprises 4 cascaded current mirrors connected to the output of the cell circuit . there are 4 transmission gates controlling the input of the ccd extractor . the input signal of the ccd extractor 11 is connected to the input of transmission gate 20 , transmission gate 21 and 23 through a transistor . the output of transmission gate 20 is connected to a node further connected to the input of transmission gates 21 and the gate of transmission gate 22 , and the gate of transmission gate 20 is connected to a st signal . the input of transmission gate 21 is connected to the input signal , the gate of the transmission gate 21 is connected to the output of the transmission gate 20 , the other gate of transmission gate 21 is connected to ground , and the output of transmission gate 21 is connected to the current mirror 24 . the input of transmission gate 22 is connected to the output of transmission gate 20 , the gate of the transmission gate 22 is connected to a wr signal . the input of transmission gate 23 is input signal of the ccd extractor 11 , the gate of transmission gate 23 is connected to the output of transmission gate 12 , the other gate of transmission gate 13 is connected to ground , and the output of transmission gate 13 is connected to current mirror 17 and further to the output of the ccd extractor . current mirrors 14 , 15 , 16 , and 17 are connected in cascaded manner . hspice simulation of this ccd extractor gives good performance . the ccd feature extractor scans a normalized 24 × 24 pixels handwritten black numeral image row by row in horizontal direction and two diagonal lines . the peripheral pixel of the image is always white so the effective image size is 22 × 22 pixels . there are 4 bits in each feature code but the first bit is discarded because it only provides information of normalization of the image , therefore each feature code has 3 bits because the scanned images are normalized in the preferred embodiment . the 3 × 22 bit feature codes are thus obtained after scanning all the rows of the image and the feature codes are read into a corresponding 4 × 22 register array in the proper order . a diagonal line is obtained by scanning and shifting the i th original pixel in the i th row of the image to the corresponding bit of the last register column . after scanning all the rows of the image , the data in the register array is sent back into the ccd feature extractor column by column to get 9 bits of ccd features , where the diagonal line gives 3 bits results and the other three columns give 6 bits . furthermore , the edge bits in each column are left idle and therefore the data is reduced to 20 bits . the 20 bits of the middle of each column are compressed by the feature compression unit 12 to 10 bits . [ 0034 ] fig3 shows the logic circuit of the feature compression unit 12 . the feature compression unit 12 comprises at least 3 xor gates connected together to control the logic of the templates a , b , and c . xor gates 31 , 32 , and 33 are coupled together like a triplet , wherein xor gates 31 , 32 share an input a 1 , and xor gates 32 , 33 share an input b 1 . xor gates 37 , 38 , and 39 are coupled together like a triplet , wherein xor gates 37 , 38 share an input a 1 , and xor gates 38 , 39 share an input b 1 . xor gates 34 , 35 , and 36 are coupled together like a triplet and their outputs are the templates a , b , and c respectively . wherein the input of xor gate 34 is coupled to both the output of xor gate 33 , 37 , the input of xor gate 35 is coupled to both the output of xor gate 32 , 38 , and the input of xor gate 36 is coupled to both the output of xor gate 31 , 37 . since both the template b and bias input i of the ccd extractor 11 are zero , only one row of the template a takes effect . this feature compression unit is easily implemented in cmos circuit . as a result , the feature compression unit 12 outputs 39 bits where 10 bits are from each of the 3 columns and 9 bits are from the diagonal line are acquired each in the horizontal and vertical directions . a total of 80 bits including 78 scanned bits and 2 dummy bits are sent to the programmable mfg under control of clock generator and logic controller 13 . 10 × 10 bits are sent to the programmable mfg every clock cycle , and the 78 bits of scanned data requires 8 clock cycle to complete , wherein 1 dummy bit is added every four cycles . [ 0036 ] fig4 shows one column of the 10 × 10 mfg array 15 with 3 membership function memory units shown and the 10 si integrator 16 . the circuit unit a 40 is a fully symmetrical membership function array in which all the nmos transistors are of the same size . there are 10 columns in the 10 × 10 mfg array and each column has 10 membership function memory units which store the membership degree corresponding to the i th feature value of the j th feature of the i th standard character . the membership function memory unit comprises at least 9 transistors , wherein 8 transistors are used in pairs in the aspect ratio 0 . 5 : 1 : 2 : 4 and controlled by control signals d 0 , d 1 , d 2 , and d 3 , respectively and one transistor such as m 0 , m 1 , and m 9 acts as a gate by receiving high and low signals . the mfg array are addressed by the input feature signals f 0 - f 9 from the feature compression unit 12 in combination with the adjacent but non - overlapping timing signals ck 1 and ck 2 pulses , each corresponding to an input feature . thttth tjsadfthe 80 bits scanned image is sent to the programmable mfg for feature recognizing . the 10 columns of feature codes calculate the fuzzy weighted sum core of the membership function generation using fuzzy logic from equation ( 2 ). an off - chip eprom unit stores the genetic algorithm off - line learning which will later become control codes for the membership function generator . the feature codes are compared by the membership functions against the standard characters stored in the eprom . the membership functions are programmable and controlled by digital control signals d 0 - d 3 and the value of all the membership function ranges from 0 to 7 . 5 × i ref in steps of 0 . 5 × i ref , wherein the i ref is a reference current set at 4 μa . the weight w ij is programmable and realized by part in dashed box and the value ranges from 0 to 3 . 75 in steps of 0 . 25 . a group of 10 - bit feature codes are sent to the 10 × 10 programmable mfg 15 array generating 10 weighted part - sum currents in every clock cycle . in fig5 the si integrator 16 performs an accumulation operation on the current - type values of weighted membership degrees to obtain the current - type value of a synthesis membership . the si integrator 16 is implemented by a switched - current technique which introduces the second generation switched - current storage to overcome disadvantages of the first generation switched - current storage . to stabilize the drain voltage of a storage transistor , a rgc ( regulated - gate cascode ) structure is adopted to construct a storage unit . although the fully differential integrator can be adopted in this classifying system , the single ended rgc integrator is preferably used because of its simplicity . the si integrator 16 accumulates the input current one by one in each cycle . therefore the 80 - bit scanned image requires 8 clock cycles to complete the transmission . timing controls of the switches are controlled by two non - overlapped clocks ck 1 and ck 2 shown in fig4 . in the ck 1 clock cycle an input current i 1 is sent to the integrator , and in ck 2 clock cycle the output current i low is generated . the switched - current integrator 16 will accumulate all the weighted part - sum currents in every clock cycle and the total weighted sum currents are obtained and outputted to the 11 - port k - wta 17 after 8 cycles . the output of si integrator 16 is regulated by a current mirror with a 1 : 1 ratio with a current source of i connected to the output . the 11 - port k - wta circuit 17 is shown in fig6 which comprises a circuit unit a 62 , a circuit unit b 64 , and a circuit unit c 66 . the k - wta circuit is used to compare and sort the synthesis membership degree currents corresponding to the n standard characters and the to - be - recognized character to sequentially output high voltage pulses on the outputs corresponding to the n standard character in order of magnitude of the current as a recognition result . if the classifier is used in parallel or cascade to improve system performance , the k - wta circuit must be expanded in order to compare and sort m number of classifiers times n standard characters . therefore the circuit unit a is easily expandable to a larger network depending on its application . all transistors work in strong inversion therefore the wta network is high speed . the circuit unit a 62 comprises three identical input units where i 0 , i 1 , and i 2 designate three input currents representing three synthesis membership degrees which are directed and output to the circuit unit c 66 . the k - wta circuit 17 receives the input currents to find the maximum among them and output three voltage signals indicating the maximum one . a number of control logic signals b 1 and b 2 are sent to the circuit unit a for enabling the individual maximum - finding circuit by a “ high ” signal . a voltage v b is applied to circuit unit a so a current is flown through the differential transistors having the maximum input voltage and produce a drain current i i when the drain current of other differential transistors are zero . the circuit unit b is an output circuit of the k - wta network . the clock cycle ck 1 and ck 2 controls the current source of the diodes and the final output i o of the 11 - port k - wta circuit 17 is passed through a 1 : 1 current mirror . the k - wta selects largest k value of each group of feature codes at one time from k classes with a simple set of complementary features . if signals b 1 and b 2 are zero voltage levels , the value of k is 1 so the wta is reconfigured as 1 - wta . when any one of the b 1 or b 2 is high voltage level , the value of k becomes 2 so the wta becomes 2 - wta . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . in view of the foregoing , it is intended that the present invention cover modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents . | 6 |
the illustrative embodiments described in the following detailed description and claims are not meant to be limiting . other embodiments can be utilized , and other modifications can be made , without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein . unless specified otherwise , the terms “ comprising ” and “ comprise ” as used herein , and grammatical variants thereof , are intended to represent “ open ” or “ inclusive ” language such that they include recited elements but also permit inclusion of additional , un - recited elements . as used herein , the term “ about ”, in the context of amounts of components of formulations , conditions , other measurement values , etc ., means +/− 5 % of the stated value , or +/− 4 % of the stated value , or +/− 3 % of the stated value , or +/− 2 % of the stated value , or +/− 1 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 . 5 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 . 4 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 . 3 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 . 2 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 . 1 % of the stated value , or +/− 0 % of the stated value . throughout this disclosure , certain embodiments may be disclosed in a range format . it should be understood that the description in range format is merely for convenience and brevity and should not be construed as an inflexible limitation on the scope of the disclosed ranges . accordingly , the description of a range should be considered to have specifically disclosed all the possible sub - ranges as well as individual numerical values within that range . for example , description of a range such as from 1 to 6 should be considered to have specifically disclosed sub - ranges such as from 1 to 3 , from 1 to 4 , from 1 to 5 , from 2 to 4 , from 2 to 6 , from 3 to 6 etc ., as well as individual numbers within that range , for example , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 . this applies regardless of the breadth of the range . the present disclosure relates to a reflow encapsulant material that can include an epoxy resin , a curing agent , a catalyst , a fluxing agent , and an inorganic additive / inorganic filler . in embodiments , the epoxy resin of the reflow encapsulant material can be a cycloaliphatic epoxy resin , a bisphenol a epoxy resin , a bisphenol f epoxy resin , a naphthalene epoxy resin , a dicyclopentadiene - phenol epoxy resin or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the epoxy resin can be a mixture of different epoxy resins , wherein such a mixture of epoxy resins can support or facilitate the control of curing kinetics , which allows the reflow encapsulant material of the present disclosure to be useful in the packaging of electronic products . in embodiments , an epoxy resin including a mixture of epoxy resins and having a weight of 100 grams can have one of the epoxy resins present in an amount of about 25 to 75 grams . the remaining amount can include other epoxy resins . in embodiments , the epoxy resin can include a mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and a cycloaliphatic epoxy , such as , 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate in the ratio of 1 : 3 to 3 : 1 . in a preferred embodiment , the epoxy resin can include diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate in a ratio of 2 : 1 . in a preferred embodiment , the epoxy resin of the encapsulant material can be a mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate , wherein diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a is present in an amount of about 35 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate is present in an amount of about 17 . 6 % by weight of the encapsulant material . in embodiments , the epoxy resin can include diglycidyl ether of bisphenol f mixed with a cycloaliphatic epoxy , such as , 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate in the ratio of 1 : 3 to 3 : 1 . in embodiments , the ratio of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol f and the cycloaliphatic epoxy , such as , 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate can be 2 : 1 . in embodiments , the epoxy resin of the encapsulant material can be a mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol f and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate , wherein diglycidyl ether of bisphenol f is present in an amount of about 35 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate is present in an amount of about 17 . 6 % by weight of the encapsulant material . in embodiments , the curing agent can be an anhydride curing compound such as a hexahydrophthalic anhydride , a methyl hexahydrophthalic anhydride or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the anhydride curing compound can be present in an amount of about 20 grams to about 80 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the anhydride curing compound can be present in an amount of about 65 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the anhydride curing compound can be present in an amount of about 65 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the ratio of the anhydride curing compound to the epoxy resin can be about 2 : 3 . in embodiments , the anhydride compound can be present in an amount of about 34 . 5 % by weight of the encapsulant material . these values are based on an uncured epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , the curing compound can be 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride . in a preferred embodiment , 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride is present in an amount of about 65 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , the 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride compound is present in an amount of about 65 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride can be present in an amount of about 34 . 5 % by weight of the encapsulant material . these values are based on an uncured epoxy resin . in embodiments , the catalyst for the curing process can be a metal acetylacetonate , a metal acetate or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the metal of the metal acetylacetonate can be a metal ion such as sc 3 + , cu 2 + , mo 2 + , ru 3 + , rh 3 + , cd 2 + , co 2 + , co 3 + , fe 2 + , fe 3 + , pd 2 + , pt 2 + , zn 2 + , mg 2 + or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the metal of the metal acetate can be a metal ion such as sc 3 + , cu 2 + , mo 2 + , ru 3 + , rh 3 + , cd 2 + , co 2 + , co 3 + , fe 2 + , fe 3 + , pd 2 + , pt 2 + , zn 2 + , mg 2 + or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the catalyst can be present in an amount of about 0 . 2 grams to about 5 . 0 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the catalyst can be present in an amount of about 1 . 0 gram to about 1 . 5 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the catalyst is present in an amount of about 1 . 4 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the catalyst can be present in an amount of about 1 . 4 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the catalyst can be present in an amount of about 0 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material . in a preferred embodiment , the catalyst can be cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate . in a preferred embodiment , cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate can be present in an amount of about 1 . 4 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate can be present in an amount of 1 . 4 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate can be present in an amount of about 0 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material . these values are based on an uncured epoxy resin . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can have a hydroxyl group . in embodiments , the fluxing agent having a hydroxyl group can be ethylene glycol , propylene glycol , glycerol d - ribose , diethylene glycol or a combination of one or more thereof . in embodiments , the fluxing agent amount can affect and / or influence the storage modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can be present in an amount of about 1 gram to about 15 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can be present in an amount of about 3 grams to about 10 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can be present in an amount of about 8 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can be present in an amount of about 8 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the fluxing agent can be present in an amount of about 4 . 3 % by weight of the encapsulant material . in a preferred embodiment , the fluxing agent can be glycerol . in embodiments , the amount of glycerol present in the encapsulant material can affect and / or influence the storage modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure . in a preferred embodiment , glycerol can be present in an amount of about 8 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , glycerol can be present in an amount of 8 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , glycerol can be present in an amount of about 4 . 3 % by weight of the encapsulant material . these values are based on an uncured epoxy resin . in embodiments , the inorganic additive / inorganic filler is used for improving the mechanical and thermal properties of the reflow encapsulant material . in embodiments , the inorganic additive / inorganic filler can be a nanoscale inorganic additive / inorganic filler . in embodiments , the nanoscale inorganic additive / inorganic filler of the encapsulant material described above can be alumina nanoparticles . other inorganic additives / inorganic fillers are also contemplated . other nanoscale additives / inorganic fillers are also contemplated . in embodiments , the alumina nanoparticles can have an average particle size of about 800 nanometers or less . in embodiments , the alumina nanoparticles can have an average particle size of about 50 nanometers or less . in a preferred embodiment , the alumina nanoparticles have an average particle size of about 50 nanometers . in embodiments , the alumina nanoparticle amount can affect and / or influence the glass transition temperature of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure . in embodiments , the alumina nanoparticles can be present in an amount of about 1 gram to about 30 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in embodiments , the alumina nanoparticles can be present in an amount of about 10 grams to about 15 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , the alumina nanoparticles can be present in an amount of about 13 . 6 grams per about 100 grams of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , the alumina nanoparticles can be present in an amount of 13 . 6 % by weight of the epoxy resin . in a preferred embodiment , the alumina nanoparticles are present in an amount of 7 . 2 % by weight of the encapsulant material . these values are based on an uncured epoxy resin . in embodiments , the viscosity of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure at room temperature can be less than about 8000 cp ( centipoise ). in embodiments , the viscosity of the encapsulant material at room temperature can be about 3000 cp to about 5000 cp . in embodiments , the viscosity of the encapsulant material at room temperature can be about 2500 cp to about 4100 cp . in embodiments , the viscosity of the encapsulant material at room temperature can be about 4000 cp . in embodiments , the glass transition temperature of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can be about 127 ° c . to about 130 ° c . in embodiments , the storage modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can be about 2 gpa to about 2 . 4 gpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ). in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure , the encapsulant material can include : a mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate , wherein diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a is present in an amount of about 35 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate is present in an amount of about 17 . 6 % by weight of the encapsulant material ; 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride present in an amount of about 34 . 5 % by weight of the encapsulant material ; cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate present in an amount of about 0 . 7 % by weight of the encapsulant material ; glycerol in an amount of about 4 . 3 % by weight of the encapsulant material ; and alumina nanoparticles present in an amount of 7 . 2 % by weight of the encapsulant material . an encapsulant material having the above mentioned components in the above mentioned amounts results in an improved adhesive encapsulant material having a glass transition temperature of about 130 ° c ., a thermal expansion coefficient or coefficient of thermal expansion of about 53 . 23 ppm /° c ., a viscosity of about 4100 cp ( at room temperature ), a loss modulus of about 90 mpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) and / or a storage modulus of about 2 . 4 gpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) that are suitable and / or advantageous for application of the adhesive encapsulant material in the packaging of electronic products . a reflow encapsulant material having the above mentioned components in the above mentioned amounts results in an unexpected and surprising synergy of thermal properties ( i . e ., glass transition temperature and coefficient of thermal expansion ) and rheological properties ( i . e ., loss modulus , storage modulus and viscosity ) that provide improved results with respect to solder bumps being reflowed and with respect to a substrate and flip - chips effectively attaching . the glass transition temperature of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dynamic mechanical analysis ( dma ) technique . the glass transition temperature value ( s ) was obtained from tan delta at 1 hz . the coefficient of thermal expansion of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the thermomechanical analysis ( tma ) technique . the viscosity of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using a rheometer with a parallel plate fixture at room temperature . the loss modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dma technique . the storage modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dma technique . the loss modulus relates to and / or measures the ability of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure to dissipate energy as heat . the storage modulus relates to and / or measures the elasticity of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure . in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure , the encapsulant material can include : a mixture of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate , wherein diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a is present in an amount of about 67 grams and 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 , 4 - epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate is present in an amount of about 33 gram ; 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride present in an amount of about 65 grams ; cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate present in an amount of about 1 . 4 grams ; glycerol in an amount of about 8 grams ; and alumina nanoparticles present in an amount of 13 . 6 grams . an encapsulant material having the above mentioned components in the above mentioned amounts results in an improved adhesive encapsulant material having a glass transition temperature of about 130 ° c ., a thermal expansion coefficient or coefficient of thermal expansion of about 53 . 23 ppm /° c ., a viscosity of about 4100 cp ( at room temperature ), a loss modulus of about 90 mpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) and / or a storage modulus of about 2 . 4 gpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) that are suitable and / or advantageous for application of the adhesive encapsulant material in the packaging of electronic products . a reflow encapsulant material having the above mentioned components in the above mentioned amounts results in an unexpected and surprising synergy of thermal properties ( i . e ., glass transition temperature and coefficient of thermal expansion ) and rheological properties ( i . e ., loss modulus , storage modulus and viscosity ) that provide improved results with respect to solder bumps being reflowed and with respect to a substrate and flip - chips effectively attaching . the glass transition temperature of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dynamic mechanical analysis ( dma ) technique . the glass transition temperature value ( s ) was obtained from tan delta at 1 hz . the coefficient of thermal expansion of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the thermomechanical analysis ( tma ) technique . the viscosity of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using a rheometer with a parallel plate fixture at room temperature . the loss modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dma technique . the storage modulus of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure was measured using the dma technique . the loss modulus relates to and / or measures the ability of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure to dissipate energy as heat . the storage modulus relates to and / or measures the elasticity of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure . the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can be used in conventional processes for fabricating flip - chip microelectronic assemblies . however , in contrast to conventional encapsulant materials , the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can also be effectively used in one - cycle heating processes for fabricating flip - chip microelectronic assemblies , for example , the hybrid no - flow process or the no - flow underfill process . conventional encapsulant materials typically cannot be used effectively in one - cycle heating processes for fabricating flip - chip microelectronic assemblies such as the hybrid no - flow process or the no - flow underfill process . in particular , the encapsulant material of the present disclosure is the only encapsulant material that can be effectively used in the novel and inventive single - stage heating method or hybrid method disclosed in the inventors &# 39 ; patent application entitled “ method and encapsulant for flip - chip assembly ” having the same filing date as the present patent application . on the other hand , conventional encapsulant materials cannot be used in the novel and inventive single - stage heating method or hybrid method disclosed in the inventors &# 39 ; patent application entitled “ method and encapsulant for flip - chip assembly ” having the same filing date as the present patent application . the inventors &# 39 ; patent application entitled “ method and encapsulant for flip - chip assembly ” having the same filing date as the present patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in general , with conventional encapsulant materials in the art , efforts are typically made to lower the coefficient of thermal expansion and increase the glass transition temperature of the conventional encapsulant material to make the conventional encapsulant material suitable for use in the packaging of electronic products . in an unexpected and surprising finding , the inventors of the present disclosure discovered that while the coefficient of thermal expansion and the glass transition temperature are important in determining the suitability and effectiveness of an encapsulant material , the loss modulus and storage modulus are also important in determining the suitability and effectiveness of the encapsulant material for use in the packaging of electronic products . for example , while the coefficient of thermal expansion of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can be about 53 . 23 ppm /° c . and the glass transition temperature can be about 127 ° c . to about 130 ° c ., the unexpected and surprising synergy of these thermal properties with the loss modulus measurement of about 90 mpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) and the storage modulus measurement of about 2 gpa to about 2 . 4 gpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) allows the encapsulant material to be effectively used in conventional processes , the hybrid no - flow process and / or the no - flow underfill process for fabricating flip - chip microelectronic assemblies . while the coefficient of thermal expansion of the encapsulant material of the present disclosure can be about 53 . 23 ppm /° c . and the glass transition temperature can be about 127 ° c . to about 130 ° c ., the unexpected and surprising synergy of these thermal properties with the loss modulus measurement of about 90 mpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) and the storage modulus measurement of about 2 gpa to about 2 . 4 gpa ( at 30 ° c ., 1 hz ) allows the encapsulant material to be effectively used in the novel and inventive single - stage heating method or hybrid method disclosed in the inventors &# 39 ; patent application entitled “ method and encapsulant for flip - chip assembly ” having the same filing date as the present patent application . the inventors of the present disclosure found that the unexpected and surprising synergy of the thermal properties ( i . e ., the glass transition temperature and the coefficient of thermal expansion ) and the rheological properties ( i . e ., the loss modulus , the storage modulus and the viscosity ) of the reflow encapsulant material of the present disclosure provides the best result with respect to solder bumps being reflowed and the substrate and flip - chips effectively attaching when compared to conventional encapsulant materials . the present technology is further illustrated by the following examples , which should not be construed as in any way limiting . in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure , a reflow encapsulant material was prepared with a fluxing agent and alumina nanoparticles as detailed in the following table immediately below : the reflow encapsulant material of example 1 of the present disclosure was prepared by initially stirring a mixture of cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate and 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride at a temperature of about 150 ° c . until a homogeneous mixture a was formed . subsequently , alumina nanoparticles were added to the homogenous mixture a at a temperature of about 150 ° c . and stirred until a homogeneous mixture b was formed . homogenous mixture b was then sonicated by using a sonicator at a frequency of about 40 kilo hertz for 1 hour to effectively or appropriately disperse the alumina nanoparticles in the homogenous mixture b . next , diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a , the cycloaliphatic epoxy resin , and glycerol were added to the homogenous mixture b and stirred at ambient temperature for about 1 hour in a vacuum atmosphere to eliminate air bubbles that can be produced during the mixing or stirring thereby forming the reflow encapsulant material of the present disclosure . finally , any air bubbles present in the reflow encapsulant material were removed by using a vacuum pump . after removal of the air bubbles the reflow encapsulant material was loaded into a container and stored at a temperature of about − 35 ° c . a reflow encapsulant material was prepared without a fluxing agent and without an inorganic filler as detailed in the following table immediately below : the reflow encapsulant material of comparative example 1 was prepared by stirring a mixture of cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate and 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride at temperature of about 150 ° c . until an homogeneous mixture a was formed . subsequently , diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and cycloaliphatic epoxy were added to the homogenous mixture a and stirred at ambient temperature for about 1 hour in a vacuum atmosphere to eliminate air bubbles that can be produced during mixing or stifling thereby forming the reflow encapsulant material . finally , any air bubbles present in the reflow encapsulant material were removed by using a vacuum pump . after removal of the air bubbles the reflow encapsulant material was loaded into a container and stored at a temperature of about − 35 ° c . a reflow encapsulant material was prepared by adding alumina nanoparticles but not adding a fluxing agent as detailed in the following table immediately below : the reflow encapsulant material of comparative example 2 was prepared by stirring a mixture of cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate and 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride at a temperature of about 150 ° c . until an homogeneous mixture a was formed . subsequently , alumina nanoparticles were added to the homogenous mixture a at a temperature of about 150 ° c . and stirred until a homogeneous mixture b was formed . homogenous mixture b was then sonicated by using a sonicator at the frequency of about 40 kilo hertz for 1 hour to effectively or appropriate disperse the alumina nanoparticles in the homogenous mixture b . then , diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a and cycloaliphatic epoxy were added to the homogenous mixture b and stirred at ambient temperature for 1 hour in a vacuum atmosphere to eliminate air bubbles that can be produced during mixing or stirring . finally , any air bubbles present in the reflow encapsulant material were removed by using a vacuum pump . after removal of the air bubbles the reflow encapsulant material was loaded into a container and stored at a temperature of about − 35 ° c . a reflow encapsulant material was prepared by adding a fluxing agent and silica nanoparticles as detailed in the following table immediately below : the reflow encapsulant material of comparative example 3 was prepared by stirring a mixture of cobalt ( ii ) acetylacetonate and 4 - methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride at a temperature of about 150 ° c . until a homogeneous mixture a was formed . subsequently , silica nanoparticles were added to the homogenous mixture a at a temperature of about 150 ° c . and stirred until a homogeneous mixture b was formed . homogenous mixture b was then sonicated using sonicator at a frequency of about 40 kilo hertz for about 1 hour to effectively or appropriately disperse the silica nanoparticles in the homogenous mixture b . then diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a , cycloaliphatic epoxy , and glycerol were added to the homogenous mixture b and stirred at ambient temperature for about 1 hour in a vacuum atmosphere to eliminate air bubbles that can be produced during mixing or stirring . finally , any air bubbles present in the reflow encapsulant material were removed by using a vacuum pump . after removal of the air bubbles the reflow encapsulant material was loaded into a container and stored at a temperature of about − 35 ° c . table 1 below shows the thermal properties of the reflow encapsulant material of example 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure and the thermal properties of the reflow encapsulant materials of comparative examples 1 to 3 . although the reflow encapsulant material of comparative example 2 exhibited the best glass transition temperature and thermal expansion coefficient values , the inventors found that if a fluxing agent was not incorporated into reflow encapsulant material , then the solder bumps will not reflow and there will be no attachment between the substrate and flip - chips . moreover , critically , the unexpected and surprising synergy of the thermal properties ( i . e ., the glass transition temperature and the coefficient of thermal expansion ) and the rheological properties ( i . e ., loss modulus , the storage modulus and the viscosity ) of the reflow encapsulant material of example 1 of the present disclosure provide the best result with respect to the solder bumps being reflowed and the substrate and flip - chips effectively attaching . the reflow encapsulant material of the present disclosure exhibited a glass transition temperature of about 130 ° c ., a coefficient of thermal expansion of about 53 . 23 ppm /° c ., a loss modulus of about 90 mpa , a storage modulus of about 2 . 4 gpa , and a viscosity of about 4100 cp . while various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein , it will be apparent that various other modifications and adaptations of the invention will be apparent to the person skilled in the art after reading the foregoing disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended that all such modifications and adaptations come within the scope of the appended claims . the various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting , with the true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the appended claims . | 7 |
a description will now be given , with reference to the accompanying drawings , of embodiments of the present invention . fig1 shows a saw filter in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention . the saw filter includes a piezoelectric substrate 10 , multiple saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 that are provided on the piezoelectric substrate 10 , a signal input terminal 12 , and a signal output terminal 14 . these saw resonators are connected in the ladder structure . the piezoelectric substrate 10 is made of a piezoelectric single crystal such as lithium tantalate ( lt ) or lithium niobate ( ln ). each of the above - mentioned saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 includes an idt electrode 16 and reflection electrodes 18 and 20 that are arranged on both side of a propagation direction . for simplicity of the drawing , the referential numerals 16 , 18 , and 20 are shown in the saw resonator s 3 only . the idt electrode 16 includes a pair of comb - like electrodes . the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 are disposed in series arms in the ladder - type structure , and the saw resonators p 1 and p 2 are disposed in parallel arms . therefore , the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 are especially referred to as series - arm resonators or series - type resonators , and the saw resonators p 1 and p 2 are especially referred to as parallel - arm resonators or parallel - type resonators . hereinafter s 1 through s 3 are referred to as series - arm resonators , and p 1 and p 2 are referred to as parallel - arm resonators . the series - arm resonators s 1 through s 3 and the parallel - arm resonators p 1 and p 2 determine the filter characteristics . the saw filter as shown in fig1 serves as a bandpass filter . in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention , the saw filter includes discharge induction patterns 22 and 24 . the discharge induction pattern 22 , which has multiple gaps gap 2 , is arranged between the signal input terminal 12 and a ground g 1 . the discharge induction pattern 24 , which has multiple gaps gap 2 , is arranged between the signal output terminal 14 and a ground g 2 . the gap 2 is narrower than a gap 1 that exists in each of the electrode patterns of the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 . the gap 2 is narrower than the gap 1 , and the discharge induction pattern 22 induces the discharge caused by the static electricity applied to the signal input terminal 12 . this prevents the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 from being broken by the discharge . in the same manner , the discharge induction pattern 24 induces the discharge caused by the static electricity applied to the signal output terminal 14 . this prevents the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 from being broken by the discharge . here , the gap that exists in the electrode pattern is formed not only in the above - mentioned gap 1 but also between alternately interleaved electrode fingers . the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to the case where gap 2 is narrower than the gap between the electrode fingers . therefore , gap 1 & gt ; gap 2 is satisfied . fig2 is a top view of the saw filter shown in fig1 . the whole page corresponds to the piezoelectric substrate 10 . the discharge induction pattern 22 includes electrodes 22 a and 22 b . the electrodes 22 a and 22 b face each other , and are formed to be included in an interconnection pattern . the electrodes 22 a and 22 b respectively include multiple sharp - pointed portions . the sharp - pointed portions of the electrode 22 a and those of the electrode 22 b face each other through the gap 2 . the discharge induction pattern 24 has the same structure as that of the discharge induction pattern 22 . as far as the gap 1 & gt ; the gap 2 is satisfied , the gap 2 of the discharge induction pattern 22 and the gap 2 of the discharge induction pattern 24 may have the same size or may have different sizes . the gap 1 as shown in fig1 and 2 denotes the minimum gap between electrode ends of the respective saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 and bus bars that respectively face the electrode ends of the above - mentioned resonators . here , there is another case where the electrode ends of the respective saw resonators face the electrode fingers that extend from the above - mentioned bus bars , instead of facing the bus bars . in this case , the gap 1 denotes the minimum gap between the electrode finger ends that face each other . the adjacent sharp - pointed portions are arranged at an interval ( pitch ) d 2 , which may be sufficiently greater than the gap 2 . in addition , preferably , the interval d 2 is sufficiently greater than a gap d 1 , for example , 10 times or more . the gap d 1 is the distance between the electrode finger ends of the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 . this makes it possible to surely induce the electrostatic discharge to the discharge induction patterns 22 and 24 , and also makes it possible to cause the electrostatic discharge at only one of the gaps gap 2 . thus , the electrostatic discharge may break only one pair of the sharp - pointed portions , and the other gaps gap 2 remain unbroken . the discharge induction patterns 22 and 24 in fig1 and 2 respectively include six gaps gap 2 . thus , even if the electrostatic discharge that can break a pair of the sharp - pointed portions is induced six times , it is possible to protect the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 . it is thus possible to realize the highly reliable measure against the static electricity . taking an example of dimensions , gap 1 ( the length of gap 1 ) is equal to 1 . 5 μm , gap 2 ( the length of gap 2 ) is equal to 0 . 35 μm , d 1 is equal to 1 . 0 μm , d 2 is equal to 10 μm , and a width w of the sharp - pointed portion is equal to 0 . 35 μm . additionally , one of the discharge induction patterns 22 and 24 may be omitted . there is a case where it is sufficient if the measure against the static electricity is taken to one of the signal input terminal 12 and the signal output terminal 14 , according to the usage . further , the number of the gaps is not limited to six , an arbitrary number of gaps , which is at least two , may be employed . the gaps in the discharge induction pattern 22 and that of the discharge induction pattern 24 may have the same number or may have different numbers . fig3 a and 3b show the saw filter in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention . fig3 a is a block diagram of the entire saw filter . fig3 b shows an enlarged view of the discharge induction pattern . the saw filter includes discharge induction patterns 32 and 34 in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention . the discharge induction pattern 32 is arranged between the signal input terminal 12 and the ground g 1 . the discharge induction pattern 34 is arranged between the signal output terminal 14 and the ground g 2 . the discharge induction pattern 32 includes a pair of electrodes 32 a and 32 b that face each other . the electrodes 32 a and 32 b respectively include multiple sharp - pointed portions . the discharge induction pattern 32 includes multiple gaps having different sizes , which is different from the gaps in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention . the discharge induction pattern 32 includes three different gaps , gap 2 , gap 3 , and gap 4 , as shown in fig3 . as to the sizes of the above - mentioned gaps , gap 4 & gt ; gap 3 & gt ; gap 2 is satisfied . these gaps are narrower than those of the saw resonators s 1 through s 3 , p 1 , and p 2 . gap 1 & gt ; gap 4 & gt ; gap 3 & gt ; gap 2 is satisfied . by providing different gaps , it is possible to induce the electrostatic discharge in order of the gap starting from the narrowest one . it is thus possible to prevent multiple gaps from being broken simultaneously once the static electricity is discharged , and thereby to realize the highly reliable measure against the static electricity . as shown in fig3 b , the discharge induction pattern 32 includes six pairs of the sharp - pointed portions . two pairs of the six pairs of the sharp - pointed portions form gap 2 , and another two pairs form gap 3 , and the remaining two pairs form gap 4 . instead of the above - mentioned configuration , all the gaps may have different sizes . the number of the gaps having different sizes is not limited to three , and the number of the gaps may have two or four or more . the discharge induction pattern 34 has the same configuration as that of the discharge induction pattern 32 . however , the discharge induction patterns 32 and 34 may not be identical , and the sizes of the gap , the number of the gaps , the types of the gap , and the number of the gaps included in a pair of gaps may be different . the present invention has been described . in accordance with the first and second embodiments of the present invention , the discharge induction pattern is provided for the ladder - type structure . the discharge induction patterns 22 and 24 , 32 and 34 , or a variation thereof may be provided for the multi - mode or other arbitrary structures . the present invention is not limited to the above - mentioned embodiments , and other embodiments , variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . the present invention is based on japanese patent application no . 2003 - 428288 filed on dec . 24 , 2003 , the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements , fig1 illustrates a computer system generally designated 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention . system 10 comprises a firewall 12 for a cluster 14 of servers 20 a , b , c , d . . . n . ( as shown in fig1 , server 20 a is initially outside of cluster 14 , but later joins the cluster 14 pursuant to the steps of fig2 .) servers 20 a - n reside on a network such as ethernet , token ring or fddi . however , the present invention works at layer three of the osi reference model , so layer two media such as token ring , ethernet , fddi are transparent . firewall 12 comprises a computer and a known filtering program 22 which filters incoming messages from internet 24 , for security reasons . the known filtering program may base its filtering decisions on the ip protocol , protocol port , source ip address , destination ip address and known state of the message . firewall 12 also includes a load balancing program 30 according to the present invention . a storage device 34 includes a configuration file 36 for load balancing program 30 . storage device 34 includes a variety of different load balancing program routines for servers 20 a - n . by way of example , one load balancing routine is a simple “ round robin ” algorithm where incoming work requests are assigned sequentially to the servers in the cluster . another load balancing routine assigns new work requests to the server with the shortest current work queue . another load balancing routine assigns new work requests to the server with the fastest current response time . configuration file 36 includes load balancing parameters for servers 20 a - n , as described in more detail below . load balancing program 30 is initially configured with default parameters and / or by an administrator of the firewall 12 who can override the default parameters and supply other parameters . the following is an example of parameters of an initial configuration for cluster 14 of servers : identity of a load balancing routine for the cluster . the load balancing routine is configured by an administrator at start up to use a specific load balancing algorithm . the initial setup of a device that wants to be load balanced can request the use of a different load balancing algorithm during the join - request process . identity ( ip address ) of each server in the cluster load threshold for each server , i . e . the number of message packets over a certain time interval that represent work requests and can be handled by the respective server . this incoming message packet rate loosely correlates to the amount of work required of the respective server to respond to the request . different servers in the cluster can have different load thresholds . hello interval , i . e . each server in the cluster is expected to send to the load balancing program a “ hello ” message periodically , for example , every ten seconds , to prove that the server is still “ up ” and available to handle work requests from the load balancing program . time - out , i . e . how long the load balancing program will wait after receipt of each hello message for the next hello message before assuming that the server is down or severely overloaded . when a hello message is received , the load balancing program initiates a time - out clock , for example , thirty seconds . if the next hello message is not received before expiration of the time - out clock , then the load balancing program will assume that the server is down or severely overloaded , and remove the server from the cluster . once removed , the load balancing program will not assign any subsequent work requests to this server , unless it rejoins the cluster . any work requests previously assigned to this server that are not completed ( as indicated by an acknowledgment by the server at the tcp / ip layer ) will be reassigned by the load balancing program to another server in the cluster . authentication , i . e . the shared password used to authenticate members of the cluster who wish to participate . fig2 illustrates a join function 40 within load balancing program 30 . the join function is invoked by a join request initiated by ( a ) programming within a server not currently in a cluster or ( b ) an administrator of the server , to join the server into a specific cluster . when the decision is made by programming within the server , the decision can be based on under utilization of the server as measured by cpu monitoring hardware or software . when the decision is made by an administrator of the server , the decision can be based on under utilization of the server or installation / building of a new server that is looking for a cluster to join . in the case of the server programming making the decision , the server programming creates a request , including the requisite cluster parameters , to join a named cluster . in the case of the administrator making the decision , the administrator enters into server 20 a a command to join a named cluster and other cluster parameters ( as described below ), and programming within server 20 a generates the join request . ( the load balancing program 30 can periodically broadcast to the available servers the identities of the existing clusters , or the administrator can learn the identities of the existing clusters by manually checking the configuration of the load balancer 30 .) after the join request is created , it is sent to the join function 40 within load balancing program 30 within firewall 22 ( step 50 ). the join request includes a pass phrase ( i . e . a sophisticated pass word ) of the server , an identity ( for example , a group identity ) of a cluster that the server wants to join , a load threshold for the server , a time - out for the server , a “ hello interval ” for the server , a desired load balancing algorithm for the cluster and optionally , other user definable parameters for the server or cluster . the load balancing algorithm is the algorithm that server 20 a requests to be used for the cluster , such as round robin , shortest work queue , fastest response time , etc . in response to the join request , join function 40 first determines if the server is authentic by looking up the pass phrase in a list of authentic ones maintained in storage device 34 ( decision 52 ). if not , join function 40 returns a failure message to the server 20 a ( step 54 ). if so , join function 40 checks its database 36 to determine if the cluster identity in the request exists ( step 56 and decision 58 ). if not , join function 40 returns a failure message to the server 20 a ( step 60 ). if so , join function 40 compares the load threshold , time - out , hello interval , load balancing algorithm and other user definable parameters specified in the join request to those in the existing cluster configuration file 36 ( step 70 ). if any of the server specific parameters , i . e . load threshold , time - out or hello interval are not the same as those in the existing configuration file 36 ( decision 80 , no branch ), then join function 40 determines which server specific parameter should apply to server 20 a when part of the named cluster ( step 82 ). in the case of a difference in the load threshold , time - out or hello interval , the join function will select the lower of the thresholds specified by the existing configuration file 36 and the join request . the load threshold is specified for each server , such that different servers in the same cluster can have different load thresholds . so , if the existing configuration file 36 specifies a default value of six hundred packets per second and the server 20 a join request specifies five hundred packets per second , then the configuration file 36 will be updated with a load threshold of five hundred packets per second for server 20 a . for example , if the existing configuration file 36 specifies a default time - out of thirty seconds , and the join request specifies a time - out of twenty seconds , then the configuration file 36 will be updated with a time - out of twenty seconds . however , if the existing configuration file specifies a default hello interval of ten seconds , and the join request specifies a hello interval of fifteen seconds , then the configuration file 36 will remain with ten seconds for the hello interval . next , join function 40 determines if the load balancing algorithm specified in the join request is the same as that listed in the existing configuration file 36 ( decision 85 ). if so , then join function 40 adds server 20 a to the named cluster , i . e . will add the ip address of server 20 to a list of servers in the named cluster ( step 86 ). then , join function 40 returns a message to server 20 a indicating that server 20 a has been added to the named cluster ( step 88 ). thereafter , load balancing program 30 will send server 20 a work requests along with the other servers in the cluster according to the load balancing algorithm . referring again to decision 85 , in the case of a difference in the load balancing algorithm specified in the join request compared to that in the existing configuration file 36 , join function 40 will notify the server 20 a of this difference ( step 90 ). join function 40 will use the load balancing algorithm listed in the existing configuration file for the cluster when there are other servers in the cluster . the only time a server requesting to join a cluster can select the load balancing algorithm for the cluster , is if the server is the first server in the cluster . if server 20 a returns with an agreement message ( decision 92 , yes branch ), then join function 40 will add server 20 to the named cluster , as described above ( step 86 ). if server 20 a does not return an agreement message ( decision 92 , no branch ), then join function 40 sends a failure message to server 20 a . fig3 is a flow chart illustrating a causal remove function 150 initiated by load balancing program 30 to remove a server from a cluster for security reasons of if the server is down . if the time - out expires without receipt of the expected hello message ( decision 152 , no branch ), then causal remove function 150 deletes the server from the cluster ( step 154 ). thereafter , load balancing program 30 will not send any work requests to this server . if the hello message is received before the time - out ( decision 152 , yes branch ), then causal remove function 150 will check the pass phrase which accompanies or is included in the hello message ( step 158 ). if the sender is not authentic ( decision 160 , no branch ), then causal remove function 150 will send a failure message to the sender ( step 162 ). then , the sender will have the remainder of the time - out period to submit another hello message with a proper pass phrase . referring again to decision 160 , yes branch , where the hello message includes an authentic pass phrase , then causal remove function will reset the timer ( step 164 ) and leave the server in the cluster ( step 166 ). fig4 is a flow chart illustrating a server initiated , discretionary remove function 100 within load balancing program 30 . the discretionary remove function 100 is called by programming within a server currently within a cluster or by an administrator of the server to remove the server from the cluster . when the decision is made by programming within the server , the decision can be based on over utilization of the server . when the decision is made by an administrator of the server , the decision can be based on over utilization of the server or a desire to power - off the server or use the server for other purposes . in the case of the server programming making the decision , the server programming creates a request to remove the server from the cluster . in the case of the administrator making the decision , the administrator enters into the server , for example , server 20 a , a command to remove server 20 a from a named cluster , and programming within server 20 a generates the remove request . after the remove request is created , it is sent to the discretionary remove function 100 within load balancing program 30 within firewall 22 ( step 102 ). the remove request includes a pass phrase of the server and an identity of the cluster from which the server wants to be removed . in response to the remove request , remove function 100 checks the pass phrase of the server . if it is not authentic ( decision 104 , no branch ), then discretionary remove function 100 sends a failure message to server 20 a ( step 106 ). however , if server 20 a is authenticated , then discretionary remove function 100 removes server 20 a from the named cluster ( step 110 ). discretionary remove function 100 also notifies server 20 a that the remove request was fulfilled ( step 112 ). thereafter , load balancing function 30 will not send any work requests to server 20 a that are to be handled by the named cluster . fig5 is a flow chart illustrating a join invitation function 200 initiated by load balancing program 30 when the load balancing program needs one or more additional servers to handle a high level of work requests for the cluster . load balancing program 30 periodically checks its current work load for each existing cluster and the servers in each cluster ( step 202 ). if the current work load for each server in a cluster is below the respective load threshold ( decision 204 , no branch ), then join invitation function 200 will terminate itself ( step 206 ). however , if the current work load for any server in a cluster is above the respective load threshold , then join invitation function 200 sends a request to all servers that are potentially available to join the cluster , and not already in the cluster ( step 208 ). it is presumed that if one server in the cluster is above the respective load threshold , that the other servers will be above or near their respective load thresholds . this is because it is presumed that the load balancing algorithm effectively balances the load amongst the servers in the cluster in proportion to their load thresholds or capabilities . the join invitation specifies the cluster that needs one or more additional servers and invites the available servers to volunteer to join the cluster . if none of the available servers that were sent the join invitation responds , then join invitation function 200 terminates itself ( step 206 ). however , if one or more of the available servers that were sent the invitation respond that it / they will comply , then join invitation function 200 records that when they subsequently join the cluster , their membership will be temporary , i . e . only as long as the work load exceeds the load threshold ( step 212 ). after responding that it / they will comply with the join invitation issued in step 208 , the server ( s ) ( either the programming within the server or an administrator of the server ) will send a join request to the load balancing program 30 , and this join request will be processed by join function 40 as described above with reference to fig2 . fig6 is a flow chart illustrating a release function 300 initiated by load balancing program 30 for one or more servers temporarily added pursuant to the join invitation issued by join invitation function 200 . as explained in more detail below , release function 300 releases these one or more additional servers from a cluster when they are no longer needed . load balancing program 30 periodically compares the current work load for the cluster and the servers in the cluster ( step 301 ). if the current work load for any server in a cluster is above the respective load threshold ( decision 302 , no branch ), then server release function 300 will terminate itself ( step 306 ). however , if the current work load for all servers in the cluster is below the respective load threshold for each server , then release function 300 sends a removal request to all servers that are listed as temporary members of the cluster ( step 308 ). the removal request indicates that the cluster no longer needs their membership and invites these servers to volunteer to be removed from the cluster . if none of these servers responds ( decision 310 , no branch ), then release function 300 terminates itself ( step 306 ). however , if one or more of the temporary members respond that it / they agree to be removed from the cluster ( decision 310 , yes branch ), then release function 300 removes the server ( s ) from the cluster ( step 312 ). thereafter , load balancing function 30 will not send to these server ( s ) any work requests that are to be handled by the cluster . based on the foregoing , a system , method and program product for joining and removing servers from a cluster have been disclosed . however , numerous modifications and substitutions can be made without deviating from the scope of the present invention . for example , customized fields can be added to the cluster protocol to handle security management , encryption , and external authentication . therefore , the present invention has been disclosed by way of illustration and not limitation , and reference should be made to the following claims to determine the scope of the present invention . | 6 |
the present invention includes a technique for measuring the solid - to - solid contact forces between the head and the disc in a disc drive data storage system . to accomplish this , the present invent - ion includes a micro - force transducer fabricated using head processing techniques . the micro - force transducer is preferably fabricated by forming a flexible beam on the trailing edge / abs corner of a slider body , and thus a deflection sensor on the slider body . the deflection sensor measures the small motions of part of the beam as either changes in capacitance or as changes in resistance . the capacitance or resistance changes can be calibrated to read out the force on the deflecting beam caused by head / disc contact . a preferred method of fabricating the head / disc force transducer of the present invention ( hereinafter &# 34 ; force transducer &# 34 ;) begins with a standard base - coated slider body substrate . preferably , this is a wafer substrate having an insulator on top of a ceramic body conductor . fig1 illustrates slider body 102 having trailing edge surface 104 and abs 106 . in preferred embodiments , force transducer 124 ( illustrated in a substantially final form in fig5 and 7 ) of the present invention will be formed at or near corner 103 between trailing edge 104 and abs 106 . while a method of fabricating force transducer 124 of the present invention is illustrated with reference to a discrete slider body for clarity , it is intended that the force transducer actually be fabricated while the slider body is embedded in a full wafer having a large number of slider bodies . as illustrated in fig2 a patterned metal layer 108 is plated on trailing edge 104 of the slider , preferably on top of the insulating base coat ( base coat not shown for ease of illustration ). metal layer 108 need only be a reasonable conductor material , and must be electrically insulated from the conducting slider body 102 . in preferred embodiments , metal layer 108 can be , for example , nickel - iron ( nife ) , sendust ™, or copper ( cu ). preferred thicknesses for metal layer 108 are , for example , 10 - 40 microns . at the sides of trailing edge 104 of slider body 102 are wiring pads 110 and 112 , included in metal layer 108 , for making electrical connections to the remainder of the metal layer . in fig2 pads 110 and 112 are shown only in the conducting metal layer for the sake of clarity . however , in preferred embodiments , pads 110 and 112 will be gold - plate for easy wire bonding . in other words , as the layers are built - up during the fabrication of force transducer 124 and slider body 102 , the gold pads are added at or near the last step and used to attach wires to metal layer 108 . in this manner , capacitance or resistance determining drive circuitry , located off of slider body 102 , is connectable to force transducer 124 . as illustrated diagrammatically in the perspective view of fig3 after metal layer 108 is plated on trailing edge 104 , the wafer is overcoated with alumina ( or some other electrical insulator ) 114 and then planarized . the overcoat of alumina effectively becomes the new position of trailing edge 104 . with the trailing edge surface of alumina overcoat 114 planarized , the slider can be processed at the wafer level using known processes and alignment features which are not relevant to the present invention , and which are therefore not illustrated in the figures . next , flexible beam 120 ( first illustrated in fig5 ) is formed at trailing edge 104 to act as force transducer 124 . this is best illustrated in fig4 and 5 . beam 120 is formed in trailing edge 104 of the slider body 102 near corner 103 . in the embodiment illustrated in the figures , beam 120 is formed at the center of the slider and is intended to be on the center pad of a conventional proximity slider air bearing . however , the exact location of the beam along corner 103 of the slider is not of particular importance and can be selected to conform to the particular air bearing type . as illustrated in fig4 a first step in freeing beam 120 from the bulk of the head is to mill pocket 116 inward from trailing edge 104 into the slider . preferably , a focused ion beam ( fib ) is used to mill pocket 116 . as illustrated in fig5 an fib mill is also used to form pocket 118 inward from abs 106 . fig6 illustrates a close - up view of force transducer 124 at trailing edge / abs corner 103 of slider body 102 . preferably , pockets 116 and 218 are formed to be thin as possible . pocket 116 must be deep enough ( i . e ., far enough into slider body 102 from trailing edge 104 ) to completely separate metal layer 108 into two electrically isolated areas , beam 120 and plate 122 . pocket 118 is milled into alumina overcoat 114 and metal layer 108 deep enough to free beam 120 so that it can flex or bend in either of two typically perpendicular directions , a direction parallel to abs 106 and a direction parallel to trailing edge 104 . in other words , beam 120 can bend inward and outward from trailing edge 104 and simultaneously upward and downward from abs 106 . the portion of beam 120 farthest away ( farthest upward ) from abs 106 is a region where the two electrically isolated areas ( beam 120 and plate 122 ) are nearly in contact . in capacitive force transducer embodiments , this area will dominate the capacitance between electrical connection pads 110 and 112 . when a force is applied by the disc surface to beam 120 from the abs side of slider body 102 , beam 120 will flex and the spacing will change , thus changing the capacitance between electrical pads 110 and 112 as well . this capacitance change can be sensed using capacitance determining circuitry 125 of the type known in the art which can be coupled to force transducer 124 through pads 110 and 112 . with the range of capacitance changes correlated to a range of possible force magnitudes which can be encountered causing the beam to flex , the sensed change in capacitance can be used to measure the solid - to - solid contact forces between the head and the disc . care should be taken to design the system to make it insensitive to friction forces ( forces in the plane of the abs ) acting on beam 120 . fig7 is a diagrammatic abs view of head / disc force measuring apparatus 100 . apparatus 100 can be fabricated as discussed above with reference to fig1 - 6 and includes slider body 102 and force transducer 124 . force transducer 124 includes flexible beam 120 formed , at corner 103 between trailing edge 104 and abs 106 , by plating metal layer 108 and subsequently milling pockets 116 and 118 to allow be ( am 120 to flex . capacitance detecting circuitry of the type known in the art can be coupled to transducer 124 through electrical pads 110 and 112 . in the alternative , apparatus 100 can be fabricated with the additional teachings of fig8 and 9 as discussed below such that force transducer 124 can be coupled to resistance determining circuitry 136 ( illustrated in fig9 ) of the type known in the art . in modern inductive magnetic heads , up to four layers of inductive coils are typically included in the head . instead of putting a capacitor plate on top of the beam , an electrical resistance strain gauge can be fabricated . a single conductor can be formed to wind back forth along one edge of the beam to increase the sensitivity of the strain gauge . the conductor can be fabricated in the same manner as conventional thin film inductive heads , and can wind back and forth as many times as there are layers in the conventional thin film inductive head process used . after the many conductor layers and vias are plated , and before the alumina overcoat is applied , a process similar to conventional pole trimming processes is used to form a crisp or sharp edge of the strain gauge . conformal alumina overcoat then forms the bulk of the beam . as discussed above , subsequent fib milling releases the beam and strain gauge from the rest of the head . there , forces causing the beam to flex cause the length of the conductor to change , resulting in resistance changes . thus , the forces can be measured by measuring these resulting resistance changes . fig8 and 9 illustrate the relevant changes between the resistive strain gauge force transducer fabrication process from the process illustrated in fig1 - 6 . as was the case with metal layer 108 in the capacitive force transducer , metal layer 126 is plated on trailing edge 104 of slider body 102 . however , plating of metal layer 126 occurs in multiple plating and masking operations to form a serpentine resistor configuration or region 127 . electrical wiring or access pads 128 and 130 are also formed in metal layer 126 and subsequent layers to provide electrical connections to the two ends of serpentine resistor region 127 . the serpentine geometry of metal layer 126 in region 127 causes the conductor to be many times longer than force transducer beam 120 ( formed by subsequent fib milling steps as discussed above ). this is consistent with conventional electrical resistance strain gauges . also , as is known in the resistance strain gauge art , the parasitic resistance of the circuit out of the sensing area should be minimized . this suggests extending fatter lead regions 132 and 134 coming out of wiring pads 128 and 130 toward the active area . fig9 is a more detailed close - up view of metal layer 126 . to better illustrate the serpentine nature of the resistive element , the length scale has been distorted . also , for clarity , fig8 and 9 illustrate serpentine region 127 passing only three times over what will eventually be beam 120 . however , in preferred embodiments , the number of times that region 127 crosses over the active region of the force transducer ( i . e ., over beam 120 ) will be maximized in order to increase the sensitivity of the transducer . the limits to the number of times that serpentine region 127 crosses over beam 120 are primarily related to the capabilities of the thin film processing techniques , to the precision of the ion milling techniques , and to the size of the active area on the air bearing surface portion of the transducer . the procedures for forming beam 120 in the resistive strain gauge embodiment are the same as discussed above for the capacitive embodiment . standard thin film photolithographic processing is preferably used . trailing edge pocket 116 and abs pocket 118 are once again preferably formed using fib milling . however , in the resistive strain gauge embodiment , trailing edge pocket 116 not only forms the opening which frees beam 120 such that it can bend , but also defines the thickness of the conductors in the strain gauge . of course , since a resistance is going to be measured by resistance determining circuitry 136 instead of a capacitance as was the case in the capacitive force transducer embodiment , pocket 116 in trailing edge 104 does not separate metal layer 126 between pads 128 and 130 . instead , pocket 116 serves to tree beam 120 so that it can flex in response to head - to - disc contact . although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments , workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
a first embodiment will be described with reference through fig1 to 7 . fig7 shows a tractor body 1 , and a front loader 2 and a backhoe attached respectively to the front and rear ends of the body 1 . with reference to fig7 the tractor body 1 has front wheels 4 , rear wheels 5 , and a hydraulic unit 6 at its rear portion . indicated at 7 is a bonnet , and at 8 a steering wheel . the rear wheels 5 are supported by a rear axle case 9 on the tractor body 1 and are each covered with a rear wheel fender 10 from inside . an awning 11 comprises a pair of front posts 12 , a pair of rear posts 13 , and a roof 14 supported by the posts 12 , 13 and is mounted on the tractor body 1 so as to cover from above a seat 15 disposed between the opposite rear fenders 10 . the rear posts 13 serve also as a safety frame and are attached to the rear axle case 9 . each front post 12 is attached to the top of the rear wheel fender 10 . as will be described later , the seat 15 is mounted on the tractor body 1 by a reversibly supporting device 16 and is reversible from a forward position to a rearward position . the front loader 2 comprises a boom 18 pivoted to the upper ends of a pair of opposed masts 17 upwardly and downwardly movably , a bucket 19 pivoted to the front end of the boom 18 , a boom cylinder 20 conntected between the boom 18 and the mast 17 , and a bucket cylinder 21 connected between the boom 18 and a bucket 19 . each mast 17 is removably attached to a mount 22 provided at the middle portion of the tractor body 1 , and a brace 23 extending forward from the mast 17 is removably attached at its front end to a bracket 24 at the front end of the tractor body 1 . the backhoe 3 is removably attached to the tractor body 1 by connecting means 25 . the backhoe 3 comprises a machine frame 26 , swivel frame 27 , boom 28 , arm 29 , bucket 30 , boom cylinder 31 , arm cylinder 32 , bucket cylinder 33 , and control box 34 . the device 16 for reversibly supporting the seat 15 has the construction shown in fig1 through 6 . with reference to fig1 through 3 , a platelike fixed table 35 is fixed to the tractor body 1 by the hydraulic unit 6 . a support table 37 is mounted on the fixed table 35 by a parallel link assembly 36 which is pivotally movable longitudinally of the tractor body . the parallel link assembly 36 comprises a pair of opposed front links 38 and a pair of opposed rear links 39 . each front link 38 is connected at its one end to a bracket 40a at the midportion of the fixed table 35 and at the other end thereof to the front end of the support table 37 by pivots 42 , 44 , respectively . each rear link 39 is connected at its one end to a side plate 41 of a support frame 40 on the fixed table 35 and at the other end thereof to the rear end of the support table 37 by pivots 43 , 45 , respectively . the support table 37 has cushions 46 on its bottom and can be placed in a front position on the fixed table 35 or in a rear position on the support frame 40 , with the cushions 46 provided therebetween . the support frame 40 comprises the pair of opposed side plates 41 each bent outward at its upper end . the side plates 41 are interconnected by a connecting plate 48 . a spring engaging rod 49 and a release rod 53a are connected between the pair of opposed rear links 39 . the pivot 43 has fitted therearound two pairs of helical springs 51a , 52a . the springs 51a , 52a are engaged , each at its one end , with the fixed table 35 on the front and rear opposite sides of the pivot 43 , respectively , and have the other ends thereof engaged with the spring engaging rod 49 . the parallel link assembly 36 is biased toward an upright position by each pair of springs 51a , 52a . a positioning mechanism 57 for positioning the parallel link mechanism 36 in its upright position is provided between the front link 38 and the bracket 40a as seen in fig4 . the positioning mechanism 57 has an engaging recessed portion 58 formed in the base end of the front link 38 , a ball 56a accommodated in a holding tube 55a on the bracket 40a so as to be releasably engageable with the recessed portion 58 , and a spring 57a for biasing the ball 56a upward . a swivel table 60 has fixed to its central portion a vertical shaft 61 which is supported by a ball bearing 61a on a bearing case 60a secured to the support table 37 centrally thereof and which is only rotatable . accordingly , the swivel table 60 is swivelable freely about the axis of the shaft 61 relative to the support table 37 . a slide plate 64 slidable forward or rearward along a pair of opposite guide rails 63 or alternatively lockable is mounted on the swivel table 60 . the seat 15 is mounted on the slide plate 64 by a pivot 65 and cushion spring 65a . the support table 37 and the swivel table 60 are provided with a positioning mechanism 67 for positioning the swivel table 60 in a position as swiveled through 180 degrees about the vertical shaft 61 , lock means 68 for locking the swivel table 60 in this position against swiveling , and means 81 for unlocking the swivel table . more specifically stated with reference to fig5 the positioning mechanism 67 has two engaging holes 69 , 70 formed in the swivel table 60 and arranged symmetrically with respect to a point , i . e ., the shaft 61 , a ball 72 accommodated in a holding tube 71 of the support table 37 so as to releasably engage in one of the holes 69 , 70 , and a spring 73 for biasing the ball 72 upward . the lock means 68 comprises a lock pin 76 provided on the support table 37 so as to releasably engage in the other of the holes 69 , 70 and is constructed as shown in fig6 . the lock pin 76 is upwardly or downwardly slidably supported by the support table 37 and a bracket 74a and is biased upward by a spring 75a . the bracket 74a is fastened by bolts 77a to bosses 76a secured to the support table 37 . the unlocking means 81 has a spring retainer 78a secured to the lock pin 76 and having one end which is bent to an l - shape to provide a release engaging portion 79a . the release engaging portion 79a is positioned under the release rod 53a on the rear links 39 . when the parallel link assembly 36 is raised to its upright position , the release rod 53a comes into engagement with the engaging portion 79a to depress the lock pin 76 and unlock the swivel table . a clamp lever 82a is attached by a pivot 81a to the front end of the swivel table 60 and biased downward by a spring 83a . the clamp lever 82a has an arcuate guide portion 84a and an engaging recessed portion 85a adjacent thereto . the recessed portion 85a is releasably engageable with an engaging member 86a or 87a on the fixed table 35 or the support frame 40 . the engaging members 86a , 87a are each an inverted u - shaped . the engaging member 86a is secured to the fixed table 35 , and the engaging member 87a to a plate 88a projecting rearward from the connecting plate 48 . the first embodiment will be used in the following manner . the seat is locked in the solid - line position of fig1 and 7 during working with the loader or normal operation . it is fixed in the phantom - line position shown in fig1 and 7 during working with the backhoe . in the solid - line position , the swivel table 60 is locked to the support table 37 by the lock means 68 against swiveling , and the engaging recessed portion 85a of the clamp lever 82a is in engagement with the engaging member 86a on the fixed table 35 . when the seat 15 is to be reversed from the solid - line position rearward to the phantom - line position , the clamp lever 82a is first pushed upward ( as indicated by an arrow a ) to unlock the swivel table 60 from the fixed table 35 , whereupon the front and rear links 38 , 39 of the parallel link assembly 36 are pivotally moved upward about the pivots 42 , 43 , respectively , as indicated by arrows b and c , by means of the springs 51a . consequently , the link assembly 36 is raised . when the assembly is brought to its upright position , the ball 56a engages in the recessed portion 58 of the positioning mechanism 57 , while the springs 51a , 52a act in opposite directions , so that the link assembly 36 is held in the upright position . on the other hand , during the pivotal movement of the rear links 39 before the assembly is brought to the upright position , the release rod 53a of the unlocking means 81 comes into engagement with the release engaging portion 79a to pull down the lock pin 76 against the spring 75a , with the result that the lock means 68 is unfastened to unlock the swivel table 60 from the support table 37 and thereby render the swivel table 60 free to swivel . further since the swivel table is fully lifted by the rise of the link assembly 36 , the seat 15 can be swiveled to the rearward position without contacting the levers in the neighborhood . when the seat 15 is reversed rearward , the ball 72 of the positioning mechanism 67 engages in the hole 70 to position the swivel table 60 in place . next , the parallel link assembly 36 is inclined rearward against the springs 52a . in a manner reverse to the above , the lock pin 76 of the lock means 68 then engages in the hole 69 to lock the swivel table 60 to the support table 37 . when the link assembly is further inclined to place the support table 37 on the support frame 40 , the engaging portion 85a of the clamp lever 82a engages with the engaging member 87a to lock the support table 37 onto the support frame 40 against upward or downward movement , whereby the seat 15 is completely reversed to its rearward position . when the backhoe is used for working , the position of the seat 15 becomes higher by an amount corresponding to the level of the support frame 40 . a second embodiment will be described with reference to fig8 through 13 . fig1 shows a tractor body 1 , and a front loader 2 and a backhoe 3 attached to the front and rear ends of the body 1 , respectively . with reference to fig1 , the second embodiment has the same construction as the first except for the device for reversibly supporting the seat , so that like parts ar designated by like reference numerals and will not be described again . the seat reversing - supporting device 16 of the second embodiment has the construction shown in fig8 through 12 . referring to fig8 and 9 , a platelike fixed table 35 is secured to the tractor body 1 by a hydraulic unit 6 . a support table 37 is mounted on the fixed table 35 by a parallel link assembly 36 which is pivotally movable longitudinally of the tractor body . the assembly 36 comprises a pair of front links 38 and a pair of rear links 39 . the front link 38 and the rear link 39 are supported , each at its one end , by pivots 42 , 43 , respectively , on a pair of opposed side plates 41 of a support frame 40 mounted on the fixed table 35 , and are supported at the other ends thereof by pivots 44 , 45 , respectively , on the support table 37 . the support table 37 has cushions 46 on its bottom and is spaced apart from the fixed table 35 thereabove when in a forward position . when in a rearward position , the support table 37 can be placed on the top of the support frame 40 with the cushions provided therebetween as seen in fig1 . the support frame 40 comprises a pair of opposed side plates 41 each bent at its upper end as indicated at 47 . the side plates 41 are interconnected by a connecting bar 48 . spring engaging rods 49 , 50 , as well as engaging rods 51 , 52 , are connected between the pair of front links 38 and the pair of rear links 39 , respectively . in the vicinity of the pivot 45 , a release rod 53a is connected between the rear links 39 . helical springs 53 , 54 fitted around the respective pivots 42 , 43 are held , each at one end thereof , by spring engaging portions 55 , 56 of the fixed table 35 , respectively , and have the other ends thereof engaged by the respective spring engaging rods 49 , 50 . the parallel link assembly 36 is biased toward an upright position by these springs 53 , 54 . with reference to fig1 , a mechanism 57 for positioning the link assembly 36 in its upright state is provided between the front link 38 and the support table 37 . the positioning mechanism 57 has an engaging recessed portion 58 formed in the upper end of the front link 38 , and a resilient engaging plate 59 attached to the support table 37 . as shown in fig8 through 10 , a swivel table 60 has attached to its central portion a vertical shaft 61 , which is supported by a bearing boss 62 secured to the support table 37 centrally thereof and which is only rotatable . accordingly , the swivel table 60 is free to swivel about the axis of the shaft 61 relative to the support table 37 . a slide plate 64 slidable forward or rearward along a pair of opposed guide rails 63 or lockable is mounted on the swivel table 60 . the seat 15 is mounted on the slide plate 64 by a pivot 65 and rubber cushion 66 . the support table 37 and the swivel table 60 are provided with a mechanism 67 for positioning the swivel table 60 as swiveled through 180 degrees about the vertical shaft 61 , lock means 68 for locking the table 60 in this position , and means 81 for unlocking the table 60 . more specifically stated with reference to fig1 , the positioning mechanism 67 has two engaging holes 69 , 70 formed in the swivel table 60 and arranged symmetrically with respect to a point , i . e ., the shaft 61 , a ball 72 accommodated in a holding tube 71 of the support table 37 so as to releasably engage in one of the holes 69 , 70 , and a spring 73 for biasing the ball 72 upward . the lock means 68 has two engaging holes 74 , 75 arranged symmetrically with respect to a point , i . e ., the center of the vertical shaft 61 , and a lock pin 76 provided on the support table 37 upwardly or downwardly slidably so as to releasably engage in one of the holes 74 , 75 . the means is so constructed as seen in fig1 . more specifically , the lock pin 76 is upwardly or downwardly slidably supported by the support table 37 and a bracket 78 and is biased upward by a spring 79 . the bracket 78 is secured to the support table 37 . the unlocking means 81 has a release engaging plate 80 provided on the lock pin 76 . the engaging plate 80 is positioned under the release rod 53a on the rear links 39 , such that when the parallel link assembly 36 is raised to its upright position , the release rod 53a comes into engagement with the engaging plate 80 to pull down the lock pin 76 and unfasten the lock . thus , the unlocking means 81 comprises the release rod 53a and the release engaging plate 80 . the plate 80 is movable only upward or downward by being guided by the bracket 78 . an engaging member 83 is movably attached to the rear end of the swivel table 60 by a pivot 82 . the engaging member 83 releasably engages with the engaging rod 51 or 52 of the parallel link mechanism 36 so as to permit the seat 15 to move upward or downward in the range of up to the solid - line level thereof shown in fig8 when the seat is in the forward position or up to the phantom - line level of the seat when it is in the rearward position . a release handle 84 for moving the engaging member 83 is disposed at the midportion of the front end of the swivel table 60 . the handle 84 is operatively connected to the engaging member 83 by a coupling rod 85 and a pin 86 . the coupling rod 85 is inserted through a pair of front and rear guide plates 87 , 88 on the swivel table 60 and is slidable forward or rearward . a spring 89 is provided around the rear end of the coupling rod 85 for biasing the member 83 toward the engaging direction . a suspension spring 90 is attached to a spring bearing plate 91 interconnecting the pair of front links 38 . a spring cover 92 made of synthetic resin or the like is fitted over the lower end of the spring 90 . on the other hand , the fixed table 35 is provided with a spring bearing portion 93 for the spring cover 92 to bear thereagainst . the second embodiment is used in the manner to be described below . the seat 15 is locked in the solid - line position of fig8 and 13 for working with the loader or for the usual operation , or is locked in the phantom - line position of fig8 and 13 for working with the backhoe . in the solid - line state , the swivel table 60 is locked to the support table 37 by the lock means 68 against swiveling , with the engaging member 83 in engagement with the engaging rod 52 of the link assembly 36 . in this cse , the support table 37 , etc . are movable upward or downward below the solid - line level of the seat , so that when the operator is seated in the seat 15 , the device lowers in its entirety with the cover 92 of the suspension spring 90 bearing on the spring bearing portion 93 on the fixed table 35 . the spring 90 therefore produces a suspension effect . to rearwardly reverse the seat 15 from the solid - line position to the phantom - line position , the release handle 84 is first pulled forward ( in the direction of arrow a in fig8 ), moving the engaging member 83 about the pivot 82 toward the direction of arrow b out of engagement with the engaging rod 52 to release the seat 15 in the solid - line level . the front and rear links 38 , 39 of the parallel link assembly 36 are therefore pivotally moved upward in the direction of arrows c and d about the pivots 42 , 43 , respectively , by the springs 53 , 54 , whereby the link assembly 36 is raised . when the assembly is brought to its upright position , the resilient engaging plate 59 engages in the recessed portion 58 of the positioning mechanism 57 , so that the link assembly 36 is held in the upright position . on the other hand , during the pivotal movement of the rear links 39 before the assembly is brought to the upright position , the release rod 53a of the unlocking means 81 comes into engagement with the release engaging plate 80 to pull down the lock pin 76 ( as indicated by arrow e in fig1 ) against the spring 79 , with the result that the lock means 68 is unfastened to unlock the swivel table 60 from the support table 37 and thereby render the swivel table 60 free to swivel . further , since the swivel table is fully lifted by the rise of the link assembly 36 , the seat 15 can be swiveled to the rearward position without contacting the levers in the neighborhood . when the seat 15 is reversed rearward , the ball 72 of the positioning mechanism 67 engages in the hole 70 to position the swivel table 60 in place . next , the parallel link assembly 36 is inclined rearward against the springs 53 , 54 . in a manner reverse to the above , the lock pin 76 of the lock means 68 then engages in the hole 75 to lock the swivel table 60 to the support table 37 against swiveling . when the link assembly 36 is further inclined to place the support table 37 on the support frame 40 , the engaging member 83 engages with the engaging rod 51 of the link assembly 36 to lock the support table 37 onto the support frame 40 against upward or downward movement , whereby the seat 15 is completely reversed to its rearward position . when the backhoe is used for working , the operator is seated in the seat 15 in the phantom - line position . according to the second embodiment , the seat 15 in the rearward position is locked to the support frame 40 , whereas the seat in the rearward position may be supported upwardly or downwardly movably , with a suspension spring also provided on the frame 40 . the suspension spring 90 may be attached to the spring bearing portion 93 . to render the swivel table 60 smoothly swivelable , a seat ring 100 of synthetic resin is provided on the bottom face of the table 60 . a third embodiment will be described with reference to fig1 through 17 . the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the construction of support frame 40 , the construction of lock means 68 and the construction of the unlocking means 81 but otherwise has the same construction as the second , so that like parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described again . the support frame 40 of the third embodiment has opposed side paltes 41 having a smaller height than those of the second embodiment . a stopper 41a is provided between and attached to the side plates 41 . the rear links 39 of the parallel link assembly 36 as pivotally moved rearward bear on the stopper 41a , whereby the seat 15 is located in the phantom - line position in fig1 . the stopper 41a which is prepared by bending a strip to a v - shape interconnects the opposed side plates 41 for reinforcement . the lock means 68 of the third embodiment has two engaging holes 74 , 75 arranged symmetrically with respect to a point , i . e ., the center of the vertical shaft 61 , and a lock pin 68a releasably engageable with one of the holes 74 , 75 . the lock pin 68a is provided on the support table 37 by a guide tube 76a upwardly or downwardly slidably . the unlocking means 81 has an engaging pin 77a at the lower end of the lock pin 68a . the engaging pin 77a is slidably inserted through a slit 79a in a release lever 78a . the release lever 78a has a front end upwardly or downwardly supported by the pivot 44 and a rear end extending rearward under the release rod 53a . when the parallel link assembly 39 is raised to its upright position , the release lever 78a is engaged by the release rod 53a and moved downward , thereby pulling the lock pin 68a downward and unlocking the swivel table 60 from the support table 37 . the release lever 78a is biased upward by a helical spring 80a wound around the pivot 44 . to rearwardly reverse the seat 15 from the solid - line position to the phantom - line position by the third embodiment , the release handle 84 is first pulled forward ( in the direction of arrow a in fig1 ), moving the engaging member 83 about the pivot 82 toward the direction of arrow b out of engagement with the engaging rod 52 to release the seat 15 in the solid - line level . the front and rear links 38 , 39 of the parallel link assembly 36 are therefore pivotally moved upward in the direction of arrows c and d about the pivots 42 , 43 , respectively , by the springs 53 , 54 , whereby the link assembly 36 is raised . when the assembly is brought to its upright position , the resilient engaging plate 59 engages in the recessed portion 58 of the positioning mechanism 57 , so that the link assembly 36 is held in this position . on the other hand , during the pivotal movement of the rear links 39 before the assembly is brought to the upright position , the release rod 53a on the rear links 39 engages the release lever 78a from above , moving the release lever 78a downward ( as indicated by arrow e in fig1 ) about the pivot 44 against the spring 80a to pull down the lock pin 68a as indicated by arrow f . the lock pin 68a is therefore released from the hole 74 in the swivel table 60 to unlock the swivel table 60 from the support table 37 and thereby render the swivel table 60 free to swivel . further , since the swivel table is fully lifted by the movement of the assembly 36 to the upright position , the seat 15 can be swiveled to the rearward position without contacting the levers in the vicinity thereof . when the seat 15 is reversed rearward , the ball 72 of the positioning mechanism 67 engages in the hole 70 to position the swivel table 60 in place . next , the parallel link assembly 36 is inclined rearward against the springs 53 , 54 . in a manner reverse to the above , the release lever 78a is moved upward by the spring 80 , with the result that the lock pin 76a engages in the hole 75 to lock the swivel table 60 to the support table 37 against swiveling . when the assembly 36 is further inclined to bring the rear links 39 into contact with the stopper 41a , the engaging member 83 engages with the engaging rod 51 of the link assembly 36 to lock the support table 37 against upward or downward movement , whereby the seat 15 is completely reversed to its rearward position . the roof 14 of the first embodiment is provided on each of its opposite sides with a work light 189 which is reversible from a forward position to a rearward position . more specifically stated with reference to fig1 through 20 , a u - shaped bracket 191 is attached to a side wall portion 189a of the roof 14 with bolts 190 . a vertical fixed rod 192 is connected between the outer ends of arms of the bracket 191 , with a positioning member 193 provided on the lower arm . the positioning member 193 is in the form of a cam having two protrusions arranged on its upper side symmetrically with respect to a point . a boss 194 is rotatably provided around the fixed rod 192 and positioned on the positioning member 193 . the boss 194 is biased downward with a spring 195 . the work lamp 189 is mounted on the outer end of an arm 196 projecting forward from the boss 194 . a downwardly extending handle 197 is attached to an intermediate portion of the arm 196 . by virture of the engagement of the boss 194 with the positioning member 193 , the arm 196 can be positioned in a forward position or a rearward position along the roof 14 as specified . accordingly , when the front loader 2 is used for working , the work light 189 is brought to the forward position as indicated in solid line in fig7 while when the backhoe 3 is used for excavation , the work light 189 is brought to the phantom - line rearward position shown in fig7 . thus , the work light 189 is usable for either type of work . the wiring for the work light 189 is provided preferably via a portion close to the fixed rod 192 . the safety frame can be in the form of a two - post safety frame 198 as shown in fig2 and 22 . the frame 198 has a lower end fixed to the rear axle case 9 by a bracket 199 and an upper end connected to the corresponding one on the other side by a connecting portion 200 . a vertically intermediate portion of the safety frame 198 is connected to the top front portion of the rear wheel fender 10 by a handrail member 201 . the handrail member 201 has a vertical rod portion 203 and a slanting rod portion 204 which are interconnected by an arcuate bent portion 202 . the vertical rod portion 203 has at its lower end a connecting plate 205 fastened to the rear wheel fender 10 with bolts . the rear end of the slanting rod portion 204 is fixed to the safety frame 198 . with the structure described , the handrail member 201 serves to reinforce the safety frame 198 , while if a force of impact acts on the upper end of the safety frame 198 from the rear in the direction of arrow d , the force is absorbed by the deformation of the bent portion 202 of the handrail member 201 . with the second embodiment , the rear post 13 has a lower end fixed to the rear axle case 9 by a bracket 394 and is connected at its upper end to the corresponding one on the other side by a connecting portion 395 . a vertically intermediate portion of the rear post 13 is connected to the top front portion of the rear wheel fender 10 by a handrail member 395 as seen in fig2 . the rear posts 13 and the connecting portion 395 are formed by bending a tube of rectangular cross section to the shape of a gate , and a reinforcement rib 397 is welded to each bent corner portion 396 on the inner side thereof as seen in fig2 and 24 . the reinforcement rib 397 is u - shaped in cross section and has at its opposite ends projecting pieces 398 , 399 which are joined to the rear post 13 and the connectiong portion 395 , respectively . the invention is applicable to vehicle seats which are to be changed over between a forward position and a rearward position for the operator . | 4 |
in describing and claiming the present invention , the following terminology is used in accordance with the definitions set out herein . as used herein , the term “ active ingredient ”, “ drug ” or “ pharmacologically active ingredient ” or any other similar term means any chemical or biological material or compound suitable for administration by the methods previously known in the art and / or by the methods taught in the present invention , that induces a desired biological or pharmacological effect , which may include but is not limited to ( 1 ) having a prophylactic effect on the organism and preventing an undesired biological effect such as preventing an infection , ( 2 ) alleviating a condition caused by a disease , for example , alleviating pain or inflammation caused as a result of disease , and / or ( 3 ) either alleviating , reducing , or completely eliminating the disease from the organism . the effect may be local , such as providing for a local anaesthetic effect , or it may be systemic . as used herein , the term “ controlled release delivery ” or “ controlled release ” means that the release of the active ingredient out of the dosage form is controlled with respect to time or with respect to the site of delivery . the term “ coat ” is used herein to encompass coatings for solid supports and also capsules enclosing fluids and / or solids and the term “ coated ” is used similarly . the expression “ water insoluble polymer ” should be understood broadly , this expression refers to polymers that do not completely dissolve in water , such as for example ethyl cellulose , certain starch derivatives or acrylic acid / methacrylic acid derivatives . the term “ indigestible polysaccharide ” as used in the present invention refers to saccharides which are not or only partially digested in the intestine by the action of acids or digestive enzymes present in the human upper digestive tract ( small intestine and stomach ) but which are at least partially fermented by the human intestinal flora . indigestible polysaccharide that may be employed in preferred embodiments of the invention are polysaccharides containing indigestible glucosidic linkages conferring on those saccharides additional properties identical to dietetic fibers such as “ branched polysaccharides ”. in the sense of the invention , by branched maltodextrins or dextrins is meant maltodextrins or dextrins , of which the content of glucosidic linkages 1 → 6 is greater than that of standard maltodextrins or dextrins . for example , standard maltodextrins are defined as purified and concentrated mixtures of glucose and glucose polymers essentially linked in 1 → 4 with only 4 to 5 % glucosidic linkages 1 → 6 , of extremely varied molecular weights , completely soluble in water and with low reducing power . examples of those indigestible polysaccharides are polydextrose , branched dextrins or branched maltodextrins such as those described in patent ep 1 006 128 , of which the applicant company is the proprietor . in practice , the number average molecular mass ( mn ) and the weight average molecular mass ( mw ) values which allow a better definition of the polymolecular species of the polymer mixtures , are measured by gel permeation chromatography , on chromatography columns calibrated with dextrans of known molecular weight ( alsop et al ., process biochem , 12 , 15 - 22 ; 1977 or alsop et al ., chromatography 246 , 227 - 240 ; 1982 ). this method of measurement is very suitable for glucose polymers and is the method used within the context of the present invention . the index of polymolecularity ( i . p .) that is the ratio mw / mn makes it possible to characterize overall the distribution of the molecular weights of a polymer mixture . the indigestible polysaccharide according to the present invention have a total fiber content of greater than or equal to 50 % on a dry basis , determined according to aoac method no . 2001 - 03 ( 2001 ). the invention provides novel polymeric film coatings for colon targeting which are adapted to the disease state of the patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases . in the following , the invention will be illustrated by means of the following examples as well as the figures . aminosalicylic acid ( 5 - asa ; falk pharma , freiburg , germany ); glyceryl behenate ( compritol ® 888 ato ) and glyceryl palmitostearate ( precirol ® ato 5 ) ( gattefosse ®, st . priest , france ); hydrogenated soybean oil ( sterotex ® hm ) and hydrogenated cottonseed oil ( sterotex ® nf ) ( abitec , janesville , wis ., usa ); glyceryl trimyristate / glyceryl tripalmitate / glyceryl tristearate / hardened soybean oil ( dynasan ® 114 / 116 / 118 / 120 ) and synthetic hard paraffines ( sasolwax ® spray 30 and synthetic wax ) ( sasol , witten , germany ); ips ( nutriose ® fb 06 ; roquette freres , lestrem , france ); microcristalline cellulose ( mcc , avicel ph 101 ; fmc biopolymer , brussels , belgium ); poly ( vinylpyrrolidone ) ( pvp , povidone ® k30 ) ( cooperation pharmaceutique francaise , melun , france ); chitosan ( protasan ® c1 213 ; novamatrix ®, fmc biopolymer , drammen , norway ); microwax ® hg and microwax ® hw ( paramelt , heerhugowaard , the netherlands ); pancreatin ( from mammalian pancreas = mixture of amylase , protease and lipase ) and pepsin ( fisher bioblock , illkirch , france ). 5 - asa loaded matrix pellets were prepared by extrusion - spheronisation . the drug , ips and the respective lipid ( s ) were blended and granulated manually with demineralized water in a mortar with a pestle . the obtained wet mass was extruded using a cylinder extruder with two counter - rotating rollers ( 1 mm orifice , 3 mm thickness , extrusion speed = 32 rpm , ga 65 extruder ; alexanderwerk , remscheid , germany ). the extrudates were subsequently spheronised ( caleva model 15 ; caleva , dorset , uk ) for 180 s at 364 rpm . the obtained pellets were dried for 24 h in an oven at 40 ° c . and sieved ( fraction : 0 . 71 - 1 . 00 mm ). if indicated , the pellets were cured for specific time periods at defined temperatures in an oven . 5 - asa , ips and the respective lipid ( s ) were blended manually in a mortar with a pestle . mini tablets were prepared by : ( i ) direct compression on a frank 81802 ( karl frank , birkenau , germany ), equipped with a 2 mm diameter punch set ( korsch , berlin , germany ), or ( ii ) compression of granules obtained via melt granulation . if not otherwise stated , the respective compounds were heated and mixed on a water bath at 85 ° c . after cooling to room temperature , the obtained mass was ball milled , sieved ( fraction 50 - 100 μm ) and compressed using the same equipment as in ( i ). the tablet height was 2 mm . optionally , the tablets were cured in an oven for different time periods at various temperatures , as indicated . drug release from matrix pellets was measured in 120 ml cylindrical plastic flasks ( diameter : 5 . 5 cm , height : 6 . 5 cm ) containing 100 ml release medium : 0 . 1 n hcl ( optionally containing 0 . 32 % w / v pepsin ) for 2 h and phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 ( usp 32 ) ( optionally containing 1 . 0 % w / v pancreatin ) for 8 h ( complete medium change after 2 h ). the flasks were agitated in a horizontal shaker ( 37 ° c ., 80 rpm , n = 3 ) ( gfl 3033 ; gesellschaft fuer labortechnik , burgwedel , germany ). at pre - determined time points , 3 ml samples were withdrawn ( replaced with fresh medium ), filtered and analyzed uv - spectrophotometrically at λ = 302 . 4 nm ( 0 . 1 n hcl ), or λ = 331 . 2 nm ( phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 ) ( uv - 1650pc ; shimadzu , champs - sur - marne , france ). in the presence of enzymes , the samples were centrifuged at 13 , 000 rpm for 10 min ( universal 320 centrifuge ; hettich , tuttlingen , germany ) and filtered ( 0 . 2 μm , ptfe ) prior to uv measurements . drug release from mini tablets was measured using the usp 32 apparatus 3 ( bio dis ; varian , les ulis , france ) ( 37 ° c ., 5 dpm , n = 3 ) in 200 ml release medium : 0 . 1 n hcl for 2 h and phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 ( usp 32 ) for 8 h ( complete medium change after 2 h ). at pre - determined time points , 3 ml samples were withdrawn ( replaced with fresh medium ), filtered and analyzed uv - spectrophotometrically as described above . excess amounts of 5 aminosalicylic acid were placed in contact with 0 . 1 n hcl and phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 at 37 ° c . in a horizontal shaker ( 80 rpm , gfl 3033 ). samples were withdrawn every 12 h , filtered and analyzed for their drug content as described in section 2 . 4 . until equilibrium was reached . thermograms of different types of pellets and raw materials ( for reasons of comparison ) were measured by differential scanning calorimetry ( dsc1 ; stare software ; mettler toledo sas , viroflay , france ). pellets were gently crushed in a mortar with a pestle and approximately 7 mg samples were heated in sealed aluminum pans ( investigated temperature range : 20 to 90 ° c ., heating rate : 10 ° c ./ min ). extrusion - spheronisation allowed obtaining spherical pellets in all cases . the systems contained 60 % 5 asa , 15 % ips and 25 % lipid ( s ) ( optionally partially replaced by mcc or pvp ). the high drug loading is of great practical importance , because 5 asa is highly dosed ( up to 4 . 8 g per day ). the presence of ips in the pellets aims at providing colon specific drug delivery : this polymer has been reported to be degraded by enzymes present in feces of inflammatory bowel disease patients . the lipids , mcc and pvp aim at avoiding immediate drug release upon contact with aqueous body fluids ( note that the drug and ips are both water soluble at 37 ° c .). fig1 shows the release of 5 asa from pellets containing 25 % ( w / w ) of the following lipids : ( a ) hardened soybean oil , ( b ) glyceryl tristearate , ( c ) sasolwax ® or synthetic wax , or ( d ) microwax ® hg or microwax ® hw . the systems were cured at different temperatures for 1 , 2 or 3 min ( as indicated ) in order to allow for a more homogeneous lipid distribution , more efficient embedding of the drug particles and eventually the ( partial ) transformation of a lipid into a more stable modification . the melting points of the investigated lipids ( glyceryl tristearate : 70 - 73 ° c ., hardened soybean oil : 67 72 ° c ., sasolwax ®: 96 100 ° c ., synthetic wax : 94 97 ° c ., microwax ® hg : 80 86 ° c ., microwax ® hw : 75 80 ° c .) were close to or well below the investigated curing temperatures . as it can be seen in fig1 , immediate drug release is avoided and the release rate generally decreased with increasing curing temperature and time , irrespective of the type of lipid . thus , in principle the applied strategy is successful . however , in all cases drug release was too rapid and most of the drug was released during the observation period ( corresponding to the simulated transit period through the upper git ; note that long residence times have been assumed , simulating unfavorable conditions for the drug delivery system ). hence , premature drug release in vivo is highly likely . the fact that after complete medium change ( at t = 2 h ), the release rate decreased in most cases can probably ( at least partially ) be attributed to the lower aqueous solubility of 5 asa in phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 compared to 0 . 1 n hcl at 37 ° c . : 4 . 4 mg / ml versus 10 mg / ml . in order to reduce the undesired premature drug release in 0 . 1 n hcl and phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 , parts of the lipid were substituted by mcc or pvp . fig2 shows 5 - asa release from pellets containing 60 % drug , 15 % ips , 15 % hardened soybean oil and 10 % mcc or pvp . for reasons of comparison , also drug release from mcc / pvp - free systems ( containing 25 % hardened soybean oil ) is shown . all pellets were cured for 3 min at 70 , 80 or 90 ° c . ( as indicated ). interestingly , the replacement of 10 % ( w / w , referred to the total system mass ) lipid by mcc resulted in accelerated drug release , irrespective of the curing conditions . thus , the lipid is more efficient in hindering drug release from these pellets than mcc . in contrast , the partial replacement of hardened soybean oil by pvp led to slightly / moderately decreased drug release rates , if the systems were cured at 70 and 80 ° c . however , upon curing at 90 ° c ., also in this case drug release was accelerated upon lipid substitution . thus , these approaches are not suitable to effectively minimize premature drug release in the upper git . in a further attempt to avoid the observed undesired drug release in 0 . 1 n hcl and phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 , a short term curing for 3 min at 90 ° c . was followed by a long term curing at 40 ° c . for 7 days . fig3 shows 5 - asa release from pellets containing 25 % glyceryl trimyristate , hardened soybean oil , glyceryl behenate , glyceryl palmitostearate , glyceryl tripalmitate , hydrogenated cottonseed oil , or glyceryl tristearate upon exposure to 0 . 1 n hcl for 2 h , followed by phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 for 8 h ( dotted curves ). for reasons of comparison , also drug release from pellets , which were only cured for 3 min at 90 ° c . are shown ( solid curves ). clearly , the release rate significantly decreased in most cases upon long term curing . this can at least partially be attributed to changes in the modifications of the lipids : fig4 shows exemplarily dsc thermograms of pellets consisting of 60 % 5 - asa , 15 % ips and 25 % glyceryl palmitostearate or tripalmitate ( as indicated ). the pellets were cured for 3 min at 90 ° c . and optionally subsequently for 7 days at 40 ° c . for reasons of comparison , also thermograms of 5 - asa , ips and of the lipid powders as received are shown in fig4 . the melting peaks of the powders as received correspond to the melting peaks of the stable β - modifications of these lipids . in contrast , pellets which were only cured for 3 min at 90 ° c . also showed the melting / transformation of a less stable modification , irrespective of the type of lipid . importantly , pellets cured for 7 days at 40 ° c . again only showed the melting of the stable lipid modification ( in both cases ). it has to be pointed out that the curing temperature during long term curing was well below the melting point of the respective lipids . hence , the observed changes in the resulting drug release rates during long term curing are probably not caused by potential redistributions of the lipids . as lipids were used to slow down drug release within the upper part of the git , it was important to measure the effects of the presence of enzymes in the bulk fluids on drug release . fig5 shows 5 - asa release from pellets consisting of 60 % drug , 15 % ips and 25 % hydrogenated cottonseed oil , glyceryl tripalmitate or glyceryl palmitostearate ( as indicated ). the release medium was either 0 . 1 n hcl for the first 2 h , followed by phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 for the subsequent 8 h ( solid curves ), or 0 . 1 n hcl containing 0 . 32 % w / v pepsin for the first 2 h , followed by phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 containing 1 % w / v pancreatin for the subsequent 8 h ( dotted curves ). all pellets were cured for 3 min at 90 ° c ., followed by 7 days at 40 ° c . clearly , drug release significantly increased in the presence of enzymes in the case of hydrogenated cottonseed oil and glyceryl tripalmitate , due to the ( at least partial ) degradation of these lipids . in contrast , the release rate only slightly increased in the case of glyceryl palmitostearate . thus , this lipid seems to be much less affected by the added enzymes under these conditions . for this reason , glyceryl palmitostearate was used as standard lipid in all further experiments ( if not otherwise stated ). when developing controlled drug delivery systems , special care needs to be taken with respect to potential changes in the systems &# 39 ; properties during long term storage . modifications in the molecular structures might alter the resulting matrix permeability for the drug and , thus , the release rate . for these reasons , it is of great practical importance to measure drug release before and after long term storage from such dosage forms . storage under stress conditions ( e . g ., elevated temperature ) can allow obtaining results more rapidly than under ambient conditions . fig6 shows the release of 5 - asa from pellets consisting of 60 % drug , 15 % ips and 25 % glyceryl palmitostearate . the pellets were cured for 3 min at 90 ° c ., followed by 7 days at 37 , 40 and 45 ° c . ( as indicated ) ( the melting range of glyceryl palmitostearate is 53 57 ° c .). for reasons of comparison , also drug release from pellets , which were only cured for 3 min at 90 ° c . and from pellets , which were cured for 3 min at 90 ° c ., followed by 6 months at 37 , 40 and 45 ° c . is illustrated . clearly , a days curing is required to slow down drug release , irrespective of the curing temperature . interestingly , the resulting release profiles do not overlap , indicating possible differences in the lipid distribution within the system . importantly , drug release further slowed down when increasing the curing period to 6 months in the case of curing at 37 ° c ., but not in the case of curing at 40 or 45 ° c . thus , the latter pellets are likely to be stable during long term storage at room temperature . as an alternative to matrix pellets , also mini tablets ( diameter : 2 mm ; height : 2 mm ) consisting of 50 % 5 - asa , 15 % ips and 35 % lipid were prepared . again , the high drug loading was important because of the high daily doses of 5 - asa . ips was the colon targeting compound and the lipid was intended to minimize drug release in the upper git . to evaluate the suitability of different types of lipids in these dosage forms , hardened soybean oil , glyceryl tristearate , glyceryl tripalmitate , glyceryl behenate , glyceryl palmitostearate , hydrogenated cottonseed oil as well as hydrogenated soybean oil were studied ( fig7 ). the mini tablets were prepared by direct compression , followed by a curing for 24 or 48 h at 60 , 65 , 70 or 75 ° c . ( as indicated ), according to the melting points of the lipids : hardened soybean oil 67 72 ° c ., glyceryl tristearate 70 73 ° c ., glyceryl tripalmitate 63 ° c ., glyceryl behenate 69 74 ° c ., glyceryl palmitostearate 53 57 ° c ., hydrogenated cottonseed oil 60 62 . 5 ° c . hydrogenated soybean oil 66 . 5 69 . 5 ° c . as it can be seen in fig7 , drug release upon 2 h exposure to 0 . 1 n hcl , followed by 8 h exposure to phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 is considerable in all cases . generally , the release rate decreased with increasing curing time and temperature , due to altered lipid modifications and / or lipid distribution within the system . as in the case of matrix pellets , glyceryl palmitostearate showed the most promising potential as release rate controlling lipid . for this reason it was studied in more detail . in order to minimize the undesired , premature drug release in the upper git , the curing time and temperature were further increased . fig8 shows 5 - asa release from mini tablets consisting of 50 % drug , 15 % ips and 35 % glyceryl palmitostearate . the systems were cured for 3 min at 90 ° c ., followed by 7 days , 14 days or 1 month at 40 ° c ., or by 12 , 24 or 48 h at 60 ° c . for reasons of comparison , also 5 - asa release from mini tablets cured for 24 h at 60 ° c . is shown . clearly , the release rate was not very much affected by the curing conditions , except for the 1 month curing . as the latter is difficult to realize at an industrial scale and as the release rate still remains considerable , this approach was not further investigated . since the distribution of the lipid within the mini tablets can be expected to significantly alter its ability to hinder drug release , four different preparation techniques were studied , which are likely to result in a more or less intense embedding of the drug within the glyceryl palmitostearate : ( i ) direct compression , ( ii ) partial melt granulation & amp ; compression , ( iii ) separate melt granulation & amp ; compression , and ( iv ) melt granulation & amp ; compression . in the case of “ partial melt granulation & amp ; compression ”, 5 - asa , ips and 60 % of the glycerol palmitostearate were molten at 85 ° c . on a water bath , cooled down to room temperature , ball milled and sieved ( fraction 50 - 100 μm ). the obtained powder was blended with the remaining glyceryl palmitostearate and compressed . in the case of “ separate melt granulation & amp ; compression ”, glyceryl palmitostearate and ips were blended in equal parts and molten at 85 ° c . on a water bath . the remaining glyceryl palmitostearate was blended with the drug and also this blend was molten at 85 ° c . on a water bath . both melts were cooled down to room temperature , ball milled , sieved ( fraction 50 - 100 μm ), blended and compressed . in the case of “ melt granulation & amp ; compression ”, all compounds were molten together at 85 ° c . on a water bath , cooled down to room temperature , ball milled , sieved ( fraction 50 - 100 μm ) and compressed . the mini tablets were optionally cured for 24 h at 60 ° c . as it can be seen in fig9 , the drug release rate decreased in the following ranking order : direct compression & gt ; partial melt granulation & amp ; compression & gt ; separate melt granulation & amp ; compression & gt ; melt granulation & amp ; compression . this was true for uncured as well as for cured mini tablets and can probably be attributed to a more and more intense embedding of the drug within the lipid . as also chitosan has been reported to allow for site specific drug delivery to the colon , the partial substitution of glyceryl palmitostearate by chitosan was studied . fig1 shows drug release from mini tablets consisting of 50 % asa , 15 % ips , 30 % glyceryl palmitostearate and 5 % chitosan . for reasons of comparison , also drug release from mini tablets free of chitosan ( containing 35 % glyceryl palmitostearate ) is shown . all systems were prepared by melt granulation & amp ; compression . the tablets were either uncured or cured for 24 h at 60 ° c . ( as indicated ). clearly , the presence of only 5 % chitosan significantly increased the resulting drug release rate , leading to undesired , premature drug release . this was true for uncured as well as for cured tablets and can be attributed to the higher permeability of the hydrogel chitosan for the low molecular weight drug 5 - asa and / or rapid leaching of this compound into the surrounding bulk fluid at low ph . it has to be pointed out that an enteric coating can avoid an undesired dissolution of chitosan at low ph . such composition is suitable for a use in a coated form . fig1 shows the effects of the ips content ( while keeping the “ ips + glyceryl palmintostearate content ” constant at 50 %) and of the curing conditions on the resulting drug release kinetics from mini tablets prepared by melt granulation & amp ; compression upon exposure to 0 . 1 n hcl for 2 h and subsequent exposure to phosphate buffer ph 6 . 8 for 8 h . the ips content was increased from 15 to 25 % ( while the glyceryl palmitostearate content was decreased from 35 to 25 %), the tablets were optionally cured for 24 or 48 h at 60 ° c . ( as indicated ). as it can be seen , the release rate increased with increasing ips content , because glyceryl palmitostearate is more effectively hindering drug release than ips . note that ips is more effectively hindering drug release than chitosan in this type of dosage forms : when comparing 5 - asa release from mini tablets cured for 24 h at 60 ° c ., containing 50 % drug , 30 % glyceryl palmitostaerate and 20 % ips ( open squares and solid curves in fig1 ) versus 15 % ips + 5 % chitosan ( open squares in fig1 ), it can be seen that drug release was slower in the case of 20 % ips . furthermore , the release rate decreased with increasing curing temperature and time , irrespective of the ips content ( fig1 ). importantly , at a ips level of 15 %, 5 - asa release from mini tablets cured at 60 ° c . for 24 and 48 h is virtually overlapping ( open triangles : dotted and solid curves ), indicating that a stable system is likely to be achieved . thus , mini tablets consisting of 50 % 5 - asa , 15 % ips and 35 % glyceryl palmitostearate prepared by melt granulation & amp ; compression and subsequent curing for 24 h at 60 ° c . show an interesting potential for colon specific drug delivery . | 0 |
as the titanium material of the chemical apparatus according to the invention may be used such titanium alloys as ti - 5ta , ti - 6al - 4v , ti - 5al - 2cr - fe , ti5al - 2 . 5sn , ti - 15mo - 5zr , ti - 15wo - 5zr - 3al as well as pure titanium , and it is of course possible to use combination of these alloys . while these titanium material constitute part or all of the inner surface of the chemical apparatus , part or all of the crevice surfaces must of course be constituted by the titanium material as is apparent from the purport of the instant invention . examples of the oxide of the platinum group element used according to the invention are those of iridium , platinum , ruthenium , rhodium , palladium and osmium , and from the standpoint of economy palladium oxide is most preferred . while examples of the oxide of the anti - corrosion metal are those of titanium , tantalum , zirconium , niobium , silicon and aluminum , it is possible to use any other oxide of an anti - corrosion metal as well . the method of covering the chemical apparatus surface of the titanium material with a mixture of oxide composed of a platinum group element oxide and an anti - corrosion metal oxide is not limitative of the invention . the most effective method is to apply , for example , a solution containing a palladium salt and a titanium salt dissolved in a suitable solvent such as alcohol over the titanium material surface at least constituting the crevice portion . the coating is then subjected to a thermal oxidation treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere , for instance in atmosphere at 200 to 900 ° c . and for 10 to 30 minutes . it is further effective to form a preliminary titanium oxide layer on the ti surface , which has previously been polished and washed with acid , by heating at 500 to 600 ° c . in the atmosphere prior to the step of coating with the aforementioned solution . of course it is possible to coat with a mixture the oxides directly . while in this case an apparently uniform mixed oxide layer can be obtained , microscopically it has local pinholes which expose the base titanium material . even in this case , however , the effect of preventing the corrosion of the crevice is not adversely affected by the local microscopic exposure of the titanium material . in the former case , that is , in the method based on oxidation treatment in the atmosphere , the mixed oxide layer is formed on the titanium material surface through chemical reactions . thus , even if macroscopic defects result in this process , the titanium base in the defective portions is oxidized to form a stable oxide layer , for instance tio 2 layer , so that very reliable suppression of the phenomenon of active dissolution ( i . e ., corrosion ) of the titanium material itself can be advantageously achieved . electronic spectrum analysis of the structure of the coating layers obtained by these methods reveals that there is some crystallographical coupling between the platinum group element oxide and the anti - corrosion metal oxide . more particularly , the platinum group element oxide is firmly bonded to the titanium material via the anti - corrosion metal oxide , thus providing not only electrochemical corrosion resistance and hydrogen absorption suppressing effect but also excellent mechanical properties such as wear resistance and shock resistance . while oxides of platinum group elements have generally been known to have good corrosion resisting properties , they have been mainly noted for low threshold value of dissociation in electrolyte liquids ( for instance chlorine over - voltage ) compared to the pure metals . their practical application , heretofore known , is as the electrolytic electrode ( anode ), where the property of anodic reactions is important and no problem is posed in connection with the corrosion of a titanium base . however , in the field of chemical apparatus using ti - pd alloys or palladium diffusion treated titanium , it was not been known as to whether or not such apparatus would exhibit sufficient corrosion resistance even under such corrosive conditions as where corrosion resistance is otherwise insufficient and also whether corrosion resistance of the titanium base can be ensured with the aforementioned mixed oxide layer . neither was it totally known as to whether or not such layer has the effect of preventing hydrogen absorption . the fact that according to the invention excellent corrosion resistance is achieved even under severe corrosive conditions such as those encountered with hydrochloric acid or sulfric acid is thought to result from the pronounced effect of forming a galvanic couple between the mixed oxide layer and the non - treated titanium surface portion . more particularly , the mixture of platinum group element oxide and the anti - corrosion metal oxide is thought to provide a very noble potential under the afore - mentioned corrosive conditions . hence it has the excellent ability of rendering the galvanically coupled non - treated titanium material anodically polarized into a passive state . the fact that the effect of preventing hydrogen absorption is improved according to the invention , is thought to be due to the very noble potential developed in the region of the mixed oxide layer coated titanium material in contact with the solution . in other words , while the platinum group element oxide in the mixed oxide layer has the main effect of producing hydrogen when cathode is formed , the speed of diffusion of hydrogen atoms into the anti - corrosion metal oxide in the coating is low enough to suppress the coupling of the hydrogen atoms to the base titanium material . in regions where the mixed oxide layer is not formed only the anodic reactions take place , so that these regions are apparently free from hydrogen absorption . it is an important part of the invention to provide a mixed oxide layer composed of a platinum group element oxide and a corrosion resisting metal oxide on the surface of ti material , whereby it is possible to obtain practically perfect prevention of crevice corrosion and tendency of becoming fragile due to hydrogen absorption even under severe conditions . the molar ratio of the platinum group element oxide to the anti - corrosion metal oxide in the mixture ranges from 1 : 99 to 95 : 5 , more preferably from 10 : 90 to 95 : 5 , as will be understood from an example given hereinunder . since the excellent effects can be obtained even with a small proportion of the platinum group element oxide , and also , since only a very small area of the material surface has to be covered with the coating , the economical value of the invention is very great . where the proportion of the platinum group element oxide is less than 1 mol percent or greater than 95 mol percent , no considerable improvement can be obtained although it is possible to obtain some effect . the coating layer according to the invention need not be provided over the entire area of the titanium material surface but may be provided only over no less than 1 / 1 , 000 of the total area , more preferably no less than 1 / 500 of the total area . while the thickness of the coating layer is not particularly limited , it is suitably not less than 0 . 01 micron in case where the improvement of the corrosion resistance is the primary aim and is suitably not less than 0 . 1 micron in case where the effect of preventing hydrogen absorption is primarily desired . the upper limit of the thickness is not critical , but 3 microns may be thought to be the upper limit because of economics . the thickness may be suitably adjusted by appropriately selecting , for instance , the method , number of times , density , etc ., of coating solution containing the platinum group element salt and the corrosion resisting metal salt . the following examples are given to illustrate the effects of the invention . pure titanium pieces 2 mm in thickness were subjected to sand blast treatment and then washed with hydrochloric acid , and then they were covered with respective pdo / tio 2 mixture layers of compositions listed in table 1 . the resultant wafers were then individually coupled to pure titanium to prepare samples a . also , there were prepared sample b by coupling pdo coated ti to ti , sample c by coupling pd coated ti to ti , sample d by coupling pd to ti , sample e of the sole ti - 0 . 15 % pd alloy , and sample f of the sole ti . table 1 shows the results of measurements of the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption of these samples , as measured after immersing them in boiling liquid containing 10 % sulfuric acid for 20 hours . table 1______________________________________ hydrogen corrosion weight absorp - loss tionsample structure ( mg / 15cm . sup . 2 . 20hr ) ( ppm ) ______________________________________a ti coupled with pdo / tio . sub . 2 4 . 1 6 ( 1 / 99 ) coated ti ti coupled with pdo / tio . sub . 2 4 . 1 0 to 3 ( 10 / 90 ) coated ti ti coupled with pdo / tio . sub . 2 4 . 0 0 to 3 ( 30 / 70 ) coated ti ti coupled with pdo / tio . sub . 2 4 . 0 0 to 3 ( 95 / 5 ) coated tib ti coupled with pdo coated 25 . 0 20 tic ti coupled with pd coated ti 27 . 0 28d ti coupled with pd 25 . 0 10e ti - 0 . 15 % pd alloy ( alone ) 32 . 5 36f ti ( alone ) 1120 640______________________________________ note 1 ) in the coupled samples the area ratio of ti to coupled material is 10 : 1 note 2 ) the proportions of pdo and tio . sub . 2 in the samples a are in mol %. note 3 ) figures of the hydrogen absorption in the samples a , b and c represent th hydrogen absorption in non - coated ti . it will be seen from table 1 that the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption are least with the samples a according to the invention . fig1 shows results of tests conducted under the same conditions with samples coated with pdo - tio 2 mixture layers with various proportions of pdo and tio 2 , including the samples a in table 1 . it will be understood from fig1 that the molar ratio of pdo to tio 2 in the mixture is suitably within a range from 1 : 99 to 95 : 5 , more suitably within a range from 10 : 90 to 95 : 5 . corrosion weight loss of pure ti , ti - 0 . 15 % pd alloy and 70 mol % pdo / 30 mol % tio 2 mixture coated ti were measured after immersing the samples in various boiling liquids containing 5 to 10 % of sulfric acid for 20 hours , and fig2 shows the results . as is seen from fig2 in case of pure ti corrosion increased sharply from the sulfric acid concentration of 0 . 5 %, and in case of ti - 0 . 15 % pd alloy corrosion began to increase sharply from a concentration of 2 % but with less corrosive weight reduction compared to the case of pure ti . in contrast , the mixture layer coated titanium according to the invention showed excellent corrosion resisting property even at a sulfric acid concentration of 10 %. this steady corrosion resistance offered by the mixture layer coated titanium over a board sulfric acid concentration range is presumably owing to low hydrogen overvoltage in the coating layer compared to metallic palladium and also to excellent durability of the layer as the negative electrode . square pieces of titanium material , 25 mm long on each side ( with a surface area of 13 . 5 cm 2 ) and 1 mm in thickness , were covered over the entire surface with a pdo / tio 2 layer ( with molar ratio of 70 / 30 ) and then coupled by galvanic coupling to non - treated ti plates of different sizes to prepare samples of different area ratios . these samples were then immersed in boiling 10 % sulfric acid solution for 20 hours , and then the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption of their non - treated ti were measured to obtain results as shown in fig3 . it will be seen that the area ratio of the mixture oxide layer according to the invention to the titanium material may be no less than 1 / 1 , 000 for obtaining satisfactory effects of preventing corrosion and hydrogen absorption and no less than 1 / 500 for obtaining more satisfactory effects . square pieces of titanium material , 25 mm long on each side and 1 mm thick , were covered over the surface with pdo / tio 2 layer ( with molar ratio of 50 / 50 ) to various thicknesses and then individually coupled by galvanic coupling to pure ti . these samples were then immersed in boiling 10 % sulfric acid solution for 20 hours , and then the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption of their non - treated ti were measured to obtain results as shown in fig4 . it will be seen that satisfactory results are obtainable when the thickness of the coating layer is greater than 0 . 01 micron , and particularly both corrosion and hydrogen absorption prevention effects are excellent with a thickness greater than 0 . 1 micron . mixture oxide coated titanium samples were prepared by using platinum group element oxides other than pdo and corrosion resisting metal oxides other than tio 2 , and their anti - corrosion and hydrogen absorption preventive property were measured under the same conditions as in example 2 to obtain results as shown in table 2 . ( the molar ratio between the platinum group element oxide and corrosion resisting metal oxide was set to 1 : 1 , and the area ratio between coated portion and non - coated portion was also set to 1 : 1 .) table 2______________________________________ hydrogen corrosion weight loss absorptionsample ( mg / 15cm . sup . 2 . ( ppm ) ______________________________________pto / tio . sub . 2 4 . 1 0 - 3ruo . sub . 2 / tio . sub . 2 4 . 2 0 - 3iro . sub . 2 / tio . sub . 2 4 . 5 0 - 3rho . sub . 2 / tio . sub . 2 4 . 0 0 - 3o . sub . 3 o . sub . 2 / tio . sub . 2 6 . 4 0 - 5pdo / ta . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 4 . 0 0 - 3pdo / zro . sub . 2 4 . 1 0 - 3pdo / nb . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 4 . 1 0 - 3contrast pdo / tio . sub . 2 4 . 0 0 - 3______________________________________ it will be seen from table 2 that both corrosion resistance and hydrogen absorption resistance were pronounced in all samples except for the sample of oso 2 / tio 2 , in which slightly high values resulted . pure titanium pieces 2 mm in thickness were washed in the manner as described in example 1 and then covered with a pdo / tio mixture layer ( with the molar ratio of the components of the layer per to 1 : 1 , the thickness of the layer to 1 micron and the area ratio between coated portion and non - coated portion to 1 : 1 ) under various heating conditions . the layer of mixture oxide was formed by applying a methanol solution containing palladium chloride and titanium chloride dissolved therein over the surface of the piece . table 3 shows results of measurements of the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption of the samples , the measurement being conducted in the manner as described in example 1 . table 3______________________________________ hydrogenconditions for thermal corrosion weight loss absorptionoxidation ( mg / 15 cm . sup . 2 . 20 h ) ( ppm ) ______________________________________1 ) 300 ° c . 10 minutes 28 . 4 232 ) 500 ° c . 10 minutes 4 . 0 0 to 33 ) 500 ° c . 30 minutes 2 . 2 0 to 34 ) 700 ° c . 10 minutes 2 . 5 0 to 35 ) 900 ° c . 10 minutes 19 . 3 17______________________________________contrast actively non - coated ti dissolved 640 ti - pd alloy 32 . 5 36______________________________________ as is seen from table 3 , the most excellent corrosion resistance and hydrogen absorption resistance were obtained when the thermal oxidation was carried out under conditions of 500 to 700 ° c . and 10 to 30 minutes . at heating temperatures below 300 ° c . the percentage of conversion of pd into pdo was reduced to result in slightly interior corrosion resistance . also , the corrosion resistance was slightly reduced with temperature conditions above 900 ° c . square pieces of titanium material , 25mm long on each side and 1mm in thickness , were covered over the entire surface with a mixture oxide layer which is shown in table 4 and then coupled by galvanic coupling to non - treated ti plates of the same size . these samples were immersed in boiling 10 % sulfuric acid solution for 20 hours , and then the corrosion weight loss and hydrogen absorption of their non - treated ti were measured to obtain results as shown in table 4 . table 4______________________________________ hydrogen ab - corrosion weight loss sorptionsample ( mg / 15m . sup . 2 / 20 hours ) ( ppm ) ______________________________________pdo 30 / pto 20 / tio . sub . 2 50 4 . 3 0 - 3pdo 30 / ruo . sub . 2 20 / tio . sub . 2 50 4 . 2 0 - 4pdo 70 / ruo . sub . 2 10 / tio . sub . 2 20 4 . 3 0 - 3pto 40 / iro . sub . 2 20 / ta . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 40 4 . 3 0 - 5rho . sub . 2 30 / ruo . sub . 2 10 / zro . sub . 2 60 4 . 1 0 - 4rho . sub . 2 70 / iro . sub . 2 10 / tio . sub . 2 20 4 . 3 0 - 3pdo 40 / ruo . sub . 2 20 / iro . sub . 2 10 / tio . sub . 2 30 4 . 2 0 - 3pdo 40 / tio . sub . 2 20 / ta . sub . 2 o . sub . 5 40 4 . 3 0 - 3pdo 70 / tio . sub . 2 30 4 . 0 0 - 3______________________________________ it will be seen from table 4 that the prevention of corrosion and hydrogen absorption can be effectively achieved by covering the ti plate with the mixture oxide composed at least two platinum group elements and a anti - corrosion metal or at least two anti corrosion metals and platinum group element . crevice corrosion test pieces were prepared by forming pdo / tio 2 mixture layers ( 3 microns thick ) of various pdo contents on respective inch square piece assemblies consisting of two overlapping thin titanium plates having a central aperture as shown in fig5 . in the figure , designated at 1 is the thin titanium plates , at 2 teflon insulators , at 3 a titanium bolt , and at 4 a titanium nut . the pdo / tio 2 mixture layer was formed by applying a solution containing palladium chloride and titanium chloride dissolved therein over the surface of each assembly , followed by thermal oxidation in an atmosphere at 550 ° c . for 10 minutes . the crevice corrosion of the samples prepared in this way was then observed after immersing them in a boiling aqueous solution containing 44 % of ammonium chloride for 240 hours , and table 5 shows the results . a non - coated piece assembly was also tested as contrast in the same manner . table 5______________________________________ test con - specimen trast coated specimens______________________________________pdo ( mol %) in coatinglayer -- 0 . 5 1 30 70 95 97crevice pre - corrosion sent slight non non non non slight______________________________________ as is seen from table 5 , the crevice corrosion was reduced by the provision of the mixture coating layer , and particularly it was suppressed substantially perfectly when the pdo content was 1 to 95 mol %. as has been described in the foregoing , according to the invention it is possible to achieve reliable prevention of crevice corrosion and hydrogen absorption in a very economical method and also steadily ensure this even under considerably severe corrosive conditions , which is very beneficial in industry in view of the safety and extension of life of chemical apparatus . | 8 |
turning now to fig1 there is shown a printed wiring board 10 interconnecting four integrated circuit packages 11 , 12 , 13 and 14 . each package is electrically and mechanically connected to the printed wiring board by pins or leads 15 which extend or depend from the outer periphery of the package . the printed wiring board is constructed of laminated layers of epoxy - fiberglass upon which copper traces ( not shown ) are defined using a photolithographic process . the copper traces provide electrical connections between selected pins of the chip packages . to enable the printed wiring board to be installed in a system ( not shown ), the printed wiring board has an edge portion 16 formed with a multiplicity of contact fingers 17 . the contact fingers 17 are connected to some of the copper traces ( not shown ) and are defined to mate with an edge connector ( not shown ) which connects the board 10 into the system ( not shown ). turning now to fig2 there is shown a cross - section of the package 11 mounted on the board 10 . the package 11 has an internal cavity 21 receiving an integrated circuit chip 22 . the cavity 21 is closed by a cover 23 facing the board 10 . this mounting arrangement , with the cover 23 facing the printed wiring board 10 , is known as a &# 34 ; cavity down &# 34 ; arrangement . the present invention , however , is also applicable to packages designed for &# 34 ; cavity up &# 34 ; mounting . whether &# 34 ; cavity down &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; cavity up &# 34 ; is preferred is dependent upon the desired construction of the pins 15 and the cooling or heat - sinking requirements for the integrated circuit chip 22 . on the side of the package 11 opposite the cavity 21 here are mounted a number of ceramic chip capacitors 24 , 25 . preferably there are four such capacitors mounted near the four corners of the package , as shown in fig1 . the capacitors 24 and 26 are connected between external ground and external supply , and the capacitors 25 and 27 are connected between internal ground and internal supply . as introduced above and as shown in fig2 a , the input / output stages 28 , 29 of the integrated circuit chip 22 use the external ground and external supply , and the other circuits 30 on the chip use internal ground and internal supply . dual grounds and supplies are used to decouple noise from the output drivers of the input / output stages and also to permit the internal circuits to use a supply voltage that is different from that of the external circuits . turning now to fig3 there is shown a view of the integrated circuit package 11 with the cover 23 removed and looking into the central cavity . the cover attaches to the package 11 via a thick film metal seal ring 31 which is connected to external ground . the package 11 has 56 pins on each side for a total of 224 pins . the pins 15 are connected by signal leads ( shown in fig5 and described further below ) to &# 34 ; outside lead bond &# 34 ; ( olb ) areas 32 spaced around the central cavity of the package 11 . the olb areas are connected by bonding wires 33 to respective bonding pads on the integrated circuit chips 32 . the bonding pads are 100 micron square metalization areas near the chip &# 39 ; s edges . the bonding wires 33 are connected to the olb &# 39 ; s and the bonding pads by thermocompression bonding . referring now to fig4 there is shown a cross - section of the package 11 and the chip 22 . the thickness of the package and the chip has been exaggerated in fig4 in order to illustrate the internal structure of the package . preferably the package is about 38 . 5 mm by 38 . 5 mm square and has a thickness of about 1 . 8 mm . the package 11 is made of alternate conducting and nonconducting layers , formed of thick conductive film and nonconductive ceramic , respectively . considering first the conducting layers 41 - 45 beginning from the cavity side of the package , layer 41 is an external ground plane which is directly connected to certain external pins such as the pin 46 . layer 42 is a signal layer including the leads ( shown in fig5 ) which directly connect the pins 15 to respective outer lead bond areas 32 . layer 43 is an external power ( vdd ) plane which is directly connected to certain external pins such as the pin 47 . layer 44 is an internal ground plane to which the substrate of the chip 22 is connected by conductive epoxy 48 . the last layer 45 is an internal power ( vdd ) plane . in addition to the conductive layers 41 - 46 which provide horizontal connections , the package 11 includes vertical connections called &# 34 ; vias &# 34 ; which extend through the ceramic layers separating the conductive layers 41 to 45 . each of the external pins 15 , for example , is connected by a via to its respective lead on the signal layer 42 . in particular , the pin 47 is bonded to an external pad 49 aligned with and connected to a via 50 that extends vertically to the level of the external ground layer . the via 50 connects the pin 47 to its respective trace 51 in the signal layer . in addition , since the pin 47 has been preassigned to function as an external supply pin , the via 50 also intersects the external supply layer 43 . the vias extending vertically from the external pins 15 extend all the way to the level of the external ground plane so that each pin could be preassigned either to external ground , external supply , internal ground , or internal supply , by extending a portion of the respective conductive layer so that the respective via intersects the extended portion of the respective conductive layer . the extended portions 51 for the external ground plane , for example , are more precisely shown in fig7 . a certain number of outer lead bond areas 32 are required for supplying external power and ground to output drivers on the chip 22 . one output driver is required for each output signal or pin and each input / output signal or pin , but an output driver is not required for an input only signal or pin . typically one external power and ground pair is required for every eight output drivers . internal ground and supply pairs are also required , but the precise number is dependent on the power requirement of the internal circuitry . since it is desirable to use as many of the pins as possible for input and outputs , only a minimum number of olbs should be preassigned for supplying power and ground . for enabling the package 11 to accommodate a variety of chip designs , it has been necessary to modify a plurality of the conductive layers 41 , 43 , 44 and 45 in order to assign a different set of pins to the external and internal grounds and supplies . the modifications have required changes in the masks which are used during the fabrication of the conductive layers . mask changes , however , are relatively expensive . to minimize the changes needed in the masks for the external ground and supply layers 41 , 43 , a first standardized set of external ground and supply layer masks are used to provide a number of preassigned external supply and ground pins for chips using primarily &# 34 ; standard cell &# 34 ; integrated circuit designs . for chips using primarily custom integrated circuit designs , however , it is undesirable to require certain pins to be preassigned to external power and ground , since the circuit designer would like the option of freely selecting the location of all of the signals and supply connections to the chip . in either case it is economically unfeasible to make a sufficient number of standardized internal supply and ground layer masks that would provide efficient pin allocation in most cases . in accordance with an important aspect of the present invention , the need for modifying the masks for the conductive layers 41 - 45 is eliminated by programming vias 53 , 54 , 55 in the ceramic layer 56 between the signal layer 42 and the external supply layer 43 . by programming the &# 34 ; via layer &# 34 ; 56 , only a single layer of the chip package il need be redesigned for most new integrated circuit designs , and in addition the inductance of the internal supply and ground connections is minimized . as shown in fig4 the programmed vias 53 extend from selected signal traces to internal ground bus bars 57 which are transverse to the signal leads and disposed at the level of the external supply layer 43 . the internal ground bus bars 57 are connected by vias 58 to the internal ground layer 44 . in a similar fashion programmed vias 54 extend from other selected signal leads to internal supply bus bars 59 which are also transverse to the signal leads and disposed at the level of the external supply layer . the internal supply bus bars 58 are connected by vias 60 to the internal supply layer 45 . the programmable &# 34 ; via layer &# 34 ; 56 can also be programmed with vias 55 between selected leads in the signal layer 42 and the external supply layer , although in these cases it is necessary to provide additional external ground connections , which are preferably made by forming vias 61 in the ceramic layer 62 between the signal layer 42 and the external ground layer 41 . alternatively , external ground bus bars could be formed at the level of the external supply layer 43 to permit external ground connections to be programmed in the programmable via layer 56 . turning now to fig5 there is shown the &# 34 ; standard cell &# 34 ; mask generally designated 70 for defining the signal layer ( 42 in fig4 ). the mask includes dots 71 for defining portions of the vias 50 leading to the external pins 15 , and patterns 72 which define the signal leads 51 . the patterns 72 terminate with end portions 73 which define the outer lead bonding areas 32 . as should be evident from fig5 the mask 71 provides a pattern 72 to define a signal trace from each pin to a respective outer lead bonding area . in addition , the mask 70 includes a respective pair of patterns 74 and 75 for defining respective outer lead bonding areas for external ground and external supply at the corners of the central cavity in the package . any additional outer lead bonding areas for the external supply pads are providing by programming the via layer to connect selected signal leads to the external supply layer ( 43 in fig4 ). the mask 70 for the signal layer in addition includes dots 76 near the outer corners which define portions of vias that connect the external or internal ground layers ( 41 , 44 in fig4 ) to the chip capacitors ( 24 to 27 in fig1 ). turning now to fig6 there is shown a mask generally designated 80 which defines the vias layer . the dots in the mask define conductive areas and otherwise the mask 80 defines nonconductive ceramic in the via layer ( 56 in fig4 ). in particular , the mask 80 includes dots generally designated 81 which define portions of the vias ( 50 in fig4 ) leading to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ). the mask 80 also includes dots 82 near the external corners to define portions of vias which connect the external or internal ground layers ( 41 , 44 in fig4 ) to the chip capacitors ( 24 to 27 in fig1 ). more importantly , the mask 80 has respective rows of dots 83 and 84 for defining the programmable vias ( 53 , 54 in fig4 ) connecting selected signal leads to the internal ground bars 57 or the internal supply bars 59 . the mask 80 also has dots 85 for defining vias ( 55 in fig4 ) connecting lead bonding areas or leads to the external supply layer 43 , respectively . turning now to fig7 there is shown the &# 34 ; standard cell &# 34 ; mask generally designated 90 which defines the external supply layer ( 43 in fig4 ). the mask 90 includes dots 91 for defining portions of the vias ( 50 in fig4 ) connected to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ). the external supply layer 43 is defined by a planar portion 92 of the mask 90 . the mask 92 includes apertures 93 in which dots 94 are centered for defining the vias connecting the external or internal ground planes ( 41 , 44 in fig4 ) to the chip capacitors ( 24 - 27 in fig1 ). more importantly , the planar portion 92 includes apertures 95 into which are placed elongated areas 96 and 97 for defining the internal ground bars 57 and the internal supply bars 59 , respectively . turning now to fig8 there is shown a &# 34 ; custom design &# 34 ; mask for defining the signal layer ( 42 in fig4 ). the mask 100 includes dots 101 defining portions of the vias ( 50 in fig4 ) leading to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ), but all of these vias do not extend up to the external ground plane ( 41 in fig4 ). the mask 100 includes two hundred elongated areas 102 for defining signal leads from two hundred of the pins to terminal portions 103 defining outer lead bond areas . however , there are thirty - two patterns which are used to define outer lead bonding areas which are not connected by signal leads to the external pins , and instead are connected by vias 61 to the external ground layer 41 , or vias 55 to the external supply layer 43 ( see fig4 ) to define external supply and ground pairs . these outer lead bonding areas for external ground and supply are defined by four patterns 104 , 105 , 106 and 107 at each corner , and two pairs of outer lead bonding areas which are spaced between each pair of neighboring corners and are defined by patterns 108 , 109 and 110 , 111 . the mask 100 in fig8 includes some dots 101 which define portions of the vias ( 50 in fig4 ) leading to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ) but which are not connected by leads to the outer lead bonding areas ( 32 in fig4 ). there are a total of eight such dots , including two on each side , such as the dots 112 and 113 . these dots define portions of the vias connecting the external ground plane ( 41 in fig4 ) to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ). on each side of the mask 101 there are also positions such as the positions 114 , 115 , 116 and 117 where dots are missing from the positions of the vias ( 50 in fig4 ) leading to the external pins ( 15 in fig4 ). the positions 114 and 117 correspond to vias connecting external pins to the external supply layer ( 43 in fig4 ), and the vias at the positions 115 and 116 connect the internal supply and internal ground to external pins . the mask 100 also has dots 118 near the outer corners defining vias connecting the external or internal ground layers ( 41 , 44 in fig4 ) to the chip capacitors ( 24 to 27 in fig1 ). the standardized mask 100 defining the signal leads in the custom design mask set imposes a limited set of constraints on the ability of the chip designer to select the assignments of the outer lead bonding areas . the chip designer has a free hand in selecting the location of all the signals and the internal supply connections to the integrated circuit chip . however , the chip designer is required to work with a fixed number of outer lead bonding areas which are preassigned to external supply and ground and their corresponding pin locations . since these outer lead bonding areas for the external supply and ground are connected by the vias 61 or 53 to the external ground or supply plates 41 , 43 ( see fig4 ), the inductance of the external power and ground connections is much lower than it would be if the connections were provided by signal leads . turning now to fig9 there is shown the custom design mask generally designated 120 for defining the external supply layer ( 43 in fig4 ). the mask 120 in fig9 is similar to the mask 90 in fig7 except for the fact that the mask 120 includes a planar area 121 having protrusions 122 defining connections to a different set of pins assigned to external supply , and the mask 120 has twelve pairs of elongated areas 123 , 124 defining twelve separate pairs of internal supply and internal ground bars , instead of the four pairs defined by the mask 90 in fig7 . from the above , it is apparent that the programmed via layer reduces the design and tooling cost for making a package for a newly designed integrated circuit . only the programmed via layer need be redesigned . desired variations in the other layers can be provided by selecting a standardized mask set . in a standardized mask set especially adapted for &# 34 ; standard cell &# 34 ; integrated circuit designs only the corner outer lead bonding areas are preassigned to power and ground . in a standardized mask set especially adapted for custom integrated circuit designs , an additional number of outer lead bonding areas are connectable to power and ground through the programmed via layer , but they are not connected by signal leads to the external pins . when a new integrated circuit design is completed , the most appropriate standardized mask set is selected . next , a mask is designed to program the via layer then the masks are used to deposit vias and conductive layers on ceramic layers . the ceramic layers are aligned and integrally bonded together using a conventional co - firing process that is typically used for manufacturing laminated ceramic electrical components . finally , the integrated circuit chips are assembled into the packages in the conventional fashion ; the substrate of the chip is mounted on the internal ground layer , the chip &# 39 ; s bonding pads are connected by bonding wire or tape to corresponding outside lead bond areas on the signal layer of the package , and then the package is hermetically sealed by soldering or thermally attaching the cover or lid over the chip cavity . co - fired ceramics -- packaging technology which is based on multiple overlaid ceramics layers simultaneously fired to form a monolithic body . custom package -- a package specifically designed for a particular integrated circuit chip . external supply -- power and ground feeding the input / output , input only and output only drivers on chip . input signals -- signals which are only received by the chip and never driven by it . i / o signals -- signals which are both driven and received by the chip . outer lead bond ( olb )-- the locus of all the traces &# 39 ; edges on the inside of the package . the olb areas are connected by bonding wires to respective pads on the chip . output signals -- signals which are only driven by the chip and are never driven by the environment . pad -- a relatively large ( 100 micron square ) metallization area placed near the chip &# 39 ; s edge to which external wires are bonded . pin -- a piece of metal coming out of the package . the pins provide mechanical and electrical connections from the package to a printed wiring board or other circuit module . trace -- a long metallization geometry which provides an electrical connection between an olb and a package pin . via -- a vertical metallization ; conductor which enables an electrical connection between horizontal conductive layers . | 7 |
first , the applicant will describe some of the many different types of concrete masonry blocks that can be formed with external plates anchored through the concrete masonry blocks . second , a detailed description of one of the many blocks will be given as further reference . third , illustrative sections of walls will be shown to demonstrate how m / bed blocks made according to the present invention would be used . fourth , how the m / bed blocks that have external plates and internal anchors are formed will be illustrated and discussed in a series of views . in fig2 a , a full length block 10 is shown with double sided external plates and end cap 12 . the full length block 10 has vertical holes 14 and 16 therein as is standard in most blocks . one end of the full length block 10 has flutes 18 on either side thereof . imbedded in the concrete of the full length block 10 are four identical 20 . the anchors 20 depicted here are of the type shown in fig1 a . the anchors 20 are welded to the left side 24 and right side 26 of the double sided external plates and end cap 12 . the anchors 20 are shown as perpendicularly extending between the external plates but the could alternatively be at an obtuse angle with respect to said plates 12 ( see fig2 g and 2 h ). the anchors 20 located at the fluted end 28 are imbedded in the fluted concrete 30 . the anchors 20 located at the center of the full length block 10 are imbedded in the center concrete 32 . the end cap 34 is formed integrally with the left side 24 and right side 26 of the double sided external plates and end cap 12 . while the double sided external plate and end cap 12 may vary in thickness and material , it is presently envisioned that { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch thick steel plates will be used . the top edge of these steel plates may have a chamfer 45 ( see fig3 c ) which is an inclination of about 45 ° sloping downward to the interior space of the full length block . such an inclination at this edge may accommodate receipt of concrete during the molding process and contribute to an eventual flushness of the steel plates with the external concrete portions of the m / bed block . the types of anchors and the thickness thereof can vary . however , it is currently envisioned that the anchors 20 will be either { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch steel plates in the configuration as shown in fig1 a , ribbed re - bar as shown in fig1 b , or { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch steel plates cut to the configuration as shown in fig1 c . in referring to the subsequent fig2 b through 21 , the same numbers that were used to designate the same parts in connection with fig2 a will be used for subsequent figures . only the parts that are different will be described in detail hereinbelow . in fig2 b , a full length block 10 is shown that has half length , double sided plates with end caps 36 . again , the anchors 20 extend through the center concrete 32 and are welded on either end to the left side 38 and right side 40 of the half length , double sided plates 36 . the end cap 34 is the same as previously described . because the left side 38 and right side 40 of half length , double sided plates 36 are placed in the concrete masonry at the same time the full length block 10 is formed , the external surfaces of the block are basically smooth even at the terminal end 42 of the left side 48 and right side 40 of half length , double sided plates 36 . in fig2 c , a full length block 10 is shown with double sided external plates with a left plate 44 and a right plate 46 . the left plate 44 and the right plate 46 are connected together by anchors 20 welded to the respective left plate 44 or right plate 46 . the anchor 20 on the fluted end 28 extends through fluted concrete 30 . anchors 20 that are in the middle extend through the center concrete 32 . anchors 20 that are on the flat end 48 of full length block 10 extend through flat end concrete 50 . in fig2 d , a full length block 10 is shown with double sided half plates having a left half plate 52 and a right half plate 54 . anchors 20 that are located at the center of the full length block 10 extend through the center concrete 32 . anchors 20 that are at the flat end 48 extend through the flat end concrete 50 . again , the anchors 20 are connected to the left half plate 52 and the right half plate 54 by welding the ends thereto . fig2 e shows a full length block 10 with a full length , single sided plate 56 . the anchors 58 are made from an appropriate size steel to withstand the stress . it is believed that { fraction ( 3 / 16 )} inch steel cut and bent to the configuration as shown will withstand the stress . however , anchors of other styles may be used . the anchors 58 only have end lips 22 on the right side of the full length , concrete masonry block 10 . the anchors 58 are abutted against and welded to the full length , single sided plate 56 . the anchors 58 at the fluted end 28 extend through fluted concrete 30 with the end lips 22 being imbedded in concrete on the right side of the full length block 10 . likewise , anchors 58 at the center of full length concrete masonry block 10 extend through center concrete 30 with the end lips 22 being imbedded in concrete on the right side of full length block 10 . the anchors 58 located on the flat end 48 of the full length block 10 extend through the flat end concrete 50 with the end lips 22 being anchored in concrete on the right side of full length block 10 . in fig2 f , a full length block 10 is shown with a single sided , half length plate 60 . anchors 58 are welded to the single sided plate 60 with the center anchors extending though center concrete 32 and the flat end anchors 58 extending through flat end concrete 50 . again , the end lips 22 are imbedded in the concrete on the right hand side of the full length concrete masonry block 10 . additionally , the single sided , half length plate with anchors may be in the form of an end cap positioned at the end of a block ( not shown ). alternatively , as shown in fig2 g and fig2 h , use of anchors 20 of the type depicted in fig1 c could provide sufficient support when attached to plate 56 or plate 60 near its center and angled toward the opposing corners of the full length block 10 . this particular embodiment adds to the overall soundness and strength of structure of the completed concrete masonry block in two ways . first , obtuse anchors 20 aid in securing the plate 56 ( or alternatively plate 60 ) attached thereto within the structure of the completed block . second , utilizing an anchor 20 of a type having a nonuniform surface ( as depicted in 1 b or 1 c ) aids in securing the anchor itself within the completed block . fig2 i shows a half length block 62 that has double sided , external plates with end cap 64 . anchors 66 extend through the fluted concrete 30 at the fluted end 28 and are welded on either end thereof to the left side 68 and the right side 70 of the double sided , external plates with end caps 64 . the double sided external plates 64 have an end cap 72 similar to the end cap shown in fig2 a . fig2 k shows a half length block 62 having double sided , external plates made up of left side 68 and right side 70 . again , anchors 66 are welded on either end thereof to either the left side 68 or the right side 70 of the external plates . on the fluted end 28 , the anchor 66 extended through the fluted concrete 30 . on the flat end 48 , the anchors 66 extend through the flat end concrete 50 . in both fig2 i and 2 j , a vertical hole 74 extends upward through the half length block 62 . in fig2 j , a full length block 10 is shown with an upper half , single sided plate 76 . anchors 58 hold the upper half , single sided plate 76 in position . the anchors 58 extend through fluted concrete 30 , center concrete 32 , and flat end concrete 50 . anchors 20 of the type depicted in fig1 b are shown , but alternate anchors may be used . the end lips 22 , of the anchor type shown , are imbedded in the concrete on the right hand side of full length block 10 . the anchors 58 are welded to the upper half , single sided plate 76 . the anchors 20 may be angled other than perpendicularly with respect to the upper half , single sided plate 76 . fig2 shows a full length concrete masonry block 10 with single sided plate 46 on one side and an upper half single sided plate 76 on the other side . the lower anchors 58 have end lips 22 to hold in the concrete . upper anchors 66 used in fig2 consist of a flat piece of metal cut and welded to plate 46 and plate 76 . again , the anchors 66 are imbedded in fluted concrete 30 , center concrete 32 , and flat end concrete 50 . alternatively , the lower anchors may be of the types depicted in fig1 b and 1 c and may be angled toward the lower corner of block 10 opposite the single sided plate 46 . to illustrate in more detail the physical construction of one of the concrete masonry blocks shown in fig2 a through 21 , fig2 c has been selected for illustration purposes . referring to fig3 a , b , and c in combination , the physical layout of a typical concrete masonry block having external steel plates is illustrated . again , the same numbers will be used as were used in fig2 c for illustration purposes . the anchors 58 , as they connect from left plate 44 to right plate 46 , are clearly illustrated . also , the burying of the anchors 58 in either the fluted concrete 30 , center concrete 32 , or flat end concrete 50 is also illustrated . additionally , a 45 ° chamfer 45 is shown . by viewing fig2 a through c in combination , the physical structure of a typical block having external plates and anchors as shown in the present invention is clearly illustrated . assume that blocks such as illustrated in fig2 a through 21 have been made . the purpose of fig4 a through 4 g is to illustrate how those blocks would be used in a typical wall . like numbers that are used to illustrate wall sections will be used in all of the fig4 a through 4 g . only a short section of the wall will be illustrated to demonstrate the different types of uses of blocks having external plates as shown in the present invention . referring to fig4 a , a block wall section 80 is illustrated . the plain blocks 82 do not have any external plates formed therein . however , two blocks are made according to the present invention and have external plates 84 . the external plates 84 are at a height that is typically used to mount shelves . shelf hooks would be welded or anchored to external plates 84 by any convenient means . in the typical block wall section 80 , the wall would need to be poured and reinforced with reinforcing rods to maintain the structural integrity of the wall . this is especially true when an object of heavy weight is to be supported from the external plates 84 . block wall section 80 as shown in fig4 b has a total of four half plates 86 . the half plates 86 are arranged in such a configuration that two of the half plates are located one above the other with the other two half plates being on the same plane , but a few feet apart . the half plates 86 as illustrated in fig4 b are of a typical height on which a television stand could be mounted . by simply attaching mounting brackets to the half plates 86 , a television stand could then be supported by the block wall section 80 . again , all the remainder of the blocks will be plain concrete masonry blocks 82 . referring to fig4 c , half plates 86 are mounted in the wall and arranged so that they are paired with each pair having two half plates in a vertical arrangement . all of the pairs of half plates 86 are on the same plane . the configuration as shown in fig4 c is arranged at a typical height so that bunk beds could be attached to the wall 80 . by welding or attaching appropriate hooks to the half plates 86 , bunk beds could then be suspended from the wall 80 . again , the remainder of the blocks could be plain concrete masonry blocks 82 . fig4 d shows a wall section 80 constructed primarily of plain blocks 82 , but having two half plates 86 arranged a couple of feet from the bottom of the wall . the half plates 86 are in the same plain and would typically be used to attach grab bars thereto . in fig4 e , a wall section 80 is illustrated constructed primarily of plain concrete masonry blocks 82 . however , in fig4 e , vertical rows 88 of half plates 86 are shown . the vertical rows 88 are used to attach privacy panels or other types of dividers as may typically be used in restrooms . referring to fig4 f , the wall section 80 is shown that has a doorway 92 located therein . surrounding the doorway are a combination of full length blocks having half length , double sided plates with end caps 36 and half length blocks having double sided , external plates with end caps 64 . the door structure ( not shown ) would be attached to the combination of half length , double sided plates with end caps 36 and the double sided , external plates with end caps 64 . if the door is a sliding door , the lower part could have a full length , double sided external plate and end cap 12 with full length , double sided plate 94 . at the top of the doorway 92 , full length , double sided plates 94 may be mounted in a row . these full length , double sided plates 94 that are mounted in the horizontal row at the top of the doorway 92 can be used for a number of different purposes . first , if the door is a sliding type door , it can be used to mount the door ( not shown ). second , if some type of sliding device needs to be suspended from the wall , full length , double sided plates 94 provide an excellent way to mount the sliding devices . while fig4 f has been described as full length , double sided plates 94 , they could be single sided , full length plates . fig4 g shows a corner section 96 of a typical wall utilizing the present invention . in the corner section 96 , there are two horizontal rows 98 and 100 of full length plates made according to the present invention . the horizontal row 100 of the external plates could be used to mount sliding devices thereto . the upper horizontal row 98 would be what is typically used in prisons to mount ceiling plates to prevent escape of the prisoners . it should be realized that any number or combination of external plates made according to the present invention could be installed in the wall depending on what the end user wants to accomplish with the invention . fig5 shows a typical concrete masonry block casting machine illustrated by reference numeral 102 . while many different types of casting machines could be used , for the purposes of the present illustration , a fleming machine is illustrated . however , concrete casting machines made by columbia or besser could also be used . concrete mix 104 is stored in a hopper 106 . the concrete mix 104 feeds from the hopper 106 , on the belt conveyor 108 , to the intake 110 of the concrete casting machine 102 . pallets 112 also feed into the casting machine 102 by means of conveyor 114 . mold 116 is positioned in the concrete casting machine 102 in the conventional way . mold 116 determines the type of concrete masonry block being case . the operation of the concrete casting machine 102 is typical with the exception of the portions described hereinbelow . referring to fig6 a and 6 b , perspective views of a typical pallet 112 that would be used to form concrete masonry blocks according to the present invention are shown . the pallet 112 may have a combination of rounded humps 118 , as in fig6 a , that would typically extend about one eighth of an inch high . alternatively , the pallet 112 may have a combination of depressed grooves 119 carved therein , as in fig6 b , that could be of a one eighth inch depth . the rounded humps 118 , or the depressed grooves 119 , can then be used to position the external plates on the pallet 112 . for example , a double sided external plate with end cap 12 is illustrated on pallet 112 of fig6 a and 6 b . the double sided external plate and end cap 12 is pushed securely against the corner humps 120 and the side humps 122 or pushed securely into the depressed grooves 119 as in fig6 b . the humps 120 and 122 are inside the steel plates in fig6 a . if outside , the mold 116 must be indented to accommodate the humps 120 and 122 . if inside , the concrete in the formed block will contain an indentation when formed , but the indentation will be filled with mortar when the block is installed in a wall . inside of the concrete masonry casting machine 102 , the external plates and / or anchors must be located inside of the mold 116 . referring to fig7 an exploded perspective view of how the external plates and molds fit together is illustrated . as fig7 shows , an external plate ( double sided with end cap shown 12 ) is positioned on the pallet 112 within the depressed grooves 119 . alternatively , the pallet 112 may be of the type securing the double sided , external plate and end cap with corner humps 120 and side humps 122 ( not shown in fig7 ). when the lower part of the mold box 124 moves down , the double sided , external plates and end cap 12 are received inside of the mold box 124 . if it is necessary to secure the double sided , external plates and end cap 12 in position , electromagnets 126 may be included in the mold box 124 to aid in securing external plates 12 . the electromagnets may also allow for the securing of external plates 12 in the absence of the pallet 112 . this mold securing means could be used in securing external plates whether or not the plates were of the double sided with end cap 12 ( as shown ) configuration . once the lower part of the mold box 124 is filled , the upper portion of the mold 128 comes down and presses the concrete mix to form a block in the desired shape as dictated by the mold 116 including the lower part 124 and upper part 128 . between the making of concrete masonry blocks by the concrete casting machine 102 , the number and shape being determined by the mold 116 , the operator must position the external plates into position on the pallet 112 . in the fleming machine , it is open for a period of time during which the steel plates may be inserted and positioned on the pallet 112 . this is illustrated in fig8 . the pallet also must rest in a very accurate position against side rails 130 and against a stop 132 so that everything is properly aligned with the mold 116 . the stop 132 may be lowered by motor 134 when the cast masonry blocks are to be removed . | 1 |
the present invention will now be described with respect to fig1 . the fuel flow for many gas turbine engines at full load , or base load are controlled with an exhaust temperature control curve . fig1 represents exhaust temperature control curves establishing a relationship between exhaust temperature on the left axis and compressor pressure ratio ( cpr ) on the horizontal axis . a representative standard oem gas turbine exhaust control curves is shown as 101 in fig1 . for a nominal base load operation , a representative gas turbine engine is operating at point 102 , with a cpr of 15 . 8 , an exhaust temperature ( or ttxm ) of 1127 deg . f . and a firing temperature ( or ttrf1 ) of 2410 deg . f . ( as shown on the right side axis ). when a mass flow , such as air , is injected into the compressor exit section of the gas turbine , the cpr increases accordingly . when operating on the dry curve ( with air injection ), the operating point would move to 105 which , for the example disclosed herein , is a cpr of 16 . 3 , an exhaust temperature ( or ttxm ) of 1095 deg . f . and a firing temperature ( or ttrf1 ) of 2385 deg . f ., both lower due to the additional mass flow . the present invention employs an air injection system such as an auxiliary , external system for supplying the additional air being injected into the gas turbine engine . when such additional air is provided , it may be at a lower temperature than that of the air from the engine compressor . for example , air can be provided at 50 - 100 deg . f . cooler than the compressor discharge air . however , when cooler air is added to the gas turbine engine , the standard control curve on which the gas turbine engine operates does not account for this temperature difference . the fluid being injected is air and not steam . rather than reducing the firing temperature further to help preserve hot gas path parts life , a new curve 104 called an air injection bias is introduced to boost the reduced firing temperature back to the original 2410 deg . f . through the air injection bias curve 104 , the bias is shifted up to maintain the original firing temperature during air injection . therefore , instead of shifting to a lower firing temperature ( from 103 to 107 ), by applying the bias the operating point is shifted back to the same firing temperature 108 as without the air injection . one such source of compressed air for adding to the compressor discharge air is compressed air produced by an external compressor that is powered by a fueled engine . the applicant of the present invention has developed this auxiliary air source technology which is described in more detail in co - pending patent application ser . nos . 14 / 350 , 469 , 14 / 351 , 245 , 14 / 329 , 340 , 14 / 329 , 433 , and 14 / 462 , 000 . air produced from this system can be provided to the gas turbine engine at an elevated temperature and pressure similar to that of the compressor discharge air . the effect of this supplemental air injection is shown graphically in fig1 . to correct for this “ underfire ” condition while injecting heated dry air , an exhaust temperature control bias algorithm is developed as a function of the injection flow to bring the firing temperature up to the intended constant firing temperature . table 1 below shows the improvement in heat rate ( hr ) versus percent air injection when the air bias curve is employed to meet a constant ttrf1 of 2420 deg . f . as one skilled in the art can appreciate and calculate , when air injection is introduced the cpr increases , resulting in a small temperature increase in the air that is used to cool the hot gas path parts . theoretically this will also slightly increase the hot gas path parts metal temperature resulting in reduced life . however , a similar issue happens to a gas turbine engine operating on a hot day and the original equipment manufacturer does not debit the life of the components as a result . as one skilled in the art can appreciate , it would be well understood to introduce a “ wet curve ” bias that took this into account and would result in constant metal temperature ( and life ) of the most critical components in the hot gas path . to quantify this effect , a 5 % air injection into the gas turbine will result in metal temperatures equal to the gas turbine engine operating on a 15 deg . f . hotter ambient day , but without the injection . there are different scenarios for how the gas turbine is controlled at base load and maximum firing temperature . each scenario will result in a slightly different exhaust control curve bias implementation . one such scenario is when the gas turbine engine is controlled with exhaust curves as described above . in this case , the air injection bias is a function of the amount of air injection being added to the gas turbine . this bias ( in deg . f . or deg . c .) is added to the baseload exhaust curve during air injection . specifically , the air injection exhaust curve bias = air injection flow rate × air injection exhaust bias gain + air injection exhaust bias offset ( or utilizing a y = mx + b approach ), where the air injection bias gain = gas turbine inlet temperature × gas turbine inlet temperature gain + air injection exhaust bias compensation offset , where this compensation offset is the portion of the bias gain not influenced by the gas turbine inlet temperature and is a function of the air injection temperature . the air injection exhaust bias gain has a maximum and minimum value depending on the type of gas turbine engine . the air injection flow rate is measured by a flow meter or calculated using pressure transducers and a cv curve . for example , for a flow rate increase of 10 pounds per second of air injection results in a 2 . 1 degree f . bias ( where air injection exhaust curve bias = 10 ( the air injection flow rate )× 0 . 21 ( the air injection exhaust bias gain )+ 0 ( air injection exhaust bias offset )) where the exhaust bias gain = gas turbine inlet temperature × 0 ( gas turbine inlet temperature gain )+ 0 . 21 ( air injection exhaust bias compensation offset ). each of these gains and offset values are preprogrammed values entered into a control system and are selected when predetermined criteria are met . that is , during operation , the controller reads in gas turbine inlet temperature measurements and uses the constants to determine the air injection exhaust bias gain . once calculated , the controller reads in the measured or calculated air injection flow rate and uses this value to determine air injection exhaust curve bias . the bias is then added to the existing turbine exhaust curve . depending on the engine model and hardware configuration , the offsets and gains used for the air injection exhaust curve bias will change . that is , control logic varies between different gas turbine manufacturers . some manufacturers use gas turbine firing temperature and gas turbine exhaust temperature to control the engine . other manufacturers control fuel splits using a normalized load curve , where a normalized load curve represents the actual load ( in mw ) divided by the theoretical load ( in mw ). the theoretical full load curve ( mw at 100 % load v . inlet temperature ) is adjusted over time to account for engine degradation and maintenance . however , the theoretical full load curve needs to be adjusted to account for the increase in output associated with this air injection . for example , if the air injection results in 5 % increase in output at full load , an unadjusted normalized load curve will calculate out to 105 %. however , after the mw bias is applied to the normalized load curve , it will calculate out to 100 %. in an alternate embodiment of the present invention , the gas turbine engine is controlled with normalized load curves . for gas turbine engines which are controlled based on a normalized load , additional control modifications may be necessary to help with combustion stability . more specifically , the normalized load curve bias = air injection flow rate × air injection mw gain + air injection mw bias offset where the air injection mw gain = gas turbine inlet temperature × gas turbine inlet temperature mw compensation + air injection mw compensation offset . depending on the engine model and hardware configuration , the offsets and gains used for the air injection exhaust curve bias will change . yet another scenario is when the gas turbine is controlled with a max load control parameter . in this case , the operation is the same as the previous embodiment discussed above , but to allow the gas turbine to produce additional power and not be limited by a max mw set point in the controls . while the invention has been described in what is known as presently the preferred embodiment , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment but , on the contrary , is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements within the scope of the following claims . the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments , which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects set forth above , together with other advantages which are obvious and inherent to the system and method . it will be understood that certain features and sub - combinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and sub - combinations . this is contemplated by and within the scope of the claims . | 5 |
referring first to fig1 which is introduced for explanatory and comparative purposes , this shows in schematic form a typical communications network arrangement in which an atm core network 11 provides a transport medium for narrow band traffic originating from a tdm network 12 having an ss7 signalling network associated therewith . the narrow band , i . e . voice , traffic is packaged into ata adaptation layer two ( aal2 ) minicells for transport over the atm core . traffic is multiplexed so that a number of sources can occupy minichannels within a virtual circuit connection . access of narrow band traffic to the atm core is provided via gateways 14 , 15 and associated atm switches 16 , 17 . each gateway incorporates a connection admission control to ensure that a new connection or call is admitted only if sufficient bandwidth is available to support the quality of service guarantees for that new connection and for existing connections . the operation of the connection admission control will be described below . control and management of the atm network is provided by service managers 18 , 19 which , in response to isup signalling messages from the ss7 signalling network , allocate virtual channels for establishing voice connections . as shown in fig1 the network also serves a number of small business users each having a number of lines deriving from a pbx 20 which has a tdm link to an adaptation interface ( ish ) 31 between the local tdm environment and the broadband asynchronous environment . each such user effectively comprises a number of independent sources sharing a common aal2 virtual channel connection ( vcc ). referring now to fig2 this illustrates in schematic form the adaptation of voice traffic from a number of sources s 1 , . . . sn , into a shared aal2 virtual channel connection ( vcc ). each source has a respective bandwidth requirement b 1 , . . . bn . at the adaptation interface 31 , the traffic is packaged into aal2 minicells which are assembled into atm cells . the interface incorporates a timer 32 having a predetermined period t cu and whose purpose is to limit the assembly delay for the atm cells . under busy traffic conditions , cells will be fully filled and will be launched as soon as they are filled with the minimum of delay . however , under less busy conditions , the time required to fill a cell may be unacceptable for voice applications . the purpose of the timer is to ensure that , if a cell has not been filled within the period t cu , it is then filled with padding or null information and dispatched without further delay . the total bandwidth demand for the currently active sources s 1 , . . . sn is determined by calculating the sum σb of the aggregate bandwidth requirements b 1 , . . . bn of those sources , and then determining from σb via a protocol overhead calculation function a value f ( σb ) which represents the vcc equivalent cell rate to be used in voice connection admission control . it should be noted that σb will not in general be a linear summation of b 1 , . . . bn . an exemplary method of determining f ( σb ) will be described below . as illustrated in fig2 a new request changes the bandwidth requirement from f ( σb ) to f ( σb )′, and it is this latter value that is used to determine whether or not a new request may be accommodated . this new request may be a new call requesting admission , or an existing call may arrive in the network which then has to determine whether that call can be maintained . the term ‘ request ’ is used herein in this broader sense . we have found that , for a number of independent voice sources sharing a common aal2 vcc as illustrated in fig2 the problem of determining the bandwidth demand in order to provide effective connection admission control is complex . this is partly due to the ‘ bursty ’ nature of these sources which will generally be g . 72 sources or g . 711 sources .. while the aal2 overhead ( 3 octets ) is fixed for each source s 1 . . . sn and thus adds a known bandwidth requirement ( bw ), e . g . a bursting g711 source is equivalent to 64 kpbs . 43 / 40 , the amount of atm overhead these sources &# 39 ; share is not fixed but will depend on timer t cu value , their own packetisation period and the output of all the other sources . we have established that initial step in maximising the level of efficiency of aal2 multiplexing is the definition of three traffic conditions , these being illustrated in fig3 . in the worst case there is only one packet per cell when the cell is dispatched , while in the best case , all the cells are fully filled . there is an intermediate region where the cells contain more than one packet , but are only partly filled when they are dispatched . the transitions between these regions are a function of the packet arrival rate , which is determined by the number of active channels , the packetisation interval etc ., and the timer period t cu . for a large number of active sources , it can be safely assumed that the timer never expires and that all the cells are fully filled thus allowing a standard traffic model to be employed to calculate the aggregate bandwidth σb in order to determine whether or not this would exceed the overall ‘ pipe ’ capacity . in this standard model , f ( σb ) can be calculated as σb . 53 / 47 . this takes into account the additional overhead requirement associated with the traffic . the problem is thus exacerbated for smaller numbers of sources , as further illustrated in fig4 where there is insufficient traffic to fill atm cells within the pre - set period t cu of the timer . indeed , in the worst case there may be only one packet per cell . at a low number of bursting sources ( n ′), the timer period t cu will have a dominant factor and cells will be sent not completely full . for very low values of t cu with respect to packetisation time , one has a scenario where as one cannot make any assumptions about the phase relationship of sources and the worst case must be assumed , i . e . one packet per cell for all bursting sources ( n ′). the first issue to decide is what is n ′, the number of bursting sources . for fluid flow n ′= number of active sources = number of connections ( n ), whereas for stationary flow n ′= σb / average bw per bursting source . an approximation will be taken that n ′= n * σb / σb f where σb f is deemed to be sum of all sources bursting . the next issue arises due to the fact that packetisation period ( p ) is not the same for all sources . the exemplary algorithm described below addresses this issue by taking a normalised packetisation period and counting sources that produce j packets within this period as j independent sources . so , for example , where p g . 72x = 10 ms and p g . 711 = 5 ms , then f ( σb )′& lt ;= 53 * 8 * σb / σb pk *(# g . 72 × source + 2 *# g . 711 sources )/ p . where t cu & gt ; packetisation time but σb & lt ; 47 * 8 / t cu , it can be assumed that cells will continue to be sent incompletely filled , therefore f ( σb )′= 53 * 8 / t cu ( except for the case where n ′= 0 ). for intermediate values between these two extremes , there are two possible conditions , also illustrated in fig4 . for the range where n ′* timer cu & gt ; packetisation period and σb & lt ; σb 1 = k 1 *( 47 * 8 )/ t cu where k 1 is greater than unity and is typically less than three . we have two extreme options to take that bound the equation in this condition , packets arrive in a uniformly distributed fashion . cells go every timer period t cu and on average we get no more cells until on average all cells are full . thereafter the timer t cu never expires and f ( σb )′= σb ′* 53 / 47 here ( x − 1 ) packets go one per cell where x * t cu = packetisation period , and all other packets arrive simultaneously and are sent 100 % packed ( except for last cell ) in our arrangement and method , we determine the bandwidth requirement for performing connection admission control by treating the three regions separately . for the best region where all cells are fully filled , we determine for the worst region where there is only one packet per cell , we determine for the intermediate region , we determine f ( σb )′ by interpolating between the above two ( 1 ) and ( 2 ). this is illustrated in fig5 . a preferred algorithm for calculating the bandwidth requirement is detailed below : advantageously , the algorithm is provided in the form of machine readable operating instructions on a storage medium . having determined the bandwidth requirement via the above algorithm , the connection admission control can then determine whether sufficient bandwidth is available to accommodate a new connection . referring now to fig6 this is a flow chart diagram illustrating the operation of the connection admission control of fig1 . the flow chart comprises a number of steps and decision points . in step 61 , a request is received for a new connection . at decision point 62 , the fill level of the cells for that connection is determined and the appropriate one of three outputs is enabled . where there is a single packet per cell , f ( σb )′ is calculated at step 63 using the first algorithm . where the cells are fully filled , f ( σb )′ is calculated at step 64 using the second algorithm . where the cells are partly filled , f ( σb )′ is calculated at step 65 by interpolating between the first and second algorithm . the resultant determination of f ( σb )′ is fed to decision point 66 which determines whether sufficient resources are available to admit the new connection . if sufficient resources are available , an accept connection response is generated at step 67 . if however there are insufficient resources available to support the new connection , a refuse connection response is generated at step 68 . if the connection request represents an existing call which cannot be maintained , then this refusal results in the return of busy tone . it will of course be understood that that the above description of the application of the technique to aal2 transport in an atm network is given by way of example only , and that the technique has a broader application to cell based transport mechanisms in which high priority traffic is carried in variable length minicells . it will further be understood that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
fig1 a - 1d show an instant messaging broadcast system 100 embodiment in accordance with the present invention . as best shown in fig1 a , this broadcast system 100 embodiment comprises a plurality of client computers 102 ( for clarity , only one shown in detail ) connected to a server computer 103 by an appropriate communications medium 104 . each of the client computers 102 comprises a central processing unit 110 connected to a main memory 112 , a mass storage interface 114 , a network interface 116 , and an input / output (“ i / o ”) interface 118 by a system bus 122 . the memory 112 in each client computer 102 comprises an operating system 124 and an instant messaging broadcast client 128 . the server computer 103 similarly includes a central processing unit 130 connected to a main memory 132 , a mass storage interface 134 , a network interface 136 , and an i / o interface 138 by a system bus 142 . the memory 132 in the server computer 103 contains an operating system 144 , an instant messaging broadcast server 148 , a channel database 150 , and a broadcast database 170 . as best shown in fig1 b , the channel database 150 comprises a plurality of channel records 152 , each of which contains a channel name field 154 , a linked - list of subscriber records 155 , and a pointer indicating the next subscriber scheduled to receive a message on that channel (“ next_subscriber ”) 156 . as best shown in fig1 c , each subscriber record 155 comprises an address field 157 , a last - time - contacted field 158 , a knowledgeable subject area field 159 , and a pass - by credit (“ pass_credit ”) score 160 . as best shown in fig1 d , the broadcast database 170 comprises a plurality of message records 172 , each of which comprises a message identifier field 174 , a message text field 176 , an unanswerable message indicator (“ unanswerable ”) 178 , round count (“ round_count ”) field 180 , an answer count (“ accepted_answers ”) field 184 , a first subscriber contacted (“ first_contacted ”) field 186 , and a new request indicator (“ new_request ”) field 188 . in operation , the broadcast system 100 of the present invention broadcasts inquiries to subscribers in series of waves and rounds until the sender receives a valid answer . for example , where there are dozens of people subscribed to a broadcast channel , the broadcast system 100 will first send the inquiry to a first “ wave ” of subscribers , then another wave , then another wave , until a subscriber answers the inquiry or until every subscriber to the channel receives the inquiry . each wave in this embodiment will comprise a different handful of subscribers . if the original sender receives and accepts an answer to the inquiry , the broadcast is halted so that other participants do not waste time with a question that has already been satisfactorily answered . if the original sender does not receive a satisfactory answer , the broadcast system 100 resends the inquiry to the same channel in a new series of waves , together with an indication that the sender did not receive an answer during the first “ round ” of broadcast waves . if nobody satisfactorily answers the inquiry after the second round of broadcast waves , the broadcast system 100 broadcasts a final round of messages to a small group of people who are most - likely to know the answer . some embodiments of the present invention record who was the last subscriber to receive an inquiry . these embodiments use this information to start future waves and rounds with the next person on the channel &# 39 ; s subscriber list . in this way , questions that can be answered by almost anyone are spread out among the populace . some embodiments may also allow for the sender to request a number of ‘ acceptable ’ answers and may send the secondary rounds / waves after a short delay to allow for a change in the makeup of people at their terminal . fig2 illustrates one embodiment of the instant messaging broadcast client 128 in more detail . the process begins when a user of the system (“ sender ”) drafts an inquiry at block 202 . next , at block 204 , the sender instructs their broadcast client 128 a to download a list of available channels from the channel database 150 and / or to read a local cache of channel list from memory 112 . the sender then selects at least one channel on which to broadcast the inquiry at block 206 . in some embodiment , the broadcast client 128 a may also include an option to broadcast on “ all available channels ” and / or to “ all subscribers .” at block 207 , the broadcast client 128 asks the sender how many acceptable answers (“ requested_answers ”) are needed . in most cases , the sender &# 39 ; s response will be one . however , other values will be appropriate for certain questions , such as “ i need six volunteers for a task ” or “ i have 5 pairs of tickets to give away .” at block 208 , the sender instructs the broadcast client 128 a to broadcast the inquiry on the selected channel or channels , or onto all channels . in response , the sender &# 39 ; s broadcast client 128 a transmits the inquiry , the name of the selected channel or channels , and the number of desired answers to the broadcast server 148 . as will be discussed in more detail with reference to fig3 - 6 , the broadcast server 148 rebroadcasts the inquiry to the subscribers to the channel ( s ) and forwards the responses , if any , back to the sender &# 39 ; s client 128 a . at blocks 209 - 212 , the sender &# 39 ; s broadcast client 128 a receives and displays the responses , and then asks the sender whether or not each response answered the question satisfactorily ( i . e ., was the answer “ acceptable ”). at block 214 , the broadcast client 128 a transmits the acceptability of an answer to the broadcast server 148 . the broadcast client 128 a repeats blocks 209 - 214 each time it receives a response from the broadcast server 148 . fig3 illustrates the instant messaging broadcast server 148 in more detail . at block 302 , the broadcast server 148 receives the inquiry from the sender &# 39 ; s broadcast client 128 a . at block 304 , the broadcast server 148 creates a new message record 172 n in the broadcast database 170 for the new inquiry . as part of this process , the broadcast server 148 initializes : ( i ) the unanswerable flag 178 n to ‘ false ’ to indicate that the message is not yet considered to be unanswerable ; ( ii ) the round_count counter 180 n to ‘ 1 ’ to indicate that the broadcast server 148 is beginning to process the first round of waves ; ( iii ) the accepted_answer count 184 n to ‘ 0 ’ to indicate that the sender has not accepted any answers at this time ; ( iv ) the first_contact pointer 186 n to the individual currently indicated by the channel &# 39 ; s next_subscriber pointer 156 ; and ( v ) a new_request indicator 188 n to ‘ true ’ to indicate that the broadcast server 148 is beginning to process a new request . next , at block 310 , the broadcast server 148 sends the message to the first wave of subscribers , starting with the subscriber indicated by the next_subscriber pointer . the exact number of subscribers in a wave (“ max_wave ”) can vary , but is usually set by a system administrator to be between about 5 - 20 recipients or between about 5 - 25 % of the total subscribers to the channel . at block 312 , the broadcast server 148 waits for a recipient to respond to the inquiry and processes the responses , if any . if the sender has not received enough acceptable answers ( determined at block 306 ), the broadcast server 148 repeats blocks 308 - 312 until it has sent out a number of rounds equal to a maximum number of rounds allowed (“ max_rounds ”), typically two or three rounds . after the broadcast server 148 has broadcast the maximum number of rounds allowed without receiving enough responses ( determined at block 308 ), the server 148 then broadcasts one final round to a group of recipients (“ experts ”) it deems most likely to give an acceptable response at block 314 . if this last wave is still unsuccessful , the broadcast server 148 resets the expert list at block 316 transmits an error message back to the sender at blocks 318 - 320 . fig4 illustrates the send to next wave block 310 in more detail . at block 402 , the broadcast server 148 initializes a counter (“ wave_count ”). at block 406 , the broadcast server 148 determines if next candidate recipient (“ next_subscriber ”) is the same as the first candidate subscriber to receive this inquiry , as indicated by the first_contact pointer 186 n . if so , the broadcast server 148 increments round_count 180 n and returns to block 310 in fig3 , otherwise the broadcast server continues to block 408 . at block 408 , the broadcast server 148 checks the candidate recipient &# 39 ; s pass - by credit 160 . if the candidate does not have a positive pass - by credit 160 , the broadcast server sends the inquiry to that the candidate at block 410 , updates that the candidate &# 39 ; s last contacted field 158 at block 412 , and increments the wave_count counter by one at block 414 . if the candidate has a positive pass_credit 160 , the broadcast server 148 decrements their pass_credit by one point at block 416 . next , at block 418 , the broadcast server changes the next_subscriber pointer to indicate the next subscriber in the channel &# 39 ; s list of subscribers 155 at block 418 . the broadcast client 148 then repeats blocks 404 - 418 until it broadcasts to the entire wave ( i . e ., wave_count is greater than max_wave at block 404 ) or until has sent the message to the entire subscriber list ( i . e ., next_subscriber = first_contact at block 406 ). the broadcast client 148 then sets the wave_size variable equal to the current wave_count variable at block 422 , increments round_count at block 420 if the round was determined to be complete at block 406 , and then returns to block 310 in fig3 . fig5 a and 5b illustrate the message processing block 312 in more detail . at block 500 , the broadcast server 148 checks to see if the message is marked as unanswerable . at block 501 , if the message not marked as unanswerable ( i . e ., unanswerable = false ), the broadcast server 148 sets a wave size variable (“ wave_size ”) equal to the number of messages sent out in the wave being processed ( set in block 310 or block 314 ) and initializes a counter for the number of answers processed (“ answer_count ”). next , at blocks 504 - 506 , the broadcast server 148 waits for a predetermined amount of time to see if any of the recipients of the broadcast wave (“ recipients ”) will start to answer the inquiry . at blocks 508 - 510 , the broadcast server 148 receives a response from one of the recipients , increments answer_count , and forwards the response to the original sender . this action , in turn , causes the sender &# 39 ; s broadcast client 128 a to display the response on the sender &# 39 ; s computer 102 a and , as shown in blocks 210 - 214 , to ask the sender whether the response answered their question . the broadcast server 148 then waits for a predetermined amount of time to receive an acceptability response from the original sender at blocks 511 - 512 . if an acceptability response is received but the answer is not acceptable ( determined at blocks 511 - 513 ), or if the broadcast server 148 does not receive an acceptability response ( determined at block 511 ), the broadcast server 148 increments the respondent &# 39 ; s pass - by credit 160 by two points at block 514 and waits for additional responses . if an acceptability response was received and the answer was acceptable ( determined at blocks 511 - 513 ), the broadcast server 148 increments the accepted_answers counter 184 n at block 515 , and increments the respondent &# 39 ; s pass - by credit 160 by three points at block 516 . next , at block 518 , the broadcast server 148 analyzes the acceptable answer to determine its subject matter and stores the result in the respondent &# 39 ; s knowledge subject area field 159 ( see fig1 c ). one suitable method for determining the subject matter is to parse the text of the response and / or the original inquiry for keywords , and then storing the keywords in the subject area field 159 . however , other methods of determining subject matter are within the scope of the present invention . after analyzing the accepted answer , the broadcast server 148 determines whether or not the sender has received enough acceptable answers at block 520 ( i . e ., accepted_answers is greater than or equal to requested_answers ). if the sender has received enough answers , the broadcast server 148 can end its processing of this wave . if not , the broadcast server 148 continues to wait for additional answers at blocks 502 - 506 for a predetermine amount of time or until it has processed answers from all of the recipients of the wave ( i . e ., the broadcast server 148 determines if answer_count is less than wave_size at block 502 , then waits to receive an answer at blocks 504 - 506 ), then returns to block 312 in fig3 . fig6 illustrates the send to experts block 314 in more detail . if the broadcast server 148 determines at block 602 that this is the first entry into block 314 for the inquiry , it first initializes a number of variables for the expert wave and generates a list of experts . accordingly , if the broadcast server 148 determines that new_request 188 n equals ‘ true ’ at block 602 , the broadcast server 148 proceeds to set the new_request 188 n indicator to ‘ false ’ at block 604 and then set the wave_size variable to “ 1 ” at block 606 to indicate that the messages will be sent to one expert at a time . next , at block 608 , the broadcast server 148 analyzes the inquiry to determine to what subject matter it pertains . the broadcast server 148 then searches at block 610 for a list of subscribers (“ experts ”) who have answered similar questions in the past and / or have had those answers accepted by the sender . for embodiments using keywords , one suitable method for blocks 608 and 610 is to first parse the inquiry for keywords using an appropriate selection algorithm , and then search the channel database 150 for subscribers having similar keywords in their knowledgeable subject matter field 159 . some embodiments may also require that there be a threshold number of common keywords before identifying the subscriber as an expert . at block 612 , the broadcast server 148 then sorts the list of experts identified at block 610 , first by lowest pass credit , then by the closest subject matter fit ( e . g ., closest match between the sets of keywords ). at blocks 614 - 616 , the broadcast server 148 initializes a counter for the number of experts to whom it has sent the inquiry (“ expert_count ”) and initializes a pointer (“ next_expert ”) to the first expert in the list . the broadcast server 148 then sends the inquiry to the first expert at block 618 , together with an indication that this inquiry is part of the ‘ expert round .’ next , the broadcast server 148 updates the first expert &# 39 ; s last contacted field 158 at block 620 , increments the first expert &# 39 ; s pass_credit score by one point at block 622 to credit the subscriber for being an expert , and then returns to block 314 in fig3 if the broadcast server 148 determines at block 602 that this is not first entry into block 314 for the inquiry ( i . e ., new_request equals ‘ false ’), the broadcast server 148 gets the next expert at block 624 from the sorted list of experts generated at blocks 610 - 612 . if there are experts remaining in the list , the broadcast server 148 then sends the inquiry to the next expert at block 618 , together with an indication that this inquiry is part of the expert wave ; updates the next expert &# 39 ; s last contacted field 158 at block 620 ; increments the next expert &# 39 ; s pass_credit score by one point at block 622 , and then returns to block 314 in fig3 . if there are no experts remaining in the list , the broadcast server 148 sets the unanswerable indicator 178 to “ true ” at block 628 to indicate that it was unable to find an answer to the inquiry . referring again to fig1 a - 1c , the processors 110 , 130 in this embodiment may be any devices capable of executing the program instructions stored in the main memories 112 , 132 ; and may be constructed from one or more microprocessors and / or integrated circuits . furthermore , although the computer systems 102 , 103 are shown to contain only a single processor and a single system bus , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced using a computer system that has multiple processors and / or multiple buses . in addition , the interfaces may each include their own separate , fully programmed microprocessors that are used to off - load compute - intensive processing from the main processors 110 , 130 . when the computers 102 , 103 start up , the processors 110 , 130 initially execute the program instructions that make up the operating systems 124 , 144 . the operating systems 124 , 144 are sophisticated programs that manage the resources of computer systems 102 , 103 , including : the processors 110 , 130 ; the main memories 112 , 132 ; the mass storage interfaces 114 , 134 ; the i / o interfaces 118 , 138 ; the network interfaces 116 , 136 ; and the system buses 122 , 142 . the users may enter commands for the operating system using appropriate i / o devices , such as a keyboard or mouse ( not shown ), connected to the i / o interfaces 118 , 138 . the computer systems 102 , 103 in this embodiment utilize well - known virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the programs of computer systems 102 , 103 to behave as if they have access to a large , single storage entity instead of access to multiple , smaller storage entities such as main memories 112 , 132 and a direct access storage device (“ dasd ”) device ( not shown ). therefore , while the operating systems 124 , 144 , the broadcast client 128 , the broadcast server 148 and their associated data , are shown to reside in main memory 112 , 132 , those skilled in the art will recognize that these items are not necessarily all completely contained in main memory 112 , 132 at the same time , and may also reside in the virtual memory of other computer systems coupled to the computer system 102 , 103 . one suitable server computer 103 is an eserver iseries ® computer running the os / 400 ® multitasking operating system , both of which are produced by international business machines corporation of armonk , n . y . one suitable client computer 102 is a thinkpad ® computer running the linux ™ operating system , both of which are also available from international business machines of armonk , n . y . however , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms and apparatus of the present invention apply equally to any computer system and operating system , regardless of whether the computer system is a complicated multi - user computing apparatus , a single workstation , or an embedded control system . the present invention also applies to other client devices 102 capable of receiving and transmitting user input , including without limitation , pervasive computing devices , such as cellular telephones , personal digital assistants (“ pda ”), and the like . the communication medium 104 can be any device or system that allows the computers 102 , 103 to communicate with each other . the network interfaces 116 , 136 , accordingly , can be any device that facilitates such communication . suitable communication mediums include , but are not limited to , the internet , intranets , cellular transmission networks , networks using the ieee 802 . 11 specification , and the like . those skilled in the art will appreciate that many different network protocols can be used to implement the communication medium 104 . transmission control protocol / internet protocol (“ tcp / ip ”) is an example of a suitable network protocol for internet communication . the embodiment described with reference to fig1 - 6 uses a client - server network architecture . these embodiments are desirable because the broadcast client 128 can utilize the service of the broadcast server 148 without either computer requiring knowledge of the working details about the other . however , those skilled in the art , will appreciate that other network architectures are within the scope of the present invention . examples of other suitable network architectures include peer - to - peer architectures and three - tier architectures . the address field 157 may contain any information capable of identifying resources on the communication medium 104 . the message identifier 174 , similarly , may contain any information capable of identifying individual broadcast messages . for embodiments using the internet , the address field 157 may contain an electronic mail address associated with the user . these mail addresses are typically in the form user_name @ mail_server_name , where mail_server_name specifies the name of a mail server for the user , and user_name is the name of the user known to the mail server . for embodiments using the cellular telephony networks , the address field 157 may contain the telephone number associated with the pervasive device . suitable information for the message identifier field 174 includes a serial number and sender / timestamp information . the present invention offers numerous advantages over conventional broadcast systems . for example , the broadcast system 100 described with reference to fig1 - 6 reduces number of times it will interrupt each subscriber by sending inquiries to a subset of subscribers at a time and then halting the broadcast once the sender receives enough acceptable answers . the present invention also reduces interruptions by shifting the broadcast starting point among the subscribers . that is , the present invention will start the broadcast with the individual indicated by the next_subscriber pointer 156 , which will point at a random subscriber . in addition , the present invention increases the chance that the sender will receive an acceptable answer by ensuring that the broadcast goes to substantially all of the subscribers , and by targeting a final broadcast round at individuals who are most likely to know the answer . yet another advantage of the present invention is that its pass - by credit system rewards recipients who respond to questions frequently and knowledgeably by directing future questions to others . although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to certain examples thereof , it may be also embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential spirit or attributes thereof . for example , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms , and applies equally regardless of the particular type of signal bearing media used to actually carry out the distribution . examples of suitable signal bearing media include , but are not limited to : ( i ) information permanently stored on non - writable storage media ( e . g ., read - only memory devices within a computer such as cd - rom disks readable by a cd - rom drive ); ( ii ) alterable information stored on writable storage media ( e . g ., floppy disks within a diskette drive , a cd - r disk , a cd - rw disk , or hard - disk drive ); or ( iii ) information conveyed to a computer by a transmission medium , such as through a computer or telephone network , including wireless communications , and specifically includes information downloaded from the internet and other networks . such signal - bearing media , when carrying computer - readable instructions that direct the functions of the present invention , represent embodiments of the present invention . in addition , those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the present invention is suitable for use with communications other than inquiries . for example , the present invention could be used to communicate announcements to an organization , such as “ it is your turn to receive your holiday gift .” these embodiments may be desirable because the present invention will reduce the peak load on the network associated with the broadcast and because the present invention can encourage employees to come to the physical location in manageable groups . the accompanying figures and this description depicted and described embodiments of the present invention , and features and components thereof . those skilled in the art will appreciate that any particular program nomenclature used in this description was merely for convenience , and thus the invention should not be limited to use solely in any specific application identified and / or implied by such nomenclature . thus , for example , the routines executed to implement the embodiments of the invention , whether implemented as part of an operating system or a specific application , component , program , module , object , or sequence of instructions could have been referred to as a “ program ”, “ application ”, “ server ”, or other meaningful nomenclature . therefore , it is desired that the embodiments described herein be considered in all respects as illustrative , not restrictive , and that reference be made to the appended claims for determining the scope of the invention . | 7 |
we have found by a combination of theory and numerical simulations that when using a borehole tool with a sampling probe device having an inner probe and an outer probe surrounding the inner probe to obtain a sample of formation fluid having a given low level of contamination by borehole fluid and filtrate ( that is , borehole fluid that has seeped into the so - called invaded zone around the borehole ), the time taken to obtain the sample not only varies widely with the viscosity of the filtrate and the radial extent of the invaded zone , but is also significantly affected by the ratio of the flow rate of the fluid flowing into the inner sampling probe to the total flow rate into the outer probe and the inner sampling probe . the present invention is based on the appreciation that varying this ratio in dependence upon such parameters as the relative viscosities of the formation fluid and the filtrate , the radial extent of the invaded zone , and the permeability and the anisotropy of the formation , which are often known in advance , can significantly reduce the time taken to obtain the sample . with reference now to the drawings , the apparatus shown in fig1 comprises an elongate modular borehole tool 10 suspended on a wireline or slickline 12 in a borehole 14 penetrating an earth formation 16 believed to contain exploitable , ie recoverable , hydrocarbons . surrounding the borehole 14 , to a radial distance of up to several tens of centimetres , is an invaded zone 18 of the formation 16 into which contaminants , typically filtrate from drilling mud used in the drilling of the borehole , have penetrated from the borehole . the borehole tool 10 is provided with a sampling probe device 20 which will be described in more detail hereinafter and which projects laterally from the tool . the sampling probe device 20 is urged into firm contact with the wall of the borehole 14 adjacent the formation 16 by an anchoring device 22 , which is mounted on the side of the tool 10 substantially opposite the sampling probe and which presses against the borehole wall . as will become apparent , the sampling probe device 20 includes inner and outer probes 24 , 26 having respective flow areas whose ratio can be varied . the inner probe 24 is selectively connectable via an outlet conduit 28 containing a pair of changeover ( or diverter ) valves 30 either to a sample chamber 32 or to a dump outlet ( not shown ), while the outer probe 26 is coupled via an outlet conduit 34 to a dump outlet ( not shown ). both of the probes 24 , 26 are arranged to draw fluid samples from the formation 16 , under the control of respective pumps 38 and a control system 40 which controls the valves 30 and the pumps 38 . in the event it is determined that a sample of the formation having an acceptably low level of contamination can be obtained via the inner probe 24 , the control system 40 operates pumps 38 to control the relative flow rates or pressures at the inner and outer probes 24 , 26 , and sets the valves 30 to direct the sample from the inner probe 24 into the sample chamber 32 . it will be appreciated that in the borehole tool 10 of fig1 a , fluid is drawn into the sample chamber 32 without passing through the relevant pump 38 . in the modification of figure of fig1 b , the fluid passes through the relevant pump 38 en route to the sample chamber . other modifications which can be made include using a single pump in place of the two pumps 38 , and providing the conduit 34 with valves and a sample chamber analogous to the valves 30 and sample chamber 32 , so that the fluid obtained via the outer probe 26 can be selectively retained or dumped , rather than always dumped . as can be seen in fig2 the inner and outer probes 24 , 26 of the sampling probe device 20 can be either circular and concentric , with the outer probe completely surrounding the inner probe , as shown in fig2 ( a ), or rectangular , again with the outer probe completely surrounding the inner probe , as shown in fig2 ( b ). fig3 shows a preferred implementation of the sampling probe device of fig2 ( a ), in which the inner probe 24 is replaceable by virtue of having a screw - threaded connection 42 with the end of its conduit 28 , so that the aforementioned variable flow area ratio feature can be achieved simply by changing the inner probe 24 for one having a different diameter . it will be appreciated that the outer wall of the outer probe 26 can alternatively or additionally be made replaceable by use of a similar screw - threaded connection with the outer wall of its conduit 34 , thus permitting the range of variation of the flow area ratio to be widened . in another implementation , the whole probe device 20 can be made replaceable , so that the variable flow are feature is achieved by selecting one of several sampling probe devices 20 each having inner and outer probes of different flow area ratio . the alternative implementation of the sampling probe device 20 shown in fig4 and 5 comprises inner , intermediate and outer probes 44 , 46 and 48 , which are substantially circular and concentric with each other . the intermediate probe 46 completely surrounds the inner probe 44 , while the outer probe 48 completely surrounds the intermediate probe 46 . all three of the probes 44 , 46 , 48 withdraw fluid samples from the formation 16 under the control of the pump 38 and the control system 40 of fig1 but the outlet conduit 50 of the intermediate probe includes a valve 52 , also controlled by the control system 40 , by which the fluid sample withdrawn via the intermediate probe 46 can be selectively combined either with the sample in the conduit 28 from the inner probe 44 , or with the sample in the conduit 34 from the outer probe 48 . it will be appreciated that these alternatives are equivalent to increasing the flow area of the inner probe 44 by the flow area of the intermediate probe 46 on the one hand , and increasing the flow area of the outer probe 48 by the flow area of the intermediate probe 46 on the other hand , thus achieving the aforementioned variable flow area ratio mentioned earlier . one way of implementing the valve 52 of the sampling probe device 20 of fig4 and 5 is shown in fig6 . thus the conduits 28 , 50 and 34 of the probes 44 , 46 and 48 respectively are coaxially internested , and a shuttle valve member 54 is axially movable in the conduit 50 between a first position , in which it opens a port 56 between the conduit 50 and the conduit 28 while closing a port 58 between the conduit 50 and the conduit 34 , and a second position , in which it closes the port 56 and opens the port 58 . it will be appreciated that the principles underlying the probe sampling device 20 of fig4 to 6 , which provides two different flow area ratios , can readily be extended by using more than three concentrically arranged probes communicating with a corresponding number of coaxially internested outlet conduits and having an appropriate number of shuttle or other switchover valves . and although it is convenient for the probes and their outlet conduits to be circular in section , it is not essential : as already described , rectangular sections can also be used . fig7 to 13 , each of which is made up of four separate figures referenced ( a ), ( b ), ( c ) and ( d ), show different implementations of variable area probes , each of which can be used as the inner probe 24 of the sampling probe device 20 of fig1 ( as shown ), and / or as the outer probe 26 . thus the probe 24 of fig7 comprises a tube 60 made of a soft deformable compound , and is shown undeformed in fig7 ( a ), with its flow area in its undeformed state shown in fig7 ( b ). applying an axial force to the tube 60 to press it more firmly against the borehole wall deforms the probe and reduces its flow area as shown in fig7 ( c ) and 7 ( d ) respectively . the axial force can be applied by any suitable mechanism , eg a mechanical , electromechanical or hydraulic mechanism . the probe 24 of fig8 comprises a tube 62 made from a semi - stiff deformable material which is thinner than the material of the probe of fig7 . otherwise , its mode of use is basically similar to that of the fig7 probe , and the views of fig8 ( a ) to 8 ( d ) correspond to those of fig7 ( a ) to 7 ( d ). the probe 24 of fig9 comprises an array of close - fitting coaxially - internested cylinders 64 , which are arranged such that an increasing axial force progressively increases the number of them , from the outer one towards the inner one , in contact with the borehole wall , thus progressively decreasing the flow area of the probe . the maximum flow area state of the probe is shown in fig9 ( a ) and 9 ( b ), while a reduced flow area state is shown in fig9 ( c ) and 9 ( d ). [ 0040 ] fig1 shows a variation of the fig9 probe , in which the cylinders 64 are coupled together at each of their ends 66 , but which otherwise operates in substantially the same manner . the probe 24 of fig1 comprises a single spirally - wound cylinder 68 , whose staggered inner turns respond to an axial force in a manner analogous to the interested cylinders of fig9 and 10 . again , the maximum flow area state of the probe is shown in fig1 ( a ) and 11 ( b ), while a reduced flow area state is shown in fig1 ( c ) and 11 ( d ). [ 0042 ] fig1 and 13 show probes 24 both made from a cylindrical tightly coiled spring 70 with a trumpet - shaped end 72 for contacting the borehole wall : in the former , the spring has a flat coil at its borehole contact end , while in the latter , the spring is potted in a suitable elastomer . in both cases , axial force increases the number of coils of the spring in contact with the borehole wall , so decreasing the flow area of the probe . several modifications can be made to the described embodiments of the invention . for example , the inner and outer probes need not be circular or rectangular in section , but can be elliptical , ellipsoidal , polygonal or any other convenient shape , or even different from each other , as long as the outer probe surrounds the inner probe . in practice , the geometry of the probes is typically selected in dependence upon such parameters as the depth of invasion of the filtrate , the ratio between the viscosity of the filtrate and the viscosity of the formation fluids , and the permeability and anisotropy of the formations . | 4 |
the following discussion is directed to various embodiments of the invention . although one or more of these embodiments may be preferred , the embodiments disclosed should not be interpreted , or otherwise used , as limiting the scope of the disclosure , including the claims . in addition , one skilled in the art will understand that the following description has broad application , and the discussion of any embodiment is meant only to be exemplary of that embodiment , and not intended to intimate that the scope of the disclosure , including the claims , is limited to that embodiment . embodiments of the invention comprise a soldermask abutting a substrate ( e . g ., a fcbga substrate ) having multiple metal traces . portions of some of the metal traces may be exposed from underneath the soldermask by way of one or more apertures in the solder mask . the apertures may be substantially rectangular in shape and may expose a plurality of metal traces , although other shapes also may be used . each of the apertures may be separated from another aperture by a segment of the soldermask situated therebetween . solder bumps may be formed abutting alternating metal traces in each aperture , although other solder bump arrangements also may be used . in alternate embodiments , sections of metal traces not having solder bumps may be covered with the soldermask . the various embodiments are , at least to some extent , made possible by the realization that surface tension causes a melted solder bump on a substrate to cease flowing once the solder reaches an equilibrium point . for this reason , soldermasks with precisely - defined openings are unnecessary for fine pitch substrates and present higher production costs . thus , a soldermask having less - precisely - defined openings than those described in the background may be used to prevent short circuits caused by solder reflow . presented herein is such a soldermask design that reduces cost , prevents short - circuits on fine pitch substrates during solder reflow processes , and protects the substrates from damage during various portions of the package assembly process . fig2 a shows a cross - sectional side view of a flip - chip ball grid array (“ fcbga ”) package 96 comprising a substrate 100 partially covered by a solder mask 104 abutting the substrate 100 . the substrate 100 comprises a plurality of metal traces 102 . the metal traces 102 are electrically coupled to an ic 106 by way of solder bumps 108 . the substrate 100 is electrically coupled to a printed circuit board (“ pcb ”) 98 by way of solder bumps 110 situated therebetween . the metal traces 102 are used to receive electrical signals from the ic 106 . in turn , the metal traces 102 carry the electrical signals through the substrate 100 to the pcb 98 . fig2 b shows a top view of the package 96 of fig1 during electrical connection of the ic 106 ( not shown ) to the metal traces 102 . specifically , fig2 b illustrates the substrate 100 partially covered by the solder mask 104 abutting the substrate 100 . the solder mask 104 comprises apertures 1 - 4 that expose the substrate 100 . each of the apertures 1 - 4 also exposes multiple metal traces 102 , wherein at least some of the metal traces 102 are electrically coupled to solder bumps 108 . more particularly , the apertures 3 and 4 are situated beneath a core 105 of the die 106 and expose multiple metal traces 102 on the substrate 100 . the apertures 1 and 2 preferably are substantially continuous , concentric rectangles . each of the apertures 3 and 4 preferably are continuous , substantially linear apertures , although the apertures 3 and 4 also may be arrange in a concentric rectangular configuration or any other suitable configuration . any shape that enables the apertures 1 - 4 to be substantially continuous channels may be used . the ic 106 ( not shown ) couples to the metal traces 102 preferably , but not necessarily , at the solder bumps 108 . whereas currently used soldermasks have precisely - defined solder bump openings for the solder bumps 108 , the soldermask 104 permits the solder bumps 108 to be deposited on the metal traces 102 and flow until the solder reaches a state of equilibrium and ceases to flow . the solder of the solder bumps 108 ceases to flow before establishing contact ( i . e ., an electrical connection ) with an adjacent metal trace 102 and / or an adjacent solder bump 108 , thus reducing or eliminating the possibility of a short - circuit on the substrate 100 . in at least some embodiments , the solder bumps 108 are staggered such that the possibility of a short circuit caused by excessive solder flow is further reduced . more specifically , and referring to aperture 1 , in accordance with at least some embodiments , no two adjacent metal traces 102 have a solder bump 108 . likewise , no two adjacent metal traces 102 in aperture 2 of the substrate 100 have a solder bump 108 . although not required , staggering the solder bumps 108 in this way further decreases the chances that solder may flow to electrically connect with an adjacent metal trace 102 and / or an adjacent solder bump 108 and cause a short circuit . as previously mentioned , the solder bumps 108 represent preferred solder bump locations . the scope of disclosure is not limited to these sites ; a solder bump may be coupled to any suitable location on the metal traces 102 . in the various embodiments mentioned above , and as indicated by the arrows shown in fig2 b , the spacing between adjacent solder bumps 108 may be approximately 120 micrometers , the width of the soldermask 104 situated between apertures 1 and 2 may be approximately 105 micrometers , and the width of the apertures 1 - 4 may be approximately 105 micrometers each . furthermore , the width of the metal traces 102 may be between approximately 30 and 45 micrometers , and the spacing between adjacent metal traces 102 ( i . e ., metal traces in the same unmasked portion of the substrate 100 ) may be between approximately 15 and 30 micrometers . the scope of disclosure is not limited to these parameters . the risk of a short - circuit caused by electrical contact between a solder bump 108 and an adjacent solder bump 108 and / or an adjacent metal trace 102 may be mitigated further by adjusting the width of one or more of the apertures 3 and 4 . specifically , the flow of the solder bumps 108 may be controlled by adjusting the width of the apertures 3 and / or 4 . referring to fig2 a and 2 b , for example , reducing the width of the aperture 3 may cause the solder bumps 108 in the aperture 3 to flow less than if the aperture 3 was widened . because the solder bumps 108 flow less , the heights 180 of the solder bumps 108 may increase . conversely , increasing the width of the aperture 3 may cause the solder bumps 108 in the aperture 3 to flow more than if the width of the aperture 3 was decreased . because the solder bumps 108 flow more , the heights 180 of the solder bumps 108 may decrease . when the heights 180 of the solder bumps 108 in the aperture 3 are increased , the clearance height 182 between the die 106 and the metal traces 102 also increases . conversely , when the heights 180 of the solder bumps 108 in the aperture 3 are decreased , the clearance height 182 is decreased . an increase in the clearance height 182 , as illustrated in fig2 c , alleviates the pressure of the die 106 on the solder bumps 108 in the apertures 1 , 2 and 4 . this decrease in pressure keeps each solder bump 108 from flowing a substantial distance away from the corresponding metal trace 102 , thus further reducing the likelihood of a short circuit . a decrease in clearance height 182 , as illustrated in fig2 d , increases the pressure of the die 106 on the solder bumps 108 in the apertures 1 , 2 and 4 . this increase in pressure forces each solder bump 108 to flow a greater distance from the corresponding metal trace 102 than that shown in fig2 c . although the risk of a short circuit is somewhat increased , the die 106 is closer to the substrate 100 , thus reducing overall size of the package 96 . because the risk of short circuits and the importance of the size of a package is largely application - specific , the width of the aperture 3 ( and / or the apertures 1 , 2 and 4 ) may be adjusted accordingly . although the widths of some or all of the apertures 1 - 4 may be adjusted , adjusting the apertures 3 and 4 generally is preferred , since in some embodiments , circuit design rules may be more lenient in the core 105 than in other portions of the die 106 . the soldermask 104 may be fabricated using a process shown in fig3 . the process may begin with the coating of the substrate surface with liquid soldermask material ( block 300 ). any suitable material may be used . the process may be continued by exposing the soldermask material to light in accordance with the design of the soldermask 104 ( block 302 ). in this way , portions of the soldermask are chemically altered . the process may be further continued by processing or developing the soldermask using etchants , such that at least some of the portions of the soldermask are etched away , leaving a soldermask having a pattern substantially similar to the pattern of the soldermask 104 or some other desired soldermask pattern ( block 304 ). finally , the soldermask is cured , such as by heating the soldermask in an oven until the soldermask is dry and adhering to the substrate surface ( block 306 ). once solder bumps are affixed to the metal traces on the substrate , an integrated circuit or any such suitable device may be electrically coupled to the solder bumps . the above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various embodiments of the present invention . numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated . it is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications . | 7 |
referring now in detail to the drawings and initially to fig1 , an exemplary valve according to the invention is designated generally by reference numeral 10 . the valve 10 generally comprises a valve body 11 having a fluid inlet 12 and a fluid outlet 13 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the valve may be used in systems where flow is from the fluid outlet to the fluid inlet , although for most freeze - proof applications flow will be from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet . a valve seat 15 , which may also be referred to as a valve orifice , is located in the valve body 11 between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet , and a valve member 17 is movable towards and away from the valve seat 15 for controlling the flow of fluid from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet . the valve member 17 may be actuated by any suitable means such as by a solenoid , fluid pressure , etc ., depending on the particular application . in most fuel cell applications , the valve member will be actuated by electromagnetic means , such as a solenoid or the like that may be controlled by the overall system controller . in the illustrated embodiment , the valve member 17 is a diaphragm valve that is sealed to the valve body 11 to prevent fluid such as water from entering the actuator 18 . as will be appreciated , moisture inside the actuator could cause freeze - up of a solenoid armature or other actuating component . as shown , the diaphragm valve may be provided with an arrow - shape tab or button 19 that can be pressed into a correspondingly shaped socket in the end of a solenoid armature ( not shown ). in the illustrated embodiment , the valve body 11 is composed of several parts including a housing structure 20 that may be part of an overall housing ( e . g . a manifold block ) containing various other components and / or flow passages in addition to those associated with the illustrated valve 10 . the housing structure 20 includes a stepped chamber 21 for receiving various other components of the valve 10 . the stepped chamber 21 is open at its lower end to the fluid inlet 12 and has assembled therein , going from bottom to top , a valve seat stem seal 22 , an insulating support washer 23 , and a valve body insert 24 that has a stepped interior chamber 25 in which other components of the valve are assembled and carried thereby . the components assembled in the valve body insert 24 include , going from bottom to top , an electrical contact 26 , a resilient member 27 , a heater 28 , the valve seat 15 , the valve member 17 , and retention ring 29 that serves to hold the radially outer peripheral portion of the valve member ( a diaphragm in the illustrated embodiment ) in sealed engagement with the valve body , in particular the valve body insert thereby closing off the otherwise open end of the chamber 25 in the valve body insert . the valve body insert 24 has recesses at opposite axial sides of a drain passage 30 leading to the fluid outlet 13 , which recesses accommodate respective annular seals 32 and 33 that seal the valve body insert to the interior surface of the chamber 21 in the housing structure 20 . in the illustrated embodiment , the electrical contact 26 , resilient member 27 and heater 28 are annular and telescoped over a valve seat stem 35 the depends from a main portion 36 of the valve seat 15 . the main portion 36 may be externally threaded as shown for threaded receipt in a correspondingly threaded portion of the valve body insert 24 . when the valve seat is threaded into the valve body insert , the electrical contact 26 , resilient member 27 and heater 28 will be sandwiched between an annular bottom surface of the main portion 36 that surrounds the valve seat stem 35 and a radially inturned shoulder 39 at the lower end of the valve body insert . in addition , the resilient member 27 will be compressed whereby the electrical contact 26 will be resiliently biased against the insulating washer 23 , and the heater will be resiliently biased against the underside of the main portion 36 of the valve seat . the valve seat may also have an annular recess for accommodating an annular seal 41 for sealing the valve seat to the valve body insert at a location between the fluid inlet 12 and an annular well 42 that surrounds an upwardly protruding portion 44 of the valve seat that terminates at a valve seat surface 45 that can be engaged by the valve member 17 to close the open upper end of an inlet passage 47 in the valve seat . as shown , the inlet passage 47 may extend axially to a lower end of the valve seat stem for communication with the fluid inlet 12 , and the annular well 42 may be connected by the drain passage 30 to the fluid outlet 13 . as will be appreciated , the resilient member 27 will hold the heater 28 into intimate contact with the heater to establish a good thermally conductive path therebetween , and also to establish an electrically conductive path in the illustrated embodiment . in addition , the heater 28 will be located in close proximity to the valve seat surface 45 for localized heating that enables a reduction in power requirements and a reduction of thaw time . moreover , the valve body insert 24 may be formed by a plastic or other thermally insulating material to minimize heat loss . also , the resilient member 27 may be formed by one or more thin springs as shown that leave an air gap of significant size that further prevents the escape of heat . in the illustrated embodiment , the heater 28 is of a type wherein the electrical contacts therefor are provided at opposite axial ends of the heater . this enables electrical connection of the heater to a power source through the valve seat 15 and the electrical contact 26 via the resilient member 27 . if power is supplied in this manner , the valve seat at least in part is made of an electrically conductive material for making an electrical connection to one side of the heater . for example , the entire valve seat may be made of an electrically conductive material , and consequently an electrical lead can be connected to any convenient portion of the valve seat , such as to the valve seat stem 35 . likewise , the resilient member and the electrical contact may be made of an electrically conductive material , and a suitable power lead may connected conveniently to the electrical contact . by way of a specific example , the valve seat and electrical contact may be made of an electrically conductive metal such as electrically conductive steel , and the resilient member may be one or more electrically conductive springs , such as wave or belleville springs . the springs 27 and contact 26 of course should be electrically isolated from the valve seat 15 in this exemplary electrical circuit to prevent short circuits . as shown , the springs and contact are radially spaced from the valve seat stem 35 . electrical isolation of the valve seat in the illustrated embodiment is effected by the valve body insert 24 which is made of an electrically nonconductive material such as plastic . similarly , the insulating support washer 23 may be made of an electrically insulating material such as plastic . those skilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements may be used to effect electrical connection of the heater to an external power source , including other arrangements using one or more of the valve seat and resilient member as part of the electrical circuit that supplies power to the heater . in a preferred embodiment , the heater 28 is a positive coefficient ( ptc ) heater such as a ptc pill of a commonly available type . such a heater includes a material that exhibits a positive temperature coefficient such as barium strontium - titanate . such material may have at least its upper surface covered with a heatsink material having high heat conductivity . the temperature of the heater 28 , and consequently the valve seat 15 , is controlled by the heating value of the ptc heater / pill which has the property of increasing its electrical resistance with temperature so that the temperature cannot exceed a certain value . this advantageously provides efficient power management and further prevents overheating of the valve seat . the illustrated valve 10 is particularly suited for use in a fuel cell system . in a drain valve application , fluid ( e . g . water ) flows upwardly through the inlet passage 47 . when the valve is open , fluid can flow over the valve seat surface 45 and down into the well 42 for draining to the fluid outlet 13 . as will be appreciated , the illustrated design is self - draining and thus reduces if not eliminates pooling of water around the valve seat surface . during freezing conditions , electrical current can be passed through the valve seat 15 to the top side of the heater 28 and from the bottom side into the resilient member 27 , such elements forming part of an electrical circuit . this will heat the valve seat locally near the source of the valve seat surface thereby melting any frozen water that could interfere with proper operation of the valve . as will be appreciated , other types of heaters and circuit configurations may be used , with fig2 showing another exemplary valve 60 according to the invention . in this embodiment , a valve body 61 made of plastic includes a locating pocket for receiving a heater 62 , in particular a ptc pill . the heater has a central aperture through which the stem 63 of a valve seat 64 extends . the valve seat is made of an electrically conductive material such as an electrically conductive metal and has an axially extending inlet passage 67 . the inlet passage is connected at one end to a fluid inlet 68 , while the other open end is surrounded by a raised annular valve seat surface 70 that can be engaged by a valve member 71 to open and close the valve . in the illustrated embodiment , the valve member is provided at the end of the plunger 72 of a solenoid 73 assembled to the valve body 61 . when the valve member is unseated from the valve seat surface , fluid can flow from the inlet passage to a fluid outlet 75 . power to the heater is supplied by power leads 77 and 78 that pass through a bore / passage 80 in the valve body 61 . one lead 78 is connected by suitable means , such as by soldering , to the bottom side of the heater pill 62 . the other lead 77 is connected to the valve seat stem 63 which electrically connects via the head portion of the valve seat to the top side of the heater pill . after the electrical connections have been made and the valve seat and heater are positioned in the valve body as shown , the bore / passage for the leads may be filled with a potting compound 83 that may surround and bond to insulation covering the leads 77 and 78 . turning now to fig3 and 4 , another exemplary valve according to the invention is indicated generally at 90 ( fig4 ). like the valve 10 shown in fig1 , the valve 90 generally comprises a valve body 91 having a fluid inlet 92 and a fluid outlet 93 . as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art , the valve 90 may be used in systems where flow is from the fluid outlet to the fluid inlet , although for most freeze - proof applications flow will be from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet . a valve seat 95 is located in the valve body 91 between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet , and a valve member 97 is movable towards and away from the valve seat 95 for controlling the flow of fluid from the fluid inlet to the fluid outlet . the valve member 97 may be actuated by any suitable means such as by a solenoid , fluid pressure , etc ., depending on the particular application . in most fuel cell applications , the valve member will be actuated by electromagnetic means , such as a solenoid or the like that may be controlled by the overall system controller . the valve member 97 , for example , is a diaphragm valve that is sealed to the valve body 91 to prevent fluid such as water from entering the actuator 98 . the diaphragm valve may be provided with an arrow - shape tab or button 99 that can be pressed into a correspondingly shaped socket 100 in the end of a solenoid armature 101 . in the illustrated embodiment , the valve body 91 is composed of several parts including a housing structure 120 that may be part of an overall housing ( e . g . a manifold block ) containing various other components and / or flow passages in addition to those associated with the illustrated valve 90 . the housing structure 120 includes a stepped chamber 121 for receiving various other components of the valve 90 . the stepped chamber 121 is open at its lower end to the fluid inlet 92 and has assembled therein , going from bottom to top , a valve seat stem seal 122 , a valve seat housing insert 124 , and a valve body insert 125 . the valve body insert 125 carries the valve member 97 and closes the outer end of the chamber 121 . the valve body insert has an annular recess for an annular seal 127 that seals to the wall of the chamber 121 . as shown , the valve body insert may have at the axially outer end thereof an attachment device 128 , such as the illustrated catches for engaging a shoulder surface on a mounting plate 129 to which the actuator 98 may be connected . the valve seat housing insert in the illustrated embodiment is made of an electrically nonconductive material , in particular plastic , although any suitable material may be used . the valve seat housing insert 124 has an interior chamber 135 in which other components of the valve are assembled and carried thereby , thereby forming the subassembly illustrated in fig3 . the components assembled in the valve seat housing insert 124 include the valve seat 95 , a heater 137 and a heater clip 138 for holding the heater to the valve seat . in the illustrated embodiment , a tubular stem portion 140 of the valve seat protrudes from a bottom end of the valve seat housing insert 124 and is sealed to the housing structure by the seal 122 . another annular seal 142 also is provided to seal the valve seat housing insert to the housing structure 120 . the valve seat housing insert may be secured in the housing structure by any suitable means , such as by press fitting of a lower axial end portion into a receiving portion of the housing structure . likewise , the valve seat may be secured by any suitable means in the valve seat housing insert , such as by press fitting of a collar portion thereof into a corresponding receptacle portion of the valve seat housing insert . the valve seat may be provided with a recess for receiving an annular seal 144 that seals the valve seat to the valve seat housing insert . in the illustrated embodiment , the heater clip 138 has an insulating portion 146 that may be press - fitted or otherwise assembled on the stem portion 140 of the valve seat 95 , and an electrically conductive spring finger portion 147 attached to the insulating portion . the spring finger portion has one or more spring fingers 148 that hold respective heating elements 150 of the heater to the valve seat . as shown , the spring fingers may hold the heating elements to respective flats on the sides of the valve seat that may be provided with pockets for receiving and locating the heating elements . as will be appreciated , the spring fingers 148 will hold the heater elements 150 in intimate contact with the valve seat to establish a good thermally conductive path therebetween , and also to establish an electrically conductive path in the illustrated embodiment . this provides for localized heating of the valve seat within the interior of the valve body , thereby enabling a reduction in power requirements and a reduction of thaw time . moreover , the valve body insert 124 may be formed by a plastic or other thermally insulating material to minimize heat loss . in the illustrated embodiment , the heater elements 150 are of a type wherein the electrical contacts therefor are provided at opposite axial ends . this enables electrical connection of each heater element to a power source through the valve seat 95 and the heater clip 138 via the respective spring finger 148 . if power is supplied in this manner , the valve seat at least in part is made of an electrically conductive material for making an electrical connection to one side of each heater element . if desired , the entire valve seat may be made of an electrically conductive material , and consequently an electrical lead 153 can be connected to any convenient portion of the valve seat , such as to the valve seat stem as seen at 154 in fig3 . likewise , the spring finger portion of the heater clip may be made of an electrically conductive material , and a suitable power lead 156 may connected conveniently to the clip portion of the clip as seen at 157 in fig3 . by way of a specific example , the valve seat and spring finger portion may be made of an electrically conductive metal such as electrically conductive steel . in a preferred embodiment , the heater elements 150 are positive coefficient ( ptc ) heater elements such as a ptc pills of a commonly available type . such heater elements includes a material that exhibits a positive temperature coefficient such as barium strontium - titanate . the temperature of the heater , and consequently the valve seat 15 , is controlled by the heating value of the ptc heater / pill which has the property of increasing its electrical resistance with temperature so that the temperature cannot exceed a certain value . this advantageously provides efficient power management and further prevents overheating of the valve seat . the illustrated valve 90 is particularly suited for use in a fuel cell system . in a drain valve application , fluid ( e . g . water ) flows upwardly through an inlet passage 160 in the valve seat . when the valve is open , fluid can flow over a valve seat surface 161 and down along a downwardly sloped skirt portion 162 of the valve seat that overlaps the upper end of the valve seat housing insert for draining to the fluid outlet 13 . as will be appreciated , the illustrated design is self - draining and thus reduces if not eliminates pooling of water around the valve seat surface . during freezing conditions , electrical current can be supplied to the heater for melting any frozen water that could interfere with proper operation of the valve . the foregoing exemplary embodiments are simply that , i . e . examples of how the principles of the invention can be applied for particular applications . as above indicated , the valve has particular application in fuel cell systems , such as for use as a drain valve . valves in accordance with the invention may have other applications such as for use as vent valves , particularly where water or water vapor may be vented through the valve . although the invention has been shown and described with respect to a certain preferred embodiment or embodiments , it is obvious that equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon the reading and understanding of this specification and the annexed drawings . in particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described elements ( components , assemblies , devices , compositions , etc . ), the terms ( including a reference to a “ means ”) used to describe such elements are intended to correspond , unless otherwise indicated , to any element which performs the specified function of the described element ( i . e ., that is functionally equivalent ), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the invention . in addition , while a particular feature of the invention may have been described above with respect to only one or more of several illustrated embodiments , such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiments , as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application . | 8 |
fig1 illustrates a first preferred embodiment of the fuel delivery system of the present invention for use in an engine . the fuel delivery system includes a fuel pump 2 located in a fuel tank 4 and having an electronic fuel pump motor 6 contained therein . fuel pump 2 is connected to the beginning of a fuel delivery line 8 which extends from fuel pump 2 to a plurality of fuel injectors 12 . positioned along fuel delivery line 8 is an accumulator 10 which can also be positioned in fuel pump 2 as shown in fig2 in each of the fuel injectors 12 as shown in fig3 or in fuel tank 4 as shown in fig4 . accumulator 10 shown in fig3 - 5 can be in the form of one of the types of accumulators described below . in the embodiment of fig1 accumulator 10 includes an expansible tubing member 14 having an air bubble 16 and a reserve amount of fuel 18 contained therein . air in air bubble 16 is compressed or expanded according to the various pressure changes in fuel delivery line 8 . for example , if the engine is suddenly accelerated , there is a sudden large demand for fuel caused by rapid and expansive opening of fuel injectors 12 . such an opening of injectors 12 results in all of the fuel in fuel delivery line 8 being supplied to injectors 12 and a resulting loss in pressure in fuel delivery line 8 . fuel pump motor 6 may not be able to operate fuel pump 2 quickly enough to supply all of the sudden large demand to injectors 12 . when a pressure in fuel delivery line 8 decreases , air in air bubble 16 expands to force reserve fuel 18 into fuel delivery line 8 to compensate for the latency period of fuel pump 2 . accumulator 10 ensures sufficient fuel is immediately supplied to injectors 12 despite a delay in fuel pump 2 reaching a required pumping capacity . once the fuel pump reaches a required pumping capacity and the reserve fuel 18 is replenished to the original level , the pressure of the air in air bubble 16 is equal to the pressure of the fuel in fuel line 8 . because of this pressure equilibrium , no more fuel from reserve 18 is supplied to fuel line 8 . accumulator 10 also allows for a simpler fuel pump 2 and fuel pump motor 4 to be used , as the response time requirements for fuel supplying are substantially reduced . that is , fuel pump 2 is not required to immediately provide the exact amount of fuel demanded as fuel reserve 18 makes up for any deficiency cause by a latency period of fuel pump 2 . the amount fuel and pressure which must be provided by air bubble 16 depends on the size and capacity of accumulator , which is designed according to the particular fuel delivery system in which it is implemented . fig5 depicts a second embodiment of the present invention wherein parts corresponding to those in fig1 are denoted with the same reference numerals . accumulator 10 in fig5 comprises a sealed tank 20 having fuel reserve 18 and a supply of compressible gas 22 contained therein . also provided in tank 20 is a membrane 24 for preventing compressible gas from being adsorbed in the liquid fuel of fuel reserve 18 . however , membrane 24 allows for compressible gas to be compressed and expanded as describe above . as shown in fig6 compressible gas 22 could also be provided in a bladder 30 and therefore , membrane 24 would not be required . bladder 30 is responsive to pressure provided by fuel in fuel line 8 and compresses and expands without allowing gas to be adsorbed into the liquid fuel as in the second embodiment . a fourth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in fig7 in which pressure in accumulator 10 is provided by a spring 44 rather than by a compressible gas . accumulator 10 of the fourth embodiment comprises a housing 40 having reserve fuel 18 , a piston 42 and a coil spring 44 contained therein . coil spring 44 is attached to piston 42 to force piston 42 against the pressure of the fuel in fuel delivery line 8 . the constant of elasticity k for spring 44 is selected so as to maintain piston 42 in a neutral position when a pressure in fuel delivery line is at a predetermined value . similar to the previously described embodiments , as fuel pressure in fuel delivery line 8 decreases below the predetermined value , spring 44 expands to force piston 42 to force fuel from fuel reserve 18 into fuel delivery line 8 . also , when fuel pressure in fuel delivery line 8 increases beyond a predetermined value , spring 44 is compressed to allow piston 42 to be forced upwardly in housing 40 by pressure in fuel delivery line . thus , excess fuel is accommodated in fuel reserve 18 of housing 40 to compensate for the latency period of pump motor 6 . fig8 depicts a fifth embodiment of the present invention which is similar to the fourth embodiment . instead of piston 42 , an expandable and compressible bellows 52 is provided in housing 50 with a spring 54 provided inside bellows 52 . the spring constant for spring 54 is selected as previously described . bellows 52 and spring 54 operate just as piston 42 and spring 44 operate as described above . fig9 illustrates a sixth embodiment of the present invention having an accumulator device 10 similar to that shown in fig1 . this embodiment includes a relief valve 60 in the form of a vent outlet or a pressure outlet which can be a spring loaded valve or diaphragm relief valve 60 is set to allow fuel to return to the fuel tank when a certain threshold fuel pressure has been exceeded . relief valve 60 includes a sensor 62 for sensing when the predetermined threshold pressure has been reached and an indicator 64 for indicating when the excess fuel is returning to the fuel tank . the sensor 62 can be in the form of a switch or a transducer . the indicator 64 can be in the form of a multiplexer or an indicator light . the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof , which are illustrative and not limiting . various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 5 |
the subject invention establishes and manages voip traffic in a network ( for example an internet protocol ( ip ) network ) by monitoring certain criteria indicative of network capability and instantaneous load . accordingly , an exemplary telecommunications system is described as one potential environment in which a subject invention operates and exists . fig1 depicts an exemplary telecommunications system 100 for routing telephone calls between a first wire line subscriber 102 and a second wire line subscriber 104 in a pstn 110 . such telephone calls are routed across an intermediate data network 118 implementing a network layer protocol , such as ip ( or a link layer protocol such as asynchronous transfer mode ( atm ) or both ). the telecommunications system 100 includes a first subscriber end office unit 106 connected to the first subscriber 102 and a second end office 108 connected to the second subscriber 104 . interconnection of these components is achieved via conventional local loop subscriber lines ( 103 and 105 respectively ). for example , such first subscriber line 103 and second subscriber line 105 would typically be implemented using two - element twisted pair wires carrying analog information or basic rate isdn digital information depending on the configuration of the wire lines subscriber units 102 and 104 . communication between the pstn 110 and first end office 106 and second end office 108 would typically utilize trunk groups 124 carrying pcm digital voice traffic on multiplexed channels at a primary rate of 1 . 544 mbps , 2 . 048 mbps or better via a plurality of switches 126 . it is also possible to bypass the pstn 110 using the data network 118 . such an alternate communication path is established by connecting the first end office 106 to a first gateway 114 and likewise connecting the second end office unit 108 to a second gateway 116 . first gateway 114 and second gateway 116 may be a single unit ( as shown as a single structure 114 or may be represented by one or more independent structures a , b and c of second gateway 116 . first and second gateways 114 and 116 respectively reside as hosts on the network 118 . they provide voip services on behalf of the first wire line subscriber 102 and second wire line subscriber 104 and other users ( not shown ) communicating over the network 118 . during voip communications between the first wire line subscriber 102 and the second wire line subscriber 104 , pcm traffic is routed from the first end office 106 and second end office 108 to the respective gateways 114 and 116 for routing across the data network 118 . call control is managed through the softswitch 112 . when a new call is set up or a completed call is torn down , signaling messages are exchanged between the first end office 106 and the softswitch 112 and between the softswitch 112 and the second end office 108 . the softswitch 112 also acts as a gateway controller and exchanges messages with each gateway . in some networks there may be different softswitches 112 controlling each gateway ( 114 , 116 or the like ) and these softswitches exchange signaling messages with each other . fig2 depicts a detailed schematic of the first and second gateways ( 114 and 116 respectively ) and their interconnection within the ip network 118 . specifically , first gateway 114 includes a plurality of ports 206 x that provide access to and from the network 118 . similarly , the second gateway 116 also has a plurality of ports 208 x for interfacing with the network 118 . between the first gateway 114 and network 118 and the second gateway 116 and the network 118 there may be one or more edge routers 202 x that exist to manage the traffic flow between the respective gateways and the network 118 . specifically , data paths are established between the first gateway 114 and for example first edge router 2021 ( denoted as e1 and e2 ). similar pathways ( such as path e3 is established between first gateway 114 and second edge router 2022 . likewise similar pathways are established between the second gateway 116 and a third edge router 2023 ( denoted as e4 ) and a fourth edge router 2024 ( denoted as e5 and e6 ). within each gateway ( 114 and 116 ) is a corresponding admission control module ( first admission control module 204 1 is in first gateway 114 and second admission control module 2042 is in second gateway 116 ). these admission control modules 204 x monitor voip traffic and generate the necessary reports to decide which calls will be granted access through the network 118 to maintain overall quality of service for all subscribers . a measurement - based call admission control ( mbcac ) algorithm contained within said admission control modules 204 x is described in greater detail below . the mbcac algorithm operates in each gateway ( 114 , 116 ) independent of the other gateways in the network . call quality statistics for a real time transport protocol ( rtp ) stream reflect the congestion status of the path followed by that stream . thus , by observing these statistics , one can decide on the congestion status of the network paths . fig2 depicts exemplary rtp flows 210 and 212 between two gateways over the ip network 118 . each gateway , ( 114 , 116 ) has a number of dsp chips ( described in greater detail below ), which convert voice streams in tdm format into ip packets . these packets are sent to destination gateways using the necessary protocols and in one embodiment is a rtp / udp / ip protocol stack over a link protocol such as ppp . packets traveling to a destination gateway can follow different paths based on the port 206 x chosen for the specific rtp flow . the mbcac algorithm assumes that the selection of a port 206 x for an incoming call request is under the control of a call controller in the gateway . hence , the mbcac algorithm keeps separate admission policies for the paths from different ports to the same destination gateway . it is also assumed that multiple calls going from a particular port to the same destination gateway follows the same path , i . e ., there is no load balancing within the network other than provided by the gateways through the selection of an egress port . this assumption can be satisfied if the gateways use the system ip address of the destination gateway as opposed to the ip addresses of its ports . in this framework , load balancing is supported by controlling the egress port at the source gateway ( i . e ., first gateway 114 ). since each egress port would map into a unique path in the ip network 118 , the load from source gateway 114 to a destination gateway ( i . e ., second gateway 116 ) can be partitioned into different paths , resulting in load sharing in the network . the destination gateway 116 receives the rtp packets generated by the source gateway 114 ( e . g ., at port e2 ) and addressed to itself . for each rtp stream , the receiver measures call quality statistics like packet loss ratio , delay and interarrival jitter for the stream . the measured statistics are sent back to the source gateway 114 periodically in a special field within the rtp packets or in rtcp packets . in one example , these statistics reflect the network conditions for the path following ( e2 - er1 - network - er3 - e4 ). thus , the mbcac algorithm utilizes the call quality statistics of this flow to derive the congestion status of the directed path , uniquely defined by the source gateway e2 , destination gateway pair . the call quality statistics sent by the destination gateway 116 are collected by an rtp termination point in this gateway and formed into a call quality report . to support the mbcac function , rtp flows are grouped into sets represented by ( egress port , remote gateway )- pair , i . e ., there is a list of rtp flows for each ( egress port , remote gateway )- pair . using the example introduced in fig2 , there is a set of rtp flows that are uniquely specified by the ( source gateway interface e2 , destination gateway )- pair . when a call quality report for a particular rtp stream arrives at the source gateway 114 , this information is processed based on the ( egress port , destinations gateway )- pair . for each such pair , the maximum observed packet loss ratio is reported to the call control logic ( as seen in fig3 and explained in greater detail below ) periodically . the period for the reporting is referred to as “ cac update interval ”. at the end of each such interval , the maximum packet loss ratio over the set of rtp flows related to each ( egress port , destination gateway )- pair is determined using the most recent measurements for each flow . the result is reported to the call control logic , where the admission control decisions are made . an alternative to periodic reporting of the rtp performance information is to set the thresholds and policy so that only exceptions are reported to the call control logic . this has the advantage of reducing the messaging within the gateway and speeding up the responsiveness of the algorithm to congestion . when there are many flows associated with the same path , it would be computationally expensive to determine the maximum packet loss over all associated flows . to address this problem , the maximum packet loss can be determined for a subset of these flows . moreover , the cac update windows can be made independent for each path . fig3 depicts a detailed schematic of the internal arrangement and connection of components in one of the gateways associated with the subject invention . specifically , fig3 depicts the inner connections of elements in first gateway 114 ; however , this arrangement can also be duplicated in second gateway 116 or any number of other gateways extending from the network 118 . the first gateway 114 consists of , among other things , a plurality of circuit cards interconnected in a manner so as to facilitate the passing of information packets to and from the network 118 as well as make determinations on the level of congestion on pathways in which said information packets are passed . the plurality of cards includes a shelf control card 302 , one or more madd cards 304 x and one or more port cards 306 x . in one embodiment of the invention , the port cards 306 x are interface cards operating in accordance with known ethernet protocols for interfacing with the ip network 118 . on each of said madd cards 304 x there is a plurality of strong arm ( sarm ) cards 310 x connected to a host cpu card 312 . the shelf control card 302 contains three basic circuit components : the mbcac algorithm circuitry or processor 204 , a rules database 314 and a call control circuit 308 . these three components interact with each other as explained in greater detail below to process voip traffic and new call requests into the network . fig4 depicts a call set up signaling scenario between a first gateway 114 and second gateway 116 via soft switch 112 in accordance with the subject invention . while the discussed example of call flow is based on h . 248 protocol , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that other types of protocols can be used in conjunction with the subject invention and achieve the desired results . examples of such additional protocols are selected from the group consisting of sip and h . 323 . the flow diagram begins at step 402 with the soft switch 112 receiving a call set of requests from the pstn network 110 ( as per fig1 ) resulting in a message being sent to first gateway 114 . said message contains incoming call information that includes which voice trunk of first gateway 114 the voice call will arrive on . at step 404 , first gateway 114 creates a rtp port ( one of the egress ports 206 x ) and maps it to the tdm trunk based upon the incoming message from the soft switch 112 . first gateway 114 then prepares a response message which contains information including for example context , rtp termination id , ip address and ports and list of supported codecs chosen from the list presented by soft switch 112 . this message is sent back to soft switch 112 acknowledging that the tdm trunk to rtp port mapping has been accomplished . at step 406 , the soft switch 112 sends a message to second gateway 116 that includes the ip address and rtp port of first gateway 114 upon which the call is being set up as well as information about the destination pstn switch . since second gateway 116 now has information about first gateway 114 , second gateway 116 checks the admission control policy of the path to first gateway 114 . if the path is congested , an error message is generated at step 408 indicating that there is insufficient bandwidth to establish the desired path . if the call is to be accepted ( i . e ., there is sufficient bandwidth available to set up the call ), second gateway 116 creates an rtp port ( one of the egress ports 206 x ) and maps this into a voice trunk to the destination pstn switch . this information is sent back to soft switch 112 as an “ add response ” message at step 410 . this message is forwarded by the soft switch 112 to first gateway 114 so that the rtp port in first gateway 114 can be modified to include a transmit direction . at step 412 the necessary modifications are made to the tdm trunk based on the response from second gateway 116 . next , first gateway 114 consults with the admission control algorithm to see if there is a path to the second gateway 116 that is not congested . if first gateway 114 is unable to find an uncongested path to second gateway 116 it sends an error message at step 414 to the soft switch 112 . in such a scenario where the call attempt has been denied the call set up process is terminated by “ subtract command ” messages sent by the soft switch 112 to the first and second gateways , 114 and 116 respectively at step 416 . in response to the subtract command messages of step 416 , first gateway 114 and second gateway 116 provide subtraction command responses to the soft switch 112 at step 422 thereby completing the denied call set up attempt . if there is sufficient bandwidth available to set up the incoming call based on the first gateway 114 admission control algorithm results , a “ modify response ” message is sent back to the soft switch 112 at step 418 . this signals the soft switch 112 that the data path for the voice call is ready for data transmission in both directions . resultantly , an rtp session is established at step 420 and the voice call begins . fig8 depicts a flow chart of the decision process executed by the admission control module 204 when practicing the admission policy ( mbcac algorithm in accordance with the subject invention ). there are two separate asynchronous processes that operate . one is the updating of admission control policy based on rtp performance reports that are received . the other is the application of the admission control policy when a new call request arrives . specifically , fig8 depicts the first process whereby the admission control policy is updated . this is shown through a series of method steps 800 that begins at step 802 . the method then proceeds to step 804 where quality of service ( qos ) information is obtained for further evaluation . in one embodiment of the invention , the host cpu 312 of one of the madd cards 304 x will poll one of the strong arm cards 310 to receive the quality of service information from the network 118 . quality of service information is for example packet loss information ( i . e ., packets that were known to be transmitted from a first point , for example first gateway 114 but not received at its destination point for example second gateway 116 ). once the quality of service information is obtained , the method moves to step 806 where a quality statistic is computed based upon the quality of service information . in one embodiment of the subject invention , the quality statistic is a packet loss ratio which is defined as plr = ( lost packets + late packets ) ( received packets + lost packets + late packets ) for the purposes of the subject invention , late packets are defined as packets that are discarded at the destination gateway ( for example second gateway 116 ) since they are too late to be played or otherwise incorporated into the active voice call . additionally , it should be noted that lost , late and received packets ( collectively “ sent ” packets ) are defined for the outgoing direction of a voice call , measured by the destination gateway ( second gateway 116 ) and reported back to a source gateway ( for example first gateway 114 ) in the opposite direction . since each direction of the call takes a separate path through the ip network , there is a separate admission control decision for each direction of the call . all packet counts are defined per rtp connection . furthermore , packet counts used in the packet loss ratio computation are counts measured over the most recent reporting period . in one embodiment of the invention , the reporting period is approximately two seconds ; however , one skilled in the art will realize that various other reporting periods are possible dependent upon hardware and software being used in the overall system and network as long as the desired results are achieved . other quality information could involve delay or delay variation . the method continues at step 808 where a first admission policy is established . in one embodiment of the invention , the admission policy consists of two threshold values . in the first decision step 808 , the first threshold value ( a lower threshold p_low is introduced . the computed plr is compared to the lower threshold p_low . if the plr is less than p_low , the method proceeds to step 810 where the policy is set to accept new calls without any limitations . the method then awaits the next reporting period and loops back to step 804 to obtain the new quality of service information to continue evaluation . a reporting period is in the range of approximately 5 - 60 seconds and in one embodiment is 5 seconds . the exception reporting option will make this updating faster during congestion . should the plr be higher than the lower threshold , the method proceeds to step 812 where the plr is compared to a second threshold ( a high threshold p_high ). if the plr is larger than the lower threshold p_low , but lower than the higher threshold p_high , the method proceeds to step 814 where the policy is set to admit new calls at reduced bandwidth . such action reduces the bandwidth of new incoming calls to an extent that still allows quality of service . similar to the accepted call scenario , accepted - bandwidth limited call step 814 loops back to step 804 to await the next reporting period to attain quality of service information . should the plr be higher than the high threshold , the method proceeds to step 816 where the policy is set to block all or some percentage of new call requests from entering the network . in other words , path congestion has reached such a limit that an unacceptable number of packets are either being lost or received too late to be part of a call . as such , it is realized that no new calls can enter the network and maintain an acceptable quality of service level ; therefore , such calls are not allowed into the network until path congestion is sufficiently reduced and quality of service can be maintained for all subscribers . the method ends at step 818 . bandwidth reduction ( as discussed above in step 814 of method 800 ) is achieved in a few different methods . one method is to physically change the encoder that is being used for the particular voice call . that is , there may be two or more encoders in a gateway ( 114 or 116 ) that carry out encoding tasks ( one encoder having high bit rate characteristics and another having lower bit rate characteristics ). if a bandwidth - reduced call is accepted , the encoder with the lower bit rate characteristics is used . when conditions allow for non - bandwidth limited channels , the system can switch back to the higher bit rate encoder . another way in which bandwidth can be reduced is to use the same codec but increase the packet size . this will reduce the relative packet overhead . another way of reducing bandwidth as per step 814 is to reduce the bitrate by activating silence suppression for the voice call . briefly , silence suppression results in reducing bandwidth requirements since no packets are sent during silence periods . in most conversations only one person is talking so that , on average , in any one direction there is speech to send at most half the time . thus suppressing packets representing silence can save considerable bandwidth . note that silence suppression does not apply to fax calls , where picking a very large packet size would be more useful . the above calculations were given in terms of packet loss ratios . the computation of packet loss ratios involve a division operation , which can be avoided if a loss and late packet count is used . in this case , p_low and p_high are converted to low and high packet count thresholds using the packet generation rate of the flow . it is assumed that the sum of received , lost , and late packets will be fixed , and equal to the number of packets transmitted by the local gateway in rtpqos reporting period . for example , if a codec for a rtp flow is to generate 50 packets per second , there will be 100 packets transmitted every 2 - second interval . using this assumption , it is possible to use the number of lost and late packets instead of packet loss ratio . thus , it is possible to define packet loss ratio thresholds in terms of packet count thresholds . continuing in the example , the lower threshold would be ( lost + late ) _low = 100 * p_low , and the higher threshold would be ( lost + late ) high = 100 * p_high . this way , the sarm 310 x can decide if an exception report ( a block - call message explained in greater detail below ) should be generated or not without performing any division operation . a variation to this would be to use a computed value for the sum of lost and late packets such that this sum is equal to the “ number of packets sent by the local gateway in the rtpqos reporting interval - local . received ”. this way , the inaccuracies related to loss packet estimation in the remote gateway are avoided . different rtp flows would have different packet rates ; hence , the sarm 310 x should take the packet rate of each flow into account . for example , with a 2 - second measurement interval 1 % packet loss ratio corresponds to only 1 lost packet if the packet rate is 50 , while it corresponds to 2 lost packets if the packet rate is 100 . the threshold values in terms of number of packets per flow will be provided by the call control during the call set - up . moreover , if a flow is using silence suppression , the number of packets sent by the local gateway ( 114 in the above example ) should be adjusted to reflect the silence suppression . quantization of the packets may cause inaccuracies . as such , sarm 310 x compares the value of local . received with the expected value , and if there is a large difference , it sets a flag or uses fraction and computes the packet loss ratio . another technique omits the first set of measurement values for a newly set - up call . this way , the effect of network delay on the expected local . received is avoided . the sarms 310 x send blocking rules to the admission control module 204 1 in the shelf controller 302 as a result of the analysis conducted by method 800 . to reduce the amount of transmitted data , the blocking rules may be reported as exceptions . if the determined admission rule is accept , nothing is reported to admission control module 204 1 . however , if the rule is reduce or block , the sarm 310 x reports the value to the admission control module 2041 through the host cpu 312 as an exception report . once an exception report ( reduce or block ) is sent to the admission control module 204 1 for a flow , there should be no reporting for the same rtp flow for a time interval of length t_u , which is called “ exception update interval ”. this update interval could be different than the periodic update interval if periodic updates are used instead of exception reports . one exception to this rule is if the last reported rule is reduce and the newly computed rule is block , the new value should be passed to the admission control module 204 1 immediately . ( note that this is not applicable when reduce rule is disabled by setting p_low to zero .) in this case , there should be no more reporting for the same rtp flow for a time interval equal to the update interval . a new exception report should be generated if the reduce or block rule is determined using a qos report that was received after the update interval is over . this type of periodic exception reporting should be continued until an accept rule is detected for the rtp flow . there is no need to report an accept rule . an alternative to the exception reporting per rtp is to perform exception reporting per ( local interface , remote ip address ). this way , the number of update messages can be greatly reduced . this approach results in a maximum of two reports generated within an update interval per ( local interface , remote ip address )- pair as opposed to being per rtp flow . the exception report , delivered to the admission control module 2041 , includes the routeid of the flow that the measurement belongs to and the blocking rule . the admission control module 204 1 uses routeid to determine the local interface and remote ip address of the flow . note that the information regarding the mapping between the routeid and the ( local interface , remote ip address )- pair should be located in the shelf controller 302 . if this is not possible , the host cpu 312 should provide the explicit information as local interface and remote rtp address when submitting an exception report to the admission control module 2041 . when the admission control module 204 , is initialized , the rules database 306 is empty . with time , blocking rules will be reported by the sarms 310 x . this blocking information is kept in the rules database 306 which is used by the admission policy function . an entry in this database is indexed by the remote ip address . moreover , each entry consists of subentries . each subentry contains a blocking rule , an index to a local ethernet interface , and a timestamp for the subentry . this way , each subentry shows the admission rule for the path defined by ( local interface , remote ip address )— pair . the number of subentries for remote ip address is variable , where the maximum number is equal to the number of local interface cards , configured in the system . note that the rules database 306 reflects the congestion status of the network paths from the local gateway to remote gateways . the opposite direction is handled similarly in the remote gateway . when the admission control module 204 1 is initialized , information about the existing interfaces is determined . the admission control module 204 1 continuously listens to the exception reports from the host cpus 312 . when an exception report is received for an rtp flow , the blocking rule for the endpoints of the flow is updated . a method of updating the blocking rules is shown in fig9 as a series of method steps 900 . specifically , the method starts at step 902 and proceeds to step 904 where a search of the rules database entries is performed to search for the remote gateway ip address reported in the exception report . the method proceeds to step 906 where a first decision is invoked to determine whether the reported ip address is found . if the remote ip address is not found , the method proceeds to step 908 where a database entry is created for the remote gateway ip address in the exception report . further in that step , a subentry is created . the subentry includes the index to the local egress ports ( e . g ., 208 x ), blocking rule and the timestamp ( set equal to the current time ). at this step , it is also possible to create other subentries with indices to other local egress ports with a blocking rule of “ accept ”. after such entries are created , the method proceeds to step 916 . should the ip address of the remote gateway be found at step 906 , the method proceeds to step 910 where a second decision step is invoked . the second decision step 910 determines if a subentry for the local egress port 208 x is found . if such subentry is found , the method proceeds to step 914 where the admission policy is updated and the timestamp is reset to the current time . if the subentry is not found , the method proceeds to step 912 where an appropriate subentry is created and the timestamp is set to the current time . at the conclusion of either of steps 912 or 914 , the method proceeds to its final step at 916 . admission control module 204 1 periodically revises its database to remove subentries that were not updated in the last t_u + delta seconds . the interval t_u is the time window where the sarms 310 x suppress reporting packet loss values for a connection following a report for the same connection . here , delta should be slightly larger than the qos reporting period of the gateways , so that sarm 310 will have a chance of sending a second exception report before the admission control module 204 1 removes the blocking rule . delta can be 3 seconds since the rtp qos reporting is done every 2 seconds . based on this scheme , the admission control module 204 1 assumes that a path is not congested if there is no exception report within the most recent time interval of length last t_u + delta seconds . this action is beneficial because the host cpu 312 does not report when the packet loss ratio goes below the threshold value . reporting of the below threshold value crossing is not needed since there might be more than one flow responsible for the blocking rule , which should be relaxed only if there is no update for the rule in the last t_u + delta time interval by none of the related flows . since the mapping of a rule for a path to all the flows , which reported exceptions for the path , would be computationally inefficient , an indirect method is used to remove the blocking condition . the period to revise the database to detect aged blocking rules should be chosen as small as possible to keep the database size small so that search operations will be efficient during a call to function as explained below . fig5 depicts a graph of the probability of blocking calls and packet loss ratios versus the offered load of the network employing the method and apparatus of the subject invention . that is , graph 500 depicts four plots showing results when using the algorithm of the subject invention . specifically , the first plot 502 plots the packet loss ratio versus the offered load using the subject invention . it can be seen that as the offered load exceeds up to 20 % of network capacity , very few packets are lost ( much less than 1 % of packets are lost ). first plot 502 can be compared to second plot 504 for direct comparison of results of using the subject invention versus not using the subject invention . that is , the second plot 504 plots packet loss ratio without using the admission control protocols or algorithm . as can be seen from the graph 500 , as the system capacity approaches 100 %, almost 2 % of packets are lost . this number grows to more than 16 % as offer load increases to 20 % over capacity . the third plot 506 plots the call blocking probability when using the admission control algorithm . this plot is compared to fourth plot 508 which plots blocking probability for an ideal algorithm in which the exact configuration of calls that is known . as can be seen , third plot 506 and fourth plot 508 are nearly identical . as such , the algorithm is sufficiently characterized and developed so as to effectively block calls to maintain a quality of service based on current network conditions . fig6 depicts the corresponding results for the case where the update interval of the reports is varied while the offered load is kept constant at approximately 10 % over capacity . graph 600 depicts four plots that show the results of the packet loss ratio with and without employing the subject invention as well as the blocking probabilities using the subject algorithm . specifically , first plot 602 shows packet loss ratio using the algorithm in accordance with the subject invention as the update intervals are increased from approximately 5 to 60 seconds . as can be seen , there is very little increase in the packet loss ratio as this parameter is varied . second plot 604 depicts packet loss ratio without using the algorithm in accordance with the subject invention . as can be seen packet loss ratio is significantly higher when not using the algorithm . third plot 606 depicts the blocking probability when using the algorithm in accordance with the subject invention while fourth plot 608 depicts the same blocking probability when the exact number of calls moving the network is known . as can be seen by inspection of the third and fourth plots 606 and 608 respectively , the blocking probability tends to increase as the report interval increases . this occurs because once a packet loss ratio of 1 % is detected , the admission policy is set to block new call arrivals . all new calls arriving during the update interval thus are blocked ( resulting in the increase in blocked call numbers ) thus , the admission policy update interval is an important performance variable when examining a blocked call probability more than packet loss ratio . fig7 depicts a graph 700 of packet loss probability in relation to burst losses . in other words , the graph shows the percentage or likelihood of losing a consecutive number of packets when using and not using the algorithm in accordance with the subject invention . specifically , along the x axis of the graph is an increasing number of consecutive packets lost . the percentage of losing a number of consecutive packets is shown by vertical bars extending upward from the x axis . lightly colored bars 702 denote percentage of loss of consecutive packets when not using the admission control protocols in accordance with the subject invention . darker colored bars 704 denote probabilities or percentage of consecutive lost packets when using the admission control protocols . as can be seen , there is a significant number of consecutive packets that are lost when not using the admission control protocols in accordance with the subject invention as opposed to when these protocols are in use . for example , the likelihood of losing three or more consecutive packets when not using the admission control protocols is approximately 1 %. however , the likelihood of losing the same number of consecutive packets when using the admission control protocol is nearly zero . therefore , the admission control protocol or algorithm presents a significant advantage when considering of consecutive lost packets that may occur . this is important as the number of consecutive lost packets can seriously degrade voice call quality . although various embodiments which incorporate the teachings of the present invention have been shown and described in detail herein , those skilled in the art can readily devise many other varied embodiments that still incorporate these teachings . | 7 |
the above objects can be achieved , in accordance with the invention , by a composite preparation characterized in that it comprises at least two layers , namely a layer of a macro - molecular substance having pressure - sensitive adhesiveness at ordinary temperatures and a polymer layer adjacent to said macromolecular substance layer , that at least one of the macro - molecular substance layer and polymer layer at least contains a percutaneously absorbable drug and the other at least contains an adjuvant capable of increasing percutaneous drug absorption , and that the drug and adjuvant respectively can migrate into the adjacent macromolecular substance layer and polymer layer . in the practice of the invention , the polymer layer is only required to be adequately compatible with the drug and adjuvant , allow diffusion and migration of the drug and adjuvant in contact therewith and be in the form of film or sheet . no other particular requirements are essential for said layer . preferably , however , said layer is a film ( preferably having a thickness of about 10 - 1 , 000 microns ) of a polymer or copolymer having a glass transition point ( tg ) of not lower than - 50 ° c ., preferably - 45 ° c . to + 75 ° c ., practically - 40 ° c . to + 45 ° c ., or a polymer mixture containing at least 10 weight percent of such polymer or copolymer . examples of said polymer or copolymer are polyvinyl acetate , copolymers of vinyl acetate and a monomer copolymerizable therewith and alkoxy ( meth ) acrylate - containing polymers . the monomer copolymerizable with vinyl acetate includes ethylene , acrylic acid esters and methacrylic acid esters . the alkoxy ( meth ) acrylate has the following formula ## str1 ## wherein r 1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group , r 2 is an alkylene group containing 2 - 18 carbon atoms or a group of the formula : -- o -- ch 2 -- ch 2 ) n , wherein n is 1 to 30 and r 3 is an alkoxy group containing 1 - 4 carbon atoms . to said polymer , there may be added a natural rubber , a synthetic rubber such as silicone rubber , polyisobutylene rubber , chloroprene rubber or styrene - isoprene - styrene block copolymer rubber , or a synthetic resin such as a polyacrylic , polyurethane or polyolefin resin . the level of addition of such natural and / or synthetic rubber and / or synthetic resin should not exceed 90 weight percent . the resulting polymer mixture should preferably have a tg of not lower than - 50 ° c . when the tg is not lower than - 50 ° c ., the polymer allows an increased degree of diffusion therein of the drug and adjuvant , hence an increased extent of migration of the drug and adjuvant , but is not deteriorated in physical strength by the incorporation of adjuvant , drug and so on ; the polymer is excellent in flexibility and scarcely irritates the skin and therefore is preferred . the above polymer layer is preferably supported , on one side thereof , by a film or sheet substantially impermeable to the drug and adjuvant , whereby a self - supporting property is given to the composite preparation . said film or sheet is made of polyacrylate , polyethylene , ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer saponification product , polypropylene , polyvinylidene chloride , polyester , polyamide , cellophane or metal foil , for instance . the macromolecular substance is required among others , to have pressure - sensitive adhesiveness at ordinary temperatures , to secure adhesion of the preparation to the skin for a required period of time , to be adequately compatible with the drug and adjuvant , to allow diffusion and migration of the drug and adjuvant in contact therewith and to allow release of the drug and adjuvant . no other particular limitations are placed on said substance . however , a synthetic resin and / or a rubber having a tg of - 70 ° c . to - 10 ° c . is a preferred macromolecular substance . when the macromolecular substance has a tg of not lower than - 70 ° c ., the base composition has an increased shape - holding property , leaves no residue on the skin and causes no skin irritation at the time of peeling off . accordingly such material is preferred . that the tg of the macromolecular substance is not higher than - 10 ° c . is desirable because of improvement in adhesion to the skin . the most preferable tg range is - 55 ° c . to - 18 ° c . a macro - molecular substance having a tg within the range of - 70 ° c . to - 10 ° c . may be selected from the group consisting of the following synthetic resins and rubbers . the synthetic resins include polyvinyl alkyl ether , poly ( meth ) acrylate , polyurethane , polyester , polyamide , ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer , and so on . the rubbers include styrene - isoprene - styrene block copolymer rubber , styrene - butadiene rubber , polybutene rubber , polyisopren rubber , butyl rubber , silicone rubber , natural rubber , and so forth . in case a desired tg value cannot be obtained with a single member of each of the above subgroups , the member may be used in combination with a member of the other subgroup or a well known additive may be added so as to adjust the tg to a required value . experiments by the present inventors have revealed that acrylic copolymers are the most satisfactory macromolecular substances in that they can meet the above - mentioned requirements with regard to close adhesion , compatibility , solubility and releasability in a most reliable manner by a relatively simple manufacturing procedure . said copolymers are acrylic copolymers containing at least 50 weight percent of an alkyl ( meth ) acrylate in which the average number of carbon atoms contained in the alkyl group is not less than 4 . the &# 34 ; average number of carbon atoms &# 34 ; as used herein means the weight average number of carbon atoms contained in the ester moieties when two or more alkyl esters different in the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety are used . the preferred number of carbon atoms in the alkyl moiety is 2 - 12 . said copolymers are favorable with respect to close adhesion to the skin and solubility of the drug and adjuvant . they scarcely irritate the skin and hold the drug and adjuvant stably . the above copolymers also include copolymers of an alkyl ( meth ) acrylate with a functional monomer copolymerizable therewith . such monomer is used in ah amount of 0 - 20 weight percent , preferably 0 . 5 - 15 weight percent . the functional monomer includes acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , maleic acid , maleic anhydride , itaconic acid , acrylamide , methacrylamide , acrylonitrile , glycidyl acrylate , hydroxyalkyl acrylate , alkoxy acrylate etc . since the cohesiveness of the copolymers can be varied by varying the level of addition of said monomer , the rates of release or release amounts of the drug and adjuvant from the base can be controlled . furthermore , the hydrophilic property of the copolymers may be increased by adequate selection of said monomer . for instance , the hydrophilic property can be increased by varying the weight ratio of octyl acrylate to acrylic acid in copolymerization thereof from 95 : 5 to 85 : 15 . the hydrophilic property can further be increased by using ethyl acrylate in place of the above octyl acrylate . the above - mentioned copolymers further include copolymers of an alkyl ( meth ) acrylate with a vinyl ester monomer copolymerizable therewith in an amount of 0 - 40 weight percent , preferably 10 - 30 weight percent . the drug and adjuvant are highly soluble in the copolymers containing such monomer . examples of said vinyl ester monomer are vinyl acetate and vinyl propionate . in view of the foregoing , it will readily be understood that those acrylic copolymers mainly composed of at least 50 weight percent of an alkyl ( meth ) acrylate , 0 - 20 weight percent of the above functional monomer copolymerizable therewith and 0 - 40 weight percent of the above vinyl ester monomer copolymerizable with the above ester are suited as the macromolecular substances for carrying the adjuvant and drug . furthermore , for improvement in shape - holding property or adhesiveness or for controlled release of the drug , the above - mentioned macromolecular substance layer and polymer layer each may be crosslinked , for example , by using a chemical crosslinking agent or by irradiation with ultraviolet light or electron rays . by the &# 34 ; adjuvant &# 34 ; is meant a substance capable of directly or indirectly increasing percutaneous absorption of the drug . the adjuvant which directly causes increased percutaneous absorption is , for example , an absorption promoter having the function of providing the horny layer ( skin ) with water - holding property , accelerating the swelling or hardening of the horny layer , increasing the wettability of the horny layer and / or opening pores of the skin . in many cases , one substance can have a plurality of such functions . the adjuvant which indirectly promotes percutaneous absorption is , for example , a substance capable of causing increased diffusion of the drug in each layer or increasing the solubility of the drug in each layer . examples of the adjuvant for indirect increase in percutaneous absorption are liquid paraffin , vaseline , lanolin , olive oil , glycerin , benzyl alcohol , butyl benzoate , isopropyl myristate , octanol , 1 , 3 - butanediol , ( poly ) propylene glycol , ( poly ) ethylene glycol , other alcohols and surface active agents , and oligomers such as low - molecular - weight ( number average molecular weight = not greater than 30 , 000 ) polyacrylate , polymethacrylate and polyvinyl ethers . examples of the adjuvant for direct increase in percutaneous absorption are dimethyl sulfoxide , dodecyl sulfoxide , methyl octyl sulfoxide , dimethyl decyl phosphoxide , mono - or diethylacetamide , n - hydroxyethyllactamide , dimethylacetamide , n , n - dimethyldodecamide , dimethylformamide , diethyltoluamide , tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol , tetrahydrofuran , sorbitol , dodecylpyrrolidone , methylpyrrolidone , urea , diethyl adipate , squalene , acetylated lanolin , cetyl lactate , dioctyl sebacate , ethoxylated stearyl alcohol , lanolinic acid , lanolinyl alcohol , higher fatty alcohol , salicylic acid , liquid paraffin , vaseline , amino acids , protease , methyl nicotinate , 1 - menthol , camphor , salocolum , sodium lauryl sulfate , sodium laurate , stearin , glycerol stearate , higher fatty acid triglyceride , polyoxyalkylene glycol , fatty acid mono ( or di ) ethanolamide , ethylene glycol monoethyl ether , polyoxypropylene alkyl ether , higher alkyl sulfone , etc . the drug may be any one percutaneously absorbable to a therapeutically effective concentration by itself or with the assistance of a percutaneous absorption promoter ( adjuvant ). no other particular limitations are placed thereon . thus , it includes , among others , the following : a ) corticoids : hydrocortisone , prednisolone , paramethasone , beclomethasone propionate , flumethasone , betamethasone , dexamethasone , triamcinolone , triamcinolone acetonide , fluocinolone , fluocinolone acetonide , fluocinolone acetonide acetate , clobetasol propionate , etc . ; b ) analgesics and antiinflammatory agents : acetaminophen , mefenamic acid , flufenamic acid , indomethacin , diclofenac , alclofenac , oxyphenbutazone , phenylbutazone , ibuprofen , flurbiprofen , salicylic acid , 1 - menthol , camphor , combinations thereof , etc . ; c ) hypnotics and sedatives : barbiturates such as phenobarbital amobarbital and cyclobarbital , etc . ; d ) tranquilizers : fluphenazine , thioridazine , benzodiazepines ( e . g . diazepam , lorazepam , flunitrazepam ), chlorpromazine , etc . ; g ) antibiotics : beta - lactam antibiotics ( penicillins and cephalosporins ), oxytetracycline , fradiomycin sulfate , erythromycin , chloramphenicol , etc . ; m ) coronary vasodilators : nitroglycerin , nifedipine , dipyridamole , isosorbide dinitrate , erythritol tetranitrate , pentaerythritol tetranitrate , etc . ; and as necessary , these drugs may be used in combination of two or more of them . furthermore , a filler may be formulated as an optional component for retaining the shape - holding property of the macromolecular substance layer . small amounts of common additives such as adhesiveness - imparting resin and softening agent may also be added to said layer . the filler includes finely divided silica , titanium white , calcium carbonate , etc . the filler may be added in an amount of not more than 30 weight percent based on the composition . the adhesiveness - imparting resin includes rosin , hydrogenated rosin , rosin ester , polyterpene resin , aliphatic or aromatic petroleum resin , coumarone - indene resin , xylene resin , terpene - phenol resin , etc . the softening agent includes polybutene , abietyl alcohol , liquid paraffin , liquid resin , etc . the amount of the drug to be contained in the preparation of the invention depends on the kind of drug , solubility thereof in the macromolecular substance and in the polymer , thickness of each layer and other factors . generally , the amount is about 0 . 1 - 20 weight percent , preferably 0 . 5 - 15 weight percent , based on the total weight of both the layers . the adjuvant is used generally in an amount of 1 - 30 weight percent , preferably 3 - 20 weight percent , on the same basis . the macromolecular substance layer generally has a thickness of 5 - 500 microns , preferably 20 - 200 microns , and the polymer layer generally has a thickness of 10 - 1 , 000 microns , preferably 30 - 500 microns . the macromolecular substance layer is formed on the whole or part of the polymer layer . the preparation of the invention is produced , for example , by directly applying a macromolecular substance layer - forming composition to the polymer layer or by preliminarily forming a macromolecular substance layer on a release liner followed by transfer of said layer onto the polymer layer for lamination . since the preparation of the invention contains the drug and adjuvant in the respective different layers , the preparation can contain greater amounts of drug and adjuvant as compared with the case where the drug and adjuvant are contained in a single layer . furthermore , even when the macromolecular substance layer or polymer layer contains the drug in an amount exceeding the solubility limit , the excess drug can migrate into the polymer layer or macromolecular substance layer , respectively , before crystallization thereof takes place . such migration of course can occur also when the amount of the drug is below the solubility limit . similarly , the adjuvant also migrates from the layer originally containing the same to the other layer not only in the case of addition at a level exceeding the solubility limit but also in the case of addition at a level below the solubility limit . as a result , neither the drug nor the adjuvant can crystallize out in the preparation of the invention . the composite preparation of the invention is applied to the skin at an adequate site , where the drug in the macro - molecular substance layer is gradually absorbed through the skin and at the same time the adjuvant is partly absorbed and partly migrates . the thus - caused change in the adjuvant ratio and drug ratio in the macromolecular substance layer in turn induces supply of the drug and adjuvant from the polymer layer to the macromolecular substance layer so as to compensate for the decrease in the amounts the drug and adjuvant . the effects thus producible are equivalent to substantial increases in the amounts of the drug and adjuvant per unit area of the composite preparation . accordingly , a fast - acting composite preparation can be obtained by satisfying the relation that the solubility of the drug in the macromolecular substance layer is much greater than the solubility of the drug in the polymer layer and the relation that the macromolecular substance layer thickness is smaller than the polymer layer thickness ; a slow - acting composite preparation can be produced when the relation that the solubility of the drug in the macromolecular substance layer is much smaller than the solubility of the drug in the polymer layer and the relation that the macro - molecular substance layer thickness is smaller than the polymer layer thickness are satisfied ; and furthermore a fast - and long - acting composite preparation can be obtained if the drug is contained in the macromolecular substance layer and polymer film at the respective levels of saturation ( with the solubility of the drug in the macromolecular substance layer being greater than that in the polymer layer ) and the macromolecular substance layer thickness is smaller than the polymer film thickness . in addition , as can readily be understood , the drug release can be finely controlled by combinedly utilizing the difference in solubility of the drug and adjuvant between the macromolecular substance layer and polymer layer , the equilibrium resulting therefrom and the miscibility of the adjuvant with the drug . it is to be understood that the preparation of the invention also covers the mode in which both the macromolecular substance layer and polymer layer contain the drug and adjuvant as a result of migration of the drug and / or adjuvant and further the mode in which one of the layers contains the drug and adjuvant and the other contains one of the drug and adjuvant . the following examples illustrate the invention in more detail , wherein &# 34 ; part ( s )&# 34 ; means &# 34 ; parts ( s ) by weight &# 34 ;. a three - necked flask is charged with 96 g of isooctyl acrylate , 4 g of acrylic acid and 25 g of ethyl acetate containing 0 . 2 g of azobisisobutyronitrile . after purging with an inert gas , the mixture is heated in the inert gas atmosphere to 60 ° c . for initiation of reaction , and the reaction is carried out at 62 °- 65 ° c . for 5 hours with dropwise addition of ethyl acetate and further at 75 °- 77 ° c . for 2 hours for aging . a copolymer solution having a solid content of 30 % by weight and a viscosity of 195 poises as measured at 30 ° c . is obtained . flunitrazepam is added to the above solution in an amount of 5 . 0 parts per 100 parts of the solid in said solution . the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to an extent such that the coated layer after drying has a thickness of 60 microns . drying of the coated layer gives a base film ( tg - 55 ° c .). separately , a laminated film is prepared by laminating a 50 - micron - thick ethyl acrylate - vinyl acetate copolymer film ( ethyl acrylate : vinyl acetate weight ratio = 2 : 1 ; tg - 13 ° c .) containing 4 weight percent of diethyl sebacate as the polymer film layer , into which the drug and adjuvant can migrate , onto one side of a 12 . 7 - micron - thick corona - treated polyester film . the above base film is placed on and pressed against the copolymer film layer side of the laminated film . a composite preparation is thus obtained . to the copolymer solution as used in example 1 , there is added 7 parts of propatyl nitrate per 100 parts of the solid in said solution and the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to a thickness ( after drying ) of 40 microns . drying gives a base film ( tg - 55 ° c .). separately , a 100 - micron - thick laminated film is produced by coextrusion of a mixture ( tg - 25 ° c .) of an ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer ( vinyl acetate content 40 weight %) and 10 parts by weight of olive oil and polyethylene ( eva film layer thickness 40 microns ). the above base film is placed on and pressed against the copolymer film layer side of the laminated film . a composite preparation is thus obtained . a composition composed of 45 parts of polyisoprene rubber , 15 parts of liquid paraffin , 10 parts of lanoline and 30 parts of an aliphatic petroleum resin is heated under an inert gas at 110 °- 125 ° c . for 5 hours for dissolution and then cooled to 80 ° c . then , thereto is added 5 parts of indomethacin as a dispersion in 7 parts of propylene glycol . the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to a thickness of 100 microns . there is obtained a base film ( tg - 18 ° c .). separately , a laminated film is prepared by laminating with heating under pressure a 40 - micron - thick film made of a vinyl acetate - butyl acrylate - methoxyethyl acrylate ( 40 : 30 : 30 weight ratio ) copolymer ( tg - 33 ° c .) containing 4 weight percent of ethylene glycol monosalicylate to a 50 - micron - thick polyvinylidene chloride film . the above drug - containing base film is placed on and pressed against the copolymer film layer side of the laminated film . there is thus obtained a composite preparation . tables 1 - 3 show the test results for the composite preparations of examples 1 - 3 . table 1 shows , for each preparation , the time for the drug to crystallize out . table 2 shows the adhesiveness to the skin , the preparation - to - bakelite plate adhesive strength and durability of the adhesive bond . table 3 illustrates the blood level of the drug at timed interval after application of each sample . comparative examples 1 - 3 in tables 1 and 2 correspond to examples 1 - 3 , respectively , and therefore the samples were prepared by laminating under pressure the respective base films to a polyester film , a polyethylene film and polyvinylidene chloride film , respectively , without using any polymer layer . table 1______________________________________ storage period 1 day 3 days 5 days 10 days 30 days 90 days______________________________________example 1 no no no no no nocomparative no no partly partly partly aboutexample 1 halfexample 2 no no no no no nocomparative no partly about mostly mostly mostlyexample 2 halfexample 3 no no no no no nocomparative partly partly about about about aboutexample 3 half half half half______________________________________ notes : storage conditions : 25 ° c . × 65 % r . h . no no crystallization ; partly , etc . partly crystallized , etc . table 2__________________________________________________________________________ adhesion to bakelite retention to adhesion to skin plate ( g / 12 mm ) bakelite plate ( min ) storage days storage days storage days 1 10 90 1 10 90 1 10 90 day days days day days days day days days__________________________________________________________________________example 1 good good good 620 620 600 17 15 18comparative good fair bad 650 490 410 17 break breakexample 1example 2 good good good 620 610 600 13 12 15comparative good fair bad 600 300 60 20 break breakexample 2example 3 good good good 400 410 390 50 40 43comparative good fair bad 410 390 260 40 170 breakexample 3__________________________________________________________________________ methods for measuring adhesion and retention shown in table 2 are as follows . a 12 mm wide sample was applied to a bakelite plate and press bonded thereonto by rolling back and forth , one time , a 2 . 0 kg rubber roller . after storing for 30 minutes , the sample was peeled at one end from the plate to determine the adhesion ( peeling angle : 180 °; peeling speed : 300 mm / min ; 20 ° c ., 65 % rh ). one end of a sample ( width : 10 mm ; length : 100 mm ) was applied to an end of a bakelite plate by 20 mm and , after storing for 20 minutes , a 300 g load was applied to the other end of the sample to measure the time by which it was fallen down from the bakelite plate ( at 40 ° c .). additionally , &# 34 ; break &# 34 ; in table 2 indicates interlayer break between the base material layer and the film layer or interfacial break from the bakelite plate . table 3______________________________________ blood level ( in ng / ml ) after application for ( hours ) 0 . 5 1 2 5 10 24 48______________________________________example 1 7 14 16 14 19 18 13comparative ˜ 1 4 7 9 7 6 4example 1example 2 3 6 7 8 9 8 3comparative 2 3 3 4 3 3 2example 2example 3 3 9 9 10 16 19 15comparative 0 2 2 5 4 4 1example 3______________________________________ each composite medicinal preparation ( 6 cm × 6 cm ) was adhered to the clipped back of each rabbit ( weighing 2 kg ) and blood sampling ( 3 ml ) was conducted at specified intervals . for flunitrazepam : to 1 ml of blood were added 2 ml of saturated ammonium chloride and 6 ml of 8 : 2 toluene - heptane . after shaking for 15 minutes , the mixture was centrifuged , the organic layer was extracted with 6n hcl , and the extract fraction separated by centrifugation was neutralized with 6n naoh under ice cooling . thereto was added 5 ml of the above solvent mixture , the organic layer was evaporated , and the residue was dissolved in 250 μl of ethanol and analyzed by gas chromatography using prazepam as the internal standard . for propatyl nitrate : blood was sampled ( 3 ml ), the plasma was separated and extracted with 2 ml of n - hexane , and the extract separated by centrifugation was concentrated to 0 . 5 ml under an inert gas . the concentrate was further extracted with 1 ml of acetonitrile , the acetonitrile layer was concentrated to dryness under an inert gas , and the residue was dissolved in 100 μl of benzene and assayed by gas chromatography . for indomethacin : to 1 ml of plasma was added 2 ml of 0 . 5m citrate buffer ( ph 5 . 0 ) and the mixture was extracted with 10 ml of 1 , 2 - dichloroethane . following addition of 2 , 4 , 6 - triphenylnitrobenzene as the internal standard to the organic layer , the solvent was distilled off and then diazomethane was added . the reaction mixture was analyzed for indomethacin methyl ester by gas chromatography . a three - necked flask is charged with 93 g of isooctyl acrylate , 7 g of acrylic acid and 25 g of ethyl acetate containing 0 . 2 g of azobisisobutyronitrile . after purging with an inert gas , the mixture is heated in the inert gas atmosphere to 60 ° c . for initiation of reaction , and the reaction is carried out at 62 °- 65 ° c . for 7 hours with dropwise addition of ethyl acetate and the reaction mixture is further maintained at 75 °- 77 ° c . for 2 hours for aging . there is obtained a copolymer solution having a viscosity of 460 poises ( 30 ° c .) and a solid content of 30 % by weight . to this solution is added diethyl adipate in an amount of 7 parts per 100 parts of the solid in said solution . the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to a thickness ( after drying ) of 30 microns upon drying , there is obtained a base film ( tg - 50 ° c .) separately , a laminated film is prepared by laminating a 50 - micron - thick ethyl acrylate - vinyl acetate copolymer film ( ethyl acrylate vinyl acetate weight ratio = 3 : 1 ; tg - 17 ° c .) containing 5 weight percent of flunitrazepam as the polymer film layer , into which the adjuvant and drug can migrate , to one side of a 12 . 7 - micron - thick polyester film . the above base film is adhered to the copolymer film layer side of the laminated film under pressure to give a composite preparation . to the copolymer solution as used in example 4 , there are added 2 parts of ethylene glycol monosalicylate and 4 parts of propylene glycol per 100 parts of the solid in said solution and the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to a thickness ( after drying ) of 40 microns . a base film is thus obtained . separately , a 100 - micron - thick laminated film is prepared by coextruding an ethylene - acrylic acid copolymer ( acrylic acid content 12 % by weight ; tg - 10 ° c .) containing 5 weight percent of indomethacin and polyethylene ( copolymer film thickness 50 microns ). the above base film is adhered under pressure to the copolymer film layer side of the laminated film to give a composite preparation . a composition composed of 45 parts of polyisoprene rubber , 15 parts of liquid paraffin , 10 parts of lanoline and 30 parts of an aliphatic petroleum resin is heated under an inert gas at 110 °- 125 ° c . for 5 hours for dissolution and then cooled to 80 ° c . thereafter , 8 parts of dimethyl sulfoxide is added and the resulting mixture is applied to a release liner to a thickness of 50 microns . there is obtained a base film ( tg - 48 ° c .). separately , a laminated film is prepared by laminating with heating under pressure a 40 - micron - thick film made of polyvinyl acetate ( tg 33 ° c .) containing 12 weight percent of propatyl nitrate to a 50 - micron - thick polyvinylidene chloride film . the above base film is adhered under pressure to the polyvinyl acetate film layer side of the laminated film to give a composite preparation . tables 4 - 5 show the test results for the composite preparations of examples 4 - 6 . for each preparation , table 4 shows the time for the drug to crystallize out and table 5 shows the blood level of the drug in the rabbit . comparative examples 4 - 6 in tables 4 - 5 correspond to examples 4 - 6 and refer to the cases where the respective polymer layers alone were used . in the comparative examples , the samples were fixed with an adhesive tape where they were difficult to adhere to the skin . the blood level determination was performed in the same manner as mentioned for examples 1 - 3 . table 4______________________________________ storage period 1 day 2 days 4 days 10 days 30 days______________________________________example 4 no no no no nocomparative partly about mostly crystal - crystal - example 4 half lized lizedexample 5 no no no no nocomparative no partly about mostly mostlyexample 5 halfexample 6 no no no no nocomparative no partly about about aboutexample 6 half half half______________________________________ notes : storage conditions : 25 ° c . × 65 % r . h . no no crystallization ; partly , etc . partly crystallized , etc . table 5______________________________________ blood level ( in ng / ml ) after application for ( hours ) 0 . 5 1 2 5 10 24 48______________________________________example 4 3 8 18 22 22 21 7comparative 0 2 6 7 6 3 4example 4example 5 1 3 8 9 7 8 7comparative 0 0 3 3 4 4 4example 5example 6 5 10 15 18 15 16 12comparative 2 4 4 3 2 1 1example 6______________________________________ | 0 |
catalysts of the invention comprise an activator and an inorganic compound comprising iron and a tridentate ligand . the inorganic compound contains a tridentate ligand . the tridentate ligand is a substituted or unsubstituted n -( 2 - ethylamino )- 2 - pyridylmethanimino ligand or a substituted or unsubstituted n , n - bis ( 2 - pyridylmethyl ) amino ligand . members of the n -( 2 - ethylamino )- 2 - pyridylmethanimino class of ligands have the basic chemical structure : where any carbon and the primary nitrogen of the basic structure can be substituted or unsubstituted . members of the of n , n - bis ( 2 - pyridylmethyl ) amino class of ligands have the basic chemical structure : where any carbon and the secondary nitrogen of the basic structure can be substituted or unsubstituted . typical substituents on the carbon or nitrogen atoms of the basic structures include halogens , hydroxides , sulfoxides , c 1 - c 20 alkoxys , c 1 - c 20 siloxys , c 1 - c 20 sulfoxys , c 1 - c 20 hydrocarbyl , or a condensed ring attached to the pyridyl groups . these substituents replace the hydrogen atom of the unsubstituted structure . r 1 and r 9 , are the same or different , and are h , f , cl , br , i , c 1 - c 20 hydrocarbyl , or a condensed ring ; r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r6 , r 7 , and r 8 , are the same or different , and are h or c 1 - c 20 hydrocarbyl ; and the tridentate ligands are well known and easily prepared from known methods . in one convenient method described in hinman , et . al ., organometallics , 2000 , 19 , 563 , at 568 , a pyridinecarboxaldehyde is reacted directly with a diamine , such as n , n - diethylethylenediamine , in an inert organic solvent . stoichiometric quantities are typically used . the reactions are typically performed at room temperature , but temperatures of − 20 ° c . to 150 ° c . can also be used . the solvent is typically removed by evaporation and the tridentate ligand is collected . in the inorganic compound of the invention , the tridentate ligand is coordinated to iron such that iron is bound to the three nitrogen atoms of the ligand . the iron may also have other ligands . suitable additional ligands include halides , nitrates , sulfates , carboxylates ( e . g . acetate ), acetylacetonates , and amines . particularly preferred ligands are halides , such as chloride , bromide , and iodide . a preferred catalyst comprises an activator and an inorganic compound of the formula : r 10 and r 11 are the same or different , and are h or c 1 - c 20 hydrocarbyl ; and the inorganic compound is prepared by any suitable method . in one convenient method , the inorganic compound is made by reacting a tridentate ligand with one equivalent of an iron complex such as iron dichloride in an inert organic solvent . preferred solvents include diethyl ether , tetrahydrofuran , hexane , and toluene . the reactions typically occur at room temperature , but temperatures of − 20 ° c . to 150 ° c . can also be used . the product can be used in polymerization without isolation from the solvent . however , the solvent can also be evaporated and the inorganic compound can be collected . the inorganic compound is combined with an activator to give a catalyst of the invention . suitable activators are well known in the art . they include alumoxanes . preferred alumoxanes ( methyl alumoxane ( mao ), pmao , ethyl alumoxane , and diisobutyl alumoxane ), aluminum alkyls ( e . g ., triethyl aluminum , triisobutylaluminum ), alkyl aluminum halides ( e . g ., diethylaluminum chloride ), and the like . suitable activators include acid salts that contain non - nucleophilic anions . these acid salts generally consist of bulky ligands attached to boron or aluminum . examples include lithium tetrakis ( pentafluorophenyl ) borate , lithium tetrakis ( pentafluorophenyl ) aluminate , anilinium tetrakis ( pentafluorophenyl ) borate , and the like . suitable activators also include organoboranes , which include boron and one or more alkyl , aryl , or aralkyl groups . suitable activators include substituted and unsubstituted trialkyl and triarylboranes such as tris ( pentafluorophenyl ) borane , triphenylborane , tri - n - octylborane , and the like . these and other suitable boron - containing activators are described in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 153 , 157 , 5 , 198 , 401 , and 5 , 241 , 025 , the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . the amount of activator needed relative to the amount of inorganic compound depends on many factors , including the nature of the inorganic compound and the activator , the desired reaction rate , the kind of polyolefin product , the reaction conditions , and other factors . generally , however , when the activator is an alumoxane , an aluminum alkyl , or a dialkylaluminum halide , the molar ratio of activator to inorganic compound will be within the range of about 0 . 01 : 1 to about 5 , 000 : 1 , and more preferably from about 0 . 1 : 1 to 500 : 1 . when the activator is an organo borane or an ionic borate or aluminate , the molar ratio of the boron of the activator component to the inorganic compound will be within the range of about 0 . 01 : 1 to about 100 : 1 , and more preferably from about 0 . 3 : 1 to 10 : 1 . if desired , a catalyst support can be used . however , the use of a support is generally not necessary for practicing olefin polymerization using the catalyst of the invention . the inorganic compound and the activator may be immobilized on a support , which is preferably a porous material . a support may be required for some processes . for example , a support is generally needed in gas phase and slurry polymerization processes to control polymer particle size and to prevent fouling of the reactor walls . the catalysts may be supported using any of a variety of well - known immobilization techniques . in one method , the inorganic compound is dissolved in a solvent and is deposited onto the support by evaporating the solvent . an incipient wetness method can also be used . the activator can also be deposited on the support or it can be introduced into the reactor separately from the supported inorganic compound . the support can be inorganic oxides , inorganic chlorides , and polymeric resins such as polystryrene , styrene - divinylbenzene copolymers , or the like , or mixtures thereof . preferred supports are inorganic oxides , which include oxides of group 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 13 , or 14 elements . more preferred supports include silica , alumina , silica - alumina , magnesia , titania , and zirconia . the support can be used without any pre - treatment prior to immobilization of the inorganic compound and activator , but a support pre - treatment step is preferred . the support may be calcined and / or modified by a chemical additive . if the support is pre - treated by calcination , the calcination temperature is preferably greater than 150 ° c . the chemical additives used to pre - treat the support include organoaluminums , organoboranes , organomagnesiums , organosilanes , and organozinc compounds . preferred chemical additives include alumoxanes , hexamethyldisilazane , trimethylchlorosilane , grignard reagents , and triethylboron . support modification techniques are taught in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 211 , 311 , the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference . the catalyst is particularly valuable for polymerizing olefins , preferably α - olefins . suitable olefins include , for example , ethylene , propylene , 1 - butene , 1 - hexene , 1 - octene , and the like , and mixtures thereof . the catalyst is valuable for copolymerizing ethylene with α - olefins or di - olefins ( e . g ., 1 , 3 - butadiene , 1 , 4 - hexadiene , 1 , 5 - hexadiene ). processes of the invention include gas phase , slurry , and bulk monomer processes . gas and slurry phase processes are preferred . they can be used in a liquid phase ( slurry , solution , suspension , bulk ), high - pressure fluid phase , or gas phase polymerization processes , or a combination of these . the pressure in the polymerization reaction zones typically ranges from about 15 psia to about 15 , 000 psia , and the temperature usually ranges from about − 100 ° c . to about 300 ° c . a slurry process involves pressures in the range of about 1 to about 500 atmospheres and temperatures in the range of about − 60 ° c . to about 100 ° c . the reaction medium employed should be liquid under the conditions of polymerization and relatively inert . preferably , it is an alkane , a cycloalkane , or an aromatic hydrocarbon such as toluene , ethylbenzene , or xylene . more preferably , hexane or isobutane is employed . the following examples merely illustrate the invention . those skilled in the art will recognize many variations that are within the spirit of the invention and scope of the claims . this example describes the synthesis of a variety of tridentate ligands according to the general procedure of hinman , organometallics , 2000 , 19 , at 568 . ligands 1a - 1d have the structural formula : ligand 1a is prepared by mixing 6 - methyl - 2 - pyridinecarboxaldehyde ( 0 . 56 g , 4 . 6 mmol ) and n , n - diethylethylenediamine ( 0 . 65 ml , 4 . 6 mmol ) in diethyl ether ( 75 ml ). the mixture is stirred for 24 hours at room temperature with excess magnesium sulfate . the magnesium sulfate is then filtered off and the solvent is removed by vacuum to give ligand 1a as an oil . ligand 1b is prepared according the above procedure except that 2 - quinolinecarboxaldehyde ( 0 . 72 g , 4 . 6 mmol ) is used in place of 6 - methyl - 2 - pyridinecarboxaldehyde . ligand 1c is prepared according the above procedure except that 4 , 6 - dimethyl - 2 - aminopyridine ( 0 . 56 g , 4 . 6 mmol ) is used in place of n , n - diethylethylenediamine . this example describes the synthesis of a variety of inorganic compounds . compounds 2a , 2d , and 2f and comparative compounds 2b , 2c , and 2e have the following structural formula : toluene solutions of inorganic compounds 2a - 2f are prepared by reacting 0 . 4 mmol of the corresponding ligand with 0 . 4 mmol of fecl 2 , cocl 2 , or nicl 2 in toluene for 16 hours . compound 2a is prepared from fecl 2 and ligand 1a . compound 2b is prepared from nicl 2 and ligand 1a . compound 2c is prepared from cocl 2 and ligand 1a . compound 2d is prepared from fecl 2 and ligand 1b . compound 2e is prepared from fecl 2 and ligand 1c . compound 2f is prepared from fecl 2 and ligand 1 d . polymerization is conducted in a stirred 2 - liter , stainless - steel reactor . reactions are run at 70 ° c . and 350 psi . hydrogen ( 20 psi from a 300 - ml vessel ) is added to the reactor . dry , oxygen - free isobutane ( 900 ml ) is charged to the dry , oxygen - free reactor at room temperature along with 7 . 5 ml of 4 . 2 m pmao in toluene solution ( from akzo chemicals ). the reactor is heated to 70 ° c . and allowed to equilibrate . ethylene is then introduced to give a total pressure of 350 psig , and the reactor is allowed to equilibrate again . the inorganic compound ( 0 . 055 mmol of compound in 0 . 75 ml of toluene and 100 ml of isobutane ) is injected into the reactor . ethylene is fed to the reactor to maintain a constant pressure of 350 psi . at the end of 0 . 5 hour , ethylene flow is stopped , the reaction mixture is cooled to room temperature , and the polymer is recovered after venting the reactor . the polymer is collected and weighed . six runs ( runs 3a to 3f ) are conducted using inorganic compounds 2a - 2f . table 1 shows the results of polymerization . the examples show that inorganic iron compounds of the invention are active in olefin polymerization , while comparable nickel and cobalt compounds show no activity . also , comparative example 2e demonstrates that an iron compound that does not contain a n -( 2 - ethylamino )- 2pyridylmethanimino or n , n - bis ( 2 - pyridylmethyl ) amino ligand is inactive in ethylene polymerization . | 2 |
the following is a description of exemplary embodiments , reference being made to the drawings in which the same reference numerals identify the same elements of structure in each of the several figures . where they are used in the present disclosure , the terms “ first ”, “ second ”, and so on , do not necessarily denote any ordinal , sequential , or priority relation , but are simply used to more clearly distinguish one element or set of elements from another , unless specified otherwise . the exploded view of fig1 shows , in simplified form , some of the electrically active internal components of a dr detector 10 that are protected within an enclosure or housing 14 formed using multiple parts , including top and bottom covers 16 and 18 . a detector array 20 includes a scintillator and imaging pixels for capturing image signals from received radiation . a circuit board 22 provides supporting control electronics components for image data acquisition and wireless transmission to an external host system . a battery 24 provides power , acting as the voltage source for detector 10 operations . a port 26 extending through bottom cover 18 is provided to allow electrical connection for receiving and transmitting data , and / or receiving power such as from a voltage supply . the port may have an optional sealing cap 28 , which may be a rubber seal or other liquid - proofing material . in addition to the illustrated components , a number of interconnecting cables , supporting fasteners , cushioning materials , connectors , and other elements may be used for packaging and protecting the dr detector circuitry . an optional antenna and transmitter for wireless communication may alternately be provided within or as part of the housing 14 . top and bottom housing covers 16 and 18 may be fastened together along a mating surface 48 . the exploded view of fig2 shows an alternate embodiment of dr detector 10 , in which detector array 20 , circuit board 22 , and battery 24 , along with interconnection and other support components , slide into an encased cavity in an enclosure or housing 30 through an open end thereof . a lid 32 may be fastened to cover 30 to provide a protective seal . moisture and other liquid ingress is a concern for either of the fig1 or fig2 embodiments . typically , as shown in the partial side view of fig3 , a gasket or o - ring 12 is provided to fit within a groove along mating surface 48 between covers 16 and 18 of the enclosure or housing 14 of dr detector 10 as shown in fig1 or , with the alternate embodiment of fig2 , along the mating surface where lid 32 joins cover 30 . fasteners 34 , such as a screw for securing top 16 and bottom 18 covers , require secure mating connections to keep out moisture and other liquids . in order to properly seat o - rings or gaskets , mating surfaces 48 of covers 16 and 18 must be machined to a fine finish , with very low tolerances . it can be appreciated that , over time , some degradation of gaskets and seals is likely to occur , such as with standard handling of the detector , after disassembly for battery replacement or for firmware upgrade , or for other maintenance function , and with repeated connection and disconnection at port 26 . embodiments of the present invention address the need for improved moisture protection of the dr detector using hydrophobic treatment of various surfaces and interfaces of the dr detector device enclosure . hydrophobic surfaces provide an interface that is highly repellent to bodily fluids and water . on a hydrophobic surface , water and water - based liquids tend to bead rather than to spread across such a surface because the liquids are repelled by the surface . the hydrophobic surface is thus often described as having low “ wettability ”. hydrophobic behavior is quantified in terms of a contact angle θc at the liquid / surface interface , based on a formula known as young &# 39 ; s equation . fig4 a , 4 b , 4 c , and 4 d illustrate , for a droplet 40 on a surface 42 , how contact angle θc is measured for an increasing hydrophobic property of the surface 42 , from the relatively low contact angle θc of fig4 a that is typical of most untreated surfaces along which water spreads freely , to the highly hydrophobic surfaces shown in fig4 c and 4d , where the interface energy that relates to reduced wettability causes water to bead . by definition , hydrophobic behavior begins when the contact angle θc of water is about 90 degrees , as shown in fig4 b . as a familiar point of reference , poly ( tetrafluorethene ) ( ptfe , commercially provided as teflon ( r ) material , a registered trademark of e . i . du pont de nemours and company ) has a water contact angle near 110 degrees . as the contact angle θc increases toward 120 degrees , as shown in fig4 c , the wettability of the surface decreases due to its greater hydrophobic property . when hydrophobicity provides extreme contact angles θc ( such as that of a bird feather ) in the superhydrophobic 150 degree contact angle example of fig4 d , the surface is considered to be highly resistant to the spread of moisture thereover . embodiments of the present invention use a hydrophobic coating or other treatment on selected surfaces of , and interfaces of , the dr detector 10 in order to prevent or significantly limit liquid ingress along mating surfaces , such as where top and bottom covers 16 , 18 are adjacent or where they may partially abut or contact each other in some regions of the mating surfaces , and along connector interfaces . where a hydrophobic treatment or a coating is used on one or both surfaces that define a gap in the housing that is defined between two covers or other components , the resulting hydrophobic property can be sufficient to keep water or other liquid from entering the dr detector through the gap . this can help to obviate the requirement for an additional gasket or sealant material to seal the gap . the need for precision adjustment and fitting of mating surfaces , mounting screws , and other hardware can also be significantly reduced . referring to fig5 a , mating covers 16 and 18 of the enclosure are treated with a hydrophobic coating 50 along one or more mating surfaces 48 . in addition , screw holes and other features for accepting fasteners 34 are also conditioned with a suitable treatment such as coating 50 . optionally , fasteners 34 themselves may have an applied coating . with hydrophobic coatings that provide a contact angle in excess of about 100 degrees , a small airspace distance d in gap 52 may be tolerated between treated mating surfaces while still preventing ingress of liquids and moisture therethrough . a treated gap 52 with distance d smaller than about 0 . 010 to about 0 . 020 inches , or preferably smaller than about 0 . 005 in ., for example , can be sufficient to prevent liquid flow between two treated surfaces or along the surfaces of screws or other fasteners that are fitted into orifices of the covers 16 , 18 . components such as sealing cap 28 ( fig1 ) can be at least partially coated with a hydrophobic coating to obviate the need for seals or gasketing around electrical or data connectors . other alternative arrangements for hydrophobic treatment of gap 52 are shown in fig5 b and 5c . fig5 b is an enlarged side view that shows a portion of mating surfaces and a fastener , with a hydrophobic surface treatment applied to one of the mating surfaces . the mating surface 48 of cover 16 has an applied hydrophobic coating ; cover 18 is not treated in the fig5 b example . using fastener 34 , which may include a machine screw , for example , gap 52 can be kept small enough that fluid ingress through gap 52 is prevented . a pre - formed hydrophobic film , gasket , or other hydrophobic material can alternately be pressed within the gap between cover portions . fig5 c is an enlarged side view that shows a portion of mating surfaces and a fastener , with a layer 60 of hydrophobic material sandwiched between mating surfaces . layer 60 can be applied in partially cured form or have an adhesive backing or may be conditioned and inserted to adhere to either or both mating surfaces 48 , effectively forming a coated surface under compressive force exerted by tightening fastener 34 . one advantage of hydrophobic coatings for waterproofing gaps relates to air flow , such as for cooling or venting . using conventional gasket and sealing techniques , both air / gas and liquid flow across the interface are constrained . however , using conventional machining practices and following close tolerances , a selected coating thickness , positioned within air passages or passages or vents for other gases can be liquid - proofed and yet allow air passage without requiring air - tight sealing . thus , for example , the use of hydrophobic coatings can allow venting of the dr detector battery 24 ( fig1 and 2 ) using small sized orifices for air passage , while keeping out liquid and / or moisture at the same time . in one embodiment , hydrophobic coated surfaces ( e . g ., mating surfaces ) can provide air passages or conduits ( e . g ., internal , or internal extending to an exterior surface ) for the dr detector 10 that can block liquid ( e . g ., liquid - proof ) yet allow gases to pass therethrough ( e . g ., not air - tight ). a number of hydrophobic coating materials use nanoparticles , which , by definition , are generally between 1 and 100 nm in diameter , in various arrangements . some of the nanoparticle - based hydrophobic coatings can exhibit contact angles in a range of 120 degrees or more . superhydrophobic materials can have contact angles of 150 degrees or more . a contact angle in excess of 150 degrees provides a hydrophobic treatment that is particularly advantageous for the dr detector . a contact angle in excess of 120 degrees can also provide good performance . a contact angle in excess of about 100 degrees provides a measure of protection but may constrain allowable tolerances related to gap distance of the housing . the choice of a particular material to be applied as a hydrophobic treatment depends on factors such as a selected design tolerance between mating surfaces . a number of types of hydrophobic materials are applied under high energy conditions , such as using plasma - assisted deposition under vacuum for various carbon - based materials , such as materials formed from carbon nanotubes , for example . coatings can be applied to covers 16 and 18 or to individual components of housing 14 separately , to selected portions or surfaces thereof , or to the assembled dr detector 10 in order to render the assembled dr detector 10 hydrophobic . hydrophobic materials that can be used as coatings include polysiloxanes and other organosilicon polymers , poly ( tetrafluorethene ) ( ptfe ) or polypropylene ( pp ); coatings formed from reactive inorganic nanoparticles ; compositions that comprise a plurality of nano - fillers dispersed within a fluoroelastomer matrix ; compositions with a nano - filler having a core - shell structure with a silica shell over a metal oxide core ; multilayered film coatings such as the polyelectrolyte layers described in us patent application publication no . 2006 / 0029808 a1 entitled “ superhydrophobic coatings ” by zhai et al ., which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety ; sol - gel foam coatings , and sol - gel alumina coatings . nano - fillers used within the hydrophobic material can have any of a variety of structures , including nanospheres , nanotubes , nanofibers , nanoshafts , nanopillars , nanowires , nanorods , nanoneedles , and nanowhiskers , for example . coatings formed using nanoparticles appear to be particularly promising , since a number of coatings of this type provide treated hydrophobic surfaces with high water repellent contact angles , with some materials exceeding 120 degrees . a variety of deposition techniques can be used to provide exemplary embodiments of hydrophobic coatings on components and / or surfaces of the dr detector 10 . coating methods can include spin - coating , dip - coating , brush or roller application , gap coating , extrusion coating , aerosol spraying , ink jet printing , and doctor blade - casting , in which the coating solution is deposited on a substrate and a straight edge then used to spread the solution . for a number of coating types , the coating or a precursor is applied using a vacuum chamber . application steps for many of these coating techniques can include baking , sintering , and other methods for curing or otherwise conditioning the applied coating . application may require one or more base coatings including an adhesion promoting resin to pre - condition the surface , followed by one or more applications of the hydrophobic material itself . various curing agents can be incorporated in the nanoparticle formulation , including monomer and fluoroelastomer materials , for example . the surface of interest may also be plasma treated , which may help to remove organic contamination and increase surface reactivity . plasma treatment can include air plasma , oxygen plasma , or carbon dioxide plasma , for example . advantageously , the use of nanotechnology and coatings with substantial nanoparticulate content can reduce the weight of the dr detector and can help to eliminate at least a portion of seals , gaskets , and other preventive devices and treatments that have previously been used for protection of dr detectors from liquids . these coatings can withstand heat , cleaning , and abrasion , and allow disassembly of the dr detector , such as for battery replacement , upgrade , or repair , for example . in one embodiment , hydrophobic coatings can be re - applied to selected surfaces of the housing or to the detector or detector components . for example , hydrophobic coatings can be repeatedly or periodically applied to help renew water repellent behavior , such as when the detector is disassembled for service or battery replacement . while coatings that are hydrophobic can be particularly useful with dr detectors , these coatings can also be - used for properly designed film or computed radiography ( cr ) cassettes that use a removable medium that is developed , scanned , or otherwise processed to obtain image data following exposure . the applied hydrophobic material can include any of a number of solvents to help disperse the nanoparticles or other components along the surface to be treated . solvents can include water or organic solvents , such as methyl isobutyl keytone , acetone , methyl ethyl ketone , and other solvent materials . the dr detector covers 16 and 18 ( fig1 ) may be metal , such as aluminum , magnesium or their alloys , or some other metal or metal alloy ; alternatively , one or both covers 16 and 18 can be a composite material , such as a plastic or carbon fiber material . the area of concern for moisture ingress into the housing is at the interface between the covers 16 and 18 , where gap 52 has been described herein ; the covers 16 , 18 themselves are impervious to moisture and may not require hydrophobic treatment except near the gap 52 . by hydrophobic treatment of areas adjacent to gap 52 , embodiments of the present disclosure reduce or eliminate the need for gaskets , o - rings , seals , and sealants as features for keeping moisture from seeping into the dr detector . hydrophobic treatment can also allow relaxed mechanical tolerances for covers , particularly with respect to mating surfaces . this , in turn , reduces or eliminates machining costs and may allow the use of cast or molded plastic or composite materials for covers , instead of requiring more costly metal materials . according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , as shown in the partial exploded view of fig6 a , a dr detector 10 may have a number of parts , including covers 16 and 18 , for protecting the photoimaging detector array 20 and control electronics of circuit board 22 . battery 24 may be removably mounted against the outside of cover 18 . battery 24 may be seated against one of covers 16 and 18 and may be held in place by a clamp or other suitable fastener ( not shown ). fig6 b shows a number of surfaces and interfaces of the dr detector of fig6 a that have hydrophobic treatment . the treated surfaces are highlighted in fig6 b , using expanded lines . treated areas can include : mating surfaces 48 of covers 16 and 18 ; exposed portions of port 26 and along the periphery of this connection port ; along a connector interface 62 for battery 24 ; and within and along vent orifices 64 that are located along one or more edges of battery 24 . one or more optional vent orifices 66 can also be provided in detector housing 14 . in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure , the hydrophobic treatment that is used is applied in a multi - stage process , using dipping where practicable , in order to achieve full coverage of the highlighted areas . first , a base coat is applied in one or more applications . dry time between base coat applications at room temperature is on the order of about 15 minutes . the base coat provides a suitable adhesive that conditions the treated area for better adhesion of the top coat . the top coating layer , applied to surfaces treated with the base coat , can be added in one or more applications . the top coating layer includes a nanoparticle - based hydrophobic material that is capable of providing superhydrophobic performance , with contact angles of up to 165 degrees . with contact angles in this range , vent openings of small enough diameter , such as less than about 0 . 020 in . diameter , are able to allow cooling air flow or allow exhaust gas passage , while at the same time fluid ingress through the same orifices is blocked . advantageously , the hydrophobic treatment can be applied at the parts fabrication stage , such as just after covers 16 and 18 are machined or molded and before they are used to form housing 14 , rather than following later stages of dr detector assembly . fig6 c shows the assembled dr detector of fig6 a and 6b , with battery 24 fitted into position against the housing 14 . it can be appreciated that the fluid protection approach that is used in embodiments of the present disclosure has advantages over conventional gasketing and sealing techniques . the treated areas are along interfaces that offer some measure of protection against abrasion and damage , rather than extending across broad areas where a coating or other hydrophobic treatment could easily be scratched or worn away . venting areas are unobstructed to gases but block water and other fluids . disassembly and re - assembly can be performed without requiring renewal of the hydrophobic treatment . if necessary to remove and renew the treatment , mild solvents such as mineral spirits or xylene can be used , with light abrasion , to restore the original surface of the housing components preparatory to re - application . advantageously , the base coating and hydrophobic top coating can be reapplied to mating and connector surfaces without requiring separate high - energy application or vacuum equipment . as noted previously , there are a number of different materials that can be used for providing hydrophobic behavior along mating surfaces between parts of the dr detector housing and along electrical contacts , signal ports , and ventilation orifices . there are , similarly , a number of different application technologies and methods that can be used for depositing hydrophobic materials at suitable locations along mating surfaces and interfaces for providing increased protection from moisture ingress . electrical contacts for data signals or power signal connection can also be provided with hydrophobic treatment , along and adjacent to the point of contact . hydrophobic treatment can be used with various types of pin connectors , including connections that employ spring - loaded pins that require only a minimal contact area between conductors . embodiments of the application provide a radiographic imaging detector including : a first cover ; a second cover that seats against the first cover along a mating surface when the imaging detector is assembled ; a detector panel that lies between the first and second cover ; and a hydrophobic coating applied to at least one mating surface . the radiographic imaging detector may further comprise an input / output port that is accessible within at least one of the first and second covers ; a removable cover plate that seals against the input / output port , wherein at least one of the cover plate or an edge of the input / output port further have the applied hydrophobic coating . the radiographic imaging detector may further comprise one or more fasteners that have an applied hydrophobic coating . the applied hydrophobic coating can be formed from carbon - based nanoparticles and can also be applied to one or more fasteners of the imaging detector . the coating can be applied to both the first and a second mating surface that seats against the first mating surface . the detector panel may alternately house a computed radiography or a film medium . the hydrophobic coated mating surface of the digital radiographic detector 10 is liquid - proof and not air - tight between the first cover and the second cover . embodiments of the present invention provide a method for fabricating a digital radiography detector , the method comprising conditioning mating surfaces of first and second housing covers by applying one or more coating materials under vacuum ; and fastening the first and second housing covers wherein a gap between the first and second housing covers is greater than about 0 . 005 and less than about 0 . 020 inches when the digital radiography detector is assembled . the one or more coating materials may comprise carbon nanotubes . the invention has been described in detail , and may have been described with particular reference to a suitable or presently preferred embodiment , but it will be understood that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of the invention . in addition , while a feature ( s ) of the invention can have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations / embodiments , such feature can be combined with one or more other features of other implementations / embodiments as can be desired and / or advantageous for any given or identifiable function . the term “ at least one of ” is used to mean one or more of the listed items can be selected . the term “ about ” indicates that the value listed can be somewhat altered , as long as the alteration does not result in nonconformance of the process or structure to the illustrated embodiment . finally , “ exemplary ” indicates the description is used as an example , rather than implying that it is an ideal . the presently disclosed embodiments are therefore considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive . the scope of the invention is indicated by the appended claims , and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents thereof are intended to be embraced therein . | 6 |
referring to fig5 of the drawings , a random access memory device embodying the present invention largely comprises a data storage facility and a peripheral unit . the data storage facility has a plurality of regular memory cell blocks 301 , 302 , 303 . . . and 30n respectively assigned block addresses , and each of the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n is fabricated from a plurality of regular memory cells arranged in rows and columns . bubbles in fig5 stand for the regular memory cells . a redundant memory cell block 31 is provided in association with the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n . is broken down into a plurality of redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 , 312 , 313 and 31n respectively associated with the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n . the redundant memory cell block 31 is fabricated from columns of redundant memory cells , and each of the columns of the redundant memory cells forms one of the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n in this instance . any column of defective regular memory cells is replaceable with one of the columns of the redundant memory cells . in other words , the redundant memory cell block 31 is shared between all of the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n . a plurality sets of word lines are respectively associated with the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , and the word lines wl1 to wls of each set are coupled with the respective rows of the regular memory cells of the associated regular memory cell block as well as the respective redundant memory cells . a plurality sets of digit line pairs are further associated with the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , and the digit line pairs d1 to dt of each set are coupled with the columns of the regular memory cells of the associated regular memory cell block . however , the columns of the redundant memory cells are coupled with redundant digit line pairs rd , respectively . row addresses are assigned to the corresponding word lines of all the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , and column addresses are also assigned to the corresponding columns of all the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , respectively . therefore , a row address and a column address select a regular memory cell from every regular memory cell block 301 , 302 , 303 , . . or 30n . the peripheral unit is broken down into an addressing sub - unit and a data transmission sub - unit . in detail , external row address bits ax0 to axi and external column address bits ay0 to ayj are respectively stored in a row address buffer circuit 33 and a column address buffer circuit 34 , and the row and column address buffer circuits 33 and 34 produce row address predecoded signal acx0 to acxi / adx0 to adxi and column address predecoded signals acy0 to acyi / ady0 to adyj . the row address predecoded signals adx0 to adxi are complementary signals of the row address predecoded signals acx0 to acxi , respectively , and the column address predecoded signals ady0 to adyj are the complementary signals to the column address predecoded signals acy0 to acyj . the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n are respectively associated with regular row address decoder circuits 351 , 352 , 353 , . . . and 35n , and the row address decoder circuits 351 to 35n selectively drive the associated sets of word lines wl1 to wls . the address predecoded signals acx0 to acxi / adx0 to adxi are indicative of a row address assigned to the corresponding word lines of the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , and are supplied to the regular row address decoder circuits 351 to 35n . however , any redundant row address decoder circuit is not incorporated in the random access memory device according to the present invention . the column address buffer circuit 34 is associated with a column address decoder circuit 36 , a block address decoder circuit 37 and a program circuit 38 . each of the memory cell blocks 301 to 30n is assigned a block address , and the columns of the regular memory cells of each regular memory cell block 301 , 302 , 303 , . . . or 30n are respectively assigned column addresses as described hereinbefore . the external column address bits consist of higher order bits indicative of a block address and lower order bits indicative of a column address , and the address predecoded signals acy0 to acyj and ady0 to adyj are supplied partially to the column address decoder circuit 36 , and the column address decoder circuit 36 produces column selecting signals css for selecting corresponding columns of the regular memory cells from the respective regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n . the remaining part of the address decoded signals acy0 to acyj and ady0 to adyj are supplied to the block address decoder circuit 37 , and the block address decoder circuit 37 produces block selecting signals bss0 to bssn for selecting one of the memory cell blocks 11 to 1n . however , all of the address decoded signals acy0 to acyj and ady0 to adyj are supplied to the program circuit 38 , and the program circuit has been able to store a plurality sets of column and block addresses assigned to columns of defective regular memory cells replaced with the columns of the redundant memory cells . the program circuit 38 is similar in circuit arrangement to that of the first prior art random access memory device shown in fig2 and 3 , and produces a disable signal kl and redundant column selecting signals sy1 to syn when the external column address bits are indicative of block and column addresses assigned to one of the columns of the defective regular memory cells . fig6 illustrates a decoder unit 37m incorporated in the block decoder circuit 37 , and comprises a nand gate na3 , nor gates nr1 and nr2 and an inverter iv4 . the decoder unit 37m is assumed to be associated with one of the regular memory cell blocks 30i , and , accordingly , the subscript m is selected from 1 to n . the other decoder units are respectively associated with the other regular memory cell blocks , and the other decoder units are similar in circuit arrangement to the decoder unit 37m . the higher order bits of the column address predecoded signals are selectively supplied to the nand gate na3 , and the disable signal kl and one of the redundant column selecting signals sym are supplied to the nor gates nr1 and nr2 . the subscript m is also selected from 1 to n . if the higher order bits of the column address predecoded signals are indicative of the regular memory cell block 30m , all of the column address predecoded signals supplied to the nand gate na3 are logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level , and the nand gate na3 supplies logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; bit to the nor gate nr1 . if the external column address bits are not indicative of one of the columns of the defective regular memory cells , the disable signal kl remains in logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level , and the nor gate nr1 supplies a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; bit to the next nor gate nr2 . in this situation , the redundant column selecting signal sym remains in logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level , and the nor gate nr2 supplies a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; bit to the inverter iv4 . the redundant column selecting signal sym is indicative of the redundant memory cell sub - block 31m where the subscript m is between 1 to n . then , the inverter produces the block selecting signal bssm where the subscript m is also between one and n . however , if the external column address bits are indicative of the block and column addresses assigned to one of the columns of the defective regular memory cells , the disable signal kl is shifted to logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level , and the nor gate nr1 produces a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; bit regardless of the logic level at the other input node . in other words , the nand gate na3 is not responsive to the higher order bits of the column address predecoded signals , and the nr gate nr2 is enabled with the logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; bit . if the program circuit 38 acknowledges the block and column addresses indicated by the external column address bits to be consistent with one of the plurality sets of block and column addresses stored in the program circuit 38 , the program circuit 38 shifts the redundant column selecting signal sym to logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level , the nor gate nr2 supplies a logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; bit to the inverter iv4 , and the inverter iv4 shifts the block selecting signal bssi to active logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; level . on the other hand , if another redundant memory cell sub - block is selected by the program circuit 38 , the redundant column selecting signal bssm remains in logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level , and the nor gate nr2 causes the inverter iv4 to shift the block selecting signal bssi to inactive logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level . thus , the block address decoder circuit 37 allows one of the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n to becomes accessible . even if the column of the defective memory cells and the redundant memory cell sub - block are associated with different regular memory cell blocks , the block address decoder circuit 37 of the present invention replaces the column of the defective regular memory cells with the redundant memory cell sub - block . the data transmission sub - unit comprises regular column selector circuits 391 , 392 , 393 , . . . and 39n respectively associated with the regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n , transfer gates 401 . 402 , 403 , . . . and 40n respectively coupled with the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n , sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 , 412 , 413 , . . . and 41n coupled with the regular column selector circuits 391 to 39n as well as with the transfer gates 401 to 40n , and an input / output data buffer circuit 43 shared between the sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 to 41n . however , any redundant sense amplifier / write driver circuit is provided for the redundant memory cell block 31 . the row address decoder circuits 351 to 35n and the sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 to 41n are selectively enabled with the block selecting signals bss0 to bssn , and the column selector circuits 391 to 39n are responsive to the column selecting signals css for selecting the columns assigned the column address from the respective regular memory cell blocks 301 to 30n . the transfer gates 401 to 40n are responsive to the redundant column selecting signals sy1 to syn , and selectively couple the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n with the associated sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 to 41n . in this instance , the sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 to 41n serve as a plurality of amplifier means , and one of the transfer gates 401 to 40n serves as a transfer means . the random access memory device thus arranged behaves as follows . if any column of the regular memory cells is not replaced with the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n , the column address decoder circuit 36 and the block address decoder circuit 37 are enabled without the disable signal kl at all times , and the block address decoder circuit 37 enables one of the regular row address decoder circuits 351 to 35n and one of the sense amplifier / write driver circuits 411 to 41n on the basis of the external column address bits ay0 to ayj . in the read - out phase of operation , the enabled regular row address decoder circuit is responsive to the address predecoded signals acx0 to acxi / adx0 to adxi , and drives one of the word lines wl1 to wls . then , data bits are read out from the regular memory cells coupled with the selected word line of the associated memory cell block to the associated digit line pairs d1 to dt . the associated column selector circuit is responsive to the column selecting signals css , and transfers one of the data bits on the digit line pairs d1 to dt to the associated sense amplifier / wire driver circuit . the differential voltage indicative of the selected data bit is developed by the sense amplifier and the developed differential voltage is relayed to the input / output data buffer circuit 43 . the read - out data bit is delivered from the input / output data buffer circuit 43 . on the other hand , if the random access memory device entered in the write - in phase of operation , a write - in data bit is relayed vice versa , and written into one of the regular memory cells of the selected regular memory cell block coupled with the selected word line . on the other hand , if columns of defective regular memory cells are respectively replaced with the columns of the redundant memory cells or the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n , the program circuit 38 stores sets of block and column addresses assigned to the columns of the defective regular memory cells by selectively breaking fuse elements . if the random access memory device is established in the read - out phase , the address predecoded signals acy0 to acyj / ady0 to adyj supply the block and column addresses indicated by the external column address bits ay0 to ayj to the program circuit 38 , and the program circuit 38 compares the block and column addresses with the sets of block and column addresses stored therein . if the block and column addresses are not consistent with any one of the sets of block and column addresses , the block and column address decoder circuits 37 and 36 behave as those described hereinbefore . however , if the block and column addresses are matched with one if the sets of block and column addresses , the program circuit 38 disables the column and block address decoder circuits 36 and 37 with the disable signal kl , and shifts one of the redundant column selecting signals sy1 to syn to an active level . the block address decoder circuit 37 is not responsive to the higher order bits of the column address predecoded signals acy0 to acyj / ady0 to adyj , and becomes responsive to the redundant column selecting signal of the active level . then , the block address decoder circuit 37 shifts one of the block selecting signal corresponding to the redundant column selecting signal to the active level , and the block selecting signal of the active level enables the row address decoder circuit as well as the sense amplifier / write driver circuit . one of the transfer gates 401 to 40n turns on with the redundant columl selecting signal of the active level , and a data bit is transferred from the associated redundant memory cell sub - block to the associated sense amplifier / write driver circuit . the data bit read out from the redundant memory cell sub - block is developed by the sense amplifier / write driver circuit , and is transferred to the input / output data buffer circuit 13 . if the random access memory device is established in the write - in phase , a write - in data bit is propagated vice versa , and stored in one of the redundant memory cells . as will be understood from the foregoing description , block decoder circuit 37 incorporated in the random access memory device allows a data bit to be read out from any one of the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 311 to 31n even if the column of defective regular memory cells and the redundant memory cell sub - block are associated with different regular memory cell blocks , and improves the production yield . turning to fig7 of the drawings , another random access memory device embodying the present invention is illustrated . the random access memory device shown in fig7 is similar in circuit arrangement to the first embodiment except for a redundant memory cell sub - blocks 51a and 51b selectively associated with the regular memory cell blocks , and a block address decoder circuit 52 comprises first decoder units for the regular memory cell blocks 303 to 30n associated with the redundant memory cell sub - blocks 51a and 51b , and second decoder units for the regular memory cell blocks 301 and 302 without any redundant memory cell sub - block . the first decoder units are similar in circuit arrangement to the decoder unit 37m shown in fig6 and each of the second decoder units comprises nand gates na4 and na5 and inverters iv5 , iv6 and iv7 as shown in fig8 . the nand gate na5 produces a logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; bit regardless of the column address predecoded signals supplied to the nand gate na4 in the presence of the disable signal kl , and the inverter iv7 shifts the block selecting signal bss1 or bss2 to logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level . for this reason , the associated row address decoder circuit and the sense amplifier / write driver circuit are not enabled . however , if the disable signal kl goes down to logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; level , the inverter iv6 enables the nand gate na5 with the logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; bit , and the inverter iv7 shifts the block selecting signal bss1 or bss2 between logic &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; and logic &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; depending upon the column address predecoded signals supplied to the nand gate na4 . the other circuit behavior is analogous , and no further description is incorporated hereinbelow for the sake of simplicity . although particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described , it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . for example , a random access memory device according to the present invention may be incorporated in an ultra large scale integration together with other component devices . | 6 |
for a more adequate understanding of the invention , reference should be had to the drawing wherein there is shown an anti - pilfering device 10 to be employed with a plurality of items 12 displayed in a row , as is common merchandising practice with items of the type shown . the items 12 generally comprise a product 14 which is contained in a shrink package , or bubble pack type packaging on a card 15 , the card 15 having a plurality of holes 16 formed therein such that the item 12 may be supported from a rod , or arrangement of rods , for display purposes . as best shown in fig3 the single central opening 16 is received onto a single rod 18 having an upwardly directed portion 19 at its free end . at the opposite end of the rod 18 , a downwardly projecting leg 20 is affixed to a u - shaped element 22 having a pair of upwardly directed free ends 23 one of which is visible in fig2 of the drawing , the other being identical and lying behind the free end 23 shown . the rod 18 is mounted on the wall surface of a peg board 24 having a plurality of holes 25 formed therein . in assembling the rod 18 to the peg board 24 , the rod is tipped upwardly and the free ends 23 inserted through a pair of openings 25 in the peg board , such that when the rod is dropped to a position shown in fig2 the free ends 23 lie behind the peg board 24 and the downwardly projecting leg 20 rests against the wall surface of the peg board to support the rod 18 substantially at right angles from the surface of the peg board . the structure thus far described is similar to that employed in many stores and outlets , and from which products such as the items 12 are displayed . the items 12 are generally removed in any quantity desired by grasping the number of items and in one motion pulling them forwardly away from the surface of the peg board 24 and from the free end 19 of the rod 18 . in order to limit the number of items which may be removed from the rod 18 in a single gesture , or motion , the present invention provides an anti - pilferage fixture which is generally formed of a plurality of wire members bent to produce the desired configuration and / or welded or soldered for attachment one to the other to form the fixture . as best shown in fig1 the fixture comprises a pair of elongated side members 26 and 28 which extend outwardly from the surface of the peg board 25 and are connected at the forward ends by a substantially horizontal front member 29 . a substantially rectangular frame 30 is attached to the side members 26 and 28 at a predetermined location spaced rearwardly from the front member 29 . the rectangular frame 30 comprises an upper arm 32 , a pair of side arms 33 and 34 , and a pair of lower arms 35 and 36 which form the bottom member of the rectangular frame . the lower arms 35 and 36 each terminate substantially near the center of the rectangular frame 30 and are connected to a pair of bottom members 38 and 40 respectively , each extending rearwardly from the rectangular frame 30 toward the surface of the peg board 24 . as is shown , the free end of the bottom member 38 is directed toward the peg board 24 while the free end of the bottom member 40 is bent at a right angle to the member 40 to lie parallel to the surface of the peg board 24 . referring still to fig1 it will be noted that the rearwardly extending ends of the side members 26 and 28 each are bent inwardly towards one another and substantially parallel to the surface of the peg board 24 . a pair of loops 42 and 44 are formed at each free end of the side members 26 and 28 respectively , each forming an opening for receiving a headed fastener 46 . the headed fastener 46 is provided with a plurality of outwardly projected protuberances 48 on its shank which are dimensioned for interference fit when extended through a respective opening 25 in the peg board 24 . referring now to fig1 and 2 , with the rod 18 mounted as previously described to the peg board 24 , in order to accommodate the anti - pilferage fixture , a spring 50 is threaded along the rod 18 and has its free end inserted between the u - shaped element 22 and the peg board 24 . the items 12 are attached to the rod 18 in alignment by inserting the free end of the rod through the center opening 16 in each of the cards 15 , onto which the product 14 is mounted . with the items 12 in place , the fixture is held as shown in fig1 and the headed fasteners 46 inserted through the loops 42 and 44 . the loops 42 and 44 are aligned with a pair of openings 35 in the peg board 24 and the free end of the bottom member 38 has been formed such that it is also in alignment with another opening 25 in the peg board 24 . the loops 42 and 44 are then placed in contact with the surface of the peg board and the fasteners 46 are forced through openings 25 to retain the fixture in place with the free end of the bottom member 38 extending through an opening 25 in the peg board 24 , and the free end of the bottom member 40 resting on the surface of the peg board 24 . as is shown in fig3 taken in conjunction with fig2 with the fixture so located , the upwardly directed portion 19 of the rod 18 extends beyond the rectangular frame 30 a predetermined distance as does the front member 29 , to inhibit more than a predetermined number ( for example one or two ) of the items 12 to be moved forward of the rectangular frame 30 and rearwardly of the front member 29 which is the area permitting removal of the items from the upwardly directed portion 19 of the rod 18 . in operation , the anti - pilferage device 10 offers the plurality of items 12 in view of the customer and allows the customer to peruse the information contained on the card 15 and to examine the product 14 with relative ease . should the customer desire to purchase an item , or in some cases a pair of items , depending on the area provided between the upwardly directed portion 19 of the rod 18 and the front member 29 , the items are grasped and moved forwardly and upwardly from the space between the upwardly turned end 19 and the front member 29 . however , should a person desire to remove a great number , or all of the items 12 from the rod 18 , it would require that he perform a number of separate removal operations requiring a length of time which would enhance the opportunity to be detected by store personnel , thus lessening the likelihood of pilferage . additionally , due to the side members 26 and 28 , and the bottom members 38 and 40 , the items are inhibited from movement either in the lateral direction or in the downward direction should the person desire to force the items 12 from the rod 18 in the downward or sidewise direction by tearing the card 15 adjacent the opening 16 . although it is apparent that changes and modification may be made within the spirit and scope of the present application , it is my intention , however , only to be limited by the appended claims . as my invention , | 0 |
fig1 is a front sectional view illustrating the overall configuration of a motor retractor 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , the motor retractor 10 comprises a frame 12 . the frame 12 comprises a substantially plate - like back plate 14 , and by fixing this back plate 14 to a vehicle body by means of a connecting part ( not shown ), such as a bolt , or the like , the present motor retractor 10 is mounted to the vehicle body . from both ends of the back plate 14 in a width direction , a pair of foot plates 16 , 18 are extended in parallel with each other , and between these foot plates 16 , 18 , a spool 20 , serving as a winding shaft and manufactured by die casting or the like , is rotatably disposed . the spool 20 is made up of a substantially cylindrical spool main body 22 , and a pair of flange portions 24 , 26 formed substantially in the shape of a disk at both ends of this spool main body 22 , and as a whole , has the shape of a drum . to the spool main body 22 , the base end portion of a webbing 28 formed in the shape of a long strip is connected and fixed , and when the spool 20 is rotated in one direction around the axis thereof ( hereinafter , this direction is called the “ winding - up direction ”), the webbing 28 is wound up from the base end side thereof around the circumference of the spool main body 22 in layers . on the other hand , when the webbing 28 is taken out from the tip end thereof , the spool 20 is rotated while the webbing 28 is taken out ( hereinafter , the direction of rotation of the spool 20 when the webbing 28 is taken out is called the “ taking - out direction ”). on the side of the flange part 24 that is opposite to the flange part 26 , one end side of the spool 20 penetrates substantially coaxially into a round hole 30 formed in the foot plate 16 to protrude to the outside of the frame 12 . on the outside of the frame 12 at the foot plate 16 side , a casing 32 is disposed . the casing 32 is disposed along the axial direction of the spool 20 , facing the foot plate 16 , and fixed to the foot plate 16 . in addition , the casing 32 is opened as a whole toward the foot plate 16 side , and the one end side of the spool 20 penetrating into the round hole 30 enters into the casing 32 , and is rotatably pivotally - supported by the casing 32 . further , inside of the casing 32 , a spiral spring 34 is disposed . the outside end in the spiral direction of the spiral spring 34 is engaged at the casing 32 , while the inside end in the spiral direction of the spiral spring 34 is engaged at the spool 20 . this spiral spring 34 biases the spool 20 in the winding - up direction . the biasing force of this spiral spring 34 ( the winding - up force of the webbing 28 based on that biasing force ) is set relatively weakly , and to such a degree that looseness of the webbing 28 worn by a passenger is eliminated . in other words , the biasing force of the spiral spring 34 is set at a strength that will not give an oppressive feeling to a passenger when the webbing 28 is worn , not being required to be of a strength that causes the webbing 28 taken out from the spool 20 to be wound up to the last against the friction force or the like . further , the spool 20 comprises a pivot portion ( not shown ) protruding coaxially from the end portion on the flange part 26 side . this pivot portion substantially coaxially penetrates into an internally toothed ratchet hole 36 formed in the foot plate 18 to protrude to the outside of the frame 12 , and is rotatably pivotally - supported by a substantially cup - like casing 40 that is fixed with the opening end being butted against the outside surface of the foot plate 18 and constitutes a lock mechanism 38 . the lock mechanism 38 normally tolerates free rotation of the spool 20 in both of the winding - up direction and the taking - out direction , and , and prevents the rotation of the spool 20 in the taking - out direction at the time of vehicle rapid deceleration . in the present first embodiment , when an acceleration sensor 41 prevents a ratchet gear 42 from rotating in the taking - out direction , the relative rotation between the ratchet gear 42 and the spool 20 causes a lock plate 46 to protrude from a lock base 44 and engage with the internal teeth of the ratchet hole 36 in the foot plate 18 , resulting in the rotation of the spool 20 in the taking - out direction being prevented . between the lock base 44 and the spool 20 , a torsion bar may be connected to provide a configuration in which , after the above - mentioned locking , the torsion bar is twisted while the rotation of the spool 20 in the taking - out direction is allowed to achieve energy absorption ( achieve a force limiter function ). further , a motor 60 is disposed between the foot plate 16 and the foot plate 18 under the spool 20 . the motor 60 has an output shaft 62 , on which a gear 64 is coaxially and integrally provided . above the gear 64 in the radial direction , a gear 66 having a diameter larger than that of the gear 64 is disposed . the gear 66 is engaged with the gear 64 , in a state in which the gear 66 is rotatably pivotally - supported by a support plate 68 provided between the foot plates 16 , 18 and the foot plate 16 around an axis parallel with the axis of the spool 20 . in addition , at a lateral side of the gear 66 in the axial direction , a gear 70 having a diameter smaller than that of the gear 66 is coaxially and integrally provided with respect to the gear 66 . further , above the gear 70 in the radial direction , a clutch 72 is provided . the clutch 72 comprises an externally toothed gear 74 formed in the shape of a ring . the gear 74 is provided coaxially and relatively rotatably with respect to the spool 20 in a state in which it is engaged with the gear 70 , and both ends thereof in the axial direction are blocked with disk - like members ( not shown ). in addition , inside of the gear 74 , an adapter 76 in the shape of a cylinder is provided coaxially with respect to the spool 20 . the adapter 76 is connected integrally with the spool 20 , penetrating into the disk - like members that block both ends of the gear 74 , to rotatably pivotally - support the disk - like members , and thus the gear 74 , around the spool 20 . inside of the gear 74 , a connecting member ( not shown ), such as a pawl which is rocked by the centrifugal force , or the like , is accommodated . this connecting member is supported , for example , by the above - mentioned disk - like members , and rotates integrally with the gear 74 . herein , with the clutch 72 , the rotating force of the output shaft 62 of the motor 60 is transmitted to the gear 74 via the gear 64 , the gear 66 , and the gear 70 ( the output shaft 62 and the gear 74 always rotate in synchronism with each other ), and when the output shaft 62 of the motor 60 rotates in the forward direction , the gear 74 rotates in the winding - up direction . when the gear 74 rotates in the winding - up direction , the connecting member is mechanically connected to the circumferential surface of the adapter 76 , resulting in the gear 74 and the adapter 76 being integrally connected to each other . thereby , the rotation of the gear 74 in the winding - up direction ( the forward running of the motor 60 ) is transmitted to the spool 20 via the adapter 76 . on the other hand , when the output shaft 62 of the motor 60 rotates in the reverse direction , the gear 74 rotates in the taking - out direction . in this case , when the gear 74 relatively rotates in the taking - out direction by a predetermined amount with respect to the adapter 76 ( when the reverse running of the motor 60 causes the output shaft 62 to relatively rotate with respect to the spool 20 by a predetermined amount ), the mechanical connection of the connecting member to the adapter 76 is released , and the clutch 72 is brought into a disengaged state . in addition , on the other hand , the present motor retractor 10 comprises a driver 82 and an ecu 86 constituting a control portion . a driving control program according to the first embodiment of the present invention is stored in the ecu 86 . in addition , the motor 60 is electrically connected to a battery 84 loaded on a vehicle via the driver 82 , and with the current from the battery 84 flowing to the motor 60 via the driver 82 , the motor 60 exerts a driving force to rotate the output shaft 62 in the forward or reverse direction . the driver 82 is connected to the ecu 86 , and whether power is to be fed to the motor 60 via the driver 82 , and the direction and magnitude of the supply current are controlled by the ecu 86 . further , a buckle switch 92 serving as the control portion for detecting whether or not a tongue plate provided at the webbing 28 is connected to the buckling apparatus ( both not shown ) is connected to the ecu 86 . when the tongue plate is connected to the buckling apparatus , the buckle switch 92 outputs , to the ecu 86 , a signal at an h level indicating that the switch is in the on state , and , when the tongue plate is disconnected from the buckling apparatus , the buckle switch 92 outputs , to the ecu 86 , a signal at an l level indicating that the switch is in the off state . when the signal outputted from the buckle switch 92 is a signal at an l level , the ecu 86 determines that the webbing 28 is stored in the retractor . in addition , a lock current detection circuit 98 that is a component of the control portion is connected to the ecu 86 . this lock current detection circuit 98 is connected to the motor 60 via the driver 82 , and when an external force resisting the rotation of the output shaft 62 acts , resulting in the motor 60 being overloaded , and the magnitude of the current flowing to the motor 60 ( the driver 82 ) is increased beyond a previously set threshold value il ( when a so - called lock current flows to the motor 60 ), the lock current detection circuit 98 outputs a predetermined electric signal ( hereinafter , this signal is referred to as the “ lock detection signal ”) to the ecu 86 . fig2 a to fig2 d are timing charts illustrating the relationship between the current to be supplied to the motor 60 by the ecu 86 and the driver 82 when the motor retractor 10 is to store the webbing 28 , and time . in the motor retractor 10 , the ecu 86 and driver 82 start to supply a current having a predetermined current value i 0 to the motor 60 for rotating the motor 60 in the forward direction at the time point ( a time point of t 0 in fig2 a ) when it is detected that the tongue plate provided at the webbing 28 has been disconnected from the buckling apparatus ( the passenger having released the wearing state of the webbing 28 ). in this case , on the basis of the adequate storing speed ( the adequate winding - up speed ) for the webbing 28 , the magnitude of the current value i 0 is set such that the magnitude of the current value i 0 is smaller than the threshold value il of the lock current set for the lock current detection circuit 98 ( such that i 0 & lt ; il ). further , at the time point when the time previously set for the ecu 86 has elapsed ( a time point of t 1 in fig2 a ), the ecu 86 determines that the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 on to the spool 20 has reached the previously set amount ( for example , about half ), and as shown in fig2 a , outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for lowering the magnitude of the supply current to the motor 60 from the current value i 0 to a current value i 1 . further , at the time point when a predetermined time has elapsed from this lowering of the current value ( a time point of t 2 in fig2 a ), the ecu 86 determines that the webbing 28 has been fully stored on the present motor retractor 10 and outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 . in addition , in the motor retractor 10 , when a predetermined time has elapsed after the power feeding to the motor 60 has been interrupted at the time point of t 2 , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 perform the power feeding control as shown in fig2 a ( hereinafter , to be called the “ full operation control ”) several times before terminating the control of power feeding to the motor 60 . on the other hand , when an overload on the motor 60 is detected during the winding - up of the webbing 28 , that is , when a lock detection signal is outputted from the lock current detection circuit 98 to the ecu 86 , the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , and further , after a predetermined time has elapsed , outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for redriving the motor 60 . furthermore , at the time of the redriving , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 detect the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 onto the spool 20 at the time of the above - mentioned overload detection on the basis of the time for driving the motor 60 that has elapsed before the lock detection signal is inputted , that is , the time tl from the time point when the driving of the motor 60 has been started ( the time point of t 0 ) to the time point when the lock detection signal is inputted ( hereinafter , referred to as the “ lock detection time tl ”), and adjust the driving state of the motor 60 according to the length of this lock detection time tl . that is , when a lock current detection signal is inputted to the ecu 86 at a certain time point in an early stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 ( at a time point of t 3 in fig2 b , for example , in a case where the lock detection time tl is short ), the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , and thereby the power feeding to the motor 60 is interrupted at a time point of t 4 in fig2 b . in this case , the ecu 86 determines that the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 onto the spool 20 is small , that is , the webbing 28 has hardly been stored on the retractor , and after a predetermined time has elapsed ( at a time point of t 5 in fig2 b ), starts the above - mentioned “ full operation control ”. that is , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 start to supply the current having a current value of i 0 to the motor 60 at the time point of t 5 in fig2 b ; lower the magnitude of the supply current to the motor 60 from the current value i 0 to the current value i 1 at a time point of t 6 in fig2 b ; and interrupt the power feeding to the motor 60 at a time point of t 7 in fig2 b . on the other hand , when a lock current detection signal is inputted to the ecu 86 at a certain time point in a later stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 ( at a time point of t 8 in fig2 c , for example , in a case where the lock detection time tl is long ), the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , and thereby the power feeding to the motor 60 is interrupted at a time point of t 9 in fig2 b . in this case , the ecu 86 determines that the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 on the spool 20 is large , that is , that most of the webbing 28 has been stored in the retractor , and after a predetermined time has elapsed ( at a time point of t 10 in fig2 c ), outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for supplying a current having a current value of i 2 to the motor 60 , thereby driving the motor 60 at a low output . in the present first embodiment , the magnitude of the current value i 2 is set smaller than the current value i 0 ( i 2 & lt ; i 0 ), and the motor 60 is driven in a mode which is the weakest next to the stopped state . furthermore , at a time point of t 11 in fig2 c , the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , and thereby the motor 60 is stopped . the time for power feeding to the motor 60 ( from t 10 to t 11 ) at this time is shorter than the time for power feeding to the motor 60 in the “ full operation control ” ( from t 0 to t 2 or from t 5 to t 7 ), and the motor 60 is driven for a shorter time . in addition , when a lock current detection signal is inputted to the ecu 86 at a certain time point in a middle stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 ( at a time point of t 12 in fig2 d , for example , in a case where the lock detection time tl is of a medium length ), the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , and thereby the power feeding to the motor 60 is interrupted at a time point of t 13 in fig2 d . in this case , the ecu 86 determines that the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 onto the spool 20 is approx . half of that to be obtained at the time of full storage on the retractor , and after a predetermined time has elapsed ( at a time point of t 14 in fig2 d ), outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for supplying a current having a current value of i 3 to the motor 60 , and thereby driving the motor 60 being driven at a low output . in the present first embodiment , the magnitude of the current value i 3 is set at a value equal to or greater than the current value i 2 and smaller than the current value i 0 ( i 2 & lt ; i 3 & lt ; i 0 ). further , at a time point of t 15 in fig2 d , the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 , thereby stopping the motor 60 . in this case , the time for power feeding to the motor 60 ( from t 14 to t 15 ) is shorter than the time for power feeding to the motor 60 in the “ full operation control ” ( from t 0 to t 2 or from t 5 to t 7 ), and longer than the time for power feeding to the motor 60 when the motor has been overloaded in a later stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 ( from t 10 to t 11 ). therefore , the motor 60 is driven for a time shorter than that in the “ full operation control ” and longer than that in a case where the motor 60 has been overloaded in a later stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 . with the motor retractor 10 as configured above , when the passenger takes out the webbing 28 stored in the present motor retractor 10 to connect the tongue plate ( not shown ) provided at the webbing 28 to the buckling apparatus , a state in which the passenger wears the webbing 28 is achieved . in this wearing state , the webbing 28 restrains the passenger relatively weakly by the biasing force of the spiral spring 34 . on the other hand , when the passenger releases the connection state between the tongue plate and the buckling apparatus to release the wearing state of the webbing 28 , the motor 60 is driven , and the winding - up of the webbing 28 is started . then , when the webbing 28 is wound up to approx . half of the amount of winding - up at the time of full storage on the retractor , the driving force and the rotation speed of the motor 60 are lowered . thereby , the webbing 28 is slowly wound up with a small force . then , when a predetermined time ( the time necessary for fully storing the webbing 28 on the retractor with the “ full operation control ”) has elapsed from the start of winding - up of the webbing 28 , the motor 60 is stopped . on the other hand , when , in the early stage of winding - up the webbing 28 , the passenger &# 39 ; s arm , or the like , gets caught by the webbing 28 , resulting in the motor 60 being overloaded , the motor 60 is stopped , and the winding - up of the webbing 28 is interrupted . then , when a predetermined time ( the time necessary for the passenger to release their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 ) has elapsed , the motor 60 is redriven . in this case , because the webbing 28 has hardly been stored on the retractor 10 , the motor 60 is driven with the “ full operation control ”; however , even in a case where the passenger has not released their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 within the above - mentioned predetermined time , the sense of discomfort given to the passenger is minimal , because the amount of taking - out of the webbing 28 is large . in addition , even after the motor 60 has been redriven , the passenger will have enough time for releasing their arm , or the like . in addition , when , in the later stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 , the passenger &# 39 ; s arm , or the like , gets caught by the webbing 28 , resulting in the motor 60 being overloaded , the motor 60 is stopped , and the winding - up of the webbing 28 is interrupted . then , when a predetermined time ( the time necessary for the passenger to release their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 ) has elapsed , the motor 60 is redriven . in this case , because most of the webbing 28 has been stored on the retractor , the motor 60 is driven at a low output for a short time . therefore , even in case where the passenger has not released their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 , within the above - mentioned predetermined time , the sense of discomfort given to the passenger by the motor 60 being redriven can be reduced . in addition , because the time for driving the motor 60 is short , unnecessary driving of the motor 60 after completion of the winding - up of the webbing 28 can be prevented , and thus the occurrence of noise due to the unnecessary driving of the motor 60 can be suppressed . in addition , when , in the middle stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 , the passenger arm , or the like , gets caught by the webbing 28 , resulting in the motor 60 being overloaded , the motor 60 is stopped , and the winding - up of the webbing 28 is interrupted . then , when a predetermined time ( the time necessary for the passenger to release their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 ) has elapsed , the motor 60 is redriven . in this case , because approx . half of the webbing 28 has been stored on the retractor , the motor 60 is driven at a low output for a predetermined time , that is , for a time shorter than that in the “ full operation control ”, and longer than that in a case where the motor 60 has been overloaded in the later stage of winding - up of the webbing 28 . therefore , the sense of discomfort given to the passenger at the time of the motor 60 being redriven can be reduced , and the occurrence of noise after the completion of the winding - up of the webbing 28 can be suppressed . as described above , with the motor retractor 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention , even when the winding - up of the webbing 28 is resumed in a state in which the catching thereof by an arm , or the like , has not been released , the sense of discomfort given to a passenger can be reduced . furthermore , in the motor retractor 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention , the ecu 86 detects whether the amount of winding - up of the webbing 28 onto the spool 20 has reached a previously set amount , on the basis of the lock detection time tl ( the time from the start of winding - up of the webbing 28 to the detection of the locking of the motor 60 ), and thus the configuration of the motor retractor 10 is simple . means for detecting the amount of winding - up the webbing 28 ( such as a sensor for detecting the amount of rotation of the spool 20 , or the like ) may be separately provided . in addition , the above - mentioned first embodiment has been provided with a configuration in which , by changing the magnitude of the supply current to the motor 60 , the driving state of the motor 60 is adjusted ; however , besides this configuration , the first embodiment may be adapted to have a configuration in which , by changing the magnitude of the voltage to be applied to the motor 60 , the driving state of the motor 60 is adjusted . in a case where a configuration in which the motor 60 is controlled with the voltage is provided , even when , for example , the motor 60 is driven in a state in which the engine of the vehicle is stopped , resulting in the power supply voltage becoming unstable , the rotation speed of the motor 60 , that is , the speed of winding - up the webbing 28 can be kept constant without being influenced by fluctuations in the power supply voltage . next , a second embodiment of the present invention will be described . for configurations and functions that are essentially the same as those of the first embodiment , the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are provided , and description thereof is omitted . fig1 is a front sectional view illustrating the overall configuration of a motor retractor 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention . this motor retractor 100 is provided with basically the same configuration as that of the motor retractor 10 according to the first embodiment ; however , a driving control program which is different from the driving control program according to the first embodiment is stored in the ecu 86 . fig3 is a timing chart illustrating the relationship between the current to be supplied to the motor 60 by the ecu 86 and the driver 82 when the motor retractor 100 according to the second embodiment of the present invention stores the webbing 28 , and the time . in the motor retractor 100 , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 start to supply a current having a predetermined current value of i 0 to the motor 60 to drive the motor 60 at the time point ( a time point of t 0 in fig3 ) when it is detected that the tongue plate provided at the webbing 28 has been disconnected from the buckling apparatus ( the passenger having released the wearing state of the webbing 28 ). thereby , the winding - up of the webbing 28 is started . at the time of driving the motor 60 , a rush current is flows to the motor 60 as shown in fig3 , and the motor 60 is rapidly driven , however , at this time point , the passenger &# 39 ; s arm , or the like , will not get caught by the webbing 28 , and thus no sense of discomfort will be given to the passenger . then , when , at a time point of t 1 in fig3 , for example , the passenger &# 39 ; s arm , or the like , gets caught by the webbing 28 , resulting in the motor 60 being overloaded , the lock current detection circuit 98 outputs a lock detection signal to the ecu 86 , and the ecu 86 outputs , to the driver 82 , a signal for interrupting the power feeding to the motor 60 . thereby , the motor 60 is stopped at a time point of t 2 in fig3 . further , when , from the time point of t 2 in fig3 , a predetermined time ( the time necessary for the passenger to release their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 ) has elapsed and a time point of t 3 in fig3 is reached , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 resume the power feeding to the motor 60 , while gradually increasing the magnitude of the current . thereby , the motor 60 starts the driving , while gradually increasing the driving force and the rotation speed , with the webbing 28 starting to be gradually wound up with a small force . therefore , even in a case where , within the above - mentioned predetermined time , the passenger has not released their arm , or the like , from the webbing 28 , the sense of discomfort given to the passenger can be reduced . then , when , at a time point of t 4 in fig3 , the current value of the supply current to the motor 60 has reached i 4 , the ecu 86 and the driver 82 terminate the increase in current , supplying a fixed current ( a stationary current ) with a current value of i 4 to the motor 60 . in this case , the rush current flowing to the motor 60 at the time point of t 4 in fig3 can be reduced , and thus the rush current can be prevented from causing the motor 60 to be rapidly driven , and thus the sense of discomfort given to the passenger can be suppressed . furthermore , because the magnitude i 4 of the stationary current for the motor 60 after the resumption of the power feeding is set such that it is smaller than the magnitude i 0 of the stationary current for the motor 60 before the overload detection , the driving force and the rotation speed of the motor 60 , that is , the winding - up force and the winding - up speed for the webbing 28 , are also decreased . therefore , the sense of discomfort given to the passenger can be further reduced . | 1 |
referring now to the figures in which like numerals indicate like parts , and particularly to fig1 the sock donning assist . device of the present invention is shown generally at 10 donning a sock 11 , with a sock lower portion 12 and a sock upper portion 13 , onto a user foot 14 , with a user foot toe portion 15 , of a user leg 16 of a user 18 by a pair of caretaker hands 20 of a caretaker 24 each of which having a caretaker hand forefinger 22 and a caretaker hand remaining fingers . the configuration of the sock donning assist device 10 can best be seen in fig2 through 5 , and as such , will be discussed with reference thereto . the sock donning assist device 10 includes a hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 that can be made from metal or plastic , but is not limited to that , and consists of a plurality elongated and slender cylindrical members of specific lengths and shapes that form a frame horizontally - oriented caretaker gripping portion 27 and a frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 includes a pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 . each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a frame lower side member front end 30 and a frame lower side member back end 32 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 . each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 functions as a handle and has a frame lower front member lower end 36 , a frame lower front member upper end 38 , and a frame lower front member intermediate point 39 . the frame lower front member intermediate point 39 of each of the pair of frame lower front , substantially parallel - disposed , straight , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is positioned below the frame lower front member upper end 38 of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 a distance equal to approximately one third the length of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the positioning of the frame lower front member intermediate point 39 of each of the pair of frame lower front , substantially parallel - disposed , straight , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is strategic and forms a caretaker forefinger gripping space 35 and a caretaker remaining fingers gripping space 37 . each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame lower front member lower end 36 of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly upwardly at an obtuse angle , and slightly forwardly at an obtuse angle , from the frame lower side member front end 30 of each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame lower front smooth convex - shaped bend 40 . the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are spaced - apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a length sufficient so as to be readily received by each of the pair of caretaker hands 20 of the pair of caretaker arms 22 of the caretaker 24 ( see fig1 ). the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 . each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a frame upper intermediate side member front end 42 and a frame upper intermediate side member back end 44 . each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame upper intermediate side member front end 42 of each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly rearwardly at an acute angle , from the frame lower front member upper end 38 of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame upper intermediate side smooth convex - shaped bend 46 . the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are spaced - apart a distance substantially equal to the distance between the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are substantially parallel to , and displaced a distance above , the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a length less than the length of each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 . each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a frame lower back member lower end 50 and a frame lower back member upper end 52 . each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame lower back member lower end 50 of each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly upwardly at an obtuse angle , and slightly rearwardly at an obtuse angle , from the frame lower side member back end 32 of each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame lower back smooth convex - shaped bend 54 . the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are displaced a distance behind the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are displaced a distance behind the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a length greater than the length of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 . each of the pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a frame intermediate back member lower end 58 and a frame intermediate back member upper end 60 . each of the pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame intermediate back member lower end 58 of each of the pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly upwardly at an obtuse angle , from the frame lower back member upper end 52 of each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame intermediate back smooth convex - shaped bend 61 . the pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are displaced a distance behind the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are displaced a distance behind the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a frame upper back , semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated , and slender connecting member 62 . the frame upper back , semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated , and slender connecting member 62 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a pair of frame upper back member ends 64 and a frame upper back member midway point 65 . the frame upper back , semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated , and slender connecting member 62 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at each of the pair of frame upper back member ends 64 of the frame upper back , semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated and slender member 62 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly upwardly from each frame intermediate back member upper end 60 of each of the pair of frame intermediate back , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , vertically - oriented , short , and slender cylindrical members 56 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the frame upper back , semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated , and slender connecting member 62 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is displaced a distance behind the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and is displaced a distance behind the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 . each of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 has a frame lower intermediate side member front end 68 and a frame lower intermediate side member back end 70 . each of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame lower intermediate side member front end of each of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extend abruptly rearwardly and slightly upwardly at an obtuse angle , from the frame lower front member intermediate point 39 of each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are affixed thereto by suitable fastening means 45 that is compatible with the material of the sock donning assist device 10 , such as , but not limited to , solder , epoxy or the like . each of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are displaced a distance above , and in the same vertical plane as , each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are displaced a distance below , and in the same vertical plane as , each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . each of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated and slender cylindrical members 66 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a length less than the length of each of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and has a length greater than the length of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 . each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , slender cylindrical members 72 has a frame upper front member lower end 74 and a frame upper front member upper end 76 . each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the frame upper front member lower end 74 of each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extend smoothly upwardly and slightly rearwardly at an obtuse angle , from the frame lower intermediate side member back end 70 of the pair of frame lower intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , skew - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 66 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame lower intermediate side smooth concave - shaped bend 78 . the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 are substantially parallel to , and displaced a distance forward of , the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are displaced a distance rearward of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a length less than the length of each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the frame upper intermediate side member back end 44 of each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 abruptly meets at an obtuse angle , the frame upper front member lower end 74 of each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and are affixed thereto by the suitable fastening means 45 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 . the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a pair of frame top member ends 82 and a frame top member midway point 83 . the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the pair of frame top member ends 82 of the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly rearwardly at an obtuse angle , from each frame upper front member upper end 76 of each of the pair of frame upper front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 72 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and together therewith forms a frame upper front smooth convex - shaped bend 84 . the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is substantially parallel to , and displaced a distance above both , the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and is displaced a distance above the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a span less than the length of the pair of frame lower side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 28 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the frame top member midway point 83 of the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , elongated , and slender member 80 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is affixed to the frame upper back member midway point 65 of the frame upper back semi - circular , vertically oriented , elongated , and slender member 62 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , by the suitable fastening means 45 . the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 further includes a frame lower back , straight , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical connecting member 86 . the frame lower back , straight , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical connecting member 86 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 has a pair of frame lower back connecting member ends 88 . the frame lower back , straight , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical connecting member 86 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , at the pair of frame lower back connecting member ends 88 of the frame lower back , straight , horizontally - oriented , elongated and slender member 86 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 , extends smoothly at a right angle , from the area in proximity to each of the frame lower back member lower end 50 of each of the pair of frame lower back , straight , slightly inwardly tapering , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 48 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the frame lower back , straight , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical connecting member 86 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 is displaced a distance behind the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and is displaced a distance behind the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the operation of the sock donning assist device 10 can best be seen in fig1 and 2 , and as such , will be discussed with reference thereto . as shown in fig2 the sock lower portion 12 of the sock 11 is placed through the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 with the sock lower portion 12 of the sock 11 positioned in the interior space of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the sock upper portion 13 of the sock 11 is stretched over the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . the sock upper portion 13 of the sock 11 is then pulled down over the exterior of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and released so as to be compressingly secured thereto and ready for the caretaker 24 to apply . as shown in fig1 the caretaker hand forefinger 22 of each of the pair of caretaker hands 20 of the caretaker 24 enters each caretaker forefinger gripping space 35 and is bent around each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 in a securely gripping fashion . the caretaker hand remaining fingers 23 of each of the pair of caretaker hands 20 of the caretaker 24 enters each caretaker remaining finger gripping space 37 and are bent around each of the pair of frame lower front , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , substantially vertically - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 34 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 in a securely gripping fashion . the presence of each of the pair of frame upper intermediate side , straight , substantially parallel - disposed , spaced - apart , horizontally - oriented , elongated , and slender cylindrical members 41 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 being positioned in between the caretaker hand forefinger 22 of each of the pair of caretaker hands 20 of the caretaker 24 and the caretaker hand remaining forefingers 23 of each of the pair of caretaker hands 20 of the caretaker 24 increases gripping ability and reduces unwanted rotation of the sock donning assist device 10 during use . the user foot toe portion 15 of the user foot 14 of the user leg 16 of the user 18 is inserted into the sock lower portion 12 of the sock 11 . the combination sock donning assist device 10 and the sock 11 is gently pushed upwards on the user leg 16 of the user 18 . the sock upper portion 13 of the sock 11 pulls up and off the exterior of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 and becomes compressingly secured to the user foot 24 of the user leg 16 of the user 18 . the sock donning assist device 10 is then removed with the user foot 14 of the user leg 16 of the user 19 , or in cases of high socks the user leg 16 of the user 19 , leaving the frame u - shaped top , horizontally oriented , forwardly opening , elongated , and slender member 80 of the frame vertically - oriented sock holding portion 29 of the hollow rigid substantially l - shaped frame 26 . 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 constructions differing from the types described above . while the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a sock donning assist device , it is not limited to the details shown , since it will be understood that various omissions , modifications , substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention . without further analysis , the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that , from the standpoint of prior art , fairly constitute characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention . | 0 |
turning now to fig1 of the drawings , the hardware system 10 to be employed comprises a computer - controlled receiver 12 that is connected to a conventional personal computer 14 through an interface cable 16 . computer 14 has a conventional video monitor 18 and a conventional keyboard 20 . this receiver utilizes a conventional antenna designated by the reference numeral 22 which for best results , should be located away from the computer to minimize noise - pickup . in the example of fig1 computer 12 is an “ external ” unit that sits apart from the computer 14 . it is connected to the computer using an external communications interface such as rs - 232 , usb , ethernet , etc . alternatively , the receiver 12 may comprise an “ internal ” card - based radio that is simply plugged into the computer bus ( such as isa or pci , etc ), and housed permanently within the computer cabinet . the software which controls the receiver runs on the pc under a standard gui operating system such us windows 95 / 98 , windows nt 4 . 0 , windows 2000 , or a variety of unix “ flavors ” including the increasingly popular “ linux ” variation . in any event , the chosen receiver accepts preestablished tuning and control instructions from the computer via the interface line 16 . different manufacturers use different control sequences and codes to control their radios . for example , with the winradio wr - 1500i internal radio , the following api ( application programming interface ) command is sent to establish a desired tuning and display frequency of 453 . 567 mhz : set frequency ( 453567000 ). the pc 14 runs the application software for tuning the receiver . this software has a graphical control panel , which , in our practical implementation , is illustrated in fig2 . the white rectangular area marked “ g ” represents a two - dimensional tuning field . when the mouse cursor “ e ” is placed in the field and the left mouse button is held down , the intersecting horizontal cursor “ d ” and vertical cursor “ f ” will follow the mouse movement . the horizontal cursor “ d ” represents the tuning resolution . this will vary from the coarsest when the cursor is placed at the top of the field , to the finest when it is at the bottom . the legend “ c ” on the right - hand side of the tuning field represents the current frequency span of the tuning field . if the tuning resolution is coarsest , it is preferable that the frequency span should equal to the entire frequency range of the receiver . alternatively , the legend “ c ” might show the frequency resolution rather than frequency span . the frequency resolution would be equal to the frequency span ( in frequency units ) divided by the width of the tuning window ( in pixels ). in example of fig2 the current selected frequency span is 10 mhz ., which is also reflected on the legend “ b ” which shows the current frequency limits . this legend is dynamically changed according to the vertical position of cursor “ d ”. in other words , if the cursor is moved horizontally across the field while vertically positioned in a constant location , the radio &# 39 ; s frequency will be tuned plus or minus five mhz . from the initial center frequency of 455 . 0 mhz . thus moving of the cursor “ f ” from left to right results in the actual tuning of the receiver , with the tuning resolution depending on the position of cursor “ d ”. if cursor “ d ” is at the top of the tuning window , then moving of cursor “ f ” from the leftmost to the rightmost point of the tuning field will result in the coarsest tuning of the receiver , spanning its entire frequency range in one movement . if cursor “ d ” is at the bottom of the tuning window , then moving of cursor “ f ” will result in the finest tuning of the receiver . while the mouse button is held down , the frequency display “ a ” will keep changing following the hand movements , and show the frequency to which the receiver is currently tuned . turning to fig3 it is also possible to combine the two - dimensional tuning field of fig2 with a spectrum analyzer . the two - dimensional tuning area “ g ” shows spectral lines with increasing resolution from top to bottom . the bottom window “ h ” shows magnified spectrum at the lowest resolution . this is achieved by using the software algorithm of fig4 to be described , with the spectrum lines superimposed on the image , using the function fr ( to be described ) to calculate the variations of the spectrum at various vertical positions . in fig3 by way of example only , the user has selected a frequency of 455 . 678 mhz . the cursor is vertically positioned to enable a possible 10 mhz . tuning swing as the cursor is moved across the field horizontally . the spectral display of field h is also drawn in bold colors beneath the spectrum lines g . [ 0039 ] fig5 shows a display similar to fig3 but additionally using a mouse - operated slide bar 30 for “ old fashioned ” computer frequency selection . moreover the graphical field 33 shows the display resulting when the user has moved to the maximum frequency the radio allows ( i . e ., 50 mhz in this example ). the right side of field 33 is thus blank . the left side 35 shows he panoramic display . beneath it is a miniature power spectral display 34 , that is a miniature version of the power spectrum display in box 37 . fig6 illustrates what happens when the minimum frequency is chosen , which in this case is 50 khz . spectral lines and the display now appear only on the right side ( fig6 ). the preferred algorithm 40 executed by the software is seen in fig4 . in step 42 the initial frequency is determined . the initial cursor position is determined in step 44 , and , in step 46 , the receiver is tuned to the frequency selected in step 42 . that frequency is maintained until step 48 detects mouse movement . in step 50 a new operating frequency is calculated . the function fr is a “ frequency resolution function ”, either calculated in real time , or table - defined , which determines the relationship between the vertical cursor position , and the tuning step ( tuning increment per one pixel ). this function can be linear , logarithmic or other , and determines the progression from the coarse tuning ( when the cursor is at the top of the tuning field ), and the fine tuning ( when at the bottom of the field ). in step 52 the new frequency and mouse cursor positions are remembered , and return occurs on line 54 to tune the receiver to the new frequency , and repeat the process . in box 50 ( fig4 ) the relationship is best described by the following generalized equation : where f1 is the old frequency , and f2 is the new frequency , where x1 , y1 are the new co - ordinates of the mouse , x2 , y2 are the old co - ordinates of the mouse , and f is a function describing a relationship between the position of the mouse and the frequency resolution . this may be a simple linear function , for example : fr ( y )= fr max +( fr min − fr max ) * ( y − y min )/( y max − y min ), where y min is the minimum vertical co - ordinate (“ top ” in our example ), y max is the maximum vertical co - ordinate (“ bottom ” in our example ), fr max is the coarsest frequency resolution ( corresponding to y min ), and fr min is the finest resolution ( corresponding to y max ). this simple linear function makes sure that , at the minimum vertical co - ordinate (“ the highest ” in our example on fig2 and 3 ), the resolution is the coarsest ( fr max ), to make it possible to span the entire frequency range of the receiver . fr max can be calculated as : fr max =( f max − f min )/( x max − x min + 1 ), where f max and f min are the maximum and the minimum frequencies the receiver can be tuned to , respectively ; and x max and x min are maximum and minimum horizontal co - ordinates of the tuning window . fr min is equal to the tuning resolution of the receiver . for example , the winradio receivers have a tuning resolution of 1 hz . in another implementation , it may be preferable for the fr function to be a logarithmic or other function rather than the simple linear function shown in our example above . this means that , for example , with a vertical hand movement from top to bottom , the frequency resolution change would decelerate the lower the cursor moves towards the finer resolution ( this is in fact the situation with our examples shown on fig2 and 3 ). different “ tuning characteristics ” of a receiver could be employed by allowing the user to select from a palette of several “ fr ” functions ( linear , logarithmic , step , etc .). if a step - function is employed , the fr function could be such that the finest resolution would correspond to a typical channel separation in a particular frequency band . for example , in some vhf point - to - point communications , the step size is 25 khz ., which would then correspond to the maximum vertical co - ordinate ( y max ) as described earlier . in another interesting ramification , the fr function can be also made dependent on the actual frequency tuned to , thus making it possible to define different tuning characteristic for different frequency bands . for example , a linear or logarithmic fr function ( with the finest resolution say 1 hz .) could apply to short - wave ( 3 - 30 mhz ) bands , while a step - function with the finest resolution of , say , 10 khz ., could apply to a fm radio band ( 88 - 108 mhz ), where such coarse tuning resolution is preferable . ultimately , the user should be able to assign the most suitable fr function to any specific frequency band within the frequency range of the receiver . in one practical implementation of such concept , the user could be presented with an edit box allowing him to specify a default fr function ( for example , a choice between linear and logarithmic ), and an edit grid . to define “ exception ” bands ( starting and ending frequencies ), where the fr could be defined as a step function to offer a convenience of tuning within those frequency bands where radio channels are separated by equal frequency steps . such a step function might , for example , divide the vertical range ( y - co - ordinate ) to several segments , with the frequency resolution in these segments being an integral multiple of the channel spacing . if , say , the channel spacing in a particular frequency band is 25 khz , then the frequency steps ( from coarsest to finest , or from top to bottom ) could be , for example , 10 mhz , 5 mhz , 1 mhz ., 500 khz , 100 khz , 50 khz and 25 khz , dividing the vertical range to 7 segments , and providing a convenient method of fast navigation in this particular band . the superimposition of a spectrum display onto the tuning field g in fig2 producing results such as can be seen of fig3 and 6 , can be for example done in such a way that the brightness of any x , y point in field g depends on the signal level on the corresponding frequency , so that frequencies with a greater signal level generate points with higher brightness . the color of any point can be made to depend on the signal level gradient on the corresponding frequency . for example , frequencies where the signal level has a higher dependence on the frequency ( i . e . a signal “ peak ”) would generate points with a higher red color content , frequencies where the signal level has a lower dependence on the frequency ( a “ plateau ”) would generate points with a higher blue color content . the spectrum graph is generated by obtaining signal strength values for frequencies within a suitable number of ranges ( coarsest to finest , with increasing resolution ) given by the function fr , around the frequency the receiver is tuned to . the resulting curves are then superimposed on the tuning field , their number depending on how many such ranges have been thus measured . alternatively , a single finest resolution scan can be taken , and the individual curves ( of progressively coarser resolution ) can be calculated from this single one . this concept can be used with any digitally tunable radio and any personal computer . all that is required by the software is to send a command to the receiver “ set frequency to xxx . xxx mhz ”. all remotely controllable receivers accept such command in one form or another . all digitally tuned receivers have a facility to accept such a “ tune to ” command . the relevant command in winradio receivers is setfrequency ( x ), where x is in hz . the low - level software then uses a matrix algorithm to find optimum dividers for the pll . from the foregoing , it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to obtain all the ends and objects herein set forth , together with other advantages which are inherent to the structure . it will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations . this is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims . as many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof , it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . | 7 |
the desgly 9 compounds of the invention are illustrated by the following structural formula : ## str1 ## in which : p is phe or phe ( 4 &# 39 ;- alk ); x is d - phe , d - val , d - nva , d - leu , d - ile , d - aile , d - pba , d - nle , d - cha , d - abu , d - met d - chg , d or l - tyr or d or l - tyr ( alk ); a is val , ile , abu , ala , gly , lys , cha , nle , phe , leu , chg or nva ; n is 0 , 1 or 2 , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt , ester prodrug or complex thereof . a subgeneric group of compounds of this invention comprises compounds of formula i in which x is d - tyr , d - cha , d - phe , d - ile , d - leu , d - val or d - tyr ( et ); p is phe or phe ( 4 &# 39 ;- et ), a is as defined above , y is nh 2 ; w is pro , z is arg and n is 1 . the compounds of formula i in which x is d - tyr ( et ) are particularly active adh antagonists as are the amide 8 congeners . individual compounds of interest are [ 1 -( β - mercapto - β , β - cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid )- 2 - d - tyrosine - 4 - valine - 8 - arginine - 9 - desglycine ] vasopressin , [ 1 -( β - mercapto - β , β - cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid )- 2 - d - tyrosine - 4 - valine - 8 - arginine - 9 - desglycinamide ] vasopressin and , especially , [ 1 -( β - mercapto - β , β - cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid )- 2 -( o - ethyl - d - tyrosine )- 4 - valine - 8 - arginine - 9 - desglycine ] vasopressin . also included in this invention are various derivatives of the compounds of formula i such as addition salts , prodrugs in ester or amide form and complexes . the addition salts may be either salts with pharmaceutically acceptable cations such as nh 4 . sup .⊕, ca . sup .⊕⊕, k . sup .⊕ or na . sup .⊕ at the terminal acid group ( y = oh ) or with a pharmaceutically acceptable salt at a basic center of the peptide ( as in the arg units ). the acetate salt forms are especially useful although hydrochloride , hydrobromide and salts with other strong acids are useful . the compounds , also , form inner salts or zwitter ions as when y is oh . the ester prodrug forms are , for example , lower alkyl esters of the acids of formula i which have from 1 - 8 carbons in the alkyl radical or aralkyl esters such as various benzyl esters . other latentiated derivatives of the compounds of formula i will be obvious to those skilled in the art &# 34 ; complexes &# 34 ; include various solvates such as hydrates or alcoholates or those with supporting resins , such as a merrifield resin . the compounds of formula i are prepared by cyclizing a linear octapeptide by means of the two mercapto groups , at the cysteine unit ( cys ) at position 6 and at the β - mercapto - β , β - cycloalkylenepropionic acid unit ( cap ) at position 1 . the cyclization reaction occurs readily in the presence of a mild oxidizing agent capable of oxidizing a mercaptan to a disulfide . the reaction is represented as follows : ## str2 ## in which : x , p , a and y are as defined for formula i , above ; z is as defined for formula i above or also may be a single bond whenever y is oh ; w is as defined for formula i above or also may be oh whenever z and y are absent ; and q 1 and q 2 are , each , hydrogen or a displaceable group . the intermediates of formula ii are new compounds and are a part of this invention . the compounds of formula iii in which either or both w and z are absent are also new compounds useful as intermediates as described below . the latter have vsp antagonist activity at a lower level than that of the octapeptides . the cyclization reaction of this reaction sequence is most usefully carried out by oxidation . any oxidizing agent known to the art to be capable of converting a dimercaptan to a disulfide may be used . exemplary of such agents are an alkali metal ferricyanide , especially potassium or sodium ferricyanide , oxygen , gas , diiodomethane or iodine . as an example , potassium ferricyanide is added to the dimercaptan of formula ii dissolved in a suitable inert solvent , for example , water or aqueous methanol at temperatures of from 0 °- 40 °. often , oxidation is at a ph of 7 - 7 . 5 at ambient temperature in dilute solution gives good yields , 40 - 50 %, of the cyclic compound . the compounds of formula iii which are the cys ( oh ) 6 or pro ( oh ) 7 compounds are reacted with a dipeptide , a protected ( nh 2 )- wzy , or an amino acid , ( nh 2 )- z - y , respectively , as described hereafter . the linear mercaptan starting material may or may not have displaceable or protective groups common to the art ( q 1 and q 2 ) present at the various amino acid units . such protective groups include benzyl , p - methoxybenzyl , 1 - adamantyl , t - butyl , p - nitrobenzyl , trityl , benzylthiomethyl , ethylcarbamoyl or acetamidomethyl . benzyl , adamantyl or t - butyl are removed by mercuric ( halo ) acetate salts in aqueous methanol at 0 °- 80 °. the protective group is usually removed before cyclization such as during the hydrogen fluoride splitting of the peptide from the supporting resin . it may , however , be removed either during the cyclization or , in situ , before cyclization . the s - acetamidomethyl groups are especially useful . for example , s - acm - pmp - d - tyr ( et )- phe - val - asn - s - acm - cys - pro - obzl was treated with potassium carbonate in aqueous methanol to give the pro acid linear peptide in 78 - 84 % yield . this was , then , oxidatively cyclized using iodine in aqueous methanol to give the desired pro ( oh ) 7 product in 65 - 70 % yield . alternatively , the protected product was cyclized under the same conditions with initial iodine treatment followed by potassium carbonate removal of the protective ester radical . the pro 7 acid was , then , condensed with arg ( nh 2 ), using dcc and dmap in dmf at 0 °- 20 ° to give the ## str3 ## in 45 % yield . iodine , therefore , removes the s - protective group , especially the acm group , and cyclizes the intermediate . mercuric acetate or lead acetate also remove the acm group to yield a metal mercaptide . this is converted to the thiol in situ by treatment with hydrogen sulfide and , then , oxidized in a separate step . the desired cyclic octapeptide of formula i can be conveniently isolated by acidifying the aqueous oxidation mixture , such as using glacial acetic acid , and passing the reaction mixture over an ion - exchange chromatographic column , for example , over a weakly acid , acrylic resin column with acid elution , or by gel filtration over a bead - formed gel prepared by cross - linking dextran with epichlorohydrin . as an alternative to the cyclization of the linear intermediates of formula ii suggested above , the cyclized 6 - cys acids or 7 - pro acids ( those of formula i in which either both tail units , w and z , or only one tail unit , z , are absent ) are condensed with a protected dipeptide , w - z - y , or with an amino acid , z - y , respectively . the reaction of the cys acid or the pro acid with a suitably protected dipeptide or amino acid is carried out using any amide forming reaction common to the peptide art . usually , substantially equimolar quantities of the starting materials are reacted in the presence of a carbodiimide , such as dicyclohexylcarbodiimide , plus 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole or dimethylaminopyridine in an organic solvent at from 0 °- 35 °, preferably , from ice to room temperature . the protective groups are removed by a reaction which will not split the disulfide bond of the hexapeptide ring , for example , mild alkali . the important intermediates of formula ii are conveniently prepared using solid - phase methods of peptide synthesis as discussed in m . manning et al ., j . med . chem . 25 46 ( 1982 ). a commercial benzhydrylamine support resin ( bhr ) is used to prepare the end products of formula i in which y is nh 2 ( the des - glycines ) and a chloromethyl support resin ( cmr ) is used to prepare the compounds of formula i in which y is oh ( the des - glycinamides ). the peptide chain of the linear peptides of formula ii is built up , stepwise , proceeding from unit 8 working toward unit 1 . each unit is properly protected as known in the peptide art and as described below . alternatively , various oligopeptides may be built up using liquid or support reactions , then condensed as a last step in the reaction sequence for preparing the dimercapto intermediates . the preferred sequence of resin supported step reactions is conveniently carried out in a beckman 990b peptide synthesizer without isolation of each intermediate peptide . the details of the procedure are in the working examples presented hereinafter . solution or enzyme reaction conditions are applicable here as known to the art . the various amino acids , which are consecutively added to the resin supported chain are protected as known to the art . for example , the boc protecting group is used for an amino group especially at the α - position ; an optionally substituted benzyl , for the mercapto groups at the pmp and cys units ; tosyl , for the arg unit ; and an optionally substituted carbobenzoxy ( z ) for the tyr or lys units . the protective groups should , most conveniently , be those which are easily removed , that is , using acid treatment for the tert .- butyloxycarbonyl group , sodium - liquid ammonia or catalytic hydrogenation for the benzyl or carbobenzoxy groups where the removal reaction conditions are not conducive to reaction at other portions of the peptide such as the disulfide bond . as other examples of protecting groups , the amino group of an amino acid or oligopeptide is protected conventionally by an acyl group such as formyl , trifluoroacetyl , phthaloyl , p - toluenesulfonyl or o - nitrophenylsulfonyl group ; a benzyloxycarbonyl group such as benzyloxycarbonyl , o - bromobenzyloxycarbonyl , p - bromobenzyloxycarbonyl , o - or p - chlorobenzyloxycarbonyl , p - nitrobenzyloxycarbonyl or p - methoxybenzyloxycarbonyl , an aliphatic oxycarbonyl group such as trichloroethyloxycarbonyl , t - amyloxycarbonyl , t - butoxycarbonyl or diisopropylmethoxycarbonyl , or an aralkyloxycarbonyl group such as 2 - phenylisopropoxycarbonyl , 2 - tolylisopropoxycarbonyl or 2 - p - diphenylisopropoxycarbonyl . amino groups are also protected by forming enamines by reaction with a 1 , 3 - diketone such as benzoylacetone or acetylacetone . the carboxyl groups can be protected by amide formation , hydrazide formation or esterification . the amide group is substituted , if necessary , with a 3 , 4 - dimethoxybenzyl or bis -( p - methoxyphenyl )- methyl group . the hydrazide group is substituted with a benzyloxycarbonyl , trichloroethyloxycarbonyl , trifluoroacetyl , t - butoxycarbonyl , trityl or 2 - p - diphenyl - isopropoxycarbonyl group . the ester group is substituted with an alkanol such as methanol , ethanol , t - butanol or cyanomethylalcohol ; an aralkanol such as benzylalcohol , p - bromobenzylalcohol , p - chlorobenzylalcohol , p - methoxybenzylalcohol , p - nitrobenzylalcohol , 2 , 6 - dichlorobenzylalcohol , benzhydrylalcohol , benzoylmethylalcohol , p - bromobenzoylmethylalcohol or p - chlorobenzoylmethylalcohol ; a phenol such a 2 , 4 , 6 - trichlorophenol , 2 , 4 , 5 - trichlorophenol , pentachlorophenol , p - nitrophenol or 2 , 4 - dinitrophenol ; or a thiophenol such as thiophenol or p - nitrothiophenol . the hydroxy group in tyrosine is optionally protected by esterification or etherification . a group protected by esterification is , for example an o - acetyl group ; a o - benzoyl group , o - benzyloxycarbonyl or o - ethyloxycarbonyl . a group protected by etherification is , for example , an o - benzyl , o - tetrahydropyranyl or o - t - butyl group . the amino group in the guanidino group in arginine can be protected by a salt forming , nitro , tosyl , benzyloxycarbonyl or mesitylene - 2 - sulfonyl group . however , it is not always necessary to protect the guanidino group . the protected linear peptide intermediate is split from the carrying resin matrix , for example , by using ammonia in an alcoholic solvent , and , then , is treated to remove the protective groups , such as by using sodium - liquid ammonia . this procedure gives the amide derivative of the linear octapeptide . more conveniently , the two steps are combined by treating the resin supported peptide with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride in the presence of a suitable cation scavenger as known to the art , such as anisole , to give the octapeptide intermediate of formula ii , in dimercaptan form , and in good yield . the compounds of this invention have potent vasopressin antagonist activity . vasopressin is known to contribute to the anti - diuretic mechanism of action within the kidney . when the action of these compounds antagonizes that of the natural anti - diuretic hormone ( adh ), the body excretes water due to an increased permeability of the terminal portions of the renal tubule . we believe the mechanism of action is at the vasopressin receptors ( v 2 - receptors ) located on the plasma membrane of certain renal epithelial cells . the most notable pharmocodynamic effect of the adh antagonists of the invention is that of a water diuretic rather than of a natriuretic such as a thiazide . any patient suffering from the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion ( siadh ) or from an undesirable edematous condition is a target for the claimed compounds . examples of clinical conditions indicated for the compounds of this invention include hypertension , hepatic cirrhosis , congestive heart failure or a component of any traumatic condition resulting from serious injury or disease in which the agonism of naturally occurring vasopressin at the vsp - mediated receptor sites is a contributing factor . the second group of vasopressin receptor sites are the vascular pressor sites ( v 1 - receptors ) located within the cardiovascular system itself . for example , compound 5 of table i below was tested in the dyckes protocol ( u . s . pat . no . 4 , 367 , 255 ) for inhibition of vasopressin - induced vasoconstriction in the rat ; in vitro ( pa 2 8 . 40 ) and in vivo ( pa 2 7 . 71 ). antagonism at the v 2 receptor sites results in vasodilation with an end result of anti - hypertensive activity . treatment of dysmenorrhea is another utility for the compounds of this invention when administered intravenously or intranasally . the compounds of this invention , therefore , are used to treat edema or to expell water in patients in need of such treatment by administering parenterally or by insufflation a nontoxic but effective quantity of the chosen compound , preferably combined with a pharmaceutical carrier . dosage units of the active ingredient are selected from the range 0 . 01 to 10 mg / kg , preferably 0 . 01 to 5 mg / kg , based on a 70 kg patient . the dosage units are applied from 1 to 5 times daily . the pharmaceutical composition for inducing vasopressin antagonism contains an active ingredient of formula i in the form of a dosage unit as described above dissolved or suspended in a standard liquid carrier . a standard carrier is isotonic saline , contained in an ampoule or a multiple dose vial which is suitable for parenteral injection such as for intravenous , subcutaneous or intramuscular administration . a composition for insufflation is similar but is usually administered in a metered dose applicator or inhaler . pulverized powder compositions may , also , be used , along with oily preparations , gels , buffers for isotonic preparations , emulsions or aerosols , as standard composition forms . the compounds of this invention have been demonstrated to have unique antagonistic activity toward the natural antidiuretic hormone ( anti - adh activity ), in vitro , in the medullary tissue of hog or human kidney and , in vivo , in the hydropenic rat or the hydropenic monkey . details of the in vitro protocols are in f . l . stassen et al ., j . of pharm . exp . ther . 233 , 50 - 54 ( 1982 ) but the calculations of cyclase activity and binding potential at the receptor site are as follows : in each experiment the amount of 32 p / camp formed in the absence of medullary membrane is determined ( blank ). the blank value is subtracted from all experimental data . the compound is tested for its effect on basal adenylate cyclase activity and / or on vasopressin stimulated activity . each determination is carried out in triplicate . the ka value is derived from a lineweaver - burke plot . rel . v max =( v max drug / v max vasopressin )× 100 . k i = i /[( ka &# 39 ;/ ka )- 1 ] where i is the concentration of the antagonist , and ka &# 39 ; and ka are the concentrations of vasopressin required to give half - maximal activity of adenylate cyclase in the presence and absence of antagonist , respectively . test procedure for binding assay : in each experiment , the amount of 3 h - vasopressin bound in the absence and in the presence of an excess of vasopressin ( 7 . 5 × 10 - 6 m ) is measured in triplicate . these values represent total and non - specific binding , respectively . the k b of a compound is derived from the equation for competitive inhibition : k b = ic 50 /( 1 + l / k d ), where ic 50 is the concentration required for 50 % inhibition of specific 3 h - vasopressin binding , l is the concentration of the ligand , and k d is the dissociation constant of 3 h - vasopressin ( k d = 3 . 6 × 10 - 9 m ; 1sd = 0 . 4 × 10 - 9 m ). this is the average k d value determined on 3 preparations of hog kidney membranes . food and water are removed from male rats approximately 18 hours prior to testing . animals are housed 4 per metabolism cage . at 0 hour , the test compound is administered intraperitoneally to the test group and an equivalent volume of vehicle is administered to both control groups ( fasted and non - fasted ). urine volume and osmolality are measured every hour for 4 hours . test values are recorded as ml of urine excreted ( cumulative ), meq / rat electrolyte excreted , mg / rat urea excreted , and osmolality in milli - osmoles / kg h 2 o . a tolerance test is used to determine significance . ed 300 is defined as the dose of compound ( μg / kg ) required to lower urine osmolality to 300 m - osmoles / kg . ed 500 is defined as the dose of compound ( μg / kg ) required to lower urine osmolality to 500 m - osmoles / kg . the hydropenic monkey protocol is similar . table i______________________________________ ## str4 ## anti - adh activity in vivo ( rat ) in vitro ( pig ) ed . sub . 300 ki k . sub . bx y a ( μg / kg )* ( nm ) ( μm ) ______________________________________1 . -- d - tyr glynh . sub . 2 val 32 30 0 . 0822 . -- d - tyr nh . sub . 2 val 63 27 0 . 0653 . -- d - tyr oh val 156 160 0 . 354 . -- d - tyr ( et ) glynh . sub . 2 val 9 . 9 5 . 9 0 . 0115 . -- d - tyr ( et ) nh . sub . 2 val 5 . 8 3 . 0 0 . 00786 . -- d - tyr ( et ) nh . sub . 2 abu 13 7 . 6 0 . 018______________________________________ * estimated dose of peptide delivered ip stat ( μg / kg ) which results in reduction of u . sub . osm from hydropenic levels to 300 mosmoles / kg h . sub . 2 o . table i demonstrates , in the described protocols , the anti - vasopressin activity of selected representative compounds whose octapeptide structures have the desgly dipeptide tail which is characteristic of the compounds of this invention . presence of substantial antagonistic activity is unexpected because , in the agonist series , the des - gly - oxytocin has an opposite effect on blood pressure compared with oxytocin itself ( see b . berde at al ., loc . cit .) and shortening the linear tail of oxytocin and vasopressin result is known in the art to cause &# 34 ; a striking decrease of the typical biological activities of the substances &# 34 ; ( see t . barth et al ., loc . cit .). compound 5 of table i , furthermore , has proven to be a compound of exceptional antagonist activity across the various testing protocols in hog or human tissue in vitro tests as well as in hydropenic rat and monkey tests . its anti - adh activity , manifested as the dose required to decrease urine osmolality to 300m osm / kg water in the conscious hydropenic squirrel monkey test , is ed 300 = 8 . 6 nmoles / kg ( i . p .). that of compound 4 of table i is 33 . 1 nmoles / kg . the 2 - d - phe analog of the latter compound is 319 . 0 nmoles / kg . the following examples are intended solely to teach the preparation of the compounds of this invention . all temperatures are in degrees centigrade . for the solid - phase synthesis of the titled resin supported peptide , boc - arg ( tos ) resin ( 3 mmol / 5 . 4 grams of resin ) was used as starting material . the appropriately protected amino acids were coupled sequentially onto the boc - arg ( tos ) resin , prepared by reacting boc - arg ( tos ) as the cesium salt with commercial merrifield resin ( cl - ch 2 resin ) as known to the art , by using a manual program as described in the following steps : 2 . prewashed with 33 % trifluoroacetic acid in methylene chloride with 1 % indole ( 1 time , 1 minute ). 3 . deprotection with 33 % trifluoroacetic acid in methylene chloride with 1 % indole ( 20 minutes ). 5 . prewashed with 10 % triethylamine in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 1 minute ). 8 . protected amino acid ( 10 mmol ) in triethylamine in methylene chloride and 0 . 5m n , n &# 39 ;- dicyclohexylcarbodiimide in methylene chloride ( 20 ml ) were added . in the case of the coupling of the asn moiety , 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hbt , 10 mmol ) was added with boc - asn in dry dimethylformamide . dry dimethylformamide ( dmf ) was also used as solvent when pmp ( bzl ) was coupled onto the peptide resin , using 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ( 10 mm ). completion of each coupling reaction was monitored by the ninhydrin test . the 4 - methoxybenzyl group was used to protect the thiol group of cys and the 2 - bromo - carbobenzoxy group was employed to block the phenolic hydroxyl of d - tyr . the resulting protected pmp ( bzl )- d - tyr ( br - z )- phe - val - asn - cys ( ome - bzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- resin was washed well with methylene chloride and methanol , respectively . after drying in vacuo overnight , 8 . 4 grams of the titled protected resin intermediate was collected . pmp ( bzl )- d - tyr -( p - bromocarbobenzoxy )- phe - val - asn - cys ( ome - bzl )- pro - arg ( tos ) resin ( 4 g , ca . 1 . 5 mmol ) was subjected to ammonolysis using saturated ammonia / methanol solution ( 200 ml ) in dry dimethylformamide ( 50 ml ) at room temperature for 48 hours . after evaporation to dryness , the residue was precipitated by ethyl acetate / n - hexane and filtered to give the protected octapeptide amide ( 1 . 54 g ). this crude peptide was dissolved in liquid ammonia ( 250 ml ) and treated with sodium / liquid ammonia solution to give pmp - d - tyr - phe - val - asn - cys - pro - arg - nh 2 which was , then , oxidized using 0 . 01m potassium ferricyanide solution in 4 l . of aqueous solution at ph 7 - 7 . 5 . after the completion of oxidation reaction , the ph of aqueous solution was adjusted to ph 4 . 5 by adding glacial acetic acid . this solution was passed through a weakly acid acrylic resin ( bio - rex 70 ) column ( 11 × 2 . 5 cm , h + form ) slowly . the column was eluted with 5 % and 50 % acetic acid solution , respectively . crude cyclized ## str6 ## was collected from 50 % acetic acid solution fractions ( 860 mg ). ______________________________________purification of ## str7 ## ______________________________________1 . counter - current distribution : sample : 860 mg crude , n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o ( 4 : 1 : 5 ) 250 transfers ( a ) fr . 186 - 204 , 436 mg ( b ) fr . 182 - 185 & amp ; 205 - 218 , 219 mg2 . partition chromatography : sample : 250 mg ( from 1 - a ), g - 25 fine ( 2 . 5 × 55 cm ), n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o ( 4 : 1 : 5 )( a ) fr . 32 - 46 222 mg3 . preparative hplc : sample : 40 mg ( from 2 - a ); alltech c18 , 3000 psig . flow rate : 3 . 0 ml / min . buffer a : 0 . 1 % tfa buffer b : 0 . 25 % tfa / ch . sub . 3 cn ( 4 : 6 ) 60 % b ; isocratic ; 235 nm ( 2 . 0 aufs ) injection : 10 mg / 0 . 5 ml . buffer a 17 mg of pure titled compound . 4 . ion - exchange chromatography : sample : 365 mg ( from 1 - a & amp ; 2 - a ); cmc ; 0 . 01m nh . sub . 4 oac to 0 . 1m nh . sub . 4 oac linear gradient ( a ) fr . 51 - 70 93 . 3 mg ( b ) fr . 71 - 89 86 . 5 mg ( c ) fr . 91 - 110 65 mg ( d ) fr . 111 - 121 24 . 5 mg______________________________________ pmp ( bzl )- d - tyr ( br - z )- phe - val - asn - cys ( ome - bzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- resin ( 4 . 2 g , 1 . 5 mmol ) from example 1 , in 4 . 5 ml distilled anisole , was reacted with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride ( 40 ml ) at 0 ° for one hour . after treatment as described above and evaporation in vacuo to dryness , the residue was treated with anhydrous ether and filtered off to give 1 . 33 g crude peptide . the completion of removal of the bzl group from the pmp moiety was carried out using the sodium in liquid ammonia reaction as described in example 1 . the resulting unprotected octapeptide was cyclized using 0 . 01m potassium ferricyanide solution at ph 7 - 7 . 5 until color persisted for 30 minutes again as described above in the preparation of the amide . desglycinamide octapeptide ( 600 mg ) was collected after acidifying the oxidation solution with acetic acid to ph 4 . 5 and passing the reaction mixture over a bio - rex - 70 column with 1 l . of 5 % acetic acid as eluent . ______________________________________purification of ## str9 ## ______________________________________1 . counter - current distribution : sample : 600 mg from bio - rex 70 . n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o ( 4 : 1 : 5 ); 200 transfers ( a ) fr . 150 - 161 169 mg ( b ) fr . 133 - 149 & amp ; 162 - 1632 . preparative hplc : sample : 52 mg ( from 1 - a ); alltech c18 ( 25 cms 10 mm , 10 micron ); buffer a : 0 . 1 % tfa buffer b : 0 . 25 % tfa / ch . sub . 3 cn ( 4 : 6 ) 60 % b , isocratic ; 3000 psig ; 3 . 0 ml / min . injection : 10 mg / 0 . 6 ml in buffer a 235 nm ( 2 . 0 aufs ). ( a ) 24 mg ( b ) 7 . 3 mgcombine 2 - a and 2 - b , repurified on hplc to give 15 mgpure peptide . 3 . partition chromatography : sample : 117 mg ( from 1 - a ), g - 25 fine ( 2 . 5 × 55 cm ) n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o 4 : 1 : 5 ( a ) fr . 32 - 36 83 mg of pure product______________________________________ the titled compound was prepared by the solid phase method on benzhydrylamine resin ( bha ). thus , 1 . 0 g bha resin ( 1 . 13 mmol nh 2 / g resin ) was reacted with 1 . 5 equivalents of boc - arg ( tos ), 1 . 5 equivalents of dcc and 3 . 0 equivalents of hbt which were made up in dimethylformamide to be 0 . 1m in boc - arg ( tos ). deblocking was performed with 50 % tfa / methylene chloride and neutralization with 5 % diea / methylene chloride . the peptide was elongated , stepwise , by coupling , using preformed boc aminoacyl symmetrical anhydrides in dmf ( 0 . 1m ). boc - asn , boc - d - tyr ( et ) and pmp ( mbz ) were successively coupled using dcc and hbt in dmf . completeness of coupling was monitored by the qualitative ninhydrin test and recoupling was performed as necessary . the completed pmp ( mbz )- d - tyr -( et )- phe - val - asn - cys ( mbz )- pro - arg ( tos )- bha resin was washed with methylene chloride and dried to constant weight , 2 . 34 g . the peptide was deblocked and cleaved from the resin by treatment with anhydrous liquid hydrogen fluoride ( 30 ml ) in the presence of anisole ( 4 ml ) at 0 ° for one hour . after evaporation to dryness under vacuum , the resin was washed with ethyl ether , air dried and , then , extracted with degassed dimethylformamide ( 3 × 20 ml ) and 20 % acetic acid ( 4 × 20 ml ). the dmf and acid extracts were added to 4 l of water ( ph 4 . 5 with acetic acid ). the ph was adjusted to 7 . 2 with ammonium hydroxide and the solution was titrated with 0 . 01m potassium ferricyanide under argon with stirring until a yellow color persisted ( 85 ml ). the ph was brought to 4 . 8 with glacial acetic acid . the mixture was filtered and the filtrate passed over a bio - rex 70 column ( h . sup .⊕). after washing the column with water ( 200 ml ) the crude peptide was eluted with 300 ml of pyridine / acetic acid / water ( 30 : 4 : 66 v / v ). the eluant was evaporated under vacuum at 30 °. the residue was dissolved in 100 ml of 0 . 2n acetic acid , then , lyophilized , yielding 507 mg of the crude titled octapeptide . ______________________________________purification of ## str11 ## ______________________________________1 . counter - current distribution : sample : 607 mg crude , n - buoh : hoac : h . sub . 2 o , 4 : 1 : 5 , 240 transfers ( a ) fr . 154 - 170 & amp ; 190 - 192 71 mg ( b ) fr . 171 - 189 230 mg2 . gel filtration sample : 123 mg of sample ( b ), g - 15 ( 2 . 5 × 55 cm ) using 0 . 2 n hoac , 25 ml / hr ( a ) fr . 46 - 50 ˜ 20 mg ( b ) fr . 51 - 77 60 mg pure peptide______________________________________ a mixture of 0 . 1 mmole of ( pmp 1 - d - leu 2 - val 4 - desglynh 2 ) avp , prepared as described above but using boc - d - leu at position 2 , and 0 . 1 mmole of n - propylamine in 20 ml of dmf was reacted with 23 mg ( 0 . 11 mmol ) of dcc and 14 mg ( 0 . 11 mmol ) of hbt at room temperature for 2 hours . the volatiles were evaporated to give an oily product residue . the product was purified as described above using : ( 1 ) gel filtration over g - 10 - sephadex eluted with 0 . 2n acetic acid ; ( 2 ) high pressure liquid chromatography using 0 . 05 % tfa in 39 % acetonitrile in water ; and , again , ( 3 ) gel filtration to give 20 mg of the pure octapeptide of the title . amino acid analysis : asp 0 . 88 , pro 0 . 93 , val 1 . 00 , leu 1 . 09 , phe 0 . 88 , arg 1 . 07 . hplc = 95 % major peak at 11 . 33 with 40 % aqueous acetonitrile with 0 . 05m kh 2 po 4 as buffer . k bind = 12 . 1 % inhibition at 10 - 5 m . using ( pmp 1 - d - tyr ( et ) 2 - val 4 - desglynh 2 )- avp prepared as in example 2 above and benzylamine gives ## str13 ## other n - alkylated derivatives are prepared similarly . for the solid phase synthesis of the title resin - supported peptide , boc - arg ( tos ) bha resin ( 1 . 19 mmol / g of resin ) was used as a starting material . it was prepared by reaching boc - arg ( tos ), 3 mmol , with the benzhydrylamine resin , 1 . 0 mmol , in dimethylformamide for two hours . the benzhydrylamine resin as the hydrochloride salt was covered with methylene chloride overnight . it was , then , washed with methylene chloride ( 4 × 1 min ), neutralized with 7 % diisopropylethylamine in methylene chloride ( 2 × 2 min ), then , 6 × 1 min with methylene chloride alone and , finally , 2 × 1 min with predried dimethylformamide . the loading of boc - arg ( tos ) on the resin was carried out twice on the shaker using 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hbt , 6 mmol ) and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc , 3 mmol ). a quantitative ninhydrin test and amino acid analysis were performed routinely after loading to determine the percentage loading on the resin . loading in this particular run was 62 . 66 %, i . e . 0 . 74 mmol / g of resin was available . the subsequent amino acid , boc - pro , was coupled on the shaker using the following protocol . ( 2 ) prewashed with 50 % tfa in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 1 min ). ( 5 ) prewashed with 7 % diea in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 1 min ). ( 9 ) added protected amino acid ( 3 mmol ) and hbt , 6 mmol , in dmf , followed by the addition of dcc in methylene chloride , 3 mmol , and coupling for 2 hours . the subsequent amino acids were coupled sequentially using beckman peptide synthesizer 990 - b . the program used for each coupling except bocasn and pmp ( 4 - mebzl ) was as follows . ( 2 ) prewashed with 50 % tfa in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 1 min ). ( 5 ) prewashed with 7 % diea in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 1 min ). ( 6 ) neutralized with 7 % diea in methylene chloride ( 1 time , 10 min ). ( 8 ) protected amino acids ( 3 mmol ) in methylene chloride , followed by addition of dcc , 3 mmol , 10 ml of 0 . 3m in methylene chloride , and coupling for two hours . in case of coupling of asn moiety , 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hbt , 6 mmol ) was used , 10 ml of 0 . 6m dimethylformamide . dry dimethylformamide was also used as solvent when pmp ( 4 - mebzl ) was coupled onto the peptide resin , using 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ( 3 mmol ). completion of each coupling reaction was monitored by the ninhydrin test . the 4 - methylbenzyl ( 4 - mebzl ) group was used to protect the thiol groups of the cys and pentamethylene mercaptopropionic acid ( pmp ) moieties . pmp ( 4 - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe - abu - asn - cys -( 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg ( tos ) bha - resin , 1 . 25 g , ( 0 . 37 mmol ) in 2 ml of anisole , was reacted with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride ( 20 ml at 0 ° for 50 min ). after evaporation of hf in vacuo , the residue was washed with anhydrous ether , 4 × 20 ml , and the crude peptide was extracted with dimethylformamide ( 50 ml ) and 33 % acetic acid ( 50 ml ) into 2 liter of degassed water previously adjusted to ph 4 . 5 . the aqueous diluted disulfhydryl octapeptide was cyclized using 0 . 01m potassium ferricyanide solution at ph 7 . 2 until the yellow color persisted for 30 minutes ( 50 ml ). the ph was adjusted to 4 . 5 using glacial acetic acid and the solution was passed through a weakly acid acrylic resin ( bio - rex - 70 ) column ( 2 . 5 × 12 , r . sup .⊕ form ), slowly . the column was eluted with pyridine - acetate buffer ( 30 : 4 : 66 ; pyridine / glacial acetic acid / water ). the pyridine acetate solution was removed by distillation in vacuo . the residue was lyophilized from 10 % acetic acid to give 300 mg ( 76 %) of crude titled peptide . ______________________________________purification of ## str14 ## ______________________________________1 . counter - current distribution : sample : 300 mg , n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o , 4 : 1 : 5 , 240 transfers . ( a ) fr . 176 - 186 , 99 . 6 mg of pure peptide ( b ) fr . 170 - 175 and 187 - 210 , 117 . 24 mgyield of purified material , 216 . 84 mg ( 55 %) 2 . molecular formula : c . sub . 50 h . sub . 72 n . sub . 12 o . sub . 10 s . sub . 2 molecular weight : 1064 . 53 amino acid analysis : asp ( 1 . 00 ), abu + cys ( 1 . 70 ), tyr ( 0 . 64 ), phe ( 0 . 98 ), arg ( 0 . 91 ) peptide content : 68 . 06 - 91 . 52 % from amino acid analysis 87 . 33 % from nitrogen analysis3 . chromatography data : solvent r . sub . ftlc n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o / etoac 0 . 56 ( 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 ) n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o / 0 . 42 ( 4 : 1 : 5 ) upperhplc c . sub . 18 - column k &# 39 ; isocratic h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 cn / tfa , 3 ( 60 : 40 : 0 . 25 ) 0 . 05 mkh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 : 7 . 33 acetonitrile ( 60 : 40 ) gradient h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 cn / tfa , 8 . 82 80 : 20 : 0 . 25 to 50 : 50 : 0 . 25fast atom bombardment ( fab ): m / z 1065 ( m + h ). sup .+ ; 1063 ( m - h ). sup .- ______________________________________ the tetrapeptide supported resin , boc - asn - cys ( 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- bha , 0 . 72 g ( 0 . 36 mmol ), was synthesized on beckman 990 - b peptide synthesizer , starting from the boc - arg ( tos ) benzhydrylamine resin ( 0 . 72 mmol / g ) using a protocol like that of example 5 . the subsequent amino acids were coupled sequentially on the shaker using hbt and dcc for 2 hours in a similar fashion . after coupling of the last residue , i . e , pmp ( 4 - mebzl ), the resin containing peptide was washed as usual , dried to give 0 . 88 g of the titled intermediate . pmp ( 4 - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe - ala - asn - cys ( 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- bha - resin , in 2 ml of anisole , was reacted with anhydrous hf , 20 ml , at 0 ° for 50 minutes . the work up was done as usual and the uptake of k 3 fe ( cn ) 6 was 45 ml to give 230 mg ( 60 . 8 %) of crude titled peptide . ______________________________________purification of ## str16 ## ______________________________________1 . counter - current distribution : sample : 230 mg , n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o , 4 : 1 : 5 , 240 transfers ( a ) fr . 160 - 178 , 105 . 2 mg pure product ( b ) fr . 179 - 190 and 150 - 159 , 49 . 5 mgyield of purified material , 154 . 7 mg ( 41 %). 2 . molecular formula : c . sub . 49 h . sub . 70 n . sub . 70 o . sub . 10 s . sub . 2 molecular weight : 1050 . 449 amino acid analysis : asp ( 1 . 00 ), pro ( 1 . 03 ), ala ( 0 . 94 ), cys ( 0 . 46 ), tyr ( 0 . 65 ), phe ( 0 . 91 ), arg ( 0 . 92 ). peptide content : 59 . 18 - 81 . 77 % from two analyses . 3 . chromatography data : solvent r . sub . ftlc mbuoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o / etoac 0 . 64 ( 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 ) hplc c . sub . 18 - column k &# 39 ; isocratic h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 cn / tfa , 2 . 18 60 : 40 : 0 . 1gradient h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 cn / tfa , 6 . 47 60 : 40 : 0 . 1 to 50 : 50 : 0 . 1fast atom bombardment ( fab ): m / z 1051 ( m + h ). sup .+ ; 1049 ( m - h ). sup .- ______________________________________ the titled resin - supported peptide was prepared from boc - arg ( tos ) bha resin ( 0 . 4 mmol / g ) on a shaker using a protocol used before i . e . deprotection - coupling using hbt and dcc for 2 hours , up to boc - val - asn - cys -( 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- bha resin . the next two amino acid residues were coupled using the beckman peptide synthesizer 990 - b . the pmp ( 4 - mebzl ) was coupled manually using dmap - dcc overnight . the resin - containing peptide was washed and dried as usual to give 2 . 00 g of the titled intermediate . pmp -( 4 - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe ( 4 - et )- val - asn - cys - 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg ( tos )- bha resin , in 3 ml of anisole was reacted with 30 ml of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride at 0 ° for an hour . the work up was done as described above , with 38 ml of k 3 fe ( cn ) 6 taken up . about 50 mg of crude peptide was obtained from the bio - rex column and 139 mg was precipitated out of solution , total yield 189 mg ( 42 . 7 %) of titled peptide . ______________________________________purification : ______________________________________1 . partition column chromatography , sephadex , g - 25 : sample : 50 mg , n - buoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o , 4 : 1 : 5 ,( a ) fr . a , 23 . 86 mg ( b ) fr . b , 18 . 5 mgpreparative hplc sample : 43 mg ( from 1 , fr . a + fr . b ), altex ods , 10 mm × 25 cm , 5μ , flow rate 4 ml / min ., water / acetonitrile / tfa ( 50 : 50 : 0 . 25 ), isocratic , 229 nm ( 2 . 0 aufs ), injection 2 . 0 mg / 300 μl and 4 . 0 mg / 420 ml to give 30 . 0 mg of pure peptide . 2 . physical data : molecular formula : c . sub . 53 h . sub . 78 n . sub . 12 o . sub . 10 s . sub . 2 molecular weight : 1106 . 47 amino acid analysis : asp ( 1 . 00 ), pro ( 0 . 78 - 0 . 84 ), cys ( 0 . 45 ), val ( 1 . 02 ), tyr ( 0 . 63 ), phe ( p - et ) ( 1 . 50 ), arg ( 1 . 00 - 0 . 96 ) peptide content : 73 . 3 - 89 . 6 % 3 . chromatography data : solvent r . sub . ftlc nbuoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o / etoac , 0 . 70 1 : 1 : 1 : 1 nbuoh / hoac / h . sub . 2 o , 0 . 299 4 : 1 : 5 upperhplc c . sub . 18 column k &# 39 ; isocratic h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 ch / tfa , 4 . 43 55 : 45 : 0 . 1gradient h . sub . 2 o / ch . sub . 3 cn / tfa , 8 . 7 60 : 40 : 0 . 1 to 50 : 50 : 0 . 1fab m / z 1107 ( m + h ). sup .+ ; 1105 ( m - h ). sup .- ______________________________________ one millimole of boc - asn - cys ( 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg -( tos )- bha resin was prepared using 1 mmole of boc - arg ( tos )- 4 - methylbenzhydrylamine ( mbha ) resin as starting material by coupling sequentially with the appropriate t - boc - protected amino acids in a beckman 990 - b peptide synthesizer , 990 - b . 1 . 83 grams of the protected peptide resin was obtained and was divided into two equal parts of 0 . 915 g each . one part of the protected peptide resin from above was further sequentially coupled with 1 . 5 mmoles of the appropriate boc amino acids and β -( s - mebzl )- pmp - oh to give 1 . 16 g of the final protected peptide resin . pmp ( s - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe - gly - asn - cys ( 4mebzl )- pro - arg -( tos ) mbha resin was obtained and dried in vacuo . this protected resin was treated with 1 . 5 ml of anisole and 25 ml of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride at 0 ° for 1 hour . the deprotected peptide was treated with 0 . 01 mole of potassium ferricyanide solution at ph 7 . 2 in 2 liters of water . 53 ml of the oxidizing agent was used . the resulting solution was passed through a c 18 flash column . the column was eluted with 50 % of acetonitrile with 0 . 25 % trifluoroacetic acid in 20 ml per fraction . 325 mg crude product was isolated from the fractions . further purification of the product by ccd ( b / a / w , 4 : 1 : 5 ) to obtain 188 mg of 99 % pure titled product . ______________________________________amino acid analysis : ______________________________________peptide content 82 % asp 1 . 04 tyr 0 . 92pro 1 . 15 phe 1 . 01gly 1 . 00 arg 0 . 91cys 0 . 54fab / ms = m / z ( m + h ). sup .+ 1037______________________________________ one part of the protected peptide resin from example 8 was further sequentially coupled with 1 . 5 mmoles of the appropriate boc amino acids and β -( s - 4 - mebzl )- pmp - oh to give 1 . 06 g of the final protected peptide resin , pmp ( s - 4 - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe - chg - asn - cys ( s - 4 - mebzl )- pro - arg -( tos ) mbha resin , obtained after drying in vacuo . this protected peptide resin was treated with 1 . 5 ml of anisole and 25 ml of anhydrous hydrogen fluoride . following the usual oxidation by potassium ferricyanide and isolation over a c 18 column , 165 mg crude titled product was obtained . further purification by ccd g - 15 and p - 2 gel filtration as described above gave 55 mg hplc pure titled product . preparation of ## str20 ## and its use for preparing the compound of example 3 4 . 87 g ( 15 mmol ) of the boccys ( 4mebzl ) was dissolved in 30 ml of ethanol and 10 ml of water added . the ph was then adjusted to 7 . 1 with an aqueous solution of cesium bicarbonate . the mixture was concentrated and the residue evaporated three times from 50 ml of toluene . this residue was , then , placed under high vacuum at ambient temperature overnight . the salt was dissolved in 35 ml of dimethylformamide and 5 g of commercial chloromethylphenyl resin added . the mixture was stirred at 53 ° under argon overnight . the mixture was filtered and the resin washed with dimethylformamide ( 5 × 60 ml ), dmf / water , 9 : 1 , ( 5 × 60 ml ), dmf ( 5 × 60 ml ) and ethanol ( 6 × 60 ml ). it was , then , dried under high vacuum at ambient temperature over the weekend . the peptide chain was built up in a beckman synthesizer as described above using the boc derivatives of asn , val , phe , d - tyr ( et ) and the s -( 4 - mebzl ) pmp derivative . the resin was removed and placed in a manual shaker . 0 . 86 g of the peptide resin was treated with 1 . 5 ml of anisole and stirred for 60 min at 0 ° in 15 ml of hydrogen fluoride . the hydrogen fluoride was , then , removed under aspirator pressure at 0 °. the residue was then washed with 3 × 25 ml of ether ( discarded ) and the peptide eluted with dimethylformamide and 30 % acetic acid ( 4 × 10 ml ). this solution was added to 21 of degassed water and the ph adjusted to 7 . 0 with ammonium hydroxide . a 0 . 01m potassium ferricyanide solution was added slowly ( 35 ml ). the ph was then adjusted to 4 . 5 with acetic acid and the mixture stirred for 30 minutes with 25 g ( wet ) of a weakly basic ion exchange resin ( ag - 3 × 4 1r - 4s ). the suspension was filtered and the resin washed with 2 × 400 ml of 30 % acetic acid . the filtrate was , then , passed thru a c 18 flash column ( 7 × 16 mm ). the column was then washed with water ( 3 × 400 ml ) and the peptide eluted with acetonitrile / water / tfa , 50 : 50 : 0 . 25 ). fractions 30 → 36 were combined , concentrated and lyophillized to yield 25 mg of the titled free cys ( oh ) cyclic intermediate . fab mass spectrum in glycerol : 827 ( m + h ) + , 825 ( m - h ) - . the cys acid ( 20 mg ) is reacted with one equivalent of pro - arg ( nh 2 ) hcl ( prepared from the commercial dihydrochloride by treatment with 1 equivalent of triethylamine ) in the presence of dcc and hbt in dimethylformamide to produce the compound of example 3 . similarly , pro ( ome ) is attached to the cys acid , hydrolyzed with mild sodium hydroxide to give the pro acid which is , then , reacted with arg ( hcl )( ome ) to give the acid parent of the compound of example 3 after mild hydrolysis of the ester . this compound is isolated as the potassium salt if desired . see example 12 below . alternatively , the pro - arg ( nh 2 ) is used in the condensation directly . a mixture of 4 . 5 mg of pmp - d - tyr ( et )- phe - val - asn - cys - oh prepared as above and 1 ml of methanol was treated with ethereal diazomethane and purified by preparing hplc ( 50 % ch 3 cn / 50 % h 2 o / 0 . 1 % tfa ) to yield 4 . 3 mg of the methyl ester ( 94 %), fabms m / z 841 ( m + h ) + , homogeneous by hplc and tlc . bocpro - merrifield resin was made by coupling bocpro to merrifield resin using the cesium salt method to give boc - pro - och 2 - c 6 h 4 - resin which was used as the starting material for the synthesis . the synthesis was carried out on the beckman 990 - b peptide synthesizer using the following protocol . three equivalents of the amino acids were dissolved in their appropriate solvents [ the boc derivatives of 4mebzl - cys , val , phe in methylene chloride , asn in dimethylformamide , x such as d - tyr ( et ) or brbz - d - tyr in 1 : 1 methylene chloride / dimethylformamide and 4mebzl - pmp in methylene chloride ] and were coupled using an equimolar amount of dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( dcc ) and 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ( hobt ) except for the coupling of 4mebzl pmp where 1 . 0 equivalent of dimethylaminopyridine was used as catalyst . the extent of coupling was determined by qualitative ninhydrin analyses and couplings were repeated when necessary . the boc groups were removed using 1 : 1 trifluoroacetic acid / methylene chloride and after washing the free amine was generated using 5 % diisopropylethylamine / methylene chloride . the sequence of the peptide was checked using solid phase sequencing before the coupling of the 4mebzl - pmp and its homogeneity confirmed . after the final coupling , the resin was dried to give 2 . 24 g of peptide resin in the case of the d - tyr ( et ) 2 - pro 7 compound . 1 . 1 g ( 0 . 5 mmole ) of the d - tyr ( et ) 2 peptide resin with 3 ml of anisole was stirred 60 min . at 0 ° ( ice bath ) in 25 ml of hydrogen fluoride ( hf ). the hf was , then , removed under reduced pressure at 0 °. the residue was washed with ethyl ether ( 4 × 20 ml , discarded ) and the peptide eluted with dimethylformamide 3 × 10 ml , 20 % acetic acid 3 × 10 ml and 0 . 3n ammonium hydroxide 3 × 10 ml . the filtrate was added to 2 l of degassed water and the ph adjusted to 7 . 1 with conc . ammonium hydroxide . a 0 . 01m solution of potassium ferricyanide was then added dropwise with stirring until a faint yellow color persisted ( 41 ml ). this solution was adjusted to ph = 4 . 7 with acetic acid and stored in the cold overnight . the solution was adjusted to ph = 7 with ammonia and stirred for 15 min with 30 g of ag - 3 × 4 bio - rad ion exchange resin ( wet , cl form ). this solution was then filtered slowly through an additional 30 g of resin . the resin was then washed with 4 × 200 ml of 20 % acetic acid and the filtrate stored in the cold overnight . the filtrate was then passed through a flash column ( 5 cm × 10 cm ) of a packing of silica gel coated with a c - 18 silane . the column was then , washed with 350 ml of water and the peptide eluted with 500 ml of 1 : 1 acetonitrile / water ( 0 . 25 % trifluoroacetic acid ) in 20 ml fractions . fractions 11 - 17 were combined and concentrated . the residue was dissolved in conc . acetic acid , diluted with water and lyophillized to yield 189 mg of the d - tyr ( et ) 2 , proline peptide , which was used without further purification for the synthesis of the tail modified peptides . ______________________________________identification of : ______________________________________ ## str22 ## amino acid analysis : peptide content 55 % asp , 1 . 00 ; pro , 1 . 23 ; cys , 0 . 35 ; val ; 1 . 04 , tyr ( et ), 1 . 43 ; phe , 1 . 51 . hplc : satisfactory . ## str23 ## amino acid analysis : peptide content 82 % asp , 0 . 97 ; pro , 1 . 10 ; cys , 0 . 39 ; val , 1 . 05 ; tyr , 0 . 99 ; phe , 0 . 99hplc : satisfactory , 30 % ch . sub . 3 cn / 70 % 0 . 05 m kh . sub . 2 po . sub . 4 , 2 ml / min , 5 uc - 18 , k &# 39 ; = 6 . 14 . ______________________________________ a mixture of 10 mg of the d - tyr ( et )- pro ( oh ) 7 prepared as above , and 1 ml of methanol was treated with ethereal diazomethane and , then , purified by preparing hplc ( 50 % ch 3 cn / 50 % h 2 o / 0 . 1 % tfa ) to yield 7 . 5 mg of the methyl ester ( 74 %), fabms m / z 938 ( m + h + ), homogeneous by hplc and tlc . to a solution of the d - tyr ( et ) 2 - proline heptapeptide , prepared as described above , ( 29 . 7 mg , 0 . 0331 mmol ), and arg ( nh 2 ) ( 0 . 0996 mmol ) in dimethylformamide ( 400 μl ), dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ( 10 . 3 mg , 0 . 05 mmol ) and dimethylaminopyridine ( 0 . 05 mmol ) were added and the reaction mixture was stirred at 0 °- 20 ° for 4 hours . the dimethylformamide was , then , removed under vacuum . the residue was treated as above in example 3 in 45 % yield to give the desired d - tyr ( et ) 2 - val 4 amide . the linear peptidyl resin , pmp ( s - mebzl )- d - tyr ( et )- phe - val - asn - cys ( s - mebzl )- pro - d - arg ( tos )- bha resin , was prepared by the solid phase method using the standard protocol described above . thus , 1 . 5 g benzhydrylamine resin corresponding to 1 . 0 mmol amine was coupled successively with the boc amino acid derivatives in threefold excess using dcc / hobt in methylene chloride / dmf , 1 : 1 . pmp ( s - mebzl ) was coupled with dcc / dmap . completeness of coupling was checked with the kaiser test or a quantitative ninhydrin test . recoupling was performed until the test was negative . the protected peptidyl resin was washed with successive portions of methylene chloride , methanol , ethyl acetate and methylene chloride , and , then , air dried . the peptide was cleaved from the resin with 15 ml of liquid hydrogen fluoride in the presence of 1 . 0 ml of anisole at 0 ° for one hour . after evaporation of the hydrogen fluoride and drying under high vacuum , the resin was washed with 3 × 20 ml of ether and , then , extracted with 2 × 50 ml of 50 % acetic acid , 50 ml of 10 % acetic acid , and 50 ml of water . the combined extracts were diluted to 4 l with water and the ph adjusted to 7 . 2 with 50 % sodium hydroxide solution . the solution was titrated with 0 . 01m k 3 fe ( cn ) 6 solution until a yellow color persisted ( 30 ml ). the ph was adjusted to 4 . 5 with glacial acetic acid and filtered . the filtrate was applied to a cation exchange ( biorex - 70 ) column ( h + form ), washed with water and then eluted with 100 ml of pyridine acetate buffer ( 30 ml of pyridine , 4 ml of acetic acid , 66 ml of water ). the eluant was evaporated to dryness . the residue was dissolved in a small amount of 10 % acetic acid and diluted with water to 1 % acetic acid , then lyophilized , yielding 650 mg of the crude titled peptide . the crude peptide was purified by counter current distribution in n - butanol / acetic acid / water ( b / a / w ) ( 4 : 1 : 5 ) yielding 33 mg partially purified peptide . this was further purified by gel filtration on a sephadex g - 15 column in 1 % acetic acid , yielding 24 . 5 mg pure peptide . amino acid analysis ( hydrolysis in hcl / tfa 2 : 1 , 0 . 005 % phenol for 1 hr .) asp 1 . 00 , pro 0 . 72 , cys 0 . 62 , val 0 . 99 , tyr 1 . 04 , phe 1 . 04 , arg 0 . 95 , 71 % peptide . hplc : ( 40 % acetonitrile / 60 % water / 0 . 01 % tfa ), one peak , k &# 39 ;= 5 . 2 ; ( 45 % acetonitrile / 55 % water / 0 . 1 % tfa ) k &# 39 ;= 3 . 6 ; ( gradient 20 % acetonitrile , 5 &# 39 ;; 20 - 50 % acetonitrile , 20 &# 39 ;; 50 % acetonitrile , 5 &# 39 ;) k &# 39 ;= 8 . 7 , 97 % pure . tlc : rf 0 . 32 ( b / a / w 1 : 1 : 1 ); 0 . 12 ( b / a / w 4 : 1 : 1 ); 0 . 50 ( n - butanol / pyridine / acetic acid / water ), 15 : 10 : 3 : 12 ). the extracted peptidyl resin still contained peptide by amino acid analysis , so it was extracted with 3 × 50 ml of dmf . the dmf was evaporated to dryness and the residue dissolved in 10 % hoac , diluted to 1 % acetic acid and lyophilized , yielding an additional 260 mg of peptide . fab mass spectrometry of this material gave a m / z 1079 which corresponds to m + h for the desired cyclic peptide . substituting a stoichiometric quantity of boc - d - phe for boc - d - try ( br - z ) at the 2 unit of the peptide synthesis of example 1 gives ## str25 ## substituting boc - d - val at the same position using the splitting - oxidation reactions of example 2 gives ## str26 ## substituting β - mercapto - β , β - cyclotetramethylenepropionic acid ( tmp ) for pmp in example 5 gives ## str28 ## β - mercapto - β , β - cyclohexamethylenepropionic acid gives the hmp 1 derivative . substituting in example 1 boc - d - nle at the 2 unit and d - arg ( tos ) at the 8 unit gives ## str29 ## substituting in example 1 boc - α - aminophenylbutyric acid ( pba ) at the 2 unit gives ## str31 ## substituting boc - lys ( clz ) in example 3 for the protected arg gives ## str32 ## other representative compounds which are prepared in like manner are : ## str33 ## a preparation which contains 0 . 5 mg of the cyclic octapeptide of examples 1 or 3 as a sterile dry powder for parenteral injection is prepared as follows : 0 . 5 mg of peptide amide is dissolved in 1 ml of an aqueous solution of 20 mg of mannitol . the solution is filtered under sterile conditions into a 2 ml ampoule and lyophylized . the powder is reconstituted before either intramuscular or intravenous injection to a subject suffering from edema susceptible to anti - adh mechanism of action . the injection is repeated as necessary , from 1 - 5 times daily or in continuous i . v . drug injection . other octapeptides of this invention are made up and used in like manner . 30 mg of finely ground octapeptide of this invention such as the product of example 2 is suspended in a mixture of 75 mg of benzyl alcohol and 1 . 395 g of a suspending agent such as a commercial mixture of semisynthetic glycerides of higher fatty acids . the suspension is placed in an aerosol 10 ml container which is closed with a metering valve and charged with aerosol propellants . the contents comprise 100 unit doses which are administered intranasally to an edematous subject from 1 - 6 times a day . | 8 |
the invention will be described , with the accompanying drawings , in the structural configuration for containment of two large drums . it is to be understood that the invention also encompasses structural configurations sized for containment of any number of drums , including the circumstance of a single drum . such configurations will differ only in overall dimensions , the elements and components of the invention remaining the same . with reference to fig1 and 2 , the overall configuration of the invention is shown . the apparatus comprises a base member 10 and two lid members 20 . the general shape of the apparatus is a rectangular container . base member 10 comprises a bottom 11 , two side walls 12 and two end walls 13 . bottom 11 is substantially rectangular with side walls 12 and end walls 13 substantially upright . bottom 11 is relatively planar to support the drums , but may be constructed with ridges or other raised areas . furthermore , a drain may be incorporated in bottom 11 , which can also be sloped , to facilitate drainage . it is preferable that side walls 12 and end walls 13 angle slightly outward , such that the open top of base member 10 is larger than bottom 11 . this allows plural base members 10 to be nested one inside the next for purposes of storage and transportation . extending below bottom 11 are a number of legs 14 to support the base member 10 above the floor surface . legs 14 are of sufficient height and separation to allow room for insertion of the arms of a forklift or pallet jack for transport of the unit . preferably , legs 14 are circular to deflect the forklift arms without damage should the operator strike one of the legs 14 by mistake . for mobility on level surfaces , casters or wheels may be attached beneath base member 10 . around the upper perimeter of the base member 10 , preferably on both side walls 12 and end walls 13 , but at least on the two side walls 12 , rail member 15 extends outward for engagement of the lid members 20 , as shown in fig3 . rail member 15 is a generally c - shaped guide providing the means for retaining the lid members 20 on the unit and at the sam time allowing the lid members 20 to be separated from each other by sliding each lid member 20 along the trough 16 formed on the upper surface of rail member 15 . the configuration of trough 16 is concave or bevelled such that its interior portion is lower than its exterior to form an inward slant . thus , trough 16 keeps the lid members 20 securely sealed and in place on base member 10 , even under large load forces , since the downward pressure will force the runner members 27 of the lid engagement members 26 firmly into trough 16 rather than outward . additionally , the upper edge of side walls 12 and end walls 13 may have a deflector rim 17 , which is a small flange angled downward toward the interior of the base member 10 . this deflector rim 17 acts to direct any liquid striking its surface into the interior of the unit rather than out into the environment . each lid member 20 comprises a top 21 , side walls 22 and an end wall 23 . as with the base member 10 , the end wall 23 and side walls 22 are preferably angled outward so that the open bottom is larger than the top 21 . this allows nesting of a number of the lid members 20 within themselves or within the base members 10 for transport and storage . for additional structural strength , ribs 28 or other formations may be incorporated in the lid members 20 or in the base member 10 . for connecting the lid members 20 to the base member 10 , engagement means are comprising engagement member 26 are provided . lid engagement member 26 is positioned around the bottoms of side walls 22 , and preferably end wall 23 , of both lid members 20 . lid engagement member 26 is substantially c - shaped to correspond to and enclose rail member 15 of the base member 10 . the joint of the engagement member 26 to the side walls 22 and end wall 23 is configured to correspond to the trough 16 of the base member 10 , so that a runner member 27 is formed . runner member 27 will be convex or angled to seat within trough 16 . any downward pressure will force runner member 27 into trough 16 , maintaining the lid members 20 on base member 10 . runner member 27 will slide laterally within trough 16 , so that the lid members 20 can be moved transversely along rail member 15 to expose a drum 100 , as shown in fig5 . thus the lid member 20 does not need to be completely removed to allow access to the drum 100 , such as when it is needed to pour liquid into said drum 100 . the c - shape of engagement members 26 acts to clamp the lid members 20 onto rail member 15 , such that the lid members cannot be removed from the base member 10 in the vertical direction . furthermore , in the preferred embodiment where the rail member 15 and engagement members 16 extend around the end walls 13 and 23 , respectively , the curvature of engagement members 26 will lock the lid members 20 in place on base member 10 when the lid members 20 are fully closed , by snapping around rail member 15 on the end walls 13 . it is necessary that the two lid members 20 form a secure seal with each other when in the fully closed position to preclude rain , snow , etc . from entering the unit . this is accomplished by providing interlocking means , such as by configuring the open ends of the top 21 and side walls 23 to form an overlapping or mating joint . as shown in fig4 one lid member 20 is formed with an external lip 24 and the other lid member is formed with an internal lip 25 , such that the internal lip 25 will interlock with the external lip 24 to form a secure seal to retain the two lid members 20 in a closed position . the shape of the internal lip 25 an the external lip 24 allow the lid members 20 to be easily opened and closed . in the preferred embodiment , exterior lip 24 is comprised of a full ridge 31 , an open ridge 32 and a mid - plateau 33 . internal lip 25 is comprised of a full ridge 35 , a latching ridge 34 and a mid - plateau 36 . open ridge 32 of the external lip 24 preferably has a small snap flange 37 . to perform the closure operation , the lid members 20 are pushed together such that the internal lip 25 slides inside external lip 24 . latching ridge 34 flexes below mid - plateau 33 and abuts internally within full ridge 31 . full ridge 35 seats within open ridge 32 , with snap flange 37 abutting the down side of full ridge 35 . in this manner the two lid members 20 are securely held together by the interlocking means , yet are easily separable by sufficient pulling force . the snap flange 37 and mid - plateau 36 prevent any liquids or debris from entering the unit when the lid members 20 are closed . the end portions of engagement member 26 on the lid member 20 having external lip 24 are enlarged to form sleeves 29 . this allows the engagement member 26 of the lid member 20 having the internal lip 25 to fit within sleeve 29 when the two lid members 20 are fully closed . apertures to receive locks may be aligned in the sleeve 29 , engagement member 26 and rail member 15 for security purposes . it is also seen that the design of the lid members 20 allows them to be completely removed from the base member 10 by fully sliding them laterally off of rail member 15 if required . it is preferable that the invention be constructed of a plastic material such as polyethylene , due to its superior structural and chemical resistance properties , but the apparatus may be constructed of any suitable material having the necessary properties of liquid impermeability . construction with a plastic material allows the unit to be formed having a translucent base member 10 . this allows easy visual determination of any fluid accumulation inside the unit . while the unit as shown is substantially rectangular , a relatively square configuration is possible for use with one or four drums . the overall minimum size of the apparatus is a function of the number of drums to be contained within . regulations usually require that the volume of the base member 10 be either at least 10 percent of the total capacity of all the drums contained within the unit or 10 percent greater than the largest single drum in the group , whichever amount is greater . for example , if a 55 gallon drum is the largest container size in the unit , then the base member 10 must have a volume greater than 60 . 5 gallons ( 55 + 5 . 5 gallons ). the above examples were given for purposes of illustration , and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that obvious substitutions and equivalents may be possible . the full scope and definition of the invention therefor is to be as set forth in the following claims . | 1 |
fig2 illustrates an example pump and electrical connector system according to the invention wherein the pump system is retrievable without having to pull the wellbore tubing ( 2 in fig1 ) from out of the wellbore . the present example includes such capability by introducing a “ wet ” matable electrical coupler ( 9 ) ( meaning that electrical connection may be made while submerged in wellbore fluid ) disposed in the lower end of the pump system . the electrical coupler ( 9 ) is landed into an electrical coupler receptacle ( 8 ) mounted onto the production tubing ( 2 ). electrical cables from the electrical coupler ( 9 ) to an electric motor ( 6 ) may be incorporated in a bypass conduit ( 12 ) coupled between the electrical coupler ( 9 ) and the electric motor ( 6 ). the foregoing components allow the pump system to be installed within the production tubing ( 2 ) as well as retrieved from the production tubing ( 9 ) in a cost efficient way by using winch supported well intervention methods such as coiled tubing , wireline , spoolable fiber rod or similar method . as a result , it is not necessary to remove the production tubing ( 2 ) in order to remove the pump system for service or replacement . with certain exceptions , such as the bypass conduit ( 12 ) noted above , and a seal system explained below , the pump system may be a conventional electrical submersible pump ( esp ) known in the art , having external diameter thereof selected to enable passage through the interior of the production tubing ( 2 ) as shown in fig2 . a pack - off or similar annular sealing system ( 13 ) may be disposed in the annular space between the pump system and the production tubing ( 2 ). the pack - off system ( 13 ) can be mounted longitudinally anywhere along the pump system above the pump intake ( 4 ). the pack - off system ( 13 ) ensures that all discharge from the pump is forced to travel upward in the production tubing ( 2 ) and thereby prevents wellbore fluids from being circulated locally downhole from discharge to intake ( 4 in fig1 ) of the pump system . fig2 also shows a seal system ( 11 ) that can be mounted below the lower section of the electrical coupler ( 9 ), where this seal system ( 11 ) provides a fluid barrier with respect to a seal receptacle ( 10 ). wellbore fluids will thus be caused move through the center of the seal system ( 11 ), through the center of the electrical coupler ( 9 ) whereupon the fluid exits the top of the electrical coupler ( 9 ). thereafter , the wellbore fluids are transported in the annular space outside the motor system ( 6 ). the fluid enters the pump intake ( 4 ). then the fluids are transported through the pump ( 3 ) whereafter the fluid exits via the pump discharge ( 4 a ) ( disposed on top of the pump system in the present example ), followed by transport to the surface within the production tubing ( 2 ). the electrical coupler system ( receptacle 8 and coupler 9 ) can be a conductive contact ring coupler wherein corresponding rings in the receptacle 8 and coupler 9 make galvanic contact , or the system can be a wireless or inductive type electrical connector . the wireless electrical connector can for example be of the type that is offered by the company wireless power & amp ; communication as in horten , norway ( www . wpc . no ) and described in norwegian patent no . 320439 “ anordning og fremgangsmate for kontaktlos energioverforing ” (“ a device and method of non - contact energy transmission ”), issued to geir olav gyland . electrical power may be provided from the surface by a cable ( 7 a ) extending to the receptacle ( 8 ) outside the production tubing ( 1 ). fig3 illustrates the system as shown in fig2 , with the difference that the annular sealing packer system ( 13 in fig2 ) between the pump system and the wellbore tubing ( 2 ) may be substituted by an elastomeric swab cup system ( 14 ) made from nitrile rubber or similar suitable elastomeric sealing material . fig4 illustrates another example where the pump system is configured to have the motor ( 6 ) and the protector and seal assembly ( 5 ) disposed above the pump ( 3 ). in the example of fig4 no packer or other annular sealing element is required above the electrical coupler ( 9 ), because the pump intake ( 4 ) is disposed in the bottom of the system , e . g ., sealed inside seal ( 11 ) and the pump discharge ( 4 a ) is disposed above the seal ( 11 ) in the production tubing ( 2 ). to centralize and stabilize the pump system within the production tubing ( 2 ), one or several centralizers ( 15 ) can be disposed between the pump system and the interior of the tubing ( 1 ). fig5 illustrates the electrical coupler receptacle ( 8 ) in more detail , wherein the electrical cable ( 7 ) is coupled to the coupler receptacle ( 8 ) and is sealed against wellbore fluids by an industry standard seal system ( 16 ). thereafter the electrical conductors in the cable ( 7 ) are connected to corresponding electrical contact rings ( 17 ). in some instances electronic controls ( 19 ) may be required to operate the pump system . depending on the selected electrical power transmission device used , the coupler system may require a non - metallic isolation ( 18 ) between the electrical contact rings ( 17 ). in the lower section of the coupler receptacle ( 8 ), one or several recesses ( 20 ) can be machined , where the function of the recesses ( 20 ) is to enable anti rotation devices to be included in the electrical coupler to be landed into the receptacle assembly ( 8 ). the foregoing will be explained below with reference to fig6 . fig6 shows the wet matable electrical coupler ( 9 ) disposed in the lower end of the pump system , where it can be observed that the coupler ( 9 ) has internal fluid flow through capabilities by internal ports ( 9 a ). electrical contact rings ( 21 ) may be incorporated on the exterior of the coupler ( 9 ), and when the coupler ( 9 ) is fully landed in the receptacle ( 8 ) are in electrical contact with the corresponding contact rings ( 17 in fig4 ) in the receptacle ( 8 ), thus transferring electrical power ( and in some examples signals ) to from cable ( 7 in fig4 ) to the pump motor ( 6 in fig2 and fig4 ). dependent on power transmission method , the coupler system may require an electrical insulation ( 22 ) externally on the electrical contact rings ( 21 ). an anti rotation lock pin system ( 23 ) may be landed into the recesses ( 20 in fig5 ) machined into the electrical coupler receptacle ( 8 in fig5 ). the lock pin system ( 23 ) will prevent the pump system from rotating when operated . the seal stack ( 11 ) can be mounted to the lower section of the coupler system , where the seal stack ( 11 ) will seal against external wellbore fluid passage . fig7 illustrates the wet matable electrical coupler ( 9 in fig6 ) fully landed into the electrical coupler receptacle ( 8 in fig5 ). a system ( fig1 a through c explained below ) for flushing the electrical contacts with , for example , dielectric fluids prior to and when mating the coupler ( 9 ) to the receptacle ( 8 ) can be incorporated into the wet mateable coupler system . such flushing can be executed by units connecting , or by a control line from surface either coupled to the wet mateable electrical coupler ( 9 in fig6 ) or the electrical coupler receptacle ( 8 in fig5 ). alternatively , the coupler system can include cup type wipers ( not shown ) internally to the coupler ( 9 ) to remove fluid from the contact rings ( 21 in fig5 and 20 in fig4 ) when the coupler ( 9 ) is inserted into the receptacle ( 8 ). fig8 a and 8b illustrate a variation of the coupler system illustrated in fig6 , and with particular reference to fig8 b wherein in seals ( 24 ) are introduced between , above and below the electrical contact rings ( 21 ) on the coupler ( 9 ). such seals ( 24 ) will enable effective placement of dielectric fluids as well as securing isolation of fluids between the contact rings ( 21 ) when the coupler 9 is engaged to the receptacle ( fig8 a ). hydraulic feedthrough ports ( not illustrated ) can also be introduced where the seals ( 24 ) will ensure pressure tight isolation between such ports . the ports can also be used for flushing the electrical coupler system with dielectric fluids prior to and when mating , and for operation of hydraulically operated tools coupled to the insert system and more . fig9 illustrates the anti rotation lock pin ( 23 , also in fig6 ) landed into the lock pin recess ( 20 , also in fig5 ), where for example a motor housing coupled to the upper side of the pump system ( see fig4 ) is prevented from rotating during start - up and operation of the electric motor ( 6 in fig2 ). fig1 a , 10 b and 10 c illustrate how dielectric fluid can be used to flush the electrical coupler system , and how the seal system isolates the coupler system from wellbore fluids . the foregoing is performed by engaging the lower seal ( 11 ), releasing dielectric fluid ( 26 ) via one or more exit ports ( 25 ). when all flushing fluid has been unloaded , the electrical contacts ( 21 ) are engaged followed by engaging of the remaining seals ( 24 ). this traps the dielectric fluid within the coupler contact area as well as preventing wellbore fluids from entering the coupler system during use . also , engaging the electrical contacts ( 21 ) after sealing off the dielectric fluid around the coupler ( 9 ) will result in a increased pressure between the seals compared to the pressure of the wellbore fluids outside the coupler . this also reduces the chance of wellbore fluids entering the contact areas . an example of a deployment mechanism for dielectric fluid may be better understood with reference to fig1 . a chamber 30 may be filled with dielectric fluid such as oil or non - conductive silicone grease . when the coupler 9 is inserted into the receptacle , the lower part of the coupler ( including seal assembly 11 and port 10 ) may compress the chamber 30 and cause flow of the dielectric fluid through an internal line 31 . the internal line 31 may have discharge ports 31 a , 31 b , 31 c between the contacts 21 , causing the fluid to displace any conductive wellbore fluid between the contacts 21 . an alternative dielectric fluid deployment mechanism is shown in fig1 . a fluid line 7 b may extend from the surface and be used to pump the dielectric fluid through an internal port 31 d in the coupler 9 . the internal port 31 d may extend to discharge ports 31 a , 31 b , 31 c similarly placed to those shown in fig1 . fig1 shows a reservoir of dielectric fluid with an electronic control 33 that may be automatically operated or controlled from the surface . the electronic control may include a pump ( not shown separately ) to discharge dielectric fluid through an internal port 31 with discharge ports 31 a , 31 b , 31 c similar to those shown in fig1 . fig1 shows an example similar to the one shown in fig1 , but including one or more electronic systems 33 , and a second set of discharge ports 31 e , 31 f , 31 g . the system in fig1 may enable circulation of fluid through the coupler contact area . fig1 shows a coupler 9 with a control line 7 b to the surface through which fluid may be pumped through an internal port 31 b in the coupler 9 to energize the seals 24 . the system in fig1 may also include an electronic system 33 for discharge of dielectric fluid through ports 31 e , 31 f , 31 g as in fig1 . fig1 shows use of the coupler where it is used for , e . g ., so called “ two - stage ” well completions , where a lower tubular string 110 ( e . g ., casing ) is placed in the well first with sensors etc . along the casing . the lower tubular string 110 includes a receptacle 108 which may be made according to the various examples explained above . a control line 110 may extend to sensors and other electrically and / or hydraulically operated devices lower in the well . thereafter , an upper completion string 101 ( e . g ., tubing ) is landed into this lower string 110 using the coupler 109 having cable ( s ) 107 and possibly control line ( s ) to the wellhead . the coupler 109 may be made according to the various examples explained above . fig1 shows the receptacle 108 of fig1 in more detail . the receptacle 108 includes an internal shoulder 120 , with or without anti - rotation elements for receiving a corresponding shoulder ( 123 in fig1 ). electrical and / or hydraulic contacts 21 a may be provided to make corresponding connection with electrical and / or hydraulic contacts in the coupler ( fig1 ). the contacts 21 a may be connected to a control line 111 or cable that extends to devices lower in the well , e . g ., sensors and / or valves . fig1 shows the coupler 109 of fig1 in more detail . the coupler includes the above described components and electrical and / or hydraulic contacts 21 . the contacts 21 may be isolated by seals 24 . a seal extension 11 may sealingly engage the interior of the lower part of the receptacle ( 108 in fig1 ) so that when the tubing is mated to the casing , a fluid tight seal is provided . an electrical coupler system and / or esp combination according to the foregoing examples may enable insertion and retrieval of an esp system or other electrically operated device supported on a wellbore tubing to be installed and removed from the wellbore without the need to remove the tubing from the wellbore . while the invention has been described with respect to a limited number of embodiments , those skilled in the art , having benefit of this disclosure , will appreciate that other embodiments can be devised which do not depart from the scope of the invention as disclosed herein . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be limited only by the attached claims . | 4 |
as an overview , the present invention uses a computer network such as the internet and the resources of the network including emails and webpages to set up initial survey questions , send out emails to references identified by job candidates , collect confidential competency - based survey information via webpages from the identified references , analyze the collected information and generate candidate reports for use by a hiring manager . the system has integrated the screening and selection process with a competency based survey database that allows the comparative review of reference information against one or more candidates , the company &# 39 ; s own employees , the industry or other normalized database by job type , organization or company competency . referring now to fig1 , a job candidate evaluation system 1 of the present invention involves a number of computers 10 , 15 that are connected to each other through a computer network such as the internet . the computers 10 , 15 of the system 1 cooperate with each other to provide comprehensive collection and analysis of reference information that are made through the network 2 . computers 15 are similar to the computer 10 , with the exception of some of the databases and software modules . as illustrated in fig1 , the computer 10 is connected to the internet 2 through , for example , an 110 interface 12 , such as for a lan , wan , or fiber optic , wireless or cable link , which receives information from and sends information to other computers 15 . the computer 10 is also connected to a keyboard 14 for controlling the computer . the computer 10 includes , for example , memory storage 16 , processor ( cpu ) 18 , program storage 20 , and data storage 22 , all commonly connected to each other through a bus 24 . the program storage 20 stores , among others , software programs such as set - up module 26 , collection module 28 , and analysis module 30 as will be explained in detail later herein . the data storage 22 stores , among others , candidate database 34 , benchmark database 36 and survey database 318 , all preferably stored in a relational database that relates all of the databases stored in the data storage . any of the software program modules in the program storage 20 and data from the data storage 22 are transferred to the memory 32 as needed and is executed by the processor 18 . the computer 10 can be any computer such as a windows - based or unix - based personal computer , server , workstation or a mainframe , or a combination thereof . while the computer 10 is illustrated as a single computer unit for purposes of clarity , persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the system may comprise a group of computers which can be scaled depending on the processing load and database size and which can be remotely located to provide localized non - stop service . fig2 illustrates a high level process flow of the evaluation process according to the present invention . in step 42 , a client company sets up an order for a job candidate or multiple candidates , and prepares one or more surveys for use in the hiring process as will be explained in detail with reference to fig3 . this step is executed by the set - up module 26 . in the same step , the order for the job candidates is done by purchasing a certain number of candidate reports and specifying the purchase information . purchase of one report provides unlimited generation of reports for each job candidate until the time of hire or rejection . in step 44 , the hiring manager identifies a job candidate and receives information about the references or reference providers that are identified by the job candidate , which include an email address for each reference as will be explained in more detail with reference to fig4 . a reference provider should be someone who has worked extensively with the job candidate in the past which include customers , supervisors , and peers . step 44 is executed by the collection module 28 . in step 46 , which is also executed by the collection module 28 , the system 1 sends emails to all of the references that were identified by the job candidate . the email requests each reference to fill out the survey prepared by the hiring manager . the survey information is then collected from the identified references through web pages and stored in the survey database 38 . step 46 is more fully explained with reference to fig5 . in step 48 , executed by the analysis module 30 , the system 1 analyzes the collected information and generates a report that includes the overall assessment of the candidate &# 39 ; s competency in each of the several competency areas and includes any comments supplied by the references . competency is a well known concept that represents a particular characteristic of an individual or organization performing a task , function or project at a particular point in time that leads to successful performance . the report can be a final report with all surveys completed by the references , or it can be a real time interim report with analysis of partially completed survey information which can be requested by the hiring manager at any time . based on the analysis , the system 1 also generates “ interview probes ” for those areas where the candidate did not score as highly as others , a sample of which is shown in fig1 a - 12b . the probes guide an interviewer to obtain more information about the candidate &# 39 ; s level of accomplishments or experience with regard to specific lower scoring competencies . the report may also include coaching tactics to manage and develop the candidate assuming the candidate is hired , a sample of which is shown in fig1 a - 13c . like the interview probes , the coaching tactics are also based on analysis of those areas where the candidate did not score as highly as others . the coaching tactics are suggested “ micro - behaviors ” that the hiring manager can use to help the candidate to develop his strengths in lower - scoring competencies . step 48 is more fully explained with reference to fig6 . in step 50 , the system 1 continuously monitors the job candidates after the hiring process . the system tracks the progress of the hired candidates and collects additional data such as performance levels of the hired candidates . the additional data for all the candidates are then analyzed to generate additional reports containing the correlation between various competencies and high retention / performance . the reports are preferably graphical in nature and graphically illustrate the competencies that are most closely correlated with the high retention / performance of the candidates . the reports can also be customized by a user to specify whether the correlation is based on position - specific , company - wide or industry - wide benchmarks as will be explained in detail with reference to fig7 . fig3 illustrates a detailed process flow of the purchase and set - up step 42 of fig2 . in step 52 , a client company uses an internet enabled computer 15 to access web pages of the system 1 through the internet 2 . the web pages are generated by a conventional database web page generating engine such as php ( hypertext preprocessor ) in conjunction with a relational database program stored in the program storage 20 and the web engine is executed by the processor 18 . the internet enabled computer 15 is equipped with a web browser capable of handling forms . in step 54 , order information such as the client company &# 39 ; s address and contact information of various hiring managers working for the client company are filled out in the web page form that was generated by the computer 10 . in step 56 , purchase information such as the number of reports purchased and credit card data are also entered through the web page . the data entered by the client company are stored in the data storage 22 . in step 58 , the credit card information provided by the client company is verified and in step 60 a client record is created in a client database in the storage 22 with the contact and purchase information . the client record includes an allocation of reports to specific hiring managers and the user id and password for each hiring manager . in step 62 , the computer 10 generates a confirmation message confirming the number of reports purchased and the set - up of the client company in the system 1 . as can be appreciated by persons of ordinary skill in the art , the above steps 52 - 62 are optional and can be omitted by using a billing arrangement where the client company is billed on a periodic basis for the candidate evaluation services that have been rendered . fig4 illustrates a detailed process flow of the candidate and reference identification step 44 of fig2 . when a hiring manager needs to fill a particular position , the manager accesses the computer 10 through a web browser . in step 66 , the hiring manager designates a survey that is to be used for that position . the manager can choose from a set of pre - designed or pre - selected surveys stored in the data storage 22 , design his own by selecting survey questions from an existing set of questions stored in the data storage , create his own set of questions , or modify an existing survey . the questions are stored in a master table in data storage 22 . each survey also has a corresponding record in the database , which points to the questions in the master table that are included for that survey . each survey question relates to a specific job - related and validated competency , selected from a bank of competencies that have been derived , tested and validated from experience and research . fig8 a - 8b illustrate a sample survey that is used for a management position . the survey of fig8 a contains 16 questions that relate to various competencies that are known to be important for a management position . for example , the first three questions relate to a competency known as “ managing the business ”. each of the 16 questions requires the reference to select a value of “ 1 ” through “ 7 ” by clicking on an appropriate radio button . the survey also contains two comment boxes as shown in fig8 b . it includes one for describing the candidate &# 39 ; s strengths and one for describing the candidate &# 39 ; s weaknesses . once a particular survey is selected or created , the hiring manager enters the job candidates &# 39 ; information in step 68 through the computer 15 and sets the required minimum number of references that must be provided by each job candidate . the entered information is stored by the computer 10 in the candidate database 34 of the data storage 22 . in step 68 , the computer 10 also generates a unique 16 character alphanumeric identifier for that job candidate which is also stored in the candidate database 34 . the alphanumeric identifiers are used for security purposes since they ensure that only known and authorized job candidates can enter or access the information in the system 1 . in step 70 , the computer dynamically generates a web page asking whether the reference information will be provided by the job candidate . if the hiring manager answers yes , the computer 10 in step 72 generates and send an email message to the job candidate with a url link to a dynamically generated web page and requesting the job candidate to click on the link to provide information on the references he chooses . a sample email to a job candidate is shown in fig9 . in step 74 , the job candidate receives the email and accesses the web page generated by the computer 10 by clicking on the link provided in the email . in response , the computer transmits through the internet 2 a sample of the survey questions for display on the candidate &# 39 ; s computer 15 along with a dynamically generated web page form to provide information on the references . the sample survey questions assist the candidate in determining which individuals would be appropriate references . in step 76 , the job candidate enters via the web page form the names , email addresses and relationship of the references . the relationship field only allows “ business ” or “ professional ” as “ personal ” references tend to give scores that are severely skewed towards the positive , and may not have specific knowledge about the job - related competencies of the candidate . the candidate also indicates the dates and location of the relevant employment . the candidate then submits the form to the computer 10 . the collection module 28 of the system 10 then verifies that each email address is in a valid format and that there are no duplications . as part of the validity check , the collection module 28 checks the domain portion of each email address against the registered location using industry standard databases ( whois ) to provide the hiring manager additional information if needed . once the candidate is determined to have submitted a valid list , the computer 10 stores the data on references in the candidate database 34 . if the answer to step 70 is no , however , then the hiring manager already has the information of references . that information is entered by the hiring manager in step 78 . the same type of data checking that are performed in step 76 is also performed in step 78 to ensure that no errors are made . fig5 illustrates a detailed process flow of the collection step of fig2 . in step 80 , the computer 10 generates a unique identifier for each reference and send an email message to each reference explaining the purpose of the email and directing the reference to click on a url link to a dynamically generated web page . the unique identifier is generally used internally to uniquely identify the reference within the system 1 . a sample email to each reference is shown in fig1 . the sample email contains a statement that the operator of the system 1 will maintain strict confidentiality of responses provided by the references and that their responses will be aggregated and analyzed so that all of the information generated in a report for the hiring manager will be confidential . this statement is important because it encourages the references to provide more honest responses . in step 82 , the email is received by the computer 15 of the reference . in step 84 , the reference accesses the web page generated by the computer 10 by clicking on the link provided in the email . in response , the computer transmits through the internet 2 a dynamically generated web page form for display on the reference &# 39 ; s computer 15 along with instructions on how to properly complete the form , a sample of which is shown in fig8 a - 8b . in step 86 , the reference enters via the web page form answers to the questions in the survey . for each question , the reference indicates the level of competency possessed by the job candidate using a seven - point scale . the reference is also shown the employment information submitted by the job candidate and is asked to confirm whether the information is accurate . the reference then submits the completed form to the computer 10 in step 88 . in step 90 , the collection module 28 of the system 10 stores the survey data in the survey database 38 . in step 92 , the collection module 28 determines whether there is a sufficient number of completed surveys to provide a meaningful report to the hiring manager . for example , in one case that requires seven references , four references might be considered to provide a meaningful report . if no , then the collection module 28 waits for additional surveys to be completed . if yes , however , step 94 is executed . alternatively , the hiring manager has three additional options at this stage . the first option is to override the minimum number of completed surveys and to request an interim candidate report reports regardless . a second option is to set a predetermined time period from the job candidate identifies the references and checking to see whether the predetermined time period has passed . if it has , then step 94 is executed . the third option is to simply allow the hiring manger to close the job candidate &# 39 ; s record . that option may be convenient in situations such as the job candidate voluntarily withdrawing from the job opening . in step 94 , an email to the hiring manager is generated to let him know that at least an interim report is available , which email is received by him in step 98 . in step 96 , reminder emails are sent to those references that have not provided the survey data within a predetermined time period . fig6 illustrates a detailed process flow of the analysis step of fig2 . in step 100 , the hiring manager accesses the web page generated by the computer 10 by either clicking on the link provided in the email or logging on to the website of the computer 10 independent of the email . at this stage , the analysis module 30 displays a “ dashboard ” for the current status of the job opening . the status includes the state of each candidate &# 39 ; s progress for the completion of the reference information . in step 102 , a request for report on a particular candidate is made . in response , the analysis module 30 in step 104 analyzes the received survey data stored in the survey database 38 and generates a candidate report . a sample report is shown in fig1 a - 11d . as can be seen in fig1 a , the report includes a list of references , email addresses , identification of company and relation to the job candidate , dates worked by the candidate and whether the survey was completed . the report also notes any changes or discrepancies between the information provided by the candidate and the reference . for example , reference named “ roger brown ” reported that the dates worked by the candidate of “ 02 / 00 to 02 / 03 ” is different from “ 01 / 00 to 02 / 03 ”. fig1 b explains the score for each competency in fig1 c which is based on benchmark scores that are stored in the benchmark database 36 . the benchmark scores represent competencies that are stored on an industry - wide basis , company - wide basis or company - specific job position type basis . as seen in fig1 c , scores for each question are averaged and converted to “ very low ” to a “ very high ” score . the scores to questions that are related to the same competency are averaged into the same “ very low ” to a “ very high ” score . for example , the average scores for questions 1 - 3 have been converted to a “ medium ”, “ high ” and “ medium ”, respectively . also , the three questions are grouped into the competency of “ managing the business ” and the average scores for each of questions 1 - 3 are averages and converted to the score of “ medium ”. one third of the questions where the candidate has received the lowest raw numerical averages are weak areas the analysis module has identified and are indicated using asterisks which are used as the basis for generating interview probe questions and coaching tactics as discussed below in step 106 . alternatively , the weak areas are identified by comparing an averaged score for each question against a benchmark score from the benchmark database 36 and those scores that fall below the benchmark score by a predetermined amount are identified as the weak areas and are indicated as such using asterisks . to further make the report useful , it may contain three additional columns : company comparison , industry comparison and overall rating . the company comparison and industry comparison correspond to the benchmark scores on company - wide job type basis , and industry - wide job type basis . the overall rating is derived from taking the average of the raw scores from each normalized database for that job type for the company , industry or other organization and the average of responses from the candidate &# 39 ; s reference providers . this score is converted to a verbal descriptor from very - low to very - high based on lookup table for that value . for example a 4 . 2 - 5 . 9 inclusive , could return a “ high ”, each descriptor range can be set based on selection standards . as shown in fig1 c , questions 3 , 8 , 11 and 16 are highlighted using a rectangular box . the highlighted questions mean that those questions are most closely associated with high performance and retention of job candidates that have been hired which are based on a statistical analysis of performance data of the hired candidates as will be explained in detail with reference to fig7 . the report also contains an overall average score (“ high ” in fig1 c ) which is an average of scores from all the references for all of the questions . alternatively , the analysis module 30 can use the correlation data from the continuous update step 50 of fig2 and generate an overall score on a weighted scale in which the weight used for each question or competency is based on the correlation to the performance data with higher weight being used for higher correlation . fig1 d contains the “ strengths ” and “ could improve ” comments provided by the references . it is important to note that the candidate report maintains strict confidentiality of responses provided by the references . in other words , the candidate report decouples the reference individuals from the responses the reference individuals provide so as to provide anonymity of the reference individuals from the hiring company / hiring manager . this is important as it encourages the references to provide more candid responses . fig1 illustrates a group report which ranks multiple candidates . for each candidate , the group report includes averaged scores for each question , averaged score for each competency , and an overall summary score . the group report also includes questions 3 , 8 and 16 which are highlighted using a rectangular box . the highlighted questions mean that those questions are most closely associated with high performance and retention of job candidates that have been hired which are based on a statistical analysis of performance data of the hired candidates . in step 106 , the hiring manager , after reviewing the report , determines whether to continue with the hiring process for the candidate . if the answer is no , then the analysis step 48 ends at step 111 . if the answer is yes , the analysis step 48 continues with step 108 . in step 108 , the analysis module generates interview questions ( see fig1 a - 12b ) based on the identified weak areas in the report . specifically , the interview questions are associated with the questions in the survey and are stored in the data storage 22 . for each weak area , the analysis module retrieves those interview questions that are associated with the questions that correspond to the weak areas . for example , the report in fig1 c has identified questions 1 , 2 , 7 , 9 , 12 and 13 as the weak areas . for those questions , the analysis module 30 retrieves associated interview questions from the data storage 22 as shown in fig1 a - 12b . in step 110 , the hiring manager , after having interviewed the candidate , determines whether to hire the candidate . if the decision is no , then the analysis step 48 ends . if the decision is a yes , then the analysis module in step 112 generates coaching suggestions that allow the employer to improve the identified weak areas after the candidate is hired . like the interview questions , the coaching suggestions are associated with the questions in the survey and are stored in the data storage 22 . for each weak area , the analysis module 30 retrieves those coaching suggestions that are associated with the questions that correspond to the weak areas as shown in fig1 a - 13c . it is important to note that the steps of survey collection 46 and analysis 48 can be used in an iterative process to screen out job candidates . for example , a hiring manager might use a simple survey containing 4 questions against 100 job candidates to narrow the list down to 10 candidates , then design a new survey containing 16 questions to narrow the 10 candidates down to 3 candidates , and then design another survey containing 20 questions to select one candidate for hire . accordingly , the present invention can be used to both as a screening tool and a selection tool . fig7 illustrates a detailed process flow of the continuous update step of fig2 which is also part of the analysis module 30 . in step 120 , the computer 10 waits for a predetermined time period after the final candidate report was generated . in the embodiment shown , the predetermined time period is one month . in step 122 , the computer 10 prepares and sends an email to the hiring manager with a url link to a dynamically generated web page . the web page asks whether a particular job candidate is hired . alternatively , the email may include two links asking the hiring manager to click on one link if the candidate was hired and to click on the other link is the candidate was not hired . in step 124 , the computer 10 receives the response of the hiring manager and determines whether the job candidate was hired . if no , then that fact is noted and stored in the candidate database 34 in step 126 for later analysis and reporting . if the candidate was hired , then control passes to step 128 . at step 128 , the computer 10 waits for a predetermined time period after the final candidate report was generated . in the embodiment shown , the predetermined time period is one year from the final report . in step 130 , the computer 10 prepares and sends an email to the hiring manager with a url link to a dynamically generated survey web page . the survey web page asks retention and performance information . in the embodiment shown , the survey web page asks two questions : ( 1 ) is the candidate still employed ; and ( 2 ) how well the candidate has performed based on a survey containing multiple questions or based on a single question on a predefined scale , e . g ., scale of 1 - 10 . in step 126 , the response to the two questions from the hiring manager are stored in the candidate database 34 for later analysis and reporting . in step 132 , the analysis module 30 analyzes the hiring data stored in the candidate database 34 . specifically , the retention and performance data are statistically correlated with the various scores received by that candidate in the surveys to identify the questions where high ratings are most closely associated with high performance and retention . the correlation can be calculated on an industry - wide position type basis , on a company - wide basis without regard to the position type or on a company - wide position type basis . thus , when the candidate reports such as shown in fig1 c are generated , the questions where high ratings are most closely associated with high performance and retention are graphically indicated based on the latest data accumulated up to that point . fig1 illustrates a sample report that shows the correlation between survey questions / competencies and performance of hired candidates . as shown , the report includes raw correlation scores and corresponding ratings . for example , question 3 has a raw score of 4 . 7 and a “ very high ” rating . these reports can be used by the hiring manager to continuously improve the survey . for example , the hiring manager can choose to delete the two questions that have the lowest correlation to the performance data and add two new questions from the competency area that has the highest correlation to the performance data . in the example shown , the two lowest scoring questions are questions 1 and 2 , and the competency area having the highest score of 4 . 66 is “ teamwork ”. once step 132 is executed , control passes to step 128 where the computer waits a programmable amount of time usually 6 to 15 months to repeat the steps 130 to 132 to continuously monitor the performance of the job candidates that have been hired in order to continuously improve the survey questions and competency categories . application of the principles of the present invention are many . for example , principles of the survey selection , collection of responses and analysis of the responses can be used to evaluate a large number of vendors who supply products and services to a company through a group of buyers working for the company . the buyers for the company are acting as “ reference providers ”. a sample vendor report as shown in fig1 a - 15b can be used to better manage the large number of vendors . the foregoing specific embodiments represent just some of the ways of practicing the present invention . many other embodiments are possible within the spirit of the invention . accordingly , the scope of the invention is not limited to the foregoing specification , but instead is given by the appended claims along with their full range of equivalents . | 6 |
the first preferred embodiment of a clutchless variable displacement type compressor according to the present invention will now be described with reference to fig1 through 3 . the compressor is generally designated by numeral 10 . the left side and the right side of the compressor 10 as viewed in fig1 correspond to the front side and the rear side thereof . as shown in fig1 , the compressor 10 includes a cylinder block 11 and a front housing 12 connected to the front end of the cylinder block 11 . a rear housing 13 is connected to the rear end of the cylinder block 11 through a valve plate 14 , valve forming plates 15 , 16 and a retainer forming plate 17 . the cylinder block 11 , the front housing 12 and the rear housing 13 cooperate to form the entire housing of the variable displacement type compressor 10 . the front housing 12 and the cylinder block 11 define therebetween a pressure control chamber 121 . a rotary shaft 18 is rotatably supported by the front housing 12 and the cylinder block 11 through radial bearings 19 , 20 . part of the rotary shaft 18 extending out of the pressure control chamber 121 is connected to an external drive source e ( not shown ), e . g . a vehicle engine , and receives a rotational drive force therefrom . a lug plate 21 is secured to the rotary shaft 18 . a swash plate 22 is supported by the rotary shaft 18 in facing relation to the lug plate 21 so as to be slidable in and inclinable relative to the axial direction of the rotary shaft 18 . the lug plate 21 has formed therethrough a pair of guide holes 211 . a pair of guide pins 23 are provided on the swash plate 22 and slidably fitted in the paired guide holes 211 , respectively . the guide holes 211 and the guide pins 23 cooperate to allow the swash plate 22 to incline relative to the axis of the rotary shaft 18 and rotate with the rotary shaft 18 . the inclination of the swash plate 22 is guided by the guide pins 23 slidably fitted in the guide holes 211 and the rotary shaft 18 slidably supporting the swash plate 23 . as the center of the swash plate 22 moves toward the lug plate 21 , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 increases . the maximum inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is restricted by the contact between the swash plate 22 and the lug plate 21 . the swash plate 22 shown by solid line in fig1 is positioned at the minimum inclination angle . the swash plate 22 shown by chain double - dashed line in fig1 is positioned at the maximum inclination angle . the minimum inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is set slightly larger than 0 °. the cylinder block 11 has formed therethrough a plurality of cylinder bores 111 and a piston 24 is slidably received in each cylinder bore 111 . rotation of the swash plate 22 is converted to reciprocation of each piston 24 in its cylinder bore 111 through a pair of shoes 25 . the rear housing 13 has formed therein a suction chamber 131 as a suction - pressure region and a discharge chamber 132 as a discharge - pressure region . the valve plate 14 , the valve forming plate 16 and the retainer forming plate 17 have formed therethrough a suction port 26 . similarly , the valve plate 14 and the valve forming plate 15 have formed therethrough a discharge port 27 . the valve forming plate 15 has formed therein a suction valve 151 and the valve forming plate 16 has formed therein a discharge valve 161 , respectively . the cylinder bore 111 , the valve forming plate 15 and the piston 24 cooperate to define a compression chamber 112 in the cylinder block 11 . refrigerant gas in the suction chamber 131 is drawn into the compression chamber 112 through the suction port 26 while pushing open the suction valve 151 as the piston 24 moves toward the bottom dead center or leftward in fig1 . the refrigerant gas flowed into the compression chamber 112 is compressed and then discharged into the discharge chamber 132 through the discharge port 27 while pushing open the discharge valve 161 as the piston 24 moves toward the top dead center or rightward in fig1 . the discharge valve 161 is brought into contact with a retainer 171 of the retainer forming plate 17 , thus the opening degree of the discharge valve 161 being restricted . when the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 is decreased , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is increased and the displacement of the variable displacement type compressor is increased , accordingly . on the other hand , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is decreased with an increase of the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 and the displacement of the variable displacement type compressor is decreased , accordingly . the suction chamber 131 is connected with the discharge chamber 132 through an external refrigerant circuit 28 . the external refrigerant circuit 28 includes a condenser 29 for removing heat from the compressed refrigerant gas , an expansion valve 30 and an evaporator 31 for transferring ambient heat to the refrigerant . the expansion valve 30 is a temperature - sensitive valve operable to control the flow rate of refrigerant in accordance with the temperature of the refrigerant at the outlet of the evaporator 31 . a stop device is provided between the discharge chamber 132 and the external refrigerant circuit 28 . when the stop device is opened , the refrigerant gas in the discharge chamber 132 flows out to the external refrigerant circuit 28 and returns to the suction chamber 131 . as shown in fig2 , an electromagnetic first control valve 33 , a second control valve 34 and a check valve 35 are disposed in the rear housing 13 . the first control valve 33 has a solenoid 39 having a fixed core 40 which is energized by an electric current supplied to a coil 41 of the solenoid 39 thereby to attract a movable core 42 toward the fixed core 40 . the electromagnetic force of the solenoid 39 urges a valve body 37 in the direction to close a valve hole 38 against the spring force of a spring 43 . supply of electric current to the solenoid 39 is controlled by a controller c ( duty - ratio controlling being performed in this preferred embodiment ). the first control valve 33 includes a pressure sensing device 36 having therein a bellows 361 , a pressure sensing chamber 362 and a spring 363 . the pressure in the suction chamber 131 ( or suction pressure ) is applied to the bellows 361 through a suction pressure passage 44 and the pressure sensing chamber 362 . the valve body 37 is connected to the bellows 361 . the pressure in the bellows 361 and the spring force of the spring 363 urge the valve body 37 in the direction which causes the valve hole 38 to be opened a valve chamber 50 is formed in the first control valve 33 in communication with the valve hole 38 and also with the discharge chamber 132 through a first supply passage 51 . the second control valve 34 includes a valve housing 45 having therein a valve body 46 and a valve spring 47 urging the valve body 46 . the valve housing 45 includes a disc - shaped end wall 48 and a peripheral wall 49 integrally formed with the end wall 48 . the end of the peripheral wall 49 located remote from the end wall 48 is connected to the retainer forming plate 17 . the valve body 46 includes a disc - shaped base portion 461 , a cylindrical sliding portion 462 integrally formed with the base portion 461 at the peripheral portion thereof and a pillar - shaped contact portion 463 integrally formed with the base portion 461 and extending from the center of the base portion 461 towards the retainer forming plate 17 . the valve body 46 is fitted in the valve housing 45 so that the sliding portion 462 is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral wall 49 of the valve housing 45 . the interior of the valve housing 45 is divided by the valve body 46 into a back pressure chamber 451 and a second control valve chamber 452 . the contact portion 463 of the valve body 46 is contactable at the distal end surface thereof with the retainer forming plate 17 . the end surface of the sliding portion 462 adjacent to the base portion 461 thereof is contactable with the end wall 48 of the valve housing 45 . the valve spring 47 is interposed between the retainer forming plate 17 and the base portion 461 . the valve spring urges the valve body 46 towards the back pressure chamber 451 . the back pressure chamber 451 communicates with the valve hole 38 of the first control valve 33 through a second supply passage 52 . the peripheral wall 49 of the valve housing 45 has formed therethrough a communication hole 492 which is opened and closed by the sliding portion 462 of the valve body 46 . the second control valve chamber 452 communicates with the pressure control chamber 121 through a second throttle passage 53 formed through the retainer forming plate 17 , the valve plate 14 and the valve forming plate 15 , 16 and through a second bleed passage 54 formed through the cylinder block 11 . the second control valve chamber 452 communicates also with the suction chamber 131 through a bleed hole 491 formed through the peripheral wall 49 of the valve housing 45 . when the contact portion 463 of the valve body 46 is in contact with the retainer forming plate 17 as a valve seat defining the second control valve chamber 452 , the second throttle passage 53 is closed thereby to block the fluid communication between the pressure control chamber 121 and the second control valve chamber 452 . the second bleed passage 54 , the second throttle passage 53 , the second control valve chamber 452 and the bleed hole 491 cooperate to form a second release passage 55 between the pressure control chamber 121 and the suction chamber 131 . as shown in fig1 , the pressure control chamber 121 communicates with the suction chamber 131 through a first bleed passage 56 formed through the cylinder block 11 and a first throttle passage 57 formed through the retainer forming plate 17 , the valve plate 14 and valve forming plates 15 , 16 . the first bleed passage 56 and the first throttle passage 57 serve as the first release passage 58 providing constant refrigerant gas communication between the pressure control chamber 121 and the suction chamber 131 . the second release passage 55 and the first release passage 58 are arranged in parallel relation to each other . as shown in fig2 , the check valve 35 includes a check valve housing 59 having therein a check valve body 60 and a check valve spring 61 urging the check valve body 60 in the direction to close a check valve hole 591 formed in the housing 59 . the check valve hole 591 communicates with the communication hole 492 of the second control valve 34 through a third supply passage 62 . when the second throttle passage 53 is closed by the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 , the communication hole 492 is opened by the sliding portion 462 of the valve body 46 , thus allowing the communication between the back pressure chamber 451 and the check valve hole 591 . a check valve chamber 592 is formed in the check valve 35 which communicates with the pressure control chamber 121 through a fourth supply passage 63 formed through the retainer forming plate 17 , the valve plate 14 , valve forming plates 15 , 16 and the cylinder block 11 . the first supply passage 51 , the second supply passage 52 and the fourth supply passage 63 form a part of a supply passage 64 for supplying refrigerant gas from the discharge chamber 132 to the pressure control chamber 121 . the controller c operable to control the operation of the solenoid 39 of the first control valve 33 ( by duty ratio ) supplies electric current to the solenoid 39 when the air conditioning switch 65 is turned on and stops supplying the electric current when the air conditioning switch 65 is turned off . the controller c is electrically connected to a room temperature setting device 66 and a room temperature detector 67 . with the air conditioning switch 65 turned on the controller c controls the electric current supplied to the solenoid 39 based on the temperature difference between a target temperature set by the room temperature setting device 66 and the actual temperature detected by the room temperature detector 67 . the opening and closing of the valve hole 38 of the first control valve 33 , i . e . the degree of valve opening in the first control valve 33 , depends on the balance among various forces such as the electromagnetic force generated by the solenoid 39 , the spring force of the spring 43 and the urging force of the pressure sensing device 36 . the degree of valve opening in the first control valve 33 can be continuously adjusted by changing the electromagnetic force . specifically , as the electromagnetic force increases , the degree of valve opening in the first control valve 33 decreases . furthermore , as the suction pressure in the suction chamber 131 increases , the degree of valve opening in the first control valve 33 decreases . thus the first control valve 33 is operable to adjust the cross - sectional area of the supply passage from the discharge - pressure region to the pressure control chamber 121 . on the other hand , as the suction pressure in the suction chamber 131 decreases , the degree of valve opening in the first control valve 33 increases . the first control valve 33 controls suction pressure to a set pressure in accordance with the electromagnetic force . fig2 shows the state of the compressor in which with the air conditioning switch 65 turned off , supplying of electric current to the solenoid 39 is stopped ( duty ratio = 0 ), so that the degree of valve opening in the first control chamber 33 is the maximum . in this state , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is the minimum that is slightly larger than 0 ° and , therefore , refrigerant gas is being discharged from the cylinder bore 111 to the discharge chamber 132 . it is so arranged that the stop device 32 is closed thereby to stop the circulation of refrigerant in the external refrigerant circuit 28 when the swash plate 22 is at the minimum inclination angle . part of the refrigerant gas discharged from the cylinder bore 111 to the discharge chamber 132 flows into the back pressure chamber 451 in the second control valve 34 through the valve hole 38 in the first control valve 33 . the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is moved by the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 so as to close the second throttle passage 53 . refrigerant gas in the back pressure chamber 451 flows into the check valve chamber 592 through the communication hole 492 , the third supply passage 62 and the check valve hole 591 of the check valve 35 while pushing open the check valve body 60 . thus the refrigerant gas flows into the pressure control chamber 121 through the fourth supply passage 63 . in other words , part of the refrigerant gas in the discharge chamber 132 flows into the pressure control chamber 121 through the supply passage 64 . refrigerant gas in the pressure control chamber 121 flows out thereof through the first release passage 58 and is drawn into the suction chamber 131 and then into the cylinder bore 111 to be compressed . refrigerant gas compressed is discharged into the discharge chamber 132 . the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is minimum in the state of fig2 and the variable displacement type compressor 10 operates under the minimum displacement . in this state , since the stop device 32 is closed , no circulation of refrigerant gas occurs in the external refrigerant circuit 28 . fig3 shows the state in which with the air conditioning switch 65 turned on , supplying of electric current to the solenoid 39 is maximum ( duty ratio = 1 ) thereby to close the valve opening in the first control valve 33 . unless the variable displacement type compressor 10 operates under the minimum displacement ( unless the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is minimum ), the stop device 32 is opened and the refrigerant circulates in the external refrigerant circuit 28 . when the valve opening of the first control valve 33 is zero ( when the valve hole 38 is closed ), no refrigerant gas in the discharge chamber 132 flows into the back pressure chamber 451 of the second control valve 34 through the supply passage 64 . accordingly , the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is positioned so as to open the second throttle passage 53 and also to close the communication hole 492 by the resultant force of the pressure ( or suction pressure ) in the second control valve chamber 452 in communication with the suction chamber 131 and the spring force of the valve spring 47 . the check valve body 60 is positioned so as to close the check valve hole 591 by the spring force of the check valve spring 61 . in the state of fig3 , the supply passage 64 is closed and no refrigerant gas in the discharge chamber 132 flows into the pressure control chamber 121 through the supply passage 64 . also , since the second release passage 55 is opened , the refrigerant gas in the pressure control chamber 121 flows out to the suction chamber 131 through both the first release passage 58 and the second release passage 55 . in this state , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 is maximum and , therefore , the variable displacement type compressor 10 is operated under the maximum displacement . when the air conditioning switch is turned on and the electric current supplied to the solenoid 39 of the first control valve 33 is neither 0 nor maximum ( duty ratio being more than 0 but less than 1 ), refrigerant gas flows from the discharge chamber 132 to the back pressure chamber 451 of the second control valve 34 . accordingly , the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is positioned so as to close the second throttle passage 53 thereby to close the second release passage 55 . namely , refrigerant gas in the pressure control chamber 121 flows to the suction chamber 131 through the first release passage 58 , and the refrigerant gas flowed from the discharge chamber 132 to the back pressure chamber 451 flows into the pressure control chamber 121 through the check valve 35 . in this state , the inclination angle of the swash plate 22 becomes more than the minimum so that the suction pressure becomes the pressure set in accordance with the duty ratio , so that the variable displacement type compressor 10 is operated under the intermediate displacement . when the first control valve 33 changes from the closed state shown in fig3 to the opened state , the pressure in the discharge chamber 132 propagates to the back pressure chamber 451 thereby to change the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 from the opened state shown in fig3 to the closed state shown in fig2 . in this case , after the valve body 46 closes the second throttle passage 53 , the check valve 35 opens . thus , the relation between the timing of closing the second control valve 34 and the timing of opening the check valve 35 is set so that the check valve 35 is opened after the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is closed in response to the pressure change taking place in the back pressure chamber 451 when the first control valve 33 changes from the closed state to the opened state . when the first control valve 33 changes from the opened state to the closed state shown in fig3 , the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 decreases and the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is moved from the closed position shown in fig2 to the opened position accordingly . ( 1 ) when the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 is in the closed position thereby to close the second release passage 55 , the valve body 46 is urged by the resultant force of the pressure in the second control valve chamber 46 and the spring force of the valve spring 47 toward the position where the second release passage 55 is opened by the valve body 46 . on the other hand , the valve body 46 is urged by the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 ( part of the supply passage 64 ) located downstream of the first control valve 33 toward the opposite position where the second release passage 55 is closed by the valve body 46 . when the valve body 46 closes the second release passage 55 , the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 is substantially the same as the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 because the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 propagates through the fourth supply passage 63 into the back pressure chamber 451 located downstream of the first control valve 33 with a throttle function . on the other hand , since the second control valve chamber 452 communicates with the suction chamber 131 through the bleed hole 491 , the pressure in the second control valve chamber 452 is substantially the same as the suction pressure . that is , in the compressor operation under an intermediate displacement , the differential pressure between the second control valve chamber 452 and the back pressure chamber 451 across the valve body 46 is substantially the same as the differential pressure between the suction pressure and the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 . as compared with the case of the japanese patent application publication no . 2002 - 21721 , the differential pressure between the second control valve chamber 452 ( suction pressure ) and the back pressure chamber 451 ( control pressure ) is higher than that in the case of the above prior art [ the differential pressure between the pressure in the back pressure chamber ( corresponding to the control pressure ) and the pressure in the cylindrical space ( control pressure )]. the structure according to which the differential pressure between the second control valve chamber 452 and the back pressure chamber 451 can be increased over the prior art enables the spring force of the valve spring 47 to increase . such increased spring force of the valve spring 47 permits the valve body 46 to move from the closed position to the opened position more reliably even if any foreign matters enter into a clearance between the peripheral wall 49 of the valve housing 45 and the sliding portion 462 . this contributes to rapid release of refrigerant gas in the pressure control chamber 121 into the suction chamber 131 at a start - up of the compressor . ( 2 ) since the second release passage 55 is closed during the compressor operation under an intermediate displacement , the cross - sectional area of the second throttle passage 53 forming a part of the second release passage 55 can be made relatively larger in light of the operating efficiency . this also contributes to rapid release of refrigerant gas from the pressure control chamber 121 into the suction chamber 131 at a start - up of the compressor . since the first release passage 58 is always opened ( is kept opened ), refrigerant gas in the pressure control chamber 121 flows out to the suction chamber 131 through the first release passage 58 during the operation under an intermediate displacement . the cross - sectional area of the first throttle passage 57 forming a part of the first release passage 58 can be made as small as possible thereby to decrease the amount of refrigerant gas flowing from the pressure control chamber 121 to the suction chamber 131 within the range where smooth compressor operation under an intermediate displacement is achievable without affecting its operation efficiency . in other words , the amount of the refrigerant gas compressed in the discharge chamber 132 and returning to the suction chamber 131 through the pressure control chamber 121 can be reduced for improvement of the operating efficiency . ( 3 ) when the first control valve 33 changes from the opened state to the closed state during the intermediate displacement operation under a high discharge pressure , the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 may not decrease as desired due to the leakage of refrigerant gas from the cylinder bore 111 to the pressure control chamber 121 . if the pressure which fails to decrease in the pressure control chamber 121 is propagated into the back pressure chamber 451 through the supply passage 64 , the resultant force of the suction pressure in the second control valve chamber 452 and the spring force of the valve spring 47 may not exceed the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 with the result that the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 may fail to move from the closed position to the opened position . the check valve 35 is provided to prevent the pressure failing to be decreased in the pressure control chamber 121 from being propagated into the back pressure chamber 451 . therefore , when the first control valve 33 changes from the opened state to the closed state , the valve body 46 of the second control chamber 34 moves from the closed position to the opened position more reliably . ( 4 ) if the check valve 35 opens before the valve body 46 closes the second throttle passage 53 , the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 is propagated into the back pressure chamber 451 before the valve body 46 closes the second throttle passage 53 , so that the pressure in the back pressure chamber 451 becomes substantially the same as the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 . as a result , the valve body 46 may be stopped on its way between the opened position and the closed position before reaching the closed position . the check valve 35 is opened after the valve body 46 of the second control valve 34 has been moved to the closed position . therefore , the pressure in the pressure control chamber 121 will not propagate into the back pressure chamber 451 and the pressure in back pressure chamber 451 remains the pressure of the discharge - pressure region of the compressor before the valve body 46 closes the second throttle passage 53 . thus , the valve body 46 is moved by the pressure of the discharge - pressure region in the back pressure chamber 451 to the position to close the second throttle passage 53 . the present invention may be embodied in various ways as exemplified below . as shown in fig4 , the third supply passage 62 of the check valve 35 may be connected to the second supply passage 52 between the first control valve 33 and the second control valve 34 . according to this embodiment , the same advantageous effects as those in the first preferred embodiment are obtained . the check valve 35 in the first preferred embodiment may be dispensed with . in this case , the same advantageous effects as ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) in the first preferred embodiment ( the advantageous effects ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) of the first preferred embodiment ) are obtained . a control valve having a pressure sensing device and operable to adjust the opening degree of its valve body in accordance with the differential pressure between two different points in the discharge - pressure region of the compressor may be used as the first control valve 33 . in other words , any control valve that is operable to increase the opening degree of its valve body with an increase of the refrigerant flow rate in the discharge - pressure region and to decrease the opening degree with a decrease of the refrigerant flow rate in the discharge - pressure region may be used as the first control valve 33 . the first control valve 33 , the second control valve 34 and the check valve 35 may be arranged outside the housing of the variable displacement type compressor and these three valves may be arranged in communication with the suction chamber and the discharge chamber in the variable displacement type compressor through any suitable conduits . the present invention may be applied to a variable displacement type compressor receiving power from an external drive source through a clutch . with the clutch engaged in such variable displacement type compressor , the refrigerant circulates in the external refrigerant circuit even during operation under the minimum displacement . with the clutch disengaged , the circulation of refrigerant in the external refrigerant circuit is stopped . | 5 |
the foregoing effects were substantiated by the following examples of the invention wherein ball bearings were used . ( 1 ) high elastic limit since the ring is subjected locally to a high contact stress . ( 2 ) great rolling fatigue strength since a high contact load is repeatedly applied to the ring . ( 3 ) high hardness . ( 4 ) high abrasion resistance . ( 5 ) least susceptibility to secular changes . ( 6 ) amenability to heat treatment with high stability . accordingly , generally used are high - carbon chromium bearing steels such as jis suj1 , suj2 ( equivalent to sae52100 ), suj3 , suj4 and suj5 , and carburized bearing steels such as jis scr415 , scr420 , scm420 , sncm220 , sncm420 and sncm815 , sae5120 , sae8620 , sae4320 and sae9310 , among which suj2 is most widely used . five kinds of specimens were prepared in comparative example 1 and examples 1 to 4 as listed in table 1 to substantiate the effects . the residual austenite content was determined by x - ray diffractiometry at a position 0 . 1 mm radially outward from the outer ring raceway . as a reference for comparing the effects , an existing bearing was used . the outer ring was made of suj2 and heated at a temperature of 845 ° c . for hardening . after hardening in oil , the ring was tempered at 180 ° c . the outer ring was made of suj2 as in comparative example 1 . the ring was heated at 845 ° c . for hardening , quenched in oil and tempered at 350 ° c . the outer ring was prepared from suj2 as in comparative example 1 . the ring was heated at 845 ° c . for hardening , quenched in oil , then subjected to a sub - zero treatment at − 70 ° c . and thereafter tempered at 200 ° c . the outer ring was prepared from sae5120 , subjected to carburization hardening , then immersed in liquid nitrogen (− 196 ° c .) and thereafter tempered at 210 ° c . the outer ring was prepared from sae5120 , subjected to carburization hardening and then to a subzero treatment at − 60 ° c . and thereafter tempered at 200 ° c . the sub - zero treatment affords higher hardness and lower toughness , so that the ring was subsequently tempered at a higher temperature than in the usual tempering process to give the ring the same hardness as when no sub - zero treatment was conducted . fig2 shows the relationship between the tempering temperature of the sub - zero treated product and the surface hardness thereof . a tester having the specimen installed therein was placed on a vibrating table , and the specimen was subjected to a vibration test by applying a load and vibration thereto at the same time with the inner ring held in rotation . the testing conditions were as follows . each specimen was checked for the degree of fatigue in terms of the time taken for flaking . table 2 shows the result . since the specimens exhibited no abnormalities except for the outer ring , the result is given only for the outer ring . in comparative example 1 , many cracks and structural changes were observed immediately under the raceway of the outer ring after testing , whereas neither cracking nor structural change was found in examples 1 and 3 . only a slight structural change was observed in examples 2 and 4 . during the testing , the bearing before flaking was removed from the tester and was singly subjected to an axial load of 2 . 5 kgf with the inner ring rotated at 1800 r . p . m . to measure variations with time in the vibration acceleration of the outer side of the bearing . table 3 shows the result . the result reveals that the vibration increased markedly in comparative example 1 within a short period of time before flaking , indicating a marked deformation of the raceway . in examples 1 to 4 , unlike comparative example 1 , there was little or no increase in vibration even after a prolonged period of rotation test , this indicating that the raceway remained unchanged despite the testing . tables 2 and 3 show that the bearings of examples 1 to 4 of the invention are greatly improved in life over the existing bearing of comparative example 1 . incidentally , the existing bearing of comparative example 1 was installed in the tester in the same manner as above and tested for rotation under a static load without giving any vibration using the same conditions as above in respect of the bearing load and the speed of inner ring . even after rotation for 1500 hours , the bearing was free of flaking with no cracking or structural change observed immediately under the raceway . this indicates that the bearing is operable without any trouble under the usual conditions . next , the result achieved by an alternator will be described to substantiate the effects of the invention . fig3 shows the construction of the alternator . a pair of frames 10 and 11 forming the shell of the alternator are each in the form of a bowl and are fastened to each other with bolts and nuts . a stator 12 is fixedly fitted to the inner peripheries of these frames 10 and 11 by a suitable method , as by a press fit . the stator 12 is a known one comprising a stator core 12 a and a stator coil 12 b wound around the core . the frames 10 , 11 are centrally formed with hollow cylindrical bearing boxes 10 a , 11 a , respectively , projecting inward . radial ball bearings 13 , 14 are mounted in the boxes 10 a , 11 a , respectively , and rotatably support a rotary shaft 15 thereon . a pair of pawl - shaped pole cores 16 a , 16 b are mechanically fixed to the shaft 15 so as to be positioned inside the stator 12 . a rotor coil 17 is clamped between these cores . the shaft 15 , pole cores 16 a , 16 b and rotor coil 17 provide a known rotor 18 . between the first bearing 13 and the pole core 16 a of the rotor 18 , a collar 19 is fitted around the shaft 15 . a pulley 20 positioned outside the frames 10 , 11 is fastened with a nut 21 to the end of the shaft 15 projecting through the first bearing 13 out of the frame 10 . the shaft 15 is rotatable by an engine ( not shown ) through the pulley 20 . of the inner rings and the outer rings of the pair of bearings 13 , 14 , at least the outer ring of the bearing 13 adjacent to the pulley 20 is made of a steel which is up to 10 % in the amount of residual austenite . the residual austenite content is reduced to not higher than 10 % by the method already stated . fig5 shows the relationship between the amount of residual austenite and the force of rolling friction . the ratio of rolling frictional force plotted in fig5 is 1 when the amount of residual austenite is 10 % in the case where the contact surface pressure is 250 kgf / mm 2 . fig4 shows the relationship between the amount of residual austenite and the proof stress . the proof stress plotted in fig4 is at the strain of 5 × 10 − 6 . austenite is a structure of lower proof stress than martensite , so that the raceway subjected to a load when the balls roll along , if having a high austenite content , deforms to cause the balls to roll along a recess to produce an increased frictional force . conversely , a reduction in the austenite content inhibits heat generation within the bearing due to the high - speed operation of the alterator under high tension , assuring improved endurance against seizure . further in the presence of a large amount of residual austenite , an increased load due to high tension renders the raceway liable to plastic deformation , with the result that vibration occurs every time the balls roll along an unevenly recessed portion during rotation . when the alternator is driven at a high speed , the vibration becomes more pronounced , possibly causing the rotor to interfere with the stator to result in locking . it is effective to reduce the residual austenite content to preclude such plastic deformation . to substantiate the above effect achieved by reducing the residual austenite content , examples are given below wherein radial ball bearings were used . first , four kinds of specimens were prepared in comparative example 2 and examples 5 to 7 as bearings toward the pulley of the alternator , using the material given in table 4 for the inner and outer rings . specimens were also prepared as the bearings on the other side ( rear side ) using the same material as in comparative example 2 for the inner and outer rings . as a reference for the comparison of the effect , an existing bearing was used which was prepared from suj2 generally in use as a bearing material . the hardening heating temperature was 845 ° c . oil hardening was followed by tempering at 180 ° c . the material used was suj2 as in comparative example 2 . heating at 845 ° c . for hardening was followed by oil quenching and then by tempering at 350 ° c . the material used was suj2 as in comparative example 2 . heating at 845 ° c . for hardening was followed by oil quenching , then by a sub - zero treatment at − 60 ° c . and thereafter by tempering at 200 ° c . the material used was suj2 as in comparative example 2 . heating at 845 ° c . for hardening was followed by oil quenching , then by a sub - zero treatment at − 196 ° c . and thereafter by tempering at 200 ° c . the residual austenite content was determined by x - ray diffractiometry over the depth of 0 . 2 mm from the bearing raceway radially outward thereof . the bearing on the pulley side was of the size being no . 6302 ( 42 mm in outside diameter ), and the bearing on the rear side was of the size bearing no . 6002 ( 32 mm in outside diameter ). each pair of specimens was incorporated into an alternator and subjected to a high - speed high - tension test under the following conditions . a failure occurred only in comparative example 2 . more specifically , the failure was seizure involving carbonization of the grease and marked discoloration of the inner and outer rings and the balls , and the retainer was broken to lock the rotatable ring . the bearing on the pulley side only failed because this bearing , which is close to the pulley , is subjected to a greater momental load and therefore heated to a higher temperature than the other bearing on the rear side . although no failure occurred in examples 5 to 7 , the grease was checked for oxidation deterioration by infra - red spectroscopic analysis , which revealed almost no deterioration in examples 5 and 7 but deterioration proceeding in example 6 only . in comparative example 2 , the temperature of the inner and outer rings was measured under the testing conditions to find that the outer ring was 8 to 12 ° c . higher than the inner ring in temperature . this indicates the following . the inner ring is connected to the rotor , which is driven at a higher speed then conventionally and is therefore fully self - cooled by a fan effect to lower the temperature of the inner ring to a level lower than in the prior art , whereas the outer ring is mounted on the frames having attached thereto the stator which evolves a larger amount of heat due to a higher output , with the result that a larger amount of heat is transferred from the stator to the outer ring to result in a higher temperature than conventionally . for illustrative purposes , fig6 shows the result obtained by measuring variations in the vibration level with the lapse of testing time by a vibration acceleration sensor attached to the frame . although the specimens tested were found free of the failure that the rotor interferes with the stator to lock the rotatable ring . comparative example 2 exhibited a higher vibration level . presumably , this indicates that the higher residual austenite content leads to greater plastic deformation . thus , when incorporating the bearings of examples 5 to 7 containing a reduced amount of residual austenite , the alternator can be adapted for a high - speed operation under increased tension . incidentally , the conventional bearings for use in precision machines or devices or the like include those subjected to the sub - zero treatment in order to inhibit the dimensional variations due to the decomposition of austenite . according to the present invention , on the other band , attention is directed not to such dimensional stability but to the characteristics of residual austenite per se to provide the combination of an alternator and a bearing which contains a reduced amount of residual austenite so as to exhibit outstanding performance in an environment involving vibration or impact . consequently , the invention achieves the entirely novel effect of making the alternator smaller in size , lower in weight and higher in output . carburized materials such as sae5120 are usable for the present bearing to conduct the sub - zero treatment after carburization hardening . in this case , unlike the use of suj2 , additional compressive residual stress is available which is advantageous to fatigue life . accordingly , such materials are useful for assuring higher tension for rotation at a further increased speed as will be apparent from the result of examples 3 and 4 listed in table 2 and achieved with the ball bearings . | 7 |
the process according to the invention is shown in fig1 and designated generally by the reference numeral 10 . the process includes the steps of mixing a mixture 14 in step 12 which comprises any one of the mixtures shown generally by the designations &# 34 ; mixture # 1 ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; mixture # 2 ,&# 34 ; or &# 34 ; mixture # 3 &# 34 ; in blocks 14 , 16 , and 18 . preferred and representative mixtures for practicing the invention will be discussed later in this specification . the mixture 14 or 16 is applied to a vehicle 20 in an applying step 22 . the mixture 14 so applied to the vehicle 20 is partially removed and the alcohol partly evaporated in step 24 of removing by a suitable removal device , a representative removal device being designated generally by the block 28 . following the step 24 of removing the applied mixture 14 or 16 from the surface of the vehicle 20 , the surface is polished in a polishing step 26 . the selection of solutions 14 and 16 are choices where the mixture 16 is used during very cold weather and the mixture 14 is during warmer periods . solution 16 can be used effectively as a general cleaner and polisher in the household but also can substitute for use on vehicles during colder weather . in the step of removing the applied liquid , it is wiped over the area in quick succession to take advantage of the alcohol and ammonia present and in the state of evaporating . this wiping or buffing action smooths the &# 34 ; hills &# 34 ; in the wax formation because the alcohol has softened and partially liquified the wax on the surface . in the final action of polishing the wax haze with a dry paper towel pad , the action is completed . wax on the surface even if liquified by the alcohol remains on the surface because the towel is wet with water , the two no longer being saponified in the solution . a suitable mixture having the essential components for performing the process as representatively shown as mixture # 1 in block 14 is a mixture of 11 / 2 ounces of ammonia and 10 ounces of water and 4 ounces of isopropyl alcohol ( 70 % by volume ) to which may be optionally added a suitable quantity of a surface wax to the vehicle , such as commercial wax , the solution being an excellent dispersant . this proposed mixture varies from a typical mixture of ammonia and water for general cleaning purposes such as called for in the commercial grade parsons ammonia of 4 ounces of ammonia per gallon of water . thus , the ammonia content of the applicant &# 39 ; s solution is substantially increased over a typical commercial recommendation . such an increased concentration of ammonia , in combination with alcohol , has proved suitable for removal of a major contaminant of deposits on automotive body surfaces caused by petroleum - based products such as oils , asphalts , rubber , and vehicle emission products . as is known , rotating wheels of vehicles , for example , throw these products into the turbulent stream of air surrounding the vehicle on a roadway and dirt products containing such quantities of ground petroleum products are themselves deposited in a film which accumulates on the surface of a vehicle . the presence of alcohol not only serves to assist in dissolving the accumulated and deposited petroleum products , it also inhibits freezing if the mixture , for example , in kit form , is stored in a below - freezing atmosphere . the alcohol , it has been observed , serves mainly to soften or liquify the wax present on the surface thus releasing any contaminants from the wax for removal , and also allows levelling of the wax to improve its glossy appearance . mixture 18 (# 3 ) is a highly volatile solution that is particularly succesful in cleaning and polishing brass , chrome , glass , and mirrors and all dense , hard surfaces . too volatile for vehicles , it is an instant polisher of all waxed surfaces and quickly disperses soap curd . its increased volatility does not allow the cleaning capabilities as good as mixture 16 (# 2 ). the application of a mixture without added wax has proved suitable for application to a waxed surface , wherein the wax already present on the surface is smoothed and evened by the process . this application can be repeated many times with successive improvements in the luster until a highest degree of luster is attained . the mixture which contains a wax is suited for both waxed and unwaxed surfaces to achieve a maximum luster . the mixture described above is applied to the surface of the vehicle or other waxable surfaces in the step designated by the reference numeral 22 . preferably , the mixture is sprayed onto a limited area of the entire surface of the vehicle or other waxable surface in a fine mist such as by a commercially - available spray pump and the surface is thereafter wiped dry in the removing step 24 by using a trifold of three highly absorbent paper towels , forming a pad . by these steps 22 and 24 , dirt and particles and wetted dissolved oily products are readily released and captured by the toweling and do not mar the surface , contrary to expectations . visual observation of the products accumulated by a general application of a mixture to a vehicle surface over a period of fifteen months has shown no observable abrasion occurring in the practice of the process . the application of the solution so described , without added wax visually appears to rejuvenate the existing wax surface on a vehicle while at the same time cleaning the surface . visual observation of the paper towel pad used to remove the solution from the vehicle surface indicate blackened deposit areas on the towel , thus evidencing petroleum - based deposits . the step of removing is preferably followed by the step of polishing and levelling of the wax . preferably , polishing consists of using a clean , dry , paper towel pad with a wiping action promptly after the liquid has evaporated and the surface wax appears hazy . this is the final buffing to the finish and results in an improved luster because of the levelling action . successive applications will improve the luster on each step to a point of perfection as allowed by the surface imperfections beneath the wax . it should be considered that &# 34 ; scratching &# 34 ; of the waxed surface caused by grit being drawn across the surface by handpower is actually in the form of abrasive marks induced on the waxed surface . the momentary liquification of that wax by the mixture according to the invention and excited by the wiping motion deters the incidence of abrasion of the wax surface because of the lubricity and the reposturing of the wax filling new voids instantly . the application of the process shown in fig1 for a compact car with an otherwise well - maintained finish requires about five minutes to completely dry clean and polish using the process with about 1 / 3 of an ounce or less of solution and the use of about two highly absorbent 2 - ply paper towels pads . thus , significant cost savings occur , while proving convenient in practicing the procedure . the application also improves the surface of the vehicle to a point where one finds that the usual dirt , grime and dust are greatly diminished therefore speeding up the process of cleaning . in one test , it only required less than four minutes to complete with a total expenditure of 1 / 4 ounce of liquid . another aspect of the invention relates to a provision of a mixture produced in accordance with the mixing step 12 shown in fig1 in a kit designated generally by the reference numeral 40 . the kit 40 includes the solution 14 or 16 , and a supply of paper towel pads 28 and 42 , in a convenient carrying case . the kit 40 , within the confines of a small space , provides all of the ingredients necessary for a vehicle owner or user to dry clean and polish a vehicle at a site convenient to him . for example , the vehicle could be cleaned and polished in a matter of minutes while waiting at a parking lot for a spouse , while pinned in traffic , or attended to commercially as an adjunct to commercial parking lots for a nominal fee . the cost of the ingredients is nominal , while the procedure is ecologically sound in that the residue of paper towels is easily incinerated . as representative examples of the mixtures produced according to the invention , the following are provided : 11 / 2 ounces of commercially available ammonia , available under the parsons brand name , were mixed with 4 ounces of isopropyl alcohol ( 70 % by volume ) and 10 ounces of water . such a solution contained twice the recommended content of the ammonia mixture commercially available as a starting solution , which the manufacturer recommended as 1 ounce per quart of water . such a solution was applied by spraying in accordance with the teachings of this invention and by a highly absorbent paper towel pad , commercially available under the brand name bounty , a highly absorbent pad of three 2 - ply , 11 &# 34 ;× 11 &# 34 ; paper towels . the mixture was applied by a commercially available spray mist bottle , such as that utilized for the application of windex brand cleaner in controlled amounts , wherein the application varied in accordance with the quantity of residue to be removed . for example , heavier deposits of petroleum - based grime near the base of the vehicle and near the wheel wells required the application of greater quantities or repeated applications . such a solution was applied to a honda brand compact automobile by applying about 1 / 3 ounce of the solution so mixed spread over the entire surface of the vehicle . the mixture was removed by evaporation and highly absorbent paper towels , such as bounty 11 &# 34 ;× 11 &# 34 ; 2 - ply towels . visual examination of the towels which were used by applying a clean area often during the absorbing process revealed blackened dissolved deposits while the surface so cleaned revealed an absence of petroleum - based grime , even under microscopic visual examination . thus , it is believed that the petroleum - based grime released and absorbed by the mixture , made possible by the alcohol and ammonia to form a solution which is readily picked up by the towel pads . the mixture was applied without the addition of wax to the mixture in accordance with mixture # 1 described above since the compact automobile had been waxed regularly for the prior 9 months . the mixture was applied not only to the painted surface but also to mirrors , wheels , bumpers , and glass surfaces in a period of about 10 minutes . visual examination of the surface revealed an extraordinarily good luster and preservation of the surface , an apparent smoothing of the waxed surface , and an attractive shine . 11 / 2 ounces of commercially available ammonia , available under the parsons brand name , were added to 4 ounces of alcohol ( 70 % by volume ) and 10 ounces of water . the alcohol was isopropyl alcohol , normally used as rubbing alcohol . this alcohol provided an improved product for exposure and evaporation rate , while satisfactorily achieving a high gloss to the surface . this ratio naturally shortened the time required to polish the wax because the alcohol evaporated faster while the water dried more quickly . the following discussion is helpful in understanding a possible explanation for the unexpected results of the invention . theoretical aspects of gloss and polishing involve the reflection of light . with a mirror having a ratio of reflection of unity , it is known that in actual practice even with the most perfect optical mirror , the reflectance will be a fraction smaller than one . optimum reflections ca only be achieved if the surface is smooth , even and free from scratches , otherwise the incident light will be reflected at irregular angles . polishing then is employed to provide s reflecting , glossy surface . polishes are designed to yield a smooth surface by forming a film upon the surface . a shoe , for example , is covered with a film based on the wax which the shoe polish contains . the wax film fills the scratches and equalizes the unevenness , thereby providing a reflecting surface . with auto polishes , a combined cleaning and polishing effect is obtained : first , the dirt and grime are removed by the cleaning action of the polish ( enhanced in most cases by the presence of soaps and other detergents , mild abrasives and by solvents ); second , after the film is intensified by &# 34 ; buffing &# 34 ; with a soft brush and cloth . by mechanical buffing , a different effect is obtained . here the polishing effect is obtained chiefly by the action of abrasives contained in the wax compound . it is not only the cleaning effect of the abrasives which gives a glossy surface to metal or plastics , but also the heat of friction on the surface of the material being polished . this friction melts a thin microlayer to provide a plastic flow of wax on the surface . this molten material closes and fills all scratches and pores and materially levels the wax surface and on cooling gives the high gloss surface film of &# 34 ; buffed &# 34 ; or polishes metals and plastics . the classic work of polishing by sir george beilby shows that the top layer of the polished solid is different in structure from that of underlying layers . the upper layer has lost its obvious crystalline properties and has apparently flowed over the surface bridging the chasms and filling the irregularities in it . the mechanism of the process has been the subject of discussion by the experts for many years . newton , herschel and others considered that polishing was essentially due to abrasion , that is , to gradual wearing away of the surface irregularities ; in beilby &# 39 ; s view , it was due to some surface tension effect . however , the frictional heat generated at the rubbing surfaces may easily raise the temperature to a high level , and this suggests that the local heat - softening or actual melting may play an important part in the polishing process . the surface film formed by plastic flow during polishing is generally of a very thin micro - structure . to summarize the effect of polishing , the smooth surface is obtained either by material from the polishes , e . g ., the wax film formed by the material contained in the polishing compound , as in the case of shoe polish , or by a layer of the polished material itself which is formed by the frictional heat generated during polishing . sometimes combined effects are obtained , e . g ., film formation of the polished material and film formation by the wax base of the polishing material . this is sometimes the case with metal polishes containing abrasives and &# 34 ; high gloss &# 34 ; waxes . carnauba wax contributes greater hardness and solidity to wax compositions to which it has been added . in this way , beeswax , for example , loses its characteristic stickiness when a little carnauba wax is added to it , and the new mixture offers greater resistance to kneading in the warm hand . on milling the carnauba wax with paraffin wax , the later loses its crystalline structure in the same way that beeswax and japan wax lose their conchoidal fracture . the hardness and gloss of carnauba wax render it particularly suitable for application in wax foundations in polishing preparations . carnauba wax can also be worked up with water free creams as well as with water - containing emulsified products . alone , or preferably in mixtures with easily saponifiable waxes and fats , it can fairly well be saponified , as it contains about 45 % of saponifiable matter . by treatment with alkalis , emulsions of varying density result according to the quality of water added . useful emulsions can be achieved simply by boiling the carnauba wax with soap solutions . a typical formula recommended in a carbide & amp ; carbon chemicals co . publication are typical of automobile polishes : ______________________________________ liquid semi - solid______________________________________carnauba wax 10 12beeswax 6 4paraffin wax 2 6stearic acid 7 7triethanolamine -- 2 . 7morphalene 1 . 7 -- water 75 50white spirit 75 50______________________________________ the formula can be adjusted by less water / solvent for a more paste - like consistency . since most polishes contain abrasives such as bentonite , tripoli , kieslguhr , diatomite , fullers earth , china clay , talc , and so forth , these abrasives provide the means to abrade the surface to remove dirt and grime , such as that appears on the cloth used for this task . the action &# 34 ; cleans &# 34 ; the surface leaving some of the grime in the residue on the surface which is picked up by the cloth . this action also levels the wax surface forcibly while the solvents may aid in the placement of new wax on the surface . it is apparent that the wax / water / soap / solvent emulsion ( with other constituents ) is a self - serving composition designed to work in the application scenario and specifically performs in this limited area . some of these above observations are those expressed in &# 34 ; polishes ,&# 34 ; available from crc press . the author of this book failed to point out also that carnauba wax also raises the melting point of other waxes by seeding this capability wherein these mixtures multiply the melting point not commensurate with the addition of carnauba . dura commodities corporation , a leading importer of carnauba wax , publishes a technical data sheet that states that carnauba wax is soluble in boiling alcohol but is sparingly soluble in alcohol at ambient temperatures . the authors of &# 34 ; polishes &# 34 ; point out that &# 34 ; pure carnauba is soluble in alcohol ( boiling ).&# 34 ; on cooling , white crystalline precipitate separates out . carnauba wax is easily soluble in all solvents generally used in polishing waxes . with this information , the following test was also conducted . a sample packet of carnauba wax was obtained in natural form from dura for testing purposes . since it appeared apparent that the plain 3 : 8 : 20 mixture described above does not deplete the wax deposited on a surface ( even when the wax free solution was used fifty times on a refrigerator door without any noticeable depletion of the wax with a great , successive improvement in the gloss attained ), a test procedure was performed to reproduce a cleaning and polishing action on a flake of pure carnauba ( severest test of all waxes ) for 52 successive applications in order to simulate conditions had one applied this treatment for a period of one year at a rate of once a week . before application , the flake was weighed and on completion , weighed again to determine if losses occurred . this does not , however , take into consideration any oxidation losses . this test also was conducted to prove that the alcohol in the solution at ambient temperature fluidizes the microlayer , thus permitting levelling of the wax and thereby improving gloss and simultaneously allowing &# 34 ; dry cleaning &# 34 ; of the existing wax deposits on this micro - layer . the sample flake of carnauba wax was weighed at an apothecary by a pharmacist and found to weigh 454 milligrams . the sample was then subjected to cleaning and polishing operations 52 times in succession . the flake when weighed at first had a dull yellow appearance with no signs of gloss at all . a flake when wetted with the 3 : 8 : 20 solution and allowed to evaporate from the surface of the flake revealed a change in the surface that had signs of gloss . rubbing this surface with a clean , dry paper towel immediately produced a high gloss . however , on rubbing the surface of the flake that was not treated with a towel , an immediate gloss also appeared . these two tests indicate that carnauba is readily susceptible to rubbing and polishing actions . repeated applications of the above solution to the test sample improved the gloss until it was very slippery and difficult to properly rub . this indicated that the solution ( alcohol ) was fluidizing the microlayer and it appeared that this fluidized layer remained to be polished with a dry towel . during the test run , six pieces of wax from the flake fractured away from the flake . all of the pieces were gathered upon completion of the test and weighed on the same scale and by the same pharmacist . the result was a residue of 430 milligrams , a difference of 24 milligrams from the starting amount . this indicated an approximate 10 milligram loss per each flat face taking into account the 1 / 8 &# 34 ; thickness . it was noted that the paper towel contained many minute particles of wax that had separated from the larger piece . thus , the test is not completely valid but graphically indicated that there is no appreciable loss of wax . the flake had an area of 1 / 2 &# 34 ; square . another test performed some time ago using full strength alcohol on a waxed surface revealed that the wax would be depleted on rubbing with a paper towel to the extent that 12 applications of wax were promptly removed . therefore , there is a delicate balance that was achieved in this solution . the combination , then , of rubbing and polishing a wetted waxed surface which this specific solution produces on the vehicle fluidizes the thin microlayer of the existing wax , i . e ., that already on the surface and that being applied with the solution if so formulated , thus performing a chemically assisted buffing operation to achieve high gloss . the &# 34 ; buffing &# 34 ; herein is hand rubbing with moderate pressure on highly absorbent paper toweling . performed quickly using the 3 : 8 : 20 solution , it smooths out the microlayer by means of fluidizing it ( rather than melting or abrading it ) making for an exemplary means to achieve a high gloss state with very little effort and with a drastic reduction in time . the utter slipperiness of the sample on being wetted and its resistance on drying further indicate the fluidizing action . it is also evident from testing using one &# 39 ; s finger to apply the solution . upon evaporating , the surface suddenly loses its slipperiness . upon wiping with a dry towel , the slipperiness is restored to the dry surface , but not to the great degree of the wetted surface . it is more than evident from the action witnessed and as described in the work &# 34 ; polishes &# 34 ; that the emulsion serves to clean the fluidized wax by means of the ammonia / water phase incorporated in the solution , the grime then being absorbed by the paper towel . this is confirmed since an &# 39 ; 84 honda after repeated uses of the solution became cleaner , taking on a bright ( like new ) appearance . fluidizing of the microlayer also promotes a great reduction in effort and the fast evaporation of the alcohol reduces reaction time to such a short duration that one can dry clean and high polish a compact car in less than four minutes . here one has also to take into consideration that the microlayer is a very fine hardly discernable layer , thus the reduction in mass to be polished of major importance in the time and effort saving step . the solution acts as a excellent dispersing vehicle for waxes . misted on the surface and wax rubbed into the solution produces an excellent way to apply wax in an ultra - thin layer , saving labor and material while maintaining a low profile on an already improved surface . the polish just described would be used for a period of time on a new surface to build an effective wax coating and chemically buffing it to a fine gloss . later application of the unwaxed solution ( 3 : 8 : 20 ) would serve to maintain a clean waxed surface and to improve the gloss on subsequent applications . this is opposed to the accepted and commercially available waxes that cannot hope to remove all the grime and dirt not to mention the almost useless washing with soap and water . in fact , the car surface has very fine accumulations of grime that become imbedded in the wax surface and characteristically dull the surface . the fact that the test car when new was subjected to one year of washing with soap and water had a noticeable brightening effect after numerous applications of the 3 : 8 : 20 solution is further evidence of the removal of color bodies that became encapsulated in the wax on the surface . thus , this solution is seen as an excellent means of maintaining and improving waxed surfaces and imparting bright colors lost to improper care . thus , it has been demonstrated that in order to clean and fine polish a waxed surface that a simple cleaning compound ( household ammonia ) in water in the presence of alcohol can and does promote the release of dirt , grime , and other contaminants by actively fluidizing the microlayer . these contaminants then freed in the liquid phase are readily captured in the high absorbing paper toweling . the resistance to wax absorption by the paper towel is evidently due to the water / ammonia phase that has been absorbed in the fibers of towel . the alcohol in the fluidized zone evaporated leaving a cleaned waxed surface that is finish polished with several passes of a dry towel during the tail end of the evaporation process . the effective amounts of alcohol , water , and ammonia can also be adjusted within the teachings of this invention to accommodate the ambient temperature where the solution of the invention is used . when prepared for a floor or other interior surface , the amount of water was reduced to produce a more volatile solution . thus , for interior surfaces at lower ambients , the ratio was 11 / 2 ounces of ammonia to 4 ounces of alcohol to 8 ounces of water . the results were satisfactory . it is also noted that the 3 : 8 : 12 mixture ( no . 3 ) is a very volatile solution that expressly works well on dense surfaces as shown in step 18 in fig1 and specifically polished metals , sinks , chrome , glass and mirrors while being an excellent soap curd disperser . in this case , the adjustment of the constituents are within the teachings of this invention to accomodate special surface conditions . since the aforementioned procedures succeed in restoring the wax finish on old cars and will maintain a new car with no build - up of haze coupled to the gradual improvement in glass with its attendant improvement in the wax profile to a dense , flat and smooth surface , it is probable that this continued process will ultimately delay or postpone the oxidation process respecting the underlying paint . it is not known how many years or decades are involved at this time . if the painted surface cannot &# 34 ; see &# 34 ; oxygen , then the process could be totally prevented by the continued upgrading of the wax overlay . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics . the present embodiments are , therefore , to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims rather than by the foregoing description , and all changes which come within the meaning and range of the equivalents of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein . | 1 |
the compounds of the invention having the structural formula i may be readily prepared by treating a corresponding compound having the structural formula ii with the desired cyclic amine iii or iiia . for purposes of this reaction , the alkylamine substituent of compound iii or iiia may , if desired , be protected by a group which renders it substantially inert to the reaction conditions . thus , for example , protecting groups such as the following may be utilized : silyl groups such trimethylsilyl ; and groups such as trityl , tetrahydropyranyl , vinyloxycarbonyl , o - nitrophenylsulfenyl , diphenylphosphinyl , p - toluenesulfonyl , and benzyl , may all be utilized . the protecting group may be removed , after the reaction between compound iv and compound va or vb if desired , by procedures known to those skilled in the art . for example , the ethoxycarbonyl group may be removed by acid or base hydrolysis and the trityl group may be removed by hydrogenolysis . the reaction between the compound of structural formula ii and a suitably protected compound of formula iii or iiia may be performed with or without a solvent , preferably at elevated temperature for a sufficient time so that the reaction is substantially complete . the reaction is preferably carried out in the presence of an acid acceptor such as an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal carbonate or bicarbonate , a tertiary amine such as triethylamine , pyridine , or picoline . alternatively an excess of the compound of formula iii or iiia may be utilized as the acid acceptor . convenient solvents for this reaction are nonreactive solvents such as acetonitrile , tetrahydrofuran , ethanol , chloroform , dimethylsulfoxide , dimethylformamide , pyridine , picoline , water , and the like . solvent mixtures may also be utilized . convenient reaction temperatures are in the range of from about 20 ° to about 150 ° c . ; higher temperatures usually require shorter reaction times . the removal of the protecting group r 4 may be accomplished either before or after isolating the product , i . alternatively , the protecting group r4 need not be removed . the starting compounds having structural formulae ii are known in the art or , if new , may be prepared from known starting materials by standard procedures or by variations thereof . thus the following compound is disclosed in the noted reference : ## str13 ## the 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may also be prepared by a method described in european patent publication no . 90 424a . this compound may be converted to the corresponding 5 - amino - 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid by first nitrating the above compound with potassium nitrate and sulfuric acid then hydrogenating the nitro group catalytically with palladium on carbon according to known methods . an alternate method for preparing the above starting material is described in the examples . the compounds of the invention having structural formula iii or iiia are either known compounds or they may be prepared from known starting materials by standard procedures or by variations thereof . for example , 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamines having the structural formula d ## str14 ## may be readily prepared from the known starting material methyl 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylate , a , [ j . org . chem ., 26 , 1519 ( 1961 )] by the following reaction sequence . ## str15 ## the compound wherein r 3 is hydrogen , namely 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , has been reported in j . org . chem ., 26 , 4955 ( 1961 ). thus compound a may be converted to the corresponding amide b by treatment with r 3 nh 2 ; for example , a saturated solution of ethylamine in an alkanol such as methyl alcohol may be utilized . the diamide b may next be reduced to produce the corresponding diamine c . this reduction may be carried out using lithium aluminum hydride , for example , in a convenient solvent such as tetrahydrofuran . compound c may next be debenzylated , for example using hydrogen and 20 % palladium on carbon catalyst to produce the diamine d . alternatively , when r 3 = h in c , the primary amine function may be protected with a group r 4 as defined , hereinabove . for example , the primary amine function may be acylated with an acyl halide such as acetyl chloride by well known procedures . the primary amine function of c may also be converted to a carbamate ester such as the ethyl ester by treatment with ethyl chloroformate in the presence of a strong base such as 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene in a convenient solvent such as methylene chloride . the benzyl group may next be removed , for example as described above for compound c , thereby producing compound d where r is -- co 2 et , which after conversion to a compound of the type va or vb may be reacted with a compound having the structural formula iv to thereby produce a corresponding compound having the structural formulae i . the -- co 2 et group may be removed by standard procedures . likewise spiroamino compounds represented by structural formula vb may be readily prepared from the known starting material 3 - ethoxycarbonyl - 5 - oxo - 3 - pyrrolidineacetic acid ethyl ester [ j . org . chem ., 46 , 2757 ( 1981 )] by the following reaction sequence . ## str16 ## the compound 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane where r 3 is h is described in the above reference . thus compound e may be converted to the corresponding amide f by treatment with r 3 nh 2 , for example , methyl amine in water followed by benzylation which may be carried out with sodium hydride and benzyl chloride to give g . reduction to the diamine h may be accomplished with lithium aluminum hydride . subsequent debenzylation , for example , with hydrogen and 20 % palladium on carbon catalyst produces the diamine j . the compounds of the invention display antibacterial activity when tested by the microtitration dilution method as described in heifetz , et al , antimicr . agents & amp ; chemoth ., 6 , 124 ( 1974 ), which is incorporated herein by reference . by use of the above referenced method , the followed minimum inhibitory concentration values ( mics in μg / ml ) were obtained for representative compounds of the invention . ______________________________________in vitro antibacterial activityminimal inhibitory concentrationmic ( μg / ml ) com - com - com - com - pound pound pound poundorganisms ex . 1 ex . 2 ex . 3 ex . 4______________________________________enterobacter cloacae ma 2646 6 . 3 0 . 8 0 . 2 1 . 6escherichia coli vogel 12 . 5 0 . 2 0 . 2 1 . 6klebsiella pneumoniae mgh - 2 6 . 3 0 . 2 0 . 2 1 . 6proteus rettgeri m 1771 25 0 . 4 1 . 6 1 . 6pseudomonas aeruginosa ui - 18 25 0 . 2 0 . 8 1 . 6staphylococcus aureus h 228 12 . 5 3 . 1 0 . 4 1 . 6staphylococcus aureus uc - 76 0 . 2 0 . 4 0 . 2 0 . 2streptococcus faecalis mgh - 2 6 . 3 12 . 5 0 . 4 0 . 8streptococcus pneumoniae sv - 1 3 . 1 6 . 3 0 . 1 0 . 8streptococcus pyogenes c - 203 0 . 4 0 . 8 0 . 2 0 . 2______________________________________ the compounds of the invention are capable of forming both pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition and / or base salts . base salts are formed with metals or amines , such as alkali and alkaline earth metals or organic amines . examples of metals used as cations are sodium , potassium , magnesium , calcium , and the like . examples of suitable amines are n , n &# 39 ;- dibenzylethylenediamine , chloroprocaine , choline , diethanolamine , ethylenediamine , n - methylglucamine , and procaine . pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts are formed with organic and inorganic acids . examples of suitable acids for salt formation are hydrochloric , sulfuric , phosphoric , acetic , citric , oxalic , malonic , salicylic , malic , gluconic , fumaric , succinic , ascorbic , maleic , methanesulfonic , and the like . the salts are prepared by contacting the free base form with a sufficient amount of the desired acid to produce either a mono or di , etc salt in the conventional manner . the free base forms may be regenerated by treating the salt form with a base . for example , dilute solutions of aqueous base may be utilized . dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide , potassium carbonate , ammonia , and sodium bicarbonate solutions are suitable for this purpose . the free base forms differ from their respective salt forms somewhat in certain physical properties such as solubility in polar solvents , but the salts are otherwise equivalent to their respective free base forms for purposes of the invention . use of excess base where r &# 39 ; is hydrogen gives the corresponding basic salt . the compounds of the invention can exist in unsolvated as well as solvated forms , including hydrated forms . in general , the solvated forms , including hydrated forms and the like are equivalent to the unsolvated forms for purposes of the invention . dbt - 1 - 17 the alkyl groups contemplated by the invention comprise both straight and branched carbon chains of from one to about three carbon atoms except when specifically stated to be greater than three carbon atoms . representative of such groups are methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , and the like . the cycloalkyl groups contemplated by the invention comprise those having three to six carbon atoms such as cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , and cyclohexyl . certain compounds of the invention may exist in optically active forms . the pure d isomer , pure l isomer as well as mixtures thereof ; including the racemic mixtures , are contemplated by the invention . additional assymmetric carbon atoms may be present in a substituent such as an alkyl group . all such isomers as well as mixtures thereof are intended to be included in the invention . the compounds of the invention can be prepared and administered in a wide variety of oral and parenteral dosage forms . it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the following dosage forms may comprise as the active component , either a compound of formula i or a corresponding pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a compound of formula i . for preparing pharmaceutical compositions from the compounds described by this invention , inert , pharmaceutically acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid . solid form preparations include powders , tablets , dispersable granules , capsules , cachets , and suppositories . a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents , flavoring agents , solubilizers , lubricants , suspending agents , binders , or tablets disintegrating agents ; it can also be an encapsulating material . in powders , the carrier is a finely divided solid which is in admixture with the finely divided active compound . the tablet the active compound is mixed with carrier having the necessary binding properties in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired . the powders and tablets preferably contain from 5 or 10 to about 70 percent of the active ingredient . suitable solid carriers are magnesium carbonate , magnesium sterate , talc , sugar , lactose , pectin , dextrin , starch , gelatin , tragacanth , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , a low melting wax , cocoa butter , and the like . the term &# 34 ; preparation &# 34 ; is intended to include the formulation of the active compound with encapsulating material as carrier providing a capsule in which the active component ( with or without other carriers ) is surrounded by carrier , which is thus in association with it . similarly , cachets are included . tablets , powders , cachets , and capsules can be used as solid dosage forms suitable for oral administration . liquid form preparations include solutions suspensions and emulsions . as an example may be mentioned water or water - propylene glycol solutions for parenteral injection . such solutions are prepared so as to be acceptable to biological systems ( isotonicity , ph , etc ). liquid preparations can also be formulated in solution in aqueous polyethylene glycol solution . aqueous solutions suitable for oral use can be prepared by dissolving the active component in water and adding suitable colorants , flavors , stabilizing , and thickening agents as desired . aqueous suspension suitable for oral use can be made by dispersing the finely divided active component in water with viscous material , i . e ., natural or synthetic gums , resins , methyl cellulose , sodium carboxymethyl cellulose , and other well - known suspending agents . preferably , the pharmaceutical preparation is in unit dosage form . in such form , the preparation is subdivided into unit doses containing appropriate quantites of the active component . the unit dosage form can be a packaged preparation , the package containing discrete quantities of preparation , for example , packeted tablets , capsules , and powders in vials or ampoules . the unit dosage form can also be a capsule , cachet , or tablet itself or it can be the appropriate number of any of these packaged forms . the quantity of active compound in a unit dose of preparation may be varied or adjusted from 1 mg to 100 mg according to the particular application and the potency of the active ingredient . in therapeutic use as agents for treating bacterial infections the compounds utilized in the pharmaceutical method of this invention are administered at the initial dosage of about 3 mg to about 40 mg per kilogram daily . a daily dose range of about 6 mg to about 14 mg per kilogram is preferred . the dosages , however , may be varied depending upon the requirements of the patient , the severity of the condition being treated , and the compound being employed . determination of the proper dosage for a particular situation is within the skill of the att . generally , treatment is initiated with smaller dosages which are less than the optimum dose of the compound . thereafter , the dosage is increased by small increments until the optimum effect under the circumstances is reached . for convenience , the total daily dosage may be divided and administered in portions during the day if desired . the following nonlimiting examples illustrate the inventors &# 39 ; preferred methods for preparing the compounds of the invention . a mixture of 100 g ( 0 . 43 mole ) of methyl 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylate [ j . org . chem ., 26 , 1519 ( 1961 )], 500 ml methanol and 100 g ( 3 . 2 mole ) of methylamine was heated at 100 ° c . in a pressure reactor for 16 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled and the ammonia and methanol were removed under reduced pressure . the residue was taken up in dichloromethane and washed with 3 × 100 ml 1n sodium hydroxide . the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent removed at reduced pressure to give 88 . 3 g of n - methyl - 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide as a white solid , mp 82 . 5 °- 83 . 0 ° c . to a suspension of 37 . 40 g ( 1 . 00 mole ) lithium aluminum hydride in 1000 ml tetrahydrofuran , was added a solution of 88 . 3 g ( 0 . 380 mole ) of n - methyl - 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide in tetrafuran dropwise under nitrogen . the reaction was then refluxed overnight . the reaction flask was cooled in an ice bath and 37 . 4 ml of water , 37 . 4 ml of 15 % sodium hydroxide and 112 . 2 ml of water were added . the precipitated solids were filtered and washed with hot ethanol . the combined filtrates were concentrated , then dissolved in dichloromethane , filtered , dried over magnesium sulfate , and the solvent evaporated under reduced pressure to give 68 . 68 g of n - methyl - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as an oil . this material was used without further purification in the next step . a mixture of 67 . 28 g ( 0 . 32 mole ) of n - methyl - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , 3 g of 20 % palladium on carbon , and 600 ml of methanol was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and at room temperature for 18 hours . another 3 g of 20 % palladium on carbon was added and the hydrogenation continued for 6 . 5 hours . another 3 . 0 g of 20 % palladium on charcoal was added and the hydrogenation continued for another 4 . 5 hours . the catalyst was filtered and the filtrate evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was distilled under vacuum ( 72 °- 76 ° c ., 10 . 5 mm hg ) to give 8 . 32 g n - methyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine . a mixture of 200 g ( 0 . 86 mole ) of methyl 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylate [ j . org . chem ., 26 , 1519 ( 1961 )], 1000 ml methanol and 200 g ( 4 . 4 mole ) of ethylamine was heated at 100 ° c . in a pressure reactor for 17 . 2 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled and the excess ethylamine and methanol were removed under reduced pressure . the residue was taken up in dichloromethane and washed with 3 × 150 ml 1n sodium hydroxide . the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent removed at reduced pressure to give 104 . 6 g of n - ethyl - 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide as a white solid , mp 97 °- 99 ° c . to a suspension of 108 . 68 g ( 2 . 860 mole ) lithium aluminum hydride in 800 ml tetrahydrofuran , was added a solution of 194 . 5 g ( 0 . 790 mole ) of n - ethyl - 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide in 600 ml tetrahydrofuran dropwise under nitrogen . the reaction was then refluxed four hours . the reaction flask was cooled in an ice bath and 108 ml of water , 108 ml of 15 % sodium hydroxide , and 324 ml of water were added . the precipitated solids were filtered and washed with hot ethanol . the combined filtrates were concentrated , then dissolved in dichloromethane , filtered , dried over magnesium sulfate , and the solvent evaporated under reduced pressure to give 151 . 9 g of n - ethyl - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as an oil . this material was used without further purification in the next step . a mixture of 151 . 65 g ( 0 . 695 mole ) of n - ethyl - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , 5 g of 20 % palladium on carbon , and 1100 ml of ethanol was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and at room temperature for 21 . 6 hours . another 5 g of 20 % palladium on carbon was added and the hydrogenation continued for 24 hours . the catalyst was filtered and the filtrate evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was distilled under vacuum ( 88 °- 91 ° c ., 11 . 5 mm hg ) to give 66 . 0 g n - ethyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine . a mixture of 21 . 9 g ( 0 . 100 mole ) 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrodlidinecarboxylic acid in 150 ml tetrahydrofuran , was cooled to 0 ° c . in an ice bath under nitrogen and 24 . 32 g ( 0 . 150 mole ) carbonyl diimidazole was added . the reaction was stirred at 0 ° c . for 30 minutes , then at room temperature for 30 minutes . a solution of 13 . 55 g ( 0 . 100 mole ) of 2 , 2 , 2 - triflouroethylamine hydrochloride , 15 . 22 g ( 0 . 100 mole ) 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene and 100 ml tetrahydrofuran was added . the reaction was stirred at room temperature overnight . the solvent was removed at reduced pressure . the residue was taken up in dichloromethane and washed 3 × 150 ml saturated sodium bicarbonate . the organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent removed under reduced pressure . the product was purified by column chromatography on silica with ethyl acetate to give 8 . 50 g of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide , mp 110 °- 112 ° c . a mixture of 8 . 50 g ( 28 . 3 mole ) of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3pyrrolidinecarboxamide in 100 ml tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise to 3 . 22 g ( 84 . 9 mmole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 50 ml tetrahydrofuran . the reaction was refluxed two hours , then stirred at room temperature overnight . the reaction was cooled in an ice bath and 3 . 2 ml of water , 3 . 2 ml of 15 % sodium hydroxide , and 9 . 6 ml of water were added . the precipitated salts were filtered and washed with hot ethanol . the combined filtrates were concentrated under reduced pressure . the residue was taken up in dichloromethane , filtered , and dried over magnesium sulfate . the solvent was removed at reduced pressure to give 7 . 15 g of 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine . this material was used without further purification in the next step . a mixture of 7 . 15 g ( 26 . 3 mmole ) 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine 100 ml of methanol and 0 . 7 g of 20 % palladium on carbon was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and at room temperature for 24 hours . the catalyst was filtered and the filtrate evaporated under reduced pressure . the residue was distilled under vacuum ( 63 °- 65 ° c ., 2 . 8 mm hg ) to give 2 . 55 g of n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine . to a solution of 10 . 96 g ( 50 mmole ) of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid in 150 ml of acetonitrile was added 9 . 73 g ( 60 mmole ) of carbonyldiimidazole . the reaction was heated to 60 ° c . for one hour , cooled to room temperature and treated with 4 . 13 g ( 70 mmole ) of n - propylamine . after stirring for two hours , the solvent was removed in vacuo and the residue partitioned between ether and water . the organic layer was washed with water , 1n hydrochloric acid , dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered , and evaporated invacuo to give 12 . 0 g of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide , mp 86 °- 87 ° c . to a suspension of 8 . 2 g ( 0 . 2 mole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 150 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran was added portionwise , 12 . 0 g ( 45 . 6 mmole ) of solid 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide . when the addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours and then at reflux for two hours . after cooling to room temperature , the mixture was treated dropwise , successively , with 8 ml of water , 8 ml of 15 % aqueous sodium hydroxide and 24 ml of water , titrating the final addition to produce a granular precipitate . the solid was removed by filtration , washed with tetrahydrofuran and the filtrate evaporated in vacuo to give 9 . 6 g of 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidine methanamine , as a heavy syrup . this material was used for the next step without further purification . a mixture of 14 . 0 g ( 60 . 0 mmole ) of 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , 1 . 0 g of 20 % palladium on carbon and 140 ml of methanol was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and room temperature for 24 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtering through celite , the filtrate concentrated and distilled in vacuo to give 7 . 1 g of n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , bp 49 °- 50 ° c ./ 0 . 25 mm . to a solution of 16 . 4 g ( 75 mmole ) of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid in 150 ml of acetonitrile was added 13 . 8 g ( 85 mmole ) of carbonyldiimidazole . the reaction was heated to 60 ° c . for one hour , cooled to room temperature and treated with 4 . 85 g ( 85 mmole ) of cyclopropylamine . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours , the solvent removed in vacuo and the residue partitioned between chloroform and water . the organic layer was washed with water , 1n hydrochloric acid , dried over magnesium sulfate , filtered , and evaporated in vacuo to give 18 . 3 g of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide , mp 94 °- 96 ° c . 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidine - methanamine to a suspension of 8 . 2 g ( 0 . 20 mole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 150 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran was added portionwise 18 . 0 g ( 70 . 0 mmole ) of solid 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide . when the addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours and then at reflux for two hours . after cooling to room temperature , the mixture was treated dropwise , successively , with 8 ml of water , 8 ml of 15 % aqueous sodium hydroxide and 24 ml of water , titrating the final addition to produce a granular precipitate . the solid was removed by filtration , washed with tetrahydrofuran and the filtrate evaporated in vacuo to give 16 . 0 g of 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as a heavy oil . this was used for the next step without further purification . a mixture of 13 . 6 g ( 59 . 0 mmol ) of 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , 0 . 5 g of 20 % palladium on carbon and 140 ml of methanol was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and room temperature for 24 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtering through celite , the filtrate concentrated and distilled in vacuo to give 6 . 3 g of n - cyclopropyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , bp 88 °- 90 ° / 13 mm . to a solution of 16 . 4 g ( 75 . 0 mmole ) of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid in 150 ml of acetonitrile was added 13 . 8 g ( 85 . 0 mmole ) of 1 , 1 &# 39 ;- carbonyldiimidazole . the reaction was heated to 60 ° c . for one hour , cooled to room temperature and treated with 5 . 0 g ( 85 mmole ) of isopropylamine . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours , the solvent removed in vacuo and the residue partitioned between chloroform and water . the organic layer was washed with water , 1n hydrochloric acid , dried over magnesium sulfate and evaporated in vacuo to give 18 . 6 g of 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 - propyl ) 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide , mp 122 °- 124 ° c . to a suspension of 8 . 2 g ( 0 . 2 mole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 150 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran was added portionwise , 18 . 3 g ( 70 . 0 mmole ) of solid 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- n -( 2 - propyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide . when the addition was complete , the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours and then refluxed for two hours . after cooling to room temperature , the mixture was treated dropwise , successively , with 8 ml of water , 8 ml of 15 % aqueous sodium hydroxide and 24 ml of water , titrating the final addition to produce a granular precipitate . the solid was removed by filtration , washed with tetrahydrofuran and the filtrate evaporated in vacuo to give 15 . 6 g of 1 -( phenyl - methyl )- n -( 2 - propyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as a heavy syrup . this material was used for the next step without further purification . a mixture of 13 . 4 g ( 58 . 0 mmol ) of 1 - phenylmethyl - n -( 2 - propyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , 1 . 0 g of 20 % palladium on carbon and 130 ml of methanol was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and room temperature for 24 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtration through celite ; the filtrate concentrated and distilled in vacuo to give 6 . 3 g of n -( 2 - propyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine , bp 58 °- 60 ° c ./ 3 . 5 mm . a mixture of 46 . 7 g ( 1200 mole ) of methyl 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxylate ( j . org . chem ., 26 , 1519 ( 1961 )], 36 . 7 g ( 1600 mole ) 2 - aminoethanol and 500 ml methanol were refluxed overnight . the reaction was cooled to room temperature and the solvent removed at reduced pressure . the residue was taken up in dichloromethane and extracted 3 × 100 1n sodium hydroxide . the aqueous layer was taken to ph 5 , extracted with 3 × 150 ml dichloromethane , then taken to ph 8 and again extracted with 3 × 150 ml dichloromethane . the aqueous layer was concentrated at reduced pressure and the resulting slurry stirred in dichloromethane . the salts were filtered off . the combined organic layers were dried over magnesium sulfate , the solvent removed at reduced pressure to yield 47 . 9 g of n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide as an oil . this was used in the next step without further purification . a mixture of 46 . 66 g ( 0 . 178 mole ) of n -( 2 - hydroxyethyl )- 5 - oxo - 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinecarboxamide in 200 ml of tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise to a slurry of 20 . 25 g ( 0 . 534 mole ) of lithium aluminum hydride in 150 ml tetrahydrofuran . the reaction was refluxed three hours , then cooled in an ice bath . the work up consisted of sequential addition of 20 ml water , 20 ml 15 % sodium hydroxide then 60 ml water . the reaction was filtered and the precipitate washed with ethanol . the filtrate was concentrated at reduced pressure , the residue taken up in dichloromethane , dried over magnesium sulfate , and the solvent removed at reduced pressure to give 32 . 31 g of 2 -[[[ 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinyl ] methyl ] amino ] ethanol as an oil . this material was used in the next step without further purification . a mixture of 32 . 32 g of 2 -[[[ 1 -( phenylmethyl ) 3 - pyrrolidinyl ] methyl ] amino ] ethanol , 330 ml of methanol and 3 g of 20 % palladium on charcoal was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and at room temperature for 18 hours . the solvents were then removed at reduced pressure . the residue was distilled under vacuum ( bp 129 °- 131 ° c . 1 . 5 mm hg ) to give 11 . 43 g of 2 -[( 3 - pyrrolidinyl methyl ) amino ] ethanol . a solution of 20 . 3 g ( 0 . 084 mole ) 3 - ethoxycarbonyl - 5 - oxo - 3 - pyrrolidineacetic acid , ethyl ester [ j . org . chem . 46 , 2757 ( 1981 )] in 40 ml of 40 % aqueous methylamine was stirred at room temperature overnight , then placed in an oil bath and gradually heated to 220 ° c . over 30 minutes allowing volatiles to distill from the open flask . the crude product was crystallized from ethanol to afford 12 . 56 g of 2 - methyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione , mp 201 °- 204 ° c . a solution of 1 . 82 g ( 10 mmol ) 2 - methyl - 2 , 7diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione in 20 ml n , n - dimethylformamide was added gradually under a nitrogen atmosphere to 0 . 050 g ( 10 . 4 mmol ) of 50 % oil suspension of sodium hydride which had been previously washed twice with toluene and covered with 10 ml n , n - dimethylformamide . after stirring one hour there was added 1 . 40 g ( 11 mmol ) of benzyl chloride and stirring was continued overnight at room temperature . after concentrating to a small volume in vacuo , the residue was diluted with 40 ml water and extracted twice with dichloromethane . the combined organic phase was washed with water , dried over magnesium sulfate , and evaporated to give a solid . crystallization from toluene - hexane afforded 1 . 74 g of 2 - methyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione , mp 157 °- 158 ° c . 2 - methyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride a solution of 1 . 36 g ( 5 . 0 mmol ) 2 - methyl - 7 -( phenylmethy )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione in 50 ml tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise to a suspension of 0 . 95 g ( 25 mmol ) lithium aluminum hydride in 30 ml tetrahydrofuran . ihe mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature , refluxed one hour , cooled , and treated dropwise with 0 . 95 ml water , 0 . 95 ml 15 % sodium hydroxide solution and 2 . 8 ml water . after removal of the inorganic solids by filtration , the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give a syrup which was dissolved in isopropanol and treated with excess 6n hydrogen chloride in isopropanol . crystallization afforded 0 . 97 g of 2 - methyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride , mp 233 - 234 ° c . a solution of 2 - methyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro -[ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride in 150 ml of methanol with 1 . 0 g 20 % palladium on carbon catalyst was hydrogenated at 50 psi for two days . after filtration , the filtrate was concentrated to a thick syrup which crystallized on addition of acetonitrile to give 11 . 50 g of 2 - methyl - 2 , 7diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride , softened at 164 ° c . and melted at 168 °- 170 ° c . example i a suspension of 24 . 33 g ( 0 . 100 mmole ) 3 - ethoxycarbonyl - 5 - oxo - 3 - pyrrolidineacetic acid , ethyl ester in an excess of 2n sodium hydroxide , was stirred three hours at room temperature , acidified with dilute hydrochloric acid , and evaporated to dryness in vacuo . the product , 3 - carboxy - 5 - oxo - 3 - pyrrolidineacetic acid , was taken up in isopropyl alcohol , separated from insoluble sodium chloride by filtration , concentrated to a syrup and dissolved in 100 ml 70 % ethylamine . the solution was gradually heated in an oil bath up to 230 ° c . allowing volates to distill and then maintained at 230 °- 240 ° c . for ten minutes . after cooling , the product was crystallized from isopropyl alcohol to afford 10 . 12 g of 2 - ethyl2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione , mp 168 °- 169 ° c . a suspension of sodium hydride ( 2 . 20 g of 60 % oil suspension ( 0 . 055 mole ) washed with toluene ) in 50 ml n , n - dimethylformamide was treated gradually with a solution of 10 . 0 g ( 0 . 051 mole ) 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione in 100 ml n , n - dimethylformamide . after stirring 15 minutes , there was added dropwise 6 . 4 ml ( 0 . 055 mole ) benzyl chloride and the mixture was stirred overnight , concentrated in vacuo and shaken with water - methylene chloride . the organic layer was dried , evaporated , and the product crystallized from toluene - hexane to afford 11 . 11 g of 2 - ethyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 - 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione , mp 125 °- 126 . 5 ° c . a solution of 11 . 00 g ( 0 . 0385 mole ) 2 - ethyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane - 1 , 3 , 8 - trione in 100 ml tetrahydrofuran was added dropwise to a suspension of 6 . 00 g ( 0 . 158 mole ) lithium aluminium hydride in 250 ml tetrahydrofuran . after stirring overnight , the mixture was refluxed one hour , cooled , and treated dropwise with 6 ml water , 6 ml 15 % sodium hydroxide , and 18 ml water . inorganic solids were separated by filtration and the filtrate was concentrated , taken up in ether , dried with magnesium sulfate , and reevaporated . the resulting syrup was dissolved in isopropyl alcohol and treated with excess hydrogen chloride in isopropyl alcohol to afford 9 . 63 g of 2 - ethyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride , mp 196 °- 198 ° c . ( dec ). 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride a solution of 9 . 50 g ( 0 . 030 mole ) 2 - ethyl - 7 -( phenylmethyl )- 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride in 100 ml methanol was hydrogenated with 1 . 0 g 20 % palladium on carbon catalyst at 50 psi for 22 hours . after filtration , the solution was concentrated to a syrup and crystallized from acetonitrile to afford 6 . 66 g of 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane dihydrochloride , mp 168 °- 172 ° c . a solution of 77 . 0 g ( 0 . 44 mole ) of 3 - amino - 1 -( phenylmethyl ) pyrrolidine [ j . med . chem ., 24 , 1229 ( 1981 )], 440 ml ( 0 . 44 mole ) 1 . 0n sodium hydroxide and 600 ml of tertiary butyl alcohol was treated dropwise with 98 . 2 g ( 0 . 45 mole ) of di - tertiarybutyl dicarbomate . the reaction was stirred at room temperature for 18 hours and the solvent removed in vacuo . the residue was partitioned between ether and water . the aqueous layer was reextracted with ether , the combined ether layers were washed with water , dried ( mgso 4 ), filtered and evaporated on a steam bath replacing the ether with petroleum ether . the crystals which formed were removed by filtration , washed with ether / petroleum ether ( 1 : 1 ), and dried in vacuo to give 84 . 8 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl [ 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinyl ] carbamate , mp 114 °- 115 °. a second crop ( 16 . 7 g ) was obtained by concentrating the filtrate . a mixture of 101 . 5 g ( 0 . 37 mole ) of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl [ 1 -( phenylmethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinyl ] carbamate , 5 . 0 g of 20 % palladium on carbon and 1 liter of tetrahydrofuran was shaken in an atmosphere of hydrogen at about 50 psi and room temperature for 24 hours . the catalyst was removed by filtering through celite , and the filtrate was concentrated in vacuo to give 6 . 8 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ( 3 - pyrrolidinyl ) carbamate which solidified upon standing and was of sufficient purity to be used as is for the ensuing steps . to 25 . 2 g ( 0 . 117 mol ) of sodium 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 - tetrafluorobenzoate , prepared as a dry powder from 2 , 3 , 4 , 5tetrafluorobenzoic acid [ j . org . chem . 29 , 2381 ( 1961 )] and aqueous sodium hydroxide with concentration to dryness , was added 400 ml of dry ether and the suspension was cooled to 0 ° c . slowly 25 ml (˜ 2 . 5 equivalents ) of oxalyl chloride in 50 ml of ether was added and the mixture brought to room temperature where it was maintained for 2 . 0 hours . it was filtered and concentrated to remove low boiling impurities . the residue was dissolved in 100 ml of ether and placed in an addition funnel . meanwhile , 2 . 9 g ( 0 . 119 mol ) of magnesium turnings were treated with 100 ml of absolute ethanol and 0 . 3 ml of carbon tetrachloride . to this mixture was added 18 . 6 ml ( 0 . 12 mol ) of diethyl malonate in 75 ml of ether at a rate to keep the temperature just below reflux . when addition was complete , the reaction was refluxed for two hours . at - 20 ° c ., the etheral acid chloride was slowly added . when addition was complete , the reaction was brought to 0 ° c . over 18 hours . the mixture was poured into dilute hydrochloric acid and was extracted into dichloromethane which was dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated . the residue was then treated with 340 mg of p - toluenesulfonic acid in 600 ml of water at 100 ° c . for two hours with rapid stirring . the oil was extracted into dichloromethane , dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated . the residue was purified by column chromatography ( silica gel , using toluene : hexane : ether , 4 : 5 : 1 ), to give 18 . 5 g of a reddish oil . this material was triturated with pentane to give 10 . 2 g of 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 - tetrafluorobenzoylacetic acid , ethyl ester , mp 49 °- 51 ° c . to 3 . 0 g ( 11 . 33 mmol ) of 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 - tetrafluorobenzoylacetic acid , ethyl ester was added 2 . 49 g of triethylorthoformate and 2 . 76 g of acetic anhydride . the mixture was heated to 150 ° c . for 2 . 5 hours and was then cooled to 80 ° c . the volitile materials were removed at 0 . 4 mm hg for one hour . the residue was then cooled to 45 ° c . and diluted with 25 ml of isopropyl alcohol . to this solution was added 1 . 65 g of 1 - methylhydrazinecarboxylate , 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ester ( acta chemica scandinavica 22 , 1 , 1968 ) in 25 ml of isopropyl alcohol . the mixture was stirred overnight , diluted with 30 ml of pentane and filtered to give 3 . 09 g of 2 -[ 2 -( ethoxycarbonyl )- 3 - oxo - 3 -( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrafluorophenyl )- 1 - propenyl ]- 1 - methylhydrazinecarboxylate , 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl ester as a white solid , mp 130 °- 131 ° c . to 3 . 09 g ( 7 . 35 mmol ) of 2 -[ 2 -( ethoxycarbonyl )- 3 - oxo - 3 -( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 - tetrafluorophenyl )- 1 - propenyl - 1 - methylhydrazinecarboxylate , 1 , 1 - dimethyethyl ester in 100 ml of dry dioxane was added 0 . 36 g ( 1 . 02 equivalent ) of sodium hydride ( 50 % dispersion ) which was pentane washed prior to addition . the mixture was then refluxed overnight and was left standing at room temperature for 24 hours . the mixture was concentrated to a thick oil , taken up in dichloromethane , filtered and extracted with water twice . the dichloromethane was dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated to a viscous oil which crystallized upon addition of pentane to give 2 . 39 g of 1 -[[( 1 , 1 - dimethylethoxy )- carbonyl ] methylamino ]- 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , ethyl ester , mp 99 . 5 °- 102 ° c . to 2 . 00 g ( 5 . 0 mmol ) of 1 -[[( 1 , 1 - dimethylethoxy ) carbonyl ] methylamino ]- 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , ethyl ester was added 35 ml of acetic acid and 15 ml of 2n hydrochloric acid . the mixture was placed on a steam bath for 2 . 5 hours , was diluted with 15 ml of water , and was cooled . the solids were filtered to give 1 . 09 g of 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3quinolinecarboxylic acid , mp 237 °- 238 ° c . a mixture of 0 . 81 g ( 3 mmol ) 7 - chloro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid ( european patent no . 0 , 090 , 424 ) and 1 . 54 g ( 12 mmol ) -[( ethylamino ) methyl ]- pyrrolidine in 5 ml pyridine was refluxed 19 hours , concentrated to a syrup in vacuo , and diluted with ether to afford a yellow solid . the crude product was dissolved in water , titrated to ph 1 . 5 with dilute hydrochloric acid , and crystallized from methanol to afford 0 . 64 g 7 -[ 3 -[( ethylamino ) methyl ] pyrrolidine ]- 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , mp 280 ° c . with decomposition . to 1 . 00 g ( 3 . 68 mmol ) of 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid in 10 ml of acetonitrile was added 0 . 56 g ( 1 . 0 equivalent ) of 1 , 8 - diazobicyclo -[ 5 , 4 , 0 ] undec - 7 - ene and 0 . 68 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 3 - pyrrolidinylcarbamate . the mixture was refluxed for one hour and stirred at room temperature overnight . the solids were filtered and washed with ether to give 0 . 92 g of 7 -[ 3 -[[( 1 , 1dimethylethoxy ) carbonyl ] amino ]- 1 - pyrro - lidinyl ]- 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 -( methylamino )- 4 - oxo - 3quinolinecarboxylic acid . a portion of this material ( 0 . 38 g ) was treated with 10 ml of trifluoroacetic acid for 2 hours and was concentrated . the residue was taken up in aqueous sodium hydroxide to ph 12 . 5 and then treated with hydrochloric acid to ph 7 . 0 . the solids were filtered to give 0 . 24 g of 7 -( 3 - amino - 1 - pyrrolidinyl )- 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , mp 210 °- 211 ° c . to 0 . 75 g ( 2 . 75 mmol ) of the 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid in 15 ml of acetonitrile was added 0 . 44 g ( 1 . 05 equivalent ) of 1 , 8 - diazobicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene , and 0 . 352 g ( 1 . 0 equivalent ) of n - ethyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine . the mixture was refluxed for one hour and then stirred at room temperature overnight . the solids were filtered to give 0 . 68 g of 7 -[ 3 -[( ethylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , mp 222 °- 224 ° c . to 0 . 75 g ( 2 . 75 mmol ) of the 6 , 7 , 8 - trifluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid in 15 ml of acetonitrile was added 0 . 44 g ( 1 . 05 equivalents ) of 1 , 8 - diazobicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene and 0 . 275 g ( 1 . 0 equivalents ) of 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine [ j . org . chem ., 26 , 4955 ( 1961 )]. the mixture was refluxed for one hour and stirred at room temperature overnight . the solids were filtered to give 0 . 72 g of 7 -[ 3 -( aminomethyl )- 1 - pyrrolidinyl [- 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid , mp 150 °- 180 ° c . slow dec . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 7 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane as the reacting amine . 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 7 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazasprio [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 7 - methyl - 2 , 7diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using 2 - methyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane as the reacting amine . 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 , 4 - dihydro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 7 ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using 2 - ethyl - 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using 2 , 7 diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonane [ j . org . chem . 46 , 2757 ( 1981 )] as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -( 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan - 2 - yl )- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using 2 , 7 - diazaspiro [ 4 . 4 ] nonan [ j . org . chem . 46 , 2757 ( 1981 )] as the reacting amine . 7 -( 3 - amino - 1 - pyrrolidinyl )- 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 2 by using 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 3 - pyrrolidinylcarbamate as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - diydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( methylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n - methyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( methylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n - methyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( propylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( propylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n - propyl - 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( 2 - propylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using n -( 2 - propyl )- 3pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 7 -[ 3 -[( 2propylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 4 - oxo - 3quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n -( 2 - propyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 7 -[ 3 -[( cyclopropylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using n - cyclopropyl - 3pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 7 -[ 3 -[( cyclopropylamino ) methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n - cyclopropyl - 3pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 7 -[ 3 -[[( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl ) amino ] methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 7 -[ 3 -[[( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl ) amino ] methyl ]- 1pyrrolidinyl ]- 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 3 by using n -( 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl )- 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 7 -[ 3 -[[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using 2 -[( 3 - pyrrolidinylmethyl ) amino ] ethanol as the reacting amine . 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 , 8 - difluoro - 7 -[ 3 -[[( 2 - hydroxyethyl ) amino ] methyl ]- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid can by prepared by the method in example 3 by using 2 -[( 3 - pyrrolidinylmethyl ) amino ] ethanol as the reacting amine . 7 -[ 3 -( aminomethyl )- 1 - pyrrolidinyl ]- 1 , 4 - dihydro - 6 - fluoro - 1 - methylamino - 4 - oxo - 3 - quinolinecarboxylic acid may be prepared by the method in example 1 by using 3 - pyrrolidinemethanamine as the reacting amine . | 2 |
fig1 shows a front perspective view of two flooring slats employing two edge attachment members 77 , 78 according to one embodiment of the present invention . as shown in fig1 , flooring panels 11 having side walls 16 and connector members 20 are sleeved by edge attachment members 77 , 78 , fig2 shows a front elevational view of a single panel with top 12 , bottom 14 and c - shaped connector members 20 , 22 on the sides . the individual connector members 20 , 22 can be provided in various shapes , forms and sizes , and function to secure the panel members in a side wall - to - side wall fashion , two at a time . in one embodiment , the connector members bring adjacent panels into a tight adjacent fit to give the semblance of a permanent seam , which thereby prevents “ punch through ” of loads which may be borne directly on a given seam . the edge attachment members of the present invention do not cover these connector members 20 , 22 , but rather attach over the sides of the panels where there is no connector member . in one embodiment of the present invention , the panels are approximately ½ to two inches in height and five to seven feet in length , but other sizes can be produced depending upon the particular implementation involved . the invention is not dimensionally constrained . further , while fig1 and 2 show flooring panels with a substantially rectangular shape , it will be appreciated that the present invention can be adapted to suit other shapes as desired , including without limitation , circular , polygonal or other shapes . as shown in fig1 and 2 , for example , the panel members 11 have edges 24 which can be joined with other edges to expand the flooring as necessary for a particular application . as shown in fig3 and 4 , for example , panel members 7 and 8 can be secured at respective edges 24 using interlocking edge attachment members 35 and 36 . each edge attachment member 35 , 36 is a single piece and can be characterized as a plurality of segments . the interlocking edge attachment members can be welded onto the respective edges 24 , such that a first sleeve segment 44 of the edge attachment 36 runs parallel to and is flush with the top surface 46 of the floor panel member 8 and a second sleeve segment 43 of the edge attachment 36 runs parallel to and is flush with the bottom surface 45 of the floor panel member 8 . in one embodiment of the present invention , as shown in fig6 and 7 , at least one prong 42 extends perpendicularly from sleeve segments 43 and 44 . these prongs 42 are energy concentrators for the embodiment of the present invention where the edge attachment members are welded to the slats . as shown in fig3 - 4 and 6 , for example , the first sleeve segment 44 and the second sleeve segment 43 are connected by a connector segment 47 . the connector segment 47 comprises a first connector segment endpoint 55 , a second connector segment endpoint 56 and a clip support member 41 . the clip support member 41 extends substantially perpendicularly from the middle of the connector segment 47 that connects the two substantially parallel sleeve segments 43 and 44 . in one embodiment , as shown in fig6 , the clip support member 41 comprises a first clip support member endpoint 58 , a second support member endpoint 59 and a mid - segment 60 that is substantially u - shaped , wherein the two clip support member endpoints 58 and 59 are positioned at the top of the u , and wherein the u - shaped mid - segment extends from the connector segment 47 into the area between the first sleeve segment 44 and the second sleeve segment 43 , and in substantially parallel relation therewith . in one embodiment , as shown in fig4 , each edge attachment member is inserted onto the floor panel member 8 such that the bottom surface 61 of the u - shaped mid - segment 60 of the clip support member 41 is flush with the edge 24 of the floor panel member 8 . in one embodiment of the present invention , a bottom portion 52 of the connector segment 47 is angled towards the panel member edge 24 that the edge attachment member 36 is installed on , as shown in fig4 . the bottom portion 52 is the segment between the second clip support member endpoint 59 and the second connector segment endpoint 56 . in the embodiment of the present invention where the connector segment 47 includes an angled or curved bottom portion 52 , the first sleeve segment 44 of the edge attachment is slightly longer in length than the second sleeve segment 43 . it will be appreciated that the lower half of the connector segment in the embodiment of the present invention shown in fig3 and 4 is not a mirror image of the top half of the connector segment 47 . in one embodiment , as shown in fig3 - 4 and 6 , each edge attachment member further includes a substantially l - shaped extension arm 48 extending substantially horizontally from first sleeve segment 44 at or near the first connector segment endpoint 55 . extension arm 48 has a substantially 90 - degree curve formed at edge 40 that results in a downward extending portion 57 , with a curved clip pinching element 51 at the base of the downward extending portion 57 . the mid - portion 80 of the clip pinching element 51 indents inwardly of the downward extending portion 57 towards the connector segment 47 . as shown in fig3 , edge attachment member 35 can be installed onto the edge 24 of the floor panel member 7 in a similar manner ; however , the edge attachment member is arranged in reverse orientation to that of member 36 in order to interlock therewith . in this way , the rows of panel members can be tightly secured edge - to - edge . as shown in fig5 , the clip support member 71 and clip pinching element 72 can take a different form to that shown in fig3 and 4 . for example , the clip support member 71 can extend substantially perpendicularly from the connector segment 47 into the area between the first sleeve segment 44 and the second sleeve segment 43 . in this embodiment , the edge attachment member 77 is inserted onto the floor panel member 85 such that the tip 75 of the clip support member 71 is flush with the edge 81 of the floor panel member 85 . further , as shown in fig5 , the mid - portion 76 of the clip pinching element 72 extends further inward toward the connector segment 47 to provide greater surface area contact with the opposing clip pinching element when installed . fig1 also shows this alternative embodiment of the present invention . it will be appreciated that the shapes and spatial relationships of the sleeve segments , clip support , connector segment and clip pinching element are substantially as shown in the drawings in order to meet the requirements for a tight fitting engagement with the ability to flex and give so that the edge attachments can be joined and separated at will . representative dimensions in fig6 and 7 can be as follows in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention : distance b can be approximately between 1 . 4 and 1 . 5 inches inclusive ; distance c can be approximately between 1 . 4 and 1 . 5 inches inclusive ; distance b can be approximately between 1 . 4 and 1 . 5 inches inclusive ; distance c can be approximately 0 . 1 inches ; distance d can be approximately between 0 . 6 and 0 . 8 inches inclusive ; distance e can be approximately between 0 . 95 and 1 . 05 inches inclusive ; distance f can be approximately between 0 . 50 and 0 . 55 inches inclusive ; distance g can be approximately between 0 . 020 and 0 . 030 inches inclusive ; and distance h can be approximately between 0 . 20 and 0 . 30 inches inclusive . further , as shown in fig6 , the prong 42 can extend from the surface of the sleeve members at an angle of 45 degrees on both sides , thereby comprising a substantially 90 degree angle . the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the claims of the application rather than by 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 . | 4 |
fig1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a diagram of a client - server database system 100 with which arrangements described below using fig2 to 5 can be implemented . the client - server database system 100 has a database 102 , a server 101 and computer modules 103 . clients 230 are housed in the computer modules 103 which can access the server 101 over a network 104 . the server 101 manages and handles processing of the content ( hereinafter also referred to as data and / or information records ) stored in the database 102 . a database 102 is an organized collection of information records stored in a storage device in a systematic manner , and can be accessed by the clients 230 by means of queries , where the server 101 is configured to execute the queries on the database 102 and return a response containing the desired results to the clients . the clients 230 are also in communication with applications 231 such as software programs run by computer modules 103 to output queries . in one embodiment , the server 101 and the database 102 may be housed in the same computer module . in an alternate embodiment , the server 101 and the database 102 may be housed in separate computer modules which may be coupled to each other . similarly , in one embodiment , the clients 230 and the applications 231 which request the server 101 for specific content in the form of queries can be housed within the same computer module or alternatively in separate computer modules . a client typically includes an interface module between an application residing on the client side and the server 101 , for example . open database connectivity ( odbc ), oledb ( object linking and embedding database ), . net , or esql / c ( embedded sql c ( c language )). the following embodiment will be described using odbc as an example . it should be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the use of other interfaces modules replacing the odbc fall within the scope of this invention . odbc is an interface standard that makes it possible to access data from a variety of database management systems ( dbms ), or servers 101 . the dbms vendors provide data access functionality for their respective dbmss through the odbc programming interface , which in turn makes it possible for an application on a client to access multiple dbmss through this interface . in the classic concept of client - server architecture , odbc will be part of the client while the dbms is a part of the functionality of the server 101 that is relevant to the present invention . dbms of the server 101 controls the organization , storage and retrieval of data in the database 102 . fig2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a block diagram of a general purpose computer module 103 housing the client with which arrangements described below using fig3 to 5 can be implemented . the processes and code modules shown in fig3 to 5 may be implemented as software , such as one or more application programs executable within the client - server database system 100 . the instructions may be formed as one or more code modules , each code module for performing one or more particular tasks . the computer modules 103 including a client has at least a first part of software and a corresponding code module for processing queries received from an application to be executed by the server . the computer module 103 may also have a second part of software and a corresponding code module for executing the application which outputs queries . the computer module 103 may also have a third part of software and a corresponding code modules for managing a user interface or the inter - device interface used for such tasks as receiving user commands , displaying processing outcome or communicating with the server 101 via a network 104 . the software may be stored in a computer readable medium , including the storage devices described below , for example . the software is loaded onto the server 101 and the computer modules 103 - 1 to 3 from the computer readable medium , and then executed by a respective apparatus . a computer readable medium having such software or computer program recorded on it is a computer program product . the server 101 accessible by the computer module 103 has similar configuration of software and a corresponding code module to realize functions for executing queries . as illustrated in fig2 , the computer module 103 has input devices such as a keyboard 202 and a mouse pointer device 203 , and output device may be a display device 214 . an external modulator - demodulator ( modem ) transceiver device 216 may be used by the computer module 103 for communicating to and from a communications network 104 via a connection 221 . the network 104 may be a wide - area network ( wan ), such as the internet or a private wan . the network 104 couples the computer module 103 to the server 101 and the database 102 . the computer module 103 typically includes at least one processor unit 205 , and a memory unit 206 for example formed from semiconductor random access memory ( ram ) and read only memory ( rom ). the computer module 103 also includes a number of input / output ( i / o ) interfaces including a video interface 207 that couples to the video display 214 , an i / o interface 213 for such devices like the keyboard 202 and mouse 203 , and an interface 208 for the external modem 216 . in some implementations , the modem 216 may be incorporated within the computer module 103 , for example within the interface 208 . the computer module 103 may also have a local network interface 211 which , via a connection 223 , permits coupling of the computer module 103 to a local computer network , known as a local area network ( lan ), for the network 104 connecting the computer module 103 to the server 101 and the database 102 . the interface 211 may be formed by an ethernet ™ circuit card , a wireless bluetooth ™ or an ieee 802 . 11 wireless arrangement . in one embodiment , storage devices 209 are provided and typically include a hard disk drive ( hdd ). it should be apparent to a person skilled in the art that other storage devices such as a floppy disk drive , an optical disk drive and a magnetic tape drive etc , ( not illustrated ) may also be used and fall within the scope of this invention . the components 205 to 213 of the computer module 103 typically communicate via an interconnected bus 204 and in a manner which results in a conventional mode of operation of the computer module 103 known to those in the relevant art . typically , the application programs discussed above ark resident on the storage device 209 and read and controlled in execution by the processor 205 . storage of intermediate product from the execution of such programs may be accomplished using the semiconductor memory 206 , possibly in concert with the hard disk drive 210 . in some instances , the application programs may be supplied to the user encoded on one or more cd - rom or other forms of computer readable media and read via a respective drive , or alternatively may be read by the user from the network 104 . the third part of the application programs and the corresponding code modules mentioned above may be executed to implement one or more graphical user interfaces ( guis ) to be rendered or otherwise represented upon the display 214 or to implement other modes of input / output or storage control . through manipulation of the keyboard 202 and the mouse 203 , a user of the computer module 103 and the application may manipulate the interface to provide controlling commands and / or input to the applications associated with the gui ( s ). fig3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment for processing of queries . when an application 231 outputs an enquiry in the form of a query , in step 301 , the client 230 intercepts the query before passing if onto the server 101 of the client - server database system 100 . in step 302 , the client 230 determines whether of not parsing of the intercepted query can be skipped at the client . whether or not the parsing the intercepted query is to be skipped is specified by the application ( e . g . application 231 ) that outputs the query . the application may specify skipping ( or non - skipping ) of parsing each of the intercepted queries at the client - end , or may switch between specifying skipping and non - skipping with arbitrary timing . if the parsing of the intercepted query is to be skipped , then the client transmits / sends the intercepted query to the server without performing any conventional parsing on the query ( step 303 ). if the parsing of the intercepted query is not to be skipped , the client performs query parsing and then transmits / sends the query to the server ( step 304 ). when the server receives the enquiry ( i . e . input query ) from the client 230 , the server 101 parses and executes the query by manipulating data in the database 102 and returns the response / result to the application 231 via the client 230 . by performing step 303 instead of performing conventional query parsing , the same process of performing query parsing which would be repeated at the server 101 is avoided at the client . an advantage is that the performance of the client - server database system can be improved with shorter response time , reduced overhead for code execution and runtime memory requirements , especially at the client - end , for query processing . when query parsing is skipped , the client 230 may still perform minimal processing on the query , such as determining the query type or the number of parameters of the query . such information can be used for further execution of the appropriate portion of the client ( odbc ) code based on type of sql queries ( i . e . data definition language , data manipulation language etc ) and also used to send the number of parameters ( if any ) to server ( database ). an advantage of performing minimal processing on the query is that a large part of the query parsing can be avoided at the client - end without forfeiting the function for the client to obtain essential information from the query . in an alternative embodiment , steps 302 and 304 may be excluded from the processing at the client , so that all queries from the application through the client 230 are passed onto the server 101 without being parsed . this configuration can be employed to simplify the structure of the client and the application . for example , it would be advantageous not to implement steps 302 and 304 if it is known at the time of building the client - application system that the application will only output queries that do not need parsing . an implementation of processes shown in fig3 will be described in more detail . software ( hereinafter also referred to as program and / or code ) written using open database connectivity ( odbc ) programming language interface for the client 230 , and odbc application program interface ( api ) calls for the application is used as an example . to introduce the option of skipping the process of query parsing , an element called “ skipparsing ” is added to the structure “ tagstmt_opt ” in the odbc driver as shown in fig4 ( a ). “ tagstmt_opt ” is a structure that is used to define various options / attributes , to be used across various stages in the client ( odbc ) code . by default , the value of element “ skipparsing ” is set as false ( i . e . the parser code is not to be skipped ), and to enable skipping the parser , the parser code is set as true . in the code for the client 230 , odbc sqlsetstmtattr , the logic shown in fig4 ( b ) is applied to allow the client 230 to detect a control code for skipping the query parsing specified by the application 231 . in a further part of odbc source code for the client 230 for controlling parser routines , the following logic may be added . if query parsing is to be skipped , ( if ( stmtp → option . skipparsing == true )), minimal processing such as determination of the number of parameters in the query and the determination of query type can be performed . to determine the number of parameters in the query , a code to look for parameter symbol “?” and to store the count of this symbol occurring in a given sql query can be used . to determine the query type , the element “ stmtp → stmttype ” which is known in the existing odbc source code can be used . for faster matching of sql query , a hash table for array of keywords listing query types can be used . the query inputted from the application 231 is scanned , and matched keywords are stored in the local variable . once the identifying and storing of the keyword is completed , the stored keyword value is checked against the array of queries and the query type is set accordingly . fig4 ( c ) show an example of code to implement this function . by skipping the parser code , which may be large , and having relatively small sections of code , the overhead for obtaining necessary information from the query is reduced , thereby achieving significantly better performance . especially , a large amount of buffer space taken up to store tokens of the query and the processing load for syntax check in query parsing is avoided by employing this minimal processing approach . query parsing processes such as syntax check can be skipped at the client 230 as an equivalent process is performed later at the server - end before the execution of the queries . if the application specifies that query parsing by the client 230 is not to be skipped ( if ( stmtp → option . skipparsing == false ), then the client 230 performs query parsing in accordance with the conventional approach . the decision to skip or not skip query parsing at the client - end can be made in accordance with the needs of the database system or the client / application configurations . implementation of this decision in the application source code will be described later . an example of a case where the client - end query parsing cannot be skipped is when the query contains odbc escape sequence which handles values such as date and timestamp in a manner specific to the client . if the odbc escape sequence is part of the query , then parsing to convert the escape sequence to native format which can be understood by the server 101 becomes essential . the following is an example of an odbc escape sequence which necessitates the client - end query parsing : alternatively , the same query can be written without odbc escape sequences , that enable skipping of client - end query parsing : to switch on / off skipping of the client - end query parsing , a control command for switching the attribute sql_ifmx_odbc_skip_parsing can be used in the source code of the application . the following control command used in the application source code enables the skipping of the client - end query parsing for queries that follow . the step 303 is then performed . the following control command used in the application source code disables the skipping of the client - end query parsing for queries that follow . the step 304 is then performed . in the example of the application source code shown in the appendix , the client - end query parsing is enabled by the command of line 0030 indicated in the appendix , and is later disabled by the command of line 0136 indicated in the appendix . as a result , client - end parsing is skipped for queries that are output between line 0031 and line 0135 indicated in the appendix , and queries output after line 0137 indicated in the appendix is parsed by the client 230 . the calls of the function sqlexecdirect ( ) executes the sql queries and a respective result ( success / failure ) will be returned in a variable identified as rc . it is noted that , although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein , it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose my be substituted for the specific embodiments shown . this application is thus intended to cover any adaptations or variations of embodiments of the present invention . therefore , it is manifestly intended that this invention be limited only by the claims and equivalents thereof . /* enable ( by setting to sql_true ) the skip parser attribute */ /* disable ( by setting to sql_false ) the skip parser attribute . here we will see after disabling we are running the same set of queries which we have run after enabling the skip parser attribute above . this shows how within the same application skip parser attribute can be set | 6 |
referring to fig1 an external electronic device 1 is coupled to an inductive coil 9 upon which the patient is sitting . a first implanted electronic device 10 and a second implanted electronic device 20 are placed in the walls of the rectum or on the serosal surface of the rectum . these first and second implanted electronic devices perform both detection and triggering functions . the inductive coil 9 may be removably coupled to a toilet . it may also be removably coupled to a seat cushion or a mattress . the first and second implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 each comprise a hermetically sealed capsule 12 and 22 in which electronic circuitry is located . attached to the hermetically sealed capsules 12 and 22 are two electrodes 14 and 24 . the electronic circuitry may include an inductive coil , power storage capacitor , and integrated circuit for performing various functions as detailed below and illustrated schematically in fig2 . the external electronic device 1 transmits power and command signals to implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 by creating a modulated radio frequency ( rf ) field on the inductive coil 9 . the modulated radio frequency field may be created using a variant of a class e power oscillator 7 called “ suspended carrier transmission ”. in this scheme , a very high q resonant circuit ( q & gt ; 100 ) consisting of inductive coil 9 and a tuning capacitor can be energized to a high level of inductive field strength while drawing only a small current from a power supply . when the peak sustained oscillations have been achieved in inductive coil 9 , the carrier may be 100 % modulated in fewer than four carrier cycles by opening a switch in the circuit between the tuning capacitor and the coil at precisely the instant when the current through the coil is zero and the voltage on the capacitor is maximal . the carrier can be reinstated rapidly and with minimal energy loss by closing the switch . the number of cycles in which the carrier is on or off can be used to encode digital data for the purpose of controlling the implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 . when the switch is open and the carrier is off , inductive coil 9 can be used as a high impedance antenna to detect outgoing emissions that encode information from implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 . the implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 may be used as a pair to perform different types of measurements . in one embodiment , the implanted electronic devices measure physical distension of the rectum . the implanted electronic device 10 emits a short burst of rf energy upon command from external electronic means 1 , at a time at which the suspended carrier is in the off state . the implanted electronic device 20 detects the strength of the short burst of rf energy emitted by the implanted electronic device 10 , which depends on the physical orientation and distance between the two implanted electronic devices . by locating the implanted electronic devices on opposite sides of the rectum , the strength of the rf coupling between the two devices will reflect distension of the rectum . in another embodiment , the implanted electronic devices measure the electrical resistance of the material in the rectum . the implanted electronic device 10 emits a brief electrical current from its two electrodes 14 . the implanted electronic device 20 detects the strength of the electrical field created in the adjacent tissues via its two electrodes 24 which are connected to an amplifier and a digitizer . the field strength depends on the dimensions and electrical conductivity of the material separating the two implanted electronic devices . solid fecal material has an electrical conductivity that is midway between liquids ( high electrical conductivity ) and gases ( low electrical conductivity ). the results of the two measurements described in the embodiments above are transmitted to the external electronic controller 1 which uses the information about distance and electrical coupling to infer both the amount and the nature of the rectal distension . this information can be presented to the patient through an interface 5 , whereupon the patient decides if and when it is necessary to empty the rectum . in the event that the patient decides to empty the bowels , this is conveyed through interface 5 to a controller 3 which transmits commands to one or both of the implanted electronic devices that cause them to emit electrical current pulses sufficiently strong to trigger peristaltic contractions of the rectum . the implanted electrical devices 10 and 20 may also include an electrical stimulator implanted into the tissues of rectoanal region to facilitate the emptying of the rectum . the implanted electrical devices 10 and 20 may also include an electrical stimulator that activates a plurality of preganglionic parasymapathetic neurons to trigger defecation . the implanted electrical devices 10 and 20 may also include an electrical stimulator that activates a plurality of perianal cutaneous afferents that activate spinal reflexes to trigger defecation . [ 0020 ] fig2 provides a more complete block diagram of the electronic functions performed by circuitry within the external and implanted components in order to support the operations described above . in particular , it depicts an embodiment in which a single type of implant can perform a multitude of functions upon command from the external components . it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that these electronic functions may be divided into two or more types of more specialized implants . referring to fig2 the external components 1 may be subdivided into functional blocks as follows . the user interface 5 provides a display whereby the user can see the results of the measurements in a simplified form upon which he / she can base decisions about self care and control . the user can instruct the system to begin or terminate self - care functions such as stimulating the evacuation of the rectum . the controller 3 includes all digital circuitry required to operate the remainder of the system , including storage devices that are loaded with and retain information specific to the patient and the implanted components , such as calibrations for the sensors and stimulus parameters required to perform self - care functions . power can be provided by ac / dc converter , batteries , or any other suitable device . communication with the implanted electronic devices is achieved by inductive coupling between the external inductive coil 9 and inductive coils contained within each implant . a driver 7 uses class e circuitry to create a sufficiently high field strength of the rf carrier signal produced in external inductive coil 9 so that the voltage generated in each implant &# 39 ; s inductive coil is sufficient to power the electronic circuitry in that implant . a tuning capacitor plus the external inductive coil 9 form a resonantly tuned tank circuit with a high q . an encoder formats the digital command information from the controller 3 to each implant so that it can be applied to the driver 7 in order to modulate the rf carrier signal so as to convey that command information to the implants . after commanding an implant to transmit out sensor data , the controller 3 must stop the transmission of rf power from the external inductive coil 9 by opening an electronic switch in the tank circuit at approximately the phase in the rf oscillation when the field strength in inductive coil 9 passes through zero . this causes inductive coil 9 to act like a high impedance antenna for the much weaker rf oscillations produced by the implant that is transmitting said sensor data by amplitude modulation of this outgoing rf signal . a detector circuit amplifies and conditions the outgoing rf signal as picked up by the inductive coil 9 acting as an antenna . a decoder circuit converts the amplitude fluctuations in the outgoing rf signal into digital data representing the sensor data , which is then processed by the controller 3 . referring to fig2 the implanted electronic devices 10 and 20 may each be subdivided in functional blocks as follows . the implant electronic circuitry 10 and 20 is contained within the hermetically sealed capsule 12 and 22 that protects it from moisture . it is connected to a pair of electrodes 14 and 24 affixed outside the package so as to make electrical contact with the body tissues . an inductive coil and capacitance produces a resonant circuit tuned to the rf carrier frequency , wherein said capacitance includes self - capacitance of the coil windings plus any additional capacitance required for tuning . in its idling state , the resonant circuit is connected to the receiver circuitry , which extracts electrical power from the received rf carrier signal and directs it to a power circuit and to a data circuit . the power circuit converts the rf power to a filtered and regulated dc voltage that powers the other circuitry . the data circuit detects modulation of the rf carrier signal and converts these modulations to digital data that controls the operation of the remainder of the implant circuitry ( not all data effects are shown schematically ). one primary role for the received digital data is to specify the strength and timing of electrical pulses emitted through electrodes 14 and 24 , as controlled by the stimulator function . when stimulation pulses are not being emitted but an rf carrier signal is being received , power extracted from the carrier is stored by on the electrodes themselves by the charger . the ta electrode is pre - anodized to approximately four times the maximal dc voltage produced by the power and charger circuitry so that it acts as an electrolytic storage capacitor with respect to the electrically conductive bodily fluids surrounding the electrode . this permits relatively large amounts of power to be stored and released in the form of intense , brief , intermittent stimulation pulses . the electrodes 14 and 24 can also be disconnected from both the charger and stimulator circuitry and connected to an amplifier circuit that amplifies and conditions potentials present on the electrodes . thus , when one implant is generating a stimulus pulse , another implant can measure the strength of the potential field created in its vicinity by the stimulus pulse , the field strength of which will depend on the nature and thickness of the tissue intervening between the two implants . the amplified signal from the electrodes or a signal from another sensor that may be included is switched to the digitizer which produces digital data corresponding to the amplitude of the sensor signal . the digitized sensor data is used to modulate a transmitter which causes the resonant circuit to emit an outgoing rf telemetry signal that is received by the external inductive coil and its related detector and decoder circuitry . during this transmission , the external circuitry stops transmitting its rf carrier signal . when one implant is generating an outgoing rf telemetry signal , one or more other implants in its vicinity can be commanded to act as sensors of the strength of the rf signal in their vicinity . the rf signal picked up by an implant that is functioning as an rf field sensor is amplified and conditioned by the detector circuit and conveyed to the digitizer for later transmission outward . it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural and functional changes may be made without departing from the respective scope of the present invention . the attached description of exemplary and anticipated embodiments of the 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 . many modifications and variations are possible in light of the teachings herein . | 0 |
referring again to the drawings , there is shown in fig1 - 4 an anemometer , generally designated as 10 , mounted on hollow support tubes 12 and 14 . the support tubes at their inner ends 16 and 18 are in supportive engagement with outer cylindrical ends 20 and 22 of hub end caps 24 and 26 , respectively . the inner portions of the end caps have cylindrical surfaces 28 and 30 , which are in cylindrical alignment with outer cylindrical surface 36 of the anemometer hub , generally designated as 38 . the hub , fig3 is mounted on bearings 44 for rotation on a cylindrical axle 42 fixed in the end caps 24 and 26 . the outer cylindrical end 22 is threaded externally and the inner axle at end 20 is threaded internally to receive a holding screw 43 so that the hub can be mounted on a shaft instead of the tubes 12 and 14 . this modification permits mounting the hub on a shaft in a hang - glider , for example . the hub has an internal generally annular space 46 containing the rotation sensing system to be described . the inner faces of the end caps 24 and 26 have annular flanges 50 and 52 extending inwardly into complementary annular grooves 54 and 56 , respectively , in the outer faces of the hub . the anemometer has eight identical multi - faced , helicoidal airfoils , generally designated as 60 , each airfoil having a multiple of helicoidal edges . this structure provides effective airfoils because their twist causes a partial vacuum to develop on one side during rotation . at the lower or inner ends of the airfoils , fig2 and 5 , there are lateral posts 62 spaced apart in the axial direction , and secured in complementary , evenly spaced openings 64 in the cylindrical hub surface 36 . extending between the posts are beveled inner ends 66 on the airfoils which terminate in transverse inner airfoil edges 68 spaced radially outwardly from the hub surface . between the edges 68 , the hub surface and the inner edges of the laterally spaced posts are formed generally rectangular slots 72 . these transversely extending spaces need not be of symmetrical configuration but the airfoil edges 68 must be thin to produce a strong vortex . the spaces extending across the airfoils , as 72 , need not be of slot form and can be open at the ends , formed by a central support , for example , connecting the airfoils to the hub . the space or slot distance between the hub and airfoils is relatively narrow as 1 / 16 &# 34 ; or 1 / 8 &# 34 ;. all that is required is to provide space to separate the airfoils and hub . extending outwardly from the posts and the edge 68 , as may be best seen in fig2 illustrating an airfoil 76 , the airfoil is twisted spirally . as shown in fig1 and 5 - 11 , each airfoil has plane surfaces 80 , 82 and 84 on one side , and respective equivalent surfaces 86 , 88 and 90 on the other side , fig2 . the surfaces 80 and 82 intersect in a generally radially extending helicoidal line edge 96 . the surfaces 80 and 82 also intersect with the triangular surface 84 to form helicoidal line edges 98 and 100 , respectively . the surfaces 84 and 90 intersect with outer tip or end surfaces 102 of respective airfoils . surfaces 82 and 88 intersect with helicoidal edge 104 which as it extends downwardly on the airfoil becomes a line edge 106 , fig1 , and as it further extends downwardly on the posts becomes a flat edge 108 . identical edge surfaces are formed on respective other parts of the airfoils . all of the intersecting surfaces of the airfoils form sharp edges . the facing surfaces of adjacent airfoils , such as surfaces 80 , 82 and 84 and 86 , 88 and 90 , are at angles with each adjacent surface of from 166 ° to 173 ° to insure that the air flow on the surfaces does not separate therefrom , and so as to produce the couanda effect . in the embodiment shown , the airfoils are 1 . 125 &# 34 ; wide and 2 . 250 &# 34 ; long externally of the hub . the diameter of the hub is 1 . 2 &# 34 ;, making the total diameter of the anemometer 5 . 700 &# 34 ;. the slot 72 is 0 . 15 &# 34 ; in the radial direction and 0 . 75 &# 34 ; in the axial direction . the post depth into the hub is 0 . 1875 &# 34 ;, and diagonals in the parallelogram , as shown in fig9 are 1 . 125 &# 34 ; × 0 . 125 &# 34 ;. the slot 72 can be changed in shape to accommodate varying airfoil shapes for distributing the vorticity flow to the tips of the blades in such a manner so as to counter the vorticity in the tip effects on the airfoils . the airfoils have been made from plastic , such as polycarbonate , polyvinyl chloride and glass - filled nylon . the rotation sensing system is shown in fig3 and 12 , and is adapted to sense the time for one - half of a revolution of the anemometer rather than count the number of revolutions for a specific period of time . the system is comprised of a metal oxide semiconductor ( mos ) clock 120 , driving an amplifier 122 of sufficient power to supply a light emitting diode ( led ) 124 , the latter being positioned , fig3 on the non - rotating axle 42 in the space 46 within the hub . two element - shaped shutters 126 and 128 are integral with the hub so as to rotate therewith and are positioned adjacent the led and two closely spaced photo - sensing transistors 130 and 132 so as to rotate therebetween and shut off the light from the led to the transistors , the light signal being received by the transistors when the shutters are rotated out of alignment from the led and the transistors . the photo - sensing transistors are connected to a discriminator detector 134 to indicate the direction of rotation and its output to a counter sample - hold amplifier 136 . the output therefrom is directed to a 1 / x ( reciprocal ) read only memory ( rom ) 138 in which a comparative scan determines the wind speed . this system produces a high frequency ( approximately at a rate of 1 megahertz ) series of narrow light pulses in square wave form 140 , fig1 , interrupted by the rotation of the instrument shutters 126 and 128 . the two photo - sensing transistors detect the rotation of the anemometer according to which is turned off first . this detection is determined in the discrimination detector . the shutting off of the light by the shutters changes the wave form to a chopped wave form 142 in a series of pulses which are counted and held in the sample - hold register 136 whose output is directed to the reciprocal 1 / x rom , where the slower the speed of rotation of the instrument provides the greater number of counts per sample . because the instrument is linear in wind speed , the reciprocal of the count per sample is directly proportional to the wind speed . the output of the rom can be recorded on magnetic tape , displayed on liquid crystal or led displays , or on a meter . this system provides the advantages of significantly reducing the power consumption of the led light signal generation , typically by a factor of 10 , increases the accuracy and resolution of the measurement of the anemometer rotation rate , and consequently the speed , because it measures portions of angles of rotation rather than multiples of rotations , produces a linear output , and updates the measurement every one - half rotation . in fig1 the anemometer according to the prior art is shown . here the anemometer has a hub 150 and light blades 152 extending therefrom are equally spaced . the blades are flat but twisted , the twist not being shown . further , there is no space between the inner ends of the blades and the hub . direction of rotation is shown by the arrow 154 . between each pair of blades a vortex 156 is developed and on the left side the vortex 156 produces a resultant force 158 and on the right side the vortex produces a resultant force 160 , in the opposite direction as indicated by the arrow . the result of this is development of forces which tend to rotate the hub in the direction of the forces 162 . these forces 162 , acting in the direction opposite to rotation , cause considerable inaccuracy in measuring the component of the wind on the anemometer . in fig1 an anemometer according to the invention having a hub 38 and airfoils 60 is shown schematically to be rotating in the direction of the arrow 166 . here the airfoils are shown without illustrating the twist . a vortex 168 is formed at the outer end of the airfoils , and the slots 72 extending transversely across the airfoils produce a vortex 170 at the inner ends of the airfoils . in fig1 the vortices 156 and the forces 162 are rotating generally in the same direction whereas in fig1 the vortices 168 and 170 are rotating in opposite directions . the result is that the forces 171 and 173 between neighboring airfoils are reduced because of the strengthened vortices through the slots and the alteration of the flow pattern over the hub . that is , the opposing forces as 162 in fig1 are not developed to any extent . this provides for greater efficiency and accuracy . in fig1 another embodiment of the invention is shown schematically . here a rotor 38 &# 39 ; has eight airfoils 60 &# 39 ; with cut - out spaces or slots 72 &# 39 ; shown extending across the airfoils and between them and the hub . in addition the airfoils have cut - out areas 176 which are intermediate the two ends of the airfoils . again , these cut - out areas may be of substantially any shape , such as slots across the airfoils in the manner of the spaces 72 , but can extend along edges of the airfoils , the airfoils being connected inwardly of the spaces in the latter arrangement . the radial edges of the cut - outs should be sharp so as to produce strong vortices . the direction of rotation is indicated by the arrow 178 . here between neighboring blades four vortices 180 , 182 , 184 and 186 are formed . vortices 180 and 182 rotate in opposite directions and similarly the vortices 184 and 186 rotate in opposite directions . the additional cut - outs further reduce the interaction as indicated by the resultant forces 181 , 183 and 185 , 187 between the neighboring or adjacent airfoils to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the anemometer . one of the important features of the invention is the large cylindrical hub which with the slots and cut - out portions generate vortices indicated in fig1 and 15 . vorticity from these vortices is proportional to the component of the wind along the axis which impacts on the instrument and causes the rotation . the anemometer is free running , retarded only by the drag of the bearings and thus there is little drag or lift on the airfoils when the wind is along the axis of the instrument . as the angle of incidence of the wind increases , the drag and lift in the flow over the airfoils increases , as does the strength of the airfoil tip vortices 168 in fig1 and 180 in fig1 . these are facts which can cause large errors in the prior art designs . here , the vorticity generated by the flow through the slots between the hub and the chamfered airfoils is oppositely directed to that generated by the aerodynamically generated tip vortices . the surprising result is that the tip vortices are neutralized and deflected so as to permit the anemometer to respond to the air flow defined by the helicoidal airfoil edges . the relative strength of the vortices around the edges of the airfoils are of the same strength no matter how strong the wind and no matter how fast the anemometer is rotated at any given angle of attack . therefore , the aerodynamic corrections caused by the vortices 170 in fig1 and 182 , 184 and 186 in fig1 , are effective at all speeds because they are always of the same proportional strength . the shape of the slot 72 can be changed to accommodate varying airfoil shapes to generate vorticity containing flow so as to counter the vorticity induced in the blade tips . the concept of the large cylindrical hub and the airfoils in contrast to the elliptical or spheroidal hubs and flat blades in the prior art provides a substantial improvement in accuracy over the whole range of reynolds numbers from 0 to 10 12 . the airfoil and generally parallelogram shape in the cross - section also improves the accuracy of the instrument in response to changes in wind , particularly to wind direction reversals and complete cessation . the invention and its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form , construction and arrangements of the parts of the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof or sacrificing its material advantages , the arrangements hereinbefore described being merely by way of example . i do not wish to be restricted to the specific forms shown or uses mentioned except as defined in the accompanying claims , wherein various portions have been separated for clarity of reading and not for emphasis . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , a housing 10 with side walls 13 is provided comprising a suitable material resistant to caustic solutions at temperatures up to 95 ° c ., such as polypropylene or 316 stainless steel , and serving as an electrolyte reservoir . extending across an upper region of the interior of housing 10 is a support panel or platform 11 . at one side of the housing , there are gaps 36 in the support panel , providing air openings into the electrolyte reservoir . extending upwardly from and supported by the support panel 11 are a plurality of metal - air cells 12 with air gaps therebetween . these cells 12 have a long , flat rectangular shape with side walls 21 having window openings retaining air cathodes 22 . the air cathodes 22 are generally rectangular sheet members fabricated of activated carbon and incorporating an electrically conductive material such a wire mesh . each cathode 22 extends entirely over an opening in wall 21 with its edges sealingly adhered to the interior surface of the wall around the periphery of the opening . the cathodes in the two side walls are preferably electrically connected such that they effectively form a single cathode surrounding the anode spaced between them . the cathodes are susceptible to hydrostatic deformation which affects the gap between the anode and cathode . to avoid this problem , a supporting grid 71 is provided across the opening in wall 21 and small projections 72 are provided on the outer edges of the grid 71 . these projections 72 are arranged so that the projections of adjacent pairs of cells engage each other , thereby providing a rigid structure while permitting free flow of air between the cells . the side walls 21 are joined by a removable top lid 23 , a pair of end walls 24 and a bottom wall 25 , the lid 23 tightly sealing within walls 21 and 24 . the anode 26 has a vertically extending tab 75 projecting upwardly through a slot in lid 23 , and similarly the cathode has a connector lead 76 extending from the side of the cell where the two cathodes are joined . the tab 75 and lead 76 are connected to suitable circuit means ( not shown ) for connecting the cells in series to each other and to an external load . a divider wall 30 is formed between side walls 21 near one end wall 24 to form a narrow discharge conduit 32 adjacent the side edge . this divider wall 30 terminates at an upper edge 31 a short distance below the cell top edge 23 , the edge 31 forming an overflow weir . vertical slots are provided in divider wall 30 and side wall 24 to retain an aluminum anode 26 . this anode terminates slightly below the top edge 31 of divider wall 30 . an inlet tube 27 connects to bottom edge 25 beneath the anode 26 and an outlet tube 33 connects to bottom edge 25 directly below the discharge conduit 32 . these pass through holes 29 and 29a respectively in support panel 11 . preferably the tube 27 is provided with annular grooves containing o - rings which snugly seal the tube 27 within hole 29 . the discharge tube 33 is formed slightly smaller than hole 29a to facilitate inserting and withdrawing the metal - air cell 12 . to prevent leakage of air through holes 29a , a thin foam or rubber pad with small holes may be placed on the panel 11 over the holes 29a . the discharge tubes pass through the small holes in the pad and then through the larger holes 29a . immediately below the inlet tubes 27 is mounted a manifold or manifolds 15 extending across beneath support panel 11 . preferably there is a divider wall 50 providing two manifolds , one for each aligned row of metal - air cells . as shown in fig4 four inlet tubes 16 feed into the manifold 15 , two of these tubes feeding into one half of the manifold and two into the other half . the inlet end of the four tubes 16 connect to a second manifold 17 which in turn connects to three submersible centrifugal pumps 19 by way of outlet lines 18 . two of the three outlet lines 18 are provided with reverse flow check valves 49 . the pumps 19 have inlets 20 which are preferably positioned well above the bottom of the electrolyte reservoir . all tubing , connectors and manifold are preferably made of a non - conducting material in order to reduce possible shunt currents . the electrolyte reservoir preferably has a divider wall 14 with an upper edge 14a forming an overflow weir . as can be seen from fig1 the electrolyte will , after some discharge time has elapsed , have a higher level to the right of the weir and a lower level to the left of the weir . partially clarified electrolyte overflows from the right side to the left side of the weir . inlets 20 for pumps 19 are positioned in the downstream side of the reservoir for pumping partially clarified electrolyte up through manifolds 17 and 15 and through the metal - air cells 12 . the electrolyte travels from the manifold 15 in an upward direction through the gaps between the anode and cathodes simultaneously flushing any reaction product formed in the gaps . the electrolyte with reaction product is carried over the weir 31 and down discharge conduit 32 and outlet 33 back into the upstream side of the electrolyte reservoir . the reaction product s settles to the bottom of the upstream side with the partially clarified electrolyte flowing over the weir for recycle through the metal - air cells . an air distributor wall 35 is provided adjacent the metal - air cells 12 with openings 66 opposite the gaps between the cells for discharge of air through the gaps . a blower 34 feeds air to the distributor wall 35 , this blower being powered by electricity generated by the battery . in operation , the compartment containing the metal - air cells is sealed within a cover 55 as shown in fig2 except for the air inlets 66 and the gaps 36 in the support panel 11 . this compartment cover includes the air distributor wall 35 , a pair of side walls 56 , an end wall 57 opposite wall 35 and a removable lid 58 . the walls 35 , 56 and 57 are tightly sealed together and the bottom edges of the four walls are tightly sealed to the top of the housing 10 , while the lid 58 is tightly connected to the top edges of the four walls . alternatively , the lid 58 may be sealed to the walls and the entire compartment cover may be removable . thus , when the blower 34 is in operation , air is blown across through the gaps between the metal - air cells 12 and down through the support panel openings 36 into the reservoir . the air then travels in the reverse direction across the surface of the electrolyte in the reservoir , picking up hydrogen , then through demister curtain 70 and fiber demisting pads 40 and is discharged to the atmosphere upwardly through a plurality of metal tubes 38 of condenser 37 . heat exchange in the condenser is enhanced by means of a plurality of mechanically bonded metal fins 39 through which air is blown from fans 41 . alternatively , the condenser may be water cooled . the electrolyte may be cooled by means of a heat exchanger 42 , the heat exchange taking place between metal tubes 43 and metal fins 44 by way of air fans 48 . the electrolyte is pumped by way of pump 45 upwardly through tube 46 , through the heat exchanger and is discharged back into the reservoir via discharge line 47 . the operation of the heat exchanger fans is controlled by a thermal switch set to a predetermined temperature . the condenser and heat exchanger may be protected by a cover 60 as shown in fig3 and consisting of two sides 61 , one end wall 63 and a top wall 64 . side walls 61 contain openings 62 to permit free flow of air around the condenser , heat exchanger and circulating air blower . the top wall 64 has an outlet 65 serving as an exhaust from condenser tubes 38 . this outlet 65 may be connected to an exhaust vent . a small auxilliary battery is used to start the battery of the invention , this auxilliary battery being connected to the pumps 19 . thus , when the pumps 19 are activated , they commence pumping electrolyte upwardly through manifolds 17 and 15 . since gas may accumulate in the manifolds , it is desirable to provide a means for venting gas before it passes upwardly through the metal - air cells by providing small holes in the upper regions of the side walls of manifold 15 . after the gas is fully eliminated from the manifold , there continues to be a slight flow of electrolyte through the holes . as soon as the electrolyte makes contact between the anode and cathode , electricity generation commences and the auxilliary battery is no longer required . the pumps 19 and 45 , the blower 34 and the fans 41 and 48 are all driven by excess power from the battery of the invention . it is also possible to provide a manual pumping device to start the battery , thereby avoiding the need for the auxilliary battery . the three pumps 19 provide a sufficiently excess flow capacity that two of the three pumps can fail and sufficient electrolyte will still be pumped to fill the metal - air cells with electrolyte and keep the battery operational . in order to prevent a flow short circuit through a failed pump , reverse flow check valves 49 are provided on all except one pump . when it is desired to stop the battery for any reason , such as replacing the metal - air cells , it is simply a matter of stopping the pumps whereby the electrolyte drains out of the metal - air cells and the cells can be replaced . thus , the battery can be placed back into immediate operation and individual cells can be opened and the anodes replaced at a convenient time . in order to flush the system , a one - way discharge valve outlet may be provided in a side wall 13 of housing 10 at a level above the highest permissible accumulation of reaction product solids 5 and below the level of weir 14a . thus , with the one - way valve in the open position , water can be fed into the pump side of the electrolyte reservoir and then circulated through the pumps and cells into the upstream side of the electrolyte reservoir . simultaneously , liquid flows from the reservoir out through the one - way valve . in this manner , all caustic except for that held within the solids deposit s may be flushed out of the battery . a battery of the design shown in fig1 - 6 was produced with 20 aluminum - air cells . each aluminum anode had a thickness of 13 mm , a height of 18 . 2 cm and a width of 11 . 1 cm . the cathodes used were type ae - 20 gas - diffusion cathodes made by electromedia inc . the cells each had a thickness of 1 . 7 cm , a height of 23 . 0 cm and a width of 13 . 0 cm . the electrolyte was 5m koh with 0 . 005m sodium stannate and it was pumped through the aluminum - air cells at a flow rate of 15 l / min . air was circulated between the cells and through the reservoir at a rate of about 28 l / min . this battery provided over 500 watts continuously for more than 60 hours with an output current of approximately 19 amps . the battery also had a net energy output of over 300 watt - hours per kg of battery weight . in order to determine how the al / koh ratio behaves as a function of discharge time , a computer simulation was carried out based on the equation shown on page 4 at 72 . 5 watts per cell and seed additions of 3 . 30 and 60 grams . the results are shown in fig7 and it can be seen that the higher the seed charge and the earlier it is added , the lower the maximum al / koh ratio attained . because the electrical conductivity of the solution diminishes as the al / koh ratio increases , the effect of the seed additions is reflected in the cell voltage as represented by the family of full line curves in fig7 . it has been determined that if sufficient seed is added to keep the al / xoh ratio below 0 . 60 , current densities as high as 180 ma / cm 2 are possible without anode passivation and that to maintain a current density of 60 ma / cm 2 , sufficient seed to maintain the ratio below 0 . 70 is all that is required . also , with sufficient seed present to avoid an excessively high supersaturation level , crystal growth and secondary nucleation are the precipitation mechanisms , solution viscosity is kept low and the solid material can settle out in the sedimentation zone off the battery , thereby avoiding cell clogging and resultant battery failure . as can be seen from the dashed lines in fig7 once the peak value of the al / xoh ratio has been passed , the ratio becomes constant , striking a balance between the rate of aluminum dissolution and precipitation and seed sedimentation rate . in this way no further passivation is threatened and the lifetime or discharge time of the battery is extended by a factor of 4 to 5 times that which can be obtained in the absence of added seed . certain preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the following non - limiting examples . the properties and specification of the various baikalox aluminas produced by a deagglomeration process are given in the following table : ______________________________________ baikalox baikalox baikalox baikaloxpowder name cr30 cr15 cr10 cr1______________________________________purity , % al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 99 . 99 99 . 99 99 . 99 99 . 99major phase alpha alpha alpha alpha % major phase 65 % 85 % 90 % 97 % crystal density , 3 . 98 3 . 98 3 . 98 3 . 98gm / cm . sup . 3bulk density , 0 . 32 0 . 46 0 . 51 0 . 70gm / cm . sup . 3pressed density , 1 . 04 1 . 32 1 . 45 1 . 622000 psi gm / ccultimate particle 0 . 05 0 . 1 0 . 15 & lt ; 1 . 5size , micronsmean agglomerate & lt ; 0 . 5 & lt ; 0 . 5 & lt ; 0 . 6 & lt ; 1 . 5size , micronsspecific surface area , 30 ± 1 15 ± 1 10 ± 1 1b . e . t ., m . sup . 2 / gmloss of ignition , % 1 . 0 . 65 . 25 -- agglomerate size cumulative weight percentdistribution by sedigraph & lt ; 0 . 3 μm 34 31 13 -- & lt ; 0 . 4 μm 44 45 24 -- & lt ; 0 . 5 μm 53 56 38 -- & lt ; 0 . 6 μm 59 68 52 9 & lt ; 1 . 0 μm 78 88 82 45 & lt ; 2 . 0 μm 93 99 95 88 & lt ; 5 . 0 μm 97 100 98 97 & lt ; 10 . 0 μm 100 -- 100 100______________________________________ a supersaturated solution of caustic potassium aluminate was prepared using 4 . 1m koh and 3 . 0m al . three separate containers holding this solution were placed in a constant temperature bath at 50 ° c . to one solution was added 20 g / l of regular hydrargillite seed , to a second solution was added 20 g / l of baikalox cr - 15 and no seed was added to the third solution . the solution conductivities were monitored with in - situ sensors , with an increase in electrical conductivity being symptomatic of hydragillite precipitation according to the reaction : the results in fig8 show that baikalox cr - 15 is an effective seed . the procedure of example 1 was repeated using a solution prepared from 4 . 5m koh and 3 . 3m al . four different α - alumina seeds were tested , including 40 g / l of baikalox cr - 15 , 40 g / l of laboratory - calcined alumina , 80 g / l of alcoa a - 16 and baco ra - 107ls . the results in fig9 show the ineffectiveness of the α - alumina other than baikalcx cr - 15 . the procedure of example 1 was again followed using a solution prepared from 4 . 5m koh and 3 . 27m al . three different baikalox alumina seeds were tested , including 20 g / l baikalox cr - 15 , 20 g / l baikalox cr - 30 and 40 g / l baikalox cr - 1 . the results in fig1 show the superiority of baikalox cr - 15 . the procedure of example 1 was following using a solution prepared from 5 . 0m koh and 3 . 6m al . tests were conducted using 40 g / l baikalox cr - 15 and 40 g / l baikalox cr - 10 . the results in fig1 show these to be equally effective . the procedure of example 1 was followed using a solution prepared from 4 . 5m koh and 3 . 3m al . the tests were conducted using 10 g / l hydrargillite seed and different concentrations of baikalox cr - 15 . the results in fig1 show the relative effectiveness of different dosages of baikalox cr - 15 compared with the hydrargillite . | 7 |
the present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein . embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the figures . however , those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments . for example , it should be appreciated that those skilled in the art will , in light of the teachings of the present invention , recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches , depending upon the needs of the particular application , to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein , beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown . that is , there are numerous modifications and variations of the invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit within the scope of the invention . also , singular words should be read as plural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa , where appropriate , and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply that the two are mutually exclusive . the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments are provided herein . it is to be understood , however , that the present invention may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system , structure or manner . it is to be understood that any exact measurements / dimensions or particular construction materials indicated herein are solely provided as examples of suitable configurations and are not intended to be limiting in any way . depending on the needs of the particular application , those skilled in the art will readily recognize , in light of the following teachings , a multiplicity of suitable alternative implementation details . at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention provide an electronically controlled antiskid system for wheeled vehicles with manual brakes to increase safety by improving directional control and shortening the stopping distance by reducing tire skids while braking when compared to conventional manual brake systems . at least some preferred embodiments are used with manual brake systems where the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator uses their hands and / or feet to actuate and power the mechanical or hydraulic brakes . at least some preferred embodiments do not use any hydraulic or pneumatic power to apply the brakes . instead , at least some preferred embodiments use an electronic controller and a wheel speed sensor to detect a tire skidding event on a wheeled vehicle and command an actuator to move the brake linkage to reduce the brake force that the operator is applying to the brake pads of the skidding wheel and thus reduce the tire skids . in at least some preferred embodiments , electrical power from the vehicles &# 39 ; electrical system is used to power the antiskid system , including the actuators . at least some preferred embodiments can operate on either dc or ac power . in addition , some embodiments can operate on portable battery power , which is ideal for bicycle applications that have no on - board electrical systems . as illustrated by way of example in fig1 , today &# 39 ; s electronically controlled antiskid systems are not well suited for vehicles with manual brakes because a power source for the brake system must be added to the vehicle . this is not practical due to the added weight , cost and the difficulty of mounting the many needed components . at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention provide the same safety benefits for vehicles with manual brake systems without the need for all of the additional components required for a vehicle with powered brakes . antiskid systems according to at least some preferred embodiments weigh and cost less and are more compact than antiskid systems for powered brakes since there is no need for a hydraulic or pneumatic pump , a drive motor , control valves , relief valves and piping . in at least some preferred embodiments , the actuator that moves the brake linkage can be located anywhere in the brake linkage system . this can reduce the cost of retrofitting the antiskid system into vehicles already in use . at least some preferred embodiments may also reduce maintenance costs by extending tire life by reducing tire skids and tire blowouts and may reduce the cost of vehicle insurance by reducing the number of accidents caused by loss of directional control when braking in typical use of at least some preferred embodiments , the manual brake system already in place and certified on a vehicle is not impacted by the addition of the antiskid system . all elements of a manual brake system , shown by way of example in fig2 a and 2b , remain operational on the vehicle when the electronically controlled antiskid system is not operating . this is important for aircraft where re - certifying the entire brake system is impractical due to the added cost and the need to comply with the most current certification requirements . at least some preferred embodiments can be retrofit on vehicles already in operation or may be installed in new production vehicles as they are being manufactured . in some cases , a retrofit can be performed by replacing the current master cylinder with a plug and play replacement called an electric master cylinder . in at least some preferred embodiments , the electronic controller of the antiskid system for manual brakes can be adapted from electronic controllers for antiskid systems for powered brakes . this includes both analog and digital controller designs that are available today . in addition , antiskid software algorithms for powered brake systems can also be adapted to be used in at least some preferred embodiments . adapting current antiskid electronics and software for the electronic controller in at least some preferred embodiments is attractive to perspective manufacturers in the antiskid brake business as it can reduce both the development time and cost to manufacture . most currently known antiskid controllers compare the wheel speeds of all of the wheels on the vehicle to determine if a skidding event is occurring or about to occur with one or more of the wheels . some electronic controllers use software algorithms to estimate the vehicle &# 39 ; s “ reference ” or ground speed . other antiskid controllers use inputs from other systems on board the vehicle to determine the estimated ground or reference speed . a function that can be added to some embodiments of the present invention is a global positioning system ( gps ) capability that calculates the ground speed of the vehicle using gps satellite data . at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention may be implemented with an advanced controller for aircraft and motorcycles applications or a basic controller sufficient for bicycle applications . for example , without limitation , a simple version of the electronic controller may be used on off road bicycles when a cyclist needs to maintain maximum braking and directional control when riding down a step dirt hill . in this non - limiting example , the electronic controller is an on / off switch that the cyclist holds “ on ” to engage the antiskid actuator in a “ pulse the brakes mode ” when the antiskid function is needed . at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention may utilize either type of automotive wheel speed sensors : the variable - reluctance or the magneto - resistive type of sensor . these sensors are environmentally rugged , lightweight , compact and low cost , and magneto - resistive wheel speed sensors can operate down to zero wheel speeds . furthermore , wheel speed sensors in at least some preferred embodiments are not mounted inside the axle of the wheel . wheel speed sensors typically use a gear shaped device called a tone ring to disrupt the magnetic field around the wheel speed sensor . aircraft wheel speed sensors integrate the tone rings with the senor into a single unit that is mounted inside the aircraft &# 39 ; s axle . this is not practical on general aviation aircraft due to the small axle diameters . the wheel speed sensor used in at least some preferred embodiments is located outside the axle . in addition in at least some preferred embodiments , the tone ring can be integrated into the brake disc for vehicles that utilize a disc brake . this is done by forming a gear shape in the outside or inside diameter of the brake disc . this can be done on aircraft , motorcycles or bicycles and can reduce weight and system complexity . there are several groups of people that could benefit from an electronically controlled antiskid system for vehicles with manual brakes in accordance with at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention . pilots of general aviation ( ga ) aircraft can utilize at least some preferred embodiments to increase safety and reduce operating costs . the landing phase of flight has the highest accident rate and loss of direction control is the biggest accident factor in this category . having an antiskid system available for ga aircraft pilots could improve aircraft safety and increase pilots &# 39 ; peace of mind . flight schools may also be interested in having the antiskid function according to at least some preferred embodiments on their ga aircraft since they typically experience two blown tires a year per aircraft from excessive braking by students . manufacturers of ga aircraft with manual brake systems may also be interested in at least some preferred embodiments , as they could create more sales . with at least some preferred embodiments , manufacturers of aircraft brakes and antiskid systems would be able to enter the untapped retrofit market with over 200 , 000 ga airplanes flying today with manual brakes and no antiskid system available for these aircraft . motorcycle manufactures may be interested in at least some preferred embodiments for motorcycles with manual brakes as many motorcycle manufacturers continue to provide more safety features on their vehicles , similar to cars to promote safety and increase sales . at least some preferred embodiments would be particularly beneficial for motorcycles that are operated in wet or icy conditions . with at least some preferred embodiments manufacturers of motorcycle brakes would also be able to enter the untapped retrofit market with millions of motorcycles in use today with manual brakes and no antiskid system available for these vehicles . bicycle manufactures may be interested in at least some preferred embodiments for bicycles operated in wet and icy conditions and for bicycles operated by off - road cyclists that need enhanced skid and directional control when riding their bicycles in the dirt or mud . with at least some preferred embodiments manufacturers of bicycle brakes would be able to enter the untapped retrofit market with millions of bicycles in use today with manual brakes and no antiskid system available for these vehicles . in a basic embodiment of the present invention , an antiskid system uses an actuator assembly to move a brake linkage to reduce the force that an operator is applying to a brake pad . the actuator assembly that moves the brake linkage utilizes a pulsing motion to reduce the average force that is being applied to the brake pad to reduce or eliminate tire skid . in this basic embodiment , the antiskid system also uses an electronic controller that is an on / off switch that is actuated by the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator to turn on the actuator assembly that pulses the manual brake linkage to reduce or eliminate tire skid . a typical application this embodiment is on a bicycle . in an advanced embodiment of the present invention , an antiskid system uses an actuator assembly that can set and hold a position of a manual brake linkage to modulate the force on a brake pad . wheel speed sensors and optional gps data are used by an electronic controller to detect a skidding event . when a skidding event is detected , the electronic controller automatically commands the actuator to modulate the brake force to reduce tire skid . this advanced embodiment provides more efficient antiskid protection than a basic embodiment . a typical application for the present embodiment is on ga aircraft and motorcycles . fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c are schematic diagrams showing an exemplary manual brake system for one wheel on a vehicle , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . fig3 a is an overall view of a simple hydraulic system with three alternate locations for a lock and release assembly and an actuator assembly , and fig3 b is a close - up view of a fourth alternate location for the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly in the simple hydraulic system . fig3 c is an overall view of a more complex mechanical system with six alternate locations for the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly . the present embodiment may be used on vehicles with two main wheels each with a separate brake and an independent hand or foot brake lever that is used by an operator to actuate and power the brakes . the wheels may be located in the front and rear of these vehicles such as in motorcycles and bicycles , or they may be located on the left and right side of these vehicles such as in ga aircraft . referring to fig3 a , the brake system uses the force applied to a brake lever 200 by the operator &# 39 ; s hand or foot to create the hydraulic brake pressure . hydraulic pressure is created by transferring the force from the operator &# 39 ; s hand or foot to brake lever 200 to an input shaft 201 that is connected to a piston 203 in a hydraulic master cylinder 202 . hydraulic piston 203 is contained in a cavity within master cylinder 202 in such a manner that hydraulic pressure is created in proportion to the force applied to brake lever 200 by the operator &# 39 ; s hand or foot . a hydraulic pipe 204 connects master cylinder 202 to a hydraulic brake cylinder 111 . hydraulic brake cylinder 111 comprises a brake piston 112 that is connected to a brake pad 113 , which is pushed against a brake disc / drum 114 creating the friction to slow the turning disc / drum 114 that is connected to a wheel 115 . this action slows and stops the vehicle . in the present embodiment , the antiskid system comprises a lock and release assembly , an actuator assembly and an electronic controller . the actuator assembly may comprise a gearmotor and pulses the brake linkage to reduce the average force on the brake pads . the lock and release assembly connects the actuator assembly to the brake linkage when the antiskid function is needed and disconnects the actuator assembly from the brake linkage when the antiskid function is not needed or if there is a loss of electrical power . there is a lock and release assembly for each actuator assembly . the actuator assembly and the lock and release assembly can be powered by the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system or by a portable battery . the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly can be located in several positions through out the manual hydraulic brake linkage system . for example without limitation , a lock and release assembly 301 a and an actuator assembly 302 a are shown mounted at brake lever 200 , a lock and release assembly 301 b and an actuator assembly 302 b are shown mounted near input shaft 201 , and a lock and release assembly 301 c and an actuator assembly 302 c are shown mounted near brake pad 113 . referring to fig3 b , a fourth exemplary location of a lock and release assembly 301 d and an actuator assembly 302 d is shown mounted in hydraulic piping 204 using a hydraulic cylinder 304 . lock and release assembly 301 d may be located anywhere along hydraulic piping 204 . in some hydraulic brake system there is limited access to the mechanical linkage . when this is the case , a hydraulic cylinder 304 can be placed any convenient location in the brake line 204 as shown in fig3 b . the shaft on the hydraulic cylinder 304 provides a mechanical linkage for connecting actuator assembly 302 d and lock and release assembly 301 d . in the present embodiment , the electronic controller used on the manual hydraulic and mechanical brake system is an on / off switch that is actuated by the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator to turn on actuator assembly 302 a , 302 b , 302 c , or 302 d that pulses the manual brake linkage to reduce or eliminate tire skids . the switch also turns on lock and release assembly 301 a , 301 b , 301 c , or 301 d to connect actuator assembly 302 a , 302 b , 302 c , or 302 d to the brake linkage . a typical application for an electronic controlled antiskid system utilizing an on / off switch is on a bicycle . in an alternate embodiment , the system comprises an actuator assembly with a gearmotor that pulses the brake linkage to reduce the average force on the brake pads without a lock and release assembly . there may be an actuator assembly for one or both wheels . the actuator assembly may be powered by the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system or by a portable battery . the lock and release assembly may be eliminated when the configuration of the brake linkage enables the actuator assembly to engage and disengage the brake linkage without the need for a connection device . this is the case on some bicycle brake systems where the actuator assembly moves the scissor type brake linkages at the brake pads or when the actuator assembly moves the brake handle . when there is no lock and release assembly , a position switch is required to turn off the actuator assembly at its most refracted position . referring to fig3 c , the manual mechanical brake system for a motorcycle or bicycle is shown . these vehicles have two main wheels each with a separate brake and an independent hand or foot brake levers that are used by the operator to actuate and power the brakes . only the brake system for the rear wheel is shown ; although , there may also be a manual mechanical brake system for the front wheel on motorcycles and bicycles . in the present embodiment , the vehicle operator provides the power for the actuation of the brakes by pushing or pulling on brake lever 200 with his hand or foot . brake lever 200 is coupled to a mechanical lever 206 with a rod or cable 205 . when the operator pushes or pulls on brake lever 200 , mechanical lever 206 pulls or pushes rod or cable 207 that is connected to a mechanical lever 208 that is connected to brake pad 113 by a rod or cable 207 . brake pad 113 is pushed against brake disc / drum 114 creating the friction to slow the turning brake disc / drum 114 that is connected to wheel 115 . this action slows or stops the vehicle . in alternate embodiments the number and arrangement of rods , cables and levers may vary depending on the particular geometry of the vehicle . in the present embodiment , a lock and release assembly , an actuator assembly and an electronic controller is added to the manual mechanical brake system . as in the simple system , the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly can be located in several positions through out the manual mechanical brake linkage system . for example , without limitation , a lock and release assembly 301 e and an actuator assembly 302 e are shown mounted near brake lever 200 , a lock and release assembly 301 f and an actuator assembly 302 f are shown mounted along rod or cable 205 , a lock and release assembly 301 g and an actuator assembly 302 g are shown mounted on mechanical lever 206 , a lock and release assembly 301 h and an actuator assembly 302 h are shown mounted along rod or cable 207 , a lock and release assembly 301 i and an actuator assembly 3021 are shown mounted on mechanical lever 208 , and a lock and release assembly 301 j and an actuator assembly 302 j are shown mounted near brake pad 113 . hybrid manual brake systems exist that combine hydraulic and mechanical linkages to couple the operator &# 39 ; s hand and / or foot movements to operate and power the brake mechanism . the brake pads in these hybrid manual brake systems can be mechanically or hydraulically actuated . in alternate embodiments the features and functions described above for the manual hydraulic and manual mechanical brake systems can be used in their respective locations in these hybrid systems . fig4 a and 4b are schematic diagrams illustrating an exemplary electronic controller for an antiskid system for manual brakes , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . fig4 a shows the electronic control as an on / off switch 400 , and fig4 b shows the electronic control with the addition of a rheostat 407 . referring to fig4 a , an electricity source 401 is connected to on / off switch 400 by an electrical cable 402 . electricity source 401 may be various different types of electricity sources such as , but not limited to , a vehicle power source , batteries , etc . on / off switch 400 supplies a lock and release assembly 301 and an actuator assembly 302 with electrical power through an electrical cable 403 . when an operator closes on / off switch 400 , lock and release assembly 301 connects to the brake linkage and actuator assembly 302 pulses the brakes . when the operator opens on / off switch 400 , actuator assembly 302 stops pulsing the brakes and lock and release assembly 301 disconnects from the brake linkage . in alternate embodiments the functionality of the electronic controller may be increased by replacing on / off switch 400 with other types of switches . one alternate embodiment comprises a force switch that is mounted in the brake linkage and closes when a specific brake force is reached . this turns on the actuator assembly and the lock and release assembly connecting the actuator assembly to the brake linkage . when the brake force drops below a specific level , the force switch opens and the actuator assembly stops pulsing the brakes and the lock and release assembly disconnects from the brake linkage . in this embodiment , a separate force switch is required for each actuator assembly . in another alternate embodiment , a pressure switch is mounted in the hydraulic circuit and closes when a specific brake pressure is reached . this turns on the actuator assembly and the lock and release assembly connecting the actuator assembly to the brake linkage . when the brake pressure drops below a specific level , the pressure switch opens and the actuator assembly stops pulsing the brakes and the lock and release assembly disconnects from the brake linkage . the pressure switch only works with manual hydraulic brake systems . in this embodiment , a separate pressure switch is needed for each actuator assembly . in another alternate embodiment , an inertia switch is mounted to the vehicle and closes when a specific deceleration level is reached . this switch turns on the actuator assembly and the lock and release assembly connecting the actuator assembly to the brake linkage . when the vehicle &# 39 ; s deceleration drops below a specific level , the inertia switch opens and the actuator assembly stops pulsing the brakes and the lock and release assembly disconnects from the brake linkage . only one inertia switch is needed for all of the actuator assemblies in this embodiment . in yet another alternate embodiment , on / off switch 400 is replaced with a rheostat that is actuated by the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator in order to turn on the actuator assembly that pulses the manual brake linkage to reduce or eliminate tire skids . the rheostat enables the operator to vary the voltage , which in turn varies the frequency of the pulses from the actuator assembly . the rheostat also activates and disengages the lock and release assembly . in the present embodiment , a rheostat is need for each actuator assembly . referring to fig4 b , rheostat 407 is used in the present embodiment in combination with a switch 404 . in order to function properly with rheostat 407 , switch 404 is preferably a force switch , a pressure switch , or an inertia switch . the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator manually controls the speed of the actuator assembly that varies the frequency of the pulses to the brake linkage using rheostat 407 . rheostat 407 is used after switch 404 automatically turns on the actuator assembly . in the present embodiment , a rheostat is needed for each actuator assembly . in the present embodiment , the electronic controller uses on / off switch 400 actuated by the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator or automatic switch 404 to turn on actuator assembly 302 that pulses the manual brake linkage to reduce or eliminate tire skids . once actuator assembly is turned on , rheostat 407 may be actuated by the operator to control the pulsing of actuator assembly 302 . switch 400 or 404 also turns on lock and release assembly 301 to connect actuator assembly 301 to the brake linkage . a typical application for an electronic controlled antiskid system in accordance with the present embodiment is in a bicycle . alternate embodiments of the present invention may incorporate an electronic controller that increases its functionality by incorporating a wheel speed sensor and a tone ring for each wheel that is coupled to a computing device such as , but not limited to , a smart phone by a wire or wireless connection . the tone ring and brake disc can be integrated into one assembly by making a gear shape on the inside or outside diameter of the brake disc . the wheel speed sensor and tone ring are preferably mounted outside the axle rather than inside the axle . the computing device may also comprise a gps capability like those found on smart phones . with the use of application software , the computing device may interpret the wheel speed and compare it to the gps ground speed calculated by the computing device . the electronic controller includes brake release switches for each wheel that enable the operator to manually turn the gearmotors in the actuator assemblies on or off to pulse the brake linkages or to stop the pulsing . earphones located on the operator &# 39 ; s left and right ears are connected to the computing device by wire or wireless connection . when the computing device determines that a wheel is skidding or about to skid , the computing device sends a tone to the left or right ear corresponding to the brake release switch that needs to be turned on to pulse the appropriate brake . the tone continues until the skidding stops to alert the operator to turn off the pulsing . in alternate embodiments a visual signal may be sent to the operator to warn the operator of wheel skidding , for example , without limitation , a flashing light on a control panel . in the present embodiment , the electronic controller can be powered by the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system or by a portable battery . in some embodiments rheostats can be used instead of on / off switches to vary the frequency of the pulses to the brake linkage . the embodiments described in the foregoing are directed to relatively basic implementations of an electronically controlled antiskid system for manual hydraulic and mechanical brake systems . however , the embodiments illustrated by way of example in fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c may also be implemented as a more advanced system by incorporating an electronic controller with advanced functions . fig5 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary electronic controller 500 in an electronically controlled antiskid system installed on two wheels 115 of a vehicle , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the present embodiment , the system comprises an actuator assembly 302 to set and hold a position of the brake linkage . this enables advanced electronic controller 500 to modulate the force from the brake pads on brake discs / drums 114 . modulating the force from the brake pads is more effective at preventing tire skids than pulsing the brake pads , which is done in the foregoing embodiments . in the present embodiment , a switch is not required to actuate the antiskid system . instead , advanced electronic controller 500 monitors the speed of wheels 115 as detected by wheel speed sensors 116 to determine if one wheel is rotating at a slower speed than the other wheel . advanced electronic controller has electronic circuitry that can provide the electrical power for wheel speed sensors 116 and receive the wheel speed data for each wheel 115 through electric cables 118 . in alternate embodiments the advanced electronic controller may be connected to the wheel speed sensors through a wireless connection . in the present embodiment , a tone ring 117 turns with wheel 115 and creates a magnetic field disruption that can be detected by wheel speed sensors 116 to enable wheel speed sensor 116 to determine the wheel speed . in alternate embodiments , the tone ring and the brake disc / drum can be integrated into one assembly by making a gear shape on the inside or outside diameter of the brake disc / drum . in the present embodiment , wheel speed sensor 116 and tone ring 117 are mounted outside the axle . based on the difference in wheels speeds and the rate of change of the wheel speeds , advanced electronic controller 500 determines if a skid event is occurring or about to occur . advanced electronic controller 500 also may use an optional global positioning signal ( gps ) to calculate the vehicle &# 39 ; s ground or reference speed . this feature enhances the ability of advanced electronic controller 500 to detect and control skidding events . when advanced electronic controller 500 detects a skidding event , it automatically commands a lock and release assembly 301 to connect actuator assembly 302 to the brake linkage system . advanced electronic controller 500 then commands actuator assembly 302 to move the brake linkage a specific distance . when the brake linkage is moved , the force on the brake pads is reduced . no matter how hard the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator pushes or pulls on the brake lever , it cannot be converted into a force on the brake pads because the brake linkage is generally prevented from moving . once the skid is prevented , reduced or eliminated , advanced electronic controller 500 de - energizes lock and release assembly 301 , which disconnects actuator assembly 302 from the brake linkage system , and actuator assembly 302 is commanded by advanced electronic controller 500 to return to its home position . with the antiskid system in its standby mode , the manual hydraulic or mechanical brake system remains fully functional until a new skid event is detected and the antiskid process is repeated again . the antiskid system remains in standby mode as long as the antiskid function is not needed or if there is a loss of electrical power . in an alternate embodiment , an advanced electronic controller may be used to pulse the actuator assembly rather than modulating the force on the brake pads . an advantage of the advanced form of electronic controller 500 for an antiskid system for manual brakes is that electronic controller 500 can be adapted from the electronic controllers for antiskid systems for powered brakes . this includes both analog and digital controller designs that are available today . in addition , antiskid software algorithms for powered brake systems can also be adapted to be used with electronic controller 500 . adapting current antiskid electronics and software for electronic controller 500 makes it attractive to perspective manufacturers in the antiskid business as it will reduce both the development time and cost if they are licensed to produce an antiskid system according to the present embodiment . advanced electronic controller 500 also has the computing power to capture and annunciate faults with the antiskid system . advanced electronic controller 500 also provides an interface connection with the antiskid control panel located at the operator &# 39 ; s station . advanced electronic controller 500 may be powered by the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system or by a portable battery . in the present embodiment , actuator assembly 302 moves the brake linkage to reduce the force that is being applied to the brake pads and thus reduce or eliminate the tire skid . actuator assembly 302 must have enough power to overcome the input force being applied by the operator &# 39 ; s hand or foot . as shown by way of example in fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c , actuator assembly 302 can be located in several locations throughout the hydraulic or mechanical brake linkage system . the power needed to overcome the mechanical leverage depends on where actuator assembly 302 is located in the brake linkage system . actuator assembly 302 only needs to move the brake pad a small distance to reduce the force on brake disc / drum 114 . for example , without limitation , testing has shown that when actuator assembly 302 is connected to the input shaft of the master cylinder , the input shaft must only move 0 . 07 inches to reduce the pressure from 400 psi to 50 psi . electricity is the primary source of power for actuator assembly 302 . power may be provided from the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system , the vehicle &# 39 ; s battery , or a portable battery through advanced electronic controller 500 . advanced electronic controller 500 is connected to lock and release assembly 301 and actuator assembly 302 through an electric cable 501 . vehicles with manual brake systems that have an electrical system usually have a direct current ( dc ) system . consequently , actuator assembly 302 typically uses dc electricity . however , alternating current ( ac ) electricity can also be used with actuator assembly 302 by converting the vehicle &# 39 ; s dc electrical power to ac electrical power for the antiskid system . actuator assembly 302 is typically driven by an electric motor ; however , a hydraulic or pneumatic motor can also drive actuator assembly 302 . when a hydraulic or pneumatic motor is used , an electric motor drives a hydraulic or pneumatic pump that in turn drives the hydraulic or pneumatic motor that drives actuator assembly 302 . power can also be provided from an accumulator or tank that contains compressed gas that can drive a hydraulic or pneumatic motor . the accumulator can directly power a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder . the motors that drive actuator assembly 302 in most implementations use a gearbox to reduce the speed and increase the torque of the output shaft of the motor . the gearbox can be integral with the motor or can be independent from the motor . the function of actuator assembly 302 is to move the brake linkage a small distance to reduce the force on the brake pad . therefore , the electric , hydraulic or pneumatic motors , with and without gearboxes , in some cases must convert their rotary output motion into a linear motion . fig6 a through 6k illustrate eleven different exemplary methods to drive an actuator assembly , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . fig6 a shows a piston . fig6 b shows a bellows actuator 602 . fig6 c shows an inflatable accumulator 603 . fig6 d shows a motor 604 with a screw 606 . fig6 e shows motor 604 with helical gears 608 . fig6 f shows motor 604 with a worm gear 609 . fig6 g shows motor 604 with a gear 612 and a gear rack 613 . fig6 h shows motor 604 with scissor arms 616 . fig6 i shows motor 604 with a cam 617 . fig6 j shows motor 604 with a lever arm 619 . fig6 k shows an electric solenoid 621 . any of these methods can be used with an electronically controlled antiskid brake system for manual brakes to drive the actuator assembly . fig6 a through 6c show three methods for converting hydraulic or pneumatic power into a linear motion . referring to fig6 a , a cylinder 600 comprises a piston inside to drive an output shaft 601 in a linear motion . referring to fig6 b , bellows actuator 602 expands or contracts with the hydraulic or pneumatic power exerted onto it to convert this power into a linear motion . referring to fig6 c , inflatable accumulator 603 converts hydraulic or pneumatic power into a linear motion in the same manner as bellows actuator 602 . fig6 d through 6j use motor 604 to drive the actuator assembly . motor 604 can be electric , hydraulic or pneumatically powered . motor 604 uses a gearbox 605 to reduce the speed of the output shaft and increase the torque ; however , all of these methods may be implemented without a gearbox . motor 604 turns continuously and has the ability to reverse its rotation . motor 604 and gearbox 605 convert the rotary motion of the output shaft of motor 604 into a linear motion to move the brake linkage . referring to fig6 d , a nut 607 moves along screw 606 to convert the rotary motion of screw 606 into linear motion . referring to fig6 e , two helical gears 608 interconnect so that the rotation of one helical gear 608 translates into the linear motion of the other helical gear 608 . referring to fig6 f , worm gear 609 interconnects with a worm wheel 610 to drive a connecting rod 611 in a linear motion . referring to fig6 g , gear 612 and gear rack 613 interconnect so that the rotation of gear 612 moves gear rack 613 in a linear motion . referring to fig6 h , scissor arms 616 are connected to motor 604 with a screw 615 and a nut 614 . as screw 615 rotates , nut 614 moves along screw 615 and scissor arms 616 move up and down . referring to fig6 i , cam 617 rotates , moving a cam follower 618 in a linear motion . referring to fig6 j , lever arm 619 drives a connecting rod 620 in a linear motion . referring to fig6 k , electric solenoid 621 pulls or pushes an armature 622 with a magnetic field . armature 622 moves the brake linkage . those skilled in the art , in light of the present teachings , will readily recognize that a multiplicity of other suitable means may be used to drive the actuator assembly in alternate embodiments . for example , without limitation , an electric servomotor may be used to drive the actuator assembly . the servomotor utilizes an electric motor coupled to a gearbox that has an electronic sensor that monitors the rotation and position of the output shaft of the gearbox . with the use of an electronic servo controller , the output shaft of the servomotor can be commanded to rotate a specific distance and hold that position . in other non - limiting examples , the actuator assembly may utilize the independent elements described above and couple them together in various configurations . these elements can include , without limitation , combinations of electric motors , hydraulic or pneumatic pumps and motors , many different devices to convert rotary to linear motion , solenoids , hydraulic or pneumatic actuators and servomotors . these elements may also be integrated into sub - assemblies or complete assemblies to form the actuator assembly . at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention may utilize one of two types of actuator assemblies . for example , without limitation , in a basic implementation , the actuator assembly 302 pulses the brakes by moving the brake linkage back and forth a short distance at a rate of several times a second . the linear actuators described above by way of example with respect to fig6 d through 6h can pulse the brake linkages by reversing motor 604 several times a second . if a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder is used to pulse the brake linkage as shown by way of example in fig6 a through 6c , a control valve is needed to change the linear direction of cylinder 600 . when a cam is used to convert the rotary motion of the output shaft of motor 304 into a linear motion as shown by way of example in fig6 i , motor 304 does not need to be reversed to pulse the brake linkage . electric solenoid 621 can be used to pulse the brake linkage by turning solenoid 621 on and off . in more advanced implementations , the actuator assembly utilizes a servomotor that the electronic controller can command to move the brake linkage a specific distance and hold a position . when the brake system linkage is moved , the force on the brake pads is reduced . no matter how hard the vehicle &# 39 ; s operator pushes or pulls on the brake lever , the force cannot be converted into a force on the brake pads because the brake system linkage is generally prevented from moving . in at least some preferred embodiments the lock and release assembly connects the actuator assembly to the brake linkage . this connection is made when the antiskid function is needed to reduce the force on the brake pads to reduce or eliminate tire skids . the lock and release assembly must have enough power to connect it to the brake linkage and support the force applied by the actuator assembly . as shown by way of example in fig3 a , 3 b and 3 c , the lock and release assembly can be located in several locations throughout the hydraulic or mechanical brake linkage . the power required to overcome the mechanical leverage depends on where the lock and release assembly is located in the brake linkage . testing has shown that when the actuator assembly is connected to the input shaft of the master cylinder , the lock and release assembly must support a maximum force of approximately 225 pounds , which equates to 600 psi . this is roughly 50 % more pressure than the maximum operating pressure of the manual hydraulic brake system . when the antiskid function is no longer needed , the lock and release assembly disconnects the actuator assembly from the brake linkage . this enables the normal manual brake operation to resume . on some vehicles , the release function must occur even when there is a power failure . in these cases a spring release is used that operates under the maximum load conditions . this is referred to as a fail - safe mode . fig7 a through 7j illustrate ten different exemplary methods of connecting a lock and release assembly to a brake linkage shaft 201 , in accordance with embodiments of the present invention . fig7 a shows a locking tab method . fig7 b shows a locking clamp method . fig7 c shows a wire lock method . fig7 d shows a tapered wedge method . fig7 e shows a dual cam lock method . fig7 f shows a strap clamp method . fig7 g shows a locking collar method . fig7 h shows an external fork method . fig7 i shows an iron particle method , and fig7 j shows a hydraulic piston method . referring to fig7 a , a hole in a locking tab 700 connects locking tab 700 to brake linkage shaft 201 when one end of locking tab 700 is moved in a parallel direction to brake linkage shaft 201 . the diameter of the hole is slightly larger than brake linkage shaft 201 . the thickness of locking tab 700 is preferably sized to create enough locking force while providing enough material not to deform under load . a pivot edge 701 partially establishes the force that is required to release locking tab 700 . varying the distance from brake linkage shaft 201 to pivot edge 701 changes the force required to release locking tab 700 . referring to fig7 b , two jaws made of metal or other high strength material connect to brake linkage shaft 201 when the jaws are moved towards each other to create a locking clamp 702 . a pivot point 703 located close to brake linkage shaft 201 creates additional leverage when the other end of the jaws of locking clamp 702 are brought together . referring to fig7 c , a wire lock 704 is created by wrapping a coil of wire around brake linkage shaft 201 and pulling tightly on both ends of the wire . referring to fig7 d , a tapered wedge 705 is inserted into a tapered groove 706 to make a firm connection with brake linkage shaft 201 . referring to fig7 e , a dual cam lock 707 firmly connects to brake linkage shaft 201 when the cams are rotated . referring to fig7 f , the ends of a strap 708 are pulled tight in relation to a support collar 709 to connect to brake linkage shaft 201 . referring to fig7 g , a locking collar 711 is connected to brake linkage shaft 201 by inflating a ring 710 with air or fluid . referring to fig7 h , a tapered fork 712 is placed over the outside diameter of brake linkage shaft 201 . the outside diameter of brake linkage shaft 210 and the inside surface of tapered fork 712 may have matching grooves 713 to increase the integrity of the connection . referring to fig7 i , brake linkage shaft 201 comprises a piston 715 attached to brake linkage shaft 201 inside a cylinder 719 . also inside cylinder 719 are iron particles 714 that become rigid when electrified . when iron particles 714 are electrified , cylinder 719 locks to piston 715 and brake linkage shaft 201 . referring to fig7 j , a hydraulic piston 716 connects to brake linkage shaft 201 . this is done by preventing hydraulic fluid 720 from flowing freely in interconnected pipes 717 when a valve 718 is closed . piston 716 connected to brake linkage shaft 210 is unable to move when fluid 720 is locked in place . those skilled in the art , in light of the present teachings , will readily recognize that a multiplicity of different suitable means may be used to connect the lock and release assembly the brake linkage , which enables the actuator assembly to move the brake linkage and reduce the force on the brake pads . the lock and release assembly in at least some preferred embodiments requires an actuator to connect and disconnect it from the brake linkage . electricity is the primary source of power for the lock and release assembly . power may be provided from the vehicle &# 39 ; s electrical system , the vehicle &# 39 ; s battery , or a portable battery . vehicles with manual brake systems that have an electrical system typically have a direct current ( dc ) system . therefore , the lock and release assembly normally uses dc electricity . however , alternating current ( ac ) electricity can also be utilized to power the lock and release assembly . the lock and release assembly can be driven by an electric motor . a hydraulic or pneumatic motor can also drive the lock and release assembly . when a hydraulic or pneumatic motor is used , an electric motor drives a hydraulic or pneumatic pump that in turn drives the hydraulic or pneumatic motor that drives the lock and release assembly . power can also be provided from an accumulator or tank that contains compressed gas that can drive a hydraulic or pneumatic motor . the accumulator can also directly power a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder to operate the lock and release assembly . when motors are used to drive the lock and release assembly , the motors in most cases use a gearbox to reduce the speed and increase the torque of the output shaft of the motor . the gearbox can be integral with the motor or it can be independent from the motor . the lock and release assembly may use an electric , hydraulic or pneumatic motor , with or without a gearbox , and in some cases the rotary output motion of the motor must be converted into a linear motion . fig6 d through 6j illustrate seven exemplary methods for converting the rotary motion of the output shaft of a motor or gearbox to a linear motion . any of these methods or other methods may be used with the lock and release assembly to convert the rotary motion of a motor or gearbox to a linear motion to move the brake linkage . for example , without limitation , when a hydraulic or pneumatic source of power is available , a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder can be used to operate the lock and release assembly . these cylinders can utilize a piston , bellows or inflatable bag to convert the hydraulic or pneumatic energy into a linear motion , as shown by way of example in fig6 a through 6c . an electric solenoid can also be used to operate the lock and release assembly by applying electrical power to a coil , which moves an armature with its magnetic field to move the lock and release assembly , as illustrated by way of example in fig6 k . the lock and release assembly can utilize the independent elements described above and couple them together in various different combinations . these elements may include , without limitation , combinations of electric motors , hydraulic or pneumatic pumps and motors , many different devices to convert rotary to linear motion , solenoids , hydraulic or pneumatic actuators and servomotors . these elements can also be integrated into sub - assemblies or complete assemblies to form the lock and release assembly . as described in foregoing , there are many methods for incorporating the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly for an electronically controlled antiskid system for vehicles with manual brakes in accordance with at least some preferred embodiments of the present invention . the following description outlines a preferred method of incorporating the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly in a manual hydraulic brake system . on manual hydraulic brake systems , the master cylinder , the lock and release assembly and the actuator assembly can be combined into an integrated package that is referred to herein as an electric master cylinder ( emc ). the master cylinder in the integrated package maintains the same geometry and retains the same functions as the manual master cylinder that has been certified for the vehicle . this enables the original manual brake system to remain certified and fully functional when the electronic controlled antiskid system is not operating . fig8 is a side view of an exemplary electric master cylinder ( emc ) with an integrated actuator assembly 302 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the present embodiment , the emc comprises a motor 800 to control the movements of an input shaft 201 . motor 800 in the emc may one of two different types of electrical motors . the first type is a servomotor that supports an advanced implementation because the servomotor can rotate an output shaft 802 to a specific position as directed by an electronic controller . this controls the distance that input shaft 201 moves , giving the system the ability to modulate the hydraulic brake pressure . this pressure modulation feature increases the efficiency of the antiskid system . the second type of motor that can be used on the emc is a gearmotor . when energized , the gearmotor rotates continuously . this in turn rotates a cam 803 continuously raising and lowering input shaft 201 a set distance . the gearmotor “ pulses ” the brakes to reduce tire skidding . because the hydraulic brake pressure cannot be modulated , the gearmotor configuration is a less efficient antiskid system compared to the servomotor configuration . a position switch is required to stop the gearmotor when the cam is in its lowest position . in the present embodiment , electric motor 800 is attached to a master cylinder 202 . attached to output shaft 802 of motor 800 is a drive train 804 . drive train 804 couples output shaft 802 of motor 800 to cam 803 . several different types of drive trains can be used such as , but not limited to , gears ( as shown ), sprockets and chain , belts and pulleys , etc . any of these drive trains may be used with either a servomotor or a gearmotor . in addition , the servomotor can use a push / pull rod to connect output shaft 802 to cam 803 because the output shaft of a servomotor only rotates approximately 90 degrees . one end of drive train 804 is centrally located about output shaft 802 of motor 800 and the other end is centrally located about input shaft 201 of master cylinder 202 . mounted under cam 803 is a thrust bearing 805 . thrust bearing 805 reduces the friction and torque in drive train 804 from the force applied to input shaft 201 from a brake lever by an operator &# 39 ; s hand or foot . attached to drive train 804 and located at input shaft 201 is cam 803 . cam 803 uses ramps to raise and lower cam followers 806 when drive train 804 is rotated by motor 800 . cam 803 has one ramp for each cam follower 806 . the slope of the ramps determines the rate and amount of modulation or pulsing on the brake system &# 39 ; s hydraulic pressure . in the present embodiment , actuator assembly 302 comprises motor 800 , output shaft 802 , cam 803 , drive train 804 , and thrust bearing 805 , and these items can be located radially in any position about input shaft 201 to create a compact design to facilitate the retrofit replacement of the manual master cylinder 202 with the integrated emc in the vehicle . in the present embodiment , a lock and release assembly 301 is also integrated into the emc . lock and release assembly 301 comprises cam followers 806 an electric lock solenoid 807 , a mounting block 808 , axles 809 , a pivot edge 810 , a lock tab 811 , a lock solenoid armature 812 , a nut 813 , a washer 814 a release spring 815 , a fastener 816 , and anti - rotation ears 817 . lock and release assembly 301 can be located radially in any position about input shaft 201 to create a compact design to facilitate the retrofit replacement of the manual master cylinder 202 with the emc . lock and release assembly 301 connects actuator assembly 302 to input shaft 201 when there is a skidding situation . electric lock solenoid 807 is energized by the electronic controller when lock and release assembly 301 needs to connect to input shaft 201 when the brake pressure must be lowered to generally prevent , reduce or eliminate a tire skid . the electrically actuated lock solenoid 807 is used in the present embodiment so that , if there is a loss of electrical power , the antiskid system automatically disconnects from input shaft 201 and the manual brake system remains fully operational . however , in alternate embodiments the lock and release assembly may use other connection means such as , but not limited to , those shown by way of example in fig6 a through 6j . in the present embodiment , lock and release assembly 301 is integrated with manual master cylinder 202 and is centrally located about input shaft 201 of master cylinder 202 . lock and release assembly 301 comprises at least two cam followers 806 equally spaced around input shaft 201 . multiple cam followers 806 are needed to generally prevent side loading of input shaft 201 when cam 803 is rotated and input shaft 201 is raised and lowered . cam followers 806 ride on the ramps of cam 803 . when cam 803 is rotated by motor drive assembly 804 , cam followers 806 are raised and lowered by rolling up and down the ramps of cam 803 . a mounting block 808 is required to secure cam followers 806 and lock solenoid 807 together as a single unit . mounting block 808 has a vertical hole through it that centrally locates it about input shaft 201 . rocking of mounting block 808 about input shaft 201 is preferably minimized by having a close tolerance hole for input shaft 201 with a sufficient length to diameter ratio . protruding from mounting block 808 are axles 809 , which are used to attach cam followers 806 to mounting block 808 . mounting block 808 comprises pivot edge 810 located a short distance from input shaft 201 . this distance partially determines the lock and release loads for lock tab 811 . also attached to mounting block 808 is lock solenoid 807 . lock tab 811 comprises a hole that centrally locates lock tab 811 about input shaft 201 . the diameter and thickness of the hole are sized to create the necessary lock and release loads of lock tab 811 . lock tab 811 comprises a feature at one end to facilitate the attachment of lock solenoid armature 812 . in the present embodiment , lock solenoid 807 is attached to mounting block 808 in such a way that lock solenoid 807 can be adjusted vertically to create the desired pull force with lock solenoid armature 812 , which is attached to lock tab 811 . when electrical power is applied to lock solenoid 807 , a magnetic force is created that pulls lock solenoid armature 812 into lock solenoid 807 . this pulls lock tab 811 towards lock solenoid 807 , which secures lock tab 811 to input shaft 201 . a hold down spring 819 is centrally located about input shaft 201 . hold down spring 819 is retained on input shaft 201 with nut 813 and washer 814 . hold down spring 819 generally ensures that lock tab 811 remains seated against pivot edge 810 in both the locked and released modes of operation . hold down spring 819 also generally ensures that lock and release assembly 301 returns to its lowest position when lock solenoid 807 is de - energized . release spring 815 located between solenoid mounting block 808 and lock tab 811 generally ensures that lock tab 811 releases from input shaft 201 when lock solenoid 807 is de - energized . release spring 815 is retained in the proper position by placing it over lock solenoid armature 812 . release spring 815 provides a fail - safe mode when used in conjunction with electric solenoid 807 . the movement of lock tab 811 is restricted by fastener 816 . anti - rotation ears 817 are part of master cylinder 202 and generally prevent lock and release assembly 301 from rotating about input shaft 201 when the actuator assembly 302 is operating . in some embodiments the hydraulic cylinder , shown by way of example in fig3 b , may use the same elements of the emc to create an integrated package combining the hydraulic cylinder 304 , the lock and release assembly 301 and the actuator assembly 302 . testing of a prototype emc has shown that 38 watts of electrical power is used to operate both lock and release assembly 301 and actuator assembly 302 . this level of power consumption is achieved at a proof pressure of 600 psi , which is 50 % higher than the maximum operating pressure of master cylinder 202 . actuator assembly 302 and lock and release assembly 301 work against a force on input shaft 201 of 225 pounds to attain the 600 psi of brake pressure . testing of the prototype emc has also revealed that hydraulic brake pressure may be modulated at a rate of 1000 psi per second and the pressure may be set within 10 psi using a servomotor . the total weight for lock and release assembly 301 and actuator assembly 302 in the present embodiment is less than one pound . in at least some preferred embodiments , the function of a wheel speed sensor is to provide a signal to an electronic controller that can be used to determine the speed that the wheel is turning . there are two types of wheel speed sensors that can be used in an electronically controlled antiskid system for vehicles with manual brakes . the first type is a variable - reluctance sensor . the disadvantage of the variable - reluctance sensor is the decreasing signal strength as the wheel rotation slows . this means that the antiskid function cannot operate below a vehicle speed of approximately 10 miles per hour due to an insufficient signal from the wheel speed sensor . the second type of wheel speed sensor is an active or magneto - resistive sensor . this type of sensor cannot generate a signal on its own and needs input power from the electronic controller to operate . however , an advantage of the magneto - resistive type of wheel speed sensor is that it can operate down to zero wheel speed . this means the antiskid function can work down to zero vehicle speed making the antiskid function available during both high and low speeds . fig9 is a side view of an exemplary wheel speed sensor 116 attached to a brake caliper 900 located on a main wheel 115 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . in the present embodiment , wheel speed sensor 116 is connected to brake caliper 900 using a bracket 901 . bracket 901 can be an integral part of brake caliper 900 or it can be a separate item that is attached to brake caliper 900 . an electrical cable 118 with suitable conductors and shielding transmits electrical power from an electronic controller to wheel speed sensor 116 . the same electrical cable 118 transmits the wheel speed signal from sensor 116 to the electronic controller . the variable - reluctance and magneto - resistive types of wheel speed sensors both require a gear - shaped tone ring to operate . when the tone ring rotates near a wheel speed sensor of either type , a magnetic field fluctuates around the sensor . the electronic controller interprets the voltage and frequency variation sent from sensor 116 and converts this information into a speed of rotation of wheel 115 . in the present embodiment , the tone ring is incorporated into a brake disc 902 by cutting a gear shape into the outside circumference of brake disc 902 . this enables brake disc 902 to perform the function of a tone ring . in alternate embodiments the gear shape may be cut into the inside diameter of the brake disc . in the present embodiment , wheel speed sensor 116 , attached to brake caliper 900 , and brake disc 902 , which functions as a tone ring , are externally mounted to the axle of wheel 115 . having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention , other equivalent or alternative methods of providing an electronically controlled antiskid braking system for vehicles with manual brakes according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the invention has been described above by way of illustration , and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed . for example , the particular implementation of the antiskid system may vary depending upon the particular type of vehicle used . the vehicles described in the foregoing were directed to two wheeled implementations ; however , similar techniques are to provide antiskid systems for vehicles with manual brakes that have fewer or more wheels such as , but not limited to , unicycles , tricycles , three wheeled motorcycles , all terrain vehicles ( atvs ), etc . non - two wheeled implementations of the present invention are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention . the invention is thus to cover all modifications , equivalents , and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims . claim elements and steps herein have been numbered and / or lettered solely as an aid in readability and understanding . as such , the numbering and lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken to indicate the ordering of elements and / or steps in the claims . | 1 |
the term “ alkyl ” by itself or as part of another substituent means , unless otherwise stated , a straight or branched chain hydrocarbon radical , including di - and multi - radicals , having the number of carbon atoms designated ( i . e . c1 - c10 means one to ten carbons ) and includes straight or branched chain groups such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , t - butyl , isobutyl , sec - butyl , homologs and isomers of n - pentyl , n - hexyl , 2 - methylpentyl , 1 , 5 - dimethylhexyl , 1 - methyl - 4 - isopropylhexyl and the like . the term “ alkylene ” by itself or a part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from an alkane , as exemplified by — ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 ch 2 —. a “ lower alkyl ” is a shorter chain alkyl , generally having six or fewer carbon atoms . the term “ heteroalkyl ” by itself or in combination with another term means , unless otherwise stated , a stable straight or branched chain radical consisting of the stated number of carbon atoms and one or two heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of o , n , and s , a wherein the nitrogen and sulfiur atoms may optionally be oxidized and the nitrogen heteroatom may optionally be quaternized . the heteroatom ( s ) may be placed at any position of the heteroalkyl group , including between the rest of the heteroalkyl group and the fragment to which it is attached , as well as attached to the most distal carbon atom in the heteroalkyl group . examples include — o — ch 2 — ch 2 — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — o — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — ch 2 — oh , — ch 2 — ch 2 — nh — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — n ( ch 3 )— ch 3 , — ch 2 — s — ch 2 — ch 3 , — ch 2 — ch 2 — s ( o )— ch 3 , — o — ch 2 — ch 2 — ch 2 — nh — ch 3 , and — ch 2 — ch 2 — s ( o ) 2 — ch 3 . up to two heteroatoms may be consecutive , such as , for example , — ch 2 — nh — och 3 . the term “ heteroalkylene ” by itself or as part of another substituent means a divalent radical derived from heteroalkyl , as exemplified by — ch 2 — ch 2 — s — ch 2 — ch 2 — and — ch 2 — s — ch 2 — ch 2 — nh —. the terms “ cycloalkyl ” and “ heterocycloalkyl ”, by themselves or in combination with other terms , represent , unless otherwise stated , cyclic versions of “ alkyl ” and “ heteroalkyl ”, respectively . examples of cycloalkyl include cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloiieptyl , and the like . examples of heterocycloalkyl include 1 - piperidinyl , 2 - piperidinyl , 3 - piperidinyl , 4 - morpholinyl , 3 - morpholinyl , tetmahydrofiran - 2 - yl , tetrahydrofliran - 3 - yl , tetrahydrothien - 2 - yl , tetrahydrothien - 3 - yl , 1 - piperazinyl , 2 - piperazinyl , and the like . the term “ alkenyl ” employed alone or in combination with other terms , means , unless otherwise stated , a stable straight chain or branched monounsaturated or diunsaturated hydrocarbon group having the stated number of carbon atoms . examples include vinyl , propenyl ( allyl ), crotyl , isopentenyl , butadienyl , 1 , 3 - pentadienyl , 1 , 4 - pentadienyl , and the higher homologs and isomers . a divalent radical derived from an alkene is exemplified by — ch ═ ch — ch 2 —. the term “ heteroalkenyl ” by itself or in combination with another term means , unless otherwise stated , a stable straight or branched chain monounsaturated or diunsaturated hydrocarbon radical consisting of the stated number of carbon atoms and one or two heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of o , n , and s , and wherein the nitrogen and sulfur atoms may optionally be oxidized and the nitrogen heteroatom may optionally be quarternized . up to two heteroatoms may be placed consecutively . examples include — ch ═ ch — o — ch 3 , — ch ═ ch — ch 2 — oh , — ch 2 — ch ═ n — och 3 , — ch ═ ch — n ( ch 3 )— ch 3 , and — ch 2 — ch ═ ch — ch 2 — sh . the term “ alkynyl ” employed alone or in combination with other terms , means , unless otherwise stated , a stable straight chain or branched hydrocarbon group having the stated number of carbon atoms , and containing one or two carbon - carbon triple bonds , such as ethynyl , 1 - and 3 - propynyl , 4 - but - 1 - ynyl , and the higher homologs and isomers . the term “ alkoxy ” employed alone or in combination with other terms , means , unless otherwise stated , an alkyl group , as defined above , connected to the rest of the molecule via an oxygen atom , such as , for example , methoxy , ethoxy , 1 - propoxy , 2 - propoxy and the higher 30 homologs and isomers . the terms “ halo ” or “ halogen ” by themselves or as part of another substituent mean , unless otherwise stated , a fluorine , chlorine , bromine , or iodine atom . the term “ aryl ” employed alone or in combination with other terms , means , unless otherwise stated , a phenyl , 1 - naphthyl , or 2 - naphthyl group . the maximal number of substituents allowed on each one of these ring systems is five , seven , and seven , respectively . substituents are selected from the group of acceptable substituents listed above . the term “ heteroaryl ” by itself or as part of another substituent means , unless otherwise stated , an unsubstituted or substituted , stable , mono - or bicyclic heterocyclic aromatic ring system which consists of carbon atoms and from one to four heteroatoms selected from the group consisting of n , o , and s , and wherein the nitrogen and sulfir heteroatoms may optionally be oxidized , and the nitrogen atom may optionally be quaternized . the heterocyclic system may be attached , unless otherwise stated at any heteroatom or carbon atom which affords a stable structure . the heterocyclic system may be substituted or unsubstituted with one to four substituents independently selected from the list of acceptable aromatic substituents listed above . examples of such heterocycles include 2 - pyrrolyl , 3 - pyrrolyl , 3 - pyrazolyl , 2 - imidazolyl , 4 - imidazolyl , pyrazinyl , 2 - oxazolyl , 4 - oxazolyl , 5 - oxazolyl , 3 - isoxazolyl , 4 - isoxazolyl , 5 - isoxazolyl , 2 - thiazolyl , 4 - thiazolyl , 5 - thiazolyl , 2 - furyl , 3 - furyl , 2 - thienyl , 3 - thienyl , 2 - pyridyl , 3 - pyridyl , 4 - pyridyl , 2 - pyrimidyl , 4 - pyrinidyl , 5 - benzothiazolyl , purinyl , 2 - benzimidazolyl , 5 - indolyl , 1 - isoquinolyl , 5 - isoquinolyl , 2quinoxalinyl , 5 - quinoxalinyl , 3 - quinolyl , and 6 - quinolyl . pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula i include salts of these compounds with relatively nontoxic acids or bases , depending on the particular substituents found on specific compounds of formula i . when compounds of formula i contain relatively acidic functionalities , base addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of compound i with a sufficient amount of the desired base , either neat or in a suitable inert solve examples of pharmaceutically acceptable base addition salts include sodium , potassium , calcium , ammonium , organic amino , or magnesium salt , or a similar salt . when compounds of formula i contain relatively basic functionalities , acid addition salts can be obtained by contacting the neutral form of compound i with a sufficient amount of the desired acid , either neat or in a suitable inert solvent . examples of pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts include those 30 derived from inorganic acids like hydrochloric , hydrobromic , nitric , carbonic , monohydrogencarbonic , phosphoric , monohydrogenphosphoric , dihydrogenphosphoric , sulfuric , monohydrogensulfuric , hydriodic , or phosphorous acids and the like , as well as the salts derived from relatively nontoxic organic acids like acetic , propionic , isobutyric , oxalic , maleic , malonic , benzoic , succinic , suberic , fumaric , mandelic , phthalic , benzenesulfonic , p - tolylsulfonic , citric , tartaric , methanesulfonic , and the like . also included are salts of amino acids such as arginate and the like , and salts of organic acids like gluconic or galactunoric acids and the like ( see , for example , berge , s . m ., et al , “ pharmaceutical salts ”, journal of pharmnaceutical science , vol . 66 , pages 1 - 19 ( 1977 )). certain specific compounds of formula i contain both basic and acidic functionalities that allow the compounds to be converted into either base or acid addition salts . the free base form may be regenerated by contacting the salt with a base or acid and isolating the parent compound in the conventional manner . the parent form of the compound differs from the various salt forms in certain physical properties , such as solubility in polar solvents , but otherwise the salts are equivalent to the parent form of the compound for the purposes of the present invention . certain compounds of the present invention can exist in unsolvated forms as well as solvated forms , including hydrated forms . in general , the solvated forms are equivalent to unsolvated forms and are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . certain compounds of the present invention possess asymmetric carbon atoms ( optical centers ); the racemates , diastereomers , and individual isomers are all intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . the compounds of the present invention may also contain unnatural proportions of atomic isotopes at one or more of the atoms that constitute such compounds . for example , the compounds may be radiolabeled with radioactive isotopes , such as for example tritium ( 3 h ) or carbon - 14 ( 14 c ). all isotopic variations of the compounds of the present invention , whether radioactive or not , are intended to be encompassed within the scope of the present invention . in various preferred embodiments of the pharmaceutical compositions of compounds of formula i , y is s ( o 2 ) and z is nr 1 r 2 , wherein r 1 is hydrogen or methyl , and r 2 is a substituted phenyl , preferably mono -, di -, or trisubstituted as follows . in one group of preferred compounds , y is s ( o 2 ) and z is nr 1 r 2 , wherein r 1 is hydrogen or methyl , and r 2 is a phenyl group , preferably substituted in the para position by one of the following groups : hydroxy , amino , ( c1 - c10 ) alkoxy . ( c1 - c10 ) alkyl , ( c1 - c10 ) alkylamino , and [ di ( c1 - c10 ) alkyl ] amino , with up to four additional substituents independently chosen from hydrogen , halogen , ( c1 - c10 ) alkoxy , ( c1 - c10 ) alkyl , and [ di ( c1 - c10 ) alkyl ] amino . also preferred are compounds of formula i where there is no linking group e between r 1 and r 2 . illustative examples of pharmaceutical compositions and compounds of the subject pharmaceutical methods include : examples of the most preferred pharmaceutical compositions and compounds of the subject pharmaceutical methods include : the invention provides for certain novel compounds of general formula i that possess one or more valuable biological activities such as a pharmacologic , toxicologic , metabolic , etc . exemplary compounds of this embodiment of the invention include : preferred compounds of this embodiment of the invention have specific pharmacological properties . examples of the most preferred compounds of this embodiment of the invention include : the invention provides methods of making the subject compounds and compositions . in one general embodiment , the methods involve combining pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride with an amine having the general formula r 1 r 2 nh under conditions whereby the pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride and amine react to form the desired compound , and isolating the compound . compounds with the generic structure 1 or 3 ( scheme i ) may be prepared by reacting the appropriate staring amine in a solvent such as tetaahydrofiuran ( tbe ), dimethylformamide ( dmf ), ether , toluene or benzene in the presence of a base such as pyridine , pdimethylaminopyridine , triethylamine , sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate and pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride or pentafluorophenylsulfinyl chloride , respectively . pyridine itself may also be used as the solvent . preferred solvents are pyridine and dmf and preferred bases are pyridine , triethylamine , and potassium carbonate . this reaction can be carried out at a temperature range of 0 ° c . to 100 ° c ., conveniently at ambient temperature . compounds of the generic structure i can also be obtained by treating the starting sulfonamide ( scheme ii ) with a base such as lda , nah , dimsyl salt , alkyl lithium , potassium carbonate , under an inert atmosphere such as argon or nitrogen , in a solvent such as benzene , toluene , dmf or thf with an allglating group containing a leaving group such a cl , br , i , mso —, tso —, tfao —, represented by e in scheme ii . a preferred solvent for this . reaction is thf and the preferred base is lithium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide . this reaction can be carried out at a temperature range of 0 ° c . to 100 ° c ., conveniently at ambient temperature . sulfonic esters ( 2 ) and sulfinic esters ( 4 ) may be prepared by reacting the appropriate starting phenol in a solvent such as thf , dmf , toluene or benzene in the presence of a base such as pyridine , triethylamine , sodium carbonate , potassium carbonate or 4 - dimethylaminopyridine with pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride or pentafluorophenylsulfmyl chloride , respectively . pyridine itself may also be used as the solvent . preferred solvents are pyridine and dmf and preferred bases are sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate . this reaction can be carried out at a temperature range of 0 ° c . to 100 ° c ., conveniently at ambient temperature . compounds of the general structure 5 , in which ar is an aromatic group and x is from one to three , can be obtained from the corresponding methyl ethers ( scheme iii ) by reaction with boron tribromide in a solvent of low polarity such as hexanes or ch 2 cl 2 under an inert atmosphere at a temperature ranging from − 45 ° to 30 ° c . in a preferred embodiment , the reaction is carried out in ch 2 cl 2 at about 30 ° c . occasionally , the substrates for the transformations shown in schemes i - iii may contain functional groups ( for example , amino , hydroxy or carboxy ) which are not immediately compatible with the conditions of the given reaction . in such eases , these groups may be protected with a suitable protective group , and this protective group removed subsequent to the transformation to give the original functionality using well know procedures such as those illustrated in t . w . greene and p . g . m . wuts , protective groups in organic synthesis , second edition , john wiley & amp ; sons , inc ., 1991 . the compounds used as initial starting materials in this invention may be purchased from commercial sources or alternatively are readily synthesized by standard procedures which are well know to those of ordinary skill in the art . some of the compounds of formula i may exist as stereoisomers , and the invention includes all active stereoisomeric forms of these compounds . in the case of optically active isomers , such compounds may be obtained from corresponding optically active precursors using the procedures described above or by resolving racemic mixtures . the resolution may be carried out using various techniques such as chromatography , repeated recrystallization of derived asymmetric salts , or derivatization , which techniques are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art . the compounds of formula i which are acidic or basic in nature can form a wide variety of salts with various inorganic and organic bases or acids , respectively . these salts must be pharmacologically acceptable for administration to mammals . salts of the acidic compounds of this invention are readily prepared by treating the acid compound with an appropriate molar quantity of the chosen inorganic or organic base in an aqueous or suitable organic solvent and then evaporating the solvent to obtain the salt . acid addition salts of the basic compounds of this invention can be obtained similarly by treatment with the desired inorganic or organic acid and subsequent solvent evaporation and isolation . the compounds of the invention may be labeled in a variety of ways . for example , the compounds may be provided as radioactive isotopes ; for example , tritium and the 14 c - isotopes . similarly , the compounds may be advantageously joined , covalently or noncovalently , to a wide variety of joined compounds which may provide pro drugs or function as carriers , labels , adjuvents , coactivators , stabilizers , etc . hence , compounds having the requisite structural limitations encompass such compounds joined directly or indirectly ( e . g . through a linker molecule ), to such joined compounds . the subject compositions were demonstrated to have pharmacological activity in in vitro and in vivo assays , e . g . are capable of specifically modulating a cellular physiology to reduce an associated pathology or provide or enhance a prophylaxis . preferred compounds are capable of specifically regulating ldl receptor gene expression . compounds may be evaluated in vitro for their ability to increase ldl receptor expression using western - blot analysis , for example , as described in tam et al . ( 1991 ) j . biol . chem . 266 , 16764 . established animal models to evaluate hypocholesterolemic effects of compounds are known in the art . for example , compounds disclosed herein are shown to lower cholesterol levels in hamsters fed a high - cholesterol diet , using a protocol similar to that described in spady et al . ( 1988 ) j . clin . invest . 81 , 300 ; evans et al . ( 1994 ) j . lipid res . 35 , 1634 ; lin et al ( 1995 ) j . med . chem . 38 , 277 . the invention provides methods of using the subject compounds and compositions to treat disease or provide medicinal prophylaxis , to upregulate ldl receptor gene expression in a cell , to reduce blood cholesterol concentration in a host , etc . these methods generally involve contacting the cell with or administering to the host an effective amount of the subject compounds or pharmaceutically acceptable compositions . the compositions and compounds of the invention and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof can be administered in any effective way such as via oral , parenteral or topical routes . generally , the compounds are administered in dosages ranging from about 2 mg up to about 2 , 000 mg per day , although variations will necessarily occur depending on the disease target , the patient , and the route of administration . preferred dosages are administered orally in the range of about 0 . 05 mg / kg to about 20 mg / kg , more preferably in the range of about 0 . 05 mg / kg to about 2 mg / kg , most preferably in the range of about 0 . 05 mg / kg to about 0 . 2 mg per kg of body weight per day . in one embodiment , the invention provides the subject compounds combined with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient such as sterile saline or other medium , water , gelatin , an oil , etc . to form pharmaceutically acceptable compositions . the compositions and / or compounds may be administered alone or in combination with any convenient carrier , diluent , etc . and such administration may be provided in single or multiple dosages . useful carriers include solid . semi - solid or liquid media including water and non - toxic organic solvents . in another embodiment , the invention provides the subject compounds in the form of a pro - drug , which can be metabolically converted to the subject compound by the recipient host . a wide variety of produg formulations are known in the art . the compositions may be provided in any convenient form including tablets , capsules , lozenges , troches , hard candies , powders , sprays , creams , suppositories , etc . as such the compositions , in pharmaceutically acceptable dosage units or in bulk , may be incorporated into a wide variety of containers , for example , dosage units may be included in a variety of containers including capsules , pills , etc . the compositions may be advantageously combined and / or used in combination with other hypocholesterolemic and / or hypolipemic therapeutic or prophylactic agents , different from the subject compounds . in many instances , administration in conjunction with the subject compositions enhances the efficacy of such agents . exemplary hypocholesterolemic and / or hypolipemic agents include : bile acid sequestrants such as quaternary amines ( e . g . cholestyramine and colestipol ); nicotinic acid and its derivatives ; hmg - coa reductase inhibitors such as mevastatin , pravastatin , and simvastatin ; gemfibrozil and other fibric acids , such as gemfibrozil , clofibrate , fenofibrate , benzafibrate and cipofibrate ; probucol ; raloxifene and its derivatives ; and mixtures thereof . the compounds and compositions also find use in a variety of in vitro and in vivo assays , including diagnostic assays . for example , various allotypic ldl receptor gene expression processes may be distinguished in sensitivity assays with the subject compounds and compositions , or panels thereof . in certain assays and in in vivo distribution studies , it is desirable to used labeled versions of the subject compounds and compositions , e . g . radioligan displacement assays . accordingly , the invention provides the subject compounds and compositions comprising a detectable label , which may be spectroscopic ( e . g . fluorescent ), radioactive , etc . the following examples are offered by way of illustration and not by way of limitation . 1 h nmr spectra were recorded on a varian gemini 400 mhz nmr spectrometer . significant peaks are tabulated in the order . multiplicity ( s , singlet ; d , doublet ; t , triplet ; q , quartet ; m , multiplet ), coupling constant ( s ) in hertz , number of protons . electron ionization ( ei ) mass spectra were recorded on a hewlett packard 5989a mass spectrometer . fast atom bombardment ( fab ) mass spectroscopy was carried out in a vg analytical zab 2 - se high field mass spectrometer . mass spectroscopy results are reported as the ratio of mass over charge , and the relative abundance of the ion is reported in parentheses . 4 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . to n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride ( 3 g , 14 . 6 mmol ) suspended in pyridine ( 50 ml ) at 0 ° c . under argon was added dropwise pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride ( 2 . 38 ml , 16 mmol ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 30 min at 0 ° c . and allowed to warm to ambient temperature . the reaction mixwre was stired at room temperature for 3 h . the volume of the mixture was then reduced to 10 ml under reduced pressure . the mixure was diluted with ethyl acetate and the reaction quenched with water . the layers were separated and the aqueous layer extracted twice with ethyl acetate . the organic layers were combined and washed with brine and dried with mgso 4 . the solvent was evaporated and the residue purified by chromatography on silica , eluting with ch 2 cl 2 . the title product was obtained as a white solid in 63 % yield ( 3 . 4 g ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 01 ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 2h ), 6 . 77 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 59 ( d , j = 8 . 3 hz , 2h ), 2 . 92 ppm ( s , 6h ). fab m / z ( relative abundance ): 367 ( 100 %, m + h + ), 135 ( 30 %), 121 ( 25 %). anal . calcd . for c 14 h 11 f 5 n 2 o 2 s : c , 45 . 95 , h , 3 . 03 , n , 7 . 65 . found c , 45 . 83 , h , 2 . 99 , n , 7 . 62 3 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 12 ( t , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 05 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 57 ( s , 1h ) 6 . 53 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 40 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 2 . 94 ppm ( s , 6h ). fab m / z : 366 ( 100 %, m + ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 -( n , n - dimethylamino ) aniline . 1 , 2 - ethylenedioxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 97 ( s , 1h ) 6 . 76 ( d , j = 8 . 6 hz , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( d , j = 2 . 6 hz , 1h ), 6 . 62 ( dd , j = 8 . 6 , 2 . 6 hz , 1h ), 4 . 21 ppm ( s , 4h ). fab m / z : 381 ( 100 %, m + h + ). anal calcd . for c 14 h 8 f 5 no 4 s : c , 44 . 09 , h , 2 . 12 , n , 3 . 68 , s , 8 . 39 . found : c , 43 . 83 , h , 2 . 19 , n , 3 . 62 , s , 8 . 20 . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 , 4 - ethylenedioxyaniline . 1 , 2 - methylenedioxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 78 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 70 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 57 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 5 . 97 ppm ( s , 2h ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 , 4 - methylenedioxyaniline . 1 , 2 - dimethoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 98 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 85 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 74 ( d , 1h ), 6 . 60 ( dd , 1h ), 3 . 85 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 83 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z : 383 ( 50 , m + ), 152 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 , 4 - dimethoxyaniline . 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 93 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 7 - 6 . 8 ( m , 3h ), 5 . 68 ( bs , 1h ), 3 . 85 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z : 333 ( 20 , m + ), 138 ( 100 ). mp 118 - 120 ° c . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 - hydroxy - 4 - methoxyaniline . 2 - fluoro - 1 - methoxy 4 - pentafluorosulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( dmso ) 11 . 15 ( broad s , 1h ), 7 . 13 ( t , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 7 . 02 ( dd , j = 9 . 5 2 . 5 hz , 1h ), 6 . 94 ppm ( dd , j = 8 . 8 1 . 5 hz , 1h ), 3 . 79 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z : 371 ( 20 , m + ), 140 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 7 hf 6 n 1 o 3 s 1 : c , 42 . 06 , h , 1 . 90 , n , 3 . 77 , s , 8 . 64 . found : c , 42 . 19 , h , 1 . 83 , n , 3 . 70 , s , 8 . 60 . mp 118 - 119 ° c . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 - fluoro - p - anisidine . 4 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 99 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 96 ( d , j = 4 hz , 2h ), 6 . 88 ( d , j = 4 hz , 2h ), 3 . 83 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z : 353 ( 60 , m + ), 122 ( 100 ). m . p . 102 - 103 ° c . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 4 - methoxyaniline . 3 - hydroxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cd 3 od ): 7 . 15 ( t , j = 8 . 1 hz , 1h ), 6 . 67 ( t , j = 2 . 2 hz , 1h ) 6 . 60 ( dd , j = 1 . 3 hz , 7 . 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 52 ppm ( dd , j = 2 . 4 hz 8 . 3 hz , 1h ). ei , m / z : 339 ( 80 , m + ), 256 ( 50 ), 81 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 - hydroxyaniline . 4 - hydroxy - 1 - pentafluorosulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cd 3 od ): 6 . 95 ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 2h ), 6 . 65 ppm ( d , j = 8 . 9 hz , 2h ). ei , m / z : 339 ( 30 , m + ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 4 - hydroxyaniline . 1 , 2 - dimethyl - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 03 ( d , j = 7 . 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 92 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 85 - 6 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 2 . 18 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 16 ppm ( s , 3h ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 , 4 - dimethylaniline . 4 ( n , n - diethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 93 ( d , j = 8 . 8 hz , 2h ), 6 . 78 ( s , 1 ), 6 . 45 ( d , j = 8 . 7 hz , 2h ), 3 . 25 ( dd , j = 7 . 0 hz , 7 . 3 hz , 4h ), 1 . 10 ppm ( t , j = 7 . 2 hz , 6h ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - diethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 4 -( n , n - diethylamino ) aniline . 4amino - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 82 ( d , j = 8 . 7 hz , 2h ), 6 . 49 ppm ( d , j = 8 . 7 hz , 2h ). ei , m / z : 338 ( 7 , m + ), 107 ( 100 ), 80 ( 40 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 1 , 4 - diaminobenzene . pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 30 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 13 - 7 . 2 ( m , 3h ), 7 . 0 ppm ( s , 1h ). ei , m / z : 323 ( 90 , m + ), 92 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with aniline . 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidoindazole . 1 h nmr ( cd 3 od ): 7 . 98 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 69 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 47 ( d , j = 8 . 3 hz , 1h ), 7 . 23 ppm ( d , j = 8 . 3 hz , 1h ). ei m / z : 364 ( 50 , m + h + ), 133 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 5 - aminoindazole . 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidoindole . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 8 . 2 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 43 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 3 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 22 ( s , 1h )), 6 . 98 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 92 ppm ( s , 1h ), 6 . 50 ppm ( s , 1h ). ei m / z : 362 ( m + ), 131 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyt - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 5 - aminoindole . 4 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 -( pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene ( 100 mg , 0 . 273 mmol ) was dissolved in dry thf ( 2 . 5 ml ) and to the system was added under n 2 at room temperature a 1m solution of lithium bis ( trimethylsilyl ) amide ( 0 . 274 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred for 10 min followed by addition of mei ( 65 mg , 0 . 028 ml ). the reaction mixture was stirred overnight , the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure and the crude product purified by hplc using silica as the stationary phase and eluting with 20 % etoac / hex ( v / v ) to afford the product as a white solid in 60 % yield ( 62 mg ). ei m / z : 380 ( 35 , m + ), 149 ( 100 ). 1 h nmr ( cd 3 od ) 7 . 05 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 6 . 68 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 3 . 33 ( s , 3h ) 2 . 93 ( s , 6h ). anal . calcd . for c 15 h 13 f 5 so 2 n 2 : c , 47 . 37 , h , 3 . 45 , n , 7 . 37 . found : c , 47 . 37 , h , 3 . 49 , n , 7 . 32 . 1 , 2 - dihydroxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 - hydroxy - 2 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene ( 250 mg , 0 . 678 mmol ) was suspended in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) at 0 ° c . under nitrogen . to the mixture was added bbr 3 as a 1m solution in ch 2 cl 2 ( 0 . 746 mmol , 1 . 1 eq .). the mixture was warmed to ambient temperature and stirred overnight . the reaction mixture was poured over ice ( 75 ml ) and extracted 3 times with 30 ml portions of ch 2 cl 2 . the organic layer was dried with mgso 4 and the solvent was evaporated . the crude product was purified by chromatography over silica eluting with 30 % ( v / v ) etoac / hex to afford the product as a white solid in 41 % yield ( 98 mg ). 1 h nmr ( dmso ): 10 . 63 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 15 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 91 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 61 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 58 ( d , j = 3 hz , 1h ), 6 . 39 ppm ( dd , j = 9 hz 3 hz , 1h ). 4 - ethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzne . to a strred solution of p - phenetidine ( 0 . 100 g , 0 . 729 mmol ) in dimnethylformamide ( 3 . 65 ml ) at 25 ° c . was added pentafluorophenyl sulfonyl chloride ( 0 . 135 ml , 0 . 911 mmol ), followed by sodium carbonate ( 0 . 116 g , 1 . 09 mmol ), and the reaction mixture was stirred for 18 hours . ihe reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ) and washed with 20 % ammonium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ) and saturated sodium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ). the organic layer was dried ( sodium sulfite ), and the ethyl acetate was removed under reduced pressure to yield a reddish - brown oil . column chromatography ( 3 : 1 ethyl acetate / hexane ) yielded the title compound ( 0 . 222 g , 83 %). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 08 ( d , j = 9 hz , 2h , 7 . 04 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 80 ( d , j = 9 hz , 2h ), 3 . 96 ( q , j = 7 hz , 2h ), 1 . 37 ppm ( t , j = 7 hz , 2h ). ir ( neat ) 3000 - 3600 , 1750 cm − 1 . ei m / z : 367 ( m + ), 154 , 136 . the compounds of examples 20 through 26 were prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with the appropriate amine . 3 , 5 - dimethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by to a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 3 , 5 - dimethoxyanine . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 6 . 91 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 32 ( s , 2h ), 6 . 25 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 72 ppm ( s , 6h ). 3 - ethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene the compound was prepared by a protocol slimilar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 3 - ethoxyaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 35 ( t , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 92 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 86 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 83 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 4 . 15 ( q , j = 6 hz , 2h , 1 . 56 ppm ( t , j = 6 hz , 3h ). 7 - hydroxy - 2 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidonaphthalene . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 2 - amino - 7 - hydroxynaphthalene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 8 . 15 ( t , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 55 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 44 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 42 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 40 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 88 ppm ( q , j = 8 hz , 1h ). 3 - phenoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 3 - phenoxyaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 34 ( t , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 7 . 26 ( t , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 7 . 16 ( t , j8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 94 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 82 ( d , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 6 . 74 ( s , 1h ). 3 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 3 - methoxyaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 20 ( d , j = 8 hz 1h , ), 6 . 95 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 78 ( d , j = 8 hz 1h ,), 6 . 70 ( t , j = 8 hz , 1h ), 3 . 79 ppm ( s , 1h ). 4 -( 1 - morpholino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 4 ( 1 - morpholino ) aniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 09 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( d , j = 8 hz , 2h ), 3 . 85 ( t , j = 8 hz , 4h ), 3 . 15 ppm ( t , j = 8 hz , 4h ). 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamido - 1 , 2 , 3 - trimethoxybenzene . the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 19 by replacing p - phenetidine with 3 , 4 , 5 - trimethoxyaniline . 1 h mnr ( cdcl 3 ) 8 . 14 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 46 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 69 ( s , 6h ), 3 . 59 ( s , 3h ). 1 , 3 - dimethoxy - 2 - hydroxy - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 , 2 - dihydroxy - 3 - methoxy - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamido - 1 , 2 , 3 - trihydroxybenzene . 1 , 2 , 3 - methoxy - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene ( 269 mg , 0 . 6 mmol ) was suspended in dry ch 2 cl 2 ( 5 ml ) at 0 ° c . under nitrogen . to the mixture was added bbr 3 as a 1m solution in ch 2 cl 2 ( 3 . 26 mmol , 5 eq .). the mixture was warmed to ambient temperature and stirred overnight the reaction mixture was poured over ice ( 75 ml ) and extted 3 times with 30 ml portions of ch 2 cl 2 . the organic layer was dried with mgso 4 , evaporated , and the residue was subjected to chromatography over silica eluting with 30 % ( v / v ) etoac / hex to afford the three products . the compounds of examples 28 and 29 were prepared in a manner similar to that described above beginning with the product of example 20 and treating it with bbr 3 . 1 , 3 - dimethoxy - 2 - hydroxy - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 10 . 85 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 41 ( s , 2h ), 3 . 66 ppm ( s , 6h ). 1 , 2 - dihydroxy - 3 - methoxy - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 10 . 73 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 31 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 27 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 26 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 66 ppm ( s , 3h ). 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamido - 1 , 2 , 3 - trihydroxybenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 11 . 0 ( s , 1 h ), 9 . 03 ( s , 2h ), 8 . 06 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 13 ppm ( s , 2h ). 3 - hydroxy - 5 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 11 . 2 ( s , 1h ), 9 . 63 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 23 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 21 ( s , 1h , 6 . 08 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 63 ( s , 3h ). 3 , 5 - dihydroxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 15 ( s . 1h ), 6 . 25 ( s , 2h ), 6 . 15 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 31 ( s , 2h ). 2 - fluoro - 1 - methoxy - 4 -( n - methylpentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . prepared using a procedure similar to that of example 18 replacing 4 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene with the appropriate non - substituted sulfonamide ( product of example 7 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 97 - 6 . 94 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 89 ( t , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 3 . 87 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 35 ppm ( t , j = 1 hz ). ei m / z : 385 ( 20 , m + ), 154 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 14 h 9 f 6 no 3 : c , 43 . 64 , h , 2 . 35 , n , 3 . 64 . found c , 43 . 55 , h , 2 . 38 , n , 3 . 65 . 2 - bromo - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 3 5 ( d , j = 3 hz , 1h ), 7 . 15 ( dd , j = 9 hz , 3 hz , 1h ), 6 . 97 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 81 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 3 , 88 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei m / z : 433 ( 35 , m + ), 202 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 - bromo - 4 - methoxyaniline . 2 - chloro - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 19 ( d , j = 3 hz , 1h ), 7 . 08 ( dd , j = 9 hz , 3 hz , 1h ), 7 . 01 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 84 ( d , j = 9 hz , 3 . 85 ( s , 3h ). ei m / z ( rel . abundance ): 387 ( 10 , m + ), 156 ( 100 ). the compound was prepared by a protocol similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 - chloro - 4 - methoxyaniline . 4n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene hydrochloride . 4 -( n , n - dimethylamino )- 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene ( 2 g , 5 . 5 mmol ) was dissolved in 15 ml of diethyl ether at ambient temperure under nitrogen . gaseous hcl wa bubbled into the reaction mixture for 5 min the mixture was filtered and the resulting solid washed twice with 15 ml portions of ice cold diethyl ether to afford the product as a white solid ( 1 . 89 g , 86 % yield ). 1 h nmr ( cd 3 od ): 7 . 62 ( dd , j = 9 . 0 hz , 1 . 6 hz , 2h ), 7 . 44 ( dd , j = 9 . 0 hz , 1 . 6 hz , 2h ), 3 . 28 ppm ( s , 6h ). fab m / z : 367 ( 100 %, m + h + ), 135 ( 90 %), 121 ( 45 %). anal . calcd . for c 14 h 13 clf 5 n 2 o 2 s : c , 41 . 79 , h , 3 . 01 , n , 6 . 97 , s , 7 . 95 . found c , 41 . 71 , h , 3 . 05 , n , 7 . 01 , s , 7 . 96 . 3 , 4 - difluoro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 3 , 4 - difluoroaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 13 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 91 ppm ( m , 1h ). ei , m / z ( relative abundance ): 359 ( 20 ), 128 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c13h4f7n1o2s1 : c , 40 . 12 , h , 1 . 12 , n , 3 . 90 . found : c , 40 . 23 , h , 1 . 17 , n , 3 . 89 . 4 - trifluoromethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepare in a manner similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethy - 1 , 4 - phenyidiamine dihydrochloride with 4 -( trifluoromethoxy ) aniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 18 ppm ( m , 4h ). ei , m / z ( relative abundance ): 407 ( 20 ), 176 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c13h5f8n1o3s1 : c , 38 . 34 , h , 1 . 24 , n , 3 . 44 . found : c , 38 . 33 , h , 1 . 30 , n , 3 . 43 . 2 - chloro - 5 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamdopyridine . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with 5 - amino - 2 - chloropyridine . h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 8 . 18 ( d , j = 2 . 68 hz , 1h ), 7 . 64 ( dd , j = 8 . 75 , 2 . 89 hz , 1h ), 7 . 50 ppm ( d , j = 8 . 75 hz , 1h ). ei m / z 358 ( 20 , m + ), 127 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 11 h 4 clf 5 n 2 o 2 s : c , 36 . 83 , h , 1 . 12 , n , 7 . 81 , s , 8 . 94 , cl 9 . 90 . found : c , 37 . 00 , h , 1 . 16 , n , 7 . 78 , s , 8 . 98 , cl 10 . 01 . white crystals with m . p .= 144 - 145 ° c . 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 -( n -( 5 - hydroxypentyl )- pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . n -( 5 - hydroxypentyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 - aminobenzene was prepared by reductive amination of 5 - amino - 2 - methoxy phenol with glutaric dialdehyde with nabh 4 in meoh . 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 -( n -( 5 - hydroxypentyl )- pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 1 by replacing n , n - dimethyl - 1 , 4 - phenyldiamine dihydrochloride with n -( 5 - hydroxypentyl )- 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 - aminobenzene . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 6 . 78 ( d , j = 8 . 6 hz , 1h ), 6 . 71 ( dd , j = 8 . 59 , 2 . 48 hz , 1h ), 6 . 63 ( d , j = 2 . 48 hz , 1h ), 3 . 88 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 7 ( t , j = 6 . 8 hz , 2h ), 3 . 6 ( t , j = 6 . 39 hz , 2h ), 1 . 5 ppm ( m , 6h ). anal . calcd . for c 18 h 18 f 5 no 5 s : c , 47 . 47 , h , 3 . 98 , n , 3 . 08 , s , 7 . 04 . found : c , 47 . 47 , h , 4 . 04 , n , 3 . 11 , s , 6 . 97 . white crystals with m . p .= 118 °. 4 -( 1 , 1 - dimethyl ) ethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compouid was prepared in a manmer similar to example 46 by replacing 3 - chloroaniline with 4 - t - butoxyanilime . 4 - t - butoxyaniline was prepared by thie method of day ( j . med . chem . 1975 , 18 , 1065 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 07 ( m , 2 ), 6 . 92 ( m , 2 ), 6 . 88 ( m , 1 ), 1 . 31 ( s , 9 ). ms ( ei ): m / z 395 ( 1 , m + ), 339 ( 28 ), 108 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 16 h 14 f 5 no 3 s : c , 48 . 61 ; h , 3 . 57 ; n , 3 . 54 ; s , 8 . 11 . found : c , 48 . 53 ; h , 3 . 60 ; n , 3 . 50 ; s , 8 . 02 . 1 - bromo - 3 - hydroxy - 4 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by bromination of the compound of example 6 with n - bromosuccmimide in dichloromedtane . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 28 ( br s , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 80 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 05 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 89 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z ( relative abundance ): 449 ( 25 ), 447 ( 25 ), 218 ( 100 ), 216 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c13h8br1f5n1o4s1 : c , 34 . 84 , h , 1 . 57 , n , 3 . 13 , s , 7 . 15 . found : c , 34 . 75 , h , 1 . 60 , n , 3 . 07 , s , 7 . 08 . 2 - bromo - 4 - methoxy - 5 - hydroxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by bromination of the compound of example 6 with n - bromosuccinimide in dichloromethane . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ) 7 . 28 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 16 ( br s , 1h ), 6 . 91 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 63 ( s , 1h ), 3 . 85 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei , m / z ( relative abundance ): 449 ( 25 ), 447 ( 25 ), 218 ( 100 ), 216 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c13h8br1f5n1o4s1 : c , 34 . 84 , h , 1 . 57 , n , 3 . 13 , s , 7 . 15 . found : c , 34 . 84 , h , 1 . 57 , n , 3 . 05 , s , 7 . 06 . 1 - bromo - 4 - fluoro - 5 - methoxy - 2 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared by bromination of the compound of example 7 with bromine water . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 49 ( d , j = 11 . 72 hz , 1h ), 7 . 21 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 04 ( d , j = 8 . 2 hz , 1h ), 3 . 84 ppm ( s , 3h ). ei m / z : 449 ( 20 , m + ), 451 ( 20 ), 228 ( 100 ), 230 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 6 brf 6 no 3 s : c , 34 . 69 , h , 1 . 34 , n , 3 . 11 , s , 7 . 12 , br , 17 . 75 . found : c , 34 . 76 , h , 1 . 29 , n , 3 . 05 , s , 7 . 12 , br , 17 . 68 . white crystals with m . p .= 109 ° c . 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxyapentafluormphenylslfonamidobenzene sodium salt . the compound was prepared by treating the compound of exmple 6 with an equimolar amount of 1n naoh ( aq ) . the mixture was then lyophilized and the residue recrystallyzed from ethyl acetate / ether . 1 h nmr ( dmso ) 8 . 40 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 57 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 39 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 24 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 3 . 62 ppm ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c13h7f5n1na1o4s1 : c , 39 . 91 , h , 1 . 80 , n , 3 . 58 , na 5 . 88 , s , 8 . 19 . found : c , 39 . 79 , h , 1 . 86 , n , 3 . 50 , na 5 . 78 , s , 8 . 07 . 2 - hydroxy - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamnidobenzene potassium salt . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 42 by replacing 1n naoh with 1n koh . 1 h nmr ( dmso ) 8 . 30 ( br s , 1h ), 6 . 55 ( d , j = 9 hz , 1h ), 6 . 36 ( d , j = 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 25 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 3 . 61 ppm ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c13h7f5k1n1o4s1 : c , 38 . 33 , h , 1 . 73 , n , 3 . 44 , s , 7 . 87 . found : c , 38 . 09 , h , 1 . 79 , n , 3 . 39 , s , 7 . 97 . 2 - fluoro - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene potassium salt the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 43 by replacing the compound from example 6 with example 7 . 1 h nmr ( dmso ) 6 . 80 ( t , j = 10 hz , 1h ), 6 . 72 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 54 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 3 . 68 ppm ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c13h6f6k1n1o3s1 : c , 38 . 15 , h , 1 . 48 , n , 3 . 42 , s , 7 . 83 . found : c , 38 . 09 , h , 1 . 51 , n , 3 . 35 , s , 7 . 73 . m . p .= 202 - 205 ° c . 2 - fluoro - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene sodium salt . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that of example 44 by replacing 1n koh with 1n naoh . 1 h nmr ( dmso ) 6 . 80 ( t , j = 10 hz , 1h ), 6 . 71 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 6 . 53 ( dd , j = 9 , 2 hz , 1h ), 3 . 69 ppm ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c13h6f6n1na1o3s1 : c , 39 . 71 , h , 1 . 54 , n , 3 . 56 , na 5 . 85 , s , 8 . 15 . found : c , 39 . 56 , h , 1 . 62 , n , 3 . 49 , na 5 . 88 , s , 8 . 08 . m . p . & gt ; 250 ° c . 3 - chloro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . to a solution of pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride ( 0 . 15 ml , 1 . 00 mmol ) in meoh ( 4 ml ) was added 3 - chloroaniline ( 260 mg , 2 . 04 mmol ). after stirring at rt for 1 h , the reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue was taken up in etoac and then filtered through a plug of silica gel . the filtrate was concentrated to give a yellow oil that upon chromatography provided 265 mg ( 74 %) of product . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 28 - 7 . 24 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 21 - 7 . 17 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 10 - 7 . 08 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 07 ( s , 1h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 357 ( 42 , m + ), 258 ( 76 ), 126 ( 87 ), 99 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 12 h clf 5 no 2 s : c , 40 . 30 ; h , 1 . 41 ; n , 3 . 92 ; s , 8 . 96 . found : c , 40 . 18 ; h , 1 . 35 ; n , 3 . 84 ; s , 8 . 90 . 4 - chloro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 46 by replacing 3 - chloraniline with 4 - chloroaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 30 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 20 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 14 ( m , 2h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 357 ( 27 , m + ), 258 ( 38 ), 126 ( 100 ), 99 ( 85 ). anal . calcd . for c 12 h 5 clf 5 no 2 s : c , 40 . 30 ; h , 1 . 41 ; n , 3 . 92 ; s , 8 . 96 . found : c , 40 . 19 ; h , 1 . 37 ; n , 3 . 87 ; s , 8 . 88 . 3 - nitro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 46 by replacing 3 - chloroanile with 3 - nitroaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 8 . 14 ( s , 1h ), 8 . 06 - 8 . 03 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 66 - 7 . 63 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 55 ( m , 1h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 368 ( 54 , m + ), 137 ( 70 ), 91 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 12 h 5 f 5 n 2 o 4 s : c , 39 . 14 ; h , 1 . 37 ; n , 7 . 61 ; s , 8 . 71 . found : c , 39 . 39 ; h , 1 . 45 ; n , 7 . 46 ; s , 8 . 58 . 4 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamido - 3 - trifluoromethylbenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that descnbed in example 46 by replacing 3 - chloroaniline with 4 - methoxy - 3 - ifluoromethylaniline which was obtained by the hydrogenation of the corresponding nitro compound . white solid , mp 121 - 123 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 43 - 7 . 37 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 96 ( d , j = 8 . 8 , 1h ), 3 . 88 ( s , 3h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 421 ( 16 , m + ), 190 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 14 h 7 f 8 no 3 s : c , 39 . 92 ; h , 1 . 67 ; n , 3 . 32 ; s , 7 . 61 . found : c , 40 . 17 ; h , 1 . 68 ; n , 3 . 28 ; s , 7 . 67 . 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 2 - propenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . to a solution of 4 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene ( 448 mg , 1 . 27 mmol ) in thf ( 3 ml ) was added triphenylphosphine ( 333 mg , 1 . 27 mmol ) a , d alkyl alcohol ( 0 . 09 ml , 1 . 27 mmol ). diethylazodicarboxylate ( 0 . 20 ml , 1 . 27 mmol ) was added and the mixture was stirred at rt after 1 h , the reaction mixture was poured onto saturated nacl ( 10 ml ) and extracted with ch2cl 2 ( 3 × 10 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with saturated nahco 3 ( 10 ml ) and dried ( mgso 4 ). concentration followed by flash chromatography ( 25 : 25 : 1 / hexanes : ch 2 cl 2 : etoac ) provided 451 mg ( 90 %) of product as a white solid , mp 59 - 60 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 06 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 79 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 15 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 11 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 37 ( d , j = 6 . 3 , 2h ), 3 . 80 ( s , 3h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 393 ( 33 , m + ), 162 ( 100 ), 134 ( 66 ). anal . calcd . for c 16 h 11 f 5 no 3 s : c , 48 . 98 ; h , 2 . 83 ; n , 3 . 57 ; s , 8 . 17 . found : c , 49 . 13 ; h , 3 . 15 ; n , 3 . 63 ; s , 8 . 15 . 1 -( n -( 3 - butenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 50 by replacing alkyl alcohol with 3 - buten - 1 - ol . white solid , mp 64 - 66 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl3 ): d 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 74 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 10 - 5 . 04 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 83 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ), 2 . 25 ( q , j = 6 . 9 , 2h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 407 ( 13 , m + ), 366 ( 24 ), 135 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 17 h 14 f 5 no 3 s : c , 50 . 13 ; h , 3 . 46 ; n , 3 . 44 ; s , 7 . 87 . found : c , 50 . 25 ; h , 3 . 51 ; n , 3 . 43 ; s , 7 . 81 . 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 4 - pentenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 50 by replacing alkyl alcohol will 4 - pentent - 1 - ol . low melting semi - solid . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 87 ( m , 2h ), 5 . 74 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 02 - 4 . 96 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 76 ( t , j = 7 . 04 , 2h ), 2 . 11 ( q , j = 6 . 9 , 2h ), 1 . 60 ( pentet , j = 7 . 3 , 2h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 421 ( 30 , m + ), 190 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 18 h 16 f 5 no 3 s : c , 51 . 31 ; h , 3 . 83 ; n , 3 . 32 ; s , 7 . 61 . found : c , 51 . 44 ; h , 3 . 89 ; n , 3 . 38 ; s , 7 . 54 . 1 -( n - 2 , 3 - dihydroxypropyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . to a solution of 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 2 - propenyl ) pentafluorophenyksulfonamido ) benzene ( 101 mg , 0 . 26 mmol ) in acetone : water ( 8 : 1 , 1 ml ) at rt was added n - methylmorpholine n - oxide ( 34 . 0 mg , 0 . 29 mmol ) and oso 4 ( 0 . 10 ml of 0 . 16 m solution in h 2 o , 1 . 60 × 10 − 2 mmol ). after stirring at rt for 18 h , the reaction mixture was treated with saturated nahso 3 ( 5 ml ) and allowed to stir at rt . after 1 h , the reaction mixture was poured onto saturated nahso 3 ( 5 ml ) and extacted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 3 × 10 ml ). the combined organic extracts were dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated . flash chromatography ( 1 : 1 , 1 : 2 / hexanes : etoac ) afforded 90 mg ( 83 %) of product as a white solid , mp 130 - 131 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 11 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 78 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 90 - 3 . 65 ( m , 5h ). anal . calcd . for c 6 h 13 f 5 no 5 s : c , 45 . 08 ; h , 3 . 07 ; n , 3 . 29 ; s , 7 . 52 . found : c , 45 . 09 ; h , 3 . 33 ; n , 3 . 27 ; s , 7 . 46 . 1 -( n -( 3 , 4 - dihydroxybutyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . the compound was prepared in a marner similr to that described in example 53 by replacing 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 2 - propenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonaido ) benzene with 1 -( n - 3 - butenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . white solid , mp 126 - 128 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 10 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 88 ( m , 2m , 4 . 13 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 96 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 78 - 3 . 73 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 64 ( dd , 1 , j = 2 . 9 , 10 . 7 , 1h ), 3 . 47 ( dd , j = 7 . 3 , 11 . 2 ; 1h ), 2 . 67 ( bs , 1h ), 1 . 92 ( bs , 1h ), 1 . 62 ( m , 2h ). 1 -( n -( 4 , 5 - dihydroxypentyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 53 by replacing 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 2 - propenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene with 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 4 - pentenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . white solid , mp 116 - 118 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 80 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 78 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 71 - 3 . 62 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 43 ( dd , j = 7 . 5 , 10 . 8 ; 1h ), 1 . 90 ( bs , 2h , 1 . 66 - 1 . 49 ( m , 4h ). anal . calcd . for c 18 h 18 f 5 no 5 s : c , 47 . 48 ; h , 3 . 98 ; n , 3 . 08 ; s , 7 . 04 . found : c , 47 . 58 ; h , 3 . 95 ; n , 3 . 06 ; s , 6 . 95 . 1 -( n -( 4 - hydroxybutyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene . to a solution of 1 -( n -( 3 - butenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene ( 410 mg , 1 . 01 mmol ) in thf ( 6 . 5 ml ) at − 78 ° c . was added bh 3 . thf ( 1 . 00 ml of a 1 m solution in thf , 1 . 00 mmol ). after stirring at − 78 ° c . for 1 h and at 0 ° c . for 1 h , the reaction mixture was treated with h 2 o ( 20 ml ) and sodium perborate ( 513 mg , 5 . 14 mmol ). after stirring at rt for 2 h , the mixture was poured onto h 2 o ( 20 ml ) and extracted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 3 × 15 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with sat . nacl ( 20 ml ) and dried ( mgso 4 ). concentration followed by chromatography ( 2 : 1 / hexanes : etoac ) afforded 270 mg ( 64 %) of product as a white solid , mp 88 - 90 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 85 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 80 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 77 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 64 ( t , j = 6 . 0 ; 2h ), 1 . 63 - 1 . 55 ( m , 5h ), 1 . 50 ( bs , 1h ). anal . calcd . for c 17 h 16 f 5 no 4 s : c , 48 . 00 ; h , 3 . 79 ; n , 3 . 29 ; s , 7 . 54 . found : c , 48 . 08 ; h , 3 . 76 ; n , 3 . 34 ; s , 7 . 46 . 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n -( 5 - hydroxypentyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 56 by replacing 1 -( n -( 3 - butenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido )- 4 - methoxybenzene with 4 - methoxy - 1 -( n ( 4 - pentenyl ) pentafluorophenylsulfonamido ) benzene . white solid , mp 96 - 97 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 81 ( s , 3h ), 3 . 76 ( t , j = 6 . 8 , 2h ), 3 . 62 ( t , j = 6 . 4 ; 2h ), 1 . 58 - 1 . 43 ( m , 6h ). anal . calcd . for c 18 h 18 f 5 no 4 s : c , 49 . 20 ; h , 4 . 13 ; n , 3 . 19 ; s , 7 . 30 . found : c , 49 . 11 ; h , 4 . 09 ; n , 3 . 14 ; s , 7 . 19 . 4 - methoxy - 3 - nitro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to example 46 by replacing 3 - chloroaniline with 4 - methoxy - 3 - nitroaniline which was prepared by the method of norris ( aust . j . chem . 1971 , 24 , 1449 ). orange - yellow solid , mp 95 - 97 ° c . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 64 ( d , j = 2 . 7 ; 1h ), 7 . 51 ( dd , j = 2 . 7 , 9 . 0 ; 1h ), 7 . 09 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 09 ( d , j = 9 . 0 ; 1h ), 3 . 95 ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 7 f 5 n 2 o 5 s : c , 39 . 21 ; h , 1 . 77 ; n , 7 . 03 ; s , 8 . 05 . found : c , 39 . 19 ; h , 1 . 73 ; n , 6 . 97 ; s , 7 . 95 . 3 - amino - 4 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . to a solution of 4 - methoxy - 3 - nitro - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene ( 627 mg , 1 . 58 mmol ) in ethanol ( 10 ml ) was added 10 % pd / c ( 51 mg ). the resulting mixture was stirred under an atmosphere of hydrogen gas at 1 atm pressure . after 14 h , the mixture was passed through a pad of celite and the filtte was concentrated to give a solid residue . silica gel chromatography ( 2 : 1 , 1 : 1 / hexanes : etoac ) yielded 542 mg ( 93 %) of product as a white solid , mp 142 - 143 ° c . 1 h nmr ( dmso - d 6 ): 10 . 64 ( s , 1 ), 6 . 68 ( d , j = 8 . 4 ; 1h ), 6 . 44 ( d , j = 2 . 1 ; 1h ), 6 . 30 ( d , j = 2 . 1 , 8 . 4 ; 1h ), 4 . 88 ( bs , 2h ), 3 . 69 ( s , 3h ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 9 f 5 n 2 o 3 s : c , 42 . 40 ; h , 2 . 46 ; n , 7 . 61 ; s , 8 . 71 . found : c , 42 . 29 ; h , 2 . 36 ; n , 7 . 52 ; s , 8 . 60 . 4 - butoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsuifonamidobenzene . to a solution of pentafluorophenylsulfonyl chloride ( 203 mg , 0 . 763 mmol ) in meoh ( 4 ml ) was added 4 - butoxyaniline ( 0 . 26 ml , 1 . 53 mmol ). after stirring at rt for 1 h , the reaction mixture was poured onto 1 m hcl ( 15 ml ) and extacted with ch 2 cl 2 ( 3 × 10 ml ). the combined organic extracts were washed with saturated nacl ( 10 ml ) and dried ( mgso 4 ). concentration followed by flash chromatography ( 25 : 25 : 1 / hexanes : ch 2 cl 2 : etoac ) provided 189 mg ( 63 %) of product 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 07 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 86 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 80 ( m , 2h ), 3 . 89 ( t , j = 6 . 5 ; 2h ), 1 . 73 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 46 ( m , 21 , 0 . 95 ( t , j = 7 . 5 ; 2h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 395 ( 30 , m + ), 164 ( 35 ), 108 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 16 h 14 f 5 no 3 s : c , 48 . 61 ; h , 3 . 57 ; n , 3 . 54 ; s , 8 . 11 . found : c , 48 . 54 ; h , 3 . 53 ; n , 3 . 50 ; s , 8 . 02 . 1 - pentafluorophenysulfonamido - 4 - phenoxybenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyaniline with 4 - phenoxyaniline . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 36 - 7 . 30 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 15 - 7 . 10 ( m , 3h ), 6 . 99 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 98 - 6 . 90 ( m , 4h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 415 ( 32 , m + ), 184 ( 100 ), 77 ( 66 ). anal . calcd . for c 18 h 10 f 5 no 3 s : c , 52 . 05 ; h , 2 . 43 ; n , 3 . 27 ; s , 7 . 72 . found : c , 51 . 78 ; h , 2 . 45 ; n , 3 . 25 ; s , 7 . 53 . 4 - benzyloxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner sirila to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyanilne with 4 - benzyloxyauiline . 4 - benzyloxyailine was obtained from the commercially available hydrochloride salt by treatment with aqueous naoh . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 38 - 7 . 37 ( m , 4h ), 7 . 36 - 7 . 32 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 10 - 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 91 - 7 . 88 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 78 ( s , 1h ), 5 . 01 ( s , 1h ). ms ( ei ) m / z 429 ( 19 , m + ), 91 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 19 h 12 f 5 no 3 s : c , 53 . 14 ; h , 2 . 82 ; n , 3 . 26 ; s , 7 . 45 . found : c , 53 . 07 ; h , 2 . 78 ; n , 3 . 21 ; s , 7 . 35 . 4 - methylmercapto - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyailine with 4 -( methylmercapto ) ailine . 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 17 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 09 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 89 ( m , 1h ), 2 . 44 ( s , 3h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 369 ( 24 , m + ), 138 ( 100 ), 77 ( 66 ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 8 f 5 no 2 s 2 : c , 42 . 28 ; h , 2 . 18 ; n , 3 . 79 ; s , 17 . 36 . found : c , 42 . 20 ; h , 2 . 21 ; n , 3 . 72 ; s , 17 . 28 . 2 - methoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyaniline with o - anisidine 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): d 7 . 54 ( dd , j = 1 . 5 , 8 . 0 ; 1h ), 7 . 13 ( dt , j = 1 . 5 , 8 . 0 ; 1h ), 6 . 94 ( dt , j = 1 . 2 , 8 . 0 ; 1h ), 6 . 84 ( dd , j = 1 . 2 , 8 . 0 ; 1h ), 3 . 79 ( s , 3h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 353 ( 82 , m + ), 122 ( 100 ), 94 ( 95 ). anal . calcd . for c 13 h 8 f 5 no 3 s : c , 44 . 19 ; h , 2 . 28 ; n , 3 . 97 ; s , 9 . 06 . found : c , 44 . 10 ; h , 2 . 26 ; n , 3 . 92 ; s , 9 . 03 . 4 - allyloxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a anner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyaniline with 4 - alkyloxyanilie . 4 - allyloxyaniline was prepared by the method of butera ( j . med . chem . 1991 , 34 , 3212 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 87 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 04 - 5 . 94 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 39 - 5 . 34 ( m , 1h ), 5 . 29 - 5 . 25 ( m , 1h ), 4 . 484 . 46 ( m , 2h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 379 ( 11 , m + ), 148 ( 32 ), 41 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 15 h 10 f 5 no 3 s : c , 47 . 50 ; h , 2 . 66 ; n , 3 . 96 ; s , 8 . 45 . found : c , 47 . 53 ; h , 2 . 68 ; n , 3 . 62 ; s , 8 . 37 . 1 - penuruorophenylsulfonamido - 4 - propoxybenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyaniline with 4 - propoxyaniline . 4 - propoxyaniline was obtained by catalytic hydrogenation of 4 - alkyloxynitrobenzene . 4 - allyloxynitrobenzene was prepared by the method of butera ( j . med . chem . 1991 , 34 , 3212 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 09 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 82 ( m , 2h ), 6 . 78 ( m , 1h ), 3 . 87 ( t , j = 6 . 5 ; 2h ), 1 . 78 ( m , 2h ), 1 . 02 ( t , j = 7 . 4 ; 3h ). ms ( el ): m / z 381 ( 20 , m + ), 150 ( 40 ), 108 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 15 h 12 f 5 no 3 s : c , 47 . 25 ; h , 3 . 17 ; n , 3 . 67 ; s , 8 . 41 . found : c , 47 . 01 ; h , 3 . 20 ; n , 3 . 61 ; s , 8 . 31 . 4 - methyl ) ethoxy - 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . the compound was prepared in a manner similar to that described in example 60 by replacing 4 - butoxyaniline with 4 - isopropoxyaniline . 4 - isopropoxyaniline was prepared from 4 - fluoronitrobenzene in analogy to the method of day ( j . med . chem . 1975 , 18 , 1065 ). 1 h nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 7 . 08 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 00 ( s , 1h ), 6 . 81 ( m , 2h ), 4 . 48 ( heptet , j = 6 . 1 ; 1h ), 1 . 30 ( d , j = 6 . 04 ; 6h ). ms ( ei ): m / z 381 ( 7 , m + ), 339 ( 8 ), 108 ( 100 ). anal . calcd . for c 15 h 12 f 5 no 3 s : c , 47 . 25 ; h , 3 . 17 ; n , 3 . 67 ; s , 8 . 41 . found : c , 47 . 08 ; h , 3 . 18 ; n , 3 . 60 ; s , 8 . 34 . 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonyloxybenzene . to a stirred solution of phenol ( 0 . 068 g , 0 . 729 mmol ) in dimethylfonnamide ( 3 . 65 ml ) at 25 ° c . is added pentafluorophenyl sulfonyl chloride ( 0 . 135 ml , 0 . 911 mmol ), followed by sodium carbonate ( 0 . 116 g , 1 . 09 mmol ), and the reaction mixture is stirred for 18 hours . the reaction mixture is diluted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ), washed with 20 % ammonium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ), and saturated sodium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ). the organic layer is dried ( sodium sulfite ), and the ethyl acetate removed under vacuum . column chromatography ( 3 / 1 ethyl acetatelhexane ) yields the title compound . 1 - pentafluorophenylsulfonylindole . to a stirred solution of indole . ( 0 . 085 g , 0 . 729 mmol ) in dimethylformamide ( 3 . 65 ml ) at 25 ° c . is added pentafluorophenyl sulfonyl chloride ( 0 . 135 ml , 0 . 911 mmol ), followed by sodium carbonate ( 0 . 116 g , 1 . 09 mmol ), and the reaction mixture is stirred for 18 hours . the reaction mixture is diluted with ethyl acetate ( 50 ml ), washed with 20 % ammonium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ), and saturated sodium chloride ( 2 × 20 ml ). the organic layer is dried ( sodium sulfite ), and the ethyl acetate removed under vacuum . column chromatography ( 3 / 1 ethyl acetate / hexane ) yields the title compound . 2 - fluoro - 1 - methoxy - 4 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidobenzene . to 3 - fluoro - p - anisidine ( 3 g 21 . 2 mmol ) suspended in thf ( 50 ml ) with pyridine ( 1 . 84 g , 23 . 3 mmol ) at 0 ° c . under argon is added dropwise pentafluorophenylsulfinyl chloride ( 5 . 3 g , 21 . 2 mmol ). the reaction mixture is stirred for 30 min . at 0 ° c . and allowed to warm to ambient temperature . the reaction mixture is strirred at room temperature and followed by tlc . after the reaction is completed the mixture is diluted with ethyl acetate and the reaction quenched with water . the layers are separated and the aqueous layer extracted twice with ethyl acetate . the organic layers are combined and dried with brine and with na 2 so 4 . the solvent is evaporated and the residue purified by chromatography on silica to give the title compound . 2 - anilino - 3 - pentafluorophenylsulfonamidopyridine . to a solution of pentafluorophenyisulfony chloride ( 863 mg , 3 . 24 mmol ) in pyridine ( 9 ml ) at rt was added 3 - amino - 2 - analinopyridine ( 600 mg , 3 . 24 mmol ). after stirring at rt overnight the reaction mixture was concented at reduced pressure and the residue partitioned between 1 m hcl ( 50 ml ) and ch2cl2 ( 50 ml ). the organic extract was dried and concentrated to give an oil which was purified by mplc to give 377 mg ( 28 %) of product as an orange solid . h 1 nmr ( cdcl 3 ): 8 . 50 ( bs , 1h ), 7 . 80 ( d , j = 5 . 1 , 1h ), 7 . 61 ( d , j = 8 . 0 , 1h ), 7 . 32 ( t , j = 8 . 0 , 2h ), 7 . 25 ( d , j = 8 . 0 , 2h ), 7 . 11 ( t , j = 7 . 3 , 1h ), 6 . 80 ( dd , j = 5 . 6 , 7 . 7 , 1h ), 4 . 20 ( bs , 1h ). ms ( fab ): m / z 438 ( m + na ), 416 ( m + h ). compounds were evaluated for their ability to increase ldl receptor expression in hep g2 cells using western - blot analysis as described in tam et al ., j . biol . chem ., 266 , 16764 ( 1991 ) the data presented ( ec max ) reflect the minimum concentration at which a maximal induction of ldl receptor was observed for each compound . in all cases , the level of induction was greater than that observed under lipid - free conditions ( activated system ). all publications and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference . although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding , it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
referring to fig1 , an embodiment of a manual fork truck 100 comprises a truck body 10 , and a tightening device 30 mounted on the truck body 10 . the tightening device 30 tightly holds and secures goods on the truck body 10 . the truck body 10 comprises a base bracket 11 , two pallet forks 13 , two load wheels 15 , a guide wheel 17 , and an operating pusher 19 . the base bracket 11 is a substantially trapezoidal shaped base , and comprises a first end 111 which is substantially trapezoidal shaped , a second end 113 opposite and parallel to the first end 111 , and a top surface 115 interconnecting the first end 111 and the second end 113 . the two pallet forks 13 are substantially rectangular board shaped . the tow pallet forks 13 are separately mounted to the first end 111 of the base bracket 11 , and positioned adjacent to a bottom portion of the base bracket 11 . the two pallet forks 13 cooperatively form a carrying space ( not labeled ) together with the base bracket 11 , for loading goods ( not shown ). each of the two pallet forks 13 defines a mounting hole 133 adjacent to a distal end of each of the two pallet forks 13 , away from the base bracket 11 . the mounting hole is substantially rectangular shaped . in an alternative embodiment , the mounting hole 133 may be a mounting slot recessed from a bottom surface of the pallet fork 13 , away from the base bracket 11 . the mounting slot partially receives each of the two load wheels 15 . each of the two load wheels 15 is oppositely mounted to a bottom portion of each of the two pallet forks 13 , and partially received within the mounting hole 133 . the guide wheel 17 is rotatably and adjustably mounted to the second end 113 of the base bracket 11 , adjacent to a substantially middle portion of the bottom portion of the base bracket 11 . a direction of the guide wheel 17 can be adjusted for guiding and adjusting directions of the truck body 10 . the operating pusher 19 is adjustably hinged to the second end 113 of the base bracket 11 , adjacent to and above the guide wheel 17 , for being handled by an operator during use . the tightening device 30 is mounted on the top surface 115 of the base bracket 11 . the tightening device 30 tightly holds and secures goods on the pallet forks 13 of the truck body 10 . the tightening device 30 comprises a tightening rod 31 , a fixing portion 33 on one end of the tightening rod 31 , and a plurality of tightening assemblies 35 separately and axially assembled to the tightening rod 31 . in the illustrated embodiment , the tightening rod 31 is a hollow cylindrical post made of metallic material . the fixing portion 33 comprises a plurality of strengthening rib sheets projecting radially from an outer periphery of the distal end of the tightening rod 31 . the plurality of strengthening rib sheets are substantially triangular shaped , and configured to facilitate fastening the tightening rod 31 with the top surface 115 of the base bracket 11 . the fixing portion 33 is fixedly welded to the top surface 115 of the base bracket 11 in one embodiment . each of the plurality of tightening assemblies 35 comprises at least one tightening arm 351 , and a tightening belt 353 . in the illustrated embodiment , each of the plurality of tightening assemblies 35 comprises two tightening arms 351 symmetrically projecting from the outer periphery of the tightening rod 31 , and a tightening belt 353 . each of the two tightening arms 351 is substantially u - shapes . the tightening belt 353 has one end connected to one of the two tightening arms 351 , and one free end . as in use , the goods are put on the two pallet forks 13 and received within the carrying space of the manual fork truck 100 , the free end of the tightening belt 353 tightly surrounds the goods and is finally detachably connected to another one of the two tightening arms 351 . thus , the goods is securely held to the truck body 10 . also referring to fig2 , wherein an isometric view of a second embodiment of a tightening device 40 is shown . the tightening device 40 has a structure similar to that of the tightening device 30 of the first embodiment . the tightening device 40 comprises a tightening rod 41 , a fixing portion 43 on one end of the tightening rod 41 , and a plurality of tightening assemblies 45 separately and axially assembled to the tightening rod 41 . each of the plurality of tightening assemblies 45 comprises two tightening arms 451 , and a tightening belt 453 . each of the two tightening arms 451 is substantially u - shapes . the difference between the first and the second embodiments is that the tightening rod 41 has a hollow telescopic structure . the tightening rod 41 comprises a plurality of hollow tubes 411 telescopically connected together one by one . in the illustrated embodiment , the tightening rod 41 is substantially stepped shaft shaped and comprises four hollow telescopic tubes 411 of different diameters . referring to fig3 , wherein an isometric view of another embodiment of a tightening assembly 90 is shown . the tightening assembly 90 comprises a rope barrel 91 which is a hollow cylinder , a tightening rope 93 with one end rotatably coiled around the rope barrel 91 and one free end , and two rolling wheels 95 oppositely and rotatably mounted to two ends of the rope barrel 91 . the free end of the tightening rope 93 is exposed to the outside . in use , one of the two rolling wheels 95 of the tightening assembly 90 is fixed to the tightening rod 31 or the tightening rod 41 . the free end of the tightening rope 93 may be pulled out to tightly surround the goods and connected to one of the two tightening arms 351 or the two tightening arms 451 , thereby by holding and securing the goods to the truck body 10 . when in an unused state , the tightening rope 93 is coiled around the rope barrel 91 . the tightening device 30 or the tightening device 40 has a simple structure with small volume , and is easy to operate with excellent tightening capabilities , thereby providing great convenience to the operator . the tightening device 30 or the tightening device 40 may not take up carrying spaces of the truck body 10 since it is mounted on the top surface 115 of the base bracket 11 . it is to be understood , however , that even through numerous characteristics and advantages of the disclosure have been set forth in the foregoing description , together with details of the structure and function of the invention , the disclosure is illustrative only , and changes may be made in detail , especially in matters of shape , size , and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed . | 1 |
in accordance with one embodiment of this invention , an object transport apparatus for conveying at least one object from a first reference surface position to a second reference surface position is disclosed , comprising pickup means having an upper and a lower vertical travel limit for releasably engaging the object ; and transport means cooperatively connected to the pickup means for selecting any desired path of travel from the first reference position through an arcuate motion having an independently variable range of elevations equal to the vertical travel limits of the pickup means to the second reference position . in accordance with another embodiment of this invention , a method for transporting an object is disclosed , comprising the step of swinging the object from a first reference surface position to a second reference surface position . the foregoing and other objects , features , and advantages will be apparent from the following , more particular , description of the preferred embodiments of the invention , as illustrated in the accompanying drawings . referring to fig1 an object transport apparatus for conveying an object from a first reference surface position to a second reference surface position is shown generally at reference number 10 . the transport apparatus 10 is shown provided with a pickup means , shown generally by reference number 20 , for releasably engaging the object . referring additionally to fig2 a sectional view taken along line 2 -- 2 of fig1 and to fig3 a sectional view taken along line 3 -- 3 of fig1 it will be seen that the pickup means 20 are provided with an elongated arm member 22 having opposed first and second ends , a pickup surface 25 located near the first end of the arm 22 , which pickup surface 25 is provided with at least a vacuum orifice 24 defined by the pickup surface 25 . to provide optimal dynamic response , the arm 22 is preferably fabricated from high strength low mass material , such as aluminum or magnesium . the vacuum orifice 24 is coupled to a selectively operable vacuum source by an arm vacuum passage 28 open to the vacuum orifice 24 , a flexible vacuum hose 30 open to the arm vacuum passage 28 and also open to a shaft vacuum passage 48 which terminates in a vacuum inlet 50 . the vacuum inlet 50 is , in turn , connected to an external vacuum source . referring also to fig4 it can be seen that the arm 22 is supported at a central portion between the ends by pivot means for engaging the arm 22 , as for example , a pair of pivots 42 . the pickup means 20 are further provided with a cam follower 32 having a cam follower surface , preferably threadedly mounted in a dielectric cam follower bushing 33 coupled to the arm body 22 . the pickup means 20 are preferably provided with a plurality of grip fingers 26 which are in communication with , and define the periphery of , the pickup surface 25 so that an object adhered to the pickup surface 25 is restrained from lateral movement , as for example , during the scrubbing of a semiconductor chip onto a lead frame to form a eutectic bond . it can be seen that the pickup surface 25 , pivotally mounted about the pivots 42 , has a finite range of elevations having an upper limit and a lower limit . alternatively , the arm 22 can be provided with a socket ( not shown ) adapted to receive the shank of a conventional die collet ( not shown ), thereby allowing various die collet configurations to be used in lieu of the combination of the pickup surface 25 and the grip fingers 26 . it is apparent that the pickup surface 25 can be indexed to a position parallel , in a first plane perpendicular to the axis formed by the pivots 42 , to a reference surface by traversing the cam follower 32 threadedly mounted in the dielectric cam follower bushing 33 . the arm 22 can be fabricated in two parts , as indicated by the break shown in fig1 and 3 . it is also apparent that the pickup surface 25 can be indexed to a position parallel , in a second plane parallel to the axis formed by the pivots 42 and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm 22 , to a reference surface by fabricating the arm 22 in two pieces and releasably mechanically coupling the two pieces so that the plane of the pickup surface 25 can be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the arm 22 . the transport apparatus 10 is further comprised of transport means cooperatively connected to the pickup means 20 for selecting any desired path of travel from the first reference surface position , through an arcuate motion having an independently variable range of elevations equal to the vertical limits of the pickup means 20 , to the second reference surface position . the transport means is provided with a frame shown generally by reference number 70 , having a frame body 72 for supporting the other operative elements of the transport apparatus , and rotation means , shown generally by reference number 40 , for rotating the pivot means , coupled to the rotation means 40 and the arm 22 , in a reversible angular motion over an arcuate range . the rotation means 40 are comprised of , as for example , a shaft 52 having an axis rotatably mounted to the frame 70 ; a shaft yoke 44 engaging the pivots 42 on a pivotal axis orthogonally disposed to the shaft axis in a plane parallel to the shaft axis ; a driven sprocket 54 coupled to the shaft 52 ; a cogged belt 56 engaging the driven sprocket 54 ; a driver sprocket 58 engaging the cogged belt 56 at a point remote from the driven sprocket 54 ; and a rotation motor 62 supported by the frame 70 and having a rotation motor shaft 60 coupled to the driver sprocket 58 . the rotation motor 62 is preferably an electrical stepping - type motor which , being provided with a defined reference position , can be rotated in incremental steps by application of timed current pulses , thereby providing an index of motion from the reference position . the shaft yoke 44 is coupled to the flexible vacuum hose 30 , and partially defines the shaft vacuum passage 48 which is further defined by the shaft 52 . the vacuum inlet 50 is preferably integral with the shaft 52 and aligned on the shaft axis . referring additionally to fig4 a sectional view taken along line 4 -- 4 of fig2 and to fig5 a sectional view taken along line 5 -- 5 of fig2 it will be seen that the transport means are further comprised of a cam means , shown generally by reference number 80 , for pivoting the arm 22 in a reversible pivotal motion about the pivot means over a pivotal motion range . the cam means 80 are supported by the frame 70 and comprised of a cam motor 82 mounted to the frame body 72 , having a cam motor shaft 86 having a cam motor shaft axis ; a cam mandrel 88 coupled to the cam motor shaft 86 ; a cam roller 90 having an axis of rotation and a cam surface for contacting the cam follower surface coupled to the cam mandrel 88 so that the axis of rotation is parallel to but not coincidental with the cam motor shaft axis . the cam motor 82 is preferably an electrical stepping - type motor which , being provided with a defined reference position , can be rotated in incremental steps by application of timed current pulses , thereby providing an index of motion from the reference position . the cam follower surface is preferably positioned in a symmetric manner about the shaft axis , so that , at any point within the rotation means 40 produced range of arcuate motion , the cam motor 82 may be driven to revolve the eccentrically mounted cam roller 90 about the cam motor shaft 86 , contacting the cam follower surface with the cam surface and thereby pivoting the arm body 22 and the pickup surface 25 about the pivots 42 . the pickup means 20 are also preferably provided with a spring 34 coupled , as for example , to the arm body 22 at an arm spring anchor 36 and coupled to the yoke 44 at a yoke spring anchor 46 , for loading the cam follower surface of the cam follower 32 toward the cam surface of the cam roller 90 . the transport means are further comprised of : control means having an input receiving means for receiving at least one input and output sending means for sending at least one output for controllably operating the transport apparatus 10 ; rotation data means for defining a position of the arm 22 within the arcuate motion range as a first of the inputs ; cam position data means for defining a position of the arm 22 within the pivotal motion range as a second of the inputs ; contact indicator means for defining a contact of any of the grip fingers 26 with one of the reference surface positions as a third of the inputs ; and reference surface position data input means for defining the first reference surface position as a fourth of said inputs and the second reference surface postion as a fifth of the inputs . the control means are preferably comprised of a microprocessor 110 electrically coupled to the transport apparatus 10 , capable of receiving and storing a plurality of instructions , receiving the plurality of data inputs , processing the data inputs according to the programmed instructions , and sending at least one control signal based on the conclusion of that processing operation . referring to fig1 the rotation data means are shown comprised of a rotation index plate 64 concentrically mounted about the rotation motor shaft 60 , a rotation index plate slot 65 in the rotation index plate 64 , and a rotation index sensor means 66 for detecting the presence of the rotation index plate slot 65 at a given reference position . the rotation index sensor means 66 are comprised , as for example , of an electric optical sensor so arranged as to send a signal to the control means when the rotation index plate slot 65 is engaged by the electric optical sensor . referring to fig1 and 4 , the cam position data means are shown comprised of a cam index plate 94 concentrically mounted about the cam motor shaft 86 , a cam index plate slot 96 in the cam index plate 94 , and cam index sensor means 98 for detecting the presence of the cam index plate slot 96 at a given reference position . the cam index sensor means 98 are comprised , as for example , of an electric optical sensor so arranged as to send an electrical signal to the control means when the cam index plate slot 96 is engaged by the electric optical sensor . with the cam index sensor means 98 providing an initial index position for the cam mandrel 88 , and necessarily also for the cam roller 90 , the cam motor 82 being an electrical stepping - type motor , and control being provided by a programmable electronic computer , it can be seen that the degree of rotation of the cam roller 90 can be independently and precisely controlled , thereby operating in conjunction with the spring 34 to move the cam follower surface and provide the pickup surface 25 with a pivotal motion about the pivots 42 in the finite range of elevations having the upper limit and the lower limit . the contact indicator means are comprised of , as for example , the cam roller 90 having an electrically conductive cam surface electrically connected to the control means and the cam follower 32 provided with an electrically conductive cam follower surface electrically connected to the control means . referring to fig2 it can be seen that the pickup surface 25 and the surrounding grip fingers 26 are lowered by driving the cam motor 82 in a direction tending to move the cam roller 90 away from the cam follower 32 . contact is normally maintained between the cam follower 32 and the cam roller 90 by the spring 34 . when the grip fingers 26 make contact with a surface , as for example , one of the reference surfaces , and the cam motor 82 is further driven in a direction tending to move the cam roller 90 away from the cam follower 32 , the arm body 22 is restrained from further motion by the contact of the grip fingers 26 with the surface resulting in a break in the physical and the electrical contact between the cam follower surface of cam follower 32 and the cam surface of the cam roller 90 . this break in electrical conductivity can be defined by the control means with reference to the exact position of the cam motor 82 , thereby providing an exact definition of the elevation of the grip fingers 26 when contact is made with the surface . furthermore , the control means can be programmed to stop rotation of the cam motor 82 prior to the grip fingers 26 contacting the surface so that the pickup surface 25 may be positioned immediately above the pickup surface while avoiding contact of the grip fingers 26 with the pickup surface . the control means could be further programmed to independently define the elevation of the two respective reference surfaces , and further programmed to control the exact elevation of the grip fingers 26 above the reference surface at the time of pickup with respect to the thickness of the object being transported . the reference surface position data input means for defining the first reference surface position and the second reference surface position as control means inputs are preferably comprised of at least one electro - optical sensor capable of scanning a surface and providing an electronic output defining an image of that surface and constituting a control means input . the control means then compares that input image with a programmed virtual image and processes differences in the images to direct the actual reference surface position as defined with respect to the corresponding virtual reference surface position . in operation , the transport apparatus 10 is advantageously used in a semiconductor production process , for example , when separating individual semiconductor chips from a semiconductor wafer and attaching those individual semiconductor chips to individual lead frames . preferably , the lead frames are sequentially mounted in a position shifting apparatus such that only one second reference surface position need be defined . the individual semiconductor chips lie in a matrix pattern forming the wafer , thus requiring that either each of the semiconductor chips be sequentially shifted to the first reference surface position or that the transport apparatus be shifted to allow the first reference surface position to sequentially coincide with the position of each of the individual semiconductor chips in the wafer matrix . in practice , it has been found preferable to mount the transport apparatus on a first x - y transport mechanism controlled by the control means to provide any lateral motion necessary to allow the pickup surface 25 to swing to its travel limits and still meet the first and second reference surface positions , and to also mount the wafer supporting first reference surface on a second control means controlled x - y transport mechanism which can shift the individual semiconductor chips in the wafer matrix to a single first reference surface position . the transport apparatus 10 , starting from an initial index position , starts operation by swinging the pickup surface 25 of the arm 22 about the axis of the shaft 52 by driving the rotation motor 62 , the driver sprocket 58 , the cogged belt 56 , and the driven sprocket 54 coupled to the shaft 52 . although the rotation means 40 are provided with a pair of yoke stops 45 mounted on the yoke 44 and the frame 70 is provided with a pair of frame stops 76 mounted to the frame body in alignment with the yoke stops 45 so that the limits of the arcuate range of motion are defined , the angular motion can be stopped at any selected point within the arcuate range . simultaneously , with the step of rotating the arm 22 , the cam motor 82 may be driven to pivot the arm 22 and the pickup surface 25 about the pivots 22 so that the pickup surface 25 is immediately above the object to be picked at such time that the pickup surface 25 reaches the first reference surface position . the external vacuum source then applies vacuum , at the command of the control means , to the vacuum inlet 50 , the shaft vacuum passage 48 , the flexible vacuum tube 30 , the arm vacuum passage 28 , and to the vacuum orifice 24 , thereby adhering the object to the pickup surface 25 . the cam motor 82 is then driven in an opposite direction thereby pivoting the pickup surface 25 in an upward direction about the pivots 42 a distance adequate to avoid interference with any adjacent object or obstruction , whereupon the rotation motor 62 is also driven in an opposite direction thereby rotating the arm 22 and pickup surface 25 about the shaft axis in an arcuate motion toward the second reference surface position . while the acceleration of the pickup surface 25 about the pivots 42 could be controlled by a contoured surface on the cam roller 90 , in the preferred embodiment the angular acceleration rates of the pickup surface 25 about the pivots 42 and about the axis of the shaft 52 are both determined by the timed electrical pulses respectively applied to the cam motor 82 and the rotation motor 62 by the microprocessor 110 . the control means continues to drive the cam motor 82 until every portion of the pickup means 20 can clear any intervening obstruction , whereupon the rotation of the cam motor is reversed thereby pivoting the pickup surface 25 downward so that it is immediately above the second reference surface position when the rotation motor 62 completes the step of rotating the pickup surface to the second reference surface position . the external vacuum source then releases the vacuum at the command of the control means thereby releasing the object at the second reference surface position . alternately , prior to releasing the object , the cam motor 82 may be driven an additional incremental amount to allow the object to come into physical contact with the second reference surface position and the x - y transport mechanism may then be reciprocated to &# 34 ; scrub &# 34 ; the object into the second reference surface position , as for example , to form a eutectic bond between a semiconductor chip and a lead frame . subsequent to the release of the object , the cam motor 82 and the rotation motor 62 may be simultaneously driven to either return the transport apparatus to the index position or to continue the transport process as a cylical operation . the above description of preferred embodiments is given by way of example only . changes in form and details may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 1 |
in this example the biotank 10 of the invented technique is equiped with two rotating cell segments contact aerators 30 which are rotantingly arranged around a central shaft in the biotank . for the rotation around the central shaft a contact aerator is using a motor drive system 40 which is not shown in detail in this figure . a oxygen sensor 50 is installed in the liquid of the biotank to measure the actual oxygen value . dependent of the measured actual value the sensor regulates the motor drive system to control the number of revolutions of the contact aerators , which are in this example the cell segment contact aerators 30 . the wastewater flows into the biotank through the influent 60 . in the biotank an aerea 70 nearby the water surface is established which is called aerobic environmental zone . in this zone the concentration of dissolved oxygen is usually greater than 1 . 0 mg / l . nearby the bottom of the biotank another environmental zone 80 is established . this is the anoxic environmental zone in which the concentration of dissolved oxygen is usually less than 0 . 5 mg / l . in the shown example a transition zone 90 between the aerobic zone 70 and the anoxic zone 80 is existent , in which the concentration of dissolved oxygen is in the range from 0 . 5 to 1 . 0 mg / l . the extension of this transition zone is for instance represented with the two light lines . the treated water flows out of the biotank 10 through the effluent 100 to the final clarifier 20 . return sludge is recycled through the outlet 120 from the final clarifier 20 to the inlet 140 into the biotank 10 . excess sludge is taken from the return sludge flow between final clarifier and biotank through the outlet 130 . through the effluent 110 purified water can leave the final clarifier . in the invented technique preference is given to the mentioned cell segment contact aerators which are known and can be used in variations too , e . g . by use of a so - called pipe segments contact aerator . together both contact aerators work as a true hybrid system , a combination of the activated sludge and the fixed film process . as mentioned above the contact aerators consists of several fixed film surfaces which are installed in a stationary position in the biotank under the water level and which may be submerged all the time or which can emerge periodically with the total fixed film surface area or with parts of them . the purification of the wastewater is effected on the one side by suspended activated sludge in the mixed liquor of the biotank 10 and on the other side by fixed film microorganisms in a biofilm on the roating surface areas of the contactors ( so - called sessil biomass ). the advantages of the activated sludge process are combined with those of the fixed film processes in only one technique . specially the oxygen supply for the microorganisms is ensured by rotating the contact aerator slowly effected by an infinitely variable gear motor ( frequency controlled gear motor ) above water - level . as soon as a segment emerges with its chambers above water level during this rotation , the activated sludge of the mixed liquor inside the chambers runs out . the segment will then be filled with atmospheric air . the necessary oxygen for the biological wastewater treatment dissolves on the wet surfaces of the fixed biofilm . because this very large surface area is directly disposed to the partial pressure of the air , an immediate saturation of the oxygen concentration is achieved . by diffusion oxygen penetrates into the deeper layers of the biofilm due to the concentration gradient . while the segments are submerging again into the mixed liquor the air cannot escape any more and is trapped in the segments . the air is forced conducted to the bottom of the biotank and on this way the air is compressed more and more . during the downward rotation parts of the air can escape and are channeled in the form of middle fine and fine bubbles to the center of the aerator caused by the shape of the segments . finally the bubbles reach the water surface trough the opposite segments and effect in combination with the rotation of the contact aerator a homogeneous mixing of the biotank and the sufficient supply of the mixed liquor with oxygen . during the upward rotation of the contact aerator the partially airfilled segments provide buoyancy and reduce tremendously the propulsive power for rotation . only a few moments before emerging again the rest of the air is being released into the water . the fixed film on the surface areas within the segments are supplied with oxygen up to saturation while passing the atmosphere . the forced conducted air is contacting again all inner surface areas of the plates or discs in the segments during rotation . by this all microorganisms of the fixed film are sufficiently supplied with oxygen during rotation in the mixed liquor too . the forced conducted air contacts the specially profiled surfaces of the plates and discs . due to these profiles consistently new , innumerable transition zones are formed for the oxygen transfer under compresssed conditions of the trapped air . this results in the typical coincident oxygen supply for both components , fixed biofilm and suspended activated sludge . to illustrate the efficiency of the invented technique the results of measurement from a model purification plant are explained which was specially dimensioned for an advanced nitrification . the total biomass as sum of the activated sludge and the fixed film biomass ranges from 5 to 10 kg dry solids per m 3 . the average power consumption of the biostage was 5 . 6 kw . the total tank volume was 240 m 3 . the volume load reach a value of 0 . 7 kg bod 5 /( m 3 - d ). the water depth in the biotank was nearly 4 m . the diameter of the installed cell segments contact aerator was 4 . 25 m whereby the distance between the bottom of the tank and the lowest point on the circuit of the contact aerator was 0 , 25 m . the contact aerator towers up nearly 0 . 5 m with its highest point on the circuit beyond the water surface of the biotank . the concentration of dissolved oxygen was measured in the liquid of the biotank at 5 observation points nearby the cell segments contact aerator using commercial oxygen sensors . observation point 1 was installed in a water depth of 0 . 5 m or 3 . 5 m beyond the bottom . observation point 2 was installed in a water depth of 1 . 5 m or 2 . 5 m beyond the bottom . observation point 3 was installed in a water depth of 2 . 5 m or 1 . 5 m beyond the bottom . observation point 4 was installed in a water depth of 3 . 45 m or 0 . 55 m beyond the bottom . observation point 5 was installed in a water depth of 3 . 95 m or 0 . 05 m beyond the bottom . dependent on the measured actual values of the concentration of dissolved oxygen the numbers of revolutions of the contact aerator was regulated in a range from 0 . 3 to 1 . 0 revolutions per minute in such a way that the measured actual values shown in table 1 were constantly measured at the observation points 1 - 5 . average values of each month of a test period of one year are listed . the efficiency of the purification plant results from the figures listed in table 2 . the following parameters in the influent and the effluent of the plant were measured : biological oxygen demand ( bod 5 ), chemical oxygen demand ( cod ), phosphats - phosphorus ( po 4 -- p ), ammonium nitrogen ( nh 4 -- n ), nitrite nitrogen ( no 2 -- n ) and nitrate nitrogen ( no 3 -- n ). in table 2 the average values of each month of a test period of one year are listed . by the shown results in table 2 it appears , that working with the invented technique an advanced nitrification and denitrification in combination with an advanced biological p - uptake is possible in only one biotank with one technique table 1______________________________________observation point dry1 2 3 4 5 solidsmonth concentration of dissolved oxygen ( mg / l ) ( kg / m . sup . 3 ) ______________________________________january 1 . 27 1 . 11 0 . 88 0 . 25 0 . 01 6 . 12february 1 . 35 1 . 15 0 . 80 0 . 20 0 . 01 7 . 32march 1 . 20 1 . 24 0 . 84 0 . 22 0 . 00 6 . 02april 1 . 29 1 . 18 0 . 80 0 . 27 0 . 01 7 . 72may 1 . 32 1 . 14 0 . 90 0 . 32 0 . 01 7 . 02june 1 . 36 1 . 16 0 . 90 0 . 30 0 . 01 6 . 92july 1 . 34 1 . 19 0 . 88 0 . 27 0 . 00 7 . 62august 1 . 38 1 . 20 0 . 90 0 . 40 0 . 01 6 . 52september 1 . 38 1 . 19 0 . 88 0 . 40 0 . 01 7 . 01october 1 . 31 1 . 15 0 . 89 0 . 34 0 . 00 7 . 02november 1 . 29 1 . 14 0 . 90 0 . 48 0 . 01 6 . 42december 1 . 40 1 . 20 0 . 90 0 . 47 0 . 01 6 . 32______________________________________ table 2__________________________________________________________________________rate of flow influent effluent influent effluent influent effluent influent effluent influent effluent influent effluent ( m . sup . 3 / d ) bod . sub . 5 bod . sub . 5 cod cod po . sub . 4 -- p po . sub . 4 -- p nh . sub . 4 -- n nh . sub . 4 -- n no . sub . 2 -- n no . sub . 2 -- n no . su no . sub . 3 -- n4 - 500 ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) ( mg / l ) __________________________________________________________________________january 215 3 572 31 16 . 5 1 . 1 33 . 4 5 . 3 0 . 02 0 . 017 1 . 5 4 . 3febuary & lt ; 390 432 32 12 . 1 1 . 0 28 . 4 3 . 6 0 . 02 0 . 01 0 . 9 4 . 0march & lt ; 3 200 476 34 15 . 4 0 . 9 41 . 3 3 . 8 0 . 017 0 . 02 1 . 1 4 . 3april 350 510 37 18 . 9 1 . 2 27 . 4 5 . 8 0 . 18 0 . 017 1 . 6 3 . 0may 3 190 490 32 16 . 8 0 . 9 31 . 4 4 . 0 0 . 17 0 . 04 4 . 0 2 . 4june & lt ; 3 220 343 34 12 . 4 0 . 9 43 . 4 2 . 4 0 . 21 0 . 17 3 . 3 2 . 5july 3230 422 35 11 . 8 0 . 7 41 . 3 3 . 2 0 . 17 0 . 16 3 . 2 1 . 8august 38 364 31 14 . 3 1 . 0 36 . 4 3 . 0 0 . 46 0 . 21 4 . 1 1 . 4september 190 3 491 36 11 . 8 1 . 2 38 . 0 4 . 3 0 . 34 0 . 28 2 . 2 1 . 4october 3 460 34 13 . 4 0 . 9 38 . 4 3 . 1 0 . 23 0 . 17 2 . 8 2 . 3november 190 3 417 36 13 . 4 1 . 0 39 . 4 4 . 0 0 . 43 0 . 23 3 . 4 4 . 5december 180 3 410 32 11 . 9 0 . 9 34 . 3 4 . 5 0 . 43 0 . 36 3 . 4__________________________________________________________________________ 4 . 4 | 8 |
the following will provide a detailed description of forming a novel source / drain contact structure with low contact resistance . the description includes exemplary embodiments , not excluding other embodiments , and changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . the following detailed description does not limit the invention . instead , the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims . fig1 is a cross - sectional view 100 of a conventional transistor source / drain contact structure . modern transistors are formed in a substrate 105 and isolated from each other by shallow trench isolation ( sti ). the substrate 105 is preferably made of bulk silicon , but other commonly used materials and structures such as sige , silicon on insulator ( soi ), sige on insulator , and strained silicon on insulator can also be used . a gate stack including a gate dielectric 110 and a gate electrode 120 is formed in one of the transistors . lightly doped drain / source ( ldd ) regions 130 are then formed by implanting impurities such as boron or phosphor into the substrate 105 . then spacers 140 are formed on the sidewalls of gate electrode 120 . as is known in the art , the formation of spacers 140 preferably includes forming one or more dielectric layer ( s ) and etching the dielectric layer ( s ). the remaining portion of the dielectric layer ( s ) becomes the spacers 140 . the formation of the dielectric layer ( s ) includes commonly used techniques , such as plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition ( pecvd ), low - pressure chemical vapor deposition ( lpcvd ), sub - atmospheric chemical vapor deposition ( sacvd ), and the like . the spacers 140 may comprise a single layer ( silicon nitride or sion layer ) or more than one layer , such as a silicon nitride or sion layer on a silicon oxide layer . after the spacer formation , implanting impurities into semiconductor substrate forms a source / drain region 150 . then the source / drain region is silicided by annealing a deposited metal . source / drain electrode are subsequently formed on the source / drain region 150 by making a contact thereon . referring again to fig1 , the conventional source / drain contact is formed by etching a contact hole in a inter - metal - dielectric 160 , depositing a barrier layer 175 on the sidewalls and bottom 172 of the contact hole , and filling the contact hole with a metal 180 . the convention source / drain contact has a barrier - layer - to - silicide area just the size of the bottom 172 of the contact hole . a total contact resistance rc may be expressed by the following equation : where r 1 represents a filling metal resistance , r 2 represents a resistance of the barrier layer on the sidewalls of the contact hole , and r 3 represents a resistance of the barrier layer on the bottom of the contact hole . since the barrier layer typically has high resistance , even though conventional contact structure employs various methods to reduce r 1 , the total contact resistance rc is still high due to the high r 3 . the present invention discloses a novel source / drain contact structure and methods for making the same . the novel source / drain contact structure can reduce r 3 in eq . 1 . fig2 a and 2b are flowcharts 200 and 250 illustrating beginning process steps for forming the novel source / drain contact structure according to embodiments of the present invention . referring to flowchart 200 of fig2 a , after forming the source / drain region 150 in the substrate 105 as shown in fig1 , the contact forming process begins with a siliciding source / drain step 205 . first , a metal layer is blanket is deposited . the metal layer preferably includes metals that will have a low or middle barrier height with the underlying semiconductor material , such as cobalt , nickel , tantalum , tungsten , and combinations thereof . the device is then annealed to form a silicide between the deposited metal layer and the underlying source / drain region 150 . un - reacted metal is then removed . it is to be realized that if germanium is present in the source / drain region 150 , germano - silicide will be formed . throughout the description , the term “ silicide ” also includes germano - silicide , as well as other materials known to people having skills in the art . after the source / drain silicidation step 205 , a first barrier layer deposition step 210 is performed . according to a first embodiment of the present invention , the first barrier layer is deposited by selective electroless plating of a metal , such as cowp , cowb , ta / tan , ru or fe , on the source / drain silicided area . according to a second embodiment of the present invention , the first barrier layer is made of a selective epitaxy growth barrier layer ( co , cosi ). according to a third embodiment of the present invention , the first barrier layer is formed by atomic layer deposition of materials , such as ru . referring to flowchart 250 of fig2 b , according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention , the contact formation process may begin with a metal 1 deposition step 255 . typically , metal 1 is used for first metal connection layer . here the metal 1 is selectively deposited on the source / drain region 150 . the metal 1 preferably includes metals that will have a low or middle barrier height with the underlying semiconductor material , such as cobalt , nickel , tantalum , tungsten , and combinations thereof . a first barrier layer ( tin ) is selectively deposited on the metal 1 in step 260 . the device is then annealed in step 265 to form a silicide between the metal 1 layer and the underlying source / drain region 150 . fig3 is a flowchart 300 illustrating process steps subsequent to either flowchart 200 or 250 for forming the source / drain contact according to the embodiments of the present invention . after the silicide and barrier layers are formed on the source / drain region , a conductive layer may be deposited on the barrier layer in step 310 . according to both the first and second embodiments of the present invention , where the barrier layer is made of either electroless plated cowp , cowb or ta / tan , or epitaxy grown co or cosi , the conductive layer may be formed by selective electroless plating of cu on the barrier layer . according to the third embodiment of the present invention , where the barrier layer is formed by atomic layer deposition of a material such as ru , the conductive layer may be formed by either electroless plating or atomic layer deposition of cu . according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention shown in fig2 b , the conductive layer may be formed by electroless plating , atomic layer deposition or epitaxy growth of a metal , such as cu . but according to the first embodiment of the present invention , where the barrier layer is formed by electroless plating of cowp , cowb , ag , ru or fe , the conductive layer deposition step 215 may be skipped altogether . referring again to fig3 , a dielectric layer serving as inter - metal - dielectric is deposited on the conductive layer or the barrier layer directly in step 320 . afterwards , a contact hole is etched in the dielectric layer in step 330 . with continuous reference to fig3 , a second barrier layer is deposited on the side walls and bottom of the contact hole in step 340 . the second barrier layer is often made of ta / tan . then a sputtering step 350 punches through or exposes the bottom area of the contact hole . after step 350 , a cu seed layer is deposited in step 360 . on top of the cu seed layer , more cu is deposited to fill up the contact hole in step 370 . then a contact to the source / drain region is formed . fig4 a and 4b are cross - sectional views of contact structures 400 and 450 formed by the process steps described by the flowchart 200 of fig2 a or flowchart 250 of fig2 b and the flowchart 300 of fig3 . referring to fig4 a , a first barrier layer 410 is deposited on the source / drain region 150 by step 210 of fig2 a or steps 260 and 265 of fig2 b . a conductive layer 415 is deposited on the barrier layer 410 by step 310 of fig3 . an inter - metal - dielectric layer 420 is deposited thereafter by step 320 of fig3 . a contact hole is then etched through the inter - metal - dielectric layer 420 by step 330 of fig3 . then a second barrier layer 425 is deposited on the sidewalls and bottom of the contact hole by step 340 of fig3 . before filling up the contact hole with a metal 430 by step 370 of fig3 , the second barrier layer 425 on the bottom of the contact hole is removed by the sputtering step 350 of fig3 , to allow the filling metal 430 to directly contact the conductive layer 415 . for reducing contact resistance , cu is typically chosen as the filling metal 430 . referring to fig4 b , the only difference between fig4 b and fig4 a is that the conductive layer 415 of fig4 a is eliminated in fig4 b , and the filling metal 430 contacts the first barrier layer 410 directly . referring again to both fig4 a and 4b , even though the first barrier layer 410 , which typically has higher resistance , is still present , it has a large contact area with the underlying source / drain region . in a typical process , the first barrier layer 410 covers the entire source / drain region 150 . as a result of the large contact area , the r 3 of eq . 1 may be greatly reduced , and so are the overall contact resistance rc of the contact structure 400 or 450 . although specific materials , such as cu for filling metal , etc ., are used to describe the embodiments of the present invention , one having skill in the art would realize that the inventive essence of the present invention lies in the process sequence of forming the first barrier layer 410 , which results in the increased contact area between the first barrier layer 410 and the source / drain region 150 , which in turn causes the total contact resistance rc to decrease . therefore , other metals , such as aluminum may also be used in various steps of the embodiments of the present invention . the above illustration provides many different embodiments or embodiments for implementing different features of the invention . specific embodiments of components and processes are described to help clarify the invention . these are , of course , merely embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention from that described in the claims . although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples , it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown , since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims . accordingly , it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention , as set forth in the following claims . | 7 |
an object of the present invention is to completely eliminate any folds in lost foam castings . in the testing of the present invention , a box pattern is molded from eps ( expandable polystyrene ) prepuff , conditioned , and coated with a ceramic finish . the coated eps patterns are glued in clusters to a sprue which is then placed in a flask , and sand is compacted around it . the box pattern is gated to allow the converging metal , aluminum 319 alloy at 1350 ° f ., to fill the patterns . the placement of the gating in the box pattern is done to maximize fold defects from converging metal fronts in the casting . the eps bead , created in a two - step process , has a molecular weight of approximately 240 , 000 , a bead size distribution ranging from 250 to 500 microns , and a pentane blowing agent . the first step in a two - step process is the polymerization of styrene using benzoyl peroxide as an initiator . the suspension process is carried out in water in a stirred reactor using tricalcium phosphate ( tcp ) as a suspending agent and sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate as an anionic surfactant to keep the styrene droplets from coalescing when they form discrete particles of polystyrene beads . a secondary initiator such as t - butyl perbenzoate is used to reduce the unreacted styrene to less than 1000 ppm in a secondary cure cycle . the second step of the two - step process is to suspend the polystyrene beads in water while carrying out an impregnation using pentane as the blowing agent near or above the softening point of the polystyrene . the impregnated beads are commonly known as eps . t24 polystyrene beads , the feedstock used to make t170b , a commercially available expandable polystyrene bead which is used for lost foam production , were impregnated with pentane containing various brominated organic additives , discussed below . the eps manufactured in this way has the same molecular weight and bead size distribution as the starting material . five commonly used flame retardants in the modified grade of eps are shown in table 1 , below . the flame retardants are incorporated usually in levels less than 1 . 0 wt %. in some cases , a relatively high temperature peroxide , such as dicumyl peroxide , is added during the impregnation cycle along with the flame retardant . dicumyl peroxide acts as a synergist and allows the use of less flame retardant while giving the same level of protection during a fire . other organic peroxides can be used if the decomposition half - life is greater than 2 hours at 100 ° c ., for instance , vulcup r [∝, ∝′- bis ( t - butylperoxy ) dilsopropylbenzene ]. while one of the purposes of the flame retardant in eps is to generate hbr while being heated at elevated temperatures , a more important function is to generate free radicals which reduce the polystyrene molecular weight so that the material quickly can liquefy . this can be verified by running melt index experiments using astm d - 1238 , run under condition g using a weight of 4900 g at 200 ° c . with and without flame retardants . in the presence of active flame retardants or peroxides , the melt flow of the extrudate will come out like water , while the control will flow like molasses . the general procedure for making a control was as follows : 235 pounds of water and 235 pounds of t24 polystyrene beads were added to a 50 gallon reactor being stirred at 250 rpm ; 474 g of tcp , 29 g of sodium dodecyl benzenesulfonate , and 160 g of triton ® x - 102 ( alkylaryl polyether alcohol ), a nonionic surfactant having an hlb value of 15 , were then added . suitable nonionic surfactants have an hlb value ranging from 12 to 18 . the reactor was heated from room temperature to 225 ° f . at a rate of 8 ° f . every 5 minutes . the reactor was purged three times with nitrogen and the pentane was added starting at 125 ° f . at a rate of 1 . 5 lb every five minutes . a total of 20 pounds was used . when the temperature reached 225 ° f ., it was kept at this temperature for three hours . the reactor was then cooled to 110 ° f . and the contents were emptied into a batch out tank containing water and hydrochloric acid ( hcl ). the contents were acidified to a ph of around 2 . 0 to remove tcp . the beads were dried by passing them through a dryer and screened to remove any agglomerated beads . each hundred pounds of dry beads were then treated with 10 grams of silicone oil . the same procedure was followed when adding brominated organic additives during the impregnation of the polystyrene beads . thus , for run 3 , 320 g of dicumyl peroxide was added . for run 4 , 725 g of hbcd was added . eps box patterns were prepared from the eps beads made in runs 1 to 9 . the eps parts were conditioned and then dipped into a ceramic coating . after drying , the parts were glued in clusters to a sprue and then placed in a flask . sand was compacted around them . aluminum 319 alloy was poured into the patterns at 1350 ° f ., and afterward the parts were examined for folds . control runs 1 and 2 were poured at different times and resulted in average fold defect values of 26 and 34 mm 2 . twenty castings were poured for control run 1 , while ten castings were poured for control run 2 , each casting containing two box patterns . eps does not depolymerize cleanly back to 100 % monomeric styrene , as does methyl methacrylate from polymethyl methacrylate . the amount varies from 70 to 75 % depending on the actual conditions used during the depolymerization ( around 400 ° c .). thus , each time decomposition of the polystyrene occurs , the results will be different in terms of the amount of gases , styrene , and other liquid and solid residues being generated . at higher temperatures used for pouring aluminum , the amount of styrene decreases and the formation of carbon , methane , and hydrogen are prevalent . run 3 , using 0 . 30 wt . % dicumyl peroxide as the additive , resulted in a high concentration of folds , 52 mm 2 , nearly twice as many per area as the control . to retard fold formation , the ceramic coating must provide a physical barrier between the metal front and the sand . the coating allows for the removal of gas decomposition products at a controlled rate to escape into the sand . in addition , the coating assists in the removal of styrene and other liquid decomposition products by wicking the liquids into the sand . if there is solid residue from the decomposition of polystyrene , it will be trapped as the metal flows and displaces the polystyrene . if the additive is ineffective , as it is for this run , the additive helps to form “ globs ” of polystyrene residue which accumulate and lead to folds as the metal front converges . runs 4 and 5 used 0 . 68 wt . % hbcd from two different manufacturers . although hbcd exists in three isomeric forms , the isomer content is not important in reducing fold defects , as the fold areas were identical ( 4 mm 2 ). the above additive ( hbcd ) allows for a complete breakdown of the polystyrene into liquid and gaseous products faster and more consistently than some other additives . run 6 shows that using 0 . 30 wt . % dicumyl peroxide with 0 . 68 wt . % hbcd resulted in nearly as many folds per area as the control . run 7 using 0 . 10 wt . % dicumyl peroxide with 0 . 68 wt . % hbcd resulted in the disappearance of nearly all folds . run 8 , which had a reduced hbcd level from 0 . 68 to 0 . 40 wt . %, showed an increase in the fold area from 4 to 9 mm 2 , but was still much less than the control . run 9 showed that adding product d to hbcd increased the fold area . thus in this application , product d is not beneficial . [ 0036 ] table 3 aluminum casting results - runs 10 to 13 ( eps flame retardants ) flame retardant average % flame retardant run % ( 0 . 68 wt . %) fold area mm 2 incorp . 10 product d 11 95 . 3 11 product a 0 76 . 9 12 product b 6 55 . 0 13 product e 7 81 . 3 runs 10 to 13 were better than the control in reducing the fold area . run 11 had no folds in any of the 10 castings , and gave the best results of any of the flame retardants tested . tetrabromocyclooctane is very effective in quickly reducing the molecular weight of polystyrene at elevated temperatures in a consistent manner . the by - products , liquids and gases , pass through the coating efficiently during the metal pour resulting in converging metal fronts having no carbon defects . in order to further demonstrate the effectiveness of the present invention , the seven flame retardants shown in the table below were subjected to tga ( thermal gravimetric analysis ) under n2 at 10 ° c . per minute . the shape of the curve was instructive ; products a , b , c and e , all decompose sharply by 305 ° c . products f and g decompose above 390 ° c . product d decomposes incompletely from 200 to 500 ° with 80 % loss at 264 ° c . eps beads containing products a , b , c and e produced casting with the smallest areas of fold defects . product d gave the least effective results , but was still more effective than the control . tga decomposition is a good indicator of whether the flame retardant will decrease fold defects . this could be due to the fact that product d does not decompose quickly over a short temperature range . by not decomposing , it added to the residue being generated during the process and increases the fold area . globs of material which do not decompose cleanly would be expected to accumulate as the metal front rises to the surface , and remain there after a pour as a carbon defect . products f and g , which decompose above 390 ° c ., gave more folds than the other flame retardants . while product g is similar to the control in fold area , use of product f resulted in nearly twice as many folds as the controls . the above results indicate that these flame retardants are too stable , i . e ., by not decomposing at a much lower temperature , they add to the residue being generated during the process . note that these two flame retardants are not used as flame retardants for eps , but are used successfully in high impact polystyrene to reduce flammability . it is apparent that only those flame retardants which are commonly used as flame retardants for eps , other than product d , will significantly reduce fold formation in patterns used in the lost foam process . while this invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof , it is apparent that numerous other forms and modifications of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art . the appended claims in this invention generally should be construed to cover all such obvious forms and modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 8 |
the schematic representation according to fig1 shows the top view of a partial area 10 of a wafer 11 , on which are arranged a plurality of similar chips containing electronic components or electronic circuits . four such chips 12 - 15 are depicted in cutaway portions in fig1 . these chips are applied to the wafer 11 using known methods from semiconductor technology , for example , using the bipolar planar process . the chips are arranged symmetrically in rows and columns , whereby chip 12 is supposed to be arranged in row 6 , column 10 ; chip 13 in row 6 , column 11 ; chip 14 in row 7 , column 10 ; and chip 15 in row 7 , column 11 . for the sake of clarity , the inner structure of the chips is not depicted . edge areas 16 of the width d , representing the socalled slicing troughs , are situated between the individual chips 12 - 15 . these edge areas 16 cannot be used , up to a certain width , for layout components of the chips , because when the wafer 11 is sawn apart , slicing cuts of the width c are made through the edge areas 16 to dissociate the chips . as a result , edge - area strips of the width c fall off . the remainder of the width must be kept free , as the position of the slicing trace within the edge areas 16 cannot be exactly predicted because of the adjusting tolerance . therefore , the slicing cut can be situated all the way to the left on chip 12 , or all the way to the right on chip 13 . instead of dissociating the chips by sawing the wafer 11 apart , the edge areas 16 can also be scribed and , after that , broken off . in any case , however , a strip of material falls off from the edge area 16 . existing identifying markings consisting of binary - coded line elements are provided in the vertical edge area 16 between chips 12 and 13 , or rather chips 14 and 15 . these line elements run thereby perpendicularly to the edge of the semiconductor structures ( layouts ) of the chips , thus right across the edge areas 16 . the two upper regions 17 , 18 of identifying markings , which are offset to the left , are allocated to chip 12 , while the two lower regions 19 , 20 of identifying markings , which are offset to the right , are allocated to chip 13 . the regions 17 , 18 thereby form a safety clearance s with the chip 12 , as do the regions 19 , 20 with chip 13 . this safety clearance s serves to rule out with certainty any affects of the identifying markings on the semiconductor structures of the chips . as a result of these safety clearances s , the usable width of the edge areas is reduced to the value b . to clarify the functions and the configuration of the identifying markings , the representation according to fig1 is not shown true - to - scale . in actuality , the edge areas and identifying markings are substantially smaller in comparison to the size of the chips . fig2 and 3 give a rough idea of the actual size ratios . the following values serve as numerical examples : d = 80 μm , s = 10 μm , c = 30 μm . thus , given a symmetrical cut , one strip remains in each case for the identifying markings of the width 15 μm . the areas 17 and 19 each convey the row number for chips 12 and 13 ; in the present case , the column numbers for row 6 and areas 18 , 20 , and , in the present case , for rows 10 or 11 . the line elements in areas 17 through 20 consist of oxide , for example of structured emitter oxide . the line elements thereby represent 0 - bits , while the free locations embody 1 - bits . between two free locations , thus between two 1 - bits , a narrow oxide strip is arranged for the sake of clarification . the digital coding through the line elements is clarified in fig1 with appropriate numerical specifications . from a pure technological standpoint , the identifying markings are able to be applied to the wafer 11 in almost every process step during chip production . the identifying markings can be shown quite simply and robustly in one lithographic step , in which oxide windows are opened for the last time . during the bipolar planar process , this would be the contact - window plane . to this end , when production takes place in the pattern generator and in the repeater , exclusively the contact - window mask must be provided with the identifying marking structures next to each chip . all other masks or planes remain unchanged . in the region of the bits , the oxide in the slicing trough is not cauterized , rather it is only removed where one bit is supposed to be set in the binary representation of the column or row numbers . the width of the oxide window to be opened and the clearance between two adjacent windows must be selected on the basis of the occurring etching tolerances . as a variation of the depicted and clarified arrangement of the identifying markings , one can , of course , also select an inverse arrangement , in which the oxide elements represent the 1 - bits . in principle , one can also eliminate the narrow clearance strips between two locations that have been etched free , since their sole purpose is to improve readability . furthermore , it is possible to group several arrangements of column or row areas on one side of the chip , or to distribute them over several sides . in the depicted embodiment , the identifying markings are arranged in each case on the right lateral edge , above , and on the left lateral edge , below . the upper and lower edges can also be provided with identifying markings . in the most favorable case , the slicing cut is made symmetrically , so that a middle strip of the width c is not needed . in this case , all that is retained on the remaining lateral edge areas of the dissociated chips are the respective , allocated identifying markings . in principle , this represents the most favorable solution . however , if the slicing cut runs asymmetrically , which can hardly be prevented in practice , then in the most unfavorable case , the identifying markings on the narrower strip can be completely dropped ( when this strip is smaller than or equal to the safety clearance s ). in addition , the wider strip of the adjacent chip still contains identifying markings , which are not allocated to this chip . one is , nevertheless , still able to differentiate , since the allocated identifying markings exhibit substantially larger dimensions due to the staggered arrangement . the omission of the identifying markings on the adjacent chip likewise has no adverse effect , since a wider edge area is retained , in turn , for this chip on the diametrically opposing side . in fig2 the right upper area of chip 12 , and in fig3 the left lower area of this chip are shown true - to - scale . while to simplify the representation in fig1 only a 4 - bit marking was provided for the column or row numbers , a 5 - bit marking is realized in fig2 and 3 . the regions 17 and 18 of the identifying markings are identical on the upper right and on the lower left lateral edges . contrary to fig1 they are portrayed here as area elements , which no longer actually exhibit a line form . the subsequent chip 21 is arranged in column 9 on the left lateral edge area of chip 12 . in each case , the uppermost identifying element 22 of the regions 18 indicating the column is conceived as a type of arrowhead and points away from the allocated chip 12 and toward the edge area of the unsliced wafer . it is thus guaranteed that , on the one hand , one can differentiate with certainty between row and column numbers and , moreover , that the earlier rotational position on the wafer can be determined for the dissociated chip . over and above that , the edge areas 16 can contain still further chip - specific data , such as the identification of different variants of one chip type , the process modification , manufacturing date , production location , and the like . the identifications for these data can be distributed over the four edge areas . | 7 |
as shown in fig1 , the electromagnetic actuator of the invention comprises an electromagnet 1 with a core 2 and a coil 3 . the electromagnet 1 exerts an electromagnetic force in a controlled manner on an armature 4 integral with a pushrod 5 that can move along the x axis . such an actuator is , for example , used to actuate an internal combustion engine valve , the actuator being placed in such a way that the pushrod 5 extends along the sliding axis of the valve . as is known , the actuator includes another electromagnet ( not shown ) that extends opposite the electromagnet 1 so as to selectively attract the armature 4 in the opposite direction . the end of the pushrod 5 and the end of the valve are returned to each other by opposing springs ( not shown ) that define an equilibrium position of the pushrod / valve assembly in which the armature extends substantially at mid - path between the two electromagnets . the core 2 of the electromagnet 1 has a base 10 from which two lateral branches 11 and a central branch extend , the coil 3 extending around said central branch . the central branch comprises two portions 12 with facing inclined faces integral with the base 10 . the portions 12 form a support part , for supporting the core 2 , said part being designed to accommodate permanent magnets 13 so that the latter extend obliquely to the x axis and form a v , the point of which here is turned toward the base 10 . a wedge 14 forming an end part of the central branch is thus formed in the v . the path of the flux lines generated by the permanent magnets 13 , which pass through the core 2 so as to form a return path in the armature 4 , is depicted as the bold dashed lines in fig1 . the wedge 14 has an end face 15 in which a groove 17 lies parallel to the permanent magnets 13 . the groove 17 ensures that there is a sharp separation between the respective flux lines of the two permanent magnets 13 that pass on either side of the groove 17 . as may be seen in fig2 ( in which the core is illustrated upside - down with respect to fig1 ), the actuator is mounted as follows . after having formed the core 2 by assembling the laminations that form the base 10 , the lateral branches 11 and the support portions 12 , the permanent magnets 13 are put into position on the support portions 12 . in this regard , the support portions 12 include steps 50 making it easier to position the magnets 13 . after having formed the wedge 14 , by assembling the corresponding laminations , the wedge 14 is then attached to the permanent magnets 13 as indicated by the arrow . the wedge 14 then lies above the permanent magnets 13 and is self - centered by the v formed by the permanent magnets 13 . to keep the whole assembly in place , nonmagnetic clamps 18 are used , each of these having , on the one hand , an elongate part ( visible in cross section in fig1 ) that is housed in the groove 17 of the active face 15 of the wedge 14 , and on the other hand , braces that extend into holes passing through the wedge 14 , then between the permanent magnets 13 and finally in holes in the core 2 ( these not being visible ) so as to be fastened to the latter , for example by screwing or by riveting ( as a variant , the braces could pass through the core 2 so as to be fixed directly to the body 100 ). the clamps make it possible to exert a compressive force so as to take up , or even eliminate , the residual gap that may remain owing to the manufacturing tolerances between , on the one hand , the support portions 12 and the permanent magnets 13 and on the other hand , the permanent magnets 13 and the wedge 14 . this gap take - up allows the magnetic efficiency of the actuator to increase . as may be seen in fig3 , the geometry of the core 2 imposes on the central branch of the latter critical passage sections for the flux lines of the permanent magnets 13 . first critical sections s 1 extend in the wedge 14 between one of the ends of the permanent magnets 13 and the central axis x . second critical sections s 2 each extend in one of the bearing portions between one of the ends of the corresponding permanent magnets 13 and the angle formed by the base 10 and the bearing portion 12 . finally , third critical sections s 3 extend in the wedge 14 between an external face and the groove 17 . each of these critical sections s 1 , s 2 , s 3 has a minimum area through which the entire flux of one of the permanent magnets 13 passes . moreover , the armature 4 also has fourth critical sections s 4 through which the entire flux of one or other of the permanent magnets 13 passes . it is known that the constituent ferromagnetic material of the core 2 and of the armature 4 has a saturation threshold above which it becomes increasingly difficult to make additional flux pass through a given passage section . it is important , when in only the flux generated by the permanent magnets 13 , for the constituent material of the core 2 and of the armature to work , in the critical sections s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 , below the saturation threshold so as to retain the possibility of the flux generated by the coil passing through them and thus providing said coil with an acceptable efficiency . to do this , the critical sections s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , s 4 should have sufficiently large areas . the width of the core 2 in the sections s 1 , s 2 , s 3 , is called d 1 , d 2 , d 3 respectively . if l is the length of the core ( measured along a direction perpendicular to the plane of the figure ), the critical sections s 1 , s 2 , s 3 have respective areas : likewise if d 4 is the width of the armature in the section s 4 and if the length of the armature is taken to be approximately l , the area of the section s 4 is a 4 = l × d 4 . as regards the flux of the permanent magnets 13 this is approximately proportional to the area of the surface of the permanent magnets in contact with the core . if h is the height of the permanent magnets , this area is to avoid the critical sections being saturated , it is necessary to given an upper limit to the ratio of the flux to the area of the critical section in question , and therefore to limit the ratios : r 1 = a / a 1 ; r 2 = a / a 2 ; r 3 = a / a 3 ; and r 4 = a / a 4 . the upper limit of these ratios depends on the nature of the constituent material of the core 2 and of the armature 4 . the upper limit of the ratios r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 is preferably equal to : 3 . 2 for a core or armature made of silicon - iron ; 3 . 75 for a core or armature made of 17 / 18 % cobalt - iron ; and 4 . 15 for a core or armature made of 48 / 50 % cobalt - iron . since the length l comes into the expressions for the areas a , a 1 , a 2 , a 3 and a 4 it should be noted that these ratios may also be expressed as r 1 = h / d 1 , r 2 = h / d 2 , r 3 = h / d 3 and r 4 = h / d 4 so that the ratios represent length ratios . as may be seen in fig3 , the core 2 illustrated here is such that the wedge 14 terminates in a point approximately at those ends of the permanent magnets 13 which are opposite the ends where the sections s 1 are taken in the wedge 14 . likewise , the bearing portions 12 terminate in a point at those ends of the permanent magnets 13 which are opposite the ends where the sections s 2 are taken in the bearing portions 12 . in this configuration , the tangent of the half - angle φ of the v formed by the permanent magnets 13 is approximately equal to d 2 / h or d 1 / h , i . e . the inverse of the ratios r 1 and r 2 . this therefore amounts to giving the ratios r 1 and r 2 an upper limit or to giving the half - angle φ at the apex of the v a lower limit . the lower limit of the half - angle φ of the apex of the v is preferably equal to : 17 ° for a core made of silicon - iron ; 13 . 5 ° for a core made of 17 / 18 % cobalt - iron ; and 12 ° for a core made of 48 / 50 % cobalt - iron . these values make it possible to prevent saturation in the critical sections under just the flux of the permanent magnets 13 . in any event , the half - angle φ at the apex of the v will be chosen to be equal to or greater than 10 °. however , the ratios r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 should not be too small as otherwise this would lead to excessively large passage sections limiting the efficiency of the permanent magnets 13 . in practice , the ratios r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 are preferably chosen to be equal to or greater than 2 . in terms of angle , this condition amounts to limiting the half - angle φ of the v to a value equal to or less than 25 °. the invention is not limited to what has just been described , rather quite to the contrary it encompasses any variant falling within the scope defined by the claims . in particular , although actuators have been illustrated here in which the permanent magnets form a v , the tip of which is turned toward the base of the core , it will also be possible to place the magnets in such a way that they form a v with the tip directed toward the armature . the magnet support part of the base will have inclined faces no longer facing each other but being turned toward the lateral branches , whereas the end part of the central branch will no longer have a wedge shape but a hat shape . although critical sections have been considered here in the central branch , it is obvious that the limits that apply to the ratios r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 also apply to any similar ratio associated with any section taken in the rest of the core or of the armature , said ratio then being equal to the area of the surface of the permanent magnet to the area of the relevant section . | 7 |
state of the art for downstream tdd transmission is quite similar to that described for upstream : the headend transmits a preamble to facilitate the cpe receiver , followed by a payload whose modulation profile is chosen to adapt to the particular channel conditions for the particular intended cpe receiver . in the downstream case , the direction of the traffic is reversed , and the channel properties may in general be different from the upstream case , such as the pathloss ( which may be characterized as distance ), snr , channel capacity , and receptivity , and these properties may vary per cpe . a preamble is broadly defined as to other well know methods having substantially the same purpose , such as : header , phy header , start marker , phy start marker , pilot tones , pilot carriers or the like . also , the preamble may carry some information about how the subsequent payload is to be decoded ( e . g ., some indication of the modulation profile ). when the headend needs to send a different payload to a different cpe , it transmits another preamble first , followed by the payload adapted to the channel conditions for that particular cpe . the second preamble is needed to facilitate the second cpe receiver , because , although the second receiver would be able to detect and acquire the phy layer parameters from the first preamble , the second cpe receiver is in general unable to receive and decode the first payload because it uses some other modulation profile , so the second receiver loses track of the headend &# 39 ; s transmission . thus , the second preamble is needed for the second cpe receiver to re - detect and re - acquire the signal from the headend before the second payload arrives . as shown in fig3 , the presently claimed invention teaches headend 30 to concatenate two or more of the downstream payloads , where each may have different modulation profiles , without requiring intervening preambles to be transmitted . headend 30 transmits a single preamble 38 at the start of downstream phase 46 , followed by the concatenated payloads 32 , 34 , 36 . although this disclosure in the examples described , only three payloads are described , this disclosure is intended to include any number of payloads . if two such payloads are concatenated by headend 30 , then the presently claimed invention eliminates the need for the headend to transmit a second intervening preamble between them . if three such payloads are concatenated by the headend , then the presently claimed invention eliminates the need for the headend to transmit a second and third intervening preamble . a similar result is obtained for 4 or more such payloads that are concatenated by the headend . headend 30 may concatenate in this fashion for as long as it has downstream data available for transmission to cpes , or until reaching the end of downstream phase 46 of the current tdd cycle 48 . the headend would restart the process for each downstream phase of subsequent tdd cycles . an example of the claimed invention advances the state of the art because the amount of overhead consumed by downstream preambles is reduced , thereby making more channel - time available per downstream phase 46 for headend 30 to schedule information - carrying payloads . furthermore , the overhead associated with employing a high order modulation profile for nearby cpes is reduced , enabling the headend to more readily achieve the higher information - rates for those cpes . this reduction in preamble overhead can be quite significant if many preambles are eliminated , such as the case when the headend is actively servicing a large number of cpes and / or when there are many relatively short payloads to be transmitted downstream that are latency - sensitive . making the downstream transmissions more efficient , the claimed invention enables the headend to sustain a higher downstream throughput capacity . alternatively , the headend can schedule less time for downstream phases 46 , thereby allowing for a greater volume of upstream traffic in upstream phases 50 to be transmitted , or allowing for shortened tdd cycles 48 to reduce latency . an example of the claimed invention , as shown in fig3 , teaches headend 30 to concatenate payloads in rank order of progressively increasing modulation profile . that is , a first payload 32 of a concatenated set of payloads has the lowest modulation profile of the set , and a last payload 36 of a concatenated set has the highest modulation profile in the set , and payloads in the middle 34 of a concatenated set have intermediate modulation profiles . as a very simplistic example , the payloads intended for the most distant cpes 40 are transmitted by headend 30 shortly after preamble 38 , followed by payloads intended for mid - range cpes 42 , then finally ending with payloads intended for the most nearby cpes 44 . this rank ordering by progressive modulation profile is important , since it enables all of the intended cpes to not only detect and acquire the phy layer parameters from single leading preamble 38 , but also to keep track of the headend &# 39 ; s transmissions up to and including the particular payloads intended for those cpes . each cpe is typically informed by headend 30 beforehand which payloads within downstream phase 46 are intended for it ( e . g ., headend 30 can inform this via a scheduling message ( s ) sent to cpes beforehand , such as a well - known media access plan ( map ) message ). for example , consider the headend &# 39 ; s downstream transmission from the perspective of the most distant cpe 40 : most distant cpe 40 receives single leading preamble 38 , from which it detects and acquires the phy layer parameters required to properly decode the subsequent payload , such as gain , frequency - offset and timing information . very first payload 32 arriving after single leading preamble 38 is the payload with the lowest modulation profile ( e . g ., intended for the most distant cpe 40 , for example 256 - qam ). consequently , this most distant cpe 40 is able to accurately track the headend &# 39 ; s transmission for the duration of first payload 32 , and accurately receive and decode the payload information bits intended for this most distant cpe 40 . next to arrive at most distant cpe 40 is second payload 34 in the concatenated set of payloads . second payload 34 might possibly have the same modulation profile as first payload 32 , but in general would have a higher modulation profile than first payload 32 ( e . g ., being intended for the next most distant cpe 42 to receive downstream traffic in the concatenated set , for example 512 - qam ). this rank order by progressive modulation profile is imposed by headend 30 according to the claimed invention . second payload 34 , having higher modulation profile , is more difficult for the most distant cpe 40 to track and decode accurately , and , in general , may not be accurately decoded . however , most distant cpe 40 has already received and decoded first payload 32 to which it was intended , and there is no longer any need for most distant cpe 40 to track or decode any more payloads in downstream phase 46 of current tdd cycle 48 . now consider the same example , but from the perspective of most nearby cpe 44 : most nearby cpe 44 receives single leading preamble 38 , from which it detects and acquires the phy layer parameters required to properly decode subsequent payloads , such as gain , frequency - offset and timing information . first payload 32 arriving after single leading preamble 38 is the payload with the lowest modulation profile ( e . g ., intended for most distant cpe 40 ). consequently , most nearby cpe 44 is easily able to accurately track the headend &# 39 ; s transmission for the duration of first payload 32 . next to arrive at most nearby cpe 44 is second payload 34 in the concatenated set of payloads . second payload 34 might possibly have the same modulation profile as first payload 32 , but in general would have a higher modulation profile than the first payload . nevertheless , most nearby cpe 44 is able to continue accurately tracking the headend &# 39 ; s transmission for the duration of second payload 34 . similarly , most nearby cpe 44 is able to continue accurately tracking all the subsequent payloads in downstream phase 46 , even as their modulation profiles increase progressively . finally , last payload 36 in the concatenated set , having the highest modulation profile of all ( e . g ., 1024 - qam ), arrives at most nearby cpe 44 . last payload 36 is specifically intended for most nearby cpe 44 , so it can be accurately tracked and decoded . while various embodiments of the disclosed method and apparatus have been described above , it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only , and should not limit the claimed invention . likewise , the various diagrams may depict an example architectural or other configuration for the disclosed method and apparatus . this is done to aid in understanding the features and functionality that can be included in the disclosed method and apparatus . the claimed invention is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations , rather the desired features can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations . indeed , it will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional , logical or physical partitioning and configurations can be implemented to implement the desired features of the disclosed method and apparatus . also , a multitude of different constituent module names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions . additionally , with regard to flow diagrams , operational descriptions and method claims , the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise . although the disclosed method and apparatus is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations , it should be understood that the various features , aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described . thus , the breadth and scope of the claimed invention should not be limited by any of the above - described exemplary embodiments . terms and phrases used in this document , and variations thereof , unless otherwise expressly stated , should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting . as examples of the foregoing : the term “ including ” should be read as meaning “ including , without limitation ” or the like ; the term “ example ” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion , not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof ; the terms “ a ” or “ an ” should be read as meaning “ at least one ,” “ one or more ” or the like ; and adjectives such as “ conventional ,” “ traditional ,” “ normal ,” “ standard ,” “ known ” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time , but instead should be read to encompass conventional , traditional , normal , or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future . likewise , where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art , such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future . a group of items linked with the conjunction “ and ” should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be present in the grouping , but rather should be read as “ and / or ” unless expressly stated otherwise . similarly , a group of items linked with the conjunction “ or ” should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group , but rather should also be read as “ and / or ” unless expressly stated otherwise . furthermore , although items , elements or components of the disclosed method and apparatus may be described or claimed in the singular , the plural is contemplated to be within the scope thereof unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated . the presence of broadening words and phrases such as “ one or more ,” “ at least ,” “ but not limited to ” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent . the use of the term “ module ” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the module are all configured in a common package . indeed , any or all of the various components of a module , whether control logic or other components , can be combined in a single package or separately maintained and can further be distributed in multiple groupings or packages or across multiple locations . additionally , the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams , flow charts and other illustrations . as will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document , the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples . for example , block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration . | 7 |
fig1 shows a first communication network k 1 which comprises a first mobile radio network mfn 1 , a first packet - switched domain ps 1 , an internet protocol - based multimedia subsystem ims , a server s 1 in the form of a push - to - talk server , a second packet - switched domain ps 2 and a second mobile radio network mfn 2 . in the first mobile radio network mfn 1 , a first base station bs 1 and a second base station bs 2 are arranged which is connected to a first switching center sgsn 1 ( serving gprs support node ) of the first packet - switched domain ps 1 . the first switching center sgsn 1 is connected via a first gateway ggsn 1 ( gateway gprs support node ) to a control unit cscf ( call state control function ) of the internet protocol - based multimedia subsystem . in the multimedia subsystem ims , a home subscriber server hss is also located . the control unit cscf is connected to the server s 1 . the server s 1 contains a computer program a ( application ) for controlling the method steps of the method described . the server also has a database xdm ( data memory ) which can be accessed via a user interface ( administration interface ) s . the control unit cscf is also connected via a second gateway ggsn 2 to a second switching center sgsn 2 of the second packet - switched domain ps 2 . the second switching center sgsn 2 , in turn , is connected to a third base station bs 3 and a fourth base station bs 4 of the second mobile radio network mfn 2 . five communication terminals keg 1 , keg 2 , keg 3 , keg 4 and keg 5 can be connected to the communication network k 1 via the base stations bs 1 to bs 4 . the communication terminals keg 1 to keg 5 are gprs - enabled ( general packet radio service ) mobile telephones in the exemplary embodiment . in other exemplary embodiments , however , communication terminals in the form of , for example , a portable computer with mobile radio interface , a palmtop , a landline telephone or a personal computer can also be used . the five communication terminals keg 1 to keg 5 belong to a preselected group g of communication terminals . this group membership is symbolized by a dashed border . fig2 shows a second communication network k 2 which differs from the first communication network k 1 , described in conjunction with fig1 , essentially only in that the control unit cscf is connected not only to the push - to - talk server s 1 but additionally to a second server s 2 in the form of a session initiation protocol application server s 2 ( sip application server ). in the second communication network k 2 , the program a is not arranged in the push - to - talk server s 1 but in the sip application server s 2 . in the second communication network k 2 shown in fig2 , the method steps are controlled by the program a running in the sip application server s 2 . this program a can access the database xdm arranged in the push - to - talk server s 1 and controls the ( elementary ) communication functions of the server s 1 ( e . g . the push - to - talk functions via sip ), especially in order to initiate the invite link message and establish the communication link of all communication terminals ready for communication which belong to the same preselected communication group . as an alternative , the database xdm can also be arranged in the server s 2 . fig3 shows a message sequence of the method according to the invention . in the text which follows , an exemplary sequence of the method according to the invention and the operation of the server according to the invention are explained by means of fig3 and 1 . this is based on the assumption of the following initial situation : a communication link has already been established between the communication terminals keg 1 and keg 2 ; via this communication link , a push - to - talk service is implemented in which communication terminals keg 1 and keg 2 participate . the communication terminals keg 1 and keg 2 participate in a push - to - talk session of the group g . the push - to - talk service is also called “ group talk ”. the push - to - talk ( ptt ) service is implemented here via the packet - switched internet protocol - based multimedia subsystem ; in this connection , this service is also called “ push - to - talk - over - cellular ” ( poc ). a session of a group communication service is generally also called “ session ”. a user of the communication terminal keg 3 would also like to participate in the push - to - talk service and therefore switches on his communication terminal keg 3 . immediately following the switching - on of the communication terminal keg 3 , the communication terminal keg 3 sends a first start message 1 in the form of an sip message “ register ” to the first communication network k 1 ( arrow 1 : register ). this first start message 1 passes via the second base station bs 2 , the first switching center sgsn 1 , the first gateway ggsn 1 to the control unit cscf of the multimedia subsystem ims . by means of this start message “ register ”, the third communication terminal keg 3 is logged in in familiar manner at the multimedia subsystem ims ; it is registered in the internet multimedia subsystem that the communication terminal keg 3 is ready for communication (“ online ”). by means of this start message 1 , the communication terminal keg 3 thus registers itself for utilization of internet protocol - based services offered by the communication network k 1 . following this , the start message 1 is forwarded to the push - to - talk server s 1 and reaches the program a running in it . ( in the exemplary embodiment described further below by means of fig2 , the start message 1 is forwarded to the server s 2 and reaches the program a running in it .) in another method sequence , the start message can also be sent by the communication terminal keg 3 only after a communication function has been activated on the communication terminal keg 3 ( for example by its user ); this activation could take place , for example , by the user operating a particular key on the communication terminal keg 3 . after the reception of the start message 1 at the server end , the server ( more precisely the program a running in the server ) reads out an information item contained in the start message and transmitted with the start message about the communication terminal keg 3 . this information item about the communication terminal can be present , for example , as a telephone number ( msisdn — mobile station isdn number ) or as a session initiation protocol address ( e . g . user @ domain . com ). in precise terms , this information about the communication terminal describes the user of the communication terminal keg 3 . however , since the user of the communication terminal keg 3 remains unchanged during the entire method sequence and has “ personalized ” the communication terminal keg 3 as it were ( for example by plugging a personal sim card into the terminal ( subscriber identity module )), this telephone number or this sip address represents information about the terminal keg 3 during the method sequence . the term “ information about the communication terminal ” is used in this sense in this description . using this information about the communication terminal , the server s 1 determines the preselected group to which the communication terminal belongs . information about the group membership of the individual communication terminals is stored in the database xdm in the server s 1 ( or in a database provided especially for this purpose ). in the exemplary embodiment , the server s 1 contains stored such group information that the communication terminal keg 3 belongs to the group g and that communication terminals keg 1 , keg 2 , keg 4 and keg 5 also belong to group g . ( in the exemplary embodiment described further below by means of fig2 , the information about the group membership of the individual communication terminals can be stored in the server s 1 or also in the server s 2 in the database xdm or in a database provided especially for this purpose .) after evaluation of the group information , the server s 1 thus has the information that the communication terminal keg 3 belongs to group g . the server s 1 thereupon sends a link message 2 in the form of the session initiation protocol message “ invite ”, known as such , to the communication terminal keg 3 . this link message 2 is transmitted from the server s 1 via the control unit cscf , the first gateway ggsn 1 , the first switching center sgsn 1 and the base station bs 2 to the communication terminal keg 3 . the communication terminal keg 3 thereupon sends a link confirmation message 3 in the form of a session initiation protocol message “ ok ” to the server s 1 . this link confirmation message 3 is conveyed from the communication terminal keg 3 via the second base station bs 2 , the first switching center sgsn 1 , the first gateway ggsn 1 and the control unit cscf to the first server s 1 . the server s 1 receives this link confirmation message 3 . with the reception of the link confirmation message 3 , the communication link between the communication terminal keg 3 and the communication terminals keg 1 and keg 2 already participating in the push - to - talk service in group g is established by the push - to - talk server s 1 . by means of an information item about the session , contained in the link message 2 and the link confirmation message 3 , e . g . by means of a name contained in the form of an sip address , the server s 1 allocates the communication terminal keg 3 to this session and then also transmits the voice messages from and to the communication terminal keg 3 . a communication link thus now exists between the communication terminals keg 1 , keg 2 and keg 3 ; these three communication terminals can now communicate with one another as part of the push - to - talk service , this communication being handled via the push - to - talk server s 1 . in this method , the server s 1 , in the establishment of the communication link ( during the link set - up ), simulates an additional communication terminal of group g , a virtual sixth communication terminal , as it were . this is because the server s 1 acts like a communication terminal , like a so - called “ sip user agent ” of an sip - enabled mobile telephone in the exemplary embodiment . this is because , from the point of view of the communication terminal keg 3 , the link message 2 appears to originate from an additional communication terminal , where this additional communication terminal handles the function of an originator . the communication terminal keg 3 can thus not see that it is not communicating with a communication terminal but with the server s 1 . this is particularly advantageous because , as a result , the method described does not contravene the “ oma poc control plane , candidate version 1 . 0 - 4 nov 2005 , open mobile alliance , oma - ts - poc - controlplane - v1 — 0 - 20051104 - c ” standard : the communication terminal keg 3 and furthermore also the communication terminals keg 4 and keg 5 do not recognize that they are communicating with a server ( and not with a communication terminal ) during the establishment of the communication link . thus , the communication terminals keg 3 , keg 4 and keg 5 do not need to be modified or adapted for use in the method according to the invention . he method described can also be used for implementing another group communication service , for example a chat service . instead of the push - to - talk server s 1 , a chat server would then be equipped with the program a , this chat server implementing the chat service . the sequences for establishing the communication link between the communication terminals of the group , described above , would proceed in the same manner in this arrangement . the chat service is occasionally also called “ chat group talk ”. next , a user of the communication terminal keg 4 , by operating a corresponding key , activates the push - to - talk communication function of his communication terminal keg 4 . the communication terminal keg 4 thereupon sends a second start message 4 ( arrow 4 : register ) to the server s 1 . the server s 1 receives this second start message 4 , determines , by means of an information item about the terminal keg 4 transmitted in the start message ( for example by means of the sip address meier @ yxz . com ), by utilizing the database xdm , that the communication terminal keg 4 belongs to group g . the server s 1 thereupon sends a second link message 5 ( arrow 5 : invite ) to the communication terminal keg 4 . the communication terminal keg 4 answers with a second link confirmation message 6 ( arrow 6 : ok ) which is received by the server s 1 . the server s 1 thereupon establishes the communication link between the communication terminal keg 4 and the communication terminals keg 1 , keg 2 and keg 3 , already using the push - to - talk service , in the manner described above . the push - to - talk service can now proceed between the four communication terminals keg 1 to keg 4 ; each of these communication terminals can send voice messages to the other three communication terminals via the communication link and receive voice messages from these . during the sequence of the method steps for establishing the communication link between the communication terminal keg 4 and the communication terminals keg 1 , keg 2 and keg 3 , a user of communication terminal keg 5 has already switched on his communication terminal and activated the communication function . the communication terminal keg 5 thereupon sends a third start message 7 ( arrow 7 : register ) to the server s 1 . the server s 1 receives this third start message 7 , reads the transmitted information about the terminal out of the third start message and , by means of this transmitted information ( e . g . an sip address ), determines that the communication terminal keg 5 also belongs to group g . the server s 1 thereupon sends a third link message 8 ( arrow 8 : invite ) to the communication terminal keg 5 . the communication terminal keg 5 answers with a third link confirmation message 9 ( arrow 9 : ok ). the communication link between the communication terminal keg 5 and the communication terminals keg 1 to keg 4 of group g is thereupon established . the push - to - talk server s 1 implements the push - to - talk service , i . e . the push - to - talk server transmits , e . g . voice message packets between the communication terminals of the group . the group membership of the communication terminals can be altered via the user interface s of server s 1 ( i . e . group g can be administered or configured , respectively ). it is possible to access the database xdm of the push - to - talk server s 1 directly via this user interface ( administration interface ) s ; such a database is also called “ push - to - talk - over - cellular xml ( extended markup language ) document management ( poc xdm ). this user interface can be accessed in various ways . an access can be made , for example , by a communication terminal ( for example communication terminal keg 3 ) by using the xcap ( xml configuration access protocol ) protocol . however , the user interface s can also be accessed by a network operator of the communication network k 1 or from a call center , where a user can use a so - called customer care portal for changing the group membership of his communication terminal . finally , it is also possible that a user of the communication terminals ( for example a user of communication terminal keg 3 ) accesses the database xdm of the push - to - talk - over - cellular service via a computer connected to the internet , using an internet page / a web interface via the user interface s of the server s 1 . the last - mentioned possibility of changing / administering the group membership of the communication terminal advantageously enables the group membership to be administered and to change in a particularly comfortable manner via an internet page . the method described above can also be performed in the same manner with the communication network k 2 of fig2 , with the difference that the program a runs in the server s 2 and the server s 2 works in conjunction with the database arranged in the server s 1 . server s 1 then also receives or sends the start messages , link messages and link confirmation messages and communicates with the server s 2 . as an alternative , the start messages , the link messages and the link confirmation messages can be transmitted from the control unit cscf via the server s 1 to the server s 2 , and conversely , or the start messages can be transmitted directly from the control unit cscf to the server s 2 . the method described for establishing a communication link between communication terminals of a group is essentially controlled by the server . this method has a number of advantages : the preselected or preconfigured group ( priority group ) is persistent ( permanent , non - volatile ), i . e . if one of the mobile communication terminals of the group is replaced by another device ( for example in the case of a defect or loss of a communication terminal ), the preselected group does not need to be newly administered because the group database ( poc xdm ) in the server is not changed by exchanging a mobile communication terminal . this is of advantage , especially if communication terminals are handed on by a user to another user and are newly personalized , for example by inserting a new sim card . in this case , too , no change of the database arranged in the server is necessary . the method can proceed with any communication terminals as long as they are suitable for the group communication service ( that is to say , for example , the push - to - talk service or the chat service ). in the communication terminals , no special functions relating to the method are needed ; these special functions are implemented in the server , instead . this is a considerable advantage both for the vendors of communication terminals , for network operators of communication networks and for service providers . this advantage becomes particularly clear if one recalls that it is often very difficult to produce suitable terminals in sufficient number , and to make them available to the service user , for newly developed innovative communication technologies or services . the server behaves like a communication terminal so that the method can be implemented without infringing on standards ; the method can also be implemented easily in communication networks already in existence . the sip message “ register ” is advantageously used not only for registering the communication terminal in the communication network but is used at the same time also as start message . this message is received by the server and starts the method sequence , for example , the start message activates the program a contained in the server s 1 which controls the further method sequence ( the start message triggers the program ). the program a can be stored advantageously either in the push - to - talk server s 1 and run there or the program a can be stored in a server connected to the push - to - talk server ( e . g . an sip application server ), and run there . this results in a method which can be variably adapted to the situations present in each case in the communication networks . | 7 |
the present invention is an improved seed metering disc for a seed planter which provides for universal seed use . referring to fig1 and fig2 an exemplary improved universal seed metering disc 10 comprises a seed disc 20 and a seed retention plate 30 . seed disc 20 has a front side 41 and a backside 42 , wherein the front side has a plurality of grooved seed pockets 50 and seed cells 55 . the seed pockets 50 are generally radially situated around the front side 42 of the seed disc 20 . each of the seed pockets 50 comprise a channel which leads directly into a seed cell 55 . each channel may be round and smooth to facilitate seed movement within the seed pockets 50 . each seed cell 55 has a recess 66 , a seed delivery opening 67 and seed cell retention walls 68 . each seed cell 55 is further defined by seed retention plate 30 affixed to the seed disc 20 such as to form a backside of each seed cell 55 where the recess 66 ends at break 69 . seed retention plate 30 is substantially similar in shape and diameter as the seed disc 20 and is made from any suitable material , including a weather - safe durable material , such as a coated aluminum . the seed retention plate 30 can be affixed to the seed disc 20 by any appropriate fastening means , including a set of one or more fastening bolts 70 that pass through the front side 41 of the seed disc 20 and through the seed retention plate 30 where the bolts can be secured by one or more locking nuts . the locking nuts should be fastened tightly such as to provide contact or near contact between the seed disc 20 and the seed retention plate 30 , wherein the distance between seed disc 20 and seed retention plate 30 is small enough to prohibit seeds from sliding between the seed disc 20 and the seed retention plate 30 . in one embodiment , as shown in fig2 a gasket 80 , comprised of either sponge , foam , or other suitable material , is placed between the seed disc 20 and the seed retention plate 30 . the gasket assists in holding the seeds in the seed cells 55 by increasing the friction force which the seed must overcome in order to slide from the seed cell 55 . the gasket 80 further provides a means for ensuring contact or near contact between the seed disc 20 and the seed retention plate 30 , and fills any space therebetween . seeds stored in a seed reservoir of a planter are dropped onto the seed disc 20 which is at rotating in a vertical plane along a shaft which contacts and retains the seed metering disc 10 through the shaft hole 85 . in an embodiment , more than one seed metering discs 10 are used by dividing the planter into a set number of row units , connecting one seed metering disc 10 per row unit , and evenly delivering seeds from the seed reservoir to each of the row units . the seed disc 20 rotates at a set speed creating a centrifugal force which , along with a brush system as described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 058 , 766 , forces the seeds into the seed pockets 50 . the rotational force pushes the seeds along the channel of the seed pockets 50 until the seeds reach the seed cells 55 . the seeds then fall individually , or in small seed packets , into the recess 66 of seed cells 55 and are retained within the seed cells 55 by the seed retention walls 68 and the seed retention plate 30 . smaller seeds that would otherwise slide out break 69 and out the backside 42 in the recess 66 of the seed cell 55 are held in place by the seed retention plate 30 . when the seed metering disc 10 reaches a fixed point in its rotation , the seeds are thrust from the seed cells 55 out the seed delivery opening 67 and into the corresponding crop row . while the present invention has been illustrated by the description of embodiments thereof , and while the embodiments have been described in detail , it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail . additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art . therefore , the invention , in its broader aspects , is not limited to the specific details and illustrative examples shown and described . accordingly , departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the applicant &# 39 ; s general inventive concept . | 0 |
fig1 shows a watermark embedding process for encoding content dependent metrics into a watermark for use in detecting and characterizing content alteration . to illustrate the process , consider an example application for detecting alteration of image content . in this example , a watermark embedder divides an input media signal ( 100 ) ( e . g ., a host image ) into blocks ( 102 ). it then calculates signal metrics for each block ( 104 ). the metrics for each block form a signature ( 106 ). the embedder quantizes the metrics in the signature and encodes the resulting signature as part of a watermark message in the block using a watermark embedding process ( 108 ), such as the methods described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 862 , 260 , and in co - pending applications ser . no . 09 / 503 , 881 . an additional enhancement of the method is to encrypt each quantized signature with an encryption key . in one implementation , the embedder calculates the signature from a combination of signal metrics in different blocks , and then embeds the signature in one or more blocks using a spread spectrum embedding function . to illustrate the process , consider an example of three 8 bit quantized metrics per block . the metrics are concatenated to form a 24 bit number and then error correction encoding to create a binary message string . the embedder spread spectrum modulates the message string and maps elements of the resulting signal to locations within an image block ( e . g ., a block of luminance values ). the embedder perceptually adapts the signal to the image block and adds elements in the adapted watermark signal to corresponding luminance values in the block . to increase the robustness of the watermark , the embedder can be designed to repeat the embedding process to redundantly encode the same signature into several blocks . other watermark embedding functions may be used as well , such as statistical feature modulation techniques where statistical features of samples in the block are adjusted to correspond to a value associated with a desired message symbol . the statistical features used for watermark embedding may be selected so as not to interfere with statistical features of the signal metrics . the signal metrics within the signature are quantized such that the metrics are sensitive to certain types of signal alterations , but are relatively insensitive to the changes in the pixel values resulting from embedding the watermark . preferably , the quantized metrics are the same before and after image watermark embedding . to ensure this is the case , the watermark embedder selects metrics that change less than an acceptable threshold before and after the watermark process . one way to guarantee that the metric is the same before and after encoding is to pick a signal metric that the watermark embedding function does not alter or alters only slightly . for example , the signal metric may be derived from frequency components or regions of the host signal and then embedded into other frequency components or regions of that host signal . as another example , the metric may measure a statistical feature that remains unchanged by the watermark embedding process . the watermark embedder may also make two or more iterative embedding passes through the image on watermarked blocks in which the quantized signal metrics differ before and after the embedding process . with each pass on a particular image block , the embedder updates the metric , the image block , or both , embeds the metric and stops when the quantized metric is within an acceptable tolerance threshold before and after it is embedded into the image block . one approach is to use the quantized metric of the watermarked block as the updated metric that is embedded in the original image block . in this approach , the metric computed from the watermarked block at each pass is embedded back in the original image block until the signal metric is within an acceptable tolerance before and after embedding . another approach is to change the pixel values of the image block slightly on each pass so that the metric is more likely to be the same before and after watermark embedding . one example of this approach is to use the watermarked block in one pass as the input to the next pass . here , the embedder may re - calculate the metric from the updated image and embed it into the updated image block . alternatively , it may select a metric computed from a previous pass and embed it into the updated image block . after watermark embedding is complete , the watermarked image may be printed , distributed electronically , or both . if the image is printed , then it is later scanned with a image scanning device to convert back to a digital form for analysis . fig2 shows a watermark decoding process for detecting and characterizing alterations to a watermarked image based on a comparison of signal metrics computed of the watermarked image and extracted from the watermark message . the decoder reads the watermarked image ( 120 ), divides it into blocks of the same size used in the embedder ( 122 ), and calculates metrics that form the signature of each block ( 124 . in some applications , a watermark decoder such as the one described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 862 , 260 , and in co - pending application ser . no . 09 / 503 , 881 may first re - align the watermarked image ( 126 ) to approximate its orientation state at the time of computing the signal metric and embedding the watermark . to determine the orientation state , the decoder detects and determines the orientation of a calibration signal forming part of the watermark . the orientation state is defined by orientation parameters ( e . g ., rotation , scale , differential scale , shear , and shift or translation ) calculated by correlating the calibration signal with the watermarked image . by compensating for geometric distortion before the signal metrics are computed , the decoder approximately aligns the image blocks to their original orientation state before calculating the signal metrics and watermark payload . the watermark decoder extracts the watermark message payload from each block ( 128 ), potentially after re - aligning the image data using the calibration signal embedded in the watermark . next , the decoder compares the computed signatures with the signatures extracted from the watermark ( 130 ). the decoder then provides an indication of the alterations detected and type of alterations based on the differences between the computed and extracted signatures ( 132 ). in particular , the signal metrics are known through empirical analysis to degrade in predictable ways in response to certain types of image manipulation , such as compression , scanning , printing , cropping , photocopying , selective swapping of image content , etc . based on characterizations of these degradations , the decoder translates the degradation of the signal metrics into corresponding signal degradations . it may then display the watermarked signal along with graphic indicators highlighting altered blocks and their corresponding types of alteration . some of these metrics are computed for each block and some are based on the difference of information between two consecutive blocks . the size of the block depends on particular application and on the image size . if locating the area of tampering is of more importance , a smaller size is preferable with the constraint that a small sized block metric may not be statistically representative . the size of the image block used for calculating signal metrics may be the same or different from the size of the block used to embed the watermark message . for example , in cases where the signal metric block size is larger than the watermark block size , the embedder may divide each signal metric block into sub - blocks corresponding to watermark blocks and encode the signal metrics in each of the sub - blocks . 1 . histogram features of image blocks : histogram difference and histogram variance . the histogram difference metric is calculated as the sum of differences between the histograms of two consecutive blocks , whereas the histogram variance characterizes the brightness contrast of an individual block . one implementation , for example , used a histogram with 64 bins for an image size of 240 by 320 pixels sub - divided into blocks of 40 by 40 pixels each . 2 . motion vectors among spatially or temporally adjacent image blocks . the brightness difference between two consecutive blocks , and the rate of change of this difference are indicators of localized tampering of the signal . for example , a temporal metric is calculated as the standard deviation of the block intensity differences . a spatial metric is calculated as the variance of edge information of a block . one implementation , for instance , computes horizontal and vertical edge information by separately convolving the image block with a high pass filter ( e . g ., such as a sobel filter ) in the horizontal and vertical directions . it then computes the sum of squares of each value in the respective high pass filter outputs . finally , it computes the spatial signal metric as the standard deviation of the sum of squares . a velocital metric is computed as a statistical measure of the ratio of the temporal over the spatial metrics . 3 . pixel intensity based metrics : average and variance of intensity across the block ; 4 . frequency content metrics : ratio of low frequency content to total energy in a block . in one implementation , the watermark embedder inserts signature comprised of three quantized metrics : a measure of edges in the block ( the spatial metric ); a motion vector metric calculated as a function of the difference between the block and an adjacent block ( the temporal metric ), and a ratio of the first and second metrics ( the velocital metric ). fig3 is a matrix of characterizations showing how these signal metrics have been found to correspond to types of degradations . the matrix entries indicate the extent to which the metric specified at the head of the column changes after processing specified in the corresponding row . this or a similar matrix may be used to construct a parametric model that characterize a type of alteration based on the extent of changes to each of the signal metrics embedded in the watermark . to characterize a type of alteration to the watermarked signal , the decoder applies the changes measured in the signal metrics to the model , which maps the changes to one or more alteration types . the decoder may then provide visual feedback , displaying the watermarked signal , graphically highlighting the blocks detected as being altered and displaying the type or types of alteration . the last row of the matrix shows the effect of a form of spatial spread spectrum watermarking , where a spatial , pseudo random watermark image is added to the image . to generate the watermark image , a watermark message is spread over a pseudorandom number and the resulting values mapped to locations in an image block . the watermark image values are perceptual adapted so as to be substantially imperceptible in the watermarked image . as evidenced in the last row , certain metrics are highly sensitive to this type of watermarking process . thus , if this type of watermark is used to embed signal metrics , it should be used in conjunction with signal metrics that are less sensitive to it , or it should be embedded in parts of the image ( e . g ., spatial areas or frequencies ) that are independent of those from which the signal metric is calculated . for many applications , signal metrics are typically tuned to detect specific types of alteration , like compression , photocopying , printing , scanning , etc . knowing that degradation due to photocopying an image is different in the direction the paper is moving compared to its orthogonal direction , one is prompted to choose a pair of metrics that enables a comparison of horizontal and vertical characteristics of an image block . photocopying of watermarked images can be detected , for example , by encoding horizontal edge information in one metric and vertical edge information in another metric . the extent of the differences in the horizontal and vertical edge information may be used to detect photocopying . in particular , if the watermark decoder measures horizontal or vertical edge information changes that exceed an acceptable tolerance , it deems the image to have been altered . this application of signal metrics is useful in determining whether a printed article is genuine . frequency domain analysis and frequency domain watermarks may be used to characterize certain types of signal alteration . in one implementation , a watermark encoder performs a wavelet packet decomposition of an image to calculate a energy distribution signature and embeds this signature into a watermark . the energy distribution signature shows the actual bands ( in a complete wavelet packet decomposition ) of the embedding of the localization signature which is obtained from the metrics described above . a wavelet packet decomposition of an image decomposes the image into a tree structure where each child node represents a wavelet decomposition of the original image , or a block of the image . child nodes are selected for further decomposition if the entropy of the image band at the node is greater than a predetermined entropy threshold . a compatible watermark decoder analyzes features calculated from a wavelet packet decomposition of a watermarked image to detect alteration . in particular , the watermark decoder analyzes the entropy of selected nodes of the decomposition and detects and characterizes alteration by applying detected changes in entropy at the nodes to a parametric model . this model characterizes certain types of alterations based on how they alter entropy at nodes of the wavelet packet decomposition . having described and illustrated the principles of the technology with reference to specific implementations , it will be recognized that the technology can be implemented in many other , different , forms . to provide a comprehensive disclosure without unduly lengthening the specification , applicants incorporate by reference the patents and patent applications referenced above . while the invention is illustrated with reference to images , it also applies to other media types including audio . in the case of audio , the signal metrics may be computed from and embedded into temporal blocks of an audio signal . the watermark embedding may modulate features in the time , frequency , or some other transform domain of the host audio signal block . the signal metrics may be based on statistical features of the time domain audio data or frequency domain audio data . preferably , the signal metrics are embedded into features of the audio signal block from which they are derived in a manner that does not interfere with the value of the signal metric . in other words , the signal metrics for a block are within an acceptable tolerance before and after watermark embedding of the signal metric . the tolerance level is set so that alterations being detected are distinguishable from slight changes in the signal metrics due to the watermark embedding process . the signal metrics may be computed from data in one set of frequencies and then embedded into another set for each block of audio in an audio signal file . additionally , the signal metrics may be computed from one set of samples in a block and embedded into another set of samples in the block . in addition to signal metrics , the watermark may be used to convey other information , such as an identifier of the content , an index to related metadata , rendering control instructions , etc . for example , the watermark can carry a network address or index to a network address to link the watermarked signal to a network resource such as a related web site . some blocks may be used to carry signal metrics , while others may be used to carry other payload information , such as metadata , or a pointer to metadata stored in an external database . the methods , processes , and systems described above may be implemented in hardware , software or a combination of hardware and software . for example , the auxiliary data encoding processes may be implemented in a programmable computer or a special purpose digital circuit . similarly , auxiliary data decoding may be implemented in software , firmware , hardware , or combinations of software , firmware and hardware . the methods and processes described above may be implemented in programs executed from a system &# 39 ; s memory ( a computer readable medium , such as an electronic , optical or magnetic storage device ). the particular combinations of elements and features in the above - detailed embodiments are exemplary only ; the interchanging and substitution of these teachings with other teachings in this and the incorporated - by - reference patents / applications are also contemplated . | 7 |
the embodiments of the invention provide a structure for a packet structure in a wireless communications network designed according to an emerging ieee 802 . 15 . 4a standard as described in ieee draft p802 . 15 . 4a / d2 , april , 2006 ; as shown in fig4 , a packet 400 includes a synchronization header ( shr ) 410 , a physical layer header ( phr ) 420 , and a payload 430 of data . the shr 420 includes a preamble 440 and start of frame delimiter ( sfd ) 450 . the preamble 440 includes repetitions of a selected pbts 110 as shown in fig1 . the sfd structure according to an embodiment of the invention differs from that specified in ieee draft p802 . 15 . 4a / d2 standard . the sfd 450 includes n repeated pairs of constant cores and varying suffixes , 460 and 465 , 470 and 475 , 480 and 485 , . . . , 490 and 495 . the suffix can also be called a counter . if there are n repetitions of the constant core , then there are n different suffixes or counters . one structure for the core includes ternary symbols {− si , 0 , 0 , 0 , si , − si }. if n is 4 , then four different suffixes can be specified . as shown in fig5 , the first suffix can be c 1 ={ 0 , 0 } 465 , the second suffix c 2 ={ 0 ,− si } 475 , the third suffix c 3 ={ 0 − si } 485 , and the fourth suffix c 4 ={ si ,− si } 495 . if each suffix has a different pattern of ternary symbols as described above , then the receiver can determine the number of repetitions received at a given time . this makes it possible to synchronize a clock of the receiver relatively within the sfd 450 without any ambiguity . furthermore , the receiver can still obtain statistical multiplexing gain from the repetitions of the constant cores of the sfd 450 . the problem with the counter approach as described above is that the sfd as a whole does not have a good autocorrelation function . the autocorrelation function contains high side lobes . therefore , it improves the detection performance compared to that in ieee draft p802 . 15 . 4a / d2 , april , 2006 . however , the improvement is marginal . this embodiment of the invention specifies a packet structure as an improvement to the packet structure described in the ieee draft p802 . 15 . 4a / d2 , april , 2006 and also in the parent application . according to this embodiment , a packet 600 includes a synchronization header ( shr ) 610 , a physical layer header ( phr ) 620 and payload 630 . the shr 610 includes a preamble 640 and a start of frame delimiter ( sfd ) 650 . the preamble 640 contains repetitions of a selected one of the perfectly balanced ternary sequences ( pbts ) 110 as described above . that is , the multiple pbts 110 in the preamble are all identical . the structure of the sfd 650 differs from that in the ieee draft p802 . 15 . 4a / d2 , april , 2006 . the sfd according to this embodiment includes an arbitrary sequence of codes 660 , e . g ., 64 codes . each code may represent a fixed length 2 n − 1 ternary sequence , e . g ., length of 31 , 63 , or 127 . if the code is 0 , then the fixed length sequence 661 is all zeros . if the code is + 1 , then the sequence 110 is s i as in the preamble , and if the code is − 1 , then the sequence 110 is − s i , a negation of the pbts 110 in the preamble . the construction of the sfd 650 can be described as the kronecker product of two codes as in fig7 . specifically in this embodiment , the sfd 650 is the kronecker product of an arbitrary sequence of ternary code su 700 , e . g ., 64 codes , and a selected fixed length ternary code 701 , e . g ., si , − si . if the ternary code in su is 0 , then the kronecker product results in a sequence of all zeros . after the kronecker operation , we have the following equation for the entire sfd sequence where the symbol { circle around (×)} represent the kronecker product and the overall length of the sfd 650 is in one embodiment , an order and arrangement of the first 8 codes 660 are identical to the second 8 codes , e . g ., { 0 , 0 , + 1 , + 1 , − 1 , 0 , − 1 , 0 , 0 , 0 , + 1 , + 1 , − 1 , 0 , − 1 , 0 }, and the order and arrangement of the remaining codes are arbitrary . the advantage of having an sfd 650 with the arbitrary structure as defined above is that the sequence 650 has a high peak to side - lobe ratio , which leads to improved detection performance . in one embodiment , optimal ternary codes that maximize detection performance can be any of the following arbitrary sequences : the embodiment of the invention improves synchronization of a receiver to a received packet and improves the detection of the start of frame delimiter ( sfd ). although the invention has been described by way of examples of preferred embodiments , it is to be understood that various other adaptations and modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention . therefore , it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the preferred embodiments of the invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings , in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown . the invention may , however , be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete , and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art . furthermore , all “ examples ” given herein are intended to be non - limiting . the present invention is directed towards the enablement of reducing hdd activity , thereby improving the reliability and increasing the lifetime of the hdd . in a dhct , an hdd may be used to store programs for viewing later . disadvantageously , in the event of an hdd failure , the stored programs are typically lost and unrecoverable . therefore , the reliability and lifetime of the hdd in a dhct , which may also be known as a digital video recorder ( dvr ) dhct , is important to a consumer who has selected to record and save certain programs . fig1 illustrates a block diagram of a typical dhct 110 that receives forward signals and transmits reverse signals from a communications network . the communications network ( cn ) 105 provides programs and other data to a plurality of dhcts , where only one dhct is shown for illustration purposes , over coaxial cable , optical fiber , wireless , or any other means of transmitting signals . the dhct 110 includes a tuner system 115 that receives the programs and filters one or more selected programs based on commands from a processor and interfaces 120 . the programs streaming on tuned channels may then be provided to a coupled analog backend ( abe ) 130 for immediate display , and / or the programs may be stored in an hdd 125 for viewing in the future . video images of the streaming programs are staged in video memory 135 just prior to being sent to the abe 130 for display and are typically provided at a rate of 20 to 30 frames per second . the abe 130 then handles other internal processes , such as receiving video data from the processor 120 and then assembles and sends the data to an appropriate output interface 140 . a dhct 110 typically includes a plurality of different interfaces 140 for outputting the channel to different viewing devices depending upon its format . some examples of a video interface include a coaxial radio frequency ( rf ) output that connects to nearly any television and outputs standard definition ( sd ) video . the television usually tunes the outputted program on channel 3 or 4 . rca phono connectors with composite ntsc or pal video and audio outputs are also compatible with most of today &# 39 ; s televisions . rca connectors can carry sd or high definition ( hd ) analog video in rgb ( red , green , blue ) format or ypbpr format , which is a variation on rgb . a digitized version of ypbpr could also be carried on the three rca connectors in a format referred to as ycbcr . the rca interface is of better quality than the coaxial interface . an s - video interface is a small round mini - din connector with a slightly better quality than the rca interface . high speed interfaces are available in dvi ( digital video interface ) and hdmi ( high definition multimedia interface ). fig2 illustrates an example of the hdd 125 that is suitable for use in the dhct 110 of fig1 . the hdd 125 is used primarily to store programs for playback at a later time . the hdd 125 also comprises a time shift buffer ( tsb ) 205 for temporarily storing a copy of the program stream on the currently tuned channel regardless of whether or not the hdd 125 is storing the program for later viewing . the tsb 205 may store approximately one hour of programming , thereby allowing a user to use trick play functions , such as pause , rewind , fast forward , stop , etc , while viewing a live program that is being tuned , or streamed . at the end of the tsb buffering limit , the oldest packets of the buffered program are continuously dropped to allow for further buffering of the program streaming on the tuned channel . if it is desired that the program also be saved , the program will be stored on the hdd 125 along with a copy being stored in the tsb 205 for the trick play functions . when the tuned channel is changed to another channel , the packets stored in the tsb 205 are subsequently cleared or overwritten to allow for buffering of the new program streaming on the changed channel . if the previous program is being stored on the hdd 125 , a first tuner continues to store the program while a second tuner filters the new program streaming on the changed channel to the tsb 205 . conventionally , the program is buffered in the tsb 205 as received from the tuner system 115 ; for example , an hd quality program is buffered to the tsb 205 in its original hd format or in a compressed format from which the original hd can be reproduced . accordingly , an hd format program is typically buffered at a higher rate ( i . e ., more bytes per second are written to the hdd 125 ) and with more data than would be buffered using sd quality . additionally , the program is always buffered in the tsb 205 even when a user is quickly changing channels . furthermore , the tsb 205 continues buffering the program streaming on the tuned channel when the dhct 110 remains on even while the television is turned off . since the tsb 205 is included in the hdd 125 and is always buffering the program on a tuned channel , the hdd 125 is continuously active . therefore , the higher the operating temperature of the hdd 125 along with the continuous activity , the more likely the hdd 125 will degrade and may prematurely fail . accordingly , it is an object of the present invention to minimize the hdd activity . in accordance with the present invention , the hdd activity can be minimized by sharing the buffering load of the tuned channel reducing the activity of the internal tsb 205 and thereby reducing the hdd activity . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , the tuned , or streaming , channel is buffered in a provisional buffer that is not located within the hdd 125 . more specifically , instead of buffering the streaming program in the tsb 205 at all times , a provisional buffer is used to share the load with the tsb 205 . advantageously , when the provisional buffer is buffering the streaming program , the hdd 125 may at that time be inactive . a provisional buffer may be a separate buffer ; however , a preferred embodiment utilizes available video memory 135 , system memory 138 , or hdd cache memory either alone or in combination . fig3 illustrates a block diagram of a dhct 300 that is suitable for use in implementing the present invention . a provisional load sharing buffer ( plsb ) 305 is coupled to the processor 120 for receiving the streaming program for a limited duration . in the preferred embodiment , the plsb 305 is a smaller buffer than the tsb 205 and , as mentioned , may be a combination of the video memory 135 , system memory 138 , hdd cache memory , or a separate device , such as nand flash . the size of the plsb 305 along with the rate at which data is being buffered to it can be determined by the system operator or the manufacturer . by way of example , an operator or user can determine whether the plsb 305 buffers the rate of the streaming program or a reduced rate of the program ( e . g ., an hd quality compared to an sd quality ). advantageously , the plsb 305 sharing the load with the tsb 205 allows the hdd 125 , which can be either an internal or an external hdd , to deactivate for a period of time that is proportional to the size of the plsb 305 . the present invention allows the plsb 305 to buffer the streaming , or currently tuned , program for a shorter duration to accommodate for channel changes without burdening the tsb 205 and hence the hdd 125 . once the plsb 305 is full , depending upon its size and the buffering rate , and there has not been a channel change , the processor 120 then transfers the buffered program to the tsb 205 . a first method is to continue buffering the streaming program in the empty plsb 305 at a determined rate until its contents are full again , at which point , the buffered program is again transferred to the tsb 305 . in this manner , the hdd 125 is inactive for the short duration depending on whether or not the hdd 125 is recording another program on a channel that is not currently being viewed . for example , the plsb 305 may buffer approximately 5 minutes of a streaming program at a reduced rate before the stored program is either overwritten with a new streaming program on a different channel or is transferred to the tsb 205 . advantageously , by using the plsb 305 , the user can still rewind or pause the 5 minutes of programming that is either buffered in the plsb 305 or that was transferred to the tsb 205 along with decreasing the activity of the hdd 125 . another method is to buffer the streaming program in the plsb 305 at a reduced rate until such time as its contents are full . once the plsb 305 is full and the channel has not changed , the buffering responsibility may be transferred to the tsb 305 to continue buffering the program . at this point , the tsb 305 may begin buffering the program with the streaming quality ( e . g ., an hd quality of an hd program ) or continue buffering at the reduced rate . more specifically , an sd quality of the program may be buffered at all times in the plsb 305 and also in the tsb 205 when it is appropriate . in this manner , the buffered program does not contain as much data as a buffered hd program , and therefore the hdd 125 does not work as much to store the data . in one embodiment , a reduced video quality is achieved by just buffering the mpeg i - frames and discarding p and b - frames . another embodiment , may be to re - encode a decimated version of the video sequence ( e . g ., every other pixel is discarded or adjacent pixels are averaged together ) before routing the program to the plsb 305 , the tsb 205 , or the hdd 125 . it will be appreciated that the viewer of an sd television will not notice the difference during playback of a buffered sd program . additionally , another option may be to stop buffering the program in the tsb 205 , if necessary , to minimize the hdd 125 activity . if the tuned program ( s ) was selected for recording onto the hdd 125 , the processor 120 continues to route the program ( s ) to the hdd 125 for storage . fig4 illustrates a block diagram of a dhct 400 that is suitable for use in implementing the present invention . buffering an sd quality of the program , buffering the streaming program in the plsb 305 , or stop buffering the program altogether can be decided based on several factors . in accordance with the present invention , a first factor may be to monitor the temperature of the hdd 125 with an external or internal temperature device 405 . when the temperature rises to a predetermined threshold , a processor 410 may then instruct the tsb 205 to buffer a reduced quality of the program ( s ) as opposed to an hd quality . alternatively , the processor 410 may instruct the plsb 305 to buffer the streaming program until such time as the hdd reduces its internal temperature to an acceptable range . another factor may be to monitor the health of the hdd 125 . the processor 410 may run periodic tests on the hdd 125 to analyze and report hdd performance . if it reports that the hdd 125 is beginning to show signs of malfunction , the tsb 205 can be instructed to begin buffering a reduced quality of the program or completely stop buffering the program and allow the plsb 305 to buffer the streaming program until further notice . accordingly , systems and methods have been described that increase the lifetime of a hdd 125 by sharing the buffering of a streaming program between the plsb 305 and the tsb 205 . it should be emphasized that the above - described embodiments of the present invention , particularly , any “ preferred ” embodiments , are merely possible examples of implementations , merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention . many variations and modifications may be made to the above - described embodiment ( s ) of the invention without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the invention . all such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims . | 7 |
the device , according to the present invention , comprises a position sensor with a high resolution and high electromagnetic interference immunity hall effect sensor to be used for controlling electric motors and mechanical shafts . generally , said device comprises : mapping means of magnetic fields related to operational variables of an electric motor ; detection means of said magnetic field ; acquisition and processing means of the signals produced by said magnetic field detection means . with reference to fig1 , we can see a possible embodiment of the device according to the present invention . said embodiment includes the following parts : a device for mapping magnetic fields related to operational variables of an electric motor , realised , for example , by a disk made of non - ferromagnetic material , for example aluminium 10 , provided with a certain number of circular sockets 11 on the outer boundary , related to the number of poles of the motor 13 , the shaft angular position of which is to be measured . said number can be chosen , for example , equal to the number of the poles of the motor 13 or equal to a multiple or a sub - multiple of said number . in a preferred embodiment of the device according to the present invention , the said non - ferromagnetic disk shall have a diameter between 200 mm and 500 mm , in particular , a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in which said diameter is equal to 220 mm a set of magnets 12 , for example circular - shaped , which fit into said sockets . in a preferred embodiment of the present invention , sixteen nd — fe — b circular - shaped magnets , type sc35ma80 ° c ., having a diameter of 30 mm , a thickness of 2 mm will be used and will be placed with their geometric centers located around a circumference of 183 mm in diameter . two linear hall effect sensors 20 , 21 , for example of the differential type , placed in mutual electrical quadrature and facing said aluminium disk on which the magnets 12 are placed . an interface and acquisition card 14 which comprises means for extracting information regarding the absolute electrical angular position from the output signals of the hall effect sensors . according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention , said means for extracting information regarding the absolute electrical angular position from the output signals of the hall effect sensors are shown in the block diagram in fig2 , which include the following : hall effect sensors 20 , 21 ; an analog signals processing card 22 used for : reconstructing the magnetic field value from the differential output signals of sensors 20 and 21 , making sure that any electrical offsets are totally removed and ensuring an appropriate amplification of the detected signal ; two analog multipliers 23 , 24 , if required ; two signal amplifiers 25 , 26 ; a programmable oscillator 28 ; an rtdc ( resolver to digital converter ) module 27 , if required , namely a functional unit which is normally made with commercial components according to the methods described in the prior art and able to achieve angular information when connected to a conventional “ resolver ” device ; a microprocessor acquisition card 29 , if required . the device may be completed with a self - calibration circuitry , if required , which is able , for instance , to allow proper operation even in case of parameter variations of the electronic and magnetic components caused by the ageing or altered environmental conditions in which the device operates . the non - ferromagnetic disk 10 is solidly connected with the electric motor shaft , the motion of which is to be analyzed in addition to the determination of the exact angular position of the rotor . depending on the type of motor being tested , it is possible to choose an appropriate setup of the device according to the present invention in order to allow the specific arrangement of the magnets 12 in the recesses 11 to exactly reproduce the magnetic field spectrum in order to measure the operational variables of the motor involved . as a result of such configuration , it is possible to read , at the terminals of the hall effect sensors , for example two pairs of analog differential signals which , when appropriately processed , will result in pseudo - sinusoidal signals in quadrature between each other with the same frequency of the values of the supply current of the motor under test and from which it will be possible to extract , for example , the instantaneous electrical angular position of the rotor with a process based on the properties of elementary trigonometric functions . the above - mentioned magnetic field mapping and detection means can be implemented within the same electric motor of which the operation parameters are being measured , without showing the problems mentioned above , and associated with the presence of a high level of electromagnetic noise generated inside the electric motor during its normal operation . specifically , the method for the determination of the angular position of the motor , according to the present invention , is carried out according to the following steps : a ) the hall effect sensors 20 , 21 detect the magnetic field of the magnets 12 placed on the outer boundary of the aluminium disk 10 , thereby generating two differential electrical signals ; b ) the signals obtained at step a ) are processed by the processing card 22 in order to shape them into sinusoidal signals in quadrature between each other c ) the signals obtained at step b ) will eventually be modulated in amplitude via a sinusoidal signal generated from the programmable oscillator 28 with a suitable frequency ( for example , twenty times higher , although it is also possible to employ a “ zero frequency ” modulating signal : in this case the output signal from the multiplier will have the same shape of the original input signal and an amplitude scaled up or down by a multiplicative constant ) relative to the maximum electric frequency of the motor supply current , said maximum frequency being equal to the frequency of rotation multiplied by the number of poles of the electric machine . d ) the signals obtained at step c ) are processed by a “ resolver to digital converter ” ( rtdc ) circuitry 27 in order to extract the data related to the angular position of the motor , thereby making it available for subsequent processings , if any . the following specifies more in detail the processings carried out by the method previously described . assuming θ is the instantaneous electrical angular position of the rotor to be determined ; and assuming a is the amplitude and ω the angular frequency of the sinusoidal carrier used in step c ). the modulated signals generated at step c ) and sent to the “ resolver to digital converter ” ( rtdc ) will be as follows : the rtdc board , already known in the prior art , is generally designed as to transform this information directly into the value of θ which represents the measurement of the required angle , output through a negative feedback system . let &# 39 ; s assume that the rtdc system starts from any arbitrary angle θ value , assuming it is φ , generically represented in digital form by a digital counter within the rtdc board ; in step d ), within the rtdc board , the two signals mentioned above are respectively multiplied by the cosine and by the sine of the angle φ , thereby obtaining the following signals : x 2 = a · sin ω t · cos θ · sin φ at the output of the multiplier of the rtdc board , an error amplifier subtracts signal x 2 from signal x 1 , thus obtaining : ε = x 1 − x 2 = a · sin ω t ·( sin θ · cos φ − cos θ − sin φ ) lastly , a negative feedback system inside the rtdc board , based on a phase locked loop ( pll ), quickly adjusts the value φ of the counter so as to eliminate the angular error ( θ − φ ). therefore , the signal obtained in step d ) of the method according to the present invention contains the information related to the absolute electrical angular position which is stored into the n bit counter of the rtdc board and can be output using several communication protocols , such as , for example , serial , parallel , incremental encoder emulation protocols etc . | 6 |
a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . in the following description , identical reference numerals are used to denote members substantially identical or corresponding to those used in the previously described related art ( refer to fig1 and 2 and the like ). first of all , an example of the entire construction of a vcr which is one example of the recording and / or reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below . referring to fig6 a recorder 100 includes a rotary cylinder 101 which effects recording or reproduction of information on and from magnetic tape 201 . this rotary cylinder 101 is disposed at a predetermined position of a main chassis 102 . tape reels and the like are disposed on the main chassis 102 , and a tape cassette 200 in which the magnetic tape 201 is accommodated is mounted at a position opposing the rotary cylinder 101 . the recorder 100 also includes a capstan 106 , a capstan motor 105 , a tape guide member ( slider ) 4 &# 39 ; for drawing the magnetic tape 201 from the tape cassette 200 on the tape entrance side of the rotary cylinder 101 , a tape guide member ( slider ) 4 for drawing the magnetic tape 201 from the tape cassette 200 on the tape exit side of the rotary cylinder 101 , and the like . guide members 3 are secured to the main chassis 102 , and slots 8 for determining the directions of travel of the respective sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; are formed in the corresponding guide members 3 . positioning members 2 are also secured to the main chassis 102 , and the slots 8 are formed in the respective positioning members 2 in the vicinity of the rotary cylinder 101 . the tape loading operation of the recorder 100 will be described below . after the tape cassette 200 has been mounted on the main chassis 102 , the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; travel along the respective slots 8 to draw the magnetic tape 201 from an opening portion 200a of the tape cassette 200 . the respective sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; further proceed from the guide members 3 to the positioning members 2 along the slots 8 , and are determined in position by coming into abutment with abutment faces 2a of the positioning members 2 . when the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; reach their abutment positions , the magnetic tape 201 is wrapped around the rotary cylinder 101 by the tape drawing posts 5 and 6 disposed on each of the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ;. thus , in the recorder 100 , the magnetic tape 201 is made to run along a predetermined tape path , whereby recording or reproduction can be effected ( refer to fig1 and 2 ). the structure of the portion of engagement between the slider 4 and the slot 8 will be described below . fig7 is a diagrammatic side elevational view partly in cross section showing the state of engagement between the slider 4 and the guide member 3 which are located on the tape exit side . as described above , the tape drawing posts 5 and 6 are disposed on the top of the slider 4 , and projections 4a are formed on the bottom of the slider 4 . while the slider 4 is traveling , the projections 4a serve as sliding portions which slide in contact with the guide member 3 or the positioning member 2 . an engagement pin 10 which engages with the guide member 3 is secured to the bottom of the slider 4 . the engagement pin 10 is fitted in the slot 8 for sliding motion with respect to guide member portions 3a and 3b located on the opposite sides of the slot 8 . accordingly , the slider 4 can travel along the slot 8 . it is to be noted that since the slot 8 is formed over the guide member 3 and the positioning member 2 , the engagement pin 10 is fitted in the slot 8 for sliding motion with respect to positioning member portions 2b and 2c in the vicinity of the rotary cylinder 101 . a flange portion 9 is formed at the bottom end of the engagement pin 10 , and a top end face 9a and a top end face 9b which are separated from each other by a step are formed on the side of the flange portion 9 which opposes the guide member portions 3a and 3b . the distance ( clearance ) between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3a on one side of the slot 8 differs from the distance ( clearance ) between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3b on the other side of the slot 8 . specifically , as shown in fig7 a clearance c between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3a on the right side of the slot 8 is selected to be smaller than a clearance c &# 39 ; between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3b on the left side of the slot 8 . owing to this arrangement , the vertical motion of the slider 4 with respect to the guide member 3 is restricted by three points , i . e ., the two projections 4a and the top end face 9a . accordingly , the vertical clearance between the slider 4 and the guide member 3 is substantially equal to the clearance c , and even if the slider 4 travels upwardly within such clearance , the top end face 9b does not come into abutment with the guide member portion 3b . therefore , the area of abutment between the flange portion 9 and the guide member 3 during the sliding of the slider 4 can be reduced to half . since the area of abutment is reduced , the sliding resistance between the slider 4 and the guide member 3 can be reduced . as shown in fig7 it is desirable that the top end face 9b which is spaced more apart from the guide member 3 be formed on a side closer to the rotary cylinder 101 with respect to the slot 8 , while the top end face 9a which serves as a substantial abutment face be formed on the opposite side to the rotary cylinder 101 with respect to the slot 8 owing to this arrangement , the slider 4 may incline in the direction of an arrow b as viewed in fig7 but does not at all incline in the direction of an arrow c as viewed in fig7 whereby the tape drawing posts 5 and 6 can be prevented from contacting the rotary cylinder 101 . since the flange portion 9 is formed in the above - described manner , it is possible to minimize the sliding resistance even in an arrangement in which the guide member 3 is formed to bend in the vertical direction . fig8 ( a ) and 8 ( b ) show the slider 4 which is located in a bent portion 11 of the guide member 3 which is bent downwardly toward the clearances c and c &# 39 ;. fig8 ( a ) is a partly cross - sectional , side elevational view as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the slot 8 , while fig8 ( b ) is a partly cross - sectional , side elevational view as viewed obliquely from behind with respect to the direction ( indicated by an arrow a ) of travel of the slider 4 . although the bent portion 11 is formed in an intermediate portion of the guide member 3 , the guide member 3 and the flange portion 9 can be prevented from interfering with each other , because the clearance between the flange portion 9 and the guide member 3 is enlarged on one side of the slot 8 . accordingly , the slider 4 can be made to travel smoothly even in the bent portion 11 . in addition , even if the guide member 3 is formed to be twisted and bent in the vertical direction , it is possible to achieve effects similar to the above - described ones . as described above , when the tape loading operation comes to an end , the slider 4 is determined in horizontal position by coming into abutment with the abutment face 2a of the positioning member 2 . fig9 is a diagrammatic cross - sectional view taken in a direction perpendicular to the slot 8 , showing the state of engagement between the positioning member 2 and the slider 4 which is in abutment with the abutment face 2a . a projection 2 &# 39 ; for reducing the clearance c &# 39 ; between the top end face 9b and the positioning member 2 to make the clearance c &# 39 ; equal to the clearance c is formed on the bottom of the positioning member 2 . accordingly , when the tape loading operation is completed , a predetermined clearance is held on the opposite sides of the slot 8 by the projection 2 &# 39 ;, whereby it is possible to reliably position the slider 4 in either of the horizontal and vertical directions . in the present embodiment , a mechanism constituted by the positioning members 2 , the guide members 3 and the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; is referred to as the positioning mechanism . fig1 ( a ) and 10 ( b ) are respectively a diagrammatic plan view and a diagrammatic cross - sectional side view which show the positioning member 2 and the vicinity thereof on an enlarged scale , and fig1 ( c ) is a diagrammatic cross - sectional side view showing the abutment portion 2a of the positioning member 2 on an enlarged scale . the positioning member 2 is formed integrally with the base of the rotary cylinder ( rotary drum ) 101 , and as shown in fig1 ( a ), the abutment portion 2a is formed by an approximately v - shaped notch . in the abutment portion 2a , as shown in fig1 ( b ), part of a notch face s1 which is located relatively above a notch face s2 owing to the inclination of the positioning member 2 with respect to the surface of the main chassis 102 is chamfered off with respect to a plane approximately perpendicular to the surface of the main chassis 102 . accordingly , the notch face s1 is composed of a face s11 approximately perpendicular to the surface of the main chassis 102 and a face s12 which is formed by chamfering . the notch face s1 is chamfered off by not less than half the thickness t of the positioning member 2 so that the angle between the face s12 and the plane approximately perpendicular to the surface of the main chassis 102 is made larger than the angle of inclination of the surface of the positioning member 2 with respect to the surface of the main chassis 102 . the notch face s2 is made approximately parallel to the face s11 . the tape loading operation of the recorder 100 will be described below with reference to fig1 and 12 . first of all , as shown in fig1 , after the tape cassette 200 has been mounted on the main chassis 102 , the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; travel along the respective slots 8 to draw the magnetic tape 201 from the opening portion 200a of the tape cassette 200 . the respective sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; further proceed from the guide members 3 to the positioning members 2 along the slots 8 , and are determined in position by positioning pins 21 coming into abutment with the corresponding abutment faces 2a of the positioning members 2 . the state of the slider 4 which is one of the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; positioned in this manner is shown in fig1 ( a ) in diagrammatic plan view and in fig1 ( b ) and 13 ( c ) in diagrammatic cross - sectional side view . in the present embodiment , when the positioning pin 21 comes into abutment with the abutment portion 2a , the positioning pin 21 is supported by the abutment portion 2a at two points p1 and p2 . a distance h between the point of force p1 and the point of force p2 is reduced to an extremely small value by the face s11 formed by chamfering the notch face s1 , so that the magnitude of the resultant moment decreases to a negligibly small value . accordingly , the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; can be stably held on the respective positioning members 2 . then , as shown in fig1 , when the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; reach their abutment positions , the magnetic tape 201 is wrapped around the rotary cylinder 101 by the tape drawing posts 5 and 6 disposed on each of the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ;. thus , in the recorder 100 , the magnetic tape 201 is made to run along a predetermined tape path , whereby recording or reproduction can be effected by the writing or reading of a magnetic recording through magnetic heads of the rotary cylinder 101 . as described above , in the positioning mechanism of the recorder 100 according to the present embodiment , during the loading of the magnetic tape 201 , when the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; travel to the positioning member 2 , the positioning pins 21 are brought into abutment with the corresponding abutment portions 2a of the positioning member 2 , with the vertical distance h between the points of force p1 and p2 on the respective notch face s1 and s2 with which each of the positioning pins 21 comes into direct abutment being shortened by the amount of chamfering of the notch face s1 of the abutment portion 2a , so that the absolute values of moment due to couples acting on the respective points of force p1 and p2 are reduced . accordingly , by adjusting the amount of the chamfering , it is possible to reduce the absolute values to a negligible extent , whereby it is possible to stably hold the positioning pins 21 on the abutment portions 2a and reliably position the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ;. in other words , the recorder 100 according to the present embodiment can position the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; stably and accurately , and can also be made inexpensive because of its simple construction which makes it unnecessary to provide a mold with a slide mechanism during the manufacture of the positioning mechanism . in addition , as described previously , in the present embodiment , if the flange portion 9 is formed at the bottom end of the engagement pin 10 of each of the sliders 4 and 4 &# 39 ; so that the clearance between the flange portion 9 and the guide member 3 differs between the opposite sides of the slot 8 , the area of abutment between the guide member 3 and the flange portion 9 can be reduced to decrease the sliding resistance . accordingly , even if the bent portion 11 which is bent in the vertical direction is formed in an intermediate portion of the guide member 3 , the guide member 3 and the flange portion 9 can be prevented from interfering with each other , and the slider 4 ( 4 &# 39 ;) can be made to travel smoothly . in addition , at the time of completion of the tape loading operation , the clearance between the flange portion 9 and the positioning member 2 can be made approximately the same on the opposite sides of each of the slots 8 by the projection 2 &# 39 ; of the positioning member 2 . thus , the slider 4 ( 4 &# 39 ;) which is reliably positioned can form a predetermined tape path . in the present embodiment , the top end faces 9a and 9b are formed on the flange portion 9 with a step interposed therebetween so that the clearance between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3a differs from the clearance between the flange portion 9 and the guide member portion 3b . however , the top end face of the flange portion 9 may be formed in the same plane on the opposite sides of the slot 8 , and the thickness of the guide member portion 3a on one side of the slot 8 may be made different from the thickness of the guide member portion 3b on the other side of the slot 8 . in this case , if the positioning member 2 is formed in the same plane on the opposite sides of the slot 8 , the clearance between the positioning member 2 and the flange portion 9 can be made equal on the opposite sides of the slot 8 at the time of completion of the tape loading operation . by setting this clearance to a predetermined amount , it is possible to reliably determine the vertical position of the slider 4 ( 4 &# 39 ;). although the above description of the embodiment does not refer to the fact that the tape cassette 200 travels over the main chassis 102 , the tape cassette 200 is mounted on a slidable chassis , as will be described later , and is capable of traveling toward and away from the rotary cylinder 101 . it is also to be noted that the above - described positioning mechanism can , of course , be applied to an arrangement in which a tape cassette is mounted on a fixed chassis . although the above description has referred to a tape guide mechanism and a positioning mechanism which constitute part of the tape loading mechanism in the present embodiment , a more specific description will be given in connection with a tape drawing mechanism . first of all , to clarify the feature of the tape drawing mechanism in the present embodiment , one example of a conventional tape drawing mechanism will be described below . fig1 shows a conventional magnetic - tape loading device for drawing magnetic tape from a tape cassette and wrapping the magnetic tape around a rotary cylinder in a magnetic recording and / or reproducing apparatus whose entire size is reduced in such a way that the rotary cylinder is accommodated into a cassette mouth . in the following description , &# 34 ; m &# 34 ; denotes &# 34 ; main &# 34 ;, &# 34 ; sr &# 34 ; denotes &# 34 ; supply - reel side &# 34 ;, and &# 34 ; tr &# 34 ; denotes &# 34 ; take - up - reel side &# 34 ;. the conventional magnetic - tape loading device shown in fig1 includes an m chassis 111 ( denoted by 102 in fig1 ), a rotary cylinder 112 ( denoted by 101 in fig1 ) which is provided on the m chassis 111 , a slidable chassis 113 which is provided for movement back and forth above the m chassis 111 in opposite directions indicated by a double - headed arrow f , and a loading lever 120 which is turnably supported on the m chassis 111 via a shaft 120b and which has a gear portion 120c and a pin 120a with which a slot 113a provided in the slidable chassis 113 is slidably engaged . a cassette 121 is mounted on the slidable chassis 113 in a positionally restricted state . the arrangement shown in fig1 also includes an sr gear 119 which meshes with the gear portion 120c and is supported for rotation about a shaft 119a provided on the m chassis 111 , an sr arm 118 which rotates integrally with the sr gear 119 , an sr link 123 which is pivotally supported by the sr arm 118 , an sr skate 114 which is rotatably supported on the sr link 123 via a shaft 114a and is provided with a guide post 114b for drawing the tape , and an sr rail 125 which is provided on the m chassis 111 and with which the shaft 114a is slidably engaged . the arrangement shown in fig1 also includes a tr gear 117 which meshes with the sr gear 119 and which is rotatably supported by a shaft 117a . a tr arm 116 , a tr link 122 , a sr skate 115 , a shaft 115a , a guide post 115b and a tr rail 124 correspond to the sr arm 118 , the sr link 123 , the sr skate 114 , the shaft 114a , the guide post 114b and the sr rail 125 , respectively . incidentally , fig1 shows the state in which a tape loading operation is completed . if a cam gear ( not shown ) is rotated by a motor ( not shown ), the loading lever 120 which is slidably engaged with the cam gear is rotated , whereby the sr gear 119 which meshes with the gear portion 120c of the loading lever 120 and the tr gear 117 which meshes with the sr gear 119 are rotated . the sr arm 118 rotates together with the sr gear 119 , and the rotation of the sr arm 118 is transmitted to the sr skate 114 via the sr link 123 so that the sr skate 114 travels along the sr rail 125 via the shaft 114a , thereby effecting a tape loading operation . in the meantime , since the tr gear 117 to the tr skate 115 are identical in arrangement to the sr gear 119 to the sr skate 114 , the tr gear 117 which meshes with the sr gear 119 rotates in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the sr gear 119 , thereby effecting a tape loading operation . in addition , since the loading lever 120 has the loading - lever pin 120a which is slidably engaged with the slot 113a of the slidable chassis 113 on which to mount the tape cassette 121 , the slidable chassis 113 also travels upwardly as viewed in fig1 with the rotation of the loading lever 120 in interlocking relation to the tape loading operations of both the sr skate 114 and the tr skate 115 . in the above - described operation , the tape ( not show ) is drawn from the tape cassette 121 and wrapped around the periphery of the rotary cylinder 112 by the two guide posts 114b and 115b . however , if , in order to reduce the depth of an recording and / or reproducing apparatus , the above - described conventional example is used to arrange a tape drawing mechanism so that a rotary cylinder can be accommodated into a small cassette mouth of a tape cassette to be used in , for example , a digital vcr , there is the problem that as the tape cassette travels toward the rotary cylinder from a position away from the same , passage spaces for guide posts for drawing magnetic tape between the side walls of the cassette mouth and the rotary cylinder become smaller , and such spaces are finally lost while the tape cassette is traveling . as a result , there is the problem that it is necessary to incorporate members for separately driving skates on which the guide rollers are respectively provided and a slidable chassis on which the tape cassette is mounted and which travels with respect to the rotary cylinder , so that a complicated mechanism is needed and the number of component parts is difficult to reduce . to solve the above problems , the tape drawing mechanism according to the present embodiment includes first guide means and second guide means for performing a tape loading operation in which the first and second guide means travel while drawing tape from a tape cassette and wrap the tape around a rotary cylinder at a predetermined position , first moving means for moving the first guide means at a predetermined speed , and second moving means for moving the second guide means while varying a moving speed thereof . the following is a detailed description of the tape drawing mechanism . fig1 to 22 are diagrammatic views of the construction of a tape loading device according to the embodiment of the present invention . fig1 shows an unloading state , fig1 shows a loading - complete state , fig1 and 18 are fragmentary side views , and fig1 to 22 show different operational states from the unloading state to the loading - complete state . referring to fig1 to 22 , the rotary cylinder 101 is disposed on the m chassis 102 via a mounting member ( drum base ) which is not shown . the tape cassette 200 having the cassette mouth ( opening portion ) 200a is mounted on a slidable chassis 503 by a cassette holder and positioning members ( none of which is shown ). the slidable chassis 503 is disposed for movement back and forth with respect to the m chassis 102 in opposite directions indicated by the double - headed arrow f , by means of slide slots 503a to 503d which are respectively slidably engaged with slide guide shafts 102a to 102d which are erected on the m chassis 102 . a slide lever 505 is disposed for rotation about the slide guide shaft 102c of the slidable chassis 503 , and has a slide pin 505a , a slide driving shaft 505b and a gear portion 505c which is formed over its peripheral portion . the slide pin 505a is slidably engaged with the slot 503e of the slidable chassis 503 . a cam gear 506 is disposed for rotation about a slide guide shaft 102e which is erected on the m chassis 102 , and has cam slots 506a and 506b , and the slide driving shaft 505b is slidably engaged with the cam slot 506a . a loading gear 507 has a gear portion formed around its periphery , and is disposed for rotation about a loading shaft 102f which is erected on the m chassis 102 . a tr arm 508 has three kinds of gear portions 508a , 508b and 508c which differ from one another in pitch and diameter . the tr arm 508 is rotatably engaged with a tr shaft 102g which is erected on the m chassis 102 , and meshes with the gear portion of the loading gear 507 at the gear portion 508a . a tr link 510 is disposed for rotation about a tr link pin 508d of the tr arm 508 . an sr arm 509 has a gear portion 509a to mesh with the gear portion 508a of the tr arm 508 , a gear portion 509b to mesh with the gear portion 508b of the tr arm 508 , and a gear portion 509c to mesh with the gear portion 508c of the tr arm 508 . during the rotation of the sr arm 509 , the gear portions 509a , 509b and 509c mesh with the respective gear portions 508a , 508b and 508c of the tr arm 508 in a sequentially switched manner which will be described later . the sr arm 509 is disposed for rotation about the sr shaft 102b which is erected on the m chassis 102 . an sr link 512 is disposed for rotation about an sr link pin 509d of the sr arm 509 . a tr skate 511 has guide posts 511c and 511d , and is disposed for rotation about the axis of a hole portion 510b ( refer to fig1 ) of the tr link 510 and has a skate guide 511b which is slidably engaged with a guide rail 514 together with a skate guide 511a . an sr skate 513 has guide posts 513c and 513d ( refer to fig1 ), and is disposed for rotation about the axis of a hole portion 512b ( refer to fig1 ) of the sr link 512 and has a skate guide 513b which is slidably engaged with a guide rail 515 together with a skate guide 513a . the operation of the above - described arrangement will be described below . first , the cam gear 506 is rotated from the state shown in each of fig1 and 19 in a direction a as viewed in each of fig1 and 19 , by a motor ( not shown ). the cam portion 506a is rotated by the rotation of the cam gear 506 , and when the portion of the cam portion 506a which is engaged with the slide driving shaft 505b moves from a concentric portion 506a3 to a portion 506a2 of the cam portion 506a , the slide lever 505 starts to rotate in a direction b . with the rotation of the slide lever 505 , the slide pin 505a presses the slot 503e of the slidable chassis 503 so that the slidable chassis 503 starts to travel toward the rotary cylinder 101 and , at the same time , the loading gear 507 which meshes with the gear portion 505c of the slide lever 505 starts to rotate in a direction c , the tr arm 508 starts to rotate in a direction d , and the sr arm 509 starts to rotate in a direction e . since the tr arm 508 is slidably engaged with the tr skate 511 via the tr link 510 , the tr skate 511 starts to travel along the guide rail 514 . similarly , since the sr arm 509 is slidably engaged with the sr skate 513 via the sr link 512 , the sr skate 513 starts to travel along the guide rail 515 . since power is transmitted from the slide lever 505 to the sr arm 509 through the meshed gears during this time , letting zs be the number of teeth of the slide lever 505 , letting zt1 be the number of teeth of the gear portion 508a of the tr arm 508 and letting zs1 be the number of teeth of the gear portion 509a of the sr arm 509 , the angle of rotation of the sr arm 509 and the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 with respect to a variation θs in the angle of rotation of the slide lever 505 are expressed as follows : since the sr arm 509 rotates faster than the tr arm 508 , the sr skate 513 performs a tape loading operation while traveling faster than the tr skate 511 . when the tape loading operation proceeds to the state shown in fig2 after it has been started , the mesh between the tr arm 508 and the sr arm 509 transfers from the mesh between the gear portion 508a of the tr arm 508 and the gear portion 509a of the sr arm 509 to the mesh between the gear portion 508b and the gear portion 509b . at this time , the relation between the number of teeth zt2 of the gear portion 508b and the number of teeth zs2 of the gear portion 509b becomes : therefore , the angle of rotation of the sr arm 509 and the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 with respect to the variation θs in the angle of rotation of the slide lever 505 become : angle of rotation of sr arm θs2 = θt thus , the rotation of the sr arm 509 whose angle of rotation varies faster than the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 is reduced in speed so that the variation in the angle of rotation of the sr arm 509 and the variation in the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 become equal to each other and the traveling speeds of the sr skate 513 and the tr skate 511 become equal to each other . then , when the tape loading operation proceeds from the state shown in fig2 to the state shown in fig2 , the mesh between the tr arm 508 and the sr arm 509 transfers from the mesh between the gear portion 508b and the gear portion 509b to the mesh between the gear portion 508c and the gear portion 509c . at this time , the relation between the number of teeth zt3 of the gear portion 508c and the number of teeth zs3 of the gear portion 509c becomes : therefore , the angle of rotation of the sr arm 509 and the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 with respect to the variation θs in the angle of rotation of the slide lever 505 become : thus , the relation in angle of rotation between the sr arm 509 and the tr arm 508 becomes : so that the speed of rotation is reduced between the tr arm 508 and the sr arm 509 and the traveling speed of the sr skate 513 becomes smaller . the tr arm 508 and the sr arm 509 travel while holding this variation in the angle of rotation , and the cam portion 506a of the cam gear 506 which is in sliding contact with the slide driving shaft 505b of the slide lever 505 travels from the portion 506a2 to the concentric portion 506a3 . accordingly , since the rotation of the slide lever 505 is stopped , the travel of the slidable chassis 503 and the rotations of the sr arm 509 and the tr arm 508 are stopped so that the tape loading operation is completed in the state shown in each of fig1 and 22 . in the above - described manner , during the tape loading operation , the mesh between the three kinds of gear portions of the sr arm 509 and the three kinds of gear portions of the tr arm 508 is sequentially switched over . accordingly , as shown in fig2 and 24 , during the travel of the slidable chassis 503 , the tr arm 508 makes a rotation in proportion to the travel of the slidable chassis 503 , whereas the sr arm 509 rotates at a higher speed while the slidable chassis 503 is traveling from its unloading position to its middle position , and can be slowed down in the area from the middle position to its catching position . in addition , during the tape loading operation shown in fig2 , 26 and 27 , the sr arm 509 travels as follows in accordance with the timing of operation of the sr arm 509 and the tape cassette 200 . first , the sr arm 509 passes through its faster - rotation area ( refer to fig2 ) while passing through the space between the rotary cylinder 101 and the tape cassette 200 which becomes smaller with the travel of the slidable chassis 503 toward the rotary cylinder 101 . then , after the sr arm 509 has moved out of the cassette mouth 200a , the sr arm 509 passes through its slower - rotation area ( refer to fig2 ) while the variation in the angle of rotation of the sr arm 509 is approaching the variation in the angle of rotation of the tr arm 508 , so that the sr arm 509 and the tr arm 508 can complete catching finally at the same time . in the present embodiment , in the tape loading and unloading operation , magnetic tape ( not shown ) is drawn from the supply reel of the tape cassette 200 by the guide posts 511c and 511d ; 513c and 513d , and is then taken up . accordingly , during the tape loading operation , as the sr skate 513 approaches its loading completion position toward which the load on the magnetic tape increases , the traveling speed of the sr skate 513 is made slower on a supply - reel side which is distant from a take - up reel , whereby the amount of variation in the load on the magnetic tape can be reduced and damage to the magnetic tape during loading can also be effectively reduced . incidentally , the unloading operation is performed in a sequence opposite to the above - described one . as is apparent from the foregoing description , in accordance with the present embodiment , during loading , by varying the traveling speed of either one of guide means , it is possible to pass guide posts through a passage space when the passage space is as large as possible , the passage space becoming smaller as a tape cassette approaches a rotary cylinder from a position distant therefrom . accordingly , all the guide posts can be driven by a single driving means without the need to incorporate a plurality of members for separately driving a plurality of driving means , whereby it is possible to realize simplification of the entire mechanism and a reduction in the total number of components parts used . in particular , the present embodiment can be effectively used in digital vcrs or the like which use tape cassettes having small cassette mouths . | 6 |
in the following description , reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof , and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced . it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . referring now to the drawings , in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements , and , initially , to fig1 , in which an exemplary embodiment of the international mobile subscriber identity ( imsi ) mail system is illustrated . specifically , the imsi mail system 10 , in its preferred embodiment , includes a sender system 12 , an imsi mail server system 14 and a recipient system 16 . as shown in fig2 , user can send email to any imsi or email address through email client 1 supporting multiple platforms using imsi mail server 2 . the imsi mail server 2 preferably includes a recording medium ( not shown ) for storing mail boxes , emails and other related information therein . additionally , as shown in fig1 as conventional e - mail server 3 can be provided within the imsi mail server system 14 . as shown in fig1 and 3 , email client 1 can be an imsi mail client application 1 . 1 installed on a user device and specifically operable on different device operating systems , e , g ., ios , android , windows phone , windows and mac : an imsi mail web client 1 . 2 . i . e ., a client application accessible via the internet ; or any conventional email client 1 . 3 , e . g ., outlook , etc . the process performed by imsi mail server 2 is further illustrated in fig4 . in accordance with the preferred embodiment , server 2 receives an email sending request ( step 2 . a . 1 ) to a recipient &# 39 ; s imsi or imsi @ imsimail . com address from email client 1 , or a mail box creation request ( step 2 . b . 1 ) from imsi mail client application 1 . 1 . alternatively , server 2 can also receive a mail box verification request ( step 2 . c . 1 ) discussed further below . on receiving the email sending request ( step 2 . a . 1 ), server 2 will check if a recipient mail box exists ( step 2 . a . 2 ). if the recipient mail box exists server 2 will place mail into the existing mail box ( step 2 . a . 5 ). otherwise , server 2 will create a new recipient mail box ( step 2 . a . 3 ), a welcome email to the recipient ( step 2 . a . 4 ) and will place both the sender &# 39 ; s email and the welcome e - mail into the newly created mail box ( step 2 . a . 5 ), further , to alert the recipient , server 2 will send a communication ( e . g ., sms ) to the recipient &# 39 ; s imsi address ( step 2 . a . 6 ) to provide the email access details . on receiving the mail box creation request ( step 2 . b . 1 ) from the imsi mail client application 1 . 1 , server 2 will verify if a mail box exists ( step 2 . a . 2 ) for the requestor &# 39 ; s imsi . if mail box does not exist , server 2 will then create a mail box ( step 2 . a . 3 ) and will send a “ successfully created ” message as a response to the email client 1 ( steps 2 . a . 8 ; 2 . d ). similarly to the steps discussed above server 2 will also create a welcome email ( 2 . a . 4 ) and will place the welcome email into the newly created mail box ( step 2 . a . 5 ). on receiving the mail box verification request ( step 2 . c . 1 ) from the email client 1 , server 2 will verify existence of the mail box ( step 2 . c . 2 ) using the requestor &# 39 ; s imsi and password . if the mail box exists , server 2 will send a response “ exists ” to the requestor ( steps 2 . c . 3 ; 2 . d ). otherwise , it will send a response “ does not exist ” ( steps 2 . c . 4 ; 2 . d ). it should be noted that , in the preferred embodiment , the step 2 . c . 2 ( mail box verification ) may be performed at the conventional email server 3 . processes performed at the imsi mail client application 1 . 1 are illustrated in fig5 . client application 1 . 1 can be conventionally installed , e . g ., from an application store , or from imsimail . com ( step 1 . 1 . 1 ). on running the client application 1 . 1 for the first time , the process of configuration is performed ( step 1 . 1 . 2 ), as described below with respect to fig6 . further , during each run of the client application 1 . 1 , the process of verification is performed ( step 1 . 1 . 3 ). after running the client application successfully , a user can send an email to any imsi or email address ( step 1 . 1 . 5 ), can view the inbox ( step 1 . 1 . 6 ), can configure email forwarding to traditional entails ( step 1 . 1 . 7 ), can change password ( step 1 . 1 . 8 ), and / or can attach other multiple imsis to the same mail box ( step 1 . 1 . 9 ). client application 1 . 1 is also configured to perform mail box auto synchronization ( step 1 . 1 . 10 ) periodically . as shown in fig6 , in the preferred embodiment of the invention , upon running the imsi mail client application 1 . 1 for the first time ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 1 ), the client application checks the user device to determine whether it is a mobile phone or any other device ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 2 ). if the user device is a mobile phone , then the application obtains the imsi ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 3 ) and sends a verification request to imsi mail server ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 4 ) by providing imsi . application then checks the server response ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 5 ). if the response is “ does not exist ,” then application 1 . 1 sends a mail box creation request to the imsi mail server ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 13 ). next , application again checks the server response ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 14 ). if the response is “ successfully created ,” the local configuration is set ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 15 ), application home is displayed to the user ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 16 ), and mail box synchronization is performed ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 17 ). otherwise , an error message is prompted to the user ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 18 ). if the client application determines that the user &# 39 ; s device is not a mobile phone , it prompts a sign - in or sign - up option ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 7 ) and checks the option selected by the user ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 8 ). if the user selects the “ sign - in ” option , the application allows the user to sign - in using his / her imsi and password ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 9 ). otherwise , the application displays the sign - up screen . at the sign - up screen , the user is prompted to enter the imsi ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 10 ). thereafter , a random security code is sent to the provided imsi , preferably , using sms or any other similar channel , ( step 1 . 12 . 11 ) and code input is prompted . user then enters the provided security code ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 12 ), and the application sends the mail box creation request to the imsi mail server 2 ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 13 ) providing the requestor &# 39 ; s imsi and the code . application then checks the server response ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 14 ), and , if the response is “ successfully created ,” the local configuration is set ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 15 ). application home is then displayed to the user ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 16 ) and mail box synchronization step ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 17 ) is performed . otherwise , the error message is displayed to the user ( step 1 . 1 . 2 . 18 ). the process of sending email using the imsi mail client application is illustrated in more detail in fig7 . to send an email to any imsi or email address , a user first selects a “ compose ” option ( step 1 . 1 . 5 . 1 ), and an email form is then shown to the user . user can then select a device contact or type in any imsi or email address ( step 1 . 1 . 5 . 2 ), and press send ( step 1 . 1 . 5 . 3 ). multiple recipients can be selected and / or entered into the “ to ”, “ cc ” and “ bcc ” fields . application 1 . 1 then verifies the recipients : if any of the recipients only has the imsi listed , the application appends “@ imsimail . com ” to the imsi of the recipient to create a complete imsi mail address ( step 1 . 1 . 5 . 4 ). this artifically constructed address indicates to the server that the mail is intended for the mail box of a recipient having the corresponding imsi . application then sends the email through the imsi mail server smtp ( step 1 . 1 . 5 . 5 ), and the user is notified that the mail is successfully sent to the recipient ( 1 . 1 . 5 . 6 ). instead of using a mobile device , a user may send email messages using the presently disclosed system by utilizing a imsi mail web client 1 . 2 , as shown in fig8 . user can access web client 1 . 2 in any browser , and sign in using the imsi and password ( step 1 . 2 . 1 ). after successfully signing in , the user can send email to any imsi or email address ( step 1 . 2 . 2 ), can view the inbox ( step 1 . 2 . 3 ), can configure email forwarding to traditional emails ( step 1 . 2 . 4 ), can change the password ( step 1 . 2 . 5 ), and / or can attach other multiple imsis to the mail box ( step 1 . 2 . 6 ). finally , the present system can be utilized using conventional email clients , e . g ., outlook . using any conventional email client 1 . 3 , a user can configure imsi mail by appending “@ imsimail . com ” to the recipient &# 39 ; s imsi . pop3 / imap and smtp settings will be provided for the user at the imsimail . com website . thus , an email can be sent to any imsi by appending the extension “@ imsimail . com ” to the recipient &# 39 ; s imsi . the figures in this disclosure are conceptual illustrations allowing for an explanation of the present invention . notably , the figures and examples above are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to a single embodiment , as 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 are described , and detailed descriptions of other portions of such known components are omitted so as not to obscure the invention . in the present specification , an embodiment showing a singular component should not necessarily be limited to 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 . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveals the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying knowledge within the skill of the relevant art ( s ) ( including the contents of the documents cited and incorporated by reference herein ), readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiment , without undue experimentation , without departing from the general concept of the present invention . such adaptations and modifications are therefore intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments , based on the teaching and guidance presented herein . while various embodiments of the present invention have been described above , it should be understood that they have beer presented by way of example , and not limitation . it would he apparent to one skilled in the relevant art ( s ) that various changes in form and detail could be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . thus , the present inventions should not be limited by any of the above described exemplary embodiments , but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
referring now to fig1 of the drawing , a display apparatus 1 is shown comprised of a plurality , such as 3 , of concentric cylindrical sections 10 , 3 and 4 . section 10 is the largest diameter outer section and may be comprised of a wire framework formed by circular wire elements 11 interconnected by spaced vertical wire elements 12 . the lowermost circular wire element 11 is connected , in any suitable manner , such as connectors 13 , to a generally flat planar circular base 2 . as seen in fig3 , the underside 14 of base 2 is coupled to a rotary device , such as a rotatable turntable 5 or glides or the like . referring again to fig1 , second cylindrical section 3 , of lesser diameter than section 10 , is spaced from section 10 and may be of opaque material of like and also secured to base 2 in any suitable manner . a third cylindrical section 4 , of lesser diameter than section 3 , is spaced from section 3 and may also be of opaque material . it is also secured to base 2 in any suitable manner . as seen in fig2 , a plurality of circular concentric areas 15 to 17 are thus provided about apparatus 10 . as seen in fig3 , the sections 10 , 3 and 4 are preferably of the same overall height so as to present a visually appealing appearance . however , the sections 10 , 3 and 4 may be of differing heights if desired . as seen in fig4 , a modification of the outer wall or section 10 of fig1 is shown . thus , outer section 1 a may be of a transparent plastic instead of being formed by a plurality of interconnected wire elements as in the embodiment of fig1 . if desired , a display card or the like may be provided on the apparatus of fig1 and 4 . this can be seen in fig5 wherein like numerals refer to like parts of fig1 in this embodiment , a socket 6 is secured at generally the midpoint of base 2 and a pole 7 extends upwardly therefrom . a display card 8 may be secured to the top of pole 7 to provide indicia associated with the apparatus ( or may be provided with hooks or holes to insert fasteners to display cards , packages , etc .). any suitable means may be used to rotate the apparatuses of fig1 to 4 . rotatable turntable 5 is shown in detail in fig6 . thus , turntable 5 may include a circular ball bearing plate 18 mounted to the underside 14 of base 2 and secured to a base support 19 . plate 18 is well known in the art and allows base 2 to rotate with respect to base support 19 . the apparatus 1 of fig1 is shown in fig7 having a plurality of magazines and periodicals displayed therein . it is of course understood that the apparatus of fig4 and 5 are used in like manner . in any event , it can be seen in fig7 that a plurality of magazines 20 are displayed in a circular array within area 15 ( fig2 ) and a plurality of other magazines which may be taller , or newspapers 21 ( fig7 ), are displayed in center area 17 ( fig2 ). other magazines 20 ( fig7 ) are displayed in a circular array within area 16 ( fig2 ). it can be seen that there are disclosed multiple storage areas in a single apparatus for regularly sized magazines , taller magazines or newspapers , or other publications . the newspapers , magazines and other periodicals are organized neatly without sacrificing valuable space . the apparatuses of the invention can be used in a child &# 39 ; s room , a living room , beauty parlors , barbershops , a doctor &# 39 ; s office , etc . the titles and articles in magazines 20 are prominently displayed in a circular array . colorful comic books and coloring books can be displayed in a like manner in a child &# 39 ; s room , nursery , pediatric office , etc . although three areas 15 to 17 are disclosed , obviously two may be provided ( area 16 may be eliminated ). the wall 3 supports the backs of the magazines so they stand up . although a wire framework is disclosed in fig1 , and a transparent outer wall in fig4 , obviously any suitable see - through means may be used , such as a perforated screen , wire mesh , etc . the middle cylinder 4 may be eliminated and if used , can hold other materials . a plurality of devices , such as apparatus 1 in fig1 , may be stacked and vertically interconnected in any suitable manner . any suitable materials may be used , such as plastic , metal , etc . the apparatuses of the invention may be of any suitable dimensions , such as 15½ ″ in overall diameter and 8½ ″ in overall height . although a particular embodiment of the invention has been disclosed , variations thereof may occur to an artisan and the scope of the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the appended claims . | 0 |
a detailed description of one preferred embodiment of an apparatus for presenting a test chart embodying the present invention will now be given referring to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows an overview of an apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart which is used for a test of near vision . reference numeral 2 is a case in the shape of a plate , which holds a test chart plate 3 in the shape of a disk , which is provided with a plurality of test charts ( a detail of test charts is mentioned below ), numeral 4 is a test chart window , having an opening , which is used for presenting a test chart provided for the test chart plate 3 to an eye to be examined . the test chart plate 3 is held by the case 2 so as to rotate with the center at a pin 5 , therefore if the operator operates and rotates below portion of the test chart plate 3 which is sticking out from the case 2 , then it is changed - over to the desired test chart to be positioned at the test chart window 4 . in addition , the test chart window 4 is also provided for just a back side of the case 2 so that test charts provided for the back side of the test chart plate 3 can be presented . the apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart , as shown in fig2 can be mounted to the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 which changes - over various optical elements to be positioned at a test window 51 , through the near - point rod 52 . the case 2 of the apparatus 1 is provided with a suspending part 6 through which the near - point rod 52 mounted to the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 is made to pass . the suspending part 6 is movable along the near - point rod 52 . the near - point rod 52 has a scale which denotes a test distance . if the suspending part 6 is made to be positioned in accordance with the scale , then a test distance of the apparatus 1 can be set so as to be a desired distance . the case 2 is held by the suspending part 6 so as to rotate , therefore , a test chart provided for the back side thereof can be presented by reversing the case 2 with being suspended . in fig2 reference numeral 60 is an operating unit provided with various switches used for driving the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 . next , the test chart plate 3 will be described hereinafter . in fig3 a dotted line 10 denotes a field corresponding to the test chart window 4 of the case 2 , a plurality of test charts in the dotted line 10 is presented to the eye . in the preferred embodiment , five test - charts groups 11a - 11e are provided for one side . the test - charts group 11a includes test charts for visual acuity values 0 . 1 - 0 . 5 in a test distance 40 cm , and in the same manner , the test - charts group 11b includes test charts for visual acuity values 0 . 6 - 1 . 0 in a test distance 40 cm . by the side of respective horizontal lines of test charts , there is shown each visual acuity value of respective horizontal lines of test charts in a test distance 40 cm and each distance in which respective horizontal lines of test charts correspond to a visual acuity value 1 . 0 ( see fig4 ). the test - charts groups 11c and 11d include test charts lined transversely which is utilized for a phoria test , the test - charts group 11c is drawn to be a size corresponding to a visual acuity value 1 . 0 in a test distance 40 cm , and the test - charts group 11d is drawn to be a size corresponding to a visual acuity value 0 . 6 in a test distance 40 cm , respectively . the test - charts group 11e is a radial test chart in which numerals around radial lines are drawn to be a size corresponding to a visual acuity value 0 . 2 in a test distance 40 cm . in fig3 fields 20a - 20e denoted by oblique lines between respective dotted lines 10s are covered by the case 2 during the test so as not to be seen through the test chart window 4 . these fields 20a - 20e are provided with information - display parts 21a and 21c - 21e , in which a test distance , the method of use or the like for respective test - charts groups 11a - 11e are drawn . for example , in the information - display part 21a , as shown in fig4 information concerning the test - charts groups 11a and 11b are drawn , namely , such description &# 34 ; both test - charts groups are for a test distance 40 cm &# 34 ; is drawn . further , below column of the display 12a where is at the side of respective horizontal lines of test charts , there is shown a description denoting a distance making the test chart be for a visual acuity value 1 . 0 . in addition , an arrow 22a shows that contents of the information - display part 21a means the test - charts groups 11a and 11b next to there . the information - display part 21c shows a test distance of the test - charts group 11c and the matter that the test - charts group 11c is for a visual acuityvalue 1 . 0 in the test distance , and the information - display part 21d shows a test distance of the test - charts group 11d and a visual acuity value in the test distance . the information - display part 21e shows a test distance of the test - charts group 11e and the matter that the numeral is for a visual acuity value 0 . 2 in the test distance . the information - display parts 21c - 21e are also turned out by arrows , respectively . in addition , the back side of the test chart plate 3 is also provided with five test - charts groups different from the ones shown in fig3 and the information - display parts concerning each test - charts group in the field where do not appear on the test chart window 4 during test . fig5 shows an example thereof , and inside of the dotted line 10 corresponding to the test chart window 4 is provided with a cross grid test chart 24a which is utilized for testing a presbyopia adding power ( diopter ). and , for the field 25a which exists between the cross grid test chart 24a and the next test chart on the right side , an information - display part 26a for the cross grid test chart 24a is provided , and is denoted by an arrow 27a . the information is , for example , related to the method of use of the cross grid test chart 24a such as &# 34 ; set a cross cylinder lens then add a plus power ( diopter ) until an examinee can see both vertical lines and horizontal lines equally .&# 34 ;. next , a test of the preferred embodiment will be described hereinafter by utilizing such apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart having such composition . firstly , a test for detecting a presbyopia adding power ( diopter ) will be described . after a test for far vision is performed by using the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 , as shown in fig2 the apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart , mounted to the near - point rod 52 , is set ahead of the test window 51 , then above - mentioned cross grid test chart 24a is made to be positioned at the test chart window 4 . besides , a test distance for cross grid test is not defined , however , the test distance may be preferably set so as to be 40 cm considering the visual acuity test to be performed thereafter . in the case that the operator want to know a test distance for a visual acuity test , the operator can confirm it by rotating and operating the test chart plate 3 to be appeared on the information - display part 21a . in addition , in the case that the operator want to know the method of use of the cross grid test chart 24a , the operator can confirm it by making the information - display part 26a appear on the test chart window 4 in the same manner . the operator sets the optical system corresponding to the perfect correcting power values for both eyes , obtained by the far vision test , to the test window 51 of the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 by operating the operating part 60 , then sets a cross cylinder lens . and , the operator adds a plus spherical power ( diopter ) until the examinee can see both vertical and horizontal lines of the cross grid test chart 24a equally , obtaining a desired adding power ( diopter ). next , a visual acuity test of near vision will be described . the apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart is mounted to the subjective refractive power measuring unit 50 through the near - point rod 52 , and either test - charts group 11a or 11b is positioned at the test chart window 4 so as to be presented to the eye . in the case that the operator want to know a test distance in order to set this test chart , the operator can confirm it by seeing the information - display part 21a . in addition , in the case of performing a test with different test distance , the operator can understand details of distance display drawn on the side of respective horizontal lines of test - charts groups 11a and 11b , accordingly , the operator can perform the test in order to examine whether a visual acuityvalue 1 . 0 is obtained or not by making the apparatus 1 for presenting a test chart be positioned at its distance . as described above , for the test chart plate 3 , since the information necessary for test concerning each test - charts group is provided , therefore the operator can confirm the information easily prior to the presentation of the test - charts group to the examinee without preparing a manual , a guide book or the like . in addition , during a test , since the information does not appear on the test chart window 4 , therefore , the unnecessary characters are made not to presented to the eye , accordingly the accurate test can be performed without the eye being unfixed . besides , if a method of use of respective test charts and a simplified summary are provided for the information - display parts 21c , 21d and 21e , then it becomes more convenient . for example , if the method of use such as &# 34 ; add the plus spherical power ( diopter ) to make the numeral readable . multiply the numeral of darker lines by 30 to obtain the astigmatism axial angle &# 34 ; is drawn on the information - display part 21e for radial test charts , thereby the operator is to be assisted . the foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description . it is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed , and modifications and variations are possible in the light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention . the embodiments chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated . it is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto , and their equivalents . | 0 |
the rig mat of the present invention is substantially planar device for supporting a mass and distributing its weight over the surface on which it is lain . the present rig mat modules , singly or combined in an assembly , are useful for constructing temporary roadways , crane and equipment pads and foundations for other temporary structures ( e . g ., scaffolding and platforms ). referring now to the drawings , the details of preferred embodiments of the present invention are graphically and schematically illustrated . like elements in the drawings are represented by like numbers , and any similar elements are represented by like numbers with a different lower case letter suffix . as shown in fig1 the rig mat 10 of the present invention comprises a top plate 50 and a bottom plate 52 , each plate having an exposed surface 54 , an interior surface 56 and a perimeter edge 60 . the plates 50 , 52 are disposed in parallel alignment with their interior surfaces 56 juxtaposed to define a grating space 14 between them . the spacer grate assembly 16 is disposed within the grating space 14 . the spacer grate 16 is in contact with and is fixed to the interior surfaces 56 of the top and bottom plates 50 & amp ; 52 at the upper and lower bearing surfaces 34 , 36 of the spacer grate assembly 16 grating bars 22 . in the preferred embodiment , the interior surfaces 56 of the top and bottom plates 50 & amp ; 52 are fixed to the upper and lower bearing surfaces 34 , 36 of the grating bars 22 using an adhesive 68 ( see fig3 a to 3 c ). the spacer grate 16 comprises a plurality of grating bars 22 disposed in a parallel spaced relationship to each other , and a plurality of cross - rod assemblies 26 disposed in a parallel spaced relationship to each other and in perpendicular relationship to the grating bars 22 . the cross - rod assemblies 26 pass through and are attached to the grating bars 22 to fix the spaced relationship of the grating bars 22 relative to each other . as shown in fig2 each grating bar 22 has a length l , a width w and a height h . the width and the height h define the cross - section of the grating bar 22 . preferably , the grating bars 22 have a cross - section that is substantially oblong . the length l of the grating bars 22 range from at least about 2 feet and longer . the length l of the grating bars 22 defines the dimension of the grating bars 22 that are in parallel with each other . the spaced relationship d of the grating bars 22 is about 2 - times to 20 - times the width w of the grating bars 22 . the width w of the grating bars 22 is about 0 . 5 to about 1 . 0 inches . for large mass loads , in a preferred embodiment spaced relationship d was 2 - times the width w with the width w of the grating bar 22 being about 0 . 6 inches . the height h of the grating bars can be about 1 . 0 to about 2 . 0 inches , and in the preferred embodiment was about 1 . 5 inches . the grating bars 22 further comprise a plurality of rod apertures 24 passing through a height surface 23 of the grating bar 22 , which is perpendicular to the width w of the grating bar 22 . the rod apertures 24 are disposed in alignment for closely passing therethrough the cross - rods assemblies 26 . the distance s between adjacent rod apertures 24 in a preferred embodiment was about 18 inches . however , the spacing s between rod apertures is selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan in view of the expected mass and dynamics ( movement ) of the load on the top plate 50 of the rig mat 10 . a cross - rod assembly 26 comprises two spacer - rods 28 separated by a wedge - rod 30 . see fig2 . each spacer - rod 28 has an outer engagement surface 31 and an inner flat surface 34 . the spacer - rods 28 are shaped with a curvilinear outer engagement surface 31 to facilitate passing a relatively larger cross - section of spacer rod 28 through the cross - rod apertures 24 than without the curvilinear engagement surface 31 . the outer engagement surface 31 has a plurality of spaced engaging means 32 for engaging the grating bar 22 where the cross - rod 26 passes through the rod - aperture 24 . the inner flat surface 34 serves as a mating surface that slideably interfaces with the wedge - rod 30 . in a preferred embodiment , the outer engagement surface 31 of the spacer rod 28 includes a plurality of engagement means 32 . in the embodiment shown , the engagement means 32 were notches for closely engaging the thickness of the rod - apertures 24 as the cross - rod assemblies 26 passed through the grating bars 22 . the notches 32 were spaced apart and fixed the spaced relationship d of the grating bars 22 . the wedge - rod 30 has two similar and opposite interface surfaces 46 for slidably contacting the mating surface 34 of each of the two spacer - rods 28 , and for separating the spacer - rods 28 apart . additionally , off - set 90 degrees from the interface surfaces 46 , the wedge - rod 30 has two other similar and opposite curvilinear surfaces 48 , the curvilinear surfaces 48 disposed to closely pass through the rod - apertures 24 . the cross bar wedge - rods 30 are preferably i - shaped , with their interface surfaces 46 indented or recessed to facilitate slidably receiving the spacer - rods 28 . as shown in fig3 a to 3 c , an edge binder 66 is disposed around the perimeter of the assembled plates 50 & amp ; 52 and spacer grate 16 to engage the perimeter edges 60 of the plates 50 & amp ; 52 . the binder 66 encloses the grating space 14 ( see fig1 ) and provides additional structural integrity to the perimeter of the assembled rig mat module 10 . the binder 66 may have a cross section configured in a “ t ”- shape as shown in fig3 a to 3 c , or may be flush with the perimeter edge ( not shown ), or some other configuration ( e . g ., see fig4 a and 4b ). the edge binder 66 can be fixed in place or can be removable by a choice of means known to one of ordinary skill in the art , such as a fastener 64 like a rivet or bolt and nut , a screw 67 or an adhesive 68 . to form a rig mat assembly , a plurality of rig mat modules are lain on a ground surface adjacent each other in a desired pattern and anchored to the ground surface using stakes . alternatively , to facilitate anchoring the mat modules 10 relative to each other on a groung surface , as shown in fig4 a and 4b , the rig mat module 10 of the present invention optionally comprises a coupling means for holding the perimeter edge of the rig mat module adjacent to the perimeter edge of an other rig mat module 10 . an example of a coupling means is a simple stake 70 passing through an anchor bore 72 in the plates 50 & amp ; 52 and edge binder 66 of the rig mat module 10 proximate its perimeter edge 60 in a number of location to fix adjacent rig mat modules 10 to an underlying surface . the edge binder 60 used in the coupling means can take a variety of cross sectional configurations as shown in the figures . it can be a “+”- shaped binder 66 a or a plane block binder 66 b . in a preferred embodiment , when the binder edge 66 a & amp ; 66 b is utilized as a part of a coupling means , it is removable from the both of the adjacent mat modules 10 , as shown in fig4 a and 4b . the stake 70 a can have a squared “ u ” configuration and be disposed to pass through two adjacent rig mat 10 at the same time . if heavy anchoring of the mat modules 10 is required , the mat modules 10 may further comprise anchor bores 72 a ( see fig3 .) distributed over the plane of the mat module , through which heavy duty stakes ( not shown ) may be driven to anchor the mat module 10 in place on the ground surface . as shown in fig5 a , the thickness of the plates 50 & amp ; 52 can be different depending on the anticipated loading of the top plate 50 and / or the condition of the surface contacting the bottom plate 52 . the plates 50 & amp ; 52 themselves can be a single thickness or comprised of a laminate . additionally , as shown in fig5 b , either exterior surface 54 of a plate 50 & amp ; 52 can be layered with a cover plate 78 which is removable . the cover plate 78 can be utilized to provide protection to the plate 50 & amp ; 52 under it or to increase its loading capacity . a cover plate 78 can be replaced when worn or not needed , or can be switched out to provide an exposed surface 54 a on the rig mat module 10 suitable for a specific purpose ( e . g ., a high friction or gripping surface for a slippery environment ). the cover plate can be removably attached to the exposed or exterior surface of a top or bottom plate 50 & amp ; 52 by any of a variety of means known to the ordinary skilled artisan , such as the use of screw fasteners 64 as shown in fig5 b . assembly of the present rig mat 10 from its component parts is readily accomplishable by one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the teachings and figures herein . although alternative methods are known to the ordinary skilled artisan , one method of assembling the present rig mat 10 is to first assemble the spacer grating 16 . a technique useful for assembling the spacer grating 16 of the rig mat module 10 is known in the art ( see u . s . pat . no . 4 , 522 , 009 ). generally , the grating bars 22 are set out in the desired parallel and spaced relationship with their rod - apertures 24 in alignment . a pair of spacer rods 28 of an appropriate length , oriented with their engagement surfaces 31 in opposition , are inserted through the aligned rod - apertures 24 . a wedge - rod 30 is slid between the two spacer - rods to separate them and cause the notches 32 to engage the thickness ( or width w ) of the rating bars 22 . in a preferred embodiment , all of the points of contact between the various structural components and features of the rig mat module 10 are bonded together , except for the cover plate 78 , if one is utilized . in particular , this is practiced to bond the wedge - rod 30 to the two spacer - rods 28 at the two interface surfaces 46 of the wedge - rod 30 . this may be accomplished using an adhesive , epoxy resin or like bonding agent that is appropriate for the constriction materials of the surfaces to be bound . such bonding agents are known to and selectable by the ordinary skilled artisan for practice in the present invention . of course , attachment means other than bonding agents , such as bolt , nail or screw type fasteners 64 , may be utilized where appropriate , e . g ., for attaching the binder edge 66 ( see fig3 a to 4 b ) or a cover plate 78 ( see fig5 b ). preferably , component parts of the present invention 10 are fiber reinforced plastic ( frp ) shapes constructed using a pultrusion process as is known in fire art . also , the present components preferably utilize an isophtalic polyester or a vinyl ester resin with flame retardant and ultra - violet ( uv ) inhibitor additives . after fabrication , all cut ends , holes and abrasions of the rig mat module preferably are sealed with a compatible resin to prevent fraying and intrusion of moisture . should additional ultraviolet protection be required , a uv coating can be applied . to demonstrate the utility of the present invention , a rig mat module 10 useful in a travel way or work apron assembly was produced and fabricated into an assembled surface . this embodiment of a rig mat module 10 was approximately 8 feet across and 30 feet long . fig6 is a top view , partial schematic layout of the primary components of the rig mat module , without the top and bottom plates being shown . the cross - rods 26 were spaced at about 18 inches from the adjacent cross - rod 26 . twenty cross - rods were used . in this embodiment , the wedge - rod 30 of each cross rod 26 was a single piece . however , each of the two spacer - rods 28 comprised a two - piece length ( section a , fig6 ) which is further illustrated in fig7 . fig7 illustrates how the two separate pieces of each spacer - rod 28 were butted together and used in combination with the wedge - rod 30 to provide the wedge - rod 26 of this embodiment . the grating bars 22 ( only 2 of a plurality shown ) each had a length l of about 30 feet . because grating bars of that length were not readily available , each grating bar 22 was comprised of two sub - lengths and butted together ( section b , fig6 ) to form an overall gating bar 22 of de desired length , which is further illustrated in fig8 . the top and bottom plates 50 & amp ; 52 were constructed of 0 . 5 inch thick fiberglass plating . the height h of the grating bars 22 , and hence the spacer grate 16 , was 1 . 5 inches , which made the overall thickness of the rig mat module 10 about 2 . 5 inches . the prototype rig mat module was 8 ft .× 30 ft .× 2 . 5 in . the first successful testing of the prototype rig mat module 10 was at − 34 ° f . and with weight in excess of 185 psi . additional testing of the prototype rig mat module 10 to 485 psi was without failure . while the above description contains many , specifics , these should not be constructed as limitations on the scope of the invention , but rather as exemplifications of one or another preferred embodiment thereof . many other variations are possible , which would be obvious to one skilled in the art . accordingly , the scope of the invention should be determined by the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents , and not just by the embodiments . | 4 |
referring to fig1 reference 1 generally designates a wall which , in practice , is of a cylindrical form and which outlines a containment zone for a typical nuclear reactor ( not shown ) included in a nuclear power plant . the wall may be composed of a very thick , reinforced concrete wall , as well as a leakproof lining of stainless steel which is applied to the inside of the wall . the bottom part of the containment zone forms an area for a pool or basin of water -- the surface of which is indicated by reference 2 . at a level below the water surface , a plurality of strainer devices are mounted , one such device being indicated by reference 3 . a main component of such a device is the housing or tube 4 which is provided with a perforated mantle wall , the perforations or apertures being indicated by reference number 11 . the wall 4 is provided on its exterior a plurality of radially projecting wings or flanges 5 mounted thereon . in the embodiment shown in fig1 each individual strainer housing or tube 4 is connected to a lower suction conduit 6 . the latter may be connected in common to a plurality of such housings . housing 4 is mounted by suitable means ( not shown ) relatively closely to the inside of the containment wall 1 . water from the lower level of the containment pool can be drawn or taken into the interior cavity or chamber of the housing and thereafter can be transported through a suction conduit to an emergency cooling system , the latter typically involving nozzles , sprinklers or the like mounted near or at the upper portion of the containment zone . thus , when required , the reactor core can be provided with sprinkled water via such a system . the above - described structure and its outlined features , to this point , represents a conventional system . according to the present invention , however , the strainer housing or tube 4 is connected to an accumulator tank or container 7 , for holding and storing water . the tank 7 is connected , as schematically shown via line 8 , to a source of pressurized gas ( not shown ), with the line 8 including a valve 9 . in this manner , a pressurized gaseous fluid can be fed into the tank 7 in order to momentarily release or eject water into the cavity of the strainer housing 4 . typically , conduit 8 may be a relatively thin pipeline mounting the on / off valve 9 . as shown in fig1 pipe or conduit 8 passes through the concrete wall 1 forming the containment area , while the source of pressurized gas is located outside of the containment wall . the pressurized gas source may be any suitable conventional type ; for example , a simple gas bottle or a compressor with a suitable gas storage zone may be employed for this purpose . a typical gaseous fluid which may be used includes e . g . nitrogen , although other gases such atmospheric air can also be used . reference number 10 designates an aperture in the wall of the container 7 , the latter of which may be typically made from e . g . metal plate . preferably , the aperture 10 is provided in the upper area or top 7 &# 39 ; of the tank . in order to prevent large volumes of gas from escaping in a relatively short period of time , aperture 10 will have a relatively small diameter such as 1 to 5 mm ( suitably 2 to 3 mm ). thus , with such measurements , it will only be possible to slowly release gas from the tank over longer periods of time for a given volume of gas . it will be understood that although one aperture 10 has been illustrated for the sake of simplicity , it will be understood that two or more apertures may be used in practice . the operation of the strainer device in fig1 can be described as follows : under normal conditions , the tank 7 is filled with water from the surrounding pool of water in the containment zone . water to the emergency cooling system can be sucked into the interior of the strainer housing and can be transmitted or forwarded to the nozzles or sprinklers of the emergency system through the suction conduit 6 . under such conditions , the valve 9 in the gas conduit line 8 would be in a closed condition . after a period of time where water passes through the apertures or holes 11 of the housing 4 , there is a risk that the apertures may be clogged or plugged due to the fact that fibres or other foreign material may accumulate on the exterior of the housing wall and form a mat of such material or fibres . when that occurs , backflushing of the unit is required and typically this is performed by opening the valve 9 so that the pressurized gas can flow into the tank 7 and release or expel water from the tank into the interior of the cavity or chamber of the strainer housing 4 . in the above manner , water inside the strainer housing 4 will flow outwardly through the perforations 11 of the mantle wall thus removing the covering fiber mat . this fiber mat removal is highly facilitated by the presence of the radially projecting wings 5 , which divide the mat into sections , each of which can thus be easily released from the wall exterior . this backflushing operation , can in its entirety , be carried out in the space of a few seconds , since the pressurized gas rapidly empties from the tank 7 and forces the water into housing 4 and out through the apertures of the strainer wall . for this reason , it will be seen that it is not necessary to interrupt the regular operation of the pump , which normally draws water into the conduit 6 . once the backflushing operation has been completed , the cut - off valve 9 is closed so that the tank 7 is refilled with water from the pool . this automatic refilling is carried out through the aperture ( s ) 10 in the top of the tank , which allows the evacuation of remaining gas from the tank . in other words , water from the strainer housing may flow slowly upwardly into the tank at the same time as the gas is successively evacuated through apertures 10 . in a preferred embodiment illustrated in fig2 through 4 , a rotation - generating means 12 is provided in the area between tank 7 and strainer housing or tube 4 . the rotation - generating means 12 may include a conical - shaped body 13 , which is arranged centrally in tube 4 , and a plurality of curved blades 14 affixed on the outside of body 13 . as indicated in fig4 the top portion 14 &# 39 ; of each blade 14 is planar and extends in parallel to the axial water flow from tank 7 to housing 4 , while the remaining main portion 14 &# 34 ; below portion 14 &# 39 ; is curved and extends at an angle relative to portion 14 &# 39 ;. it should also be noted that the embodiment of fig2 is modified in comparison with the embodiment of fig1 insofar as a tube portion 15 connecting housing tube 4 with the conical bottom portion 7 &# 34 ; of accumulator tank 7 has a reduced diameter as compared with tube 4 . this reduced portion 15 passes into another conical portion 4 &# 39 ; surrounding body 13 at the top of tube 4 . water passing through the annular space between the outside of conical body 13 and the inside of tube portion 4 &# 39 ; will be set into a rotary and axial motion . the result is that the water , when entering tube 4 , has a tendency to be dispersed evenly on the inside of the tube . it will be noted that there is a certain distance between the bottom part of body 13 and the upper holes in the set of holes 11 in the tube wall . accordingly , the rotating water will be evenly distributed when reaching the holes so as to secure a strong even outflow of water through the holes . from the above description , the advantages of the invention will be obvious . due to the fact that the backflushing can be carried out during an extremely short period of time , the regular suction of water into the conduit 6 does not have to be interrupted . furthermore , the necessary piping in the form of the gas pipeline 8 can be made with very thin dimensions ( compared with the heavy water conduit 6 ). this facilitates the drawing of pipeline 8 through the containment wall 7 . within the scope of the invention it is also conceivable to place the accumulator or storage tank 7 outside the reactor containment zone and connect the same with the strainer housing via suitable conduits . | 1 |
fig1 shows a hydraulic ram 1 and a drive unit 19 that actuates ram 1 according to the invention . ram 1 is of a type widely used as a jack and suitable for use in practice of the present invention . ram 1 has a cylinder and piston ( not shown ) in a casing 2 and a telescoping piston rod 3 secured to the piston , and which can raise a load as oil is pumped into the cylinder below the piston . casing 2 is secured to a base plate 4 . a reciprocating piston - type pump 5 is mounted to casing 2 and can pump oil into the cylinder from an oil chamber ( not shown ) within the casing 2 . pump 5 is operable by a pump lever 6 that is pivotally secured to a plunger 7 of pump 5 and to a link 8 . link 8 in turn is pivotally mounted to the base plate 4 . a valve 9 is provided for bleeding oil from the cylinder back into the oil chamber so as to allow retraction of the jack . valve 9 is operable by rotation of a control rod 10 . some jack - type rams provide , instead of or additionally to such a valve , means whereby oil can optionally be pumped into a space ( not shown ) above the piston so that retraction can be achieved by this means instead of or in addition to applying a force to the piston rod . still other rams provide multiple concentric pistons that telescope within one another to achieve a greater ratio of lift stroke to cylinder length than is possible with a single piston . these rams too are usable with the invention . jacks that combine a cylinder and telescoping piston with an oil ( or other working fluid ) reservoir , a lever - actuated pump and suitable control valve ( s ) are especially convenient for practice of the present invention . however , it is not intended to imply that such jacks are the only form of rams that may be used in practice of the invention . an advantage of rams such as ram 1 is that they require no connection to an external hydraulic oil supply . this can greatly simplify the provision of lifting device that is compact and powered by means other than manual means . drive unit 19 comprises an electric motor 11 coupled to a speed reducer 12 . speed reducer 12 is preferably a gear type speed reducer , whose output shaft rotates a crank arm 13 . crank arm 13 is pivotally connected to one end 14 of a link rod 94 whose other end 15 is pivotally connected to pump lever 6 . the result is that when motor 11 is driven from a suitable electric power supply ( not shown ), point 14 describes a circular path 16 and lever 6 is pumped up and down as shown by arrow 17 , thus actuating ram 1 to lift a load applied downwardly to the piston rod 3 . fig2 and 3 show the application of the invention to a vehicle - towable road trailer 20 provided with a load tray 21 that can tilt to dump its load . referring to fig2 , from which unnecessary mechanical detail has been omitted , there is shown a trailer 20 , suitable for towing by an automobile or the like with a hitch connection 121 . trailer 20 includes a frame 22 mounted on wheels 23 . tip tray 21 is hingedly connected to the frame 22 by a 10 pair of hinges 24 at the rear of the frame 22 . a ram 25 is provided for raising and lowering tray 21 and is shown in two positions in fig2 , position “ a ” corresponding to the raised position of tray 21 and position “ b ” corresponding to the lowered position of tray 21 . piston rod 32 of ram 25 is connected to tray 21 at pivot 41 . referring now to fig3 , ram 25 is mounted to a bar 26 that extends between a pair of spaced generally upright members 27 . members 27 are hingedly mounted to side girders 28 of frame 22 at hinged connections 29 so that the bar 26 is free to pivot about an axis 30 through hinged connections 29 . thus , ram 25 can pivot about axis 30 . this arrangement allows ram 25 to change its angle relative to frame 22 and tray 21 as tray 21 is raised and lowered . the arrangement further allows suitable positioning of axis 30 along the length of ram 25 so as to provide advantageous geometry throughout the stroke of ram 25 and to avoid possible buckling of ram 25 at full extension of its piston rod 32 . also mounted to the pivot bar 26 , is a drive unit 33 comprising an electric motor 34 and geared speed reducer 35 . drive unit 33 is mounted to the pivot bar 26 by a main bracket 135 and a stabilizing cross strut 36 in combination adapted to fix the drive unit relative to the pivot bar 26 and therefore to ram 25 . the combination of drive unit 33 and ram 25 is similar to the arrangement shown in fig1 , and operates in the same way . by securing drive unit 33 and ram 25 to bar 26 , the relative positions of drive unit 33 and ram 25 are preserved at all operating positions of ram 25 . pump lever 37 of ram 25 is shown as curved and this assists in provision of a compact arrangement for driving ram 25 with drive unit 33 . however a straight pump lever could be used instead . the motor 34 is powered , via an electrical cable 38 , from the electrical system of the towing vehicle ( not shown ) or any other suitable electrical supply . a suitable electrical switch ( not shown ) is provided , preferably on trailer 20 itself , to switch motor 34 on and off . to raise tray 21 , the motor 34 is switched on and rotates the crank 39 whereby a link 40 reciprocatingly actuates the pump lever 37 and in turn operates the pump 139 of ram 25 to extend piston rod 32 . the pivot 41 may be located towards the front of the underside of the tip tray 21 to lessen the load on the ram 25 or may be placed at a position intermediate the length of the tip tray 21 to allow use of a shorter ram 25 . to lower tray 21 , a user operates a release valve 42 that is connected by an extension 43 to a knob 44 which is mounted to the bar 26 and below frame 22 out of the way of the descending tip tray 21 . the user may control the descent of the tip tray 21 whereby to permit it to gently return to its lowermost position where it can be secured to the frame 22 optionally by a latch or clamp device ( not shown ). other positions of controls for release valve 42 may be chosen , but may require an articulated extension ( unlike rigid extension 43 ) to accommodate the changing orientation of the ram 25 relative to the frame 22 . a flexible cable may also be provided as an alternative to operate release valve 42 , for example a so - called “ bowden ” cable having a flexible cable in a flexible supporting sheath . the drive unit 33 may be enclosed in a cover ( not shown ) both for aesthetic and practical purposes , that is to keep the mechanism free of dust , mud and grime to which the trailer 20 may be exposed in use . another way to provide a tilting tray facility for a trailer or vehicle using the invention will now be described . fig4 is a schematic side view ( i . e . with unimportant mechanical detail omitted ) of a tray 50 that is pivotally mounted by hinges 49 to a fixed frame ( represented by a symbol 51 in fig4 ) that may be a trailer frame ( like frame 22 ) or a chassis of a road vehicle ( not shown ) such as a small utility vehicle . tray 50 is shown in raised and lowered positions in fig4 . also hingedly connected to the frame at a pivot 53 is a beam 54 . beam 54 is pivotally connected to one end 55 of a link 56 and the other end 57 of link 56 is connected pivotally to tray 50 . pivotally connected to beam 54 is upper end 58 of a piston rod 59 of a ram 60 . ram 60 is itself connected to the frame at a pivot 61 in a way described below . position “ a ” of ram 60 in fig4 corresponds to the raised position of tray 50 and position “ b ” corresponds to the lowered position of tray 50 . beam 54 is shown in fig4 as having a bend 62 , but persons skilled in the art will recognize that this is not essential . beam 54 happens to provide a compact arrangement , which is important in tray raising applications . comparison of fig2 and 4 shows that a shorter ram can be used in the arrangement of fig4 . the arrangement shown in fig4 can also be proportioned to provide a better match between the available thrust on piston rod 59 and the effort required to raise the tray 50 from its lowered position to its raised position . fig5 shows the mechanical arrangement for mounting and actuation of ram 60 . only a part of the frame is shown , namely transverse beams 64 and 65 . ram 60 is mounted on a platform 63 that is in turn pivotable about pivot 61 , so that the combination of ram 60 and platform 63 pivots together about pivot 61 . a drive unit 66 , comprising an electric motor 67 and gear - type speed reducer 68 is secured by brackets 69 and 70 so as be in a fixed position relative to ram 60 irrespective of the position of ram 60 . brackets 69 and 70 are secured to the ram 60 and the platform 63 respectively . drive unit 66 when operated from a suitable electric supply rotates a crank arm 71 that is pivotally connected to one end 72 of a link 73 . the other end 74 of link 73 is pivotally connected to pump lever 75 of ram . 60 . lever 75 actuates a plunger - type pump 76 that is integral with ram 60 . drive unit 66 is mounted substantially beside ram 60 ( i . e . so that lever 75 extends approximately transversely to the direction of travel 77 of the vehicle ) for compactness and approximately constant ground clearance . ( in contrast , in the arrangement in fig2 and 3 , drive unit 33 will have a ground clearance that varies as bar 26 swings during raising and lowering of tray 21 .) although not shown in fig5 , a suitable protective cover can be mounted ( for example from brackets 69 and / or 70 ) in a position fixed relative 5 to drive unit 66 to protect drive unit 66 from mud , dust and the like . a release valve ( comparable to valves 9 and 42 above ) is not shown in fig5 , but a suitable arrangement for operating such a valve may be provided in ways similar to those described above . it will be apparent to persons skilled in the mechanical art that the 10 drive - unit - and - ram arrangements described above may be readily adapted to applications other than the raising and lowering of load trays of trailers and utility and other vehicles . for example , they could be applied to the raising of booms in cranes and the like and generally to applications where a load has to be raised and lowered . the use of hydraulic or pneumatic rams having integral or permanently associated pumps operated by levers , for example those sold as jacks , allows effective load lifting devices to be made in comparatively small sizes , for example where the ram is required to develop a force of in the 500 kg , or 1 tonne or 1 . 5 tonne ranges , without the expense and complexity of providing , and later maintaining , external hydraulic power supplies . it is not essential that a rotary motor be used in the drive units as described above . referring now to fig6 a and 6 b , the linkages involved in a lifting mechanism using a motor 80 having a linearly reciprocating plunger 81 is shown . the plunger 81 is connected to one end 82 of a link 83 whose other end 84 is pivotally connected to a pump lever 85 of a ram 86 . it can be seen that by the reciprocation of the plunger 81 up and down that the pump lever 85 is also pivoted up and down whereby to operate a pump associated with ram 86 . fig7 and 8 show a further lifting apparatus 100 of the invention that has been found useful . apparatus 100 is a particular embodiment of apparatus shown in fig4 and 5 , and has a ram 101 foot - mounted on a platform 102 similar to platform 63 ( fig5 ) that is able to pivot about a pivot 103 , and piston rod 104 of ram 101 is pivotally connected to a boom 105 at pivot 106 , boom 105 being pivotally connected by a pivot 111 to a base 112 . links 107 are pivotally connected to boom 105 and to load supports 108 as shown in the figures . apparatus 100 is suitable for mounting to a supporting structure such as a vehicle chassis or frame 109 and load supports 108 are secured to a load 110 . ( load 110 is here assumed to be secured movably or guided by additional means not shown , for example pivotally secured to structure 109 , and in particular could be a tilting tray as in the earlier - described embodiments . a drive unit 118 is provided that is similar to drive unit 66 of fig5 and actuates pump lever 119 . ( drive unit 118 is shown in fig8 , but for clarity not in fig7 .) boom 105 is curved , with its concave side downwards . it has been found that the use of such a curved boom can allow for achieving a compact arrangement with comparatively high load capacity and a short stroke ram . in particular , where limited vertical clearance is available between a vehicle chassis frame and the base of a tilt tray , the arrangement shown in fig7 and 8 can be advantageous . fig9 shows a cross sectional view of boom 105 , which can conveniently be made using channel - section structural section ( s ). the curved shape of boom 105 can be achieved in manufacture by bending in suitable cases , or by the use of short straight sections welded to produce a similar geometry . fig1 and 11 show an arrangement similar to that shown in fig7 to 9 , whereby the boom 122 is shaped in an arc through welding of a plurality of short straight sections . in the embodiment as shown , the arrangement is in the form of a tilting / tipping unit 120 for incorporation into a vehicle , such as a trailer , utility vehicle or the like . such vehicles typically comprise a tray ( not shown ) for receiving a load , which can be tipped / tilted to assist in depositing the load from the tray , and / or positioning the load on the tray . the tipping / tilting unit 120 can be readily installed in the vehicle and has a base 121 which is secured against a chassis or frame of a vehicle , and one or more connector members 123 which are pivotally secured to the tray of the vehicle . in this arrangement , the tipping / tilting unit 120 is secured between the chassis of the vehicle and the tray of the vehicle . the boom 122 is pivotally mounted at one end to the base 121 , and is able to pivot about this point through action of the ram 124 . as described above with regard to the alternative embodiments of the present invention , the ram 124 linearly drives a piston rod 127 , which is pivotally connected to the boom 122 at a pivot point 128 . extension of the piston rod 127 from the ram 124 causes the boom 122 to extend as shown in fig1 . as the boom 122 extends , the ram 124 also pivots to ensure that the piston rod moves in a freely moves in a linear manner . to facilitate this pivot action of the ram 124 , the ram 124 is mounted on a platform 125 that is able to pivot about a pivot point 126 . the other end of the boom 122 is attached to the connector members 123 by way of a link 129 . the links 129 are pivotally connected to the end of the boom 122 and the connector members 123 to enable the tray to pivot between a tilted position as depicted in fig1 , and a flat or level position , as depicted in fig1 . in the position as shown in fig1 , the tipping / tilting unit 120 is compactly arranged such that it fits between the chassis of the vehicle and the tray . as shown , the piston rod 127 is retracted into the ram 124 and as such that ram 124 is pivoted into a retracted position as shown . a drive unit 130 is provided to operate the ram 124 such that the piston rod 127 can move between its extended and retracted positions . the drive unit 130 may be in the form of motor as discussed previously , which operates a pump lever 131 of the ram 124 . it will be appreciated that the tipping / tilting unit 120 can be easily supplied for installation in a vehicle . however , in many instances , it may be necessary to provide associated support frames about the tipping / tilting unit 120 such that the arrangement can be easily incorporated into the structure of the vehicle , without requiring onerous installation techniques to ensure that the tipping / tilting unit 120 is orientated correctly to tilt the tray of the vehicle . for this reason , the arrangement 140 of fig1 and 13 has been proposed . as shown , in the arrangement 140 , the tipping / tilting unit 120 is mounted between a base frame 135 and a support frame 138 . the base frame 135 can be constructed such that it can be easily mounted to the chassis of the vehicle through existing mounting means , such as bolts and the like . similarly , the support frame 138 can have appropriate mounting means to receive a tray , upon which a load can be supported . both the base frame 135 and the support frame 138 are pivotally connected at a pivot point 133 such that when the tipping / tilting unit 120 is operated , the support frame 138 is moved with respect to the base frame 135 , which in turn causes the tray to tilt / tip with respect to the chassis of the vehicle . it will be appreciated that such an arrangement 140 enables the present invention to be simply installed in a vehicle between the chassis and the tray of the vehicle , without requiring precision positioning and mounting of the individual components of the tipping / tilting unit 120 . in the arrangements shown in fig2 and 3 , 4 and 5 , 7 and 8 , 10 and 11 , and 12 and 13 , drive units 33 , 66 , 118 , and 130 are supported in fixed positions relative to the rams 25 , 60 and 124 respectively . however , where only limited movement of a ram is required in a mechanism , it may be practical to hold a drive unit in a fixed position while the ram pivots . in this case , simple pivots ( for example at the ends of links 40 or 73 ) may have to be replaced by ball - and - socket pivots . still other variations may be made without exceeding the spirit and scope of the invention . in this specification the terms “ vehicle ” and “ vehicular ” are meant to be interpreted as being applicable both to self - propelled vehicles such as light trucks , utility vehicles and the like , and also to trailers intended for towing by other vehicles . in this specification , the word “ comprise ” and its derivatives when used in relation to a set of integers , elements , items or steps is to be taken to mean that the integers , elements , items or steps are present but not to be taken to preclude the possibility that other integers , elements , items or steps are or may be present also . | 1 |
the present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter in the following detailed description of the invention , in which some , but not all embodiments of the invention are described . indeed , this invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein ; rather , these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements . according to the present invention , a flame retardant thermoplastic resin composition with superior scratch resistance comprises : a base resin comprising ( a ) about 30 to about 90 parts by weight of a polycarbonate resin , ( b ) about 15 to about 50 parts by weight of a polymethylmethacrylate resin , and ( c ) about 5 to about 50 parts by weight of a polyethylene terephthalate - based resin ; and ( d ) about 5 to about 30 parts by weight of a phosphorus - based flame - retarding agent based on 100 parts by weight of the base resin . the polyethylene terephthalate - based resin ( c ) can be an amorphous polyethylene terephthalate resin . the thermoplastic resin composition can optionally further comprise about 1 to about 30 parts by weight of an impact modifier based on 100 parts by weight of the base resin . the thermoplastic resin composition may further comprise at least one additive selected from the group consisting of anti - dripping agents , oxidation inhibitors , plasticizers , heat stabilizers , light stabilizers , compatibilizers , pigments , dyes , inorganic fillers , and the like , and combinations thereof . components of the resin composition will be described in detail hereafter . aromatic polycarbonate resins ( a ) in accordance with the invention can be obtained by reaction of diphenol with phosgene , haloformate or diester carbonate , wherein the diphenol is represented by the following formula 1 . wherein a is a single bond , c 1 - c 5 alkylene , c 1 - c 5 alkylindene , c 5 - c 6 cycloalkylindene , — s —, — so 2 —, or — sio 2 —. examples of diphenols represented by formula 1 can include without limitation hydroquinol , resorcinol , 4 , 4 ′- dihydroxydiphenyl , 2 , 2 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane ( commonly called bisphenol - a or bpa ), 2 , 4 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- 2 - methylbutane , 1 , 1 - bis -( 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- cyclohexane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 - chloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , 2 , 2 - bis -( 3 , 5 - dichloro - 4 - hydroxyphenyl )- propane , and the like , and combinations thereof . the polycarbonate resin of the invention can have a weight average molecular weight ( m w ) of about 10 , 000 to about 200 , 000 g / mol , for example , about 15 , 000 to about 80 , 000 g / mol . the polycarbonate resin may comprise a branched chain . the polycarbonate resin may be obtained by adding about 0 . 05 to about 2 mol % of a multi - functional compound having a valence of 3 or more , for example , a compound containing a phenol group having a valence of 3 or more , to the rest of diphenol used for polymerization . in accordance with the invention , the amount of polycarbonate resin ( a ) is in the range of about 30 to about 90 parts by weight , for example about 50 to about 70 parts by weight , based on the weight of the base resin which comprises ( a ) the polycarbonate resin , ( b ) the polymethylmethacrylate resin , and ( c ) the polyethylene terephthalate - based resin . because the polycarbonate resin facilitates flame retardancy , an amount of polycarbonate resin less than about 30 parts by weight can reduce flame retardancy and mechanical strength of the resin composition . an amount of polycarbonate resin more than about 90 parts by weight can reduce scratch resistance of the resin composition . polycarbonate resin in an amount of about 50 to about 70 parts by weight can be useful in exemplary embodiments to maintain a balance of physical properties . pmma resins in accordance with the invention comprise a homopolymer containing methylmethacrylate as a main component , a copolymer containing at least one group selected from alkyl acrylate groups and alkyl methacrylate groups , or a mixture thereof . the amount of pmma resin can range from about 15 to about 50 parts by weight , for example about 20 to about 40 parts by weight , based on the weight of the base resin which comprises ( a ) the polycarbonate resin , ( b ) the polymethylmethacrylate resin , and ( c ) the polyethylene terephthalate - based resin . an amount of pmma resin less than about 15 parts by weight can make it difficult to impart scratch resistance and an amount of pmma resin more than about 50 parts by weight can reduce flame retardancy . in particular , the pmma resin can make it difficult to attain flame retardancy with a phosphorus - based flame - retarding agent . pmma resin in an amount of about 20 to about 40 parts by weight can be useful in exemplary embodiments to attain both scratch resistance and flame retardancy at the same time . pet - based resins in accordance with the invention serve not only to improve wear resistance , but also to improve the flame retardancy of the whole resin composition via a correlated reaction with the polycarbonate and polymethylmethacrylate resins upon burning of the composition . the amount of polyethylene terephthalate - based resin can range from about 5 to about 50 parts by weight , for example about 5 to about 25 parts by weight , based on the total weight of the base resin . an amount of polyethylene terephthalate - based resin less than about 5 parts by weight can have an insignificant effect on enhancing wear resistance and flame retardancy , and an amount of polyethylene terephthalate - based resin more than about 50 parts by weight can reduce notched - impact strength . polyethylene terephthalate - based resin in an amount of about 5 to about 25 parts by weight can be useful in exemplary embodiments to maintain the balance of physical properties . examples of polyethylene terephthalate - based resins may include , but are not limited to , conventional polyethylene terephthalate resins ( pet ), polyethylene terephthalate resins obtained by recycling , and the like , as well as combinations thereof . in exemplary embodiments of the invention , the polyethylene terephthalate - based resin may be amorphous polyethylene terephthalate or glycol - modified polyethylene terephthalate , such as poly ( ethylene - 1 , 4 - cyclohexanedimethylene terephthalate ) ( petg ), and the like , and combinations thereof , to improve notched - impact resistance . if necessary , a portion or all of the polyethylene terephthalate resin may be substituted by poly ( butylene terephthalate ) ( pbt ), poly ( cyclohexane terephthalate ) ( pct ), poly ( ethylene naphthalate ) ( pen ), and the like , as well as combinations thereof . in exemplary embodiments , the composition of the invention essentially consists of the pc , pmma , and pet resins as the base resin . for example , if pet is not present in the composition , desired scratch resistance of the composition can be obtained by increasing the content of pmma , but the flame retardancy is reduced due to the decomposition properties of pmma . in accordance with the invention , pet in the composition changes the decomposition path of pmma when the composition is burned to relatively easily obtain flame retardancy and produce a flame retardant resin with a conventional halogen free based flame retarding agent . furthermore , an impact modifier is optionally added to the resin composition so that the resin composition has improved impact strength and can be useful in any of the desired applications . the flame - retarding agent in accordance with the invention is typically a phosphorus - based flame - retarding agent , such as but not limited to an aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound . the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound has a structure of the following formula 2 , but it should be understood that the scope of the invention is not limited to the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound of formula 2 . wherein r 1 , r 2 , r 4 , and r 5 are each independently a c 6 - c 20 aryl group or a c 1 - c 20 alkyl - substituted c 6 - c 20 aryl group , r 3 is derived from a dialcohol , such as resorcinol , hydroquinol , bisphenol - a , bisphenol - s , and the like , and the value of n is in the range of 0 to 5 . when n is 0 , the phosphoric ester - based compound may include triphenylphosphate , tricresylphosphate , cresyldiphenylphosphate , trixylenylphosphate , tri ( 2 , 4 , 6 - trimethylphenyl ) phosphate , tri ( 2 , 4 - ditertiarybutylphenyl ) phosphate , tri ( 2 , 6 - ditertiarybutylphenyl ) phosphate , and the like , and combinations thereof . when n is 1 , the phosphoric ester compound may include resorcinol bis ( diphenylphosphate ), hydroquinol bis ( diphenylphosphate ), bisphenol - a - bis ( diphenylphosphate ), resorcinol bis ( 2 , 6 - ditertiarybutylphenylphosphate ), hydroquinol bis ( 2 , 6 - dimethylphenylphosphate ), and the like , and combinations thereof . when n is 2 or more , the phosphoric ester - based compound may exist as a mixture in the form of oligomer . the aforementioned compounds may be added to the base resin as a single or blended compound . the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound may be partially or entirely substituted by any of other phosphorus containing compounds of different structures , such as red phosphorus , phosphonate , phosphinate , phosphagen , and the like , and combinations thereof . the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound is added to the produced resin composition in accordance with the invention as a flame - retarding agent , and the amount may be in the range of about 5 to about 30 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the base resin . an amount of the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound less than about 5 parts by weight can make it difficult to attain the desired flame retardancy , and an amount of the aromatic phosphoric ester - based compound more than about 30 parts by weight can reduce mechanical strength and thermal resistance . an impact modifier in accordance with the invention may be added to the resin composition to enhance impact resistance . the impact modifier can include graft copolymers , olefin - based copolymers , and combinations thereof . the graft copolymers are obtained by polymerizing at least one rubber monomer selected from the group consisting of diene - based rubbers , acrylate - based rubbers , and silicone - based rubbers to form a rubber polymer , followed by grafting at least one monomer selected from the group consisting of graft - copolymerizable styrene , alpha - methyl styrene , alkyl - substituted styrene , acrylonitrile , methacrylonitrile , methylmethacrylate , maleic anhydride , alkyl or phenyl nucleus - substituted maleimide , and the like to the rubber polymer . the impact modifier can include the rubber in an amount of about 20 to about 80 parts by weight . exemplary diene - based rubbers include without limitation butadiene , isoprene , and the like , and combinations thereof . examples of the acrylate - based rubbers may include monomers , such as methylacrylate , ethylacrylate , n - propylacrylate , n - butylacrylate , 2 - ethylhexylacrylate , hexylmethylacrylate , 2 - ethylhexylmethylacrylate , and the like , and combinations thereof . the silicone - based rubbers may be made of cyclosiloxanes , for example , hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane , octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane , decamethylcyclopentasiloxane , dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane , trimethyltriphenylcyclotrisiloxane , tetramethyltetraphenylcyclotetrasiloxane , octaphenylcyclotetrasiloxane , and the like , and combinations thereof . at least one of these cyclosiloxanes may be selected and used as the silicone - based rubber . additionally , it is possible to use ethylene / propylene rubbers , or polyolefin - based rubbers such as terpolymer of ethylene - propylene - diene ( epdm ), and the like , as well as combinations thereof . in accordance with the invention , although the impact modifier may be optionally added depending on the use of the resin composition , the amount of impact modifier can be present in the range of about 1 to about 30 parts by weight , based on 100 parts by weight of the base resin which comprises the aforementioned ( a ), ( b ) and ( c ) resins . in a method for manufacturing the thermoplastic resin composition of the present invention , at least one additive selected from the group consisting of anti - dripping agents such as polytetrafluoroethylene , oxidation inhibitors , plasticizers , heat stabilizers , light stabilizers , compatibilizers , pigments , dyes , inorganic fillers , and the like , as well as combinations thereof may be added to the resin composition depending on the respective application of the resin composition . examples of the inorganic fillers may include glass fiber , clay , silica , talc , ceramics , and the like , and combinations thereof . such additives can be present in the resin composition in an amount up to about 50 parts by weight , based on 100 parts by weight of the base resin . the resin composition may be produced using any of the known methods that can be used to produce resin compositions . for example , the resin composition may be prepared in the form of pellets by simultaneously blending the components of the composition of the present invention and other additives , followed by melt - extrusion using an extruder . the resin composition of the invention may be used in molding various products and is particularly useful in the production of components for electrical and electronic products , such as housings for tvs and office automation equipment . hereinafter , the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the following examples . these examples are proposed to illustrate the present invention more specifically , and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples . components of a base resin , a flame - retarding agent , and an impact modifier used for inventive examples and comparative examples are as follows . panlite l - 1225 grade available from teijin chemicals ltd . of japan is used as the pc resin . pmma ih 830 grade available from lg chemical ltd . of south korea is used as the pmma resin . sky green k2012 grade , which is a glycol - modified amorphous pet resin available from sk chemical co . of south korea , is used as the petg resin . px - 200 grade , which is resorcinol bis ( di - 2 , 6 - xylenylphosphate ) available from daihachi chemical industry co ., ltd . of japan , is used as the phosphoric ester - based compound in the inventive example and comparative examples . metablen c223 - a grade , which is available from mrc corporation and obtained by graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate and styrene to a butadiene rubber , is used as the impact modifier . teflon ™ 7aj available from dupont co . of u . s . a . is used as the anti - dripping agent . resin compounds are produced in pellet shapes by blending materials ( a )-( d ) as described above in amounts listed in table 1 , followed by extruding the blended materials at temperatures in the range of 220 - 260 ° c . through a typical twin - screw extruder . pellets of each resin compound are dried at 80 ° c . for 3 hours , followed by injection - molding at a injection temperature of 250 ° c . and a mold temperature of 60 ° c . with 8 oz injection molding machine , thereby providing test specimens used for measuring impact resistance , flame retardancy , and pencil hardness . for the test specimens of the invention and comparative examples prepared as shown in the following table 1 , the flame retardancy is evaluated according to a flame retardancy regulation in ul 94v , and izod impact strength is evaluated according to astm d - 256 . the pencil hardness is evaluated using specimens of 10 cm by 10 cm which are maintained at a temperature of 23 ° c . and a relative humidity of 50 % for 48 hours according to jis k 5401 . scratch resistance is classified as 3b , 2b , b , hb , f , h , 2h , 3h , etc . based on the results of pencil hardness of the specimens . as can be seen from the following table , the higher the value of h , the higher the scratch resistance , whereas the higher the value of b , the lower the scratch resistance . the resin compositions of the inventive examples can maintain superior scratch resistance with a pencil hardness of f or more while exhibiting a flame retardancy of v0 , which is the highest degree of flame retardancy . in addition , by adding the mbs resin as an impact modifier to the resin composition , it is possible to obtain a resin composition having good impact strength . as compared with inventive example 2 , although comparative example 2 has the same amount of polycarbonate as that of inventive example 2 , comparative example 2 has a greater amount of pmma and does not contain pet , which is an essential component of the present invention . as a result , the flame retardancy of comparative example 2 is reduced and fails to pass vertical burning test under ul 94 due to the aforementioned amounts . on the contrary , as can be seen from table 1 , inventive example 2 contains pet and thus can ensure superior pencil hardness and flame retardancy . comparative example 5 does not contain the polycarbonate resin contributing to the improvement of flame retardancy and fails to attain the desired flame retardancy . in addition , as can be seen from table 1 , comparative examples 3 , 4 , 6 and 7 demonstrate poor scratch resistance when pmma is not present . many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions . therefore , it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims . although specific terms are employed herein , they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation , the scope of the invention being defined in the claims . | 2 |
referring briefly to fig1 a and 1b , it will there be seen that prior art series x - polled bimorph 10 is excited on only one side of the element . in fig1 a , the reference numeral 10 denotes the bimorph when no voltage is applied thereto . a bimorph is made of two strips of conductors that expand longitudinally at different expansion rates when voltage is applied thereto . accordingly , conductors 12 and 14 share a common length when no voltage is applied thereto as depicted in fig1 a . in fig1 b , 200 volts is applied to prior art bimorph 10 . in this particular example , the expansion rate of conductor 14 exceeds that of conductor 12 so that the length of conductor 14 exceeds that of conductor 12 when voltage is applied to conductor 12 . bimorph 10 therefore becomes curved . the amount of curvature increases in direct relation to an increase in applied voltage . no voltage is applied to the central electrode in a series - polled bimorph . turning now to fig2 a and 2b , there it will be seen that this invention discloses the use of parallel polled bimorphs 20 in braille cell assemblies as distinguished from the prior art series polled bimorphs . the novel parallel polled bimorph design harnesses the power of bimorph technology by driving both sides of the piezo bender with a common voltage of the same polarity , as depicted diagrammatically in fig2 a and 2b , and by grounding the central conductor . novel bimorph 20 includes top plate 22 , bottom plate 24 , and internal or central conductor 26 . any applied voltage in the range from zero ( 0 ) to two hundred fifty ( 250 ) volts is within the scope of this invention . a novel virtual bimorph ground , established by grounding the center conductor , eliminates the prior art need for custom drive electronics to drive both positive and negative high voltage cells . moreover , the novel parallel polled bimorphs enable the provision of common electrical contact between top and bottom plates 22 and 24 , respectively . said top and bottom plates 22 , 24 are electrically isolated from one another as depicted in fig2 a and 2b , the top and bottom elements 22 , 24 of y - polled bimorph 20 are polarized in a common direction . this configuration enables busing the outer conductors and driving internal strip 26 . with this method , both top and bottom piezo elements 22 , 24 are properly biased so that they work together . a novel “ virtual ground ” is created at 100 v to enable the existing drive electronics to operate this superior piezo technology . other voltages for the establishment of the virtual ground are within the scope of the invention . the use of parallel bimorphs enables busing of piezo strips 22 and 24 . a simplified clip providing mechanical stability and electrical contact may therefore be used , without requiring special metallic plating . more particularly , the top and bottom plates are electrically isolated from one another by novel bimorph clip denoted 30 as a whole in fig3 . clip 30 includes top horizontal wall 32 and bottom horizontal wall 34 . top horizontal wall 32 is soldered to pcb 36 and has an arm that extends downwardly to linear contact area 32 a and upwardly therefrom . conversely , bottom horizontal wall 34 is also soldered to pcb 36 and has an arm that extends upwardly to linear contact area 34 a and downwardly therefrom . the space between contact area 32 a and 34 a is slightly less than the thickness of bimorph reed 20 . each arm is formed of an electrically conductive flexible and resilient material and said arms are inherently biased toward one another so that a bimorph reed 20 disposed in sandwiched relation therebetween is firmly engaged thereby . bimorph clip 30 , being integrally formed with pcb 36 , secured bimorph reed 20 to said pcb . the invention is not limited to the depicted design of clip 30 . a wide variety of other bimorph reed clip designs providing mechanical stability and electrical contact is within the scope of the invention . bimorph reed clip 30 is designed for the surface mount technology ( smt ) process to avoid manual placement of the part . the bimorph reed clip also is mechanically ideal for piezo alignment and vibration . the use of parallel polled bimorph reeds in combination with bimorph clip 30 eliminates the prior art need for sixteen ( 16 ) wires and thirty - two ( 32 ) hand - solder joints per braille cell assembly . the parallel polled bimorph reed design also results in an estimated fifty percent ( 50 %) power reduction by reducing the operating voltage and the mechanical resistance presented by the prior art construction . note that each bimorph actuator is mechanically held at its fulcrum by metal contacts on the pcb . these contacts also provide an electrical connection for biasing the bimorph actuator . this novel structure is an improvement over the above - mentioned prior art structures that hold the bimorph in a mechanical frame formed of non - conductive plastic and which require the soldering of sixteen ( 16 ) wires and thirty - two ( 32 ) hand - soldered connections per cell . the new cell eliminates all wires and thus all of the thirty two ( 32 ) hand - soldered connections . only the center conductor is soldered by hand in the novel design . this solder connection is completed in the constraints of alignment fixture to accurately control the position of the work end of the bimorph . bimorph clip 30 may be thought of as a split clip or an isolated clip because the contact on the top of the bimorph is electrically isolated from the contact on the bottom of the bimorph . in another embodiment of clip 30 , known as a common clip , net deemed currently suitable for use in a commercial embodiment of the invention , the top of the bimorph is mechanically and electrically connected to the bottom of the bimorph . although functional , the effects of long - term aging of the ceramic in the bimorph are unacceptable . in this common clip , both halves of the bimorph work in concert with one another but untested piezo material properties , specifically the aging effect of reverse - biasing the ceramic material , require further investigation . half the high voltage , or 100 volts , was applied to the center of the common clip . this center voltage , or bimorph virtual ground , enables the use of standard high voltage drive circuitry and a common clip . the common clip may become viable as advances are made in piezo - ceramic technology . the serviceability of each novel bimorph is maintained and improved over other designs . if an individual braille dot does not meet specification , that braille cell is removed and the bad bimorph removed by reflowing a single solder joint . tie replacement bimorph is then inserted into the braille cell pcb and aligned with the aid of a fixture . this avoids the problem in removing prior art bimorphs where individual bimorph removal is complicated by the attachment of two ( 2 ) wires to each bimorph . fig4 a depicts a braille cell assembly 40 mounted on top wall 44 of a chassis / backplane not depicted in this figure and fig4 b depicts a plurality of said braille cell assemblies mounted on said top wall . braille cell assembly 40 includes pcb 36 to which is soldered a plurality of novel bimorph clips 30 in vertically spaced relation to one another during standard smt processing . a bimorph reed 20 is then inserted between biased arms 32 , 34 of each clip 30 using an alignment jig . each center conductor 26 of each bimorph reed 20 is then soldered to pcb 36 . this process eliminates the need for sixteen ( 16 ) hand - soldered jumper wires . it also eliminates the prior art need for providing plating on bimorph reed 20 to enable said bimorph reed to accept solder . a plurality of pcb - receiving sockets 42 is mounted on top wall 44 in spaced relation to one another as depicted . a large number of braille cell assemblies 40 may therefore be mounted to said top wall as suggested by fig4 b . fig5 discloses the pin connections of braille device interface 50 . interface 50 defines the required connections to drive the display . this embodiment enables left or right side connections and further enables independent scanning of key switches without changing latched display data . fig6 a and 6b are perspective views of opposite sides of braille cell assembly 40 . the disclosure of these fig6 a and 6b is essentially the same as the disclosure of fig4 a and 4b but fig6 a and 6b make it clearer that clips 30 and bimorph reeds 20 are mounted on both sides of pcb 36 . note that there are four ( 4 ) bimorph reeds 20 mounted on each side of pcb 36 so that there are eight ( 8 ) bimorph reeds mounted on each pcb 36 . accordingly , it should be understood that each pcb is dedicated to a braille cell having eight ( 8 ) braille pins and each bimorph reed is dedicated to a braille pin of said braille cell . fig7 a is a top perspective view of chassis / backplane 60 and fig7 b is a bottom perspective view thereof . chassis / backplane 60 includes top wall 44 ( see fig4 a and 4b ) and bottom wall 46 . it also includes an angle wall 62 having a plurality of sets 64 of pinholes or bores 66 formed in a horizontal part 62 a thereof . horizontal part 62 a of angle wall 62 abuts a leading edge of top wall 44 and is coplanar therewith . each pinhole or bore 66 is adapted to slideably receive a pin , not depicted in fig7 a and 7b . note that there are eight ( 8 ) pinholes or bores 66 per set 64 of pinholes or bores . upstanding flat wall 68 abuts a trailing edge of top wall 44 and a trailing edge of bottom wall 46 . a plurality of slots 70 is formed in the lower edge of said flat wall 68 . each slot engages a protuberance 36 a formed in the trailing end of its associated pcb . a corresponding plurality of slots 72 is formed in top wall 44 to accommodate the respective leading ends of the pcbs . each set of slots 70 and 72 cooperate with one another to provide a mount for each pcb 36 . fig8 a depicts chassis / backplane 60 when a pcb 36 is mounted in each slot 70 and 72 . it also depicts a braille pin 80 disposed in each pinhole or bore 66 . one ( 1 ) bimorph reed 20 is associated with each pin 80 , there being one pcb 36 having eight ( 8 ) bimorph reeds mounted thereto associated with each set 64 of eight ( 8 ) pinholes or bores 66 as aforesaid . pins 80 are provided in four differing lengths as indicated in fig8 b . the pins may be manufactured individually , or they may be manufactured in connected - together groups of eight ( 8 ) that are separated from one another after assembly into the braille cell , thereby improving manufacturability . each pin 80 has a solid or hollow construction and includes four ( 4 ) parts that share a common longitudinal axis of symmetry . each of the four ( 4 ) parts may have a transverse cross - section of any predetermined geometrical configuration . a more detailed description of the pins is provided in u . s . patent application ser . no . 10 / 710 , 808 , filed aug . 4 , 2004 by the same inventors . that patent application is hereby incorporated by reference into this disclosure . the novel cell cap of this invention is depicted in fig9 a and 9b and is denoted as a whole by the reference numeral 90 . twenty ( 20 ) sets 92 of pinholes 94 are depicted , each pinhole being adapted to slidingly receive tip 80 d of pin 80 . this configuration is referred to as a “ double decade ” and represents one ( 1 ) module . unlike the aforementioned prior art braille cells that require one individual cap per set of pinholes , cell cap 90 is a monolithic cap for all sets of pinholes , i . e ., cell cap 90 enables one cap to cap a plurality of braille cells . cell cap 90 significantly reduces the tolerance issues associated with individual caps without compromising access to the individual braille cells if repair or replacement is required . cell cap 90 of the braille multi - cell module is smooth , lacking the grooves and unevenness between each cell ( character ) found in all existing braille displays on the market . this advantageous side - effect of a cost - reduction effort is one of the most significant features of the invention . to users , the tactility of the grooves and cell - to - cell unevenness of prior art braille displays is equivalent to the aggravation caused sighted people by the noise and flickering of a computer monitor . the paper - like smoothness of the novel braille display is a first in the electronically refreshable braille display industry . moreover , the monolithic cell cap provides better dimensional control of the braille electromechanical module when it is assembled in the final product . prior art cell caps produce a gap between the braille module and the opening in the braille display case . each gap is a result of the accumulation of dimensional tolerances on a per cell basis as distinguished from the novel single dimensional tolerance for a plurality of cells . the invention of the monolithic cell cap supplants the above - mentioned prior art approach that employs an extra frame to correctly space each cell at a centerline . this prior art approach is unsatisfactory because it further accentuates the unevenness of the display and provides additional area for contaminates . monolithic cell cap 90 can be constructed with anti - bacterial plastics or other suitable materials to inhibit the spread and growth of germs . in all embodiments , the braille pin of the assembly is captive in the mechanical design . it is secured between a top wall of the chassis / backplane 60 and cell providing a negative and a positive stop to the braille pin &# 39 ; s displacement , respectively . there is no dependency on the bimorph actuators hold the braille pins in place . there is no dependency on the bimorph actuators to hold the braille pins in place . this improves manufacturability and serviceability . this low cost part of the design ( frame top wall , cell cap , and pins ) eliminates the requirement to clean bio - contaminates on a regular basis , as it can now be considered a disposable item . the braille cell pcb that contains the expensive high voltage control circuitry , expensive bimorph actuators , and critical alignment is reused in a new , clean mechanical chassis / backplane during cleaning or refurbishment of the display . frame ( chassis / backplane ) bottom wall 46 is more fully depicted in fig1 . six ( 6 ) threaded inserts , collectively denoted 100 , are employed to attach the double decade assembly to the final oem product . frame bottom wall 46 is preferably constructed of a material that does not require additional isolation from the metal chassis to which it is mounted . slots 102 cooperate with slots 72 formed in frame top wall 44 to hold pcbs 36 . fig1 illustrates a set of buttons and a frame 110 for holding the buttons . each button has a head 112 that is enlarged with respect to its stem 114 . frame 110 has a comb - like construction where the contiguous teeth of the comb are spaced apart from one another by a space that slideably receives a stem 114 . the teeth of the comb thus support heads 112 . buttons 110 perform functions relating to cursor location and panning features . fig1 depicts the novel double decade braille cell assembly without the novel cell cap . note that there are two ( 2 ) button and frame assemblies 110 of the type depicted in fig1 and that said assemblies 110 are disposed in confronting relation to one another . fig1 depicts the double decade braille cell assembly with the novel cell cap 92 in its functional position . all pins are in their retracted position in this fig . the modularization provided by the novel design is a key to success in providing a low cost product that is economical to manufacture and easy to service . each of the braille cells can be individually installed or removed from service as a result of the backplane / chassis solution . the backplane / chassis provides the benefits of electrical interconnect , correct mechanical alignment , high voltage isolation , and a stable platform for additional circuitry such as tactile switches commonly used for routing the cursor to a specified cell location . any number of cells may be used in the modularization , and each module is interconnectable to another module . for commercial purposes , the minimum - sized module has been selected at twenty ( 20 ) cells , thereby enabling the selling of products including twenty ( 20 ) cells , forty ( 40 ) cells , sixty ( 60 ) cells , eighty ( 80 ) cells , and so on . other module sizes are within the scope of this invention . for example , production of a four ( 4 ) cell module would enable production of a forty four ( 44 ) cell braille display ( 20 + 20 + 4 ), a seventy - two cell braille display ( 20 + 20 + 20 + 4 + 4 + 4 ), an eighty four ( 84 ) cell braille display ( 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 + 4 ), and so on . the provision of the monolithic cell cap also produces an array of button caps over the tact switches . this array of button caps reduces labor costs . prior art braille dell manufacturers require each switch cap be individually installed . it will be seen that the advantages set forth above , and those made apparent from the foregoing description , are efficiently attained and since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention , it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described , and all statements of the scope of the invention that , as a matter of language , might be said to fall therebetween . now that the invention has been described , | 6 |
there is illustrated in fig1 a first embodiment of a protection / isolation system 2 against infected or disease - bearing persons , according to the present invention . the system 2 is composed of a framework 4 , which advantageously , can be easily assembled and dismantled , e . g ., an assembly of rods 6 and suitable interengaging and interlocking joints 8 . the framework 4 is provided with members 10 for anchoring it to the ground , or floor , when provided . to the inside or outside of the framework 4 there is attached at least one pre - configured enclosure 12 made of flexible thin material , impermeable to bacteria , and / or viruses and / or germs . the enclosure 12 is attached to the framework 4 by any suitable means 14 , for example , simple tie strips , band loops or self - locking bands . care should be taken to keep the floor part flat , even under the influence of under - pressure . this can be achieved by making the floor of a heavier material than that of the walls . in the embodiment shown , there are formed two chambers , an isolation chamber 16 and an airlock chamber 18 , which are in communication via an entrance / exit slot 20 made in the material of the enclosure 12 . the interior of the airlock chamber 18 is accessed via closable slot 22 . the enclosure 12 is also provided with a closable opening 24 for entering bulky equipment into the chamber 16 . the chamber 16 is covered with a ceiling 26 having air inlet holes 28 for obtaining controlled , even distribution of air flowing therethrough . there are also provided above the ceiling 26 , air inlets 30 leading to chamber 16 and an air entry valve 32 leading to the airlock chamber 18 . air leaves the isolation chamber 16 through a sleeve 34 to a blower / filter unit 36 ( fig2 ). two service ports 38 , 40 are located adjacent the sleeve 34 . optionally , the system 2 is furnished with brackets 42 , facilitating connection to other , like systems , or to stationary structures . the system 2 shown in fig2 is similar to the system 2 of fig1 , except for the air flow passageway to airlock chamber 18 , which is different . here , air is sucked in through the air flow distribution ceiling 44 of the airlock chamber 18 , independent from the isolation chamber 16 . air from the airlock chamber 18 exits the airlock through hepa filter 46 and , a blower 48 sucking the air from the ceiling 44 through the airlock chamber 18 via the filter 46 to the outside . referring to fig3 , there is illustrated the system 2 according to the present invention , similar to system 2 of fig2 , however , according to this embodiment , the system does not depict the framework 4 . instead , the thin flexible enclosure 12 forming the chamber 16 and airlock chamber 18 , as well as other structural elements and units , are suspended and affixed via means 14 and brackets 42 to frameworks or stationary structures disposed within the enclosure or located adjacent thereto ( not shown ). turning now to fig4 and 5 , there are depicted details of the blower / filter 36 . seen is a noise and air directing cover 50 , a blower 52 , and a filter housing 54 having a pedestal 58 . inside the housing there is disposed the hepa filtering element 60 and a uv lamp 62 for radiating ultraviolet light . to the housing 54 there is attached a sleeve 64 having a removable cover 66 for storage purposes . a connector 68 facilitates quick connection between the sleeve 64 and housing 54 . further seen in fig4 is an electrical switch 70 and pressure drop gauge 72 , as well as an electrical power cord 74 . the system 2 for protecting and isolating infected or disease - bearing persons operates as follows : air from the outside is sucked into the isolation chamber 16 via air inlets 30 , passes through the chamber &# 39 ; s perforated ceiling 26 and uniformly flows from top to bottom in a laminar flow , without causing any turbulence , and is propelled out of the chamber through the blower / filter 36 which , in the process , destroys the bacteria by means of the uv radiation from the uv lamp 62 ( fig1 and 5 ). outside air can similarly enter airlock chamber 18 ( fig2 and 3 ) through its perforated ceiling 44 resulting from the suction action of blower 48 expelling filtered air after passing the filter 46 . hence , bacteria contaminated air which passes through the blower / filter 36 and a closely disposed ( e . g ., & lt ; 20 cm ) uv lamp , reduces or eliminates the potential risk of infection . instead of , or in addition to the bacteria destroying uv lamp , the surfaces of the filter may be treated with biocides , such as antibacterial chemical substances . preferably , the under - pressure which is formed and maintained in the chambers , should be higher than 10 pa . also satisfactory results are obtained when the airflow created in the airlock chamber is higher than 0 . 3 m / sec . in order to render the system more efficient , there may be provided a sensor , e . g ., a volume of movement sensor , indicating entrance of at least one person to the chambers and activating the system . referring now to fig6 , there is shown a further embodiment of the invention in which the entrance and exit to and from the isolation and airlock chambers are effected through single or double wing doors 76 , 78 , advantageously , swinging doors . also seen is a portable air - filtering unit 80 , which can easily be propelled into position after erection of the chambers 16 and 18 . as described hereinbefore , the isolation and airlock chambers should be kept under the influence of under - pressure . in order to more effectively achieve it , the bottom bars or rods of the framework 4 are structured as illustrated in fig7 a and 7b . seen in these figures are generally u - shaped rails 82 , partly accommodating compressible , elongated elements 84 , advantageously , tubular elements . in order to retain the elements 84 in place , the elements are wrapped around and held in place by a double layer of the flaps of the flexible material 12 from which the enclosure is made , e . g ., by providing at the bottom thereof tubular passages into which preformed elements 84 are inserted , or alternatively , by welding the bottom part around the elements 84 . as can be understood , in addition to the weight of the framework 4 , upon causing an under - pressure in the chambers , the rails 82 and elements 84 will be tightly pressed to the ground or floor to maintain the under - pressure inside the chambers . the compressible elements 84 will compensate for unevenness of the floor under the elements , to better seal the framework thereagainst . the enclosure 12 may be provided with elongated gloves , so as to facilitate treatment of patients from the outside , without having to enter the enclosure . it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrated embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof . the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by 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 . | 8 |
referring now to the drawings , a wireless adapter 100 for a digital camera 10 is shown . the wireless adaptor 100 enables wireless communications between the digital camera 10 and remote devices or services , such as a home computer 30 , web album 32 , web blog 34 , or remote print server 36 over a wireless network . the wireless adapter 100 can be used with both digital still cameras and digital video cameras . the wireless adapter 100 detachably connects to the digital camera 10 and provides remote access capability to the digital camera 10 that otherwise lacks inherent wireless networking capabilities . fig1 shows an exemplary networking environment in which the wireless adapter 100 can be used . as will be described in greater detail below , the wireless adapter 100 can connect to a wireless wide area network ( wwan ) 20 , such as a cellular network or wimax network , or to a wireless local area network ( wlan ) 22 . the wlan 22 may comprise any local area network that can be accessed wirelessly , such as a home network with a wireless router . the wwan 20 and / or wlan 22 may provide connection to the internet 24 . a home computer 30 is connected to the wlan 22 . web album 32 , web blog 34 , and print server 36 are connected to the internet 24 . fig2 shows an exemplary wireless adaptor 100 . wireless adaptor 100 includes camera interface 102 , communication control circuit 104 , wireless interfaces 106 , 108 , and power control circuit 110 . camera interface 102 provides an interface to the digital camera 10 to enable communication between the wireless adapter 100 and digital camera 10 . communication control circuit 104 comprises processing circuits and memory for implementing file transfer agent functions and controlling the overall operation of the wireless adapter as herein after described . wireless interfaces 106 , 108 enable communication over wireless network , such as wwan 20 and wlan 22 . power control circuit 110 manages power to the wireless adapter 100 . power can be supplied by an internal battery ( not shown ) or an external power source via an optional connector 130 . camera interface 102 may comprise a serial or parallel interface , such as a universal serial bus ( usb ) interface , a firewire interface , etc . connector 128 connects the camera interface 102 with the digital camera 10 . in one exemplary embodiment , the camera interface 102 functions as a usb host device and the digital camera functions as a usb client device . power may be supplied by the digital camera 10 through the camera interface 102 . in one exemplary embodiment , wireless interface 106 enables long - range communication over a wwan 20 , while wireless interface 108 enables short - range wireless communication over wlan 22 . the wireless interface 106 may comprises a standard cellular transceiver , such as a gsm or cdma transceiver . alternatively , the wireless interface 106 may comprise a wimax transceiver or ofdm transceiver . wireless interface 108 may comprise , for example , a bluetooth , wifi , rfid , or nfc interface . the communication control circuit 104 includes a file transfer agent ( fta ) 105 to provide remote access capability . the file transfer agent 105 stores information about one or more remote destinations in memory of the wireless adapter 100 . such information may include the destination address for each destination and authentication information , such as the username and password for each destination . the file transfer agent 105 is configured to receive image data from the digital camera 10 and to transfer the image data to the remote destination via one of the wireless interfaces 106 , 108 . an optional configuration connector 132 can be provided for connecting the communication control circuit 104 to an external computer ( not shown ) to configure the wireless adaptor 100 . in one embodiment , the file transfer agent 105 emulates a printer as described in related application ser . no . 60 / 863 , 382 filed concurrently herewith and incorporated herein by reference . in this embodiment , file transfer agent 105 implements pictbridge or other direct printing technology to communicate directly with the digital camera 10 . the file transfer agent can create one or more emulated printers that appear to the digital camera 10 like any other printer . each emulated printer is associated with a particular remote destination . when the user “ prints ” to an emulated printer , the file transfer agent 105 transfers the image data to a corresponding remote destination . by emulating a printer , the file transfer agent 105 provides networking capabilities to any digital camera 10 that implements pictbridge or other direct printing technology . fig3 a and 3b illustrate a first exemplary method for connecting the wireless adapter 100 with the digital camera 10 . both mechanical connections and electrical connections are shown . mechanical connection is made by means of threaded connectors . the camera body 12 for the digital camera 10 includes a conventional tripod connector 14 with internal threads for mounting the digital camera 10 to a tripod ( not shown ). the wireless adapter body 120 includes a mounting screw 124 that threads into the tripod connector 14 on the camera body 12 . the mounting screw 124 on the wireless adapter body includes a finger grip 126 that can be accessed through a window 122 in the wireless adapter body 120 as shown in fig3 a . alternatively , the mounting screw 124 can pass through the wireless adapter body 120 as shown in fig3 b . electrical connection between the camera 10 and wireless adapter 100 is made by means of mating connectors . a female connector 16 is disposed on the camera body 12 and the male connector 128 is disposed on the wireless adapter body 120 . the spacing and relative orientation between the male connector 128 and the mounting screw 124 on the wireless adapter body 120 is the same as the spacing and relative orientation between the female connector 16 and the tripod connector 14 on the camera body 12 . fig4 a and 4b illustrate a second exemplary method of connecting the wireless adapter 100 with the digital camera 10 . the camera body 12 includes a tripod connector 14 as previously described on a bottom surface , and a female connector 16 along one side of the digital camera 10 . the wireless adapter 100 extends along two sides of the digital camera 10 . the wireless adapter 100 includes a mounting screw 124 and male connector 128 for connecting to the digital camera 10 as previously described . fig4 a shows an embodiment in which the mounting screw 124 is accessed through a window 122 in the wireless adapter body 120 . fig4 b shows an embodiment in which the mounting screw 124 passes through the wireless adapter body 120 . fig5 a and 5b illustrate a third method for connecting the wireless adapter 100 to the digital camera 10 . as in the two previous embodiments , the wireless adapter body 120 includes a mounting screw 124 adapted to engage with a tripod connector 14 on the camera body 12 . the mounting screw 124 may be accessed through a window 122 in the adapter body as shown in fig5 a , or may pass through the wireless adapter body 120 as shown in fig5 b . the electrical connection is made by means of a cable connector 136 having a male connector 128 at one end thereof that engages a female connector 16 on the camera body 12 . fig5 a and 5b illustrate a fixed cable . those skilled in the art will appreciate , however , that an additional connector ( not shown ) may be provided for disconnecting the cable connector 136 from the wireless adapter body . fig6 a and 6b illustrate a fourth method of connecting the wireless adapter 100 to the digital camera 10 . the wireless adapter body 120 includes a mounting screw 124 adapted to engage with a tripod connector 14 on the camera body 12 as previously described . the mounting screw 124 may be accessed through a window 122 in the adapter body as shown in fig6 a , or may pass through the wireless adapter body 120 as shown in fig6 b . the electrical connection is made by a short - range wireless interfaces 18 , 134 . short - range wireless interface 18 , 134 may comprise such a near - filed communication ( nfc ) interface , or bluetooth interface . fig7 a - 7c illustrate exemplary antenna arrangements for the wireless adapter 100 . as shown in fig7 a , the circuits in wireless adaptor 100 may be disposed in a bottom and / or side portion of the adaptor 100 . the wireless adapter 100 in the illustrated embodiment extends along two sides of the digital camera 10 . the bottom portion of the wireless adapter body 120 contains the mounting hardware and electrical circuits 102 - 110 for the wireless adapter 100 . the antenna 112 is contained within or mounts to the side portion of the wireless adapter body 120 . the side portion may , if desired , include part of the electrical circuitry 102 - 110 . the antenna 112 may be fixed in place as shown in fig7 a . alternatively , the antenna may slide between retracted and extended positions as shown in fig7 b . in another embodiment , shown in fig7 c , the antenna 112 is pivotally connected to the wireless adapter body 120 and pivots between retracted and extended positions . fig8 a - 8c illustrate an embodiment in which the wireless adapter 100 includes two antennas 112 and 114 . the two antennas 112 , 114 may be used for transmitting in different frequency bands or may be used to provide diversity . in fig8 a , the first antenna 112 is disposed on the side portion of the wireless adapter 100 as previously described , and a second antenna 114 is disposed on the bottom portion of the wireless adapter 100 . the antennas 112 , 114 may be fixed or movable . if movable , the antennas 112 , 114 may slide or pivot between retracted and extended positions . fig8 b illustrates an embodiment of the wireless adaptor having a fixed antenna 112 disposed on the side portion of the wireless adaptor 100 and a second movable antenna disposed on the bottom portion of the wireless adaptor 100 . the movable antenna 114 may slide between retracted and extended positions . fig8 c illustrates an embodiment of the wireless adapter 100 having two antennas 112 , 114 disposed on the side portion of the wireless adapter 100 . the first antenna 112 is a fixed antenna and the second antenna 114 is a movable antenna . the movable antenna 114 pivots between retracted and extended positions . fig9 a - 9d show embodiments of the wireless adapter 100 for a digital video camera 10 . the wireless adapter 100 in these embodiments is adapted to mount to a bottom surface of the digital video camera 10 . the wireless adapter 100 can be connected to the digital video camera 10 using the methods previously described and shown in fig3 - 6 . in fig9 a , the antenna 112 for the wireless adapter 100 is disposed toward a front end of the wireless adapter . fig9 b shows a slidable antenna 112 that slides between extended and retracted positions . fig9 c shows a pivoting antenna 112 that pivots between extended and retracted positions . fig9 d shows an embodiment of the wireless adapter 100 for a digital video camera 10 having two antennas 112 , 114 . a first antenna 112 is fixed at the front end of the wireless adapter 100 . a second antenna 114 is mounted for pivotal movement between extended and retracted positions . it will be appreciated that the second antenna 114 could also slide between extended and retracted positions . the present invention may , of course , be carried out in other ways than those specifically set forth herein without departing from essential characteristics of the invention . the present embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive , and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claims are intended to be embraced therein . | 7 |
as shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration , the present invention is embodied in an all - terrain baby stroller 10 , as shown in fig1 , having a foldable , tubular metal frame 12 and a transversely extending rear axle assembly 14 with a transverse , non - rotating tubular rear axle 15 . left and right side rear wheels 16 are rotatably mounted to the ends of the rear axle assembly 14 . the forward end of the frame 12 has a single front wheel 18 rotatably mounted thereto . the frame 12 has no base frame members extending rearwardly from the front wheel 18 to the rear axle assembly 14 as do most conventional all - terrain strollers . instead , the frame 12 includes left and right side , downwardly and forwardly sloping front wheels frame members or supports 20 , which each extend downward from a corresponding one of left and right side folding assemblies 22 in a converging configuration to the front wheel 18 . a forward free - end 20 a of each of the left and right side front wheel supports 20 has a plastic front wheel connector 20 b fixedly attached thereto and a corresponding one of the left and right ends of an axle 18 a of the front wheel 18 removably attached thereto to mount the front wheel to the stroller frame 12 . the front wheel supports 20 are interconnected by a foot rest 23 that spans between them toward but rearward of their forward free - ends 20 a and that is fixedly attached to each at a position rearward of the axle 18 a of the front wheel and extending partially over the front wheel 18 . as a result of the interconnection provided by the foot rest 23 , and also the front wheel 18 when attached to the left and right side front wheel connectors , the left and right side front wheel supports 20 form a stationary unit with respect to the left and right side folding assemblies 22 upon folding and unfolding of the stroller 10 , as will be described in greater detail below . the frame 12 also includes left and right side , upwardly and rearwardly sloping handle frame members or supports 24 , which each extend upward from the corresponding one of the left and right side folding assemblies 22 in a generally parallel configuration to a handle 26 extending between the left and right side handle supports . the handle 26 is covered by a foam grip . the handle supports 24 are interconnected by the handle 26 that spans between them at their rearwardmost and uppermost extension and that is fixedly attached to each . as a result of the interconnection provided by the handle 26 , the left and right side handle supports 24 move as a unit with respect to the left and right side folding assemblies 22 upon folding and unfolding of the stroller 10 , as will be described in greater detail below . it is noted that in lieu of the interconnecting handle 26 , the handle supports 24 may each be provided with a handle portion at the upper end thereof such as used with umbrella style strollers . in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the left and right side handle supports 24 and the handle 26 are formed as an integral unit by bending a single length of aluminum tube . the left and right side handle supports 24 are movable relative to the left and right side front wheel supports 20 for folding of the stroller 10 and do not together form an integrated rigid upper frame . the frame 12 also includes left and right side , downwardly and rearwardly sloping rear wheel frame members or supports 30 , which each extend downward from the corresponding one of the left and right side folding assemblies 22 in a generally parallel configuration to the rear axle assembly 14 . a rearward free - end 30 a of each of the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 is fixedly attached to the tubular rear axle 15 toward a corresponding one of the left and right ends of the tubular rear axle 15 . the rear wheel supports 30 are interconnected by the rear axle assembly 14 that spans between them at the rearward free - ends 30 a thereof . a cross - frame member 31 with a u - shape extends between the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 . as a result of the interconnection provided by the rear axle assembly 14 and the cross - frame member 31 , the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 move as a unit with respect to the left and right folding assemblies 22 for folding and unfolding of the stroller 10 , as will be described in greater detail below . the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 are also movable relative to the left and right side front wheel supports 20 and the left and right side handle supports 24 for folding of the stroller 10 . further , the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 and the rear axle assembly 14 connected thereto do not form a part of a base frame extending between the rear and front wheels 16 and 18 . much of the structural strength of the stroller 10 and the interconnection of the front wheel supports 20 , the handle supports 24 , and the rear wheel supports 30 are provided by the centrally positioned left and right side folding assemblies 22 , and not by a base frame . in the illustrated embodiment of the stroller 10 , the left and right side front wheel supports 20 , the left and right side handle supports 24 , and the left and right side rear wheel supports 30 are made from aluminum tube . suitable alternative materials may be used . the left and right outward ends of the tubular rear axle 15 are open and internally threaded to receive a threaded stub axle 32 forming a part of the corresponding one of the left and right rear wheels 16 . a lock nut ( not shown ) when tightened against the face of the stub axle 32 locks the stub axle against loosening during usage of the stroller 10 . alternative constructions may be used to fixedly or removably attach the rear wheels 16 to the tubular rear axle 15 , and any suitable alternative manner of mounting the rear wheels 16 to the real wheel supports 30 may be used . the frame 12 of the stroller 10 is shown in fig1 in the fully unfolded state with a fabric seat 33 a , and a fabric leg support and guard 33 b . the seat 33 a is suspended from the left and right side handle supports 24 , and the leg guard 33 b spans between and is supported by the left and right side front wheel supports 20 . for purposes of illustration , the frame 12 is shown in fig2 without the seat 33 a and the leg guard 33 b . for the depicted implementation , user operation of the left and right side folding assemblies 22 will now be described . the left and right side folding assemblies 22 have the same construction , with one being the mirror image of the other , and the description below , while in the singular , is applicable to both . each of the left and right rear wheel supports 30 supports an inwardly extending lever 34 , which has a predominantly vertical orientation , as shown in fig3 , when the frame 12 of the stroller 10 is locked in the fully unfolded position . to begin the procedure to fold the frame 12 , each of the levers 34 is pulled upward and inward as depicted by arrows r 1 to thereby put the left and right side folding assemblies 22 in an unlocked state as further explained below . a strap ( not shown ) may be connected by its ends to the levers 34 to facilitate movement of both levers at the same time . with each of the left and right folding assemblies 22 in an unlocked state , the left and right handle supports 24 , along with the handle 26 , and the left and right front wheel support 20 , along with the front wheel 18 , can be rotated about the left and right folding assemblies , respectively , toward the left and right rear wheel supports 30 , respectively , as depicted by arrows r 2 shown in fig4 . as shown , when the stroller 10 is folded , the folding assemblies 22 allow a greater rotation angle for the handle supports 24 ( greater than 90 °) than for the front wheel supports 20 ( less than 90 °). as explained further below , the front wheel supports 20 move in geared coordination with movement of the handle supports 24 . as the frame 12 is being folded , the front wheel supports 20 are rotated clockwise about the folding assemblies 22 as viewed in fig4 , while the handle supports 24 are also rotated counterclockwise about the folding assemblies as viewed in fig4 . the frame 12 is shown in a partially folded state in fig5 . in a fully folded state , both the front wheel supports 20 and the handle supports 24 have been rotated in geared coordination with each other about the folding assemblies 22 to be positioned in close proximity to the rear wheel supports 30 as shown in fig6 . to do so the front wheel 18 is removed . the right side folding assembly 22 is shown in exploded view in fig7 and includes a laterally outward positioned forward rotatable member 35 ′ and a laterally inward rearward rotatable member 35 ″, each with a flat face facing toward the other . the forward rotatable member 35 ′ has a plate or disk 36 ′ with a central plate portion having a central aperture 37 ′. the forward rotatable member 35 ′ also includes a notch 38 ′, a radially outward internal gear 39 ′ in an elongated aperture 41 ′, and an arm 40 ′. the rearward rotatable member 35 ″ has a plate or disk 36 ″ with a central plate portion having a central aperture 37 ″. the rearward rotatable member 35 ″ also includes a notch 38 ″, a radially inward internal gear 39 ″ in an elongated aperture 41 ″, and an arm 40 ″. for each of the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″, the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ and the arms 40 ′ and 40 ″ are depicted as being formed as part of a single flat plate piece ; however , in other implementations the disks and arms are individual pieces that are fixedly attached together . the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″, along with a corresponding one of the rear wheel supports 30 , are contained between inner and outer slotted halves of a housing 42 that allow the arms 40 ′ and 40 ″ to protrude outside of the housing . the inside wall of each half of the housing 42 has a recess 42 a sized and shaped such that when the two halves of the housing are positioned together , the recesses form a cavity to receive an upper free - end portion 30 b of the corresponding rear wheel support 30 therein and an upper free - end portion of the cross - frame member 31 . a bolt ( not shown ) extends through an aperture 42 f in each half of the housing 42 and through an aperture 30 c in the upper free - end portion 30 b of the rear wheel support 30 and an aperture of the upper free - end portion of the cross - frame member 31 to securely clamp the rear wheel support and the cross - frame member between the inner and outer halves of the housing . the central apertures 37 ′ and 37 ″ of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″, respectively , are sized to receive a bushing 43 therethrough having a length longer than the cumulative thickness of the two disks . the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ are rotatably mounted on the bushing for rotation within the housing 42 in parallel rotation planes about an axis of rotation transverse to the plane of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″. the end portions of the bushing extending beyond the central apertures 37 ′ and 37 ″ each have a circumferential groove 43 a to receive a c - clip 43 b to retain the bushing 43 in place . the bushing 43 also extends through a washer 43 d positioned between the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ of the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ to serve as a spacer and bearing surface for rotational movement of the rotatable members about the bushing 43 . each of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ has a flat face in face - to - face juxtaposition with the flat face of the other disk with the washer 43 d positioned therebetween . the end portions of the bushing 43 extending beyond the c - clip 43 b are each positioned in and retained by a retaining cup 42 b formed by the inside wall of a correspondingly positioned one of the inner and outer halves of the housing 42 . each of the inner and outer halves of the housing 42 has an aperture 42 c in communication with the corresponding retaining cups 42 b . the bushing 43 has a longitudinally extending central aperture 43 c aligned with apertures 43 b of inner and outer halves of the housing 42 , and sized to receive a bolt 45 therethrough that extends fully through the inner and outer halves of the housing . a nut 45 a is threaded onto a threaded end portion of the bolt 45 to clamp the inner and outer halves of the housing 42 of the folding assembly 22 securely together with the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ freely rotatable on the bushing 43 and being spaced apart by the washer 43 d , and with the arm 40 ′ extending forwardly through a forward portion of a slot 42 e in the housing and the arm 40 ″ extending rearwardly through a rearward portion of the housing slot . the arms 40 ′ and 40 ″ are flat elongated plates . as noted above , the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ of the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ have their flat faces in face - to - face juxtaposition . this provides laterally adjacent parallel plates with elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″, each having the gear teeth of a corresponding one of the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ formed along an edge portion of the corresponding one of the elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″. the gear teeth of the radially outward gear 39 ′ of the disk 36 ′ are formed along the radially outward edge of the elongated aperture 41 ′, and the gear teeth of the radially inward gear 39 ″ of the disk 36 ″ are formed along the radially inward edge of the elongated aperture 41 ″. the planar disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ are arranged in spaced apart parallel planes , and the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ are similarly arranged in spaced apart parallel planes and not in a common plane or in direct engagement with each other . the elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″ are positioned on the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ so as to be at least in part overlapping during the rotation of the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ between the folded and unfolded states of the stroller 10 . a pinion gear 44 is positioned within the elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″ in simultaneous geared engagement with both the radially outward gear 39 ′ of the forward rotatable member 35 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″ of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″. the pinion gear 44 is positioned to extend through and beyond each of the elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″ of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ at a position where the elongated apertures overlap during folding and unfolding of the stroller 10 , and span fully between the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ in simultaneous geared engagement with both of the gears . the pinion gear 44 transmits the driving rotational force between the front wheel supports 20 and the handle supports 24 which causes one to rotate in response to rotation of the other . the pinion gear 44 is rotatably mounted on a pin 44 a that has each of its end portions extending beyond the pinion gear 44 positioned in the aperture of a flat bushing 44 b and rotatably retained by the flat bushing . each of the flat bushings 44 b is positioned in and retained by a retaining cup 44 c formed by the inside wall of a correspondingly positioned one of the inner and outer halves of the housing 42 . as such , the pinion gear 44 is supported by the housing 42 , which is rigidly attached to the corresponding one of the rear wheel supports 30 for movement therewith , of course , being rotatable about the axis of the pin 44 a . with such arrangement , the pinion gear 44 is rotatable about an axis of rotation transverse to the plane of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″, and parallel to and spaced apart from the axis of rotation of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″. the pinion gear 44 engages both the radially outward gear 39 ′ of the forward rotatable member 35 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″ of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″. consequently , through the pinion gear 44 , the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″ are mutually drivingly engaged with each other so that if either is rotated , the rotational force is transmitted through the pinion gear to the other to cause the other to also rotate about the bushing 43 . as such , if the front wheel supports 20 or the handle supports 24 are rotated relative to the rear wheel supports 30 , the other of the front wheel supports and the handle supports is driven to rotate as well . the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ have the same pitch since the pinion gear 44 engages both , but each has a larger pitch diameter than the pinion gear . however , the radially inward gear 39 ″ have a smaller radius of curvature or pitch diameter than the radially outward gear 39 ′, thus the resulting rotational movement of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″ will be greater than the rotational movement of the forward rotatable member 35 ′. in other words , for any amount the pinion gear 44 is rotated , the rearward rotatable member 35 ″ and hence the handle support 24 attached thereto will rotate more than the forward rotatable member 35 ″ and hence the front wheel support 20 attached thereto . this is useful since as noted above , and as shown in fig4 , to fold the front wheel supports 20 and the handle supports 24 tightly about the rear wheel supports 30 requires a greater rotation angle for the handle supports ( in one embodiment about 108 °) than for the front wheel supports ( in that same embodiment about 72 °). in another embodiment the rotation angle for the handle supports and the front wheel supports is the same ( in the second embodiment about 90 ° for each ). the pitch diameter for each of the radially outward gear 39 ′ of the forward rotatable member 35 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″ of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″, and the pitch diameter of the pinion gear 44 , are selected to produce the desired ratio of rotational movement for the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ to fold the stroller 10 into a compact form with the handle supports 24 and the front wheel supports 20 nested tightly against the rear wheel supports 30 . however , while the ability to select different pitch diameters for the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ is helpful , even a greater degree of design flexibility may be desirable . in another embodiment of the folding assembly 22 shown in fig1 and 12 , a pinion gear 44 ′ is shown having first and second pinion gear portions 44 x and 44 y , with the first pinion gear portion having a first pitch , a first pitch diameter and a first number of gear teeth , and the second pinion gear portion having a different second pitch , a second pitch diameter and a different second number of gear teeth . the first and second pinion gear portions 44 x and 44 y are made as a single part and rotate together as a unit in coaxial arrangement on the pin 44 a , but are essentially two pinion gears , each with its own gear parameters . the first pinion gear portion 44 x is positioned to engage the radially outward gear 39 ′ and has a pitch corresponding thereto and five gear teeth , and the second pinion gear portion 44 y is positioned to engage the radially inward gear 39 ″ and has a pitch corresponding thereto and four gear teeth . the first and second pinion gear portions 44 x and 44 y may have the same or different pitch diameters . in such manner , the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ and the first and second pinion gear portions 44 x and 44 y that engage them , respectively , may be designed with gear parameters to produce a wider range of differing amounts of rotational movement of the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ when folding and unfolding the stroller 10 . in effect , there is more design freedom and flexibility permitted since the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the first pinion gear portion 44 x pair can be designed with first gear parameters to produce a first rotational movement of the forward rotatable member 35 ′, and the radially inward gear 39 ″ and the second pinion gear portion 44 y pair can be designed with different second gear parameters to produce a different second rotational movement of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″, with independence in the first and second gear parameters selected . as noted above , with the first embodiment described only the pitch diameters of the radially outward and inward gears 39 ′ and 39 ″ differed , but in the embodiment of fig1 and 12 , the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the first pinion gear portion 44 x pair and the radially inward gear 39 ″ and the second pinion gear portion 44 y pair can be designed essentially independent of the other to produce a desired result , such as a desired ratio of rotational movement of the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″, and hence the desired ratio of rotational movement of the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ when folding and unfolding the stroller 10 . for example , this permits design of the folding assemblies 22 with more control over the amount of movement of both the handle supports 24 and the front wheel supports 20 relative to the rear wheel supports 30 resulting during folding of the stroller 10 and hence allows folding into a compact form where the handle supports and the front wheel supports can be moved to nest tightly against the rear wheel supports . in yet another embodiment of the folding assembly 22 shown in fig1 and 13 , a pinion gear 44 ″ is shown having first and second pinion gears 44 xx and 44 yy made as separate parts but fixedly attached together for rotation together as a unit on the pin 44 a , such as by welding , an insertion pin or some other manner . alternatively , the first and second pinion gears 44 xx and 44 yy may be keyed to the pin 44 a so long as the pin is free to rotate . the first pinion gear 44 xx has a first pitch , a first pitch diameter and a first number of gear teeth ( shown as five in this embodiment ), and the second pinion gear 44 yy has a different second pitch , a second pitch diameter and a different second number of gear teeth ( shown as four in this embodiment ). the first pinion gear 44 xx is positioned to engage the radially outward gear 39 ′, and the second pinion gear 44 yy is positioned to engage the radially inward gear 39 ″. as above , the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the first pinion gear 44 xx pair and the radially inward gear 39 ″ and the second pinion gear 44 yy pair can be designed with gear parameters essentially independent of the other to providing greater flexibility in designing the folding assemblies 22 to produce a desired ratio of rotational movement of the radially outward gear 39 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″, and hence the desired ratio of rotational movement of the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ when folding and unfolding the stroller 10 . the length of the radially outward gear 39 ′ of the forward rotatable member 35 ′ and the radially inward gear 39 ″ of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″, and also the length of the elongated apertures 41 ′ and 41 ″ within which the pinion gear 44 is positioned , impact the amount of rotation possible for the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″. the range of movement is limited by stops 51 ′ and 51 ″ attached to the perimeter portion of the forward and rearward rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″, respectively . each of the stops 51 ′ and 51 ″ extends laterally toward the adjacent rotatable member and radially outward of the perimeter of the adjacent rotatable member . the stops 51 ′ and 51 ″ are attached to the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ at positions along the perimeter of the rotatable member to which attached such that when the rotatable members are rotated to place the folding assemblies 22 in the fully unfolded state , as shown in fig8 , the stops 51 ′ and 51 ″ are in engagement and prevent further rotational movement of the rotatable members in that rotational direction . in the depicted implementation , the stops 51 ′ and 51 ″ are positioned to allow a rotation angle for the handle supports 24 of about 108 ° and for the front wheel supports 20 of about 70 °. it should be understood that while in the depicted implementation the front wheel supports 20 and the handle supports 24 are attached to the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ of the left and right side folding assemblies 22 ( and the rear wheel supports 30 fixedly attached to the housing 42 ), other implementations may have the rear wheel supports 30 and the handle supports 24 attached to the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ of the folding assemblies 22 ( and the front wheel supports 20 fixedly attached to the housing 42 ) such that they rotate to fold about the front wheel supports . similarly , the rear wheel supports 30 and the front wheel supports 20 may be attached to the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ of the folding assemblies 22 ( and the handle supports 24 fixedly attached to the housing 42 ) such that they rotate to fold about the handle supports . to prevent the unintended folding of the stroller 10 when the folding assemblies 22 are in a fully unfolded state , as shown in fig8 , each folding assembly has a releasable locking mechanism with a slidably mounted head 50 having a locking lug 52 . a spring 54 applies a bias force to the head 50 to maintain the locking lug 52 in contact with a smooth , rounded perimeter portion of each of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ of the folding assembly as the rotatable members are rotated close to the stroller fully unfolded state . the notches 38 ′ and 38 ″ of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ are positioned along a reinforced perimeter portion of the disks in a location where when the stroller 10 reaches the fully unfolded state , the notches are in alignment and the spring 54 will drive the head 50 forward to position the locking lug 52 in both notches , and hence prevent rotation of the disks toward the folded state . the portion of the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ around the notches 38 ′ and 38 ″ has increased thickness for added strength . the head 50 is slidably mounted in the housing 42 at a position above the recess 42 a receiving the upper free - end portion 30 b of the rear wheel support 30 . the upper end of the spring 54 engages the head 50 and the lower end engages a spring support 56 positioned inside the upper free - end portion 30 b of the rear wheel support 30 . the lever 34 for the folding assembly 22 is pivotally mounted to the rear wheel support 30 and has a nose portion extending through an aperture in the head 50 and in engagement with a pin within the head so that when the lever 34 is pulled upward and inward as depicted by the arrows r 1 in fig3 , the head 50 is moved downward , away from the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″, thereby causing the locking lug 52 to be retracted from the notches 38 ′ and 38 ″ and permitting the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ to rotate toward the fully folded state shown in fig6 in a generally clam shell movement to position the handle supports 24 and the front wheel supports 20 nested tightly against the rear wheel supports 30 . the folding assembly 22 is shown in fig9 between the unfolded and folded states with the locking lug 52 of the head 50 retracted from the notch 38 ′ and 38 ″. while the spring 54 supplies enough force to the head 50 to keep the locking lug 52 in the notches 38 ′ and 38 ″ to lock the stroller 10 in the fully unfolded state , the force is not so great as to require undue force to be applied to the lever 34 by the user to retract locking lug from the notches when the folding assembly is to be folded . each of the left and right side folding assemblies 22 has the corresponding left or right front wheel support 20 bolted onto the arm 40 ′ of the forward rotatable member 35 ′ and the corresponding left or right handle support 24 bolted onto the arm 40 ″ of the rearward rotatable member 35 ″. it should be understood that while the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ were depicted as including the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″, in other implementations the rotatable members 35 ′ and 35 ″ may have other shapes . another embodiment of an all - terrain baby stroller 10 ′ is shown in fig1 . this embodiment has the basic same design as the stroller 10 , but is designed to carry two children is side by side arrangement . the frame 12 of the stroller 10 ′, in addition to having the left and right side frame supports 24 , has a center frame support 24 ′ which extends upward from a center folding assembly 22 ′ ( shown in fig1 ) of the same construction as the previously described folding assemblies 22 , except the center folding assembly 22 ′ has left and right side outwardly extending levers 34 . either of the levers for the center folding assembly 22 ′ may be pulled upward and outward to place the center folding assembly 22 ′ in an unlocked state . much as with the folding assembly 22 described above , each lever 34 for the center folding assembly 22 ′ is pivotally mounted to a rear wheel support 30 ′ and has a nose portion extending through an aperture in the head 50 of the center folding assembly 22 ′, although from opposite sides thereof . movement of either lever 34 when pulled upward and outward causes the head 50 of the center folding assembly 22 ′ to moved downward , away from the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ of the center folding assembly 22 ′, thereby causing the locking lug 52 to be retracted from the notches 38 ′ and 38 ″ and permitting the disks 36 ′ and 36 ″ to rotate toward the fully folded state . a strap ( not shown ) may be connected by its ends to the lever 34 of the left side folding assembly 22 and to the left side lever 34 of the center folding assembly 22 ′, and another strap ( not shown ) may be connected by its ends to the lever 34 of the right side folding assembly 22 and to the right side lever 34 of the center folding assembly 22 ′ to facilitate movement of both levers to which the strap is connected at the same time . from the foregoing it will be appreciated that , although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration , various modifications may be made without deviating from the spirit and scope of the invention . accordingly , the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims . | 8 |
the present invention provides organoboron complexes and derivatives , including neutral tricoordinate boron derivatives , as well as methods of making the same , which act as lewis bases and undergoes one - electron oxidation into corresponding radical cations . the present invention also provides borylene ( h — b :) and borinylium ( h — b + .) complexes stabilized by two cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbenes as well as methods of making the same . the present invention demonstrates that neutral tricoordinate organoboron , featuring boron in the + 1 oxidation state , can be oxidized to afford the corresponding stable radical cation , and also protonated to give the conjugate acid . the abbreviations used herein have their conventional meaning within the chemical and biological arts . where substituent groups are specified by their conventional chemical formulae , written from left to right , they equally encompass the chemically identical substituents that would result from writing the structure from right to left , e . g ., — ch 2 o — is equivalent to — och 2 —. as used herein , the term “ alkyl ” refers to a straight or branched , saturated , aliphatic radical having one to six carbon atoms , unless otherwise indicated ( e . g ., alkyl includes methyl , ethyl , propyl , isopropyl , butyl , sec - butyl , isobutyl , tert - butyl , and the like ). alkyl represented along with another radical ( e . g ., as in arylalkyl ; heteroarylalkyl ; cycloalkylalkyl ; or heterocycloalkylalkyl ) means a straight or branched , saturated aliphatic divalent radical having the number of atoms indicated ( e . g ., aralkyl includes benzyl , phenethyl , 1 - phenylethyl 3 - phenylpropyl , and the like ). it should be understood that any combination term using an “ alk ” or “ alkyl ” prefix refers to analogs according to the above definition of “ alkyl ”. for example , terms such as “ alkoxy ” “ alkylhio ” refer to alkyl groups linked to a second group via an oxygen or sulfur atom . as used herein , the term “ alkylene ” refers to either a straight chain or branched alkylene of 1 to 7 carbon atoms , i . e . a divalent hydrocarbon radical of 1 to 7 carbon atoms ; for instance , straight chain alkylene being the bivalent radical of formula —( ch 2 ) n —, where n is 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 or 7 . preferably alkylene represents straight chain alkylene of 1 to 4 carbon atoms , e . g . a methylene , ethylene , propylene or butylene chain , or the methylene , ethylene , propylene or butylene chain mono - substituted by c 1 - c 3 - alkyl ( preferably methyl ) or disubstituted on the same or different carbon atoms by c 1 - c 3 - alkyl ( preferably methyl ), the total number of carbon atoms being up to and including 7 . one of skill in the art will appreciate that a single carbon of the alkylene can be divalent , such as in —( hc ( ch 2 ) n ch 3 )—, wherein n = 0 - 5 . as used herein , the term “ alkoxy ” refers to a radical — or where r is an alkyl group as defined above e . g ., methoxy , ethoxy , and the like . as used herein , the term “ amino ” means the radical — nh 2 . unless indicated otherwise , the compounds of the invention containing amino moieties include protected derivatives thereof . suitable protecting groups for amino moieties include acetyl , tert - butoxycarbonyl , benzyloxycarbonyl , and the like . as used herein , the term “ aryl ” refers to a monocyclic or fused bicyclic , tricyclic or greater , aromatic ring assembly containing 6 to 16 ring carbon atoms . for example , aryl may be phenyl , benzyl or naphthyl , preferably phenyl . “ arylene ” means a divalent radical derived from an aryl group . aryl groups can be mono , di , or tri substituted by one , two or three radicals selected from alkyl , alkoxy , aryl , hydroxy , halogen , cyano , amino , amino alkyl , trifluoromethyl , alkylenedioxy and oxy c 2 - c 3 alkylene , or 1 or 2 naphthyl ; or 1 or 2 phenanthrenyl . as used herein , the term “ aralkyl ” means a radical -( alkylene )- r where r is aryl as defined above e . g ., benzyl , phenethyl , and the like . as used herein , the term “ cycloalkyl ” refers to a saturated or partially unsaturated , monocyclic , fused bicyclic or bridged polycyclic ring assembly containing from 3 to 12 ring atoms , or the number of atoms indicated . for example , c 3 - c 8 cycloalkyl includes cyclopropyl , cyclobutyl , cyclopentyl , cyclohexyl , cycloheptyl , and cyclooctyl . cycloalkyl also includes norbornyl and adamantyl . as used herein , the term “ cycloalkylalkyl ” means a radical -( alkylene )- r where r is cycloalkyl as defined above . as used herein , the term “ cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbene ” refers to a carbene having a cycloalkyl group and an amino group bonded together , e . g ., the cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbene may include the amino group may be in a straight chain or as a cyclic group such as a heterocyclic carbene or an n - heterocyclic carbene . example cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbenes ( caacs ) are set forth in m . melaimi , m . soleilhavoup , g . bertrand , angew . chem . int . ed ., 49 , 8810 . ( 2010 )) as used herein , the terms “ halo ” or “ halogen ,” by themselves or as part of another substituent , mean , unless otherwise stated , a fluorine , chlorine , bromine , or iodine atom . as used herein , the terms “ heterocycloalkyl ” and “ heterocyclic ” refer to a ring system having from 3 ring members to about 20 ring members and from 1 to about 5 heteroatoms such as n , o and s . for example , heterocycle includes , but is not limited to , tetrahydrofuranyl , tetrahydrothiophenyl , morpholino , pyrrolidinyl , pyrrolinyl , imidazolidinyl , imidazolinyl , pyrazolidinyl , pyrazolinyl , piperazinyl , piperidinyl , indolinyl , quinuclidinyl and 1 , 4 - dioxa - 8 - aza - spiro [ 4 . 5 ] dec - 8 - yl . as used herein , the term “ heterocycloalkylalkyl ” means a radical -( alkylene )- r where r is heterocycloalkyl as defined above . as used herein , the term “ heteroaryl ” refers to a monocyclic or fused bicyclic or tricyclic aromatic ring assembly containing 5 to 16 ring atoms , where from 1 to 4 of the ring atoms are a heteroatom each n , o or s . for example , heteroaryl includes pyridyl , indolyl , indazolyl , quinoxalinyl , quinolinyl , isoquinolinyl , benzothienyl , benzofuranyl , furanyl , pyrrolyl , thiazolyl , benzothiazolyl , oxazolyl , isoxazolyl , triazolyl , tetrazolyl , pyrazolyl , imidazolyl , thienyl , or any other radicals substituted , especially mono or di substituted , by e . g . alkyl , nitro or halogen . pyridyl represents 2 , 3 , or 4 pyridyl , advantageously 2 or 3 pyridyl . thienyl represents 2 or 3 thienyl . quinolinyl represents preferably 2 , 3 , or 4 quinolinyl . isoquinolinyl represents preferably 1 , 3 , or 4 isoquinolinyl . benzopyranyl , benzothiopyranyl represents preferably 3 benzopyranyl or 3 benzothiopyranyl , respectively . thiazolyl represents preferably 2 or 4 thiazolyl , and most preferred , 4 thiazolyl . triazolyl is preferably 1 , 2 , or 5 ( 1 , 2 , 4 triazolyl ). tetrazolyl is preferably 5 tetrazolyl . as used herein , the term “ heteroaralkyl ” means a radical -( alkylene )- r where r is heteroaryl as defined above . preferably , heteroaryl is pyridyl , indolyl , quinolinyl , pyrrolyl , thiazolyl , isoxazolyl , triazolyl , tetrazolyl , pyrazolyl , imidazolyl , thienyl , furanyl , benzothiazolyl , benzofuranyl , isoquinolinyl , benzothienyl , oxazolyl , indazolyl , or any of the radicals substituted , especially mono or di substituted . substituents for the aryl and heteroaryl groups are varied and are selected from : halogen , or ′, oc ( o ) r ′, nr ′ r ″, sr ′, r ′, cn , no 2 , co 2 r ′, conr ′ r ″, c ( o ) r ′, oc ( o ) nr ′ r ″, nr ″ c ( o ) r ′, nr ″ c ( o ) 2 r ′, nr ′ c ( o ) nr ″ r ″′, nh c ( nh 2 )═ nh , nr ′ c ( nh 2 )═ nh , nh c ( nh 2 )═ nr ′, s ( o ) r ′, s ( o ) 2 r ′, s ( o ) 2 nr ′ r ″, n 3 , ch ( ph ) 2 , perfluoro ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkoxy , and perfluoro ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl , in a number ranging from zero to the total number of open valences on the aromatic ring system ; and where r ′, r ″ and r ′″ are independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 8 alkyl and heteroalkyl , unsubstituted aryl and heteroaryl , ( unsubstituted aryl ) ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl , and ( unsubstituted aryl ) oxy ( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl . as used herein , the term “ hydroxyl ” refers to the radical having the formula oh . each of the above terms ( e . g ., “ alkyl ,” “ heteroalkyl ,” “ aryl ” and “ heteroaryl ”), when indicated as “ substituted ” or “ optionally substituted ,” are meant to include both substituted and unsubstituted forms of the indicated radical . substituents for the alkyl and heteroalkyl radicals ( including those groups often referred to as alkylene , alkenyl , heteroalkylene , heteroalkenyl , alkynyl , cycloalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , and heterocycloalkenyl ) can be one or more of a variety of groups selected from , but not limited to : — or ′, ═ o , ═ nr ′, ═ n — or ′, — nr ′ r ″, — sr ′, - halogen , — sir ′ r ″ r ′″, — oc ( o ) r ′, — c ( o ) r ′, — co 2 r ′, — conr ′ r ″, — oc ( o ) nr ′ r ″, — nr ″ c ( o ) r ′, — nr ′— c ( o ) nr ″ r ′″, — nr ″ c ( o ) 2 r ′, — nr — c ( nr ′ r ″ r ′″)═ nr ″, — nr — c ( nr ′ r ″)═ nr ′″, — s ( o ) r ′, — s ( o ) 2 r ′, — s ( o ) 2 nr ′ r ″, — nr ( so 2 ) r ′, — cn and — no 2 in a number ranging from zero to ( 2m ′+ 1 ), where m ′ is the total number of carbon atoms in such radical . r ′, r ″, r ′″ and r ′″ are each independently selected from hydrogen , c 1 - c 8 alkyl and heteroalkyl , unsubstituted aryl and heteroaryl , ( unsubstituted aryl )-( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl , and ( unsubstituted aryl ) oxy -( c 1 - c 4 ) alkyl . when a compound of the invention includes more than one r group , for example , each of the r groups is independently selected as are each r ′, r ″, r ′″ and r ″″ groups when more than one of these groups is present . when r ′ and r ″ are attached to the same nitrogen atom , they can be combined with the nitrogen atom to form a 4 -, 5 -, 6 -, or 7 - membered ring . for example , — nr ′ r ″ is meant to include , but not be limited to , 1 - pyrrolidinyl and 4 - morpholinyl . from the above discussion of substituents , one of skill in the art will understand that the term “ substituted alkyl ” is meant to include groups including carbon atoms bound to groups other than hydrogen groups , such as haloalkyl ( e . g ., — cf 3 and — ch 2 cf 3 ) and acyl ( e . g ., — c ( o ) ch 3 , — c ( o ) cf 3 , — c ( o ) ch 2 och 3 , and the like ). as used herein , the term “ kc 8 ” refers to potassium graphite . as used herein , the term “ salt ” refers to acid or base salts of the compounds used in a method of the present invention . illustrative examples of acceptable salts are mineral acid ( hydrochloric acid , hydrobromic acid , phosphoric acid , and the like ) salts , organic acid ( acetic acid , propionic acid , glutamic acid , trifluoroacetic acid , trifluoromethanesulfonic acid , citric acid and the like ) salts , quaternary ammonium ( methyl iodide , ethyl iodide , and the like ) salts . as used herein , the term “ isomers ” refers to compounds having the same number and kind of atoms , and hence the same molecular weight , but differing in respect to the structural arrangement or configuration of the atoms . as used herein , the terms “ a ,” “ an ,” or “ a ( n )”, when used in reference to a group of substituents or “ substituent group ” herein , mean at least one . for example , where a compound is substituted with “ an ” alkyl or aryl , the compound is optionally substituted with at least one alkyl and / or at least one aryl , wherein each alkyl and / or aryl is optionally different . in another example , where a compound is substituted with “ a ” substituent group , the compound is substituted with at least one substituent group , wherein each substituent group is optionally different . description of compounds of the present invention are limited by principles of chemical bonding known to those skilled in the art . accordingly , where a group may be substituted by one or more of a number of substituents , such substitutions are selected so as to comply with principles of chemical bonding and to give compounds which are not inherently unstable and / or would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art as likely to be unstable under ambient conditions , such as aqueous , or neutral conditions . in one embodiment , the present invention provides a tricoordinate borylene complex , having the structure of formula i : in formula i , r 1 and r 2 are independently alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , and r 10 are independently hydrogen , alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . at least one of r 7 and r 8 is other than hydrogen . at least one of r 9 and r 10 is other than hydrogen . r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r 6 , r 11 , r 12 , r 13 , and r 14 are independently hydrogen , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , arylalkyl cyano , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , heterocycloalkylalkyl , hydroxyl , or nitro . r 1 , r 2 , r 3 , r 4 , r 5 , r 6 , r 7 , r 8 , r 9 , r 10 , r 11 , r 12 , r 13 , and r 14 are independently optionally substituted with 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , cycloalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , hydroxyl , and nitro . also included are the salts , hydrates , and isomers thereof . y 1 , y 2 , y 3 , and y 4 are independently aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , or cycloalkylalkyl . y 1 , y 2 , y 3 , and y 4 are independently optionally substituted with from 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , aryl , halo , heteroaryl , and hydroxyl . in some embodiments , y 1 or y 2 is aryl or optionally both y 1 and y 2 are aryl . in some embodiments , y 1 or y 2 is 2 , 6 - diisopropyl - phenyl or optionally both y 1 and y 2 are 2 , 6 - diisopropyl - phenyl . in some other embodiments , y 3 or y 4 is cycloalkyl or optionally both y 3 and y 4 are cycloalkyl . in certain embodiments , y 3 or y 4 is cyclohexyl or optionally both y 3 and y 4 are cyclohexyl . r 15 , r 16 , r 17 , r 18 , r 19 , r 20 , r 21 , r 22 , r 23 , and r 24 are independently hydrogen , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , cyano , halo , or nitro . in some embodiments , r 15 , r 16 , r 20 , and r 24 are isopropyl . in some of these embodiments , y 3 and y 4 are cyclohexyl . in some other embodiments , the present invention provides a stable borinylium radical having the structure of formula ii : in formula ii , r 21 and r 22 are independently alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . r 27 , r 28 , r 29 , and r 30 are independently hydrogen , alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . at least one of r 27 and r 28 is other than hydrogen . at least one of r 29 and r 30 is other than hydrogen . r 23 , r 24 , r 25 , r 26 , r 31 , r 32 , r 33 , and r 34 are independently hydrogen , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , arylalkyl , cyano , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , r 22 , r 23 , r 24 , r 25 , r 26 , r 27 , r 28 , r 29 , r 30 , r 31 , r 32 , heterocycloalkylalkyl , hydroxyl , or nitro . r 21 , r 33 , and r 34 are independently optionally substituted with 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , cycloalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , hydroxyl , and nitro . also included are the hydrates or isomers of formula ii . in certain embodiments , the gacl 4 − is substituted for another suitable anion . y 21 , y 22 , y 23 , and y 24 are independently aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , or cycloalkylalkyl . y 21 , y 22 , y 23 , and y 24 are independently optionally substituted with from 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , aryl , halo , heteroaryl , and hydroxyl . r 45 , r 46 , r 47 , r 48 , r 49 , r 50 , r 51 , r 52 , r 53 , and r 54 are independently hydrogen , halo , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , cyano , or nitro . in certain embodiments , the present invention provides a boronium salt , having the structure of formula iii : in formula iii , r 61 and r 62 are independently alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . r 67 , r 68 , r 69 , and r 70 are independently hydrogen , alkyl , aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , or heterocycloalkylalkyl . at least one of r 67 and r 68 is other than hydrogen . at least one of r 69 and r 70 is other than hydrogen . r 63 , r 64 , r 65 , r 66 , r 71 , r 72 , r 73 , and r 74 are independently hydrogen , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , arylalkyl , cyano , cycloalkyl , cycloalkylalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , heteroarylalkyl , heterocycloalkyl , heterocycloalkylalkyl , hydroxyl , or nitro . r 61 , r 62 , r 63 , r 64 , r 65 , r 66 , r 67 , r 68 , r 69 , r 70 , r 71 , r 72 , r 73 , and r 74 are independently optionally substituted with 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , alkoxy , amino , aryl , cycloalkyl , halo , heteroaryl , hydroxyl , and nitro . also included are the hydrates and isomers of formula iii . in other embodiments , the cf 3 so 3 − is substituted for another suitable anion . y 31 , y 32 , y 33 , and y 34 are independently aryl , arylalkyl , cycloalkyl , or cycloalkylyl . y 31 , y 32 , y 33 , and y 34 are independently optionally substituted with from 1 - 5 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkyl , aryl , halo , heteroaryl , and hydroxyl . r 85 , r 86 , r 87 , r 88 , r 89 , r 90 , r 91 , r 92 , r 93 , and r 94 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen , halo , acyl , alkyl , alkoxy , amino , cyano , and nitro . in other embodiments , the present invention provides a transition metal complex comprising a transition metal and a compound or complex of formulas i , ii , or iii . in some embodiments , a compound or complex of formulas i , ii , or iii is a tricoordinate boron , as set forth herein , wherein the boron is in the + 1 oxidative state and is isoelectronic with an amine . in other embodiments , the present invention provides a transition metal complex , wherein the tricoordinate boron is in the + 1 oxidative state and is substantially as provided in fig2 . in some embodiments , the present invention provides metal complexes , including at least one ligand selected from formulas i , ii , or iii that are useful as catalysts in a variety of organic reactions . one of skill in the art will appreciate that such complexes can employ a number of metals , including , but not limited to , transition metals , and have a variety of geometries ( e . g ., trigonal , square planar , trigonal bipyramidal and the like ) depending on the nature of the metal and its oxidation state and other factors including , for example , additional ligands . in some other embodiments , the present invention provides a coordination complex including a metal atom and at least one ligand selected from formulas i , ii , or iii . in some embodiments , the present invention provides a coordination complex including a metal atom and at least one ligand selected from formulas i , ii , or iii , wherein the metal atom is selected from li , na , k , rb , cs , be , mg , ca , sr , ba , ra , sc , y , la , ti , zr , hf , v , nb , ta , cr , mo , w , mn , tc , re , fe , ru , os , co , rh , ir , ni , pd , pt , cu , ag , au , zn , cd , hg , al , ga , in , tl , ge , sn , pb , sb , bi , or po . in some embodiments , the metal atom is selected from ir , pd , rh ru , or au . in some other embodiments , the coordination complex further includes at least one ligand selected from halide , pseudohalide , tetraphenylborate , perhalogenated tetraphenylborate , tetrahaloborate , hexahalophosphate , hexahaloantimonate , trihalomethanesulfonate , alkoxide , carboxylate , tetrahaloaluminate , tetracarbonylcobaltate , hexahaloferrate ( iii ), tetrahaloferrate ( iii ), tetrahalopalladate ( ii ), alkylsulfonate , arylsulfonate , perchlorate , cyanide , thiocyanate , cyanate , isocyanate , isothiocyanate , amines , imines , phosphines , phosphites , carbonyl compounds , alkenyl compounds , allyl compounds , carboxyl compounds , nitriles , alcohols , ethers , thiols or thioethers . in some embodiments , the coordination complex includes gold ; a complex having formulas i , ii , or iii ; and optionally a member selected from bent - allenes , phosphines , sulfonated phosphines , phosphites , phosphinites , phosphonites , arsines , stibines , ethers , ammonia , amines , amides , sulfoxides , carbonyls , nitrosyls , pyridines and thioethers . in general , any transition metal ( e . g ., a metal having d electrons ) can be used to form the complexes / catalysts of the present invention . for example , suitable transition metals are those selected from one of groups 3 - 12 of the periodic table or from the lanthanide series . preferably , the metal will be selected from groups 5 - 12 and even more preferably groups 7 - 11 . for example , suitable metals include platinum , palladium , iron , nickel , iridium , ruthenium and rhodium . the particular form of the metal to be used in the reaction is selected to provide , under the reaction conditions , metal centers which are coordinately unsaturated and not in their highest oxidation state . to further illustrate , suitable transition metal complexes and catalysts include soluble or insoluble complexes of platinum , palladium , iridium , iron , rhodium , ruthenium and nickel . palladium , rhodium , iridium , ruthenium and nickel are particularly preferred and palladium is most preferred . the transition metal complexes of the present invention can include additional ligands as required to obtain a stable complex . the additional ligands can be neutral ligands , anionic ligands and / or electron - donating ligands . the ligand can be added to the reaction mixture in the form of a metal complex , or added as a separate reagent relative to the addition of the metal . anionic ligands suitable as additional ligands are preferably halide , pseudohalide , tetraphenylborate , perhalogenated tetraphenylborate , tetrahaloborate , hexahalophosphate , hexahaloantimonate , trihalomethanesulfonate , alkoxide , carboxylate , tetrahaloaluminate , tetracarbonylcobaltate , hexahaloferrate ( iii ), tetrahaloferrate ( iii ) or / and tetrahalopalladate ( ii ). preferably , an anionic ligand is selected from halide , pseudohalide , tetraphenylborate , perfluorinated tetraphenylborate , tetrafluoroborate , hexafluorophosphate , hexafluoroantimonate , trifluoromethanesulfonate , alkoxide , carboxylate , tetrachloroaluminate , tetracarbonylcobaltate , hexafluoroferrate ( iii ), tetrachloroferrate ( iii ) or / and tetrachloropalladate ( ii ). preferred pseudohalides are cyanide , thiocyanate , cyanate , isocyanate and isothiocyanate . neutral or electron - donor ligands suitable as additional ligands can be , for example , amines , imines , phosphines , phosphites , carbonyl compounds , alkenyl compounds ( e . g ., allyl compounds ), carboxyl compounds , nitriles , alcohols , ethers , thiols or thioethers . still other suitable ligands can be carbene ligands such as the diaminocarbene ligands ( e . g ., n - heterocyclic carbenes ). while the present invention describes a variety of transition metal complexes useful in catalyzing organic reactions , one of skill in the art will appreciate that many of the complexes can be formed in situ . accordingly , ligands ( either carbene ligands or additional ligands ) can be added to a reaction solution as a separate compound , or can be complexed to the metal center to form a metal - ligand complex prior to its introduction into the reaction solution . the additional ligands are typically compounds added to the reaction solution which can bind to the catalytic metal center . in some preferred embodiments , the additional ligand is a chelating ligand . while the additional ligands can provide stability to the catalytic transition metal complex , they may also suppress unwanted side reactions as well as enhance the rate and efficiency of the desired processes . still further , in some embodiments , the additional ligands can prevent precipitation of the catalytic transition metal . although the present invention does not require the formation of a metal - additional ligand complex , such complexes have been shown to be consistent with the postulate that they are intermediates in these reactions and it has been observed the selection of the additional ligand has an affect on the course of the reaction . in related embodiments , the present invention provides metal complexes , of the type described above , in which the ligand having formula i , ii , or iii has a pendent functionalized side chain ( e . g ., aminoalkyl , mercaptoalkyl , acyloxyalkyl and the like ) in which the functional group acts as a ligand to provide a bidentate ligand feature . in still other embodiments , the ligand forms a metal complex with bidentate ligands that are not tethered to the cyclic carbene moiety . in some embodiments , the present invention provides a reaction mixture including a coordination complex including a metal atom and at least one ligand selected from a compound or complex having formula i , ii , or iii under conditions sufficient for catalysis to occur , a solvent and an olefin substrate , wherein said olefin substrate is selected to participate in an olefin metathesis reaction . in some other embodiments , the olefin substrate is selected as a substrate for ring closing metathesis . in some embodiments , the olefin substrate is selected as a substrate for ring opening polymerization metathesis . in some other embodiments , the olefin substrate is selected as a substrate for cross metathesis . in some embodiments , the olefin substrate is selected as a substrate for acyclic diene polymerization metathesis . v . catalytic reactions suitable for use with the compounds and complexes of the present invention as noted above , the compounds and complexes of the present invention are useful in catalyzing a variety of organic reactions . the compounds and complexes of the present invention include neutral tricoordinate boron derivatives , which act as a lewis base , and undergoes one - electron oxidation into the corresponding radical cation . accordingly , the compounds and complexes of the present invention are useful for catalyzing lewis base catalyzed reactions . the reactions of the present invention can be performed under a wide range of conditions , and the solvents and temperature ranges recited herein should not be considered limiting . in general , it is desirable for the reactions to be run using mild conditions which will not adversely affect the reactants , the catalyst , or the product . for example , the reaction temperature influences the speed of the reaction , as well as the stability of the reactants and catalyst . the reactions will typically be run at temperatures in the range of 25 ° c . to 300 ° c ., more preferably in the range 25 ° c . to 150 ° c . additionally , the reactions are generally carried out in a liquid reaction medium , but in some instances can be run without addition of solvent . for those reactions conducted in solvent , an inert solvent is preferred , particularly one in which the reaction ingredients , including the catalyst , are substantially soluble . suitable solvents include ethers such as diethyl ether , 1 , 2 - dimethoxyethane , diglyme , t - butyl methyl ether , tetrahydrofuran and the like ; halogenated solvents such as chloroform , dichloromethane , dichloroethane , chlorobenzene , and the like ; aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene , xylene , toluene , hexane , pentane and the like ; esters and ketones such as ethyl acetate , acetone , and 2 - butanone ; polar aprotic solvents such as acetonitrile , dimethylsulfoxide , dimethylformamide and the like ; or combinations of two or more solvents . in some embodiments , reactions utilizing the catalytic complexes of the present invention can be run in a biphasic mixture of solvents , in an emulsion or suspension , or in a lipid vesicle or bilayer . in certain embodiments , the catalyzed reactions can be run in the solid phase with one of the reactants tethered or anchored to a solid support . in certain embodiments it is preferable to perform the reactions under an inert atmosphere of a gas such as nitrogen or argon . the reaction processes of the present invention can be conducted in continuous , semi - continuous or batch fashion and may involve a liquid recycle operation as desired . the processes of this invention are preferably conducted in batch fashion . likewise , the manner or order of addition of the reaction ingredients , catalyst and solvent are also not generally critical to the success of the reaction , and may be accomplished in any conventional fashion . the reaction can be conducted in a single reaction zone or in a plurality of reaction zones , in series or in parallel or it may be conducted batchwise or continuously in an elongated tubular zone or series of such zones . the materials of construction employed should be inert to the starting materials during the reaction and the fabrication of the equipment should be able to withstand the reaction temperatures and pressures . means to introduce and / or adjust the quantity of starting materials or ingredients introduced batchwise or continuously into the reaction zone during the course of the reaction can be conveniently utilized in the processes especially to maintain the desired molar ratio of the starting materials . the reaction steps may be effected by the incremental addition of one of the starting materials to the other . also , the reaction steps can be combined by the joint addition of the starting materials to the metal catalyst . when complete conversion is not desired or not obtainable , the starting materials can be separated from the product and then recycled back into the reaction zone . the processes may be conducted in either glass lined , stainless steel or similar type reaction equipment . the reaction zone may be fitted with one or more internal and / or external heat exchanger ( s ) in order to control undue temperature fluctuations , or to prevent any possible “ runaway ” reaction temperatures . furthermore , one or more of the reactants can be immobilized or incorporated into a polymer or other insoluble matrix by , for example , derivativation with one or more of substituents of the aryl group . in order to be able to protect the boron center while still having space for coordination of two carbenes , caac 1 ( v . lavallo et al ., angew . chem . int . ed ., 44 , 5705 ( 2005 )), a ligand featuring a bulky 2 , 6 - diisopropylphenyl group at nitrogen and a flexible cyclohexyl moiety as the second carbene substituent was employed ( fig1 ). the first caac was installed classically ( y . wang et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 129 , 12412 ( 2007 ); y . wang et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 130 , 3298 ( 2008 ); p . bissinger et al ., angew . chem . int . ed ., 50 , 4704 ( 2011 )) by reaction of 1 with bbr 3 in hexane , which afforded the ( caac ) bbr 3 adduct 2 in 94 %. then , in order to observe the putative ( caac ) bh adduct by a second caac , a five - fold excess of potassium graphite was added to 1 / 1 mixture of boron adduct 2 and caac 1 in dry toluene . the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 14 hours , and from a complex mixture of products , compound 3 was isolated as a red powder in only 8 % yield ( fig2 ). surprisingly , when the same experiment was carried out in the absence of caac 1 , the ( caac ) 2 bh adduct 3 was also formed , and isolated in 33 % yield . the 1 h - decoupled 11 b nmr spectrum of 3 demonstrates a broad signal at 12 . 5 ppm with a half - width of 216 hz . in the proton - coupled 11 b nmr spectrum , no clear splitting but a broadening of the signal with a half - width of 261 hz was observed . the presence of the hydrogen atom at boron was confirmed by an infrared absorption at 2455 cm − 1 ( fig5 ), which can be assigned to the b — h stretching mode . additional experiments demonstrated that the hydrogen atom is abstracted from an aryl group of a carbene . in some embodiments , the present invention provides a method of preparing a stable tricoordinate boron in the + 1 oxidative state by stabilizing a borylene center with a pair of carbene ligands . the method includes contacting a boron trihalide with a pair of carbene ligands in a hexane to form a solution . the method also includes warming the solution to room temperature with stirring for about 14 hours . the method also includes removing the solvent under vacuum to form a product i . further , the method includes contacting the product i with kc 8 in toluene with stirring for about 14 hours to form a product ii . the methods also includes filtering the kc 8 from the remainder of the product ii . the methods includes removing the solvent from the product ii , drying the product ii under vacuum , and washing the product ii with pentane to form a product iii . in other embodiments , the present invention provides a methods as set forth herein further including adding the product iii to toluene . the methods also includes contacting the product iii in toluene with gallium trichloride with stirring for about 14 hours . the methods further includes removing the volatiles under vacuum . the methods also include extracting the solid residue with acetonitrile . the methods includes removing the solvent under vacuum and drying the solid residue under vacuum . in some other embodiments , the present invention provides a methods as set forth herein further including contacting trifluoromethanesulfonic acid at room temperature in toluene with product iii with stirring for about 14 hours . the method also includes removing volatiles under vacuum . in any of the methods set forth herein , the contacting a boron trihalide with a pair of carbene ligands in a hexane may occur at − 78 ° c . in other embodiments , the boron trihalide is bbr 3 or bcl 3 . in still other embodiments , the boron trihalide is bbr 3 . in other embodiments , the pair of carbene ligands are independent of each other a cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbene . in certain embodiments , the cyclic ( alkyl )( amino ) carbene has the following structure : in yet other embodiments , the present invention provides a tricoordinate boron complex prepared in accordance with any of the methods set forth herein . manipulations were performed under an atmosphere of dry argon using standard schlenk techniques . solvents were dried by standard methods and distilled under argon . 11 b , and 13 c nmr spectra were recorded on varian inova 500 and bruker 300 spectrometers at 25 ° c . nmr multiplicities are abbreviated as follows : s = singlet , d = doublet , t = triplet , sept = septet , m = multiplet , br = broad signal . melting points were measured with a buchi melting point apparatus system . epr spectra were recorded on bruker emx at 298 k . single crystals suitable for an x - ray diffraction study were obtained by recrystallization from a dry tetrahydrofuran solution at room temperature . in the solid state ( fig3 , left ), the carbene carbons c1 and c2 , boron , and the hydrogen h1 are in a perfectly planar arrangement ( sum of the bond angles at b : 359 . 94 ). the b1 - c1 [ 1 . 5175 ( 15 ) å ] and b1 - c2 [ 1 . 5165 ( 15 ) å ] bond distances are equal and are halfway between typical b — c single ( 1 . 59 å ) and double ( 1 . 44 å ) bonds ( m . m . olmstead , p . p . power , k . j . weese , j . am . chem . soc ., 109 , 2541 ( 1987 )), suggesting the delocalization of the lone pair of electrons at boron to the empty p - orbitals of the carbene centers . ab initio calculations performed on 3 at the bp86 / def2 - svp level of theory support this bonding analysis . the carbene → bh donation occurs from the a lone pairs of carbene ligands into the empty in - plane molecular orbital at boron , affording two low - lying orbitals . the homo of 3 (− 3 . 34 ev ) is essentially an electron lone pair in the p ( n )- orbital of boron , which mixes in a bonding fashion with the p ( π ) atomic orbital of the two carbene carbons ( fig4 , left ). the charge exchange via a donation and π backdonation leaves the bh moiety in 3 with a partial charge of + 0 . 05 e . for comparison , the bh fragment in ( ch 3 ) 2 bh , which has two b — c electron - sharing bonds , carries a positive charge of + 0 . 61 e . therefore , the zwitterionic form 3b , featuring a dianionic boron center ( j . monot et al ., angew . chem . int . ed ., 49 , 9166 ( 2010 )), is a far weaker resonance contributor than 3a , which shows the parent borylene coordinated by two carbene ligands . a single crystal x - ray diffraction study showed that the boron center of [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − is in a perfectly planar arrangement , as observed for its precursor 3 ( fig3 , center ). however , the boron - carbon and carbon - nitrogen bond distances are longer and shorter , respectively , than those of 3 , in line with the weaker electron - donation from boron to the carbene ligand . compound [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − is one of very few crystallographically characterized boron radicals ( m . m . olmstead , p . p . power , j . am . chem . soc ., 108 , 4235 ( 1986 )) and molecules featuring boron in the formal + 2 oxidation state ( r . dinda et al ., angew . chem . int . ed ., 46 , 9110 ( 2007 )). the boron in compound 3 is in the formal oxidation state + 1 and is electron - rich . this was confirmed by the cyclic voltammogram ( fig6 ) of a thf solution of 3 [ 0 . 1 m nbu 4 npf 6 electrolyte ], which shows a reversible one - electron oxidation at e 1 / 2 =− 0 . 940 v versus fc +/ fc [ fc : ferrocene ]. indeed , addition at room temperature of two equivalents of gallium trichloride to a toluene solution of 3 quantitatively afforded the radical cation [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − . the room temperature electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum in thf solution displays a complex system ( g = 2 . 0026 ) due to the couplings with the boron [ a ( 11 b )= 6 . 432 g ], hydrogen [ a ( 1 h )= 11 . 447 g ], and two nitrogen nuclei [ a ( 14 n )= 4 . 470 g ] ( fig7 ). the values of spin couplings with the 11 b and 1 h nuclei are similar to those observed in the persistent ( nhc ) bh 2 radical , whereas the coupling constant with the 14 n nuclei is greater than those in the nhc adducts ( t . matsumoto , f . p . gabbaï , organometallics , 28 , 4252 ( 2009 ); j . c . walton et al ., j . am . chem . soc ., 132 , 2350 ( 2010 )), in line with the higher electron - acceptor ability of caacs versus nhcs . calculations using the natural bond orbital ( nbo ) method , confirmed that the spin density is mainly located at boron ( 0 . 50 e ) with some contributions of the nitrogen atoms ( 0 . 16 e and 0 . 17 e ). the singly occupied molecular orbital ( somo ) (− 7 . 30 ev ) is essentially the boron p - orbital , weakly mixing with the p ( n ) atomic orbital of the two carbene carbons ( fig4 , right ). because of the presence of a lone pair of electrons at boron , bis ( carbene ) bh adduct 3 can react with electrophiles , which is quite unusual for tricoordinate boron compounds ( y . segawa , m . yamashita , k . nozaki , science , 314 , 113 ( 2006 ); t . b . marder , science , 314 , 69 ( 2006 ); h . braunschweig , angew . chem . int . ed ., 46 , 1946 ( 2007 ); k . nozaki , nature , 464 , 1136 ( 2010 ); m . s . cheung , t . b . marder , z . lin , organometallics , doi : 10 . 1021 / om200115y ; h . braunschweig et al ., angew . chem . int . ed ., 49 , 2041 ( 2010 )). no reactions of 3 were observed with trimethylsilyl - or methyl - trifluoromethanesulfonate even after heating at 80 ° c . for 14 hours , probably due to the presence of the two bulky caac ligands , which shield the boron center . to probe basicity further , an equimolar amount of trifluoromethane sulfonic acid was added to a toluene solution of compound 3 at room temperature , and after work up , the conjugate acid [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − was isolated in 89 % yield . the proton - coupled 11 b nmr spectrum of this salt shows a triplet ( j bh = 83 . 5 hz ) at − 21 . 8 ppm , confirming the presence of two hydrogen atoms directly bonded to boron , and thus the boronium nature ( w . e . piers , s . c . bourke , k . d . conroy , angew . chem . int . ed ., 44 , 5016 ( 2005 )) of [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − . the solid state structure confirmed the tetracoordination of boron . the boron - carbon and carbon - nitrogen bond distances are in the range of single and double bonds , respectively , in line with the absence of back - donation from boron to the carbene ligand . to quantify the basicity of 3 , the gas phase proton affinity was calculated ( bp86 / def2 - svp + zpe ): the 1108 kj / mol value is much higher than that calculated for the free bh ( 856 kj / mol ), and comparable to the unsaturated free n - phenyl substituted nhc ( 1107 kj / mol ) ( r . tonner , g . heydenrych , g . frenking , chem . phys . chem ., 9 , 1474 ( 2008 )). in toluene solution , we found that 3 is readily protonated by brch 2 co 2 h , whereas the reaction with phco 2 h proceeded very slowly , and only trace amounts of [ 3h + ] phco 2 − were detected after 14 hours . boronium [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − is rapidly deprotonated by sodium ethoxide in a thf solution giving back 3 in 68 % yield , though no reaction was observed with strong but bulky bases such as potassium hexamethyldisilazide , lithium diisopropylamide , or t - butyllithium , confirming the steric shielding of the boron center ( unsuccessful attempts to deprotonate bis ( phosphine ) bhx adducts ( x : h , br ) were reported by m . sigl , a . schier , h . schmidbaur , chem . ber ., 130 , 1411 ( 1997 )). although the parent borylene adduct 3 and the radical cation [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − are sensitive to air , they are stable at room temperature under argon both in solution and in the solid state for two months at least ( m . p . 3 : 328 ° c . ; [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − : 278 ° c . ), which strikingly demonstrates the stabilizing efficiency of caacs . in marked contrast to the well - known tricoordinate boron (+ 3 ) derivatives , compound 3 , featuring a boron in the + 1 oxidation state , behaves as a lewis base , and can readily be oxidized . its reactivity with electrophiles is hampered by the bulkiness of the caac ligands , but the steric and electronic properties of carbenes can be substantially modulated . compounds of type 3 are isoelectronic with amines and phosphines , and because of the lower electronegativity of boron , compared to those of nitrogen and phosphorus , they are potential strong electron - donor ligands for transition metals . boron tribromide ( 5 . 00 g , 20 . 0 mmol ) was added at − 78 ° c . to a hexane solution ( 200 ml ) of caac 1 ( 6 . 50 g , 20 . 0 mmol ). the reaction mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 14 hours . after the solvent was removed under vacuum , the resulting white solid was washed with pentane , and dried under vacuum to give 2 as a white powder ( 10 . 80 g , 94 % yield ). 1 h nmr ( 300 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 7 . 43 ( t , 3 j = 7 . 8 hz , 1h , p - ch ), 7 . 25 ( d , 3 j = 7 . 0 hz , 4h , m - ch ), 3 . 32 - 3 . 16 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 2 . 80 ( sept , 3 j = 6 . 5 hz , 2h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 2 . 32 ( s , 2h , ch 2 ), 1 . 98 - 1 . 60 ( m , 8h , ch 2 ), 1 . 47 ( s , 6h , ch 3 ), 1 . 41 ( d , 3 j = 6 . 5 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 1 . 30 ( d , 3 j = 6 . 5 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ); 13 c nmr ( 75 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ = 145 . 8 ( o ), 130 . 4 ( p ), 125 . 6 ( m ), 125 . 2 ( ipso ), 80 . 9 ( c q ), 61 . 3 ( c q ), 45 . 2 ( ch 2 ), 36 . 9 ( ch 2 ), 29 . 7 ( ch 3 ), 29 . 5 ( ch ), 26 . 5 ( ch 3 ), 25 . 2 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 7 ( ch 2 ), 23 . 1 ( ch 2 ); 11 b nmr ( 96 mhz , cdcl 3 ): δ =− 13 . 5 . toluene ( 20 ml ) was added at room temperature to a mixture of 2 ( 1 . 00 g , 1 . 74 mmol ) and potassium graphite ( 1 . 17 g , 8 . 68 mmol ). after stirring for 14 hours , toluene ( 75 ml ) was added to the mixture , and then graphite and kbr were filtered off . after the solvent was removed under vacuum , the solid residue was washed with pentane ( 100 ml ), and dried under vacuum to afford 3 as a red powder ( 185 mg , 33 % yield ). single crystals of 3 were obtained by recrystallization from a thf solution at room temperature . mp : 328 ° c . ( dec . ); ir ( solid , cm − 1 ) v max 2455 ( b — h ), 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , toluene - d 8 ): δ = 7 . 07 - 6 . 92 ( m , 6h , m - ch and p - ch ), 3 . 34 - 3 . 26 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 3 . 09 ( sept , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 2h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 2 . 75 ( sept , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 2h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 2 . 60 - 2 . 53 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 2 . 13 ( s , 2h , ch 2 ), 2 . 12 ( s , 2h , ch 2 ), 1 . 87 - 1 . 54 ( m , 16h , ch 2 ), 1 . 30 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 1 . 27 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 1 . 19 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 1 . 01 ( s , 6h , ch 3 ), 0 . 99 ( s , 6h , ch 3 ), 0 . 23 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ); attempts to observe the bh signal by 2d 11 b - 1 h nmr both in solution and in solid state failed , possibly because of the large quadripolar moment of boron ; 13 c nmr ( 125 mhz , thf - d s ): δ = 149 . 3 ( o ), 147 . 9 ( o ), 138 . 3 ( ipso ), 127 . 2 ( p ), 125 . 6 ( m ), 124 . 4 ( m ), 68 . 0 ( c q ), 51 . 8 ( c q ), 43 . 2 ( ch 2 ), 36 . 4 ( ch 2 ), 31 . 7 ( ch 2 ), 30 . 0 ( ch 3 ), 29 . 5 ( ch ), 29 . 0 ( ch 3 ), 28 . 2 ( ch ), 27 . 0 ( ch 3 ), 25 . 4 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 6 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 4 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 2 ( ch 2 × 2 ), 24 . 0 ( ch 2 ); 11 b nmr ( 96 mhz , toluene - d 8 ): δ = 12 . 5 ( h 1 / 2 = 216 hz ). erms ( esi ): 662 . 5708 [( m ) + , 662 . 5713 ( c 46 h 71 bn 2 )]. toluene ( 6 ml ) was added at room temperature to a mixture of 3 ( 150 mg , 0 . 23 mmol ) and gallium trichloride ( 81 mg , 0 . 46 mmol ). after stirring for 14 hours , volatiles were removed under vacuum . the solid residue was extracted with acetonitrile ( 10 ml ), then the solvent was removed under vacuum , and the solid residue dried under vacuum to afford [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − as a purple powder ( 177 mg , 88 % yield ). single crystals of [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − were obtained by recrystallization from a mixture of thf and toluene ( 4 : 1 ) solution at room temperature . mp : 278 ° c . ( dec .). hrms ( esi ): 662 . 5734 [( m ) + , 662 . 5713 ( c 46 h 71 bn 2 )] synthesis of boronium [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − . trifluoromethanesulfonic acid ( 45 mg , 0 . 30 mmol ) was added at room temperature to a toluene ( 12 ml ) solution of 3 ( 200 mg , 0 . 30 mmol ). after stirring for 14 hours , volatiles were removed under vacuum to afford [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − as a purple powder ( 217 mg , 89 % yield ). single crystals of [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − were obtained by recrystallization from a thf solution at room temperature . [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − decomposes at 246 ° c . without melting ; 1 h nmr ( 500 mhz , cd 3 cn ): δ = 7 . 07 - 7 . 03 ( m , 4h , m - ch ), 6 . 89 - 6 . 87 ( m , 2h , p - ch ), 2 . 83 - 2 . 77 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 2 . 40 ( sept , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 2h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 2 . 36 ( s , 2h , chh ), 1 . 98 - 1 . 91 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 2 . 00 ( s , 2h , chh ), 1 . 99 - 1 . 91 ( m , 2h , ch 2 ), 1 . 86 ( sept , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 2h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 1 . 77 - 1 . 41 ( m , 16h , ch 2 ), 1 . 18 ( s , 6h , ch 3 ), 1 . 07 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 0 . 91 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), 0 . 87 ( s , 6h , ch3 ), − 0 . 11 ( d , 3 j = 8 . 3 hz , 6h , ch ( ch 3 ) 2 ), bh was not found ; 13 c nmr ( 125 mhz , cd 3 cn ): δ = 145 . 9 ( o ), 143 . 7 ( o ), 133 . 9 ( ipso ), 130 . 3 ( p ), 126 . 69 ( m ), 126 . 66 ( m ), 79 . 9 ( c q ), 58 . 1 ( c q ), 47 . 3 ( ch 2 ), 36 . 6 ( ch 2 ), 31 . 7 ( ch 2 ), 30 . 4 ( ch 3 ), 30 . 0 ( ch ), 29 . 9 ( ch 3 ), 29 . 5 ( ch ), 27 . 4 ( ch 3 ), 26 . 3 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 6 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 4 ( ch 3 ), 24 . 2 ( ch 2 ), 22 . 4 ( ch 2 ), 22 . 2 ( ch 2 ); 11 b nmr ( 96 mhz , thf - d g ): δ =− 21 . 8 ( t , 1 j bh = 83 . 5 hz , bh 2 ); 19 f nmr ( 282 mhz , cd 3 cn ) δ =− 80 . 9 ; hrms ( esi ): 663 . 5791 [( m + h ) + , 663 . 5791 ( c 46 h 72 bn 2 )]. deprotonation of boronium [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − with naoet . thf ( 8 ml ) was added at room temperature to a mixture of [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − ( 100 mg , 0 . 12 mmol ) and sodium ethoxide ( 10 mg , 0 . 15 mmol ). after stirring for 14 hours , volatiles were removed under vacuum , and then toluene ( 12 ml ) was added to the residue . naotf was filtered off , the solvent was removed under vacuum , and the solid residue dried under vacuum to afford 3 ( 54 mg , 68 % yield ). the bruker x8 - apex x - ray diffreaction instrument with mo - radiation was used for data collection of compounds 3 , [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − , and [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − . all data frames were collected at low temperatures ( t = 95 and 100 k ) using an ω , φ - scan mode ( 0 . 3 ° ( ω - scan width , hemisphere of reflections ) and integrated using a bruker saintplus software package . the intensity data were corrected for lorentzian polarization . absorption corrections were performed using the sadabs program . the sir97 was used for direct methods of phase determination , and bruker shelxtl software package for structure refinement and difference fourier maps . atomic coordinates , isotropic and anisotropic displacement parameters of all the non - hydrogen atoms of three compounds were refined by means of a full matrix least - squares procedure on f 2 . all h - atoms were included in the refinement in calculated positions riding on the c atoms , with u [ iso ] fixed at 20 % higher than isotropic parameters of carbons atoms which they were attached . drawings of molecules were performed using ortep 3 and povray for windows . metrical data for the solid state structure of 3 , [ 3 + . ] gacl 4 − , and [ 3h + ] cf 3 so 3 − are available free of charge from the cambridge crystallographic data centre under reference numbers ccdc - 822247 , ccdc - 822248 , and ccdc - 822249 , respectively . fig8 below shows schematically the bonding situation in ( bh )( caac ) 2 3 . the carbine → bh donation occurs from the σ lone pair of the carbene ligands into the empty in - plane sp and p molecular orbitals at boron . the totally symmetric (+) combination of the r lone pairs donates charge into the empty sp ( σ ) orbital of bh , while the antisymmetric (+ −) combination donates charge into the vacant in - plane p ( π ) molecular orbital of boron . thus , the electronic reference state of the bh fragment in ( caac ) 2 bh 3 is not the x 1 σ + ground state as in the free borylene bh , which has a doubly occupied sp (∝) orbital , but it is the excited c 1 δ state with a p ( π ) lone - pair ( 39 ). the ( caac )→( bh )←( caac ) σ donation is complemented by π backdonation from the p ( π ) lone - pair orbital of bh , which mixes in a bonding fashion with the p ( π ) atomic orbital of the two carbene carbons , yielding the energetically high - lying homo of 3 (− 3 . 34 ev ). the boron - carbon bonds in 3 are rather strong . the calculations at bp86 / def2 - svp predict a bond dissociation energy ( bde ) for the reaction 3 →( x 1 σ + ) bh + 2 caac a value of d o = 665 kj / mol which gives a mean bde of d o = 332 . 5 kj / mol for each c → b donor - acceptor bond . this may be compared with the calculated bde for the carbon - boron bond in the complex nhc ( bh 3 ) which is only d o = 245 kj / mol . although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding , one of skill in the art will appreciate that certain changes and modifications may be practiced within the scope of the appended claims . in addition , each reference provided herein is incorporated by reference in its entirety to the same extent as if each reference was individually incorporated by reference . where a conflict exists between the instant application and a reference provided herein , the instant application shall dominate . | 2 |
the disclosed embodiments provide a micro - fluidic device capable of fractionating a complex mixture of analytes , such as peptides or proteins , within a separation chamber zone according to their isoelectric points . the fractionated mixture is recovered as discrete fractions uniformly ejected from the separation chamber zone perpendicular to a direction in which the analytes move during fractionation , herein referred to as a “ direction of separation .” this is enabled at least in part by including one or more flow path deflector elements situated proximate an inlet port and further being situated in such a way as to be between the inlet port and a plurality of outlet ports . for instance , the one or more flow path deflector elements can block a shortest path between the inlet port and at least one of the plurality of outlet ports . upon the sample impacting the one or more flow path deflector elements , the sample can be redirected in a particular manner , such as a predetermined manner that enables the sample to flow in such a way that is substantially absent any lateral intermixing ( e . g ., of fractionated analyte groups , once separation has occurred ). in yet further embodiments , the one or more flow path deflector elements can block a shortest path between the inlet port and all of the plurality of outlet ports . the outlet ports can be preceded by ( e . g ., can be downstream of ) a plurality of channels . the channels can be substantially parallel to each other , and each can lead from a different widthwise position in the separation chamber zone to one of the plurality of outlet ports . each channel can be preceded by ( e . g ., downstream of ) a pair of walls that narrows in a direction leading to the channel , e . g ., thereby forming a bottleneck shape . furthermore , the separation chamber zone of the device is preferably less than 1 ml in volume , more preferably less than 500 μl and most preferably less than 250 μl . accordingly , the device provided in embodiments herein can be utilized for small but complex samples requiring low operational voltage . fig1 through 10 , wherein like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout , illustrate example embodiments of a micro - fluidic device . although certain embodiments will be described with reference to the example embodiments illustrated in the figures , it should be understood that many alternative forms can be embodied . one of skill in the art will appreciate different ways to alter the parameters of the embodiments disclosed , such as the size , shape , or type of elements or materials , in a manner still in keeping with the spirit and scope of the devices provided in the disclosure herein . fig1 and 2 depict one embodiment of the device , comprised of a micro - fluidic chamber 1 and lid 3 that is sealed to the chamber as to create a separation chamber zone 7 , a single inlet port 5 and multiple channels 12 ( e . g ., formed of a piping , tube , housing , sets of opposing walls , etc .) each leading to ( e . g ., terminating at ) an outlet port 2 ( e . g ., an opening , slit , hole , gap , orifice , etc .) forming an exit to one of the channels 12 . the micro - fluidic chamber 1 is less than 50 mm in length , and preferably less than 20 mm in length . the inlet port 5 is provided , e . g ., through the lid . a sample of analytes is introduced and flowed into the device via the inlet port . alternatively , analyte may be aspirated into the device by applying a negative pressure at the inlet port and drawing the sample in through the outlet ports . the micro - fluidic chamber 1 includes a plurality of different and preferably distinct portions , which can be designated as various chamber zones . accordingly , the device contains the separation chamber zone 7 , as well as a fluid distribution chamber zone 15 . the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 can be situated between the separation chamber zone 7 and the inlet port 5 , and the separation chamber zone 7 can be situated between fluid distribution chamber zone 15 and the channels 12 , e . g ., such that the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 , the separation chamber zone 7 , the channels 12 , and the outlet ports 2 are arranged sequentially in a series of portions in fluid communication . accordingly , in illustrative embodiments , the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 precedes ( e . g ., is upstream of ) the separation chamber zone 7 . one or more flow path deflector elements ( such as an initial flow path deflector element 10 and a plurality of additional flow path deflector elements 11 ) can be situated in the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 , and can “ smooth ” the fluid flow as it transitions from the inlet port to the separation chamber zone 7 , e . g ., by causing redirection of impinging analytes in such a way that produces laminar , substantially parallel flow of the analytes within the separation chamber zone 7 . in illustrative embodiments , the plurality of additional flow path deflector elements 11 are included and situated in such a way as to be between the initial flow path deflector element 10 and a plurality of outlet ports 2 ( see fig3 ). for instance , the plurality of additional flow path deflector elements 11 can be aligned in a row , and can be spaced at uniform or non - uniform distances from one another . accordingly , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 can assist in discharging the sample from the device in a uniform manner subsequent to fractionation . in other embodiments , only a single flow path deflector element ( e . g ., the initial flow path deflector element 10 ) is included . in still other embodiments , only the plurality of flow path deflector elements 11 is included . one of skill in the art will appreciate a wide variety of ways to arrange the one or more flow path deflector elements ( e . g ., 10 , 11 ) in such a way as to create substantially parallel flow of a sample of analytes through the separation chamber zone 7 . once the sample of analytes has flowed as far as ( e . g ., has flowed into , but not beyond ) the separation chamber zone 7 , flow is preferably stopped . the sample of analytes is then fractionated in the separation chamber zone 7 between two electrode pads ( 8 and 9 ), which are connected to a direct current power supply via contacts 4 , 6 . one of skill in the art will appreciate other ways to create an electric field having a direction extending across a width of the separation chamber zone 7 . accordingly , in the presence of such an electric field generated by the depicted or an alternative electric field generation device , the sample of analytes fractionates into a plurality of fractionated analyte groups . accordingly , it should be appreciated that the separation chamber zone 7 is the particular area in which the sample of analytes is intended to be fractionated . thus , in illustrative embodiments , the separation chamber zone 7 does not include any flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 , but rather is formed of an open area in which analytes of a sample can flow and separate according to isoelectric points under the presence of a generated electric field . thus , in illustrative embodiments provided herein , the separation chamber zone 7 can be defined as the open space situated between the channels 12 and the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 . in such illustrative embodiments , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 are included in a fluid distribution chamber zone 15 contained within the micro - fluidic chamber 1 ( see fig2 , 3 , and 6 ) which precedes ( e . g ., is upstream of ) the separation chamber zone 7 . in further illustrative embodiments , the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 is generally triangular shape . however , other shapes are possible and contemplated by the present disclosure . in general , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 can be any structural mechanism for determining or defining the flow path of a sample , as determined by impact of the sample against the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 . for instance , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 can be cylindrical columns , walls forming defined pathways , or any other suitable deflector element . once sufficiently fractionated ( e . g ., in an amount suitable for the intended usages of the sample ), the fractionated analyte groups are pushed out of the device through the plurality of outlet ports 2 by re - initiating flow through the inlet port . in illustrative embodiments , prior to passing through the plurality of outlet ports 2 , the fractionated analyte groups additionally pass through a plurality of channels 12 , each of which leads from a different widthwise position in the separation chamber zone 7 to one of the plurality of outlet ports 2 . in illustrative embodiments , all of the plurality of channels 12 are substantially parallel to one another . however , in alternative embodiments , only some or none of the plurality of channels 12 are parallel to one another . in yet further illustrative embodiments , preceding ( e . g ., upstream of ) at least one of the channels 12 is a pair of substantially opposing walls 13 that narrow in a direction leading to the channel 12 . in this manner , the pair of substantially opposing walls 13 can form a bottleneck shape that compacts ( e . g ., compresses , condenses , intermixes , etc .) flow of one or more fractionated analyte groups flowing into the channel 12 . in illustrative embodiments , such a pair of walls 13 precedes ( e . g ., is upstream of ) each of the plurality of channels 12 , so as to form a plurality of pairs of substantially opposing and narrowing walls 13 . in illustrative embodiments , the analyte sample is mixed with buffer components that allow a ph gradient to form in an electric field to effect the isoelectric separation . the analyte is loaded into the device through the inlet port 5 by any suitable mechanical method , such as a micro - pump , syringe or pipette . once sample has flowed as far as the separation chamber zone 7 ( e . g ., has flowed into but not beyond ), flow of the sample of analytes is preferably stopped . to minimize the amount of sample used , introduction into the separation chamber zone 7 can be accomplished by sandwiching the analyte between a leading , sample - free running buffer , and a trailing sample - free buffer . thus , analyte is substantially only present within the separation chamber zone 7 . a dc electric field is applied across the electrodes 4 , 6 , allowing a ph gradient to form , and for the proteins or peptides analytes to align in the electric field according to their pi . once fractionation is completed , the electric field is optionally turned off , flow is reinitiated through the inlet port 5 , and the fractionated analyte in the separation chamber zone 7 is forced via parallel flow through the multiplicity of outlet ports 2 . the flow path deflector elements 10 , the additional flow path deflector elements 11 , and the cross - sectional areas of the outlet ports 2 can be sized , shaped , and positioned in such a way to assure the substantially uniform and substantially parallel flow from the separation chamber zone 7 into the channels 12 and through the outlet ports 2 , e . g ., thereby preventing substantially lateral intermixing of fractionated analyte groups within the separation chamber zone 7 . fig3 depicts a fluid flow analysis through the device for a newtonian fluid , showing that flow is substantially parallel as the fractionated analyte groups are forced from the separation chamber zone 7 through the channels 12 ( depicted by the parallel nature and relatively uniform length of the flow arrows in the separation chamber ). as described previously herein , the substantially parallel flow through the separation chamber zone 7 and in the channels 12 can prevent lateral intermixing of the fractionated analyte groups . for ease of collection , the outlet ports 2 can be spaced in accordance with common , multiple - sample receiving vessels , such as 96 , 384 or 1536 well plate formats or any of various maldi target plate configurations . alternatively , the fractionated analyte can be blotted directly onto a membrane and probed with antibodies . an advantage of the device &# 39 ; s small size is that it is amenable to valuable samples as well as not introducing a large sample dilution factor that is common with other separation methods . the simple construction of the device makes it suitable for single use applications , such as high throughput analysis . the principles for the charge - based separation are the same as those known for isoelectric focusing . proteins or peptides are typically separated in an electric field in a ph gradient by migrating in the electric field until they reach the ph of their neutral charge , and migration ceases . most commonly , the separation is done in a polyacrylamide gel with the aid of mobile carrier ampholytes , immobilized acrylamido buffers , or both to create the ph gradient . since the device of the current invention is gel - free , the buffer systems used here need to support the formation of a suitable ph gradient in the electric field . this can be done using carrier ampholytes , or mixtures of amphoteric buffers , such as good &# 39 ; s buffers ( see for example u . s . pat . no . 5 , 447 , 612 ). it can be appreciated that the shape of the resultant ph profile is dependent upon the concentrations and number of components in the separation buffer . in peptide separations , for a relatively concentrated analyte , since the peptides themselves are amphoteric , they can behave like carrier ampholytes and support the creation of a ph gradient without the addition of many other buffer compounds . the choice of buffer components is affected by both the ph range required for the separation , and by the compatibility requirements of any downstream sample preparation , such as for mass spectrometry . the endpoints of the ph gradient established in the separation chamber can be affected by using immobilized acrylamido buffer polymers in the gel buffer pads 8 , 9 at the electrodes 4 , 6 , as is known in the art of making ipg strips . another important feature of the invention is that the hydraulic flow through the device is substantially parallel through the separation chamber to the outlet ports so that fractionated proteins or peptides can be recovered with minimal subsequent re - mixing . a flow analysis is shown in fig3 for a newtonian buffer , which represents a worst case for potential re - mixing . in some embodiments , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 are designed such that the resulting pressure drop between the inlet distribution zone and the separation chamber promotes parallel flow in the separation chamber zone 7 . additionally , it might also be advantageous to add a polymer , or other component , that mitigates mixing by adding a yield stress to the buffer rheology . a yield stress in the buffer fluid &# 39 ; s rheology would have the effect of further promoting the parallel flow nature within the separation chamber zone 7 . a suitable component for this purpose is linear polyacrylamide , but other uncharged , water soluble polymers are adequate , such as polyethylene glycol and polysaccharides including , but not limited to , hydroxypropyl methylcellulose , methylcellulose , or agarose . further , a mixture of linear acrylamido buffer polymers can serve the dual function of providing modified rheological properties and ability to establish a ph gradient in the electric field . accordingly , this micro - fluidic chamber 1 can be designed such that flow in the separation chamber zone 7 between the inlet port 5 and the multiple outlet ports 2 is substantially parallel . the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 ( e . g ., forming an initial entry zone ) that includes flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 similarly can evenly distribute the buffer flow throughout the separation chamber zone 7 . it can be equally desirable to form the outlet ports 2 and / or channels 12 so as to promote substantially parallel flow pattern in the separation chamber zone 7 . the lengths and widths of the multiple channels 12 can be individually designed so that the flow across the separation zone is uniform , i . e ., the pressure distribution within the separation chamber zone 7 is maintained relatively uniform . for convenience , it is desirable to have the outlet ports 2 in register with some common collection device such as a 96 - well or 384 - well plate . since the micro - fluidic chamber 1 can be small as compared to traditional ief devices , separation times are shorter , and the required voltage to affect fractionation is lower . since the micro - fluidic chamber 1 can be about 20 mm , and typical ipg strips are 70 to 110 mm in length , the applied voltages can be 15 - 30 % the applied voltages of a typical ipg application . this represents a significant reduction in required operating voltage . furthermore , given that the separation zone is gel - free , it is expected that the analyte components have electrophoretic mobilities 100 to 1000 greater than in typical ipg applications . therefore , the device provided herein provides benefits , such as reduced separation times and lower applied voltages . the device provided herein can be fabricated from any suitable material as is known in the art for micro - fluidic devices . a common material is silicon , which additionally can have the properties of electrically insulating and conductive regions that would facilitate the design and introduction of the anode and cathode electrodes . silicon also has good thermal conduction properties , so such a device could easily be cooled during the fractionation process . alternatively , polymeric materials such as polycarbonate or polydimethylsiloxane , or glass are also useful . the device disclosed herein is suitable for charge - based separations sufficient to enhance the performance of downstream analytical techniques , such as immunoassays and mass spectrometry . complex inlet and outlet pumping schemes are not required and thus can be excluded from certain embodiments , since the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 are positioned in such a way as to cause the flow to be sufficiently uniform in the separation zone to prevent re - mixing of the separated analytes . consequently , the device can be loaded and unloaded using a laboratory pipette or another micro - pumping device , such as a syringe . for instance , fig4 and 5 depict the micro - fluidic device as an attachment to a standard laboratory pipette . the outlet ports are designed to coincide with the spacing of a 384 - well plate for convenient recovery of the separated analytes . unseparated sample can be aspirated into the separation chamber with the pipette , drawing the sample through the multiplicity of outlet ports . once the fractionation is complete , the separated analytes are pushed out again through the outlet ports by the pipette . fig6 depicts a further example embodiment , in which the channels 12 are positioned in such a way that a density of the channels 12 ( e . g ., a “ channel distribution density ”) increases when moving from a widthwise position aligned with an edge of a width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 to a widthwise position aligned with a center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . for instance , the density of the channels 12 at a widthwise position in the micro - fluidic chamber 1 that is proximate a center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 can be lesser than a density of the channels 12 at a widthwise position in the micro - fluidic chamber 1 that is proximate either edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . furthermore , the density of the channels 12 can be a function of widthwise position that decreases when moving from a widthwise position aligned with either edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 to a widthwise position aligned with the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . accordingly , distances ( e . g ., distance 17 a ) between channels 12 situated nearer to the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 can be lesser than distances ( e . g ., distances 17 b ) between channels 12 situated nearer to the edges of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . furthermore , flow path deflector elements ( e . g ., the plurality of flow path deflector elements 11 ) that are included in the device can be arranged with a center - increasing distribution density . for example , a density of the flow path deflector elements 11 ( e . g ., a “ flow path distribution density ”) can increase when moving from a widthwise position aligned with an edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 to a widthwise position aligned with the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . for instance , the density of the flow path deflector elements 11 at a widthwise position in the micro - fluidic chamber 1 that is proximate a center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 can be greater than a density of the flow path deflector elements 11 at a widthwise position in the micro - fluidic chamber 1 that is proximate either edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . furthermore , the density of the flow path deflector elements 11 can be a function of widthwise position that increases ( e . g ., in a quadratic fashion ) when moving from a widthwise position aligned with either edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 to a widthwise position aligned with the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . accordingly , distances between flow path deflector elements 11 situated nearer to the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 can be greater than distances between flow path deflector elements 11 situated nearer to the edges of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . utilizing such distribution densities of the flow path deflector elements ( e . g ., 10 , 11 ) and / or the channels 12 can be beneficial in some instances for promoting substantially parallel flow of sample through the separation chamber zone 7 . for instance , by providing narrower gaps between the flow path deflector elements ( e . g ., 10 , 11 ) and / or the channels 12 , flow of sample can be restricted at positions where the pressure of the fluid is highest . this can cause buildup of sample at the high pressure , narrow passages , thereby causing lateral redirection of the sample , thus promoting distribution of the sample throughout the separation chamber zone 7 and further promoting parallel flow through the separation chamber zone 7 . it should be noted that the number of flow path deflector elements 11 can be equal or unequal to the number of channels 12 included in the device . furthermore , the distribution density of the channels 12 can be proportional or un - proportional to the distribution density of the flow path deflector elements 11 . thus , the non - uniform distances between the channels 12 can be proportional or un - proportional to the non - uniform distances between the flow path deflector elements 11 . additionally or alternatively to having ( a ) a non - uniform distribution density of the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 and / or ( b ) a non - uniform distribution density of the channels 12 , widths of the channels 12 can be non - uniform . for instance , fig7 depicts an example embodiment in which seven channels 12 a - g have widths 22 a - g . in the example embodiment of fig7 , channels 12 a - g leading from a widthwise position in the separation chamber 7 that is relatively nearer to a center of the width 16 thereof are narrower than channels 12 a - g leading from a widthwise position that is relatively farther from the center of the width 16 . accordingly , the widths 22 a , 22 g can be greater than the widths 22 b , 22 f ; the widths 22 b , 22 f can be greater than the widths 22 c , 22 e ; the widths 22 c , 22 e can be greater than the width 22 d . in this manner , widths 22 a - g of the channels 12 a - g can decrease moving from either edge of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . this can be effective , for instance , in restricting flow of fractionated analyte groups through the middle portion ( i . e ., at the center of the width 16 ) of the separation chamber zone 7 , thereby restricting flow of the fractionated analyte groups at positions where pressure is higher . this , in turn , can promote uniform flow rates through all of the channels 12 a - g , thereby assisting in creating substantially parallel flow of the fractionated analyte groups through the separation chamber zone 7 . in illustrative embodiments , the widths 22 of the plurality of channels 12 increase as a function of widthwise position relative to a center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . in further illustrative embodiments , the function by which the widths of the plurality of channels 12 increases is a quadratic function . accordingly , it will be appreciated that the channels can be characterized by significantly less amounts of variation among the widths than is schematically depicted in fig7 . in general , each width 22 a - g can be uniform or non - uniform across a length of the channel 12 a - g . in the example embodiment of fig7 , each individual width 22 a - g is substantially uniform across an entire length 23 of the channel 12 a - g . the outlet ports 5 ( e . g ., at which the channels 12 terminate ) similarly can have widths that vary from one another , as with the widths 22 a - g of the channels 12 a - g . for instance , the widths of the outlet ports 5 can be the same as the widths 22 a - g of the channels 12 a - g , and thus the widths of the outlet ports 5 can increase as a ( e . g ., quadratic ) function of widthwise position relative to the center of the separation chamber zone 7 . alternatively , the widths of the outlet ports 5 can be different from the widths 22 a - g of the channels 12 a - g . in general , the widths of the outlet ports may be proportional or non - proportional to the widths 22 a - g of the channels 12 a - g . in the example embodiment of fig7 , the micro - fluidic chamber 1 of the device includes the initial flow path deflector element 10 as well as the plurality of flow path deflector elements 11 . in this example embodiment , the plurality of flow path deflector elements 11 are spaced apart at non - uniform distances , and the plurality of channels 12 a - g are spaced apart at uniform distances . accordingly , the non - uniform spacing of the plurality of flow path deflector elements 11 and the non - uniform widths 22 a - g of the plurality of channels 12 a - g ( i . e ., non - uniform across the plurality ) can work in combination to maintain flow through the separation chamber 7 in a substantially parallel manner preventing lateral intermixing . in general , the flow path deflector elements that are included in the device ( e . g ., the initial flow path deflector element 10 and / or the plurality of additional flow path deflector elements 11 ) can be any suitable physical structure for being positioned in such a way as to block the flow path of a sample of analytes and to thereby cause redirection of the sample upon impact of the sample against the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 . for instance , in the example embodiments depicted and described with reference to fig1 through 7 , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 are pins ( e . g ., cylindrical columns ), e . g ., constructed of silicone or any other suitable material . however , it should be appreciated that many other shapes and configurations are possible and contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure . for instance , fig8 illustrates several example embodiments of the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 from a top view . as illustrated , the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 can include one or more of a cylindrical column 16 , a foil shaped member 17 ( e . g ., a fin , which can have a elliptical cross section when viewed from a front view ), a triangular prism 18 , a v - shaped column 19 , a rectangular prism 20 , a thicket 21 ( e . g ., steel wool or other material forming a tortuous path within the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 ), any other flow path deflector elements , and any suitable combination thereof . in embodiments including a thicket 21 , the thicket 21 can fill at least a portion , only a portion , or substantially all of the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 . although the example embodiments of fig1 through 8 depict one or more flow path deflector elements ( e . g ., 10 , 11 ), it should be appreciated that in some alternative embodiments , flow path deflector elements are not included . for instance , fig9 depicts an example embodiment of a micro - fluidic chamber 1 for inclusion in devices provided herein . the micro - fluidic chamber 1 can include channels 12 having widths that are non - uniform across all of the channels 12 , as depicted . alternatively , the widths can be uniform across all of the channels 12 . in embodiments such as the one depicted in fig9 , sample can be introduced into the separation chamber zone 7 in an evenly distributed fashion by drawing sample in through the outlet ports 2 , e . g ., as an alternative to introducing sample through the inlet port 5 . furthermore , in such embodiments , the lengths of the channels 12 can be significantly reduced , as would be appreciated by one of skill in the art upon reading the present specification . for example , fig1 depicts a flow chart of a method for using the device of fig9 in order to fractionate a sample of analytes . sample is introduced into the separation chamber zone 7 in an evenly distributed fashion through the outlet ports ( step 110 ). more specifically , in illustrative embodiments , sample is drawn through each of the outlet ports 2 , through each of the channels 12 , and into a plurality of different widthwise positions in the separation chamber zone 7 . for instance , sample can be introduced by producing a negative pressure at the inlet port 5 . in some embodiments , the negative pressure at the inlet port 5 is produced by actuating a syringe , pipette , or other micro - pump coupled to the inlet port 5 , which thereby causes the sample to flow into the outlet ports 2 from a fluid reservoir that is coupled to the outlet ports 2 . as an alternative , in some embodiments , sample may be caused to be introduced through the outlet ports 2 by generating a positive pressure at the outlet ports 2 . once sample is situated suitably within the separation chamber zone 7 , flow preferably is stopped ( step 112 ), e . g ., by halting actuating motion of the syringe , pipette , or other micro - pump producing the negative pressure at the inlet port 5 . the evenly distributed sample can be fractionated ( step 114 ), e . g ., by generating an electric field across the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . in this manner , a plurality of fractionated analyte groups can be generated after a sufficient period of time has passed . once fractionated , the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 can be pressurized to force the fractionated analyte groups out through the channels 12 and outlet ports 2 . for example , in illustrative embodiments , additional fluid ( e . g ., one or more gases , one or more liquids , or a combination thereof ) is introduced through the inlet port 5 into the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 , in such a way as to force the fractionated analyte groups back out through the outlet ports 5 . preferably , additional fluid that is introduced into the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 to force fractionated analyte groups out the outlet ports 5 is less viscous than each of the plurality of fractionated analyte groups . when such additional , less viscous fluid is introduced into the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 , it contacts the boundary of the fractionated analyte groups and distributes within the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 . once a sufficient quantity of the additional , less viscous fluid has passed through the inlet port 5 , the additional fluid will compress until it possesses a great enough pressure to push the fractionated analyte groups through the channels 12 and out the outlet ports 5 . given that the additional , less viscous fluid distributes evenly throughout the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 prior to undergoing sufficient compression to build up a motive force , the pressure generated thereby is substantially evenly distributed along the entire width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 ( e . g ., along the entire rearward boundary of the fractionated analyte groups ). this even distribution of the additional , less viscous fluid causes the fractionated analyte group to flow back through the separation chamber zone 7 in a substantially parallel fashion , thereby preventing substantially lateral intermixing of the fractionated analyte groups . alternatively or additionally to utilizing an additional ( e . g ., less viscous ) fluid , other methods of pressurizing the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 can be used in step 116 . furthermore , in embodiments where additional fluid is introduced in step 116 , it is possible to utilize a more viscous or equally viscous fluid , e . g ., by including the flow path deflector elements 10 , 11 within the fluid distribution chamber zone 15 in a manner sufficient to cause even distribution of the additional fluid therein prior to contacting the fractionated analyte groups . still other alternative embodiments are possible . for example , one of skill in the art will appreciate upon reading the present specification that there are other ways to shape the outlet ports 2 such that outlet ports 2 having widthwise positions aligned nearer to the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 are more restrictive to flow than outlet ports 2 having widthwise positions aligned nearer to the edges of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . for instance , fig1 a and 11b depict one such example of such a micro - fluidic chamber 1 of a micro - fluidic device from a top view and a front view , respectively . in particular , in the example embodiment of fig1 a and 11b , depths ( e . g ., heights , as depicted in the front view of fig1 b ) of the outlet ports 2 can be variable . the variable depths can be provided as an alternative or addition to providing the outlet ports 2 with variables widths , as depicted at least in fig7 and 9 . in the example embodiment of fig1 a and 11b , the widths are constant . all values in fig1 a and 11b ( which are in inches ) are illustrative and in no way limit the embodiments provided herein . one of skill in the art will appreciate that there are many ways to provide the outlet ports 2 with variable areas achieving the effect of greater flow restriction at widthwise positions nearer the center of the width 16 of the separation chamber zone 7 . numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent to those of skill in the art in view of the foregoing description . accordingly , this description is to be construed as illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the art the best mode . details of the structure may vary substantially without departing from the spirit of the embodiments provided here , and exclusive use of all modifications that come within the scope of the appended claims is reserved . it is intended that the present invention be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims and the applicable rules of law . it is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover all generic and specific features of the invention described herein , and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be said to fall therebetween . the publications , websites and other reference materials referenced herein to describe the background of the invention and to provide additional detail regarding its practice are hereby incorporated by reference . the devices as depicted in fig1 and 2 were fabricated as follows . the micro - fluidic channels ( 1 ) were cast in silicone ( elastosil ® lr 3003 / 20 , wacker chemical corporation , adrian , mich . ), allowed to set , but were not cured at elevated temperature . the separation zones ( 7 ) of these devices were about 20 mm by 5 mm , with a depth of about 0 . 5 mm . flow distribution elements ( 11 ) were an array of eighteen 0 . 5 mm diameter posts , quadratically spaced over a 12 mm span . the glass lid ( 3 ) was mated to the silicone micro - fluidic channels ( 1 ) assuring proper alignment of the access ports ( 4 , 5 and 6 ). adhesion of the glass to the silicone was accomplished under mild clamping pressure , and curing the assembly at about 190 ° c . for 1 hour . the assembled device was measured to have a separation zone ( 7 ) volume of about 70 μl . about 10 μl was required to fill the device up to the flow distribution chamber ( 15 ), and about 5 μl occupied all of the exit channels ( 12 ). therefore , the total fluid occupied in the device was about 85 μl . the electrode gel pads ( 8 and 9 ) were each measured to have a volume of about 7 . 5 μl . the electrode gels ( 8 and 9 ) were created as 2 % agarose ( agarose low eeo , type i , sigma - aldrich co . llc , st . louis , mo .). a 2 % agarose solution was created by dissolving the appropriate amount of agarose in a 20 mm , ph 7 . 2 phosphate buffer at about 90 ° c . a dry device assembled in accordance with example 1 was heated to 60 ° c . in order to maintain the fluidity of the agarose solution . a 7 . 5 μl volume was pipetted into each electrode port . the device was cooled to room temperature , and the electrode gels were allowed to set . platinum wires were inserted into each electrode gel to facilitate connection to a power supply . a running buffer of 1 mm glutamic acid / 1 mm histidine / 1 mm lysine / 2 mm , ph 7 . 2 phosphate buffer ( all chemicals from sigma - aldrich co . llc , st . louis , mo .) was prepared . 7 . 5 μl of a saturated congo red solution was added to 150 μl of the running buffer . 80 μl of the congo red / running buffer mixture was introduced through the inlet port ( 5 ) into a device made in accordance with example 2 . the device was connected to an electrophoresis power supply ( model ev215 , consort bvba , turnhout , belgium ) and run at 50 vdc for 6 minutes . the initial current drawn by the device was 107 μa . the red color was observed to move from the cathode gel almost immediately , indicating migration of the congo red toward the anode . at the interface between the running buffer and the anode gel , blue material started to form , indicating a drop of the ph at the anode and the alignment of the running buffer components in the electric field . the blue color propagated across the separation chamber , as the clear zone at the cathode end grew . after about 4 minutes of running , the blue region reached about 8 mm across the separation chamber , and there were no traces of red color left . this indicates migration of the congo red toward the anode and a ph of less than about 3 . 0 in the anode region of the device ( congo red has a blue - red transition in a ph range of 3 . 0 - 5 . 2 ). after 6 minutes , the ending current was 172 μa . no disrupting eddy currents due to electroosmotic flow ( eof ) were observed . a device was assembled in accordance with example 2 , except the electrode gels were set at different phs to facilitate the formation of a ph gradient . the anode gel was made as a 1 . 5 % agarose gel in 30 mm glutamic acid . the cathode gel was made as a 1 . 5 % agarose gel in 30 mm lysine . phycocyannin was run in a carrier ampholyte running buffer . native phycocyannin ( sigma - aldrich item p - 2172 ) was dissolved in a 2 % carrier ph 3 - 10 ampholyte solution ( sigma - aldrich item 39878 ). the device was run at 120 vdc for 1 hour . the initial current drawn by the system was about 130 μa ( about 15 mw ). the phycocyannin was observed to form a band within about 5 minutes near the anode end of the separation chamber . the band migrated to about 4 mm from the anode gel within 20 minutes of running , and remained stationary for the remainder of the run . the current drawn by the system was about 550 ( 6 . 6 mw ) from about 4 minutes to the end of the run . a device , as described in example 1 , was filled with water containing a blue food coloring . approximately 40 μl of water containing yellow food coloring was slowly introduced through the inlet port . a substantially straight blue - yellow boundary was observed in the middle of the separation chamber , thereby verifying parallel flow . | 1 |
exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig2 a is a plan view illustrating a transformer according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig2 b is a cross - sectional view taken along the line a - a ′ of the transformer shown in fig2 a . referring to fig2 a and 2b , the transformer according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a bobbin unit b , a core unit co that is coupled to the bobbin unit b , coil units c 1 and c 2 that are wound around the bobbin unit b , and terminal units ii and io that are formed on the bobbin unit b . the bobbin unit b has a predetermined length and a through hole bi formed therein . the core unit co includes an inner core coi and an outer core coo . the inner core coi is inserted into the through hole bi of the bobbin unit b . the outer core coo is formed along one surface of the bobbin unit b that is formed in a longitudinal direction of the bobbin unit b . the inner core coi and the outer core coo are electromagnetically coupled to each other to form a magnetic path that is a path of magnetic flux . here , one inner core coi and one outer core coo are electromagnetically coupled to each other to form one magnetic path . the coil units c 1 and c 2 are wound around outer circumferential surfaces of the bobbin unit b . the coil units c 1 and c 2 include a primary coil c 1 and a plurality of secondary coils c 2 . the primary coil c 1 is wound around the center of the outer circumferential surfaces of the bobbin unit b . the plurality of secondary coils c 2 are wound around both sides of the outer circumferential surfaces , respectively , around the primary coil c 1 along the longitudinal direction of the bobbin unit b . the primary coil c 1 corresponds to the secondary coil c 2 to form one electric transformer . when the secondary coils c 2 are wound around both sides of the outer circumferential surfaces of the bobbin unit b , respectively , two transformers may be integrated into one transformer structure . when two of each of the secondary coils c 2 are wound , four electrical transformers may be integrated into one transformer structure . the terminal units ii and io include an input terminal ii and an output terminal io . the terminal units ii and io may further include a fixing or grounding terminal ig . the input terminal ii and the output terminal io are formed at one surface and the other surface of the bobbin unit b , respectively , which are located opposite to each other . the input terminal ii transmits input power to the primary coil c 1 , a first input terminal ii 1 is connected to one end of the primary coil c 1 , and a second input terminal ii 2 is connected to the other end of the primary coil c 1 . the output terminal io transmits to the outside , output power that is set according to a winding ratio between the primary coil c 1 and the secondary coils c 2 . then , a first output terminal io 1 of the output terminal io is connected to one end of the one secondary coil c 2 that is wound around the outer circumferential surfaces of the one side of the bobbin unit b , and a second output terminal io 2 is connected to the other end of the secondary coil c 2 that is wound around the outer circumferential surfaces of the one side of the bobbin unit b . in the same manner , a third output terminal io 3 is connected to one end of the other secondary coil c 2 that is wound around the outer circumferential surfaces of the other side of the bobbin unit b , and a fourth output terminal io 4 is connected to the other end of the secondary coil c 2 that is wound around the outer circumferential surfaces of the other side of the bobbin unit b . preferably , the output terminal io and the outer core coo may be formed on the same outer circumferential surface of the bobbin unit b . as shown below in table 1 , experiments show that an output current deviation can be reduced by an electromagnetic action between the input and output terminals ii and io , the core unit co , and the coil units c 1 and c 2 when the output terminal io and the outer core coo are formed at the same outer circumferential surface . referring to table 1 , when the output terminal io and the outer core coo are formed at the same outer circumferential surface of the same bobbin unit b , a tube current deviation between the lamps is 0 . 3 ma . on the other hand , when the output terminal io and the outer core coo are formed at the different outer circumferential surfaces of the bobbin unit b that are opposite to each other , the tube current deviation between the lamps is 1 . 8 ma . in general , when a rated output current ( lamp tube current ) is 8 ma , an output current deviation that is required by a user is 0 . 5 ma . therefore , preferably , the output terminal io and the outer core coo are formed at the same outer circumferential surface of the bobbin unit b . further , a cross walk cw that equally divides the winding number of the primary coil c 1 may be formed at the center of the outer circumferential surfaces around which the primary coil c 1 of the bobbin unit b is wound . taking into account the fact that the output power is determined according to the winding ratio between the primary coil c 1 and the secondary coils c 2 , the output power of each of the secondary coils c 2 can be equally controlled . fig3 a is an exploded perspective view illustrating a transformer according to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 a , the one exemplary embodiment of the transformer according to the present invention relates to an exemplary embodiment of a core unit co that is used in the transformer according to the invention . the core unit co includes two open square - shaped cores that are coupled to form one magnetic path . that is , a first open square - shaped core includes a first support part v 1 , a first inner protrusion part coi 1 , and a first outer protrusion part coo 1 . the first support part v 1 has one side and the other side . the first inner protrusion part coi 1 is formed at the one side of the first support part v 1 and inserted into a through hole bi of a bobbin unit b . the first outer protrusion part coo 1 is formed at the other side of the first support part v 1 along the same direction as a direction of the first inner protrusion part coi 1 , and formed along one surface formed in the longitudinal direction of the bobbin unit b . in the same manner , a second open - square shaped core includes a second support part v 2 , a second inner protrusion part coi 2 , and a second outer protrusion part coo 2 . the second support part v 2 has one side and the other side . the second inner protrusion part coi 2 is formed at the one side of the second support part v 2 and inserted into the through hole bi of the bobbin unit b . the second outer protrusion part coo 2 is formed at the other side of the second support part v 2 along the same direction as a direction of the second inner protrusion part coi 2 , and formed along one surface formed in the longitudinal direction of the bobbin unit b . the first and second open square - shaped cores face each other and are coupled to each other . the first and second inner protrusion parts coi 1 and coi 2 form one inner core coi . the first and second outer protrusion parts coo 1 and coo 2 and the first and second support parts v 1 and v 2 form one outer core coo . since a description of the bobbin unit b , coil units , and terminal units is the same as that with reference to fig2 a and 2b , the description thereof will be omitted . fig3 b is an exploded perspective view illustrating a transformer according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 b , the inner protrusion parts coi 1 and coi 2 of the first and second open square - shaped cores as described above in fig3 a may be thinner than the outer protrusion parts coo 1 and coo 2 . as the thickness of the inner protrusion parts coi 1 and coi 2 increases , the length of the bobbin unit b increases , which results in an increase in volume of the transformer . therefore , when the thickness of the inner protrusion parts coi 1 and coi 2 is reduced within an allowable range in terms of electromagnetism , the volume of the transformer can be further reduced . fig3 c is an exploded perspective view illustrating a transformer according to still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the still another exemplary embodiment of a core unit co that is used in the transformer according to the invention will be described in detail . the core unit co includes an inner core coi and an outer core coo . the inner core coi is an i - shaped core that has a predetermined length , and the outer core coo is a c - shaped core that has a plurality of protrusion parts v 1 and v 2 . the inner core coi includes one end and the other end , and is inserted into a through hole bi of a bobbin unit b . the outer core coo is formed along one surface in a longitudinal direction of the bobbin unit b among outer circumferential surfaces of the bobbin unit b . further , the outer core coo includes protrusion parts v 1 and v 2 that are formed at one side and the other side thereof along the same direction . the first protrusion part v 1 of the outer core coo is electrically connected to the one side of the inner core coi , and the second protrusion part v 2 is electrically connected to the other end of the inner core coi , thereby forming one magnetic path . in the above - described core unit according to the still another embodiment of the invention , the inner core coi is shorter than the outer core coo . for this reason , one end surface and the other end surface of the inner core coi are electrically connected to surfaces that face the through hole bi of the bobbin unit b among surfaces of the first and second protrusion parts v 1 and v 2 of the outer core coo . fig3 d is an exploded perspective view illustrating a transformer according to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention . fig3 d illustrates the yet another exemplary embodiment of a core unit co that is used in the transformer according to the invention when the inner core coi and the outer core coo of the core unit co shown in fig3 c have the same length . referring to fig3 d , the inner core coi has the same length as the outer core coo . one side and the other side of a surface that faces the outer core coo among surfaces of the inner core coi are electromagnetically coupled to end surfaces of the first and second protrusion parts v 1 and v 2 of the outer core coo , respectively , to thereby form one magnetic path . fig4 a is a circuit diagram illustrating one example of a connection between the transformer according to the present invention and lamps . referring to fig4 a , the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be connected to a plurality of lamps . first , input power that is transmitted to the primary coil c 1 through the input terminals io 1 and io 2 is converted into output power that is set beforehand according to a winding ratio between the primary coil c 1 and the plurality of secondary coils c 2 . then , the output power is transmitted to the plurality of lamps through the output terminals io 1 , io 2 , io 3 , and io 4 . when each of the plurality of lamps is a long bar - shaped lamp , the four lamps receive the output power through the first to fourth output terminals io 1 , io 2 , io 3 , and io 4 . here , the output terminals io 1 and io 2 are electrically connected to one end and the other end of one secondary coil c 2 , respectively , and the output terminals io 3 and io 4 are electrically connected to one end and the other end of the other secondary coil c 2 , respectively . then , the four lamps emit light . fig4 b is a circuit diagram illustrating another example of a connection between the transformer according to the present invention and lamps . referring to fig4 b , when each of the plurality of lamps is a u - shaped lamp , two lamps receive the output power through the first to fourth output terminals io 1 , io 2 , io 3 , and io 4 . here , the output terminals io 1 and io 2 are electrically connected to one end and the other end of one secondary coil c 2 , respectively , and the output terminals io 3 and io 4 are electrically connected to one end and the other end of the other secondary coil c 2 , respectively . then , the two lamps emit light . at this time , one end and the other end of one u - shaped lamp may be electrically connected to the first and second output terminals io 1 and io 2 , respectively , and one end and the other end of the other u - shaped lamp may be electrically connected to the third and fourth output terminals io 3 and io 4 , respectively . fig5 is a graph illustrating a tube current of lamps when the transformer according to the present invention and the lamps are connected to each other . referring to fig5 , four or eight transformers according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are used , and lamps are connected to output terminals of the transformers . the tube current of the sixteen lamps is measured . as shown in graph of fig5 , when taking into account the fact that an output current deviation that is required by a user is 0 . 5 ma when a rated output current ( lamp tube current ) is 8 ma , a deviation of the tube current that flows into the sixteen lamps is within the deviation of 0 . 5 ma . this means that even when the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of electric transformers are integrated into one transformer structure to form one magnetic path and reduce the volume of the transformer , the transformer accurately performs the proper function . as described above , characteristics of the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention are compared with those of the transformer according to the related art shown in fig1 a and 1b . referring to table 2 , the transformer according to the related art forms two magnetic paths and a core section has a width of 43 . 5 mm 2 , while the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention forms one magnetic path and a core section has a width of 27 mm 2 . as a result , the volume of the transformer according to the related art is 5873 mm 3 , while the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention is 4289 mm 3 . therefore , the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention has almost the same electrical characteristic as the transformer according to the related art . however , the volume of the transformer according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention is reduced by approximately 27 %. as set forth above , according to exemplary embodiments of the invention , a plurality of electrical transformers are integrated into one transformer structure to form one magnetic path , thereby reducing the volume of the transformer . while the present invention has been shown and described in connection with the exemplary embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
referring to fig1 there is seen a minivan 10 having a spare tire 12 mounted under the floor 11 of the rear compartment thereof . in the stowed position tire 12 is firmly secured against the bottom of floor 11 as seen in fig2 and 3 . when the tire 12 is needed it is lowered to the ground as shown by phantom lines in fig3 . tire 12 is supported under the vehicle by means of a cable 14 generally of the commonly used wire rope type . cable 14 is connected to the center of tire rim 15 by means of a clip 16 of conventional design . clip 16 is centrally attached to the end of cable 14 and is preferably of a rectangular upwardly centrally angled configuration as shown . this conventional angled configuration causes clip 16 to be self centering in the center of rim 15 . cable 14 as shown is threaded over a pulley 18 and the opposite end connected to a lever 20 . one end of lever 20 is pivotally connected to the floor of the vehicle by means of a pin or bolt 21 . the end of cable 14 opposite that connected to clip 16 is resiliently connected to lever arm 20 by the arrangement shown in fig4 . a block 22 slidably mounted within arm 20 is accessible through an opening 23 in the upper surface of lever arm 20 . the preferred configuration for lever arm 20 is of a hollow square cross sectioned metal tube . as seen in fig4 an end of block 22 bears against a coil spring 24 or similar resilient member . spring 24 biases the end of cable 14 toward the end of lever 20 . thus when the cable is relaxed or if the load of the lever arm in pulling the cable exerts a moment more or less perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the lever arm as is the case approximately to the point shown in fig3 by phantom lines , the biasing of spring 24 causes the point of attachment of cable 14 to lever arm 20 to be a distance a away from pivot point 21 . then , when the lever arm is rotated counter - clockwise as seen in fig3 from the position shown by phantom lines , a greater moment is exerted parallel to the axis of lever arm 20 . this moment causes compression of spring 24 so that the effective lever arm is shortened to distance b as seen in fig2 and 3 . this shortening of the lever arm increases the amount of leverage available to the user in raising the tire . this improvement of the leverage lightens the work effort required to lift the tire , thus making it easier for an operator of limited physical strength to raise the tire . the spring also makes it easier for the lever arm to be moved to an overcenter position wherein the cable is pulling linearly parallel to the axis of lever arm 20 as seen in fig3 . finally , the presence of spring 24 in the compressed state when the tire is raised insures that the tire is firmly mounted against the bottom of the motor vehicle floor 11 . a latch member 26 is provided to insure that the arm 20 remains in the position of fig3 wherein it is located in a recess 28 in the floor of the rear of the vehicle 10 . the mechanism thus remains concealed , particularly if covered by carpeting or matting . while latch 26 is indicated to be of a simple pivoting type , it will readily be apparent that other latches of various types such as sliding types or hooks can be substituted by those skilled in the art . preferably the sides of the opening in the motor vehicle floor are reinforced by members such as angle irons 30 in order to provide adequate support for pulley 18 . while preferred embodiments of the invention have been indicated for purposes of illustration , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various other modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
referring now to fig1 - 3 of the drawings there is shown a container 1 , for serving as a pizza box stacker dispenser and carrier , in the general form of a hollow upright rectangular parallelepiped having a front panel 3 , a rear panel 5 , a left side panel 7 and a right side panel 9 . the container 1 has an open top 11 through which a stack of conventional pizza boxes 13 may be inserted . although described for use in storing , carrying , and dispensing pizza boxes , the present invention is applicable generally to storing , carrying , and dispensing other types of boxes or other uniformly sized rectangular objects preferably having a low profile . on the front panel 3 of the container 1 there is a centered vertical slot 15 forming a window in the panel 3 through which a portion of the stack of boxes can be seen . the window 15 provides a view from which it can be determined when it is necessary to refill the container 1 with more pizza boxes after a sufficient number have been withdrawn from the bottom of the container 1 as hereinafter explained . at the bottom of the container 1 there is a rectangular lower opening 17 having a width slightly larger than the width of the pizza boxes intended to be stored within the container 1 and dispensed from it . continuous with the opening 17 at the bottom of the container 1 is an upper opening 19 having a width narrower than the width of the pizza boxes 13 . the opening 19 is wide enough to enable the lowermost pizza box 13 a in the container 1 to be grasped , preferably with the thumb of one hand pressing against the front edge of the box and the fingers of the same hand touching the box from below . the opening 19 preferably has a rounded top to form an arch for structural integrity and an aesthetically pleasing appearance . on each side of the opening 19 there is inserted through a horizontal slot 21 in the front panel 3 of the container 1 , a right angle bracket 25 serving as a support for the bottom of the lowermost pizza box 13 a in an area proximate the front panel 3 of the container 1 . although shown as mounted on the front panel 3 of the container 1 , the supports 25 can be mounted on the inside surfaces of the left side panel 7 and right side panel 9 adjacent the inside surface of the front panel 3 . referring now to fig2 of the drawings there is shown the rear panel 5 of the container 1 . cut into the rear panel 5 of the container 1 is a rectangular opening 23 having a width slightly larger than the width of the largest sized boxes 13 and a height greater than the height of a single box 13 but less than twice the height of a box 13 . hence one box 13 , and only one box 13 , may be received within the rear opening 23 at a time . spanning the opening 23 and preferably disposed in the plane of the rear surface of rear panel 5 is a resilient band 6 as best seen in fig3 . the resilient band 6 is preferably made of an elastic material such as rubber or the like and can be a common rubber band . alternatively , the resilient band can be formed from a strip of spring steel or the like . the resilient band 6 serves as a barrier for normally preventing the lowermost box 13 a from accidentally penetrating the rear opening 23 far enough for the front of the box 13 a to recede from the supports 25 and drop to the floor 33 . when the box 13 a is to be withdrawn from container 1 , it is pushed rearwardly through the rear opening 23 against an opposing force of the resilient band far enough for the front of the box 13 a to clear the supports 25 and be lowered to an elevation whereat it can be withdrawn through the front opening 3 without obstruction . in order to provide ample room for the lowermost box 13 a to be momentarily pushed rearwardly through the opening 23 , the container 1 should be spaced from the wall behind it . this can be ensured by providing one or more spacers between the rear panel 5 of the container 1 and the wall behind it . suitable spacers 24 may be formed at the time the opening 23 is cut into the rear wall 5 of the container 1 as follows . a centered rectangular panel slightly narrower than the width of the container 1 is cut out of the rear wall 5 . the distance between each side edge of the rear opening and its adjacent wall determines the depth of the corresponding spacer to be formed . that is , each of the margins between the rear opening 23 and respective side wall 7 , 9 is cut or scored along parallel horizontal lines which are extensions of the top and bottom edges of the rear opening 23 . the margins may then be folded ninety degrees to project rearwardly from the rear surface 5 of the container 1 . for increased rigidity , the margins may be folded over on themselves and fastened to themselves by glue , tacking or any other appropriate fastening device . in the latter case , the container 1 should be wide enough relative to the widest size of box to be stacked therein to allow a rear opening wider than the width of the widest size box and margins between the opening 23 and side panels 7 , 9 to permit folded spacers of sufficient depth . the ends 8 , 8 of the resilient band 6 penetrate openings in the container 1 at or adjacent the intersection of the spacers 24 with the side walls 7 , 9 . the ends 8 , 8 of the resilient band 6 are adhered to the outer surfaces of the side walls 7 , 9 by a suitable fastener such as glue , adhesive tape , thumb tacks , push pins , or the like . referring to fig4 of the drawings , looking down into the container 1 , there can be seen the horizontal surfaces of front supports 25 formed by brackets which support the bottom of the lowermost pizza box in the stack of boxes 13 housed within the container 1 . the uppermost surfaces of the horizontal portions of the brackets 25 are at an elevation greater than the bottom of the rectangular opening 23 which is in the plane of the floor 33 of the container 1 or , if the container 1 has no floor , the plane of the bottom of the container 1 . referring now to fig5 of the drawings there is shown a stack of pizza boxes 13 within a container 1 from which the lowermost box 13 a is to be removed . as can be seen in fig5 , the lowermost box 13 a has been pushed , by inserting pressure on its front panel , exposed in the upper opening 19 of the container 1 , toward the rear of the container 1 thereby causing the lowermost box 13 a to begin to pass through the rectangular opening 23 toward a position rearward of the supports 25 on which the front lower edge of the lowermost box 13 a is still resting . at this time the area of the top surface of the lowermost box 13 a within the container 1 continues to engage the bottom surface of the box 13 b immediately above it , with the weight of the stack of boxes 13 causing friction between the lowermost box 13 a being dispensed and the box 13 b above it . referring now to fig6 , as the lowermost box 13 a is pushed further rearward through the rectangular opening 23 , the front of the lowermost box 13 a clears the supports 25 . as soon as the lowermost box 13 a clears the supports 25 , it is free to drop or be lowered to a position near the bottom of the container 1 in registration with the front opening 17 . as soon as the lowermost box 13 a is tilted downward , it disengages the box 13 b above it except for a line of engagement along the bottom rear edge of the box 13 b . this greatly reduces the amount of friction between the boxes 13 a and 13 b and the force which must be exerted on the lowermost box 13 a to withdraw it from the container 1 below the force that would have to be exerted if the lowermost box 13 a were withdrawn while its entire surface area within the container 1 was in engagement with the bottom surface of the box 13 b immediately above it . as the lowermost box 13 a is withdrawn a short distance through the opening 23 , the rear end of the box 13 b immediately above drops until its lower rear edge meets the floor 33 as can be seen in fig7 and 8 . at this time the box 13 b is in a stable disposition with its front bottom edge resting on the supports 25 and rear bottom edge resting on the floor 33 . hence the box 13 b can no longer move with and follow the box 13 a beneath it . this desirable result enables withdrawal of the lowermost box 13 a through the opening 17 to be continued free of any friction between boxes 13 a and 13 b . the only possible friction is between the box 13 a and the floor 33 due only to the weight of the box 13 a which is free of the weight of the stack above . even this relatively small amount of friction may be alleviated if the box is lifted off the floor 33 as it is withdrawn through the opening 17 . the floor 33 of the container 1 is optional and not necessary to its dispensing function . however , the floor 33 provides a smooth surface for withdrawing the box to be dispensed with little friction and also enhances the rigidity of the container 1 . another benefit of the floor 33 is that it protects the boxes 13 from the surface of the countertop on which the container 1 is placed including any debris which may be present on the countertop . for portability , the container 1 may be collapsed by inwardly folding adjacent panels along diagonally opposed vertical edges . if present , a floor or ceiling panel can be removed . to facilitate removal and replacement of the floor or ceiling panel , the panel ( s ) may be fastened in place by removable push pins ( not shown ) insertable from outside of the container into adjacent edges of the floor / ceiling panel ( s ). the brackets 25 may be right angle brackets made from any rigid material including metal or plastic . for maximum strength , the brackets 25 can be inserted through horizontal slots 21 scored into the front panel 3 of the container 1 . referring additionally to fig9 , the inside surfaces of the vertical arms of the angle brackets 25 facing the outer surface of the front panel 3 can be coated with a pressure - sensitive adhesive covered by a peel away strip and pressed against , and thereby affixed to , the front panel 3 . the horizontal arm of each angle bracket 25 rests on , and is supported by , the exposed inside edge of its respective slot 21 for stability and strength . alternatively , as shown in fig1 , the vertical arm of the bracket 25 can be apertured for receiving an expandable push pin fastener that can be inserted through the front panel 3 and the vertical arm from either side . other types of conventional fasteners may employed as will be known to those skilled in the art . it is important that the portion of the fastener that extends into the interior of the container 1 not penetrate deeply enough to interfere with the downward movement of the stack of pizza boxes as each lowermost box 13 a is withdrawn . in instances where an adhesive used to affix the brackets forming the supports 25 to the panel on which the brackets are mounted is strong enough to withstand shearing forces on the inside surfaces of the container 1 due to the weight of the stacked boxes 13 , the rear surfaces of the vertical arms of the brackets 25 can be adhered to the inside surface of the front panel 3 of the container 1 without forming , or inserting the brackets through , slots in the front panel 3 of the container 1 . here , too , a peel off strip can be used to expose an adhesive on the rear of the brackets &# 39 ; vertical arms which can then be pressed against the inside facing surface of the front panel 3 . it is to be noted that the front supports 25 can be affixed not only to the front panel of the container 1 but also to the inside surfaces of the side panels 7 , 9 of the container 1 at positions adjacent to the front panel 3 . it is desirable that the inner dimensions of the container 1 , that is the length and width , be only slightly larger than the length and width of the largest size pizza boxes to be stored in and dispensed from the container 1 . in order to prevent jamming of the pizza boxes within the container 1 , it is preferable to have each of the length and width of the inside of the container 1 exceed the outside length and width of the largest sized pizza boxes by ⅛ to one ¼ inch . a single container 1 may accommodate stacks of pizza boxes of smaller than the largest size by employing supports having horizontal members which protrude into the container 1 by an appropriate distance in order to maintain the above stated relationship by which the front supports 25 , on the one hand , and the rear wall 5 , on the other hand , extend toward one another by a distance greater than the distance by which the depth of the inside of the container 1 exceeds the depth d of the pizza boxes 13 . for a container having a width w c and a depth d c housing a stack of boxes having a width w b and a depth d b , the minimum distance s of the rear edge or lip 26 of each front support 25 from the inner surface of the front panel 3 may be computed as follows . referring to fig1 , for a front support having an upper surface at a elevation e above the floor 33 , the d c − s =√{ square root over ( )}( d b 2 − h 2 ) s = d c −√{ square root over ( )}( d b 2 − h 2 ) where the supports 25 are mounted on the side panels 7 , 9 , the edges most distal from the front panel and proximate the rear panel should be a minimum of distance s from the inside surface of front panel 3 . where boxes for large size pizzas are to be stacked , each having a depth d b and width w b of 16 inches , and a height h of two inches , and the container 1 was a depth d c and width w c of 16 . 5 inches the following dimensions for the container 1 have been found to be desirable . elevation of front support 25 above floor 33 = 5 inches for the same container 1 as in example 1 above , where boxes for medium size pizzas are to be stacked , each having a depth d b and width w b of 14 inches , and a depth d of two inches , elevation of front support 25 above floor 33 = 5 inches for the same container 1 as in examples 1 and 2 above , where boxes for small size pizzas are to be stacked , each having a depth d b and width w b of 12 inches , and a depth d of two inches , to allow for slight variances in the dimensions of the container 1 and boxes 13 , it is preferable that the actual distance of the rear lip 26 of each front support 25 from the inner surface of the front panel 3 be ½ to 1½ inches greater than s . in certain environments , it may be desirable to place the container 1 under a counter or elsewhere on the floor of the establishment instead of upon an elevated countertop . in fig1 , there is shown an alternate embodiment of the invention in the form of container 1 ′ which is substantially identical to container 1 with the following differences which allow for its use in an inverted disposition whereby boxes can be dispensed from near the top of the container 1 ′. referring now to fig1 , a fixed panel 4 ′ forms a ceiling of the container 1 ′ and another fixed panel 33 ′ forms a floor of the container 1 ′ when container 1 ′ is inverted with respect to the normal orientation of container 1 . the floor panel 33 ′ is removable or hinged along one edge so that it may be moved out of the way with the container turned over to permit boxes 13 to be inserted into container 1 ′ before turning the container 1 ′ back to the position ready for dispensing the boxes 13 as shown in fig1 . seated atop two coil springs 12 ′, 12 ′ fixed to the upper surface of floor 33 ′ is a pusher in the form of a planar panel 14 ′ which is movable in a vertical direction for urging a stack of pizza boxes 13 upwardly against the force of gravity whereby the front upper surface of the topmost box 13 a ′ engages an undersurface of each support 25 ′ in the container 1 ′ and the rear upper surface of the topmost box 13 a ′ engages the ceiling panel 4 ′. the boxes in the stack 13 ′ are inverted relative to their dispositions when used on a countertop in container 1 so that when withdrawn they are in an upright position for enabling the top of each box 13 a ′ to lifted for opening the box 13 a ′ without first having to turn it to an upright position . the springs 12 ′, 12 ′ shown fully compressed when the container is filled with boxes 13 are long enough to raise the bottommost box 13 c ′ to a position where the front upper surface of the box 13 c ′ engages the undersurface of each support 25 ′ in the container 1 ′ and the rear upper surface of box 13 c ′ engages ceiling panel 4 ′. although two coil springs have been shown in the drawings , it is possible to employ a single spring of large enough diameter , preferable at or near the center of the pusher 14 ′. when the box 13 a ′ is to be withdrawn from container 1 ′, it is pushed rearwardly through the rear opening 23 ′ against the opposing force of the elastic band 6 ′ far enough for the front of the box 13 a ′ to clear the supports 25 ′ and be raised to an elevation whereat it can be withdrawn through the front opening 3 ′ without obstruction . container 1 ′ can be employed atop a counter in a disposition like container 1 shown in fig5 or on a floor in the position shown in fig1 by inverting it . it is to be appreciated that the foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of the invention to which alterations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 1 |
several embodiments of the principle of the present invention are described in the following detailed description . two embodiments exemplify the hard - wired method described above and two exemplify a software - based approach and a composite approach . the embodiment exemplified in fig2 shows a display module 10 with three leds ( led r , led g and led b ) in a common - anode configuration , supplied with current through resistors r 1 - r 9 and switches sw r , sw g and sw b . in this and later embodiments , the switches could be electronic ( bipolar transistors or mos transistors , for example ) or electromechanical ( reed relays , for example ). closure of any one switch causes currents to flow through all three leds . the resistors r 1 , r 4 , r 7 connected to the “ red ” switch sw r are chosen to set a desired operating current in the red led ( led r ), and to set currents in the green and blue leds ( led g and led b respectively ) to bring the combined light - output to a pre - determined corrected - red colour . when switch sw r is closed , as shown in fig2 a main current set by resistance r 1 passes through led r , which provides most of the light output from the module . simultaneously , correction currents set by r 4 and r 7 pass through led g and led b respectively , whose light output combines with that of led r to produce the corrected red primary colour . the resistors r 2 , r 5 , r 8 and r 3 , r 6 , r 9 connected to the green and blue switches , sw g and sw b respectively , are determined in an analogous way . [ 0039 ] fig3 illustrates an example of how a repetitive cycle may be established to share time among the three switches sw r , sw g and sw b of fig2 . the cycle may be divided into three or more phases , not necessarily of equal duration . each switch may be open or closed during its phase of the cycle , according to the desired output , but is open during phases allocated to other switches . preferably the cycle rate is sufficient to avoid visible flicker . in the example shown , sw r is closed during part or all of the red phase , allowing a main current to flow through the red led r and correction currents to flow through the green led g and blue led b . within the green and blue phases , similarly , main currents and correction currents can flow through switches sw g and sw b during intervals for which they are closed . the intensity of each corrected colour can be controlled by varying the proportion of available time that its corresponding switch is closed . this technique ensures that the proportions of the uncorrected colours in a corrected colour remain constant as the corrected - colour intensity is varied . in fig3 the switch - closures are shown as starting at the beginning of their allotted phases , but this is not a necessary restriction to the circuit &# 39 ; s operation . the current - determining resistors r 1 - r 9 in fig2 may be replaced by current sources ( switched current mirrors , for example ), in order to gain immunity to variation of led characteristics with ambient temperature . an alternative way of using the module in fig2 is to cause more than one switch to be closed simultaneously . the currents contributed to a particular led by different switches may be approximately , but not exactly , additive . if current mirrors were used , as suggested above , the currents could be made truly additive . the advantage of simultaneous closure is an increase in the duty - cycle of each led , and a consequent increase in maximum intensity for a given maximum led current . the above embodiment may be modified in an obvious way to accommodate a common - cathode led pixel module . the embodiment exemplified in fig4 shows a display module with four leds ( r , g 1 , g 2 and b ) arranged in a bridge configuration . for the sake of example , two green leds ( g 1 , g 2 ) and one each of red ( r ) and blue ( b ) are included in the module , but this choice is not essential to the invention or its embodiment . like the embodiment of fig2 the latter embodiment provides a means of setting main and correction currents in each led . the master switches , m1 and m2 , are opened and closed in a cyclic sequence of phases which include the switch - states : both open , m1 closed ( m2 open ) and m2 closed ( m1 open ). the durations of the phases may be fixed , but not necessarily equal . the master switches can be common to an array of led modules . preferably , the repetition rate of the cyclic sequence is sufficient to avoid visible flicker . [ 0044 ] fig5 illustrates a cycle in which there are four phases , the durations of which are determined by opening and closing master switches m1 and m2 of fig4 . one of the colour - selection switches sw r , sw g or sw b may be closed for part or all of each phase - interval , subject to a restriction that only a sub - set of the colour - selection switches is permitted to close within each phase . for example , in the particular circuit of fig4 sw r may close only when m1 and m2 are both open ; sw b may close only when m1 is open and m2 is closed , and sw g can be closed when either m1 or m2 is closed and the other master - switch is open . any corrected colour can be emitted by closing one of the colour switches sw r , sw g , sw b during all or part of the master - switch phase with which it is associated . for example , if m1 and m2 are open and sw r is closed , the current through the red led ( labelled r ) is determined by a combination of r 1 and r 5 ( in series with r 4 , which is small ). correction currents are supplied to the blue ( b ) and green ( g 2 ) leds through resistor r 2 , with r 3 and r 6 determining the proportion that flows through g 2 . similar arguments apply under other conditions : when m1 is closed and the sw g is closed ( with main current through g 1 ), when m2 is closed and sw g is closed ( with main current through g 2 ), and when m2 is closed and sw b is closed ( with main current through b ). the circuit shown in fig4 is merely one example . its details depend on the relative voltage - drops across leds of different nominal colours . an important feature of this circuit is that colour - correction can be associated with an individual led pixel module , using master phase switches common to several modules , and switches for individual modules that activate each colour during part or all of a master - switch phase . a further embodiment may use a digital processor and memory to control the duty - cycle of each led in the display module , or an array of display modules . whereas in the previous embodiments , colour - correction was performed by resistive circuits uniquely associated with each pixel , in this embodiment the circuit may be simplified and the intensity and colour characteristics of each pixel may be stored in memory , as a look - up table for example , and accessed by the processor in order to determine the time - intervals for which each led should be switched on . by way of example of the latter embodiment , fig6 shows an array of common - anode display modules ( dm 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . , n ) and associated switches . the particular embodiment illustrated in fig6 uses one set of switches ( sw 1 , sw 2 , sw 3 , . . . , sw n ) to select which module is being activated , and a second set of switches ( sw r , sw g , and sw b ) to select the nominal led colour of whichever module has been selected . this arrangement is merely one example ; if sufficient outputs can be derived from the computer processor ( not shown ), the leds in an array can all be switched individually . this may provide higher average intensity for given maximum led current than the arrangement illustrated . a key advantage of the latter embodiment is the simplicity of the hardware . in order to set a particular display module to an arbitrarily - specified colour , the processor may access the stored calibration data for the leds , r , g and b , of which the module is composed . it may then calculate the required time - intervals for the red , green and blue switches , sw r , sw g and sw b , and turn the switches on and off in a cyclic manner , at a rate sufficient to avoid flicker . in order to clarify the processor &# 39 ; s task , it may be assumed that the calibration data for a display module is expressed in terms of the proportion of the time for which each led in the circuit of fig6 must conduct to produce each corrected primary colour of specified maximum intensity . such calibration data would be specific to the resistor - values r 1 , r 2 and r 3 and the power - supply voltage , as well as to the characteristics of the leds in an individual display module . for example , colour - corrected red might require the red led r to conduct for 32 % of the time , the green led g to conduct for 5 % of the time , and the blue led b to conduct for 2 % of the time . such calibration data may be expressed as a set of linear equations , or as a matrix equation , such as : [ corrected red corrected green corrected blue ] = [ a 11 a 12 a 13 a 21 a 22 a 23 a 31 a 32 a 33 ] [ uncorrected red uncorrected green uncorrected blue ] ( 1 ) where a 11 = 0 . 32 , a 12 = 0 . 05 and a 13 = 0 . 02 in the numerical example , and the matrix coefficients are to be interpreted as the proportions of time for which the uncorrected primary colour leds are to be switched on in order to produce the corrected primary colours at full intensity . the operation on the right - hand side of the equation is a conventional matrix multiplication . it may be assumed that the data to be displayed is expressed in terms of the amounts of ( corrected ) primary colours required to produce a particular intensity and hue in each display module . this would be so for the rgb signals supplied to a colour television or video - display monitor , for example . the amounts of corrected red , blue and green can be specified by coefficients b 1 , b 2 and b 3 , as follows , desired colour = [ b 1 b 2 b 3 ] [ corrected red corrected green corrected blue ] ( 2 ) the proportions of time , for which the uncorrected primary colour leds need to be switched on , follow directly by substituting equation ( 1 ) into equation ( 2 ) and performing the multiplications and additions implied by their combination . this calculation may be performed by the processor for each pixel module , using its individual calibration data and the primary - colour amounts specified by some external device , such as a video - signal source . the processor is required to turn switches ( sw 1 . . . sw n and sw r , sw g and sw b ) on and off at appropriate times to achieve the calculated time - proportions and to do so at a rate sufficient to avoid flicker . if the output lines that are available from the processor are insufficient for the embodiment illustrated in fig6 addressable latches can be used to drive the switches . the processor may only need to address each latch briefly , compared to the cycle - period , in order to change its state and turn the associated switch on or off . an alternative way of using the circuit in fig6 is to switch on each of the colour - correction leds for part of the conduction interval of the led whose colour is being corrected . using the same numerical example as before , a half - maximum - intensity colour - corrected red would be obtained by switching the red led on for 16 % ( 50 % of 32 %) of the repetitive cycle , and within the same part of the cycle , switching the green and blue leds on for 2 . 5 % and 1 % of the cycle - period . this method may reduce the computational load on the processor . the embodiment shown in fig7 is a composite scheme , illustrating several of the features described earlier . the display modules dm1 - dm8 may be similar to those in fig6 which is what the module representation in fig7 is intended to imply . alternatively , with minor changes to the circuit , the display modules may take the form illustrated in fig2 or fig6 . the detailed form of the display modules is not a central issue in this embodiment . the point is that the concept of fig7 can be applied to various forms of display module , because it allows both the upper and lower switches ( shown as transistors ) to be controlled by the processor . either the upper or lower switches , or some combination of them , can be common to a number of display modules . [ 0058 ] fig7 shows the use of addressable latches al1 to al3 to demultiplex a limited number of output lines from a processor , as described earlier . only eight modules are shown , but the principle can be extended in an obvious way to a larger number of modules , preferably a power of two , eg . 16 , 32 , 64 . . . . with reference to the diagram , a particular module is selected by the address lines ( a2 , a1 , a0 ). a particular led colour , corrected or uncorrected depending on the form of the module , is selected by asserting an enable input ( e r , e g or e b ) of one of the three latches . with appropriate relative timing of the processor outputs , the new state of the selected latch is determined by a high or low logic level on the data output . the processor needs to address a particular latch twice per cycle : once to turn the associated led ( or combination of leds ) on and once to turn it off . the power - on reset may be used to ensure that all latches are in a known state when power is first applied to the circuit . [ 0059 ] fig8 shows a display component including a linear array of display modules 11 , together with electronic driving circuits for the array . the component may be built on a ceramic substrate 12 , with printed thick - film conductive tracks 13 and resistors 14 , or by using conventional printed - circuit construction , and / or other technology . driver transistors 15 , leds 16 and integrated circuits 17 used for controlling led currents may be either surface - mount packaged components soldered to printed pads , or die - form devices with wire - bond connections to the pads . each display module 11 includes a row of three or more leds 16 , nominally red , green and blue primaries , enclosed within one compartment of a reflector 18 and encapsulated in an optically - translucent medium 19 ( refer fig9 ) that scatters and diffuses light output . in fig8 reflector 18 is raised from substrate 12 to reveal leds 16 underneath . in practice it may sit directly on substrate 12 , near its edge . one purpose of optical medium 19 is to mix the three primary colours , so that a display module 11 is not perceived as three separate sources of light . another purpose of optical medium 19 is to spread radiated light over a relatively wide angular range , so that display module 11 approximates a lambertian source , presenting a consistent brightness and colour from different points of view . driver transistors 15 that supply currents to leds 16 are mounted behind reflector 18 , together with resistors 14 . the values of resistors 14 set the main and correction currents for each led 16 . in a preferred embodiment , resistors 14 may be in the base circuits of transistors 15 , which are operated in an unsaturated mode , so that the led currents are relatively independent of led voltage - drop . alternative circuits could use saturated transistors , with series collector resistors to define the led currents , or current - mirror circuits , which would almost eliminate any dependence of led currents on the current gains of the transistors . digital circuits for switching transistors 15 on and off may also be mounted on substrate 12 , as an integral part of the display component . an advantageous feature of the aforementioned embodiment of the invention is that thick - film resistors 14 may be adjusted in value , using laser - trimming equipment for example , to adjust the currents of leds 16 to desired values . in this way , parameter variations of transistors 15 and leds 16 may be compensated during the manufacturing process . the laser - trimming process can be actively controlled by feedback from an instrument that measures the intensity and chromaticity of each led 16 . by this means , led currents can be set to achieve consistent target values of intensity and chromaticity for compensated primary colours . it is evident that trimming resistors 14 during manufacture of the display component obviates the need for further adjustment , calibration or software compensation of the array of display modules when it is incorporated into a larger item of equipment , such as a video display panel . the thick - film technology described above may also facilitate temperature - compensation of the display - array . resistive inks used to print resistors can be chosen to have desired temperature coefficients , appropriate to counteract thermal - dependencies of transistors and leds , which are likely to be significant over the operating temperature range of a typical installation . an alternative , or complementary , method of temperature compensation may be to adjust the supply voltage to the complete circuit in response to operating temperature . the display - array component may typically be used by grouping a number of such components into a rectangular array or tile , constructed as a row of parallel substrates supported by an orthogonal motherboard or back - plane . a number of these tiles would then be assembled to construct a larger display panel , containing many thousands of display modules if television or computer - monitor level of resolution is required . in order to reduce visually - obtrusive borders between linear arrays when they are grouped into tiles , the top edge of reflector 18 and the edges of the divisions between its compartments may be brought forward of substrate 12 , as shown in the cross - sectional view of fig9 . these edges can be made substantially thinner than substrate 12 . the diffusing medium 19 can fill the space enclosed by reflector 18 , including the region immediately in front of substrate 12 . if the lines of demarcation between display modules are regarded as obtrusive , a moderately - diffusing screen 20 could be placed in front of the whole array . the shape of reflector 18 may be chosen to provide a fairly broad angular distribution of light output , which may be further broadened and smoothed by the diffusing medium 19 . to this end , the reflector compartments may be curved in two planes : in one shown by the cross - section of fig9 and in a plane orthogonal to the cross - section . finally , it is to be understood that various alterations , modifications and / or additions may be introduced into the constructions and arrangements of parts previously described without departing from the spirit or ambit of the invention . [ 1 ] y . le grand , light , colour and vision , 2nd ed ., chapman and hall ltd : london , 1968 ; 564 pp . [ 2 ] g . wyszecki and w . s . stiles , color science . concepts and methods , quantitative data and formulas , john wiley and sons , inc : new york , 1967 ; 628 pp . [ 3 ] r . w . g . hunt , measuring colour , ellis horwood limited : chichester , 1987 ; 221 pp . [ 4 ] cie , colorimetry , 2nd ed ., commission internationale de i &# 39 ; eclairage : vienna , 1986 ; publication no 15 . 2 , 77 pp . | 6 |
referring to fig1 , there is shown , as an example , a schematic drawing of a known system 98 for generating high voltages from a battery . the system comprises a battery 100 comprising a plurality of battery cells . the voltage generated by the battery will pass through protection means 101 and be applied to the load 102 across the terminals 104 and 106 . if the load requires a voltage of y volts and each battery cell has a typical voltage of x volts then the total number of cells required in this system can be calculated by x / y . since the cells are series connected , the failure of any one cell will result in failure of the battery . as well , the failure of the protection means will also fail the system . hence , this system is very unreliable . as the battery 100 discharges the output voltage will vary over time and this will be detrimental to the load 102 . reliability of the system can be improved by regularly changing the used battery 100 with a fresh battery . alternatively a second battery can be added to the system to increase redundancy . however , both alternatives are not cost or labor efficient . in another embodiment of this known system 98 , a circuit could be added to each cell of the battery to detect cell failure and subsequently isolate the cell from the battery . however , the addition of circuitry to each cell of a large battery would result in a costly system and high resistance loads on the battery from the circuitry itself . referring to fig2 , there is shown another example of a battery system 198 for generating high voltages having greater reliability than the system of fig1 . in this system there are multiple smaller battery packs 200 to supply the load . this triple redundancy increases the reliability of the voltage source . the each battery circuit comprises a battery pack 200 in series with protection means 201 and voltage blocking element 202 . in the event that a battery pack fails , the blocking element will isolate the failed battery circuit from the other two surviving circuits . the current from each battery circuit is then combined before entering a voltage converter 203 which takes the low voltage of the battery packs and increases it to the required system output voltage 204 required by the load across the terminals 206 and 208 . the advantage of this system is in the redundancy of the battery circuits . any one battery circuit ( or two circuits ) can fail and the system continues to function on the surviving circuit ( s ). a further advantage of this system is the ability to regulate the voltage output 204 regardless of the state of charge of individual batteries . a disadvantage of this system is the requirement for all of the system power to pass through a non - redundant voltage converter 203 . failure of the voltage converter would fail the system . as well , the system will require heavy cable connections between the voltage converter and the batteries to carry the current demanded by the load . another major disadvantage of this system is its inability to select the battery circuits having the greatest state of charge . one battery circuit may end up supplying more of the load than the other two circuits depending on the health of the battery cells , cell voltage , cell impedance and impedance of the series components such as protection means 201 and blocking element 202 . another disadvantage of this system is the threshold of the blocking element 202 which may be only a fraction of a volt . in that case , a battery that has a terminal voltage that fraction of a volt higher than all other batteries in the system will end up providing all of the power . the blocking elements will block current from the two lower voltage circuits . this situation is especially dangerous in systems where a freshly charged battery may be hot - swapped into an active system . referring to fig3 , there is illustrated a schematic of another known method to increase reliability of ups systems . in the system illustrated 302 , each battery 200 in the multiple battery system is serially connected to an independent voltage converter 301 . the advantage of this system is that the failure of any battery or any voltage converter will not render the system inoperable . the disadvantage of this system lies in the tendency for the voltage converters 301 to fail to share the system load . if one voltage converter senses the output 204 as being out of tolerance , it may attempt to supply all the power required to bring the output back into regulation . this problem is exacerbated at high loads as the distance from each battery to the load will result in larger measurement errors and therefore the batteries closest to the load are more likely to supply more of the power to the load . this makes it very difficult to balance power distribution across the batteries 200 . this problem gets progressively more difficult as more batteries are added to the system . the state of charge of the individual batteries is also ignored in this setup . the amount of power delivered by any individual battery is based solely on the accuracy of the control circuitry involved in response to the load . referring now to fig4 there is illustrated a circuit 400 that shows an example of a slightly improved approach to improving reliability of multi - battery systems . in this system there are multiple batteries 200 and multiple voltage converters 401 serially connected to each of the batteries . this circuit includes an analog feedback system 403 that permits each of the voltage converters to sense the overall output voltage 204 . the analogue feedback system ensures that each of the independent voltage converters 401 will sense the identical output voltage 204 . this improves accuracy of voltage regulation but using an analogue signal will have inherent inaccuracies due to how the converters interpret the signal . this may result in a single voltage battery circuit delivering more or less power to the load than the other two battery circuits . this circuit also suffers from inaccuracy because when many batteries are used in a single system the probability of error increases and the distribution of an accurate and noise - free analog signal becomes a challenge . this circuit also ignores the state of charge of the batteries and instead seeks only to balance the amount of power equally among all batteries . referring now to fig5 , there is shown one embodiment of the present invention that overcomes the deficiencies discussed above . the invention comprise a circuit 498 that comprises a plurality of battery circuits each comprising a battery 500 that is connected to and monitored by protection means 501 . generally the circuit will have at least two batteries and each battery will have a battery positive 510 and a battery negative 512 terminal . this combination of batteries will provide the system with the desired level of voltage output and reliability . protection means 501 is connected across the battery positive and negative terminals . the output of the protection means is through protection means positive 514 and negative 516 terminals . the protection means output is feed into energy storage means 502 connected to the positive terminal of protection means . the energy storage means stores energy when it receives a true digital control signal from a logic circuit means 503 . the logic circuit means is a gate that outputs a true digital control signal when the protection signal 505 from protection means 501 and the digital enabling signal 506 from voltage sensing element 504 are both true . the enabling signal is generated by a voltage sensing element 504 connected across the circuit positive and negative terminals . the voltage sensing element outputs a pulse - width modulated or frequency modulated digital enabling signal that varies with the output 204 . if the output is too low , the enabling signal will be true for a larger proportion of time which will cause more energy to be stored in the energy storage means 502 . the energy storage means 502 will discharge its stored energy when the digital input to it is false . the energy storage means will typically be composed of an inductor and at least one transistor . other elements can be added . in another embodiment of the invention the energy can be stored in capacitors . energy storage tends to be proportional with voltage . in the case of an inductor when a battery is connected to an inductor , current will ramp up through the inductor at a rate that is proportional to the inductance and the circuit resistance . the current is therefore essentially independent of voltage . the actual power being stored is therefore proportional to the voltage of the battery since power is equal to voltage multiplied by current . similarly , if the energy storage means is a capacitor , the energy stored is equal to one - half capacitance multiplied by the square of the terminal voltage . therefore , in the case of a capacitor storage element , a battery with a higher voltage will deliver considerably more power to the load due to the squared dependence on voltage . in this way , the battery 500 with the highest potential , which generally relates to state of charge , will also deliver the most energy to the load 204 . this system therefore automatically , and without any specific analog or digital control , has a tendency to cause the battery with the highest capacity to also supply the most power to the load . referring to fig6 , power delivery to the output 204 can achieve lower noise by implementing separate controls to each battery 500 or by grouping the controls such that one energy storage means 502 would be discharging into the load while another energy storage means on another battery is charging . if the operating frequency of the enabling signal from the voltage sensing element 504 is f , then a system with two separate control groups would have an output noise frequency of 2f . higher output frequencies result in lower total noise as filtering elements become more efficient at eliminating noise as frequency increases . it is possible to have as many control signals as there are batteries . the system would time shift each control signal the same amount . for example , if there were two enabling signals 506 from two voltage sensors 504 and the system was operating at an update frequency of 1 khz in a pulse width modulating mode , then the period of the signal is 1 / frequency or about 1 milli - second . the two enabling signals would therefore have similar pulse width and identical frequency , but would be time - shifted by 0 . 5 milli - seconds . if four enabling signals were used , they would ideally be time - shifted by 0 . 25 milli - seconds . in general , where n enabling signals are used and the expected period of anyone signal is t , then each control signal should be time shifted by approximately t / n . protection signals 505 can be generated based on a variety of battery conditions sensed by protection means including , but not limited to , low voltage , high voltage , temperature or high current . the protection signal will allow a given battery to ignore the enable signal 506 that would normally cause power to be taken from the battery . the energy storage means 502 may optionally output a digital disable signal that would cause the charging cycle to terminate prematurely . this signal , which is not shown on fig5 , could be generated in the case of excess heat , current , voltage or magnetic flux . such a signal can also protect the system from a short - circuit on the output 204 . it can also be seen from fig5 and fig6 that any battery or any combination of batteries may be removed from the system at any time . provided the energy storage means 502 is of sufficient size that the remaining energy storage means can power the system , then the system will continue to function normally . although the description above contains much specificity , these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention . any digital gates or signals may be easily redefined such that they perform similar functions as inverse logic or using alternate gates or logic topology . logic , analog detection and control means may be implemented using integrated circuitry , microprocessor control , software and wireless control . thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given . | 7 |
the present invention includes an apparatus and method to protect the tubesheet of a shell - and - tube heat exchanger , such as a gas heated reformer or enhanced heat transfer reformer ( ehtr ), from metal dusting . this includes partially isolating the tubesheet from the process gas by means of an isolation baffle and sweeping the volume between the tubesheet and the isolation baffle with a gas that will not promote metal dusting , thereby protecting the back of the tubesheet . the present invention provides a means and arrangement to keep the hot process gas on the shell side of the unit from contacting the backside of the tubesheet by providing a zone ( isolated space ) to be swept with a purge gas that inhibits metal dusting , introducing said purge gas into the zone , and allowing that purge gas to mix with the balance of the syngas leaving the unit for further processing . fig1 illustrates a side view of a gas heated reformer such as an ehtr 20 incorporating one embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the purge ports 22 are near the edge of the tubesheet 18 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . some other key features of the invention are discussed below . a gas distribution baffle 38 is provided below the exit nozzle 14 to ensure even flow of gas over all the tubes as the gas travels vertically up the shell side of the ehtr 20 . without this baffle , the gas would tend to short circuit to the exit bypassing those tubes located opposite the shell from the exit nozzle . an isolation baffle 12 is located above the exit nozzle 14 separating the flow path of the combined synthesis gas ( syngas ) from a protected or isolated space 16 between the isolation baffle and the tubesheet 18 . the purge ports 22 in the tubesheet 18 allow a small portion of feed gas to leak through the tubesheet and purge the isolated space 16 between the tubesheet and the isolation baffle 12 . the flow through the purge ports is carefully calibrated to provide a minimum velocity in the annuli ( not shown ) between the tubes 26 and the isolation baffle 12 , and the annulus ( not shown ) between the isolation baffle 12 and the inner wall 28 of the ehtr 20 . the location and spacing of the purge ports is chosen to provide one of several flow patterns in the isolated space between the tubesheet and the isolation baffle . the selection depends on the relative clearances ( the annuli ) between the tubes and the isolation baffle , and between the isolation baffle and the inner wall of the ehtr . in the embodiment shown in fig1 and 2 , the flow is generally across the tube bundle toward the exit nozzle 14 from the inner wall of the ehtr diametrically opposite the exit nozzle . fig2 illustrates the tubesheet 18 with the catalyst containing tubes 26 and the purge ports 22 in the tubesheet . the flow from the purge ports is designed to sweep the entire volume of the isolated space 16 between the isolation baffle 12 and the tubesheet 18 , as shown in fig1 . fig3 and 4 illustrate another embodiment of the invention with the purge ports 22 located more centrally in the tubesheet 18 . in this embodiment , the purge ports are located on a circle with radius r hole circle = r tubesheet *{ square root over ( 2 /)} 2 equation 2 so that there is an equal area inside and outside the “ hole circle .” in this embodiment the flow from the purge ports is from the purge ports outward and inward in the area between the isolation baffle 12 and the tubesheet 18 . in this case , since the purge gas flow does not have as far to travel , there is a greater probability that the flow will be more uniform through the annuli between the tubes 26 and the isolation baffle 12 , and the annulus between the isolation baffle 12 and the inner wall 28 of the ehtr 20 . while the embodiments shown in fig1 - 4 use a portion of the process fluid as the purge gas or sweep gas , there may be situations where that is not desirable . for example , since the purge gas will not be reformed , the concentration of higher hydrocarbons may be unacceptable for downstream processing , or the methane in the feed may increase the overall methane concentration to an unacceptable level . in these cases , a purge gas other than the feed gas may be desired . for example , a stream 32 of steam may be used for purging , as shown in fig5 . steam will adequately purge the isolated space 16 between the isolation baffle 12 and the tubesheet 18 ; and since it introduces no impurities into the process stream , the steam can be added at higher levels than feed gas , if needed . while an internal manifold ( not shown ) could be constructed within the feed enclosure of the ehtr 20 , it is simpler to add the steam through a single external nozzle ( inlet nozzle ) 34 in the sidewall 36 of the ehtr . in this case , since the steam ( purge gas ) will be introduced at a single point rather than in a distributed manner , slightly more steam may be needed to adequately ensure that the steam is properly distributed across all of the annul between the isolation baffle 12 and the tubes 26 , and the annulus between the isolation baffle 12 and the inner wall 28 of the ehtr . other hole patterns through the tubesheet 18 can be used if it is desired to direct the purge gas in a particular manner . for example , the ehtr 20 may have two exit nozzles 14 rather than one . if the exit nozzles are arranged 180 ° apart , the most preferred manner to arrange the purge ports 22 is on the diameter perpendicular to the diameter between the two exit nozzles . other patterns may be preferred for different orientations of the exit nozzles to ensure adequate purging of the isolated space 16 . although illustrated and described herein with reference to certain specific embodiments , the present invention is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown . rather , various modifications may be made in the details within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims and without departing from the spirit of the invention . | 5 |
identical parts are provided with the same reference symbols in all figures . fig1 shows a function plan 2 for planning a control system or an automation system . the function plan 2 is composed , in a modular manner , of individual function modules ( modules 4 for short ) each representing an automation function . each module 4 is - assigned an unambiguous module identifier a , b , . . . , i which can be used to identify it . in the present exemplary embodiment , each module 4 has at least one input and one output , the modules 4 being linked to one another on the signal side by virtue of plan - internal module connections 6 . the inputs are respectively arranged on the left - hand edge of the boxes representing the modules 4 , and the outputs are arranged on the right - hand edge . the connections 6 between the modules 4 are illustrated in fig1 using solid lines . the direction of signal flow - from an output of a module 4 to the input of another module 4 in each case - is illustrated using direction arrows in this case . the module a is distinguished from the other modules b , . . . , i insofar as it has , in addition to a plan - internal input , a cross - plan ( external ) input 8 which receives its input signal from another function plan . inputs which read in process signals and represent an interface to the process to be monitored or controlled by the automation system or to the underlying technical system could generally also be provided . the module f does not have an input connection at all since its input ports which are not identified in any more detail in this case are so - called parameterized input ports in which the respective input signal is predefined independently of the results or output signals from the other modules 4 . the individual steps of the method are explained in detail below using the function plan 2 shown in fig1 : in the first step , all of the modules 4 which do not have any input connections or in which all of the input signals are already present are determined and marked . this generally also concerns those signals which originate from other function plans ( which have already been processed ). in the exemplary embodiment according to fig1 , it can be seen that the module f is the only module which does not have an input connection . therefore , it can be directly allocated the order number 1 . the output signal from the module f is thus also defined , this output signal simultaneously representing the input signal for the module g which is connected downstream of the module f . therefore , the module g can be inserted into the processing order immediately after the module f . it thus receives the order number 2 . the operation is generally continued until no other module can be processed in this manner . for example , that module h which is connected downstream of the module g cannot be directly assigned an order number since it also has , in addition to the ( upper ) input which has already been defined in terms of the signal , a further ( lower ) input whose input signal depends on the signal processing of further modules . the result of the direct determination of the order which has been carried out in advance is illustrated in fig2 . the order numbers which have already been allocated are respectively depicted in this case in the upper left - hand corner of the boxes representing the modules 4 . in the next step , all of the modules 4 are weighted with regard to their subsequent processing . the criteria used for this sorting operation have a decisive influence on the result of the overall process of determining the order . changing the organization and comparison criteria therefore makes it possible to modify the end result in a corresponding manner . an advantageous sorting operation is obtained by using the following comparison criteria , the priority of the conditions mentioned decreasing in the downward direction . that is to say the comparison criterion b ) is used only if two modules 4 to be compared are identical as regards the comparison criterion a ) etc . a ) modules 4 having an order number which has already been allocated b ) modules 4 having a start identifier c ) number of input signals which have been unambiguously determined d ) unambiguous module number or position in the function plan . a start identifier according to criterion b ) is generally allocated to those modules 4 which have an input which reads in process signals . the comparison criteria mentioned in point d ) have a comparatively low priority and are only used to ensure that the method can be reproduced ( determinism ). in the exemplary embodiment , the following sorting results under the prerequisite that the cross - plan input signal at the module a is provided by another function plan , which has already been processed , and has thus been unambiguously determined according to criterion c ): the individual modules 4 are now processed according to the order obtained by means of the pre - sorting operation , in which case a distinction needs to be made between the following cases : the module 4 in question already has an order number . in this case , the operation can be immediately continued with the next module 4 . in the exemplary embodiment , this applies to the modules f and g . otherwise , the module 4 in question is defined as the starting module and the signal path is traced in the forward direction whilst observing the branching rules . beginning with module a and using as a basis the rule that a plurality of output connections of a module are processed in turn from the bottom to the top , the image shown in fig3 results . the operation of tracing the signal path is illustrated in said figure using dashed lines . the module a is followed by c , then d , then e , h and d again . since the module d has already been previously found , forward propagation stops at the module h . the modules found during signal tracing are now assigned the following sequence list . in this case , the modules f and g with a processing number which has already been allocated are placed in front in accordance with convention ( but not necessarily ): the modules organized in this sequence list l 1 can also be assigned a preliminary order number . in this case , it should be borne in mind , on the one hand , that the numbers 1 and 2 have already been allocated in advance to the modules f and g , with the result that the numbering now continues with 3 in the case of the module a . on the other hand , the preliminary numbering may also change once again in the subsequent recursion steps . it is also possible to dispense with allocating preliminary order numbers and instead to operate with the sequence lists only in the manner described below . in the case of this procedure , the order numbers are thus allocated only using the complete sequence list which has been definitively sorted . the signal path traced is now traced back in the reverse direction until a module having a further output connection which has not yet been selected or marked is reached . in the exemplary embodiment , this is the module e having a further output connection to module i . the signal tracing operation thus begins again in the forward direction starting from the module e . the signal path traced is again illustrated in fig4 using a dashed line . since the module a which can be reached from the module i has already been found during the method , forward propagation stops at the module i . the sequence list l 1 obtained in this iteration step thus has only a single list element , namely i . the sequence list obtained in the previous pass is updated by inserting the new sequence list ( only the module i in this case ) into the previous sequence list l 1 immediately after the module e , the positions of the subsequent list elements being shifted backward ( by one in this case ). the updated sequence list therefore looks as follows : the preliminary order of the modules which has been updated in a corresponding manner is again depicted in fig4 . a further propagation phase in the reverse direction follows . this phase finally stops at the module a which also has a second output connection to module b which has hitherto not been traced . the subsequent forward movement ends as early as at module b according to fig5 . the module b is inserted into the sequence list l 2 obtained last immediately after a , the subsequent elements again being shifted backward . the sequence list which has been updated again thus finally has the following form : since all of the modules in the function plan have been processed , the method stops . the image shown in fig5 , in which the definitively allocated order numbers are depicted in all of the modules in the function plan 2 , finally results . on account of the feedback loops , two cycle delays occur , namely during the transition from h to d and from i to a . in the event of a plurality of output connections of a module being processed in the opposite direction from top to bottom , the result shown in fig6 would be produced . the resultant order would be modified somewhat in this case but the quality determined by the number of cycle delays and the incorporation of already existing signals would remain unchanged . if , after all of the outputs of the starting module have been processed in full , further modules which have hitherto not yet been reached were to exist , the recursion procedure according to the original sorting operation ( carried out in step ii . of the method ) would begin from scratch with the next module which has not yet been reached . this would also be the case following premature aborting of the recursion upon reaching a module which has been provided with a start identifier , for example a module which reads in process signals . some special treatments may also be required when determining the order of the modules , in particular in the case of relatively complex function plans . for example , in the case of a function plan which has been segmented into partial plans , it is possible to determine whether a partial plan which contains a module that has been provided with a start identifier likewise inherits this feature for determining the plan order . in particular , modules which read in process signals are granted a higher priority by allocating a start identifier . in addition , there are internal dependences for particular modules , which dependences may likewise have an effect on the processing order . in the case of sequence chains , for example , there is a superordinate top module which is connected , on the output side , to further associated sequence blocks in the same function plan . in this case , it must be ensured that the top module is always executed before the sequence blocks since the sequence blocks which are connected downstream are dependent on the signals generated by the top module . for this reason , such a top module likewise receives a start identifier which is not , however , passed on to the associated plan or partial plan since the dependence is only effective inside the plan . finally , it may also be necessary or expedient to manually influence the processing order for particular plans in order to advantageously modify the sequence of the modules by resorting to empirically obtained know - how , for example . | 6 |
with reference to fig1 there is shown the vehicle &# 39 ; s main engine or prime mover 1 which in many territories for environmental , operational and economic reasons cannot be left running to provide heat , air conditioning , electric , hydraulic or mechanical power to the driver or the vehicle &# 39 ; s ancillary equipment during stops . engine 1 includes a radiator 2 , a thermostat 3 , and a fan 4 in the conventional manner . the fan can be directly , belt or electrically driven with or without a clutch . by driving it electrically or hydraulically , the fan can be used to cool the system &# 39 ; s coolant when the main engine is shut down . an engine - driven coolant circulation pump 5 circulates coolant through the main engine block 1 , and via the coolant lines 6 and 7 and the blower assisted cab heater 8 to an auxiliary power unit 10 when the prime mover is running . the engine block can have an electrically powered block heater 9 . power to this heater can come from shore power or the vehicle &# 39 ; s generator 20 . apu 10 has its own circulation pump 11 which circulates coolant via lines 6 and 7 and the heater 8 to main engine 1 . this way , either or both of the engines can run and circulate coolant for preheating and standby heating of both engines , utilizing waste heat from the combustion process . the apu has a load compensating control of conventional type to compensate for variations to its load . apu 10 powers a hydraulic pump 12 , of such type that it can work with water or a water / antifreeze mixture as the hydraulic fluid . one such commercially available pump is the danfoss nessie . pump 12 can be direct or belt driven and can have a clutch 13 . the pressure line 14 from pump 12 can be connected to a pressure relief valve ( safety valve ) 15 , which opens at overpressure to dump the hydraulic fluid back into the main cooling system . pressure line 14 is shown as being split to direct hydraulic fluid to hydraulic motors 16 and 17 via a valve 18 . valve 18 can be an on / off type for dumping fluid back into the system when in the off position , and / or a constant flow type for maintaining motor 16 at a uniform speed so that connected generator 20 delivers a constant voltage or constant frequency or both . alternatively , motors 16 and 17 can be of a constant rpm type with manual or automatic displacement regulation . motor 17 drives an air conditioning compressor 39 via a belt , fixed coupling or temperature or pressure regulated clutch 19 . motors 16 and 17 are shown connected in series but could alternatively be connected in parallel . a diverter valve 21 allows part of or all of the flow from hydrostatic pump 12 to be directed to a choker valve 23 which can be either manually or electrically controlled or , as shown in fig1 by means of an hydraulic cylinder 24 having an electrically powered valve 25 receiving signals from a temperature sensor 26 placed in the cooling circuit . the purpose of the choker valve is to create resistance , friction and / or turbulence to transform hydrostatic power into heat in the coolant and also to increase the load on apu 10 in order to create more waste heat . the operation of the choker valve is controlled and determined by the temperature in the coolant which is monitored by sensor 26 . with choker valve 23 closed such as by means of an override switch 27 , the hydraulic flow from diverter valve 21 is directed to an hydraulic valve bank 28 which regulates flow to one or more hydraulic cylinders , motors or actuators 29 used , for example , to actuate tailgates , loading ramps , cranes or other power equipment . the return fluid is dumped back into the main cooling system via return line 33 . in the event that single ram or single stroke hydraulic cylinders are connected into the system , a make up tank and breather cap 30 will absorb any surge in the coolant / hydraulic system . environmentally sensitive components of the present system are shown placed within a protective enclosure 31 . as will be appreciated from the foregoing by those skilled in the art , the present system permits the integration of what previously have been two entirely separate systems , namely a hydrodynamic one characterized by high flow rates and low pressures exemplified by cooling systems , and a hydrostatic one characterized by low flow rates and high pressures exemplified by hydraulic equipment . the integration permits the use of a single fluid for both systems advantageously drawn from a single source which further facilitates elimination of redundancies in fluid storage , cooling and plumbing . the above - described embodiments of the present invention are meant to be illustrative of preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention . various modifications , which would be readily apparent to one skilled in the art , are intended to be within the scope of the present invention . the only limitations to the scope of the present invention are set out in the following appended claims . | 5 |
a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the attached figures , in which the same reference numerals are used to identify the same elements throughout the several views . referring to fig4 a , 5b , 5c and 5d , a cutting tip 2 is formed by assembling a tip core 10 , a skirt 30 and a mixer 50 . the cutting tip also includes a rubber o - ring 22 which cooperates with the mixer end 14 of the tip core in order to seal a cutting oxygen passage 16 , as will be further described below . the tip core can be formed as a hollow cylinder , and is preferably formed from copper tubing . it has an outlet end 12 , a mixer end 14 and the longitudinal cutting oxygen passage 16 extending between the ends 12 and 14 . the exterior periphery of the tip core has a taper 19 adjacent the outlet end 12 , for example one formed by swaging , and a reduced diameter discharge passage 18 . preferably , an annular , arcuate chamfer is formed around the discharge passage 18 at the outlet end 12 . the skirt 30 , which is also preferably formed from copper tubing , has an outlet end 32 and a mixer end 34 . a portion 36 of the length of the skirt adjacent the outlet end 32 is tapered by swaging . in addition , a plurality of circumferentially spaced swaged grooves 38 , extending substantially in the direction of the length of the skirt , are formed in the internal surface of the skirt at the tapered outlet portion 36 . the outer periphery of the skirt adjacent the mixer end 34 has screw threads 40 . the mixer 50 is preferably formed from machined brass . it forms a cap having a generally stepped conical shape with an axial bore 51 extending from its large diameter end 52 to its small diameter end 54 . the bore is also stepped so as to form a large diameter threaded section 56 , a smaller diameter passage section 58 , a yet smaller diameter core fitting section 60 and a cutting oxygen inlet opening 62 . the sections 56 , 58 and 60 are separated by steps or shoulders . moreover , the passage section 58 is tapered such that its diameter progressively increases toward section 56 . a circumferentially spaced plurality of tangential fuel gas inlet passages 64 extend through the peripheral wall of the mixer so as to reach the passage section 58 of the bore . the fuel gas is preferably acetylene , although other fuel gases may be used . a circumferentially spaced plurality of tangential preheat oxygen inlet passages 66 also extend through the peripheral wall of the mixer to a smaller diameter portion of the passage section 58 of the bore , at a position axially offset from the inlet passages 64 . as best seen in fig5 d , the inlet passages 64 and 66 have mutually opposite orientations , as will be discussed further below . as best seen in fig4 the mixer end 14 of the tip core 10 is fitted into the bore of the mixer 50 until it is snugly fit within the core fitting section 60 of the bore . at this time , the o - ring 22 is also fitted in the core fitting section and is held between the mixer end 14 of the tip core and a shoulder 61 at the bottom of the core fitting section 60 . at the time , the cutting oxygen passage 16 communicates with the cutting oxygen inlet opening 62 , and is sealed from the remainder of the bore 51 by the o - ring 22 . the skirt 30 is then concentrically fitted over the core tip 10 so that its mixer end 34 fits into the large diameter threaded section 56 of the mixer bore , after which the skirt can be threaded onto the mixer 50 by cooperation of the screw threads 40 of the skirt and screw threads 57 in the threaded section 56 of the bore . as the skirt is threaded into the mixer , the tapered inner surface of the tapered outlet portion 36 of the skirt approaches and contacts the tapered outer surface 19 adjacent the outlet end 12 of the tip core . the angle of taper of the tapered surface 19 of the tip core and the angle of taper of the tapered outlet portion 36 of the skirt are matched so that the two have a continuous surface contact , except for the grooves 38 . the grooves 38 and the tapered surface 19 therefore cooperate to form a circumferentially spaced plurality of longitudinal outlet passages 70 which emerge from the tip at the outlet ends 12 and 32 of the tip core and skirt , respectively . once the skirt 30 is threaded tightly on the mixer 50 , the tapered portion 36 of the skirt securely holds the tip core 10 in the position shown in fig4 with an annular passage 72 being located between the tip core and the skirt along the entire length of the skirt , except for the portion having the outlet passages 70 . in addition , the tip core is spaced from the wall of the mixer in the passage section 58 so as to form an annular space 74 which comprises a tapered axial extension of the annular passage 72 . due to the taper of the passage section 58 , the sectional area of the annular space progressively increases toward the annular passage 72 . the assembled cutting tip 2 can then be inserted in a conventional cutting torch head 76 , as shown in fig4 . the cutting torch head has conventional inlets 78 , 80 and 82 for a fuel gas such as acetylene , preheat oxygen and cutting oxygen , respectively . in operation , preheat oxygen is supplied to the preheat oxygen inlet 80 of the cutting torch head , from which it reaches an annular manifold chamber 81 surrounding the mixer in the region of the circumferentially spaced preheat oxygen inlet passages 66 . a flow of preheat oxygen is thus charged into the annular space 74 via the preheat oxygen inlet passage 66 . since the preheat oxygen inlet passages 66 extend tangentially with a counterclockwise orientation ( fig5 d ), the charged preheat oxygen will have a counterclockwise ( first ) circumferential flow velocity component . moreover , the preheat oxygen will form a vortex having an axial component directed toward the outlet of the tip , due to the taper of the passage portion 58 , and so the counterclockwise swirling preheat oxygen will move axially toward the position of the fuel gas inlet passages 64 . fuel gas is supplied to the fuel gas inlet passages 64 via the fuel gas inlet 78 in the cutting torch head and the annular manifold chamber 79 surrounding the mixer in the region of the fuel gas inlet passages 64 . the circumferentially spaced fuel gas inlet passages 64 are also tangential , but with a clockwise orientation . therefore , the fuel gas will enter the annular space 74 with a clockwise ( second ) flow velocity component , i . e ., a circumferential flow velocity component which is opposite to that of the preheat oxygen . the interaction of the circumferentially oppositely directed fuel gas and preheat oxygen flows will cause a very rapid and aggressive mixing of the gases , while canceling the opposed circumferential flow components . as a result , there will rapidly form a substantially homogeneous mixture which is moving substantially axially toward the tip outlet with no circumferential or swirling flow components . a laminar gas flow can therefore rapidly be achieved . according to a further feature of this embodiment of the invention , the sectional area of each of the outlet passages 70 progressively decreases along its length by 30 % of its original value , in the gas flow direction . that is , the sectional areas of each of the grooves 38 progressively decreases in the flow direction from the annular passage 72 toward the outlet end 32 of the skirt . it has been found that this convergence improves the ability of the flowing gas mixture to achieve a laminar flow at the outlet of the cutter tip . fig6 and 7a - 7d illustrate the swaging of the skirt 30 . a skirt precursor 30 &# 39 ; in the form of the length of copper tubing having screw threads 40 at one end is mounted on a swaging mandrel assembly 100 , as shown in fig6 . the swaging mandrel assembly includes a mandrel core 102 which can be formed from a steel rod having a threaded axial extension 104 and an opposite , small diameter axial extension 106 . a mandrel grip 108 is rotatably fitted over the small diameter extension 106 and is held in place by the retaining ring 110 . the mandrel grip has internal screw threads 112 which can mate with the screw threads 40 of the skirt precursor . a mandrel head 114 is threaded onto the threaded extension 104 of the mandrel core . the mandrel head is formed of hardened tool steel , preferably machined out of blanks using wire edm ( electrodischarge machining ), and is then nitrided for further hardening . it has a longitudinally tapered surface with longitudinally extending projections 116 which correspond to the internal grooves 38 to be formed in the skirt . fig7 c is a detail showing one of the projection sections 116 &# 39 ; at position c along the length of the mandrel head , while fig7 d shows the projection section 116 &# 34 ; at position d along the length of the mandrel head . as can be seen from these figures , the projections are progressively narrowed so that the grooves 38 will progressively converge with a smaller sectional area , as described above . for swaging , the skirt precursor , which can be partially threaded onto the mandrel grip , is first swaged in a tapered swaging die 118 to form the tapered portion 36 of the skirt . subsequently , the skirt precursor is fully threaded onto the screw threads 112 , as a result of which the mandrel head 114 advances into the tapered skirt precursor ( to the left in fig6 ). as the mandrel head advances , it swages the grooves 38 into the skirt precursor . since the outlet passages 70 are formed by the cooperation of the grooves 38 and the tip core , there is no need to mill , drill or otherwise machine the passages into a metal part , as was required in conventional cutting tips , thereby reducing the cost and difficulty of tip production . moreover , the circumferentially oppositely directed inlets for the preheat oxygen and fuel gas create a swirling flow which promotes rapid mixing , but without leaving a rotating mixture flow . this , together with the converging sectional areas of the outlet passages , promotes the rapid formation of a laminar mixture flow in a short tip length . 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 . | 8 |
the ferroelectric liquid crystal compounds of the present invention are prepared according to the following general reaction scheme : ## str6 ## where x = f , cl or br . in general terms compounds of formula i are prepared by deoxygenation of the enantiospecific intermediate epoxy alcohols of formula vii by a modification of the barton procedure ( robbins et al . ( 1983 ) j . amer . chem . soc . 105 : 4059 ; barton and mccombie ( 1975 ) j . chem . soc . perkins trans . 1 : 1574 ). the epoxy alcohols ( vii ) in turn are prepared via an enantioselective epoxidation ( martin et al . ( 1981 ) 103 : 6237 - 6240 and sharpless , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 471 , 130 ) from the allyl alcohols of formula vi . the allyl alcohols ( vi ) are synthesized by reaction of the benzaldehydes of formula iv with the b - alkenyl - 9 - bbn ( 9 - borabicyclo [ 3 . 3 . 1 ] nonane ) of formula v which add across the carbonyl group of the benzaldehyde ( jacob and brown ( 1977 ) j . org . chem . 42 : 579 - 580 ). the benzaldehydes ( iv ) are prepared by esterification of 4 - formylbenzoylchloride with the substituted phenols of formula iii . the 9 - bbn derivatives ( v ) are prepared by a known method by reaction of the appropriate terminal alkyne with 9 - bbn ( brown et al . ( 1979 ) j . amer . chem . soc . 101 : 96 - 99 ). for example , b -[( e )- 1 - octene - 1 - yl ]- 9 - bbn is prepared by reaction of 1 - octyne with 9 - bbn . substituted phenols ( iii ) are either available from commercial sources or are readily prepared by methods known to the art . for example , the preparation of a number of 4 - alkoxyphenols is described in neubert et al . ( 1978 ) mol . crys . liq . cryst . 44 : 197 - 210 . substituted alkoxy biphenols of formula iii ( where n = 2 ) can be prepared by analogous methods . the 4 - decyloxyphenol used in the present work was prepared by the method of neubert et al ., supra . alkyl phenols and alkyl biphenols of formula iii can also be prepared by methods known to the art . compounds of formula ii , epoxy halides , are also prepared from the intermediate epoxy alcohols ( vii ). the epoxy halides can be prepared as a mixture of the threo and erhthro diastereomers which can be separated , for example , by silica column chromatography . alternatively , in most cases , the individual diastereomers can be prepared directly , in isomerically pure form . by appropriate choice of halogenation reagent any of the compounds of formula iia or iib , where x is f , cl or br can be readily prepared using procedures described herein . compounds of formula i , ii and vii each represent one of a pair of enantiomers . the pair of enantiomers of each compound will function in an equivalent manner . for illustration , the structure of the enantiomer of the fluoroepoxide ( iia , where n = 1 , r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n hexyl ) is shown : ## str7 ## compound viii will function equivalently to its enantiomer of formula iia in flc materials , except that the sign of p will be reversed . the enantiomers of compounds of formulas i and ii can be prepared from the epoxy alcohol enantiomer of formula vii by the methods described herein . the enantiomers of the epoxy alcohols of formula vii can be prepared by the method of example 3 replacing the l - tartrate reagent with the analogous d - tartrate reagent . if the starting materials 4 - decyloxyphenol and b -[( e )- 1 - octene - 1 - yl ]- 9 - bbn are employed the intermediate epoxy alcohol ( vii ) and subsequently the epoxide ( i ) or epoxy halides ( ii ), where r &# 39 ; is n - decyloxy and r is n - hexyl , result . the liquid crystal properties of the compounds of formula i are illustrated by those of the epoxide i , where n = 1 , r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl , which is hereinafter designated w203 , while the properties of the epoxy halides of formulas iia are illustrated by those of fluoro ( designated w200 ) or chloro ( designated w210 ) epoxides of formula iia where n = 1 , r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl and the properties of the epoxy halides of formula iib are illustrated by those of the fluoro epoxide ( designated w199 ) where n = 1 , r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl . none of the compounds w199 , w200 , w203 or w210 in pure form possesses an enantiotropic or monotropic ferroelectric ( smectic c *) liquid crystal phase . however , when these compounds are mixed with a known flc host material , such as w82 ( formula ix ), mixtures possessing ferroelectroic smectic c * phases are produced . ## str8 ## table 1 summarizes the phase transition temperatures , optical rise times and polarization densities of some exemplary mixtures . in table 1 , the phases are noted as x = crystal , i = isotropic liquid , a = smectic a , c *= chiral smectic c , n *= chiral nematic and phase transition temperatures are given in ° c . optical rise times are measured in response to a driving voltage of 15 v / μm at the temperature given in the table . polarization densities ( p ) are given in nc / cm 2 and the magnitude of p was measured by integration of the dynamic current response on reversing the applied electric field , as described in martinot - lagargde ( 1976 ) j . phys . 37 , c - 3 , p . 129 and martinot - lagarde ( 1977 ) j . phys . lett . 38 , l - 17 . w82 ( ix ) is known to possess an enantiotropic ferroelectric c * phase with very low polarization density of the order of 1 nc / cm 2 and very low electro - optical switching speed of the order of 3 msec ( 1 μm thick layer , ssflc geometry , 15 v / μm driving voltage ). mixtures of the compounds of the present invention , particularly compounds w200 , w203 and w210 , as shown in table 1 , possess ferroelectric c * phases with higher polarization density and or faster switching speeds than w82 . an important aspect of the present invention is the finding that the 1 - haloepoxides of formula iia have properties as flc dopants significantly different from those of formula iib . compounds of formula iia can impart higher polarization densities in flc mixtures . this property can be qualitatively compared in the different diastereomers by comparing the polarization densities of the pure diastereomers which can be extrapolated from polarization density measurements in mixtures . the extrapolated p of w199 ( formula iib ) is about + 25 nc / cm 2 , while that of w200 ( formula iia ) is about - 170 nc / cm 2 . this difference can be discerned physically , since flc mixtures containing the iia isomer will display higher polarization densities ( p ), and higher switching speeds than flc mixtures containing an equal amount of the corresponding iib isomer . it is believed that the difference in polarization densities of iia and iib isomers is due to the relative alignment of the epoxide and halogen bond dipoles in the preferred configuration of the isomers within the flc phase . with the iia isomers the dipoles are aligned in the same direction with respect to the smectic tilt plane , while in the iib isomers the dipoles are opposed , resulting in the higher polarization density of the iia isomer . the relationship between dipole alignment and ferroelectric polarization density has been discussed for related molecules in walba et al . ( 1986a ), and walba et al . ( 1986b ), supra . the difference in polarization between isomers of formula iia and iib is general and qualitatively independent of x and the structure of the core . variation in the structure of the cores and length and degree of branching in the r and r &# 39 ; groups of compounds encompassed in formulas i and ii can affect the liquid crystal properties of the pure material or mixtures containing them . for example , some of the compounds of the present invention may possess smectic c * phases while others do not and the characteristics of any such smectic c * phases ( i . e . stability , temperature range ) may vary . table 1__________________________________________________________________________properties of flc mixtures τ . sub . r temp . pmixture phase sequence μsec ° c . nc / cm . sup . 2__________________________________________________________________________w203 ( 34 %) + w82 x ← 43 → c * ← 56 → n * ← 60 → 67 43w199 ( 7 . 37 %) + w82 x → 53 → c * ← 66 → a ← 70 → 40 + 2 x ← 40 ← c * w199 ( 31 %) in w82 c * ← 58 ← a ← 59 ← n * ← 65 ← i 90 37w200 ( 7 . 58 %) in w82 x → 25 → c * ← 61 . 3 → a ← 66 → i 76 28 - 13w210 ( 18 %) in w82 x → 40 → c * → 50 → a → 61 - 70 → i 130 25 - 15 ← 46 ← a ← 56 - 58 ← i__________________________________________________________________________ this example illustrates the procedure for synthesizing benzaldehydes of formula iv by condensation of an alkoxyphenol ( iii ) with 4 - formylbenzoylchloride . a 1 l flame dried flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a syringe septum was charged with 14 g of 4 - decyloxyphenol ( 55 . 91 mmole ), 9 . 45 g of 4 - formylbenzoylchloride ( 56 . 06 mmole ) and 0 . 82 g of 4 - pyrrolidinopyridine in 500 ml of dry tetrahydrofuran ( thf ). triethylamine ( 8 . 6 ml , 61 . 70 mmole ) was added while stirring vigorously . the reaction mixture was stirred for 1 . 5 h , after which the amine hydrochloride was filtered off and the filtrate was concentrated . the solid obtained was dissolved in 300 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and the solution was then washed sequentially with 75 ml of saturated aqueous cuso 4 , 75 ml of 15 % ( w / v ) aqueous naoh , 75 ml of 10 % ( v / v ) aqueous hcl and 75 ml of saturated aqueous nahco 3 . the washed organic layer was then dried over na 2 so 4 / k 2 co 3 and the solvent was removed in vacuo to obtain 29 g of crude product . recrystallization from 1000 ml 2 - propanol and 600 ml of 33 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes afforded 15 . 18 g ( 71 % yield ) of 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -( formyl ) benzoate ( iv , where r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy ). the following example illustrates the synthesis of allyl alcohols of the formula vi by reaction of benzaldehydes of formula iv with b -[( e )- 1 - alken - 1 - yl ]- 9 - bbn , formula v . a 250 ml flame dried flask equipped with a syringe septum , a condenser and a magnetic stirring bar was charged with 10 . 93 g of 4 &# 39 ;- n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -( formyl ) benzoate ( 28 . 57 mmole ) in 110 ml thf . to this solution , 11 . 64 g ( 32 . 86 mmole ) b -[( e )- 1 - octen - 1 - yl ]- 9 - bbn ( v , where r = n - hexyl ) was added dropwise , under argon . the reaction mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 2 h , after which it was brought to reflux and stirred overnight . ethanolamine ( 1 . 98 ml , 32 . 86 mmole ) was then added to the cooled ( ice / water ) reaction mixture . the cooled reaction mixture was then stirred for 15 m before the solvent was removed . ether ( 50 ml ) was then added to the reaction concentrate , the mixture was cooled ( ice / water ) and the resulting solid was filtered through silica gel ( 1 inch , in a 11 / 2 in filter funnel ). the solid was eluted from the silica by washing with 20 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes ( 6 × 25 ml ). the combined filtrates were concentrated in vacuo and the resulting crude product purified by flash chromatography on silica gel by eluting with 20 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexane to afford 10 . 31 g ( 73 % yield ) of the allyl alcohol 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( e )- 2 - noneneol ] benzoate ( vi , where r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl ). this example illustrates the procedure for synthesizing epoxy alcohols of formula vii from the allyl alcohols of formula vi . a 250 ml flame dried flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a syringe septum was charged with 5 . 49 g of titanium ( iv ) isopropoxide ( 18 . 44 mmole ) in 100 ml of ch 2 cl 2 . the solution was cooled to - 30 ° c . while stirring under argon . (+)- diisopropyl l - tartrate ( 4 . 65 ml , 22 . 11 mmole ) was then added to the flask and the mixture was stirred for 20 m . a cold ( ccl 4 / dry ice ) solution of 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( e )- 2 - nonene - ol ] benzoate ( 9 . 12 g , 18 . 44 mmole ) in 50 ml ch 2 cl 2 was then added to the reaction flask . an additional 34 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was used to wash in any residual allyl alcohol . the cooled reaction mixture was then stirred for 10 m after which 3 . 32 ml of t - butyl hydroperoxide ( 2 . 5m in toluene , 8 . 3 mmole ) was added . the reaction mixture was then placed in a freezer for 18 h . a solution of ferrous sulfate ( 9 . 22 g ) and tartaric acid ( 3 . 7 g ) in 37 ml of water was prepared and cooled ( ice / water ). the cooled solution was then added to the reaction mixture and the mixture was warmed to room temperature and stirred for 1 h . the aqueous and organic solvent layers were separated and the aqueous layer was washed with ether ( 3 × 50 ml ). the ether washings were combined with the organic layer , which was then dried over naso 4 . solvent was removed in vacuo and the resulting oil was dissolved in a minimum amount of 20 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes . this solution was filtered through silica ( 2 inches ) which was washed thoroughly with 20 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes . the combined filtrate was concentrated and purified by flash chromatography on silica by eluting with 25 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes . recrystallization of the product from hexanes at - 20 ° c . resulted in a gel . the recrystallization solution was then centrifuged (- 20 ° c .) and the solvent was decanted from the 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s ) methanol ] benzoate gel ( vii , where r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl ; 3 . 73 g , 88 % yield ). this example illustrates the need for synthesizing expoxides of formula i by reduction of epoxy alcohols of formula vii a flame dried 10 ml flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a syringe septum was charged with 0 . 5 g of 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s ) methanol ] benzoate ( 0 . 98 mmole ) and 0 . 24 g of dmap , dimethylaminopyridine , ( 1 . 96 mmole ) in 6 ml of ch 2 cl 2 . phenyl chlorothionocarbonate ( 0 . 18 ml , 1 . 3 mmole ) was then added by syringe under argon . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight . the reaction mixture was diluted with an additional 10 ml of ch 2 cl 2 and was then washed sequentially with 10 ml of water , 10 % ( v / v ) hcl ( 3 × 10 ml ) and 10 ml of brine . the organic layer was then dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the resulting oil was purified by flash chromatography by eluting with 11 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes to yield 0 . 61 g ( 97 % yield ) of the phenyl thionocarbonate 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s )- methyl phenyl thionocarbonate ] benzoate as a clear colorless oil . a flame dried , 10 ml three neck flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar , a condenser and a syringe septum was charged with 0 . 062 g of 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s )- methyl phenyl thionocarbonate ] benzoate ( 0 . 097 mmole ), 0 . 13 ml of tributyltin hydride ( 0 . 48 mmole ) and 0 . 002 g of aibn , azobis isobutyronitrile , ( 0 . 001 mmole ) in 1 ml of distilled toluene . the reaction mixture was degassed with argon ( 20 m ) prior to heating ( 75 ° c ., 1 . 5 h with stirring ). the volatiles were then removed in vacuo , and the product residue was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel by eluting with 11 . 5 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes . an essentially quantitative yield of the epoxide 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 - methyl ] benzoate ( i , where r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl ) was obtained . this example illustrates the procedure for synthesizing threo and erythro isomers of epoxy halides of formula ii ( a and b ) from epoxy alcohols of formula vii . 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s ) methanol ] benzoate ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 98 mmole ) in 80 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was introduced into a 100 ml flame dried flask equipped with a syringe septum and a stirring bar . the reaction flask was cooled in a dry ice / acetone bath after which 0 . 13 ml of diethylaminosulfur trifluoride , dast , ( 0 . 98 mmole ) was added and the cooled reaction mixture was stirred for 2 h . water ( 7 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture , which was then warmed to room temperature . a brine solution ( 10 ml ) was added to the mixture and the organic layer was separated from the aqueous layer . the organic layer was washed with 10 ml saturated nahco 3 and then dried over k 2 co 3 / na 2 so 4 . the solvent was removed in vacuo and the product residue was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel by eluting with 9 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes to afford 0 . 46 g ( 92 % yield ) of the epoxy halide 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 - fluoromethyl ] benzoate ( ii , where r &# 39 ; 32 n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl ). the product was a mixture of the threo ( iia ) isomer ( 0 . 11 g ; 24 %) and the erythro ( iib ) isomer ( 0 . 35 g ; 76 %). the amount of erythro isomer produced could be increased to about 50 % by doing the dast reaction at higher temperature ( about 0 ° c .). the epoxy fluoride diasteromers were separated by repeated silica gel chromatography ( about 0 . 5 mg of mixture on a 50 mm × 8 in column ) employing 9 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes as the eluting solvent . about 5 - 6 passes through the column were required to obtain satisfactory separation . substitution of thionyl chloride for dast reagent in this procedure afforded the mixture of epoxy chlorides , which were readily separated by silica gel chromatography . this example illustrates a procedure for preparing the threo isomer of the halo epoxides of formula iia . a solution of 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s ) methanol ] benzoate ( 0 . 5 g , 0 . 98 mmole ), triethylamine ( 0 . 3 ml , 2 . 15 mmole ) and dmap ( 0 . 05 g ) in 2 ml of ch 2 cl 2 was cooled ( ice / water ). to this cooled , stirred solution , 0 . 1 ml of methanesulfonyl chloride ( 1 . 29 mmole ) was added . the mixture was stirred for an additional 20 m after which 20 ml of ether was added to the reaction mixture and the organic layer was washed sequentially with 10 % ( v / v ) hcl ( 3 × 10 ml ) and 10 ml of saturated nahco 3 . the washed organic layer was then dried over na 2 so 4 and the solvent was removed in vacuo to give a quantitative yield of the epoxy mesylate , 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( s )- methanesulfonyl methyl ] benzoate . the epoxy mesylate ( 0 . 32 g , 0 . 54 mmole ), licl ( 0 . 06 g , 1 . 42 mmole ) and 2 drops of 12 - crown - 4 in dimethylfuran ( dmf ) was introduced into a 10 ml flame dried flask equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a syringe septum . the reaction mixture was then stirred for 4 days , under argon . ether ( 10 ml ) was added to the reaction mixture and the mixture was then poured over 10 ml of ice / water . the solvent layers were separated and the aqueous layer was then washed with ether ( 6 × 10 ml ). the washings were combined with the organic layer and dried over na 2 so 4 / k 2 co 3 and the solvent was removed in vacuo . the resulting solid was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel by eluting with 9 % ( v / v ) ethylacetate / hexanes yielding 0 . 22 g ( 76 %) of epoxy chloride , 4 &# 39 ;-( n - decyloxy ) phenyl 4 -[( 2s , 3s )- 3 - hexyloxirane - 2 -( r )- chloromethyl ] benzoate ( iia , where r &# 39 ;= n - decyloxy and r = n - hexyl ). attempts to prepare the analogous threo epoxy fluoride by this procedure ( lif substituted for licl ) were unsuccessful , resulting in opening of the epoxide ring . the invention has been described and illustrated by reference to several preferred embodiments , but it is not intended to limit the invention by doing so . for example , while as noted above , a single enantiomer of each chirally asymmetric compound has been prepared , it is intended that the invention encompass both enantiomers of each compound . it is also intended that the invention include mixtures of the two enantiomers of the same formula in which there is an excess of one enantiomer . it is further intended that the invention encompasss not only the flc dopant compounds of formulas i and ii , but also compositions or formulations in which these compounds are admixed with each other or with other compounds including lc and flc materials . | 2 |
fig1 to 4 a show the cylinder pressure p entered over the crank angle kw . as is clearly shown in fig1 , a pressure increase occurs only after the ignition point zzp in the case of knocking combustion 2 . this increase in pressure after the ignition point zzp is thus a characteristic feature of knocking combustion . the reference pressure curves with regular combustion are designated with reference numeral 1 . the pressure curve in the case of premature combustion 3 , 4 differs substantially from the same , as is shown in fig2 and 3 . fig2 shows a premature combustion 3 with knocking . the feature of this premature combustion is that the pressure increase occurs before the ignition point zzp . a too strong pressure increase before the ignition point zzp leads to the consequence that a strongly superimposed knocking is initiated when at the time of the exceeding of the knocking threshold there is still unburned mixture in the combustion chamber . fig3 shows a premature combustion 4 without knocking . in this case too , the pressure increase occurs clearly before the ignition point zzp . since in this first phase of the combustion the ignitable mixture has been combusted entirely , there is no superimposed knocking . since a premature combustion , with or without knocking , is linked to a strong pressure increase in the compression phase , a distinct recognition of premature combustion with or without knocking can occur at a very early stage , namely in real time , by monitoring the pressure curve in the compression phase . as an alternative or in addition to the evaluation of the cylinder pressure , the recognition of the premature combustion can also be made on the basis of an ionic current signal i at the spark plug , as is shown in fig4 a and 4 b . the cylinder pressure signals p and the ionic current signals i are shown over the crank angle kw for regular combustion 1 and premature combustion 3 , 4 . it is possible to conclude premature combustion from the curve of the ionic current signal i after the end ez of the spark . in the case of a normal combustion 1 , the ionic current signal i has a characteristic curve , with the ionic current signal i dropping suddenly after the end ez of the spark . the drop of the ionic current signal i is followed by a first maximum value 1 a which can be allocated to chemical ionization . a higher second maximum value 1 b which can be allocated to thermal ionization follows at a distance a to the spark end ez , the occurrence of which coincides with the combustion peak pressure . when a premature combustion 3 , 4 occurs , these two maximum values 1 a , 1 b are not distinct . when premature combustion 3 occurs in combination with knocking , a maximum value 3 a can be noticed in the ionic current signal i as a result of thermal ionization , which occurs however earlier than in the case of normal combustion 1 . the amount of maximum value 3 a is substantially larger than the maximum values 1 a and 1 b during normal combustion . a premature combustion 3 with knocking events can be recognized when a maximum value 3 a of the ionic current signal i which can be allocated to thermal ionization lies over a defined threshold value and / or occurs within a defined period a after the spark end ez . the threshold value can be formed for example by the highest maximum value 1 b of the ionic current signal occurring under regular combustion after the spark end ez . when extremely premature combustion 4 occurs without knocking , the ionic current signal curve i has a substantially continually dropping progress ( without extreme values ) after the spark end ez . a premature combustion without knocking events can thus be recognized in such a way that the ionic current signal i after the spark end ez decreases continually at least within the chosen measuring window a , without maximum values occurring . by recognizing the position of the combustion with ionic current measurement or by recognizing the time difference between the ignition spark and the peak pressure position it is possible to reliably distinguish between normal combustion 1 and premature combustion 3 , 4 . | 5 |
referring now to the drawing , a pillow construction in accordance with my invention may be seen . the pillow , generally designated 10 , includes a main body portion 11 and a neck supporting portion 12 , joined in this embodiment at joint 13 . the main body portion 11 and the neck supporting portion 12 are each made of polyurethane foam only of different degrees of firmness ; the neck supporting portion having the greater firmness . overall the pillow 10 , of fig1 is generally t - shaped with the portion 11 corresponding to the head of the t and the neck supporting portion 12 constituting the body of the t . of course , it is obvious in the drawing that the neck portion 12 is smaller than the head portion 11 , and is shorter in the longitudinal direction , measured in the direction of the users spine . the neck portion 12 has a length in this direction of 3 to 5 inches which is sufficient to provide support for the neck . the head portion 11 is longer than the neck portion 12 measured in the same direction , e . g . 8 inches or longer . excess length of the head supporting portion 11 is optional . it is important to note that the head supporting portion 11 is wider than the neck supporting portion 12 resulting in a major feature of the invention . the head supporting portion 11 is at least 8 inches in width dictated by the possibility that sleepers lie on their sides with the side of their face against the pillow . note that the neck supporting portion 12 is slightly wider than the sleeper &# 39 ; s neck . when the sleeper turns to either side , as illustrated in fig4 his head is supported , but his chin and mouth area are not in contact with the pillow 10 , at all . for those who do not like side at pressure on their jaw or their mouth partially buried in the pillow , this new design of pillow provides comfort not heretofore available . for those who must wear orthodontic headgear , i . e . external bracing , one not only provides superior comfort for the sleeper , but it allows such persons to lie on their side on a pillow while wearing headgear for the first time . they also have the privilege of having greater neck support than head support by reason of the dual density or firmness feature described above . for those who are unaccustomed to greater neck support than head support and want the feature of no jaw and mouth obstruction , the embodiment of fig5 is particularly valuable . the embodiment of fig5 is generally cruciform in shape with a head supporting portion 11 and a neck supporting portion 12 of greater firmness than the head supporting portion 11 and an additional neck supporting portion 14 which is used by reversing the pillow 20 as shown in fig5 . the neck supporting portion 14 is of different firmness from the neck supporting portion 12 . it may be of the same firmness as the head supporting portion 11 or of greater or lesser firmness than the head supporting portion 11 . this is illustrated in fig7 by the dashed lines indicating different degrees of firmness . fig3 illustrates the differential firmness of the pillow of fig1 graphically . firmness is illustrated in the ordinate direction and distance from the front of the pillow is represented in the abscissa direction . the area 12 of the neck supporting portion is shown having a greater firmness and the head supporting portion having lesser firmness . the abrupt change in stiffness appears at joint 13 of fig1 . in fig7 a transition exists at the joint 13 where the greater stiffness neck supporting portion 12 joins the lesser stiffness of the head supporting portion 11 . the firmness of alternate neck supporting portion 14 may be greater , equal to , or less than the firmness of the head supporting portion 11 as may be desired . this is illustrated by dashed lines . a lesser firmness as illustrated by section ( 14 ) is not consistent with my basic desire but conceivably one might want graduated firmness from neck to head . this is possible using the combination of portion 12 , portion 11 and portion 14 . in carrying out the preferred embodiment of this invention shown in fig1 i employed the following material : ______________________________________neck supporting portion 12 polyurethane foam 1 . 45 #/ ft . sup . 3 firmness : soft . e . g . indentation load deflection ( ild rating ) of # 22 - 28 using astm or equivalent test method to provide a 25 % compression on a 4 &# 34 ; thick foam sample with the weight applied as 8 &# 34 ; × 8 &# 34 ; steel plate . head supporting portion 11 polyurethane foam 1 . 45 #/ ft . sup . 3 firmness : supersoft e . g . ( ild rating ) of # 15 - 21 as identified above . joint stabond ms - 230 adhesive of the stabond corp of gardena , ca 90249______________________________________ typical dimensions for a pillow made in accordance with my invention are : ______________________________________dimensions useful range______________________________________width of 11 25 &# 34 ; 12 &# 34 ; or greaterlength of 11 9 &# 34 ; 8 &# 34 ; or greaterheight of pillow 4 &# 34 ; 2 &# 34 ; to 4 &# 34 ; width of 12 and 14 11 &# 34 ; 5 &# 34 ; to 11 &# 34 ; length of 12 and 14 31 / 2 &# 34 ; 3 &# 34 ; to 5 &# 34 ; ______________________________________ i do recognize that it is possible using controlled foaming techniques to vary the density of foam in a single foam plastic body . such a technique could be applied to my invention to provide differential firmness with the neck supporting portion having greater firmness than the head supporting portion . in such case the abrupt firmness noted in fig3 & amp ; 7 will not occur , but more gradual changes will be present . in each of the embodiments , the pillows are shown with right angle corners , for ease of manufacture by cutting of the foam plastic . it must be recognized that the pillow may be shaped at their edges , if desired , without changing their functional relationship of the pillow sections . the above described embodiments of this invention are merely descriptive of its principles and are not to be considered limiting . the scope of this invention instead shall be determined from the scope of the following claims , including their equivalents . | 0 |
the present invention may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention and to the figures and their previous and following description . before the present system and method are disclosed and described , it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to specific synthetic methods , specific components , or to particular compositions , as such may , of course , vary . it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting . as used in the specification and the appended claims , the singular forms “ a ,” “ an ” and “ the ” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise . thus , for example , reference to “ a sponsor ” includes mixtures of sponsors , reference to “ a sponsor ” includes mixtures of two or more such sponsors , and the like . ranges may be expressed herein as from “ about ” one particular value , and / or to “ about ” another particular value . when such a range is expressed , another embodiment includes from the one particular value and / or to the other particular value . similarly , when values are expressed as approximations , by use of the antecedent “ about ,” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment . it will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint , and independently of the other endpoint . “ optional ” or “ optionally ” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur , and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not . in this specification and in the claims which follow , reference will be made to a number of terms which shall be defined to have the following meanings : “ host ” is defined as the organizational entity through which the transactions of the present system and method take place . the “ host ” can also refer to the internet server responsible for conducting said transactions . “ sports team ” is defined as a group of individuals cooperating to compete in sporting events . examples include , but are not limited to , the atlanta braves ®, the atlanta falcons ®, and the atlanta hawks ®. “ individual athlete ” is defined as a person trained to compete in sports . examples include , but are not limited to , lance armstrong and tiger woods . “ sponsorship transaction ” is defined as a user transferring funds to the host and the user receiving a sponsorship award . “ sponsorship amount ” is defined as a sum of money transferred from a user to the host for the purpose of sponsoring a sports team or individual athlete . examples include , but are not limited to , five dollars , ten dollars , and one - hundred dollars . “ cumulative sponsorship amount ” is defined as an amount determined by the host and sports teams and individual athletes that is a minimum acceptable sponsorship amount . examples include , but are not limited to , five - hundred dollars , one - thousand dollars , ten - thousand dollars . “ primary sponsor ” is defined as the sponsor that is the largest most visible sponsor of a sports team or individual athlete . examples include , but are not limited to , the united states postal service was a primary sponsor of lance armstrong , a successful cyclist , for many years . “ co - sponsor ” is defined as a sponsor that is not the largest most visible sponsor of a sports team or individual athlete . reference will now be made in detail to the present aspects of the invention , example ) of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings . wherever possible , the same reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts . the system and method disclosed herein can be applied to various sports and sponsor targets . examples of such sports include , but are not limited to , surfing , skate boarding , fishing , soccer , snow boarding , water skiing , boating , slalom down hill skiing , sailing , and all motorized and mechanized sports . in one aspect , illustrated in fig6 , a method for sponsoring is provided that comprises receiving a user selected sponsor target ( step 601 ), receiving a monetary amount from the user wherein a portion of the monetary amount is contributed toward a cumulative sponsorship amount ( step 602 ), sending the user a sponsorship award ( step 603 ), repeating the previous steps until the cumulative sponsorship amount is reached ( step 604 ), and sponsoring the user selected sponsor target ( step 605 ). the user selection can be made over a network . the user selected sponsor target can be , for example , athletes , sports teams , and vehicles . the sponsor target can be , for example , an olympic team , a nascar ® driver , and an x - games athlete . the sponsorship award can indicate that the user sponsored the user selected sponsor target . the value of the sponsorship award is associated with the monetary amount received from the user . in a further aspect , illustrated in fig7 , a method for sponsoring is provided that comprises selecting a sponsor target ( step 701 ) and transferring a monetary amount to a host wherein a portion of the monetary amount is contributed toward a cumulative sponsorship amount ( step 702 ), and receiving a sponsorship award ( step 703 ). the user selection can be made over a network . the user selected sponsor target can be , for example , athletes , sports teams , and vehicles . the sponsor target can be , for example , an olympic team , a nascar ® driver , and an x - games athlete . the sponsorship award can indicate that the user sponsored the user selected sponsor target . the value of the sponsorship award is associated with the monetary amount received from the user . in another aspect , illustrated in fig8 , a method of sponsoring is provided that comprises listing a sponsor target with a host ( step 801 ), determining a cumulative sponsorship amount ( step 802 ), determining a sponsorship award ( step 803 ), receiving the cumulative sponsorship amount from the host ( step 804 ), and recognizing the host ( step 805 ). the listing can be performed over a network . the sponsor target can include , for example , athletes , sports teams , and vehicles . the sponsor target can be , for example , an olympic team , a nascar ® driver , and an x - games athlete . the sponsorship award can indicate that a user sponsored the sponsor target . the value of the sponsorship award can be associated with a monetary amount received from a user . fig1 illustrates generally , the steps involved in the disclosed method for sponsoring sports teams or individuals ( both also referred to as sponsor targets ). the first step 101 of the method comprises a user selecting a sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b to sponsor . this selection can be through the internet 208 at a host website , at a retail location , at a sporting event , and the like . once the user has selected a sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b to sponsor , the user transfers the desired sponsorship amount to the host , as indicated in block 102 . the transfer can be through the internet via electronic funds transfer means such as bank accounts , credit cards , paypal ®, or the like . the transfer can also be through a point of sale transaction such as credit cards , checks , or cash . the host sends the user a sponsorship award upon receipt of the sponsorship amount , as indicated in block 103 . the award &# 39 ; s value can be directly related to the amount of the sponsorship amount . the award can be a pen , a t - shirt , a towel , a cup , a hat , a sticker , a poster , or similar . the host will then proceed to deposit the sponsorship amount into a financial account , as indicated in block 104 . the financial account can be an interest bearing account such as , for example , a cash deposit ( cd ), a mutual fund , a checking account , or a savings account . after a sufficient number of users have contributed sponsorship amounts such that a pre - determined cumulative sponsorship amount is reached , the host will distribute the cumulative sponsorship amount to the selected sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b , as indicated in block 105 . the cumulative amount can be determined by the sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b . for example , jeff gordon , a top nascar ® driver and team , has a minimum sponsorship amount of approximately $ 80 , 000 . 00 . in exchange for this amount , the sponsor receives a 5 × 12 inch space on both sides of jeff gordon &# 39 ; s race car for the racing season . the selected sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b will recognize the host as a sponsor , as indicated in block 106 . such recognition can include , but is not limited to , placing a host logo on a sports team 206 a , b or an individual athlete 207 a , b vehicle , uniform , equipment , banner at a sporting venue , and the like . fig2 illustrates generally , an exemplary system implementing the disclosed method . this exemplary system is only an example of a system and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of system architecture . neither should the system be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary system . fig2 illustrates the primary components and relationships of the disclosed system and method . a user 201 interacts with a host server 202 via the internet 208 through an internet - enabled computer connection . the user 201 interacts with the host server 202 via an internet enabled personal computer running a standard web - browser . the user 201 can also interact with the host server 202 via standard point of sale transactions . an example of such point of sale transactions includes conducting a sponsorship transaction at a physical location such as a sporting goods store , a sport specialty store , or a sporting event . the user 201 is also capable of interacting with the host server 202 through a plurality of internet enabled kiosks at various physical locations . the host server 202 is capable of conducting a plurality of sponsorship transactions with a plurality of users 201 . through the host server 202 , the user 201 is able to view a host website and browse and search a plurality of sports teams 206 a , b or individual athletes 207 a , b to sponsor . the host server 202 supports a plurality of user 202 profile databases , sports team 206 a , b and individual athlete 207 a , b databases , primary sponsor and co - sponsor 406 databases , and credit card and other financial transaction processing . it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the databases can be any suitable database management system such as oracle , informix , sybase , sql server , access , mysql , postgresql , or the like . once the user 201 selects a sports teams 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b to sponsor , the user 201 can electronically transfer funds to the host through the host server 202 via a financial transaction system 204 . the financial transaction system 204 can implement electronic funds transfers between a multitude of financial accounts as is known to one skilled in the art . the host server 202 can interact with a user award system 203 to send the user 201 a sponsorship award . the user award system can vary depending upon the sports teams 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b . by way of example , and not limitation , there can be three levels of sponsorship silver , gold , and platinum . the silver level can be reached by contributing $ 200 . 00 . the user 201 can receive a hat and t - shirt with the host logo , access to messages from their team keeping them up to date with team happenings , offers for discount tickets and travel to events , and the right to say they sponsored the sports teams 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b . gold level can be reached by contributing $ 500 . 00 . the user 201 can receive the benefits of the silver level , plus “ behind the scenes ” passes , t - shirt and hats with the name of the sports teams 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b they are sponsoring . the platinum level can be reached by contributing $ 1 , 000 . 00 . the user 201 can receive the benefits of the silver and gold levels , plus a jacket with the sports teams 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b , autographed posters , license plates frames , key chains , and “ vip ” lunches at selected events hosted by the host . these benefits will vary based on the particular sporting events . the host server 202 electronically transfers the sponsorship amount through the financial transaction system 204 into a financial account 205 . once a cumulative sponsorship amount has been reached for a sports team or individual , the cumulative sponsorship amount is transferred from the financial account 205 to the sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b selected by the user 201 . fig3 illustrates a more detailed view of the sponsorship transaction process . the user 201 uses an internet - enabled computer to access the host server 202 via the internet 208 . as indicated in block 301 , user 201 browses and searches through the host website and queries various sports team 206 a , b and individual athlete 207 a , b databases . the user 201 can view the name of the sports team 206 a , b and individual athlete 207 a , b along with the sponsorship award that the user 201 can receive based on a sponsorship amount . the user 201 selects the specific sports team 206 a , b and / or individual athlete 207 a , b to sponsor and , as indicated in block 302 , the user 201 then enters their user 201 profile into a user profile database on the host server 202 . a user 201 profile can contain pertinent information such as , but not limited to , name , address , phone number , email address , and sport preferences . the user 201 will only need to enter this information once , as their information is stored and is accessible by the user 201 via a password . the user 201 profile will be associated with the primary sponsor and co - sponsors 406 associated with the sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b that the user 201 selected to sponsor . as shown in block 310 , the user 201 profile can be transmitted to the primary sponsor and co - sponsors for various marketing uses . such marketing uses can include , but are not limited to , direct product marketing to users 201 , providing discounts to users 201 , and the like . as indicated in block 303 , after the user 201 has entered their profile information , the user 201 enters payment information to transfer the desired sponsorship amount to the host . payment information can include , but is not limited to , credit cards , bank account and routing numbers , paypal ® accounts , and the like . the payment is processed and the sponsorship amount is deposited into a host financial account as indicated in block 304 . the host financial account can be , for example , a checking account , a savings account , a mutual fund , and the like . a sponsorship award is sent to the user 201 , as shown in block 305 . the sponsorship award can include pens , t - shirts , towels , posters , tickets to sporting events , and the like . the host financial account is monitored to determine when a pre - determined cumulative sponsorship amount has been reached for each sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b , as indicated in block 306 . as shown in block 307 , if the cumulative sponsorship amount has not been reached , the process continues with the same or other users 201 until the cumulative sponsorship amount is reached . as shown in block 307 , if the cumulative sponsorship amount has been reached , the cumulative sponsorship amount is transferred to the appropriate sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b , as shown in block 308 . such distributions can be made , for example , by mailing a check to the sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b , automatically electronically depositing funds , and the like . as indicated in block 309 , the sports team 206 a , b or individual athlete 207 a , b will recognize the receipt of the cumulative sponsorship amount by promoting the host . such promotion of the host can be made by , for example , placing a host logo on a team vehicle , uniform , banner , website , and the like , fig4 describes examples of synergies generated by the disclosed system and method . the user 402 benefits through having the ability to sponsor their favorites sports teams and individual athletes . this allows the user 402 to show their support through financial contribution and ensures the success of the sport as a whole . the individual athlete 403 benefits through receiving sponsorship funds that might not have been received otherwise , thus ensuring the individual athlete 403 can continue to participate in the sport . nascar ® 404 benefits through receiving sponsors for the drivers and their teams , thus connecting the fans to the sport more intimately , ensuring fan loyalty . olympic teams 405 benefit through receiving much needed funding to cover training and travel costs , allowing the teams to concentrate on their sport . primary and co - sponsors benefit by receiving invaluable marketing information . this information can allow targeted advertising and product offering . these benefits are conveyed by and through the host 401 , serving as the medium through which all the aforementioned benefits flow . fig5 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment in which the system and method may be implemented . the computing system environment is only one example of a suitable computing environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention . neither should the computing environment be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment . in particular , the environment is an example of computerized devices that can implement the system and method as has been described . the system and method are operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations . examples of well known computing systems , environments , and / or configurations that may be suitable for use with the system and method include , but are not limited to , personal computers , server computers , laptop devices , and multiprocessor systems . additional examples include set top boxes , programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputers , mainframe computers , distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices , and the like . the system and method may be described in the general context of computer instructions , such as program modules , being executed by a computer . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , etc . that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . the system and method may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network . in a distributed computing environment , program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices . the systems of fig2 , and 3 , can include a general - purpose computing device in the form of a computer 501 . the components of the computer 501 can include , but are not limited to , one or more processors or processing units 503 , a system memory 512 , and a system bus 513 that couples various system components including the processor 503 to the system memory 512 . the system bus 513 represents one or more of several possible types of bus structures , including a memory bus or memory controller , a peripheral bus , an accelerated graphics port , and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures . by way of example , such architectures can include an industry standard architecture ( isa ) bus , a micro channel architecture ( mca ) bus , an enhanced isa ( eisa ) bus , a video electronics standards association ( vesa ) local bus , and a peripheral component interconnects ( pci ) bus also known as a mezzanine bus . this bus , and all buses specified in this description can also be implemented over a wired or wireless network connection . the bus 513 , and all buses specified in this description can also be implemented over a wired or wireless network connection and each of the subsystems , including the processor 503 , a mass storage device 504 , an operating system 505 , application software 506 , data 507 , a network adapter 508 , system memory 512 , an input / output interface 510 , a display adapter 509 , a display device 511 , and a human machine interface 502 , can be contained within one or more remote computing devices 515 a , b , c at physically separate locations , connected through buses of this form , in effect implementing a fully distributed system . the computer 501 typically includes a variety of computer readable media . such media can be any available media that is accessible by the computer 501 and includes both volatile and non - volatile media , removable and non - removable media . the system memory 512 includes computer readable media in the form of volatile memory , such as random access memory ( ram ), and / or non - volatile memory , such as read only memory ( rom ). the system memory 512 typically contains data such as data 507 and and / or program modules such as operating system 505 and application software 506 that are immediately accessible to and / or are presently operated on by the processing unit 503 . the computer 501 may also include other removable / non - removable , volatile / non - volatile computer storage media . by way of example , fig5 illustrates a mass storage device 504 which can provide non - volatile storage of computer code , computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules , and other data for the computer 501 . for example , a mass storage device 504 can be a hard disk , a removable magnetic disk , a removable optical disk , magnetic cassettes or other magnetic storage devices , flash memory cards , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical storage , random access memories ( ram ), read only memories ( rom ), electrically erasable programmable read - only memory ( eeprom ), and the like . any number of program modules can be stored on the mass storage device 504 , including by way of example , an operating system 505 and application software 506 . each of the operating system 505 and application software 506 ( or some combination thereof ) may include elements of the programming and the application software 506 . data 507 can also be stored on the mass storage device 504 . a user can enter commands and information into the computer 501 via an input device ( not shown ). examples of such input devices include , but are not limited to , a keyboard , pointing device ( e . g ., a “ mouse ”), a microphone , a joystick , a serial port , a scanner , and the like . these and other input devices can be connected to the processing unit 503 via a human machine interface 502 that is coupled to the system bus 513 , but may be connected by other interface and bus structures , such as a parallel port , game port , or a universal serial bus ( usb ). a display device 511 can also be connected to the system bus 513 via an interface , such as a display adapter 509 . for example , a display device can be a monitor or an lcd ( liquid crystal display ). in addition to the display device 511 , other output peripheral devices can include components such as speakers ( not shown ) and a printer ( not shown ) which can be connected to the computer 501 via input / output interface 510 . the computer 501 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computing devices 515 a , b , c . by way of example , a remote computing device can be a personal computer , portable computer , a server , a router , a network computer , a peer device or other common network node , and so on . logical connections between the computer 501 and a remote computing device 515 a , b , c can be made via a local area network ( lan ) and a general wide area network ( wan ). such network connections can be through a network adapter 508 . a network adapter 508 can be implemented in both wired and wireless environments . such networking environments are commonplace in offices , enterprise - wide computer networks , intranets , and the internet 208 . for purposes of illustration , application programs and other executable program components such as the operating system 505 are illustrated herein as discrete blocks , although it is recognized that such programs and components reside at various times in different storage components of the computing device 501 , and are executed by the data processor ( s ) of the computer . an implementation of application software 506 may be stored on or transmitted across some form of computer readable media . computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer . by way of example , and not limitation , computer readable media may comprise “ computer storage media ” and “ communications media .” “ computer storage media ” include volatile and non - volatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules , or other data . computer storage media includes , but is not limited to , ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present system and method without departing from the scope or spirit of the system and method . other embodiments of the system and method will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the system and method disclosed herein . it is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only , with a true scope and spirit of the system and method being indicated by the following claims . | 6 |
the following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the described embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments . thus , the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments and examples shown but is to be accorded the widest possible scope in accordance with the features and principles shown and described . the particular features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with reference to the appended fig2 - 3 , taken in conjunction with the following description . fig2 a is a schematic illustration of a gas chromatograph to mass spectrometer interface in accordance with the present invention . in fig2 a , reference number 10 refers to a gas chromatograph ( only a portion of which is illustrated ) and reference number 20 refers to a mass spectrometer ( only a portion of which is illustrated ). the system 100 shown in fig2 a comprises a conduit 40 which partially encloses an interior volume 41 which is contiguous and conterminous with the heated gc oven interior volume 18 . the conduit 40 is sealed , in an air - tight tight fashion , to the housing 19 of the gc oven and extends outward from the housing 19 and between the gc and the ms such that the conduit interior volume 41 comprises an outward extension of the interior volume 18 of the gc oven . this configuration enables the heated internal air or gas of the oven to flow into or out of the conduit interior volume 41 . the conduit 40 is preferably lined with a low thermal mass rigidized ceramic fiber insulation 52 in order to minimize thermal lag and heat loss to the outer shell of the conduit 40 . the use of rigidized insulation allows operation without heat loss to a metallic liner ( such as is typically used in the lining of a gc oven ) while at the same time prevents erosion of the insulator as would occur for loose glass or ceramic wool type insulation materials . as one example , the insulation 52 may comprise the material htp as is described in nasa tech briefs , winter 1985 , vol . 4 , msc - 20654 . a duct 42 in the system 100 ( fig2 a ) channels higher pressure oven - heated air from periphery of an oven blower or fan into the conduit interior volume 41 such that flowing temperature regulated air or gas 46 flows along and around the entire length of the transfer tube 14 contained within the volume 41 . this free flow of air around and along the transfer tube 14 allows thermal regulation of the section of the gc column contained within the transfer tube within the conduit interior volume . preferably , the end of the duct disposed within the conduit should be placed such that the flowing temperature - regulated air or gas arrives or exits at or close to the end of the conduit 40 furthest from the gc oven . this ensures that no dead volume remains in the conduit which would otherwise result in a temperature gradient along its length . the transfer tube 14 should be sufficiently rigid to support the column but should have sufficiently low thermal mass so as to enable oven temperature changes to be communicated to the section of column within the transfer tube with suitably low time lag . this enables the temperature of the column within volume 41 to track the controlled temperature of the oven interior 18 without resulting in adverse band broadening , peak tailing or sample decomposition . as one example , the inventors have discovered that 1 . 6 millimeter ( mm ) or 1 / 16 inch or smaller outer diameter stainless steel tubing fulfills these requirements . however , the tubing may have a larger diameter ( up to 2 mm ) in order to accommodate the largest available diameter capillary gc column . the transfer tube 14 is preferably terminated in the gc oven proper in order to conveniently access vacuum fitting 13 for column installation and removal . although the vacuum fitting 13 could be positioned closely to ion source 22 in order to further reduce thermal mass , thus tracking overall oven temperature more accurately , it is preferable that some degree of thermal mass near the terminal end of the gc column is present in order to offset potential peak splitting due to the laminar air flow conditions in this area . the effects of peak splitting caused by rapid gc temperature fluctuations are described in f . munari and s . trestianu “ thermal peak splitting in capillary gas chromatography ” journal of chromatography , 279 ( 1983 ) 457 - 472 . the system shown in fig2 a extends accurate heating control of the column to within close proximity to the mass spectrometer 20 . as seen in the example of fig2 a , the end of the conduit 40 may protrude past or beyond the mass spectrometer housing 29 through a gap or aperture 49 in the ms housing 29 . the vacuum within the mass spectrometer may be sealed against ambient air intrusion by means , for instance , of a flange 48 that is sealed , in vacuum - tight fashion by means of a gasket or o - ring 50 , against a wall or other structural feature of the ms housing . air or gas from within the gc oven is prevented from entering the mass spectrometer and the integrity of the ms vacuum may be maintained ( while maintaining proximity of the conduit interior volume 41 to the mass spectrometer 20 ) by means of a membrane 44 through which the column - containing transfer tube passes and which comprises an air - tight and vacuum tight seal over exit port 47 of the conduit 40 . as one example , the membrane may comprise a stainless steel foil of thickness within the range of approximately 0 . 010 to 0 . 020 inches . the diameter and thickness of the membrane 44 can be selected so as to offer minimal heat loss from oven air to the structural enclosure of conduit 40 , while at the same time offering sufficient strength to avoid a vacuum rupture imposed by the high vacuum of the ms interior 28 . additionally , this membrane allows sufficient heating of terminal end of transfer tube 14 by ion source 22 without excessive heat loss from the ion source . the conduit 40 may comprise an integral part of the gc oven housing 19 . alternatively , the conduit 40 may be provided as a modular accessory that attaches to or mates with a pre - existing gap 9 in a wall of the gc oven . for instance , the gap 9 may comprise a pre - existing output port or aperture , such as , for instance , a port or aperture to which various accessory apparatuses ( e . g ., detectors ) may be interchangeably mated or fitted . fig2 b illustrates an embodiment , in accordance with the invention , in which a portion of the duct 42 is located within a portion ( such as a wall portion ) of the gc oven housing 19 . this configuration frees up space within the interior of the gc oven for positioning a portion of the column . further , the configuration shown in fig2 b may cause less interruption of the air or gas flow within the gc oven . fig3 a is a schematic illustration of a gas chromatograph to mass spectrometer interface 155 partially contained within a gc oven 7 and showing one method of fluidic coupling between an inlet of the duct 42 and a fan or blower 43 within the gc oven 7 . as shown in fig3 a , the inlet of the duct 42 may be disposed behind a plenum or partition 51 within the gc oven so as to intercept the radial flow of flowing gas 46 emanating from the blower fan 43 . returning air or gas 45 is drawn in towards fan 43 and is channeled towards the central hub of the fan 43 by one or more gaps 55 of or within the plenum or partition 51 . the gaps 55 may comprise , for instance , perforations or slits within the plenum or partition 51 . in the configuration shown in fig3 a , air or gas set in motion by fan 43 is forced to flow laterally outward in a region between the plenum 51 and the gc oven housing 19 as a result of confinement between these latter two elements . consequently , a pressure differential is established with a relatively higher pressure region existing laterally outward from the fan 43 between the plenum 51 and the gc oven housing 19 . as shown in fig3 a , the inlet of the duct 42 is disposed so as to intercept a portion of the air or gas within this high pressure region and direct it into the relatively lower pressure conduit interior volume 41 . fig3 a illustrates an embodiment in which a portion of the duct 42 is contained within the gc oven housing 19 as shown in fig2 b . however , the configuration illustrated in fig2 a , configuration in which the duct is positioned within the gc oven interior , could also be used . fig3 b is a schematic illustration of another gas chromatograph to mass spectrometer interface 157 partially contained within a gc oven 7 . the system 157 shown in fig3 b is similar to the system 155 shown in fig3 a , except that , in the system 157 , a heater or heating element 53 is positioned between the fan or blower 43 and the inlet of the duct 42 . in this configuration , air or gas 46 is forced to flow adjacent to the heater 53 just prior to entering the duct 42 . this configuration can compensate for any heat losses along the length of the duct . although fig3 b illustrates a configuration in which a portion of the duct 42 is contained within the gc oven housing 19 ( i . e ., as in fig2 b ), the configuration in which the duct is positioned within the gc oven interior ( i . e ., as in fig2 a ) could also be used . fig3 c is a schematic illustration of still another gas chromatograph to mass spectrometer interface 159 partially contained within a gc oven 7 and showing another method of fluidic coupling between an inlet of the duct 42 and the fan or blower 43 . in the configuration shown in fig3 c , the inlet of the duct 42 is positioned within a relatively lower pressure region near the gap ( or gaps ) 55 in the plenum or partition 51 . in this situation , the duct draws returning air or gas 45 out of the conduit interior volume 41 , causing temperature regulated air or gas to flow from the gc oven interior 18 into the conduit interior volume 41 . alternatively , any location within the gc oven confines offering a pressure differential is suitable in order to establish flow within the duct 42 . although fig3 c illustrates a configuration in which a portion of the duct 42 is contained within the gc oven housing 19 ( i . e ., as in fig2 b ), the configuration in which the duct is positioned within the gc oven interior ( i . e ., as in fig2 a ) could also be used . fig3 d illustrates is a schematic illustration of yet another gas chromatograph to mass spectrometer interface 161 partially contained within a gc oven 7 . in the configuration illustrated in fig3 d , a portion of the duct 42 within the conduit 40 encloses a portion of the transfer tube 14 such that the flowing temperature regulated air or gas 46 is confined along the portion of the transfer tube 14 , thereby improving heat transfer from the air or gas 46 to the transfer tube . although fig3 d illustrates a configuration in which a portion of the duct 42 is contained within the gc oven housing 19 ( i . e ., as in fig2 b ), the configuration in which the duct is positioned within the gc oven interior ( i . e ., as in fig2 a ) could also be used . the discussion included in this application is intended to serve as a basic description . although the present invention has been described in accordance with the various embodiments shown and described , one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that there could be variations to the embodiments and those variations would be within the spirit and scope of the present invention . the reader should be aware that the specific discussion may not explicitly describe all embodiments possible ; many alternatives are implicit . accordingly , many modifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit , scope and essence of the invention . neither the description nor the terminology is intended to limit the scope of the invention . any publications , patents or patent application publications mentioned in this specification are explicitly incorporated by reference in their respective entirety . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , the quick connection shown in fig1 and 2 comprises an upstream element generally designated by reference 2 , which constitutes the female part of this connection . this upstream element is conventionally connected to an installation ( not shown ), delivering oxygen at high pressure , for example close to 200 bars . this upstream element 2 comprises a tubular body 4 which defines an enclosure 6 intended to be placed in communication with the afore - mentioned oxygen installation . this upstream enclosure 6 receives a separate sheath 8 within which a valve is capable of sliding , as will be described hereinafter in greater detail . this sheath 8 forms a peripheral flange 10 , beyond which a chamber 12 extends . the latter is placed in communication , via a re - entrant shoulder 14 , with a cylindrical housing 16 whose diameter , or transverse dimension , is less than that of the afore - mentioned chamber 12 . grooves are hollowed out in the walls of this housing 16 , which receive two o - rings 18 , disposed one behind the other in the direction of flow of the gas . furthermore , the body 4 is provided , in its downstream part , with a lock 20 mounted to slide against a spring 22 . this lock allows the removable fixation of a downstream element of the connection , as will be described hereinbelow . a valve 24 is slidably mounted in the interior volume of the upstream element 2 . it comprises a cylindrical body 26 extended , at a first end , by a plurality of axial fingers 28 defining passages . a shank 30 , which extends from the body 26 , opposite to the fingers 28 , is free to slide in the interior volume of the sheath 8 . furthermore , this valve 24 is provided with a radial ring 32 having bores 34 made therein . a spring 36 , coming into abutment at one of its ends against the flange 10 , makes it possible to return this ring 32 against the shoulder 14 of the upstream element 2 . the quick connect coupling shown in fig1 and 2 also comprises a downstream element , forming the male part of the coupling . the arrangement of this downstream element 38 , as well as its mode of fixation to the upstream element 2 , via the lock 20 , are of conventional type . the annular free end of this downstream element 38 is given reference 40 . in the position illustrated in fig1 the upstream ( 2 ) and downstream ( 38 ) elements are disconnected . consequently , the valve is pushed by the spring 22 in downstream direction , with respect to the flow of the gas . in this arrangement , the ring 32 abuts against the shoulder 14 . the body 26 of the valve 24 , received in the housing 16 , is placed opposite an intermediate region r , which borders this housing 16 and lies between the upstream o - ring 18 and the shoulder 14 . this intermediate region is made in massive form , in that its transverse dimensions are sufficient for it to guarantee , due to its metallic nature , an efficient dissipation of heat . this region r presents a significant longitudinal dimension , or length l . the transverse sections of the intermediate region r and of the body 26 , which correspond to the respectively inner and outer diameters of these elements , are such that the latter form an annular gap of reduced section , ensuring a primary seal . this gap , designated by reference i , presents a small transverse section , corresponding to the clearance between the body 26 and the region r opposite . this clearance corresponds to conventional machining tolerances and allows the valve to slide easily in its housing . in service , the rise in pressure in the chamber 12 creates a sudden rise in temperature . however , this sudden rise does not exist in the vicinity of the o - rings , thanks to the primary seal ensured by the gap i . in effect , the quantity of gas flowing in this gap i is small and undergoes a rapid cooling , the intermediate region r as well as the body 26 of the valve opposite , constituting massive metal parts which allow an efficient dispersion of heat . consequently , the o - rings 18 are only slightly heated and do not risk igniting . in the position illustrated in fig2 the upstream ( 2 ) and downstream ( 38 ) elements are connected to each other . in this arrangement , the fingers 28 of the valve 24 are in abutment against the frontal wall of the annular end 40 of the downstream element 38 . these fingers 28 are arranged upstream of the shoulder 14 , with the result that the gas is free to flow in the direction of the housing 16 , via the bores 34 and the passages formed between these fingers 28 . in the position of opening of fig2 the intermediate region r is opposite the annular end 40 of the downstream element 38 . their transverse sections , which respectively correspond to the inner diameter of this region r and outer diameter of this end 40 , are such that these latter form an annular gap i ′ for passage of the gas . this gap i ′ presents a transverse dimension similar to that of the gap i described previously , formed by cooperation of the valve 24 and the region r . when the pressure of the gas suddenly rises in the chamber 12 , in this position of opening of the valve , the resulting sudden rise in temperature is non - existent in the vicinity of the o - rings , thanks to the gap i ′ which ensures a primary seal . consequently , similarly to what happens in the position of closure of the valve , the o - rings 18 are substantially not subject to a rise in temperature , with the result that they do not risk igniting . the length l of the intermediate region r is advantageously greater than the length 1 of the fingers 28 . in effect , this makes it possible to maintain , opposite the region r , either a part of the annular end 40 , or a part of the body 26 , whatever the axial positions of the downstream element and of the valve 24 . consequently , during translation of the valve 24 , under the action of the downstream element 38 , a portion of annular gap , of small section , permanently exists , which protects the o - rings 18 from the sudden rise in pressure of the oxygen . the invention has been described with reference to upstream and downstream elements , respectively forming female and male parts of the connection . it is also applicable to a connection whose upstream and downstream elements respectively form male and female parts . the invention enables the objects set forth hereinabove to be attained . in effect , applicants have observed that the phenomena of inflammation , to which the o - rings are subjected , are principally due to sudden rises in the pressure of the oxygen flowing in the vicinity of these o - rings , inducing a considerable temperature rise . the existence of the primary sealing zones i and i ′ makes it possible to dissipate the energy that the gas possesses , once it arrives in contact with the o - rings . the latter are thus subjected only to a slight temperature rise , with the result that their mechanical soundness is not affected . | 5 |
fig1 shows a block diagram of a scene intensity measuring and illumination source detection apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention . the apparatus 10 provides illumination source determination as well as light metering to determine appropriate exposure settings for an image capture device 11 having a variable aperture ( not shown ) and a shutter ( not shown ) moveable between open and closed positions . in accordance with the present invention , light from a photographic scene is incident on an off - axis segment of a diffractive optical element ( doe ) 12 . the doe 12 disperses the incident light into its spectral components , as well as focuses the incident light onto an array of photodetectors 14 . the doe 12 is formed with focusing power and spectral dispersion by using a decentered , or off - axis , segment of a larger doe . thus , the use of the off - axis doe 12 provides the same function as a multi - element system , such as a combination of a diffraction grating and a focusing lens , or a combination of a prism and a focusing lens . referring now to fig2 a , a top view of the off - axis segment of the doe 12 of fig1 is shown in more detail . the lines as shown in fig2 a represent contours of equal surface heights on the diffractive profile of the doe 12 . fig2 b shows a side view of the surface height profile along the line a -- a through the center of the doe 12 . maximum diffraction efficiency is achieved by using blazed surface relief profiles , as shown in fig2 b . maximum theoretical diffraction efficiency at the center design wavelength is up to 100 percent . a more detailed discussion of doe &# 39 ; s is presented in commonly - assigned u . s . pat . no . 5 , 581 , 405 , issued on dec . 3 , 1996 , entitled &# 34 ; hybrid refractive / diffractive achromatic camera lens and camera using such .&# 34 ; once the light is incident on the doe 12 , the resulting detector plane spectral intensity distribution results is a line of dispersed light with short wavelengths closer to the optical axis and longer wavelengths further away . in a direction perpendicular to the high spatial frequency component of the doe 12 , the light is dispersed with red light deflected by the largest amount and blue light deflected by the least amount . in a direction parallel to the high spatial frequency component of the doe 12 , the light is concentrated into a focused line . by placing the array of photodetectors 14 at the image plane of the doe 12 , the relative spectral intensity of different wavelength regions of the scene illumination source can be determined by converting the incident illumination from each part of the dispersed spectrum into a voltage proportional to its intensity . referring now to fig3 a - 3c , spectral intensity graphs are shown for fluorescent light , tungsten , and daylight , respectively . one of the characteristics of fluorescent illumination is the presence of strong emission lines from the ionized mercury gas discharge line , which is partially absorbed by a phosphor coating on the fluorescent tube and partially transmitted . fig3 a shows a number of spectral intensity profiles for various fluorescent lamps . as shown in the profiles of fig3 a , the presence of the mercury gas discharge emission lines can be detected by looking at a narrow spectrum around 404 . 7 nm , 435 . 8 nm , 546 . 1 nm , or 578 . 0 nm . the relative spectral intensity of the 435 . 8 nm and the 546 . 1 nm spectrums are higher than those of 404 . 7 nm or 578 nm . if the relative spectral intensity of the mercury gas discharge emission lines when compared to the spectral intensities of other regions of the emission spectrum , such as 400 - 430 nm or 500 - 540 nm , is very high ( for example , 3 : 1 or 5 : 1 ), it indicates that the illumination of the photographic scene is from a fluorescent light source . fig3 b shows the output spectral intensity distribution for various tungsten filaments operating at different color temperatures . as the color temperature increases , the peak emission wavelength moves to shorter wavelengths and more blue light is present in the output spectrum . a typical tungsten lamp would operate at a color temperature of approximately 2600 to 3500 degrees kelvin . as shown in fig3 b , if the relative illumination from the red region is much higher than that from the blue region , and the relative spectral intensity of the gas discharge lines when compared to the relative spectral intensities of broad spectral areas are not a large ratio , then it can be concluded that the scene illumination is from a tungsten source . fig3 c shows the transmitted output spectrum from the sun , which corresponds to a color temperature of approximately 5630 degrees kelvin . as shown in fig3 c , if the relative spectral intensities of the red , green , and blue spectral regions are approximately equal , and there are no gaseous discharge lines present , then it indicates that the illumination source is daylight . referring again to fig1 the scene intensity measuring and illumination source detection apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention will now be described . the incident light from the photographic scene is dispersed and focused by the doe 12 onto the array of photodetectors 14 . in order to determine scene illuminant information ( i . e ., whether the photographic scene is illuminated by fluorescent light , tungsten , or daylight ), the array of photodetectors 14 includes seven photodetectors . three of the photodetectors 14 detect the blue spectral region and are identified as b - 1 , b - 2 , and b - 3 . the b - 2 photodetector is positioned to receive the 435 . 8 nm spectral line of the ionized mercury gas discharge that is present in the fluorescent output spectrum . the b - 1 and b - 3 photodetectors are positioned so that b - 1 receives the 400 - 430 nm spectral component and b - 3 receives the 440 - 500 nm spectral component . similarly , the green spectral region is dispersed onto three photodetectors 14 , which are identified as g - 1 , g - 2 , and g - 3 . the g - 2 photodetector is positioned to receive the 546 . 1 nm mercury discharge line present in the fluorescent output spectrum . the g - 1 and g - 3 photodetectors are positioned so that g - 1 receives the 500 - 540 nm spectral component , and g - 3 receives the 550 - 600 nm spectral component . the remaining photodetector 14 , identified as r - 1 , detects the red spectral region from 600 - 700 nm . each photodetector 14 detects the specific spectral component of the incident light , and produces a photocurrent corresponding to the spectral intensity ( measured in watts / cm 2 * nm ) of the spectral range . for example , photodetector b - 1 produces a photocurrent corresponding to the spectral intensity in the spectral range of 400 - 430 nm . thus , photocurrents are produced in the corresponding spectral ranges of 400 - 430 nm , 435 . 8 nm , 440 - 500 nm , 500 - 540 nm , 546 . 1 nm , 550 - 600 nm , and 600 - 700 nm . the detected photocurrents are input into transimpedance amplifiers 16 , which convert the currents to voltage detection signals which are proportional to the intensity of the incident light &# 39 ; s spectral components . the corresponding detection signals are then digitized by an a to d converter 18 . in operation , when a trigger switch 20 of the image capture device 11 , such as a two - level switch used in a point and shoot camera , is depressed half - way , a digital controller 22 in the image capture device 11 signals the a to d converter 18 to convert the analog voltage detection signals to digital numbers . the digital numbers , which are proportional to the spectral components of the incident light intensity , are read by the digital controller 22 and stored into a controller memory 24 . the digital numbers are then used to evaluate the relative intensity of the spectral components in order to determine the scene illuminant information . to determine whether the scene illumination source is fluorescent light , tungsten , or daylight , the digital controller 22 calculates the ratio of the measured spectral intensities of b - 2 to b - 1 , b - 2 to b - 3 , g - 2 to g - 1 , g - 2 to g - 3 and the sum of b - 1 , b - 2 , b - 3 compared to sum of g - 1 , g - 2 , g - 3 and to r - 1 . it should be noted that the photocurrent from photodetectors b - 1 and b - 3 can be larger than that from photodetector b - 2 due to the fact that the spectral intensity is integrated over a larger wavelength range . when the ratio of the spectral intensities of b - 2 to b - 1 , b - 2 to b - 3 , g - 2 to g - 1 or g - 2 to g - 3 is high , for example , on the order of 3 : 1 or 5 : 1 , the digital controller 22 then determines if there is any 120 hz component from b - 2 at 435 . 8 nm by looking at the output of the transimpedance amplifier 16 utilizing a high pass filter , or a notch filter 26 tuned to 120 hz . it is well known in the art that fluorescent light has a characteristic 120 hz intensity profile . thus , if the 120 hz component is present , the scene illuminant is fluorescent light . if the ratio of the summation of the blue signals ( b - 1 , b - 2 , b - 3 ) to the red signal ( r - 1 ) is over 2 : 1 and there is no ac component in blue or green , then the scene illuminant is tungsten . if the ratio of the summation of the blue signals ( b - 1 , b - 2 , b - 3 ) to the summation of the green signals ( g - 1 , g - 2 , g - 3 ), or the summation of the green signals ( g - 1 , g - 2 , g - 3 ) to the red signal level ( r - 1 ) is within 25 %, then the scene illuminant is daylight . once the scene illuminant is determined to be fluorescent light , tungsten , or daylight , the scene illuminant information is stored in the controller memory 24 in the image capture device 11 . the digital controller 22 then sends a code to a magnetic write head 28 in the image capture device 11 to record the presence of fluorescent light , tungsten , or daylight on photographic film 30 ( or with the digital image data if the image capture device is a digital camera ). if the image capture device 11 is a camera using photographic film 30 , the information can be stored on a magnetic coating on each frame of the photographic film 30 or can be recorded optically outside the image area of the photographic film 30 by a light emitting diode ( led ). likewise , if the image capture device 11 is a digital camera , the information is stored with the digital image data for each picture . a photofinisher can then read the information stored on each photographic film frame or with the digital image data to properly compensate for the presence of fluorescent light , tungsten , or daylight during printing . to determine the scene intensity , and thus , the required exposure time for a given photograph or digital image , the digital controller 22 sums the spectral intensities from all spectral regions ( b - 1 , b - 2 , b - 3 , g - 1 , g - 2 , g - 3 , and r - 1 ). if the intensity is below a predetermined level , a camera flash ( not shown ) will be activated to provide artificial illumination . if the intensity is above the predetermined level , the camera flash is not activated , and the digital controller 22 uses an algorithm to determine the appropriate exposure settings for the image capture device 11 . the algorithms for determining exposure settings are well known in the art , and can be , for example , an algorithm to calculate the exposure time for a given aperture setting based on film speed and total scene intensity . alternatively , a combination of aperture setting and exposure time can be determined by the digital controller 22 . the digital controller 22 then sends the appropriate aperture setting and shutter exposure time information to an aperture drive ( ad ) 32 and shutter drive ( sd ) 34 , respectively , of the image capture device 11 . it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the digital controller 22 can send the information as analog control voltage signals or as digital data signals . the aperture drive 32 and shutter drive 34 control the size of the aperture and the duration of the shutter in its open position , respectively , to adjust the exposure of the photographic film or digital image in a manner well known in the art . it is well known in the art that other types of digital cameras use interline transfer ccd sensors which integrate the incident illumination over an exposure time . these sensors vary the exposure duration electronically , and therefore , do not utilize a shutter exposure time or an aperture setting . for digital cameras using interline transfer ccd sensors , the digital controller 22 can determine an appropriate exposure integration time from the summation of the spectral intensities from all spectral regions . interline transfer ccd sensors are described in more detail in &# 34 ; solid state imaging with charge - coupled devices &# 34 ; by a . theuwissen , on page 117 . the scene intensity measuring and illumination source detection apparatus 10 in accordance with the present invention has been described in conjunction with digital processing . however , it would be understood by persons skilled in the art that the processing could also be accomplished by analog processing , for example , by use of an analog comparator or by taking the difference of two signals produced by a logarithmic amplifier . the invention has been described in detail with particular reference to a preferred embodiment thereof . however , it will be appreciated that variations and modifications can be effected by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 6 |
referring now to fig1 there is shown a schematic drawing of a logic tree of active and passive cholesteric liquid crystal ( clc ) elements which are so arranged and controlled that a single input to a first stage of the logic tree may be delivered to any one of the outputs of the last stage of the logic tree by appropriately switching electronically controlled half - wave retarders associated with the active clc elements of the logic tree . by programming the switching of the half - wave retarders of each stage of the logic tree , a laser input to the first stage of the logic tree may , for example , provide a scanned version of the input at the outputs of the last stage of the logic tree . the application of the logic tree as a scanner will be described in detail in what follows . it will also become clear that the same embodiment has other applications . considering fig1 in more detail , logic tree 1 is shown consisting of a plurality of stages labeled stage 1 - stage 4 wherein each stage includes one or more branches each of which consists of an active and passive clc element . thus , stage 1 consists of a branch 2 which , in turn , includes active clc element 18 and passive clc element 19 . stage 2 consists of branches 3 , 4 ; the former including active clc element 21 and passive clc element 22 while the latter includes active clc element 23 and passive clc element 24 . stage 3 consists of four branches 5 - 8 each of the branches consisting of active and passive clc elements 31 , 33 , 35 , 37 and 32 , 34 , 36 , 38 , respectively . similarly , stage 4 consists of eight branches 9 - 16 each of these branches including active and passive clc elements 41 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 55 and 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 , and 56 , respectively , just like the previously mentioned branches . at this point , it should be appreciated that many more stages may be added to tree 1 with each succeeding stages having twice as many branches as the preceding stage . using this approach , stage 4 in fig1 has 2 n − 1 branches wherein n is the stage number . thus , stage 4 has 2 4 − 1 or eight branches . since each branch has two clc elements , each stage has 2 n elements and , for stage 4 , sixteen elements . thus , stage 10 , for example , would have 2 10 or 1024 clc elements providing one light output per element or 1024 outputs . since fig1 is representative of the way logic tree 1 operates regardless of the number of stages , only four stages have been incorporated to clearly demonstrate how such a logic tree may be used to provide a scanned light output from a plurality of elements which are activated by an input from a single source of electromagnetic energy . before describing the operation of fig1 it should be understood that the active clc elements of each branch in fig1 do not depart from similar active elements shown in fig1 of u . s . pat . no . 5 , 459 , 591 entitled “ electromagnetic energy beam steering devices ” in the name of s . m . faris , which is hereby incorporated by reference . the passive clc elements of the present invention differ from the active clc elements in that the passive clc elements do not incorporate an electronically controlled , variable half - wave retarder or π - cell . thus , each branch of logic tree 1 as represented by branch 2 of fig1 includes an active clc element 18 and a passive clc element 19 . the former includes a cholesteric liquid crystal member 60 , a transparent electrode 62 , a ground plane ( not shown ), and a controllable half - wave retarder 61 while the latter includes a cholesteric liquid crystal member which is identical to member 60 . since each of the branches 3 , 4 , 5 - 8 and 9 - 16 is identical with branch 2 of fig1 each cholesteric liquid crystal element and each half - wave retarder of each branch is identified with the same reference numbers 60 , 61 respectively . in fig1 active clc element 18 and passive clc element 19 of branch 2 both include cholesteric liquid crystal members 60 which are disposed at an angle , preferably 45 °, within each of the elements 18 , 19 . members 60 are made from a nematic liquid crystal material with chiral additives or polysiloxane side - chain polymers which cause the cigar - shaped molecules to be spontaneously aligned in an optically active structure of either a left - handed or right - handed helix with a helical pitch , p . the twisting direction and the pitch , p , of the helices are determined by the nature and concentration of the additives . a clc member , like member 60 , has all its helices aligned in one direction and is capable of reflecting light , for example , having one circular polarization having a characteristic wavelength or band of wavelengths . cholesteric liquid crystal ( clc ) members 60 which are used in the practice of the present invention and their method of fabrication are shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 221 , 982 , filed jul . 5 , 1991 and issued on jun . 22 , 1993 in the name of s . m . faris . this patent is herewith incorporated by reference . while clc members 60 are shown in fig1 as being single elements , it should be understood that a plurality of clc members 60 may be substituted for each of the members 60 to provide for the reflection and transmission of circularly polarized radiation having a plurality of wavelengths or band of wavelengths which are provided by a plurality of sources of electromagnetic radiation . it should be appreciated that , in the practice of the present invention , members 60 may be made of any material which can be switched to reflect and / or transmit electromagnetic energy by the application of electric or magnetic fields to that material . half - wave retarders or π - cells 61 shown schematically in fig1 are of the type shown and described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 670 , 744 , filed march 14 , 1985 and issued on jun . 2 , 1987 in the name of t . s . buzak and may be utilized in the practice of the present invention . the buzak patent is herewith incorporated by reference . alternatively , instead of clc films , polarizing reflectors , polarizing prisms or mcneill prisms may be utilized in the practice of the present invention and are commercially available . when more than a single wavelength of electromagnetic radiation is used in the arrangement of fig1 a broad band π - cell may be utilized to provide half - wave retardation of each wavelength to maintain the same intensity level for each wavelength . logic tree 1 of fig1 is activated from a source 17 of electromagnetic radiation which may be a laser or any other source of radiation the output of which may be converted from a linearly polarized orientation to a circularly polarized orientation by means of a quarter - wave plate ( not shown ) in a manner well known to those skilled in the optical arts . if the resulting output is not appropriately polarized , a half - wave retarder may be utilized to provide the conversion from one circular polarization to the other polarization . for purposes of the present application , radiation emanating from source 17 is circularly polarized in either a clockwise or counter - clockwise direction . lasers which are commercially available may be utilized to provide outputs which fall within the visible , infrared or ultraviolet spectra . while source 17 is shown as a single source in fig1 it should be appreciated that it also represents a plurality of sources each having a different wavelength . thus , source 17 may include lasers which emit at the red , green and blue wavelengths of the visible spectrum so that the projected beam of radiation is a beam of light having a single color or combinations of these wavelengths . it should also be appreciated that source 17 may comprise lasers or other sources of electromagnetic radiation which are capable of being intensity modulated . in this way , the source output may be varied in intensity from zero to a maximum intensity including all gradations in between . in fig1 source of electromagnetic radiation 17 is shown directly irradiating a member 60 of active element 18 of branch 2 from which it is either transmitted or reflected depending on the polarization of the emitted radiation . the emitted radiation from source 17 may have a single intensity or it may be an intensity modulated signal provided by a television camera 25 or the like . by appropriately programming π - cells or half - wave retarders 61 , an unmodulated or intensity modulated signal is delivered in a scanned manner to the active and passive clc elements 41 - 56 of branches 9 - 16 of stage 4 . in this way , an unmodulated or intensity modulated beam of radiation is scanned across elements 41 - 56 providing an output which is similar in every way to a single scan line of a conventional television set . if an input is provided in digital form , a digital - to - analog converter 26 may be interposed between camera 25 and source 17 in a well - known manner . in fig1 variable half - wave retarders 61 are activated by a programmable pulsed source 27 which gets timing information from camera 25 via interconnection 28 . a plurality of driver interconnections 29 extend from pulsed source 27 and each interconnection 29 is connected to a separate electrode 62 which applies an electric field to an associated half - wave retarder 61 when activated by pulsed source 27 . in fig1 fifteen driver interconnections 29 would be utilized each one of which , when pulsed , activates a separate variable half - wave retarder 61 . in operation , logic tree 1 is activated when source 17 is activated . the object is to provide a scanned output from a single input to a plurality of outputs in stage 4 of logic tree 1 . it is , therefore , required that the outputs of active and passive elements 41 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 , 55 and 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 50 , 52 , 54 and 56 , respectively , be activated so that outputs are obtained from these elements in the order shown in fig1 . since element 41 is to provide the first output , if the input signal is right - hand circularly polarized ( rcp ) radiation and all members 60 are designed to be reflective of left - hand circularly polarized ( lcp ) radiation , the rcp light passes through active elements 18 , 21 , 31 and 41 unhindered since these elements reflect lcp radiation and transmit rcp radiation . an rcp radiation output , therefore , appears at the output port of element 41 . in the next time period , half - wave retarder 61 of element 41 is activated by a pulse from pulsed source 27 via an interconnection 29 to electrode 62 causing retarder 61 to introduce a half - wave delay into the input rcp radiation which has passed through active elements 18 , 21 and 31 causing the rcp radiation to be converted to lcp radiation . the lcp radiation then reflects from member 60 of element 41 which is reflective of lcp radiation toward member 60 of element 42 which is also reflective of lcp radiation . the impinging lcp radiation is then reflected to the output port of element 42 . in the next time period , an output is desired from the output port of active element 43 . to accomplish this , retarders 61 at the inputs of active elements 31 of stage 3 and active elements 43 of stage 4 are activated by applying pulses to their associated transparent electrodes 62 . once this is done , the rcp radiation at the input of active element 31 is converted to lcp radiation and reflects from lcp reflective member 60 over to lcp reflective member 60 of passive element 32 where it is reflected toward active element 43 . the lcp input at active element 43 encounters a half - wave retarder 61 and is converted to rcp radiation . the latter then passes unaffected to the output port of active element 43 because its clc member 60 reflects only lcp radiation . in the next interval , pulsed source 27 deactivates half - wave retarder 61 associated with active element 43 and continues activation of the half - wave retarder 61 associated with active element 31 . in this way , the lcp radiation impinging on element 43 encounters no delay and remains as lcp radiation which is then reflected from lcp reflective member 60 of element 43 toward passive element 44 . the thus reflected lcp radiation is reflected from lcp reflective member 60 of element 44 to its output port . rather than tediously describing every passage through every element , the order of the activation of half - wave retarders 61 will be described since every path from input to output port can be gleaned from the previous description and drawing shown in fig1 . to obtain an output at active element 45 , only the variable half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 21 and 33 must be activated . to obtain an output at active element 46 , variable half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 21 , 33 and 45 must be activated . to obtain an output at active element 47 , the variable half - wave retarders associated with active elements 21 and 47 must be activated . to obtain an output at passive element 48 , only the variable half - wave retarder associated with active element 21 need be activated . an output at active element 49 may be obtained by activating the half - wave retarders associated with active elements 18 and 23 . an output at passive element 50 may be obtained by activating the half - wave retarders associated with active elements 18 , 23 and 49 . to obtain an output at active element 51 , the half - wave retarders associated with active elements 18 , 35 and 51 must be activated . an output may be obtained from passive element 52 by activating half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 18 , 23 and 35 . to obtain an output at active element 53 , half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 18 and 37 must be activated . an output at passive element 54 may be obtained by activating half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 18 , 37 and 53 . to obtain an output at active element 55 , half - wave retarders 61 associated with active elements 18 and 55 are activated . finally , active element 56 is activated by activating half - wave retarder 61 associated with active element 18 . once half - wave retarders 61 are activated by applying pulses to transparent electrodes 62 from programmable pulsed source 27 as described hereinabove , a scanned output varying in intensity at each of the active and passive elements 41 through 56 is obtained . the outputs do not all have the same polarization and , for the embodiment of fig1 have a polarization pattern of alternating rcp and lcp as the elements are scanned from left to right . recognizing that such variation is present is important where outputs having the same circular polarization are desired or required so that fixed half - wave retarders may be placed to convert all the polarization &# 39 ; s to the same polarization . thus , in fig1 for example , fixed half - wave retarders 63 may be placed at the outputs of active elements 41 , 43 , 45 , 47 , 49 , 51 , 53 and 55 to convert their rcp outputs to lcp . the ability to do this conversion is particularly important in arrangements which provide a 3 - d output because the perception of 3 - d is based on having two spatially displaced images each of which has a different polarization . if the input to active clc element 18 in fig1 is changed to lcp and all the clc members 60 in logic tree 1 are changed to be reflective of rcp , the outputs obtained are exactly the same as those shown in fig1 . an identical output pattern to that shown in fig1 is obtainable where the input is lcp and all the members 60 are reflective of lcp . a pattern opposite to that shown in fig1 is obtainable where the input is rcp and all the members 60 are reflective of rcp . [ 0057 ] fig2 is a schematic diagram of a logic tree 1 similar to that shown in fig1 . it shows only the logic tree without the associated laser and electronics . the purpose is to show that the polarization of members 60 reflective of different polarizations may be varied to produce outputs having different polarizations from those shown in fig1 . each of the boxes representing active and passive elements in fig2 contains either the letter l or r indicating that the clc member 60 therein is reflective of either left - handed or right - handed circular polarization . without going into exhaustive detail , suffice it to say that the outputs shown in fig2 are obtained from an lcp input having the following polarization pattern when retarders 61 are switched in the same order as described in connection with fig1 : a pattern different from that shown above would be obtained if the input polarization were changed to rcp and members 60 of logic tree 1 were reflective of polarization &# 39 ; s opposite to those shown in fig2 . the output pattern is as follows : the foregoing illustrates how the output polarization may be controlled for applications where information is polarization encoded or scrambled ; transmitted and decoded or unscrambled by using a key which controls the variable half - wave retarders 61 . from the point of view of ease of manufacturing , logic trees having the same clc members 60 are the most advantageous as will be seen when the fabrication process is described hereinbelow . the arrangement of fig1 provides an advantage over the scanning arrangement shown in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 459 , 591 in that input light has to traverse , in a 1024 × 1024 array , 1024 clc members 2 ( in the patent ) to provide an output at its furthest imaging cell 1 ( in the patent ). if each clc member has transmissibility ( t ), the final imaging cell will have a transmissibility of ( t ) 1024 . thus , even with a transmissibility approaching 1 , say 0 . 999 , the output at the 1024 th imaging cell would be : ( 0 . 999 ) 1024 which , to all intents and purposes , is zero . opposed to this is the present approach where , to provide the last output in a 1024 × 1024 array , only twenty clc members 60 or two per stage need to be traversed providing a transmissibility of ( t ) 20 . under these conditions the 1024th output , assuming t = 0 . 999 , would be ( 0 . 999 ) 20 which is approximately ninety percent of the input intensity . the minimum transmissibility for a ten stage array would be ( t ) 10 or one transition per stage . from the foregoing , while logic tree 1 of fig1 represents an improvement over the prior art in terms of output light intensity , it should be clear that each logic tree 1 requires its own input laser or source of electromagnetic radiation 17 . thus , to provide an 8 × 8 array , for example , eight logic trees 1 would have to be stacked in the manner shown in fig3 . [ 0066 ] fig3 is an orthographic projection of eight logic trees 1 positioned one atop the other which , in accordance with the teaching of the present application , provide 64 outputs . one source of electromagnetic radiation 17 per logic tree 1 is required . because of space limitations , the showing of fig3 has been limited to the use of only three of the stages of fig1 . also , since each of logic trees 1 in fig3 is identical with the other logic trees 1 , only the topmost logic tree 1 with its clc members 60 and variable half - wave retarders 61 have been shown . also , as will become clear hereinafter , the dimensions shown are not to scale . in fig3 × 8 array 70 is shown which comprises eight logic trees 1 stacked one atop the other . each logic tree 1 is comprised of three stages , stage 1 , stage 2 , and stage 3 . stage 1 comprises branch 2 ; stage 2 comprises branches 3 , 4 and stage 3 comprises branches 5 - 8 as shown in fig1 . each branch includes active and passive clc elements similar to those shown in stages 1 - 3 of fig1 and each of the active and passive elements includes a cholesteric liquid crystal member 60 which is positioned at an angle of 45 ° within each of the active and passive elements of array 70 . also , included are variable half - wave retarders 61 which are arranged in fig3 just like the variable retarders 61 in stages 1 - 3 of fig1 . in fig3 each logic tree 1 is activated by an associated source of electromagnetic radiation 17 , preferably a laser , thus requiring a total of eight sources 17 . as each laser is actuated , variable half - wave retarders 61 are actuated as described in connection with fig1 hereinabove and the output of each laser 17 appears as a scanned modulated signal going from left to right at the outputs of imaging cells 71 of each of logic trees 1 . in the arrangement shown in fig3 sources 17 and retarders 61 may be actuated sequentially or simultaneously . if the outputs of sources 17 are converted to right - hand circular polarization ( rcp ) and all clc members 60 are reflective of left - hand circular polarization ( lcp ), the outputs of each logic tree 1 of fig3 will be the same as those shown in fig1 namely : as suggested in connection with the description of fig1 fixed half - wave retarders may be appropriately positioned to make all the outputs have the same polarization . while the number of lossy transitions per logic tree has been reduced over that shown in the prior art , this has been accomplished by the use of a source 17 for each logic tree 1 incorporated in an array 70 . with arrangements like that shown in fig3 expanded to a 1024 × 1024 array , for example , 1024 sources 17 would be required . this requirement can be eliminated and the number of sources reduced to one by using a logic tree 1 like that shown in fig1 the outputs of which , provided from a single source 17 , act as inputs to an array 70 like that shown in fig3 . this will become clear from a consideration of fig4 which is an orthographic projection similar to fig3 except that , instead of a plurality of sources 17 , only a single source 17 , in combination with a logic tree 1 like that shown in fig1 disposed perpendicularly to the logic trees 1 of fig3 is required . considering fig4 in more detail , array 70 is identical with array 70 shown in fig3 . also , source of electromagnetic radiation 17 in fig4 is similar to sources 17 shown in fib . 3 . in fig4 an input logic tree 72 is shown disposed between array 70 and source 17 such that each imaging cell 71 of logic tree 72 acts as an input to an associated logic tree 1 of array 70 . thus , the uppermost imaging cell 71 of input logic tree 72 provides an input to the leftmost element of the topmost of logic trees 1 of array 70 . this input which may be an intensity modulated signal from source 17 , is scanned across the imaging cells 71 of the topmost logic tree 1 of array 70 in a manner analogous to the scan of a television frame . when the scanned output of the topmost logic tree 1 reaches its last imaging cell 71 , the output of source 17 is switched to the next imaging cell 71 ( immediately beneath the topmost imaging cell 71 ) of logic tree 72 . the output of that next imaging cell then acts as the input to the logic tree 1 immediately beneath the topmost logic tree 1 of array 70 . the inputs to the last mentioned logic tree 1 are then delivered to the imaging cells 71 of that logic tree 1 in sequence from left - to - right providing a scanned , intensity modulated signal similar to that of a television scan line . each of the remaining imaging cells 71 of input logic tree 72 is then actuated by programming electrodes 62 and variable half - wave retarders 61 associated with logic tree 72 in the same manner described hereinabove in connection with fig1 . similarly , each of the logic trees 1 of array 70 is actuated by outputs from an associated imaging cell 71 of input logic tree 72 . then , under control of programmed electrodes 62 and half - wave retarders 61 , these outputs , now inputs , to an associated logic tree 1 , are delivered to the imaging cells 71 of each logic tree 1 as a scanned line having portions which may vary in intensity from imaging cell 71 - to - imaging cell 71 . in this way , by accessing logic trees 1 from top - to - bottom , for example , in fig4 an image is built up which , depending on the imaging cell density , can provide images of extremely high resolution . from the foregoing , it should be clear that the modulated output of a single source 17 , preferably a laser , may be delivered to the imaging cells 71 of a plurality of stacked logic trees 1 like array 70 in fig4 . as shown in fig4 the use of an input logic tree 72 permits the use of a single source 17 as opposed to the multiplicity of sources 17 shown in fig3 . the value of the arrangement shown in fig4 becomes more apparent when it is recalled that for a 1024 × 1024 array embodiment like fig3 lasers would be required . thus , in addition to reducing the number of lossy transitions as provided by the embodiment of fig3 the embodiment shown in fig4 also reduces the number of sources 17 required to the absolute minimum of one . while the electronic equipment required to operate displays like those shown in fig3 , has not been shown , it should be appreciated that the same components as shown in fig1 and which are well - known in the imaging arts may be utilized in the practice of the present invention . thus , timing information obtained from camera 25 , for example , is applied via interconnection 28 to programmable pulsed sources 27 . the latter then applies switching signals to both logic tree 72 and each of logic trees 1 to appropriately control their electrodes 62 and half - wave retarders 60 so that a scanned energy output may be delivered from the imaging cells 71 of each logic tree 1 and input logic tree 72 . referring now to fig5 an orthographic projection of an imaging array is shown which , in combination with viewing glasses and stereo displaced images provides a 3 - d display . in fig5 input logic tree 72 is accessed by a source 17 of electromagnetic radiation which is modulated by outputs of a stereoscopic television camera 73 via interconnection 74 . the two outputs from stereo camera 73 are stereo displaced so that , if they are separated one from the other by some characteristic like polarization , the two resulting images may be delivered one to each eye ( using appropriate glasses ) and combined in the brain to provide a three - dimensional image . one of the images is provided by applying scanned lines from stereo camera 73 via interconnection 74 to laser 17 . the output of the latter is then applied to input logic tree 72 from which scanned line outputs are delivered from the topmost and alternate imaging cells 71 under control of programmable pulsed source 75 which actuates variable half - wave retarders 61 thereof via interconnections 76 . the output from the topmost of imaging cells 71 of input logic tree 72 is applied for a given interval to leftmost member 60 of the uppermost of logic trees 1 . at the same time , variable half - wave retarders 61 under control of programmable pulsed source 27 are appropriately actuated so that a portion of the scanned line from stereo camera 73 is delivered to each of the imaging cells 71 of the uppermost of logic trees 1 of array 70 . in the instance of fig5 each imaging cell 71 of array 70 is illuminated for a time equal to ⅛ the given interval of a scanned line from camera 73 . for a 1024 × 1024 array , the illuminating time would be { fraction ( 1 / 1024 )} th of the scanned line interval . the first image is completed by applying scanned lines from stereo camera 73 via interconnection 74 which modulate laser 17 during each alternate interval after the first to each alternate imaging cell 71 after the first imaging cell 71 of input logic tree 72 . each scanned line is delivered to the imaging cells 71 of each alternate logic tree 1 of array 70 in the same manner described in connection with the delivery of the first scanned line to the uppermost of logic trees 1 of array 70 . the stereo displaced image from stereo camera 73 is delivered as scanned lines via interconnection 74 to laser 17 where they modulate the output of laser 17 . the stereo displaced scanned line outputs are delivered to laser 17 during the second and alternate intervals after the second interval . the first stereo displaced output from laser 17 , under control of programmable pulsed source 75 which appropriately actuates the variable half - wave retarders 61 of input logic tree 72 , is delivered to the second - from - the - top of imaging cells 71 of logic tree 72 as a scanned line . this last mentioned output acting as an input to the leftmost clc member 60 of the second - from - the - top of logic trees 1 of array 70 is delivered to the imaging cells 71 of the second - from - the - top of logic trees 1 of array 70 under control of programmable pulsed source 27 as portions of the scanned line output of laser 17 . as with the first image generation , the imaging cells 71 of the stereo displaced image are illuminated for a time equal to ⅛ the given interval of a scanned line . the stereo displaced image is completed by applying scanned lines from stereo camera 73 via interconnection 74 to laser 17 during each alternate interval after the second interval to each alternate imaging cell 71 after the second imaging cell 71 of input logic tree 72 . each stereo displaced scanned line is delivered to the imaging cells 71 of the second and alternate logic trees 1 of array 70 in the same manner described in connection with the delivery of the first stereo displaced scanned line to the second - from - the - top of logic trees 1 of array 70 . if the polarization applied to logic trees 1 is rcp and the members 60 thereof are designed to reflect lcp , logic trees 1 provide an image at their imaging cells 71 in the same way described in connection with fig1 and the resulting outputs will have polarizations like those shown in fig1 . the polarizations at stage 3 for each of logic trees 1 are : to obtain this result , however , input logic tree 72 must provide rcp at all its imaging cells 71 . this requires an rcp input from laser 71 , a logic tree with elements which reflect lcp and fixed half - wave retarders 63 ( not shown ) disposed after imaging cells 71 which provide lcp outputs . to obtain a single polarization for all of the outputs of first and alternate logic trees 1 of array 70 , for example , rcp , the lcp outputs of these logic trees 1 must be converted to rcp . this is accomplished by interposing fixed half - wave retarders 63 over the imaging cells 71 having lcp outputs . similarly , to obtain a single but opposite polarization for all of the outputs of the second and alternate logic trees 71 , for example , lcp , the rcp outputs of these logic trees 1 must be converted to lcp . this is accomplished by interposing fixed - half wave retarders 63 over the imaging cells 71 having rcp outputs . at this point , two stereo - displaced images appear at the output imaging cells 71 of array 70 . one image has an rcp polarization while the other has an lcp polarization . then , using glasses which have one lens which passes rcp and another lens which passes lcp , a 3 - d image is perceived by a viewer . in connection with the 3 - d embodiment of fig5 it should be appreciated that outputs from stereo camera 73 may be in either digital or analog form . if the former , the digital signals may be converted to analog signals using a digital - to - analog converter in a well - known way . also , to the extent that logic trees 1 are provided with signals representing a scanned line of an image and a stereo displaced image , these signals are arranged to alternately access alternate ones of logic trees 1 in succession until two stereo displaced images are formed at the imaging cells 71 of array 70 . the scanned lines of an image and a stereo displaced image are electronically interlaced so that source 17 is modulated first by signals representing a scanned image and then by signals representing a scanned stereo displaced image and so on in succession until the two images are formed . from fig5 it can be seen that , for a 3 - d array , two 4 × 8 interleaved arrays are required , one for an image and another for a stereo displaced image . extrapolating this information to a practical level , if 1024 imaging cells are wanted for each image , an array of 2048 × 1024 imaging cells would be required . using the same approach as demonstrated by fig5 two 512 × 1024 interleaved arrays may be used with the sacrifice of some resolution . in fig5 logic trees 1 have been interleaved horizontally for ease of fabrication but , they may be interleaved vertically without departing from the spirit of the present application . referring now to fig6 there is shown an orthographic , cut - away projection of a plurality of layers 80 of insulating material , like sio 2 , polycarbonate , acrylic or any other appropriate optically transparent material , and a plurality of layers 81 of cholesteric liquid crystal ( clc ) material interleaved with layers 80 . in fig6 layers 80 , 81 are subjected to a slicing operation which cuts into layers 80 , 81 at an angle , preferably 45 °. layers 80 , 81 may be cut by saws , lasers , jets or other appropriate tool to provide layers 82 which contain clc members 60 disposed at an angle of 45 ° in insulating material as shown in fig7 . [ 0094 ] fig7 is a cross - sectional view of a layer of insulating material in which clc members 60 are disposed at an angle of 45 °. the spacing of clc members 60 is determined by controlling the thicknesses of insulating layers 80 prior to the slicing step of fig6 . since alignment of clc members 60 is important in transmitting electromagnetic energy from stage - to - stage the spacing of members 60 must be carefully controlled . thus , in fig7 the spacing between clc members 60 is t units and could comprise stage 1 , for example , of array 70 of fig4 . [ 0095 ] fig8 is a cross - sectional view of a layer of insulating material in which members 60 are disposed at an angle of 45 ° and is similar to fig7 except that members 60 are spaced apart by t / 2 units . layer 82 and other like layers are fabricated by slicing an arrangement like that shown in fig6 except that the thicknesses of layers 80 of insulating material are reduced to half that shown in fig6 . after slicing a stack like that shown in fig6 the resulting layer 82 with a spacing of t / 2 between members 60 could comprise stage 2 , for example , of array 70 of fig4 . [ 0096 ] fig9 is a cross - sectional view of a layer of insulating material in which members 60 are disposed at an angle of 45 ° and is similar to fig7 except that members 60 are spaced apart by t / 4 units . layer 82 in fig9 is fabricated by slicing an arrangement like that shown in fig6 except that the thicknesses layers 80 would be reduced to one - quarter that shown in fig6 . after slicing a stack like that shown in fig6 the resulting layer 82 with a spacing of t / 4 between members 60 could comprise stage 3 , for example , of array 70 of fig4 . the spacing of members 60 is always reduced by half as additional stages are added so that higher and higher resolutions may be obtained . thus , for an array with ten stages , the spacing between clc members 60 would be t / 512 units . by slicing arrangements like that shown in fig6 and controlling the thicknesses of layers 80 , layers 82 with members 60 spaced apart by different amounts like those shown in fig7 - 9 may be easily obtained . as will be seen below , layers 82 with appropriately spaced members 60 may be stacked to produce an array 70 like that shown in fig4 or an array having as many stages as desired . this can be done on a mass - production basis to produce literally thousands of layers like layers 82 of fig7 - 9 . [ 0099 ] fig1 is a cross - sectional , orthographic projection of a layer 82 which contains clc members 60 disposed at an angle of 45 ° therein . layer 82 in fig1 is similar to layer 82 of fig8 except that in fig1 , a ground plane 83 is deposited or formed on the bottom of layer 82 . layer 83 is transparent and metallic in character and acts as a ground plane for subsequently deposited electrodes which activate variable half - wave retarders 61 . a material like indium - tin oxide ( ito ) may be deposited or formed in a well - known way on the bottom of layer 82 of fig1 . the transparency of ito , of course , permits the transmission of light energy from stage - to - stage with little or no loss in intensity . referring to fig1 , there is shown a cross - sectional , orthographic projection similar to fig1 except that electrodes 84 are shown disposed over every other clc member 60 , like they would be if layer 83 of fig1 were to be utilized as a stage 2 in an array 70 like that shown in fig4 . this pattern of electrode spacing will always be the same regardless of which stage is being considered . a reconsideration of fig1 shows this to be true since each stage always comprises at least one branch consisting of active and passive clc elements . electrode 84 ( 62 in fig1 ) is always associated with and forms a part of variable half - wave retarders 61 which , in turn , is always associated with the active clc element of any branch . like ground plane 83 , electrode 84 is comprised of indium - tin - oxide ( ito ) material which is transparent to the electromagnetic radiation being utilized . to obtain electrodes 84 in the form shown in fig1 , indium - tin oxide is formed atop layer 82 and , using well - known lithographic , masking and etching techniques , electrodes 84 are appropriately positioned over every other clc member 60 . rather than carrying out two separate deposition steps for ground plane 83 and electrodes 84 , the ito material may be formed simultaneously on each side of layer 82 . then , the photolithographic , masking and etching steps are carried out . referring now to fig1 , there is shown a cross - sectional view of a layer 82 similar to that shown in fig1 except that a spacer is added around the periphery of layer 82 and the thus enclosed volume is filled with a phase - shifter material in liquid form . in fig1 , a spacer 85 is formed around the periphery of layer 82 by , for example , gluing a spacer 85 of insulating material around the edge of layer 82 . spacer 85 separates layers 82 from other overlying layers and defines the volume into which phase - shifter material 86 is placed . [ 0103 ] fig1 is a top view of a logic tree 1 made up of layers 82 like those shown in fig7 - 12 . the arrangement of fig1 shows the topmost logic tree 1 of fig4 after it has been fabricated in accordance with the teaching of the present application . fig1 can also be considered a side - view of input logic tree 72 since its structure does not depart in any way from the structure of logic tree 1 . one way of assembling the structure of fig1 , is to stack a finished layer 82 like that shown in fig1 on a finished layer 82 like that shown at the bottom of fig1 . another layer 82 like that shown at the top of fig1 is stacked atop the finished layer 82 of fig1 . the layers are glued together with the topmost layer 82 forming stage 1 as shown in fig4 ; the middle layer 82 forming stage 2 as shown in fig4 and the bottom layer 82 forming stage 3 as shown in fig4 . thus , inputs provided to the leftmost clc member 60 of topmost layer 82 will , under control of inputs to electrodes 84 from pulsed source 27 , appear as outputs emanating , from left - to - right , from clc members 60 of bottommost layer 82 as a scanned line of modulated or unmodulated light . for the array , once stacked , the top and bottom thereof may be covered with insulating layers , one of which contains holes which register with the ends of electrodes 84 and ground planes 83 . thus , even when logic trees 1 are not being utilized , their associated electrodes 61 , 84 which extend from top - to - bottom of array 70 and are electrically connected as shown in fig5 are simultaneously energized . inputs to the stacked logic trees 1 are provided , as shown in fig4 from imaging cells 71 of input logic tree 72 . the orientation of input logic tree 72 with respect to array 70 is best shown in fig4 which does not depart in any way from the arrangement of fig1 . the latter figure merely shows the structural details to better effect . thus , as previously explained in fig4 outputs from imaging cells 71 of input logic tree 72 are scanned from top - to - bottom of tree 72 and each output initially accesses the leftmost member 60 of its associated logic tree 1 such that outputs appear at imaging cells 71 of array 70 as a plurality of left - to - right scans which go from the topmost logic tree 1 to the bottommost logic tree 1 of array 70 . input logic tree 72 may take the form of an array 70 rotated 90 ° so that imaging cells 71 there of register with the leftmost retarder 61 of each of the logic trees 1 like lasers 17 as shown in fig3 . in this instance , only a single logic tree 1 of the rotated array 70 is energized . alternatively , the array shown in fig1 may be fabricated without introducing the phase shifter material 86 . the structure of fig1 is then sliced in a direction parallel to the surface there of resulting in a structure similar to input logic tree 72 as shown in fig4 . the resulting slice is placed on an insulating layer and bonded to it . a cover layer of insulating material having holes therein which register with electrodes 84 and ground planes 83 is fabricated by drilling or etching using well - known photolithographic techniques . the volumes enclosed by the insulation layer are now filled with liquid phase shifter material 86 . the cover layer is affixed to the other side of the logic tree slice . a metallic layer such as aluminum is then deposited on the surface of the cover layer and in the holes previously formed therein . then , using well - known photolithographic masking and etching techniques , conductors to electrodes 84 in a ground planes 83 are formed without going into exhaustive detail , it should be appreciated that the side of input logic tree 72 of fig4 may be butted against the back of array 70 . in this way , the overall thickness of the arrangement of fig4 is substantially reduced . well - known optical techniques using reflectors may be used to apply a 90 ° turn to light emanating from imaging cells 71 of tree 72 when it is butted against the back of array 70 . since electrodes 84 extend from front - to - back on each logic tree 1 as shown , for example , in fig1 , they are best accessed from the front or back of the array with activating metallic lines 29 , as shown in fig4 extending in insulated spaced relationship with a surface of array 70 to a plug which can be connected to pulsed source 27 , for example . this may be accomplished using well - known photolithographic and etching techniques . the arrangements shown in fig6 - 12 may have the following typical dimensions : layers 82 0 . 5 mm thick and up electrodes 84 500 å to 1000 å thick ground planes 83 500 å to 1000 å thick spacer 85 1μ to 10μ thick elements 60 2μ to 30μ thick cells 71 0 . 5 mm wide and up . may exceed 10 cm typical voltages applied to electrodes 84 may range between 5v and 100v . from the foregoing , it should be clear that arrays 70 may range in size from that typical of t . v . sets used in the home to displays similar to those used in stadia . the resulting arrays are flat , light weight , require but a single laser source or multiple laser sources and are inexpensive and easily fabricated . | 7 |
although the present invention may be used with diagrams from any number of graphical environments , simulink / stateflow ( s / s ) diagrams are used as representative examples of such diagrams . simulink / stateflow ( s / s ) [ 2 ] diagrams are graphical representations of dynamical systems , and can capture both time - driven as well as event - driven dynamics of hybrid systems . stateflow diagrams are used for representing and simulating event - driven dynamics . the s / s diagrams can be simulated to generate sample - runs ( runs on sample times ) which provide a means for their validation . other means of validation include testing and verification . in order to be able to test a s / s diagram or verify an implementation of a s / s diagram , a model - based approach is desirable , where a model can be used for automated test generation or as a formal specification . simulink blocks can be time - driven or non time - driven . a time - driven block , such as an integrator block , represents the time - dependent mathematical relationships between its inputs and outputs . on the other hand , non time - driven block , such as a stateflow block or a discrete event subsystem block , may evolve upon the occurrence of events . here , we focus on study the semantic translation of time - driven blocks , and for conciseness , we write “ simulink blocks ” to mean only the “ time - driven simulink blocks ”. we propose an approach for translating the behaviors of a simulink diagram at ( discrete ) sample times to input / output - extended finite automata ( i / o - efa ) [ 9 , 15 ]. note that a simulink diagram can represent a hybrid system that combines event - driven discrete and time - dependent continuous behaviors , whereas i / o - efa is a model of a reactive untimed infinite state system . yet , since we are only interested in capturing the behaviors of a simulink diagram at sample times , an i / o - efa model ( which is untimed ) suffices . simulink provides a library of blocks ( such as transfer functions , discontinuities , math operations , logic and bit operations etc . ), which can be interconnected in a hierarchical fashion to form an overall simulink diagram . we consider the blocks in the simulink library to be “ atomic ”, and formally define an atomic - block . further we formulate two rules , namely connecting - rule and conditioning - rule , used in simulink for building complex blocks by combining the simpler ones , and formally define a class of simulink diagrams formed using these rules . this recursive view of defining the class of all simulink diagrams leads to a recursive translation in form of i / o - efa . in order to obtain an i / o - efa model recursively , we first present an algorithm for translating an atomic - block to an i / o - efa . next for each rule of combining simpler simulink diagrams to construct a complex simulink diagram , we develop a corresponding rule for combining the i / o - efa models of simpler simulink diagrams to build the i / o - efa model of the more complex simulink diagram . we introduce the concept of a step of an i / o - efa to emulate the computation of a simulink diagram at a sample time . a sequence of steps , namely , a step - trajectory , generates outputs over a sequence of sample times . we show that the translation approach is sound and complete : the input - state - output behavior of the i / o - efa , defined in terms of a step - trajectory , preserves the input - state - output behavior of the corresponding simulink diagram at each sample time ( assuming the same integration method for any of the continuous blocks with dynamics ). the translation approach is recursive . formal definitions of an atomic simulink block and a class of simulink diagrams formed using the identified connecting - rule and conditioning - rule are provided . these definitions can be used to create a more complex simulink diagram from the simpler ones . the model of i / o - efa is amenable to automated test generation [ 10 ] or verification [ 14 ]. the model can be directly supplied to a test generation or verification tool that accepts i / o - efa models or programming languages such as c / c ++ or java since an i / o - efa model can be easily translated into these languages . the translation approach has no special restriction on the types of simulink blocks . the approach supports virtually all blocks in simulink library ( in this patent we only consider time - driven blocks ) provided that the block can be mathematically written as input - state - output functions over time . also unlike [ 4 ], it does not require a clear separation between discrete and continuous dynamics for modeling hybrid systems . as an illustration , consider for example the bouncing ball example presented herein . the translation approach is sound and complete : the input - state - output behavior of an i / o - efa model , as defined in terms of a step - trajectory , preserves the input - state - output behavior of the corresponding simulink diagram at each sample time ( assuming the same integration method for any of the continuous blocks with dynamics ). the translation approach can handle the simulink features such as multi - rate diagrams , sample times with initial offsets , variable - step simulation etc . the translation approach is general in that it can be applied to other graphical modeling and simulation tools such as labview . we present the notion of an input - output extended finite automaton ( i / o - efa ) as a formal model of representation for a simulink diagram . i / o - efa is a model of a reactive untimed infinite state system in form of an automaton , extended with discrete variables such as inputs , outputs , and data . using i / o - efa as a model , many value - passing processes can be represented as finite graphs . an i / o - efa consists of locations ( i . e ., symbolic - state ), data ( i . e ., numeric - state ), numeric - inputs , numeric - outputs , symbolic - inputs , symbolic - outputs , transitions , an initial location , initial data values , and a final location . the locations ( symbolic - states ) together with the data ( numeric - states ) form the state - space of a i / o - efa . the locations are finite and form the vertices of the automaton graph . the edges of the graph represent transitions between the locations and are guarded by constraints over the data and the inputs . the occurrence of a transition triggers a data update and an output assignment . definition 1 an input / output extended finite automaton ( i / o - efa ) is a tuple l is the set of locations ( symbolic - states ), d = d 1 × . . . × d n is the set of typed data ( numeric - states ), u = u 1 × . . . × u m is the set of typed numeric - inputs , y = y 1 × . . . × y p is the set of typed numeric - outputs , σ is the set of symbolic - inputs , δ is the set of symbolic - outputs , l 0 εl is the initial location , d 0 ⊂ d is the set of initial - data values , l m εl is the final location , and e is the set of edges , and each eεe is a 7 - tuple , e =( o e , t e , σ e , δ e , g e , f e , h e ), where o e εl is the origin location , t e εl is the terminal location , σ e εσ ∪{ ε } is the symbolic - input , δ e εδ ∪{ ε } is the symbolic - output , g e ⊂ d × u is the enabling guard ( a predicate ), f e : d × u → d is the data - update function , h e : d × u → y is the output - assignment function . initially , p starts from the initial location l 0 and an initial data value d o εd 0 . while at a certain state ( l , d ) εl × d , a transition eεe such that o e = l is enabled if the input σ e arrives , and the data d and input u are such that the guard g e ( d , u ) holds . note when σ e = ε , the transition is enabled when only the guard g e ( d , u ) holds ; on the other hand when g e ( d , u )= true , then the transition is enabled when only σ e arrives . an enabled transition can be executed . the execution of an enabled transition e at the state ( o e , d ) causes p to transit to the location t e , the data value is updated to ƒ e ( d , u ), the output variable is assigned the value h e ( d , u ), and a discrete output δ e is emitted . simulink provides a library of blocks , which can be used as minimal systems , and the corresponding simulink diagrams will then be minimal simulink diagrams . we refer to such blocks as atomic blocks . the atomic - blocks can be composed in a recursive fashion to construct more complex simulink diagrams , and we discuss the rules of composition in the next section . an atomic - block can be stateful or stateless . a stateful block &# 39 ; s output depends on the history of its inputs . an example of a stateful block is the unit delay block . on the other hand , the output of a stateless block depends only on its current inputs . an example of a stateless block is the gain block , which simply outputs its input signal , multiplied with a constant called the gain . an atomic - block can be classified as continuous - time versus discrete - time , and is associated with a sample - period . for a continuous - time block , sample - period is the time between the instants when it is numerically simulated . for a discrete - time block , sample - period is the time between the instants when the corresponding discrete - time system evolves . definition 2 an atomic simulink block ψ can be represented as a tuple ( u ψ , y ψ , d ψ , d 0 ψ ,{( g i ψ , ƒ i ψ , h i ψ )} i = 1 q ψ ,( t ψ , t o ψ )), u ψ = u 1 ψ × . . . × u m ψ ψ is the set of typed inputs , y ψ = y 1 ψ × . . . × y p ψ ψ is the set of typed outputs , d ψ = d 1 ψ × . . . × d n ψ ψ is the set of typed data , d 0 ψ ⊂ d ψ is the set of initial data conditions , {( g i ψ , ƒ i ψ , h i ψ )} i = 1 q ψ is a set of triples , where g i ψ ⊂ d ψ × u ψ is a predicate representing an enabling guard , such that v i = 1 q ψ g i = true , ƒ i ψ : d ψ × u ψ → d ψ is a data - update function , h i ψ : d ψ × u ψ → y ψ is an output - assignment function . t ψ is the sample period and t 0 ψ is an offset ( it is assumed zero by default if unspecified ). remark 1 the kth sampling time occurs at kt ψ + t o ψ . the value of the input signal at the kth sampling time is denoted as u ( k )=( u 1 ( k ), . . . , u m ψ ( k )) εu ψ , and similarly for other signals . at the kth sampling time , if the data d ( k ) and the input u ( k )) are such that g i ψ ( d ( k ), u ( k )) holds , the next data , d ( k + 1 )= ƒ i ψ ( d ( k ), u ( k )), is computed , and the output value is assigned to y ( k )= h i ψ ( d ( k ), u ( k )). note that for continuous - time blocks , the data - update and output - assignment functions correspond to the ones obtained through discretization at sample times using an appropriate integration method . simulink allows different kinds of sample period that include discrete , continuous , inherited (− 1 ), constant ( inf ) and triggered etc . discrete sample periods are the only kind for which the evolution times of the corresponding system are known a priori . for blocks with other kinds of sample period , simulink determines the evolution times of the corresponding system from the block &# 39 ; s type or by its context within the model during the compilation phase of simulation . given a simulink diagram , the sample period of a non continuous - time block can be obtained from the get_param ( object , ‘ compiledsampletime ’) command after compiling the diagram . the sample - period of a continuous - time block , which is used in discretization , can be chosen to be the greatest common divisor of all non continuous - time blocks using the following rule [ 3 ]: for 1 ≦ i , j ≦ n , t ψ = { gcd ( { t ψ i } ) if t o ψ i = t o ψ j gcd ( { t ψ i , t o ψ i } ) otherwise , and t o ψ = { t o ψ i if t o ψ i = t o ψ j 0 otherwise . also note for a stateless atomic - block ψ , the set d ψ is empty ( and accordingly , there are no initial data conditions or data - update functions ). the integrator block provides a continuous - time integration of the input signal . it models the relations , { dot over ( d )}( t )= u ( t ) with d ( 0 )= d 0 , and y ( t )= d ( t ), where u is its input , d is its data , y is its output , t is the continuous - time variable , and d 0 is the initial data condition . using euler &# 39 ; s method the discretization is d ( k + 1 )= d ( k )+ t ψ u ( k ). thus , the integrator block can be represented as : ( u , y , d , d 0 ,{(−, d ( k + 1 )= d ( k )+ t ψ u ( k ), y ( k )= d ( k ))},( t ψ , t 0 ψ )), where t ψ is the sample - period and t 0 ψ is an offset . note that the integrator block can be configured further by setting certain parameters to have a more complex behavior . an example is the integrator block ψ 5 in fig3 . in example 1 we did not include this much detail for the sake of simplicity of illustration . we introduce the following concepts for the computation of an atomic block over sample times . definition 3 given an atomic - block ψ and an input uεu ψ , we call the computation of the corresponding output yεy ψ a step of ψ over u . y is called the output of a step of ψ over u . given an input sequence { u ( k )} k = 0 k , a step - trajectory of ψ over { u ( k )} k = 0 k is a sequence of steps of ψ , where the kth step ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) in the sequence is over the input u ( k ). letting y ( k ) ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) denote the output of ψ over u ( k ), { y ( k )} k = 0 k is called the output of step - trajectory of ψ over { u k } k = 0 k . a simulink diagram , also called a system - block , can be constructed by recursively composing atomic - blocks and other simpler system - blocks according to certain rules . the following two rules are the among the rules that simulink uses for the construction of complex simulink diagrams from the simpler ones : connecting - rule : a certain input of one system - block can be connected to a certain output of another system - block . the connections over a set of system - blocks ψ can be represented using a relation c ⊂ ( ψ × n ) 2 , where n denotes the set of port numbers . a connection c =(( ψ 1 , i ),( ψ 2 , j )) εc connects the output port i of system - block ψ 1 to an input port j of system - block ψ 2 . the “ c - connected ψ system ” thus formed is denoted ψ / c . note a possible choice for connections is the “ null - connection ”, and { ψ }/∅= ψ . conditioning - rule : a system - block can be made conditionally executable when a certain guard condition over certain variables , called control - inputs , holds . further the data may be reset when the guard condition holds , and the output may be reset when the guard condition is violated . given a system - block ψ , a conditioning over ψ is a 5 - tuple θ :=( u θ , g θ , ƒ θ , h θ ,( t θ , t o θ )), u θ = u 1 θ × . . . × u m θ θ is the set of conditioning - inputs ( also called control - inputs ), g θ ⊂ u θ is a condition ( predicate ) over u θ , ƒ θ : d ψ → d ψ is a data - resetting function , h θ : y ψ → y ψ is an output - resetting function , and t θ is a sample - period , t o θ is an offset . when g θ holds , ψ computes , and otherwise , h θ assigns the output . also , when g ø becomes true , the first computation of ψ is preceded by a data - update by ƒ θ . the “ θ - conditioned ψ ” system thus formed is denoted ψ θ . the conditioning - rule can be implemented by placing a system - block inside a certain subsystem block ( of simulink library ) which can be configured to specify the conditioning parameters . note a possible choice for conditioning is “ null - conditioning ”, denoted ⊥:=(−, true , id , id , ∞), in which case ψ ⊥= ψ . ( here id denotes the identity function .) next we formally define the class of simulink diagrams ( also referred to as system - blocks ) formed using the above rules . definition 4 a certain class of simulink diagrams ( also referred to as system - blocks ) is recursively defined as follows . 2 . ψ is a set of system - blocks , c ⊂ ( ψ × n ) 2 is a set of interconnections , then c - connected ψ , denoted ψ / c , is a system - block . 3 . ψ is a system - block and θ is a conditioning over ψ , then θ - conditioned ψ , denoted ψ θ , is a system - block . sample - period , t ψ and offset t o ψ are obtained using the rule defined in remark 1 over { t ψ , t o ψ | ψεψ }. note the above definition of t ψ ensures that each computation of each system - block ψεψ coincides with some computation of the connected system - block ψ ( i . e ., no computation of any system - block is missed ). t ψ _ = { t θ if t θ specified t ψ otherwise , and offset t o ψ _ = { t o θ if t θ specified t o ψ otherwise . note by the simulink grammar , for a system - block ψ := ψ θ , t θ is either specified and in which case t ψ is inherited to be t θ , or is unspecified and in which case t ψ is inherited to be t ψ . similarly for t o ψ . consider the simulink diagram ψ of a counter shown in fig1 , where the unit delay block ψ 5 is a discrete - time atomic - block and the block ψ 1 is an enabled subsystem block . the output y 5 increases by 1 at each sample - period when the control input u is positive , and y 5 resets to its initial value when the control input u is not positive . the saturation block ψ 2 limits the value of y 5 in the range between − 0 . 5 and 7 . the sample - period of ψ 5 is 0 . 01 seconds and others are either constant ( inf ) or inherited (− 1 ). t o ψ 5 = 0 by default since unspecified . using get_param command after compiling ψ , t ψ = t ψ i = 0 . 01 for i = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 . ψ belongs to the class of simulink diagrams defined in definition 4 : ψ 1 =({ ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 }/ c 2 ) θ , where c 2 ={(( ψ 3 , •),( ψ 4 , •)), (( ψ 4 , •),( ψ 5 , •)), ( ψ 5 , •),( ψ 4 , •))}, θ =( u θ , u θ ( k )& gt ; 0 , d ( k )= d 0 , ( y 3 ( k ), y 4 ( k ), y 5 ( k ))=(−, −, y 50 ), −) c 1 ={(( ψ 1 , •),( ψ 2 , •))}, and ψ 2 , ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 are atomic - blocks . note since we choose the pulse type of the source block pulse generator to be time based , ψ is a single - rate simulink diagram . thus the source block for generating the inputs and the sink block scope for displaying the outputs are not considered as part of the simulink diagram being translated , and hence not included in ψ . if the pulse type of the source block is chosen to be sample based and the sample time is different from 0 . 01 , then ψ becomes a multirate simulink diagram . consider the multirate simulink diagram ψ shown in fig2 , where blocks ψ 3 and ψ 7 are discrete - time blocks with sample - period of 0 . 01 and 0 . 025 seconds , respectively . the zero - order hold block ψ 8 is also a discrete - time block that samples the incoming signal at 0 . 01 . blocks ψ 5 and ψ 6 are continuous - time blocks . the sample - periods of other blocks are either constant ( inf ) or inherited (− 1 ). all offsets are 0 by default since unspecified . thus , t ψ i = 0 . 01 for i = 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 8 and t ψ 7 = 0 . 025 . since gcd ( 0 . 01 , 0 . 025 )= 0 . 005 , we opt to discretize ψ 5 and ψ 6 at a sample - period of 0 . 005 . then t ψ 5 = t ψ 6 = 0 . 005 , and also t ψ = 0 . 005 . ψ belongs to the class of simulink diagrams defined in definition 4 : ψ = ψ / c , where ψ ={ ψ 1 , ψ 2 , ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 , ψ 6 , ψ 7 , ψ 8 } and c is omitted . u =∅, d = d 3 × d 5 × d 6 × d 7 with d 0 ={( 0 , 0 , 0 , 0 )}. note the sink block scope for displaying the outputs is not considered as part of the simulink diagram being translated , and hence not included in ψ . consider the simulink diagram ψ of a bouncing ball shown in fig3 . ψ models a hybrid - system of a bouncing ball that is thrown up with an initial velocity of 15 m / s from an initial height of 10 m . y 5 ( resp ., y 2 ) is the position ( resp ., velocity ) of the ball . ψ 2 and ψ 5 are continuous - time blocks . we have opted to discretize ψ 2 and ψ 5 at a sample period of 0 . 01 . the sample - periods of other blocks are either constant ( inf ) or inherited (− 1 ). then t ψ = t ψ i = 0 . 01 for 1 , . . . , 7 . ψ belongs to the class of simulink diagrams defined in definition 4 : ψ = ψ / c , where ψ ={ ψ 1 , ψ 2 , ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 , ψ 6 , ψ 7 } and c is omitted . u =∅, d = d 1 × d 2 with d 0 ={( 15 , 10 )}. when system - blocks are composed using the connecting - rule to form a more complex system - block , the input of one system - block becomes the output of another system - block . to respect the interdependency of the inputs / outputs , simulink defines and uses the notion of an execution - order ( which it refers as sorted - order ) to determine the order in which the system - blocks included inside a connected system - block are executed . note that the conditioning - rule does not require defining a sorted - order since it is applied to a single system - block . given a system - block ψ / c formed using the connecting - rule , the sorted - order of the system - blocks { ψεψ } is given as an ordering function ord : ψ → n , where n is the set of natural numbers . the sorted - order induces a total - order over ψ , i . e ., for ψ , ψ ′ εψ , ord ( ψ )= ord ( ψ ′) if and only if ψ = ψ ′. accordingly ψεψ is executed before ψ ′ εψ if ord ( ψ )& lt ; ord ( ψ ′). the sorted - order value ord ( ψ ) can be displayed , as part of a label ascribed to a system - block ψεψ , by selecting the option sorted order from simulink block displays menu . assuming , without loss of generality of correctness of translation , that the optimization on conditional execution behaviors is turned off , the label ascribed to ψ has the format : id ( ψ / c ): ord ( ψ ): { id ( ψ )}, where id is a function that associates a certain identifier number to a system - block . the { id ( ψ )} part may be missing if ψ an atomic - block . whenever we need to indicate the label ascribed to ψεψ , we write it in the form : ψ [ id ( ψ / c ): ord ( ψ ){ id ( ψ )}]. the notion of sorted - order is essential in defining the step of a system - block . definition 5 given a system - block ψ and an input uεu ψ , the step of ψ over u is recursively defined as follows : if ψ is an atomic - block , then the step of ψ over u is as defined in definition 3 . if ψ = ψ / c is a connected system - block , then for j min ≦ j ≦ j max , where j min = min { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ } and j max = max { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ }, letting ψ j εψ denote the system - block with ord ( ψ j )= j , a step of ψ over u is a sequence of steps , whose jth element is the step of ψ j εψ over u j , the input of ψ j as determined by the set of connections c . if ψ = ψ θ is a conditioned system - block , then a step of ψ over u is the step of ψ ′ over u if g θ holds , and otherwise it is the execution of the output - resetting function h θ . also when g θ becomes true , the first execution of the step of ψ ′ over u is preceded by the execution of the data - resetting function ƒ θ . given an input sequence { u ( k )} k = 0 k , a step - trajectory of ψ over { u ( k )} k = 0 k is a sequence of steps of ψ , where the kth step ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) in the sequence is over the input u ( k ). letting y ( k ) ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) denote the output of ψ over u ( k ), { y ( k )} k = 0 k is called the output of step - trajectory of ψ over { u k } k = 0 k . note in the 2 nd item of definition 5 , when kt ψ + t 0 ψ = k ψ j t ψ j + t o ψ j a step of ψ j is computed by h i ψ j if g i ψ j holds , and k ψ j increases when k increases ; otherwise when kt ψ + t o ψ ≠ k ψ j t o ψ + t o ψ j , the output of ψ j remains its previous value , and k ψ j remains unchanged when k increases . consider the simulink diagram of ψ the counter shown in fig1 that was also discussed in example 2 , and its sorted - order displayed in fig1 . we have ψ 1 =( ψ 2 / c 2 ) θ =({ ψ 3 [ 1 : 0 ], ψ 4 [ 1 : 2 ], ψ 5 [ 1 : 1 ]}/ c 2 ) θ . a step of ψ ={ ψ 1 , ψ 2 }/ c 1 is a step of ψ 1 followed by a step of ψ 2 since ord ( ψ 1 )& lt ; ord ( ψ 2 )= 2 . a step of ψ 1 =({ ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 }/ c 2 ) θ is obtained as follows : if g θ holds , the sequence of steps of ψ 3 , ψ 5 , ψ 4 is executed since ord ( ψ 3 )= 0 & lt ; ord ( ψ 5 )= 1 & lt ; ord ( ψ 4 )= 2 ; and otherwise , h θ computes . also when g θ becomes true , the first execution of the sequence of steps of ψ 3 , ψ 5 , ψ 4 is preceded by the computation of ƒ θ . consider the multirate simulink diagram ψ of fig2 that was also discussed in example 3 , and its sorted - order displayed in fig2 . it can be seen that ψ ={ ψ 1 [ 0 : 2 ], ψ 2 [ 0 : 6 ], ψ 3 [ 0 : 7 ], ψ 4 [ 0 : 8 ], ψ 5 [ 0 : 3 ], ψ 6 [ 0 : 4 ], ψ 7 [ 0 : 0 ], ψ 8 [ 0 : 5 ]}/ c . it then follows that a step of ψ is the sequence of steps of ψ 7 , ψ 1 , ψ 5 , ψ 6 , ψ 8 , ψ 2 , ψ 3 and ψ 4 . note for j = 1 , . . . , 8 , a step of ψ j is computed whenever kt ψ = k ψ j t ψ j , and otherwise , ψ j retains its previous values of the data and the output . consider the simulink diagram ψ of the bouncing ball of fig3 that was also discussed in example 4 , and its sorted - order displayed in fig3 . it can be seen that ψ ={ ψ 1 [ 0 : 7 ], ψ 2 [ 0 : 3 ], ψ 3 [ 0 : 2 ], ψ 4 [ 0 : 1 ], ψ 5 [ 0 : 5 ], ψ 6 [ 0 : 4 ], ψ 7 [ 0 : 0 ]}/ c . it then follows that a step of ψ is the sequence of steps of ψ 7 , ψ 4 , ψ 3 , ψ 2 , ψ 6 , ψ 5 and ψ 1 . we describe how a simulink diagram can be semantically translated to an i / o - efa . for any system - block ψ , its i / o - efa model is obtained by connecting two i / o - efa models , one for output - assignments and other for state - updates . we use l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ to denote the initial / final location for first i / o - efa , and l 0 + ψ , l m + ψ to denote the initial / final location for second i / o - efa . the two i / o - efa &# 39 ; s are connected using two edges : succession - edge connecting the final location l m − ψ of the first i / o - efa to the initial location l 0 + ψ to of the second i / o - efa , and time - advancement edge connecting the final location l m + ψ of the second i / o - efa to the initial location l 0 − ψ to of the first i / o - efa that increments time : k := k + 1 . translating atomic - blocks . fig4 depicts the two i / o - efa models connected by the succession and time - advancement edges for an atomic - block ψ . a formal description of the translation is provided in the following algorithm . algorithm 1 for an atomic - block ψ =( u ψ . y ψ , d ψ , d o ψ , {( g i ψ , ƒ i ψ , h i ψ )} i = 1 q ψ , ( t ψ , t o ψ )), p − ψ =( l − ψ ,−, u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 − ψ ,−, l m − ψ , e − ψ ), l − ψ ={ l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ } and e − ψ ={( l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ , −, −, g i ψ , −, h i ψ )| i ≦ q ψ }. p + ψ =( l + ψ , d p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 + ψ , d 0 p ψ , l m + ψ , e + ψ ), l + ψ ={ l 0 + ψ , l m + ψ }, d p ψ := d ψ × k is the set of data , where k is the set of sampling times , d 0 p ψ := d 0 ψ ×{ 0 } is the set of initial - data conditions , and e + ψ ={( l 0 + ψ , l m + ψ , −, −, g i ψ , ƒ i ψ , −)| i ≦ q ψ }. p ψ =( l ψ , d p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 ψ , d 0 p ψ , l m ψ , e ψ ), l ψ = l − ψ ∪ l + ψ , l 0 ψ = l 0 − ψ , l m ψ = l m + ψ , and e ψ = e − ψ ∪ e + ψ ∪{( l m − ψ , l 0 + ψ , −, −, −, −, −)}∪{( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ −, −, −, −, k = k + 1 )}. translating for connecting - rule . in the i / o - efa models of a connected system - block ψ = ψ / c , the initial and final locations of the first ( resp ., second ) i / o - efa are the initial and final locations of the first ( resp ., second ) i / o - efa model of ψεψ that has the smallest and largest ord ( ψ )- value in ψ , respectively . also in order to preserve the sorted - order , there is an edge from the final location of the first ( resp ., second ) i / o - efa of ψεψ to the initial location of the first ( resp ., second ) i / o - efa of ψ ′ εψ if and only if ord ( ψ ′)= ord ( ψ )+ 1 . also in order to allow multirate system - blocks within a connected system - block , certain “ bypass ” edges are introduced within each system - block ψεψ connecting the initial location l 0 − ψ ( resp ., l 0 + ψ ) and final location l m − ψ ( resp ., l m + ψ ) of the first ( resp ., second ) i / o - efa of ψ . these edges are guarded by └ kt ψ + t 0 ψ ≠ k ψ t ψ + t 0 ψ ┘, implying that will be bypassed at those values of k when kt ψ + t 0 ψ is not equal to k ψ t ψ + t 0 ψ . in contrast , the converse guard condition of └ kt ψ + t o ψ = k ψ t ψ + t 0 ψ ┘ is introduced for the original set of edges originating at l 0 − ψ and l 0 + ψ . an illustration of the translating of ψ = ψ / c is depicted in fig5 , whereas a formalization is presented in algorithm 2 . without loss of generality , we assume that if (( ψ , i ),( ψ , j )) εc , then y i ψ = u j ψ , i . e ., the same variable has been used to denote the two signals . p − ψ =( l − ψ , d − p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 − ψ , d 0 − p ψ , l m − ψ , e − ψ ), l − ψ :=∪ ψεψ l − ψ , d − p ψ := k × π ψεψ k ψ × t ψ t 0 ψ × π ψεψ t ψ × π ψεψ t 0 ψ , u ψ and y ψ are as defined in first part of remark 2 , l 0 − ψ = l 0 − ψ such that ord ( ψ )= min { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ }, d 0 − p ψ ={ 0 }× π ψεψ { 0 }× t ψ × t o ψ × π ψεψ t ψ × π ψεψ t o ψ , l m − ψ := l m − ψ such that ord ( ψ )= max { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ }, and e − ψ =∪ ψ {( l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ , −, −, [ kt ψ + t o ψ = k ψ t ψ + t o ψ ]^ g i ψ , −, h i ψ )| i ≦ q ψ } ∪ {( l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ , −, −, └ kt ψ + t o ψ ≠ k ψ t ψ + t o ψ ┐, −, y ψ ( k )= y ψ ( k − 1 ))} ∪{( l m − ψ , l 0 − ψ ′, −, −, −, −, −)| ord ( ψ ′)= ord ( ψ )+ 1 ≦| ψ |, and ψ , ψ ′ εψ }. p + ψ =( l + ψ , d + p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 + ψ , d 0 + p ψ , l m + ψ , e + ψ ), l + ψ :=∪ ψεψ l + ψ , d p ψ := d ψ × k × π ψεψ k ψ × t ψ × t o ψ × π ψεψ t ψ × π ψεψ t o ψ , where d ψ is as defined in first part of remark 2 , u ψ and y ψ are as defined in first part of remark 2 , l 0 + ψ = l 0 + ψ such that ord ( ψ )= min { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ }, d 0 + p ψ = d 0 ψ ×{ 0 }× π ψεψ { 0 }× t ψ × t o ψ × π ψεψ t ψ × π ψεψ t o ψ , where d 0 ψ is as defined in first part of remark 2 , l m + ψ := l m + ψ such that ord ( ψ )= max { ord ( ψ ): ψεψ }, and e + ψ =∪ ψ {( l 0 + ψ , l m + ψ , −, −, [ kt ψ + t o ψ = k ψ t ψ + t o ψ ]^ g i ψ , ( d ψ ( k + 1 ), k ψ )=( θ i ψ , k ψ + 1 ), −)| i ≦ q ψ } ∪ ψ {( l 0 + ψ , l m + ψ , −, −, └ kt ψ + t o ψ ≠ k ψ t ψ + t o ψ ┐, d ψ ( k + 1 )= d ψ ( k ), −)} ∪{( l m + ψ , l 0 + ψ ′ , −, −, −, −, −)| ord ( ψ ′)= ord ( ψ )+ 1 ≦| ψ |, and ψ , ψ ′ εψ }. p ψ =( l ψ , d p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 ψ , d 0 p ψ , l m ψ , e ψ ), l ψ := l − ψ ∪ l + ψ , d p ψ = d + p ψ , l 0 ψ = l 0 − ψ , d 0 p ψ = d 0 + p ψ , l m ψ := l m + ψ , and e ψ = e − ψ ∪ e + ψ ∪{( l m − ψ , l 0 + ψ , −, −, −, −, −)}∪{( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ , −, −, −, −, k = k + 1 )}. remark 3 if ψ is a single - rate system - block , then the i / o - efa model of ψ = ψ / c presented in algorithm 2 can be simplified since in this case t ψ = t ψ and t o ψ = t o ψ for each ψεψ and so kt ψ + t o ψ = k ψ t ψ + t o ψ for each k . e − ψ =∪ ψ e − ψ ∪{( l m − ψ , l 0 − ψ ′ ,−,−,−,−,−)| ord ( ψ ′)= ord ( ψ )+ 1 ≦| ψ |, and ψ , ψ ′ εψ }, and e + ψ =∪ ψ e + ψ ∪{( l m + ψ , l 0 + ψ ′ ,−,−,−,−,−)| ord ( ψ ′)= ord ( ψ )+ 1 ≦| ψ |, and ψ , ψ ′ εψ }. consider ψ 2 / c 2 ={ ψ 3 , ψ 4 , ψ 5 }/ c 2 of example 2 , where ord ( ψ 3 )& lt ; ord ( ψ 5 )& lt ; ord ( ψ 4 ). the i / o - efa model for ψ 2 / c 2 , obtained using algorithm 2 for the connecting - rule and remark 3 , is shown in fig6 . the dotted boxes contain the 1st / 2nd i / o - efas of ψεψ 2 , and also of ψ 2 / c 2 . consider the multirate simulink diagram of fig2 that was discussed in example 3 . the i / o - efa model of ψ , obtained using algorithm 2 for the connecting - rule , is shown in fig7 . translating for conditioning - rule . in the translation of a conditioned system - block ψ = ψ θ , the 1st i / o - efa of ψ is the 1st i / o - efa of ψ together with ( i ) a newly added location l 0 − ψ , that also serves as the initial location of the first i / o - efa model of ψ , ( ii ) two newly added edges for capturing the conditional execution of ψ , and ( iii ) a “ bypass edge ” when the condition g θ doesn &# 39 ; t hold . the 2nd i / o - efa of ψ is the 2nd i / o - efa of ψ together with ( i ) a newly added location l 0 + ψ , that also serves as the initial location of the second i / o - efa model of ψ , ( ii ) a newly added edge for capturing the conditional execution of ψ , and ( iii ) a “ bypass edge ” when the condition g θ doesn &# 39 ; t hold . an extra binary - valued data - variable d θ , with initial value 0 , is introduced to keep track of the period over which g θ holds . an illustration of the translating of ψ = ψ θ is depicted in fig8 , whereas a formalization is presented in algorithm 3 . p − ψ =( l − ψ , d θ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 − ψ , d 0 θ , l m − ψ , e − ψ ), l − ψ = l − ψ ∪{ l 0 − ψ }, d θ ={ 0 , 1 }, u ψ and y ψ are as defined in second part of remark 2 , d 0 θ ={ 0 }, l m − ψ = l m − ψ , and e − ψ = e − ψ ∪{( l 0 − ψ , l 0 − ψ , −, −, g θ ^[ d θ = 0 ],( ƒ θ ; d θ := 1 ), −)}∪ {( l 0 − ψ , l 0 − ψ , −, −, g θ ^[ d θ = 1 ], −, −)}∪{( l 0 − ψ , l m − ψ , −, −, g θ , −, h θ )}. p + ψ =( l + ψ , d p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 + ψ , d 0 p ψ , l m + ψ , e + ψ ), l + ψ = l + ψ ∪{ l 0 + ψ }, d p ψ = d p ψ × d θ , d 0 p ψ = d 0 p ψ × d 0 θ , l m + ψ = l m + ψ , and e + ψ = e + ψ ∪{( l 0 + ψ , l 0 + ψ , −, −, g θ , −, −)}∪ {( l 0 + ψ l m + ψ , −, −, g θ , ( d ψ ( k + 1 ), d θ )=( d ψ ( k ), 0 ), −)}. p ψ =( l ψ , d p ψ , u ψ , y ψ ,−,−, l 0 ψ , d 0 p ψ , l m ψ , e ψ ), l ψ = l − ψ ∪ l + ψ , l 0 ψ = l 0 − ψ , l m ψ = l m + ψ , and e ψ = e − ψ ∪ e + ψ ∪{( l m − ψ , l 0 + ψ , −, −, −, −, −)}∪{( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ , −, −, −, −, k = k + 1 )}. remark 4 algorithms 1 , 2 and 3 provide translation under the fixed - step simulation semantics of simulink . the algorithms can be modified to follow the variable - step simulation semantics as well . the variable - step solvers in the simulink dynamically increase ( or reduce ) the step size ( i . e ., the value of t ψ ) if the error exceeds ( or falls under ) a specific limit er ceiling ( or er floor ) to see the modification , suppose the error calculation formula is ƒ e ( y ψ ( k ), y ψ ( k − 1 ), . . . , t ψ ). then the time - advancement edge ( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ , −, −, −, −, k = k + 1 ) will be replaced by the following set of edges : {( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ ,−,−,[ ƒ e er ceiling ], t ψ = t ψ / 2 , k = k + 1 ),( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ ,−,−,[ θ e er floor ], t ψ = 2 * t ψ , k = k + 1 ) ( l m + ψ , l 0 − ψ ,−,−,[ er floor ƒ e eƒ ceiling ],−, k = k + 1 )}. consider ψ 1 =( ψ 2 / c 2 ) θ of example 2 . the i / o - efa model of ψ 2 / c 2 was obtained in example 8 , and the i / o - efa model of ψ 1 , obtained using algorithm 3 for the conditioning - rule , is shown in fig9 . the dotted boxes contain the 1st / 2nd i / o - efas of ψ 2 / c 2 , and also of ψ 1 . consider the simulink diagram ψ ={ ψ 1 , ψ 2 }/ c of the counter shown in fig1 that was also discussed in example 2 . the i / o - efa model for ψ 1 was obtained in example 10 , and the i / o - efa model of ψ , obtained using algorithm 2 for the connecting - rule and remark 3 , is shown in fig1 . consider the simulink diagram ψ of the bouncing ball of fig3 , and also discussed in example 4 . the i / o - efa model of ψ , obtained using algorithm 2 for the connecting - rule and remark 3 , is shown in fig1 . in order to show that the translating approach is sound and complete , we introduce the concept of a step and of a step - trajectory of an i / o - efa model of a system - block . in the i / o - efa model p ψ of a system - block ψ , each increment of k corresponds to an execution of a path π =( l 0 ψ , . . . , l m ψ , l 0 ψ ). a computation along the kth execution of such a path gives an output value y ( k ) for an input u ( k ). definition 6 given an i / o - efa model p ψ of a system - block ψ and input uε ∪ ψ , a step of p ψ over u is the computation of a sequence of edges starting from l 0 ψ and ending at l m ψ , followed by the time - advancement edge . given an input sequence { u ( k )} k = 0 k , a step - trajectory of p ψ over { u ( k )} k = 0 k is a sequence of steps , where the kth step ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) in the sequence is over the input u ( k ). letting y ( k ) ( 0 ≦ k ≦ k ) denote the output of ψ over u ( k ), { y ( k )} k = 0 k is called the output of step - trajectory of p ψ over { u k } k = 0 k . next we show that the input - output behavior of an i / o - efa model at a sampling time , defined in terms of a step , preserves the input - output behavior of the corresponding simulink diagram at the same sampling time , defined in terms of a step . lemma 1 given a system - block ψ and an input u ( k ) and at the kth sampling time , let y ψ ( k ) and y p ψ ( k ) be the outputs of the steps of ψ and p ψ , respectively , over u ( k ). then y ψ ( k )= y p ψ ( k ), where p ψ is obtained from the algorithms 1 , 2 and 3 . proof : if ψ is an atomic - block , then from algorithm 1 and definitions 5 and 6 , a step of both ψ and p ψ at the kth sampling time k compute : y ψ ( k )= h i ψ ( d ( k ), u ( k )), where d ( k ) = { f i ψ ( d ( k - 1 ) , u ( k - 1 ) ) if k & gt ; 0 d 0 otherwise } , if ψ = ψ / c , then from algorithms 2 and definitions 5 and 6 , a step of both ψ and p ψ over u ( k ) at the kth sampling time compute ( y ψ j min ( k ), . . . , y ψ j ( k ), . . . , y ψ j max ( k )), where ψ j εψ and : ( i ) if kt ψ + t o ψ = k ψ j t ψ j + t o ψ j : y ψ j ( k )=( d ( k ), u ( k )), where d ( k ) = { f i ψ j ( d ( k - 1 ) , u ( k - 1 ) ) if k & gt ; 0 d 0 otherwise } u r ψ j ( k )= y s ψ j ′ ( k ) if (( ψ j , r ),( ψ j ′ , s )) εc ( ii ) if kt ψ + t o ψ ≠ k ψ j + t o ψ j : y ψ j ( k )= y ψ j ( k − 1 ). if ψ = ψ θ , then from algorithms 3 and definitions 5 and 6 , a step of both ψ and p ψ over u ( k ) at the kth sampling time compute : the following proposition shows that the input - output behavior of an i / o - efa model over a sequence of sampling times , defined in terms of a step - trajectory , preserves the input - output behavior of the corresponding simulink diagram over the same sequence of sampling times , defined in terms of a step - trajectory . proposition 1 given a system - block ψ and an input sequence { u ( k )} k = 0 k , let { y ψ ( k )} k = 0 k and { y p ψ ( k )} k = 0 k be the outputs of step - trajectories of ψ and p ψ , respectively , over { u ( k )} k = 0 k . then { y ψ ( k )} k = 0 k ={ y p ψ ( k )} k = 0 k , where p ψ is as obtained from the algorithms 1 , 2 and 3 . proof : the proof follows from lemma 1 and definitions 5 and 6 . to validate our model , a simulation for a certain input sequence ( pulse with period 1 . 2 second and pulse width 25 %) was obtained for the simulink diagram ψ of fig1 ( using fixed - step discrete solver ) and is shown in fig1 . the simulation of the i / o - efa model p ψ was done in stateflow . since a step of p ψ is defined to be the execution of a cycle starting from and ending at the initial location and visiting the final location once , the sample period for the stateflow model of p ψ was scaled down by the length of the cycle ( the number of locations of p ψ ). the simulation result of p ψ ( using fixed - step discrete solver ) is also shown in fig1 . a simulation was obtained for the multirate simulink diagram ψ of fig2 ( using fixed - step continuous solver odel euler ) and is shown in fig1 . the simulation of the i / o - efa model p ψ was done in stateflow ( note the computer cannot check the equality of two floating numbers , one way to handle this is to duplicate the set of t ψ s and t o ψ s , relabel and amplify them to make them integers ). recall t ψ = 0 . 005 . the sample - period for the stateflow model of p ψ was scaled down by the number of locations of p ψ . the simulation result of p ψ ( using fixed - step discrete solver ) is also shown in fig1 . a simulation was obtained for the simulink diagram ψ of fig3 ( using fixed - step continuous solver odel euler ) and is shown in fig1 . the simulation of the i / o - efa model p ψ was done in stateflow . recall the sample - period of ψ is 0 . 01 . the sample - period for the stateflow model of p ψ was scaled down by the number of locations of p ψ . the simulation result of p ψ ( using fixed - step discrete solver ) is also shown in fig1 . we briefly introduce the works related to ours , discussing succinctly their features . [ 4 ] presented a translation algorithm for converting a restricted subclass of s / s diagrams into a semantically equivalent hybrid automaton . for the subclass of s / s diagrams considered there exists a clear separation between the discrete and the continuous dynamics : all mode changes are made through switches , and whose controlling variables are restricted to be the outputs of the stateflow modules . in general , however , the discrete modes do not have to be determined by the output variables of the stateflow modules , and switches do not have to be used to switch continuous dynamics . our approach does not require a clear separation between discrete and continuous dynamics for modeling hybrid systems . also our translation approach has no special restriction on the types of simulink blocks . the approach supports virtually all blocks in simulink library ( in this work we only consider time - driven blocks ) provided that the block can be mathematically written as input - state - output functions over time . [ 5 ] described a translation scheme for deriving hybrid automata models from s / s models . however , no formal algorithms are provided . we presented formal algorithms for the translation . [ 3 , 6 , 13 ] describes a technique for translating discrete - time simulink diagrams into lustre programs . lustre is a synchronous language and the translation is a mapping between elements of simulink diagrams ( for example , signals and atomic blocks ) and lustre programs ( for example , flows and operators / nodes ). the execution sequence of simulink blocks in the lustre programs is determined by lustre compiler . also only the discrete - time blocks are translated . in our approach , the execution sequence of simulink blocks is directly captured in the i / o - efa models . also , our approach supports virtually all time - driven blocks in simulink library . [ 7 ] mentioned a translation of s / s diagrams into the language of “ sal [ 1 ] for the purposes of test generation . however , the details of the translation were not given . [ 8 ] reported translation of simulink diagrams to a model of concurrent processes communicating with fifo queues or registers , called spi model , in contrast to i / o - efa model in our approach . there has also been work on code - generation for simulink diagrams [ 12 , 11 ]. one emphasis is in intellectual property reuse ( i . e ., code reuse for a group of atomic blocks ) and so their approach is modular . in contrast we focus on formal modeling of simulink diagrams with the goal of providing models that are readily amenable for further analysis ( verification , test - generation , etc .). we presented a recursive approach for translating a class of simulink diagrams as input / output - extended finite automata ( i / o - efa ), which is amenable to automated test generation or verification . we treat the blocks in the simulink library to be “ atomic ” and formulate two rules used in simulink for building complex blocks by combining the simpler ones . we provided a recursive and formal definition for the class of simulink diagrams formed using these rules . we presented algorithms for ( i ) translating an atomic - block as an i / o - efa , ( ii ) combining the i / o - efa models of simpler simulink diagrams to build the i / o - efa model of a more complex simulink diagram , constructed using certain rules of composition . we introduced the concept of a step ( resp ., step - trajectory ) of an i / o - efa to emulate the computation of a simulink diagram at a sample time ( resp ., over a sequence of sample times ). we showed that the translating approach is sound and complete : the input - output behavior of an i / o - efa model , as defined in terms of a step - trajectory preserves the input - output behavior of the corresponding simulink diagram at each sample time ( assuming the same integration method for any of the continuous blocks with dynamics ). finally , the translation approach has no specific restriction on the types of simulink blocks or the structure of simulink diagrams supported and can handle multirate simulink diagrams , sample times with initial offsets and variable - step simulation etc . although various embodiments have been shown and described in detail , the present invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments shown as the present invention contemplates numerous variations , options , and alternatives in its implementation as may be appropriate in various situations . for example , the present invention contemplates that different types of diagrams may be used . the methodology may be implemented in various types of computing devices using any number of types of software to provide instruction sets for performing the logic of the methodologies described herein . p . caspi , a . curic , a . maignan , c . sofronis , and s . tripakis . translating discrete - time simulink to lustre . lecture notes in computer science , 2855 : 84 - 99 , 2003 . a . agrawal , g . simon , and g . karsai . semantic translation of simulink / stateflow models to hybrid automata using graph transformations . electronic notes in theoretical computer science , 109 : 43 - 56 , december 2004 . r . alur , a . kanade , s . ramesh , and k . c . shashidhar . symbolic analysis for improving simulation coverage of simulink / stateflow models . in emsoft &# 39 ; 08 : proceedings of the 7 th acm international conference on embedded software , pages 89 - 98 , new york , n . y ., usa , 2008 . acm . p . caspi , a . curic , a . maignan , c . sofronis , s . tripakis , and p . niebert . from simulink to scade / lustre to tta : a layered approach for distributed embedded applications . sigplan not ., 38 ( 7 ): 153 - 162 , 2003 . a . gadkari , s . mohalik , k . c . shashidhar , j . suresh a yeolekar , and s . ramesh . automatic generation of test cases using model checking for sl / sf models . workshop on model - driven engineering , verification , and validation , 2007 . m . jersak , d . ziegenbein , f . wolf , k . richter , r . ernst , f . cieslog , j . teich , k . strehl , and l . thiele . embedded system design using the spi workbench . in proc . of the 3 rd international forum on design languages , 2000 . r . kumar , c . zhou , and s . basu . finite bisimulation of reactive untimed infinite state systems modeled as automata with variables . in proceedings of the 25 th american control conference , pages 6057 - 6062 , minneapolis , minn ., june 2006 . d . lee and m . yannakakis . principles and methods of testing finite state machines — a survey . proceedings of the ieee , 84 ( 8 ): 1090 - 1123 , 1996 . r . lublinerman , c . szegedy , and s . tripakis . modular code generation from synchronous block diagrams — modularity vs . code size . in popl &# 39 ; 09 , 2009 . r . lublinerman and s . tripakis . modular code generation from triggered and timed block diagrams . in real - time and embedded technology and applications symposium ( rtas &# 39 ; 08 ), 2008 . n . scaife , c . sofronis , p . caspi , s . tripakis , and f . maraninchi . defining and translating a “ safe ” subset of simulink / stateflow into lustre . in proc . emsoft &# 39 ; 04 , 2004 . t . takenaka , k . okano , t . higashino , and k . taniguchi . symbolic model checking of extended finite state machines with linear constraints over integer variables . syst . comput . japan , 37 ( 6 ): 64 - 72 , 2006 . c . zhou and r . kumar . on identification of input / output extended automata with finite bisimilar quotients . in 2009 american control conference , st . louis , mo ., june 2009 . | 6 |
a locking system according to the invention differentiates locks based on a priority hierarchy . some embodiments of the invention may also distinguish locks for two types of operations on a data structure : a write operation and a read operation . a lock for a write operation ( sometimes referred to as a “ write lock ”) by one thread will prevent any other operation by another thread from obtaining a lock on the locked up resources . a lock for a read operation ( sometimes referred to as a “ read lock ”) by one thread will then prevent a write lock from being obtained on the locked up resources by another thread . thus , two concurrent write locks from different threads to the same resources will conflict with each other , as the modification of the resources by the write operation of one thread will affect the results produced by the write operation of the other thread . likewise , a concurrent write lock and a read lock from different threads on the same resources will conflict with each other for the same reason . two concurrent read locks , even to the same resources and from different threads , typically will not conflict . that is , because the execution of one read operation will usually not interfere with the results obtained by another read operation , then a locking system may classify all concurrent read locks , regardless of their source , as non - conflicting in order to optimize access to the data structure . if , however , a thread does employ read operations that may interfere with the read operations of another thread , then two concurrent read locks from different threads to the same resources may also be considered conflicting locks . alternately , a locking system may forego efficiencies obtained by distinguishing read locks from write locks , and simply treat all locks as conflicting . in addition to locking the resources specified in a lock request , a lock may also restrict access in some way to other resources . for example , with a tree data structure , operations on a given node may advantageously be applied to all of that node &# 39 ; s descendants . this frees a thread from having to obtain a separate lock each time that it accessed a different node in a subtree . moreover , this facilitates consistently applying an operation to an entire subtree . similarly , an operation on a node should also be respected on any of the nodes in the chain of parents leading from a locked node to the root of the entire tree . for example , if one thread executes a write operation on a child node while another thread executes a read operation on a parent node , then the results of the read operation may be invalid . thus , with some embodiments of the invention , a lock on a node will also prevent a conflicting lock from being obtained on both ancestors of that node and descendants of that node . more particularly , for some embodiments of the invention , a lock on a specified node will also lock all of its descendants ( that is , the subtree of nodes defined by taking the specified node as the root node ), and prevent conflicting locks from being obtained on the ancestors of the specified node . with other embodiments of the invention , however , a lock on a specified node may simply prevent conflicting locks from being obtained on the ancestors or descendants of the specified node . by differentiating locks according to priority , the locking system of the invention will prevent a request for a lock from waiting for resources that are already locked up by a lock with an equal or higher priority . this allows different threads to concurrently access different portions of a data structure without causing a deadlock , as will be explained in detail below . as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , a locking technique according to the invention may be implemented using software . that is , a locking system according to the invention may be described in the general context of computer - executable instructions , such as program modules , executed by one or more computing devices . generally , program modules include routines , programs , objects , components , data structures , etc . that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types . typically the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments . because the invention may be implemented using software , it may be helpful for a better understanding of the invention to briefly discuss the components and operation of a typical programmable computer on which various embodiments of the invention may be employed . fig3 illustrates an example of a computing device 301 that provides a suitable operating environment in which various embodiments of the invention may be implemented . this operating environment is only one example of a suitable operating environment , however , and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of the invention . other well known computing systems , environments , and / or configurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include , but are not limited to , personal computers , server computers , hand - held or laptop devices , multiprocessor systems , microprocessor - based systems , programmable consumer electronics , network pcs , minicomputers , mainframe computers , distributed computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices , and the like . the computing device 301 typically includes at least some form of computer readable media . computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by the computing device 301 . by way of example , and not limitation , computer readable media may comprise computer storage media and communication media . computer storage media includes volatile and nonvolatile , removable and non - removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data . computer storage media includes , but is not limited to , ram , rom , eeprom , flash memory or other memory technology , cd - rom , digital versatile disks ( dvd ) or other optical storage , magnetic cassettes , magnetic tape , magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices , punched media , holographic storage , or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the operating environment 301 . communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions , data structures , program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism , and includes any information delivery media . the term “ modulated data signal ” means a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal . by way of example , and not limitation , communication media includes wired media such as a wired network or direct - wired connection , and wireless media such as acoustic , rf , infrared and other wireless media . combinations of any of the above should also be included within the scope of computer readable media . with reference to fig3 , in its most basic configuration the computing device 301 typically includes a processing unit 303 and system memory 305 . depending on the exact configuration and type of computing device 301 , the system memory 305 may include volatile memory 307 ( such as ram ), non - volatile memory 309 ( such as rom , flash memory , etc . ), or some combination of the two memory types . additionally , device 301 may also have mass storage devices , such as a removable storage device 311 , a non - removable storage device 313 , or some combination of two storage device types . the mass storage devices can be any device that can retrieve stored information , such as magnetic or optical disks or tape , punched media , or holographic storage . as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , the system memory 305 and mass storage devices 311 and 313 are examples of computer storage media . the device 301 will typically have one or more input devices 315 as well , such as a keyboard , microphone , scanner or pointing device , for receiving input from a user . the device 301 will typically also have one or more output devices 317 for outputting data to a user , such as a display , a speaker , printer or a tactile feedback device . other components of the device 301 may include communication connections 319 to other devices , computers , networks , servers , etc . using either wired or wireless media . as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art , the communication connections 319 are examples of communication media . all of these devices and connections are well know in the art and thus will not be discussed at length here . fig4 illustrates a data structure system 401 according to one embodiment of the invention . as shown in this figure , the data structure system 401 communicates with one or more threads 403 - 407 . more particularly , the threads 403 - 407 request access to information resources maintained by the data structure system 401 . in the illustrated embodiment , each of the threads 403 - 407 is generated by the same software application , but two or more of the threads 403 - 407 may alternately be generated by different software applications . the data structure module 409 maintains information in the data structure 411 . the data may be any type of information such as , for example , data relating to an electronic ink document . it should be noted that , while fig3 schematically illustrates the data structure 411 as a tree structure , the data structure module 409 may also maintain data in an alternate structure of any desired typed or configuration . the data may physically be stored in the system memory 305 , the removable storage 311 , the non - removable storage 313 or a combination thereof using , for example , any suitable database software application . the data structure system 401 also includes a lock request evaluation module 413 . the lock request evaluation module 413 receives requests to access one or more resources of the data structure 405 from the threads 403 - 407 . typically , a request to access resources will identify the node ( or nodes ) for which access is requested ( sometimes referred to hereafter as the “ requested node ”), and the type of access requested ( that is , whether the thread will access the requested node with a read operation or a write operation ). the access request will also include a request to lock the requested node , along with a priority for the requested lock . in addition , the access request may specify whether the requested lock will be a preemptable lock or a non - preemptable lock . in response to receiving a lock request , the lock request evaluation module 413 determines whether the lock request will succeed or fail . if the lock request evaluation module 413 decides to approve a requested lock , it then passes the lock request to the lock maintenance module 415 . the lock maintenance module 415 tracks existing locks . thus , when the requested node becomes available , the lock maintenance module 415 will initiate the requested lock so that the thread can obtain the specified access to the requested node . the lock maintenance module 415 will then keep track of the new lock as well . the operation of the lock request evaluation module 413 and the lock maintenance module 415 will now be discussed in more detail with reference to the flowchart illustrated in fig5 . in step 501 , a thread 403 , 405 or 407 submits a request to access one or more resources ( for example , to access to a subtree ) in the data structure 409 . the access request identifies the resources for which access is requested , and the type of access requested . that is , the access request will specify whether the access is to execute a read operation or a write operation . it will also request a lock on the root node of the subtree , along with a priority for the lock . upon receiving a lock request , the lock request evaluation module 413 first determines if the requested lock is a write lock . if the requested lock is not a write lock ( that is , if the requested lock is a read lock ), then in step 505 the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if access to the requested node has been restricted by a conflicting lock . that is , the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if there is an existing write lock on the requested node . the lock request evaluation module 413 also determines if there are any conflicting write locks on any of the ancestors or descendants of the requested node that would prevent a write lock from being obtained on the requested node . as previously noted , a write operation on a node by one thread may also affect the results of a read or write operation on an ancestor or descendant of that node by another thread . accordingly , while the ancestors or descendants of the node may not be identified in the read lock request , the lock request evaluation module 413 also determines if a conflicting write lock has already been obtained for these resources . thus , the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if the requested lock will conflict with an existing lock that would restrict access to any of the requested resources . if none of the requested node , its ancestors and its descendants have been locked up by a conflicting lock , then the lock request evaluation module 413 immediately approves the requested lock in step 507 , and passes the approved lock request onto the lock maintenance module 415 . if the requested node , one of its ancestors or one of its descendant has already been locked by a conflicting write lock , however , then the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if the priority of the requested read lock is a high priority in step 509 . with the illustrated embodiment of the invention , the lock request evaluation module 413 recognizes only two priorities of locks , high and low . accordingly , if the priority of the requested read lock is not high , it must be low , and thus equal to or lower than the priority of the conflicting write lock on the requested lock , its ancestor or descendant . as a result , the lock request evaluation module 413 fails the requested lock in step 511 . if , however , the requested read lock has a high priority , then in step 513 the lock request evaluation module 413 checks to confirm that all of the conflicting write locks on the requested node , its ancestors and its descendants are low priority . if one of these conflicting write locks are high priority , then again the requested read lock is equal to this conflicting high priority write lock , and the requested read lock is failed in step 511 . if all of the conflicting write locks on the requested node , its ancestors and its descendants are low priority ( and thus lower in priority than the requested read lock ), then in step 515 the lock request evaluation module 413 will approve the requested read lock . in step 517 , the lock request evaluation module 413 passes the requested read lock onto the lock maintenance module 415 , which notes that the requested read lock is waiting for the existing conflicting write locks to complete and should be implemented when these locks are completed . returning now to step 503 , if the lock request evaluation module 413 determines that a thread has requested a write lock ( that is , that the requested lock will conflict with any existing lock from another thread ), then in step 519 the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if there are any conflicting non - preemptable read locks or write locks that would restrict access to the requested node . that is , the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if there is an existing conflicting lock on the requested node . it also determines if there are any existing , conflicting non - preemptable read locks or write locks on the ancestors or descendants of the requested node . if there are not ( that is , if there are no existing locks or if the only existing locks are preemptable ), then in step 521 the lock request evaluation module 413 voids any existing preemptable read locks on the requested nodes , its ancestors and its descendants . then , in step 507 , it approves the requested write lock and passes the requested write lock onto the lock maintenance module 415 to be implemented . if , however , there is one or more conflicting non - preemptable read locks or write locks on a requested node , one of its ancestors or one of its descendants , then in step 523 the lock request evaluation module 413 determines if any of these conflicting locks has a high priority . again , because the lock request evaluation module 413 in this embodiment only recognizes two priorities , if any of these conflicting locks has a high priority , then the priority of the requested lock must be equal to or lower than the priority of these conflicting locks . thus , in step 511 , the lock request evaluation module 413 fails the requested write lock . on the other hand , if none of the conflicting locks on the requested node , its ancestors or its descendants has a high priority , then in step 525 the lock request evaluation module 413 determines the priority of the requested write lock . if it is low , then again it must be equal to the priority of the conflicting locks , and is failed in step 511 . if , however , the priority of the requested write lock is high , it is greater than the priority of any conflicting lock on the requested node , its ancestors and its descendants , and in step 515 the lock request evaluation module 413 will approve the requested read lock . in step 517 , the lock request evaluation module 413 passes the requested read lock onto the lock maintenance module 415 to be implemented when the existing conflicting write locks are completed . in the illustrated embodiment , the locking system uses only two priorities . it should be noted , however , that other embodiments of the invention may employ a priority hierarchy with any number of desired priorities . as in the embodiment described above , with these alternate embodiments of the invention a requested lock will not wait on a conflicting , non - preemptable lock of equal or higher priority . for example , if the locking system according to the invention employed three priorities , high , medium and low , then a lock request for a medium priority lock would not wait for an existing conflicting lock with a high or medium priority to complete , but would wait for an existing conflicting lock with a low priority to complete . similarly , a lock request for a high priority lock would not wait for an existing conflicting lock with a high priority to complete , but would wait for an existing conflicting lock with a medium or low priority to complete . of course , the implementation of still greater numbers of different priorities will be apparent from the foregoing description . in the foregoing illustrated embodiment , any write lock will preempt a preemptable lock , regardless of the relative priority of the different locks . it should be appreciated , however , that alternate embodiments of the invention may only allow a write lock to preempt a preemptable read lock of lower priority . also , it should be noted that , to facilitate an understanding of the invention , the invention has been explained above with particular emphasis on prioritizing locks between different threads of a single software application . as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art from the foregoing description , however , the invention may also be employed to prevent lock conflicts between threads of different software applications . still further , while the above discussion of the invention distinguishes locks for read operations from locks for write operations , various embodiments of the invention need not make that distinction . instead , as previously noted , these embodiments of the invention may characterize all locks from different threads as conflicting locks . although the invention has been defined using the appended claims , these claims are exemplary in that the invention may be intended to include the elements and steps described herein in any combination or sub combination . accordingly , there are any number of alternative combinations for defining the invention , which incorporate one or more elements from the specification , including the description , claims , and drawings , in various combinations or sub combinations . it will be apparent to those skilled in the relevant technology , in light of the present specification , that alternate combinations of aspects of the invention , either alone or in combination with one or more elements or steps defined herein , may be utilized as modifications or alterations of the invention or as part of the invention . it may be intended that the written description of the invention contained herein covers all such modifications and alterations . for instance , in various embodiments , a certain order to the data has been shown . however , any reordering of the data is encompassed by the present invention . | 8 |
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