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a first example shown in fig1 to 5 will be described . in fig1 ( outer appearance view ), fig2 ( outer appearance view showing a state in which a nib projects from a front barrel ) and fig3 ( sectional view taken on line 3 — 3 of fig1 ), a front barrel ( or a ferrule ) 2 is detachably attached to a forward part of a tubular exterior body 1 , preferably made of polymethyl methacrylic resin , by a hinge or the like ( hereinafter , the upside of the illustration is referred to a “ backward ” and the downside as “ forward ”, respectively ). a clamping member 3 made of soft resin or rubber is secured to the front barrel 2 . a resilient member 4 such as a coiled spring is attached to an inner side of the front barrel 2 such that a front end of the resilient member 4 is fixed to an internal hole of the front barrel 2 . a displaceable refill body 5 contains a writing medium and is attached with a nib t of a ballpoint pen or the like and is arranged on inner sides of the exterior body 1 and the front barrel 2 such that the refill 5 is biased backward by the resilient member 4 and capable of moving back and forth . the nib t will described in detail later . in a vertical sectional view of fig4 showing only a rear part of fig1 on an enlarged basis , ink is sealed , by a float 5 a and a highly viscous fluid 5 b , in the refill 5 which is biased backward of the exterior body 1 . an operating member 6 formed of polyoxymethylene resin is in abutment with a rear end of the refill 5 . the operating member 6 includes a sliding sleeve portion 6 a and an engagement portion 6 b . a lateral hole la is formed in the exterior body 1 . the engagement portion 6 b is fitted to the lateral hole 1 a such that the engagement portion 6 b can slide back and forth . a clip 7 made of polycarbonate resin is fixed to a rear end opening portion of the exterior body 1 by press - fit or the like . this clip 7 includes an attachment basal portion 7 a with respect to the exterior body 1 and a deformation plate portion 7 b as an intermediate portion . an engagement element , i . e ., a small piece 7 c , with which the engagement portion 6 b is to be engaged , is disposed at an inner surface of the deformation plate portion 7 b . the clip 7 is resiliently biased towards the exterior body 1 and it also has a resilient force in a lateral direction which is perpendicular to a direction towards the exterior body 1 . the small piece 7 c has a pair of opposite and generally parallel flat surfaces 7 c 1 , 7 c 2 and a pair of opposite inclined surfaces 7 c 3 , 7 c 4 at front and rear ends thereof , respectively . the surfaces 7 c 3 , 7 c 4 are inclined relative to the surfaces 7 c 1 , 7 c 2 . the inclined front surface 7 c 3 facilitates engagement and disengagement of the clip 7 with the edge of a user &# 39 ; s pocket . a step portion 6 c of the operating member 6 is in abutment with a front end of the sleeve portion 7 d of the clip 7 to prohibit the operating member 6 from escaping backward . in fig5 there are shown the configurations of the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c , as well as a relation between the small piece 7 c and the engagement portion 6 b . there are shown various states of the nib from a first state in which the nib is in a received state to a last state in which the nib is brought back to the received state again via an intermediate state in which the nib is in a projected position , seven scenes of states in total each in the form of a perspective view when viewed from the back side of fig4 . here , fig5 is the only exception of the above - mentioned definition on the directions in the drawings . in fig5 the leftside is referred to as “ backward ” and the rightside as “ forward ”, respectively ( the rightward in fig5 indicates the nib side ). the engagement portion 6 b of the several perspective views labeled first with no 1 ( nib received state at an initial state ) includes an engagement overriding portion 6 d projecting laterally in such a manner so that the engagement portion 6 b overrides the small piece 7 c at the time of engagement of the nib t and overrides the slant surface 6 e which is subjected to abutment with the small piece 7 c first . the overriding slant surface 6 e determines an angle of deviation when the engagement portion 6 b overrides the small piece 7 c . this angle of deviation is set to 45 degrees in this example . the engagement portion 6 b includes a recess 6 f at its one side surface and an engagement recess gg at its front side which engagement recess 6 g is abutted and engaged with a front end of the small piece 7 c . the recess 6 f has a second overriding slant surface 6 i which is open at the upside in fig5 and which reaches an upper surface portion 6 h as it goes backward . a positional relation and a state of engagement between the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c will now be described in detail . when the operating member 6 is pressed against the bias of the resilient member 4 , the engagement portion 6 b in the perspective view no . 1 moves forward . when the operating member 6 is further pressed , the overriding slant surface 6 e of the engagement portion 6 b is brought into abutment with a rear end of the small piece 7 c . in that state , the overriding slant surface 6 e and the small piece 7 c are in line - connection or in point - connection ( see the perspective view no . 2 ). when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the small piece 7 c is deviated laterally ( towards the viewer &# 39 ; s side in the illustration ) by the overriding slant surface 6 e . when the operating member 6 is still kept pressed , the engagement portion 6 b moves along the side of the small piece 7 c ( see the perspective views nos . 3 and 4 ). when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the engagement portion 6 b moves backward . however , since the small piece 7 c is restored , when viewed from the viewer , to the opposite side in the illustration by a lateral resiliency of the clip 7 and entered into the recess 6 f so as to be abutted with the engagement recess 6 g , the engagement between the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c is achieved ( see the perspective view no . 5 ). in order to release the engagement , the operating member 6 is pressed again . then , the engagement portion 6 b moves forward and the second overriding slant surface 6 i pushes up the small piece 7 c . as a result , the engagement between the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c is released . when the upper surface portion 6 i of the engagement portion 6 b comes to an undersurface , in the illustration , of the small piece 7 c , the small piece 7 c is caused to slide laterally on the upper surface portion 6 h of the engagement portion 6 b by the lateral resiliency of the clip 6 and returned to the back side in the illustration ( see the perspective view no . 6 ). when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the engagement portion 6 b moves along the underside of the small piece 7 c and returned to its initial state ( see the perspective view no . 7 ). in the present invention , if the writing instrument is put into a pocket or the like in the engaged state in which the refill 5 is left exposed from the tip of the front barrel 2 , the small piece 7 c of the clip 7 is raised from an outer peripheral surface of the exterior body 1 . by this motion , the engagement between the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c is released and the initial state is restored . at the same time , the refill 5 is extracted into the front barrel 2 . a knock pressure ( nib projecting load ) in accordance with a knocking stroke of the operating member 6 will now be described with reference to fig6 to 9 . when the operating member 6 is moved forward from the nib received state at the initial stage against the resilient force of the resilient member 4 , the knock pressure of the operating member 6 is gradually increased ( see fig6 { circle around ( 1 )} and fig7 ). when the operating member 6 is kept moved , the knock pressure is abruptly raised to reach a maximum value by the overriding - contact of the small piece 7 c with respect to the overriding slant surface 6 c of the engagement portion 6 b . at that time , the tip of the nib t of the refill 5 is not yet projected from the tip of the front barrel 2 . that is to say , the overriding relation between the overriding slant surface 6 e and the small piece 7 c is achieved before the tip of the nib t is not yet projected from the tip of the front barrel 2 ( see fig6 { circle around ( 2 )} and fig8 ). subsequently , when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the nib t is projected from beyond the tip of the front barrel 2 . since the overriding contact relation between the overriding slant surface 6 c and the small piece 7 c is finished , a moving resistance load becomes to have a value which corresponds to the resilient force of the resilient body 4 ( see fig6 { circle around ( 3 )} and fig9 ). it should be noted that the moving resistance load of the operating member 6 at the time when the nib t is received , is a value within a range not exceeding a value of { circle around ( 3 )} in fig6 . for the above - mentioned one example , test samples 1 to 10 were produced by varying the load which the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c receive at the time of a nib projecting operation , the angle of deviation at the time for the engagement portion 6 b to override the small piece 7 c and the spring constant of the coiled spring for biasing the refill backward . and the obtained samples were each tested as for { circle around ( 1 )} a load at the time the nib is projected , { circle around ( 2 )} a feel of operation at the time the nib is projected and { circle around ( 3 )} a state of handwriting . the results are shown in table 1 . the load which the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c receive at the time the nib is projected was measured by measuring the load required for the engagement portion 6 b and the small piece 7 c to override using a platform scale and in a state in which the coiled spring for biasing the refill backward is removed . { circle around ( 1 )} load at the time the nib is projected a load amount for each sample at the time the nib is locked in its projected position was measured by pressing the platform scale with the operating member 6 of each sample . { circle around ( 2 )} feel of operation at the time the nib is projected 10 monitors made a nib projecting operation for each sample and then made an evaluation as for feel of operation in three ranks , a ; too light - weighted to feel easy , b ; feel easy because the operation is right and the nib is assuredly locked in its projected position , and c ; too heavy - weighted and so operation tends to be stopped before the nib is locked in its projected position . { circle around ( 3 )} state of handwriting and presence or absence of leakage of ink a projecting and retracting operation was repeated 1 , 000 times for each sample and visually determined whether or not there is a leakage of ink from a rear end opening portion of an ink tank . thereafter , a handwriting of 100 cm was carried out at a writing speed of 70 mm per second under the conditions of a writing load of 100 g and an angle of 70 degrees and then , it was visually determined whether or not there occurs blurring of the handwriting . a second embodiment will now be described with reference to fig1 to 14 . like component parts of the preceding embodiment are denoted by like reference numerals and description thereof is omitted . a clip 7 is fixed to a rear end portion of an exterior body 1 by press - fit or the like . an operating member 6 is attached to a rear of the exterior body 1 such that the operating member 6 can move back and forth . a lateral hole la is formed in rear of the exterior body 1 and an engagement wall portion 8 a is formed on an outer peripheral surface of a sliding barrel 8 of the operating member 6 . the engagement wall portion 8 a is fitted to the lateral hole la such that the engagement wall portion 8 a can move back and forth but it is prohibited from rotation . reference numeral 8 b denotes a split groove formed in front of the sliding barrel 8 . the operating member 6 having the engagement wall portion 8 a can be attached from the rear of the exterior body 1 by deformingly contracting the split groove 8 b part . the engagement wall portion 8 a will now be described with reference to fig1 and 13 . the engagement wall portion 8 a comprises a wall portion 9 vertically upstanding from the sliding barrel 8 , a projecting lock portion formed on a side surface ( viewer &# 39 ; s side in the illustration ) of the wall portion 9 and a guide portion 11 . a front part of the lock portion 10 is defined as a slant surface 10 a slanted leftward and downward . a v - shaped recess 10 b is formed in a rear part of the lock portion 10 . a slant surface 11 a slanted rightward and upward and another slant surface 11 b slanted rightward and downward are formed on a front part of the guide portion 11 . reference numeral 11 c denotes a small slant surface of a triangular , planar configuration . a wall surface 11 d , which is formed on a leftmost end , in the illustration , of the small slant surface 11 c is connected to the slant surface 11 b of the guide portion 11 . the clip 7 includes a projecting engagement protrusion 13 formed on the other side ( opposite side when viewed from the viewer in the illustration ) of the small piece 12 . the clip 7 has resiliency and can resiliently be deformed leftward and rightward in the illustration . in a normal condition , however , it is arranged such that a right end , in the illustration , of the small piece 12 is located at the outer peripheral surface of the exterior body 1 . in this embodiment , a front end portion of the clip 7 extends so far as to cover the lateral hole 1 a formed in the exterior body 1 . operation of the second embodiment will now be described . when the operating member 6 is pressed in the state of fig1 , the engagement wall portion 8 a moves forward ( downward in the illustration ). when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the slant surface 10 a of the lock portion 10 is brought into abutment with the engagement protrusion 13 . when the operating member 6 is still kept pressed , the small piece 12 of the clip 7 is displaced rightward in the illustration and the lock portion 10 is brought leftward , in the illustration , of the engagement protrusion 13 . when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the slant surface 11 a of the guide portion 11 is brought into abutment with a rear end of the engagement protrusion 12 and therefore , the operating member 6 is caused to stop advancement . when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the clip 7 is moved back leftward , in the illustration , by the resilient restoring force . as the clip 7 is moved back , the recess 10 b of the lock portion 10 is brought into abutment with the front end of the engagement protrusion 13 so that the lock portion 10 is locked . since the refill 5 is fitted into the sliding barrel 8 of the operating member 6 , the refill 5 is exposed from the tip of the front barrel 2 by the above - mentioned operation and locked in that state ( see fig1 ). in order to release the locked state , the operating member 6 is pressed again . then , the lock portion 10 is disengaged from the engagement protrusion 13 . when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the wall surface 11 d formed on a final end of the small slant surface 11 c is brought into abutment with the rear part of the engagement protrusion 13 . when the operating member 6 is still kept pressed , the engagement protrusion 13 is displaced leftward , in the illustration , by the slant surface 11 b . and an end face 14 of the engagement wall portion 8 a is brought rightward , in the illustration , of the engagement protrusion 13 . when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the engagement wall portion 8 a moves rightward of the engagement protrusion 13 and returned to its initial state . as the engagement wall portion 8 a is moved back , the refill 5 is also retracted into the front barrel 2 . according to this embodiment , since the resilient force , which acts in the direction enabling the clip 7 to move towards the exterior body 1 , is chiefly utilized when the engagement protrusion and the engagement portion are engaged with each other or disengaged from each other by operation , durability of the attachment basal portion of the clip can be ensured . a third embodiment will now be described with reference to fig1 and 15 . description of like parts of the above - mentioned embodiments is omitted for simplification only . in this embodiment , an engagement protrusion 15 is formed on an inner surface of the clip 7 such that the engagement protrusion 15 has a protruded and recessed shape . an engagement portion 16 is formed on a sliding barrel 8 of an operating member 6 such that the engagement portion 16 has a protruded shape . in this embodiment , the resilient force , which acts in a lateral direction which is a direction perpendicular to the direction for enabling the clip 7 to move towards the exterior body 1 , is chiefly utilized for the operation . when the operating member 6 is pressed in the state of fig1 , the engagement portion 16 moves forward ( downward in the illustration ). when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the engagement portion 16 is brought into abutment with a slant surface 10 a of a lock portion 10 . when the operating member 6 is still kept pressed , the clip 7 is displaced laterally as the engagement portion 16 moves forward and therefore , the engagement portion 16 is brought leftward , in the illustration , of the lock portion 10 . when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , the engagement portion 16 is brought into abutment with a slant surface 11 a of a guide portion 11 and therefore , the operating member 6 is caused to stop advancement . when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the clip 7 is moved back laterally by the resilient restoring force . then , the engagement portion 16 moves towards ( rightward and upward in the illustration ) the lock portion 10 along the slant surface 11 a , as the clip 7 is moved back . subsequently , a rear end of the engagement portion 16 is brought into abutment with a recess 10 b of the lock portion 10 so that the engagement portion 16 is locked to the lock portion 10 . in order to release the above locked state , the operating member 6 is pressed again . then , the engagement portion 16 is disengaged from the recess 10 b . when the operating member 6 is kept pressed , a front end of the engagement member 6 is brought into abutment with the slant surface 11 b and the clip 7 is displaced laterally so that a left end 16 a of the engagement portion 16 reaches an end face 15 a of an engagement protrusion 15 . when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the engagement portion 6 is moved along the right side of the lock portion 10 and returned to its initial state without being moved back to the recess 10 b . according to this embodiment , even if the writing instrument is put into the pocket or the like in the engaged state in which the refill 5 is left exposed from the tip of the front barrel 2 , the engagement protrusion of the clip 7 and the engagement portion is more easily disengaged from each other and therefore , it is less likely that the user &# 39 ; s clothes get stained by the nib . a fourth embodiment will now be described with reference to fig1 and 17 . description of like parts of the above - mentioned embodiments is omitted . in this embodiment , an engagement protrusion 15 is formed on an inner surface of the clip 7 such that the engagement protrusion 15 has a protruded shape . an engagement portion 16 is formed on a sliding barrel 8 of an operating member 6 such that the engagement portion 16 has a protruded and recessed shape . when the operating member 6 is pressed in the state of fig1 , the clip 7 is displaced laterally as the engagement portion 16 moves forward . when the pressing of the operating member 6 is released , the clip 7 is moved back laterally by the resilient restoring force . then , a lock portion 10 is locked to an engagement protrusion 15 , as the clip 7 is moved back laterally . in order to release the above locked state , the operating member 6 is pressed again . then , the engagement portion 16 is disengaged from the engagement protrusion 15 and returned to its initial state . according to the fourth embodiment of the invention , the engagement protrusion 15 of the clip 7 can be formed smaller in configuration compared with the third embodiment . the nib t used for the refill 5 of the above - mentioned various embodiments will now be described in detail . for the convenience of explanation , the nib is faced upward in the illustration . in fig1 , a spring for biasing a ball upward is incorporated in the nib t . in fig1 , there is no need of a provision of a spring for biasing the ball . in fig1 to 21 , a ball 18 is rotatably attached to a ball pinchingly holding portion 17 disposed at a tip of the nib t . a ball retaining seat 19 and a center hole 20 serving as an ink passageway are formed below , in the illustration , the ball 18 . an upper part of the center hole 20 is defined as a radial wedge grooves 21 for feeding ink to the ball 18 . a rear hole 22 is formed below the center hole 20 . a counter bore portion 20 a having a diameter larger than a diameter dimension of the center hole 20 but smaller than a diameter dimension of the ball retaining seat portion 19 is formed at an upper part of the center hole 20 . the ball retaining seat portion 19 is formed by striking the ball 18 downward , in the illustration , so that the ball retaining seat portion 19 has the same r as the ball 18 . as shown in fig2 , comparing with the conventional product , the ball retaining seat is formed narrower in width to the extent of a provision of the counter bore portion 20 a . the diameter dimension of the ball retaining seat portion varies depending on lubricating property of ink and raw material of the tip . preferably the diameter dimension of the ball retaining seat portion is about 75 % to 90 % of the ball diameter . for example , for a ball having a diameter dimension of 0 . 7 mm , the diameter dimension of the ball retaining seat portion may be set to 0 . 57 mm ( 81 . 4 % of the ball diameter ), the diameter dimension of the counter bore 20 a may be set to a proper value and the width of the ball retaining seat portion 19 may be set to 0 . 01 mm to 0 . 1 mm . a spring 23 is disposed at the rear hole 22 of the tip t shown in fig1 . one end of the spring 23 extends perpendicularly upward and is defined as a spring end portion 23 a passing through the center hole 20 . the ball 18 is carried by the spring end portion 23 a and biased upward so as to be abutted with a distal end inner edge portion 24 of the ball pinchingly holding portion 17 . reference character h denotes a nib holder . the nib holder h includes an inner hole 25 thereabove , an inner hole step portion 25 a serving as a bottom of the inner hole 25 and a lead hole 26 . a lower outer periphery of the nib t is a reduced diameter portion 27 which is assembled and fixed to the inner hole 25 of the nib t holder h by a press - fit or the like . a vertical length of this reduced diameter portion 27 is set slightly larger than the depth of the inner hole 25 . the nib holder h fixedly supports the reduced diameter portion 27 of the nib t by its inner hole step portion 25 a and also supports a rear end portion 23 b of the spring 23 . when the ball 18 is brought into abutment with a writing surface , the ball 18 is pressed , the spring end portion 23 a is moved backward by the pressing operation and the ink is fed to the writing surface via the tip inner edge portion 24 of the ball pinchingly holding portion 17 through the ball 18 . when the ball 18 is brought away from the writing surface , the spring 23 is sprung back ( or restored ) to cause the ball 18 to contact the tip inner edge portion 24 intimately so that ejection of ink is blocked . function of the counter bore portion 20 a in the nib t will now be described . when the diameter dimension of the hole portion 20 a of the counter bore portion 20 a is properly set beforehand and the ball 18 is knocked , a spring back of the knocking hardly occurs due to a provision of the counter bore portion 20 a . as a result , the ball retaining seat portion 19 having the same r as the ball 18 and a small width , can be formed . when the writing instrument is to be used , that portion of the ball 18 which has an is enlarged diameter sits on the ball retaining seat portion 19 having a small width and rotates the ball 18 . accordingly , lateral play is reduced and centering of the ball 18 is retained . as a result , there can be obtained such writing characteristics that a smooth rotation is ensured and ink blobbing hardly occurs . although , in the nib t of fig1 , the diameter dimension of the center hole 20 is set to a required least possible diameter in order to maintain the centering property in the center hole 20 of the spring end portion 23 a on which the ball 18 is carried , a required quantity of ink can be delivered to the ball pinchingly holding portion 17 owing to a provision of the counter bore portion 20 a nevertheless the center hole 20 has a small diameter . as described hereinbefore , according to the present invention , there is provided a retractable type writing instrument wherein an operating member movable relative to an exterior body through operation is interlocked with a refill body having a nib at its tip , an engagement portion for engaging an engagement protrusion formed on an inner surface of a clip attached to the exterior body is formed on the operating member , the engagement protrusion is engaged with the engagement portion , thereby locking the nib of the refill body in a state of the nib projected from a tip of the exterior body , and the locking of the nib in its projected position is released by an operation to be made in the same direction as the operation for locking the nib in its projected position , the retractable writing instrument being characterized in that when the engagement protrusion and the engagement portion are to be engaged with or disengaged from each other by the operation , a relative movement between the engagement protrusion and the engagement portion at the time of engagement or disengagement consists of a combination of a movement in a same plane direction and a movement towards or away from the plane , or a retractable type writing instrument wherein a clip including an attachment basal portion with respect to an exterior body having a nib projection hole at a tip thereof , a deformation plate portion as an intermediate part and an engagement protrusion at an inner surface of the deformation plate portion is arranged outside the exterior body , a refill body having a nib at a tip thereof and storing therein ink is received in the exterior body such that the refill body can move back and forth in a state in which the refill body is biased backward by a coiled spring , an operating member is moved to cause the refill body or a connecting member with respect to the refill body to move so that the nib projects from the nib projection hole , the refill body or the member to be connected to the refill body is brought into engagement with the engagement protrusion of the clip , thereby maintaining the projected state of the nib from the exterior body , the operating member is moved again to release the engagement so that the nib is received in the exterior body by a backward biasing force of the coiled spring , the retractable type writing instrument being characterized in that the engagement protrusion of the clip is formed of polycarbonate resin , an engagement portion of the refill body or the member to be connected to the refill body with respect to the engagement protrusion is formed of polyoxymethylene resin , and a surface of the engagement portion and a protruded portion of the engagement protrusion are contacted with each other at the time of an overriding engagement for projecting the nib . accordingly , the mechanism for locking / releasing the projection and retraction is simple , the number of component parts is reduced , assembling is easy and the cost is low . moreover , the barrel length can be reduced to the extent of the feature in that the mechanism for locking / releasing the projection and retraction is not incorporated in the internal rear part of the barrel . furthermore , sureness of the locking of the projection / retraction through operation and actual feel of the operation can be obtained . in addition , no leakage of ink and no blurring of the handwriting occurs even if the projecting and retracting operation of the nib is repeated . moreover , there is no such a fear that the user &# 39 ; s clothes get stained by accidental pressing of the knock member after use . | 1 |
referring now more particularly to fig1 this version of the basement enclosure invention includes footers 10 - 10 which support columns 11 - 11 which in turn support beams 12 - 12 . these beams 12 - 12 may be made of prestressed , reinforced concrete , steel , or any other suitable material , depending upon the span involved . hanging from the beams 12 - 12 is a conventional wooden framework consisting of headers 13 - 13 , studs 14 - 14 , attached to sills 15 - 15 , and floor joists 16 - 16 . attached and surrounding this structural enclosure is a gas and moisture impermeable shell 17 which may be made from a variety of materials , a preferred material being a fiberglass reinforced polymer . the shell 17 may be attached directly to the floor joists 16 - 16 , studs 14 - 14 , and sills 15 - 15 by adhesives or by any other means which do not affect the integrity of the shell 17 to prevent transmittal of moisture or gases . referring now more particularly to fig2 the shell 17 is shown attached to a plywood sheeting 18 in the floor area and sidewalls 19 - 19 which in turn are attached by conventional means to studs 14 - 14 , headers 13 - 13 , and joists 16 - 16 . the headers 13 - 13 are attached to the beams 12 - 12 by conventional methods . the unit shown in fig2 may be preassembled at the factory or the shell 17 may be shipped to the site as a unit or in module form and assembled at the site with the structural elements assembled thereto and the entire unit hung from the beams 12 - 12 . if desired , the shell 17 may be made thick enough to provide structural support for construction of a building on it without the use of the conventional stud , joist , and plywood construction . however , for economical reasons , the conventional interior wood construction is preferred . of course , other materials than wood may be used . referring now more particularly to fig3 there is shown a version of the basement enclosure which may be placed directly on the bottom of the basement excavation . if desired , this unit can be placed on the leveled soil of the basement excavation , it can be placed on a concrete pad formed with conventional footers , or it can be placed on a leveled sand bed . the unit consists of headers 13 - 13 connected by means of studs 14 - 14 to sills 15 - 15 and floor joists 16 - 16 . ceiling joists 21 - 21 which become the floor joists of the first above ground story of the structure are provided and connected to the headers 13 - 13 . the entire structure may be covered with plywood sheeting 18 in the floor area and sheeting 19 in the wall area with the gas and moisture impermeable shell 17 attached thereto and completely enclosing the side walls and the floor of the unit . after the unit has been installed in the ground the area around it is back filled as is shown in section in fig1 and 3 with dirt 20 to grade level . in the case of the version of the invention shown in fig1 there is space remaining between the bottom of the excavation and the bottom of the shell 17 in the final installation . in the case of factory construction , one option is to form and cure the shell 17 on a wooden frame work , or it can be molded in a separate operation and then fastened to the wood frame , either at the factory or at the site . any joints in the shell 17 would be sealed with a similar material thus to insure the integrity of the shell 17 . for example , if a fiberglass reinforced polymer were used to form the shell 17 , this could be sealed with fiberglass reinforced polymer . in new construction of the version of the invention shown in fig1 the footers 10 - 10 would be installed and the columns 11 - 11 would then be installed and the basement shell 17 and accompanying structural members would be placed in the excavation , the beams 12 - 12 would be attached to the columns 11 - 11 and the shell 17 would be firmly attached to the beams 12 - 12 , thus completing the installation procedure . in some soil situations , the footers 10 - 10 may be omitted and the columns 11 - 11 can take the form of pylons , which are driven down into the ground . appropriate openings can be made either at the factory or on site for sewer , water , and gas lines and appropriately sealed to prevent the entry of any moisture or gases . the structures shown are particularly adaptable to a finished basement with conventional insulation being installed between the studs 14 - 14 and then finished wallboard or panelling being attached to the studs . in an existing building having a foundation , it is possible to excavate under the building , install the appropriate beams and then install the module by hanging it freely from the support beams . it will be seen that this basement enclosure provides a continuous barrier to moisture and gases and will not be subject to most of the problems of conventional basements . in the case of the version of the invention shown in fig1 the reinforced shell 17 will hang from the support beams 12 - 12 and thus bear no forces of compaction due to the weight of the structure . the problem of heave is eliminated because the bottom of the shell 17 is suspended above the level of the ground at the bottom of the excavated hole rather than resting on it . the problems of any settling of the foundation can be compensated with adjustments made at the point where the support beams 12 - 12 attach to a foundation support . furthermore , since the basement enclosure allows for the secure anchoring of the enclosure to a foundation , potential problems of buoyancy due to high ground water are minimized . in the case of the version of the invention showin at fig3 the basement enclosure will have sufficient structural strength to support the additional construction to be placed on the top thereof , such as would be the case in a two - or three - story building , for example . this basement enclosure could be considered to be the below ground first story of a multi - story structure . while this invention has been described in its preferred embodiment , it is to be appreciated that variations therefrom may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention . | 4 |
fig1 shows a well 10 being drilled in the earth with a rotary drilling rig 12 . the drilling rig includes the usual derrick 14 , derrick floor 16 , draw works 18 , hook 20 , swivel 22 , kelly joint 24 , rotary table 26 , and a drill string 28 made up of drill pipe 30 secured to the lower end of a kelly joint 24 and to the upper end of a section of drill collars 32 , which carry a drill bit 34 . drilling fluid circulates from a mud pit 36 through a mud pump 38 and a mud supply line 41 and into the swivel 22 . the drilling mud flows down through the kelly joint , drill string and drill collars , and through nozzles ( not shown ) in the lower face of the drill bit . the drilling mud flows back up through an annular space 42 between the outer diameter of the drill string and the well bore to the surface , where it is returned to the mud pit through a mud return line 43 . a reference sensor 7 is mounted on the upper portion of the drill string 28 . in a particular preferred embodiment , reference sensor 7 is mounted on swivel 22 . normally , a plurality of field sensors , such as geophones 8 and 9 , are located at the earth &# 39 ; s surface 2 at suitable locations . the sensor 7 and the geophones 8 and 9 are connected by means of conductors 53 - 55 or by telemetering to an amplifier 50 connected to a recorder 52 . in a preferred embodiment sensor 7 may be an accelerometer . the impact of the bit 34 on the rock at the bottom of the borehole 10 generates elastic waves which propagate vertically upward through the drill string , and radially outward into the earth formation . the drill string path has little attenuation of acoustic energy by virtue of its steel composition and , therefore , the signal received by the sensor 7 is representative of the vibrations emitted by the drill bit 34 into the earth formation . signals emitted into the earth will travel upwardly to the field sensors and will also be reflected from subsurface interfaces , such as interface 60 beneath the drill bit , back to the field sensors . normally , the transmission time of seismic energy from the drill bit to the field sensors is determined from cross - correlation of the signal detected by the sensor 7 with the signals detected by the field sensors . because at least a portion of the acoustic signal will be reflected from discontinuities in the drill string and from locations where there is a change in diameter of the drill string ( primarily the interface between the drill collars and drill pipe ), the signal detected at the top of the drill string will include not only the primary signal emanating from the drill bit but also drill string multiples resulting from reflections of the primary signal from the drill collar - drill pipe interface and the top and bottom of the drill string . acoustic energy resulting from such drill string multiples is also emitted from the drill bit into the earth . such reflected energy travels to the field sensor from the drill bit along with the primary energy emitted by the drill bit . fig2 illustrates the reflections of acoustic energy from the top and bottom of the drill string 28 and from the interface 62 between the drill collars 32 and drill pipe 30 . fig2 also illustrates possible travel paths of seismic energy from the drill bit 34 to a field geophone 8 . the acoustic signal travels up from the drill bit to the drill collar - drill pipe interface where a portion of the energy is reflected and a portion is transmitted and travels to the top of the drill string . when the reflected portion reaches the bottom of the drill string , a portion of the reflected energy emanates into the earth and a portion is reflected upwardly . when the reflected energy again reaches the interface between the drill collars and drill pipe , a portion thereof is re - reflected , and so on , so that a short period drill string multiple having a period related to the travel - time between the drill bit and the drill collar - drill pipe interface emanates from the bottom of the drill string . because a portion of the short period multiple is transmitted through the drill collar - drill pipe interface , this short period multiple is detectable at the top of the drill string . the following equation represents in transform notation the short period signal time series emanating from the lower end of the drill bit which is detected by the field geophone . p = fractional portion of energy at the bottom of the drill string which is radiated into the earth r = fractional portion of upward traveling energy which is reflected downwardly at the drill pipe - drill collar interface bha = one - way travel time between the bottom of the drill string and the drill collar - drill pipe interface . the multiple sequence enclosed in brackets may be represented as bhamult ( z ) so that the geophone signal may be written as the convolution of a source signal with the impulse response of the bottom bole assembly and the impulse response of the earth . in z transform notation the signal detected by sensor 7 at the top of the drill string is referred to as the pilot ( or reference ) signal . the time series for the short period energy which reaches the top of the drill string may be written in z transform notation as : p = fractional portion of energy at the bottom of the drill string which is radiated into the earth r = fractional portion of upward traveling energy which is reflected downwardly at the drill pipe - drill collar interface bha = one - way travel time between the bottom of the drill string and the drill collar drill pipe interface . note that , except for an amplitude factor , and a delay factor , z bha , the bracketed term is exactly equivalent to the bracketed term for the geophone signal . therefore , the pilot signal can be used to derive an operator to attenuate the short period drill string multiple in the field signal . the time series can also be represented by the convolution in addition to the short period multiples , there will also be present in the pilot signal and field geophone signal , longer period multiples resulting from reflections from the top of the drill string . at the lower end of the drill string , a portion of the reflected energy is emitted into the earth and a portion is re - reflected ( either from the bottom of the drill string or from the drill pipe - drill collar interface ) and travels back to the top of the drill string . however , the longer period multiples detected at the field geophones will have different characteristics from the long period multiples detected in the pilot signal at the top of the drill string . these characteristics do not allow the pilot signal to be used to derive a deconvolution operator for the long period multiples in the field geophone signal . if long period multiple energy in the pilot signal is excluded , the term dpipe ( z ) is a pure delay filter , and the pilot signal convolution equation may be written as where γ = travel time for energy to travel from the bottom of the drill pipe to the pilot sensor at the top of the drill string . the autocorrelation of the pilot signal may be written in z transform notation as the autocorrelation function for short period multiple energy may also be written as : to generate the autocorrelation function which excludes the long period acoustic energy , the pilot signal is windowed to exclude delays equal to or greater than the two way travel time between the top of the drill string and the drill pipe - drill collar interface . an operator is generated from this windowed auto - correlation function , which when convolved with the field geophone signal , attenuates the short period multiple reflection in the field geophone signal . the operator , which may be the minimum phase inverse of the pilot signal may be derived using wavelet compression techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art . when this operator is applied to the geophone signal to the earth ( z ) response is obtained : ## equ2 ## by convolving the derived operator with the geophone signal , the magnitude of the short period multiples in the geophone signal is attenuated . when the drill bit is utilized as the energy source , the field signal is normally cross - correlated with the pilot signal . typically , the cross - correlation of t - he field signal and the pilot signal will be performed and the operator is then convolved with the cross - correlation function . the operator may , however , be convolved with the field signal prior to cross - correlation of the field signal with the pilot signal . although the preferred embodiment has been described in terms of using the energy emitted from the drill bit as the seismic source , it is understood that other sources positioned at the lower end of the drill string may be utilized . such sources may be of any suitable type for producing vibrations , impulses , implosions , explosions , or sudden injections of fluid against the walls of the wellbore . various changes in the details of the invention as described herein may be apparent to those skilled in the art . it is intended that such changes be included within the scope of the claims appended hereto . | 6 |
referring to fig1 – 6 , a convertible roof system 21 is part of an automotive vehicle and includes a hard - top front roof 23 , a hard - top rear roof 25 , a top stack mechanism 27 operable to move the roofs , a rigid tonneau cover 29 , a tonneau cover mechanism 31 and a tonneau latching system 32 . roofs 23 and 25 are automatically movable from fully raised and closed positions covering a passenger compartment 33 , as shown in fig1 , to fully retracted and open positions , as shown in fig3 , 5 and 6 , wherein roofs 23 and 25 are stowed in a roof storage area or compartment 35 . roof storage compartment 35 is located between a metal , seat back panel or bulkhead 35 a and a metal rear panel 36 . bulkhead 35 a separates roof storage compartment 35 from passenger compartment 33 and rear panel 36 separates roof storage compartment 35 from an externally accessible storage area for miscellaneous articles such as a trunk or pickup truck bed 37 . a rigid , glass back window or backlite 39 is secured to rear roof 25 while front roof 23 is disengagably attached to a front header panel 41 by latches . weatherstrips or seals are also employed around the peripheral edges of roofs 23 and 25 . roofs 23 and 25 are preferably stamped from steel sheets and include inner reinforcement panels , but the roofs may alternately be formed from polymeric composites or aluminum . roofs 23 and 25 have opaque outside surfaces 43 that are typically painted . these outside surfaces 43 define three - dimensionally curved planes which are stored in a predominantly vertical and parallel nested orientation when fully retracted and stowed ; this can be observed best in fig5 . top stack mechanism 27 is in mirrored symmetry in both outboard sides of the vehicle and will only be described for the left - hand side with reference to fig3 , 6 and 21 . top stack mechanism 27 includes a linkage assembly 51 and a hydraulic actuator 55 . linkage assembly 51 is preferably constructed in accordance with german patent application serial number 101 39 354 . 7 entitled “ cabriolet - fahrzeug ” ( vehicle ) which was filed on aug . 17 , 2001 , which is incorporated by reference herein . roofs 23 and 25 can be tightly and closely nested together when fully retracted and the centerline , fore - and - aft roof storage area opening can be minimized due to linkage assembly 51 . tonneau cover mechanism 31 and tonneau cover 29 are best shown in fig7 – 10 and 19 ; only one side will be discussed since the other is in mirrored symmetry . tonneau cover mechanism 31 includes a linkage assembly 103 having a pair of arcuate gooseneck links 105 and 107 , a first straight link 109 and a second straight link 111 . proximal ends of gooseneck links 105 and 107 are pivotably mounted to a vehicle body - mounted bracket ( see fig1 ). straight links 109 and 111 are coupled at a pivot 113 . a hydraulic actuator 115 ( see fig1 ) is coupled to and drives gooseneck link 105 . accordingly , when hydraulic actuator 115 is energized , tonneau cover mechanism 31 will cause tonneau cover 29 to rearwardly pivot from the closed position of fig1 to the open position of fig4 . this allows roofs 23 and 25 to enter roof storage area 35 . tonneau cover 29 will be automatically returned to its closed position in order to cover and externally hide the stowed roofs . a rigid flipper door or closeout panel 141 is attached to a front section of tonneau cover 29 by a pair of hinges 143 . for each hinge 143 , a first plate is secured to a bottom surface of tonneau cover 29 and a second plate is secured to a bottom surface of closeout panel 141 . if necessary , the plates are coupled at a pivot pin with a torsion spring 489 ( best observed in fig1 ) biasing the plates into a co - planar extended orientation ( as shown in fig3 , 7 and 19 ). an aesthetic trim panel 144 ( see fig1 ) covers a portion of each tonneau cover mechanism 31 and a latch trim panel covers a portion of each latch assembly . preferably , a pair of automatic , hydraulic fluid actuators 629 each have a first , linearly extendable rod end 633 coupled to a bracket mounted to closeout panel 141 . a fluid cylinder end 631 of each fluid actuator 629 is mounted to a tonneau cover bracket . thus , actuation of fluid actuators 629 rotate closeout panel 141 relative to tonneau cover 29 . adjustable bumpers 635 assist in locating tonneau cover 29 in its closed position . in an alternate embodiment , shown in fig2 and 26 , a first end of a cable actuator 145 , which slides within a protective sheath , is connected to and operably drives a corresponding lever / bracket 146 mounted to closeout panel 141 . the opposite end of each cable 145 is secured to a fixed cable bracket 147 stationarily mounted to a main bracket 149 supporting roof linkage assembly 51 , which in turn , is fastened to bulkhead 35 a . referring to fig1 – 13 , the preferred embodiment of latching system 32 includes a stamped steel plate 201 , upon which is fixed a linearly extendable hydraulic actuator 203 , a latching linkage assembly 205 and a lost motion device 207 . latching linkage assembly 205 includes an arcuately shaped first link 209 , an elongated second link 211 and an offset angled third link 213 . a first pivot 215 of arcuate link 209 is linearly slid within an elongated and diagonally oriented slot 221 disposed in plate 201 upon automatic actuation of actuator 203 which causes extension of a piston rod coupled to pivot 215 . second link 211 is rotatably coupled to arcuate link 209 at a floating pivot 223 . thus , automatic actuator - driven movement of arcuate link 209 causes the coupled link 211 to rotate about a fixed pivot 225 such that a follower pin 227 coupled to link 211 is linearly slid from an unlatched position shown in fig1 and 12 to a latched position as shown in fig1 . a catch or roller 229 is journaled about follower pin 227 and follower pin 227 is operably slid within an arcuate surface defining a slot 231 in plate 201 . roller 229 engages within a tapered bifurcated opening of a striker 241 downwardly and forwardly projecting from a lower surface of tonneau cover 29 ( see fig7 , 8 and 18 ), when tonneau cover 29 is in its fully closed and covering position as shown in fig1 and when latch assembly 32 is in its fully latched position as shown in fig1 and 14 . when a microprocessor based controller 407 ( see fig1 ) automatically causes retraction of the piston rod into the hydraulic cylinder of actuator 203 , the links will reverse operation and cause roller 229 to rotate from its latching position to an unlatching position thereby releasing striker 241 . a manual override feature is provided within latching system 32 to allow a vehicle operator to manually latch or unlatch roller 229 with striker 241 even when electrical or hydraulic power is not present , such as could happen during vehicle servicing or due to battery failure . such an override feature is achieved through a metallic disk 251 of lost motion device 207 which is rotatable about a fixed pivot 253 . an internal , straight , camming slot 255 is disposed within disk 251 and has a pair of abutting surfaces 257 and 259 . a cam follower pin 261 projecting from link 213 is allowed to freely move in a lost - motion manner within slot 255 during normal automatic operation of latch assembly 32 . flexible and elongated cables 271 are attached to disk by spaced apart fasteners 273 ; operator accessible handles 275 ( see fig2 ) are located within the automotive vehicle and are attached to an opposite end of each cable 271 such that manual pulling of one handle causes manually actuated rotation of disk 251 in that direction while manual pulling of the other handle causes reverse rotation of disk 251 . thus , manually actuated rotation of disk 251 serves to back drive the linkages through contact of the respective abutting surface 259 against pin 261 of link 213 ; this causes link 213 then upwardly and rotatably pulls or pushes pivot 215 attached to arcuate link 209 for coincidentally driving link 211 and roller 229 . the manually overridden unlatching position can be viewed in fig1 while the manually overridden unlatching position can be observed in fig1 . it is noteworthy that linkage assembly 32 is extremely thin in its cross - car package . plate 201 is secured to a quarter inner panel of the vehicle body outboard of the roof storage compartment with all of the linkages and actuators disposed between the quarter inner panel and the outer quarter panel skin of the vehicle . essentially , only roller 229 , a portion of the hydraulic lines and a portion of the manual override cables / handles are exposed on the in - board side of plate 201 thereby reducing the accessibility of components which might otherwise interfere with retraction or extension of the convertible roofs . reference should now be made to fig1 and 18 wherein a hall effect magnet 410 is mounted on an outboard face of each striker 241 . a hall effect switch 409 is affixed to each plate 201 which operably senses the location of magnet 410 ; if magnet 410 is sensed as being in the tonneau striker closed position , then switch 409 sends a signal to microprocessor 407 which causes cylinder 203 to engage roller 229 with striker 241 . referring to fig2 – 25 , an alternate embodiment of a latching system 32 ′ includes a stamped steel plate 201 ′, upon which is fixed a linearly extendable hydraulic actuator 203 ′, a latching linkage assembly 205 ′ and a lost motion device 207 ′. latching linkage assembly 205 ′ includes an arcuately shaped first link 209 ′, an elongated second link 211 ′ and a hook - like third link 213 ′. a first pivot 215 ′ of arcuate link 209 ′ is linearly slid within an elongated and diagonally oriented slot 221 ′ disposed in plate 201 ′ upon automatic actuation of actuator 203 ′ which causes extension of a piston rod coupled to pivot 215 ′. second link 211 ′ is rotatably coupled to arcuate link 209 ′ at a floating pivot 223 ′. thus , automatic actuator - driven movement of arcuate link 209 ′ causes the coupled link 211 ′ to rotate about a fixed pivot 225 ′ such that a follower pin 227 ′ coupled to link 211 ′ is linearly slid from an unlatched position shown in fig2 to a latched position as shown in fig2 . a roller 229 ′ is journaled about follower pin 227 ′ and follower pin 227 ′ is operably slid within an arcuate surface defining a slot 231 ′ in plate 201 ′. roller 229 ′ has a somewhat inwardly tapered , h cross sectional shape which operably engages within a tapered bifurcated opening of a striker 241 downwardly and forwardly projecting from a lower surface of tonneau cover 29 ( see fig7 , 8 and 18 ), when tonneau cover 29 is in its fully closed and covering position as shown in fig1 and when latch assembly 32 ′ is in its fully latched position as shown in fig2 . when a microprocessor based controller automatically causes retraction of the piston rod into the hydraulic cylinder of actuator 203 ′, the links will reverse operation and cause roller 229 ′ to rotate from its latching position to an unlatching position thereby releasing striker 241 . a manual override feature is provided within latching system 32 ′ to allow a vehicle operator to manually latch or unlatch roller 229 ′ with striker 241 even when electrical or hydraulic power is not present , such as could happen during vehicle servicing or due to battery failure . such an override feature is achieved through a metallic disk 251 ′ of lost motion device 207 ′ which is rotatable about a fixed pivot 253 ′. a depressed camming slot 255 ′ is disposed within disk 251 ′ and has a pair of abutting surfaces 257 ′ and 259 ′. a bent , cam following finger 261 ′ of hook - like link 213 ′ is allowed to freely move in a lost - motion manner within slot 255 ′ during normal automatic operation of latch assembly 32 ′. flexible and elongated cables 271 ′ are attached to disk by spaced apart fasteners 273 ′; operator accessible handles 275 ( see fig2 ) are located within the automotive vehicle and are attached to an opposite end of each cable 271 ′ such that manual pulling of one handle causes manually actuated rotation of disk 251 ′ in that direction while manual pulling of the other handle causes reverse rotation of disk 251 ′. thus , manually actuated rotation of disk 251 ′ serves to back drive the linkages through contact of the respective abutting surface 259 ′ against finger 261 ′ of link 213 ′; this causes a follower pin 291 ′ attached to link 213 ′ to slide within a camming slot 293 ′ such that link 213 ′ then upwardly and rotatably pulls or pushes an intermediate pivot 295 ′ attached to arcuate link 209 ′ for coincidentally driving link 211 ′ and roller 229 ′. the manually overridden unlatching position can be viewed in fig2 while the manually overridden unlatching position can be observed in fig2 . all of the top stack mechanism actuators and tonneau cover actuators may be controlled in accordance with the control system disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 451 , 849 entitled “ motorized self - correcting automatic convertible top ” which issued to porter et al . on sep . 19 , 1995 , which is incorporated by reference herein , or through hall effect sensors coupled to a microprocessor controller . for example , in the alternate embodiment , fig1 illustrates a locator pin 401 downwardly extending from a bracket attached to an underside of tonneau cover 29 ( see fig7 and 8 ). when fully closed , locator pin 401 enters within a body - mounted receptacle 403 and pushes a tongue of a micro switch 405 coupled to a microprocessor - based controller 407 . such micro switch 405 actuation serves to then actuate a hydraulic pump which causes extension of hydraulic actuator 203 ( see fig1 ). referring now to fig1 , when roller 229 is fully engaged within striker 241 , roller depresses a tongue of a micro switch 409 which transmits a signal to controller 407 to cause deactivation of hydraulic actuator 203 . while various embodiments of the latching and convertible roof system have been disclosed , it should be appreciated that variations may be made to the present invention . for example , the presently disclosed latch can be used in other areas of the vehicle such as for the front header - to - one bow attachment or as a roof downstack latch , although certain advantages of the present invention may not be achieved . furthermore , the present latch can be used to secure a hook or striker extending from a trunk lid which may be used to cover a retracted roof . also , the hard - top roofs can be covered with vinyl , fabric or painted , or can include transparent glass panels . the present invention latch can alternately be used with a soft top roof . moreover , electric motor actuators can be used in place of one or more of the disclosed hydraulic actuators . it should also be appreciated that the trunk compartment can be in front of the passenger compartment for a mid or rear engine vehicle . while certain materials and shapes have been disclosed , it should be appreciated that various other shapes and materials can be employed . it is intended by the following claims to cover these and any other departures from the disclosed embodiments which fall within the true spirit of this invention . | 8 |
the cargo space is defined between a floor 10 , side walls 12 , a front wall 14 , and an enclosing roof structure ( not shown ). the side walls 12 may conveniently be in the form of corrugated aluminum sheeting provided along the upper edge with longitudinal support elements 16 which are interconnected by permanently attached transverse top bars 18 , thus maintaining the side walls 12 in parallel vertical relationship . at each corner of the longitudinally elongated cargo space defined between the side walls 12 of the vehicle are corner posts 20 . in order to provide an adequate support for the structure later to be described , l - shaped support brackets 22 having vertical legs 24 and horizontal legs 26 are welded to the tops of the rear posts 20 . identical brackets 23 are provided and are welded to the top of the front corner posts . brackets 22 and 23 constitute end supports for elongated upper rails 28 which may be of one - piece construction and adapted to extend between the rear l - shaped bracket 22 and the front l - shaped bracket 23 . the upper rails 28 may be of one - piece or they may be of shorter lengths interconnected by splice elements 30 . as best seen in fig3 each of the upper rails 28 include integrally extending flat end portions 32 adapted to be permanently and rigidly connected to the support brackets 22 and 23 . conveniently , the rails 28 are in the form of extrusions having a cross - sectional shape which will presently be described in detail , the end portions of the extrusions being cut away to provide the flat end attachment portions 32 . the connection between the horizontal legs 26 of the l - shaped brackets and the attachment portions 32 may be by conventional fastening means such for example as nuts and bolts . referring now to fig5 the upper support element 28 is provided with a longitudinally extending inwardly facing continuous recess 34 which provides space for the splice elements 30 if used and which also provides additional space for the reception of the ends of latching elements 36 and 38 provided at the ends of cargo restraint bars 40 . extending longitudinally over and enclosing the longitudinally extending space 34 is an upper belt rail 42 the upper and lower edges of which may be affixed to the rail 28 by conventional fastening means such for example as expanding rivets 44 . referring now to fig6 the configuration of the bottom rails 46 is illustrated . these rails are similar in cross - sectional shape to the upper elements 28 and are provided with a longitudinally extending continuous inwardly facing recess 48 . the outer sides of the rails 46 include ribs 50 apertured as indicated at 52 for the reception of fasteners 54 by means of which the bottom rail 46 is affixed to the side 12 of the cargo container adjacent its bottom edge . the elongated continuous inwardly facing recesses or channels 48 are covered by lower belt rails 56 attached to the lower rail by suitable fastening means such for example as the split rivets indicated at 58 . the space between the recess 48 and the lower belt rails 56 receives the latch elements 36 and 38 at the end of the transversely extending cargo restraint bar 40 . attached to the vertical posts 20 are vertically extending belt rails indicated generally at 64 . these belt rails are of generally l - shaped cross - section and include longitudinally extending legs 66 terminating in short flanges 68 which are welded as indicated at 70 to the vertical posts 20 . the vertical belt rails 64 include transversely extending legs 72 which if desired may also be welded to the posts 20 . the longitudinally extending vertical legs 66 are spaced from the adjacent side of the posts to provide a space 74 for the reception of latch elements such as those illustrated at 36 , 38 at the ends of cargo restraint bars 40 . panels indicated generally at 76 are provided each of which has secured thereto short lengths of belt rails 78 provided with a multiplicity of openings 80 for the reception of the latching elements 36 , 38 provided at the ends of the restraint bars 40 . at the sides of the panels 76 there are provided releasable lock structures 82 each of which comprises a spring pressed pin 83 adapted to be projected downwardly from the lower locking structure 82 and upwardly from the upper lock structure as indicated at 84 . each of the pins is adapted to be received in pin receiving openings 86 in the lower rails or corresponding openings 88 provided at the lower side of the upper rails 28 . the pins include laterally extending actuating portions 90 which are movable in slots 92 . the arrangement is such that when the laterally extending actuating portions 90 are moved to retract the locking pins from the openings 86 , 88 , the pins and actuating portions may be turned so that the actuating portions are out of alignment with the slots 92 , thus latching the locking portions in retracted position . at this time the individual panels may be adjusted to whatever position is required , such for example as the position indicated at 76b in fig4 . the panel in the position 76b occupies an intermediate position between an end panel 76a and additional panels such as the one indicated at 76c in fig1 . by providing for release of the panels 76 and shifting them into desired positions and relocking them in such adjusted position , a considerable savings in weight and material is provided as will be readily apparent . it may be mentioned at this time that the openings in the various belt rails including the short sections 78 thereof provided on the panels 76 may be adapted to receive conventional latch means provided at the ends of presently available cargo restraint bars 40 . referring now to fig7 there is illustrated an arrangement in which elongated trays 96 are provided on the floor 10 of the cargo container , being attached thereto by any suitable hold - down means such as screws . trays 96 are provided with a multiplicity of short rollers 98 so that the rollers facilitate movement of heavy cargo components over the floor of the cargo container . fig7 illustrates the trays 96 and rollers 98 in position to receive cargo components introduced through the open rear end of the cargo container . inasmuch as the addition of the trays 96 and rollers 98 raises the effective support height of the floor 10 , a feature of the present invention is the provision of the short sections 78 of the belt rail on the individual adjustable panels 76 at a spacing such that the panels may be inverted end for end depending on whether or not the rollers 98 are provided , thus positioning the short sections 78 of belt rail structure at desired vertical spacing from the effective floor support structure heights . | 1 |
with reference to the drawings in general , and fig1 in particular , the two front legs 4 , 5 of the easel are fitted at their upper ends into axle recesses 2 , 3 defined by a pivot head 1 , each leg being secured to the pivot head by means of a shaft 6 for pivoting movement in a common plane . the upper end of the rear leg 8 is inserted into a rear axle recess 7 , and the rear leg 8 is pivotably attached to the pivot head 1 by a shaft in a manner similar to the front legs 4 and 5 but pivotable in a plane perpendicular to the common plane of the first and third legs . each of the easel legs 4 , 5 and 8 may be made from e . g . aluminum channel having a u cross section . each of the three legs consists in this example of an upper or outer leg section 9 , and an inner or lower leg section 10 . the inner leg section 10 is telescopically slideable within the outer leg section 9 , and each leg is provided with a leg lock 11 , 12 , 13 , respectively , mounted to and fixed near the lower end of each outside leg section 9 . the leg lock is actuable between a released and a locked position , for locking the inside leg section 10 at an arbitrarily extended position relative to the outer leg section 9 . a shoe 14 of rubber or other suitable material may be fitted to the lower end of each lower leg section 10 . each of the leg locks 11 , 12 and 13 has a locking lever 15 provided with a cam element 16 disposed over an opening in the outer leg 9 , and configured such that when the lever is pivoted to the locked position shown in fig1 the cam element pushes against the inner leg 10 within the outer leg 9 , urging the leg 10 against the outer leg in frictional locking engagement , thereby locking the two leg sections against telescoping movement . each of the leg locks has a socket mount which includes a pair of parallel ears 17 extending upwardly and away from the inner side of the easel leg , on the side opposite that of the locking lever 15 . turning now to fig2 the mounting socket of the leg lock 11 on the front leg 4 has a pair of parallel ears 17 between which are disposed corresponding ears 19 on the first tie - bar 18 . a helical spring 20 is inserted between the two tie - bar ears 19 coaxially about a shaft 21 which extends through aligned holes in the tie - bar ears 19 and leg lock ears 17 to thereby pivotably secure the tie - bar 18 to the leg 4 , allowing the tie - bar to move up and down between a folded and an extended position . the spring 20 has one end 22 which acts against the inside surface 23 of the leg lock socket while the opposite end 24 of the coil spring is held captive underneath the tie - bar 18 . the natural tendency of the coil spring is to unwind , the spring end 24 thus acting to support the tie - bar 18 against its own weight . when the legs are unfolded and the first tie - bar 18 is released downwardly , the action of the spring 18 prevents the free end of the tie - bar from dropping to the ground , and tends to maintain the tie - bar in a near horizontal attitude . turning now to fig3 the opposite free end of the first tie - bar 18 , which is a u channel in cross section , has cutouts 25 in the side flanges of the channel , and a bent edge 26 . the second front leg 5 is provided with a leg lock 12 similar to leg lock 11 already described in connection with fig2 and which is provided with a horizontally extending shaft 27 between its parallel ears 17 . the free end of the tie - bar 18 pivots downwardly onto the shaft 27 which is received in a snap fit within the cutouts 25 and under the bend edge portion 26 , which acts as a resilient spring element . the two front legs 4 and 5 are thus interconnected in fixed spaced apart relationship by the tie - bar 18 . turning back to fig1 the rear leg 8 is provided with a tie - bar support 29 , similar to the front tie - bar support described in connection with fig2 and provided with a spring 30 which is capable of supporting the rear tie - bar 28 almost horizontally without support of the front end of the rear tie - bar 28 , in a manner similar to that of spring 20 of the front tie - bar support . as shown in fig4 the free end of the rear tie - bar 28 , which is also u - shaped in cross section , has a pair of cutouts 31 in its side flanges , and a bent edge 32 at its end . the second tie - bar is engaged to the first tie - bar 18 by inserting the bent edge 32 into a slot 33 defined at an intermediate point of the first tie - bar 18 . the cutouts 31 and bent portion 32 are dimensioned such that a snap locking engagement takes place between the free end of the rear tie - bar 28 and the front tie - bar 18 . when so engaged , the front and rear tie - bars 18 , 28 form a t - shaped structure and maintain the three legs 4 , 5 , 8 at a correct angle of the deployment . the interconnection of the three legs by the two tie - bars 18 , 28 reinforces and stabilizes the three legs , and the tie - bars 18 , 28 interconnected in a t configuration may be used as a shelf support for a paint box , etc . in fact , placing a load such as a paint box or the like on the interconnected tie - bars 18 , 28 is beneficial to the easel &# 39 ; s overall stability in that it tends to anchor the easel by lowering its center of gravity , and thus may prevent the easel from overturning , particularly in view of the fact that easels such as disclosed herein may be manufactured from lightweight aluminum , and when a canvas is placed thereon , the resultant center of gravity is relatively high off the ground , making the structure susceptible to tipping over . further , the springs 20 , 30 provided in the pivotal mounting of the two tie - bars 18 , 28 have the effect of supporting the tie - bars in a near horizontal position when the legs are deployed and the tie - bars are allowed to swing downwardly under their own weight . the result is that the free ends of the tie - bars naturally fall to and are suspended just over the portions with which the free ends of the tie - bars interlock to secure the easel in the deployed configuration . similarly , when the tie - bars are released from mutual engagement in order to fold up the easel , they are easily raised to their folded position towards the inside of the respective legs 4 , 8 with the assistance of the urging of the corresponding spring 20 , 30 . thus , setting up and releasing the tie - bars 18 , 28 is easily and quickly accomplished . the springs 20 , 30 prevent the tie - bars 18 , 28 from pivoting so far downwardly tht the ends of the tie - bars touch the ground and are soiled by mud , etc . the springs 20 , 30 further are capable of absorbing shocks imposed on the tie - bar ears 19 , etc ., of each tie - bar 18 , 20 since the pivoting movement of the tie - bars is stopped elastically by the corresponding spring 20 , 30 . thus , there is no possibility that the tie - bar ears 19 , or related portions , are damaged or bent . turning now to fig5 each of the front legs 4 and 5 is provided with a lower canvas support whose position is adjustable by sliding movement along the outer leg section 9 of each leg 4 and 5 . each lower canvas support assembly includes a socket - like mounting member 41 , which is freely slideable along the outer leg section 9 of each leg 4 , 5 . this mounting member 41 is similar to the equivalent mountiing elements provided in each of the leg locks 11 , 12 and 13 , and includes a locking lever 42 provided with a cam element adapted to engage the surface of the outer leg section 9 so as to make frictional locking engagement therewith , thereby to fix the mounting member 41 at an arbitrarily selected position along the outer leg section 9 . each of the mounting members 41 have a pair of axle - supporting ears 43 similar to ears 17 of the leg locks already described , and between which is disposed a tubular sleeve 45 made of synthetic resin or the like , and a spring washer 44 . an l - shaped canvas holder 46 is inserted through aligned holes 43a in the portions 43 of the socket 41 , and also through the washer 44 and tube 45 . the diameter of the rod - like canvas holder 46 is somewhat larger than the inside diameter of the sleeve 45 so as to make a friction fit by the canvas holder 46 within the sleeve 45 . the tube 45 is force - fitted between the pair of axle supports 43 with the washer 44 . thus , when the canvas holder 46 is swiveled within the support ears 43 , frictional resistance takes place between the tube 45 and the support portions 43 of the socket 41 . thus , free swiveling of the canvas holder 46 is restricted by the elastic tube 45 , and the bent leg 47 of the canvas holder 46 may be maintained pointing upwardly , and its position adjusted relative to the easel leg by both rotation of the holder , as well as pushing and pulling of the canvas holder axially through the aligned bores 43a in the socket 41 , to thereby accommodate thicker or thinner canvases . end covers 48 , preferably made of rubber or synthetic resin , are fitted onto both ends of the canvas holder 46 . the spring washer 44 may , if desired , be eliminated , and only the elastic tube 45 used between the support ears 43 . turning back to fig1 the pivot head 1 has a slot 51 extending vertically therethrough and disposed between the two front legs 4 and 5 . a vertical slide bar 52 is slideably inserted through this slot 51 , and is movable up and down therethrough relative to the pivot head 1 . a screw provided with a knob 53 is threadable into the pivot head 1 against the vertical slide bar 52 , such that the slide bar may be locked or released relative to the pivot head 1 by means of this screw . turning now to fig6 which illustrates the upper canvas holder assembly , it is seen that a pair of t - brackets 55 are pivotably mounted to the upper end of the vertical slide bar 52 by means of a shaft 54 extending through aligned bores in the t - brackets and the vertical slide bar . each of the t - brackets has horizontal bar guides 56 , 57 formed by bending the upper edge and the side edges , respectively , of each bracket . the bent portions of each bracket face the opposite t - bracket 55 . a horizontal slide bar 58 , which may be a u channel in cross section , is held between the bar guides 56 , 57 of the two t - brackets , allowing the horizontal bar 58 to slide between the two brackets 55 . a screw 63 provided with a knob 62 passes through washer 59 and enlarged hole 60 in one of the brackets 55 , and is threaded into hole 61 in the other bracket 55 . thus , the two brackets held together by the screw 63 form a swivel whose fulcrum is the shaft 54 . by tightening the screw 63 , the two brackets 55 may be drawn together against the vertical slide bar 52 , thus locking the brackets 55 against swiveling relative to the vertical bar , while simultaneously locking the horizontal slide bar 58 against sliding movement between the two brackets 55 . an upper canvas holder 64 , which is concave in cross section , is affixed to the underside and at the end of the horizontal slide bar 58 at right angles thereto , to form a figure t as shown in fig1 and 6 . an anti - skid rubber sheet 65 may be glued to the inner surface of the upper canvas holder 64 . an end stop pin 66 , or the like , extending downwardly from the opposite end of the horizontal bar 58 may be provided to prevent the slide bar 58 from being withdrawn from between the t - brackets 55 , by locking against the upper end of the vertical slide bar 52 when such withdrawal is attempted . the various shafts or axles 6 , 21 , 27 , 54 are desirably provided with a hole 68 at one end , and a head 67 at the other end at each shaft , as best seen in the case of shaft 54 in fig6 . after each of these shafts are inserted into their corresponding supports , the shaft end with the hole 68 is flattened so as to enlarge its diameter and prevent the shaft or axle from being withdrawn . when setting up this easel , the leg locks 11 , 12 , 13 of the three easel legs 4 , 5 , 8 , respectively , are released by means of the locking levers 15 to thereby allow telecoping height adjustment of each leg , and the tie - bars 18 , 28 are deployed and interconnected in the figure t in fig1 in order to secure the three legs in fixed spaced apart relationship . the canvas support units 41 are then released and adjusted in height as required , and a canvas 71 shown in dotted lines in fig1 is placed in the two canvas holders 46 . the lock screw 53 of the vertical slide bar is loosened to allow sliding adjustment of the position of the vertical slide bar 52 , as required by the size of the particular canvas 71 . the two t - fasteners 55 at the upper end of the vertical slide bar are then loosened to allow movement of the horizontal slide bar 58 , and thus allow the upper canvas holder 64 to be engaged with the upper edge of the canvas 71 . simultaneously , by sliding the horizontal slide bar 58 relative to the vertical slide bar , the angle of inclination of the canvas 71 on the easel may be adjusted by pushing or pulling the horizontal slide bar through the t - fasteners 55 . finally , the adjustments are secured by locking up the various elements by tightening the screws 53 and 63 . when folding up the easel , each tie - bar 18 , 28 is released and pivoted upward towards its folded position against the respective leg 4 , 8 , and the three easel legs 4 , 5 , 8 are folded together . then , the vertical slide bar 52 is slid downwardly , and the horizontal slide bar 58 is pulled out towards the front and swiveled downwardly . by this operation , the upper canvas holder 64 is folded down against the front easel legs 4 , 5 into a compact folded configuration for easy transport and storage . it will be understood that while a coil spring is used for spring 20 , the coil spring may be replaced by others springs such as plate springs , etc . while a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and illustrated for purposes of clarity , it will be understood that many changes , modifications and substitutions may be made by those possessed of ordinary skill in the art . therefore , the scope of the invention is limited only by the following claims : | 5 |
in the transmission system according to fig1 a tv signal to be transmitted is applied to the input of a transmitter 1 . the tv signal , which can have an analog format ( e . g . pal , ntsc or secam ) or a digital format ( e . g . mpeg ) is modulated and upconverted to an rf signal in the desired frequency band . this frequency band can be the band from 40 . 5 ghz - 42 . 5 ghz in cept countries and the band from 27 . 5 ghz - 29 . 5 ghz in other countries . also other microwave frequencies an be used if they are made available for broadcast purposes by the regulating authorities . the rf signal generated by the transmitter 1 is radiated by the antenna 2 . the antenna 2 can be a horn antenna , or can be a small parabolic reflector with corresponding feed . the signal transmitted by the antenna 2 is received by a number of receivers each present at a subscriber site to be provided with the tv signal . at each subscriber site the signal transmitted by the transmitter 1 is received by means of the corresponding antenna 3 , 6 , 9 or 12 . the signal from the antenna 3 , 6 , 9 , 12 is processed by the corresponding receiver 4 , 7 , 10 or 12 to obtain a tv signal which is delivered to the corresponding tv set 5 , 8 , 11 or 14 . it is observed that the use of a transmission system according to fig1 is not limited to tv signals , but that it also can be used for other type of signals , e . g . data signals . in the receiver 4 according to fig2 the input signal is coupled via the transmission line being here a waveguide 15 to an input of an outdoor unit 16 . the input of said outdoor unit 16 is formed by a first input of the mixer 17 . an output of the local oscillator unit 18 is coupled to a second input of the mixer 17 . the local oscillator unit 18 comprises a local oscillator 21 having an output coupled to an input of an amplifier 20 . the output of the amplifier 20 is coupled to the input of a tripler 19 . the output of the tripler 19 constitutes the output of the local oscillator unit 18 . the output of the mixer 17 is coupled to an input of the down converter 22 . the input of the down converter 22 is coupled to an input of a low noise amplifier 23 . the output of the low noise amplifier 23 is coupled to a first input of a mixer 24 . the output of an oscillator 35 is coupled to a second input of the mixer 24 . the output of the mixer 24 is coupled to the input of an amplifier 25 . the output of the amplifier 25 constitutes the output of the outdoor unit 16 . the outdoor unit 16 is coupled via a coaxial cable to the indoor unit 26 , the output of which is connected to the tv set . the antenna signal is fed via the waveguide 15 to the mixer 17 . the dimensions of the waveguide 15 are chosen to obtain a cut off frequency which is well above the frequency of the signal generated by the local oscillator unit 18 . the length of the waveguide 15 is chosen to obtain sufficient suppression of the local oscillator signal . the standard down converter 22 is commercially available from philips components under type nos . sc 813 and sc 815 . assuming an input frequency for the down converter 22 of 11 . 5 ghz and a reception band from 40 . 5 to 42 . 5 ghz the frequency from the local oscillator unit 18 must be adjustable from 29 ghz to 31 ghz . to generate the local oscillator signal the local oscillator 21 generates a signal in the 10 ghz range . this signal is amplified by means of the amplifier 20 to a sufficient level . the output signal of the amplifier 20 is multiplied in frequency by a factor of three by the tripler 19 so that a signal having the desired frequency is available at the second input of the mixer 17 . the tripler 19 can be built using a varactor diode mounted in a waveguide . a suitable varactor diode is commercially available from philips components under type no . cxy 12 / 38 / 073 . the output signal from the mixer 17 is amplified by the low noise amplifier 23 of the down converter 22 . the output signal of the low noise amplifier is converted to a frequency in the range from 0 . 95 ghz to 1 . 7 ghz by mixing a 10 ghz signal from the oscillator 35 with the output signal of the low noise amplifier 24 by means of the mixer 24 . the output signal of the mixer 24 is amplified by the amplifier 25 and transmitted to the indoor unit 26 . the indoor unit 26 converts the signal received from the outdoor unit 16 into a signal which is suitable for a customary tv set . the indoor unit is of the type used for the reception of direct broadcast satellites and is commercially available from philips consumer electronics . in the mixer 17 according to fig3 the received signal is applied to the waveguide section 27 . the dimensions of said waveguide section are chosen to obtain a cut off frequency above the frequency of the local oscillator . the relation between cut off frequency and dimensions of the waveguide is well known to those skilled in the art , and is e . g . described in the book &# 34 ; microwave engineering &# 34 ; by a . f . harvey published by academic press inc . 1963 section 1 . 4 pp . 11 - 14 . the length of the waveguide section 27 to obtain a desired attenuation of the local oscillator signal can also be easily determined from the expressions presented in the above mentioned book . the output of the waveguide section 27 is guided via a transition section 28 to a waveguide section 31 large enough to conduct the if signals having a frequency of approximately 11 . 5 ghz . furthermore the output signal of the local oscillator unit 18 is coupled into the waveguide section 31 via the waveguide section 29 and the transition section 30 . in the waveguide section 31 the electric fields from the input signal and the local oscillator signal are added . due to the non - linear transfer characteristics of the diode 32 an if signal having the desired frequency is generated , and is available at the output of the waveguide section 31 . in the mixer 17 according to fig4 a carrier 52 is introduced in the waveguide 50 . this carrier is positioned in parallel with the e - plane of the field in the waveguide 50 . in the cross section according to fig5 of the mixer 17 according to fig4 the rf signal enters the mixer in taper 52 which transforms the received signal into a signal which is carried by the fin line waveguide 54 . the part 63 forms an impedance transformation section which adapts the impedance of the waveguide 50 to the impedance needed for the mixing diodes 62 and 64 . at the mixing diodes 62 and 64 the received signal is split in two equal parts being in phase . the local oscillator signal is applied via the stripline 55 to the mixer . this local oscillator is transferred via the high - pass filter 65 to the stripline 57 . the signal carried by the stripline 57 is transformed into two signals which are opposite in phase , being carried by the fin line waveguides 58 and 59 . the signal which is carried by the fin line waveguide 58 is applied to the mixer diode 62 , and the signal carried by the fin line waveguide 60 is applied to the mixer diode 64 . the mixer diodes are connected in series , and are biased with a dc current of 1 ma . suitable diodes are gallium arsenide mott diodes of the cay 18 or cay 19 type . the if signal is available at the stripline 67 , and is tapped off via the low pass filter 68 . the high pass filter 65 is formed by a z formed spacing which is made in the stripline 55 . in fig6 it is shown that the mixer diodes 62 and 64 are connected in series between the conducting planes . the junction between the two mixer diodes 62 and 64 is connected to the stripline 57 for tapping off the if signal . in the receiver arrangement according to fig7 a horn antenna 45 is attached to the input of the mixer 17 via the waveguide section 15 of fig1 . above the horn antenna 45 a parabolic reflector 3 is mounted . the parabolic reflector 3 can be slid partially into the box 40 , enabling the adaption of the effective area of said parabolic reflector 3 . in this way the strength of the received signal level can be adjusted to avoid overload of the mixer 17 when a signal from a very near transmitter is received . in this way the application of passive attenuators can be avoided . | 7 |
referring now to the drawings and more particularly to fig1 there is shown a portion of a composite body constructed according to the present invention and designated generally by reference numeral 10 . composite body 10 is formed of a plurality of layers of prepreg tape 12 , three of which are shown partially exposed in fig1 and with a layer of thin perforated foil 14 disposed between each adjacent two layers of prepreg tape . the prepreg tapes making up each layer in composite body 10 are commercially available from a variety of manufacturers in various widths and thicknesses and are fabricated from unidirectional fibers impregnated with a thermosetting resin . one such prepreg material is available from the whittaker corporation , narmco materials division , 600 victoria street , costa mesa , california , 92627 , under the tradename rigidite 5208 . this tradename material is a thermosetting epoxy resin employed as the matrix system with a variety of carbon fibers to produce rigidite prepreg . the term &# 34 ; prepreg &# 34 ; is a term of art that denotes preimpregnated unidirectional continuous filament fiber materials that may be temperature cured to provide a rigid composite structure . the impregnation of the carbon fibers is accomplished by the hot melt process that is free of solvents to provide outstanding handling characteristics , tack , long out - time , and essentially voidfree laminates . after impregnation with the epoxy , the resulting prepreg is cut into the desired width and rolled for storage under refrigeration in the temperature range of 0 ° c . or below and in a sealed container . the storage life of the prepreg at these temperatures is at least six months although the manufacturer only provides a warranty period of 90 days . if maintained at room temperature , that is , 70 °± 5 ° f ., the storage life is approximately 14 days . the graphite or carbon fibers utilized in making the prepreg are available in various diameters from numerous commercial sources , for example , hercules , union carbide , and others . in one specific example of the whittaker corporation product , the prepreg employed was rigidite 5208 - t - 300 wherein the t - 300 refers to union carbide &# 39 ; s tradename thornel 300 graphite fibers . these and other fibers contemplated in use of the present invention are continuous type fibers that extend the length of the prepreg tapes . other prepreg tapes that are suitable for practice in the present invention are commercially available from the 3 - m company , fiberite company , and others . although the prepreg tapes are sold commercially in various widths , from slit widths as narrow as 0 . 376 inch to 12 inch widths , the most commonly used width is 3 inch . these widths may be cut when ready for use to that desired for the particular application . also , the thickness of the prepreg tapes that are commercially available vary from those providing a cured ply thickness in the range of 0 . 0015 inch to 0 . 0025 inch for ultra - thin applications to the standard range of 0 . 005 inch to 0 . 008 inch as employed in the specifically described application herein . the cured thickness of a single - ply or layer is primarily dependent upon the graphite fiber diameter with the prepreg tapes having a fiber content of 58 ± 3 % by volume , an epoxy content of 42 ± 3 % and with a 60 - 40 % graphite / epoxy being preferred . as shown in fig1 a plurality of equal lengths of prepreg tape 12 are cut and laid down on a clean surface for example , an aluminum or stainless steel plate . when the width of the final structure to be built exceeds the width of the tape employed , the various lengths of tapes are combined and laid up in side - by - side relationship to provide the necessary width . each layer or ply of the thus formed wide surface area is provided with staggered surfaces between the adjacent tape sections forming the ply to prevent bulges at the seams where the various widths of tapes are connected . a layer of a thin perforated foil material 14 such as for example , a polyester , is disposed between each ply of the prepreg tapes as shown more particularly in fig2 . the layup or plurality of lengths of material formed are stacked to obtain the desired thickness and in the specific examples tested herein ten layers or plys of tape were stacked by hand to form the laminate approximately 0 . 050 inch thick . the stacked assembly is then cured under vacuum and pressure at an elevated temperature in a conventional manner . after cooling to room temperature the final cured structure 10 may be machined , cut or otherwise utilized to obtain the final exterior configuration desired . during the curing process the epoxy in prepreg tapes 12 flows through the perforations in the preforated foil sheets 14 to cause interbonding between the adjacent laminae of the stacked assembly . although the epoxy does not adhere readily to the polyester foil separator sheets , the bonding occurring through the perforations thereof ensure an adequate lamination for the entire assembly 10 . as shown in fig2 of the drawings , the graphite fibers in the prepreg tape layers 12 are maintained in a unidirectional relationship throughout the stacked assembly 10 of this embodiment . referring now more particularly to fig3 and 4 , and alternate embodiment of composite body 20 is shown . in this embodiment the prepreg tape layers 22 are also provided with a thin perforated foil layer 24 between each two layers of prepreg tape . however , the direction of the fibers in the prepreg tape layers 22 are alternated such that alternate layers of the prepreg tape have the direction of the unidirectional fibers extending therethrough in a perpendicular or 90 ° relationship to that in the next adjacent prepreg layer . rectangular perforations or slots for foil layers 24 were employed in this embodiment in lieu of the circular perforations employed in the embodiment illustrated in fig1 . thus , in the composite structural components shown , holes and slots interrupt the adjacent fiber layers . in unidirectional composites , only intralaminar shear stresses in the matrix material transfer loads from interrupted fibers to continuous fibers . in multidirectional composites , interlaminar shear stresses transfer loads from interrupted fibers in one laminae to continuous fibers in other laminae . the notch - strength and fracture behavior of these two kinds of composites , differ as will be further explained hereinafter . in the fracturing of notched - unidirectional composites ( fig1 and 2 ), matrix shear failures occur before the fibers are loaded to the ultimate strength . thus , longitudinal cracks will form along the edges of the notch before the section of the test piece fails . this type of rupture or damage is considered matrix controlled . thus , the rupture force flows out of the interrupted fibers and into the matrix surrounding the unidirectional fibers which transfers force from the interrupted fibers to the continuous fibers . in most epoxy - matrix composites these shear stresses are high enough to cause matrix shear failure before the tensile stress in the continuous fibers reaches the fiber tensile strength . the resulting longitudinal cracks move the load - transfer sites away from the edge of the notch and limit the stress concentration in the continuous fibers . this is in contrast to the multidirectional graphite / epoxy composites illustrated in fig3 and 4 which fail by transverse cracking at net section stresses much lower than in unidirectional or 0 ° composites . in these composites there is less matrix cracking before the most highly stressed longitudinal fibers reach the ultimate strength and start a catastrophic failure . the onset of failure and the failure mode are considered to be fiber controlled in the multidirectional composites . this is because of stiffness of the fibers in the diagonal or oppositely disposed laminae wherein most of the forces from the interrupted longitudinal fibers flow through the interlaminar matrix into the diagonal fibers and then back into the uninterrupted longitudinal fibers . the matrix shear transfer then occurs over the interlaminar interface and because of the great extent of the interface transfer area , these shear stresses are lower than were the maximum intralaminar shear stresses in the unidirectional composites . the fracture of the multidirectional composites occurs because the longitudinal fiber stresses reach the fiber strength before the matrix shear stresses reach the matrix shear strength . thus , comparatively little load redistribution occurs before total fracture of the composite . to redistribute the stress around a notch or other opening , the local shear stress between laminae of unlike orientation can be increased by grouping laminae of like orientation . in the present invention , however , it has been shown the matrix shear strength can be reduced by partially separating the graphite / epoxy laminae with a thin perforated polyester film . in the specific examples of the present invention described herein , a 0 . 014 mm thick perforated polyethylene terepthalate film , commercially available under the dupont tradename &# 34 ; mylar &# 34 ;, was used as the separating layer between adjacent laminae in a composite layup . the adjacent laminae are thus bonded through each perforation , but because of the poor mylar - to - epoxy bond , the laminae are essentially unbonded elsewhere . the particular shape of the perforations in the thin polyester films does not appear to be critical and test results obtained with both round and rectangular shaped openings were essentially identical . it was also found that the open area in the polyester film could range between 35 - 45 % of the total film area and still obtain adequate bonding between the adjacent prepreg tape layers . also , the polyester film layers need not be inserted between each adjacent layer of prepreg since test results showed that , even in composites constructed with only one layer of perforated foil within the composite body , the physical characteristics of the composites was improved . for maximum fracture and impact improvement , however , a layer of the perforated foil would be employed in each adjacent two layers of the prepreg material . also , the layup for the prepreg material need not be confined to the 0 , ± 45 °, 90 °, layup but may be laid up such that the fibers in adjacent laminae are disposed in various angular relationships to that of the next adjacent laminae . it is preferred , however , that at least 40 % of the fibers within the composite body be oriented in the load direction area anticipated for use with the composite body . all fracture and impact specimens of the present invention and the control specimens were tested in a 1 mn servo - hydraulic testing machine . also , all tension and compression tests were made in a 100 mn servo - hydraulic testing machine . in a series of comparative tests , the interlaminar strength of unidirectional and multidirectional composites was shown to be reduced by placing perforated mylar films between laminae ; tests on notched and slotted specimens showed that the interlaminar films promoted delamination and longitudinal cracking near the notches and that , as a result , toughness , notch - strength and impact strength were substantially increased . the specifically described examples and process described herein are considered exemplary to describe the present invention and are not to be deemed as exhaustive . there are obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the above teachings without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
referring now to fig1 the vor / loc panel 10 of a navigation ( nav ) system comprises a housing 12 having a panel surface 14 . the panel surface 14 has walls forming apertures for a plurality of press keys 16 numbered &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; through &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ;, respectively , a multiple function controller 18 , a plurality of function control press keys 20 , 22 , and 24 and a display 26 including a pair of digital displays 28 and 30 with decimal indicators and data annunciators . the function controller 18 includes on / off / volume / ident / mode control knobs 32 and 34 . the control knob 32 has an off position indicator which is aligned with a panel supported off indicator when the system is off and rotated therefrom for turn on and volume selection . control knob 32 is stacked on the control knob 34 which has a diameter greater than that of knob 32 for ease of manipulation . the control knob 34 has a segmented periphery . the adjacent segments are spaced with one space bearing a function selection indicator for selection alignment with panel supported mode function indicators 36 . the control mode function indicators 36 include a frequency indicator labeled &# 34 ; f &# 34 ;, a to / from indicator &# 34 ; t / f &# 34 ;, a clock indicator &# 34 ; ck &# 34 ; and a distance / time indicator &# 34 ; d &# 34 ;. control 32 is also a push / pull switch for selectively enabling and disabling the station identification information . function control press keys 20 , 22 , and 24 , and the ten numerically numbered (&# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;-&# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ;) press keys 16 have dual function capability , and the pair of digital displays 28 and 30 are multiple purpose displays of five digits each and data annunciators . each digit is a seven segment electronic digit and a decimal point indicator is positioned between the third and fourth digits . display ( 26 ) contains annunciators in its center area labeled &# 34 ; k &# 34 ; and &# 34 ; fr &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; for annunciating , respectively , the speed in knots on the left side display presentation and bearing from station or to station on the right side display presentation ( when the unit is in the f / t mode ). control press keys 20 , 22 and 24 are located in a row between the function selection switch 18 and the display 26 and adjacent to the top of the panel 14 ; while the ten numerically numbered press keys are located in a row beneath the display 26 and function control keys 20 , 22 and 24 . function control keys 20 , 22 and 24 are labeled respectively , &# 34 ; sto &# 34 ; ( store ), &# 34 ; rcl &# 34 ; ( recall ), and &# 34 ;←→&# 34 ; ( digital display 28 or 30 selector ); the panel 14 supports a label , adjacent function control key 22 . the panel 14 also supports a &# 34 ; scan &# 34 ; label adjacent to the top of press key 16 labeled &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ;. the communication panel 38 ( fig2 .) except for a function selection indicator 40 of the function controller 18 and the display labels is identical to the vor / loc panel 10 . the function mode indicator 40 includes an active channel selection indicator labeled &# 34 ; a &# 34 ; and a standby channel selection indicator labeled &# 34 ; s &# 34 ;. the left side of display 26 is labeled &# 34 ; t &# 34 ; for indicating transmitting selection . referring now to table 1 which is a function matrix for the airborne navigation system , the operation of the panel functions included are as follows . with the function controller 18 in the &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; ( frequency ) position a channel frequency is entered into the appropriate display blank by pressing the appropriate numerals as follows : the leading &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; is pressed and a one appears as the first digit with zero appearing in the remainder of the display blanks . the zeros for the digit blink successively to indicate the position for the next digit to be entered . if a mistake is made in a display blank , the &# 34 ; back &# 34 ; key is pressed to back to the display blank in error for entering the correct digit ; thus alleviating the need to recycle the frequency . the frequency entering mode can be exited at any time by pressing the store &# 34 ; sto &# 34 ; key . after entering the frequency , which appears in the standby display the transfer key &# 34 ;←→&# 34 ; is either pressed to sway the contents of the active and standby displays or the store &# 34 ; sto &# 34 ; key pressed followed by pressing one of the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; 9 &# 34 ; keys for a selected memory location . this procedure is repeated for storing up to ten frequencies at ten memory locations . the channel frequency stored in locations 0 - 9 may be recalled into the standby display by pressing the recall &# 34 ; rcl &# 34 ; key and the number ( 0 - 9 ) of the desired frequency location . if the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; ( scan ) key is pressed ( without a prior command ) the memory location addressed by an internal pointer will be displayed for 0 . 5 seconds and the frequency stored at that location displayed in the standby display . the internal pointer will then be incremented by one . repetitively pressing the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; ( scan ) will recall the station frequencies stored in locations 0 - 9 in a consecutive manner ( loop ). the internal pointer is automatically set to location &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; at power up . upon use of the channel storage or recall functions the pointer is set to the particular location used . with the function controller in the to / from ( t / f ) position the active display shows the channel frequency and the standby display at power up displays the bearing from the station to the aircraft . the &# 34 ; fr &# 34 ; indicator preceding the bearing display is illuminated . to display the bearing to &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; the station from the aircraft the transfer &# 34 ;←→&# 34 ; key is pressed . in this situation , the bearing is preceeded by the &# 34 ; to &# 34 ; indicator which is illuminated . in mode &# 34 ; t / f &# 34 ; frequency entry and memory operations can be conducted as described for mode &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; except that these functions operate directly on the active frequency . the bearing display is blanked and the receiver disabled during frequency entry . when a localizer channel has been selected as the active frequency , the bearing display remains blanked and the &# 34 ; to &# 34 ;/&# 34 ; from &# 34 ; indicators are not illuminated . with the controller in the clock &# 34 ; clk &# 34 ; mode , the active display shows the active channel frequency . the standby display shows the elapsed time in minutes and seconds . the time is reset to zero by pressing the transfer &# 34 ;←→&# 34 ; key . this &# 34 ; stop watch &# 34 ; feature is useful in executing timed approaches and timed turns . frequency entry is the same as in the mode &# 34 ; f &# 34 ; position except that functions operate directly on the active frequency . the receiver is disabled during the frequency entry ; the clock timer display is not disturbed . finally , in the dead reckoning computer &# 34 ; d &# 34 ; mode , the unit is used as a calculator to continuously display distance and time remaining to a desired way point . the distance to a way point and expected ground speed are entered , respectively , into the active and standby displays using the press keys 0 - 9 . thereafter , the unit calculates the distance and time remaining assuming a straight line course at the entered ground speed . the operation of the communication ( com ) transceiver panel where possible is identical to that of the vor / loc receiver system . thus the procedures are identical when the system is in the standby mode ; when the system is in the &# 34 ; active &# 34 ; mode the frequency in the active display may be changed directly , during which time the standby display is blanked . also the &# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; numbered key is reserved for the emergency channel frequency ( 121 . 5 mhz ) and the communication unit function controller does not have the clock position or the distance / time position . further the push / pull knob 32 selectively enables or disables the audio squelch circuitry in the communication system . examples of the various operations of the nav . and com . units are set forth in the following tables 1 , 2 , 3 , 4a , 4b , 5a , 5b , and 6a , 6b , 6c , 7 , 8a , 8b , 9a and 9b . table 1__________________________________________________________________________function matrixfunction sw display content key functionposition left right mode ←→ sto rcl__________________________________________________________________________1 frequency freq freq entry toggle ( freq ) enter ( freq ) back display toggle ( freq ) store ( freq ) recall ( freq ) 2 to / from freq bang / radial display toggle ( to / fr ) inop inop3 clock freq elapsed time display reset ( clock ) inop inop4 dist / ete leg dist ground speed entry start → disp inop back dist rem est time enr display stop → entry inop inop__________________________________________________________________________ table 2______________________________________freq entry with correction using back key : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 . 00 119 . 50 ## str1 ## 119 . 00 100 . 00 ## str2 ## 119 . 00 120 . 00 ## str3 ## 119 . 00 123 . 00 ## str4 ## 119 . 00 120 . 00 ## str5 ## 119 . 00 121 . 00 ## str6 ## 119 . 00 121 . 00______________________________________ table 3______________________________________freq entry with transfer to active windowkey second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 119 . 5 . 0 . ## str7 ## 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 1 . 0 .. 0 ... 0 .. 0 . ## str8 ## 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 12 . 0 ... 0 .. 0 . ## str9 ## 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 121 .. 0 .. 0 . ## str10 ## 121 .. 0 .. 0 . 119 .. 0 .. 0 . ______________________________________ table 4a______________________________________store standby freq in specified memory : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 . 00121 . 00 ## str11 ## 119 . 00x * ## str12 ## 119 . 00 5 119 . 00121 . 00 ( after . 5 sec ) ______________________________________ * preceeding channel . table 4b______________________________________enter standby freq & amp ; storein specified memory : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 . 00119 . 50 ## str13 ## 119 . 00100 . 00 ## str14 ## 119 . 00120 . 00 ## str15 ## 119 . 00121 . 00 ## str16 ## 119 . 00121 . 00 ## str17 ## 119 . 00x * ## str18 ## 119 . 00 5 119 . 00121 . 00 ( after . 5 sec ) ______________________________________ preceeding channel . table 5a______________________________________recall of freq from memory withtransfer to active window : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 119 . 5 . 0 . ## str19 ## 119 .. 0 .. 0 . x * ## str20 ## 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 3 119 .. 0 .. 0 . 121 .. 0 .. 0 . ( after . 5 sec ) ## str21 ## 121 .. 0 .. 0 . 119 .. 0 .. 0 . ______________________________________ * preceeding channel . table 5b______________________________________recall of freq from memorywhile in freq entry mode : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 119 . 00119 . 50 ## str22 ## 119 . 00100 . 00 ## str23 ## 119 . 00120 . 00 ## str24 ## 119 . 00120 . 00 ## str25 ## 119 . 00x * ## str26 ## 119 . 00 3 119 . 00121 . 00 ( after . 5 sec ) ______________________________________ * preceeding channel . table 6a______________________________________to / from position ( 2 t / f ); navactive position ( act ); comfreq entry : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ freq . brg . 117 . 50 to 359 ## str27 ## 100 . 00 ## str28 ## 110 . 00 ## str29 ## 114 . 00 ## str30 ## 114 . 30 ## str31 ## 114 . 30 to 020______________________________________ table 6b______________________________________to / from toggle ( nav only ) key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 114 . 3 . 0 . to . 0 . 2 . 0 . ## str32 ## 114 . 3 . 0 . fr 2 . 0 .. 0 . ______________________________________ table 6c______________________________________to / from position ( t / f ); navactive position ( act ); comrecall of freq from memory intoactive window with abortkey second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 114 . 3 . 0 . to . 0 . 2 . 0 . ## str33 ## x ** cycle 114 . 3 . 0 . to . 0 . 2 . 0 . mode sw______________________________________ ** reverts to previous display after 5 secs . table 7______________________________________clock position ( ck ); nav onlyclock timer operationkey second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ 114 . 3 . 0 . 7 . 0 . : 59 ## str34 ## 114 . 3 . 0 . . 0 .:. 0 .. 0 . ______________________________________ note : ## str35 ## 2 . changing mode switch does not affect timer . table 8a______________________________________distance / time position ( d ); nav onlyinitial entry : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ naut / miles knots / hr . ## str36 ## tk 000 ## str37 ## 000 mn tk 000 ## str38 ## 100 mn tk 000 ## str39 ## 110 mn tk 000 ## str40 ## 110 mn tk 000 ## str41 ## 110 mn tk 100 ## str42 ## 110 mn tk 180 ## str43 ## 110 mn 0 : 37______________________________________ table 8b______________________________________toggle to check speedkey second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ ## str44 ## . 0 . : 35 ## str45 ## 1 . 0 . 4 mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str46 ## 1 . 0 . 3 mn . 0 . : 35______________________________________ table 9a______________________________________2nd pass entry dist only : dist rem above 99 : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ ## str47 ## . 0 . : 35 ## str48 ## 1 . 0 . 4 mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str49 ## 1 . 0 .. 0 . mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str50 ## 11 . 0 . mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str51 ## 115 mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str52 ## 115 mn . 0 . : 38______________________________________ table 9b______________________________________2nd pass entry dist 69 ; dist rem below 99 : key second functionpress back / enter______________________________________ ## str53 ## . 0 . : 32 ## str54 ## 95 mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str55 ## 8 . 0 . mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str56 ## 85 mn tk 18 . 0 . ## str57 ## 85 mn tk 2 . 0 .. 0 . ## str58 ## 85 mn tk 24 . 0 . ## str59 ## 85 mn . 0 . : 21______________________________________ referring now to fig3 a - 3f for a description of the vor / loc receiver unit , an antenna 42 ( fig3 a ) receives rf signals for the vor / loc receiver . the receiver amplifies and demodulates the rf carrier to provide audio to the voice circuits ( also morse code signals ) ( fig3 a and 3b ) and navigational data to a vor / loc converter ( fig3 d - 3f ). varactor tuning is used for the receiver rf circuits and the channel frequencies are determined and controlled by the data processor . ( fig3 a and 3c ). the preselector 44 ( fig3 a ) is continuously tuned by the lpe 78 to pass frequencies near a selected channel frequency between 108 . 000 to 117 . 950 mhz with 50 khz spacing to the rf amplifier 46 which receives agc from feedback lead 48 . lead 48 is connected to an rf / agc amplifier 50 ( fig3 b ) which has its input connected to an if / agc amplifier 52 . if agc amplifier 52 is connected to the output of am detector 54 , the rf amplifier 46 ( fig3 a ) has its gain controlled by the rfagc amplifier 50 . the output of the rf amplifier 46 ( fig3 a ) is connected to a postselector 56 for further removing any signals other than those near the desired channel . the output of the postselector 56 is connected to a first mixer 58 . the function of the first mixer 58 is to act as a first intermediate frequency converter . the first mixer 58 may be , for example , a dual gate mos - fet . the rf input to the mixer is beat with the signal from local oscillator amplifier &# 39 ; s 60 output that is connected to the second input of the mixer . the input to the lo amplifier 60 is the voltage controlled oscillator output of a frequency synthesizer . the frequency synthesizer is comprised of a vco buffer 62 having its output connected to the lo amplifier 60 and a prescaler buffer 64 in the divide by n counter feedback path . prescaler buffer 64 is connected to a divide by 40 / 41 prescaler 66 of the divide - by n counter which also includes an ab counter 68 and a programmable phase - locked loop ic . a loop phase detector 70 input is connected to the ab counter 68 and to a divide by 256 divider 72 for its reference frequency output . the divide by 256 divider 72 is connected to a crystal oscillator 74 and divides the output of the crystal oscillator 74 to provide a stable 25 khz reference signal to the phase detector 70 for comparison with the divide by n counter frequency . the phase detector 70 and lpf 78 produce an error voltage that is proportional to the phase difference between the reference and input frequency . the lpf 78 input is amplified in amplifier 76 and its output applied to a voltage controlled oscillator ( vco ) 80 and the preselector 44 and postselector 56 for tuning . the applied voltage to the vco 80 is polarized to bring the input frequency at the phase detector 70 in agreement with the reference frequency . the phase detector 70 , lpf 78 and vco 80 make up the forward path of the loop , while the divide by n counter ( amplifier 64 , divide by 40 / 41 prescaler 66 , and ab counter 68 ) constitute the feedback path . a data processor 82 ( fig3 c ) provides the digital word for the selected frequency to the ab counter as follows . the data processor ( fig3 c ) includes , for example , the microprocessor 82 which determines the necessary 19 bit code that programs the vor / loc frequency synthesizer . this code is for any of the local oscillator frequencies covering 40 . 20 to 100 . 15 mhz in 50 khz intervals ; these frequencies correspond to the nav frequencies of 108 . 00 mhz to 117 . 95 mhz . the microprocessor 82 is connected to a keyboard strobing latch 84 which monitors the keyboard panel 14 ( fig1 ). the microprocessor 82 ( fig3 c ) is connected to an anode counter ( digit select ) 86 . anode counter 86 continuously counts eight digits in a preselected sequence , e . g . 1 , 3 , 5 , 7 , 2 , 4 , 6 , 8 . the anode counter is connected to an anode driver 88 which is connected to the anodes of eight segments of each of the eight digits of displays 28 and 30 of digital display 26 to supply a high anode voltage to the digits in sequence . the microprocessor 82 is also connected to a display decoder / latch 90 for decoding binary to binary coded decimal ( bcd ) words for digit segment selection . the display decoder / latch 90 is connected to a cathode driver 92 . cathode driver 92 is connected to the segment cathodes of the display digits to sink the cathode current of the segments selected by the microprocessor 82 to be time coincident with a particular digit counted by the anode counter 86 to display the selected frequency numbers . all outputs consist of switchable and programmable current sinks which provide current to the cathodes . a segment line that is turned on will not sink any current unless there is an anode voltage . it will be recalled that the first digit is always a &# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; in both the active and standby displays , thus the counters eight counts are for digits 2 - 5 of eacy display . a digit dimming control 94 is connected to the display decoder / latch 90 for controlling the brightness of the display 26 . in addition the microprocessor 82 is connected to a nonvolatile earom ( electrically alterable read only memory ) interface 96 which is connected to earom 98 and delays microprocessor 82 access to the nonvolatile earom 98 at turn on until power up . this is essential to the proper location of information stored in the memory . the data representing selected active and standby channel frequencies are stored in earom 98 . also the microprocessor 82 is connected to the function switch 18 . the function controller 18 controls the operation mode of the microprocessor . to provide a remote dme , dme lines 100 are connected to a dme driver 102 . also the microprocessor 82 can be remotely controlled through a hybrid filter 103 connected to a remote control switch not shown . the microprocessor 82 is connected by leads 104 , 106 , and 108 , respectively , to the clock , data and strobe terminals of a shift register / latch 110 ( fig3 a ). the shift register latch 110 is connected to the ab counter 68 and controls the ab counter of the frequency synthesizer ; control is in response to the selected channel frequency data word it receives at its data terminal through lead 106 from the microprocessor 82 . returning now to the first mixer 58 , the first mixer is connected to crystal filter 112 . the output of the first mixer 58 of the first if stage is filtered in crystal filter 112 . crystal filter 112 is connected to amplifier 114 to amplify the filtered signal to a working level . amplifier 114 is connected by lead 116 to a second mixer 118 ( fig3 b ). mixer 118 is also connected to a second local oscillator 120 . the mixer 118 beats the frequency of the first if stage with the frequency of the local oscillator 120 to provide the standard 455 khz if signal . the mixer 118 is connected to a ceramic filter 122 to remove any unwanted signals . the ceramic filter 122 is connected to a first if amplifier 124 . the if amplifier 124 is connected to a second if amplifier 126 . the first and second if amplifiers are connected to the if agc amplifier 52 . as agc is applied the output is stabilized at a preset level as a positive going agc voltage reduces the gain of the if amplifiers . am detector &# 39 ; s 54 input is connected to the amplifier 126 and the nav receiver output is applied to the navigation system audio and vor / loc buffer circuits . the audio circuit includes elements connected in series as follows : an audio amplifier 128 , a high pass filter 130 , an identification filter including a bandpass filter 132 and switch 134 , a summer 136 , an amplifier 138 , a low pass filter ( passive ) 140 , low pass filter 142 ( active ), volume control 144 , audio amplifier 146 and current limiter 148 . when the identification switch 134 is closed the bandpass filter 132 provides a 1020 hz filtered signal to the summer and when open the audio signal from the hp filter 130 is applied through lead 150 to the summer 136 and the identification filter is bypassed . with the switch closed the 1020 hz morse code identification is subtracted from the audio signal leaving only the voice information . the audio signal , amplified to a working level by amplifier 138 , is filtered in the passive and active low pass filters 140 and 142 to eliminate undesired noise . the wiper arm of volume control 144 is connected to the audio amplifier 146 . the audio amplifier 146 output is current limited in current limiter 148 and applied to an audio transformer 152 of the power stage which supplies the large current variations necessary to drive a headphone ( not shown ). the vor / loc converter circuits convert the navigation information obtained from the receiver detector into data suitable for display on the l - r ( left / right ) deviation meter and to / from flag of the auxiliary display . the am detector 54 ( fig3 ) is connected by lead 154 to a vor / loc signal buffer 156 ( fig3 d ) which amplifies the detector signal ( hereinafter referred to as the vor / loc signal ) to a working level . the vor / loc signal is applied to a nav composite output 157 , reference channel , a variable channel and a pair of localizer channels . the vor signal includes a 9960 hz carrier that is frequency modulated at a 30 hz rate and amplitude modulated by a 30 hz signal . the 9960 hz fm signal is for the reference channel and the 30 hz signal is for the variable signal . the localizer ( loc ) signal consists of 150 hz and 90 hz signals . in the reference channel the vor signal is applied to a 9960 hz bandpass filter 158 which strips the 30 hz portion from the composite signal . a limiter 160 connected to the filter 158 and a phase locked loop used as a discriminator 162 connected to the limiter provides a 30 hz demodulated signal . a 30 hz bandpass filter 164 connected to the discriminator 162 strips any excess noise from the signal . a phase adjuster 165 is connected to the junction of bp filter 164 and a vor fault detector 186 by lead 192 &# 39 ;. the phase adjuster 165 is for adjusting any imbalance in phase shift between the reference and variable channels . a phase locked loop 166 is connected to the phase adjuster 165 for converting the 30 hz reference sine wave to a 30 hz reference square wave . a filter 167 is connected to the junction of a phase locked loop 166 for converting the 30 hz square wave output to a 30 hz sine wave output for a resolver 169 and lead 180 to a 30 hz square wave selector 182 ( fig3 c ). filter 167 ( fig3 d ) is connected by lead 168 to the rotor of a resolver 169 ( fig3 e ). the resolver 169 shifts the phase , as measured from the rotor signal , from 0 degrees to 360 degrees . the exact phase shift is set as the course knob is rotated to set the course . an amplifier 170 with gain adjust is connected to the resolver 169 and a variable phase shifter 172 with phase adjust is connected to the amplifier 170 to correct the gain and the phase for the fixed phase offsets inherent in the system . the phase shifter 172 is connected to a 90 degree phase shifter 174 and a phase detector 176 . the 90 degree phase shifter 174 ( fig3 e ) is connected to phase detector 188 ( fig3 e ). phase detector 188 and phase detector 176 receive as inputs a 30 hz signal from the 30 hz variable channel as follows . the 30 hz variable channel includes a 30 hz bandpass filter 190 ( fig3 d ) connected to the vor / loc buffer 156 . the filter 190 is connected to the junction of fault detector 186 and lead 192 . lead 192 connects the filter 190 to a phase locked loop 194 ( fig3 e ). phase locked loop 194 converts the 30 hz variable signal from a sine wave into a 30 hz square wave . the phased locked loop 194 is connected by lead 196 to the 30 hz square wave select circuit 182 ( fig3 c ) and to the phase detectors 188 and 176 ( fig3 e ) to provide the squared 30 hz variable signal as previously mentioned . in phase detector 188 , the 30 hz reference phase signal is summed with the 30 hz variable phase and compared to a reference voltage . the difference signal is amplified in amplifier 198 to provide a to / from indicating signal -- a negative voltage indicates a to bearing and a positive voltage a from ( radial ) bearing . phase detector 176 is connected as a switching integrator amplifier and produces from the 30 hz reference frequency and 30 hz variable frequency an error voltage when the signals differ in phase . when in phase no error signal is produced and a reference voltage is produced ; a negative change indicates the aircraft is to the left of the course and a positive change indicates the aircraft is to the right of the course . the phase detector 176 is connected to a vor filter 200 for removing any ac signals . the vor filter 200 is connected by lead 202 to a vor / loc channel select switch 204 ( fig3 f ). the vor / loc channel select switch 204 is connected to an amplifier 206 to restore the l / r signal to a working level . amplifier 206 is connected to low pass filters 208 and 210 . low pass filter 208 is connected to buffer 212 to provide a working level right / left course deviation indicating signal for an aircraft cdi instrument . while low pass filter 210 is connected to a buffer 214 and switch 216 . buffer 214 provides a working level right / left course deviation indicating signal for an auto - pilot . while switch 216 has its pole controlled by lead 218 to a warning flag driver 220 ( fig3 e ). one pole of switch 216 is connected to a reference voltage 222 and the other pole to a course deviation indicator return to apply the reference voltage to the cdi return line and autopilot when the switch 216 is closed . the localizer circuits include a 150 hz channel and a 90 hz channel ( fig3 d ). the 150 hz channel and 90 hz channel include , respectively , a 150 hz bandpass filter 222 and a 90 hz bandpass filter 224 connected to the vor / loc buffer 156 for filtering the loc signal . the filters ( 222 and 224 ) 150 hz and 90 hz outputs are biased to a reference voltage (+ 41 / 2 v ) applied to their non - inverting (+) inputs . the filters 222 and 224 are connected to a loc fault detector 226 , and respectively , to rectifying diodes 228 and 230 . diode 228 is connected to one end of a loc zero potentiometer 232 to provide a positive half wave rectified signal and diode 230 is connected to the other end of potentiometer 232 to provide a negative half wave output . the wiper arm picks the average of the two signals from the potentiometer . the arm is connected by lead 234 to a loc course width adjust potentiometer 236 ( fig3 f ). the course width adjust potentiometer 236 is connected to the vor / loc channel switch 204 for processing through the right / left course deviation indicating signal circuitry previously described for the vor right / left course deviation indicating signals . the loc fault detector 226 ( fig3 d ) and the vor fault detector 186 amplifier outputs are connected , respectively , by leads 238 and 240 to a wired or gate ( fig3 d ). the or output is connected to the warning flag driver 220 and to lead 244 . lead 244 is connected to the nav fault terminal of microprocessor 82 ( fig3 c ). finally , the microprocessor 82 ( fig3 c ) has a vor / loc indicating terminal connected to lead 246 to a vor / loc driver 248 ( fig3 f ). the vor / loc driver 248 is also connected to the vor / loc switch 204 and to lead 250 to provide vor / loc channel selection signals , respectively , to the vor / loc switch 204 and to an external output for vor / loc channel selection by the navigator . referring now to fig4 a - 4e for a description of the communication transceiver , the front panel press keys 16 , 20 , 22 , and 24 ( fig2 ) comprise the keyboard 252 ( fig4 e ). the keyboard 252 is connected to the keyboard strobing latch 84 which continuously monitors the keyboard keys for entries for the controller ( microprocessor 82 ). both the active and standby channel frequencies and reference numbers are stored by the controller 82 through the interface 96 into the nonvolatile earom 98 . the function controller 18 sets the controller to the active or standby mode of operation . the controller 82 has a receive and a transmit terminal . the receive terminal is connected by lead 254 to digital switches 256 and 258 in a receiver control section 261 ; while , the transmit terminal is connected by lead 260 to a digital switch 262 located in the transmitter circuit . insofar as the receiver elements of the communication transceiver are identical to those of the vor receiver previously described , they will be grouped into subsystems shown in dashed lines on the drawing . the antenna 42 ( fig4 d ) is connected to a bandpass filter 264 for removing any unwanted frequencies ( frequencies outside the bandpass ) from the received or transmitted signals . the bandpass filter 264 is connected by leads 266 and 268 , respectively , to the output of the transmitter circuit ( fig4 e ) and input of the receiver circuit ( fig4 a ). the receiver circuit comprises an rf stage 270 connected to a first mixer stage 272 . the rf amplifier amplifies the signals of the bandwidth filter to a working level and applies them to the first mixer stage . the first mixer stage is connected by lead 274 to a local oscillator 276 ( fig4 b ). the local oscillator is tuned by a controller controlled programmable frequency synthesizer 278 to put out a signal at a frequency that is above the rf frequency by a fixed difference for every channel at 25 hz interval . the local oscillator output is mixed with the rf carrier in the first mixer stage 272 ( fig2 a ). the fixed frequency difference is the first if output of the first mixer . a first if amplifier stage 280 is connected to a first mixer stage for amplifying the first if output of the first mixer . a second mixer stage 282 is connected to the first if stage amplifier output to reduce the if frequency to the second if of 455 khz . a second if stage 284 is connected to the second mixer stage for amplifying the second if output of the second mixer stage . a detector stage 286 ( fig4 a and 4b ) is connected to the second if stage for separating the audio from the rf component . the receiver control 261 ( fig4 c ) has its digital switch 258 connected by lead 287 to the audio output of the detector stage 286 . digital switch 258 has its output connected to a summer 288 where the audio is summed with any auxillary input such as , for example , a second receiver , applied through attenuate - by - 11 attenuator 290 and digital switch 256 . an amplifier 292 is connected to the summer 288 to restore the summer &# 39 ; s output to a working level . an audio amplifier stage 294 ( fig4 c and 4d ) is connected to the amplifier 292 of the receiver control 261 for providing audio signals to a speaker . the audio amplifier 294 includes a summing network 295 ( fig4 c ) of adders a , b , and c for producing a constant output voltage from the adders a , b , and c for , respectively , a headset transmitter hearing circuit , the receiver circuit , and the microphone bias circuit . referring to fig4 c , lead 296 connects a push - to - talk microphone ( not shown ) to a microphone bias circuit 298 . a summer 300 is connected to the bias circuit and to an agc circuit 302 . an amplifier 303 is connected to the summer 300 and to a compression level set circuit 304 . the amplifier 303 is connected to the circuit control digital switch 262 . switch 262 is also connected by lead 263 to the local oscillator 276 ( fig4 b ) for receiving the carrier frequency of the selected transmitter channel for modulation with the audio frequency output of amplifier 303 . an amplifier 306 is connected to the digital switch 262 and to an rf power level set circuit 308 . a low pass filter 310 is attached to the amplifier 306 to filter the rf carrier modulated signal . a modulator driver 312 is connected to filter 310 and a sidetone adjust potentiometer 314 whose arm is connected to the audio amplifier for adjusting the volume of the transmission being monitored through the receiver headset . the modulator driver 312 is connected by lead 314 to the agc circuit 302 for feedback to summer 300 , output stage 316 ( fig4 e ) and diode 318 . diode 318 is connected to a driver stage 320 . the driver stage 320 is connected to predriver stages which include a first stage predriver 322 connected to the controller &# 39 ; s transmit terminal and a second stage predriver 324 connected to the first stage predriver stage 322 and a reference voltage . the second predriver stage 324 is connected to the driver stage 320 . the output stage 316 is connected to lead 260 to the controller &# 39 ; s transmit control terminal , to a diode 326 for cutting off the output stage 316 to the antenna during receive and by lead 266 to the bandpass filter 264 for transmission of the modulated signal by antenna 42 . referring now to fig5 when the vor / loc navigation receiver and communication transceiver are turned on the systems are powered up 328 and a power up self - test 330 performed . the system is then initialized 332 . after initialization , the computer checks the input lines 334 including those from the keyboard strobing latch and makes a decision 336 whether any change has been made . if no , the input lines are continuously checked for change ( 334 . 336 ); if yes , a decision 338 is made whether an active frequency is to be modified . if yes , the audio is turned off 340 . if no , the turn off frequency instruction is by - passed and the following inputs monitored for instructions as follows : function switch distance / time ( d / t ) mode 342 ( d switch 18 ), transfer frequency 344 from standby to active and vice versa (←→ key 24 ), recall frequency 346 ( key rcl 22 ), memory scan 348 (&# 34 ; 0 &# 34 ; key 16 ), standby frequency modification 350 (&# 34 ; 1 &# 34 ; key 16 ), store frequency 352 (&# 34 ; sto &# 34 ; key 20 ), push - to - talk 354 ( microphone ), frequency increase / decrease 356 ( remote control ), clock mode 358 ( function switch 18 ck position ) and bearing mode 360 ( t / f switch 18 ). after frequency selection or change a key check , an instruction 362 to send frequency and turn on audio is issued which is followed by an instruction 364 to update the earom . although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail , it is to be understood that various changes and substitutions and alterations can be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
the following is the detailed description of the present invention with reference to the drawings as an embodiment of a one component magnetic developer . fig1 shows an illustrative view showing how a white streak is caused . wherein , the space between the circumferential surface of a developing sleeve 1 as a developer transport member , and a doctor blade 2 as developer layer thickness regulating member is uniformly maintained at the distance of the order of 0 . 2 mm to 0 . 5 mm . said space is quite narrower than that in the case of using a two - component developer . on the other hand , a one - component developer is apt to be coagulated and be much the more in the case of high temperature and humidity . if coagulation of developers happen , a coagulated developer hitch in the space between the developing sleeve 1 and the doctor blade 2 and supplying of the developer is stopped at the hitched place to cause a white streak . if a development was made as the toner was on the circumferential surface of the developing sleeve 1 in such a state as described above , a density unevenness causes therefrom on an image . with the purpose of eliminating such a trouble , there have been proposed the developing means in which a member for cleaning the doctor blade 2 is provided , and methods in which coagulation of a developer is prevented from occurring or in which coagulated developer is destroyed , however there cannot be found any definite measure to eliminate them . the present invention is so devised as to have a magnetic flux distribution of which the peaks are of the homopolar , by arranging such homopolar magnets inside but adjacent to nonmagnetic developing sleeve 1 as shown in fig2 . when the homopolar magnets are arranged adjacent to the developing sleeve 1 as shown in fig2 the magnetic force distribution thereof makes such a curve as shown in fig3 . when the developing sleeve 1 stands still , developers form two peaks because of the force corresponding to the gradient of the magnetic field and forms a portion where no developer exists , between the peaks . while the developing sleeve 1 is being moved , developers are distributed according to the changes of the magnetic field strength , however , ears of the developer are low in density between the peaks of the magnetic field strength and they will become in a mobile state according to the magnetic field . in the case that a white streak is caused on the circumferential surface of the developing sleeve 1 , the magnetic field around the white streak will have an inclination . when the developer layer on which there caused a white streak of the developer is put in a magnetic field as shown in fig2 and fig3 the developer are mobile according to the inclination of the magnetic field at the place where said developers are liable to be mobile according to the changes of said magnetic field , so that said white streak is buried with developers so as to make the developer layer even . thus , such a white streak is thereby disappeared after the magnetic field in question passed on . the present invention was so devised as to arrange such a special magnetic field as described above between the doctor blade 2 and the development area and as to make a white streak caused by the doctor blade 2 disappear before it reaches the development area . in the magnetic flux distribution shown in fig3 it is required to set the minimum value to the values of two peaks at a rate between 20 % and 95 % and in accordance with the experiments the best result was obtained at the rate of the order of 70 %. fig4 illustrates an example of the present invention , wherein the numeral 1 is a non - magnetic cylindrical developing sleeve which revolves in the direction of an arrow . the diameter thereof was 30 mmφ and the rate of revolutions was at 300 r . p . m . numeral 2 is a doctor blade for regulating a thickness of the developer layer and the space between the circumferential surface of said developing sleeve 1 and said doctor blade 2 was maintained so as to be 0 . 2 mm . inside a developer supply hopper 3 , there were stored insulated one component magnetic developer which comprises a resin and 50 wt % of a magnetite being dispersed into the resin so as to be supplied to the sleeve . numeral 4 is an electrophotosensitive drum vacuum - evaporated a selenium as an image forming member in which the space between said drum and the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 was kept so as to be 0 . 3 mm to form development area a . inside said cylindrical developing sleeve 1 , there arranged the fixed permanent magnets , and in the development are there arranged main magnet of the s - pole , and further there arranged magnets 6 for developer transport in other positions . each of permanent magnets 7a and 7b of the n - pole was arranged so that the angle θ made to the center of the sleeve can be 15 ° ( θ = 15 °). the magnetic flux density thereof was 600 gauss on the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 . the magnetic flux density of these permanent magnets 7a , 7b are preferable to be 400 - 1000 gauss respectively , and as long as they are homopolar and within the said range said two pieces of the magnets 7a , 7b can well stand even if there is any difference of the magnetic force between them . whenever they have such constitution as mentioned above , the minimum value of the magnetic flux density taken between the two pieces of magnet 7a , 7b is within the range of 20 %- 95 % on the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 . the insulated one component magnetic developer having come out from toner supply hopper 3 was forming a developer layer on the surface of the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 and said developer layer was transported on said sleeve 1 . the thickness of the developer layer was regulated by the doctor blade 2 to be transported to development area a passing on magnet series 7 in the state adhered over to the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 , and the ears of the developer developed a latent image on the electrophotosensitive drum 4 . in the case that coagulated developer was produced in the portion of doctor blade 2 on the cylindrical developing sleeve 1 , a white streak was also buried with developer while said streaked portion passed on magnet series 7 by the abovementioned effect to disappear before it reached development area a , and thus the density unevenness was eliminated on the image . as described of the example above , whenever the present invention is applied , it is possible to eliminate any unevenness of a developer layer such as a white streak caused on a cylindrical developing sleeve to obtain an excellent image without any density unevenness , so that the maintenance cycles can be prolonged . by the way , the present invention is not to destroy or to remove such a coagulated developer causing a white streak , and accordingly it is of course effective to provide a member for cleaning a doctor blade or to provide a member for destroying such coagulated developer , jointly with the use of the means of the present invention . every developer to be used in the invention contains preferable not less than 10 wt % of magnetite and 50 - 60 wt % thereof were the most effective to use . and , as for a developer transport member of the present invention besides a cylindrical developing sleeve , a belt and the like can also be used for , and as for a member for regulating the thickness of developer layer besides a doctor blade , a member for regulating the thickness by means of a roller or the like is of course included therein . | 6 |
a method for fabricating a tft using a crystal silicon film obtained by crystallizing an amorphous silicon film using a plurality of island nickel films formed on coning 7059 glass substrate as starting points will be described in the present embodiment . there are two methods for forming the island nickel films depending on whether it is formed on or under the amorphous silicon film . fig2 ( a - 1 ) shows the method wherein it is formed under the film and fig2 ( a - 2 ) shows the method wherein it is formed on the film . what must be careful especially about the later is that because nickel is selectively etched after forming it on the whole surface of the amorphous silicon film in the process , nickel and amorphous silicon react each other and produce nickel silicide , though it is a small amount . because a good crystalline silicon film which the present invention aims for cannot be obtained if this nickel silicide remains as it is , it is necessary to remove this nickel silicide fully by hydrochloric acid or hydrofluoric acid . due to that , the amorphous silicon is thinned down from the initial state . on the other hand , although no such problem is caused in the case of the former , it is desirable to completely remove the nickel film other than that of the island portion 2 by etching also in this case . the influence of the residual nickel may be suppressed by oxidizing nickel other than that of the island region by treating the substrate by oxygen plasma or ozone . in either of the cases , a ground silicon oxide film 1 b with a thickness of 2000 angstrom was formed on a substrate 1 a ( coning 7059 ) by a plasma cvd method . the amorphous silicon film 1 was fabricated by a plasma cvd method or vacuum cvd method with a thickness of 200 to 3000 angstrom or preferably 500 to 1500 angstrom . the amorphous silicon film was readily crystallized after removing hydrogen by annealing 0 . 1 to 2 hours at 350 to 450 ° c . to keep the hydrogen concentration within the film to less than 5 atomic percent . in the case of fig2 ( a - 1 ), the nickel film was accumulated up to a thickness of 50 to 1000 angstrom or preferably to 100 to 500 angstrom by sputtering and was patterned to form the island nickel regions 2 before forming the amorphous silicon film 1 . in the case of fig2 ( a - 2 ) on the other hand , the nickel film was accumulated up to 50 to 1000 angstrom or preferably to 100 to 500 angstrom by sputtering and was patterned to form the island nickel regions 2 after forming the amorphous silicon film 1 . fig1 ( a ) shows this state seen from above . each of the island nickel is a square with a side of 2 micron and an interval therebetween was set at 5 to 50 micron or 20 micron for example . a similar effect may be obtained by using nickel silicide instead of nickel . a good result could be obtained when the substrate was heated up to 100 to 500 ° c . or preferably to 180 to 250 ° c . when the nickel was to be formed . it is because an adhesion of the ground silicon oxide film with the nickel film is improved and because nickel silicide is produced by the reaction of silicon oxide and nickel . the same effect can be obtained by using silicon nitride , silicon carbide or silicon instead of silicon oxide . it was then annealed in a nitrogen atmosphere for 8 hours at 450 to 580 ° c . or at 550 ° c . for example . this annealing may be carried out in a mixed atmosphere of nitrogen and hydrogen . or this annealing may be carried out in a hydrogen atmosphere for x 1 hours and then in a nitrogen atmosphere for x 2 hours . fig2 ( b ) shows the intermediate state of this process wherein nickel advance from the island nickel regions 2 near the edge to the center as nickel silicide 3 a and portions 3 where nickel had passed have become crystal silicon . then as shown in fig2 ( c ), the crystallizations which started from the two island nickel films hit and the nickel silicide 3 a remains in the middle , thereby ending the crystallization . fig1 ( b ) shows the substrate in this state seen from above , wherein the nickel silicide 3 a in fig2 ( c ) is an intercrystalline boundary 4 . when the annealing is continued , nickel moves along the intercrystalline boundary 4 and gathers an intermediate region 5 of those island nickel regions ( though their original shape is not kept in this state ). crystal silicon can be obtained by the aforementioned process , but it is not desirable for nickel to diffuse within the semiconductor coating film from the nickel silicide 3 a produced at this time . accordingly , it is desirable to eliminate the region where nickel is highly concentrated by etching by hydrofluoric acid or hydrochloric acid . by the way , because an etching rate of the nickel and nickel silicide is fully large , the silicon film is not affected in the etching by means of hydrofluoric acid or hydrochloric acid . the regions where the growing point of nickel had been located were removed together in the same time . fig2 ( d ) shows the state after the etching . the portion where there was the intercrystalline boundary turns out to be a groove 4 a . it is not desirable to form semiconductor regions ( active layer or the like ) of a tft so as to pinch this groove . the tft was arranged so that semiconductor regions 6 would not cross the intercrystalline boundary 4 as shown in fig1 ( c ). that is , the tft was formed in a crystal growth region in the horizontal direction parallel to the substrate , not in the thickness direction of the coating film , by the action of nickel . then , the growth direction of the crystal could be uniformly arranged and residual nickel could be minimized . as a result , a high tft characteristics could be obtained . on the other hand , gate wires 7 may cross the intercrystalline boundaries 4 . fig3 and 4 show examples of the method for fabricating a tft using the crystal silicon obtained in the process described above . in fig3 ( a ), the reference character x in the middle indicates the place where there was the groove 4 a in fig2 . as shown in the figure , it was arranged so that semiconductor regions of the tft would not cross this x portion . that is , island semiconductor regions 11 a and 11 b were formed by patterning the crystal silicon film 3 obtained in the process shown in fig2 . then a silicon oxide film 12 which functions as a gate insulating film was formed by such methods as rf plasma cvd , ecr plasma cvd or sputtering . further gate electrodes 13 a and 13 b were formed by forming a polycrystalline silicon film with a thickness of 3000 to 6000 angstrom in which 1 × 10 20 to 5 × 10 20 cm − 3 of phosphorus is doped by a vacuum cvd method and then by patterning it ( fig3 ( a )). then impurity was doped by a plasma doping method . as a doping gas , phosphine ( ph 3 ) was used for an n type tft and diborane ( b 2 h 6 ) for a p type tft . the figure shows the n type tft . an acceleration voltage was 80 kev for phosphine and 65 kev for diborane . the impurity was activated by annealing for four hours at 550 ° c . to form impurity regions 14 a through 14 d . a method of using optical energy such as laser annealing or flash lamp annealing may be also used for the activation ( fig3 ( b )). finally , a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 5000 angstrom was deposited as an interlayer insulator 15 similarly to a case when tft is normally fabricated , and contact holes were formed therethrough to form wires and electrodes 16 a through 16 d in source and drain regions ( fig3 ( c )). the tft ( n channel type in the figure ) was thus fabricated in the process described above . the field effect mobility of the tft obtained was 40 to 60 cm 2 / vs in the n channel type and 30 to 50 cm 2 / vs in the p channel type . fig4 shows a process how a tft for aluminum gate was fabricated . in fig4 ( a ), the reference character x in the middle indicates the place where there was the groove 4 a in fig2 . as shown in the figure , it was arranged so that semiconductor regions of the tft would not cross this x portion . that is , island semiconductor regions 21 a and 21 b were formed by patterning the crystal silicon film 3 obtained in the process shown in fig2 . then a silicon oxide film 22 which functions as a gate insulating film was formed by such methods as rf plasma cvd , ecr plasma cvd or sputtering . when the plasma cvd method was adopted , a preferable result could be obtained by using teos ( tetra - ethoxi - silane ) and oxygen as original gases . then an aluminum film ( 5000 angstrom thick ) containing 1 % of silicon was deposited by sputtering and was patterned to form gate wires and electrodes 23 a and 23 b . next , the substrate was soaked into an ethylene glycol solution of 3 % tartaric acid and anodic oxidation was implemented by setting platinum as a cathode and an aluminum wire as an anode and by flowing current therebetween . the current was applied so that its voltage would increase 2v / min . initially and the voltage was fixed when it reached to 220 v . the current was stopped when it became less than 10 microa / m 2 . as a result , anode oxides 24 a and 24 b with a thickness of 2000 angstrom were formed as shown in fig4 ( a ). then impurity was doped by a plasma doping method . as a doping gas , phosphine ( ph 3 ) was used for an n type tft and diborane ( b 2 h 6 ) for a p type tft . the figure shows the n type tft . an acceleration voltage was 80 kev for phosphine and 65 kev for diborane . the impurity was activated by annealing by laser to form impurity regions 25 a through 25 d . the laser used was a krf laser ( wavelength : 248 nanometer ) and five shots of laser lights having 250 to 300 mj / cm 2 of energy density were irradiated ( fig4 ( b )). finally , a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 5000 angstrom was deposited as an interlayer insulator 26 similarly to the case when tft is normally fabricated and contact holes were formed therethrough to form wires and electrodes 27 a through 27 d in source and drain regions ( fig4 ( c )). the field effect mobility of the tft obtained was 60 to 120 cm 2 / vs in the n channel type and 50 to 90 cm 2 / vs in the p channel type tft . in a shift register fabricated by using this tft , operations at 6 mhz in 17 volts of drain voltage and at 11 mhz in 20 v were confirmed . fig5 shows a case when a tft for an aluminum gate was fabricated similarly to that shown in fig4 . however , the amorphous silicon was used as an active layer in this embodiment . as shown in fig5 ( a ), a ground silicon oxide film 32 was deposited on a substrate 31 and an amorphous silicon film 33 with a thickness of 2000 to 3000 angstrom was deposited further on that . an adequate amount of p type or n type impurities may be mixed in the amorphous silicon film . then island nickel or nickel silicide coating film 34 a and 34 b were formed as described above and the amorphous silicon film was crystallized by growing laterally by annealing for 8 hours at 550 ° c . or for four hours at 600 ° c . in this state . then a crystal silicon film thus obtained was patterned as shown in fig5 ( b ). at this time , because the silicon film contained a large amount of nickel in the middle in the figure ( the intermediate portion between the nickel or nickel silicide film 34 a and 34 b ), the patterning was carried out so as to remove such portion and to form island silicon regions 35 a and 35 b . then a substantially intrinsic amorphous silicon film 36 was deposited further on that . after that , as shown in fig5 ( c ), a coating film was formed by such substances as silicon nitride and silicon oxide as a gate insulating film 37 . a gate electrode 38 was formed by aluminum and an anodic oxidation was implemented in the same manner with the case of fig4 . then impurity was diffused by an ion doping method to form impurity regions 39 a and 39 b . then the tft was completed by depositing further an interlayer insulator 40 , by forming contact holes and forming metallic electrodes 41 a and 41 b at source and drain regions . this tft is characterized in that the semiconductor film at the source and drain portions is thick and that a resistance thereof is small . as a result , a resistance in the source and drain regions is reduced and the characteristics of the tft is improved . further , contact holes can be readily formed . fig6 shows a process when a cmos type tft was fabricated . as shown in fig6 ( a ), a ground silicon oxide film 52 was deposited on a substrate 51 and an amorphous silicon film 53 with a thickness of 1000 to 1500 angstrom was deposited further on that . then as described above , island nickel or nickel silicide coating film 54 was formed and annealing was implemented in this state at 550 ° c . a silicon silicide region 55 moved in the direction of plane , not in the direction of thickness , of the coating film and the crystallization advances by this process . the amorphous silicon film changed into crystal silicon as shown in fig6 ( b ) by four hours of annealing . the silicon silicide regions 59 a and 59 b were driven away toward the edge along the advancement of the crystallization . then an island silicon region 56 was formed by patterning the crystal silicon film thus obtained as shown in fig6 ( b ). here , an attention must be paid on that nickel was highly concentrated in the both ends of the island region . after forming the island silicon reason , a gate insulating film 57 and gate electrodes 58 a and 58 b were formed . then n type impurity regions 60 a and p type impurity regions 60 b were formed by diffusing an impurity by an ion doping method as shown in fig6 ( c ). at this time , the doping can be carried out by using phosphorus as a n type impurity ( doping gas is phosphine ph 3 ) and by doping across the whole surface by 60 to 110 kv of acceleration voltage and then after covering the region of the n channel type tft by a photoresist , by using boron for example as a p type impurity ( doping gas is diborane b 2 h 6 ) and by doping with 40 to 80 kv of acceleration voltage . after the doping , the source and drain region were activated by irradiating laser light similarly to the case in fig4 . then the tft was completed by depositing further an interlayer insulator 61 , by forming contact holes and forming metallic electrodes 62 a , 62 b and 62 c at the source and drain regions . fig7 shows the fourth embodiment . the present embodiment relates to a method in which silicide is produced by reacting a nickel film with a portion of amorphous silicon film by a first heat treatment ( pre - annealing ) and the amorphous silicon is crystallized by annealing after removing a non - reactive nickel film . a ground silicon oxide film 702 ( thickness : 2000 angstrom ) was formed on a substrate ( coning no . 7059 ) 701 by a sputtering method . then a silicon film 703 with a thickness of 300 to 800 angstrom or 500 angstrom thick for example was formed . further , a silicon oxide film 704 was formed by a plasma cvd method . this silicon oxide film 704 acts as a masking material and its thickness was preferred to be 500 to 2000 angstrom . if it is too thin , the crystallization advances from an unexpected location by pinholes and if it is too thick , it takes a time to form the film and is not suited for mass - production . then it was set at 1000 angstrom here . after that , the silicon oxide film 704 was patterned by a known photolithographic process . then a nickel film 705 ( thickness : 500 angstrom ) was formed by a sputtering method . the thickness of the nickel film 705 was preferred to be more than 100 angstrom ( fig7 ( a )). then it was annealed for 10 to 60 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere at 250 to 450 ° c . ( a pre - annealing process ). for example , it was annealed for 20 minutes at 450 ° c . as a result , a nickel silicide layer 706 was formed within the amorphous silicon . a thickness of this layer was determined by a temperature and time of the pre - annealing and the thickness of the nickel film 705 was almost nothing to do with it ( fig7 ( b )). after that , the nickel film was etched . nitric or hydrochloric solution was suitable for the etching . the nickel silicide layer was barely etched during the etching of the nickel film by those etchants . in the present embodiment , an etchant in which acetic acid was added into nitric acid as a buffer was used . the ratio set was : nitric acid : acetic acid : water = 1 : 10 : 10 . after removing the nickel film , it was annealed for 4 to 8 hours at 550 ° c . ( a crystallizing annealing process ). several methods were tried in the crystallizing annealing process . a first method was to implement this process while remaining the masking material 704 as shown in fig7 ( c ). the crystallization advances as indicated by arrows in fig7 ( c ). a second method was to anneal after removing all the masking material and exposing the silicon film . a third method was to anneal after removing the masking material and after forming a new coating film 707 composed of silicon oxide or silicon nitride on the surface of silicon film as a protection film as shown in fig7 ( d ). although the first method was simple , the surface of the masking material 704 reacted with nickel in the pre - annealing step , and became silicate in the crystallizing annealing process at a higher temperature , and became hard to be etched . that is , because an etching rate of the silicon film and masking material 704 becomes almost equal , the portion where the silicon film is exposed is also largely etched when the masking material is removed later , creating steps on the substrate . the second method is very simple and etching can be easily carried out since the reaction of the masking material with nickel is mild before the crystallizing annealing process . however , because the silicon surface was wholly exposed when the crystallizing annealing was carried out , characteristics of tft or the like fabricated later degraded . although the third method allowed to firmly obtain a good quality crystal silicon film , it was complicated because the number of processes was increased . as a fourth method which was an improved version of the third method , a method comprising steps of putting into a furnace in a state when the silicon surface is exposed , heating for about one hour at 500 to 550 ° c . initially in an oxygen flow to form a thin silicon oxide film with a thickness of 20 to 60 angstrom thick on the surface and switching to a nitrogen flow as it is was studied as a crystallizing annealing condition . according to this method , an oxide film was formed in the initial stage of the crystallization . and that only the neighbor of the nickel silicide layer had been crystallized in this oxidation stage and a region which would be used for the tft later ( right side portion in the figure ) was not crystallized . due to that , the surface of the silicon film at the region far from the nickel silicide layer 706 was very flat . the characteristics improved more than that of the second method and was almost equal with that of the third method . the crystal silicon film was thus obtained . since then , the silicon film 703 was patterned while removing a portion where a value of concentration of nickel was high ( a region where the origin of growth was located ) and growth points ( slanted portions at the end of the arrows in the figure ) and while remaining only the region where the concentration of nickel was low . an island silicon region 708 which would be used for an active layer of the tft was formed as described above . then a gate insulating film 709 composed of silicon oxide with a thickness of 1200 angstrom was formed covering the region 708 by a plasma cvd method . further , a gate electrode 710 and a wire 711 in a first layer were formed by a phosphorus doped silicon film with a thickness of 6000 angstrom and source / drain regions 712 were formed by injecting an impurity into the active layer 708 in a self - aligning manner using the gate electrode 710 as a mask . it was then effective for improving the crystallinity to irradiate visible or near infrared strong light . further , a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 6000 angstrom was formed by a plasma cvd method as an interlayer insulator 713 . finally , contact holes were created in this interlayer insulator and a wire 714 in a second layer , source / drain electrode and wires 715 were formed by an aluminum film with a thickness of 6000 angstrom . the tft was completed by the process described above ( fig7 ( e )). fig9 shows the present embodiment . in the present embodiment , a polysilicon tft is formed in a peripheral circuit and an active matrix region of a tft type liquid crystal display device . at first , a ground oxide film 121 was deposited into a thickness of 20 to 200 nm by a sputtering method on a glass substrate 120 having a heat resisting quality such as a silica glass . further on that , an amorphous silicon film was deposited into a thickness of 30 to 50 nm by a plasma cvd method or vacuum cvd method using mono - silane or di - silane as an original material . here , a concentration of oxygen or nitrogen in the amorphous silicon film should have been less than 10 18 cm − 2 or preferably less than 10 17 cm − 2 . the oxygen concentration was set to be less than 10 17 cm − 2 in the present embodiment . a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 100 to 150 nm or silicon nitride film with a thickness of 30 to 100 nm was formed on the amorphous silicon film by a sputtering method as a cover film . it was then patterned to leave a cover film 122 only in the peripheral circuit region . then it was crystallized by leaving for 4 to 100 hours in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere ( 600 ° c .) containing 20 to 100 volume percent of oxygen or hydrogen . as a result , a crystallinity of a silicon film 123 a in the peripheral circuit region was good and that of a silicon film 123 b in the picture element region was not good . fig9 ( a ) shows this state . next , the silicon film was patterned into a shape of island to form a peripheral circuit tft region 124 a and a picture element tft region 124 b as shown in fig9 ( b ). then a gate oxide film 125 was formed by means of sputtering or the like . it can be formed by a plasma cvd method using teos ( tetraethoxisilane ) instead of the sputtering method . it is desirable to anneal for 0 . 5 to 3 hours at a temperature more than 650 ° c . during or after the formation when forming the film using teos . after that , a n - type silicon film with a thickness of 200 nm to 2 micron was formed by a lpcvd method and by patterning it , gate electrodes 126 a through 126 c were formed on each island region . a metallic material having a relatively good heat resistance such as tantalum , chrome , titanium , tungsten and molybdenum may be used instead of the n - type silicon film . then , an impurity was injected to the island silicon film of each tft by an ion doping method in a self - aligning manner using the gate electrode section as a mask . at this time , phosphorus was injected across the whole surface employing phosphine ( ph 3 ) as a doping gas at first and after covering the right side of the island region 124 a and the matrix region in the figure by a photoresist , boron was injected to the left side of the island region 124 a employing diborane ( b 2 h 6 ) as a doping gas . the dosage of phosphorus was set to be 2 to 8 × 10 15 cm − 2 and that of boron was 4 to 10 × 10 15 cm − 2 so that the dosage of boron would exceed that of phosphorus . a p - type region 127 a and n - type regions 127 b and 127 c were thus created . it was activated by annealing for 2 to 24 hours at a temperature between 550 and 750 ° c . the thermal annealing was carried out for 24 hours at 600 ° c . in the present embodiment . this annealing process activated the region in which ions were injected . this process can be implemented by laser annealing . because a thermal damage on the substrate is small when annealed by laser , a normal non - alkaline glass such as coning 7059 can be used . further , at that time , a material having an inferior heat resistance such as aluminum can be used as a material for the gate electrode . the p - type region 127 a and n - type regions 127 b and 127 c were created by the process described above . a sheet resistance of those regions was 200 to 800 ohm / sheet . after that , a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 300 to 1000 nm was formed across the whole surface by a sputtering method as an interlayer insulator 128 . this may be a silicon oxide film formed by a plasma cvd method . a silicon oxide film having a good step coverage can be obtained by the plasma cvd method especially using teos as an original material . then an ito film was created by a sputtering method and was patterned to form a picture element electrode 129 . contact holes were created in source / drain ( impurity regions ) of the tft to form wires 130 a through 130 e made of chrome or titanium nitride . fig9 ( c ) shows that an inverter circuit have been created by the ntft and ptft on the left side . the wires 130 a through 130 e may be a multi - layered wire with aluminum based on chrome or titanium nitride in order to reduce a sheet resistance . finally , it was annealed for 0 . 5 to 2 hours at a temperature between 200 and 350 ° c . in hydrogen to reduce a dangling bond of the silicon active layer . the peripheral circuit and the active matrix circuit could be integrally created . in the present embodiment , a typical mobility was 80 cm 2 / vs in the nmos , 50 cm 2 / vs in the pmos in the peripheral circuit section and 5 to 30 cm 2 / vs in the picture element tft ( nmos ). fig1 shows the present embodiment . in the present embodiment , a difference of mobility of nmos and pmos is reduced in a cmos circuit utilizing the present invention . at first , a ground oxide film 132 was deposited into a thickness of 20 to 200 nm by a sputtering method on a coning 7059 substrate 131 . further on that , an amorphous silicon film was deposited into a thickness of 50 to 250 nm by a plasma cvd method or vacuum cvd method using mono - silane or di - silane as an original material . here , a concentration of oxygen or nitrogen in the amorphous silicon film should have been less than 10 18 cm − 2 or preferably less than 10 17 cm − 2 . the vacuum cvd method was suited for this purpose . the oxygen concentration was set to be less than 10 17 cm − 2 in the present embodiment . a cover film 133 ( a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 50 to 150 nm ) was provided on the region of pmos . then it was crystallized by annealing for 4 to 100 hours at 600 ° c . in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere at 600 ° c . containing more than 50 percent of oxygen or hydrogen . as a result , although a crystallinity of a region 134 a under the cover film was good , that of a region 134 b where there was no cover film was not good . fig1 ( a ) shows this state . next , the silicon film was patterned into a shape of island to form a pmos region 135 a and an nmos region 135 b as shown in fig1 ( b ). then a silicon oxide film 125 with a thickness of 50 to 150 nm was formed by a sputtering method covering those island regions as a gate insulating film 136 . then an aluminum film was formed with a thickness of 200 nm to 2 micron by a sputtering method , and patterned to form a gate electrode . an anodic oxide film was formed on the upper and side surfaces of the gate electrode by feeding power to it in an electrolyte . gate electrode sections 137 a and 137 b were formed on each island region by the process described above . then , an impurity was injected to the island silicon film of each tft by an ion doping method in a self - aligning manner using the gate electrode section as a mask . at this time , phosphorus was injected across the whole surface employing phosphine ( ph 3 ) as a doping gas at first and after covering only the island region 135 b in the figure by a photoresist , boron was injected to the island region 135 a employing diborane ( b 2 h 6 ) as a doping gas . the dosage of phosphorus was set to be 2 to 8 × 10 15 cm − 2 and that of boron to be 4 to 10 × 10 15 cm − 2 so that the dosage of boron would exceed that of phosphorus . although the crystallinity of the silicon film is broken by the doping process , it was possible to keep its sheet resistance around 1 kohm / sheet . however , if the sheet resistance of this degree is to much , the sheet resistance can be lowered by annealing further for 2 to 24 hours at 600 ° c . the same effect can be obtained by irradiating such a strong light as laser light . a p - type region 138 a and n - type regions 138 b were thus created . a sheet resistance of those regions was 200 to 800 ohm / sheet . then a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 300 to 1000 nm was formed across the whole surface by a sputtering method as an interlayer insulator 139 . this may be a silicon oxide film formed by a plasma cvd method . a silicon oxide film having a good step coverage can be obtained by the plasma cvd method especially using teos as an original material . then contact holes were created in source / drain ( impurity regions ) of the tft to form aluminum wires 140 a through 140 d . finally , it was annealed for 2 hours at a temperature between 250 and 350 ° c . in hydrogen to reduce a dangling bond of the silicon film . a typical mobility of the tft obtained by the process above was 60 cm 2 / vs both in the pmos and nmos . when a shift resistor was fabricated using the process of the present embodiment , an operation of more than 10 mhz with 20 v of drain voltage was confirmed . fig1 shows the present embodiment . the present embodiment relates to a circuit in which a transistor and silicon resistance are combined . silicon doped by impurity can be used as a protecting circuit of the transistor . at first , a ground oxide film 141 was deposited into a thickness of 20 to 200 nm by a sputtering method on a coning 7059 substrate 140 . further on that , an amorphous silicon film 142 was deposited into a thickness of 100 to 250 nm by a plasma cvd method or vacuum cvd method using mono - silane or di - silane as an original material . here , a concentration of oxygen or nitrogen in the amorphous silicon film should have been less than 10 18 cm − 2 or preferably less than 10 17 cm − 2 . a cover film 143 of a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 20 to 200 nm was deposited and it was crystallized by annealing for 4 to 100 hours in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere at 600 ° c . fig1 ( a ) shows this state . next , the silicon film was patterned into a shape of island to form a transistor region 144 a and a resistance region 144 b as shown in fig1 ( b ). then a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 50 to 150 nm was formed by a sputtering method covering those island regions as a gate insulating film 145 . then an aluminum film was formed with a thickness of 200 nm to 2 micron by a sputtering method , and patterned to form a gate electrode . an anode oxide film was formed on the upper and side surfaces of the gate electrode by feeding power to it in an electrolyte . gate electrode section 146 was formed on each island region by the process described above . then , an impurity , e . g . phosphorus , was injected to the island silicon film of each tft by an ion doping method in a self - aligning manner using the gate electrode section as a mask . the dosage of phosphorus was 2 to 8 × 10 15 cm − 2 . impurity regions 147 a and 147 b were created by the doping process described above . since the same amount of impurity is being injected in those two impurity regions , they show the same resistivity when they are thermally annealed as they are . however , there is a such case for example when a higher resistance is demanded to the latter whereas a lower resistance is always demanded to the former . then , a cover film 148 of a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 50 to 150 nm was formed only on the transistor region as shown in fig1 ( c ). it was then annealed for 4 to 20 hours at a temperature between 550 and 650 ° in an argon or nitrogen atmosphere containing more than 50 volume percent of oxygen or hydrogen . phosphine ( ph 3 ) may be used instead of oxygen or hydrogen . however , the annealing temperature is preferable to be less than 800 ° c . because if the annealing temperature is too high , phosphine is thermally decomposed and diffuses within the semiconductor , lowering the resistivity on the contrary . diborane ( b 2 h 6 ) may be used when the impurity region of the resistance is p - type . while a sheet resistance of the impurity region of the transistor was 20 to 800 ohm / sheet , that of the impurity region of the resistance was 2 k to 100 kohm / sheet by the process above . then a silicon oxide film with a thickness of 300 to 1000 nm was formed across the whole surface by a sputtering method as an interlayer insulator 149 . this may be a silicon oxide film formed by a plasma cvd method . a silicon oxide film having a good step coverage can be obtained by the plasma cvd method especially using teos as an original material . then contact holes were created in source / drain ( impurity regions ) of the tft to form aluminum wires 150 a through 150 c . finally , it was annealed for 0 . 5 to 2 hours at a temperature between 250 to 350 ° c . in hydrogen to reduce a dangling bond of the silicon film . a sheet resistance of the regions which had the same thickness and to which the same amount of impurity was injected could be differentiated by the process described above . as described above , the present invention is an epoch - making invention in a sense that it promotes the implementation of lower temperature and shorter time crystallization of amorphous silicon and provides an immeasurable benefit to the industry because facility , equipment and technique therefor are very common and are excellent for mass - production . although the explanation has been made centering on nickel in the aforementioned embodiments , the same process can be applied to another metal element that accelerates the crystallization , i . e . any one of fe , co , ru , rh , pd , os , ir , pt , sc , ti , v , cr , mn , cu , zn , au and ag . for example , assuming that it takes two minutes to treat one sheet of substrate , while 15 annealing furnaces were necessary in the conventional solid phase growing method because at least 24 hours of annealing was necessary , the present invention allows to reduce the number of the annealing furnaces to less than ⅙ of that because the annealing time can be shortened to four hours or less . the improvement of productivity and the reduction of amount of investment on facility brought about by that will lead to the drop of substrate processing cost as well as to the drop of a cost of tfts and thereby to the rise of new demand . accordingly , the present invention is very beneficial to the industry and deserves to be patented . further , the present invention solves the problem in the conventional fabrication process of crystalline silicon tfts by such minimum modification of the crystallization condition of active layer of the tfts that whether a cover film exists or not . the present invention allowed to improve especially a reliability and performance of a dynamic circuit and of a device having such circuit . conventionally , although crystalline silicon tfts had low an on / off ratio for such purpose as an active matrix of a liquid crystal display and was difficult in various ways to put it into practical use , such problems have been considered to be solved by the present invention . although not shown in the embodiments , it will be apparent that the present invention will be effective , when implemented , in tfts used as means for implementing a stereo - monocrystal semiconductor integrated circuit . for example , a memory elements section can be constructed by constructing a peripheral logic circuit by semiconductor circuits on a monocrystal semiconductor and by providing tfts on that through the intermediary of an interlayer insulator . in this case , the memory elements section can be a dram circuit using the tfts of the present invention and its driving circuit is constructed by being cmos - implemented to the monocrystal semiconductor circuit . furthermore , when such circuit is used for a microprocessor , its area can be saved because the memory section is raised to the upstairs . thus the present invention is considered to be a very beneficial invention to the industry . while the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . | 7 |
the invention can be described in more detail with the help of the accompanying drawing wherein fig1 shows a view in cross section of a portion of the surfaces of a pair of contact elements of a connector in accordance with the invention ; fig1 a shows an alternative embodiment of that shown in fig1 ; fig2 shows a plan view of an exemplary surface of one of the contact elements of fig1 . fig3 and 3a show graphs of contact resistance test results for simulated insertion and removal motions ; and fig4 and 4a show graphs of contact resistance test results for simulated fretting motions . as can be seen in fig1 the surface of a contact element 10 comprises a plurality of raised portions ( islands ) 11 and a plurality of depressed portions ( valleys ) 12 therebetween . the raised portions make mechanical and electrical contact with a second contact element 13 having a substantially smooth surface as shown . as the elements 10 and 13 move relative to each other , as shown by the arrow , the contact surface regions between the raised portions 11 of element 10 and the surface of element 13 tend to generate minute wear particles which would normally tend to be retained between the surface contact regions . in accordance with the invention , however , as movement occurs , such wear particles are swept into and entrapped in depressed portions 12 where they are retained . in a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the invention , for example , the raised or island portions 11 can be formed , as shown in fig1 and 2 , as 100 micrometer ( μm .) square islands separated by 100 μm . square depressed or valley regions 12 having depths of about 100 μm , thereby forming a substantially regular pattern thereof as shown . in the exemplary embodiment shown the pattern of islands and valleys can be formed by any suitable process such as , for example , by using well - known photo - resist techniques , wherein the depressed portions can ultimately be formed by etching or the islands can ultimately be formed by plating , in accordance with a desired pattern thereof . alternatively , the pattern may be formed by an appropriate mechanical embossing process in which the pattern is formed by using a suitably configured embossing cylinder . in a preferred embodiment the plated regions can be plated with a selected material having a selected thickness which provides relatively low electrical resistance and a selected hardness which provides relatively low wear characteristics . for example , as shown in fig1 a , copper islands 11 of the patterned surface can be plated with nickel using an electroless plating process to form a layer 11a of a thickness selected to provide relatively low electrical resistance ( e . g . about 3 . 75 μm .) on each island as the contact surface region . in order to prevent corrosion of the nickel coating , the surface can be further coated with a layer 11b of a lead - tin ( pb - sn ) alloy using various thicknesses from about 0 . 1 μm . to about 2 . 0 μm . a typical surface of such a construction was tested using two kinds of simulated operating tests . a first sliding test provided an oscillating sliding motion having about a 6 . 0 mm amplitude at a frequency of about 1 . 0 hz under a load of 200 g . for up to 200 cycles , the contact resistance being continuously measured during the test . such test simulated the insertion and removal operations of an electrical connector . it was found that the wear debris or wear particles produced by such sliding motion between the top surface of the islands and the sliding surface in contact therewith was substantially completely trapped and retained in the depressed regions between the islands . in two particular samples tested it was found that the contact resistance never exceeded 15 milliohms ( mω .) and accordingly remained well within the desired design limits , as shown in fig3 and 3a for the two samples tested , wherein the peaks of the resistance level excursions for each of the cycles are depicted by pen recorded curves 14 and 15 , respectively . a second test was performed to simulate conditions during use with respect to smaller amplitude and higher frequency motions ( corresponding to vibration or fretting motions ) in which the amplitude of the motion was about 20 μm . at a frequency of about 60 hz . tests on two particular samples were performed at a 200 g load for 100 , 000 cycles . again it was found that the debris was adequately trapped and retained by the depressed regions on the surface of one of the contact elements and the contact resistance again stayed well below the desired maximum 25 mω level , as shown by pen recorded curves 16 and 17 in fig4 and 4a , respectively , for the two samples tested . while the particular preferred embodiment disclosed above utilizes a substantially regular pattern of alternating raised and depressed portions , as shown in fig1 and 2 , it is clear that in some applications it would be within the scope of the invention to change the particular pattern shown to another form of regularized pattern or to change the shape and dimensions of the islands and valleys themselves . moreover , it is entirely possible to use an irregular pattern of such islands and valleys . optimized patterns for each application can be well determined by those in the art utilizing the inventive concept disclosed . it is preferable that the raised portions or islands have contact surface dimensions which are less than the amplitude of the sliding motion required for insertion and removal and normally such dimensions are at least an order of magnitude less than such amplitude . further , although a particular combination of copper , nickel and lead - tin alloy materials has been discussed with reference to preferred embodiments which were made and tested , it is clear that the type of material can be selected for the particular use desired , particularly in terms of its hardness , and such materials may include both noble and base metals and coatings therefor for the specified electrical contact applications involved . other modifications to the basic inventive concept as disclosed herein may also occur to those in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention . hence , the invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiments discussed herein except as defined by the appended claims . | 7 |
the coating composition is useful for substrates that need lubricity as well as wear resistance such as mating surfaces . the firearm industry has a need for these coating compositions . these coatings would allow firearms to be used with a longer maintenance schedule that is required when using the recommended conventional wet lubricants . the maintenance schedule established by firearm manufactures usually instruct users that the guns have be cleaned and then reassembled with fresh grease and oil after every 1000 rounds to prevent corrosion and lock up of the firing mechanisms . by applying the nodular nickel coating parts to the surfaces of mating components the wear life of the components can be extended beyond the wear life provided by wet lubricants . firearm components are one example of mating surfaces that would benefit from nodular nickel coatings . another problem with wet lubricants is that dusts and grime and sand easily attach . this increases the need for cleaning and re - greasing in unfriendly environments . also the continuous firing of rounds wears out the barrel of guns and rifles . these coatings extend the wear of the barrels and acts as sacrificial coating . by acting as a sacrificial coating the barrels can be re - plated allowing the barrel to be reused . the following experiments were done to show the effectiveness of the these coatings : 1 ) guns are known to have close fit tolerances and a nickel boron coating would add additional dimension to all surfaces , so careful measurements were recorded of all critical surfaces before the factory coatings were removed . 2 ) next we stripped the various factory coatings , hard anodize on the aluminum surfaces , manganese phosphate from the steel parts and hard chrome from inside of the gun barrel . 3 ) measurements were retaken to establish the mass removed by removing the various factory coatings . 4 ) we concluded an average nickel boron thickness of 0 . 0005 - 0 . 001 inches could be applied without disrupting function . a . the factory anodized surfaces were stripped by submerging parts in a zincate solution until the surfaces were free of aluminum oxide . b . small threaded holes were plugged to prevent plating from depositing . c . the parts were then placed in a non etch aluminum soak cleaning solution for 2 - 3 minutes . d . the parts were then placed in a chemical etch solution for 40 seconds e . the parts were then placed in a standard zincate solution for 15 seconds f . the parts were then placed in a nickel strike solution to provide a protective layer from the highly alkaline nickel boron bath . g . the parts were then placed in the nickel boron solution as follows : 1 . a solution of water , 0 . 25 pounds of nickel salts , 1 pound of ethylenediamine , ⅓ pound of ammonium hydroxide ⅓ pound of sodium hydroxide topped - off to one gallon . 2 . the above solution was heated to a temperature of 1908 f .+/− 5 * f . 3 . to the solution above ( the bath ) 10 mls of a reducing agent was added . the reducing agent was made as follows : 1 pound of sodium borohydride was added to ½ gallon of water and to that , 2 pounds of sodium borohydride was added , topped - off to one gallon . 4 . to the bath solution above , 10 mls of the stabilizer solution was added . the stabilizer was made as follows ; 10 grams of lead tungstate was added to ¾ gallon of water . to that , 50 grams of sodium hydroxide was added . to that , 150 mls of ethylenediamine , to that , 50 mls of ethylenediamine tetraacetate was added and topped - off with water to equal one gallon . 50 grams of surfactant was added and mixed well . 5 . the gun parts were left in the plating solution for 1½ hours and received 0 . 0006 inch of nickel boron coating . a . the factory magnesium phosphate coating was removed by placing the parts in a solution of water and 16 oz per gallon of sodium hydroxide at a temperature of 150 * f . for 1 hour . b . the parts were then placed in a detergent type soak cleaning solution for 2 - 3 minutes at 160 * f . c . the parts were then placed in an acid solution for 1 - 2 minutes for surface activation d . the parts were then placed in the same nickel boron plating solution for 1½ hours to receive approximately 0 . 0006 inch of nickel boron coating . 1 . a solution of water , 0 . 25 pounds of nickel salts , 1 pound of ethylenediamine , ⅓ pound of ammonium hydroxide ⅓ pound of sodium hydroxide topped - off to one gallon . 2 . the above solution was heated to a temperature of 1908 f .+/− 5 * f . 3 . to the solution above ( the bath ) 10 mls of a reducing agent was added . the reducing agent was made as follows : 1 pound of sodium borohydride was added to ½ gallon of water and to that , 2 pounds of sodium borohydride was added , topped - off to one gallon . 4 . to the bath solution above , 10 mls of the stabilizer solution was added . the stabilizer was made as follows ; 10 grams of lead tungstate was added to ¾ gallon of water . to that , 50 grams of sodium hydroxide was added . to that , 150 mls of ethylenediamine , to that , 50 mls of ethylenediamine tetraacetate was added and topped - off with water to equal one gallon . 50 grams of surfactant was added and mixed well . 5 . the gun parts were left in the plating solution for 1½ hours and received 0 . 0006 inch of nickel boron coating . 6 . to increase hardness , the steel parts were heat - treated at 700 * f . for 90 minutes , by doing so , hardness increased from 980 knoop to 1410 knoop . 7 . the gun barrels , steel were processed along with the other steel parts above but the chrome plating was first removed by using an inhibited hydrochloric acid at 40 % with water . the barrel was submerged in the acid for approximately 2 hours until all of the chrome deposit was removed . plating was as follows : 1 . a solution of water , 0 . 25 pounds of nickel salts , 1 pound of ethylenediamine , ⅓ pound of ammonium hydroxide ⅓ pound of sodium hydroxide topped - off to one gallon . 2 . the above solution was heated to a temperature of 1908 f .+/− 5 * f . 3 . to the solution above ( the bath ) 10 mls of a reducing agent was added . the reducing agent was made as follows : 1 pound of sodium borohydride was added to ½ gallon of water and to that , 2 pounds of sodium borohydride was added , topped - off to one gallon . 4 . to the bath solution above , 10 mls of the stabilizer solution was added . the stabilizer was made as follows ; 10 grams of lead tungstate was added to ¾ gallon of water . to that , 50 grams of sodium hydroxide was added . to that , 150 mls of ethylenediamine , to that , 50 mls of ethylenediamine tetraacetate was added and topped - off with water to equal one gallon . 50 grams of surfactant was added and mixed well . 5 . the gun parts were left in the plating solution for 1½ hours and received 0 . 0006 inch of nickel boron coating . 6 . to increase hardness , the steel parts were heat - treated at 700 * f . for 90 minutes , by doing so , the hardness increased from 980 knoop to 1410 knoop based on a 25 gram load . at times , an inexpensive ammunition was intentionally used because they are known to be damaging to weapon surface finishes by means of corrosive gun powder residue . if this residue isn &# 39 ; t thoroughly removed from all surfaces , the residual material becomes acidic and attacks the base metal of the weapon . an objective of this invention is protecting a gun surface with nickel boron from this chemical attack is . two test guns were reassembled but one was first burnished with a molly disulfide compound as a dry film lubricant on top of the nickel boron coating . the gun without moly lubrication was at first a little “ sticky ” and rough in operation but eventually operated as well as the weapon with the dry film lubrication . extra polishing was required in the breach area of the barrel to prevent the ammunition from hanging - up as it tried to discharge the casing in the non lubricated gun . the first test firing cycle was as follows , 470 rounds of winchester ammo was fired in both semi and full automatic mode without incident . the guns were left as fired with no cleaning as is normally done and required by the manufacture . the same day , but 8 hours later , an additional 500 rounds of wolf brand ammunition were fired as above without incident or cleaning before , during or after firing . 24 hours later , additional 1200 rounds were fired and again without incident and again the weapons were stored without cleaning . 2 days later , the weapons 500 rounds were fired . the following week , the weapons were again fired , 2000 rounds total with 3 miss - fires that were related to a poor quality magazine , completely unrelated to the function of the gun and it &# 39 ; s coated parts . both weapons have fired a total of 4670 rounds total . the only miss fires occurred in the initial start - up of the gun without the moly disulfide dry lubrication . since then , this gun has been incident free . the dry film lubricated gun was had 3 misfires that occurred around 2100 round count due to the poor magazine . these examples show that the maintenance schedule required by wet lubricants can be greatly extended using these coatings . the preferred surface roughness for these coatings on firearm components should be about 20 rms . the coating after an electroless nickel boron deposition usually has surface roughness of about 40 rms . a lower rms is usually needed to reduce the wear between mating surfaces and to prevent unwanted particles like sand from being trapped between the nodules . the surface roughness can be reduced using conventional polishing techniques : the boron content of the coating should be over 2 . 5 %. and not exceeding 6 % as the boron content increase the hardness increases . the preferred range is 4 - 4 . 5 % by weight applying a mixture of tungsten disulfide and moly disulfide 80 : 20 % or 20 : 80 % by weight or volume to a nodular nickel coating enhance the nickel boron coating . about a 50 : 50 mixture is preferred . these ingredients have uniquely different structure and properties that compliment each other . the mixture can be applied as follows . 2 ) thinning it with a solvent and painting on the nickel surface . 3 ) blasting it into the surface mixed with glass bead or by blasting it into the surface with high pressure gas , like nitrogen , at 250 - 1000 psi without glass beads . | 8 |
compounds of the present invention are hexahydropyrrolizines of the following formula ( i ): ## str3 ## wherein a represents the atoms necessary to form a ring system selected from the group consisting of phenyl , naphthyl , cycloalkyl , cycloalkenyl , thienyl , furanyl , pyrrolyl , pyridinyl , pyridazinyl , pyrimidinyl , pyrazinyl or triazinyl ; r 1 is independently cyano , halogen , alkyl , alkyloxy , alkylthio , haloalkyl , alkenyl , alkynyl or cycloalkenyl or r 1 is alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl substituted by hydroxy ; and provided that when a is phenyl , x is 1 , 2 or 3 , and the pharmaceutically - acceptable acid - addition salts thereof . in more detail , a is phenyl ; naphthyl ; cycloalkyl of about 3 to 7 carbon such as cyclopentyl and cyclohexyl ; cycloalkenyl of about 3 to 7 carbons such as cyclopentenyl and cyclohexenyl , e . g . 1 - cyclohexen - 1 - yl ; thienyl such as 2 - or 3 - thienyl ; furanyl such as 2 - or 3 - furanyl ; pyrrolyl such as 2 - or 3 - pyrrolyl ; pyridinyl such as 2 -, 3 - or 4 - pyridinyl ; pyridazinyl such as 3 - or 4 - pyridazinyl ; pyrimidinyl such as 2 - 4 - or 5 - pyrimidinyl ; pyrazinyl such as 2 - pyrazinyl ; or triazinyl such as 1 , 2 , 3 - triazinyl attached at the 4 or 5 position thereof , 1 , 2 , 4 - triazinyl attached at the 3 , 5 or 6 position or 1 , 3 , 5 - triazinyl attached at the 2 position . r 1 , in more detail , is independently , e . g ., two different r 1 moieties may be attached to the a ring when x is 2 , cyano ; halogen such as fluoro , chloro , bromo and iodo ; alkyl of about 1 to 8 carbons such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl and sec - butyl ; alkoxy of about 1 to 8 carbons such as methoxy , ethoxy and iso - propoxy ; alkylthio of about 1 to 8 carbons such as methylthio and ethylthio ; haloalkyl of about 1 to 8 carbons independently substituted by one or more of fluoro , chloro , bromo or iodo such as trifluoromethyl and 2 , 2 , 2 - trifluoroethyl ; alkenyl of about 2 to 8 carbons such as ethenyl , 1 - propenyl and 2 - propenyl ; alkynyl of about 2 to 8 carbons such as ethynyl , 1 - propargyl and 2 - propargyl ; cycloalkenyl of about 3 to 7 carbons such as cyclopropenyl and 1 - cyclohexenyl ; or such alkyl , alkenyl or alkynyl substituted by hydroxy such as 3 - hydroxy - n - butyl , 3 - hydroxy - 1 - n - butenyl and 6 - hydroxy - 1 - n - hexynyl . particular a - r 1 ring systems for formula ( i ) include phenyl rings where x is 0 or 1 and r 1 is halogen such as ortho - halophenyl , e . g ., ortho - bromophenyl or r 1 is loweralkyl such as para - loweralkyl , e . g . para - methylphenyl . various isomers are possible in formula ( i ) compounds and the present invention includes all such individual enantiomers , diasteriomers , racemates and other isomer ratios . specifically , formula ( i ) compounds have 3 - substitution and , may exist in the following 4 forms , the pendant 7a bond being to a hydrogen : ## str4 ## structures ( ia ) and ( ic ) are enantiomers of each other as are ( b ) and ( d ). in the present specification , the designation 3α , 7aβ in nomenclature of specific compounds is used for the pair ( ia ) and ( ic ) according to ca usage , it being clear that such 3α , 7aα compound is a racemate composed of the 2 enantiomers ( ia ) and ( ic ). likewise , 3α , 7aα is the designation for the pair of compounds having partial structure ( ib ) and ( id ). resolution of enantiomers shown in the application , of course , results in a single enantiomer without its enantiomeric mirror image and these individual enantiomers are designated by (-) or (+) according to the direction in which they turn polarized light . compounds of this invention may be prepared via either of two routes ( a ) and ( b ). route ( a ) ## str5 ## in route ( a ), compounds of formula ( i ) wherein a is phenyl may be prepared by treatment of hexahydro - 3h - pyrrolizin - 3 - one of formula ( ii ) with phenyl lithium followed by dichloroaluminum hydride . in more detail , hexahydro - 3h - pyrrolizin - 3 - one , ca , vol . 86 , 89512 ( 1977 ), in a dry ethereal solvent , such as thf , is treated with a solution of about one equivalent of phenyllithium in cyclohexane / diethyl ether at a temperature below - 20 ° c . after a period of about 1 - 2 hours , the reaction mixture is added to a suspension of about one equivalent of alcl 2 h in anhydrous ether . the reaction mixture is stirred at about room temperature for a period of about 16 to 24 hours under an inert atmosphere , e . g . nitrogen or argon , and the product of formula ( i ) wherein a is phenyl is recovered by standard techniques . route ( b ) ## str6 ## in route ( b ), pyrrole 2 - carboxaldehyde is condensed with a ketone of formula ( iii ) where y is -- ch 3 , e . g . a substituted acetophenones or heteroaryl methyl ketone , to afford a chalcone of formula ( iv ). the condensation may be carried out under claisen - schmidt conditions , for instance , in water or a lower alcohol solvent at a temperature of - 30 ° to 50 ° c ., depending on the solvent being used , preferably water at about 45 ° c ., in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide , e . g . potassium hydroxide . other alternative condensation procedures may be used , e . g . the knoevenagel condensation using ammonia or a primary or secondary amine catalyst and a carboxylic acid . for instance , piperidine in acetic acid at an elevated temperature of about 50 ° to 100 ° c . will effect the condensation . the chalcone of formula ( iv ) is then reacted with di - tert - butyldicarbonate to afford the t - boc protected pyrrole chalcone of formula ( v ). the protection reaction is generally carried out in an inert solvent , e . g . acetonitrile , at room temperature . the protected pyrrole chalcone of formula ( v ) is then catalytically hydrogenated to produce the pyrrolidine - ketone of formula ( vi ). the hydrogenation may be carried out over nickel or a noble metal catalyst , e . g . platinum , palladium , rhodium or ruthenium , preferably platinum or rhodium on carbon , in a solvent such as a lower alkenol , e . g . methol . the hydrogenation may be carried out at a temperature of about 20 ° to 120 ° c . at a hydrogen pressure of about 16 psi to 300 psi . route ( b ) is preferably not used if the a - ring constitutes a moiety which is sensitive to hydrogenation . thus , route ( b ) is best used when the a - ring is phenyl , naphthyl or furanyl . in the next step of route ( b ), the pyrrolidine - ketone of formula ( vi ) is reduced to produce a pyrrolidine - alcohol of formula ( vii ) by the action of a hydride reducing agent , e . g . sodium borohydride in a polar solvent , such as a lower alkanol , e . g . methanol , or lah in et 2 o or thf . the pyrrolidine - alcohol of formula ( vii ) is then treated with aqueous concentrated hydrogen bromide to produce the n - deprotected pyrrolidinehalide hydrobromide of formula ( viii ). the deprotection of the pyrrolidine nitrogen and conversion of the alcohol moiety to a bromine moiety is carried out in a single step at an elevated temperature of about 38 ° to 100 ° c ., preferably about 60 ° c . in the last step of route ( b ), the pyrrolidinehalide hydrobromide of formula ( viii ) is cyclized to a hexahydropyrrolizine of formula ( i ) by conversion of the hydrobromide salt to its free base and subsequent cyclization of the free base . the reaction is carried out by the action of a mild base 1 e . g . potassium carbonate , in a polar solvent , e . g . water . route ( b ) may not be employed when the group ## str7 ## contains a group subject to a catalytic hydrogenation such as a c - c double bond , a c - c triple bond , a nitrile , a pyridine ring or a thiophene ring . when the a - c cycle is a phenyl ring , carrying out route ( b ) with exhaustive rh catalyzed hydrogenation affords a 3 - cyclohexylhexahydropyrrolizine . in a variation of route ( b ), the protected pyrrolidine alcohol of formula ( vii ) is reacted with thionyl chloride in place of concentrated hydrogen bromide to produce an n - deprotected chloro pyrrolidine hydrochloride analogous to the bromo pyrrolidine of formula ( viii ) of route ( b ), which is subsequently cyclized to a hexahydropyrrolizine of formula ( i ) by the action of a strong base . the thionyl chloride reaction is generally run in a polar aprotic solvent , e . g . chloroform , at room temperature and the strong base used in the cyclization step is aqueous alkali , e . g . sodium hydroxide . in each of route ( a ) and ( b ), a mixture of diastereomers is produced . the diastereomers may be separated by chromatography on silica or by fractional crystallization . if desired , the compound of formula ( i ) may be resolved into optical isomers , i . e ., enantiomers , by fractional crystallization of a salt with an optionally active acid such as , for instance , di - ρ - toluoyl tartaric acid . the groups r 1 may be attached directly to the -- c - a function during the synthesis of the hexahydropyrrolizine ring . alternatively they may be attached following the synthesis of the 3 - substituted hexahydropyrrolizine . for instance a 3 -( halophenyl ) hexahydropyrrolizine may be converted to the corresponding lithium derivative by reaction with an alkyllithium . 3 -( 2 - lithiophenyl ) hexahydropyrrolizine on reaction with dimethyldisulfide affords 3 -( 2 - methylthiophenyl ) hexahydropyrrolizine . reaction of the lithio derivative with cyclohexanone affords the derivative with a 1 - cyclohexanol attached . a 3 -( 2 - halophenyl ) hexahydropyrrolizine when subjected to palladium catalyzed coupling with cuprous cyanide or a 1 - alkyne gives the corresponding cyano or alkyl derivative . compounds of formula ( i ) wherein the a - ring is cyclohexyl or substituted cyclohexyl may be prepared by catalytic hydrogenation of the appropriate phenyl compound over a noble metal catalyst , for example rhodium , ruthenium or platinum . the activity of compounds of the invention as analgesics may be demonstrated by an abdominal constriction assay as described below : the mouse acetylcholine - induced abdominal constriction assay , as described by collier et al . in brit . j . pharmacol . chemother , 32 : 295 - 310 , 1968 , with minor modifications was one test used to assess analgesic potency . the test drugs or appropriate vehicle were administered p . o . and 30 minutes later the animals received an i . p . injection of 5 . 5 mg / kg acetylcholine bromide ( matheson , coleman and bell , east rutherford , n . j .). the mice where then placed in groups of four into glass bell jars and observed for a ten minute observation period for the occurrence of a writhe which is defined as a wave of constriction and elongation passing caudally along the abdominal wall , accompanied by a twisting of the trunk and followed by extension of the hind limbs . the percent inhibition of writhing ( equated to % analgesia ) was calculated as follows : the % inhibition of writhing , i . e ., % analgesia is equal to the difference between the number of control animals writhing and the number of drug - treated animals writhing times 100 divided by the number of control animals writhing . at least 20 animals were used for control and in each of the drug treated groups . four doses were used to determine each dose response curve and ed 50 ( that dose which inhibits writhing by 50 %). the ed 50 values and their 95 % fiducial limits were determined by a computer assisted probit analysis . the test results are shown in table i . table i______________________________________acetyl choline bromide body constrictioncpd of % inhibitionex # 30 mg kg ed . sub . 50______________________________________1 100 5 . 72f ( diasteriomer a ) 60 -- 2f ( diasteriomer b ) 100 8 . 73d 100 -- ______________________________________ based on the above results , compounds of the invention as well as the compound of formula ( i ) where a is phenyl and x is 0 may be used to treat mild to moderately severe pain in warm blooded animals such as humans in a manner similar to the use of meperidine hydrochloride by administration of an analgesically effective dose . the dosage range would be from about 10 to 3000 mg , in particular about 25 to 1000 mg or about 100 to 500 mg , of active ingredient 1 to 4 times per day for an average ( 70 kg ) human although it is apparent that activity of individual compounds of the invention will vary as will the pain being treated . to prepare the pharmaceutical compositions of this invention , one or more compounds or salt thereof of the invention as the active ingredient , is intimately admixed with a pharmaceutical carrier according to conventional pharmaceutical compounding techniques , which carrier may take a wide variety of forms depending on the form of preparation desired for administration , e . g ., oral or parenteral such as intramuscular . in preparing the compositions in oral dosage form , any of the usual pharmaceutical media may be employed . thus , for liquid oral preparations , such as for example , suspensions , elixirs and solutions , suitable carriers and additives include water , glycols , oils , alcohols , flavoring agents , preservatives , coloring agents and the like ; for solid oral preparations such as , for example , powders , capsules and tablets , suitable carriers and additives include starches , sugars , diluents , granulating agents , lubricants , binders , disintegrating agents and the like . because of their ease in administration , tablets and capsules repressent the most advantageous oral dosage unit form , in which case solid pharmaceutical carriers are obviously employed . if desired , tablets may be sugar coated or enteric coated by standard techniques . for parenterals , the carrier will usually comprise sterile water , though other ingredients , for example , for purposes such as aiding solubility or for preservation , may be included . injectable suspensions may also be prepared , in which case appropriate liquid carriers , suspending agents and the like may be employed . the pharmaceutical compositions herein will contain , per dosage unit , e . g ., table , capsule , powder , injection , teaspoonful and the like , from about 10 to about 500 mg of the active ingredient . in the following examples and throughout the specification , the following abbreviations may be used : ca ( chemical abstracts ); mg ( milligrams ); g ( grams ); kg ( kilograms ); ml ( milliliters ); mmole ( milli moles ); m ( molar ); n ( normal ); psi ( pounds per square inch ); mp ( melting point ); bp ( boiling point ); meg ( milliequivalents ); e ( trans ); z ( cis ); et 2 o ( diethyl ether ); etoac ( ethyl acetate ); meoh ( methanol ); etoh ( ethanol ); lah ( lithium aluminum hydride ); thf ( tetrahydrofuran ); dmf ( dimethylformamide ); p . o . ( per os , orally ); i . p . ( intraperitioneal ); hplc ( high pressure liquid chromatography ; hr ( hours ); min ( minutes ); and c , h , n , o , etc . ( the chemical symbols for the elements ). unless otherwise indicated , all temperatures are reported in ° c . ( degrees centigrade ) and all references to ether are to et 2 o . into a round bottom flask was placed 5 g ( 0 . 04 moles ) hexahydro - 3h - pyrrolizin - 3 - one , described in ca , 86 89512 ( 1977 ) in 100 ml of dry thf . this was cooled to - 40 ° c . and 20 ml of 2 . 0m phenyllithium in cyclohexane / ether was added over 40 min keeping the temperature below - 20 ° c . the reaction mixture was stirred at - 20 ° c . for 40 min and added to a suspension of alcl 2 h made by adding 5 . 34 g ( 0 . 04 moles ) aluminum chloride in 25 ml of dry ether to a suspension of 1 . 52 g ( 0 . 04 moles ) lah in ether . the reaction mixture was stirred overnight under nitrogen . to the reaction mixture was added 120 ml of water and it was stirred for one hr . the solid was filtered off and washed well with ether . the filtrate was made basic with 3n sodium hydroxide and extracted several times with ether . the ether layers were combined , washed with brine and dried ( k 2 co 3 ). the solvent was removed in vacuo . the residue was taken up in ether , washed with water and extracted with 3n hydrogen chloride . the acidic layer was made basic by sodium hydroxide addition and extracted with ether . the ether layer was washed with brine , dried ( k 2 co 3 ) and the solvent evaporated in vacuo . the resulting oil was flashed chromatographed on silica gel using 1 : 7 acetone : hexane as the eluant . the resulting oil was treated with one equivalent of fumaric acid in 2 - propanol to give the salt which was recrystallized from 2 - propanol to give 680 mg of hexahydro - 3 - phenyl - 1h - pyrrolizine ( e )- 2 - butenedioate ( 9 %), mp 143 °- 145 . 5 ° c . a mixture of 20 . 0 g of ( 0 . 21 moles ) 2 - pyrrolecarboxaldehyde , 71 . 4 ml of ( 0 . 52 moles ) o - bromoacetophenone , 72 ml of 1n potassium hydroxide and 800 ml of water was placed in a flask under nitrogen and heated to 45 ° c . for 72 hr . the reaction was cooled in an ice bath until a solid formed . the solid was taken up in methylcyclohexane / etoac , dried over 4a sieves and allowed to cool . the resulting solid was recrystallized from methylcyclohexane / etoac to give 43 . 5 g of 1 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - pyrrol - 2 - yl )- 2 - propen - 1 - one as a yellow solid ( 75 %), mp 76 °- 78 ° c . to a solution of 27 . 7 g ( 0 . 10 moles ) 1 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 -( 1h - pyrrol - 2 - yl )- 2 - propen - 1 - one in 120 ml of acetonitrile was added 26 . 16 g ( 0 . 12 moles ) of di - t - butyldicarbonate and 1 . 27 g ( 0 . 01 moles ) of dimethylaminopyridine . the solution was stirred for 45 min after which 3 . 54 g ( 0 . 03 moles ) of 2 - diethylaminoethylamine was added . after stirring for 15 min the reaction was partitioned between 200 ml of 1m potassium hydrogen sulfate and ether . the ether layer was washed twice with 100 ml portions of 1m potassium hydrogen sulfate , water brine and dried ( k 2 co 3 ). evaporation of the solvent in vacuo gave 34 . 4 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - oxo - 1 - propenyl ]- 1h - pyrrol - 1 - carboxylate as an oil ( 92 %). into a parr shaker bottle was placed a solution of 37 . 47 g ( 0 . 099 moles ) 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - oxo - 1 - propenyl ]- 1h - pyrrol - 1 - carboxylate in 150 ml of methyl alcohol and 1 . 90 g of platinum oxide . the reaction was placed under a 60 psi atmosphere of hydrogen and shaken until hydrogen uptake had stopped . the catalyst was filtered off and the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo to give 32 . 9 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - oxopropyl ]- 1h -]- pyrrolidine - 1 - carboxylate as a yellow oil ( 86 %). to a solution of 20 . 0 g ( 0 . 052 moles ) of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - oxopropyl ]- 1h - pyrrolidine - 1 - carboxylate in 100 ml of methyl alcohol placed under an atmosphere of nitrogen was added portionwise 3 . 10 g ( 0 . 09 moles ) of sodium borohydride pellets . after stirring overnight water was added and the methanol was evaporated in vacuo . the residue was partitioned between ether and water , and the ether layer was washed with brine and dried ( k 2 co 3 ). evaporation of the solvent in vacuo gave 19 . 42 g of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl 2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - hydroxypropyl ]- 1h - pyrrolidine - 1 - carboxylate as a brown oil ( 97 %). to 550 ml of 48 % hydrogen bromide was added 22 . 03 g ( 0 . 057 moles ) of 1 , 1 - dimethylethyl2 -[ 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl )- 3 - hydroxypropyl ]- 1h - pyrrolidine - 1 - carboxylate . the solution was heated to 60 ° c . for 30 min , placed in a freezer to cool and after five hr a solid was collected . the filtrate was evaporated in vacuo and a solution of 5 % water in 2 - propanol was added to the residue . after sitting in a freezer overnight , a solid was filtered which was identical to the first solid isolated . a total of 9 . 7 g of 2 -[ 3 - bromo - 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl ) propyl ] pyrrolidine hydrobromide was collected ( 40 %), mp 169 °- 170 ° c . to 100 ml of chloroform was added 10 . 21 g ( 0 . 024 moles ) of 2 -[ 3 - bromo - 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl ) propyl ] pyrrolidine hydrobromide and a solution of 6 . 6 g ( 0 . 048 moles ) potassium carbonate in 25 ml of water . the reaction mixture was stirred vigorously for four hr . the organics were separated off , washed with water , brine and dried ( k 2 co 3 ). the solvent was evaporated in vacuo to give 5 . 41 g of two diastereomers of 3 -( 2 - bromophenyl ) hexahydro - 1h - pyrrolizine ( diastereomer a and diastereomer b ). the diastereomers were separated by flash chromatography on silica gel using 1 : 5 acetone : hexane as the eluant . the first diastereomer to elute from the column , diastereomer a , was treated with a solution of hydrogen chloride in ether to give 460 mg of diastereomer a hydrochloride ( 6 . 3 %), mp 154 °- 157 ° c . diastereomer b was distilled in a kugelrohr collecting the distillate between 120 °- 130 ° c . at 0 . 01 mm hg . a 1 . 0 g sample of diastereomer b was collected as a clear oil ( 16 %). to a solution of 10 . 1 g ( 0 . 18 mole ) of potassium hydroxide in 2 . 18 l of water was added 176 . 4 g ( 1 . 32 mole ) of 4 - methylacetophenone and 50 g ( 0 . 53 mole ) of pyrrole - 2 - carboxaldehyde . the mixture was heated to 40 °- 45 ° c . with mechanical stirring under a nitrogen atmosphere overnight . the solid precipitate was filtered , washed with water and 2 - propanol , and air dried to give 42 . 1 g ( 38 % yield ) of the title compound as a solid , mp 158 . 5 °- 159 . 5 ° c . to a suspension of 42 . 1 g ( 0 . 2 mole ) of the product of example 3a in 400 ml of acetonitrile was added 1 . 95 g ( 0 . 16 mole ) of 4 - dimethylaminopyridine and 52 . 3 g ( 0 . 24 mole ) of di - t - butyldicarbonate . the solution was allowed to stir at room temperature overnight . the reaction was poured into 1 . 3 l of 1n potassium bisulfate and extracted with ether . the ether solution was dried over anhydrous potassium carbonate and concentrated to give 61 . 4 g ( 98 % yield ) of the title compound as a dark yellow oil which solidified on scratching . to a solution of 61 g ( 0 . 196 mole ) of the product of example 3b in 300 ml of absolute methanol was added 2 . 4 g of platinum oxide and the mixture was placed on a parr apparatus under 60 psi of hydrogen and shaken for 3 days . the mixture was filtered and the filtrate concentrated to give 56 . 5 g ( 90 % yield ) of the title compound as a brown oil . to a solution of 51 . 8 g ( 0 . 162 mole ) of the product of example 3c in 500 ml of dry chloroform was added 23 . 6 ml ( 0 . 32 mole ) of thionyl chloride dropwise with mechanical stirring . the mixture was allowed to stir for 2 hr at ambient temperature , basified with 3n sodium hydroxide and stirred overnight . the chloroform layer was separated , dried over anhydrous potassium carbonate , and concentrated to an oil . the oil was chromatographed on silica , eluting with 50 % acetone : hexane and the product bearing fractions were combined to give 7 . 5 g of an oil . this oil was distilled , and the fraction boiling at 80 °- 82 ° c ./ 0 . 1 torr was treated with ethereal hcl to give the salt which was recrystallized from acetonitrile to give 2 . 8 g ( 5 % yield ) of the title compound as a tan solid , mp 199 . 5 °- 203 . 5 ° c . | 2 |
control units , especially for controlling passenger protection devices , such as airbags , belt pretensioners , or roll bars , must be highly reliable so as to prevent internal failures resulting in unwanted situations for vehicle passengers . for data transmission between the microcontroller in the control unit and the connected components in the control unit , the so - called asic &# 39 ; s , such as a firing circuit control system , or the sensors or interface modules , the spi ( serial peripheral interface ) is frequently used . in this instance , a line mosi ( master out slave in ) is used by the microcontroller to transmit data to the connected components , and an additional line miso ( master in slave out ) is used to allow the connected asic &# 39 ; s to transmit data to the microcontroller . the lines in question are separate . the serial peripheral interface has still further lines , such as the chip - select line and the clock line . these are indeed separate hardware lines . the μc controller provides this clock pulse via the clock lines to the connected asic &# 39 ; s , resulting in a synchronous data transmission . it is now clear that a clock signal error may result in faults in the functioning of the control unit . therefore , in accordance with the present invention , the clock signal is monitored based on the output signals of two clock outputs of the microcontroller , which can also be a different processor . this monitoring can be carried out by hardware or software . for hardware - based implementation , it is possible to use , for example , an exclusive - or ( non - equivalence ) element , whereas in the case of software - based monitoring , the microcontroller itself is used by feeding the output signals of the clock outputs back to inputs of the microcontroller . the software - based implementation has the advantage that the individual output signals can be monitored separately . in addition , when using two clock outputs , higher redundancy for the clock generation can be achieved by preferably oring the outputs which supply the clock signal . the figure is a block diagram of the control unit according to the present invention . the block diagram concentrates only on the essential elements of the present invention , so that other components which are also present in the device are not shown for the sake of simplicity . a microcontroller μc is connected via a data output mosi to asic &# 39 ; s 1 , 2 and n present in the control unit . line mosi is used for data transmission from μc to asic &# 39 ; s 1 , 2 and n . microcontroller μc is also connected to asic &# 39 ; s 1 , 2 and n via a data input . here , however , lines miso is used for data transmission of the asic &# 39 ; s to the microcontroller . the data transmission between the microcontroller and asic &# 39 ; s 1 , 2 and n can take place virtually in parallel . via further outputs 10 and 11 , clock signals of microcontroller μc are output , said clock signals being generated by microcontroller μc by dividing an oscillator signal . oscillators that can be used here include , for example , a pierce oscillator which can easily be set into oscillation and delivers a stable clock signal . clock outputs 10 and 11 are connected to diodes d 1 and d 2 , respectively ; the diodes , in turn , being interconnected to an input of an amplifier v . amplifier v then delivers the clock pulse sckr . this clock pulse then goes to components asic 1 , asic 2 and asic n . thus , microcontroller μc and asic &# 39 ; s 1 , 2 through n operate in parallel with respect to processing . however , the output signals of clock outputs 10 and 11 are each also supplied to inputs of an exclusive - or element . the exclusive - or element produces a signal at its output when the two input signals are different . this means that the exclusive - or element produces a 1 only if a 0 and a 1 , or a 1 and a 0 are present , otherwise it produces a 0 . a warning light driver 15 is controlled as a function of this output signal of exclusive - or element 12 . in the event of a fault , i . e ., when the two clock signals are different , said warning light driver activates a warning light to indicate the fault . alternatively or additionally , the output signals of clock outputs 10 and 11 can also be monitored by microcontroller μc itself . to this end , the output signals are fed back to two inputs 13 and 14 , respectively . microcontroller μc can then monitor the output signals by means of software . the microcontroller can do this , for example , by simulating the exclusive - or function by means of software , and by separately monitoring the output signals in terms of amplitude . microcontroller μc then generates a monitoring signal as a function thereof , said monitoring signal being used , for example , for controlling the warning light driver . however , it is also possible to display a warning on a display in the vehicle . inputs 3 and 4 should be assigned to different port groups . port groups are understood here to be adjacent inputs and outputs . clock outputs 10 and 11 should also belong to different port groups in order not to be geographically adjacent so as to prevent failure of the two clock outputs in the event of a hardware fault . instead of the spi communication , which is a bus communication , it is also possible to use point - to - point connections between microcontroller μc and the individual asic &# 39 ; s , respectively . however , other bus communications are also possible alternatively to the spi connection . | 6 |
embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . as noted previously , the methods and devices of this invention are disclosed herein with particular reference to a system for the automatic transfer of fragile wafers of material as widely used in the semiconductor electronics industry . in addition to the basic operation of wafer transfer , the disclosed system optionally includes pre - alignment and buffered storage of the wafers that have been presented to the system . however , it should be understood that the novel combination and subcombinations of the herein disclosed features have applicability to other fields in which articles analogous to semiconductor wafers require alignment or buffered storage or other specialized handling , as described herein , prior to the subsequent treatment of those articles . furthermore , it should also be understood that the various features of this invention , while highly effective when combined to provide an integrated apparatus such as the automatic wafer transfer system disclosed herein , have applicability independently of each other in the transfer , handling , pre - alignment , and storage or other treatment of semiconductor wafers or analogous material . the functional block diagram of fig1 shows the preferred embodiment with an input path to handle “ dirty ” unprocessed wafers separate from an output path for “ clean ” processed wafers . with the exception of the integrated notch aligner ( ina ) 500 , the subsystems are symmetrical between the two paths . this symmetry reduces the count of unique components comprising the wafer transfer system wts 10 thereby providing for an economy of scale in the manufacture and support of the wts 10 itself . controller 80 is in communication with each of the robotic subsystems within the wts 10 to issue commands to and receive status information from them . computer 70 oversees the entire wts 10 automation through a communication interface with controller 80 . the objective of the entire wts 10 is to transfer semiconductor wafers between one or more foups ( 20 and 25 ) and process bench ( es ) 90 . although process bench ( es ) 90 is depicted here as a single block , it is so labeled to point out that it may comprise a single or multiple processing systems within the block . it is an important advantage of the present invention that multiple processing systems are supported simultaneously by the wts 10 through the particular cassette buffering station 400 described herein . additionally , many of the processing systems that are supported in the block labeled process bench ( es ) 90 are restricted to either left - hand or right - hand interfaces to a wafer transfer system . this restriction requires that other wafer transfer systems be made available in both left - hand and right - hand configurations . the wts 10 of the present invention , through its cassette buffering station 400 , inherently accommodates both left - hand and right - hand configurations in a single wts 10 , whether process bench ( es ) 90 comprises a single or multiple processing systems . the three fig2 and 4 show the component devices of the wafer transfer system wts 10 of the present invention in three views , perspective , top and side , respectively . the system includes five main subassemblies : ( b ) a wafer transfer robot ( wtr ) 100 with an integrated notch aligner ( ina ) 500 , all subassemblies are mounted to a structural frame 60 . the robotics of the wts 10 automation are controlled by controller 80 under the supervision of computer 70 . in operation , a foup 20 containing a collection of one or more wafers , which are in a horizontal orientation , is placed at a load port 50 where the foup 20 is locked into place to prevent contaminants from entering the wts 10 . the foup 20 is then opened by a pod door opener ( pdo ) 30 which is shown for location purposes only but is not detailed here as it is known in the art . a typical pdo 30 will engage pins to support the openable face of the foup 20 , then the pdo 30 will rotate locking devices built into the openable face to unlock it , pull it away from the foup 20 and move it to a holding position below the deck plane 65 of the working area within the wts 10 . the majority of the automation components and all of the wafer transferring exist above the deck plane 65 . the majority of the electrical and mechanical assemblies function below the deck plane 65 . this prevents contamination , enhances safety measures , and facilitates servicing of the wts 10 . the details of the load ports 50 and 55 along with their associated pod door openers are unimportant . these subassemblies , though physically located within the environment of the wts 10 , serve merely as an interface to foups 20 and 25 for the exchange of wafers . for dimensional references herein , consider the openable face of the foup 20 as attaching to the load port 50 in an xz - plane and that the y - axis extends backward , away from such a mounting plane , toward where the wts 10 interfaces with processing bench ( es ) 90 . the wtr arm 120 moves along horizontal rail 110 on the y - axis ( refer to fig5 for a detailed close - up ) and rotates about its point of attachment 130 ( to the horizontal rail 110 ) in order to position the y - shaped end effector 140 at the openable face of the foup 20 . the wtr arm 120 then moves along the horizontal rail 110 to drive the y - shaped end effector 140 into the foup 20 coming to a position directly below and in proximity to a wafer 40 . the wtr pedestal 150 ( in fig6 and 7 ) raises the horizontal rail 110 vertically along the z - axis , lifting the wafer 40 from its support in the foup 20 . the wtr arm 120 then reverses along the horizontal rail 110 withdrawing the wafer 40 from the foup 20 . the wtr arm 120 then rotates about its point of attachment 130 . with the wafer resting on the end effector 140 , fully removed from the foup 20 , the wts 10 can perform notch alignment . fig6 and 7 , along with fig5 are useful to understand the integrated notch aligner ( ina ) 500 in relation to the wafer transfer robot wtr 100 . the ina 500 comprises a vacuum chuck 510 with a rotary drive 515 . to begin integrated notch alignment , the wtr arm 120 rotates , positioning the end effector 140 above the vacuum chuck 510 . the wtr lowers the wafer 40 to position the center of the wafer 40 on top of the vacuum chuck 510 . the end effector 140 remains in this position until the notch is aligned . the vacuum chuck 510 applies a vacuum to the wafer 40 holding the wafer while the wafer is spun by a rotary drive 515 . the laser 520 locates the notch 45 . once the notch 45 is found , the rotary drive 515 turns the vacuum chuck 510 to rotate the wafer 40 in order to place the notch 45 in a pre - selected position . the wtr 100 raises the end effector 140 lifting the wafer 40 from the vacuum chuck 510 . the ina 500 integrates notch alignment with the wafer loading sequence . systems of notch alignment in the prior art deposit wafers to a separate machine for alignment from which they are then retrieved by yet another machine . that method has a larger footprint and lower system reliability than the method disclosed herein . the ina 500 of the present invention introduces a timesaving element by eliminating both the need for a separate mechanism and the number of wafer transfer motions . the ina design herein described also provides more reliable notch alignment functionality than the prior art since reducing the number of moves in the automation results in a safer method of wafer transfer . also , total footprint of the tool can be reduced since a separate location for notch alignment is not necessary . once the wafer 40 is removed from the foup 20 , and notch alignment , if incorporated , is complete , the wtr arm 120 continues rotation and travel along the horizontal rail 110 towards the cassette inversion mechanism ( cim ) 200 until the end effector 140 is positioned at substantially 180 ° rotation away from the openable face of the foup 20 . the end effector 140 and wafer 40 are now positioned directly in front of a cassette 210 for insertion of the wafer 40 into the cassette 210 . the cassette inversion mechanism ( cim ) 200 , described in fig8 and 10 , comprises a cassette holder 220 connected at a distal end of a pivotable arm 280 which in turn is mounted to a vertical rail 270 supported by a rotatable pedestal 260 . the cassette 210 may be any one of several open transfer cases commonly used in the industry to accommodate a specific process system at process bench ( es ) 90 . such cassettes typically have slots that include combs 230 for holding the wafers at three or four points of contact ; such combs being analogous to the mechanism for supporting wafers within a foup 20 . the cassette 210 is locked into place in the cassette holder 220 with a cassette locking member 250 , as the cassette 210 is loaded with wafers 40 by the wtr 100 . the wtr arm 120 advances along the y - axis positioning the wafer 40 horizontally in the cassette 210 above one of a collection of slots . the horizontal rail 110 and attached wtr arm 120 moves vertically down along the z - axis setting the wafer 40 into the slot . the arm wtr 120 then reverses travel along the y - axis towards the foup 20 to retrieve the next wafer 40 . if wafers are needed from the test wafer station ( tws ) 300 , the wtr 100 can position as required to retrieve the necessary wafer or wafers . the tws 300 supports a collection of wafers in a horizontal orientation using a means analogous to the combs of the cassettes . when initial loading of the cassette 210 begins , the cim 200 is at its lowest height . this allows the wtr 100 to load the first wafer 40 into the top - most slot of the cassette 210 . due to the high sensitivity to contaminants , the automation should always be below the wafer 40 . loading of wafers is performed from the top down , while unloading is done from the bottom up . for the first wafer transfer , the top slot of the cassette 210 , the wafer 40 on the wtr end effector 140 , and the bottom slot of the foup 20 are in the same horizontal plane . the cim 200 indexes the cassette 210 upwards in the same increments as the wtr 100 , both indexing to the height of the next wafer in the foup 20 so that the wafer transfer is always accomplished in a horizontal plane . after the cassette 210 is fully loaded , the cim pedestal 260 rotates and the pivotable arm 280 pivots simultaneously to invert the wafers from a wafer horizontal orientation for loading by the wtr 100 , to a wafer vertical orientation for placement at the cassette buffering station ( cbs ) 400 . the cassette inversion mechanism of the present invention allows for cassette loading and unloading in a wafer horizontal orientation . the cassette inversion mechanism of the present invention also allows for inversion of the cassette in a single coordinated motion so that the wafers are positioned in a wafer vertical orientation reducing wafer transfer time , increasing throughput and ensuring safe product handling . the cassette buffering station ( cbs ) 400 ( see fig4 ) is located at the back of the wts 10 in proximity to the process bench ( es ) 90 . the cbs 400 interfaces with the cim 200 and processing bench automation included in the process bench ( es ) 90 . the cbs 400 contains two subsystems ( fig2 and 3 ): a buffer queue and storage area 460 , and a cassette buffer handling mechanism 410 . the buffer queue and storage area 460 contains a plurality of shelves 470 that are static . the shelves 470 are attached to a frame member near the back of the wts frame 60 and are located so as to be accessible by the automation of the process bench ( es ) 90 and the cassette buffer handling mechanism 410 . each of the plurality of shelves 470 includes placement pins to ensure proper placement and alignment of a cassette 210 on the shelf 470 according to the requirements of the specific , perhaps custom , cassette 210 . sensors may also be used to ensure proper alignment of the cassette . the cassette buffer handling mechanism 410 ( fig3 ) is located along an x - axis between the cassette inversion mechanism 200 and the buffer queue and storage area 460 . the cassette buffer handling mechanism 410 ( as detailed in fig1 , 13 and 14 ) includes a motor driven trolley 440 mounted to a carriage 450 for horizontal translation of the trolley 440 along the carriage 450 on an x - axis . a pair of pivotable arms 480 ( detailed in fig1 ) extends from the trolley 440 and is configured to permit rotation of the pair of pivotable arms 480 about a pair of pivotable arm connections 490 . the pair of pivotable arms 480 is attached to the trolley 440 in such a manner as to permit translation of the arms along a z - axis . each of the pair of pivotable arms 480 includes a generally y - shaped active end effector 420 described elsewhere in the art . each of the generally y - shaped active end effectors 420 includes grippers 430 for gripping the cassette 210 firmly during transport . once the cim 200 positions the cassette 210 in the wafer vertical orientation , the carriage 450 of the cassette buffer handling mechanism 410 travels along the x - axis as required to align the grippers 430 with pins at both ends of the cassette 210 . the pivotable arms 480 pivot to position the active end effectors 420 relative to the cassette 210 so that the grippers 430 may secure the cassette 210 . sensors may indicate that the cassette 210 is in position and held securely by the active end effectors 420 . the active end effectors 420 may include active or passive safety devices to ensure that the cassette 210 remains securely held , especially in the event of a power failure . the pivotable arms 480 raise the cassette 210 and the trolley 440 traverses along the x - axis on the carriage 450 . the pivotable arms 480 align the cassette 210 with one of the shelves 470 in the cassette buffering station 400 and move upward along the z - axis as required to permit the pivotable arms 480 to pivot past top dead center to place the cassette 210 in the cbs 400 . placement pins and sensors on the shelf 470 indicate that the cassette 210 is properly placed . the grippers 430 release the pins of the cassette 210 and the pivotable arms 480 pivot back towards top dead center . the cassette 210 is stored at the buffer queue and storage area 460 until retrieved by the bench automation of process bench ( es ) 90 for processing . the process bench automation directly interfaces with the wts 10 at the buffer queue and storage area 460 . access is provided so that the bench automation of process bench ( es ) 90 can pick up from and drop off to any of the storage shelves 470 in the buffer queue and storage area 460 . cassette 210 in the buffer queue and storage area 460 supports wafer 40 in the vertical orientation so as to be ready for immediate direct transfer as needed by the process bench ( es ) 90 for processing . by adding integral cassette storage capacity to this wts 10 design , the cassette buffering station 400 reduces the overall floorspace requirement of the process system . also , since this approach to buffered storage is accomplished without additional interfaces , scheduling and cassette management in this wts 10 become the responsibility of the wts 10 under supervision of its dedicated computer 70 and the associated controller 80 . this offloads the bench automation of process bench ( es ) 90 and allows the bench automation to devote its full functionality to wafer processing , while improving system reliability through reduction of the number of machines required . an additional advantage to the cbs 400 of the present invention is that the symmetrical design allows one wts 10 to hand - off or transfer cassettes to more than one discrete processing system within process bench ( es ) 90 . furthermore , the carriage assembly 450 of the cbs 400 is expandable to service multiple processing systems within process bench ( es ) 90 , providing a very cost effective cassette buffering solution to many industry customers . the present invention , described above as an apparatus , also includes a method for wafer transport which includes the steps of picking a wafer 40 from a transport carrier ( such as a foup 20 ), the wafer 40 having a wafer horizontal orientation , placing the wafer in a wafer horizontal orientation in a cassette 210 held by a cassette inversion mechanism ( cim ) 200 , inverting the cassette 210 and the wafer 40 contained in the cassette to a wafer vertical orientation , picking the cassette 210 and the wafer 40 from the cassette inversion mechanism 200 and placing the cassette 210 and the wafer 40 into a cassette buffering station 400 with the wafer in a wafer vertical orientation . although the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments and drawing figures , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are a host of other designs which can be implemented in keeping with the intent of the present invention . for example , although the invention has been described as being used in the automatic handling , transporting and pre - alignment of thin fragile wafers of semiconductor material , and more specifically that which is 300 - mm in diameter , the principals of the present invention could be employed in any context in which a compact and efficient handling mechanism is required . the selection , design and arrangement of the various components described herein may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as represented in the attached claims . it should also be understood that the various features of this invention , while highly effective when combined to provide an integrated apparatus such as the herein disclosed wafer transfer system , have applicability independently of each other in the retrieval , handling and pre - alignment or other treatment of wafers or analogous devices of other composition . | 8 |
the following patents and patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein : u . s . provisional application no . 60 / 031350 titled &# 34 ; spread spectrum cordless telephone system and method &# 34 ; and filed nov . 21 , 1996 , whose inventors are alan hendrickson , paul schnizlein , stephen t . janesch , and ed bell ; u . s . application ser . no . 08 / 975 , 142 , titled &# 34 ; passband dqpsk detector for a digital communications receiver front end &# 34 ; and filed nov . 20 , 1997 , whose inventors are alan hendrickson and paul schnizlein ; u . s . application ser . no . 08 / 968 , 202 , titled &# 34 ; an improved phase detector for carrier recovery in a dqpsk receiver &# 34 ; and filed nov . 12 , 1997 , whose inventors are stephen t . janesch , alan hendrickson , and paul schnizlein ; u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 078 , 225 , titled &# 34 ; symbol - quality evaluation in a digital communications receiver &# 34 ; and filed may 13 , 1998 , whose inventor is alan hendrickson ; u . s . application ser . no . 08 / 968 , 029 , titled &# 34 ; a carrier - recovery loop with stored initialization in a radio receiver &# 34 ; and filed nov . 12 , 1997 , whose inventors are stephen t . janesch , paul schnizlein , and ed bell ; and u . s . application ser . no . 09 / 078 , 145 , titled &# 34 ; a method for compensating filtering delays in a spread - spectrum receiver &# 34 ; and filed may 13 , 1998 , whose inventor is alan hendrickson , now u . s . pat . no . 5 , 940 , 435 . as shown in fig1 a digital communication system comprises at least one transmitter 100 and one receiver 150 for the communication of data . such communication systems are well known in the art . the system described in this figure uses differential quadriphase - shift keying ( dqpsk ) to convey data from a transmitter to a receiver . although not depicted here , other modulation schemes such as ask , fsk , and other variants of psk could also be used to convey the data . in the transmitter 100 , digital data 102 are provided to a modulator 106 . a transmitter reference oscillator 104 generates a sinusoidal carrier wave 105 for the modulator 106 . the digital data 102 are encoded onto the sinusoidal carrier wave 105 by the modulator 106 which shifts the carrier &# 39 ; s phase by multiples of 90 ° according to the technique of dqpsk modulation , a technique well - known in the art . in this technique , the modulator 106 shifts the phase of the carrier wave by multiples of 90 ° to generate a transmitted signal 108 ; these phase shifts are the symbols that encode the data . each symbol lasts for a duration of time t after which the next phase shift is introduced to the carrier . the differences in phase angle between successive symbols represent the transmitted data 102 . since there are four possible symbols ( shifts of 0 °, 90 °, 180 °, or 270 °) in qpsk modulation , each phase difference represents two bits of the transmitted data . the carrier wave &# 39 ; s frequency is determined by the reference oscillator 104 in the transmitter . the transmitted signal 108 is the sinusoidal carrier wave with the data - bearing phase shifts of duration t . the transmitted signal 108 is sent via a physical commnunication channel 190 to the receiver 150 . the channel depicted in this figure is a radio transmission system that modulates the transmitted signal onto a radio wave 194 with a frequency greater than the carrier wave frequency . the channel 190 depicted here comprises the radio - frequency ( rf ) modulator 192 , the radio wave 194 transmitted through the air , and the rf demodulator 196 . as would be known to one skilled in the art , other communications channels such as transmission line , waveguide , or optical fiber systems can of course be used instead of ( or in conjunction with ) the depicted radio transmission system . under ideal conditions the received signal 158 would be an exact replica of the transmitted signal 108 . in practice , however , there may be some differences between these two signals due to degradation suffered in the communication channel . in the receiver 150 , the received signal is demodulated by a demodulator 156 to extract the received data 152 . ideally , the received digital data 152 would replicate the transmitted digital data 102 , but in practice the two sets of data may differ due to decoding errors in the receiver , or degradation of the transmitted signal in the communications channel . to extract the data from the received signal , the demodulator 156 requires a reference signal that closely reproduces the carrier wave 105 . since the original carrier wave 105 is not usually available in the receiver unit , this reference 155 is generated by a reference oscillator 154 in the receiver . in a preferred embodiment of the receiver , the reference oscillator 154 is a digitally controlled oscillator ( dco ); that is , it accepts a digital input word that controls the frequency of the oscillator &# 39 ; s output . this oscillator 154 must match the frequency of the transmitter oscillator 104 that generated the carrier wave 105 : if the frequencies of the two oscillators are not matched , the receiver unit 150 cannot efficiently demodulate the transmitted signal . the receiver oscillator 154 can be built so that its natural frequency is close to that of the transmitter oscillator 104 , but due to variations in manufacturing and differences in operating environments there will be drifts between the two oscillators . to compensate for such offsets in frequency between the carrier wave and the receiver oscillator , the receiver oscillator is locked to the carrier wave by incorporating it into phase - locked loop ( pll ). the pll is a carrier - recovery loop 162 that ties the frequency of the receiver oscillator 154 to the frequency of the transmitter oscillator 104 . the feedback from the carrier - recovery loop 162 corrects offsets between the frequencies of the receiver oscillator and the carrier . the depiction of the receiver in fig1 includes a basic block diagram of the carrier - recovery loop 162 . the carrier - recovery loop 162 includes the basic elements of a pll : the receiver oscillator 154 , a phase detector 164 , and the loop filter 166 . fig2 shows an embodiment of the carrier - recovery loop 162 . the phase detector 164 receives the received signal 158 and the receiver reference signal 155 . with these two inputs , the phase detector 164 compares the receiver oscillator &# 39 ; s phase to the phase of the carrier wave and generates a digital phase error signal 165 indicative of the phase shift between them . the phase error signal 165 is then provided to the loop filter 166 which comprises a novel configuration as described below . the loop filter 166 uses digital processing elements to condition the phase error signal 165 to generate a feedback signal 167 ; this feedback signal is fed back to the digitally controlled receiver oscillator 154 to nullify its offset from the carrier frequency . in the implementation of the carrier - recovery loop presented in this figure , the digital feedback signal is fed back to the receiver oscillator 154 , which produces the receiver reference signal 155 . the receiver reference signal 155 is made available to the phase detector for comparison with the received signal 158 . as shown in fig2 the loop filter 166 comprises a multiplier 201 with a gain coefficient k1 , which receives the phase error signal 165 and provides an output to a digital adder 204 . the loop filter 166 also comprises a multiplier 202 with a gain coefficient k2 , which receives the phase error signal 165 and provides an output to an integrator 203 in the loop filter . the integrator 203 in turn provides an output to the digital adder 204 . the digital adder 204 provides the sum of its two inputs to the receiver oscillator 154 . the gain coefficients k1 and k2 in multipliers 201 and 202 are adjustable binary values stored in a memory 210 . the integrator 203 accumulates the value of the phase error signal 165 after it has been scaled by the gain coefficient k2 in multiplier 202 . the digital adder 204 combines this integrated signal with a version of the original phase error signal that has been scaled by the gain coefficient k1 in multiplier 201 . thus the complex - frequency transfer function of the loop filter is k 1 + k 2 / s . with this implementation of the loop filter , the complex - frequency transfer function h . sub . θ ( s ) for the full carrier - recovery loop is given by the following equation . ## equ1 ## here φ ( s ) represents the phase of the receiver oscillator ( in the complex - frequency domain ), and θ ( s ) represents the phase of the received signal 158 . the pll thus has a low - pass response to changes in input frequency . the time constant for its response is determined by the gain coefficients k1 and k2 . since the gain coefficients are binary values stored in the memory 210 , they can be adjusted to put the carrier - recovery loop into one of several different operating modes . in the present invention , the receiver has three operating modes : acquisition , tracking , and hold . to enter the acquisition mode , the receiver sets these coefficients to the appropriate acquisition values each time the receiver begins carrier recovery . in acquisition mode , the pll of the preferred embodiment has a low - pass response to input frequency change . the receiver changes from the acquisition to tracking mode by reprogramming the gain coefficients k1 and k2 in the loop filter to lower values that are appropriate when the oscillator is close in frequency to the received signal . in tracking mode , the values of k1 and k2 are reduced so that the pll slows its response time , thereby reducing its sensitivity to high - frequency noise . this change from acquisition mode to tracking mode occurs when the receiver oscillator is determined to be adequately matched to the frequency of the received signal . there are several possible criteria for changing between these modes . one criterion for making this switch from acquisition mode to tracking mode is that the recovered frequency should be within a set range ( typically 1 khz ) of the actual input frequency . a second requirement is useful in systems that receive digital data in these systems , the switch to tracking mode can be additionally delayed until the receiver has acquired a frame synchronization with the received signal . in hold mode the receiver oscillator is not allowed to adapt , so that it continues to produce its last known frequency . this mode is used to sustain the appropriate frequency during fades in the received signal . in this mode the gain coefficients k1 and k2 have values of zero . alternatively , this mode can be accomplished by holding the value of the digital feedback signal constant or by forcing the ( phase error ) input to the loop filter to zero . the latter means can be used to conserve power in tdd ( time - division duplex ) communication systems . it allows the clock to the multipliers for k1 and k2 and the integrator to be stopped during the transmit portion of the tdd frame , reducing their power requirements by up to a factor of two . the block diagram in fig3 shows an implementation of the preferred embodiment of the loop filter 166 . in this implementation , an input register 305 receives a 5 - bit number representing the digital phase error signal 165 . the bits of this number are sent to a multiplier 301 that multiplies them by the gain coefficients k1 and k2 . since these gain coefficients are powers of 2 , the multiplier works by shifting the input by an appropriate number of bits , as described below , to generate a 14 - bit product 325 in an output register 320 . the multiplier alternates between using k1 and k2 to multiply the phase error signal 305 , so the product 325 represents the phase error multiplied by k1 on one clock cycle , and then the phase error multiplied by k2 on the next clock cycle . the product 325 is sent to a time - multiplexed adder 330 that alternates its function from cycle to cycle . during a cycle in which it receives the product of k1 and the phase error signal from the multiplier 301 , it adds this product to a value that it receives from an integrator register 340 . the resulting sum is a 14 - bit number representing the feedback signal 167 , which is the output of the loop filter . on alternate cycles , the time - multiplexed adder 330 receives the product of k2 and the phase error signal from the multiplier 301 . during these cycles it adds the product to the value it receives from an integrator register 340 ; this sum 335 is then sent back to the integrator register 340 and is stored there . this implementation realizes the function of the loop filter 166 that was described in the discussion of fig2 . when the carrier recovery loop is in the hold mode , the input register is simply set to contain all zeroes , regardless of the value of the phase error 165 . the resulting feedback signal 167 is then also zero , as required for the hold mode . for the other two modes , tracking and acquisition , the multiplier multiplies the phase error signal 165 by the appropriate values of k1 and k2 . the multiplier 301 is implemented by the connections and elements contained in the dashed box in fig3 . the five bits in the input register 305 are sent via a set of connections 310 to fourteen selection units 315a - n . these selection units are each coupled to one of the bits in the multiplier &# 39 ; s output register , and they each copy either one of the bits from the input register or a zero into their corresponding bit in the output register . the different selection units are configured so that the output register receives a copy of the bits in the input register , but shifted by the appropriate number of places according to the multiplier ( k1or k2 ). fig4 presents a more detailed block diagram of the selection units 315a - n in the multiplier 301 . as described earlier , each selection unit receives one or more bits from the input register 305 via the a set of connections 310 . in this figure , these bits are shown as the binary inputs 410 for one of the selection units . the inputs are sent to a multiplexer 415 which selects one of them , or a zero 411 , as the selection unit &# 39 ; s output 420 . this output is sent to one of the bits in the multiplier &# 39 ; s output register ( as was shown in fig3 ). a logic block 440 controls the multiplexers 415 in the selection units 315a - n by generating a shift code 460 that determines which of the binary inputs 410 is selected by each multiplexer 415 . the logic block 440 chooses which input bit is selected by the multiplexer so that the multiplier output register 320 receives an appropriately shifted copy of the input register 305 . to determine the number of places by which the multiplier input 165 should be shifted , the logic block receives the four different values of the multiplier : the value of k1 for lock mode 431 , the value of k1 for acquisition mode 432 , the value of k2 for lock mode 433 , and the value of k2 for acquisition mode 434 . these values are pre - programmed into a memory as appropriate for the different modes . another input 450 to the logic block 440 indicates the cycle in the time - multiplexing ; that is , whether k1 or k2 is being used as a multiplier . the logic block 440 also has an input 455 that indicates the operating mode of the carrier recovery loop : lock or acquisition . these two inputs 450 and 455 determine which of the four multiplier values 431 - 434 is used by the logic block 440 . with this multiplier value , the logic block 440 generates the shift code 460 and provides it to the multiplexer 415 . in response to the shift code 460 , the multiplexer 415 selects one of the input bits 410 from the input register 305 or a zero 411 as the selection unit output 420 that is sent to the corresponding bit of the multiplier output register 320 . in this preferred embodiment , the output of the logic block 440 indicates the shift code , that is , the number of bits to shift the input value 165 stored in register 305 . the logic needed in block 440 to generate the shift code is easily implemented by one skilled in the art of logic design , and the multiplexer arrangement is well known as a &# 34 ; shifter &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; barrel shifter &# 34 ; the constraint that each of k1 and k2 be a power of 2 allows the shifter to function as a multiplier . this embodiment of the invention utilizes factors k1 and k2 that are less than 1 , thus negative powers of 2 ( k1 , k2 = 2 n ; n =- 1 , - 2 , - 3 , . . . ). however , in another embodiment of the present invention , the factors k1 and k2 can also take values that are greater than or equal to 1 ( k1 , k2 = 2 n ; n = 0 ,± 1 ,± 2 , ± 3 , . . . ), and the shift are chosen appropriately . the sequence of steps which constitute the carrier recovery are illustrated by the flowchart in fig5 . in this diagram , the bold blocks and flow - lines on the right indicate the steps and the flow between them , while the light boxes on the left indicate quantities that are calculated and used in these steps . from the starting conditions 501 , the first step 503 is to program the appropriate gain coefficients for the current operating mode into the memory 210 . the next step is to receive the received signal 505 . the error signal 165 representing the offset of the receiver oscillator 154 ( shown in fig1 and fig2 ) is generated in the next step 510 . the error signal 165 is filtered in the following step 515 according to the gain coefficients k1 and k2 received from memory 530 . this filtering step 515 generates the feedback signal 167 that is used in the next step 520 to adjust the receiver oscillator so that it better matches the received signal . after this adjustment , the recovery loop returns to its initial step 505 to repeat the procedure with a new sample of the received signal . the step 515 of filtering the error signal is expanded in fig6 . here the bold blocks and flow - lines in the middle of this figure indicate the filtering steps and the flow between them , while the light boxes on the left and right indicate quantities that are calculated and used in these steps . the start of the filtering procedure 601 is right after the error signal has been generated 510 ( as was shown in fig5 ). in the first step 610 of the filtering procedure the error signal 165 is multiplied by the gain coefficient k1 received from memory 530 to generate the product 650 of these two quantities . the product 650 is then added in the next step 615 with a signal 660 representing the integral of the error signal 165 multiplied by the gain coefficient k2 . the resulting sum is the digital feedback signal 167 , which is the output of the filtering procedure 515 . to update the integrated signal 660 , the next step 620 in the filtering procedure 515 multiplies the error signal 165 with the gain coefficient k2 received from memory 530 . the resulting product 655 is then added 625 to the integrated signal 660 . the resulting sum , which represents the incremented value of the integrated signal 660 , replaces the old value of the integrated signal 660 . having thus generated an updated value for the feedback signal 167 and the integrated signal 660 , the filtering procedure comes to a termination 699 , and the carrier recovery of fig5 proceeds to adjust the receiver oscillator in step 520 . in one embodiment of the invention , the integrated signal 660 is stored in a memory 665 ( shown in fig6 ) which then holds a stored integrator value . the value in this memory 665 is then used to as an initializing value for the integrated signal 660 . the memory 665 is operable to provide its value back to the integrated signal 660 when the carrier recovery loop begins to acquire a new phase lock . this feature of storing the integrated signal 660 in a memory 665 is especially useful in carrier recovery loops that are incorporated into some time - division duplexing ( tdd ) or time - division multiple access ( tdma ) transceivers , in which a unit alternates between receiving and transmitting data . it is a well - known problem in tdd and tdma radio architecture to have frequency shifts in reference oscillators between transmission and reception modes . this frequency pulling occurs due to operating differences between the transmission and reception modes , such as changes in the output impedance of a reference oscillator . in another embodiment of the invention , the receiver 150 and the rf demodulator 196 from fig1 are incorporated in a tdd radio transceiver along with a local transmitter and a local rf modulator . in this embodiment , an rf oscillator in the rf demodulator 196 is used to demodulate the rf signal 194 during reception , and is also is used by the local rf modulator to generate an rf carrier during transmission . the frequency of this oscillator undergoes transient frequency shifts as shown in fig7 a . in this graph , the rf oscillator frequency is plotted versus time over the duration of a tdd iframe . the vertical axis on the left of the figure indicates a center rf value f 0 . in this embodiment , the oscillator frequency , shown by the light curve , has a rapid positive jump when the transceiver begins to receive data . the rf oscillator frequency gradually returns to f 0 , then suffers a rapid negative jump as the transceiver switches to transmit data , and again gradually returns to f 0 . this pulling of the rf oscillator frequency can lead to significant data losses if it is not compensated , since the large frequency shifts place significant demands on the carrier - recovery loop 162 . if the carrier recovery loop fails to track the frequency shifts for a portion of the data reception , the received data will be lost for that portion of the reception . traditionally , this pulling has been compensated by rf design modifications of the rf demodulators 162 in the prior art . however , in this embodiment of the invention , the stored integrator value in the memory 665 can be used to remedy the effects of the rf frequency pulling . the heavy curve in fig7 a illustrates an example of the recovered frequency for the dco 154 in this tdd embodiment of the invention . the recovered frequency is at an intermediate frequency ( if ) that is lower than the frequency of the rf signal 194 , but variations in the rf oscillator frequency lead to corresponding variations in the recovered frequency . the vertical axis for the recovered frequency is on the right in the figure . the center value f 0 &# 39 ; on this axis indicates the corresponding phase - locked recovered frequency when the rf oscillator is at f 0 . variations in the rf oscillator lead to a corresponding hertz - for - hertz variation in the locked recovered frequency . thus , on this graph , the heavy curve showing the recovered frequency would lie on top of the light curve showing the rf oscillator frequency if the carrier - recovery loop 162 were ideally tracking the frequency - pulling of the rf oscillator . this would not , however , be the optimal condition for carrier recovery , since if the loop 162 is fast enough to track such a large sudden shift , then it may be too susceptible to high - frequency noise to maintain an adequate lock . instead , this tdd embodiment of the invention uses the digital word stored in the memory 665 to mitigate the effects of tdd frequency pulling . as shown by the heavy curve in fig7 a , over the duration of a tdd frame , the recovered frequency starts at some initial value f 1 &# 39 ; and may have a significant offset from the received signal as the carrier - recovery loop attempts to match the sudden change in received frequency . the tdd frames are structured so that no payload data are transmitted during the initial portion of each transmitted data frame . this portion , called the preamble , is used to allow feedback loops to settle during the initial reception of a data frame . at the end of the preamble , the recovered signal has come closer to its target value ( of lying on top of the rf oscillator curve ). the exact curve followed by the recovered frequency depends on the form of the frequency pulling and on the response characteristics of the carrier recovery loop 162 . the recovered frequency f 2 &# 39 ; at the end of the preamble is stored in memory 665 and is used as the initializing value for the recovery frequency at the beginning of the next received frame . as shown in fig7 b , by starting from this improved initial value f 2 &# 39 ; , the carrier - recovery loop more quickly approaches a phase lock during the second received frame . at the end of the preamble in the second received frame , the memory 665 stores a further - improved approximation f 3 &# 39 ; of the starting recovered frequency . this new approximation is used in the following frame , as shown in fig7 c . thus by building on values previously stored in memory 665 , the carrier - recovery loop 162 converges on a good initializing value for the start of a received data frame . this initializing value allows the carrier - recovery loop 162 to maintain a tight lock with the received signal 158 despite the transient frequency jumps in the rf oscillator of the rf demodulator 196 . it is to be understood that multiple variations , changes and modifications are possible in the aforementioned embodiments of the invention described herein . although certain illustrative embodiments of the invention have been shown and described here , a wide range of modification , change , and substitution is contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and , in some instances , some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features . accordingly , it is appropriate that the foregoing description be construed broadly and understood as being given by way of illustration and example only , the spirit and scope of the invention being limited only by the appended claims . | 7 |
while the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter regarded as forming the present invention , it is believed that the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings , in which : fig1 is a graphical representation which shows the effect of catalase on cytochrome c - rgds - stimulated ingestion of igg - opsonized sheep erythrocytes ( eigg ). ( a ). pmn and eigg were incubated with the final concentrations of cc - rgds ( 20 , 40 , 60 , or 80 μg / ml ) in the presence of either 5000 ( 5k ) units / ml of native catalase (▴) or catalase heated at 100 ° c . for 10 min (). after 30 min at 37 ° c ., phagocytosis was assessed as a phagocytic index , the number of eigg ingested / 100 pmn ( pi ). ( b ). pmn and eigg were incubated with increasing concentrations of catalase in the presence (▴) or absence () of 40 μg / ml of cytochrome c - rgds ( cc - rgds ). after 30 min at 37 ° c ., phagocytosis was assessed as a pi . fig2 is a graphical representation which shows the effect of catalase on ingestion of eigg by pmn adherent to control or vitronectin - coated surfaces . plastic lab - tek chambers were coated with either carbonate buffer , ph 9 . 6 ( control ) or 10 μg / ml of vitronectin in carbonate buffer ( vn ) for 2 hrs at 37 ° c . after washing the chambers , pmn ( 2 . 5 × 10 4 / well ) were adhered in the presence or absence of 5k units / ml catalase for 45 min at 37 ° c . catalase was removed by extensive washing . the eigg were added and phagocytosis assessed as a pi after 30 min at 37 ° c . fig3 is a graphical representation which shows the effect of mab b6h12 and polyclonal fab anti - vitronectin receptor ( vnr ) on cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion of eigg . pmn were incubated with the indicated concentrations of either mab b6h12 ( a ) or polyclonal anti - vnr ( b ) for 15 min at room temperature . without washing , the eigg were added and the mixture incubated with (▴) or without () 40 μg / ml of cc - rgds . after 30 min at 37 ° c . phagocytosis was assessed as a pi . fig4 shows the immunoprecipitation from surface - labelled pmn with mab b6h12 or polyclonal anti - vitronectin receptor . surface - iodinated pmn lysates were immunoprecipitated with the following antibodies : lane 1 , pre - immune rabbit serum ; lane 2 , rabbit polyclonal anti - vnr ; lane 3 , mab 7g2 ( anti - vnr beta chain ); lane 4 , mab b6h12 ; and lane 5 , mab b3f12 ( anti - vnr ). the immunoprecipitates were analyzed under reducing conditions , 50 mm dithiothreitol ( dtt ), by sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ( sds - page ). fig5 shows the immunoprecipitation from surface - labelled platelets and pmn with mab b6h12 and mab 7g2 . surface - iodinated platelets ( lanes 1 & amp ; 2 ) and pmn ( lanes 3 - 5 ) were immunoprecipitated with the following antibodies : lanes 1 and 3 , mab b6h12 ; lane 2 , mab 7g2 ; and lanes 4 and 5 , mab b3f12 . the precipitates were analyzed under non - reducing conditions by sds - page . fig6 is a graphical representation which shows the mab b6h12 profile of normal and leukocyte adhesion deficient ( lad ) pmn as analyzed by fluorescence activated cell sorter ( facs ). normal pmn ( a ) and lad pmn ( b ) were analyzed by indirect immunofluorescence for mab b6h12 . both normal and lad pmn express the b6h12 antigen . lad pmn are unable to express the mac - 1 , lfa - 1 , p150 , 95 because of an abnormality in beta chain synthesis . fig7 is a graphical representation which shows that fibronectin ( fn ) and its cell - binding domain ( cbd ) stimulate ingestion of eigg in a manner dependent on b6h12 antigen . ( a & amp ; b ). pmn were incubated with 5k units / ml catalase and a 1 : 20 dilution of tissue culture supernatant containing either mab b6h12 () or mab b3f12 (▴) for 15 min at room temp . without washing , the eigg were added and the mixture incubated with either increasing concentrations of fn ( a ), increasing concentrations of its purified cbd ( b ), or 40 μg / ml cc - rgds ( open symbols ) ( a & amp ; b ). after 30 min at 37 ° c ., phagocytosis was assessed . ( c ). fn ( 5 g / ml ) or buffer were incubated with either buffer , mab &# 39 ; s fn5 , fn8 , or hfn7 . 1 at 10 μg / ml for 30 min at room temp . pmn , 5k units / ml catalase , and eigg were added and phagocytosis assessed as a pi after 30 min at 37 ° c . fig8 is a graphical representation which shows the effect of mab b6h12 on collagen type iv - and lamin - stimulated ingestion of eigg . ( a & amp ; b ). pmn and 5k units / ml of catalase were incubated with a 1 : 20 dilution of tissue culture supernatant containing either mab b3f12 (▴) or mab b6h12 () for 15 min at room temp . without washing , the eigg were added and the mixture incubated with either increasing concentrations of collagen type iv ( a ), increasing concentrations of lamin ( b ), or 40 μg / ml of cc - rgds ( open symbols ) ( a & amp ; b ). after 30 min at 37 ° c ., phagocytosis was assessed as a pi . fig9 is a graphical representation which shows the effect of mab b6h12 on vitronectin ( vn )-, von willebrand &# 39 ; s factor ( vwf )-, and fibrinogen ( fg )- stimulated ingestion of eigg . ( a - c ). pmn and 5k units / ml catalase were incubated with a 1 : 20 dilution of tissue culture supernatant containing mab b3f12 (▴) or mab b6h12 () for 15 min at room temp . without washing , the eigg were added and the mixture incubated with either increasing concentrations of vn ( a ), increasing concentrations of vwf ( b ), increasing concentrations of fg ( c ), or 40 μg / ml of cc - rgds ( open symbols ) ( a - c ). after 30 min at 37 ° c ., phagocytosis was assessed as a pi . the production of monoclonal antibodies having the characteristics of b6h12 as described herein can be carried out by conventional procedures such as described , for example , by kohler and milstein , nature 256 , 495 - 497 ( 1975 ; eur . j . immunol . 6 , 511 - 519 ( 1976 ). according to this method , tissue - culture adapted mouse myeloma cells are fused to spleen cells from immunized mice to obtain the hybrid cells that produce large amounts of a single antibody molecule . in this procedure , human placental vitronectin receptor protein was used as the immunogen . this protein antigen is sufficiently large so that no hapten is necessary for immunogenicity . a suitable mouse myeloma cell line for use in making these antibodies is the sp2 / 0 - ag14 cell line . this is a well - known cell line of balb / c origin defined by schulman , wilde and kohler , nature 276 , 269 - 270 ( 1978 ). these cells , which do not synthesize ig chains , can be obtained from the basel institute for immunology and are available to the public from the american type culture collection , manassas , va ., under accession number atcc crl - 1581 . a preferred mouse myeloma cell line which also is a non - secretor cell line of balb / c origin is p3 - x63 - ag8 . 653 [ kearney et al ., j . immunol . 123 , 1548 - 1550 ( 1979 )]. a preferred method of carrying out the fusion of the myeloma cells and the spleen cells is by the conventional general procedure described by galfre et al ., nature 266 , 550 - 552 ( 1977 ). this method employs polyethylene glycol ( peg ) as the fusing agent for the cells growing as monolayers , followed by selection in hat medium ( hypoxanthine , aminopterin and thymidine ) as described by littlefield , science 145 , 709 - 710 ( 1964 ). further background information on suitable methodology for producing monoclonal antibodies can be had by reference to texts in the field , for example , goding , &# 34 ; monoclonal antibodies : principles and practice ,&# 34 ; academic press , n . y ., 1983 . it will be appreciated that not all hybridomas prepared as described herein will have optimum antibody activity . as is customary in this field , radioimmunoassay and enzyme immunoassay procedured can be readily used to screen the population of hybridomas for individual clones which secrete optimum specificity . the radioimmunoassay is based upon the competition between radiolabeled and unlabeled antigen for a given amount of antibody which can be determined by conventional general procedure as described , for example , by yalow et al . j . clin . invest . 39 , 1157 ( 1960 ). in the enzyme immunoassay such as elisa , the revealing agent is conjugated with an enzyme instead of 125 i . after washing away any unbound material , the bound enzyme is revealed by addition of a substrate which undergoes a color change . see , e . g ., engvall and perlmann , immunochemistry 8 , 871 - 874 ( 1971 ); j . immunol . 109 , 129 - 135 ( 1972 ). the following detailed example will further illustrate the invention although it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to this example or the specific details presented therein . in this example , detailed test procedures were carried out to provide the data and results shown in the accompanying fig1 to 9 and in tables 1 and 2 , below , with respect to the preferred monoclonal antibody b6h12 . the following reagents were purchased from sigma chemical co ., st . louis , mo . : chicken egg albumin ( ovalbumin ), catalase ( bovine liver , 52 , 000 u / mg ), cytochrome c ( type xiv , pigeon heart ), and fibrinogen . a 10 × concentrated stock of hank &# 39 ; s balanced salt solution ( hbss ) was purchased from gibco , grand island , n . y . human vitronectin was purchased from calbiochem - behring corp ., la jolla , calif . human fibronectin and the chymotryptic cell - binding domain of 105 - 110 kd were purified as described by bohnsack et al ., j . immunol . 136 , 3793 ( 1986 ). collagen type iv and laminin were obtained from dr . hynda kleinmann , national institute of dental research , bethesda , md . von willebrand &# 39 ; s factor ( vwf ) was obtained from dr . sam santoro , washington university , st . louis , mo . the synthetic peptide lys - tyr - ala - val - thr - gly - arg - gly - asp - ser ( kyavtgrgds ) was obtained from dr . steven adams , monsanto company , st . louis , mo . peptides grgdsc or gdgdsc or amino acid cys ( c ) as a control was linked to cytochrome c via bromacetyl succinamide [( bernatowicz and matsueda , anal . biochem . 155 , 95 - 102 ( 1986 )]. membranes were isolated from fresh human placenta , processed and solubilized as described by calderon et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 85 , 4837 - 4841 ( 1988 )]. protein was incubated with wheat germ agglutinin and adherent proteins eluted with 0 . 5m n - acetylglucosamine ( glcnac ) in a 0 . 5m nacl , 0 . 05m phosphate , ph 7 . 4 , buffer containing phenyl methyl sulfonyl fluoride , iodocetamide and 50 mm octylglucoside . the eluate was dialyzed to remove the glcnac and applied to a γ - ifn - sepharose column . unbound protein was washed through with octylglucoside - containing buffer and applied to a column bearing decapeptide kyavtgrgds . bound proteins were eluted by edta ( brown and goodwin , supra ). sds page analysis showed only two coomasie stained bands which had m r on both unreduced and reduced gels consistent in the vitronectin receptor . mab a1a5 tissue culture supernatant was obtained from dr . martin hemler , boston , mass . goat polyclonal anti - fibronectin receptor ( vla - 5 ) was obtained from dr . rudolph juliano , chapel hill , n . c . polyclonal antibody to purified vnr was produced in rabbits . the igg was isolated from serum by caprylic acid precipitation and deae chromatography [ steinbuch and audran , arch . biochem . biophys . 134 , 279 - 284 ( 1969 )]. fab fragments were prepared by papain digestion . monoclonal antibodies were produced by immunization of balb / c mice with purified vnr . spleen cells were fused with the nonsecreting myeloma cell line p3x63ag8 . 6 . 5 . 3 . hybridoma culture supernatants were screened for antibodies reactive with purified vnr by elisa . reactive antibodies were screened further for binding to pmn by indirect immunofluorescent staining and fluorescence flow cytometry . antibodies 7g2 , b3f12 , 6h12 , and 3f12 were reactive with purified vnr by elisa but unreactive with pmn . these mab also immunoprecipitated vnr from detergent solubilized placental membrane preparations . mab 7g2 reacted with the vnr beta - chain by western blot but none of the others reacted on western blots , suggesting that they recognized conformational epitopes on vnr . mab b6h12 was reactive both with purified vnr by elisa and with pmn by fluorescence flow cytometry . antibodies were produced in the form of tissue culture supernatant or ascites in pristane - primed mice for further characterization . igg was purified from ascites by caprylic acid precipitation and deae chromatography ( steinbuch and audran , supra ). pmn were isolated from heparinized blood from normal human volunteers and from a single patient with leukocyte adhesion deficiency ( lad ) by the method of boyum , j . clin . lab . invest . 21 ( supp . 97 ), 77 - 89 ( 1968 ) with modifications of gresham et al ., j . immunol . 139 , 4159 - 4166 ( 1987 ). in some tests the erythrocyte lysis step was omitted to prevent possible damage to the pmn during the hypotonic lysis procedure . for cell - surface labelling , 30 - 100 × 10 6 pmn were iodinated by chloroglycoluril [ markwell and fox , biochemistry 17 , 4807 - 4817 ( 1978 )] in the presence of 25 μm p - nitrophenyl p &# 39 ;- guanidino - benzoate ( npgb ) and 0 . 5 % nan 3 for 30 min at 0 ° c . cells were solubilized in hepes buffer containing 200 mm octylglucoside , 20 mm iodoacetamine , 2 μm pepstatin , 2 μm leupeptin , 25 μm npgb , 1 mm cacl 2 , and 1 mm mgcl 2 , ph 7 . 4 . total placental membrane proteins were labelled with 125 i using chloroglycoluril after detergent solubilization . protein - bound and free iodide were separated on sephadex g - 25 columns . aliquots of labelled proteins were incubated with monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies for 2 hours ( h ) at 4 ° c . and then for a further 1 h with either anti - mouse ig sepharose ( cooper biomedical , malvern , pa .) or protein a sepharose ( pharmacia , piscataway , n . j . ), respectively . immunoprecipitates wre analyzed on 6 % sds - polyacrylamide gels and autoradiography performed as described by maizel , meth . virol . 5 , 179 - 246 ( 1971 ). sheep erythrocytes ( e ) were purchased from whittaker m . a . bioproducts , walkersville , md . eigg were prepared as described by gresham et al , supra , using a 1 / 500 dilution of rabbit igg anti - e ( diamedix , miami , fla ). pmn phagocytosis was assessed by a fluid - phase assay as described by gresham et al ., supra ; gresham et al ., j . clin . invest ., in press ( 1988 ). pmn were suspended in hbss containing 4 . 2 mm nahco 3 , 10 mm hepes , 1 . 5 mm cacl 2 , 1 . 5 mm mgcl 2 , and 1 % ovalbumin , ph 7 . 4 ( hbss ++ - 1 % ova ). the reaction mixtures contained 1 . 0 × 10 5 pmn , the indicated antibody concentrations , the indicated stimulatory ligands , 5k units / ml catalase , and 15 μl of eigg ( 5 . 0 × 10 8 / ml ) in a final volume of 115 μl . the assay tubes were incubated at 37 ° c . in 5 % co 2 for 30 min . the non - ingested e were lysed with 0 . 83 % ammonium chloride . phagocytosis was assessed by light microscopy and quantitated as a phagocytic index ( pi ), the number of eigg ingested / 100 pmn ). cytochrome c - rgds was radioiodinated by chloroglycoluril [ markwell and fox , biochemistry 17 , 4807 - 4817 ( 1978 )] for 15 min at 0 ° c . pmn ( 5 . 0 × 10 5 ) in hbss ++ - 1 % ova were incubated with 10 μg of radiolabelled cc - rgds in the presence of 5k u / ml of catalase and 293 μg of unlabelled cc - c in a final volume of 250 μl . the reaction mixtures were incubated in 1 . 5 ml eppendorf tubes for 30 min at 37 ° c . the mixtures were overlayered on versilube ( general electric ) and centrifuged at 12 , 000 × g to assess pellet associated radioactivity . specific binding was determined by subtracting the radioactivity bound in the presence of 293 g of unlabelled cc - rgds from the total radioactivity . unlabelled cc - c was included in the reaction to control for any binding due to cytochrome c and not specifically due to the rgds moiety . for inhibition tests , the various inhibitors were included in the reaction at the indicated concentrations . antibodies were incubated with the pmn at the indicated concentrations for 15 min at room temperature prior to the addition of the other reactants . pmn ( 1 . 0 × 10 6 ) were stained with excess murine mabs and fitc f ( ab &# 39 ;) 2 anti - mouse ig ( tago , inc ., burlingame , calif .) at 0 ° c . after washing with phosphate buffered saline ( pbs ), the cells were resuspended in 0 . 3 ml 0 . 5 % paraformaldehyde in pbs prior to analysis on a facs iv ( becton - dickinson , sunnyvale , calif .). the results of the foregoing detailed test procedures are further tabulated in tables 1 and 2 , below . table 1______________________________________effect of catalase on cc - rgds binding rgds - specific cpm &# 39 ; s bound / 10 . sup . 6 pmn . sup . a______________________________________ + catalase 30 , 267 ± 1 , 930 sem , n = 10 - catalase 3 , 394 ± 931 sem , n = 5______________________________________ . sup . a pmn ( 1 . 0 × 10 . sup . 6 ) were incubated with 40 μg of . sup . 12 icc - rgds in the presence (+) or absence (-) of 5 , 000 units of catalase in 1 ml for 30 min at 37 ° c . the pmn were centrifuged through oil and the pelletassociated counts assessed . specific binding was calculated as described in the detailed test procedures , above . table 2______________________________________inhibition of cc - rgds specific binding to pmn cc - rgds specific cpm &# 39 ; s / 10 . sup . 6 pmn . sup . a % i . sup . b______________________________________cc - c ( 1 . 16 mg / ml ) 30 , 173 ± 1 , 748 n = 11 0 grgdsc ( 500 μg / ml ) 6 , 144 ± 2 , 905 , n = 3 79 . 6 % peptide 32 ( 500 μg / ml ) 39 , 442 ± 7 , 800 , n = 2 0 fn ( 500 μg / ml ) 7 , 106 ± 3 , 568 , n = 3 76 . 5 % fab anti - vnr ( 4 μg / ml ) 1 , 312 ± 867 , n = 5 95 . 7 % b6h12 ( 4 μg / ml ) 1 , 877 ± 1 , 811 , n = 3 93 . 8 % b3f12 ( 4 μg / ml ) 27 , 948 ± 5 , 701 , n = 3 7 . 4 % ______________________________________ . sup . a pmn ( 1 . 0 × 10 . sup . 6 ) were incubated with 40 μg of . sup . 12 icc - rgds with the indicated concentrations of unlabelled inhibitors in th presence of 5 , 000 units of catalase in 1 ml for 30 min at 37 ° c . the pmn were centrifuged through oil and the pelletassociated counts assessed . specific binding was calcualted as described in the detailed test procedures , above . . sup . b calculated from the mean cpm &# 39 ; s . percent inhibition = 100 × ( 1 -[ mean cpm &# 39 ; s in the presence of inhibitor ]/[ mean cpm &# 39 ; s in the presence of ccc ]). a . catalase is required to demonstrate both cytochrome c - rgds ( cc - rgds ) binding and stimulation of pmn fc receptor - mediated phagocytosis . it is reported that while monocytes express both an integrin which binds to rgd - sepharose and a structurally distinct integrin which binds preferentially to sepharose bearing the fibronectin ( fn ) cell binding domain ( cdb ), this is not the case for pmn . instead , pmn express a single integrin - like receptor which binds preferentially to rgd - sepharose columns ( brown and goodwin , supra ). because this presented a simpler system for determination of the characterizations of the rgd - binding receptor involved in phagocytosis enhancement , it was decided to investigate extracellular matrix stimulation of pmn phagocytosis . fibronectin has been reported to stimulate ingestion of c3b - opsonized sheep erythrocytes ( ec3b ) by fmlf - or c5a - stimulated pmn [ pommier et al ., j . exp . med . 159 , 137 - 151 ( 1984 )] but not to stimulate the ingestion of igg - opsonized e ( eigg ) by pmn [ wright et al ., ibid . 158 , 1338 - 1342 ( 1983 )]. it was decided to avoid the added complication of chemotactic peptide stimulation of pmn , as the expression of other adhesive receptors ( i . e . cr3 ) which bind ligand via an rgd sequence [ wright et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 84 , 1965 - 1968 ( 1987 )] is markedly enhanced by these stimuli . it was therefore determined to investigate further the ability of extracellular matrix proteins to stimulate eigg ingestion . because many adhesive receptors are present on pmn , and matrix proteins such as fn may interact with cell surfaces via several domains , a non - physiologic ligand was developed which would interact with pmn only by an rgd sequence . either the hexapeptide grgdsc or either gdgsc or the single amino acid c as controls was linked to pigeon heart cytochrome c via a bromacetyl succinamide linkage . the amino acid sequence for this cytochrome has been determined and does not contain an rgd sequence . these ligands are referred to as cc - rgds , cc - dgds , or cc - c and were used to assess rgds - stimulated pmn fc receptor - mediated phagocytosis . as shown in fig1 a , in the presence of catalase , cc - rgds stimulated pmn ingestion of eigg in a dose - dependent manner with an optimal concentration of 40 μg / ml . as with other stimuli that affect pmn fc receptor - mediated ingestion , the dose response curve in biphasic [ gresham et al ., j . immunol . 139 , 4159 - 4186 ( 1987 )]. this clearly distinguishes the dose - response of rgds stimulation on pmn from that on monocytes [ pommier et al ., j . exp . med . 157 , 1844 - 1856 ( 1983 )]. in preliminary tests it was discovered that the inclusion of catalase was necessary to consistently observe cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion ( fig1 a ). ingestion performed in the presence of catalase incubated at 100 ° c . for 10 min was significantly reduced ( fig1 a ). cc - c or cc - dgds up to concentrations of 80 μg / ml had no effect on eigg ingestion even in the presence of catalase ( data not shown ). the effect of catalase on cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion was dose - dependent ( fig1 b ). the inclusion of catalase also slightly enhanced non - stimulated ingestion of eigg ( fig1 b ). this effect of catalase and inhibitors of the h 2 o 2 - mpo - halide system on pmn igg fc - and complement - mediated ingestion has been reported [ stendahl et al ., j . clin . invest . 73 , 366 - 373 ( 1984 ); gaither et al ., inflammation 11 , 211 - 227 ( 1987 )]. in addition , the inclusion of either 10 mm nan 3 ( an inhibitor of mpo ) or 10 mm methionine ( a competitor for the damaging oxidant ) also revealed consistent stimulation of ingestion by cc - rgds . these data indicated that the mpo - hydrogen peroxide - halide system was generating an oxidant which damaged either some step in the pathway for rgd - mediated enhancement of phagocytosis or the receptor responsible for cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion . to examine the latter possibility , the effect of catalase on binding of radiolabelled cc - rgds to pmn was examined under the conditions of the phagocytosis assay . in the presence of catalase , a 9 - fold increase in the amount of cc - rgds bound was observed over the amount bound in the absence of catalase ( table 1 ). these data indicated that the effect of catalase was on the binding of the cc - rgds ligand . to further examine this , the effect of catalase on eigg ingestion by pmn adherent to solid - phase vitronectin was assessed . in this assay the catalase was present only during the adherence of the pmn and was washed away prior to the addition of the eigg . vitronectin contains an rgds sequence and enhances monocyte ingestion of ec3b ( brown and goodwin , supra ). as shown in fig2 even though catalase was present only during the adherence of the pmn to either the control or vitronectin - coated surface , it significantly enhanced vitronectin - stimulated ingestion of eigg . these data and those in table 1 indicated that the effect of catalase was on the interaction of the ligand with the pmn surface and not a general one on the phagocytic process . all subsequent assays were performed in the presence of catalase . b . mab b6h12 and polyclonal fab anti - vitronectin receptor ( vnr ) inhibit both cc - rgds binding and rgd - stimulated phagocytosis . to facilitate isolation of the extracellular matrix receptor involved in phagocytosis enhancement , a polyclonal ( rabbit ) and several monoclonal antibodies to human vnr isolated from placenta were prepared . the polyclonal and a single monoclonal antibody , b6h12 , bound to pmn as assessed by fluorescence flow cytometry analysis . the effects of these antibodies on cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion were tested . as shown in fig3 a and b , both antibodies inhibited cc - rgds - stimulated ingestion in a dose - dependent manner with complete inhibition at approximately 4 μg / ml . this dose of either antibody had no effect on eigg ingestion by buffer - treated pmn ( fig3 a and b ); however , at concentrations of 16 μg / ml or greater , treatment of pmn with either antibody significantly stimulated ingestion in the absence of cc - rgds . three other monoclonal antibodies made to the vnr , ( b3f12 , 6h12 , 3f12 ), did not bind to pmn and did not have any effect on either cc - rgds - stimulated or non - stimulated ingestion of eigg . antibody to the vmr beta - chain , mab 7g2 ( brown and goodwin , supra . ), which binds to platelets and can immunoprecipitate vnr from placenta and gp iib / iiia from platelets , was also tested . this mab also did not bind to pmn and did not affect either cc - rgds - stimulated or non - stimulated ingestion by pmn . pmi - 1 , an anti iib mab [ ginsberg , et al ., j . clin . invest . 78 , 1103 - 1111 ( 1986 )], also does not bind to pmn ( brown and goodwin , supra ). in addition , neither polyclonal antibody to the fibronectin receptor ( anti - vla - 5 ) [ brown and juliano , j . cell biol . 103 , 1595 - 1603 ( 1986 )] nor mab a - 1a5 ( anti - vla beta chain ) [ hemler et al ., j . biol . chem . 262 , 3300 - 3309 ( 1987 )] had any effect on either cc - rgds - stimulated or non - stimulated ingestion of eigg . the effect of mab b6h12 and fab anti - vnr was specific for cc - rgds - stimulated phagocytosis because neither antibody had any effect on eigg ingestion stimulated by phorbol ester treatment of pmn ( data not shown ). these data suggest that b6h12 recognizes an antigen which , while it binds to the rgd sequence , is not vnr , gpiib / iiia or a vla . to assess if b6h12 and the fab anti vnr prevented phagocytosis enhancement by inhibiting ligand binding , the binding of radiolabelled cc - rgds to antibody - treated pmn was examined . as shown in table 2 , both mab b6h12 and fab anti - vnr reduced cc - rgds binding by 93 . 8 % and 95 . 7 %, respectively . in contrast , mab b3f12 reduced cc - rgds binding only by 7 . 4 %. these data indicate that the polyclonal and the monoclonal antibody b6h12 inhibited cc - rgds - stimulated phagocytosis because they inhibited binding of the cc - rgds ligand to the cell surface . c . mab b6h12 recognizes a cell - surface heterodimer distinct from previously described members of the receptor family . in order to ascertain the structure of the receptor recognized by the fab anti - vnr and mab b6h12 and compare it to the structure of the receptor isolated by rgd affinity chromatography ( brown and goodwin , supra ), pmn was surface - labelled and immunoprecipitated with the polyclonal anti - vnr and several of the monoclonal antibodies produced against purified vnr from placenta . both the polyclonal antibody and mab b6h12 immunoprecipitate a heterodimer of 140 kd and 105 kd upon reduction ( fig4 lanes 2 and 4 ). however , neither mab 7g2 ( anti - gp iib / iiia ) nor mab b3f12 ( anti - vnr ) immunoprecipitated any detectable proteins from pmn . on the other hand , both mab 7g2 and mab b3f12 but not mab b6h12 immunoprecipitated a heterodimer from iodinated placental membrane proteins of 130 kd and 100 kd upon reduction ( data not shown ). to further distinguish the b6h12 antigen from the gp iib / iiia antigen , surface - labelled platelets were immunoprecipitated with mab 7g2 and the precipitate compared under non - reducing conditions to the mab b6h12 immuno - precipitate from pmn ( fig5 lanes 2 and 3 ). as is readily apparent , these two antibodies immunoprecipitate heterodimers with completely distinct alpha and beta chain m r . the pmn heterodimer cannot be immunoprecipitated with an antibody that recognizes the beta chain of the gp iib / iiia - vnr family ( mab 7g2 ) and is therefore distinct from the cytoadhesin group of integrin receptors . the possibility that the b6h12 antigen was a member of the lfa - 1 , mac - 1 , p150 , 95 family of cell adhesion receptors was then investigated . as shown in fig6 mab b6h12 binds normally to pmn from a patient with leukocyte adhesion deficiency ( lad ) [ anderson and springer , ann . rev . medicine 1987 )] as assessed by facs analysis . this patient has been found previously [ anderson et al ., j . infect . dis . 152 , 668 - 689 ( 1985 )] to lack expression of all members of this family , and pmn from this patient fail to express any beta chain antigen as assessed by facs analysis using antibody to the beta chain , mab 1b4 , [ wright et al ., proc . natl . acad . sci . usa 89 , 5699 - 5703 ( 1985 )] ( data not shown ). in addition , binding of radiolabelled cc - rgds was assessed on both normal and lad pmn ; normal pmn bound 11 , 978 rgds - specific cpms / 10 6 pmn while the lad pmn bound 12 , 616 rgds - specific cpms / 10 6 pmn . moreover , early work indicated that treatment of pmn lysates with mab 1b4 did not immunoprecipitate the pmn receptor which bound to rgd - sepharose ( brown and goodwin , supra ). in concert , these data indicate that the b6h12 antigen is not a member of the lfa - 1 , mac - 1 , p150 , 95 family of cell adhesion receptors and represents a previously unrecognized rgd - binding receptor on pmn . d . many rgds - containing proteins stimulate pmn fc receptor - mediated ingestion via a b6h12 - dependent mechanism . because cc - rgds but not cc - dgds nor cc - c was able to augment pmn phagocytosis of eigg significantly , it was concluded that the rgd ( s ) sequence was the ligand responsible for phagocytosis enhancement . this conclusion was substantiated by the fact that unlinked grgdsc peptide inhibited specific cc - rgds binding by 79 . 6 % while an irrelevant peptide had no effect ( table 2 ). this inhibition was not limited to free rgds peptide but could be demonstrated also by a protein containing an rgds sequence , fibronectin ( fn ), which inhibited specific cc - rgds binding by 76 . 5 %. these data suggested that the mab b6h12 recognizes a receptor which can recognize the rgd sequence of many proteins . the effect of fibronectin ( fn ) on pmn fc receptor - mediated phagocytosis was examined and , as shown in fig7 a , fn stimulated ingestion in a dose - dependent manner . as with cc - rgds stimulation ( fig1 a ), the dose - response curve was biphasic . fn - mediated augmentation of ingestion was completely abrogated by treatment of the pmn with mab b6h12 but not mab b3f12 . however , non - stimulated or baseline levels of eigg ingestion were never affected by mab b6h12 treatment . the cell - binding domain of fn ( cbd ) which contains the rgds sequence also stimulated eigg ingestion , though much less efficiently than the intact fn molecule ( fig7 b ). this is in contrast to monocyte ingestion which is not augmented by the purified cbd fragment [ bohnsack et al ., j . immunol . 136 , 3793 - 3798 ( 1986 ); brown and goodwin , supra ]. however , mab b6h12 and not mab b3f12 completely abrogated cbd - stimulated ingestion ( fig7 b ). to further localize the region of the fn molecule which was involved in phagocytosis enhancement , an optimal dose of fn was incubated with various monoclonal antibodies which recognize distinct domains of fn . as shown in fig7 c , neither fn8 , which recognizes the amino terminus of fn , nor fn5 , which recognizes a site in the cbd carboxy terminal to the rgds sequence , ( bohnsack et al ., supra ) had any effect on fn - stimulated ingestion of eigg . however , hfn7 . 1 , which recognizes a site close to the rgds sequence in the cbd , completely abrogated fn - stimulated phagocytosis . a similar effect of hfn7 . 1 has been observed for fn - stimulated monocyte phagocytosis ( bohnsack et al . supra ). these data indicate that the cbd of the fn molecule which contains the rgds sequence was responsible for augmentation of pmn fc receptor - mediated ingestion by intact fn and that mab b6h12 recognized the receptor which mediated this enhancement . other extracellular matrix proteins which have been reported to contain rgd sequences were investigated for their ability to augment ingestion via the b6h12 antigen . as shown in fig8 a and b , both collagen type iv and laminin enhanced pmn fc receptor - mediated ingestion ; however , mab b6h12 inhibited only collagen - stimulated ingestion and not laminin - stimulated ingestion . therefore , the b6h12 antigen was not able to recognize an rgd sequence in all extracellular matrix proteins . this is not surprising for laminin , because it has been shown to interact with non - integrin receptors via domains completely distinct from the rgd sequence [ graf et al , cell 48 , 989 - 996 ( 1987 )]. because the b6h12 receptor appeared to recognize several proteins with rgd sequences , it appeared to function like the gpiib / iiia receptor of platelets which binds vitronectin , von willebrand &# 39 ; s factor , and fibrinogen , as well as fn . these proteins were also investigated for augmentation of inestion via the b6h12 antigen . as shown in fig8 all three of these ligands stimulated pmn ingestion of eigg in a dose - dependent manner . moreover , the stimulated ingestion by all of these ligands was prevented by treatment of the pmn with mab b6h12 but not mab b3f12 . these data indicate that the b6h12 receptor recognizes rgd sequences in many proteins and mediated phagocytosis stimulation by various but not all adhesive proteins . various other examples will be apparent to the person skilled in the art after reading the present disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . it is intended that all such examples be included within the scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
a procedure to encode a picture of a video stream with a limited number of coding passes is provided . on each pass , the picture is coded as a plurality of slices and macroblocks , where image data of the macroblocks are subject to coefficient transforms and to quantization by a quantization parameter . on a first pass , the quantization parameter is established as a first value common to all slices of the picture . if the coded picture size exceeds a predetermined limit , the encoder assigns a quantization step size for each slice for the second pass . small quantization step sizes are assigned to slices that are easy to encode , namely , slices that require few bits to encode for the same or comparable visual quality . this helps preserve visual quality of smooth image areas . if the second - pass coded picture size still exceeds the predetermined limit , a third pass is reached . during the third pass , tough slices ( slices that require more bits to encode for a certain visual quality ) are assigned new quantization step sizes , and high frequency coefficients are dropped if necessary so that no coded slice size exceeds its maximum size calculated based on the results of the second pass . this guarantees the coded picture size never exceeds its predetermined limit . if any pass generates coded picture data that satisfies the predetermined limit , the coded picture data is outputted to a channel , and the procedure ends . the coded picture data has a picture size approximately equal to a target size but not exceeding the predetermined limit . fig1 illustrates an encoder according to an embodiment of the present invention . the encoder 100 a may be implemented in hardware or software and receives a source image 102 , a digital image . for example , the source image 102 may be a picture from a video sequence . it will be understood that the encoder 100 a may also receive a video , where each picture making up the video will be encoded . the source image 102 is first transformed by a discrete cosine transform (“ dct ”) unit 104 . the transform converts spatial variations into frequency variations and produces an array of transform coefficients associated with the source image 102 . a quantization unit 106 then quantizes ( e . g ., divides ) the array of coefficients produced by the dct unit 104 by a quantization parameter , producing an array of quantized coefficients . a plurality of quantization units may be available within the encoder 100 a . the quantization unit 106 may be controlled by a controller 108 . the controller 108 may calculate various values of the quantizer as described and control multiple quantization units 106 within the encoder when encoding in parallel . a scan unit 110 then scans the two - dimensional array of quantized coefficients and converts it into a one - dimensional array ( a string ) of coefficient values . typically , the high frequency corner of the array of quantized coefficients is filled with zeros . by starting in the low frequency corner of the matrix , then zigzagging through the array , the encoder converts the 2 - dimensional coefficient array to a 1 - dimensional list of coefficient values ( a string ). a run - length encoding unit 112 may then scan the string and substitute run - length codes for consecutive zeros in that string . in this process , consecutive zeros are converted to a “ run ” symbol indicating the number of consecutive zeros , and the array of quantized coefficients is converted to a series of run / level pairs . the run length encoding unit 112 may then apply entropy coding to that result , thus reducing the source image 102 to a much smaller bit stream suitable for transmission or storage . the bit stream may be outputted into channel 114 . it will be understood that alternative types of encoding may be used in place of run - length encoding . the process described above may be reversed in a decoder , where the decoder includes a run - length decoding unit 116 , an inverse scan unit 118 , an inverse quantization unit 120 , and an inverse dct unit 122 . each unit performs the inverse of its counterpart in the encoder 100 a , producing a decoded image 124 . the inverse quantization unit cannot perfectly recover coefficients because they have been quantized . therefore , the compression process is lossy . the decoded image 124 is a close approximation of the source image 102 . a plurality of encoders may be available , such as encoder 100 b and 100 c . or a plurality of quantization units may be available in the encoder 100 a . fig2 illustrates a procedure for encoding a picture according to an embodiment of the present invention . the procedure may be executed on an encoder , as depicted in fig1 . in 200 , a picture is received and encoding begins . in 202 , a first pass begins . every slice of the picture is encoded with q — 0 , an initial quantizer . the initial quantizer may be a default value , and different default values can be used for different applications . any value can be used for q — 0 , but in general a small value ( e . g ., 1 ) is used for high quality encoding and a large value ( e . g ., 8 ) is used for standard quality encoding ( low bit rate ). the encoding may be executed in parallel across multiple processors , each processor encoding one or more slices . in 204 , the encoder may test whether a size of the resulting encoded picture produced in 202 is less than a picture maximum size , m . if yes , the picture has been encoded in one pass and the procedure ends . if no , further compression is necessary and the procedure proceeds to 206 . in 206 , a current quantizer value qp is initialized to q — 0 . qp is increased ( in the loop comprising 208 , 210 , 212 , 214 ) until the estimated picture size is smaller than a target picture size t . q — 1_i is the quantization step size to be used in the second pass encoding for slice i , and each q — 1_i will be set by the end of 218 . as qp is increased , q — 1_i is set ( in 208 ) for slice i if the slice is relatively easy to be encoded , as determined in 208 . if q — 1_i is not set before 218 , it will be set in 218 to a value qp * determined in 216 . in 208 , the procedure tests whether the coded size ( when qp is q — 0 ) or estimated coded size ( when qp is not q — 0 ) for slice i at qp is less than a predetermined threshold . the threshold may be a fraction of the average slice size , and may be different for different qp . if the coded size or estimated coded size is less than the threshold , q — 1_i is set to qp for second pass encoding . the quantizer selection is then final for slice i for second pass encoding . every slice is processed independently in 208 . in 210 , qp is increased . for example , qp may be multiplied by 3 . alternatively , qp may be incremented or otherwise increased by an amount . in 212 , a coded picture size is estimated . the estimated picture size may be calculated as the sum of all estimated coded slice sizes . for every slice i , if q — 1_i has been set , its estimated coded size is calculated for q — 1_i ; if q — 1_i has not been set , its estimated coded size is calculated for qp . in 214 , estimated coded pictures size is compared with a target picture size t . if the estimated picture size is smaller than t , the process proceeds to 216 . if not , it proceeds to 208 . in 216 , qp * is calculated for all slices whose second - pass quantizers ( q — 1_i ) have not been set . a value qp * may be calculated as qp *=( qp / 3 )* 3 ^ (( estimated_size_of_ ( qp / 3 )− t )/ estimated_size_of_ ( qp / 3 )− estimated_size_of_qp )). note that qp * is between qp / 3 and qp . qp * is calculated so that the second pass coded size will be close to the target size t . in 218 , for every slice i , if q — 1_i has not been set , set it to qp *. after 218 finishes and before 220 begins , q — 1_i must have been set for every slice i . in 220 , each slice i is encoded with q — 1_i . the encoding may be executed in parallel . in 222 , the procedure tests whether the picture encoded in 220 is smaller than m . if yes , the procedure ends after two passes . if no , further compression is necessary and the procedure proceeds to 224 for a third pass . in 224 , the third pass begins . a target size t_i and a maximum size m_i is calculated for each slice i that undergoes the third pass . a slice undergoes the third pass if its second - pass coded size exceeds a threshold . the threshold is chosen to balance bit allocation among slices for overall picture quality . it may depend on qp *, and is usually a fraction of average slice size . in 226 , q — 2_i is calculated for slice i that undergoes the third pass such that the estimated coded size for slice i is close to its target size t_i . q — 2_i is calculated in a manner similar to that in 208 , 210 , 212 , 214 . in 228 , every slice i that undergoes the third pass is encoded with q — 2_i , as calculated in 226 . for each slice i , high frequency coefficients are dropped during encoding if necessary so that the coded size does not exceed its maximum size m_i calculated in 224 . slices of the picture may be encoded in parallel . in 208 , the slice size is estimated for qp , which is q — 0 * 3 ^ n , where n is an integer equal to log 3 ( qp / q — 0 ). the actual coded size for q — 0 is known from 202 . a method to estimate the size of a coded slice when encoded with qp is outlined as follows . the slice size is the sum of its header size , bits used for dc coefficients , bits used for runs for ac coefficients , and bits for levels for ac coefficients . these values may be separately estimated and summed for the slice size estimate . header size is known from the implementation of the slices , and does not change after quantization . thus , an exact header size may be calculated . dc coefficients generally become smaller when qp increases , except when the coefficients are already zero . the number of bits for dc coefficients can be estimated by subtracting an estimated number of bits from the number of bits used for q — 0 . thus , number_of_bits_at_qp = number_of_bits_at_q — 0 − alpha * number_of_dc_tokens * n , where : alpha is a constant representing the average number of bits reduced per coefficient when quantization step size is increased 3 - fold , alpha varies depending on the actual coding scheme , but in general should be approximately log 2 ( 3 )= 1 . 585 bits , and number_of_dc_tokens is the number of dc coefficients that contribute to dc bits reduction when quantizer is increased , for example , the number of dc coefficients that are nonzero what n quantized with q — 0 , and a histogram of absolute values of quantized coefficients is collected in 202 when encoding with q — 0 . the thresholds for the eight bins are : histogram [ i ] is the number of quantized coefficients ( quantized with q — 0 ) with absolute values greater than t [ i ] and smaller than or equal to t [ i + 1 ]. any coefficient in bin i for q — 0 moves to bin ( i - n ) for q — 0 * 3 ^ n for n & lt ;= i and becomes 0 for n & gt ; i ( assuming no coefficient is greater than 1093 * 3 + 1 = 3280 ). thus , the histogram for q_p = q — 0 * 3 ^ n can be used to estimate the bits for ac levels . the sum of ( histogram [ i ]* beta [ i ]) for i = 0 , 1 . . . 7 is used to estimate ac level bits where beta [ i ] is the estimated bits per coefficient for coefficients in bin [ i ]. the values of beta [ i ] can be derived from a training set prior to encoding ; they depend on the particular coding scheme being used . different number of bins and different thresholds may be used . a number of bits for ac runs as encoded by q — 0 is known from 202 . the number of runs at q — 0 equals the number of nonzero quantized coefficients , calculated as histogram [ 0 ]+ histogram [ 1 ]+ . . . + histogram [ 7 ]. the number of runs at qp = q — 0 * 3 ^ n is calculated from the histogram for qp = q — 0 * 3 ^ n . let t be the number of runs at q — 0 , and b [ t ] be the number of run bits for t . when one coefficient becomes 0 , b [ t − 1 ] can be estimated as : ( 1 / t )*( b [ t ]*( t − 1 )/ t )+( 1 − 1 / t )*( b [ t ]*( t − 1 )/ t + gamma )= b [ t ]*( t − 1 )/ t + gamma *( t − 1 )/ t , assuming ( 1 ) the probability that the coefficient becoming 0 is the last one is 1 / t ; ( 2 ) gamma additional bits ( usually smaller than 1 ) are need to encode the bigger run resulting from the concatenation of two runs when the coefficient becoming 0 is not the last one ; and ( 3 ) the coefficient becoming 0 has the same number of bits as other coefficients before it becomes 0 . gamma may be determined from a training set , and ( 1 / t + 1 /( t − 1 )+ . . . + 1 /( s + 1 )) may be approximated . it should be appreciated that alternative methods to estimate encoded slice size may be used . the procedure also provides an encoding method where the encoding of each picture does not depend on the result of any other picture . thus , multiple frames may be processed simultaneously in parallel by multiple processors . this also improves the probability that the same quantizer is used for multiple generations of encoding / decoding because the quantizer choice depends only on the picture itself and does not depend on adjacent pictures . multi - generational quality loss occurs when an encoded video is decoded , and the decoded video is re - encoded . if a different quantization step size is used every time a picture is decoded and re - encoded , the picture quality will degrade quickly . the chance that the same quantizer is used for successive generations of decoding / encoding is further improved by assigning small quantizers to easy slices in 208 . the same quantizer will be used for easy slices regardless of other slices , which means that the quality in smooth areas will be preserved even if other parts of the picture undergo some changes during the editing process . this reduces potential quality degradation caused by post - production manipulation of the pictures . fig3 illustrates a bit stream according to an embodiment of the present invention . a video may be a sequence of images 300 including a plurality of frames 302 , 304 , 306 , and 308 . it is understood that while only four frames are depicted in sequence 300 , any number of frames may be included in a sequence . a frame 310 may include a header 312 , picture field 324 , and possibly stuffing data 326 . the header 312 may include header information , such as a size of the picture , frame dimension , frame rate information , and metadata relating to the picture field 324 . the picture field 324 may be an encoded video picture , for example , as encoded by the procedure described later . the stuffing 326 may be filler bits provided as needed to guarantee the frame 310 is a specified size , for example , for storage or transmission reasons . the frame 310 may include one picture field 324 if the frame is intended for a progressive scan . in an alternative embodiment , the frame 310 may include a header 328 , a first picture field 330 , a second picture field 332 , and stuffing 334 . the header 328 may be similar to the header described above . each of the picture fields 330 and 332 may be similar to the picture field described above . the stuffing 334 may be similar to the stuffing described above . frame 310 may store a plurality of picture fields . it is understood that while only two picture fields are depicted , any number of picture fields may be included within a frame . the frame 300 may include two picture fields 330 and 332 if the frame is intended for an interlaced scan . a picture 340 may include a header 342 , which may include header information , such as metadata relating to the picture 340 or as described above . the picture 340 may include a slice table 344 of slice sizes , which may be used to index all slices stored in the picture 340 . the picture 340 may include slices 346 , 348 , 350 and 352 . the slice table 344 may be optional . it is understood that while only four slices are depicted , any number of slices may be included within a picture . each slice may be as described below . a slice 360 may include a header 362 , which may include header information , such as metadata relating to the slice 360 or as described above . the slice 360 may include a field for luminance content 364 , for blue chrominance content 366 , and for red chrominance content 368 . together , the three components may describe a slice of a picture in digital form . the slice 360 may further be divided into macroblocks , where each macroblock is a 16 × 16 array of pixels to be displayed , and display property data associated with the pixels . each macroblock may include a number of blocks or pixel blocks . fig4 illustrates a picture division scheme according to an embodiment of the present invention . for example , a picture 400 may be 720 pixels horizontally and 486 lines vertically . each pixel may be associated with display property data ( luminance , blue chrominance , and red chrominance ). the picture is further divided into macroblocks , with each macroblock including an array of 16 × 16 pixels . any number of macroblocks may be combined into a slice . for example , a plurality of eight macroblocks 42 may be combined into a first slice . similarly , a plurality of four macroblocks 404 may be combined into a second slice . as described in fig3 , a slice may contain display property data of its associated pixels , where the pixels are organized by macroblock . optionally , macroblock data may be organized into sub - macroblock partitions ( e . g ., 8 × 8 blocks ) for coding . although the preceding text sets forth a detailed description of various embodiments , it should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth below . the detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment of the invention since describing every possible embodiment would be impractical , if not impossible . numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented , using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent , which would still fall within the scope of the claims defining the invention . it should be understood that there exist implementations of other variations and modifications of the invention and its various aspects , as may be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art , and that the invention is not limited by specific embodiments described herein . it is therefore contemplated to cover any and all modifications , variations or equivalents that fall within the scope of the basic underlying principals disclosed and claimed herein . | 7 |
the present invention will be described as set forth in the preferred embodiments illustrated in fig2 - 5 . other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . a ball grid array ( bga ) package according to the present invention is illustrated generally at 100 in fig2 in diagram form . bga package 100 comprises a substrate 102 having top conductive traces 104 formed on an upper surface of substrate 102 . substrate 102 can be of either a single or multi - layered construction as is commonly known in the art , and typically is formed from an organic epoxy - glass resin based material , such as bismaleimide - triazin ( bt ) resin or fr - 4 board as is commonly known in the art . the thickness of substrate 102 is typically on the order of 0 . 35 mm . bottom conductive traces 106 are formed on a lower surface of substrate 102 and are electrically connected to top conductive traces 104 through vias or plated through - holes 108 . vias 108 contain a conductive material such as copper . top conductive traces 104 terminate with bond posts or pads 110 . bottom conductive traces 106 terminate with ball or terminal pads 112 . top conductive traces 104 , bottom conductive traces 106 , ball pads 112 , and bond posts 110 comprise an electrically conductive material such as copper or copper plated with gold , as is known in the art . not all top conductive traces 104 , bottom conductive traces 106 , and vias 108 are shown . substrate 102 has an opening or aperture 114 , extending from the top surface of substrate 102 to the bottom surface of substrate 102 . an upward facing cavity is formed by securing a support base such as thin sheet material 116 to the bottom of substrate 102 to cover aperture 114 . thin sheet material 116 is typically any type of polyimide or metal foil based or backed material , such as copper or aluminum , on the order of approximately 0 . 025 to 0 . 1 mm thick and preferably 0 . 05 mm thick , and must be able to withstand temperatures involved in typical solder reflow processes without degradation . an adhesive may be used to secure the thin sheet material 116 to substrate 102 . the adhesive could be a thermoplastic , thermoset , or pressure sensitive type . the dimensions ( length and width ) of the thin sheet material 116 are greater than the dimensions ( length and width ) of aperture 114 so as to completely cover aperture 114 , but typically less than the dimensions ( length and width ) of substrate 102 . bga package 100 further comprises a semiconductor element or die 120 mounted in the cavity formed by the aperture 114 and thin sheet material 116 , which minimizes the effect of die thickness on the overall package height . semiconductor element 120 has a plurality of bonding pads 122 formed on an upper surface . each of the plurality of bond pads 122 is electrically connected to top conductive traces 104 with a wire bond 124 . typically , a solder mask material ( not shown ) with openings over the bond posts 110 and ball pads 112 is applied to the outer surfaces of the substrate 102 . typically , semiconductor element 120 , wire bonds 124 , and a portion of substrate 102 are covered by an encapsulating compound 126 , such as epoxy . conductive solder balls 128 are each attached to a ball pad 112 . conductive solder balls 128 are later connected to a next level of assembly or printed circuit board 302 ( fig4 ) using a standard reflow process . the number and arrangement of conductive solder balls 128 on the lower surface of substrate 102 depends on circuit requirements including input / output , power and ground connections . fig3 illustrates a portion of a cross - sectional view of a further embodiment of a bga package 200 according to the present invention . bga package 200 comprises a substrate 202 having bottom conductive traces 204 formed on a lower surface of substrate 202 . substrate 202 can be of either a single or multi - layered construction as is commonly known in the art , and typically is formed from an organic epoxy - glass resin based material , such as bismaleimide - triazin ( bt ) resin or fr - 4 board as is commonly known in the art . the thickness of substrate 202 is typically on the order of 0 . 35 mm . bottom conductive traces 204 terminate with ball or terminal pads 212 . bottom conductive traces 204 and ball pads 212 comprise an electrically conductive material such as copper or copper plated with gold , as is known in the art . not all bottom conductive traces 204 are shown . substrate 202 has an opening or aperture 214 extending from the top surface of substrate 202 to the bottom surface of substrate 202 . a downward facing cavity is formed by securing a support material such as thin sheet material 216 to the top surface of substrate 202 to cover aperture 214 . thin sheet material 216 is typically any type of polyimide or metal foil based or backed material , such as copper or aluminum , on the order of approximately 0 . 025 to 0 . 1 mm thick and preferably 0 . 05 mm thick , and must be able to withstand temperatures involved in typical solder reflow processes without degradation . an adhesive may be used to secure the thin sheet material 216 to substrate 202 . the adhesive could be a thermoplastic , thermoset , or pressure sensitive type . the dimensions ( length and width ) of the thin sheet material 216 are greater than the dimensions ( length and width ) of aperture 214 so as to completely cover aperture 214 , but typically less than the dimensions ( length and width ) of substrate 202 . bga package 200 further comprises a semiconductor element or die 220 inverted and mounted in the cavity formed by the aperture 214 and thin sheet material 216 , which minimizes the effect of die thickness on the overall package height . semiconductor element 220 has a plurality of bonding pads 222 formed on its upper surface , which is now facing downwards . each of the plurality of bond pads 222 is electrically connected to bottom conductive traces 204 with a wire bond 224 . typically , a solder mask material ( not shown ) with openings over the bond pads 222 and ball pads 212 is applied to the outer surfaces of the substrate 202 . typically , semiconductor element 220 , wire bonds 224 , and a portion of substrate 202 are covered by an encapsulating compound 226 . conductive solder balls 228 are each attached to a ball pad 212 . conductive solder balls 228 are later connected to a next level of assembly or printed circuit board 302 ( fig4 ) using a standard reflow process . the number and arrangement of conductive solder balls 228 on the lower surface of substrate 202 depends on circuit requirements including input / output , power and ground connections . fig4 illustrates an integrated circuit 300 , such as a sdram or sldram memory module or the like , which utilizes multiple ball grid array packages according to the present invention . integrated circuit 300 is comprised of printed circuit board 302 . printed circuit board 302 contains a plurality of top conductive traces 304 on the top surface , and may or may not contain conductive traces on the bottom surface or intermediate layers . mounted on printed circuit board 302 are various electronic components 304 , as necessary for operation of the integrated circuit 300 , and low profile ball grid array packages 308 as hereinbefore described with reference to fig2 and 3 . printed wiring board 302 is provided with input / output connectors 310 for connection in an end product system ( fig5 ). the use of the low profile ball grid array packages 308 minimizes the overall height of the integrated circuit 300 and allows for smaller end - product packaging . a typical processor system which includes integrated circuits , such as memory devices , that contain low profile ball grid array packages according to the present invention , is illustrated generally at 400 in fig5 in block diagram form . a computer system is exemplary of a device having integrated circuits such as memory devices . most conventional computers include memory devices permitting the storage of significant amounts of data . the data is accessed during operation of the computers . other types of dedicated processing systems , e . g . radio systems , television systems , gps receiver systems , telephones and telephone systems also contain integrated circuit devices which can utilize the present invention . a processor system , such as a computer system , generally comprises a memory device 402 , such as a sdram or sldram memory module , a memory device controller 403 , a central processing unit ( cpu ) 404 , input devices 406 , display devices 408 , and / or peripheral devices 410 . it should be noted that a system may or may not include some or all of the aforementioned devices , and may or may not include multiple devices of the same type . memory device 402 and cpu 404 include integrated circuits which contain ball grid array packages according to the present invention hereinbefore described with reference to fig2 and 3 . the use of low profile ball grid array packages according to the present invention reduces the size and cost of the integrated circuits , effectively reducing the size and cost of the end product processor system . reference has been made to preferred embodiments in describing the invention . however , additions , deletions , substitutions , or other modifications which would fall within the scope of the invention defined in the claims may be found by those skilled in the art and familiar with the disclosure of the invention . any modifications coming within the spirit and scope of the following claims are to be considered part of the present invention . | 7 |
[ 0027 ] fig1 schematically shows a refrigeration system 1 with a compressor 2 , which supplies a refrigerant under high pressure and at a high temperature to a condenser 3 . in the condenser 3 the refrigerant is cooled . due to this cooling , the refrigerant converts to a fluid . the condenser 3 supplies three connected evaporators 4 , 5 and 6 , connected in parallel , each located in a cold room 7 , 8 or 9 , respectively . the connection between the condenser 3 and each evaporator 4 , 5 and 6 takes place via a valve 10 , 11 and 12 and a throttling member 13 , 14 and 15 . the throttling member can , for example , be a capillary tube or an expansion valve . for reasons of clarity , the valves 10 , 11 , and 12 are shown separately from the throttling members 13 , 14 and 15 . usually , each valve 10 , 11 , and 12 is combined with the related throttling member 13 , 14 , and 15 . a control device 16 controls the valves 10 , 11 , and 12 and the compressor 2 . an example of a valve 10 is shown in fig2 . such a valve 10 can , of course , also be located in other positions in the refrigeration system . in principle , the valve 10 shown in fig2 can be used everywhere where refrigerant must be controlled . the valve 10 has a valve housing 17 with a bottom part 18 and a top part 19 . an inlet 20 and an outlet 21 are located in the bottom part 18 . between the inlet and the outlet is located a valve seat 22 , which interacts with a valve element 23 . in the position shown in fig2 the valve 10 is closed , that is , the valve element 23 bears on the valve seat 22 . the valve element 23 has a pressure release channel 24 , which is connected with the inlet 20 and ends in a pressure chamber 25 , which is located on the side of the valve element 23 facing away from the valve seat 22 generally opposite an inlet end thereof . the pressure in the pressure chamber 25 acts upon the valve element 23 via an area , which has practically the same size as the area , via which the pressure from the inlet 20 acts upon the valve element 23 . the valve element 23 is thus pressure released , that is , the forces acting upon the valve element 23 , loading it in the direction towards the valve seat 22 or away from it , are substantially equalised . while a pressure release channel connected with the inlet has been described , the present invention is not limited in this regard as the pressure release cannel can also be connected with the outlet 21 without departing from the broader aspects of the present invention . the valve element 23 is supported in a guide 26 to be axially displaceable , that is , away from the valve seat 22 or towards it . a sealing 27 is provided between the valve element 23 and the guide 26 . a distortion protection , not shown in detail in fig2 ensures that the valve element can only be axially displaced , however , not turned . for displacing the valve element 23 , a spindle 29 is provided , which has an outer thread 30 . the outer thread 30 threadably engages a displacement member shown in the illustrated embodiment as a nut 31 with a corresponding inner thread , which is connected with the valve element 23 . when the spindle 29 is turned , the threaded connection formed by the outer thread 30 and the nut 31 converts the rotational movement of the spindle 29 to a translational movement of the valve element 23 . the rotation drive of the spindle 29 occurs via a stepping motor 32 , which is controlled by the control device 16 . the stepping motor 32 in a housing 33 has a rotor , whose output shaft 34 is non - rotatably connected with an outer magnet holder 35 . in the outer magnet holder 35 , several permanent magnets 36 are distributed in the circumferential direction . the permanent magnets 36 are , for example , neodymium magnets . the spindle 29 is non - rotatably connected with an inner magnet holder 37 , which carries several permanent magnets 38 on its outer circumference . preferably , the number of permanent magnets 38 on the inner magnet holder 37 corresponds the number of permanent magnets 26 of the outer magnet holder 35 . the permanent magnets 36 , 38 are magnetised so that they attract each other mutually . thus , when the outer magnet holder 35 is turned , the inner magnet holder 37 turns too , as the permanent magnets 36 on the outer magnet holder 35 take along the permanent magnets 38 on the inner magnet holder 37 . an adapter piece 39 is located between the outer magnet holder 35 and the inner magnet holder 37 . the adapter piece 39 is made of a magnetically non - conducting material , for example austenitic steel . the adapter piece 39 is screwed into the top part 19 of the housing 17 by means of a thread 40 . a sealing 41 is provided for sealing the complete housing 17 , that is , also the adapter piece 39 . the sealing is sized so that it can stand a pressure difference of at least 50 bar . the adapter piece 39 is cup - shaped . between the magnets 36 , 38 it has a relatively small wall thickness . the stepping motor 32 has a pipe - shaped extension 42 , which is pushed onto the adapter piece 39 . the extension 42 is made of a magnetically non - conducting material . via the extension 42 , the stepping motor 42 is fixed on the housing 17 , for example by means of two headless screws 43 , which engage in corresponding recesses on the outside of the adapter piece 39 . the inner magnet holder 37 is supported on the adapter piece 39 via ball bearings 44 . the outer magnet holder 35 is fixed on the motor 32 . the valve 10 can now be controlled in a relatively sensitive manner . the rotor 33 of the stepping motor is rotated over a predetermined angular area . the resolution per impulse sent to the stepping motor 32 can , for example , be in the magnitude of 2 °. via the magnetic coupling through the magnets 36 , 38 , the spindle 29 is accordingly rotated . through the transmission formed by the threaded connection 30 , 31 , the valve element 23 is then moved by a predetermined distance away from or in the direction of the valve seat 22 , between an open and a closed position , for each angular increment of the rotor 33 . by counting the impulses , which are supplied to the stepping motor 32 , the position of the valve element 23 in relation to the valve seat 22 can be determined relatively accurately . of course , other motors than stepping motors can be used . in this case , sensors are recommended , which establish the position of the valve element 23 in relation to the valve seat 22 . on the side facing away from the valve element 23 , the motor 32 has a resetting device , which will be explained on the basis of fig3 . the resetting device cannot be seen in fig2 . the resetting device ensures that during current failure or another error resulting in the undesired cessation of motor operation , the valve 10 can be brought to a certain predetermined state . this state could , for example be that the valve 10 is completely closed . however , it could also be that the valve is completely opened . for this purpose , the output shaft 34 of the motor 32 is extended upwards , forming a shaft end 46 . on the shaft end 46 a plate 62 is non - rotatably fixed , that is , the plate 62 rotates with the output shaft of the motor and thus with the spindle 29 , which drives the valve element 23 . a torsion - type suspension 63 is inserted in the plate 62 , that is , with one end fixed non - rotatably with the plate 62 . the other end of the torsion - type suspension 63 is connected with a housing 64 of the resetting device module 65 . thus , when the shaft end 46 and the plate 62 are turned , the torsion - type suspension 63 is tensed . in this case , the outer thread 30 of the spindle 29 has a relatively large pitch of , for example , 5 to 15 mm per rotation . when , for example , the outer thread 30 has a pitch of 10 mm per rotation , and the maximum opening width , that is the maximum distance between the valve seat 22 and the valve element 23 is also 10 mm , one single rotation of the control motor 32 will be sufficient to either open or close the valve completely . accordingly , the torsion - type suspension 63 can do with a force , which reverts the motor 32 by one rotation , when the valve has to be closed in connection with a current failure . the resetting device shown in fig3 is formed as a module 65 , which is located on the side of the motor 32 facing away from the housing 17 , for example between the motor 32 and a housing 61 ( fig2 ) containing control electronics for the motor 32 . the module embodiment has the advantage that it requires no large changes to make the valve with or without resetting device . [ 0046 ] fig4 shows another embodiment , in which the same parts have the same reference numbers . the most substantial change is that the permanent magnets 36 , 38 , which are fixed on the outer or the inner magnet holder 35 , 37 , respectively , are no longer directed in the radial direction , but in the axial direction . this saves accessories . on the other hand , however , the forces transmitted by the magnets 36 , 38 are also smaller . a rotation protection 59 , with which a rotation movement of the valve element 23 shall be prevented , has , in this case , a spring , which engages in a groove in the guide 26 on the one side and at the valve element 23 on the other side . [ 0048 ] fig5 shows a further embodiment of a valve 20 , in which same and functionally same elements have the same reference numbers as in fig2 . contrary to the embodiment according to fig2 and 3 , here a resetting device 70 is provided inside the housing 17 . the resetting device 70 has a pressure spring 71 , shown as a coil spring in the illustrated embodiment , which is supported between the valve element 23 and a spring washer , which retains an outer ring 72 of the ball bearing 44 . the pressure spring 71 presses the valve element 23 in the direction of the valve seat 22 . the nut is made of a plastic , which interacts under little friction with the material of the spindle 29 . this plastic can , for example , be a polyaryl ether ketone , polyether ether ketone ( peek ), or polyoxymethylene ( pom ). in connection with a corresponding diameter of the spindle 29 and a corresponding pitch of the thread 30 , which , for example , causes a movement of approximately 10 mm per rotation of the spindle 29 , it is ensured that the threaded connection between the spindle 29 and the nut 31 is not made to be self - locking , so that a pressure from the pressure spring 71 will not only displace the valve element 23 , but also turn the spindle 29 . this is made possible by the fact that the valve element 23 is pressure - released by means of the pressure release channel 24 . thus , only relatively small external forces act upon the valve element 22 , so that the pressure spring 71 does not have to provide excessively large forces . the pressure spring 71 is located inside the valve housing 17 on the side of the valve element 23 facing the motor , so that the motor can be replaced , when it indicates an error or needs maintenance . in this case , the valve 10 is closed . of course , it depends on the resetting device 70 . when this is made differently , it can also ensure that the valve 10 is opened , when no other forces are available . the pressure spring 71 generates forces , which are sufficient to overcome a catch force of the control motor 32 , which it possesses in the unpowered state . that is , the resetting device 70 can also bring the valve element 23 to rest on the valve seat 22 , when the motor 32 is still fitted on the housing 17 . in fig5 the motor 32 is not mounted to make it clear that the resetting device 70 in fig5 can also work , when the motor has a different embodiment . while preferred embodiments have been shown and described , various modifications and substitutions may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention . accordingly , it is understood that the present invention has been described by way of example , and not by limitation . | 5 |
the compounds of the present invention have one of the following formulae : ## str1 ## and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and esters thereof ; wherein x is one of -- ch 2 --, -- nh --, -- o -- or -- s --; and preferably r is a straight or branched chain alkyl radical having from about 1 to about 20 carbon atoms , more preferably a straight chain alkyl radical having from 6 to 20 carbons . for components of formulae i , ii and iii , r is most preferably --( ch 2 ) 10 -- ch 3 . for compounds of formulae iv , r is most preferably --( ch 2 ) 9 -- ch 3 . the compounds represented by formulae i - iv are useful as penetration inhibiting agents . the compounds may be made by the methods described below . typical examples of compounds of the present invention include : ## str2 ## the compounds of the present invention can be employed as penetration inhibiting agents . the compounds may be formulated into topical compositions that function as barriers to the passage of bioactive compounds and agents through mammalian skin in either direction when applied to the skin . the barrier inhibits the passage of toxic chemicals from the environment through the skin into the bloodstream or underlying tissues and / or organs of the mammal . this utility is especially desirable to prevent individuals and livestock from being exposed to toxic chemicals ; for example , farmers dealing with pesticides , workers cleaning up toxic waste spills and soldiers exposed to chemical weapons . the barrier may also function to prevent allergic reactions to skin products such as cosmetics and sunscreens wherein it is desired to maintain the skin product ingredients on the surface of the skin . additionally , the barrier may function to maintain drugs utilized to treat skin conditions on the skin surface thus inhibiting penetration of the drug into the bloodstream . for purposes of defining the invention , the term &# 34 ; bioactive agent &# 34 ; shall mean any compound capable of passage through the skin or other membrane of a mammal , having any biological effect on the mammal . the biological effect may be either desirable or undesirable . for the purposes of defining the invention , the term &# 34 ; mammal &# 34 ; includes human beings and other forms of animal life , especially domesticated animals and pets . the term &# 34 ; alkyl &# 34 ; as employed herein includes both straight and branched chain radicals of up to 20 carbons , preferably 6 - 20 carbons , such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , butyl , pentyl , hexyl , heptyl , octyl , nonyl , decyl , undecyl , dodecyl and the various branched chain isomers thereof . also included within the scope of the present invention are non - toxic pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula i - iv . basic salts are formed by mixing a solution of a particular compound of the present invention with a solution of a pharmaceutically acceptable non - toxic base , such as , sodium hydroxide , potassium hydroxide , sodium bicarbonate , sodium carbonate , or an amino compound , such as choline hydroxide , tris , bis - tris , n - methylglucamine or arginine . water - soluble salts are preferable . thus , suitable salts include : alkaline metal salts ( sodium , potassium etc . ), alkaline earth metal salts ( magnesium , calcium etc . ), ammonium salts and salts of pharmaceutically acceptable amines ( tetramethylammonium , triethylamine , methylamine , dimethylamine , cyclopentylamine , benzylamine , phenethylamine , piperidine monoethanolamine , diethanolamine , tris ( hydroxymethyl ) amine , lysine , arginine and n - methyl - d - glucamine ). the compounds of the present invention may be prepared by the general procedures outlined in schemes i through vi . ## str3 ## in each of schemes i - v , an appropriate n - heterocyclic ketone is reacted with an acid chloride such as lauroyl chloride , decanoyl chloride or octanoyl chloride , in the presence of an organic solvent , such as toluene , and a base such as triethylamine . in scheme vi , a brominated ketone , such as 1 - bromo - 2 - dodecanone is substituted for the acid chloride employed in the earlier schemes . dosage forms for topical application may include solution nasal sprays , lotions , ointments , creams , gels , suppositories , sprays , aerosols and the like . typical inert carriers which make up the foregoing dosage forms include water , acetone , isopropyl alcohol , freon , ethyl alcohol , polyvinylpyrrolidone , propylene glycol , fragrances , gel - producing materials , liquid crystalline materials , mineral oil , stearyl alcohol , stearic acid , spermaceti , sorbitan monooleate , &# 34 ; polysorbates ,&# 34 ; sorbitol and methyl cellulose . the preferred carriers are those in which the active ingredient is soluble . emulsifiers , stabilizers , humectants and antioxidants may also be included as well as agents imparting color or fragrance , if desired . creams are preferably formulated from a mixture of mineral oil , self - emulsifying beeswax and water in which mixture the active ingredient , dissolved in a small amount of an oil such as almond oil , is admixed . a typical example of such a cream is one which includes about 40 parts water , about 20 parts beeswax , about 40 parts mineral oil and about 1 part almond oil . ointments may be formulated by mixing a solution of the active ingredient in a vegetable oil such as almond oil with warm soft paraffin and allowing the mixture to cool . a typical example of such an ointment is one which includes about 30 % almond oil and about 70 % white soft paraffin by weight . lotions may be conveniently prepared by dissolving the active ingredient , in a suitable high molecular weight alcohol such as propylene glycol or polyethylene glycol . the amount of the composition , and of the penetration inhibiting compound therein , to be administered will obviously be an effective amount for inhibiting penetration of a particular bioactive agent . this , of course , will be ascertained by the ordinary skill of the practitioner . in general , the topical compositions of this invention may comprise from approximately 0 . 1 to 90 percent , by weight , of one or more of the compounds of formulae i , preferably from approximately 1 % to approximately 10 %, and more preferably about 1 % to about 5 % of said compounds . for most drugs the major barrier to penetration resides in the outer layer of the skin , the stratum corneum . the stratum corneum is an extremely impermeable membrane . the impermeability is a result of its structure and lipid composition . macroscopically the stratum corneum is composed of dead cells ( the corneocytes ) and intracellular lipids forming a mortar between the corneocytes . a complex mixture of lipids are packed together to form sequences of bilayers which are responsible for the impermeability of the stratum corneum . materials diffuse through the intracellular channels of the stratum corneum and it is the structural bilayer nature of the lipids that provides the barrier function of the skin . ( hadgraft , &# 34 ; skin penetration enhancement ,&# 34 ; prediction of percutaneous penetration , 3b : 138 - 148 ( 1993 )). while not wishing to be bound by theory , it is believed that the compounds of the present invention function by interacting with ilipid - bilayer interaction mechanism . this ability to interact with charged lipid bilayers appears to play a major role in the functioning of an entire series of penetration enhancers and the penetration barriers of the present invention . the compounds of the present invention find particular utility in inhibiting the penetration of toxic chemicals that may come in contact with the skin of mammals . examples of such compounds include carcinogens such as actinomycin d , arsenic compounds and ddt . it is contemplated that the compounds of the present invention can be used to inhibit the penetration of a host of carcinogens . other exemplary carcinogens whose penetration can be inhibited are listed in the crc handbook of chemistry and physics , david r . lide , editor in chief , 72nd edition ( 1991 - 1992 ), at section 16 , pages 32 - 38 . pesticides are another example of toxic chemicals whose penetration can be inhibited by the compounds of the present invention . exemplary pesticides include organochlorine pesticides such as : aldrin , α - bhc , β - bhc , γ - bhc , δ - bhc , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- ddd , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- dde , 4 , 4 &# 39 ;- ddt , dieldrin , endosulfans , endrin , heptachlor , methoxychlor and chlordane . other pesticides whose penetration can be blocked by compounds of the present invention include organophosphorous pesticides such as : thionazin , dimethoate , disulfoton , famphur , parathion , sulfotepp and triethylphosphorothioate . additional toxic chemicals include hazardous compounds such as carbazoles , dibenzofurans , nitroanilines and phenols . additionally , it is contemplated that the the penetration of insecticides such as deet and sunscreens such as paba can be inhibited by compounds of the present invention . a related utility of the compounds of the present invention is the inhibition of water loss occurring by diffusion of water from inside the body through the stratum corneum . having now fully described this invention , it will be understood to those of ordinary skill in the art that the same can be performed within a wide and equivalent range of conditions , formulations , and other parameters without affecting the scope of the invention or any embodiment thereof . all patents and publications cited herein are fully incorporated by reference herein in their entirety . | 2 |
this invention provides fabricated tough hydrogels , tough hydrogel - containing compositions , and methods of making tough hydrogels and tough hydrogel - containing compositions . the invention also provides methods of using the fabricated tough hydrogels and tough hydrogel - containing compositions in treating a subject in need . hydrogels described in the prior art ( see for example , u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 663 , 358 , 5 , 981 , 826 , and 5 , 705 , 780 , us published application nos . 20040092653 and 20040171740 ) can be used as starting materials for making tough hydrogels of the present invention by employing methods described herein for the first time . the tough hydrogels provided in the present invention can be used in a body to augment or replace any tissue such as cartilage , muscle , breast tissue , nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc , other soft tissue , interpositional devices that generally serves as a cushion within a joint , etc . tough hydrogels generally include polymer , polymer blends , or copolymers of polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ), polyvinyl pyrrolidone ( pvp ), poly ethylene oxide ( peo ), polyacrylamide ( paam ), polyacrylic acid ( paa ), alginates , polysaccharides , polyoxyethylene - polyoxypropylene co - polymers , poly - n - alkylacrylamides , poly - n - isopropyl acrylamide ( pniaam ), chondroitin sulfate , dextran sulfate , dermatin sulfate , or combinations of two or more thereof . tough hydrogels , as disclosed herein , comprised of uniformly distributed hydrogel molecules or hydrogel particles comprising polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) copolymerized and / or blended with at least one of the other polymers or gellants , for example , polyvinyl pyrrolidone ( pvp ), poly - n - isopropyl acrylamide ( pnipaam ), poly ethylene oxide ( peo ), chondroitin sulfate , dextran sulfate , dermatin sulfate and the like , or combinations of two or more thereof . according to one aspect of the invention , the tough hydrogels comprise polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) copolymerized and / or blended with at least one of the other polymers . according to another aspect of the invention , the hydrogel solutions comprise polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ), polyvinyl pyrrolidone ( pvp ), poly ethylene oxide ( peo ), poly - n - isopropyl acrylamide ( pniaam ), or combinations of two or more thereof . according to another aspect of the invention , the hydrogel solution is a polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) solution . tough hydrogels of the invention can be used in a variety of fashions in joints in mammals such as human joints . for example , an interpositional device can be manufactured from the tough hydrogels , which meet required mechanical strength to withstand high loads of human joints , and can be used in articular cartilage replacement applications . the interpositional devices typically act as a cushion within the joint to minimize the contact of the cartilage surfaces to each other ( see fig1 ). this is beneficial in patients with arthritic joints . early arthritic joints with cartilage lesions can be treated with such interpositional devices , which minimizes the contact between the damaged cartilage surfaces of the patient . the interpositional devices are described by fell et al . ( see u . s . pat . nos . 6 , 923 , 831 , 6 , 911 , 044 , 6 , 866 , 684 , and 6 , 855 , 165 ). these devices can have a variety of shapes and sizes . for a hydrogel interpositional device to perform in vivo in the long - term , the device first needs to have a high creep resistance . this is to minimize the changes to the shape of the interpositional hydrogel device during in vivo use . tough hydrogel materials of the invention with increased stiffness display increased creep resistance . the hydrogel interpositional device according to the invention also have superior mechanical properties , such as toughness , wear resistance , high creep resistance , etc . another method for the use of a hydrogel implant is through the filling of a cavity in the joint . the cavity can be an existing one or one that is prepared by a surgeon . a tough hydrogel plug can be inserted into the cavity . fig2 shows an example of a cavity filled with a hydrogel plug . the hydrogel plug can be of any shape and size ; for instance it can be cylindrical in shape . in some embodiments the plug can be oversized to be elevated from the surrounding cartilage surface . in other embodiments the plug can be undersized to stay recessed in the cavity . the over - sizing or under - sizing can be such that the plug can stand proud above the surrounding cartilage surface or recessed from the surrounding cartilage surface by about less than 1 mm , by about 1 mm , by more than about 1 mm , by about 2 mm , by about 3 mm , or by about more than 3 mm . in some embodiments the hydrogel plug can be slightly dehydrated to shrink its size and to allow an easy placement into the cavity . the hydrogel plug then can be hydrated and swollen in situ to cause a better fit into the cavity . the dehydrated and re - hydrated dimensions of the hydrogel plug can be tailored to obtain a good fit , under - sizing , or over - sizing of the plug after re - dehydration and re - swelling . the re - dehydration in situ can also be used to increase the friction fit between the plug and the cavity . this can be achieved by tailoring the dimensions and the extent of dehydration such that upon re - dehydration the cross - section of the plug can be larger than the cross - section of the cavity ; by for instance about 1 mm , less than 1 mm , or more than 1 mm . in some embodiments the cavity is filled with an injectable hydrogel system that cures in situ such as the one described by ruberti and braithwaite ( see us published application nos . 20040092653 and 20040171740 ), muratoglu et al ( u . s . provisional application no . 60 / 682 , 0008 , filed may 18 , 2005 ), lowman ( us published application no . 2004 / 0220296 ), and other injectable systems . the present invention provides methods of fabricating hydrogel systems to obtain tough hydrogels that can maintain shape under the high loads of human joints . according to one aspect of the invention , the tough hydrogels are obtained by improving the stiffness , toughness and strength of hydrogels to increase resistance to creep and resistance to wear . the invention provides dehydration methods to improve the mechanical properties of the hydrogel . the invention also provides permanent plastic deformation methods to increase the creep resistance of the hydrogel . various dehydration and deformation methods , described above , can be used together in combinations to improve the properties of hydrogels . any of the dehydration methods can be used either by itself or in combination with the other dehydration methods to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels . plastic deformation method also can be used by itself to increase the creep resistance of the hydrogels . in the case of extreme dehydration of the hydrogel , it can be important for some of the applications to subsequently rehydrate the hydrogel at least to some extent to regain the lubrication imparted by the presence of water for some of the embodiments . if the heat dehydration is carried out starting with a hydrogel that contains water and one or more other ingredient ( s ), which are in most embodiments non volatile such as low molecular weight peg , and others such as pvp , peo , chondrotin sulfate , the dehydrated hydrogel is easily re - hydrated to varying levels . according to one aspect of the invention , the level of re - hydration following heat dehydration depends on the concentration of other ingredient ( s ) in the water phase of the initial hydrogel before dehydration . in contrast , if the starting hydrogel contains no other ingredients but water , then the extent of re - hydration subsequent to heat dehydration is substantially reduced compared to the re - hydration levels of the hydrogels dehydrated in the presence other ingredient ( s ). the presence of the other ingredient ( s ) other than water also has implication on the creep behavior of the hydrogel following heat dehydration and subsequent re - hydration . the hydrogel is more viscoelastic when it is heat treated in the presence of other ingredient ( s ). according to another aspect , pva hydrogels containing a low molecular weight ingredient , such as peg , retain their opacity during heat dehydration . in contrast , pva hydrogels containing no such ingredients and heat dehydrated under identical conditions lose their opacity and turn transparent , an indication for the loss of the molecular porosity . the molecular porosity is thought to be the free space in the structure where the water molecules penetrate the hydrogel , thus hydrating it . the loss of the opacity upon heat dehydration of hydrogels not containing any such ingredient can be the reason for their substantially reduced ability to re - hydrate . according to one aspect on the invention , the non - volatile ingredient remains in the hydrogel structure during heat dehydration and prevents the collapse of the molecular porosity , and thus allowing these hydrogels to re - hydrate following heat dehydration . the invention also provides freeze - thaw prepared pva ( ft - pva ) hydrogels , wherein the hydrogel is toughened by annealing at around 160 ° c . upon re - hydration , the annealed gels remain transparent forming an elastic and tough , almost rubber - like material . while this material is useful in some application , it may not be for applications requiring high water content in the hydrogel . the extent of re - hydration is further tailored in the annealed ft - pva by adding an ingredient such as peg into the water phase prior to the annealing . the invention also provides in another aspect that the permanent deformation can be used to substantially increase the creep resistance of hydrogels . in addition , high dose irradiation also can increase the cross - link density of the hydrogels . in one embodiment , the hydrogel material is plastically deformed . the plastic deformation introduces molecular orientation into the material . the material increases creep resistance in the direction in which it is deformed . therefore , it can be used as a high creep resistant implant . in one embodiment the implant is fabricated such that the deformation is in the direction of the axial load applied in the human joint , see fig1 , for example . in another embodiment , the plastic deformation is induced by uniaxial compression , channel - die compression tension , bending , shear , or other modes of deformation . the plastic deformation is induced at any temperature below the melting point of the hydrogel . the plastic deformation is induced statically or dynamically . in another embodiment , the deformation is induced by uniaxial compression . in another embodiment the deformation is induced by channel - die deformation . see fig3 for examples of deformation types . in another embodiment , the hydrogels are deformed under compression using flat or curved platens . the flat platens result in flat deformed surfaces of the hydrogel . the curved platens result with curved deformed surfaces ( see fig3 ). in another embodiment the deformation is induced by one flat and one curved platen . in another embodiment , the deformation of the hydrogel is carried out with shaped platens such that the deformed hydrogel become the final implant shape or the near - net shape of the final implant . in another embodiment , the deformed hydrogel is machined further to obtain the final implant shape . in another embodiment , the hydrogel implant is packaged and sterilized . the packaging can be such that the hydrogel device is immersed in an aqueous solution to prevent dehydration until implantation , such as during sterilization and shelf storage . the aqueous solution can be water , deionized water , saline solution , ringer &# 39 ; s solution , or salinated water . the aqueous solution also can be a solution of poly - ethylene glycol in water . the solution can be of less than 5 % ( wt ) in peg , about 5 % ( wt ), more than about 5 % ( wt ), about 10 % ( wt ), about 15 % ( wt ), about 20 % ( wt ), about 30 % ( wt ), about 50 % ( wt ), about 90 % ( wt ) or about 100 % ( wt ). the hydrogel device also can be sterilized and stored in a non - volatile solvent or non - solvent . the sterilization of the hydrogel implant is carried out through gamma sterilization , gas plasma sterilization , or ethylene oxide sterilization . according to one embodiment , the hydrogel is sterilized by autoclave . the sterilization is carried out at the factory ; or alternatively , the implant is shipped to the hospital where it is sterilized by autoclave . some hospitals are fitted with ethylene oxide sterilization units , which also is used to sterilize the hydrogel implant . in one embodiment , the hydrogel implant is sterilized after packaging . in other embodiments the hydrogel implant is sterilized and placed in a sterile aqueous solution . in another embodiment , pva hydrogel is prepared using the freeze - thaw method starting with an aqueous pva solution ( at least about 1 % ( wt ) pva , above about 1 % ( wt ) pva , about 5 % ( wt ) pva , about 10 % ( wt ) pva , above about 10 % ( wt ) pva , about 15 % ( wt ) pva , about 20 % ( wt ) pva , about 25 % ( wt ) pva , about above 25 % ( wt ) pva ) and subjecting it to freeze - thaw cycles ( at least 1 cycle , more than 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 or more cycles ). the freeze - thaw cycle is defined as cooling the pva solution below 0 ° c . and heating it back up above 0 ° c . the pva hydrogel is then subjected to dehydration . subsequently , the dehydrated hydrogel is placed in saline solution for re - hydration . this process results in very little re - hydrated pva hydrogel with high mechanical strength . in one embodiment of the invention , peg is used as a non - volatile non - solvent for pva hydrogels . dmso is used instead of water in preparing the aqueous pva solution , the precursor to the hydrogel . in one embodiment of the invention , peg solution is a solution of peg in a solvent ( preferably water , ethanol , ethylene glycol , dmso , or others ). the solution concentration can be anywhere between 0 . 1 % ( wt ) peg and 99 . 9 % ( wt ) peg . the peg in the solution can be of different molecular weights ( preferably 300 , 400 , or 500 g / mol , more than 300 g / mol , 1000 g / mol , 5000 g / mol or higher ). the peg in the solution can be a blend of different average molecular weight pegs . in another embodiment , peg containing pva hydrogel is prepared using the freeze - thaw method starting with an aqueous pva solution ( at least about 1 % ( wt ) pva , above about 1 % ( wt ) pva , about 5 % ( wt ) pva , about 10 % ( wt ) pva , above about 10 % ( wt ) pva , about 15 % ( wt ) pva , about 20 % ( wt ) pva , about 25 % ( wt ) pva , about above 25 % ( wt ) pva ) and subjecting it to freeze - thaw cycles ( at least 1 cycle , more than 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 or more cycles ). at this step the pva hydrogel can be optionally placed in saline to reach full hydration . subsequently , the gel is placed in a low molecular weight peg solution . this is to dope the hydrogel with the non - solvent peg . the duration of peg solution soak can be varied to either reach a uniform equilibrium peg content throughout the hydrogel or to reach a non - uniform peg distribution ( by shortening the soak duration ). the latter results in peg - rich skin and a gradient of peg concentration within the pva hydrogel . in another embodiment , peg containing pva hydrogel is prepared by starting with an aqueous pva solution ( at least about 1 % ( wt ) pva , above about 1 % ( wt ) pva , about 5 % ( wt ) pva , about 10 % ( wt ) pva , above about 10 % ( wt ) pva , about 15 % ( wt ) pva , about 20 % ( wt ) pva , about 25 % ( wt ) pva , about above 25 % ( wt ) pva ) and mixing it with a low molecular weight peg solution at an elevated temperature ( above room temperature or above 50 ° c .). upon cooling down to room temperature , the mixture forms a pva hydrogel containing water and the non - solvent peg . in another embodiment , the hot pva / peg mixture is not cooled to room temperature but instead is subjected to freeze - thaw cycles . in another embodiment , pva hydrogel is heat dehydrated . the pva hydrogel contains peg during heat dehydration ( or annealing ). the heat dehydration is carried out at 40 ° c ., at above about 40 ° c ., at 80 ° c ., at above 80 ° c ., at 90 ° c ., at 100 ° c ., at above 100 ° c ., at 150 ° c ., at 160 ° c ., at above 160 ° c ., at 180 ° c ., at 200 ° c ., or at above 200 ° c . the heat dehydration can be carried out in any environment , preferably in an inert gas like nitrogen or argon or in vacuum . the heat dehydration also can be carried out in air or acetylene gas or mixture of a number of gases . the heat dehydration can be carried out either by placing the hydrogel in an already heated environment to achieve a higher rate of heat dehydration or by heating the hydrogel slowly to achieve a slower rate of heat dehydration . the rate of heat dehydration can be such that the hydrogel loses weight from removal of water at a rate of 1 % weight loss per day , 10 % weight loss per day , 50 % weight loss per day , 1 % weight loss per hour , 10 % weight loss per hour , 50 % weight loss per hour , 1 % weight loss per minute , 5 % weight loss per minute , 10 % weight loss per minute , 50 % weight loss per minute or any amount thereabout or therebetween . the rate of heat dehydration depends on the rate at which the temperature is raised and the size of the hydrogel . prior to heat dehydration , the hydration level of the hydrogel can be reduced by vacuum dehydration . subsequent to the heat dehydration the hydrogel is placed in saline solution for re - hydration . this results in good levels of re - hydration in the pva hydrogel resulting in high mechanical strength and good lubrication when articulating against human cartilage or other hydrophilic surfaces . this hydrogel is expected to maintain its hydrogen bonded structure , thus is not be subject to dissolution over long - term in water , saline or bodily fluid . although the description and examples are given for a pva hydrogel systems , but can be applied to any hydrogel system of a polymeric structure , that is , with long - chain molecules . therefore , the invention provides hydrogel systems that includes , but not limited to , pva as the base material . polymeric materials can be oriented by mechanical deformation . the deformation results in molecular orientation . typically , the mechanical properties in the direction of the molecular orientation is superior to those of the isotropic , undeformed polymeric structure . the invention utilized this property of polymeric materials to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogel systems . by imposing a molecular orientation on a hydrogel material , the stiffness as well as the strength of the polymeric material is improved . at any step of fabrication , the hydrogel can be irradiated by e - beam or gamma to cross - link . the irradiation can be carried out in air , in inert gas , in sensitizing gas , or in a fluid medium such as water , saline solution , polyethylene - glycol solution , etc . the radiation dose level is between one kgy and 10 , 000 kgy , preferably 25 kgy , 40 kgy , 50 kgy , 200 kgy , 250 kgy , or above . the term “ hydrogel ” refers to undeformed or deformed hydrogel or tough hydrogels . the term “ hydrogel ”, as described herein , also encompasses “ tough hydrogels ” including de - hydrated and / or deformed hydrogels . tough hydrogels are networks of hydrophilic polymers containing absorbed water that can absorb a large amounts of energy , such as mechanical energy , before failure . according to one aspect of the invention , polyvinyl alcohol ( pva ) can be used as the base hydrogel . the base pva hydrogel can be prepared by the well - known freeze - thaw method by subjecting a pva solution ( pva can be dissolved in solvents such as water or dmso ) to one or multiple cycles of freeze - thaw . pva solution used in the freeze - thaw method can contain another ingredient like peg . the base pva hydrogel also can be prepared by radiation crosslinking of a pva solution . another method of preparing the pva hydrogel can be used to blend a pva solution with a gellant such as ( peg ) at an elevated temperature and cooling down to room temperature . in one embodiment , the hydrogel can be of any shape , such a cubical shape , cylindrical shape , rectangular prism shape , or implant shape . in another embodiment , nipaam can be used as the base hydrogel . the base nipaam hydrogel can be prepared by radiation crosslinking of a nipaam solution . alternatively , the methods described by lowman et al . can be used . in another embodiment , a double network ( dn ) hydrogel structure can be used as the base hydrogel . the base dn hydrogel can be prepared by methods described by gong et al . ( see advanced materials , 2003 , 15 , no . 14 : 1155 - 1158 ). the first network can be formed by reacting hydrophilic monomers such as 2 - acrylamindo - 2 - methylpropanesulfonic acid ( amps ) in presence of cross - linking agents . the gel is then immersed in the aqueous solution containing another type of monomer such as acrylic amide ( aam ). subsequent synthesis of the second network from those newly introduced monomers produces the dn hydrogel can be used as the base hydrogel . in another embodiment , a topological gel ( tp ) can be used as the base hydrogel . the base tp hydrogel can be prepared by methods described by tanaka et al . ( see progress in polymer science , 2005 , 30 : 1 - 9 ). the polymer chains in tp gels are flexibly bound by cross - linkers that are sliding along the individual chain . in the following embodiments , a nanocomposite ( nc ) gel structure can be used as the base hydrogel . the base nc hydrogel can be prepared by methods described by tanaka et al . ( see prog . polym . sci . 2005 , 30 : 1 - 9 ). in some of the embodiments a dehydrated hydrogel can be used as the base hydrogel . the level of dehydration can be controlled such that the base hydrogel contains between 99 % and 1 % water , more preferably between 99 % and 5 % water , more preferably between 99 % and 25 % water , more preferably between 99 % and 50 % water , more preferably between 99 % and 75 % hydrogel , more preferably about 70 % ( wt ) water , or 80 % ( wt ) water . the water content of the hydrogel can be determined by measuring the weight change of between its equilibrium hydration level and its dehydrated level . in some embodiments , a hot solution of pva / peg in water is cooled down to room temperature and is used in its “ as - gelled ” form . according to one aspect of the invention , the pva / peg hydrogel is immersed in water , deionized water , saline solution , phosphate buffered saline solution , ringer &# 39 ; s solution or salinated water to remove the peg . the process is called the depeging process . during depeging the hydrogel also absorbs water approaching equilibrium water content . therefore , depeging also is a re - hydration process . in one of the embodiments , the hydrogel is deformed under load to create a permanent deformation . in another embodiment , the dehydrated hydrogel is re - hydrated . in some of the embodiments , the re - hydrated hydrogel contains less water than the hydrogel did before the dehydration step . in some embodiments , the hydrogel dimensions are large enough so as to allow the machining of a medical device . in some embodiments the starting hydrogel is dehydrated before any deformation . in some embodiments the hydrogel is subjected to sequential dehydration and deformation cycles . in some embodiments the hydrogel is subjected to simultaneous dehydration and deformation cycles . dehydration of the hydrogel can be achieved by a variety of methods . for instance , the hydrogel can be placed in vacuum at room temperature or at elevated temperatures to drive out the water and cause dehydration . the amount of vacuum can be reduced by adding air or inert gas to the vacuum chamber where the hydrogel is placed during dehydration . dehydration of the hydrogel also can be achieved by keeping it in air or inert gas at room temperature or at an elevated temperature . dehydration in air or inert gas also can be carried out at temperatures lower than room temperature . in most embodiments , if the dehydration is carried out at elevated temperatures , it is necessary to keep the temperature below the melting point of the hydrogel . however , the melting point of the hydrogel can increase during the dehydration step and make it possible to go to higher temperatures as the dehydration evolves . dehydration of the hydrogel also can be carried out by placing the hydrogel in a solvent . in this case the solvent drives the water out of the hydrogel . for example , placing of pva hydrogel in a low molecular weight peg ( higher than 100 g / mol , about 300 - 400 g / mol , about 500 g / mol ) can cause dehydration of the pva hydrogel . in this case the peg can be used as pure or in a solution . the higher the peg concentration the higher the extent of dehydration . the solvent dehydration also can be carried out at elevated temperatures . these dehydration methods can be used in combination with each other . re - hydration of the hydrogel can be done in water containing solutions such as , saline , water , deionized water , salinated water , or an aqueous solution or dmso . in some embodiments , the hydrogel is shaped into a medical device and subsequently dehydrated . the dehydrated implant is then re - hydrated . the initial size and shape of the medical implant is tailored such that the shrinkage caused by the dehydration and the swelling caused by the subsequent re - hydration ( in most embodiments the dehydration shrinkage is larger than the re - hydration swelling ) result in the desired implant size and shape that can be used in a human joint . in some of the embodiments the starting shape of the hydrogel before deformation can be a rectangular prism , a cylinder , a cube , or a non - uniform shape . in one embodiment , the hydrogel is uniaxially compressed between two metal plates . the deformed hydrogel is then held under constant deformation for an extended period of time to achieve permanent deformation . the extent of deformation is measured in terms of compression ratio which equals the ratio of the initial height of the sample to the final height of the sample . the extent of deformation is also measured in terms of strain , which equals the ratio of the displacement to the initial height of the samples . the preferred extent of deformation measured by strain is between 10 % and 99 %, more preferably 20 % and 95 %, more preferably 50 % and 95 %, more preferably 75 % and 95 %, more preferably 80 % and 90 %, and most preferably 90 % or any value thereabout or therebetween . after holding the constant deformation the deformed hydrogel is removed form the press . in some embodiments the deformation is held for a sufficient amount of time to allow stress relaxation to reach equilibrium . in some other embodiments the hydrogel is subjected to cyclic loading during deformation . in one of the embodiments , the deformation induced in the hydrogel is achieved by placing the hydrogel in a channel - die , then compressing it in the channel - die to achieve orientation of the molecules primarily in the flow direction as shown in fig3 . the preferred extent of deformation ratio is between 10 % and 99 %, more preferably 20 % and 95 %, more preferably 50 % and 95 %, more preferably 75 % and 95 %, more preferably 80 % and 90 %, and most preferably 90 % or any value thereabout or therebetween . in another embodiment , the deformation of the hydrogel is achieved by placing the hydrogel in a channel - die , whereby the width of the block is smaller than the width of the channel - die . during initial stages of the deformation there can be biaxial orientation of the molecules until the hydrogel block makes contact with the walls of the channel - die , after which point the continued molecular orientation can take place primarily in one direction , which is the flow direction within the channel - die . in these embodiments the deformed hydrogel can have different levels of deformation in the two orthogonal directions ( principal directions of deformation ) within the plane of deformation . the direction of compression is normal to the plane of deformation . in another embodiment , the deformation of the block is achieved under uniaxial tension . in certain embodiments the deformation is carried out at a deformation rate lower than about 1 mm / min , at about 1 mm / min , more preferably between 1 mm / min and 10 m / min , more preferably between 10 mm / min and 100 mm / min , more preferably at about 20 mm / min or any value thereabout or therebetween . in some of the embodiments the deformation is applied sequentially . in these embodiments the hydrogel is deformed to a portion of the desired deformation ratio , held under constant deformation to allow some stress relaxation , and the deformation and stress relaxation steps are repeated until the desired deformation ratio is achieved . for instance , if the ultimate desired deformation ratio corresponds to a strain of 90 %, the hydrogel can be deformed in 30 % increments with a stress relaxation between each increment . in certain embodiments , the deformation is carried out in gas medium such as air or inert gas , or in fluid medium such as saline , dmso , or peg . in some embodiments the medium is heated during the deformation to below the melting point of the deforming hydrogel . the melting point of the hydrogel may change during deformation ; therefore , the temperature of the medium is adjusted to avoid melting . in some embodiments the deformation is carried out in a fluid medium such as saline solution , ringer &# 39 ; s solution , peg , aqueous peg solution , salt solution and other fluid medium . in certain embodiments the deformation is carried out at room temperature between about 10 ° c . and about 30 ° c ., more preferably between about 17 ° c . and about 25 ° c ., more preferably below the melting point of the hydrogel , more preferably between about 0 ° c . and about 40 ° c ., more preferably between about 10 ° c . and about 100 ° c . or any temperature thereabout or therebetween . in one of the embodiments , the hydrogel is compressed in a uniaxial compression mode between two platens , where the surfaces of the platens abutting the hydrogel during deformation are shaped so that the final compressed hydrogel has the desired final shape of the interpositional device . in one of the embodiments , the hydrogel is compressed in a channel - die , where the plunger and the die surfaces abutting the hydrogel during deformation are shaped so that the final compressed hydrogel has the desired final shape of the interpositional device . in certain embodiments , the hydrogel or deformed hydrogel can be machined into a desired shape to act as medical device , such as a kidney shaped interpositional device for the knee , a cup shaped interpositional device for the hip , a glenoid shaped interpositional device for the shoulder , other shapes for interpositional devices for any human joint . also the machining of the hydrogel or deformed hydrogel can result in a cylindrical , cuboid , or other shapes to fill cartilage defects either present in the joint or prepared by the surgeon during the operation . the hydrogel medical device can be an interpositional device such as a unispacer , to act as a free floating articular implant in a human joint , such as the knee joint , the hip joint , the shoulder joint , the elbow joint , and the upper and lower extremity joints . in some of the embodiments , following the deformation , the deformed hydrogel is dehydrated . subsequently the dehydrated gel is placed in saline solution for re - hydration . in some of the embodiments where the hydrogel is sequentially deformed , the deformed hydrogel can be dehydrated to different levels at all or some of the steps of the sequential deformation before the subsequent step of deformation . in some of the embodiments , the hydrogel or the deformed hydrogel is placed in 100 % peg to dehydrate the deformed hydrogel . subsequently the dehydrated gel is placed in saline solution for re - hydration . this process decreases the equilibrium water content in the gel , and hence result in further improves the mechanical properties hydrogel . in other embodiments , the hydrogel or deformed hydrogel is placed in a peg - water solution for controlled dehydration followed by re - hydration in saline . the concentration of the peg - water solution can be tailored to achieve desired level of dehydration of the hydrogel . higher dehydrations provide more improvements in mechanical properties and at lower dehydrations the improvement is less . in some applications , it is desirable to achieve a lower stiffness ; therefore a lower peg and / or water concentration solution can be used for the dehydration process . in some embodiments the hydrogel or the deformed hydrogel is dehydrated in vacuum at room temperature or at an elevated temperature . the vacuum dehydration can be carried out at about 10 ° c ., above about 10 ° c ., about 20 ° c ., about 30 , 40 , 50 , 60 , 75 , 80 , 90 ° c ., about 100 ° c . or above 100 ° c ., or at 130 ° c . or any temperature thereabout or therebetween . in some embodiments the vacuum dehydration of the hydrogel or the deformed hydrogel is first carried out at room temperature until a desired level of dehydration is reached ; thereafter the temperature is increased to further dehydrate the hydrogel . the temperature is increased , preferably to above about 100 ° c ., to about 160 ° c ., or to above 160 ° c . in some embodiments , the hydrogel is heated in air or inert gas or partial vacuum of inert gas for dehydration . in some of these embodiments , the hydrogel is vacuum dehydrated before heating in air or inert gas . in some embodiments , the heating of the hydrogel is carried out slowly ; for example at less than about 1 ° c ./ min , at more than about 1 ° c ./ min , at 2 , 5 , 10 ° c ./ min or faster . slower heating rates results in stronger gels than higher heating rates with some of the hydrogel formulations . in most embodiments the finished medical device is packaged and sterilized . in some of the embodiments the hydrogel is subjected to dehydration steps . the dehydration is carried out in air or in vacuum or at an elevated temperature ( for instance annealing at about 160 ° c .). the dehydration causes loss of water hence a reduction in volume accompanied by a reduction in weight . the weight loss is due to loss of water . the reduction in volume on the other hand could be due to the loss of water or further crystallization of the hydrogel . in some embodiments the dehydration is carried out by placing the hydrogel in a low molecular weight polymer ( for instance placing a pva hydrogel in a peg solution ). in some cases the dehydration is caused by loss of water , but in most cases , there is also uptake of the non - solvent by the hydrogel . therefore , the weight change of the hydrogel is the sum of loss of water and uptake of the non - solvent . the change in volume in this case is due to loss of water , uptake of the non - solvent , further crystallization of the hydrogel , or partial collapse of the porous structure of the non - solvent that is not occupying the space that water was filling in the pores . in some of the embodiments , the hydrogel is attached to a metal substrate . the metal substrate is a porous backside surface that is used for bone - in - growth in the body to fix the hydrogel implant in place . the metal substrate attachment to the hydrogel can be achieved by having a porous surface on the substrate where it makes contact with the hydrogel ; the porous surface can be infiltrated by the gelling hydrogel solution ( for instance a hot pva and / or peg mixture in water ); when the solution forms a hydrogel , the hydrogel can be interconnected with the metal substrate by filling the porous space . in some embodiments , there can be more than one metal substrate attached to the hydrogel for fixation with the hydrogel in the body to multiple locations . in some embodiments , the hydrogel / metal substrate construct can be used during the processing steps described above , such as depeging , solvent dehydration , non - solvent dehydration , irradiation , packaging , sterilization etc . in some of the embodiments the hydrogel contains hyaluronic acid ( ha ), either by having ha present in the solutions used to make the hydrogel and / or by diffusing ha into the hydrogel . in some of the embodiments the ha - containing hydrogel is irradiated . the irradiation can be carried out before , after , or during the processing steps such as vacuum dehydration , non - solvent dehydration , re - hydration , annealing , and / or deformation . the irradiation cross - links the hydrogel matrix and in some embodiments also forms covalent bonds with the ha . addition ha to some of the hydrogels increases the lubricity of the hydrogel implant . this is beneficial for the tough hydrogels contain substantially reduced water content . in some of the embodiments the hydrated hydrogel implants are slightly heated at the surface to partially melt the hydrogel and allow it to reform with more uptake and more lubricity . in some of the embodiments a microwave oven is used to prepare the pva solution . the pva powder is place in water and the mixture is heated in a microwave oven to form a solution . in some of the embodiments the heat dehydration or annealing of the hydrogel is performed in a microwave oven . according to one embodiment of the invention , tough gel is prepared by a process comprising the steps of : providing polymeric material such as pva powder ; mixing with water at temperature above the room temperature ( such as at about 50 ° c .- 60 ° c . ), thereby forming a solution ; subjecting the solution to at least one freeze - thaw cycle or heating to a temperature below the melting temperature such as about 80 ° c . ; cooling the heated solution to an ambient temperature such as room temperature , thereby forming a hydrogel ( which is generally uniform , may also contain hydrogel particles ); and deforming and / or dehydrating the hydrogel , thereby forming the tough hydrogel . in another embodiment , optionally the hydrogel is dehydrated by heating from about 40 ° c . to above 200 ° c . and is subject to depeging . one embodiment of the invention provides methods of making a tough hydrogel comprising : a ) contacting a hydrogel with an organic solvent , wherein the hydrogel comprises a polymer which is not soluble in the solvent , and wherein the solvent is at least partially miscible in water ; b ) heating the hydrogel to a temperature below or above the melting point of the hydrogel ; and c ) cooling the heated hydrogel to room temperature , wherein the method dehydrates the hydrogel , thereby forming a tough hydrogel . another embodiment of the invention provides methods of making a tough hydrogel comprising : a ) contacting a hydrogel with an organic solvent , wherein the hydrogel comprises a polymer which is not soluble in the solvent , and wherein the solvent is at least partially miscible in water ; and b ) air - drying the hydrogel at room temperature , wherein the method dehydrates the hydrogel , thereby forming a tough hydrogel . another embodiment of the invention provides methods of making a tough hydrogel comprising : a ) contacting a hydrogel with an organic solvent , wherein the hydrogel comprises a polymer which is not soluble in the solvent , and wherein the solvent is at least partially miscible in water ; and b ) subjecting the hydrogel to at least one freeze - thaw cycle and allowing the hydrogel to warm - up room temperature , wherein the method dehydrates the hydrogel sample , thereby forming a tough hydrogel . another embodiment of the invention provides methods of making a tough hydrogel comprising the steps of : a ) providing a polymeric material , wherein the polymeric material is pva powder ; b ) mixing the polymeric material with water and / or peg , thereby forming a solution ; c ) subjecting the solution to at least one freeze - thaw cycle , thereby forming a hydrogel ; and d ) dehydrating and / or deforming the hydrogel , thereby forming a tough hydrogel . another embodiment of the invention provides methods of making a tough hydrogel comprising the steps of : a ) providing a polymeric material , wherein the polymeric material is pva powder ; b ) mixing the polymeric material with water and / or peg at a temperature above the room temperature , thereby forming a solution ; c ) cooling the solution to an ambient temperature , thereby forming a hydrogel or hydrogel particles ; and d ) dehydrating and / or deforming the hydrogel , thereby forming a tough hydrogel . 1 . hydrogels that are capable of re - hydration following dehydration , wherein the tough hydrogel is capable of re - hydration following dehydration , wherein a ) the dehydration reduces the weight of the hydrogel by more than about 34 %; and b ) the re - hydration results in at least about 46 % equilibrium water content in the re - hydrated hydrogel . a . the hydrogel contains water and / or one or more other ingredient ( for example , peg , proteoglycans , water soluble polymers , salts , amino acids , alcohols , dmso , water soluble vitamins ), where the additional ingredients can be completely or partially soluble in water ; b . the ingredient is non - volatile ; c . the ingredient is at least partially miscible with water ; d . at least 0 . 1 % of the hydrogel &# 39 ; s weight constitutes one or more non - volatile ingredient , such as peg , and the like ; e . the ingredient is a water miscible polymer such as peo , pluronic , amino acids , proteoglycans , polyacrylamide , polyvinylpyrrolidone , and the like ; f . the ingredient is selected from the group of peg , salt , nacl , kcl , cacl , vitamins , carboxylic acids , hydrocarbons , esters , amino acids and the like ; g . the ingredient is peg , wherein i . peg of different molecular weights , or ii . blends of pegs ; h . the hydrogel is dehydrated prior to or after deformation , for example , i . dehydration by placing in a non - solvent , which is completely or partially water miscible , wherein a . the non - solvent is selected from peg , isopropyl alcohol , saturated salinated water , vitamins , and carboxylic acids , b . the non - solvent contains more than one ingredient such as water , peg , vitamins , polymers , esters , proteoglycans , and the like , and c . melting the hydrogel , which is a mixture . ii . dehydration by leaving the hydrogel in air , iii . dehydration by placing the hydrogel in vacuum , iv . dehydration by placing the hydrogel in vacuum at room temperature , v . dehydration by placing the hydrogel in vacuum at an elevated temperature , or vi . dehydration by placing in a supercritical co 2 . i . the deformation is uniaxial ; or j . the deformation is carried out by channel - die . 6 . dehydration of a hydrogel containing water and / or one or more other ingredient ( for example , peg or salt ), wherein a . the ingredient is non - volatile such as peg ; b . the ingredient is at least partially miscible with water ; c . at least 0 . 1 % of the hydrogel &# 39 ; s weight constitutes one or more non - volatile ingredient , such as peg , hydrocarbons , and the like ; d . the ingredient is a water miscible polymer such as peo , pluronic , amino acids , proteoglycans , polyvinylpyrrolidone , polyacrylamide , polysaccharides , dermatin sulfate , keratin sulfate , dextran sulfate , and the like ; e . the ingredient is selected from the group of peg , salt , nacl , kcl , cacl , vitamins , carboxylic acids , hydrocarbons , esters , amino acids , and the like ; f . the ingredient is peg , wherein i . peg of different molecular weights , or ii . blends of pegs , g . the dehydration is carried out by placing in a non - solvent , wherein i . the non - solvent is selected from peg , isopropyl alcohol , saturated salinated water , aqueous solution of a salt of an alkali metal , vitamins , carboxylic acids , and the like , or ii . the non - solvent contains more than one ingredient such as water , peg , vitamins , polymers , proteoglycans , carboxylic acids , esters , and the like . h . the dehydration is carried out by leaving the hydrogel in air ; i . the dehydration is carried out by placing the hydrogel in vacuum ; j . the dehydration is carried out by placing the hydrogel in vacuum at room temperature ; k . the dehydration is carried out by placing the hydrogel in vacuum at an elevated temperature ; l . the dehydration is carried out by heating the hydrogel in air or inert gas to elevated temperature , wherein i . the heating rate is slow , ii . the heating rate is fast , or iii . the heating follows the vacuum or air dehydration ; and i . by placing in water , saline solution , ringer &# 39 ; s solution , salinated water , buffer solution , and the like , ii . by placing in a relative humidity chamber , or iii . by placing at room temperature or at an elevated temperature . each composition and attendant aspects , and each method and attendant aspects , which are described above can be combined with another in a manner consistent with the teachings contained herein . the invention is further described by the following examples , which do not limit the invention in any manner . thirty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 118 , 000 ) were added to 170 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 15 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg , mw = 400 ) was heated to 90 ° c . in an air convection oven . 52 . 88 grams of hot peg ( at approximately 90 ° c .) was slowly mixed with 160 grams of hot ( at approximately 90 ° c .) pva solution by mechanical stirring while heating . this hot mixture of pva and peg is called a pva / peg gelling solution . the gelling solution was poured into different size molds kept at 90 ° c . the molds were covered with an insulating blanket and left to cool down to room temperature . the solution formed a hydrogel upon cooling down to room temperature . several batches of pva / peg solution was prepared to cast gels of different dimensions and sizes as described in examples below . in some of the examples , the gels that were cast were removed from the molds and subjected to further processing . in some examples the gels were used for testing and / or subjected to further processing in their “ as - gelled ” form ; that is they contained peg . in some of the examples the gels were first “ depeged ” and then used for testing and / or subjected to further processing in their “ depeged ” form . the “ as - gelled ” gel refers to the state where the gel was blot - dried right after removal from the mold . the “ depeged ” gel refers to the gel that was immersed in copious amounts of saline solution to remove peg and hydrate the gel to equilibrium , which was confirmed gravimetrically . 2 . determination of the equilibrium water content ( ewc ) in a hydrogel following method was used to determine the equilibrium water content ( ewc ) in a hydrogel . the specimens were first immersed in saline solution with agitation for removal of any unbound molecules and for equilibrium hydration . to determine when the gels reached equilibrium hydration , their weight changes were recorded daily and the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline solution . after the equilibrium hydration level was reached , the equilibrium hydration weights of the specimens were recorded . subsequently , the gel specimens were dried in an air convection oven at 90 ° c . until no significant changes in weight were detected . the ewc in a gel was then calculated by the ratio of the difference between the hydrated and dehydrated weights to the weight at equilibrated hydration state . thirty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 118 , 000 ) were added to 170 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 15 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg , mw = 400 ) was heated to 90 ° c . in an air convection oven . 52 . 88 grams of hot peg ( at approximately 90 ° c .) was slowly mixed with 160 grams of hot ( at approximately 90 ° c .) pva solution by mechanical stirring . the mixture was kept at approximately 90 ° c . during stirring . the mixture solution was then poured into a hot mold kept at around 90 ° c . several batches of pva / peg solution were prepared using this method to cast gels in a large mold . the large mold was cylindrical in shape and was made out of plexiglass ™ tube stock ( height : 50 mm , diameter : 160 mm ). one end of the tube was covered by glueing a piece of 7 mm thick plexiglass ™ sheet . the mold was first heated in an air convection oven to approximately 90 ° c . and then topped - off ( completely filled ) with the hot pva / peg mixture that was also kept at approximately 90 ° c . the open top of the mold was covered by another piece of plexiglass ™ sheet to minimize evaporation of water from the mixture and to create a smooth top surface . the mold was covered with an insulating blanket and cooled down to room temperature over 16 hours . upon cooling , the pva / peg aqueous solution mixture formed a hydrogel . the hydrogel was removed from the mold . the height of the hydrogel was measured to be 46 . 8 mm and the diameter was 157 . 3 mm . the hydrogel typically shrinks during its formation and it is generally smaller than the mold in which it is cast . the gel was removed from the mold , placed between two flat platens that were attached to an mts machine ( minibionix ), and deformed . thus , the deformation was carried out in the “ as - gelled ” form of the pva hydrogel that contained both water and peg ( one can also remove peg from the hydrogel by immersion in saline solution with agitation prior to deformation ). the hydrogel was placed between the metal plates and compressed along the short axis of the cylinder . the compression proceeded at a rate of 0 . 2 mm / min to the point where the compression ratio was about 10 . compression ratio is defined as the ratio of the initial height to final height of the hydrogel . when the gel height under compression reached about 5 mm , the displacement was held constant for at least 24 hours to achieve stress relaxation equilibrium . due to the large lateral expansion of the hydrogel during deformation , the circumference of the compressed hydrogel was extruded out of the platens &# 39 ; coverage before reaching the desired compression ratio . one can use slightly smaller diameter molds or increase the platens &# 39 ; diameter to prevent the extrusion . the final height of the hydrogel in the center upon removal from compression was about 8 mm . a cut section of the gel is shown in fig4 . a hydrogel implant with biaxial orientation of the molecules induced by uniaxial compression can be fabricated using the above described method . one would first determine the desired amount of compression ratio so that after deformation the thickness of the hydrogel can be at least equal to or larger than the thickness of the desired implant . the implant can either be machined at this stage from the deformed hydrogel sheet or the platens used during the deformation could have the shape of the inplant imprinted on their faces that make contact with the hydrogel so that after deformation the deformed hydrogel has the net or near - net shape of the implant . additional machining steps is necessary at this stage , especially for the near - net shape implant . a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 . the solution was poured into a hot mold kept at around 90 ° c . the mold was covered with an insulating blanket and was left to cool down to room temperature over 16 hours . upon cooling a hydrogel block formed inside the mold . the mold dimensions were such that the hydrogel block had the shape of a sheet with dimensions of 7 mm × 25 mm × 45 mm . several identical hydrogel sheets were thus fabricated . the hydrogel sheets were cut into cylindrical test samples and these test samples were placed in different media to quantify the extent of equilibrium swelling and / or equilibrium deswelling by recording weight changes . the media used were saturated aqueous nacl ( 5 . 2 m ), saline ( 0 . 9 % aqueous nacl ), acetone , iso - propyl alcohol , polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 400 g / mol ( peg400 ). cylindrical test samples were templated from the hydrogel sheets by cutting with a 9 . 5 mm diameter trephine . five cylindrical test samples were used for each medium . weight and dimensions ( diameter and height ) of all pieces were first recorded in their “ as gelled ” form immediately after cutting with the trephine . five test samples were then immersed in the respective media listed above . the samples were kept in glass vials filled with the respective media and shaken on a platform shaker at room temperature ( innova200 platform shaker , new brunswick scientific , edison , n . j .). weight and dimensions of all specimens were recorded in every 1 h for the first 8 h of immersion ; and daily measurements continued until equilibrium swelling or deswelling was reached under continuous shaking . the hydrogel test samples swelled or deswelled to different degrees during storage in different media . subsequently , all test samples were removed from the respective media and placed them in saline until equilibrium re - hydration was reached . the weight changes were recorded in every 1 hour for the first 8 hour of saline re - hydration and daily measurements continued until equilibrium hydration level was reached . the saline solution was changed daily to remove any of the other media that was coming out of the hydrogel test samples . swelling and / or deswelling values were calculated by dividing the difference between the weight at each measurement step and initial weight of the specimen by the initial weight of the specimen . in all cases , the initial weight was the weight recorded immediately after cutting the test samples with the trephine in their “ as - gelled ” form . the hydrogel samples swelled in saline and saturated nacl solution and deswelled in the other media ( fig5 ). the peg400 , acetone and ipa deswelled the hydrogel samples . the deswelling is attributed to loss of water to the surrounding medium . there was likely absorption of the medium in the hydrogels during the first phase , i . e . media immersion . when the samples were placed in saline , following media immersion , there was marked re - hydration . the equilibrium level of re - hydration was comparable with the hydrogel samples that were previously deswelled in acetone , peg400 , and saturated nacl . equilibrium hydration levels of hydrogels can be reduced by immersion in certain media . reduced hydration level improved the mechanical properties of the hydrogel . one can fabricate an implant using the solvent dehydration technique described in this example . dimensional changes caused by solvent dehydration and / or subsequent re - hydration would have to be taken into account so that final equilibrium dimensions achieved with the implant after it is implanted in vivo are the desired dimensions . also the implant can be stored until implantation in a medium that can cause it to deswell and the implant can be inserted into the human body in its swollen state ; bodily fluids can then rehydrate the implant to swell . a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 . the solution was poured into a hot mold kept at around 90 ° c . with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . after one day of gelling at room temperature the hydrogel was removed from the mold . the dimensions of the hydrogel were 54 mm × 44 mm × 54 mm . two such hydrogel blocks were fabricated . upon removal from the mold , one of the hydrogel was immediately deformed in its “ as - gelled ” form . the second block was first immersed in saline solution with agitation ( for de - peging ; that is peg removal and equilibrium hydration ) and was deformed afterwards . an aluminum channel die with inner channel dimensions of 12 ″ length , 2 ″ height , and 8 ″ width was custom - manufactured . the die was placed between two parallel metal plates attached to an mts loading frame ( fig6 ). the rectangular prism shaped hydrogel was placed in the center of the channel and the die plunger was kept in contact with the top surface of the hydrogel . the compression was carried out on an mts machine ( mts servo - hydraulic testing machine , mts , minneapolis minn .) and proceeded at a rate of 0 . 2 mm / min to the point where the compression ratio was about 10 ( initial height : final height ). when the hydrogel height under compression reached about 5 mm , the displacement was held constant to achieve stress relaxation . upon completion of compression , the hydrogel was removed from the channel die ( fig7 ). the weight of the depeged hydrogel reduced from 124 . 4 g to 55 . 5 g , and its thickness was reduced from 54 mm to 6 . 6 mm . even though the displacement of the plunger was such that the deformation resulted in 5 mm of thickness in the hydrogel block ; upon removal of the load on the plunger , the deformed block recovered elastically to 6 . 6 mm . the deformed gels were cut into 6 equal pieces to serve as samples that were subjected to other processing steps . some of the samples were re - hydrated in saline at room temperature until equilibrium hydration was reached , which was confirmed gravimetrically . some of the samples were vacuum dehydrated at room temperature until equilibrium dehydration was reached ( confirmed gravimetrically ), which took 5 days . some of the samples were dehydrated by placing in polyethylene glycol ( peg400 ; mw = 400 g / mol ) until equilibrium dehydration was reached ( confirmed gravimetrically ), which took 2 days . following the respective dehydration steps some of the samples were subjected to slow annealing and some to flash annealing at 160 ° c . flash anneal was carried out in nitrogen at 160 ° c . by placing the dehydrated samples in an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash anneal ). slow annealing was carried out by heating from room temperature to 160 ° c . at approximately 5 ° c ./ min and subsequently keeping at 160 ° c . for a total annealing time of one hour ( slow anneal ). after annealing , flash or slow , all samples were immersed in saline until equilibrium hydration was reached , which was confirmed gravimetrically . finally , the gels were analyzed to determine the ewc using the method described in example 2 . table 1 lists the equilibrium weight change and ewc of the channel - die deformed hydrogel sample following different processing schemes . following deformation and re - hydration the gel showed a 36 % weight loss , indicating loss of water . additional experiments also showed that the extent of water loss increases with increasing extent of deformation ; therefore one can tailor the equilibrium water content of deformed hydrogels by varying the extent of deformation . the peg400 dehydration alone did not markedly affect the ewc . on the other hand , both of the annealing schemes substantially reduced the ewc . lower ewc produced stronger and tougher gels . the strongest gels were achieved by vacuum dehydration followed by annealing of the channel - die deformed de - peged gels . one can fabricate a finished implant using any of the steps described above and tailor a desired ewc . a hot pva / peg gelling solution was made as described in example 1 . the solution was poured into a rectangular prism shaped mold ( 40 mm × 45 mm × 50 mm ) kept at 90 ° c ., the mold was covered and insulated with an insulating blanket . the mold was left to cool down to room temperature to form a hydrogel . two such hydrogel blocks were prepared . one block was used in its “ as - gelled ” form and the other one was immersed in saline solution at room temperature for removal of peg ( depeging ) and equilibrium hydration . the rectangular prism shaped gel was placed between two flat metal plates attached to an mts machine ( mts servo - hydraulic testing machine , mts , minneapolis minn .) and compressed along the longest axis . the compression proceeded at a rate of 0 . 2 mm / min to the point where the compression ratio was 10 ( initial height : final height ). when the gel height under compression reached 5 mm , the displacement was held constant for at least 24 hours until stress relaxation equilibrium was achieved . the uniaxial compression allowed us to achieve a permanently deformed gel with biaxial orientation of the hydrogel molecules . subsequent to the deformation the gel was removed from the mts machine . there was some elastic recoil ( recovery of elastic deformation ) upon unloading ; but the resulting gel had permanent deformation . the uniaxial deformation was carried out with both of the as - gelled and depeged hydrogels . at this step a medical device , such as a joint ( hip , knee , or shoulder ) interpositional device , can be machined from the deformed pva gel . upon completion of uniaxial compression , the dimensions of rectangular prism shaped “ as - gelled ” hydrogel specimen changed from a length of 41 . 83 mm , a width of 47 . 37 mm , and a height of 49 . 75 mm , to a length of 88 . 29 mm , a width of 98 . 74 mm , and a height of 6 . 4 mm . in the case of depeged hydrogel , the dimensions of the specimen changed from a length of 43 . 49 mm , a width of 50 . 01 mm , and a height of 53 . 03 mm to a length of 93 . 17 , a width of 97 . 78 , and a height of 6 . 71 . the deformed gels were cut into 5 pieces and each cut sample was subjected to further processing . some of the hydrogel specimens from the “ as - gelled and deformed ” group and “ depeged and deformed ” group were re - hydrated in saline at room temperature until equilibrium hydration was reached , which was confirmed gravimetrically . some of the hydrogel samples from both groups were vacuum dehydrated at room temperature until equilibrium dehydration was reached ( confirmed gravimetrically ), which took 5 days . some of the hydrogels of each group were dehydrated by placing in polyethylene glycol ( peg400 ; mw = 400 g / mol ) until equilibrium dehydration was reached ( confirmed gravimetrically ), which took 2 days . following the respective dehydration steps some of the samples were subjected to slow annealing and some to flash annealing at 160 ° c . flash anneal was carried out in nitrogen at 160 ° c . by placing the dehydrated samples in an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash anneal ). slow annealing was carried out by heating from room temperature to 160 ° c . at approximately 5 ° c ./ min and subsequently keeping at 160 ° c . for a total annealing time of one hour ( slow anneal ). after annealing , flash or slow , all samples were immersed in saline until equilibrium hydration was reached , which was confirmed gravimetrically . finally , the gels were analyzed to determine the ewc using the method described in example 2 . tables 2 - 3 list the equilibrium weight change and the equilibrium water content ( ewc ) of the deformed hydrogel samples following different processing schemes . after deformation the as - gelled sample re - hydrated more than the depeged ones ; presumably the presence of peg in the as - gelled hydrogel protected the pore structure and prevented their collapse , which , in turn , improved the re - hydration capacity of the hydrogel . the ewc was higher in the as - gelled and deformed samples than it was in the depeged and deformed samples when re - hydration followed deformation immediately . similarly , for all of the other processing schemes the as - gelled samples had higher ewc than the depeged samples . the peg400 dehydration alone did not markedly affect the ewc . on the other hand , both of the annealing schemes substantially reduced the ewc . lower ewc produced stronger and tougher gels . one can fabricate a finished implant using any of the steps described above and tailor a desired ewc . a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 and poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm height × 2 . 5 mm diameter × 4 . 5 mm width ) with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . after 1 day of gelling at room temperature , the molded hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical gels using a trephine blade ( corneal trephine blades , diameter 9 . 5 mm , stradis medical , alpharetta , ga .) mounted on a drill press ( enco manufacturing co , model 105 - 1100 , chicago , ill .). the initial height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel sample were measured upon cutting . these cylindrical test samples are called “ as - gelled ” cylindrical test samples because they were not subjected to any treatment after gelling and they contained peg that was in the gelling solution . some of the “ as - gelled ” samples were immersed in 100 % poly - ethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 400 g / mol , ( peg400 ) and five additional “ as - gelled ” samples were immersed in a 50 % peg400 aqueous solution at room temperature with agitation . immersion in peg causes removal of water from the pva hydrogel , thus results in dehydration and deswelling . the peg immersion of the cylindrical test samples lasted for at least 24 hours to ensure equilibrated dehydration state . when the equilibrium deswelling of the hydrogel samples that were in 100 % and 50 % peg400 was achieved , i . e ., no significant changes in each hydrogel weight was detected , these hydrogel samples were removed from their respective media and placed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for at least 2 days for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel . the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline everyday during saline immersion of these samples . when equilibrium re - hydration of the hydrogel sample was obtained with no significant changes in weight over time , the final height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded . gravimetric swelling and / or deswelling of the hydrogel samples after peg immersion and subsequent re - hydration in saline was calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” state ( see table 4 ). the degree of deswelling in the hydrogel samples during peg immersion was influenced by the concentration of the peg solutions . the “ as - gelled ” hydrogels deswelled by about 45 % in 100 % peg400 and by about 27 % in 50 % peg400 solution . the gels immersed in 100 % peg had slight distortion in shape : the center regions in the top and bottom surfaces of each cylindrical hydrogel were slightly dimpled , probably due to non - uniform swelling rates in the core and the skin of the hydrogel . in contrast , the samples in the 50 % peg solutions had no discernible shape distortion after dehydration . the samples that were swollen in 100 % peg and 50 % peg solutions , swelled after immersion in saline . the observations of the present example are important for determining the storage protocol of hydrogel implants , such as those that can be used as mosaicplasty plugs or interpositional devices . for example , the gels that can reach the same or similar dimensions at the re - hydrated state can be previously reduced to various dimension ranges for ease of insertion into the body cavity , with minimal distortion in the hydrogel shape , by simply controlling the peg concentration in the hydrogel storing solution . 8 . the effect of peg molecular weight on dehydration of pva hydrogels a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 and poured into a hot mold kept at around 90 ° c . ( 7 mm height × 2 . 5 cm diameter × 4 . 5 cm width ) with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . the mold was covered by an insulting blanket and was left to cool down to room temperature . after 1 day of gelling at room temperature , the molded hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical hydrogels using a trephine blade ( corneal trephine blades , diameter 9 . 5 mm , stradis medical , alpharetta , ga .) mounted on a drill press . height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimen were measured upon cutting . the hydrogel cylindrical samples were used in their “ as - gelled ” form . the “ as - gelled ” form is the form of the pva hdyrogel that contains water and peg that was present in the pva / peg gelling solution used . the hydrogel samples were immersed in 50 % aqueous solution of poly - ethylene glycol with different molecular weights ( mw ) to determine the effect of peg mw on the extent of hydrogel deswelling . some of the cylindrical hydrogels were immersed in 50 % peg400 ( peg mw = 400 g / mol ) aqueous solution and some of the hydrogels were immersed in a 50 % peg600 ( peg mw = 600 g / mol ) aqueous solution at room temperature with agitation for at least 24 hours to ensure equilibrated deswelling state . some of the hydrogels were immersed in saline with no peg deswelling to serve as controls . immersion in 50 % peg400 or 50 % peg600 solution resulted in weight loss in the hydrogel samples likely due to the removal of water ; hence the immersion of the hydrogel samples in 50 % peg solutions caused deswelling . when the deswelling of the hydrogel samples reached equilibrium i . e ., no significant changes in hydrogel weight were detected over time , the hydrogel specimens were placed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for at least 2 days for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel samples . the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline everyday during immersion to remove the peg that was eluting out of the hydrogel samples . when equilibrium re - hydration of the hydrogel was obtained with no significant changes in weight over time , the hydrogel samples were removed from the saline solution , blot - dried , and the final height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded . gravimetric swelling and / or swelling of the hydrogel after peg dehydration and subsequent re - hydration in saline was calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” state ( see table 5 ). that is the percent deswelling or percent swelling of the hydrogel at a given step is the ratio of the difference between the weight of the hydrogel at that step and the “ as - gelled ” weight to the weight of the “ as - gelled ” sample . the molecular weight of peg in the 50 % aqueous peg solutions used during immersion slightly affected the extent of deswelling of the “ as - gelled ” hydrogel samples . the “ as - gelled ” hydrogel samples deswelled by 27 % in 50 % aqueous peg400 and by 31 % in 50 % aqueous peg600 solutions . the higher the peg mw was , the more deswelled the pva hydrogels were after the peg immersion . peg with a molecular weight higher than 600 g / mol would exhibit more deswelling of the hydrogels . the dehydrated hydrogels both in 50 % peg400 and in 50 % peg600 showed no discernible distortion in shape . a hydrogel implant can be fabricated and immersion in different media can be used to tailor mechanical properties and control dimensions of the implant . one such method is to immerse the implant in aqueous solutions of peg with different molecular weights . the above method can also be used by first removing the peg from the hydrogel ( immersion in saline with agitation — depeging ) and then immersing it in the peg solutions . 9 . the effect of the presence of peg in pva hydrogel on the hydrogel &# 39 ; s capacity to rehydrate subsequent to dehydration a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 and was cast in rectangular molds ( 44 mm × 54 mm ) to prepare sheets of thickness of either 7 mm or 21 mm . the molds were covered with an insulating blanket and left to cool down to room temperature over 16 hours . hydrogels were thus formed in these molds . four of each thickness ( 7 mm and 21 mm ) hydrogel sheets were immersed into saline for removal of peg ( depeging ) ( set i ) and another set of four was kept in its “ as - gelled ” form ( set ii ). the hydrogel specimens in both sets were first weighed and subsequently placed in vacuum at room temperature for dehydration . the weight changes were recorded daily until equilibrium dehydration level was reached ( 5 days for “ as - gelled ” set ii and 7 days for the depeged set i ). after vacuum dehydration , one sample from each set was immersed directly in saline for re - hydration . the weight changes were recorded daily until equilibrium re - hydration level was reached ( 5 - 6 days ). another set of 7 mm hydrogel sheets ( set iii ) were used to study the effect of room temperature air dehydration . for this experiment , three hydrogel sheets were weighed and then left in air at room temperature ( approximately 24 ° c .) for up to 9 days . the weight change of the samples was recorded daily . an additional set of hydrogel sheets ( set iv ) were used to study the effect of room temperature air dehydration following peg removal from the hydrogel sheets . for this experiment , three hydrogel sheets were depeged in saline at room temperature with agitation until equilibrium hydration level was reached ( approximately 6 days ). subsequently the hydrogel sheets were weighed and left in air at room temperature for up to 9 days . the weight change was recorded daily . subsequent to vacuum dehydration , one sample from each of set i and set ii was annealed in nitrogen at 160 ° c . by placing in an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash anneal ). the sample &# 39 ; s weight and dimensions were recorded before and after annealing . another sample from each set was annealed by heating from room temperature to 160 ° c . at approximately 5 ° c ./ min and subsequently keeping at 160 ° c . for a total annealing time of one hour ( slow anneal ). after annealing , flash or slow , all samples were immersed in saline until equilibrium hydration . the weight and dimension of the samples were recorded daily . the equilibrium water content of the 21 mm thick pva - peg as - gelled and depeged were measured at different processing steps . to this end , three samples were cut from each of the ( 1 ) vacuum dehydrated and subsequently re - hydrated , ( 2 ) vacuum dehydrated , then slow annealed and subsequently re - hydrated and ( 3 ) vacuum dehydrated , then flash annealed , and subsequently re - hydrated gels . the equilibrium weights of all samples were determined and then they were placed in a convection oven at 90 ° c . the weight measurements of each sample continued , twice in the first day of oven drying and daily thereafter for 3 days . all samples reached equilibrium after 1 day of oven drying . the equilibrium dry weights of the samples were used to calculate the water content in the three groups of equilibrium re - hydrated gels . fig8 shows the difference in the appearance of the “ as - gelled ” and depeged samples after vacuum dehydration for the 7 mm samples . the starting hydrogel samples were opaque prior to the vacuum dehydration step . the hydrogel that was depeged prior to vacuum dehydration turned translucent after vacuum dehydration , while the one that was vacuum dehydrated in its “ as - gelled ” form retained its opaqueness . this change in appearance is attributed to the retention of the pore structure in the “ as - gelled ” samples during vacuum dehydration . the presence of peg in the “ as - gelled ” samples appears to have protected the pores from collapsing by occupying the porous space in the hydrogel during vacuum dehydration . peg is not a volatile molecule , hence remained in the structure while water evaporated out of the samples during vacuum dehydration . in contrast , depeging removed the peg and left the porous structure of these hydrogel samples filled with water only . evaporation of the water resulted in evacuation of the pores and eventual collapse of the hydrogel during vacuum dehydration , thus making these samples appear more translucent . the vacuum dehydration progressed at a much faster rate than the air dehydration ; the rate of weight loss was faster in vacuum and the samples left in vacuum reached equilibrium dehydration or deswelling levels faster than the samples left in air . the equilibrium dehydration values reached with either method were still comparable . therefore , one can choose either method of dehydration . tables 6 - 7 show the extent of equilibrium re - hydration levels reached after various processing steps of the 7 mm as - gelled and depeged hydrogels . after the vacuum dehydration , the equilibrium re - hydration level was much higher than those achieved by the hydrogels that were treated by either slow or flash annealing steps . in the as - gelled group the flash annealing step resulted in the least amount of re - hydration . the depeged samples showed less re - hydration than their as - gelled counterparts . fig9 shows the 21 mm hydrogel sheets at various steps of processing . the presence of peg in the as - gelled form of the hydrogel resulted in substantially less deswelling in volume upon vacuum dehydration than was the case with the depeged gel that did not contain any peg . tables 8 - 9 show the extent of equilibrium re - hydration levels reached after various processing steps of the 21 mm as - gelled and depeged hydrogels . after the vacuum dehydration , the equilibrium re - hydration level was much higher than those achieved by the hydrogels that were treated by either slow or flash annealing steps . in the as - gelled group the flash annealing step resulted in the least amount of re - hydration . the depeged samples showed less re - hydration than their as - gelled counterparts . the as - gelled samples showed substantially higher re - hydration levels at each one of the dehydration steps than the depeged samples . the equilibrium re - hydration levels after vacuum dehydration were − 6 . 3 % and − 47 . 4 % for the as - gelled and depeged gels , respectively . the equilibrium re - hydration levels after vacuum dehydration and flash annealing steps were − 42 % and − 80 % for the as - gelled and depeged gels , respectively . this is in further evidence for the protective effect of peg in preventing the collapse of the porous structure during dehydration . this in turn allowed higher re - hydration capacity subsequent to the dehydration steps with the as - gelled hydrogels ; while the depeged samples showed lower re - hydration capacity after vacuum or vacuum followed by annealing dehydration steps . one can use one or several or all of the above methods to prepare hydrogel stock material that can be used to machine a hydrogel implant . one can also start with an implant that is shaped appropriately so that the dimensional changes encountered during processing can be accounted for to arrive at the desired implant size and shape . that implant can be subjected to one or several or all of the above methods , to make a net - shape or near - net shape implant . table 10 shows equilibrium water content ( ewc ) of the 21 mm pva / peg gels after various processing steps . the ewc of the re - hydrated samples were lower in the samples that had been subjected to annealing following vacuum dehydration . the vacuum dehydration is an essential step before annealing in that heating a hydrated gel to above 90 ° c . to cause melting of the gel ; but vacuum dehydration elevates the melting point of the gels and allows annealing without melting . the depeged samples showed lower ewc than their as - gelled counterparts . during the ewc measurements it was noticed that the 21 mm thick hydrogel sheets formed a skin layer with different properties than the bulk of the sheets . the skin appeared to be tougher than the bulk . therefore , additional ewc measurements in the skin ( within the first 3 mm of the free surfaces ), at about 5 mm below the surface ( mid ), and at about 10 mm below the surface ( core ) were carried out . table 11 shows the ewc values measured at these depths for both of the as - gelled and depeged 21 - mm hydrogel sheets at different processing steps . the presence of skin was more apparent with the depeged sample , which showed a lower ewc in the skin than the bulk . one can use the annealing process to create a gradient of properties in the hydrogel . the rate of heating affects the thickness of the skin layer and dictates how sharp the gradient can be . the gradient is expected to be smoother with slower heating rate . a deformed gel was prepared as described in example 1 and was deformed in the carver press as described in example 5 . subsequent to the removal of the deformed gel from the carver press , the deformed gel was immersed in 100 % peg400 liquid at room temperature with agitation for 24 hours . immersion in peg400 resulted in partial to complete removal of water from the gel and hence partial to complete dehydration of the gel . the gel height that was 6 . 2 mm upon removal from the deforming press ; and was subsequently decreased to 4 . 36 mm after immersing in peg for 24 hours . following the peg dehydration , the deformed gel was placed in saline solution with agitation either at room temperature or at 37 ° c . for re - hydration and removal of peg from the gel . at this step a medical device , such as a joint ( hip , knee , or shoulder ) interpositional device , can be machined from the pva gel . a deformed gel was prepared and subsequently underwent peg - treatment as described in example 10 . the re - hydrated deformed gel was placed between the top and the bottom pieces of a shaped mold . the gel and mold were pressed together in the carver press until the top mold and bottom molds were in contact , allowing the gel in the middle to conform to the inner shape of the mold ( see fig1 ). the deformed hydrogel that was sandwiched between the shaped molds was kept under constant deformation for 24 hours . subsequently , the deformed hydrogel was removed from the mold and further peg - treated by immersion in 100 % peg400 for 24 hours . after removal from the peg400 , the deformed hydrogel was placed in saline solution at room temperature to reach equilibrium hydration level . the hydrogel retained its molded shape through each step including the step at which it was in its equilibrium hydration . the final gel obtained a shape of interpositional device ( fig1 ). a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described example 1 and poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm h × 2 . 5 mm d × 4 . 5 mm w ) with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . after 1 day of gelling at room temperature , the molded hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical hydrogels using a trephine blade ( diameter 9 . 5 mm ) mounted on a drill press . height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimens were measured upon cutting in their “ as - gelled ” form . the hydrogel subsequently treated by immersion into polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 400 g / mol ( peg400 ). some of the hydrogels were treated by a single peg immersion step and other by multiple immersion steps with re - hydration in saline between the steps . for single peg immersion , the hydrogel cylinders cut from the molded hydrogel sheet were immersed in 100 % peg400 in their “ as - gelled ” state , with constant mechanical agitation . five out of 70 hydrogel specimens were taken out from peg400 liquid at each of the following time - steps : 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 6 hours , as well as 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , and 6 days . at each time - step the height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded after blot - drying . the percent decrease in the weight of each hydrogel specimen was calculated at each one of the time - steps . the “ as - gelled ” weight of the specimens was used as the initial weight for the percent weight loss calculation . upon removal from peg400 liquid , the specimens were re - hydrated in saline . and the percent change in the weight of the re - hydrated hydrogel specimens from their “ as - gelled ” state was calculated . in the sequential peg immersion , hydrogel cylinders were subjected to peg immersion either in the “ as - gelled ” state or “ depeged ” state . for the “ depeged ” group , upon removal from the mold , the hydrogel specimens were first immersed in saline solution with agitation for at least 2 days for removal of peg and equilibrated hydration . at this step the weight and dimensions of the specimens were recorded and subsequently they were immersed in peg400 . both of the “ as - gelled ” hydrogel cylinders and the “ depeged ” hydrogel cylinders were immersed in 100 % peg400 liquid at room temperature with agitation for at least 24 hours to ensure equilibrated dehydration in each hydrogel specimen . subsequent to the peg - dehydration , the specimens were immersed in saline solution at room temperature with agitation for at least 2 days for peg removal and to reach equilibrium re - hydration . this completed one cycle of single peg - dehydration / re - hydration procedure . the same hydrogels were subjected to additional peg - dehydration / re - hydration steps ( total of three sequential dehydration / re - hydration steps ). the height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded after blot - drying after each step of dehydration and re - hydration . the percent change in the weight of each hydrogel specimen was calculated at each one of the dehydration and re - hydration for both the “ as - gelled ” and “ depeged ” groups . in both groups , the “ as - gelled ” weight of the specimens was used as the initial weight for the percent weight loss calculation . as shown in fig1 , the pva hydrogels immersed in 100 % peg400 experienced rapid gravimetric deswelling , which closely reached an equilibrium weight loss of about − 40 % within 6 hours of immersion . after one - day of immersion in peg400 , the hydrogel cylinders reached equilibrium deswelling with negligible variation in the weight of the specimens thereafter . therefore , the maximum amount deswelling that can be achieved from a single peg immersion was − 40 %. increasing levels of equilibrium deswelling were observed with the sequential peg immersion and re - hydration steps with both of the “ as - gelled ” and “ depeged ” groups ( table 12 ). in the “ as - gelled ” group , the equilibrium deswelling was about − 45 % during the first peg immersion ; this value went down to − 71 % during the second peg immersion and to about − 76 % during the third peg immersion step . the difference in the equilibrium deswelling in comparison with the previous step decreased with increasing number of dehydration / re - hydration cycles . upon completion of three sequential peg immersion cycles including the final equilibrium re - hydration in saline , there was a − 36 % permanent gravimetric deswelling of the “ as - gelled ” pva hydrogels . the hydrogel samples that were hydrated in saline with no prior peg treatment showed a weight gain ( swelling ) of about + 15 %. in comparison the sequentially peg treated hydrogel samples showed substantial densification and they appeared mechanically stronger . the percent weight change of the hydrogels was calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” weight . for example , (−) sign denotes deswelling ( loss of weight ) from the original “ as - gelled ” state , whereas (+) sign denotes swelling ( gain of weight ) from the “ as - gelled ” state . the “ depeged ” specimen group showed more rapid gravimetric deswelling in every peg immersion step than the “ as - gelled ” group . the equilibrium re - hydration achieved in saline at the end of each peg immersion cycle was also lower in the “ depeged ” group than the “ as - gelled ” group . the “ depeged ” specimens showed a similar behavior as that of the “ as - gelled ” group , with a continuous decrease in the dehydration level with increasing number of peg immersion / saline re - hydration steps . 13 . pin - on - disk ( pod ) wear testing with a hydrogel plug articulating against animal cartilage forty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 115 , 000 g / mol ) were added to 160 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 20 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg400 , mw = 400 g / mol ) was heated to 90 ° c . in an air convection oven . 62 . 22 grams of hot peg400 ( at approximately 90 ° c .) was slowly mixed with 200 grams of hot ( at approximately 90 ° c .) pva solution by mechanical stirring while heating . the mixture solution was then poured into a hot mold . several batches of pva / peg solution was prepared to cast gels of different dimensions and sizes . the hot pva - peg mixed solution was poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm h × 25 mm d × 45 mm w ) with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . other molds with various thickness , such as 8 mm and 9 mm , were also used to fabricate thicker hydrogel sheets . after 1 day of gelling at room temperature , the molded hydrogel sheets were cut into cylindrical hydrogels using trephine blades ( diameter 6 . 5 mm or 7 . 0 mm ) mounted on a drill press . height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimens were measured upon cutting and served as the weight and dimensions of the “ as - gelled ” reference . some of the cylindrical hydrogels were immersed either in 50 % peg400 aqueous solution or in 100 % peg400 liquid at room temperature with agitation for at least 24 hours to partially remove water from the hydrogel plugs . partial dehydration resulted in reduction of the dimension and weight of the hydrogel plug . this shrinkage was used to facilitate the insertion of the plug to the cylindrical cavity in the cartilage . the hydrogel plug used in this example in particular was dehydrated in 100 % peg400 . an adult cow knee ( left side ) was used for the animal pod model . it was confirmed with x - rays that the knee had good bone stock . the soft tissue around the patella and distal femur was removed . subsequently , two cartilage specimens 30 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm were cutout of the trochelar groove with a bandsaw and were used as an articular pair on a bi - directional pin - on - disk ( pod ) wear tester . the subchondral bone on the backside of the cut pieces of the cartilage was roughened with a drill and cemented onto the stainless steel holders with surgical simplex p bone cement ( stryker howmedica rutherford , n . j .). the holders were attached to the pod and loaded to determine the contact area between the two cartilage specimens . a defect was created on the top cartilage piece using a 5 . 0 mm diameter drill followed by a flat bottom drill to form an approximate 6 . 5 mm deep cylindrical cavity . the defect was within the contact area . the final dimension of the cavity was measured as 5 . 2 mm in diameter , and about 6 . 7 mm in depth ( fig1 ). pressure sensitive fuji film was used to determine the contact area and contact pressure under an axial load of 890n . the fuji film was placed between the cartilage surfaces and load was applied for 2 minutes . the average pressure was 5 . 0 - 6 . 0 mpa . the bottom cartilage piece was mounted on the bi - directional pod , which moved it on a 5 mm × 10 mm rectangular track at 0 . 5 hz using an x - y table ( parkers systems , rohnert park , calif .). the test was run in 100 % bovine serum environment . the serum was mixed with penicillin - streptomycin prior to the test to delay bacterial growth and to protect the cartilage . the table was mounted on an mts servo - hydraulic testing machine ( mts , minneapolis minn .). the load was applied as double - peak paul - type load curve with a peak load of 890n and a preload of 90n ( bragdon et al . journal of arthroplasty , 2001 . 16 ( 5 ): p . 658 - 65 .) as shown in table 13 , the initial dimensions of the hydrogel plug ( table 13 ) cut from the hydrogel sheet were intentionally somewhat larger than those of the cavity ( table 13 ). initially the hydrogel plug was about 6 . 53 mm in diameter and 8 . 76 mm in height and the dimensions of the cavity were about 5 . 2 mm in diameter and about 6 . 7 mm in height . the dehydration of the hydrogel plug in 100 % peg for temporary dimensional shrinkage helped in insertion of the plug into the cartilage cavity . fig1 shows the cylindrical hydrogel plug ready for insertion into the cavity . the hydrogel plug was partially dehydrated ( gravimetrically deswelled by 46 % with respect to the initial as - gelled weight ) after 100 % peg immersion . fig1 shows the hydrogel plug inserted in the cartilage cavity of bovine knee for pod test . both top view and the side view show that the dimension of the inserted hydrogel plug well matched the dimension of the cavity . note that the height of the hydrogel inside the cavity was about the same as that of the surrounding cartilage or minimally higher . after hydrogel plug insertion , the cartilage specimens were mounted on the pod . the specimens were kept in bovine serum for about 1 hour with no motion or load , for re - hydration of the hydrogel plug prior to the pod run . at this time , another cylindrical hydrogel sample (“ soak control ”) was placed in the same container , in order to measure the extent of reswelling ( re - hydration ) of the free floating , unconfined hydrogel plugs in bovine serum during the pod run . the inserted hydrogel plug showed some swelling after 1 hour of exposure in serum , protruding slightly from the surrounding cartilage ( see fig1 ). table 14 shows the dimensional change in the “ soak - control ” hydrogel cylinder that was immersed in the same serum bath as the cartilage setup during the pod runs . similar to the inserted hydrogel plug in fig1 , the soak - control hydrogel plug showed reswelling presumably due to rapid re - hydration after 1 hour exposure to serum resulting in the recovery of over 94 % of the fully re - hydrated equilibrium weight and dimension . after 80 , 000 cycles of articulating against the cartilage counter face , the hydrogel plug seated further inside the cartilage cavity , with a slight decrease in its height ( fig1 ). after space 160 , 000 cycles of pod runs , the plug was still stable , maintaining the same plug height as it had after 80 , 000 cycles . no visible wear or tear of the hydrogel plug was observed ( see fig1 ). a hot pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described example 1 and poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm h × 2 . 5 cm d × 4 . 5 cm w ) kept at 90 ° c ., the mold was covered and insulated with an insulating blanket . the mold was left to cool down to room temperature to form a hydrogel . after 1 day of gelling at room temperature , the molded hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical hydrogels using a trephine blade ( diameter 9 . 5 mm ) mounted on the drill press . height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimens were measured upon cutting , for “ as - gelled ” reference . some of the cylindrical hydrogels were immersed in 100 % peg400 liquid and some of the hydrogels were immersed in a 50 % peg400 aqueous solution at room temperature with agitation for 30 days . immersion in 100 % peg400 or 50 % peg400 solution resulted in partial to complete removal of water from the hydrogel and hence partial or complete dehydration of the hydrogel . the 100 % peg - immersed hydrogel specimens and 50 % peg - immersed specimens were separately placed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel for 6 days . the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline everyday during immersion . the final height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded daily after blot - drying . percent weight changes of the hydrogel after peg dehydration and subsequent re - hydration in saline were calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” state . the gels were then further analyzed to determine the equilibrium water content as described in example 2 . the 100 % peg400 - immersed gel specimens and 50 % peg400 - immersed specimens were blot - dried and was annealed by heating from room temperature to 160 ° c . at approximately 5 ° c ./ min and subsequently keeping at 160 ° c . for a total annealing time of one hour ( slow anneal ). the height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens before and after annealing were recorded . after annealing , the specimens were immersed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel for 6 days . the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline everyday during immersion . the final height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens were recorded daily after blot - drying during re - hydration . percent weight changes of the hydrogel after peg dehydration , annealing and subsequent re - hydration in saline were calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” state . the gels were then further analyzed to determine the equilibrium water content as described in example 2 . the 100 % peg400 - immersed hydrogel specimens and 50 % peg400 - immersed specimens were blot - dried and slow - annealed from room temperature up to 160 ° c . for 1 hour and kept at 160 ° c . for 4 more hours . the height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens before and after annealing were recorded . after annealing , the gels were immersed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel for 6 days . the saline solution was replaced with fresh saline everyday during immersion . the final height , diameter and weight of the hydrogel specimens were recorded daily after blot - drying during re - hydration . percent weight changes of the gel after peg dehydration , annealing and subsequent re - hydration in saline were calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” state . the gels were then further analyzed to determine the equilibrium water content as described in example 2 . the control group and the 1 - hour and 5 - hour slow - annealing groups all had reached equilibrium re - hydration in about 1 day of soaking in saline solution at room temperature . * the total percent weight changes of the hydrogels at each step were calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” weight . for example , (−) sign denotes deswelling ( loss of weight ) from the original “ as - gelled ” state , whereas (+) sign denotes swelling ( gain of weight ) from the “ as - gelled ” state . a represents the percent weight change between peg400 dehydration step and slow annealing step . b represents the percent weight change between the slow annealing step and equilibrium re - hydration in saline . the hydrogel samples lost weight in the peg400 solutions that is they deswelled as shown in the table 15 . the equilibrium weight loss was about 30 % in 50 % peg400 solution and 40 % in 100 % peg 400 solution . slow annealing caused further weight loss . the 1 - hour and 5 - hour slow annealing caused the same amount of weight loss , approximately an additional 20 %, resulting in a total weight loss of about 50 % from the “ as - gelled ” weight . after annealing , both 1 hour - and 5 hour - annealed hydrogels that had been treated by immersion in 50 % peg400 re - hydrated to the same extent , which was only − 35 % of the “ as - gelled ” weight . on the other hand , the re - hydration in saline of the 50 % peg dehydrated control specimens ( that were not slow - annealed ) showed a much higher equilibrium re - hydration levels . it is noted that after the slow - annealing process , the surface of the hydrogel specimens were slightly wet with residual peg . thus , the additional deswelling during slow - annealing includes the loss of peg as well as loss of water . annealing after peg dehydration can be used to fabricate hydrogel implants . the equilibrium re - hydration levels can be tailored based on the concentration of peg solution used prior to the annealing step . table 16 shows the equilibrium water content ( ewc ) of the as - gelled samples after various steps of processing described above . the peg400 dehydration slightly increased the ewc . both of the slow and flash annealing further decreased the ewc of the peg400 dehydrated samples . the concentration of the peg400 solution used during the dehydration step did not affect the ewc of the subsequently re - hydrated or annealed and then re - hydrated gels . thirty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 115 , 000 ) were added to 170 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 15 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg , mw = 400 ) was heated to 90 ° c . in an air convection oven . 52 . 88 grams of hot peg ( at approximately 90 ° c .) was slowly mixed with 160 grams of hot ( at approximately 90 ° c .) pva solution by mechanical stirring while heating . the mixture solution was then poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm h × 25 mm d × 45 mm w ) and sealed with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . the mold was then immediately placed in a − 17 ° c . freezer for 16 hours , and taken out to room temperature for thawing for 8 hours . this completed one “ freeze - thaw ( ft )” cycle . this freeze - thaw process was repeated up to five cycles to form 5 - cycle freeze - thaw pva - peg hydrogels . upon removal from the mold , the hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical samples using trephine blades ( diameter 6 . 5 mm ). height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimens were measured upon cutting , for “ as - freeze - thawed ” reference . note the hydrogel samples contained pva , peg , and water at this stage . some of the as - freeze - thawed cylindrical hydrogel specimens were immersed in 100 % peg400 liquid at room temperature with agitation for 7 days . immersion in 100 % peg resulted in removal of water from the hydrogel . subsequent to 7 - day peg400 immersion , the specimens were annealed in nitrogen at 160 ° c . by placing in an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash anneal ). the annealed samples were then placed in saline solution at room temperature until equilibrium re - hydration was reached . some of the peg400 treated hydrogel samples were placed in saline for re - hydration with no annealing . some of the as - freeze - thawed cylindrical hydrogel specimens were dehydrated in vacuum at room temperature for 7 days . vacuum dehydration resulted in dehydration of the hydrogel specimens . subsequent to 7 - day vacuum dehydration , the specimens were further dehydrated by flash annealing . the annealed samples were then placed in saline solution at room temperature until equilibrium re - hydration was reached . some of the vacuum treated hydrogel samples were placed in saline for re - hydration with no annealing . for both of the peg - dehydrated and vacuum - dehydrated groups of specimens , the height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens before and after annealing were recorded . similarly , the specimens were immersed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel . the saline solution was daily replaced with fresh saline during immersion . the final height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens were daily recorded after blot - drying . percent weight changes of the hydrogel after peg dehydration , annealing and subsequent re - hydration in saline were calculated with respect to the “ as - freeze - thawed ” state . the as - freeze - thawed gels swelled in saline solution by about 29 %. this swelling was likely a result of peg / water exchange between the gels and the saline solution . the as - freeze - thawed gels deswelled when immersed in peg or placed in vacuum by about − 21 % and − 60 %, respectively . the extent of deswelling was much greater in vacuum than it was in peg . when the deswollen gels were placed in saline for re - hydration , the equilibrium weight change from the as - freeze - thawed weight was 27 and 36 % for the peg and vacuum dehydrated specimens , respectively . the flash annealing did not affect the weight of the gels after vacuum dehydration ; however , the peg dehydrated gels deswelled to − 43 % form their as - freeze - thawed weights . upon equilibrium re - hydration following the flash annealing , the peg dehydrated samples showed more shrinkage ( about − 16 %) with respect to the as - freeze - thawed weight than the vacuum dehydrated samples ( about 0 %). therefore , a denser hydrogel can be obtained with the peg dehydration than the vacuum dehydration when flash annealing is used with freeze - thawed pva / peg gels . these denser gels also were tougher than the less dense ones . 16 . dehydration and re - hydration of 5 cycle freeze - thaw 15 % pva hydrogels thirty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 115 , 000 ) were added to 170 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 15 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . the hot pva solution was poured into a hot mold ( 7 mm h × 25 mm d × 45 mm w ) and sealed with a cover to form a hydrogel sheet . the mold was then immediately placed in a − 17 ° c . freezer for 16 hours , and taken out to room temperature for thawing for 8 hours . this completes one “ freeze - thaw ( ft )” cycle . this freeze - thaw process was repeated up to five cycles to form 5 - cycle freeze - thaw 15 % pva hydrogels . upon removal from the mold , the hydrogel sheet was cut into cylindrical hydrogels using trephine blades ( diameter 6 . 5 mm ). height , diameter and weight of each cylindrical hydrogel specimens were measured upon cutting , for “ as - freeze - thawed ” reference . some of the as - freeze - thawed cylindrical hydrogel specimens were immersed in 100 % peg400 liquid at room temperature with agitation for 7 days . immersion in 100 % peg resulted in removal of water from the hydrogel . subsequent to 7 - day peg400 immersion , the specimens were annealed in nitrogen at 160 ° c . by placing in an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash anneal ). the annealed samples were then placed in saline solution at room temperature until equilibrium re - hydration was reached . some of the peg400 treated hydrogel samples were placed in saline for re - hydration with no annealing . some of the as - freeze - thawed cylindrical hydrogel specimens were dehydrated in vacuum at room temperature for 7 days . vacuum dehydration resulted in removal of water form the hydrogel specimens . subsequent to 7 - day vacuum dehydration , the specimens were further dehydrated by flash annealing . the annealed samples were then placed in saline solution at room temperature until equilibrium re - hydration was reached . some of the vacuum treated hydrogel samples were placed in saline for re - hydration with no annealing . for both of the peg - dehydrated and vacuum - dehydrated groups of specimens , the height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens before and after annealing were recorded . similarly , the specimens were immersed in saline solution with agitation at room temperature for re - hydration and removal of peg from the hydrogel . the saline solution was daily replaced with fresh saline during immersion . the final height , diameter and weight of the gel specimens were daily recorded after blot - drying . percent weight changes of the hydrogel after peg dehydration , annealing and subsequent re - hydration in saline were calculated with respect to the “ as - freeze - thawed ” state . * the total percent weight changes of the hydrogels at each step were calculated with respect to the “ as - freeze - thawed ” weight . the (−) sign denotes deswelling ( loss of weight ) from the original “ freeze - thawed “ state , whereas (+) sign denotes swelling ( gain of weight ) from the “ freeze - thawed ” state . the as - freeze - thawed gels deswelled in saline solution by about − 16 %. this deswelling was likely a result of continued curing of the gels ; curing can increase the crosslink density of the gels and expel water . the as - freeze - thawed gels deswelled when immersed in peg or placed in vacuum by about − 75 % and − 81 %, respectively . the extent of deswelling was much greater in vacuum than it was in peg . when the deswollen gels were placed in saline for re - hydration , the equilibrium weight change from the as - freeze - thawed weight was − 31 and − 49 % for the peg and vacuum dehydrated specimens , respectively . the flash annealing did not affect the weight of the gels after neither of the two dehydration methods used . upon equilibrium re - hydration following the flash annealing , the peg dehydrated samples showed substantially more shrinkage ( about − 63 %) with respect to the as - freeze - thawed weight than the vacuum dehydrated samples , which in fact showed a weight gain with respect to their as freeze - thawed weight ( about 2 %). therefore , a denser hydrogel can be obtained with the peg dehydration than one obtained with the vacuum dehydration when flash annealing is used with freeze - thawed pva gels . these denser gels also were tougher than the less dense ones . thirty grams of poly ( vinyl alcohol ) ( pva , mw = 115 , 000 ) were added to 170 grams of cold deionized water and stirred while heating for about 2 hours to prepare a fully dissolved 15 % ( wt ) pva solution . the dissolved pva solution was kept in an air convection oven ( dkn600 , yamato ) at 90 ° c . for about 16 hours . poly ( ethylene glycol ) ( peg , mw = 400 ) was heated to 90 ° c . in an air convection oven . 52 . 88 grams of hot peg ( at approximately 90 ° c .) was slowly mixed with 160 grams of hot ( at approximately 90 ° c .) pva solution by mechanical stirring while heating . the mixture solution was then poured into a hot ( about 90 ° c .) mold of a rectangular prism shape ( 40 mm × 45 mm × 50 mm ). the mold was left to cool down to room temperature under an insulating blanket over 24 hours . two gel blocks were thus fabricated and their respective weights were recorded . one of the gel blocks was used in its “ as - gelled ” state ; therefore it contained peg . the other one was first immersed in saline solution with agitation for removal of peg and to reach equilibrium hydration for 1 day . this block was denoted as “ depeged ” gel . the weight of the depeged gel block was measured . the two blocks were then deformed under uniaxial compression . the gel blocks were then separately deformed by placing between two flat platens that were attached to an mts machine ( minibionix ). the deformation was uniaxial . the compression proceeded at a rate of 0 . 2 mm / min until a compression ratio of 10 ( ratio of initial to final height ) was reached . when the compression ratio of 10 was reached , the displacement was held constant for at least 24 hours until equilibrium stress relaxation . both of the deformed gels were weighed . after uniaxial compression , both of the deformed gels were immersed in saline solution until equilibrium re - hydration . the gels were weighed again in their re - hydrated state . the percent weight changes of the gels form their “ as - gelled ” states were calculated at different steps of processing . upon completion of uniaxial compression , dimension of rectangular prism shaped “ as - gelled ” hydrogel specimen was changed from a length of 41 . 83 mm , a width of 47 . 37 mm and a height of 49 . 75 mm in its as - gelled form , to a length of 88 . 29 mm , a width of 98 . 74 mm , and a height of 6 . 4 mm . in the case of depeged hydrogel , specimen dimension changed from a length of 43 . 49 mm , a width of 50 . 01 mm , and a height of 53 . 03 mm from the depeged state to a length of 93 . 17 , a width of 97 . 78 , and a height of 6 . 71 following the deformation step . when the deformed gels were re - hydrated in saline , the “ as - gelled ” specimen , which was compressed in the presence of peg , exhibited a more anisotropic reswelling than the “ depeged ” specimen , which was compressed in the absence of peg . * the total percent weight changes of the hydrogels at each step were calculated with respect to the “ as - gelled ” weight . the (−) sign denotes deswelling ( loss of weight ) from the original “ as - gelled ” state , whereas (+) sign denotes swelling ( gain of weight ) from the “ as - gelled ” state . table 19 shows the percent weight change of the gels at different steps of fabrication . the depeged gel gained about 13 % weight during the depeging process , likely a result of the water / peg exchange in the gel and additional swelling of the gel in the absence of peg with increased water uptake . uniaxial compression induced weight loss in the gel samples , which is attributed to elution of water and / or peg from the gels . the weight loss was larger with the depeged gel than the as - gelled one , as the former contained more water ; this also indicates that water is the primary ingredient being expelled from the gels during deformation . following the subsequent re - hydration in saline , the as - gelled gel showed an overall 8 % weight loss from its as - gelled state , in contrast with a 50 % loss for the depeged sample . therefore , if the deformation is carried in the presence of a large molecule , such as peg ( 400 g / mol ), the gel has a higher hydration capacity than it was when it is deformed in the absence of any large molecules . it is speculated that the large molecules remain in the porous structure of the gel during deformation and prevent their collapse ; as a result , water uptake into these protected pores is possible even after a large strain plastic deformation . on the other hand , when the large molecule is not present , water is squeezed out of the pores during deformation and thus the pores are collapsed . during the subsequent re - hydration step the ability of the deformed gel to rehydrate is substantially reduced because of the decreased number of pores available for water absorption . it is also shown above in other examples that the large molecules protect the pores from collapsing during high temperature annealing , allowing better re - hydration capacity to the gels . one can either start with hydrogels containing large molecules , like peg , or impregnate the hydrogel with a large molecule to improve its re - hydration capacity following any type of deformation . this can be especially useful if one needs to maximize the water content in an oriented hydrogel . 15 % pva solution was prepared dissolving pva in deionized water at 90 ° c . while stirring continuously . resulting solution was centrifuged to remove air bubbles and poured into a heated rectangular glass mold ( 45 mm by 70 mm by 7 mm ) kept at around 90 ° c . the mold was covered by a glass cover kept at 90 ° c . and the mold was sandwiched between two 20 mm thick stainless steel blocks that were also kept at 90 ° c . the sandwiched mold was immediately placed in to a − 20 ° c . freezer and was kept there for 16 hours for a freeze cycle . subsequently the sandwiched mold was taken out of the freezer and was left to heat up to room temperature for the first thaw cycle . the freezing and thawing was repeated 4 more times to obtain a total of 5 freeze - thaw cycles . these gels are denoted as ft - pva . the 5 - freeze - thaw method was performed with a pva starting solution containing peg . a hot 15 - 28 pva / peg gelling solution was prepared as described in example 1 . resulting solution was treated as described above to obtain a five times freeze - thaw processed pva / peg hydrogel . these gels are denoted as ft - pva / peg . both of the freeze - thaw gels were each cut into 30 cylindrical samples ( total of 60 ) with a 6 . 5 mm trephine blade . the samples were immersed into individual vials containing saline ( 0 . 9 % nacl in water ) to investigate the dissolution behavior of 5 × ft 15 % pva gels . for 10 days three samples of both group were removed at regular intervals from the saline and placed in an air convection oven at 90 ° c . until equilibrium dehydration was reached , which was confirmed gravimetrically . the solid content ( pva only for the pva freeze - thaw gel and pva and peg for the pva / peg freeze - thaw gel ) was determined gravimetrically by dividing the dry weight of the hydrogel by its hydrated weight . the effect of vacuum dehydration duration on the re - hydration ability of ft - pva was also investigated . six cylindrical samples of ft - pva were placed in vacuum at room temperature . three of the samples were removed from the vacuum after one day and the remaining three after 5 days . all samples were immersed in saline right after vacuum dehydration to achieve equilibrium re - hydration , which was confirmed gravimetrically . the ft - pva / peg hydrogel samples were only subjected to 5 - day vacuum dehydration followed by re - hydration . in addition , the effect of annealing on the ft - pva and ft - pva / peg was investigated . three cylindrical samples of each ft - pva and ft - pva / peg were first dehydrated under vacuum at room temperature for 5 days and subsequently annealed under nitrogen atmosphere by placing into an oven already heated to 160 ° c . for one hour ( flash annealing ). the weight change of the samples was determined after vacuum dehydration and again after annealing . following annealing , all samples were re - hydrated in saline for at least 5 days . finally , the equilibrium water content ( ewc ) of these samples was determined using the method outlined in example 2 . the average weight of the hydrated ft - pva samples decreased during storage in saline . this was previously attributed to dissolution of pva in saline . but the pva content measurements showed no measurable change over the 10 day period , suggesting that the ft - pva gel continued to cure , that is crystallized , during saline storage , hence expelling water and having an appearance of loosing weight . the ft - pva / peg gels , on the other hand , showed a weight gain during saline storage . it is expected for the peg to diffuse out of and water to diffuse into the samples during saline storage . likely , the water uptake was larger than peg loss , which amounted to an apparent weight increase with the ft - pva - peg samples . tables 20 - 21 show the weight changes after various processing steps . the duration of vacuum did not substantially affect the extent of dehydration of the gels , indicating that 1 day vacuum dehydration was sufficient to reach equilibrium with these size samples . flash annealing did not affect the weight of the vacuum dehydrated gels . the ft - pva / peg gels showed less weight loss upon vacuum dehydration than the ft - pva samples . the same was true for the subsequent flash annealing step . the ft - pva / peg gels re - hydrated more than the ft - pva gels . the ewc of the vacuum dehydrated , flash annealed , and re - hydrated ft - pva / peg was higher than that of the ft - pva . the ewc of the ft - pva / peg after depeging and re - hydration in saline was 86 %; the vacuum dehydration and subsequent flash annealing reduced the ewc of ft - pva / peg to only 83 %. the ewc of the ft - pva was 81 % and decreased to 48 % upon vacuum dehydration and subsequent annealing forming a very tough , elastic and transparent gel . a pva / peg gel was prepared in a cylindrical shape as described in example 1 and was poured in a hot mold ( diameter 44 mm × height 40 mm ) maintained at about 90 ° c . the mold was cooled down to room temperature under an insulating blanket to form an as - gelled hydrogel . the hydrogel was removed from the mold and placed in 100 % peg with agitation for dehydration for 3 hours prior to deformation . the hydrogel was subsequently deformed in a carver hydraulic press . the initial gel height was 37 mm and the final gel height after deformation was 5 mm . after the deformation step , the gel was immersed in 100 % peg for 24 hours with agitation and subsequently was re - hydrated in saline solution with agitation . after re - hydration , the final gel height of the deformed gel sample was about 10 mm . the total deformation ratio from the initial gel height at the as - gelled state to that of the final gel height following re - hydration after deformation was about 75 %. the deformed gel prepared in example 19 was characterized using an mts machine to determine its compressive deformation behavior in comparison with an undeformed control gel . the thickness of the 75 % deformed gel specimen was about 10 mm . the control gel specimen was prepared by gelling a hot 15 / 28 pva - peg mixture solution in a mold to obtain a 10 mm thin sheet . both of the deformed and undeformed gels cut to obtain a square block shaped test sample ( 16 mm × 17 mm × 10 mm ). the test samples were placed in saline at 37 ° c . for 1 day ; and were then individually tested on the mts machine . the test samples were placed between two flat metal platens and compressed at a rate of 10 mm / min . load needed to maintain the constant deformation rate was acquired as a function of displacement . fig1 shows the load displacement behavior of the deformed and undeformed test samples . the deformed test sample showed a stiffer deformation behavior than the undeformed test sample . at a given load level the undeformed control hydrogel showed substantially higher displacements than the previously deformed hydrogel . one can increase the stiffness of any hydrogel by applying permanent deformation . higher levels of deformation can result in higher stiffness . hydrogel samples form the above examples were machined with a 16 mm diameter trephine and were allowed to equilibrate in saline solution at 40 ° c . for at least 24 hours prior to the start of the creep test . some of the examples included here were irradiated prior to the trephine machining . prior to irradiation the hydrogel sheets were placed in saline and they were irradiated in saline solution . the irradiation was carried out using a 2 . 5 mev van de graaf generator . either 25 kgy or 100 kgy radiation dose was applied to the hydrogel sheets . trephine machining was carried out after irradiation to prepare the creep samples . the hydrogel creep test was done on a mts ( eden prairie , minn .) 858 mini bionix servohydraulic machine . cylindrical hydrogel specimens , approximately 16 mm in diameter and between 5 - 10 mm in height , were placed between stainless steel compression plates for testing . prior to the start of the test , the top and bottom compression plates were brought together and the lvdt displacement was zeroed at this position . after placing the specimen on the bottom plate , the top plate was lowered until it made contact with the top surface of the creep specimen . the displacement reading from the lvdt on the mts was recorded as the height of the specimen . the compressive load was initially ramped at a rate of 50 n / min to a creep load of 100n . this load was maintained constant for 10 hours . the load was subsequently reduced at a rate of 50 n / min to a recovery load of 10 n . this load was also held constant for 10 hours . time , displacement and load values were recorded once every 2 seconds during the loading and unloading cycles . the data was plotted as compressive strain vs . time to compare the creep behavior of different hydrogel formulations described above ( see fig1 ). with this example , it is demonstrated that the creep resistance of pva hydrogels can be improved by a number of methods . for instance , radiation crosslinking increased the creep resistance of the pva hydrogel . similarly , previous permanent deformation imparted by the channel - die increased the creep resistance of the pva hydrogel . the effect of vacuum dehydration followed by annealing was also an increase in the creep resistance . one can use any number of these methods in a number of combinations to tailor the creep resistance of the hydrogel . two hydrogel samples were used in this example . one sample was 15 / 28 pva / peg gel that was depeged and equilibrated in saline solution ( example 1 ). the other sample was 15 / 28 pva / peg gel that was first depeged , then deformed to a compression ratio of 10 in the channel - die , subsequently dehydrated in 100 % peg400 , and finally equilibrated in saline solution . both sheets had a thickness of about 10 mm . the depeged pva hydrogel sheet was machined with a 16 mm trephine to obtain a cylindrical test sample . the test sample was placed in 40 ° c . saline for at least 24 hours prior to testing . subsequently , the cylindrical test sample was placed in an mts machine between two metal plates submerged in 40 ° c . saline . the mts machine applied 100 n of constant load for 10 hours followed by a reduction of the load to 10 n and maintenance of a 10 n constant load for an additional 10 hours . this entire cycle constituted one loading / unloading cycle and was identical to the one described in example 21 . the loading / unloading cycles were repeated 3 times . during the loading / unloading cycles , the extent of deformation of the cylindrical hydrogel was measured on the mts machine as a function of time . fig2 shows the compressive strain as a function of time during the three - loading / unloading cycles . during the first loading cycle , upon application of the 100 n of load , there was a large elastic deformation of about 59 . 5 %. this was followed by a viscoplastic deformation over the course of the 10 hours of constant load reaching a total deformation level of 77 . 4 %. at the completion of the 10 hours , when the load was reduced down to 10 n , there was an elastic recovery of 13 . 4 %, which brought the overall deformation to approximately 64 %. in the subsequent 10 - hour unloading cycle , there was almost no recovery of the creep deformation . the multiple cycles of loading and unloading were used to creep the hydrogel samples in order to increase their creep resistance . when the loading and unloading cycles were repeated , the extent of creep deformation during the subsequent loading cycles decreased indicating that the creep resistance of the material increased . one can use this method to improve the creep resistance of hydrogels for applications in interpositional devices . for instance , one can deform a large block of hydrogel under multiple loading / unloading cycles between two shaped metal plates so as to obtain a near net shaped implant with improved creep resistance . alternatively , one can deform a large block of hydrogel between two metal plates by subjecting it to multiple loading and unloading cycles to improve its creep resistance . the deformed hydrogel can then be machined into the shape of the desired implant . the implant can be packaged and sterilized . the above method of multiple loading / unloading was repeated on a 15 / 28 pva / peg gel that was first depeged , then deformed to a compression ratio of 10 in a channel - die subsequently dehydrated in 100 % peg400 and finally equilibrated in saline solution . the loading / unloading cycles were identical except with shorter durations of each ( 5 hour of loading and 5 hour of unloading ). this sample also showed an increase in its creep resistance with an increasing number of loading / unloading cycles . ( fig2 ) the gel medical devices described in the examples presented here are packaged in saline solution and sterilized . the sterilization is achieved by gamma radiation . in some embodiments , the gamma sterilization is used to both sterilize the packaged device and also to crosslink the gel medical device . in the instances where a high crosslink density is desirable a high radiation dose ( above 40 kgy ) is used . alternatively , the gel medical devices are fabricated from sterile components in a clean room , packaged in sterile saline solution , therefore require no further sterilization . alternatively , the gel medical devices are packaged in gas permeable packages , sterilized using gas plasma or ethylene oxide , and subsequently placed in sterile saline solution in a clean room and packaged for shipping . the saline solution used in the above alternate methods of packaging can be replaced with 100 % peg or a peg / water mixture to achieve different levels of dehydration in the gel medical devices . the gel medical device is shipped in a full or partial dehydrated state . upon insertion into the body re - hydration occurs and the gel medical device swells to partially or completely fill the space that it is placed in ( such as the knee joint , hip joint , shoulder joint , etc .). it is to be understood that the description , specific examples and data , while indicating exemplary embodiments , are given by way of illustration and are not intended to limit the present invention . various changes and modifications within the present invention will become apparent to the skilled artisan from the discussion , disclosure and data contained herein , and thus are considered part of the invention . | 0 |
referring to fig1 and 2 , wherein a drainable pouch according to the present invention is generally designated by the numeral 10 . this pouch 10 has a body - side pouch panel 12 and an opposite side panel 14 . each of these panels is composed of film material typically utilized for ostomy pouches , such as multiple ply film that includes layers of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer ( eva ) and polyvinylidene chloride ( pvdc ). the body - side pouch panel 12 has a stomal opening 16 and is shown with mechanical coupling structure 18 surrounding the stomal opening 16 . the coupling may , alternatively , be one used in an adhesive coupling system . the coupling 18 is capable of being secured to a mating coupling on the body - side wafer . it is alternatively possible for the pouch to have an adhesive wafer instead of the mechanical coupling 18 and attach directly to the wearer &# 39 ; s skin . commonly , a hydrocolloid adhesive is used for this purpose . the drainable ostomy pouch 10 includes a body portion 20 and a tail portion 22 . the tail portion 22 is shown with a reinforcing member 26 at end 28 of the tail portion 22 on the body - side pouch panel 12 and on the opposite side panel 14 . the tail portion 22 has on its outer surface a thin film 30 . this thin film is capable of self - sealing when pressed against itself . it is also capable of being peeled apart or unbonded and resealed when pressed together again . it can be wetted and dried without losing desirable adhesive properties . it can be referred to as a press and seal film with a specific type being the preferred film . the preferred thin film 30 is textured and coated with an adhesive . the texture includes hills and valleys this encourages the sealing of the film to itself . the preferred type of film was developed by procter and gamble company and is sold commonly by the glad product company to seal food containers . the procter and gamble film is described and discussed in u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 662 , 758 ; 5 , 871 , 607 ; 5 , 965 , 235 ; 6 , 193 , 918 ; 6 , 421 , 052 ; and 6 , 489 , 022 incorporated herein by reference . this preferred film has been referred to occasionally herein as ssat film . the thin film 30 is mounted on the outer surface of both the body - side pouch panel 12 and the opposite side panel 14 . it covers the entire surface of the tail portion 22 except for where the reinforcing members 26 are secured . the reinforcing members may be used as a template or guide when the tail portion 22 is folded or rolled up . the body portion 20 of the pouch 10 has a comfort panel 40 covering the outer surface of the body - side pouch panel and the opposing rear side panel . the comfort panels 40 are welded along their periphery 42 to the panels 12 , 14 . the comfort panel 40 on the body - side pouch panel 12 lies against the skin of the wearer and is composed of material that is more comfortable to the ostomate than the pouch panel film . comfort panels 40 may include perforations to allow air circulation and be composed of material so as to reduce potential stickiness to the ostomate due to perspiration . the comfort panels 40 have a base 46 that is not welded or secured to the body - side pouch film 30 . accordingly , there is access to the pockets formed between the comfort panels 40 and the body portion 20 . the pockets exist because the comfort panels 40 are welded to the pouch film 30 along the periphery 42 but not along the base 42 . it is also possible to utilize the thin film 30 on the tail portion 22 as a closure system by having the material only on one panel of the tail portion 22 and / or utilizing strips of the thin film 30 that do not cover the entire dimensions of the tail portion 22 . | 0 |
while the invention will be described in connection with a preferred procedure , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that procedure . on the contrary , it is intended to cover all alternatives , modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention defined by the appended claims . in accordance with the invention , a representative polymerization procedure , comprises contacting about 0 . 1 % to 10 % by weight of a suitable emulsifier or dispersing agent in an aqueous medium , about 0 . 01 % to 5 % by weight of a molecular weight modifier , about 0 . 01 % to 5 % by weight of an initiator , and monomers . the methacrylonitrile is 5 to 80 percent by weight of the monomers and the acrylonitrile is 95 to 20 percent by weight of the monomers . the mixture is placed in a purged reaction vessel which has a means of agitation , such as stirring or shaking . preferably , the reaction vessel and reactants are initially purged with an inert gas , more preferably the gas used is nitrogen or argon . the mixture is heated to a temperature in the range of 40 ° c . to 80 ° c ., preferably about 60 ° c . the mixture is continuously or intermittently agitated . preferably , the mixture is continuously agitated . preferably , a stirrer speed of about 200 rpm is used . the agitation is continued until polymerization has proceeded to the desired extent , usually 40 %- 100 % conversion . preferably , the polymerization continues to at least 60 % to 80 % of completion . in the foregoing polymerization reaction , the molar ratios of an and man reactants must be carefully controlled throughout the reaction , because the monomers react at different rates . man reacts faster with propagating free radicals in this system than does an which leads to excess man in the polymer and excess an in the unreacted monomer mixture . if too great an excess of an becomes present in the monomer mixture , long strings of acrylonitrile units may form . long an strings lead to unprocessable products . for this reason , in the practice of the present invention , the polymerization reaction requires either incremental or continuous addition of the reactants . in one embodiment , the monomer reactants are added in various increments , 10 % of the total monomer reactants as starting materials to initiate the reaction , and three remaining 30 % portions at later periods in the reaction . each of the additions comprises an / man in amounts controlled in order to obtain the desired an / man ratio in the final product . this procedure continues until all of the monomer reactants have been added . once the final reactant addition is made , polymerization is typically complete to at least 40 % to 75 %. of course , other reactant addition increments may be used . in another embodiment , it is possible to add most of the reactants at the initiation of the reaction . as the reaction proceeds , more of the highly reactive man monomer is added . this technique functions to steady the resultant polymer homogeneity by maintaining the same monomer ratio throughout the reaction through matching man addition to the conversion rate to polymer in the proper proportion . in the most preferred embodiment , both reactants are added based on tracking of the polymer conversion in the same amounts as they are removed from the monomer mixture by polymerization . as can be seen from the above embodiments , the primary objective of any procedure is to maintain the desired final an / man ratio throughout the entire reaction . if the ratios become too unbalanced , man may polymerize into long strings and become used up from the monomer mixture , and the remaining an may polymerize into long unprocessable strings . the identified procedures function to produce melt - processable an / man copolymers with excellent physical properties , by preventing the formation of long an strings . the free radical initiator of the present invention may be selected from the group comprising azo compounds , peroxides , hydroperoxides , alkyl peroxides , peroxydicarbonates , peroxyesters , dialkyl peroxides , persulfates , perphosphates or another initiator known to those skilled in the art . of course , the reaction could also be intiated by thermal means rather than the above described chemical means . the molecular weight modifier of the present invention can be mercaptans , alcohols or any other chain transfer agent known to those of ordinary skill in the art . mercaptans are the preferred molecular weight modifier . at the conclusion of the reaction , the polymer of this invention may be isolated as a finely divided powder by crumb coagulation . the crumb coagulation procedure consists of adding the product emulsion to an appropriate electrolyte solution with rapid agitation at a temperature just below the point at which the precipitated particles tend to adhere . this procedure yields a polymer in a form of granules or particles which are filtered and washed . suitable electrolytes include sodium chloride , sodium sulfate , hydrochloric acid , phosphoric acid , calcium chloride , magnesium sulfate and aluminum sulfate which is preferred . after precipitation , the polymer is filtered and washed repeatedly with water to minimize traces of electrolyte and dispersing agent which may adhere to the particles . washing with dilute solutions of caustic soda or ammonium hydroxide may assist in removing the last traces of dispersing agent , and at the same time yield polymers of improved heat stability . it is also beneficial to employ a final wash of an organic solvent such as a lower aliphatic alcohol ( methanol or ethanol ) to remove any residual soap or impurities . other means for isolating the polymer include spraying the solution into a heated and / or evacuated chamber where the water vapors are removed and the polymer falls to the bottom of the chamber . if the polymer is prepared with sufficiently high solids content it can be isolated as a granular powder by filtration or centrifugation . the polymer may also be isolated by cooling the dispersion below the freezing point of the aqueous medium or by the addition of a large volume of a lower aliphatic alcohol such as methanol or ethanol . if desirable , lubricants , dyes , bleaching agents , plasticizers or pseudoplasticizers , pigments , stabilizers , antioxidants , reinforcing agents ( including fillers and fibers ) and antistatic agents may be incorporated into a polymer of this invention . the polymers of this invention can be formed into films having extremely good barrier properties . particularly , the oxygen transmission rate of films of this invention are generally below 0 . 30 ( cc mil / 100 in 2 atm - 24 hr .). preferably , the oxygen transmission rate is below 0 . 10 ( cc mil / 100 in 2 atm - 24 hr .). most preferably the oxygen transmission rate is below 0 . 05 ( cc mil / 100 in 2 atm - 24 hr .). the water vapor transmission rate is generally below 3 . 25 ( g - mil / 100 in 2 - 24 hr .). preferably , the water vapor transmission rate is below 2 . 00 ( g - mil / 100 in 2 - 24 hr .). most preferably , the water vapor transmission rate is below 1 . 00 ( g - mil / 100 in 2 - 24 hr .). the films of this invention may be prepared by solvent casting or preferably by a thermal forming procedure such an extrusion , injection molding , compression molding or calendering , however , for economic reasons and for ease in processing it is most preferred that the polymer be extruded . the polymers of this invention may be extruded from any conventional type extruder at a temperature of about 160 ° c . to 250 ° c . preferably , the extrusion is at about 200 ° c . to 220 ° c . a screwtype extruder employing an annular die to form a thin walled polymer cylinder or sheet die to form a continuous sheet may be used . the polymers of this invention are also suitable for forming fibers . this can be accomplished by solution spinning or melt spinning by procedures known to those skilled in the art . because the copolymer an / man is thermoplastic , it can be oriented as a solvent - free material . this is an advantage because the presence of any solvent in the polymer makes orientation difficult and adversely affects the barrier properties of the polymer . copolymers of methacrylonitrile / acrylonitrile were prepared by means of emulsion polymerization according to the following general procedure . a two liter reactor containing 900 g of deionized water was used . 9 g of gafac re - 610 1 was dissolved in the water overnight . acrylonitrile and methacrylonitrile totalling 300 g ( the specific ratio dependent on the final product desired ) were added . an initiator generically 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- azobis ( 2 , 4 - dimethylvaleronitrile ), specifically vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator made by dupont company ) and n - dodecyl mercaptan were added to the reactants . the reactants and reactor were nitrogen purged . the reaction temperature was 60 ° c . with a stirrer speed of 200 rpm . at the end of the reaction time , ( 40 - 80 % conversion of monomers to polymers ) the products were isolated by crumb - coagulation in an aluminum sulfate solution at 77 ° c ., water washed , methanol soaked , filtered , and fluid bed dried . the oxygen transmission rate and water vapor transmission rate results of films having different an : man ratios can be seen in table 1 . 211 . 0 grams of acrylonitrile and 89 . 0 grams of methacrylonitrile were added as follows : 10 % of the monomers were charged to the reactor before addition of the initiator ; 30 % of the monomers were added in each of three 90 minute periods ; 6 g of n - dodecyl mercaptan were added in three 2 g installments , just prior to each of the three 90 minute monomer addition periods . 1 . 5 g of vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator were added to the reactor when the reaction mass reached 60 ° c . the monomers resulted in a polymer composition of 72 . 4 mole percent acrylonitrile and 27 . 6 mole percent methacrylonitrile . 231 . 4 grams of an and 68 . 6 grams of man were added at the beginning of the reaction . additional man ( 13 . 6 grams ) was added in each of three 90 minute stages of the reaction to compensate for its higher conversion rate and maintain the initial monomer feed ratio in the reactor . 6 g of n - dodecyl mercaptan were added in three 2 g installments , just prior to each of the three 90 minute monomer addition periods . 1 . 5 g of vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator were added to the reactor when the reaction mass reached 60 ° c . the reaction resulted in a polymer composition of 65 . 1 mole percent an and 34 . 9 mole percent man . 183 . 9 grams of an and 116 . 1 grams of man were charged to the reactor at the beginning of the reaction . additional man ( 16 . 4 grams ) was added in each of three 90 minute stages of the reaction to compensate for its higher conversion rate and maintain the initial monomer feed ratio in the reactor . 6 g of n - dodecyl mercaptan were added in three 2 g installments , just prior to each of the three 90 minute monomer addition periods . 1 . 5 g of vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator were added to the reactor when the reaction mass reached 60 ° c . the reaction resulted in a polymer composition of 50 . 7 mole percent an and 49 . 3 mole percent man . 126 . 6 grams of an and 173 . 4 grams of man were added as follows : 10 % of the monomers were charged to the reactor before addition of the initiator ; 30 % of the monomers were added in each of three 90 minute periods ; 6 g of n - dodecyl mercaptan were added in three 2 g installments , just prior to each of the three 90 minute monomer addition periods . 1 . 5 g of vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator were added to the reactor when the reaction mass reached 60 ° c . the polymer composition consisted of 38 . 7 mole percent an and 61 . 3 mole percent man . 300 grams of man were added as follows : 10 % of the monomer was charged to the reactor before addition of the initiator ; 30 % of the monomer was added in each of three 90 minute periods ; 6 g of n - dodecyl mercaptan were added in three 2 g installments , just prior to each of the three 90 minute monomer addition periods . 1 . 5 g of vazo ® 52 polymerization initiator were added to the reactor when the reaction mass reached 60 ° c . the polymer was 100 % man . table 1______________________________________ an / man oxygen transmission water vaporex - ratio rate ( cc mil / 100 transmission rateample ( mole %) in . sup . 2 atm - 24 hr ) ( g - mil / 100 in . sup . 2 - 24 hr ) ______________________________________1 72 . 4 / 27 . 6 0 . 03 0 . 622 65 . 1 / 34 . 9 0 . 03 1 . 743 50 . 7 / 49 . 3 0 . 05 2 . 274 38 . 7 / 61 . 3 0 . 28 3 . 18pman 0 / 100 0 . 33 2 . 52______________________________________ each of the examples showed a good melt processability . particularly , brabendering at 235 ° c . showed torques of 400 to 2000 meter - grams . thus is apparent that there has been provided , in accordance with the invention , new and improved copolymer compositions that fully satisfy the objects , aims and advantages set forth above . while the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 2 |
referring now to fig1 and 2 , a quick release jib stowage system constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown . a stay sail 5 , such as a jib , is equipped with suitable hanks 20 , hereinafter described , and prerigged on a jib stowage magazine 10 . magazine 10 comprises an elongated , generally flat , longitudinally curved spear - shaped piece of metal or other material of suitable strength and rigidity . the lower end of magazine 10 is mounted on a mounting block or base 2 attached to the deck 1 near the foot of the forestay 3 . the base 2 may be an integral part of the magazine 10 with the base 2 being removably attached to the deck 1 . alternatively , the base 2 may comprise a mounting block 2 attached to the sailboat deck with the magazine 10 removably attached thereto by well - known releasable means , such as a dovetail fitting or a tongue and groove fitting , for example . mounting block 2 may be provided with a securing eye 4 for attaching the tack or bottom corner of the leading edge of the sail 5 . this allows the sail to be prerigged to the magazine 10 for quickly changing one sail for another . alternatively , securing eye 4 may be deleted and the tack secured to the stay deck anchor in a conventional manner . as shown in fig2 a and 2b , the jib magazine 10 comprises a generally straight lower stowage section 7 and a curved blade section 9 . the curved blade section 9 is shaped to provide for opening and closing of a sail hank 20 as the hank 20 slides over the blade section 9 . the blade tip segment 12 is tapered both in thickness and width from a blunted point to a width of approximately 1 inch . tapered segment 14 of the blade 9 is of even thickness and continues to gently taper to a width of approximately 1 3 / 4 inch . straight segment 16 is of even width of approximately 13 / 4 inch while tapered segment 18 gently tapers from 13 / 4 inch to approximately 1 inch transitioning from the blade section 9 to the jib stowage section 7 . the lower stowage section 7 is approximately 1 inch in width having a length of 1 to 3 feet as required by the size of sail to be rigged on the magazine 10 . referring now also to fig2 c , 2d and 2e , the jib magazine 10 is fabricated from aluminum or stainless steel or other suitable material as a single , unitary piece 10 or in two , interlocking sections 7 , 9 . for example , the blade section 9 may be formed with its lower end 15 having a reduced thickness and a locking pin 8 protruding from the surface thereof . preferable , the locking pin 8 protrudes normal to the blade lower end 15 surface and towards the center of the curve 19 . similarly , the stowage section 7 is formed with its upper end 5 having a reduced thickness with an aperture 6 therethrough adapted for engaging the locking pin 8 thereby attaching the stowage section 7 to the lower end 15 of the blade section . the locking pin 8 may be a post , such as a rivet protruding through an aperture ( not shown ) in the blade lower end 15 , or it may be a bolt and nut allowing the jib magazine to be assembled as a single , integral piece . the locking pin 8 preferably comprises a tapered post ensuring that the stowage section 7 is properly centered when the post 8 is received in aperture 6 . as the stay sail is lowered , the hanks 20 are engaged , one by one , by the magazine blade section 9 . tip segment 12 is rounded and tapered as shown to easily enter the sword opening 26 of hank 20 as will be described in greater detail herein below . the blunted , rounded tip 12 also is safety feature to prevent injury to crew members . tapered segment 14 of blade 9 is dimensioned to open the hank 20 as the hank slides down the magazine 10 . the blade straight segment 16 retains the hank suitably open for disengaging of the hank 20 from the stay 3 . tapered segment 18 of the blade 9 allows the hank to return to the closed position as the hank continues down the magazine . the blade section 9 is curved as shown in order to move the hank 20 relative to stay 3 forcing the hank up and out of contact with the stay 3 as the hank slides down the blade section 9 . in operation , as hank 20 slides down stay 3 it is engaged by blade tip segment 12 , blade segment 14 forces the hank 20 open and moves it closer to the stay 3 to relieve any strain on hank 20 and to move stay 3 out of the hank arm curved hook portions 34 ( as shown in fig3 and 5 ). the concave curve 19 is dimensioned so as to begin the movement of the opened hank 20 away from stay 3 just as the hank is fully opened , allowing hank 20 to clear stay 3 . as hank 20 continues down the magazine 10 it is drawn clear of stay 3 and returns to the closed position as it passes over tapered segment 18 . when clear of the stay 3 , each hank 20 drops down over the magazine lower section 7 where the hanks are retained by the magazine base 2 . as the sail 5 is raised , each hank passes up the magazine 10 , is opened at segment 18 , brought in proximity of stay 3 at segment 16 and closes around stay 3 as it passes over segment 14 . as shown in fig2 c , the edges of the magazine 10 are rolled or molded to form a beaded edge 13 . rounded bead 13 provides additional strength to web 17 , especially in the tapered and curved segments of the blade section 9 where the forces required to move the hank 20 up and off of the stay 20 may be considerable under heavy wind conditions . the beaded edge 13 is also provides a smooth sliding surface to receive hank 20 . the width of the magazine 10 is selected within the range of one to five inches to correspond to the dimensions of the hanks as determined by the sail size and is preferably one and one - half inches to two inches at its maximum width at the blade segment 16 . the concave curve 19 preferably has a radius of curvature of approximately 3 inches . in one preferred embodiment , as illustrated in fig1 the jib stowage magazine 10 is used as a single unit which is positioned aft of the forestay 3 with the forestay 3 adjacent and tangent to the blade curve 19 to allow the rigging or unrigging of a stay sail ( such as a jib ). when not in use , the jib stowage magazine 10 is removed from the vicinity of the forestay . alternatively , in a second preferred embodiment , the separate blade section 9 is rigidly attached to the forestay 3 by a u - bolt 33 and nuts 37 , for example , such that the forestay 3 is tangent to the curve 19 with the curve 19 facing aft . a block or spacer 39 clamped between the forestay 3 and the blade section 9 provides the proper spacing between the forestay 3 and the blade section 9 to allow for proper functioning of the hank 20 as it slides over the blade section 9 . when it is desired to raise or lower a stay sail , the lower or jib stowage section 7 is then removeably attached to the blade section 9 at its lower end 15 , the post 8 being engaged in aperture 6 . referring now to fig3 - 5 , a sail hank 20 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention is shown . sail hank 20 comprises a pair of generally curved hooked arm members 25 , 27 pivotally coupled together at their ends opposite the hooked ends 34 at pivot point 29 . a sail attachment hook 21 pivotally coupled to the arm members 25 , 27 at the pivot 29 serves to attach the hank 20 to the leading edge or luff of the sail 5 . hank arm 25 and 27 are pivotally joined to hook 21 by use of a suitable fastener means such as a rivet , bolt or clevis pin . tensioning spring 30 is held in place by the fastener means at pivot point 29 and bears on stop surfaces or shoulders 31 and 32 to bias hank arm members 25 and 27 in the normally closed position . if the sail 5 is provided with grommets for attaching hanks , said grommets may be passed through opening 22 which then may be closed by bending or crimping hook 21 . if the sail 5 is designed such that hanks must be sewn on , hook 21 is bent closed to form a loop through which the sewing thread may be passed . the hank 20 encircles and grasps the stay 3 when arms 25 and 27 are closed to form the stay opening 35 . the diameter of the stay opening 35 is larger than the stay 3 thickness so that the hank may slide freely thereon . hank arm members 25 and 27 overlap when closed so that the curved hook portions 34 form a v - shape in the stay opening 35 for receiving stay 3 when the sail 5 is under tension , thus providing a locking force to keep the hank closed and prevent inadvertent release when in use . curved hook portion 34 of stay opening 35 is preferably dimensioned to the same radius as the stay 3 to provide maximum contact area between the stay 3 and hank 20 , but curved portion 34 may be either smaller or larger than the stay thickness and still function properly . hank arm projections 23 and 28 have overlapping tapered ends 36 to provide a smooth closure for stay opening 35 and to form magazine opening 26 . magazine opening 26 is dimensioned to engage the magazine blade 9 and fully open the hank when passing over blade segment 16 as described hereinabove . when a sail 5 is lowered , blade tip segment 12 engages magazine opening 26 as the hank 20 slides down the stay 3 . curved segment 24 on hank arm members 25 and 27 is dimensioned to correspond to the magazine rounded bead 13 to provide a smooth bearing surface . as hank 20 continues to slide down the magazine blade section 9 , arms 25 and 27 open around pivot point 29 , allowing the hank to be withdrawn from the stay 3 as described hereinabove . as the sail is raised , the hank 20 is opened by tapered segment 18 of blade 9 and positioned by straight segment 16 on the stay 3 with the stay 3 within the stay opening 35 . the hank 20 closes over the stay 3 as it passes over tapered portion 14 and blade tip 12 on magazine 10 thus attaching the sail to stay 3 . shoulders 31 and 32 are formed on hank arms 25 and 27 such that they engage the hook 21 preventing hank 20 from opening wide enough to allow the magazine 10 to pass between hank arm projection ends 36 . the dimensions of the spacer 39 ( as shown in fig2 e ) are determined by the thickness of the hank arm projections 23 , 28 and the width of the opening between the hank arm projection ends 36 . referring now to fig6 the forward deck of a sailboat equipped with two jib stowage magazines 10 is shown . tracks 44 are fastened as shown along the outer portion of deck 1 . tracks 44 may be of any conventional design such as the tee track 43 or , alternatively , the channel track 45 . magazine mounting block or base 2 is removably attached to a shuttle 40 , 41 which is of suitable design to function with the track 44 . in use , shuttles 40 and 41 are positioned on the track 44 in the approximate positions shown . suitable rigging , such as a stainless steel cable , couples the shuttles 40 and 41 together and runs either inside channel track 45 or along the outboard edge of tee track 43 , passing over a suitable pulley ( not shown ) where the tracks 44 come together adjacent the foot of the forestay 3 . a shuttle haul line 46 is rigged between each shuttle 40 , 41 and the sailboat cockpit to allow the crew to position the shuttle 40 , 41 without leaving the cockpit . a stowage magazine blade section 9 is attached to the forestay 3 ( as shown in fig2 e ). the desired sails ( not shown ) are each rigged on a jib stowage section 7 of magazine 10 which is then secured to a shuttle 40 or 41 . each sail must be fully rigged with its own halyard , downhaul and sheets . with a sail thus rigged on each shuttle , the crew member may select either sail by positioning the appropriate shuttle at the forward extremity of the track 44 , coupling the jib stowage section 7 to the lower end 15 of the blade section 7 , and raising the sail with the appropriate halyard . the forward end of each track 44 is disposed such that the jib stowage section 7 approaches the forestay 3 on an axis parallel to the sailboat longitudinal centerline thus ensuring proper engagement with the blade section lower end 15 . to change sails , the sail in use is lowered with the assistance of the downhaul line 48 and is secured in an orderly manner on the jib stowage section 7 . when the first sail is thus secured , it is moved out of the way by retrieval of the haul line 46 attached to its shuttle . retrieval of the first shuttle moves the second shuttle into position because of the interconnecting rigging as described above . when the second sail is in position it is raised as described hereinabove . this operation may be repeated as desired by the crew . alternatively , each of the shuttles 40 , 41 may be rigged with a single piece , integral jib magazine 10 which is moved into and held in position adjacent forestay 3 by the shuttle haul lines 46 . several jib stowage magazines 10 may be prerigged with sails . when the crew wishes to change from one sail to another , the sail in use is lowered and stacked in an orderly manner on the magazine 10 in use . the magazine 10 and sail may then be detached from the mounting block 2 and another prerigged magazine positioned in its place . the sail halyard and sheets are switched from the first sail to the second and the new sail is then ready for use . although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment , it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of the components may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention , or exceeding the scope of the appended claims . | 1 |
the main components of the bone harvester device 10 of the invention are shown in fig1 and include the clear , graduated plastic tube 12 , a cutting head 14 , a t - handle 16 and a bone extractor plunger 18 . as shown in fig2 the attachment between the cutting head 14 and the tube 12 may be by a formed end 20 with lock buttons 22 which engage with an l - slot 26 in the cutting head . the cutting head 14 has a number of cutting edges 30 formed along the cutting slots 32 . the number and arrangement of the slots 32 and cutting edges 30 may be varied depending on the size of the harvested bone pieces desired . a number of gradation marks 24 may be etched or otherwise placed on the plastic tube 12 to show volume of bone harvested . when the surgeon is harvesting bone from the iliac crest 74 as depicted in fig3 the site is exposed via a small incision and a starter trocar may be used to penetrate the outer bone . the device 10 of the invention is then positioned as shown and gently rotated against the bone , causing the cutting edges 30 to create small bone chips which enter the hollow tube via the slots 32 . as the tool 10 is used , the harvested bone 40 fills up the clear tube 12 , passing each of the gradations 24 until the desired volume is reached . at that point , the tool is withdrawn and the cutting head 14 is removed . a bone extractor plunger 18 is then inserted through the hollow t - handle 16 to eject the harvested bone 40 from the device so it may be used as desired . the cutting head 14 includes cutting edges 30 and slots 32 to carve chips of bone which enter the hollow tube 12 . the slot and edge combination sizes the bone chips and prevents the bone from exiting the hollow tube 12 when withdrawn from the harvest site . in fig8 an alternate cutting head 42 is shown in which a centrally located spike 44 is located between two cutting edges 46 and slots 48 . it should be recognized that angles of the cutting edges and size of the slots may be varied to select different sized bone chips . a conical cutting head 70 is shown in fig1 and 13 , along with threads 72 to mate to a threaded tube 12 as in fig1 . also , the attachment to the hollow tube 12 via lock buttons 22 and l - slots 26 are simply one of many means to attach the cutting head 14 to the tube 12 . fig1 shows that attachment may be by a threaded end 34 . in the device 50 of the invention shown in fig9 and 10 , the device is strengthened by a reinforcing framework 52 that surrounds the hollow tube 12 . in this embodiment , the framework would typically be formed of stainless steel and would provide the connection to the cutting head at the distal end and to the t - handle or power take - off at the proximal end . as shown , the framework 52 would leave at least two longitudinal slots 54 extending substantially the entire length of the clear tube 12 so the harvested bone could be seen . the device 50 of fig9 and 10 would have greater strength and may be able to harvest bone without the need for a starter trocar . the intimate arrangement of the clear tube 12 against the reinforcing framework 52 increases the torque that may be applied to the cutting head without damage to the device 50 . the tube may be formed by a combination of clear plastic and the metal framework such that clear plastic is inset into windows in the metal framework . gradations 24 may be placed on the clear tube 12 , the framework 52 or both , to show volume of harvested bone 40 . fig1 shows the device attached to a power drill 60 . any power take - off connection may be used to attach the proximal end to a rotary drill , including hudson fittings and the like . in the device shown in fig9 and 10 , the method of use is similar to that previously described , although a starting trocar may not be needed . in all cases , the cutting head is removed after the bone is harvested and bone is extracted by pushing it out of the clear tube 12 from the proximal to the distal end . while this invention may be embodied in many different forms , there are shown in the drawings and described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention . the present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated . this completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention . those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto . ______________________________________reference numeral list______________________________________10 device12 clear , graduated plastic tube14 cutting head16 t - handle18 bone extractor plunger20 formed end , clear tube22 lock buttons24 gradations26 l - slot on end 2030 cutting edges32 cutting slots34 threaded end363840 harvested bone42 cutting head44 spike46 cutting edge48 slot50 reinforced device52 reinforced framework54 longitudinal slots565860 drill6264666870 conical cutting head72 threads ( cutter fig1 ) 74 iliac crest767880______________________________________ | 0 |
the invention intends to provide a method for forming structures on a substrate with smaller dimensions than achievable with the aforementioned method . the invention further intends to provide a method for forming structures that may be used for other precursor materials . to that end the invention is characterized in that steps a ) and b ) are performed in a vacuum , and the thin layer is formed by directing a jet of fluid to the substrate . it is noted that because a sandwich of non - converted precursor material may be formed between converted precursor material and substrate , it is possible to fabricate structures with overhanging features , that is : structures in which between a converted , solidified precursor material and the substrate a void is present . it is further noted that a jet of fluid is directed to the substrate , but that this fluid may , depending on the temperature of the substrate when applying the fluid , freeze to the substrate . it is noted that u . s . pat . no . 5 , 827 , 786 discloses a method for forming insulating layers with a predetermined form on a substrate . in this known method a substrate is placed in the evacuable specimen chamber of a focused ion beam ( fib ) apparatus . the fib comprises an ion source producing a beam of ions and particle - optical elements for focusing and positioning the beam of ions on the substrate . the fib is equipped with a gas injection system ( gis ), thereby enabling a jet of fluid , the precursor material , to be directed to the substrate . the gis can direct the precursor material to the substrate so that molecules from the precursor material will adsorb to the surface of the substrate . the thickness of this layer is typically in the range of one mono - atomic layers . the finely focused beam of ions is scanned over the substrate in a predetermined pattern . where the beam hits the substrate , secondary radiation in the form of secondary electrons is caused . these secondary electrons cause a dissociation of the adsorbed precursor material . part of the dissociated precursor material forms a deposit , while another part of the precursor material is turned into gaseous by - products . this method differs from the method of the invention in that the precursor does not form a liquid or solid layer on the surface , but is adsorbed to the surface . the thickness of the layer is governed by the balance of adsorption and desorption , thus depending on , for example , the partial gas pressure ( determining how many molecules are adsorbed per second ), and the sticking time ( describing how long , on average , a molecule is adsorbed to the surface ) the resultant layer is typically one or several mono - atomic layers , see e . g . “ low temperature beam - induced deposition of thin tin films ”, h . o . funsten et al ., j . appl . phys . 71 ( 3 ), 1 feb . 1992 , pages 1475 - 1484 , more specifically in the introduction . although it may seem of little consequence that in this known method precursor adsorbs , the result is that no structures with overhanging features can be found . this is explained as follows : in this known method a very thin layer is formed , and when a part of the layer is irradiated , it forms , for example , a solidified product . immediately new precursor adsorbs to the formed structure and forms a fresh thin layer . the surface will thus follow the relief formed by the solidified parts , and never a non - solidified layer forms under a solidified layer . as a result in this known method no sandwich of unconverted precursor material between converted material and substrate can be formed . this is contrary to method according to the invention , where a liquid or solid layer is formed on the substrate , and when a part of the layer is , for example , solidified , a fresh layer of precursor material is formed on both the irradiated and the non - irradiated parts . it is noted that the material may be converted to a chemically different material . this is , for example , the case when a metallo - organic precursor is used that is dissociated by the irradiation , resulting in a metallic deposit . however , conversion of the precursor material may also take the form of , for example , polymerization . in an embodiment of the method according to the invention the particles are charged particles . many removable materials that can be converted with a charged particle beam into non - removable materials ( or vice versa ) are known per se . such materials are known from e . g . electron beam induced deposition ( ebid ) and ion beam induced deposition ( ibid ). in another embodiment of the method according to the invention the particles are photons . the photons may have a wave length of visible light , but may also be e . g . ultra - violet photons or x - ray photons . in yet another embodiment of the method according to the invention the material removed in step c ) is irradiated precursor material . in this so - named negative process the material removed is the material irradiated with particles . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the material removed in step c ) is non - irradiated precursor material . in this so - named positive process the material removed is the material that is not irradiated with particles . this group of materials includes the materials normally used for ebid and ibid , as these materials normally desorb from a surface if not irradiated . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the temperature of the substrate is kept below the freezing point of the precursor material while performing step a ) and b ), as a result of which a frozen layer is formed in step a ). by freezing a layer of precursor material on the substrate , and then irradiating the frozen layer , a part of the precursor material can be converted to a material with e . g . another evaporation temperature of sublimation temperature than the other part of the precursor material . this temperature difference can be used in step c ) to differentiate between which part of the precursor material is removed ( the part with the lowest evaporation or sublimation point ) and which part of the material that stays on the substrate . the temperature used may be cryogenic temperatures , e . g . the temperature of liquid nitrogen or liquid helium , but it may also be a temperature below room temperature but above cryogenic temperatures , such as can be achieved with e . g . peltier cooling . also temperatures equal to or above room temperature may for certain precursor materials result in frozen layers . it is noted that often the structure thus formed will be stored and / or be used at room temperature or even higher temperatures . if so , the part of the material that stays on the substrate should have a melting point and sublimation temperature above said room temperature or said higher temperature . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention step c ) takes the form of evaporating or sublimating material . evaporating or sublimating material is a convenient method to remove frozen or liquid material from delicate structures on a substrate . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the particles are focused in a pencil beam that is scanned over the substrate in a predetermined pattern . this method of forming a pattern is well - known for charged particles from electron - beam lithography , ebid and ibid . however , also a pencil beam of photons can be scanned over the surface by using appropriate deflection means , such as deflectable mirrors . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the particles form a pattern on the layer in the form of an image of a projection mask , said pattern imaged on the substrate with a projection lens . forming a pattern from a projection mask is known from optical projectors , but also from charged particle beam projection systems . the image projected on the layer may be scale 1 : 1 , but it may also be e . g . a demagnified image of the mask , as is often used in lithographic tools used in the semiconductor industry in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the particles form a pattern on the layer in the form of an image of a proximity mask , the thin layer positioned between the substrate and the proximity mask . the use of proximity masks is known per se from e . g . x - ray lithography . a proximity mask is a 1 : 1 mask placed close to the surface to be irradiated , and e . g . a parallel beam of x - rays irradiates the mask . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the same precursor is used for the repeated applications of a precursor in step a ). in this embodiment a structure consisting of one material is build . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention at least two different precursors are used for the multiple applications of a precursor in step a ). in this embodiment a structure comprising at least two materials is build . it is noted that the at least two materials will be arranged in layers . even the use of only two precursor materials may result in a multitude of ( alternating ) layers . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the precursor material comprises a metal atom . precursors comprising metal atoms are well known for ebid and ibid . often these precursors are organometallic molecules . examples are e . g . tungstenhexacarbonyl [ w ( co ) 6 ], methylcyclopentadientyltrimethyl platinum [( ch 3 ) 3 pt ( cpch 3 )], tetraethylorthosilicate ( teos ), ( ch 3 ) 4 sn , and many others , although also inorganic precursors may be used , such as wf 6 and sncl 4 . such precursor materials decompose when irradiated , forming a deposit comprising the metal on the substrate and gaseous by - products . the deposit may also comprise other atoms , such as carbon atoms resulting from the decomposition . it is noted that , when the temperature of the substrate during steps a ) and b ) is e . g . a cryogenic temperature , the gaseous by - products or part of the gaseous by - products may also freeze on the substrate , to be evaporated when removing the material in step c ) and heating it to , for example , room temperature . in still another embodiment of the method according to the invention the thin layer of precursor material comprises at least two types of molecules that , when irradiated , chemically react with each other . the invention is now explained on the hand of figures , in which identical reference numerals relate to corresponding features . fig1 schematically shows an apparatus equipped to perform the method according to the invention , fig2 a , 2 b , 2 c and 2 d schematically show different intermediate states of a substrate on which a structure is formed , fig1 schematically shows an apparatus equipped to perform the method according to the invention , fig1 schematically shows a particle column in the form of an electron beam column 101 mounted on an evacuable specimen chamber 100 . the specimen chamber may be evacuated by e . g . a turbo - molecular pump , or other known pumping means such as oil diffusion pumps , ion getter pumps , scroll pumps , etc . the electron beam column comprises an electron source 103 for producing electrons and electron - optical lenses 104 a , 104 b forming a finely focused beam of electrons 102 . the beam of electrons can be positioned on and can be scanned over the surface of a substrate 105 with deflection unit 106 . it is noted that lenses and deflection unit may use electric fields to manipulate the electron beam , or that magnetic field may be used , or a combination thereof . such columns , used in e . g . electron microscopes and the like , are capable of forming a beam with a focal diameter of typically several nanometres to less than 1 nm in diameter . the energy of the electrons in the focus may be varied , as a result of which electrons with an energy of typically between 100 ev and 30 kev are focused on the substrate , although higher and lower energies are known to be used . the substrate is mounted on a cooled stage 107 for positioning the substrate . the cooling may be achieved with a peltier unit , or for example by a thermal braid connected to a cold source such as a container containing a cryogenic fluid such as liquid nitrogen . mounted on the vacuum chamber is a gas injection systems ( gis ) 108 . the gis comprises a reservoir 109 for holding the precursor material and a capillary 110 for directing the precursor material to the surface of the substrate . the gis further comprises means 111 for regulating the supply of precursor material to the substrate . in this example the regulating means are depicted as an adjustable valve , but the regulating means may also take the form of e . g . controlled heating of the precursor material . also included is a secondary electron detector 120 . such a detector may be , for example , a everhard - thornley detector , or a semiconductor device capable of detecting low energy electrons . the signal of the detector is fed to a controller 121 . said controller also controls the deflector signals , lenses , electron source , gis , stage and pump , and other items of the instrument . monitor 122 is used to display an image of the substrate using the signal of the detector 120 . fig2 a , 2 b , 2 c and 2 d schematically show different intermediate states of a substrate on which a structure is formed . fig2 a schematically shows a substrate 105 , on which a precursor fluid 133 emanating from the capillary 110 of a gis is directed to the substrate 105 . by positioning the gis to the cooled substrate , and allowing an amount of precursor fluid to be directed to the substrate , said amount of precursor material freezes to the substrate . the surface area that is covered with the precursor material is governed by the distance from the nozzle of the capillary to the substrate , and the form of the nozzle . it is noted that this layer of precursor material does not desorb due to the low temperature of the substrate . in this the process according to the invention differs from standard ebid , as in standard ebid there is a balance of adsorption and desorption of precursor material , and the thickness of the layer of precursor material would desorb at the moment no precursor fluid is directed to the surface anymore . fig2 b schematically shows a finely focused beam of electrons 102 that is scanned over parts of the layer of precursor material . as a result the layer of precursor material show parts 131 that are irradiated and parts 132 that are not irradiated by the electron beam 102 . the energy of the electrons is chosen to be sufficiently high to cause a change of precursor material over the complete thickness of the layer . on top of this layer a fresh layer of precursor material can be deposited . again a pattern is written on the surface , thereby forming a second pattern of irradiated precursor material . it is noted that , when using the same geometry between capillary and substrate , and controlling the amount of fluid in the same way , a further layer with the same or almost the same thickness can be deposited . by changing one of the parameters ( e . g . the time during which the fluid is directed to the substrate , or the flux of fluid ) in a known way , a layer with a known thickness ratio when compared to the first layer may be deposited . it is further noted that only one precursor fluid may be used , but also alternating layers of different precursors may be used by equipping the apparatus with more than one gis . it is also possible to apply two precursors to one layer . the resultant converted precursor may comprise the conversion products of each of the precursors , or it may comprise , for example , a product obtained by the chemical reaction of the precursor fluids or its products with each other . fig2 c schematically shows a stack of layers 130 , each layer showing its own pattern 131 of irradiates precursor material and its own pattern 132 of non - irradiated precursor material . the energy of the electrons , chosen sufficiently high to cause a change of the precursor material over the complete thickness of the layer , is chosen sufficiently low to avoid a change of the precursor material in the whole thickness of the underlying layer . however , for a good adherence of the two layers , an overlap is needed . a penetration depth of between 1 and 2 layer thicknesses is preferred . fig2 d schematically shows the structure that is formed on the substrate after removing material . it is assumed here that the non - irradiated material is removable by e . g . heating the substrate to room temperature , the non - irradiated precursor material evaporating or sublimating to the environment . as a result a structure is formed , which may comprise overhanging parts . it is noted that , by alternating use of different precursor materials for different layers , a structure can be formed with different layers of converted precursor material . it is further noted that the process can be a so - named positive process , in which the material removed in step c ) is non - irradiated material , but that it may also be a so - named negative process , in which the removed material is the irradiated precursor material . the thickness of the first layer can be determined empirically , or it may be determined by measuring the thickness of the layer . measurement systems capable of measuring the thickness of films are known per se . a very advantageous method for determining the energy needed to traverse through one layer of precursor material is by measuring the amount of backscattered electrons with a backscatter detector . a backscatter electron is generally defined as an electron emerging from the irradiated material with an energy of more than 50 ev . when the energy of the electrons is low , all electrons are absorbed in the precursor material and any backscattered electrons come from the precursor layer . when raising the energy of the electrons , at a certain energy part of the electrons will reach the underlying material and will cause backscattering from the material of the substrate . as in most cases the backscatter coefficient of the precursor material and the substrate material differ , this can be observed as a change in backscatter signal . the advantage of this method for measuring the amount of deposited precursor material is that it directly shows the energy needed to pass through one layer . it is noted that the thickness can be measured on a part of the layer where the layer should be irradiated to form the structure , but that it may also be measured on a spatially removed part of the substrate , where the formation of an additional structure due to said measurement is of no importance . it is further noted that , by measuring the thickness of the first layer deposited on the substrate , the person skilled in the art can deposit a layer with a thickness with a known ratio to the thickness of the first layer . it is mentioned that this method can be used ‘ as such ’, indicating that electrons traversed through the whole layer . there is a chance that the energy thus determined is much higher than necessary . this can be explained as follows : when the energy is just sufficient to reach the substrate , many of the electrons backscattered by the substrate have an even lower energy than the impinging electrons . as a result most of the backscattered electrons are absorbed in the precursor layer . only at a much higher energy , presumably twice as high than needed for traversing the layer once , a distinct change in backscatter signal can be expected . however , by comparing the energy thus found with an earlier determined calibration series of this method , the energy can then be reduced to the required energy . another method for determining the energy needed to traverse through one layer , resembling the method described earlier is by detecting x - rays generated by the electron beam instead of backscattered electron . by selectively detecting characteristic x - rays of an element in the substrate , said element not occurring in the precursor layer , it can be determined at which energy the electrons reach the substrate . even better results are obtained by comparing the signal of the characteristic x - rays of the substrate material with the signal of characteristic x - rays of another material , said other material present the precursor . by comparing this ratio with a predetermined calibration series the thickness of the layer can be determined with high accuracy . it is mentioned that said other material may be present in the precursor only , but may also be present in both the precursor and the substrate . although the invention is explained on the hand of an electron beam apparatus only , the person skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be applied to fib apparatus , lithographic tools ( also known as steppers ) as used in the semiconductor industry , and the like . | 7 |
consider first an arrangement as shown in fig1 . the arrangement comprises first a magnetic field sensing device 10 ( or magnetometer ) whose output is proportional to a local magnetic field vector ; second , an acceleration sensing device 11 whose output is proportional to a local gravity vector ; and third , a means 12 to rotate these devices about an axis 13 which will generally be along a borehole axis . the means to provide rotation may , for example , be a geared timing type motor to provide continuous rotation , or a servoed type motor working with an angle sensor about the rotation axis to provide either continuous rotation or discrete positioning . these devices , along with a resolver 14 , are located in a container or carrier 18 that is suspended by cable 15 in a borehole 16 , and traveled therein by surface means 17 . motor output shaft 19 has extensions at 19a and 19b to rotate devices 10 and 11 , and provide input to the resolver which is also tied to the container . see also fig1 and 6 in u . s . patent application no . 293 , 159 filed aug . 17 , 1981 . for this configuration , both the magnetic field andacceleration sensing devices 10 and 11 ( i . e . h and a ) have single axes of sensitivity , nominally positioned parallel to each other and normal to the rotation axis 13 . as the combination of sensing devices is rotated about its rotation axis 13 in a borehole , both the magnetic field sensing and acceleration sensing devices 10 and 11 will produce variable output indications proportional to the vector dot product of a unit vector along the respective input axis and the local magnetic field vector and gravity vector respectively . for continuous rotation operation at a fixed location in the borehole and a uniform earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field , these signals will be sinusoidal in nature . for discrete step rotation , the sensor output will be just the equivalent of sampling points on the above mentioned sinusoidal signals . thus , from a knowledge of sample point amplitudes and position along the sinusoid , the character of an equivalent sinusoid in amplitude and phase may be determined . the output sinusoidal signals from the acceleration sensing and magnetic field sensing devices may be combined and processed as in circuitry indicated at 22 , and which may be located in carrier 18 or at the surface to provide the azimuth direction of the borehole axis with respect to the vertical plane containing the direction of the local earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field . the output signal from the acceleration sensing device 11 alone may be used to determine the tilt or drift of the borehole axis with respect to the local gravity field vector . such determinations of directional azimuth and tilt or drift from vertical are free of any constant or bias type errors of the sensing devices . the combination of elements as described above is considered as superior to such other rotatable magnetometer systems as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 174 , 577 , since there is in the present case no requirement for a flexible drive shaft , or for the two axis pendulous gimbal system required to maintain the magnetometer so that it only senses the horizontal component of the earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field . also , the use of an acceleration sensing device of any desired accuracy can provide much improved direction and tilt measurement than those obtainable from a self - pendulous approach . it should be noted that the signal processing used to derive azimuth direction and tilt or drift from the sinusoidal signal outputs from the magnetic field and acceleration sensing devices 10 and 11 is essentially identical to that disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 753 , 296 to van steenwyk in which a single axis gyroscope is employed rather than the magnetic sensing device of the present invention . note in this regard that the present configuration provides azimuthal direction with respect to the plane containing the local earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field vector , whereas the apparatus in the van steenwyk patent provides azimuthal direction with respect to true north as defined by the earth &# 39 ; s rotation rate vector . circuitry 28 connected in feedback relation between resolver 14 and motor 12 controls the latter in response to resolver output . the addition of a magnetic signal processing means 30 which may be located in carrier 18 or at the surface is shown in fig2 . it receives the output of device 10 via lead 10a and processes same to provide an harmonic analysis of the magnetic sensor output signal . thus means 30 is an harmonic analyser , having amplitude and phase output . if the local magnetic field is solely that of the earth &# 39 ; s field , the output waveform is a sinusoid at the frequency of rotation of shaft 19 , and the sinusoid amplitude should match that of the sensed component of the assumed known earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field . any observed deviation of the magnetic signal from the above described ideal is an indication of some anomalous magnetic field condition that may influence the accuracy of the magnetically determinable azimuth direction . analysis of the frequency and amplitude characteristics of the deviations from the ideal earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field may be used to quantify the probable errors of such magnetic azimuth determination . such magnetic signal processing can be by either a commercial analyzer or special purpose circuits . a further aspect of the invention concerns canting the input axis or axes 10b and 11b of either or both of the sensing devices 10 and 11 by a selected angle , α , as shown in fig3 . that angle may be fixed for a given configuration or may be variable within a given configuration . the cant angle may be typically on the order of 10 to 30 degrees , but variable angle arrangements can provide capability for variation as great as 0 to 90 degrees . the introduction of a cant angle adds the capability to measure three orthogonal components of either the gravity field or magnetic field with the previously described single axis sensors . the components normal to the rotation axis continue to be determined error free . when the apparatus is periodically operated with the cant angle adjusted to zero , the true sensor bias error may be determined . if , subsequently , the cant angle is adjusted to an angle such as 10 or 20 or 30 degrees , measurements free of fixed bias type errors may be made for all three components of the sensed quantity . fig5 and 6 illustrate technique for adjusting the angularity of the axis of sensitivity of the accelerometer relative to the lengthwise direction of instrument travel in the borehole . as shown , the accelerometer 317 ( corresponding to accelerometer 11 ) has an axis of sensitivity ( input axis ) shown at 317b , which is rotatable about an axis 350 which is substantially normal to the direction or travel 351 in the borehole . shaft extensions 314a and 314b correspond to extensions 19a and 19b in fig1 . the accelerometer 317 is carried by pivots 352 in a frame 353 to which shaft extensions 314a and 314b are connected , as shown . control means 354 is also carried by the frame to adjust the cant of axis 317b , as for example at locations of operation as described above , to improve the determination of azimuthal direction of tilt of the borehole , at &# 34 ; calibration &# 34 ; locations , and / or at other instrument locations in the hole . the control means 354 may , for example , comprise a jack screw 355 driven by a reversible motor 356 suspended at 356a by the frame . the jack screw extends laterally and interfits a nut 357 attached to the accelerometer case , as for example at its top , offset from axis 350 . a servo system 356b for the drive may be employed , so that a chosen angularity of axis 317b relative to direction 351 may be achieved . support or suspension 356a may be resiliently yieldable to allow the accelerometer to be adjustable tilted , without jamming of the drive or screw . when desired , a system similar to that of fig5 and 6 may be used to cant the angle of the sensitive input axis of the magnetic field sensing device 10 . the addition of a second magnetic field sensing device 110 as shown in fig4 provides additional capabilities . first , if operated just as the first magnetic field sensor 10 , it provides a second determination of magnetic azimuth direction which may be used to detect error by direct averaging of first azimuth determination ψ 1 with the second determination ψ 2 . such averaging may be conducted by addition and dividing circuits in block 22 ## equ1 ## . alternatively , the device outputs may be averaged , and the result processed to derive an average azimuth . it also provides redundancy such that measurements are still obtainable from device 110 if the first magnetic field sensing device 10 should fail . most importantly , the second magnetic field sensing device 110 may be used to improve the detection of anomalous magnetic fields in the region of the sensors . assuming that the only magnetic field in the region of the sensors is that of the earth &# 39 ; s magnetic field , both the first and second magnetic fields sensors 10 and 110 produce identical outputs h ( t ) 1 and h ( t ) 2 . since the spacing along the borehole axis is typically on the order of two to five feet , the difference of the two magnetic sensor outputs h ( t ) 1 -( h ( t ) 2 ( on leads 10a and 110a ) is a measure of the gradient of the local field . with the previously discussed cant angle α for the magnetic sensing device 10 set to zero , gradients s 1 of the cross borehole components with respect to the along borehole direction are measured . the gradient s 2 of the along borehole component with respect to the along borehole direction is also measured with the cant angle set to α ( where α may be up to 90 °). as with the single magnetic sensing device arrangement , the individual output signals of both cantable sensors may be analysed by the magnetic signal processing circuit 30 to provide additional detail characterization of any anomalous magnetic fields . the arrangements described above could also make use of acceleration sensing and magnetic field sensing devices having more than one axis of sensitivity . both two and three axes of sensitivity may be used to provide increased redundancy for improved reliability or accuracy whenever the increased complexity of such sensors is acceptable . although the discussions above concerning the use of harmonic errors of the magnetic sensor outputs or of the availability of gradients of the local magnetic field related to the ability to detect errors in the magnetically derived azimuth output , it is also possible to use these same data as means for determining the proximity of the sensor unit to known or expected anomalous magnetic fields resulting from pieces or parts of magnetic materials or from their effects in distorting the uniform earth &# 39 ; s field . thus such outputs could be used for the detection and direction indication of such elements . another useful combination employs a means indicated at g in fig1 a ( to be rotated by shaft 19 ) for sensing angular rate with respect to inertial space in any or all of the arrangements shown in fig1 through 4 . such means can be provided to measure angular rate in one , two , or three axes of an orthogonal coordinate set . see u . s . patent application no . 293 , 159 , referred to above . the inclusion of such an inertial rate sensing device permits the additional measurement of components of the earth rate rotation vector from which an azimuthal direction with respect to a true north direction can be found . this addition provides the capability to survey magnetic variation ( the angle between true north and magnetic north ), to initialize magnetic direction sensing instruments in relation to true north , or to operate in borehole survey operations or borehole magnetic anomaly detection operations in a precise manner with only one multi - purpose sensing array . magnetic field sensing devices ( magnetometers ) may be of any type , such as flux gate type , hall effect type , or nuclear magnetic resonance type . the magnetic signal processing function may be supplied to a commercial harmonic analyzer of any type that provides harmonic amplitudes and phases of the input sensor data , or it may comprise special purpose circuits designed as a part of the sensor system . in the drawings ψ refers to azimuth ; φ refers to tilt ; and θ refers to high side angle . | 6 |
with reference to fig1 an internally driven brushroll a according to the present invention includes a dowel section 10 which optimally is formed from a continuous , solid piece of rigid material such as wood , hard plastic , or the like . embedded in one end of the dowel 10 is a shaft 12 fixed within a closely shaped recess formed in the dowel . the shaft 12 is supported in an end cap 14 , by a bearing assembly 16 . this arrangement permits the shaft 12 and dowel 10 to rotate within the bearing 16 while the end cap 14 remains stationary . attached to the dowel 10 is at least one agitating element 18 , illustrated as a tuft of brush material . at an opposite end , a rigid cylindrical housing 20 is partially pressed and fixed over a portion of the dowel 10 . the housing 20 comprises a magnetic steel tube having an outside diameter matching the outside diameter of the dowel 10 . the housing 20 defines an interior volume or cavity 22 sized to accommodate a motor m . in the illustrated embodiment , the motor m is a brushless type motor with a stationary armature and a rotating magnet . the stationary armature is supported in volume 22 by a stationary shaft 26 . bearing assemblies 30 , 32 support stationary shaft 26 on opposing ends , permitting rotational movement of the dowel 10 and housing 20 around stationary shaft 26 . in the illustrated embodiment , bearing 30 is snugly fit into a bearing insert 38 which is fixed to , and rotates with , dowel 10 . similarly , bearing 32 is positioned in insert 40 which is fixed to housing 20 . electrical leads 42 connect with the motor m through a channel ( not illustrated ) in shaft 26 . the leads extend out through a second end cap 44 . motor m , as illustrated , includes a cylindrical permanent magnet sleeve 50 fixed in place on the interior wall of magnetic steel housing 20 . the magnet sleeve , which serves as the rotor of the electric motor m , can be an extruded magnet made from what to is referred to in the industry as “ bonded ” magnet material . typically , the magnet is extruded in long pieces and cut to length . such magnets may be magnetized either before or after assembly into the housing 20 . these types of tubular magnets 50 can be magnetized with various numbers of discrete poles . alternately , if the magnet sleeve 50 is a molded sintered magnet , then the magnet is not extruded but molded and ground to size after sintering and then magnetized . in yet another alternative , individual magnets can be spaced around the inside periphery of the housing 20 with alternating north , south polarity . the basic magnetic materials are ferrite magnets both bonded and sintered , and bonded neodymium magnets , however any conceivable magnetic material could be used without loss of functionality . one means for preventing the metal tube 20 from spinning on the dowel 10 would be to provide tabs ( not illustrated ) locking the tube to the dowel . with continued reference to fig2 motor m also includes a stator assembly 52 . the stator assembly includes an armature 54 which can be manufactured from a stack of armature laminations or as a single piece of advanced particulate material . regardless of the core selected , a number of wire slots 56 consistent with the number of magnetic poles on sleeve 50 and torque requirements of the motor are incorporated . in general , the number of slots 56 is in the range of about 6 - 20 . the slots 56 , positioned on the outside periphery of the core , permit armature windings 58 ( fig1 ) to be inserted into the armature . the armature windings 58 comprise a three - phase winding in either a wye connection or a delta connection . the winding is fed a phase - sequenced current from a properly commuted power source and a controller ( more fully discussed below ). the motor magnet , in general , will be multi - pole and usually will have on the order of 6 - 20 magnetized poles . although the design could use individual magnets spaced around the inside periphery of the magnet yoke or housing 20 ( which is a high permeability magnetic steel tube ) with alternating north / south polarity , the current design employs a tubular magnet construction made by the extrusion process or the molding process so that the entire magnet is a one piece component that fits snugly into the inside diameter of the housing 20 so that the magnet flux can be efficiently transferred to the housing or magnet yoke and back again without requiring high magnet nmf . if the magnet tube is individual magnets , they would be cemented into place with fixturing directly to the housing or magnet yoke . however the more probable design would employ a single piece magnet sleeve cemented into place in the housing 20 . the motor armature is made from a stack of armature laminations in most cases . however it would be possible to utilize new advanced particulate materials that demonstrate low eddy current loss . if the armature core is made of the new advanced particulate materials , the armature can be one piece with no requirement for individual laminations . however at the moment low cost laminations are still the most practical approach . these laminations or the one piece core would have a given number of wire slots incorporated into them consistent with the number of magnet poles in the magnet and consistent with the torque requirement and manufacturing considerations . in general , the number of slots that would probably be used would be in the range of 6 - 20 . the slots would be positioned on the outside periphery of the lamination and after insulating the slots , the armature winding would be inserted from the outer diameter . there are no limits in terms of the driving voltage necessary for driving the motor of the present invention . thus , the voltage could be 9 or 24 volt dc , 110 volt ac , or 220 volt ac . in addition , the placement of the motor can be varied . while in the embodiments illustrated the motor is placed on the right hand end of the dowel , the placement could be anywhere in the dowel . for that matter a smaller motor could be placed at each end of the dowel if so desired . the motor may be placed in the middle of the dowel if the shaft bearing arrangement provides definite armature support that will maintain a uniform air gap between the armature 54 and the sleeve 50 . the length of the motor is in direct ratio to the torque of the motor ( assuming the same diameter ). thus , a longer motor would be employed if more torque was desired and a shorter motor could be used if less torque were desired . for example , in the motor design illustrated in fig1 and 6 , approximately 40 - ounce inches of torque would be developed . it has been determined that a smaller diameter , longer motor is advantageous from the standpoint of providing more surface area through which to dissipate heat losses inside the motor . in that connection , the metal shell is useful for heat dissipation . it should also be recognized that there is a required minimum thickness of the metal sleeve to carry the necessary flux . it would be disadvantageous to have a shell thin enough that the shell would not carry all of the magnetic flux . with that type of design , the shell or housing 20 would also pick up magnetized or magnetizable metal objects such as paper clips or the like on the subjacent surface being cleaned . one supplier for the magnet sleeve is seiko - epson company of japan . the material is sold by seiko - epson under the code name neodex - 10 . the stator assembly can be made from laminations or can be a solid pressed metal part made from coated particulates . the use of the magnetic material discussed above allows a rather high power density for a reasonable cost . it is made from a rare earth magnet . with reference now to fig3 another embodiment of a motor m according to the present invention includes a stationary shaft 126 illustrated with a square tip or end 160 . the square end 160 is received in a plastic insert cap 140 . the cap can be fitted with a complementary shaped insert 142 having a suitably shaped aperture 144 that accommodates the tip 160 . also provided is a standard ball bearing 132 through which one end of the shaft 126 passes . mounted on the shaft is an armature 154 . rotating about the stationary armature 154 is a sleeve 150 which is mounted in a housing 120 . preferably the sleeve is made from a multi - pole bonded ndfeb magnet . the sleeve 120 can be made from a steel material . located on the other end of the sleeve 120 is a second standard ball bearing 130 . positioned adjacent the second ball bearing 130 is an end cap 138 . another end 162 of the shaft 126 extends through a central opening 139 in the end cap 138 . those skilled in the art will recognize that the permanent magnet brushless dc motor type illustrated , while the presently preferred embodiment , is not the only type of motor which can provide the functionality disclosed herein . for example , so - called switch reluctance type motors can also be suitably adapted as the motor m . typically , these motors do not use magnets , only simple windings in the armature and notched rotors with lobes that are sequentially attracted to the next armature lobe or pole when the proper coils are energized . as above , an inside - out version , in which the coils and armature are stationary and the rotor has shallow lobes that rotate with the brushroll , could also achieve the functionality disclosed above . additionally , motor m could alternately be configured as an induction motor . those skilled in the art will appreciate that this type of motor has an armature and winding similar to that discussed above . the rotor , however is different and employs what is commonly referred to as a “ squirrel - cage ” induction rotor usually with copper or aluminum bars extending from one end of the rotor to the other and shorted out end rings or cast connections . when the stator or armature is excited , induced current flows in the induction rotor causing torque in the motor . again , an inside - out geometry is used with the squirrel - cage being positioned on the inner diameter of the motor tube and rotating along with the brushroll . control schemes for the above - described motors are all somewhat varied , but in general the motors typically use three - phase power or a commuted three - phase power source . alternately , a stand alone system operating from one phase power sources , such as batteries and the like , can also be employed with suitable electronic controllers designed to provide appropriate power signals , no matter what style of motor is used . those skilled in the art will appreciate that electronic control circuits are widespread for the various described motors , and are relatively straightforward to implement . with reference now to fig4 electrical signals to the stator assembly 52 can be provided from a power source 70 through a speed adjusting circuit 72 . alternately , with reference to fig5 a sensor assembly 74 , can be provided within the volume 22 ( fig1 ), for calculating a position of the housing 20 relative to the stator 52 . this position information is forwarded to the speed adjusting circuit 72 which permits selection of the proper commutated signal to be sent along leads 42 to the stator 52 . the sensor assembly 74 may include a magnetic field detector which detects the magnetic polarity of a determined portion of the magnet sleeve 50 . alternately , the sensor assembly could include an optical type sensor configured to detect rotations of the housing . while the speed adjusting circuit 72 is illustrated as being located outside of the motor m , the circuitry could alternately be placed with the motor m inside the interior volume 22 . moreover , the speed adjusting circuit or device 72 incorporates various functional capabilities such as constant brushroll speed maintenance ; overload protection stopping brushroll rotation ; reverse brushroll operation easing , for example , backward vacuum movement ; and variable brushroll rotation depending on floor surface , e . g . no rotation on tile , wood and delicate floor coverings , and fast rotation for heavy duty carpeting or especially dirty environments . with reference now to fig6 a vacuum cleaner 80 is illustrated with an exploded view of an internally driven agitator a ′ according to the present invention . the vacuum cleaner is illustrated as being of an upright design . it has a suction nozzle located on the floor . positioned in the nozzle or adjacent thereto is the agitator according to the present invention . in the current design , the agitator a ′ rotates on its bearings 16 , 30 , and 32 while the shaft 26 remains stationary . thus , the stator assembly 52 remains stationary and the magnet sleeve 50 rotates along with the housing ( which is not illustrated in fig6 ). this illustration shows that the motor is a separate entity from the roller and is indeed much shorter . this permits the use of short shafts and bearings enabling less expensive and more accurate manufacture of the motor components . indeed , with shorter shafts , it is much easier to maintain an accurate air gap between the rotor and the stator thus avoiding rubbing and other undesirable operations . additionally , motors can be assembled in incremental lengths where a magnet of a unit length and an armature stack of unit length comprise the smallest motor . when two magnets and two armatures are joined , a motor of roughly double the power and torque is provided , simplifying the manufacturing process for a variety of applications . with reference now to fig7 an alternate embodiment includes a motorized brushroll a ″ in a carpet extractor 86 . in this embodiment , dowel 10 ″ is configured with agitator elements 18 ″ disposed in a predetermined pattern around the exterior surface of the dowel formed from a plurality of discreet bristle groups . with reference now to fig8 carpet extractor 86 ′ is configured with an internally driven agitator a ′″ having grooves 88 disposed along the exterior surface of the dowel 10 ′″ as a sponge - like cleaning element 87 . in this embodiment , the grooves 88 are especially suited to assist in the extraction of water or other fluid on the floor surface . this type of motor is instantly reversible which is advantageous in a carpet extractor environment . with reference now to fig9 a hand - held vacuum cleaner 90 includes the internally driven agitator a ″″ having a continuous agitating element or fin 92 formed of rubber or the like . thus the present invention pertains to an inside out brushless motor having a stationary armature or “ stator ” and a rotating magnet sleeve or “ rotor .” this is just the opposite of a traditional electric motor . with the motor of the present invention , one can sense and control the speed of the rotating brushroll of the vacuum cleaner . in addition , this design eliminates the driving belt for the agitator or brushroll since the belt , as discussed above , is prone to failure . with reference now to fig1 , a brushroll b includes a brushroll tube 200 which rotates while a shaft 202 remains stationary . thus , the stator assembly ( not shown ) of a custom motor n ( as described above ) remains stationary and a magnetic housing 204 rotates , having slotted tabs 205 fixedly mounted to the motor housing at each end , thus rotating with the magnetic housing 204 . the brushroll tube 200 can be formed from a continuous piece of extruded rigid material such as aluminum , steel , or the like . attached to the brushroll tube 200 is at least one agitating element 206 , illustrated as bristles suitable for press - fitting into a plurality of holes 208 in the brushroll tube 200 . fitted within the brushroll tube 200 is the motor n , with motor supports 210 and bearing assemblies 212 fitted within each end of the brushroll tube 200 . the motor supports 210 have cylindrically shaped outer ends 214 that extend through the bearings 212 , partially protruding beyond the ends of the brushroll tube 200 , and are fitted into cylindrical recesses 216 in stationary end caps 218 for support . the motor supports 210 have inner ends 220 that are configured to fit over respective ends of the motor shaft 202 . as illustrated , each end of the motor shaft 202 is configured with a d shape so that the shaft 202 and the motor supports 210 are keyed together for rotation . further , each of the motor supports 210 is formed with a slot 222 that fits over a tab 224 on the respective end cap . since the end caps 218 are mounted in a manner to prevent rotation , the motor supports 210 and the motor shaft 202 are , likewise , prevented from rotating . while each end of the motor shaft 202 are illustrated as having a d shape , other shapes , square for example , can be employed with equal efficacy . similarly , other suitable structures may be employed to interlock or key the motor shaft 202 , motor support 210 and end cap 218 arrangement together so that they remain stationary while the brushroll tube 200 and the housing 204 are free to rotate in unison . with reference now to fig1 , it illustrates how motor n is cooled . each end cap 218 is formed with an opening 226 permitting air to pass through . one of the openings 226 serves as an air intake while the opening of the remaining end cap 218 serves as an air outlet . air flows in one of the openings 226 , past the respective motor support 210 , through a gap between the motor n and the brushroll tube 200 ( as shown in fig1 ), past the remaining motor support 210 and out of the remaining opening 226 . the gap between the stator and the magnet sleeve is not shown in this embodiment . [ 0054 ] fig1 illustrates another brushroll b ′ having a motor n ′. in this embodiment , four openings 276 are provided in each end cap 268 . these are partitioned by a heat sink 280 into an intake half 282 and an exhaust half 284 . in this embodiment , no gap exists between the motor n ′ and a brushroll tube 250 . air thus enters the intake 282 , passing over the heat sink 280 to a respective end of the motor n ′, thus cooling the respective end of the motor n ′, and exits through the respective exhaust 284 , passing under heat sink 280 , thus transferring heat from the motor n ′ and the heat sinks 280 to the environment . fig1 illustrates a section at the center of brushroll b ′, showing that no gap exists between the brushroll tube 250 and the motor n ′. the gap between the stator and the magnet sleeve is not shown in this embodiment . with reference now to fig1 , another motorized brushroll b ″ is illustrated according to the present invention . as with the previously described brushroll b ′, a brushroll tube 300 rotates while a shaft 302 remains stationary . brushroll b ″ includes a motor n ″, preferably employing a single piece magnet sleeve 304 , cemented , or fixed by other means , into place in a housing 306 , similar in concept to the magnet sleeve 50 and magnetic steel housing 20 of the embodiment described with respect to fig1 . also included in the brushroll b ″ are two motor bearings 308 , respective bearing insulators 310 , support cones 312 , brush bearings 314 and end caps 316 . the support cones 312 are supported at their outer ends by the respective end caps 316 and are each prevented from rotating by a tab 318 on the adjacent end cap 316 that interlocks with a slot 320 on the support cones 312 . also shown are agitating elements 322 in the form of bristles ( see fig1 ) and a drive fastener 324 for fixing the housing 306 inside the brushroll tube 300 . the brushroll tube 300 has a plurality of mounting holes 326 suitable for press - fitting of agitating elements 322 . the tube 300 accommodates the end caps 316 and the drive fastener 324 . cooling holes 328 are provided in the brushroll tube 300 and are described in further detail below . each support cone 312 includes a plurality of ribs 332 separated by slots 336 . with reference now to fig1 , the motor shaft 302 is fixedly mounted , rotation wise , into the inner ends of the support cones 312 so that a stator assembly 330 of the motor n ″ remains stationary while the magnet sleeve 304 and the housing 306 rotate with the brushroll tube 300 . the motor shaft 302 is supported at its ends by respective bearings 308 which are in turn supported by bearing insulators 310 supported by the housing 306 . the drive fastener 324 is shown locking the housing 306 to the brushroll tube 300 . also illustrated in fig1 is a means of removing heat from the motor n ″. heat generated by the motor travels by conduction , shown by arrows 340 , and travels along the motor shaft 302 towards the ends of the shaft . from the ends of the motor shaft , heat is transferred by conduction to the support cones 312 and is conducted along the ribs 332 forming the center portion of the support cones , as shown by arrows 342 . air enters the brushroll tube 300 through openings 334 in the end caps 316 and flows , as shown by arrows 344 , through ventilation openings or slots 336 , between the support cone ribs 332 , thus removing heat from the support cones and carrying it away through cooling holes 328 in the brushroll tube 300 . air flow may be facilitated by the vacuum present in the vicinity of the cooling holes 328 . [ 0059 ] fig1 illustrates the motor shaft 302 , the stator 330 , the magnet sleeve 304 , the magnetic steel housing 306 , the brushroll tube 300 and the agitator elements 322 . a small gap 350 , as previously described , is maintained between the stator 330 and the magnet sleeve 304 to allow relative rotation therebetween . exemplary dimensions for the embodiment of fig1 are as follows : the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments . modifications and alterations will occur to others upon a reading and understanding of the preceding detailed description . it is intended that the invention be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof . | 7 |
embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings . throughout the following drawings , the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and characters . to make it easier to understand , the drawings vary in scale as appropriate . fig1 a is a perspective view of a motor driver according to a first embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig1 a . it is assumed that a motor driver 10 illustrated in fig1 a and 1b is placed near a machine tool or an industrial robot for cutting a workpiece ( not illustrated ). the motor driver 10 mainly includes a housing 20 in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape , and a printed circuit board 35 arranged vertically in the housing 20 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 1b , a plurality of electronic components 36 for driving or controlling a servo motor for the machine tool or the industrial robot are mounted on the printed circuit board 35 . as can be seen from fig1 a and 1b , a through - hole 28 is formed in a top plate 21 of the housing 20 . a fan motor 30 is attached to an inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 so as to be adjacent to the through - hole 28 . in addition , a plurality of through - holes 29 are formed in a bottom plate 22 of the housing 20 . with this configuration , when the fan motor 30 is in operation , the outside air flows into the internal space of the housing 20 through the through - holes 29 in the bottom plate 22 , and then flows out through the through - hole 28 in the top plate 21 . in this way , the electronic components 36 on the printed circuit board 35 can be cooled . fig1 is a schematic side view of part of the motor driver illustrated in fig1 a . as illustrated in fig1 , a wall 41 , such as a ceiling , extends approximately horizontally , above the motor driver 10 . since the motor driver 10 is placed near a machine tool or an industrial robot as mentioned previously , cutting fluid used for machining exists around the motor driver 10 in the form of cutting fluid mist . as a result , when the fan motor 30 is in operation , the cutting fluid mist comes into the housing 20 through the through - holes 29 , and is then discharged from the internal space of the housing 20 through the through - hole 28 as indicated by a white arrow . the cutting fluid mist thus discharged is sprayed onto the wall 41 and then accumulated as a fluid pool 39 . when the fluid pool 39 reaches a certain volume , the cutting fluid drops down to the motor driver 10 under its own weight , as indicated by solid - line arrows . in some examples of the first embodiment of the present invention , an outer surface of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is configured by two inclined surfaces 21 a . as illustrated in fig1 a , each of the inclined surfaces 21 a is inclined upward toward the center of the housing 20 . accordingly , a line 21 d of intersection of the inclined surfaces 21 a , which extends in parallel with each side plate of the housing 20 , is in a higher position than edge portions of the outer surface of the top plate 21 . in this configuration , even if the cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall 41 positioned above the motor driver 10 drops down to the motor driver 10 , the cutting fluid is guided to the outer surfaces of the side surfaces of the housing 20 along the inclined surfaces 21 a . this can prevent the cutting fluid from flowing into the motor driver 10 , and consequently prevent a breakdown of the electronic components 36 in the motor driver 10 , due to the cutting fluid . fig2 a is a perspective view of another motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig2 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig2 a . in fig2 a and 2b , each of two inclined surfaces 21 a of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is inclined downward toward the center of the housing 20 . accordingly , a line 21 d of intersection of the inclined surfaces 21 a , which extends in parallel with each side plate of the housing 20 , is in a lower position than the edge portions of the outer surface of the top plate 21 . in this configuration , even if cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall 41 ( see fig1 c ) drops down to the motor driver 10 , the cutting fluid is guided to an area near the intersection line 21 d on the top plate 21 of the housing 20 , along the inclined surfaces 21 a , and then discharged outside the housing 20 . thus , this configuration can prevent a breakdown of the electronic components 36 in the motor driver 10 , due to the cutting fluid . naturally , the two inclined surfaces 21 a may be designed to differ in size so that the intersection line 21 d is in a position apart from the electronic components 36 . fig3 a is a perspective view of still another motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig3 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig3 a . in fig3 a and 3b , the outer surface of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is configured by a single inclined surface 21 a . as can be seen from fig3 a and 3b , an edge portion 21 e of the single inclined surface 21 a is in a higher position than an opposite edge portion 21 f of the single inclined surface 21 a . in this configuration , even if cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall 41 ( see fig1 c ) drops down to the motor driver 10 , the cutting fluid is guided to an outer surface 23 a of a corresponding side plate 23 of the housing 20 with respect to the top plate 21 , along the inclined surface 21 a . thus , it is apparent that this configuration can provide an effect similar to that described above . fig4 a is a perspective view of a motor driver similar to the one illustrated in fig1 a , and fig4 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig4 a . in the configuration illustrated in fig4 a and 4b , a top plate 21 is attachable to and detachable from the remaining part of a housing 20 . in other words , the top plate 21 functions as a lid of the housing 20 . in addition , as can be seen from fig4 b , each of edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 flushes with an outer surface of a corresponding side plate of the housing 20 . moreover , fig4 c is a side view of a different motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 c , each of edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 protrudes sideward from the outer surface of the corresponding side plate of the housing 20 . furthermore , in fig4 d illustrating a modified example of the configuration illustrated in fig4 c , each of edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 protrudes sideward and then extends downward along the outer surface of the corresponding side plate of the housing 20 . in each of these configurations , the edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 protrude sideward from the respective outer surfaces of the side plates . consequently , even if cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall 41 ( see fig1 c ) drops down to the motor driver 10 , the cutting fluid is guided to the edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 . in this way , the cutting fluid is prevented from flowing into the housing 20 from a gap between the top plate 21 and the remaining part of the housing 20 . thus , it is apparent that these configurations can provide an effect similar to that described above . by contrast , when the distance between the edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the top plate 21 is smaller than that between the outer surfaces of the respective side plates of the housing 20 , cutting fluid may flow into the internal space of the housing 20 from a gap between the top plate 21 and the remaining surfaces of the housing 20 . fig5 a is a perspective view of a still different motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig5 b is another perspective view of the motor driver illustrated in fig5 a . in fig5 a and 5b , two grooves 51 a are formed in each of the two inclined surfaces 21 a . moreover , fig6 a is a perspective view of an additional motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig6 b is another perspective view of the motor driver illustrated in fig6 a . in fig6 a and 6b , two protrusions 52 a are formed on each of the two inclined surfaces 21 a . as can be seen from fig5 a , 5 b , 6 a , and 6 b , the grooves 51 a and the protrusions 52 a each extend from a middle area of the corresponding inclined surface 21 a in an inclined direction with respect to the intersection line 21 d , and end at the corresponding one of the edge portions 21 e and 21 f of the corresponding inclined surface 21 a , the edge portions 21 e and 21 f being parallel with the intersection line 21 d . in addition , the two grooves 51 a and the two protrusions 52 a of each of the inclined surfaces 21 a extend in directions different from each other . however , the two grooves 51 a and the two protrusions 52 a of each of the inclined surfaces 21 a may extend in parallel with each other . in fig5 a , 5 b , 6 a , and 6 b , the grooves 51 a or the protrusions 52 a are formed in / on the inclined surfaces 21 a of the top plate 21 . consequently , even if cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall 41 ( see fig1 c ) drops down to the motor driver 10 , the cutting fluid is guided to the outer surfaces of the side plates of the housing 20 , along the grooves 51 a or the protrusions 52 a . thus , it is apparent that these configurations can provide an effect similar to that described above . note that a case in which the inclined surfaces 21 a , where the grooves 51 a or the protrusions 52 a are formed , are level surfaces is also within the scope of the present invention . fig7 a is a perspective view of a still additional motor driver according to the first embodiment of the present invention , and fig7 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig7 a . as illustrated in fig7 a and 7b , a protrusion 52 b and a groove 51 b each extending in an oblique direction are formed on / in the outer surface of each of the two side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , the side plates 23 and 24 facing each other . each of the side plates 23 and 24 , where the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b are formed , is parallel with the intersection line 21 d . as can be seen from fig7 a and 7b , each of the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b extends from one side - edge portion to the other side - edge portion of the outer surface of the corresponding one of the side plates 23 and 24 . in the example illustrated in fig7 a and 7b , the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b extend in parallel with each other . however , the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b need not be in parallel with each other as long as each extends in an oblique direction . in this configuration , cutting fluid dropping down to the motor driver 10 is guided to the outer surfaces of the side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , along the inclined surfaces 21 a . the cutting fluid thus guided is further guided to the side - edge portions of the outer surfaces of the side plates 23 and 24 by the protrusions 52 b and / or the grooves 51 b . with this configuration , it is apparent that the cutting fluid is collected at predetermined areas of the above - described side - edge portions , and consequently prevented from dropping down to other electronic components positioned in a lower part of the motor driver 10 . fig8 a is a perspective view of a motor driver according to a second embodiment of the present invention , and fig8 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig8 a . in fig8 a and some other drawings , a plurality of through - holes 28 are formed in the top plate 21 of the housing 20 . as can be seen from fig8 b and some other drawings , the fan motor 30 attached to the printed circuit board 35 is positioned below the through - holes 28 . in other words , in the second embodiment , the fan motor 30 is arranged with a distance from the inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 . in fig8 a and 8b , the inner surface of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is configured by two inclined surfaces 21 b . as illustrated in fig8 b , each of the inclined surfaces 21 b is inclined upward toward the center of the housing 20 . accordingly , a line 21 d of intersection of the inclined surfaces 21 b , which extends parallel with side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , is in a higher position than edge portions of the inner surface of the top plate 21 . moreover , fig8 c is a schematic side view of part of the motor driver illustrated in fig8 a . when the fan motor 30 is in operation , cutting fluid mist is sprayed onto the inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 , as indicated by a white arrow in fig8 c , and then accumulated as a fluid pool 39 . when the fluid pool 39 reaches a certain volume , the cutting fluid drops down under its own weight as indicated by solid - line arrows . in some examples of the second embodiment , the inclined surfaces 21 b are used as the inner surface of the top plate 21 . accordingly , the cutting fluid sprayed onto the inner surface of the top plate 21 of the motor driver 10 is guided to inner surfaces 23 b and 24 b of the side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , along the inclined surfaces 21 b . with this configuration , the cutting fluid does not adhere to the electronic components 36 in the motor driver 10 . hence , this configuration can prevent a breakdown of the electronic components 36 in the motor driver 10 , due to the cutting fluid . fig9 a is a perspective view of another motor driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention , and fig9 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig9 a . in fig9 a and 9b , each of two inclined surfaces 21 b constituting the inner surface of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is inclined downward toward the center of the housing 20 . accordingly , the line 21 d of intersection of the inclined surfaces 21 b , which extends in parallel with the side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , is in a lower position than the edge portions of the inner surface of the top plate 21 . in this configuration , cutting fluid mist sprayed onto the inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 is guided to an area near the intersection line 21 d on the top plate 21 of the housing 20 , along the inclined surfaces 21 b . consequently , the cutting fluid is not collected near the inner surfaces 23 b and 24 b of the side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , preventing the cutting fluid from adhering to the electronic components 36 positioned near the inner surfaces 23 b and 24 b of the side plates 23 and 24 . thus , this configuration can prevent a breakdown of the electronic components 36 in the motor driver 10 , due to the cutting fluid . naturally , the two inclined surfaces 21 b may be designed to differ in size so that the intersection line 21 d would be in a position apart from the electronic components 36 . fig1 a is a perspective view of still another motor driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig1 a . in fig1 a and 10b , the inner surface of the top plate 21 of the housing 20 is configured by a single inclined surface 21 b . as can be seen from fig1 a and 10b , an edge portion 21 e of the single inclined surface 21 b is in a higher position than an opposite edge portion 21 f of the inclined surface 21 b . in this configuration , cutting fluid mist sprayed onto the inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 is guided to the inner surface 23 b of the one side plate 23 of the housing 20 with respect to the top plate 21 , along the inclined surface 21 b . consequently , the cutting fluid is prevented from adhering to the electronic components 36 in the housing 20 . thus , it is apparent that this configuration can provide an effect similar to that described above . fig1 a is a perspective view of a different motor driver according to the second embodiment of the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the motor driver illustrated in fig1 a . as illustrated in fig1 a and 11b , a protrusion 52 b and a groove 51 b each extending in an oblique direction are formed on / in the inner surface of each of the two side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , the two side plates 23 and 24 facing each other . the side plates 23 and 24 , where the protrusions 52 b and the grooves 51 b are formed , are in parallel with the intersection line 21 d . as can be seen from fig1 a and 11b , each of the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b extends from one side - edge portion to the other side - edge portion of the inner surface of the corresponding one of the side plates 23 and 24 . in the example illustrated in fig1 a and 11b , the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b extend in parallel with each other . however , the protrusion 52 b and the groove 51 b need not be in parallel with each other , as long as each extend in an oblique direction . in this configuration , cutting fluid sprayed onto the inner surface 21 b of the top plate 21 is guided to the inner surfaces 23 b and 24 b of the side plates 23 and 24 of the housing 20 , along the inclined surfaces 21 b . the cutting fluid thus guided is further guided to the side - edge portions of the inner surfaces 23 b and 24 b of the side plates 23 and 24 by the protrusions 52 b and / or the grooves 51 b . with this configuration , it is apparent that the cutting fluid is collected at predetermined areas of the above - described side - edge portions , and consequently prevented from dropping down to other electronic components positioned in a lower part of the motor driver 10 . fig1 a is a perspective view of a cabinet according to the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a . as illustrated in fig1 a and 12b , a cabinet 10 ′ is provided with electronic equipment 61 including electronic components for driving or controlling a motor for a machine tool or an industrial robot , and a radiator 62 , such as a heat sink . the cabinet 10 ′ includes a first wall 45 extending vertically . the electronic equipment 61 is attached to one surface of the first wall 45 , and the radiator 62 is attached to the other surface of the first wall 45 . in a precise sense , an opening ( not illustrated ) is formed in the first wall 45 , and the radiator 62 is attached directly to the electronic equipment 61 through the opening of the first wall 45 . note that the cabinet 10 ′ may include only the electronic equipment 61 , or may include a combination of the electronic equipment 61 and one or more of the radiator 62 , a first fan motor 31 , and a second fan motor 32 . in some cases , the first fan motor 31 is attached to an upper end of the electronic equipment 61 , and the second fan motor 32 is attached to an upper end of the radiator 62 . the first fan motor 31 and the second fan motor 32 have a function of appropriately discharging heat from the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 , respectively . moreover , as illustrated in fig1 a , 12 b , and 12 c , a second wall 46 extending laterally with respect to the first wall 45 is attached to an upper end of the first wall 45 . in fig1 a , 12 b , and 12 c , the second wall 46 is configured by two partial walls 46 a and 46 b . the two partial walls 46 a and 46 b are inclined so as to abut on the first wall 45 . fig1 d is a schematic view illustrating a case in which the cabinet 10 ′ is configured by the electronic equipment 61 and the first fan motor 31 . as illustrated in fig1 d , the second wall 46 may be configured only by a single partial wall 46 a . fig1 a is a schematic side view of part of another cabinet according to the present invention . moreover , fig1 b is a perspective view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a , and fig1 c is a side view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a . in fig1 a to 13c , a second wall 46 is flat and extends horizontally . to a bottom surface of the second wall 46 , a bulge 46 c having a substantially triangular cross section is attached . as illustrated in fig1 a to 13c , it is assumed that a first wall 45 is attached to a tip of the bulge 46 c . the bulge 46 c has a function similar to that of the inner surfaces of the partial walls 46 a and 46 b illustrated in fig1 a and 12b . as can be seen from fig1 b , it is preferable that the width of the bulge 46 c in a direction of a line of intersection of the first wall 45 and the second wall 46 be greater than the width of each of the first fan motor 31 and the second fan motor 32 in the above - described direction of the intersection line . when the first fan motor 31 and the second fan motor 32 are in operation , cutting fluid mist comes into each of the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 , and is then discharged from the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 , as indicated by white arrows in fig1 a . the cutting fluid mist thus discharged is sprayed onto the second wall 46 , and accumulated as fluid pools 39 . when each of the fluid pools 39 reaches a certain volume , the cutting fluid drops down under its own weight . in fig1 a to 12c and fig1 a to 13c , the second wall 46 is configured by the two partial walls 46 a and 46 b each inclined downward , or is provided with the bulge 46 c on the one surface . with these configurations , the cutting fluid is guided to the one surface 45 a and the other surface 45 b of the first wall 45 , along the two partial walls 46 a and 46 b or the bulge 46 c . accordingly , the cutting fluid does not adhere to the electronic equipment 61 of the cabinet 10 ′, preventing a breakdown of the electronic equipment 61 of the cabinet 10 ′, due to the cutting fluid . fig1 a is a perspective view of another cabinet according to the present invention , and fig1 b is a back view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a . in fig1 a and 14b , inverted v - shaped protrusions 47 a and 47 b are attached to respective surfaces of the first wall 45 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 14b , the inverted v - shaped protrusion 47 a is positioned between the first fan motor 31 and the partial wall 46 a , while the inverted v - shaped protrusion 47 b is positioned between the second fan motor 32 and the partial wall 46 b . as can be seen from fig1 a and 14b , the vertex of each of the inverted v - shaped protrusions 47 a and 47 b is positioned above the corresponding one of the first fan motor 31 and the second fan motor 32 . consequently , cutting fluid guided to the first wall 45 along the partial walls 46 a and 46 b or the bulge 46 c is further guided by the inverted v - shaped protrusions 47 a and 47 b away from the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 . this configuration can further prevent the cutting fluid from adhering to the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 . in addition , the cutting fluid is guided to predetermined areas , preventing the cutting fluid from dropping down to other electronic components . to provide this effect , it is preferable that the length of each of the inverted v - shaped protrusions 47 a and 47 b in the direction of the line of intersection of the first wall 45 and the second wall 46 be greater than the length of each of the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 in the above - described direction of the intersection line . fig1 a is a perspective view of still another cabinet according to the present invention , and fig1 b is a back view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a . in fig1 a and 15b , elongated protrusions 48 a and 48 b are attached to the respective surfaces of the first wall 45 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 15b , the elongated protrusion 48 a is positioned between the first fan motor 31 and the partial wall 46 a , while the elongated protrusion 48 b is positioned between the second fan motor 32 and the partial wall 46 b . the cutting fluid guided to the first wall 45 along the partial walls 46 a and 46 b or the bulge 46 c is further guided by the elongated protrusions 48 a and 48 b so as to be away from the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 . this configuration can further prevent the cutting fluid from adhering to the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 . in addition , the cutting fluid is guided to predetermined areas , preventing the cutting fluid from dropping to other electronic components . to provide this effect , it is preferable that the length of each of the elongated protrusions 48 a and 48 b in the direction of the line of intersection of the first wall 45 and the second wall 46 be greater than the length of each of the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 in the above - described direction of the intersection line . fig1 a is a perspective view of a different cabinet according to the present invention , and fig1 b is a side view of the cabinet illustrated in fig1 a . in fig1 a and 16b , receiving parts 49 a and 49 b each having a substantially u - shaped cross section are attached to the respective surfaces of the first wall 45 . as illustrated in fig1 a and 16b , the receiving part 49 a is positioned between the first fan motor 31 and the partial wall 46 a , while the receiving part 49 b is positioned between the second fan motor 32 and the partial wall 46 b . the cutting fluid guided to the first wall 45 along the partial walls 46 a and 46 b or the bulge 46 c is received by the receiving parts 49 a and 49 b . with this configuration , the cutting fluid is prevented from adhering to the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 , further preventing a breakdown of the electronic equipment 61 . to provide this effect , it is preferable that the length of each of the receiving parts 49 a and 49 b in the direction of the line of intersection of the first wall 45 and the second wall 46 be greater than the length of each of the electronic equipment 61 and the radiator 62 in the above - described direction of the intersection line . in addition , it is preferable that the cutting fluid accumulated in the receiving parts 49 a and 49 b be discharged from the receiving parts 49 a and 49 b regularly . for this reason , the receiving parts 49 a and 49 b may be inclined as the elongated protrusions 48 a and 48 b . note that appropriately combining the examples described above is within the scope of the invention . in the first to sixth aspects , the outer surface of the top plate is configured by an inclined surface or inclined surfaces . accordingly , even if cutting fluid sprayed onto the wall positioned above the motor driver drops down to the motor driver , the cutting fluid is guided to the outer surfaces of the side plates of the housing , along the inclined surface ( s ). as a result , the cutting fluid does not flow into the motor driver , preventing a breakdown of the electronic components in the motor driver , due to the cutting fluid . in the seventh to eleventh aspects , the inner surface of the top plate is configured by an inclined surface or inclined surfaces . accordingly , cutting fluid sprayed onto the inner surface of the top plate of the motor driver is guided to the inner surfaces of the side plates of the housing , along the inclined surface ( s ). as a result , the cutting fluid does not adhere to the electronic components in the motor driver , preventing a breakdown of the electronic components in the motor driver , due to the cutting fluid . in the twelfth to fifteenth aspects , a bulge is provided to the one surface of the second wall . accordingly , the cutting fluid sprayed onto the one surface of the second wall is guided to the first wall , along the bulge . as a result , the cutting fluid does not drop down to the electronic components , preventing a breakdown of the electronic components mounted on the cabinet , due to the cutting fluid . the present invention has been described above on the basis of the representative embodiments . however , it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above - described modifications as well as various other modifications , omissions , and additions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention . | 7 |
fig1 is a plan view of a typical phosphor - based color wheel 100 of the prior art . the wheel , is comprised of multiple color segments 102 , 104 , 106 , each of which is used to generate light having a particular color as will be explained later . the color segments 102 , 104 , 106 are attached to a central hub 108 which has a central aperture 110 through which a shaft is attached to the color wheel 100 . while three segments are shown in fig1 , the color wheel 100 of fig1 may include more segments . for example , many color wheels include a single segment for each of three primary colors such as red , green , and blue . other color wheels include multiple segments for a single color — either adjacent to segments of the same color or separated by segments of another color . color wheels may also include additional colors such as cyan , magenta , and yellow , and may provide segments intended to generate white light — often called white or clear segments . while three primary colors have traditionally been used in display systems , the term multi - primary is typically reserved for systems utilizing four or more primary colors . fig2 illustrates the use of a typical phosphor - based color wheel 100 in an illumination system 200 of the prior art . the color wheel is mounted on a motor 202 by a shaft , or coupled to a motor by a belt , gear , or some other coupler to enable the motor 202 to turn the color wheel 100 . the color wheel 100 is positioned in the path of a light beam 204 generated by a light source 206 and focused on the color wheel by an optical system 208 . light source 206 may be any source of radiant energy , and typically is one or more leds or lasers . while shown as a single lens , optical system 208 often is a lens system comprised of multiple lenses . light focused on the phosphor - based color wheel 100 at point 210 excites phosphors in or on the color wheel . as described in u . s . pat . no . 7 , 547 , 114 b2 , issued 16 jun . 2009 to li et al . and entitled multicolor illumination device using moving plate with wavelength conversion materials , u . s . pat . no . 7 , 726 , 861 b2 , issued 1 jun . 2010 to xu and entitled brightness enhancement with directional wavelength conversion , and u . s . pat . no . 7 , 744 , 241 b2 , issued 29 jun . 2010 to xu and entitled high brightness light source using light emitting devices of different wavelengths and wavelength conversion , various phosphors may be applied on a substrate to enable a conversion from one wavelength band to another wavelength band . while this disclosure will discuss the phosphors as being applied to the substrate or located on the substrate , it is understood that this includes phosphors that are embedded in the substrate or applied to a back surface of the substrate or sandwiched between layers of the substrate . the phosphor color wheel absorbs energy from the illumination beam 204 and reemits the beam 212 on the other side of the wheel . the emitted beam 212 may be collected and focused or collimated by optics 214 . the illumination beam 204 and the emitted beam 212 have different wavelengths at least a portion of the time . for example , segment 102 may include red phosphors — or phosphors that emit light in what is perceived by humans as red light — while segments 104 and 106 include green and blue phosphors respectively . if laser 206 emits blue light 204 , when the red segment 102 is in the light path the red phosphors will absorb the blue laser light and reemit red light 212 . when the green segment 104 is in the light path the green phosphors will absorb the blue laser light and reemit green light 212 . when the blue segment 106 is in the light path the blue phosphors will absorb the blue laser light and reemit blue laser light 212 . while the illumination system of fig2 provides an efficient method and system for generating light of various colors , when used in a display system it has serious disadvantages . for example , while the use of solid state light sources such as leds or lasers provides an efficient source of radiant energy to stimulate the phosphors , the use of a segmented color wheel constrains the display system to the use of single color display periods that are determined by the relative sizes of the various color segments 102 , 104 , 106 . as such , no matter the color needs of the image being generated , a display system using a segmented color wheel 100 can only devote a portion of time to a particular color that is determined by the size of a particular color filter relative to the sizes of the remaining color filters as it is generally necessary to rotate the wheel at a constant velocity . the new color wheel design and illumination system 300 shown in fig3 overcomes this limitation . the color wheel 302 of fig3 includes multiple tracks for bands 304 , 306 , 308 around the color wheel rather than radial segments . these tracks enable the beam of radiant energy 310 produced by source 312 to stimulate the phosphors on any given track for any proportion of the time . this enables the improved color wheel 302 to be used in illumination systems 300 that provide primary color periods having durations that vary relative to one another , generally based on the color needs of an image being generated or on the illumination capabilities of the source 312 and phosphors used to convert the source radiant energy 310 . for example , a bluish image may increase the relative time the radiant energy 310 lingers on a blue phosphor band compared to a yellow or red band . because the illumination system of fig3 does not include radial spokes , a mechanism for moving the beam of radiant energy 310 onto different segments of the color wheel 302 is used . this mechanism may include a servo or other mechanism to move the color wheel itself relative to the radiant energy beam 310 , or a mechanism to move the beam relative to the color wheel . as shown in fig3 , a tilting mirror 314 may be used to direct the radiant energy 310 from one track to another on the color wheel . in systems that move the beam relative to a stationary spinning color wheel , the light beam reemitted by the wheel also moves relative to the wheel . in the example shown in fig3 , an optional integrator rod 316 is used to collect the light from all three of the phosphor tracks . the integrator rod collects the reemitted light and emits the reemitted light from a far end of the integrator light . most of the light passing through the integrator rod reflects from the integrator rod several times as it passes through the integrator rod such that light passing through the exit of the integrator rod 316 is homogenized . a controller , not shown , activates the tilting mirror 314 to select which of the phosphor tracks is impinged by the radiant energy 310 from the source 312 . the controller may sequentially alternate between all of the tracks , may select only a single track , or may alternate between a subset of the tracks . the duration each track is illuminated may be equal nor unequal compared to the duration other tracks are illuminated . the controller may also alter the intensity of the radiant energy 310 produced by the source 312 during or between the illumination periods for each track depending on the intensity needs of the illumination system . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , the source 312 may produce a visible or invisible beam of radiant energy 310 . for example , the beam of radiant energy 312 may be ultraviolet light , infrared light , visible light , microwave energy , a beam of electrons , or any other suitable beam of radiant energy . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , the color wheel may be wheel shaped , or may have other shapes . for example , the color wheel may be drum shaped or formed on a belt . the term color wheel and the illustration of the color wheel are selected only because a disc - shaped color wheel are the most popular embodiments used in contemporary filter color wheel based display systems and those skilled in the art are familiar with existing color wheels . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , the color wheels illustrated as transmissive color wheels may be reflective instead , and vice - versa . the addition of a reflective surface to a far side of a color wheel may be used to convert a transmissive color wheel into a reflective color wheel . the reflective surface may reflect all or only some of the wavelengths of interest in the illumination system . for example , if a blue laser source is used , it may be desired to allow the blue light to pass through the wheel while reflecting light from some or all of the other portions of the visible light spectrum . the reflective surface may be a portion of the moving color wheel — in which case the wheel truly is reflective , or may be an independent or stationary reflector positioned by the color wheel . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , the color wheel is illustrated and discussed as having multiple tracks of different colors . it should be understood that one or more of the tracks may be devoid of significant phosphors such that the radiant energy used to illuminate the track is not significantly converted by the phosphors . for example , if the source 312 produces radiant energy 310 in a wavelength band that is useful for the illumination system , one or more tracks of the color wheel may be clear in order to allow the radiant energy to pass through the color wheel without conversion . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , optics 318 is illustrated as a single refractive lens . it should be understood that the illustration of the optics 318 or other optical components as a single refractive lens is to simplify the illustration and is not a limitation of the system unless otherwise stated . optics 318 may be comprised of more than one optical element and each optical element may be refractive , diffractive , reflective , or any other type of optical element , with or without optical power . in the system of fig3 and the following figures and embodiments , the order or placement of the various optical components is illustrated schematically for purposes of illustration only and should not be considered as limiting . for example , the relative locations of the tilting mirror 314 and optics 318 may be interchanged or the tilting mirror 314 may be placed between individual elements of the optics 318 . likewise , the integrator rod may be placed before the color wheel or after the color wheel . as the phosphors are generally dispersive , the integrating rod may not be used in some embodiments . an integrating rod is useful , however , to collect light as emitted from various tracks of the color wheel . as the reemission of the energy from the phosphor wheel takes a finite amount of time , the color wheel emits light from an elongated area of the color wheel . the shape and location of the elongated strip depends on the speed of the color wheel , the decay period of the phosphors , and the energy level used to excite the phosphors . the tilting mirror 314 of fig3 may be a gimbaled mirror or an array of gimbaled mirrors . the tilting mirror may also be a single tilting mirror such a scanning mirror used in scanning displays and printers , or an array of such scanning mirrors . fig4 illustrates an illumination system 400 according to another embodiment of the present invention . in fig4 , radiant energy 310 from the source 310 is once again deflected by the tilting mirror 314 through optics 318 to an integrating rod 416 . in this embodiment , however , an input face of the integrating rod 416 includes multiple regions 418 , 420 , 422 on which various phosphors have been deposited . each region on the input face of the integrating rod performs a similar function to the function of the color wheel in fig3 — the conversion of the input radiant energy 310 to a beam of energy in a desired wavelength or the passing of the radiant energy 310 . as shown in fig4 , the tilting mirror 314 may be used to direct the radiant energy 310 to each individual region of the integrating rod . for example , path 424 illustrates the radiant energy being applied to a center region 420 on the input face of the integrating rod 416 while path 426 illustrates the radiant energy being applied to another region 418 of the input face . in additional to the motion shown in fig4 that moves the source beam of radiant energy from one region of the input face of the integrating rod to another region of the input face of the integrating rod , it may be desired to move the point at which the radiant energy 310 impinges on the input face in order to prevent excessive localized heating of the phosphors or the input face or coatings on the input face . it is expected that radiant energy 310 impinging on the input face will have a great enough power level to damage or destroy the phosphor coatings on the input face of the integrating rod 416 . embodiments using an actual color wheel generally spin the color wheel fast enough to avoid the localized heating that can destroy the coatings . embodiments using color wheels may introduce additional motion of the input beam , generally in a direction perpendicular to the rotational direction relative to the beam at the point where the beam illuminates the wheel . the motion across a particular region of the input face of the integrator rod may be linear , circular , elliptical , random , vibratory , or follow a lissajous or any other pattern . the rotation speed of the color wheel and the movement of the beam across a particular region are for purposes of cooling , providing uniformity , and to prevent damage to the coatings . thus , the rotation speed or movement within a given track or region is independent to the frame rate of a display system using the illumination system . this allows the wheel or tilt mirror to operate at speeds much lower as well as much faster than the speeds required by a traditional color wheel and allows the noise generated by the movement to not only be reduced , but also to be generated at frequencies outside the hearing of a human — which can result in significantly quieter operation . fig5 is a schematic view of an illumination system according to another embodiment of the present invention . in fig5 , multiple sources 512 are used to generate multiple source beams of radian energy . the multiple sources may each produce a beam of radiant energy in the same wavelength or band of wavelengths , or they may produce beams of radiant energy in different bands . the multiple source may operate simultaneously or sequentially or any combination thereof the beam of radiant energy from each of the multiple source or groups of the multiple sources or any combination thereof may be directed toward individual tracks on the phosphor based color wheel 302 such that activation of a particular source or sources stimulates the phosphors of a different color . the use of multiple source directed to the multiple tracks or regions on the color conversion device allows the elimination of a tilting mirror or other mechanism to direct the radiant energy to a particular track . embodiments utilizing multiple sources 512 to generate additional power may utilize a tilting mirror as shown in other embodiments . the tilting mirror shown in other embodiments may also be replaced , in the embodiment of fig5 , the embodiments shown in fig3 and 4 , and other embodiments , by an acousto - optical modulator , bragg filter , switchable bragg grating , holographic modulator , or other device as illustrated by modulator 514 . modulator 514 may be controlled to direct the radian energy from one or more of the sources 512 to one or more of the tracks on the color wheel 302 . fig6 is a schematic view of yet another embodiment of the present invention illustrating the use of a color wheel having tracks instead of radial segments . in fig6 , the modulator 602 directs the source radiant energy along one or more multiple paths to reflectors 604 and 606 which direct the radiant energy to the color wheel 302 . modulator 602 may be a modulator as described in fig5 , or it may be a scanning mirror , a tilt mirror , or an array of mirrors such as a micromirror device . a digital micromirror device may be used in this embodiment in a bistable manner to direct light to one or the other of the reflectors 604 and 606 . separate regions , or interleaved regions , of the micromirror array may also be activated in opposite directions to direct different portions of the incident radiant energy to one or the other or both of the reflectors . while fig6 illustrates the use of two separate reflectors , both located in the plane of the drawing , it should be understood that the reflectors may be regions of the same reflector , may be situated on the same side of the path of incident radiant energy , there may be more than two reflectors , and the reflectors maybe positioned in any position in three - dimensions . the modulators and reflectors shown in fig6 and the various embodiments described herein may include coatings designed to modify or limit the band of radiant energy . likewise , the color wheel or the integrating rod may also have coatings to modify or limit the band of radiant energy allowed to pass through the illumination system . fig7 is a schematic view of one embodiment of the illumination system 700 using a reflective color wheel 702 . radiant energy from the illumination sources impinges on the reflective color wheel 702 where it is absorbed and reemitted as radiant energy in another band of wavelengths . the incident illumination is shown by beams from the sources while the reflected beam is shown as a dispersed beam . a dichroic splitter 704 is used to reflect one of the incident and reflected beams while passing the other of the incident and reflected beams . in fig7 , the incident beam is passed through the dichroic splitter while the beam reemitted by the reflective wheel is reflected by the dichroic splitter . fig8 shows the system of fig7 at another point in time when the beams are directed to another track of the color wheel 702 . the beams may be directed between the tracks by any of the methods discussed above . fig9 is a schematic view of a display system 900 utilizing the illumination systems 902 described above . light from the illumination system 902 is directed to a transmissive or reflective spatial light modulator 904 , such as a liquid crystal on silicon or micromirror modulator . the modulator and illumination system are controlled by controller 908 which also received image data describing a desired image to be produced . the spatial light modulator 904 modulates the incoming beam of light from the illumination system to form an image on image plane 906 . some spatial light modulators absorb the light not used to form the image , some spatial light modulators transmit the unused light in a different direction to a different location such as the optical dump shown in fig9 . thus , although there has been disclosed to this point a particular embodiment for a wavelength converter and method therefore , it is not intended that such specific references be considered as limitations upon the scope of this invention except insofar as set forth in the following claims . furthermore , having described the invention in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof , it is to be understood that further modifications may now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art , it is intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims . in the following claims , only elements denoted by the words “ means for ” are intended to be interpreted as means plus function claims under 35 u . s . c . § 112 , paragraph six . | 7 |
referring to fig1 an embodiment of this invention as applied to a conventional commercially available apartment size refrigerator 11 is shown in perspective from the rear . the refrigerator 11 comprises an insulated generally rectangular box - like body 12 open at one side . an insulated door 13 is hinged along one of its vertical edges 14 to the open side of the body 12 and is provided with a handle 15 for selectively closing the open side of the body 12 . the refrigerator 11 includes an appropriate power unit 16 including a compressor which may be driven by an electric motor connected to a power source by means of a power cord 18 . the compressor of the power unit 16 is connected to an appropriate cooling coil system 17 filled with an appropriate refrigerant and a portion of which extends within the refrigerator 11 to provide means for maintaining the temperature within the refrigerator 11 below atmospheric in a manner well - known in the prior art . as shown in fig1 the refrigerator 12 is mounted on a frame 20 together with apparatus according to the teaching of this invention , a portion of such apparatus being mounted on and extending through the insulated side wall 19 of the body 12 of the refrigerator 11 into communication with the interior thereof as best shown in fig2 . the purpose of the apparatus according to this invention is to maintain a nitrogen rich atmosphere within the interior of the refrigerator 11 and to this end an air pump 22 , which may take the form of an electrically driven centrifugal blower , is mounted on the side wall 19 with its inlet 23 communicating with the interior of the refrigerator 11 through the side wall 19 . the outlet of the air pump 22 communicates with a substantially closed conduit 24 , a portion of which is formed by a catalytic bed 26 as will be more fully described hereinafter . the conduit 24 extends through the side wall 19 into the interior of the refrigerator 11 where it forms a series of convolutions mounted on the inner surface of the side wall 19 by means of a mounting plate 27 and terminates in an open end or outlet 28 which is spaced from the inlet 23 . a drain pipe 29 communicates with the lowest point of the convolutions formed by the conduit 24 within the refrigerator 11 , the drain pipe passing out through the side wall 19 of the refrigerator 11 and through an appropriate p - trap 30 into communication with an electrolytic tank 32 , as will be more fully described hereinafter . the electrolytic tank 32 is mounted on the frame 20 below the refrigerator 11 and contains water which is to be dissociated into oxygen and hydrogen through electrical action . to this end , the electrolytic tank 32 is provided with appropriate electrodes and electrical terminals , as will be more fully described hereinafter . the oxygen generated by electrolysis is wasted to the air through appropriate apertures in the top of the electrolytic tank 32 whereas the hydrogen generated by electrolysis is trapped and fed through an appropriate pipe 33 into the conduit 24 intermediate the air pump 22 and the catalytic bed 26 . thus , it will be seen that the hydrogen generated by electrical dissociation of the water in the electrolytic tank 32 will be conducted through the pipe 33 into the air flow established through the conduit 24 by the air pump 22 . such hydrogen gas will become intermixed with the air prior to its passage through the catalytic bed 26 and thus the purpose of the catalytic bed 26 is to cause the hydrogen gas to react with oxygen gas in the air flow to produce water . the reaction between oxygen and hydrogen is sufficiently exothermic to heat the catalytic bed 26 to an elevated temperature thus causing the water formed to vaporize and be carried through the catalytic bed 26 by the air flow . upon emergence from the catalytic bed 26 the air flow will consist of a nitrogen rich gas containing water vapor . such air flow passes through the remainder of the conduit 24 including the convolutions thereof within the refrigerator 11 where the water vapor is condensed and the remaining nitrogen rich gas exits from the outlet 28 of the conduit into the interior of the refrigerator 11 . the condensed water vapor flows to the lowest point of the convolutions of the conduit within the refrigerator where it is conducted back through the drain pipe 29 and into the electrolytic tank 32 . it will be understood that the low temperature within the refrigerator 11 will aid in condensing the water vapor and that the p - trap 30 will prevent oxygen gas generated in the electrolytic tank from entering the refrigerator 11 through the drain pipe 29 . in operation , a complex air flow pattern will be established within the refrigerator 11 between the outlet 28 of the conduit 24 and the inlet 23 of the air pump 22 . thus , the nitrogen rich gas exiting from the outlet 29 of the conduit 24 will tend to mix with the oxygen bearing air within the refrigerator 11 for recirculation by the air pump 22 through the conduit 24 . such recirculation of the gases within the refrigerator 11 through the conduit 24 including the catalytic bed 26 will result in substantially all of the oxygen therein being combined with hydrogen introduced into the conduit 24 through the pipe 33 to form water leaving a nitrogen rich atmosphere within the refrigerator 11 . it is well known that the deterioration of foodstuffs is largely due to the presence of oxygen in the air surrounding such foodstuffs and that such deterioration can be inhibited , if not completely avoided , by preventing oxygen gas from reaching the foodstuffs . deterioration of foodstuffs results both from bacterial action and from oxidation of various elements of the foodstuffs . thus , surrounding the foodstuffs with a nitrogen rich atmosphere from which substantially all of the oxygen has been removed will greatly inhibit such deterioration and can substantially eliminate such deterioration in the chilled interior of a refrigerator which is in the conventional apparatus used to inhibit food deterioration . each time the door 13 of the refrigerator 11 is opened warm , oxygen bearing air will , of course , enter the body 12 of the refrigerator 11 , mixing with the cold nitrogen rich gas within the refrigerator . thus , it will be necessary , not only to cool the gases within the refrigerator after the door 13 is closed , but also to remove any oxygen gas which may have entered the refrigerator 11 . thus , according to the teaching of this invention , the apparatus for removing the oxygen from within the refrigerator 11 is adapted to operate each time the refrigerator door 13 is opened for a sufficient length of time to remove any oxygen which may have entered the refrigerator 11 while the door 13 was open . it will be understood that hydrogen gas is highly flammable and therefore dangerous in large volumes . thus , according to one important aspect of this invention , hydrogen gas is generated only as needed and any concentration of hydrogen gas within the refrigerator 11 substantially higher than is normally found in the atmosphere is avoided . to this end , and according to the teaching of this invention , the apparatus of this invention is adapted to generate hydrogen gas for a given period of time after each closure of the door 13 of the refrigerator 11 . such given period of time is just sufficient to generate enough hydrogen to combine with enough oxygen in the catalytic bed 26 to heat the catalytic bed 26 to a preselected minimum elevated temperature provided the level of oxygen present in the gas is above a preselected minimum . if the catalytic bed 26 reaches the preselected minimum temperature within the given time period , then the generation of hydrogen gas is continued until the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the catalytic bed falls below that necessary to maintain such temperature , due to depletion of oxygen in the air flow through the catalytic bed 26 . thus , it is impossible for apparatus according to the teaching of this invention to produce an excess of hydrogen gas within the refrigerator 11 under normal operating conditions . furthermore , it is unnecessary to store large amounts of hydrogen gas for use in producing a nitrogen rich atmosphere within the refrigerator 11 according to the teaching of this invention . as will be more fully explained hereinafter , the apparatus of this invention is easily adapted to include various safety devices to avoid the production of excess hydrogen gas under abnormal operating conditions . referring now to fig3 a cross - sectional view of the catalytic bed 26 according to the teaching of this invention is shown . such catalytic bed 26 comprises a simple section of conduit 36 filled with a plurality of platinum coated ceramic beads or pellets 37 . the pellets 37 are shaped in such a way that they do not pack tightly with respect to each other but rather form a myriad of interstices therebetween to provide various passageways for the flow of gases through the bed 26 . the pellets 37 are retained within the conduit 36 of the bed 26 by means of perforated walls or screens 38 at each end thereof . a depression or indentation is formed in the side wall of the conduit 36 of the catalytic bed 26 intermediate the ends thereof to form a socket or cup 39 in which a thermally sensitive switch 40 is mounted in heat conducting relation to the catalytic bed . the switch 40 is designed to close when the catalytic bed reaches a certain predetermined temperature and to remain closed until the temperature of the catalytic bed again drops below such predetermined temperature . as will be more fully described hereinafter , the switch 40 functions to cause the apparatus of this invention to continue to generate hydrogen so long as the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the catalytic bed is proceeding at a level sufficient to heat the catalytic bed above such predetermined temperature . referring to fig4 and 5 , an electrolytic tank 32 suitable for use in generating hydrogen according to the teaching of this invention is shown . such tank comprises a cup - shaped body 42 adapted to contain water . the open end of the body 42 is closed by a cap 43 having a centrally located aperture provided with a coupling tube 44 to which the pipe 33 for conducting hydrogen from the tank 32 to the conduit 24 may be connected . the cap 43 is also provided with a first plurality of apertures 45 arranged in circular array about the coupling tube 44 through each of which projects a different one of a plurality of terminal posts 46 . the terminal posts 46 are mounted through a cathode terminal ring 47 which rests on the upper surface of the cap 43 with the terminal posts 46 depending therefrom through the apertures 45 into the upper portion of the interior of the body 42 . the cathode of the electrolytic tank is provided by a pair of coaxial perforated metallic cylinders 48 and 49 mounted by one of their ends on the inner end of the terminal posts 46 in electrically conducting relation thereto . an imperforate cylindrical baffle member 50 coaxially surrounds the cathode cylinders 48 and 49 and has its upper end mounted on the inner surface of the cap 43 in substantially gas - tight relation thereto . a second circular array of a plurality of apertures 55 through the cap member 43 surrounds the array of apertures 45 . a second plurality of terminal posts 56 , each extending through a different one of the plurality of apertures 55 , are mounted on an anode terminal ring 57 which rests on the upper surface of the cap 43 with the terminal posts 56 depending therefrom through the apertures 55 into the upper portion of the body 42 . a pair of perforated metal cylinders 58 and 59 , one surrounding the other and both coaxially surrounding the baffle member 50 and the cathode cylinders 48 and 49 , are mounted on the terminal posts 56 in electrical conducting relation thereto . the cathode and anode cylinders 48 , 49 , 58 and 59 may be made of rolled stainless steel perforated sheet , for example , and the body 42 , cap 43 and baffle member 50 may be made of an appropriate glass or plastic which will not corrode when exposed to water including sufficient electrolytes to enable electrolysis of the water to take place . it will be understood that when an appropriate potential difference is established between the cathode and anode cylinders immersed in water within the electrolytic tank 42 , such water will tend to be dissociated with hydrogen gas collecting at the cathode cylinders 48 and 49 and oxygen gas collecting at the anode cylinders 58 and 59 . we have found that the use of perforated anode and cathode cylinders tends to enhance the production of gases by causing bubbles of such gases to free themselves more rapidly from the cylinders and percolate to the surface of the water for collection . it will be understood that the hydrogen gas is trapped within the baffle 50 and conducted out through the coupling tube 44 and into the tube 33 . however , referring to fig5 it will be seen that certain of the apertures 55 have been left open by not providing the anode terminal ring 57 with a terminal post 56 corresponding to all of the apertures 55 . thus the oxygen produced at the anode cylinders 58 and 59 and percolating to the surface of the water is free to escape into the atmosphere through the apertures 55 which are not closed by terminal posts 56 . we have found that the use of distilled water including in solution 20 % by weight of potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte in the electrolytic tank 32 will enable the dissociation of sufficient hydrogen for use in apparatus according to the teaching of this invention at less than about 10 volts with reasonable power requirements . thus , the electrical requirements of the electrolytic tank 32 can be easily supplied by means of a full wave rectifier operating on conventional household current , as will be more fully described hereinafter . it will be understood that as the oxygen is removed from the air within the refrigerator 11 , there will be a tendency for the pressure of the remaining gases within the refrigerator 11 to fall below atmospheric pressure . this result is undesirable for two reasons . first , it will tend to result in the influx of oxygen bearing air into the refrigerator 11 and secondly , to the extent that the refrigerator 11 is capable of sustaining a reduced pressure , it will make it difficult to open the door 13 of the refrigerator . for the above reasons , it is necessary to maintain the pressure of the gases within the refrigerator 11 at atmospheric pressure and to this end we have found it to be desirable to include a relief valve 61 as shown in fig6 and 8 in the system . referring to fig6 such relief valve comprises a tube 62 sealed through a wall of the system and having a flange 63 at one end thereof . a rubber diaphragm 64 is mounted across the tube 62 as by means of bolts 65 and collar 66 . the diaphragm 64 has a pinhole 68 formed therethrough at its center . thus as as best shown in fig7 when a positive pressure appears at one side of the diaphragm 64 with respect to the other side thereof , the rubber diaphragm will be distended causing the pinhole 68 to become enlarged and allowing the passage of air therethrough to equalize the pressures on opposite sides of the diaphragm 64 . referring to fig1 it has been found that the optimum location for the relief valve 61 is on the housing of the centrifugal blower 22 . the precise location of the relief valve 61 is preferably selected so that the operation of the blower 22 will have minimum effect on the relief valve 61 . thus , it will be understood that is a pressure below atmospheric should develop in the system during operation , the diaphragm 64 would tend to be distended in such a way as to allow the passage of sufficient air through the pinhole 68 to restore atmospheric pressure . such air will enter the system immediately prior to the catalytic bed 26 thus tending to insure the immediate removal of oxygen therefrom before it enters the refrigerator 11 . in any event , when the refrigerator door 13 is opened the relief valve 61 would be actuated should the pressure within the refrigerator 11 be lower than atmospheric thus enabling the door 13 to be opened without undue effort and avoiding the requirement for undue structural rigidity of the refrigerator walls . referring again to fig1 the electrical elements in addition to the centrifugal blower 22 , electrolytic tank 33 and catalytic bed temperature sensor 40 , according to one embodiment with respect to the refrigerator 11 . such electrical elements include a momentary contact , single pole , single throw start switch 70 mounted with respect to the door 13 such that the contacts thereof will be momentarily closed each time the door 13 is closed . the start switch 70 is electrically connected to the timer control circuit 72 as is the centrifugal blower 22 and one lead of the catalytic bed temperature control switch 40 . the timer control circuit 72 is electrically connected to the oxygen content control circuit 74 as is the other lead of the catalytic bed temperature switch 40 and an indicator light 76 . the oxygen content control circuit is electrically connected to the primary windings of a double primary , single secondary transformer 78 . the secondary winding of the transformer 78 is connected to a full wave bridge rectifier 79 the output of which is connected across the electrodes of the electrolytic tank 32 . a power cord 80 electrically connected to the timer control circuit provides the power for the apparatus according to the teaching of this invention . referring to fig9 a wiring diagram of the apparatus according to the embodiment of fig1 is shown in which like reference numerals are used to designate the elements and circuits shown in fig1 . thus the terminals of the power cord 80 are shown connected to the timer control circuit contained within dotted lines 72 of fig9 . as shown in fig9 the timer control circuit includes a normally closed single pole , single throw motor driven timer switch 82 , a double pole , double throw , solenoid actuated switch 84 and a terminal board 88 having ten terminals . as shown in fig9 only the normally open contacts of the double pole double throw solenoid actuated switch 84 are used and the poles of the switch 84 are wired in parallel with each other . one of the input terminals of the power cord 80 is connected both to the first terminal of the terminal board 88 and to the switching element of the normally closed switch 81 of the motor driven timer switch 82 . the other terminal of the power cord 80 is connected through the solenoid 85 of the double pole , double throw , solenoid operated relay 84 to one side of the timer motor 82 of the motor driven timer switch 82 . the normally open momentary contact start switch 70 is connected between terminals 1 and 2 of the terminal board 88 . terminal 2 of the terminal board 88 is connected to terminal 3 thereof which in turn is connected to the contact elements of both poles of the double pole , double throw , solenoid operated relay 84 as well as to the opposite side of the solenoid 85 . thus , the momentary closing of the start switch 70 will activate the solenoid 85 moving the actuator elements of the double pole , double throw switches to their alternate positions . it will be seen that the actuator elements of the double pole , double throw switches are connected to the contact element of the normally closed switch 81 of the motor driven timer switch 82 . thus , upon movement of the actuator elements of the double pole , double throw switches to their alternate positions the solenoid 85 will be connected across the input terminals of the power cord 80 through the double pole , double throw switches and the normally closed switch 81 thus maintaining the double pole , double throw switches in their alternate positions . the motor 83 of the motor driven timer switch 82 is connected in parallel with the solenoid 85 through terminal 4 of the terminal board 88 and thus will begin to turn and will continue to turn until it momentarily opens the contacts of the switch 81 at the end of the time period for which it is designed . the momentary opening of the contacts of the switch 81 will deactivate the solenoid 85 allowing the contacts of the double pole double throw switches to open thus deactivating the timer control circuit and inactivating the apparatus but for the operation of other elements thereof to be described hereinafter . it will be seen from fig9 that the oxygen content control circuit enclosed in dotted lines 74 comprises a pair of double pole , double throw , solenoid operated switches 92 and 94 together with a terminal board 98 having four terminals thereon . the solenoid 93 of the switch 92 is connected in parallel with the solenoid 85 of the switch 84 through the noramlly open catalytic bed temperature switch 40 . thus , when the catalytic bed 26 has reached a predetermined temperature due to the reaction of oxygen and hydrogen therein , the switch 40 will close and if the switch 81 of the motor controlled timer switch 82 has not yet opened , the switch 92 will be operated . it will be seen that the indicator light 76 is connected across the solenoid 93 of the switch 92 through the actuator and alternate contact of one pole 90 of the double pole , double throw switch 92 . thus , the indicator light 76 will be activated whenever the catalytic bed temperature switch 40 is closed providing a visual indication that the reaction between oxygen and hydrogen in the catalytic bed 26 is above a predetermined level . the actuator element and alternate contact of the other pole 91 of the double pole throw solenoid actuated switch 92 is connected in parallel with the switch 81 of the motor driven timer switch 82 through terminals 9 and 10 of the terminal board 88 of the timer control circuit 72 . thus the apparatus will remain in operation even though the switch 81 is open at the end of the predetermined time interval . it will be seen that terminals 1 and 4 of the terminal board 98 of the oxygen content control circuit 74 are connected to terminals 3 and 4 of the terminal board 88 of the timer control circuit 72 . it will also be seen that one primary winding of the double primary windings of the transformer 78 are permanently connected to terminals 1 and 4 of the terminal board 98 of the oxygen content control circuit 74 . since the secondary winding of the transformer 78 is connected to the full wave bridge rectifier 79 which is in turn connected to the electrolytic tank 32 , it will be seen that power will be supplied to the electrolytic tank 32 at all times while the apparatus of this invention is in operation . however , as shown in fig9 the second primary winding of the double primary windings of the transformer 78 are connected to terminals 2 and 3 of the terminal board 98 which in turn are connected to terminals 1 and 4 through the respective poles 96 and 97 of the switch 94 when the contacts are in their normal position . since the solenoid 95 of the switch 94 is connected in parallel with the solenoid 93 of the switch 92 and thus in series with the catalytic bed temperature switch 40 , the switch elements 96 and 97 of the switch 94 will be thrown to their alternate position whenever the temperature switch 40 is closed . in their alternate position the switch elements 96 and 97 disconnect the second primary winding of the double primary windings of the transformer 78 from the terminals 1 and 4 of the terminal board 98 and therefore inactivate such second primary winding . it will be understood that the inactivation of such second primary winding will reduce the turns ratio in the transformer 78 thereby reducing the power applied to the electrolytic tank 32 through the power supply 79 . thus the generation of hydrogen in the electrolytic tank 32 will be reduced by about half as soon as the catalytic bed 26 has reached the predetermined termperature for which the temperature switch 40 is set . by this means , the possibility that an excess of hydrogen will be generated during operation of the apparatus is reduced and in fact the actual operation of the apparatus disclosed in fig1 and 9 has shown that the oxygen will be removed from the air within the refrigerator 11 without a detectable increase in the hydrogen content of such air . it will be understood , when the level of the reaction between oxygen and hydrogen in the catalytic bed 26 falls below that necessary to maintain the temperature at which the switch 40 is set to close , such switch 40 will open and the apparatus will be inactivated . whenever the door 13 of the refrigerator 11 is opened and subsequently reclosed , the cycle of operation of the apparatus will be restarted by the momentary closure of the start switch 70 by the closure of the door 13 . referring to fig1 a and 10b a schematic diagram of a different embodiment of the apparatus of this invention is shown . the embodiment shown in fig1 a and 10b differs from the embodiment shown in fig9 in that the embodiment of fig1 a and 10b includes means for varying the generation of hydrogen gas in more direct proportion to the oxygen content of the air in the refrigerator 11 . thus , as shown in fig1 b , a transformer 101 having a single primary winding and a single secondary winding is substituted for the transformer 78 of fig9 which has a double primary winding and a single secondary winding . the generation of hydrogen gas is instead controlled by a means 102 connected in series with the electrolytic tank across the power supply . since all of the other electrical elements of the embodiment shown in fig1 a and 10b are substantially identical to the electrical elements of the embodiment shown in fig9 like reference numerals have been used to designate like elements in fig9 a and 10b . it will be seen by comparison that the apparatus shown in fig1 a is identical to the timer control circuit 72 and start switch 70 as shown in fig9 and operates in the same way as described hereinabove with respect to fig9 . referring to fig1 b , it will be seen that the double pole , double throw , solenoid actuated switch 94 has been omitted . it will also be seen that the indicator light 76 has been omitted and that the switch element 91 of the double pole double throw solenoid actuated switch 92 is not included in the circuit , the switch element 90 thereof being connected in parallel with the switch 81 of the motor driven timer switch 82 . the centrifugal blower motor 22 and the catalytic bed temperature switch 40 are connected in the circuit in the same way as in the apparatus of fig9 . however , a fuse element 103 has been connected in series with the solenoid 93 of the switch 92 . such fuse element may be of the type designed to open after a predetermined period of continuous operation , for example , in order to inactivate the apparatus if the temperature switch 40 remains closed for an excessive period of time . as shown in fig1 b , the full wave bridge rectifier circuit may consist of four solid state diodes 104 in appropriate array . the means 102 connected in series with the electrolytic tank 32 across the output of the rectifier may take a variety of forms and is conveniently connected in the circuit in parallel with the centrifugal blower motor 22 as shown . for example , the means 102 may comprise a thermistor control device with the thermistor element thereof mounted in heat conducting relation with respect to the catalytic bed 26 as described in connection with the temperature switch 40 . such thermistor control device would of course be adapted to vary the power applied to the catalytic tank 32 in direct relation to the temperature of the catalytic bed 26 . thus the generation of hydrogen could be caused to decrease from maximum as the temperature of the catalytic bed decreases from a predetermined temperature above that necessary to maintain the temperature switch 40 in its closed position . this would tend to insure that the amount of hydrogen generated in the catalytic tank will not be in excess of that needed to react with the oxygen present in the air flow through the catalytic bed . it will be understood that although this invention has been described as applied to a conventional refrigerator , it could also be applied to unrefrigerated containers or to only part of the volume of a refrigerator . the amount of water condensed from the air flow after it has passed through the catalytic bed 26 will vary depending on the moisture content of the air flow initially as well as upon the time rate of reaction between hydrogen and oxygen in the catalytic bed 26 . it is anticipated that little if any make - up water will be required in the catalytic tank 32 yet the provision for the supply of such make - up water utilizing an appropriate inlet and float controlled valve would be an obvious expedient . similarly , as shown in fig1 an overflow outlet from the electrolytic tank 32 may be provided to drain any excess water to an evaporation pan of the type normally utilized in frost - free refrigerators or the return line may be diverted . the combination of the apparatus of this invention with a refrigerator provides many non - obvious features of advantage . for example , the operation of the apparatus of this invention will tend to provide the function of maintaining the refrigerator in a frost - free condition . also , as mentioned above , the fact that the nitrogen rich atmosphere within a refrigerator will be chilled will tend to reduce the diffusion of oxygen bearing gases into the nitrogen rich atmosphere . the compatability of the apparatus according to the teaching of this invention with conventional refrigerator structures is apparent from fig1 of the drawing . it is anticipated that those skilled in the art will make many additions to and modifications of the embodiments of this invention as disclosed in the drawing and described hereinabove without departing from the scope of the teaching of this invention . thus , although some of such modifications and additions have been mentioned hereinabove , it is not to be implied that other modifications and additions could not be made . however , there are certain basic principles according to the teaching of this invention which must be observed . for example , the time rate of generation of hydrogen gas must not exceed 40 % of the time rate of air flow through the substantially closed conduit during the initial predetermined length of time of operation of the apparatus according to the teaching of this invention and must decrease thereafter . this is true , since air normally comprises 20 % by volume of oxygen gas and since a given volume of oxygen gas requires twice the volume of hydrogen gas to combine therewith into water ( h 2 o ). in fact , tests conducted thus far indicate that apparatus according to the teaching of this invention will provide useful results where the initial maximum time rate of generation of hydrogen gas is less than 1 % of the time rate of air flow through the substantially closed conduit . the optimum time rate for the generation of hydrogen gas is believed to be a function of the relationship between the time rate of air flow through the substantially closed conduit to the total substantially closed volume in which the nitrogen rich atmosphere is to be produced . it has been found that if the time rate of air flow is high in comparision to such total volume , then the time rate of generation of hydrogen gas should be a proportionately smaller percentage of such time rate of air flow in order to avoid any increase in the hydrogen content of the atmosphere in such volume . in an actual test of apparatus according to the embodiment of this invention as shown in fig1 - 9 , an atmosphere of nitrogen with only trace amounts of other gases , including hydrogen was established in a volume of about 24 cubic inches ( including the substantially closed conduit ) in about 15 minutes using an estimated time rate of air flow of about 3 cubic feet per minute and an estimated time rate of hydrogen generation of about 1 cubic inch per minute . in this test , the electrolytic tank was operated at 9 volts and 40 amperes for about 5 minutes , after which the voltage and current were reduced to 4 volts and 17 amperes respectively , until the catalytic bed temperature switch deactivated the apparatus at the end of a further time period of about 10 minutes . it will be understood that the above test does not constitute an optimized example of the method and apparatus of this invention . however , such test does show that the desired result can be obtained using the teaching of this invention in practical time periods and at practical power levels . the optimization of the method and apparatus of this invention through the use of fuel cell or thermo - electric devices to both recover electric power from the exothermic reaction and to control such reaction is contemplated . a fuel cell is , of course , a type of catalytic means in the broad sense of this invention . although not shown in the drawing , it is desirable to thermally insulate the catalytic means from the ambient atmosphere in order to prevent variations in ambient temperatures , for example , from affecting the operation of the apparatus . | 0 |
referring to fig1 , there is illustrated therein a general form of bus looping connection topology in accordance with this invention , the bus loop comprising an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cable 20 , connecting to a power supply extension unit 10 , supplying power to a chain ofjunction boxes 11 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 20 , repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units 10 and chains of junction boxes 11 . network terminals , devices , clients and or servers 14 are connected to the said power supply extension units 10 and junction boxes 11 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 21 . referring to fig2 , there is illustrated therein an alternative form of bus looping with link aggregation connection topology in accordance with this invention , the bus loop comprising an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cable 20 with one and or more rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 22 forming a link aggregation to support increase bandwidth and link redundancy , connecting to a power supply extension unit 12 , supplying power to a chain ofjunction boxes 13 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 20 with one and or more rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 22 forming a link aggregation to support increase bandwidth and link redundancy , repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units 12 and junction boxes 13 . network terminals , devices , clients and or servers 14 are connected to the said power supply extension units 12 and junction boxes 13 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 21 . referring to fig3 , there is illustrated therein an alternative form of bus looping with loop back connection topology in accordance with this invention , the bus looping comprising an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cable 20 , connecting to a power supply extension unit 10 , supplying power to a chain of junction boxes 11 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 20 , repeated again and again using the said power supply extension units 10 and chains of junction boxes 11 , and finally looping back to the main switch 15 using an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cable 23 . network terminals , devices , clients and or servers 14 are connected to the said power supply extension units 10 and junction boxes 11 using the said rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 twisted pair cables 21 . fig4 illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit 10 of fig1 and fig3 in more detailed . mains power is connected to mains terminal 70 , the mains voltage supply line 71 is directed to an ac to dc converter power supply 72 to produce a regulated dc power supply line 73 , the said regulated dc power supply line 73 is directed to an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 40 and a dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . and eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 43 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 42 and 52 . rj45 terminal 30 is used as input port ; rj45 terminal 40 is used as output port with regulated dc power supply line 73 ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 bps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating linked speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig5 illustrates an alternative form of power supply extension unit 10 of fig1 and fig3 in more detailed . mains power is connected to mains terminal 70 , the mains voltage supply line 71 is directed to the ac to dc converter power supply 72 to produce a regulated dc power supply line 73 , the said regulated dc power supply line 73 is directed to a terminal 79 and a dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . an eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 43 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 42 and 52 . rj45 terminal 50 is used as input port ; rj45 terminal 40 is used as output port ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating linked speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig6 illustrates a general form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation 12 of fig2 in more detailed . mains power is connected to mains terminal 70 , the mains voltage supply line 71 is directed to two ac to dc converter power supply 72 and 76 to produce two regulated dc power supply line 73 and 77 , the said regulated dc power supply line 73 is directed to an rj45 terminal 40 and the said regulated dc power supply line 77 is directed to an rj45 terminal 44 . the two regulated power supply lines 73 and 77 are used in dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . and eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 37 , 43 , 47 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 36 , 42 , 46 and 52 . rj45 terminal 30 and 34 used as input ports ; rj45 terminal 40 and 44 is used as output ports with regulated dc power supply lines 73 and 77 ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating link speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig7 illustrates an alternative form of power supply extension unit with link aggregation 12 of fig2 in more detailed . mains power is connected to mains terminal 70 , the mains voltage supply line 71 is directed to an ac to dc converter power supply 72 to produce a regulated dc power supply line 73 , the said regulated dc power supply line 73 is directed to terminal 79 and a dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . an eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 37 . 43 , 47 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 36 , 42 , 46 and 52 . rj45 terminal 30 and 34 are used as input ports ; rj45 terminal 40 and 44 is used as output ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating link speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig8 illustrates a general form of junction box 11 of fig1 and fig3 in more detailed . rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 carries both dc regulated power line 73 and network signals 31 . the said regulated dc power supply line 73 is directed to an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 40 and a dc to dc power converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . and eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controllers are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 43 , and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 42 and 52 . rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 is used as input port ; rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 40 is used as output port ; rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal is used as a standard ethernet port . the regulated dc power supply line 73 connects both rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminals 30 and 40 . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating link speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig9 illustrates an alternative form of junction box 11 of fig1 and fig3 in more detailed . terminal 78 carries the dc regulated power line 73 while rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 carries the network signals 31 . the said dc regulated power supply line 73 is directed to terminal 79 and a dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . an eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controllers are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 43 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 42 and 52 . rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 is used as input port ; rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 40 is used as output port ; rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal is used as a standard ethernet port . the regulated dc power supply line 73 connects both terminals 78 and 79 . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps . half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indication link speed 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig1 illustrates a general form of junction box with link aggregation 13 of fig2 in more detailed . both rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 and 34 carries both dc regulated power line 73 and 77 network signals 31 and 35 . the said dc regulated power supply line 73 and 77 is directed to an rj45 cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 40 and 44 . the two regulated dc power supply lines 73 and 77 are used in dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . and eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 37 , 43 , 47 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 36 , 42 , 46 and 52 . rj45 terminal 30 and 34 are used as input ports ; rj45 terminal 40 and 44 is used as output ports with regulated dc power supply lines 73 and 77 ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating link speed of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . fig1 illustrates an alternative form ofjunction box with link aggregation 13 of fig2 in more detailed . terminal 78 carries the dc regulated power line 73 while cat5 / 5e / 6 terminal 30 and 34 carries the network signal 31 and 35 . the said dc regulated power supply line 73 is directed to terminal 79 and a dc to dc converter power supply 74 to produce a regulated system power supply 75 to power the switch controller 60 and its associated electronics . an eeprom or a microcontroller 64 is used to configure the internal registers of the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 63 . unused ports of the said switch controller 60 are disabled and or powered down . physical transceiver pair lines 33 , 37 , 43 , 47 and 53 of the said switch controller 60 , are connected to the appropriate standard ethernet isolation transformers 32 , 36 , 42 , 46 and 52 . rj45 terminal 30 and 34 are used as input ports ; rj 45 terminal 40 and 44 is used as output ; rj45 terminal 50 is used as a standard ethernet port . the said switch controller 60 is capable of 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , automatic link negotiation and automatic cable crossover correction . the said switch controller 60 has a link status indicator 62 indicating link speed 10 mbps , 100 mbps , 1000 mbps , half duplex , full duplex , collision , transmit activity and receive activity . the said status indicator 62 is connected to the said switch controller 60 via a serial or parallel interface 61 . numerous other modifications , variations and adaptations may be made to the particular embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims . | 7 |
as discussed above , the invention comprises several embodiments of a novel vessel for thoroughly and completely mixing an ionized coagulant with a stream of water or other liquid to be treated , and a method and system for its use in removing contaminants from a stream of water or other fluid to be treated . fig1 shows an example of the system of the invention . a mixing vessel 10 receives a stream of contaminated water or other fluid from a source 12 connected to vessel 10 by an inlet conduit 14 . the stream of water from the source 12 is combined with one or more of a selection of ionized coagulants provided along a second conduit 16 . as indicated specifically , the ionized coagulant supplied may be ionized nitrogen supplied from a source 19 , ionized oxygen from a source 20 , an anionic liquid coagulant such as a polymer from a source 21 , a cationic liquid coagulant from a source 22 , further coagulant materials such as ionized halogens or ozone as indicated at 23 and 24 , or mixtures of these , and other known coagulants . in the embodiment of fig1 - 4 , the streams of ionized coagulant and contaminated water or other fluid to be treated from source 12 are initially combined in a venturi 26 . the venturi 26 receives the stream of water to be treated at a relatively large opening . the stream is then constrained to pass through a relatively small flow passage , increasing its velocity and pressure . the ionized coagulant is injected at substantially the smallest cross - section of the venturi , so that when the combined streams then pass into a passage of expanding cross - section , the coagulant tends to be dispersed in the reduced - pressure stream . further details of the venturi are discussed below in connection with fig2 . the stream of water or other fluid to be treated from source 12 and the ionized coagulant , having thus been preliminarily combined , are supplied to the vessel 10 , details of one embodiment of which are discussed below in connection with fig2 - 4 . as shown schematically in fig1 the combined stream is admitted towards the bottom of a vertically - extending vessel 10 having a lower mixing chamber 30 , an intermediate elongated tubular portion 32 , and an upper mixing chamber 34 . a fluid exit tube 36 extending coaxially through the vessel 10 has an open inlet end in the approximate center of the upper mixing chamber 34 and a lower exit end . thus , the preliminarily combined streams of the fluid to be treated and the coagulant enter the lower mixing chamber and travel in a generally spiral path upwardly through the intermediate tubular portion 32 , around the fluid exit tube 36 , and enter the upper end of the fluid exit tube 36 in the center of the upper mixing chamber 34 . this fluid path provides very substantial turbulence and excellent mixing of the ionized coagulant with the water to be treated . a coil 38 of wire is provided around at least the intermediate tubular portion 32 of the vessel 10 and is connected to a dc power supply 40 . when power supply 40 is energized , a magnetic field is emitted by coil 38 , extending generally axially along the direction of elongation of the intermediate tubular portion of the vessel 10 . this magnetic field tends to encourage intimate contact between the ionized coagulants and the contaminants of the fluid to be treated , aiding in coagulation and flocculation of the contaminants to be removed . after exiting the vessel 10 , the stream is directed to one or more of a variety of possible devices for separating the coagulated and flocculated contaminants from the water stream . as indicated in fig1 these may comprise an anode / cathode accelerator 44 , that is , a device defining an electric field extending parallel to the direction of flow of the stream for further separating ionized and polar materials therein . a secondary reactor generally similar to vessel 10 may also be provided as indicated at 46 . the separation of the coagulated contaminants from the water stream is performed in a final separation filter 48 which may comprise any of a variety of known media such as sand filters , activated charcoal filters , mechanical filtration media , and combinations of these and other known filters . the filtered water may be passed at 50 to further purification devices such as ion exchange media , or the like , or may be directly reused . from time to time , filter 48 is backwashed as indicated at 52 , and the collected contaminants removed and disposed of at 54 . further water may be recovered in this process as indicated at 56 by a dewatering step 58 . in connection with removal of certain contaminants , it may be desirable to add magnetite particles to the contaminated water stream . magnetite particles are essentially iron oxide and are highly magnetic , thus tending to form nucleation sites for flocculation or coagulation of the contaminants to be removed from the water stream when exposed to the magnetic field from coil 32 . suitable magnetite particles can be provided by a source 60 , comprising , for example , a device wherein a further water stream flows between coaxial closely - spaced electrically - insulated steel pipes . if a positive potential is applied to one of the pipes and a negative potential to the other , and if ionized oxygen is added as indicated at 62 , particles of iron oxide will tend to form on the facing surfaces of the coaxial steel pipes and enter the water stream . as indicated , such iron oxide magnetic particles are very effective in nucleating the flocculation or coagulation of the contaminants to be removed from the water stream . fig2 shows further details of one embodiment of vessel 10 , taken through its vertical axis , with fig3 and 4 showing sections along the line 3 -- 3 and 4 -- 4 , respectively . the major components of the vessel 10 are , as mentioned above , the lower mixing vessel 30 , an intermediate tubular portion 32 , and an upper mixing vessel 34 . these may be formed integrally of welded steel components . in a successfully tested embodiment , the upper and lower mixing vessels 30 and 34 are 8 inches in diameter , that is , horizontally in fig2 and are 6 inches deep vertically , while the tubular intermediate section 32 is 6 inches in diameter and 24 inches long . within the vessel 10 extends a fluid exit tube 36 substantially coaxial with the intermediate tubular portion 32 and with vessels 30 and 34 . as shown , the fluid exit tube 36 extends vertically downwardly from an upper inlet substantially in the center of the upper mixing vessel 34 to an exit opening beneath the bottom of the lower mixing vessel 30 . the fluid exit tube is approximately two inches in diameter and may also be formed of steel so as to be welded to the lower mixing vessel 30 at its exit to conveniently provide support . the liquid to be treated from source 12 and the ionized coagulant , including an ionized gas or liquid from any one of sources 19 - 24 , or mixtures thereof , or other coagulant or flocculant materials , are combined in venturi 26 , as discussed above . in a successfully tested embodiment , venturi 26 is approximately 11 inches long overall , has 1 . 5 inch diameter inlet and outlet openings , and tapers to a diameter of 5 / 8 inch at its throat . the ionized coagulant is injected substantially at the throat of venturi 26 , as shown , that is , at the maximum pressure point of the fluid stream , such that when the pressure in the mixture decreases towards the exit orifice of venturi 26 , the coagulant tends immediately to be dispersed throughout the stream of liquid to be treated . as indicated , the inlet into lower mixing vessel 30 from venturi 26 is generally horizontal , but is off - axis ( see fig3 ) such that the flow of the mixed liquid to be treated and coagulant tends to be circular , around fluid exit tube 36 . accordingly , the combined streams flow upwardly through intermediate tubular section 32 along a generally spiral flow path extending around fluid exit tube 36 , thus ensuring thorough further mixing of the ionized coagulant with the fluid to be treated . it will be appreciated throughout this discussion that if a stream of magnetite particles is added , this also is thoroughly mixed with the ionized coagulant and the fluid to be treated throughout the passage thereof through mixing vessel 10 . the mixture of the ionized coagulant , the fluid to be treated ( and as noted , magnetite particles , if employed ) exits vessel 10 by way of fluid exit tube 36 . more particularly , the mixture enters fluid exit tube through its upper end as shown by the arrows in fig2 . at this point , there is no pressure in the system , as indicated by vent 70 . this stream thus flows downwardly through the fluid exit tube and on to further filtration steps , as discussed above in connection with fig1 . in a further preferred embodiment , a number of radially inwardly extending ridges , preferably of a ferromagnetic material , such as a suitable stainless steel , may be provided on the facing surfaces of the annular passageway between the fluid exit tube and intermediate tubular portion 32 of the vessel , and on the inner surface of fluid exit tube 36 , by disposition of corrugated sleeves 72 , 74 , and 76 therein . alternatively , such ridges might be formed in the surfaces of fluid exit tube 36 and intermediate tubular portion 32 . these radially extending ridges have the effect of providing further mixing of the ionized gas or liquid and the liquid to be treated . as noted , these ridges are preferably formed of a ferromagnetic material such as a magnetic stainless steel , so that the magnetic field can further cause coagulation of the coagulant materials and the contaminants to be removed from the process stream to be treated . it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that the combination of ( i ) introduction of the ionized coagulant into the stream of fluid to be treated at a point of high pressure , followed by an immediate reduction in pressure ; ( ii ) the continued swirling , countercurrent , turbulent mixing of the stream provided by the spiral path of the combined streams upwardly through vessel 10 ; ( iii ) the countercurrent change of flow direction when the streams flow over the open upper edge of fluid exit tube 36 and then downwardly through fluid exit tube 36 ; and ( iv ) turbulence due to the radially extending ridges on one or more of the inner surfaces of intermediate vertically extending tubular section 32 and the inner and outer surfaces of fluid exit tube 36 , provides very thorough physical mixing of the ionized coagulant , magnetite particles , if employed , and the contaminants to be removed from the water stream to be treated . more particularly , since these materials tend to be attracted to one another , but may be present in relatively low concentrations , a thorough mixing as provided by vessel 10 according to the invention is highly desirable in order to encourage successful coagulation and flocculation of these materials so that they can be subsequently removed in essentially conventional filtration steps , or by combination of conventional and novel filtration steps , as discussed above in connection with fig1 . according to a further aspect of the invention , and as discussed briefly above , coil 38 is disposed about at least the intermediate tubular section of the vessel 10 and is connected to power supply 40 . when power supply 40 is energized , a magnetic field h of generally solenoidal configuration extends through at least intermediate tubular portion 32 of vessel 10 , including the interior of exit tube 36 , as depicted schematically in fig2 . in order that the magnetic field h can be efficiently employed , it is desirable that the materials of vessel 10 be ferromagnetic , e . g ., mild steel as noted above . it will be appreciated by those of skill in the art that most of the contaminants sought to be removed by the apparatus and system of the invention , these including oil and grease emulsions , heavy metals , materials exhibiting basic oxygen demand such as organic food particulates , materials exhibiting chemical oxygen demand such as organic dyes , colloidal solid particulates , agricultural organic contaminants , and other contaminants , largely comprise polar or ionic molecules responsive to a magnetic field . similarly , the ionized coagulants are , of course , also responsive to a magnetic field , and , indeed , water molecules themselves are polar . accordingly , when a solenoidal magnetic field h is applied as indicated by fig2 these polar materials tend to become aligned with one another and are brought into still more intimate physical contact . this further encourages coagulation and flocculation and thereby increases the efficiency of removal of the contaminants from the process stream to be treated . as indicated generally above , dc power is preferably employed to excite coil 38 to emit magnetic field h . preferably the polarity of the dc power is reversed at intervals on the order of minutes . reversal of the polarity of the power supply reverses the direction of the magnetic field h and tends to remove any polar molecules or the like that may have collected , for example , in the crevices formed by the radially inwardly extending ridges 72 , 74 , and 76 . in the successfully - tested embodiment of the system discussed above , coil 38 comprised 400 feet of 14 awg stranded copper wire wrapped in two layers spiraling up and down the intermediate tubular portion 32 of the vessel 10 . in the preferred embodiment , the amount of power applied to coil 38 varies with the rate of flow of the fluid to be treated , and the ionized coagulant is similarly supplied at a rate responsive to the rate of flow of the fluid to be treated . of course , the rate of supply of the ionized coagulant may also be varied with detected variation in the amount of contaminants present in the process stream to be treated . similarly , the addition of magnetite particles from source 60 may be controlled responsive to the characteristics of the stream to be treated . in a particularly preferred embodiment a controller 80 ( fig1 ) such as a computer or the like , in combination with associated flow sensors , contaminant monitoring instrumentation , solenoid valves , and similarly well - known process control equipment may be provided to automatically control these and other system parameters , such as the periodic reversal of the polarity of the dc power applied to coil 38 . the following table provides typical values of the dc voltage supplied to and the current drawn by coil 38 with respect to the rate of flow of the fluid to be treated from source 12 , and also illustrates typical corresponding rates of injection of a typical gaseous ionized coagulant such as ionized oxygen , together with typical values for the magnetic field strength h . table______________________________________process stream ionized o . sub . 2flow rate injection rate voltage current h ( gpm ) ( cfm ) ( vdc ) ( a ) ( gauss ) ______________________________________25 0 . 5 6 8 100 , 00030 1 . 0 12 14 170 , 00035 1 . 5 18 21 280 , 00040 2 . 0 24 29 400 , 00075 3 . 0 30 40 600 , 000______________________________________ thus , it can be seen from the table that for a typical flow rate of 30 gallons per minute of water contaminated with typical contaminants , e . g ., organics , oily emulsions , and heavy metals , as found in typical water streams from various sources , including metal finishing operations , municipal drinking water supplies , and the like , ionized oxygen may be injected at an injection rate of 1 . 0 cubic feet per minute , and dc power at 12 volts applied to a coil 38 as described above , resulting in a current of 14 amperes being drawn and a magnetic field of 170 , 000 gauss imposed . the last line of entries in the table refers to the embodiment of the mixing vessel of the invention described with respect to fig5 - 7 below . it will be appreciated , of course , that these figures ( as well as other specifics mentioned herein ) are exemplary only and by no means limit the invention . as indicated above , fig5 , and 7 show an additional embodiment of the mixing vessel according to the invention , which may substituted substantially directly for that shown in fig1 - 4 , with certain minor changes to the system configuration which will be apparent from the discussion below . the overall assembly is shown by fig5 while details of the coil are shown by fig6 and fig7 shows a coaxial arrangement of tubes making up the assembly . the mixing vessel , in this embodiment termed 90 , again comprises upper and lower mixing chambers and a coaxial assembly of tubes , such that liquid to be treated flows first in one direction vertically , then the opposite direction , in order to ensure counter - current mixing and highly turbulent flow . in this embodiment , the stream to be treated is admitted at an upper inlet 92 in communication with an upper mixing chamber 94 . the water stream flows downwardly , principally along an inner annular passage 96 between an inner exit tube 98 and an intermediate sleeve 100 . however , a relatively small fraction of the influent water stream , e . g ., 2 - 10 %, flows downwardly along a second outer annular passage 102 , defined between intermediate sleeve 100 and an outer tube 104 supporting coils 106 providing a magnetic field . outer annular passage 102 is employed as a &# 34 ; premixing &# 34 ; chamber , wherein coagulant gases , chemicals and the like injected into the outer annular passage 102 , as indicated at 132 , 136 , are initially dissolved homogeneously throughout a small fraction of the total water stream to be treated . this fraction is then readily dissolved in the remainder of the total stream to be treated , when the two portions of the total stream meet in lower mixing chamber 108 . more specifically , the inner exit tube 98 forms the return path along which water flows upwardly from the lower mixing chamber 108 to an exit passage 110 formed at the upper extremity of the unit 90 . the inner annular passageway 96 , defined between the inner tube 98 and the intermediate sleeve 100 , is substantially open , such that most of the water flows downwardly therein , while a smaller proportion of the water flows downwardly through the outer annular passage 102 , between sleeve 100 and outer tube 104 . flow of water down the outer annular passage 102 is restricted somewhat by the presence of members 112 supporting tube 100 with respect to tube 104 ; members 112 may be ordinary square keystock welded to the respective tubes , to support the assembly . additional sections of keystock 114 may be welded to the outer surface of tube 104 to support and space individual segments 106 , 106 &# 39 ; 106 &# 34 ; of coil axially from one another . each coil segment includes inner and outer windings connected in series to a dc power source 120 , shown as a battery , but not limited thereto . power is supplied over a first conductor 122 , wrapped around the uppermost portion of the outer tube 104 , forming the inner layer of coil segment 106 . a section of wire 107 extends axially along the tube to a second coil segment 106 &# 39 ;, and a further section of wire extends to a third section 106 &# 34 ;. each segment of the coil also includes outer windings , wound upwardly and also connected in series . the return conductor 123 to power source 120 exits the assembly close to conductor 122 , rendering the power supply connections convenient . the overall construction techniques and proportions of the mixing chamber 90 in this embodiment are generally comparable to those of the embodiment of fig1 - 4 . the inner tube 98 may be a section of 11 / 2 inch pvc schedule 80 tubing , supported by a threaded end cap 125 . ( in a further modification discussed below , pvc tube 98 may be replaced by a section of steel tube .) the intermediate sleeve 100 can be a section of 3 inch diameter schedule 80 steel pipe 36 inches long , while the outer tube 104 forming the central section of vessel 90 can be a section of 4 inch diameter schedule 80 steel pipe 36 inches long . the upper and lower mixing chambers are formed by 4 × 6 inch concentric reducing couplings 128 welded on one end to the outer tube 104 , and to 6 inch schedule 40 couplings 129 on the other . two 6 inch threaded steel plugs form end caps 125 at either end . the upper end of the inner sleeve 100 is preferably raised at least about three inches above the point at which upper reducing coupling 128 meets the outer tube 104 , to ensure proper flow splitting , that is , division of the incoming water stream in appropriate proportions between the inner and outer annular passageways 96 and 102 , respectively . as indicated by the elliptical shape shown for inlet opening 138 , inlet tube 92 intersects the upper mixing chamber 94 off - axis , such that a swirling , highly turbulent , mixing flow is provided throughout the flow path of liquid through the vessel 90 . coagulant materials may be introduced into the stream of water to be treated at a venturi , as discussed above . alternatively , ionized gas or other coagulant species from a source indicated at 130 can be introduced at an inlet 132 in communication with the outer annular space 102 , wherein , as noted , a relatively small fraction of the stream to be treated flows downwardly . coagulant materials , including ionized polymers and other coagulants , as well as magnetite ions or the like , may also be provided from a source 134 connected by an inlet passage 136 to upper mixing chamber 94 at a point below the upper end of sleeve 100 , to ensure the coagulant flows downwardly through outer annular space 102 , for mixing with a relatively small fraction of the incoming water stream . as noted , dividing the incoming flow into smaller and larger components , and introducing the coagulants into the smaller component , promotes better mixing thereof . this improvement is facilitated by provision of sleeve 100 . provision of an additional steel tube also further strengthens the solenoidal magnetic field exerted by the coil . dividing the coil into three segments 106 , 106 &# 39 ;, 106 &# 34 ; causes each to function as a separate coil , that is , each segment has north and south poles , further increasing the beneficial effect of the magnetic field on coagulation of materials within the water stream to be treated . however , while provision of the magnetic field by three segments of a single series - connected coil is believed to provide increased magnetic efficiency , up to 50 %, with respect to a single coil having a similar number of turns , the invention is not to be constrained thereby . further , while division of the incoming water stream between the inner and outer annular passageways is believed to increase the turbulence thereof and hence the efficiency of mixing , the invention is again not to be limited in this way . the embodiment of the mixing vessel 90 of fig5 - 7 can be further modified to additionally comprise a source of magnetite ions for coagulation of contaminants . as noted above , magnetite ions can be conveniently generated in situ by passing a stream to be treated therewith between coaxial steel tubes across which a potential difference is maintained . in a corresponding modification of the vessel of the invention to provide magnetite ions in situ , the pvc material of exit tube 98 is replaced by steel tubing ; in order to provide electrical isolation of steel exit tube from sleeve 100 and outer tube 104 , the exit tube is supported by a pvc plastic compression fitting in lieu of end cap 125 . a dc power supply is then connected as shown in phantom at 121 across the steel exit tube and intermediate sleeve 100 , so that a radial electric field is provided therebetween . when current flows therebetween , through the water stream , iron atoms from the charged steel tubes will be released into the water stream ; magnetite ions will be formed thereby by reaction with oxygen dissolved in the water to be treated , or with additional oxygen added , e . g ., at 132 . the polarity of the dc potential supplied should be reversed at intervals , to prevent scaling of either the exit tube or the intermediate sleeve . in that both the exit tube and intermediate sleeve serve as sources of magnetite ions , both will be sacrificial , and will require replacement at intervals depending on the amount of current flow . accordingly , the design of the vessel should permit their convenient replacement . for example , both the exit tube and the intermediate sleeve may be fabricated of standard sizes of steel tubing . as noted , the steel exit tube may be supported by a compression fitting in the end cap , while the intermediate sleeve 100 may be wedged within the outer tube 104 , so that their replacement does not involve welding or the like . in this modification coils 106 , 106 &# 39 ;, 106 &# 34 ; may be omitted , or may be provided downstream , to provide a magnetic field for further stimulating coagulation of contaminants by the magnetite ions . while a number of aspects of several preferred embodiments of the invention have been discussed in detail , it will be appreciated that these are exemplary only and that the invention is susceptible of many modifications and improvements , including those within the state of the art at the time of filing of the application and others that may be subsequently invented . therefore , the invention should not be limited by the above disclosure , but only by the following claims . | 1 |
the cobalt and nickel compounds used are salts , such as bromides , iodides , acetates , formates , propionates , which react with carbon monoxide to form cobalt carbonyl or hydrocobalt carbonyl complexes . the proportion of cobalt in the catalyst system may be considerably reduced and may be smaller than the proportion of nickel . up to around 1 % by weight and preferably from about 0 . 001 to 0 . 5 % by weight of cobalt is used , based on methanol . the quantity of nickel generally amounts to between about 0 . 1 and 5 % by weight and more particularly to between 0 . 15 and 3 % by weight , based on the methanol used . the ligands used are normally used compounds such as 3 - valent phosphorus compounds corresponding to the following formula ## str1 ## in which r 1 , r 2 and r 3 may be for example alkyl , aryl or aralkyl groups . however , many other groups , such as for example bicyclic compounds in which p is incorporated as a hetero atom , phenoxy or alkoxy groups , are also suitable for the reaction . it has proved to be of advantage to use triphenyl phosphine for example . the promoters used for the reaction are halides , particularly hydrogen iodide or bromide and also methyl iodide or methyl bromide . however , elemental iodine or bromine may also be used . very good results are also obtained with iodides or bromides of nickel , cobalt or cesium and also with mixtures of the compounds mentioned . based on the nickel used , iodine and / or bromine is / are used in a quantity of from 0 . 1 to 3 molar and preferably in a quantity of from 0 . 25 to 1 molar . the reaction is carried out at temperatures in the range from 180 ° to 230 ° c . and under pressures of from about 200 to 500 bars , although it can be of advantage to apply even higher pressures . preferred reaction conditions are temperatures of from 190 ° to 210 ° c . and pressures of from 280 to 320 bars . the reaction is carried out using ratios of carbon monoxide to hydrogen of from 2 : 1 to 1 : 2 , 2 , the preferred ratio being 1 : 1 . the yield of acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal is not adversely affected if the starting gas contains small inert fractions such as co 2 , h 2 or ch 4 . accordingly , the usual synthesis gas quality may be used . in the process according to the invention , the residence times of more than 30 hours required in the known processes may be shortened , in some cases to less than one hour . the preferred residence times are from 5 minutes to 2 hours , depending on whether the process is carried out in batches or continuously . the reaction product contains only small quantities of secondary products and may be worked up by distillation in the usual way . the percentages quoted in the examples represent percent by weight . a stirrer - equipped autoclave of hastelloy c was filled with 405 g ( 12 . 6 moles ) of methanol , 10 g ( 0 . 04 mole ) of ni -( acetate ) 2 . 4h 2 o , 4 . 8 g of hi , 0 . 8 g of co ( acetate ) 2 . 4h 2 o ( 8 %, based on ni ) and 40 mmoles of triphenyl phosphine . after the system had been purged with nitrogen , a co / h 2 ( 1 : 1 )- mixture was introduced under pressure up to a pressure of 290 bars . after the reaction temperature of 200 ° c . had been reached , a fresh co / h 2 ( 1 : 1 )- mixture was continuously added during the 1 - hour reaction time so that the pressure of 290 bars was maintained . after the autoclave had been cooled and the reaction product worked up by distillation , it was found that 57 . 9 % of the methanol used had reacted with a selectivity of 79 . 6 % to form acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal . in addition , 8 . 6 % of acetaldehyde and 5 . 8 % of methyl acetate were obtained . the reaction was carried out in the same way as in example 1 except that , instead of 8 %, 4 % of cobalt was used . the conversion amounted to 49 . 9 % for a selectivity of 82 . 6 %. 5 . 0 % of acetaldehyde and 8 . 6 % of methyl acetate were obtained as secondary products . the reaction was carried out in the same way as in example 1 except that 16 % of cobalt , based on nickel , was used . under these conditions , the conversion rose to 67 . 8 % whereas selectivity fell to 63 . 7 % of acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal . the reaction was carried out in the same way as in example 1 except that the residence time was 30 minutes . the conversion amounted to 43 % whereas selectivity rose to 82 . 0 % of acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal . in addition , 3 . 7 % of acetaldehyde and 10 . 6 % of methyl acetate were obtained . the reaction was carried out in the same way as in example 2 except that , instead of triphenyl phosphine , 40 mmoles of tributyl phosphine were used . the conversion amounted to 45 . 5 % for a selectivity of 82 . 8 %. in addition , 3 . 6 % of acetaldehyde and 5 . 3 % of methyl acetate were obtained . the reaction was carried out in the same way as in example 2 except that only 20 mmoles of triphenyl phosphine were used . the conversion amounted to 44 . 2 % for a selectivity of 83 . 7 %. | 2 |
the present invention relates to the field of games , and in particular to games which simulate an activity , sport , or game in which recognizable characters participate . thus , in the illustrated embodiment , the toy figure 10 is representative of a pitcher in a baseball game , and may further represent a particular , identifiable pitcher by various indicia such as the style and coloration of the uniform worn by the figure , an identifying number and / or name on the uniform , and / or a name or other identifying indicia on the base 20 on which the figure is mounted , or even upon an associated card ( not shown ). a number of similarly constructed , though differently styled and / or posed figures may be provided to simulate the various members of a side or team that normally participate in the real life activity , sport or game . thus , in an example of a baseball game , an entire team of figures representing all nine of the defensive positions may be provided , along with corollary figures in the offensive batting position , as well as a tenth figure representing a designated hitter . it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that similar sets of figures may be provided for other sports , and even fantasy war games . the basic rules of the game to be played may readily be based upon the rules of the actual game or sport , such as baseball . a game to be played using the toy figures of the present invention may also include a game board , a score sheet , and may also possibly include cards or tables providing for more advanced and complex play involving strategies and tactics pitting teams , and even individual players against each other . a game board or mat may reflect unique characteristics of a particular team &# 39 ; s home field or stadium , and may itself have provisions for a scorecard / scoreboard , and various statistics and probabilities . particularly where the toy figures are representative of a real life player , variations of the toy figure may be provided to reflect the player &# 39 ; s performance at different positions , such as , for example , a utility baseball player &# 39 ; s performance at different defensive positions or a football player &# 39 ; s performance in the player &# 39 ; s regular offensive or defensive position , as well as on a special team . each such character &# 39 ; s various skills , such as that of a baseball player &# 39 ; s probability of hitting singles , doubles , triples , homeruns , pop - ups , long fly balls , or striking out , may be used to determine play of the game . for example , a homerun slugger could have more homeruns and strikeouts sectors , and less singles and pop - ups sectors . variations of such a toy figure could also be provided to reflect the real life player &# 39 ; s change in skill levels at different times in the player &# 39 ; s career . referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals are used for designating like parts throughout the several views , there is shown in fig1 a toy figure 10 having a base 20 according to the present invention . fig2 is an exploded view of the toy figure 10 according to the present invention . base 20 of toy figure 10 can comprise an upper shell 30 and a bottom wall or plate 40 , which is secured to the upper shell 30 by a friction fit , a suitable adhesive , or ultrasonic welding . a rotatable disk , dial , or spinner 60 is provided , in base 20 between upper shell 30 and bottom wall 40 . an upper pin 62 on the disk 60 is received in an upper socket ( not shown ) on the underside of upper shell 30 . in addition , a lower pin 63 on the disk 60 is received in a lower socket 42 in bottom wall 40 . pins 62 and 63 are substantially co - axial and serve as trunnions or stub axles . thus disk 60 is carried in base 20 for rotation or spinning about the axis of pins 62 and 63 . an upper decal 50 is affixed to the upper surface 64 of the disk 60 . fig3 shows an example of an upper decal 50 according to the present invention . upper decal 50 includes a center opening 52 so that upper pin 62 of disk 60 can connect to the upper socket of upper shell 30 . radial sectors 53 , of which there are nine in the example illustrated in fig3 , on upper decal 50 can be marked with various types of indices that may be determinative of the play of the game . in a game to be played with basic rules , there may only be a single ring of indices representing the possible outcomes that may result based on the particular character or player represented , the position of that character or player , and whether the character or player is represented to be on offense ( batting in a baseball game ) or on defense . alternatively , as illustrated in fig3 , there may be an inner ring of indices 54 , and an outer ring of indices 56 . each index of inner ring 54 of indices as shown in fig3 comprises a single number , while each index of outer ring 56 of indices as shown in fig3 comprises a combination of a single number and letter . however , an index of the outer ring 56 could comprise a single letter . fig4 shows an enlarged , partial , fragment of upper shell 30 of fig1 . the upper surface 33 of upper shell 30 is provided with a radially elongated viewing opening or window 34 through which the entirety of only one inner index from the inner ring of indices 54 and the entirety only one outer index from the outer ring of indices 56 appear . the outer peripheral wall 35 of upper shell 30 is provided with an access opening 36 through which the player &# 39 ; s finger or thumb ( not shown ) can spin disk 60 . a figure of a character 32 is mounted on upper surface 33 of upper shell 30 , as shown in fig1 - 2 . character 32 can be made in the image of the particular recognizable character or player that the toy figure 10 represents . the character may be pivotally mounted on base 20 , or it may be mounted in a fixed orientation , having a forward facing direction as illustrated . viewing opening or window 34 is oriented in the same forward facing direction of figure 32 , while access opening 36 is generally opposite . a tactile or textured surface 62 , such as a surface having a plurality of grooves , serrations , or knurling is provided on the outer peripheral wall or surface 61 of disk 60 . textured surface 62 facilitates a player &# 39 ; s finger or thumb more easily gripping the outer peripheral wall surface of disk 60 for spinning . on bottom plate 40 of base 20 , there is an upwardly biased pawl or detent 44 that cooperates with circumferential grooves 66 forming a face ratchet 68 on underside 65 of disk 60 , as shown in fig5 . as illustrated in fig2 , pawl 44 is formed as an integral part of base 20 , or more particularly bottom wall 40 , which is made of plastic . however , pawl 44 could be a separate component mounted on the upper , inside surface 43 of bottom wall 40 . as illustrated in fig2 , pawl 44 is formed in a cut - out portion 45 of bottom wall 40 , and has a thin , upwardly canted , inverted v - shaped leaf 46 . on the top of the free end of leaf 46 is a radial rib or projection 48 . pawl 44 provides a positive stop of disk 60 in one of a preselected number of radial positions in order to show the entirety of only one of sectors 53 containing an inner index from the inner ring of indices 54 and an outer index from the outer ring of indices 56 appearing in window opening 34 , to facilitate the elimination of “ liners ”. a series of circumferential grooves 66 are provided at predetermined locations on the underside 65 of disk 60 , and correspond in number to the number of sectors 53 . the bottom of one of each of grooves 66 aligns with the radial center of one of sectors 53 . as an alternative , ridges rather than grooves 66 may be used to comprise face ratchet 68 . rib or projection 48 of the pawl engages grooves 66 to bring disk 60 to a stop in a position such that the entirety of only one inner index from the inner ring of indices 54 and the entirety only one outer index from the outer ring of indices 56 appear in viewing opening or window 34 . a lower decal 70 can be affixed to the underside of bottom wall 40 . lower decal 70 can include additional information relating to a character or player such as a name , a position name , a position number , and a player cost . in a baseball game played using the present invention , each team could include a set of ten toy figures . each team could include a toy figure for each of the nine positions : pitcher ( 1 ), catcher ( 2 ), first baseman ( 3 ), second baseman ( 4 ), third baseman ( 5 ), shortstop ( 6 ), left fielder ( 7 ), center fielder ( 8 ), and right fielder ( 9 ). a toy figure for a designated hitter ( dh ) may also be included . each toy figure may have a player cost marked . the cost of the entire team may be required to equal , or be less than , some pre - selected amount . after the particular toy figures have been selected to fill a team , and the batting line - ups have been determined , the toy figures may be placed at their positions on a game board . the home team begins the game on defense , and therefore , the home team places the pitcher toy figure on the pitcher &# 39 ; s mound . in a very basic game the outcome of a pitch may simply be determined by the letters in outer index 56 , as for example : s for a single when the batter is moved to first base , and all of the runners that may be on base advance one base ; d for a double when the batter is moved to second base , and all of the runners that may be on base advance two bases ; t for a triple when the batter is moved to third base , and all of the runners that may be on base score ; h for a homerun when the batter and all of the runners that may be on base score ; k for a strike out when the batter spinner strikes out and none of the runners that may be on base advance ; w for a walk when the batter is moved to first base , and the runners that may be on base do not advance unless forced by the batter being moved to first ; f for a flyball out when the batter is out and the runners that may be on base do not advance ; p for a popup when the batter is out and the runners that may be on base do not advance ; and g for a ground out when the batter hits a ground ball ; the batter is out and the runners that may be on base do not advance if no runner is on first base . if a runner is on first base , then that runner on first base is out at second base and the batter is safe at first base on a fielder &# 39 ; s choice . normal baseball rules apply , and therefore , each team gets three outs per inning and the game lasts nine innings . in a more advanced game , the numbers forming part of the outer ring of indices may be taken into account to determine further variations of the outcome in combination with toy figures representing defensive players , or by some sort of chart or table . thus , for example , “ f9 ”, a fly out to the right fielder , may result in a runner on a base advancing , or even scoring from second base , depending on the skills of the right fielder . even more advanced games , with further variations , may be played employing the inner ring 54 of indices . thus , when a toy figure is used for the defensive player , such as a second baseman , and the batter hits a ground ball to the second baseman , a spin - off between the batter and the second baseman toy figures may be used to determine whether there is a double play or a runner on third scores . alternatively , such inner ring indices may be used with a chart or table to determine other results . even more possibilities and variations may result from color coding the indices . while particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described , with some further suggested alternatives , further variations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art . it is intended in the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications that come within the true spirit and scope of the present invention . | 0 |
on fig1 is an architecture overview for the setup of a wireless telecommunications over bluetooth radio link . the fact that here bluetooth is shown is not restrictive . another protocol could have been used . in this example , the method to perform a wireless telecommunications according to the present invention is applied on a protocol between a mobile and a bluetooth audio gateway . it relies on spp defined in bluetooth standard 1 . 1 . the telecommunications is setup between one dual mode bluetooth / gsm mobile and one bluetooth audio gateway . more generally , a wireless telecommunications between two terminals ( on fig1 the mobile and the gateway ) is performed by using their respective serial port profile spp and a protocol for the transmission of said telecommunications based on at or hayes commands . said protocol will be also applied for the audio channel of said telecommunications . the terminal ( mobile phone on fig1 ) comprises at least a modem supporting a serial port profile , and a processor on which at or hayes commands can be performed to build a wireless telecommunications with another terminal ( gateway on fig1 ). latter can be connected to some enterprise network like a private branch exchange pbx or directly to some external network ( isdn , pstn , ip based one like a lan ). the gateway comprises at least a serial port profile , a modem and a processor on which at or hayes commands can be performed to build a wireless telecommunications with said terminal ( mobile ) while said gateway will take in charge at least some interface management of said terminal . typically , the gateway takes in charge inter - working with pbx or network as well as the mobile man machine interface at least when associated to a telecommunications . when mobile terminal is located inside bluetooth coverage area of an access point e . g . the gateway , access point makes setup of one bluetooth serial port profile with the mobile and takes control of mobile man machine interface . on fig2 is shown a diagram of the steps followed by the present method when an incoming call for the mobile is setup . when access point wants to page mobile , it sends a few at commands to notify the mobile of bluetooth incoming call with a ring and specific messages to display . during communication , dedicated action or notification are under control of access point . on fig2 is shown two situations for a telecommunications release . in case 1 , the release is initiated by the network on an event coming from the network . access point ( gateway ) asks to the mobile to release synchronous connection orientated sco channel . mobile translates this message on link manager layer . then , access point signals to mobile display , end of call . in case 2 , release is initiated by mobile using hang - up key . when mobile leaves bluetooth coverage , serial port profile is closed . on fig3 is shown a diagram of the steps followed by the present method when an outgoing call for the mobile is setup . when access point ( gateway ) wants to page mobile , it sends a few at commands to notify the mobile of bluetooth notification are under control of access point . on fig3 is shown two situations for telecommunications release . in case 1 , release is initiated by network on an event coming from network . access point asks to mobile to release sco channel . mobile translates this message on link manager layer . then , access point signals to mobile display , end of call . in case 2 , release is initiated by mobile using hang - up key . when mobile leaves bluetooth coverage , serial port profile is closed . some supplementary services can be advantageously offered using the present method . when mobile is located in the bluetooth coverage area of the gateway , the gateway or access point makes setup of one bluetooth serial port profile with the mobile and takes control of mobile man machine interface . gateway signals on mobile display that it can be managed by bluetooth infrastructure . when using man machine interface remote function over bluetooth , it is possible to manage supplementary services of pbx on mobile side . when no telecommunications is setup dial by name feature can be supported . when a telecommunications is active , conference or call transfer can be supported . since there is a lot of services that can be accessed or controlled by at or hayes commands , the present approach enables to benefit for them without to much modification . furthermore , it allows to control audio easily inside every at commands application or script . it gives a possibility to use gsm kind of mobile phone in a enterprise ( business ) environment managed by e . g . a pbx or a ipserver mapping a classical pbx . | 7 |
as required , detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein ; however , it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention , which may be embodied in various forms . therefore , specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting , but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure . the reference numeral 20 generally refers to a unitized electrode with three - dimensional capabilities for detection and control of brain state changes in accordance with the present invention , as shown in fig6 a through 6f . fig6 a and 6b show an enlarged top and side perspective view and an enlarged bottom and side perspective view , respectively , of an electrode 20 having a “ tack ”- like configuration with a disk portion 22 , a shaft portion 24 , and conductors 26 , such as electrically conducting wires or other suitable arrangement as appropriate for a particular application as hereinafter disclosed . the shaft portion 24 is secured to , or formed integrally with , the disk portion 22 and generally extends perpendicularly outwardly from the disk portion 22 , preferably from the center thereof . for some applications , however , it may be desirable that the shaft portion 24 be spaced off - center and / or at a selected angle relative to the disk portion 22 . the shaft portion 24 is generally inserted in a radial direction , i . e ., parallel to the orientation of apical dendrites or of the fibers ( axons ) entering or leaving the cortex at that site . in some applications , however , the shaft portion 24 may be inserted orthogonally or obliquely into the cortex . the direction of insertion is a function of the site selected for recording or control of brain state changes . this approach is favored over others , such as anchoring the device to the dura mater or to the skull , because it increases the area of recording surfaces and minimizes tearing of the cortex and dura that may result from differential displacement of these structures associated with head movements of certain force / acceleration and direction . the disk portion 22 has an upper surface 28 and a lower surface 30 . the shaft portion 24 has an outer surface 32 . as shown in fig6 a and 6b , the outer surface 32 of the shaft portion 24 has a single recording and / or stimulating contact surface 32 thereon connected in communication with conductor 26 . alternately , the shaft portion 24 may have a plurality of bands of recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 36 separated by insulating material 38 , as indicated in fig6 d and 6f . in that event , each of the recording and / or stimulating surfaces 36 is independently connected to a different one of the conductors 26 . in addition , the lower surface 30 of the disk portion 22 may have a single recording and / or stimulating contact surface 40 connected in communication with a separate one of the conductors 26 . alternately , the disk portion 22 may have one or more concentric annularly - shaped bands of recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 42 separated by insulating material 44 , as indicated in fig6 e . in that event , each of the recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 42 is independently connected to a different one of the conductors 26 and independently of conductors 26 connected to the bands of recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 36 on the outer surface 32 of shaft portion 24 . for some applications , it may be desirable to use one or more circularly - shaped recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 46 separated by insulating material 48 in place of some or all of the previously described annularly - shaped bands of recording and / or stimulating contact surfaces 42 , as depicted in fig6 f . generally , the disk portion 22 has a diameter between approximately 1 – 25 mm and the shaft portion 24 has a diameter between approximately 0 . 1 – 1 . 0 mm ; it is to be understood , however , that the disk portion 22 and the shaft portion 24 may have other dimensions as necessary for a particular application . the length of the shaft portion 24 may have any desired length depending on the location as required for a particular application , as shown in fig6 c , wherein one of the electrodes 20 is inserted directly into brain tissue , designated by the numeral 50 , and another one of the electrodes 20 in inserted into a fold of the gyrus , designated by the numeral 52 . fig6 c illustrates how the electrode 20 can be inserted into the fold of the gyrus so that it can record from the unexposed surfaces , which project a negligible solid angle onto electrodes placed on the surface of the cortex . another advantage of electrode 20 is that the arrangement of the disk portion 22 and the shaft portion 24 relative to each other provide each other with the anchoring needed to maintain good contact and stable target acquisition , thereby improving signal - to - noise ratio , detection performance and efficacy of control measures . in other words , electrode 20 may be inserted into the exposed cortex or into the folds to record from both unexposed cortex and from the depths of the cortex . the insertion of the shaft portion 24 either directly into brain tissue or into a fold of the gyrus stabilizes the electrode 20 and prevents undesired lateral movement of the contact surfaces 40 on the lower surface 30 of the disk portion 22 relative to the exposed surface of the cortex which the contact surfaces 40 are bearing against . concurrently therewith , the abutting engagement between the lower surface 30 of the disk portion 22 stabilizes the electrode 20 and prevents undesired axial movement of the contact surfaces 36 of the shaft portion 24 relative to brain tissue . in other words and as one skilled in the art can determine from this disclosure , the presence of disk portion 22 provides supporting and anchoring capabilities to the shaft portion 24 and prevents undue movement of the shaft portion 24 to thereby avoid the consequent noise and contaminated signals as experienced with the use of prior art devices . similarly , the presence of the shaft portion 24 provides an anchor to the contact surfaces of the disk portion 22 to prevent movement artifacts . electrode 20 is sometimes referred to herein as a mesoelectrode because the diameter of the shaft is between the dimensions of the microelectrodes for single unit or intracellular recordings and the depth macro electrodes shown in fig2 . depending on the diameter of the shaft portion 24 , the present invention records activity ranging from minicolums which correspond approximately to 10 2 neurons which constitute a minicolumn ( for diameters of ˜ 0 . 1 mm ) to possibly up to 10 5 – 10 6 neurons which constitute a macrocolumn ; that is , the mesoelectrode of the present invention can simultaneously record activity from multiple spatial scales . those skilled in the art realize that the mesoelectrode electrode can have two or more shaft portions as required for a particular application . the mesoelectrode can be inserted , as shown in 6 a , into the exposed cortex or into the folds of the cortex to record from unexposed cortex and from its depths . this macroelectrode can be used for subcortical structures but not for cortical recordings . an electrode having a tip diameter of 10 − 3 cm and placed closed to the body of a neuron records activity contributed by approximately one hundred neurons . electrode 20 is constructed of biocompatible materials , such as polyurethane covered as appropriate with thin sheets or coatings of noble metals , such as platinum or other suitable material . the shaft portion 24 of the mesoelectrode 20 is configured to operatively accept a rigid mandrel to guide the electrode 20 into the brain tissue . the various contact surfaces are constructed of inert but conductive materials , such as platinum or platinum - iridium or other suitable material . if desired , contact surfaces of the disk portion 22 and shaft portion 24 may be “ printed ” or deposited onto the respective underlying surfaces using photolithographic techniques . in the case of the circularly - shaped contacts 46 shown in fig6 f , the diameter thereof generally ranges between approximately 1 – 5 mm and the contacts of the shaft portion 24 may be of any suitable length . insulating material between the various contact surfaces is constructed of biologically inert material , such as polyurethane or other suitable material , to prevent adjacent contacts from touching each other , which could otherwise create an undesirable “ shunt ”. conductors 26 , passing through the shaft and protruding from the upper surface 28 of the disk portion 22 , transfer signals from the various contact surfaces to amplifiers , usually for recording purposes , and are constructed of electrically conductive material , such as copper or other suitable material . electrical insulation is present about the conductors 26 throughout the shaft portion 24 and continues up to the juncture between the conductors 26 and the corresponding contact surface . conductors or wires 26 may also be used to convey control signals from control units ( or stimulation units ) to selected ones of the contact surfaces . each individual contact surface of the disk portion 22 and shaft portion 24 is connected to an electrically distinct conductor 26 allowing any contact surface to be independently available for stimulation either synchronously or asynchronously . for some applications , it may be desirable that communication to and from the electrode 20 be wireless , through micro - or nano - telemetric devices , housed in , or spaced in close proximity to , the electrode 20 . the presence of the contact surfaces of the disk portion 22 and the shaft portion 24 in three distinct axes provides three - dimensional information gathering capability for brain electrical activity ( bea ) and thus improves over the capabilities of the prior art devices for analysis of brain signals . the presence of multiple contacts on the shaft portion 24 and on the disk portion 22 improves the temporal and spatial resolution of cortical signals and also of the therapy delivered to the cortex , which translate into improved detection and control of brain state changes . the various contact surfaces that are connected to control units through conductors 26 not only allow usage of electrical stimulation strategy but also allow other therapeutic modalities such as cooling . those skilled in the pertinent art will appreciate that the mesoelectrode may be constructed using ceramic or silicon and thin - film techniques . a first modified embodiment of the unitized electrode with three - dimensional capabilities for detection and control of brain state changes , designated by the numeral 60 , is depicted in fig7 . the first modified embodiment 60 includes a hollow body mechanism 61 having one or more retractable electrode devices 62 with distal ends 63 that can be selectively pushed out into the cortex , wherein the body mechanism 61 is secured to a disk portion 64 similar to that hereinbefore described for electrode 20 . disk portion 64 provides supporting and stabilizing structure for the first modified embodiment 60 but can also have one or more recording and stimulating contact surfaces on a lower surface 65 thereof , as hereinbefore described . while the body mechanism 61 is being inserted into a fold of the gyrus , as indicated in fig7 , the distal ends 63 of the retractable electrode devices 62 are retained within the body mechanism 61 . once the body mechanism 61 is suitably placed inter - gyrally as desired , i . e ., in between two lateral walls of the brain , levers 66 can be operated by pairs of control leads or wires 67 to cause the distal ends 63 of the electrode devices 62 to the pushed into the brain tissue adjacent thereto . the levers 66 are mounted on an inner surface 68 of the body mechanism 61 . the control wires 67 can be operated manually , in which case pulling one of the pair of wires 67 extends the associated distal end 63 into the tissue and pulling the other one of the pair of wires 67 retracts the associated distal end 63 into the body mechanism 61 . it is to be understood that other precision control means , such as using stepper motors , dc motors or other suitable mechanisms may also be used for the purpose of extending and retracting the distal ends 63 into and from the adjacent brain tissue . if stepper motors are used , the control wires are attached to the stepper motor shaft so that rotating the motor in one direction ( for example , clockwise ) pushes the distal end into the brain tissue while rotating the motor in the opposite direction ( for example , counterclockwise ) retracts the distal end back into the shaft . it is to be understood that the stepper motors may be positioned outside the electrode structure . while any stepper motor can be used , use of one or more micro - stepper motors allows precise positioning of the distal ends 63 . for example , micro - stepper motors can be used to advance the distal ends 63 into the tissue in small steps for precise positioning thereof . either separate motors can be used to control each distal end 63 separately , or one motor can be used to simultaneously extend / retract some or all of the distal ends 63 as desired for a particular application . although only three electrode devices 62 are shown in fig7 , any number of the electrode devices 62 can be used to obtain as much spatial resolution as desired . the presence of several of the electrode devices 62 spaced around the body mechanism 61 provides three - dimensional information of the bea . the distal ends 63 of the electrode devices 62 are connected in communication with conductors 69 that can be used for recording the bea . it is to be understood that one or more contact surfaces 71 on an outer surface of the body mechanism 61 , as hereinbefore described , may be used in combination with the electrode devices 62 for a particular application as needed . a second modified embodiment 60 of the unitized electrode with three - dimensional capabilities for detection and control of brain state changes , designated by the numeral 75 , is shown in fig8 a and 8b , wherein channels 76 formed in a body mechanism 77 are utilized to slidably insert electrode wires 78 therethrough . the body mechanism 77 is constructed to insulate the electrode wires 78 from each other , such as by constructing the body mechanism 77 from insulating material , such as polyurethane or the like or lining the channels 76 with insulating material . an application of embodiment 75 can be described as follows : first the body mechanism 77 is inserted as desired into a fold of the gyrus . distal ends of the electrode wires 78 are slidably pushed through the channels 76 into the brain tissue as desired once the body mechanism 77 is in place . as hereinbefore described , it is to be understood that one or more contact surfaces 79 on an outer surface of the body mechanism 77 may be used in combination with the electrode wires 78 for a particular application as needed . a fragmentary and schematic illustration of a variation of the second modified embodiment 60 of the unitized electrode with three - dimensional capabilities for detection and control of brain state changes , designated by the numeral 85 , is shown in fig8 c , wherein a cannula 86 is slidably inserted through each channels 87 formed in body mechanism 88 and an electrode wire 89 is slidably inserted therethrough . an application of embodiment 85 can be described as follows : first the body mechanism 88 is inserted as desired into a fold of the gyrus . the cannula 86 is then pushed into the brain tissue as desired once the body mechanism 88 is in place . the cannula 86 is more rigid than the electrode wire 89 , thus enabling easier access and penetration into the brain tissue . after inserting the distal end of the cannula 86 a desired distance into the adjacent brain tissue , the more flexible ( less rigid ) electrode wire 89 is then guided and directed by the inserted cannula 86 as the electrode wire 89 is slidably extended through the cannula 86 , at least to the outer extremity of the distal end of the cannula 86 . without displacing the inserted electrode wire 89 , the cannula 86 is then retracted into the body mechanism 88 , thereby exposing the brain tissue to only the distal end of the electrode wire 89 . due to the elasticity of the brain tissue , the brain tissue closes around the distal end of the electrode wire 89 to form and maintain good communication contact therebetween after the cannula 86 is retracted . it is to be understood that the body mechanism 88 may contain several channels 87 , each having a cannula 86 and electrode wire 89 therein as described . also as hereinbefore described and illustrated , it is to be understood that one or more contact surfaces on an outer surface of the body mechanism 88 may be used in combination with the electrode wires 89 for a particular application as needed . fig8 c is an enlarged and schematic illustration of a first activating mechanism 90 , such as a stepper motor , being used to slidably displace the cannula 86 through the channel 87 and a second activating mechanism 91 being used , independently of the first activating mechanism 90 , to slidably displace the electrode wire 89 through the cannula 86 . a variation of the present invention is referred to herein as a “ hybrid ” as it consists of a macroelectrode having a diameter of approximately 1 . 1 – 2 mm with its own external recording surfaces , containing internally disposed mesoelectrodes having diameters of approximately 0 . 1 – 1 mm which can be deployed to increase dimensionality of recording from one - dimensional to up to three - dimensional . these hybrid electrodes are designed for detection and control of states of subcortical structures ( i . e , hippocampus ) offering great flexibility , wherein the mesoelectrodes will be deployed only if improved localization signal quality or control are needed . a third modified embodiment of the unitized electrode with three - dimensional capabilities for detection and control of brain state changes , designated by the numeral 92 is shown , in fig9 . the third modified embodiment 92 includes a plate portion 93 and a plurality of shaft portions 94 . as hereinbefore described , each shaft portion 94 may have a plurality of recording and / or stimulating electrode surfaces 95 separated by insulating material 96 , as indicated on only one of the shaft portions 94 for simplification of illustration . each of the recording and / or stimulating electrode surfaces 95 is independently connected to a different one of the conductors 97 . in addition , the lower surface 98 of the plate portion 93 may have a single recording and / or stimulating contact surface connected in communication with a separate one of the conductors 97 . application of the third modified embodiment is substantially similar to that indicated in fig6 c for electrode 50 . the multiple shaft portions 94 allow a further improved three - dimensional resolution of the bea . for some applications , it may be desirable that a plurality of the cannulae be slidably nested one within another to extend farther into the brain tissue . summarizing , those skilled in the art realize that : a ) the shape of the electrode component resting over the cortical surface 4 ( which in the preferred embodiment for a disk - type embodiment of the present invention ) may have any desired shape as appropriate for any particular application , such as rectangular , square , etc . moreover , the shape thereof may be tailored to conform to the top or exposed part of a gyrus over which it will be placed ; b ) the electrode may be constructed of materials with high thermal and electrical conductivity such as carbon nanotubes ; and c ) the shape , size and number of contact surfaces and number , diameter and lengths of the shafts may vary with the application for which it is being used . considerable improvements in temporo - spatial resolution , stability of target coverage and of signal acquisition , higher signal / noise ratio of brain signals , and multi - site recording and control capabilities at two or more spatial scales are provided by the present invention comprising a unitized electrode . through simple changes in design and variations in its length , the device of the present invention can be used for recording of : ( i ) intra - cortical activity only ; ( ii ) activity from exposed or non - exposed cortical surfaces only ; ( iii ) simultaneous recording of intracortical and epicortical ( surfaces ) activities from the same or different regions ; ( iv ) inter - gyral activity from non - exposed cortical walls only ; ( v ) inter - gyral and intracortical activities simultaneously ; ( vi ) trans - hemispheric activity from cortical surfaces , intra - cortical regions , white matter and sub - cortical hemispheric structures / nuclei , such as the thalamus , increasing its anatomo - functional range for detection and control of state changes . the multi - site and multi - modal ( electrical , thermal , chemical optical or other classes of signals ) recording and control capabilities / functions can be applied congruously wherein recording and control are performed through the same device or portion thereof , or incongruously wherein recording and control are carried out either through different portions of the same device or through different devices . furthermore , such unitized functions can be performed either synchronously in time , or asynchronously in time . also , detection of brain state changes may be accomplished using electrical or chemical signals and control may be exerted by , for example , cooling the region of interest . since the reciprocal projections between the cortex and deep nuclei , such as the thalamus , follow a radial pattern , the device of the present invention allows recording and control of signal / brain states along different levels of the same region / domain in a simultaneous or sequential fashion . application of additional devices allows similar degrees of flexibility and multiplicity of functions over different regions . the invention disclosed herein is more efficient and causes less trauma than prior art by requiring fewer electrodes and tissue penetrations and smaller holes , than the previously - required burr holes , for implantation . it is also more cost - effective in that it requires shorter surgical time compared to prior art approaches . the present invention may also be used for detection purposes as taught in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 995 , 868 issued nov . 30 , 1999 to ivan osorio et al . to summarize , by using the invention disclosed herein , recording / sensing or control of state changes can be performed integrally ( across all regions / domains sampled by one or more devices ) or differentially ( selected regions / domains sampled by one or more devices ). it is to be understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein , it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangement of parts described and shown . | 0 |
divided turbine housings in turbochargers are used to sustain , in the turbine , the pulse energy originating from low engine speed combustion in the cylinder head . the exhaust pulses are propagated along the exhaust manifold , and upon reaching the turbine the divided turbine housing further maintains the pulses to deliver pulsed flow , as against steady state flow , to the turbine wheel . this pulse energy is then converted to rotational energy by the turbine wheel . in an aerodynamic sense , the shape of the divider wall near the trailing edge ( 21 ) and the shape of the surface of the outer walls ( 22 , 23 ) of the volute form a nozzle to guide the exhaust flow into the turbine wheel ( 10 ). as a result of this aerodynamic need , the design of the divider wall , the function of which is to segregate the pulses in the separate volutes ( 111 ) and to support the trailing edge ( 21 ) surfaces , has historically been left in the hands of the aerodynamics designers . the inventors and set about to improve the durability of the divider wall by taking a different approach — by designing a divider wall from a thermodynamic vantage point . typically , as illustrated in fig4 , the divider wall is a generally parallel wall structure , terminating at one end in a curve defining the trailing edge ( 21 ) of the divider wall , and at the other end in a curve defined by a root radius ( 14 ) between the roof ( 13 ) of the volute and the potentially intersecting surface ( 19 ) of the divider wall ( 16 ). sometimes the outer surfaces ( 19 ) of the divider wall are designed parallel to each other ; and sometimes they are designed as straight lines of a “ v ” convergent in the direction of the trailing edge of the divider wall . generally , no matter the design of the divider wall , there will always exist both a mass difference and a thermodynamic mismatch between the divider wall and the outer walls of the volute . conventionally , the mass distribution in the divider wall is generally linear since both surfaces of the sides of the divider wall are linear . quantitatively , thermal energy is exponentially being passed to the exhaust gas , so the transient heat transfer from the divider wall is an exponential function , while the mass of the divider wall is a linear function . the inventors came to realize this mismatch , and set out to design a divider wall such that the mass of the divider wall and the transient heat transfer from the divider wall were more suitably matched . in a first embodiment of the invention , as depicted in fig5 , the surfaces ( 44 ) of the central part of the divider wall are designed as log 2 curves about the generally radial axis ( 26 ) of the divider wall ( 16 ). the log 2 curve is tangential to the root radius ( 14 ), which is at the intersection of the surface ( 44 ) of the inventive divider wall and the roof ( 13 ) of the volute . in the preferred case of the inventive divider wall , the log 2 curve also intersects the radial axis ( 26 ) of the divider wall at the intersection of the inside diameter bound ( 18 ) of the divider wall , and the axis ( 26 ) of the divider wall . in the preferred case , the shape of the trailing edge part ( 21 ) of the divider wall is defined within the definition of the shape of the surfaces of the sides ( 44 ) of the divider wall . in other cases , the trailing edge of the inventive divider wall may be designed as a parabola , a radius , or a spline plus a radius , in which case the inventive log 2 curve would be tangential to the definition of the trailing edge . the inner bound of the trailing edge would still be defined by the radius ( 18 ) from the central axis ( 1 ) of the turbocharger . the inventors studied several divider wall shapes based on different definitions of curves in the development of this invention . as depicted in fig6 , the prior art divider wall is defined by a parabolic trailing edge ( 49 ), which is tangential to a pair of surfaces ( 48 ) which are parallel to each other . the inventors studied divider walls with non - parallel side surfaces , i . e ., log 3 curves ( 46 ), log 4 curves ( 47 ) and the log 2 curves ( 45 ), all of which are depicted in fig6 , before discovering that a significant improvement in resistance to crack initiation and propagation in the divider wall could be ensured with divider walls having the shape of a log 2 curve . each of the alternatives depicted in fig6 have an inner bound , at the aforementioned radius ( 18 ), which radius is determined as a predetermined ratio of the turbine wheel diameter , and an outer bound , which is determined by the intersection of the particular definition of the curves ( 46 , 47 , or 48 ) of the divider wall ( 16 ) and the root radii ( 14 ) connecting said curves ( 46 , 47 , or 48 ) with the roof ( 13 ) of the volute . thus , the length / bounds of the outer surface ( 44 ) of the inventive divider wall are determined . because the exactness of the surfaces of the sides of the inventive divider wall ( 44 ) relative to a perfect shape is deteriorated by the manufacturing process , as a practical matter , a manufacturing bound of +/− 10 % in a generally axial displacement of the designed outer surface ( 44 ) of the divider wall is acceptable within the definition of the invention ( i . e ., plus 5 % of total wall thickness per side = 10 %; minus 5 % of total wall thickness per side also = 10 %). as depicted in fig7 , the widened displacement of the designed outer surface ( design thickness plus 5 % per side ) is depicted as the curve ( 54 ), and the narrowed displacement of the designed surface ( design thickness minus 5 % per side ) is depicted as the curve ( 55 ). the generally radial bound of the wider displaced surface ( 54 ) is defined as : the generally radial outer bound of the inventive surface is the intersection of the root radius ( 14 ) of the surface of the roof ( 13 ) of the volute , with the larger displacement of the designed outer surface ( 54 ). the generally radial inner bound of the inventive surface is the intersection of the larger displacement of the designed outer surface ( 54 ) and a line ( 56 ) representing 25 % of the generally axial length from the intersection of the root radius ( 14 ) with the larger displacement of the designed surface ( 54 ), and the intersection of the generally radial axis ( 26 ) of the divider wall with the defined above inner bound ( 18 ) of the trailing edge of the divider wall . the generally radial bound of the smaller displaced surface ( 55 ) is defined as such : the generally radial outer bound of the inventive surface is the intersection of the root radius ( 14 ) of the surface of the roof ( 13 ) of the volute with the smaller displacement of the designed outer surface ( 55 ). the generally radial inner bound of the inventive curve is the intersection of the smaller displacement of the designed outer surface ( 54 ) and a line ( 56 ) representing 25 % of the generally axial length from the intersection of the root radius ( 14 ) with the smaller displacement of the designed surface ( 55 ), and the intersection of the generally radial axis ( 26 ) of the divider wall with the defined above inner bound ( 18 ) of the trailing edge of the divider wall . a section of the annuli representing the aforementioned sectional bounds thus defined are depicted as the shaded areas in fig7 . | 5 |
although the disclosure hereof is detailed and exact to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention , the physical embodiments herein disclosed merely exemplify the invention , which may be embodied in other specific structure . the scope of the invention is defined in the claims appended hereto . referring to fig1 and 2 , reference numeral 1 indicates a portion of a typical rotational molding machine . the rotational molding machine 1 has a top spider 3 and a bottom spider 5 . the spiders 3 and 5 support respective halves 6 and 6a of large molds . in fig1 two molds 6 , 6a are shown , but it will be understood that the invention is not limited to a particular size or type of rotational molding machine . in accordance with the present invention , and also looking at fig3 and 4 , a number of screws 11 with replaceable tips are used to releasably join the spiders 3 and 5 to each other . each screw with replaceable tip 11 is comprised of a master bolt 13 , a tip 15 , and a pin 17 . the master bolt 13 is made as a cylindrical shank 19 having a head 21 on one end thereof . the length of the master bolt shank 19 can vary to suit the spiders of different rotational molding machines 1 . preferably , the head 21 is a hex head . the other end 23 of the shank 19 has a bore 25 . a cross hole 27 is at an accurately located distance from the shank end 23 . the distance from the cross hole 27 to the shank end 23 is the same for all length shanks . the tip 15 has a first end with a pilot 29 of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the master bolt bore 25 . the pilot 29 terminates in a shoulder 31 . a cross hole 33 in the pilot has the same diameter as the cross hole 27 in the master bolt 13 . the tip cross hole 33 is located at the same distance from the shoulder 31 as the hole 27 is located from the master bolt end 23 . the tip is threaded at 34 between the shoulder and a guide 37 at the tip second end . the guide 37 is shown as being cylindrical in shape with a diameter less than the diameter of the threads 34 . however , it will be appreciated that the guide can have a tapered surface , if desired . the pin 17 is sized to fit snugly in the cross holes 27 and 23 . in the illustrated construction , the pin is shown as a cylindrical pin with a head 39 and a cotter pin 41 . however , a hair pin or ball - and - detent pin also are acceptable . as best shown in fig2 the screw 11 is used by choosing a master bolt 13 having the correct length shank 19 for the particular rotational molding machine 1 . the master bolt shank is passed through a clearance hole in the top spider 3 until the head 21 contacts the spider . the tip pilot 29 is inserted into the bore 25 of the master bolt 13 until the tip shoulder 31 abuts the master bolt end 23 . in that condition , the cross holes 27 and 33 are coplanar . rotation of the master bolt and tip relative to each other enables the cross holes to become axially aligned for inserting the pin 17 through them . the screw 11 is thus assembled , and it is captured in the top spider by the cooperation of the head 21 and pin 17 . with the screws 11 captured in the spider 3 , the screws are used on the rotational molding machine 1 in generally the same way as conventional screws . that is , the threads 34 are engagable with the threads of associated receivers 7 that are part of the bottom spider 5 . in the particular example of molding machine 1 shown , each receiver 7 is inside and is connected by a pin 43 to an associated short tube 45 . in turn , the tube 45 is welded to the bottom spider . at the beginning of a molding cycle , power wrenches , not illustrated , drive the screw heads 21 to fully engage the screws 11 with their respective receivers 7 in a manner that closes the molds 6 and 6a . at the end of the cycle , the power wrenches reverse the screws to completely disengage the threads 34 from the receivers . the spiders are separated , thereby separating the molds along the parting line 47 . the master bolt head 21 and the pin 17 cooperate to hold the screw from falling out of the top spider when the spiders are separated . after the workpieces have been removed from the molds , the spiders are brought together , and the screws are again driven into full engagement with their associated receivers . the guides 37 on the tips 15 facilitate initial entry of the tip threads back into the receivers . when the tip threads 34 of a screw with replaceable threads 11 become worn , the pin 17 is removed . the tip 15 is then immediately separable from the master bolt 13 and discarded . a new tip is then inserted into and pinned to the master bolt . it is thus not necessary to replace the entire screw 11 when the threads wear . similarly , when a tip thread 34 seizes to its receiver 7 , removing the pins 17 and 43 enables the tip 15 and receiver to be removed as a unit from the spiders 3 and 5 without requiring any flame cutting of the screw or other non - productive effort . a new tip and receiver can be installed quickly and with minimal interruption of production . in addition , the cost of the master bolt 13 is saved . in summary , the results and advantages of rotational molding equipment can now be more fully realized . the screw with replaceable threads 11 enables high production to be maintained from the equipment despite the severe service to which they are exposed . this desirable result comes from using the combined functions of the replaceable tip 15 and the pin 17 . the pin and master bolt head 21 cooperate to prevent the screw from falling out of a spider 3 during production . the tip is easily and quickly removable from the master bolt 13 when the tip is worn or seized to a spider receiver 7 merely by removing the pin from the cross holes 27 and 23 . a replacement tip is equally easily assembled to the master bolt by inserting the tip pilot 29 into the master bolt bore 25 until the tip shoulder 31 abuts the master bolt end 23 . aligning the cross holes enables reinsertion of the pin . it will also be recognized that in addition to the superior performance of the invention , its construction is such as to cost but little more than traditional screws . the great increase in productivity available to rotational molding equipment resulting from the screw with replaceable threads amply justifies its cost . thus , it is apparent that there has been provided , in accordance with the invention , a screw with replaceable threads that fully satisfies the aims and advantages set forth above . while the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof , it is evident that many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description . accordingly , it is intended to embrace all such alternatives , modifications , and variations of the invention as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
referring to fig1 and 5 , an applied potential of approximately 3 volts at 4 milliamps is produced by a waveform generator a at 50 khz and applied through a voltage to current converter b and a multiplexer c in turn between every electrode combination and in each and every case the resultant potential between every adjacent pair of electrodes is fed through an amplifier d and a phase sensitive detector e and is recorded by a sample and hold unit f , from which the data is fed through a 12 - bit analogue to digital converter g to a computer h . the units a , e , f and g of the equipment are all controlled by a master clock j , which also controls the multiplexer through a unit k which stores the electrode combinations . the sixteen electrodes shown in fig1 give rise to 1456 potential measurements which can be recorded in 1 . 456 seconds or less . in order to demonstrate image reconstruction it is necessary to consider a specific configuration of electrodes on a specific object ( see fig1 ). the object chosen for illustration is a thin flat sheet of electrically resistive material enclosed by a circular boundary . connected to the boundary of this object are a number of equally spaced electrodes . for example , 16 electrodes may be attached to the boundary . let these electrodes be numbered from 1 to 16 . then current is passed between electodes 1 and 2 ( see fig1 ) and the voltages between electrodes 3 and 4 , 4 and 5 and so on up to 15 and 16 are measured by the apparatus . although ideally the voltages between the electrode pairs ( 16 , 1 ), ( 1 , 2 ) and ( 2 , 3 ) should also be measured their values are distorted by the presence of a voltage drop across these electrodes due to the electrode contact resistance . the other measurements e . g . between electrodes 3 and 4 can be made without taking any current through these electrodes and so this problem does not occur for these measurements , which is an important feature of this technique . once the measurements have been made for current passing between electrodes 1 and 2 , current is then directed to the apparatus to flow between electrodes 2 and 3 and a second set of measurements taken . this process is continued until finally current is passed between electrodes 16 and 1 . when this final set of measurements is complete a full set of 16 sets of measurements is available for reconstruction of an image of resistance distribution in the object . the distribution of voltage within an object through which electric current is flowing is determined by the equation ( eq 1 ). where ρ ( x , y , z ) is the distribution of log resistance in the object i . e . if the resistance at a point is ρ ( x , y , z ) then p = in ( ρ ) where ln is the natural logarithm function . this formula will give the value of voltage at the object boundary or surface of and the primary assumption behind resistance imaging is that if enough different independent current patterns are applied to the object and enough boundary measurements of voltage made the distribution of p can be determined . other methods of attempting to solve this problem require the accurate and repeated solution of the above equation for the object being probed . this , except for the most trivial examples , is a formidable task and effectively prevents the use of these techniques with currently available computing equipment . such a calculation would also need detailed information about the object boundary which would be difficult to obtain without extensive and elaborate additional instrumentation . in contrast the method presented here does not require explicit solution of the above equation either once or repeatedly in an iterative cycle and is able to produce ( and has produced ) in - vivo images of resistance distribution in times of no more than a few tens of seconds . the present method may in fact be formulated for a general three dimensional object . however because the reconstruction of the image does not require the solution of eq . 1 it has been shown experimentally that good images using data obtained from three dimensional objects may be obtained by applying an algorithm designed for a simple two dimensional configuration . the formulae given below refer to the idealized case of a two dimensional distribution of resistance enclosed by a circular boundary and with a pair of drive electrodes very close together , effectively forming a current dipole . fig1 represents such an idealized region with 16 electrodes placed at equal intervals around the boundary and with a current dipole at the origin 0 . in practice current would actually be passed between electrodes 1 and 2 in this example but the differences in the pattern of current flow between this latter configuration and the current dipole are negligible except close to the drive electrodes . in the example given above passing current between a pair of electrodes ( called hereafter the drive pair ) enables 16 measurements of voltage difference to be made around the boundary of the object . in practice only 13 measurements can be made because measurements involving one of the drive electrodes are unreliable because of contact resistance . the missing values can be interpolated from the available measurements . let this set of measurements be described by a vector v . if the current is being passed between electrodes i and i + 1 this vector will be called v i . let the natural logarithm of the resistance distribution within the region enclosed by the circular boundary be given by p ( x , y ) ( fig1 ). the algorithm being described here initially reconstructs an image of p ( x , y ) which may then be converted to an image of resistance ( x , y ) by the operation of exponentiation . consider current being passed by a current dipole at 0 . a vector of measurements v 1 is obtained . now suppose that the resistance in the region is set to some uniform value . again current is passed between electrodes 1 and 2 and this time a vector of measurements u 1 is obtained . a new vector p1 =( v 1 - u 1 )/ u 1 is formed and this is back - projected into the image space along the lines of constant potential . these lines are shown in fig1 and represent the lines of constant voltage in the medium when current is flowing through the medium . for the configuration shown in fig1 the lines of constant voltage are given by the points for which ## equ1 ## is constant where m is the strength of the current dipole . by back - projection the following is meant . consider an image point s at ( x , y ), initially with value zero . the equipotential passing through it when continued to the boundary intersects at a point q which is generally between two electrodes . the intersection point on the boundary ( see fig1 ) is given by ## equ2 ## the boundary value of p at this point is then assigned to the image point at x , y . this process is repeated for all image points inside the boundary . the resulting image is called a single back - projection of the vector p . a back projection image is produced for each of the data vectors p1 . x and y in the above equations are local coordinates relative to an origin at the current dipole . for 16 electrodes there would be 16 such back projection images . these are then added together in a weighted manner . consider the point x , y in fig1 . for each back projection the value of the back projection image at the point x , y is multiplied by the weighting term ## equ3 ## if uniform sensitivity to spaced objects is required or by ## equ4 ## if uniform sensitivity to a distributed change in resistance is required and the modified value restored to the image . when all 16 images have been modified in this way each image is converted to an absolute coordinate system by rotation about the centre of the image circle . for the ith image the angle of rotation is ( i - 1 ) 2π / 16 radians . they are then added together to produce an image representing the distribution of resistance in the object being imaged . the image produced in this way is still a blurred representation of the original object . if a very fine point - like object were being imaged the image would be a blurred representation of the object with a second central moment given by d . d must be measured experimentally . the amount of blurring is a function of the distance from the centre of the object . if the amount of blurring at the centre is given by d 0 then the amount of blurring at a distance r from the centre is ## equ5 ## in order to reduce this blurring as far as possible a filtering process is applied to the image . an image may be partially deblurred by subtracting the laplacean filtered image from the original image . if the image is f ( x , y ) then the deblurred image is given by from equation 5 it is seen that d is a function of the distance from the centre of the image . alternatively the image can be radially distorted to an image in which the value of the distorted image at a distance s from the centre of the image is given by the value at a distance r from the centre of the undistorted image where after this distortion the blurring is uniform across the image and the laplacian filter can be applied with d = d 0 . finally the distorted image is restored using the radial transform ## equ6 ## the formulae given above apply to the case of a two dimensional object enclosed within a circular boundary and with current applied by a current dipole . similar but more complex formulae exist for finitely spaced electrodes but for two dimensional objects of more general boundary shape no simple analytic forms exist , although values for the weights and equipotentials may be computed numerically . for three dimensional objects no simple closed analytic forms exist , even for most regular boundary shapes . however , useful images may be produced by assuming all problems are of the two dimensional form . provided that data is collectd using electrodes situated on the intersection of a plane through the object and the boundary of the object and that values of u i are known the vectors p may be back - projected using the formulae given above to produce images . it should also be appreciated that the u i may be obtained in practice by using a tank of conducting fluid with electrodes connected to the boundary of this tank and measuring the v i with the object immersed in the tank and the u i with the object removed and replaced by conducting fluid . finally if changes in resistance are all that is required measurements of v i measured before the changes occur may be substituted for the u i ; in this case the images represent changes in resistance , such as those associated with physiological changes in the body . in this case direct connection to the body can be made . fig1 also shows the isopotentials to be expected when current is applied between electrodes 8 and 16 adjacent the surface on a body l assumed to consist of one uniform medium . in fig5 the sixteen electrodes are to be considered as being equi - spaced around a human arm m at the cross - section shown in fig4 . the recorded potentials are compared by the computer h with the respective calculated potentials and the ratios are back projected along the appropriate isopotentially as described in detail above . thus twelve or thirteen back projections can be made for every pair of current drive electrodes ( a potential cannot be recorded from a current drive electrode ) and the modified isopotentials plotted . the plots of the modified impedance along isopotentials are superimposed on those obtained for each and every pair of drive electrodes , by means of the computer linked to a print - out n , to give a tomographic image i 1 as in fig2 and to a visual display unit ( vdu ) p , to give a visually displayed image i 2 as in fig3 . comparing fig2 and 4 it is possible to identify in the images i 1 and i 2 the radius and ulna bones r , s respectively , the radial and ulna arteries t , u respectively , and the median nerve v . with greater resolution of the images more constituent parts of the arm m could be identified . in addition to improving the resolution by iteration , the resolution can also be improved by increasing the number of electrodes to say 32 , but this will call for more elaborate computing equipment to handle the increased number of recordings and calculations . in fig6 a coil w electromagnetically induces a current in a body x and an inhomogeneity y causes surface potentials to be induced and which can be picked up by electrodes disposed as in fig1 and processed by modified equipment as in fig5 while in fig7 currents are induced by a plurality of coils z equi - spaced around the body x . in fig8 a linear array of electrodes is mounted in a block 0 1 , while in fig9 blocks 0 2 , 0 3 , 0 4 of contoured arrays of electrodes correspond to parts of the contour of a body . the method of the invention can also be applied to tomographic image construction from three - dimensional data , but this involves taking into account the spread of current out of the plane of the electrodes and either back projection has to be made over isopotential surfaces , or the three - dimensional data reduced to two - dimensional format , which -- again -- calls for more elaborate computing equipment . a slightly modified method for monitoring a change in the internal state of the body will now be described in detail . referring to fig1 and 11 , an array of sixteen ag / agcl electrodes equi - spaced round the abdomen of a human body is coupled to equipment substantially as described above and shown in fig5 . fig1 shows the assumed image of isopotentials to be expected when current is applied between electrodes 1 and 2 , with the body assumed to consist of one uniform medium and circular in cross - section . initial potentials between adjacent pairs of electrodes ( other than the pair between which the current is applied ) are measured in sequence over the array of electrodes , subsequent potentials between the same pairs of electrodes are measured in the same sequence after a change in the internal state of the body ( which in this case results from having a drink -- as indicated previously and as will be referred to again presently with reference to fig1 and 13 ), the subsequent potentials are compared by the computer h with the respective initial potentials , and the ratios are back projected along the appropriate isopotentials shown in fig1 , by increasing the impedance along an isopotential in proportion to a ratio greater than unity or decreasing the impedance in proportion to a ratio less than unity . thus thirteen back projections can be made for every pair of current drive electrodes ( a potential cannot be recorded from a current drive electrode ) and the modified impedances along the isopotentials plotted just as described above . the plots of the modified impedance along isopotentials are superimposed on those obtained for each and every pair of drive electrodes , by means of the computer linked to a print - out n , to give a back projected tomographic image of the type shown in fig1 , and to a visual display unit ( vdu ) p , to give a visually displayed back projected image ( not shown ). in fig1 the stomach is well outlined following the drink , which is taken before print - out ( b ). anterior is on the right and left is at the top of each image . as the changes disappear in the stomach they appear in the small intestine . by taking the maximum intensity of image in fig1 as 100 % it is possible to plot a graph x in fig1 showing gastric emptying , which compares with a corresponding graph y derived from gamma camera pictures of the same stomach during the emptying cycle ; but it must be borne in mind that in the latter case the subject or patient has to suffer the discomfort and risk of a radioactive meal in order for the gamma camera pictures to be taken . in fig1 the sixteen electrodes are disposed round the torso , and fig1 shows a resulting sequence of six print - outs at intervals of 1 second during inspiration after inhalation respectively of ( a ) 0 . 45 , ( b ) 1 . 0 , ( c ) 1 . 5 , ( d ) 2 . 0 , ( e ) 2 . 7 and ( f ) 4 . 2 liters of air . the lungs are clearly seen , with anterior at the bottom of each image . any defect in ventilation will show as a direction of the image of the lungs . | 0 |
the method according to the invention is based on the technical solutions of commonly used laser process devices and register control systems , which makes the invention easy to implement . the essence of the invention is that , on the basis of experience , even a laser which leaves hardly any or no marks on the base or carrier material of the web , plots a negative mark on a register mark made with printing ink . here , a negative mark means that the printing ink can be accurately and easily removed with the laser , even down to the surface of the base or carrier material of the web , whereby a mark is created which is easily detectable by computer vision . the register mark is preferably printed in such a way that there is a good contrast between the mark and the base or carrier material of the web , and when the negative mark made by the laser reveals a part of the base or carrier material of the web under the printed register mark , the negative mark will also have a good contrast . plotting a negative mark on a mark or surface made with printing ink is usually also a clearly visible and observable event , even if it is difficult or impossible to see and observe the impact of the laser beam on the surface of the base material . it has , in addition , been noted that the area covered by printing ink brings about a change in the reflection and / or penetration of the light from the laser beam compared to an area on which there is no printing ink . in the method according to the invention , at the printing process stage marks are printed with printing ink on the base or carrier material of the web , at the laser process stage a negative mark is made with the laser on this mark printed at the printing process stage , and during or after the laser process stage computer vision or other suitable sensor equipment is used to monitor the matching of the printed mark and the negative mark made on it with each other and the laser process stage is controlled on the basis of the information in such a way that the laser process stage is aligned with the printing process stage . the alignment can alternatively be monitored by measuring the change caused by the mark made with printing ink in the reflection or penetration of the laser beam , compared with areas with no printing ink on them . when the computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment is located after the laser process stage , the size and shape of the negative mark can be selected quite freely . in the selection , it is advisable to aim at it being easy for the computer vision system or similar equipment to determine the mutual distances between marks , that is , the accuracy of alignment , precisely and rapidly . when the computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment is located in the laser process stage , that is , the equipment is used to monitor the plotting of the negative mark with the laser , it is advisable to select the size and shape of the negative mark to be such that the web is able to move only a short distance while the laser plots the mark — a preferable negative mark is in this case often a spot which the laser makes with one or a few pulses , in which case the plotting of the mark can be positioned in one picture taken by the camera of the computer vision system or a similar sensor , even if short exposure is used . in this case , the determination of the alignment of the marks can be done rapidly , at best so rapidly that if the laser starts its working cycle by plotting a negative mark or marks , the alignment of the end of the working cycle can be corrected on the basis of this information . if no later process stage , quality assurance or other purpose requires clearly distinctive negative marks , a mark does not have to be plotted with the laser down to the base material , but it suffices that the impact of the laser beam on the mark or surface made with printing ink is detectable at the moment of occurrence . when the computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment is included in the laser process stage , the equipment can also be used to scan a recently produced negative mark . in this case , it is advisable to select the size and shape of the negative mark to be such that it can be rapidly plotted by laser and read by the equipment . the plotting of the marks and determination of the alignment can be carried out rapidly , at best so rapidly that if the laser starts its working cycle by plotting a negative mark or marks , the alignment of the end of the same working cycle can be controlled on the basis of this information . in both of the solutions described above , a negative mark can easily be plotted also after correcting the alignment , whereby the success and accuracy of the correction of the alignment can be monitored . when the computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment is included in the laser process stage , the monitoring and measurement of the alignment may also be based on the different way in which the laser light either reflects from the surfaces of the base material or the printed mark , or the different way in which the laser light penetrates the base material alone and the type of part of the base material on the surface of which is a printed mark . if the laser light penetrates the base material well , the alignment can be measured from the opposite side of the base material with respect to the laser , and in this case it is not a disadvantage if the base material reflects the laser light poorly . if the base material reflects the laser light poorly and it is desirable to measure the alignment on the laser &# 39 ; s side of the base material , the surface of the base material can be treated , for example by printing , to reflect the laser light better , and the printed marks reflecting in a different manner can be made in such a way that this treated surface of the base material surrounds the printed marks . it then suffices that the printed mark brings about a change in the reflection or penetration of the laser light compared to a plain or treated base material — the mark does not have to react to the laser light otherwise . thus , the essential difference of this alternative compared with those described above is that the laser does not leave on the web any marks relating to its register control , which may be a limitation from the point of view of further processing and / or quality assurance . one preferred embodiment is such that , at least at the moment of determining the alignment , the diameter of the laser beam is larger than printed mark , in which case the printed mark fits inside the laser light beam and the location of the printed mark with respect to the laser light beam can be determined easily and quickly . by adjusting the optics of the laser equipment , the diameter of the beam can often be increased , which is advantageous both in fitting the printed mark inside the beam and in decreasing the intensity of the laser to such low level that the printed mark will not be at least excessively damaged . the monitoring and measurement of the alignment is based on identifying with the laser &# 39 ; s light - sensitive computer vision system or other suitable sensor system the change caused by the printed mark in the laser beam in the reflection or penetration of the beam compared with an area which is not covered by printing ink . when applying this embodiment , the equipment must be included in the laser process stage and the measurement of the alignment may be very quick — it may be based , for example , on only one pulse shot by the laser . if the measurement of the pulse is carried out at the beginning of the working phase of the laser , at best the alignment at the end of the same work phase can be controlled on the basis of this information . the advantage of this embodiment is that the location of a stopped beam can also be measured from a single pulse , and much more accurate measurements can be made than the diameter at the moment of measurement . measuring merely the location of the printed mark by means of a laser beam larger than the mark requires that the laser beam is distinguishable from the base material . if this is not the case , a mark or an area larger than the laser beam can be used , in which is made a negative mark , for example an annular pattern , whereby the edge of the beam used for measurement hits the printed pattern and the negative mark made in the printed pattern , for example , a ring or an empty hole , acts as the reference . the negative mark may be either printed or it may have been plotted at an earlier laser process stage . it is obviously also possible , for example , to print a larger area outside the mark , which produces a suitable contrast for measurement . the monitoring and measurement of the alignment can also be carried out without an actual computer vision system by connecting a relatively simple light sensor to the laser equipment . this type of an arrangement can be carried out both in such a way that a negative mark is plotted on the printed mark , and in such a way that no negative mark is plotted on the printed mark . by means of the light sensor is identified either that the laser beam is plotting a negative mark on the printed mark , or that the laser beam hits the negative mark . both situations change the illumination compared to a situation where the laser beam meets the base material alone . the arrangement is , therefore , based on a moving laser beam crossing the border between the base material and the printed mark in so may places that the location of the mark can be identified . the laser equipment always knows the location of the beam with respect to its own coordinates , and on the basis of the information provided by the light sensor , the laser equipment is able to determine the location of the printed mark in its own coordinates and on the basis of that to monitor and measure the alignment of the laser process on the printed marks . the advantage of this arrangement is the simplicity and affordability of the light sensor compared to the computer vision system , and the fact that a direct view from the sensor to the laser beam is not necessarily required , its disadvantage being that measuring the alignment is based on the identification of the edges of the printed mark by means of a moving laser beam , due to which measurement is typically slower than with the arrangements described above . one preferred embodiment is such where the printed mark is , for example , circular or square and over it scanned with a laser beam a cross which is sufficiently larger than it , so large that each arm of the cross crosses the border between the base material and the printed mark . the size of the printed mark is selected to be such that the centre of the cross is always inside the mark . it may be advantageous for the accuracy of measurement of positioning that the laser plots each arm of the cross either outwards from the centre or to the centre from the outside , whereupon the beam crosses the border between the base material and printed mark always in the same direction , that is , either from the side of the mark to the side of the base material or vice versa . should it be desirable for the laser not to plot a negative mark , the power of the laser must be decreased considerably , because increasing the diameter of the beam is disadvantageous for measuring accuracy . if the laser is allowed to plot a negative mark on the printed mark , it is not necessary to change the power of the laser or the diameter of the beam and the negative mark produced can be utilised at later stages or , for example , in quality assurance . the position of a beam with a large diameter but sharp edges can also be measured in such a way that the beam is moved over a mark of approximately the size of the diameter of the beam , for example , over a line , whereby crossing the edges increases the amount of light penetrating the transparent web considerably . the beam can also be moved along the line at a small angle with respect to the centreline of the line , whereupon the beam moves slowly , perpendicularly to the line . in this way , the crossing of the edge by the beam can be measured on both sides of the line , the centreline of the line being between them . a special case of laser process register control is the internal register control of the laser equipment . for example , when the web is wide with respect to the working area of one laser scanner , the laser process stage can be carried out with laser equipment comprising several adjacent scanners , so that the width of the web can be covered . in such a case , it is often not possible or sensible to make printed marks in the base material to align each laser scanner independently , but to align the laser scanners with each other . thus , for example , only one scanner is aligned with register marks printed on the edge of the web , and by mutual alignment of the scanners is ensured that the alignment of the laser process is in order over the entire width of the web . two laser scanners can be aligned with each other by making a negative mark with both and determining their alignment with each other by means of a computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment . when a wide web is covered with several laser scanners , their working areas typically intersect and then it is often advantageous to make the negative marks to be tracked in these intersecting areas . aligning two laser scanners with each other requires a surface on which the laser beam is able to plot a mark . this surface may be a printed , coated or otherwise treated surface on top of the base material , there being no great demands on the size , shape or accuracy of location of the area , as long as each scanner is able to plot its mark on it . when the product to be processed is a selectively laminated laminate , the layer of the laminate to be patterned , such as the conductive foil , can be used as the joint surface . the marks can then be made either in the part of the layer to be patterned remaining in the laminate or in the part to be removed from the laminate . when the marks are made in the part of the layer to be patterned remaining in the laminate , also the remaining part itself can be the mark — it may be a part remaining in the laminate in any case , a projection or other feature or a separate adhered area made for alignment . in connection with a selectively patterned laminate can also be used a printed , coated or otherwise treated area under the part of the patterned layer to be removed , because the laser can typically plot a mark also through the layer to be patterned . a preferred embodiment in connection with a selectively laminated laminate is one where mutually aligned scanners make their marks in an area in the part of the layer to be patterned removed from the laminate , where their working areas intersect . the limitation here is that the computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment must be positioned before the removal of the part to be removed of the layer to be patterned . the advantages are that the marks can be positioned on top of one another , that no separate surface is required as a base for the marks , and that no marks of the alignment are typically left in the finished product . in general , it may be said that from the point of view of alignment monitoring and measurement , it is advantageous to select the marks to be tracked by a computer vision system or other suitable sensor equipment to be such that the location of their centre is easy and / or quick to determine even with an existing algorithm , and to position the marks with respect to one another in such a way that when the alignment is in place , their centres connect . the distance between the centres of the marks then equals the alignment error and the distance , therefore , does not have to be compared to any target value , which in the worst case changes in each case . therefore , a preferred embodiment for aligning laser processing is to print circular or square marks on the web and to aim at plotting a negative mark in the shape of a circle , spot or cross in the centre of each one with the laser , and a preferred embodiment for mutually aligning laser scanners is to plot circular marks with one scanner and to aim at plotting a mark in the shape of a different size circle , spot or cross in the centre of each one with another scanner . in the simplest case , register marks are printed on one edge of the base or carrier material of the web at the printing process stage , on which marks the laser then makes negative marks at the laser process stage . thus , by monitoring the mutual alignment of the marks and by controlling the laser process stage on the basis of it , the laser process stage can be aligned with the printing process stage in the longitudinal direction , or direction of travel , of the web and , if necessary , also transversely to the web even for the duration of a long production run . if marks are printed elsewhere on the web than only on one edge of the base or carrier material of the web , and on these marks are made negative marks with the laser at the laser process stage , the alignment of the laser process stage with the printing process stage can be monitored and controlled in a more versatile manner than by means of marks printed only on one edge . for example , if register marks are printed on both edges of the base or carrier material of the web at the printing process stage , and negative marks are made on these marks at the laser process stage , by monitoring the alignment of the marks with each other , the laser process can be controlled to match with the printing process stage , also taking into account the angle of printing and possible changes taking place in it with respect to the direction of travel of the web . similarly , by means of at least two or more marks , the scale of laser processing can be monitored and controlled , that is , care can be taken that the dimensions of laser processing remain correct with respect to the dimensions of printing even for the duration of a relatively long production run . in order to calibrate a dimensional change in the lateral direction of the web , at least two markings in the lateral direction are required , for example on both edges . the web is usually divided into several printed circuit boards in the lateral direction , which are finally cut off from each other . it usually suffices to align one coordinate point of each circuit to be detached in the lateral direction . a single circuit is usually so small that a scaling error will not grow too large within its area . in the process stages following the laser process stage , as register marks instead of a printed register mark can be used a negative mark made by the laser , or a combination of a printed mark and a negative mark made by the laser . there is often a need to align further processing specifically with laser processing exclusively or with emphasis on it , and thus negative marks or using a combination of a printed mark and a negative mark provide an advantageous opportunity for this . a printed mark may also be the adhesive pattern printed in the selective lamination described above , especially if a separate pattern is printed as a mark or the adhesive pattern extends beyond the conductive foil , in which case the mark remains visible and a negative mark can be made on it with the laser . a suitable area or surface for the laser can also be printed with other printing ink , whereby the negative mark made on it by the laser can be compared with a mark made at some other stage , for example , a mark printed with an adhesive . in this case , the other printing ink can be selected in such a way that a good contrast is acquired for both the adhesive and the laser mark . instead of printing can also be used other methods . for example , along the entire edge area of the base material can be made a strip for laser markings and the register marks can be printed in this area , but the laser marks can be made outside the printed register marks . this may be advantageous or necessary if the laser used does not plot properly on the printed marks . in that case , a pattern , for example a circle , can be plotted outside the printed mark , or on the printed mark can be left an empty area for plotting . the printed mark may be , for example , a line pattern , such as a circle , inside which is plotted another circle with the laser , the concentricity of which is measured with computer vision . the invention can also be applied to manufacturing processes in which the laser process stage is the first of the actual process stages . in that case , before the laser process stage , on the web are printed either register marks or other areas with printing ink , on which the laser can make a negative mark . the stages following the laser process stage can then be aligned with the negative marks made by the laser . with the laser can also be made several negative marks distinguishable from one another on the same surface , for example , circles or squares or their combinations with a cross . this can be utilised in aligning several laser process stages with one another and possibly with other process stages . it is also possible to make one mark before the correction based on register control and another after it , whereby the extent and success of the correction can be monitored . the invention can be applied irrespective of whether the process stages are on the same or different production lines . a preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following , with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 shows a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention with marks on only one edge of the web . fig2 shows a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention with marks on both edges of the web . in fig1 , the web moves from left to right . when passing through the printing process stage 1 , on one edge of the base or carrier material 2 of the web are printed register marks 4 , and in the area to be processed typically also something is printed , such as the patterns 3 here . when the web passes through the laser process stage 5 , the laser makes a negative mark 7 on the printed register mark 4 at the same time as it changes the area to be processed in one way or another , which is shown as a change between patterns 3 and 6 . after the laser process stage follows the computer vision or other sensor system 8 by means of which the position of the negative mark 7 with respect to the printed register mark 4 is determined , and by means of this information the laser process stage 5 is controlled in such a way that the negative marks 7 remain with sufficient accuracy in the correct position , for example in the centre , with respect to the printed register marks 4 throughout the production run . in fig2 , the web moves from left to right . when passing through the printing process stage 1 , on the edges of the base or carrier material 2 of the web are printed register marks 4 and 9 , and in the area to be processed typically also something , such as the patterns 3 here . when the web passes through the laser process stage 5 , the laser makes negative marks 7 and 10 on the printed register marks 4 and 9 at the same time as it changes the area to be processed in one way or another , which is shown as a change between patterns 3 and 6 . the laser process stage is followed by the computer vision or other sensor systems 8 and 11 , by means of which is determined the position of the negative marks 7 and 10 with respect to the printed register marks 4 and 9 , and the laser process stage 5 is controlled with this information in such a way that the negative marks 7 and 10 remain with sufficient accuracy in the correct position with respect to the printed register marks 4 and 9 throughout the production run . by using two or more marks , it is possible to maintain the laser process stage both in the same position in the direction of travel of the web and at the same angle with respect to the direction of travel of the web as the print , and it is also possible to scale the laser processing in such a way that the distance between the negative marks remains the same as the distance between the printed marks . here , the register marks 4 and 9 are circles and the negative marks 7 and 10 are annular , but their shapes are unimportant as such . what is essential is that the marks function reliably with the computer vision or other sensor system . it is also possible to use , for example , successive parallel stripes , in which case for measuring their alignment can also be used a bar code scanner type of device , which measures the position of the bar plotted by the laser on the printed stripes in each stripe . the measurement of the position is also possible by means of pulse ratio measurement , in which case the width of the printed stripe is measured on both sides of the laser bar . by means of the bars can obviously only be measured one dimension at a time . between the printing process stage 1 and the laser process stage 5 may be other process stages such as lamination of the metal foil , in which case the patterns 3 are lamination adhesive , to which the metal foil covering the centre part of the web is attached at the lamination process stage , the foil being patterned at the laser process stage 5 at the same time as the laser is used to make the negative marks 7 and possibly also 10 on the register marks 4 and possibly also 9 . | 7 |
fig1 shows an exemplary process to automatically determine the summary sentences with distinguishing topics from document groups . the process uses comparative extractive document summarization ( cds ) to summarize the differences between comparable document groups . in one embodiment , given a collection of document groups , cds can generate a short summary showing the differences of these documents by extracting the most discriminative sentences in each document group . this is done by finding differences among document collections . in one implementation , the system finds solution to cds by sequentially selecting sentences from the documents by a greedy approach which minimizes the remaining uncertainty ( entropy ) of the documents after extracting sentences one by one based on the empirical distribution estimation . however , the empirical distribution faces data sparseness problem . in the preferred embodiment , the system performs discriminative sentence selection based on a multivariate normal generative model to extract sentences best describing the unique characteristics of each document group . as shown in fig1 , the process receives a plurality of input documents in 101 . using the input documents , the process produces comparative summaries of document groups by selecting predetermined sentences from original documents . in 102 , the process extracts sentences from the documents received in 101 . the documents are split into sentences . only those sentences suitable for summary are selected as the sentence candidates . next , in 103 , the process determines the similarity between the candidate sentences and the similarity between sentences and documents and generate a similarity matrix w . in 104 , the process selects the sentence following the procedure as detailed in fig2 . the selected sentences can efficiently render distinct the documents from different document groups . in 105 , the summaries are formed with sentences selected in 104 . thus , the process extracts sentences and determines distinguishing features for different document groups . the system directly analyzes sentence features by taking into account the sentence - document and sentence - sentence relationships and the most discriminative sentences are selected to minimize the average variance of the group prediction . the process then generates summaries as outputs in 106 . the comparative summaries are of high quality in term of the capability in comparing document groups . there are various applications of cds , for example , comparing different news groups , finding differences between communities in social network , among others . in brief , given a collection of document clusters , the process of fig1 decomposes the documents into sentences , and determines document - sentence and sentence - sentence similarities using cosine similarity , for example . since each document is labeled to indicate which cluster it belongs to , the process can select sentences one by one to minimize the average variance of all the cluster targets . one exemplary pseudo - code for the process of fig1 is as follows : turning now to fig2 , operation 104 of fig1 is shown in more detail . in 201 , the input of this process is a sentence - sentence similarity matrix w from 103 , and the document - sentence similarity matrix x from 103 , document - group indicator matrix y . in 202 , the process creates a matrix k as [ x , y ]′ [ x , y ]+ λ diag ( w , i ), where [ x , y ] is the matrix by concatenating x and y , [ x , y ]′ is its transposed matrix , diag ( w , i ) is the block diagonal matrix contains w and identity matrix i . parameter λ can be user specified . in 203 , the process selects a sentence i by maximize k ( i )′ k ( i )/ k ( i , i ), where k ( i ) is the i - th column of matrix k . k ( i , i ) is the element of k on i - th column and i - th row . in 204 , the process updates k as k - k ( i ) k ( i )′/ k ( i , i ). in 205 , the process repeats 203 and 204 until the required number of sentences is obtained . in 206 , the process returns the selected sentences as the output . fig3 shows an exemplary system for performing comparative document summarization . in 301 , the system includes a means for summarizing the content of documents by considering a discrimant criterion . in 302 , the system uses document - sentence similarity and sentence - sentence similarity to perform the summarization task . in 303 , one embodiment uses a discriminant criterion for sentence selection . the criterion measures the capability to predict the document group based on similarity between document and selected group summaries . in 304 , the system sequentially selects sentences to improve the criterion . in 305 , the system uses an efficient means to find the sentences to improve the criterion most . in one embodiment , in 306 , the criterion includes the similarity between sentences to avoid redundancy . the system produces comparative summaries of document groups by selecting sentences from original documents . the selected sentences can render efficiently distinct the documents from different document groups . the comparative summaries have higher quality in term of the capability in comparing document groups . the system can be used in a variety of application , for example , comparing different news groups , finding differences between communities in social network , among others . the system may be implemented in hardware , firmware or software , or a combination of the three . preferably the invention is implemented in a computer program executed on a programmable computer having a processor , a data storage system , volatile and non - volatile memory and / or storage elements , at least one input device and at least one output device . by way of example , fig4 shows a block diagram of a computer to support the system . the computer preferably includes a processor , random access memory ( ram ), a program memory ( preferably a writable read - only memory ( rom ) such as a flash rom ) and an input / output ( i / o ) controller coupled by a cpu bus . the computer may optionally include a hard drive controller which is coupled to a hard disk and cpu bus . hard disk may be used for storing application programs , such as the present invention , and data . alternatively , application programs may be stored in ram or rom . i / o controller is coupled by means of an i / o bus to an i / o interface . i / o interface receives and transmits data in analog or digital form over communication links such as a serial link , local area network , wireless link , and parallel link . optionally , a display , a keyboard and a pointing device ( mouse ) may also be connected to i / o bus . alternatively , separate connections ( separate buses ) may be used for i / o interface , display , keyboard and pointing device . programmable processing system may be preprogrammed or it may be programmed ( and reprogrammed ) by downloading a program from another source ( e . g ., a floppy disk , cd - rom , or another computer ). each computer program is tangibly stored in a machine - readable storage media or device ( e . g ., program memory or magnetic disk ) readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer , for configuring and controlling operation of a computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein . the inventive system may also be considered to be embodied in a computer - readable storage medium , configured with a computer program , where the storage medium so configured causes a computer to operate in a specific and predefined manner to perform the functions described herein . the invention has been described herein in considerable detail in order to comply with the patent statutes and to provide those skilled in the art with the information needed to apply the novel principles and to construct and use such specialized components as are required . however , it is to be understood that the invention can be carried out by specifically different equipment and devices , and that various modifications , both as to the equipment details and operating procedures , can be accomplished without departing from the scope of the invention itself . although specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing detailed description , it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein , but is capable of numerous rearrangements , modifications , and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention . the following claims are intended to encompass all such modifications . | 6 |
embodiments of the presently disclosed dlu will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings , in which like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding elements in each of the several views . referring to fig1 , briefly , dlu 16 includes a tool assembly 17 , a proximal body portion 200 and a mounting assembly 202 . body portion 200 has a proximal end adapted to releasably engage the distal end of a surgical instrument 500 ( fig1 ) in the manner to be discussed in detail below . mounting assembly 202 is pivotally secured to a distal end of body portion 200 and is fixedly secured to a proximal end of tool assembly 17 . pivotal movement of mounting assembly 202 about an axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of body portion 200 effects articulation of tool assembly 17 between an orientation aligned with the longitudinal axis of body portion 200 and an orientation at an angle to the longitudinal axis of body portion 200 . referring also to fig2 - 4 , tool assembly 17 includes a cartridge assembly 18 and an anvil assembly 20 . anvil assembly 20 includes an anvil portion 28 having a plurality of staple deforming concavities 30 ( fig4 ) and a cover plate 32 secured to a top surface of anvil portion 28 . cover plate 32 and anvil portion 28 define a cavity 34 ( fig4 ) therebetween which is dimensioned to receive a distal end of a drive assembly 212 ( fig3 ). cover plate 32 encloses the distal end of drive assembly 212 to prevent pinching of tissue during actuation of dlu 16 . a longitudinal slot 38 extends through anvil portion 28 to facilitate passage of a retention flange 40 of drive assembly 212 . a camming surface 42 formed on anvil portion 28 is positioned to engage a pair of cam members 40 a supported on retention flange 40 of drive assembly 212 to effect approximation of the anvil and cartridge assemblies . a pair of pivot members 44 formed on anvil portion 28 are positioned within slots 46 formed in a cartridge assembly carrier 48 to guide anvil portion 28 between its spaced and approximated positions . a pair of stabilizing members 50 engage a respective shoulder 52 formed on carrier 48 to prevent anvil portion 28 from sliding axially in relation to staple cartridge 54 as camming surface 42 is pivoted about pivot members 44 . cartridge assembly 18 includes carrier 48 which defines an elongated support channel 56 which is dimensioned and configured to receive staple cartridge 54 . corresponding tabs 58 and slots 60 formed along staple cartridge 54 and elongated support channel 56 , respectively , function to retain staple cartridge 54 at a fixed location within support channel 56 . a pair of support struts 62 formed on staple cartridge 54 are positioned to rest on side walls of carrier 48 to further stabilize staple cartridge 54 within support channel 56 . staple cartridge 54 includes retention slots 64 ( fig2 ) for receiving a plurality of staples or fasteners 66 and pushers 68 . a plurality of laterally spaced apart longitudinal slots 70 extend through staple cartridge 54 to accommodate upstanding cam wedges 72 of an actuation sled 74 ( fig2 ). a central longitudinal slot 76 extends along substantially the length of staple cartridge 54 to facilitate passage of a knife blade 78 ( fig4 ). during operation of surgical stapler 10 , drive assembly 212 abuts actuation sled 74 and pushes actuation sled 74 through longitudinal slots 70 of staple cartridge 54 to advance cam wedges 72 into sequential contact with pushers 68 . pushers 68 translate vertically along cam wedges 72 within fastener retention slots 64 and urge fasteners 66 from retention slots 64 into staple deforming cavities 30 ( fig4 ) of anvil assembly 20 . referring to fig3 , mounting assembly 235 includes an upper mounting portion 236 and a lower mounting portion 238 . a centrally located pivot member 284 extends from each of upper and lower mounting portions 236 and 238 through respective openings 246 a formed in coupling members 246 . coupling members 246 each include an interlocking proximal portion 246 b configured to be received in grooves 290 formed in the proximal end of an inner housing which is formed from upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 . coupling members 246 retain mounting assembly 235 and upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 in a longitudinally fixed position in relation to each other . upper housing half 250 and lower housing half 252 are contained within an outer sleeve 251 of body portion 200 . body portion 251 includes a cutout 251 a dimensioned to receive a boss or projection 250 a formed on upper housing half 250 a . the positioning of projection 250 a within cutout 251 a prevents axial and rotational movement of upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 within outer sleeve 251 of body portion 200 . in one embodiment , boss 250 a has a substantially rectangular configuration having a greater axial dimension than lateral dimension . the greater axial dimension provides increased surface area for preventing rotation of upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 within sleeve 251 . a proximal portion 250 b of boss 250 a is ramped . ramped proximal portion 250 b allows sleeve 251 to be slid over boss 250 a as upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 are positioned within sleeve 251 . it is envisioned that boss 250 a may assume other configurations , e . g ., circular , square , triangular , etc ., and still achieve its intended function . further , boss 250 a can be repositioned anywhere along upper housing half 250 or , in the alternative , be positioned on lower housing half 252 or partly on each housing half 250 and 252 . the proximal end or insertion tip 193 of upper housing half 250 includes engagement nubs 254 for releasably engaging the distal end of a surgical instrument in a bayonet type fashion . housing halves 250 and 252 define a channel 400 for slidably receiving axial drive assembly 212 therein . an articulation link 256 is dimensioned to be slidably positioned within a slot 402 formed between upper and lower housing halves 250 and 252 . a pair of h - block assemblies 255 are positioned adjacent the distal end of housing portion 200 and adjacent the distal end of axial drive assembly 212 to prevent outward buckling and bulging of drive assembly 212 during articulation and firing of surgical stapling apparatus 10 . each h - block assembly 255 includes a flexible body 255 a which includes a proximal end fixedly secured to body portion 200 and a distal end fixedly secured to mounting assembly 235 . a retention member 288 is supported on engagement section 270 of axial drive assembly 212 . retention member 288 includes a pair of fingers 288 a which are releasably positioned within slots or recesses 252 a formed in lower housing half 252 . in operation , when sulu 16 is attached to a surgical instrument and axial drive assembly 212 is actuated by applying a predetermined force to an actuation member 516 of the surgical instrument 500 ( fig1 ), axial drive assembly 212 is advanced distally to move drive assembly 212 and retention member 288 distally . as retention member 288 is advanced distally , fingers 288 a are forced from recesses 252 a to provide an audible and tactile indication that the surgical instrument has been actuated . retention member 288 is designed to prevent inadvertent partial actuation of dlu 16 , such as during shipping , by maintaining axial drive assembly 212 at a fixed position within dlu 16 until a predetermined axial force has been applied to axial drive assembly 212 . axial drive assembly 212 includes an elongated drive beam 266 including a distal working head 268 and a proximal engagement section 270 . in one embodiment , drive beam 266 is constructed from multiple stacked sheets of material . engagement section 270 includes a pair of resilient engagement fingers 270 a and 270 b which mountingly engage a pair of corresponding retention slots formed in drive member 272 . drive member 272 includes a proximal porthole 274 configured to receive distal end of a control rod 520 ( fig1 ) of a surgical instrument when the proximal end of dlu 16 is engaged with the body portion 412 of a surgical instrument 500 . referring also to fig5 - 10 , dlu 16 further includes a locking mechanism including a locking member 300 and a locking member actuator 302 . locking member 300 ( fig6 ) is rotatably supported within a longitudinal or axial slot 310 ( fig7 ) formed in a proximal portion of upper housing half 250 of body portion 200 of dlu 16 . locking member 300 is movable from a first position ( fig7 and 8 ), in which locking member 300 maintains drive assembly 212 in a prefired position , to a second position ( fig9 and 10 ), in which drive assembly 212 is free to move axially . as illustrated in fig6 , locking member 300 includes semi - cylindrical body 312 which is slidably positioned within transverse slot 310 formed in upper housing half 250 of body portion 200 . body 312 includes a radially inwardly extending cam member 314 and a radially inwardly extending finger 316 . finger 316 is dimensioned to be slidably received within a notch or slot 270 c ( fig3 ) formed in drive assembly 212 . engagement of finger 316 in notch 270 c of drive assembly 212 prevents drive assembly 212 from moving linearly within body portion 200 and , thus , prevents actuation of dlu 16 . referring to fig3 and 7 , a locking member actuator 302 is slidably positioned within a axial slot 320 ( fig7 ) formed in upper housing half 250 of body portion 200 of dlu 16 . actuator 302 includes a proximal abutment member 322 , a distal spring guide 324 , and a central cam slot 326 . axial slot 320 intersects transverse slot 310 such that cam member 314 of locking member 300 is slidably positioned within cam slot 326 of locking member actuator 302 . a biasing member or spring 328 ( fig7 ) is positioned about spring guide 324 between a distal surface 330 of actuator 302 and a wall 332 ( fig7 ) defining the distal end of axial slot 320 . spring 328 urges actuator 302 to its retracted position within axial slot 320 . in its retracted position , abutment member 322 is positioned on and extends radially outwardly of the proximal end of dlu 16 adjacent insertion tip 193 of proximal body portion 200 and cam slot 326 is positioned to locate cam member 314 such that finger 316 of lock member 300 is positioned within notch 270 c of drive assembly 212 . fig1 - 16 illustrate dlu 16 and surgical instrument 500 prior to and during attachment of dlu 16 to surgical instrument 500 . referring to fig1 - 13 , surgical instrument 500 includes a handle portion 510 and body portion 512 . handle portion 510 includes a stationary handle 514 and a movable handle 516 . movable handle 516 is movable in relation to stationary handle 514 to advance a control rod 520 which projects from a distal end of body portion 512 . surgical instrument 500 may be the stapling instrument disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 330 , 965 which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference . prior to attachment of dlu 16 onto surgical instrument 500 , spring 328 urges actuator 302 to its retracted position to move lock member 300 to its locked position as discussed above . when insertion tip 193 dlu 16 is linearly inserted into the open end 522 ( fig1 ) of the body portion 512 ( fig1 ) of a surgical instrument 500 , nubs 254 move linearly through slots ( not shown ) formed in open end 522 of body portion 512 . as nubs 254 pass through the slots , the proximal end 322 a of abutment member 322 , which is angularly offset from nubs 254 , abuts a wall 276 c defining the slots for receiving nubs 254 . as dlu 16 is moved further into body portion 512 , locking member actuator 302 is moved from its retracted position to its advanced position in the direction indicated by arrow “ t ” in fig1 . as actuator 302 is moved to its advanced position , lock member 300 is cammed in the direction indicated by arrow “ u ” in fig1 from its locked position ( fig8 ) engaged with drive assembly 212 to its unlocked position ( fig1 ) to move finger 316 from notch 270 c . the locking mechanism including locking member 300 and locking member actuator 302 prevents accidental or inadvertent advancement or manipulation of the drive member of dlu 16 such as during loading of dlu 16 onto a surgical instrument 500 . when dlu 16 has been moved linearly in relation to instrument 500 to a position wherein a proximal surface 530 of body portion 200 abuts inner surface 276 c of body portion 512 ( fig1 ), dlu 16 can be rotated in relation to body portion 512 in a bayonet type action to position nubs 254 within openings 536 of body portion 512 to lock dlu 16 onto body portion 512 . it is envisioned that other coupling types besides bayonet couplings may be used to connect dlu 16 to instrument 500 , e . g ., spring detent or snap - fit couplings , friction fit couplings , interlocking members , threaded couplings etc . it will be understood that various modifications may be made to the embodiments disclosed herein . for example , the above - described lock assembly may be incorporated into a variety of surgical instruments which include dlu &# 39 ; s and is not limited to use on linear staplers . further , the dlu may be configured to receive an insertion tip of surgical instrument in contrast to that disclosed . therefore , the above description should not be construed as limiting , but merely as exemplifications of preferred embodiments . those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto . | 0 |
[ 0027 ] fig1 is a schematic illustration of the drivetrain of a motor vehicle , which has an internal combustion engine 1 , a starter 2 , a clutch 3 , a transmission 4 , and wheel axle 5 . the starter 2 is of a modern type , which can accelerate the internal combustion engine 1 from a standstill to the idling speed ( typically 800 rpm ) within several hundred milliseconds . alternatively , starter 2 is a starter / generator ( sg ). the starter can carry out a stop / start function . here , internal combustion engine 1 is switched off when the vehicle is at a standstill , for example in front of a traffic light . when the vehicle is restarted , the engine can then be started again virtually without delay using starter 2 . the switching off of internal combustion engine 1 , by the stop / start function , is generally controlled on the basis of the measured vehicle velocity , v , and an activation of the brake . if the vehicle velocity , v , is ( virtually ) zero and the brake is activated , internal combustion engine 1 is switched off after a brief idling time of typically 3 s . furthermore , other variables can also influence the stop / start function . for example a sufficiently high operating temperature of the internal combustion engine 1 can thus be used as a precondition for the internal combustion engine 1 being automatically switched off . a disadvantage with the known stop / start functions however is that they can switch off the internal combustion engine 1 in stop - and - go situations , for example in heavy , slow moving traffic or during a parking . in addition , fig1 illustrates two typical configurations 7 and 8 for the selection positions of the gear shift lever of an automatic transmission , the first configuration 7 having the positions p ( parking ), r ( reverse ), n ( neutral ), d ( drive ) and l ( relatively low gears ), and the second configuration 8 has the positions , d , r , n and m ( manual ). [ 0030 ] fig2 illustrates a first scheme for implementing a stop / start function , which is modified according to the invention and avoids the abovementioned disadvantages in stop - and - go situations . while the internal combustion engine is operating normally , the engine controller is in state a (“ run ”) in which the stop / start function is active (“ s / s on ”). under the stop / start function , a change from state a to state b occurs when a corresponding stop condition , stop_cond , is fulfilled . for example , vehicle velocity nearly zero and the brake activated constitutes a stop condition . in such an indication of a standstill of the vehicle , state b (“ stop ”) is assumed and the engine is switched off . monitoring of the pedals continues when the stop / start function (“ s / s on ”). control is passed back to a if a corresponding condition start_cond is fulfilled , for example if the brake is released or the accelerator pedal is activated . in the method described above , which corresponds to the prior art , the engine may be switched off for intervals , which are less than 20 seconds long , which is undesirable . to avoid this problem in the prior art , a stop - and - go state a ′ is introduced according to the present invention , in which the switching off of the engine is suppressed (“ s / s off ”). control is passed to stop - and - go state from the normal state a when a condition ss_disable is fulfilled . this occurs , for example , when the brake is activated , released and reactivated within intervals of less than 3 seconds and the vehicle velocity is less than 5 km / h . such driving behavior indicates a stop - and - go situation in which it would be inefficient to switch off the engine . control returns to normal state a from state a ′ when condition ss_enable1 is fulfilled . this condition is , for example , a vehicle velocity greater than 5 km / h and an activated accelerator pedal . alternatively , ss_enable1 occurs when a predefined relatively long time interval has passed since the state a ′ was entered . continuing to refer to fig2 stop - and - go state a ′ can jump to switch - off state b when ss_enable2 is fulfilled . this condition is , for example , when the aforesaid relatively long time interval has passed since the start of the state a ′ and the brake is activated at the end of this time interval . the conditions for the transitions in fig2 are summarized in table form below : [ t1 ] variable . . . . . . is true if stop_cond ν = 0 and brake activated start_cond brake released or accelerator pedal activated ss_disable brake is released and re - activated within 5 sec and ν & lt ;= 5 km / h ss_enable1 ( ν & gt ; 5 km / h and accelerator pedal activated ) or waiting time terminated ss_enable2 brake activated and waiting time terminated the parameters of the vehicle velocity v given in the table and the time periods are only to be understood by way of example and can be used or optimized in different ways depending on requirements . in addition , the stop - and - go state a ′ can also alternatively , or according to an additional criterion , be a function of the vehicle position . here , it is possible , for example , for a global positioning system ( gps ) to detect the position of the vehicle and initiate a transition into the state a ′ if the vehicle is in a region with stop - and - go traffic . the and and or herein , including the claims , refer to boolean and and or operations . [ 0037 ] fig3 shows a second alternative control scheme which is used in conjunction with an automatic transmission 7 according to fig1 . it is a characteristic of this scheme that the position of the gearshift lever is evaluated to detect a possible stop - and - go situation and the stop / start function is deactivated in response . the significance of the states a , b and a ′ is the same as in fig2 . however , in contrast to fig2 an additional state b ′ (“ stop ”) is present in which the motor has been switched off by the stop / start function , and at the same time the stop / start function is deactivated (“ s / s off ”). control is passed to state b ′ from state b when the condition ss - disable2 is fulfilled . state b ′ is exited when the ignition key is activated (“ key - on ”). after such activation of the ignition key , the engine controller ( 6 ) continues in state a ′. the conditions for the transitions in fig3 are summarized in table form below : [ t2 ] variable . . . . . . is true if stop_cond ν = 0 and brake activated start_cond brake released or accelerator pedal activated or gearshift lever in position r or l ss_disable1 gearshift lever in position r or l ss_disable2 gearshift lever in position p ss_enable gearshift lever in position d or n the conditions for stop_cond or start_cond which are given in the table and the parameters of the vehicle velocity , v , and the time periods are to be understood only by way of example and can be used and optimized in different ways depending on requirements . [ 0041 ] fig4 shows a third alternative regulating scheme which is used in conjunction with an automatic transmission 8 according to fig1 . in this scheme , the position of the gearshift lever is evaluated to detect a possible stop - and - go situation and deactivate the stop / start function in response , i . e ., state a ′, as also shown in fig2 and 3 and described in regards to fig2 and 3 . the significance of the states a , a ′ and key_on is the same as in fig2 and 3 . however , in contrast to the preceding figures , the state with the engine switched off by the stop / start function (“ stop ”) is divided up into two stages b 1 and b 2 , depending on whether the gear shift lever is in the position m ( b 1 ) or not ( b 2 ). from the last mentioned state b 2 , it is possible to jump to state a ′ ( engine on , stop / start function off ) when condition start - cond3 is fulfilled . the conditions for the transitions in fig4 are summarized below in table form : [ t3 ] variable . . . . . . is true if stop_cond1 ν = 0 and brake activated and gearshift lever in position m ( not r ) stop_cond2 ν = 0 and brake activated and gearshift lever not in position m or r start_cond1 brake released or accelerator pedal activated start_cond2 ( brake released or accelerator pedal activated ) and gearshift lever not in position m or r start_cond3 gearshift lever in position m or r ss_disable gearshift lever in position r ss_enable gearshift lever in position d or n or m and ν & gt ; threshold value , for example 5 km / h the conditions and parameters given in the table are again only to be understood by way of example and can be used and optimized in different ways depending on requirements . accordingly , it is characteristic for the method according to fig4 that the stop / start function is switched off ( state a ′) when reverse gear , r ; is engaged when the engine is running or switched off , or m gear is engaged when the engine is switched off . | 1 |
the full cycle of cardiac activity is represented by a wave known as the pqrst wave , defined by einthoven , arch . ges phys . 150 : 275 , 1913 , reprinted in am . heart j . 40 : 163 , 1950 , translation by h . e . huff and p . sekelj . this wave represents full contraction and relaxation of the heart . an example of a pqrst wave is shown in fig5 . one complete heart cycle averages { fraction ( 1 / 72 )} seconds . a flow chart illustrating the overall process of synthesizing and using the universal transformation matrix of the invention is depicted in fig1 . the first step , shown in block 101 , is to acquire a sequence of digitized voltage - time data for one complete cycle for leads i , ii , and v2 . multiple data sets can be acquired , and each set typically contains upward to 300 measurements . from the known geometry of leads i and ii , lead avf can be calculated in block 102 . the formula for generating lead avf from leads i and ii is shown at step 202 of fig2 . alternatively , a sequence of digitized voltage - time data for leads i , avf and v2 can be measured directly , as indicated in block 103 . leads i , avf and v2 are members of the set of leads that make up the standard 12 - lead ecg and are very well known to clinical staff . the sequence of digitized voltage - time measurements forms a matrix [ v ], which is a 3 × m matrix , where m is the number of measurements in time , as indicated in block 104 . typically , 300 sequential time measurements are taken . the placement of leads i , avf , and v2 on a human body is schematically illustrated in the three views depicted in fig9 . these views are , respectively , a sagittal view , a frontal view , and a transverse view . this lead set was chosen for the following reasons . as stated , these leads are well known to clinicians , nurses and ecg technicians . there is no need to place these leads on places that are unconventional , thus there is no need to research , develop and validate a new , unconventional lead configuration . in addition , these leads are approximately orthogonal . any of the other 22 leads discussed above can be derived from the lead set of i , avf , and v2 . fig1 depicts transverse planar view of the placement of the 13 v - leads ( v1 - v9 , v3r - v6r ) and the 3 frank ( x , y , z ) leads ( labeled as i , e , and m , respectively , in the drawing figure ) of the 22 - lead set that can be predicted from the measured lead set . a frontal view of the lead placements of fig1 is shown in fig1 , which also depicts placements for leads ra , la , rl , and ll . a total of 21 electrodes must be placed to capture the voltage - time data for 22 leads . the system of the present invention requires the placement of only 4 or 5 electrodes ( depending on the design of the grounding electrode ) to capture 3 leads from which the other 19 leads are derived . this has the advantages of cost savings , speed , minimizing errors from lead placement variability , and efficiency , particularly when sequential tracings are needed . abstract factor analysis (“ afa ”) is applied to the entire n - lead ecg measured data matrix in this invention to “ pre - treat ” the training set of ecgs , from which the transformation matrix is derived via simplex optimization , so as to minimize the inherent error in this training set . this is schematically illustrated in fig2 . the advantage of afa is that this technique minimizes predictable error , such as a wandering baseline , baseline noise , and lead placement errors , from a data set , yielded an improved , measured , data set . a comparison of ecg values for lead i as measured and as predicted through afa is shown in fig3 , showing close agreement . for the purpose of afa , the ecg can be represented in an n - dimensional system by a linear sum of product terms . the standard 12 - lead ecg is a system where n = 12 . at a particular time t , the 12 - lead ecg can be represented as v ( t )= v 1 ( t ) l 1 + v 2 ( t ) l 2 + . . . + v n ( t ) l n , where v is a 12 - dimensional vector , v m is the potential at the m th lead , l m is a unit vector in the 12 - dimensional space , and t is time . the potential v ( t ) can also be represented by a set of orthogonal basis vectors { x } that spans the space : v ( t )= σ n m = 1 k m ( t ) x m . abstract factor analysis identifies n , the number of factors influencing the data set , k , the transformation coefficient matrix , and x , the abstract lead - vector set . to perform afa , we consider an n × m data matrix [ v ] of voltage - time measurements , where n is the number of leads , as indicated in block 105 of fig1 , and m is the number of data points . in afa , a covariance matrix is diagonalized to yield a set of eigenvalues λ j that can be ordered by magnitude . the covariance matrix can be defined as [ z ]=[ v ] t [ v ], which is an m × m matrix with up to m eigenvalues , or it can be defined as [ z ]=[ v ][ v ] t , n × n matrix with up to n eigenvalues . each eigenvalue λ j corresponds to an orthogonal basis eigenvector x j . the diagonalization procedure involves finding a matrix [ q j ] that diagonalizes [ z ]: [ z ][ q j ]= λ j [ q j ]. in the context of ecgs , m is typically 300 measurements over one complete cycle . multiple training sets of the n × m matrix are subjected to the afa technique . from the application of afa to the data set we find that 3 leads can account for almost all of the information content in an n - lead ecg , where n = 12 to 22 leads . this can be demonstrated by means of the cumulative percentage variance . the variance can be defined as : where n = 12 . . . 22 and λ j is the magnitude of the j th eigenvalue . the cumulative percentage variance is defined as cum % var = σ c k = 1 λ k / σ n k = 1 λ k , where c = c th eigenvalue in the sequence of eigenvalues λ j ordered by magnitude . the cumulative percentage variance is thus a measure of the information content of the system . fig4 is a graph of the cumulative percentage variance as a function of λ j and illustrates that most of the information content of the system is contained in the first 3 eigenvalues . in fact , afa demonstrates that 3 leads can account for approximately 99 % of the information content of a 12 - lead ecg . thus , for a 12 - lead system , the resulting transformation matrix [ k ] is a 3 × 12 matrix , indicated in block 106 of fig1 . given a set of m voltage - time measurements for 3 leads , the full 12 lead set of measurements can be calculated by multiplying the transformation matrix [ k ] by the 3 × m voltage - time data matrix for the 3 measured leads . this result can easily be generalized to a system with an arbitrary number of leads , hence our n - lead ecg terminology . the reduction of dimensionality of the factor space of the ecg should not be surprising since the standard 12 - lead ecg already has built in redundancy . for example , the measurement of any 2 of the first 6 leads can be used to calculate the other 4 leads according to the following geometrically based formulae : the standard 12 lead ecg utilizes 12 pqrst configurations in a format from which the physician makes a diagnosis based on recognizing patterns in the plotted wave forms , as shown in fig6 . the ecg in fig6 is the usual and customary 12 - lead ecg and is a 12 - dimensional representation of 12 voltage - time signals . as stated above , the inventor has verified through the application of afa that ˜ 99 % of the information displayed thereon can be reproduced from the measurement of just 3 leads . since these leads are approximately orthogonal , they can be plotted against each other in 3 - dimensional space , resulting in a spatial ecg loop . virtually all of the information in a 12 - lead ecg is in the 3 - dimensional spatial ecg loop . in addition , the inventor has verified that the information content of lead configurations of up to 22 leads can be reproduced from just 3 measured leads . by increasing the lead space to 22 leads , clinicians can more accurately diagnose cardiac pathology , such as right heart infarction or posterior infarction . a typical 3 - dimensional spatial loop for a normal male heart is shown in fig7 . this type of display can easily be built into a standard heart monitor , shown in fig8 , that incorporates the single wave configuration as currently exists . this spatial loop can also be printed for then patient medical record . the next step in the derivation of the universal transformation matrix of the present invention was application of the simplex optimization technique (“ sop ”) to the training set that was subjected to afa or the measured ecg data , as illustrated in box 107 of fig1 . since 3 leads account for almost all of the information of an n - lead ecg , sop was applied to a 3 - lead set comprised of { i , avf , v2 } to calculate to other leads . simplex optimization , which is different from the simplex algorithm used for minimizing constrained linear systems , is a method for finding a maximum for a multiple variable function when the underlying function may be unknown . a simplex is a geometric figure defined by a number of points ( n + 1 ) that is one more than the number of variables . for a function of two variables z = f ( x , y ), one starts with 3 points {( x 1 , y 1 ), ( x 2 , y 2 ), ( x 3 , y 3 )}, and the value of the function is measured for those 3 points . these 3 points are then labeled as “ b ”, “ n ”, and “ w ”, for , respectively , the best , next best ( or next worst ), and worst values . since we are seeking a maximum point , the best value has the greatest magnitude . the next point r for measuring the function f is determined by r = p +( p − w ), where p is the centroid of the figure when the worst value point is eliminated . once the function has been measured for r , there are 3 possibilities for the next step . first , if the value for r is better than the value for b , an expansion is attempted with a new point defined by e = p + 2 ( p − w ). if the value for e is better than b , e is retained and the new simplex is defined by n , b , and e . if the value for e is not better than that for b , the expansion is said to have filed and the new simplex is defined by b , r , and n . second , if the value for r is between that for b and n , the new simplex is defined to be b , r , and n , and the process is restarted . finally , if the value for r is less desirable than that for n , a step was made in the wrong direction , and a new simplex should be generated . there are 2 possibilities . if the value for r is between that for n and w , the new point should be closer to r than w : c r = p + 0 . 5 ( p − w ), and the new simplex is defined by b , n , and c r . if the value at r is worst than the value at w , then the new point should be closer to w than r : c w = p − 0 . 5 ( p − w ). the new simplex is then defined by b , n , and c w . the process is iterated until a maximum is found . for the case of the 3 - lead ecg , the values of the other leads are calculated as functions of a 3 - lead set , preferably { i , avf , v2 }. thus , the simplex will be a 3 - dimensional figure defined by 4 points that represent the starting values of { i , avf , v2 }. the results of this optimization were used to define an n × 3 universal transformation matrix [ k ] such that when multiplied by a vector comprising the 3 leads { i , avf , v2 } for a particular time yield a full n - lead ecg , as illustrated in block 108 of fig1 . in particular , the [ k ] matrix was calculated for the full pp cycle of the heart beat as well for segments within the pp cycle , such as the pr interval , the qrs interval , the sp interval , and the qt interval . the accuracy of the optimization was validated by comparing the derived values for the ii , iii , avr , and avl leads with measured values for those leads . a comparison of a synthesized ecg based on values derived from simplex optimization with a measured ecg is depicted in fig1 . as described above , the current n comprises up to 22 leads placed around the body torso . although the inventor has increased n from 12 to 22 leads , it is possible to use the method of the invention to derive more than 22 leads . by plotting the voltage - time data of multiple leads in a contour graph , a body surface map (“ bsm ”) can be visualized . fig1 a and 12 b depict the chest lead placements from one electrode system soon to be commercial available . this system incorporates the placement of an 80 electrode vest around a patient &# 39 ; s chest for voltage - time acquisition . a bsm of a patient derived from such a configuration is displayed in fig1 . this figure uses a color - coded contour drawn unwrapped as if hinged on the left lateral side so that the posterior surface is displayed in continuity next to the anterior surface . fig1 displays a bsm measured from the end of the s - segment of the pqrst wave to the end of the t - segment (“ st - t ”), in a patient with acute myocardial infarction (“ mi ”) whose 12 - lead scalar ecg showed only a depression in the st portion of the pqrst wave . the bsm demonstrates a large posterior red area ( indicated by the arrow in the figure ) that indicates a posterior mi . the cost of the numerous leads required for a bsm and the time it takes to place the leads make bsms prohibitive for application in an acute care setting . sophisticated software and hardware is also required to analyze the bsm data , although recent technological advances make this process less cumbersome . however , bsms are now easily achievable using the method of the present invention , as any number of leads can be derived from just 3 measured leads using the universal transformation matrix of the present invention . a bsm derived from a 3 - lead system is displayed in fig1 . another clinical application of the method of the invention is that the cumulative percentage sum of the eigenvalues calculated from afa demonstrate statistically significant differences between normal and mi ecgs . thus , the eigenvalue contribution to the information space of the ecg is a marker for mi . in particular , by tracking the change in eigenvalue magnitudes over successive ecgs , a clinician can predict the onset of mi in a patient . in a study involving 20 patients , 10 men and 10 women , wherein half of each group displayed normal heart function and the other half of each group exhibited mi , and in which an 8 - lead ecg was used , it was found that the two largest eigenvalues decreased in magnitude in going from normal heart function to mi , while the 6 smallest gained in magnitude . although the decrease in magnitude of the two largest was not statistically significant , the increase in magnitude of the 6 smallest was statistically significant . fig1 a depicts a plot of the cumulative percentage sum of the normal and mi eigenvlaues for the two largest eigenvalues , here denoted by ev1 and ev2 . the plot displays a sharp break between the mi eigenvalues and the normal eigenvalues , wherein for normal function , this cumulative sum is greater than 97 % of the total sum , while for mi the cumulative sum is less than 97 % of the total value . more importantly , since these differences are statistically significant , the cumulative sum of the 6 smallest eigenvalues , here denoted by ev3 to ev6 , shows a break between mi eigenvalues and normal eigenvalues . this is depicted in fig1 b . as can be seen from the figure , the cumulative sum of the mi values range from about 3 % up to about 9 % of the total sum , while the cumulative sum of the normal values is less than 3 % of the total sum . this has great clinical implications . as of the current time , the only markers for mi are measured through blood testing . this takes time , and has an associated cost . these blood test measurements are also not performed in real time . they are ordered by the physician when needed , but it takes time for the technician to arrive and take the blood sample from the patient . it is just not feasible to perform such chemical testing every 1 - 15 minutes . the eigenvalues of the ecg can now be measured on a beat to beat basis using a 3 - lead bedside monitor , in real time , on demand , without the need of a technician . this invention would allow the immediate derivation of an n - lead ecg ( e . g ., 12 - lead ecg ) from a 3 - lead monitor from which the eigenvalues can be calculated instantaneously . the eigenvalue percentage contribution is itself a marker for mi . this can be displayed along with the heart rate on any customary bedside monitor . because this eigenvalue marker can be calculated on a beat - to - beat basis in less than a second with current conventional computer technology , the variability of the eigenvalues in time , and the rate of change of the eigenvalues , either by magnitude or percent contribution , are also markers for acute mi . this invention would allow the first known real - time electrophysiologic marker for acute mi . naturally , any function utilizing the eigenvalues would accomplish the same purpose . the method of the invention can be implemented on any computer system using any available programming language . one embodiment of the invention is implemented using microsoft visual basic executing on a personal computer running the windows operating system . the invention is not limited to this implementation , however , and implementations is other programming languages executing on other machines , such as the mackintosh , or workstations running under the unix operating system or variants thereof , such as linux , are within the scope of the invention . while the present invention has been described and illustrated in various preferred and alternate embodiments , such descriptions and illustrations are not to be construed to be limitations thereof . accordingly , the present invention encompasses any variations , modifications and / or alternate embodiments with the scope of the present invention being limited only by the claims which follow . | 0 |
referring more particularly to the drawings , the following discussion of the preferred embodiment and related process of the present invention focuses on shoes , and in particular the incorporation of the novel lighting system in an athletic shoe . it should be understood , however that the present invention is not limited to shoes , but all kinds of apparel that may be easily enclosed in hats , jackets , gloves and the like . the small nature of the module makes it adaptable for a wide range of apparel applications . shoes , as reflected in fig1 - 5 , are chosen for discussion purposes , only because of the challenge of using a small electronics package in the environment of a shoe . other apparel applications are much simpler . fig1 - 5 illustrate no more than an application of the present invention . referring to fig1 - 5 , an athletic shoe 1 typically includes an upper 5 and a sole portion 10 . an insole 6 typically resides in an upper 5 above the sole portion 10 . a transparent , window - like structure 20 is provided about a heel of the sole portion 10 . the transparent structure 20 may be molded integral with the sole portion 10 or may be bonded thereto with a suitable adhesive . when the shoe is moved , visible light 21 is emitted from the transparent structure . the sole portion 10 of the shoe 1 includes a mid - sole 22 and an outsole 23 which is fixably attached along the base of the shoe 1 . as disclosed in my prior u . s . patent , the outer sole is typically formed from a solid , wear - resistant material such as rubber and certain polyuretane materials , whereas the mid - sole is typically formed in an injection or thermoformive process from a foamed resilient material such as polyurethane or ethylene vinyl acetate . a light producing mechanism 30 is disposed in the midsole portion 10 of the shoe 1 , preferably below the heel of the wearers &# 39 ; foot . the light producing mechanism 30 includes a plurality of light emitting diodes 72 and 74 , ( each can be multiple diodes ) each is wired to a different part of the circuit . in the embodiment shown , the plurality of light emitting diodes are provided about the circumference of the housing 32 , although other arrangements could certainly be utilized . the housing 32 , which can be made from plastic or other suitable , resilient , yet solid material in an injection molding process , contains a lighting control circuit 33 . preferably , housing 32 is positioned within midsole 22 or immediately adjacent thereto so that leds 72 , 74 are positioned next to the transparent source 20 thereby enabling light emitted by the leds 72 , 74 to be visible externally of the shoe 1 . the lighting control circuit 33 is preferably disposed on a printed circuit board 39 to which the leds 31 are connected by conductors 38 . a switch 40 is disposed within the housing 32 and is a motion sensitive switch that closes in response to motion of the shoe . the motion activated switch 40 may be a mercury switch , such as disclosed in the rodgers &# 39 ; 009 patent , a piezoelectric transducer of the type disclosed in chiang u . s . pat . no . 5 , 188 , 447 , a vibration - type switch such as disclosed in wut u . s . pat . no . 5 , 408 , 764 , a magnetic reed switch disclosed in rodgers u . s . pat . no . 5 , 422 , 628 , or the vibration light switch disclosed in wong , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 400 , 232 . the switch arrangements disclosed therein are hereby incorporated herein by reference . a simple mechanical momentary contact switch may also be utilized . the operative characteristics of all of these switches is a switch closure of the mechanical or electrical type in response to motion . the lighting control circuit 33 is connected to a battery 41 which is located in the housing 32 . while it is shown in the diagrams as being beneath the printed circuit board 39 , the exact position is not important . the battery is electrically connected to the lighting control circuit shown in fig6 . the battery can be positioned at any convenient location within the housing . as noted , the illumination of the leds 72 , 74 is controlled by the lighting control circuit 33 shown in fig6 . the preferred embodiment is reflected therein . fig6 uses a conventional &# 34 ;+ 3v &# 34 ; to indicate that a particular element is tied to a 3 - volt power supply which would generally be provided by a dry cell , &# 34 ; button - type &# 34 ; lithium battery which provides extremely long life coupled with a light weight structure . obviously , other forms and voltages of batteries could be utilized for the present invention . the motion switch 40 is tied to the input of a monostable multivibrator 44 . this monostable multivibrator 44 is configured so as to trigger on a &# 34 ; negative &# 34 ; transition of the voltage at the switch 40 , which occurs when the switch is closed . this results in the inverted input to the or gate which forms a part of the multivibrator being tied to ground and the monostable multivibrator 44 producing a pulse at the output q1 which is defined by external resistor 48 and capacitor 46 . ( the multivibrator can also be configured to work on a positive transition , such as a switch opening and it can also be configurerd to require a series of switch closures within a set time interval to trigger . output q2 is used to enable the outputs of inverters 66 and 70 , which are of the buffered variety . as described in my previous patent , the duration of the pulse out of monostable multivibrator 44 is controlled by the resistor and capacitor by forming an rc time constant network . typical arrangements are a 47 μfd capacitor and a 2 mω resistor . the output of the one shot is used to control a signal generator which produces random width pulses . operation of the signal generator may be understood with reference to the timing diagrams in fig7 and the circuit in fig6 . the timing diagram in fig7 references a series of signal points a , b , c , s1 , m1 , l1 and l2 . signals a , b , and c are respectively the output of flip - flop 58 , flip - flop 56 , and exclusive - or gate 68 . s1 is the representation of the switch closure . m1 is the output of the one shot . l1 and l2 are the signals across the leds 72 and 74 . with reference to fig6 the signal generator includes flip - flop 58 , flip - flops 52 - 54 configured as a shift register , and 56 , nor gates 60 , 62 , and 64 , inverter 66 and exclusive or 68 . the purpose of flip - flop 58 is to divide the frequency of the oscillator . it is utilized to produce the appropriate control of the output of the shift registers through the exclusive or gate 68 . the three flip - flops , 52 , 54 , and 56 shift the clock signals from the output of the oscillator 50 . nor gate 60 has one input connected to the reset output of flip - flop 56 and the other input is connected to the set output of flip - flop 54 . a nor gate 64 has one input connected to the set output of the flip - flop 56 and another input connected to the reset output of the flip - flop 54 . the nor gates 60 and 62 have their outputs connected to one input of a nor gate 62 that also drives an inverter 66 , forming an or / nor combination . the outputs of nor gate 62 and inverter 66 are respectively connected to the set and reset inputs of flip - flop 52 . the output of the signal generator is provided at the output of flip - flop 56 , otherwise indicated as signal point b . the output at signal point b is the random width pulses indicated in fig7 . other random pulse variations can be achieved by changing the number of flip - flop circuits of the shift register and the input of the gate circuits connected in the feedback loop thereof . the output of the shift register at point b is then exclusive or &# 39 ; d with the output of flip - flop 58 so as to produce the signal at point c which is the random width pulse stream . an inverter 70 is used to invert this stream between leds 72 and 74 so that the lights can flash at opposite times . random width circuits are known in the art and are usually used for data synchronization applications . see , e . g ., u . s . pat . no . 3 , 890 , 265 to hara . no applications to apparel are known . as mentioned , once the switch closes , the output of the one shot is activated and removes the reset signal from the input of the oscillator 50 and the frequency divider 58 . thus , the shift register continues to shift whatever random series of pulses have been loaded by the feedback loop . as soon as the one shot ends its duration , the shift register stops shifting and is frozen until the next switch closure . the duration of the signals coming out of the shift register is controlled by oscillator 50 . as mentioned , this can be two back - to - back one shots , so that the frequency can be controlled with an exterior resistor / capacitor combination . the length of time which the random sequence occurs is set by the resistor / capacitor combination on the one shot 44 . as can be seen , the foregoing circuit provides an easily programmable random width series of pulses to light the leds 72 and 74 . of course , one skilled in the art would readily appreciate that numerous other modifications and / or additions can be made to the above - discussed features of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention . in particular , the circuit can be made in integrated form or as an application specific integrated circuit . it is intended that the present invention encompass all such modifications . | 8 |
description will now be given in detail of the present invention , with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig1 is a flowchart illustrating a radar signal clustering method using frequency modulation characteristics and combination characteristics of signals according to the present invention . first , in a cell creation step s 100 , two dimensional cells consisting of rf and aoa are created , and then pulses of radar signals stored after reception are assigned to the cells . here , the size of the cell should be determined with care because it affects to the clustering performance directly . if the cell size is too big , the pulses from several emitters may be assigned to the same cell . and , if the cell size is too small , the pulses from one emitter may be scattered to the several cells . the present invention defines the size of cell using aoa measurement accuracy σ aoa and rf measurement accuracy σ rf of a radar signal receiving unit . the measurement accuracies are set by root mean square ( rms ) unit , which means that the probability of the accuracy being within the range of ± 3σ is more than 99 %. in a noise cell removal step s 110 , for all cells with pulses , a cell density , namely , the number of pulses assigned to each cell is compared with a noise threshold th noise , thereby removing noise cells . the noise cell is determined based upon whether the cell density exceeds the noise threshold th noise . if a cell is determined to be a noise cell , the corresponding cell is initialized , so as to avoid such cell from affecting the later clustering process . in a cell difference function calculation step s 120 , first , in order to identify the distribution of pulses consisting of cells , a kernel density estimator ( kde ) f ( x ) is calculated using a kernel function k ( u ) for each cell . also , a difference function f d ( x ) of cumulative distribution function ( cdf ) for the kde f ( x ) is calculated . explaining such calculations in detail , kde is used to find out the signal distribution . for the kde , the contribution of each point to the overall density function is expressed by an influence or kernel function . the overall density function is simply the sum of the influence functions associated with each point . the kernel density estimator f ( x ) using the kernel function is defined as the following formula where n denotes the number of pulses in a cell , and h denotes a window size . afterwards , in order to determine the types of clusters , namely , whether a cluster is a frequency fixed cluster or a frequency agile cluster , the difference function f d ( x ) of cdf is calculated for the kde . the f d ( x ) of the cdf is defined as the following formula where x denotes the peak point in the kde , and σrf denotes the frequency measurement accuracy . therefore , the difference function f d ( x ), which denotes a domain value from a peak value to ± σ rf in the kde graph , represents the density distribution characteristics of pulses consisting of cells . next , in a frequency fixed cluster extraction step s 130 , clusters which have signals with the fixed frequency modulation , namely , the frequency fixed clusters are identified . explaining this step in detail , in order to identify the frequency fixed clusters , the kernel density estimator and its difference function f d ( x ) of the cdf are calculated for all of the cells . the distribution of the frequency fixed clusters has gaussian distribution in a frequency domain due to a receiver &# 39 ; s measurement error as illustrated in fig2 . fig2 illustrates the distribution of frequency fixed clusters in the frequency domain . in fig2 , f d ( x ) is about 0 . 683 , and the present invention considers this value to set a threshold th fixed for the frequency fixed cluster . therefore , if f d ( x ) of the cluster calculated is higher than th fixed ( i . e ., f d ( x )& gt ; th fixed ) for the frequency fixed cluster , the corresponding cluster is identified as a frequency fixed cluster . on the other hand , if f d ( x ) of the cluster is lower than th fixed ( i . e ., f d ( x )& lt ; th fixed ) for the frequency fixed cluster , the corresponding cluster is identified as a frequency agile cluster . afterwards , in a remaining cell merging step s 140 , adjacent cells are merged for remaining cells after the extraction of the frequency fixed clusters . the cell merging is now described in detail . if a current cell has coordinates ( x , y ), its neighboring ( adjacent ) cells with coordinates ( x − 1 , y ), ( x + 1 , y ), ( x , y − 1 ) and ( x , y + 1 ) are merged so as to make one large cell . contrary to the frequency fixed cluster , the pulses from the emitter which has an agile frequency modulation are distributed widely in a frequency domain , so merging the adjacent cells is necessary to identify the frequency agile cluster . afterwards , in a cell group difference function calculation step s 150 , first , a kde f ({ cell }) is calculated for each cell group formed by the merging , and then a difference function f d ({ cell }) of a cdf is calculated for the kde . here , the definitions of f ({ cell }) and f d ({ cell }) used are the same to those used in the cell difference function calculation step s 120 . as aforementioned , in general , the pulses from the emitter which has the agile frequency modulation are uniformly distributed in a wide frequency domain . thus , for the frequency agile cluster , the difference function f d ( x ) is about 0 . 333 due to its distribution and cell characteristics , which is illustrated in fig3 . fig3 illustrates the distribution of the frequency agile clusters in a frequency domain . the present invention uses this value , namely , 0 . 333 to set a frequency agile cluster threshold th agile for the frequency agile cluster . further , the present invention classifies signal combination types of frequency agile clusters into single type c single , overlap type c overlap and a split type c split − c single indicates that a cluster has only one frequency agile signal . if the clusters do not belong to the c single , the clusters may be classified into c overlap or c split according to whether signals are overlapped or not . c overlap indicates that a cluster has two or more frequency agile signals . c overlap may also indicate that such signals exist in an overlapped state . c split indicates that a cluster has two or more frequency agile signals without being overlapped with each other . next , in an identification step s 160 of a single type frequency agile cluster , the difference function value f d ({ cell }) calculated in the cell group difference function calculation step s 150 is compared with a threshold th single of a single type frequency agile cluster c single , thus to identify whether a frequency agile cluster is the single type frequency agile cluster c single . here , the threshold th single of the single type frequency agile cluster c single may be obtained as follows , th single =| th agile + 10 %|. if the difference function value f d ({ cell }) is smaller than or equal to th single ( i . e ., th agile − 10 %≦ f d ({ cell })≦ th agile + 10 %), it is identified as the single type frequency agile cluster c single . in an identification step s 170 of a split type frequency agile cluster , the difference function value f d ({ cell }) calculated in the cell group difference function calculation step s 150 is compared with a threshold th split of a split type frequency agile cluster c split , thus to identify whether a frequency agile cluster is the split type frequency agile cluster c split . here , th split = th agile − 10 %. if the difference function value f d ({ cell }) is smaller than th split ( i . e ., f d ({ cell })& lt ; th agile − 10 %), it is identified as the split type frequency agile cluster c overlap . afterwards , in an identification step s 180 of an overlap type frequency agile cluster , the difference function value f d ({ cell }) calculated in the cell group difference function calculation step s 150 is compared with a threshold th overlap of a split type frequency agile cluster c overlap , thus to identify whether a frequency agile cluster is the overlap type frequency agile cluster c overlap . here , th overlap = th agile + 10 %. if the difference function value f d ({ cell }) is greater than th overlap ( i . e ., f d ({ cell })& gt ; th agile + 10 %), it is identified as the overlap type frequency agile cluster c overlap . such classification for the frequency agile clusters may be represented as follows . that is , finally , in an extraction step s 190 of a frequency agile cluster , the frequency agile clusters are classified and extracted according to the combination type of each cluster ( i . e ., c single , c overlap , and c split ) identified through the comparison with the frequency agile cluster threshold . the extraction will be described in detail . if a combination type of a cluster is c single , it is identified as one frequency agile cluster , which is then extracted . on the other hand , if the combination type of the cluster is not c single , a distribution type of the kde is identified , and then cells which cause splitting or overlapping are estimated . afterwards , the difference function of the cdf is calculated for each expected cell to discriminate cells causing the split type or overlap type , and clusters are classified based upon the cells to be then extracted . fig4 illustrates the classification results for three types of frequency agile clusters . as illustrated in fig4 , it can be noticed that the frequency agile clusters are classified by the corresponding thresholds . hereinafter , description will be made of the performance of the clustering method according to the present invention in comparison with the existing clustering methods through a computer simulation in various signal environments . the input data consisted of 10 , 240 pulses for various emitters which individually have aoa , rf , pulse repetition interval ( pri ) and the like . the performance evaluation is performed with changes in the input signals , and the results are followed at table 1 . as can be seen in the results of table 1 , the existing sequential histogram and sequential scan methods do not make clusters properly for the input signals . for the sequential histogram method , it has the more clusters than expected as the number of input signal increases , and many pulses which do not exceed the threshold remain unused . the sequential scan method has the fewer clusters than expected , and also it cannot discriminate the modulation type of carrier frequency . on the other hand , it can be seen that the clustering method according to the present invention is performed properly and can identify the types of frequency agile clusters . type information is very important in the signal analysis process and it is useful for pulse train extraction . as described above , the present invention can provide an accurate clustering method based upon characteristics of frequency modulation of clusters and combination characteristics of signals through the series of processes . also , the present invention enables separate processing of signals with characteristics of fixed frequency modulation or characteristics of agile frequency modulation , which allows shortening of processing time of signal analysis and improving of accuracy of signal analysis , resulting in providing reliable information . the foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure . the present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses . this description is intended to be illustrative , and not to limit the scope of the claims . many alternatives , modifications , and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art . the features , structures , methods , and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and / or alternative exemplary embodiments . as the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof , it should also be understood that the above - described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description , unless otherwise specified , but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims , and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims , or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims . | 6 |
referring now in more detail to the application drawings wherein like parts are indicated by like reference numerals , the cap 1 shown in fig1 is shaped as a cylindrical body with a base 2 . while the cap for the purpose of its use as a screw cap is provided with a relatively high edge 3 , the edge in the generally employed crown cork closures is relatively low . to produce a sealing , base 2 of cap 1 is coated on its interior surface with an elastic sealing mass which is introduced into the cap in a liquid state and is uniformly distributed over the cap base 2 by a rotation of the cap under the effect of centrifugal force . the sealing area 4 wherein base 2 of cap 1 abuts against the upper bottle edge is shown in dot and dash lines in fig1 . depending on the shaping of the bottle neck , the sealing area is located more or less close to the edge of the cap and is more or less wide . since the bottles frequently contain carbonic acid gas - containing liquids , the sealing surface must be faultless and a fully satisfactory sealing , even against relatively high pressures , must be assured . fig1 shows a light point 5 imaged on cap base 2 , with the diameter of the point 5 being somewhat larger than the width of the sealing area 4 . in place of the light point 5 , a light line 6 may also be focused in , with the length of the line 6 likewise somewhat larger than the width of the sealing area . since the point or the line does not change its relative position with respect to the cap , the cap must be rotated , so that the ring - shaped sealing area is completely scanned by the light point or the light line . the sealing area is essentially illuminated only in the width or region of the circular ring 4 since defects outside the circular ring are immaterial and do not affect the sealing of the bottle . besides , with an increase in the size of the illuminated surface at a prespecified radiation intensity of the illuminating device the intensity of illumination decreases quadratically . in the basic diagram shown in fig2 the reflection factors of two different materials are recorded in relative units along the wave lengths of the entering light λ . the solid line is to diagrammatically illustrate the progress of the reflection conduct of the sealing mass , and the dash line is to illustrate diagrammatically the progress of the reflection conduct of the cap material . it can be recognized that at various points there are intersections and larger distances between the reflection curves . if a light source were chosen whose wave length would amount to λ 1 , a defect in the sealing would not be discovered since both work materials at this light wave length present the same reflection conduct . it is therefore suitable to select a light source whose light presents a wave length λ 2 since in this case the deviation in the reflection conduct is largest . in order to obtain reliable measuring value results , the detector should have a sensitivity as high as possible at the selected wave length λ 2 . fig3 shows a diagrammatical representation of an embodiment of the apparatus of the invention by means of which the locations of defects in the sealing area can be optically discovered . a light source 7 is imaged on sealing area 4 of cap 1 by way of a lens device 8 . by means of a second lens device 9 the beams reflected by cap 1 are bundled , and the image of light source 7 located on the cap is imaged in a detector 10 . the angle of incidence α of the entering light corresponds to the angle of reflection β of the reflected light and is smaller than 90 °. the angles are delimited by the height of edge 3 of cap 1 . in the selection of the angles the greatest care possible should be taken that the entire light entering the cap is reflected by the sealing area to be controlled and be collected in the detector . the embodiment of the apparatus of the invention diagrammatically represented in fig4 is provided with a first lens device 11 by means of which the beams emanating from light source 7 are directed upon a semitransparent mirror 12 . a portion of the beams emanating from light source 7 is reflected downward by the mirror 12 and imaged as a point by means of a second lens device 13 on the sealing area 4 of cap 1 . the beams reflected vertically upwardly penetrate the semitransparent mirror 12 and are bundled behind the mirror by means of a third lens device 14 in such a manner that the image of light source 7 located on cap 1 is imaged in detector 10 . as can be recognized in fig5 and 6 , it is possible to achieve by a suitable selection of lens 13a or 13b a vertical path of beams by means of which sealing areas at varying distances 15 from the edge 3 of cap 1 can be scanned . in place of the lens and mirror systems of the devices shown in fig3 and 4 , photoconductors 16 , 17 may also be employed according to the embodiment of fig7 in which case a photoconductor 16 is optically coupled with light source 7 and images the light source on the sealing mass in the sealing area 4 of rotating cap 1 . the other photoconductor 17 is optically coupled with detector 10 and conducts the image of light source 7 located on cap 1 , in the detector . this arrangement likewise permits a practically vertical direction of inspection without the occurrence of losses caused by an edge cover of the cap . fig8 shows in diagram the structure of the electronic measuring device . it can be recognized that detector 10 is connected to an ejecting device 22 by way of an amplifier 18 , an amplitude discriminator 19 , a gate stage 20 , and a terminal stage 21 . light source 7 is supplied with current by means of a service generator 23 which in turn is connected to the current supply source of an electronic measuring device 24 . the operation of the measuring device of the invention will be described . cap 1 rotates about the center of the circular - ring - shaped sealing area 4 . during this operation the reflection factor is measured along the width of sealing area 4 and the entire periphery thereof . the light source 7 used for illumination may emit either constant light of constant intensity or pulse light of constant intensity amplitude . in the latter case the pulse train must be adapted to the speed of rotation of the sealing area so that a continuous scanning of the sealing area is assured . detector 10 measures during this operation the intensity of the light reflected by the sealing area . when a deviation from the rated value prespecified for a fully satisfactory sealing area is discovered , ejection device 22 is actuated by means of an electronic measuring device , which ejecting device may comprise or include , for example , a magnetic valve . the objectionable cap is removed by the ejecting device from the assembly line . the signal transmitted by the detector is amplified by the amplifier 18 and in the amplitude discriminator 19 the amplified signal amplitude is compared with a previously adjustable rated amplitude . when a deviation from the rated value is found , an active switch element is actuated , whereby an auxiliary current circuit is switched on or off . this circuit , however , is also controlled by a gate stage for example , by means of a switch . the measuring process proper does not take place continuously but periodically during the time period at which the cap has reached its rated speed of rotation and carries out one or more rotations at this speed . this period of time is determined by means of a switch 25 , and the apparatus exerts the effect in the gate stage 20 that a possible ejecting signal is transmitted to the terminal stage 21 during this period of time only . the terminal stage 21 then switches the ejecting device 22 . the control of the measuring moment as well as of the duration of the measuring can be carried out in principle by means of the gate stage , in all groups of the circuit , so that , for example , the light source controlled by the gate stage operates only during the duration of the measurement . likewise , the detector , the amplifier , the amplitude discriminator , the terminal stage , and the ejecting device can be activated , by way of the gate stage , during the duration of the measurement only . | 1 |
according to the invention , polymers which may be modified are ones that are reactive with respect to free amino groups . these include the polyamides such as nylon 6 , and nylon 6 - 6 , among others , the polyurethanes , the polyesters such as the polymer produced by the reaction of dimethyl terephthalate or terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol , and others . it does not include polymers not having in their structures any reactive sites at which a material containing one or more free amino groups may react by amidation or transamidation to form a covalent bond , e . g ., polyethylene , polypropylene , sbr , isoprene , polyvinyl alcohol , polystyrene , etc . according to the invention , polymers capable of reacting with pendant primary amino groups are modified by being brought into intimate contact under reactive conditions with the modifying polymer , produced as hereinafter explained . in some instances , this may be done by blending 0 . 5 to 20 weight percent of the modifying polymer in a melt of the polymer to be treated , prior to the formation of a fiber or film or sheet or the like . in other instances , the modifying polymer , produced as explained below , is applied to a polymeric material after it has been produced in an extended form , i . e ., has become a fiber , film , sheet or the like . in either event , it is intended that the polymer to be modified and the modifying agent be brought into contact under conditions such as will permit their reaction , by amidation or transamidation or the like , to form a covalent bond between them , thereby affording a treated product having permanently altered properties . modifying polymers have two principal characteristics : a suitable oxyalkylene content arrived at by experimentation with each substrate and a reactive pendant amino group or a precursor of such reactive pendant amino group . the modifying polymer has a suitable oxyalkylene content . in order to bring about desired changes in the polymer to be modified , such as decreasing its ability to develop and retain a charge of static electricity or improving its compatibility with various dyes , it is desirable to use a modifying polymer of experimentally determined hydrophilic / hydrophobic balance . such polymers are obtained by incorporating substantial numbers of oxyalkylene units , usually amounting to between 20 and 95 weight percent of the modifying polymer . such polymers are made by reacting a compound containing at least one active hydrogen atom with the suitable number of moles of an oxirane compound or a mixture of such compounds . ethylene oxide is usually to be preferred ; it may be used alone or in combination with other lower alkylene oxides such as propylene oxide , butylene oxide , or other related alpha olefin epoxides . the preferred characteristic , i . e ., that of containing a pendant reactive amino group or a specified precursor thereof , is of critical importance because such a reactive group affords the means by which the modifying polymer may become chemically bonded to the substrate polymer , thereby making the modification durable , i . e ., capable of persisting through repeated washings and long - continued use . a modifying polymer according to the invention has at least one such reactive pendant amino group or precursor thereof , and may contain several such groups . as will be discussed below in greater detail , such reactive groups are obtained by starting with a diamino compound or a polyamino compound , blocking one of the free amino groups by reaction with an aldehyde or ketone to form a schiff base , and then oxyalkylating . if desired , the polymer produced as the result of such oxyalkylation may be hydrolyzed to convert the blocked amino group or groups to free amino groups before the polymer is used as a modifying agent ; alternatively , the modifying polymer while still in its blocked form may be applied to or mixed with the polymer to be modified and then , later , converted in situ to the free amino form by hydrolysis and so freed , to react with the polymer to be modified . in accordance with the invention , one starts with a material having a primary amino group and at least a second group that contains an active hydrogen atom and is capable of being oxyalkylated . preferably , the starting material is a diamine or polyamine , such as ethylenediamine , diethylenetriamine , triethylenetetramine , polyethyleneimine , 1 , 6 - hexamethylenediamine , 2 , 4 - diaminotoluene , 2 , 6 - diaminotoluene , or a mixture of 2 , 4 - and 2 , 6 - diaminotoluenes . also an amine - terminated prepolymer , such as one made by reacting an excess of a diamine , such as 1 , 6 - hexamethylene diamine , with a relatively small proportion of a diacid , such as adipic acid , or other prepolymers formed by an amine such as for example diethylene triamine and epichlorohydrin , among others , can be employed . in the first step of the making of a modified polymer in accordance with the invention , a starting amino compound as mentioned above is reacted with an aldehyde or ketone to block at least one of the amino groups present in the starting material . in performing this blocking reaction , care must be taken not to block all of the active hydrogen atoms of the starting material , one or more of which must remain in order that the subsequent oxyalkylation step may be performed . the aldehyde or ketone used to perform the blocking reaction is of the formula in which b 1 represents a hydrocarbon radical having from one to 12 carbon atoms and b 2 represents hydrogen or a hydrocarbon radical having one to 12 carbon atoms . suitable ketones for the reaction include acetone , methylethyl ketone , methylisobutyl ketone , ethylisobutyl ketone , diethyl ketone , diisobutyl ketone , and the like . effective aldehydes include isobutyraldehyde and 2 - ethylhexaldehyde . beta - substituted aldehydes are preferred , and aldehydes which condense in the presence of a strongly alkaline catalyst to aldol compounds are not suitable . in most instances , the reaction between the blocking agent and the starting amino compound takes place readily , particularly at a moderately elevated temperature such as 50 ° to 175 ° centigrade . if desired , an inert solvent may be added to facilitate the removal of water liberated by the reaction through formation of an azeotrope . if the starting material is one which will not be deprived of all of its active hydrogen atoms by the use of the blocking agent , an excess of the blocking agent may be employed as solvent . for example , diethylenetriamine is capable of retaining an active hydrogen atom in the presence of an excess of ketone , whereas ethylenediamine is not . the partly blocked amine made as described above is reacted with an alkylene oxide under oxyalkylation conditions to form an oxyalkylated blocked amine . the alkylene oxide adds onto the partly blocked amino compound at the location of an active hydrogen atom , which may be an amino or hydroxyl group . a wide range of such compositions may be prepared , ranging from materials of low molecular weight having 10 or 20 moles of alkylene oxide per mole of partly blocked amine to compositions of relatively high molecular weight in which 100 to 200 or more moles of alkylene oxide have been combined with one mole of partly blocked amino compound . other important variations may be obtained by employing more than one alkylene oxide reactant , either in mixtures or sequentially . the alkylene oxide compounds which may be employed according to the invention may be represented by the formula ## str1 ## in which r represents hydrogen or a hydrocarbon radical having from one to 20 carbon atoms . suitable alpha olefin oxides include ethylene oxide , propylene oxide , 1 , 2 - butylene oxide and 1 , 2 - octadecane oxide . oxyalkylation of the partly blocked amine is desirably conducted at a moderately elevated temperature . thus , the reaction may be conducted at a temperature in the range from about 40 ° to about 200 ° centigrade with the preferred operating temperature being from 55 ° centigrade to about 150 ° centigrade . moderately elevated pressures are preferably employed to improve the concentration and contact between the alkylene oxide and the partly blocked amino compound . such pressures may range from 1 to about 7 atmospheres . to promote the oxyalkylation reaction , alkaline catalysts can be used , such as sodium metal , sodium hydride , sodium hydroxide , sodium methoxide , sodium ethoxide , and the corresponding potassium compounds . the oxyalkylation reaction is conducted in the absence of water or alcohol or other substances which are themselves capable of reacting with the oxyalkylating agent used . in some instances , an oxyalkylated partly blocked amine made as indicated above may be subjected to certain additional reactions before being used . for example , in the case of producing modifying polymers for use with a polyester resin such as the reaction product of ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate , it is desirable to have a modifying polymer which does not contain any free hydroxyl groups . accordingly , in such a case , it is desirable to block the reactive hydroxyl groups at the ends of any oxyalkylene chain by reaction with a suitable capping agent , such as a monocarboxylic acid . any suitable monocarboxylic acid may be used , such as acetic acid , propionic acid , butyric acid , benzoic acid , toluic acid , capric acid , caprylic acid , myristic acid , cyclohexanecarboxylic acid , etc . such a reaction with acid is conducted , of course , before the step of hydrolysis to regenerate amino groups , since otherwise the acid would react with such amino groups as well and thus destroy the usefulness of the modifying polymer . it will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that the oxyalkylated blocked amines made in the manner described above are , in effect , diols or polyols , depending upon the number of hydroxyl - terminated oxyalkylene chains in the molecular . such diols or polyols are capable of reacting with difunctional or higher functional compounds such as diacids , diesters of diacids , diisocyanates , and diepoxides to form linear or branched polymers . in appropriate circumstances the methyl esters may be used . dimethyl terephthalate is an example . diglycidyl ether having the formula : ## str2 ## and diglycidyl ethers of the formula : ## str3 ## wherein r &# 39 ; is the hydrocarbon residue of a diol ## str4 ## wherein r is a c 2 to c 4 alkylene and n is an integer from 1 to about 350 . preparation of diepoxides of the type just mentioned is described in the book entitled epoxy resins by lee and neville , published by mcgraw hill book company , new york ( 1957 ). phenols which may be used to prepare the diglycidyl ethers include : ## str5 ## where n and m are integers from 1 to 10 . diols which may be used to prepare the diglycidyl ethers include : ethylene diol , 2 , 3 - butanediol , 1 , 6 - hexanediol , etc . ( e . g . alkylene and alkane diols having two to 12 carbon atoms ). poly ( alkylene ethers ) which may be used to prepare the diglycidyl ethers include : polyethylene glycols , polypropylene glycols and copolymers thereof , wherein the poly ( alkylene ethers ) have a molecular weight between about 106 and 10 , 000 . the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol a is a preferred diepoxide for use in carrying out the invention , since it is inexpensive and commercially available . again , such reactions with diisocyanates , dicarboxylic acids , diesters , or diepoxides are to be conducted prior to the step of hydrolysis to regenerate amino groups . mixtures of the foregoing kinds of difunctional and higher functional materials may likewise be used in some instances . the oxyalkylated partly blocked amine , possibly further modified as described in the preceding section , is hydrolyzed to form the modifying polymers of this invention . this results in a splitting of the oxyalkylated partly blocked amine at the point or points where the carbonyl and the amino groups originally combined , without disturbing the alkylene oxide units added during oxyalkylation . the hydrolysis effects a regeneration of the carbonyl compound originally employed as a blocking agent . this step of hydrolysis to regenerate free amino groups may be conducted , as desired , either before the bringing together of the modifying polymer and the polymer to be modified , or after . the hydrolysis reaction takes place spontaneously upon contacting the modifying polymer with water , even under ambient conditions of temperature . however , heat may be employed . the modifying polymer , in either its amine - blocked or amine - regenerated form , must be brought into contact with the polymer substrate to be modified . in some instances this may be done by incorporating it into a melt of the polymer substrate and uniformly dispersing it prior to the formation of sheets or fibers . in other instances , this may be done by applying the modifying polymer to fibers , strands , sheets and the like . modifying polymers in their amine - regenerated form are quite reactive towards polyesters , polyurethanes , and polyamides , especially at advanced temperatures such as 100 °- 300 ° centigrade , depending on the substrate . in the case of modifying polymers in their amine - blocked form , the formation of the free amine takes place rather readily , as mentioned above , when water is permitted to react with the modifying polymer , which in some cases may take place at some subsequent step of the process after the modifier is blended with the substrate , such as a washing step . in either event , the free reactive primary amino group ( or groups ) of the modifying polymer finds in the substrate a portion of its structure with which it ( or they ) may react by , for example , amidation ( in the case of a polyester ) or transamidation ( in the case of a polyurethane or polyamide ). having thus become bonded covalently into the substrate , the modifying polymer alters the properties of the substrate in a manner that is permanent and not destroyed by washing or long continued use . it is possible in accordance with this invention to provide a modifying polymer having two or more free primary amine groups . as an example , diethylenetriamine may be end - blocked with two moles of acetone and then oxyalkylated . modifying polymers that have two or more amine groups may be used as diamines or polyamines are used in the art , namely , they may be reacted with dicarboxylic acids to produce polyamides or with diisocyanates to produce polyureas . thus , it is possible to use such a modifying polymer as a partial replacement for a diamine that is being so used to make such a polymeric material . moreover , in some cases it may be desirable to replace a diamine formerly used entirely with a diamine that comprises a modifying polymer according to this invention . still another use that may be made of a modifying polymer according to the present invention is the possibility of producing , for example , an external anti - stat material by curing the modifying polymer with a suitable curing agent , such as a diepoxide . the free hydrogen atoms of the amino groups of a modifying polymer according to this invention may in some circumstances by capable to being reacted with ( cured by ) a diepoxide to produce a polymer of high molecular weight which , because of the relatively hydrophilic nature of the modifying polymers of this invention , will be satisfactorily anti - static and at the same time compatible with and adherent to a polymer to which such materials are applied , whether sequentially or in admixture . this modification is illustrated below in example 3 . the invention described above may be illustrated by the following specific examples , which are to be taken as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . in the examples , parts are by weight unless indicated to the contrary . a three - liter round - bottom flask was charged with 1000 grams of diethylene triamine and 200 grams of methyl isobutyl ketone . the flask was equipped with a mechanical stirrer , thermometer and thermometer well , dean - stark trap with thermometer and condenser , one - liter pressure - equalizing dropping funnel , and nitrogen - sweep means . under a slow nitrogen sweep the reaction mixture was heated towards a reflux temperature , while 800 grams of methyl isobutyl ketone were charged to the dropping funnel . when the reactor temperature reached 80 ° centigrade , slow addition of the methyl isobutyl ketone was begun . after one hour , the reactor temperature had reached 137 ° centigrade , at which point reflux was achieved . the refluxing vapor had an average temperature throughout the rest of the condensation reaction of between 113 ° and 123 ° centigrade . the slow , continuous addition of methyl isobutyl ketone to the reactor was continued over a period of 4 hours , and the reaction mixture was thereafter maintained at reflux temperature for an additional hour , at which time further evolution of water ceased ( 190 grams of water collected , versus 181 grams theoretical ). the mixture was then vacuum - distilled at an absolute pressure of 10 millimeters of mercury maximum and a temperature of 90 ° centigrade for one - half hour to remove volatiles weighing 70 grams . the resultant reaction mixture was then employed in subsequent steps without further purification . an autoclave of about 3 . 8 liter capacity was charged with 556 grams of the above - mentioned ketimine ( 3 moles ), and 575 grams of propylene oxide ( a 10 percent excess ) was added to the autoclave over a period of 2 hours at 100 ° centigrade . the pressure in the autoclave was 5 . 7 atmospheres . thereafter , the autoclave was vented under nitrogen , and 11 . 2 grams of potassium hydroxide of 95 percent purity was added . the autoclave was sealed , and the contents were subjected to an absolute pressure of less than or equal to 10 millimeters of mercury for 1 hour at 125 ° centigrade . during this treatment , 55 grams of volatile material were removed , which corresponds to a 10 percent excess of propylene oxide ( 57 . 5 grams ). the above - mentioned vacuum was relieved with the addition of a second charge ( 1669 grams ) of propylene oxide , which charge was added over a period of 4 hours . an additional two hours were allowed for the reaction of this further addition of propylene oxide . this yields a material that may be called an oxypropylated ketimine . a 315 - gram portion of the oxypropylated ketimine mentioned above was treated with 1 . 5 grams of potassium hydroxide . the material was then subjected to reduced pressure , to remove volatiles . an autoclave of 3 . 8 liter capacity was charged with 315 grams of the material so treated , under a nitrogen blanket , and the autoclave was then sealed and evacuated to less than 10 millimeters of mercury absolute pressure , while being heated to a temperature of 115 ° centigrade . the vacuum in the autoclave was relieved by the addition of a further quantity of propylene oxide ( 1225 grams ), over a period of 3 hours . propylene oxide was allowed to react out for 2 hours ( maximum pressure 7 . 05 atmospheres ), and thereafter , the autoclave was vented and was pressurized with nitrogen to 3 . 3 atmospheres . ethylene oxide ( 1260 grams ) was then fed in , over 5 . 5 hours , and permitted to react until a constant pressure was achieved . the mixture was cooled to 80 ° centigrade and discharged under a nitrogen blanket . thereafter , a two - liter three - necked round - bottom flask was equipped with a mechanical stirrer , a thermometer , and a water - return trap and condenser , and into such equipment there were charged 716 grams of polyol material made as described above , along with 100 grams of distilled water . the mixture was heated to a reflux temperature for about two hours , during which time there was obtained as distillate an azeotrope of methylisobutyl ketone and water . an 81 percent yield of methyl isobutyl ketone ( 60 . 5 grams ) was isolated , dried over magnesium sulfate , and compared with a known sample of methylisobutyl ketone by infra - red spectral analysis . residual catalyst was neutralized by adding 0 . 24 milliliters of phosphoric acid , and then the reaction mixture was subjected to vacuum , to remove water . analysis by titration , before and after treatment with acetic anhydride , revealed 0 . 52 percent total amine nitrogen , versus 0 . 47 percent calculated , and 0 . 38 percent tertiary nitrogen , versus 0 . 31 percent calculated . this shows that the ketimine survives the oxyalkylation step . there was thus prepared a polymeric material that was stable up to 320 ° centigrade as determined by tga in a nitrogen atmosphere , exhibited a sink time for a 0 . 1 weight percent solution of 60 seconds , exhibited as a solution of 0 . 1 weight percent a surface tension of 32 . 8 dynes per centimeter , and a cloud point in a one weight percent aqueous solution of 83 ° centigrade . the ph of the one percent solution was 10 . a three - liter , four - necked flask was charged with 585 parts ( 4 moles ) of triethylene tetramine and 1000 parts ( 10 moles ) of methyl isobutyl ketone . the flask was equipped with a mechanical stirrer , a thermometer and thermometer well , a dean - stark trap , and means for providing a slow nitrogen sweep . the reaction mixture , a colorless and homogeneous solution , was heated to reflux temperature . azeotropic water removal started when the reactor reached 105 ° centigrade . after 10 . 5 hours , 141 parts of water had been collected ( versus 144 parts theoretical ). further water formation had become imperceptibly slow , the reactor being at 155 ° centigrade and the refluxing vapor at 125 ° centigrade . the reaction was stopped by lowering the reactor temperature to 120 ° centigrade . the reaction mixture was vacuum - distilled for one hour at 5 millimeters of mercury absolute pressure , thereby removing 212 parts of unreacted methyl isobutyl ketone . the product was a light - yellow mobile liquid , amounting by weight to a 96 . 4 percent yield of the diketimine resulting from the reaction of triethylene tetramine and methyl isobutyl ketone . to a stirred autoclave of approximately 3 . 8 liters capacity there were charged 617 parts ( approximately 2 moles ) of the diketimine mentioned above . at 60 ° centigrade under 3 . 3 atmospheres pressure , 211 parts ( approximately 4 . 8 moles ) of ethylene oxide were added continuously over 100 minutes . the temperature was raised to 80 ° centigrade for 2 hours . the reaction mixture was cooled to 60 ° centigrade and discharged under nitrogen , giving 799 parts of product . a small sample was vacuum - distilled at 60 ° centigrade for one hour at 1 millimeter of mercury absolute pressure to remove volatiles and then subjected to elemental analysis . calculated for c 22 h 44 n 4 o 2 : 66 . 62 % c , 11 . 18 % h , 14 . 13 % n further evidence of the structure was obtained by heating a small sample of the product with water for one hour to hydrolyze the product and regenerate methyl isobutyl ketone . in this test , 87 % of the calculated quantity of methyl isobutyl ketone was isolated . analysis by titration before and after treatment with acetic anhydride revealed a total amine content of 20 . 6 % and a tertiary - amine content of 10 . 9 %, which agrees with the theoretical values for c 22 h 44 n 4 o 2 when hydrolyzed to the extent indicated above . a higher ethoxylate was prepared . to a one - liter , three - necked flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer , a thermometer and thermometer well , and a vacuum distillation take - off assembly , there were charged 607 parts of the diketimine diethanolamine , which was then heated and vacuum - distilled to remove volatiles ( 100 ° centigrade , 15 minutes , 1 to 3 millimeters of mercury ). the vacuum was relieved with nitrogen , 14 . 5 parts of sodium methoxide powder were quickly added , and the vacuum was immediately reestablished . in 45 minutes of additional vacuum distillation under the same conditions , 12 parts of distillate were collected . the vacuum was again relieved with nitrogen , and 585 parts of the catalyzed intermediate were transferred to an autoclave of approximately 3 . 8 liters capacity . to the autoclave there were also charged 1131 parts by weight of ethylene oxide over a period of three hours with the autoclave contents at 125 ° centrigrade . a sample , 334 parts , was removed and treated with 70 milliliters of water at reflux for one hour , and 53 parts of methyl isobutyl ketone were isolated ( theory predicts 57 . 4 parts , based upon theoretical further addition of about 17 . 4 oxyethylene units ). titration , before and after treatment with acetic anhydride , indicated 5 . 26 % total titratable amine ( theory , 5 . 8 %) and 2 . 82 % tertiary amine ( theory , 2 . 9 %). this proves that the ketimine survives the oxyethylation step . to a two - liter round - bottom flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer , thermometer , dean - stark trap , and condenser , there were charged 387 grams of hexamethylene diamine , 193 . 5 grams of reagent - grade acetone , and 380 grams of reagent - grade toluene . the solution was heated to a reflux temperature , which slowly increased from 87 ° centigrade to 127 ° centrigrade over a period of 5 . 5 hours . during this interval , 62 grams of water - acetone azeotrope were collected ( theoretical , 60 grams ). the reaction mixture was subjected to vacuum distillation ( 40 ° centigrade , 1 . 5 millimeters of mercury absolute pressure ) to remove the toluene . the vacuum distillation was continued , with the collection of a first fraction weighing 316 grams at temperatures between 79 ° and 100 ° centigrade and absolute pressures of 1 . 5 to 2 . 0 millimeters of mercury , and with a second fraction weighing 150 grams being collected at temperatures between 100 ° centigrade and 115 ° centigrade . there remained a pot residue weighing 25 grams . for further processing , there was prepared a mixture of all of the first fraction mentioned above and 28 grams of the second fraction . a quantity ( 340 grams ) of this mixture was charged to an autoclave of 3 . 8 - liter capacity , which was then purged with nitrogen and pressurized with nitrogen to 3 . 3 atmospheres . an initial charge of 324 grams of ethylene oxide was then begun , and it was observed that an exothermic reaction was taking place . the temperature of the reaction mixture was maintained at 100 ° centigrade by continuing the addition of ethylene oxide . the reaction mixture was permitted to come to a constant pressure , and thereafter the reaction mixture was stripped of its volatile content at a maximum absolute pressure obtained of 10 millimeters of mercury , the quantity of volatiles being trapped in this way amounting to 9 . 9 grams . potassium hydroxide ( 1 . 0 gram ) was then added , and the reaction mixture was stripped by being subjected for one hour at a temperature of 130 ° centigrade to an absolute pressure of less than 10 millimeters of mercury . thereafter , the vacuum was released with nitrogen , and the autoclave was pressurized to 3 . 3 atmospheres with nitrogen , and a second charge of ethylene oxide , amounting to 470 grams , was added to the reaction mixture in the autoclave over a period of 2 hours at a temperature of 130 ° centigrade . the reaction mixture was permitted to come to a constant pressure , and thereafter , the autoclave was vented , and there was withdrawn from it a viscous , tan - colored liquid . a portion of the viscous , tan - colored liquid was then heated with an excess of water to reflux temperature , then subjected to vacuum distillation to recover the free amine . analysis by titration , before and after treatment with acetic anhydride , revealed 6 . 2 percent total titratable nitrogen ( 5 . 8 percent , calculated ) and 4 . 5 percent of tertiary nitrogen ( 2 . 9 percent , calculated ). as before , this indicates that the ketimine survives the oxyalkylation step . to a one - liter round - bottom flask equipped with a short - path distillation take - off , a mechanical stirrer , and a thermometer , there were charged 337 grams of the above - mentioned viscous tan - colored liquid , and 0 . 1 gram of sodium methoxide powder . this mixture was subjected to vacuum for one - half hour while the temperature thereof was raised to 120 ° centigrade . the vacuum was intermittently relieved with nitrogen , and small charges of dimethyl terephthalate ( 5 to 10 grams ) were added . vacuum was reestablished , and methanol was removed . when the mixture appeared to be very thick , the temperature of the reaction mixture was raised to 140 ° centigrade , and the addition of dimethyl terephthalate was continued . when a total of 103 . 5 grams of dimethyl terephthalate had been added , the reaction was stopped by the addition of 0 . 2 milliliters of phosphoric acid . there was thus obtained a polyester which was extremely viscous at room temperature but had a viscosity of 7400 centipoises at 100 ° centigrade . this material will be designated &# 34 ; agent x &# 34 ; hereinbelow . to a 100 - gram aqueous solution containing 10 weight percent of acetic acid , there were added 35 grams of agent x . this was divided into four parts . to one part , nothing further was added . to a second part , there were added 0 . 35 gram of accelerator en ( eponite 100 diepoxide ) and 0 . 17 grams of zinc fluoborate . to a third portion , there were added 1 . 75 grams of accelerator en and 0 . 87 gram of zinc fluoborate , and to the fourth portion there were added 3 . 5 grams of accelerator en and 1 . 75 grams of zinc fluoborate . the portions were formed into films and dried at 100 ° centigrade for one hour and then for 10 minutes at 150 ° centigrade . the films that were obtained with the untreated control and with the portion to which 0 . 35 gram of accelerator en was added were very tacky ; the portion to which 1 . 75 grams of accelerator en was added was slightly tacky , and the portion containing 3 . 5 grams of accelerator en was non - tacky and definitely cured . for testing upon nylon fiber , there was prepared a mixture corresponding in composition to the fourth portion mentioned above , i . e ., the above - mentioned polyester , dissolved in acetic acid , with appropriate quantities of accelerator en and zinc fluoborate added to it . this composition was applied to nylon fiber at a rate of 7 to 13 . 9 weight percent . for purposes of comparison , a similar portion of nylon fiber was treated at the same rate with a known commercial antistatic agent . resistivity tests were conducted , not only on the nylon as initially treated but also upon the nylon after repeated washing in a &# 34 ; terg - o - meter &# 34 ; machine ( 20 minutes , 100 revolutions per minute , 60 ° centigrade ). the results of this testing are presented below in table no . i . in the results presented below , the &# 34 ; log r &# 34 ; represents the logarithm to the base 10 of the resistance in ohms per square ; a high value of &# 34 ; log r &# 34 ; indicates that the fiber is relatively hydrophobic and is consequently likely to develop or hold a static - electricity charge . table i______________________________________material no . washings log r______________________________________untreated control 1 14 . 5 &# 34 ; 5 14 . 6 &# 34 ; 7 14 . 6 &# 34 ; 10 14 . 4nylon treated with 1 10 . 7known commercialantistatic agent 2 10 . 7 &# 34 ; 3 11 . 9 &# 34 ; 5 11 . 5 &# 34 ; 7 12 . 9 &# 34 ; 10 13 . 9nylon treated with 1 11 . 313 . 9 weight per - cent of agent x 2 11 . 5 &# 34 ; 3 11 . 3 &# 34 ; 5 11 . 7 &# 34 ; 7 11 . 3 &# 34 ; 10 12 . 1nylon treated with 1 11 . 710 . 4 weight per - cent of agent x 2 11 . 7 &# 34 ; 3 11 . 6 &# 34 ; 5 12 . 0 &# 34 ; 7 11 . 9 &# 34 ; 10 12 . 2nylon treated with 1 12 . 47 . 0 weight per - cent of agent x 2 12 . 5 &# 34 ; 3 12 . 3 &# 34 ; 5 12 . 5 &# 34 ; 7 12 . 5 &# 34 ; 10 12 . 6______________________________________ the foregoing data show that agent x is an effective antistatic agent , reducing the resistivity to about one percent or less of the value for an untreated control . moreover , in comparison with the known commercial antistatic agent , agent x was initially slightly less effective , but it was remarkably superior in regard to retaining its effect through repeated washings . to a two - liter three - necked round - bottom flask equipped with thermometer , mechanical stirrer , and dean - stark trap , there were charged 428 grams of diethylene triamine and 1200 grams of methyl isobutyl ketone . the mixture was heated to reflux under a slow nitrogen sweep . refluxing began at 110 ° centigrade and was continued for seven hours , finishing at the boiling point of methyl isobutyl ketone . azeotropic removal of water accounts for 94 percent of the water theoretically present . excess methyl isobutyl ketone was removed under reduced pressure . the intermediate product thus remaining was employed in the next step without further purification . an autoclave of 3 . 8 liters capacity was charged with 534 grams of the above - mentioned intermediate product . the charge was swept with nitrogen ; then the autoclave was sealed , pressurized with nitrogen to 3 . 3 atmospheres , and heated to 70 ° centigrade . then , over a period of 2 hours , ethylene oxide ( 150 grams ) was added . ( this was a 62 - gram excess of ethylene oxide , which was lost when the autoclave was later vented .) the autoclave was vented to atmospheric pressure , and 3 grams of 95 percent flake potassium hydroxide were added . the autoclave was resealed and evacuated to an absolute pressure of 10 millimeters of mercury or lower . the reaction mixture was stripped at 125 ° centigrade for one hour . nitrogen was admitted to the autoclave to relieve the vacuum and create a pressure of 3 . 3 atmospheres . then over four hours , 1451 grams of ethylene oxide were added . the contents of the autoclave were cooled to 80 ° centigrade and discharged . to a two - liter , three - necked round - bottom flask equipped with mechanical stirrer , thermometer and water - return trap there were charged 894 grams of the above - mentioned autoclave contents and 100 milliliters of water . after one hour of refluxing , removal of methyl isobutyl ketone ceased . there were isolated 150 grams of methyl isobutyl ketone , an 83 percent yield . the mixture remaining was vacuum - stripped ( 100 ° centigrade , 1 hour , absolute pressure 10 millimeters of mercury maximum ). to the mixture there was then added a six weight percent portion of finely divided activated silicate material to adsorb the basic catalyst present . filtration and vacuum stripping completed the preparation . a sample of the material so produced was titrated , before and after treatment with acetic anhydride , to determine total and tertiary amine nitrogen . the titrations showed 5 . 8 percent total nitrogen ( 5 . 3 percent , calculated ) and 2 . 4 percent tertiary nitrogen ( 3 . 6 percent , calculated ). these results show that the ketimine survived the oxyalkylation step . the material so produced is an example of a modifying polymer according to the invention . it may be used in various ways , such as by adding 3 weight percent of it to a melt of a polyester resulting from the reaction of ethylene glycol and dimethyl terephthalate . one mole of methyl isobutyl ketone is reacted with one mole of a mixture of 2 , 4 - and 2 , 6 - diaminotoluenes , and the resulting ketimine is reacted with 30 moles of ethylene oxide . the resulting material is added , to the extent of 5 weight percent , to a melt of nylon 6 -- 6 ( polyhexamethylene adipamide ). the melt is spun into fibers , which are then heated to 100 ° centigrade in a water - washing step , in which a hydrolysis occurs , regenerating the amine groups and thus causing the modifying polymer to react with the nylon 6 -- 6 . one mole of diethylene triamine is reacted first with 2 moles of 2 - ethylhexaldehyde , then with 10 moles of propylene oxide , then with 30 moles of ethylene oxide , then with 10 moles of propylene oxide . the resulting product is then hydrolyzed to restore its free amino groups , yielding a material which is used in making a modified nylon 6 -- 6 by being substituted for approximately 10 percent of the hexamethylene diamine ordinarily used . an amine - terminated polymer of relatively low molecular weight is made by reacting a quantity of hexamethylene diamine with a relatively small proportion of adipic acid . such polymer is reacted with diethylketone to block some of its amino groups , and then with ethylene oxide to obtain a material of desired viscosity . the material is then hydrolyzed to restore its free amino groups and added , at 7 weight percent , to a melt of nylon 6 ( polyepsiloncaprolactam ). one mole of ethylene diamine is reacted with one mole of diethyl ketone , and the resulting ketimine is reacted with 20 moles of ethylene oxide to form a diol , which is then reacted with dimethyl terephthalate to form a polyester of relatively low molecular weight . the polyester is dissolved in a suitable solvent such as toluene and sprayed upon freshly formed polyester fiber , which is then heated in an oven with a moist atmosphere to cause hydrolysis and amide formation . one mole of 2 , 4 - diaminotoluene is reacted with one mole of methyl isobutyl ketone , and then with 15 moles of ethylene oxide to form a diol . the diol is substituted for 5 weight percent of a hydroxyl - terminated prepolymer ordinarily used with toluene diisocyanate to make a polyurethane resin in accordance with a typical foaming formulation which , during foaming , produces water and heat . a modified , more hydrophilic polyurethane foam is obtained . one mole of tetraethylene pentamine is reacted with two moles of isobutyraldehyde to form a blocked amine . the blocked amine is reacted with 90 moles of ethylene oxide , and then hydrolyzed and dissolved in mixed xylenes and applied to fibers of nylon 6 -- 6 after they have been spun and woven . the treated cloth is then heated to about 150 ° centigrade to cause reaction of the nylon and the modifying polymer so applied . one mole of 2 , 4 - diaminotoluene is reacted with one mole of methyl isobutyl ketone , and then with 15 moles of ethylene oxide to form a diol . the diol is added to a melt of a polyurea resulting from the reaction of hexamethylene diisocyanate with a 90 : 10 mixture of hexamethylene diamine and isophorone diamine , the diol being added to the extent of 5 weight percent of the melt . subsequent hydrolysis yields a hydrophilized polyurea composition . | 3 |
the prosthetic devices which are preferred for use with the catheters and methods described herein include stents , and particularly the palmaz - schatz stent which is available from johnson & amp ; johnson . stents for use herein are disclosed in palmaz , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 733 , 665 , and cragg , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 405 , 377 , both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference . briefly , these stents include a tubular - shaped member having first and second ends and a wall surface disposed between the first and second ends , the wall surface being formed by a plurality of intersecting elongate members , at least some of the elongate members intersecting with one another intermediate the first and second ends of the tubular - shaped member ; the tubular - shaped member having a first diameter which permits intraluminal delivery of the tubular - shaped member into a body passageway having a lumen ; and the tubular - shaped member having a second , expanded diameter , upon the application from the interior of the tubular - shaped member of a radially , outwardly extending force , which second diameter is variable and dependent upon the amount of force applied to the tubular - shaped member , whereby the tubular - shaped member may be expanded to expand the lumen of the body passageway . methods for deploying prosthetic devices , including stents , are disclosed in lau et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 158 , 548 , and in cox , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 257 , 974 , both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference . the prosthetic devices may be composed of a shape retaining or shape memory material such as nitinol so that the devices are self - expanding and thermally activatable within a vessel upon release from a retaining means which holds the prosthetic device in a compressed state at the first diameter . these devices will automatically expand to a second , expanded diameter upon being released . the construction and deployment of a self - expanding stent is disclosed in morgentaler , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 224 , 953 , which is expressly incorporated herein by reference . the plurality of elongate members may be a plurality of wires , and the wires may be fixedly secured to one another where the wires intersect with one another . the plurality of elongate members may be a plurality of thin bars which are fixedly secured to one another where the bars intersect with one another . the tubular - shaped member may have a biologically inert coating on its wall surface , and the coating may include a means for anchoring the tubular - shaped member to the body passageway . the catheters for use herein include those described in jang , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 364 , 347 , and willard et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 219 , 335 , both of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference . the catheters may comprise an elongate catheter body having proximal and distal ends and at least two regions , a proximal region and a distal region . the proximal region of the catheter body may have at least two lumens extending at least partly therethrough . the distal region of the catheter body will have a single common lumen in communication with both of the lumens of the proximal region . additionally , an inflatable angioplasty balloon will be disposed about the common lumen of the distal region of the catheter , and a prosthetic device , vascular graft , or stent will be releasably disposed about the angioplasty balloon , or associated therewith . in use , a catheter will be advanced over a guidewire into a patient &# 39 ; s vascular system . first the guidewire will be advanced alone into the patient until the guidewire lies within a particular region of interest . this will typically be a region in which a blood vessel has been narrowed by a stenotic lesion . the distal end of the guidewire will be advanced into the region of stenosis with the proximal end of the guidewire remaining outside of the patient &# 39 ; s body . the proximal end of the guidewire may then be inserted into the distal end of the catheter body and fed through the common lumen of the distal region . when the proximal end of the guidewire reaches a transition region between the distal and proximal region of the catheter body , the guidewire will be directed into a particular guidewire lumen of the proximal region . once the guidewire has been directed into the guidewire lumen , the catheter will be advanced into the patient &# 39 ; s vascular system until the prosthetic device associated with the distal region lies within the region of interest . during advancement of the catheter into the blood vessel , the proximal end of the guidewire will exit the catheter body through a guidewire port located some distance proximal of the distal region ( in either an “ over - the - wire ” configuration , or a “ monorail ” configuration ). the proximal end of the guidwire may then be grasped and pulled back sufficiently to withdraw the distal end of the guidewire into the guidewire lumen and clear of the common lumen of the distal region . an ultrasonic imaging transducer or other work element may then be advanced through another lumen of the proximal region and into the common lumen for imaging the region of interest . prior to inflation of the balloon , the imaging transducer is activated to determine the position of the proximal edge of the prosthesis , the distal edge of the prosthesis , or both edges of the prosthesis . this step is performed for the purpose of determining whether the prosthetic device overlaps with a branching segment of the blood vessel so that the balloon and its associated prosthetic device can be repositioned away from the branching segment before inflation of the balloon and deployment of the prosthetic device . the exact positioning of the prosthetic device is also important because it is desirable to have the prosthetic device extend longitudinally at both its proximal and distal ends to healthy segments of the blood vessel . it is difficult to determine exactly where the diseased segment of the blood vessel begins and ends without ultrasound imaging from within the body passageway . thus , a catheter according to the present invention will allow for the convenient delivery of a balloon angioplasty device and an associated prosthetic device in combination with another interventional or imaging device to a region of interest within the patient . because the catheter uses a single common distal lumen , it may be made with a reduced profile at its distal end . this will allow delivery of the balloon angioplasty , associated stent , imaging , or other interventionl devices even within narrow , tortuous regions of the patient &# 39 ; s vascular system . furthermore , the various work elements are delivered through a common lumen lying within the balloon , thus minimizing the need to reposition the catheter body between treatment steps . [ 0048 ] fig1 depicts a preferred embodiment of a catheter according to the present invention . the catheter has a catheter body 12 , which comprises proximal region 15 , distal region 18 , and transition region 20 . fig2 a is a cross - sectional view of the proximal region of catheter body 12 through section line a - a . in this embodiment , proximal region 15 has three lumens , work element lumen 23 , guidewire lumen 25 , and proximal balloon inflation lumen 27 . other embodiments could have still more lumens to accommodate additional imaging or interventional devices , as described generally in co - pending u . s . application ser . no . 07 / 975 , 769 , filed nov . 13 , 1992 , the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . guidewire port 30 and balloon inflation port 32 ( fig1 ) place guidewire lumen 25 and proximal balloon inflation lumen 27 in communication with the exterior of the catheter near its proximal end . in the embodiment depicted in fig1 drive shaft 45 is reciprocatably disposed within work element lumen 23 . ( for clarity , only a distal portion of drive shaft 45 is illustrated .) at its proximal end , work element lumen 23 is in communication with expandable member 39 , which is connected in turn to proximal housing 35 . the proximal housing is adapted to connect a proximal end of drive shaft 45 to a drive motor ( not shown ) for rotating the drive shaft . expandable member 39 allows the drive shaft to be conveniently advanced and retracted within work element lumen 23 by moving proximal housing 35 with respect to the catheter body to lengthen or shorten expandable member 39 as desired . proximal housing 35 is provided further with flush port 50 , to allow for the flushing of trapped air bubbles from within work element lumen 23 . the construction and use of proximal housing 35 in conjunction with a multi - lumen catheter is more fully described in co - pending u . s . application ser . no . 07 / 976 , 228 , filed nov . 13 , 1992 , the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference . a cross - section through distal region 18 of catheter body 12 through section line b - b is depicted in fig2 b . as can be seen therein , distal region 18 has two concentric lumens . in the distal region , common lumen 60 is disposed within distal balloon inflation lumen 62 . referring again to fig1 balloon 65 is disposed about common lumen 60 . the balloon is in communication with distal balloon inflation lumen 62 to provide for inflation of the balloon . radiopaque band 68 is wrapped around the common lumen at a position within the balloon to allow for fluoroscopic imaging to assist in placing the balloon within the desired region of the blood vessel . a prosthetic device 90 , such as a stent , is disposed about the balloon 65 , and is in close radial proximity thereto . where the prosthetic device is a wire mesh stent composed of metallic material , the distal region of the catheter may be equipped with the stent by crimping the stent onto the distal region of the catheter body , such as over the balloon . the length of common lumen 60 will generally be between 5 and 30 centimeters , with balloon 65 typically having a length in the range of 1 . 5 - 4 . 5 centimeters . the balloon crossing profile , the minimum width crossable by the balloon when deflated , will typically be in the range of 0 . 020 - 0 . 045 inches . the outside diameter of the balloon when inflated within a blood vessel will commonly be between 1 . 5 and 4 . 5 millimeters . the foregoing ranges are set forth solely for the purpose of illustrating typical device dimensions . the actual dimensions of a device constructed according to the principles of the present invention may obviously vary outside of the listed ranges without departing from those basic principles . [ 0054 ] fig3 depicts transition region 20 between the three parallel lumens of proximal region 15 and the two concentric lumens of distal region 18 . transition region 20 provides for communication between common lumen 60 of the distal region and both guidewire lumen 25 and work element lumen 23 of the proximal region . also , distal balloon inflation lumen 62 is placed in communication with proximal balloon inflation lumen 27 through balloon inflation lumen connection 70 , which is formed by cutting through the exterior of proximal region 15 to expose a portion of the proximal balloon inflation lumen to close it off from common lumen 60 . thus , a continuous inflation path exists from balloon inflation port 32 , through proximal and distal balloon inflation lumens 27 and 62 , and into balloon 65 . injection of fluid into balloon inflation port 32 will thereby result in inflation of balloon 65 . it is contemplated that the catheter depicted in fig1 will be used as follows . first , a conventional guidewire will be advanced into the patient &# 39 ; s vascular system until it lies within the region of stenosis . next , the guidewire will be inserted into distal tip 77 ( fig1 ) of the catheter and through common lumen 60 of distal region 18 . the catheter will then be advanced into the patient &# 39 ; s body over the guidewire until the guidewire reaches transition region 20 . at this point , the guidewire will be directed into guidewire lumen 25 and through the proximal region until it exists the catheter through guidewire port 30 as the catheter is advanced further into the patient &# 39 ; s body . eventually , the catheter will be advanced to a point where common lumen 60 , balloon 65 , and prosthetic device 90 lie within the region of interest . the operator of the system can then grasp the guidewire at the end protruding from the guidewire port . the operator will pull the guidewire back a short distance into guidewire lumen 25 of proximal region 15 in order to clear common lumen 60 of distal region 18 . a work element 75 , which will typically be an ultrasonic imaging transducer , fixed to the distal end of drive shaft 45 , may then be advanced through work element lumen 23 of the proximal region and into the common lumen of the distal region . imaging of the region of interest may then take place to ensure that the prosthesis is positioned away from any branching segments of the blood vessel and is anchored on both sides in contact with healthy tissue . following imaging , the prosthesis is expanded in the region of interest by inflating the balloon to a desired diameter . alternatively , where a self - expanding prosthesis is employed , no balloon inflation is needed to expand the prosthesis . after the prosthesis has been expanded , the region of interest may be imaged again to verify that optimal positioning of the prosthesis has occurred and to determine the diameter of expansion achieved by the prosthesis . the prosthesis may then be further expanded if desired , or a second prosthesis having a larger expanded diameter may be installed within the first prosthesis . when proper diameter and positioning of the prosthesis has been achieved , the balloon , if used , is deflated , and the catheter is removed from the region of interest . [ 0058 ] fig1 depicts a catheter in which the common lumen is narrowed at a restriction 80 just proximal to the balloon . distal of the restriction , the common lumen will be just large enough to allow passage of the guidewire . this allows the balloon crossing profile , the width of the catheter in the region of the balloon when not inflated , to be as small as possible . this is advantageous in that it allows the balloon to be advanced into narrow and tortuous regions of the blood vessel . placing the restriction proximal to the balloon is disadvantageous , however , in that it may prevent entry of the work element into the common lumen within the balloon . thus , some repositioning of the catheter body within the blood vessel , i . e ., advancement of the catheter body further into the blood vessel , may be necessary to allow for imaging of the treated region . [ 0059 ] fig4 depicts the distal region of an alternative preferred embodiment in which the common lumen is not restricted in the region proximal to the balloon and the prosthesis . in this embodiment , the work element may travel through the common lumen into , through , and beyond the balloon . this is advantageous in that it allows for imaging of the blood vessel throughout the region of the prosthesis without repositioning the catheter body . as discussed above , it is desirable at present to have the guidewire in place within the common lumen during balloon inflation in case rapid withdrawal of the catheter over the guidewire becomes necessary . however , future developments in interventional devices and techniques may make this unnecessary . if this becomes the case , imaging will be possible from within the balloon even while the balloon is being inflated . of course , an increased diameter common lumen within the balloon requires a slightly larger balloon crossing profile . some ability to enter narrow regions must thereby be sacrificed in order to achieve a more flexible imaging capability . the embodiment of fig4 depicts the common lumen having restriction 80 at some distance distal to balloon 65 . this restriction will prevent the accidental exit of the work element from the distal tip 77 of the catheter body while still allowing passage of the guidewire . this prevents injury to the blood vessel wall , which might result from accidental contact by the rotating work element . in order to further safeguard against trauma to the blood vessel , distal region 60 and distal tip 77 are preferably constructed of a material which is highly atraumatic ; a material which is extremely soft and flexible so that the catheter can be repositioned in the vessel without using a guidewire and without harm to the vessel . a catheter according to the present invention could also be made to carry an interventional work element such as a rotating cutter or a laser ablation device . in such a case , it would be necessary for the work element to advance beyond the distal tip 77 of the catheter body . in such a catheter system , restriction 80 would be omitted altogether to allow for unhindered passage of the work element . [ 0063 ] fig5 depicts the proximal and distal regions of an alternative preferred embodiment which does not require an angioplasty balloon for expansion of the prosthetic device . this embodiment shares certain components with the catheter depicted in fig1 and those common aspects share the same numerals with this earlier - described catheter . the prosthetic device 90 is a self - expanding stent which is disposed on the distal region of the catheter body 12 . the stent is held in close radial proximity to the catheter body by a sheath 91 which covers the stent at the distal region of the catheter . in this embodiment , the stent 90 is disposed between the catheter body 12 and the sheath 91 . the sheath 91 extends to the proximal region of the catheter body to provide a proximal region 92 of the sheath which allows the sheath to be withdrawn proximally to release the prosthetic device at the region of interest . [ 0064 ] fig6 depicts the distal region of another alternative embodiment which does include an angioplasty balloon . this embodiment shares certain components with the catheter depicted in fig4 and those common aspects share the same numerals with this earlier - described catheter . this catheter includes inflation port 101 , guidewire lumen wall 102 , and guidewire / ultrasound lumen 103 within catheter body 100 . the catheter is provided with a short atraumatic region 104 extending beyond the angioplasty balloon 65 . fig6 a is a cross - sectional view of the proximal region of catheter body 100 through section line a - a . the proximal region has two lumens : one for inflation and one for a guidewire or ultrasound imaging device . a prosthetic device ( not shown ) is disposed about the angioplasty balloon 65 as shown in fig1 and 4 ,. in use , the catheter requires that the positioning guidewire be completely withdrawn from the lumen before an imaging device can be inserted therein for the purpose of imaging the prosthesis within a body passageway to determine whether it is positioned longitudinally within an optimal region . [ 0065 ] fig7 depicts the distal region of another alternative embodiment which also includes an angioplasty balloon . fig7 a is a cross - sectional view of the proximal region of the catheter body 100 through section line a - a . the proximal region includes separate lumens 105 and 106 for receiving a guidewire and an ultrasound imaging core . the distal region includes a common lumen 107 , the proximal end of which includes a transition region which is in communication with both lumens 105 and 106 . the common lumen 107 can alternately receive a guidewire or an imaging core . a prosthetic device ( not shown ) is disposed about the angioplasty balloon as shown in fig1 and 4 . in use , the catheter is positioned over a guidewire extending through the guidewire lumen and the common lumen . the guidewire is then withdrawn proximal beyond the transition region , and is housed in the guidewire lumen , leaving the common lumen open to receive an imaging core . the imaging core is then advanced into the common lumen and used to position the prosthesis within the body passageway . [ 0066 ] fig8 depicts the distal region of another alternative embodiment which shares many components with fig7 and these common aspects share the same numerals . fig8 a is a cross - sectional view of the proximal region of the catheter body 100 through section line a - a . inflation lumen 101 is in communication with balloon 65 through pore 110 . wire lumen 105 and ultrasound lumen 106 merge into common lumen 107 at the distal region of the catheter . the catheter of fig8 has a short common lumen 107 . this catheter allows for exchange of the imaging core for the guidewire with only minimal withdrawal of the guidewire . a prosthetic device ( not shown ) is disposed about the angioplasty balloon as shown in fig1 and 4 . [ 0067 ] fig9 depicts the distal region of another alternative embodiment which shares many components with fig8 and these common aspects share the same numerals . fig9 a is a cross - sectional view of the proximal region of the catheter body 100 through section line a - a , while fig9 b is a cross - sectional view of the distal region of the catheter beyond the balloon 65 through section line b - b . in this embodiment , the guidewire lumen 105 and the ultrasound lumen 106 extend as separate lumens through the entire distal end of the catheter . there is no transition region and no common lumen . the guidewire lumen may extend proximally to the proximal end of the catheter . alternatively , the guidewire lumen may terminate in the distal region of the catheter or just proximal thereto so as to include a monorail design as disclosed by yock , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 350 , 395 , which is expressly incorporated herein by reference . in use , this catheter allows positioning over a guidewire , followed by imaging of a prosthesis ( not shown ) without repositioning or withdrawing the guidewire . accordingly , the guidewire can be left in place in the guidewire lumen while imaging takes place in the ultrasound lumen . image artifacts may be observed when such use is undertaken , but can be eliminated by withdrawing the guidewire a small distance during imaging . the ultrasonic transducer device for use with catheters herein include removable imaging cores as disclosed in crowley et al ., u . s . pat . no . 4 , 951 , 677 , griffith et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 115 , 814 , and sieben , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 353 , 798 , all of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference . the imaging devices also may include non - removable imaging cores as disclosed by sieben et al ., u . s . pat . no . 5 , 243 , 988 , incorporated herein by reference , which include an intravascular imaging device having an ultrasonic sensor located at a distal end of an intravascular wire sized and adapted to be located within the guidewire lumen of conventional catheters used for intravascular procedures . as such , the imaging cores have several significant advantages . for example , the imaging core can utilize the path provided by the guidewire lumen of a conventional catheter to image at the arterial location to which the catheter is advanced . moreover , in several embodiments , the imaging core may be provided with conventional guidewire features , e . g ., a floppy spring tip , to enable the imaging guidewire to be used as both a conventional guidewire for positioning an intravascular catheter as well as imaging features , e . g ., a sensor , to enable imaging the intravascular regions accessible thereby . in order to be utilized in the above - described manner , an embodiment of the imaging core 120 is provided , as shown in fig1 . the imaging core 120 includes a tip section 122 , a sensor section 124 , a drive cable section 126 , and a proximal connector section 128 . as mentioned above , an essential requirement for the imaging core is that it possess an outer profile of a size that allows it to fit through a guidewire lumen in conventional interventional catheters . in catheters that use 0 . 018 inch guidewires , the guidewire lumen has a diameter typically in a range between 0 . 020 and 0 . 022 inches . the diameter of the proximal section 128 of the imaging core 120 may be as large as 0 . 020 inches , but the rest of the imaging core should be not more than approximately 0 . 018 inches . for use with catheters designed with guidewire lumens of other sizes , relative adjustments in dimension apply . the catheters and methods disclosed herein are particularly well adapted for treatment of vascular stenosis positioned in close proximity to a branching segment of a blood vessel as depicted in fig1 . in use , the catheter is positioned over a guidewire as shown in fig1 in the region of a body passageway having a stenosis . with the aid of ultrasound imaging through lumen 60 which extends through the prosthetic device , the prosthesis is positioned to cover the stenosis but to avoid the branching segment of the vessel . the prosthetic device is then expanded in the region of interest as shown in fig1 . the stent is left in place while the catheter is removed from the region of interest . the stent holds the lumen at an expanded diameter . although the foregoing invention has , for purposes of clarity of understanding , been described in some detail by way of illustration and example , it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practiced which will still fall within the scope of the appended claims . | 8 |
the present invention provides a stacked capacitor with a very high area per unit volume . capacitors utilizing a number of stacked thin layers of conductors , or fins , have previously been formed . however , reports indicate that very long and thin fins tend to deform , and the fins can bend appreciably , so as to touch one another . thus , up till now , fin thickness needed to be significantly more than required for adequate conductivity ; fin thickness needed to be sufficient to also provide for mechanical support during the process step when fins were defined and before they were otherwise supported by later inserted layers . the present invention provides support for fins , enabling each fin to be extremely thin . support is provided exploiting rough silicon to provide subminimum dimension columns . while , as noted in the background , rough silicon has previously been used to increase the surface area of a capacitor fin , in the present invention it is exploited both to increase surface area and to provide needed support for very thin fins . in brief , subminimum dimension trenches are etched through layers of alternately doped p - and p + polysilicon , and these trenches are lined with a thin layer of p + polysilicon . when p - doped layers are removed , p + polysilicon hollow columns are left in many locations supporting and electrically interconnecting all the p + fins remaining in the structure . because they are supported in many locations , the p + fins can be deposited significantly thinner than was previously possible without the risk of bending . in addition to providing support for the fins , the subminimum dimension columns also themselves participate in the area of the capacitor , so the support columns do not significantly reduce capacitance per unit volume . a practical fin thickness is presented in an article &# 34 ; fabrication of 64m dram with i - line phase shift lithography ,&# 34 ; by k . nakagawa et al ., published in proceedings of the iedm , 1990 , p . 817 . the sem cross section in fig8 therein shows fins approximately 0 . 1 μm thick and protruding a length of about 0 . 5 μm from their central support post . if mechanical support could be found so as to avoid fin bending , a fin further thinned by a factor of 5 or 10 would provide equivalent capacitance , while significantly reducing stack height . or many more fins could be added with the same stack height significantly increasing capacitance . if the approximately 1 : 5 ratio of fin thickness to fin length illustrated in the nakagawa paper is about equal to the mechanical limit needed to avoid bending or breaking , then a fin 0 . 02 μm thick would require support every 0 . 1 μm . since , 0 . 1 μm is well below present practical lithographic resolution limits , a subminimum dimension support system is needed . the present applicant has found that the rough silicon used to enhance capacitor surface area in the &# 39 ; 503 patent can also be used to provide subminimum dimension supports for capacitor fins . the process for forming capacitors of the present invention is illustrated in fig1 - 9 . referring to fig1 there is shown a substrate 10 which may be of any desired material , but is preferably a semiconductor , which may be monocrystalline or polycrystalline . previous process steps may have been performed on substrate 10 to provide diffusions , transistors , interconnects , and insulators . for example , portions of dram cells including transistors , wordlines , and bitlines may be formed in substrate 10 as is well known in the art of stacked capacitors . substrate 10 can have insulating layer 11 deposited thereon , and a contact to node diffusion 34 of the dram cell can be provided through insulator 11 ( see fig8 ). a stack 12 of alternating thin layers 12a and 12b are deposited , such as alternately p + and p - doped polysilicon layers or alternately n + doped polysilicon and silicon nitride layers . preferably , the lowest layer is a heavily doped polysilicon layer to simplify contact with circuitry below . also preferably , heavily doped layers 12a have the same doping type as node diffusion 34 ( fig8 ). of course , an intermediate layer or contact stud can be used between node diffusion 34 and the lowest layer of stack 12 . for example , if a titanium nitride stud is used for contact through insulating layer 11 , then the node diffusion and fins can be of opposite doping type . a process such as described in the &# 39 ; 503 patent , incorporated herein by reference , is then followed to provide irregular surface grains 14 on topmost layer 12t . for example , as shown in fig1 an irregular surface is formed by depositing polysilicon hemispherical shaped grains having a diameter of about 800 angstrom units or having dimensions of about 20 to 1000 angstrom units . next , a rough silicon mask is formed around grains 14 by depositing masking layer 16 ( fig2 ) and then selectively etching back masking layer 16 to expose top portions of grains 14 ( fig3 ). remaining portions of masking layer 16 are left to provide mask 18 used during the next step . masking material 16 is formed of a material such as silicon dioxide that has different etch properties than grains 14 . then , as shown in fig4 exposed portions of grains 14 are selectively etched , leaving mask 18 substantially intact , to form subminimum dimension trenches 20 in grains 14 and in stack 12 , stopping on substrate 10 , insulating layer 11 , or within the lowest layer of stack 12 . in the next step , shown in fig5 mask 18 is stripped . then , heavily doped polysilicon layer 22 is deposited along all surfaces , partially filling trenches 20 . polysilicon layer 22 has the same doping as heavily doped layer 12a of stack 12 . the stacked capacitor defining mask is then printed , and stack 12 is rie etched leaving individual stacks 24 , as shown in fig6 . each stack 24 thereby formed has p + polysilicon layer 22 on top layer 12t and within trenches 20 , but edges of alternating thin layers 12a and 12b are exposed on sidewalls 26 of each stack 24 ( fig6 a ) since individual stacks are formed only after polysilicon layer 22 is deposited . as shown in fig7 and fig9 starting from exposed sidewalls 26 , fins are then formed in a selective etch that removes layers 12b leaving layers 12a to serve as fins of a storage node of the stacked capacitor . the etchant penetrates around trenches 20 ( indicated by the arrow in fig9 ) to remove all accessible portions of layers 12b . heavily doped layers 12a of stack 12 are now supported only by columns of commonly and heavily doped layer 22 lining trenches 20 . selective etchants that attack p - silicon but leave p + silicon are well known and include koh . selective etchants that attack silicon nitride but leave n + silicon include hot phosphoric acid . as shown in fig8 capacitors are completed by the conformal formation of capacitor dielectric layer 30 , such as silicon dioxide , silicon nitride , tantalum pentoxide , or combinations thereof for simplicity in fig8 capacitor dielectric layer 30 is shown as a single line and the distinction between p + layer 22 and the p + fins ( layers 12a ) is eliminated . capacitor dielectric layer 30 is formed by thermal or deposition means as is well known in the art . a layer of conductive material , such as doped polysilicon , is then deposited to form conductive plate 32 . plate 32 not only fills the spaces left by etched out layer 12b and remaining space within trenches 20 , it also connects between capacitor stacks 12 to form a common capacitor electrode for an array . conductive plate 34 is formed by deposition using well known techniques and is formed of a material such as doped polysilicon or a metal . while several embodiments of the invention , together with modifications thereof , have been described in detail herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings , it will be evident that various further modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention . for example , while polysilicon grains are preferred , other materials are capable of providing subminimum dimension structures . nothing in the above specification is intended to limit the invention more narrowly than the appended claims . the examples given are intended only to be illustrative rather than exclusive . | 8 |
fig1 a - 1c are cross section of fibers having three different types of a core / sheath structure according to the invention . as shown , fibers of a core / sheath structure consist basically of a core 1 that is surrounded by a sheath 2 ; the core 1 and the sheath 2 may be concentric ( fig1 a ) or eccentric ( fig1 b ); alternatively , the sheath 2 forming the sea or matrix may be interspersed with cores 1 forming islands ( fig1 c ). in fibers having these core / sheath structures , the sheath is preferably formed of a material which is capable of generating radicals upon exposure to ionizing radiation , whereas the core is preferably formed of a material that is less prone to the generation of radicals and / or the degradation of high - polymer upon exposure to an ionizing radiation . additionally , the core material has preferably a higher melting point than the sheath material because fibers of a core / sheath structure can be processed into a nonwoven fabric by thermal fusion . since the individual fibers are fused at their sheaths , the generation of particles such as fiber fragments is the least prone to occur . this is a very important characteristic for the treatments of water and air that are to be employed in precision electronics industry , nuclear power generation and other industrial sectors in which the present invention is to be employed . specifically , the sheath is preferably made of polyolefinic materials because it must be formed of materials that are suitable for radiation - initiated graft polymerization . suitable examples include polyolefins typified by polyethylene and polypropylene , halogenated polyolefins typified by polyvinyl chloride and polytetra - fluoroethylene ( ptfe ), copolymers of olefins and halogenated polyolefins typified by an ethylene - tetrafluoroethylene copolymer , and copolymers of olefins and other monomers such as an ethylene - vinyl alcohol or ethylene - vinyl acetate copolymer ( evoh or eva ). polyethylene is particularly advantageous for use as the sheath component of ion - exchange fibers . the core material may be selected from among materials that differ from the selected sheath material , and it is preferably such that the fiber strength can be maintained even after radiation - initiated graft polymerization on the core . while polyolefin core materials can be used , particularly suitable core materials are polyesters typified by polyethylene terephthalate and polybutylene terephthalate . exemplary combinations of core and sheath materials include polyethylene ( sheath )/ polypropylene ( core ) and polyethylene ( sheath )/ polyethylene terephthalate ( core ), with the latter combination , although not limited thereto , being particularly preferred since it assures high radiation resistance . fibers having a core / sheath structure have preferably a sheath to core weight ratio in the range from 0 . 1 to 10 . if the sheath to core weight ratio is less than 0 . 1 , the graft ratio of the sheath must be increased to a very high level in order to ensure an adequate amount of functional groups , but then the fiber strength is so much reduced that it is no longer possible to maintain the core / sheath structure of the fiber . if the sheath to core weight ratio exceeds 10 , the fiber is practically of a single structure in that it is essentially composed of the sheath and there is no merit in adopting the core / sheath structure . when the sheath of a fiber having a core / sheath structure is subjected to graft polymerization , the dimension of the sheath increases causing it to separate from the core ( see fig7 ). before grafting , there is no gap between the core and the sheath but after graft polymerization , a gap forms between the core and the sheath , causing creases to develop in the sheath . after the introduction of functional groups , the gap widens further and the creases will expand . fig8 - 11 are electron micrographs showing in cross section a plurality of composite fibers each consisting of a polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ) core and a polyethylene ( pe ) sheath before grafting ( fig8 ), after grafting ca . 116 % of glycidyl methacrylate ( fig9 ), followed by sulfonation ( fig1 ) or amination ( fig1 ). after grafting , the sheath has many nodes present , which is in sharp contrast with the smooth surface that was observed before grafting . with the presence of many undulations on its surface , the sheath has an increased surface area , which is not only preferred for the purpose of improving the rate of adsorptive separation but also instrumental to the enhanced effectiveness in physical trapping of fine particles . it should be added that the separation between the core and the sheath helps enhance the ability of the fibers , taken as a whole , to retain water . this property is advantageously utilized to prevent performance deterioration due to drying when the separation functional fibers of the invention , in particular , ion - exchange fibers prepared therefrom are assembled into an air filter that is used to remove deleterious gases such as acidic and alkaline gases . grafting to the sheath will somewhat deteriorate its physical strength but the overall strength of the fiber is maintained by the core . the fibers having a core / sheath structure may be long or short fibers . the invention is also applicable to woven or nonwoven fabrics which are fiber assemblies , as well as to articles prepared by processing such woven or nonwoven fabrics . the substrate , or fibers having a core / sheath structure , may be subjected to radiation - initiated graft polymerization in the following manner . in the first plate , various sources of radiation may be employed , such as α - rays , β - rays , γ - rays , electron beams , x - rays and ultraviolet rays , with γ - rays and electron beams being particularly suitable for the purposes of the invention . the preferred radiation dose is from 20 to 300 kgy . below 20 kgy , radicals will not be generated in a sufficient amount to initiate the intended reaction . above 300 kgy , the intensity of radiation deterioration increases and the cost of irradiation will also increase . a method of graft polymerization in which the substrate that has been given pre - exposure of a radiation is brought into contact with a polymerizable monomer is commonly referred to as &# 34 ; pre - irradiation graft polymerization &# 34 ;. compared to &# 34 ; simultaneous irradiation &# 34 ; in which the substrate is exposed to a radiation in the presence of a monomer , pre - irradiation graft polymerization produces a smaller amount of copolymer and , hence , is suitable for use in the manufacture of separation functional fibers of the type contemplated by the invention . a process in which an irradiated substrate is subjected to graft polymerization as it is immersed in a monomer solution is commonly referred to as &# 34 ; liquid - phase graft polymerization &# 34 ; and may suitably be performed at a reaction temperature of 20 °- 60 ° c . for a reaction time of 2 - 10 h . impregnation graft polymerization is a process in which an irradiated substrate is impregnated with a pre - determined amount of monomer and allowed to react either in vacuum or in an inert gas ; this process is suitably performed at a reaction temperature of 20 °- 60 ° c . for a reaction time of 0 . 2 - 8 h . after graft polymerization by this process , the substrate is in a dry state and this offers several advantage such as ease in handling the substrate and reduced emission of liquid wastes . vapor - phase graft polymerization which involves contact between an irradiated substrate and a monomer vapor is only applicable to monomers having comparatively high vapor pressures and uneven grafting is prone to occur ; on the other hand , it offers several advantages such as reduced emission of liquid wastes and the availability of a dry substrate as obtained by graft polymerization . when vapor - phase graft polymerization is to be performed , a reaction temperature of 20 °- 80 ° c . and a reaction time of 2 - 10 h are required . any one of these radiation - initiated graft polymerization processes is applicable in the present invention . polymerizable monomers may be ones having various functions in themselves or those which can be provided with certain functions by a secondary reaction after grafting . take , for example , the case of ion - exchange fibers : exemplary monomer having ion - exchange groups include acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , sodium styrenesulfonate , sodium methallylsulfonate and sodium allylsulfonate and these need only to be subjected to graft polymerization to produce ion - exchange fibers . examples of the monomers into which ion - exchange groups can be introduced by carrying out a further reaction after graft polymerization include acrylonitrile , acrolein , vinylpyridine , styrene , chloromethylstyrene and glycidyl methacrylate . to take styrene graft polymers as an example , sulfonic groups can be introduced into these polymers by means of sulfonating chemicals such as chlorosulfonic acid and sulfuric acid . while the foregoing description assumes that the process of the present invention for producing separation functional fibers is mainly applicable to ion - exchange fibers , it should be noted that the invention is also applicable to other products including heavy metal adsorbents having chelate groups , catalysts and affinity chromatographic carriers . the following examples are provided for the purpose of further illustrating the present invention but are in no way to be taken as limiting . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 50 g / m 2 ) formed of composite fibers ( av . dia . 20 μm ) consisting of a polypropylene core and a polyethylene sheath ( core - to - sheath weight ratio = 1 ) was irradiated with 200 kgy of γ - rays in a nitrogen atmosphere and dipped in an aqueous solution of 50 % acrylic acid . by 6 - h reaction at 40 ° c ., grafting was accomplished to 53 %. the thus treated fibers had an ion - exchange capacity of 4 . 8 meq / g . the fibers were converted to an na form with sodium hydroxide and examined for their cross section with an x - ray microanalyzer ; sodium was found to be distributed only in the polyethylene sheath . the nonwoven fabric ( h form ) was punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm and 0 . 4 g of the fabric was packed in a glass column in the experimental gas adsorption setup shown in fig2 . a test for removing ammonia gas was conducted as it was circulated at a rate of 3 l / min . shown by 3 in fig2 was a fluorine resin bag ( 40 l ); 4 was the glass column ( 20 mmφ ) packed with the nonwoven fabric 5 ; 6 was a pump ; 7 , 8 and 9 were each a sampling analyzing portion ; and 10 was a flowmeter . the test results are shown in fig3 by a curve connecting open circles ( o ). as one can see from fig3 the nonwoven fabric formed of the fibers of the invention insured that the ammonia concentration in the bag 3 which was initially at 40 ppm was reduced to 10 ppm or less in about 50 min and to 5 ppm or less after the lapse of 2 h . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 40 g / m 2 ) solely consisting of polypropylene fibers ( 20 μm in av . dia .) was subjected to radiation - initiated graft polymerization with acrylic acid as in example 1 until the graft ratio was 58 %. the thus treated fibers had an ion - exchange capacity of 5 . 0 meq / g , with the ion - exchange groups being distributed fairly uniformly across the diameter of each fiber . the nonwoven fabric was punched to a disk as in example 1 and subjected to a test for the removal of ammonia gas on an experimental setup of the type shown in fig2 . the results are shown in fig3 by a curve connecting open triangles ( δ ). obviously , it took one hour and fifty minutes for the ammonia concentration in the fluorine resin bag to decrease to 10 ppm and below . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 40 g / m 2 ) formed of composite fibers ( av . dia . 20 μm ) consisting of a polypropylene core and a polyethylene sheath ( core - to - sheath weight ratio = 1 ) was irradiated with 200 kgy of γ - rays in a nitrogen atmosphere and dipped in a glycidyl methacrylate / methanol ( 1 / 1 ) solution . by 7 - h reaction at 45 ° c ., grafting was accomplished to 138 %. after the grafting , the fibers were dipped in an aqueous solution of sodium sulfite and sulfonation was conducted by 8 - h reaction at 80 ° c . thus , strong acidic cation - exchange fibers were obtained ; they had an ion - exchange capacity of 2 . 42 meq / g , with almost all sulfonic groups being distributed in the sheath . the nonwoven fabric ( h form ) was punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm and subjected to a test for the removal of ammonia gas under the same conditions as described in example 1 using an experimental setup of the same type as shown in fig2 . the results are shown in fig4 by a curve connecting open circles ( o ). as one can see from fig4 the ammonia concentration in the fluorine resin bag which was initially at 40 ppm dropped to 10 ppm or less within 20 min . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 40 g / m 2 ) solely consisting of polypropylene fibers ( 20 μm in av . dia .) was subjected to radiation - initiated graft polymerization with glycidyl methacrylate as in example 2 until the graft ratio was 135 %. by subsequent sulfonation as in example 2 , strong acidic cation - exchange fibers were obtained . they had an ion - exchange capacity of 2 . 45 meq / g , with the sulfonic groups being distributed fairly uniformly across the diameter of each fiber . the nonwoven fabric was punched to a disk as in example 2 and subjected to a test for the removal of ammonia gas on an experimental setup of the type shown in fig2 . the results are shown in fig4 by a curve connecting open triangles ( δ ). obviously , it took 35 min for the ammonia concentration in the fluorine resin bag to decrease to 10 ppm and below . in example 1 and comparative example 1 , the type of functional group was identical and the graft ratio and the ion - exchange capacity were substantially the same and this is also true in the case of example 2 and comparative example 2 . however , the fibers having a coresheath structure in accordance with the invention obviously exhibited better performance in the removal of ammonia gas . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 55 g / m 2 ) formed of composite fibers ( av . dia . 20 μm ) consisting of a polyethylene terephthalate core concentric with a polyethylene sheath ( core - to - sheath weight ratio = 0 . 7 ) was irradiated with 100 kgy of electron beams in a nitrogen atmosphere and subjected reaction with glycidyl methacrylate as in example 2 to achieve a graft ratio of 116 %. the thus treated nonwoven fabric was dipped in an ethylenediamine solution and subjected to reaction for 3 h at 50 ° c . ; the nonwoven fabric now having chelate groups was capable of acid adsorption in an amount of 5 . 3 meq / g , with almost all chelate groups being distributed in the sheath . the nonwoven fabric was then punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm and sampled in an amount of 0 . 5 g . the sampled portion was dipped in 300 ml of an aqueous solution of copper sulfate ( 110 mg / l as cu ) and the change in the cu concentration was investigated over time under stirring . the results are shown in fig5 by a curve connecting open circles ( o ). obviously , the cu concentration dropped to 20 mg / l as cu in one minute . fig8 is an electron micrograph showing a cross section of the composite fibers used in example 3 to form the substrate membrane . after grafting , the fibers became as shown in fig9 and , after amination with the solution of ethylenediamine , the fibers became as shown in fig1 with the sheath , at least partly separated from the core , assuming a wrinkled and non - circular cross - sectional shape . a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 60 g / m 2 ) solely consisting of polyethylene fibers ( 20 μm in av . dia .) was subjected to electron beam exposure under the same conditions as in example 3 . the non - woven fabric was then reacted with glycidyl methacrylate to achieve a graft ratio of 131 %. by subsequent reaction with ethylenediamine under the same conditions , one obtained a nonwoven fabric having chelate groups that was capable of acid adsorption in an amount of 5 . 19 mg / g ; the chelate groups were distributed uniformly along the radius of each fiber toward the center . the nonwoven fabric was then punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm as in example 3 and dipped in a solution of copper sulfate . the change in cu concentration was investigated over time . the results are shown in fig5 by a curve connecting open triangles ( δ ). obviously , the cu concentration dropped to ca . 40 mg / l as cu in one minute . in example 3 and comparative example 3 , the graft ratio and the concentration of radical groups were almost the same and yet the fibers having a core - sheath structure in accordance with the invention obviously exhibited better performance in adsorbing heavy metals . ( a ) a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 50 g / m 2 ) formed of fibers ( dia . ca . 17 μm ) consisting of a polyethylene ( pe ) sheath concentric with a polypropylene ( pp ) core was irradiated with γ - rays in a nitrogen atmosphere and subjected to graft polymerization with glycidyl methacrylate until the graft ratio was 153 %. the nonwoven fabric was then dipped in a sulfonating solution consisting of 8 % sodium sulfite , 12 % isopropyl alcohol and 80 % h 2 o , and subjected to a sulfonation reaction at 80 ° c . for 8 h . additionally , the fabric was dipped in 7 % hcl for conversion to a h form . the fibers thus produced were designated ( a ) pe / pp . ( b ) in a separate step , a nonwoven fabric ( areal density , 50 g / m 2 ) formed of fibers ( ca . 17 μm in dia .) consisting of a polyethylene sheath concentric with a polyethylene terephthalate ( pet ) core was subjected to graft polymerization , sulfonation and regeneration in the same manner as described in ( a ). the fibers thus produced were designated ( b ) pe / pet . fig1 is an electron micrograph showing a cross section of the fibers . the nonwoven fabrics using two fibers , ( a ) pe / pp and ( b ) pe / pet , had tensile strength vs radiation dose profiles as shown in fig6 . the data for the fiber ( b ) are indicated by a curve connecting open triangles ( δ ) whereas the data for the fiber ( a ) are indicated by a curve connecting open circles ( o ). obviously , the tensile strength of the nonwoven fabric made from fiber ( b ) pe / pet did not decreased with the increasing dose of irradiation . in the next stage , tests were conducted in order to verify the release of the products of decomposition due to the chemical deterioration of fibers . it is generally difficult , even with ion exchangers based on synthetic high polymers , to avoid the oxidative deterioration of the polymer backbone chain and the subsequent formation of low - molecular weight decomposition products and elimination of functional groups and , hence , it is more desirable to develop ion exchangers having satisfactorily high resistance to these instances of chemical deterioration . with a view to evaluating the releasability of the products of decomposition due to deterioration , the nonwoven fabric formed of fiber ( a ) pe / pp and that formed from fiber ( b ) pe / pet ( each fabric measuring 20 cm × 4 cm ) were placed in separate containers in respective amounts of ca . 200 g ; air was circulated through the containers at a rate of 1 l / min ; the decomposition products in the discharged air were trapped in ultrapure water and analyzed . for evaluation of the organic , low - molecular weight decomposition products , toc measurement was conducted . for evaluation of the releasability of ion - exchange groups , the concentration of sulfate ions was measured by ion chromatography . the results of the measurements are shown in table 1 below . table 1______________________________________gasreleased so . sub . 4 . sup .- 2 tocfiber 25 ° c . 65 ° c . 25 ° c . 65 ° c . ______________________________________ ( a ) pe / pp & lt ; 2 μg / h - kg 96 μg / h - kg & lt ; 5 μg / h - kg 1200 μg / h - kg ( b ) pe / pet & lt ; 2 μg / h - kg 5 μg / h - kg & lt ; 5 μg / h - kg 320 μg / h - kg______________________________________ ( the release is expressed as the amount of 1 - h release per kg of the nonwoven fabric .) a nonwoven fabric of the same kind as used in example 1 was irradiated with 200 kgy of γ - rays in a nitrogen atmosphere and dipped in a solution of glycidyl methacrylate until 150 % of the substrate was impregnated with the solution . the nonwoven fabric was then put into a glass ampule , which was evacuated with a vacuum pump . thereafter , the fabric was subjected to reaction at 45 ° c . for 3 h until a graft ratio of 141 % was achieved . the thus treated nonwoven fabric was dipped in an aqueous solution of 30 % iminodiethanol and subjected to reaction at 70 ° c . for 3 h , yielding a weak basic , anion - exchange nonwoven fabric having an ion - exchange capacity of 2 . 89 meq / g . the fabric was then punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm and subjected to a test for removing sulfur dioxide ( so 2 ) by means of an experimental setup of the type used in example 1 . the concentration of so 2 in the fluorine resin bag was initially 30 ppm but dropped to 1 ppm and less in 40 min . a nonwoven fabric of the same kind as used in example 1 was irradiated with 200 kgy of γ - rays in a nitrogen atmosphere . thereafter , the fabric was dipped in a solution of chloromethylstyrene ( cms ) and subjected to reaction at 40 ° c . for 7 h until the cms graft ratio was 112 %. the fabric was then dipped in an aqueous solution of 10 % trimethylamine and subjected to reaction for forming a quaternary ammonium salt at 50 ° c . for 3 h . the thus treated nonwoven fabric was dipped in an aqueous solution of 5 % sodium hydroxide so that it was regenerated to an oh form , thereby yielding a strong basic , anion - exchange nonwoven fabric capable of decomposing neutral salts in a capacity of 2 . 38 mg / g . the fabric was then punched to a disk with a diameter of 20 mm , dried in vacuum and in a nitrogen atmosphere to ensure against contact with air , packed in an experimental setup of the same type as used in example 1 and subjected to a test for removing carbon dioxide ( co 2 ). the carbon dioxide in the fluorine resin bag was diluted to 130 ppm with pure air . just after the start of the test , the concentration of co 2 at the exit from the filter was 0 ppm and the co 2 concentration in the fluorine resin bag dropped to 1 ppm and below in 50 min . a nonwoven fabric of the same kind as used in example 6 was treated as in example 6 , packed in an experimental setup of the same type as used in example 1 and subjected to a test for removing hydrogen sulfide ( h 2 s ). the concentration of h 2 s in the fluorine resin bag was adjusted to 3 ppm with pure air . right after the start of the test , the concentration of h 2 s at the exit from the filter was 0 . 0 ppm and the h 2 s concentration in the fluorine resin bag which was initially at 3 ppm dropped to 1 ppm or below in about 30 min . a test was conducted to remove no 3 gas using a weak basic , anion - exchange nonwoven fabric of the same kind as employed in example 6 and an experimental setup of the same type as employed in example 1 . the concentration of no 2 in the fluorine resin bag was adjusted to 2 ppm with pure air . the no 3 concentration in the fluorine resin bag dropped to 0 . 5 ppm and below in 30 min after the start of the test . a test was conducted to remove hydrogen fluoride ( hf ) gas using a weak basic , anion - exchange nonwoven fabric of the same kind as employed in example 5 and an experimental setup of the same type as employed in example 1 . the concentration of hf in the fluorine resin bag was initially at 5 ppm and dropped to 1 ppm and below in 30 min after the start of the test . the hf concentration was 0 . 5 ppm or less at the exit from the filter . according to the invention , one could produce separation functional fibers that had functional groups introduced at high density on the surface , that would experience less physical and chemical deteriorations , and that were capable of retaining satisfactory strength . the fibers had such a high capacity for separation that they were capable of gas separation or separating heavy metals from liquids within short times ; hence , the fibers are useful in such applications as filters for removing gases and adsorbents of heavy metals . additionally , the fibers can be regenerated when used in ion - exchange applications . hence , they can be fabricated into an ion - exchange , gas removing filter that is regenerable with regenerants if all the components including the filter frame and the separator are made of materials that will not be attacked by regenerants . the foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can , by applying current knowledge , readily modify and / or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without undue experimentation and without departing from the generic concept , and , therefore , such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments . the means and materials for carrying out various disclosed functions may take a variety of alternative forms without departing from the invention . it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation . | 1 |
as required , a detailed illustrative embodiment of the present invention is disclosed herein . however , techniques , systems , compositions and operating structures in accordance with the present invention may be embodied in a wide variety of sizes , shapes , forms and modes , some of which may be quite different from those in the disclosed embodiment . consequently , the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative , yet in that regard , they are deemed to afford the best embodiment for purposes of disclosure and to provide a basis for the claims herein which define the scope of the present invention . reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the invention . wherever possible , same or similar reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts or steps . the drawings are in simplified form and are not to precise scale . the word ‘ couple ’ and similar terms do not necessarily denote direct and immediate connections , but also include connections through intermediate elements or devices . for purposes of convenience and clarity only , directional ( up / down , etc .) or motional ( forward / back , etc .) terms may be used with respect to the drawings . these and similar directional terms should not be construed to limit the scope in any manner . it will also be understood that other embodiments may be utilized without departing from the scope of the present invention , and that the detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense , and that elements may be differently positioned , or otherwise noted as in the appended claims without requirements of the written description being required thereto . various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn , in a manner that may be helpful in understanding embodiments of the present invention ; however , the order of description should not be construed to imply that these operations are order dependent . referring now to fig1 , the proposed system 100 includes an operable process control system and operable data tables 102 that is in communication with a delivery and supply system 101 for management of system 100 as will be discussed . as will be understood from the exemplary illustration an optional data communication loop is provided by illustrated arrows , but this will be understood by those of skill in the art to be operable over any known telecommunication process for receipt , manipulation , and delivery of information , and for tracking physical delivery of later described items . within system 100 there is provided a user - unit operable for receipt of a concentrate or supplement container 1 and a supply of a dilutant ( e . g ., water , coffee , tea , milk , carbonated beverages , any hot or cold fluid , or any other suitable fluid ) 2 , with operable power input access 3 ( at rear of unit ) and a control system 4 containing suitable controls for achieving the goals of the proposed system ( including but not limited to on / off , volume control , temp , control , mixing proportions , optional weight - stage for dispensing tracking etc .). both container 1 and dilutant 2 may be in multi - use , continuous , or single - use sizes . additionally noted is a dispensing station unit 5 for supporting a volume to receive a mixture of dilutant 1 and concentrate 2 under mixing conditions controlled by control system 4 . an individual tracking identification or bar code 6 is provided on each concentrate / supplement container 1 and there is positioned an associated reader 7 for receiving identification / use information from code 6 during an installation and use of container 1 . internal ( not shown ) to the location unit is an internal process controller unit 8 ( including suitable memory and processing units ) linked with an optional external communication control system 9 . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 100 will be able to track individual uses , dispensments , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the end unit and communication control system 9 will be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables 102 and with delivery supply system 101 , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 100 will be able to optionally re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . regarding process control system and data tables 102 , it will be understood that these include a comprehensive process control units to receive , track , organize , and select from informational data bases involving comprehensive user identifications , complete medical and query information and user goals , a complete selection with all parameters of dilutants and also all supplements , minerals , pharmaceuticals etc . that may be selected based upon user - parameters . referring now to fig2 wherein an operative and optional method of the proposed system is illustrated . in a first step 201 an initial determination is provided of user preferences and needs and includes ( in each step noted hereafter ) links with process and data control unit and system 102 containing operative communication links 102 a . such determination step may include questionnaires ( multiple ) following family history , health concerns , health history , desired outcomes ( weight loss , muscle gain , medical treatment support ( e . g ., diabetes , wound healing , cancer treatment support , etc . without limitations thereto ). following initial questionnaire and detail information for each individualized users an initial recommended user - unique supplement determination is made in a step 202 linked with a unique identification step 203 and via process and data control system 102 , a supplement concentrate product is created , packaged , and shipped in a combined step 204 to a user for installation in a device 205 . device system 100 recognizes the unique identification and conducts local controls and monitoring as discussed elsewhere through continuous use steps 206 for a designated period of time ( user determined , medically determined etc .) until a desire to conduct a secondary determination step 207 is reached . in step 207 a link with the unique identification is made via path 210 to process control 102 and the historic data is stored in data tables therewith . additional steps in a rebalancing step 208 are conducted that would include modifying the initial supplement determination step 202 and crafting a replacement or secondary supplement via a path 209 shown also linked with process control 102 . in this matter , during a rebalancing step a new individually identifiable supplement is packaged , shipped , delivered , linked with the system and dispensed therefrom . it will be recognized that this process of initial determination and later rebalancing may be repeated without limit so as to provide a continual trainable process unique to each user &# 39 ; s needs . further , it will be understood that the entire contents of the incorporated - by - reference u . s . pat . no . 7 , 762 , 181 is available to access for enabling content upon question by one of skill in the art . additionally , it will be understood that this application will incorporate the currently known highest skill in the communication , data management , shipping , user - identification and product - identification technologies in the art . thus , for a non - limiting example where data is “ sent ” or “ recorded ” this will be understood to incorporate all known ways ( wired , wireless , encrypted , open , random - access memory , bubble - memory , cloud - based etc .). for example , the current process control system and data tables could be cloud - based , or located on a proprietary enterprise type system with server modules . finally , it will be understood that the full health , medical , vitamin , pharmaceutical , and nutrition data available and is used to guide supplement or concentrate and dilutant determination . it will be understood that the phrase dilutant supply or dilutant may be any fluid material that is not the nutraceutical concentration , thereby allowing a dilution of the concentration during a use dispensment . the dilutant may be any suitable fluid for human consumption , and by way of non - limiting example the dilutant may be water or another combination of components ( e . g ., coffee , tea , milk , pharmaceutical combinations etc ., without limitation ). it will be understood that the phrase nutraceutical , indicates a portmanteau of the words “ nutrition ” and “ pharmaceutical ”, and as used herein is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits , including the prevention and treatment of disease , and that this food or food product may be of any kind , but is preferably in the form of a fluid concentrate intended for combination with water prior to ingestion by an end user . nothing herein will limit the interpretation to requiring a pharmaceutical product . it will also be understood that nutraceutical may additionally include those compounds , vitamins , flavorings , minerals , drugs , or pharmaceutical compositions ( without limit to any ) that are believed to have a physiological benefit or provide protection against chronic disease . with recent developments in cellular - level nutraceutical agents the proposed use will be understood as non - limiting and is to be broadly interpreted to include any complementary and alternative therapies now known or later developed . turning next to fig3 a - c and 4 a - 4 b , shown are the portable mixing system with safety controls according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the system in the raised or open position ( fig3 a - c ) and in the lowered or closed position ( fig4 a - b ). preferably , the system comprises a housing body 318 having a pod or container receiving portion 312 with a slip resistant bottom surface 310 . alternatively , bottom surface 310 may be a type of key - in surface to lock or otherwise secure the pod or container 316 in place during operation . the preferred pods or containers 316 for use with the invention will be discussed in greater detail below . optionally , the mixing system 300 may have safety controls 314 to alert the user to a particular speed or frequency of the mixing based upon the type of nutraceutical being used or the size or amount being used . mixing system 300 further comprises movable mixing head 320 comprising back head 302 movably connected to front mixing head 304 which includes stirrer or mixer 306 . during operation , after pod or container 316 is positioned securely on surface 310 , mixing head 320 is lowered ( see fig4 a - b ) such that mixer or stirrer 306 is inserted into the contents of the pod or container 316 . the user then selects the appropriate control 314 for the desired frequency or speed of the mixing . optionally , front mixing head , which is connected to back head 302 via movable arms 308 such that mixing arm 306 moves about within pod or container 316 . similarly , the mixing head 320 may also optionally partially rotate ( e . g ., approximately 45 % or 60 %) again to move mixing arm 306 around within container or pod 316 . preferably , internal ( not shown ) to the mixing system 300 is an internal process controller unit ( including suitable memory and processing units ) optionally linked with an external communication control system . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 300 may be able to track individual uses , dispensements , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the communication control system may be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables and with delivery supply system , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 300 may be able to re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . referring next to fig5 a - c , shown is the portable mixing system with safety controls according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention . preferably , the system comprises a housing body 418 having a pod or container receiving portion 412 with a slip resistant bottom surface 410 . alternatively , bottom surface 410 may be a type of key - in surface to lock or otherwise secure the pod or container in place during operation . the preferred pods or containers for use with the invention will be discussed in greater detail below . optionally , the mixing system 400 may have power control switch 422 and safety controls 414 ( e . g ., one for mom , one for dad , and one for child ) to identify for or alert the user to a particular speed or frequency of the mixing based upon the type of nutraceutical or other health product being used or the size or amount being used . optionally , a user access code , fingerprint scan , retina scan or other known type of safety control mechanisms that are difficult to bypass , including software safety control , may be employed with the system , especially for the consumption of quantity - sensitive materials ( i . e ., iron , etc .) to prevent accidental overdose . mixing system 400 further comprises movable mixing head 420 movably connected within housing 418 and is connected on its bottom surface to stirrer or mixing arm 406 . during operation , after a pod or container is positioned securely on surface 410 , mixing head 420 is lowered such that mixing arm or stirrer 406 is inserted into the contents of the pod or container . the user then selects the appropriate control 414 for the desired frequency or speed of the mixing . as will be discussed further below , the mixing arm 406 may optionally have fans or blades which extend radially from mixing arm 406 to aid in the mixing process . optionally , the mixing head 420 may also move up and down as well as partially rotate within housing 418 ( e . g ., approximately 45 % or 60 %) again to move mixing arm 406 around within the container or pod . as discussed above , internal ( not shown ) to the mixing system 400 is preferably an internal process controller unit ( including suitable memory and processing units ) optionally linked with an external communication control system . in addition , a barcode reader or scanner 404 may be included to read and transmit information from the product being used to the internal process controller unit . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 400 may be able to track individual uses , dispensements , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the communication control system may be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables and with the delivery supply system , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 400 may be able to re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . turning next to fig6 a - b , shown is the portable mixing system 500 with safety controls according to yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention . preferably , the system comprises a housing body 518 having a pod or container receiving portion 512 with a slip resistant bottom surface 510 . alternatively , bottom surface 510 may be a type of key - in surface to lock or otherwise secure the pod or container in place during operation . the preferred pods or containers for use with the invention will be discussed in greater detail below . optionally , the mixing system 500 may have a power control switch and safety controls 514 ( e . g ., one for mom , one for dad , and one for child ) to identify for or alert the user to a particular speed or frequency of the mixing based upon the type of nutraceutical or other health product being used or the size or amount being used . alternatively , an led or other touch based electronic screen 504 may be employed to provide all the control menus and options for the user of the system . mixing system 500 further comprises mixing head 520 connected to housing 518 directly above container receiving portion 512 and is connected to stirrer or mixing arm 506 . during operation , after a pod or container is positioned securely on surface 510 , mixing head 520 lowers mixing arm or stirrer 506 into the contents of the pod or container . the user then selects the appropriate control 514 ( or using other control pad 504 ) for the desired frequency or speed of the mixing . as will be discussed further below , the mixing arm 506 may optionally have fans or blades which extend radially from mixing arm 506 to aid in the mixing process . optionally , the mixing head 520 may also move up and down as well as partially rotate within housing 518 ( e . g ., approximately 45 % or 60 %) again to move mixing arm 506 around within the container or pod . as discussed above with the other embodiments , internal ( not shown ) to the mixing system 500 is preferably an internal process controller unit ( including suitable memory and processing units ) optionally linked with an external communication control system . in addition , a barcode reader or scanner 508 may be included to read and transmit information from the product being used to the internal process controller unit . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 500 may be able to track individual uses , dispensements , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the communication control system may be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables and with delivery supply system , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 500 may be able to re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . turning next to fig7 a - b , shown is the portable mixing system 600 with safety controls according to still yet another alternate embodiment of the present invention . preferably , the system comprises a housing body 618 having a pod or container receiving portion 612 with a slip resistant bottom surface 610 . alternatively , bottom surface 610 may be a type of key - in surface to lock or otherwise secure the pod or container in place during operation . the preferred pods or containers for use with the invention will be discussed in greater detail below . optionally , the mixing system 600 may have a power control switch 622 and safety controls 614 ( e . g ., one for mom , one for dad , and one for child ) to identify for or alert the user to a particular speed or frequency of the mixing based upon the type of nutraceutical or other health product being used or the size or amount being used . alternatively , an led or other touch based electronic screen 604 may be employed to provide all the control menus and options for the user of the system . mixing system 600 further comprises mixing head 620 , in this embodiment a ball - shaped head , connected to housing 618 directly above container receiving portion 612 and is connected to stirrer or mixing arm 606 . again , during operation , after a pod or container is positioned securely on surface 610 , mixing head 620 lowers mixing arm or stirrer 606 into the contents of the pod or container . the user then selects the appropriate control 614 ( or using other control pad 604 ) for the desired frequency or speed of the mixing . mixing system 600 may optionally employ a locking mechanism or child safety lock to prevent a child from accidentally selecting an adult size or speed . as will be discussed further below , the mixing arm 606 may optionally have fans or blades which extend radially from mixing arm 606 to aid in the mixing process . optionally , the mixing head 620 may also move up and down as well as partially rotate within housing 618 ( e . g ., approximately 45 % or 60 %) again to move mixing arm 606 around within the container or pod . as discussed above with the other embodiments , internal ( not shown ) to the mixing system 600 is preferably an internal process controller unit ( including suitable memory and processing units ) optionally linked with an external communication control system . in addition , a barcode reader or scanner 508 may be included to read and transmit information from the product being used to the internal process controller unit . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 600 may be able to track individual uses , dispensements , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the communication control system may be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables and with delivery supply system , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 600 may be able to re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . referring now to fig8 a - b , shown is the portable mixing system 700 with safety controls according to still another alternate embodiment of the present invention . preferably , the system comprises a housing body 718 having a pod or container receiving portion 712 with a slip resistant bottom surface 710 . alternatively , bottom surface 710 may be a type of key - in surface to lock or otherwise secure the pod or container in place during operation . the preferred pods or containers for use with the invention will be discussed in greater detail below . optionally , the mixing system 700 may have a power control switches 722 and safety controls 714 ( e . g ., one for mom , one for dad , and one for child ) to identify for or alert the user to a particular speed or frequency of the mixing based upon the type of nutraceutical or other health product being used or the size or amount being used . alternatively , an led or other touch based electronic screen 704 may be employed to provide all the control menus and options for the user of the system . mixing system 700 further comprises a mixing head ( not seen ) within the upper portion of housing 718 connected to directly above container receiving portion 712 and which is connected to or integral with stirrer or mixing arm 706 ( also not seen ). during operation , after a pod or container is positioned securely on surface 710 , mixing head lowers mixing arm or stirrer 706 into the contents of the pod or container . the user then selects the appropriate control 714 ( or using other control pad 704 ) for the desired frequency or speed of the mixing . mixing system 700 may optionally employ a locking mechanism or child safety lock to prevent a child from accidentally selecting an adult size or speed . as will be discussed further below , the mixing arm 706 may optionally have fans or blades which extend radially from mixing arm 706 to aid in the mixing process . optionally , the mixing head may also move up and down as well as partially rotate within housing 718 ( e . g ., approximately 45 %, 60 %, 75 %, etc .) again to move mixing arm 706 around within the container or pod . as discussed above with the other embodiments , internal ( not shown ) to the mixing system 700 is preferably an internal process controller unit ( including suitable memory and processing units ) optionally linked with an external communication control system . in addition , a barcode reader or scanner 708 may be included to read and transmit information from the product being used to the internal process controller unit . as will be understood by those of skill in the system operational arts , during any use , system 700 may be able to track individual uses , dispensements , particular mixing proportions , total supplement delivery and other operations . additionally , in an optional embodiment , the communication control system may be able to communicate externally to process control system and data tables and with delivery supply system , thereby permitting comprehensive benefit , use , and adaptation tracking for a user &# 39 ; s health benefit . additionally , system 700 may be able to re - order , and operate commercial transactions on behalf of a user based upon designated user preferences . turning our attention now to fig9 through 19 , shown are various embodiment for pods or containers and some of their components that may be employed with the various mixing systems discussed above with respect to fig3 through 8 . referring first to fig9 a - 9d , show is a first embodiment of a pod or container 800 for use with the mixing systems previously described , illustrating a two part pod 800 ( 802 , 804 ), a nutritional supplement part 810 and a housing part 804 for containing filtered water 814 , with a mixing paddle 806 having radially projecting blades or fans and a upwardly projecting stem 808 for interfacing with the disclosed mixing systems . the nutritional supplement or vitamin supplement contained within nutritional supplement part 810 for any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be in the form of powder , liquid , dissolvable capsules or tablets , microcapsules , or other known form . preferably , upper part 810 of pod 800 has a sealing cap 802 having a sealing membrane or protective label 816 there on . optionally , protective label 816 contains a 2d or 3d barcode thereon as seen in fig9 d for the mixing system to read , store and / or transmit information about the product being used . also optionally , lid or cap 802 is secured onto an upper portion of housing part 804 in a tamper resistant manner such that if the seal is broken the average user would notice . any of the known tamper resistant mechanisms for bottles or containers may be employed . during operation , once pod or container 800 is positioned securely into the mixing system , a mixing head lowers the mixing arm or stirrer down onto the upper portion or protective label 816 of pod or container 800 . the mixing system will continue to move mixing arm downward until the lower end of the mixing arm connects or otherwise engages with the upper end of stem 808 of paddle 806 such that when mixing arm spins , paddle 806 will rotate at the same speed and / or frequency . mixing arm continues to apply downward pressure on stem 808 until a lower tip 807 of paddle 806 punctures sealing membrane 812 which had been maintaining nutritional supplement or vitamin 810 away from water 814 . once sealing membrane 812 is punctured nutritional supplement or vitamin 810 spills into water 814 and mixing arm continue to apply downward pressure on stem 808 until paddle 806 is sufficiently submerged to a distance within water 814 to adequately and completely mix the water and nutritional supplement as described above with respect to any of the mixing systems disclosed herein . once sufficiently mixed , the mixing arm rises out from within container 800 so that container 800 may be removed from the mixing system . optionally , mixing arm ( see any of fig3 through 8 ) and / or stem 808 may comprise a mechanism or may be configured in such a way that they become securely engaged and that when the mixing arm is removed from container 800 , it removes paddle 806 as well . optionally , paddle may remain with container and be disposed of along with container once all the liquid mixture is gone . turning next to fig1 , shown is an exposed cross - sectional view of an alternative embodiment for a two part pod or container 820 for use with the mixing systems in accordance with the invention . in this embodiment , two part pod or container 820 comprises outer container 828 housing liquid ( e . g ., 3 or 4 ounces of water ) and inner container or baggie 826 housing the nutritional supplement blend or vitamins 836 . inner container 826 is preferably heat - sealed on its upper end to the upper end of outer container 828 . outer container 828 may preferably be a blow molded polyurethane ( pe ) bottle or any other suitable container material for foods . an injection molded pe cap 832 is preferably affixed on the outer side of upper end of outer container 828 and includes an injection molded lance 830 through its top surface such that lance 830 has a lower bladed end within baggie 826 and an upper end extending outwardly through cap 832 . adjacent the outer top side of cap 832 is preferably positioned a compression spring 822 which is surrounded by a film 824 heat sealed to cap and covering spring 822 . compression spring 822 is configured such that it maintains lance 830 in position until a downward force is applied during use . as previously discussed , during operation , once pod or container 820 is positioned securely into the mixing system , a mixing head will lower the mixing arm or stirrer down onto the upper portion directly above spring 22 pod or container 820 . the mixing system will continue to move its mixing arm downward until the lower end of the mixing arm connects or otherwise engages with the upper end of lance 830 . the mixing arm continues to apply downward pressure on upper end of lance 830 until a lower tip of lance 830 punctures the lower end of baggie 826 . once broken , nutritional supplement or vitamin 836 spills into water 834 and mixing arm continue to apply downward pressure on lance 830 until sufficiently submerged to a distance within water 834 to adequately and completely mix the water and nutritional supplement as described above with respect to any of the mixing systems disclosed herein . once sufficiently mixed , the mixing arm rises out from within container 820 so that container 820 may be removed from the mixing system . optionally , mixing arm ( see any of fig3 through 8 ) and / or lance 830 may comprise a mechanism or may be configured in such a way that they become securely engaged and that when the mixing arm is removed from container 820 , it removes lance 830 as well . optionally , lance 830 may remain with container and be disposed of along with container once all the liquid mixture is gone . referring next to fig1 a - b , shown are descriptive illustrations of phase one and phase two of a bi - pod filtration process used with the system according to one aspect of the invention . looking now at fig1 , shown is an exploded perspective view of another alternative embodiment for a two part spin pod for use with the mixing system in accordance with the invention . as shown , two part pod 840 comprises housing or container 848 for hold liquid , and stir pod 845 comprising upper shaft 842 ( preferably of a hex shape or some other shape such that secure interface may be made with the lower end of a mixing arm ), side portions 844 and mixing paddle 846 . during operation , once pod or container 840 is positioned securely into the mixing system , a mixing head will lower the mixing arm or stirrer down onto the upper portion directly above and engages upper shaft 842 without applying too much pressure . the mixing system will then begin rotation of the mixing arm thereby rotating stir pod 845 . depicted in fig1 through 15 are alternative embodiments for the stir pod used in conjunction with the spin pod 840 shown in fig1 . for example , fig1 a - b shows stir pod 850 in its closed ( fig1 a ) and its open ( fig1 b ) positions . during use , the centrifugal force from rotation of stir pod 850 from engaging the mixing arm of one of the above described mixing systems generates sufficient centrifugal force to open blades 852 thereby spilling the nutritional supplement blend therefrom and into the liquid in the container below . blades 852 are then used to mix the water and nutritional supplement . similarly , fig1 a - c shows stir pods 854 , 860 ( stir pod 860 only having two blades ) in closed ( fig1 a ) and open ( fig1 b - c ) positions . during use , pressure applied to tabs 856 during rotation of stir pods 854 , 860 open blades 858 , 862 thereby spilling the nutritional supplement blend therefrom and into the liquid in the container below . blades 858 , 862 are then used to mix the water and nutritional supplement . looking at fig1 a - b shown is another alternate embodiment for a stir pod for use with the invention . that is , stir pod 864 comprises veins or inwardly opening blades 866 such that with rotation thereof water flows into the stir pod 864 and out through an opening 868 on a bottom end of stir pod 864 . during use , the centrifugal force from rotation of stir pod 884 from engaging the mixing arm of one of the above described mixing systems generates sufficient force to open blades 866 inwardly or allow water to break through a seal of some kind to mix with the nutritional supplement within stir pod 864 and flow out through its bottom thereby spilling the combined water - nutritional supplement blend from the stir pod 864 . briefly , fig1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of how any of the spinning pods may be packaged for proper sealing and safe handling . as an alternative embodiment to the portable electronic mixing systems disclosed above , shown in fig1 a - c , 18 a - c and 19 describe various embodiments for a portable and disposable two part pod mixing system in accordance with the invention . referring first to fig1 a - d , shown is a first embodiment of a pod or container 900 . as illustrated , mixing container 900 preferably comprises a blow molded ( p . p . or pet ) housing 904 , which is heat sealed on its lower end 906 with a pp or foil membrane to a blow molded pp lower compressible container 910 . preferably , housing 904 contains liquid ( i . e ., approximately 3 ounces of water ) while lower collapsible container 910 contains the desired nutritional supplement . on its upper end , housing 904 is removably closed with a cap , such as the cap for an ordinary water bottle or soda bottle . also optionally , lid or cap 902 is secured onto an upper portion of housing part 904 in a tamper resistant manner such that if the seal is broken the average user would notice . any of the known tamper resistant mechanisms for bottles or containers may be employed . of course , a larger lid configuration of container having a large lid such as container 901 may be used . also , within lower collapsible container 910 is positioned , preferably affixed to the bottom surface thereof , a foil or membrane piercing divider 914 . upon shaking or vigorous up and down motion of the container 900 , piercing divider 914 punctures ( 912 ) foil or membrane 908 thereby allowing the nutritional supplement in lower container 910 to mix with the water in housing 904 upon continued shaking accordingly , while it is preferred that piercing divider 914 be configured as shown , i . e ., in the shape of a pyramid , any shape divider which has a sharp enough apex would suffice . turning to fig1 a - b , shown is a second embodiment of a two compartment mixing pod or container 920 . as illustrated , mixing container 920 here preferably comprises a blow molded ( p . p . or pet ) housing 924 , which is heat sealed on its lower end with a pp or foil membrane to a blow molded pp lower compressible container 930 . preferably , housing 924 contains liquid ( i . e ., approximately 3 ounces of water ) while lower collapsible container 930 contains the desired nutritional supplement . on its upper end , housing 924 is removably closed with a tamper resistant heat sealed pull off lid 922 , such as the pull off lid for a container of yogurt . also , within lower collapsible container 930 is positioned , preferably affixed to the bottom surface thereof , a foil or membrane piercing divider 934 . upon shaking or vigorous up and down motion of the container 920 , piercing divider 934 punctures the foil or membrane thereby allowing the nutritional supplement in lower container 930 to mix with the water in housing 924 upon continued shaking accordingly , while it is preferred that piercing divider 934 be configured as shown , i . e ., in the shape of a pyramid , any shape divider which has a sharp enough apex would suffice . moreover , while two piercing dividers are shown , other numbers of dividers may be used with the invention . as seen in fig1 c , yet another alternate embodiment of the two part mixing pod is shown . here , pod 920 comprises on its lower end an expandable lower region 926 which on its lower end is heat sealed to lower collapsible compartment 928 . in this embodiment , upon shaking or vigorous up and down motion of the container 920 , a piercing divider , much like divider 934 seen in fig1 b punctures the foil or membrane thereby allowing the nutritional supplement in lower container 928 to mix with the water in housing 924 upon continued shaking preferably , upon puncture of the membrane , lower compartment 928 compresses or collapses while at the same time or close to the same time expanding region 926 of pod 920 expands to allow for extra space with housing 924 upon entry of the nutritional supplement . similar to the embodiment just described with respect to fig1 c , yet another alternate embodiment of the two part mixing pod is shown in fig1 , which is similar to the two compartment pods shown in fig1 a - b but with the added expandable region 946 . here , pod 940 comprises on its lower end an expandable lower region 946 which on its lower end is heat sealed 938 to lower collapsible compartment 948 . in this embodiment , upon shaking or vigorous up and down motion of the container 940 , a piercing divider , much like divider 934 seen in fig1 b , punctures the foil or membrane thereby allowing the nutritional supplement in lower container 948 to mix with the water in housing 944 upon continued shaking preferably , upon puncture of the membrane , lower compartment 948 compresses or collapses while at the same time or close to the same time expanding region 946 of pod 940 expands to allow for extra space within housing 944 for entry of the nutritional supplement . alternatively , pod 940 may be held by a machine at 950 . the machine would compress lower compartment 948 , then shaking pod 940 such that expanding region 946 expands . in the claims , means or step - plus - function clauses are intended to cover the structures described or suggested herein as performing the recited function and not only structural equivalents but also equivalent structures . thus , for example , although a nail , a screw , and a bolt may not be structural equivalents in that a nail relies on friction between a wooden part and a cylindrical surface , a screw &# 39 ; s helical surface positively engages the wooden part , and a bolt &# 39 ; s head and nut compress opposite sides of a wooden part , in the environment of fastening wooden parts , a nail , a screw , and a bolt may be readily understood by those skilled in the art as equivalent structures . having described at least one of the preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments , and that various modifications and variations can be made in the presently disclosed system without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention . thus , it is intended that the present disclosure cover modifications and variations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents . the scope of the invention , therefore , shall be defined solely by the following claims . it should be appreciated that the present invention is capable of being embodied in other forms without departing from its essential characteristics . | 0 |
referring first to fig1 and 2 , these show a fragment of a diesel engine 20 including a camshaft 22 , a pair of exhaust valves 24 and 26 , a cross head 28 extending across tops 30 and 32 of the two exhaust valves , a rocker arm 34 , rocker arm supports 36 and 37 and a rocker arm shaft 38 . the rocker arm includes a cam follower in the form of a roller 40 rotatably mounted on a shaft 42 . there is a valve set screw 44 threadedly received at end 46 of the rocker arm above cross head 28 . a lock nut 48 is threadedly received on the set screw adjacent the rocker arm . the set screw has a concave recess 50 at its lower end which contacts hemispherical fitting 52 on cross head 28 . referring to fig2 there is a pair of intake valves 56 and 58 on the same cylinder of engine 20 as the exhaust valves 24 and 26 . these are also provided with a cross head 60 , a rocker arm 62 , a valve set screw 64 and a lock nut 66 . there is also a fuel injector 68 actuated in this example by another rocker arm 70 . the supports are provided with bolts 72 , 74 , 76 and 78 . as described thus far , the engine 20 is generally conventional . camshaft 22 rotates in the direction of arrow 80 once for every two revolutions of the crankshaft ( not shown ) of the engine . a first lobe 23 is positioned in the conventional manner on camshaft 22 to open the exhaust valves 24 and 26 during the exhaust stroke of the particular cylinder of the engine where these valves are located . the lobe 23 contacts roller 40 and rotates rocker arm 34 in the direction indicated by arrow 86 , causing screw 44 to press downwardly on fitting 52 of the cross head and thus open the exhaust valves . it is known to provide clearance in the exhaust valve opening mechanism . generally this is accomplished by adjusting screw 44 to provide a specified gap between the bottom of the screw and the cross head . lock nut 48 maintains the proper gap . the gap however could be considered as being between the camshaft and roller depending upon the position of the rocker arm . likewise it is known to provide clearance or play in other ways between the camshaft and the exhaust valves such that there is no actual clearance between the roller and the camshaft or the screw 44 and fitting 52 . for example , hydraulic devices can replace the rocker arm and the clearance or play can simply be lost motion in the hydraulic mechanism . thus , the term “ clearance ” between the camshaft , the rocker arm and the exhaust valves is used herein in the operative sense to mean some type of operative clearance or play in the system . engine 20 is somewhat unconventional in that camshaft 22 has a second lobe 25 located on the same portion of the camshaft as lobe 23 . in other words , lobes 23 and 25 are axially aligned along axis of rotation 90 of the camshaft in this embodiment , but are angularly spaced - apart about the axis . it may be seen that lobe 23 extends further from axis 90 than lobe 25 . the second lobe 25 is positioned to crack open the exhaust valves 24 and 26 near top dead center of the compression stroke to provide a compression release brake for the engine . when lobe 25 reaches roller 40 , the rocker arm rotates in the direction of arrow 86 , cracking open the exhaust valves . it is neither appropriate , nor desirable to have an engine brake operate at all times . clearly the exhaust valves should not be cracked open at top dead center of the compression stroke when the engine is providing power . the exhaust brake should only be operational , as discussed above , when the fuel supply to the engine is cut off and the vehicle is coasting . thus there must be some mechanism for selectively engaging the roller 40 with lobe 25 during engine brake operation only . it is known in the prior art discussed above to provide variable effective clearance between the roller and camshaft for this purpose . during normal engine operation , the clearance is increased such that the roller 40 operatively contacts only lobe 23 during rotation of the camshaft , so the exhaust valves are opened only during the exhaust stroke . when the engine brake is operational , there is means for decreasing this clearance such that the lobe 25 operatively contacts the roller 40 , rotates the rocker arm in the direction of arrow 86 , and cracks open the exhaust valves near top dead center of each compression stroke . however , there is a problem associated with prior art devices of this nature . when the clearance is so reduced , the exhaust valves 24 and 26 are opened further than normal during the exhaust stroke as the lobe 23 contacts the roller 40 . this conceivably could cause the exhaust valves to contact the piston , causing serious damage to the engine . one way of countering this problem has been to provide pockets in the pistons to give additional clearance for the exhaust valves . however this can be detrimental to engine operation since the flows of gases to and from the cylinder can be adversely affected by the pockets . it is not only the degree of opening of the exhaust valves which poses problems . reducing the clearance also affects exhaust valve timing . in particular , the exhaust valves stay open longer than normal , increasing overlap with the intake valves ( when both valves are open simultaneously ). this may cause more exhaust energy to be dumped into the intake system instead of , for example , being available to help drive the engine turbocharger . another problem associated with these prior art apparatuses is that their typical rocker arm ratio is too high . the rocker arm ratio is the amount of opening of the exhaust valves divided by the amount of lift provided by lobe 23 . a typical range of ratios in prior art devices would be 1 . 6 - 1 . 9 : 1 . such ratios increase loading on the camshaft . the loading is typically reduced by timing the opening of the exhaust valves early , resulting in weak engine braking . engine 20 optimizes the rocker arm ratio by achieving a rocker arm ratio more nearly approaching 1 : 1 in this preferred embodiment as may be seen with reference to fig1 . the distance between adjusting screw 44 and rocker arm shaft 38 is almost the same as the distance between the rocker arm shaft and point of contact 41 between the camshaft and roller 40 . the lever arms are therefore more equal in length and the amount of lift at the camshaft nearly equals the amount of opening of the exhaust valves . the engine also includes a valve control apparatus 100 which selectively reduces the operative clearance between the camshaft 22 and the exhaust valves 24 and 26 in order to operate the engine brake by cracking open the valves , near top dead center of the compression stroke , with lobe 25 of the camshaft . there is a solenoid valve 102 operatively connected to controls 104 . the controls are conventional and include a switch operatively associated with the throttle of the engine such that the brake is only operational when the throttle is closed . there is also a manual switch in the cab of the vehicle , allowing the operator to operate the engine brake when the vehicle is coasting downhill . the solenoid valve allows engine oil to enter a passageway 110 when the operator closes the switch and the valve opens . rocker arm 34 is unconventional in that it comprises a first portion 112 and a second portion 114 . both portions are rotatably mounted on rocker arm shaft 38 as best shown in fig1 . portion 112 operatively contacts the camshaft 22 by means of roller 40 and portion 114 operatively contacts the exhaust valves via screw 44 , fitting 52 and cross head 28 . as discussed above , both portions have nearly the same effective length measured by the distance from the center of the rocker arm shaft to the point of contact with camshaft 22 and fitting 52 respectively , providing a rocker arm ratio of nearly 1 : 1 for this example of the invention . there is a mechanism 130 for selectively changing the operative clearance between the camshaft and the valves . normally the rocker arm 34 is in a first operational mode , illustrated in fig7 where on each revolution of the camshaft the first lobe 23 only operatively contacts roller 40 , causing the valves 24 and 26 to open in the normal manner during the exhaust stroke only . the mechanism 130 can selectively put the rocker arm 34 in a second operational mode , illustrated in fig1 and 5 , where , on each revolution of the camshaft , the roller 40 is lifted by the second lobe 25 to crack open the exhaust valves near top dead center of the compression stroke . this second mode is selected by opening solenoid valve 102 with controls 104 to provide engine oil to the passageway 110 extending through rocker arm support 36 from oil line 111 . the adjusting mechanism 130 includes a hydraulic cylinder 132 with a piston 134 reciprocatingly received therein . there is a pin 136 extending through the cylinder and a bore 138 in the piston . the bore 138 is substantially wider than the pin , allowing for reciprocation of the piston in the cylinder , but limiting its movement . as seen in fig7 there is a first coil spring 140 biased between end 142 of the cylinder and recess 144 in the piston . the spring biases the piston to the right from the point of view of fig1 , 3 , 5 and 7 . there is a smaller coil spring 148 coaxially within spring 140 and biased between the recess 144 in the piston and a ball 150 . the spring biases the ball towards a position to close passageway 152 . there is a second cylinder 160 , integral with cylinder 132 in this embodiment and located coaxially to the left thereof from the point of view of fig7 . there is a second piston 162 in the cylinder having a stem 164 extending to the right , from the point of view of fig1 , 5 and 7 , into the passageway 152 . there is a further hydraulic passageway 170 which , from the point of view of fig1 , 5 and 7 , extends downwardly through portion 112 of the rocker arm and then angles to the right to intersect with cylindrical bore 174 which receives the rocker arm shaft 38 . passageway 110 in rocker arm support 36 and passageway 170 in portion 112 are both aligned with a passageway 113 in the rocker arm shaft 38 for the positions of the rocker arm portions illustrated in fig1 and fig7 . this allows oil to pass through the passageways 110 , 113 , 170 and 152 when the solenoid is open . there is a chamber 180 formed in the cylinder 132 between the piston 134 and end 142 of the cylinder . oil can pass from passageway 152 and into the chamber 180 , unseating ball 150 , when the rocker arm portions are in this position . the ball 150 acts as a check valve , trapping the oil within the chamber 180 . at the same time , the spring 140 biases the piston 134 to the right and against upward extension 190 on portion 114 of the rocker arm , to rotate the two portions 112 and 114 to the positions shown in fig1 and 5 , with the piston 134 projecting outwardly from the cylinder 132 . the two portions of the rocker arm are thus moved away from each other and reduce operative clearance between the camshaft and the exhaust valves during brake operation . referring to fig5 this shows a point after the lobe 25 has rotated past roller 40 , and before lobe 23 has completed the lifting of the rocker arm 34 to open the exhaust valves 24 and 26 for the exhaust stroke . there is another hydraulic passageway 200 . 1 in portion 112 of the rocker arm which becomes aligned with passageway 115 in the shaft which is connected to drain . this allows pressurized oil to flow through passageway 200 . 1 from chamber 204 of cylinder 160 , allowing spring 206 to move piston 162 to the right , from the point of view of fig5 so stem 164 unseats ball 150 to the right , compressing spring 148 . the force of projection 190 on piston 134 , as the roller 40 rides up on lobe 23 , forces the piston 134 to the left , from the point of view of fig5 dumping oil through passageways 152 , 170 , 113 and 110 back through the solenoid valve . thus the two portions 112 and 114 of the rocker arm rotate closer together , increasing operative clearance between the exhaust valves and camshaft to the same amount as occurs when the engine brake is not operational . to summarize the operation of each cylinder of engine 20 , fig1 is first referenced . this shows the position of camshaft 22 as the roller 40 on the rocker arm 34 is on the dwell surface 21 of the camshaft , with its second lobe 25 approaching . solenoid valve 102 has been opened using the controls 104 . in this position passageways 110 and 170 in the rocker arm support and portion 112 of the rocker arm respectively are aligned with passageway 113 in shaft 38 such that engine oil is forced through passageway 152 , past ball 150 and into the chamber 180 when piston 134 is moved to the right under the action of spring 140 . the piston is prevented from moving to the left by the ball 150 which blocks the oil in the chamber 180 . thus the two portions 114 and 112 of the rocker arm are rotated away from each other , increasing the gap 200 between them and decreasing the operative clearance between the roller 40 and camshaft such that the lobe 25 on the camshaft rotates the rocker arm clockwise cracking open the exhaust valves 24 and 26 , as shown in fig3 as the roller rides up on lobe 25 . fig5 shows the position of the apparatus after lobe 25 has passed the roller 40 and the roller is riding up on lobe 23 . at this point passageway 200 . 1 in portion 112 of the rocker arm becomes aligned with passageway 115 in the shaft , which is connected to drain , allowing pressurized oil from chamber 204 of cylinder 160 to escape so spring 206 forces piston 162 to the right . this causes stem 164 to unseat ball 150 . as roller 40 begins to ride up on lobe 23 , portion 112 of the rocker arm is pushed upwardly by the camshaft , forcing projection 190 of portion 114 against piston 134 and forcing oil out from chamber 180 toward solenoid 102 through passageways 170 , 111 and 110 . when the camshaft 22 has rotated such that the roller 40 is past the lobe 23 and is approaching lobe 25 , as shown in fig1 passageway 200 . 1 is aligned with passageway 113 . 1 in shaft 38 . as seen , this receives oil from passageway 113 connected thereto . the hydraulic pressure pushes piston 162 to the left , along with stem 164 , from the point of view of fig1 . spring 148 , shown in fig7 biases ball 150 to the left so it reseats itself passageways 110 and 170 are both aligned with passageway 113 in shaft 38 in this position such that oil again fills chamber 180 in cylinder 132 as piston 134 is biased to the right by spring 140 . the oil is locked in chamber 180 by ball 150 so the portions 112 and 114 of the rocker arm are held in the relative position shown in fig5 with the gap 200 increased , and the operative clearance between the roller 40 and the camshaft 22 decreased , so lobe 25 again cracks open the exhaust valves as it reaches roller 40 . fig9 show an alternative embodiment which is generally similar to the previous embodiment and like parts have like numbers with the additional designation “ 0 . 1 ”. like engine 20 , engine 20 . 1 has a camshaft 22 . 1 with two lobes 23 . 1 and 25 . 1 . rocker arm 34 . 1 has two portions 112 . 1 and 114 . 1 . there is a piston 134 . 1 which contacts projection 190 . 1 of portion 114 . 1 . there is a ball 150 . 1 which normally seals passageway 170 . 1 against a back flow of oil from chamber 180 . 1 . there is a passageway 350 which connects chamber 180 . 1 to chamber 352 in a cylinder 354 . there is a piston 356 , 0 . 225 ″ in diameter in this example , which slidingly extends through aperture 357 at end 359 of cylinder 354 . a larger diameter , tubular piston 358 , 0 . 250 ″ in diameter in this example , extends slidingly and sealingly through aperture 361 at opposite end 360 of the cylinder . there is a screw 380 with a nylon insert 381 on the end which provides resistance against the movement of piston 358 . there is a larger diameter spring 371 pressing against the disk - shaped member 370 and which biases the piston assembly to the left , from the point of view of fig1 . when chamber 180 . 1 is supplied with pressurized oil , as the lobe 25 . 1 approaches roller 40 . 1 , pistons 356 and 358 are moved to the right due to the larger diameter of piston 358 . this compresses spring 371 . the pressure builds up as the roller 40 . 1 rides up on the lobe , causing piston 358 to project outwardly beyond the right end of cylinder 354 from the point of view of fig1 . however , once the lobe 25 . 1 has caused the exhaust valves to crack open , the pressure in the engine cylinder rapidly drops due to the escape of the compressed gases through the exhaust valves . this reduces the pressure in cylinder 354 , causing larger spring 371 to force member 370 to the left against the pressure of smaller spring 373 , moving piston 356 to the left . however tubular piston 358 lags behind due to the resistance of nylon insert 381 pressing against the piston under the action of screw 380 . member 370 therefore separates from the tubular piston 358 , allowing oil to escape from chamber 180 . 1 through the center of the tubular piston 358 and outwardly to the right from the point of view of fig1 . thus piston 134 . 1 is forced towards chamber 180 . 1 by projection 190 . 1 as the roller 40 . 1 starts to ride on lobe 23 . 1 , so the apparatus resumes its normal operational mode , equivalent to its position when the brake is not operational , prior to each exhaust stroke . fig1 - 14 show another alternative embodiment wherein like parts have like numbers as in the previous embodiments with the additional designation “ 0 . 2 ”. in this example rocker arm 34 . 2 has only a single portion instead of the two portions of the previous embodiments . however , rocker arm 34 . 2 is unconventional in that includes a mobile hydraulic finger 201 , reciprocatingly received in a hydraulic cylinder 202 . the finger has a convex outer end 205 which contacts crosshead 28 . 2 . rocker arm shaft 38 . 2 is provided with two passageways 210 and 212 , the former aligning with passageway 110 . 2 to provide pressurized oil via solenoid 102 . 2 . the latter is connected to drain . there is a passageway 220 in the rocker arm equipped with a check valve 222 including a ball 224 biased against a seat 226 via spring 228 . there is another passageway 230 which intersects passageway 221 between the check valve and cylinder 202 . as in the previous embodiments , lobe 25 . 2 serves to crack open the valves 24 . 2 and 26 . 2 near top dead center of the compression stroke . fig1 shows lobe 25 . 2 approaching roller 40 . 2 of the rocker arm . it may be seen that passageway 220 is connected to passageway 110 . 2 via passageway 210 in the rocker arm shaft and thereby receives pressurized boil oil which passes through check valve 222 to enter cylinder 202 and thereby extend finger 201 . the same time , passageway 230 is not aligned with the passageway 212 and thereby not connected to drain . thus any oil entering cylinder 202 is trapped by the check valve and the nonalignment of passageway 230 with drain . referring to fig1 , this shows the valves 24 . 2 and 26 . 2 fully cracked open near top dead center of the compression stroke . this is achieved with finger 201 fully extended . referring to fig1 , this shows the position of the camshaft 22 . 2 after lobe 25 . 2 has rotated past roller 40 . 2 and as the roller begins to ride up on lobe 23 . 2 for normal opening of the valves for the exhaust stroke . in this position , passageway 230 becomes aligned with passageway 212 and , thereby , to drain . this allows oil from cylinder 202 drain outwardly from the cylinder through passageway 230 , thereby allowing finger 201 to retract until it contacts set screw 44 . 2 . this is the position for normal valve opening where the lash and amount of valve opening are dictated by the position of screw 44 . 2 . it will be understood by someone skilled in the art that many of the details provided above are by way of example only and can be deleted or altered without departing from the scope of the invention as set out in the following claims . | 5 |
fig1 shows by way of example a schematic view of the functional principle of the inventive apparatus . sheet material 1 , e . g . a bank note , is moved by indicated conveyor rollers 14 within transport channel 10 in defined direction 2 between transmitter 20 and receiver 30 disposed below and above the transport channel , respectively . transmitter and receive are disposed relative to the transport channel such that the soundwaves emitted by the transmitter in the direction of arrow 3 impinge on sheet material 1 through opening 13 in the transport channel at nonzero angle 7 based on perpendicular 8 at the impingement point of the transmitter sound . transmitter 20 can be operated for example at an operating frequency in the range of 150 - 250 khz preferably at the resonance frequency . operation in the resonance region permits high sound power with a narrow frequency spectrum to be obtained , which is advantageous in transmission measurement . a fraction 4 of the transmitter sound reflected by the sheet material impinges on inner surface 11 of the transport channel in accordance with the reflection condition ( angle of incidence = angle of reflection ), where it is reflected and again impinges on the sheet material . this second sound fraction 4 is thus reflected several times in controlled fashion between inner surface 11 of the transport channel and the sheet material . at each reflection second sound fraction 4 is scattered so that the intensity of the second sound fraction 4 decreases greatly with an increasing number of reflections and thus becomes negligible . second sound fraction 4 thus does not disturb the transmission measurement . for testing the sheet material , for example with respect to thickness and / or weight per unit area , a first sound fraction 5 transmitted through the sheet material is detected by receiver 30 and evaluated by a device not shown . for illustration , receive 30 is inclined in fig1 relative to the direction of first sound fraction 5 such that a third sound fraction 6 reflected on the receiver has a different direction from second sound fraction 5 . third sound fraction 6 reflected by the receiver impinges on the sheet material and is reflected thereby in accordance with the reflection condition ( angle of incidence = angle of reflection ), so that third sound fraction 6 impinges on inner surface 12 of the transport channel and is reflected several times between said inner surface and the sheet material , as described above in connection with second sound fraction 4 . due to the transport channel second and third sound fractions 4 , 6 cannot reach the receiver . furthermore , the transport channel provides a shield so that interference from outside the testing apparatus can have no appreciable influence on the test . third sound fraction 6 can be neglected , however , unlike second sound fraction 4 , by reason of the low transmission factor with sheet material , being for example in the range of a few percent . by reason of the low transmission factor of the sheet material ( the sheet material reduces the sound level detected by the receiver and emitted by the transmitter by 40 db for example ), transmitter and receiver can also be disposed parallel to each other without falsifying the measuring result . fig2 shows an apparatus with a plurality of transmitters 20 and receivers 30 disposed along transport channel 10 perpendicular to the transport direction not shown here . transmitters 20 all have the same radiation characteristic and are otherwise the same as well . this also applies accordingly to receivers 30 . left transmitter 20 with opposite receiver 30 forms the first transducer pair of a first measuring track . two measuring tracks are shown here by way of example but three or four or even more measuring tracks can of course also be provided . this is dependent on the room available for the testing apparatus and the dimensions of the sheet material . the detecting areas of the testing apparatus defined by the measuring tracks are obviously to be selected with respect to the sheet material such that multiple pulls , adhesive tape on the sheet material , concertina folds or tears in the sheet material are recognized . on the faces of transducers 20 , 30 facing openings 13 of transport channel 10 , layers 21 and 31 are provided , respectively . layers 21 , 31 consist e . g . of a deadening material and are optional and serve to additionally attenuate any standing soundwaves that might form . the oscillating body can be e . g . a piezoceramic body which is electrically excited to oscillate ultrasonically by a circuit not shown here . sound 3 is emitted substantially only on the side of layer 21 . with a multitrack testing apparatus the dimensions of the transducers are to be selected as small as possible while ensuring a sufficient signal yield or sensitivity of measurement . the dimensions of the transducers are generally given by operating frequency and material of the transducers . the dimensions of the ultrasonic transducer also determine the size and shape of the sound - radiating surface of the transducer , whereby the latter as well as the effective geometric dimensions of the sound channel substantially define the aperture angle of the sound lobe produced . the aperture angle of sound 3 emitted by transmitter 20 should if possible be selected so small that only direct sound 3 emitted in a narrow lobe reaches receiver 30 . sound - carrying openings 13 of transport channel 10 can be made of the same material as the transport channel , for example by the openings being simply milled or drilled into the transport channel . additionally the walls of openings 13 can be provided with deadening material 15 . this causes reflections on the walls of the openings to be suppressed . provision of deadening material 15 is not obligatory , but dependent on the aperture angle of the sound lobe emitted by the transmitter and the thickness of limiting surfaces 11 and 12 and distance 16 between the limiting surfaces . since the sensitivity or signal yield of measurement decreases with increasing distance between transmitter and receiver in particular with transmission measurement , distance 16 between limiting surfaces 11 and 12 of transport channel 10 is to be selected as small as possible while still ensuring troublefree transport of the sheet material within the transport channel . of course , distance 16 between the limiting surfaces is dependent on the thickness of the sheet material to be tested . for testing bank notes this distance can be for example 1 mm to 5 mm . the narrow design of the transport channel causes the sound fraction reflected by the sheet material to be reflected very often between inner surface 11 of the transport channel and the material to be tested not shown here . at each reflection this sound fraction remaining in the transport channel is scattered , so that the intensity of the sound decreases with the number of reflections . the sound power of the sound fraction which can pass from one measuring track to the other measuring track is thus negligible with respect to the measuring result and can therefore not falsify the measuring result . to achieve an optimum result , distance 17 between the transducer pairs or measuring tracks should be great compared to height 16 of the transport channel , the distance between two adjacent tracks being for example at least five times as great as the height of the transport channel . fig3 a , b show an embodiment of an inventive ultrasonic transducer assembly as can be used in connection with the sheet material testing apparatus described in fig1 and 2 . fig3 a shows a plan view of an embodiment of a transducer assembly with housing 50 having insets 51 or cavities open toward a planar surface defined by an outer periphery of the housing for receiving transduces 20 . each transducer is fixed in position by corresponding knobs 52 . fig3 b shows the transducer assembly in a sectional view . cutting line a — a is shown in fig3 a . housing 50 is connected detachably with board 40 via a snap not shown here . the ultrasonic transducer assembly comprises a plurality of transducers 20 disposed side by side preferably equidistantly . in the embodiment shown here , e . g . four transmitters are disposed on common elastic element 41 . element 41 can be made for example of foam disposed on board 40 . of course , each transmitter 20 can also be disposed on single elastic element 41 , e . g . a spring . in both cases the transducers are disposed on the elastic element on the side of the transducer opposite the sound - emitting or sound - receiving side . the sound - emitting side of transducers 20 can additionally be provided with a deadening layer not shown here . said layer is optional and serves to avoid standing waves . transducers 20 are positioned between fastening knobs 52 and elastic element 41 such that the sound axes of the transmitters are aligned exactly with the receivers not shown here . cavity 51 is left on the side walls of the transducers . the cavity has the form of a hollow cylinder whose diameter is greater than the diameter of the transducer . this has the advantage that transducers 20 undergo no appreciable attenuation through the mounting during operation since the transducers are held so as to oscillate almost freely with a force corresponding for example to five times the weight of the transducer . the inventive mounting of the transducers permits the sound power emitted by the transducers in the resonance region to be reduced only negligibly . one can thus achieve a good signal yield even in transmission measurement with small transducers . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings in detail wherein like numbers represent like elements throughout , fig1 illustrates a schematic view of an assembly , generally identified 10 , as it would be configured in accordance with the present invention . the assembly 10 is comprised of at least one blind spot or “ proximity ” sensor 12 , at least one plc 14 and at least one light fixture 16 , the light fixture 16 having a visual indicator or a light emission component 18 coupled to it . the sensor 12 , plc 14 and fixture 16 are each provided with an electrical supply source ( not shown ), such as a battery . alternatively , the power to the assembly 10 could be provided via an electrical connection to the vehicle . the blind spot sensor 12 is positioned so as to detect the presence of a moving object ( not shown ) that enters a blind spot 11 . the sensor 12 is electrically connected 13 to , or wirelessly in communication with , the plc 14 . when an object enters the blind spot 11 , the plc 14 is activated and begins a timing function . this timing function is programmable to set the plc 14 in accordance with a desired period of time , such as 10 to 15 seconds . the plc 14 can also be configured to eliminate increased power consumption due to the plc 14 being required to “ listen ” for incoming signals from the sensor 12 . once activated , the plc 14 counts the time that the object continues to be in the blind spot 11 via a timer 24 . once the pre - programmed amount of time passes , the plc 14 actuates the fixture 16 that is electrically connected 15 to , or wirelessly in communication with , the plc 14 . the visual indicator portion 18 of the fixture 16 emits light 17 via a plurality of diodes or backlit screen with a message that is visualized by the driver of the object that is in the blind spot 11 . see fig3 a and 3b . although the schematic illustrated in fig1 shows the assembly 10 as having its elements “ hard - wired ” to one another , it is to be understood that the elements of the assembly 10 could also use wireless technology to accomplish the same functionality and wireless communication between the elements shown is within the scope of the present invention . it is also within the scope of the present invention to use a combination of hard - wired and wireless components or elements in the assembly 10 and such is not a limitation of the present invention . further , it is also possible with the assembly 10 of the present invention that each fixture 16 is electronically - driven by its own plc 14 . that is , the present invention is not limited to a single plc 14 as a processor for the complete assembly 10 . it is within the scope of the present invention that the use of more than one plc 14 is contemplated and such is not a limitation of the present invention . the present invention also implements means to adjust the intensity of the light emitted 17 from the visual indicator portion 18 depending on a secondary sensor 19 that senses ambient light conditions . this ambient light sensor 19 is electrically connected 21 to , or wirelessly in communication with , the plc 14 . in situations where the assembly 10 is used in full daylight , the intensity of the light emitted 17 is greater . at dusk , the emitted light intensity can be lessened . in full darkness , the intensity can be minimal . the key point here is that the light intensity is adjustable based on the ambient light that is sensed . in application , the proximity sensor 12 can be mounted , for example , at a number of locations 31 on the tractor 32 and / or a number of locations 33 on the trailer 34 of a representative tractor - trailer combination 30 . see fig2 and 4 . the proximity sensor 12 is adjustable for size and distance , which corresponds roughly to multiple blind spots 42 , 44 , 46 that are created at various points relative to the combination 30 . the plc 14 can be positioned virtually anywhere within the combination 30 , but would most likely be placed within the cab of the tractor 32 . although specific blind spots 42 , 44 , 46 are shown , it is to be understood that such blind spots are vehicle - specific and are illustrated here as representative only . further , the location of the proximity sensor 12 and the ambient light sensor 19 at points along the tractor 32 and trailer 34 can vary and such variance is within the scope of the present invention , as is the number of proximity sensors 12 used . referring now to fig3 a and 3b , shows a representative light fixture , generally identified 50 , which is the counterpart of the element 12 shown in the schematic diagram of fig1 , that is attachable to the tractor 32 or trailer 34 of the combination 30 . to reduce drag on the combination 30 , this inventor intends that the fixture 50 be a three - sided structure that is configured in a somewhat triangular shape when viewed from the top of the fixture 50 , as shown in fig3 a and 3b . the fixture 50 , or several of them , would be placed at a point or a number of points 31 , 33 along the tractor 32 or the trailer 34 , respectively , or possibly both . see fig4 . proper placement of the light fixture 50 and its light emissive element is important . as illustrated , the light fixture 50 is shown as a triangularly - shaped structure 52 having a rearwardly - directed face 54 . this face 54 is the one facing other vehicles that may be in the blind spot of the tractor - trailer combination 30 . the lighted or backlit lighting and lettering , words , symbols or other warning indicia 56 are positioned along the face 54 such that the driver of a vehicle 60 within the blind spots 42 , 44 , 46 can easily visualize them . again , see fig3 a and 3b . though not limiting , this inventor believes that the lettering in a preferred embodiment would be , for example , “ you are in my blind spot .” it is also within the scope of the present invention that more than one message could be displayed using the warning indicia 56 . for example , it is possible that the “ you are in my blind spot ” phrase could be followed by the message “ you need to move ,” which would then indicate to the driver of the vehicle 60 in that blind spot 42 needs to move out of that blind spot . these two phrases could be sequentially repeated until the proximity sensor 12 has detected that the vehicle 60 is now out of that blind spot 42 . after a second preprogrammed amount of time following departure of the vehicle 60 from the blind spot 42 , the plc 14 will cause the light emission 17 to stop . as alluded to earlier , it is also desirable that the warning indicia 56 not be lit each time a vehicle 60 , 62 enters a blind spot . referring back to fig2 , for example , it will be appreciated that a vehicle 60 passing the combination 30 on the tractor driver &# 39 ; s side would enter the blind spot 42 . this would actuate the plc 14 to start a counting functionality via the timer 24 . however , and because the vehicle 60 is moving quickly through the blind spot 42 , the proximity sensor 12 will signal the non - existence of the vehicle 60 within that blind spot 42 and the fixture 50 will not be actuated . if the vehicle 60 lingers within that blind spot 42 for the preprogrammed period of time , however , the timer 24 will signal the plc 14 to send a signal to the fixture 16 , thereby actuating the light emission portion 18 of the assembly 10 and warn the driver of the vehicle 60 within the blind spot 42 that he or she should move out of that blind spot 42 . further , no light 17 is emitted when a vehicle 62 is wholly outside the blind spot 42 or passes through it within the pre - set amount of time as described above . the same functionality is true of blind spots 44 and 46 . further , and as was also alluded to previously , the assembly 10 utilizes an ambient light sensor 19 which can send a constant feed to the plc 14 such that actuation of the light emission portion 18 can be controlled in a way that adjusts the intensity or brightness of the light 17 being emitted by the fixture 50 . during bright sunny days , the intensity would need to be greater than it would be in the dark . the plc 14 can control the amount light 17 being emitted depending on the ambient light being detected by the sensor 19 as may be desired or required in order to optimize the ability of the other driver to visualize the warning . it is also desirable for the foregoing functionality to be inoperative when the engine ( not shown ) of the tractor - trailer combination 30 not running in traffic , such as when the combination 30 is parked and even though the engine may be idling , which can be for extended periods of time . it is , however , desirable for the foregoing functionality to be fully operative when the engine is running and in traffic , such as when the tractor - trailer combination 30 is not moving in traffic or when the combination 30 is stopped at an intersection . the key notion here is that the functionality be discontinued whenever the combination is not moving , or not soon to be moving , in traffic . lastly , it is also desirable to adapt the foregoing functionality to an auditory mode or other visual mode , both of which are incorporated here by reference though not completely disclosed in a detailed embodiment . as referred to in the claims below , the tractor - trailer combination 30 can be referred to simply as “ a first vehicle and / or a trailer .” such “ first vehicle ” may be any large motor vehicle such as a straight truck , a bus , a motor home , among others that may have been mentioned in this detailed description or elsewhere in this disclosure . the vehicles 60 , 62 which may drive through or remain within a blind spot can be referred to in the claims below simply as “ a second vehicle .” such “ second vehicle ” may be any large or small motor vehicle , but would typically comprise an automobile or small truck , among others that may have been mentioned in this detailed description or elsewhere in this disclosure . | 1 |
for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention , reference will now be made to preferred embodiments and specific language will be used to describe the same . it will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended , such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device , and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates . as previously indicated , the present invention uses an air - permeable and adhesive - permeable “ cloth ” material to hold loose fill insulation in position in a wall cavity until the inner wall material can be installed . the cloth is preferably installed by gluing it to the vertical studs with a flowable adhesive that is applied with a roller . referring to the figures , fig1 shows the support skeleton for the inner walls of a building structure . the structure includes a number of vertically extending studs 1 mounted between lower joists 2 and upper joists 3 . the studs 1 are typically spaced uniformly from one another except where windows or corners interrupt the even spacing . when this happens , small cavities 4 are created . in either case though , a number of wall spaces opening toward the interior are formed between each adjoining pair of vertical studs . after the outer wall material 6 has been installed , it is desirable to place insulation in the wall spaces before the inner wall material 7 is installed . with this method , there is no need to remove part of the inner wall to install the insulation . to support the insulation before the inner wall is installed however , a support material must be placed where the inner wall will be . the support material must keep the insulation material completely back in the wall cavity , so that the inner wall may be installed flush against the studs . even ½ inch of bowing of the insulation may mean that the drywall cannot be installed properly . further , the support material should allow air to escape from the cavity as the insulation material is being blown in . this also helps to keep the insulation material from extending outward from the wall cavity . to accomplish these goals , an air - permeable and adhesive - permeable “ cloth ” material 8 is used to hold the loose fill insulation in position until the inner wall material can be installed . the cloth is secured to the studs using a flowable adhesive that can be “ painted ” on with a roller . the adhesive is painted onto the areas of cloth that overlie the stud face . as it soaks through the cloth and dries , it secures the cloth to the stud face . more specifically describing the cloth material , a polypropylene cloth is preferably used as the air - permeable / adhesive - permeable material . the most preferred material is a polypropylene encapsulated material sold under the trade name insulweb ®. the air - permeable / adhesive - permeable material preferably weighs between about 1 . 0 and 1 . 5 ounces per square yard , with a weight of 1 . 25 ounces per square yard being most preferred . the material preferably has a thickness of between 6 and 10 mils , with a thickness of 8 mils being most preferred . the danier per filament is preferably 6 - 10 , and is most preferably 8 . the most preferred cloth material has a mullen burst of at least about 35 psi . the sheet grab tensile md , and the sheet grab tensile xd are both preferably at least about 35 lbs ., while the trapezoid tear md and the trapezoid tear xd are both preferably at least about 18 lbs . the probe is preferably at least about 12 lbs ., and the melting point is preferably at least about 300 f , and is most preferably between 325 and 335 f . the specific gravity is preferably about 0 . 90 . the cloth is secured - to the stud faces using a flowable adhesive that is applied with a roller . the adhesive is preferably a latex adhesive that can be applied like latex paint . most preferably , a latex fabric adhesive such as bridges - smith fabric adhesive d is used . that adhesive dries in 20 to 45 minutes , depending on humidity , etc ., and holds with a force of at least about 4 psi after 10 minutes of drying time , a force of at least about 8 psi after 25 minutes of drying time ( at 90 % humidity ), and a force of at least about 14 psi when fully dry . in cold weather it may be preferable to use a hydrocarbon adhesive such as capital adhesive product # 3004 . the cloth is preferably installed by initially securing its upper and lower edges to the upper and lower wall plates with staples , nails , tacks , tape , glue , or some other fastener that can be installed quickly . then , the cloth material is “ permanently ” secured to each of the vertical studs by “ painting ” the adhesive onto the cloth ( where it covers the stud face ) with a brush or roller , and allowing the adhesive to begin drying . the use of the cloth material and the brush or roller makes a more secure attachment since the adhesive covers the entire stud face when applied that way , and since the number of strands of material that are glued to the stud face is increased with this relatively dense - woven cloth . in the most preferred embodiment , the air - permeable and adhesive - permeable cloth 8 is first stapled in the upper right comer to the top plate ( joist ) 3 using standard construction staples 9 . it is preferred to allow several inches excess past the corner so that excess cloth is provided on each end to provide a handhold for stretching and to compensate for cutting errors . the cloth is stapled across the top plate 3 every two to six inches pulling the cloth tight on the go . the top of the cloth is kept in alignment with top plate 3 . when tape is used to secure the cloth ( such as with metal studs ), a piece of tape is used every foot or so . preferably the tape is double - stick ( also referred to as double - backed or double - sided tape ) adhesive tape , although single - sided tape may alternatively be used . once the cloth is stapled to top plate 3 , it is stretched taunt in the middle towards the bottom plate 2 and stapled there . then the cloth is stapled to the bottom plate 2 every 2 to 6 inches , stretching on the go and working from the middle out to the corners . after the upper and lower edges have been secured to the upper and lower plates , it is preferred to also secure the cloth to at least some of the vertical studs to initially hold the cloth in place . most preferably , the comer vertical studs are stapled every 4 to 12 inches stretching from the middle upward and downward . the foregoing method is preferably used on each wall to be insulated , covering the whole wall . once the cloth is in place it is easily cut to uncover any aperture areas required such as windows , doors , electrical boxes , plumbing , etc . after cloth 8 has been stapled to plates 2 and 3 , and to some of studs 1 , the cloth is glued to the face of the vertical studs 1 for the whole length of the stud . the adhesive should be applied to that it is substantially smooth and flat relative to the stud face . this can be accomplished by applying the adhesive with a common paint roller . the adhesive is allowed to begin drying , usually for about 10 - 30 minutes , depending on temperature , humidity , etc . one advantage of the present invention is that it provides feedback as to the quality of the bond between the cloth and the stud . specifically , where the adhesive is securely holding the cloth to the stud ( i . e ., the cloth is in intimate contact with the stud and the adhesive is dry ), the cloth and adhesive will be substantially transparent and the installer will see the wood - colored stud surface very clearly through the cloth . alternatively , when the bond is not good ( such as where adhesive was not applied , or where the adhesive is not dry ), the installer will not clearly see the wood - colored stud surface , but will instead see the milky - white color of the cloth and adhesive . thus , one can look at the color of the cloth along the studs , and can easily see if and where there is poor adhesion . touch - ups can then be made where necessary before the wall is installed . cellulose insulation 10 is blown into the cavities formed by the studs and cloth , preferably through a hose with a “ wand ” ( hereinafter referred to as an installation tube ) attached to the end . in the most preferred embodiments the installation tube is an aluminum tube approximately 2 inches in diameter ( inner diameter ), and about 48 inches long . the four - foot length is preferred since it is easy to maneuver , yet also allows the installer to stand on the floor and still insulate above windows , doors , etc ., although a shorter tube may be preferred for some areas . the tube is preferably beveled at the end , such as a 45 bevel . using the installation tube , an aperture 11 is punched into cloth 8 a little off - center of each cavity . in one preferred embodiment the punch hole ( aperture ) is positioned about 40 inches off the floor . although the height off the floor will depend in part on operator height and preference , it has been found that placing the aperture about 40 inches off the floor generally works best for an eight foot tall cavity . the cellulose is propelled to the cavity by any suitable blowing means , preferably an air blower 12 with a hose 13 for directing and placing the insulation , as noted above . hose 13 may be virtually any length and diameter consistent with the delivery rate of the cellulose blowing machine being used . more specifically describing the preferred mode of installation , the installation tube is inserted into the cavity through the punch hole and is pushed downward to within a few inches of the bottom plate . the angled end of the tube is turned away from the operator and the blowing means is started . as the cellulose material is delivered , the hose is withdrawn with a series of small upward and downward jerks as each layer beneath the end of the hose is filled . if during withdrawal , pockets form that are not fully packed ( sometimes vertical runs of wire 5 will cause this ), the tube can be pushed into those areas to complete the filling . when the punched hole is reached , the hose is turned upward and pushed about six inches above the hole and paused until enough cellulose has been delivered to effect a filter function . then the installation tube is pushed to the top of the cavity and withdrawn in a series of small downward and upward jerks . as described above , any pockets that form are filled by pushing the tube into them . for cavities that are too small for the installation tube to be used effectively ( typically one to two inches in width or height ), a one inch nozzle is placed on the end of the hose . the nozzle is inserted through the cloth in as many positions as needed to fill the cavity . for cavities that are too small for the one - inch diameter nozzle , a foam - in - place insulation material may be used . it is to be appreciated that the present invention provides a method of supporting the insulation that minimizes bulging and therefore keeps the insulation material from extending beyond the vertical stud face . additionally , the smoothed and flattened adhesive 20 totally excludes cellulose from the faces of the studding . thus , with this method a denser pack of insulation may be used , improving insulating efficiency while still allowing a flush fit of the interior drywall . it is also to be appreciated that the present invention provides for a faster installation , making the process more efficient and economical . the use of rollers to apply the adhesive saves substantial time from the caulking gun method of the prior art . lastly , the strength of the bond between the cloth and the stud is improved over the strength of the bond when netting and a “ caulking gun adhesive ” were used . the area being held by the adhesive is greater since the adhesive more completely covers the stud face , and the number of strands of material being secured ( per square inch ) is greater with the cloth than it was with the netting . while the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the foregoing description , the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character , it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention are desired to be protected . | 4 |
referring now to the drawings in detail , and more particularly to fig1 the reference character 11 represents a rack 11 , which may be easily inserted and removed from tank 12 . rack 11 and tank 12 form a low volume photosensitive material processing vessel 13 . when rack 11 is inserted in tank 12 , a space 10 is formed . rack 11 and tank 12 are designed in a manner to minimize the volume of space 10 . the outlet 6 of vessel 13 is connected to recirculating pump 17 via conduit 16 . recirculating pump 17 is connected to manifold 20 via conduit 5 and manifold 20 is connected to filter 25 via conduit 24 . filter 25 is connected to heat exchanger 26 and heat exchanger 26 is connected to control logic 29 via wire 9 . control logic 29 is connected to heat exchanger 26 via wire 8 and sensor 27 is connected to control logic 29 via wire 28 . metering pumps 7 , 18 and 19 are respectively connected to manifold 20 via conduits 21 , 22 and 23 . the photographic processing chemicals that comprise the photographic solution are placed in metering pumps 7 , 18 and 19 . pumps 7 , 18 and 19 are used to place the correct amount of chemicals in manifold 20 . manifold 20 introduces the photographic processing solution into conduit 24 . the photographic processing solution flows into filter 25 via conduit 24 . filter 25 removes particulate matter and dirt that may be contained in the photographic processing solution . after the photographic processing solution has been filtered , the solution enters heat exchanger 26 . sensor 27 senses the temperature of the solution and transmits the temperature of the solution to control logic 29 via wire 28 . for example , control logic 29 is the series cn 310 solid state temperature controller manufactured by omega engineering , inc . of 1 omega drive , stamford , conn . 06907 . logic 29 compares the solution temperature sensed by sensor 27 and the temperature that exchanger 26 transmitted to logic 29 via wire 8 . logic 29 will inform exchanger 26 , via wire 9 to add or remove heat from the solution . thus , logic 29 and heat exchanger 26 modify the temperature of the solution and maintain the solution temperature at the desired level . at this point the solution enters vessel 13 via inlet 4 . when vessel 13 contains too much solution the excess solution will be removed by drain 14 and flow into reservoir 15 . the remaining solution will circulate through space 10 and reach outlet line 6 . thereupon , the solution will pass from outlet 6 to conduit line 16 to recirculation pump 17 . the photographic solution contained in the apparatus of this invention , when exposed to the photosensitive material , will reach a seasoned state more rapidly than prior art systems , because the volume of the photographic processing solution is less . fig2 is a schematic diagram showing rack 11 positioned within tank 12 . handle section 11a of rack 11 includes a panel 40 . panel 40 has a cutout section 41 which allows driven roller 43 of rack section 11a to rotate in the vicinity of panel 40 . panel 40 also has a cutout section 44 which allows driven roller 51 of rack section 11b to rotate in the vicinity of panel 40 . driving roller 45 engages roller 43 . driving roller 46 drives driven roller 47 . rollers 46 and 47 are attached to section 11a . bottom plate 48 is connected to panel 40 and side plates 49 . handle 50 is connected to side plates 49 so that an individual may be able to grasp handle 50 and move rack 11 in the direction indicated by arrow x , thereby inserting rack 11 into tank 12 . this is the position shown in fig2 . handle 50 may also be grasped and moved in the direction indicated by arrow y to remove rack 11 from tank 12 . top section 11b of rack 11 includes panel 52 and driving roller 51 and center section 11c of rack 11 includes panels 53 and 54 and driving roller 60 . bottom section 11d of rack 11 includes panels 61 and 62 , driving roller 34 and driven roller 33 . tank section 12a includes a housing section 65 . tank section 12b include sides 71 . tank section 12c includes driven rollers 73 and 74 and sides 325 . roller 73 is connected to plate 85 and driven roller 74 is connected to plate 76 . plates 85 and 76 are connected to side 325 . bottom section 12d of tank 12 includes bottom panel 77 and sides 78 . outlet conduit 6 passes through panel 77 and inlet conduit 4 passes through side 71 . photosensitive material 80 may be a continuous web or cut sheets of film or photographic paper . the emulsion side of material 80 may face either rack 11 or tank 12 . material 80 passes in space 10 between rollers 45 and 43 , roller 51 and side 71 , rollers 73 and 60 , rollers 34 and 33 , rollers 60 and 74 , roller 51 and side 71 and between rollers 46 and 47 . photographic processing solution 75 reaches a level 86 within tank 12 . photographic solution 75 will be contained between level 86 , space 10 and photosensitive material 80 . thus , a small volume of photographic solution 75 will be on both sides of photosensitive material 80 between rack 11 and tank 12 . rack 11 and tank 12 respectively comprise : handle sections 11a and 12a ; top sections 11b and 12b ; center sections 11c and 12c ; and bottom sections 11d and 12d . tank 12 and rack 11 respectively have textured surfaces 300 and 301 . the manner in which surfaces 300 and 301 function will be more fully set forth in the description of fig5 and fig6 . the length of rack 11 and tank 12 may be adjusted for different processing step in the photographic process . if a vessel shorter than vessel 13 of fig2 is required , center rack section 11c and center tank section 12c may be respectively deleted from rack 11 and tank 12 . if a longer vessel than vessel 13 of fig2 is required , one or more top sections 11b and 12b and one or more center sections 11c and 12c may be respectively connected between present sections 11c and 12c and present sections 11d and 12d . fig3 is a side view of roller 51 and textured surface 301 of rack 11 . rollers 60 and 34 are connected in a manner similar to the connection of roller 51 of fig3 . panels 40 and 52 of rack 11 respectively have curved portions 83 and 84 . portions 83 and 84 are shaped so that they will match the curvature of the outer surface of roller 51 and minimize the volume of solution 75 that will be contained between roller 51 and portions 83 and 84 . thus , the least amount of solution 75 is used to fill the voids around roller 51 . fig4 is a side view of roller 74 and roller 60 respectively of tank section 12c of fig2 . panel 53 and panel 54 with textured surface 301 are shaped so that they will match the curvature of roller 60 and minimize the volume of solution 75 that will be contained between the shaped portions of panels 53 and 54 . panel 52 with textured surface 301 butts against panel 53 and panel 61 with textured surface 301 butts against panel 54 . roller 73 of fig2 is connected in the same manner as roller 74 . retainer 88 has a notch 89 . one end of spring 90 is connected to notch 89 and the other end of spring 90 is connected to the hub of roller 74 . one end of plate 91 is connected to retainer 88 and the other end of plate 91 is connected to textured surface 300 . one end of plate 92 is connected to retainer 88 and the other end of plate 92 is connected to textured surface 300 . plates 91 and 92 are connected to retainer 88 and surface 300 in a manner to minimize the amount of surface contact roller 74 has with space 10 . retainer 88 is connected to back plate 76 by any known fastening means , i . e ., bolts , screws , etc . plate 76 is connected to side 325 of tank section 12c to minimize the volume of solution 75 that exists in the voids between the above surfaces , plates , rollers and tank . photosensitive material 80 passes between rollers 60 and 74 so that driving roller 60 may move photosensitive material 80 in space 10 between textured surfaces 300 and 301 . roller 74 is spring loaded towards back plate 87 so that roller 74 may be moved out of the way when rack 11 is seated in tank 12 . when rack 11 is properly seated in tank 12 roller 74 will move in the direction shown by arrow a until it engages driving roller 60 . fig5 is a perspective drawing of textured fluid - bearing surface 301 which is affixed to rack 11 of fig2 . textured surface 301 is textured by any known process , e . g ., knurling , molded , edm electro - discharged machined or applied . knurls 95 are shown on surface 301 . the texturing improves the flow of solution 75 between the photosensitive material 80 and rack 11 . this yields a bearing of fluid aiding photosensitive material transport through rack 11 . it also allows for improved circulation of solution 75 and makes it easier for particulate matter to escape direct and damaging contact with photosensitive material 80 . textured surface 301 provides space between rack 11 and space 10 to prevent particulate matter from scratching , abrading or pressure sensitizing photosensitive material 80 . fig6 is a perspective drawing of textured fluid bearing surface 300 of tank 12 . textured surface 300 is textured by any known process , e . g ., knurling , molded , edm electro - discharged machined or applied . knurls 96 are shown on surface 300 . texturing improves the flow of solution 75 between photosensitive material 80 and tank 12 . this yields a bearing of fluid aiding photosensitive material transport through tank 12 . it also allows for improved circulation of the solution 75 and makes it easier for particulate matter to escape direct and damaging contact with photosensitive material 80 . textured surface 300 provides space between tank 12 and space 10 to prevent particulate matter from scratching , abrading or pressure sensitizing photosensitive material 80 . fig7 is a perspective drawing of slot nozzle 97 . slot 98 runs from top surface 99 of slot nozzle 97 to bottom surface 100 of slot nozzle 97 . nozzle 97 may be affixed to tank 12 or rack 11 ( fig2 ) by inserting any known fastening means , i . e ., bolts , rivets , screws , etc . in orifices 101 and attaching the fastening means to tank 12 or rack 11 . surface 100 will be coincident with the inside wall of tank 12 . processing solution 75 will enter slot 98 near top surface 99 and exit slot 98 near bottom surface 100 . fig8 is a bottom view of slot nozzle 97 of fig7 . slot 98 will distribute fresh processing solution along width x . width x will be wider than the width of photosensitive material 80 . the depth or thickness y of slot 98 is such that y / x ( 100 ) is less than 1 . fig9 is a perspective drawing of a plurality of slot nozzles 97 in processing tank 12 . nozzle 97 is connected to tank 12 in such a manner that surface 100 will be coincident with the inner wall of textured surface 300 of tank 12 . fresh processing solution 75 will enter port 335 and conduit 330 of nozzle 97 in the direction indicated by arrow a and exit nozzle 97 in the direction indicated by arrow b . to achieve the desired photographic reaction between the processing solution and the surface of the photosensitive material the position and quantity of nozzles 97 may be varied by one skilled in the art . fig1 is a side view of a plurality of slot nozzles 97 positioned within tank 12 . surface 100 ( not shown ) of slot nozzles 97 are coincident with the inner wall of textured surface 300 of tank 12 . photosensitive material 80 may be a continuous web or cut sheets of film or photographic paper . the emulsion side of material 80 may face either rack 11 or tank 12 . material 80 passes in space 10 between roller 45 and 43 , roller 51 , rollers 73 and 60 , rollers 34 and 33 , rollers 60 and 74 , roller 51 and between rollers 46 and 47 . photographic processing solution 75 reaches a level 86 within tank 12 . photographic solution 75 will be contained between level 86 , space 10 and photosensitive material 80 . thus , a small volume of photographic solution 75 will be on both sides of photosensitive material 80 between rack 11 and tank 12 . slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ; are positioned in the wall of tank 12 below rollers 43 , 45 and 51 . nozzles 97 &# 39 ; are removable for servicing or replacement . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of tank 12 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh processing solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ;. slot nozzles 97 &# 34 ; are positioned in the wall of tank 12 below rollers 73 and 60 . nozzles 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ; are removable for servicing or replacement . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of tank 12 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh processing solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzles 97 &# 34 ;. slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ; are positioned in the wall of tank 12 below rollers 74 and 60 and above rollers 33 and 34 . nozzles 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ; are removable for servicing or replacement . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of tank 12 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh processing solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ;. slot nozzles 97 iv are positioned in the wall of tank 12 below rollers 46 , 47 and 51 . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of tank 12 . nozzles 97 iv are removable for servicing or replacement . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzle 97 iv . fig1 is a side view of a plurality of slot nozzles 97 positioned within rack 11 . surface 100 ( not shown ) of slot nozzles 97 are coincident with the inner wall of textured surface 301 of rack 11 . photosensitive material 80 may be a continuous web or cut sheets of film or photographic paper . the emulsion side of material 80 may face either rack 11 or tank 12 . material 80 passes in space 10 between rollers 45 and 43 , roller 51 , rollers 73 and 60 , rollers 34 and 33 , rollers 60 and 74 , roller 51 and between rollers 46 and 47 . photographic processing solution 75 reaches a level 86 within tank 12 . photographic solution 75 will be contained between level 86 , space 10 and photosensitive material 80 . thus , a small volume of photographic solution 75 will be on both sides of photosensitive material 80 between rack 11 and tank 12 . slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ; are positioned in the wall of rack 11 below rollers 43 , 45 and 51 . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of rack 11 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ;. slot nozzles 97 &# 34 ; are positioned in the wall of rack 11 below rollers 73 and 60 . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of rack 11 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzles 97 &# 34 ;. slot nozzles 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ; are positioned in the wall of rack 11 below rollers 74 and 60 and above rollers 33 and 34 . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of rack 11 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh solution 75 that is delivered by material 80 by slot nozzle 97 &# 39 ;&# 39 ;&# 39 ;. slot nozzles 97 iv are positioned in the wall of rack 11 below rollers 46 , 47 and 51 . as photosensitive material 80 is processed , a boundary layer of exhausted processing solution forms in space 10 between material 80 and the wall of rack 11 . the boundary layer of exhausted solution is broken up by fresh solution 75 that is delivered to material 80 by slot nozzle 97 iv . the above specification describes a new and improved apparatus for processing photosensitive materials . it is realized that the above description may indicate to those skilled in the art additional ways in which the principles of this invention may be used without departing from the spirit . it is , therefore , intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
referring now to the drawings , wherein similar parts of the instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) program 10 are identified by like reference numerals , there is seen in fig1 a block diagram of the instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) program 10 with a key 12 indicating the meaning of the different symbols and lines found on the diagram and block 14 indicating the four marketing methods . the prior art internet based map block 16 is initially used to locate a specific store location and then the instant store map system ( ism ) 18 can be brought up where the user can be anywhere with internet access designated in block 20 and search to a map indicated in block 22 before going to the search product in block 24 or to the map block 26 . from map block 26 the user can search by category indicated in block 28 or enter the product shown in block 30 and then go to search results and marketing methods one and two indicated in block 32 where you can see if it is in stock 34 or receive a pop - up ( marketing method 1 ) and item from top of the list ( marketing method 2 ) as indicated by block 36 or go directly to choosing the product while receiving marketing method three depicted in block 38 . it is anticipated by this disclosure of the present invention , that deployment of the invention may be done using the internet , wifi , lan , wan , wwan , rfid and any other wireless type of localized system of communicating . after choosing the product user can get directions to the product indicated in block 40 where the user can get directions to product from store location or from any location indicated in block 42 or just get the product indicated in block 44 . additionally after map box 26 user can search by zooming marketing method four indicated in block 46 where the user can zoom to a particular product or can zoom by sub - categories ( layers ) indicated in block 48 or choose the general product indicated in block 50 . then user can get directions to all similar products indicated in block 54 . while in search by zooming marketing method four indicated in block 46 user can select the precise product indicated in block 56 and go to get directions to the product as indicated in block 49 or choose product search results and be routed as indicated in block 32 . fig2 shows an embodiment of the delivery of the computer implemented web - based system over the internet . the end use application ( service customer ) is a website that is external to the system and that communicates with the system via web services from the customer website or directly from the customer website &# 39 ; s end user &# 39 ; s client browser . as shown , the system ma be distributed across multiple computers on a network . this consists of one or more web servers ( or web farm ), which collect data and process content recommendation requests . the web servers pass data to one or more application databases via a message queuing system that allows the web servers to continue processing while the much slower database servers feed the data into permanent storage , such as non - volatile ram , direct - attached raid array , network attached storage ( nas ), or storage area network ( san ). additionally , one or more data centers are used to retrieve floor plan maps and other data from an application database and uses the data to generate the delivered floor plans and product information as well as advertising associated to the products and related products . the resulting web - based computer implemented instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) system and instant store map system ( ism ) works on any fixed or mobile computer able to access the internet . it is anticipated that the system will also work wirelessly through the use of an application ( also known as “ apps ”) located on a mobile phone or smartphone . the system may also use the smartphone &# 39 ; s gps system to locate the user and deliver the floor plan of the store / facility being visited . moreover , the system may collect customer use data for the purpose of targeting future customers , and may be connected to social media sites for product / item related communications therein . fig3 depicts a block diagram of the prior art internet base map system 16 where the person with the mobile internet device is shown in block 60 can search for the desired store using the internet based device shown in block 62 then find the desire store using the internet based map in block 64 . the person gets the directions to the desired store using the internet based map 16 and once the directions are given an icon with the option to click on the store will appear shown in block 66 . fig4 depicts a block diagram of the instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) program 10 illustrating where the instant store map ( ism ) in block 70 after receiving the information from the prior art internet store map system 16 the person can go directly to ism if they are at the store or heading to a known store or at home or anywhere with internet shown in block 72 . the person can be in route to the store or at the store and see a map of the store floor plan 74 . from the instant store map ( ism ) 70 the person can either search for product as indicated in block 24 ( same as block 26 ) or can choose a department with the ability to zoom in and out of departments entire area shown in block 76 . the person can then choose the general product sub - categories shown in block 78 then choose the product shown in block 80 and the related products are advertised in block 82 . the related products advertised can be related product # 1 in block 84 , and related product # 2 in block 86 along with any additional products . fig5 depicts a continuation of the block diagram of the instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) system 10 where a person using the instant store map ( ism ) 70 , for example after entering the store shown in block 88 searches for the desired product shown in block 90 then enters the product to search for in the mobile internet device shown in block 92 . the person then chooses general similar product shown in block 94 and then ism marketing method 1 and 2 provides general advertisements shown in block 96 and the person chooses specific product shown in block 98 . ism marketing method 3 provides specific advertisements , general information and available coupons shown in block 100 and the person gets directions to the location in the store of the desired product from the instant facility / store map ( ism ) shown in block 102 . fig6 depicts a block diagram of a typical store floor plan 110 that illustrates the different typical department locations , such as hardware shown in block 112 and electronics in block 114 with marketing blocks 11 in the corners illustrating advertisements , general information and available coupons . fig7 depicts a block diagram of an electronics department 114 with the televisions shown in block 119 among other items in that department . fig8 depicts a block diagram of a typical marketing advertisement 116 with the first advertisements displayed as bold outstanding advertisements shown in block 118 then to search by size shown in block 120 and search by price shown in block 122 then smaller advertisements such as televisions 1 , 2 , 3 , etc . along with information and coupons are displayed in successive blocks 124 . fig9 is a block diagram indicates the marketing process after the person has chosen the desired product depicted in block 130 such as a television shown in block 132 with related products shown in block 134 . the related products may consist of dvr &# 39 ; s in block 136 with advertisements in block 138 , antennas in block 140 , blue ray disc players in block 142 , dvd players in block 144 , connection cables in block 146 each having the connections to similar advertisements 138 . fig1 depicts a block diagram of marketing method four 150 , starting with acquisition of the map 26 ( see fig1 ). in this example , the user / customer is searching for a power drill , and the map 26 leads the user to the complete floor plan ( plan view ) of the store 152 , in which numerous departments are shown , such as department 154 , sporting goods 156 , bed and bath 158 , hardware 160 and electronics 162 . as is shown in the sporting goods department 156 , an advertiser can place an ad “ a ” 166 by paying a fee , and as such may be the only advertiser to have an ad 166 on the complete store layout 152 , at this point where the complete store layout 152 is shown on the map . since the user / customer is looking for a power drill , then he or she clicks on the hardware department 160 and the screen zooms in 168 to show more detail within the hardware department 170 . within the zoomed in view of the hardware department 170 there is shown the aisles of power tools 172 and hand tools 174 locations . within the power tools aisle an advertiser may place an ad “ a ” 166 by paying the required fee to do so . the customer / user then clicks to zoom in 168 closer to the power tools aisle 172 , and this reveals greater detail of what is on the shelves , such as power tool a 174 ( power saws ), power tool b 176 , power tool c 172 ( which has the desired product power drills , in this case ) and power tools d 178 . an advertiser ( or another company ) can also pay to have an ad in any of these given locations , such as ad “ a ” 166 as shown here in the power tool d 178 location . by clicking on power tool c 172 which has the desired power drills the customer is searching for , this takes the customer to search results and marketing methods one and two indicated in block 32 of fig1 ( see fig1 ). the instant mobile marketing map ( immm ) program 10 shown in the drawings and described in detail herein disclose arrangements of elements of particular construction and configuration for illustrating preferred embodiments of structure and method of operation of the present application . it is to be understood , however , that elements of different construction and configuration and other arrangements thereof , other than those illustrated and described may be employed for providing a mobile marketing map ( immm ) program 10 in accordance with the spirit of this disclosure , and such changes , alternations and modifications as would occur to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of this design as broadly defined in the appended claims . further , the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the u . s . patent and trademark office and the public generally , and especially the scientists , engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology , to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application . the abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application , which is measured by the claims , nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way . | 6 |
illustrated schematically in fig1 is one embodiment 10 of an optical fiber ribbon manufacturing apparatus which manufactures optical ribbons in accordance with this invention . the ribbon manufacturing apparatus 10 comprises an optical fiber payout arrangement 20 , a fiber organizer 30 , a vacuum - assisted fiber - aligning guide 40 , a ribbon packaging mechanism 50 , a ribbon advancing mechanism 60 , and ribbon take - up arrangement 90 . the advancing mechanism 60 , which will be described in further detail below , draws the manufactured ribbon 12 and the ribbon components through the manufacturing line 10 . the fig1 apparatus is illustrated in side view in fig1 a . in accordance with this invention , the apparatus components are all aligned to cause the optical fibers 11 and optical fiber ribbon 12 to travel in a predetermined plane of travel denoted p . this plane of travel p , which substantially coincides with the major plane of the manufactured ribbon 12 and includes the axis of travel for the ribbon as denoted by arrow 8 , is a horizontal plane which is seen in fig1 a as line p -- p . as illustrated in fig1 a , and 2 , the payout arrangement 20 directs a plurality of optical fibers 11 into the predetermined plane of travel p . at the same time , the payout arrangement 20 also directs the optical fibers 11 into substantially parallel paths which are substantially parallel and adjacent to the ribbon axis of travel 8 . the payout arrangement minimizes the abrading of fibers , not only at the payout but also at the fibers &# 39 ; entry into fiber guide 40 . as the fibers are preliminarily directed into parallel paths in the predetermined plane of travel , the amount of bending stress and abrasion of the fibers at the entrance of guide 40 are reduced to a minimum . in the optical fiber payout arrangement 20 , a plurality of optical fiber supply reels 22 are advantageously positioned to rotate about axes substantially parallel to the ribbon axis of travel 8 . a plurality of first idler sheaves 24 , one corresponding to each reel 22 , receive the fibers 11 from the reels 22 . preferably , the first idler sheaves 24 rotate on axes substantially parallel to the ribbon axis of travel 8 and are grooved along their circumferences to engage the fibers 11 from reels 22 . a plurality of second idler sheaves 26 , also grooved along their circumferences , are substantially adjacent to the corresponding first idler sheaves 24 , from which corresponding fibers 11 are fed . the second idler sheaves 26 rotate on axes substantially normal to the ribbon axis of travel 8 to direct the fibers 11 into the parallel paths in the predetermined plane of travel as illustrated in fig2 . advantageously , the fibers 11 do not cross or touch in their paths due to the v - shaped arrangement of the second idler sheaves 26 with respect to the ribbon axis of travel 8 . the second idler sheaves 26 furthest from the fiber guide 40 feed the centermost fibers 11 of the ribbon 12 to the guide 40 . each corresponding pair of first and second idler sheaves , 24 and 26 respectively , are coupled so that the path travelled by the corresponding fiber 11 between the two sheaves is substantially normal to the rotational axes of both sheaves to minimize abrasion of fiber 11 by the sheaves . the idler sheaves 24 and 26 have diameters substantially larger than the diameters of the fiber such that optical losses and breakage due to bending are minimized . in the fig . 2 fiber payout arrangement , the optical fibers 11 are helically wrapped about the reels 22 so that the fibers 11 pay out to the sheaves 24 from different points along the rotational axes of the reels 22 . the first idler sheaves 24 are hence mounted on bearings , such as known conventionally in the art , which permit the sheaves 24 to translate , as indicated by arrows 25 , in response to the fibers 11 feeding from the reels 22 so that the fibers 11 can follow their most natural paths into sheaves 24 . this advantageously ensures that fibers 11 are not substantially skewed as they make contact with idler sheaves 24 . as an alternative to the above payout arrangement 20 , or as an additional fiber directing device to control the fibers 11 entering fiber guide 40 is fiber organizer 30 shown in fig1 and 3 . organizer 30 comprises a plurality of flexible tubes 32 , made of a material such as low density polyethylene , and hence bendable at very low stresses . the tubes 32 have interior circumferences substantially larger than the fibers 11 to permit easy fiber insertion and to minimize surface abrasion between the tubes 32 and the corresponding fibers 11 . the tubes 32 have first ends 35 for receiving the fibers 11 from the payout arrangement 20 or reels 22 . the second ends 33 of the tubes 32 , the ends directing the fibers 11 to fiber guide 40 , are held tightly in place with a holder 34 , which in fig3 is illustrated by a platform 36 on which it is mounted an inverted u - shaped cover 38 . the tubes at ends 33 are held in the predetermined plane of travel in fixed parallel relation with one another . the first ends 35 of the tubes 32 are left free to flex and bend in response to the movement of the fibers 11 being fed from the payout which is shown exaggerated in fig3 . as the fibers 11 travel from the first ends 35 to the second ends 33 , they are gradually urged into a coplanar and parallel arrangement . advantageously , the tubes 32 are sufficiently long in their length so that entry of corresponding fibers 11 at any forseeable angle will not cause abrupt deformations of the tubes 32 and hence not cause any abrasion or shock loads to the fibers 11 . shown in fig4 is an illustrative embodiment of the vacuum - assisted fiber - aligning guide 40 which accurately locates and holds fibers 11 in a precisely spaced coplanar array during ribbon manufacture . fiber guide 40 comprises a vacuum housing base 41 formed from a plurality of housing walls 42 mounted air tightly to platform 36 , a surface plate 43 mounted air tightly onto the housing base 41 , an exhaust line 44 for withdrawing a controlled amount of air from a vacuum chamber 45 created by housing base 41 and surface plate 43 , and a spring - mounted cover 46 . the vacuum pump connecting to the exhaust line 44 is not shown . surface plate 43 , which is also illustrated in fig5 comprises a plurality of parallel optical fiber receiving grooves 47 having the predetermined center - to - center spacing desired for the fibers 11 . a plurality of vacuum slots 48 which are located in the bottom of the grooves 47 , lead to vacuum chamber 45 and supply air suction to draw and hold the fibers 11 to the grooves 47 when the vacuum pump is operating . in accordance with this invention , the vacuum - assisted fiber - aligning guide 40 facilitates easy and precise loading of the optical fibers 11 into guide 40 in preparation for ribbon manufacture as depicted in fig6 . the fibers 11 are manually located into respective grooves 47 sequentially and held in their grooves with air suction supplied through the vacuum slots 48 . in the loading operation , a vacuum - blocking device 49 , such as a piece of paper , is placed over all the grooves 47 except for one groove 47 where a fiber 11 is to be placed . as a fiber 11 is placed near the uncovered or exposed groove 47 , air suction through the vacuum slots 48 in the groove 47 attracts the fiber 11 to the uncovered groove 47 and holds the fiber in place . preferably , the groove 47 at one end of the array is chosen as the initial exposed groove ; otherwise , a second vacuum - blocking device will be needed to cover grooves on the other side of the exposed groove . the vacuum slots 48 insure that the located fiber does not dislodge while the other fibers 11 are being located . also , because the located fiber 11 covers the slot or slots 48 of the corresponding groove 47 , the groove no longer attracts the other fibers 11 . after the first fiber 11 has been located , the vacuum - blocking device 49 is moved to expose another groove 47 , preferably one adjacent to the previously exposed groove , and another fiber 11 is located on the surface plate . this is continued until all the fibers 11 have been so located in the grooves . this simple and convenient loading technique , which requires a minimum of apparatus , accurately aligns fibers 11 in a precise array with a predetermined fiber - to - fiber spacing . advantageously , fiber guide 40 and the inventive loading technique eliminate the need to thread fibers through fixed guide channels known in the art which sacrifice fiber alignment for ease of fiber insertion and travels through the channel . after the fibers 11 have been located in their respective grooves 11 with the above loading technique , the spring - mounted cover 46 , comprising a felt pad 39 for cushioning the fibers 11 , is placed over the arrayed fibers 11 to hold them in alignment during ribbon manufacture . in accordance with this invention , the fiber guide 40 advantageously accommodates for cross - sectional variations in the fibers 11 during ribbon manufacture . in the illustrative embodiment , the cover 46 is spring - mounted to apply a controlled downward force s , as illustrated in fig4 which urges the fibers 11 against their respective grooves 47 and yet permits transverse displacements of the fibers 11 passing through guide 40 due to variations in fiber shape and size . also , in the illustrative embodiment , the vacuum pump is left on during ribbon manufacture . air suction through the vacuum slots 48 supplements the spring - mounted cover 46 by continuously vacuum - attracting the fibers 11 to their respective grooves 47 . this flexible hold on the fibers 11 reduces chances of surface abrasion or breakage of the fibers by guide 40 as the fibers are drawn along by advancing means 60 . the loading technique described above and depicted in fig6 is not limited to ribbon manufacture but can be used to easily align fibers for gang splicing , especially where the desired spacing of the fibers to be spliced differs from that of the ribbon structure or where the fibers have not yet been arranged at all . in either case , it may be desirable to use fiber organizer 30 in conjunction with fiber guide 40 ; organizer 30 would then operate to preliminarily position the fibers prior to their placement in guide 40 . while it is desirable in most gang splicing techniques to space the fibers apart at some distance greater than their diameters so that the fibers are not touching , packaging optical fibers in contiguous coplanar arrays as shown in fig8 b conserves space , and hence , is sometimes a more desirable configuration in an optical cable design . also , this configuration provides additional mechanical protection of the fibers in that the fibers support one another . it is apparent that fibers manufactured in a conttiguous array can easily be rearranged using the locating technique and apparatus depicted in fig6 when respacing the fibers for splicing is desired . fig7 illustrates a second embodiment denoted 140 of the vacuum - assisted fiber - aligning guide ( for convenience , shown without the vacuum housing ) which is used advantageously to locate and align a contiguous coplanar array of optical fibers 11 . a block 144 , which mounts onto planar surface plate 145 , forms a reference planar surface 141 substantially parallel to the desired longitudinal axes of fibers 11 . two vacuum slots 147 , to which a controlled degree of vacuum is applied , extend substantially from reference surface 141 in a direction substantially normal to reference surface 141 and are as long as needed to vacuum - attract and draw all the fibers 11 into a coplanar array to surface plate 145 during fiber loading . it is readily apparent that one slot 147 may be sufficient . to load the fibers onto surface plate 145 , a vacuum - blocking device 149 is used to cover the vacuum slots 147 but for a portion of each of the slots being used to vacuum - attract and hold a fiber being placed on surface plate 145 . after placement , a first fiber 11 is then urged against reference surface 141 with an edge 143 of the vacuum - blocking device 149 . the edge 143 is preferably linear to assure parallel abutment of fiber 11 against reference surface 141 . vacuum - blocking device 149 is then moved to expose another portion of the slots 147 , preferably near the previously placed fiber 11 , to locate a second fiber 11 . edge 143 is again used , this time to urge the second fiber 11 ino parallel alignment and abutment with the previously located fiber . this operation continues until all the fibers are arranged into a contiguous coplanar array on surface plate 145 . after the fibers have been located , a cover 146 , with a cushioning layer 148 , is then placed over the fibers . cover 146 is advantageously spring - loaded to apply controlled downward force s &# 39 ; against the aligned fibers 11 . in addition , a spring 142 having a predetermmined force is placed against the furthermost fiber 11 from the reference surface 141 to gently urge the fibers 11 toward block 144 . the forces of the cover 146 and spring 142 maintain a flexible hold on the fibers 11 during ribbon manufacture . also , the vacuum pump may be left on during ribbon manufacture to advantageously supply suction force , which will continuously urge the fibers 11 back into parallel alignment against surface plate 145 . depicted in cross - section in fig8 a and 8b are two illustrative ribbon structures made with ribbon manufacturing apparatus 10 having guides 40 and 140 respectively . both ribbon structures 12 and 12 &# 39 ; comprise a plurality of optical fibers 11 which are packaged in a parallel coplanar array and embedded between two layers 13 of pressure - sensitive adhesive , such as silicone or acrylic adhesive , which are coated on tapes 14 made of polyethylene terphthalate . the viscosity of the adhesive layers advantageously provides sufficient loose packaging of the fibers to permit stress relief , and hence to minimize microbending loss . in addition , in the illustrated ribbon structures , the optical fibers 11 are advantaeously coated with a thick polymer layer , such as disclosed in u . s . pat . application , ser . no . 639 , 912 , filed dec . 11 , 1975 , and assigned to the assignee hereof . the coating , which reduces microbending loss and affords abrasion protection , is applied to the fibers before they are wound onto the optical fiber supply reels 22 in the illustrated apparatus 10 . these particular ribbon structures are easy to separate for splicing purposes . the adhesive backed tapes can easily be pulled apart after they are nicked . the ribbon packaging mechanism 50 illustrated in fig1 comprises two payout reels 51 for feeding the adhesive backed tapes 15 to two pressure rollers 52 with the adhesive layers 13 facing each other . the arrayed fibers 11 from fiber guide 40 feed into pressure rollers 52 between the tapes 15 . the pressure rollers 52 cause adhesion of the adhesive layers 13 to the fibers and cohesion between the two adhesive layers 13 which , in turn , simultaneously embeds the fibers 11 . guiding rollers 54 direct the tapes 15 from the reels 51 to pressure rollers 52 . it is apparent that other techniques of packaging the fibers can be used in conjunction with applicants &# 39 ; inventive apparatus 10 , and would depend on the resulting optical fiber ribbon structure desired and the supporting medium involved . however , whether the packaging mechanism involves only pressure rollers to produce a ribbon or thermal heat in conjunction with rollers such as used in several other known ribbon structures , the ribbon - like supporting medium , such as the tape 15 , in the illustrated embodiment , is wider than that desired for the ultimate or finished ribbon structure to permit removal of extraneous segments 16 of the ribbon - like supporting medium extending from the outermost fibers of the ribbon structure . shown in fig1 is a ribbon cutter 64 , which comprises two blade cutters 69 set apart at somme predetermined spacing ; the cutter 64 separates and severs the outer segments 16 of the supporting medium from ribbon 12 after ribbon 12 emerges from pressure rollers 52 . in accordance with this invention , the two outer segments 16 from the outer edges of ribbon 12 then feed to the advancing mechanism 60 , which comprises motor - driven rotating rollers , 65 and 66 . the rollers , which extend from one side of the ribbon axis of travel 8 to the other , rotate about axes substantially normal to the ribbon axis of travel . fig1 illustrates only part of the rollers . the rollers , 65 and 66 , are in substantial touching contact with each other at a line 67 along their outer edges where the corresponding segments 16 are to be gripped and pulled through by frictional action . by drawing the outer segments 16 through the manufacturing line 10 , the rotating rollers also supply the power to pull the manufactured optical ribbon 12 and ribbon components through the manufacturing line 10 and ribbon cutter 64 . it is apparent that the extraneous segments 16 are of sufficient tensile strength by themselves to advance the manufactured ribbon through the manufacturing line 10 . because the advancing mechanism pulls only the outer ribbon segments 16 , the amount of tensile load applied to the fibers 11 as they are being packaged into ribbons 12 is minimized , hence reducing introduction of residual stress into the fibers . an encoder 68 monitors the length of outer tape segments being pulled through the rotating rollers 65 and 66 . it is appreciated in the broadest sense of applicants &# 39 ; invention that other portions of the ribbon - like supporting medium can be dissociated from the ribbon structure to pull the ribbon and its components through the manufacturing line . for example , shown in fig9 is an alternative ribbon structure 112 being advanced through the packaging mechanism 50 with an alternative advancing mechanism 160 . ribbon 112 , which is shown in cross - section in fig1 in a view taken along line 10 -- 10 in fig9 comprises two elongate plastic tapes 115 and 116 between which are embedded a plurality of optical fibers 11 . two longitudinal strength members 117 , such as metallic wire , are dissociably embedded along one surface of the tape 116 . the longitudinal strength members 117 , which are extraneous to the ultimate ribbon structure 112 &# 39 ; and have sufficient tensil strength by themselves to advance the ribbon through the manufacturing apparatus , are used to advance the ribbon 112 as depicted in fig9 . fig9 shows the strength members 117 being dissociated from ribbon 112 and taken up by motor - driven roller 165 . the dissociating means in this advancing mechanism comprises a roller 164 and a ribbon support plate 162 with slots 163 . the slots 163 permit downward movement of the strength members 117 to the take - up roller 165 while the ribbon support plate 162 holds the ribbon structure 112 &# 39 ; in the predetermined plane of travel p . roller 164 aids to cause gradual dissociation of strength members 117 from ribbon 112 &# 39 ;. shown in fig1 the ribbon take - up arrangement 90 cooperates with ribbon advancing mechanism 60 to permit zero or substantially zero tension take - up of ribbon 12 . in the illustrated embodiment , a set of ribbon take - up capstans 92 draw the ribbon 12 away from cutter 64 after which the ribbons are randomly placed in a ribbon receptacle 94 . the speed of capstans 92 is controlled by encoder 68 to advance the ribbon 12 at a rate substantially equal to that of the outer segment take - up . this essentially zero tension take - up of the ribbon 12 permits loss measurements to be taken of the fibers as schematically depicted by laser 96 . the detectors at the other end of the fibers 11 in the reels 22 are not shown . alternatively , ribbon take - up reel 98 can be used to draw and take up the manufactured optical ribbon 12 under a predetermined controlled tension using a conventional clutch ( not shown ). preferably , the ribbon tension is considerably less than that applied on the outer segments 16 by the advancing mechanism 60 . also illustrated in fig1 is a station 80 for dusting the manufactured ribbon 12 . a material , such as calcium stearate , is applied to ribbon 12 to reduce the tackiness of the exposed adhesive layers 13 along the outer edges of ribbon 12 . further shown in fig1 are two microscopes 82 and 84 which are advantageously used to permit visual observation of the fibers being positioned in the fiber guide 40 and of the finished optical fiber ribbon 12 exiting from the cutter 64 , respectively . it is understood that the embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention . various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention . what is claimed is : | 8 |
[ 0019 ] fig1 shows an acoustical system 100 with two port sub - arrays according to an embodiment of the invention . a first port sub - array comprises ports 101 , 103 , 105 , 107 , 109 , and 111 , acoustical pathways 125 , 127 , 129 , 131 , 133 , and 135 , a plenum 151 , and a capsule 155 . acoustical pathways 125 - 135 meet at plenum 151 . a second port sub - array comprises ports 113 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 121 , and 123 , acoustical pathways 137 , 139 , 141 , 143 , 145 , and 147 , a plenum 149 , and a capsule 153 . acoustical pathways 137 - 147 meet at plenum 149 . in the embodiment , capsules 153 and 155 each comprise a transducer . ( other embodiments of the invention may utilize more than two port sub - arrays , as will be apparent to one skilled in the art .) in the embodiment , pathways 125 - 135 and 137 - 147 correspond to tubes having the same length ( within a tolerance of error ), although other embodiments may utilize other forms of acoustical pathways . for benefits of describing the embodiments of the invention , the following definitions are used . a “ port ” refers to an opening that functions as an acoustical ingress for a pipe , tube , capillary , mold passageway , waveguide or other such physical pathway that carries pressure variations from a point outside acoustical delay network 100 to capsule 153 or 155 . a “ capsule ” ( e . g . capsule 153 and 155 ) is a section or subsection of a physical microphone assembly that may include a diaphragm and any additional hardware such as spacers , washers , ports , capillary tubes , resonators that are associated with the transduction of acoustical energy to electrical energy . referring to fig1 acoustical signals arriving at each port ( 101 - 123 ) of the port sub - arrays arrives with approximately constant phase with respect to frequency when originating from a particular direction ( in this embodiment , perpendicular to the plane or line of the acoustical system 100 ), whereas acoustical signals arriving at different angles do not possess constant phase relationships . the signals arriving perpendicular to system 100 add coherently ( constructively ) creating a gain in the acoustical signal strength , referred to as “ array gain .” signals arriving from other angles add incoherently ( destructively ), resulting in attenuation , notches , and nulls in the beampattern as a function of frequency . this principal is typically referred to as “ stacking ” and the resulting array gain is a function of the number of ports in each harmonic sub - array . because of these principles , arrays achieve highly directive beams and pick - up patterns . the result is that the array acts as a spatial filter , and acoustical system 100 discriminates between acoustical signals , or sources of acoustical signals , based on direction and signal frequency while a single microphone typically receives acoustical signals from many different directions . the desired sound results in a main beam with a 0 ° azimuth called the maximum response axis ( mra ). there are several issues associated with port sub - arrays . one issue is spatial aliasing that results in grating lobes , comprising undesirable acoustical signals from undesirable angles , that may have a signal power approximating that of the main ( desired ) beam and whose behavior is unpredictable and difficult to control . ( grating lobes correspond to beams other than the mra beam , in which the phase shift between ports of a port sub - array arriving from a given angle cannot be distinguished from n radians or n + kπ radians , where k is an integer .) in such cases , the undesirable acoustical signals correspond to a half - wavelength that is shorter ( i . e . greater in frequency ) than the port spacing of the port sub - array . another issue is the beam pattern that results from a port sub - array . the main beam of a sub - array is formed from the stacked signal of all the ports in the port sub - array . however , each subset of those ports also creates a beam . the main beam in acoustical system 100 depends on the desired acoustical signal being received by capsules 153 and 155 at the same time . thus , identical length tubing ( within a tolerance of error ) is employed in the embodiment . ( however , other embodiments may utilize electronic phase compensation to adjust for different tube lengths .) in electronic ( non - acoustic ) systems , phase shifting may be accomplished by electrical signal processing that creates a delay between ports . the delays allow an array microphone pointed in a particular direction to have a main ( desired ) beam that is not perpendicular to the array in the azimuth . the mra , then , is shifted to the angle of the azimuth . correspondingly , in an acoustic system , a phase shift is achieved by utilizing a second network of tubing with the same or coincident ports and specified staggered lengths to create acoustic propagation delays . ( the formation of acoustical phase shifts will be discussed in another aspect of the invention as shown in fig1 .) it is possible to achieve an approximate constant beamwidth with respect to frequency for an acoustical system ( e . g . acoustical system 100 ) by using a plurality of port sub - arrays with increased port spacing such that the spatial aliasing frequency of a port sub - array with larger port spacing is some fraction of the spatial aliasing frequency of another port sub - array with the next - smallest port spacing . because the beamwidth of a port sub - array becomes smaller for frequencies increasing up to the spatial aliasing frequency , implementing sets of port sub - arrays with gradually decreasing port spacing enables a port sub - array to support a narrow bandwidth for frequencies at which the beamwidth of another sub - array is too wide to be considered desirable . this is typically done at frequencies at double multiples of the of a lower frequency port sub - array ( having a larger port spacing ), corresponding to port sub - arrays that operate in octaves ( e . g . 600 - 1200 hz , 1200 - 2400 hz , 2400 - 4800 hz , and so forth ) so that the overall beam pattern of the acoustical system remains essentially constant . referring to fig1 adjacent ports ( ports 101 and 103 , ports 103 and 105 , ports 107 and 109 , and ports 109 and 111 ) of the first port sub - array are separated by a first port spacing ( d 1 ) 161 and adjacent ports ( ports 113 and 115 , ports 115 and 117 , ports 119 and 121 , and ports 121 and 123 ) of the second port sub - array are separated by a second port spacing ( d 2 ) 163 . first port spacing 161 is approximately a half wavelength ( λ 1 ) of a first upper frequency of a corresponding frequency response of the first port sub - array and second port spacing 163 is approximately a half wavelength of a second upper frequency of a corresponding frequency response of the second port sub - array . as will be discussed in greater detail in relation to fig5 the first upper frequency is selected as approximately 2 , 000 hz and the second upper frequency is selected as approximately 4 , 000 hz , which are separated by one octave from each other . correspondingly , the first distance is approximately 8 . 6 cm and the second distance is approximately 4 . 3 cm . in fig1 a first electrical signal that is generated by capsule 153 and a second electrical signal that is generated by capsule 155 are provided to an adder 157 through filters 169 and 161 , respectively , in order to form an output 159 . ( operation of filters 169 and 161 are discussed in the context of fig6 .) output 159 may be further processed , as discussed later , and may be utilized by another processing unit such as a telematics processing unit or wireless communications telephone in order to provide hands - free operation . in other embodiments of the invention , more than two port sub - arrays may be supported . each port sub - array may be coupled to a capsule , in which an output of a capsule is coupled to electronic circuitry for bandpass filtering and possibly for further processing . [ 0030 ] fig2 shows a front view of an automotive mirror configuration 201 that supports acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . a glass mirror ( not shown and corresponding to a glass mirror 903 as shown in fig9 ) spans an approximate area of automotive mirror configuration 201 . ports 101 - 123 are situated around a periphery of automotive mirror configuration 201 ( corresponding to a mirror casing 1001 as shown in fig1 ). capsules 153 and 155 are typically positioned in the interior of automotive mirror configuration 201 ( not typically visible to a user ) and behind the glass mirror . ports 101 , 113 , 115 , 103 , 117 , and 105 are separated from ports 107 , 119 , 121 , 109 , 123 , and 111 by a vertical distance ( d 3 ) 207 . [ 0031 ] fig3 shows a top view of automotive mirror configuration 201 that supports the acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . ports 101 - 123 are positioned in a wall 301 of the mirror casing . ports 101 - 123 are connected to capsules 153 and 155 through acoustical pathways 125 - 147 . a connection 315 couples capsule 153 to electronic circuitry ( e . g . filter 509 , adder 513 , and post - processor 515 as shown in fig5 ) and a connection 317 couples capsule 155 to electronic circuitry ( e . g . filter 511 , adder 513 , and post - processor 515 as shown in fig5 ). although fig3 shows the electronic circuitry external to the mirror casing , the electronic circuitry may reside within mirror configuration 201 in other embodiments of the invention . the embodiment shown in fig2 , and 9 utilizes a rear - view mirror for housing acoustical system 100 . however , other embodiments of the invention may utilize other locations in an automobile , including a steering wheel and an instrument panel . while the embodiment that is shown in fig1 - 3 support a planar array , other embodiments of the invention may support a three - dimensional array , in which the first acoustical sub - array comprises additional ports that are separated from ports 101 - 111 by a depth distance ( perpendicular to the vertical distance and the horizontal distance ) and the second acoustical sub - array comprises additional ports that are separated from ports 113 - 123 by the depth distance . [ 0034 ] fig4 shows a capsule mounting 400 that supports acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . capsule mounting 400 houses capsules 153 and 155 and acoustically couples acoustical pathways 125 - 147 . in the embodiment , acoustical pathways 125 - 135 are coupled to one side of capsule 153 and acoustical pathways 137 - 147 are coupled to a same side of capsule 155 . with other embodiments , acoustical pathways 125 - 147 may be located differently with respect to capsules 153 and 155 . in one embodiment , acoustical pathways 125 - 137 may be coupled on different sides for capsule 153 , and acoustical pathways 137 - 147 are coupled on different sides of capsule 155 , where an acoustical barrier between a proximity of capsule 153 and a proximity of capsule 155 provides acoustical isolation between capsules 153 and 155 . in other embodiments of the invention , capsule mounting 400 may vary to accommodate a different configuration such as a different type of capsule . for a received voice signal in an automotive environment , experimental results suggest that a relative degree of voice recognition is good if the received voice signal is processed with exemplary filter configurations having limiting frequency characteristics such as with a 1000 hz to 4000 hz bandpass filter , a 1000 hz to 5000 hz bandpass filter , an octave filter centered at 2000 hz , or a high pass filter with a corner frequency of 1000 hz . an experimental configuration utilized an ibm via voice recognition engine , in which different microphone types were positioned at different points within an automobile . [ 0036 ] fig5 shows an architectural configuration 500 of acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . architectural configuration 500 comprises acoustical port sub - arrays 501 and 503 , capsules 505 and 507 , filters 509 and 511 ( corresponding to filters 169 and 161 , respectively , as shown in fig1 ), an adder 513 , and a postprocessor 515 that provides an output 517 . output 517 may be used for a number of applications , including hands - free wireless terminals and telematics . acoustical port sub - array 501 corresponds to ports 101 - 111 ( as shown in fig1 ) and acoustical port sub - array 503 corresponds to ports 113 - 123 . capsules 505 and 507 correspond to capsules 155 and 153 ( as shown in fig1 ). in the embodiment , filter 509 is a bandpass filter having an approximate pass - band of 1 khz to 2 khz and filter 511 is a bandpass filter having an approximate pass - band of 2 khz to 4 khz . filters 509 and 511 reduce spatial grating that may be associated with acoustical port sub - array 501 and 503 , respectively . adder 513 combines the signals from filter 509 and filter 511 so that the corresponding combined frequency response of architectural configuration 500 is approximately 1 khz to 4 khz . ( experimental results , as discussed above , suggests a good relative measure of speech recognition in which a received voice signal is processed with a bandpass filter having a pass - band of 1 khz to 4 khz .) a post - processor 515 may modify a signal from adder 513 in order to dampen irregularities in the signal response characteristics that result from a quarter wavelength ( λ / 4 ) response of acoustical port sub - array 501 and acoustical port sub - array 503 . ( in some embodiments , post - processing unit 515 may also be capable of supporting a post - equalization filter to provide for a flat response with respect to frequency over an operational region of acoustical system 100 . this type of optimized filter is often referred to as a frequency domain “ inverse ” filter or an optimally converged adaptive /“ wiener ” filter .) in other embodiments of the invention , quarter wavelength damping may utilize partial acoustical blockage ( e . g . a foam material ) in acoustical pathways 125 - 147 . in other embodiments of the invention , quarter wavelength damping may be provided by filters 509 and 511 such that filter 509 dampens ( attenuates ) the quarter wavelength response of acoustical port sub - array 501 ( corresponding to approximately 1000 hz for the embodiment as shown in fig2 ), and filter 511 dampens the quarter wavelength response of acoustical port sub - array 503 ( corresponding to approximately 2000 hz for the embodiment as shown in fig2 ). additional damping of quarter - wavelength resonances in the tubing network may be implemented using acoustical filters consisting of tubes , pipes , plenums , and resistances that augment or supplant notching as implemented using foam impedances or electronic means . in the embodiment , a higher order pickup pattern is defined as a pattern resulting from the combination of low order or “ common ” pickup patterns that may be adjusted by delay or amplitude weighting ( such as a foam impedance in the ports or tubes ). examples of low order patterns include omnidirectional microphones ( zero - th order ), cardioids ( first order ), super - cardioids ( first order with different path difference delay than cardioids ), and hyper - cardioids . higher order beam patterns result from combining these inputs in various combinations , such as a second order finite difference ( two cardioids separated by a half wavelength with the second delayed by the travel - time between the two ). in some embodiments , it may be advantageous to include some type of analog or digital sub - array processing between capsule 505 or 507 and adder 513 . in the case where digital signal processing is applied , bandpass filters 509 and 511 and sub - array processing may be accomplished on the same processor ( e . g . a microprocessor ). in some embodiments , bandpass filters 509 and 511 , subarray processing , adder 513 , and post processor 515 may be implemented on the same processor ( in which the entire system is behind capsules 153 and 155 . even though the embodiment that is shown in fig1 - 5 is directed toward automotive applications , other embodiments of the invention may be directed to other acoustical applications such as high fidelity acoustical applications , audio conferencing , speakerphones , podium microphones , in - car intercoms , multimedia computers , drive - through communications systems , security or surveillance systems , speech - controlled appliances , and sonar applications . while some acoustical applications of the present invention may be associated with an air medium , applications ( e . g . sonar applications ), as may be apparent to those skilled in the art , may be associated with a water medium . the embodiment that is shown in fig1 - 3 support a frequency spectrum from approximately 1 khz to 4 khz with two harmonic nests ( port sub - arrays ) in order to provide a good relative measure of speech recognition accuracy . however , other acoustical applications may require one skilled in the art to consider other design parameters . for example , in some embodiments that support high fidelity acoustical applications , a frequency spectrum from approximately 100 hz to 16 khz may be desired . in such a case , seven port sub - arrays may be incorporated , in which a first port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 125 hz to 250hz , a second port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 250 hz to 500 hz , a third port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 500 hz to 1 khz , a fourth port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 1 khz to 2 khz , a fifth port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 2 khz to 4 khz , a sixth port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 4 khz to 8 khz , and a seventh port sub - array corresponds to a frequency band of 8 khz to 16 khz . also , embodiments of the invention may consider different error criteria such as a measure of speech recognition accuracy and mean square error ( mse ). mean square error may be useful in gauging the processing fidelity of non - speech acoustical signals such as musical sounds . [ 0042 ] fig6 shows a polar plot 600 of the horizontal directivity of acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . polar plot 600 shows frequency responses for 800 hz , 1000 hz , 1500 hz , 2000 hz , 2500 hz , and 3000 hz corresponding to curves 601 , 603 , 605 , 607 , 609 , and 611 , respectively . each curve shows the horizontal directional response for the associated frequency with respect to the zero - degree azimuth of acoustical delay network 100 . typically , within each harmonic sub - array , the higher the frequency , the greater the directivity ( i . e . the narrower the beamwidth ) of acoustical delay network 100 . the use of multiple nests maintains approximately constant directivity over the operational range of the device . [ 0043 ] fig7 shows a polar plot 700 of the vertical directivity of acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . polar plot 700 shows frequency responses for 800 hz , 1000 hz , 1500 hz , 2000 hz , 2500 hz , and 3000 hz corresponding to curves 701 , 703 , 705 , 707 , 709 , and 711 , respectively . typically , the vertical directivity increases as the frequency increases . the embodiment possesses only one “ nest ” in the vertical direction , but other embodiments may utilize a plurality of nests in the vertical ( y ) dimension or depth ( z ) dimension as is applied in the horizontal ( x ) dimension . [ 0044 ] fig8 shows a polar plot 800 of the horizontal directivity of acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 with quarter wavelength damping applied . polar plot 800 shows frequency responses for 800 hz , 1000 hz , 1500 hz , 2000 hz , 2500 hz , and 3000 hz , corresponding to curves 801 , 803 , 805 , 807 , 809 , and 811 respectively . as with polar plot 600 , typically the horizontal directivity increases as the frequency increases . however , comparing plot 611 ( as shown in fig6 ) with plot 811 ( corresponding to 3000 hz ), the side lobes are reduced with quarter wavelength damping . [ 0045 ] fig9 shows a mirror - tilting configuration in conjunction with acoustical delay network 100 that is shown in fig1 . acoustical delay network 100 is mounted in mirror casting 901 ( corresponding to 201 in fig2 and 3 ). mirror casting 901 is tilted at an angle θ 905 with respect to glass mirror 903 . a talker 907 talks within a main beamwidth 911 of acoustical delay network 100 , over an acoustical path 909 ( corresponding to a perpendicular to a plane of acoustical delay network 100 ). because glass mirror 903 is tilted with respect to mirror casing 901 , talker can also view an object 917 through a rear window 913 corresponding to a view path 915 . view path 915 forms an angle such that a perpendicular to glass mirror 903 bisects the angle . [ 0046 ] fig1 shows an acoustical pathway configuration that steers the reception of a transmitted acoustical signal in accordance with an embodiment of the invention . ports 1001 , 1003 , and 1005 receive an acoustical signal corresponding to a wave front 1017 that is incident to acoustical delay network 100 at an angle θ 1021 with respect to a horizontal reference 1019 . ports 1001 , 1003 , and 1005 are openings in acoustical pathways 1007 , 1009 , and 1011 , respectively . acoustical pathways 1007 , 1009 , and 1011 differ in length in order that the maximum response axis ( main beam ) is tilted by angle θ 1021 . the tilting of the main beam corresponds to a differential length between adjacent acoustical pathways ( e . g . 1007 and 1009 ) that is approximately equal to d * sin ( θ ), where d is the port spacing between adjacent ports . tilting the main beam facilitates the mounting of acoustical delay network 100 for mounting entities that are not easily adjusted such as a steering wheel or an instrument panel . as can be appreciated by one skilled in the art , a computer system with an associated computer - readable medium containing instructions for controlling the computer system can be utilized to implement the exemplary embodiments that are disclosed herein . the computer system may include at least one computer such as a microprocessor , digital signal processor , and associated peripheral electronic circuitry . while the invention has been described with respect to specific examples including presently preferred modes of carrying out the invention , those skilled in the art will appreciate that there are numerous variations and permutations of the above described systems and techniques that fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims . | 7 |
in the figures , like components are identified by the same reference numerals . fig1 shows a cylinder head 1 of an internal combustion engine with mounted cylinder head cover 2 , which is held to the cylinder head 1 in an outer connecting region 3 . separate therefrom and offset inwardly is a sealing region 4 between the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 , which comprises a circumferential sealing element 6 that is inserted into a peripheral groove formed in the top of the cylinder head . the cross - section of sealing element 6 is cup - shaped , and a support member 7 formed integrally with the cylinder head cover 2 projects into the interior of the sealing element 6 . the sealing element 6 is slipped onto the support member 7 to obtain a pre - assembled unit . the sealing element 6 extends all around adjacent the outer margin of the cylinder head cover , providing a circumferential seal between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover . the connection between the cylinder head cover 2 and the cylinder head 1 includes a connecting element 5 configured as an attachment bolt , which is guided through an opening in the outlying segment of the cylinder head cover . a stabilizing sleeve 8 is inserted into this opening . in addition , a sealing ring 9 receiving an axial force when the connecting element is secured may be placed around the bolt shank of the connecting element 5 . the attachment force applied by the connecting element 5 acts in the axial direction as indicated by the double arrow 10 and securely holds the cylinder head cover 2 to the cylinder head 1 . to enable axial play and provide vibration decoupling between the cylinder head cover and the cylinder head , a gap 11 is formed in the connecting region 3 between the adjacent surfaces of the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . this gap 11 is bridged by the sealing element 6 to create a secure and fluid - tight axial connection between the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . the sealing element 6 applies an additional fixing or clamping force between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover , which acts parallel to the connecting force of the connecting element 5 . the sealing force generated by the sealing element 6 extends radially as indicated by double arrow 12 and thus perpendicularly to the attachment force indicated by arrow 10 . this provides an effective decoupling between the sealing element 6 and the connecting element 5 . fig2 shows an enlarged detail of the sealing element 6 . the cross - section of the sealing element 6 is cup - shaped and has a central recess 13 , into which the support member formed on the cylinder head 7 ( fig1 ) protrudes in the secured state . on the outer lateral surface , the sealing element 6 has a plurality of circumferential locking rings 14 , which in cross section taper radially outwardly and improve the clamping within the groove in the cylinder head 1 , into which the sealing element 6 is inserted in the mounted state . locking projections or locking rings 15 may also be provided on the inside of the central recess 13 to firmly clamp the inserted support member . fig3 and 4 illustrate a modified embodiment . adjacent its end face opposite the outside bottom 17 , the sealing element 6 has an annular circumferential separating lip 16 protruding radially outwardly into the gap between the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . this separating lip 16 is made of a sealing material and provides effective vibration decoupling between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover . the embodiment shown in fig5 essentially corresponds to that depicted in fig3 and 4 but with the difference that , in the region of the cylinder head cover 2 , axially protruding segments 18 and 19 are formed , which axially overlap the sealing element 6 on opposite sides to some extent to bridge the gap between the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . in the embodiment depicted in fig6 , the sealing element 6 protrudes into opposed groove - shaped recesses formed in the cylinder head cover 2 and in the cylinder head 1 . the sealing element 6 is mirror symmetrical relative to a center plane and has a fixed support core 20 , which is completely enclosed by the material of the sealing element and stabilizes the sealing element . in the center section , the sealing element 6 has the radially outwardly extending separating lip 16 , which in this embodiment is disk - shaped . the axial end segments of the sealing element 6 have a pronounced rib - like structure with locking rings 14 that impart a pine tree type cross - section to the sealing element . these locking rings 14 improve the axial clamping force applied by the sealing element 6 to both the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . in the embodiment illustrated in fig7 , the sealing element 6 has a central recess on the cylinder head cover 2 in which a support member 7 is disposed which protrudes vertically downwardly . the outer lateral surface of the sealing element 6 also has the pine tree like ribbing with locking rings 14 , which are inserted into a recess in the cylinder head . in contrast to the preceding embodiment , however , the sealing element of fig7 is not mirror symmetrical relative to a transverse center plane . rather , the segment of the sealing element adjacent the cylinder head cover 2 is formed with straight lateral faces . according to fig8 , the sealing element 6 has protruding locking elements 14 only on one side . these elements taper radially outwardly and press against a vertical sidewall of the cylinder head 1 . the embodiment illustrated in fig9 essentially corresponds to that shown in fig6 , but with the difference that the sealing element 6 depicted in fig9 has no central disk - shaped separating lip , so that the gap 11 between the mutually facing sides of the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 is consequently not filled with the sealing material of the sealing element . the decoupling between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover is obtained by keeping these two components spaced apart via the interposed sealing element 6 , such that the sealing element 6 lies in the groove - shaped recesses of both the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 . in the embodiments illustrated in fig1 and 11 , the connection between the cylinder head 1 and the cylinder head cover 2 is produced by a connecting element 5 configured as a clip member that is integrally formed with the cylinder head cover or injection molded thereto . on the cylinder head 1 , in the connecting region , a radially outwardly protruding shoulder 21 is formed , which forms an undercut relative to a locking projection 22 on the connecting element 5 , via which the cylinder head cover is held in captive relation to the cylinder head 1 in a form - fit connection . in the embodiment depicted in fig1 , the sealing element 6 extends up to the outer end face of the shoulder 21 . this has the advantage that this end face of the shoulder 21 cannot come into direct contact with the connecting element 5 on the cylinder head cover . this ensures effective vibration decoupling between the cylinder head and the cylinder head cover . the foregoing description and examples have been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and are not intended to be limiting . since modifications of the described embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art , the invention should be construed broadly to include all variations within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof . | 5 |
the present inventions provide for a removable sensor assembly for tracking a movable object , such as a catheter , within a patient &# 39 ; s body . as illustrated in fig2 a sensor assembly 170 constructed in accordance with the present inventions is used with the afore - described image acquisition device 105 to facilitate synchronization of the catheter icon with the 2d fluoroscopic images while the c - arm 125 rotates about the patient . the sensor assembly 170 is shown mounted on a lateral surface 175 of the c - arm 125 near the upper end thereof . the sensor assembly 170 , however , may be mounted at alternative positions along the lateral surface , or any surface , of the c - arm 125 , as long as it is provides a reference point that accurately represents the relative position and orientation of the c - arm 125 . as illustrated in fig2 the sensor assembly 170 comprises a sensor mount 180 , which is permanently attached to c - arm 125 , and a sensor 185 , which is removably attached to the sensor mount 180 . in the illustrated embodiment , the sensor 185 comprises a housing that contains three pairs of sensing elements ( not depicted ), which orthogonally sense electromagnetic energy in three axes . the sensor 185 also includes an outlet ( not depicted ) for the leads or wires that connect to the reception circuitry 155 and controller / processor 135 ( depicted in fig1 ). the sensor mount 180 is permanently attached to a mounting surface 175 of the c - arm 125 by known means , such as by being welded , bonded , or even screwed on . the sensor mount 180 is made of non - ferromagnetic material , i . e ., anything other than steel or a natural or synthetic material containing iron , and acts to separate and provide an appropriate , prescribed distance between the sensor 185 and the mounting surface 175 of the ferromagnetic c - arm 125 , thereby preventing an adverse magnetic effect on the sensor 185 . to this end , the sensor mount 180 includes a spacer 190 , the thickness of which defines the distance between the sensor 185 and the mounting surface of the c - arm 125 . the sensor mount 180 further comprises a sensor engaging element 195 with which the sensor 185 mates and is secured by an interference fit . the element of the sensor 185 that the sensor engaging element 195 of the sensor mount 80 engages is , for the purposes of this specification , a mount engaging element , which may be a sensor housing or other element . for the purposes of this specification , an interference fit refers to any fit or contact between mating parts having prescribed limits of size , material , and shape , so that a reversible mechanical hold between the mating parts is established . as will be understood by the following description and reference to the respective drawings , the present inventors have developed a variety of innovative sensor mount assemblies with removably attached sensors that are maintained at the required distance from the surface of the c - arm 125 . referring now to fig3 c , a preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 200 is depicted . the sensor assembly 200 comprises a sensor mount 202 ( shown separately in fig3 b ) and a sensor 204 ( shown separately in fig3 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 202 . the sensor 204 comprises a sensor housing 206 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 206 has a substantially tubular shaft 208 that includes an outlet 212 at one end from which sensor wires 214 extend , and an oppositely - disposed rounded end 210 . as can be seen , the diameter of the rounded end 210 is greater than the diameter of the shaft 208 . the sensor mount 202 comprises a planar spacer flange 216 , which spaces the mounted sensor 204 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 216 comprises a first planar mounting surface 218 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 202 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 220 from which a pair of sensor holding arms 222 extend . the ends 224 of the arms 222 curve towards each other to define an aperture 226 that has a cross - section that substantially matches that of the shaft 208 of the sensor housing 206 , such that the sensor 204 is disposed within the aperture 226 in a snap - fit arrangement with the arms 222 . thus , as best illustrated in fig3 c , the shaft 208 of the sensor housing 206 fits snugly within the aperture 226 , with the round end 210 of the sensor housing 206 abutting the tops of the arms 222 . it should be noted that the sensor mount 202 can be considered a front mount in that the sensor 204 is inserted therein in a direction perpendicular to the first planar mounting surface 220 . the ends 224 of the arms 222 comprise beveled edges 228 , which guide and facilitate the insertion of the sensor housing shaft 208 between the ends 224 of the arms 222 and into aperture 226 . moreover , the beveled edges 228 allow the arms 222 to almost completely enclose the sensor housing shaft 208 , thereby providing a more secure fit between the sensor mount 202 and sensor 204 . preferably , the arms 222 are composed of a firm material having an elastic property , such as an elastomer , so that their shape may be distorted as the shaft 208 is being inserted therebetween , yet at least partially restored once inserted . fig3 d and 3e depict alternative embodiments of sensor mounts that are similar to the afore - described sensor mount 202 , with the exception that they include spacer flanges that are coextensive with the pair of sensor holding arms , i . e ., the pair of sensor holding arms has the same profile as the spacer flange when viewing the mount at an angle perpendicular to the mounting surface of the mount . in particular , fig3 d depicts a front sensor mount 230 that comprises a spacer flange 232 ( set off by dashed lines ) that includes a mounting surface 234 for mounting of the sensor mount 230 to the c - arm 125 , and a pair of arms 236 that extend from the flange 232 in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 234 . as can be seen , the arms 236 have the same profile as the spacer flange 232 when viewing it at an angle perpendicular to the mounting surface 234 . fig3 e depicts a side sensor mount 240 that comprises a spacer flange 242 ( set off by dashed lines ) that includes a mounting surface 244 for mounting of the sensor mount 240 to the c - arm 125 , and a pair of arms 246 that extend from the flange 242 in a direction parallel to the mounting surface 244 . as can be seen , the arms 246 have the same profile as the spacer flange 242 when viewing it at an angle perpendicular to the mounting surface 244 . referring to fig4 a - 4c , another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 250 is depicted . the sensor assembly 250 comprises a sensor mount 252 ( shown separately in fig4 b ) and a sensor 254 ( shown separately in fig4 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 252 . the sensor 254 comprises a t - shaped sensor housing 256 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 256 has a substantially tubular shaft 258 that includes an outlet 260 at one end from which sensor wires 262 extend , and a pair of sensor arms 264 at the other end . as illustrated , the pair of sensor arms 264 extend perpendicularly from the shaft 258 in opposite directions and in a coplanar relationship with the shaft 258 . the sensor arms 264 also include ends 278 that curve towards the shaft 258 for reasons that will further be described below . the sensor mount 252 comprises a planar spacer flange 266 , which spaces the mounted sensor 254 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 266 comprises a first planar mounting surface 268 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 252 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 270 from which a pair of sensor holding arms 272 perpendicularly extend . the sensor arms 264 can be removably attached to the sensor holding arms 272 in a snap - fit arrangement . to this end , the sensor arms 264 each includes a ridge 274 , and the sensor holding arms 272 each includes an indentation 276 . alternatively , the sensor arms 264 can each include an indentation , and the sensor holding arms 272 can each include a ridge . in any event , the sensor arms 264 and sensor holding arms 272 include features that facilitate the snap - fit arrangement . thus , when the sensor shaft 258 is disposed between the sensor holding arms 272 , and the sensor arms 264 are disposed on the sensor holding arms 272 as illustrated in fig4 c , the ridges 274 snap into the indentations 276 to provide a secure fit between the sensor 254 and the sensor mount 252 . additionally , the respective ends 278 of the sensor arms 264 engage the sensor holding arms 272 to more securely fit the sensor 254 and sensor mount 252 . referring to fig5 a - 5c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 300 is depicted . the sensor assembly 300 comprises a sensor mount 302 ( shown separately in fig5 b ) and a sensor 304 ( shown separately in fig5 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 302 . the sensor 304 comprises an oblong sensor housing 306 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 306 has an outlet 308 at one end from which sensor wires 310 extend . the sensor housing 306 further comprises a barb 312 that extends perpendicularly from its center . alternatively , the barb 312 may extend from any longitudinal point on the sensor housing 306 . the sensor mount 302 comprises a planar spacer flange 314 , which spaces the mounted sensor 304 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 314 comprises a first planar mounting surface 316 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 302 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 318 , in which an open oblong cavity 320 is formed for receiving the sensor housing 306 . the open cavity 320 includes a hole 322 along its midpoint for receiving the barb 312 of the sensor housing 306 . in this regard , the sensor housing 306 can be removably mounted within the open cavity 320 in a direction perpendicular to the first planar mounting surface 316 by disposing the barb 312 within the hole 322 , as illustrated in fig5 c . to further facilitate the mounting of the sensor 304 on the sensor mount 302 , the shape and size of the sensor housing 306 and open cavity 320 are similar , such that the sensor housing 306 is securely fit within the open cavity 320 . alternatively , the spacer flange 314 may be composed of an elastic material , and the size of the cavity 320 may be slightly smaller than the size of the housing 306 , such that the cavity 320 expands in a gripping relationship with the inserted housing 306 . furthermore , a channel 324 is formed within the second planar mounting surface 318 of the spacer flange 314 to receive the sensor wires 310 . referring to fig6 a - 6c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 350 is depicted . the sensor assembly 350 comprises a sensor mount 352 ( shown separately in fig6 b ) and a sensor 354 ( shown separately in fig6 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 352 . the sensor 354 comprises a conical sensor housing 356 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 356 has an outlet 358 at one end from which sensor wires 360 extend . the sensor mount 352 comprises a spacer flange , which spaces the mounted sensor 354 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 362 comprises a mounting surface 364 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 352 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding . the spacer flange 362 further comprises a conical cavity 366 for receiving the conical sensor housing 356 . in this regard , the conical sensor housing 356 can be removably mounted within the conical cavity 366 in a parallel direction to the mounting surface 364 , as illustrated in fig6 c . to ensure a tight fit between the sensor 354 and the sensor mount 352 , the spacer flange 362 is preferably composed of an elastic material , and the size of the conical cavity 366 is slightly smaller than the size of the conical housing 356 , such that the conical cavity 366 expands in a gripping relationship with the inserted conical housing 356 . the spacer flange 362 further includes a slit 368 for receiving the sensor wires 360 . as illustrated , the slit 368 extends from the conical cavity 364 to the exterior of the spacer flange 362 , and is oriented in a direction parallel to the axis of the open cavity 364 . referring now to fig7 a - 7c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 400 is depicted . the sensor assembly 400 comprises a sensor mount 402 ( shown separately in fig7 b ) and a sensor 404 ( shown separately in fig7 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 402 . the sensor 404 comprises a sensor housing 406 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 406 has a substantially tubular shaft 408 that includes an outlet 410 at one end from which sensor wires 412 extend , and a clip 414 at the opposite end . the clip 414 exhibits a non - circular cross - section , which in the illustrated embodiment , is generally d - shaped . the sensor mount 402 comprises a spacer flange 416 , which spaces the mounted sensor 404 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 416 comprises a planar mounting surface 418 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 402 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding . the sensor mount 402 also comprises clip - receiving means 420 , and specifically a cavity that exhibits a non - circular cross section , which in the illustrated embodiment , is d - shaped . as illustrated in fig7 c , the cavity 420 snugly receives the clip 414 in a direction parallel to the planar mounting surface 418 . fig7 d - 7f depict alternative embodiments of sensor mounts that are similar to the afore - described sensor mount 402 , with the exception that the means for receiving the clip 414 comprises a handle that is formed on the spacer flange . specifically referring to fig7 d , a sensor mount 422 comprises a spacer flange 424 that includes a first planar mounting surface 426 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 422 to the c - arm 125 , and a second planar mounting surface 428 from which a handle 430 extends . the handle 430 forms an aperture 431 between it and the second planar surface 428 for receiving the clip 414 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 426 . in the illustrated embodiment , the aperture 431 exhibits a cross - section substantially matching that of clip 414 , and in this case a d - shaped cross - section , so that the handle 430 snugly holds the clip 414 . the length of the spacer flange 424 preferably approximately matches that of the clip 414 . specifically referring to fig7 e , a sensor mount 432 comprises a spacer flange 434 that includes a first planar mounting surface 436 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 432 to the c - arm 125 , and a second planar mounting surface 438 from which a handle 440 extends . the handle 440 forms an aperture 441 between it and the second planar surface 438 for receiving the clip 414 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 436 . in the illustrated embodiment , the aperture 441 exhibits a cross - section substantially dissimilar to that of the clip 414 , and in this case a semi - circular cross - section , so that the handle 440 snugly holds the clip 414 . the length of the spacer flange 434 is substantially shorter than that of the clip 414 . specifically referring to fig7 f , a sensor mount 442 comprises a spacer flange 444 that includes a first planar mounting surface 446 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 442 to the c - arm 125 , and a second planar mounting surface 448 from which a handle 450 extends . the handle 450 forms an aperture 452 between it and the second planar surface 448 for receiving the clip 414 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 446 . in the illustrated embodiment , the aperture 452 exhibits a cross - section substantially dissimilar to that of the clip 414 , and in this case a rectangular cross - section , so that the handle 450 snugly holds the clip 414 . the length of the spacer flange 444 is substantially the same as that of the clip 414 . to further ensure a tight fit between the sensor housing 406 and the sensor mount 442 , a pair of sensor receiving arms 454 extend from the second planar surface 448 of the spacer flange 442 . the pair of arms 454 includes ends 456 , which curve towards each other to define an aperture 458 having a cross - section that substantially matches that of the shaft 408 of the sensor housing 406 , thereby allowing the arms 454 to grip the shaft 408 of the mounted sensor housing 406 . fig7 g depicts an alternative embodiment of sensor mount 462 that is similar to the afore - described sensor mount 402 , with the exception that the means for receiving the clip 414 comprises a slit that is formed in the spacer flange . specifically , the sensor mount 462 comprises a spacer flange 464 that includes a planar mounting surface 466 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 462 to the c - arm 125 . the sensor mount 462 further includes an elastomer slit 468 formed within the spacer flange 464 to receive the clip 414 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the planar mounting surface 466 . preferably , the size of the slit 468 is slightly smaller than the size of the clip 414 , such that the slit 414 expands in a gripping relationship with the inserted clip 414 to snugly engage the sensor 404 with the sensor mount 462 . fig7 h depicts an alternative embodiment of sensor mount 472 that is similar to the afore - described sensor mount 402 , with the exception that the means for receiving the clip 414 comprises an l - shaped flange that extends from the spacer flange . specifically , the sensor mount 472 comprises a spacer flange 474 that includes a first planar mounting surface 476 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 472 to the c - arm 125 , and a second planar mounting surface 478 from which an l - shaped flange 480 extends . the l - shaped flange 480 forms an open slot 481 between it and the second planar surface 478 for receiving the clip 414 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 476 . fig7 depicts an alternative embodiment of sensor mount 482 that is similar to the afore - described sensor mount 402 , with the exception that the means for receiving the clip 414 comprises a spring clip that extends from the spacer flange . specifically , the sensor mount 482 comprises a spacer flange 484 that includes a first planar mounting surface 486 for permanently mounting the sensor mount 482 to the c - arm 125 , and a second planar mounting surface 488 from which a spring clip 490 extends . the spring clip 490 forms an open slot 494 between it and the second planar surface 488 for receiving the shaft 408 of the sensor housing 406 in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 486 . the spring action of the clip 490 compresses the mounted sensor 404 against the spacer flange 484 in a snug relationship . the spring clip 490 also includes a cutout 494 that receives and accommodates the shaft 408 of the sensor housing 406 when the sensor 404 is mounted . referring now to fig8 a - 8c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 500 is depicted . the sensor assembly 500 comprises a sensor mount 502 ( shown separately in fig8 b ) and a sensor 554 ( shown separately in fig8 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 502 . the sensor 504 comprises a sensor housing 506 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 508 at one end from which sensor wires 510 extend . the sensor housing 506 may be of any shape , e . g ., hexagonal , that has at least two lateral edges 512 and 514 . in fact , any shape other than a circle is contemplated to prevent rotation of the sensor housing 506 when mounted in the sensor mount 502 . the sensor mount 502 comprises a planar spacer flange 516 , which spaces the mounted sensor 504 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 516 comprises a first planar mounting surface 518 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 502 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 520 in which an open cavity 522 is formed for receiving the sensor housing 506 in a direction perpendicular to the first planar mounting surface 520 . the shape and size of the sensor housing 506 and open cavity 522 are substantially the same , such that the sensor housing 506 is snugly disposed within the open cavity 522 in a snap - fit arrangement . thus , the open cavity 522 is defined by at least two lateral edges 524 and 526 that engage the at least two lateral edges 512 and 514 of the sensor housing 506 when the sensor 504 is mounted in the open cavity 522 . to further enhance the secure fit between the sensor mount 502 and the sensor 504 , the lateral edges 512 and 514 of the sensor 504 preferably each include at least one ridge 528 , and the lateral edges 524 and 526 of the open cavity 522 each include at least one mating indentation 530 . alternatively , the lateral edges 512 and 514 of the sensor 504 include at least one indentation , and the lateral edges 524 and 526 of the open cavity 522 each include at least one mating ridge . referring now to fig9 a - 9d , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 550 is depicted . as illustrated in fig9 d , the sensor assembly 550 comprises a sensor mount 552 and a sensor 554 . referring specifically to fig9 a , the sensor 554 comprises a sensor housing 556 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). the sensor housing 556 has a substantially tubular shaft 558 that includes an outlet 560 at one end from which sensor wires 562 extend . referring specifically to fig9 b , the sensor mount 552 comprises a planar spacer flange 564 , which spaces the mounted sensor 554 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . the spacer flange 564 comprises a circular cavity 566 in which the sensor 554 is mounted , e . g ., by bonding , with the tubular shaft 558 being disposed along the diameter of the circular cavity 566 , and the opposite ends thereof being in contact with a wall 568 of the cavity 566 . the spacer flange 564 further comprises a planar mounting surface 570 , which as will be described below , is the surface used to removably attach the spacer flange 564 to a patch 572 of the sensor mount 552 . referring specifically to fig9 c , the patch 572 comprises a first planar mounting surface 574 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 552 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 576 , which is configured , such that the spacer flange 564 can be removably mounted thereto , as illustrated in fig9 d . in the illustrated embodiment , a hook - in - loop material 578 , the hook portion of which is permanently disposed on the planar surface 570 of the spacer flange 564 , and the loop portion of which is permanently disposed on the second planar surface 576 of the patch 572 , is used to removably mount the spacer flange 564 to the patch 572 . referring now to fig1 a - 10c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 600 is depicted . the sensor assembly 600 comprises a sensor mount 602 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 604 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 602 . the sensor 604 comprises a cylindrical sensor housing 606 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 608 at one end , from which sensor wires 610 extend . the sensor 604 further includes a member 612 that extends the length of the sensor housing 606 . the sensor mount 602 comprises a planar spacer flange 614 , which spaces the mounted sensor 604 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 614 comprises a first planar mounting surface 616 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 602 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 618 , from which a member 620 extends . a cavity 622 is formed in the member 620 , and extends the length of the spacer flange 614 . the member 612 of the sensor 604 and the cavity 622 of the sensor mount 602 have substantially uniform and complementary cross - sections , and in this case t - shaped cross - sections , such that they are configured to slidingly engage each other in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 616 of the sensor mount 602 . to further ensure a secure fit between the sensor 604 and the sensor mount 602 , the t - shaped member 612 includes a protuberance 624 , and the t - shaped cavity 622 comprises an indentation 626 that engage each other in a snap - fit arrangement when the t - shaped member 612 is fully engaged with the t - shaped cavity 622 , as illustrated in fig1 c . referring now to fig1 a 1 - 11 c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 650 is depicted . the sensor assembly 650 is similar to the previously described sensor assembly 600 , with the exception that a trapezoidal - shaped member and cavity arrangement is used . specifically , the sensor assembly 650 comprises a sensor mount 652 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 654 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 652 . the sensor 654 comprises a sensor housing 656 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 658 at one end from which sensor wires 660 extend . the sensor 654 further includes a member 662 that extends the length of the sensor housing 656 . the sensor mount 652 comprises a planar spacer flange 664 , which spaces the mounted sensor 654 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 664 comprises a planar mounting surface 666 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 652 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding . the spacer flange 664 further comprises a cavity 668 formed therein that extends the length of the sensor housing 656 . the member 662 of the sensor 654 and the cavity 668 of the sensor mount 652 have substantially uniform and complementary cross - sections , and in this case , trapezoidal - shaped cross - sections , such that they are configured to slidingly engage each other in a direction parallel to the planar mounting surface 666 of the sensor mount 652 . to further ensure a secure fit between the sensor 654 and the sensor mount 652 , the trapezoidal - shaped member 662 includes a protuberance 670 , and the trapezoidal - shaped cavity 668 comprises an indentation 672 that engage each other in a snap - fit arrangement when the trapezoidal - shaped member 662 is fully engaged with the trapezoidal - shaped cavity 672 , as illustrated in fig1 c . the sensor 654 conveniently includes a finger handle 674 , which can be grasped by the user to slide the member 662 of the sensor 654 into and out of the cavity 668 of the sensor mount 652 . referring now to fig1 a - 12c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 700 is depicted . the sensor assembly 700 comprises a sensor mount 702 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 704 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 702 . the sensor 704 comprises a sensor housing 706 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 708 at one end from which sensor wires 710 extend . the sensor 704 further includes a member 712 that forms a cavity 714 that extends the length of the sensor housing 706 . the sensor mount 702 comprises a planar spacer flange 716 , which spaces the mounted sensor 704 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 716 comprises a first planar mounting surface 718 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 702 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 720 from which a member 722 extends along the length of the spacer flange 716 . the cavity 714 of the sensor 704 and the member 722 of the sensor mount 702 have substantially uniform and complementary cross - sections , and in this case , rectangular - shaped cross - sections , such that they are configured to slidingly engage each other in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 718 of the sensor mount 702 . to further ensure a secure fit between the sensor 704 and the sensor mount 702 , the rectangular - shaped cavity 714 includes opposing sidewalls 724 , each with a ridge 726 that extends the length thereof , and the rectangular - shaped member 722 includes opposing sidewalls 728 , each with a slot 730 that extends the length thereof . the ridges 726 and slots 730 engage each other in a friction fit , as the rectangular member 722 is engaged with the rectangular cavity 714 , as illustrated in fig1 c . referring now to fig1 a - 13c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 750 is depicted . the sensor assembly 750 comprises a sensor mount 752 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 754 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 752 . the sensor 754 comprises a cylindrical sensor housing 756 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 758 at one end , from which sensor wires 760 extend . for purposes that will be described below , the sensor housing 756 further includes a key 762 that extends along the length thereof . the sensor mount 752 comprises a planar spacer flange 764 , which spaces the mounted sensor 754 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 764 comprises a first planar mounting surface 766 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 752 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 768 , from which a member 770 extends . the member 770 comprises a cylindrical cavity 772 formed therein that extends along the length of the spacer flange 764 . the cylindrical cavity 772 comprises a key slot 774 that extends along the length thereof . the sensor housing 756 and the cavity 772 of the sensor mount 752 havesubstantially uniform and complementary cross - sections , and in this case , elliposidal - shaped cross - sections , and specifically circular - shaped cross - sections , such that they are configured to slidingly engage each other in a direction parallel to the first planar mounting surface 766 of the sensor mount 752 . additionally , the key 762 of the sensor housing 756 fits in and engages with the key slot 774 of the cylindrical cavity 772 , such that the cylindrical sensor housing 756 does not rotate along the axis of the cylindrical cavity 772 . to further ensure a secure fit between the sensor 754 and the sensor mount 752 , the cylindrical sensor housing 756 includes a detent 776 , and the cylindrical cavity 772 includes an aperture 778 that engage each other when the cylindrical sensor housing 756 is fully engaged with the cylindrical cavity 772 , as illustrated in fig1 c . referring now to fig1 a - 14c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 800 is depicted . the sensor assembly 800 is similar to the previously described sensor assembly 750 , with the exception that opposing extensions , rather than a key , is used to prevent rotation of the sensor housing . specifically , the sensor assembly 800 comprises a sensor mount 802 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 804 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 802 . the sensor 804 comprises a generally cylindrical sensor housing 806 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 808 at one end , from which sensor wires 810 extend . for purposes that will be described below , the sensor housing 806 further includes a pair of lateral opposing extensions 812 . the sensor mount 802 comprises a spacer flange 814 , which spaces the mounted sensor 804 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 814 comprises a planar mounting surface 816 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 802 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding . the sensor mount 802 further comprises a cylindrical cavity 822 that is formed within the spacer flange 814 extends along the length of the spacer flange 814 . the cylindrical cavity 822 comprises a pair of lateral opposing extensions 824 that extends along the length thereof . the sensor housing 806 and the cavity 822 of the sensor mount 802 have substantially uniform and complementary cross - sections , and in this case , elliposidal - shaped cross - sections , and specifically circular - shaped cross - sections , such that they are configured to slidingly engage each other in a direction parallel to the planar mounting surface 816 of the sensor mount 802 . additionally , the pair of opposing lateral extensions 812 of the sensor housing 806 fits in and engages with the pair of opposing lateral extensions 824 of the cylindrical cavity 822 , such that the cylindrical sensor housing 806 does not rotate along the axis of the cylindrical cavity 822 . to further ensure a secure fit between the sensor 804 and the sensor mount 802 , the cylindrical sensor housing 806 includes a detent 826 , and the cylindrical cavity 822 includes an aperture 828 that engage each other when the cylindrical sensor housing 806 is fully engaged with the cylindrical cavity 822 , as illustrated in fig1 c . referring now to fig1 a - 15c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 850 is depicted . the sensor assembly 850 comprises a sensor mount 852 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 854 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 852 . the sensor 854 comprises a cylindrical sensor housing 856 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 858 at one end , from which sensor wires 860 extend . the sensor 854 further includes a rigid planar member 862 , which includes a first planar surface 864 and an oppositely - disposed second planar surface 866 , from which the sensor housing 856 extends . the sensor mount 852 comprises a planar spacer flange 868 , which spaces the mounted sensor 854 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 868 comprises a first planar mounting surface 870 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 852 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 872 . the sensor mount 852 further includes a flexible planar member 874 that is configured to be removably attached to the second planar mounting surface 872 of the spacer flange 868 . the flexible planar member 874 comprises an aperture 876 , through which the sensor housing 856 can fit through , but through which the rigid planar member 862 cannot . thus , the spacer flange 868 , with the sensor housing 856 , can be inserted between the flexible planar member 874 and the spacer flange 868 when removably attaching the flexible planar member 874 to the spacer flange 868 , thereby removably mounting the sensor 854 to the sensor mount 852 , as illustrated in fig1 c . in the illustrated embodiment , a hook - in - loop material ( not illustrated ), the hook portion of which forms the flexible planar member 874 , and the loop portion of which is permanently disposed on the second planar surface 872 of the spacer flange 868 , is used to removably mount the rigid planar member 862 , and thus , the sensor 854 , to the sensor mount 852 . referring now to fig1 a - 16c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 900 is depicted . the sensor assembly 900 comprises a sensor mount 902 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 904 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 902 . the sensor 904 comprises a cylindrical sensor housing 906 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 908 at one end , from which sensor wires 910 extend . the sensor 904 further includes a pair of axially aligned snap holes 912 that is formed within the sensor housing 906 . the sensor mount 902 comprises a planar spacer flange 914 , which spaces the mounted sensor 904 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 914 comprises a first planar mounting surface 916 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 902 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 918 , from which a pair of axially aligned snap protuberances 920 extend . the spacing between , and size of , the pair of snap holes 912 and the spacing between , and size of , the pair of snap protuberances 920 match , such that they are configured to snap together to mount the sensor 904 on the sensor mount 902 , as illustrated in fig1 c . referring now to fig1 a - 17c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 950 is depicted . the sensor assembly 950 comprises a sensor mount 952 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 954 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 952 . the sensor 954 comprises a cylindrical sensor housing 956 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ) and an outlet 958 at one end , from which sensor wires 960 extend . the sensor housing 956 includes two oppositely - disposed cutouts 962 , which are preferably provided at or near the midpoint of the sensor housing 956 . the sensor mount 952 comprises a spacer flange 964 , which spaces the mounted sensor 954 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 964 comprises a planar mounting surface 966 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 952 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed concave surface 968 that is sized and shaped to receive the sensor housing 956 . a pair of sensor holding arms 970 extends from the concave surface 968 of the spacer flange 964 , and includes opposing concave surfaces 972 that define an aperture 974 between the arms 970 . the holding arms 970 are configured to grip the sensor housing 956 therebetween in a snap - fit arrangement when the concave surfaces 972 are coincident with the cutouts 962 of the sensor housing 956 , as illustrated in fig1 c . the concave surface 968 of the spacer flange 964 receives the sensor housing 956 , thereby further ensuring a secure fit between the sensor 954 and the sensor mount 952 . each of the pair of sensor arms 970 comprises a beveled edge 976 , which guides and facilitates the insertion of the sensor housing 956 between the arms 970 and into the aperture 974 . preferably , the sensor holding arms 970 are composed of a resilient material having an elastic property , such as an elastomer , so that their shape may be distorted as the sensor housing 956 is inserted therebetween , yet at least partially restored once inserted . referring to fig1 a - 18c , still another preferred embodiment of a sensor assembly 1000 is depicted . the sensor assembly 1000 comprises a sensor mount 1002 ( shown separately in fig1 b ) and a sensor 1004 ( shown separately in fig1 a ), which is removably attached to the sensor mount 1002 . the sensor 1004 comprises a generally cylindrical sensor housing 1006 , which contains sensing elements ( not depicted ). for purposes that will be described in further detail below , the cross - section of the cylindrical sensor housing 1006 forms a semi - circle that exhibits an arc of greater than 180 degrees . the sensor housing 1006 has an outlet 1008 at one end , from which sensor wires 1010 extend . the sensor housing 1006 further comprises extensions 1012 that extend perpendicularly from the sensor housing 1006 in opposite directions . the sensor 1004 further includes a planar flange 1014 that has a planar surface 1016 , from which the sensor housing 1006 extends . the sensor mount 1002 comprises a planar spacer flange 1016 , which spaces the mounted sensor 1004 the required distance away from the c - arm 125 . to this end , the spacer flange 1004 comprises a first planar mounting surface 1018 , which is the surface used to permanently attach the sensor mount 1002 to the c - arm 125 via suitable means , such as welding or bonding , and an oppositely - disposed second planar mounting surface 1020 , in which a generally cylindrical open cavity 1022 is formed for receiving the sensor housing 1006 . the cross - section of the generally cylindrical cavity 1022 forms a semi - circle that exhibits an arc of greater than 180 degrees , such that it receives the generally cylindrical housing 1006 in a snap - fit arrangement , as illustrated in fig1 c . the coincidence between the planar surface 1016 of the sensor 1004 and the second planar mounting surface 1020 of the spacer flange 1016 prevents the sensor housing 1006 from rotating relative to the axis of the cavity 1022 . additionally , the cavity 1022 further comprises extensions 1024 that extend perpendicularly therefrom , in opposite directions , to receive the lateral extensions 1012 of the sensor housing 1006 , thereby ensuring that the sensor housing 1006 does not rotate within the cavity 1022 . although particular embodiments of the present inventions have been shown and described , it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the present inventions to the preferred embodiments , and 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 inventions . thus , the present inventions are intended to cover alternatives , modifications , and equivalents , which may be included within the spirit and scope of the present inventions as defined by the claims . all publications , patents , and patent applications cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes . | 0 |
the present invention relates to a method for verifying an amount of on - chip decoupling capacitance given a distance between a driver and a decoupling capacitor and an amount of decoupling capacitance needed for charge distribution . the present invention further relates to a method for forming a linear problem , where the solution to the linear problem is used to verify an amount of on - chip decoupling capacitance . the present invention also relates to a software tool that verifies an amount of decoupling capacitance on all or part of a computer chip . fig2 shows an exemplary arrangement of drivers ( 30 , 32 ) and decoupling capacitors ( 34 , 36 , 38 ) on a computer chip ( 40 ) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention . driver a ( 30 ) and driver b ( 32 ) are used to drive discrete elements ( not shown ) on the computer chip ( 40 ). decoupling capacitors 1 , 2 , and 3 ( referred to and shown as “ decap 1 ,” “ decap 2 ,” and “ decap 3 ,” respectively ) ( 34 , 36 , 38 ) are used to provide on - chip decoupling capacitance . a percentage of a decoupling capacitor used by a particular driver is indicated as d xy , where x represents the particular driver and y represents the particular decoupling capacitor . for example , d b2 indicates the percentage of decap 2 ( 36 ) used by driver b ( 32 ). in order to verify that the amount of decoupling capacitance on the computer chip ( 40 ) is adequate to sufficiently distribute charge that may be required by each of the drivers ( 32 , 34 ), the present invention provides a method by which to form a linear problem , where the solution to the linear problem indicates whether there is enough decoupling capacitance on the computer chip ( 40 ) for the drivers on the computer chip ( 40 ). fig3 shows an exemplary flow process for generating a linear problem from an arrangement of drivers and decoupling capacitors on a computer chip in accordance with the embodiment shown in fig2 . first , a driver on the computer chip is selected ( step 50 ). decoupling capacitors within a specified distance of the selected driver are then selected ( step 52 ). next , the decoupling capacitance need of the selected driver is equated to the summation of the products of the capacitances of each of the selected decoupling capacitors and the use percentages of the selected decoupling capacitors by the selected driver ( step 54 ). those skilled in the art will appreciate that this step may be repeated for remaining drivers on the computer chip . further , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the equations that are formed for the selected drivers form a linear problem that can be solved to verify decoupling capacitance on the computer chip . however , before the linear problem is solved , certain conditions must be met in order to ensure verification requirements . for example , a decoupling capacitor that is used by multiple drivers cannot be fully used by each of the multiple drivers . thus , conditions are applied requiring that the cumulative percentage use of the decoupling capacitor by one or more drivers does not exceed 1 . in other words , only 100 % of a decoupling capacitor can be used , and this condition must be accounted for in the equations which are formed for the linear problem . under the constraints of these conditions , the linear problem can be solved , whereafter the decoupling capacitances of the drivers on a computer chip can be determined . based on the decoupling capacitance needs of the drivers , a determination can be made as to whether enough decoupling capacitance is present to decrease driver delays relative to when there is not enough decoupling capacitance present . further , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the verification of on - chip decoupling capacitance by solving the linear problem may indicate whether chip area is being wasted in cases where there is too much decoupling capacitance . equations ( 1 )-( 5 ) ( an individual equation is referred to as “ linear equation ”) show the generation of a linear problem based on the arrangement of drivers and decoupling capacitors shown in fig2 . driver a decoupling capacitance = decap 1 * d a1 + decap 2 * d a2 + decap 3 * d a3 ( 1 ) driver b decoupling capacitance = decap 1 * d b1 + decap 2 * d b2 ( 2 ) equation ( 1 ) equates the decoupling capacitance need of driver a ( 30 ) to the sum of the products of those decoupling capacitors ( 34 , 36 , 38 ) that are within a specified distance of driver a ( 30 ) and the use percentages of those decoupling capacitors ( 34 , 36 , 38 ) by driver a ( 30 ). equation ( 2 ) equates the decoupling capacitance need of driver b ( 32 ) to the sum of the products of those decoupling capacitors ( 34 , 36 ) that are within a specified distance of driver b ( 32 ) and the use percentages of those decoupling capacitors ( 34 , 36 ) by driver b ( 32 ). for driver b ( 32 ) in equation ( 2 ), note that decap 3 ( 38 ) is not included because it resides outside a specified distance of driver b ( 32 ). equations ( 3 )-( 5 ) are the conditions that are placed on the percentage use parameters in equations ( 1 )-( 2 ). equations ( 3 )-( 5 ) indicate that no more than 100 % of each decoupling capacitor can be used by those drivers that fall within the specified distance . note that once a capacitor falls outside some distance from a driver , the capacitive effects of the capacitor on the driver are considered so minimal that its capacitance is considered as not being used by the driver . equations ( 1 )-( 5 ), which form the linear problem for the exemplary arrangement of drivers and decoupling capacitors shown in fig2 are solved to determine the amount of decoupling capacitance for each driver . if one or more drivers are not meeting specified decoupling capacitance needs , then there is not enough decoupling capacitance on the computer chip and changes such as the repositioning , addition , or resizing of elements may be made . in the case that one or more drivers are overcompensated with respect to the amount of decoupling capacitance they are receiving , then there is probably too much decoupling capacitance on the computer chip and changes such as the repositioning , removal , or resizing of elements may be made . in another embodiment of the present invention , because a linear problem can be formulated for verifying decoupling capacitance , a software tool may be used to solve the linear problem . the software tool may include linear programming tools to solve the linear problem . this is advantageous because actual on - chip measurements do not have to be made to verify decoupling capacitance . advantages of the following invention may include one or more of the following . in some embodiments , because on - chip decoupling capacitance is verified , driver delay is decreased relative to when there is not enough on - chip decoupling capacitance , which , in turn , in turn leads to faster switching times and increased frequency operation . in some embodiments , because on - chip decoupling capacitance is verified , unnecessary charge transfer from a power supply may be avoided . further , this results in the reduction of noise on the power supply . in some embodiments , because a method for verifying on - chip decoupling capacitance may consider all the drivers and decoupling capacitors on a computer chip , unnecessary and over compensatory measurements may be avoided . in some embodiments , because a linear problem is formed to verify on - chip decoupling capacitance , a software tool may be used for solving the linear problem . in some embodiments , because a linear problem is formed to verify on - chip decoupling capacitance , where the linear problem accounts for decoupling capacitance of a driver on a computer chip , chip elements can be tested for proper functionality . 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 . | 6 |
fig1 - 3 schematically illustrate a plot of irrigated land having several irrigation zones . fig1 shows an elevation of plot of land 10 in which the various components of irrigation apparatus are installed . as seen in fig1 - 3 , a central controller 11 is disposed adjacnt to a building 26 and has a plurality of cables 12 extending outwardly to a respective soil resistance detection control probe 14 , and into a plurality of conductors 18 respectively connected into flow control devices such as solenoid valves 20 . each of the valves 20 are further connected into one or more irrigating heads 22 which may be sprinkler heads as illustrated . each detection probe 14 is buried within the earth at approximately the lowest depth that the roots of plants are expected to reach in a particular type of soil . such plants may be grass such as in a lawn , municipal park , or golf course , for example . in other installations the plants might be grape vines or fruit trees , for example . the probe 14 has two resistance detection probes 16 and 17 which are embedded in the earth where the probe 14 is installed . each of the solenoid valves 20 control the flow of water through a conduit 24 , for example . the solenoids 20 may control the flow of water to individual heads 22 as shown or a multiplicity of heads 22 as shown in dashed lines in fig2 . also shown in fig2 is other detection probes 14 extending through power cables 12 from central controller 11 . fig3 shows a plot of land 100 surrounding a building 26 which represents a residence , business building , or the like . a number f irrigation zones 98 are defined in the land plot 100 , and a power cable 12 terminating in one or more detection probes 14 is installed in each of these plots . as also shown , a plurality of control cables 18 extend outwardly from each detection probe 14 and are respectively connected into solenoid valves 20 . one or more irrigating heads or stations 22 ( not shown ) extend from each of the solenoid valves 20 . the central controller 11 actuates all the power cables 12 and resistance probes 14 as shown . the central controller 11 may be actuated to turn the system off and on by means of a timer switch , a temperature or freeze switch , and possibly a light responsive switch ( not shown ). in this manner the controller 11 will control power to the system for certain periods of each day , each week , or the like . the controller will also be responsive to irrigate the plot 100 only during evening and night hours , if desired , by a light sensitive switch . the system can also be regulated to be operable only during above freezing temperatures . when the earth in the vicinity of the electrodes 16 and 17 of detection probe 14 is dry , then the resistance measured between the probes 16 and 17 is very high with a relatively large voltage occurring between the electrodes . as the ground is moisturized , the earth between the electrodes 16 and 17 becomes less resistive and the voltage occurring across the electrodes is gradually lessened as the moisture increases . at a pre - determined voltage level , the detection probe 14 is actuated to open an internal switch and turn off the solenoids 20 as shown in fig1 - 3 . to curtail water demand at a designated time , the controller 11 may be equipped with sequencing switches ( not shown ) to sequentially activate the control probes 14 in any combination . since all the switches for controller 11 are commercially available , there is no need to describe or show such switches specifically . fig8 shows a typical detection probe 14 installed within the earth at a depth 28 which , as illustrated , is approximately the lower depth that the grass roots will extend . the physical structure of the detection probe 14 is schematically illustrated in fig4 - 6 . fig4 shows an elevational section of the probe 14 . as seen in fig4 - 6 , the probe 14 is seen to have detection probes 16 and 17 extending in parallel out the side of the probe 14 at a designated distance apart , with one inch between the inner edges being an example . mounted within the probe 14 are the electronic components 30 of the detection and actuating circuit mounted on a circuit board 32 . the circuit board 32 may be plated for circuit printing on one side and with a solid conductive sheet 34 on the other side . as shown in fig6 the circuit components may be mounted on one side of the circuit board 32 . in fig4 the plating of the circuit board 32 may be a shield 34 for the purpose of shielding the circuit against unwanted radiation such as emanating from high tension power lines , etc . in the manufacture of the probe 14 , the components 16 , 17 , 30 , 32 , and 34 are disposed in a casting mold ( not shown ) in the position as shown in fig4 and fig6 . a heat - hardenable resin of relatively low viscosity is thereon poured in and around the circuit board and circuit components in a manner eliminating any trapped air such that the liquid plastic is in close and intimate contact with all the respective components of the probe 14 . the plastic is then allowed to harden into a solid monolithic structure which is hermetic and impervious to liquid or gas intrusion . the hardening time of the epoxy resin may vary from only a few minutes to several hours , depending on the respective formula of the epoxy employed . the resulting body and internals of the probe 14 is an integral and monolithic mass . an epoxy resin is presently being used as the preferred plastic for the probe 14 . however , other plastics such as &# 34 ; nylon &# 34 ;, acrylic , and polyvinyl chloride may be employed if tailored to this particular application . fig7 is a schematic illustration of the detection and actuating circuit of the probe 14 . as shown , the circuit is seen to include generally a detection circuit component which actuates a relay switch component . a common ground connection 48 is seen to electrically extend through the probe 14 from the power cable conductor 12 to the controller conductor 18 . detection electrode 17 is connected into this ground . this common ground may also be the shield plate 34 as shown in fig4 and previously described . the detection portion of this circuit may be adapted from several integrated detection circuits commercially available . examples of such suppliers are sgs - semiconductor corporation , phoenix , ariz . 85022 ; sprague electric company , lexington , mass . 02173 ; and national semiconductor corporation , santa clara , calif . 95051 . sgs - semiconductor corporation supplies an integrated detection circuit model no . 4620 , for example . sprague electric company manufactures an integrated detection circuit model no . uln - 2429a , for example . national semiconductor corporation manufactures detection circuits model nos . lm1042 , lm903 , and lm1830 , as examples . of the above integrated detection circuits , the national semiconductor corporation &# 39 ; s detector circuit model no . lm1830 is the circuit considered to be preferred when modified for use in the present invention . this lm1830 fluid detector circuit is advertised for use in the fluid detection systems utilized in automotive and industrial equipment . an automobile radiator liquid lel detector is an example . there is shown an oscillator circuit 38 for providing a varied frequency voltage to energize the probes 16 and 17 . the frequency of the oscillator circuit 38 is set by the value of a timing capacitor 56 . a detector circuit 36 is provided in connection between the electrodes 16 and 17 to detect the voltage appearing across electrodes 16 and 17 and creates an activating voltage to activate the relay driver 40 when a designated voltage across detector 36 is reached . the capacitor 58 , connected between the detector 36 and ground , is provided to filter the output to the relay driver 40 to prevent relay chatter . the oscillator 38 is coupled to the sensing electrode 16 through a capacitor 60 and a fixed resistance 61 . the total resistance seen by oscillator 38 is the resistance of the earth seen between probes 16 and 17 in series with the fixed resistor 61 . thus , the resistance is a function of the fixed resistor 61 , the earth &# 39 ; s resistivity , the length and diameter of the probes , and the spacing between the probes . the value of the resistor 61 is used to calibrate the sensitivity of the system . the output of the detector 36 is a function of the earth &# 39 ; s resistance between the electrodes 16 and 17 , and this output is sent to the relay driver 40 . at a pre - determined voltage level , the relay driver 40 sends an actuating voltage to the switch relay 42 which actuates the contacts of switch 54 . the switch relay 42 with the switch 54 may be of a mechanical solenoid type as illustrated , or a solid state device ( not shown ). a dc bias supply circuit 44 supplies a dc bias voltage to the oscillator 38 , the detector 36 , and the relay driver 40 . an ac / dc bridge circuit 46 connected between the ground 48 and a voltage supply circuit 50 is energized to supply a dc voltage to the switch relay 42 . when the relay 42 is driven by the output of the relay driver 40 , an internal resistor in relay 42 provides a voltage drop to reduce unnecessary heating of the relay . a diode and capacitor in relay 42 provide additional delay for the opening of the relay . because the voltage necessary to close the relay 42 is much higher than the release voltage , there exists a hysteresis that prevents the tendency of the relay 42 to chatter when activated or de - activated . the ac / dc bridge 46 supplies energizing voltage to relay switch 42 . when relay 42 is activated , the relay contacts of switch 52 close and apply 28 volts ac , for example , to the solenoid 20 as shown in fig1 and fig2 . actuation of the solenoids 20 opens the valve to permit water to flow to the irrigating heads 22 . in operation , the circuit of probe 14 is energized when voltage is received from the controller 11 . when probe 14 is energized , the probe supplies electrical voltage to the solenoids 20 when the earth &# 39 ; s resistance across detection electrodes 16 and 17 indicate insufficient water in the earth between the electrodes . when the resistance of the earth between the electrodes 16 and 17 decreases to a pre - determined level , then the switch relay opens the circuit between the conductors 19 and 13 and allows the solenoids 20 to become de - energized . an optional feature which may be employed in the probe 14 is an override control conductor 52 which will connect through the switch 54 and energize the solenoids 20 even though the switch is disconnected in the regular connection through the conductor 50 from the conductor 13 to conductor 19 . this override wire or conductor 52 may be part of the power cable coming out to the detection probe 14 from the controller 11 . this override feature is useful in that an operator can close the override switch at the central controller 11 and thereby energize all the solenoid valves in the system . thus , all the irrigating heads in the system will be seen to sprinkle , indicating that all the respective probes 14 are operational and receiving voltage from the central controller . it will become apparent to those skilled in the art that the preferred embodiment as herein disclosed may be modified substantially without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims . | 8 |
preferred embodiments of the present invention be explained with reference to the accompanying drawings as follows . fig1 is an enlarged view of a main portion in a luminaire ( or , a lighting unit ) for explaining a liquid crystal display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention , and shows a structure of an electrode portion of a fluorescent lamp as a linear light source ( or , a tubular light source ) constituting the luminaire . in this embodiment , a cold cathode fluorescent lamp is utilized for the fluorescent lamp 8 , and the electrode portions at both ends thereof are inserted elastically into lamp holders 9 respectively . these lamp holders 9 are flexible , has an almost rectangular exterior , and has an opening for inserting an end of the fluorescent lamp 8 into a cavity formed therein on one of surfaces thereof . this cavity has a dead end in the lamp holder 9 , but may have a tunnel - like shape which pierces through the lamp holder 9 to another surface thereof opposite to the surface having the opening . an electrode terminal 8 a is pulled out from the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 , and an electric power supplying lead being connected to a power source section of the liquid crystal display device ( not shown ) is soldered to the electrode terminal for example in a similar matter to fig1 , but is omitted in this drawing . according to this embodiment , heat in the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 is retained by setting the fluorescent lamp equipped with the lamp holder 9 in an intermediate mold frame as shown in fig1 so that a temperature drop of the electrode portion is suppressed . consequently , the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment enables to display an image thereby without luminescence decrease . fig2 is an enlarged view of a main portion in a luminaire for explaining a liquid crystal display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention , and shows a structure of an electrode portion of a fluorescent lamp as a linear light source constituting the luminaire . a difference in this embodiment from the aforementioned first embodiment is that the lamp holder has an almost cylindrical exterior , and has an opening for inserting an end of the fluorescent lamp 8 into a cavity formed therein on one of end surfaces thereof . this cavity has a dead end in the lamp holder 9 , but may have a tunnel - like shape which pierces through the lamp holder 9 to another side thereof opposite to the surface having the opening . according to this embodiment also , heat in the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 is retained by setting the fluorescent lamp equipped with the lamp holder 9 in an intermediate old frame as shown in fig1 so that a temperature drop of the electrode portion is suppressed . consequently , the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment enables to display an image thereby without luminance decrease . in fig3 is an enlarged views of a main portion in a luminaire for explaining a liquid crystal display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention , and shows a structure of an electrode portion of a fluorescent lamp as a linear light source constituting the luminaire . in this embodiment , the lamp holder 9 is shaped into an almost cylindrical exterior like that of the second embodiment , and has an opening for inserting an end ( an electrode portion ) of the fluorescent lamp 8 into a cavity formed therein on one of end surfaces thereof also . an external diameter of a circumference 9 a around this opening is varied along a longitudinal direction of the fluorescent lamp 8 so as to adhere to outer wall of the fluorescent lamp . this cavity in this embodiment has a dead end in the lamp holder 9 also , but may have a tunnel - like shape which pierces through the lamp holder 9 to another side thereof opposite to the surface having the opening . according to this embodiment also , heat in the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 is retained by setting the fluorescent lamp equipped with the lamp holder 9 in an intermediate mold frame as shown in fig1 so that a temperature drop of the electrode portion is suppressed . consequently , the liquid crystal display device of this embodiment enables to display an image thereby without luminance decrease . dotted patterns drawn in each cross - section of the lamp holders shown in fig1 through 3 . these dotted patterns show that resin or other material having thermal conductivity like that of the resin of which the lamp holder 9 is formed has a plurality of pores therein . as these pores are formed in the lamp holder 9 , heat conduction from the fluorescent lamp 8 to a housing ( frame , casing , or else ) is effectively reduced . by the way , thermal conductivity of gas or solid state material is exemplified as follows . each value of thermal conductivity is based on a unit being defined as w ( watt )/ m ( meter )· k ( kelvin : temperature ). air : 2 . 41 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 3 . 41 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 100 ° c .) nitrogen ( n 2 ): 2 . 40 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 3 . 09 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 100 ° c .) carbon dioxide ( co 2 ): 1 . 45 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 2 . 23 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 100 ° c .) argon ( ar ): 1 . 63 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 2 . 12 × 10 − 2 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 100 ° c .) glass ( soda ): 0 . 55 ˜ 0 . 75 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) quartz glass : 1 . 4 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 1 . 9 w · m − 1 · k ( at 100 ° c .) rubber ( soft rubber ): 0 . 10 ˜ 0 . 20 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) rubber ( sponge ): 0 . 04 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 25 ° c .) silicone rubber : 1 . 0 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) acrylic resin : 0 . 17 ˜ 0 . 25 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) polyethylene : 0 . 25 ˜ 0 . 34 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) polystyrene : 0 . 08 ˜ 0 . 12 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) asbestos ( textile ): 0 . 1 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) asbestos ( cotton ): 0 . 06 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ˜ 20 ° c .) aluminum : 236 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 0 ° c .) ( ditto ): 241 w · m − 1 · k − 1 ( at 100 ° c .) as apparent from the thermal conductivity difference between the soft rubber and the sponge formed by introducing pores thereinto , or that between the textile - like asbestos and the cotton - like asbestos , although both members are formed of the same material , one of the members may have different thermal conductivity from that of another of the members in accordance with amounts of pores or gaseous layers existing in the respective members . on the other hand , the thermal conductivity of the soda glass being utilized for the fluorescent lamp 8 is as 22 through 31 times greater as that of the air under the temperature of 0 ° c . furthermore , the thermal conductivity of the aluminum being utilized for the lower frame 6 is as c . a . 10 , 000 times greater as that of the air . for example , temperature inside the fluorescent lamp rises up to 50 ° through 60 ° c ., and temperature around the lower frame ( environmental temperature for operating the liquid crystal display device ) is around 20 ° c ., during a practical use of the liquid crystal display device . under the above exemplified environment for the practical use of the liquid crystal display device , the above - mentioned relationship of the thermal conductivity between the air and the soda glass and that between the air and the aluminum are almost unaffected . the conventionally used lamp holder 9 as shown in fig1 is formed of silicone rubber and contacts with an outer surface of a fluorescent lamp 8 therein , and at least one part of an outer surface thereof contacts with a lower frame 6 , respectively . the construction of this sort is clearly understood with reference to fig1 showing that the lower frame 6 covers the lamp holder 9 . in contrast to such a conventionally employed construction , the lamp holder 9 being used for the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is formed for example , of a material indicating thermal conductivity lower than either that of silicone rubber or 1 w · m − 1 · k − 1 in any temperature selected from a range lying from − 40 ° c . through 80 ° c . fig1 a shows an example of the intermediate mold frame 4 being equipped with the fluorescent lamp 8 by using the lamp holder 9 according to the present invention . fig1 a is drawn in the same view of fig1 , but differs from fig1 in that fig1 is a partial cross - sectional view which is taken along a plane including the electrode terminal 8 a of the fluorescent lamp 8 and spreading along a surface of the lower frame 6 ( or the liquid crystal display panel ) and shows the intermediate mold frame 4 , the fluorescent lamp 8 , and the lamp holder 9 being cut along the plane respectively . therefore , fig1 a does not show the lower frame 6 , but shows an electrode 8 b disposed in the fluorescent lamp 8 and a core wire 10 a of the electric power supply lead 10 having coaxial structure . in fig1 a , a hollowed portion 4 b is formed at a part of the side of the intermediate mold frame 4 which faces a part of a side of the light guide plate 5 and the protruded portion 5 a is formed at the part of the side thereof similarly to those of fig1 so that the light guide plate 5 is fixed at the intermediate mold frame 4 properly by fitting the protruded portion 5 a into the hollowed portion 4 b . if the lamp holder 9 is formed of a material having sufficiently low thermal conductivity , the lamp holder 9 need not to include a plurality of pores therein . therefore , a dotted pattern as a symbol of the pores are not drawn in a cross section of the lamp holder shown in fig1 a . the material replacement of this sort is applicable to a lamp holder 9 being explained in each of the embodiments 1 through 3 , also . the lamp holder 9 shown in fig1 a has a cavity 9 a being formed therein into which one of ends of the fluorescent lamp 8 is inserted . the cavity 9 a has an dead - ended structure which is substantially surrounded by the material utilized for the lamp holder 9 except for an opening for inserting the fluorescent lamp 8 thereinto . strictly speaking , there is another opening at a portion of the lamp holder 9 through which the electrode terminal 8 a of the fluorescent lamp 8 pierces . however , since an inner surface of the lamp holder 9 at the electrode terminal piercing portion contacts with a surface of the electrode terminal 8 a more tightly than a contact thereof with the fluorescent lamp at the fluorescent lamp inserting portion , the opening at the electrode terminal piercing portion is negligible . heat dispersion from the end portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 causes not only through a contact surface thereof with the lamp holder 9 , but also through the electrode terminal 8 a thereof toward the electric power supply lead 10 . for preventing the latter of the heat dispersions , the cavity 9 a in the lamp holder 9 is formed to have a larger volume than that of an end portion of the fluorescent lamp being inserted thereinto . even if a gap appears between the fluorescent lamp 8 and the lamp holder 9 at the fluorescent lamp inserting portion 9 b , gas remaining in a space of the cavity 9 a which is isolated from an outside of the lamp bolder by inserting the fluorescent lamp 8 into the cavity 9 a ( the space called a rest portion of the cavity 9 a , hereinafter ) can hardly leak out from the rest portion of the cavity , and is regarded to be almost confined in the rest portion , as long as a volume of the gap is smaller than that of the rest portion ( the volume difference between the whole cavity 9 a and the end portion of the fluorescent lamp being inserted into the cavity ). therefore , heat being conducted from the fluorescent lamp 8 to an outside thereof through the electrode terminal 8 a thereof warms up the gas remaining in the rest portion of the cavity 9 a so that the warmed gas prevents the temperature drop of the end portion of the fluorescent 8 . some of the heat from the fluorescent lamp 8 which does not contribute to warm up the gas in the rest portion of the cavity 9 a and is conducted toward the electric power supply lead ( rightward in fig1 a ) by the electrode terminal 8 warms up the lamp holder 9 at the electrode piercing portion thereon . consequently , the temperature of the lamp holder 9 is so increased that the temperature drop of the end portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 contacting therewith is suppressed effectively . fig1 b is a partial cross - sectional view of another example of the lamp holding structure according to the present invention , and differs from fig1 a in that the lamp holder 9 has a tunnel - like structure and spacers 91 being disposed therearound . the lamp holder 9 of fig1 b has an opening for inserting the fluorescent lamp 8 into the cavity 9 a thereof and another openings for inserting the electric power supply lead into the cavity 9 a thereof , as that of fig1 does . furthermore , the lamp holder 9 of fig1 b has a third openings additionally to the aforementioned two openings . the third opening is provided for work to connect the electrode terminal 8 a and the core wire 10 a by soldering , spot - welding , or else in the cavity 9 a . the third opening is filled up with a cap 90 after connecting the electrode terminal 8 a to the core wire 10 a so as to suppress a leakage of gas remaining in the rest portion of the cavity 9 a to an outside of the lamp holder 9 in similar manner to the lamp holding structure of fig1 a . however , if the lamp holder 9 has sufficient elasticity and the intermediate mold frame has thermal conductivity lower than that of silicone rubber and a surface thereof being large enough to cover the third opening , the third opening may be blocked with the intermediate mold frame by pressing the third opening side of the lamp holder 9 upon the surface thereof . in the example of fig1 b , at least one spacer is provided between an outer surface of the lamp holder 9 and any surface of the intermediate mold frame 4 , the lower frame ( not shown ), or the like which faces the outer surface of the lamp holder 9 . the spacer may be for an example , shaped into a sleeve - like form rolling up an circumference of the lamp holder 9 ( if having a tuber form ), or for another example , separated to a plurality of pieces . by disposing the spacer 91 between the lamp holder 9 and the intermediate mold frame 4 as fig1 b , a first interface between the fluorescent lamp 8 and the lamp holder 9 , a second interface between the lamp holder 9 and the spacer 91 , and a third interface between the spacer 91 and the intermediate mold frame 4 appear on a path of heat conduction from the fluorescent lamp 8 to the intermediate mold frame 4 . according to manufacturing precision for assembling the lamp holding structure , gas penetrates into each of the interfaces , so that each of the interface functions like a porous member ( a member having a plurality of pores therein ). therefore , even by adding the spacer 91 to the heat conduction path as fig1 b shows , the thermal conductivity of the whole of the heat conduction path is decreased enough to suppress the temperature drop at an end portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 . such an advantage of the spacer 91 is also available for disposing the spacer between the lamp holder 9 and the member being formed of metal like the lower frame . furthermore , by using the spacer 91 , the lamp holder 9 is able to be formed not only of a material disclosed in the preceding embodiments 1 through 3 , but also of silicone rubber for example . the spacer may be formed of any materials , and preferably is formed a material having thermal conductivity equal to or lower than that of the lamp holder 9 . one of the lamp holding structures of fig1 b is embodied by combining a lamp holder 9 utilizing a rubber bush formed of silicone rubber with a spacer 91 formed of acrylic resin or abs ( acrylonitrile butadiene styrene ) resin . for this example , a part of a metal member like a lower frame which faces the rubber bush is recommended to be cut away as mentioned in following embodiments 4 and 5 . especially , by removing a part of the metal member having a possibility to be contacted with the spacer 91 , the heat dispersion from the fluorescent lamp 8 to the metal member is prevent so that the temperature of the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp is kept at proper value exactly . on the other hand , the lamp holder 9 is recommended to be spaced from any members other than the spacer ( s ) 91 . fig4 is an disassembled squint view of a liquid crystal display device for explaining the liquid crystal display devices according to a fourth embodiment and a fifth embodiment to be mentioned later of the present invention , and shows a similar structure to that in fig1 except for a lower frame thereof . fig5 is a plan view of a main portion of a liquid crystal display device ( around a fluorescent lamp installed therein ) seen from a lower frame side thereof for explaining the lower frame of the liquid crystal display device shown in fig4 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention , and fig6 is an partial cross - sectional view being taken along a line a — a of fig5 , respectively . in the fourth embodiment of the present invention , a lamp holder 9 may be formed of a material being utilized for that of the conventional type , and heat dispersion from the lamp holder 9 to the lower frame 6 constituting the liquid crystal display device is prevented by an opening 6 a of the lower frame 6 which is facing the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp . consequently , a temperature drop of the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 is so suppressed that illumination of high brightness is able to be obtained by the fluorescent lamp . the lower frame 6 in this embodiment is shaped into a skeleton - like form , and rectangular openings ( or , holes , windows ) 6 a formed by punching respective portions of the lower frame 6 corresponding to the respective electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 as fig5 and 6 shows . these openings are shaped not only into rectangular forms but also into any forms properly . in the fifth embodiment of the present invention equipping the electrode portions of the fluorescent lamp 8 with such lamp holders as explained with reference to fig1 through 3 previously , heat dispersion from the lamp holder 9 to the lower frame 6 is suppressed furthermore , because the lamp holders 9 have heat retaining effect . therefore , a temperature drop at each of the electrode portions of the fluorescent lamp 8 is so suppressed that illumination of higher brightness is able to be obtained by the fluorescent lamp . as fig6 shows , the fluorescent lamp 8 is fixed to the intermediate mold frame 4 by forcing the fluorescent lamp into the light source retaining portion 4 a thereof using elastic deformation of the lamp holders 9 attached thereto . the fluorescent lamp 8 is also fixed at a position facing a side of the light guide plate 5 which is incorporated to the intermediate mold frame 4 . according to this embodiment , heat dispersion to the lower frame 6 is so suppressed that a temperature drop of the electrode portion of the fluorescent lamp 8 is suppressed by retaining the temperature thereof and consequently an image of high display quality is obtained by preventing luminance decrease . fig7 is a plan view of a main portion of a liquid crystal display device ( around a fluorescent lamp ) seen from a lower frame side thereof for explaining the lower frame of the liquid crystal display device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention . in this embodiment , the lower frame 60 is formed of a simple plate which does not have such a skeleton - shaped structure as mentioned in the aforementioned embodiments . therefore , a notch 60 a is formed at portions of the lower frame 6 ( a pair of corners thereof , in this embodiment ) corresponding to the electrode portions of the fluorescent lamp 8 so as to prevent heat dispersion from the lamp holder 9 to the lower frame 6 , in this embodiment . moreover , regardless of such shapes and materials of the lamp holders 9 as explained by referring fig1 through 3 , any kinds of the lamp holders like that used conventionally may be utilized as the lamp holders 9 being attached to the fluorescent lamp 8 for suppressing the luminance decrease , in this embodiment . various embodiments of the present invention being mentioned above are also applied to the liquid crystal display device employing a fluorescent lamp having so - called double - piped structure being disclosed for example by the japanese patent application laid - open no . hei 08 - 334760 / jp - a - 334760 / 1996 . the fluorescent lamp 8 of this sort has a cross sectional structure shown as fig1 a . in the fluorescent lamp of the double - piped type , a glass chamber 81 constituting a main body of the fluorescent lamp is disposed within another glass chamber 82 . an a - zone within the glass chamber 81 is provided for generating illuminating light , and a b - zone being surrounded by an outer surface of the glass chamber 81 and an inner surface of the glass chamber 82 is provided for thermal insulation between the a - zone and a c - zone . the c - zone means an environment around the fluorescent lamp 8 . temperature of the a - zone should be kept at 50 ˜ 60 ° c . for generating illuminating light therein . however , an environmental temperature of the fluorescent lamp 8 remains lower than that of the a - zone . in a conventionally used fluorescent lamp mentioned previously , the a - zone is separated from the c - zone only by one glass tube so that the temperature of the a - zone can be hardly kept in a preferable range for emitting light . the fluorescent lamp of the double piped type provides the b - region containing air or the like between the a - zone and the c - zone and reduces thermal conductivity between the a - zone and the c - zone by keeping temperature of the b - zone between those of the a - zone and the c - zone . thus , the whole of the a - zone is kept at the preferable temperature for light emission . however , even in the double piped fluorescent lamp , a possibility of heat dispersion from a electrode portion ter of the fluorescent lamp 8 still remain . the b - zone along the electrode terminal 8 a is hardly enlarged so that heat is easily leaked out to the c - zone by the electrode terminal 8 a . on the other hand , the double piped structure is assembled by forming glass beads 83 a and 83 b formed around the electrode terminal 8 a , then by welding an inner glass tube to the glass bead 83 a for forming the glass chamber 81 , and finally by welding an outer glass tube to the glass bead 83 b for forming glass chamber 82 . however , according to the manufacturing precision , the glass beads 83 a and 83 b tend to be contacted with one another as fig1 b shows , or both of the glass beads 83 a and 83 b tend to be united to be a glass bead 83 as fig1 c shows . in these structure , heat can be leaked through an interface between the glass beads from the a - zone to the c - zone also , and consequently the temperature of the a - zone around the electrode portion ter can be hardly kept at the preferable value for generating the illuminating light . for solving the aforementioned problems being missed in the double piped fluorescent lamp 8 previously , the present invention is applied to the lamp holding structure for the double piped fluorescent lamp 8 in similar manners to those for the conventionally used fluorescent lamp 8 as mentioned above . fig1 is a partial cross - sectional view of one of the lamp holding structure for the double piped fluorescent lamp 8 to which the present invention is applied . the lamp holding structure of fig1 employs a similar to that of fig1 b , but differs from fig1 b in that the electrode terminal 8 a is extended straightforward to the core wire 10 a of the electric power supply lead 10 , the opening for inserting the electric power supply line 10 is formed at opposite side to the opening for inserting , the fluorescent lamp 8 , and a washer - like spacer 91 is added at the side for spacing the lamp holder 9 from the intermediate mold frame 4 . the sleeve - like lamp holder 9 contact with an outer surface of the electric power supply lead 10 so as to be movable along the core wire 10 a thereof . therefore , a process for connecting the electrode terminal 8 a to the core wire 10 a becomes easier . the washer - like spacer being added to this structure helps the lamp holder 9 confine gas in the cavity thereof . of course , the lamp holding structures according to the present invention other than that of fig1 may be applied to the double - piped fluorescent lamp , and the lamp holding structure of fig1 may be also applied to the fluorescent lamp other than that having the double - piped structure . fig8 is an outlined diagram of one of liquid crystal display devices for portable data terminals for explaining the one of liquid crystal display devices to which the present invention is applied , and shows a transparent type liquid crystal display panel 3 , a light guide plate 5 , a fluorescent lamp 8 , a touch panel 20 , and a protective film 21 , respectively . this liquid crystal display devices for portable data terminals is equipped with the fluorescent lamp and the lamp holders mentioned in any one of the aforementioned embodiments . furthermore , a touch panel onto which data or commands are inputted by a pen - like device is provided on or over the liquid crystal display panel 3 . moreover , the protective film 21 having an abrasion - proof property and preventing extraneous light from being reflected thereby is stacked on an upper surface of the touch panel 20 . fig9 is a cross - sectional view of another of liquid crystal display devices for portable data terminals for explaining the another of liquid crystal display devices to which the present invention is applied , and so - called reflective type liquid crystal display panel is utilize therefor . in fig9 a lower glass substrate 31 as a lower substrate , an aluminum film 32 as a reflective layer , a protective film 33 formed of anti - oxidation film of sio 2 or the like , lower transparent electrodes 34 as lower - side electrodes , an upper glass substrate 35 as an upper substrate , color filters 36 each of which has one of three kinds of color ( r : red , g : green , b : blue ), protective film 37 formed of a transparent organic material for protecting a liquid crystal layer from pollutants exuding from the color filters and for leveling a surface on which upper - side electrodes are formed , one of transparent electrodes 38 as upper - side electrodes , a liquid crystal layer 39 containing liquid crystal compounds , and a scaling material 40 of epoxy resin or the like for gluing the upper side substrate and the lower side substrate to form a liquid crystal panel so as to seal the liquid crystal layer therebetween are shown . the liquid crystal display panel in this embodiment is a so - called stn - type ( super twist nematic - type ) liquid crystal display panel , and optical films 41 including an optical retardation plate and a polarizer are stacked on a surface thereof at the upper glass substrate 35 side ( at an upper side thereof ). as the need arises , lattice - like light shielding film ( black matrix ) is provided among color filters 36 so as to separate respective colors r , g , and b thereof from each other , and then the protective film 37 is formed over the color filters and the black matrix . the aluminum film 32 as a reflective layer having specular reflection property ( mirror reflection property ) is formed by a deposition method using aluminum in this embodiment . multi - layered films for improving a reflectance of the aluminum film 32 may be formed on a surface thereof , and the protective film 33 for preventing the aluminum thereof from being corroded and for leveling upper surface of the protective film itself is formed on or over a surface thereof . the reflective layer of this sort may be formed of metal or nonmetallic material other than aluminum as long as a layer of the metal or the nonmetallic material has a sufficient specular reflection property for the reflective film . the protective film is usually formed of a transparent organic material , and a lower - side transparent electrode 4 for driving the liquid crystal display panel is formed an upper surface thereof . a degree of polarization and a polarization as of the polarizer constituting the optical films 41 disposed on an upper surface of the upper - side glass substrate , and a value of δnd of the optical retardation plate ( δnd : a product being calculated from birefringence : δn multiplied by its thickness : d ) constituting the optical films 41 also are designed to be optimum values respectively which are determined in accordance with a twist angle , a tilt angle , and a value of δnd of the liquid crystal compound ( δnd : a product being calculated from birefringence of the liquid crystal compound : δn multiplied by thickness of the liquid crystal layer containing the liquid crystal compound : d ), by a known method . a light guide plate 5 having a function for emitting light toward the liquid crystal display panel effectively is disposed above an upper side thereof where the optical films 41 are disposed , so that the light guide plate functions as an auxiliary light source for enabling use thereof in such a dark environment as a room with little extraneous light , the night , or the like . the , light guide plate 5 is shaped by processing a surface of a board formed of transparent acrylic resin or the like . the fluorescent lamp 8 like a cold cathode fluorescent lamp or else is disposed along one of edges of the light guide plate 5 , and supplies illuminating light therefrom into the light guide plate 5 . the luminaire of this sort is called a front light , generally . according to the liquid crystal display device , an image of high display quality is available with low electric power consumption . fig1 is an explanatory diagram exemplifying an exterior of a portable data terminal as an example of electronic devices to which a liquid crystal display device according to the present invention is installed . the portable data terminal comprises a main body 50 , and a cover 51 being mounted at one of ends of the main body 50 with a hinge so as to allow the cover to cover and to reveal a display screen of the aforementioned liquid crystal display device 52 according to the present invention freely , which is installed in the main body 50 . information is inputted to the portable data terminal by tracing a data input section on the display screen of the liquid crystal display device 52 with a pen 53 ( a pen - like tool ) which is housed in a housing portion 54 formed at the cover 51 . moreover , a shape , a structure , and a function of the portable data terminal of this sort are not limited to those shown herein , but are considered to be diversified . on the other hand , the present invention should not be limited to an application for the aforementioned liquid crystal display device having a touch panel , but may be applied to the other well - known liquid crystal display devices as well . as explained above , the liquid crystal display device according to the present invention suppresses the temperature drop of the electrode portion at the end of the fluorescent lamp ( especially for the cold cathode fluorescent lamp ) even if current being supplied therefor is low . therefore , temperature difference between the electrode portion and middle portion thereof is so reduced that the luminance decrease phenomenon of the fluorescent lamp by accumulation of mercuric droplets at the end thereof is prevented . consequently , the liquid crystal display device with high brightness and high reliability is available . while we have shown and described several embodiments in accordance with the present invention , it is understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible of numerous changes and modifications as known to those skilled in the art , and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are encompassed by the scope of the appended claims . | 6 |
[ 0061 ] fig1 . a - 1 . f show various ways of placing information carrying areas for holding electronically readable information on a cartridge . in fig1 . a - 1 . d the information carrying areas are concentrated to one axial end of the cartridge , preferably near the lid , whereas in fig1 . e - 1 . f the information carrying areas are concentrated to a limited radial sector of the cartridge , but extending along the full length of the cartridge . [ 0062 ] fig1 . a - 1 . d show a cartridge 10 with an axis of rotational symmetry 11 and information carrying areas located at one axial end of the cartridge . [ 0063 ] fig1 . a shows two information carrying areas 101 , 102 positioned side by side in a radial direction on the surface of the cartridge ( i . e . along the periphery perpendicular to the axis of symmetry ). each information carrying area covers only a limited radial sector of the surface . [ 0064 ] fig1 . b shows two information carrying areas 103 , 104 positioned side by side in the axial direction on the surface of the cartridge ( i . e . along the periphery parallel to the axis of symmetry ). each information carrying area covers only a limited radial sector of the surface . [ 0065 ] fig1 . c shows two information carrying areas 105 , 106 positioned side by side in the axial direction on the surface of the cartridge ( i . e . along the periphery parallel to the axis of symmetry ). each information carrying area encircles the entire radial periphery of the cartridge . in each of fig1 . a - 1 . c , two information carrying areas are shown side by side . there might as well , however , be several information carrying areas located side by side in axial or radial direction . [ 0067 ] fig1 . d shows information carrying areas 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 positioned side by side , evenly distributed in a radial direction on the surface of the cartridge ( i . e . along the periphery perpendicular to the axis of symmetry ). each information carrying area covers only a limited radial sector of the surface . information carrying areas 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 plus identical ones situated on the hidden part of the surface are evenly distributed on the surface of the cartridge in a radial direction , i . e . extending along the whole periphery encircling the axial direction of the cartridge . [ 0068 ] fig1 . e - 1 . f show a cartridge 10 with an axis of rotational symmetry 11 and information carrying areas concentrated to an area 120 corresponding to a limited radial sector 121 of the cartridge 10 . [ 0069 ] fig1 . e shows information carrying areas 115 and 116 side by side in axial direction and extending along the major part of the axial length of the cartridge . the information carrying areas are located within a surface area 120 corresponding to a radial sector 121 . [ 0070 ] fig1 . f shows information carrying areas 117 and 118 side by side in radial direction and extending along the major part of the axial length of the cartridge . the information carrying areas are located within a surface area 120 corresponding to a radial sector 121 . in fig1 . e and 1 . f , two information carrying areas are shown within the surface area 120 . there might as well , however , be several information carrying areas located side by side in axial or radial direction . [ 0072 ] fig2 . a - 2 . e shows various ways of laying out the electrically conducting and electrically insulating areas in predefined positions within an information carrying area , implementing a binary representation of an item of information in its true and inverted form . in each of fig2 . a - 2 . e two information carrying areas containing an item of information in a true and inverted binary form , respectively , are schematically shown . each information carrying area has a rectangular shape defining a longitudinal direction as the direction defined by its longest side . a direction is also defined by the direction perpendicular to the face between two neighboring predefined positions each containing a specific bit of information . [ 0074 ] fig2 . a shows an embodiment with two information carrying areas 20 , 21 located side by side in a direction perpendicular to the direction 205 defined by adjacent predefined positions . each individual bit of information is implemented as a patch of electrically conducting 211 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 201 ( hatched ) material located at a specific predefined position of the information carrying area . neighboring patches abut each other . the structure of information carrying areas 20 , 21 may e . g . be used in fig1 . a , 1 . d , and 1 . f . [ 0075 ] fig2 . b shows an embodiment with two information carrying areas 22 , 23 located side by side in a direction perpendicular to the direction 225 defined by adjacent predefined positions . each individual bit of information is implemented as a patch of electrically conducting 231 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 221 ( hatched ) material located at a specific predefined position of the information carrying area . neighboring patches are separated by a an ‘ empty ’ space 220 , 230 of width equal to the width of each of the information carrying patches 221 , 231 . the ‘ empty ’ space may consist of an electrically conducting or insulating layer ( as long as the pads on the pcb ( cf . 763 , 764 on fig7 ) are correspondingly laid out ). the structure of information carrying areas 22 , 23 may e . g . be used in fig1 . a , 1 . d , and 1 . f . [ 0076 ] fig2 . c shows an embodiment with two information carrying areas 24 , 25 located side by side in a direction 245 defined by adjacent predefined positions . each individual bit of information is implemented as a patch of electrically conducting 251 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 241 ( hatched ) material located at a specific predefined position of the information carrying area . neighboring patches abut each other . the structure of information carrying areas 24 , 25 may e . g . be used in fig1 . a , 1 . d , and 1 . f . [ 0077 ] fig2 . d shows an embodiment with two information carrying areas 26 , 27 located side by side in a direction 265 defined by adjacent predefined positions . each individual bit of information is implemented as a patch of electrically conducting 262 , 271 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 261 , 272 ( hatched ) material located at a specific predefined position of the information carrying area . neighboring patches abut each other . the structure of information carrying areas 26 , 27 may e . g . be used in fig1 . b , 1 . c , and 1 . e . [ 0078 ] fig2 . e shows an embodiment with two information carrying areas 28 , 29 located side by side in a direction perpendicular to the direction 285 defined by adjacent predefined positions . each individual bit of information is implemented as a patch of electrically conducting 291 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 281 ( hatched ) material located at a specific predefined position of the information carrying area . neighboring patches abut each other . the structure of information carrying areas 28 , 29 may e . g . be used in fig1 . b , 1 . c , and 1 . e . [ 0079 ] fig3 . a and 3 . b show labels according to the invention with a multitude of information carrying areas containing electrically conducting and electrically insulating areas in predefined positions . [ 0080 ] fig3 . a shows a self - adhesive label 30 consisting of a carrier foil 31 provided with information carrying areas 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 , 350 , 360 , 370 , each containing an item of information in its binary true or inverted form . each information carrying area consists of a rectangular electrically conducting base , to which layers of electrically insulating rectangular patches ( hatched ) 312 , 332 , 352 , 372 are added in predefined positions . the true and inverted forms appear alternatingly along the radial direction of the carrier . the binary representation of the information in information carrying area 340 is , for example , the inverse of that in 350 as indicated by corresponding bits 342 and 352 , respectively , being each others inverse ( 342 is illustrated with no filling , indicating an electrically conducting patch , and 352 is hatched , indicating an electrically insulating patch ). one predefined position 311 , 321 , 331 , 341 , 351 , 361 , 371 in each information carrying area 310 , 320 , 330 , 340 , 350 , 360 , 370 , respectively is reserved for applying a power supply voltage . [ 0081 ] fig3 . b shows a preferred embodiment of a self - adhesive label 35 consisting of an electrically conducting carrier foil 36 provided with information carrying areas 315 , 325 , 335 , 345 , 355 , 365 , 375 , each containing an item of information in its binary true or inverted form . each information carrying area consists of patterns of rectangular patches of electrically conducting 357 , 366 ( no filling ) and electrically insulating patches 356 , 367 ( hatched ) added in predefined positions . all predefined positions are illustrated for areas 355 and 365 , where each electrically conducting patch ( being just a predefined ‘ empty ’ position on the electrically conducting foil ) is indicated by a dotted boundary line . for the other information carrying areas , only the electrically insulating patches are specifically indicated . the true and inverted forms appear alternatingly along the radial direction of the carrier . the binary representation of the information in information carrying area 355 is , for example , the inverse of that in 365 as indicated by corresponding bits ( 356 , 366 ) and ( 357 , 367 ), respectively , being each others inverse . a predefined area 37 of the foil is reserved for applying a power supply voltage . [ 0082 ] fig4 shows a cartridge with a label containing an electronically readable information and a support for supporting the cartridge and for transferring the information from the cartridge to an electronic circuit . [ 0083 ] fig4 shows a replaceable cartridge 40 for a pen - type injection device . the cartridge has a rotational symmetry 43 . a label 41 is shown before its positioning on the surface at one axial end of the cartridge . the label consists of a self - adhesive carrier 42 with information carrying areas 410 , 411 , 412 , 413 , 414 , 415 , each consisting of a stripe of electrically conducting foil 4151 ( light grey ) with electrically insulating patches 4152 ( dark grey ) in predefined positions , cf . fig2 . b and fig3 . a . [ 0084 ] fig4 also shows a cross sectional view of a support 46 for receiving the cartridge corresponding to a cross section of the cartridge perpendicular to the axis of symmetry and a top view of the receiving surface 45 of the support 46 corresponding to an axial direction of the cartridge . the support 46 consists of two electrically connecting supports 461 , 462 separated by an electrically insulating volume 463 . the electrically connecting supports 461 , 462 consist of alternating layers of electrically conducting and electrically insulating silicone rubber as shown in the ‘ top view ’ illustration by identical areas 451 and 452 . the areas that are designed to receive the predefined positions 4152 ( comprising an electrically insulating or conducting layer ) of the information carrying areas on the cartridge are indicated by a dark grey filling , e . g . 454 , 457 , whereas areas with no filling , e . g . 455 , 466 , correspond to ‘ empty space ’ between predefined positions containing an information bit ( cf . 230 in fig2 . b ). the geometry of the insulating area 453 , corresponding to a ‘ top view ’ cross section of insulating volume 463 , is designed to match the geometry of the information carrying areas on the cartridge in such a way that two adjacent information carrying areas may be received by the support independently of the radial orientation of the cartridge , when placed in the support , cf . the discussion in connection with fig6 below . [ 0085 ] fig5 . a - 5 . c show various geometries of an electrically connecting support according to the invention . common for fig5 . a - 5 . c is that the layer thicknesses are exaggerated compared to the dimensions of the patches 51 on the information carrying areas and the pads 52 on the pcb . [ 0087 ] fig5 . a shows an embodiment of an electrically connecting support 50 , where the thickness t il 530 of the insulating layer 53 is larger than the thickness t cl 540 of the conducting layer 54 . the patches 51 of the information carrying area are shown to be of equal width wpda 510 and to abut each other . the pads 52 on the pcb are shown to have equal width wcp 520 and to be evenly distributed with a distance diacp 521 between each pad . [ 0088 ] fig5 . b shows an embodiment of an electrically connecting support 50 , where the thickness t il of the insulating layer 53 is smaller than the thickness t cl of the conducting layer 54 . [ 0089 ] fig5 . c shows an embodiment of an electrically connecting support 50 , where the thickness t il of the insulating layer 53 equals the thickness t cl of the conducting layer 54 . the relation diacp & gt ; 2 * t cl makes sure that the electrical states of adjacent information carrying patches on the cartridge are not transferred to the same pad in the contact area under the assumption that the border between adjacent patches is located at a position ‘ corresponding to midway between two pads ’. the fulfillment of the relation wcp & gt ; t il + t cl ensures that at least one conducting layer contacts any given pad . correspondingly , the fulfillment of the relation wpda & gt ; t il + t cl ensures that each patch has contact to at least one of the conducting layers of an electrically connecting support , when the cartridge is properly placed in the support . in fig5 . a - 5 . c , the information carrying patches on the cartridge are shown as abutted . this need not be the case , however . they may have any width wpda as long as the relation wpda & gt ; t il + t cl is fulfilled to ensure that at least one conducting layer contacts any given information carrying patch . the relations reflect the minimum distances of pads and patches and between pads and thus for given layer thicknesses determine the information density ( minimum width per bit ). [ 0093 ] fig6 shows geometries involved in reading an item of information provided a multitude of times along the periphery of a cartridge with a rotational symmetry by means of two electrically connecting supports . in fig6 the electrically connecting supports 61 , 62 are shown in a position where they read information from information carrying areas 630 , 640 , respectively , and transfer the information to groups of pads 63 , 64 , respectively , on a pcb . the information carrying areas 610 , 620 , 630 , 640 , 650 , 660 on a label 60 carry an item of information alternatingly in a binary true and inverted form as indicated by the schematically shown individual patches of equal width wpda 69 . the patches are either electrically conducting 6102 ( no filling ) or electrically insulating 6101 ( hatched ). the following geometric relations between the information carrying areas positioned on a cartridge and the electrically connecting supports 61 , 62 of a support according to the invention for the cartridge are preferred : hica & lt ; dctm ensures that the cartridge cannot be positioned in such a way that a given information carrying area has contact to two electrically connecting supports at the same time . hctm & lt ; dica ensures that the cartridge cannot be positioned in such a way that a given electrically connecting support has contact to two information carrying areas at the same time . dica & lt ; 2 * hctm + dctm ensures that the cartridge cannot be positioned in such a way that the electrically connecting supports fall entirely between two information carrying areas , in which case they would not have contact to any of the information carrying areas of the cartridge . dctm & lt ; 2 * hica + dica ensures that the cartridge cannot be positioned in such a way that two adjacent information carrying areas fall entirely between the electrically connecting supports , in which case the latter might not have contact to any of the information carrying areas of the cartridge . in a preferred embodiment , the following relation is fulfilled ( in addition to the above mentioned relations between dctm , hctm , dica , hica ), dctm + hctm = dica + hica , which ensures that the electrically connecting supports 61 , 62 will have contact to two of the information carrying areas irrespective of the radial orientation of the cartridge in the support . [ 0107 ] fig7 shows a cartridge containing an electrically readable information according to the invention in the form of patterns of patches in the axial direction of the cartridge and a support comprising two electrically connecting supports for transferring the information to an electronic circuit . a support according to the invention has the combined function of receiving and mechanically supporting a part of the cartridge provided with information carrying areas and of transferring the information from these information carrying areas to an electronic circuit for further processing . in fig7 the cartridge 70 is only partially shown , as indicated by the ‘ broken ’ outline in the right - hand part of the cartridge . the cartridge possesses a rotational symmetry as indicated by the arrow 71 symbolizing the axis of symmetry . a label 72 containing information carrying areas laid out in the axial direction of the cartridge , is located on the outer surface at one axial end of the cartridge , where a lid 73 , optionally in the form of a piston ( e . g . when the cartridge is a replaceable medication cartridge for a medication delivery device ), provides a closure of the cartridge . the label 72 comprises an electrically conducting foil 720 having information carrying areas 721 - 727 extending in the axial direction of the cartridge . in fig7 a multitude of information carrying areas ( 721 - 727 plus the ones situated on the hidden part of the surface ) are evenly distributed on the surface of the cartridge in a radial direction ( i . e . along the whole periphery encircling the axial direction of the cartridge ). each information carrying area , comprising patterns of electrically conducting 7250 , 7260 , 7261 and electrically insulating 7251 patches , thus only covers a limited radial sector of the surface . in the embodiment of fig7 the electrically conducting ‘ end ’- patches 7250 , 7260 may be used for connecting a power supply voltage . each of the information carrying areas contain an item of information in the form of patterns of electrically conducting and electrically insulating areas . each pattern represents an item of information in binary form . each bit of information is represented by an electrically characteristic layer in a predefined position in the information carrying area . a binary one in a specific predefined position may be represented by an electrically conducting layer covering that predefined position , and a binary zero in a specific predefined position may be represented by an electrically insulating layer covering that predefined position . alternatively , binary one may be represented by an insulating layer and binary zero by a conducting layer . because the foil 720 containing the information carrying areas is electrically conducting , it is only necessary to apply an electrically insulating layer ( e . g . a paint ) to the predefined positions representing one of the a binary states ( in this embodiment ‘ zero ’). in fig7 the cartridge is shown in a position just above the support 75 , which , again for illustrative purposes , is shown just above a pcb with electronic components and connecting wires 76 containing pads 763 , 764 with electrical connections , symbolically indicated by an arrow 762 , to a processing unit 761 , e . g . a microprocessor . the support consists of one or more electrically connecting supports 751 , 752 embedded in an electrically insulating material 755 . the electrically connecting supports comprise alternating layers of electrically conducting 7511 and electrically insulating 7512 layers of an elastomeric material , e . g . silicone rubber with the electrically conducting layer having a concentration of carbon black sufficient for electrical conduction . each electrically conducting layer is electrically insulated from all other electrically conducting layers , so that each electrically conducting layer in effect represents an insulated conductor . by controlling the layer thicknesses , the maximum ‘ density of information ’ in the axial direction may be controlled . in the embodiments of fig7 the support , including the electrically connecting supports , are shown to be adapted to receive the curved shape of the part of the cartridge , where the information carrying areas are located , by shaping them equivalently . this makes possible the use of non - elastic materials for the support , if convenient . in an operating configuration , the support is placed ( and optionally fastened ) on the pcb 760 so that electrical contact between the electrically connecting supports 751 , 752 and the pads 763 , 764 is ensured . the cartridge is positioned on the support so that electrical contact between two of the information carrying areas in their full axial lengths ( i . e . involving all patches of a given information carrying area representing bits of information ) and the electrically connecting supports is ensured . the geometrical dimensions of the patches , layers and pads and mutual distance between adjacent information carrying areas on the cartridge and corresponding electrically connecting supports are discussed above with reference to fig5 and 6 . by applying a specific electric potential to the electrically conducting foil , this potential will be transferred from those predefined areas containing a conductive layer ( i . e . in the present embodiment those predefined areas not being covered by an insulating layer ) to the corresponding pads on the pcb . via the connecting circuitry , a direct measure of the pattern of binary states of the information carrying area connected to the pads by a given electrically connecting support is presented on the inputs of the processing unit , possibly by appropriately terminating the inputs with pull - up or pull - down circuitry depending on the potential applied to the electrically conducting foil and the definition of the binary states . a specific part of the foil may be preferably reserved to the application of the electric potential ( e . g . an area of the foil circumfering the cartridge and not occupied by information carrying areas , in fig7 e . g . the part of the foil 720 not covered by information bits in predefined positions 721 - 730 ). the support is only shown as having an axial length corresponding to the axial length of the corresponding information carrying areas ( e . g . 725 in fig7 ) but it may of course extend in both axial directions if appropriate for the application in question . likewise the support is shown to cover a certain radial sector ( less than 90 degrees ), but it may of course cover any radial sector , including 360 degrees , if appropriate . in a preferred embodiment , the sector covered by the support is less than 180 degrees allowing a direct ‘ vertical ’ placement of the cartridge in the support ( in opposition to the case of a 360 degrees support , where the cartridge has to be axially inserted ). in fig7 the label containing information carrying areas is placed in one axial end of the cartridge covering only the space occupied by the axial extent of the lid / piston to ensure that a full view of the contents of the cartridge is available for inspection . of course it might be located in any convenient position along the surface of the cartridge . similarly , in fig7 the information carrying areas extend in the axial direction of the cartridge . they might as well extend in a radial direction ( as discussed in connection with fig1 and 2 ) or in a direction therebetween ( e . g . forming one or more helixes on the surface of the cartridge ), if convenient , as long as the support , including the electrically connecting supports , is adapted thereto . the electrical connections , schematically indicated by an arrow 762 , connecting the pads 763 , 764 with the processing unit 761 may be a one to one parallel set of electrical connections between each pad and a corresponding input on the processor , but it may also comprise a multiplexing or coding unit to reduce the number of necessary inputs to the processing unit . in the embodiment in fig7 the support 75 comprise two electrically connecting supports 751 , 752 for simultaneously reading two items of information from two information carrying areas on the cartridge . in fig7 the evenly distributed information carrying areas 721 - 730 contain an item of information in a true binary form alternating with the information in its inverted form as indicated by the schematically illustrated patterns of electrically conducting and insulating patches in information carrying areas 725 and 726 , respectively , one pattern being the inverse of the other . the rotational symmetry of the cartridge has the benefit that it only requires the user to position the cartridge properly in a radial direction ( possibly involving a slight rotation of the cartridge around its axis of symmetry ) to ensure that an electrical contact between one of the information carrying areas and the electrically connecting support is present ( since the positioning in an axial direction may be mechanically ensured by the receiving means for the cartridge ). the control of the cartridge being correctly positioned may be in the hands of the processing unit , which , if necessary , may indicate to the user via a display or a voice interface that a corrective action is required , and which may block further use of the device , if the cartridge is not correctly positioned . the embodiment of fig7 has the further advantage of reading the information in a binary true and inverted form , which allows the safety in reading to be improved . instead of providing the information in its true and inverted forms , the same binary representation of the item of information may be provided in all information carrying areas and read twice , which also allows an improved safety in reading . [ 0123 ] fig8 . a - 8 . b show an example of a cartridge and a support according to the invention comprising three electrically connecting supports made of elastic materials . [ 0124 ] fig8 . a shows a cartridge 81 having an axis of rotational symmetry 82 being positioned just above a support 80 comprising three individual electrically connecting supports 801 , 802 , 803 ready for receiving the cartridge . the cartridge is provided with information carrying areas positioned on the cartridge along its radial periphery with a spacing corresponding to the geometry of the electrically connecting supports . the space between the electrically connecting supports may be filled with an insulating material ( e . g . silicone rubber ), not shown . in fig8 . b the cartridge 81 is positioned in the support 80 and fixed with a slight downwards pressure indicated by the arrow 83 . the support including the electrically connecting supports is made of elastic materials so that it conforms to the shape of the cartridge over the length of the support , when the cartridge is placed in the support . the three items of information that may be simultaneously read may be identical , in which case the redundancy may be used to improve the safety in reading ( by a simple majority test or by more advanced error correcting techniques ). some preferred embodiments have been shown in the foregoing , but it should be stressed that the invention is not limited to these , but may be embodied in other ways within the subject - matter defined in the following claims . | 0 |
a compact , low - power , asynchronous sense amplifier ( s / a ) circuit can be implemented according to the present principles . referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same or similar elements and initially to fig2 , an exemplary design of such an s / a circuit 100 is shown in the context of a resistor - based memory circuit . this embodiment can be made very compact , as it may be based on a resistor ( or a diode ) and an inverter . compared to an analog comparator ( e . g ., fig1 ), the design of fig2 is much smaller and uses less power . furthermore , because the s / a is connected to the bitlines and because no s / a enable signal or clock signal is needed , fully asynchronous operation is possible . during a read operation , a pulse signal is applied to the gate of the memory access device , which makes the s / a circuit generate a pulse if the memory cell is in its low - resistance state . there is therefore no precharge phase and , hence , no clock signal is needed . additional s / a circuits and outputs are possible if the memory cell has more than two memory possible states . as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art , aspects of the present invention may be embodied as a system or method . accordingly , aspects of the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “ circuit ,” “ module ” or “ system .” the flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture , functionality , and operation of possible implementations of systems , methods and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention . in this regard , each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module , segment , or portion of code , which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function ( s ). it should also be noted that , in some alternative implementations , the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures . for example , two blocks shown in succession may , in fact , be executed substantially concurrently , or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order , depending upon the functionality involved . it will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart illustration , can be implemented by special purpose hardware - based systems that perform the specified functions or acts , or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions . the circuits as described herein may be part of a design for an integrated circuit chip . the chip design may be created in a graphical computer programming language , and stored in a computer storage medium ( such as a disk , tape , physical hard drive , or virtual hard drive such as in a storage access network ). if the designer does not fabricate chips or the photolithographic masks used to fabricate chips , the designer may transmit the resulting design by physical means ( e . g ., by providing a copy of the storage medium storing the design ) or electronically ( e . g ., through the internet ) to such entities , directly or indirectly . the stored design is then converted into the appropriate format ( e . g ., gdsii ) for the fabrication of photolithographic masks , which typically include multiple copies of the chip design in question that are to be formed on a wafer . the photolithographic masks are utilized to define areas of the wafer ( and / or the layers thereon ) to be etched or otherwise processed . the methods as described herein may be used in the fabrication of integrated circuit chips . the resulting integrated circuit chips can be distributed by the fabricator in raw wafer form ( that is , as a single wafer that has multiple unpackaged chips ), as a bare die , or in a packaged form . in the latter case the chip is mounted in a single chip package ( such as a plastic carrier , with leads that are affixed to a motherboard or other higher level carrier ) or in a multichip package ( such as a ceramic carrier that has either or both surface interconnections or buried interconnections ). in any case the chip is then integrated with other chips , discrete circuit elements , and / or other signal processing devices as part of either ( a ) an intermediate product , such as a motherboard , or ( b ) an end product . the end product can be any product that includes integrated circuit chips , ranging from toys and other low - end applications to advanced computer products having a display , a keyboard or other input device , and a central processor . referring now to fig8 , a high - level diagram of a resistor - based memory circuit is shown . a wordline 802 is applied to a memory cell 804 . the memory cell 804 produces a bitline 806 , where the output voltage reflects the resistance state of the memory cell 804 . a switch 808 determines whether this bitline is applied to a read circuit 810 or a write circuit 812 . the read circuit 810 produces a logical output that reflects the stored state of the memory cell 804 . referring now to fig2 , a resistor - based memory circuit with an s / a circuit 100 according to the present principles is shown . a memory cell , r mem 108 stores a memory state and can be modeled as a variable resistor . an exemplary type of resistor - based memory is phase - change memory ( pcm ), wherein a temperature change causes the resistor to change between a high - resistance phase and a low - resistance phase . these phases are used to represent different logical outputs , and modern resistor - based memory cells can store multiple bits by implementing additional memory levels of resistance . in one exemplary embodiment , the memory cell has two states : a high - resistance state ( r mem = r hi ) and a low - resistance state ( r mem = r low ). an exemplary phase change involves heating chalcogenide glass until it loses its crystallinity . the glass then cools into an amorphous state , representing its high - resistance state . the glass may be heated again , to a temperature above its crystallization point but below its melting point . this returns the glass to its crystalline state , having a much lower resistance . although pcm is discussed herein for the purpose of illustration , any form of resistor - based memory may be employed . memory access is triggered by access device m 1 106 which may , for example , be implemented as a metal - oxide - semiconductor field effect transistor ( mosfet ). when a wordline signal wl 102 arrives at m 1 106 , source voltage v dd 104 is applied to memory cell 108 . current across the memory cell 108 is applied to the s / a circuit 110 . the current across the memory cell 108 will reflect the memory cell &# 39 ; s resistance and , hence , a logical state stored therein . the s / a circuit 100 includes a resistor r sa 116 which implements a resistor divider in series with r mem 108 and m 1 106 and goes to ground . an amplifier 118 is connected in parallel with the s / a resistor 116 . the amplifier 118 may be implemented as an inverter comprised of two mosfets . mosfets are used herein for the purpose of illustration for their small component size , but it is contemplated that other forms of amplifiers or inverters may be used . a p - channel mosfet ( pmos ) 120 and an n - channel mosfet ( nmos ) 122 are connected as shown to a voltage source and to ground . when a voltage is applied to the inverter 118 that exceeds the triggering threshold voltage of the inverter , the nmos 122 is activated and the pmos 120 is turned off . this brings the voltage at the output of the inverter 118 to ground , producing a logical output of 0 . when a voltage is applied to the inverter 118 that is below the inverter &# 39 ; s threshold , the pmos 120 is activated and the nmos 122 is deactivated , producing a logical output of 1 . in this fashion , the inverter 118 reverses logical value of the voltage applied to it . in idle operation mode , access device m 1 106 is off , so the voltage inside the s / a circuit is pulled to ground by r sa 116 . as a low input is applied to the inverter 118 , the inverter therefore produces a high output . during a read operation , a pulse is sent to access device m 1 106 . the voltage divider then generates a settled voltage : v sa = v dd r sa r sa + r mem + r m 1 , where r m1 represents the resistances of access device m 1 106 , r sa represents the resistance in the voltage divider 116 , and r mem represents the resistance of the memory cell 108 . the inverter threshold voltage v th is set such that v dd r sa r sa + r hi + r m 1 & lt ; v th & lt ; v dd r sa r sa + r low + r m 1 , where r low represents the resistance of the memory cell 108 in its low state and r hi represents the resistance of the memory cell 108 in its high state . when r mem = r hi , v sa is smaller than v th and the inverter output stays high as a result . when r mem = r low , v sa is larger than v th and the inverter output changes from high to low , producing a logical 0 . once wl 102 becomes low , access device m 1 106 turns off and the settled voltage v sa drops back to ground . therefore , the inverter output changes back to high , producing a logical 1 . referring now to fig3 , another embodiment is shown in accordance with the present principles . a memory cell circuit 200 provides the ability to change the state of the memory cell . the operation of the memory cell circuit 200 is controlled by switches s 1 110 and s 2 112 . as shown for switch s 2 112 , it is contemplated that the switches may be implemented as mosfets , in particular an nmos , to further reduce circuit area . when s 1 110 is closed , memory write macro 114 is engaged and the state of the memory cell 108 is changed accordingly . when switch s 2 112 is closed , the s / a circuit 100 is engaged and the state of the memory cell 108 is read out . the switches 110 and 112 are controlled by write signals . during write operation , switch s 2 112 is open , whereas during read and idle operations , switch s 1 110 is open . a bitline output from memory cell 108 is always connected to the s / a circuit 100 in non - write conditions , such that in read operation , no s / a enable signal or clock signal is needed . this allows the s / a circuit to be operated asynchronously when used in the same circuit as a write macro . the resistor r sa from fig2 is replaced by an nmos transistor wired as a diode m 2 202 to further save area . to emphasize the potentially very small area consumed by a circuit of the present embodiment , the read circuit shown as the s / a circuit of fig3 can be implemented in an area as small as , e . g ., about 3 . 8 μm by 4 . 8 μm using a 0 . 90 nm process . using a more precise process will permit even smaller circuit features . referring now to fig4 , an embodiment of the present principles is shown that includes a multi - level resistor - based memory cell 108 . in this embodiment the memory cell 108 has the ability to produce multiple ( more than two ) levels of resistance , allowing for the storage of additional bits of information . this is an advantage of resistor - based memory over conventional memories , such as sram , dram , and flash memory . conventional memories have only two levels : 0 and 1 . in resistor - based memories , the resistance of the memory cells can be programmed to be at different values , which means that multi - level memory is achievable with an appropriate read circuit , allowing more information to be stored in the same area . to measure n memory cell levels , n − 1 s / a circuits 301 are connected in parallel to the output of the memory cell 108 . one exemplary way to detect n memory cell resistance values is to vary the n − 1 inverter threshold voltages . in the n − 1 s / a circuits 302 , the diode transistors used in each are similar , but the s / a circuits have a different inverter threshold voltage . for example , v th , 1 & gt ; v th , 2 & gt ; . . . & gt ; v th , n − 1 . if the maximum and minimum resistances are r max and r min respectively , then the voltage divider generates a settled voltage v sa = v dd r sa r sa + r s 2 + r mem + r m 1 at each s / a &# 39 ; s input . the i th inverter &# 39 ; s threshold voltage v th , 1 should be set between the i th inverter differentiates the memory resistance value smaller than r min +( i − 1 )( r max − r min )/( n − 1 ) and larger than r min + i ( r max − r min )/( n − 1 ). the n − 1 s / a output signals have a thermometer coding , representing the digitized memory resistance values . thermometer coding represents an output value as a number of activated outputs . so , for example , having the first 5 s / a circuits output at 1 would represent a stored value of 5 . various inverter threshold voltages can be achieved by varying the width - to - length ratio of the pmos and nmos transistors in the s / a circuits 301 . in a circuit such as that shown in fig4 , where the memory cell 108 can be in one of eight different memory states , the cell 108 can effectively store three binary bits of information ( in other words , the states represent 000 , 001 , 010 , 011 , 100 , 101 , 110 , and 111 ). it should be noted that the number of s / a circuits needed to service a memory cell will be the 2 n , where n is the number of bits . as such , it is not practical to increase the number of levels of the memory cell 108 indefinitely — at some point the space saved by the use of only a single memory cell will be outweighed by the cost of having additional read circuits . for example , one memory cell that stores four bits will use sixteen ( 2 4 ) s / a circuits , whereas two memory cells that store two bits each will use a total of eight ( 2 2 + 2 2 ) s / a circuits . as such , a memory cell having an appropriate number of elements should be selected to optimize power and space savings . referring now to fig5 , a further embodiment is shown where an input terminal m 1 106 is configured as a diode . signals coming from wl 102 pass through the diode 106 . implementing the input terminal as a diode further simplifies the circuit and provides additional space and power savings . referring now to fig6 , a table showing the output of a read circuit having an eight - level memory cell is shown . in this case , the memory cell is in the state i = 4 . this produces a voltage v sa that is between the threshold voltages of s / a 3 and s / a 4 . as such , read circuits s / a 1 , s / a 2 , and s / a 3 will be activated , producing a 0 output . the other four read circuits have a threshold voltage higher than v sa , and they therefore continue to output 1 . referring now to fig7 , a timing diagram showing a simulation of multiple resistor - based memory read operations is illustratively depicted . there are four memory cells , shown as graphs sa_out1_bar through sa_out4_bar ( the _bar suffix denotes that the displayed graphs are the opposite of the actual outputs of the respective s / a circuits ). the graphs show voltage level on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis . cells 1 and 3 are set to a high - resistance state : r mem = r hi , e . g ., 2 mω . memories 2 and 4 are set to a low - resistance state : r mem = r low , e . g ., 200 kω . at 2 . 5 μs there is a pulse on input wl . this generates pulses in the s / a outputs of cells 2 and 4 , since they are set to the low - resistance state . the s / a outputs of cells 1 and 3 remain low , since cells 1 and 3 are in the high - resistance state . in this simulation , the read energy is 0 . 13 pj / read . as can be seen from fig7 , neither the input nor the outputs require a clock signal , allowing for fully asynchronous operation . inputs are processed as they arrive and outputs are provided without delay . referring now to fig8 , a block / flow diagram describing the operation of a resistor - based memory circuit according to the present principles is shown . at block 902 , a wordline signal is applied to a memory cell to generate a bitline output voltage . as described above , any resistor - based memory cell may be used . the memory cell produces a bitline output , which is compared at block 904 to one or more thresholds . this comparison is then used in block 906 to produce a read output that reflects the state of the memory cell . the state of the cell is then determined at block 908 by counting how many of the thresholds were exceeded by the output voltage in the comparison . having described preferred embodiments of a system for low - power asynchronous resistor - based read operations ( which are intended to be illustrative and not limiting ), it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings . it is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which are within the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims . having thus described aspects of the invention , with the details and particularity required by the patent laws , what is claimed and desired protected by letters patent is set forth in the appended claims . | 6 |
fig1 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of a photoelectron sampling apparatus according to the present invention . in fig1 reference numeral 1 designates a signal source generating a signal to be measured ; 2 , a light pulse source ; 3 , a light transmission path ; 4 , a photoelectron sampling tube ; 5 , a drive circuit ; 6 , an integrator ; 7 , an amplifier ; 8 , a display processing unit ; 9 , a timing signal source ; and 10 , a delay circuit . in fig1 the light pulse source 2 is , for example , a laser that is synchronized with the signal source 1 by means of a timing signal from the signal source 1 . timing of the generation of the light pulse and the signal to be measured is delayed optically or electrically by the delay circuit 10 , which may be varied at will . the light pulse from the light pulse source 2 is incident upon the photoelectron sampling tube 4 through the light transmission path 3 to generate a photoelectron pulse . the photoelectron pulse is intensity modulated by the signal to be measured . this modulated photoelectron pulse is then multiplied in the sampling tube , integrated by the integrator 6 , and amplified by the amplifier 7 . in the above embodiment , the time difference between the photoelectron pulse and the signal to be measured , or the phase in which the photoelectron pulse is intensity modulated by the signal to be measured ( sampling phase ), is varied to reproduce , at the display processing , unit 8 , the waveform of the signal to be measured as a function of this time difference . fig2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of a photoelectron sampling apparatus according to the present invention . in fig2 reference numeral 11 is a drive circuit , 31 is a half mirror , and 32 and 33 are reflectors , with the remaining like reference numerals identifying like components in fig1 . in this embodiment , the light pulse source 2 generates a light pulse upon receiving a trigger signal from the display processing unit 8 , and the light pulse triggers the source 1 of the signal to be measured in order to synchronize the occurrence of the light pulse , the signal to be measured , and the display processing apparatus . also , the light pulse incident upon the photoelectron sampling tube 4 , is delayed by the optical delay elements formed of the half mirror 31 and the reflectors 32 and 33 . the amount of delay can be varied by varying the light transmission length , which is effected by displacing the reflector 32 using the drive circuit 11 . at the same time , the signal from the drive circuit 11 is applied to the display processing unit 8 to express , as a function , the timing of occurrence of the signal to be measured and the photoelectron pulse , thereby reproducing the waveform of the signal to be measured . details of this process will be explained with respect to the embodiment of the present invention shown for example in fig6 - 12 . fig3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of a photoelectron sampling tube used in the present invention , fig4 is a diagram showing an example of voltages applied thereto , and fig5 is a diagram showing an arrangement of a photoelectron sampling tube which needs no focus electrodes . in fig3 and 5 , reference numeral 41 refers to a photocathode ; 42 , a photoelectron beam ; 43 , a first acceleration electrode ; 44 , a signal electrode ; 45 , a bias electrode ; 46 , a focus electrode ; 47 , a second acceleration electrode ; 48 , a micro - channel plate ; 49 , an anode ; 50 , a high frequency connector ; 51 and 55 capacitors ; and 52 , 53 and 54 , power supplies . the electrodes 43 , 44 and 45 may be of a strip line configuration . in the photoelectron sampling tube shown in fig3 , and 5 , when a short light pulse ranging in duration from femtoseconds to picoseconds is incident upon the photocathode 41 from a laser source ( not shown ), and a voltage is applied between the photocathode 41 and the first acceleration electrode 43 , photoelectron pulses ranging in duration from femtoseconds to picoseconds are extracted from the photocathode 41 . in this case , reducing the surface area of the photocathode 41 can present degradation of the sn ratio due to thermal noise . also , since the pulse duration of the extracted photoelectrons is determined by the electric field strength across the photocathode and the first acceleration electrode , the electric field should be increased to obtain the short photoelectron pulses . for this purpose , the potential of the first acceleration electrode 43 may be set sufficiently high with respect to the potential of the photocathode 41 , and / or the distance between the photocathode 41 and the first acceleration electrode 43 may be shortened . if the potential of the first acceleration electrode 43 is to be set high , the power supply 52 may be connected such that the first acceleration electrode 43 is grounded and the photocathode 41 is negative as shown in fig4 thereby preventing return of photoelectrons to the photocathode 41 to assure effective operation . the photoelectron pulse 42 thus accelerated is modulated by the voltage across the signal electrode 44 and the bias electrode 45 . the signal electrode 44 is required to have adequate high frequency characteristics ; therefore it is necessary to form the signal electrode 44 of a strip line , while at the same time the distance between the source of the signal to be measured ( not shown ) and the signal electrode 44 should be as short as possible to prevent distortion of the signal to be measured . the photoelectron pulse 42 is thus modulated by the signal to be measured , and is then accelerated by the focus electrode 46 and the second acceleration electrode 47 , which can be adjusted by varying the voltages applied thereto , so as to control the trajectory of the photoelectron pulse 42 . the photoelectron pulse 42 is then multiplied by the micro - channel plate 48 to obtain an output from the anode 49 . in this case , a pentode is formed by the first acceleration electrode 43 , the signal electrode 44 , the bias electrode 45 , the micro - channel plate 48 , and the anode 49 ; and modulation by the voltage of the signal electrode 44 is directly obtained from the anode 49 . the signal thus obtained may then be displayed on a display unit such as a crt for further analysis . it should be apparent from the foregoing description that a dynode may be used for multiplication of the photoelectron pulse instead of the micro - channel plate 48 . further , while a short pulse yag laser , dye laser , or a semiconductor laser may be used as the laser light source , an infrared light is preferably used in order to minimize initial velocity energy distribution of photoelectron . furthermore , an optical fiber ( not shown ) may be provided between the laser light source 2 and the photocathode surface 41 to reduce optical loss in transmitting the light pulse . the detected photoelectron current can be fed back from the first acceleration electrode 43 to the laser light source 2 to promote generation of a constant photoelectron beam . additionally , a cpu may be used to control the photocathode , the voltage of the acceleration electrodes , the voltage of the electron - multiplying section , the anode voltage , the timing difference between the photoelectron pulse and the signal to be measured , the integration time of the modulated electrical signal from the anode electrode , and the amplification factor of the integrated signal , to provide an automated measurement . fig6 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of an embodiment of an apparatus for analyzing and displaying an electrical signal according to the present invention . in fig6 reference numeral 101 represents a signal source generating a signal to be measured ; 102 , a laser light source ; 131 and 132 , half mirrors , 133 , 134 , and 135 , reflectors ; 104 , an electrical signal displaying unit ; 105 , an electronic gate ; 106 , a drive unit ; 107 , a deflection circuit ; 108 , a two - dimensional image unit ; and 109 , an image information processing unit . in fig6 the laser light source 102 generates a light pulse , which triggers the signal source 101 through the half mirrors 131 and 132 to generate the signal to be measured in synchronism with the light pulse , while also triggering the electronic gate 105 through the half mirror 131 to turn on the electrical signal displaying unit 104 . the light pulse is optically delayed by passing it through reflectors 133 , 134 and 135 , and is then incident upon the electrical signal displaying unit 104 . the amount of delay can be varied by displacing the reflector 134 by means of the drive unit 106 , and the deflection voltage , in accordance with the amount of delay , is applied by means of the deflection circuit 107 to the electrical signal displaying unit 104 . although , as described above , the input light pulse to the electrical signal displaying unit 104 is delayed with respect to the signal to be measured , the signal to be measured may instead by delayed with respect to the light pulse to provide the same result . in this embodiment , the pulse light from the laser light source 102 is delayed optically and is then incident upon the electrical signal display unit 104 to generate a photoelectron pulse while also activating the signal source 101 to provide synchronous operation of the two . the photoelectron pulse is generated , upon incidence of the light pulse , in the electrical signal displaying unit 104 with a predetermined delay time between the signal to be measured and is intensity modulated by the signal to be measured . the modulated photoelectron pulse is then deflected by a deflection voltage ( described below ) in accordance with the time difference or delay time between the signal to be measured and the photoelectron pulse to provide a display output . in this manner , the photoelectron pulse is modulated by an electrical signal to convert the electrical signal into a two - dimensional image for display . the electrical signal thus converted into the two - dimensional image is output to the two - dimensional image unit 108 , and is further processed as two - dimensional image information in the image information processing unit 109 . additionally , the electronic gate 105 is provided to decrease the noise from the photocathode . fig7 is a diagram showing another embodiment of an apparatus for analyzing and for displaying an electrical signal according to the present invention . like reference numerals refer to like components shown in fig6 and reference numeral 110 designates a timing signal generating unit and 111 a delay circuit . in this embodiment , the timing signal from the timing signal generating unit 110 is applied through the delay circuit 111 to the laser light source 102 and the signal source 101 so as to trigger both of them . in addition , the electronic gate 105 and the deflection circuit 107 are directly activated by the timing signal . the rest of the arrangement and operation is similar to that in fig6 . fig8 is a diagram showing an arrangement of an embodiment of an electrical signal display unit 104 which is similar in some respects to the photoelectron sampling tubes shown in fig3 - 5 . in fig8 reference numeral 141 is a photocathode ; 142 , a first acceleration electrode ; 143 , a signal electrode ; 144 , a bias electrode ; 145 , a focus electrode ; 146 , a second acceleration electrode ; 147 and 148 , deflection electrodes ; 149 , a two - dimensional electron multiplier ; and 150 , a phospher screen . the photoelectron pulse is extracted from the photocathode 141 due to incidence of the light pulse thereon and is accelerated by the first acceleration electrode 142 before being modulated by the signal to be measured at the signal electrode 143 . the modulation may be effected , for example by performing a triode operation between the bias electrode 144 . the electronic gate shown in fig6 is implemented by varying the bias to control conduction of the triode . after the photoelectron pulse is modulated , it is accelerated toward the phospher screen 150 by the focus electrode 145 and the second acceleration electrode 146 . additionally , deflection electrodes 147 and / or 148 may be driven to deflect the photoelectron pulse as necessary . after being deflected , the photoelectron pulse is multiplied by the two - dimensional electron multiplier 149 for example a micro - channel plate , and is then converted into a light image at the phospher screen 150 . as with the embodiments shown in fig1 - 7 , use of a laser light pulse , ranging in duration from femtoseconds to picoseconds , permits analysis of the waveform of an electrical signal ranging from ghz ( gigaherte ) to the thz ( terahertz ). in this case , it may be necessary to narrow the spacing between the first acceleration electrode 142 and the photocathode 141 , since , as described above , a photoelectron pulse having a short period is generated by increasing the electric field between the photocathode 141 and the first acceleration electrode 142 . fig9 shows another embodiment of the electrical signal display unit 104 in which the image information multiplied by the two - dimensional electron multiplier 149 , is read out through a semiconductor image device 151 as a displayed image . fig1 shows an example of an output from an electrical signal display unit 104 as shown in fig8 and 9 for analyzing and displaying the electrical signal . specifically , fig1 shows an example of an output waveform when the output is deflected in only one direction by the voltage varying in proportion to the delay time . the ordinate shows the difference of the delay time between the signal to be measured and the photoelectron pulse ( the sampling phase ) and the abscissa shows the position in space . the intensity distribution at any location is shown by the dotted line and the profile of the dotted line corresponds directly to the waveform of the electrical signal . in addition , deflecting in two directions permits a display of a multi - sampling image at spatially different positions , respectively . fig1 shows an output when the delay time is given as a logarithmic function in which the portion decaying exponentially appears to be a straight line . it is during this straight line portion that the time constant and others are directly obtained . fig1 shows timing waveforms in an apparatus for analyzing and displaying an electrical signal according to the present invention , in which the photoelectron pulse shown at fig1 ( b ) is generated in synchronism with the input light pulse shown in fig1 ( a ). in this case , the width , δt of the photoelectron pulse given a minimum time period , however , the image display will be much better if the peak value of the photoelectron pulse is detected . the delay time τ between the photoelectron pulse and the pulse for triggering the signal to be measured , is scanned with respect to time by a variable delay circuit ( fig1 ( c )). this trigger pulse causes the signal to be measured to occur ( fig1 ( d )), and the photoelectron pulse is intensity modulated based on the signal to be measured . at this time , since the phase relation between the signal to be measured and the photoelectron pulse varies in accordance with the delay time τ , the sampling phase with respect to the signal to be measured can be varied . the waveform of the signal to be measured can be reproduced in any desired form by effecting deflection with any of the deflection voltages shown in fig1 ( e ) to ( g ) corresponding to the varied delay time . it will be recognized that deflection voltages can be of various other forms such as a sinusoidal voltage or an exponential voltage . the delay time τ should be permitted to vary within a range that allows the waveform of the pulse to be measured and sufficiently analyzed . this variation range may be , for example 1 / 100 or 1 % of the width of the signal to be measured . additionally , although the above embodiment is arranged in such a way that a sampling electron is obtained from the photoelectron pulse incident upon the photocathode , those of ordinary skill will recognize that a thermal electron source that is produced electrically can also be applied to convert the electrical signal into a two - dimensional image . thus , in accordance with the present invention , since the electrical signal to be measured is sampled by the two - dimensional photoelectron pulse , outputting the electrical signal as a two - dimensional image is made possible . further , generation of the photoelectron pulse using the laser light pulse enables analysis of electrical signal waveforms ranging in frequency from ghz ( gigaherte ) to the thz ( terahertz ), in which case , resolution of the analysis is dependent on the pulse width of the photoelectron pulse or the pulse width of the incident light . since the electrical signal waveform of such a high frequency in a range of picoseconds to femtoseconds can be output in the form of an image , the distortion can be greatly reduced as compared to the distortion according to conventional sampling methods . the waveform can be directly analyzed due to the fact that the deflection voltage can be applied in an arbitrary form , which reduces loads imposed on the subsequent processing systems while also providing a high electron multiplying gain ( 10 3 to 10 5 ) with a high sn ration , thereby reducing loads imposed on the reading circuits . | 6 |
in the figures the same technical elements are provided with the same reference numbers and only described once . reference is made to fig1 , which shows a schematic view of a vehicle 2 with a driving dynamic control known per se . details of this driving dynamic control can be found , for example , in de 10 2011 080 789 a1 , which is incorporated by reference . the vehicle 2 comprises a chassis 4 and four wheels 6 . each wheel 6 can be slowed with respect to the chassis 4 by means of a brake 8 fastened in a fixed position on the chassis 4 , in order to slow a movement of the vehicle 2 on a road not shown further . in this case , it can occur in a manner known to the person skilled in the art that the wheels 6 of the vehicle 2 lose their road holding and the vehicle 2 even moves away from a trajectory predefined , for example , by means of a steering wheel not shown further , as a result of understeer or oversteer . this is avoided by control circuits known per se such as abs ( antilock braking system ) and esp ( electronic stability program ). in the present embodiment , the vehicle 2 has speed sensors 10 on the wheels 6 for this purpose , which detect a speed 12 of the wheels 6 . furthermore , the vehicle 2 has an inertial sensor 14 , which detects driving dynamic data 16 of the vehicle 2 , from which , for example , a pitch rate , a roll rate , a yaw rate 15 indicated in fig3 , a transverse acceleration 17 indicated in fig3 , a longitudinal acceleration 19 indicated in fig3 , and / or a vertical acceleration can be output in a manner known per se to the person skilled in the art . for example , the detection of the yaw rate 15 and the transverse acceleration 17 are required to implement the driving dynamic control . on the basis of the detected speeds 12 and driving dynamic data 16 , a controller 18 can determine in a manner known to the person skilled in the art whether the vehicle 2 is skidding on the roadway or is even departing from the aforesaid predefined trajectory , and react accordingly to this with a controller output signal 20 known per se . the controller output signal 20 can then be used by an adjusting device 22 in order to actuate by means of corrective signals 24 actuators such as the brakes 8 , which respond in a manner known per se to the skidding and the departure from the predefined trajectory . reference is made to fig2 , which shows a schematic view of the speed sensor 10 in the vehicle 2 of fig1 . in the present embodiment , the speed sensor 10 is executed as an active speed sensor 10 , within the framework of which a magnetic field 30 is delivered by an encoder disc 26 connected in a torqueproof manner to one of the wheels 6 , which encoder disc is composed of a plurality of magnetic poles 28 . the magnetic field 30 passes through a sensing element 34 enclosed in a housing 32 , which is connected via a signal processing circuit 36 to a data cable 38 , via which the speed 12 can be transmitted to the controller 18 . in this case , the sensing element 34 , the signal processing circuit 36 , and the data cable 38 can be wired to one another by means of wirings 40 , for example , in the form of a leadframe . a shield plate 42 can be provided in order to increase the electromagnetic compatibility of the speed sensor 10 . further background information on active speed sensors can be obtained , for example , from de 101 46 949 a1 , which is incorporated by reference . reference is made to fig3 , which shows a schematic view of the inertial sensor 14 from fig1 . for the driving dynamic control explained in fig1 , as described , for example , in de 10 2006 053 308 a1 , which is incorporated by reference , at least the yaw rate 15 must be detected . the detection of the transverse acceleration 17 is also appropriate within the framework of the driving dynamic control . however , rates of rotation and accelerations in any spatial directions can be detected with the inertial sensor 14 depending on the application . in this case , for the sake of clarity , it will be assumed hereinafter that for each rate of rotation and for each acceleration , its own sensing element is required , where the individual sensing elements in the inertial sensor 14 of fig3 are combined to form a sensor cluster 41 . the inertial sensor 14 in fig3 should be configured , for example , as a six - axis inertial sensor , which is capable of detecting the rates of rotation and accelerations in all three spatial directions . for this purpose , the sensor cluster 41 subject to the aforesaid requirement must comprise six different sensing elements . for the sake of clarity , however , only three of the sensing elements in the sensor cluster 41 are shown in fig3 and specifically in detail , a yaw rate sensing element 43 , a transverse acceleration sensing element 45 , and a longitudinal acceleration sensing element 47 . each of the sensing elements 43 , 45 , 47 is connected via wirings 40 to its own signal processing circuit 36 , via which the respective sensing elements 43 , 45 , 47 output to the respective signal processing circuit 36 a measurement signal not further indicated , which is dependent on the respective measured quantity 15 , 17 , 19 to be detected . the individual signal processing circuits 36 in the inertial sensor 14 determine the respective measured quantity 15 , 17 , 19 from the measurement signal received in each case from the individual sensing elements 43 , 45 , 47 and output this as digital data via wirings to a data interface 49 . the data interface 49 then modulates the received digital data according to a determined pattern and transmits this as the driving dynamic data 16 to the controller 18 . the modulation pattern in this case depends on the interface used . in the automobile area , various interfaces are commonly used such as , for example , an interface to a controller area network bus , called can bus . sensor data such as the measured quantities 15 , 17 , 19 from the inertial sensor 14 can , however , be transmitted in a particularly efficient manner with a so - called peripheral sensor interface 5 , called psi 5 interface , via a two - wire line as data cable 38 to the controller , which is why the data interface 49 can be configured in a particularly favorable manner as psi 5 interface 49 . further information on this can be deduced from the relevant standard . the present invention will be illustrated in further detail by reference to the inertial sensor 14 shown in fig1 and 3 , even though the present invention can be implemented on any electronic devices and in particular on any sensors such as the speed sensors 10 , magnetic field sensors , structure - borne sound sensors , or temperature sensors . when used in the aforesaid vehicle 2 , it is particularly important for a high longevity of the inertial sensor 14 that this is sealed as tightly as possible against ingressing moisture . precisely because the inertial sensor 14 is installed on the wheel 6 , which can throw up a not inconsiderable quantity of dirt and moisture during travel of the vehicle 2 , sealing against ingressing moisture acquires a very high importance , which avoids that , for example , the wiring 40 corrodes and is interrupted . in order to achieve this , the electronic assembly 44 of the inertial sensor 14 comprising the sensor cluster 41 and the psi 5 interface 49 is encased in the following manner . the electronic assembly 44 is shown in fig4 . in this assembly the sensor cluster 41 and the psi 5 interface 49 can be arranged on a common integrated circuit . the electronic assembly 44 can further comprise another protective capacitor 46 , which protects the sensor cluster 41 and the psi 5 interface 49 , for example , from any overvoltage . in the present exemplary embodiment , a leadframe is selected in a nonrestrictive manner as wiring 40 , from which two contact pins 48 and a number of protruding regions in the form of retaining pins 50 project . whereas the retaining pins 50 will be described in detail at a later point , the contact pins 48 are connected electrically to connector pins 52 , to which in turn the data cable 38 can be connected , in order , as indicated in fig2 , to transmit the speed 12 to the controller 18 . supporting elements 54 project from the shield plate 42 , when viewed in the plane of the shield plate 42 . these are formed in one piece with the connector pins 42 and are connected electrically and mechanically to the contact pins 48 and to a side opposite the contact pins 48 by means of the wiring 40 executed as a leadframe . the retaining pins 50 can , in principle , be designed arbitrarily . as shown , for example , in fig5 , the retaining pins 50 can also adjoin common frames 56 , which accordingly can enclose the integrated circuit with the sensor cluster 41 and the psi 5 interface 49 , as well as the protective capacitor 46 . the surface of the retaining pin 50 can in this case be configured arbitrarily . in order to optimally execute the function explained hereinafter , the retaining pins 50 and / or the frame 56 should be structured with grooves , embossings , or the like . furthermore , these can also be provided with constrictions or holes . in principle however , the shape of the retaining pins 50 and / or the frame 56 is arbitrary . for encasing the electronic assembly 44 , this is held on the retaining pins 50 and on the connector pins 52 with a tool not shown in detail . this is then followed by a first encasing with a first casing material 58 , shown in fig6 , for example , by an original molding method such as injection molding . to this end , the electronic assembly 44 can be inserted into a casting mold not shown further . the first casing material 58 is injected into this casting mold , so that it can assume the shape shown in fig6 . due to the fact that the electronic assembly 44 must rest on at least one location in the casting mold , the intermediate product 60 , also called pre - injection molded part , which can be seen in fig6 , has locations exposed at the retaining pins 50 via which , in principle , moisture could penetrate to the electronic assembly 44 . in order to avoid this , within the framework of the present embodiment , the intermediate product 60 is encased by a second casing material 62 , which can be seen subsequently in fig7 . in order to perform this second encasing particularly effectively , within the framework of the present embodiment , four receiving elements 64 are formed in the first casing material 58 , which are each surrounded by a labyrinth element 66 . respectively one holding element 68 can be inserted into these receiving elements 64 , of which only one is shown for clarity in fig7 . the receiving elements 64 therefore serve as holding regions for the holding elements 68 . these holding elements 68 will be discussed in detail at a later point . in order to protect the data cable 38 connected to the connector pins 52 from ingressing moisture , the connector pins 52 , which cannot be seen in fig6 , are surrounded by a connector housing 70 , into which a connector not shown further in the figures , connected to a data cable 38 , can be inserted positively . a latching element 72 is further formed on the connector housing 70 , on which the connector with the connector housing 70 can be engaged with a corresponding latching element . before the encasing with the second casing material 62 , within the framework of the present embodiment , fastening elements 74 in the form of sockets are arranged next to the first casing material 58 . in this case , the intermediate product 60 can again be received in a corresponding casting mold , which cannot be seen in fig6 , and held therein on the holding elements 68 . the holding elements 68 can also be part of this casting mold . the holding elements 68 rest on the first casing material 58 and have no direct contact with the electronic assembly 44 . if the intermediate product 60 held in the further casting mold is therefore encased with the second casing material 62 , the first casing material 58 and the second casing material 62 then form a labyrinth gap 76 indicated in fig7 , which extends , starting from the receiving elements 64 , via the labyrinth elements 66 and the surface of the first casing material 58 as far as the retaining pins 50 . only there can any ingressing moisture come in contact with the electronic assembly 44 and corrode this . the labyrinth elements 66 further lengthen the labyrinth gap 76 , where naturally a plurality of labyrinth elements 66 arranged concentrically to one another , can further extend the labyrinth gap 76 . in order to partially close the labyrinth gap 76 , for example , the labyrinth elements 66 can be configured as melting ribs . that is to say that at this point , during encasing with the second casing material 62 , the first casing material 58 melts and becomes joined to the second casing material 62 . in this way , the labyrinth gap 76 is closed in a seamlessly bonded manner . alternatively , the labyrinth elements 66 could naturally also be formed as grooves . after the encasing with the second casing material 62 , the holding elements 68 could be removed from the receiving elements 64 again , if this is desired . a material which is resistant to weathering , for example in the form of a plastic , should be selected as first casing material 58 and as second casing material 62 . in this case , for example , for each of the two casing materials , an arbitrary combination can be selected from the materials thermoplastic , thermosetting plastic , and elastomers . | 1 |
in the following description , considered embodiments are merely exemplary , and one skilled in the art may find other ways to implement the invention . although the specification may refer to “ an ”, “ one ” or “ some ” embodiment ( s ) in several locations , this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is made to the same embodiment ( s ), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment . single feature of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments . fig1 and 2 were discussed in conjunction with the description of the prior art . the fingerprinting algorithm of the present invention may be divided into three main phases : embedding , noise transformation and fingerprint detection . fig3 depicts the embedding phase , fig4 depicts the noise transform phase ( i . e . removing a detectable watermark and inserting a non - detectable user fingerprint ) and fig5 depicts how a rights owner can find out who is illegally distributing an audio file . the main steps of the method for embedding a detectable watermark in an audio file are depicted in an exemplary flow chart of fig3 . in the embedding phase , a removable watermark is inserted into the original audio in order to produce the distributable preview version . the embedding algorithm may combine several digital watermarking techniques , such as frequency hopping and direct sequence spread spectrum watermarking . inputs of the process are the uncompressed original audio file 301 and the pseudo - random key 304 for improving the security of the watermark . at first , the original file 301 is divided into blocks of 1024 samples , step 302 , and each block is processed separately from here on . one audio block sample comprising 1024 samples is depicted by reference 311 . a fast fourier transform 312 is accomplished for the audio block 311 in question . the fft 312 gives an array of complex fft coefficients 313 . by taking absolute values 314 of the complex fft coefficients absolute magnitudes 315 of the fft coefficients can advantageously be expressed also in decibels 316 . an embedding of a watermark 317 may advantageously be made by modifying advantageously two frequency coefficients of the audio file sample which may be defined by a pseudo - random frequency hopping sequence 306 . the pseudo - random hopping sequence is accomplished by a linear congruential generator ( lcg ) 305 which uses as inputs frequency band parameters 303 and pseudo - random key 304 . the pseudo - random frequency hopping frequency band may comprise for example 512 frequency coefficients . a modified frequency coefficient pair may be advantageously selected to be five coefficients higher than the coefficient selected by the frequency hopping sequence . the lower coefficient may be modified with a − k modifier and the higher coefficient may be modified with a +( k / 2 ) modifier . the value of k is advantageously the value of the random k value 333 . for modifying the magnitudes of the extracted fft coefficients 316 a random k value , reference 333 , is selected using a random generator 332 from a range [ min_k , max_k ], reference 331 , with steps of 0 . 1 . this parameter defines the amount of noise in db to be advantageously added into a current audio block . a different random k value 333 is used for each audio block . the used k values may be advantageously stored for later use in a specific array 351 . using the random value k 333 and the fft coefficients selected by the pseudo - random frequency hopping sequence 306 actual scaling values for the audio block in question may be defined in phase 318 . the actual values of the scaling values k 1 and k 2 depend on the random value k of the audio sample , reference 333 . in step 320 the defined scaling values k 1 and k 2 , reference 319 , are used to modify the two defined fft coefficients of the original complex fft array 313 . the two defined coefficients in the complex fft array are scaled according to the defined scaling values k 1 and k 2 in order to produce a complex fft array 321 with added detectable noise . the modified fft array 321 is similar to the depicted example in fig2 where two fft coefficients , numbers 36 and 41 from 512 fft coefficients , are transformed for adding a watermark in an audio sample . the noisy watermarked audio block is then transformed to time domain by using ifft ( inverse fast fourier transform ) in step 322 . the result is an audio block 323 in time domain which comprises an audio file with a detectable noise signal . steps 311 - 333 are repeated for all audio blocks which each comprise 1024 samples . the used random value k 333 and pseudo - random hopping sequence 306 may be changed after each processed audio block . this means that the places of the noisy fft coefficients are not the same in all audio blocks and that the scaling values k 1 and k 2 may also vary from an audio sample to an audio sample . in step 341 all modified audio blocks are put together and a final level scaling is made for the whole audio file to avoid clipping issues . the result is a distributable audio file 342 . the final step 343 is to add a spread spectrum synchronization signal 309 by a sync signal generator 308 . the sync signal generator 308 builds a synchronization signal 309 using defined synchronization parameters 307 . the synchronization signal 309 is advantageously embedded in the beginning of the block sequence to facilitate the synchronization process in the phase where the noise is removed from the audio file . the synchronization signal 309 may be added to the beginning of each audio sample or use only one synchronization signal in the beginning of the audio file 342 . for example a spread spectrum signal of 16 384 samples limited to a frequency band of 10 - 20 khz may be used as a synchronization signal . it may be embedded to the beginning of the audio signal with a strength of 0 . 03 . the watermarking process ends in a step where an audio file 361 with a watermark is ready for posting on the internet . for removing the noise later ( i . e . the watermark ), the pseudo - random key 304 and the defined changes of the fft coefficients in db ( an array of k values 351 ) must be stored . these parameters form the watermarking key for the audio file . in addition , the used spread spectrum synchronization signal 309 must be stored . fig4 depicts the noise transform phase of the present invention . the noise transformation phase comprises transforming a detectable watermark of the audio file to a non - detectable user fingerprint . the main steps of the method for transforming a detectable watermark to a non - detectable fingerprint in an audio file are depicted in an exemplary flow chart of fig4 . a transformation from a watermark to user fingerprint can be accomplished in an electrical apparatus of several kinds . the invention can be accomplished in any kind of apparatus which comprises a processor unit and enough memory for saving a computer program utilized in the transformation . the apparatus may be for example a computer , a cellular phone , a digital personal assistant ( pda ), a digital television receiver , a digital radio receiver , an mp3 player , etc . the required parameters for creating a license for a user and modifying the distributable watermarked audio file into a uniquely fingerprinted audio file are : unique pseudo - random key of the audio file 304 , frequency band 303 for the watermark noise ( for example frequency band 1 - 512 of fig2 ), an array of db changes made in the audio file 351 during watermarking , intended fingerprint strength in db , user id of the buyer and synchronization signal 309 and its scale . the pseudo - random key 333 and frequency band parameters 303 must have the same values that were used in adding the watermark in the audio file . the db changes array 351 is also brought from the data stored in the watermark adding operation . the fingerprint strength determines directly the quality of the resulting audio file . it is the amount of noise left in the song after removing the watermark noise of the distributable sample . this leftover noise forms the individual user fingerprint , which contains the user id of the buyer in the system . when the user contacts a music store server , it must first identify itself with a unique user id . this user id is then during the noise transform encoded to the db changes array ( an array of k values ) of the fingerprinted audio file . the fingerprint embedding may be done by increasing or decreasing scaling values k 1 and k 2 used in the watermarking of the audio file . the fingerprint strength parameter defines the amount how much the db values are changed . in one advantageous embodiment of the invention the db values are increased if the embedded bit is “ one ”, and decreased if the bit is “ zero ”. a forward error correction may be used before embedding the fingerprint for increased reliability . in addition to the db changes array , the pseudo - random key of audio file is added to the license data . these two elements form the unique user &# 39 ; s license . the transformation process can be divided into three main steps : synchronization , block processing and combining the result audio . the watermarked audio signal must be synchronized before the noise can be removed from it . the synchronization is done by taking a cross - correlation between the audio and the original synchronization signal . the maximum value of the correlation is the synchronization offset . after the synchronization offset has been found , the synchronization signal is not needed anymore , and it may be removed from the audio signal . it may be removed by subtracting the scaled original synchronization signal from the synchronization offset point in the distributable audio file 361 . synchronization determines also the starting point of the watermarking sequence . the synchronization method may utilize direct sequence spread spectrum watermarking techniques . synchronization may be needed because different lossy compression encoders , for example mp3 encoding , may add some additional samples to the beginning of the audio file in the encoding phase . the synchronization signal is advantageously removed from the audio file after the starting point has been located in order to achieve higher audio quality . in the synchronization , step 402 , a client application synchronizes a watermarked audio file using a synch signal 309 . the result is a synchronized audio file 403 . the synchronized audio file may be divided into audio blocks of 1024 samples . each audio block is advantageously processed separately . the frequency hopping sequence is generated from the pseudo - random initialization key 304 . the sequence is limited with the same parameters as used in the watermarking . the resulting sequence is equal to the sequence generated in watermark embedding process of fig3 . the synchronized audio is divided into 1024 sample blocks 410 starting from the synchronization offset point . each audio block 410 is advantageously processed separately from here on . an fft process 411 transforms the audio sample into a complex fft array 412 . absolute values of each fft coefficient are then taken in step 413 . this process results magnitudes 414 of the fft coefficients . the magnitudes of the fft coefficients are transformed to db in step 415 . then the k value for the current audio block is read from the db changes array 352 . the array 352 comprises modified versions of the array of k values 351 used in the watermarking . this array element 352 contains advantageously modified scaling values k 1 and k 2 . by utilizing these modified scaling values the watermarking noise is advantageously transformed to a user fingerprint . then the k value for the current audio block is read from the db changes array 351 . this array element contains the modifications made to the respective block of the original audio , which result the watermarking noise . in steps 416 - 419 the watermarking noise is removed by first modifying those fft coefficient magnitudes in decibel domain which were used in the watermarking of the audio sample . after that the same fft coefficients are modified with new scaling values which cause less noise than those used in the watermarking . the used scaling values do not leave audible noise in the audio file . the new scaling values of fingerprinting are also modified to contain the fingerprint of the user . fig6 depicts an example of an audio block where fft coefficients 36 and 41 are transferred from watermark to a fingerprint . the differences between the original fft coefficients of the audio sample and the fingerprinted audio sample , references 61 and 62 , are smaller than the differences of the original fft coefficients of the audio sample and the watermarked audio sample . in step 421 an ifft is accomplished to the fingerprinted fft array 420 . the transform results a fingerprinted audio block of 1024 samples . the audio block 422 is then concatenated to the other audio blocks of the same audio file . each audio block of the audio file is advantageously processed separately . when all audio blocks of the audio file are transformed , a fingerprinted audio file 432 is ready for listening . the actual noise transformation from noise into a fingerprint is done when the fft coefficients are modified with the k array values 352 . it is possible because the k array values are not exactly the same in the fingerprinting phase compared to the values which were stored in the server in the watermark embedding phase . they are modified slightly by the server in a way that the k array values contain a non - detectable digital fingerprint of the user . the id of the user in the music store can be used as the fingerprint data . this means that a unique k array must be generated by the server every time a new customer purchases a license for an audio file , because of different fingerprint data . one advantage of this kind of process is that the audio file is never in an unprotected state , because it transforms directly from the free watermarked preview version into the fingerprinted user version without any additional steps in between . it is also convenient for the user because he does not have to download the song again after purchasing . instead , he only needs to acquire the license and wait for the local noise transform process to be completed . the main steps of the method for reading a fingerprint from an audio file are depicted in an exemplary flow chart of fig5 . before reading a fingerprint of an audio file the audio file must be identified . after that a correct pseudo - random key k can be extracted from the array of k values 351 . synchronizing 501 of the fingerprinted audio file 432 can be done against an original audio file 301 . a cross - correlation is calculated between the fingerprinted audio signal and the original audio signal . the maximum value of the correlation is the synchronization offset . if the fingerprinted audio file has any extra samples in the beginning , they are cropped away so that the original and the fingerprinted audio are in synchronization when digital rights owner starts reading them both at the first sample . the pseudo - random hopping sequence used in modification of the fft coefficients is generated at first from the pseudo - random initialization key 333 and the frequency band parameters 303 . then both the synchronized fingerprinted audio file 502 and the original audio file 301 are divided into blocks comprising 1024 audio samples ( references 503 and 511 ). the blocks are transformed 512 with fft which results a complex fft array 513 . the fft coefficient magnitudes are calculated with taking the absolute values 514 of the complex fft coefficients . the fft magnitudes are then advantageously transformed to db domain , reference 515 . reading the fingerprint may be done by comparing the fft coefficient pairs of the original audio file 301 and the fingerprinted audio file 432 , step 516 . the lower fft coefficient of the pair is read from the frequency hopping sequence and the higher coefficient is advantageously five coefficients higher . integration over all bit values and intensities in step 517 may be accomplished in the following way . two comparison values may advantageously be calculated from these fft pairs . the first value is a lower fft coefficient magnitude of the fingerprinted audio file subtracted with a lower fft coefficient magnitude of the original audio file . the second value is a higher fft coefficient magnitude of the fingerprinted audio file subtracted with a higher fft coefficient magnitude of the original audio file . the extracted fingerprint bit from this block of 1024 samples is 1 if the first value is greater than the second value and 0 if the second value is greater than the first value . this process is repeated with all corresponding audio blocks of 1024 samples of the fingerprinted audio file and the original audio file . the resulting fingerprint bit array 518 is divided into blocks of the size of the utilized forward error correction block 519 . for example , if the simplest hamming code ( 7 , 4 ) is used , the block size is 7 . after decoding , the error - corrected bit array is advantageously divided into blocks of 32 bits . these blocks are the actual fingerprint bit arrays 520 which present the user id . if additional error correction is required , the large number of fingerprints allows us to select the most common fingerprint bit array either bit - by - bit or word - by - word . although the fingerprinting method in fig3 , 4 and 5 is depicted in context of an audio file , it is evident to a man skilled in the art that the invention may be used also in the context of a video file or a picture file . any of the process steps described or illustrated above may be implemented using executable instructions in a general - purpose or special - purpose processor and stored on a computer - readable storage medium ( e . g . disk , memory , or the like ) to be executed by such a processor . references to ‘ computer - readable storage medium ’ and ‘ computer ’ should be understood to encompass specialized circuits such as field - programmable gate arrays , application - specific integrated circuits ( asics ), usb flash drives , signal processing devices , and other devices . the invention being thus described , it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways . for example more frequency coefficients than the depicted example of two frequency coefficients can be utilized in the watermarking and fingerprinting . the invention may also be accomplished by utilizing direct sequence spread spectrum watermarking method instead of frequency hopping watermarking method . such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention , and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims . | 7 |
the preferred embodiments may be practiced in any suitable hardware configuration that uses a touchscreen , such as computing system 100 illustrated in fig1 or , alternatively , in a laptop or notepad computing system . computing system 100 includes any suitable central processing unit 10 , such as a standard microprocessor , and any number of other objects interconnected via system bus 12 . for purposes of illustration , computing system 100 includes memory , such as read only memory ( rom ) 16 , random access memory ( ram ) 14 , and peripheral memory devices ( e . g ., disk or tape drives 20 ) connected to system bus 12 via i / o adapter 18 . computing system 100 further includes a touchscreen display adapter 36 for connecting system bus 12 to a conventional touchscreen display device 38 . also , user interface adapter 22 could connect system bus 12 to other user controls , such as keyboard 24 , speaker 28 , mouse 26 , and a touchpad 32 ( not shown ). one skilled in the art readily recognizes how conventional touchscreens operate , how conventional touchscreen device drivers communicate with an operating system , and how a user conventionally utilizes a touchscreen to initiate the manipulation of objects in a graphical user interface . for example , touchscreen technology includes electronic sensors positioned inside a flexible membrane covering a computer screen , a grid of infrared signals , or a method of detecting a touch by sensing a change in reflected sound waves through glass or plastic . using current touchscreen technology , a user can initiate the display of a pull down menu by touching the touchscreen , and then selecting an object within that menu by dragging a finger down the pull down menu . a graphical user interface ( gui ) and operating system ( os ) of the preferred embodiment reside within a computer - readable media and contain a touchscreen device driver that allows one or more users a user to initiate the manipulation of displayed object icons and text on a touchscreen display device . any suitable computer - readable media may retain the gui and operating system , such as rom 16 , ram 14 , disk and / or tape drive 20 ( e . g ., magnetic diskette , magnetic tape , cd - rom , optical disk , or other suitable storage media ). in the preferred embodiments , the cose ™ ( common operating system environment ) desktop gui interfaces the user to the aix ™ operating system . the gui may be viewed as being incorporated and embedded within the operating system . alternatively , any suitable operating system or desktop environment could be utilized . examples of other guis and / or operating systems include x11 ™ ( x windows ) graphical user interface , sun &# 39 ; s solaris ™ operating system , and microsoft &# 39 ; s windows 95 ™ operating system . while the gui and operating system merely instruct and direct cpu 10 , for ease in explanation , the gui and operating system will be described as performing the following features and functions . referring to fig2 touchscreen 200 includes any conventional , suitable touchscreen that is sensitive to , for example , heat , pressure , or the sound of palm and fingerprints . in this illustration , a user has placed his / her right hand ( not shown ) on touchscreen 200 . while any suitable touchscreen technology may be used , for ease in explanation , the preferred embodiment will be described as using a touchscreen that detects sound patterns . in response to the user placing his / her hand on touchscreen 200 , touchscreen 200 detects the sound pattern of the user &# 39 ; s hand , including the sound from palmprint area 210 , thumbprint area 215 , fingerprint areas 220 , 230 , 235 , and 240 , and areas 280 . alternatively , only a portion of the hand ( e . g ., only fingers ) and / or a unique object ( e . g ., stylus ) could be substituted for the detection of a hand print . moreover , more than one hand or object can be detected at a time . when touchscreen 200 detects one or more hand / finger patterns similar to the one shown in fig2 the os attempts to identify the user ( s ). to do so , the os measures the distance of each fingerprint area 215 , 220 , 230 and 240 from palmprint area 210 , along with the x , y coordinates of palmprint area 210 and the x , y extremities of the palmprint area 210 . the os defines the cross point of the leftmost and uppermost point of the palmprint area 210 as the first reference point 255 . the os measures the longest distance from thumbprint 215 to the first reference point 255 . similarly , the os measures the longest distance from fingerprint areas 220 and 230 , respectively , to first reference point 255 . in the same manner , the os defines the cross point of the rightmost and uppermost point of palmprint area 210 as the second reference point 260 , whereby the longest distance from fingerprint area 240 to the second reference point 260 is determined . finally , the os measures the x and y coordinates 265 and 270 of palmprint area 210 . to add even more accuracy , the size of each fingerprint could be measured . next , the os searches a user file database ( not shown ) stored in memory for a match of the newly determined measurements with any existing measurements to determine if a stored identity exists for the handprint . specifically , the os compares the four distance measurements and the x , y coordinates of palmprint 210 with any existing measurements stored in the user file database . however , one skilled in the art realizes that numerous means exists for identifying the handprint ( or object print ) of a particular user ( or user &# 39 ; s object ) without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention . illustratively , only the width of the palmprint area 210 could be used to determine if a match existed . if the os finds a match within a user - defined ( or default ) acceptable tolerance ( described herein ), the os reads the user file for pre - defined customization features , if any , and creates a virtual pointing device under the hand ( or a portion of the hand ) positioned on touchscreen 200 using the pre - defined customization features . therefore , the areas of touchscreen 200 under , for example , the user &# 39 ; s thumb ( i . e ., thumbprint area 215 ), fingers ( i . e ., fingerprint areas 220 , 230 , 235 , and 240 ), and palm ( i . e ., palmprint area 210 ) become &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ;, such that certain defined movements of the user &# 39 ; s fingers , thumb , and / or palm on those &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ; areas cause certain functions to be invoked . however , if the os does not recognize the handprint , the os can build a default virtual pointing device under the hand or a portion of the hand using a default set of functions or the user can create a customized virtual pointing device ( described herein ). fig5 illustrates how the user ( s ) move and operate the virtual pointing device ( s ). as the user slides his / her hand over touchscreen 200 such that the hand remains in substantial contact with touchscreen 200 , the os detects the position of the user &# 39 ; s moving hand on touchscreen 200 and , in response , continuously re - defines the &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ; areas of the virtual pointing device to be the areas under the hand ( or a portion of the hand ). therefore , the virtual pointing device moves with and according to the movement of the user &# 39 ; s hand . for example , if an &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ; area is initially defined as the area contained within the touchscreen pixel coordinates x1 , y1 , x2 , y2 , x3 , y3 , and x4 , y4 ! ( not shown ) and the user moves a finger from that area to the touchscreen pixel coordinates x5 , y5 , x6 , y6 , x7 , y7 , and x8 , y8 !, the &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ; area moves to those new coordinates . the os positions pointer 250 near an activated area of the virtual pointing device ( in this case , over fingerprint area 230 ) such that pointer 250 moves in lock step with the virtual pointing device . therefore , the user could , for example , move the virtual pointing device and , therefore , pointer 250 , such that pointer 250 is positioned over a desired object icon . alternatively , the user could merely lift his hand and place it at a desired location , whereby the os would re - create the virtual pointing device under the user &# 39 ; s hand at the new location ( described herein ). the user operates the virtual pointing device via movement of the user &# 39 ; s fingers , thumb and / or palm . illustratively , the user may invoke the &# 34 ; focus function &# 34 ; 245 , whereby an object icon positioned under pointer 250 gains focus , by lifting his / her thumb and then placing the thumb back on thumbprint area 215 within a certain amount of time ( e . g ., two seconds ) ( referred to as &# 34 ; single clicking &# 34 ;). similarly , the user may invoke the &# 34 ; paste &# 34 ; function by lifting and replacing his / her third finger on third fingerprint area 235 within a certain amount of time . each finger , palm , and thumb behavior and associated functionality / command can be specially defined , and later redefined , to invoke a specific function ( described in more detail herein ). the os displays a dialog above each fingerprint / thumbprint area to indicate the finger behavior ( a &# 34 ;( 1 )&# 34 ; representing a single click ; a &# 34 ;( 2 )&# 34 ; representing a double click , etc .) and corresponding functionality / command ( e . g ., focus 245 , open 257 , select until release 259 , paste 261 and default menu 262 ). the default functionality / command , finger behavior and pointer are defined in the preferred embodiment as follows . a single click of the thumb on thumbprint area 215 causes the os to invoke focus function 245 on any object icon or text positioned under pointer 250 . a single click of a finger on fingerprint area 220 or a double click of thumbprint area 215 causes the os to invoke an open function 230 on any object icon or text positioned under pointer 250 . a single click on fingerprint area 230 invokes a select until release function 259 on any object icon or text positioned under pointer 250 , while a single click of fingerprint area 235 invokes a paste function 261 on any object icon or text positioned under pointer 250 . finally , a single click of fingerprint area 240 invokes a default menu function 263 . the default pointer 250 is in the shape of an arrow and is positioned near fingerprint area 230 . however , one skilled in the art readily recognizes that any combination of default functions , pointer location , and / or finger behavior ( e . g ., multiple clicks ) could have been used to define the default virtual pointing device . moreover , a simultaneous single click ( or multiple clicks ) of two or more fingers could invoke a function / command . fig3 illustrates a flow chart containing detailed logic for implementing the preferred embodiments . at 302 , touchscreen 200 detects sound / heat / pressure , etc ., from a handprint ( or object ), or alternatively , a portion of a handprint . at 306 , the os reads the handprint and calculates the measurements previously described and illustrated in fig2 . at 310 , the os searches user files in a database for the handprint measurements . at 312 , if the os locates any existing handprint measurements within a default tolerance of 10 % ( which can later be changed by the user , described herein ), at 320 , the os reads all information in that user file and , at 322 , draws a virtual pointing device on the touchscreen under the user &# 39 ; s hand ( or portion of the hand ) based on pre - defined characteristics found in the user file . additionally , in the future , if any objects and / or text have been selected by the virtual pointing device , they will be drawn in a position relative to their previous location to the virtual pointing device ( described herein ). at 324 , the os determines if there is any consistent unusual behavior or undefined behavior for four or more seconds , such as , for example , failing to detect the fingerprint ( s ), the palmprint , or no handprint . if the os detects no unusual behavior , the os performs a work event loop at 326 ( see fig9 ) and control returns to 324 . referring to fig9 at 902 , the os determines if any movement of the hand across the touchscreen has occurred and , if so , at 904 the os moves the virtual pointing device in accordance with the movement of the hand . at 906 , the os determines if movement of a finger or thumb has occurred to invoke a function / command and , if so , at 908 the os invokes that function / command on any object / text positioned under the pointer . control returns to 324 . returning to 324 of fig3 if the os detects unusual behavior or undefined behavior for a certain amount of time ( e . g ., 4 seconds ), at 328 , the os determines if all fingers have been lifted off the touchscreen while the palm remains on the touchscreen . alternatively , one skilled in the art recognizes that many other indicators could replace the &# 34 ; all fingers lifted &# 34 ; indicator , such as determining if a combination of fingers have been lifted or determining if the palm has been lifted while the fingerprints remain in contact with the touchscreen . if the os determines that all fingers have been lifted off the touchscreen , at 330 , the os displays a main menu 600 ( see fig6 described herein ) prompting the user to provide any recustomization of the virtual pointing device . at 344 , the os displays the new virtual pointing device in accordance with any changes made at 330 . returning to 328 , if all fingers were not detected as being raised while the palm remained in contact with the touchscreen , at 342 , control is directed to fig8 . referring to fig8 at 810 , the os determines if the entire hand ( or object ) has been lifted off the touchscreen . if the entire hand has not been lifted off the touchscreen , but unusual or undefined behavior has occurred , such as lifting a combination of fingers , thumb and / or palm ( whose behavior does not have a corresponding defined functionality ), control is directed to 814 , where the os re - draws the virtual pointing device under the hand based on the user file . this indicates to the user that the immediate past hand / finger behavior has no defined function . if the entire hand has been lifted off the touchscreen , at 811 , the os continues to display the virtual pointing device on the touchscreen in its current location for a period of time ( e . g ., 5 seconds ), but in an obvious hibernated state , meaning the fingerprint and palmprint areas will be viewed as translucent areas on the touchscreen . at 812 , the os determines if the hand has been re - positioned on the touchscreen within five seconds of detecting its removal . if the hand has not been re - positioned on the touchscreen within the five seconds , control is directed to 826 ( described herein ). however , if the os detects the hand being re - positioned on the touchscreen within 5 seconds , at 816 , the os determines if more than one virtual pointing device is concurrently being used and , if so , if more than one user had lifted his / her hand off the touchscreen at the time the hand was re - positioned on the touchscreen . if not , at 814 , control is directed to 322 of fig3 whereby the os activates and moves the virtual pointing identified by the user file under the re - positioned hand . additionally , if any objects and / or text were selected by the virtual pointing device at the time the hand was lifted , they will be re - drawn in a position relative to their previous location to the virtual pointing device ( described herein ). if more than one user had concurrently lifted his / her hand off the touchscreen , at 820 , the os reads the handprint of the re - positioned hand and calculates the measurements previously described and illustrated in fig2 . at 822 , the os searches the user files of the virtual pointing devices having a detected lifted hand for a hand measurement match . if a match is not found , at 823 , the os searches the user file database for the user identification of one of the virtual pointing devices having a detected lifted hand . the os then displays a dialog ( not shown ) asking the user if he / she is the user identified by the user identification . if the user indicates that he / she is identified by the user identification at 825 , at 826 , control is directed to 322 of fig3 whereby the os moves the virtual pointing device identified by the user file under the repositioned hand , and if any objects and / or text were selected by the virtual pointing device , they will be redrawn in a position relative to their previous location to the virtual pointing device ( described herein ). however , if the user indicates that the identification does not identify the user at 825 , the os determines if that identification is the last user file of a virtual pointing device having a detected lifted hand . if not , control returns to 823 where the os searches the next user file of a virtual pointing device having a detected lifted hand . this process repeats until a match is found between the user and the user identification and , therefore , the corresponding virtual pointing device having a detected lifted hand . if the os has search the last user file and no match has been found , at 839 , control is directed to 310 of fig3 where the os search all the user files for the user &# 39 ; s hand . returning to 812 , if the hand has not been repositioned on the touchscreen within 5 seconds or the entire hand has not been lifted off the touchscreen , at 826 , the os displays the virtual pointing device in the obvious hibernated state and , at 828 , prompts the user in a dialog ( not shown ) if the user desires to quit . if the user desires to quit , control is directed to 830 where the os removes the virtual pointing device from the display . if the user does not desire to quit , at 832 , the os places the mouse in a &# 34 ; hidden hibernation &# 34 ; state , which means that the mouse image displayed on the touchscreen in the obvious hibernated state ( i . e ., translucent ) begins to fade with time , but can be instantly activated when the user next touches the touchscreen . therefore , the os transforms the virtual pointing device from obvious hibernation ( e . g ., displayed in an translucent form ) to hidden hibernation . after a user specified time ( e . g ., 30 minutes ), the os interprets the time delay as meaning that the virtual pointing device is no longer needed . at 836 , if the os detects a hand placed on the touchscreen within 30 minutes , at 840 , the os brings the virtual pointing device out of hidden hibernation , redraws it under the hand , and control returns to 324 of fig3 . otherwise , at 838 , the os removes the virtual pointing device currently in a hidden hibernation state from memory ( e . g ., ram ). returning to 312 of fig3 the os determines if a match has been found between a measured hand placed on the touchscreen and any existing user files . if the os detects several user files having handprint measurements closely matching the handprint in question , at 316 , the os displays in a drop down menu ( not shown ) on the touchscreen showing those users having the closest match . at 318 , the os waits for the user to select ( using his other hand ) from the drop down menu a match in user identity , or a selection indicating that no match has occurred . if a match has occurred , control is directed to 320 ( previously described ). if no match has occurred , control is directed to 314 , where the os displays on the touchscreen a menu ( see 510 in fig5 ) asking the user to indicate if he / she desires to create a customized virtual pointing device . if the user does not desire to create a customized virtual pointing device , the os prompts the user to place his / her hand on the touchscreen and , in response , the os builds a generic virtual pointing device under the user &# 39 ; s hand , as shown in fig5 having the default finger / palm behavior and fingerprint functionality as previously described . if the user does desire to create a customized virtual pointing device , at 332 , the os opens a user file . at 334 , the os stores the size of the fingerprints and palmprint in the user file . at 336 , the os calculates the distance between the first reference point ( previously described and shown in fig2 ) and the farthest point to each fingerprint of the first three fingers . additionally , the os could calculate the second reference point and distance therefrom to the fourth fingerprint . at 338 , the os prompts the user for a user identification and displays main menu 600 , which prompts the user to enter virtual pointing device characteristics , such as the virtual pointing device shape , pointer location , behavior and sensitivity , and fingerprint functionality ( described herein and shown in fig6 ). at 340 , the os stores all information in the user file . control is directed to 322 , where the os draws the virtual pointing device under the hand ( or portion of the hand ) based on the information stored in the user file . at 324 , the os determines if any unusual behavior has occurred . if so , at 328 , the os determines if all fingers of the hand have been lifted off the touchscreen . if so , at 330 , the os displays a main menu 600 as illustrated in fig6 prompting the user to provide any customization of the virtual pointing device . referring to fig6 after the os displays the main menu 600 , the user may remove his / her hand from the touchscreen . if the user selects shape button 620 , a &# 34 ; shape &# 34 ; menu appears ( see 700 in fig7 ) that allows the user to define / redefine the shape of the virtual pointing device . referring to shape menu 700 of fig7 the os displays several options to the user . for example , the user could select a &# 34 ; fingers only &# 34 ; virtual pointing device ( see fig4 described herein ) whereby only the fingers need to be in contact with the touchscreen to move the virtual pointing device , or a palm and thumb only virtual pointing device , whereby only the thumb and palm need to be in contact with the touchscreen to move the virtual pointing device . in the latter case , movement of the fingers would not be assigned functionality . additionally , &# 34 ; a thumb plus one finger &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; palm &# 34 ; virtual pointing device could be created . however , because the os invokes the main menu 600 ( see fig6 ) by lifting all fingers while keeping the palm in contact with the touchscreen , if the user defines a new virtual pointing device that does not include the palm , the user could not later re - program the functionality of that special virtual pointing device . rather , the user would have to start with a generic virtual pointing device to create a new device . alternatively , a different technique could be used to activate the main menu 600 without departing from the scope of the invention . the user may change the default accuracy tolerance amount from 10 % to one of a number of pre - programmed values . to do so , the user presses accuracy button 702 and , in response , a drop - down list ( not shown ) of values ( e . g ., 4 %, 8 %, 20 %) appears for the user &# 39 ; s selection . the user enters / saves all selections by pressing button 704 . in response , the main menu 600 shown in fig6 reappears . returning to fig6 if the user selects define function button 625 , a &# 34 ; define function &# 34 ; menu appears that allows the user to define / redefine the functionality of the fingerprints / palmprint areas . specifically , define functionality menu 730 in fig7 allows the user to change the functionality of each fingerprint and thumbprint area by pressing the associated button next to the appropriate finger . for example , the user has pressed button 732 , indicating that he / she desires to change the functionality of the second finger ( i . e ., fingerprint area 230 ). in response , the os displays drop - down list 740 of pre - defined functions stored in memory . the user has selected open function 742 where , in response , the os displays another drop - down list 746 . the user selected a double click 744 of the second finger to invoke the open function . the user then presses save button 748 to save the entries in the user file . in response , the main menu 600 shown in fig6 appears . however , one skilled in the art readily recognizes that other changes in finger behavior and fingerprint area functionality may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this preferred embodiment . returning to fig6 if the user selects define pointer button 630 , a &# 34 ; define pointer &# 34 ; menu appears that allows the user to define / redefine the shape , sensitivity , and position of the pointer on the virtual pointing device . referring to define pointer menu 760 in fig7 the user has a number of choices regarding the pointer . for example , the user can select a small , medium or large arrow , and / or a blinking arrow . the user can also select small or large pointer sensitivity , and the position of the pointer with respect to the virtual pointing device . for example , the pointer may be positioned over the third finger ( default position ), over the first finger , or below the palm . however , one skilled in the art readily recognizes that numerous changes in pointer behavior may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this preferred embodiment . the user presses save button 762 to save the entries and , in response , the main menu 600 appears . finally , in fig6 the user has the option of saving and exiting by pressing save / exit button 635 , or cancelling all changes and returning to the default virtual pointing device by pressing cancel button 615 . referring to fig4 in a second embodiment , the os displays pre - determined , standard size fingerprint areas 415 , 420 , 430 , 435 and 440 and pointer 450 as a nonactivated ( also referred to as &# 34 ; obviously hibernated &# 34 ;) virtual pointing device . the fingerprint areas of the virtual pointing device are translucent such that object icons can be seen through them . to activate the virtual pointing device , the user places one or more fingers over a fingerprint area 415 , 420 , 430 , 435 or 440 on touchscreen 400 . alternatively , when the os detects a sound pattern ( or heat , pressure , etc .) over one or more of the translucent fingerprints areas 420 , 430 , 435 and 440 , the os activates only that area of virtual pointing device . the os assigns a default function ( e . g ., default function displayed above each fingerprint area ) to each fingerprint area having a finger placed over it . however , the fingerprint areas not having a finger placed over them will not be activated and , as such , will not have the default function assigned to them until they are activated . each fingerprint area may be activated at any time . as the user slides his / her fingers over touchscreen 400 , the os detects the touchscreen pixel coordinates under the user &# 39 ; s moving fingers and , in response , continuously re - defines the &# 34 ; activated &# 34 ; areas of the virtual pointing device to be the touchscreen areas under the fingers . therefore , the virtual pointing device moves with and according to the movement of the user &# 39 ; s fingers . however , while not all of the fingerprint areas may be activated at once , all fingerprint areas move together as one object . the os positions pointer 450 near the fingerprint area 420 such that pointer 450 moves in accordance with movement of the virtual pointing device . therefore , the user could , for example , move the virtual pointing device such that pointer 450 is positioned over a desired object icon . alternatively , the user could merely lift his hand and place it at a desired location , whereby the os would re - create the virtual pointing device under the user &# 39 ; s fingers at the new location . additionally , any objects or text selected by the virtual pointing device at the time the hand was lifted would also be re - drawn at the new location . in this example , the user has placed his / her first finger over fingerprint area 420 to activate that area of the virtual pointing device . if the user desires to resize the distance between the fingerprint areas of the virtual pointing device , the user merely places a separate finger , one by one , over each displayed fingerprint area ( thereby activating them ) and then slides each finger outward or inward , as appropriate , to customize the shape / size of the virtual pointing device . in this manner , the user customizes the shape / size of the virtual pointing device to the shape / size of his / her fingers . however , the user must actively customize the shape / size of the virtual pointing device each time he / she uses it . once the user positions pointer 450 over a desired object icon 422 , the user could , for example , single click his first finger over fingerprint area 420 to transfer focus to object icon 422 . however , only generic functions ( or previously established functions ) can be used for this embodiment . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to a particular embodiment thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention , only defined by the appended claims . | 6 |
in embodiments , the ink compositions of the present invention comprise a polyesterified - dye ( i ) or polyurethane - dye ( ii ) of the formulas illustrated , and optionally a noncolored vehicle . examples of chromophores selected for the inks of the present invention are known and include , for example , nitroso , nitro , azo , diarylmethane , triarylmethane , xanthane , acridine , quinoline , methine , thiazole , indamine , indophenol , lactone , aminoketone , hydroxyketone , stilbene , azine , oxazine , thiazine , anthroquinone , phthalocyanine , perylenes , and the like , and wherein the weight average molecular weights thereof vary , however , they generally are in the range of from about 1 , 200 to about 5 , 000 grams / mole . other optional ink additives include biocides , such as dowicil 150 , 200 , and 75 , benzoate salts , sorbate salts , and the like , present in effective amounts , such as for example an amount of from about 0 . 0001 to about 4 percent by weight , and preferably from about 0 . 01 to about 2 . 0 percent by weight , ph controlling agents , such as acids , or bases , phosphate salts , carboxylate salts , sulfite salts , amine salts , and the like , present in an amount of from 0 to about 1 percent by weight and preferably from about 0 . 01 to about 1 percent by weight , or the like . the inks of the present invention are particularly suitable for printing processes wherein the substrate , such as paper , transparency material , or the like , is heated during the printing process to facilitate formation of the liquid crystalline phase within the ink . preferably , the substrate is heated to the highest temperature possible to enable the most rapid possible ink drying without damaging the substrate . when transparency substrates are employed , temperatures typically are limited to a maximum of about 100 ° c . to 110 ° c . since the polyester typically employed as the base sheet in transparency sheets tends to deform at higher temperatures . specially formulated transparencies and paper substrates can , however , tolerate higher temperatures , frequently being suitable for exposure to temperatures of 150 ° c . or even 200 ° c . in some instances . typical heating temperatures are from about 40 ° to about 140 ° c ., and preferably from about 60 ° c . to about 95 ° c ., although the temperature can be outside these ranges . the inks of the present invention are particularly suitable for use in acoustic ink jet printing processes . in acoustic ink jet printing , reference the patents recited here , the disclosures of which have been totally incorporated herein by reference , an acoustic beam exerts a radiation pressure against objects upon which it impinges . thus , when an acoustic beam impinges on a free surface of the ink of a pool of liquid from beneath , the radiation pressure which it exerts against the surface of the pool may reach a sufficiently high level to release individual droplets of liquid from the pool , despite the restraining force of surface tension . focusing the beam on or near the surface of the pool intensifies the radiation pressure it exerts for a given amount of input power . these principles have been applied to prior ink jet and acoustic printing proposals . for example , k . a . krause , &# 34 ; focusing ink jet head ,&# 34 ; ibm technical disclosure bulletin , vol 16 , no . 4 , september 1973 , pages 1168 to 1170 , the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference , describes an ink jet in which an acoustic beam emanating from a concave surface and confined by a conical aperture was used to propel ink droplets out through a small ejection orifice . acoustic ink printers typically comprise one or more acoustic radiators for illuminating the free surface of a pool of liquid ink with respective acoustic beams . each of these beams usually is brought to focus at or near the surface of the reservoir ( the liquid / air interface ). furthermore , printing conventionally is performed by independently modulating the excitation of the acoustic radiators in accordance with the input data samples for the image that is to be printed . this modulation enables the radiation pressure which each of the beams exerts against the free ink surface to make brief , controlled excursions to a sufficiently high pressure level for overcoming the restraining force of surface tension . that , in turn , causes individual droplets of ink to be ejected from the free ink surface on demand at an adequate velocity to cause them to deposit in an image configuration on a nearby recording medium . the acoustic beam may be intensity modulated or focused / defocused to control the ejection timing , or an external source may be used to extract droplets from the acoustically excited liquid on the surface of the pool on demand . regardless of the timing mechanism employed , the size of the ejected droplets is determined by the waist diameter of the focused acoustic beam . acoustic ink printing is attractive because it does not require the nozzles or the small ejection orifices which have caused many of the reliability and pixel placement accuracy problems that conventional drop on demand and continuous stream ink jet printers have suffered . the size of the ejection orifice is a critical design parameter of an ink jet because it determines the size of the droplets of ink that the jet ejects . as a result , the size of the ejection orifice cannot be increased without sacrificing resolution . acoustic printing has increased intrinsic reliability because there are no nozzles to clog . as will be appreciated , the elimination of the clogged nozzle failure mode is especially relevant to the reliability of large arrays of ink ejectors , such as page width arrays comprising several thousand separate ejectors . furthermore , small ejection orifices are avoided , so acoustic printing can be performed with a greater variety of inks than conventional ink jet printing , including inks having higher viscosities and inks containing pigments and other particulate components . it has been found that acoustic ink printers embodying printheads comprising acoustically illuminated spherical focusing lenses can print precisely positioned pixels ( i . e ., picture elements ) at resolutions which are sufficient for high quality printing of relatively complex images . it has also been discovered that the size of the individual pixels printed by such a printer can be varied over a significant range during operation , thereby accommodating , for example , the printing of variably shaded images . furthermore , the known droplet ejector technology can be adapted to a variety of printhead configurations including ( 1 ) single ejector embodiments for raster scan printing , ( 2 ) matrix configured ejector arrays for matrix printing , and ( 3 ) several different types of pagewidth ejector arrays ranging from ( i ) single row , sparse arrays for hybrid forms of parallel / serial printing to ( ii ) multiple row staggered arrays with individual ejectors for each of the pixel positions or addresses within a pagewidth image field ( i . e ., single ejector / pixel / line ) for ordinary line printing . inks suitable for acoustic ink jet printing typically are liquid at ambient temperatures ( i . e ., about 25 ° c . ), but in other embodiments the ink is in a solid state at ambient temperatures and provision is made for liquefying the ink by heating or any other suitable method prior to introduction of the ink into the printhead . images of two or more colors can be generated by several methods , including by processes wherein a single printhead launches acoustic waves into pools of different colored inks . further information regarding acoustic ink jet printing apparatus and processes is disclosed in , for example , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 308 , 547 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 697 , 195 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 028 , 937 , u . s . pat . no . 5 , 041 , 849 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 751 , 529 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 751 , 530 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 751 , 534 , u . s . pat . no . 4 , 801 , 953 , and u . s . pat . no . 4 , 797 , 693 , the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference . the use of focused acoustic beams to eject droplets of controlled diameter and velocity from a free - liquid surface is also described in j . appl . phys ., vol . 65 , no . 9 ( 1 may 1989 ) and references therein , the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference . one embodiment of the present invention is directed to a process which comprises ( a ) providing an acoustic ink printer having a pool of liquid ink with a free surface , and a printhead including at least one droplet ejector for radiating the free surface of the ink with focused acoustic radiation to eject individual droplets of ink therefrom on demand , said radiation being brought to focus with a finite waist diameter in a focal plane , said ink comprising water , an oil - soluble or alcohol - soluble dye , and a surfactant , the ink exhibiting a liquid microemulsion phase at a first temperature , and at a second temperature higher than the first temperature , separating into a mixture of an aqueous liquid phase and a liquid crystalline gel phase ; and ( b ) causing droplets of said ink to be ejected onto a recording sheet in an imagewise pattern . the polyesterified - dye ( i ) selected for the inks of the present invention can be prepared by reacting a functional or reactive dye such as a dye containing one or more functional groups such as , for example , a hydroxy , amine , carboxylic acid or thiol group with a diester such as dimethylterephthalate and a diol such as a poly ( alkylene oxide ). in embodiments , the polyesterified - dye ( i ) is prepared , for example , by charging a reactor , such as a 300 milliliter parr reactor equipped with a distillation apparatus , with from about 10 to about 50 weight percent of a reactive dye , such as reactint black 57ab , available from milliken chemicals , with a mixture of from about 50 to about 90 percent by weight of equivalent mole amounts of poly ( oxyalkylene ), such as polyethylene oxide of molecular weight of about 200 or 400 grams per mole , and a diester , such as dimethyl isophthalate or dimethylterephthalate , a condensation catalyst , such as tin oxide or butylstannoic acid , and a diol , such as ethylene glycol . the reaction temperature is then raised to about 185 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours . during this time , water is collected as a byproduct in the distillation receiver . the pressure of the reaction mixture is then reduced from atmospheric pressure to about 1 millimeter hg , and the reaction mixture stirred for an additional 3 hours at a temperature of from about 185 ° c . to about 210 ° c ., during which time the ethylene glycol is removed and collected in the distillation receiver . the mixture is then pressurized to atmospheric pressure , poured into a pan , and allowed to cool to room temperature , about 25 ° c . similarly , the polyurethane - dye ( ii ) can be prepared by reacting a functional or reactive dye , such as a dye containing one or more functional groups such as , for example , a hydroxy , amine , a carboxylic acid or thiol group with a diisocyanate , such as tolyldiisocyanate , and a diol , such as a poly ( alkylene oxide ). in embodiments , the polyesterified - dye ( i ) is prepared , for example , by charging a reactor , such as a 300 milliliter parr reactor equipped with from about 10 to about 50 weight percent of a reactive dye such as reactint black 57ab , available from milliken chemicals , with a mixture of from about 50 to about 90 percent by weight of equivalent mole amounts of diol , such as ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , triethylene glycol and poly ( oxyalkylene ), such as polyethylene glycol of molecular weight of about 200 or 400 grams per mole , and a diisocyanate , such as tolyidiisocyanate , and a condensation catalyst , such as dibutyltin laurate . the reaction temperature is then raised to about 120 ° c . with stirring for a duration of from about 3 hours , after which the mixture is poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . the functional or reactive dye selected for the preparation of the polyesterified - dye or polyurethane - dye includes reactint black 57ab , reactint black x40lv , reactint blue 17ab , reactint blue x3lv , reactint blue x19 , reactint red x26b - 50 , reactint red x520 , reactint violet x80lt , reactint orange x38 , reactint yellow x15 , and the like , all available from milliken chemicals , 1 , 5 -( p - hydroxyphenylthio ) anthraquinone , 1 , 8 -( p - hydroxyphenylthio )- anthraquinone , 1 , 5 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenylthio )- 4 , 8 -( phenylthio ) anthraquinone , 1 , 4 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenylamino )- anthraquinone , and which dye is present , for example , in an amount of from about 2 to about 20 weight percent of the ink . the condensation catalyst utilized in the preparation of the polyesterified - dye or polyurethane - dye includes tin oxide , butylstannoic acid available from elf altochem as fascat 4100 , titanium ( iv ) tetraisopropoxide , titanium ( iv ) tetrabutoxide , zinc acetate , magnesium acetate , antimony oxide , zirconium acetate , lead oxide , tetrabutyl ammonium phosphate , and unicure from uniroyal chemicals , mixtures thereof , and the like , and is present in an amount of from about 0 . 01 to 0 . 1 mole equivalent of the ink . the diester utilized in the preparation of the polyesterified dye includes dimethyl terephthalate , dimethylisophthalate , dimethyl 5 - sulfoisophthalate , dimethyl phthalate , dimethyl succinate , dimethyl adipate , dimethyl suberate , dimethyl fumarate , dimethyl maleate , dimethyl glutarate , mixtures thereof , and the like , and is present in an amount of from about 25 to about 50 mole percent of the product . the diisocyanate utilized in the preparation of the polyurethane - dye includes benzene diisocyanate , toluene diisocyanate , diphenylmethane diisocyanate , 1 , 6 - hexamethylene diisocyanate , 1 , 12 - dodecane diisocyanate , mixtures thereof , and the like , and is present in an amount of from about 25 to about 50 mole percent of the ink . the oxyalkylene or poly ( oxyalkylene ) utilized in the preparation of the polyesterified - dye or polyurethane - dye includes ethylene glycol , diethylene glycol , triethylene glycol , tetraethylene glycol , propylene glycol , dipropylene glycol , tripropylene glycol , tetrapropylene glycol , polyethylene oxide or polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight ranging from about 200 grams per mole to about 2 , 000 grams per mole , polypropylene oxide or polypropylene glycol of molecular weight ranging from 200 grams per mole to about 2 , 000 grams per mole , mixtures thereof , and the like , and which component is present in various effective amounts such as in an amount of from about 25 to about 50 mole percent of the product . specific embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail . these examples are intended to be illustrative , and the invention is not limited to the materials , conditions , or process parameters set forth in these embodiments . all parts and percentages are by weight unless otherwise indicated . in these examples , the colorant is bound to the vehicle . synthesis of a black polyesterified - dye from reactint black 57 ab , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 400 grams per mole and dimethyl terephthalate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint black 57ab , available from milliken chemicals , with 200 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 400 grams per mole , 115 grams of dimethyl terephthalate , 50 grams of ethylene glycol and 0 . 4 gram of butylstannoic acid . the resulting mixture was then heated to about 185 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours . during this time , water was collected as a byproduct in the distillation receiver . the pressure of the reaction mixture was then reduced from atmospheric pressure to about 1 millimeter hg , and the reaction mixture was stirred for an additional 3 hours at a temperature of from about 185 ° c . to about 210 ° c ., during which time the ethylene glycol was removed and collected in the distillation receiver . the mixture was then pressurized to atmospheric pressure , poured into a pan , and allowed to cool to room temperature , about 25 ° c . throughout the examples . synthesis of a black polyesterified - dye from reactint black 57 ab , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole and dimethyl terephthalate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint black 57ab , available from milliken chemicals , with 300 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole , 115 grams of dimethyl terephthalate , 50 grams of ethylene glycol and 0 . 4 gram of butyistannoic acid . the resulting mixture was then heated to about 185 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours . during this time , water was collected as a byproduct in the distillation receiver . the pressure of the reaction mixture was then reduced from atmospheric pressure to about 1 millimeter hg , and the reaction mixture stirred for an additional 3 hours at a temperature of from about 185 ° c . to about 210 ° c ., during which time the ethylene glycol was removed and collected in the distillation receiver . the mixture was then pressurized to atmospheric pressure and poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . synthesis of a yellow polyesterified - dye from reactint yellow x15 , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole and dimethyl terephthalate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint yellow x15 , available from milliken chemicals , with 300 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole , 115 grams of dimethyl terephthalate , 50 grams of ethylene glycol and 0 . 4 gram of butylstannoic acid . the mixture was then heated to about 185 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours . during this time , water was collected as a byproduct in the distillation receiver . the pressure of the reaction mixture was then reduced from atmospheric pressure to about 1 millimeter hg , and the reaction mixture stirred for an additional 3 hours at a temperature of from about 185 ° c . to about 210 ° c ., during which time the ethylene glycol was removed and collected in the distillation receiver . the mixture were then pressurized to atmospheric pressure , poured into a pan , and allowed to cool to room temperature . synthesis of a blue polyesterified - dye from reactint blue x3lv , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole and toluene diisocyanate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint blue x3lv , available from milliken chemicals , 300 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole , and 90 grams of toluene diisocyanate . the mixture was then heated to about 120 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours , after which the mixture was poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . the resulting ink possessed a viscosity of 8 centipoise at 160 ° c . synthesis of a blue polyesterified - dye from reactint blue 17ab , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole and toluene diisocyanate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint blue 17lv , available from milliken chemicals , with 300 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole , and 90 grams of toluene diisocyanate . the resulting mixture was then heated to about 120 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours , after which the mixture was poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . synthesis of a red polyesterified - dye from reactint red x520 , polyethylene glycol of a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole and toluene diisocyanate in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 100 grams of reactint red x520 , available from milliken chemicals , 300 grams of polyethylene glycol with a molecular weight of 600 grams per mole , and 90 grams of toluene diisocyanate . the mixture was heated to about 120 ° c . with stirring for a duration of about 3 hours , after which the mixture is poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . synthesis of a polyurethane 1 , 4 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenylamino ) anthraquinone blue dye with a molecular weight of about 1 , 500 gram per mole from propylene oxide , toluene diisocyanate and 1 , 4 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenylamino )- anthraquinone in a 1 liter parr reactor equipped with a mechanical stirrer and distillation apparatus were charged 200 grams of 1 , 4 - bis ( p - hydroxyphenylamino )- anthraquinone , 150 grams of propylene oxide , and 0 . 1 gram of butylstannoic acid . the mixture was refluxed for 3 hours at 120 ° c ., after which 24 grams of toluene diisocyanate were added , and the mixture heated at 120 ° c . for an additional 3 hours . the mixture was then poured into a pan and allowed to cool to room temperature . the inks of the above examples can , it is believed , be selected for acoustic ink jet printing and there will result images with excellent waterfastness , acceptable optical density , and wherein the paper with the images thereon is free from curling . also , the inks of the above examples possess desirable viscosities , for example in the range of from about 5 to about 20 centipoise . the viscosity is measured as illustrated in the u . s . pat . nos . 5 , 688 , 312 ; 5 , 667 , 568 and 5 , 700 , 316 , the disclosures of which are each totally incorporated herein by reference . also , the present invention can include as the optional vehicle in amounts , for example , of from about 0 to about 90 weight percent the vehicles as illustrated in the aforementioned copending applications . other modifications of the present invention may occur to those skilled in the art subsequent to a review of the present application , and these modifications , including equivalents thereof , are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention . | 2 |
referring particularly to fig1 a hydraulic system 200 is depicted . the hydraulic system 200 is utilized as a drive system for the wide area lawn mower 130 with a cutting deck 133 and a frame 135 depicted in fig1 . the wide area mower 130 actually includes two sets of these hydraulic drive systems 200 . each drive wheel 132 , 134 of the mower 130 is powered by a separate hydraulic motor ( 201 ). each motor 201 is powered by a separate hydraulic pump assembly 2 . an internal combustion engine 131 provides power to the hydraulic pumps 2 . wide area mower 130 further comprises an operator control means 150 for controlling the overall direction and speed of mower 130 during operation . control means 150 enables the operator to separately control the speed and direction of each drive wheel 132 , 134 by separately controlling the flow rate and direction of oil from each associated pump 2 . this permits forward and reverse travel of the mower 130 . this also provides a means for steering the mower 130 right or left . in a preferred embodiment , operator control means 150 is positioned on a handle member 155 rearwardly and upwardly extending from the cutting deck 133 and frame 135 . control means 150 preferably includes a control bar 158 having a central portion 159 with ends 154 of bar 158 bent downwardly at an angle of 90 degrees to the central portion 159 . a centrally located tube member 153 is welded to bar 158 and extends perpendicularly downward in the same plane as the ends 154 . a pivot shaft 169 is pivotally attached to handle 155 and aligned transverse to the direction of travel through axis 166 . a central stem 157 is welded perpendicular to shaft 169 . tube member 153 fits down within stem 157 and is secured to stem 157 to permit limited rotational displacement between tube member 153 and stem 157 . as a result , control bar 158 may be rotated about axis 156 , while pivot shaft 169 allows control bar 158 to be rotated forward and backward about axis 166 . control means 150 preferably further includes right and left control rods 151 ( a , b ). control rods 151 are each pivotally connected to an end portion 154 of control bar 158 . those skilled in the art will appreciate that control rods 151 are preferably coupled at their inner ends to direct - proportional displacement control means ( not shown ) for each pump assembly 2 . operator movement in the position of control means 150 relative to handle member 155 produces a movement of a swash plate control shaft ( not shown ) and results in a proportional swashplate 4 movement which changes pump 2 flow and / or direction . thus , overall movement of the mower 130 across the turf is controlled by the position of control means 150 relative to handle member 155 . each hydraulic system 200 includes a variable displacement pump assembly 2 that includes a cylinder block assembly 3 which houses variable swashplate 4 and input shaft 5 . hydraulic fluid is stored in reservoir 6 and enters the system flowing in the direction of arrow 7 through conduit 8 . an inlet filter 9 is required to insure that only clean fluid enters the system 200 . the fluid travels in the direction of arrow 10 through conduit 11 , where the fluid enters charge pump 12 . the charge pump 12 supplies fluid to keep the closed loop charged , preventing cavitation and providing cool oil flow 13 for the system 200 . the oil passes through orifice 14 to prevent the charge pump 12 from supercharging the hydrostatic pump 2 . the hydraulic fluid enters the cylinder block 3 . a case drain line 15 is provided to return oil to the reservoir that leaks past the pump shaft seals . either of the main hydraulic passages 17 or 18 can theoretically be at high pressure , which can typically exceed 1000 psi at normal operating conditions . fig1 shows oil flowing through conduit 17 and returning through conduit 18 which , in this configuration , provides forward travel of mower 130 . two charge check valves 20 and 21 are used to direct make up fluid into the low pressure side of the closed loop . in practice , a vehicle which primarily moves only in one direction , such as forward in the case of a lawnmower , would have conduit 17 as the high pressure side and conduit 18 as the low pressure side . a bypass line 22 interconnects conduit 17 with conduit 18 . referring also to fig2 - 4 , 12 and 13 , the pressure relief / tow valve 23 can be seen to reside in the bypass line 22 . the valve 23 includes a valve body 24 which is preferably formed of a single piece of a hard , durable material such as steel , which can be zinc plated for ward or corrosion resistance . the overall length 33 of valve body 24 is approximately 2 . 76 inches . in a preferred embodiment , the valve body 24 is formed to include a first end 25 having a hexagonal head with a distance between opposing faces of approximately 0 . 625 inch . the second end 35 of the valve body 24 includes a bore 135 having a depth 36 of approximately 0 . 94 inch and a diameter 37 of 0 . 122 inch . the entrance to the bore 135 includes a 30 ° chamfer 38 with a width 39 of 0 . 030 . the entrance to the bore can be configured in a number of ways including the use of larger chamfers . that is , the chamfer at the entry to bore 135 can be configured so as to have a wider opening to facilitate ease of insertion of the valve tip 52 , which is discussed below . selection of the desired chamfer at the entry to bore 135 affects assembly of the valve assembly 23 but does not affect performance of the valve once it is assembled and operating . perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 26 of the valve body 24 and passing through hex head 25 is a 0 . 266 inch diameter orifice 28 into which a screwdriver shaft or similar implement may be inserted to assist with manual rotation of the head 25 . the nominal distance 46 between the surface 27 and the longitudinal axis 47 of orifice 28 is 0 . 20 inch . as best seen in fig3 the surface 27 of head 25 transitions to a threaded shank 29 through a 0 . 03 inch radius 30 . the shank diameter 34 at the shoulder 30 is nominally 0 . 530 inch . the threads 31 have flats inclined at an angle 32 of approximately 30 °. the distance 147 between base 27 and the hex head surface 43 is about 1 . 82 inch . typically , a portion 49 of the valve body 24 is unthreaded , beginning at shoulder 50 . the distance 51 between shoulder 50 and surface 35 is , in one embodiment , approximately 0 . 80 inch . referring also to fig2 and 12 , details of the o - ring 98 and spacer 99 retaining groove 56 can be seen . the width 57 of groove 56 is approximately 0 . 159 inch . the groove floor 58 joins groove wall 59 through a radius 60 of approximately 0 . 010 inch . the edge 61 of the groove wall 59 is beveled at an angle 62 of about 5 °. the diameter 202 of the valve body 24 at the bottom of groove 56 is approximately 0 . 38 inch . an additional component of valve 23 which is best seen in fig5 and 12 is spring 63 . the spring is typically constructed of a resilient material such as 0 . 067 inch diameter music wire . the total number of complete coils 64 and 65 , for example , is nominally seven . the free length 66 is approximately 0 . 70 inch . the inside diameter 67 is about 0 . 250 inch , while the outside diameter 68 is 0 . 385 inch . these parameters result in a spring rate of 181 . 9 pounds per inch and a compressive force of 36 . 37 pounds when spring 63 is compressed to a length of 0 . 50 inches . when fully compressed , the spring 63 has a length of approximately 0 . 469 inch . the spring 63 fits over the valve tip 52 , which is discussed below . the valve tip or orifice engaging element 52 is preferably formed of a single piece of a hard , durable material such as steel , and is preferably hardened for improved strength and wear resistance . as seen in fig7 and 9 , the valve tip 52 is formed so as to have a shank region 71 and an enlarged head 72 . the overall length 88 of valve tip 52 is typically 1 . 63 inch . the length 87 of shank 71 is nominally 1 . 44 inch . the head 72 is formed partially as a truncated cone 81 having a relatively flat tip surface 73 having a diameter 74 of approximately 0 . 15 inch . the angle 80 of the cone 81 is approximately 54 °. the base 89 of the cone 81 is displaced a distance 90 of about 1 . 56 inch from the shank end wall 77 . the end wall 77 is beveled at an angle 78 of approximately 45 °. valve tip 52 also includes a groove 53 for accepting an o - ring 101 ( see fig1 ). groove 53 has a width 153 of 0 . 07 inch and a depth of approximately 0 . 13 inch . when o - ring 101 is placed in groove 53 , valve tip 52 is better retained in bore 135 of valve body 24 and is less likely to fall out of valve body 24 when valve assembly 23 is not secured in the hydraulic system as shown in fig1 . also , valve tip 52 will better follow valve body 24 as it is turned out of the receiving hydraulic system component . the outside diameter 82 of the shank 71 is approximately 0 . 22 inch , while the outside diameter 83 of the head 72 is about 0 . 35 inch , leaving an endwall 84 with a nominal wall of 0 . 06 inch . when valve 23 is assembled , the first end surface 85 of spring 63 abuts endwall 84 , while the second end surface 86 of spring 63 abuts the second end 35 of valve body 24 . the longitudinal axis 91 of valve tip 52 is substantially coaxial with valve body axis 26 and spring axis 69 when properly assembled as shown in fig1 . the effect of the spring 63 is to bias the valve tip 52 in the direction of arrow 92 . in operation , several additional components are needed to permit the practical use of the valve 23 . as seen in fig1 , the valve 23 is introduced into a cavity 93 that serves as a portion of the hydraulic fluid bypass line 22 . in the preferred embodiment , the cavity 93 is typically formed in a block 94 that serves as part of the housing for some portion of the pump assembly 2 . wall or cap 96 of block 94 is bored and tapped to receive the threaded portion 29 of the valve body 24 . one boundary 95 of cavity 93 contains a smooth bore 97 which is adapted to receive the unthreaded portion 49 of the valve body 24 . in order to create a fluid tight seal , an o - ring 98 is placed in groove 56 , with the o - ring 98 being held in place by spacer 99 . the o - ring 98 is positioned in groove 56 farther from the threaded section 29 and spacer 99 is positioned in groove 56 nearer to the threaded section 29 . as stated earlier , the spring 63 biases the valve tip 52 in the direction of arrow 92 , thereby urging the truncated conical head 81 to form a seal with the portion 100 of bypass line 22 . one additional component that is useful in securing the valve 23 to block 94 is shoulder nut 102 , best seen in fig1 , 11 and 12 . the nut 102 is formed with a hexagonal head having a dimension 103 between opposing faces of 0 . 938 inch . the head has an overall depth 104 of 0 . 52 inch , which includes a circular collar 105 having a height 107 of about 0 . 15 inch . the collar 105 has an outside diameter 106 of approximately 0 . 75 inch . the inner surface 120 of the collar 105 is threaded to engage the threads 29 of the valve body 24 . as seen in fig1 , a counterbore 108 is formed in wall 96 that is adapted to receive the collar 105 . in operation , when the engine 131 is engaged , the pumps 2 will be driven at the same speed . control means 150 includes a neutral position , as depicted in fig1 , whereby a negligible pressure differential is developed across the pump lines 17 , 18 . to commence overall mower 130 movement , the user control means 150 is actuated away from the neutral position to develop a hydraulic pressure differential across pump lines 17 , 18 . it is sufficient to understand the invention to state that as control bar 158 of control means 150 is pivoted about pivot shaft 169 fluid pressure to the wheel motors will result in an overall translation of the mower 130 across the turf , while as the control bar 158 is rotated about stem member 157 the mower 130 will experience rotational , right or left , motion . a forward rotation of control bar 158 , toward the mower deck 133 as viewed in fig1 , results in forward rotation of the wheel motors , while a rearward rotation of control bar 158 results in a reverse rotation of the wheel motors . combinations of control bar 158 pivot about shaft 169 and rotation about stem member 157 result in combinational translation and rotation of the mower 130 across the turf , thus allowing the user to control the overall machine 130 travel through curves , around corners , etc . the operation of the valve 23 can be understood with reference to fig1 , 13 and 14 . hydraulic system 200 includes a bypass line 22 which includes a chamber 93 that permits introduction of the valve 23 . in a preferred embodiment , the valve 23 is inserted into bore 97 by rotating head 25 until the shank end wall 77 of the valve tip 52 contacts the bottom of the bore 135 . this is achieved with a torque of approximately 50 inch pounds . this position corresponds to compression of the spring 63 , with the conical face 81 of the valve tip 52 being firmly pressed against the orifice 100 of bypass line 22 . the valve 23 is then loosened by rotating the head 25 in an opposite direction for half a turn , or approximately 180 °. the valve 23 is secured in this position by tightening the shoulder nut 102 to a torque value of between 60 and 120 inch pounds . when the motor 2 begins operation in the direction corresponding to forward vehicle movement , leg 109 of bypass line 22 is the high pressure side , while leg 110 of line 22 is the low pressure side . thus , any increase in hydraulic pressure results in a surge in the direction of arrow 111 ( see fig1 ). as the pressure reaches and exceeds a certain value , the valve tip 52 also moves in the direction of arrow 111 , limiting system pressure as some oil slips by valve face 81 of valve tip 52 . with the hydraulic pressure thus relieved , the valve tip 52 moves in the direction of arrow 92 in response to the biasing force of spring 63 , thus closing the bypass line 22 . as seen in fig1 , the actual pressure value at which the valve tip 52 moves away from seat 100 is dependent on the degree of compression of spring 63 , which is a direct function of the extent to which the valve 23 has been inserted into the chamber 93 . fig1 is a recording of actual pressure measurement data for two pumps and motors , one for the left wheel and one for the right wheel of a single test lawn mower , conducted simultaneously . for example , with the valve 23 inserted fully into chamber 93 of both right and left pumps , the peak pressure value 112 in the right hydraulic circuit reaches a peak value of over 1400 psi while the peak pressure 113 in the left side exceeds 1000 psi . at this setting , the shank end wall 77 of the valve tip 52 contacts the bottom of the bore 135 , meaning that the valve tip 81 is unable to retract in the direction of arrow 111 , as would be the case if a prior art tow valve having no pressure relief function was present in the chamber 93 . this indicates that the approximate peak pressure that occurs upon sudden pump engagement is 1000 psi for the left pump ( as denoted by peak value 113 ), and 1400 psi for the right pump ( as denoted by peak value 112 ). by loosening ( rotating ) the valve assembly 23 for each side 60 ° ( 1 / 6 turn ), the peak high pressure leg value 114 changes to 1200 psi in the left circuit and the high pressure leg value 115 is just over 800 psi in the right side . an additional loosening rotation of 60 ° ( 120 ° total ) for each valve 23 results in a left side peak 116 of about 900 psi and a right side peak 117 of about 500 psi . an additional 60 ° turn to loosen valves 23 ( 180 ° total ), reduces the right side surge value 119 to under 500 psi . as is clearly seen in the graph of fig1 , valves 23 can be set to a position which will dramatically reduce the peak pressure values which occur in the hydraulic circuit 200 , thereby reducing the tendency of the vehicle to lurch or jerk in response to sudden operator input to user control means 150 . the pressure differential between the two pumps is attributable to slight variations in the rolling resistance of wheels 132 , 134 . for example , if wheel 132 has a higher rolling resistance than wheel 134 , it will require more torque in order to initiate rotation . since torque is proportionally related to hydraulic pressure , the wheel with the higher rolling resistance will also require increased hydraulic pressure . the data shown in fig1 demonstrates this typical non - symmetry in pressure between the left and right pumps . several factors may contribute to this differential including : variations in hydraulic wheel motor efficiency ; non - symmetric weight distribution ; and unequal tire pressure . because these factors can rarely , if ever , be equalized , a pressure differential similar to that demonstrated in fig1 will almost always exist . nonetheless , the preferred embodiment permits the operator to adjust pressure relief valve 23 of each pump 2 independently to prevent excessive torque in either wheel 132 , 134 . the nominal setting for the valves 23 is one - half turn less than full insertion . this setting ensures an adequate pressure relief function for a wide area mower of typical size and weight , thus reducing the frequency and severity of the mower jerking upon rapid acceleration . however , this setting does not relieve so much pressure as to render the mower operating characteristics as sluggish . a lighter mower would require the valves 23 to be turned out more , perhaps as much as one full turn . conversely , a heavier mower might require the valves 23 to be turned in to a point near , but not at , full insertion . this particular setting might be at 1 / 6 turn counterclockwise from closed . in extremely hilly conditions with a heavy mower , it might be desirable to have the valves 23 closed all the way so as to provide full hydraulic power to the mower . obviously , the valve 23 setting should be determined by the operator , the operator &# 39 ; s supervisor , or the maintenance specialist of the mower . the terrain upon which the mower is operated will , obviously , be a factor in selecting a valve 23 setting . as for the tow valve function , it is desirable to have the valves 23 turned counterclockwise 41 / 2 and 51 / 2 turns from their fully closed position . in this position , the valve tips 52 are fully retracted from seats 100 on bypass lines 22 . with the valve tips 52 pulled away from seats 100 , oil can flow freely between lines 109 and 110 of bypass circuits 22 . thus , when mower 130 is moved with its engine off and the valves 23 retracted , oil flow generated by the rotating motors is free to flow between lines 17 and 18 of the hydraulic circuits 200 through bypass circuits 22 . this allows the operator to push or pull the mower 130 with a minimal amount of resistance since the oil can bypass the variable displacement pumps 2 which have a high degree of resistance when they are in neutral . after the mower 130 has been moved , the operator can close the valves 23 back to the desired position for operation as pressure relief valves . a preferred embodiment of the invention is described above . those skilled in the art will recognize that many embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention . variations and modifications of the various parts and assemblies can certainly be made and still fall within the scope of the invention . thus , the invention is limited only to the apparatus recited in the following claims and equivalents thereof . | 8 |
in the following description , for purposes of explanation and not limitation , specific details are set forth ( such as particular signalling steps ) in order to provide a thorough understanding of the technique presented herein . it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present technique may be practised in other embodiments that depart from these specific details . for example , while the embodiments will primarily be described in the context of an mme / sgsn ; however , this does not rule out the use of less or more devices to implement the present invention . moreover , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the services , functions and steps explained herein below may be implemented using software functioning in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor , or using an application specific integrated circuit ( asic ), a digital signal processor ( dsp ) or general purpose computer . it will also be appreciated that while the following embodiments are described in the context of methods and devices , the technique presented herein may also be embodied in a computer program product as well as in a system comprising a computer processor and a memory coupled to the processor , wherein the memory is encoded with one or more programs that execute the services , functions and steps disclosed herein . fig6 a and 6b show a first embodiment of an apparatus 2023 ( as an example , an mme or sgsn ) for relocating an sgw 2025 associated to a ue ( not shown ). fig6 a illustrates the components comprised in the apparatus 2023 ( and optionally , an enb 2021 , a source sgw 2025 and a target sgw 2026 ), and fig6 b shows the interaction between the components shown in fig6 a . as shown in fig6 a , the apparatus 2023 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 each comprise an own core functionality ( e . g . a central processing unit ( cpu ), a dedicated circuitry or a software module ) 202 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 3 , 5 or 6 ), a memory ( and / or database ) 202 x 2 , a ( n optional ) transmitter 202 x 3 and a ( n optional ) receiver 202 x 4 . in turn , the apparatus 2023 comprises a trigger 20235 , an updater 20236 , an optional performer 20237 and an optional continuer 20238 . as indicated by the dashed extensions of the functional blocks of the cpus 202 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 3 , 5 or 6 ), the trigger 20235 , the updater 20236 , the performer 20237 and the continuer 20238 ( of the apparatus 2023 ), as well as the memory 202 x 2 , the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 may at least partially be functionalities running on the cpus 202 x 1 , or may alternatively be separate functional entities or means controlled by the cpu 202 x 1 and supplying the same with information . the cpus 202 x 1 may be configured , for example by software residing in the memories 202 x 2 , to process various data inputs and to control the functions of the memory 202 x 2 , the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 ( as well as the trigger 20235 , the updater 20236 , the performer 20237 and the continuer 20238 ( of the apparatus 2023 ). the memory 202 x 2 may serve for storing code means for carrying out the methods according to the aspects disclosed herein , when run on the cpu 202 x 1 . it is to be noted that the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 may alternatively be provided as an integral transceiver , as is shown in fig6 a . it is further to be noted that the transmitters / receivers may be implemented as physical transmitters / receivers for transceiving via an air interface ( e . g ., between the network apparatus 2023 and the ue 201 ), as routing entities / interfaces between network elements ( e . g ., for transmitting / receiving data packets between apparatus 2023 and sgw 2025 , 2026 when disposed as separate network functionalities ), as functionalities for writing / reading information into / from a given memory area ( e . g . between enb 2021 and sgw 2025 , 2026 when disposed as an integral network entity 2001 ) or as any suitable combination of the above . at least one of the above - described trigger 20235 , updater 20236 , performer 20237 and continuer 20238 ( of the apparatus 2023 ), as well as the apparatus 2023 itself , or the respective functionalities carried out , may also be implemented as a chipset , module or subassembly . as shown in fig6 c , the following steps are performed for each session ( i . e ., for each pdn connection ): step 1 : the trigger 20235 of the mme 2023 triggers the relocation of the source sgw 2025 by sending a create session request message to the new ( target ) sgw 2026 . step 2 : the target sgw 2026 may update the pgw ( not shown ) by a modify bearer request message and the pgw responds with a modify bearer response message . this causes the pgw 2027 to start sending downlink packets via the target sgw 2026 . step 3 : the target sgw 2026 acknowledges the request by sending a create session response message to the receiver 20234 of the mme 2023 . the message includes the uplink s1 gtp endpoints of the target sgw 2026 . steps 4 and 5 : the updater 20236 of the mme 2023 updates the ip address of the target sgw 2026 and the teid information in the enb 2021 used for uplink by using ue context modification request to which the enb 201 may respond to . this causes new uplink data to follow the new path via the target sgw 2026 . in case the procedure is executed in idle mode , steps 4 and 5 may be skipped . step 6 : the transmitter 20233 of the mme 2023 deletes the session in the source sgw 2025 to free up unused resources by transmitting a delete session request . note that the proposed procedure in the first embodiment may use messages that are already standardized , except for message ( s ) in steps 4 and 5 which may require the definition of a new information element ( ie ) to an existing message ( or the definition of a new message ). as an alternative , it may be possible to bundle steps 4 and 5 together for all pdn connections to reduce signalling to the enb 2021 . in that case , step 6 would be executed after steps 4 and 5 for all pdn connections . in case the sgw relocation is triggered by the activation of a new pdn connection , it is possible to combine the two procedures in the following way as a further optimization : the receiver 20233 of the mme 2023 may first get ( or receive ) a request for the activation of a new pdn connection and determines to relocate the sgw as a result of that . the performer 20237 of the mme 2023 may perform the sgw relocation procedure for the existing connections . finally , the continuer 20238 of the mme 2023 may continue with the activation of the new pdn connection using the target sgw . the advantage of this optimization is that the new pdn connection will use the new target sgw 2026 from the beginning , avoiding the use of the old sgw 2025 for a short period of time . for 3 rd generation ( 3g ) direct tunneling , the procedure is the same with the following small differences : instead of the enb 2021 , a radio network controller ( rnc ) may be provided . instead of the mme 2023 , an sgsn 2023 may be provided . steps 4 and 5 may use the radio access bearer ( rab ) assignment request / response messages . in the case of 2 nd generation ( 2g ) or 3g without direct tunneling , the sgsn 2023 will be automatically aware of the address and teid of the new sgw 2026 where uplink user plane packets should be sent to , so in that case there is no need for steps 4 and 5 . note that it is possible to use another message between the ( e ) nb 2021 and the mme / sgsn 2023 or to define a new message type . messages in steps 4 and 5 may require new functionality . other messages in the procedure may already exist . fig7 a and 7b show a second embodiment of an apparatus 2023 ( as an example , an mme or sgsn ) for relocating an sgw 2025 associated to a ue ( not shown ). fig7 a illustrates the components comprised in the apparatus 2023 ( and optionally , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 ), and fig7 b shows the interaction between the components shown in fig7 a . as shown in fig7 a , the apparatus 2023 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 each comprise an own core functionality 202 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 3 , 5 or 6 ), a memory ( and / or database ) 202 x 2 , a ( n optional ) transmitter 202 x 3 and a ( n optional ) receiver 202 x 4 . in turn , the apparatus 2023 comprises the trigger 20235 , a setter 20236 a , a timer 20236 b and a requester 20236 c . as indicated by the dashed extensions of the functional blocks of the cpus 202 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 3 , 5 or 6 ), the trigger 20235 , the setter 20236 a , the timer 20236 b and the requester 20236 c ( of the apparatus 2023 ), as well as the memory 202 x 2 , the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 may at least partially be functionalities running on the cpus 202 x 1 , or may alternatively be separate functional entities or means controlled by the cpu 202 x 1 and supplying the same with information . the cpus 202 x 1 may be configured , for example by software residing in the memories 202 x 2 , to process various data inputs and to control the functions of the memory 202 x 2 , the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 ( as well as the trigger 20235 , the setter 20236 a , the timer 20236 b and the requester 20236 c ( of the apparatus 2023 ). the memory 202 x 2 may serve for storing code means for carrying out the methods according to the aspects disclosed herein , when run on the cpu 202 x 1 . it is to be noted that the transmitter 202 x 3 and the receiver 202 x 4 may alternatively be provided as an integral transceiver , as is shown in fig7 a . it is further to be noted that the transmitters / receivers may be implemented in the forms described in the first embodiment . at least one of the above - described trigger 20235 , setter 20236 a , timer 20236 b and requester 20236 c ( of the apparatus 2023 ), as well as the apparatus 2023 itself , or the respective functionalities carried out , may also be implemented as a chipset , module or subassembly . another alternative to perform sgw relocation for the purpose of transport optimization ( or other reasons , such as operation and maintenance , o & amp ; m , actions , sgw failure or load balancing ) is that the setter 20236 a of the mme 2023 may set a flag for the given ue selected for sgw relocation , and the next time this ue undergoes a mobility procedure , this flag will , by the trigger 20235 of the mme 2023 , trigger the sgw reallocation in the mme 2023 as defined for the existing mobility procedures . yet another alternative is that the timer 20236 b causes the mme 2023 to wait until the selected ue becomes idle and then performs the sgw relocation in idle mode as described above . this may also be a part of the flow chart in fig8 g . however , this may incur an unpredictable delay and hence it may not be useable for enterprise local ip access . due to the delay , it also has higher complexity in the mme 2023 to manage the process . another alternative may reside in using a mechanism by the mme 2023 to enforce a path switch request from the enb based on which the process in fig7 c may be applied again for sgw relocation . this would comprise that the requester 20236 c of the mme 2023 sends a new message to the enb 2021 ( step 1 ), requesting the enb 2021 to initiate a path switch by sending a path switch request to the mme 2023 ( step 2 ). this would trigger steps ( or messages ) 1 to 5 , 7 a and 7 b in the flow chart of fig3 . the procedure could be proprietary or standardized . in the latter case , the new message from the mme 2023 to the enb 2021 would have to be standardized . this procedure is illustrated in fig7 c , wherein it is to be noted that steps 2 to 9 of fig7 c correspond to steps 1 to 5 , 7 a and 7 b in fig3 . however , this alternative is not more complex than the proposed main alternative in the first embodiment above , since it requires the definition of a new message on the s1 interface . compared to that , it seems simpler to pass the necessary information to the enb 2021 already in a new s1 parameter according to the first embodiment . another issue is that this approach is limited to lte and not applicable in 3g where there is no corresponding procedure to the x2 handover . fig8 a , 8 b , 8 c , 8 d , 8 e and 8 f show a third embodiment of the apparatus 2023 ( as an example , mme or sgsn ) for relocating an sgw 2025 associated to a ue 201 . fig8 a , 8 c and 8 e illustrate the components comprised in the apparatus 2023 ( and optionally , the ue 201 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 ), and fig8 b , 8 d and 8 f show the interaction between the components shown in fig8 a , 8 c and 8 e . as shown in fig8 a , 8 c and 8 e , the apparatus 2023 , the ue 201 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 each comprise an own core functionality 20 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 21 , 23 , 25 or 26 ), a memory ( and / or database ) 20 x 2 , a ( n optional ) transmitter 20 x 3 and a ( n optional ) receiver 20 x 4 . as shown in fig8 a , the apparatus 2023 comprises an obtainer 20235 , an evaluator 20236 , a performer 20237 , an optional detector 20238 , an optional notifier 20239 , an optional determiner 202310 and an optional timer 202311 . as shown in fig8 c , the apparatus 2023 comprises , in addition or alternatively , an optional reducer 202312 , an optional counter 202313 , an optional setter 202314 , an optional monitor 202315 , an optional estimator 202316 and an optional delayer 202317 . finally , as shown in fig8 e , the apparatus 2023 ( further ) comprises , in addition or alternatively , an optional selector 202318 ( as a part of the evaluator 20236 ), an optional trigger 202320 and an optional configurator 202322 ; and the ue 201 comprises an optional activator 20119 and an optional deactivator 20121 . as indicated by the dashed extensions of the functional blocks of the cpus 20 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 21 , 23 , 25 or 26 ), the obtainer 20235 , the evaluator 20236 , the performer 20237 , the detector 20238 , the notifier 20239 , the determiner 202310 , the timer 202311 , the reducer 202312 , the counter 202313 , the setter 202314 , the monitor 202315 , the estimator 202316 , the delayer 202317 , the selector 202318 , the trigger 202320 and the configurator 202322 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and the activator 20119 and the deactivator 20121 ( of the ue 201 ), as well as the memory 20 x 2 , the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 may at least partially be functionalities running on the cpus 20 x 1 , or may alternatively be separate functional entities or means controlled by the cpu 20 x 1 and supplying the same with information . the cpus 20 x 1 may be configured , for example by software residing in the memories 20 x 2 , to process various data inputs and to control the functions of the memory 20 x 2 , the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 ( as well as the obtainer 20235 , the evaluator 20236 , the performer 20237 , the detector 20238 , the notifier 20239 , the determiner 202310 , the timer 202311 , the reducer 202312 , the counter 202313 , the setter 202314 , the monitor 202315 , the estimator 202316 , the delayer 202317 , the selector 202318 , the trigger 202320 and the configurator 202322 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and the activator 20119 and the deactivator 20121 ( of the ue 201 )). the memory 20 x 2 may serve for storing code means for carrying out the methods according to the aspects disclosed herein , when run on the cpu 20 x 1 . it is to be noted that the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 may alternatively be provided as an integral transceiver , as is shown in fig8 a , 8 c and 8 e . it is further to be noted that the transmitters / receivers may be implemented in the forms described in the first embodiment . at least one of the above - described obtainer 20235 , evaluator 20236 , performer 20237 , detector 20238 , notifier 20239 , determiner 202310 , timer 202311 , reducer 202312 , counter 202313 , setter 202314 , monitor 202315 , estimator 202316 , delayer 202317 , selector 202318 , trigger 202320 and configurator 202322 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and activator 20119 and deactivator 20121 ( of the ue 201 ), as well as the apparatus 2023 or ue 201 itself , or the respective functionalities carried out , may also be implemented as a chipset , module or subassembly . the approach is depicted in the flowchart in fig8 g . it consists of 3 important phases : the obtainer 20235 of the mme 2023 gets the information that triggers the evaluation procedure for sgw relocation ( step 8 - 0 ). the evaluator 20236 of the mme 2023 evaluates whether sgw relocation is beneficial ( step 8 - 5 ). the performer 20237 of the mme 2023 performs the sgw relocation if the evaluation above is positive ( steps 8 - 7 and 8 - 11 ). the evaluation procedure may trigger a sgw relocation procedure if the result of the evaluation is a different sgw 2026 than the currently selected sgw 2025 ( optionally with a required margin in terms of how much better the different sgw is than the old one ). getting information for sgw evaluation ( step 8 - 0 ) several circumstances may trigger the mme 2023 ( or sgsn 2023 in case of geran or utran ) to initiate the sgw relocation procedure . there are seven examples to this effect . the detector 20238 of the mme 2023 detects that the traffic volume or traffic compositions generated by the ue has changed significantly ( either the destination or the composition of the traffic , e . g ., by opening / closing gbr bearers ). a typical example is if the ue 201 has several pdn connections to more than one pgw and the traffic change makes another pgw become more important than the one combined with the current sgw 2025 . then relocating the sgw so that it is combined with the most important pgw would be beneficial . the mme 2023 may be made aware of changed traffic volumes by collecting long - or short - term traffic statistics from the subscriber . the former would be useful e . g ., to infer whether a certain subscriber generates different traffic patterns to different pgws in different times of day ( or days of week ). the latter would be used to infer sudden or unexpected changes in subscriber behaviour . however , it is suggested , that in the simplest variant the detector 20238 of the mme 2023 would just detect the changes in the subscriber traffic by collecting information about the opened / closed bearers ( qos class indicator ( qci ) of the bearers may be a good indicator of the traffic type ). the receiver 20233 of the mme 2023 receives that the ue 201 opens a new pdn connection or closes an existing one ( the mme 2023 is involved in the signalling so it gets notified by any such event ). also in this situation a typical example is that after the change of pdn connectivity , the current sgw 2025 is no longer optimal , e . g . because it is no longer combined with the most important pgw or no longer combined with any pgw . then relocating the sgw so that it is combined with the most important pgw would be beneficial . when the ue 201 transitions from idle to connected mode , the detector 20238 of the mme 2023 detects that the ue 201 has moved to a new location ( e . g . indicated by a cell identity ( ecgi ) or tracking area identity ( tai ) conveyed from an enb 2021 e . g . in an s1ap message ), where the user plane transmission path could potentially be optimized by sgw relocation ( even if the ue 201 still remains in the same sgw sa ). due to the selected ip traffic offload ( sipto ) feature , the sgw relocation needs to take place to a special sgw ( thus , the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 determines the target sgw 2026 ), and the relocation needs to be done at a different time ( such as in idle mode ) in order not to disturb on - going traffic flows . the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 determines that a certain sgw 2025 is too heavily loaded ( it either sends overload indication or the notifier 20239 of the mme 2023 receives an indirect notification by e . g ., rejecting some requests ) and the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 decides that it is preferable to relocate some ues 201 to other sgws 2026 . the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 determines that a failure occurs in the sgw 2025 of the ue 201 , so that the sgw 2023 loses parts of its capacity , which makes it preferable to relocate ues to other sgws . the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 determines ( or is notified of ) the changes by the o & amp ; m system ( or indirectly by overload indications or rejections from the sgw 2025 ). the determiner 202310 of the mme 2023 determines that due to scheduled o & amp ; m actions , the sgw 2025 of the ue 201 will soon wholly or partly be taken down for service / maintenance or upgrade and to avoid service interruptions , ues allocated to the sgw should be relocated to other sgws 2026 . the receiver 20233 of the mme 2023 should get sgw load information in order to be able to off - load sgws considered to be loaded above an allowed threshold . this generally implies getting two quantities : the capacity limit of each gw , and the current load of each gw . note that the ue 201 location may be learnt by the mme during handovers , taus or service requests hence the triggers that indicate ue 201 movements are rather frequent . therefore , as shown in fig8 c and 8d , the reducer 202312 of the mme 2023 reduces the number of triggers to the sgw evaluation procedure based on subscriber mobility or traffic changes . one possibility is to limit the time window when the ue 201 movements may trigger a sgw evaluation ( e . g ., a five - minute interval every hour during which the ues giving a trigger are evaluated ). however , this may cause that some of the ues will never be evaluated from the sgw relocation perspective . an alternative method would be to count the number of location events by the subscriber and perform an evaluation after every n th such event . alternatively , one may use an “ evaluation gap ” timer 202311 which prohibits evaluations during a certain time after an evaluation . the timer 202311 of the mme 2023 may be complemented by a flag which is set , by the setter 202314 of the mme 2023 , if one or more change has occurred during this “ gap ” in which case a new evaluation would be performed , by the performer 20237 of the mme 2023 , at the end of the gap after which the timer 202311 of the mme 2023 once again would “ close ” the evaluation possibility for a prescribed time . the duration of the timer could be set such that the total rate of evaluations becomes acceptable . if the number of triggers for the sgw evaluation is still high , the load caused by sgw evaluations may further be reduced by : maintaining , by the memory 20232 of the mme 2023 , a list of already evaluated locations or conditions ; monitoring , by the monitor 202315 , if they occur again within a certain time , the performer 20237 should not trig an evaluation . the time during which a condition is “ uninteresting ” could be set such that the total rate of evaluations becomes acceptable . restrict the sgw evaluations when the load ( mainly the processing load ) of the mme is high . with this example , the estimator 202316 of the mme 2023 estimates the current processing load of the sgw 2025 every time it receives a sgw evaluation trigger . if the load is too high , the performer 20237 of the mme 2023 either skips the sgw evaluation or delays it , by the delayer 202317 of the mme 2023 , until the load has decreased below a threshold . the decision on sgw evaluation could further be modulated by : the result of the previous sgw evaluation for the given ue . the ue subscription type . currently established services / bearers for the given ue . current tracking area ( ta ) or ta list . the above restrictions / limitations of the sgw evaluation frequency would of course exclude cases where sgw evaluations have to be performed , e . g . sgw evaluation in conjunction with o & amp ; m action involving the current sgw , or sgw evaluation in conjunction with attaching ues . as shown in fig8 e and 8f , the role of the sgw evaluation procedure is to select , by the selector 202318 , the most optimal sgw 2026 for a given bearer . this procedure is based on extensive information in the mme : gw capability and configuration information , including capability to act as a combined sgw / pgw node and traffic off - load capability . topology information , i . e ., the locations of sgw , pgw and asbr nodes relative to each other as well as relative to the enb the ue is presently attached to . gw load information . information about active apns and bearers including qos parameters and requirements . the first step is the identification of the candidate sgws 2026 that requires basically the same capability and configuration information that is needed at attach , so the information may be received by the standard dns procedure as described in 3gpp ts 29 . 303 v8 . 2 . 0 . in the next step , the evaluator 20236 evaluates the sgws based on the above information , and the selector 202318 selects the most optimal sgw 2026 considering all criteria . the user plane path evaluation and optimization procedure may be based on information about the location of the gws in the network topology . one possibility is to use a topology database 20232 in the mme 2023 specifying the position of all gws ( including their ip addresses ) relative to the different cells . a simpler solution is that the obtainer 20235 of the mme 2023 obtains the would - be optimal sgw for the given ue by initiating the same process as for a sgw reallocation , but without the performer 20237 effectively performing the reallocation , just performing the selection phase . note that performing the standard dns procedure as described in 3gpp ts 29 . 303 v8 . 2 . 0 would typically not yield enough information to select the most optimal sgw . moreover , assuming that the sgw selection process in the mme 2023 may combine a number of “ soft ” selection criteria when evaluating ( by evaluator 20236 ) the candidate gws 2026 ( i . e ., not only the placement in the topology , but also other information like load information , qos requirement , combined node etc . ), all information available in the mme may be reused in the evaluation procedure . a specific case that should be mentioned is the evaluation of sgws for traffic off - load purposes . methods for selected ip traffic off - load from the mobile network close to the attachment point ( i . e ., typically below configured pgws in the network ) are currently under standardization ). an appropriate node where the off - load function may be placed or connected with is the sgw , because it has : bearer information . support for mobility below the sgw . support for i - rat handovers . charging support . etc . it is , however , not likely that all sgws in a network would connect to such a traffic off - load function . one possible solution for sgw selection is to configure ( by configurator 202322 of the mme 2023 ) the traffic off - load capability of the sgws either directly in the mme or in the dns together with the traffic policy on which off - load applies . the sgw evaluation process would then take also this information into account in selecting a proper sgw for a given bearer or pdn connection . note that such optimization may be very efficient not only during attach , but e . g ., also during subscriber mobility . also , closing pdn connections or bearers may make off - load capability no longer necessary , thus allowing for the selection of a more optimal sgw on the transport path . regarding sgw relocation for node off - load purposes , it should be noted that the purpose is to relocate already allocated users to other sgws 2026 in order to obtain a more optimal distribution of users , taking the above criteria and potential desired benefits into account . such re - location decisions may be made proactively , relocating a batch of subscribers in order to free capacity for coming subscribers which may be more optimal to allocate to the concerned sgw . more likely , however , the relocation decisions would be made on a case - by - case basis , i . e . when a user is to be allocated to a gw , the mme 2023 may consider whether it would be beneficial to relocate another user in order to make the required capacity available for the new user . note that special care should be taken when relocating sgws with off - load capability ( sipto , selected ip traffic offload ) due to the fact that on - going flows cannot be relocated to a new sgw ( the traffic off - load function acts as a local anchor for the off - loaded flows e . g ., through network address translating ( nat - ting ) the flows to the external network ). therefore , in the cases when it is suspected that a part of the subscriber traffic is off - loaded through the given sgw 2025 , special care should be taken not to reallocate the sgw until all these flows are completed . this may be done in the simplest way , as suggested in fig8 g , by waiting ( by the timer 202311 ) until the given ue 201 becomes idle . at the beginning , it is to be noted that the fourth embodiment is closely related to the third embodiment . in other words , the fourth embodiment may be considered as the tenth and eleventh example of the third embodiment . fig9 a and 9b show a fourth embodiment of an apparatus 2023 ( as an example , mme or sgsn ) for relocating an sgw 2025 associated to the ue 201 . fig9 a illustrates the components comprised in the apparatus 2023 ( and optionally , the ue 201 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 ), and fig9 b shows the interaction between the components shown in fig9 a . as shown in fig9 a , the apparatus 2023 , the ue 201 , the enb 2021 , the source sgw 2025 and the target sgw 2026 each comprise an own core functionality 20 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 21 , 23 , 25 or 26 ), a memory ( and / or database ) 20 x 2 , a ( n optional ) transmitter 20 x 3 and a ( n optional ) receiver 20 x 4 . in turn , the apparatus 2023 comprises the obtainer 20235 , the evaluator 20236 , the performer 20237 and an optional notifier 202323 , and the source sgw 2025 comprises an optional forwarder 202524 . as indicated by the dashed extensions of the functional blocks of the cpus 20 x 1 ( wherein x = 1 , 21 , 23 , 25 or 26 ), the evaluator 20236 , the performer 20237 and the notifier 202323 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and the forwarder 202524 ( of the source sgw 2025 ), as well as the memory 20 x 2 , the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 may at least partially be functionalities running on the cpus 20 x 1 , or may alternatively be separate functional entities or means controlled by the cpu 20 x 1 and supplying the same with information . the cpus 20 x 1 may be configured , for example by software residing in the memories 20 x 2 , to process various data inputs and to control the functions of the memory 20 x 2 , the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 ( as well as the evaluator 20236 , the performer 20237 and the notifier 202323 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and the forwarder 202524 ( of the source sgw 2025 )). the memory 20 x 2 may serve for storing code means for carrying out the methods according to the aspects disclosed herein , when run on the cpu 20 x 1 . it is to be noted that the transmitter 20 x 3 and the receiver 20 x 4 may alternatively be provided as an integral transceiver , as is shown in fig9 a . it is further to be noted that the transmitters / receivers may be implemented in the forms described in the first embodiment . at least one of the above - described evaluator 20236 , performer 20237 and notifier 202323 ( of the apparatus 2023 ) and forwarder 202524 ( of the source sgw 2025 ) as well as the apparatus 2023 or source sgw 2025 itself , or the respective functionalities carried out , may also be implemented as a chipset , module or subassembly . for the purpose of the tenth example , note that the functionalities are shown in fig8 e and 8f . for the case of an enterprise network with local ip access feature , the following trigger conditions can be applied for the use of the new serving gw relocation procedure . when the activator 20119 of the ue 201 ( see fig8 e ) successfully activates a local connection and the sgw is not in the enterprise local gw ( the apparatus 2023 may detect this via detector 20238 ), the trigger 202320 of the mme / sgsn 2023 triggers the relocation of the sgw into the local gw in the enterprise network . when the deactivator 20121 of the ue 201 ( see fig8 e ) deactivates ( all of the ) local connections ( the apparatus 2023 may detect this via detector 20238 ), the sgw role can be relocated from the local gw to the operator &# 39 ; s gw . this condition is optional , and improves signalling load if mobility into / out of the enterprise network is more frequent than the setup / release of a local connection ; or this can be used to decrease the load on the local gw . additionally , when moving into the enterprise network , regular sgw relocation to the local gw needs to be performed ( by performer 20237 ) in case the ue 201 has a local connection ( i . e ., an originally remote connection to the local gw becomes local ). when moving out of the enterprise network and the sgw was local , regular sgw relocation is performed ( by performer 20237 ) to the operator sgw . the conditions above require that the mme / sgsn 2023 actually knows when the ue 201 enters or leaves the enterprise network . that is fulfilled in connected mode , and also in idle mode if the enterprise network uses a separate ra / ta that is unique to the enterprise . additionally in lte , it is necessary not to use the ta list feature between the enterprise ta and the surrounding ta . if these conditions are not met in idle mode due to operator network configuration with the aim of reducing the ta / ra signalling , the mme / sgsn 2023 may not become aware when the ue 201 enters or leaves the enterprise network . in that case , the following solution can be used : each time the ue 201 becomes idle and the sgw 2025 is in the local enterprise gw , the sgw 2025 is relocated to the operator sgw 2026 . each time the ue becomes connected within the enterprise network and has a local connection , the sgw 2025 is relocated into the local gw 2026 . note that this implies that for a short duration packets on the local connection may pass via the operator sgw ; but this is not expected to cause any significant performance degradation . with the above conditions it is possible to avoid the tau / rau signalling ( based on operator configuration ) when the ue 201 enters or leaves the enterprise network . while this reduces tau / rau signalling for the ue 201 , it increases the amount of sgw relocation signalling in the network . the following optimization is for the case described in the previous section when tau / rau in idle mode cannot be guaranteed at the enterprise network border . this optimization reduces the number of sgw relocations . in this embodiment , the sgw 2025 is not relocated to the operator network when the ue 201 becomes idle in the enterprise network . instead , the following conditions apply : each time the ue 201 becomes connected within the enterprise network and has a local connection but the sgw 2025 is in the operator network , the sgw 2025 is relocated into the local gw 2026 . again , this implies that for a short duration packets on the local connection may pass via the operator sgw ; but this is not expected to cause any significant performance degradation . each time the ue 201 becomes connected outside the enterprise network but the sgw 2025 is in the enterprise local gw , the sgw 2025 is relocated into the operator sgw 2026 . note that this implies that for a short duration packets on the operator connection may pass via the local enterprise sgw . this may be acceptable as long as the operator network and the enterprise network are joined by a sufficiently high bandwidth and low delay connection , so that the short routing detour via the enterprise sgw does not significantly affect the performance of the operator connection . this variant may require a further mechanism : the local sgw must be able to accept s1 - u uplink packets on both its local enterprise ip address , and its operator - assigned ip address associated with its ip secure ( ipsec ) tunnel . the mme / sgsn 2023 may have to be able to use the local enterprise ip address in case the ue 201 is in the enterprise network , or the operator assigned ip address in case the ue 201 is outside the enterprise network . the local enterprise ip address is known to the mme 2023 as explicitly announced by the sgw 2025 on s11 / s4 and the operator assigned ip address may be known to the mme / sgsn 2023 as either being identical to the pgw is user plane address in case it is collocated with a pgw ; or be identical to the control plane sgw address which is the endpoint of the s11 / s4 signalling . as an alternative , it is possible to extend s11 / s4 to let the sgw explicitly inform the mme / sgsn 2023 about the two ip addresses , and possibly also about the two separate teids . note also that this approach additionally requires that the operator routing and firewall rules are such that the enterprise sgw is reachable by ( e ) nodebs 2021 outside the enterprise network which might not always be the case . also , this requires that a macro ran is upgraded to support the s1 / iu message defined for this procedure . the above approach might be applicable in cases when the sgw 2025 ( and possibly also the pgw ) is managed by the operator and is actually located in the operator network . that is , the operator uses a sgw 2025 close to the enterprise network , but still within the operator network . the pgw may also be in the operator network , and vpn tunneling can be used to forward traffic to / from the enterprise network . in that case , there is no need to deal with two sgw addresses , as only the operator address is used and there is no separate local address . yet another extension is to allow the sgw relocation procedure to take place during service request , which would further improve the flexibility of sgw relocations ( see fig9 c ): service request message is sent from ue 201 to mme 2023 ( and is received by the receiver 20233 ), and optional authentication may take place . the mme 2023 decides to relocate sgw 2025 based on the ue 201 current location and other information . the new sgw 2026 establishes context . new sgw 2026 notifies pgw 2027 about its new ip address and teid . new sgw 2026 acknowledges to mme 2023 and informs it about the new teids . context is established in the enb 2021 using the s1 - u termination of the new sgw 2026 . the old sgw 2025 is notified about the address and teid of the current enb 2021 , so that it can forward ( by the forwarder 202524 of the source sgw 2025 ) any buffered downlink data towards the enb 2021 . this is important for network initiated service request ( i . e ., paging ). if the service request is not network initiated , i . e . the mme has not received any downlink data notification from the old sgw 2025 , this step can be skipped . the new sgw 2026 is notified about the address and teid of the current enb 2021 . this step can be performed in parallel to step 13 . a similar procedure can be applied for 3g . note that the sgw relocation during the service request procedure may make the relocation longer . this is especially true for the roaming case as the signalling would involve a round - trip towards the home plmn ( hplmn ). hence it may be possible to limit the usage of this type of sgw relocation to non - roaming users . with the possibility of sgw relocation during service request , it becomes easier to allow deployments without ta / ra at the enterprise coverage border . the following conditions can be applied . each time a service request is performed outside the enterprise network and the sgw is in the enterprise network , it is relocated to the operator &# 39 ; s sgw . each time a service request is performed inside the enterprise network and the ue has a local connection , the sgw is relocated to the local sgw in the operator network . note that the above conditions are of course to be applied with those in the third embodiment with respect to connected mode mobility and activation / release of the local pdn connection . the present invention may require updates to the mme / sgsn 2023 to support the new procedures and the associated trigger conditions . in addition , the standalone sgw relocation procedure requires upgrading the ran nodes to support the new message . for enterprise local ip access , initially it is sufficient if the h ( e ) nodebs forming an enterprise network ( as well as the mme / sgsn 2023 ) are upgraded to support the new procedure . this allows running the new procedure within the enterprise network which is sufficient , except for the optimization in the third embodiment above which is not essential . in later phases , ( e ) nodebs in the macro ran may also be upgraded which expands the applicability of the new procedure . for transport optimizations , in case the ran does not support the necessary message in connected mode , it is possible to wait with the optimization until the terminal becomes idle . the proposed solution enables relocation of sgw 2025 , triggered by any event considered by the serving mme for other reasons than that the ue 201 has left the service area of its current sgw . this yields the following advantages : the user plane path is optimized for moving subscribers or change in the traffic conditions or pdn connectivity . the benefits of a combined sgw / pgw node are exploited . a certain sgw ( e . g ., for maintenance or load rebalancing ) or the mobile network below the ip point of presence ( also referred to as selected ip traffic offload or sipto ) is alleviated of load . allocated ues are moved from a sgw planned / scheduled to be taken down for o & amp ; m , service , or upgrade . for enterprise local ip access , with the help of the new standalone sgw relocation procedure , it is possible to limit the number of sgw relocation events , and limit them to the cases when it is actually necessary . this decreases the signalling load , and also the load on a given ( local ) sgw . this may also reduce the configuration complexity on mme / sgsn because it avoids the need to configure a priori which users may need sgw relocation later on . as a result of the more efficient handling of sgw relocations , it becomes possible to avoid alternative complex solutions for the enterprise local ip access case with standalone gw . in this way the solution helps reducing system complexity and avoids divergent architecture development paths that risk market fragmentation and interoperability issues . in addition , the present invention in view of ta / ra optimization , including the possibility of sgw relocation during service request further reduce the signalling impact in scenarios including enterprise networks . the extension of service request procedure with sgw relocation would make the relationship of ta lists and sgw service areas less coupled . to date , a ta list must be fully included in the sgw &# 39 ; s current service area ; that restriction could be lifted as we could perform sgw relocation when the ue becomes connected ( although that causes some extra delay ). it is believed that the advantages of the technique presented herein will be fully understood from the foregoing description , and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form , constructions and arrangement of the exemplary aspects thereof without departing from the scope of the invention or without sacrificing all of its advantageous effects . because the technique presented herein can be varied in many ways , it will be recognized that the invention should be limited only by the scope of the claims that follow . | 7 |
referring to fig1 , 2 , 3 and 4 , shown therein is but one embodiment of the method of the present invention . as shown in fig1 and 2 , the first step in the present invention is the securing of the file histories for a predetermined fire area to be analyzed . by way of example , we shall assume that the predetermined fire area is the santa monica mountains of southern california . the fire history data can be easily secured from the california state database on fire history and from other databases such as the california fire resource assessment program ( frap ). such data can be easily used individually or combined or layered by loading them into a wildfire simulation program such as arcmap to create individual fire histories and / or accumulated fire histories for a preselected time period ( i . e . a decade ) for the predetermined fire area for the 20th century . the data can then be selected by attributes and divided into data layer groups by decade and interactive functionality can be added to the database by utilizing visual basic for applications script in arcmap . this interactive functionality allows the fire history to be selected by a mouse click using a visual or graphical interface on a display of a smartphone , desktop computer , laptop , tablet computer , netbook , notebook , etc . and once a wildfire is selected , a visual preconfigured attribute table can be displayed of the pertinent information relative to the selected wildfire . by displaying the pertinent information related to a selected wildfire , a user can easily identify the fire safety zones , locate and map water resources for air support and identify suitable locations to drop or place hand crews based upon the fire history data . in addition to the above , the wildfire history data can be analyzed to determine the significant parameters of wildfires , such as wind speed and direction , fuel type , fuel moisture , humidity levels , elevation , aspect , slope , fuel canopy , canopy height , crown base height , crown bulk density and fuel type . in addition and from this fire history data , preconfigured models can be developed and the behavior of such models can be stored in a memory and analyzed in advance . by way of example an analysis of the wildfire histories in the santa monica mountains resulted in that the wind contributes to fires over 1000 acres in one of four ways ( 1 ) santa anna winds over 30 mile per hour at 30 degrees on a 360 degree compass course , ( 2 ) santa anna winds over 30 miles an hour at 0 degrees , ( 3 ) santa anna winds over 30 mile per hour at 1 to 15 degrees or 345 degrees compass course , and winds that do not sustain a given wind direction due to low or mixed wind direction . in addition , it was determined that the relative humidity was most likely less than 10 % in almost all case and the terrain and fuel was substantially unchanged . utilizing this wind information and assumed relative humidity , terrain and fuel , a plurality of preconfigured models are created by doing the calculations in advanced . in this example , four separate models are generated for each of the wind speed and wind direction . these four models are created for the most significant modeling features , namely rate of spread , flame length and major fire paths . after the preconfigured models are created in the wildfire modeling programs such as flamemap , the data is then converted and exported to a program for processing geographical such as arcmap . the output of the program for processing geographical data is then outputted in a compatible file form , such as kml , and overlaid onto geographical map data which is secured from a mapping source such as google earth . it should be apparent that both 2d map and topographical map data can be utilized . for speed of operation and security , the geographical data which has been processed is stored in a memory associated with a processor or server and the geographical map data from a source such as google earth is further stored in the memory . the wildfire models and the wildfire histories are stored in the memory and through a visual or graphical interface a user can select a particular model and / or history to be displayed on the display . also , by means of the graphical or visual interface , weather data such as wind speed and direction can be manually or automatically entered form a source such as an internet website to further predict the movement of the wildfire and or select the appropriate historical data while the above embodiment has been described as being integrated into a single unit , it should be apparent that for ease of transport , efficiency and speed , the method of the present invention could be performed utilizing the internet or a server and memory of a cloud environment . in other words , the display and graphical interface for making the selection of the desired history and / or models can be provided in a single unit , such as a smartphone , to be used by the user and the remainder of the system and method could be provided at a processor and an associated memory a at remote location accessed via the internet and / or in a cloud environment . in any case , it should be apparent that the large data storage and high speed processors would be most efficiently provided or accessed via the internet or the cloud environment so as to maintain the speed and efficiency of the system and method . still further , the system could be accessed through the internet or in the cloud environment utilizing an application programming interface ( api ) which utilizes a username and password . accordingly , a user using a smartphone as the display and graphical interface could using a simple application ( app ) which allows the smartphone to operate as a terminal , access the api and view the fire histories and / or wildfire models . still further an additional advantage could be achieved utilizing a cloud environment in that the processing could be divided into several tasks such as rate of spread , flame length and major fire paths and the processing be done utilizing a plurality of servers and memories . an example of software which can be used as part of the present invention is set forth in source code as part of this application . it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the above described embodiment represents but one of the many possible specific embodiments which could be created utilizing the principles and objects of the present invention . | 6 |
to enable a further understanding of the innovative and technological content of the invention herein , refer to the detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings below : in this embodiment , it provides a rehabilitation exercise device for the health care and physiotherapy of the human spine , comprising a soleplate 1 and an exercise mechanism disposed on the soleplate 1 . the soleplate further comprising a bottom and an antiskid cushion 11 attached to the bottom , which is capable of avoiding the displacement of the device when in use . the exercise mechanism , in this embodiment , does not need to be driven by a power supply ; instead , via a mechanical structure , it realizes movement by the collaboration between the movement of a person and the device . the rehabilitation exercise device may be regarded as an ordinary pillow or a gymnastic apparatus , with convenient operation and safer and more reliable use . in this embodiment , the exercise mechanism comprises a pillow 2 , a supporting base 3 with an arc - shape bottom surface and a sliding mechanism , wherein the sliding mechanism comprises a rectangular slider 4 , the slider 4 has a bottom and a limiting mechanism ( also known as limiter ) for limiting movement of the slider 4 , the bottom of the slider 4 is provided with a rolling assembly ( also known as roller ) which enables the sliding mechanism to slide in line on the soleplate ; the cross section of the supporting base 3 is semicircular , and the camber of the supporting base 3 faces the slider 4 . the supporting base 3 is capable of rocking on top of the slider 4 and moving horizontally and in line together with the slider 4 on the soleplate 1 ; a pillow 2 , with a curve top surface matching a natural physical curvature of human spine , mounted on the supporting base 3 ; and an elastic assembly ( also known as a bounder ) disposed between the pillow 2 and the supporting base 3 , which enables the pillow 2 to have a trend of bouncing upward all the time . in this embodiment , the pillow 2 has a curve top surface matching a natural physical curvature of human spine . the curvature of the curve top surface may be selected according to different exercise parts of the body and different stress . in this embodiment , the curve top surface of the pillow 2 is selected as a curve top surface special for cervical spine . in order to further make the users more comfortable , the pillow 2 further comprises an elastic cushion 21 . the supporting base 3 has two pin holes 31 , the slider 4 has two connecting holes 41 , each pin hole 31 matching a connecting hole 41 , and each pin 51 passing through one pin hole 31 and a corresponding connecting hole 41 for connecting the supporting base 3 to the slider 4 , each pin 51 has a head and is fitted with a first spring 52 with two ends , and the first spring 52 may enable the supporting base 3 to rock or to restore , one end of the first spring 52 presses against the head of the pin 51 and other end of the first spring 52 presses against inside of the pin hole 31 ; the first spring 52 enables the pin 51 to move upward and the pillow 2 to stay in a middle position without inclining when the rehabilitation exercise device is standing still . the elastic assembly disposed between the pillow 2 and the supporting base 3 comprises a spring seat 6 with a top and two second springs 61 , the top of the seat 6 is connected to the pillow 2 , wherein the bottom of the pillow 2 is provided with two bosses 22 and two elastic latches 23 , the top of the seat 6 is provided with two insert holes 62 capable of fastening the bosses 22 and two lock holes 63 capable of fastening the elastic latches 23 ; two stand columns 64 extending downwardly from the spring seat 6 , the supporting base 3 is further provided with at two cylindrical holes 32 for receiving the stand columns 64 , each cylindrical hole 32 further has a positioning column 321 . the second springs 61 ensure a proper stress onto the spine when a user is doing exercise , and each second spring 61 engages the stand column 64 and the positioning column 321 . two sides of the bottom of the slider 4 are provided with two grooves 42 , parallel to each other , for receiving the two ball seatings 7 , each ball seating 7 can move in line in the corresponding groove 42 , the ball seating 7 is provided with a plurality of linearly aligned pores 71 ( in this embodiment , the ball seating 7 is provided with five linearly aligned pores ), each pore enabling one ball to touch the soleplate 1 . in order to control the movement direction of the slider 4 on the soleplate 1 , baffles 43 extending downward are formed on two sides of the slider 4 . the distance between the two baffles 43 is rightly matched with the length of the soleplate 1 . when the slider 4 moves horizontally , the insides of the baffles 43 can be in rolling touch with the two side edges of the soleplate 1 in the length direction so as to achieve the guide effect . the limiting mechanism further comprises a stopping block 81 with a shaft hole and a sliding shaft 82 passing through the shaft hole 811 , the stopping block 81 is fixed on the soleplate 1 by screw ; and the middle part of the bottom of the slider 4 is provided with a limiting recess 44 , which is parallel to the groove 42 receiving the ball seating 7 , having two end walls for limiting the stopping block 81 when the slider slides on the soleplate , the stopping block 81 and a sliding shaft 82 are disposed within the limiting recess 44 ; in order to prolong the service life of the stopping block 81 , the limiting recess 44 further comprises two shockproof pads 83 for pressing against the stopping block 81 , the shockproof pads 83 may eliminate the shock generated during the horizontal movement of the slider 4 to the limit end , and also reduce collision noise , each shockproof pad disposed at one end wall of the limiting recess 44 , and each shockproof pad 83 has a positioning hole 831 for receiving the sliding shaft 82 ; the stopping block 81 further comprises a damping adjustment hole 812 is formed at a bottom of the stopping block 81 communicating with the shaft hole 811 , the soleplate 1 is provided with a through hole 12 , and a damper 84 is inserted through the through hole 12 and the damping adjustment hole 812 , the damper 84 can adjust the gap between the sliding shaft 82 and the shafting hole 811 , in order to control the speed and strength of the slider 4 during the horizontal movement , so as to adapt to users of different constitution . for convenient processing , the pillow 2 , the spring seat 6 , the supporting base 3 with semicircle bottom surface , the slider 4 and soleplate 1 in this embodiment are all formed by injection molding in one time , while the elastic cushion 21 disposed on the pillow 2 is formed by impact molding in one time . standard fasteners are preferably used as fasteners ( screws , etc .) between all components . in this embodiment , the curve top surface of the pillow 2 , matching a natural physical curvature of human spine , is mainly used for realizing the exercise of cervical spine . when in service , the rehabilitation exercise device is placed on a horizontal plane ; a person lies on his back with both lower limbs bent at 90 degrees and both feet spaced apart at an interval equal to the shoulders ; and the exercise device is placed below the neck , with the center of the cervical spine facing the center of the curved face of the pillow 2 . a new user is better to hold the two ends of the pillow 2 by both hands so as to assist the cervical spine to do horizontal movement back and forth on the camber . when the user lowers his head so that the shoulders go down , the pillow 2 moves upward ; and when the user raises his head so that the shoulders and the waist rise up , the pillow 2 moves downward . each back - and - forth movement of the pillow 2 is a period of exercise . for a new user , the number of the periods of exercise should be increased progressively from less to more , depending on individual difference , such as constitution . embodiment 2 , as shown in fig8 and fig9 , the difference between this embodiment and embodiment 1 is that , in this embodiment , the pillow has a curve top surface special for thoracolumbar spine , mainly for the exercise of thoracolumbar spine ; and the pillow 2 comprises an elastic cushion 21 , wherein the middle part of the curve top surface special for thoracolumbar spine is formed with an arc depression 24 matching spinel evagination . the arc depression 24 is soft and flexible , and the portion of the arc depression 24 is formed with an elastic bump 25 matching the depression in size , so that the outer surface of the elastic cushion 21 forms a block protruding outward . therefore , a user with thoracolumbar spine kyphosis may feel more conformable when doing exercise and the effect of rehabilitation by exercise may be ensured . when in service , the rehabilitation exercise device in this embodiment is placed on a horizontal plane , and a person lies on his back with both lower limbs bent at 90 degrees and both feet spaced apart at an interval equal to the shoulders . the specific massage method will be described as below : ( 1 ) exercise of lumbosacral spine : the rehabilitation exercise device is placed in the center of the waist corresponding to the navel , with the center of the spine facing the center of the pillow . when the jaw and the lower back rise up and the hip goes down , the pillow 2 moves upward ; and when the jaw and the lower back go down and the hip rises up , the pillow 2 moves downward . each back - and - forth movement of the pillow 2 is a period of exercise . for a new user , the number of periods of exercise should be increased progressively from less to more , depending on individual difference , such as constitution . ( 2 ) exercise of lower thoracic spine : the rehabilitation exercise device is placed under the back at three inches above the navel ( four transverse fingers ) corresponding to the stomach , with the center of the spine facing the center of the pillow 2 . when , the jaw and the shoulders rise up and the waist and the hip go down , the pillow 2 moves upward ; and when the jaw and the shoulders go down and the waist and the hip rise up , the pillow 2 moves downward . each back - and - forth movement of the pillow 2 is a period of exercise . for a new user , the number of periods of exercise should be increased progressively from less to more , depending on individual difference , such as constitution . ( 3 ) exercise of upper thoracic spine : the rehabilitation exercise device is placed under the chest - back taking the nipple as center , with the center of the thoracic spine facing the center of the pillow 2 . when the jaw and the shoulders rise up and the waist and the hip go down , the pillow 2 moves upward ; and when the jaw and the shoulders go down and the waist and the hip rise up , the pillow 2 moves downward . each back - and - forth movement of the pillow 2 is a period of exercise . for a new user , the number of periods of exercise should be increased progressively from less to more , depending on individual difference , such as constitution . | 0 |
the kit of this invention normally includes two types of flex adapters which allow various combinations of wrenches to be releasably fixed and pivoted with respect to one another continuously through angles from 0 ° to 90 ° in two directions for a total included angle of 180 °. one type of flex adapter has a pivoted retainer for fast removal of a tool . in the other flex adapter the retainer is non - pivoted so that a relatively permanent tool engagement is provided . both types of flex adapters include means for sliding adjustability of the tool held by the adapter . the kit also includes a simple and durable ratchet mechanism for use with a standard socket set . referring to fig1 there is shown a flex adapter coupled with a bar extender of the invention and a standard socket extender . a non - ratcheting bar extender 10 has a handle 12 with a convenional male socket engaging head 14 , having a spring - loaded detent ball 16 , secured to one end of the bar . a flat surface 18 may be provided at the socket end of the handle , if desired , so as to allow the handle to operate with a minimum of clearance . handle 12 is adapted to be disposed in channel 20 , three sides of which are defined by flex adapter base 22 . retainer 24 is secured to base 22 by means of two screws 26 which project through holes 28 in the retainer and engage threaded bores ( not shown ) in the base , thereby defining the fourth side of channel 20 . raised circular central portion 30 of retainer 24 fits within the similarly shaped countersunk confronting area 32 in flex adapter base 22 to form cooperating arcuate shoulders to insure correct alignment between base 22 and retainer 24 . set screw 34 is threadably engaged through centrally disposed threaded bore 36 in the retainer to adjustably and removably fix handle 12 into position . projecting from the end of base 22 opposite channel 20 is the clevis tongue 38 having a transverse threaded bore 40 therethrough . one end of flex adapter head 50 supports two arms 52 of a clevis yoke , each with a transverse non - threaded countersunk bore 56 therethrough . partially threaded pivot pin 54 is disposed through the respective clevis yoke and clevis tongue bores 56 and 40 to pivotally interconnect the flex adapter base 22 and head 50 and thereby form a clevis joint . alternatively , pin 54 may be threaded throughout its length and the clevis yoke bores 56 may be oversized to permit a clearance fit between the pin 54 and the yoke bores 56 . snap - ring 58 engages annular recess 60 disposed in the end of pivot pin 54 opposite the head 54 to hold the pin in position in adapter head 50 . a tool receiving depression or slot 62 is provided in the head of pin 54 so that it may readily be tightened or loosened . when partially threaded pin 54 is tightened and engages the threads of clevis tongue bore 40 , flex adapter base 22 is frictionally engaged and angularly secured to one arm 52 of the clevis yoke . that portion of pivot pin 54 between annular recess 60 and the threads thereon has a length equivalent to the thickness of yoke arm 52 through which it passes , while the threads on said pin do not extend beyond the threaded bore in clevis tongue 38 when in fully tightened position . the other end of flex adapter head 50 contains socket 64 . standard socket extender 70 , which is a double male adapter , having a socket engaging head 72 at each end each having a spring - loaded detent ball 74 , may be disposed in socket 64 . of course , socket 64 may receive any standard socket tool having similar engaging heads . thus , the flex adapter of the present invention permits open - end and box - end wrenches or bar extenders mounted in the base 22 to be disposed at any relative angle of alignment continuously through a total angle of approximately 180 ° with respect to socket wrenches mounted in head 50 , to provide a variety of specially adapted obstruction by - pass tools . note that slidable adjustments of bar extender 10 in slot 20 is permitted by loosening set screw 34 . referring now to fig2 there is shown a somewhat different flex adapter having a retainer 80 which is pivotally secured to flex adapter base 82 by means of screw 84 disposed through hole 86 in the retainer into threaded bore 88 in the base . pivoted retainer 80 has an offset slot 90 for receiving a knurled bolt 92 which threadably engages bore 94 in base 82 . raised flange 96 is centrally disposed on retainer 80 and has a centrally disposed threaded bore 98 into which set screw 100 is threaded to secure the handle of a bar extender , a box - end or an open - end wrench ( not shown ) into channel 102 in base 82 . the wrench may be easily removed by loosening knurled nut 92 , pivoting retainer 80 out of the way and removing the wrench handle from channel 102 in base 82 . the corner 104 of base 82 is configured to allow the retainer to be pivoted without fully removing set screw 100 , that is , permitting it to project slightly into channel 102 , thereby providing for fast removal of the wrench . note that slot 90 in retainer 80 has a round termination 91 which is not tangent to the flat side of the slot . this is an alternative embodiment , where the flat side of slot 90 adjacent termination 91 abuts bolt 92 when the retainer is pivoted to the closed position . a small amount of force permits the retainer to snap into place with termination 91 closely engaging the stem of bolt 92 , thereby providing a positive seat for the retainer . base 82 is pivotally coupled to adapter head 50 in the same manner as in the embodiment of fig1 and like parts have like reference numerals . the ends of screws 26 , set screw 34 and pin 54 of fig1 and screw 84 , set screw 100 and pin 54 of fig2 may be formed to receive an allen wrench , a blade or a phillips head screwdriver , as well as other types of tools as desired . referring now to fig3 there is shown ratchet 150 including handle 152 , body 154 and wheel 156 . handle 152 is configured to pivot about one end 160 by means of offset transverse pivot bore 162 . the handle may pivot only through a limited angle as determined by stop tang 164 , the operation of which will be described hereinbelow . ratchet handle 152 is also formed with a downwardly disposed , tapered ratchet engaging tooth 158 . ratchet body 154 has a generally cylindrical base 170 with an axial bore 172 therethrough . generally cylindrical cap 174 is integrally disposed on and axially aligned with base 170 . channel 180 through cap 174 along a cap diameter is adapted to receive handle 152 . pin 176 engages pivot bore 162 of handle 152 through transverse hole 178 in cap 174 . the cap outside diameter is somewhat less than the base outside diameter so as to form an annular shoulder 175 providing a surface upon which stop tang 164 bears . cap channel 180 communicates with axial bore 172 through an opening 181 in the base of cap 174 radially spaced from the axis of body 154 , terminating at the inner cylindrical surface of base 170 . tooth 158 normally projects into opening 181 and further into the axial bore 172 when handle 152 is in the lower or engaged position . the remainder of the channel 180 is separated from axial bore 172 by platform 182 . platform 182 has a countersunk bore 184 coaxial with the axial bore 172 . ratchet wheel 156 is formed with a plurality of radial notches 190 , while a socket engaging head 194 depends axially from the center of the ratchet wheel . spring - loaded detent ball 196 is disposed on socket head 194 to facilitate the engagement of a standard socket ( not shown ) or with socket 64 in the flex adapter of fig1 . axial bore 198 passes through ratchet wheel 156 and socket head 194 terminating at the lower end of the socket head in a tapered countersunk opening 200 . fastener pin 202 passes into contoured entrance 200 , through axial bore 198 and through countersunk bore 184 in the platform 182 . c - ring 185 engages annular groove 203 on pin 202 to retain ratchet wheel 156 in rotatable engagement with ratchet body 154 . the end of fastener 202 extends into countersunk bore 184 but not into channel 180 so the fastener does not interfere with the ratchet handle 152 disposed in channel 180 . when handle 152 is pivoted downwardly , tooth 158 depends through opening 181 into axial bore 172 so as to engage one of the notches 190 of ratchet wheel 156 . handle 152 is then rotated about the axis of ratchet body 154 so as to turn the entire assembly , thereby rotating a tool wrench ( not shown ) which may be engaged by head 194 . handle 152 may then be pivoted upward about pivot pin 176 so that tooth 158 disengages the first notch 190 on wheel 156 . handle 152 and base 154 may then be rotated with respect to ratchet wheel 156 back to a starting position where tooth 158 may be pivoted back into engagement with a second notch 190 . this procedure may be repeated until the engaged fastener is completely loosened or tightened . it will be readily appreciated that this ratchet is reversible without the need for any ratchet switching mechanism . referring now to fig4 there is shown an alternative embodiment of the ratchet of the present invention , including handle 352 , body 354 and wheel 356 . handle 352 is formed as a bar having a transverse pivot bore 362 near one end and a downwardly disposed tapered ratchet engaging tooth 358 spaced from pivot bore 362 . ratchet body 354 is formed with a generally cylindrical body 370 having an axial recess 372 in one end thereof . the inside cylindrical surface of the recess has a snap - ring retaining groove 374 . on the other end or top of the ratchet body there are disposed two pivot support posts 376 placed near the circumference of the ratchet body aligned in parallel and offset from a diameter of the cylindrical ratchet body . each post 376 has a transverse bore 378 therethrough . a pivot pin 382 extends through both bores 378 in posts 376 . a radially aligned slot 380 is disposed through the top of the ratchet body along a diameter which passes between the posts 376 and the slot communicates with axial recess 372 . slot 380 extends from a point near the axis of the top portion of body 354 to the periphery thereof but extends only to the wall of the body defining recess 372 at the interface between the slot and the recess . tooth 358 is disposed in slot 380 . ratchet wheel 356 has a generally flat cylindrical configuration with a diameter slightly less than the diameter of axial recess 372 and has a plurality of radially extending beveled channels 390 extending partway therethrough , each channel having a curved floor 392 . a socket engaging head 394 depends axially from the center of the ratchet wheel 356 on a side opposite from the channels 390 . spring - loaded detent ball 396 is disposed on socket head 394 for normal engagement of a socket wrench ( not shown ). snap - ring 398 , having an inside diameter less than the outside diameter of the ratchet wheel , cooperates with snap - ring support groove 374 on the inside of axial recess 372 to retain ratchet wheel 356 inside recess 372 and to permit said ratchet wheel to freely rotate inside the recess . in operation , handle 352 is pivotally mounted to ratchet body 354 by means of pin 382 between pivot posts 376 . this alternative embodiment of the ratchet works the same way as the embodiment shown in fig3 with tooth 358 selectably engaging one of the channels 390 in the ratchet wheel . it will be appreciated that this alternative embodiment does not contain the specific stop tang 164 of fig3 but merely employs that portion of the handle 352 which extends beyond bore 362 to abut the top surface of the ratchet body to thereby permit only a limited pivoting of handle 352 about pin 382 . referring now to fig5 the elements of the tool kit of the present invention are shown in combination with standard socket wrenches , extenders and a standard open - end or box - end wrench . the standard tool elements are combined with the elements of the kit of this invention to fashion a special tool for by - passing obstruction 210 to reach relatively inaccesible fastener 218 . more particularly , conventional torque wrench 212 is shown in engagement with flex adapter head 50 of the present invention axially aligned with flex adapter base 22 which engages bar extender 10 by means of non - pivoting retainer 24 of the present invenion . standard socket extension 214 engages head 14 of bar extender handle 12 on one end and another flex adapter head 50 on the other . pivoted retainer flex adapter base 82 is secured to head 50 in accordance with the clevis joint of the present invention as previously described . one end of standard box - end wrench is disposed in flex adapter base 82 and the other end is disposed about the head of fastener 218 mounted in work piece 220 . referring now to fig6 there is shown in fig6 a , a bar extender 10 disposed in the base of a flex adapter of the present invention , and a standard socket wrench element 214 disposed in the head at an angle with respect to extender 10 . fig6 b shows a standard socket extension 214 engaged with the head of a flex adapter of the present invention and a standard box - end wrench disposed in parallel offset relationship . fig6 c shows a standard socket extension 214 engaging the head of the flex adapter of the present invention and a bar extender engaging a standard socket wrench disposed in the base , again in parallel offset relationship . the special obstruction by - pass tools shown in fig5 a , 6b and 6c are intended to be only illustrations of some ways of using the elements of the kit of the present invention to fashion specific obstruction by - pass tools . it is , of course , understood that the elements of the kit of the present invention may be used in combination with the elements of standard socket , open - end and box - end wrench sets to fashion almost an unlimited combination of special tools . it will be appreciated that the present invention adds versatility to the tool kit of the user resulting in a substantial savings of expenditures for the purchase of specially designed single - purpose tools and requiring substantially less space as compared with a plurality of such special tools . in view of the above description , it is likely that modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in this art which are within the scope of this invention . | 1 |
applicants specifically incorporate the entire content of all cited references in this disclosure . further , when an amount , concentration , or other value or parameter is given as either a range , preferred range , or a list of upper preferable values and lower preferable values , this is to be understood as specifically disclosing all ranges formed from any pair of any upper range limit or preferred value and any lower range limit or preferred value , regardless of whether ranges are separately disclosed . where a range of numerical values is recited herein , unless otherwise stated , the range is intended to include the endpoints thereof , and all integers and fractions within the range . it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific values recited when defining a range . in the context of this disclosure , a number of terms shall be utilized . “ ghrelin ” as used herein is a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence as set forth in genbank ® accession no . np — 057446 or swiss - prot identifier ghrl_human . ghrelin preprotein has 117 amino acids . this preprotein undergoes the following post - translational processing . the signal peptide ( amino acids 1 - 23 ) is removed and the remaining 94 amino acids are cleaved by a protease to provide a mature 28 amino acid ghrelin ( amino acids 24 - 51 ) or a mature 27 amino acid ghrelin ( amino acids 24 - 50 ) and a mature 23 amino acid obestatin ( amino acids 76 - 98 ). the 27 or 28 amino acid mature ghrelin peptides can be further modified at the serine at position 26 in the preprotein by either an o - octanoyl group or an o - decanoyl group . the obestatin mature peptide can be further modified at the lysine at position 98 of the preprotein by an amide group . an additional ghrelin preprotein is known , which lacks the glutamine at position 37 of the preprotein . “ ghrelin splice variant ” is a polypeptide having the amino acid sequence as set forth in seq id no : 1 or any peptide of 15 amino acids or more from seq id no : 1 with or without post translational modification , or any seq id no : 1 homologs as set forth in seq id no : 5 or seq id no : 6 , and / or any peptide of 15 amino acids or more from seq id no : 5 or seq id no : 6 with or without post translational modification . in a preferred embodiment , the ghrelin splice variant is at least 29 amino acids in length . “ ghrelin splice variant - like compound ” as used herein refers to any compound which mimics the function of ghrelin splice variant , in particular human ghrelin splice variant , particularly in terms of the ghrelin splice variant functions leading to the desired therapeutic effects described herein , such as stimulation of appetite and / or treatment and / or prophylaxis of cachexia and is defined by the formula i : z1 -( x1 ) m -( x2 )-( x3 ) n - z2 , wherein z1 is an optionally present protecting group ; each x1 is independently selected from a naturally occurring amino acid and a synthetic amino acid ; x2 is selected from a naturally occurring amino acid and a synthetic amino acid , said amino acid being modified with a bulky hydrophobic group ; each x3 is independently selected from a naturally occurring amino acid and a synthetic amino acid , wherein one or more of x1 and x3 optionally may be modified with a bulky hydrophobic group ; z2 is an optionally present protecting group ; m is an integer in the range of from 1 - 10 ; n is an integer in the range of from 4 - 92 ; provided that the compound according to formula z1 -( x1 ) m -( x2 )-( x3 ) n - z2 is 15 - 94 amino acids in length and has at least 80 % ( or , in alternative embodiments , 85 %, 90 %, 93 %, 95 %, 97 %, 98 %, 99 %, 100 %) homology to seq id no : 1 ( see co - owned , co - pending u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 716 , 137 , entitled “ use of ghrelin splice variant for treating cachexia and / or anorexia and / or anorexia - cachexia and / or malnutrition and / or lipodystrophy and / or muscle wasting and / or appetite - stimulation ”, filed mar . 9 , 2007 , incorporated herein by reference ). in a preferred embodiment , the ghrelin splice variant - like compound is at least 29 amino acids in length . ghrelin splice variant - like compounds can be produced using techniques well known in the art . for example , a polypeptide region of a ghrelin splice variant - like compound can be chemically or biochemical synthesized and modified . techniques for chemical synthesis of polypeptides are well known in the art ( see , e . g ., lee v . h . l . in “ peptide and protein drug delivery ”, new york , n . y ., m . dekker , 1990 ). examples of techniques for biochemical synthesis involving the introduction of a nucleic acid into a cell and expression of nucleic acids are provided in ausubel f . m . et al ., “ current protocols in molecular biology ”, john wiley , 1987 - 1998 , and sambrook j . et al ., “ molecular cloning , a laboratory manual ”, 2d edition , cold spring harbor laboratory press , 1989 , each of which is incorporated herein by reference . another exemplary technique , described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 304 , 489 , incorporated herein by reference , is the use of a transgenic mammals having mammary gland - targeted mutations which result in the production and secretion of synthesized ghrelin splice variant - like compound in the milk of the transgenic mammal . while it is possible for the compounds or salts of the present disclosure to be administered as the raw chemical , it is preferred to present them in the form of a pharmaceutical composition . another embodiment relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising a mixture of at least two different ghrelin splice variant - like compounds , such as a mixture of a ghrelin splice variant - like compound acylated with a c 8 acyl and a ghrelin splice variant - like compound acylated with a c 10 acyl . without being bound by theory , it is believed that such a mixture will have a longer half - life in plasma . in yet another embodiment , the pharmaceutical composition comprises acylated ghrelin splice variant - like compounds , optionally compounds having different acyl chain lengths preferably selected from the group consisting of c 7 acyl group , c 9 acyl group , and c 11 acyl group , optionally in combination with a desacylated ghrelin splice variant - like compound . another aspect relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising any ghrelin splice variant - like compound as defined above or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and pharmaceutical acceptable carriers , vehicles and / or excipients ; said composition further comprising transport molecules . the transport molecules are primarily added in order to increase the half - life of the acylated compound , preventing premature des - acylation , since the des - acylated ghrelin splice variant might not be active at the ghs - r 1a . transport molecules act by having incorporated into or anchored to it a compound disclosed herein . any suitable transport molecule known to the skilled person may be used such as , for example , liposomes , micelles , and / or microspheres . conventional liposomes are typically composed of phospholipids ( neutral or negatively charged ) and / or cholesterol . the liposomes are vesicular structures based on lipid bilayer surrounding aqueous compartments . they can vary in their physio - chemical properties such as size , lipid composition , surface charge and number , and fluidity of the phospholipids bilayer . the most frequently used lipids for liposome formation are : 1 , 2 - dilauroyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ( dlpc ), dimyristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ( dmpc ), 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ( dppc ), 1 , 2 - distearoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ( dspc ), dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphocholine ( dopc ), 1 , 2 - dimyristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine ( dmpe ), 1 , 2 - dipaimitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine ( dppe ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine ( dope ), 1 , 2 - dimyristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphate ( monosodium salt ) ( dmpa ), 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphate ( monosodium salt ) ( dppa ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphate ( monosodium salt ) ( dopa ), 1 , 2 - dimyristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -[ phospho - rac -( 1 - glycerol )] ( sodium salt ) ( dmpg ), 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -[ phospho - rac -( 1 - glycerol )) ( sodium salt ) ( dppg ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -[ phospho - rac -( 1 - glycerol )] ( sodium salt ) ( dopg ), 1 , 2 - dimyristoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -[ phospho - l - serine ] ( sodium salt ) ( dmps ), 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -( phospho - l - serine ] ( sodium salt ) ( dpps ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 -[ phospho - l - serine ] ( sodium salt ) ( dops ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n -( glutaryl ) ( sodium salt ) and 1 , 1 ′, 2 , 2 ′- tetramyristoyl cardiolipin ( ammonium salt ). formulations composed of dppc in combination with other lipid or modifiers of liposomes are preferred , e . g ., in combination with cholesterol and / or phosphatidylcholine . long - circulating liposomes are characterized by their ability to extravasate at body sites where the permeability of the vascular wall is increased . a preferred way to produce long circulating liposomes is to attach hydrophilic polymer polyethylene glycol ( peg ) covalently to the outer surface of the liposome . some of the preferred lipids are : 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n -[ methoxy ( polyethylene glycol )- 2000 ] ( ammonium salt ), 1 , 2 - dipalmitoyl - sn - glycero - 3 - phosphoethanolamine - n -[ methoxy ( polyethylene glycol )- 5000 ] ( ammonium salt ), 1 , 2 - dioleoyl - 3 - trimethylammonium - propane ( chloride salt ) ( dotap ). possible lipids applicable for liposomes are supplied by avanti polar lipids , inc ., ( alabaster , ala .). additionally , the liposome suspension may include lipid - protective agents which protect lipids against free - radical and lipid - peroxidative damages on storage . lipophilic free - radical quenchers , such as alpha - tocopherol and water - soluble iron - specific chelators , such as ferrioxianine , are preferred . a variety of methods are available for preparing liposomes , as described in , e . g ., szoka f . & amp ; papahadjopolous d ., ann . rev . biophys . bioeng . 9 : 467 - 508 ( 1980 ); u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 235 , 871 , 4 , 501 , 728 and 4 , 837 , 028 ; all of which are incorporated herein by reference . another method produces multilamellar vesicles of heterogeneous sizes . in this method , the vesicle - forming lipids are dissolved in a suitable organic solvent or solvent system and dried under vacuum or an inert gas to form a thin lipid film . if desired , the film may be redissolved in a suitable solvent , such as tertiary butanol , and then lyophilized to form a more homogeneous lipid mixture which is in a more easily hydrated powder - like form . this film is covered with an aqueous solution of the targeted drug and the targeting component and allowed to hydrate , typically over a 15 - 60 minute period with agitation . the size distribution of the resulting multilamellar vesicles can be shifted toward smaller sizes by hydrating the lipids under more vigorous agitation conditions or by adding solubilizing detergents such as deoxycholate . micelles are formed by surfactants ( molecules that contain a hydrophobic portion and one or more ionic or otherwise strongly hydrophilic groups ) in aqueous solution . as the concentration of a solid surfactant increases , its monolayers adsorbed at the air / water or glass / water interface become so tightly packed that further occupancy requires excessive compression of the surfactant molecules already in the two monolayers . further increments in the amount of dissolved surfactant beyond that concentration cause amounts equivalent to the new molecules to aggregate into micelles . this process begins at a characteristic concentration called “ critical micelle concentration ”. the shape of micelles formed in dilute surfactant solutions is approximately spherical . the polar head groups of the surfactant molecules are arranged in an outer spherical shell whereas their hydrocarbon chains are oriented toward the center , forming a spherical core for the micelle . the hydrocarbon chains are randomly coiled and entangled and the micellar interior has a nonpolar , liquid - like character . in the micelles of polyoxyethylated nonionic detergents , the polyoxyethlene moieties are oriented outward and permeated by water . this arrangement is energetically favorable since the hydrophilic head groups are in contact with water and the hydrocarbon moieties are removed from the aqueous medium and partly shielded from contact with water by the polar head groups . the hydrocarbon tails of the surfactant molecules , located in the interior of the micelle , interact with one another by weak van der waals forces . the size of a micelle or its aggregation number is governed largely by geometric factors . the radius of the hydrocarbon core cannot exceed the length of the extended hydrocarbon chain of the surfactant molecule . therefore , increasing the chain length or ascending homologous series increases the aggregation number of spherical micelles . if the surfactant concentration is increased beyond a few percent and if electrolytes are added ( in the case of ionic surfactants ) or the temperature is raised ( in the case of nonionic surfactants ), the micelles increase in size . under these conditions , the micelles are too large to remain spherical and become ellipsoidal , cylindrical or finally lamellar in shape . common surfactants well known to one of skill in the art can be used in the micelles of the present disclosure . suitable surfactants include sodium laureate , sodium oleate , sodium lauryl sulfate , octaoxyethylene glycol monododecyl ether , octoxynol 9 and pluronic ® f - 127 ( basf corp ., florham park , n . j .). preferred surfactants are nonionic polyoxyethylene and polyoxypropylene detergents compatible with intravenous injection such as , tween ®- 80 , pluronic ® f - 68 , n - octyl - beta - d - glucopyranoside , and the like . in addition , phospholipids , such as those described for use in the production of liposomes , may also be used for micelle formation . in another preferred embodiment , the compounds disclosed herein are formulated as described in the literature for an administration route selected from : buccal delivery , sublingual delivery , transdermal delivery , inhalation and needle - free injection , such as using the methods developed by powderjet . for inhalation , the compounds disclosed herein can be formulated using methods known to those skilled in the art , for example an aerosol , dry powder or solubilized such as in microdroplets , preferably in a device intended for such delivery ( such as commercially available from aradigm corp . ( hayward , calif . ), alkermes , inc . ( cambridge , mass . ), or nektar therapeutics ( san carlos , calif .)). suitable dosing regimens for the various compounds and methods of the present disclosure are preferably determined taking into account factors well known in the art including , e . g ., type of subject being dosed ; age , weight , sex and medical condition of the subject ; the route of administration ; the renal and hepatic function of the subject ; the desired effect ; and the particular compound employed . preferably , the composition will comprise about 0 . 5 % to 75 % by weight of a secretagogue disclosed herein , with the remainder consisting of suitable pharmaceutical excipients . optimal precision in achieving concentrations of drug within the range that yields efficacy without toxicity requires a regimen based on the kinetics of the drug &# 39 ; s availability to target sites . this involves a consideration of the distribution , equilibrium , and elimination of a drug . as described above , in one aspect , the ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound is administered subcutaneously . in another aspect , the ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound is administered as a premeal bolus , wherein the administration form may be any suitable parenteral form . in a preferred embodiment , the ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound is administered subcutaneously in a premeal bolus . the ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound can also be administered during a meal as a bolus . the mode of administration during a meal includes subcutaneous administration , such as a subcutaneously administered bolus . pharmaceutical compositions for parenteral administration include sterile aqueous and non - aqueous injectable solutions , dispersions , suspensions or emulsions , as well as sterile powders to be reconstituted in sterile injectable solutions or dispersions prior to use . other suitable administration forms include suppositories , sprays , ointments , creams , gels , inhalants , dermal patches , implants , pills , tablets , lozenges and capsules . a typical dosage is in a concentration equivalent to from 10 ng to 10 mg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight . the concentrations and amounts herein are given in equivalents of amount ghrelin splice variant , wherein the ghrelin splice variant is a 29 amino acid human ghrelin splice variant ( seq id no : 2 ) and / or a 22 amino acid human ghrelin splice variant ( seq id no : 3 ) and / or a 24 amino acid human ghrelin splice variant ( seq id no : 4 ). equivalents may be tested as described in the section entitled “ functionality ”, above . in a preferred embodiment , the medicament is administered in a concentration equivalent to from 0 . 1 μg to 1 mg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight , such as from 0 . 5 μg to 0 . 5 mg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight , such as from 1 . 0 μg to 0 . 1 mg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight , such as from 1 . 0 μg to 50 μg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight , such as from 1 . 0 μg to 10 μg ghrelin splice variant per kg bodyweight . as described above , the ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound is preferably administered as a bolus . accordingly , in one embodiment the medicament is administered as a bolus prior to a meal , said bolus comprising an amount of the ghrelin splice variant or ghrelin splice variant - like compound or a salt thereof equivalent to from 0 . 3 μg to 600 mg ghrelin splice variant . more preferably , the medicament is administered as a bolus prior to a meal , said bolus comprising an amount of the ghrelin splice variant or ghrelin splice variant - like compound or a salt thereof equivalent to from 2 . 0 μg to 200 mg ghrelin splice variant , such as from 5 . 0 μg to 100 mg ghrelin splice variant , such as from 10 μg to 50 mg ghrelin splice variant , such as from 10 μg to 5 mg ghrelin splice variant , such as from 10 μg to 1 . 0 mg ghrelin splice variant . it should be noted that the normal ghrelin splice variant - like response which occurs before a meal is a short - lived surge in plasma concentrations of ghrelin splice variant and that , due to the relatively short half life of the peptide , an intravenous injection of ghrelin splice variant will ensure that a similar short - lived peak on ghrelin splice variant concentrations can be obtained . the administration route must ensure that the non - degraded , bioactive form of the peptide will be the dominating form in the circulation , which will reach and stimulate the ghrelin splice variant receptors . thus , in order to obtain the maximum effect of the medicament , it is preferably administered from one to three times daily , each administration being within 45 minutes of a meal , such as within 30 minutes of a meal , such as within 25 minutes of a meal , such as within 20 minutes of a meal , such as within 15 minutes of a meal , such as within 10 minutes of a meal , such as within 5 minutes of a meal . more preferably , the medicament is administered prior to each main meal , such as administered three times daily . compounds disclosed herein may also be formulated for nasal administration . the solutions or suspensions are applied directly to the nasal cavity by conventional means , for example with a dropper , pipette or spray . the compositions may be provided in a single or multidose form . in the latter case of a dropper or pipette , this may be achieved by the patient administering an appropriate , predetermined volume of the solution or suspension . in the case of a spray , this may be achieved for example by means of a metering atomizing spray pump . the compounds disclosed herein may be formulated for aerosol administration , particularly to the respiratory tract and including intranasal administration . the compound will generally have a small particle size , for example of the order of 5 microns or less . such a particle size may be obtained by means known in the art , for example by micronization . the active ingredient is provided in a pressurized pack with a suitable propellant such as a hydrofluoroalkane ( hfa ) for example hydrofluoroalkane - 134a and hydrofluoroalkane - 227 , carbon dioxide or other suitable gas . the aerosol may conveniently also contain a surfactant such as lecithin . the dose of drug may be controlled by a metered valve . alternatively , the active ingredients may be provided in a form of a dry powder , for example a powder mix of the compound in a suitable powder base such as lactose , starch , starch derivatives such as hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidine ( pvp ). the powder carrier will form a gel in the nasal cavity . the powder composition may be presented in unit dose form for example in capsules or cartridges of , e . g ., gelatin or blister packs from which the powder may be administered by means of an inhaler . compositions administered by aerosols may be prepared , for example , as solutions in saline , employing benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives , absorption promoters to enhance bioavailability , employing fluorocarbons , and / or employing other solubilizing or dispersing agents . compounds disclosed herein may also be formulated for administration by injection pen in a similar way as for cartridged growth hormone ( gh ) or insulin . the cartridge contains compounds disclosed herein in solvents . the pen , which is basically a needle , syringe and vial in one piece , is operated by a turning movement and allows different doses to be administrated . this device offers simplicity , convenience , and enhanced safety features for compounds delivery . it provides a simple device design , few administration steps and one - step dial - back dose knob . such injection pen can be obtained by means known in art . for example , several manufacturers offer drug developers injection pens to be used with the drug developers compounds ( bd — medical - pharmaceutical systems , inc . ; owen mumford inc . etc .). those compositions capable of remaining biologically active in an individual after oral administration ( such as , e . g ., small molecules and short peptides ) can be formulated in a wide range of oral administration dosage forms . the pharmaceutical compositions and dosage forms may comprise the compounds disclosed herein or their pharmaceutically acceptable salt or crystal forms thereof as the active component . the pharmaceutical acceptable carriers can be either solid or liquid . solid form preparations include powders , tablets , pills , capsules , cachets , suppositories , and dispersible granules . a solid carrier can be one or more substances which may also act as diluents , flavoring agents , solubilizers , lubricants , suspending agents , binders , preservatives , wetting agents , tablet disintegrating agents , or an encapsulating material . for oral administration , such excipients include , e . g ., pharmaceutical grades of mannitol , lactose , starch , magnesium stearate , sodium saccharine , talcum , cellulose , glucose , gelatin , sucrose , magnesium carbonate , and the like . in powders , the carrier is a finely divided solid which is a mixture with the finely divided active component . in tablets , the active component is mixed with the carrier having the necessary binding capacity in suitable proportions and compacted in the shape and size desired . the powders and tablets preferably containing from one to about seventy percent of the active compound . suitable carriers are magnesium carbonate , magnesium stearate , talc , sugar , lactose , pectin , dextrin , starch , gelatin , tragacanth , methylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , a low melting wax , cocoa butter , and the like . the term “ preparation ” is intended to include a composition comprising an active compound disclosed herein with encapsulating material as carrier providing a capsule in which the active component , with or without carriers , is surrounded by a carrier , which is in association with it . similarly , cachets and lozenges are included . tablets , powders , capsules , pills , cachets , and lozenges can be as solid forms suitable for oral administration . drops may comprise sterile or nonsterile aqueous or oil solutions or suspensions , and may be prepared by dissolving the active ingredient in a suitable aqueous solution , optionally including a bactericidal and / or fungicidal agent and / or any other suitable preservative , and optionally including a surface active agent . the resulting solution may then be clarified by filtration , transferred to a suitable container which is then sealed and sterilized by autoclaving or maintaining at 98 - 100 ° c . for half an hour . alternatively , the solution may be sterilized by filtration and transferred to the container aseptically . examples of bactericidal and fungicidal agents suitable for inclusion in the drops are phenylmercuric nitrate or acetate ( 0 . 002 %), benzalkonium chloride ( 0 . 01 %) and chlorhexidine acetate ( 0 . 01 %). suitable solvents for the preparation of an oily solution include glycerol , diluted alcohol and propylene glycol . also included are solid form preparations which are intended to be converted , shortly before use , to liquid form preparations for oral administration . such liquid forms include solutions , suspensions , and emulsions . these preparations may contain , in addition to the active component , colorants , flavors , stabilizers , buffers , artificial and natural sweeteners , dispersants , thickeners , solubilizing agents , and the like . other forms suitable for oral administration include liquid form preparations including emulsions , syrups , elixirs , aqueous solutions , aqueous suspensions , toothpaste , gel dentifrice , chewing gum , or solid form preparations which are intended to be converted shortly before use to liquid form preparations . emulsions may be prepared in solutions in aqueous propylene glycol solutions or may contain emulsifying agents such as lecithin , sorbitan monooleate , or acacia . aqueous solutions can be prepared by dissolving the active component in water and adding suitable colorants , flavors , stabilizing and thickening agents . aqueous suspensions can be prepared by dispersing the finely divided active component in water with viscous material , such as natural or synthetic gums , resins , methylcellulose , sodium carboxymethylcellulose , and other well known suspending agents . solid form preparations include solutions , suspensions , and emulsions , and may contain , in addition to the active component , colorants , flavors , stabilizers , buffers , artificial and natural sweeteners , dispersants , thickeners , solubilizing agents , and the like . the compounds disclosed herein may be formulated for parenteral administration ( e . g ., by injection , for example bolus injection or continuous infusion ) and may be presented in unit dose form in ampules , pre - filled syringes , small volume infusion or in multi - dose containers with an added preservative . the compositions may take such forms as suspensions , solutions , or emulsions in oily or aqueous vehicles , for example solutions in aqueous polyethylene glycol . examples of oily or nonaqueous carriers , diluents , solvents or vehicles include propylene glycol , polyethylene glycol , vegetable oils ( e . g ., olive oil ), and injectable organic esters ( e . g ., ethyl oleate ), and may contain formulatory agents such as preserving , wetting , emulsifying or suspending , stabilizing and / or dispersing agents . alternatively , the active ingredient may be in powder form , obtained by aseptic isolation of sterile solid or by lyophilization from solution for constitution before use with a suitable vehicle , e . g ., sterile , pyrogen - free water . aqueous solutions should be suitably buffered if necessary , and the liquid diluent first rendered isotonic with sufficient saline or glucose . the aqueous solutions are particularly suitable for intravenous , intramuscular , subcutaneous and intraperitoneal administration . the sterile aqueous media employed are all readily available by standard techniques known to those skilled in the art . solutions of ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound or pharmaceutical acceptable salt thereof ( and for example antigenic epitopes and protease inhibitors ) can be prepared in water or saline , and optionally mixed with a nontoxic surfactant . compositions for intravenous or intra - arterial administration may include sterile aqueous solutions that may also contain buffers , liposomes , diluents and other suitable additives . oils useful in parenteral compositions include petroleum , animal , vegetable , or synthetic oils . specific examples of oils useful in such compositions include peanut , soybean , sesame , cottonseed , corn , olive , petrolatum , and mineral . suitable fatty acids for use in parenteral compositions include oleic acid , stearic acid , and isostearic acid . ethyl oleate and isopropyl myristate are examples of suitable fatty acid esters . suitable soaps for use in parenteral compositions include fatty alkali metal , ammonium , and triethanolamine salts , and suitable detergents include ( a ) cationic detergents such as , for example , dimethyl dialkyl ammonium halides , and alkyl pyridinium halides ; ( b ) anionic detergents such as , for example , alkyl , aryl , and olefin sulfonates , alkyl , olefin , ether , and monoglyceride sulfates , and sulfosuccinates ; ( c ) nonionic detergents such as , for example , fatty amine oxides , fatty acid alkanolamides , and polyoxyethylenepolypropylene copolymers ; ( d ) amphoteric detergents such as , for example , alkyl - beta - aminopropionates , and 2 - alkyl - imidazoline quaternary ammonium salts ; and ( e ) mixtures thereof . the parenteral compositions typically will contain from about 0 . 5 to about 25 % by weight of the active ingredient in solution . preservatives and buffers may be used . in order to minimize or eliminate irritation at the site of injection , such compositions may contain one or more nonionic surfactants having a hydrophile - lipophile balance ( hlb ) of from about 12 to about 17 . the quantity of surfactant in such compositions will typically range from about 5 to about 15 % by weight . suitable surfactants include polyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters , such as sorbitan moriooleate and the high molecular weight adducts of ethylene oxide with a hydrophobic base , formed by the condensation of propylene oxide with propylene glycol . the parenteral compositions can be presented in unit - dose or multi - dose sealed containers , such as ampules and vials , and can be stored in a freeze - dried ( lyophilized ) condition requiring only the addition of the sterile liquid excipient , for example , water , for injections , immediately prior to use . extemporaneous injection solutions and suspensions can be prepared from sterile powders , granules , and tablets of the kind previously described . the pharmaceutical dosage forms suitable for injection or infusion can include sterile aqueous solutions or dispersions comprising the active ingredient that are adapted for administration by encapsulation in liposomes . in all cases , the ultimate dosage form must be sterile , fluid and stable under the conditions of manufacture and storage . sterile injectable solutions are prepared by incorporating ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound or pharmaceutical acceptable salt thereof in the required amount in the appropriate solvent with various of the other ingredients enumerated above , as required , followed by , e . g ., filter sterilization . the compounds disclosed herein can also be delivered topically . regions for topical administration include the skin surface and also mucous membrane tissues of the rectum , nose , mouth , and throat . compositions for topical administration via the skin and mucous membranes should not give rise to signs of irritation , such as swelling or redness . the topical composition may include a pharmaceutical acceptable carrier adapted fortopical administration . thus , the composition may take the form of , for example , a suspension , solution , ointment , lotion , cream , foam , aerosol , spray , suppository , implant , inhalant , tablet , capsule , dry powder , syrup , balm or lozenge . methods for preparing such compositions are well known in the pharmaceutical industry . the compounds disclosed herein may be formulated for topical administration to the epidermis as ointments , creams or lotions , or as a transdermal patch . ointments and creams may , for example , be formulated with an aqueous or oily base with the addition of suitable thickening and / or gelling agents . lotions may be formulated with an aqueous or oily base and will in general also containing one or more emulsifying agents , stabilizing agents , dispersing agents , suspending agents , thickening agents , or coloring agents . compositions suitable for topical administration in the mouth include lozenges comprising active agents in a flavored base , usually sucrose and acacia or tragacanth ; pastilles comprising the active ingredient in an inert base such as gelatin and glycerin or sucrose and acacia ; and mouthwashes comprising the active ingredient in a suitable liquid carrier . creams , ointments or pastes according to the present disclosure are semi - solid compositions for external application comprising the active ingredient . they may be made by mixing the active ingredient in finely - divided or powdered form , alone or in solution or suspension in an aqueous or non - aqueous fluid , with the aid of suitable machinery , with a greasy or non - greasy base . the base may comprise hydrocarbons such as hard , soft or liquid paraffin , glycerol , beeswax , a metallic soap ; a mucilage ; an oil of natural origin such as almond , corn , arachis , castor or olive oil ; wool fat or its derivatives ; or a fatty acid such as steric or oleic acid together with an alcohol such as propylene glycol or a macrogel . the composition may incorporate any suitable surface active agent such as an anionic , cationic or non - ionic surfactant such as a sorbitan ester or a polyoxyethylene derivative thereof . suspending agents such as natural gums , cellulose derivatives or inorganic materials such as silicaceous silicas , and other ingredients such as lanolin , may also be included . lotions according to the present disclosure include those suitable for application to the skin or eye . an eye lotion may comprise a sterile aqueous solution optionally containing a bactericide and may be prepared by methods similar to those for the preparation of drops . lotions or liniments for application to the skin may also include an agent to hasten drying and to cool the skin , such as an alcohol or acetone , and / or a moisturizer such as glycerol or an oil such as castor oil or arachis oil . the compounds described herein can be administered transdermally . transdermal administration typically involves the delivery of a pharmaceutical agent for percutaneous passage of the drug into the systemic circulation of the patient . the skin sites include anatomic regions for transdermally administering the drug and include the forearm , abdomen , chest , back , buttock , mastoidal area , and the like . transdermal delivery is accomplished by exposing a source of the active compound to a patient &# 39 ; s skin for an extended period of time . transdermal patches have the added advantage of providing controlled delivery of a compound complex to the body ( see transdermal drug delivery : developmental issues and research initiatives , hadgraft and guy ( eds . ), marcel dekker , inc ., ( 1989 ); controlled drug delivery : fundamentals and applications , robinson and lee ( eds . ), marcel dekker inc ., ( 1987 ); and transdermal delivery of drugs , vols . 1 - 3 , kydonieus and berner ( eds . ), crc press , ( 1987 )). such dosage forms can be made by dissolving , dispersing , or otherwise incorporating a compound disclosed herein in a proper medium , such as an elastomeric matrix material . absorption enhancers can also be used to increase the flux of the compound across the skin . the rate of such flux can be controlled by either providing a rate - controlling membrane or dispersing the compound in a polymer matrix or gel . a variety of types of transdermal patches will find use in the methods described herein . for example , a simple adhesive patch can be prepared from a backing material and an acrylate adhesive . the active compound and any enhancer are formulated into the adhesive casting solution and allowed to mix thoroughly . the solution is cast directly onto the backing material and the casting solvent is evaporated in an oven , leaving an adhesive film . the release liner can be attached to complete the system . alternatively , a polyurethane matrix patch can be employed to deliver a compound disclosed herein . the layers of this patch comprise a backing , a polyurethane drug / enhancer matrix , a membrane , an adhesive , and a release liner . the polyurethane matrix is prepared using a room temperature curing polyurethane prepolymer . addition of water , alcohol , and complex to the prepolymer results in the formation of a tacky firm elastomer that can be directly cast only the backing material . a further embodiment will utilize a hydrogel matrix patch . typically , the hydrogel matrix will comprise alcohol , water , drug , and several hydrophilic polymers . this hydrogel matrix can be incorporated into a transdermal patch between the backing and the adhesive layer . a liquid reservoir patch will also find use in the methods described herein . this patch comprises an impermeable or semipermeable , heat sealable backing material , a heat sealable membrane , an acrylate based pressure sensitive skin adhesive , and a siliconized release liner . the backing is heat sealed to the membrane to form a reservoir which can then be filled with a solution of the complex , enhancers , gelling agent , and other excipients . foam matrix patches are similar in design and components to the liquid reservoir system , except that the gelled pharmaceutical agent - chemical modifier solution is constrained in a thin foam layer , typically a polyurethane . this foam layer is situated between the backing and the membrane which have been heat sealed at the periphery of the patch . for passive delivery systems , the rate of release is typically controlled by a membrane placed between the reservoir and the skin , by diffusion from a monolithic device , or by the skin itself serving as a rate - controlling barrier in the delivery system ( see u . s . pat . nos . 4 , 816 , 258 ; 4 , 927 , 408 ; 4 , 904 , 475 ; 4 , 588 , 580 , 4 , 788 , 062 ; and the like , all of which are incorporated herein by reference ). the rate of drug delivery will be dependent , in part , upon the nature of the membrane . for example , the rate of drug delivery across membranes within the body is generally higher than across dermal barriers . the rate at which the active compound is delivered from the device to the membrane is most advantageously controlled by the use of rate - limiting membranes which are placed between the reservoir and the skin . assuming that the skin is sufficiently permeable to the active compound ( i . e ., absorption through the skin is greater than the rate of passage through the membrane ), the membrane will serve to control the dosage rate experienced by the patient . suitable permeable membrane materials may be selected based on the desired degree of permeability , the nature of the active compound , and the mechanical considerations related to constructing the device . exemplary permeable membrane materials include a wide variety of natural and synthetic polymers , such as polydimethylsiloxanes ( silicone rubbers ), ethylenevinylacetate copolymer ( eva ), polyurethanes , polyurethane - polyether copolymers , polyethylenes , polyamides , polyvinylchlorides ( pvc ), polypropylenes , polycarbonates , polytetrafluoroethylenes ( ptfe ), cellulosic materials , e . g ., cellulose triacetate and cellulose nitrate / acetate , and hydrogels , e . g ., 2 - hydroxyethylmethacrylate ( hema ). other items may be contained in the device , such as other conventional components of therapeutic products , depending upon the desired device characteristics . for example , the compositions disclosed herein may also include one or more preservatives or bacteriostatic agents , e . g ., methyl hydroxybenzoate , propyl hydroxybenzoate , chlorocresol , benzalkonium chlorides , and the like . these pharmaceutical compositions also can contain other active ingredients such as antimicrobial agents , particularly antibiotics , anesthetics , analgesics , and antipruritic agents . the compounds disclosed herein may be formulated for administration as suppositories . a typical suppository is produced by providing a low melting wax , such as a mixture of fatty acid glycerides or cocoa butter , that is first melted and the active component is dispersed homogeneously therein , for example , by stirring . the molten homogeneous mixture is then poured into convenient sized molds , allowed to cool , and to solidify . the active compound may be formulated into a suppository comprising , for example , about 0 . 5 % to about 50 % of a compound disclosed herein , disposed in a polyethylene glycol ( peg ) carrier ( e . g ., peg 1000 [ 96 %] and peg 4000 [ 4 %]). a preferred aspect contemplates pharmaceutical compositions useful for practicing the therapeutic methods described herein . pharmaceutical compositions can contain a physiologically tolerable carrier together with at least one species of a secretagogue , such as ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound as described herein , dissolved or dispersed therein as an active ingredient . in a preferred embodiment , the pharmaceutical composition is not immunogenic when administered to a human individual for therapeutic purposes , unless that purpose is to induce an immune response . one aspect relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising at least one ghrelin splice variant or a ghrelin splice variant - like compound as defined above in formula i . in a preferred embodiment , the pharmaceutical composition comprises at least two different ghrelin splice variant - like compounds as defined above in formula i in order to increase the effect of the treatment . the difference may for example be compounds having different acylations as discussed above . as used herein , the terms “ pharmaceutically acceptable ”, “ physiologically tolerable ” and grammatical variations thereof , as they refer to compositions , carriers , diluents and reagents , are used interchangeably and represent that the materials are capable of administration to or upon a human without the production of undesirable physiological effects such as nausea , dizziness , gastric upset and the like . the preparation of a pharmacological composition that contains active ingredients dissolved or dispersed therein is well understood in the art . typically , such compositions are prepared as sterile injectables either as liquid solutions or suspensions , aqueous or non - aqueous ; however , solid forms suitable for solution , or suspensions , in liquid prior to use can also be prepared . the preparation can also be emulsified . the active ingredient can be mixed with excipients which are pharmaceutically acceptable and compatible with the active ingredient and in amounts suitable for use in the therapeutic methods described herein . suitable excipients are , for example , water , saline , dextrose , glycerol , ethanol or the like and combinations thereof . in addition , if desired , the composition can contain minor amounts of auxiliary substances such as wetting or emulsifying agents , ph buffering agents and the like which enhance the effectiveness of the active ingredient . it is preferred that the formulation has a ph within the range of 3 . 5 - 8 , such as in the range 4 . 5 - 7 . 5 , such as in the range 5 . 5 - 7 , such as in the range 6 - 7 . 5 , most preferably around 7 . 3 . however , as is understood by one skilled in the art , the ph range may be adjusted according to the individual treated and the administration procedure . for example , ghrelin splice variant and ghrelin splice variant homologs may be easily stabilized at a lower ph ; so , in another preferred embodiment , the formulation has a ph within the range 3 . 5 - 7 , such as 4 - 6 , such as 5 - 6 , such as 5 . 3 - 5 . 7 , such as 5 . 5 . pharmaceutical compositions disclosed herein can include pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds therein . these salts will be ones which are acceptable in their application to a pharmaceutical use , meaning that the salt will retain the biological activity of the parent compound and the salt will not have untoward or deleterious effects in its application and use in treating diseases . pharmaceutically acceptable salts are prepared in a standard manner . if the parent compound is a base , it is treated with an excess of an organic or inorganic acid in a suitable solvent . if the parent compound is an acid , it is treated with an inorganic or organic base in a suitable solvent . the compounds disclosed herein may be administered in the form of an alkali metal or earth alkali metal salt thereof , concurrently , simultaneously , or together with a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or diluent , especially and preferably in the form of a pharmaceutical composition thereof , whether by , e . g ., oral , rectal , or parenteral ( including subcutaneous ) route , in an effective amount . examples of pharmaceutical acceptable acid addition salts for use in the present inventive pharmaceutical composition include those derived from mineral acids , such as , e . g ., hydrochloric , hydrobromic , phosphoric , metaphosphoric , nitric and sulfuric acids , and organic acids , such as , e . g ., tartaric , acetic , citric , malic , lactic , fumaric , benzoic , glycolic , gluconic , succinic , p - toluenesulphonic , and arylsulphonic acids . other suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts include the acid addition salts ( formed with the free amino groups of the polypeptide ). other examples of salts include pharmaceutically acceptable acid addition salts , pharmaceutically acceptable metal salts , ammonium salts and alkylated ammonium salts . acid addition salts include salts of inorganic acids as well as organic acids . representative examples of suitable inorganic acids include hydrochloric , hydrobromic , hydriodic , phosphoric , sulfuric and nitric acids and the like . representative examples of suitable organic acids include formic , acetic , trichioroacetic , trifluoroacetic , propionic , benzoic , cinnamic , citric , fumaric , glycolic , lactic , maleic , malic , malonic , mandelic , oxalic , picric , pyruvic , salicylic , succinic , rnethanesulfonic , ethanesulfonic , tartaric , ascorbic , pamoic , bismethylene salicylic , ethanedisulfonic , gluconic , citraconic , aspartic , stearic , palmitic , ethylenediaminetetraacetic ( edta ), p - aminobenzoic , glutamic , benzenesulfonic , and p - toluenesulfonic acids and the like . further examples of pharmaceutically acceptable inorganic or organic acid addition salts include the pharmaceutical acceptable salts listed in berge s . m . et al ., j . pharm . sci . 66 : 1 - 19 ( 1977 ), which is incorporated herein by reference . examples of metal salts include lithium , sodium , potassium and magnesium salts and the like . examples of ammonium and alkylated ammonium salts include ammonium , methylammonium , dimethylammonium , trimethylammonium , ethylammonium , hydroxyethylammonium , diethylammonium , butylammonium and tetramethylammonium salts and the like . salts formed with the free carboxyl groups can also be derived from inorganic bases such as , for example , sodium , potassium , ammonium , calcium or ferric hydroxides , and such organic bases as isopropylamine , trimethylamine , 2 - ethylamino ethanol , histidine , procaine and the like . also included within the scope of compounds or pharmaceutical acceptable acid addition salts thereof in the context of the present disclosure are any hydrates ( hydrated forms ) thereof . for parenteral administration , solutions of the present compounds in sterile aqueous solution , aqueous propylene glycol or sesame or peanut oil may be employed . such aqueous solutions should be suitably buffered if necessary , and the liquid diluent first rendered isotonic with sufficient saline or glucose . the aqueous solutions are particularly suitable for intravenous , intramuscular , subcutaneous and intraperitoneal administration . the sterile aqueous media employed are all readily available by standard techniques known to those skilled in the art . liquid compositions can also contain liquid phases in addition to and to the exclusion of water . exemplary of such additional liquid phases are glycerin , vegetable oils such as cottonseed oil , organic esters such as ethyl oleate , and water - oil emulsions . suitable pharmaceutical carriers include inert solid diluents or fillers , sterile aqueous solution and various organic solvents . examples of solid carriers are lactose , terra alba , sucrose , cyclodextrin , talc , gelatine , agar , pectin , acacia , magnesium stearate , stearic acid or lower alkyl ethers of cellulose . examples of liquid carriers are syrup , peanut oil , olive oil , phospholipids , fatty acids , fatty acid amines , polyoxyethylene or water . nasal aerosol or inhalation formulations may be prepared , for example , as solutions in saline , employing benzyl alcohol or other suitable preservatives , absorption promoters to enhance bioavailability , employing fluorocarbons , and / or employing other solubilizing or dispersing agents . the pharmaceutical compositions formed by combining the compounds disclosed herein and the pharmaceutical acceptable carriers are then readily administered in a variety of dosage forms suitable for the disclosed routes of administration . the formulations may conveniently be presented in unit dosage form by methods known in the art of pharmacy . in a preferred embodiment , the formulation comprises the ghrelin splice variant or ghrelin splice variant - like compound or a salt thereof as a lyophilisate , and the formulation further comprises a solvent , said lyophilisate and said solvent being in separate compartments until administration . in another embodiment , the formulation is a solution of the ghrelin splice variant or ghrelin splice variant - like compound or a salt thereof . in either embodiment , the solvent may be any suitable solvent , such as those described herein , and preferably the solvent is saline . another aspect relates to a method for preparing a medicament or pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound disclosed herein , the method comprising admixing at least one ghrelin splice variant - like compound , as defined above in formula i , with a physiologically acceptable carrier . a further aspect relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising , as an active ingredient , a compound as defined above in formula i or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof together with a pharmaceutically - acceptable carrier . accordingly , the formulation may further include the transport molecules as described above . in a further aspect , the present compounds may be administered in combination with additional pharmacologically - active substances or other pharmacologically - active material and / or may be administered in combination with another therapeutic method . by the phrase “ in combination with another substance ( s ) and / or therapeutic method ( s )” is meant herein that said another substance ( s ) and / or therapeutic method ( s ) is administered to the individual thus treated before , during ( including concurrently with ) and / or after treatment of an individual with a secretagogue . in all cases of combination treatment described herein , the combination may be in the form of kit - in - part systems , wherein the combined active substances may be used for simultaneous , sequential or separate administration . in all cases , it is preferred that any of the herein - mentioned medicaments are administered in pharmaceutically effective amounts , i . e . an administration involving a total amount of each active component of the medicament or pharmaceutical composition or method that is sufficient to show a meaningful patient benefit . the present disclosure is further defined in the following examples . it should be understood that these examples , while indicating preferred embodiments , are given by way of illustration only . from the above discussion and these examples , one skilled in the art can ascertain the preferred features of this disclosure , and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof , can make various changes and modifications to adapt it to various uses and conditions . amino acid derivatives and synthesis reagents can be obtained from commercial sources . peptide chain extension can be performed using applied biosystem 433a synthesizer produced by perkin elmer , and a protected peptide derivative - resin can be constructed by the boc or fmoc method . the protected peptide resin obtained by the boc method is deprotected with anhydrous hydrogen fluoride ( hf ) in the presence of p - cresol thereby releasing the peptide , which is then purified . the protected peptide resin obtained by the fmoc method is deprotected with trifluoroacetic acid ( tfa ) or dilute tfa containing various scavengers , and the released peptide is purified . purification is performed in reversed phase hplc on a c4 or c18 column . the purity of the purified product can be confirmed by reverse phase hplc , and its structure can be confirmed by amino acid composition analysis and mass spectrometry . peptides disclosed herein can be produced by a conventional peptide synthesis method . specifically , synthesis of acylated or alkylated peptides is exemplified below . abbreviations : “ hmp resin ” means 4 - hydroxymethyl - phenoxymethyl resin ; “ fmoc amide resin ” means 4 -( 2 ′, 4 ′- dimethoxyphenyl - fmoc - aminomethyl ) phenoxyacetamido - ethyl resin ; “ pam resin ” means phenylacetoamidomethyl resin ; “ hbtu ” means 2 -( 1h - benzotriazole - 1 - yl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate ; “ tbtu ” means 2 -( 1h - benzotriazole - 1 - yl )- 1 , 1 , 3 , 3 - tetramethyluronium tetrafluoroborate ; “ hobt ” means 1 - hydroxybenzotriazole ; “ dcc ” means dicyclohexylcarbodiimide ; “ dipci ” means diisopropylcarbodiimide ; “ tfa ” means trifluoroacetic acid ; “ dipea ” means diisopropylethylamine ; “ tips ” means triisopropylsilane ; “ fmoc ” means fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl ; “ boc ” means t - butyloxycarbonyl ; “ trt ” means trityl ; “ bu ” means t - butyl ; “ pmc ” means 2 , 2 , 5 , 7 , 8 - pentamethylchroman - 6 - sulfonyl ; “ prl ” means propionyl ; “ phprl ” means phenylpropionyl ; “ bzl ” means benzyl ; “ born ” means benzyloxymethyl ; “ tos ” means toluenesulfonyl ; “ cl - z ” means 2 - chloro - benzyloxycarbonyl ; “ pis ” means 2 - phenylisopropyl ; “ mtt ” means 4 - methyltrityl ; “ dmf ” means n , n - dimethylformamide ; “ nmp ” means n - methylpyrrolidone ; “ dmap ” means 4 - dimethylaminopyridine ; “ hosu ” means n - hydroxysucciniimide ; “ adod ” means 2 - aminododecanoic acid ; “ aib ” means 2 - aminoisobutylic acid ; “ ape ” means 5 - aminopentanoic acid ; “ cha ” means cyclohexylalanine ; “ dap ” means 2 , 3 - diaminopropionic acid ; “ nal ” means naphtylalanine ; “ nie ” means norleucine . protecting amino acids which can be used in synthesis fmoc method : boc - gly , fmoc - gly , fmoc - ser ( bu ), fmoc - ser ( trt ), fmoc - glu ( obu ), fmoc - his ( boc ), fmoc - gln ( trt ), fmoc - arg ( pmc ), fmoc - lys ( boc ), fmoc - pro , fmoc - leu , fmoc - ala , fmoc - val , fmoc - phe , fmoc - phe , fmoc - ser ( n - c 8 h 17 ), fmoc - ser ( n - c 8 h 17 ), fmoc - cys ( n - c 3 h 17 ), fmoc - asp ( opis ), fmoc - ser ( bzl ), fmoc - cys ( trt ), fmoc - dap ( octanoyl ), fmoc - 2 - nal , fmoc - 2 - nal , fmoc - nle , fmoc - lys ( mtt ), fmoc - aib - oh , fmoc - asp ( o - c 7 - h 15 ). boc method : boc - gly , boc - ser ( bzl ), boc - ser ( ac ), boc - ser ( pri ), boc - glu ( obzl ), boo - his ( bom ), boc - gin , boc - arg ( tos ), boc - lys ( cl - z ), boc - pro , boc - leu , boc - ala , boc - val , boc - phe , boc - cys ( n - c 8 h 17 ), boo - ape , boc - ser ( n - c 8 h 17 ) ( a ) analytical hplc system unit : shimadzu lc - 10a system ; column : ymc protein - rp ( 4 . 6 mm × 150 mm ); column temperature : 40 ° c . ; eluent : a linear gradient of from 0 to 50 % acetonitrile for 20 minutes in 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ; flow rate : 1 ml / min ; detection : uv ( 210 nm ); injection volume : 10 to 100 mu i . ( b ) preparative hplc system unit : waters 600 multisolvent delivery system ; columns : ymc - pack - ods - a ( 5 mu m , 20 mm × 250 mm ) ymc - pack - protein - rp ( 5 mu m , c4 , 10 mm × 250 mm ) ymc - pack protein - rp ( 5 mu m , c4 , 20 mm × 250 mm ) ymc protein - rp ( 4 . 6 mm × 150 mm ); eluent : a suitable linear gradient of acetonitrile concentration in 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid ; flow rate : 10 ml / min . ( for columns of an inner diameter of 20 mm ), 3 ml / min . ( for the column of an inner diameter of 10 mm ), 1 ml / min . ( for the column of an inner diameter of 4 . 6 mm ); detection : 210 nm , 260 nm ; injection : 10 to 2000 mu i ( 2000 mu i or more was injected via a pump ) ( c ) mass spectrometer unit : finnigan mat tsq700 ; ion source : esi ; detection ion mode : positive spray ; voltage : 4 . 5 kv ; capillary temperature : 250 ° c . ; mobile phase : a mixture of 0 . 2 % acetic acid and methanol ( 1 : 1 ); flow rate : 0 . 2 ml / min ; scan range : m / z 300 to 1 , 500 ( d ) analysis of amino acid sequence unit : applied biosystem 477a , 492 model sequencer manufactured by perkin elmer ( e ) analysis of amino acid composition unit : l - 8500 model amino acid analyzer manufactured by hitachi , co ., ltd . ; sample : unless otherwise specified , the sample is hydrolyzed with 6 m hcl at 110 ° c . for 24 hours in a sealed tube . example of synthesis of a derivative having acyl serine ( fmoc method , carboxyl - terminal amide derivatives ) ghrelin splice variant gss ( co - c 7 h 15 ) flspehqrvqvrpphkaph fmoc - his ( pmc )- hmp - resin ( 403 mg , 0 . 25 mmol , abi co ., ltd .) is treated with 20 % piperazine for 20 minutes and subjected repeatedly to introduction of fmoc - amino acid by hbtu / hobt and elimination of fmoc by piperazine sequentially to construct fmoc - ser ( bu )- ser ( trt )- phe - leu - ser ( tbu )- pro - glu ( obu )- his ( boc )- gln ( trt )- arg ( pmc )- val - gln - val ( trt )- arg ( pmc )- pro - pro - his ( boc )- lys ( boc )- ala ( boc )- pro ( boc )- pro - his ( pmc )- resin . after boc - gly is finally introduced by dcc / hobt , the resulting protected peptide resin ( 1 . 3 g ) is treated with 1 % tfa - 5 % tips - methylene chloride solution ( 15 ml ) for 30 minutes . the peptide resin is filtrated , washed several times with methylene chloride ( 30 ml ), and washed with 5 % di ea ( 10 ml ) and then with methylene chloride ( 30 ml ). the resulting de - trt peptide resin ( about 1 . 3 g ) is swollen with nmp ( 10 ml ), and octanoic acid ( 144 . 2 mg , 1 . 0 mmol ) and dipci ( 126 . 2 mg , 1 . 0 mmol ) are added thereto in the presence of dmap ( 61 . 1 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) and allowed to react for 8 hours . the resin is recovered by filtration and washed with nmp and then with methylene chloride , followed by drying under vacuum to give about 1 . 2 g protected peptide resin wherein the side chain of third serine is octanoylated . to this product is added a de - protecting reagent ( 10 ml ) consisting of 88 % tfa - 5 % phenol - 2 % tips - 5 % h 2 o , and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 2 hours . the resin is removed by filtration , and the filtrate is concentrated followed by adding ether to the resulting residues to form precipitates . the precipitates are recovered by filtration and dried to give about 550 mg crude peptide . 200 mg of this product is dissolved in 10 ml water and applied to ymc - pack protein - rp ( c4 , 20 mm × 250 mm ) and eluted with a linear gradient ( flow rate : 10 ml / min .) for 60 minutes of from 0 to 54 % acetonitrile in 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid . the desired fractions are collected and lyophilized to give about 120 mg of the desired product . example of synthesis of a derivative having acyl serine ( fmoc method , carboxyl - terminal amide compounds ) ghrelin splice variant ( 1 - 22 )- nh 2 gss ( co - c 7 h 15 ) flspehqrvqvrpphkaph - nh 2 fmoc - amide - resin ( 403 mg , 0 . 25 mmol , abi co ., ltd .) is treated with 20 % piperazine for 20 minutes and subjected repeatedly to introduction of fmoc - amino acid by hbtu / hobt and elimination of fmoc by piperazine sequentially to construct fmoc - ser ( bu )- ser ( trt )- phe - leu - ser ( bu )- pro - glu ( obu )- his ( boc )- gln ( trt )- arg ( pmc )- val - gln - val ( trt )- arg ( pmc )- pro - pro - his ( boc )- lys ( boc )- ala ( boc )- pro ( boc )- pro - his ( boc )- resin . after boc - gly is finally introduced by dcc / hobt , the resulting protected peptide resin ( about 550 mg ) is treated with 1 % tfa - 5 % tips - methylene chloride solution ( 10 ml ) for 30 minutes . the peptide resin is recovered by filtration , washed several times with methylene chloride ( 30 ml ), and washed with 5 % diea ( 10 ml ) and then with methylene chloride ( 30 ml ). the resulting de - trt peptide resin ( about 750 mg ) is swollen with nmp ( 10 ml ), and octanoic acid ( 1442 mg , 1 . 0 mmol ) and dipci ( 126 . 2 mg , 1 mmol ) are added thereto in the presence of dmap ( 61 . 1 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) and allowed to react for 4 hours . the resin is recovered by filtration and washed with nmp and then with methylene chloride , followed by drying under vacuum to give about 800 mg protected peptide resin wherein the side chain of third serine is octanoylated . tfa ( 10 ml ) is added to this product and stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes . the resin is removed by filtration , and the filtrate is then concentrated followed by adding ether to the resulting residues to form precipitates . the precipitates are recovered by filtration and dried to give about 250 mg crude peptide . about 200 mg of this product is dissolved in 10 ml of 30 % aqueous acetic acid and applied to ymc - pack protein - rp ( c4 , 20 mm × 250 mm ) and eluted with a linear gradient ( flow rate : 10 ml / min .) for 60 minutes of from 0 to 54 % acetonitrile in 0 . 1 % trifluoroacetic acid . the desired fractions are collected and then lyophilized to give about 150 mg of the desired product . example of synthesis of a derivative having acyl serine ( boc method ) [ ser3 ( propionyl )]- ghrelin splice variant ( 1 - 22 ) gss ( co - ch 2 ch 3 ) flspehqrvqvrpphkaph protected ghrelin splice variant resin ( 4 - 22 ) is constructed from boc - his ( tos )- pam resin ( 0 . 75 g , 0 . 5 mmol ) by boc chemistry , and boc - ser ( co - ch 2 ch 3 )- oh , boc - ser ( bzl )- oh and boc - gly - oh are condensed with a half ( 1 . 4 g ) of the resin . the resulting resin , 1 . 5 g , is then treated with a mixture of hf and p - cresol ( 8 . 5 ml : 1 . 5 ml ) at 0 ° c . for 1 hour , and the hf is evaporated . ether is added to the residues , whereby 671 mg crude peptide is obtained . this sample is then dissolved in 50 % acetic acid ( acoh ) and applied to a preparative column ymc - pack - ods - a ( 5 mu m , 20 mm × 250 mm ) and eluted at a rate of 10 ml / min by a gradient of from 0 to 95 % acetonitrile concentration in 0 . 1 % tfa solution for 75 minutes . those fractions containing the desired product are lyophilized to give approximately 135 . 8 mg crude peptide . a part ( 0 . 5 mg ) of this product is applied to ymc - a - 302 column ( c18 , 4 . 6 mm × 150 mm ) and eluted at a flow rate of 1 ml / min . by a gradient of from 15 to 19 % concentration acetonitrile . this purification procedure is then repeated and the desired fractions are combined to give approximately 0 . 41 mg of the desired product . other compounds according to the present disclosure can be produced likewise . acylated and un - acylated seq id no : 2 , acylated and un - acylated seq id no : 3 and acylated seq id no : 4 were produced synthetically using the above described method . efficacy of subcutaneous administration of acylated and un - acylated ghrelin splice variant on weight gain , lowering plasma glucose level , lowering cholesterol and lipid level acylated ghrelin splice variant ( 20 μg ; 29 amino acids in length ( seq id no : 2 )) or the vehicle ( 1 . 6 % mannitol ) was administered once daily for 14 successive days , via the subcutaneous ( sc ) route , to groups comprising n = 10 129sv male mice . no mortality occurred in any of the animals throughout the entire study period . no clinical signs were observed in any of the animals throughout the entire study period . all animals were subjected to terminal bleeding , under co 2 anesthesia , immediately prior to euthanasia . terminal blood collection was performed serially as per animal number , and not as per group . hematology : blood samples ( at least 100 μl ) were collected into pre - labeled edta coated tubes . the tubes were pre - labeled and contain the following information : study number , group number , animal number and date . the samples were kept until delivery and analysis at 2 - 8 ° c . hematology parameters that were tested using sysmex kx21 are : wbc , rbc , hgb , hct , mcv , mch , mchc , platelets . differential count was preformed manually . biochemistry : blood for biochemistry analysis was collected into non - coated pre - labeled tubes . the tubes were pre - labeled and contained the following information : study number , group number , animal number and date . following clotting , the blood from each animal was centrifuged , and the serum was collected into two pre - labeled tubes and submitted for analysis as follows : serum , 250 μl , was kept at 2 - 8 ° c . until analysis . the samples were subjected to the following listed tests using hitachi 917 system : creatinine , total bilirubin , glucose , triglycerides , cholesterol , hdl , ldl , total protein , globulin , albumin , urea , potassium , phosphorus , calcium , sodium , chloride , sgot , sgpt , alp . urinalysis : urine was collected into pre - labeled tubes ( as above ) from all animals ( where possible ) prior to and / or after euthanasia . for all surviving animals , urine collection was performed serially as per animal number , and not as per group . an attempt was made to attain the maximal amount as possible to perform the tests listed below . urinalysis is performed using a commercial test stick ( bayer , multistix ® 10sg ) applied to urine sample and evaluating the following parameters : glucose , ketone , ph value , leukocytes , blood , density , nitrite , bilirubin , urobilinogen and protein . necropsy procedures and macroscopic examination : all animals were subjected to a fully detailed necropsy . for all surviving animals , necropsy was performed serially as per animal number , and not as per group , immediately following the scheduled terminal bleeding . at necropsy , a thorough examination is made and any abnormality or gross pathological changes in tissues and / or organs are observed and recorded . organ / tissue collection : the organs and tissues listed ( brain , liver , kidney , stomach , pancreas , lungs , spleen , heart , epididymal wat , retroperitoneal wat , interscapular bat ) were excised and weighed wet as soon as possible after excision and removal of the attached fat and other connective tissues . all organs from one animal were collected into one container , pre - labeled with the following information : study number , group number , animal number and date . results : reduced levels of cholesterol in the acylated ghrelin splice variant and un - acylated ghrelin splice variant treated groups were observed ( 5 % & amp ; 6 %, respectively ; see fig1 a ). reduced levels of hdl in the acylated ghrelin splice variant and un - acylated ghrelin splice variant treated groups ( 5 % & amp ; 6 %, respectively ; see fig1 b ). ldl levels remained unchanged in the acylated ghrelin splice variant and un - acylated ghrelin splice variant treated groups treated groups ( see fig1 c ). increased levels of triglycerides in the acylated ghrelin splice variant ( 9 %) were observed , while the level of triglycerides in the un - acylated ghrelin splice variant treated group remained unchanged ( see fig1 d ). human patients with advanced coronary heart disease suffering from the hypercholesterolemia syndrome are believed to benefit from the present disclosure in terms of reduced atherosclerotic blockage , reduced atherosclerotic plaques and a healthier lipid profile . patients will receive subcutaneous administration of 10 μg / kg dose of ghrelin splice variant and placebo . the protocol will start at 08 . 00 hours after an overnight fast . a 22 - gauge catheter will be inserted into an antecubital vein for blood sampling . after an equilibration period of 30 min , ghrelin splice variant ( 10 μg / kg ) or placebo ( 0 . 9 % saline ) will be administered subcutaneously . investigational treatment : ghrelin splice variant will be available in gmp - quality in prepared vials of 10 μg / kg from bachem ag , switzerland or neomps inc ., usa . placebo consists of normal saline ( or the vehicle used to dissolve study substance ), which will be provided by a hospital pharmacy . ghrelin splice variant is dissolved in saline , and a dose of 10 μg / kg ghrelin splice variant will be administered to the patient . ( 1 ) cardiovascular autonomic function : for the screening of autonomic disorders , a 20 minute holter ekg will be performed , and the sdnn value determined . ( 10 ) mediators of the proinflammatory reaction ( crp , il - 6 , tnf - α ), the activated metabolism ( free fatty acids , triglycerides , insulin , glucose , leptin ), the gut - brain axis ( ghrelin ), and the somatotrophic axis ( igf - 1 , free testosterone ) will be determined as baseline in the first week . a urine sample will be reserved for assessment of proteolysis - inducing factor ( pif ), a mediator of the paraneoplastic anorexia / cachexia syndrome . human patients with obesity are believed to benefit from the present disclosure in terms of reduced weight gain , reduced plasma glucose level and a healthier lipid profile . patients will receive a daily subcutaneous administration of 10 μg / kg dose of ghrelin splice variant and placebo . the protocol will start at 08 . 00 hours after an overnight fast . a 22 - gauge catheter will be inserted into an antecubital vein for blood sampling . after an equilibration period of 30 min , ghrelin splice variant ( 10 μg / kg ) or placebo ( 0 . 9 % saline ) will be administered subcutaneously . investigational treatment : ghrelin splice variant will be available in gmp - quality in prepared vials of 10 μg / kg from bachem ag , switzerland or neomps inc ., usa . placebo consists of normal saline ( or the vehicle used to dissolve study substance ), which will be provided by a hospital pharmacy . ghrelin splice variant is dissolved in saline , and a dose of 10 μg / kg ghrelin splice variant will be administered to the patient . ( 1 ) percent change and absolute change in body weight . ( 2 ) waist circumference , waist - hip ratio , change in bmi , sagittal diameter and dexa ; blood tests ( triglycerides , cholesterol - total , ldl - c , hdl - c , ldh , blood glucose fasting , hba1c , c - reactive protein , insulin and adiponectin ); data from questionnaires ( baecke questionnaire , satiety & amp ; appetite questionnaire , poms , and impact of weight on quality of life questionnaire - lite version ( iwqol - lite )). ( 3 ) changes in homa ( homeostasis model assessment ) index value ; changes in baseline glucose , and post - charge glucose plasma levels . changes in serum insulin , leptin and adiponectin , inflammatory markers and oxidative stress markers . ( 4 ) mediators of the proinflammatory reaction ( crp , il - 6 , tnf - α ), the activated metabolism ( free fatty acids , triglycerides , insulin , glucose , leptin ), the gut - brain axis ( ghrelin ), and the somatotrophic axis ( igf - 1 , free testosterone ) will be determined as baseline pretreatment and measured weekly to evaluate the progress of treatment . a urine sample will be reserved for assessment of metabolites . human patients with diabetes are believed to benefit from the present disclosure in terms of reduced plasma glucose level and a healthier lipid profile . patients will receive a daily subcutaneous administration of 10 μg / kg dose of ghrelin splice variant and placebo . the protocol will start at 08 . 00 hours after an overnight fast . a 22 - gauge catheter will be inserted into an antecubital vein for blood sampling . after an equilibration period of 30 min , ghrelin splice variant ( 10 μg / kg ) or placebo ( 0 . 9 % saline ) will be administered subcutaneously . investigational treatment : ghrelin splice variant will be available in gmp - quality in prepared vials of 10 pg / kg from bachem ag , switzerland or neomps inc ., usa . placebo consists of normal saline ( or the vehicle used to dissolve study substance ), which will be provided by a hospital pharmacy . ghrelin splice variant is dissolved in saline , and a dose of 10 μg / kg ghrelin splice variant will be administered to the patient . ( 1 ) percent change and absolute change in plasma glucose level . ( 2 ) glucose level control as measured by change from baseline in fasting plasma glucose ( 3 ) difference in hbalc levels after 12 weeks , 26 weeks treatment ( 4 ) self monitoring of blood glucose ( smbg ; lipids as measured by change from baseline in total triglycerides , total ; cholesterol , ldl cholesterol , and hdl cholesterol ; change from baseline in circulating free fatty acids ; change from baseline in serum uric acid ; change from baseline in serum adiponectin . | 2 |
the invention will best be understood by reference first to fig1 fig3 and fig5 . the ball valve assembly 10 comprises a substantially monolithic valve body 12 provided with a dual inlet passageway 14 , which communicates with a valve chamber 18 formed in the valve body 12 and an outlet passageway 37 . the valve body 12 , in one embodiment , has a main portion 13 of generally cubic configuration having a right facet 20 , a rear facet 22 , a left facet 24 , a top 26 , a bottom 28 and a front 30 . contiguous with front 30 is a threaded boss 32 comprising an inlet inner circumference 34 and threaded portion 35 . the bottom 28 of main portion 13 has formed therein outlet passageway 37 to which communicates with outlet pipe 36 . preferably , threaded boss 32 and outlet pipe 36 are either machined as an integral element of valve body 12 or are attached thereto by pressure fits , brazing , welding or other techniques to insure a fluid - tight seal between threaded boss 32 and body main portion 13 , as well as between outlet pipe 36 and body main portion 13 . the dual inlet passage 14 communicates with valve chamber 18 ; likewise , outlet pipe 36 includes an outlet passageway 37 which communicates with valve chamber 18 . the outlet passageway 37 of outlet pipe 36 likewise communicates with outlet 38 formed in the wall of outlet pipe 36 , thereby permitting fluid within outlet passageway 37 to flow through outlet 38 . the outlet element 56 comprises an outlet barrel 58 , and an outlet nipple 52 provided with outlet barbs 54 . the outlet barrel 58 has an inner circumference 60 which slides over and engages outlet pipe outer o - ring 40 , outlet pipe inner o - ring 42 and threaded portion 44 . the upper annular surface 50 of the outlet element 56 preferably contacts the bottom 28 of valve body main portion 13 . the outlet barrel inner circumference 60 engages the outer circumference of outlet pipe o - rings 40 and 42 , thereby creating a fluid - tight seal between the outlet barrel inner circumference 60 and the outer circumference of outlet pipe o - rings 40 and 42 . o - rings 40 and 42 also create a fluid - tight seal between their inner circumference and the outer circumference of outlet pipe 36 . the outlet element 56 further comprises an outlet passageway 19 which communicates with outlet passageway 37 . when outlet element 56 is engaged with outlet pipe 36 as above - described , it is secured against the bottom 28 of main body portion 13 by lock nut 62 which engages outlet pipe threaded portion 44 . in this embodiment , the outlet element 56 is free to rotate about the central axis 65 of outlet pipe 36 , thereby permitting the outlet nipple 52 to be oriented at any angle in relation to the axis 65 of main body portion 13 . with reference now to fig1 and fig2 the dual inlet passageway 14 has an inlet inner circumference 34 selected to accommodate a main inlet insert 88 . inlet insert 88 comprises a barb 92 , block portion 96 , bearing portion 98 and pipe 94 having main inlet 15 . the block portion 96 is essentially square in cross - section , and the diagonal dimension of said cross - section corresponds to the inner diameter dimension of main inlet passageway 14 , which is essentially circular in cross - section . coaxial placement of the main inlet insert 88 within the inlet inner circumference 34 creates reserve passageways 16 for fuel flow which will be described herein in further detail . the main inlet insert 88 is provided with main inlet 15 which will communicate with valve chamber 18 in a manner which will be described main inlet insert is a secure press fit into passageway 14 , and is secure from movement once assembled into passageway 14 . referring now to fig1 fig3 and fig6 it will be seen that a principal operative element of the invention is ball valve element 66 , which is positioned within valve chamber 18 via ball valve entry 46 . as can be appreciated from reference to both fig1 and fig6 the valve chamber 18 is substantially cylindrical , having an inner diameter which corresponds to the outer diameter of the ball portion 68 of ball valve element 66 . ball valve element 66 is provided with a ball valve inlet 70 and outlet 72 , interconnected by passageway 74 . preferably , ball valve element 66 is monolithic , and includes a stem 76 located at one portion of the circumference of the ball portion , and a plug 77 located at a diametrically opposite portion of the ball portion 68 . in this fashion , ball valve outlet 72 is formed within plug 77 and communicates with passageway 74 of ball portion 68 , which in turn , communicates with ball valve inlet 70 , thereby creating a flow path for fluid from the ball valve inlet 70 through the ball valve passageway 74 formed inside a ball portion 68 , which further communicates with outlet 72 . ball valve element 66 is captured within the valve body 12 . plug 77 engages outlet 39 formed in the bottom 28 of valve body 13 . seal 82 surrounds the outer circumference of stem 76 and engages the valve entry inner circumference 48 as well as the top 26 of main valve portion 13 . preferably , the seal 82 is a press fit into the valve entry inner circumference 48 to create a fluid - tight seal with valve body 12 . the assembled orientation of the various components will be appreciated by reference to fig2 and fig3 . when assembled , ball valve element 66 is pivotably disposed within valve chamber 18 by engagement of plug 77 with outlet 39 and the engagement of the outer circumference of stem 76 with the inner circumference of the opening in seal 82 . this configuration permits ball valve element 66 to be rotated about an axis 65 which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the main inlet insert 88 as positioned within the dual inlet passageway 14 . pivotal movement of ball valve element 66 serves to orient the ball valve inlet 70 in relation to the main inlet insert 88 as will be described in further detail herein . rotation of the ball valve element 66 is facilitated by the inclusion of operating handle 80 affixed to stem 76 . the placement of main inlet insert 88 within main inlet passage 14 creates a plurality of reserve inlet passageways 16 positioned circumferentially around the central axis of the dual inlet passageway 14 as shown in fig2 . the square cross - section of the main inlet insert 88 juxtaposed with the circular cross - section of the dual inlet passageway 14 creates four reserve inlet passageways 16 having sufficient cross - section to permit necessary fuel flows as will be described . an understanding of the function of the ball valve assembly 10 in relation to a typical fuel tank is depicted in fig4 . preferably , the ball valve assembly 10 is threadably engaged to a threaded fitting 102 affixed to a fuel tank wall 100 . in this embodiment , the valve body 12 is mounted utilizing the threaded boss 32 within a threaded fitting 102 on the bottom of a fuel tank . as can be readily perceived from the drawing , it is equally feasible to mount the ball valve assembly in the top of the tank , assuming that suitable adjustments are made in the overall length of the various inlet components herein described . typically , a screen filter 120 is fitted to enclose the inlet elements of the assembly . the ball valve assembly 10 may be likewise mounted to the tank utilizing a mounting nut and sealing washer to establish a fluid - tight seal between the valve body and the tank wall 100 . when the level of fuel in the tank is at or above a reference level a , it can be seen that fuel can readily follow main flow path m within riser 104 . at the same time , fuel is permitted to flow through reserve flow path r and through the reserve inlet passages 16 . however , since the position of ball valve element 66 is such that ball valve inlet 70 is in axial alignment with dual inlet passageway 14 , fuel flow through reserve inlet passages 16 enters valve chamber 18 , but is prevented by the configuration of the ball portion 68 of ball valve element 66 , together with its associated o - rings , from passage out of valve chamber 18 , by virtue of the alignment of the valve inlet 70 with the axis of insert 88 . once the level of fuel has dropped below reference line a , it will readily be seen that with the level of fuel below the lip 106 of riser 104 , fuel can no longer follow main flow path m to enter main inlet passage 14 , and the supply of fuel within the passageway will soon be exhausted . such interruption in the supply of fuel may be anticipated by providing an appropriate gauge with a “ empty ” or “ reserve ” marking in association with the fuel tank levels , or may be annunciated by the stoppage of the engine being fed through the ball valve assembly 10 . in any event , when it is desired to be able to utilize that portion of the fuel in the tank below reference line a , ball valve element 66 may be rotated 900 , thereby positioning the ball valve inlet 70 perpendicular to the flow path of fuel through the main inlet passage 14 . such position is indicated in fig5 . in this position , portions of the outer surface of ball portion 68 engage bearing portion 98 of insert 88 , and sealing o - rings 114 , thereby closing off further possible flows through the main flow path m . this sealing is desirable to prevent the introduction of air into the fuel flow path through the main fuel flow path m . still , in this position , fuel entering the valve chamber 18 through the reserve inlet passages 16 is free to flow into ball valve inlet 70 through passageway 74 to outlet 72 . in this fashion , a “ reserve ” level of fuel within the fuel tank may be selected to permit continued engine operation . to interrupt all fuel flow through the valve assembly 10 , ball valve element 66 is rotated an additional 90 ° to the position depicted in fig6 . in this orientation of ball valve element 66 , it can be seen that the central axis of ball valve inlet 70 is oriented opposite to the central axis of main inlet 15 , thereby sealing the circumference of ball valve inlet 70 from valve chamber 18 . in this valve position , although fuel may enter the valve chamber 18 though reserve inlet passages 16 , fuel is not permitted to pass to the ball valve inlet 70 , as o - rings 114 seal the surface of ball portion 68 against the wall of valve chamber 18 , thereby shutting off all fuel flow from both the main inlet 15 and the reserve inlet passages 16 . in this fashion , fuel flow can be selectively stopped . it is desirable in this embodiment of my invention to provide the ball valve assembly 10 with a combined indicator / stop plate 130 surrounding stem 76 and affixed to top 26 and seal 82 . this plate 130 which is secured from rotational movement in relationship to stem 76 , but located coaxially therewith , is provided with legends “ on ”, “ off ”, and “ reserve ”. further , such element may be provided with stops 132 which limit the travel of operating handle 80 , and thereby limit the operating travel of ball valve element 66 , through an arc of 180 °. the legends on the plate 130 correspond with the positions of the operating handle 80 , and , accordingly , the position of the ball valve inlet 70 in relation to the valve chamber 18 , the reserve inlets 16 and main inlet 15 . one or more detents 134 may be formed in the plate 130 to engage handle 80 . utilizing legends on this plate 130 , the operator can correctly select the position of the ball valve element 66 to permit flow of fuel from either the main inlet passage 15 or the reserve inlet passages 16 , or to shut off the flow of fuel altogether . the threaded boss 32 and riser pipe 104 , are preferably provided with filter 120 as shown in fig4 to prevent contaminants within the fuel tank from passing to the motor . at the discharge or outlet side of the assembly the outlet nipple 52 is provided with barbs 54 designed to engage flexible hose ( not shown ) to further route the fuel flowing through the assembly to its desired destination . by positioning the main and reserve inlet passages as above - described , it can be seen that the assembly may provide both main and reserve fuel flow passages within a single essentially cylindrical element which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and simpler to install in fuel tanks than those valve assemblies currently known . having thus described my invention , numerous modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention herein described , which | 8 |
the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the present invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents . it includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary . accordingly , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . also , descriptions of well - known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness . a method and apparatus of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter for mimo decoding with outputting soft decisions using the complex - valued integer lattices in a mimo wireless communication system . the technical results of exemplary embodiments of the present invention consist in increasing the operational speed and in increasing the accuracy of the method for mimo signal decoding . for a better understanding of the present invention , a detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof is adduced hereinafter , accompanied with respective drawings . fig1 illustrates graphs of the ber of u . s . pat . no . 6 , 724 , 843 ( blast - lr ), mmse osic of the lee algorithm ( lee - blast ) and mimo signal decoding ( lr - soft and lr - soft4 ) made according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . the 2 × 2 mimo - ofdm system having the ldpc decoder with respect to a value of the signal - to - noise ratio is exemplary . referring to fig1 , the channel model corresponds to a sui - 3 model . the lr - soft4 variant differs from the lr - soft variant by a number of candidates for the second layer , which is , respectively , one and four . line 100 corresponds to the blast - lr , line 200 corresponds to the lee algorithm , and lines 300 and 400 correspond to an exemplary embodiment of present invention . the drawing illustrates a reduction of the ber ( decrease of the probability of the bit error at the system output ). fig2 is a block diagram of an mmse osic soft lr decoder made according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . in an exemplary implementation , the modulation map may be a 16 - qam . referring to fig2 , the mmse osic soft lr decoder includes a channel transformer 205 , a first qr decomposition unit 206 , a lr unit 207 , a secondary qr decomposition unit 208 , a linear filter 209 , a nulling unit 210 , a first candidate selector 212 and a secondary candidate selector 211 . the channel transformer 205 receives a signal transmitted by two transmitting antennas using two receiving antennas . then , a signal propagation channel is estimated . in this example , the signal propagation channel is the relay two - dimensional mimo fading channel that has two transmitters and two receivers , and is characterized by a channel matrix h of a size of 2 × 2 as shown in equation 2 below : where , y refers to a received vector signal , x refers to a transmitted vector signal , an h refers to a channel matrix . here , each element of the matrix h characterizes a propagation channel between each transmitting and each receiving antenna . the mean energy of the symbol transmitted via one transmitter may be equal to e s = e (| x | 2 )/ 2 , and the noise vector v may have the gaussian distribution having the zero mean and the dispersion σ 2 . the inverse value of the signal - to - noise ratio ( snr ) is defined as α = σ 2 / e s . the input data are h , α and y . the channel transformer 205 obtains a received signal y , a channel matrix h , and an inverse value of the snr α , and outputs an extended matrix ĥ to a first qr decomposition , after transforming of the channel matrix h into the extended channel matrix ĥ . the extended matrix is expressed as shown in equation 3 below : where h refers to a channel matrix , i refers to an identity matrix , α refers to an inverse value of the snr . the first qr decomposition unit 206 decomposes , using the sorted qr decomposition , the extended channel matrix ĥ into equation 4 : here , the index 1 illustrates that the ordered qr decomposition is used in the method for the first time . matrices p , q , d , and r refer to , respectively , a permutation matrix , an orthogonal matrix , a diagonal matrix and an upper triangular matrix . the matrices p , d , r have the size 2 × 2 , the matrix q has the size 4 × 2 . the lr unit 207 decreases for the second column of the r 1 , ( greater than one in absolute value ) off - diagonal elements of the matrix r 1 , and then the previous columns of the r 1 multiplied by corresponding integers are subtracted from the current column . for example , if the absolute value of one of components r jk ( real or imaginary ) is greater than 1 , the real and imaginary parts of the r jk are rounded off , thus obtaining a complex integer quantity μ , and the column j is μ times subtracted from the column k ( i . e ., each element of the column j is multiplied by the integer complex μ and subtracted from the corresponding element of the column k ). in so doing , the off - diagonal elements of columns of the matrix r 1 are processed sequentially upward from the diagonal . simultaneously with altering ( decreasing of the off - diagonal elements ) the matrix r 1 , the transforming matrix t such that r 1 t − 1 remains unchanged . the subtraction of the column having the index j from the column k results in the following transformation of the matrices r 1 and t : r 1new ( m , k )= r 1 ( m , k )− μ r 1 ( m , j ) t 1new ( m , k )= t 1 ( m , k )− μ t 1 ( m , j ) [ equation 5 ] where , m refers to an index of symbol . k , j refer to an index of column in matrix . here , initially ( in the beginning of lr algorithm ), the matrix t is an identity matrix of the size of 2 × 2 . it should be noted as well that the t at every step would be a complex integer top unitriangular matrix . the intent of this step is for the matrix r 1 t ={ tilde over ( r )} 1 to become closer to the normal one than the matrix r 1 , therefore the mutual influence of the layers in solving the system with the matrix { tilde over ( r )} 1 is less than in solving the system with the matrix r 1 . the linear filter 209 performs filtering of the received signal y and outputs the filtered y . the filtered y is expressed as shown in equation 7 below : where { circumflex over ( q )} 2 =[ i 0 ] q 2 refers to the first two rows of the matrix q 2 , the vector s = e +√{ square root over (− 1 )} e , the vector e has the both components equal to one , and the matrix π = 2 p 1 tp 2 . it is important that the matrix the nulling unit 210 solves r 2 z = f with building candidates and estimations of their probabilities at each layer as follows . for the order two , the permutation matrix p 2 can take only two possible values . the permutation corresponding to the matrix p 2 is either trivial or the reverse permutation . if the permutation is trivial , then the component z 2 minus the noise portion belongs to a complex - valued integer - valued plurality ω , having , in the example with the 16 - qam , ω = θ +√{ square root over (− 1 )} θ , where θ ={− 2 , − 1 , 0 , 1 }. four elements of the ω nearest to the z 2 in the euclidean metric ( referred to as candidates ) are selected , and conditional probabilities are assigned to them according to the equation where { circumflex over ( z )} 2 refers to a component z 2 minus the noise portion , and s refers to an element of the ω . these probabilities are normalized on the assumption that the selected four candidates form exhaustive events . each candidate is used in the reverse substitution in solving the above system with the matrix r 2 , and the value x1 being obtained is also approximated by four ( or one in another variant of the method ) elements of the ω nearest to the x1 in the euclidean metric . here are calculating formulae : calculating z 1 = f 1 − r 12 { circumflex over ( z )} 2 , where r 12 is an off - diagonal element of the matrix r 2 , and { circumflex over ( z )} 2 is the current candidate ; calculating x 1 = z 1 + t 12 { circumflex over ( z )} 2 ; and determining four ( or one ) of the best approximations of x 1 from the ω in the euclidean norm ; one of such approximations being designated as { circumflex over ( x )} 1 . the vector - candidate corresponding to { circumflex over ( z )} 2 is p 1 ({ circumflex over ( x )} 1 , { circumflex over ( z )} 2 t , and a probability in the form of a product of values ([ equation 8 ]), calculated for every component of the vector - candidate , is assigned to the vector - candidate . or else , the component z 2 minus the noise portion belongs to a more complex set , namely ω − t 12 ω , where t 12 is the element of the matrix t in the position ( 1 , 2 ). geometrically , this is an aggregate of sixteen copies of the ω shifted by constants . it is necessary to make all operations mentioned for the case of the trivial permutation p 2 beginning from the four elements nearest to the z 2 in the euclidean metric , taking into account that the approximating set is more complex . since the complete enumeration of 256 elements could be difficult , in the beginning , four copies of the ω nearest to the z 2 in the euclidean metric are selected , and four nearest elements are selected in each of copies , and sixteen elements being obtained are sorted with retention of the four nearest elements . if | t 12 |& lt ; 3 , then the copies of the ω converge forming no gaps at the complex integer - valued lattice , and a simple decision on selection of four candidates exists : it is necessary to check each of eight nearest neighbors . the simulation shows that said inequality is fulfilled in a great number of instances . further , for each candidate { circumflex over ( z )} 2 , the z 1 = f 1 − r 12 { circumflex over ( z )} 2 is created , four ( or one ) candidates { circumflex over ( x )} 2 ∈ ω are calculated for the z 1 and the component { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ={ circumflex over ( z )} 2 + t 12 { circumflex over ( x )} 2 is calculated . if { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ∉ ω , then the pair { circumflex over ( x )} 1 , { circumflex over ( x )} 2 is recognized as bad , otherwise , if { circumflex over ( x )} 1 ∈ ω the vector - candidate p 1 ({ circumflex over ( x )} 1 , { circumflex over ( z )} 2 ) is created , a probability in the form of a product of values [ equation 8 ] calculated for each component of the vector - candidate being assigned to the vector - candidate . the first candidate selector 212 and secondary candidate selector 211 calculate bit probabilities using gray codes with summarizing for every bit the probabilities of vector - candidates in which this bit is equal to one , and normalizing the obtained values to the sum of all bit probabilities . the basis for the method is associated with the fact that there is a priori information that an actually sent vector { tilde over ( x )} has components from the preset modulation map , for example a 16 - qam . let us introduce a vector in order that the { circumflex over ( x )} having components from the complex - valued integer - valued set ω with the minimal distance between neighbors corresponds the really sent vector . a hard decision results by substituting the two last steps with the following prescriptions . first , solving a linear system r 2 z = f with rounding the decision at each layer to the nearest complex - valued integer . designating the obtained decision vector as { circumflex over ( z )}. the key property of the lr technique is as follows : the vectors { circumflex over ( x )} and { circumflex over ( z )} run one into another by a linear operator with a complex - valued integer - valued matrix : just the formula ( equation 9 ) describes a transition from the original lattice to a modified one , and said property permits to reduce significantly a number of candidates for enumeration ( in comparison with the maximal possible number ). in the two - dimensional instant , the formula ( equation 9 ) looks like the following as shown in equation 10 below : z ip2 ( 1 ) ={ circumflex over ( x )} p1 ( 1 ) t 12 x p1 ( 2 ) [ equation 10 ] here , p 1 ( 1 ) refers to an index of the unity element in the first column of the p 1 , p 1 ( 2 ) refers to an index of the unity element in the second column of the p 1 , ip 2 ( 1 ) refers to an index of the unity element in the first row of the p 2 , ip 2 ( 2 ) refers to an index of the unity element in the second row of the p 2 . a number of candidates at every layer is an algorithm parameter , the simulation shows that the value four is sufficient for the first layer , and the value one is sufficient for the second layer . the use of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention permits to improve the accuracy in estimating errors conditioned by a wrong hard decision , which results in improving the mimo system characteristics . the latter is illustrated by the ber function in fig1 . in an exemplary implementation , the ordered qr decomposition ( sqrd ) for the matrix of complex values is performed using the modified gram - schmidt technique : where q refers to an unitary matrix , d refers to a diagonal matrix , r refers to a top unitriangular matrix . the description of this technique in the general case of m × n is as follows . columns of the h refer to h 1 , h 2 , . . . , h n , columns of the q refer to q 1 , q 2 , . . . , q n . the matrix q is altered step by step in the iteration process . the iteration steps k , k = 1 , . . . , n , are considered . then the gram - schmidt technique includes the following operations : 1 . a column having the least euclidean length is selected among columns h k , . . . , h n , taking into account only components of columns having an indices greater than k , and this column is exchanged with the h k . thus , the columns are obtained which are disposed in a new order . 2 . the euclidean length of the h k is calculated and the inverse value of this length is recorded into the k - th diagonal element d . the normalized h k is recorded into the q k . 3 . the columns h k − 1 , . . . , h n are re - counted according to the equation h j =( i − q i q * k ) h j , where j = k + 1 , . . . , n , the scalar product q * k h j being recorded into the kj position of the matrix r . further , the comparison of the computational complexity of an exemplary embodiment of the present method ( referred to as clr , complex lattice reduction ) with the method ( referred to as real lattice reduction ( rlr )) and known decoding mimo methods ( zf and mmse ) are adduced in connection with the system 2 × 2 : where a is the addition , d is the division , and r is the square root ( or the inverse square root ). the primed letters mean the operations with real numbers , the usual letters mean the complex operations . referring to table 1 , it can be seen that the difference in the computational complexity of the rlr method in comparison with the zf and mmse methods is sufficiently great , which is a serious obstacle in the way of implementing the rlr method . as could be seen from the same table 1 and fig2 , an exemplary embodiment of present method ( clr ) allows to decrease significantly the number of computational operations in comparison with the rlr method while maintaining the same decision accuracy . even at m being equivalent to 4m ′ ( which is a rather ineffective technique for realizing the complex multiplication ), the clr , at the stage of initialization , requires twice as little operations than the rlr . the difference between lr and clr consists also in a number of memory cells that should be moved : here , the letter p denotes “ clean ” operations for transferring the memory cells , which operations are used for copying the elements of the channel matrix prior to performing the ordered qr decomposition . in the case of the rlr they are added by the procedure of “ unfolding ” the complex channel matrix onto the four - block real matrix . the numbers without letters are the sum of previous table rows , since every operation assumes the data transfer . fig3 is a flowchart of a decoding operation in a mimo wireless communication system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention . referring to fig3 , the decoder receives a signal transmitted by two transmitting antennas using two receiving antennas . in step 302 , a signal propagation channel is estimated ( h ). in step 304 , the decoder transforms the channel matrix h into an extended channel matrix ĥ . in step 306 , the decoder decomposes the extended channel matrix ĥ into p 1 , q 1 , d 1 and r 1 using the first sorted qr decomposition . p 1 , q 1 , d 1 , and r 1 refer to , respectively , a permutation matrix , an orthogonal matrix , a diagonal matrix and an upper triangular matrix . in step 308 , the decoder performs a complex lattice reduction ( lr ) algorithm . namely , the decoder decreases for the second column of the r 1 , great ( greater than one in absolute value ) off - diagonal elements of the matrix r 1 , and then the previous columns of the r 1 multiplied by corresponding integers are subtracted from the current column . for example , if the absolute value of one of components r jk ( real or imaginary ) is greater than 1 , the real and imaginary parts of the r jk are rounded off , thus obtaining a complex integer quantity μ , and the column j is μ times subtracted from the column k ( i . e ., each element of the column j is multiplied by the integer complex μ and subtracted from the corresponding element of the column k ) ( referring to equation 5 ). into p 2 , q 2 , d 2 and r 2 using the secondary sorted qr decomposition . p 1 , q 1 , d 1 and r 1 refer to , respectively , a permutation matrix , an orthogonal matrix , a diagonal matrix and an upper triangular matrix . the t refers to a transforming matrix . in step 312 , the decoder performs filtering the received signal and outputs the filtered received signal ( referring to equation 7 ). in step 314 , the decoder selects the candidate vector , and in step 316 , the decoder transform the signal of lr space into the signal of original space using reverse lr algorithm . in step 318 , the decoder outputs information bits mapping constellation dot in original space . the present invention can be used in radio - technical devices . also , the present invention is simple enough from the viewpoint of complexity , and therefore can be used in the mimo - ofdm systems . while the invention has been shown and described with reference to certain exemplary embodiments thereof , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents . | 7 |
with reference to the figures , in which like numerals refer to like elements , the following generally describes an apparatus 10 of fig1 for collecting paper currency donations . in a preferred embodiment , the apparatus is intended to collect paper currency donations but it may also be used in any situation where lightweight material of a similar size and shape needs to be moved from one location to another . airflow device 12 provides an air flow through the entire apparatus . in a preferred embodiment , airflow device 12 is a squirrel cage fan but any suitable device for generating air flow may be used . as shown in fig1 , the entire apparatus is mounted to a wall using brackets as shown at 36 but it is also possible to provide a free - standing support structure for the apparatus . for example , a free - standing support structure could comprise a number of posts or a grid of support poles in a two - or three - dimensional arrangement . the inventive apparatus could also be wholly or partially suspended from the ceiling . airflow device 12 should be securely mounted at an appropriate distance from the rest of the apparatus . in fig1 it is shown as being mounted above the rest of the apparatus but it may also be mounted on any side or below the apparatus , as well as behind the wall or under the floor . the exact location of airflow device depends on site - specific requirements . factors influencing the decision of where to place the fan are safety , secure mounting location , noise of the device , speed of air flow generated by the device and length of tubing . the location of the airflow device can be adjusted to maximize or minimize all of these factors as needed . air flow generated by airflow device 12 travels through tubing section 14 to donation box 16 . tubing section 14 may be made of flexible or rigid tubing or a combination of both , depending on cost , availability and site - specific constraints . tubing section 20 is connected to a side of donation box 16 directly opposite tubing section 14 . donation box 16 includes a slot 18 for a patron to insert paper currency . slot 18 is shown as a narrow rectangle but any preferred shape could be used . after inserting the paper currency into donation box 16 , the patron moves to diverter box 22 and uses handle 24 to set air diverter flap 26 in either a right or left position , then starts airflow device 12 using button 46 , which should be located in close proximity to diverter box 22 . when air diverter flap 26 is swung to the right , tube 32 is blocked causing the inserted paper currency to flow through tube 20 into the diverter box , through tube 28 and into collection box 30 . when air diverter flap 26 is swung to the left , tube 28 is blocked causing the inserted paper currency to flow through tube 20 into the diverter box , through tube 32 and into collection box 34 . it would also be possible to let airflow device 12 run continuously in which case the patron would select a position of air diverter flap 26 before inserting paper currency into slot 18 . in an embodiment , button 46 , in addition to activating airflow device 12 , lights up and , when activated , causes an audible indication that a donation has been made , for example a bell , whistle or siren . tubing sections 20 , 28 and 32 may be made from transparent , flexible plastic with an internal wire coil . a transparent material is most advantageous for the purposes of the invention so that patrons can see the movement of their donated currency through the apparatus but the tubing could also be opaque . the sections of tubing may be curved or straight . as shown in fig1 , tubing section 28 is in a spiral shape while sections 20 and 32 are more of a freeform shape . the specific arrangement of the tubes and boxes 16 , 22 , 30 and 34 is flexible and depends on site - specific constraints . it is important that paper currency moving through the tubes can move freely and not get caught anywhere . a certain amount of experimentation is required during installation to determine the minimum curvature of the tubes that will provide free flowing paper currency . tubing sections can be connected to each other and to all other components in a variety of ways that would be well known to one of ordinary skill in the art , including pvc connectors , brackets or collars and thumb screws . each tubing section may also be installed in multiple pieces , connected so as to provide a continuous air flow from one component to the next . the last 1 . 5 to 2 feet of tubing sections 28 and 32 is made with rigid material that is vented with holes as shown at 38 and 40 . this rigid material may be a pvc pipe but other materials with equivalent characteristics may be used . as the donated currency moves into tubing section 38 or 40 , the air flow generated by airflow device 12 is vented through holes in the tubing sections . this allows the donated currency to drop down into collection boxes 30 and 34 with the aid of gravity . in an embodiment , optical sensors may be provided in tubing sections 38 and 40 or at the input of collection boxes 30 and 34 as shown in fig3 so as to detect when a piece of paper currency passes and trigger a visual or audible indication that a donation has been made . donation box 16 and collections boxes 30 and 34 are suitably made of clear or transparent acrylic glass , available commercially under a wide variety of trade names , so that patrons may see the movement of the donated currency . boxes 30 and 34 are provided with a hinged cover so that donated currency may be removed , as explained in more detail in accordance with fig3 . diverter box 22 may have a clear or transparent front cover with a fabricated aluminum back and sides as explained in more detail with regard to fig2 . in an embodiment , apparatus 10 is mounted to a wall using brackets 36 and other suitable attachment devices for the various components . decorations may be applied to the wall and various components of apparatus 10 to support the theme of the installation as shown by the cloud representations at 42 and 44 . cloud shape 42 also provides a location for suitable signage . other themes may be used as desired . various components of apparatus 10 may also be colored so as to assist a patron to select which collection box would receive the donated currency . for example , tube 38 and the brackets attaching tube 28 to the wall may be one color , while tube 40 and the brackets attaching tube 32 to the wall may be another color . in an embodiment , apparatus 10 may also include additional diverter boxes and collection boxes . for example , the input of an additional diverter box could be connected to one of the outputs of diverter box 22 . the outputs of the additional diverter box could then be connected to two collection boxes via additional tubing sections , providing the patron with a selection of three collection boxes . the number of diverter and collection boxes is limited only by the speed of airflow device 12 and site - specific constraints such as available space . fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c show more detailed views of diverter box 22 . in a preferred embodiment , diverter box 22 is triangular but any suitable shape that provides good air flow and suitable mounting surfaces for the tubing sections could be used . in fig2 a , side panels 50 are made from fabricated aluminum but any sturdy material could be used , for example , wood or steel . a back triangular surface of diverter box 22 is also made of aluminum . front cover 52 is suitably made from clear or transparent acrylic glass . flanges 54 and 56 in side panels 50 are used to attach tubing to the box . there is an additional opening in the third side of the box , shown in more detail in fig2 b . air diverter flap 26 is made of rigid , machinable shatter - resistant plastic and is suspended from a rod that extends across the top of box 22 through the front cover and back surface of the box . air diverter flap 26 has a handle 72 which a patron uses to move the air diverter flap into a desired position . deflectors 58 in the bottom right and left corners of diverter box 22 are used to improve airflow in the diverter box and prevent paper currency from becoming trapped in one of the corners . they are preferably made of plastic but any suitable material may be used . fig2 b shows additional details of diverter box 22 . flanges 54 , 55 and 56 are suitably made of aluminum and welded to side panels 50 . in an embodiment , couplers 60 and 61 are used to attach tubing sections to diverter box 22 using thumbscrews . a similar coupler , not shown , is used to attach a tube to flange 56 . one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to devise a number of ways to attach tubing sections to the flanges for instance , by using clamps and pvc couplers . front cover 52 is attached to side panels 50 using screws and holes 62 disposed around the front edge of side panels 50 . this allows easy access and maintenance of diverter box 22 and air diverter flap 26 . gaskets 64 and 65 are made of a soft plastic , for example , neoprene , and are glued to the inside of side panels 50 . they provide a buffer and better air seal between air diverter flap 26 and side panels 50 . air diverter flap 26 is shown in more detail in fig2 c . flat portion 76 is attached to rod 78 and extends downward . rod 78 extends through the front and back covers of diverter box 22 . bearings 70 in the plane of the front and back covers provide for rotation of air diverter flap 26 so that openings 54 and 55 in diverter box 22 may be covered as desired by the patron . rod 78 extends outward through the front cover 52 . a curved handle 72 ending in a plastic ball 74 is attached to the extending portion of rod 78 . in a preferred embodiment , handle 72 and ball 74 allow patrons , especially young children , to successfully grasp and move the air diverter flap but any equivalent handle shape may be used . handle 72 is used by a patron to move air diverter flap 26 into a desired position . in a preferred embodiment , rod 78 is approximately 0 . 75 inches in diameter with 0 . 5 inch diameter projections extending through bearings 70 . collection box 30 is shown in more detail in fig3 . the following description also applies to collection box 34 . collection box 30 includes four side panels and a back panel , generally shown at 90 . collection box 30 also includes a front cover 92 which is connected to the rest of the box by hinges 96 . a lock 94 is provided to protect the contents of the box and allow controlled removal of donated currency . although collection box 30 has been shown with a hinged cover , other embodiments , for example a cover that slides open , would be well known to one of ordinary skill in the art . it would also be known to substitute other mechanisms for locking the box . in a preferred embodiment , collection boxes 30 and 34 are made with transparent acrylic glass but one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to make them our of any suitable material , including wood or metal . tubing section 38 extends upward from collection box 100 . tubing section 38 can be made of pvc or any rigid material that can be connected to tubing section 28 shown in fig1 . in a preferred embodiment , venting holes 100 are drilled in an equidistant pattern along the length of the pipe as shown in fig3 . venting holes 100 are approximately 0 . 5 inches in diameter and are also continue around the back portion of tubing section 38 not shown in the figure . venting holes 100 are used to cut down the air pressure flowing through apparatus 10 and allow the paper currency to drop down into collection box 30 . although the apparatus is shown with circular holes to vent the air flow , it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that any shape or configuration could be used as long as the air flow was reduced adequately . in an embodiment , collection box 30 may also include sensors 102 which detect when a piece of paper currency passes and trigger a visual or audible indication that a donation has been made . fig4 a shows the air flow through apparatus 10 when in operation . when a patron has inserted some paper currency into donation box 16 , the air diverter flap is set in diverter box 22 and airflow device 12 is activated using button 46 . in a preferred embodiment , button 46 lights up and , upon activation of the button , there is an audible indication that the button has been pressed , for example a bell , whistle or siren . after activation , airflow device 12 operates for a suitable amount of time required to move the paper currency to a collection box , approximately 15 seconds , then shuts off . the diameter of tubing 14 is reduced as it enters donation box 16 as shown in fig4 b so as to provide an appropriate pattern of air movement in the box and keep currency from becoming lodged in corners of the box . air flow continues through tube 20 to diverter box 22 . diverter box 22 is triangular shaped with deflectors in the bottom two corners as explained in further detail with regard to fig2 a . this provides a circular air flow as shown in fig4 c which keeps the currency moving freely through the diverter box 22 and into either tube 28 or 32 , as chosen by the patron . finally , air flow is vented through holes in tubing 38 or 40 as explained above with regard to fig3 . fig5 shows an alternative embodiment including a second diverter box 104 . air flow may be directed using an air diverter flap in diverter box 104 into tubing 106 and collection box 108 , or into tubing 110 and collection box 112 . one of ordinary skill in the art would understand how any number of diverter boxes and collections boxes could be combined to arrive at a desired configuration . from the foregoing description it will be appreciated that the subject invention has the advantages of , among other things , providing : an entertaining way to encourage patrons of an establishment like a museum to donate paper currency ; a way to flexibly and conveniently move any type of lightweight material , for example , pieces of paper or envelopes , from one place to another . furthermore , it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that , while specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail , various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of this disclosure . accordingly , the particular arrangements disclosed are meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof . | 6 |
the machine tool as illustrated in fig1 - 3 comprises a vertical support 10 provided with a vertical guide 11 arranged to have a carriage 12 vertically moved thereon in a controlled manner . on carriage 12 , a workpiece carrier 13 is supported for controlled rotation about a horizontal rotational axis 14 . the workpiece 15 to be machined will be fastened to workpiece carrier 13 . the movement of the carriage 12 along the vertical x - axis is performed by a spindle drive provided internally of support 10 and comprising a spindle 16 , a spindle nut 17 connected to carriage 12 , and a motor 18 rotating the spindle 16 . motor 18 is a nc drive ( nc = numerically controlled ) allowing for a highly accurate height adjustment of workpiece carrier 13 . mounted to carriage 12 is a further nc drive ( not shown ) for rotating workpiece carrier 13 . a lower beam 19 and an upper beam 20 extend horizontally from support 10 . the beams are arranged at a mutual distance and together with the support 10 and a vertical post 21 form a rectangular frame 22 enclosing a rectangular window 23 . arranged in window 23 is a first headstock 24 comprising a rotatably driven spindle 25 with a tool 26 fastened thereto . headstock 24 is arranged to be moved on a carriage 34 in the direction of an axis of movement z 1 extending axially to spindle 25 . carriage 34 is movable in a horizontal guide 27 along a first axis of movement y 1 extending at a right angle to the axial direction of spindle 25 , while traveling in the lengthwise direction of guide 27 . the movements along the axes y 1 and z 1 are carried out by headstock 24 . the movement along the x - axis and the rotation about rotational axis 14 are carried out by workpiece 15 . the mounting surface of the workpiece carrier has a normal line which coincides with the rotational axis 14 and extends parallel to the first axis y 1 . the upper side of beam 19 is provided with a horizontal guide 28 for a carriage 29 having a second headstock 30 arranged thereon . headstock 30 comprises a spindle 31 with a tool 32 fastened thereto . headstock 30 is movable on guide 28 along the first axis of movement y 2 and further along a second axis of movement z 2 extending axially to spindle 31 . the movement along axis of movement z 2 is generated by a linear drive 33 . each of the two spindles 25 , 31 is rotatably driven by a motor 35 and 36 , respectively , of the respective headstock . on support 10 , a tool magazine 37 is mounted which is provided with a circulating continuous endless conveyer 38 equipped with tool carriers 39 projecting therefrom to the outside . each tool carrier 39 comprises two fingers configured for clamping the shaft of a tool 40 therebetween . the tool magazine 37 is arranged in a vertical plane extending parallel to the movement axes y 1 and y 2 . the vertical front strand 41 of the tool magazine projects out of support 10 and comprises two exchange positions , respectively one for each headstock 24 and 30 . a tool 40 arranged in an exchange position can be gripped and taken over by the spindle of the respective headstock 24 or 30 . on the other hand , each headstock 24 , 30 can hand over a tool 26 , 32 attached to its spindle 25 , 31 to that workpiece holder 39 of tool magazine 37 which is arranged in the exchange position . the drive of continuous conveyer 38 is controlled by a motor 42 . as evident from fig2 the vertical support 10 together with the horizontal beams 19 and 20 in plan view forms an l - shaped structure enclosing a machining chamber 43 . machining chamber 43 is further delimited by a side wall 44 and a front wall 45 or door , thus being completely enclosed on the sides . the window 23 surrounded by frame 22 is closed by a louver 46 which is not shown in fig1 . the louver is a lamellar louver comprising two longitudinal slots , one for each headstock 24 , 30 . the slots are closed by lamellae configured to adapt to the respective position of headstock 24 , 30 in the direction of the axis of movement y 1 or y 2 and allowing only the headstock 24 , 30 to pass while the rest of the window 23 will remain closed . the front wall of beam 19 is formed by a vertical skirt 47 . thus , the machining chamber 43 is delimited exclusively by vertical walls . arranged on the lower end of machining chamber 43 is a chip conveyer 48 which can be provided e . g . as a belt or chain conveyer but also as a screw conveyer . the conveyer is sized to occupy the whole width of machining chamber 43 and will remove the dropped chippings from the machine tool . the embodiment according to fig4 is different from the first embodiment only in that , apart from the tool magazine 37 on support 10 , a further similar tool magazine 37 a is arranged on the post 21 . both tool magazines are arranged at the same height and delimit the moving path of the headstocks 24 , 30 in the horizontal direction , wherein each headstock 24 , 30 can access each of the tool magazines 37 , 37 a arranged in a common vertical plane . in both tool magazines 37 , 37 a , the rear or outer strand 50 is arranged externally of support 10 and post 21 and thus will be accessible from the outside for manual exchange of tools . in the embodiment according to fig5 a further support 10 a is provided in addition to support 10 , replacing post 21 . support 10 a comprises a second workpiece carrier 13 a arranged for controlled movement along a vertical guide and for rotation about its horizontal longitudinal axis . the workpiece 15 can by each of its ends be clamped into a workpiece carrier 13 and 13 a , respectively . the workpiece carriers 13 and 13 a are moved in synchronism with each other in the vertical direction and are also rotated in synchronism . this two - sided clamping attachment of the workpiece provides for a highly precise positioning even of bulky or heavy workpieces . on the other hand , an option exists to fasten e . g . an auxiliary bar to one workpiece carrier 13 a ; the bar will be attached to the workpiece and support the same on the respective side . in the embodiment shown in fig6 which largely corresponds to that according to fig5 the two workpiece carriers 13 , 13 a hold a u - shaped holder 55 clamped between them which has its legs 56 attached to the workpiece carriers by axes 57 . the base 58 of holder 55 carries a rotary table 59 for attachment of the workpiece 60 thereon . by pivoting the holder 55 about the axes 57 , the workpiece 60 can be brought into an oblique position so that , using the tool fastened to the respective headstock 24 , 30 , an angular machining process can be carried out . the pivotable holder 55 allows for a quick repositioning of workpiece 60 for performing machining processes on different sites or in different directions . in each of the embodiments according to fig4 - 6 , a laterally closed machining chamber 43 is provided ; in these figures , the walls 44 and 45 have been omitted for easier survey . in any case , chippings will fall down along vertical walls onto a collecting means 48 for chips , e . g . a chip conveyer , without being hindered by fittings . in each of the embodiments , all functions of the machine tool are controlled numerically according to predetermined programs so that the machining of workpieces and the exchanging of tools can be performed fully automatically . also the control of the tool magazine 37 , 37 a is fully automated , wherein the respectively required tool 40 is brought into the exchange position . likewise , the exchange of workpieces 15 and their delivery and removal are performed in a controlled manner . | 8 |
fig3 illustrates an embodiment of a disclosed method 300 for collecting system information while in the process of generating location estimates for mobile devices as requested from a mobile positioning center or other independent requestor . the information collected can then be fashioned to serve the needs of wireless network operators for test and measurement data . in block 210 as discussed with relation to fig2 , the geo - location system receives a request to locate a target mobile appliance along with mobile information . in block 220 , the gcs , based on available information about the target mobile , tasks selected geo - location sensors to detect the mobile appliance &# 39 ; s signal using channel information included in the mobile information . the geo - location sensors selected are typically in the vicinity or proximate to the serving sector or base station . in block 230 the geo - location sensors measure geo - location parameters such as toa , aoa or other signal parameters which assist in estimating the location of the target mobile appliance . the geo - location sensors may also measure and collect signal quality parameters , such as received signal strength ( rssi ) and carrier to interference ratio ( c / i ) as represented in block 360 . one of the selected geo - location sensors ( wls ), which may be in the serving sector for the target mobile appliance , is further tasked to capture a signal sample from the mobile appliance in block 370 . the time duration for the signal sample is selected to be sufficient to capture instructional data which typically includes handoff assistance information measured by the mobile . this handoff assistance information is normally contained in maho ( mobile assisted hand off ) messages . the appropriate sample length may be determined from the frequency in which the instructional data is repeated in a transmission , which is specified for the air interface standard employed by the mobile appliance such as is - 136 , gsm , cdma , etc . the handoff assistance information typically includes received signal strength ( rssi ) on the forward link from the serving base station as well as from one or more neighboring base stations . in prior art systems , this information was only available to system operators through a test drive with a technician operating a specially designed mobile as discussed previously . the signal sample containing the instrumentation data can be demodulated and decoded by a designated primary geo - location sensor to extract the data as indicated by block 380 , transmitted back to the gcs for extracting the information , or stored as a file for later processing . the wlss relay the geo - location parameters , the measured signal quality parameter and other collected data to the gcs . the gcs , using the geo - location parameters , calculates an estimated location for the target mobile , at block 240 , and reports the mobile &# 39 ; s location to the requesting entity , as indicated in block 250 . information such as the mobile &# 39 ; s location , the signal quality parameters measured by the wls , the instrumentation data or signal sample and time stamp , are then stored in a database , as shown in block 390 . this stored information represents substantially simultaneous forward and reverse signal quality parameters . these linked parameters are not available though the prior art test drive method . in the embodiment illustrated in fig3 , the system acquires test and measurement data only for those base stations or sectors involved in the location of the mobile based on an external request . while tasking requests may ultimately be uniform across the network , short or long term eccentricities in the data , or lack - there - of , are sure to occur , resulting in some areas of the network being over - laden with data while other areas only have sparse data . as discussed earlier , the disclosed subject matter makes use of the “ downtime ” or idle periods to direct data collection across the network , thus providing test and measurement data to those data starved areas of the network by focusing on specific sectors or network regions . this self directed data collection may also be used as the sole source of test and measurement data for the network . the embodiment shown in fig4 represents self directed data collection process . with reference now to fig4 , upon the geo - location system entering into an idle state , i . e ., when the geo - location system is not attempting to geo - locate a mobile appliance in response to tasking from an external source , the geo - location system may begin a self - directed test and measurement data collection process . from the idle state 401 , the geo - location system determines , at block 402 , if there are any location requests for the system to process . if a location request is present , then the geo - location system comes out of the idle state and proceeds with either the geo - location process 200 as described with reference to fig2 or with the geo - location piggy - backed with data collection process 300 as described with reference to fig3 . if the system is not being tasked with a location request , ( i . e ., the geo - location system is in an idle state ) then the gcs selects a probe search site at block 403 . it is to be understood by those of skill in the art that if the geo - location system receives a location request task at any point during the process shown in fig4 , the geo - location system stops generating test and measurement data until the location request is satisfied . once the location request is satisfied , the geo - location system then resumes test and measurement data collection until another external task is received , as indicated by block 499 . the probe search site selection by the gcs comprises designating a wls ( and generally one sector of a base station site being serviced by the wls ) as the probe search site . the probe site may be selected as part of a systematic schedule in which data is collected in a routine manner , moving across the network sequentially from one probe site to the next probe site . as appreciated by those of skill in the art , any method of data collection scheduling may be used and is contemplated by the present disclosure . as non - limiting examples , the schedule of data collection may be based on first designating those sectors with sparse measurement data , or the schedule may be a random walk through the network regardless of the amount of data known about a particular sector , or the schedule may be based on sectors or wlss chosen at random , or any other scheduling method . the selection methodology can be pre - programmed , queued by an alarm or be established on the fly through a real time interface by an operator . generally the selection methodology can cover entire market or targeted areas . continuing with the description of this embodiment of the disclosure , at block 404 , the wls at the probe site begins to scan in frequency / time slot / code to detect an active mobile operating within its sector to serve as a source for test and measurement data . the frequency / time slot / code information may be based on known operating parameters for the network or specific information from the gcs . once a mobile ( the “ probe mobile ”) is detected , the wls determines the reception quality for the probe mobile &# 39 ; s signal by testing , for example , received signal strength ( rssi ), bit error rate ( fer ), frame error rate ( per ), etc ., at block 405 . if the wls determines that the probe mobile &# 39 ; s signal is being received with sufficient quality , then the wls informs the gcs that an acceptable mobile signal has been received . this determination may be based on a comparison of the signal quality parameters of the probe mobile to a threshold . as will be understood by those of skill in the art , the wls may detect a probe mobile located in a sector other than a sector of interest , and if the probe mobile &# 39 ; s signal quality exceeds the threshold , the likelihood of the probe mobile being located in the sector of interest is improved . if the probe mobile &# 39 ; s signal quality is not acceptable , the wls will continue to scan for another active mobile appliance . the gcs operates on the information that a probe mobile signal has been received in a manner similar to the situation where the gcs receives information during external location request tasking , i . e ., the gcs chooses a set of wls units in the area that surrounds the probe search site ( and / or the probe mobile ) and requests that rf measurements be made as shown in block 220 . however , since the gcs is in test data collection mode and not operating in response to a tasked request , the operator is free to experiment with different search and selection protocols , which adds additional flexibility to the test and measurement scheme . these may include increasing the number of tasked wls units to collect more comprehensive test data at distant neighbor sites to the serving sector site . the tasked wls units make rf measurements on the probe mobile including , but not limited to , geo - location parameters , block 230 , and signal quality parameters , block 360 . the signal quality measurements may include , but are not limited to , received carrier to interference ration ( c / i ) and received signal strength ( rssi ). these and other measurements are passed to the gcs is the same manner as if in a standard mobile location scenario . additionally , the primary site ( the serving sector wls ) receives and stores a segment of rf transmission from the probe mobile , at block 370 , and demodulates and decodes the segment to find any instrumentation data that may be present , at block 380 . the length of the stored segment , as discussed previously , is chosen so that the desired data will likely be present . the instrumentation data of interest typically includes handoff assistance information measured by the mobile and provided to the network to manage site to site handoffs . this data routinely comprises measurement data made by the mobile on neighbor cell sites ( typically rssi measurements on forward link transmissions from the neighbor cell sites ). this data is forwarded to the gcs by the primary wls . as referred to in the discussion of fig3 , an actual signal sample may also be relayed to the gcs where it is demodulated and decoded as needed or where processing functions are more readily available . the gcs completes the normal location estimation process using measurements from participating wls units in block 240 . the gcs adds this test and measurement record to a database in block 390 . the data in the record may include , but is not limited to , the location of the probe mobile , the time of the measurement , the c / i and rssi data at the serving and neighboring cells for the reverse link , and the rssi for neighboring cells for the forward link . while the step elements shown in fig4 , as well as in fig3 , are shown as proceeding in series or parallel in relation to each other , the steps relating to measuring the rf signals , namely 230 , 360 and 370 need not necessarily be carried out according to the relationship shown . the geo - location system constantly monitors for a location request and aborts the self directed data collection at any time a request is received and does not restart the self directed collection again until the location request has been satisfied as indicated by block 499 . using the above - described test and measurement method , large amounts of test and measurement data for the network can be collected thereby generating a comprehensive , near simultaneous view of operation of the network for wireless carrier purposes . the selection of the probe search site can also be accomplished by any of a number of methods , and the designation of the desired neighbor sets can also be chosen by any of a number of different methods , including designating experimental neighbor sets . the probe search sites can be general and cover the entire network , or focused on specific areas of interest . the probe search sites may be chosen in accordance with an a priori plan or on the fly with a real time command interface . the neighbor lists for measurements can be generated based on the handoff neighbor list , or by a distance algorithm from the serving sector , or any other predetermined or user - interface on the fly method . the collected test and measurement data can be stored in a database , or simple file for batch review , or output on a real time interface to a test and measurement analysis tool , or any other application or display method known in the art . the data can also be formatted to match existing industry drive test tool formats so that existing testing and measurement analysis tools can be used . while preferred embodiments of the present inventive system and method have been described , it is to be understood that the embodiments described are illustrative only and that the scope of the embodiments of the present inventive system and method is to be defined solely by the appended claims when accorded a full range of equivalence , many variations and modifications naturally occurring to those of skill in the art from a perusal hereof . | 6 |
as can be seen from the drawings , the present invention is relatively simple in nature and can be easily accomplished by those skilled in the art once its general nature is known . basically , the technique uses an initial series of interactions between the computer ( 14 ) and the i / o board to arrive at the appropriate configuration parameters . these interactions can be , but need not be , accomplished in two modes : an installation mode and an operation mode . the first mode is installation . this is when a peripheral is introduced to the computer system for the first time or when a user is reconfiguring the computer system . the second mode is normal operation of the i / o device , for example a tape drive . this can include either a repetition of the interactions accomplished in the installation mode , may include a more detailed interaction than the installation mode , or may be a more abbreviated interaction than that of the installation mode . thus , once all possible details are understood , each may be combined as desired to achieve the goals of the invention . this would be evident to one skilled in the art and is disclosed to some extent in the claims , although they do not set out all the possible combinations . naturally , to need the invention , an i / o board , or some type of interactive circuitry -- which may or may not be separately attached to the computer -- must be connected to the computer ( 14 ) system . in most computer systems , this is usually done by connecting the i / o board into a board slot within the computer case . this board slot is actually a connection to the i / o bus of the computer ( 14 ). it establishes a number of specific connections between the computer ( 14 ) and the i / o board . the i / o bus ( 15 ) serves , together with its numerous electrical connections ( 20 ), as a means for communicating between the i / o board and the computer ( 14 ). if the i / o bus ( 15 ) is a standard bus , it will not have the inherent capability to select each slot individually . thus , for the present invention , the i / o board may be randomly connected to any slot of the i / o bus ( 15 ), it is not dependent on location . once physically installed , the methods of the present invention can then be initiated automatically or by the user by activating the installation mode of the invention when desired prior to running that i / o board . thus the user need only plug the board in and put the cover back on the computer ( 14 ). the invention software will appoint the parameter and configure or reconfigure the i / o board . in contrast , many devices of the prior art required more action on the user &# 39 ; s part . for example , to reconfigure an i / o board , it often was necessary to power down the computer , remove the cover on the system , adjust the switches and / or change jumpers which sometimes required removal of the board , plug the board back into the system , replace the cover , restore power to the system , and reboot the computer . obviously , this was very time consuming and was prone to confusion and errors as users often found it difficult to match the hardware setups configured by the jumpers or the switches to the parameters set in the configuration file on the hard drive . to understand the various routines of the invention , a review of the technique in the context of the installation mode is representative . referring to fig1 a flow chart of one possible installation sequence , it can be seen that the present invention greatly simplifies this process from the user &# 39 ; s perspective by accomplishing the key steps through software routines . as fig1 shows , the installation mode begins with the step of initiating the routine . this can be done automatically , or by user action . when done automatically , it is of course accomplished after the initiating operation of the computer ( 14 ) in the traditional manner . once initiated , the invention acts automatically to selectively activate an i / o board and select an initial value for the i / o board ( the order of these is not important ). the way in which the present invention individually activates an i / o board offers many advantages . first , it does not require a separate line from the i / o bus ( 15 ). second , it can be accomplished with relatively inexpensive circuit additions to the i / o board . essentially , the activation operation is individualized to a single board by using a specific sequence of common operations . the i / o board is configured to recognize this unique sequence , and then to activate some aspects of the board in response . as an additional protection against inappropriate responses , only so much of the i / o board need be initially activated as is necessary to assess the uniqueness of the assigned parameter . as mentioned a specific sequence is used which the i / o board can recognize . this is recognized by use of circuitry commonly referred to as a state machine ( 10 ), as those skilled in the art might readily understand once they are exposed to this unique use , even though state machines are traditionally not used for such a routine . while any sequence could be used under the concepts of the invention , the preferred embodiment uses a read sequence referred to as the &# 34 ; first read sequence .&# 34 ; the first read sequence activates the board to enter a setup mode . this unique activation technique also has the advantage of allowing multiple boards to share addresses , dma channels and irq channels . it thus acts to greatly increase i / o board possibilities . in order to allow individual activation , the sequence needs to be unique . it should act as a type of combination to unlock the board that other software or functions will have a very , very low probability of performing . in the preferred embodiment , a series of sixteen properly chosen i / o reads is used because it has been found that such a sequence rarely occurs in normal operation . naturally , this number may vary based upon system configurations likely to be encountered . at present , it is believed that less than four i / o reads in the first read sequence would not present a sufficient number to properly serve as the combination lock desired . naturally the number of reads can be increased as desired . in addition to being a series composed of common commands , the use of a read sequence in general offers the additional advantage of being substantially non - destructive . this is discussed later in the context of the step of assessing if the chosen address is unique . also , the use of state machine ( 10 ) allows individual activation to occur without utilizing any address space on i / o board ( 2 ). this can afford significant advantages not only in cost , but also in functionality . while the prior art teaches not only utilizing address space for activation , but also conducting the potentially destructive operation of writing to an address space , the present invention significantly departs from this approach . as mentioned , state machine circuitry ( 10 ) as shown in figure 2 is configured to react to a sequence specific to that i / o board . referring to fig2 it can be seen that this circuitry is responsive to computer signals and actually includes one or more programmable array logic unit ( pal ) ( 11 ) and counter ( 12 ). this is relatively inexpensive . also , by placing such circuitry on the i / o board itself , the invention can meet its goal of being compatible with standard i / o busses . the actual sequence which state machine ( 10 ) recognizes may be set through interruptible wiring ( 13 ). state machine ( 10 ) has the inherent capability to automatically reset if the complete sequence is not received . this means that any read sequence not matched in the read sequence described above will reset state machine ( 10 ). if the sequence is followed , each successive read in the sequence will move state machine ( 10 ) on to the next state . if the state machine requires sequences to occur in a specific order , any sequence outside the order will reset the state machine . in addition , state machine ( 10 ) is configured with a global sequence referred to as the &# 34 ; second read sequence .&# 34 ; thus each board may be configured to respond to two specific sequences : one to activate a specific board , and one to activate all boards in order to tristate them . for efficiency , the global sequence is a sequence which starts with the address read from base address with an offset of three . thus , in operation , the second read sequence routine performs two reads from base address with base offset of three . for further efficiency , the global sequence and the unique activation sequence differ by only one value in the read sequence . the specific orders of the two are only one different . this simplifies circuitry required as one skilled in the art would readily recognize so that instead of having two separate state machines totally independent of each other , the board may have one state machine with just two different options at a particular state . in addition a board specific deactivation command can , of course , be provided if desired . it should be understood that the process of activating an individual i / o board does not involve either a response from the board or the creation or change of any information on the board . first , avoiding any need for a response allows the state machine to monitor for the proper sequence without the i / o board being activated . second , the aspect of avoiding any creation or change of information , that is , being substantially non - destructive , serves to avoid inappropriate responses within the system as discussed later in the context of the step of assessing if the chosen address is unique . either before activating aspects of one i / o board , or immediately afterward as shown in fig1 the technique selects an initial parameter value . again , as accomplished in the preferred embodiment , the base address parameter is selected . rather then merely randomly trying a base address as shown by the prior art , the invention utilizes a prioritized list . this list is actually generated and stored on the computer ( 14 ) prior to these steps . thus the memory means ( 17 ) of the computer ( 14 ) serves as part of the means for assigning the address ( 16 ) or other parameter which is on the computer ( 14 ), rather than added to the i / o board . the prioritized list is designed to start with the most likely address to be available initially . it is prioritized based on widely disseminated industry specifications which specify what addresses some peripheral devices use . naturally this order may change from time to time as additional information becomes available . in addition , user override is possible . this would best be accomplished without accessing the board itself , so keyboard input is accommodated in the preferred embodiment . at present , the list includes only seven possible base addresses . this minimizes the hardware required on the i / o board . naturally , additional base address possibilities can be included if desired . in order to accommodate operational needs ( well understood to those in the art ) in an efficient manner , each of these base addresses is chosen not only for its probability of being otherwise unused , but also so that most have at least sixteen contiguous bytes free . in operation , the computer ( 14 ) acts to select the most likely base address to be available as an initial address . this initial address is then assessed to see if it is unique to that i / o board . if it is not unique , the next on the list is tried and so on . once an initial parameter value ( such as a base address ) is chosen , the technique automatically acts to assess if that value is unique to the i / o board . by doing this through operation of the computer ( 14 ), the computer ( 14 ) serves as a means for assessing uniqueness in contrast to the prior art . again , by using the computer &# 39 ; s programmable processing capability ( 21 ) cost is saved . certainly the use of a priority list developed with the intent that the first value be unique is an advantage over the prior art which merely uses random generation of an initial value . in some instances this may be enough , however , in order to accommodate the broad variation in system configurations , this initial choice needs to be checked . as alluded to in the prior art this can be accomplished through a unique routine , however , the present invention accomplishes this through the use of common commands in several unique manners . first , it allows for a multileveled , escalating assessment routine . second , it accomplishes initial assessment in a fashion which is substantially non - destructive and which provides additional information . third , it uses a repetitive routine . referring to fig1 it can be seen how the step of assessing if the initial address is unique is accomplished in a multilevel , escalating manner . as shown in fig1 three levels of assessment are accomplished . while naturally , any number is possible , the important aspect is that at the end , it be well known that the selected address is in fact unique . the first level starts by using common commands which are substantially non - destructive to avoid destroying any information which could be contained on other i / o boards which might recognize the initial address by executing a write command or otherwise . as with the commands chosen to activate and deactivate the i / o board , this step may use another such sequence , referred to here as a &# 34 ; read sequence .&# 34 ; in choosing such terms to identify the various read sequences involved , it should be understood that no order is implied . the terms &# 34 ; first read sequence ,&# 34 ; &# 34 ; second read sequence ,&# 34 ; and &# 34 ; read sequence ,&# 34 ; are chosen for differentiation purposes only as the techniques of the invention can be arranged in any order and still fall within the scope of the invention . as mentioned , the commands are substantially non - destructive . this means that they are of such a character as to be very unlikely to change any information contained on the i / o board or within the computer ( 14 ). certainly a write command acts to replace information contained at the write location . as such it is a destructive operation . while a read sequence can change information , this is far less likely , thus it is a substantially non - destructive operation . in the context of activating the board as discussed earlier , this is significant as if a command which is destructive is used , any unsuccessful attempts at assigning an address would destroy potentially important information . unlike the first read sequence , the read sequence does not rely on order to the same extent . instead it is merely a true read sequence which ascertains the information contained in each address location . again , for efficiency , an i / o board according to the present invention may be configured ( but need not be so configured ) so as to have an identification code in such address location . thus the read sequence also discovers useful information in the event the address is found to be unique . the conflict check through this sequence is accomplished by reading each address location used by the particular i / o board . it can do this sequentially . it is thus repetitive not in the sense that it does the same thing over and over , but rather in the sense that it does a different operation to see if the board correctly responds to each operation . in the case of the read sequence , not only must an identical identification code be returned at each location , the identification code must be consistent with a list of acceptable codes contained in a table . if the value read back is not in the software table on the computer ( 14 ), in other words , if the contents received back from the address locations are not what should be expected from any of the known boards that could possibly reside in the system , the routine assumes no board exists or that a possible conflict at that address exists . if a conflict is indicated , the routine returns to select the next most likely address and tries it . importantly , such a technique is effective because in the event two boards respond at once ( i . e . both recognize the same address ) an unintelligible signal is produced . this signal will thus be different from the identification code and will thus indicate that the initial address is not unique . as an additional note , it should be understood that the board identification code not only tells the software which board is being installed , but it also tells it how may bytes to read since some boards use 8 bytes and others use 16 bytes , etc . the identification code can also indicate what hardware version is being installed . this allows updates or revision to the board to be recognized by the software where necessary or desired . earlier , it was mentioned that the routine used to assess if the chosen address is unique is an escalating routine . by this it is meant that the routine next executes commands which have an even higher probability of discovering a conflict . the next level of assessment is to write to the board to tell it to return a value other than the identification value . in the preferred embodiment , a common command is sent to the i / o board which resets the same values to return all bits as zeros . this creates a command - response sequence . also the state machine can be expanded to perform this function without any need for a write operation . again , for efficiency , by using a single operation to reset all such values , less steps are involved . as with the read sequence conflict check , all values are compared by the computer ( 14 ) to assure that two boards do not respond at the same time . if a conflict exists , again , the routine returns to select another address and try it . the prior process is repeated for the third level of conflict check with an operation which establishes all bits as one &# 39 ; s at the same locations . if it indicates that no conflict was discovered , a unique address has been chosen . in addition , the computer ( 14 ) has identified that a board is residing at that location and what type of board is residing at that address location . all this has occurred without ever communicating with the board in the formal sense and even without ever fully activating the board . in regard to the prior steps , it should be understood that any type of operation or command can be chosen , that any number of repetitions can be used , and that any level of checking can be instituted . while at present three levels have been found to be adequate , as the configurations of systems encountered changes , so , too , may the types or numbers of routines used change . in addition , the invention also offers an additional degree of protection against inappropriate responses . in the event that a conflict is discovered anywhere in the process , not only does the routine act to select another address , it also triggers the need to reboot the system after finally storing an appropriate address and other information . this reboot acts to reset the entire computer system ( or at least so much as might reasonably be affected ) and thus will act to avoid any inappropriately set values in the systems naturally , if the address initially selected turns out to be unique , no such reboot will be necessary . once a unique address has been chosen , the setup , or installation mode can be exited . again , this can be accomplished by executing a standard command , in this case a write at the base address with an offset of seven . notice that the board has not yet been operated . rather the unique parameter is saved for later use in the operation mode . the entire routine can then be repeated to change other addresses , other parameters , other boards , and the like . as mentioned earlier , there is the possibility of manually changing the activation sequence . referring to fig2 it can be seen that state machine ( 10 ) is in part configured by interruptable wiring ( 13 ). by merely interruptible one or more of the traces comprising wiring ( 13 ), the user can physically change the sequence recognized . this , in turn , changes the activation combination recognized . thus in the event a user desires to have two identical boards it can also be accomplished by the present invention . two traces are shown in fig2 ; by providing four traces sixteen combinations are possible . this would allow sixteen possible i / o read sequences in a computer system for the same type of board . once the software now knows which board the user wants to configure , it is likewise possible to select unique direct memory access ( or dma ) channels and interrupt ( or irq ) channels . in addition , and incidentally highlighting how features may or may not be combined and still fall within the present invention , the preferred embodiment does not use the full three level conflict check to assign these parameters . instead , such are merely chosen from a prioritized table without a full conflict check since it is far less likely that a conflict will exist at this stage . in addition manual selection is possible . once again , the manual selection does the same thing for dmas and irqs as it did for base address . as for the dma channel parameters it is conflict checked only in the event a particular i / o board type is involved . recall that the type of i / o board was determined by the computer ( 14 ) as part of the initial address conflict check . this information can then be used to trigger conflict checks only for particular board types , further highlighting the flexibility of the present invention . for the specific assignment of a compression dma channel when a compression card is involved , the routine merely checks for a conflict by using the channel . a small block of data is sent to the i / o board , is passed through one of the chips on the board , put back on the hard drive , and compared to what was sent . if it is identical , uniqueness is assumed . again , this is a specific routine which is presented only to highlight the flexibility offered by the present invention . naturally other such specific testing can be accomplished and still fall within the scope and spirit of the present invention . as mentioned earlier avoiding inappropriate responses during the attempts to arrive at a unique address is an advantage of the present invention . this is not only accomplished by using substantially non - destructive commands and rebooting the system when appropriate , but it is also accomplished by only activating certain aspects of the i / o board . initially the present invention is configured to start out in a default condition having all important connections , the specific connections established by the board slot , in the electrically disconnected or tristated condition . the necessary lines must be untristated so that they can be used . this includes any combination of data lines ( which are connected to the address space ), dma lines , irq lines , and the like . this is easily accomplished through use of a control register as those skilled in the art will readily recognize . other techniques are , of course possible . while such registers are used to tristate some of the specific connections of the board , their use is not normally associated with an automatic configuration routine as disclosed here . by tying the control register to the state machine , it can only be utilized after a unique address has been assigned . this fact , and the fact that the configuration of the board has a default tristate condition , further affords the advantage of avoiding any inappropriate responses by preventing electrical activation of the lines &# 34 ; before their time .&# 34 ; thus the i / o board itself can contain the means for tristating such lines . once a unique parameter is found , it may be stored , preferably on existing , nonvolatile memory of the computer ( 14 ) system , such as the hard disk ( 18 ). while a nonvolatile storage means can be added to the i / o board as in some prior art devices , the present invention uses existing nonvolatile memory on the computer for efficiency purposes . this also saves cost . the unique value can then be used in the second mode , the operational mode . the operational mode of the present invention can be nearly identical to the installation mode , can include less than the installation mode , or can include more than the installation mode depending on circumstances or desires . while at first glance it may appear unnecessary to re - do each of the steps , this cannot be known with adequate certainty since changes in system configuration can be frequent and since the invention is designed to be compatible with other , traditional i / o boards . thus prior to actually initiating operation of the i / o board , the step of confirming parameter uniqueness can be accomplished . naturally this can and should use the information obtained during the installation mode for efficiency . in the preferred embodiment , most of the steps are identical with only minor exceptions . importantly , the initial address or other parameter selected to be tried should be the value originally arrived at through the installation mode . this is relatively straightforward . as to the level one conflict check , namely accomplishing the read sequence , it is already known that a board exists and what type of board , so the routine will perform the read sequence for that one board . in the operational mode , the unique parameter is also assigned to the board . while , as mentioned before , this is in volatile memory , the two part procedure used in the preferred embodiment overcomes -- and even takes advantage of -- this limitation . in addition , the invention expands upon how the prior art stored such information by using not only the board register , but by using the application specific integrated circuit ( asic ) ( 19 ) on the board . by so doing the invention achieves such storage while potentially reducing costs . finally , after all operation of the board for the present session is done , such lines may be tristated . if done at this point , it allows sharing of the same base address , dma channels , and / or irq channels . this can be easily accomplished through the control register as mentioned earlier . as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art , the foregoing methods may be accomplished with only minor changes to traditional i / o boards . with reference to the claims , it should be understood that the various steps can be accomplished by means which may already exist on the computer ( 14 ) on traditional boards . this is in keeping with the goal of requiring the minimum amount of change to the hardware of the i / o board as possible . the foregoing discussion and the claims which follow describe the preferred embodiments of the present invention . particularly with respect to the claims , it should be understood that changes may be made without departing from the essence of the invention . in this regard such changes will naturally fall within the scope of the present invention . it is simply not practical to describe and claim all possible permutations and combinations of the new routines presented here or to describe and claim all possible revisions to the present invention which may be accomplished . to the extent such revisions utilize the essence of the present invention , each would naturally fall within the breadth of protection encompassed by this patent . this is particularly true for the present invention since its basic concepts and understandings are fundamental in nature and can be broadly applied not only to a variety of devices , but also in a variety of manners . | 6 |
as shown in fig1 the centrifugal extractor ( 100 ) of this invention is composed of a liquid suction and rotation unit ( 10 ), a height - adjustable separating weir unit ( 20 ), and a housing unit ( 30 ). the liquid suction and rotation unit ( 10 ) sucks and rotates the liquid mixtures and thereby separates an organic phase from an aqueous phase . the height - adjustable separating weir unit ( 20 ) locates the phase separating weir ( 21 ) at a boundary layer between the two separated phases and thereby separating the organic phase from the aqueous phase . the housing unit ( 30 ) supports the suction and rotation unit ( 10 ) and provides the discharging paths of two separated phases to the outside of the extractor . the suction and rotation unit ( 10 ) consists of an inlet tube ( 11 ), a divert disk ( 12 ) attached to the end of the inlet tube ( 11 ), an impeller ( 13 ) installed at a position under the divert disk ( 12 ), a rotor ( 14 ) integrated with the impeller ( 13 ), and a rotor motor ( 15 ). the inlet tube ( 11 ) is used for sucking the liquid mixture into the centrifugal extractor ( 100 ). the inlet tube ( 11 ) is firmly assembled with a tube clamping frame ( 112 ) by a tube clamping bolt ( 111 ). the divert disk ( 12 ), used for allowing the two phases to collide thereon to increase the liquid flow speed in a centrifugal direction , is mounted to the lower end of the inlet tube ( 11 ). by vertically moving the inlet tube ( 11 ), the divert disk ( 12 ) is moved into the same direction , and it is possible to control the time interval that the two phases reside within the extractor ( 100 ) as desired . that is , by adjusting the height of the divert disk ( 12 ), the liquid volume between the suction impeller ( 13 ) and the divert disk ( 12 ) can be changed , so that this time interval is preferably controlled . the height of the divert disk ( 12 ) can be adjusted by loosening the tube clamping bolt ( 111 ) mounted on the tube clamping frame ( 112 ). once the bolt is loosened the inlet tube ( 11 ) can be freely moved . after vertically moving the divert disk ( 12 ) to the desired position , the tube clamping bolt ( 111 ) is tightened so as to lock the adjusted height of the disk ( 12 ). the impeller ( 13 ), used for sucking the liquid mixture into the inlet tube ( 11 ), is installed at under the divert disk ( 12 ) and is operated along with the rotor ( 14 ) by driving force of the rotor motor ( 14 ). the rotor ( 14 ) is used for giving a centrifugal force to the liquid mixture , inhaled by the impeller ( 14 ), thus separating the organic phase from the aqueous phase prior to separately discharging the two phases . the rotor ( 14 ) has a hollow cylindrical shape and is provided with a splash plate ( 141 ) at its upper end for guiding a separated aqueous phase to a fixed exit ( 31 ). the rotor ( 14 ) is firmly supported within the housing unit ( 30 ) by a support bearing ( 142 ). as best seen in fig3 a guide cylinder ( 143 ) is concentrically positioned within the rotor ( 14 ) at an upper end portion . a rotational exit of aqueous phase ( 144 ) is formed at the annular gap between the rotor ( 14 ) and the guide cylinder ( 143 ). this exit ( 144 ) provides the discharging path of the separated aqueous phase from the interior of the rotor ( 14 ) to the fixed exit of aqueous phase ( 31 ) as can be seen in fig1 . on the other hand , several rotational exits of organic phase ( 1431 ) are made at the upper end portion of the sidewall of the guide cylinder ( 143 ) and extend outward in a radial direction while passing through the rotor ( 14 ). these exits ( 1431 ) provide the discharging path of the separated organic phase from the interior of the weir guide ( 143 ). the splash plate ( 141 ) is used for guiding the separated aqueous phase from the rotational exit of aqueous phase ( 144 ) into the housing unit ( 30 ) and has an inlet tube guide ( 1411 ) at its center where the inlet tube ( 11 ) vertically passes through . guide rod bushes ( 1412 ), used for guiding the guide rods ( 22 ), are made on the top surface of the splash plate ( 141 ). as shown in fig1 and 4 , the height - adjustable separating weir unit ( 20 ) is designed to control the height of the separating weir ( 21 ) as desired . the weir unit ( 20 ) comprises the phase separating weir ( 21 ) which divides the paths of aqueous and organic phases after being separated from each other with a boundary layer . the weir unit ( 20 ) also comprises three height adjusting guide rods ( 22 ), an internal bearing clamping cap ( 23 ), an internal bearing ( 24 ), an external bearing ( 25 ), an external bearing clamping cap ( 26 ) and a clamping bolt ( 27 ). the guide rods ( 22 ) extend upwardly from the top end of the separating weir ( 21 ), while the internal bearing clamping cap ( 23 ) is integrally seated on the top ends of the guide rods ( 22 ). in the weir unit ( 20 ), both the guide rods ( 22 ) and the inlet tube ( 11 ) are set within the extractor ( 100 ). and the guide rods ( 22 ) extend through guide rod bushes ( 1412 ) of the splash plate ( 141 ) and the inlet tube ( 11 ) extends through the inlet tube guide ( 1411 ) of the splash plate ( 141 ). also , the external bearing clamping cap ( 26 ) is fixed to the extractor housing by a locking bolt ( 27 ), and the inlet tube ( 11 ) is fixed to the extractor housing by a tube clamping bolt ( 111 ). therefore , by driving the rotor motor ( 15 ), the parts of the weir unit ( 20 ) except for the external bearing clamping cap ( 26 ) are rotated along with the parts of the liquid suction and rotation unit ( 10 ) except for both the inlet tube ( 11 ) and the divert disk ( 12 ). three guide rods ( 22 ), connected to the bottom of the internal bearing clamping cap ( 23 ), are vertically movable under being guided by three guide rod bushes ( 1412 ). and by moving the guide rods ( 22 ), the phase separating weir ( 21 ) can be vertically moved under the guide of the guide cylinder ( 143 ). it is thus possible to adjust the height of the phase separating weir ( 21 ) as desired by moving the guide rods ( 22 ) in the vertical direction as shown in fig3 . after adjusting the position of the separation weir ( 21 ), the external bearing clamping cap ( 26 ) is tightened by the clamping bolt ( 27 ). all the above - mentioned rotating parts are supported by the external bearing ( 25 ) and the support bearing ( 142 ) and are rotated by the rotor motor ( 15 ). the housing unit ( 30 ) supports the liquid suction and rotation unit ( 10 ), and provides the discharging paths of two separated phases to the outside of the extractor ( 100 ). the centrifugal extractor ( 100 ) of this invention is operated as follows . as shown in fig1 a liquid mixture or the liquid radioactive wastes is sucked into the rotor ( 14 ) by the impeller ( 13 ), which is rotated along with the rotor ( 14 ) by the rotor motor ( 15 ). the liquid mixture , sucked into the rotor ( 14 ), collides on the divert disk ( 12 ) mounted to the lower end of the inlet tube ( 11 ), thus being accelerated in a radial direction by a centrifugal force . the centrifugal forces acting on the each phases of the liquid mixture are different from each other due to a difference in the specific weight of the two phases . therefore , the aqueous phase , having a relatively higher specific weight , is concentrated to the inner surface of the rotor ( 14 ), while the organic phase , having a relatively lower specific weight , is concentrated to a position inside of the aqueous phase as shown in fig2 b and 2 c . as the rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) is increased , the centrifugal force is also increased . and thus , two phases move upward along the interior surface of the rotor ( 14 ). the thickness variation of the boundary layer between the two phases with various rotational rotor speeds is shown in fig2 b to 2 e . if the vertical position of the separating weir ( 21 ) is appropriately adjusted while observing the position of the boundary layer , so as to allow the inlet of the weir ( 21 ) to be always positioned at the boundary layer , the organic phase is effectively and almost completely separated from the aqueous phase by the phase separating weir ( 21 ). the separated organic phase moves upward along the inner surface of the weir ( 21 ), and passes through the six rotational exits of organic phase ( 1431 ). and then , it is discharged to the outside of the extractor ( 100 ) through the fixed exit of organic phase ( 32 ). on the other hand , the separated aqueous phase moves upward along the annular gap between the inner surface of the rotor ( 14 ) and the outer surface of the guide cylinder ( 143 ) and is discharged from the rotor ( 14 ) through the rotational exit of aqueous phase ( 144 ). thereafter , the aqueous phase flows under the guide of the splash plate ( 141 ) and is discharged to the outside of the extractor ( 100 ) through the fixed exit of aqueous phase ( 31 ). in order to investigate the performance of the centrifugal extractor of this invention , a centrifugal extractor shown in fig5 was manufactured and a series of experiments has been performed . in the experiment , a scale was attached to the tube clamping frame ( 112 ) to measure the adjusted positions of both the separating weir ( 21 ) and the divert disk ( 12 ). the experiments were performed at room temperature , with kerosene being used as the organic phase and distilled water laden with brown rusty iron powder as the aqueous phase solvent . the purpose of using the rusty iron powder is to easily distinguish the aqueous phase from the organic phase since the rusty iron powder is not dissolved in the organic phase , but is dissolved in the aqueous phase . experiment 1 . measurement of the residence time of two phases in the extractor with various heights of the divert plate ( 12 ) the variation of residence time of the two phases in the extractor was measured while changing the height of the divert disk ( 12 ), with the rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) being fixed at 3 , 000 rpm . the height of the divert disk ( 12 ) was determined by measuring the gap between the divert disk ( 12 ) and the suction impeller ( 13 ). the residence time might be measured by counting the time interval between a time the two phases were fed into the extractor and a time the separated phases were completely discharged from the extractor . however , it was almost impossible to precisely check this time interval using a stopwatch . so , this interval was determined by measuring the electric conductance of fluids and converting it into the residence time . this method is frequently used in the chemical process of measuring the precise residence time of the two separated phases . experimental result was obtained as shown in table 1 . this experimental result shows that it is possible to effectively control the residence time of the two phases in the centrifugal extractor as desired by adjusting the height of the divert disk ( 12 ) of this invention . example 2 . verification of the relationship between the height of the separation weir ( 21 ) and the rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) the rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) was measured at a time instant when the two phases were completely separated from each other while changing the height of the separation weir ( 21 ). the height of the separating weir ( 21 ) was determined by measuring the distance between the top surface of the splash plate ( 141 ) and the reference points marked at the guide rods ( 22 ). the time instant of complete separation of the two phases was precisely determined by using the same method of measuring the electronic conductance of the fluids as used in the experiment 1 . while performing the experiment , it was possible to observe the thickness of the boundary layer between the two phases is changed as the rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) is changed . experimental result was obtained as shown in table 2 . this experimental result shows that it is possible to effectively and completely separate the two phases from each other regardless of a rotational speed of the rotor ( 14 ) by appropriately controlling the height of the separating weir ( 21 ) by using the centrifugal extractor of this invention . as described above , the present invention provides a centrifugal extractor for separation of an organic phase from an aqueous phase of a liquid mixture , such as liquid radioactive wastes . the phases separating weir ( 21 ) and the divert disk ( 12 ) are designed to be adjustable in their positions and so it is possible to effectively and completely separate the organic phase from the aqueous phase even in the case of a low rotational speed of the liquid mixture . in addition , the volume of the internal spaces of the extractor is easily controlled by adjusting the height of the divert disk ( 12 ), and so it is possible to appropriately select the residence time , or the reaction time , of the two phases in the extractor . although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes , those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications , additions and substitutions are possible , without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims . | 1 |
herein after , a method for providing a pay - tv service based on a session key will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings . fig2 a and 2b are flowcharts describing a method for providing a pay - tv service based on a session key in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention . fig2 a is a flowchart for describing a method for providing a pay - tv service applied to a subscriber and fig2 b is a flowchart for describing a method for providing a pay - tv service applied to a broadcasting station . for authentication of subscribers , a public encryption - based key is used in the present invention . the symmetric encryption - based session key , which is effective during a pay - event broadcasting period , is distributed to the subscribers . the authentication based on the public encryption - based key can provides a non - repudiation of the subscribers about subscription of a pay - event . by using a different session key to each event , the events can be provided independently . because the events can be provided independently , a specific event of the pay channel can be provided effectively to the subscribers . in the present invention , several event subscription methods are described as follows . first method is to subscribe to the pay - tv service based on a return channel provided by the digital tv system . second method is to subscribe to the pay - tv service using internet . third method is to subscribe to the pay - tv service by calling a staff of the broadcasting station . because basic steps of the first method and the second method are identical , only for easy description , only the first method is described . firstly , the method for subscribing to the pay - tv service d based on the return channel provided by the digital tv system is described . a user subscribes to the pay - tv service by reading an electronic program guide ( epg ) on a tv screen using a remote controller . when the user subscribes to the pay - tv service using internet , i . e ., the second method operations of the second method are identical to the first method except using the remote controller . meanwhile , in the present invention , it is assumed that the broadcasting station and the subscriber generate pairs of a public key and a private key between the broadcasting station and the subscriber , i . e ., a broadcasting station - public key ( bro_pub ), a broadcasting station - private key ( bro_prv ), a subscriber - public key ( sub_pub ) and a subscriber - private key ( sub_prv ). also , it is assumed that a broadcasting station certificate ( bro_cert ) and a subscriber certificate ( sub_cert ) are generated based on a reliable certificate distribution method such as a public key infrastructure ( pki ). referred to fig2 a and 2b , a process for subscribing to the pay - tv service of the broadcasting station in accordance with the present invention is described as follows . the subscriber selects a desired event using the epg on a screen , e . g ., a tv screen or a computer monitor at step s 211 . the subscriber achieves the sub_prv after authentication of subscriber at step s 212 . the subscriber fills out an application using service information . the subscriber signs on the application based on a digital signature scheme and encrypts the application at step s 213 . the application form is up to a strategy of the broadcasting station but following items [ a ] have to be included therein . the digital signature and encryption are performed according to following equations [ b ]. wherein , the service information ( si ) is si of a digital cable broadcasting system based on opencable architecture , a digital satellite broadcasting system based on digital video broadcasting - satellite ( dvb - s ) architecture or program and system information protocol ( psip ) of advanced television system committee ( atsc ). [ a ]={ client id , date , service type , transport stream id , program number , source id , event id , ( series id )}, wherein the “ client id ” is an identification number of the subscriber , the “ date ” is a date of the application submission , the “ service type ” is one of the ppe service , the ppd service , the pps service , the nvod service and the vod service , the “ transport stream id ” is a transport stream identifier defined in the si , the “ source id ” is a source identifier defined in the si , the “ event id ” is an event identifier defined in the si and the “ series id ” is an identification number of a series . the “ series id ” is effective if the subscriber subscribed to the pps . [ b ] digital signature = encrypting the application based on the sub_prv . encryption = encrypting the digital signed application based on the bro_pub . after the step s 213 , the subscriber transmits the encrypted application to the broadcasting station and waits a response of the broadcasting station at step s 214 . referring to fig2 b again , the response of broadcasting station will be described . the broadcasting station receives the encrypted application at step s 221 . the broadcasting station decrypts the encrypted application based on the bro_prv and verifies the digital signature at step s 222 . the verification based on the digital signature includes following steps . the broadcasting station receives the sub_cert and achieves the sub_pub . the broadcasting station decrypts the digital signed application . if the broadcasting station successes decryption of the digital signed application , it is regarded that the digital signature verification is successful . the broadcasting station determines whether the digital signature verification is successful or not at step s 223 . if the digital signature verification is successful at the step s 223 , the broadcasting station generates a session key and a subscription authority message , signs on the session key and the subscription authority message based on a digital signature scheme and encrypts the digital signed session key and the subscription authority message at step s 224 . the broadcasting station prepares the session key , which is a symmetric - based key , through a key server , etc . before the event is started . a form of the subscription authority message is up to the broadcasting station but following items [ c ] have to be included therein . the digital signature and encryption method are following equation [ d ]. [ c ] subscription authority message ={ client id , validity , service type , transport stream id , program number , source id , event id , ( series id )}, wherein the “ client id ” is an identification number of the subscriber , the “ validity ” is a term of validity of the session key , the “ service type ” is one of the ppe service , the ppd service , the pps service , the nvod service and the vod service , the “ program number ” is a program number defined in the si , the “ source id ” is a source identification defined in the si , the “ event id ” is an event identifier defined in the si and the “ series id ” is an identifier number of a series . the “ series id ” is effective if the subscriber subscribed to the pps . the event according to the “ source id ” and the “ event id ” is the first event of the series selected by the subscriber . [ d ] digital signature = encrypting the session key and the subscription authority message based on the bro_prv . encryption = encrypting the digital signed session key and the digital signed subscription authority message based on the sub_pub . the broadcasting station transmits the encrypted session key and the encrypted subscription authority message to the subscriber at step s 225 . the broadcasting station records the application information on database for charging fee at step s 226 . the broadcasting station receives a confirmation message of receiving the session key from the subscriber . after the step s 226 , step s 215 referred to fig1 is succeeded . the subscriber receives the encrypted session key and the encrypted subscription authority message from the broadcasting station at step s 215 . the subscriber decrypts the encrypted session key and subscription authority message based on the sub_prv and verifies the digital signature thereof at step s 216 . for verifying the digital signature , the subscriber decrypts the digital signed session key and subscription authority message . if the subscriber achieves the session key and the subscription authority message after decryption , it is regarded that the digital signature verification is successful . the subscriber determines whether the digital signature verification is successful or not at step s 217 . if the verification is failed , the process is terminated . if the verification is successful , the subscriber decrypts a channel key ( ck ) encrypted based on the session key and achieves a control word ( cw ) with the ck . the subscriber descrambles the subscribed event audio / video stream and watches the event at step s 218 . the subscriber stops using the event and deletes the session key in a cam memory if the event is terminated according to the si or if the session key is not effective any more according to the “ validity ” field in the subscription authority message . when the subscriber subscribed to the pps service , the session key ( sk ) is stored safely till the end of the validity of the selected series . the term of validity of the series can be found according to the “ validity ” and the “ series id ” in the subscription authority message . that is , within the “ validity ”, if the subscriber subscribes to another event , i . e ., a pps service of which a series id is identical to the “ series id ” in the subscription authority message , the subscriber uses the sk of the “ series id ”. if the “ validity ” is over , the sk is deleted regardless the “ series id ”- exists . meanwhile , the second method , which is a method for subscribing to the pay - tv service by calling a staff of the broadcasting station , is as following . the subscriber selects a desired event using the epg and calls the staff of the broadcasting station . the subscription authentication and the service subscription are carried out by the staff of the broadcasting station through the call conversation . the process after the authentication and the subscription is identical to the first method . that is , the process after the step s 224 is applied to the first method and the second method equally . the process includes the steps of generating the session key and the subscription authority message , signing based on a digital signature scheme and encrypting the session key and the subscription authority message . fig3 a and 3b are diagrams showing a method for providing a pay - tv service based on a session key in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention and showing a method for servicing the pay - service per event in the pay channel serving the pay - service per channel . in the broadcasting station , i . e ., a transmitting part of a conditional access system ( cas ), the ck is encrypted based on a “ ak_pub ”, which is a public key of a package group and a “ sk ”, which is a session key corresponding to a desired event by an encryptor 313 , respectively . a transmitting part transmits the cks encrypted based on the “ ak_pub ” and the “ sk ” to a decryptor 315 in a receiving part . wherein , the receiving part can be a subscriber who does not subscribe to the package service but want to uses a specific event included in the pay channel or who subscribes to the package service . fig3 a is a block diagram for the subscriber who does not subscribe to the package service but wants to watch a specific event included in the pay channel . a transmitting part includes a scrambler 311 and encryptors 312 and 313 . a receiving part includes a descrambler 314 and decryptors 315 and 316 . the scrambler 311 scrambles sources based on the cw and transmits the scrambled sources to the descrambler 314 . the encryptor 312 encrypts the cw based on the ck and transmits the encrypted cw to the decryptor 315 . the encryptor 313 encrypts the ck based on the ak_pub and the sk and transmits the encrypted cks to the decryptor 316 . the receiving part using the package service and a premium channel service decrypts the encrypted ck based on the sk by the decryptor 316 and achieves the ck . wherein , the sk is distributed by the method according to fig2 a and 2b . the encrypted cw is decrypted based on the achieved ck and cw is achieved . the descrambler 314 descrambles the scrambled source based on the achieved cw and the subscriber watches the desired event . fig3 b is a diagram showing pay events according to time and validity of keys . as shown , events such as golf , fifa world cup , tennis are serviced . in order to watch the fifa world cup event , refer to fig3 a , the subscriber decrypts the ck encrypted based on the sk of the fifa world cup , achieves the ck , decrypts the cw based on the achieved ck , descrambles scrambled audio / video stream based on the cw and watches the fifa world cup . as shown , the sk is effective when the fifa world cup is serviced . therefore , the pay - service per event of the event serviced in the pay channel can be provided based on the session key . the present invention can effectively provide a pay - service per event . an event is serviced connected to a session . during the session , a session key is used for keeping confidentiality of a pay event . public - based encryption algorithm is used for safely transmitting the session key to the authenticated subscriber . the present invention carries out non - repudiation of the subscription to the pay - tv service by using a digital signature scheme based on the public - based encryption algorithm . the present invention can effectively service pay - service per event of a specific event included in the pay channel servicing the ppc by using a session key . the present application contains subject matter related to korean patent application no . 2003 - 97795 , filed in the korean intellectual property office on dec . 26 , 2003 , the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference . while the present invention has been described with respect to certain preferred embodiments , it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims . | 7 |
while the present invention is mostly described in connection with webpages , web browsers , web sites , internet servers and the like , it should be understood that it is not limited to the world wide web or the internet . the present invention may generally refer to any set of information which is considered as a single unit ( i . e ., an information unit ), of which a webpage is a non - limiting example , and which is sent over any type of computer network . furthermore , while the below description centers on web browsers and web servers , it should be understood that embodiments of the present invention may be used in conjunction with any device or software for presenting an information unit to a user , or for sending the information unit to the user &# 39 ; s device over a network . fig1 is a diagram of the environment in which an exemplary embodiment of the invention operates . a user &# 39 ; s computer 101 is connected to the internet 100 . also connected to the internet are a system server 103 , and one or more protected web servers 102 , 104 . the protected web servers are servers at which websites which are protected by the authentication system described herein are hosted . the user &# 39 ; s computer executes a web browser 105 . the user &# 39 ; s computer also executes client authentication software ( not shown ), which may implement aspects of the present invention . the client authentication software may be part of the web browser , a web browser add - on or a distinct application which communicates with the web browser , for example . the system server is optional . it provides information to the user &# 39 ; s computer according to some embodiments of the invention . the system server provides convenience , as information and updates may be quickly sent to the client authentication software . however , the system server may also cause a security weakness , as communications that go over the network can be intercepted by a malicious person . therefore , some embodiments of the invention do not use a system server , but instead provide the client authentication software with updates and other information through the use of physical media , such as , for example , cds and dvds , which the user inserts into computer 101 . other embodiments utilize a system server with encryption of the communications between the client authentication software and the system server in order to minimize any risk of compromise of these communications . fig2 is a flowchart showing a method of operation of an embodiment of the invention . at step 200 , the user obtains and installs the client authentication software on computer 101 . the software may be obtained over a network ; for example , it may be downloaded from the system server 103 over the internet 100 . in other embodiments , the software may be delivered using traditional storage media such as cds , dvds , etc . the client authentication software may be included in a specifically designed web browser . in an alternative embodiment , the client authentication software may be a distinct application ( from the web browser ), which serves as a proxy . this embodiment is well suited for cases in which the browser is difficult to modify . in the proxy embodiment , the browser is configured to use the client authentication software as a proxy ( and the client authentication software need not necessarily run on the user &# 39 ; s computer 101 ). in one embodiment , the client authentication software is an addition to a standard browser utilized by the user . most modern browsers provide for the ability to add additional software to extend their functionality . for example , for the mozilla and firefox internet browsers provided by the mozilla foundation , these extensions are referred to as plugins . for the internet explorer browser offered by the microsoft corporation these extensions are referred to as helper objects . embodiments of the invention may utilize either or both of these types of extensions for the above mentioned browsers . at step 202 , the authentication list is updated . the authentication list is a list of websites and their respective addresses which are considered to be authentic . in other words , these websites are what they purport to be . referring to fig1 , the authentication list is the list of the protected websites hosted at protected servers 102 , 104 . in one embodiment , the operators of these websites have consented that their sites be used in combination with the present invention . however , as discussed above , the protected websites need not have their underlying software and structure modified in order to participate in the present system . thus , in some cases , consent or assistance from the operators of a website are not necessary to protect the website according to certain embodiments of the present invention . the authentication list may be updated periodically . therefore , step 202 may be executed at multiple subsequent times . in one embodiment , the updates to the authentication list are downloaded from the system server 103 . alternatively , the updates may be obtained on a storage medium . the authentication list may include universal resource locators ( urls ) and uniform resource identifiers ( uris ) of protected websites . the urls define the global address of each website . the uris define the location of the login page of each website within that website . the location of the login page is significant for certain embodiments , because in these embodiments certain features of the present system are only activated when a user is looking at a login page . alternative embodiments may only store the urls of the protected websites . in some embodiments only hostnames are stored and each website belonging to a hostname is subject to the security features of the present invention . in other embodiments , regular expressions may be stored , the regular expressions defining one or more hostname , url , and / or uri pattern . at step 204 , the user is requested to select one or more tokens . an example of a token is provided in fig3 . tokens may include graphics , text , sound or any combination of the above . a typical token is a combination of a graphic 300 and text 301 . in one embodiment , the user is presented with a plurality of graphics and asked to choose one for his / her token . the user is also requested to add text to the token . if multiple users complete step 204 at various computers , each user is likely have a unique token . while it is expected that the token will be relatively unique for each respective user , it is not strictly necessary that it be absolutely unique . in other words , in some embodiments there may exist multiple users that have the same token . however , because repetitions will be rare , a malicious party should not be able to easily guess a user &# 39 ; s token . the above type of token is advantageous because it is unlikely to present an undue burden on a user &# 39 ; s memory . simple graphics are easy to remember and the user may choose a text which in his / her mind is associated with the graphic . for example , in fig3 the hypothetical user chose a graphic of a crown , and the text ‘ ooo ’. the hypothetical user may be a chess player because the crown is a symbol used for the ‘ king ’ piece in chess , and the text ‘ ooo ’ denotes a move the king may perform ( castle ). another user may choose other text in combination with this graphic , such as for example “ king of barbeque .” thus , one of the security features of embodiments of the invention is that it would be difficult for an unauthorized party to guess which text a user has chosen to combine with the graphic . the user may choose a single anti - fraud token , which will be valid for all protected websites . however , some embodiments may allow user to choose multiple tokens and select specific tokens to use for specific websites . at step 206 , the client authentication software monitors requests performed by the browser . step 206 may be performed continuously after the client authentication software is installed . therefore , step 206 is placed in its present position in the flow chart to aid the reader &# 39 ; s understanding only ; it may be performed at any other point in time . the client authentication software examines each request to determine whether it includes a reference to any of the addresses ( uris and optionally uris ) present in the authentication list . a more detailed schematic of the operation of the client authentication software is shown in fig4 . fig4 shows the client authentication software 400 and the standard browser module 405 . as discussed above , in some embodiments the client authentication software is part of the browser . accordingly , the standard browser module is the portion of the browser which is not the client authentication software . therefore , in some embodiments , the browser 105 is the combination of the standard browser module 405 and the client authentication software 400 . in other embodiments , such as the proxy embodiment , the standard browser module 405 is the same as the browser 105 and the client authorization software 400 is a distinct application . it can be seen in fig4 that as a request 401 is issued by the standard browser module , the client authentication software 400 compares the address of the request , with the addresses stored in the authentication list 410 . the other elements of fig4 will be discussed in more detail below . turning back to fig2 , at step 208 , during normal browsing , the user requests a webpage of a protected website . in one embodiment , step 208 happens when the user actually requests an address which specifies an actual user login page of the protected website . in other embodiments , step 208 may be triggered when the user accesses any page of the protected website . when the user requests the webpage , the standard browser module 405 sends an http request to a protected web server 102 ( see fig4 ). at step 210 , the client authentication server detects that the request for the protected website includes an address which is part of the authentication list 410 . the client authentication software then saves identifying information for the request ( i . e . socket number , http connection number , etc ), so that it can identify the response to this request . at step 212 , the protected server sends a response 402 to the request issued by the browser in step 208 ( see fig4 ). the response includes a webpage 403 . the client authentication software 400 monitors the data sent to the standard browser module 405 and , at step 214 , identifies when a response to the request it previously identified is received . thus , the response is matched to the previously identified request by socket , number , http connection number , address , etc . at step 216 , the client authentication software modifies the webpage 403 ( see fig4 ) within the response in order to add the anti - fraud token . therefore , the client authentication software converts response 402 into response 412 , which is similar to response 402 but includes some additions 404 to the webpage 403 ( which together form modified webpage 413 ). the additions may be made using dynamic html ( dhtml ). dynamic html is a known format for providing dynamic content in webpages . the dhtml format allows for various layers within a webpage . an html document may comprise a single dhtml layer . therefore , if the webpage 403 is originally in html the preferred embodiment converts it into a dhtml document 413 by keeping the original content as a first dhtml layer and adding a second dhtml layer which defines the anti - fraud token . if the original webpage 403 is a dhtml page , the client authentication software 400 modifies it by adding an additional dhtml layer which defines the anti - fraud token . if multiple anti - fraud tokens are being used , the client authentication software checks which protected website the webpage originated from ( by examining the response 402 , or the request 401 for an address ), and selects the respective anti - fraud token to add to the webpage 403 . while , to improve clarity , the response 402 and modified response 412 are shown in fig4 as blocks , it should be understood that the response may be treated as a stream . in other words , the client authentication software may modify parts of the response ( or webpage 403 ) while other parts are still being received from the protected server , or while other parts are actually being received and rendered on the screen by the standard browser module 405 . in an alternative embodiment , the client authentication software does not check requests for addresses from the authentication list 410 and attempt to match them to their respective responses . it simply checks the responses for those addresses and adds an anti - fraud token to each response which includes an address indicating it came from a protected website . this embodiment is simpler and faster , but may not be as effective because responses with fraudulent addresses may be created by using a technique referred to as ‘ spoofing ’. turning back to fig2 , at step 218 , the standard browser module 405 receives the modified webpage and displays it with the added anti - fraud token . if the anti - fraud token is a sound , the browser plays it instead . at step 220 , the user sees the webpage and the anti - fraud token . having noticed the anti - fraud token , the user realizes that he / she may safely interact with the webpage ( by , for example , entering sensitive information in various fields ). if on the other hand , the user sees a website that asks for sensitive information but does not include an anti - fraud token , the user knows that this website has not been shown to be safe by the present system and utilizes additional caution . fig5 is an example of a webpage 500 ( as displayed by browser 105 ) with an anti - fraud token 300 embedded therein . having seen the anti - fraud token , the user may confidently enter his / her username and password . embodiments of the invention allow a user to move the anti - fraud token around the webpage . thus a user may move the anti - fraud token away from useful portions of the webpage ( such as , for example , username and password fields 501 , 502 ). the ability to move the anti - fraud token may be provided by using known dhtml commands that allow an object to be moveable by a user . thus , a user will be able to move the anti - fraud token 300 by clicking on it with a mouse and “ dragging ” it around the webpage 500 . in one embodiment of the invention , the system actually remembers the movements of the anti - fraud token . thus , if the user moves the antifraud token 300 to the upper right hand corner of the webpage 500 ( as shown ), the token will appear at that location the next time the user accesses this particular webpage . this feature provides two benefits . the first is convenience . if a user has to move the token out of the way , it would be much more convenient if the token moving step could be performed only once for each protected website . the second benefit is additional security . if the user knows that the system remembers where the token was placed the last time a particular site was visited , then if the token appears at another place next time the user visits the site , the user will know that something is amiss . thus , even if a potential fraud perpetrator somehow correctly guesses a user &# 39 ; s token , he / she may not be able to fool the user without also guessing where in the webpage the user left the token last . in order to perform the above described token location memory feature , the client authentication software must be informed as to where the user moves the token . therefore , if standard dhtml features are used to allow movement of the token , an applet ( preferably in javascript ) may be placed in the same dhtml layer as the token . that applet may track the current position of the token and send information as to its position to the client authentication software . the client authentication software would in turn save the last position for the token for each protected webpage and re - insert the token in that position when the protected webpage is viewed for a second time . in an alternative embodiment , the user is not allowed to move the token by simply clicking on it and dragging it . instead , the user is provided with a visual toolbox 505 located at the browser &# 39 ; s interface 105 . the toolbox is created by the client authentication software . the user may move the anti - fraud token by clicking on the various arrows of the toolbox . thus , the client authentication software receives the user &# 39 ; s movement commands directly and in turn causes the token 300 to move . the client authentication software may cause the token to move by creating newer versions of the webpage 500 and causing the browser to refresh to these newer versions . in an alternative embodiment the movement ( or alternatively , only the last position ) of the anti - fraud token is sent to the system server 103 and saved thereon . the system server 103 then sends the various positions of the anti - fraud tokens for the various protected websites to the client authentication server 400 periodically with the updates of the authentication list . this embodiment is may be implemented in portable versions of the present invention which are designed to allow the user to easily utilize the present invention from different computers . fig6 is a diagram of a webpage 600 including an anti - fraud token according to alternative embodiments of the invention . specifically , while in the previous embodiments the anti - fraud token was inserted in the body of the webpage , in this embodiment it is inserted in the browser &# 39 ; s interface 601 . thus , the client authentication software does not modify the webpage at all , but having determined that the webpage is from a protected website , it modifies the browser &# 39 ; s interface to place a client request token . in theory , the embodiment of fig6 may be more secure as it is much more difficult for a potential fraud perpetrator to modify the browser &# 39 ; s interface than to modify a webpage . however , in practice the embodiments which place the token in the webpage may be more desirable , because users often do not notice elements on the browser &# 39 ; s interface and only pay attention to the content of webpages . if the user does not notice the anti - fraud token , its usefulness is very limited . since the illicit modifying of a browser &# 39 ; s interface is considered to be difficult , embodiments which place the anti - fraud token on the browser &# 39 ; s interface may do away with the custom token selection procedure . an example of such an embodiment is shown in fig7 ( showing website 700 ). this embodiment may not request that a user select and remember a custom token but may instead use a generic token , such as site valid sign 701 . in this embodiment , sign 701 would be the same for all protected websites and users . while the invention has been described in terms of particular embodiments and illustrative figures , those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments or figures described . although embodiments of the present invention are described , in some instances , using http , html and dhtml terminology , those skilled in the art will recognize that such terms are also used in a generic sense herein , and that the present invention is not limited to such systems . those skilled in the art will recognize that the operations of the various embodiments may be implemented using hardware , software , firmware , or combinations thereof , as appropriate . for example , some processes can be carried out using processors or other digital circuitry under the control of software , firmware , or hard - wired logic . ( the term “ logic ” herein refers to fixed hardware , programmable logic and / or an appropriate combination thereof , as would be recognized by one skilled in the art to carry out the recited functions .) software and firmware can be stored on computer - readable media . some other processes can be implemented using analog circuitry , as is well known to one of ordinary skill in the art . additionally , memory or other storage , as well as communication components , may be employed in embodiments of the invention . fig8 illustrates a typical computing system 800 that may be employed to implement processing functionality in embodiments of the invention . computing systems of this type may be used in the system server , the user terminal , and the protected web servers , for example . those skilled in the relevant art will also recognize how to implement the invention using other computer systems or architectures . computing system 800 may represent , for example , a desktop , laptop or notebook computer , hand - held computing device ( pda , cell phone , palmtop , etc . ), mainframe , server , client , or any other type of special or general purpose computing device as may be desirable or appropriate for a given application or environment . computing system 800 can include one or more processors , such as a processor 804 . processor 804 can be implemented using a general or special purpose processing engine such as , for example , a microprocessor , microcontroller or other control logic . in this example , processor 804 is connected to a bus 802 or other communications medium . computing system 800 can also include a main memory 808 , such as random access memory ( ram ) or other dynamic memory , for storing information and instructions to be executed by processor 804 . main memory 808 also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor 804 . computing system 800 may likewise include a read only memory (“ rom ”) or other static storage device coupled to bus 802 for storing static information and instructions for processor 804 . the computing system 800 may also include information storage system 810 , which may include , for example , a media drive 812 and a removable storage interface 820 . the media drive 812 may include a drive or other mechanism to support fixed or removable storage media , such as a hard disk drive , a floppy disk drive , a magnetic tape drive , an optical disk drive , a cd or dvd drive ( r or rw ), or other removable or fixed media drive . storage media 818 , may include , for example , a hard disk , floppy disk , magnetic tape , optical disk , cd or dvd , or other fixed or removable medium that is read by and written to by media drive 814 . as these examples illustrate , the storage media 818 may include a computer - readable storage medium having stored therein particular computer software or data . in alternative embodiments , information storage system 810 may include other similar components for allowing computer programs or other instructions or data to be loaded into computing system 800 . such components may include , for example , a removable storage unit 822 and an interface 820 , such as a program cartridge and cartridge interface , a removable memory ( for example , a flash memory or other removable memory module ) and memory slot , and other removable storage units 822 and interfaces 820 that allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 818 to computing system 800 . computing system 800 can also include a communications interface 824 . communications interface 824 can be used to allow software and data to be transferred between computing system 800 and external devices . examples of communications interface 824 can include a modem , a network interface ( such as an ethernet or other nic card ), a communications port ( such as for example , a usb port ), a pcmcia slot and card , etc . software and data transferred via communications interface 824 are in the form of signals which can be electronic , electromagnetic , optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 824 . these signals are provided to communications interface 824 via a channel 828 . this channel 828 may carry signals and may be implemented using a wireless medium , wire or cable , fiber optics , or other communications medium . some examples of a channel include a phone line , a cellular phone link , an rf link , a network interface , a local or wide area network , and other communications channels . in this document , the terms “ computer program product ,” “ computer - readable medium ” and the like may be used generally to refer to media such as , for example , memory 808 , storage device 818 , or storage unit 822 . these and other forms of computer - readable media may store one or more instructions for use by processor 804 , to cause the processor to perform specified operations . such instructions , generally referred to as “ computer program code ” ( which may be grouped in the form of computer programs or other groupings ), when executed , enable the computing system 800 to perform functions of embodiments of the present invention . note that the code may directly cause the processor to perform specified operations , be compiled to do so , and / or be combined with other software , hardware , and / or firmware elements ( e . g ., libraries for performing standard functions ) to do so . in an embodiment where the elements are implemented using software , the software may be stored in a computer - readable medium and loaded into computing system 800 using , for example , removable storage drive 814 , drive 812 or communications interface 824 . the control logic ( in this example , software instructions or computer program code ), when executed by the processor 804 , causes the processor 804 to perform the functions of the invention as described herein . it will be appreciated that , for clarity purposes , the above description has described embodiments of the invention with reference to different functional units and processors . however , it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units , processors or domains may be used without detracting from the invention . for example , functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processors or controllers may be performed by the same processor or controller . hence , references to specific functional units are only to be seen as references to suitable means for providing the described functionality , rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization . although the present invention has been described in connection with some embodiments , it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein . rather , the scope of the present invention is limited only by the claims . additionally , although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments , one skilled in the art would recognize that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in accordance with the invention . furthermore , although individually listed , a plurality of means , elements or method steps may be implemented by , for example , a single unit or processor . additionally , although individual features may be included in different claims , these may possibly be advantageously combined , and the inclusion in different claims does not imply that a combination of features is not feasible and / or advantageous . also , the inclusion of a feature in one category of claims does not imply a limitation to this category , but rather the feature may be equally applicable to other claim categories , as appropriate . | 7 |
in the formulae ( i ) and ( ii ) of the sensitizing dyes as used in the present invention , the heterocyclic rings formed by z 1 and z 2 , which can be substituted with one or more of a halogen atom such as fluorine , chlorine and bromine , a trifluoromethyl group , an alkyl group containing preferably 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as a methyl group , an ethyl group , etc ., a monoaryl group such as a phenyl group , a p - sulfophenyl group , etc ., a carboxy group , a carboxyalkyl group having an alkyl moiety containing preferably 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as a carboxymethyl group , a carboxyethyl group , etc ., and the like , include a benzoxazole ring , a 5 - fluorobenzoxazole ring , a 5 - chlorobenzoxazole ring , a 5 - bromobenzoxazole ring , a 5 - trifluoromethylbenzoxazole ring , a 5 - methylbenxozazole ring , a 5 , 6 - dimethyl benzoxazole ring , a methoxybenzoxazole ring , a 5 , 6 - dimethylbenzoxazole ring , a 5 - phenylbenzoxazole ring , a 5 - carboxybenzoxazole ring , a 5 - carboxymethylbenzoxazole ring , a β - naphthoxazole ring , and the like . heterocyclic rings formed by z 3 include a pyridine ring , a quinoline ring , an oxazoline ring , an oxazole ring , a thiazoline ring , a thiazole ring , a selenazole ring , a benzoxazole ring , a benzothiazole ring , a benzoselenazole ring , a benzimidazole ring , a dialkylindolenine ring , a α - naphthoxazole ring , a β - naphthoxazole ring , a β , β - naphthoxazole ring , a α - naphthothiazole ring , a β - naphthothiazole ring , a β , β - naphthothiazole ring , a α - naphthoselenazole ring , a tetrazole ring , a pyrroline ring , and the like . these rings may be substituted with one or more of a halogen atom , alkyl group , alkoxy group , alkoxycarbonyl group , and aryl group as described for z 1 and z 2 . the pyrazoline - 5 - one ring formed by z 4 can be substituted with one or more of an alkyl group preferably containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as methyl , ethyl , propyl , and the like ; an alkoxy group preferably containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as a methoxy group and an ethoxy group ; an alkoxycarbonyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as a methoxycarbonyl group , an ethoxycarbonyl group , and the like ; an aryl group such as a phenyl group and a substituted aryl group , e . g ., a sulfophenyl group , a carboxyphenyl group , a trichlorophenyl group , and the like ; an alkoxyalkyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as a substituted alkoxyalkyl group , e . g ., a hydroxymethoxyethyl group , a 2 - hydroxyethoxymethyl group , a 2 -( 2 - hydroxyethoxy ) ethyl group , a 2 -( 2 - acetoxyethoxy ) ethyl group , an acetoxymethoxymethyl group , and the like ; an n -( n , n - dialkylaminoalkyl ) carbamoylalkyl group in which the alkyl moiety has preferably 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as an n -[ 3 -( n , n - dimethylamino ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 2 -( n , n - diethylamino ) ethyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 3 -( morpholino ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 3 -( piperidino ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , and the like ; an n -[ n , n , n - trialkylammoniumalkyl ) carbamoylalkyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as an n -[ 3 -( n , n , n - trimethylammonium ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 3 -( n , n , n - triethylammonium ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 3 -( n - methylmorpholinolium ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , an n -[ 3 -( n - methylpiperidinonium ) propyl ] carbamoylmethyl group , and the like ; an n , n , n - trialkylammoniumalkyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as an n , n - diethyl - n - methylammoniumethyl group , an n , n , n - triethylammoniumethyl group , and the like ; an allyl group such as a vinylmethyl group ; a hydroxyalkyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms , such as a hydroxymethyl group , a β - hydroxyethyl group , and the like ; a carboxyalkyl group such as carboxymethyl group , a carboxyethyl group , and the like ; a sulfoalkyl group such as a sulfoethyl group , a sulfopropyl group , and the like ; and an amino group , etc . the aliphatic groups represented by r 1 , r 2 , and r 4 include a unsubstituted alkyl group preferably containing 1 to 8 carbon atoms , such as a methyl group , an ethyl group , a propyl group , and the like ; and a substituted alkyl group in which the alkyl moiety preferably has 1 to 4 carbon atoms and having as substituents a hydroxy group , a carboxy group , a sulfo group , and the like , such as a 2 - hydroxyethyl group , a 3 - hydroxypropyl group , a 2 - carboxyethyl group , a 3 - carboxypropyl group , a 4 - carboxybutyl group , a 2 - sulfoethyl group , a 3 - sulfopropyl group , a 3 - sulfobutyl group , a 4 - sulfobutyl group , a 2 - hydroxy - 3 - sulfopropyl group , a 3 - sulfopropoxyethoxyethyl group , and the like ; etc . the alkyl groups represented by r 3 and r 5 are the same unsubstituted alkyl groups as in r 1 , r 2 , and r 4 . the aryl group represented by r 5 includes a phenyl group , a carboxyphenyl group , and the like . x - represents a mineral acid ion , such as an iodine ion , a bromine ion , a chlorine ion , a perchlorate ion , a thiocyanate ion , and the like ; and an organic acid ion , such as p - benzene - sulfonic acid ion , a benzenesulfonic acid ion , an ethyl sulfate ion , and the like . the oxacarbocyanine dyes represented by the formula ( i ) are well known as dyes having high green sensitivity . furthermore , it is well known that when this dye is used in combination with an imidacarbocyanine dye , supersensitization is achieved and the spectral sensitive wavelength region is extended to a longer wavelength side . on the other hand , many of the sensitizing dyes represented by th formula ( ii ) have a quite low spectral sensitivity . however , when they are used in combination with the oxacarbocyanine dye represented by the formula ( i ), they can increase the green sensistivity without substantially changing the spectral sensitivity distribution of the oxacarbocyanine dye . that is , supersensitization can be achieved without shifting the spectral sensitive wavelength region of the oxacarbocyanine dye . moreover , they have an advantage that residual coloring is small . since the object can be attained by the use of the sensitizing dye of the formula ( i ) in a small amount of about 1 / 4 to 1 / 8 of the sensitizing dye of the formula ( ii ), residual coloring is not increased . the supersensitization of the present invention is usable in producing an emulsion for a multi - layer color film of the incorporated - coupler type , particularly a reversal color film and a negative color film . representative examples of dyes of the formula ( i ) and ( ii ) used in the present invention are shown below although the present invention is not to be construed as being limited thereto . the silver halide photographic emulsions which can be used in the present invention can be produced by conventional methods and contain silver chloride , silver bromide , silver iodide or mixtures thereof which can be precipitated by the single jet process , double jet process , or a conbination of these processes . a preferred silver halide is silver iodobromide or silver chloroiodobromide . the average diameter of the grains preferably ranges from about 0 . 04 μ to 2 μ as measured with the projected area method or by the number average measurement . to the silver halide photographic emulsion , conventionally used chemical sensitizations such as gold sensitization as described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 540 , 085 , 2 , 597 , 856 , 2 , 597 , 915 , 2 , 399 , 083 , etc . ; sensitization using group viii metal ions ; sulfur sensitization as described in u . s . pat . nos . 1 , 574 , 944 , 2 , 278 , 947 , 2 , 440 , 206 , 2 , 410 , 689 , 3 , 189 , 458 , 3 , 415 , 649 , etc . ; reduction sensitization as described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 518 , 698 , 2 , 419 , 974 , 2 , 983 , 610 , etc . ; or a combination of the sensitization methods , can be applied . chemical sensitizers which can be used in the present invention include sulfur sensitizers such as allyl thiocarbamide , thiourea , sodium thiosulfate , cystine , and the like ; noble metal sensitizers such as potassium chloroaurate , aurous thiosulfate , potassium chloropalladate , and the like ; and reduction sensitizers such as stannous chloride , phenylhydrazine , reductone , and the like ; etc . polyoxyethylene derivatives , polyoxypropylene derivatives , quaternary ammonium group containing derivatives can be present in the emulsion . furthermore , antifogging agents such as nitrobenzoimidazole and ammoniumchloroplatinate , and stabilizers such as 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetrazaindene can be present in the emulsion . hardening agents , e . g ., aldehydes , such as glyoxal as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 1 , 870 , 354 , glutalaldehyde as disclosed in british pat . no . 825 , 544 , n - methylol substituted compounds , such as n , n &# 39 ;- dimethylolurea , dioxane derivatives , e . g ., dihydroxydioxane as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 380 , 829 , compounds having epoxy groups , as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 047 , 394 and 3 , 091 , 537 , compounds having active halogens , such as 2 , 4 - dichloro - 6 - hydroxy - 1 , 3 , 5 - triazine as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 325 , 287 , mucohalic acids such as mucochloric acid and mucobromic acid as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 080 , 019 , bis -( methane sulfonic acid ester ) as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 726 , 162 , sulfonyl compounds such as bis -( benzene sulfonyl chloride ) as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 725 , 295 , aziridine compounds , divinylsulfones as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 579 , 871 , compounds having active olefinic bonds such as divinyl ketone as disclosed in german pat . no . 872 , 153 , compounds having acryloyl groups as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 255 , 000 and 3 , 635 , 718 , british pat . no . 994 , 869 and german pat . no . 1 , 090 , 427 , alkylene bis - maleimide as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 992 , 109 , isocyanates as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 103 , 437 , carbodiimides as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 100 , 704 , isooxazole derivatives as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 321 , 313 and 3 , 543 , 292 , polymeric hardeners such as dialdehyde starch as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 057 , 723 , and inorganic hardeners , such as chrom alum , chrom acetate , zirconium sulfate , etc . ; can be present in the emulsion . surface active agents , e . g ., nonionic surface active agents , such as saponin , polyethyleneglycol , polyethylene glycol / polypropylene glycol adducts as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 294 , 540 , polyalkyleneglycol ethers , esters , and amides as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 831 , 766 , anionic surface active agents , such as alkyl carboxylic acid salts , alkyl sulfonic acid salts , alkylbenzene sulfonic acid salts , alkylnaphthalene sulfonic acid salts , alkyl sulfates , n - acyl - n - alkyltaurine as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 739 , 891 , maleopimalates as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 359 , 980 , 2 , 409 , 930 and 2 , 447 , 750 , other anionic surface active agents as disclosed in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 823 , 123 and 3 , 415 , 649 , amphoteric surface active agents , e . g ., as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 726 , 683 and british pat . no . 1 , 159 , 825 , etc ., can also be employed , if desired . when the silver halide emulsion as used herein is used for a color photographic photosensitive material , a color coupler and dispersing agents therefor can be added to the silver halide emulsion . examples of color couplers which can be employed are disclosed in the following u . s . pats ; e . g ., yellow couplers as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 277 , 155 ; 3 , 415 , 652 ; 3 , 447 , 928 ; 3 , 408 , 194 ; 2 , 875 , 057 ; 3 , 265 , 506 ; 3 , 409 , 439 ; 3 , 551 , 155 ; 3 , 551 , 156 ; 3 , 582 , 322 , etc . ; magenta couplers as described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 600 , 788 ; 2 , 983 , 608 ; 3 , 006 , 759 ; 3 , 062 , 653 ; 3 , 214 , 437 ; 3 , 253 , 924 ; 3 , 311 , 476 ; 3 , 419 , 391 ; 3 , 419 , 808 ; 3 , 476 , 560 ; 3 , 582 , 322 , etc . ; and cyan couplers as described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 474 , 293 ; 2 , 698 , 794 ; 3 , 034 , 892 ; 3 , 214 , 437 ; 3 , 253 , 924 ; 3 , 311 , 476 ; 3 , 458 , 315 ; 3 , 582 , 322 ; 3 , 591 , 383 ; etc . moreover , to the silver halide photographic emulsion , as a protective colloid , gelatin ; gelatin derivatives , such as phthalated gelatin and malonated gelatin ; cellulose derivatives such as hydroxyethyl cellulose and carboxymethyl cellulose ; soluble starches such as dextrin ; hydrophilic polymers , etc . are added . suitable gelatin derivatives include those formed by the reaction of gelatin with aromatic sulfonyl chlorides , aromatic acid chlorides , aromatic acid anhydrides , isocyanates , 1 , 4 - diketones , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 614 , 928 , trimellitic acid , as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 118 , 766 , organic acids having an active halogen , as disclosed in japanese pat . application no . 5514 / 1964 , aromatic glycidyl ethers as disclosed in japanese pat . application no . 26845 / 1967 , maleimides , maleamic acid , unsaturated aliphatic diamides as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 186 , 846 , sulfoalkylated gelatin as disclosed in british pat . no . 1 , 033 , 189 , polyoxyalkylene derivatives as disclosed in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 312 , 553 and polymer - grafted gelatins , e . g ., grafted with acrylic acid , methacrylic acid , acrylate esters , methacrylate esters , acrylamide , acrylonitrile , styrene , etc . specific examples of synthetic hydrophilic polymers include homopolymers or copolymers of vinylalcohol , n - vinylpyrrolidone , hydroxyalkylmethacrylate , methacrylamide , n - substituted methacrylamide , styrene sulfonic acid , etc ., copolymers of these monomers with methacrylic esters , vinyl acetate , styrene , etc ., and a monomer as described previously copolymerized with maleic anhydride , maleic acid , etc . plasticizers for dimensional stability ; latex polymers ; and matting agents can also be added . the thus finished emulsion is coated on a suitable support , such as a baryta paper , a resin coated paper , a synthetic paper , a cellulose triacetate film , a polyethylene terephthalate film , a glass plate , or other plastic base . a suitable coating amount is generally about 0 . 001 to 0 . 1 mol ( as silver ) 1 m 2 of the support . the sensitizing dyes as used herein can be added as a solution in water or organic solvents miscible with water such as methanol , ethanol , methyl cellosolve , pyridine , and the like . the sensitizing dye is used in an amount conventionally used to effect supersensitization , for example , in an amount of about 5 × 10 - 3 to 1 × 10 - 6 mole per mole of silver . the molar ratio of the dye of the formula ( ii ) to the dye of the formula ( i ) preferably ranges from about 2 : 1 to 20 : 1 . the combination of the dyes of the present invention can be used in sensitizing various silver halide photographic emulsions for color , and black and white photosensitive materials . emulsions which can be used in the present invention are an emulsion for color positive materials , an emulsion for color papers , an emulsion for color negative materials , an emulsion for color reversal ( in which a coupler is incorporated or not incorporated ), an emulsion for use in photographic photosensitive materials for plate making such as a lith film , an emulsion for use in a photosensitive material for recording a cathode ray tube display , an emulsion for use in a photosensitive material for x - ray recording , particularly direct and indirect photographic material using a screen , an emulsion for use in a colloid transfer process as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 716 , 059 , an emulsion for use in the silver salt diffusion transfer process as described in u . s . pat . nos . 2 , 352 , 014 , 2 , 543 , 181 , 3 , 020 , 155 , 2 , 861 , 885 , etc ., an emulsion for use in the color diffusion transfer process as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 087 , 816 , 3 , 185 , 567 , 2 , 983 , 606 , 3 , 253 , 915 , 3 , 227 , 550 , 3 , 227 , 551 , 3 , 227 , 552 , 3 , 415 , 644 , 3 , 415 , 645 , 3 , 415 , 646 , etc ., an emulsion for use in the inhibition transfer process as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 882 , 156 , an emulsion for use in the silver dye bleaching process as described in friedman , history of color photography , american photographic publishers co ., ( 1944 ), particularly chapter 24 and british journal of photography , vol . 111 , pages 308 to 309 , apr . 7 ( 1964 ), an emulsion for use in a material for recording a print - out image as described in u . s . pat . no . 2 , 369 , 449 and belgian pat . no . 704 , 255 , an emulsion for use in a direct print image as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 033 , 682 and 3 , 287 , 137 , an emulsion for use in a thermally developable photosensitive material as described in u . s . pat . nos . 3 , 152 , 904 , 3 , 312 , 550 , 3 , 148 , 122 and british pat . no . 1 , 110 , 046 , and an emulsion for use in a photosensitive material for physical development as described in british pat . nos . 920 , 277 and 1 , 131 , 238 , etc . the dyes as used herein are used for spectral sensitization in accordance to the methods as described in german pat . laid - open no . 2 , 104 , 283 and u . s . pat . no . 3 , 649 , 286 . the invention is further explained in greater detail by reference to the following examples . unless otherwise indicated , all parts , percents , ratios and the like are by weight . silver halide grains were precipitated by the double jet process and subjected to a conventional physical ripening , a desalting treatment , and a chemical ripening . thus , a silver iodide bromide emulsion ( iodine content : 7 mole %) was obtained . the average diameter of the silver halide grains contained in the emulsion was 0 . 42 μ . 0 . 52 mole of the silver halide was contained in 1 kg of the emulsion . 1 kg of the emulsion was charged in a pot and melted by immersing the pot into a thermostatic bath at 50 ° c . methanol solutions of sensitizing dyes of the present invention and sensitizing dyes for comparison were added to the emulsion in amounts as indicated in table 1 and mixed at 40 ° c . moreover , 10 ml of a 0 . 1 % by weight aqueous solution of 4 - hydroxy - 6 - methyl - 1 , 3 , 3a , 7 - tetrazaindene , 10 ml of a 1 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium 1 - hydroxy - 3 , 5 - dichlorotriazine , and 10 ml of a 1 % by weight aqueous solution of sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate were added and mixed . the thus finished emulsion was coated on a cellulose triacetate film base in a dry thickness of 5 microns and dried . thus , a sample of a photosensitive material was obtained . the sample was slit into strips . one piece was wedgewise exposed to a light source having a color temperature of 5400 ° k equipped with a blue filter ( wratten 47b , produced by eastman kodak co .) and yellow filter ( sc - 50 , produced by the fuji photo film co ., ltd .). another piece was exposed to obtain a spectrogram thereof by the use of a diffraction grating type of spectrophotometer equipped with a tungsten light source of a color temperature 2666 ° k . these strips were developed with a developer having the following composition at 20 ° c for 20 minutes , stopped , fixed , and washed . thus , strips having a given image were obtained . density measurement using an s type densitometer produced by the fuji photo film co ., ltd ., was measured and the sensitivity of blue color filter ( sb ), the sensitivity of yellow color filter ( sy ), and fog were obtained . the base point of the optical density for measuring the sensitivity was at a point of ( fog + 0 . 20 ). ______________________________________composition of developer______________________________________water 500 mlmetol 2 gsodium sulfite ( anhydrous ) 90 ghydroquinone 8 gsodium carbonate ( monohydrate ) 52 . 5 gpotassium bromide 5 gwater to make up 1 liter______________________________________ the results obtained are shown in table 1 as a relative value . tests nos . 7 and 8 were carried out for comparison . table 1__________________________________________________________________________no . sensitizing dyes and amount thereof sy sb fog spectrogram ( relative ( relative value ) value ) __________________________________________________________________________1 -- -- -- 13 100 0 . 05 ( base point ) ( i - a ) 8 -- -- 61 80 0 . 05 16 -- -- 100 70 0 . 05 ( base point ) 32 -- -- 104 63 0 . 07 -- ( ii - c ) 1 -- 13 86 0 . 05 -- 2 -- 13 81 0 . 05 -- 4 -- 12 77 0 . 05 ( i - a ) 16 ( ii - c ) 2 -- 110 77 0 . 05 16 4 -- 114 77 0 . 052 ( i - c ) 8 -- -- 83 91 0 . 05 16 -- -- 100 83 0 . 05 fig3 - 1 32 -- -- 100 70 0 . 06 -- ( ii - g ) 2 -- 15 83 0 . 05 fig3 - 2 -- 4 -- 18 73 0 . 05 -- 8 -- 22 73 0 . 06 ( i - c ) 16 ( ii - g ) 2 -- 142 91 0 . 05 fig3 - 3 16 4 -- 130 91 0 . 053 -- ( ii - a ) 1 -- 13 96 0 . 05 -- 2 -- 13 91 0 . 05 fig4 - 4 -- 4 -- 13 67 0 . 05 ( i - c ) 16 ( ii - a ) 1 -- 142 83 0 . 05 16 2 -- 142 83 0 . 05 fig4 - 54 -- ( ii - b ) 2 -- 13 97 0 . 05 -- 4 -- 13 97 0 . 05 8 -- 13 97 0 . 05 ( i - a ) 16 ( ii - b ) 2 -- 133 97 0 . 05 16 4 -- 129 83 0 . 055 ( i - e ) 4 -- -- 71 100 0 . 06 8 -- -- 125 100 0 . 07 16 -- -- 100 64 0 . 12 ( i - e ) 4 ( ii - g ) 1 -- 88 97 0 . 06 4 2 -- 100 97 0 . 06 ( i - e ) 8 ( ii - g ) 1 -- 140 97 0 . 07 8 2 -- 145 97 0 . 076 ( i - f ) 8 -- -- 49 75 0 . 05 16 -- -- 59 65 0 . 05 32 -- -- 63 50 0 . 06 ( i - f ) 16 ( ii - c ) 2 -- 102 70 0 . 05 16 4 -- 102 70 0 . 057 -- -- ( a )* 2 13 90 0 . 05 fig5 - 6 -- -- 4 13 68 0 . 05 -- -- 8 13 68 0 . 05 ( i - c ) 16 -- ( a ) 2 100 90 0 . 05 fig5 - 7 16 -- 4 81 84 0 . 058 -- -- ( b )** 2 24 84 0 . 05 -- -- 4 24 71 0 . 05 -- -- 8 19 41 0 . 05 ( i - e ) 16 -- ( b ) 2 96 74 0 . 08 16 -- 4 52 62 0 . 08__________________________________________________________________________ ## spc3 ## it can be seen from the results obtained that the combination of the dyes of the present invention is effective to achieve supersensitization . even though they are used in combination with well known green sensitive sensitizing dyes such 2 , 2 &# 39 ;- thiocyanine , imidacarbocyanine , and the like , the effect of the present invention is not deteriorated . while the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof . | 6 |
fig5 is a block diagram to show a circuit arrangement of an example of the present invention . at the time of a normal recording , an analog switch 24 for recording . reproduction change over is placed in a recording mode , and as image signals are introduced a brightness element of the image signals is taken out by a low pass filter 20 ( hereinafter called as lpf ) which takes out brightness signals . the lpf output is frequency modulated by an fm modulator 21 , and then it is added in an adder 22 . a color signal element of the image signals is taken out by a band pass filter ( hereinafter called as bpf ) 25 , and is converted to a low zone or low band frequency by a frequency modulator 26 which modulates the color signal to a low zone which is added in the adder 22 . sound signals are frequency modulated by an fm modulator 27 and are added in the adder 22 . a frequency zone of sound signals is established between the color signal zone which is converted to a low zone , and the brightness signal zone which are frequency modulated . the output of the adder 22 is sent to a picuture recording amplifier 23 , goes through the analog switch 24 , and then is recorded on a magnetic tape 45 by a rotating magnetic head 43 . also , at the time of normal reproduction , the analog switch 24 is changed over to a reproduction mode , and an analog switch 30 for change over of a post recording delay signal and a normal reproduction signal is changed over to a normal reproduction position n . that is , image . sound signals reproduced by the rotating magnetic head 43 pass through the analog switch 24 and are transmitted to a reproduction amplifier 28 . an output of the reproduction amplifier goes through the analog switch 30 and is sent to a high pass filter ( hereinafter called as hpf ) 31 , and an lpf34 and a bpf36 . the hpf31 operates to take out the brightness element which is frequency modulated , and an output thereof passes through an fm demodulator 32 and is entered into an adder 33 . the lpf34 operates to take out the color signal element which is frequency modulated to a low zone and the color signal is returned to its original state through a frequency demodulator 35 and is added in the adder 33 . at the output of the adder 33 are image signals which are then reproduced . further , the output of the analog switch 30 passes through the bpf36 which passes frequency modulated sound signals , and is applied to an fm demodulator 37 so that sound signals are provided from the output of the fm demodulator 37 . in the above - mentioned method , a rotating magnetic head 44 which is used solely for post recording is provided for making a post recording of sound signals , and synthesized signals of image signals and new sound signals are re - recorded along a recording locus before post recording on the magnetic tape 45 . at the time of post recording of sound signals , the change over analog switch 30 for normal reproduction and post recording is changed over to a post recording position a . image . sound signals being reproduced by the rotating magnetic head 43 pass through the analog switch 24 and are transmitted to the reproduction amplifier 28 . the output of the reproduction amplifier 28 passes through a delay device 29 and the analog switch 30 , and is connected to the hpf31 , the lpf34 and the bpf36 . a brightness signal output from the hpf31 and a color signal output from the lpf34 are respectively added in an adder 41 . on the other hand , sound signals before post recording go through the bpf36 , are demodulated by the fm demodulator 37 , and then are added in an adder 38 . also , new sound signals are added in the adder 38 . an adjuster 39 for the level of addition is attached to the adder 38 . therefore , the ratio of mixing of the sound signals before post recording , and the new sound signals , can be freely changed . the output of the adder 38 is applied to a frequency modulator 40 and the output thereof is added in the adder 41 , and is synthesized with image signals . the synthesized output of the adder 41 is amplified by a picture recording amplifier 42 and is recorded on the magnetic tape 45 by the rotating magnetic head 44 which is used solely for post recording . reproduction of the post recorded signals is done by the rotating magnetic head 43 . also , a function of the delay device 29 is to compensate a time differential generated as the magnetic heads 43 , 44 deviate or differ from each other phase ( time ) wise . that is , the delay device 29 works so that horizontal synchronizing signals will be recorded at the same position both before post recording and after the same . by this , a reproduction can be made by the magnetic head 43 even a post recording . the delay device 29 is made of an ultrasonic delay means , a glass plate or a memory means such as ccd , bbd , etc . fig6 shows an arrangement of a recording reproduction part of a vtr in which the circuit of fig5 is used . a cassette 51 houses the magnetic tape 45 , and rotating magnetic heads 53 , 54 are for normal recording reproduction corresponding to the magnetic head 43 of fig5 while rotating magnetic heads 55 , 56 are used solely for post - recording corresponding to the magnetic head 44 of fig5 . the magnetic heads 53 , 55 have the same azimuthal angle while the magnetic heads 54 , 56 have the same azimuthal angle which is different from the azimuthal angle of the heads 53 , 55 . the rotating magnetic heads rotate with a constant speed in the direction of an arrow 62 . also shown are a capstan 60 and a pinch roller 59 , wherein the magnetic tape 45 is held by pressure contacting of the capstan and the pinch roller and is fed with a constant speed in the direction of an arrow 61 by the constant speed rotation of the capstan , a total width erasing head 57 , and 58 is a fixed head 58 to record and reproduce ctl ( control ) signals . fig7 shows the arrangement shown in fig6 as viewed from the bottom of fig6 including tape guide posts 68 , 69 , an upper drum 67 , and a lower drum 66 having a lead plane 72 . a center line of a track formed by the magnetic head 43 , and a center line of a track formed by the magnetic head 44 , have a step difference d in the track direction . this is because rotating phases of the normal recording reproduction head 43 , and of the head 44 used solely for post recording , are deviated or differ from each other , and because the magnetic tape 45 always runs at a constant speed . the location of the track at which post recording is to be started is detected by the normal recording reproduction head 43 . when the head 44 used solely for post recording comes to said location , a certain time has elapsed because of a deviation in the rotating phase , while the tape advances during said time , thus the track at which post recording is to be made is deviated to downwardly . therefore , the normal recording reproduction head 43 is shifted downward by d , corresponding to a phase deviation thereof from the magnetic head 44 used solely for post recording , so that the magnetic head 44 properly traces on a magnetic locus on which it should make a post recording . by this phase deviation and step difference , and also by combining the delay device 29 of fig5 a recording can be made at a time of post recording in the same pattern as that before the post recording . that is , the phase relationship between the heads 43 and 44 can be varied to any position by varying the two other elements , the step difference and the characteristics of the delay device . generally speaking , in a helical scan type vtr , a recording is made in an overlapped manner with the two rotating magnetic heads 53 , 54 ( fig6 ) at the time of a normal recording . this will be explained referring to fig8 . as shown in fig8 ( a ), a head 1 which has a certain azimuthal angle and forms a track with a width a makes a recording of 1 -- 1 . next , a head 2 which has an azimuthal angle different from that of the head 1 and forms a track with a width a , makes a recording with an overlap by a width b with the recording 1 -- 1 . at this time the portion b which has a recording thereon by head 1 , is recorded on by the head 2 , and said recording by head 2 remains as a tape pattern . thereafter recordings will be made consecutively from 2 - 1 to 1 - 2 , 2 - 2 , 1 - 3 , 2 - 3 , 1 - 4 . . . with an overlapping of a width b . a width of a magnetic locus remaining on the magnetic tape 45 on which recordings are made as mentioned above will have a width ( a - b ), being narrower by the width b than the width a of the track formed by the head as shown in fig8 ( b ). therefore , the width of a track formed by the magnetic head used solely for post recording needs to be wider than the width ( a - b ) of magnetic locus remaining on the magnetic tape 45 . if it is not wider , the recording before the post recording will remain , resulting in a confusion and a disturbance both in image and sound signals at the time of reproduction . further , when the width of a track formed by the head solely used for a post recording is too wide , the width of an adjacent magnetic locus is narrowed ( if it is extremely wide the adjacent magnetic locus will be totally erased ), and the reproduction output from said narrowed locus at the time of reproduction will be lowered . in view of the same , the width of a track formed by the head solely used for a post recording needs to be made wider than a width of the magnetic locus remaining on the magnetic tape 45 at the time of a normal recording , and at the same time it needs to be made narrower than the width of the track formed by the normal recording heads 53 , 54 . that is , a width of a track formal by the head solely used for a post recording needs to be within a range of and the step difference d in fig7 is so set that the above - mentioned width a stretches over the width ( a - b ) of magnetic locus of a normal recording , so that any recording before the post recording will not remain . in the above described example , rotating magnetic heads for normal recording reproduction and rotating magnetic heads solely used for post recording are made as separate bodies , but such an arrangement will require four heads , taking a lengthy time for assembly and adjustment . fig9 and fig1 show examples in which said two heads are made as combination heads . the relationship of the step difference and the width of track formed will not be different from that in the former example in which said two heads are made as separate bodies . fig9 shows an example in which normal recording reproduction heads and heads solely used for a post recording are made as combination heads , showing respectively a normal recording reproduction gap 75 and a gap 76 solely used for a post recording , and cores 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 made of , for example , ferrite material . the cores 80 , 81 are welded together by low permeability material , for example , glass 83 or the like . a coil 77 is wound around the core 79 for supplying recorded signals or obtaining reproduced signals , and a coil 78 is wound around the core 82 to supply post recording signals . further , in the former example , re - recording is done by the magnetic head 44 having the same azimuthal angle as that of the magnetic head 43 , on the track having a recording thereon with a certain azimuthal angle by the head 43 , in such manner as to follow said track . that is , an arrangement wherein post recording is made in the form of an overlapped writing is employed . however , it is also possible to provide an erasing head between the magnetic head 43 and the magnetic head 44 before the head 44 , so that a recorded locus is erased and sound . image synthesized signals having new sound signals added thereto are recorded by the magnetic head 44 . fig1 shows an example of combination heads in which erasing heads are provided for the arrangement shown in fig9 showing respectively gaps 85 , 86 , 87 for a normal recording reproduction , erasing and a post recording , and cores 91 , 92 , 93 , 94 , 95 , 96 made of , for example , ferrite material . the cores 92 and 93 as well as the cores 94 and 95 are welded together by low permeability material , for example , glass shown 97 , 98 or the like . also , a coil 88 is wound around the core 91 for supplying recorded signals or for obtaining reproduction signals , and a coil 89 is wound around the core 93 to supply erasing signals at the time of a post recording . further , a coil 90 is wound around the core 96 to supply post recording signals . thus , by using combination heads , assembling and adjusting time can be shortened . as has been explained above by examples , in the present invention , signals obtained by mixing or selecting reproduced information from a recording medium on which a recording has been made , and new information , can be recorded at a position at which said reproduced information was recorded in almost the same manner , thus allowing a post recording of information . therefore , even when information on a recording medium without a post recording , and information having been post recorded by the present invention , are reproduced in succession , there will be no confusion or disturbance of information and an editing of information can be done in a very satisfactory manner . also , when normal recording reproduction heads and heads solely used for post recording are made integrally as shown in the latter examples , an assembly and an adjustment of the apparatus can be made simply as in an apparatus having no heads solely used for a post recording . | 6 |
while fig1 a and 2 represent different emphasis of illustration , the circuitry is substantially identical for all practical purposes , and accordingly indicia represent common elements of the two figures , and fig3 in like manner utilizes the same indicia for any common elements recognizable in the other figures . in particular , the ice - making air - conditioner primary unit 4 includes a coolant - container vessel 5 and an air - cooling enclosure structure 6 with inlet and outlet ports , having a fan 7 in the inlet port for drawing air into the enclosure space 11 of the enclosure structure , and fan 8 in the outlet for exhausting cooled air therefrom after cooling the air passing over coils 10 within the air - cooling space , coolant being pumped through the coils 10 by pump 9 , coolant 12 being within the coolant - container vessel 5 , within space 13 thereof . freezer device 14 has freezer coils 15 within the coolant 12 , for the freezing thereof and / or at least maintaining it at a low cooling temperature for circulation by the pump 9 . batteries 16 and 17 are the power sources . ignition switch 18 connects the batteries into electrical parallel by closing the ignition switch to thereby close the switch 19 . the charger 21 charges both batteries 16 and 17 when the engine of the automobile is running -- with the ignition switch on . typical ground leads are represented as 22 , 23 , 24 , 34 , 34 &# 39 ;, 34 &# 34 ;, but could obviously be interconnected into a common ground . the ignition and auto - circuitry system 25 is fed by typical lead wire 25 &# 39 ;. the dual fans 7 and 8 have manual switches 26 and 26 &# 39 ;, and the freezer device has manual switch 27 . thermostat 28 opens and closes the electrical circuitry of the freezer unit 14 and coils 15 thereof , described above . the thermostat 29 located within the partial enclosure of the air - conditioner unit 4 shown in fig1 a , controls cut - in and cut - out of the pump 9 . and the thermostat 30 , located outside of the air - conditioner unit 4 as shown in fig1 a , controls the cutting - in and cutting - out of the double - throw switches 32 and 33 between lead wires 35 and 35a , for power of leads 33a and 35a and 39a , the closing of the switch 30 sending current through coils 36 to thereby place the fans in electrical parallel for greater cooling air circulation . lead wire 35 &# 39 ; lead from the pump to ground 34 &# 39 ;. double throw switches 32 and 33 are a part of solenoid switch 31 . lead wire 40 leads to ground 34 &# 34 ; from the freezer unit . lead 41 leads to the ignition switch 18 . accordingly , the outside thermostat controls solely the rate of circulation of air , both fans i and ii being in electrical series when the thermostat switch 30 is opened as shown in fig1 a , whereby as is conventional , the fans in electrical series results in a low circulation as compared to a greater circulation when the fans are in electrical parallel when 1 thermostat switch 30 is closed when outside temperature is elevated . in the alternate embodiment of fig1 b , the lead wire 39 leads to fan 7 &# 39 ; and thereafter to resistor ( r ) 37 , on to ground 38 when switch 33 &# 39 ; is open ; when power is provided through lead 39 &# 39 ; and is grounded by a thermostat 30 closing to direct current through lead 35 to coils 36 &# 39 ; to close switch 33 , thus grounding the fan 7 &# 39 ;, current flows to ground instead of through the resistance resistor 37 , resulting in the fan running at a higher rate of speed . ac fans 7 and 8 run by current in either direction . however , in the fig1 b embodiment , the fan may be either dc or ac in type accordingly , in the fig1 b embodiment when outside temperature is not very high the open switch 30 of fig1 a would result in electric current passing in series through fan 7 and resistance 37 , with a corresponding low air circulation , as compared to a closed switch 30 at a more elevated temperature causing switch 33 to close whereby fan 7 is devoid of resistor 37 , fan 7 being directly ground through ground 34 , resulting greater air circulation by the fan 7 . it should be noted that the coolant may be water , or may be freon , or any other conventional coolant as might be desired . in like manner , the nature of the freezer unit is not critical , being of conventional design as desired . the size of the fans is optional , but is typically a 3 ohms fan run by 12 volts d . c ., at typically 4 amps . when the two fans are switched from parallel to electrical series , the power demand is reduced by three - quarters . typically , the freezing unit is a 12 volt , 2 amp unit of known conventional type typically normally used in campers and boats . for batteries , for example , the battery for a volks wagon is 45 ampere hours , and for cadillacs is 95 ampere hours , and for medium - sized cars is 60 ampere hours . the above - noted ice - maker draws 2 amperes per hour . a 60 ampere battery will last more than 24 hours driving the freezer unit . a volks wagon generator produces 360 watts . the alternator of a toronado produces 750 watts . a medium - sized car generator produces 520 watts . a 360 watts generator will charge 60 ampere hour battery in a 2 hour period . accordingly , a car which runs at least 2 hours per day , will keep the second battery in full charge and maintain the power for the ice - maker 24 hours , making about 15 pounds of ice in 24 hours . in a typical system of the invention , thermostats are set as follows . when the ignition key is turned - on , if the temperature is over 80 ° fahrenheit , the pump and fan ( high ) will automatically turn onto high speed , delivering 12 , 000 btu per hour of cold air to the car interior , and the car will be cooled within 15 seconds -- as proven by actual tests . when cooled down to 80 ° or lower , the speed of the fans automatically jumps to low speed to deliver 3 , 000 btu per hour to keep the car cool . when car inside space temperature gets down to 74 ° fahrenheit , the speed of the fans remains the same , but the pump turns - off and thus the freon ( or ice - water ) stops circulating , and the temperature of the car does not go down any further . if car temperature goes up , the pump starts , and if car temperature exceeds 80 °, the fans turn - on high circulation again . it is within the scope of the invention to make such variations and substitution of equivalents as would be apparent to a person of ordinary skill . | 1 |
one or more embodiments or implementations are hereinafter described in conjunction with the drawings , where like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout , and where the various features are not necessarily drawn to scale . with reference to fig1 , a block diagram of a lamp 100 according to aspects of the present disclosure is provided . the lamp 100 may , for example , be a traffic lamp , a lamp employed by the backlight of certain watches , and the like . the lamp 100 may include one or more of a light source 102 , a lens 104 , one or more sensors 106 , a power supply 108 , a memory 110 , a communications unit 112 , a controller 114 , and the like . the light source 102 suitably generates light for the lamp 100 . the light source 102 may include one or more types such as guided light ( e . g ., light guided from optical fibers or other types of light guides ); direct electric - powered light emitters ( single or cluster ), such as electroluminescent sources ( leds , organic leds , polymer leds , etc . ), gas discharge sources ( fluorescent , plasma , etc . ), high - intensity discharge sources , lasers , non - linear light sources ; and the like . the light source 102 may be selected to control correlated color temperature ( cct ), color rendering index ( cri ), and other like characteristics of light . the lens 104 suitably distributes light from the light source 102 uniformly across a light emitting face of the lamp 100 . as discussed in greater detail below , this may be achieved using a positive lens that works partially on refraction and partially on total internal reflection . in certain embodiments , the lens 100 may occupy at least half the light emitting face and / or the light source 102 may be positioned away from the lens 104 less than ¼ of the radius or focal length of the lens 102 . further , in certain embodiments , the lens may be treated to increase uniformity , improve lit appearance , and / or reduce glare . additionally or alternatively , another optical component , such as a diffusing film , may be used to achieve a similar affect . the sensors 106 suitably measure one or more operating conditions of the lamp 100 . operating conditions may include one or more of input voltage , operating temperature , output current and / or voltage to the light source 102 , light output of the light source 102 , and the like . in certain embodiments , the sensors 106 may include a photo - electric transducer , such as a solid - state photo - detector . in such embodiments , the photoelectric transducer can be connected to any surface of the lens 104 . however , a surface with less impact on the optical performance of the lens 104 , typically an outer surface , is preferable . in certain embodiments , the sensors 106 may additionally or alternatively include a thermistor . the power supply 108 suitably receives power from an external power source ( not shown ) and distributes the power to the constituent components of the lamp 100 . the input voltage of the received power may be an alternating current ( ac ) voltage or a direct current ( dc ) voltage . in certain embodiments , the power supply 108 may receive commands from the controller 114 and / or an external device ( not shown ), controlling the distribution of the power . for example , the power supply 108 may receive commands from the controller 114 instructing the power supply 108 as to the output current and / or voltage to provide to the light source 102 . in other embodiments , the power supply 108 may receive a signal from the sensors 106 , such as the photo - electric transducer , and adjust the output current and / or voltage to the light source 102 to maintain a constant light output . the power supply 108 suitably includes one or more hardware components for distribution of the power to the lamp 100 . for example , the power supply 108 may include one or more of a rectifier , surge protection circuit , an electromagnetic interference circuit , a switching power supply , a conflict monitor , a fuse , a fuse blowout ( fbo ) circuit , a power factor correcting power supply , and the like . however , other components , such as software components , are equally amenable . the memory 110 suitably stores log data associated with one or more operating conditions in a stateful manner . for example , the memory 110 may store the operating time of the traffic lamp 100 . the memory 110 may include one or more of a magnetic disk or other magnetic storage medium ; an optical disk or other optical storage medium ; a random access memory ( ram ), read - only memory ( rom ), or other electronic memory device or chip or set of operatively interconnected chips ; and the like . the communications unit 112 suitably provides the controller 114 with an interface from which to communicate with other lamps and / or components external to the lamp 100 . for example , the communications unit 112 may allow the lamp 100 to receive commands from an external controller ( not shown ). the communications unit 112 may communicate with these other lamps and / or components external to the lamp 100 via , for example , a communications network , such as a local area network , wide area network , the internet , and so on , and / or a data bus , such as i2c , universal serial bus , serial , and so on . the controller 114 suitably monitors operating conditions of the lamp 100 . monitoring may include receiving data pertaining to one or more operating conditions of the lamp 100 from one or more hardware and / or software components comprising the lamp 100 , such as the sensors 106 . the received data may include the present values of operating conditions and / or data necessary to calculate the present values of operating conditions . monitoring may further include calculating values for one or more operating conditions from the received data and / or determining whether the operating conditions are within acceptable limits based on this received data . as to the determination , values for operating conditions ( whether calculated or directly measured ) may be compared against thresholds and / or expected values for the operating conditions . if an operating condition falls outside acceptable limits a fault is detected . in certain embodiments , the controller 114 may instruct the power supply 108 as to the output current and / or voltage to provide to the light source 102 , so as to account for degradation factors , while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 100 . degradation factors reduce the light output of the light source 102 and may include one or more of operating time of the light source 102 , operating temperature of the lamp 100 , and the like . the controller 114 may adjust the power supply output current and / or voltage on the basis of light output of the light source 102 as determined by one of the sensors 106 , such as the photo - electric transducer . alternatively , the controller 114 may adjust the power supply output current and / or voltage on the basis of a calculated output current and / or voltage . a calculated power supply output i out may be defined as : where i nom is the nominal output current to the light source 102 , f th is a correction factor adjusting for temperature inside the lamp 100 , and f de is a correction factor adjusting for the age of the light source 102 . the correction factors may be determined through the use of one or more lookup tables in which correction factors are indexed by present values of operating conditions . a calculated output voltage v out can similarly be calculated . in certain embodiments , the controller 114 may log operating conditions of the lamp 100 while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 100 . the process of \ ogging operating conditions of the lamp 100 may include writing values ( calculated or otherwise ) of one or more of the operating conditions to the memory 110 . the values of operating conditions may overwrite previously written log data and / or be written as a log entry indexed by time . logging may be performed when one or more of the operating conditions are determined to fall outside acceptable limits ( i . e ., a fault is detected ). however , other triggers for logging are equally amenable . for example , logging may be performed at periodic intervals as determined by , for example , a timer of the lamp 100 . as another example , logging may be performed right before the lamp 100 goes into an off state . in certain embodiments , the controller 114 may generate an indication if a fault is detected while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 100 . for example , if the operating temperature and / or operating time of the lamp 100 exceed certain thresholds the controller 114 may generate an indication . the indication may include generating an indication signal . the indication signal may be provided to a local component of the lamp 100 and / or an external component thereof . further , the indication signal may be used for one or more of generating an audio and / or visual warning , flashing one or more light sources , enabling a fault light source , and the like . the controller 114 may include a digital / electronic processor , such as a microprocessor , microcontroller , graphic processing unit ( gpu ), and the like . in such embodiments , the controller 114 suitably executes instructions stored on a memory . in certain embodiments , the memory may be the memory 110 of the lamp 100 . in other embodiments , the memory may be local to the controller 114 and one of rom , eprom , eeprom , flash memory , and the like . the controller 114 may communicate with the memory 110 of the lamp 100 via a digital communications protocol , such as i2c , usb , rs - 232 , rs - 485 , 1 wire , spi , wifi , and the like . however , analog communications protocols are equally amenable . the communications protocol may be carried over one or more of a data bus , a communications network , and the like . with reference to fig2 and 3 , a lamp 200 according to aspects of the present disclosure is provided . fig2 provides a top plane view of the lamp 200 and fig3 provides a cross sectional view of the lamp 200 along line 202 . the lamp 200 is a more specific embodiment of the lamp 100 of fig1 . therefore , the discussion heretofore is equally amenable to the discussion to follow and components described hereafter are to be understood as paralleling like components discussed heretofore , unless noted otherwise . the lamp 200 may include one or more of a housing 204 , a memory 206 , a light source 208 , a light emitting face 210 , a lens ( not shown ), one or more sensors 212 , a power supply 214 , a communications unit 216 , a controller 218 , a circuit board 220 , and the like . the housing 204 suitably defines the body of the lamp 200 . the housing 204 may provide a mounting structure and / or protection for components of the lamp 200 . further , the housing 204 may be formed from one or more of a polymeric material , a metallic material , and the like . in certain embodiments , the housing 204 may act as a heat sink to draw heat away from the components of the lamp 200 . the memory 206 suitably stores log data associated with one or more operating conditions in a stateful manner . for example , the memory 206 may store the operating time of the traffic lamp 200 . the memory 206 may include one or more of a magnetic disk or other magnetic storage medium ; an optical disk or other optical storage medium ; a random access memory ( ram ), read - only memory ( rom ), or other electronic memory device or chip or set of operatively interconnected chips ; and the like . the light source 208 suitably generates light for the lamp 200 . the light source 208 may include one or more of guided light , such as light guided from optical fibers or other types of light guides ; direct electric - powered light emitters ( single or cluster ), such as electroluminescent sources ( leds , organic leds , polymer leds , etc . ), gas discharge sources ( fluorescent , plasma , etc . ), high - intensity discharge sources , lasers , non - linear light sources , and the like . the light source 208 may be selected to control correlated color temperature ( cct ), color rendering index ( cri ), and other like characteristics of light . the light emitting face 210 suitably corresponds to the portion of the lamp 200 out of which light from the light source 208 is emitted . put another way , the light emitting face 210 may be viewed as the boundary through which light from the light source 208 passes to get to the external environment of the lamp 200 . in certain embodiments , the light emitting face 210 and the light emitting face of the lens may be one and the same . the lens suitably uniformly distributes light from the light source 208 across the light emitting face 210 of the lamp 200 . as discussed in detail below , this may be achieved using a positive lens that works partially on refraction and partially on total internal reflection . in certain embodiments , the lens may occupy at least half the light emitting face 210 and / or the light source 208 may be positioned away from the lens less than ¼ of the radius of the lens . further , in certain embodiments , the lens may be treated to at least one of increase uniformity , improve lit appearance , and reduce glare . additionally or alternatively , another optical component , such as a diffusing film , may be used to achieve a similar affect . the sensors 212 suitably measure one or more operating conditions of the lamp 200 . operating conditions may include one or more of input voltage , operating temperature , output current to the light source 208 , light output of the light source 208 , and the like . the sensors 212 may include , for example , one or more of a photo - electric transducer ( not shown ), such as a solid - state photo - detector , a thermal - electric transducer ( shown ), such as a thermistor , and the like . in certain embodiments , the photo - electric transducer is disposed on the light emitting face of the lens . the power supply 214 suitably receives power from an external power source ( not shown ) and distributes the power to the constituent components of the lamp 200 . in certain embodiments , the power supply 214 may receive commands from the controller 216 and / or an external device ( not shown ), controlling the distribution of the power . for example , the power supply 214 may receive commands from the controller 216 instructing the power supply 214 as to the output current to provide to the light source 208 . the communications unit 216 suitably provides the controller 218 with an interface from which to communicate with other lamps and / or components externals to the lamp 200 . the communications unit 216 may communicate with these other lamps and / or components external to the lamp 200 via , for example , a communications network , such as a local area network , wide area network , the internet , and so on , and / or a data bus , such as i2c , universal serial bus , serial , and so on . the controller 218 suitably monitors operating conditions of the lamp 200 . in certain embodiments , the controller 218 may instruct the power supply 214 as to the output current to provide to the light source 208 , so as to account for degradation factors , while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 200 . degradation factors reduce the light output of the light source 208 and may include one or more of operating time of the light source 208 , operating temperature of the lamp 200 , and the like . in other embodiments , the controller 218 may additionally or alternatively log operating conditions , such as operating time , of the lamp 200 to the memory 206 while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 200 . in other embodiments , the controller 218 may additionally or alternatively generate an indication if a fault is detected while monitoring operating conditions of the lamp 200 . the indication may include generating an indication signal , which may be used to generate an audio and / or visual notification . the circuit board 220 suitably provides a mounting point for one or more of the controller 218 , the communications unit 216 , the power supply 214 , the light source 208 , the memory 206 , one or more of the sensors 212 , and the like . further , the circuit board 220 suitably interconnects the components electrically . in certain embodiments , the circuit board 220 may act as a heat sink for components mounted thereon and / or include a metal core printed circuit board . the circuit board 220 may mount to the housing 204 of the lamp 200 by , for example , mechanical fasteners , glue , tape , epoxy , and the like . with reference to fig4 and 5 , a revolved lens 400 according to aspects of the present disclosure is provided . fig4 provides a top plane view of the lens 400 , and fig5 provides a cross sectional view of the lens 400 along line 402 . the lens 400 is suitably employed within a lamp , such as the lamp 100 of fig1 and / or the lamp 200 of fig2 and 3 . the lens 400 may include one or more of a first surface 404 , a second surface 406 , a waveguide channel 408 , a multi - faceted optical element 410 , an injection surface 412 , and the like . as the lens 400 is oriented in fig5 , the first surface 404 may be viewed as the top surface of the lens 400 , and the second surface 406 may be viewed as the bottom surface of the lens 400 . further , it is to be appreciated that the first surface 404 and the second surface 406 need not be continuous . for example , as shown , the first surface 404 includes the multi - faceted optical element 410 and the second surface includes the injection surface 412 . the first surface 404 and the second surface 406 suitably interact to define the waveguide channel 408 , which may distribute light to the periphery 414 of the lens 400 using total internal reflection . light suitably refracts through the first surface 404 as it travels to the periphery 414 of the lens 400 via the waveguide channel 408 . in certain embodiments , the light may travel along a line greater than a critical angle for total internal reflection with respect to the first surface 404 and / or the second surface 406 . further , in certain embodiments , the outer edges of the first surface and the second surface may be coincident . light directed towards the first surface 404 suitably partially reflects off the first surface 404 towards the second surface 406 . reflection suitably employs both total internal reflection and simple reflection . further , light directed towards the first surface 404 suitably partially refracts through the first surface 404 . in that regard , it is to be appreciated that the first surface 404 defines the light emitting face of the lens 400 . in certain embodiments , the first surface 404 may include a diffusing treatment to increase uniformity . light directed towards the second surface 406 suitably reflects off the second surface 406 towards the first surface 404 . reflection suitably employs both total internal reflection and simple reflection . so as to facilitate reflection , the second surface 406 suitably includes a plurality of converging facets , such as a first facet 416 . suitably , the converging facets , in conjunction with the multi - faceted optical element 410 , are configured to simulate a focal point 417 different than that of the position of the light source . the converging facets may include a plurality of optical surfaces , such as optical surfaces 418 , and a plurality of non - optical surfaces , such as non - optical surfaces 420 . the optical surfaces , in contrast with the non - optical surfaces , may redirect light directed thereto to the first surface 404 , typically via total internal reflection . the multi - faceted optical element 410 suitably reflects and refracts light directed thereto . reflection includes total internal reflection and / or simple reflection . for example , the multi - faceted optical element 410 may total internally reflect a portion of light directed thereto to the second surface 406 and / or the first surface 404 and refract the remainder of light directed thereto away from the lens 400 . to do so , the multi - faceted optical element 410 suitably includes a plurality of cusps formed from a plurality of optical surfaces , such as optical surfaces 424 , and a plurality of non - optical surfaces , such as non - optical surfaces 422 . light directed to the multi - faceted optical element 410 typically refracts through the non - optical surfaces , and reflects , typically using total internal reflection , off the optical surfaces towards the second surface 406 . the multi - faceted optical element 410 may converge towards the second surface 406 and / or be configured in a fresnel way . the multi - faceted optical element 410 may , but need not , be centrally located within the lens 400 and / or aligned with the center of a light source used in conjunction with the lens 400 . putting the latter another way , the point of convergence 426 of the multi - faceted optical element 410 may be aligned with the center of the light source . suitably , the facets are configured to simulate the focal point 417 different than that of the position of the light source . the injection surface 412 suitably acts as the receiving area of the lens 400 for light emitted by a light source used in conjunction with the lens 400 . the injection surface 412 may receive light emitted by a light source 428 placed within 25 % of the simulated focal distance of the lens 400 for the simulated focal point 417 . further , the injection surface 412 may include a spherical surface , where a light source is positioned in the center thereof . in certain embodiments , the injection surface 412 may include no optical power . with reference to fig6 , a perspective view of an extruded lens 600 according to aspects of the present disclosure is provided . the lens 600 is suitably employed within a lamp , such as the lamp 100 of fig1 . as with the lens 400 of fig4 and 5 , the lens 600 makes use of a combination of total internal reflection and refraction to uniformly distribute light from a light source across a light emitting face . further , the cross section of the extruded lens 600 is the same as the cross sectional view of the lens 400 of fig5 , whereby it is to be appreciated that the lens 600 operates as described in connection with the lens 400 of fig4 and 5 . therefore , in lieu of repeating the discussion of the lens 400 of fig4 and 5 , attention is directed to the discussion of the lens 400 of fig4 and 5 above . the disclosure has been made with reference to preferred embodiments . obviously , modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description . it is intended that the preferred embodiments be construed as including all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof . | 5 |
fig1 shows the underreamer of the present invention in the closed or relaxed position . fig2 shows the underreamer of the present application in the energized position with the cutter arm engaging a well bore wb . directing our attention to the underreamer shown in fig1 , the upper tubular body 10 provides a bore 14 allowing hydraulic communication through the upper body 10 from a drillstring ( not shown ) which is threaded to the upper male threads 12 of upper body 10 . upper body 10 also provides a counterbore section 16 into which is fitted upper tube assembly 26 providing a set of hydraulic seals 44 to provide a dynamic seal on the tube in the counter - bored section 16 of the upper body 10 . fig1 also shows a threaded connection means 12 on upper body 10 allowing connection in a drill string ( not shown ) and permitting the flow of drilling fluid through the upper tube assembly 26 through longitudinal passage 14 . upper body 10 is counter - bored 16 to provide a means for inner body , shown generally at 9 , to move longitudinally in the upper body 10 and lower body 20 in the following manner . the upper piston of the tube assembly 26 engages an interior wall of an annular sleeve 29 inserted in an upper threaded throat 27 of the lower body 20 . this sleeve 29 portion is held in a fixed position in the lower body 20 by set screw 29 a . counterbore 16 also provides chamber 18 with fluid passage 22 , enclosing a spring 23 which provides resistance to the extension movement of the inner body when pump pressure is increased and fills the space 28 through the port 24 to move the cutter arm 32 into engagement with the well bore for underreaming . tube assembly 26 provides a passage 24 to chamber 28 to provide hydraulic pressure from a longitudinal passage 14 to move the piston assembly connected to yoke 30 and cutter arm 32 . yoke 30 provides a rail permitting movement of stop block 34 . stop block 34 has a complementary slot for relative movement on yoke 30 . yoke 30 is threadedly connected to tube assembly 26 by threaded connection 38 and is prevented from loosening by set screw 40 . dynamic seals 42 , 44 , and 46 are provided between the hydraulically sealed tubes 26 , 36 to seal the tube assembly within the assembled underreamer body 10 , 20 . the cutter arm assembly 32 has a slot 48 into which is assembled a cam 50 retained in the body by pin or other means 52 to thereby permit relative lateral cutter arm 32 movement thereby engaging the cutter elements 54 on a distal end outward of the body 20 on a wellbore ( not shown in fig1 ). lower tube assembly 36 is seated on shoulder 35 onto which is placed upper tube 26 which are then affixed to the yoke assembly 30 by set screw 40 to prevent disengagement of the inner body assembly 9 . seal bushing assembly 46 is mounted in the distal end to support the dynamic sealing elements and is retained thereon by a snap ring 47 or other device , all in a manner well known in this art . as further shown in fig1 , inner body 9 comprised of an assembly providing a bore 17 communicating from the interior diameter 14 of an underreamer , comprised of an upper body 10 connected to lower body 20 , providing a jetting nozzle 100 in a manner well known in this art and providing hydraulic pressure on the drill bit or motor which are normally found on the distal end of the drill string . fig2 is another view of the improved underreamer of the present application showing the cutter arm in extension after pump pressure has moved the inner body up and caused each arm to move outwardly of the body . all of the structure shown in fig1 and 2 are described in u . s . pat . no . 4 , 614 , 242 , with the exception of the cooperating stop block 34 with the upper body 10 connected with lower body 20 to form the outer body of the underreamer . as shown in fig2 , an increase in pump pressure moves the piston arrangement , i . e . the top 26 of the inner body or tube assembly 9 providing a dynamic seal 45 a between the outer diameter of the inner body 9 and the inner diameter of the sleeve portion 29 , having lower seal 45 . as may be readily appreciated , increased pump pressure moves drilling mud from the inner longitudinal bore 17 through port 24 into the space 28 moving the piston upward and compressing resilient member 23 . this action moves yoke 30 drawing the stop block 34 across the unencumbered space 62 , as seen in fig1 , into engagement with the shoulder 60 of lower body 20 which together with upper body 10 forms the outer body of the underreamer . fig2 also shows the relative movement of the pin 66 from the relaxed or unextended position and pin 68 of the extended position of the cutter arm 32 yoke assembly 30 . fig3 is a cross - sectional view of the stop blocks 34 , shown on fig1 at line 3 - 3 , showing lower tube 36 providing passage 17 ′ and yoke 30 on which each stop block 34 is slideably engaged . fig3 also more clearly shows the relative distribution of the stop block assemblies 34 on each rail of the yoke assembly 30 . fig4 is a cross - sectional perspective through the view , shown in fig1 at line 4 - 4 , providing a view of the relative location of the cams 50 in grooves on each cutter arm 32 fitting around the central passage 36 to permit relative outward movement of the cutter arm assembly 32 . each side of the cam 50 is either provided with a pin 50 a for engaging the underrreamer body 20 or another method of fixing of said cam in said groove by means well known in the trade at 52 . fig5 is a cross - sectional view of the pivot pin 66 and stop block 34 connection through the line 5 - 5 shown in fig1 detailing the eccentric screws 70 which retain the pivot pins 66 in each cutter arm assembly 32 . each screw 70 is retained in the body with a snap ring 72 . tube 36 provides a fluid passageway 17 ′ through the yoke assembly 30 . fig6 is an end view of the stop block assembly 34 of the present embodiment showing the slot 600 running through the body 34 permitting slideable engagement with a rail on each portion of the yoke ( not shown ) and providing a shoulder 608 for engaging the yoke ( not shown ) and the stop block 34 in slideable engagement . the narrow portion of yoke 30 is affixed to the stop block 34 through the passageway 606 . stop block 34 also provides an upper surface 602 having a bevel 604 for conformity of the circular profile of the underreamer body 20 . fig7 is a side view of the stop block assembly 34 of the present embodiment showing the arcuate shaped lower end 614 . the figure shows a side view of the stop block 34 having a lower surface profile 614 which accommodates the end of cutter arm ( not shown ) and which , upon movement of the stop block 34 in the lower body ( not shown , but shown as 20 in fig1 and 2 ), engages the upper end 612 with the body ( not shown , but shown as 20 in fig1 and 2 ). lower profile 614 is designed to fully support the end of cutter arm ( not shown , but more fully shown as 32 in fig1 and 2 ) in its extended position upon movement of the stop block 34 into contact with the outer body ( not shown , but shown as 10 and 20 in fig1 and 2 ) at face 612 on the upper end of the stop block 34 . bevels 610 are provided on the upper end of stop block 34 to allow movement of the stop block 34 into full flush engagement with the upper body 20 shoulder at 60 , as shown in fig1 and 2 . the stop block is shaped to accommodate the pivot pin assembly ( not shown in this view , but shown as 66 and 68 in fig1 and 2 ) and the movement of the cutter arm ( not shown ) outward from the body 20 to hold the cutter arm in full engagement with the well bore ( not shown ). the flattened , shaved or beveled 604 exterior surface 602 allows the stop block 34 to conform with the circular profile of the underreamer body ( not shown ). the inner slot shown in the dashed area 600 , 606 engages a rail ( not shown ) on the yoke assembly to slideably move and retain the stop block during operation within the underreamer body as previously described . fig8 is a top view of the stop block assembly 34 of the present embodiment showing in the dashed areas , the inner rail slot location 600 a , 606 a cut through the stop block 34 and slideably engaging the rail on the yoke assembly as previously described . fig8 also shows the upper surface 602 , the bevels 610 on the upper surface 612 as previously described and the lower surface 614 for engagement of the end of the cutter arms , all as previously described . the particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only , as the invention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalent manners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings herein . furthermore , no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown , other than as described in the claims below . it is therefore evident that the particular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified and all such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of the invention . accordingly , the protection sought herein is as set forth in the claims below . | 4 |
embodiments of the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the accompanying drawings . reference numerals in the sheets of drawings should identify the following elements and parts . reference numeral 1 denotes a recording unit , reference numeral 2 denotes identification information , reference numeral 3 denotes a groove portion , reference numeral 4 denotes a land portion , reference numeral 5 denotes a track switching portion , reference numeral 6 denotes a non - switching portion , reference numeral 7 denotes a beam spot , reference numeral 15 denotes a wobbling , reference numeral 16 denotes a one cycle of wobbling , reference numeral 21 denotes identification information disposed at a first position , reference numeral 22 denotes identification information disposed at a second position , reference numeral 23 denotes a prepit , reference numerals 11 and 12 denote recording units , reference numerals 91 , 92 , 93 denote grooves , and reference numerals 81 , 82 denote information recording portions , respectively . [ 0063 ] fig5 shows the manner in which tracks and sectors of the information recording medium according to the present invention are disposed . as shown in fig5 a plurality of groups 91 , 92 and 93 are disposed in the radius direction of a disk - like recording medium 8 . the track 3 is wobbled by a very small amount in the radius direction of the disk - like recording medium 8 . each track 3 is divided into a plurality of circular arc - like sectors ( recording units ) 1 arrayed in the radius direction of the disk - like recording medium 8 . the length of the circular arc - like sector 1 is selected in such a manner that the number of the divided sectors per circumference of the disk - like recording medium 8 increases in the groups located at the position of the larger radius so as to make the length of the circular arc - like sector 1 become almost constant independently of the groups . [ 0064 ] fig1 shows an example of the manner in which tracks are disposed within one group of the information recording medium according to the present invention . as shown in fig1 within one group , there are alternately located groove portion information tracks 3 having a width of 0 . 7 μm and a depth of 60 nm and a land portion information track 4 having a width of 0 . 7 μm . the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 are connected to each other by a switching portion 5 . specifically , the groove portion information track 3 is arranged such that it is connected to the adjacent land portion information track 4 after one circumference of the track , and the land portion information track 4 is arranged such that it is connected to the adjacent groove portion information track 3 after one circumference of the track . each track is divided into a plurality of circular arc - like recording units such as sectors , and identification information 2 is disposed at the head of each of the information recording units 1 . in this example , the length of the sector is about 8 mm , which corresponds to a user capacity of 2048 bytes . the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 are wobbled with an amplitude of about 20 nm in the radius direction of the disk - like recording medium 8 . a wobble cycle during which the groove portion information 3 and the land portion information track 4 are wobbled in the radius direction was set to 1 / 145 of the sector length , i . e . about 55 μm . the ratio of 1 : 145 was selected in such a manner that the wobbling cycle becomes an integral multiple of the length ( channel bit length ) of recorded data . according to this arrangement , it becomes easy to generate a recording clock from the wobbling . [ 0065 ] fig2 and 3 are respectively fragmentary plan views illustrating information identification information portions in an enlarged scale . [ 0066 ] fig2 schematically shows a portion 6 in which preceding and succeeding tracks of identification information are connected by the groove portion information tracks 3 and the land portion information tracks 4 . also , fig3 schematically shows a portion in which preceding and succeeding tracks are connected at the groove portion information tracks 3 and the land portion information tracks 4 , i . e . a portion in which identification information is disposed such that the positions of the directions extended along the information tracks are different in the adjacent tracks but agree with the track advanced or delayed by two tracks . as shown in fig2 identification information is disposed to be radial in the radius direction at the two places of the first position 21 and the second position 22 . the preceding and succeeding tracks are connected by the groove portion information tracks 3 and the land portion information tracks 4 . in this illustrated example of fig2 each identification information corresponds to the recording area of the right - hand side information track . further , identification information corresponding to the right - hand side groove portion information track 3 is disposed at the first position 21 , and identification information corresponding to the land portion information track 4 is disposed at the second position 22 . specifically , the positions of the identification information along the information tracks are different from each other in the adjacent tracks but agree with each other in the tracks advanced or delayed by the two tracks . in the switching portion 5 of fig3 the preceding and succeeding tracks of identification information are connected to each other in the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 . also in this case , each identification information corresponds to the recording area of the right - hand side information track . as shown in fig3 identification information corresponding to the right - hand side groove portion information track 3 is disposed at the first position 21 , and identification information corresponding to the land portion information track 4 is disposed at the second position 22 . as a consequence , when the beam spot 7 scans the land portion information track 4 , only pits of the one side are constantly reproduced . there is then no risk that a crosstalk occurs from the adjacent track . therefore , it becomes possible to satisfactorily reproduce address information from the prepits without crosstalk . the address information at the prepit is recorded by an 8 / 16 ( eight - to - sixteen ) modulation code ( channel bit length is 0 . 2 μm ). [ 0069 ] fig4 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which tracks and identification information are configured according to the embodiment of the present invention , highlighting the manner in which identification information is formed by small concave portions ( pits ) 23 . according to this embodiment , since the pits 23 are equally disposed on both sides of the track ( land portion or the groove portion ), a bad influence exerted by the pits 23 upon a tracking servo signal can be cancelled out . accordingly , it is possible to suppress a track offset to be sufficiently small . further , when the land portion information track 4 , for example , is reproduced , address information of the first prepit portion 21 and address information of the second prepit portion 22 are reproduced continuously . therefore , if information is disposed in such a fashion that both of the address information of the first prepit portion 21 and the address information of the second prepit portion 22 may be integrated as one address information , then address ( track no . ), i . e . identification information can be set independently of the land portion information track 4 and the groove portion information track 3 . specifically , it becomes possible to discriminate the land portion information track 4 and the groove portion information track 3 from each other by continuously reproducing the address information of the first prepit portion 21 and the address information of the second prepit portion 22 . [ 0071 ] fig6 shows concretely an example of the manner in which identification information is numbered . in fig6 there are illustrated the identification information of the recording area 11 and the identification information of the recording area 12 . in this example , identification information is recorded on and / or reproduced from the recording medium by relatively scanning detection spots from left to right of fig6 . a groove portion information track k of the left - hand side , for example , is connected to a land portion information track k + 1 of the right - hand side of the switching portion 5 . a land portion information track k + 1 of the left - hand side is connected to the land portion information track k + 1 after one circumference . in this example , identification information of an information recording area 81 of the groove portion information track k , for example , is n − 1 + s where s denotes a sum of optical recording information units per circumference of the track . when the identification information portion 6 of this track is reproduced by the beam spot or the like , n − 1 + 2s is reproduced as identification information located at the first position 21 , and n − 1 + s is reproduced as identification information located as the second position 22 . in this case , if a smaller number is constantly used as a recording area no . in advance , then n − 1 + s is used as identification information of the information recording area 81 of this groove portion information track k . when the land portion information track k − 1 is scanned by the beam spot or the like , n − 1 is similarly used as identification information located at the first position 21 . at the same time , it is possible to discriminate the groove portion information track and the land portion information track from each other by detecting whether the identification information located at the first position 21 or the identification information located at the second position 22 is used . when the information track located at the track switching portion 5 is reproduced , a correspondence of identification information and recorded information can be judged in exactly the same manner , and also the groove portion information track and the land portion information track can be discriminated from each other in exactly the same way . accordingly , it is possible to switch the track polarity between the groove portion information track and the land portion information track by making effective use of the above - mentioned relationship . while there are two sets of the first and second identification information portions as described above , the present invention is not limited thereto , and there may be provided a plurality of sets of identification information portions . if there are provided four sets of identification information portions , for example , then first and third prepit portions are located under the groove portions and second and fourth prepit portions are located above the groove portions . if the number of the prepit portions increases , then the information recording medium according to the present invention becomes resistant to defects or the like , and therefore becomes highly - reliable . here , a phase change type recording film ( gesbte ) was used as a recording film of this information recording medium . accordingly , a recording mark is produced in the form of amorphous area . an example of an information recording and / or reproducing method using the recording medium according to the embodiment 1 will be described with reference to fig7 . as shown in fig7 the information recording medium 8 according to the embodiment 1 is rotated by a motor 162 . a light intensity control circuit 171 controls a light generating circuit 131 so that the light generating circuit 131 generates light 122 having a light intensity instructed by a central control circuit 151 . a converging circuit 132 converges the light 122 generated from the light generating circuit 131 to form a beam spot 7 on the information recording medium 8 . reflected light 123 of the light 122 is detected by a photo detecting circuit 133 . the photo detecting circuit 133 comprises a plurality of split photo detectors . a wobble detecting circuit 191 reproduces information from the information recording medium 8 by using a reproduced signal 130 from the split photo detectors of the photo detecting circuit 133 . when a wobbling of the track on the information recording medium 8 is detected , there is used a differential output among the outputs from the split photo detectors of the photo detecting circuit 133 . the reason that the differential output is utilized is based on such a fact that an intensity distribution of diffracted light from the beam spot is changed depending on a positional relationship between the beam spot and the track . on the basis of the wobble signal detected by the wobble detecting circuit 191 , information indicative of the positional relationship between the beam spot and the track and further prepit identification information , a position control circuit 161 controls the position of the converging circuit 132 and a rotation frequency of the motor 162 . when the position control circuit 161 controls the rotation frequency of the motor 162 , the rotation frequency is controlled in such a manner that a reproduced wobble signal may have a previously - determined constant value . if the rotational frequency of the motor 162 is controlled by the position control circuit 161 as described above , then the rotational speed of the motor 162 can be automatically and properly controlled independently of the groups on the information recording medium 8 . also , since this rotation information of the motor 162 has one cycle of about 55 μm , the rotation information is very high in density , and it becomes possible to control the rotation of the motor 162 with a high accuracy . furthermore , since this rotation information is disposed all over one revolution of the disk , even when a part of the rotation information is dropped out by some causes such as smudges or defects , the rotation information can be reproduced from the information recording medium 8 with a high accuracy satisfactorily . a description will now be given on a method of recording and / or reproducing information on and / or from an information recording medium by generating a clock synchronized with a phase of a wobble signal when information is recorded and / or reproduced . in order to generate the above - mentioned clock synchronized with the phase of the wobble signal , there is used a pll ( phase - locked loop ) circuit . since this clock is accurately synchronized with the wobble information of the information recording medium , if information is recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium by using this clock , then information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium at a timing perfectly synchronized with the position on the information recording medium . therefore , information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium without providing unnecessary buffer areas on the information recording medium , and it is possible to obtain an information recording medium which is high in format efficiency . as a consequence , there can be raised a recording capacity of the information recording medium . furthermore , since the wobble information ( rotation information ) is disposed all over one revolution of the disk , even when a part of the wobble information is dropped out , information can be reproduced from the information recording medium with a high reliability satisfactorily . [ 0081 ] fig5 shows the manner in which the tracks and the sectors of the recording medium according to the embodiment of the present invention are disposed . as shown in fig5 there are disposed a plurality of zones ( groups ) 91 , 92 , and 93 in the radius direction of the disk - like recording medium 8 having a diameter of 120 mm . in this example of fig5 there are divided 24 zones of which the radiuses are ranging from about 24 mm to 58 mm . accordingly , one zone has a band width of about 1 . 4 mm . the groove portion information track 3 is wobbled by a very small amount in the radius direction of the disklike recording medium 8 . each of the groove portion information track 3 is divided into a plurality of circular arc - like sectors ( recording units ) 1 arrayed in the radius direction of the disk - like recording medium 8 . the length of the circular arc - like sector 1 is made almost constant independently of the zones ( groups ) so that the number of the divided sectors per circumference increases in the zone located at the position of the larger radius . in this embodiment , each track 3 is divided in such a manner that there are provided 17 recording units 1 per circumference in the zone ( inner - most peripheral zone ) of the radius of about 25 mm . the number of the divided zones increases one by one in the outer peripheral zone . by using the information recording medium having the groups divided in such a manner that the number of the divided groups increases in the outer peripheral zone as described above , the lengths of the recording units 1 in the inner and outer peripheries of the information recording medium 8 can be made almost constant . in other words , the density of the rotation information can be made substantially constant , and the surface area ( i . e . whole surface ) of the information recording medium 8 can be used effectively . moreover , since information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium at the same rotational speed and with the same recording frequency within each group , an information recording and / or reproducing apparatus using the information recording medium can be simplified in configuration . it is needless to say that the lengths of the recording units are slightly different in the inside and the outside of each zone . [ 0082 ] fig1 shows an example of the manner in which tracks within one group are disposed in the information recording medium according to the present invention . as shown in fig1 there are alternately disposed the groove portion information tracks 3 having a width of 0 . 74 μm and a depth of 60 nm and the land portion information tracks 4 having a width of 0 . 74 μm . in each zone , there are disposed about 950 groove portion information tracks 3 and the land portion information tracks 4 of the same number as that of the groove portion information track 3 . the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 are connected to each other by the track switching portion 5 which is located at one place on one circumference of the disk . specifically , the groove portion information track 3 is connected to the adjacent land portion information track 4 after one circumference of the track , and the land portion information track 4 is connected to the adjacent groove portion information track 3 after one circumference of the track . each track is divided into a plurality of circular arc - like information recording units 1 , and the identification information 2 is disposed at the starting portion of each information recording unit 1 . in this example , the length of the information recording unit 1 is about 8 . 5 mm , which corresponds to a user capacity of 2048 bytes . the groove portion and the land portion are wobbled in the radius direction of the information recording medium by a half width amplitude of about 20 nm . the wobble cycle was set to 1 / 232 of the sector length or about 37 μm . the ratio of 1 : 232 is set not only within one group ( zone ) but also in all the recording units 1 on the disk . the ratio of 1 : 232 was selected in such a fashion that the wobble cycle becomes an integral multiple ( in this example , 186 times ) of the unit length ( channel bit length ) of the recorded data . accordingly , the length of the recording unit is equivalent to 232 × 186 = 43152 channel bits when it is expressed by the channel bit number . since the wobble cycle is equal to the integral multiples of the recording channel bit as described above , it is possible to easily generate a recording clock by multiplying the wobble frequency with an integral number . moreover , since the relationship between the information recording unit 1 and the duration of the wobbling cycle becomes equal over the whole surface of the disk , it becomes possible to generate the recording clock by using the signal obtained from the wobbling without switching the signal at the zone . thus , a density within the disk can be made almost uniform by the apparatus of the simple configuration , and the whole surface of the disk can be used efficiently . furthermore , if the rotational speed of the disk is controlled in such a manner that the wobbling frequency becomes constant , then it becomes possible to make a relative linear velocity between the beam spot and the information recording medium almost constant independently of the position of the information recording medium . if the linear velocity is made substantially constant as described above , then information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the recording medium under the same recording conditions independently of the position of the information recording medium . thus , the recording and reproducing characteristics of the information recording medium can be controlled with ease , and hence the recording apparatus and the information recording medium can be configured with ease . here , since the lengths of the recording areas 1 are slightly different in the inside and the outside of the zone , the duration of the wobble cycle of a reciprocal of an integral number of the recording unit also is different in the inner and outer peripheries of the zone . thus , it is needless to say that a linear velocity also is different slightly . however , because central angles formed by the recording units are constant within the zone , the revolution rate ( angular velocity ) within the zone become constants so that it becomes possible to access the information recording medium within the zone at a high speed . moreover , since the integral multiple ( 232 times ) of the wobbling cycle agrees with the length of the recording unit 1 , the phases of the wobbling signals can be perfectly connected to each other without fractions between the adjacent recording units 1 . thus , it is easy to generate a timing signal such as a clock over the consecutive recording units 1 by using the wobbling signal . the fact that the phases of the wobbling signals are perfectly connected to each other without fractions means that the phases of the wobbling signals are made continuous between the adjacent recording units 1 but the wobbling signals need not always be continuous from a physical standpoint . specifically , there might be used such an information recording medium in which a wobbling signal is dropped out at the boundary portion of the recording units 1 over several cycles . in that case , if such dropped - out portions are interpolated , then the phases of the wobbling signals may be connected between the adjacent recording units 1 . in actual practice , according to this embodiment , the identification information composed of prepits is provided at the starting portion of the recording unit and neither the groove portion information track 3 nor the land portion information track 4 exists with the result that the wobble signal is not formed at all . that is , the wobble signal is dropped out during about 11 . 2 cycles due to this identification information 2 . accordingly , while there exist about 220 . 8 wobble signals in actual practice , the length of the recording information unit becomes exactly 232 times the cycle of the wobble signal . here , the recording unit in this embodiment need not always agree with the length of the sector . for example , more than two sectors may be integrated as one recording unit , and identification information may be disposed within such integrated recording unit . moreover , a plurality of recording units may be integrated as a logical sector or a logical block necessary for correcting errors . at any rate , the recording unit in this embodiment is referred to as an area of substantially a constant length in which identification information is disposed at the starting portion thereof . [ 0086 ] fig2 and 3 are respectively plan views illustrating identification information portions of the information recording medium in an enlarged scale . [ 0087 ] fig2 shows a portion 6 in which preceding and succeeding tracks of identification information are connected at the groove portions and the land portions . fig3 shows a portion 5 in which preceding and succeeding tracks are connected at the groove portions and the land portions , i . e . a portion in which the positions at which identification information is arrayed along the information tracks are different between the adjacent tracks but agree with the track advanced or delayed by two tracks . as shown in fig2 identification information is disposed to be radial at a first position 21 and a second position 22 in the radius direction of the information recording medium . the preceding and succeeding tracks are connected to each other by the groove portion information tracks 3 and the land portion information tracks 4 . in this illustrated example , each identification information corresponds to the recording area of the groove portion information track 3 on the right - hand side of fig2 . further , identification information corresponding to the groove portion information track 3 on the right - hand side of fig2 is placed at the first position 21 , and identification information corresponding to the land portion information track 4 is placed at the second position 22 . specifically , the positions at which identification information is arrayed along the information tracks are different between the adjacent tracks but agree with the track which is advanced or delayed by two tracks . the wobble signal is of a sine wave shape which begins with the same phase relative to all information tracks . the wobble signal starts immediately after the identification information portion or starts via a few buffer areas . with this arrangement , if points at which phases of the sine - wave wobble signal become zero degree are connected to each other by the adjacent tracks , then these points are arrayed to be radial so that the track width is never changed by the wobble signal . there is then presented no risk that the wobble signal will exert a bad influence upon the recording and reproducing characteristics . if the phases of the wobble signals are not made uniform in each track , then there is produced a portion in which the track width is modulated by the wobble signal , thereby resulting in the recording and reproducing characteristics being affected considerably . therefore , as is evident from the above description of the present invention , in order to realize the present invention , it is very important to make the phases ( including polarities ) of the wobble signals uniform between the adjacent tracks . in the track switching portion 5 shown in fig3 the preceding and succeeding tracks of the identification information are connected to each other at the groove portion and the land portion . also in this case , each identification information corresponds to the recording area of the information track on the right - hand side of fig3 . identification information corresponding to the groove portion information track 3 on the right - hand side of fig3 is placed at the first position 21 , and identification information corresponding to the land portion information track 4 on the right - hand side of fig3 is placed at the second position 22 . therefore , when the beam spot 21 scans the land portion information track 4 , for example , only one pit is constantly reproduced . there is then no risk that a crosstalk from the adjacent track will occur . accordingly , it becomes possible to satisfactorily reproduce address information provided at the prepits without crosstalk . in this example , the address information provided at the prepits is recorded on the information recording medium by an 8 / 16 ( eight - to - sixteen ) modulation code ( channel bit length is 0 . 2 μm ). accordingly , a shortest pit length is about 0 . 6 μm . from a standpoint of simplifying the configuration of the information recording and / or reproducing apparatus , the modulation code of the prepit portion and the modulation code of the user information recording portion should preferably be made the same . in this embodiment , the modulation code and the recording linear density are both made the same with the result that most of the circuit portions of the information recording and / or reproducing apparatus can be made common . [ 0091 ] fig4 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which tracks and identification information according to this embodiment are configured , highlighting the manner in which identification information is formed by small concave portions ( pits ) 23 . in this embodiment , since the pits 23 are equally disposed on both sides of the track ( the land portion or the groove portion ), an influence exerted upon a tracking servo signal by the pits 23 is cancelled out so that a track offset can be suppressed to be sufficiently small . further , when the land portion information track 4 is reproduced , the address information of the first prepit portion 21 and that of the second prepit portion 22 are reproduced continuously . therefore , if information is disposed in such a fashion that both of address information are integrated as one address information , then it is possible to separately set address ( track no . ), i . e . identification information independently of the land portion information track 4 and the groove portion information track 3 . specifically , if the address information of the first prepit portion 21 and the address information of the second prepit portion 22 are reproduced continuously , then it becomes possible to discriminate the land portion information track 3 and the groove portion information track 4 from each other . [ 0093 ] fig6 concretely illustrates the example of the manner in which identification information is numbered , showing identification information of the recording area 11 and identification information of the recording area 12 . in this example , information is recorded and / or reproduced while detection spots are relatively scanned from left to right of the information recording medium . as shown in fig6 a groove portion information track k on the left - hand side is connected to a right - hand side land portion information track k + 1 . the left - hand side land portion information track k + 1 is connected to this track after one circumference of the information recording medium . in this example , identification information of an information recording area 81 of the groove portion information track k is n − 1 + s where reference letter s denotes a sum of optical recording information units per circumference of the track . if the identification information portion 6 of this track is reproduced by the beam spot or the like , then n − 1 + 2s is reproduced as identification information existing at the first position 21 , and n − 1 + s is reproduced as identification information existing at the second position 22 . in this case , if a smaller number is constantly used as a recording area no . in advance , then n − 1 + s is adopted as identification information of the information recording area 81 of this groove portion information track k . when the land portion information information track k − 1 is scanned , n − 1 is adopted as the identification information existing at the first position 21 similarly . at the same time , by the identification information existing at the first position 21 or the identification information existing at the second position 22 , it is possible to discriminate the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 from each other . when the information track placed at the track switching portion 5 is reproduced , the correspondence between the identification information and the recording area can be detected , and the groove portion information track 3 and the land portion information track 4 can be discriminated from each other in exactly the same manner as that described above . therefore , by using this relationship , it is possible to switch the track polarities of the groove portion information track and the land portion information track . while there are provided two sets of the first and second identification information portions as described above in this example , there may be provided a plurality of sets of identification information portions . if there are provided four sets of identification information portions , then the first and second prepit portions may be located on the lower side of the groove portion ( inside of the radius direction ), and the third and fourth prepit portions may be located on the upper side of the groove portion ( outside of the radius direction ). alternatively , the first and third prepit portions may be located on the lower side of the groove portion , and the second and fourth prepit portions may be located on the upper side of the groove portion . the information recording medium can be made more resistant to the defects or the like and become highly - reliable by increasing the number of the prepit portions . here , a phase change type recording film ( gesbte ) was used as a recording film . accordingly , a recording mark is produced in the form of an amorphous area . the manner in which information is recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium of the embodiment 4 by the information recording and / or reproducing apparatus shown in fig7 will be described below . as shown in fig7 the information recording medium 8 according to the embodiment 4 is rotated by the motor 162 . the light intensity control means 171 controls the light generating circuit 131 to generate the light 122 in such a way as to obtain a light intensity instructed by the central control circuit 151 . the converging circuit 132 converges the light 122 to form the beam spot 7 on the information recording medium 8 . the light 12 is detected by using the reflected light 123 from the beam spot 7 with the photo detecting circuit 133 . the photo detecting circuit 133 comprises a plurality of split photo detectors . the wobble detecting circuit 191 reproduces information from the information recording medium 8 by using the reproduced signal 130 from the split photo detectors of the photo detecting circuit 133 . when the wobble signal of the track on the information recording medium 8 is detected , there is used a differential output between the outputs from the split photo detectors of the photo detecting circuit 133 . this utilizes the fact that an intensity distribution of diffracted light from the beam spot is changed depending upon a positional relationship between the beam spot and the track . on the basis of the wobble signal detected by the reproducing means 191 , information indicative of the positional relationship between the beam spot and the track and prepit identification information , the position control circuit 161 controls the position of the converging circuit 132 , and also controls the rotation frequency of the motor 162 . in this case , the position control circuit 161 controls the rotation frequency of the motor 162 in such a manner that the frequency of the reproduced wobble signal becomes a previously - determined constant value . if the rotation frequency of the motor 162 is controlled by the position control circuit 161 as described above , then it is possible to automatically control the motor 162 independently of the zones on the information recording medium 8 so that the motor 162 can be rotated at a proper rotational speed . also , since this rotation information has one cycle of about 37 μm , the rotation information is considerably high in density , and it becomes possible to control the rotation of the motor 162 with a high accuracy . furthermore , since this rotation information is disposed all over one revolution of the disk , even when one portion of the rotation information is dropped out due to some causes such as smudges or defects , information can be satisfactorily reproduced from the information recording medium 8 highly reliably . [ 0099 ] fig8 shows examples of a reproduced signal 41 of wobble information and a reproduced signal 42 of identification information portion . in this example , photo detectors which are split at least by a half in the radius direction are used as a detector , and there is obtained a differential signal between the outputs from the two split photo detectors . specifically , there was used a detection system that is similar to a detection system of a push - pull signal used in an ordinary tracking control or the like . however , since the frequency of the wobble signal and the frequency of the identification information signal are higher than the band necessary for the tracking servo , there were prepared an amplifying apparatus and a differential circuit , both of which should be in accordance with the high frequency specification . there were obtained reproduced signals 421 , 422 , 423 and 424 in correspondence with the first , second , third and fourth identification information signals 21 , 22 , 23 and 24 . when the beam spot 7 is not overlapping the prepit 23 of the identification information portion 2 , reflected light is equally introduced into the above - mentioned split photo detectors so that a reproduced signal ( differential signal ) output is almost zero . whereas , under the condition that the beam spot 7 partly overlaps the prepit 23 ( see fig2 ), a distribution of reflected light from the beam spot 7 is largely deviated due to a diffraction effect , and the outputs from the split photo detectors are unbalanced . as a consequence , there is obtained a large differential signal output . inasmuch as the direction in which the distribution of reflected light is deviated at that time is different depending on the positional relationship between the beam spot and the pit , the differential output corresponding to the identification information portions 21 , 22 and the differential output corresponding to the identification information portions 23 , 24 are inverted in polarity . accordingly , if this polarity of the differential outputs is used , then it is possible to determine any one of the groove portion information track and the land portion information track in which the beam spot is positioned . identification information can be obtained when the resulting signal is converted into a binary signal and then decoded by a follow - up slice circuit ( not shown ). at that time , since error detection information is added to the identification information , it is possible to judge whether or not identification information is detected correctly . hence , there can be used only correct identification information in a plurality of identification information . the wobble signal is detected in a similar manner . specifically , since the positional relationship between the beam spot and the groove is modulated by the wobbling signal , there is obtained a signal output 41 shown in fig8 . however , since an amplitude ( track displacement amount : 20 nm ) of a wobble signal is small relative to the displacement amount ( about 0 . 3 μm ) of identification information , the amplitude of the wobble signal becomes smaller in proportion thereto . an example of the manner in which a timing signal ( clock signal ) is obtained from the wobble signal thus detected will be described with reference to fig1 a through 10d . initially , the reproduced signal 41 shown in fig8 is supplied to a limiter circuit shown in fig1 a , in which an identification information is limited in amplitude . then , by using the bandpass filter shown in fig1 b , only a signal having a component synchronized with the wobble signal is extracted from the reproduced signal . then , the resulting signal is converted into a binary signal by a comparator shown in fig1 c , and eventually , there is obtained the clock signal by using a phase - locked loop ( pll ) comprising a phase comparator , a filter circuit , a vco ( voltage - controlled oscillator ) and a divide - by - 186 circuit as shown in fig1 d . at that time , a filter characteristic used in the pll is set to be sufficiently lower than the frequency corresponding to 11 . 2 wobble cycles in this example in such a manner that the clock signal may be prevented from being affected by a dropped - out portion ( identification information portion ) of the wobble signal . in this embodiment , since the frequency of the wobble signal becomes 160 khz , the frequency band of the pll is set to about 2 khz . this frequency should preferably be set to be larger than a frequency ( about 700 hz ) corresponding to the length of the recording unit from a standpoint of a high - speed accessing . in this way , there was obtained the clock signal that was synchronized with the wobble signal . a method of recording and / or reproducing information on and / or from the information recording medium by using this clock signal and identification information will be described below . [ 0104 ] fig9 is a timing chart used to explain the manner in which information is recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium . in fig9 reference letters ( a ), ( b ), ( c ), and ( d ) denote an identification information detecting signal , a wobble signal , a clock signal , and a recording and reproducing timing signal , respectively . the identification information detecting signal is a signal indicating that identification information is detected normally . it is customary that the recording unit areas that should be recorded and / or reproduced are discriminated from each other based on this identification information detecting signal and that the recording and / or reproducing timing can be controlled . according to the present invention , when the identification information could not be normally detected as shown in fig9 ( crosses on ( a ) in fig9 show that identification information could not be detected normally ), it is possible to obtain the recording and reproducing timing signal instead of the identification information detecting signal by counting the clock signal obtained from the wobble signal based on the final identification information that was detected normally . according to this arrangement , even when identification information cannot be detected normally , there can be obtained the recording and reproducing timing signal . also , since this recording and reproducing timing signal is generated from the wobble signal synchronized with the information recording medium , even if there is an error such as a rotational speed of the information recording medium , the recording and reproducing timing signal can be obtained accurately . furthermore , even when a plurality of identification information cannot be detected continuously , there is no risk that errors will be accumulated . therefore , it becomes possible to configure an information recording and / or reproducing apparatus which can greatly allow errors of identification information itself . if the signal detected from the above - mentioned wobble signal and the identification information are combined as described above , then it becomes possible to identify the position of the beam spot at all positions on the disk . thus , information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium highly reliably . with the above - mentioned advantage , even if the information recording medium is not inspected at al when the information recording medium is shipped , it becomes possible to maintain the recording and / or reproduction highly reliable , thereby making it possible to reduce the cost of the information recording medium considerably . furthermore , since the information recording medium becomes very resistant to smudges , the information recording medium need not be protected from the smudges by some suitable means such as a case . therefore , it becomes possible to provide an inexpensive information recording medium . according to the aforementioned first to fifth embodiments of the present invention , since information can be recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium highly reliably , even if the information recording medium is not inspected at all when the information recording media are shipped , a high reliability with which information is recorded on and / or reproduced from the information recording medium can be maintained , thereby making it possible to reduce the cost of the information recording medium considerably . moreover , since the information recording medium according to the present invention becomes very resistant to smudges , the information recording medium need not be protected from the smudges by some suitable means such as a case . therefore , it becomes possible to provide an inexpensive information recording medium . further , since the recording units are arrayed to be radial in the radius direction of the information recording medium , the tracks can be accessed with ease , and a crosstalk between position information of respective recording units can be suppressed to the minimum . moreover , since the recording units are disposed in such a manner that the lengths of the circular arc - shaped portions which are the recording units are made almost the same , a recording density becomes substantially uniform within the disk , and hence it becomes possible to use the whole surface of the disk efficiently . moreover , the starting point and the ending point of the recording unit can be reliably detected by using the wobble cycle , and it becomes possible to detect the accurate position in the recording unit . also , since the length of the recording unit and the wobble cycle are perfectly synchronized with each other , by making the wobble frequency become constant , it is possible to automatically control the rotational speed of the information recording medium in such a fashion that the relative velocity of the information recording medium becomes almost constant . further , since it becomes easy to make the length of each recording unit on the information recording medium become constant , the length of the extra gaps on the information recording medium can be minimized . furthermore , since it is possible to record and / or reproduce information on and / or from the information recording medium while monitoring the displacement amount of the track , a reliability with which the positioning servo is effected can be improved greatly . according to the present invention , since the identification information is provided at every recording unit and the position information can be reliably obtained from the recording portion owing to the wobbles of the groove portion and the land portion , the recorded information can be accessed reliably and the recording information can be positioned on the information recording medium with a high accuracy . having described preferred embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings , it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to those precise embodiments and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims . | 6 |
as shown in fig1 the shield 11 of the present invention is for use in conjunction with a high chair 13 . the high chair 13 , which is conventional and commercially available , includes a tray 15 and a seat cushion 55 . the tray and seat cushion are supported up off of the ground by a chair frame that includes legs 57 and horizontal beams 59 . the legs 57 typically extend upwardly beyond the seat cushion 55 to arm rests . the tray 15 is coupled to the arm rests . the tray has a notch 61 formed therein . the notch 61 allows the tray to extend around the sides of the seated child when the tray is pushed up against the child . the tray 15 has a flat surface 43 that forms an eating area . plates 63 and other containers of food are placed on the eating area 43 . an upwardly extending lip 51 surrounds the eating area 43 in order to contain liquids in the tray . the high chair has a seat back 41 . a restraining belt is also typically provided , to restrain the child in a seated position in the chair . the shield 11 has a wall 17 which blocks food spillage from the front 19 and sides 21 of the high chair tray 15 when the shield 11 is located on the high chair tray 15 . the shield 11 also has securing means 23 which removably couples the wall 17 to the high chair tray 15 to keep the shield 11 from being dislodged while in use . the wall 17 has inner and outer sides 25 , 27 , a top edge 29 , a bottom edge 31 , and side edges 33 . in the preferred embodiment , the wall 17 is a sheet made up of a front panel 35 and two side panels 37 . the front panel 35 and the side panels 37 have fold edges 39 , where each side panel 37 is coupled to the front panel 35 and extends transversely from the front panel 35 to a side edge 33 . the side panels 37 can be folded along the folds 39 so that the shield may be easily stored . the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the wall 17 are such that an occupant seated on the high chair seat 55 will have difficulty disposing food over and around the wall 17 when the wall is located on the high chair tray 15 . the height of the wall 17 from the bottom edge 31 to the top edge 29 makes it difficult for a high chair occupant to spill food over the top of the front panel 35 and side panels 37 of the wall 17 . the wall has front and side dimensions wherein the wall wraps around the eating area located in front of and to the sides of the seated child . the wall 17 has a side dimension which extends from the front panel 35 to the side edges 33 , and a front dimension which extends across the front panel 35 from one side panel 37 to the other side panel 37 . some exemplary dimensions are provided to illustrate the relative size of the shield for a typical high chair . the wall 17 has a height ( from top edge 29 to bottom edge 31 ) of 18 inches . the side dimension of the wall 17 , from the respective fold 39 of the front panel 35 to each side edge 33 of the wall 17 is 12 inches . the front dimension of the wall from one fold 39 to the other fold 39 is 16 inches . the wall 17 has a thickness of about 1 / 16 of an inch . the dimensions of the shield 11 may be varied to fit the sizes and shapes of high chair trays 15 the shield 11 is employed upon . the front and side dimensions of the wall 17 make it difficult for the high chair occupant to spill food over the front 19 and sides 21 of the high chair tray 15 since the wall 17 surrounds the high chair tray 15 along the front 19 and sides 21 . the wall 17 , however , takes up only a minimal amount of the eating surface 43 of the tray 15 . the wall 17 is made of a transparent material so that the high chair occupant can see , and be seen , through the wall 17 . in addition , the wall should be lightweight , rigid and non - breakable . in the preferred embodiment , the wall is made of a clear acrylic plastic such as plexiglas . a flat sheet of plastic is cut to size and then bent to make the fold edges 39 . decals 45 may be affixed to the inner or outer sides 25 , 27 of the wall 17 to amuse and entertain the occupant of the high chair 13 . the shield 11 also includes two securing means 23 which removably couple the shield 11 to the high chair tray 15 to keep the shield 11 from being dislodged while in use . in the preferred embodiment , the securing means 23 are comprised of hook and loop type fasteners 23 that have a hook portion 47 and a loop portion 47a . referring to fig2 and 3 , one portion 47a of each fastener 23 is attached to the outer side 27 of a respective side panel 37 near the bottom edge 31 and near the side edge 33 of the wall 17 . the other portion 47 of each fastener 23 is attached to outer rear corners 50 of the high chair tray 15 . these portions 47 of the fasteners 23 attached to the high chair tray 15 are located on an inner wall 49 of the upwardly extending lip 51 of the high chair tray 15 . in order to install the shield 11 onto a high chair 13 and tray 15 , the shield 11 must first be oriented with the wall 17 disposed vertically , where the fastener portions 47 are located near the bottom edge 31 of the wall 17 . the shield 11 is then lowered onto the eating surface 43 of the high chair tray 15 . the shield 11 is located on the tray 15 so that the wall 17 of the shield 11 is adjacent to the inner wall 49 of the lip 51 , and the fastener portions 47a attached to the side panels 37 of the wall 17 align with the fastener portions 47 attached to the inner wall 49 of the lip 51 of the high chair 15 . the fastener portions 47 , 47a are then coupled together so as to secure the shield 11 to the tray 15 . when installed , the bottom edge 31 of the wall bears on the eating surface 43 . also , the bottom portions of the fold edges 39 are snugged into the front corners 65 of the tray lip 51 , in order to enhance stability of the wall . the shield 11 is simple to install onto a high chair tray . because the shield provides an effective barrier , it is preferred to seat the child in the chair before installing the shield . alternatively , the shield can be installed onto the tray and the tray - shield arrangement can be installed together on the high chair . once the shield is installed , food will be contained within the eating area . if the child splatters food , then the splatter will hit the shield and not the floor or surrounding furniture . because the side edges 33 of the shield extend near the shoulder of the child , it is difficult for the child to throw food around the shield . also , the child can see and be seen through the shield and hear and be heard from around the shield so that the child does not feel isolated from the family . because the shield has side panels 37 that are oriented somewhat perpendicularly to the front panel 35 , the shield is inherently stable and not prone to tipping . furthermore , the shield is securely coupled to the tray by the fasteners 23 and by the abutting position of the bottom edge 31 against the inner wall 49 of the lip 51 . thus , the child can hit the shield with a hand and not dislodge or tip the shield . likewise , any family member who may accidently hit the tray or shield will not dislodge or tip the shield . when the child is finished eating , the high chair and shield can be cleaned . because the shield is elevated by virtue of its location on the tray , a parent need not stoop to the floor during cleanup . all of the food that would normally fall to the floor is on the shield . the shield 11 can be removed from the tray by disengaging the securing means 23 and lifting the shield 11 off the tray 15 . the shield 11 may then be cleaned of any foodstuffs which have been disposed thereon . soap and warm water may be used for cleaning . the shield 11 may then either be reinstalled on the high chair tray 15 or stored away . to store the shield , the side panels 37 are folded in towards the front panel to form a flat object . the above description of the invention is the preferred embodiment of the invention , however , the invention has other embodiments . in particular , the wall 17 of the shield 11 is not limited to having three panels 35 , 37 . for example , the wall 17 may be a single sheet of flexible material that conforms to the eating surface 43 of the high chair tray 15 . the wall 17 may have two panels , or may have more than three panels as well . in addition , the dimensions and orientation of the wall 17 are variable . although the shield has been described as having side edges 33 that terminate at the rear of the tray , the side edges , or at least those portions of the side edges that are located above the lip 51 , can be extended rearwardly beyond the lip . the invention is not limited to hook and loop type securing means . the invention envisions various methods of attaching the shield 11 to the tray 15 , whether the tray 15 has an upwardly extending lip 51 or not . for example , snaps could be used to secure the shield to the tray . the foregoing disclosure and the showings made in the drawings are merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense . | 8 |
the circuit of fig1 has a first transformer ü1 , whose secondary winding is connected to a load having an ohmic resistance rz . this transformer ü1 may be a rotary transformer arranged between a steering wheel equipped with an air bag and a stationary steering column . the load connected on the secondary side is then the resistance rz of an air bag squib , and the primary side of transformer ü1 is connected to a control circuit sg connected to the vehicle chassis . this controller sg generates a triggering signal for the air bag squib if the vehicle is involved in an accident . the squib ( including the conductor from the transformer to the squib ) is to be checked for reliability of operation on an ongoing basis . for this purpose , the squib resistance rz is periodically measured and it is checked whether it remains at a predefined value . a deviation from this predefined resistance value indicates that the function of the air bag is impaired . such a situation must be signaled in the vehicle . in order to record changes in resistance rz of the squib with high reliability , a measuring resistance rm is provided , which can preferably be connected in parallel to squib resistance rz using a switch s 1 . this measuring resistance rm has a predefined constant value , which is preferably approximately four to five times that of squib resistance rz . this ensures that , if the switch is defective and can no longer be opened , only one - fourth or one - fifth of the ignition energy is lost on the secondary side of transformer ü1 in the measuring resistance rm connected thereto when the air bag is triggered , so that the energy induced in the squib is still sufficient for triggering the air bag . when measuring resistance rm is connected , the total resistance connected to the secondary side of transformer ü1 , consisting of squib resistance rz and measuring resistance rm , changes by a well - defined value if squib resistance rz has its known value , which ensures reliable operation of the air bag . if the change in resistance deviates from a predefined value when measuring resistance rm is connected , a malfunction is to be signaled . thus , the squib resistance rz is checked by periodically connecting measuring resistance rm and recording the resulting change in resistance . thus distorting influences of the temperature and mechanical tolerances , which make the absolute determination of the load resistance impossible , are eliminated . a circuit ss installed on the secondary side , for example , in the steering wheel , actuates switch s 1 for connecting and disconnecting measuring resistance rm . circuit ss receives a switch actuation request signal from control circuit sg connected on the primary side via a second rotary transformer ü2 . the secondary side total resistance is measured when measuring resistance rm is connected , as indicated by the dashed - line signal arrow , in the secondaryside circuit ss ( e . g ., using a measuring resistance bridge ). the measurement result can then be transmitted back to control circuit sg via the second rotary transformer ü2 , whereupon control circuit sg signals a malfunction in the case of an inadmissible change in resistance . the ignition circuit and the diagnostic circuit are isolated from one another by the use of the two transformers . the change in resistance caused by connecting measuring resistance rm can also be noticed by a corresponding change in the current in the primary circuit of the transformer . a circuit ps inserted in the primary circuit of transformer ü1 takes into account the changes in the primary current when the measuring resistance rm is connected , and forwards them to control circuit sg . for example , control circuit sg determines , using threshold value analysis , whether the change in the primary current deviates from a predefined value . if this is the case , which is equivalent to an unallowable change in squib resistance rz , a signal indicating malfunction is generated . in the embodiment illustrated in fig2 measuring resistance rm is not connected together with squib resistance rz , but it is connected alternatively to squib resistance rz via a switch s 2 . switch s 2 is controlled as described above via circuits ss and sg . preferably a value that is equal to resistance rz of the squib when the squib operates properly is chosen for measuring resistance rm . if the current is switched from squib resistance rz to measuring resistance rm , circuit ps will detect no change in the current in the transformer &# 39 ; s primary circuit . however , if the primary circuit current changes , this indicates a malfunction of the squib . control circuit sg then generates an error signal . instead of choosing a measuring resistance equal to squib resistance rz , a fixed difference or a fixed ratio may also exist between the two . then the current in the primary circuit of transformer ü1 will experience a well - defined change when it is switched from squib rz to measuring resistance rm . again , it can be determined , using threshold value analysis in controller sg , whether or not this change in the primary circuit deviates from an allowable value . other than in air bag applications , the above - described circuits can also be used for checking other load resistances connected to the secondary winding of a transformer , for example , a horn or the operating elements of a radio or telephone arranged on the steering wheel . | 6 |
fig1 a illustrates the major anatomical aspects of the human venous system . via this natural system , deoxygenated blood is returned to heart 100 via inferior vena cava 105 , and oxygenated blood via pulmonary veins 102 . below renal veins 110 , inferior vena cava 105 emerges from the convergence of the left and right common iliac veins 115 . femoral veins 120 emerge upstream ( distally ) from the common iliac veins 115 , and long saphenous veins 125 also arise in this region . as shown in fig1 b , each of the common iliac veins 151 arises from the confluence of the femoral veins 152 and the long saphenous veins 170 . interventional catheter 155 may be placed into this system through femoral vein 152 , for example through the lumen of guide catheter 160 which may contain electrically conductive wires 161 . through the lumen , catheter 155 may advance to , for example , the common iliac artery , and may deploy filter mechanism 180 . distal end of catheter 155 may be used to deploy and to retrieve filtration device 180 as will be described in the pages to follow . conductive wires 161 within interventional catheter 155 are in electrical communication with power unit 170 . fig2 a , 2 b and 2 c illustrate use of electrostatic charges imparted upon an electrically conductive filtration mesh in order to repel platelets and red blood cells , and to attract particles and other cells and materials bearing a net positive electrostatic charge . in fig2 a , battery 257 has a negative pole connected to wire 256 , which runs through the core of interventional catheter 210 , and through struts 206 , which create a conductive contact with perimeter ring 220 and mesh 207 . the positive pole of battery 257 has resister 258 and is attached to an internal or external surface 250 of the body of the patient via electrode 255 . endogenous insulating tissue 251 generally lies between the vein walls 222 and electrode 255 . as a result of this arrangement , a net negative charge may be imparted upon filter mesh 207 . this results in the trapping of electropositive particles , such as electropositively polymerized methacrylate 231 , but not in the entrapment of electronegative particles such as platelets and red blood cells . struts 206 , perimeter ring 220 and mesh 207 may be made of conductive materials including , for example ; stainless steel , titanium and chromium or nitinol . blood flow is shown in this embodiment in direction 213 , although the principles apply to either flow direction . in an alternative embodiment , the opposite polarity is used , in which the filtration bears a positive charge and serves to attract negatively - charged particles , for example , electronegative fat components or methacrylate that has been prepared with an anionic polymerization compound . methods are known in the art for imparting electrostatic charges on plastics , for example using techniques similar to those described by peng et al 2006 . positively charged methacrylate may be prepared by emulsion polymerization , in which cationic element such as monomer methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride ( metac ) is copolymerized with methacrylate . alternatively , negatively charged pmma may be produced using an anionic comonomer such as sodium 2 - acrylamido - 2 - methylpropanesulphonate ( naamps ). such ionic copolymerization agents are non - toxic , and may alternatively be used to impart ionic charges on many thermoplastics , rubbery polymers , or their copolymers , including pmma , polystyrene , polyacrylonitrile , and polybutadiene , and others . in fig2 b , a similar configuration is shown , in which the positive pole is placed on filtration mesh 274 , while the negative pole is placed upon the body of the guide catheter 265 , thereby trapping electronegative particles 275 . alternatively , negative electrode 265 may be placed in another intravascular location , such as upon interventional catheter 271 . fig2 c illustrates an embodiment in which filtration elements 287 , 288 , 289 and 290 are each imparted with either a negative or a positive charge . filtration element 287 and 289 are positive , while filtration elements 288 and 290 are negative . maintaining charge on each of these elements is accomplished by sending positive wire 282 and negative wire 283 , which pass through interventional catheter 286 , on the interior of guide catheter 285 , and originate from battery 280 , with positive wire 282 receiving current limited by resistor 281 . fig3 a illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which the filtration mesh 310 is deployed via guide catheter 326 and interventional catheter 325 from upstream of the targeted filtration site . note direction of the blood flow 301 . red blood cells 302 are able to pass through mesh 319 , as seen with red blood cells 304 , while large materials such as methacrylate particles 303 are trapped within the mesh as methacrylate particles 327 . the same principle applies for fat cells , which , like methacrylate ; are larger than the red and white blood cells , and are trapped by a 20 micron or less vessel . lumen margin 300 ; most often the endothelium of the vein in which the device is deployed ; is shown with expansible lumen perimeter ring 305 fitting against lumen margin 300 . filtration mesh 310 is delivered by interventional catheter 325 , which passes out from guide catheter 326 , and is held in place by flexible ; expansible lumen perimeter ring 305 , which is held orthogonal to the flow of blood 301 by flexible cords 328 . perimeter ring 305 may be made of materials including ; as an example , polytetrafluoroethylene ( ptfe ). cords may be made of materials including for example ptfe , nylon ; and suture materials including vicryl . filtration mesh 310 may have perforations of approximately 10 to 30 microns in size , so as to allow passage of endogeneous blood cells and very small clumps , but not of fat cells , nor of methacrylate particles . mesh 310 may also be made of materials including nitinol . purse string 329 serves to collapse perimeter ring 305 , closing off mesh 310 to prevent escape of trapped particles as the device is received and removed from intravascular placement , typically at the end of a surgical procedure . fig3 b illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which filtration mesh 370 is deployed via guide catheter 376 and interventional catheter 375 from downstream of the targeted filtration site ; by virtue of semi - rigid struts 377 ( instead of flexible cords as seen in fig2 a ). note direction of blood flow 351 . following deployment , filtration mesh 370 , fixed upon expansible lumen perimeter ring 355 , is held into an extended position by semi - rigid struts 377 . at the convergence of struts 377 , a latched or spring - actuated mechanism may be used to assist with the deployment and retrieval processes . the closure process may be facilitated via purse string 379 : fig3 c illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which semi - rigid struts 387 are used when mesh 351 is deployed downstream of blood flow 371 , ( in a manner similar to that accomplished with flexible cords in fig3 a ). use of semi - rigid struts 387 can permit greater each of deployment and closure of perimeter ring 385 and mesh 351 , optionally without need for a purse string . fig4 a illustrates an embodiment of the present invention in which the collapsed filtration mesh 410 surrounds the tip of interventional catheter 425 , after being pushed forward from the interior of guide catheter 426 . this embodiment also includes semi - rigid struts 407 . fig4 b illustrates the closure and retrieval of filtration mesh 466 in one embodiment of the present invention . purse string 461 may be used to assist with the opening and collapse of struts 460 ; which differentially move at their vertex , which extends from interventional catheter 462 . once collapsed , the apparatus may be withdrawn through guide catheter 476 . alternatively , if the mesh 466 , ring 465 and struts 460 are too large ; or too full of filtered debris 457 , they may be retracted through the incision following the removal of guide catheter 476 . fig4 c illustrates mesh 481 and perimeter ring 480 along an end view ; with trapped methacrylate or fat debris 482 . fig4 illustrates the same embodiment after purse string 487 has been pulled , closing perimeter ring 486 , and trapping within mesh 485 debris 488 . the various embodiments described above are provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed to limit the invention . based on the above discussion and illustrations , those skilled in the art will readily recognize that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention without strictly following the exemplary embodiments and applications illustrated and described herein . such modifications and changes do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the present invention ; which is set forth in the following claims . | 0 |
reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the technology . each example is provided by way of explanation of the technology only , not as a limitation the technology . it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications variations can be made in the present technology without departing from the scope or spirit of the technology . for instance , features described as part of one embodiment can be used on another embodiment to a still further embodiment . thus , it is intended that the present technology cover such modifications and variations that come within the scope of the technology . as is shown in fig1 , an embodiment of the present technology comprises at least one cable assembly 100 . the at least one cable assembly can comprise an outer shell 110 and can a plurality of inner 120 or wires running coaxially therewithin . the outer shell 110 can of any shape known in the art . for example , outer shell 1 ] 0 can be cylindrical , triangular , rectangular , or any other similar shape . alternatively , the outer shell 110 can also be a hollow outer wire . each of the plurality inner cables 120 or can consist of two or more members . the members can be strands , cables , or wires that are braided , entwined , or wrapped . the outer shell 110 and / or the plurality inner cables ] 20 can be made of a flexible material with little stretch . for example , the outer shell 110 and / or inner cables 120 can be made of bungee cord , elastic cord , nylon cord , or any other similar flexible material . with flexible material having little stretch , it is well known that as the diameter of each inner cable 120 increases , the resistance required to tension each inner wire will increase . the length of the cable assembly 100 can vary depending on the required use , and this variance can also affect the resistance required to tension the inner cable 120 . as is shown in fig2 a and 2b , an exemplary embodiment of the present technology comprises an attachment assembly which can be used for the attachment of utility items to a larger platform . the attachment assembly can comprise a male portion 200 and a female portion 215 , both of which can be configured for mating engagement with each other . for example , the male portion 200 and the female portion 215 can be configured such that they can be locked , attached , inserted , buckled or fit together to form a single unit . the attachment assembly can be a side - release buckle , a side buckle , a snap buckle , an end release buckle , or any other similar attachment assembly as is known in the art . both the male portion 200 and female portion 215 can be made a number of materials including , but not limited to , metals and plastics depending on the required use . for example , the attachment assembly illustrated in fig2 a and 2b has a male portion having an inner guide post 240 between two outer guide posts 230 and a female portion 215 having apertures for matingly engaging the inner guide post 240 and outer guide posts 230 of the male portion 200 . when the female portion 215 and male portion 200 of the attachment assembly shown in fig2 a and 2b engage , the guide post 240 and outer guide posts 230 snap , secure , or fasten in place with the apertures of the female portion 215 . the male portion 200 can comprises an inner guide post 240 between at least two outer guide posts 230 . the outer shell 210 of the cable assembly ( see fig1 , 100 ) can coupled to the proximal end 250 of male portion 200 of a corresponding attachment assembly , while at least one of plurality of inner cables extends transversely through the inner guide post 240 of the corresponding attachment assembly towards the distal end 260 of the male portion 200 . alternatively , the outer shell 210 of the cable assembly can be anchored to the proximal end of the male portion 200 of a corresponding attachment assembly . each of the plurality of inner cables 220 can have at least two members , such as attachment portions , braided cords , two entwined cords , or any other types members . as illustrated in fig2 a , the two attachment portions of each of the plurality of inner cables 220 can be configured that one of the attachment portions couples to the outer guide post 230 located to the right side of the inner guide post 240 , and a second one of the attachment portions couples to the outer guide post 230 located to the left side of the inner guide post 240 . for example , one of the braided cords of one of the plurality of inner cables 220 can extend from the inner guide post 240 and attach to an inner wall of one of the outer guide posts 230 . in at least some embodiments , one of the plurality of inner cables 220 extends through the inner guide post 230 of at least one of the respective male portions 200 , and at least two of the braids of the one of the plurality of inner cables 220 exit the inner guide post 240 and are coupled to an outer guide post 230 located on opposite sides of the inner guide post 240 . when one of the plurality of inner cables 220 is tensioned , the outer guide posts 230 can move closer to or approach the inner guide post 240 based upon the above couplings of the inner cable 220 to the outer guide posts 230 . consequently , the male portion 200 can be disengaged or unlocked from the female portion 215 . in one exemplary embodiment , the outer guide posts 230 can be manually squeezed or moved closer to the inner guide post 240 , allowing a release of the male portion 200 from the female portion 215 . in another exemplary embodiment , the outer guide posts 230 can be moved closer to or approach the inner guide 240 by a trigger as win be described later on the disclosure . fig3 a and 3b show an example embodiment of the current technology comprising a remote release assembly . the remote release assembly can comprise a remote release assembly enclosure at least one assembly 310 , a trigger assembly 360 , and a plurality of attachment assemblies 440 , 450 . the remote release assembly enclosure can be , but is not limited to , a housing , a box , an enclosure , or a receptacle having any number sides defining an area . the remote release assembly enclosure 300 can be made of any material known in the including , but not limited metals or plastics . the remote release assembly enclosure 300 can be covered or wrapped in a material compatible with modular lightweight load - carrying equipment ( molle ) standard . the remote release assembly enclosure 300 can be attached to a person in any way in the art , including , but not limited to : velcro , dips , adhesive , straps , buttons , molle , and ties . the remote release assembly enclosure 300 can have a connection side 370 and a trigger side 330 . though the trigger side 330 and connection side 370 are shown on opposite ends of the remote release assembly enclosure 300 , it should be appreciated that the trigger side 330 and connection side 370 can be located on any side of the remote release assembly enclosure 300 , including on the same side . at least one cable assembly 311 can be coupled to the remote release assembly . as depicted in fig3 a and 3b , the at least one cable assembly 311 can traverse through the remote release enclosure 300 from the connection side 370 to the trigger side 330 . the at least one cable assembly 311 can be anchored to the connection side 370 of the remote release enclosure 300 using any method known in the art . it should be appreciated that two cable assemblies 311 are shown , but there can be any number of cable assemblies 311 attached to the remote release assembly enclosure 300 . the at least one cable assembly 311 can be a cable assembly as described in the previous examples . the remote release assembly is described with respect to a cable assembly as described above comprising an outer shell 3 and a plurality of inner cables 320 . referring to fig3 a and 3b , the outer shell 310 of the cable assembly 311 can be anchored to the connection side 370 of the remote release enclosure 3000 the of inner cables 320 can traverse through the remote release enclosure 300 from the connection side to the trigger side 3300 the plurality of inner cables 320 can enter the remote release enclosure 300 at the connection - side aperture show ) and can pass through the trigger - side aperture 340 to terminate at the trigger side 3300 the ends of each of the plurality of inner cables 320 that are proximal to the trigger side 330 the remote release enclosure 300 can terminate at the trigger assembly 360 . the trigger assembly 360 can include a trigger handle 350 . the trigger handle 350 can comprise a ring , wherein at least one of the plurality of inner cables 320 terminates at the curved surface of the ring . fig3 a and 3d illustrate a d - ring exemplary purposes , but persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the trigger handle can be coupled to the plurality of inner cables 320 by other attachments , such as ties , circular rings , clips , or any other types of attachments known in the art . the flat side of the trigger handle 350 can anchor trigger assembly 360 to the remote release enclosure 300 , also referred to herein as a securing component . the trigger assembly 360 can be made of any material in the art , including , but not limited to a molle - compatible material , nylon webbing , cloth , metal , or plastic . the trigger assembly 360 should be of a size able to be gripped by the user , but can be of any useful length . the trigger assembly 360 can be removably coupled to the at least one cable assembly , such that the trigger 350 can be removed and replaced with a different trigger handle 350 as required or dependent upon user preference . it should be noted that a stopper ( not shown ) can be attached to both the trigger handle 350 and the connection side 370 to prevent the over - extension of any of the plurality of inner cables 320 . the stopper ( not shown ) can be made of cloth , metal , plastic or any other appropriate material and can be of a length appropriate to prevent the at least one inner wire 320 from extending past a pre - determined point . the stopper can be coupled to the trigger assembly 360 and to the connection side 370 or to the trigger side 330 of the remote release enclosure 300 . the plurality of attachment assemblies ( not pictured in fig3 a and 3d ) can each be coupled to an opposite end of a respective cable assembly 310 . the coupling of the attachment assemblies and the respective cable assembly 310 can operatively couple the attachment assembly to the trigger assembly 360 . the attachment assemblies can . be a side buckle , a side release buckle , and end release buckle , a snap buckle , or any other similar attachment assembly . example , an attachment assembly having a male portion and a female portion , such as the attachment assembly described above , is coupled to the trigger assembly 360 , the trigger assembly 360 can be actuated to release or release the male portion from female portion . for example , when the trigger 350 is activated , the movement of the trigger assembly 360 can transferred to each of the plurality of attachment assemblies such that at least a portion of the outer guide posts of the male portions approaches inner guide posts each of the plurality of attachment assemblies . the coupling of the attachment assembly its respective cable assembly 310 is described in more detail below . fig4 shows an example embodiment wherein multiple cable assemblies 410 can be activated from a single , remote trigger assembly 400 . while four cable assemblies 410 are shown , it should be appreciated that any number of cable assemblies 410 can be activated from a single , remote trigger assembly 400 . the cable assemblies 410 can be attached to connection side 470 of the remote release enclosure 400 . the trigger 460 can be located on the trigger side 430 of the remote release enclosure 400 . the male portion 440 of the attachment assembly can be secured , fixed , or attached to the female portion 450 of the attachment assembly . each of the plurality of inner cables 420 of each cable assembly 410 can run from outer guide posts 442 of the male portion of the corresponding attachment assembly 440 , through the inner guide post 441 , transversely through the outer shell 411 of the cable assembly 410 , through a connection - side aperture ( not shown ) in the remote trigger assembly 400 , through a trigger side aperture ( not shown ) in the remote trigger assembly 400 , and can finally terminate at or affix to the trigger handle shown ), which is further connected to the trigger assembly 460 . such a coupling permits movement of the trigger assembly 460 to transfer to each of the plurality of attachment assemblies 440 , 450 , whereby at least a portion of each of the outer guide posts 442 of each of the plurality of attachment assemblies approaches each of the inner guide posts 441 of each of the plurality of attachment assemblies . for example , pulling , tensioning , twisting or activating the trigger 460 of the remote trigger assembly 400 can retract the plurality of inner cables 420 the cable assemblies 410 , which can retract the outer guide posts 441 on the male portions 440 of the attachment assemblies . consequently , the male portion 440 of the attachment assembly can be disengaged or released from the female portion 450 . it should be appreciated that male portion 440 can be disengaged manually from respective female portion 450 of an attachment assembly by squeezing or pressing the outer guide posts 442 towards inner guide post 441 . the remote release assembly described herein can be configured with a backpack , belt , or other utility harness worn by a user . the remote release assembly can attached to a backpack , belt , or other utility harness by attaching the remote release enclosure 400 via a clip , ties , adhesive , threads , or any other attachment . the user can attach equipment , such as a water bottle , compass , or other types equipment to a respective female portion 450 an attachment assembly . the equipment can then be attached or secured to the backpack , belt , or other utility harness by engaging , snapping , or securing the female portion 450 to the corresponding male portion 440 of the attachment assembly . when the user desires to remove or release the equipment from the backpack or belt , the outer guide 440 can be manually squeezed or pressed towards the inner guide post of the attachment assembly corresponding to the individual piece of equipment . alternatively , if the user desires to remove or release all pieces of equipment from the backpack or belt , the trigger assembly 460 can be actuated which transfers movement of the trigger assembly 460 to the plurality of attachment assemblies , whereby at least a portion of each of the outer guide posts 442 of each the plurality of attachment assemblies approaches each of the inner guide posts 441 of each of the plurality attachment assemblies . for example , pulling , tensioning , twisting or activating the trigger 460 of the remote trigger assembly 400 can retract the plurality of inner cables 420 of the cable assemblies 410 , which can retract the outer guide posts 441 on the male portions 440 the attachment assemblies . consequently , the male portion 440 of the attachment assembly can be disengaged or released from the female portion 450 , which releases each piece of equipment from the backpack or belt to which the remote release enclosure 400 is attached . exemplary embodiments have been described hereinabove regarding the implementation of the remote release assembly on a carrying device , such as a backpack . however , one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that this disclosure relates to a system and method for quick release . various modifications to and departures from the disclosed embodiments will occur to those having skill in the art . the subject matter that is intended to be within the spirit of this disclosure is set forth in the following claims . | 5 |
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